April linkfest

The 2019 Deadspin Name of the Year is down to the Elite Eight. Vote for your favorites in a field that includes Pope Thrower, Pretzel Monteclaro, and Jizyah Shorts. Yes, they’re all real names. (Deadspin) For background, see my 2018 Visual Thesaurus column about the tournament.

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How great writing begins: an analysis of the opening paragraphs of “the 94 most compelling articles” in The Atlantic, Fast Company, and the New York Times op-ed section. (Better Humans)

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In English, it’s “Once upon a time.” How do other cultures and languages begin their classic tales? (Chitra Soundar)

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Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana—the youngest and gayest candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination (so far)—also has the coolest campaign logos. (Note: Not a political endorsement.) (Brand New)

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Global fast-fashion retailer is collaborating with Post-It on a line of clothing. No, it isn’t sticky. (Trendhunter)

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Unpronounceable foreign word, built-in directive, obscure song/literature/film reference, and 19 other restaurant-name stereotypes. (Thrillist)

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These pencils were withdrawn from US schools after a 10 year old pointed out a little problem… pic.twitter.com/YQojHmqOfw

— Brilliant Ads (@Brilliant_Ads) April 8, 2019

(Thanks to @TrademarkBlog for the RT.)

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Curtis Sittenfield, Stephen King, A.S. Byatt, and other authors on how they chose their one-word book titles. An enlightening read; I just wish it had a one-word title instead of the perpetually overused “What’s in a Name?” (Merriam-Webster)

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Stadia, the name of Google’s new gaming platform, is “welcoming and awe-inspiring at the same time.” (Alex Kelley for Catchword)

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A post about baby-name regret? Sure, but much of it applies to company and product naming, too. (Namerology)

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Trademark lawyer Anne Gilson Lalonde walks us through a case before the U.S. Supreme Court involving trademark registration of FUCT—or, as one of the lawyers put it, “the profane past participle form of a well-known word of profanity and perhaps the paradigmatic word of profanity.” Warning: lots of pussyfooting. (Strong Language)

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Tempura isn’t a Japanese word, vindaloo didn’t originate on the Indian subcontinent, and pizza isn’t Italian in origin. (James Harbeck for The Week)

 

Vegetable tempura via New York Times

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Logos with smokestacks were common in the late 19th century. They’ve undergone a recent revival in the United States: “American designers seem to revel in the graphic possibilities of the factory’s wafting smoke and distinctive sawtooth roof.”  (Emblemetric; includes a chart of industrial carbon monoxide emissions in the U.S., 1970 to 2015)

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Self-promotional bonus: I have a new post on Medium about lessons writers can learn from Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett, the third-richest man in the world and a darn fine writer.

 

Comments

[Dan Freiberg]

Nowhere in "Four Reasons Parents Regret Their Baby Name Choices" could I find a discussion of the effects a name could have on a child.
I had a friend in grade school whose name was "Tyrone," probably after Tyrone Power, a movie actor. He was teased, but he did know how to fight. Later, in high school, he changed his first name to "Alvin." This was right before a novelty record, "The Chipmunks" came out. A man screaming, "Alvin!" was the catchphrase for months. Tyrone/Alvin was much bigger by this time, and didn't need to fight, but he was a good-natured fellow anyway.
One of my parents' criteria for naming their kids was that the name should cause as little grief as possible to the kid. I think they were right. Kids should not have to be an extension of their parents' sophistication, ego, or cleverness.