Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Sex Leads by a Nose

"The number of Web pages dealing with God and religion is booming. Religion, in fact, is now nearly as popular an Internet topic as sex: A search for "sex" on Google returns about 408 million hits; a search for "God" yields 396 million." -- from The Week quoting The Washington Post

Belated Discovery

I've been doing some soul-searching.

Good news:

I think I found one.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Famous for a Cause

Aimie Littler (beautiful inside and out friend of mine) is quoted in the London Times and I'm so proud of what she's done to get on those pages. Noting that The Truth Isn't Sexy she's gone after the demand side of human trafficking. She's taken the lead on a project and given more hours than most folks would ever consider for FREE!!!! I love that I know people with this much passion and commitment. Check out the story . . .

Friday, March 23, 2007

Evidently Size Does Matter

The Houston Chronicle offers up an excellent resource for all things Houston in a publication called The Source. For instance, they include a sidebar with all the OTHER names for the major roadways here. (If you've ever tried to listen to a traffic report in Houston, you'll know what I mean. Took me years to discover what the Pierce Elevated was -- I45 going through downtown.)

They also provide some fun facts that just might support the working theory that Texans are a tad bit over-focused on size:

Houston has the third-largest number of consular offices outside Washington, D.C. (after New York and Los Angeles).

The city is named for Sam Houston, the larger-than-life president of the Republic of Texas, governor of two states, U.S. senator and military hero.

Houston’s Texas Medical Center is the largest medical complex in the world.

At 570 feet, the San Jacinto Monument is about 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument.

Houstonians eat out more than residents of any other U.S. city.

The largest evacuation in U.S. history occurred in 2005 when more than 2.5 million Houston-area residents fled Hurricane Rita.


Biggest or smallest -- doesn't matter to me. I love my city not for its size but for what we do with it.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Does Someone Know Someone???

This art exhibit is provocative and worthy of more time in the public eye. Stacey Chinn has much to say about the cost of dowry in the lives of women around the world. Check it out. And then, someone tell me how I can get it to Houston or Austin??? Does anyone know anyone with a gallery? How about connections at a women's study program??? Anyone????

What Dante Didn't Tell Us

Last week I traveled to the home state of a good friend and we enjoyed her family and the beauty that is Kentucky for a few days before driving home to Texas (16 hours if you're interested in stats like that). She has three kids and the trip was possible in a day if we shared the driving burden. Actually, with DVD players, Ipods, and earphones, the day was long but enjoyable.

A couple of really cool things happened while in the state known for its love of horses, basketball and bourbon. I got a behind-the-scenes tour of a race track -- an old one with a clubhouse that felt like some man in a smoking jacket would be coming around the corner any second with a cigar and a brandy in hand. The horses were doing an early morning workout and it was cold. The snorting and hot breath were both audible and visible. I loved it.

I also saw an incredible art exhibit which I want to come to Houston (see next post) and enjoyed hanging out with my friends's cousins and sisters. Have you ever seen a Kentucky fan during March Madness? Wow!

But my biggest grin came when my friend's five-year-old got her first glimpse of the wilderness themed water park from the second story of the similarly themed lodge where the entire family was staying for the night. She pressed her face against the window pane that gave a bird's eye view of the plastic trees, buckets of water pouring into other buckets, spewing/spitting/spinning water trails, inflated tubes and pools -- lots and lots of pools. She was quiet for a moment and then said as though hypnotized, "I've always dreamed of this."

When we made it down to the first floor and I walked into the heated chasm and began to take in the three stories of children running wild I had a slightly different reaction:

"I'm in hell. Dante forgot to mention the theme park level."

Of course, as soon as I was pulled away from my cynical state and climbed the tower for my first excursion down a shaft of water on top of an inner tube, I had a bit of a change of heart.

Maybe it wasn't my dream, but it wasn't a nightmare either.

And by 2 p.m. the next day when I discovered the 21 and over hot tub, I was a much happier camper!

Monday, March 19, 2007

Would I Heed the Warning?

They paint the tree roots orange when they interrupt the dirt and gravel oak-lined path on which I powerwalk.

Too bad there's not some similar warning system in the journey we call "real life."

I wouldn't mind some orange aura showing up when the next step is going to guarantee I trip, fall and experience pain.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

We Walked

Speechless ... I hate the sensation. And, yet, love what produces it.

I always want to say something incredibly profound after experiences such as the AIDS Walk. I want to capture in words the gratitude I felt seeing my communities converge and walk side by side. I want to convey the beauty of thousands of colorfully clad advocates agreeing that taking a walk is making a stand. But I never quite get "there" in expressing all that happened both inside my head and around my blistered (bad shoe choice) heels.

Still I wanted to say something.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

???

While listening to the song "What if God were one of us?" from a few years back, I found myself responding the question posed within . . . If you could ask God just one question, what would it be?

My reply: Why?

And if I were the type to use language like this on a more regular basis perhaps I wouldn't feel so strange saying it . . . but it was almost as if God immediately answered because I distinctly heard:

Why not?

Friday, March 02, 2007

What are you looking for?

The Right Answer or a right answer for right now?