Annual 'How did you pick your DU name'

[Parche]

Medal of Honor action
On July 31, 1944, Ramage commanded the Parche in a dawn assault on a heavily-escorted Japanese convoy, during which the Parche sank two ships and badly damaged three others. For this action, he received the Medal of Honor, which was formally presented to him by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 10, 1945.

His Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Parche in a predawn attack on a Japanese convoy, 31 July 1944. Boldly penetrating the screen of a heavily escorted convoy, Comdr. Ramage launched a perilous surface attack by delivering a crippling stern shot into a freighter and quickly following up with a series of bow and stern torpedoes to sink the leading tanker and damage the second one. Exposed by the light of bursting flares and bravely defiant of terrific shellfire passing close overhead, he struck again, sinking a transport by two forward reloads. In the mounting fury of fire from the damaged and sinking tanker, he calmly ordered his men below, remaining on the bridge to fight it out with an enemy now disorganized and confused. Swift to act as a fast transport closed in to ram, Comdr. Ramage daringly swung the stern of the speeding Parche as she crossed the bow of the onrushing ship, clearing by less than 50 feet but placing his submarine in a deadly crossfire from escorts on all sides and with the transport dead ahead. Undaunted, he sent 3 smashing "down the throat" bow shots to stop the target, then scored a killing hit as a climax to 46 minutes of violent action with the Parche and her valiant fighting company retiring victorious and unscathed

[Gormy Cuss]

1. It suits me.

It's an old Maine expression.

[RandomThoughts]

2. "down the throat"

post was discussed in a couple other threads.

[madinmaryland]

3. May of 2004 and the Swift Boat Liars were out in full force smearing a true hero

Hence I was very mad in maryland, that John Kerry was being smeared, by a bunch of fucking liars.

[RandomThoughts]

6. I like much of Kerry.

But he is someone that could have corrected my issues, so lost some respect for him on those issues.

:shrug: I figure he does some good and some bad like everyone else.

[liberaltrucker]

4. Political inclination and former occupation

Duh!

:hi:

[struggle4progress]

5. ... Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human

liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress ...
West India Emancipation
Frederick Douglass
Canandaigua, New York
3 August 1857
http://www.blackpast.org/?q=1857-frederick-douglass-if-there-no-struggle-there-no-progress

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. I wanted to have my name reflect both me and where I live...

CaliforniaPeggy is what popped up.

:hi:

[Tobin S.]

8. Dad gave it to me a long time ago

;)

[JohnnyLib2]

9. College nickname---

in the days when libs and conservatives could be civil to each other.
Long, long ago.

[auntAgonist]

10. a play on words and

some would say it's what I am.

:shrug:

aA

[TK421]

12. I always thought your name was pretty clever...like it!

:)

[Forkboy]

11. Nothing deep for me (there's a surprise)...it was the song playing when I signed up.

I almost chose the name Sylvestre Matuschka, another song on the same CD, but I didn't know what kind of sense of humor the folks here had (he was a demolitions expert in Belgium during WW1 who went loopy and derailed trains while masturbating). And it was harder to spell anyways.

Looking back, I wish I had gone with it. :)

[madinmaryland]

37. I thought it had to do with video taping. Now I have to look up

Sylvestre Matuschka. Wanking while blowing up train tracks?? Sound a bit dangerous!! Might accidently blow something off!

:yoiks:

[Frosty1]

13. It was -40 that day.

I was cold and the windows were frosted,

[Bluzmann57]

14. I picked my name because I am Bluzmann

It's just that simple.

[Crystal Clarity]

15. How do you pronounce Parche? What does it rhyme with?

Oh and thanks for the background info. I'm going to use it to surprise my father with this tidbit, thus giving him a welcome invitation to elaborate on Parche's battle and achievements for an approximate hour followed by another 2 or 3 about the WWII Pacific theater in general. He'll love it. I generally extend this type of opportunity to him about once a year. ;-)

I'll explain my DU name later. I've been wanting to for some time now since I often wonder if people think it sounds a bit haughty and presumptuous. I considered that possibility when I registered but went ahead w/it anyway because it has some personal meaning to me.

[newcriminal]

16. Same week

that I got arrested my mail.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

17. I chose the name of a great Italian because I am a great Italian

The proverbial straight line between two points, ya know?



:rofl:

:toast:

[Archae]

18. Archae is my feathersona

[frogmarch]

19. My inspiration

[nolabear]

20. I dearly love New Orleans and like and often dream about bears.

Besides, it sounds kinda cute and cuddly. And drunk and disorderly.

[jobycom]

53. Your name always cracks me up, for a personal reason.

When I was a kid we used to visit my cousins in New Orleans (Kenner, actually, but I didn't know the difference). They had a neighbor who has some connection to a circus, and he used to keep a black bear in a circus cage in his back yard. We used to go visit the bear every time I was there, until someone left the back gate open, and I think somehow let the bear out. After that, they locked the gate so we couldn't visit.

Anyway, it was one of my favorite memories of New Orleans, and I think of that every time I see your name. :) As a kid I didn't go to Bourbon Street, obviously. My memories of New Orleans were City Park, Audubon Park, and residential areas. And graveyards. And the Zephyr. :)

[alphafemale]

21. It's wolf for Mommah. Bonus points because it seems to piss off Connies

More detail? We were getting online as a family about the time (mid 90ish) that they brought the breeding wolves to Yellowstone

We were already "into" wolves so it seemed kinda natural to take on wolf themed names.

[Curmudgeoness]

31. I love your name. Sounds so strong.

[alphafemale]

36. the name wasn't intentially so ballzy tho

I didn't even realize it would piss people off until I wandered into cyberspace with it

[Old Troop]

22. I'm just an old, wore out soldier

[realisticphish]

23. Mine came from a puzzle

Freshman year of college, my roommate got a "care package" thing that his parents ordered online. Including was this little sliding-block puzzle depicting "realistic fish." I thought that was hilarious (for some reason), and used it for multiple things. At the time I joined DU in 04, I was big into Phish, and so...

Not much of a phish fan anymore, but I've missed every name-change amnesty... if I see another, I may change it back to "fish"

[Kali]

24. I tend to be a little too honest sometimes

it's my given name. It is hard sometimes to decide whether to go in disguise or to just be out there. DU seemed to be a "home" during the 2004 election (and after the previous 4) so I went with being open.

[elocs]

25. It is my original internet name from the beginning.

"eloc": the first 4 letters of my last name in reverse. "s": the first initial of my first name. elocs, which I have always read as "e-locks" which has sort of an internet sound to it like email.

[RadiationTherapy]

26. It's the name of my band and legacy project for my cancer-survived brother.

[Curmudgeoness]

27. Feel like I am just a cranky, set in my ways woman.....and

if you are a male, you can be called a curmudgeon. If you are female, you are just a bitch. I like the male description better.

[carlyhippy]

28. because it's my name and the younger set call me hippy

C

[foxfeet]

29. I like foxes and I come and go as I please.

After I started using it here, I realized that Fox is a rather reviled name in these parts. It originally had never occurred to me that the name might be a problem because I never watch Fox news ( or any of its clown commentators). Oh, well. . .


ETA: No, I'm not a Furry.

[rainbow4321]

30. It was the CB handle I used when I was young...but it was just Rainbow, no #'s

My dad had a CB in his car and I used to talk to him as he drove home from work. How I came up with it then, I dont remember, but I've used different variations of it over the years on the 'Net.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

32. I loved Jay Ward cartoons and Bullwinkle was taken several times over.

Plus I've generally felt I was from a different world.

And I like to scrooch.

[david13]

33. Uh, it's my name? dc

[applegrove]

34. All my direct ancestors had at least one apple tree in their backyarsds. Some of them had houses

build on old orchards. So the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[Rochester]

35. It is my handle on some other sites, the CB, and my nickname at work

...in large part because I grew up in Rochester, N.Y.

[midnight armadillo]

38. It was midnight.

And I think armadillos are funny looking.

[mokawanis]

39. my favrite campsite

is in Galcier Park. Lake Mokawanis is beautiful and smack dab in the middle of griz country, my favorite animal.

[Odin2005]

40. I'm Norwegian-American and I was a Neo-Pagan for a stint in high school.

Most of my user-names in older message board accounts are "Odin", while newer ones are "TaylorS"

It's also an illusion to my Asperger's. Odin = One-eyed god of wisdom who sacrificed an eye (my social doofusness) for ultimate knowledge.

[KamaAina]

67. Un-frickin'-believable.

My neopagan stint came in college.

Any redheaded witches in wheelchairs out there, beware!

[Odin2005]

70. LOL!

[cwydro]

41. cwydro is Welsh for "wanderer"...

though I spelled it wrong when I joined DU and it has stayed mispelled all this time.

Does "mispell" have one s or two?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

42. My name is Jeff. I live in Milwaukee. (nt)

[Arkansas Granny]

62. That's pretty much how I arrived at mine.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

63. Sometimes the obvious solution is the best (nt)

[meow2u3]

43. I picked mine because of my cats' attitude

meow2u3 was my original Yahoo user name because meow2u2 was already taken. Every cat I had always have had this habit of meowing at me when they get an attitude, so I forever told them "Meow to you too." They meow back at me, hence the "meow to you 3", or meow2u3 for short.

[Ineeda]

44. The meaning has changed

Ineeda started as a corruption of the first name of a popular author who I knew personally years ago. She was an entitled ass then and, I imagine, even worse now. But Ineeda has evolved to mean "I need a ______" (fill in the blank) which annoys me no end. There are needs and then there are wants. The two seem to be interchangeable nowadays. You need income. You need a place to live. You need food. You need all sorts of progressive things like healthcare and equal rights. You don't need granite countertops or the latest toy.

[tigereye]

45. part love of the names of stones, and part comment on my tai chi practice...

[proteus_lives]

46. A mixture of influences.

A favorite Greek myth.

A favorite comic book character.

And a favorite sci-fi trope.

[Iggo]

47. Term of endearment among me, my sibs, and their progeny.

[MrScorpio]

48. In honor of the coolest motherfucking character ever to grace Daytime TV...

Robert Scorpio, baby!

Not to mention the fact that it's my astrological sign

[jobycom]

54. You didn't like Luke?

Commie!

[PBS Poll-435]

49. Just a random mixture of letters and numbers.

You betcha!

[Chan790]

50. It's my middle name.

As for the 790, it was assigned by Netscape about 15 years ago as part of an email address and I've used it on screennames ever since. It's now my lucky number.

[yankeepants]

51. It's my dog's name

He is a beautiful Chesapeake Bay Retriever and my very best boy. His full name is Yankee Doodle Dandy Pants but he also goes by Yank, Newton, Newtonium, Tina, Kiki, Tiki Barber, Keebler, Keeblerina, and the usual snookums, honey bunny, puppyboy etc.

Nothing political to see here. Move along please.

[jobycom]

52. It's my real name, with a little chopped off the end for a minor degree of anonymity. nt

[slay]

55. Took my IRC nick, and shortened it

we were big back in the day - providing episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to people around the world who couldn't watch it. we were sharing files before sharing files was cool. :evilgrin:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210013843/help.btvs.org/index.html

[Sugarcoated]

56. Picked an Aimee Mann song I liked

[Dr Morbius]

57. I'm a big fan of the old sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet."

Besides which, I fancy myself a healer, of sorts.

[doc03]

58. Army nickname because I have the same name as a

famous TV Doctor.

[jotsy]

59. Scribbler was taken.

quick scan of memory of comparable words and consideration of what was probably not already claimed by another. It suits.

[mstinamotorcity]

60. I wanted it known

that I stood for hard work, innovation, motown,cars,and my name and where I reside and the pride I feel where I live. Even though they always think the worst of the Motor city.

[Arkansas Granny]

61. Mine is pretty self explanatory. I don't have much imagination when picking names.

[Burma Jones]

64. Burma Jones is a character in "A Confederacy of Dunces"

ooo-weeeee

From Wikipedia:

Burma Jones is the porter/janitor for the "Night Of Joy" who resentfully holds on to his job only because the police will arrest him for vagrancy if he does not (an indignity not uncommon for African Americans in the U.S. South in the Jim Crow era). Most of the white characters tend to pay only peripheral attention to him, though his actions are central to the plot.


- I have always had peripheral attention paid to me while still playing a central role....

[mike_c]

65. it's my name....

My name is Mike C.

[KamaAina]

66. A kama'aina is a local Hawai'i person

literally "child of the land", as opposed to a malihini, visitor or foreigner.

Of course, I haven't actually been a kama'aina for the past year. Serves me right for moving in an off election year. :P

[Lucian]

68. "Lucian" is the leader of the werewolves (lycans) from "Underworld" movies.

[hippywife]

69. I'm an old hippie

and so is my hubs. We met many years ago in an AOL chat room. His screen name began with "hippy" and ended with his first name because "hippie" was already taken. So when we married I became hippywife.

[av8rdave]

71. Guess

[sakabatou]

72. The sword of Kenshin Himura.

[benEzra]

73. Rabbi Abraham ben Meir ibn Ezra, aka "ben Ezra", ca. 1089-1167.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_ibn_Ezra

[Red Riding Hood]

74. mom used to read it to me

and I loved it !!

[TheMightyFavog]

75. Mine's from the old Land Of Gorch muppet sketches on SNL.

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Mighty_Favog

[Tikki]

76. Tikki is my dog...she is getting old, I am getting old...when one..

or the other crosses the Rainbow Bridge the Username 'Tikki' will still be used.


Tikki