'Blue Bum': What's in a Nickname?

I went back to Norwich last weekend – to catch up with some of my oldest mates. Mates from carefree days of deadend jobs, shared houses, Viking re-enactment and loooong nights of gaming. Mates with whom I’ve shared dreams beyond the describing of them.

In that time, we acquired many nicknames. Among mine: Mog, Authentika the lycra Viker (something about wearing a swimsuit with a swordbelt, (hey I was young!)) and yes, the lovely piece of calligraphy above, done by my friend Alan. It actually says Danie Ware Blue Bum (another swimsuit story, this one to do with a hot day and chemical toilet and a barely-covered arse...)

@Danacea, btw, is a mix of Danie, Danae and Panacea. The only person who ever twigged it first time was Frank Wu. Go figure!

Posting this gift of art and memory on twitter last night raised some interesting responses: -

@tomiwk - in the next episode of "Neon Genesis Evangelion"...
@tompl - Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.
@Disrepdog - it's from the underground, says "mind the gap" :)
@Surfingsue - I reckon it's subliminal advertising 'Buy more comics' ;-)
@mkhall - "Objects in trousers are smaller than they appear."
@Loudmouthman - Its clearly an extract from the ancient chinese love text showing sex positions
@125f8 - 'good time down town tonight' ..
@DavidTouchette - If it's yellow, let it mellow. ??
@geosteph - Hare today, Goon tomorrow (from "little bunny Foo Foo)
@clobberTr0n - it means "Jedi love with your favourite song"
@neverwhere - おなまえわ?でも ダニワレが谷吾じゃなあいですね ;-)
@DC_Zol - "Off to the Pub, Dinner is in the Panda"? (sorry, thinking Ranma 1/2)
@AnnOhio - Three guys walk into a bar....
@twig84 - the language settings on your iPhone are fucked.
@Nubenu - "All men are bastards"?
@Herne - "May you live in interesting times" ? ;P
@daphneblake - 'Lord Voldemort will rise again and sell Jaff cakes at the market'?

Plus a particular mention for Paul Cornell for not hitting too wide of the mark: -

@Paul_Cornell - there's three and blue in there.

Seeing all these got me wondering… why do people pick particular combinations of initials and/or dates? Why do people choose to go just with their own names, or with a nickname? Why do others go with the modern textspk principle of abbreviation, numeration and punctuation… was it just because the name they wanted had already gone?

Rhetorical question :)

Anyway, the winner is @Disrepdog, not only because her own choice of nickname is so cool – but because ‘mind the gap’ is entirely appropriate to the whole ‘chemical toilet’ incident...



The moral of the story? Other people will not necessarily give you the nicknames you’d choose for yourself… but they remain, down the years, and can bring you back the best of memories.

Danie Blue Bum
A nickname that's still engraved on my old Zippo lighter.