A Lot.

Last night I got a hit from Quispamsis, New Brunswick.  I'm sure people who live there have to explain the pronunciation of Quispamsis a lot when they encounter people unfamiliar with the name.

Believe me,  I know what that's like.

You'd Never See It Down South.

It's interesting how much difference a border can make.  Beaners is a kid's hair cut salon found mainly in Alberta.  A location opened in Saskatoon a few years ago, but it's unclear to me if it still is.

If you're an American you might be raising an eyebrow at seeing that name.  In the US beaner is a slang term for Hispanic people, and generally considered a derogatory one, although some people have tried to reclaim it.  I've never heard it used in my area, but I was well aware of its existence.  So seeing that used as a business name was odd to me.  Apparently it wasn't commonly heard in Calgary in the late '80s when the first Beaners opened. 

I wonder if they've ever had people complain about the name.

"Does This Store...

...make me look fat?"

This odd version of a cliché phrase came to mind when I heard that  the Save-On-Food grocery store chain will be coming to Saskatchewan.  Save-On-Foods is part of the Overwaitea Food Group, which still includes 15 Overwaitea grocery stores in BC.  It's a name that seems a bit odd to still see in our weight obsessed era, given how close it sounds to overweight.  Not that there seems to be any intent to operate Overwaitea branded stores in Saskatchewan.

Where might Save-On-Foods set up shop in Saskatoon?  The new Brighton neighbourhood, which is just starting to be created on Saskatoon's east side is an obvious location.  Getting the first grocery store in the area could be a big advantage to a new to the city chain.  Another possibility is the Cumberland Square property on 8th Street, which is about to be demolished as part of a major redevelopment.  It would have the possible disadvantage of a Sobeys being across the street.  Existing Safeway stores would also be a potential problem for the other potential locations, the now empty Target spaces in the Centre Mall and Lawson Height Mall, and the old Zellers space in Market Mall.  Market Mall also has its ongoing demographic problem, being located in a neighbourhood with one of the oldest per capita populations in Canada.

Stores are also planned for Regina, Moose Jaw, and Yorkton.  I could see them building a store in Martensville or Warman at some point given the growing population of those towns and nearby Dalmeny, more that 15 thousand people between them at this point.

Whatever the case you aren't likely to be shopping in a Save-On-Foods store here anytime soon.  Even if construction were to begin in short order I doubt we'd see a store open before the Spring of 2016 at the earliest.

Funny Place For Humble.

I had a blog visitor from Humble, Texas yesterday.  Texas is not a place I associate with the term humble.  I'm sure some Texan would argue otherwise.

Inspiring Confidence.

The Cleveland Indians have a relief pitcher that has one of the best pitcher names I've ever heard, Josh Outman.  After all you want your pitcher to get outs, and here's one who's literally an "out man." 

Rethink That.

Hey, Miley Cyrus.  I hear you're thinking about dropping your last name, and just being Miley.  Just like Prince and Madonna.  My advice?  Don't.  Prince and Madonna could do that because those are strong, iconic, intriguing names.  Miley?  Not so much.  Imagine if Madonna, all those years ago, had used her middle name, Louise, instead.  Yeah, you're not starting from scratch, but still.  Miley used by itself sounds like the name of the sitcom you'll be doing in a few years, where you play a high school teacher.

Another Tough One.

A good while back I posted about the children of US pro boxer Chazz Witherspoon, who have been given names they might have trouble living up to.   I came across another example of this today.  It was a little boy named Chieftain.  Most kids won't grow up to reach the level of that name.  And young Chieftain has certainly not done that yet, as his mom refused to buy him some ice cream.  Then again maybe I'm mistaken, and this is his namesake. 

Go Simple.

There's been some discussion lately of what the new Circle Drive South bridge, soon to open for use here in Saskatoon, should be named.  A number of people have been suggested.  One is Christopher Yorath, Saskatoon's first city commissioner, who envisioned what we now know as Circle Drive.  But maybe they're thinking too hard.  Perhaps they should just give it a single, simple name.  Call it the Robert Bridge.  Or the Tara Bridge.  Just don't be like some modern parents and make it something Kayleyeee, with a bunch of extra, unneeded letters added.

Will He Be A Menace?

While I was out and about today a woman and her perhaps 4 year old son sat near me on the bus.  His name was Dennis.  An unusual name for a little boy these days, and thinking about it I suspect it's an unusual name for anybody under 40 or so.  It's probably not as archaic a name, if you will, as a name like Eunice or Margery, but it might be getting there.

Stabby?

Here in Saskatoon we get our ABC, CBS, and NBC feeds from Detroit.  (Our Fox feed is from Rochester, New York for some reason.)  So I was treated(not) to various Michigan political ads, including those for and against Senator Debbie Stabenow.  Smartypants that I am I found myself calling her Stabby when I saw her ads.  Does anyone else call her that?

Incidentally, for those who weren't following the Michigan campaign, Stabenow won her third term as Senator.

I'm A White Guy.

I don't have a picture of me that goes with this blog.  I have what to many people is an odd last name.  So I figured it would be worth pointing out, in case anyone cares, that I'm a white guy.  Gueguen is a Breton name.  My ancestors were French, English, Scottish, and German.  So if for some reason you thought I was something else, I'm not.   In the past I've had a couple of people make comments elsewhere that indicated they thought I was Chinese or Vietnamese, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened again.

Child Of Twilight?

Walking into a store this morning I passed a little girl, 3 years old at the most, and her mom.  The girl was named Bella.  I found myself wondering if the tyke was named after the "heroine" of Stephane Meyer's Twilight books.  Sure, it's possible the kid is named after someone like the late American feminist Bella Abzug, but given her age it's rather more likely she's named after Bella Swan.  I would imagine there will be a lot of kids shaking their heads in a couple of decades when they get around to reading about the doormat character they're named after.

But hey, it could be worse.  At least is supposed to be the heroine of Twilight.  Imagine the kids who might be named Draco, after Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter books.  The actor who played him in the movies, Tom Felton, appealed to a lot of the female fans, and the result was what is actually a rather nasty character being quite popular.  You can be sure that someone will name their kid after him.

Old School.

During my travels today I was in a store at the same time as a mother and her two young children.  The little boy was named Josiah.  Rather an old fashioned name to here attached to a five year old.  Later I wondered if being just a couple of stores down from a Christian book store had anything to do with the enounter, as perhaps conservative Christian parents would be more likely to call their son something like that.

When I Rule The World 3

No more hyphenated names.  At best they sound pretentious, at worst horribly clashing.  If you don't want to take your husband's name when you get married keep your maiden name.  Or why not start a new family name for both of you?

Throwback.

I can't help but smile at the name of this kid catching for the San Francisco Giants, Buster Posey.  With a name like that he sounds like he should be playing alongside Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.  You don't run into too many people named Buster who are say under the age of 80.

There Should Be More.

During my travels today I walked past a little girl name Oprah.  Thinking about it I'm surprised I've never run across one before. Given how influental Ms. Winfrey is you'd think a lot of little girls would have been named Oprah over the last decade or so.  If they have been there apparently aren't many in Saskatoon.

"No, I'm A Girl."

That's what a little girl I saw today will probably be saying a lot during her life.  Her name is Austin.  There has been a long trend of names that were once thought of as male names becoming seen as female names.  Names like Hilary, Ashley, Beverly and so on were once fairly common male names, but in recent decades have become almost exclusively used for women.  As a result most people would now think you were being kind of cruel if you were to name your son Beverly.  But somehow I doubt Austin will be joining the ranks of names used primarily by women.  It just sounds too masculine.  When I think of the name I think of the late Austin Willis, a Canadian actor and TV show host.  Others are likely to think of the long running British motor vehicle company.  Young Ms. Austin was with her younger brother, who is named Kingston.  Names ending in ston and stin seem very popular these days for some reason.  Of course there's the long shot that both these tykes were born in places bearing those names, but probably not given the number of kids with non-Saskatchewan place names you're likely to run into in Saskatoon these days.

A Bunch Of Hot Air.

Yep, I'm going to post about the "Balloon Boy" saga before it gets too stale. Does this count as Shameless Hit Mongering?

Thinking about the case this morning reminded me of the animated movie Up that was in the theatres this summer. I would imagine a few kids tried to imitate the plot of that film by tying balloons to things, including themselves, and were profoundly disappointed. No doubt a few have spent the last few days trying to make tinfoil balloons so they can try flying, or at least launch their own balloon. And we're bound to see some copycat attempts by people old enough to know better in short order.

I'm surprised to hear that the kid won't be facing charges. I get the impression they like to charge 'em pretty young in some parts of the US.

I wonder how long it will be before a "movie of the week" of this story hits the air. I'm sure the obviously publicity craving Heene parents are even as I write this trying to sell their version to someone. Sounds like they'll need the money for legal expenses. And you can be sure an episode inspired by this story will appear on Law and Order or CSI sometime in the next year or two.

Finally, Falcon? You named your kid Falcon? What were you thinking? Oh, that's right, apparently rational thinking isn't a high priority in the Heene house given that you're not only alleged hoaxsters, you've also appeared on the TV series Wife Swap. I'm sure at least one of your kids will be writing a tell-all book about his childhood 20 years down the road.

Rethink That Name.

Today I picked up the latest issue of WHOLifE, the "wholeness and wellness journal of Saskatchewan," of which I hope to have more to say later. One of the ads within was for someone offering a treatment involving "Electro-physiological Frequency Xrroid." I don't know about you, but Xrroid looks like some weird abbreviation for hemroid, or perhaps an alien from a bad sci fi movie. It certainly doesn't look like something I'd think was healthy. Hey, if you're gonna market something it should have a pleasing name.

You Wouldn't Name Him That.

Listening to a piece on CBC Radio One's The Current about Michael Baigent's new book The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Coverup in History got me thinking about the name Jesus itself. Specifically I found myself wondering why its a common male name amongst Spanish speaking peoples, but not English speakers. An English speaking person naming their son Jesus would likely not go over well with most other English speakers whether they are religious or not. Yet other Biblical names don't have that problem. Given some of the odd names people in English North America give their kids these days its kind of surprising we don't seem to have them choosing Jesus.