Welcome to Cooperpatrick.com.

I wrote that sentence five seconds ago because it was kind of funny and ridiculous to contemplate. In the moment since, my browser fell on the actual, somehow existing, all-too-real Cooperpatrick.com. An all-too-real newborn named Cooper Patrick had the address.

Why did I think of that address today? What led me to think someone in the world might one day have such a name? How surprised was I to find that day had not only arrived but also came with photo galleries?

Data, my friends. Mind-boggling data set me to blogging today. And just as I was joking to forget, and the punchline hit me in the face and the gut and the place in my soul where my name lives.

You see, Social Security yesterday released its annual review of the country's most popular baby names. There were few changes to the top 10 lists in 2007, and the wires covered the news only briefly.

Looking deeper into the data, I was disappointed but not surprised to see Patrick had fallen several more spots. The name had been tumbling on the boy name list for decades. Last year's data saw Patrick fall to #116, its worst baby-name showing since 1930.

Then I looked for Cooper. The search was a whim.

The results knocked me over. Cooper had somehow risen 18 spots in 2007 to become name #95. Among the first names, Cooper was now 21 spots ahead of Patrick. For the first time in recorded American history, my last name was a more popular first name than my own first name. The world had turned my name inside out.

I made a chart to help with the realization.

A few weeks ago, I'd saved the New York Times story about people with the same name finding each other online. I thought I might recap my close encounters with Patrick Cooper the stylist to the stars, Patrick Cooper the author, Patrick Cooper the British child, Patrick Cooper who used to have this URL, and Pat Cooper the comedian.

How soon we became old news.

A Jabberwock had struck. Cooper Patrick was the new Patrick Cooper.

Or is it?

We have some catch-up work to do in Alabama. In his fight for the Birmingham mayor's office, Patrick Cooper is dropping his legal challenge, "citing the time the litigation would take and a desire to move on to other projects," the Birmingham News reports. This move follows an appeal in the case, which could've received hearing in the Alabama Supreme Court as early as mid-January.

That concludes our coverage day here, I think. Good luck to both of the fall's candidates and to Birmingham. Thanks to The Terminal blog for linking and keeping me updated on the events in its fair city, and thanks to Amit for pushing for coverage. As Cooper spends less time keeping his Google PageRank in shape, we wish the best to the two charitable groups that will receive his future efforts, Birmingham Vision and the Alabama Roadrunners. They're worth my first and only PageRank-affecting link to Cooper's site: You can find details on both groups on this page.

I turn now to "Patrick Cooper Jazz" … now beating me on Yahoo.

Continuing coverage of the other Patrick Cooper.

An Alabama judge denied Patrick Cooper's election challenge in Birmingham this afternoon. The judge ruled winner Larry Langford had established residency in the city before the election and could legally serve as mayor.

But in a statement afterward, Cooper didn't rule out another battle. "Many have encouraged me to appeal this ruling to the Alabama Supreme Court, but I have yet to make a decision to do so," he said.

The other Patrick Cooper remained atop Google this evening.

Birmingham lawyer Patrick Cooper remains atop the "Patrick Cooper" Google results, so my coverage of his mayoral battle continues. This week we add courtroom drama to the mix.

If you'll recall, Cooper filed paper last month to disqualify election victor Larry Langford for residency reasons. That dispute arrived before a judge this week. The Birmingham News had details.

A Jefferson County judge heard four hours of debate Wednesday about where Larry Langford really lives, but did not rule on whether Langford will remain Birmingham's mayor or if a new election must be held.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Allwin Horn conducted the non-jury trial in front of a standing-room-only crowd of about 80 people. He ordered both sides to submit proposed orders by 10:30 a.m. Monday, but gave no timetable for his ruling.

…

Langford, who was sworn in Tuesday, spent his first full morning as mayor in a courtroom explaining why he should be allowed to serve a full four-year term.

The arguments ran deep on both sides. The News mentioned a back-and-forth over Langford's NFL satellite TV package. NBC 13's reporting also went into the personal nature of the debate.

Cooper, who seemed at times to be representing himself with whispers and calls for information on a computer screen, even propped up a former campaign volunteer who told a judge he rarely saw Langford's car outside his north Birmingham loft, and talked with Cooper about going to ask Fairfield neighbors if Langford stayed at that home more often. Langford and his lawyers seemed furious, after Cooper's previous public statements that he did not know whether a campaign worker had made visits to Langford's neighbors, or watched his house to see living arrangements.

Defense lawyers got the man to admit he did not know Langford used an indoor parking garage at his loft, making the testimony about Langford's car-parking habits seem hardly useful.

The next steps: The Monday filings, then wait for a decision.

Previously:
-October 31: Can't forget about Birmingham
-October 21: Candidate Patrick Cooper lawyers up
-October 16: Patrick Cooper's campaign, Google lead still not over
-October 10: Patrick Cooper loses election bid, probably
-October 1: Patrick Cooper, the candidate

As candidate Patrick Cooper challenges the residency of mayor-elect Larry Langford, the court date remains set for November 14. Langford takes office the day prior. I still have zero real stake in the race.

Thanks to Birmingham Terminal for writing about this blog ("The other Patrick Cooper"), and thanks to candidate Patrick Cooper's cousin for e-mailing to say he was enjoying the posts.

What's the latest? We're in a bit of coverage break before the court session. But Birmingham News columnist has a piece guessing what candy the various city players may be giving out this Halloween.

Start with Mayor-elect Larry Langford, because he is the easiest. He'd pass out 5th Avenue bars, because he might be able to claim them as a downtown home address. He'd offer 100 Grand bars because, heck, that's what he does. He'd pass out Paydays and Now and Laters, or a combination of both, for all those bond dealers: Pay Me Now and Later.

…

Second-place mayoral candidate and election-challenger Patrick Cooper can give Bit-O-Honey. Like that stuff stuck in your teeth, he just won't go away. His supporters who keep on calling? Almond Joy, I guess. Or Mounds. Sometimes they seem like nuts, but sometimes they don't.

Read the rest. This Patrick Cooper is out of candy. Happy Halloween!

The latest in continuing coverage of an election involving candidates whose politics I don't know and whose Alabama location I don't live anywhere near, but only care about because one candidate is named Patrick Cooper and he's taken our shared name's top spot from me on Google. Which isn't a big deal except when I have two minutes to kill.

The fun continued after I posted mid-week. After the provisional ballots seemed to come up short on problems, candidate Patrick Cooper moved on Tuesday to challenging the winner's city residency. The Birmingham News had the story.

"I'm going to contest it," Cooper said. "Larry Langford has perpetrated a fraud on the residents of Birmingham."

Prior to the election, Langford, a longtime Fairfield resident, rented a loft in downtown Birmingham and had his voter registration changed to that address. He said he intended to buy a house in Birmingham after the election.

While he did keep some clothes in the downtown loft, he said the building didn't allow pets, and he and his wife continued to care for their family dog, Zach, at their Fairfield home.

The News then reported on Cooper's Wednesday press conference about the claims. "Cooper contends Langford spent virtually every night at his Fairfield home, that he never put a 'For Sale' sign in front of his house, that his homestead exemption remains at his Fairfield home, and that his driver license, vehicle registration, paychecks and bills list the Fairfield address," the paper said. The Birmingham Business Journal had more fun.

During a Wednesday press conference at his downtown campaign office, Cooper played footage from an ABC 33/40 video he said was filmed on Sept. 27 at Langford's leased space at Blach's Lofts. The footage shows an empty hallway and room. Cooper said the footage proves Langford didn't live in Birmingham in the months leading up to the Oct. 9 election but maintained residence in Fairfield.

The area's blogosphere had mixed reaction. On The Terminal and Birmingham Blues, commenters tended to lean in Cooper's direction. Mike's Space was against him, and Key West or Bust was for him.

On Friday, the local court system set a trial date of mid-November. Read the filings here. The News editorial board weighed in today: "It's hard to see how Patrick Cooper or Birmingham wins if his legal challenge over Mayor-elect Larry Langford's residency is successful."

Birmingham candidate Patrick Cooper continues to lead Google searches for "patrick cooper" just like he continues to pursue the mayor's office. Let's update the latter.

The day after the election, I wrote about Cooper alleging election day irregularities and pushing for a recount. "In a field of 10 candidates, according to the News, the winner drew 50% or 26,227 votes. Patrick Cooper pulled in 30% or 15,392 votes. Could 'irregularities' really have moved 20% of the vote?"

I heard quickly from a Birmingham couple who would have voted for Cooper had they received their ballots in time. This morning I received a second comment on the issue, this one coming anonymously.

The important thing here, Evanston Cooper, is that the mayors race in Birmingham would be forced into a runoff if the opponent, Larry Langford, recieved exactly 50%, without one vote over. He recieved 170 votes over 50%, and with 45,000 votes being cast, that's pretty close. So yes, it is a close race to achieve a runoff situation, and voting irregularities and provisional ballots could, and may still, change that. Just an explanation…

Checking the Web today, that comment appeared correct. "Voting officials finished counting provisional ballots last night," NBC 13 said, preparing for a noon handover. "The certification could determine whether there will be a runoff between Larry Langford and Patrick Cooper. The number of provisional ballots has been sealed so we don't know at this point whether there are enough to force a runoff."

At this hour, there's no strong word yet on that count. Al.com has a front page headline saying only nine ballots have joined the official tally, but the link goes nowhere. Meanwhile, the Birmingham Business Journal says Patrick Cooper is holding a press conference tomorrow. The nature of the event is unknown.

Previously:
-October 10: Patrick Cooper loses election bid, probably
-October 1: Patrick Cooper, the candidate

The results came in late last night. Despite the endorsement of The Birmingham News — "We believe Cooper is the best hope to break from the politics of the past and present and offer hope for Birmingham's future" — Patrick Cooper's campaign for mayor of the Alabama city ended in defeat. Or did it?

Cooper said he was ready to challenge the results, claiming there were problems at the polls.

"We're conceding nothing," he told supporters at WorkPlay after the results were in. "There are some irregularities. We're going to have a recount and we're confident we're going to win this. There is a margin of error, and we're going to look at it. We're going to get busy tomorrow morning."

In a field of 10 candidates, according to the News, the winner drew 50% or 26,227 votes. Patrick Cooper pulled in 30% or 15,392 votes. Could "irregularities" really have moved 20% of the vote? Things didn't look good for Patrick Cooper's campaign and his Google rank.

Previously:
-October 1: Patrick Cooper, the candidate

There's a man running for mayor in Birmingham. His name is Patrick Cooper. This Patrick Cooper, he has a website, "Patrick Cooper for Mayor." His name, Patrick Cooper, is everywhere on the site, as a campaign would dictate. And I have no doubt the local political sites mention this Patrick Cooper and link to him often.

If you recall, Web surfers looking for that Patrick Cooper accidentally visited this Patrick Cooper's site over the summer. I thought the effect was amusing. But earlier this month, Professor Amit e-mailed with rough news. Googling for "Patrick Cooper" found my site not in the top spot for the first time in years. Candidate Patrick Cooper had taken the top spot. That Patrick Cooper still held the spot as of this weekend.

In retrospect, the Patrick Cooper shift wasn't surprising. A campaign was a campaign, designed to get Patrick Cooper's name out to the public in any and all way's possible. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had never been big on displaying my Patrick Cooper name on the site. The URL was all that was really necessary. I bent a little in the title bar and such, just to show Google who was here at patrickcooper.com. But my efforts were no Patrick Cooper political machine.

I recently looked up the date of the Birmingham election and found it was October 9. That day, I told friends, was the peak of that Patrick Cooper's Google popularity. Unless, they replied, he won.

I had to consider the possibility: Patrick Cooper, mayor of Birmingham. My professional responsibility kept me from immediately beginning a campaign against Patrick Cooper. I had nothing against him — or for him, for that matter. I knew nothing about him other than his name, Patrick Cooper, and what he was attempting to do. But I had to admit a little interest today to find Patrick Cooper behind in the polls. In a Birmingham News poll released Sunday, Patrick Cooper was in second, trailing by 8%, with 18% undecided and 4.9% margin of error.

My best course of action seemed to be to explain the issue to the robots at Google. I would write a post explaining how I was Patrick Cooper and how there was now this other Patrick Cooper. Maybe mentioning my name a bit would help explain things? While I hadn't mentioned it much in the past, now appeared to be the right time.

Update at 5:15 p.m. ET: My visitor logs show a dozen visitors in the last day or so from Birmingham. Welcome! I am not the guy.

After nearly nine years, this site's guestbook has closed. Always free and briefly fun, the guestbook received no more than 60 signings and outlived its useful life by years only because I couldn't figure out how to cancel the account. Searching today found Lycos doesn't cancel.

So, the site shifts from guestbook links to a brief archive. Included are: the award that never came, a Cleo magazine project, a guy from a barbershop quartet society, Jeff learning AP style, repeated March mistakes, Brake on bowl design, and many other Patrick Coopers. ("You have given many hours of great entertainment over many years. I am always looking for you on TV etc.")