Why am I BuckarooBanzai? Why are you BLANK?

[BuckarooBanzai]

Somebody recently asked me why I choose BuckarooBanzai as a pseudonym. Well, there IS a meaning behind it and it goes a bit deeper than Peter Weller and the Black Lectroids.

Bonsai – rough translation “small container gardening” or “tray gardening.” Bonsai is the art of miniaturizing a plant/tree through root binding, pruning and carefully controlled hydration. To most practitioners, the art of Bonsai is an expression of Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhists, after all, were the first to perfect the art of Bonsai and introduce it to the world.

Banzai – rough translation “ten thousand years.” First, that is a VERY rough translation. Banzai, in Japanese, has very significant cultural implications that are simply not carried or implied by this translation. It should also be stated that in Kanji (the Chinese pictographic words that compose part of Japanese logographic writing), the character for “ten thousand” (the second character of the “word” Banzai) can also be used to express infinity. Infinity, in Kanji, means a LOT more than does our word “infinity.” Infinity, in Kanji, is a spiritual expression, not a mathematical one. Banzai, in Kanji, directly connotes honor and/or an honorable leader.

Buckaroo – Another word for a Vaquero or a “working cowboy.” Rough translation: “a hired hand who works on horseback.”

I am WAY too hot headed to consider myself Zen; Bonsai, as a personal moniker, would be dishonest and (therefore) unacceptable.

So, though I strongly considered using the name “BuckarooBonsai” (lots of fun double entendre there) I choose instead “BuckarooBanzai” as my Mycotopia pseudonym.

I choose it partially because I freakin’ LOVE that movie (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension). I can't explain why, but that movie is, to me, an encapsulation of the 80's. The time during which I came of age.

But I choose BuckarooBanzai MOSTLY because I’m a nut for linguistics and the derivation roots of words.

To me, that word “BuckarooBanzai” (and I left the space out very intentionally, it is INTENDED to be read as one word), connotes a very specific meaning:

“The honorable cowboy who lives forever.”

Or, more specifically, applying my own connotations and derivations, BuckarooBanzi is a specific reference to one human archetype: THE GUNSLINGER.

Naming myself Roland Deschain just seemed a little too easy/obvious.

And that is why I’m BuckarooBanzai.

If any of you feel like sharing the reasons behind choosing your pseudonym, I would LOVE to hear them!!!

And by the way, "because it sounded cool" is just as valid a reason for choosing your pseudonym as mine was.

Different strokes, you know?

[duncan]

Ok mine too has a menaing behind it. I have chosen the Duncan few in here know why with out me going itno details which was amazing. They understood it in the chat area.

The name I have chosen is Duncan. It comes from the movie Highlander. His name was Duncan Mc Cloud of the clan McCloud. Born in the Hills of Scottland in the early 1600. He is the Chosen one, there can only be 1. For he is immortal and can not die.

I too seem to feel that way. I was involved in a car/ tractor trailer accident some 17 years ago which should have by all means have taken my life. I hit the fuel tank of the big rig with the front left corener of my car which was a miracle that I first off didnt cause it to blow up and secondly I manged not to go under the truck with my small car and have the rear wheel drive over me and crush me. I ended up in a ditch with a small bruise on my arm. Now my car was totaled and that was painful. I have had other experiences to the same liking and have been spared for a reason or another.

I guess my life purpose hasnt been forfilled yet and my life must go on. I am sure I will add to this as more comes to me.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Freakin' NICE. That is EXACTLY what I was hoping for.

From one Highlander to another:

Here’s to them... brought us this far
And to them we’ve yet to see,
Them that made us what we are
And them that we will be.

Here’s to them that are in need
And to them who help them too,
Them that follow them that lead
And them who’s heart’s are true.

Here’s to them that love this land
All them of Scottish creed,
Raise them now to that Almighty Hand
That spread them Scottish seed.

My Gran'da taught me that one.

[Spark]

that would explain it buckaroobanzai

[Lefty]

I've explained mine previously, but immortality seems way too painful to me. Only still here cuz I ain't done yet.
Thanks for the explanation, cool.

[SWIM]

SWIM just seemed subtler than FOAF; how could I pass up having been mentioned before I got here?

[I_am_me]

I picked mine for the opposite reasons of which many pick a name, to deny their identity. Fuck that, I am me.

It is really interesting why people choose the names they do. Imagine if noone was named until they were old enough to choose one for themselves in real life.

[LotRev]

I'm no reverend.

[AKA_MoeSkizac]

One of my fav. movies, Lithgow is hillarious in that one...

[Hippie3]

there can be only
one...

[MLBjammer]

Buck, that's a deep explantion of your screen name. Mine is really simple. "Mud-Love-Buddy" is an old ditty that the Grateful Dead morphed into a beatiful jam, thereafter renamed "Mind-Left-Body Jam" by the Dead community. In the early 1970s, one might hear a MLB Jam within a "Dark Star" or any modal jamming moment. In later years the MLB Jam would pop up at the end of a "Terrapin Station." It's a beautiful, cascading musical theme--folksy, rocky, jazzy, and spacey all at the same time.
As no other music has touched me so deeply as much of the Dead's live sets, I thought of the MLB Jam, and here I am.

[mushit]

Great explanation Buck. I hate to repeat myself but you DO have a way with words.

My name has a simple meaning.
Mush = Mushrooms
Shit = I love growing this shit!!

[prismaticEffects]

"True in love and wisdom
Well off and witty
Using God's sleeve to wipe the hell off the city
See my elegance, dining on the periodic table called developments
The universe designs my intelligence
Drop science down a bottomless pit
Run swift - doin handstands on pyramid tips
The sun splits the waterfront causing prismatic effects"

-edan

i like the imagery...
i see colors...

[BuckarooBanzai]

I LOVE IT!

Thanks, guys! Nice to know a little more about y'all!

[SquaresandCubes]

I chose SquaresandCubes for a certian reson that resonates with me personaly more than anything. My discovery of my fav band Sound Tribe Sector 9(sts9) happened around my discovery of psychedelics. Well when you add the discovery of psychedelics and a great livetronica band well what you get is a road trip across the country to follow these guys and to find out what life is all about. Squares and Cubes is a song they perform and one I found deep meaning in for my life. They get the name from a Boards of Canada song Triangles and Rhombuses I guess because BoC had a strong influence on the band but the songs themselves sound nothing alike. Well I decided to say fuck it and drop everything I owned and everything I was doing at the time and me a very close friend piled in my car(our home for the next few months) and set out. We had all sorts of adventures and the road and to top it all off we saw a beautiful concert everynight. Squares and Cubes, although the song has no words, reminds me why Im in this hobby and how my life changed from the discovery of psychedelics. I was a square and never thought twice about my role in life and why all this matters I just we along with things. But since then my life has change sooooo drastically and I find it to be an incredible improvement. Thats why my name has significance to me.

[pskovinsky]

I'm a boring one...
I was getting into playing a MUD (text advanture game online with hundreds of people, the precurser to EverQuest style games) back in 97 or so, and they told me that the name i used was junk, and i needed to come up with a more medieval one.

For some reason i just HAD to be russian (i do have some russian blood in me, along with all the rest of the viking type countries), so i checked out the 8x4 foot world map i have hanging in the living room. After looking at all the different russian cities, i found Pskov. Despite the fact that i still don't know how to pronounce it (i think the ps is like the ps in psionics), i liked it.
By itself it didn't seem like enough of a name, so i added the insky.
Presto! Pskovinsky.
Of course, i screwed up way back then, it should be Pskovinski, russians don't put Y's on the end.

[the_chosen_one]

My name has a bit of history to it as many may already know. For those who don't, you'll have to check out Freaky's albino thread. I'd write it out but I'm tired of writting about the "big brag". Lol, one thing I will say is that has nothing to do with Star Wars

http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=6284 (PF Albinos)

[hogwild]

my nickname took many days and many nights to come up with, it was definately chosen with extreme care and a concious effort.

[Glasshopper]

My handle came about while studying Kung fu and working as a glassblower.

As a child growing up I always seemed to be at a friends house saturday night to watch David Carridene (we didn't have a tv). I absolutely LOVED that show. It shaped my beliefs more than any other external influence (family not included).

I really love working neon because to me it is true alchemy, earth (sand) plus fire equals glass add to that plasma and I literaly bring light to this world. Allbeit the scarlet whore of the advertising world, still it is both an art and a science.

I wanted something that included both my love for neon (glass) and the shaui chiao (kung fu) I was devoting so much time to. Recalling Master Po's engrish translation of his favorite student's nickname, I knew I had found my pseudonym.....

Glasshopper

[motograter]

mines just my favorite band. now I feel boring after reading some of your stories.......

[BuckarooBanzai]

There are no boring nyms, dude, only boring posters!!!

[BuckarooBanzai]

Here’s part of why I started this thread. PLEASE don’t be insulted by my impressions about your nyms…

Duncan – dude, I thought you were referencing doughnuts!

MLBjammer – I’m a dead freak from way back, but I have to admit, “Mind Left Body Jam” never entered my mind. I thought it was a reference to Major League Baseball…

Mushit – I thought you were into squishing things.

PrismaticEffects – Yours, I actually got.

SquaresandCubes – I thought you were referencing blotter and sugar cubes.

Glasshopper – I thought you were referencing the guy who moves around the circle to try and get additional hits. I swear to GOD, my smoking circle refers to that guy as a “glasshopper.”

Motograter – I thought you were referencing bikes.

So seriously, everyone, THANKS!

Little bits of knowledge like this are like diamonds to me…

[fingers]

Like grater...mine feels kind of boring,

I'm still pretty new to Myco, so mine will probably be a lot less intriguing to most members (as most dont really know me well (yet) but i'll throw mine in anyway (for Buck more then anyone as he's kindly been my primary guide on mycotopia (what ever word suits, teacher, mentor, whatever) :P
I use two nicks predominantly, 'Fingers' and 'Vex Paradoks' the oldest by far is Fingers. (probably the less interesting of the two).

Fingers I took on around ten years ago when i first got online. I dont know if its noticable in any of my pics (holding stuff in the cameras LOS) but I have broad short fingers. (to the great amusement of many a GF :P.) The sexual suggestion is the double meaning, and mentioned when being a little cheeky.
But my more interesting nick would be Vex Paradoks. This is also my stage name as I once used to perform urban music (NOT that gangsta dribble, but a genre known as 'concious hip hop').
My nick was originally just 'Paradoks' which was based on my feelings of duality within myself.
I also used to study (and teach) martial arts and the chinese concept behind the Dao has long been in the forefront of my thinging (more commondly known as 'ying yang').
The balance between the postive, warm, light aspects of my personality, and the negative, cold, and dark aspects has always fascinated me.
Ive been known to say 'too nice to be a bad guy, too bad to be a nice guy'. Which i think is fairly accurate in my case.

I guess a lot of that has to do with how Ive been raised. Being Sicilian italian blooded the concept of hospitality and generosity is a strong value we're raised upon. But the concept of vegence and venom to those whove wronged us is equally prevelent in our thinking (IMO).

'Vex' was added some 7 years after 'paradoks' was chosen, in reference to my vexation with western government and its all consuming hypocracy. Perhaps more then simply the governments wrongs, 'the worlds' wrongs as a whole inspired 'vex'. Hence 'Vex Paradoks'.
Perhaps Vex would have been the wiser choice for Mycotopia, as Fingers is used more often in forums where a less serious comical air exists in the community, but i hadn't used Fingers in some years and I felt it might be time to return to the light hearted jovial manner I displayed in years gone by.
Contemplating the duality of oneself and the frustration/vexation with the world around us grows to be a heavy burdon to carry day after day.
Sometimes you just gotta have some fun, and give people the fingers

Fingers

[Glasshopper]

Originally Posted by BuckarooBanzai

Glasshopper – I thought you were referencing the guy who moves around the circle to try and get additional hits. I swear to GOD, my smoking circle refers to that guy as a “glasshopper.”

I've never heard that reference before, that's friken funny

[Chaos]

Well,my Wife had the coolest dog names when she was growing up.
She had two dogs named cerberus and hecuba.
I had two named andy & muffin
So when we got dogs we had to come up with unusaual names for ours

In Greek mythology, Chaos or Khaos is the primeval state of existence from which the first gods appeared.

In Greek mythology, Nyx (Nox in Roman translation) was the primordial goddess of the night.

So that is what we named our pupps.
We lost nyx about two years ago and chaos was on his last days.
When I was asked "screen name" the first thing I thought of was, Chaos.
So here I am.

[prismaticEffects]

nice thread buck.

now everytime i see MLBjammer
i won't think of rock&roll baseball...

[mycobri]

i like your avatar buck and always look at it wondering "what's the story behind it?"
As for my nym: it is basically mushroom-bri. that's me

[operationcultivation]

when me and my friends decided to grow mushrooms we came up with specific tactis and details to not get caught... we called it operation cultivation.

its been about 4 months of stealthy successful growin.
and none of us have been caught yet.

[BuckarooBanzai]

This is great stuff, dudes! MORE MORE MORE!!!

Mycobri - my avatar is a photo (title: visceral thought) done by an absolutely amazing artist named Connie Imboden (www.connieimboden.com). I have a few of her pieces and they are simply breathtaking. The really amazing thing is that none of her stuff is photoshopped or retouched in any way. She gets those images with mirrors and light sources and pools of water - straight photography, not even any double exposures.

Some other pieces you might enjoy...

Sainthood:
http://forums.mycotopia.net/attachme...3&d=1138256017

Spell:
http://forums.mycotopia.net/attachme...4&d=1138256017

[SquaresandCubes]

SquaresandCubes – I thought you were referencing blotter and sugar cubes.

No but it is funny you say this because while on tour we went over this many times as a possiblity that they named their song that for this reason. Still dont know why it is named this bc all their songs are instrumentals but the concert and atmosphere of their shows are flooded with what you speak of.

[SquaresandCubes]

Originally Posted by prismaticEffects

nice thread buck.
now everytime i see MLBjammer
i won't think of rock&roll baseball...

Thats what I thought too

[MLBjammer]

And baseball is my least favorite sport. Well, I 'll drink some beer and watch a game with the boys once in a while, but I would much rather watch football or college basketball. But my screen name is definitely about Jerry and the boys. I saw 100 shows between 1989 and 1995 (a very bad year for me and many others) and 10 JGB shows in that same time span. I was also an avid tape trader, with a little over 1000 hours of some pretty good soundboard stuff from 66-95.
And I am an obsessive music fan and musician, guitar player, singer, and sometimes songwriter, so music is tied to most things in my life. I see music as my means to communicate with the abstract, to express what humanity I possess.
I am sorry to digress. This is a wonderful thread, Buck. I sort of figured you were one of the Tribe from your posts. And I also get the idea that you are a major Stephen King fan. When I was pursuing a master's in literature some years ago, my major theory was that King is the 20th century equivalent of Twain (21st century now) in that King's work exhibits most traits of what we call literature and is still able to relate to a non-literary audience--just like Mark Twain. Sadly, I dropped out of grad. school before I finished, just burnout from 6 straight years of full-time school and work and the generally provincial and materialistic position of the academic world--almost as bad as corporate America, in some ways.
I figured that you would find some interest in that, Buck. But just think of some music that makes you smile and move your feet when you see my name. Peace.

[BuckarooBanzai]

You hit that one on the head. I consider King to be the greatest author of the 20th century. Why is that if you are prolific AND readable AND popular, what you write isn't literature? The Twain comparison is a very valid one - one I've made many times before.

It is sad that King won't get the "literary respect" he so richly deserves until after he is gone. I predict that within the next 30 years, King will be taught alongside Twain and (blech) Dickens. I despise Dickens, by the way.

And yea, I was a pretty fanatical head, back in the day. I'd love to show you my tattoos, but they would give my identity away rather quickly. Saw my first show in 86. I was a hippie hating punk with a fuscha mohawk just there to score acid in the parking lot. Ended up falling in with some of those "hatable hippies," eating a tad too much and getting miracled.

I went onto that lot sneering with both middle fingers upraised. I walked out of that show, feeling my very first glow, hugging everybody and bouncing around like an excited 5 year old. Needless to say, The Grateful Dead (and the lot scene) changed my life in ways far too numerous to mention.

[MLBjammer]

Those are beautiful words, Buck. You just never know when life is going to kick you in the butt and show you things you didn't know existed. That's what makes the journey worth taking, I guess.
I am not much of a Dickens fan, either, too stodgy and melodramatic for my tastes. As far as poetry: Donne, Keats, some Milton, some Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, and Allen Ginsburg. Novelist and verse writers: Shakespeare, Twain, Poe, Steinbeck, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, Robert E. Howard (he invented Conan the Barbarian), Arthur Conan Doyle (who held some very strange beliefs), Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, and lately a writer named Brian Lumley--who's not really literary but writes a hell of a good horror story (The "Necroscope" series is particularly good stuff).
I am sorry to turn this into a Masterpiece Theatre moment, but I's a book worm. Later.

[the jesus]

I have many times wondered how to get to know about the inner workings of fellow "topiates" without crossing the personal info line. Buckaroo you have managed to do it, your well known mastering of online vibes has once again confounded me.

The Jesus. I had long had the nickname "The Jesus" because of my long dark beard and hair. On a pretty heavy trip with a few old friends I was talking out of my ass and telling them that The Jesus in The Big Lebowski was modeled after me. I may even have licked a basketball (we don't bowl) to prove my point. Just as I was on the crest of a wave of invincibility. The shroomy wave we call it. My friend pointed out that The Jesus in The Big Lebowski was later found to be a pedophile. So now, due to my crazy story I had gone from being nicknamed after the most famous carpenter ever, to my nickname deriving from a "patterass". Needless to say that wave crashed down pretty quick.

So when I picked a name it was my old nickname and when I picked an avatar it had to do with my new one.

BTW I saw Sound Tribe Sector Nine on a random invite and they are REALLY good.

[BuckarooBanzai]

The Jesus – TOP FREAKIN’ KNOTCH, MAN!!! I have always said, if you can’t laugh at yourself, you have no right to laugh at anyone else. You, sir, have the right to laugh at anybody! Sobchak cocking his piece as your avatar just makes it.

As to mastering online vibes…dude, I’ve been haunting places like this for 20+ years now. It isn’t so much mastery as it is just a lot of practice and a lot more mistakes, err, learning experiences.

“Maybe God isn’t all powerful. Maybe he’s just been around so long he knows everything that is going to happen.”
-Phil Conners (Bill Murray), Groundhog Day (directly referencing Luis de Molina's thesis of God’s “middle knowledge”)

MLB – Bloch, Lovecraft, Ellison and Eliot? Sounds like your reading list is as conceptually dyslexic as mine! Bravo!

[the jesus]

Whatever it is Buck. Just promise me you'll keep it up.

[AKA_MoeSkizac]

AKA_MoeSkizac was originally just MoeSkizac on the old mycotopia board some 3 or 4 years ago. At the time, I had just went through two weeks worth of Moe. shows and when i got home i registered for Mycotopia all the while watching The Simpsons(Moe Sczyslak, barkeep of Moe's Tavern) and being as drunk as I was, mispelled Moe Sczyslak (I just misspelled misspelled didn't I...?? ) and came up with MoeSkizac. After a hiatus from the hobby for a good while, I couldn't remember my password for my old handle to log on to Mycotopia, so therefor I then became AKA_MoeSkizac.

[pareil]

pareil is a french word meaning parallel or equal.
i studied french a little as a kid,
and though i never learned or used this word then,
i picked up enough to know that nonpareil meant
unparallelled or without equal.
not wanting to enter an online community with a boastful attitude,
i went for the opposite.
i figure it's as good a name as any other...

[hallucinogeneti]

hehe mine was going to be hallucinogenetics. Taken from the live primus dvd of the same name. I saw them in 05 and was blown away. But if you notice hallucinogeneti is the max amount of characters. Sounds cool anyway

[manjotar]

i like stringed things i can pick on,
you know, mandolins, banjos, guitars...

[littlejohnnybiggums]

You know that guy that smoked crack on dave chappelle? Im him but not.



Wow, thats fucked up.

[BuckarooBanzai]

*bump*

[mycobri]

Thanks Buckaroo for that Connie Imboden linkage. i would like to pick up a book of her's. these images are worth keeping for years. Also a book might share some insight as to how she created such amazing shots with straight photography.

plus i like this thread and it's cool to hear the stories behind the nyms. who's next?

[reefer]

Mine has kind of a double meaning. I'm a reef keeper that loves to smoke the reefer. A reefer smoking reefer I am.

[Cheebabear]

Not too much story around mine. I didn't actually choose it, it was pretty much given to me by my best friend in college. She took my name and started sounding it out like the cough drop commercial Riiiicooola. We were probably drunk when she came up with it. Only girl I know that loves drinking Guinness as much as I do. After college we had both moved to different areas and don't talk as much like we did before although we do keep in touch. I started using the nickname as a tribute to her. The year is my year of birth and was only added because in many cases the name was already taken.

As for my avatar, I just liked the picture and chose it for the moment so I would have one.

[littlejohnnybiggums]

I chose my name because i thought of that crack head on dave chappell... LOL!!!

[Cryingblackoil]

This is a good thread

[Lazlo]

I chose mine because of the movie "Real Genius". There's a dude that lives in the basement of Cal Tech that's kinda sneaky and is sort of a legend. Students see him from time to time, but he kinda has a "bigfoot" type of legend to him. His name was Lazlo Hollyfeld in the movie. I just liked the name Lazlo for some damn reason.

[rocketman]

I use to be a pro pool shooter (aka hustler). in the circles i travelled they knew when i blew a couple of lines before a match it wasnt going to be a long night. I use to run tables very fast...... So rocketman stuck....thats what they called me anyway.

later in life i got a job working with rockets and rocket engines, so it came back again. i figured id use it here.