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Love this 😎 my name is 하영 (hayoung) which is short for 하나님의 영광--God’s glory. I grew up ashamed of this name because it was too different and maybe too religious, but now, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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What a powerful name. Did you have any nicknames growing up, either with family or friends?

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I went by name legal middle name “David” out of fear of being ridiculed but fully embraced my legal first name in korean starting in high school.

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"Death is helpless against a well-loved name spoken aloud." I had to pause the video here. What a sentence! Thank you for sharing this.

This is my first dive in to your work sir and I must say it's really moving. I'll be going through to watch more, I'm sure of it. I mean, horses, Tim McGraw and cleavage.... This definitely commands attention.

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Hey Derek,

Thanks for watching. This one is an interesting place to start. Since Home, I'm intentionally connecting them, before that, they're sort of connected, but not as much. Either way, you can hop in and out as you please - they all work as single pieces.

Glad to see you here. Are you a horse person?

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Not really a horse person so much as just an admirer of horses. Don’t know names or breeds but they fascinate me as creatures. Their sheer size, strength and intelligence seem to boggle my mind a bit.

To me they’re one of those “domesticated” animals who really domesticate us. Almost like they allow our company. They’re the ones putting us to work.

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Totally agree. We call dogs man's best friend, but by most accounts we domesticated horses centuries before dogs. They're so intrinsic to where we are today. For example, without them, we probably wouldn't have survived the last ice age.

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Oooo. How is that? Are we talking like Leo in The Revenant or more on the ag side of things?

Of course I’m being a bit facetious. I would like to know more about that.

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Hah!

There's some evidence that, during the last ice age, we herded and travelled with horses across to North America. We ate their meat and later learned to ride them. They were our primary food source and some believe we would've died out without them

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Hmmm.. I’ve never “heard” any of that but I’m going to have to look that up.

It’s hard to imagine, as modern people, that people would even eat horse meat but not at all that surprising given their abundance in the past. Especially in a situation where one is desperate for food like an ice age. Thanks for the info.

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Jul 6, 2023Liked by Taegan MacLean

Love this Taegan. Beautifully written. My son’s name also jumped up off a page at me and I was like “that’s him.” His name is Asher too.

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Hey Jill,

Thank you. And that's amazing! Mike's nickname for his son is Ash, and sometimes in jest, Ash Ketchum from Pokemon. Do you call your son Ash?

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Jul 7, 2023Liked by Taegan MacLean

Ash, Ashie, Asheroo, you name it. He has a Burmese middle name too that means ☀️

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Jul 7, 2023Liked by Taegan MacLean

Lately I’ve been calling him “asheypooh” a mix of ash and Winnie the Pooh lol toddlers are fun

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Jul 7, 2023Liked by Taegan MacLean

Oh we had an Asheypooh phase too! 👊🥰

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From one fella with a weird name to another: beautiful.

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Hey Mills,

Glad you liked it. I've yet to meet someone with a weird name who isn't also at least a little weird (in a good way).

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This is my first read of yours and I'm moved. Love the pieces a part of this; the weight of a name, the identities attached to it (one's we self-identify with and ones other receive), and the memoirs that become contained in them. Wonderful work!

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Hey Austin,

Thank you for taking the time to read. I'd be curious to see what you think of the video version. They're more of a time commitment (15-18 mins a piece) so no rush or anything. Whenever you can!

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Very cool!

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Thank you Samantha!

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You’re welcome, Tug! 😉

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Jul 6, 2023Liked by Taegan MacLean

Taegan, we should start the Odd Names Club. My mom threw an H in Walter for good measure. Years later I found out that's the German spelling of the name. It's always a good ice breaker when I meet someone, explaining that they can just say Walter. Yes, I know T and H make a sound in English but just pretend the H is silent.

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Hey Walther,

I really like that H, it adds some spice. Ice breaker moments is definitely a (mostly) positive benefit of off kilter names. It also helps people remember your name. Most names I have a hard time remembering, but anytime there's a small discussion around a name, it sinks right into the hard drive

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Great work, Taegan. As always. Didn't know you were a William Blake fan, like me! Did you see Dead Man by Jim Jarmusch? Johnny Depp as William Blake. One of my all-time favourite movies and I daresay one of Depp's best performances.

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Hey Alexander,

I haven't seen it! It's been on my list since the university days (I took film studies for awhile). BUT, I also had no idea it was about William Blake??? Now that I know this, I'm going to watch this one soon. Hopefully this month.

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Yeah, it goes beyond merely quoting some lines from Blake and is largely based on his literary works.

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I think the cover of the movie always threw me off. Based on Depp's look, I assumed it was about a native american??? Can't believe I was so off!

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Looks can be deceiving! ;)

Here’s an abstract: https://academic.oup.com/adaptation/article-abstract/5/1/57/6636?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false

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Oh man, I cannot wait to watch this. Going to rent it this weekend and report back on Monday!

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Looking forward to it! Only caveat: I have not seen it in years so would need to rewatch it to see if I still rate it a 10.

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Easily a top three movie for me; I think about it all the time, all the time.

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I have this movie poster postcard I got from the local cinema back in 1995. It is a bit worn around the edges as I have used it ever since as a bookmark for any book I read.

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I remember movie poster postcards! Used to love getting them from a local rental store back in the day.

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Yeah they are great. Back then they gave them away for free.

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founding

Really touching to get more of a glimpse into your life, Taegan, and to start to see the threads coming together for this entire season!

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Hey Spencer,

Thanks a lot. And yeah, I'm doing what I can now to piece them together. After the season is done, I'll be doing a lot of refining, but this at least lets me try and build a few key elements as I go

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founding

It is also cool to see you experimenting as a filmmaker. I don't know anything at all about cinematography, but the way you shot the section talking about Taegan and Tug had a surreal quality that reminded me of the Twin Peaks red room and then the way that the shot eventually melds Taegan and Tug together reminded me of the Borges short story, Borges and I.

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Jul 7, 2023·edited Jul 7, 2023Author

What a compliment to hear in the morning. Lynch is one of my favourite filmmakers, and the Twin Peaks red room was an inspiration for the shot - one I didn't expect anyone to notice!

I haven't read the Borges story, but by the sounds of it, I'm going to pick it up this weekend. Sounds very much like the concept I was playing with here, and may help in the eventual longer film cut.

When it comes to cinematography, there's always one or to shots in each video I am excited to try. I'm a big film junkie, so they're sometimes based on a show or film scene that impacted me. So far, every word has been centred around that sequence, and I know the sequences I want to try for the rest of the season's words, too!

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founding

Excited to see what other sequences you try out! And the Borges story is very short--like one page short. But it packs quite a lot in that page, in terms of philosophical considerations on the self.

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Jul 6, 2023Liked by Taegan MacLean

There is a word for it--I wish I could remember it, but I was just talking to someone about this. It's something about how naming children is not "choosing" a name but "discovering" the name.

Once more you've hit something poignant and very very close to home for me. This is beautiful and i'm not even done watching the video yet.

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Jul 6, 2023Liked by Taegan MacLean

After thoughts--

My real name has a natural shortening. It's like "daniel" and "Dan"--but it's not that name.

Sometimes I meet people and they immediately call me the equivalent of "Dan", and some people ask me what I prefer to be called. It automatically tells me something about the person I'm interacting with--it's interesting.

In ancient Jewish culture, there was the belief that giving someone your true name gave them power over you. So in ancient Jewish culture, they told people a "public" name and keep their "true" name for the most intimate people in their lives.

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I've found the same to be true. After decades of mispronunciations and talking to others about my name, I developed a bit of a sixth sense for people based on that interaction. Also, once someone "really gets" how to say the name, I feel like they really know a specific element of who I am, and are more worthy of my trust.

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This is so great, well done on another wonderful project.

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Thanks so much LRT!

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great subject !

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Thank you!

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Sharing names... my father and brother are both Mike. Over the years, I’ve met a few people with my name but none with the same spelling. We seem tethered for a moment by the rare interaction, then drift apart almost as soon as we came together.

Your work is the cozy and emotional place I am happy and fearful to travel into. I feel like my heart is breaking a little every time.

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I never thought of my work as cozy but you know… it kind of fits. Is your brother Mike Jr or the Jr never stuck?

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No, it’s just Mike, no junior. My father might go by a nickname or we use middle names.

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I missed this one when I was gone and deeply regret it. You sure know how to tug at the heartstrings! Beautiful exploration of names and how they make us feel - insecure, happy, confident, whole - and what they remind us of. Interestingly, we have nicknames for each other in Russian, but not just with our names, but with words from our world like sparrow or bird. My belated grandfather used to call me karlygash, which is a sparrow in Kazakh (but also a name). And my parents call me ptichka, which is a cute way of saying bird (or birdy in other words). If they call me by my name, I would think what the heck did I do wrong lol. Like you, I also have discomfort with my name from time to time. The longer version of my name (Nadejda, which is in all my legal documents) is often butchered and it has become annoying for the last 20+ years. And my last name is long and often gets butchered too. I like your name, it is so you, and you're amazing.

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Thanks so much. I also missed this comment! I hope you’re doing well Nadia. Did I read somewhere recently that you’re taking a break?

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Jul 16, 2023Liked by Taegan MacLean

Loved your work, as always!

Had to wait until I could for sure give it my undivided (and alert!) attention. :)

It was lovely to get a cameo from your wife! She's beautiful! I loved her responses/introduction to names and all the ways they can be flipped and turned in the sun so we can inspect it at different angles (nicknames, taking on a name in marriage, dropping names, full names, etc.), and it was neat to also hear how the naming process came to be with you and Mike's children as well.

The editing and camera turning to the different Taegans/Tugs was so creative! I loved it.

I saw someone in the comments say it was meditative and it truly was. I've noticed that someone online told me YEARS ago how important it is to remember someone's name. So now I find myself quadruple checking spellings of names or making sure to use it when writing or talking so they know I care enough to know and speak their name.

Also interesting hearing people's reservations with nicknames because it belongs to people closer than they feel they are with you.

It really is so interesting. I pick and choose how names... Feel? It definitely is some time of intentional and/or intuitive choice I never really dove into thinking about until, of course, your lovely piece on it!

Great work as always, Taegan!

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Can’t believe I missed your thoughts on this one! I turned off notifications and totally regret it! Thanks so much Cierra. I truly hope you’re doing well

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Laaawd, now it's MY turn to apologize for taking SO long to reply! Your post got lost in my notifications, I'm sorry!

You're absolutely welcome!

I've been better; I'm down, but not out!

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What a terrific, thoughtful piece, just the right blend of autobiography and reflection. It was as if you distilled a whole life by deeply reflecting on the apparently simple act of naming. We learned more about you and your wife from this great video than if you had published a couple of volumes. Bravo!

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Hey Peter,

Thank you! Next one will be focused around Woodbine Racetrack. You ever been to the Aquaduct or Meadowlands? My dad ran a few races there in the 80s and 90s.

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