~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
February 13, 2012

Post updated: February 13, 2013

★~ Today’s Quote:
What’s in a name?  That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet. ~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Julie

★~ Change Your Name Day: 

If you’ve ever felt like your name doesn’t quite fit, or you are just a little tired of being called the same old thing, try taking a new name for the day. The most popular names in 2011 were:  (1) Mason, Emma, (2) Liam, Olivia, (3) Noah, Sophia, (4) Ethan, Isabella, (5) Jacob, Ava (6) Aiden, Ella, (7) Jackson, Madison, (8) Logan, Emily, (9) Jack, Abigail, and (10) Lucas, Chloe

★~ Tortellini Day:

Tortellini is a signature dish from the Italian region of Bologna. Food is taken so seriously here that Bologna is  home to the Learned Order of the Tortellini, which has a formidable membership, all dedicated to the preservation of the tortellini. Members wear red and gold hats shaped like tortellini and gold tortellini necklaces at all their functions. When the Bolognese eat their famous tortellini in brodo, tortellini in “broth,” they remain completely silent until they are finished. Tortellini is the creation of a local cook who dreamt he saw Venus rising from the waves, glimpsed her perfect navel, and, upon waking, rushed into his kitchen to recreate the divine belly-button as a pasta. Hey, that is their story, and I am sticking to it!  The most common fillings for tortellini are ham, white meat, and Parmesan cheese.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1635 – The Boston Latin School, the first public school building in the United States, was established on this day.

♥~ 1966 – The Rolling Stones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show from New York. They performed  I Can’t Get No Satisfaction, As Tears Go By and 19th Nervous Breakdown.

♥~ 1971 – The Osmonds, began a five-week stay at the top of the pop music charts with the hit, One Bad Apple.

♥~ 2011 – Switzerland, with the highest rate of suicide by firearms in Europe, voted to hold fast to its long-standing tradition of allowing citizens to keep army-issue weapons at home.

★~Born Today:

♥- 1997- Teresa Bertini – Eyes that can melt, a giggle that is contagious, generous friend, aspiring actress. Sweet Sixteen—We are sending hugs and kisses your way!

♥~ 1683 – Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (Giambattista Piazzetta) artist: Prominent 18th-century Venetian painter. Notable among his works are the Ecstasy of St. Francis and Fortune Teller. Born at Venice, Italy, and died there Apr 28, 1754.

♥~ 1891 – Grant Wood artist: most remembered for portraying the architecture, landscape and people of 1930s Midwestern U.S. Grant Wood studied at the University of Iowa, taught there and made Iowa the focus of his paintings. Wood was one of America’s first ‘regionalist’ painters.  His most famous painting is the, American Gothic. The painting of the puritanical farmer holding the pitchfork and his wife, is on display at The Art Institute of Chicago.

♥~ 1903 – Georges Simenon, novelist born in Liége, Belgium. He’s one of the most prolific writers of all time, best known for his detective novels featuring Inspector Maigret. He wrote some 400 books, which sold more than 1.4 billion copies from 1935 to 1997. Each book took him on average eight days to write.

♥~ 1923 – Chuck Yeager pilot: broke sound barrier; featured in movie: The Right Stuff

♥~ 1933 – Kim (Marilyn) Novak actress: Picnic, The Man with the Golden Arm, Bell Book and Candle, Vertigo

♥~ 1934 – George Segal actor: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Touch of Class, King Rat, Look Who’s Talking Now, Taking the Heat, The Bridge at Remagen, Just Shoot Me

♥~ 1944 – Stockard Channing (Susan Stockard) actress: Stockard Channing in Just Friends, The Stockard Channing Show, Up Close and Personal, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh, Grease, Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves

♥~ 1968 – Kelly Hu actress: Martial Law, Growing Pains, The Doors, The Bold and the Beautiful, Nash Bridges

♥~ 1979 – Mena Suvari actress: American Beauty, Restitution, No Surrender, The Garden of Eden, Day of the Dead, Stuck, Factory Girl, Orpheus, Rumor Has It

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~ Africa:  Name their children, to include the parents’ hopes for their new baby and important current events. It is believed that a name can influence the course of a person’s life, and the lives of their family members, too.  Many African babies are given two names: one when they are born and one at a later-celebrated date.

♥~ Nigeria:  Babies born to the Yoruba community are given an oruku name, which describes the circumstances of their birth. Abegunde, for example, is a boy’s name, meaning “born during a holiday”. Bejide is a girl’s name, describing a “child born in the rainy time”.  Later on, Yoruba children are given an oriki or praise name, which suggests hopes for their future. Dunsimi means “don’t die before me” and Titilayo is “eternal happiness”

♥~ Swahili:  In Kenyan tribes, their first (or “birth”) name is called the jina la utotoni. This is chosen by an elderly relative and usually refers to the child’s appearance. Biubwa, for example, means “soft and smooth, baby-like” and Haidar is considered a good name for a boy who looks “strong and stout”.  Later on, up to 40 days after the baby’s birth, the jina la ukubwani (an adult name) is chosen by his parents or paternal grandparents.

♥~ China: Parents sometimes give their boys plain or meaningless names to trick evil spirits into overlooking them. Girls, however, get more elaborate or graceful names, depicting beauty and virtuous qualities.  It would be considered very bad luck for a baby to be properly named before he is born. An unborn baby might be given a false name (or “milk” name), however, to confuse evil spirits. Ancient Chinese wisdom says that by referring to an unborn as an animal, or even ugly, the evil spirits will not consider it worthy of kidnap.

♥~ Japan: Baby girls are usually given names which denote moral, quiet virtues, like Kiyiko (“clean child”), Nayako (“obedient child”), or Yoshiko (“good child”). The “ko”, often found at the end of girls’ names, is a typically feminine ending and means “child”. Boys’ names are usually less flowery and inventive: often reflecting their position within the family. Ichiro means “first son”, Jiro means “second son” and Saburo means “third son”. Just as in Chinese and Korean names, Japanese people put their family name in front of their given name

♥~ Greek: The Greek Orthodox Church has a strong influence over names. Babies are often named after saints: and therefore acquire their own saint’s “name-day” to celebrate, as well as their actual birthday.  If your name is Ella or Linda may Odd be the first to wish you a Happy Name-Day!

♥~ Italy: Just as in Spanish-speaking countries and Hispanic areas, many Italian baby names are derived from saints of the Roman Catholic Church, or have religious connotations. Assunta, for example, refers to the assumption of the Virgin Mary, while Zita is the name of a 13th-century Tuscan saint. Certain names are limited to regional areas: Romolo is a popular name in Rome but seldom used elsewhere, while Brizio is limited to Umbria.

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If Cole was named after the circumstance of his birth, he would be called “Boy Who Takes His Own Sweet Time.” The child was seven days late, and trust me, I never intend on letting him forget it.

Just the other day, Debbie — El Morno friend, blogger, Notre Dame mom who never feels like a nut — wrote about this very subject, wondering if a blogger by any other name was a writer. Well not exactly . . . why not just click over and visit her.

My El Morno food-for-a-year partner gave her five children great names: Madeline, Emmet, Chloe, Will, and Lucy. And Rachel told me just the other day that Lily’s dad insists he named her, but he didn’t. I understand; my sweet mother named Cole, and Joe always thought he named Cole — fat chance on that one. By the way, Rachel’s name wasn’t always Rachel — she changed it. The Kitchen Witch wrote a great story about her Grandpa Roll. It wasn’t Grandpa Roll (as in dinner roll); it’s Rawll. Click over to visit her and read more.

I find names fascinating — and I’m pretty sure that my family is the Oddest family you will ever meet when it comes to names — but I think that is an Odd guest post I will insist my sweet mom writes!

♥