Occupy Austin Updates

My visit to Occupy Austin on Nov. 1, 2011. I decided this morning to walk to the Occupy Austin site and take some photos and do some interviews if possible. The site was quiet and by my estimation there were more police officers than demonstrators. The vibe I got was one of peace and the area was clean and tidy. I observed a gentleman walking around with a broom and bucket sweeping up any bits of litter he could find. Some people were asleep and some had left to go to their jobs or take care of family business, classes, and other appointments. I talked with Burt who is a veteran about his reasons for joining the Occupy movement as well as two other gentlemen who were holding signs by the street corner. The following are some of my thoughts on what I heard.

Burt-Vet. and Occupy Austin participant

Burt joined the movement to protest the treatment of veterans and the possible reduction of benefits and medical treatment of long time vets and those returning from the middle east.
One young man joined in the protest because he believed that greed and government were taking away the opportunity of American citizens to get an affordable education. He had been attending college but had to drop out because of the lack of funding. He thinks that a free education for those serious about attending college to 'better' the world would help out the country and less emphasis should be placed on those seeking education and jobs that deal with just making money. He cited lawyers specifically but I didn't quite understand why.


Two Austin Occupy Demonstrators

The other man I talked to (the one with the signs and the ball cap) was the only one who showed real passion and some anger. He wanted an end to lobbyist controlling the outcome of legislation that was detrimental to the common man by buying the votes of unscrupulous politicians and said those people should be voted out. He also had some heat for the banks that took the bail out money but did not change the way they did business and continued to foreclose on homes and refused to lend money to small businesses. He encouraged everyone to come out and join their march to the nearest Wells Fargo Bank on November 5th.While I do believe that for the most part the people of the Occupy movement are sincere I think that a lot of them are searching for a more cohesive cause to rally behind or perhaps someone to lead them. This movement is not the angry violent anti-war movement of the 60's but it does have an air of frustration with the way things are in the world. Most of the rhetoric is directed at the wealthy and big corporations. For now the leaders are happy that banks have backed off of debit card fees but they only see it as a small victory. Where will it all end? I haven't a clue but it will be interesting to go along for the ride and see.

Walking stats for October 27-November 1, 2008. 3.661, 3.673, 3.508, 3.435, 3.657, none. Our brief stint of fall weather has gone but it's still cool enough for early morning activity. Mornings in the high 50's to 60's and afternoons in the high 80's.
Found a nice site that let's you match up your concerns with each candidate and check the poll percentages concerning, age, gender, etc. See How They Run
We had a quite Halloween, just about a dozen trick or treaters came by the house.
Saw the Obama 'infomercial' and didn't really see anything new, at least to me. The lasting image I have of it is that poor woman trying to straighten out her arthritic fingers. Ouch! Must say I'm cautiously optimistic about the Dems winning the election but I will not rest easy about it until November 5th...if we win. If something disastrous happens and we don't win, we are going to be very, very, sad. If you're into watching political videos you may chuckle at this 'Joe the plumber' one. Check it out about 12 seconds in...hehe
Some more photos...1. My UFO shot. Looks like a tiny UFO flying above the purple bushes. 2. Olivia on Halloween, she said she was a 'dead body'. 3. Our Mom dressed up for her Senior Citizens Halloween dance. (Ain't it a shame when your 81 year old Mom and 13 year old niece have more of a social life than you do?) 4. Krystal looking adorable as a Goth Doll 5. The jack-o- lantern is filled with doggy biscuits on the Hike and Bike trail. Click on photos to see larger size.

Sunday catch up

Here I am again blogging late...ah well, c'est la vie. Walking stats, 1-18-08 through 10-26-08: No walking on Sat. or Sun. Did walk these miles as follows. 3.648, 3.176, 3.891, 3.878, 3.517. No walking this last Saturday and Sunday. I have been able to do over three miles every walking day because the weather has gotten cooler which makes it easier. The walking may be keeping me a bit healthier but alas it's not making me any thinner. Don't believe the ads or stories that say 'I walked 3 miles a day for six weeks and lost 50 pounds'. They lie. They have to be dieting or taking pills or something extra for that to happen. But do keep walking and moving because it does make you feel better about yourself even if your legs and feet aren't happy. ;-)
I must say that I'm very nervous about the upcoming election. It looks good for the Dems but we've screwed things up before and that's what makes me nervous. I don't really dislike McCain or least the McCain of 8 to 10 years ago but I have no confidence in the current man. He seems so frail and confused at times that it's painful to watch him talk and his smile is just...well sort of creepy. His running mate I don't want to talk about too much. She may be a very nice and pretty lady but so is our neighbor and I wouldn't vote for her for VP either. I'll be on pins and needles until it's over.
I have posted three photos here. The first is a painting I'm working on and it's a take off on one by Van Gogh. I tend to paint things I've seen but most of the time the landscapes I do are places made up in my mind that I like to visit. I also love bright colors that don't always reflect realistic colors but colors that affect the mood and emotions. I learned that about myself by reading about Van Gogh who is my favorite artist. The second is a lovely section of Butler Park that I walk through several times a week, and the third is of a moving tribute to Fallen Soldiers. Shoes were used to represent the fallen. Makes you really sad and teary to view it. The display was along the river walk.