Sarah Palin Name Meme

Sarah Palin married her high school boyfriend, Todd Palin, on August 29, 1988. The Palin family lives in Wasilla, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Anchorage. The Palins have two sons (Track, 19, and Trig, four months) and three daughters (Bristol, 17; Willow, 14; and Piper, 7) [ages as of August 2008]. Todd Palin has said Track's name came from the interest Sarah's parents had in the sport and the fact that he was born in the sport's season; Bristol was named after Bristol Bay in Alaska, where Todd grew up and where he does commercial fishing; Willow was named after Willow, Alaska; Piper got her name because it is uncommon and "a cool name"; Trig's name is Norse for "strength".

1)Your first-born will be named after your parents' favorite sport:
To quote undying_rose17 "As many people doing this meme have noted, Baseball as a name is kind of like Talulah does the Hula as a name." So, in light of that, the name of my first born will be Yankee.

2)Your second-born will be named after a nearby area that you're not from but you like the sound of part of the name, and maybe you have nostalgic memories of said place:
Coram. It's where Greg lives.

3)Your third-born will be named after another nearby place, for no reason other than you already have two children and don't have time to put much thought into another name:
Valhalla! Yes, there is a place called Valhalla in Westchester County.

4)Your fourth gets a "cool" name:
Ava is very trendy right now.

5)Your fifth gets something mythological, possibly straight out of Lord of the Rings:
I'm gonna go the Christian mythological route on this one and say Stella Maris.

Why I Hate Romance Novels

Iamthisclose to throwing the urban fantasy novel I started reading last night across the room! Why? Because it has turned out to be a paranormal romance! Gag me with a fucking spoon! I'm barely 40 pages in and already the gorgeous heroine and the gorgeous hero are dry humping each other while soaking in a puddle of blood!

I know that the point of a romance novel is to allow the reader to fully indulge her fantasies. She is supposed to identify with the heroine and feel pretty, sexy, and exciting by proxy. She is supposed to believe that the handsome and rugged hero could fall in love with a woman like her. The reader is supposed to walk away feeling sexy, attractive, and, above all, hopeful.

However, romances have the exact opposite effect on me. Reading about pretty people getting it on just makes me feel ugly. I know I am nowhere near as attractive or exciting as the heroine so I don't identify with her. I know the brutally handsome yet incredibly sensitive hero is so unrealistic he might as well be plastic, and that if such a stunningly rare specimen actually existed in reality he'd be way more interested in people like the pretty perfect heroine who I have no affinity with, than some little schlub like me.

The fantasy being sold in romance novels never grabs me because it's not my fantasy. Pretty people of either gender don't interest me. They never have. And while I know plenty of outstandingly attractive people, many of whom read this journal, none of them are perfect. They all have their own physical and emotional quirks that take them out of the running for Mr./Ms. Universe. But, it's those quirks, those wonderful imperfections that catch my attention.

I am not perfect. I am messy, confusing, and aggravating. I am also soothing, witty, and loving. I know myself to be a complex individual who, for all her faults, is worth knowing. That's what I want in a partner; someone who is layered, unique, and far, far from perfect. I find titillation in the challenges inherent in simply knowing a complex and imperfect person.

Perfection is boring. It makes for boring characters and boring prose. Hell, it even makes for boring sex scenes! That is why Iamthisclose to throwing this book across the room, because my fantasies are deeper than the author is giving me credit for.