There was a time in America when people could relate to the name "Lana" through the actress,
Lana Turner. That time was thirty five ago. I found it somewhat annoying in my youth, when every introduction was followed by "Lana...Like Lana Turner?" Yeah, sure. Like Lana Turner (whoever
that is, I mean, I'm 6 for Chrissake!) Whatever.
Those days, that generation & even Lana Turner, herself, are gone now. According to
namestatistics;
"LANA is the 470th most common female first name
.029% of females in the US are named LANA.
Around 35,525 US females are named LANA!"Take my word for it. In our post-Lana-Turner world, do NOT name your child "Lana." Regardless of how very simple it seems (heck it's only 4 letters long & only 3 of those are different,)
no one will ever get it right, even when it's written down for them &/or they see it on a regular basis. At best, they may be referred to as Alana or Lanna. At least that's close. At worst they will be called;
Lisa
Laura
Layna
Alice
Linda
Liz
Lara
Elaine
Leena
Lindsey
Liza
Lila
Lainey
Lala
Lelia
Alexis
Lacey
Lori
Lada
Alicia
Lane
Lillian
Lauren
Leah
Leia
Lenore
Althea
Helen
Lesley
Leyla
Alisha
Lola
Lily
Lexi
Alanis
among many other increasingly mind-bending possibilities, including, in one case, Susan.
The origin of the name is dubious at best. Some say it's from the Old German for "precious," the Irish Gaelic for "little rock," the Greek "light" or Hawaiian "afloat; calm as still waters." One thing is certain; it's the Spanish word for "wool." Regardless, this precious little rock wool light is growing increasingly UNcalm as my name continues to be mangled hither & yon. I even came up with a sure-fire way to help remember it; it's the word "anal" backwards. How could anyone forget that, right? Still & always, my name proves to be the most difficult word-puzzle ever created by humankind.
If you love your daughters, name them something simple & common, like "Mary," "Heather" or the ever-popular "Caitlyn." I beg you for their sake, do not inflict the constant annoyance that is "Lana."
One of dozens of American coots.
One of at least dozens of red-winged blackbirds.
Pied-billed grebe (the 1st I've ever seen.)
Caspian tern (who later caught a fish.)
Great egrets.
One of two nutrias, invasive marsh-destroyers of the South.
(Update, May 2009; Published in the book of the Generation Fig Tree '09 art show.)
Carolina wren.
Carolina chickadee.
The numerous cardinals are still around.
Some of the goldfinches seem to be getting their brighter colors & darker caps. I suspect they'll be heading north soon enough.
Chipping sparrow.
Blue jay.
American crow.
At 4pm today, a plethora of robins (with a few red-winged blackbirds,) showed up to pick through our yard for 20 minutes. At 5pm, a plethora of red-winged blackbirds (with a few robins,) showed up to do the same.
Many thanks to Michelle for this award. I'm supposed to tell you 7 things I love;
Carolina wren.
American goldfinch.
Pine siskin.
American crow. (They only come down to the yard when they have chicks, so I know they're nesting nearby.)
Red-winged blackbird.
A couple more American coots.
The bald eagle nest. The bird in the distance isn't one of the eagles, unfortunately.
Last (but not least,) yet another sunset.
First, thanks to Holly for this beautiful award. I'm glad to have made her acquaintance through the blogosphere & I'm sure you'd enjoy her blog as much as I do.
Louisiana's state bird, the brown pelican.
Some kind of heron (in the foreground of the lower right hand corner of the picture--click for larger view.)
A great white egret.
One of dozens of American coots.
We were treated to another breathtaking sunset.
(Update, Feb. 13, 2009; This photo was featured on the front page of the St. Tammany News.)
The city of New Orleans, across the lake (where preparations for Mardi Gras are well underway.)
One last shot on our way out; tonight's nearly full moon.
(Update; I ended up wiring this to hang in any direction & renamed it "Under See.")
There's a chipping sparrow & a goldfinch in the upper left hand corner & another goldfinch in the lower right. The other 2 are the pine siskins. Feel free to click for a larger view. These shots of birds on the ground always come out very jumbled-looking (with all the seed husks & whatnot.)
There was a time in America when people could relate to the name "Lana" through the actress, Lana Turner. That time was thirty five ago. I found it somewhat annoying in my youth, when every introduction was followed by "Lana...Like Lana Turner?" Yeah, sure. Like Lana Turner (whoever that is, I mean, I'm 6 for Chrissake!) Whatever.
My art &/or photography is now on display &/or for sale at;
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