Names

Most of this post was written yesterday. Problems with blogger prevented it from actually getting posted then. So like the Coca Cola 600 (which was rained out) we try again today.

I registered a domain for myself: www.daveinmpls.com. I have been watching a poker tournament sponsored by domain registrar godaddy every Sunday the past few weeks, and I guess having Danica Patrick on my TV each week telling me I should register a domain finally got to me.

Yes ma'am :).

Speaking of Danica (Indy car driver and one of the most well-known ladies in ANY sport):

As I write this the Indy 500 has just ended and the Coca Cola 600 hasn't quite started. I'm taking advantage of the gap to do a little blogging here. After all, a man cannot live on motorsports alone. Although I sure feel like I'm trying that today.

Relevant results:

Danica Patrick - 3
Sarah Fisher - 17
Milka Duno - 20

Although I don't really follow oppen wheel racing, those were the 3 drivers I was supporting in this race.

Yesterday the grocery delivery guy asked me if I had plans for this weekend (since it is a holiday) and I told him my only solid plans involved spending most of today (Sunday) watching racing. "Oh", he said, "do you have a favorite driver?"

I answered with an explanation of why I'm without a real NASCAR fave right now, but I do like Burton (Jeff), Busch (Kyle), and Stewart. I only mention the first name of the first two because there are other drivers with those last names.

If he had asked about Indy it would have felt natural to refer to Danica, Sarah, and Milka. I never would have called the 3 NASCAR drivers Jeff, Kyle, and Tony, though.

A similar use of first and last names struck me during the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. The two front runners were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In campaigns Clinton called herself 'Hillary' and Obama called himself 'Obama'. Both uses seem natural.

Why the difference? Using a woman's first name in a high-profile situation feels natural, but using a man's first name alone just seems ... weird.

Although that is exactly what many major news outlets did, discussing the contest between 'Hillary' and 'Barack'. Going for paralellism I guess.

Seemed strange to hear. I don't have any insight as to why, just something that I noticed.