January 2013 - Page 2 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

The Lydster, Part 106: What’s in a name?

Sophia, not incidentally, is the name of the American Girl doll the Daughter got for Christmas that sort of looks like her.

Cheri at Idle Chatter was answering some quiz. One question was: “What are your favorite boy/girl baby names?” The fact is that, prior to my wife getting pregnant ten years ago this coming summer, I hadn’t given it much thought. I suppose some people fantasize about having children and make lists. For me, though, I was 50, hadn’t had a child, might not have a child, so it wasn’t anything I really considered.

As it turned out, it became more about rules, primarily my rules, negative rules, which Carol was not aware of. Heck, I wasn’t aware of my naming rules. When you’ve never had a child, naming is more a conceptual thing, as it were.

So the rules were:

*No name in the top 10 in the Social Security list of most popular names for the most recent year available, which for us was 2002.

There will be enough Emmas in her kindergarten class, though Emma IS a lovely name.
Emma
2011 3
2010 3
2009 2
2008 1
2007 3
2006 2
2005 2
2004 2
2003 2
2002 4
2001 13
2000 17
1999 17

Actually, the names we did like, besides Olivia, were not in the Top 10 in 2002, from which we would have been deciding, but are now:

Olivia
2011 4
2010 4
2009 3
2008 4
2007 7
2006 7
2005 5
2004 4
2003 5
2002 10
2001 10
2000 16
1999 20

Isabella
2011 2
2010 1
2009 1
2008 2
2007 2
2006 4
2005 6
2004 7
2003 11
2002 14
2001 28
2000 45
1999 60

Sophia
2011 1
2010 2
2009 4
2008 7
2007 6
2006 9
2005 12
2004 15
2003 20
2002 27
2001 37
2000 42
1999 53
Sophia, not incidentally, is the name of the American Girl doll the Daughter got for Christmas that sort of looks like her.

Lydia
2011 96
2010 110
2009 118
2008 120
2007 124
2006 130
2005 119
2004 126
2003 127
2002 137
2001 140
2000 148
1999 149

*No naming after any family member, living or dead. I want her to have her own identity. And I didn’t want, “Oh, you named her after Aunt Hortense!” We’ll call her Little Horty!” No, you won’t.

Actually, I would have considered Charlotte, after my great aunt Charlotte, who had died a couple of years earlier, truth to tell. And my mother was living in Charlotte, NC; we referred to her, my late father, my baby sister, and her daughter as the Charlotte Greens. But The Wife wanted to consider Ann, which is her middle name and her mother’s first name; so I nixed both names.

*No unisex names: Terry, Madison, Lynn, e.g.

This comes directly from the fact that my father AND my sister were both named Leslie. Confusion ensued, and often at my expense. Since my father had a child named Leslie, it was ASSUMED it was his ONLY son, i.e., me. “Hey, little Les,” one guy from church constantly called me. “That’s NOT my name,” I’d mutter under my breath (but never aloud, for that would have been considered rude.)

*It had to have two or more syllables, to balance off the shortness of Green.

That was my other objection to Ann.

*No names that easily went to the nickname. Elizabeth is in the top 10 anyway, and which variation (Liz, Lizzie, Beth, Betty, Betsy, or several others) would ensue? No thanks.

Elizabeth is beautiful. It’s my mother’s middle name, and also the middle name of my second niece.

Elizabeth
2011 11
2010 12
2009 11
2008 9
2007 10
2006 11
2005 11
2004 10
2003 9
2002 11
2001 9
2000 9
1999 10

*It should have a recognizable spelling. So, by definition, no really weird names.

While a few people have girls named Lidia – not in the Top 1000 names over the past decade – most have opted for the more traditional option.

Coincidentally, one of my friends adopted a daughter named Lidia; Lydia and Lidia went to preschool together for a year, and now are in the same Sunday school class.

*No names beginning and ending with A.

This is a practical consideration. I have a niece named Alexandria. Carol has nieces named Adrianna and Alexa. One of Carol’s best friends has a daughter named Ariana. And there are several others. Having but one child, I didn’t want to run through a litany before I found hers.

So, Lydia, it was, named in part after a woman in the book of Acts, in the New Testament, who was rich even to put up the apostle Paul and his cohorts. It was only later that a friend pointed out that the church I attended as a child, Trinity A.M.E. Zion, was on the corner of Lydia and Oak, and that I walked down Lydia Street every day on my way to school. Obviously, I knew this to be factually true, but never crossed my consciousness.

Now, if we had had another girl, I have no idea WHAT we would have named her. And if we had a boy, there was never a real settling on a name. My wife says I agreed to something – I’m blocking on it – that when she said it later, I said, “Really? No way.”

If Lydia had been a boy, his name would probably still be Male Child Green.
***
My church is celebrating its 250th birthday this year, and in particular, tomorrow. The Daughter participated at the unveiling of the refurbished diorama, with the directive to fix it up 50 years from now…

[This is a rewrite of something I posted my very first month of blogging, in May 2005.]

Movie Reviews: Wreck-It Ralph, and Paperman

It’s rather clear that, in Wreck-It Ralph, Disney is trying to create that layered, interconnected universe that is typical of Pixar movies.

The local Police Athletic League was sponsoring movies at the nearby Madison Theatre Monday morning, $3 for kids, $5 for adults, and this included a small popcorn and a drink. There were three PG-rated choices playing: Life of Pi, which I thought might be too intense for the Daughter; Parental Guidance, with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, which was the most attended, but not something I particularly wanted to see; and the animated Disney film Wreck-It Ralph. The cartoon won out.

There was an utterly charming animated short called Paperman, which was done with no dialogue whatsoever; one of the best pieces I’ve seen in a while. No wonder it’s Oscar-nominated for best animated short.

Wreck-It Ralph is about an arcade video game called Fix-It Felix; think Donkey Kong or maybe Mario Brothers. Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) wrecks and Felix (Jack McBrayer, sounding a bit like Kenneth from 30 Rock, only a little more confident) fixes an apartment building. At the end of the day, the folks in the apartment building fete Felix. Meanwhile, Ralph lives alone in the dump. How can a game’s bad guy get more respect, maybe become a hero?

Ralph leaves his game for another one and creates chaos, especially for Sgt. Calhoun (Jane Lynch, sounding like Sue Sylvester from Glee, if she were armed like Rambo). Ralph does have some accidental success – catch Dennis Haysbert in a cameo – but then ends up yet in another game, having to negotiate with little Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) and King Candy (Alan Tudyk). If Ralph doesn’t get back to his own game soon, it might be unplugged forever.

It’s rather clear that, in this film, Disney is trying to create that layered, interconnected universe, in this case, of arcade games, that is typical of the Pixar movies. It works well much of the time. One does not have to be an aficionado of video games to understand it, but it wouldn’t hurt. So adults, as well as children, can appreciate it. The art and voices are great, and it’s no surprise that the movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Picture. Check out the trailer.
***
The movie started later than its scheduled 10 a.m. start time, and I managed to miss President Obama’s entire inaugural speech. Fortunately, I could see it online. It was a great speech, as Chuck Miller will attest. I particularly liked the “Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall” part.

Sporting news: Earl Weaver, Stan Musial, Lance Armstrong

I’m less distressed by Lance Armstrong’s cheating, and the inevitable lying that he did, but really bothered by the bullying threats to those who would dare besmirch his name.

I was a big New York Yankees fan when I was a child. But when the Bronx Bombers went into a tailspin after the 1964 World Series and were frankly terrible for close to a decade, I had to find a secondary American League team to support. That franchise was the Baltimore Orioles with the Robinson “brothers,” Brooks and Frank, fine pitchers such as Jim Palmer, and their feisty Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver, who died this week at the age of 82. He was thrown out of more Major League Baseball games than any other manager; he could be quite entertaining.

Not that I ALWAYS rooted for the Orioles in the World Series. In 1969, I HAD to root for the New York Mets over the Orioles, and of course, the Amazin’s won. But I was cheering on the Orioles in 1970 when they beat the Cincinnati Reds, the team that had given up on Frank Robinson. I chose to support the Pittsburgh Pirates, though, in 1971 – I loved Roberto Clemente – and 1979, both of which the Bucs won.

In fact, when Baltimore was up 3 games to 1 in the 1979 Series, I did something very unusual: I wagered money on a baseball game, not very much, but still. I picked Pittsburgh to win Game 5, and it did. Then I bet Pittsburgh would win Game 6, and it did. But I was not brave enough to bet that the Pirates would win Game 7, which it did, taking the Series.

I was watching some TV obit about Hall of Fame baseball player Stan Musial; it referred to him as a shortstop, which didn’t sound right. He played mostly in the outfield, and at first base, though he did pitch one game. I saw him play only at the end of his illustrious career, as he retired after the 1963 season. I remember when Albert Pujols, the Cardinals’ recent All-Star first baseman moved to the Angels, it was proof that he’d never be “another Stan Musial,” loyal to one team; I thought it was unfair, as these are different times, and few ballplayers stay with one team their entire careers.

I’m still disappointed that the Baseball Hall of Fame did not allow ANY recent players into Cooperstown this year. Punish the folks you thought, or knew, were using performance-enhancing drugs (PED), but there were plenty of “clean” players to pick from as well. Lee Smith, who was the career saves leader (it’s a pitching stat) when he retired, and still can’t get 50% of the writers’ vote, let alone the 75% needed for induction.

Speaking of PED, I am reminded that when Lance Armstrong was stripped last year of his seven Tour de France tournament wins, there was great criticism by many people of the anti-doping agency that concluded that Armstrong had doped. “Not our Lance!” Frankly, I’m less distressed by his cheating, and the inevitable lying that he did, but really bothered by the bullying threats to those who would dare besmirch his name, even suing accusers. It was only when he heard his son protecting his name that he had to say to the lad, “Stop defending me,” and at least some of the truth came out.

I really enjoy Dustbury’s accounts of Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball games, enough that I’ve become a fan of the team.
***
As for the National Football League, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons this week, which I was happy about. The Falcons collapsed the previous week against Seattle (who I was rooting for), and won only with a last-second field goal; the Falcons tanked against the 49ers, after taking a 17-0 lead. I’ve always liked San Francisco teams. My second favorite baseball team growing up was the SF Giants, which had my favorite ballplayer of all time, Willie Mays. Somehow, this affection geographically spread to the NFL 49ers.

The Baltimore Ravens beat the New England Patriots. I’m not much of a Ravens fan, but I have an even more irrational dislike of Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his quarterback, Tom Brady. After they won the Super Bowl a couple of times, I found them to be insufferable.

In the Super Bowl: Go 49ers!

Movie Review: Hyde Park on the Hudson

There is no shot I can recall of the Hudson River, sad, because the view of the river from Hyde Park is quite lovely.

The back story, part 1: The movie Hyde Park on the Hudson is based on the papers of some fifth cousin of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. When she died at the age of 100 or so, it was revealed that FDR and Daisy had had a sexual and emotional liaison.

The back story, part 2: My family went to Hyde Park just this past summer, which is largely why The Wife and I decided to see this film this past Saturday, at the Spectrum 8 Theatre. The room was about 2/3s full.

The strength of this movie is in many of the details that it gets right, in no small part because it was filmed, in part, at Hyde Park. The look is right. The controversial anti-British cartoons after the War of 1812, which were on the bedroom walls when King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth, mother of the current monarch, came to visit in 1939, I have seen. It was the house of FDR’s mother (played by Elizabeth Wilson), and that Eleanor (Olivia Williams) was very uncomfortable being there was an open secret. The press was aware of Franklin’s physical limitations and yet didn’t report it.

One of the unfortunate aspects concerning the movie is that it came out after The King’s Speech (2010) and the characters of the monarchs will inevitably be compared with that movie, unfairly, since George’s stutter is only part of the story here. And this Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) was at least as good as Helena Bonham Carter.

It took a while for me to forget that it was Bill Murray as FDR, and while he didn’t mimic the 32nd President, FDR’s essence eventually came through. My favorite scene involved just Franklin and George (Samuel West).

Casting trivia: Elizabeth Marvel plays Missy, a major role in this film, and she’s good; she also played the minor part of Mrs. Jolly in the 2012 film Lincoln.

An odd choice: there is no shot I can recall of the Hudson River, sad because the view of the river from Hyde Park is quite lovely.

The real flaw of the film, though, is that the presumable core story, the relationship between FDR and Daisy, isn’t all that well-drawn, or interesting. Laura Linney, probably the greatest living American woman on film today not named Meryl Streep, is wasted here; her character is a cipher.

This is a small movie, mostly focused on one weekend in June of 1939. As a Presidential buff, I enjoyed enough of it that I’m glad I went, but it is by no means a great movie.

B is for Books

I was tired of looking at an increasingly large pile of unread books.

When I was at my previous church, a book club was formed, and I joined. Most of the members of the group were women, an average of two decades older than I. Each month, we’d pick a topic, and we’d all read different books around that topic; it might be about crafts or poetry or popular culture. With that structure, I always read ten to twelve books a year, and usually lot more; reading begat more reading.

The group lasted about nine years, and I felt that I learned more about these people from hearing them speak about the books they chose to read than from any other encounters I had with them.

After that period, I would start many books. Without the stimulus of mutual responsibility to the group, though, I often failed to finish.

I’m fascinated that I’ve managed to read more books in the final three months of last year than in the previous three years, and I’m not sure why. I do know that I was tired of looking at an increasingly large pile of unread books, for I would continue to purchase them at book sales and at book signings.

Completed in the last quarter of 2012:
Governor Martin H. Glynn: Forgotten Hero
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Wicked
Vince Guaraldi at the Piano
A Reporter’s Life by Walter Cronkite
Using Content-Area Graphic Texts for Learning
After All by Mary Tyler Moore
Plus Ken Levine’s book about the 1960s that I haven’t written about yet.

They are, incidentally, physical books, not on a device such as an Amazon Nook. And my wife HAS a Nook. I like the book. I spend at least seven hours every weekday on a computer for work. I blog on a computer at home. The idea of using another device to read books is unappealing, at this juncture. Perhaps, it’s, as Dustbury notes, that e-books don’t feel like one is buying anything. Or, more broadly, maybe it’s because, as Arthur described so well, I am a digital immigrant.

ABC Wednesday – Round 12