April 28, 2011
-
New Site Name [Updated]
Help me pick it out. I've narrowed it down by topic for you: ashes being relit into flame. I wanted "FromTheAshes" but it's taken. Help me pick out the next-best alternative.
Some possibilities [Updated!]:
AshesAfire
O Lith Naur [O lith naur (Sindarin: from the ashes, a fire)]
OutOfTheAshes
AshenSpark
AshenPen
EmberAsh
RekindledAshesWhy ashes?
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not touched by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken;
The crownless again shall be king."--J.R.R. Tolkien, Bilbo's poem in honor of Aragorn
"If there is a real woman - even the trace of one - still there inside grumbling, it can be brought to life again. If there's one wee spark under all those ashes, we'll blow it till the whole pile is red and clear."
--C.S. Lewis, George Macdonald speaking of the grumbling soul, The Great Divorce
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”--Isaiah 61, later quoted by Jesus as his mission statement
Ashes in Jewish culture are a sign of great grief and mourning. Those in emotional pain would wear sackcloth and pour ashes on their heads. Grief is not the sum of the disciple's existence, but grief is where one learns wisdom. (Cf. Tolkien, see which of the Valar Olorin was set under.) But grief ends, and the great Counselor brings beauty even out of our greatest griefs.
So. Thoughts?
Comments (24)
I was hoping for "AngelasAshes" myself :-p Out of the ashes sounds good to me!
I like "O Lith Naur" the best. I like the idea of having both fire and ash in the name and "FromTheAshesAFire" seems just a little long.
"Out of the ashes" would appear to be the next best if "From the ashes" was choice #1. Also lends itself to phoenix imagery. The Sindarin is very nice as well, but I get the feeling it would be a pain to have to translate it all the time (unless of course it's a site primarily for Tolkien geeks).
O Lith Naur for sure.
while I like O Lith Naur a whole lot, I think it makes for a confusing username, so my vote it is for OutoftheAshes or AshesAFire. the other ones are on the longish side, and WordsofAsh brings to mind a 14 yr old female blogger (although that was my first choice, initially). i love the username change origins. nice.
Phrases as names for blogs are ungainly and awkward. My proposals:
Ashwords
Ashwritten
Ashfrom
Fromash
Ashpen
Ashwoken
Wokenash
Ashfire
Ashblaze
Cinderpen
RusChrisso
Kutoka Majivuni (that's Kiswahili, and I realize it's a phrase. It means "From the Ashes"
Ashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashashash
But none of these are the options you have requested that I choose from. Of the options you give, I choose:
AshesAfire
because it is looks the least ungainly on paper (screen), though it still looks pretty ungainly. And because although it's not easy to pronounce, it's easier than the other options.
What if you just pick a nom de plume? Einar son of Galan, for example? Or Cinder Levy? That conjures up the idea of going out of ashes (leaving cinders), right? (Maybe Levi Synder?)
Oh, and how could I forget? "Beauty for ashes"? That translates exactly to "Cinderella."
People might not expect this blog under the name "Cinderella," but the meaning itself fits perfectly. You could go a bit farther abroad and pick an exotic-sounding version of the name:
Cenerentola
Cendrillon
Aschenputtel
Pepelyashka (Pepelyashuk would be the masculine version)
Öskubuska
Zolushka (Zolushek would be the masculine)
Askungen
Külkedisi
Askepott
Ventafocs
Công Chúa Lọ Lem
I favor AshesAfire and O Lith Naur, though all of the suggestions given by @Kurasini are excellent as well.
Out of the ashes imo. Ofc, how can you reject Cinderella?
@Kurasini - I'm voting against Fromash (Fro Mash). Sounds like a 1960s dance move.
Ashes are too powerful an image of death and the horror of burning for someone who wishes to shine brightly.
i like this one! the sindarin is cool too
O Lith Naur
@Kurasini - "Cinderpen" got some good laughs out of me. Especially because now I'm imagining my blog name sung my talking mice.
You are by no means limited to the few hesitant names I put up there. I actually did consider "FromAsh," which is not taken, but while I wasn't as worried as @jalixx3 about it sounding like a dance move, I *was* worried it would sound like "Fromage." This blog may be cheesy, but that doesn't mean I have to admit it in the title.
I agree with you about the awkwardness of many of these options. Out of your suggestions, I like "Ashwoken" the best, even if it makes me think of "Ashoken Farewell"
So, I see several votes for OLithNaur, several for OutOfTheAshes, several for AshesAfire, and a few general dissenters. At least we've narrowed it down, but I still don't feel like we have the perfect username, and I'm not spending my 10,000 creds until I'm certain.
@spokenfor - I could totally try to blog as a 14-year-old female for a while. Lord knows I've got enough bad poetry in my journal to do so with.
O Lith Naur- cause it's Keltic.
How about outFROMtheashes... kind of fits the quote a little better.
@ChrisRusso - um...please? I'll donate credits to see a fake blog written by you taking on the persona of a 14 yr old girl. it would be priceless.
@ChrisRusso - @Kurasini - I really like Cinderpen
Based on the Tolkien quote, how about "WakeTheFire" or "AwakenTheFire"?
AshesAfire
@spokenfor - So will I!
@ChrisRusso - Oh, I'd forgotten that song!
Of your updated options, I am partial to Ashenpen (but I like Ashwoken better).
And maybe you should name your blog "Fromage." It has nothing to do with anything, but often those are the best names.
Comments are closed.