Hey, whatever works for you.
Merry Christmas.
12.25.2007
12.18.2007
"Thank God, it's Gregory" just doesn't have the same ring to it
So I found this online this morning. This Italian couple wanted to name their son Friday, but a court ordered it changed.
Really? Friday is that heinous?
Read on. This is actually pretty funny to me. But then I live in a country full of Dakotas and Rumers and Widgets. Yes. I said Widget. I really know someone who gave their daughter the name Widget. Granted, it is her middle name, but that is what people have been calling her.
ROME (Reuters) - An Italian court has ruled that a couple could not name their son "Friday" and ordered that he instead be called Gregory after the saint whose feast day he was born on.
"I think it is ridiculous they even opened a case about it," the family's lawyer, Paola Rossi, told Reuters by telephone from the northern city of Genoa on Tuesday.
Friday/Gregory Germano was born in Genoa 15 months ago. The parents registered him as Friday in the city hall and a priest even baptised him as Friday -- unusual in Italy since many priests insist that first names be of Christian origin.
"We named him Friday because we like the sound of the name. Even if it would have been a girl, we would have named her Friday," the boy's mother, Mara Germano, told Reuters.
When the boy was about five months old, a city hall clerk brought the odd name to the attention of a tribunal, which informed the couple of an administrative norm which bars parents from giving "ridiculous or shameful" first names to children.
Maybe we should pass some sort of baby-name law here. No more Scouts. No more Apples. Only good historic or Christian names allowed. I am lobbying for more Benitos and Adolfs and Judases.
The tribunal said it was protecting the child from being the butt of jokes and added that it believed the name would hinder him from developing "serene interpersonal relationships".
Um... what the fuck does that mean? Just because someone is named Gregory doesn't mean they will have friends. I think that having to grow up with half the people in your life calling you Gregory and the other half calling you Friday would be more disruptive.
The Germano family appealed but lost their case this month and the story was carried on the front page of a national newspaper on Tuesday.
When ordered to change the name, the parents refused and the court ruled the boy would be legally registered as Gregory because he was born on that saint's feast day.
"I really doubt this would have happened to the child of parents who are rich and famous," the boy's mother told Reuters, recalling that some famous Italians had given their children unorthodox names such as "Ocean" or "Chanel".
The appeals court ruled against Friday because it recalled the servile savage in Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe and because superstitious Italians consider Friday an unlucky day.
"I am livid about this," the boy's mother said. "A court should not waste its time with things like this when there is so much more to worry about."
"My son was born Friday, baptised Friday, will call himself Friday, we will call him Friday but when he gets older he will have to sign his name Gregory," she said.
So that ranks right up there when it comes to government wasting its time on shit it has no business wasting its time on.
I guess I should just be happy it wasn't my own government for a change.
Really? Friday is that heinous?
Read on. This is actually pretty funny to me. But then I live in a country full of Dakotas and Rumers and Widgets. Yes. I said Widget. I really know someone who gave their daughter the name Widget. Granted, it is her middle name, but that is what people have been calling her.
ROME (Reuters) - An Italian court has ruled that a couple could not name their son "Friday" and ordered that he instead be called Gregory after the saint whose feast day he was born on.
"I think it is ridiculous they even opened a case about it," the family's lawyer, Paola Rossi, told Reuters by telephone from the northern city of Genoa on Tuesday.
Friday/Gregory Germano was born in Genoa 15 months ago. The parents registered him as Friday in the city hall and a priest even baptised him as Friday -- unusual in Italy since many priests insist that first names be of Christian origin.
"We named him Friday because we like the sound of the name. Even if it would have been a girl, we would have named her Friday," the boy's mother, Mara Germano, told Reuters.
When the boy was about five months old, a city hall clerk brought the odd name to the attention of a tribunal, which informed the couple of an administrative norm which bars parents from giving "ridiculous or shameful" first names to children.
Maybe we should pass some sort of baby-name law here. No more Scouts. No more Apples. Only good historic or Christian names allowed. I am lobbying for more Benitos and Adolfs and Judases.
The tribunal said it was protecting the child from being the butt of jokes and added that it believed the name would hinder him from developing "serene interpersonal relationships".
Um... what the fuck does that mean? Just because someone is named Gregory doesn't mean they will have friends. I think that having to grow up with half the people in your life calling you Gregory and the other half calling you Friday would be more disruptive.
The Germano family appealed but lost their case this month and the story was carried on the front page of a national newspaper on Tuesday.
When ordered to change the name, the parents refused and the court ruled the boy would be legally registered as Gregory because he was born on that saint's feast day.
"I really doubt this would have happened to the child of parents who are rich and famous," the boy's mother told Reuters, recalling that some famous Italians had given their children unorthodox names such as "Ocean" or "Chanel".
The appeals court ruled against Friday because it recalled the servile savage in Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe and because superstitious Italians consider Friday an unlucky day.
"I am livid about this," the boy's mother said. "A court should not waste its time with things like this when there is so much more to worry about."
"My son was born Friday, baptised Friday, will call himself Friday, we will call him Friday but when he gets older he will have to sign his name Gregory," she said.
So that ranks right up there when it comes to government wasting its time on shit it has no business wasting its time on.
I guess I should just be happy it wasn't my own government for a change.
12.13.2007
Overheard at work
"Waterboarding... It sounds kind of fun in a way. Snowboarding. Skateboarding. Waterboarding. Like something you do on vacation..."
12.11.2007
Man, too bad traffic was moving too fast to take a picture
Today on the freeway: beat up Ford Escort.
Mrs. Claus at the wheel.
Santa riding shotgun.
For more holiday fun, read about my evening at the ugly ornament exchange.
A good time was had by all.
Mrs. Claus at the wheel.
Santa riding shotgun.
For more holiday fun, read about my evening at the ugly ornament exchange.
A good time was had by all.
12.06.2007
Blah humbug
Today is one of those days I want to crawl back into bed and burrow down under the covers and not come out again until mid-afternoon.
It is dark here. I think it might rain.
Which is fine. I like the rain just fine.
I just hate having to get on the freeway in the rain.
I want to bake. But I feel too lazy for that.
That would require deciding what to bake.
Then I would have to make a list of ingredients.
Of course, I would have to go to the store.
Finally there is the actual baking. Which is great.
Until it is time to clean.
Plus I really don't need to have a bunch of baked goods in the house.
I have been thinking the past couple days about Christmas cookies.
I usually bake three or four kinds of cookies.
I swap with family and friends.
I take them to work.
I give some to neighbors.
This year I have none of that inclination or motivation in me.
And that fake tree is going to sit in that box again this year. In that box where it has been for the past few years.
I have not even thought about a design yet for Christmas cards, much less actually gotten up the steam to make them.
Fuck, I can't even bring myself to go outside and hang a couple strands of twinkle lights on the house.
The adopt-a-family deal I am doing may be the only thing that gets me in the spirit this year even a little bit.
I need a good kick in the ass.
Please, someone shake me out of my blah-humbug mood.
It is dark here. I think it might rain.
Which is fine. I like the rain just fine.
I just hate having to get on the freeway in the rain.
I want to bake. But I feel too lazy for that.
That would require deciding what to bake.
Then I would have to make a list of ingredients.
Of course, I would have to go to the store.
Finally there is the actual baking. Which is great.
Until it is time to clean.
Plus I really don't need to have a bunch of baked goods in the house.
I have been thinking the past couple days about Christmas cookies.
I usually bake three or four kinds of cookies.
I swap with family and friends.
I take them to work.
I give some to neighbors.
This year I have none of that inclination or motivation in me.
And that fake tree is going to sit in that box again this year. In that box where it has been for the past few years.
I have not even thought about a design yet for Christmas cards, much less actually gotten up the steam to make them.
Fuck, I can't even bring myself to go outside and hang a couple strands of twinkle lights on the house.
The adopt-a-family deal I am doing may be the only thing that gets me in the spirit this year even a little bit.
I need a good kick in the ass.
Please, someone shake me out of my blah-humbug mood.
12.02.2007
Another reason I love living in Southern California
I went to Home Depot this morning to buy new switch plates for the kitchen and there were tons of people out buying Christmas trees.
Many of them wearing shorts and flip flops.
Many of them wearing shorts and flip flops.
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