Predator Prey – By Parker Owens

[spike382]

I think all of Parker's main characters from his longer stories will end up with three names by the end of the story. It's interesting how he does that. It's like part of their character arc is to make some change (internal and external), and once that happens their true identy begins to emerge. Stefan becomes Andy, and in this case TP becomes Scott. Now of course that was his name the whole time, but that wasn't who he was yet.

[Former Member]

On another Forum I used to participate in, one of the other members changed his name from an ungainly, boastful nickname to ‘Scott.’ Years later, I am still in intermittent contact with him and the initials we condensed from his boastful nickname are still what comes to mind first. We had called him by those initials for years and his name change came relatively soon before we all stopped posting there.

[Parker Owens]

I think all of Parker's main characters from his longer stories will end up with three names by the end of the story. It's interesting how he does that. It's like part of their character arc is to make some change (internal and external), and once that happens their true identy begins to emerge. Stefan becomes Andy, and in this case TP becomes Scott. Now of course that was his name the whole time, but that wasn't who he was yet.

It wasn't until I was about a third of the way into planning the story out that I realized what was happening...again. But I liked what I had too much to re-figure everything. You tagged me right in that I think name and identity are often crucial. Drought's story above is telling in that regard, IMO. 

 

But now that Spike has dragged my secret out into the open, I will have to think of something else for the next story I write.  

[Former Member]

But now that Spike has dragged my secret out into the open, I will have to think of something else for the next story I write.  

 

Four names?

[Parker Owens]

Four names?

 

LOL. Seriously? 

[northie]

Or no name, absolutely no name ... given, assumed or anything ... 

[Parker Owens]

Or maybe just one name...and a plot. There has to be a plot. That would be good.

[Former Member]

Many, if not most Americans have three names. First and middle personal names and a family surname – but sometimes the middle name is a family name too (eg John Fitzgerald Kennedy).

 

The British upperclass seems to have a tradition of sometimes having four (or more) names (eg Henry Charles Albert David, aka Harry Wales).

Or maybe just one name...and a plot. There has to be a plot. That would be good.

You’re suggesting some authors post plotless stories?  ;-)

[Parker Owens]

Many, if not most Americans have three names. First and middle personal names and a family surname – but sometimes the middle name is a family name too (eg John Fitzgerald Kennedy).

 

The British upperclass seems to have a tradition of sometimes having four (or more) names (eg Henry Charles Albert David, aka Harry Wales).

You’re suggesting some authors post plotless stories?  ;-)

 

Well, now you mention it, people other regions of the world are known to have eight or sixteen names. But I don't think anyone would want to keep track of them all...

[Former Member]

And still others use only one.

 

Northern Europe’s ‘Johnsons’ and ’Jensens’ all came from someone with a single name being the son of someone else. Others were ‘the miner’ or ’the (black)smith.’

[glitteryantlers]

In Transsylvania there are a lot of the Hungarian family names first names. And most Hungarian names are occupation names or are indicating where the family came from. (City or region, minority)

[Former Member]

In Transsylvania there are a lot of the Hungarian family names first names. And most Hungarian names are occupation names or are indicating where the family came from. (City or region, minority)

 

It’s strange. When you wrote occupation names, I didn’t think jobs, I thought outsiders who occupied Hungary! Germany, Austria, Russia, Ottoman Empire(?), etc.

 

There have been countries that suppressed minorities including forcing them to use names from the dominating culture. Slaveowners in the US did it to their slaves (in the ‘70s miniseries Roots, Kunta Kinte is forcibly renamed ‘Toby’ by his master).

[sandrewn]

In Transsylvania there are a lot of the Hungarian family names first names. And most Hungarian names are occupation names or are indicating where the family came from. (City or region, minority)

 

I just noticed this and found a reference that does some explaining of the meaning of some Hungarian surnames.

 

http://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/hungarian

 

 

 

sandrewn

(mine is on this list)

[Former Member]

The guy who created the Fodor's travel guides was Hungarian-American. I did not know that.

 

The list also led me to looking up several other people who, unbeknownst to me, turned out to have Hungarian roots: former US Congressman Tom Lantos, Beach Volleyball player Karch Kiraly, and even famous pantyhose promoter Joe Namath!

 

 

Those who ‘study’ Eastern European pornography, as an intellectual pursuit of course, will be pleased to be able to learn more about the meanings of some of the performers names.

[glitteryantlers]

I just noticed this and found a reference that does some explaining of the meaning of some Hungarian surnames.

 

http://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/hungarian

 

 

 

sandrewn

(mine is on this list)

Hubby's family name is there, meaning left handed, but also clumsy. My maiden name means water in one of the gypsy dialects.

[sandrewn]

Hubby's family name is there, meaning left handed, but also clumsy. My maiden name means water in one of the gypsy dialects.

 

I'm left handed and have been called an oaf(clumsy?), but that is not my family name. Mine is one of The most popular ones (common?). One of my close friends is a Meszaros, but he is a lawyer, which is not the same as a butcher(is it?).

 

https://www.reference.com/education/common-hungarian-last-names-77e2a83d76d1cf9d?qo=contentSimilarQuestions#

 

 

sandrewn

[glitteryantlers]

LOL, mészáros is slaughterman, means killer or a bad surgeon too, butcher is hentes, but it has a similar meaning.

[glitteryantlers]

It’s strange. When you wrote occupation names, I didn’t think jobs, I thought outsiders who occupied Hungary! Germany, Austria, Russia, Ottoman Empire(?), etc.

 

There have been countries that suppressed minorities including forcing them to use names from the dominating culture. Slaveowners in the US did it to their slaves (in the ‘70s miniseries Roots, Kunta Kinte is forcibly renamed ‘Toby’ by his master).

We have plenty of those names too, Német is German, Orosz is Russian, Török is Turkish. I can't think of an equivalent of Austrian or Prussian, but we certainly have the Székely for Szekler and Horvát for Croatian.

[Parker Owens]

And to think there are so few Icelanders that they have no need of surnames....

[Former Member]

Three things keep me from wanting to visit:

• The expense (much too expensive to travel there)
• The weather (much too cold)
• The cuisine (I don’t eat seafood or lamb)

But there are lots of other extremely positive qualities to Iceland, not the least being all those tall Scandinavian men!  ;-)

[Former Member]

We have plenty of those names too, Német is German, Orosz is Russian, Török is Turkish. I can't think of an equivalent of Austrian or Prussian, but we certainly have the Székely for Szekler and Horvát for Croatian.

I tried looking up ‘Székely’ and my app correctly identified it as Hungarian, but unhelpfully defined it as ‘Székely.’ The same app thought ‘Szekler’ was Polish and defined it as, you guessed it, ‘Szekler.’ (Székler was defined as Hungarian for stool.)

 

Going the other way, Czech is Cseh, Slovenian is Szlovén, Slavic is Szláv, Slovakian is Szlovák, and Serbian is Szerb. Romanian is Román, Ukrainian is Ukrán, Bulgarian is Bulgár, and Albanian is Albán.

 

When I finally looked up Székely on Wikipedia, I found out that they are a separate ethnic group and that the name is derived from a Hungarian expression meaning ‘frontier guards.’ I should have started with Wikipedia.  ;-)

[sandrewn]

LOL, mészáros is slaughterman, means killer or a bad surgeon too, butcher is hentes, but it has a similar meaning.

 

In light of that, I guess he chose the right profession. His father was was a doctor, coincidental?

 

 

And to think there are so few Icelanders that they have no need of surnames....

 

I think you/we should look at it from a different point of view.  I recall from the Humphrey Bogart film, 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre', when the bandito leader(Gold Hat), replied to Bogart. From the following quote, just replace ' badges' with 'surnames'.

 

Movie

' Badges, we don't need no stinking badges!'

 

Icelanders

 

' Surnames, we don't need no stinking surnames!', we are all  Vikings here!

 

 

 

sandrewn

(think pride, not lack of numbers)

[hohochan657]

The guy who created the Fodor's travel guides was Hungarian-American. I did not know that.

 

The list also led me to looking up several other people who, unbeknownst to me, turned out to have Hungarian roots: former US Congressman Tom Lantos, Beach Volleyball player Karch Kiraly, and even famous pantyhose promoter Joe Namath!

 

 

Those who ‘study’ Eastern European pornography, as an intellectual pursuit of course, will be pleased to be able to learn more about the meanings of some of the performers names.

STUDY pornography ? INTELLECTUAL pursuit ?? LEARN about ... the performers' names ???

Drought, you MUST be joking !!!

[Former Member]

STUDY pornography ? INTELLECTUAL pursuit ?? LEARN about ... the performers' names ???

Drought, you MUST be joking !!!

 

What? That isn’t why you study porn? I was certain that no reader on GA could possibly have a prurient interest in such matters! Not even writers like Timothy M with his big red package*!  ;-)

 

 

*That’s supposed to be a Danish flag? But it looks like a huge red box wrapped with white ribbons…

[Parker Owens]

You mean it wasn't a present for me?