What's in a name? A lot.

reply to post by kosmicjack


Hmm... Well tell us how you came up with 'kosmicjack' then. I'll tell you straight out, 'darklord' comes from my love for Lord of the Rings. Even my avatar is an amateur artist's representation of how Sauron would've looked before, when he was said to be more human-like.

Hey, could anyone have guessed that?

reply to post by darklord


see - that's interesting

why would you choose Dark Lord/Sauron?

:-)

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


I created my ATS account in '06, and at the time, I had just finished reading LOTR. I was overwhelmed by the book. I loved it even before I finished it. And it still remains one of my most favorite books ever, alongside The Godfather. For some time, all I could think of was LOTR! That's the mark of a true masterpiece.

Anyway, that's how I came to choose the name Darklord. My creativity was heavily influenced by LOTR.

Since my spiritual awakening earlier this year, it has been kind of nagging me a little bit, that my username and avatar are so dark. But then again, what's in a name right? lol!

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


'SPIRAMIRABILIS'. Now THAT'S a unique username. I wondered about it when it first appeared on my thread

I sense the story behind it is pretty interesting. Tell me I'm right.

reply to post by darklord


lol

well - he was a real bad ass :-)

you could always keep the name - make the art something more ironic

like a rainbow unicorn (but - only if it's bothering you...)

my name - interesting story?

oh - you'll be soooo disappointed - maybe: en.wikipedia.org...

it's just beautiful is all - and magical in it's own way - something built into the fabric of the universe

Disclaimer: I'm a theist but not of the Abrahamic faiths. I have minor biblical scholar and scriptural skills. Also I am not a scientific/legal or medical expert in any field. Beware of my Contagious Memes! & watch out that you don't get cut on my Occams razor.All of this is my personal conjecture and should not be considered the absolute or most definitive state of things as they really are. Use this information at your own risk! I accept no liability if your ideology comes crashing down around you with accompanying consequences!

Explanation: Starred and Flagged! Well Done OP!

This thread reminded me of a similar thread here on BTS and I thought I would post here what I posted there as I believe it is totally relevant to the topic....[ Source of my post.]

"Just returning to the subject of the Topic i.e. hidden gnosis in names and sets of preordered by decent names, I recently did such a study on my own name (Peregrine *LAST NAME obscured for privacy and security reasons but refers to "miller") and incorporated both western astrology and eastern astrology using my birthday (3rd sept 1972 6am Virgo and yang water rat + various other astrological subgroupings according to eastern or western style of POV. Basically my name breaks down into son of the miller (aka the Rock or millstone i.e FATHERS 1ST NAME IS Peter *) who moves through the fields grinding grain (aka farming and milling). The secret book of Birthdays says that my birthday is the day of the mold breaker and my symbol is the mortar and pestle (a hand held and powered mill!). Then I am a virgo whose symbol is sheaves of grain bearing hay of course which is the favourite food of my Chinese astrological symbol i.e. the rat and mercury is an extremely important planet for both these signs. Personally I have always had an affinity for the messenger of the gods who just happens to be God of the GRAIN trade!!! There is a plethora of other tie ins that are extremely accurate or more than just coincidental for example my g/f is a cloud horse symbol and I'm a mountain river rat and I ask you how else would a rat meet and be able to go out with a sexy cloud horse unless he resided on a mountain by a waterfall surrounded by misty clouds, Spiritually speaking that is! LOL. The grain of today is information and data and I'm unashamedly quite proud of my abilities to grind arguments down to their bare constituents and run them down to the Nth degree as any good intellectual millwright miller and mill should be competent at even if they only wear sackcloths after all I am my namesake literally in more ways than I ever imagined. So yes names do have mystical powers and meanings and I encourage you to investigate your own names mystical components and maybe do a brief genealogical tracing of your own family tree and see what might be there."

Note: I have slightly Edited the above to disclose more info than was originally posted.

Personal Disclosure:

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


Ahh... I didn't know it was another name for the logarithmic spiral. Maybe it wasn't an interesting story, I always found it an interesting concept. So I wasn't all wrong.

Umm... Rainbow unicorn??? lol! All of a sudden I feel very comfortable with my present avatar...

reply to post by darklord

I always found it an interesting concept. So I wasn't all wrong.

no - you weren't wrong - it's an amazing thing - I never get tired of thinking about it or looking at it

here's something interesting and weird (really - probably only to me)

there's another woman here at ATS - nunya13 - and her avatar is the nautilus shell

my real life nickname is nunya - every time I see her avatar I get a little confused :-)

Umm...Rainbow unicorn??? lol! All of a sudden I feel very comfortable with my present avatar...

I like your avatar - and if it makes you feel any better - not really evil looking enough to be Sauron

and look - I've done some research :-)

the whole name thing really does interest me - I'm sure there's more out there - but having a hard time finding stuff that isn't just about naming your baby

Expectations of achievement
In another study published in the same journal, sixth-graders' self-concept--how effective, attractive, and valued they felt--was related to the desirability of their first names. Moreover, children with desirable first names scored higher on a standardized test of academic achievement. One possible interpretation is that teachers expect children with more popular names to do better and so, over time, those positive expectations translate into actual higher levels of achievement.

In considering these studies, it's important not to assume that teachers apply stereotypes any more than anyone else. Teachers merely are easier to study because researchers can look at the grades they handed out. The same forces are probably at work in the average workplace as well as in the classroom.

A link to emotional disturbance?
This is an intriguing question. One particularly suggestive study, done in 1954, looked at 1,682 case histories of children treated in a mental health clinic in New Jersey. Boys with unusual first names (names that occurred only once or twice among the group of children) were more likely to have moderate or severe emotional disturbance, compared with boys with more common names. (The same effect was not found among the girls in the clinic, however.)

What is the possible connection between names and emotional problems? It may be that the parents who give their children truly odd names also tend to act in other ways that might increase psychological risk. Or perhaps growing up with an odd name leads to experiences--being teased, for example--that undermine mental health.

www.drspock.com...

very old studies - trying to find more...
[edit on 7/5/2009 by Spiramirabilis]

[edit on 7/5/2009 by Spiramirabilis]

Hey Darklord,

Just posted another thread on original names, this time dealing with some of the theory behind it.

You can find it here

Shane

reply to post by OmegaLogos


That was really interesting to read. wow. I didn't imagine names would work that way too. Never considered it that way before. You're right, I'm gonna look deeper into the meaning of my name. I'm gonna post here after I find something.

Originally posted by Spiramirabilis

I like your avatar - and if it makes you feel any better - not really evil looking enough to be Sauron

No that does NOT make me feel any better! My avatar has just violated it's whole purpose of existence! It was MEANT to be really really evil looking. Like

And WOW! That quote from www.drspock.com is the most interesting and the most important contribution to this whole thread! Now we have statistical evidence of the actual effect names can have on people/kids! It pretty much proves a lot of the theories that have been put out on this thread so far. That's some great work you did digging that up. Thank you so much!

I only read the quote so far. I'm gonna read up more on it. Will post after that.

And again, great find! Post starred!

[edit on 6/7/09 by darklord]

reply to post by darklord

No that does NOT make me feel any better! My avatar has just violated it's whole purpose of existence! It was MEANT to be really really evil looking.

it looks scarier this morning - almost evil...

I also like the art - sometimes that takes away from the scary factor :-)

...Now we have statistical evidence of the actual effect names can have on people/kids! It pretty much proves a lot of the theories that have been put out on this thread so far. That's some great work you did digging that up. ...

well - I know there's got to be more than that - someone since then must have been interested in the subject :-)

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


ALMOST evil??? If only Sauron were here reading this...

As for the art, yes, it truly is amazing. It's by Timo Vihola. And I think he's really talented, not only in digital art but photography as well. You can check out some of his work here and here, if you like.

Here's his original rendition of Sauron, which I cropped and tweaked to make my avatar. I assure you, the original pic is much scarier. Though I wonder what scary-ass movies you've been watching to make you so immune...

reply to post by darklord

ALMOST evil??? If only Sauron were here reading this...

well - he does look a little tired - with the possibility of course of becoming very cranky

in my book - that can be almost evil :-)

As for the art, yes, it truly is amazing. It's by Timo Vihola.

thanks! there is a lot of really nice artwork in people's avatars - I really appreciate knowing something about the artists

...Though I wonder what scary-ass movies you've been watching to make you so immune...

actually - that would be a good topic for a thread - are we immune? Seems the movies have switched to gore - because that's the only thing left that's still scary

but - back to names - if you go through the names of the characters in the Lord of the Rings - the names say so much about the characters - define them

would they be the same characters/personalities with different names?

Would Gandalf have been Gandalf if his name was Sauron?

[edit on 7/6/2009 by Spiramirabilis]

reply to post by darklord


nice - (art)

I should say...

Here's his original rendition of Sauron, which I cropped and tweaked to make my avatar. I assure you, the original pic is much scarier.

that's some kind of outfit - now there's a guy who doesn't want a hug

:-)

What is you were named after a great german hero ,Derek and you feel like your really old?

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


Cranky= Evil in your book? Boy you've had it real easy in life eh? lol!

You're right. Horror flicks just don't seem to scare people as much anymore. And that's an interesting topic. Since it's your idea, You should start a thread on that in BTS. Link me to it if/when you do. I love topics about movies.

that's some kind of outfit - now there's a guy who doesn't want a hug

HAHAHA! That made me laugh out loud

Ok about the names in LOTR. Perfect? sure! I can NOT picture them differently. Usually, when someone says that about a book/movie, it's because they've gotten so used to the names. But in the case of LOTR, I think it really is an example of near-perfection.

If you were to sound some of the names from LOTR to someone who's not familiar with the work, I imagine they might be able to picture more or less what the characters were like.

Strider sounds so much like a traveler/nomadic name

Aragorn- a royal title, kingly, strong

Sauron, Saruman- cunning, powerful

Elbereth, Gilthoniel- elegant, wise, fair, proud and great

smeagol- sneaky

etc etc.

Tolkein has managed to capture the true essence of most of the characters in his names. I don't know how he did it. Maybe he was aware of the images that names can paint in your mind. Or maybe it just came to him. Either way, he was a pure genius. You can expect nothing less from a man who invented a whole new language, with a written script, poetry and everything, just to add to the realism of his storybook.

Naming something is such a grand thing. It's a form of recognition of something, giving it an identity, accepting it's existence, allocating a unique word all for itself. In other words, allocating it a unique sequence of vibrational frequency. Yet in other words, allocating it a specific energy pattern. This can not be taken lightly, in a world built of only Energy.

[edit on 6/7/09 by darklord]

reply to post by Sinclâire


lol! Maybe it might. Maybe not. I can only theorize. Is you're name Derek by any chance?

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


Avatars and Signatures are as interesting a topic as names. And while we're there, I have a question for you. I know you saw it coming too.

What's with the monkey(s)???

reply to post by darklord

Tolkein has managed to capture the true essence of most of the characters in his names. I don't know how he did it. Maybe he was aware of the images that names can paint in your mind. Or maybe it just came to him. Either way, he was a pure genius. You can expect nothing less from a man who invented a whole new language, with a written script, poetry and everything, just to add to the realism of his storybook.

even if you're not a fan of Tolkien, the amount of thought he put into the names of not just the people - but the places

The Languages of Arda are artificial languages created by J. R. R. Tolkien and used in his legendarium, including The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. They are important as an inspiration for his imaginary world and as a method for giving a realistic linguistic depth to names and special words that is generally lacking in fantasy and science fiction stories. In discussing the languages Tolkien invented, it is necessary to consider two aspects: their "primary world" history, namely their actual development by Tolkien as a philologist, and their "secondary world" history, namely their imagined historical development in the history of Middle-Earth.

en.wikipedia.org...

it's amazing - the amount of work

I used to like to give new names to things when I was a kid - so I was fascinated by his languages

at a certain point after I first read the Lord of the Rings - when I was about 10-11 probably - I became fascinated by what seemed to be his obsession

it was like he had to write the story just so he could use the world he had created

the creation of a world - the naming of things

so - do sounds have meaning do you think?

not the meanings we give them necessarily - but does sound have meaning that's wired into our brains somehow - we understand without understanding how or why we understand - maybe