Re: OT: Stillbirth, naming stuff (Was Re: What? the clean-shaven outnumber the bearded?...)

--- Tristan McLeay <kesuari@...> wrote:
> Named after Marvin the Martian (Warner Bros.),
> Marvin the Paranoid
> Android (Hitchikers' Guide), or some other, less
> interesting, Marvin? :)
> (I hope you know the third answer isn't acceptible.
It's the second, although if I'd thought of it sooner,
it might have been the first.

> If it needs a name, I'd give it one. If I had one
> cat,[1] I probably
I can see that. It seems rather utilitarian to me. I
think I see names as a sort of verbal ornament, as
well as serving the function of distinguising one
person (or thing) from another.

I went to court and had my name changed some years ago
because I simply hated the name my parents gave me. My
old name was perfectly functional, but didn't suit me
otherwise. A name is a thing in itself, to me, maybe,
although not so closely identified with the named
thing that it can't be changed whenever I feel like.

> [1] cats > dogs :P
I am a fan of small and fuzzy, myself.

At the moment, we have only a guinea pig, which is
named Hamster, but I usually refer to him as The
Weeker, so called for the noise guinea pigs make when
they want attention. (Weeeeek! Weeeeek!)

I've had a number of gerbils, mice, rats, and even
some sugar gliders (which are legal where I live,
generally imported from Indonesia or bred captive
here). I had the gliders for about 5 years when they
got sick and died rapidly. I miss them. They are very
sweet and devoted pets when they've bonded to you.

Rodents have relatively short lifespans (1.5 to 3
years), so when I stopped breeding them, I eventually
ran out of them, much to my husband's relief.

ObConlang: My conlangs have a lot of words for unusual
animals, pet and otherwise. Sugar glider is flisflis
['flIs flIs] in Alyador, for instance.

Alyador (Míjador) is a project I have only recently
come back to, and I think there are only about 10
animal words total. Two of those mean 'walrus' and
'sloth'. What was I thinking?!

>
> My computers have names, but only because isidore[2]
> and casoar look
> better than 192.168.0.3 and 192.168.0.5. When
> talking about them to
> people, I call them 'my computer' or 'the family's
> computer'.
>
We have 3 working computers and one sitting behind me
that I have been tinkering with for a few days. The
three identify on the network as Marvin, Geraldine,
and Nicro (which is my son's Internet alias). I can
never keep the numbers sorted out in my mind.

Maybe another reason I name all sorts things is
because names are good memory hooks for me. Perhaps I
am more likely to remember to water Edward than I am
to water "that little plant with the pink leaves". I
hadn't really thought about it, but I do seem to kill
fewer houseplants through neglect since I started
naming them.

> We have two chooks (=chickens, hens) and two cats.
> The cats I refer to
> by their names unless I can get away unambiguously
> with a pronoun (one
> being male/neutered (Bruno) and the other
> female/neutered (Muffin));
> they're very different. Muffin sits around all day
> and patiently waits
> for someone to let her out but will let you know in
> no uncertain terms
> when she wants to be fed. Bruno bounces around all
> day and squeaks[3]
> when he wants to be let in/out/fed.
They're individuals that can be distinguished one from
another, so they are nameable, perhaps?

>I don't use the chooks' names. In
> fact, I don't even know what they are (they have
> them though). As far as
> I'm concerned, one chook is pretty much
> interchangeable with the other,
> so I wouldn't be bothered naming them.
I had a small flock of chickens for a while, in
several different varieties, but I didn't name them.
My relationship with them wasn't that close, and I
mainly saw them as future food. None of them had a
real personality to distinguish one from another.

The neighbor's Jack Russel Terrier puppies came over
and killed them all. It was unfortunate.

>
> [3]: Bruno was found stray in early February either
> last year or the
> year before. He was at that stage slightly younger
>
Ah, well, at least he was found and now he's got a
home. This is a good thing. Pets are great, but they
make lousy gifts, especially for kids.


Mia.


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