Alright, shipmates!
I’m about to start cranking up Double Share for real and I need to know the name of Ishmael’s next ship. It’s a bulk hauler, independently owned and operated under the flag of the Diurnia Salvage and Transport.
Here’s the basic design:
What I need is a name. Submit your suggestions as comments! Maybe YOU can name the next ship in the Trader’s Tales!
Twitter responses:
– martyndarkly (@): @nlowell: How about the ‘Hollister’ – after the original Cpt of Red Dwarf!
(SC Frank Hollister) .. interesting choice .. would we all giggle whenever I read it?
Email from Nobilis (excellent adult podcast – Nobilis Erotica: http://nobilis.libsyn.com)
If Ish’s ship really does have to do with salvage, how about naming it
“Doctor Robert Ballard”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ballard
He’s a shipwreck explorer who also does good archaeology at the same
time–though he can be a controversial figure for some.
If you would like someone more historical rather than present-day, how
about Guglielmo de Lorena, generally considered to be the first
builder of a working diving bell. Another possibility would be Edmund
Halley, who used it for undersea exploration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_bell
I love the idea of SC Guglielemo de Lorena but I’d have to get a basket to carry the pronounciation in. Whoosh! Altho .. if I can do Bresheu, then “joolie-ay-mo day lore-en-ah” might be possbile. “Trust Gugli” ??
“Delphis Soleil”
– thinking of ships that aren’t named for people, and can imagine someone naming their ship with grand dreams of it swimming through space as free as a dolphin with it’s solar sails
Since “Guglielmo” is Italian for “Joseph” the phrase might be, “Trust Joe”
Oooo… interesting idea.
How about “Pequod”?
I’d imagine that he’d name his first ship after his mother, or at least think about her, while figuring out the name. But that boy surprises me every now and then. Hmm, I can’t recall any heroes of his youth. But the previous ideas all sound good to this reader.
well HIS first ship is months away yet in Owner’s Share.
We have to get thru Double, and Captain first :)
I’m liking the new design, personally, and looking forward to more new ones. I haven’t even GOT into packet boats yet … and I should get the Bad Penny drawn as well .. I have a feeling the Damien Eight is gonna be nice boat :)
Here’s a random thought:
How about the “Bella Bathurst” after the author of The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas, False Lights, and Plundered Shipwrecks by Bella Bathurst, ISBN 978-0618416776, Houghton Mifflin, July 2005.
Famous lighthouse makers (whose job is to ultimately eliminate the need for salvage…but) might also be a souce of ship names: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse
The “Alexander Ballantyne” perhaps?
Some good ideas here … Remember it doesn’t have to be salvage related and it doesn’t have to be a person. Also keep in mind that the ship will have a Pooka so it’ll need a nickname. So far nobody’s suggested “Black Pearl” but that’s an interesting line of consideration, too.
‘M jes’ sayin’
In Maori: Tiraki Pahi
Tiraki – to clear (of the sky), lift, clear away (of clouds)
Pahi – large ocean-going canoe, ship, travelling party, expedition, section of a tribe
I was thinking of an athlete my parents were particularly fond of Babe Didrikson Zaharias, an Olympic gold medal winner. She was recognized as the greatest female athlete for the first half of the 20th century.
From an aspiring writing to an accomplished one. I thought to make my first post on your website a useful one and add to the name suggestions for Ish’ new ship. As I’m a biologist, I cannot refrain from delving into this realm dearest to me in our joint search for the perfect name.
As you probably very well know is the name Diurnia of the freighter and salvaging company, the species name for the Diurnia fagella, a certain species of micro moth. The website of the Butterfly Conservation in Dorset, England tells us that ‘[this] micro is an oak lover by the name of Diurnia fagella. (…) The females can be spotted crawling up Oak trunks at dusk whilst the males will shortly appear and flutter around the base of the tree.’ So the Diurnia moths are oak lovers. If the Diurnia shipyard is such an oak lover as the Diurnia moths are, than I can imagine them to name their ships after nature’s array of oak trees. The genus of oak has five different species.
Quercus – the oaks of Europe, Asia and North America
Cerris – the Turkey oak and its relatives of Europe and Asia
Mesobalanus – the Hungarian oak and its relatives of Europe and Asia
Protobalanus – the Canyon live oak and its relatives, in southwest United States and northwest Mexico.
Lobatae – the red oaks of North America, Central America and northern South America.
To me Quercus and Cerris are the most pronounceable and therefore appropriate names, but I could imagine the shipyard using all names. As for the Pooka… in the English Sherwood Forest (yes, Robin Hood’s home ground) lives The Major’s Oak, voted Britain’s favourite tree in a 2002 survey. The Major is an astonishing 800 years old and 33 feet or 10 meters in circumference. Its branches reach a staggering 92 feet or 28 meters.
Of course the old Celtic name for the oak is also an excellent nickname and Pooka. Duir. According to the ancient Celtic Ogham – a divination method like runes which uses wooden discs of twenty different types of trees including oak – describes people influenced by Duir as ‘determined, self-motivated, enthusiastic and responsible. Natural leaders, they remain calm in a crisis and are not easily swayed by opposition. Although serious minded, they are cheerful and optimistic and do not give up easily.’
Naturally we can debate about the validity of Ogham, but at least it sounds like a useful set of traits for the sailors of the cosmos. ;)
Apologies for the very long comment post.
Regards,
Victoria
Sources:
http://www.dorsetbutterflies.com/moths_march.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak
http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/leisure/countryparks/sherwoodforestcp/majoroak.htm
http://treetotem.com/teoak.htm
The Osmands!
Why not be Ironic and call it the Edmond Fitzgerald? The Great Lakes vessel that sunk in Lake Superior I think. The other name could be the Icurus for greek mythology. Icurus flew to close to the sun and caused the wax holding his wings to melt and his wings to fall off.
Listening to these tales I am always reminded of the traditional ideas of sailing even though they take place in the deep dark. Along with your musical selections I think of the days of the Buccaneers. Ish seems to be notorious among the ships he has already come into contact with, what ship could me more notorious than the QUEEN ANNE”S REVENGE. Or at least the Queen Anne. That is if you prefer the old nautical themes.
I had two thoughts for names. First was calling it “Solar Wind” I just like the way it sounds. The other is E.J. Smith (Edward John Smith) Captain of the Titanic
For a tough, rugged ship…a nice change for our lil buddy Ish, howzabout “Johnny Harlow”…or maybe just “The Harlow”?
I see that you are re-mixing half-share. I found one very minor typo (speako?) in episode 13 chapter 22. Ish and Brill are walking though the flea market and Ish shows Brill his belt. The audio sounds like “..so I turned around and lifted the hem of my jacket to expose the belt. Behind me I heard Bev giggle…” I think that should have been “..heard Brill giggle…”
I am eagerly waiting for Double Share :-)
Well at some point you should take a bow and name one ship the Nathan Lowell :) even if it a background vessal, and as for the main ship, What’s Evo Terra’s real name that could be fun. Especially do to us fans oweing him so much for starting Podiobook.com so you have an outlet for your wonderful stories.
I got my name on the cover. That’s enough for me, altho I might name one for a relative or two.
As for Evo, um, his real name is already IN the story … I’m prohibited from revealing it. ;)
He looks like a Francis to me :)
Nate thats just not fair :( but I guess the reason must be good like his real name is sarah, alice, or Lois. I hope his parents didn’t name him Federated Freight or Umber because that would be strange ;)
How about naming it the Angus Macgyver, you could even have an part in the story with duct tape and a swiss army knife ;)
I HAVE to put my vote in with Glitch_Chaos… Angus MacGyver! If you think about it… Ish and Mac have the same way of thinking under pressure….
I love the name. But it’s too close to McKendrick for comfort.
I’m leaning toward “Glitch Chaos” as a viable alternative tho :)
Well that would work too, I guess ;) heck I have my real name submitted to Sigler in hope’s that hi’ll Kill me in his latest book. I thought about submitting my real name for the ship but, I dont think the John Sperry sounds like that good of a ship name (its too plain) :) Oh well … how about the Douglas Adams.
Very Random thought here….
The Essex was a whaler from Nantucket that was sunk in the Pacific by an enraged bull sperm whale in 1820 – and is thought to have an inspiration for the writing of Moby Dick, which linked me back to Ishmael.
Sorry, My brain tends to go walkarbout sometimes :)
Hey Nate I was just thought of something if Ish is going to have a “bunk bunny” option on this ship maybe we are going in the wrong direction and should be thinking of names like “Aphrodite’s Nymph” or on a different tack “Kali’s sword”
There are some cool ideas here. Keep them coming.
I’m not sure where — if anywhere — we’re going with the “bunk bunny” idea. It’s been interesting to me the amount of negative commentary there was/is over the “erotica” in Half Share. With that in mind, I’m being a little timid … but it’s a new Ish and a new relationship with ship and crew now that he’s moving up to Officer Country.
Well if you want more idea’s. How about to where you left us on Full Share with the nod to another book everyone knows. Names like Wendy’s Darling, The Tigherlilly, the James Barrie, or after the main lead Peter Pan.
If you want Ish’s shaman like ablities to come out more why not name the ship after an animal so he can freak people out more :) Like The white Shark (possible nod to our new friend Otto) or following the salvage and transport part of the new company D.S.T. The Golden Retriever, or Diurnai ‘s Retriever to be cute.
As for the “erotica” parts it would be nice to keep it in the PG-13 area but other wise go for it! I think the relationships add the spice to the story quite nicely in place of the standard (now a days) of over baring action and or violence.
Although now that you have the potiental dangers of Salvage comming into play, Depending on the crews roll in it, there may be a new spice to take its place. Ish has, after all, had several years by now to make up for his childhood lack of friends, I would hope ;)
I would like to recommend some form of either Merrimack or Merrimac. These two similar named ships covered the entire scope of “Diurnia Salvage and Transport”.
The Merrimack is the one most people are familiar with (U.S. warship, scuttled in the race to leave Virginia after it seceded at the beginning of the civial war. Was SALVAGED by the Confederates and rebuilt into one of the first iron sided ships in the world (CSS Virginia). See http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/merimak2.htm for more details.
The Merrimac was a US Colliar (bulk cargo TRANSPORT, specifically coal) sunk in an effort to blockade a harbor in the Spanish American war. See http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/merimk-2.htm for more details.
They seem like appropriate names, plus, they’ve just got a nice ring to them.
Now we’re gettin’ down to it perty well :)
Keep diggin’ people. So far I’m liking “Glitch Chaos” or “Quercus Alba” …
FYI, the first line of DS is “The sky above the port was the color of a tv tuned to a dead channel.” .. but that’s subject to change :)
Not that these are original, but…
The Salcombe Cannon
The Spanish Harlot
The Moorish Princess
De Veenboer
The Vagabond
Sailsman
The Dandy Highwayman
Magnanomus Pauper
The Saracen’s Head
One of my favorite things about Ish is how he’ll try everything and how he likes to have a very wide skill set. These are some names that reflect that
Variant Pursuits (with the Pooka Percy)
Methodical Jack ( with the Pooka Jack. This name plays on the Jack-of-all-trades thing)
Polymath’s Anchor (with the Pooka Polly. This name has that sea motif)
Apprentice to the World (I’m not sure about this ship’s Pooka, but I liked the idea of linking Ish’s ability to learn with the Shaman’s gift of listening to the world)
Renaissance Companion (Also not sure about this Pooka but I like referencing Ish’s deep relationship to his ship)
Universalis Luck (with the Pooka Sally. Ish has always seemed blessed with good luck to me)
Some really interesting ideas here. Keep ’em coming.
Remember we’re talking about a commercial carrier vessel owned by a successful company.
How about “Loki’s Cloak” or “Davey’s Locker” (as in Davey Jones Locker)
Oh! you could name it the Crow, sence a salvage ship would be poeticly similar to a carrion feeder. I think voulture would sound to negitive for a successful company but its also plausable
another one along the scavenging birds: Magpie
You could do something as an homage to a favorite author.
Please note that my spelling may be terrible in the examples below:
The Joy, with the Pooka Clive (In honor of C.S. Lewis)
Samwise Gamgee with the Pooka Sam (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Harrington with the Pooka Honor (David Webber)
Dendarii with the Pooka of Miles (Lois McMaster Bujold)
Old Major not sure about the Pooka (George Orwell)
or something similar
I also like some reference to the Biblical origins of the name ‘Ishmael’. The ship could be named Genesis (for the book in which his story is told) or maybe “Promise” because Ishmael means “God has heard” with the connotation that the child was a fulfillment of a divine promise. In either case the Pooka could be bit tricky, but I think I would go with “Abe” as a nod to the Biblical Ishmael’s father, Abraham.
I have just finished listening to the first three books.
Loved them, Thanks.
As for the name of the ship, I considered that he would have to be drawn to the ship for some reason and as such it or it’s name should have meaning for him.
When I first started reading everyone’s ideas I was surprised that no one seemed to be thinking of his link to his mother. Through out the three books he keeps referring back to experiences with his mother and her influence on him.
The first name that came to mind for me was “Horatio Hornblower” or either Horatio or The Hornblower. A character from a series of novels by C. S. Forester. This would quite possible be a series his mother would possible have had or most definitely would have read.
How about “the Phoenix”
Well my favorite show/movie/ship (not including the Lois of course) is Serenity. And I thought it’d be a cool tribute as well as work for a salvage ship (since the Serenity is a salvage ship). Just a thought! Thanks for the great work. I enjoyed the entire series and can’t wait for DS.
Oh, wouldn’t that be interesting.
I’d feel funny adopting that name just because I love Firefly so much, but maybe “Malcolm Reynolds” … or … “Nathan Fillian” … or for that little extra level of esoteric SF geekiness … “Hoban Washburn” for the obvious reasons which I will not spell out here for fear of spoiling it for anybody who hasn’t seen the movie yet.
Lots of good suggestions here. Keep ’em coming!
How about the name Porsche Lynndale. I can’t believe I’m suggesting a name after a porn star, Porsche Lynn. OK that’s not going to work. How about the Hannibal Smith? Yeah the guy from the A-Team. I’m really drawing a blank here with the names. OK how about the Lynn Anne.
Monolithic Money Momma? – I’m feeling a little T-Rex Vibe…. Cosmic Dancer, The Slider. Grand Funks, Loco Motion.
Dunno.
Sapient Serenity
An independent bulk hauler, you could try the Starways Trader or perhaps the Nova Carrier. Love the stories so far, really help make my commute torable. Look forward to the next story.
How about the “Hermes” for the Greek god of commerce
How about starting with the Pooka name and working backward. The most famous Pooka in literature is of course Harvey from the book, stage play and movie. So the ship name becomes Harvey what? William Harvey?
I would suggest William Wilberforce for the Englishman who led the fight for abolition in the British Parliament. It is such a strong name and would honor a man who took on some very unpopular causes.