Blogflog: We has a winnar!

[dwg.livejournal.com]

URL: http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2008/02/winner-for-our-jason-stage-name-contest.html

So...Jason's stage name has been announced: RIPLEY (believe it or not!) The 90210 theory has been busted!

But it just doesn't end there, because Ms Hamilton has to talk about it.  LKH in bold, me not so much.

There were also some names sent in that were used for other characters, some minor, but definitely not a name Jason would have chosen. Example: Simon. Simon is mentioned only once but he was the head of the wolf pack before Marcus, who killed Simon to be Ulfric. So, Jason who would have known that and would never have chosen the name. Bad politics.

For a few good moments, I sat there wondering, "is this one of those things that you thought you mentioned but totally didn't, like the whole Narcissus miscarriage thing?" but after hitting The Lunatic Café, no...it looks like she was right:

Marcus shook his head. "I have decreed he will be punished. My word is law."

"Who died and made you king?"

"Simon," Raina said.

And that, my friends, is the first and last mention of Simon.  But it looks like strippers are like vampires and restaurants in that no two can have the same name (geez, tell that to all the girls named 'Kandee' out there) as naming yourself "Simon" will somehow anger the...now very much dead old Ulfric and his psycho-currently-possessing-but-mostly-forgotten ex girlfriend? Yeah.

But a surprising number of the names are actually already being used in BLOOD NOIR. My hand to God, Lucian is a vampire stripper in this book.

But...LKH hated Underworld! So did Jon! Because that's the first thing that springs to mind when I see the name "Lucian" -- along with that scene where Michael Sheen was chasing after the car and go to stabnate Selene.  Having him now be a vampire stripper somehow does not compute in my head. @_o

So the people who sent it in as a choice for Jason's stage name, well, I guess you and I were thinking the same way. There's also a new character named Alex, short for Alexander. Again, all you who sent in that choice, sorry, but again, you and I must be thinking along the same lines. Thorn is a character that I cut out of DANSE MACABRE, but I'm hoping to use him down the road.

THORN?! THORN!?! So...we've got Requiem, Wicked, Truth, London, and now Thorn.  I'm not sure what's worse, having a character named lamely like this, or going off on the weird tangent of Nivia...which makes me think of skin products.  Just...it...I...

THORN?!

So, the one person who sent that in as a choice, sorry, but I've got plans for that name. Keith is a sort of bad guy in BLOOD NOIR. Again, what are the odds that so many of the names in this new book are choices you guys are sending in? Weird.

KEITH? Okay for once I'm sort of cheering that regular names haven't mysteriously become as extinct as the female of the species in the Anitaverse, but I have to laugh -- a "sort of" bad guy named Keith? Not exactly as awe-inspiring or memorable as Doctor Doom.  Maybe he's a weatherman.  A sort of evil weatherman.

There's some congratulations on to the winner and a promise that they'll get a mention in the acknowledgements of the book.  HOWEVER...

Okay, me again. I wrote the above a little while back, then had to rethink it.

...I think this is the second or third time that Laurell's done this in the middle of one of her own blogs.  Um, I can't imagine why the post would change when she's halfway through writing it without hitting that magical "post" button.  Not unless her dogs really do type things when she's not looking?

Because Ripley is not one of the names you guys sent in; Ridley is. But remember that whole I am dyslexic thing? I switched the 'd' to a 'p', and got the whole Alien reference. I mean Ridley Scott did direct Alien, but it is a different name.

Well no, Alien is still Alien, and Ridley Scott still directed it.  And there's still a character named Ripley, who is a strong and capable heroine with smarts and really nice arms, and cat named Jones.  So it's not a different name at all. And Ripley can totally kick Anita's ass! :P

So Ripley it is, but, technically no one sent that name in as a possibility. So, what to do?

Pity Robert Stack's dead, because this is truly one for Unsolved Mysteries.

If the fan who sent Ridley in had not sent it, would I have come up with Ripley? Maybe, maybe not. So what we've decided to do is give the person who sent in Ridley the win, but technically, nobody won. It's one letter off, and apparently that day I couldn't see it. Sorry. The fan who sent in Ridley can say that he, or she, inspired me to come up with the name Ripley.

Well no, LKH, it's only fair to give whoever sent in "Ridley" the prize because you honestly thought that was "Ripley" and that makes them the clear winner.  Saying you're dyslexic and "oh it inspired me," seems like a cheap cop-out.  But at least this person didn't pay over $7,000 for the privleage of being mentioned in The Harlequin...as a corpse.

Even as I write this, I'm still dithering. The copyedits give me a chance to change the name. Should I? Skylar was a pretty strong contender, especially when I figured out that it's an Anglicized version of Jason's last name. Kudos to the person who figured that out, you're smart. But then I often think that about my fans. You guys keep me on my toes.

Skylar? Okay, that sounds like a stripper -- well played, public.  But oh...it's that last part about the fans keeping her on her toes that makes me laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more.  It's a sad indictment if "omg, Skylar = Schuyler!" is the smartest thing the troobies can muster.  I wonder what they think we do over here in Lashout Land? Do nothing but bitch and moan about how we're so jealous of this edgy fiction taking us out of our comfort zones? I don't know about the rest of you, but I do dedicated a small portion of my bitching time to figuring out how to haul this out of it's unsanitary pool of bodily fluids with the highest body count imaginable.  There's a lot of rocks falling, and people dying going on in these fantasies of mine.

I've taken an informal survey of the women that work here, and asked which name works for stripping. One thought Ripley referenced ripping clothes off. Another thought it referred to ripped abs. We have three votes for Ripley, and a Skylar would do, but they prefer the other. But, in the end, they know it will come down to me. What works for me? No, what works for Jason? I think Ripley, because as he says in, BLOOD NOIR, "Sigourney Weaver is so hot." She's a little tall for my tastes, but I guess if you're a boy and Anita's height, as Jason is, you better like taller women.

A) This does not speak well of LKH's staff in the eyes of this reader.
B) Yes, Sigourney Weaver was so hot in the Alien movies.  Even with the shaved head.  No, specially with the shaved head.
C) Yes, totally, as women are now Amazonian in stature and dwarf all males! They put men to shame with their trampoline abs and short, low-maintenance hair! Women are now statuesque and handsome in ways that men only wish they could be! More power to the boob!

Average height for women is now officially, 5' 6". Wow, should I feel short?

TRUFAX.

Comments

[lilacwire.livejournal.com]

I once read a book where there was a character named Dinah and a DOG also named Dinah. I cheered the author for breaking the "only use a name once" convention, since there were jokes made at the character's expense using the dog.

And yeah, I saw she was using Luthien as a name and almost posted here, but YOU POST SO I DON'T HAVE TO!!

[dwg.livejournal.com]

It's kinda sad that more people don't have fun doing that sort of thing in stories. And to use a pet as part of the mockery! I tip my hat to this author.

I take the pain so you don't have to!

[surcia.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure whether 'Keith' is a worse name for a bad guy or a stripper. Of course, my view is probably skewed because my dad is named Keith -- I hope he doesn't end up long-haired and big-penised, because that would just be creepy.

[skeezix74.livejournal.com]

Feel lucky you don't have a brother named Micah. Like me. Yeah. *busts out the brain bleach again*

I wonder if it's any coincidence I lost all interest in the AB: VH series when he showed up?

[nightangel486.livejournal.com]

So wait...she can remember that Simon was a former Ulfric but can't remember Willie's girlfriend's name or that Sylvie is a lesbian?

Oh LKH, u makes no sense...

[tehuti.livejournal.com]

She didn't remember. It's why she married a fan-boi. ;-)

[pith]

And doesn't "Shang Da" translate as "Alexander"? I thought she had wanked about that at some point....

[dwg.livejournal.com]

I just did a quick google of the blog (both of 'em!) and hit up a couple of fansites for more info on Shang-Da, and no...there's no talk of this. The only reference I got to Shang-Da was in an example of "Hati" in use.

Just out of interest, I even flicked through BM just to see if it's mentioned in text, again with the no.

I'm kinda disappointed now.

[curseangel.livejournal.com]

...that scene where Michael Sheen was chasing after the car and go to stabnate Selene.

I read that as "that scene where Martin Sheen was chasing..." Now I have a mental image of Martin Sheen a la President Bartlett chasing some girl down the street with a knife. Thanks. XD

*/random*

[estllechauvelin.livejournal.com]

That visual requires this icon.

[ellenel13.livejournal.com]

I'm so confused.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

The winner who won didn't win the thing worth winning, only they were still the one that won the winning thing. Or something to that effect.

...I think I just confused myself.

[wellowned.livejournal.com]

i thought average for women was 5' 8". woah. so now i should feel average instead of short?

[estllechauvelin.livejournal.com]

Last I heard was 5'4". I don't know if it went up, if the two studies covered different populations (like mine was worldwide and the one LKH is citing is US only, for example), or if it's just a little bit off because it's LKH, but in any case, yes, average height for women is shorter than you'd think if you were guessing based on what you see on television.

[ainjul.livejournal.com]

Seriously, I never would have realized Alex was ALSO short for Alexander. I do weep for her using the name of an RP character of mine though. *SOB*

[krss.livejournal.com]

Well no, LKH, it's only fair to give whoever sent in "Ridley" the prize because you honestly thought that was "Ripley" and that makes them the clear winner. Saying you're dyslexic and "oh it inspired me," seems like a cheap cop-out.

Yes! Especially since she organized a freaking contest because she couldn't think of a name. So she can't well say she would've thought of Ripley on her own.

But at least this person didn't pay over $7,000 for the privleage of being mentioned in The Harlequin...as a corpse.

I still can't believe LKH's nerve on that one.. Maybe it would have been different if the fan had been male?

[christraven.livejournal.com]

I think being a female corpse in one of her books is better than being an emasculated fucktoi. IMO, in this case, being female was a better option than being male.

[easol.livejournal.com]

Oh Lawd. She's naming a character THORN? "Thorne" is the name of a character in Anne Rice's novel... "Blood and Gold!" Thorn! Blood Noir! Thorne! Blood and Gold! Gah!

Egads! Can she please PRETEND to be original? GAHHHHHHHHAAAHHHHAAAAA... And this in the same post as her "ooh I hated Underworld but I think I'll rip off a few names" name!

Even the more normal names don't work for me -- a bad guy named Keith? Is he, perchance, an indestructible guitar-dragging older guy, with a face lined like a toddler's scribble sheet?

Average height for women is now officially, 5' 6". Wow, should I feel short?

Wahwahwah angst I'm so freakishly dwarfish wah wah wah a whole inch below the national average wah wah wah...

And isn't Skylar a girl's name? The only time I've ever seen it used was for a little girl.

[daphne-gateau.livejournal.com]

Skylar is totally a little girl's name. I've got friends who have used it.

It was only a matter of time before she snagged names from Anne. For an author who never found the stories she she wanted to read in work by other authors, LKH sure gets a lot of names from other people.

Thorn is also the name of a major char on a soap opera. I think I'll just pretend LKH was 'inspired' by Bold and the Beautiful instead.

[daphne-gateau.livejournal.com]

Great Oogly Mooglies. Is it just me or does LKH sound totally mental? I went and read the entry in it's entirety to see if I could make sense of her. BAD IDEA. It's stream-of-consciousness writing over there. Ripley to Ridley... Sigourney Weaver. Whatever. I came back here fast for dwg's translation into sanity. And I will never leave again. Hold me.

And this from her blog made me sad. :(

There were a lot of good entries, and some that were a little too tongue in cheek to seriously consider.

Why does a *stripper name* that will probably only be mentioned once have to be serious anyway? Can't anyone in that series have a little fun?

[easol.livejournal.com]

Nonono! It must be wangsty! It must be darkity-dark! No one may have fun! If they have any fun, it must come from Anita's cooch!

Sigh, I suspect that Dylan Wood and Dylan Longwood were too tongue-in-cheek, too blatant even for Ms. Subtle.

[lilian413.livejournal.com]

*After having read LKH's post about Underworld. Let's just say there's this little gem in there: "I try to do for the clothes, what I do for the weapons. I research it."

But she-- and I-- *essplodes*

Awesome flog, BTW. :-)

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Aww, thankyou! And omfg, I had the same reaction way back when it first got posted. Reseach? In my wardrobe? Because that whole leather-strap outfit that Anita wore to the lupanar in The Lunatic Cafe is SO! realistic. I had this whole rant about, 'omfg it's a MOVIE. It's not SUPPOSED to reflect real life! It's a moving comic book! And look how accurate those are!'

[wyrdmuse.livejournal.com]

Man, if I was the person that sent in that suggestion, I would be pissed. Actually, I'm surprised she wants anything to do with a strong woman or any other woman besides Anita for that matter.

And as for visualizations, I'm torn between Sigourney Weaver and the fungus thing from Dreamcatcher that lead (led? I have no idea what the correct spelling is) to ass-weasels.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

omg, I totally forgot about the assweasels. Maybe there can be visions of Sigourney Weaver with the fungus and giving people assweasels? Because that's kinda neat.

[atypia.livejournal.com]

Skylar was a pretty strong contender, especially when I figured out that it's an Anglicized version of Jason's last name. Kudos to the person who figured that out, you're smart. But then I often think that about my fans. You guys keep me on my toes.


I don't understand. She figured it out, but it was actually a fan who figured it out? How does that work, exactly? I bet you anything, the fan figured it out, and now LKH is saying, "Oh yeah, I totally knew that, of course. I KNOW MY CHARACTERS BETTA THAN JOO!"

[krss.livejournal.com]

I figured out that..
Kudos to the person who figured that out, you're smart.
I often think that about my fans.

I think she's telling herself how smart she is and she's her own fan. >.>

[darkese.livejournal.com]

Off topic a bit here but are those two blogs about Underworld flogged anywhere because I've never seen a blog so rich and deserving of a harsh lashing as these two.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Ask, and ye shall receive (http://community.livejournal.com/lkh_lashouts/1420.html). As a bonus, I know I wrote a huge rant (http://community.livejournal.com/muse_abuse/2867.html) about the vampire mythos in response. I'm still all kinds of headdesky about the whole thing, because pot...kettle...you get the point.

[deadroman.livejournal.com]

Ripley? RIPLEY??!!?! The first thing I think about when I hear that word is the malevolent alien space fungus in Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. :( Not cool at all.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

But surely, she has a BIOLOGY DEGREE! and would know that fungi can be sexy? Or maybe it was just me? It could be because I was kinda drunk at the time, too. Uh... ¬_¬

[dreamstrifer.livejournal.com]

First thing I think of when I hear Ripley is "Ripley's Believe it or Not" followed swiftly by "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

*sigh* Oh LKH, your speshulness will never cease to amaze me.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

omg, Tom Ripley would be awesome to help "cull the herd" of men in these books! He can team up with Edward, and Anita totally woudln't notice until the last possible moment...and then Tom would have to do away with her because she KNOWS TOO MUCH. *cues evil harpsichord music*

That was the coolest little braingasm I've had since lunch, thankyou!

[plum-arden.livejournal.com]

Ripley as a stripper name? And that's better than Dylan Longwood? She's possibly saying that's too tongue in cheek, but "Swallowing Darkness" isn't? Or half the other crappy titles of her books? Keith as a stripper? Oh, please. Someone buy her a baby names book and be done with it.

[fadeinthewash.livejournal.com]

So if I'm reading this right... if she goes with Ripley, she's basically sort of pretending the contest never happened?

I'd love to know how that contestant is reacting.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Obviously, they're a blog reader what with knowing about the contest and all. But way to go with the good PR, LKH. *golf claps* I have nothing but the deepest sympathy for the winner to have to find out this way.

[friedwallaby.livejournal.com]

Why does it sound like she didn't have any names for half the cast and just started picking and choosing from the list?

"Op, sorry, we were on the same wavelength."

[daphne-gateau.livejournal.com]

The copyedits give me a chance to change the name.

Yeah, she might have wanted to not say that since you have a really good point.

[amamelina.livejournal.com]

1. If I had been the one to send in "Ridley" and then found out that from my name, she misplaced a letter and got "Ripley" and, after giving me such credit in her blog, never gave me my prize...I'd sue. That's right, I was promised something so pay up! But, that's just me (and no, I'm not the talented Ms. Ridley)

2. What the unholy hell is it with the names? OMFG! We have had Winter, Buzz, Requiem, Wicked, Truth, London and now we get Thorn. For love of God, why do they have to have these cheesy names? And as much as I love Asher, it's not all that better. I would kill to have a vampire named Bob or Tim.

Ohhh, Monty Python reference. "What is your name?" "They call me...Tim" Dude, I'm so stealing that for a story. Tim the vampire.

3. 5'6 is the average height? Well, whoop-de-do! I'm 5', and my mom is shorter then me, but I don't feel short. It's all in how you carry yourself. I knew this girl in high school who was a dwarf/little person/whatever the PC term is, or she had it in her blood cause she was like only a little over 3' tall. But the way she carried herself, her confidence, made her feel so much taller. And trust me, if she ever felt small (cause, yes, physically she was) she never showed it. You would never have heard her whining about being short. She had a tall presence.

Maybe LKH has a short presence?

[fadeinthewash.livejournal.com]

She's created an entire series of books centered around, ultimately, propping up and feeding her ego (oh, and acting out her fantasies, presumably). The louder people are about how confident and awesome they must be, the more insecure. Ergo, I'd say LKH feels pretty short.

[longtail.livejournal.com]

Ripley (or Ridley) does not make me think Jason or stripper. It makes me think "geek".

Sexton Hardcore or something makes me think Jason because you know he'd go over the top.

Then again, I'd be wicked pissed because that'd be ripping off my over-the-top wrestling hunk Edge's former wrestling name.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Ridley makes me think of Ridley Scott. I was cruising the Pitt the other night for Batman slash, and found a Sue story about some chick named Ripley, and I kept having visions of Sigourney Weaver with a flamethrower. This wasn't bad, but I just couldn't take the story seriously because Sigourney Weaver kicks too much butt to be a whiney artiste.

Maybe you can cheer yourself up with the mental image of Jason crushing Anita in a bodyslam, and then beating her with a chair.

[bubblefaerie.livejournal.com]

Isn't the whole point of a contest to name a character that you would use an name that someone sent in and not make one up on your own? It doesn't really matter that she originally thought Ridley was Ripley. If she was really going to use someone's choice, she would have not used Ripley.

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

Thorn? If she adds Ridge, Storm, Hope, and Brooke to it she'd have The Bold and the Beautiful.

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

LOL I always thought that was the most nature-centered soap ever. (Except for "Hope.")

[easol.livejournal.com]

Cept, of course, that if he called himself "Sauron" it would be funnier...