Why Game of Thrones baby names are a bad idea

Posted on January 14, 2015 | 2 comments

Though I’ll admit I’m hot for Jon Snow and it’s true my hubby has a thing for Khaleesi, let’s be clear: these Game of Thrones crushes would never prompt us to name a baby in their honour.

Jon, the one Game of Thrones name you could actually get away with because it's generic.

Jon, the one Game of Thrones name you could actually get away with.

Yet some new parents are turning to pop culture and especially fantasy shows when it comes to baby-naming inspiration. The latest trove of names ready to grace birth certificates comes from popular characters in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. Arya is tops thus far, with Khaleesi and Bran following behind. 

I wrote awhile back why it’s a bad idea to name your child after a television show character. Series come and go, and what was hot and original in 2005 (the name Sawyer, from Lost, comes to mind) doesn’t quite roll off the tongue in the same way in 2015. Even the Hunger Games monikers that today embody kick-assedness (Katniss, Peeta) will just be weird in a decade. Imagine being the kid with the strange name that everyone makes fun of (“Hey Catnip!”), then imagine trying to explain your name choice to your daughter (“Katniss was an arrow-weilding tribute in a movie where kids kill each other as live entertainment…”).  

On that note, here are some future awkward conversations you can avoid by not naming your kid after a hero or villain from Westeros.

Tyrion: Mom, why did you really name me Tyrion? I’ve been Googling it, so don’t feed me that line about how it sounds cool.

Mom: (Sigh.) You’re old enough now for the truth. I named you after a cunning dwarf character in a show called Game of Thrones that everyone used to binge on. He kills his father and his whore, and then flees for Bravos with a eunuch. It’s really not as weird as it sounds.

Yes, it sounds cool. But when you start explaining the character it just gets weird.

Yes, Tyrion sounds cool. But when you start explaining the character it just gets weird.

Sansa: No one ever knows how to spell or pronounce my name. It sounds made up!

Mom: We should have named you Arya.

Cersei: How come my twin brother has a normal name and I have a weird one? No one ever makes fun of Jaime.

Mom: You’re named after a fictional queen, honey. And your brother Jaime is named after the queen’s lover. I mean brother.

Cersei Lannister

Cersei. It sounds like an alternative source of natural sugar.

Bran: I’m sick of people calling me Raisin Bran or Bran Flakes. Why’d you name me after a laxative?

Mom: For your information, I named you after a disabled boy who’s also a warg and can enter the minds of animals.

Bran? No thanks, I prefer Flax or Chia.

Bran? No thanks, I prefer Flax or Chia.

Ygritte: Everyone always makes fun of my name and says it’s a kind of water bird.

Mom: Don’t listen to them, sweetie. I named you after my favourite wildling.

Ned: Mine is the worst name ever! It’s old-fashioned and rhymes with dead, head and shred!

Mom: Get over it — it’s not like we named you after Ned Flanders! Be proud: Ned Stark was a good man and he died a hero.

So think twice before turning to fantasy shows for name ideas when you’re expecting. There’s a good reason you don’t know any Darths, Frodos or Uhuras.

 

 

 

2 Comments

Posted in Parenting

Tagged , ,

Fernie’s “Extreme Club”

Posted on January 13, 2015 | 1 comment

This year we finally committed to becoming “Califernians” (Calgarians who weekend in Fernie) for six straight weeks by signing Avery up for the Extreme Club at Fernie Alpine Resort. The program helps intermediate skiers like Avery, 9, improve their skills and reach the next level (more confidence in powder, on steeper terrain and navigating bumps). She’s in a group with five other children of similar ages and abilities, and they have the same instructor every week. After only two lessons she’s already faster and more confident on the steeps, demonstrating improved turning technique and absolutely no fear.

Avery rips down the 123's in Curry Bowl on Sunday.

Avery rips down the 123’s in Curry Bowl on Sunday.

I always hoped it would get to a point where my girl could ski anywhere on the mountain with me, and after taking her down the steep black diamond 123’s into Curry Bowl last weekend, I think we’re almost there.

She also gamely skis through the moguls on blue runs in Lizard Bowl, and hopefully, one of these weekends there will be some powder and we’ll see how she performs atop the fluff (Memo to Griz: can you please deliver the white stuff?).

As a parent and a skier it’s satisfying to see how far Avery has come in six years. It’s hard to think back and remember her as a preschooler learning to snowplow on the Mini Moose (a.k.a. magic carpet) and taking numerous snow-eating breaks between “runs.” I wondered if she’d grow to really enjoy skiing, or merely do it because it was her parents’ dream to be a ski family.

Avery stops for a snow-eating break by the Mini Moose in 2009.

Avery stops for a snow-eating break by the Mini Moose in 2009.

Now, when we give her an option not to ski, or to leave the hill early to hit the hot tub and waterslide, she always chooses more runs. I watch as she carries her own skis and poles, boards the lift ahead of me with friends, looks for jumps on the side of every cat-track, and follows me gamely down every run.

Avery and a friend stop at the top of Curry Bowl's 123's.

Avery and a friend stop at the top of Curry Bowl’s 123’s.

It won’t be long before she’ll no longer want to ski with me, and I’ll be back to doing laps on Power Trip, now with Bennett. In the meantime, I’ll savour all our runs this winter. It will be neat to see how far she comes with her Extreme Club friends this season.

1 Comment

Posted in Outdoor Adventure, Travel

Tagged , , , ,

Drink of the Week: Hashtag Boom (redux)

Posted on January 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

I first wrote about this cocktail two years ago after it won a Beam Global competition at Vine Arts. Its creator, Matt LaRocque, formerly of Taste, moved over to Charcut and brought this drink with him. In the intervening years he’s played with the recipe a bit and I got to sample the updated Hashtag Boom at an event at Charcut last night.

LaRocque has switched bourbons to Bulleit, added a half ounce of New Deal Ginger liqueur and traded Fentiman’s for Grizzly Paw ginger beer. Most significantly, the drink is now served in a tall glass instead of a short one and tastes longer on the ginger beer and less spirit-forward on the bourbon. I could taste the bourbon, it just wasn’t all-powerful. The gastrique adds a nice spicy, sightly vinegar-y taste that’s subtle but still noticeable. Best of all, the drink was delicious paired with Charcut’s famous charcuterie (love the mortadella!).

This strong and spicy cocktail complements Charcut's charcuterie.

The Hashtag Boom, a strong, long and spicy cocktail, complements Charcut’s delicious charcuterie.

The evening was hosted by Maui tourism folks, so we talked a lot about the island, food and cocktail culture, and one of its upcoming food and wine festivals, Ka’anapali Fresh. I easily pictured myself on a lanai drinking a Hashtag Boom, which happens to be the exact colour of a Hawaiian sunset.

This warming, ginger-imbued winter sip is the colour of a Hawaiian sunset.

This warming, ginger-imbued winter sip is the colour of a Hawaiian sunset.

Hashtag Boom

  • 1.5 oz Bulleit bourbon
  • .5 oz New Deal Ginger
  • 1 oz red pepper gastrique
  • 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 2 dashes peach bitters
  • Top Grizzly Paw ginger beer
  • Garnish: lemon twist

Method: Shake all ingredients except ginger beer with ice. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice.

— Recipe courtesy Charcut

Leave a comment

Posted in Cocktails

Tagged , , , ,