Subject: [Tweeters] OT - Why do birders insist on using outdated info?
Date: Oct 26 20:58:27 2007
From: northraven at cox.net - northraven at cox.net


exactly, and this really is not about out-dated information, it is about
names, historical versus bureaucratically imposed. I'm 58, & when I've
known a place by a certain name since early childhood, I really don't
accept that some organization gets to decide that my lifetime of
experience is wrong. in addition, think about saying UBNA aloud, then
say "the Fill" -- the same with "Dime Lot"as opposed to "E-5 lot" --
one flows easily off the tongue, the other requires more linguistic
effort. to establish formal names for places to make them fit the
larger bureaucratic order is fine, as formalisms to fit in that
structure. but to expect that doing so will or should change local
culture is both contrary to human nature and, I opine, very presumptuous.
chris kessler
seattle


Clarence C. Lupo wrote:
> For the same reason some of us call Edwards Air Force Base "Muroc Air
> Base".
> Sometimes the first name describes best what we are looking at, and
> reminds us of the true roots and heritage of the areas.
>
> Clarence
> Cinebar, WA.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Brett Wolfe <mailto:m_lincolnii at yahoo.com>
> *To:* Tweeters <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> *Sent:* Friday, October 26, 2007 6:38 PM
> *Subject:* [Tweeters] OT - Why do birders insist on using outdated
> info?
>
> Hiya tweets,
>
> This question is not meant to upset folks, but to try to
> understand why so many people insist on using outdated information.
>
> The Union Bay Natural Area (aka UBNA) has zero signs which mention
> that it used to be called the Montlake Fill. I know it is a nice
> short name, but it isn't right, not anymore. I find it amazing
> that if one was to ask anyone at the University of Washington,
> which is the entity that manages the UBNA, I doubt any of them
> would even know the term Montlake Fill, much less use it in
> everyday language. The folks at the Center for Urban Horticulture
> were, in their words, "appalled" that anyone still called it 'the
> Fill'.
>
> To take it a step further, for those that insist on calling the
> UBNA by the old name, why do you still say Dime Lot for the E-5
> parking lot? Anyone who hasn't lived in Seattle for 20 years has
> no idea what the heck the "Dime lot" is unless it is explained
> that it is an old, dilapidated name for the E-5 lot.
>
> It actually bothered me that when I reported the Lapland Longspur
> there a few weeks back, I had at least 3 different people ask me
> where the UBNA was located. In every case, they were some old-time
> Seattleite who still called it the Fill. Everyone else knew what I
> was talking about, but it bothered me that so many people had
> never updated and upgraded to a name that was more appropos of
> what the place is now - a naturalized area that just happens to
> sit on top of an old landfill. Can't we celebrate it as a natural
> area instead of as an old dump?
>
> Alright, I'm going to end my rant, but this is soimething that has
> bothered me for a while. There might be a couple of folks who
> spend as much time at the Union Bay Natural Area as I do, but they
> are few and far between. I for one would just like to see my
> favorite place in Seattle accorded the respect that it has earned
> as the top birding place in Seattle. Is that too much to ask?
>
> Brett A. Wolfe
> Seattle, WA
> m_lincolnii at yahoo.com <mailto:m_lincolnii at yahoo.com>
>
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