what's in a name?

Clara, now 6 weeks

The five most popular girl names in 2012 were: Sophia, Emma, Olivia, Isabella and Ava. The most popular boy names were: Aiden, Jackson, Ethan, Liam and Mason. I know this because I studied the lists while Abbie was pregnant, and besides, I happen to be interested in the whole name thing.

Abbie and Sam did not learn the sex of either baby until the moment the children emerged (Henry into air, Clara into water) AND they carefully guarded their list of possible names. So on both birthdays, Eddie and I got to experience two great surprises! I liked it that way. I don’t really understand the introduction of babies via sonogram on Facebook: We are thrilled for you to meet our baby boy Lucas, who will be born in twenty weeks. Isn’t he adorable??!

It’s not uncommon these days for the expectant couple to reveal the sex of their baby at the baby shower. Here’s how it’s done. The couple goes in for the 20-week sonogram. The technician writes down the sex of the baby on a piece of paper, then seals the paper in an envelope. The couple takes the envelope to their local bakery. The cake baker opens the envelope and then bakes a cake with either a pink or blue center. (Yes, the lady at the cake counter at Price Chopper finds out even before the expectant parents do.) At the baby shower, the cake is sliced and VOILA! Everyone, the couple included, gets the happy news that IT’S A BOY! or IT’S A GIRL!

(My friend Kate, over at Eat the Damn Cake, wrote a wonderful piece about the day she and her husband decided to look at the note that was in the envelope. It’s a very sweet and funny account of their experience. You can read it here.)

At any rate, these “gender cake parties” may have to take a back seat to a new trend in the “gender reveal” world. And folks, I am not making this stuff up. Here’s how this particular soiree unfolds: The couple hires a company that will do the sonogram at home. The shower begins. The living room looks like it always did, except that there is a curtain drawn around some rather large equipment and a table in the corner of the room. There is also a big video monitor. Midway through the party, the pregnant person excuses herself and proceeds toward the table and a smiling technician. Behind the curtain they go. The partner of the pregnant person gets the TV fired up and asks the guests to turn their attention to the screen. I think you can figure out the rest.

Of course, once the sex is known, a name selection isn’t too far behind (though I can imagine the pregnant couple has a stash of both “Michael” and “Michaela” party favors at the ready during these “gender reveal parties."). Choosing a name for one’s child is a big deal, and one can only hope the child will eventually agree that it was a good idea. (I can speak from experience on this topic; my son changed his when he was five. You can read about that here.)

A lot of the names being chosen these days are colorful, charismatic and unusual, much like those being given to Hollywood celebrities’ wee ones. If you want to give your kid a really exotic name in 2013 – one no one in her class will have – I would suggest naming her Sarah or Jennifer or Mary or Ann!

I love the names that were given to my grandkids: Henry and Clara. (Of course, I would love these two children even if I did not like their names.) But I think their names are perfect.

Abbie knows I get a kick out of seeing the latest trends in baby names, so this morning she sent me the list of Henry’s pre-preschool classmates (he will begin attending “school” two mornings a week this fall): Julien, Jude, Rosalie, Jubilee and Maple.

Recently a friend of mine became the grandmother to a Penelope. Other names that are growing in popularity are: Scarlett, Harper, Aubrey, Ivy, Harlow and Clover for girls; Brantley, Declan, Grayson, Kayson, Kingston and Archer for boys.

If you’re interested in the history and popularity of your own name, check out one of my fave sites: Baby Name Wizard. Using the baby voyager tool, you can track any name’s usage from the 1880’s til now. Henry, for example, was the 8^th most popular name in the 1880’s, dropped to 134^th in the 1980’s and is now very much on the rise again. 

Gloria, on the other hand, was ranked 0 in the 1890’s and is ranked 571^st in 2011. My close friend Cheryl is ranked 0 in 2013. Now there are a couple unique names to use! 

eat the damn cake

As I mentioned in an earlier post, "Eat the Damn Cake" blogger Kate Fridkis came to my opening at the Mayson Gallery (along with her very adorable mother). Please read her most recent blog post:

http://www.eatthedamncake.com/2012/05/10/black-women-and-fat-and-a-photo-of-a-girl-wearing-someone-elses-face/

mayson gallery: may 8th 2012

My good friend and fellow CTT board member Carol, who has traveled to Uganda several times now, was the person responsible for getting me the exhibition/fundraiser in New York. I owe her a huge debt of gratitude. It was an amazing opportunity for this Kentucky/Kansas City girl.

The Mayson Gallery is on the lower east side in an area where galleries are starting to pop up all over the place. The space is small, but they managed to install over thirty-four photographs on the top floor. 

On the basement level, there were several paintings by the kids from the orphanage, as well as two large prints of mine. The kids’ pieces were sold in a small, but fiercely competitive silent auction. There was also a small version of the Kajjansi Marketplace, where Ugandan crafts and my books were sold.

The opening was from 6 – 8 PM. Over the course of the evening, there was a steady stream of people coming to see the show. Most of these folks I did not know, but a highlight of my evening was seeing some of my photo pals (some of whom I had not seen in years) and meeting someone with whom I’ve corresponded but never laid eyes on before!

Monika Merva (who I first met at an Andrea Modica workshop in Santa Fe) was there. So was Brian Riesinger (we met at Thatcher Cook’s workshop in Uganda) and Susan Tannenbaum (Mary Ellen Mark’s workshop in Oaxaca was where we first met). Fellow University of Wisconsin photo student Cynthia Bittenfield came by, as well. Then there was Kate Fridkis, the wonderful young blogger for whom I did the “women eating cake” photos. (She writes two blogs, one of which explores womens’ body image issues and is called “Eat the Damn Cake.” She and I are now plotting another collaboration!)

Some awesome cousins, some non-photo (but very dear) pals, some friends of friends, a couple of past CTT team members and lots of new acquaintances helped round out what was a spectacular night for me in my journey as a photographer/non-profit director.

Thanks to all of you who stopped by to see the exhibit. Your friendship and support of my work mean the world to me. Thanks to gallery owner and director Susan and Ronni. And most especially, thank you to Carol Joseph, someone who has believed in me as a photographer and humanitarian from the very beginning.

The exhibit will remain at the Mayson Gallery, 254 Broome Street, for approximately two more weeks. Hopefully there will be lots of sales, because this is a fundraiser for Change the Truth.

I took the installation shots. The photos from the opening were taken by Susan Rae Tannenbaum. Enjoy!

cake-eating women

Kate over at "Eat The Damn Cake" has written a post about eating cake and is featuring the 21 photos I made recently. I love what she wrote (no surprise) and I think the photos and quotes look great. Thanks, Kate, for letting me collaborate with you. And thanks to all the fun-loving, cake-eating girls and women who let me photograph them. Check it out here.

cake! part 2

Here are the rest of the cake photos. And two anecdotes.

Little Hiru, who is in the last picture from yesterday's post, had never had cake before. Her mom decided this would be a good opportunity to give it a whirl. Hiru studied the piece of cake very carefully at first and took her time exploring it. She poked the icing, watch a sprinkle or two fall off, look up at her mom, glanced down at my dog Sam (who was hoping she'd toss it his way), and then finally she pinched off a bit and tucked it into those cute little lips. It did not take long before the next bite, which was, of course, slightly bigger. Hiru remained thoughtful and serious as she raised a few more morsels to her mouth. Her mom, Sam and I patiently waited for some kind of response. Suddenly, she grinned and (totally unprompted) started clapping her hands. Another bite: more applause, a huge smile and even some squealing. Another bite: applause, a bigger huge smile, squealing and a little bit of bouncing. She continued this process until her plate was clean. I told Hiru's mother the child will never be the same.

Seven-year-old Miranda is in the first picture here. She also came to the studio with her mom. She had eaten cake before, but she is a pretty sophisicated little eater (a vegetarian her whole life and a mom who knows her way around the kitchen). She actually wasn't too impressed with the sugary-grocery-store-style cake, but she had so much fun posing and then helping me set up and shoot her mother's picture (her mom is the lovely woman in the 1940's attire). Apparently on the way home from my studio, Miranda called her grandmother to tell her what fun the morning had been and that she and her mom had both "eaten the damn cake!" Miranda's mother took the phone and realized she had a little explaining to do.

I hope I get to do more projects like this for the writer Kate Fridkis. It was great fun! (And thanks to my friend Linda, I got a piece of cake and a photo, too.)

cake!

After reading a wonderful article by Kate Fridkis in the Huffington Post recently, I found my way to her blog, Eat the Damn Cake. Fridkis tackles issues concerning women and body image with poignancy, insight, quirkiness and humor. I have become a huge fan of her work. (She also writes a blog about home schooling and continues to write about various topics for HP.) At any rate, I emailed her to tell her I was captivated, and that I would love to collaborate with her by doing some photos. She was generous in her quick response, willing to give me a chance to do some visuals for use somewhere on the blog.

We decided to start with, what else? Pictures of girls and women eating the damn cake!

I put out a call on my facebook page. Within hours I was busy running back and forth to the bakery counter at my neighborhood grocery store, fielding emails and calls from hungry friends and hungry friends of those friends. Well, hungry is probably not an accurate word to use in this case - more like sweet-toothed and slightly crazed and irreverent.

The weekend turned out to be a total blast, needless to say. I am still finding icing in the crevices of my camera and crumbs on the studio floor. I have wonderful gal pals, and I thank them for volunteering to shove cake in their mouths for me.

I ended up doing 20 pictures in all. I have sent them to Kate and am eager to hear what she has to say. In the meantime, here's the first half of the eat the damn cake photos. I'll post the rest tomorrow. Don't you just want to run out and grab a slice?