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| Isobel debated going without a passport, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it. |
Bobby needs 'public' school fees. I can never get used to the fact that British 'public' schools are private...American public schools are just that, public. Betty Sherri has all 3 of her rugrats at a non-public school - and therefore must cough up the school fees...for private school.
Isobel rubber-necks in Gdansk and when Thomas tells her that they're not here for sightseeing she responds, 'If this is sightseeing, then I'm a Dutchman.' It's like Betty couldn't write a book without at least a passing reference to the Dutch. The sheer amount of phrases using some form of the word 'Dutch' is amazing. Dutch Uncle, that's a lot of double Dutch, going Dutch treat, Dutch courage, etc...
Millesgården is an art museum and sculpture garden, located on the island of Lidingö in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located on the grounds of the home of sculptor Carl Milles and his wife, artist Olga Milles, who are both buried there.
Maybe I just don't have as finely tuned a sense of Art as the Great Betty, but I have to say, Scandinavian Modern-ish is not at the top of my favorites list of art styles. I'm not saying the artists aren't talented (they are), just that their brand of art doesn't seem to be my cup of tea.
One of Isobel's private patients is a screen actress named (wait for it)...Miranda la Creux. I wonder what her actual name was...I'm going with Ethel Scruggs. Here's a few famous people, who might not have been if they'd stuck to their given names:
- Reginald Dwight changed his name to....Elton John
- Robert Allen Zimmerman.........Bob Dylan
- Declan MacManus........Elvis Costello
- Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi....Rudolph Valentino
- Maurice Micklewhite.......Michael Caine
- Cherilyn Sarkisian.....Cher
- Archibald Leach......Cary Grant
- Virginia Patterson Hensley.......Patsy Cline
- Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff.......Doris Day
What would your stage name be?
I'd tweak the one I've got and use my gramma's maiden name, and I'd be Karmelita Kaye.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest sister(who now lives in Heaven) was once approached by a guy named Raymon Kramton. She was a stunner in her youth. These were in the days of Good Girls Gangs. Bunches of girls traveled together doing their Saturday night going out. Maureen was the leader of her pack. This Ray guy kept asking Maureen to leave with him which she would not do. So he asked for her number, which she did do. He never called. Flash forward. Maureen is at work and a co-worker is showing her wallet full of family photos. And there is a photo of the guy that never called. It was the co-workers cousin, who said he left for Hollywood not long after Maureen met him. And he changed his name to........................................................................................................... Wait for it..............................................................................................
CHAD EVERETT!
True Story, I swear! (I don't really but you know what I mean.)
Here's Chad. His young self is a little too boyish, but he'd made a pretty good Dad of the RDD today! Man, this coulda been my BIL. But then I wouldn't have my current BIL and he's a very nice older gentleman, too. He's now a single guy in his 70's living in N.E. Ohio. My sister passed away in 2002. Any single Betty's interested. He's not as cute as Chad, but he'd also make an interesting RDD dad.
ReplyDeleteMy nom de plume was going to be Eleanor Stuart, so I might try that.
ReplyDeleteI have to get a new photo for my driver's license. Every time I do, I look more and more like my mother. It's bittersweet...
When I got my last passport, I was laboring under the delusion that they still used black-and-white photographs so I wore I great deal more makeup, especially bright red lipstick, than normal for the headshot so I wouldn't look so washed out. Instead I look like an aging, traveling harlot.
ReplyDeleteCHAD EVERETT! Hilarious story. Chad Everett does sound like a made up name, but waaaaay better than Raymon Kramton. My son's high school English teacher's name is 'Chad'...he shares a last name with a 1950's heart throb whose first name was Troy and last name starts with 'D'. Maybe it's an alias?
ReplyDeleteI have always planned, if ever I get published, to do it under, C. Meyer Matthews, Meyer being my maiden name, and since Dad had no sons to carry on his line, at least this would acknowledge his part in my being! ;-)
ReplyDeleteme<><
Betty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteWithin the past two years I have gotten a new passport and a new drivers license. Does either photo look like I think I look like?? Erm, I don't think so. In these photos I don't look like my mother--I look like my father's mother!! Argh---(Betty Barbara runs screaming into the night......)
Betty Debbie - Is the teacher old enough or cute enough to be engaging in a double life? If not it's probably his real name. It seems like parents these day name their kids in hopes of Stardom! I know a Harley Davidson and a Daytona Beech. No lie, these are little kids.
ReplyDeleteI also know of an Olive Branch (my BIL's aunt). She's really old, probably dead.
In his Bio, Chad said he changed his name because he was tired of saying "Raymon, NO D and Kramton with NO P." I think his agent changed it, but it's a good reason. My last name can be spelled with one or two E's, and it's a nuisance to always have to tell people, or end up with it spelled wrong.
My condolences on all the bad license/passport photos, Betty Followers. I've had my share over the years, and our Christmas photo makes me cringe. But at least my current ID's have decent photos. They don't look like me, they look better. LOL
The teacher is actually quite cute, and if I had to guess his age, it would be on the low side of 30. We've only met him face to face once - he teaches online, so it's entirely possible that he could be leading a double life.
ReplyDeleteShould we begin a thread about who among us are aspiring authors? (And what their pen names would be?) Betty Magdalen we know...
ReplyDeleteYes, Betty Keira, Yes!
ReplyDeleteI think Declan MacManus is way cooler than Elvis Costello.
ReplyDeleteMiranda is the best fake name ever (IMHO). Betty Magdalen used the power of the google to uncover my true identity but she has promised not to reveal it to a soul.
How come I never know the acronyms? IMHO?
ReplyDeleteIn My Humble Opinion (IMHO) Miranda Neville is an awesome pen name - especially great for signing large swoopy autographs.
ReplyDeleteI was always just a little jealous of older sister Betty Marcy - capital M's are much more graceful than capital D's.
I was always worried that no one would ever be able to pronounce my name but a certain concave-chested A-list star changed all that for me...
ReplyDeleteAnd I too love Miranda Neville--it sounds smart and kick-butt. But did you never think of using your own name?
Oh - one additional note about why I'd use "C" instead of "Cindy." I've always, ALWAYS thought Cindy a rather silly name, especially since it's not a nickname for anything, but rather my legal, given name. I can remember saying, perhaps 15 or 20 years ago, "I can't imagine being a Grandma Cindy. How stupid does that sound?"
ReplyDeleteBut you know what? My grandsons' maternal grandmother is Grandma and I'm Grandma, too - so sometimes, to clarify, my son or d-i-l will say, "Hey, Derek, Grandma Cindy's on the phone." And when he says, "Oh, yeah, Grandma Cindy!" I can't think of ANYTHING I'd rather he'd call me. :)
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Betty Keira -- Before Betty Miranda (wow - that makes me glad she was The Great Betty and not The Great Carmen...) goes all self-deprecating on us and no one believes her, I can state for the record that Miranda Neville is a little bit real and a lot awesome. Her "real" name is very nice but not nearly as kick-ass.
ReplyDelete"Miranda" is the name of female protagonist in the novel set in a historic fort in the Trans-Pecos of West Texas that my mom and I used to write verbally on long car rides in high school and college. Of course, we never actually wrote it down because that would involve real work....
ReplyDeleteProfessor van der Hertenzoon just mentioned that I might as well write under a pen name because to find my my work one has to check under my maiden name with both legal first name and nickname and my married name with both legal first name and nickname--too much Googling required.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Betty JoDee, I've gotten your maiden name. Now to see if I can figure out whether JoDee is your legal first name and if not, what is...
ReplyDeleteYup. I got it. I know Betty JoDee's real name. And I'm not telling. I'm laughing, but I'm not telling. (Actually, it's very sweet. Especially with Dr. in front of it...)
ReplyDeleteSorry -- I got distracted. Well, as you know, I'm an aspiring author. I was going to use a pen name, but one day -- a million years ago -- a famous author named Jennifer Crusie told me that her real name is Smith and that's just too boring on the cover of a book. (I think Crusie is her grandmother's name, or something.)
ReplyDelete"But 'Magdalen' is a great name," she said. "You have to use 'Magdalen' on your books."
Well, she was right -- I was just 15 years away from having the courage even to try. And my courage is limited, but I'm working to push it. The great thing is that Magdalen is an unusual name still! (It ranks about 3000 in a list of girl's names...)
So if you see Magdalen on the cover of a romance, chances are, it's me. (There's a Magdalen Nabb who writes mysteries...)
I always figured I'd be Kate Roberts if I write books. My middle name is Catherine, and I've gone by Kate at work, and Roberts is my mother's maiden name. My Maiden name has a capital in the middle and my married name is long and impossible (I love it, though).
ReplyDeleteBetty Magdalen, I'm flattered, but the upshot is that I spend my time spelling out first name, nickname, maiden name, and married name--AND I could never buy those bracelets with names already on them at Stuckey's when I was a little girl.
ReplyDeleteI always wanted the commemorative name keychain for a trip to the Grand Canyon, too, Betty JoDee and have never yet seen a Keira (much less a properly spelled one).
ReplyDeleteOoh, a new club: Bettys who can't get their first name on personalized tchotchkes (what the Brits would call "tat").
ReplyDeleteBetty JoDee and I will die still in that club, but I predict that Betty Keira will find her first name on a rack in a gift shop somewhere someplace sometime.
Ooh, and Betty JoDee: JoDee (#2365) is more popular than Magdalen (#3026), but your first name doesn't make the list of over 4,000 first names for girls and is thus considered unique.
ReplyDeleteOther Bettys:
Betty Mary: Mary is #1
Betty Barbara: Barbara is #4
Betty Michelle: Michelle is #21
Betty Henry: Henry is #46 among males first names
Betty Cindy: Cindy is #113
Betty Victoria: Victoria is #116
Betty Debbie: Debbie is #141 (Debra is #39)
Betty Ross: Ross is #282 among male first names (his real name is John Ross, and John is #2)
Betty Miranda: Miranda is #480 (your "real" name is ranked in the top 50!)
Betty Francesca: Francesca is #966
Betty Cyndi: Cyndi is #1787
Betty Kylene: Your name is unique and thus unranked!
And last but not least:
The Great Betty: Betty is #14
If I missed anyone's name, here's the site I used.
Word. My pen name will probably be K. Moss Hamilton. I don't want people stealing Kylene.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I never had any problem finding personalized name thingys...unless they ran out. I haven't looked for my name (Debra or Debbie)for a very long time. Pretty sure I've outgrown that particular brand of self-absorbtion.
ReplyDeleteTen points for anyone who guesses Betty Keira's MIDDLE name! Hint: it starts with an M.
No guessing needed: Meissa
ReplyDeleteI went to a convent school where all the nuns were named Mary: Sister Mary Francis, Sister Mary Denis, Sister Mary Catherine, etc. Perhaps all romance writers should be named Betty. Betty Nora Roberts, Betty Lisa Kleypas, etc. That would be a homage to The Great Betty.
ReplyDeleteBetty Magdalen has the best googling skills ever.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if I ever write a book the dedication shall read, "To Betty JoAnne (my mother-in-law's actual name!), Betty Debbie, Betty Neels and all the other Bettys in my life.'
Personally, I think you should make a book out of your reviews, etc., on this website. But getting permission for all the photos you've so artfully doctored might be daunting...
ReplyDeleteDo I still get the ten points? Or was looking it up cheating?
ReplyDeleteTo which Betty Henry has something to say in Latin:
"Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis, ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est", which translates as: "To know where you can find anything is, after all, the greatest part of erudition."
As Betty #1 I graciously dote 100 points on your inquisitive head Betty Magdalen. (Donning my Tiara and searching for my wand.) If you're gonna go, go big! But don't try this trick on Jeopardy.
ReplyDeleteTell Betty Henry, nobody likes a know it all.
For no particular reason, I've just always wanted to tell someone that. And now that I'm #1, I'm feeling liberated.... Kinda-like Sophia on Golden Girls. (another show Betty Megan watches in marathon batches. And don't picture me on the couch watching with her. I'm several feet away 'Doing Computers' or reading. But I can still hear. A good thing and a bad thing sometimes.)
Why, thank you dear Betty Magdalen for looking up my unique spelling! It's nice to be unusual. Unfortunately for uniquity (is that a word?) my full name, Cynthia, is #28 in popularity. I think I'll stick with Cyndi. It's fun to be rare.
ReplyDeleteBetty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteI'm just curious as to the criteria used to compile the list! Barbara #4 is about right for MY generation(I was never the only Barbara in my classroom), but I have yet to meet a Barbara under the age of 35 or 40!!
Maybe because all of us Cindys and Barbaras are still alive? (No one's naming their daughters Cindy/Cynthia/Cyndi/Cynde, either - most of us are boomers.)
ReplyDeleteAs we all start dying off the lists will change, perhaps?
Dunno - just a thought. :)
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Betty Barbara -- you can click on the link and poke around to see if they explain their methodology. Personally, I suspect they've just crunched a few decades' worth of data and not particularly cared that it weights things in favor of classic names.
ReplyDeleteThere not a lot of explanation on this guys site. He doesn't give any About Info at all. Basically he took the 1990 census and entered the names and did percentages. So anybody born after that won't be recorded. When the last census gets processed like this we'll see a big change. Oh No! You mean I won't be #1 anymore. Waaaa!
ReplyDelete"I don't know anyone with the most popular names!
Yeah, pretty much if you grew up in the 90's some of these names are going to look like there was an error in the database. First off, you have to remember that certain names that we all know well from the 90's were created in the 90s's- so that name hardly even exists for anyone born earlier. Plus the most recent data from the census that is available is from 1990 so that too might be why some of the data looks odd. However, most is still pretty accurate."
Well, Betty Laurel hits #550. I once has someone who worked in publishing tell me that a pen name is a good thing for financial and privacy reasons. As I am not published, it hasn't been a worry. But I still have time, lol!
ReplyDeleteIn my current driver's license photo I look not only drunk but also fat and stupid, three things which do not describe me (I am not making this up, Betty Keira can confirm) The horrible lady who took the photo had the nerve to say it was cute. I ask you, in this digital age, how hard would it be to take 3 quick snaps and then choose the best one?
ReplyDeleteBetty Kylene -- I really can't believe you even have the capability to look anything *other* than cute! (Seriously...)
ReplyDeleteIn Pennsylvania, they take the digital photo and then ask you if it's okay. I always say yes -- I know that my driver's license photo will always look like my mother no matter what. But I do wonder if there's a limit to the number of times they're willing to snap another photo.