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Help[Facts] Pluto
... has been voted Name of the Year (according to the Home page) ...on what grounds? Did the Society feel sorry for it after its demotion to a mere Kuiper Object, or are they all secret Disney freaks who have come out of the closet/doghouse? Surely they don't expect to see it on the charts?
And, no, I haven't been slow in spotting it - I finally couldn't resist asking, that's all1
And, no, I haven't been slow in spotting it - I finally couldn't resist asking, that's all1
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We had 12 total nominations this year. A committee reduced this to a ballot of five possibilites (Blue Dog Democrats, Flickr, Macaca, Pluto, and Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt). I will copy below the rationales that were given for all 12 nominees. Pluto only won by one vote over Macaca. Of course, no one knows why individual members cast their votes the way they did because it's a secret ballot. Remember that this contest was for all sorts of names that deomonstrate how names have been used in North American culture in the past year, not just given names:
___Ahmadinejad. The President of Iran became a prominent character for the United States in 2005-2006. He is repeatedly being denounced for developing his country's nuclear facilities. His religious affiliation with the Shiites in Iraq affects the United States involvement in Iraq. He has repeatedly made public statements for attention by the people of the United States. His eligibility for nomination for Name of the Year is reinforced by his potential future importance, either as a constructive or destructive leader of a nation of special importance in the Middle East.
___Barbaro. After a year of rebuilding lives in the hurricane stricken southern states, floods and devastating fires out west and a sad and controversial war in Iraq, this name represents all what we are seeking as humans. Barbaro in his peak as a race horse brought happiness, excitement, courage, bravery, strength, good sportsmanship and sheer beauty. When he was injured and near death, he got humans to pray, appreciate life and ask for hope. Now with his amazing recovery, he does all of those things for humans all over again.
___Beatrice. This name is VERY important in the best-selling Lemony Snicket books. Through all of the books, Snicket keeps the name Beatrice exactly the same, but treats it in a different way in each book.
___Ahmadinejad. The President of Iran became a prominent character for the United States in 2005-2006. He is repeatedly being denounced for developing his country's nuclear facilities. His religious affiliation with the Shiites in Iraq affects the United States involvement in Iraq. He has repeatedly made public statements for attention by the people of the United States. His eligibility for nomination for Name of the Year is reinforced by his potential future importance, either as a constructive or destructive leader of a nation of special importance in the Middle East.
___Barbaro. After a year of rebuilding lives in the hurricane stricken southern states, floods and devastating fires out west and a sad and controversial war in Iraq, this name represents all what we are seeking as humans. Barbaro in his peak as a race horse brought happiness, excitement, courage, bravery, strength, good sportsmanship and sheer beauty. When he was injured and near death, he got humans to pray, appreciate life and ask for hope. Now with his amazing recovery, he does all of those things for humans all over again.
___Beatrice. This name is VERY important in the best-selling Lemony Snicket books. Through all of the books, Snicket keeps the name Beatrice exactly the same, but treats it in a different way in each book.
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Most interesting - thank you! (I'd been hoping you'd respond ...) Very glad to know that not all the names were human - though Suri (Surrey is a county, not a town, btw) and Shiloh are borderline. Isn't Shiloh also a town? And an old Neil Diamond song about an imaginary friend if I remember correctly ... so it took celeb parents to get it into the public eye.
Down here in darkest Africa, I'd never heard of Macaca, Blue Dog Democrats or Flickr (though no doubt my son the geek could give a lecture on it), so thanks too for educating me.
All the best
Down here in darkest Africa, I'd never heard of Macaca, Blue Dog Democrats or Flickr (though no doubt my son the geek could give a lecture on it), so thanks too for educating me.
All the best
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Shiloh is originally a Biblical place name, mentioned several times in the books of Joshua, Judges, and I Samuel in the Old Testament. Because of this it was used as a name for churches and towns in the USA, and that led to its becoming famous during the American Civil War because of the Battle of Shiloh.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/shiloh.htm
The name was then used for the name of the ranch in the US television series The Virginian, which aired between 1962 and 1971, and turned up during that time period as the name of several male characters on other TV Westerns, it probably being assumed that these were Civil War veterans nicknamed after their fighting at the Battle of Shiloh. This began to inspire a few parents, and when Cheyenne later became popular for girls parents began to use Shiloh as a feminine form also. It's always been a rare given name, but Angelina Jolie was far from the first American parent to use it.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/shiloh.htm
The name was then used for the name of the ranch in the US television series The Virginian, which aired between 1962 and 1971, and turned up during that time period as the name of several male characters on other TV Westerns, it probably being assumed that these were Civil War veterans nicknamed after their fighting at the Battle of Shiloh. This began to inspire a few parents, and when Cheyenne later became popular for girls parents began to use Shiloh as a feminine form also. It's always been a rare given name, but Angelina Jolie was far from the first American parent to use it.
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This article mentions a reason, quoting Cleveland Kent Evans: http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004010.html
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Heh, heh I was wondering the same thing - if they felt sorry for it after it being "deplaneted"!
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