Ten years after 9/11, what do we call Ground Zero?
by Jeffery Racheff
A visitor to Lower Manhattan today has to admit: New York City looks a whole lot different than it did on September 12, 2001. Emerging from what used to be the rubble of America’s most disastrous terrorist attack are the …
Quick Hits: Naming News
by Rose Linke
A recent trip to Sequoia National Park was not complete without a naming lesson. The largest living organism on earth, which we all know as the General Sherman tree, was officially named after William Tecumseh Sherman when the National Park …
Quick Hits: Naming News
by Rose Linke
Everyone knows the Internet has the amazing ability to make time speed up, a welcome addition to long flights. Aircell, the world’s leading provider of in-air connectivity has officially changed its name to Gogo, reminding us all of a time …
Bye Bye Birdie: golf’s Bob Hope Classic is no more
by Jeffery Racheff
For Bob Hope, golf was always a funny game. The comedian himself once said that he could easily give it up … if only he didn’t have so many sweaters. Now, eight years after his death, Hope’s eponymous tournament is …
Winnipeg wins a hockey team. But do fans want the Jets back?
by Jeffery Racheff
The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks may be the ones battling it out for the Stanley Cup this week, but Winnipeg is stealing the spotlight. The city’s legions of hoser hockey fans are celebrating after the Atlanta Thrashers announced they …
Anthropologie’s naming scheme to make you wear paisley and take your money.
by Brook Barman
Anthropologie is a great store. Nothing makes me want to spend 300 bucks on a tank top like seeing them nestled in the mouth of some giant papier-mâché narwhal suspended from the ceiling by human hair crochet. And usually I …
Quick Hits: Naming News
by Rose Linke
These days, mothers and fathers of expecting parents want to create their own names for the roles they’ll play in the lives of the new little guys and gals. There are even books for the non-namers among us, like “The …
Quick Hits: Naming News
by Rose Linke
The Mayor of Hvar, a port town in the Adriatic – known for its location on what has been called one of the world’s sexiest islands – is trying to woo Mark Zuckerberg out for a summer visit. How to …
Cloo, tru, SyFy and other nonsense names on TV
by Jeffery Racheff
The art of TV network naming today is a bit like coming up with computer viruses or Farscape characters. Cloo, Spike, Syfy, tru — these are the goofy, rebranded names of cable television stations looking to spread their programming power. …
Quick Hits: Naming News
by Rose Linke
Robots! Invented by Czech playwright Karel Čapek in 1920, this relatively new word in the English language has roots in central European forced labor practices. No wonder fictional robots always try to enslave humans – it’s just a part of …