Hi My Name Is...

Just wanted to extend to you a friendly reminder that it actually is possible to change your name to anything you want. This guy in Oregon sure did, and countless celebrities do it (Madonna, Cher, Chaka Khan, Bono, Alicia Keys, Moby, Meat Loaf, Snoop Dogg, Sting, and Vanilla Ice) and some of them multiple times. Enter Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy, Puffy, Puff, Sean "Puffy" Combs, recently known as P. Diddy, just Diddy, and according to some Diddy Dirty Money, and Sean John are on the table as options for a new identity. To be fair, some of these are variations of the same name, and others are only rumored (evidently he did not change his name to Diddy Dirty Money, though I wouldn't put it past him, and it's only a rumor that he wants to be known as Sean John, the name of his clothing line) but still. I've been to the DMV, I've been to the social security agency, I've waited in those lines and filled out that paperwork. It's unpleasant and tedious, why do it more than once? Oh, right, he has a team of employees grunts to do that for him.

In any case, making multiple name changes is absurd. What is perhaps more absurd though is adopting a ludicrous name like Meat Loaf, or Moby. Celebrities have the alibi of needing something memorable and unique, and they graciously bestow this on their children (like poor little Bronx Mowgli or Sage Moonblood). Then there's Captain Awesome. When any "normal" person adopts a bizarre name it's just that: bizarre. It reminds me of the episode of Friends when Phoebe and Mike change their names. Maybe I should change my name. I mean, I did it once, I could do it again. I'll be taking suggestions...