Red = Politically left of centre, which is a mighty wide range... from near-centrist to far-left. But that doesn't stop some immediately (and incorrectly) reading "Red" as "Communist". Particularly in the USA among those who bought into the whole McCarthy idea. As it happens, I am fairly far left, but anti-authoritarian... which moves me waaaay away from Communism and shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of the Dalai Lama.

Celt = Is a historical reference to the parts of the UK which saw the least intrusion from Roman influence: Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. In particular (for me) Scotland.

It was an easy 2-word combination that I felt happy with in an online world with little unanimity. I first used it playing online Quake. The original version, back in 1996. It has remained my only online pseudonym for all of that time. Apart from porn sites. Naturally. Not that I'd use such things, obviously. And if you saw the name Ozymandius on one of those, it most definitely would not be me.

My username is an anagram of my real name. I really like anagrams.

(August 16, 2013 at 3:32 am)NoraBrimstone Wrote: My username is an anagram of my real name. I really like anagrams.

Now that is something sweet.

I should have thought of that, but I would probably only come up with utter nonsence. Japes Charleston?

I think this isn't the first time I explain it here.... nor will it be the last, it seems...

Once upon a time, I was registering, for the first time, in an online forum. A portuguese online forum. I tried to use my initials, PC.... that didn't work, for some reason, so I tried other combinations of my name.... all to no avail.... damn this most common of portuguese names!
As I was venting my frustration at the screen, I yelled pócaraças!
And decided to try it, minus the non-ASCII characters, because I know they wouldn't get accepted... voilá!

Now, what does that expression mean?
I wrote it as it's spoken, and that carries a bit of missing letters and spaces. The expression should be "para o caraças" and it's full version is "vai para o caraças", and is used in the same context as "go to hell" or "go fuck yourself".
But when you omit the "vai" its usage becomes that of "fuck this shit" or "fuckin' hell" or "for fucks sake".... and this was my state of frustration at all the attempts I made of having a decent, based of my real name, username on that forum.

On the plus side, there's no one else in the whole world with my nick!

PS. language detail: the 'ç' is read like a 's'. we use the cedilla to turn a 'c' before an 'a' or 'o' (which should generally be read as 'k') into the 's' sound. The first 'ca' in my nick should be read 'ka', and the second 'sa'. That should prevent you from ever confusing it with the city of Caracas, ever again....

(August 16, 2013 at 3:32 am)NoraBrimstone Wrote: My username is an anagram of my real name. I really like anagrams.

Do you like acting on what your anagrams spell out? Like, f'rinstance- breast, rim, noon?

My story is a little involved. I've shared it lots of times before, but it's worth telling again.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Tough.

When I first started this whole forum thing, back when I got my hands on my first pc around 2003, I went by the handle AntiGodSquad. I based it on the title of a scrappy bit of artwork I made, one of those "no fishing" style roadsigns with the symbol in a circle with the diagonal bar across it, banning the activity. Mine used the xtian icthys thing, that vagina/fish symbol. I gave it the name of the Anti-God-Squad-Cod. It seemed to sum up everything I wanted to stand for, so I took it with me into to forum world; first at jesusneverexisted.com and subsequently at evilbible.

When EB went into meltdown, a year to the day before the worst day of my life, a whole bunch of us migrated to Connecticut Valley Atheists, or CVA. I wanted a new identity, so I dipped into the real world.

My real name is Steve (actually Steven, but I get tired of having to explain the unconventional spelling). When my little nephew Chris, now 24 and taller than me, was little and learning about his world, he had his own idiosyncratic way of saying my name; so I was his "Uggle Steebum".

Flash forward a couple of decades and we have a similar picture with his little sister Rosie. We told her what Chris used to call me and she came up with her own version. She rendered Steebum first as the charmingly innocent "Steambum", then shortly thereafter that evolved into "Stimbo".

After the CVA Diaspora, when I and a whole boatload of fellow refugees found a new home here, I brought the name with me. Though I've adopted a few personae since, such as the "Kepler's Dream" of my blog and YT channel, "Walking Pencil", or the "Michael Roe be Botha-Shaw" of my poe-friend, I will be Stimbo forevermore.

(August 16, 2013 at 3:59 am)Captain Colostomy Wrote:

(August 16, 2013 at 3:32 am)NoraBrimstone Wrote: My username is an anagram of my real name. I really like anagrams.

Do you like acting on what your anagrams spell out? Like, f'rinstance- breast, rim, noon?

No. Thankfully.

(August 16, 2013 at 3:36 am)The Germans are coming Wrote: Japes Charleston?

That makes you sound like an Agatha Christie character. "Swords At Dawn - a Japes Charleston mystery".

(August 16, 2013 at 3:56 am)pocaracas Wrote: PS. language detail: the 'ç' is read like a 's'. we use the cedilla to turn a 'c' before an 'a' or 'o' (which should generally be read as 'k') into the 's' sound.

I always thought that was pronounced as a soft 'th' sound, as in 'thing'. That's how it works in Spanish, I believe. Is it different in Portuguese? It's the rationale behind the misconception, seldom heard these days, that everyone from that part of the world speaks with a lisp.

(August 16, 2013 at 4:05 am)NoraBrimstone Wrote:

(August 16, 2013 at 3:59 am)Captain Colostomy Wrote: Do you like acting on what your anagrams spell out? Like, f'rinstance- breast, rim, noon?

No. Thankfully.

LOL. Worth asking anyway.

Damn you and mentioning anagrams. I just played with an online generator. My favorite was my youngest son's name...(a cautionary tale?)... 'Anal once, EMS'...

I bet you went to Anagram Genius! I got the downloaded version of that, but I lost it all when my old pc packed up. The best one I generated was from my nephew Chris's full name: "That horrible wimp screeches".