What's in a name?

When I was over at the Eaves' house last night for dinner, Emery introduced me to the wide world of blogging. I enjoyed looking at her blog, with such great pictures and getting inspired by her gorgeous meals. I think I got the bug.

Sean's helping a friend with his homework tonight, so -- relegated to the bedroom with my laptop (voluntarily) -- I decided for some reason, to look up my name on google. It's not the first time I've done that, but it is the first time I did "louisa" alone. Interesting results. I found out a few things.

1. There are at least two towns in the U.S. called Louisa. One is in Virginia, the other is in Kentucky.


2. There is a Louisa County in Iowa...where newspapers report two persons found dead in a murder-suicide on Sunday.

3. There are luxury apartments in Portland called "The Louisa," advertised as being "smart, sophisticated, and beautiful." Hmm.

3. "Sister Louisa" is the alter ego of one Grant Henry, a gay artist from Atlanta who uses the persona of a fallen nun to sell irreverent (un)religious anti-iconography. www.sisterlouisa.com

4. Louisa Burton is the author of the erotic fiction series, the Hidden Grotto, primarily featuring sexual demons and the undead, and most recently awarded the Romantic Times award for best erotic fiction of the year. woo hoo!

5. There was a ship named Louisa that sailed from Belfast to New York on June 14, 1825. It carried 151 passengers, two of whom died on the voyage. Both were young girls, ages 13 and 16.
5a. There was another ship much earlier to carry that name, but unlike the former it did not reach its destination. The "Princess Louisa" was a British East India Company merchant ship that was lost on April 18, 1743 after striking a reef off the coast of an island in the Cape Verde chain. It carried 20 chests of Spanish coins that were only just recovered a decade ago.

6. Louisa John-Krol is an Australian performer of questionable fame, specializing in the "romantic pop-ethereal faerie genre" and whose solo albums all start with the letter A. My favorite? "Apple Pentacle." A sure classic.

7. And finally...the name Louisa means "maiden warrior," or something to that effect. It is supposedly German in origin and is definitely tied to the idea of fighting and honor.