Who put the "world" into World Series?

On Afghanistan, President Obama has apparently invited his fellow NATO leaders to "step up to the plate". I wonder whether there isn't some danger of mistranslation here? I had a vivid mental image of Silvio Berlusconi tucking a napkin into his collar.

In other news, I've been wondering aloud to lady_schrapnell about the names of folk/fairy tale heroes and heroines. We know the names of quite a few heroines: Rapunzel, Goldilocks, Cinderella, Gretchen, Gretel, Snow White, Cap o' Rushes, Red Riding Hood etc etc. (Admittedly, quite a few of these are nicknames: Cinderella may actually have been Edith, for all we know.) But beyond "Jack", which is more or less a synonym for "young man" anyway, how many heroes actually get a name? Aren't they far more commonly "the youngest prince", or similar? True, there's Hansel, and lady_schrapnell mentioned a Michael, iirc, but still. So, flist, are there fewer names of heroes than of heroines? And if so, why might that be?

Finally - I wish I could remember the extempore lecture I gave in a dream last night, on the history of stage scenery and its relationship to developments in theories of perception. It was bullshit - but such bullshit!