Strollerderby : Elvis

Lisa Marie Presley Reveals Her Twins' Names

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Lockwood, the parents of healthy newborn twins, have jumped on the unusual baby names bandwagon. But in this case, I find their choices prettily creative (as opposed to say, Flutenoy and Bakusy, or LeDryer and LeWasher).

Presley and Lockwood have revealed that their twin girls will go by Finley and Harper. They will keep the King’s last name.

Elvis himself had a twin named Jesse, who died at birth.

Photo: Getty Images

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Hunka hunka burnin Barbie

Brett Singer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Proving once again that P.T. Barnum was right, fans lined up to get the latest Elvis doo-hickey: Barbie dolls fashioned after The King and his bride, Priscilla Beaulieu.

According to the AP, 150 people waited to get their hands on a boxed set of the…"toys" doesn’t sound right, so let's say "collectibles." Brenda Moore, an Arkansas resident who works at Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters, bid – make sure you're sitting down – $6800 for a pair of Barbie's signed by Priscilla herself. Moore and her husband "believe the money is for a good cause." That cause is Presley Place, the charitable arm of the Elvis empire. Plus, they get these cool…collectibles.

Elvis died on August 16, 1977; this unveiling was part of a weeklong series of events at Graceland to commemorate the day he died while simultaneously separating Elvis fans from their money.

Here are some photos from the blessed event:

The unveiling...

Brenda Moore, winner of the signed Elvis/Priscilla Barbies, with her prize.

Elvis and Priscilla, Barbie-sized.

Thank you. Thankyouverymuch.

Images/source: Yahoo!

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Drive-by weddings

Brett Singer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

36 couples in Sweden are hoping to get married in their cars during a "gathering of auto enthusiasts". Despite the presence of neon signs and the music of Elvis, this is actually a sanctioned religious service – the Church of Sweden is organizing the event. In fact, the Elvis songs will be sung by a priest.

It may sound like a big goof, but the stated reason is actually an interesting one. Swedish priest Jerker Asterlund, who is organizing the motorcade nuptials, told Reuters, "Weddings are getting more and more commercialized and that is not something we have any interest in. We would like to make things simpler and more down to earth when people take the plunge and get married. This is not just for fun, but also a way for the Church of Sweden to show we can take part in celebration and happiness and not just in crisis and catastrophes."

Can you imagine if a church in the U.S. did something like this? Massive outcry, methinks. (If anyone knows of a comparable event in the Yoo-Ess-Ay, let me know.)

While I agree that weddings have gotten overblown to the point of silliness, I have to admit that I enjoyed my own wedding, which wasn't THAT extravagant, but was far from subdued. We've talked about the idea of too-big wedding ceremonies before; there was this item recently about bridesmaids refusing to pony up for an expensive dress they'll only wear once.

Do you think weddings have become too big? And how does getting hitched in a Volvo sound?

image: backtothefifties.co.uk
(note: the site the image comes from does not appear to offer weddings in cars)

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Preventing "Elvis Pilot Inspektor": When Bad Names Happen to Good Babies

Amy Kuras — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:02:00 GMT

The sensible Swedes strike again! We've written before about the fact that every baby's name has to be registered with Swedish tax authorities, and it can shoot down a baby's name if it's just too silly.

Their latest victim? Parents who want to name their five-month-old baby girl Elvis. As in hunka hunka burnin' love Elvis.

The parents reportedly considered it a name that's "both pretty and gender-neutral" and are not Elvis fans at all. I've gotta wonder if maybe just messing with the Skatterverket (the Tax Authority's name) has become a sport for bored or daring Swedish parents. After all, a couple successfully appealed the tribunal's rejection of the name Mettalica for their daughter, and a change in the law was suggested to help a couple who wanted to name their child Superman.

Honestly, I wish we had such a thing here. And I volunteer to be in charge of it. My kids have traditional old person names that fit them well, and that pass the all-important Supreme Court Justice test. I hate, HATE, trendy names (stop with the Caden, Braden, etc., people), "creative" spellings (Xavier does NOT start with a Z!) and just plain goofiness (Pilot Inspektor? Really?).

Your kid's name is not your chance to make a little joke, express your creativity or reaffirm your trendiness. It's how they identify to the world, and a prime opportunity to learn the Not About You lesson of parenthood.