News Flash! - We've added another name!

First: No baby yet. Everybody is happy and healthy, but Zuperfliegen is not yet ready to leave the warm comfort of the womb for the cold joy of the rest of world. It will happen sometime between now and Monday, 11 April; because the doctor will induce labour by then if it does not start naturally. We'll let you know when something happens, of course!

Second: News Flash! We've added another name! (Because we felt that our son didn't have enough already...)

Specifically, we've added a second middle name: Victor. So his full legal name will be James Steven Victor O'Brien. (We're still calling him Zuperfliegen, though!)

There was some discussion about whether Victor should be the first "middle name" or the second. I was torn, because I like the SOB initials (like my own); but, in the end, I felt that Steven deserved the greater prominence.

Victor is in homage to Ann's first cocker spaniel (the one before Zelda). You can read about her great love for him on her blog.

Of course, as a geek, I can't name my son after the dog without thinking about Indiana Jones:



Apparently, Ann and I believe in naming children the same way that cats are named:

T.S. Eliot - The Naming Of Cats
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

Third: Recently, one of Ann's friends wrote to say that she wanted to make something for Zuperfliegen's room. She asked, "Will the theme be more Beatrix Potter or Winnie-the-Pooh?" We laughed and thought, "umm, it's more like Blaxploitation!" (Though, of the two, Winnie-the-Pooh is way more awesome than Beatrix Potter...)

Along those lines, I wanted to share with you the "official" Zuperfliegen poster, created by our incredibly talented friend, Ben Nelson:

From Zuperfliegen

Ah, what an interesting life Zuperfliegen is going to lead!