Mary Hudson, Dionysus and St. Denis

Mary Hudson was born on Oct 9, which is also St. Denis and Companions’ Day in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.  We’re not Catholic, but since I do study religion (particularly ancient religion), I thought this was interesting:

This martyr and patron of France is traditionally held to have been the first bishop of Paris. His popularity is due to a series of legends, especially those connecting him with the great abbey church of St. Denis in Paris. He was for a time confused with the writer now called Pseudo-Dionysius.

The best hypothesis contends that Denis was sent to Gaul from Rome in the third century and beheaded in the persecution under Valerius in 258.

According to one of the legends, after he was martyred on Montmartre (literally, "mountain of martyrs") in Paris, he carried his head to a village northeast of the city. St. Genevieve built a basilica over his tomb at the beginning of the sixth century.

St. Denis and Companions – Saint of the Day – American Catholic

And here’s more about St. Denis from Wikipedia (he seemed to be quit head strong):

Saint Denis of Paris (also called Dionysius, Dennis, or Denys) is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was bishop of Paris. He was martyred in approximately 250, and is venerated especially in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France and one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The modern name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius, "servant of Dionysus"

According to the Golden Legend, after his head was chopped off, Denis picked it up and walked several miles, preaching a sermon the entire way.[5] The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was made into a small shrine that developed into the Saint Denis Basilica, which became the burial place for the kings of France. Another account has his corpse being thrown in the Seine, but recovered and buried later that night by his converts.[2]

Specifically, Denis is invoked against diabolical possession and headaches.[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis

OK, back to changing diapers!

Best “What’s In Your Bag?” Entry Ever

I love the "What’s In Your Bag?" Flickr pool where people can post up the contents of their day packs or bags for the world to see.  Pure gadget and manpurse (murse) pr0n.

I’ve even put up one myself in the past (though I need to update with my new canvas bag).

Anyway, this is the best entry I’ve ever seen, hands down.

What’s in my bag? on Flickr – Photo Sharing!

Mary Hudson Harrelson – Day 1

More pics to come soon on the Flickr page as soon as we get them downloaded from the camera… but WOW what a crazy day!

Here’s the preliminary judgement… she has Anna’s nose and my lips.  She also seems to have my stern look when she’s frustrated 🙂

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes via email, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, text messages and thanks to those who stopped by the hospital to see Mary Hudson.  We’re logging all of these for Mary Hudson to enjoy and reflect on when she’s older.

Mom and baby are sleeping soundly after an exciting 24 hours and I’m getting ready to join them.

I can’t process how excited I am to be this beautiful little girl’s dad, and I hope I live up to her expectations that she clearly expresses every time she opens her eyes and looks me in the face.  Talk about a perspective changing experience!

More soon…

mary hudson getting weighed and measured on Flickr – Photo Sharing!

Baby Harrelson Coming Soon

We’re in the hospital tonight awaiting the arrival of Baby Harrelson!  Contractions started around 5 and intensified until around 9pm when we decided to head to Mission Hospital here in Asheville.

It’s currently 3:00am and we’re progressing nicely… should have a delivery sometime in the next few hours!

You can follow live updates on my Twitter stream (http://www.twitter.com/samharrelson)

More soon!

Going Into Labor on Flickr – Photo Sharing!

LOLCat Bible Translation Project

My life is now complete (via boing boing), a Bible translation project using the popular LOLCat form:

1. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat was invisible, and he maded the skiez and da earths, but he did not eated it.

2. The earths wus witout shapez and wus dark and scary and stuffs, and he rode invisible bike over teh waterz.

Thanks, Jeff D!

Genesis 1 – LOLCat Bible Translation Project