Jeneva's Journal

Names of the Week

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:38:13 GMT

Girl: Yasmeen Poppy
Boy: Ander Elliott Spencer
Siblings: Meadow, Willow & River

What were they thinking?

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:03:10 GMT

Ever stumbled across movies that you used to have on tape as a kid, sat back and watched them only to discover that you have no idea what your parents were thinking letting you watch them? Not only that, I marvel that I not only watched but REWATCHED them repeatedly as a kid--which means that I (or my 3 years younger sister) found them:
a) funny
b) compelling
c) meaningful
d) full of songs that we wanted to sing and/or dance along to.

Just today I checked out "All of Me" (1984) starring Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin. This one, in particular, I'm befuddled by. Okay, so "The Dark Crystal" was nominally for kids. "Dirty Dancing" had the tunes and the moves--as did the original "Grease." But this one was about souls transferring bodies in an attempt to cheat death, and then two souls inhabiting the same body (Martin's) and displaying genderized traits while Tomlin does voice-overs. There bulk of the movie is about inheritance and money and class-distinctions. Guess I mostly wonder how these ideas ultimately worked their way into my psyche and how they manifest now. If at all...

Names of the Week

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:53:23 GMT

Girl: Diem
Boy: Dagney Bell Macdonald

This week there were a few beautifully crafted sets of siblings:
Conall, Eamonn & Malachy
Quinn, Killian & Lachlan
Ailsa, Isla & Finlay

Names of the Week

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:24:35 GMT

Girl: Anja Sabine
Boy: Daxin Ryan
Siblings: Chloe, Marquis & Rosalie

Teen Vampire Angst Night '09

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:31:54 GMT

It's almost as though the Powers That Be planned this. </facetiousness> There was no way on earth that the Vampire Diaries people weren't aware which episode they'd be airing on the release date of Twilight: New Moon. And of all things, they decided to go for an almost anti-Twilight. I write as someone utterly unspoiled about any rumors, speculation or spoilers to come, and as someone who has no intention of ever reading the source material for the tv show. More behind the cut...

1) The moment that stands out for me is Elena getting angrily out of the car and calling Stefan out when he attempts to head into the house after declaring that he does intend to leave to protect her. To me, this was the entire Vampire Diaries writer's room actively re-writing one of the most egregious moments in the Twilight series and the one celebrated in the movie being released tonight. When Edward leaves Bella catatonic in the woods and then we simply turn pages through 3 months of her life, I was aghast, appalled, and disgusted. Tonight, Elena did what I WANTED Bella to do. She stood up for herself, informed Stefan that she knows who she is, she knows what she wants, and he has no business misleading himself by pretending he's trying to protect her when he's really trying to protect himself. Stefan acknowledged Elena's point, and ultimately surrendered himself to it.

2) VD (and I'm sorry but that just begs for the shirt slogan to follow it) VD: Stefan gave me vervain! But I digress.... Vampire Diaries makes actual attempts at foreshadowing, and, indeed, storytelling that many shows simply aren't even trying for anymore. Both last week's ep (History Repeating) and tonight's (The Turning Point) both made use of lingering camera shots to convey what I assume is either intentional misdirection or deliberate foreshadowing of things to come. Last week we lingered on Alaric Salzman's ring...and yet as of this week we still are not sure whether he's a vampire or not. The clues point to yes--he asked to be invited into the Gilbert home, but was denied and did not enter. But perhaps there are other folkloric or mythological beings that can also make use of the jewelry? At the same time, we've been treated to lingering shots of the full-moon in tonight's episode, an iconic backdrop of the school gym with a giant "Timber-Wolf" jumping out at us, and Mayor Lockwood exhibiting signs of emotional freak-outedness, while his son Tyler appears edgy and has drawn an illustration of what could be construed to be his father morphing into a vicious-looking creature. Are werewolves a potential on the horizon?

3) On the Vampiric Scale of Sex/Sex-is-Bad as originally developed, constructed, executed and perfected by Joss Whedon back in "Surprise" & "Innocence", Elena's discovery that she is physically identical to Catherine was rather underwhelming. We knew it was coming--and since it was a surprise for her, but not for the audience, I felt a little cheated that they chose that moment for the cliffhanger in their relationship to leave us on for the winter hiatus. I kinda wish that the resemblance had been a surprise for us at this point. But that's what happens when no one knows whether their show will be picked up or not--you have to reveal intriguing and gut-wrenching plot-points from the get-go.

Why?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:22:13 GMT

If, as an elementary school librarian, I have ONE gigantic publishing complaint it is this: for some reason school boards, governments, consulting groups, secretariats, etc. all seem to think that loose-leaf and binders are the way to go with teacher resource materials. NO! No one actually looks at these documents. They take up space, gather dust, and are a b**** to shelve because they also send cds, videos, dvds, pamphlets, posters and associated materials WITHOUT A MULTI-FORMAT BINDER TO PUT THEM IN.
ARGH!!!!

Can you tell it's a PD Day and I'm trying to organize this sh*t?

Names of the Week

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:54:13 GMT

Girl: Waverley Frances
Boy: Kaelim Ross
Siblings: Emike (g) & Arren (b)

Names of the Week

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:14:25 GMT

Girl: Reid Jessica
Girl: Draice Patrick Robert

Names of the Week

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:23:44 GMT

Girl: Ivory Michelle
Boy: Hollis Joseph

~
A set of siblings were pronounced this week with names that should not be allowed as a sibling combo. They were sisters Emily and Emma. Now really. If you have a third child will they go with Emery, Emerson, Emmeline, Emmett? Be distinctive.

Names of the Week

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:14:45 GMT

Girl: Lorelei Rose Pauline
Boy: Casper Benjamin

Names of the Week

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:08:35 GMT

Girl: Lilith Leanora
Boy: Oakes Baden
Siblings: Latham & Alton (both male)

Names of the Week

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:52:04 GMT

Girl: Kendalyn GraceAnne
Boy: Elito Aaron

~
The 2009 Buffyverse-Baby-Boom seems to be complete with a trifecta of little ones sporting pink!
Bardot Vida Boreanaz
Satyana (Hannigan) Denisof
Charlotte Grace Prinze

These three meet up with other Jossian-alumni babies:

Jayden Raine Boreanaz (dad: David Boreanaz)
Jackson James Carpinello (mom: Amy Acker)
Ava Grace Carpinello (mom: Amy Acker)
Donovan Charles Hardy (mom: Charisma Carpenter)
Emily Rose Head (dad: Anthony Stewart Head)
Daisy May Head (dad: Anthony Stewart Head)
Sullivan Marsters (dad: James Marsters)
Eleanore Pankow (mom: Kristine Sutherland)
Arden Whedon (b) (dad: Joss Whedon)
Squire Whedon (g) (dad: Joss Whedon)

Names of the Week

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:23:45 GMT

Girl: Layla Hollywood
Boy: Dragon Risen Wayne

Names of the Week

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:18:05 GMT

Girl: Evon Isla
Boy: Hening John Cyril

Cumulative International Name Statistics 2008

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:13:49 GMT

These stats are ongoing. The UK will announce their's in December. The Canadian provinces seem to ad theirs ad hoc. Why Ontario doesn't post their results is bewildering to me because I think their results would balance out those of Quebec--which I think is skewing the results currently. Numbers for Canada are current as of today's date.

2008-Girls

Ranking	Canada	U.S.A.	Australia
1	Sarah	Emma	Ella
2	Emma	Isabella	Emily
3	Emily	Emily	Mia
4	Olivia	Madison	Isabella
5	Sophia	Ava	Chloe
6	Chloe	Olivia	Charlotte
7	Ava	Sophia	Olivia
8	Elizabeth	Abigail	Sophie
9	Sophie	Elizabeth	Lily
10	Maya	Chloe	Sienna

2008-Boys

Ranking	Canada	U.S.A.	Australia
1	William	Jacob	Jack
2	Nathan	Michael	Joshua
3	Samuel	Ethan	Lachlan
4	Alexander	Joshua	William
5	Thomas	Daniel	Thomas
6	Jacob	Alexander	Riley
7	Zachary	Anthony	James
8	Lucas	William	Cooper
9	Noah	Christopher	Ethan
10	Ethan	Matthew	Noah

Canadian data compiled from official provincial results.
All other countries gathered from official national statistics.

Cumulative International Name Statistics 2007

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:03:49 GMT

2007-Girls

Ranking	Canada	U.K.	U.S.A.	Ireland
1	Emily	Grace	Emily	Sarah
2	Sarah	Ruby	Isabella	Emma
3	Emma	Olivia	Emma	Ella
4	Ava	Emily	Ava	Katie
5	Sophia	Jessica	Madison	Sophie
6	Chloe	Sophie	Sophia	Ava
7	Hannah	Chloe	Olivia	Aoife
8	Madison	Lily	Abigail	Emily
9	Elizabeth	Ella	Hannah	Grace
10	Sophie	Amelia	Elizabeth	Kate

2007-Boys

Ranking	Canada	U.K.	U.S.A.	Ireland
1	William	Jack	Jacob	Jack
2	Nathan	Thomas	Michael	Sean
3	Samuel	Oliver	Ethan	Conor
4	Jacob	Joshua	Joshua	Daniel
5	Noah	Harry	Daniel	James
6	Alexander	Charlie	Christopher	Adam
7	Ethan	Daniel	Anthony	Ryan
8	Matthew	William	William	Luke
9	Benjamin	James	Matthew	Cian
10	Logan	Alfie	Andrew	Michael

Canadian data compiled from official provincial results.
All other countries gathered from official national statistics.

Cumulative International Name Statistics 2006

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:52:53 GMT

2006-Girls

Ranking	Canada	U.K.	U.S.A.	Ireland	France
1	Emily	Olivia	Emily	Sarah	Emma
2	Sarah	Grace	Emma	Emma	Lea
3	Emma	Jessica	Madison	Katie	Manon
4	Ava	Ruby	Isabella	Aoife	Clara
5	Olivia	Emily	Ava	Sophie	Chloe
6	Hannah	Sophie	Abigail	Ava	Ines
7	Madison	Chloe	Olivia	Grace	Camille
8	Elizabeth	Lucy	Hannah	Ella	Sarah
9	Sophia	Lily	Sophia	Leah	Oceane
10	Abigail	Ellie	Samantha	Ciara	Jade

2006-Boys

Ranking	Canada	U.K.	U.S.A.	Ireland	France
1	William	Jack	Jacob	Sean	Enzo
2	Nathan	Thomas	Michael	Jack	Mathis
3	Samuel	Joshua	Joshua	Conor	Lucas
4	Jacob	Oliver	Ethan	Adam	Hugo
5	Matthew	Harry	Matthew	James	Matheo
6	Ethan	James	Daniel	Daniel	Nathan
7	Noah	William	Christopher	Luke	Theo
8	Benjamin	Samuel	Andrew	Cian	Noah
9	Joshua	Daniel	Anthony	Michael	Matteo
10	Liam	Charlie	William	Jamie	Thomas

Canadian data for 2006-2007 compiled from Provincial Statistics
Data for the UK, USA, Ireland, Australia gathered from their published National Statistics

Names of the Week

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:54:57 GMT

Girl: Indianna Alexis
Boy: Viggo Declan Derion

Names of the Week

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:52:11 GMT

Girl: Rosalynd Irene
Boy: Maximus Johan

Alliteration Nation!
Kylie, Kloe & Kara
Xavier, Xander & Xane

Names of the Week

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:20:30 GMT

Girl: Anoushka Reva
Boy: Axl John
Twins: Holly & Penny
Siblings: Draven, Dallyn, Desmond & Dexter

Names of the Week

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:23:24 GMT

Girl: Aira Alice-Marie
Boy: Sylvain Samuel
Twins: Paxton John & Emmett Peter

Rather a lot of people this week who have embraced the "change-it-up" movement in baby naming and applied it well to ALL their children. I love these sibling combos because their parents didn't lose any imagination with each successive child:

- Hamish, Clementine, Matilda & Susannah
- Leif, Gideon, Micah (g), Noa (g) & Bronte (g)
- Mackinnon, Ashlyn & Addisyn (g)
- Roma, Gigi & Hugo

Names of the Week

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:01:26 GMT

Girl: Tavia Juliann
Boy: Anson James Henry

J-Crew : the spawn of Jasper Jax & Carly Corinthos-Jax

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:00:45 GMT

Given the following circumstances: a) it's summer; b) I have time to kill; c) I have an affinity for names; d) General Hospital is being watched alongside almost every other soap; e) GH has an affinity for alliteration, I find myself considering what might happen if Jax is FINALLY allowed to have progeny and Carly manages not to miscarry another baby. As a consequence, I find myself thinking about potential name contenders for baby Jax. Yes, Carly's other kids both start with "M", and "J" is not a currently trendy letter for names, but Jax's kids simply MUST begin with J. The storyline seems to be actively desirous of a baby girl.

Jacey (hey, it's almost Jason)
Jadyn
Jade
Jamie
Jana
Janae
Jaya
Jenna
Jersey
Jillian
Joely
Joni
Josephine "Josie"
Jordyn

Odds for "Jean" making the cut, given that Barbara-Jean is Carly's mom? Odds that they somehow honor brother Jerry? Both NOT HIGH. However, Jeri-Jean, known as "JJ" is right up there in style with Lulu's nickname.

As for the PLEASE GOD NO names--all the perennial Js: Jennifer, Jessica, Julia as well as the EWWWW names that bring back memories we don't want...I'm thinking primarily of Jasmine Island here.

Names of the Week

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:12:32 GMT

Girl: Mieka Allison
Boy: Sajan Nanak
Siblings: Trayden, Tanner, Tyrum & Taylyn (first 3 are boys, last is a girl)

Names of the Week

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:18:00 GMT

Girl: Giada Gabriella Marie
Boy: Bourne Jones
Siblings: Otto & Max