and this Greek statue of Irene have in common...other than loveliness?
Odette, June, Florence, Ophelia and Irene are fantastic names! So fantastic, in fact, that they have been chosen to name some of the most powerful forces of nature, tropical storms. These are strong, striking, beautiful names for powerful forces of nature, art, myth and us.
I find myself thinking about storm names after heading to the store to stock up for Irene (I know.) Irene is the goddess of peace! Let's hope she stays fairly peaceful.
There is the whole association with the damage done by storms, and I want to be reverent about that, but here's the thing: these names have a vast history prior to being names of storms. My entire household and many relatives are represented here, as are yours, I imagine. I really think it's interesting how many amazingly stylish names have been used on these storms
So here they are from this year and years past (they recycle), and from all parts of the globe (aside from the current Irene):
Rina
Beryl
Agnes
Cleo
Ione
Iris
Isadore
Opal
Ophelia
Odette
Dolly
Florence
Hermine
Eloise
Fifi
Flora
Hattie
Fernanda
Norma
Selma
Zelda
Xina
Aletta
Miriam
Willa
Jova
Cosme
Dalila
Flossie
Ivo
Nona
Kiko
Octave
Priscilla
Winifred
Orlene
Isis
Georgette
Estelle
Darby
Celia
Agatha
Velma
Elida
Iselle
Karina
Odile
Hilda
Jimena
Nora
Vivian
Trudy
Winnie
Akoni
Iona
Lala
Olana
Pena
Ulana
Pama
Ekeka
Kika
Neki
Omeka
Unala
Niala
Eillie
Kirrily
Olga
Zelia
Fina
Heidi
Lua
Edna
Hadi
Uriah
Yvette
Blanche
Frances
Penny
Ruby
Gretel
Esther
Claudia
Dovi
Heta
Ivy
Lola
Rae
Daphne
Fanny
Koko
Louise
Ogni
Priya
Zita
Funa
Innis
Atu
Freda
Helene
June
Lusi
Osea
Ume
Epi
Ursula
Veli
Yali
Gita
Iris
Rita
Mona
Violeta
Zosimo
Isko
Venus
Oma
Uka
Zoe
Velo
Usta
Wilby
Yuri
Xangy
Zanele
Wiley
Clovis
Xylo
Irwin
Otis
Abe
Frederic
Gilbert
Hugo
Oscar
Cristobal
Hector
Iggy
Oswald
Koji
Rowe
Igo
Vincente
Tico
Keoni
Wallis
Leo
Amos
Luis
Bune
Chris
York
Waldo
Frank
Howard
Lino
Igme
Rolly
Mele
Huko
Wali
Loke
Oho
Walaka
Javier
Newton
Seymour
Virgil
Xavier
Zeke
Boris
Hernan
Simon
Vance
Nolo
Freddie
Hamish
Jasper
Neville
Ferdinand
Harold
Ernie
Lucas
Arthur
Beni
Tomas
Zuman
Walter
Hagar
Reuben
Winston
Oli
Lin
Seriously, what a savy set of names! I can scarcely find one that I don't really like. Is a name nerd selecting these names for storms that they revere and respect, that they put so much of their time into studying, or do the namers of storms find these to be unusable for people,so they're kind of toss aways? I find the latter extremely hard to believe. Not a bad name in this pack.
and this country house have in common?(image1, image2 is mine, image3)
I think they all illustrate elements of a beautiful style, one that is perfectly echoed by the sounds of the names from the same country - Japan!
I am going to try really hard not to blab too much on this post. But it's going to be hard for me. very hard (being pithy is not a talent of mine on any issue, much less one surrounded by such love and excitement).
Suffice it to say, I love many things Japanese. Our second daughter could have so easily ended up being called Umi Luelle, had it been as fitting for her. I often went by Kiko, myself, as a child. You guys, I love Japanese names!
was listened to often in my hawaiian mountain home while pregnant with Nona and name dreaming - all windows open, white curtains a blowin', the smell of flowers and rain pouring in. They also have a lovely, personal, family-life sort of blog. I love how their family life and their art each inspire the other.
I have a soft spot for Yoshitomo Nara. The very first time I went to a museum in Hawaii was to see his exhibit.
Hawaii is absolutely filled with Japanese culture, particularly in my old neighborhood - it's one of the things I miss so terribly much about living there. image
I first really got into Katsushika Hokusai's art in Hawaii, as well, because it was just all over the place.
But I took the time to really dig into it during a trip with my husband to Maui (we lived on Oahu) while staying in a beautiful guest house. The home was peppered with his stuff throughout - prints on the walls, on the coasters, and a book on the coffee table. After snorkeling and eating, I'd take my sushi-stuffed, salty bod on the sun porch, pop my headphones in and stare at the images until I fell asleep (pre-children, of course.) (images)
Do you like Japanese sewing and craft books?
How fantastic is this kid's style? It can all be made right at home, too.
I'm a Japanese craft book nut, as apparently are many others. There's this podcast about it. and this flickr group dedicated to it.
One of our absolute favorite movies around here is Akira Kurosawa's Dreams:
The photo above is from my favorite segment of the film. Beyond being stunning to behold, Dreams is made up of harmonizing shorts, about 15 min each, which I enjoy sharing with my kids sometimes. Admittedly, there are some that aren't child appropriate, but I love that I get to read the translations and give them something soft, slow and beautiful that sparks their interest in travel and art. I think children really appreciate beauty and quality. I mean, of course they do! and on that note...
This morning I woke up to June sitting quietly on our bed, staring up and pointing at this photo on our wall
It's by this student at University in Kyoto. I put it up in our room last year for June's birth and first weeks, so up it goes each summer now, somewhere where she can reconnect with it.
I don't exactly remember how I found Terunobu Fujimori's work, as I found it during the insanely sleep-deprived era of Nona's first 18 months, but I remember how it made me feel when I first saw it: elated, dreamy, and totally inspired.
is one I used to sing to my kitty cat, Cassius,'Cas'.
Mushishi is my new favorite nap-time pleasure on Netflix Instawatch. Each episode is about 24 min long. Sometimes I watch just to hear the song at the beginning (nerd!)
Some more of our favorite movies? Hayao Miyazaki's - Nona was Kiki last Halloween. And I love this scene from My Neighbor Totoro.
The ever lovely Miho Hatori with her ever lovely name!
Like Brazilian music? Check out this collaboration of hers with Smokey Hormel. (image)
this lovely lady in Japan writes this pretty blog, called Life in the Slow Line, with super photos and links:
and to end beautifully before our list, check out Osamu Yokonami's photography (ahh, I adore it):
The name of this last photo is Kiki.
And on to the name list - because this post could easily be ten pages long. Perhaps this will become series here on Marginamia.
One of my favorite things about these names, beyond their admirable sounds, is that they all mean something beautiful, signifying the important role of meaning in names. I plan to talk more about their meanings in subsequent posts. I love the idea of setting beautiful intentions for your child in the picking of her name - gifting her with a beautiful quality you hope she enjoys on her journey.
So from today's inspirations and musings, as well as some additional favorites of mine:
Sakura (cherry blossom)
Ume (pronounced Oo-may, means plum)
Umeko (plum blossom child)
Umi
Kiko
Kiki
Kioko
Kiku
Suzu ('bell')
Yoko
Niko
Koemi
Maemi
Mei
Satsuki
Yoshimi
Sumi
Suki
Nara
Osaka
Reiko
Sachi
Yuki
Yumi
Yuri
Nui
Miho
Amaya
Rika
Ritsuko
Emi
Atsuko
Mana
Etsuko
Michie
Yuna
Midori (green)
Moe
Rin
Ren
Naoko
Sora
Nao
Riku
Ryo
Yoshi
Osamu
Yoshitomo
Katsushika
Terunobo
Akira
Akeno
Maro
Tomeo
Torio
Toru
Hiroshi
Hiro
Isao
Yuto
Hiraku
Kaito
Kenzo
Noboru
Yori
Ginko
Don't you love Japanese names? Did I leave out a favorite of yours?
I won't do this hardly ever here on Marginamia, but lastly, if you want to help the people of Japan in continued efforts to recover from the tsunami, along with several of the links already provided which offer relief options, there are also these relief options. Those are lot of options - thank you Huffington Post!
and one last song for a happy summer weekend, because how can we not end with Yoko!
