Public Opinion Polls
So let's say that after a very pleasant morning at the library, a mother decides that she can herd her two-year-old through the mall and into the car while carrying four litres of milk in one hand and seven kilograms of kitty litter in the other. And let's say that the two-year-old decides to spend the rest of her day peering at a vending machine full of $2 stuffed animals. Should we blame the ensuing spectacle of mother pulling screaming toddler by the wrist then abandoning groceries to carry screaming toddler to the car before locking her in (unbelted) then returning with groceries to find toddler in the driver's seat heaving shuddering sobs between shouts of "Go away!" "Leave me alone!" and "I want a soother!" on the toddler's poor decision-making or the mother's?
*****
Niobe's post on blog noms-de-plume (nom-de-plumes?) has served to revive the question of my blog name, or lack thereof. When I started this blog, my focus was on achieving name recognition: I slapped the name "Bub and Pie" in the header, in the URL, and in my username. (It was not by chance that my blog-title began with the letter B. Having recently discovered the blogosphere by clicking through people's blogrolls, I was aware of my own tendency to start at the top and work my way down, so I wanted a name near the beginning of the alphabet, all part of my sneaky plan to achieve world blog domination.)
There are various problems with the name "bubandpie." No one really knows when or if to capitalize it (myself included); it doesn't actually refer to me but rather to my children; it isn't actually a name. On the other hand, it's my name. I feel the same shock of recognition when I see it in print as I do when I hear my real name spoken aloud. Though I've never been wholly satisfied with it, I'm reluctant to make a change - it seems pretentious somehow, or silly. A friend of my sister's recently changed her name from Laurie to Tatiana and my response to the news was "Who does that?" I always feel the urge to mock people who nickname themselves "Dawg" or "Axel" - if they really were that cool, they wouldn't need to invent their own nicknames.
So it's highly unlikely that I will ever actually change my blog-name. But it's fun to imagine what I would change it to if I were going to. As I see it, my options are these:
(1) my real-life first name (like Beck)
(2) a real name that I like (like Veronica Mitchell)
(3) a first name that is obviously a nom-de-plume due to its literary or mythological associations (like Niobe)
(4) a nickname linked to the theme of my blog (like Mad Hatter)
(5) a nickname that I like (like Cinnamon Gurl)
In category (2) I lean toward the unusual: Saffron, Bronwyn, Valancy. Category (3) yields some interesting - yet somehow subtly wrong - possibilities: Marilla, Hermione, Harriet the Spy. In the themed nickname category, I am thoroughly stumped: pie flavours? something about books? And then there are just random fun ideas like Sabrina the Middle-Aged Witch. (What does that even mean?)
Ideally, I would prefer something from categories (3) or (4) - something cleverly reminiscent of the name BubandPie (possibly still with the initials B&P?), yet clearly belonging to me rather than to the blog or my children. Ideas? Votes?
61 good cooperations:
Considering the reading from top to bottom phenomenom...very savvy, yes! I will soothe my low readership woes with this knew knowledge (R is toward the bottom for certain--that must explain everything). I like Bub and Pie. When I first started reading you, it was because I was intrigued by your blog title, truth be told. If I had to vote though, I'd go for category 4, though I'm uncertain about specifics.
Oh, dear, I don't think I have been reading long enough to make any suggestions, but it will be fun to check back to see others' ideas!
I have definitely had screaming kids, leave my groceries unattented, racing out of the store, to prevent further embarassment.. Oh, boy do I remember those days!
I have long lamented my decision to name my blog starting with a W. My own name is up there because it somehow showed up without my consent from the begining, so I never thought to try to hide it. Now, I worry.
LOL - wow, does that bring back memories!!
Always the two year old. Little buggers. (but they're so cute they can pull it off, right?)
I love how your brain works. I kind of like Saffron, because then I'd always sing Mellow Yellow when I saw you in the comments. I like Mellow Yellow.
That's a bit of a stumper, but please no "Hermione" nor "Henrietta" or I shall never be able to visit again!
So saying, I think the trouble is that everyone has deep associations with different things, so maybe some middle neutral inoffensive ground would be your best bet.
cheers
I remember seeing one blogroll that was listed in reverse alpha order.
I am not having any creative thoughts on your behalf. Partially because I'm always stumped when people change their names, like when women get married. But that's just me.
I didn't really think my blog name through either. It was all very tongue in cheek. I never intended to take blogging seriously. Now I'm kind of stuck, I guess. I wonder how many people pass me by because of the title of my blog. But I have to hope an equal number click on my link because of it.
I like your blog name beause the meaning isn't immediately apparent. It's interesting, and different.
I have no suggestions for you, I'm afraid.
I've been having the same thoughts. I changed the title on the header of my blog, but not the URL or my name. Now it's confusing for people.
You've got name recognition now, so there's no need to change. But if you do, in six months, we won't remember that you were ever anything else...
As someone whose blogname starts with a "w"...a W?!??! I applaud your savvy in coming up with and implementing your plan for world dominion.
I tend to think of you as B&P - or, phonetically spelt, Bee And Pee. Although "pee" is not actually a name that I would want, much.
So Beatrice, perhaps? Or Bea, for short?
I do wish that I hadn't used my real name, now that I've thought about it a bit. There's not enough of a removal between Real Me and Blog Me.
Fascinating. My alphabetical placement on blogrolls has never occurred to me before, but now that you mention it I do sometimes get lost in a see of "Mom". I'm not a blogroll person myself (I know - that's politically incorrect in the blogosphere, but there you have it), so I'm never offended if I'm buried at the bottom of a blogroll or if I'm left off entirely.
As for your blogging name, I have no good suggestions, but I will happily adjust to anything you select!
In general, I prefer to blame toddlers not mothers, but I have a suspect motive for that.
Mostly, I just feel much better about the whole capitalization thing.
huh. it never occurred to me to consider alphabetical placement. gee, maybe i ought to change my blog to AAA This Mom? like in the yellow pages?
my brother's name really is Axel. 'aint that cool?
slap any name up there! i'll happily click and read!
Hm. This doesn't help with the initials, but maybe you could make a play on the 'chatty' connotation of the common contraction of your given name? Because your tone here is very chatty, and the connection is straightforward and not forced ?
I gave my blog name and title about four seconds of thought. It's turned out all right for me though. I have a name no one else has, the title is short. Maybe my lesson is that I really shouldn't think too much. I am, however, buried way down in the S's.
I was wracking my brain for some sort of B&P literary reference and can't think of a single one. I might be out of practice. Maybe I should actually think more.
Well my blog has gone through 3 name changes.
I moved progressively further down the alphabet each time, perhaps revealing a lessening of blogitelligence.
A to R to U (or J if people use the proper blog name).
Can you do something with a B to link it all up?
Example: Belle of bubandpie
(Not really advocating Belle, just saying. Although Belle, Bub, and Pie sort of reminds me of Bell, Book and Candle for some reason, which amuses me.)
Frankly B&P works for me so it's what you want.
I like using my own name for lots of reasons---largely the accountability of self, IYKWIM.
As for the 2 yo, anyone who saw that was probably nodding in sympathy.
Looks like everybody wants to rule the world. I also picked a blog title somewhere near the beginning of the alphabet for exactly the reason you did. In addition, I was looking for something just a bit shocking, figuring it would be more memorable. Though I'm perfectly aware of the potential for blowback.
Since I'd never heard of the character in the Matrix and since my real name is extrememly common, Niobe seemed like an obvious choice for a nom de plume, encapsulating my situation at the moment.
But enough about me. I understand you're not really planning to to change your name, but I couldn't resist giving some suggestions anyway: Aude, Beatrix/Beatrice, Delphine, Gaelle, Isabeau, Melusine, Oceane, Sidonie, Verity. Of course, you could change your name, but not the name of the blog itself, but if you're reasonaby content with both, it's probably a needless complication.
I have always thought of you as B&P
I refer to blog's authors in my head quite frequently and you are bubandpie in my head... I have to consciously shorten it to B&P, which is slightly better for an actual woman I have met, so I kind of wish you would change your name. (It is a herculean effort for me to refer to you, Mad, Sage and Mimi with your real names.) I love the idea of Bea or Beatrix or Bea of B&P...
That's hilarious that you deliberately chose a name nearer the front of the alphabet... I never thought of that. But then, when I first launched my blog, I'd never even read a blog before so I had no idea what I was getting into.
Oh - and I think Hermione would be spot-on... what about Granger?
My real name is Angela. I go by Angie. I didn't choose anonymity on my blog because my blog didn't start as something I thought anyone beyng family would ever see. Before blogs became a mainstream means of entertainment and information.
Back to my point. When I started my first job out of college, I decided Angela sounded prettier and more professional. It was as if I needed to assert myself into the world with a bang. I told people my name was Angela. Everytime someone called me Angela, I cringed. I began loathing the name. Something that has become part of your subconscious self after 22 years cannot be changed without making you feel you have to change to fit it. Luckily, my family and friends that had known me for years refused to succomb to my new-found name independance. They still called me Angie. At work the problem remained and I couldn't change it until I switched jobs. For those at my employer that called me Angela from the moment they met me to now call me Angie was as difficult as it was for me to adapt to Angela. In summary, I would not recommend a name change.
KEEP BELIEVING
I knew nothing about blogging when I first started. I wish I hadn't used my real name. I would much prefer to use one of my nicknames, but I don't think I should change it now. Hmmm.
I like Bub & Pie. I always have. I first came to your blog because of the name.
Two year olds are so much fun, aren't they? Except when they're not, which is pretty much the case when you have any ideas whatsoever about what ought to be happening. Lately, my boys are regaling us with 50 versions of "what did I maaaaaake?", and "what am I puhtenning to beeeeeee?" and it is all I can do to not bang my head against the nearest hard object in frustration, or the hope that the resulting brain damage might magically endow me with patience. Not likely. Some days, I think I need a studio apartment across town, just for 2 or 3 days of the week...
I chose my blog name (the first and the 2nd) for the alphabet reason too.
Ahhh, the alphabetical blog roll read through... that was my mistake, the 'W'...
sigh.
Alas, I have no suggestions. I suspect I would miss Bub and Pie as your calling card...
Niobe - My jaw dropped when I saw Verity included in your list, because I thought of that one myself this morning - I like the way it plays upon the whole fraught issue of honesty in blogging.
Sin - Bea of B&P ... hmmmm, that's very tempting. (I had thought of including Beatrice in my list of literary names with Much Ado in mind.)
Yeah, I guess I was looking for world domination, too, since I chose "A" Mommy Story. Actually, I wish I could rename my blog, because it seems so boring of a title. There's nothing special about it.
I never expected to still be blogging over two years later, so I didn't put a lot of thought into my nickname and blog name back then. I'd like a nickname, but I can never think of anything to call myself.
I've always thought of you as B&P or bubandpie. A nickname could be fun, but would you change your blog name, too?
Well now I am feeling oh-so-smug-and-clever at having chosen a name that starts with an A. Especially considering how little thought I put into it.
I think of you (the individual) as B&P, but think of your blog as BubandPie.
For B names I like Beatrix. For pie flavours: Persimmon.
OK, draw me out on the weekend why don't you?-- when I went out of my way to let you all know I was dead to the world for 48 hours a week.
I love Bea for Beatrice and I had even thought of it before seeing all the comments. I remember you commenting once on my blog that of all Shake's heroines, Beatrice would make the best blogger. So you have a history already in flirting with the name.
I also like Saffron. The word feels good on the tongue. Besides, it's exotic, requires delicacy in harvesting and is extremely tasty once savoured.
I think you should change your name b/c I do call you G--- in my head and not your blog name (unlike Sin or Sage). As Beck said, it is good to have a distance between our real life personas and those we adopt here. I don't know why exactly but her words feel right.
BTW, when I started my blog I felt silly beyond measure calling myself Mad Hatter. Then Jen started calling me Mad and it really fit. I like it. I like that it was crafted/adapted for me by someone else.
One other thing: when I started my blog I decided to call it Under the Mad Hat with an instant's thought. I never had a thought for alpha placement, my keenest of darlings; I preferred the shadows of obscurity then. But when I tried to register my bloggy name, Blogger wouldn't let me b/c there already was an underthemadhat.blogspot... as well as a madhatter.blogspot... (neither of them active at the time as I recall). Now it was only b/c I was stuck on a screen for which I had already filled in tons of info that I didn't want to type again that I capriciously called the blog madhattermommy.blogspot... I still cringe whenever I have to type that. Not b/c I don't want to be a mommy blogger but b/c it so goes against my cranky/sap persona and it means people can NEVER find me unless it's through a direct link. That flirtation with the coolness of obscurity wore off pretty quick, I guess.
Ha! And I bumped you up to 30. On a weekend no less. Why wasn't I nominated for Blogosphere citizen, I say?!
Bub and Pie you've got to keep. It's you!
Are you testing out Bea already? I like it.
Once I started reading many blogs I realized my blog name was boring. But because it is mine I will keep it.
I love Bub and Pie! That's what made me come over here to visit. And darn, what was I thinking, picking a blog that began with W....:-)
Mayberry - Hubby made a horrible grimace when he saw it and said it reminded him of Bea Arthur ... so thanks. ;)
It is too late: you ARE Bubandpie.
I wish I'd taken the alphabet into consideration. But it's too late: I AM Swistle. Low-on-the-list Swistle.
Okay, truthfully? For reasons that I couldn't possibly enunciate, the name "Bub and Pie" actually probably prevented me from clicking back through to your blog the first couple of times you commented on my blog. It was certainly memorable, but I remember clicking through and wondering why I hadn't done so before... and at the time, I think it had to do with the name, which I have of course grown to love and now I don't want you to change it! Funny, eh?
One of the reasons I moved to my own domain was because my old blogger URL had absolutely nothing to do with the blog title, but I couldn't decide between the two names when I started blogging. I love the fact that you were already thinking of alphabetization when you came up with your title!!
No more B&P? Knowing your given name I kind of agree with what Mimi suggested, but I also love Bea or going down the literary road.
I await the surprise!
Back in the 80s a girl I knew so idolized The Police that she legally changed her middle name to "Sting." I thought she was nuts (well she was a bit), but it suited her. I think Bubandpie suits you or at least the Blogosphere You.
When I chose mine I was woefully uncreative, too literal, and yet apparently quite brilliant for starting with A. If I had named it after my boys' nicknames (Bub and Boo) we'd be confusing a few readers. I wish I had put more thought into it. Maybe I'll change it someday.
Btw, I never think of you as B&P (that reminds me of a gas station: green and yellow sign?) :)
Ba’al & Ptah
Beta-phosphoglucomutase
Babassu Palm
Babe Pratt
Birchmount & Pickering
or
Angela Cirencester
or
Verity. I like Verity.
Please, on behalf of all lurkers everywhere, please stay Bub&Pie. Please, you aren't Bea, you are Bub and Pie or Bub&Pie. Perfect name.
Hope I get my way; I did get Mad to peek out on her self-proclaimed "all weekends off from blogging" so that should count for something.
I never thought of you as B&P because that's, you know, Bee and Pee. Which doesn't suit you at all!
I like the duality of BubandPie. You're a mom and a professor; you're mom to a boy and a girl; you're a real person and a blog person; etc.
So, piecing together what Mimi and Mad Hatter said, does that make your real first name Gabrielle? It's like a little comments section riddle!
I really like BubandPie, and clicked on it from someone's blogroll because I was intrigued by the name...it kinda reminded me of the British "Bubble and Squeak." I vote to keep!
Maggie - I'll defy my nickname for once and say NO COMMENT! ;)
I like your name. It's always given me a Mom's Apple Pie vibe - like you are the ultimate mom. It suits.
Otherwise, Hermione is perfect. She is the literary role in which you would be cast. For some reason, I don't see Valancy as being as smart as you are.
hee hee - Aardvark would always be very near the top :)
My mom changed her name from Darlene to Kate on her 50th birthday. Quirky, I guess, but she never looked back!
I have to admit that I have never left groceries, but we live across from a grocery store. My son always gets a bag to carry (I make it light) but one day he threw a complete lying on the floor kicking and screaming tantrum on the day I'd chosen to let him carry the eggs.
My only logical response at the time was to cry. So, he sat screaming, I stood crying over broken eggs (I refused to give into a temper tantrum) and a million people stared. Not one of our finer moments.
Oddly, the only thing I think of when I see the letters B & P together is Bub&Pie...or British Petrol, but that's certainly not helpful.
I love your blog name, so I do hope you keep it. I like the suggestion of Bea as a nickname. Or maybe something like Queen Bea or Queen B&P?
i would call you harriet the spy if that's what you wanted.
I have a real name that SEEMS like a nom de plume, which has made my decisions about internet handles MUCH easier than the average Jane's, I suspect. Though it is kind of interesting when I meet people I've known only on the internet in person, and they refuse to believe that my internet name is my real name.
My main regret is not making my url the same as the title of my blog (The State of Discontent). I secured the URL before I had decided on a title, but of course the URL, being based on my exotic literary name, is hard to spell, and therefore I assume hard to remember. Not to mention it's not NEARLY as snappy as my blog title.
As an internet marketing writer who specializes in writing for search engine optimization, I find the incredibly poor optimization of my own blog particularly ironic, but for some reason, I have trouble bringing my awesome SEO powers to bear on my own site. It almost feels like cheating.
I will probably change the URL eventually, but of course I know the transition will cause confusion so I keep putting it off.
Blog Antagonist, I clicked on your link for the first time because your blog was named Blog Antagonist. So I think it works for you.
Oh, also, a similar grocery situation happened with me and my mother once when I was two. Only she was pregnant. And I wound up with my left arm pulled out of the socket.
(Yes, it was an accident, and no, I don't blame her. Especially now that I have a kid.)
I wanted to answer your first question. I tried. But I don't know how to convert litres to quarters and kilograms to pounds so I don't know whether it's the mom's fault or the toddler's.
So sorry. : )
And yes, obviously, I meant "litres to quarts, not quarters. But incidentally, I don't know how to convert litres to quarters, either. So there's that.
- Ooh, that is a flash forward to Pie's teen years, if ever I've heard one.
-I always think of you as B&P - perhaps a silly play like Bubble & Peek? And then you could spring your nickname off that somehow.
- Bea is always going to be my sister to me.
Before I really understood the land of blogging, I chose my name, A Whole Lot of Nothing. I found out quickly, I was at the top of blogrolls. Lucky for me!
Ok I'll admit I'm not reading others' comments. But I think you should stick to bubandpie. Yes, your children's names--but also the name of your blog. I initially was attracted by the name of your blog--it reminded me (I know this is weird) of bubble-n-squeak, a British way of cooking leftovers. Now it means you, and your interesting mix of literary thoughts, dealing with autism, raising 2 kids, professorship and volunteering with parenting classes; etc.
And I would totally blame the two year old. Always. :)
Interesting post and series of comments. I always think of you as Bubandpie or your first name. It will be interesting to see what you decide!
For some reason, and don't take this wrong, Bub and Pie, together, always reminded me of British food. Bubble and Squeak (mashed potatoes with sausage) or one of their famous meat pasty pies. So...you could be squeak, although it would put you very low on the blog rolls indeed!
Given the name of my blog -- Whee! All the Way Home -- it's clear I didn't want anyone reading my blog. Or maybe it's clear that I was not savvy about the blogroll issue. For my "name," I went with "Patois" because it's similar to my own name (Patty) and because it refers to a special language of a group. I speak my own language. I should rename my blog, now that you mention it.
You, however, will forever be Bubandpie. Definitely don't go my route, because you don't "Gab," do you?
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