What's In a Name?

While cleaning out my drafts of unpublished posts, I discovered I actually wrote quite a bit for this one but just never finished it. Thus why the article is dated 1/1/2008.

I often wonder if the people who grow up with those weird (sorry, unique) names end up hating their parents with every fiber of their being for saddling them with such terrible names. Some parents are misguided and think every kid wants to stand out from the rest of their peers. Some parents are pushed into passing along a family name that should have died out generations ago. Some parents indulged in too many psychotropic drugs in their earlier stages of life.

Now, CNN illustrates some of the parents who realized the error in their ways and changed their child's name. While none of the couples in this story had given particularly odd-ball names to their children, perhaps this will be a lesson to those mothers who think the name they choose while heavily anesthetized will have staying power.

Some names however aren't too odd or uncommon, but just really horrible names. For example:

Bertha: Do you want your child to grow up to be overweight and featured on Cops or Jerry Springer (or both)?

Gertrude: What an excellent name! For a grandmother of 12 who smokes 2 packs a day. For a newborn? Not so excellent

Hunter: You might as well petition L.L. Bean for a lifetime supply of plaid overshirts

Demon: Yes, a real name I have seen. Why would you continue to go by this name?

Many more exist and have been previously mocked here, here, and here.

Rogue Baseball Bat Injuries Boy

Frivolous lawsuits are nothing new but the Domalewski family has taken things to a new level.

Young Steven Domalewski was pitching in a Little League game when an opposing player hit a ball into Steven's chest to cause his heart to stop. This subsequently led to brain damage and physical disabilities for the teen.

The Domalewskis is now suing the maker of the baseball bat used at the time, Little League Baseball, and the sporting goods store where the bat was purchased for the incident claiming the metal baseball bat that was used is too dangerous for the youth to hit flying baseballs with.

While it can be seen that this is a terrible accident that will have a lasting effect on the entire family, it is also clear that this is a very stupid lawsuit for the express purpose of extorting money from parties not at fault.

Surprisingly, the child who was responsible for striking the baseball, the manufacturer of the baseball, the laws of physics (specifically regarding motion and force), and God himself were spared from litigation.

Fox News: Parents to Sue Maker of Metal Baseball Bats Over Son's Injury

Don't Turn Your Loved Ones Into Photographs

How is it considered desecration to dig up a corpse to put alternate gender clothing on it while posing it in suggestive positions but it is A-Okay to turn the remnants of your loved one into a picture?

Inkafterlife specializes in the creation of photo memorials printed with ink containing the ashes that you provide. So, as it stands, you can make pictures, diamonds, teddy bears, and a plethora of other options for the storage of your deceased loved one.

Or, you could be normal and bury the urn, avoiding the need to make a couch or flower pot out of your family member.