No malice is intended.
March 24, 2015 10:59 PM Subscribe
Infinite Grover was ROBBED!
posted by Mister Moofoo at 11:29 PM on March 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Mister Moofoo at 11:29 PM on March 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
Relevant? I dunno, I had booze and Libertarian Facebook arguments for dinner...
posted by Jacqueline at 11:47 PM on March 24, 2015
posted by Jacqueline at 11:47 PM on March 24, 2015
I used to live next door to Libertarian Facebook... what an asshat.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:49 PM on March 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:49 PM on March 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
Amanda Miranda Panda! I hope they get to the final 4.
posted by Mizu at 11:51 PM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 11:51 PM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
To me, the choice is between two #2 seeds... Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Amanda Miranda Panda. The Rev may be a little too over the top, but A.M.P. sounds like a neighbor I had as a child.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:55 PM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:55 PM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think my second grader read some of the Amanda Miranda books.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:06 AM on March 25, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:06 AM on March 25, 2015 [7 favorites]
My kids love Panda! Go, Panda! Go, Amanda Miranda Panda!
posted by pipeski at 2:35 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pipeski at 2:35 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh had no idea about this. What a great site. There are enough past years' winners to peruse to keep me busy for hours.
posted by zardoz at 3:20 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by zardoz at 3:20 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's Dr. Wallop Promthong and Lancelot Supersad Jr. in the finals for me. I don't think it's going to be humanly possible for me to pick a winner, but ultimately I'm the real winner here anyway, so who cares!
posted by the painkiller at 3:35 AM on March 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by the painkiller at 3:35 AM on March 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
I'm calling it: Cherries Waffles Tennis vs Amanda Miranda Panda in the final, and Amanda for the win.
posted by ardgedee at 3:35 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ardgedee at 3:35 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Amanda Miranda Panda sounds too made-up. Which is a weird thing to say with names like Infinite Grover and Beethoven Bong at play, but it's got a cutesy on-the-nose Neighborhood of Make-Believe ring to it. I bet her birth name was Amanda Jones. Or she's a literal panda.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:24 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:24 AM on March 25, 2015
Infinite Grover is like super sayan Grover. His power is way waaaay over 9000 though.
posted by ardgedee at 4:44 AM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 4:44 AM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
I still think they reached an all-time high with Barkevious Mingo.
...Incidentally, Daniel Radcliffe plays fantasy football and "Barkevious Mingo's Mum" is his team name, because he thinks that that name is completely awesome and wanted to give props.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:45 AM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
...Incidentally, Daniel Radcliffe plays fantasy football and "Barkevious Mingo's Mum" is his team name, because he thinks that that name is completely awesome and wanted to give props.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:45 AM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
I Made Mangku Pastika.
There is something to be said for a name that is a complete sentence.
posted by idiopath at 4:55 AM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
There is something to be said for a name that is a complete sentence.
posted by idiopath at 4:55 AM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
First thing I thought of was "Key & Peele's East-West College Bowl" videos. Upon clicking the link, it looks like things have indeed come full circle.
posted by ShutterBun at 5:04 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ShutterBun at 5:04 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Thank you for introducing the word "sithole" into my vocabulary.
posted by middleclasstool at 5:05 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by middleclasstool at 5:05 AM on March 25, 2015
I could say the names Joko Widodo and Dwellie Striggles repeatedly for three weeks straight, and they would still not fail to make me smile.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:09 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Rock Steady at 5:09 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
When I was in high school I made up silly labels for my friends, goofy names they were often stuck with for years like Bomba Babycakes and Lancelot Burnoose. On viewing this list I realize I lacked imagination.
Dr. Wallop Promthong. I must say it aloud. My, it's a glorioius time to be alive.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:13 AM on March 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
Dr. Wallop Promthong. I must say it aloud. My, it's a glorioius time to be alive.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:13 AM on March 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
idiopath, Mangku Pastika sounds like John Travolta trying to say Mandy Patinkin
posted by staccato signals of constant information at 5:13 AM on March 25, 2015 [15 favorites]
posted by staccato signals of constant information at 5:13 AM on March 25, 2015 [15 favorites]
If Amanda Miranda Panda does not win this year, then I do not want to live on this planet anymore.
posted by briank at 5:22 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by briank at 5:22 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
It just seems unfair to put Sunshine and Pleasant Crump as 8 and 9 seeds in the same region. If you're going to make one of them knock off a relative, at least let it be in the later rounds.
posted by Mayor West at 5:31 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by Mayor West at 5:31 AM on March 25, 2015
I gotta go with the "Jr." names -- anybody willing to take their crazy name to another generation deserves props.
posted by JanetLand at 6:01 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by JanetLand at 6:01 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Am I misunderstanding this site? It seems to be making fun of people for the names they were given at birth. I didn't google every name but a lot of the ones I did came up as either criminals or people of non-white ancestry. Maybe I am over-sensitive because I work with so many New Canadians that have names that sound "funny" to WASPS without a lot of exposure to diversity but making fun of people's names is something I don't feel is acceptable in the school yard, let alone on metafilter. Am I missing something, because this just seems mean-spirited and I didn't think making fun of a Native American's name was something that was done here.
posted by saucysault at 6:09 AM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by saucysault at 6:09 AM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
The spirit of the site (and this discussion) seems clearly celebratory rather than disparaging to me--and I've called people out here for mocking minority names before. But I'm willing to consider that there's a derisive undercurrent I'm not picking up on.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:18 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:18 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
(In fact, it reminds me a lot of the Metatalk thread we had once about the best usernames on MetaFilter. This is the IRL version of that.)
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:19 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:19 AM on March 25, 2015
Two words: "Crotchtangle Regional."
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:22 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:22 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
saucysalt, check the post title.
I am not sure that it is fair to characterise this as making fun of people for their names, to me it is more about celebrating these names. When my friend Joanne married Mr Doran she did it with all her faculties intact. Doesn't stop it being a funny name though. Admittedly people with funny names can get a bit bored of hearing the responses that people find it difficult to stifle. Another one of my friends is a medical doctor with the surname Tooth. It just works on so many levels! He is a pretty lighthearted guy, but has been known to swear if anyone brings up the issue of dentistry in his presence.
posted by asok at 6:23 AM on March 25, 2015
I am not sure that it is fair to characterise this as making fun of people for their names, to me it is more about celebrating these names. When my friend Joanne married Mr Doran she did it with all her faculties intact. Doesn't stop it being a funny name though. Admittedly people with funny names can get a bit bored of hearing the responses that people find it difficult to stifle. Another one of my friends is a medical doctor with the surname Tooth. It just works on so many levels! He is a pretty lighthearted guy, but has been known to swear if anyone brings up the issue of dentistry in his presence.
posted by asok at 6:23 AM on March 25, 2015
I am pleased to note that Electron Kebebew has four siblings -- Proton, Neutron, Positron, and Deutron. That there was a family that thought subatomic particles were important.
Another one of my friends is a medical doctor with the surname Tooth. It just works on so many levels! He is a pretty lighthearted guy, but has been known to swear if anyone brings up the issue of dentistry in his presence.
...and his reaction to mentioning the Electric Mayhem around him?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:33 AM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Another one of my friends is a medical doctor with the surname Tooth. It just works on so many levels! He is a pretty lighthearted guy, but has been known to swear if anyone brings up the issue of dentistry in his presence.
...and his reaction to mentioning the Electric Mayhem around him?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:33 AM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Well the title of this thread is "No malice is intended" so that might be the thing you're missing. For me, the sounds of words can make me smile no matter what the originating language or culture, and these names are no different, although some of them do have a bilingual double meaning with potty-humor undertones which is part of what makes them smile-producing, and of course I'm filtering it through my English-speaking American (but absolutely not WASP) perspective. If I recall from previous years, the names all come from published sources? So they are people who have been in a newspaper, basically. It's always seemed celebratory more than anything else; the name is fun, or sounds like a comic book character (I would trust a Dr. Electron Kebebew to save the day) or has a great sound and rhythm, or conjures the image of an interesting person.
In their "History" post, they list some past names followed by "and others so beautifully named." Which I think nicely evokes the intended spirit of the thing. Diversity of human culture is gorgeous and fun.
posted by Mizu at 6:34 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
In their "History" post, they list some past names followed by "and others so beautifully named." Which I think nicely evokes the intended spirit of the thing. Diversity of human culture is gorgeous and fun.
posted by Mizu at 6:34 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Where's NOFOOT ALLFOOT... â SERPENTFOOT?
posted by steveminutillo at 6:43 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by steveminutillo at 6:43 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Maybe I am over-sensitive because I work with so many New Canadians that have names that sound "funny" to WASPS without a lot of exposure to diversity but making fun of people's names is something I don't feel is acceptable in the school yard, let alone on metafilter.
I appreciate that concern, and I've honestly thought a lot about it, as the Name of the Year tourney is one of my favorite things. To me, the reason this is celebratory rather than cruel is that while there are literally billions of names on the planet that might sound "funny" to a Westerner who is not used to naming traditions from other countries, there are precious few that sound "amazing". Whether for reasons of euphonia, or usage of unexpected English words, or (increasingly rarely in this contest, thankfully) because they sound vaguely rude, they click for some reason.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:52 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I appreciate that concern, and I've honestly thought a lot about it, as the Name of the Year tourney is one of my favorite things. To me, the reason this is celebratory rather than cruel is that while there are literally billions of names on the planet that might sound "funny" to a Westerner who is not used to naming traditions from other countries, there are precious few that sound "amazing". Whether for reasons of euphonia, or usage of unexpected English words, or (increasingly rarely in this contest, thankfully) because they sound vaguely rude, they click for some reason.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:52 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
That there was a family that thought subatomic particles were important.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:33 AM on March 25
Well, they're not wrong.
There's something about the charming simplicity of Joe Henchman that appeals to me, but I predict Amanda Miranda Panda vs. I Made Mangu Pasticka in the final (with Understanding Bush as a potential Cinderella).
posted by magstheaxe at 7:13 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:33 AM on March 25
Well, they're not wrong.
There's something about the charming simplicity of Joe Henchman that appeals to me, but I predict Amanda Miranda Panda vs. I Made Mangu Pasticka in the final (with Understanding Bush as a potential Cinderella).
posted by magstheaxe at 7:13 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thank you for introducing the word "sithole" into my vocabulary.
'Sithole' - pronounced seet-olay - is a common surname in South Africa, the nation that also gave lists like these the ANC politician Tokyo Sexwale (seh-chwahlay).
posted by Flashman at 7:14 AM on March 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
'Sithole' - pronounced seet-olay - is a common surname in South Africa, the nation that also gave lists like these the ANC politician Tokyo Sexwale (seh-chwahlay).
posted by Flashman at 7:14 AM on March 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
How has this been around since 1983 and I knew nothing of it?
posted by emjaybee at 7:26 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by emjaybee at 7:26 AM on March 25, 2015
Well, to be fair, it's only been on Metafilter since 2007
posted by MtDewd at 7:29 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by MtDewd at 7:29 AM on March 25, 2015
I am pleased to note that Electron Kebebew has four siblings -- Proton, Neutron, Positron, and Deutron.
I went to high school with a set of siblings named Quantum, Quasar, and Quark. Nice guys, too.
posted by capricorn at 7:32 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I went to high school with a set of siblings named Quantum, Quasar, and Quark. Nice guys, too.
posted by capricorn at 7:32 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
There are some pretty strong contenders this year.
In the Bulltron Regional, I like I Made Mangiku Pastika and Rev. Pierbattista Pizzabella.
In the Sithole, my money's on Dr. Electron Kebebew and Lancelot Supersad, Jr.
In the Dragonwagon, it's Dr. Wallop Promthong and Genghis Muskox.
In the Crotchtangle, it's a tossup between Amanda Miranda Panda, Mussolini Africano, and Beethoven Bong.
I think the final four will include Rev. Pizzabella, Lancelot Supersad, Jr., Dr. Promthong, and Beethoven Bong. I think the cutesy nature of Amanda Miranda Panda will not work in her favor.
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 7:55 AM on March 25, 2015
In the Bulltron Regional, I like I Made Mangiku Pastika and Rev. Pierbattista Pizzabella.
In the Sithole, my money's on Dr. Electron Kebebew and Lancelot Supersad, Jr.
In the Dragonwagon, it's Dr. Wallop Promthong and Genghis Muskox.
In the Crotchtangle, it's a tossup between Amanda Miranda Panda, Mussolini Africano, and Beethoven Bong.
I think the final four will include Rev. Pizzabella, Lancelot Supersad, Jr., Dr. Promthong, and Beethoven Bong. I think the cutesy nature of Amanda Miranda Panda will not work in her favor.
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 7:55 AM on March 25, 2015
In a possible case of "one of these things is not like the other", 13-seed Charity Sunshine Tilleman-Dick is an American opera singer (friend of a friend) who made the news a few years ago for undergoing two double lung transplants as a result of idiopathic pulmonary hypertension.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:56 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:56 AM on March 25, 2015
I like that while Pleasant Crump was the last surviving Confederate soldier, it also sounds like something to on a lazy Sunday afternoon in Oakland. "After brunch we can all go out for a pleasant krump".
posted by mhum at 9:12 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mhum at 9:12 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Waitaminute, I knew a Tilleman-Dick in grad school (no kidding) ...wonder if they're related.
posted by psoas at 9:15 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by psoas at 9:15 AM on March 25, 2015
Waitaminute, I knew a Tilleman-Dick in grad school (no kidding) ...wonder if they're related.
She's got like five brothers and sisters, so it's very likely.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 9:23 AM on March 25, 2015
She's got like five brothers and sisters, so it's very likely.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 9:23 AM on March 25, 2015
...that's not a married name?
One of my colleges had a couple who chose to combine their names as Lamm-Crapp. That did not last. I mean, the couple did, but they're now known as the Cralams.
posted by St. Hubbins at 9:47 AM on March 25, 2015
One of my colleges had a couple who chose to combine their names as Lamm-Crapp. That did not last. I mean, the couple did, but they're now known as the Cralams.
posted by St. Hubbins at 9:47 AM on March 25, 2015
For 2016 I nominate Guilherme Carbagiale Fâ, as the Washington Post lists, who plays with the Medicine Hat Rattlers. Known to his friends as Guy Fuck.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:03 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by Midnight Skulker at 10:03 AM on March 25, 2015
...that's not a married name?
Nope. A whole family of hyphenates.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 10:12 AM on March 25, 2015
Nope. A whole family of hyphenates.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 10:12 AM on March 25, 2015
Those worrying about whether this is mean-spirited - you may want to look at some of the response that the site creators got from one past contender, one Iris Macadangdang: she wrote to the site to correct some details they had about her bio, and she and her friends started a Facebook group to rally support for her to win. They even made up pictures promoting her to win. (Unfortunately, she was the one who went up against Barkevious Mingo in the finals, so alas, she lost.)
My point being: most people get that this is done with affection rather than malice.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:12 AM on March 25, 2015
My point being: most people get that this is done with affection rather than malice.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:12 AM on March 25, 2015
I should also add that the NotY committee has - on multiple occasions - expunged names from the competition at their owner's request.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:22 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 10:22 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I met a Dick Siemens once (his brother's name was Harry), and I'm like 1) there's no joke I can make that this guy hasn't already made himself, and 2) it'd be lazy humor anyway. That said I love unconventional names, and there's nothing wrong with say Fashionette compared to Britney or Madison.
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:48 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:48 AM on March 25, 2015
The winner gets a bit part in the next Pynchon novel.
posted by dephlogisticated at 11:04 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by dephlogisticated at 11:04 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
In the delightful article "Weaselhead, Devil and Drunkard: Surnames Originating As Insults," it's made clear that these names used to be more common and their bearers quietly killed them off: "In Surnames, DNA, and Family History, authors George Redmonds, Turi King, and David Hey give an example of a Yorkshire family named Smallbehind who became Smallbend."
What I don't understand is: how on earth did this not happen to the name "Ennema"?
posted by ostro at 12:57 PM on March 25, 2015
What I don't understand is: how on earth did this not happen to the name "Ennema"?
posted by ostro at 12:57 PM on March 25, 2015
The winner gets a bit part in the next Pynchon novel.
I was thinking Proulx, but same idea.
posted by psoas at 2:51 PM on March 25, 2015
I was thinking Proulx, but same idea.
posted by psoas at 2:51 PM on March 25, 2015
One of Birmingham, AL's local thespians is named Kristi Tingle Higginbotham. Although I haven't seen her in years, her name will often get stuck in my head for days at a time.
posted by robstercraw at 3:43 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by robstercraw at 3:43 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Man, why am I seeing zero love for Andromeda Dunker? It's like nobody else has even considered saying it out loud with its perfect rhythm and feel.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:57 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:57 PM on March 25, 2015
Andromeda Dunker is Jupiter Jones' irascible childhood friend who calls in a favor in her late 30s to discover Jupiter is secretly empress of the planet.
posted by Mizu at 6:10 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by Mizu at 6:10 PM on March 25, 2015
These are wonderful.
Though perhaps not a dazzling moniker, my family had a dentist with the name Dr. Will Hirt. And I had a relative named Junior Fink. One branch of my forebears bore the surname Gass--the jokes wrote themselves.
I once overheard a conversation between a co-worker named Tingle and his boss, during which the latter asked, "Hey, Jim, how are you and all the little Tingles doing?" It is a moment I treasure to this day. Perhaps one grew up to be Kristi Tingle Higginbotham. I can only hope.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:21 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Though perhaps not a dazzling moniker, my family had a dentist with the name Dr. Will Hirt. And I had a relative named Junior Fink. One branch of my forebears bore the surname Gass--the jokes wrote themselves.
I once overheard a conversation between a co-worker named Tingle and his boss, during which the latter asked, "Hey, Jim, how are you and all the little Tingles doing?" It is a moment I treasure to this day. Perhaps one grew up to be Kristi Tingle Higginbotham. I can only hope.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:21 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
ROU_Xenophobe - his reaction to mentioning the Electric Mayhem around him?
It has to be the right place and the right time
posted by asok at 4:19 AM on March 26, 2015
It has to be the right place and the right time
posted by asok at 4:19 AM on March 26, 2015
Voting is live in the Bulltron, folks.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:11 AM on March 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Rock Steady at 5:11 AM on March 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Kermit Carolina is currently pulling off the classic 12-over-5 upset.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:34 AM on March 26, 2015
posted by Rock Steady at 9:34 AM on March 26, 2015
Name based hilarity in the local news today:
"Suspected Clackamas Co. serial flasher, Michael Dick, arrested after reportedly masturbating near Tickle Creek."
posted by idiopath at 6:24 PM on March 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
"Suspected Clackamas Co. serial flasher, Michael Dick, arrested after reportedly masturbating near Tickle Creek."
posted by idiopath at 6:24 PM on March 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
"I Made" (pronounced "ee mah-deh", sorry) basically just means "Male second-born" in Bali. It took me a second to understand why people thought it was funny enough for this competition.
posted by dfan at 8:03 AM on March 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by dfan at 8:03 AM on March 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
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posted by eugenen at 11:10 PM on March 24, 2015