Front Lines JNenlIne NOTEBOOK This Week www.JNOnline.us The Name Of The Game Celebrations! W hat's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell" Buzz Bissinger, she would have become Kim Bassinger Bissinger. or something like that. If Austrian composer Joseph Haydn had a daughter who came to We like to have names for things. Well, of course, that the United States and, in the 1920s, married one of the 19 members does help when talking to others because we do not get too far with of the Seek family living in California at the time, she would have "Did you see the whatsis?""Was it over there by the thigamajig?" become a Haydn Seek. There does come a time when names of people and things OK, so these are a stretch. Let us then consider some begin to elude us and we are left with the proverbial egg on REAL names that can really leave you laughing. the face for not remembering that the person we are talking • John Senior Jr. of New York City to is our spouse. However, think of the fun to be had with • Justine Tune, a chorister in Princeton, N.J. some odd combinations of names. • Mary Louise Pantzaroff of Huron County, Ohio What if some famous people were paired up with others • Newton Hooten of Cambridge, Mass. of equally famous names and the result was laughable? Let's • Mrs. Screech, a singing teacher in British Columbia consider some of the following. • Silence Bellows, an editor at the Christian Science If writer Harper Lee were to marry radio personality Jim Monitor Harper, she would then be Harper Lee Harper. If she left • Trailing Arbutus Vines of Tennessee him for Robert E. Lee (you have to forsake all touch with Sy Ma nello • Dr. E.Z. Filler, a dentist in Roslyn Heights, N.Y. real time to play this game), she would then be Harper Lee Edit anal • Hedda Hare of Spring Valley, N.Y. Harper Lee. Assis tant • Herman Sherman Berman, a commissioner of deeds in If Aretha Franklin had teamed with Buddy Holly, she New York City would have been Aretha Holly. Had Buddy then gone for • Iva Odor, a schoolteacher in Spencer, Iowa Dolly Parton, she would have become Dolly Holly. • Solomon Gemorah of Brooklyn, N.Y. If Admiral Byrd had a daughter who married the son of Nicholas Then, you could always seek out some names of firms that are good Cage, her last name would be Byrd Cage. for a chuckle such as Cheatham & Steele, bankers in Wallowa County, Had there been a man named Max Izmir and he married Saturday Oregon. Night Live's Tina Fey, she would have been Tina Fey Izmir. Understanding names — rather, hearing clearly what is said — can Food TV cook Ina Garten might have married rapper Obie Trice help to avoid some laughable errors. I cannot recount the number of and become Ina Trice (All right, so no one counts like that any more. times I've been called Simon Ello or Sal Monella. Ah, well ... Now Are you going to quibble or play my game?). that you have the hang of it, try it yourself or just train your eye to see Had actress Kim Bassinger married Vanity Fair contributing editor some interesting names in the news. - - High Court Honoree At a September dinner in Farmington Hills, the Marshall-Suburban- Tikvah Lodge of B'nai B'rith honored retired Michigan Supreme Court Justice Charles L. Levin, 81, who served 23 years on the federal bench. He received a plaque for his years of service to B'nai B'rith. The Detroit native and University of Michigan graduate served as a judge from 1973 to 1996. "Theodore Levin, Charles' father, an outstand- ing judge in his own right on the U.S. District Court of the Eastern Court of Michigan, was the inspiration and legacy for Charles to follow;' said Charles Levin Irving Handelman of Oak Park in introducing Levin at the event. "It wasn't easy in the early years when religious prejudices were more prevalent than it is today" Levin nominated himself as an Independent for the high court seat. "He took the challenge and made his own destiny by having con- fidence and determination;' Handelman said, "despite the odds of not running as a Democrat or Republican, for they choose their own favorites that are not always the most capable." Charles' cousins are U.S. Rep. Sander Levin and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, both of Michigan. - Robert A. Sklar, editor UP Synagogue Lauded For Clean-Up Marquette Jewish Earth Keeper team member Jacob Silver accepted an environ- mental award in late September during a press conference honoring Temple Beth Sholom in Ishpeming and others involved in the north- ern Michigan interfaith projects that protect Lake Superior and pris- tine forests. The impact of numerous environmental projects created by the northern Michigan Earth Keepers over the past few years is measured A8 November 1 • 2007 iN in the hundreds of tons as more than 15,000 residents have turned in hazardous waste, teens are restoring wild rice beds, businesses and homes are reducing power con- sumption and thousands of dollars used to protect Lake Superior. The members of Temple Beth Sholom actively support all the Earth Keeper projects. The non-profit Michigan Earth Keeper Initiative, its nine faith communities, an Upper Peninsula American Indian tribe and more than 400 volunteers were hon- ored recently with the 2007 Lake Jacob Silver of Temple Beth Superior Magazine Achievement Sholom in Ishpeming receives Award. an environmental award on behalf of volunteers from the On Earth Day 2007 for the third synagogue. year in a row, northern Michigan's Jewish community turned their commitment to tikkun olam (repair of the world) and social action by participating in the annual clean sweep and other activities to protect the environment. "The 2007 clean sweep of outdated and no-longer-used medication demonstrated how comprehensive our commitment is to keeping our water pure and our people healthy," said Silver, one of 70 members of Temple Beth Sholom in Ishpeming. The annual award established in 1994 "recognizes organizations or individuals who have improved the well-being of Lake Superior and its residents:' said Lake Superior Magazine Editor Konnie LeMay, who traveled from Duluth, Minn., to honor the interfaith environment project. - Greg Peterson, special writer Find weekly listings of births, b'nai mitzvah, engagements, weddings and anniversaries online as well as past simchahs all online. They are all bundled under each week's publication date. Just visit JNonline.us and click on Lifecycles on the left. E-Newsletter Desire notification when stories that interest you in particular are posted on JNonline? It's easy to des- ignate the kinds of stories you like when you sign up for your personalized e- newsletter. Only at JNonline.us . Just click on Newsletter on the menu near the top of the page. Latest From Israel Want the most current news from Israel? Check our streaming news from Ynetnews.com for con- tinuous updates and longer news, opinion and feature stories. And look at the center of our Homepage for an Israel story that changes twice daily. Just visit JNonline.us and click on a scrolling story on the left. Coming Soon! The JN's monthly Teen2Teen section, writ- ten by teens for teens, will debut its own Web site later this month with blogs, photo galleries and stories written expressly for the site. Check it out soon. More details to come. This week's poll question: Do you think the Annapolis summit starting Nov. 26 will achieve anything? Visit the JNonline.us homepage, below the left menu, to cast your vote.