Reed, Brooke and Cooper
Here's a link to the purevolume page featuring a couple of the songs Reed and Cooper Luckett and Brooke sang on: http://www.purevolume.com/reedluckett I was really impressed, so I'm doing all I can to spread the love.
Enjoy!
Update
Well, I was just reading Lebraix's question and was thinking it would be nice to actually have an update but there's nothing to tell. Then lo and behold I get an email from the Managing Editor saying they've got my application and for me to fill out the Affirmative Action info. Well, these always make me a bit nervous as a dime-a-dozen white male, but I'm still pretty excited that they've actually got my stuff and are looking to hire quick (as in end of September quick). So, please continue to be in prayer and we'll see what God is up to here.
Prayer Request
Well, in my search for the doors God is leading me to (and hopefully through) as far as the future goes, I am applying to a couple of jobs at LSU. Please be in prayer that if it is His will that I go back to Baton Rouge that He'll make the path straight for me (because I need the big neon signs to tell me which way to go!). One of the jobs is an Editor position with LSU Press and there are a couple of opportunities in LSU's efforts to provide better multicultural services that I'm applying to as well. Again all your prayers (and bribes to LSU) are greatly appreciated.
Brooke Seguin, Supa Star
Monday I had an experience that reminded me of why I love L.A. Brooke's friend Reed had put together a few songs and was sining at
Genghis Cohen and she and Reed's brother Cooper were backing him up. It was this little room that would hold about 40-50 tops on the side of this restaurant, and was just the way you want to see people. Large stadium shows are fly and all, but the more intimate the setting the better as far as I'm concerned.
So anyway, they were fantastic! The song that sticks out the most in my mind was "Hefty on a Huffy". The name speaks for itself. It was actually the very first gig, too, so when I found that out later it made the whole thing even cooler. The title of this is about Brooke, though, because I am now convinced more than ever that she will hit the big time and I need proof that I knew her way back when to ride her coat-tails to riches and fame. Seriously, I'm renaming the blog to BrookeFan#1. Ok, probably not, (because if there's one person I like more than Brooke it's me) but the thought still counts, right?
Anyway, good job, Brooke! If Reed ever needs a pretty good bass player, I'll make some calls. But if he needs a crappy one that will work for CHEAP, tell him to call me!
What's Everybody Listening To?
So I got an iPod free with my laptop and I've been addicted to iTunes ever since. I liked the subscription service Napster when I tried it out a while ago, but it was just too "buggy." So, tell me about what you're listening to these days. Here's two of my current faves:
1. Coldplay, X&Y - OK, so not the most original choice, but I do dig these guys. They're not breaking new ground, but they have achieved the formulae for building perfect pop songs. They are the perfect example of a line from Nick Hornby in High Fidelity (I'm pretty sure it's in the movie, too, but it's been a while) when the main character says, "I don't know if I'm miserable because I listen to pop music or if I listen to pop music because I'm miserable."
Other forms of music are more technical and at times more beautiful, but pop music really is about hitting the masses where they feel it, and this album is just that.
2. Badly Drawn Boy, One Plus One is One - If you don't know about BDB, he did the soundtrack for About A Boy. I really dig his music and can't this album out of my head. It was released last year, but still is "new to me" and I'd really recommend it.
So there you go, white boy uk indie rock is my recommendation du jour. Let me know what you're listening to these days so I can add it to my iPod! NOW!
New Phone
Well, my new phone is finally here and I have discovered some fascinating things. First, apparently my wallpaper didn't save directily to my SIM card. Second, my camera on the phone has apparently never worked like it was supposed to. Not having ever had one before, I thought the overly fuzzy pics were just how they looked. So, expect some experimentation with the new camera (I don't have a digital cam yet) and I'll take some L.A. pics (because there's some weird stuff going on around here).
Ok, while I'm waiting on my phone I figured I'd share a bit about life as well. Life's pretty much up in the air, and I share this in the hopes y'all will keep me in your prayers these next few months (but no more than that, that would be weird). So here's my life:
School: I'm about 95% done with my degree, I have to finish up some papers for my intensive this summer, finish two "class-by-cd" classes, and set up and do my practicum. I'll be done with everything by the end of the year!!!
Practicum: Well, I'm putting together my proposal now, and if all goes well I'll spend 3-4 weeks in Sheffield, England. I want to put together a little documentary about the community they've formed and the ways they blend the small with the big, activism with Bible Study, etc. It's sad but kind of true that I feel the need to go overseas to really learn about community. A few of my friends here at Fuller have remarked a few times that Christians are friendly, but we don't necessarily make great friends.
Work?: Well, I'm still working at the DMin office, helping the new Final Project person and editing some of the papers. In a couple of weeks, I'll meet with another editor and see about doing editing professionally (where you have to file as self-employed and whatnot). That should pay my rent as I try to figure out what to do about life.
The Future?: This is the real biggie. I've got a few options and I'm waiting to see where the Lord is leading. I feel that the future is sort of intentionally hazy at the moment. If I knew what I would be doing I think I would spend more time thinking about it than I would finishing up what I have on my plate already. So, my options are:
PhD: Well, I'd have to do a LOT of stuff before January to apply here at Fuller. I'm looking at other programs as well, but I think I need to finish what I'm doing now before I concentrate on this.
Another Masters: Well, there's a school in the UK where I've found a program (or programme, as it were) in Religion, Ethics and Society that sounds really interesting.
Baton Rouge: Of course my heart is in BR as well as the people I dearly love. The main problem about going there is that I actually have to pay my student loans, so I can't just work at Starbucks (or my old gov. job) and still afford life. I'll have to find a career-type job when all I'd want to do is Ring stuff. I've done this before and it is NOT fun.
Stay in L.A.: Well, this is also a potential future, but God would definitely have to call me here by giving me a job because L.A. is not cheap and not the kind of place you want to hang out in if you don't know what to do with your life. Of course this could always be my opportunity to break into the biz ;) I'd love to write for a living, but so would 14 million of my closest friends here.
So, there's life. A bunch of stuff up in the air, and I'm sure there's a ton of stuff out of my field of vision that God has in store for me. Any advice? Like I said, prayers would be appreciated, because no matter where life takes me, it will have to be God guiding it.
New Phone !!!???!!!!
Well, I guess I post a lot of rather esoteric stuff here, so I figured I'd write a bit about my life here. Right now I'm waiting on the delivery of my new phone. "Great!" you may say, but here's the story:
Friday night Brooke and I went to see March of the Penguins, I also found out that Jillian has given up the ghost as it were and decided to move back to LA from L.A. Although this is sad times, a horrible incident was even sadder. As we were going up the escalator some threw something at me, knocking my phone out of my hand (or I just dropped it, I'm not sure which). I had to scramble to keep it from getting crushed.
Well the next morning I tried to use my phone and it was a no go. I'd used all my skillz to try and fix it (meaning I repeatedly took the battery out and put it back in, then tried to turn the phone on). Well, I went online and reported mine broken (I have the insurance) and I'm supposed to get it today. The funny thing is that AFTER I filled out all the forms, I put the phone back together and IT STARTED WORKING. Well, I couldn't stop the shipment and I'll have to pay some surcharge, but a new version of my old phone should be here within the hour.
Ok, so it's not a new house like Josh, but I'll take what I can ;)
House Churches
Well, it's funny that this topic comes up this week when any other time I would have simply said that house churches rule. I'm still in process regarding them, but I think that house churches (or simple churches, as I think the two movements are pretty similar) are a good check to the impersonal nature of many churches that grow beyond 100 people. I think they are born out of the desire by many to actually live a whole LIFE of faith and that means inviting it into your homes (a thing you don't have to do with the majority of church systems). They are also a great way for people who love Jesus but hate the institutionalized church (or are hated by the institutionalized church) to remain in a faith community without putting up with all the BS.
I think the negative side of the house church movement is twofold. First, the house church movement often points to the early church as its model, where people met together in their homes daily to eat and share life. This is a bit of a mistranslation, however. It would be better to call those churches "household" churches rather than house churches. In those days the house was the family, extended family, slaves (who usually got off work in the evenings and could do what they wanted) and it was the center of commerce and trade. When we take that concept and move it directly into our suburban houses, we've missed the mark. Our concept of "house" and "family" are much narrower than the first century's.
This leads to the second negative aspect, house churches easily lose contact with the larger Body of Christ. I'm the last one to argue for stronger denominational ties, but there's a family aspect to each denomination (good and bad) that allows you to have a network across the country (and sometimes around the world) of fellow believers that you are connected to.
The problem is that you will often disagree with this larger body. Most of us here are of Southern Baptist affiliation and we all know that any time the convention says anything as a whole, it will alienate immediately half of its own members (e.g., outright attacks on homosexuality, the disney thing, support for the war in Iraq). It's much easier to do your own thing and separate from all of that junk.
I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed the past few years away from the dominance of my own tradition where I can carve out what I believe is of Christ and what I believe is not of Christ. (The Reformed tradition is pretty prominent, but not tradition dominates Fuller, so pretty much all voices have to be heard). I will have to return to my tradition, though, soon. I have sojourned beyond its borders, but it is the place in which my family resides. This is the negative side of the house church: you don't have to put up with people you disagree with, and thus you are never challenged and you do not grow.
There is a more personal growth that happens in house churches, though. Your life becomes intimately interwoven with your group's and you will be challenged to integrate your faith into every aspect of your life as you invite more and more personal scrutiny and accountability into it. A denomination won't do that for you. And certainly, if you are in a region of the world that is hostile to the faith, the house church is the way to go.
So.... After that very long set of paragraphs. I think that house churches as we know them today only get it half right. I think that our churches today for the most part only get it half right as well. I wouldn't propose a simple merging of the two, but I'd propose a model like St. Thomas' in Sheffield (http://www.sttoms.net) where they have small groups, clusters (the missing element), and large celebrations. This is what we spent our week on in class and I'll talk more about this stuff soon. St. Toms is also where I'm trying to do my practicum, so I wanted to put a little plug in there for them, too ;)
Ok, back to you Speck :)
