What is your first name?

[Mark]

Bet you can't guess mine ...

[Dundonnell]

Colin.

[Mark]

Colin.

No, it's not Colin. Have another go ...

[Philoctetes]

Kevin, it means 'Kind One or Beloved'.
Ryan, is my middle name, it means 'Little King'.

[vandermolen]

No, it's not Colin. Have another go ...

Roger?........

[karlhenning]

Marmaduke?

[Mark]

I could see myself as a Marmaduke.

[Dundonnell]

No, it's not Colin. Have another go ...

Crossed wires, old chap

[(poco) Sforzando]

No, it's not Colin. Have another go ...

Sir Roderick of Corkin?
(If I were but of normal noble birth.)

[Mark]

Crossed wires, old chap

Actually, my feeble attempt at humour, Colin.

Sir Roderick of Corkin?
(If I were but of normal noble birth.)

God forbid I should ever be like The Corkster!!!

[karlhenning]

God forbid I should ever be like The Corkster!!!

Amen  0:)

[Florestan]

Hey, Mark! It's Anthony, right?

[Mark]

Hey, Mark! It's Anthony, right?

Unsurprisingly, my middle name ...

[ezodisy]

Mine is Vladimir, but I am often being called "Vlad." It is a different, Romanian name, damn you!!!

Better Vlad than VLA-di-mir? I don't think you'll find many over there who pronounce your name correctly.

[Sarastro]

Better Vlad than VLA-di-mir? I don't think you'll find many over there who pronounce your name correctly.

I generally do not mind, here I am in a different culture, so I accept the way it is pronounced here (that is about vlAdimir), also presenting my patronymic as the middle name. (But really, Vlad is Romanian, thus I was supposed to be a Romanian several times and linked to Count Dracula )

[Szykneij]

I generally do not mind, here I am in a different culture, so I accept the way it is pronounced here (that is about vlAdimir), also presenting my patronymic as the middle name. (But really, Vlad is Romanian, thus I was supposed to be a Romanian several times and linked to Count Dracula )

When I was in the Postage Stamps for Collectors business, this was one of our most popular offers:

[Florestan]

Ha ha! Great! This is a stamp from 1959 (a time when Romania was named Romanian People's Republic and was a hardliner Communist state) and it celebrates the chart granted in 1459 by Vlad Ţepeş (pronounced Tsepesh with both e's as in let) to the town of Bucharest, this being the first written attest of the present-day city.

Now, why the Communists rulers chose to celebrate a monarch who was anything but a "people's republican" and who'd certainly have impalled them all had they lived in his time, is beyond me. But then again, Communism is the apotheosis of absurdity.

As for the Dracula legend, it has no real historical basis. It's just a catch for tourists (and a bad taste one at that, IMHO). 

[mn dave]

Time for a bump?

[M forever]

As for the Dracula legend, it has no real historical basis. It's just a catch for tourists (and a bad taste one at that, IMHO). 

I think it's pretty amazing that Bram Stoker's novel (which I found a great book to read) had such an impact that people think this is an actual folk tale or legend. But he made it all up. BTW, I read somewhere that he didn't even base his character on the historic Dracula. He simply thought the name was cool, so he used it for his novel.

[drogulus]

     William

   

     I'm going to need a smaller boat.