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Silly item:
This morning as I was packing a lunch, I saw, on a bag of potato chips sitting on the counter, the following phrase: "...made with the finest raw materials." Now, is it just me, or does that make it sounds like the chips were not cooked, but somehow constructed? (Of course, you never know, in today's world!) Food has raw ingredients, not raw materials.
Non-silly item:
I've been thinking about the idea of names in general. It seems that part of the problem I have with finding or choosing a name for myself is that I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to do. I know already that I want something versatile enough that I can use it in a variety of communities without feeling too silly, but then, if a name was really right, I doubt I would, even if it seemed incongruous to the sorts of names other folks generally had in whatever forum.
What is the point of a name in general, anyway? Most names are descriptive in nature. They mean other things, as opposed to "true names" or "soul names", which, if they translate at all, pretty much all mean "I Am That I Am". The reason most names I try to adopt shortly begin to itch is that I don't feel they describe me. I start going "Who am I kidding? I'm not really a ____." I once read in The Magical Name that taking on a particular name can be a kind of magical act, and one should assume a name which has qualities or energies one wishes to develop in oneself. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea, however. After all, isn't that the same sort of thing as using titles one isn't really qualified to claim? I don't care what you hope to become, you shouldn't be calling yourself a "High Priestess" unless you are already!
So I'm not sure what, exactly, I want a name to do for me. Should it describe what I already am? (Nah, naming oneself "nothing" is far too spookykid-pretentious. *wink*) Or is it okay to call myself something I hope to develop into? I don't have an answer to this question, and this is part of the stumbling block in coming up with any name at all.
Right now (thanks,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
doublefeh) I'm using "cryptonym" in a number of places because I figure the person the name is most hidden from is myself. :p
This morning as I was packing a lunch, I saw, on a bag of potato chips sitting on the counter, the following phrase: "...made with the finest raw materials." Now, is it just me, or does that make it sounds like the chips were not cooked, but somehow constructed? (Of course, you never know, in today's world!) Food has raw ingredients, not raw materials.
Non-silly item:
I've been thinking about the idea of names in general. It seems that part of the problem I have with finding or choosing a name for myself is that I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to do. I know already that I want something versatile enough that I can use it in a variety of communities without feeling too silly, but then, if a name was really right, I doubt I would, even if it seemed incongruous to the sorts of names other folks generally had in whatever forum.
What is the point of a name in general, anyway? Most names are descriptive in nature. They mean other things, as opposed to "true names" or "soul names", which, if they translate at all, pretty much all mean "I Am That I Am". The reason most names I try to adopt shortly begin to itch is that I don't feel they describe me. I start going "Who am I kidding? I'm not really a ____." I once read in The Magical Name that taking on a particular name can be a kind of magical act, and one should assume a name which has qualities or energies one wishes to develop in oneself. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea, however. After all, isn't that the same sort of thing as using titles one isn't really qualified to claim? I don't care what you hope to become, you shouldn't be calling yourself a "High Priestess" unless you are already!
So I'm not sure what, exactly, I want a name to do for me. Should it describe what I already am? (Nah, naming oneself "nothing" is far too spookykid-pretentious. *wink*) Or is it okay to call myself something I hope to develop into? I don't have an answer to this question, and this is part of the stumbling block in coming up with any name at all.
Right now (thanks,
doublefeh) I'm using "cryptonym" in a number of places because I figure the person the name is most hidden from is myself. :p