todd Blog and Journals

Hey guys, I know i don't show up here for a VERY long time! BUT here I'm let's see...well MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone! AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS too...I DON'T CHANGE MY HAIR YET! But in January i will change it! I'M SURE NOW! My vocation aren't really nice :/ I'm waiting for new episodes of GLEE and SUPERNATURAL! Maybe i'm going to start watch MELROSE PLACE, I don't know yet. That's it guys, now stay with a photo of me and my dog, his name is todd:

Hey guys,

Is Sam Valentine here, Laurie's best friend!!!

I have some rather terrible news for all of you guys!!!

Laurie had to make an immediate flight home to Wisconsin last night!!!  Her older brother Todd was in a terrible car accident yesterday morning!!! She just emailed me about fifteen minutes ago and told me to give you all this exact message!!!

"Guys, i'm so sorry for everything! But my older brother Todd passed away this morning at about eleven o'clock! As you could very well imagine i'm not doing very well right now! And i don't think i'm going to be on buzznet for quite some time! I hope that you will be patient with me, cuz i'll need some time to recover! I've given my current fanfic over to my friend Sam and asked her to keep posting the story for me!!! I've also asked her to comment on all of your fics, and keep me up to date on everything in your lives! I'll be ok!!! And i promise i'll come back as soon as i can!!! Sometimes, tragedy is just part of life, and i know i wasn't ready to lose my brother! I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving!!! I'll see you all when i come back!!! Thank you so much for everything! Especially you Sam Valentine, for being my closest friend, and support group. I love you so much baby, and i promise when i get back to Chicago i'll be just fine! Until then just say a few prayers, and make a few wishes! i'll be praying that you all have the best holiday ever!!! ♥Laurie!"

GIVE A LITTLE SHOUT OUT TO LAURIE GUYS!!! SHE WAS CLOSER TO HER BROTHER THEN ANYONE ELSE IN HER FAMILY, AND HER FAMILY IS GOING THRU A REALLY REALLY HARD TIME RIGHT NOW! She asked me not to give out any details about the accident, but she asked me to tell you that when her brother passed away she was with him, and he wasn't in any pain! She also asked me to assure you that she's going to be ok! And that she loves you all so much!!!

I LOVE YOU LAURIE!!!

WE ALL DO BABY GIRL!!!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I'll see you soon!!!!!!!

"For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (ESV)

Seeing as how the same thought has come up twice this week in completely unrelated circumstances, I think it may be of some value to share it with you. One instance was being in the van driving back from our shows listening to a sermon from my church. But that's where you expect to hear from God and learn what He desires from you. The second instance was listening to a concert by a band that as far as I know doesn't know God at all. They may, and that's not really the point. The point is that it was a very different environment to be hearing from the Lord.

Now I've noticed that in our churches most of the time we want people to be like us. We may say we want to be welcoming to all races, but what we really mean is we're going to do church like white people but anyone else is welcome to attend. Or we're going to do church like black people, but you're welcome to come. Or we're going to do church like Hispanic people but you're welcome. We have an upper middle class service but people from a lower income bracket are invited, should anyone happen to run into one. Now while I'm sure that is a step in the right direction, considering the stories I've heard of segregation in generations before, I don't think it was what Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 9.

I think I first noticed it in worship music. Obviously that is my field of strength so I pay attention to it. I noticed among many churches I was working with that they were starting to say they wanted to reach people of all ethnic backgrounds. And yet their services didn't change at all. They may have invited people from other cultures, but hadn't done anything to actually make them feel welcome once they arrived. Once again, the music stood out to me. A church I knew said they wanted to start reaching the African-American community surrounding the church, but musically they stuck with an entire roster of Passion songs. Now don't get me wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with those songs. But they have definitely defined a generation. All I'm saying is in the middle of their set, why don't they work in a gospel number? Or even a soul or hip-hop track? These visitors' opinions on music are just as valid as ours. And Paul says he became like the people he was trying to reach. Not after he knew them, but in order to know them. So it seems to me that if we wanted to reach other ethnic groups that we should value their culture, their music, their heritage, and include them in our own.

So here is the example I wrote about. This weekend I attended the Austin City Limits Festival, which I will blog about in the days to come. On Sunday, we went to church and then hurried over to the festival grounds to make sure we got our spot for Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet. Abigail is a singer and a banjo player. The rest of the group included a violin (fiddle, if you will), cello, and another banjo. Of course, the OTHER banjo player was Bela Fleck, which only means something to music fans, but he's amazing. So anyway, these guys (and girl) were incredible. Their instrumentations and arrangements were so creative. The songs were beautiful. And the musicianship was exquisite. I'm sorry, I know it's a weird word, but it's really the only one that fits. So anyway, they told a story about touring China and having such success that they were invited to be the first American group to play in Tibet. And in their set, they played two Chinese folk songs. They said when they played one of them at a high school in Tibet, they had 3,000 high school kids singing along. And they didn't just learn Chinese songs to tour China. They truly appreciated the art and the music of this place. They had a love and a passion for it. So they had worked up amazing arrangements of these songs, using the banjo, a very American instrument. God really spoke to my heart about these people and their story. They had prepared to reach a very different people group. But they hadn't just done it to be a hit over there, they truly valued this other culture and its music.

So I began to wonder what it would be like if we, the church, approached reaching people in this way? What if we built churches that didn't demand that people fit into our mold, but accepted them and not only accepted them, but valued them as they are? What if, in trying to reach different people, we became different ourselves? What if we included their musical styles? What if we altered preaching styles, sometimes? What if a protestant church was willing to include some liturgy? (Now you Episcopals back off, I'm obviously not talking to you! ...now that's a joke. I'm just kidding. But I also refuse to use LOL or smiley faces to define my humor.) What if we were willing to become like the people we were trying to reach? Now obviously this is not a question of holiness, or of the church becoming like the world. I don't mean that at all. I don't mean we should start using offensive music in our churches because that may be what lost people listen to. I just mean that maybe we should put our preferences aside and be willing to include other cultures in our values, not just in our verbage.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Todd

Hi everyone!  This is for all those Sweeney Todd fans out there!  Two poems, one in Todd's POV, and another in Mrs. Loveless' POV.  To Our Desired Demise(T.O.D.D.) and Loveless(Lovett).

To Our Desired Demise

Sweeny Todd tells his story

 
You were my best friend
The one person I could trust in the world.
We danced, we sang, and danced some more
Nothing could separate us, it was us against everyone.

 I held the knife upon your throat
For the slightest second, fear crossed your eyes.
But then it melted away and we danced once again
You knew I wouldn’t ever hurt you.

 I saw it, I heard it, I felt it all the time.
I knew very well you were in love with me.
I wanted to love you too
But as hard as I tried, I just couldn’t do it.

 “Dear”, “Love”, all the so many names you called me.
Your voice in my ear, your reflection in my weapons.
Your breath hot against the back of my neck
I turn; you are so close; what do you want from me?

I’ve given you everything you wanted and more.
I gave you a friend, someone to talk to
I gave you meat for your pies, famous to all.
You’re lovely my dear, body and soul, but I cannot love you.

 I signed my heart to another
The one angel in this world
Sent from the heavens above to possibly save me.
She died long ago, as you know, as you told me.

 She took my heart, my love with her
That’s why you cannot possibly have it.
“Please be happy,” you whisper against my cheek
How can I when the angel killed me when she died?

 All was done, all was said
My revenge was sweet, bloody, just as I’d hoped
Such anger flowed as I splashed myself with his blood.
But the crimson tide did little to ease my sorrow.

 No matter how many judges I took lives from
Just as they took the life from me
It would never bring the angel back.
She left me; she was right to; look what I’ve become.

That same fateful night it happened
When I killed the old wench who kept bothering.
Then I looked upon her pale face closer
My breath declined; the angel!

 So sick, betrayed, disgusted
How could you lie to me like this?!
After all I’ve done for you
I was going to take you as my wife, and you deceit me like this!

We danced, rough and fast
You looked upon me with eyes of obsession.
Completely unaware of the flames we came closer to
As you danced with the demon barber one last time.

The last thing you saw was my face
As you burned lively in exile.
Screaming out as the eyes you fell in love with
Looked upon you with bitterness and hate.

I went back to the angel.
Her blood staining the floor, my clothes, my skin.
I took her cooling body into my arms
I caressed her pale cheek; what happened to her?

Life probably; as it had done me
This world had sucked her beauty and life away
Oh my love, I’m so sorry, I thought you were dead
How could you ever forgive me?

The boy came in
He knew I knew; that I’d killed you.
I always knew he fancied you
And he knew what I had done to you.

I honestly couldn’t care less
As he brought up my own weapon.
I was a true murderer now
The real demon barber on Fleet Street.

My breath stopped immediately
Death came rushing quick
I saw your pale face one last time
Then all went black for me.

I knew you’d be waiting for me in Heaven.
The one place I knew I wouldn’t go.
You waited, waited, waited, waited
As I spent the rest of my damned eternity with Lovett.

Loveless

Mrs. Lovett tells her story

 

You sing of destruction, sorrow, death
You sing of revenge that’s thick in your veins.
Your voice echoes everywhere in my store
Even when you’re not here.

Oh, you’re so lovely my dear
The person I love more than myself.
I’ll dance with you forever
Night, day, rain, sleet; we shall just dance.

You spoil me with the ones you kill
Making my pies even more famous.
You make everything so livable
I couldn’t breathe without you.

Such torment, such anguish goes through your soul.
Oh how I wish I could rid you of it.
You took my pain away the moment I saw you.
I try, try, try; hopefully it will work.

Your revenge is done.
You killed that stupid judge.
I’ll make a special pie out of him for you.
And now I’ll try harder to prove my love for you.

Maybe it’s worked
You'll take my hand in marriage.
Oh the kiss that I’d desired will be everything I imagined.
That kiss will save my life.

 I smile, laugh, ease your suffering
Am I getting through to you?
Oh I hope so my love
I want you to suffer no longer.

That’s why I told you she was dead
The one person you loved more than anything.
So it would be easier on you
On me, on our future I knew would happen.

And look, it’s happened!
We shall spend the rest of our lives together
In total bliss, love, bound by marriage.
Just please do cheer up dear.

That happiness shattered like a mirror
When you caught me and my lie.
You held your weapon to my throat
You danced with me feverishly.

As angry as the dance was,
I felt safe with you.
You wouldn’t harm me my love
I knew it, you knew it, we both knew it.

This has happened before
You put me in situations that are dangerous.
But they aren’t at all, because you control them
I know you love me in some way, you just wouldn’t do it.
 
Imagine my shock when heat constricted my throat
Choking flames enveloping my body.
I screamed; the pain was so unbearable!
I needed to get out, but all I could manage was struggling.

My dress was caught on something
I still haven’t a clue what it was.
But it kept me trapped in the oven
As you watched right outside the door.

I saw your face, pale, dark, and angry
The face that’d I’d come to love more than anything.
You actually killed me; it was true
You killed your wife, and now your future wife too.

The oven closed, but I still saw your eyes
Staring at me like two burning coals.
As if they belonged in the oven with me.
They beamed red from the firelight and then they disappeared.

It was the last thing I saw
Before I was damned to Hell.
But I waited very, very patiently
For I knew you were to come back to me.

You, the demon barber on Fleet Street
Would return back to where you belong
Right here beside me
Right here in Hell.

You scream in agony when you see me
You know where you’ve come and damned to be.
I think you also realized at that moment
That you’re also damned to me.

Hope you guys like them!  Oh and you wanna know the funny part?  I still haven't seen the movie.  Tee-hee.

This is one of the BEST MOVIES I've ever seen ... Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street !!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
And it's filled with people who are filled with shit
And the vermin of the world inhabit it

But not for long..."

And, to finish this with a Golden Key, the Movie that made me start to Love All Johnny Depp Movies :

 

 

 

 

 

haha. i can't belive it. i actually confesed. haha, i thought i wouldn't but i did. so yeah. i did. XD

okay, so the one i confessed is one of my recent post, it's about the two girls i hate and i can't manage my self to tell them to fxck off. blah. blah. you know my point (if you read my recent post. haha) let's see, it's monday and i got back from school. arghh. . .it feels like forever. sitting there listening, taking down notes. BORING! haha. but we gotta learn right?!

okay. stop with the school. what else?! i'm freaking bored right now, i have no one to talk to, no one to argue with (actually i have, i just don't like to have an arguement now.) haha, i'm being weird again, i guess it's because i didn't have my coffee. i guess i should have one before i do something crazy. haha. XD

HEY PEOLPE CHECK OUT MY NEW VIDEO TODD IN BARREL ROLL. COMMENT PLEASE!!!

Oh my god! They were pretty damn amazing. I was right in the front between Todd and Dapose. I danced my ass off the whole night. Take Me To The Hospital was the highlight of my night. It was funny how most of the kids there didn't even know what it was. I made so much eye contact with Todd, it was crazy. The new songs are amazing. I can't wait for their new album.

Worked up so sexual!