Agent Palmer

I used to have a massive box of fortune cookies. I “used” to. It’s gone now. 

I didn’t eat them, but I did open them. You see, for a while, when I was single, I would order enough takeout for a few days, especially over a weekend when I planned on doing a project. And when you do that, you get enough fortune cookies for the four people that they think are going to be eating the goods.

Bobs, as I’ve always known them, are people called Bob. It’s how you would call out to them at a party or on the phone.

A few examples to illustrate the point from this list: I would call Bob Dylan Bob, not Robert. The same is true for the late Bob Uecker. These are great examples because both of their legal names are Robert, but that’s not what they go by.

Robert, depending on which source you ask, is the fourth most common name in the United States. When you trace its roots back to Old German for Hrodebert, you get the translation for “bright fame,” likely derived from hrod (fame) and berht (bright).

It is no wonder, then, that our fictional worlds are also thusly populated with Roberts, and here, for your perusal, are my Top 10 Fictional Roberts.

On Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at 6:18pm the world lost legendary musicmaker Andrew Belling.

Belling was a stranger to me until I was first introduced to Ralph Bakshi’s seminal work Wizards, for which he composed the entire electronic score. From then on, I was a fan of his work.