Radical Transparency

(in case the other blogs need a friend) 
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names

 

Nelson's a Good Name for a Bulldog

Filed under  //   bulldogs   dogs   names   photography  

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Famous Roberts

I hope Teddy Kennedy appreciated the fact that he was part of what might have been the greatest SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketch ever made...

My favorite, anyway. The origin, in fact, of my love for the word poop.

Peace, Teddy.

Filed under  //   celebrity jeopardy   names   poop   snl   teddy kennedy   words  

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Bird Don't Lie

Not quite a song about gypsies. Close, though.

Thank you, Lauren, for the introduction.

Alabama Chicken is track 4 on Alabama Chicken. I like albums named after songs better than albums named after artists, unless the album named after the artist includes a song named after the artist. Wilco on Wilco by Wilco, for example. The only example?

  
(download)

Filed under  //   chickens   gypsies   names   sean hayes   titles   wilco  

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Untitled and Wordless

I agonize over blog post titles. I'm pretty sure I'd have a hard time naming wordless songs.

Water Song is track 6 on Burgers.

  
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Filed under  //   hot tuna   names   titles   words  

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A Special Streamline, You Know

I first heard this song at my 10 year high school reunion.

It was Tom Rush's 50 year high school reunion, and he played a show for everyone there.

Sounded to me like he was singing about The Panama Lemon, which I thought was a pretty good name for a train.

Panama Limited is track 13 on Tom Rush, an album released in 1965, an album not to be confused with Tom Rush, an album released in 1970 (by the very same Tom Rush).

  
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Filed under  //   misunderstandings   music   names   tom rush   trains  

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Big G For Short

Fun little phenomenon that names fall in and out of cultural favor.

Ralph is out, for the moment, for example. I bet he'll be back.

Adolf, however, is probably gone forever.

And then there's Goliath. At a glance, the biblical baggage doesn't seem insurmountable. Someday?

Filed under  //   goliath   names   religion  

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Clive

The CS in CS Lewis?

Clive Staples.

Clive.

I like it.  Almost as awesome as Clyde.  And Floyd.  And Doyle.

Maybe I just like the letter Y as a mid-name hinge.

Lloyd.  Boyd.  Hmmm.

Anyway, yeah, Clive Staples Lewis.  Haven't read much of him yet, but I'm looking at The Great Divorce right now.  I hear good things.  From a most trusted source.

Filed under  //   books   cs lewis   names  

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Like a Bubble on a Windy Day

Back on my computer for the first time since Wednesday.  Everything's been mobile since then.  Broken eyes.  Tired thumbs. 

And so much to sift and study and write.

But not yet.  First, a song.  A country song.  For the sand hills of North Carolina. 

FOR The South, but not OF The South. 

California country, hippie country.  The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.  One of my favorite musical names. 

And one of my favorite rhymes:

Whoa little Jennifer
I'd give a penny for
What you got on your mind


Ripplin' Waters is track 11 on Symphonion Dream.

  
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Filed under  //   country music   hippies   music   names   rhyme   the nitty gritty dirt band   the south  

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A Kindred Spirit

After a short titling drought that's produced such garbage as A Next Generation Retail Partnership, More on the Wal-Mart Conundrum, and I'm Glad You Are a Monkey Woman Too, I turned a corner last night and named a post Bees, Butterflies, Elephants, and Oil Men

While I was still linguistically buzzing from that achievement, earlier today, a friend sent me a NY Times Op-Ed that further validated my suspicion that four part animal titles are surefire slump-breakers: Bulls, Bears, Donkeys, and Elephants

I love it. 

And the link is worth a click if you'd like to be reminded that the George Bush government has been a bummer economically for pretty much everyone.

Note: I actually love the Monkey Woman title.  I threw it in because I think it sounds funny in a sentence with the bad titles.

Filed under  //   animals   elephants   names   titles  

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Who Put These Fingerprints on My Imagination?

I remember hearing once that people with certain names are inclined to take certain career paths.  Or maybe it was that certain names lock people into certain career paths.  Like if your last name is Cook, you'll likely end up in the food service industry, or if your last name is Taylor, chances are you'll do something with some connection to textiles.

I brought this up once before, and everyone looked at me like I was from another planet.

I still wonder though.  Might there be some correlation?  I feel like I must have read it.  It'd be a weird thing to dream.

Anyway, the man that sings this song sort of fits the pattern.  It's his first name, though, which is a little different.  But, still, not a lot of people named Elvis out there.

  
(download)

Filed under  //   music   names   predestination  

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