Must see in Indy

My dear friend Loree and I hit the town last Thursday so she could find some good spots to take some senior pictures. I was her photo subject for the night. I got to pull some really glamourous poses, like contorting myself in a dirty door frame (on the ground), and practice my "come hither" look (which is only for Doug).
I took a few pictures while we were out.
I'm sure most of you Indy dwellers know that Mass Ave is the place to go for awesome dining and really unique stores. Knowing it's a great place to go isn't enough, you need to go.
Our other hidden treasure in Indy is Fountain Square. Loree and I had dinner on the top of the Fountain Square Theatre building. The roof top dining experience was delicious and offered a fantastic view of the city.
Here a few pictures from the night.

Pictures from Darfur Rally

Yesterday's rally at the State House was very impactful. I was amazed at the number of Darfuris who traveled from all over the state on such short notice. Doran Moreland, from Senator Bayh's office came to give his support and speak about what his office plans to do for Darfur.
My nephew and niece joined me at the rally. Hannah had done a school report on Senator Bayh, so she was thrilled when Mr. Moreland said he would mail her an autographed picture of the Senator.

Rally at State House Today

The ICC's prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked pre-trial judges on Monday to issue arrest warrants for Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir.
Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. Judges are expected to take months to study the evidence before deciding whether to order Al-Bashir's arrest. Therefore, the Darfur people in Fort Wayne, decided to demonstrate at State House on Tues. July 22 at 2:00pm on the eastside of the State House.
The African Union is fighting against this indictment saying that it will intervene with the peace process. There isn't a peace process. How can the man who has masterminded the genocide be a key player in bringing about peace!

Cool Job for an Educator

Are there any educators out there (in Indy) looking for a new opportunity?
Check this out!
I found this at www.Idealist.org.
Idealist is a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.

Indy is Cool

Some people say Indy doesn't have much to do and lacks diversity. Well, if you are hanging around the outskirts of the city, you won't find much diversity unless you purposefully look.
If you check out Provocate.org you will find diversity in our city and you will be engaged through art, activism, concerts, multicultural events, and so on.
John Clark at Provocate hunted me down in order to help me get Save Darfur in the community. Through Provocate events I've meet a film director, the Secretary of State, people from Tibet, Turkey, Burma, China, and the Congo, and to top it off John Clark encouraged me to get kicked off of IUPUI's campus during the Chinese Ambassador's visit (that is a long story).
So, please check out there website and start marking your calendar!

jacked up theology

Maegan is quite the artist and has quite the imagination. Yesterday I asked her to produce a birthday card for Henry, who had what Maegan called "the best time of her life" party at a playland in Avon.
This is the card. I had to ask the meaning, and why there are sad people on the card. Here goes....the small figure hanging from the top is Jesus. Jesus is killing the girl, who is smiling, with what I guess is a lighting bolt. The wickedly happy girl is making a birthday present disappear with her magic wand. Therefore the birthday girl is sad because her present has vanished.
Wow. So, this gave me the opportunity to explain that Jesus actually loves bad people and doesn't kill them. That Jesus allowed Himself to be killed to take the punishment for all the bad things we do....like making gifts disappear. I think she got it! When Doug came home I asked her to tell him about the card and she said, "oh, it doesn't mean anything....it's just some people I drew."

"passing on" green

It turns out that leaving this world can be bad for the environment. In our efforts to preserve ourselves via costly boxes and toxic fluid that keeps us looking fresh, we are infecting the earth. This process also hurts the pocket book ($6000).
So, how about a biodegradable coffin or urn, and skip the embalming fluid. Here are a few burial facts regarding what goes underground each year:
-30 million board feet of casket wood, including tropical hardwoods
-90,000 tons of steel, more than enough to build the Golden Gate Bridge
-1.6 million tons of concrete in burial vaults
-over 800,000 gallons of embalming fluid, more than enough to fill an Olympic-size pool
(This great information come from the July issue of National Geographic.)

Summer Time

The summer is breezing by and we are enjoying it; despite me having some physical woes and being covered in poison ivy at this moment. At my mom's subliminal urging I prunned the hedge row a week ago. I actually enjoyed ripping out all the stuff that was choking our poor bushes. Then my dear mom-in-law pointed out some poison ivy that is spilling over from the abandoned house in the back. I said, oh, that looks just like all the green stuff I yanked from the hedge row. Then slowly over the next days a horrible rash began it's journey across my body. It made it's way to my face just in time for my reading gig in Carter's wedding.
Here are a few fun pictures from our outing at the downtown canal.

Maegan wouldn't quit pulling this face, so I joined her :)


Spencer going full speed down a hill....he's flying!