Still Life With Robin: May the Fourth Be With You

by Peggy Robin

Happy Star Wars Day! The galactic juggernaut actually had its premier on May 25, 1977, but fans celebrate a few weeks early, on May 4th because of the homophonic convergence with the immortal phrase "May the Fourth be with you." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Day)

What do you do to observe this monumental date in sci-fi history? The true aficianados put on costumes of their favorite characters and leap around with light-sabers, but there are a number of other lower-key activities available to more restrained fans (and those of us over the age of eleven). My suggestion for a simple, fun way to mark this occasion is to discover your Star Wars name. This is such a popular activity that there are at least 10 different websites devoted to it, but here are two that consistently come up with good ones: http://starwars.namegeneratorfun.com/ and http://mathbits.com/MathBits/CompSci/LibraryFunc/SWname.htm

Well, that didn't take long, did it? Now how are you going to waste the rest of this beautiful spring day? As long as you are having a good time with goofy name generating, why not find out...

Your pirate name: http://www.piratequiz.com/

Your vampire name: http://vampire.namegeneratorfun.com/

Your Viking name: http://gorm.com/name/convert.htm (Note: if you want an actual Viking name, used by a real Viking, go here: http://powayusd.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/teachers/dsykes/viking_names.htm )

Your Hobbit name: http://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/ (Note: if you want an actual Hobbit name, used by a real Hobbit, I hate to break it to you, but Hobbits do not exist.)

Your Japanese name: http://www.kanjizone.com/

Your steampunk name: http://nameberry.com/blog/steampunk-names-victorian-sci-fi (Note: This site won't turn your name into a steampunk name, but it's an unbeatable compilation from which to select your steampunk moniker.)

Your NPR name: http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/04/whats_your_npr_name.html . (Note: Follow the formula described on this site and you will come up with something more or less appropriate, but it still won't be in the same league with Dina Temple-Raston, Kai Ryssdal, Kavitha Cardoza, or Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson!)

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Still Life with Robin is published on Saturdays on the Cleveland Park Listserv, www.cleveland-park.com and on All Life Is Local. Assisting on this report: Leseth Lightrider, Octavia Arronax, Sigrid Gauti, Miyo Takano, Marroc Whitfurrows, Mad Toby Garrocks, and Armand de Pompadour a/k/a The Tiger of the Tormented.