How did you choose your forum name and avatar?

LeafByNiggle · Dec 13, 2021

MMXX said:
I picked my avatar because C.S. Lewis was generally laid-back, like I am. And he was about my age when that picture was taken.

Are you also fan of Lewis's writings? Mere Christianity? A Grief Observed? His space trilogy? The Narnia chronicles?

As for me, my screen name is a reference to a story written by one of Lewis's good friends, J.R.R. Tolkien, "Leaf by Niggle", a heart-warming short story of redemption that you can read in about 15 minutes if you can find it somewhere. And my current avatar is a picture I took on vacation to southern Illinois. It is the famous Bald Knob Cross of Peace in Alto Pass, Illinois. It is so prominent that even the flight schools nearby use it as a visual reference for student pilots. I have another picture of it that I took from a lookout tower 10 miles away.

Astrid · Dec 13, 2021

Bradskii said:
I'm going back very many years to an old forum called True2Ourselves. It was going gang busters for a while. Nice guy that ran it. A good turn over of interesting discussions. I made a few online friends there. When I joined, I didn't want to use my normal email address. So I logged on to a site where you could get one for nothing. And had to think of an address name. I had the paper infront of me open at the sports section at the time and there was a story about my rugby league team - the Sydney City Roosters. Captained by a guy called Brad Fittler. One of the best players of all time. A real hero of mine. So...brad.fittler@something or other it became.

There was a guy who posted regularly there who was a Catholic. A real obnoxious bloke. He had an anger management problem and was regularly being banned for a couple of weeks. We did not get on. And then I discovered he'd joined the now defunct Catholics Answers forums. So I joined there to see what he was up to. But changed my forum name from Brad to Bradskii. I wanted to see if he'd make the connection if we entered into a discussion. But would you know it, he'd only been there two weeks and had already received a lifetime ban!

True2Ourselves eventually went under as well (this is my third forum - I hope I'm not on a hat trick). The person who ran it handed moderator priviliges over to someone else and it really was a case of the lunatics taking over the asylum.

So Bradskii it's been for a good number of years. And my avatar? Another hero of mine, the late and great physicist - Richard Feynman.

One of the characters in " crazy rich asians" is
named "Astrid".. i never heard that name before
but i liked it. But i misheard it and spelled it as "Estrid".

Avatar was easy.

essentialsaltes · Dec 13, 2021

'Essential Saltes' is a detail (complete with old-timey spelling) from Lovecraft's short novel "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" that has stuck with me.

My avatar is Mr. Gruff, the grumpy coffee-drinking atheist of the Landover Baptist parody Christian site for kids. Hard to believe Landover got its start almost 25 years ago. Anyway, I've used this image long enough that I now look a lot more like Mr. Gruff in real life (except for the horns, I always point out).

And I also enjoy the irony that Mr. Gruff is exactly the kind of stereotype I hoped to dispel through interactions on this site. Too many people imagine that atheists have horns on their head (metaphorically speaking). Atheists are just people, and there's no need to avoid them like the plague. Only rarely do I kick small children.

Servus · Dec 13, 2021

LeafByNiggle said:
Are you also fan of Lewis's writings? Mere Christianity? A Grief Observed? His space trilogy? The Narnia chronicles?

As for me, my screen name is a reference to a story written by one of Lewis's good friends, J.R.R. Tolkien, "Leaf by Niggle", a heart-warming short story of redemption that you can read in about 15 minutes if you can find it somewhere. And my current avatar is a picture I took on vacation to southern Illinois. It is the famous Bald Knob Cross of Peace in Alto Pass, Illinois. It is so prominent that even the flight schools nearby use it as a visual reference for student pilots. I have another picture of it that I took from a lookout tower 10 miles away.

I have read and enjoyed much Lewis and Tolkien going back to when I was a lad. Your username sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I read Farmer Giles of Ham a long time ago, but never Leaf by Niggle, which I shall have to remedy. Speaking of the other, I just realized Chrysophylax would have made a cool username.

durangodawood · Dec 13, 2021

durango is a nice place.
dawood is David in Arabic, I think, which I did for no reason.
I cut down a pic I shot of the Phil Lynott statue in Dublin because he was awesome.

Bradskii · Dec 13, 2021

messianist said:
In Neath

'Castell Nedd' Neath? I was brought up in Swansea.

messianist · Dec 13, 2021

Bradskii said:
'Castell Nedd' Neath? I was brought up in Swansea.

Waw Abertawe how long ago did you move .

essentialsaltes · Dec 13, 2021

durangodawood said:
dawood is David in Arabic, I think, which I did for no reason.

Funny, your moniker always flips back and forth in my mind from 'the wood' to 'Daoud' and back again. Good to know it's the second, even if it's for no reason!

Bradskii · Dec 13, 2021

messianist said:
Waw Abertawe how long ago did you move .

Moved to London when I was 22. Had to crank the accent back so that people could understand me. 'S'orright n'eh' became 'It's quite nice, isn't it'. Been in Australia for 32 years, so now it's 'Bloody rippa, ay?' Although the accent heads back to the valleys after a few beers. My wife still sounds like a Penclawdd cockle woman.

Paidiske · Dec 13, 2021

Amazing how my accent reverts if I've had a glass or two, too... Seems some things never really go away.

Tinker Grey · Dec 13, 2021

Paidiske said:
Amazing how my accent reverts if I've had a glass or two, too... Seems some things never really go away.

I'm so glad I'm an a Usofan so I don't have to worry about accents.

MehGuy · Dec 13, 2021

I made the username "MehGuy" when I was a teenager and full of angst. The thought process at the time was that the name had two meanings. One was that I was a guy who viewed everything around me as "Meh" and the second reason was that I myself was "Meh". I quite dislike the username now, but I've been using it for close to 15 years that I think it would be strange to suddenly go by something different. I have thought about changing my username to "MeGuy". A user once called me that on here due to my narcissism. While she meant to insult me with the play on words, I actually found it somewhat humorous and kind of liked the suggestion. Perhaps I might. I do like to think I have somewhat improved in being less narcissistic over the years, but the username is probably still apt. A small enough change that I can still retain the look and feel of my old username.

My avatar is of Beavis and Butthead. I am a fan of the show. Not much to say about it really, other than I like the Gen X vibes I feel it gives off. As a millennial I've always looked at this generation with some envy.

Chesterton · Dec 13, 2021

The day I joined I only joined to ask one question in a particular sub-forum. I was reading a G. K. Chesterton book at the time. Didn't know I'd stick around for over a decade. Not being very creative I just looked at the book lying next to my keyboard and typed "Chesterton", because I was enjoying the book. Many times over the years I wish I had just used my real name, Barfyman362.

Chesterton · Dec 13, 2021

essentialsaltes said:
And I also enjoy the irony that Mr. Gruff is exactly the kind of stereotype I hoped to dispel through interactions on this site.

The internetz is full of weird and fascinating stuff, and this is the most weird and fascinating sentence I've read all day. You either don't know the meaning of the word "irony" or you don't know the meaning of the word "dispel". One does not dispel a stereotype by being the poster child for that stereotype every day, year after year after year.

Chesterton · Dec 13, 2021

durangodawood said:
durango is a nice place.
dawood is David in Arabic, I think, which I did for no reason.
I cut down a pic I shot of the Phil Lynott statue in Dublin because he was awesome.

I found your name interesting enough to search it years ago. I found there's a medical doctor in Durango with the last name Dawood. I thought about sending you a PM to ask if that was you but I didn't want to seem creepy. Not that there's any way to dox a PC person like you. In the words of Captain Beefheart, you're safe as milk.

durangodawood · Dec 13, 2021

Chesterton said:
I found your name interesting enough to search it years ago. I found there's a medical doctor in Durango with the last name Dawood. I thought about sending you a PM to ask if that was you but I didn't want to seem creepy. Not that there's any way to dox a PC person like you. In the words of Captain Beefheart, you're safe as milk.

Definitely not a doctor here. Though Im highly qualified to diagnose various social ailments and prescribe PC remedies..... like a national bed rest.

Chesterton · Dec 13, 2021

Oh and as to my avatar, it's bespoke. I paid $100,000 to the noted French existential artist what's-his-name to design it.

Chesterton · Dec 13, 2021

durangodawood said:
Definitely not a doctor here. Though Im highly qualified to diagnose various social ailments and prescribe PC remedies..... like a national bed rest.

Paidiske · Dec 13, 2021

Chesterton said:
The internetz is full of weird and fascinating stuff, and this is the most weird and fascinating sentence I've read all day. You either don't know the meaning of the word "irony" or you don't know the meaning of the word "dispel". One does not dispel a stereotype by being the poster child for that stereotype every day, year after year after year.

And yet the way said member conducts himself does indeed go some way towards dispelling the stereotypes of atheists as soulless, joyless, and lacking in charity. At least, in my experience of interacting with him.

jayem · Dec 14, 2021

JM are my initials.

Leonardo da Vinci's drawing, known as Vitruvian Man is his depiction of supposedly ideal human proportions as related to geometric forms. It appears in one of his notebooks, and is based on the work of a Roman architect, Vitruvius. I chose it as my avatar to symbolize knowledge, reason, curiosity, inventiveness, and analytical thinking. All qualities that I admire, and which Leonardo embodies.

How did you choose your forum name and avatar?

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