This morning as I headed to work it was starting to sleet, which seriously dampened my mood. While passing the huge empty building on the corner of 12th and I-35 (the former Obama HQ), I saw that someone had graffitied in 3 foot letters, in perfect view of all the cars on the highway, "THE RAINBOW IS ALREADY ALWAYS HERE." Turned my mood right around.

( Austin Time Exchange and Nubian Queen Lola's )

I am so behind in logging my days that it's not even funny, but I'm trying to catch up and post it all, I promise! The internet is spotty, so it's been frustrating, but I'll get it. Meanwhile, here are some sources where you can pick up coverage of what's currently going on at the The Parliament of World Religions. There are about 80 pagans here, and 6 or 7 pagan presentations, most of which have been packed to the gills.


Pagan Newswire Collective's Pagans at the Parliament page

The Australian Public Affairs Channel has streaming coverage

Covenant of the Goddess Interfaith Blog

The Wild Hunt has been running great coverage and commentary

The young people of the New Thought movement (the folks behind the Unity Church and Religious Science, etc have set up a mobile press room in the hallway of the conference center where they are providing all sorts of great coverage through the New Thought News Service

Many people to miss this year.

Cloud Cult sums it up for me.

Reproductive Justice. Counseling. Water Issues. Education. Intentional community. These are all issues that are dear to me and my religious beliefs energize my work. Over the course of the last year (and the Obama campaign) I've seen exactly how powerful the religious left can be - it's a huge pool of people that can power enormous forward momentum when common goals are backed by combined energy. Many of you know that I am heading to the World Parliament of Religions in Melbourne, Australia in late November. I have a Life List that has been drawn up much like this one, and the Parliament is on it. I keep finding myself in jobs where I get to talk about God everyday, and within my counseling and reproductive justice activities I am always trying to find ways to weave religion in where it is helpful. Watch the video at the bottom, and if you know me at all you will understand why I am so excited about this.

( What I want to bring back )

( Two separate ways in which you can help (and the biggest one isn't money!) )

I've been trying to figure out how I create some extra work out of my two greatest interests: religion and sex. These are also two areas in which I actually have some training, so I figure I might as well do something with them! But what in the world do you name a business that combines sex and religion? Part of the problem is I don't have a clear direction as to what I would be doing yet, but I could still use some name ideas for the hell of it...

Quering my peoples on facebook yielded these gems:
- Terebinth
- Joyful Noise (currently my favorite, thanks Rowan!)
- Light & Heat
- Sacred Union
- Oh God Oh God
- Communion

( Got any business ideas? Here's a few more of mine )

This video has been making the rounds, and it brings out the utter romantic in me - the look on the bride's face really gets me. I also love that it seems like such a feminist entrance to a somewhat traditional wedding - the couple walking themselves down the aisle, after having been surrounded by their tribe.

JK Wedding Entrance Video

Edit: Some comments below made me rethink my use of the label feminist - what triggered the label in the first place was reading about the feminist wedding planning of Jessica Valenti, the founder of Feministing. So read that one for some interesting thoughts about a real feminist wedding and where it fits for couples who are fighting for equal marriage rights.

Also, I discovered WhiteHotTruth this week - a blog I found through another good for the soul blog that I love, Illuminated Mind.

I also ran across some great religion stuff recently - the person who originated the concept compiled all of the essays from Pagan Values Blogging Month and there are some fantastic writers in the mix.

I was finally introduced to Killing the Buddha and have spent far too much time at work rifling through its archives.

And lastly, I attended a talk by Robert Jenson at Bookpeople last night for his latest book All My Bones Shake: Seeking a Progressive Path to the Prophetic Voice. The book centers on how to use theology to create a more just and sustainable world, and one of the most interesting stories is his acceptence into the St. Andrews community here in Austin even though he defined himself as an agnostic and could not conform to a standard statement of faith. The book is wonderful; I left nearly in tears. More to write on that later.

This week's things that make me happy is a completely random smattering:

Theward ran across The Awesome Foundation, which gives out grants for awesome ideas.

And speaking of awesome ideas, I'm very interested in one of Austin's newest non-profits, The Front Porch Project - they are starting a cafe in September that will host all sorts of dialogues and important conversations, hold workshops and lectures, and serve as a gallery for artists.

My tribe - the 4th of July fundraiser at the warehouse knew exactly what we would pay for. The Austin crew that is building this years Temple at Burning Man raised almost $3000 by featuring roman candle karaoke!

I want the newest edition of Six Word Memoirs based on love and heartbreak. The original one, Not Quite What I Was Planning really shocked me with the honesty it brought out in people; it took on almost a Postsecret quality. The whole concept of six word memoirs are based on what Hemmingway listed as his - "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

B corporations - A new class of corporations that uses the power of business for the public good.

Hooray for openly bisexual politicians!

Cathyrenne Valente and her husband were in a pretty tight bind after he was laid off, so she went to work creating an incredible online YA story. Though she asks for donations if you can give, the weekly chapter updates are free and already has an interesting community springing up around it.

I just bought a ticket to Australia!

Melbourne, Nov. 28-Dec. 14th

There's this little gathering going on...

I'll explain more later. It's been a crazy week.

I've been trying to post about Dr. Tiller's murder for the last 24 hours, and all that comes out is type - delete - type - delete - type - delete.

My heart is broken.

Like everyone else, I am enraged by the pro-life glee that is blowing up the web. I want to pour out every single thing I know and have seen about why women have abortions, particularly late term abortions, and why I know this man was as compassionate as it gets.

I want to scream every time I see the lies thrown around about him, the outrageous arrogance that assumes he was rich, he was corrupt, he was evil, he cared nothing for women.

Several months ago I spent two weeks calling all over the goddamned country trying to find funding for a young woman who needed to see Dr. Tiller. Her child had a huge brain tumor that was not only ensuring it's death shortly after birth, but it was killing her because she had another medical condition. And no one would help her. No one. I spent several days on the phone with the staff of Dr. Tiller's clinic, with them trying to figure out how we could get the price lower, what they could comp, how they could possibly get her the meds she needed for free. We got her to Kansas, and she reported later that it was an incredibly compassionate experience on all sides that got her back safe and healthy to her three kids. That clinic deals with the hardest cases, so I suspect they got phone calls like mine every single day. Soon there may be nowhere for women like this to go.

When I hear people say that abortion clinics and their doctors make huge amounts of money, I want to spit on them. Most of the doctors make much less than gynecologists in the same area, and with the added pressure of safety issues and harassement. The clinics themselves often make very little, because so much of the money goes back into helping women who can't afford the service.

I've seen a million posts that have written about this issue much more eloquently than I will ever be able to, but I can talk about it. That's what I'm good at. So here is where I'm headed with my next actions - towards the middle, away from the people screaming in the streets.

To be continued.

Through erl-queen's fantastic post about her Alice Day celebrations I was ridiculously pleased to discover that my birthday is the day that Alice went through the Looking Glass! First my birthday becomes Obama Day and now this - birthdays don't get much better.

Now I have a good excuse for loving Alice in Wonderland as much as I do - I had a childhood obsession with the Cheshire Cat.

So many party ideas....