Posted on 02/12/2005 5:57:21 AM PST by franksolich
Dr. Batman to the rescue
Norwegian naming laws relaxed a bit on January 1, 2003 but it is still a rarity when someone adopts Batman as their legal name.
Medical student Anders Mjelle, 22, is studying to become a pediatrician, and prefers Batman to more supernaturally powerful heroes like Spiderman or Superman, newspaper Nordlys reports.
Mjelle, now Anders Batman Mjelle, told the paper that the idea came to him while he was practicing his signature during a prescription class.
"It just wasn't as cool as doctor signatures usually are. So I tried signing with the name to my old hero of heroes, Batman. That was much better," Mjelle told Nordlys.
Mjelle said that he was afraid that his application to the Norwegian Registration Office wouldn't be taken seriously, so he attached a story about the name having died out in his family several generations before, and that it was pronounced 'Båtmann' (boatman). A week later the change was official.
"I have naturally assessed the risk of being called Dr. Batman if I want to be taken seriously as a physician. But my goal is to become a pediatrician. In this case I believe being called Batman can definitely be something positive," Mjelle said.
Mjelle believes that it may be easier to make contact and gain the trust of his young patients as a superhero, but he has no intention of clowning around.
The news came as a surprise to his partner, Karin Eklund, who only found out about the news after returning from a trip.
"But I think it's quite OK. If we get married then I will have to consider being called Batman as well," Eklund said.
Earlier this year the names registration procedure made headlines when a man suddenly found himself renamed Eirik "Peirik Pling" Thronæs without his knowledge or approval.
I am however curious about the final paragraph of this story; did poor Eirik get dubbed a nasty name, or is the English translation of it suitable for Free Republic?
Now Dr. Batman needs a nurse named Robin. :~ )
I guess medical school isn't as hard as it once was.
"Ping" for the Norway ping list.
In case no one else has noticed, there ARE real genuine authentic Norwegians hanging around Free Republic; one just has to look for them.
I heartily recommend the postings by eurotwit--although his emphasis appears to be on the War against Terror, and Arab emigration to Europe--which include some of the most top-notch, high-quality, first-rate, incisive, cutting-edge news stories.
One does not even have to bother reading the headline or the abstract, before opening the article--if one just sees that eurotwit posted it, well then, no matter the subject, it is well worth reading.
And then there is tomjohn77, who yesterday afternoon (Friday afternoon) posted an interesting thread, about how because of the politically-correct environment, men in Norway are forced to do the jobs of both men and women, while women get away with doing just the jobs of men, and not their own too.
That was a provocative thread, but it, uh, sort of died, and no thread should die before its time. And so if one is inclined, take a look, and if one is inclined to respond, please do, so as to juice it up, put some life into that thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1341308/posts
That was my thought. He needs a little more to do.
And it's more than a little superficial to be considering how "cool" your signature appears compared to that of other doctors. He probably practices making his handwriting messy at night, and thinks that will make him look like a busy man.
Norway ping
By the way, I forgot to ask.
I have this e-mail from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C.--I am getting all sorts of interesting mail from Norwegians, ever since starting the "Norway ping list" fifteen days ago--but before I respond, I need to know something.
The e-mail is from "Beate Andersen."
That first name is Greek to me; I never heard of it before.
Is this a man or a woman?--I need to know, because the manner of my response (gracious, of course) depends upon the gender.
"First, do no harm.
Second, kick some serious supervillan butt."
Beate is a quite common Scandinavian name on a girl.
I really appreciate your postings about Norway. They may help change the image of us as a anti-America country. Please do not believe all the media tells you. I, like the most of my fellow Norwegians, are very pro-America.
Frank:
I think I've got that beat. About 10 years ago I was treated for a bone chip in my left elbow by a physician in Lititz, PA. His name was -- and I kid you not -- "Dr. Superdoc". Kinda reminded me of that Joseph Heller character in "Catch-22", Major Major.
Thank you, sir; now I know how to address my response.
The "history" of the "Norway ping list" is at the end of my "profile" (click on my name at the end of this message)--no need to read the whole thing, just "scroll down" about three-quarters of a mile, and it is there.
If you wish to be on the "Norway ping list," you are guaranteed to automatically recieve Norway news, without having to look for it in the wonderfully-vast and intellectually-enriching treasure trove of Free Republic; I try to find two articles a day, but alas sometimes it is tough going.
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