Have you ever seen the James Lipton -hosted TV show in which he interviews famous actors and actresses at Actors Studio? If yes, you know that he always ends the sessions with a set of questions he "stole" from Bernard Pivot. The first question is,"what is your favorite word?"
I have been thinking about it a lot, now with this quest for the perfect name.
What I don't understand is why the actresses always seem to think so long. I mean, surely they were expecting the question and .. don't we all have a favorite word? I know I do.
I think it sounds great, I love saying it, the hard "t" in the beginning, the "ch" in the end makes it fun to say. Plus, it brings back nice memories and warm images.
Too bad it only works in English. The Finnish pronounciation "tow-kh" kinda butchers it, doesn't it?
When I was born, my parents decided to call me Kalle. Kalle is like Charles, or Charlie, in Finnish. (In Finland, little Kalle is the equivalent of the little Johnny of the jokes).
So, they told everybody that they had got a baby boy and that his name was Kalle. My godmother, my aunt, went out and bought a little present to her little nephew, as is customary in Finland. She bought a little spoon, and had "Kalle" engraved in it.
Well, you already know that things took another turn along the way, as my father decided that Risto would be a more fitting name for me. And to make sure it was not the most common name in Finland, he checked the Helsinki phone book and found zero Risto Pakarinens. That settled it, Risto it was. (Not that I am the only Risto Pakarinen in Finland...)
My other name is Kalevi which is obviously another form of Kalle. I just hope they changed that, too, and didn't even think of calling me Kalle Kalevi...
Anyway, what's pretty strange is that even though 34617 people have been called Kalle since 1899 and only 30259 Risto, between 1960 and 1979 - when I was born - Risto beat Kalle 6696 to 3613. (And there was also one woman among those Ristos!). This year, Kalles lead by 159 to 24.
I still have the spoon. The height and weight were correct.
One of my favorite TV shows is Columbo. You know, the one-eyed and absentminded policeman, played by Peter Falk. And he always seems to forget to ask that last question, so he turns around at the door, with his hand on his temple (and a cigar in his hands) and says, "excuse me ma'am, but ..." and then some obscurely detailed question about something that seems trivial to the viewer.
There are two things about Columbo that many fans know but hardly ever think about: 1) he always talks about his wife, but you never see her. And 2) nobody knows Columbo's first name. Now, ask anybody who's not a hardcore fan, and he'll say Frank. But it's not.
Nobody knows Columbo's first name. He's just Columbo.
We spent a few days at my Dad's place in Joensuu and went through a pretty impressive pile of old photos and artifacts from my life. This man has secretly kept little mementos all through the years, ranging from a poncho my Mom made for me (out of an old blanket she got in the baby package all mothers gets from the government) to the Phantom suit I wore on my final year of high school.
Uh, like, not all the time, only during that one special last day of school. It's a long story, so just trust me when I say it is a tradition in Finland. And the Phantom is just such a huge thing in both my and Jessica's families.
The Phantom - for those who won't know - is a story about a "half-drowned sailor, flung ashore on the terrible, blood-drenched Bengalla coast after pirates burned his ship and slaughtered his mates. The gentle Bandar pygmies nursed him back to fitness and became his everlasting friends -- as the castaway faced his destiny, donned costume and mask and was reborn as the first of the Phantoms.
"I swear to devote my life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty and injustice!" he cried as he formally took "The Oath of the Skull" by firelight. "And my sons and their sons shall follow me!"
Only the Bandar and a handful of other secret souls know that all are not one and the same."
And, more importantly for me and for this blog, all the Phantoms have had the same name: Kit Walker. That would be a great name for our baby: we both love the Phantom, he surely stands for honesty and justice and all the good things in life and it's easy to pronounce in all languages. Kit's on the list.
Oh, maybe it wasn't obvious enough: I am Finnish. But my girlfriend is Swedish which means that we have a little Finnish-Swedish family going. But don't confuse us with the other Finnish-Swedish couples, i.e. finlandssvenskar. Not that we have anything against "them"...
Anyway, this particular fact means that we need to find a name that works on at least these two languages.
The Helsinki Olympics started 50 years ago yesterday, with legendary Paavo Nurmi carrying the torch. Paavo is an old Finnish name, although it sounds like an old man's name to me. But since all old names are going through a revival, why not Paavo.
So, Paavo would be very Finnish, and very manly. A Paavo is probably a lone wolf (like Nurmi) and talks funny and slowly (like Lipponen). And stubborn, that's a very Paavo thing. And now that I have typed Paavo a few types, the word has absolutely no meaning left, whatsoever. How Paavo.
Took the ferry from Sweden to Finland this morning and have seen a ferryload of frustrated people and spoiled brats. Whatever happened to nice guys? Or, let's say nice people. Everybody's gotta have an attitude and unvariably the attitude is a badass one. And I don't know ... I am just getting tired of it. Will there ever be a "good" trend? When will being nice be hip again?
When?
When some nice guy finishes first, that's when.
Anyway, according to this site, Hitakar means "person doing good. Well wisher." That could be a good name for our baby. Hitakar. Let's just hope she won't.
I felt it last night. I felt Hilda kick. Pretty funny, and very strange. There is actually somebody in there. And either she didn't like the way I pushed the walls of her home or she just wanted to shake hands with me. Or a foot.
I have been thinking about the name now. I mean, I wouldn't want my daughter to "feel very alone at times" (although I guess we all do) and I wish she would not have "a lack of finesse in verbal expression". Then again, my great-aunt Hilda sure never had problems expressing herself. However, her best friend was a dog named Timo...
Your first name of Hilda has given you a studious nature, and the ability to concentrate on whatever you are doing. You could excel in mathematics or in positions where persistence, independence, and individuality are required. In personal associations, a lack of finesse in verbal expression often creates misunderstandings with others, especially with those close to you, because you find it difficult and embarrassing to express depth of feeling when situations arise requiring diplomacy, understanding, and affection. Others may often find you reserved and aloof, when actually you desire love and understanding. This name creates a withdrawn, reserved nature. You feel very alone at times and find it difficult to merge with others in a happy, relaxed manner. You could suffer with head tension, or any weakness relative to the heart, lungs, or bronchial organs.
Oh well, here goes nothing. Let's create this baby blog, like millions of other proud to-be-Dads. Obviously, I can't glue the locks of hair or the first teeth on these pages like my Dad did with my baby book, but we'll figure it out a little later, OK? I mean, there is still time to think about it. And to figure it out. Jessica's only 18 weeks pregnant now. Although, I think the correct expression in the 21st century is, "we're pregnant."
I am excited about becoming a father. Like, totally, like really. I can't wait to see our baby and even less can i wait to start re-exploring the world with her. How come airplanes can fly? What do worms taste like? And why do some cafés always become baby carriage hotspots? And more.
She doesn't have a name yet, although naturally, we have a long list of suggestions. And a few favorites. Right now, I call her Hilda all the time. Hilda. Hilda? Sounds like a name for a nice girl, doesn't it? It also works in many languages, we know of no language where Hilda would be used as a cussword, and it was also the name of my Dad's aunt. My great-aunt, that is.
But we also like Stella, Emil, Hannes, Oliver. I will post the entire list here one day.
There is actually one thing I have never really understood. Why name your baby after yourself? What's in it for the original X Sr? They have to create nicknames anyway. Skip, Junior, Bob, Rob, Bobby... Why not just give an original name to begin with? My girlfriend's Dad gets confused with his children's names just because they all begin with a J. Wouldn't it be confusing to call your kid by your own name? Maybe the same people like to talk of themselves in 3rd person, I don't know.
