For the fifth installment of My Friends Are Famous, I'd like to introduce Lindley. You may have met her before in this article I wrote about babies last year (Lindley M Davidson was #5 I think).
She makes the My Friends Are Famous blog because my little Lindles is starring in her very first commercial!
Sort of.
Lynnette & Sam, her adoring (and creative) parents made that super precious video as part of a contest & if their video gets the most views they win a thousand bucks. Awesome. I want to make a video now too.
So click on the video above and watch it... even if you hate ice cream... or children... or me for that matter. Yes, great idea. Click on it to spite me.
Brilliant.
And congrats Lindley! Your parents may have passed that sweet tooth on to you, but you get your mad acting skilz from your Auntie Ann (not to mention, we all know I'm the one who taught you that boys are bad). Here's to your future full length feature!
One of my friends sent me this stating, "I found a lost archive of Ann as a child." It's not me, but it could have been. I remember asking for legos as a gift and giving Santa the disclaimer, I know they are for boys, but I really want some. Sure enough. There they were under the tree Christmas morning! I also remember going to one of my parents adult parties where a bunch of kids who barely know each other get thrown in a room with the host kids' toys. I found the boy's G.I. Joe castle-bunker thing, so I added my She-Ra right into the mix and couldn't have been happier!
The New Year by Death Cab for Cutie (or as my mom once called them, the Dead Taxis)
That Year by Brandi Carlile
Passing Afternoon by Iron and Wine
Our New Year by Tori Amos (or Pretty Good Year!... so hard to decide.)
Did I Ever Become by The Krusty Brothers (Waterdeep)
In the New Year by The Walkman
It's the End of the World As We Know It by REM (duh, hello 2012!)
Bitter End by The Dixie Chicks
Waiting Out the New Year by The Whiskey Priest (instrumental)
The Cave by Mumford and Sons
My Dear Acquaintance (Happy New Year) by Regina Spektor
And here's a freebee to the first song on my imaginary album... you'll have to find the rest yourself (although Regina's & Death Cab's videos have made it on my blog in New Years Past).
In case you are curious, here are the ten most amazing cats (according to Animal Planet). My favorite is the barking cat, though I do love me some inter-species communication!
And it was a pretty amazing year for me too.
I played Eva Peron in Evita, chorus girl #8 in Stop the World I Want To Get Off and Amalia Balish in She Loves Me in Georgetown, Austin and Wimberley, Texas. I wrote some things and sometimes spoke what I wrote to large groups of people... once in Guatemala... and once at my grandpa's funeral. When I wasn't singing or writing or preaching, I was changing diapers; nannying is my day job. I vacated in Colorado, at Disney World and went home to St. Jo Mo a record three times this year (and none of those was Christmas!). I turned 33 and threw myself a Jesus Died When He Was My Age Birthday Party. I had a boyfriend for a while and spent the rest of the time dating republicans, millionaires and men much older than me. I don't know what I was thinking either. And then I had a tonsillectomy. A rough ending to an exciting year.
Ugh that was horrible. Think about kittens... christmas... puppets! Let's see what Jibjab has to say about 2011.
Yeah, that doesn't make me feel much better. And when I look at the most infamous oopsies of 2011 (according to Yahoo), I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
So back to animals. Here's the top 10 Animal stories of 2011 (according to Huffington Post).
In theater, here's the 10 best things on Broadway (according to the Hollywood Reporter) that you can feel free to take me to see anytime in 2012 :)
And speaking of art, here's the 14 most inspiring looks (according to Fashion Gone Rogue) of 2011. O to be beautiful and have someone paint my face and let me wear amazing costumes. Le sigh.
Are you getting all health conscious since the New Year (and its resolutions) are right around the corner? Check out the 10 most amazing biomedical advancements of 2011 (according to New Scientist)
Speaking of breakthroughs, the NRDC emailed me this, thanking me for the work I did (donations made, petitions signed, letters written) to help make a world of difference in 2011 :)
But damn we still have a long way to go.
Not even mentioning the environment, Reuters has the most depressing overview of 2011 though their layout is pretty cool. (The only positive thing they dipicted was Britain's Royal Wedding).
But never fear! Because I believe that hope prevails, that love wins, Google's overview is probably my favorite... :)
I like interesting videos. Especially ones that make my mind go places it hasn't gone before. So today's post is merely a post of interesting videos I've watched lately. Most of them come via my friend who used to write haikus. Scan thru them and see if there's one or two that interest you...
This first one is a video posted by an Australian TV show that recruits ad agencies to sell "things" people would never really sell or buy for that matter like say "An invasion on New Zealand" or as this episode shows, "A Ban On All Religion." Wow. While I (and most of them) obviously think this is a horrible idea (and an assault on human rights), it was interesting to me to see the two angles the ad agencies took to "sell" this "product." Check it out...
This second is spoof on one of my favorite movies of all time, originally owned on VHS (though I do lack the DVD version - for shame!). It is the opening scene of Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast as told by a gay man. It is titled "Bonjour, Girl."
And then there's the counterpart, "Advice for Young Girls From The Little Mermaid" by Second City. Or what a feminist hears when she hears Ariel sing. "My best feature is my voice so I sold it for plastic surgery :)"
This final set of videos arrived in my inbox the same day that I posted my thoughts on literalism and the Adam & Eve story. I guess evolution was in the air. The first video is the Miss USA 2011 contestants and their responses to the question, "Should evolution be taught in schools?" The second is a spoof of this legitimate (if startling video) titled, "Should math be taught in schools?"
Because the first video is long, I'll recap for you...
Best Response: Miss Vermont.
Worst Response: Miss Georgia even though, yes, "we're smarter than ever these days."
Dumbest Response: Miss Indiana who thinks we should leave the decision "up to the government... leave [evolution] out of the equation." We don't understand what you mean either.
Most Ridiculous Response: Miss Kentucky who said, "You can't ever have too much knowledge on any subject but I do feel evolution shouldn't be taught in schools." Are you even listening to yourself.
Miss Missouri: I got bored. You don't represent me. Quit being so wishy washy and SHOW ME what you're made of.
Miss Texas: Really? Science is just "something extra for kids to know about"? Obviously the heat has messed with your brain.
Finished. I finally saw the second seventh movie and it is finished. I can't believe it. Some things I JUST KNEW were going to happen and other things surprised me. But I don't want to spoil it for you in case you haven't read the books (I haven't) or seen the final flic. Wow, though. I'm happy to report I wasn't traumatized afterwards like I was after the 6th movie (note: The Windy City, Harry Potter, and The Importance of a Glerb). 7.2 was pretty awesome (and pretty sad) and I kind of want to see it again.
J.K Rowling. Thank you for being the first woman to write a series as widely read and radically followed as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I'm so pleased, I might go back and actually read the HP books after all.
In the meantime, enjoy this fun flic recap of Harry Potter in just 99 seconds.
This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Sic 'Em Bears." My friends are trying to decide if this decreases the value of their (our?) Baylor degrees... I would like to remind them that Baylor hired Kenneth Starr as their President last year. So, yes.
“With its great tradition in the Christian world and its growing international reputation as a research university that continues to care deeply about undergraduate education, Baylor is poised to have an increasingly expanding global impact.”
Apparently research for the semester was on pyro-technics... (warning: video is rated R for language)
This cat is BARKING, yes, as in, like a dog, until it turns around and sees it's human with the video camera and then it finishes out it monster cry with a MEOW.
This is like 10 seconds long and is cray cray. Watch it.
In light of my two recent posts regarding the show I'm doing at the Georgetown Palace theater, "Don't Cry For Me, Austin, TX" and "Evita!" (four shows left, buy your tickets now!!), a friend sent me this youtube video: "Don't Cry (Speak) for Me, Sarah Palin." Awesome. Thanks, Steve.
Today starts a new decade. This affords us an opportunity to reflect not only on the end of the year of twenty-ten, but on the whole first decade ushered in ten years ago by Y2K and all the chaos of a new millennium.
Here's some of what I remember...
In 2000, I graduated from College, turned down a marriage proposal, moved home to hang out with my youngest sister who was in high school, substitute taught, and drove a van-full of stuff to Waco, Texas, where my mother left me with a kiss and a cry.
2001 began my seminary career. I flew to Hawaii for Spring Break (priceline had just been invented) and met up with my aunt and grandparents. With my new friends Lynnette ad Cat, I began attending UBC Waco where I preached my first Sunday morning sermon. I worked at Applebee's for three months and then took a job at Buzzard Billy's. I joined my family in St. Jo again for the summer and joined the chorus of Camelot, the show my dad was directing. Cat and I moved in together on Bagby. 9-11 started off my second semester in seminary, and flying was never the same again.
2002, both my grandparents died within a week of each other. I played Mary Magdalene in Waco Civic Theater's Jesus Christ Superstar. My seminary got a new dean, and i almost quit. Instead I travelled the world with a Missions class and visited England, Morocco, Turkey, Thailand, India and China. I moved in with the Eades that summer. I began dating a drummer that fall and my sister got married in October. I had my first wreck: in Oklahoma, driving back to Texas from a friend's wedding in Missouri. I starred as Anna in The King and I and adopted my first cat, Radley.
2003 I attended my first Emergent Convention and the Dove Awards. I turned 25 and moved home again for the summer to play The Witch in Robidoux Resident Theater's production of Into the Woods. I adopted (or rather, inherited - thanks Jen!) my second cat, Zorba. One of my best friends, Big Phil, moved to Austin and began working at Mosaic which introduced me to both that city and church. The drummer and I broke up, and I bought a new (to me) car.
2004 I graduated from seminary, moved to Austin for a couple months where I volunteered at Mosaic and substitute taught, then moved to St. Joseph, Missouri to be an English/Drama teacher at Savannah High School.
2005 I moved back to Austin, was a permanent substitute at Johnston High School, volunteered again at Mosaic, dated a tattoo-covered republican, moved back to Waco (and back to my old job at the Buzz), dated a bartender, and then moved back again to Austin where I took a job as Pastoral Resident/University Minister at FBC Austin through a CBF Lily Grant. My sister got divorced, my friend and pastor, Kyle Lake, died, and my cat Radley died.
2006 I dated a 19 year old and a 48 year old one right after the other this Spring (neither lasted long). I bought my first house in East Austin. I played Job's Wife in J.B. at church. I dated a lawyer who lived in DC and made my first visit to our nation's capitol. I was ordained by FBC, and officiated my first wedding.
2007 I got a dog. I took a vacation with two friends in West Texas, I produced Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at FBC. My residency ended. The church voted to keep me on as their new Minister to Young Adults and of Creative Discipleship. My car died on the way home for Christmas with my boyfriend that year and I bought a new one to get back to Austin before New Year's.
2008 I oversaw the creation of a Black Box Theater on the 4th floor of FBC and directed my first play (a one-act), Aria Da Capo under the new troupe: Trinity Street Players. Things at church were challenging this year and I went back to therapy. I dated a guy in the Peace Corps and recorded a CD of hymns. My father had a heart attack a few weeks before The Diaries of Adam & Eve opened in which I played Eve. I turned 30.
2009 I led worship at the CBF's Current Retreat and visited Walt Disney World with Julie Merritt and some other pastoral friends. I attended my first JoPa convention and got to speak with Jurgen Moltmann on a panel in Chicago (where I also visited my sister, Amy). I organized a Mission trip to Chile for my college students at church. I played Shelby in Steel Magnolias that summer. I dated a guy who lived in LA and flew out there for vacation that year. I watched two babies being born (both "natural" births) that year, and on Fridays, I babysat Chris & Michelle's daughter, Laurel.
2010 I directed my second show, You Can't Take It With You. My neighbor and adopted "mom" died. I played Luisa in The Fantasticks during the summer. I also attended the Baptist World Alliance in Hawaii, and stayed an extra week to vacation there with my parents, aunt and great-aunt. I quit my job, ran a half-marathon relay at Disney World, and began nannying part time for my friend Bethany who got cancer. I dated one of the other actors who had been in The Fantasticks. I began auditioning for shows all over Austin and was cast as Eva Peron in Evita at the Georgetown Palace.
Most of my life's recap consists of men I dated, pets I mothered, places I vacationed, roles I played, and conferences I attended. I don't know, I guess that's what my life is.
If you want to know how many funerals I attended in the last decade, I can promise you it's more than the average 32 year old could claim. Kyle Lake (my friend), Chip Conyers (my professor), Ruth Ann Foster (my professor), Mike Rudd (my ex-boyfriend), Tommie & Nicey Bedford (my neighbors), Jonathan Norman (my student), and the list goes on and on... Same for weddings. Singing, officiating or being a bridesmaid in an average of probably 5 weddings a year... And the babies that showed up starting in 2009? Well, quite frankly, I lost track. But those are all things that go on other people's lists. Not mine. Not my death, not my wedding, not my baby.
I've not written down how many sermons I've preached, or shelters I've volunteered at, or worship services I led, or people I counseled. This isn't my resume, it's a list of experiences... of seasons in my life. You won't find the movies I watched, or the books I read, the shows I saw, or the wine I drank because there isn't enough time or space, and really who cares? Reflecting is a time for highlighting. Singling out. Seeing patterns. And breaking molds.
The cast of Rent asks "the question" of us and offers some of the nineties' (remember that decade leading up to Y2K?) suggestions on how we measure life...
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights In cups of coffee In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In truths that she learned, Or in times that he cried. In bridges he burned, Or the way that she died.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes How do you measure the life Of a woman or a man?
How about love? Measure in love Seasons of love. Seasons of love
And while I don't measure life in cups of coffee (I don't even drink coffee), neither do I measure it in beer bottles, slimfast or cartons of fat free milk. I do think it's measured in love. Love of people and love of what you do, coupled with love of God and loving yourself, whom God created. There's no time (and you've no interest) to hear the in depth version of my last decade, so listen instead to this beautiful song and reflect on the seasons in your life... and of course Happy New Year. Happy 2011 and good luck with your next decade...
This is one of my favorite bands in Austin: The B. Sterling Band. And, he's a friend of mine! KVUE featured his music on one of their blurbs yesterday, so check it out here! (the video wouldn't repost so you have to go to the site to watch it). And here's the band's website in case you wanna check them out on a regular basis. Congrats B!
The Glee cast performing all Madonna songs?! I was in heaven. Of course Sue Sylvester's was the best. But I also loved that they ended the episode with this...
Jurgen Moltmann said that when Christ called out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?) God became both the oppressor and the oppressed. I'm still internalizing what this means... for Christianity, for Judaism, for faith, for freedom, for salvation, for God... and for Christ... Emmanuel, God With Us.
(this video was made for our Good Friday service last year by my co-worker Joe Bumbulis).
I told you Bill Murray was bartending at the joint I went to during SXSW!! Here's proof! It was pretty awesome. I wanted to tell him I had a crush on Venkman when I was a little girl, but refrained. Instead, when he walked by me I just kind of sucked all the air into my lungs as my stomach fell to my ankles and then uttered "That's Bill Murray" to myself like a blathering idiot.
Okay, no. I'm not a local hero; I've not won any superbowls or met the president. I haven't started my own business making cute glutton free cupcakes or designed commercials for TV, but I am on TV... sort of.
This is the video of me preaching at Truett Seminary Chapel on Feb. 2nd. Title: When the Bad Guy Wins. Text: Luke 10:25-37
Augh! You guys are jealous of me cause I know so many famous people, right? Well, here's another one. This is my friend Ben DeLeon. He won "Big Brother of the Year" award in the United States last year and so in honor of Mentoring Month, he and his "little brother" Anthony were invited to Washington DC where Anthony got to introduce none other than the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! And a good president at that! This of course means that I am now only one degree away from President Obama in the Six Degrees of Separation Game!
So if you've got 15 minutes, here's the White House's appeal for mentoring and here's when Anthony introduces the President (around minute five). And my friend Ben is just to the right of the President and he's wearing a red tie. If you've only got a minute or two, here's an article from our local news.
This was actually a pretty big week for our church truthfully. We had Ben in the White House and Drew Brees heading to the Superbowl. Pretty exciting!!! (P.S. Oddly enough, Ben and Drew graduated together from a local high school here. So I guess here's a shout out to Westlake High for some excellent mentoring of their own students!)
