This Is Halloween!

You Can Vote However You Like

You guys, have you seen this?! My youngest sister who teaches essentially an at inner city school in Kansas City called and told me she was going to teach her class this song (since she's not allowed to show videos on youtube). This teacher should get a medal for her work. It's amazing. (P.S. Grandma et al., this is a take off the rap song "Whatever You Like" by T.I.)

This Is Dedicated To the One I Love

29 years ago, this one was born...



So Happy Birthday, Amy (she's the second one over - I'm the fifth, circa 1988 maybe).



From your loving sister Ann.



Oh and Emily loves you too...



October 29, 1979, my life changed forever.



Thanks be to God.

Don't Forget To Vote!

"My fellow liberal elitists are more dependent on other people. I am, that's for sure. I need other people to fix my car, raise my vegetables, build bookshelves, launder my shirts and clean my house, and since I need those people, I should take some passing interest in the schools their children attend and the sort of medical care available. I don't believe in indentured servitude, and so I want to live in a society in which the women who launder and fold my shirts get a fair deal. I don't want my breakfast sausage to come from a packing plant like the one in Iowa that employed undocumented Mexicans and treated them like medieval serfs. So I'm a Democrat. It's the party that has a better record of looking after the interests of people who earn less than a hundred grand a year." -- Garrison Keillor

A Wondering Poem

So, while at home several weeks ago, I discovered a yellow folder in my filing cabinet. (I could only bear to clean out half a drawer). It is Book of Poems by Ann Pittman from my 7th Grade Odyssey class.

Tee hee.

And in light of a heated political climate and an ever-pressing need as a minister to encourage people to usher in the Kingdom of God (which ultimately points us away from ourselves and into the love of God - remember, to lose yourself is to find yourself!), I thought I would post this not-so-brilliant, but very honest poem by middle-schooler, Ann Pittman (Keep in mind there were patterns we were asked to follow which although it does not excuse the irrelevancy of stanza two, may make it forgivable).

A Wondering Poem

I do not understand
why clowns act as they do
why clowns play stupid for money
why children believe in them

But most of all I do not understand
why we study English
why we are graded on it
(Poets are the only ones who understand themselves anyway).

What I do understand is
that people are blind to the world's problems
because people are so caught up in themselves
and that's not what we're here for.

Yeah. Take that world. In case you were wondering, "that's not what we're here for."

Hey Austin Voters

So even if you know which candidate you're voting for for president, do you know who else you'll cast a ballot on? What other issues you'll vote for or against?

If not, this is a nonpartisan website where you can print out info on candidates and issues and even mark it up and take it to the polls with you.

Be informed. Vote discerningly.

Black Sheet

Hmmm. I wonder who the black sheep, excuse me, sheet is in our family? I vote Emily.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

"Saved Her Sanity"

Precious.

Finally...

Finally, someone who makes sense...

Mizzou-rah... Mizzou-rah... TIGERS!

The No. 11 Mizzou football team travels to Austin, Texas this weekend for a matchup with No. 1 ranked Texas. The game will kickoff at 7 p.m on Saturday and will air on ABC.



Go Mizzou! I'll be there watching you! And I'm going to this if any of you Missourians will be there too!

MIZZOU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION TAILGATE - The Mizzou Alumni Association will host a Tiger Tailgate prior to the game on Saturday. The tailgate will start at 5 p.m. and will be located at the Rec Center near Darrell K. Royal-Memorial Stadium. Pre-registration for the tailgate is closed, but a limited number of tickets will be available at the door on a first-come-first-served basis.

I love the MUTigers website it's hilarious. I just hope everyone keeps this in mind...

MIZZOU PRIDE POINTS - Remember our Pride Points that encompass all of the above:
1. Wear Gold
2. Be Responsible
3. Arrive Early/Stay Late
4. Celebrate Our Traditions
5. Respect The Game

My family's pretty jealous but they're all watching it on TV. Don't worry guys, if out of the 100,000 people, the ESPN camera happens to fall on me, I'll wave to you. :)

Sum Sum Summertime!

What a beautiful summer day!

Except it's not summer.

But it should be.

80 degrees and sunny outside. I planted another cacti in the garden this afternoon while the neighborhood kids played football down the street and the Jehovah's Witnesses went door to door trying to convert people (haven't they reached 144,000 yet?!). My dog is lazily laying in the shade of a tree. I'm sipping on a cold Ace Pear and relaxing. The windows of my house are open (the ones that open), and the bees are flying in and out of the screen-less squares. If I just had a pool to go take a quick swim in, I'd be in heaven.

October in Texas. Summer's finest!

True Story

Man In Department Store Hits Mother of Two Wearing Obama Button.

This is an email I received today from my friend E about an experience she and her young son, Ben had. They live in Missouri, a swing state... pun intended.

"Ann, after signing the petition you emailed out yesterday Ben and I went to Cabela's to hang out for the day. I was wearing my YES WE CAN button. At guest services on the way out Ben and I stopped to pick up a catalog. While at Cabela's I broke down and bought a soda for the both of us to share...root beer. Ben's first! Anyway, Ben asks me if he can have a drink and I said yes. Not a nanosecond later this elderly man HITS me and starts yelling 'No! NO he can't!' I am already feeling guilty about giving my kid soda, but really? I need to be HIT for it? So the man continues yelling at me and I now can tell he's pointing to my button. He SHOUTS that I am a communist and that if I vote for Obama I would be giving my money to the poor and the only way I would ever consider voting for him is if I was on welfare. Then he leans in close and asks 'are you on welfare?' Seriously????? He told me if I did my reading I would throw away my button! I calmly told him there was no way I would do that."

The Big Ones

My sister called last night with this question, "What does the Bible say about homosexuality?"
"Not much," was my answer, "Why?"

Of course, she'd been having a discussion with several doctors about the issue of homosexuality and Christianity. (Yes, this is what your surgeons do as they're rearranging the organs inside your body).

I gave her some of my initial thoughts and then offered to send her a transcript of a lecture Roger gave once on the issue.

Then I got to thinking... didn't I post a blog about this once?... Sure enough. Four years ago, just before the last election, I posted this in response to an email I had received from a man encouraging me to vote for Bush. Now while my blog was in response to allegations in the arrogant email I had received, my thoughts still ring true for me for the most part. Here's a couple of additional thoughts and amendments to my four year old blog.

• Single issue voting is dangerous and if you're going to do it, make sure your lifestyle backs up that one issue you're willing to go to the polls over.

• George W. Bush doesn't actually go to church. That was bad reporting on my part. Neither did his idol, Reagan. And they're the only two presidents in the HISTORY of American presidents who haven't.

• Homosexuality is not only mentioned a whopping 6 times in the Bible, but if you're going to hand-pick what verses you want to cling to as truth (for example Lev. 18:22) then our conversation is over. It is impossible to talk to someone who wants to reject an entire book of the Bible (I'm assuming the person who quotes Lev. 18:22 ignores Lev. 15:16-18, 16:29, 18:19, 19:19, 19:27, 20:9, 20:10, 25:10, all of chapter 11 and unfortunately 19:13-18) but keeps one verse of it as the one that trumps over 31,000 other verses in the Bible. In addition, if you're going to cite Sodom and Gomorrah, you've got some hard ethical work to do because the story seems to be about hospitality and it's solution to inhospitable neighbors is sketchy at best and wrong at face value. I.E. the host protects the visitor by offering his virgin daughters to the lustful, violent citizens. However, if you're willing to move away from hand-picking one of six verses and really talk about what's going on in the stories, then I and others would willingly dialogue with you. That suggests a healthy pursuit of living out one's Christianity in community and conversation.

Okay I'm too tired to write any more. Amy, I hope this helps.

Be informed. Vote discerningly.

This Has to Stop

At the beginning of this campaign (what feels like YEARS ago), everyone kept saying McCain was a great guy, and I almost believed them. However, the McCain/Palin ticket is ridiculous in their smears, negativity and flat our LIES. And there is no way in hell I would vote for him now. What ever happened to integrity as a quality we look for in a president?



Let us say this again. Obama is NOT a muslim, a terrorist, a traitor, or any of the other things uninformed Americans (who won't get set straight by their party leaders i.e. John or Sarah, indeed are being fed by their party leaders) are saying about Senator Obama.

This is ugly. McCain, you need to stop this.

You've Been Mooned!

I love Halloween...

Columbus Day

Okay, so how many people showed up to work today only to discover it was a holiday? Raise your hands. Don't be shy.

I did the same thing.

I'd planned on going in at noon for a short six hour day, but when i showed up at 901 Trinity St, i discovered the office alarm set and the lights off. Hmm. Obviously FBC is on holiday.

The funny (stupid) thing is I had a friend over to my house last night who told me he didn't have to work Monday because of Columbus Day. Of course it didn't occur to me that I might have it off too. Because I never bring my calendar home which says what i do everyday.

So, instead of scheduling meetings, reading books, answering emails, planning a worship service and cleaning my office i...

weeded my cacti garden, scrapbooked with bethany while listening to the Wicked soundtrack, watched Corpse Bride for the second time in less than 24 hours, and kept the neighbor kids out of a fistfight.

What a productive day off.

I bought 3 pumpkins today

But I didn't use them to decorate exactly in this way... !

Halloween's awesome.

Be Careful In Your Car!

Dear Austinites,

Please drive carefully. I drove past this just after it happened. I know not cause i saw it, but because i saw the cars starting to line up. And after an hour's worth of errands there were miles of cars stuck. So when I came home and received this article in my inbox from my local newspaper, I learned why.

My dad used to read Amy and I stories of bad accidents that happened to teenagers who were reckless drivers. Not saying occasional scare tactics are always a good way to influence behavior (i am certainly opposed to it in religion), but when it happens on a road you travel ALL THE TIME, maybe there's some good to reporting it.

So please, neighbors and friends. Drive safely.

Something's on my hand...

OMG. I have an age spot.

On my hand.

I noticed it tonight.

I thought perhaps I had gotten something on my hand. Or maybe it's a cluster of freckles? No, I definitely got something on my hand.

So i washed my hands.

To my dismay, not only did it not come off, but it became all the more clear what it actually was. Is.

An age spot.

Oh My God.

I am OLD.

Next time I get carded, I'm going to throw out my fist and say, "There! Do you see that? Do you know what that is? It's an age spot. So thank you for carding me, but you needn't bother."

"I have an age spot."

I wish... More than anything... More than the moon.

dear blog,

i wish i could tell you everything.

i truly wish i could share with you all i'm consdering, all i'm processing, all i'm weeding through in my mind and spirit right now.

i wish i could convey the craving for one of my mother's lemon bars.

i cry almost every day.

i wish i could express how sarah palin makes me feel so dirty. how appalled i am that americans believe that it's okay for a potential president of the united states to say she's working for all the "joe six packs and hockey moms" of the world.

i wish i could tell you all the mistakes my family has made and how we love each other anyway.

i wish i could play the piano.

i wish i could describe my innate intuition towards all things adulterous.

i wish i could explain how much i love alanis morisette.

i would tell you how a bubble bath even without the bubbles is sufficiently soothing as the steaming hot water numbs my body and calms my mind.

i would whisper who has a lump on her breast and who's sleeping with his secretary and who's not sleeping at all.

oh me. the last one's me.

it's october.

i hate october.

i would tell you why but no one seems to think it's very polite to air one's dirty laundry. and the pile in my bedroom is now up past my shoulders. i'm not kidding! maybe i will do laundry tomorrow.

perhaps that's why i love halloween. it falls at the end of october, so there's a constant sense of spiraling to the end. of braving the month and finally caving into coping, into pretending you're someone you're not... rainbow brite, tinkerbell, batgirl.

i wish i could tell you, blog, who i'm not.

i wish i could tell you who i am.

Wood's Bailout Plan... Thoughts from an Average American

So, I admit, I (Ann) don't know jack about the economy, but this is a facebook message I received from a friend of mine and fellow theologian named Chris... I'm game!

"To all those in Washington who are not hearing the American people,

I have yet to talk to anyone who is actually in favor of the government bailing out all of these massive institutions. Probably, because I haven’t talked to any CEO’s…just average Americans. We all agree that something needs to be done, but what?

If the government has their heart set on giving out that much money, I have some thoughts on what to do with it. So here is my plan…and why not put it on facebook, this is where the real America congregates anyway.

My Government Bailout Plan

Compile a list of US homeowners. Narrow that list down to just their “Primary residence,” no investment property or rental property. Then narrow that list to just their 1st mortgage, if they have more than one. Then the government pays that off. Also, go back over the last 6 months and see how many of the foreclosure would fit the requirements, pay that off and return it to the foreclosed owner. This would probably cost less than $700,000,000,000.

This would create cash flow for the failing financial institutions while ensuring that our property is owned by the people and not the government. The relief would be given to the majority of the US and not to a comparatively small number of large institutions. In turn, this would generate cash flow amongst the people of the US for investment into small business, retail, charitable organization and our own retirement (since Social Security is failing as well). It also increases tax revenues for our country as the government will receive much of the money that has been written off each year by claiming the interest paid on our mortgages.

Then as sales tax revenue, fuel revenue and increased income tax (from mortgage interest) comes in, the government adjusts its size to accommodate the amount of money we pay it. By this point many of the American people will have been empowered by more financial resources to handle many of the social problems that we have looked to the government to solve for us.

There is something to be said about the principle of “the year of jubilee.”

These are the thoughts of an average American and I admit that I am no economist. Who else has a plan?"

It's October!

1985...23 years ago