We gave our son Elias a name that virtually guarantees he will be the only kid in a crowd who answers when we call. In America, "Elias" ranks #186 as a boy's name, beating out little "Damien" and "Sergio" but well behind "Kaden", "Omar" and "Malachi" in popularity. In other places - Spain, for instance - "Elias" is far more common, and if it were not for Latino children the name would be off the radar completely in the U.S.
Elias is a good sport and doesn't take it amiss that there is no train named "Elias" on the Island of Sodor. But what joy and amazement he felt when we discovered that there is a wonderful little rescue boat in Norway that is the star of its own children's television series and has the same name as he does! And they both have blue eyes!
Elias - The Little Rescue Boat began as a Norwegian Children's Book, and as an animated series is wildly popular in northern Europe with plans to expand into other markets. This cannot come too soon for our family, because there are just two episodes viewable on-line that have been dubbed in English. Two more are offered in Norwegian with English subtitles, but we've taken to watching him on YouTube dubbed in Japanese and making up our own translation. This can get a bit surreal, since the theme song remains in Norwegian, but you can pretty much figure out the plot as you go.
The other thing we are waiting for, like those who purchased 100,000 units in Norway last year, is
our crack at scoring some Elias swag. I've done the currency conversion and figured out that this plastic boat costs US$25 in Norway. What I can't figure out is how to buy it on a Norwegian website and have it shipped over here, and if I manage to do that and don't get his big sister one of Elias's floating friends too it will all be for naught. You don't find Elias gear on eBay (yet). In the meantime, we are brushing up our Japanese and downloading coloring pages from Eliasklubben. There are still 20 episodes we have not yet been able to find on the web, and a feature film as well.
Too kind, Charles. The two of them are looking forward to your April visit.
And Terry, Elias will love that link, given that it features one of the few words he can read in big red letters.
Posted by: Tim Abbott | February 02, 2008 at 07:39 PM
Elias is a terrific singer and an amazing kid. Emily Bemily Boo is quite amazing in her own way too!
Posted by: Charlie Crystle | February 02, 2008 at 07:26 PM
Amazing to think that Elias ranks so much higher than my son Roger's name at 453. Mine is only a few slots higher than Roger. Indeed, even names like Jamari, Braylon and Zachariah rank ahead of him. If I call out Roger's name in a crowd, chances are that only an adult would turn his head, since there are so few youthful Rogers anymore.
If he is looking for further validation, Elias can take comfort in this very fine sports information company, trusted by thousands of journalists and junkies:
http://www.esb.com/
Posted by: Terry Cowgill | February 02, 2008 at 06:05 PM