What's in a name? A lot.

reply to post by darklord


forgot... :-)

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

you should see what happens when I forget to eat :-)

evil/cranky - splitting hairs

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.

I suck at thread starting - seem to do OK at thread killing though :-)

I have about 5 great thread ideas - trying to find other people to do the work for me...

I'm like the Cuckoo bird of ideas

reply to post by darklord

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)???

I DID see it coming :-)

I just really, really like monkeys

that was less than satisfying - wasn't it?

:-)

reply to post by shamus78


I would love to uncover my real name..... but do not know how.... unfortunately I don't have enough posts to U2U shamus78, but would appreciate some help on this!!

The beginning of language on earth can be traced back to John 1:1, which states:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NRSV)

Here's something really interesting about the original Hebrew language, which is sometimes said to be a 'Divine Language'.

The Symbolism of the Hebrew Language

The written Hebrew language captures the original concept of God's program. It is the only language that survived after the confusion of Babel to retain some of its original design.

Many Bible verses contain hidden or confirming messages buried within the text that are revealed when overlaid or analyzed with what I call the Hebrew Alphabet Number System. As stated elsewhere, each letter of the Hebrew alphabet contains three dimensions:

1. They are simply common letters that make up words.
2. Each letter also expresses a symbolic concept.
3. Each letter represents a mathematical value.

Read more here.

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


Ok, gimme your 5 thread ideas, and I'll make the one I most like for you.

Oh, and I loved your thread on Guitars. I'm gonna add to that myself when I have more time.

I just really, really like monkeys

...I really don't know what to say.

lol! Damn right it was less than satisfying! Care to tell me more about this fascination of yours?

[edit on 7/7/09 by darklord]

reply to post by Psychdoc


For more info on that, read shamus' 2 threads My Original Name and Original Name Theory. They're an amazing read. Don't miss 'em.

reply to post by darklord

is this from the Kabbalah?
you see - this is just the sort of ting I can't get involved in - because that would be it - that would be my life...

1. They are simply common letters that make up words.
2. Each letter also expresses a symbolic concept.
3. Each letter represents a mathematical value.

secret messages inside secret messages...it's the sort of thing I would try to create on my own - if I had the time - and if I were a little bit crazy

I'm not saying I'm not a little bit crazy - but - who has that kind of time? :-)

here's the one that gets to me:

OM/AUM
...The Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable. The syllable is taken to consist of three phonemes, a, u and m, variously symbolizing the Three Vedas or the Hindu Trimurti...

...Some accepted definitions include:

The eternal process of birth, life, death and rebirth, and life incarnate. The Aum is the Universal symbol of Creation. Its four parts represent the four stages of consciousness: Awake, sleeping, dreaming, and the transcendental state.

The sacred syllable of creation, the Word that went forth in the beginning and from which all other sounds originated.

Unity between all people, creatures, and things...

en.wikipedia.org...-3

"OM" or "AUM" has been called the "Sound of the Universe" as it is believed that the whole Universe, in its fundamental form, is made up of vibrating, pulsating energy. Om is considered as the humming sound of this cosmic energy and is the most important and significant word of Mantra tradition. Moreover, OM is the most often chanted sound among all the sacred sounds on earth. This sound is considered as the sound of the existence too.

ezinearticles.com...

I love symbols - and this one is just so beautiful

I've tried to find out how old it is without any real success - I've read that it's older than Hinduism - if anybody out there knows the answer - about the origin/age of the symbol - I would love to know

anyway - the original sound :-)

I love the idea

reply to post by darklord

Ok, gimme your 5 thread ideas, and I'll make the one I most like for you.

cool - I'll U2U you with my most brilliant ideas :-)

I will first have to wrangle my thoughts into something that actually seems like it maybe kinda sorta could be an idea :-)

there are people here at ATS that amaze me - they can create a thread out of almost nothing and have it be really and truly interesting - it's a gift I think

Oh, and I loved your thread on Guitars. I'm gonna add to that myself when I have more time.

thank you - please do - it's been quiet for a while - and I really do love to hear the stuff that other people love

I just really, really like monkeys

...I really don't know what to say. lol!
Damn right it was less than satisfying! Care to tell me more about this fascination of yours?

monkeys are funny - who DOESN'T like monkeys? :-)

okay...I love their faces - their eyes - I pretty much see us when I look at them

and - most of the time - I really dig us

some days more than others - but, you know how that goes...

but, once you get away from the symbolism, the truth is - I just really, really like monkeys :-)

reply to post by Spiramirabilis

is this from the Kabbalah?

well not exactly from the Kabbalah, but Ancient Hebrew, before the creation of it's diverse dialects, is said to have this design.

you see - this is just the sort of ting I can't get involved in - because that would be it - that would be my life...

secret messages inside secret messages...it's the sort of thing I would try to create on my own - if I had the time - and if I were a little bit crazy

I'm not saying I'm not a little bit crazy - but - who has that kind of time? :-)

lol! What an interesting person you must be! I bet you were one hell of a preoccupied child when you were young. And you still haven't lost touch with the kid in you! I like that. Child-like, crazy, sometimes they're the same thing.

I read somewhere else that the language of Hebrew is so well structured, that the mathematical value of certain words add up logically. For example, if you add the mathematical values of the letters in the hebrew word for 'Mother', and add them to the sum of the values in the word 'Father', you gat a value which is equal to the sum of the mathematical values of the letters in the Hebrew word for 'Child'!

I'm going to search for a link on this. It's really interesting. I'm sure you'd love it.

The concept of OM truly is a beautiful one. It is said to represent every vibration in the universe. And since the whole Universe IS nothing but vibration, OM represents the Universe, or all there is. It's has various other representations and mystical meanings. About being older than Hinduism, well you see, Hinduism itself is a concept that can not be tied to a date of origin. It was a philosophy whose scriptures and written evidence dates back to about 1500 BCE. But that's only the written evidence. And in the written evidence, there's more evidence to believe that before anyone ever attempted to put the Hindu Philosophy in writing, it was traditionally propagated by word of mouth for many thousands of years. So the concept of OM might just be as old as time itself (in a manner of speaking). There's no way of knowing.

Are you into spirituality? If so, I suggest you read deeper into Hinduism. It is so interesting, and you'll be amazed at how so much of it can be related to modern spiritual ideas.

monkeys are funny - who DOESN'T like monkeys? :-)

I don't NOT like them. I'm just indifferent to them. I dunno, maybe you were just lucky to meet some really interesting monkeys.

okay...I love their faces - their eyes - I pretty much see us when I look at them

and - most of the time - I really dig us

some days more than others - but, you know how that goes...

but, once you get away from the symbolism, the truth is - I just really, really like monkeys :-)

"I really dig us. Some days more than others"

ROTFL!!! I know exactly what you mean, and I agree 100%!

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Ok I guess monkeys CAN be funny, though I never really... you know... obsessed over them. lol!

You see, I'm more of a dog person. No offense to monkeys, either regular or evolved.

Oooh! I like this avatar of yours better. Gorillas are sometimes scary/angry looking.

Baboons are more friendly looking. Or at least non-threatening looking.

Wow, I never though to investigate the mathematical symmetry of some of our older languages. Good point!

After all, everything can be boiled down to maths, and it makes sense that the earlier languages would have incorporated it, before they got diluted by time and evolved into the languages we know today.

Great, now I've got another thing to think about as I try to get some sleep!

Love this thread. Keep them coming!

reply to post by darklord

well not exactly from the Kabbalah, but Ancient Hebrew, before the creation of it's diverse dialects, is said to have this design.

I do think it's interesting - but so involved that every time I start to get into it I realize - it's one of those things that I would really have to get into - to even begin to get into it - if you know what I mean

I think I picked wrong on career day maybe

lol! What an interesting person you must be! I bet you were one hell of a preoccupied child when you were young....

interesting is in the eye of the beholder maybe :-) preoccupied child? My mom used to tell me she would have to check in on me often just to make sure I wasn't dead :-)

I read somewhere else that the language of Hebrew is so well structured, that the mathematical value of certain words add up logically. For example, if you add the mathematical values of the letters in the hebrew word for 'Mother', and add them to the sum of the values in the word 'Father', you gat a value which is equal to the sum of the mathematical values of the letters in the Hebrew word for 'Child'!

this is the sort of thing that could only have happened before television :-)

I don't know anything about this - really - that's just nuts if true - but a very beautiful kind of nuts

The concept of OM truly is a beautiful one.

yes - even if you only read into it: Unity between all people, creatures, and things...

About being older than Hinduism, well you see, Hinduism itself is a concept that can not be tied to a date of origin. It was a philosophy whose scriptures and written evidence dates back to about 1500 BCE. But that's only the written evidence. And in the written evidence, there's more evidence to believe that before anyone ever attempted to put the Hindu Philosophy in writing, it was traditionally propagated by word of mouth for many thousands of years. So the concept of OM might just be as old as time itself (in a manner of speaking). There's no way of knowing.

see - that's as far as I got - but I know there are people out there who must know something more? or not - in any case - pretty darned old

even forgetting about the meaning - and the origin of the meaning - the actual symbol is beautiful - and it's been adopted by several religions - I just have to wonder about it

Are you into spirituality?

it would be honest of me to say I'm interested in pretty much everything, then interested in it all over again in the ways that everything interacts and relates to other things, then how those things relate to each other and other things - it's never ending

monkeys are funny - who DOESN'T like monkeys? :-)

I don't NOT like them. I'm just indifferent to them. I dunno, maybe you were just lucky to meet some really interesting monkeys.

indifferent? impossible :-)

...You see, I'm more of a dog person...

oh - I have room in my heart for all the rest - am pretty fond of the dogs myself :-)

Oooh! I like this avatar of yours better. Gorillas are sometimes scary/angry looking. Baboons are more friendly looking. Or at least non-threatening looking.

I've got some baboon pics that will change your mind - one in particular I've been dying to use - but, man - it's so angry - and threatening - I'd only be able to use it for a few minutes here and there :-)

More on the power of words, is this article, written by Chuck Gallozzi, a Canadian author, and founder of the Positive Thinkers Group.

Did you ever reflect on the power of words? Words can cause us to erupt into laughter, break down into tears, fly into a rage, sink into despair, or float on clouds of happiness. Pretty strong stuff, wouldn’t you say? Yet, that’s only the beginning, for the words we use do more than describe the events we experience and actions we take; they determine their outcomes. What I am today is the result of the words I have used. What I will become and experience tomorrow, depends on the words I use today.

My thoughts have no substance until they are shaped into words. Once they become words they can be strung together to make statements. And the statements I make create my reality. If I make angry statements, I AM angry. If I make joyful statements, I AM joyful. When I state my job is miserable, I AM miserable. When I state my job is interesting, I AM interested.

The words we use can block our progress or clear the path to success and happiness. They can deprive us of personal power or release it. Words are potent. They are infused with a divine spark. They are a gift from God — tools, which are used to create our reality. Their significance is hinted at in verse one, chapter one, in the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Read the whole article here.

reply to post by Spiramirabilis

I think I picked wrong on career day maybe

Haha! Didn't we all? Don't even get me started on that.

preoccupied child? My mom used to tell me she would have to check in on me often just to make sure I wasn't dead :-)

LOL! You never fail to crack me up!!!

I don't NOT like them. I'm just indifferent to them. I dunno, maybe you were just lucky to meet some really interesting monkeys.

indifferent? impossible :-) "

The monkeys I really DO like, are capuchins. I wouldn't mind one as a pet at all.

I've got some baboon pics that will change your mind

I know exactly what you're talking about.

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


Oh, by the way, best avatar yet! I wonder how many of those you've got...

Also, in case you're trying to change my mind about gorillas by fixing up that pic of a gorilla with angelic wings... it's working. lol! He looks adorable sitting there like that.

reply to post by darklord


this is something that got to me:

...My thoughts have no substance until they are shaped into words. Once they become words they can be strung together to make statements. And the statements I make create my reality...

in a way, we're getting away from the power and meaning of names -

but they are still words

this is why I like this - I disagree that our thoughts have no substance - our thoughts are incredibly substantial (I feel) for each of us - trapped with them as we are in our own heads

I find everything we do to make these thoughts understandable and substantial for people on the outside of us just endlessly fascinating - and beautiful

words, music, painting - on and on. different methods work differently or better in different situations - of course intent is everything I think

a poem has a way of communicating something that just saying it can't - a painting can symbolize an entire thought process...

each word has meaning, more than one many times - and how we combine them and arrange them changes everything

since we all agree to these meanings (more or less) even in with any confusion there's going to be some level of understanding

what I wonder about (obviously) is sound itself - does sound have meaning?

I don't know the answer - but I've always suspected it does have meaning that we understood before we even had words

so, along with any preconceived ideas about a person we might have going just by their name -and how their name has turned up throughout history, literature - and in our own personal experience - does the actual sound of their name influence us as well?

a name ends up being a symbol for that person - and symbols seem simple - but they can be very complex once you start picking them apart

this is why I think I screwed up on career day - I wish I understood more about language

but - not dead yet

:-)

reply to post by darklord

I think I picked wrong on career day maybe

Haha! Didn't we all? Don't even get me started on that.

I know - some people get it right straight out of the gate...

would you really have picked something different?

it's not that I don't like what I do - it's just that I didn't know then what I know now

I also didn't fully comprehend the concept of having just the one lifetime to do it

:-)

Oh, by the way, best avatar yet! I wonder how many of those you've got...

Also, in case you're trying to change my mind about gorillas by fixing up that pic of a gorilla with angelic wings... it's working. lol! He looks adorable sitting there like that.

:-)

thank you. See - gorillas not bad, gorillas good

another new one coming soon...

[edit on 7/11/2009 by Spiramirabilis]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I have something else to add, in a good way

I have terrible luck with electronic things. Two TVs just exploded in my room, and my desk's drawer looks more than a music players cemetary than a desk drawer... some of them just had 1 or 2 months of work and suddenly died...
I don't know why, but one day I decieded to put names to my things. Just because it sounded nerd to call by a name an electronic device...

One day, I connected my mp3 player into a friend's laptp to exchange some music, and he noticied that he has a name. Obviously, he asked why, I told him that I decieded that one day, 2 days after I changed the first one I bought and died and I replaced it for a new one... and this one has been working for more than a year now. He smiled and told me "when you put nams to an innanimated object, it starts to be yours, as with your pets. It's like giving them a 'soul'"
I started to think about that and yes, my mp3 acts as it haves one. When I'm sad, it plays music to combat it. When I'm happy, it puts very cheerful songs, when I'm depressed and I want to think about why I'm depressed... well, just depressive ones. And I haven't had any issue with him since I named it. The same with my pc. He's so freaking old, but works like if he was new. I feel weird when I'm using my mom's laptop because it's a way slower than my pc.... and it's almost brand new.

back on the real topic... I used to hate my real name when I was a child, not because of it, but because of the nicknames I got because of it. In spanish, there's so many ways to call a person by their name without "using" it, and the ones asociated to mine were so ugly and all of them makes me think of a fat person still. Also, my second name is a boys name, so I hate it with all my heart (why would someone call her daughter "José", spanish for Joseph?)... Then, I started to feel comfy with one of the nicknames asociated to my real name, that's just my name in short and the only one that don't make me think about a fat girl. Now I use that nickname for almost everything and there's some people that thinks it's my actual name. I'd love if my name was that! The male names they had for me were David or Daniel, and oh... my last two ex bf's were named that way (coincidence?)

As for nickname... my real nickname was Cagalli (a character from an anime series), but it was already taken here. Some guys in other forum made it short and used to call me Caggy or Cags, and I like those too! I've had tons of nicknames since I joined the internet, back in 1998... but this one is the one I feel more mine.

That's it. I loved the thread and also the derrailing hahaha, I had a big laugh at DarkLord's explanation of his avatar. And monkeys xD

See ya!
- Cags

reply to post by Caggy


'Sorry to revive this thread'? Are you serious? That's like saying 'sorry I gave you some chocolate pudding'. THANK YOU for reviving this thread with that very interesting bit about your MP3 player.

Yes, I've heard of this phenomenon before. One of my friends named his car and the other his bike. And they talk to it all the time, and they earnestly claim their performance increases significantly when they talk to it. Often getting them out of some tight spots (literally), and saving their lives. A lot of other friends of mine name their guitars. And they all claim there exists a subtle form of interactivity with these objects.

I don't know if it's the name specifically that makes the difference. I think it's our attitudes towards them that comes with name-giving. Naming an inanimate object is like opening a dialogue with it. It's like the first step towards an interaction. And since this object is a part of existence, you're basically opening up a dialogue/interactivity with existence itself (only limiting the interactivity to one particular object, coz in your mind it's separate from the rest). My spiritually inclined opinion states that the cosmos, the whole of existence, is highly intelligent and interactive. And what you are doing here is, by naming an object and giving it space to present it's personality, or space to interact with you, you are opening up a dimension of this existence where you can manipulate your reality. And your expectation of the object to act/behave differently than usual is precisely what's making it do that. It's you! You are controlling it! Unknowingly...

Anyway that's just my 2cents about it. Who knows what the truth is. But yeah, it's a VERY interesting phenomenon. The naming might be a very important action. I just bought a phone that I really really love, and after reading your post, I was wondering what I could name it. Hmm... What's a good name for a phone?

Just curious, what did you name your MP3 player?

So you're a girl whose second name is Jose. That's ok. There's apparently a boy named 'sue' so I guess the universe HAS to keep the balance, right?
And when you say "I started to feel comfy with one of the nicknames associated to my real name, that's just my name in short", I really hope you don't mean a short form of 'Jose'. Because I can't think of any decent nickname coming from shortening the name 'Jose'.

Cagalli. I looked it up. Mobile suit gundam. I used to watch some anime before. But never watched that one. Caggy sounds good too. And a lot less common I bet.

Glad you loved the thread. And yeah, there was a fair bit of derailing involved, lol! Spiramirabilis kept cracking me up and making me come back for more.

Hi DarkLord! nice to see an answer! I'm an elite thread killer

Well, my mp3s name is "Whitey", my pc's name is "Blackie". Sweet baby Jesus, that was creativity at it's max, my mp3 is white and my pc is black! but they work wonders. I often talk to them, "Whitey, please, The Beatles. NOW!"... and he plays I Am The Walrus! It's something amazing. And I still can't believe how I manage to use Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign by the same time in the old athlon xp 2500+ Blackie is. I talk to him more than I talk to my family, true story!

For your phone... As I said before, the names of my electronic things are related to a characteristic of it. More often, colour. The name that resonates with it, it's obviously the apropiated!

By my name... Lord, I hated when I was a kid and my cousins made fun of me calling me "Pepe"... I bursted on tears every time when they did that. Now almost all persons don't even know that fact, since my first name is long, as my surname, and my second name doesn't fit on my ID cards. I never mention it too. It's like a secret.
Now that I talk about surnames... I always use my mom's surname (here you keep yours when you get married, and you use both mom's and dad's) instead of my dad's because I don't have any relationship with him. The last time I saw him I was... 4? and I'm 26 now. Also, the croatian heritage of my mom's family resonates like a doorbell on me, croatians are very weird persons, with very weird personalities. And I'm like them, a lot. Physically and emotionally. So, the usual is me signing as my name in short and my mom's surname.

... and don't watch gundam seed, is a terrible piece of sh... . I liked that character because she was a lot like me in the first series, but they killed her in the second, she was nothing like in the first and I was very, very dissapointed. Then I watched Code Geass and it was too late for me to change my nickname into Kallen (who is like the first season's Cagalli.-.. and even more close to my real personality!), I had recently changed everything (mail, blog, msn) and my new internet friends already gave me those short pet names, and I loved them...

Originally posted by darklord
Shakespeare said "what's in a name?". But is there something, really? Can a name define a person? Can it affect someone's personality? Can calling someone by a different name change their behavior unconsciously? I think it's not only possible, but a fact.

reaps cash (makes money)

reaps cash [mirror] shac spear ... shakespeare
*yes his work has been some of the most lucrative of all playwrights.

"Can a name define a person?"

or how we percieve them???

here is some examples of truisms found in anagrams of peoples' names:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7fdcfce6ba0b.png[/atsimg]