I am a practicing pastor. The pastor of Homer and Marge Simpson. This is my real name.

Oooo, I get to be the first! Well, Elanor is a small bright yellow flower that grows in the heart of Lothlorien, where Galadriel queen of the elves lives in LOTR, and while reading the book, it was one little thing that I really liked the mental image of. And gold refers both to the colour of the flower, and to genuineness and the value of nature and imagination.  

I knew some 16 year olds who were 6'2". Heck I even knew a couple of 15 year olds who were that tall~

Well, near the first!

Twinkle toes, plain and simple, I've been in dance since I was five.  And I definatly am friends with many people who are well over six feet and they love to make fun of me since I'm five five  and a couple people are a whole foot taller than me if not more.  I wish I was six feet tall.  But anyways ya my name is cause I dance.

I think my name needs no explanation ;)

Triskele is based on a symbol that originated in Greece.  I can represent progress.  The 2012 seems obvious if you know what's going to happen in 2012.  Intruiged yet? Hahaha.  Hey, Freundly-Giant, did you know that Freund is the masculine noun for friend in German?

I knew it was german, but masculine? Hehehe, I'll be pulling that one out the next time someone calls me a woman...

My name is eands--E is the first letter of my daughter's name, and S my son's.

E and S.

 LOL @ Freund's last comment...

Mine is my job title.  Youth Worker.  Now... when I eventually get a different job... I don't know what I'll do.  Stick with Youth Worker?  Change it?

Well, I think working with youth is more than just a job, it's a passion and a life style. If that's what it is to you, I think you should keep it, it has a nice ring to it!

Oh, and on this topic, I guess I should let everybody know my last name is just pronounced "friend." My family's cool like that.

I am simply Way Out There on a number of fronts.  But on the flip side, I am deep in there on other fronts.

Hi Freundly-Giant,

I came close to guessing your name. I thought you were tall and friendly - and possibly suffering from dyslexia!!!

 I chose my name because, when it comes to spiritual matters, I see myself as a pilgrim. When I saw that that name had been taken, I decided on Pilgrims Progress.

Hi Freundly-Giant,

I've just re-read my post -and can see that it could be interpreted as insulting. I apologise. I didn't mean to insult you - I was just being too clever by half!

Hi Freundly:

Pilgrims Progress is Australian. I've lived there, and know their warped sense of humour. Calling someone "dyslexic" is an Aussie endearment.

If they want to insult you, they ignore you.

_____________________________________

Gewiss so liebt ein Freund den Freund,

Wie ich dich liebe, rätselvolles Leben...

So begins a poem by the famous German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. Translated into English it reads:

As truly loves a friend his friend,

As I love you, mysterious life...

_____________________________________

Now to the meaning of my name, Arminius.

Arminius was a Germanic chieftain who, in the year 9 AD, defeated three Roman Legions in the famous battle of the Teutoburg Forest, and thereby halted further expansion of the Roman Empire at the Rhine. Arminius is also the latinized version of Hermann, and that's how Arminius was known by his Germanic countrymen. The defeat of the invincible Romans in the year 9 by Hermann etched itself so deeply into the Germanic psyche that "Hermann, neun!" ("Hermann, nine!") is still an outcry of astonishment in many German dialects.

Arminius thwarted Roman imperialist ambitions. That's what the name stands for to me: to thwart the ambitions of an imperialist church, state, miltary/capitalist/industrialist complex, capitalist technocracy, and other imperialist instiutions.

Moreover, I'm German, and my first name is Hermann.

And Arminius is the name of the main character in my novel "Non nobis, Domine"

Arminius, my friend, you're too kind!

So pleased your name means to thwart Roman imperialist ambitions - sounds familiar.

World imperialism is a never-ending story, keep thwarting!!!

Don't worry about it, Pilgrim, I have a sense of humor, too.

I tend to be very introverted in real life.  Like a faery, I live on the periphery and not everyone believes in me.  I don't announce myself to the world very well and am kind of "fey".  Like Tinkerbel I flutter around online like a little social butterfly making is seem like I'm more sociable that I actually am.

If I feel passionate about something, I kick ass and that's surprising if you've only met the fairy.  That's the Ninja part. 

cjms - nothing interesting; just my initials...cms

I have a heart and I am Crazy at times or all the time. ergo - CrazyHeart

Not to mention it's the easiest word to google-image multiple cool avitars.

Lovejoy, you aare so right  tee hee

Mine's not fancy - just a nic-name from my high-school days.  Not quite sure how it developed - but is a derrivative of my real name.

Lots of thought went into some of these names. I love it. Mine is very simple - myst, short for mysterious. I was/am intrigued with the anonymity of an online forum and although in person I may not appear too 'mysterious', I believe I am complex and can be quite private - and thus, there can be much mystery.

ah, myst I am glad you posted.I thought it was a kinky spelling for mist. Glad you set us straight.

Namaste is a Sanskrit greeting. (Very) roughly translated, it means 'the spirit in me salutes/greets the spirit in you'. This really speaks to me - acknowledging the sacred in ourselves and others. It's a term used in yoga, and at the time I pick my username, I was very in to yoga.

Naman is a Sanskrit name newman and I am still very interested in Yoga. 

Paradox, paradox1 and paradox2 were already taken when I joined wondercafe.  I became P3, because I am fascinated by paradox in religious faith. 

I have come to like the 3 part of my name, too, because it could stand for the trinity.   A few people have told me about something called the triple paradox.

Mine is self explanatory. I am very open about my atheism and I find it odd that some people will say that I must be an unhappy person because of it. I am sure it bothers the same people that I am happy, fun, kooky, curious etc just like any fellow human being.

I once had a red gingham tableclothe. My dog ate it. I guess it's a tribute to the memory of an insignificant object.

Hilary is my real name.

I choose it as my user name as often as I can, because I think that it is also a bit of a window.  "Hilary" means cheerful.  I consider it a challenge - to live every day with CHEER!

I chose Northwind because I live in northern BC and am sometimes like the wind that blows through and posts something on occasion.

i  chose shopachocaholic becasue first of all "holic" is usually placedat the end of a word to make it an addiction of some sort well im shure you can fill in the blanks but i have a shopping and chocolate addiction!!!!

@ redgingham...

I never noticed the extra g in your name!  I always thought you were redingham -- which is... I don't know... but it sounds like it could be an English county.  That's what I totally thought your name was all about...

I'm Xander's Dad.

My real name is Mackenzie and I'm musical so therefore "Musical Mackenzie".

Hi Freundly-Giant,

I wanted everyone to know that I'll race them to the can.

rev refers to revolutions per minute.

john is another word for toilet.

Grace and peace to you.

John

When my son as about 5, I had to go away for a weekend (for the first time), and brought him back a beaniebaby anteater. This became his favourite animal and he started to draw lots of happy anteater families for years to come.

Punkins is the first nickname I gave my cat after I got her.  She's now referred to as "The Hussy".  Good thing I went with the first one instead of the current one ...

LOL

Mines's pretty obvious I think. Just my first name and last initial.

Lol. When I get a cat, I want to name it Horace, and call it Hore for short. Hehehe, it's like whore, but not!

Serena means "fair, bright, serene one"

Now that describes me to a tee. 

LOL@SERENA

I love this thread- so many interesting names, and reasons for them.

I got my name from a quote in the movie "The Prince of Egypt". It was an animated film that was more or less based on the Exodus when Moses led the Hebrew people out of Egypt. In the part where Moses is speaking to the burning bush, God says "I am that I am". I loved it!! (I'm pretty sure he says this in the bible as well- I haven't read the old testament in YEARS- so I don't know for sure).

I use the name as a way to hide in some ways. It says everything, and yet nothing all at the same time. It's hard for me to describe exactly why this "name" touches me- but it's one that I use for almost everything.

Sy Snootles is my favorite character in the star wars saga.  she is the most bizarre looking thing on the stage, but she struts her stuff with pride and shakes it like she just KNOWS shes got it.   all women should be like sy, imho!!!

i chose my username LONG before wondercafe came into being, though... i've been sigh snootles on messageboards since about 1998, i think.

I have been StephenGordon online forever. It is the lead character in Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness. It was the first time I saw "someone like me", not the personality of the person but the presentation of the person. Then people like Stephen were called an "invert" and now they are called transgender. A glitch saw me not able to log in with StephenGordon, so I became StevieG.

O-M-G... when i first saw your name, i immediately thought of that scene from that movie!!!  'prince of egypt' is one of my kids' favorite movies, and we watch it every year at passover.   that particular scene always gives me chills.

 I feel kinda lame saying mine, but I will anyways. 

I went to see Britney Spears right before I joined wondercafe, and I was really impressed with her show. I tried a couple other names but they were taken. Then I came up with this one. 

Plus I think its a fun name!

lol, revjohn

My username is one I have used in WOW . My favourite main was PingaDohtor, a resto spec'd shaman.

In Inuit mythology, Pinga ("the one who is up on high") was a goddess of the hunt, fertility and medicine. She was also the psychopomp, bringing souls of the newly-dead to Adlivun, the underworld.
Dohtor is old English for daughter.
So, Pinga reflects my spiritual centre, and the nature of the shaman. Dohtor is my british roots.

PingaDohtor, though, is too long to type, so, it has been truncated to Pinga, and my friends sometimes call me Ping (ie a network test)

***for those who don't know what wow, or shamans are************
World of Warcraft (wow) is an on-line game, played by millions of people in realtime. It stimulates multiple senses, is highly addictive, and fascinating in many regards.

PingaDohtor is a shaman, spec'd as restoration.

Shaman are the spiritual leaders of their tribes and clans. They are masters of the elements, earth, air, water, fire, using spells and totems that heal or enhance their allies in battle while unleashing the fury of the elements upon their foes. Shamans can wear medium armor, and even wield massive two-handed weapons in combat. They are a versatile class that can wade into battle, restoring their allies while hurling elemental bolts of lightning at their enemies.
The old phrase "jack of all trades, master of none" is an excellent way to describe the Shaman; they are the only real "hybrid" class in World of Warcraft. While they do not excel at any one aspect of their repertoire, they function passing well when performing most tasks called upon by a party. Their totems are used to enhance the party, and so, are often called in specifically for those talents.
In my case, my build, restoration spec, is designed to bolster my healing, as well as other healers. It also assists the spell-casters who need lots of mana. I also can resurrect, ie restore characters who have died.

As a shaman, Pinga can also do battle, though, that is not how i am spec'd to do, so....i must fight wisely.