Periscope

Upon hearing about Periscope from my first born, my initial reaction was...sigh...another social media time sucker...I resist.  My husband convinced me to get an account to keep up with him live in his mission trip/humanitarian aid world travels.  Other than that, I didn't get it.  Watch other people I don't know in other parts of the world?  Why?  [Just because everyone can now broadcast live does not mean that everyone should.  Just sayin'.  I watched more than one mind-numbing eye-witness account of paint drying and grass growing.]

And then it happened.  I discovered my first celebrity with a Periscope account...John Mayer.  Cool. Subscribe.  Whatever.  And then a day or so later...Periscope hooked me.  When John Mayer went live on his back patio in front of a flickering fire, playing classical guitar for 30 minutes while little ol' me did dishes in my little house on the mountain in Arkansas.  Suddenly, I got it.  ha!

The next thing I did was look up Chip Gaines, because I knew this medium was made for him.  Sure enough, there he was.  And I was right...he's especially hilarious freestyle on Periscope.

At least for me, what I love about Periscope is following varying degrees of famous people and seeing them live, unfiltered and on the level ground of humanity with their smart phones, fumbling cross-eyed with the camera, losing signals & coming back again, turning the phone the wrong way, trying to figure out how it works, seeing their double chins and their un-coiffed hair. It's hilarious and real [read: unedited, unfiltered].  I applaud them for their fearlessness in vulnerability with their public.

It's kind of like seeing a favorite band in concert.  For me, a concert makes or breaks an artist.  I've seen people in concert whom I was head-over-heels for just listening to their album, but in person I realized their talent had been propped up in the studio.  Or maybe their music was good, but I realized their acting was better because they would open their mouths between songs someone else had written for them and it was obvious they were as dumb as a rock.  Or the really great thing is when I go to a concert not knowing the artist or even thinking I don't like the musician and they totally win me over at the concert with their authentic artistry, comedic timing, intellect or powerful anointing.  OR the very rare occasion when I go to a concert already loving the music and the artist and then the concert blows me away and I can't even breathe because they are so amazing.  Like U2.  But I digress.  The ultimate test of a musician is when they are performing solo with minimal or no accompaniment.  For me, Periscope is an unplugged mini-concert.

The Periscope Whistle is akin to the "You've Got Mail" of the 90's.  It's always exciting to see who is scoping live, right this minute, "just for me."

My pet peeve is when whoever is scoping gets distracted by the comments.  It's not fun to watch somebody say, "Oh, hi!" forty-eight times in 5 minutes to people you don't know.  Unless they are responding to me.  Which has not happened yet.  Maybe then I will feel differently.

Not everyone I follow currently scopes.  Most (like me) just have accounts to watch other people and that's cool.  My favorite people to follow are the ones I know are going to add something positive to my day: amazing artistry, a pop of inspiration, something that will make me giggle, etc.  And they keep it snappy...5-10 minutes or less.  Unless they are John Mayer or George Strait.  Scope faves so far:

• John Mayer because he's an incredible musician, usually serenades, is musically educational & is kind to his fans.  
• Chip Gaines because he's funny & from my hometown & just a natural in front of a camera.
• The Nester (Myquillin Smith) because she scoped live in her house on a regular Monday and it wasn't perfect...a few piles, her house was topsy-turvy because she was in the middle of a big project, little makeup, bedhead.  She's just like me.  And she authentically practices what she preaches.  My hero.  
• David Binion & Nicole Binion because they are anointed, humble worship leaders.  I know their scope is probably going to include some spontaneous worship and I'm all about that.  They will scope when they're thinking through an arrangement or holding choir practice in their living room.  They use their scope to nurture worshippers, which is so rare & refreshing.  This is one of those exceptions when I don't mind if the scope is a longer 30 minutes or so.
• lifeingrace (Edie Wadsworth) because I know she's going to have something specific & quick with which to encourage, educate or inspire me.

I'm following many more, famous and not, whom I think have the potential to have the same kind of positive impact with this medium.  Praying for them to figure it out, work up the courage & get busy with it already.  (I'm looking at you, Tracy & John Porter.)  And also, I have not scoped one single time on as of this writing.

So what are you thinking about Periscope?  Have you tried it?  Who are your favorites to follow & why?

It's In The Mix - Part 1

I'm not sure where it all started, my style.  (Tongue firmly planted in cheek.)

Maybe it was when I was a little girl, growing up on a dairy farm in Central Texas.  Playing with my Barbies & baby dolls in the dirt.  Nurturing a plethora of mutt puppies that appeared regularly around the homestead.  Getting into trouble for ruining my ruffled bell bottoms, suede oxford shoes and fur-trimmed winter coat when I fell into the manure-filled cow pen after I lost my balance on the wood fence while I was singing to the cows waiting to be milked.

Maybe it was when my interior decorator Aunt Dianne taught me how to dream big as a grade school girl by taking catalogs and circling items I would want to put in my own home when I grew up.  Brilliant.  I started with Sears, JC Penney and Wilson's and then realized I needed to round out my visions when I raided my Aunt Dianne's stash to find such mail order goodness as Horchow, Spiegel and the like.  It was the Pinterest of the 70's & 80's.  She also taught me to use at least a touch of black in every room  as an anchor because it's classy, timeless & goes with everything.

Maybe it was being the daughter of a man who wore jeans, boots and a white t-shirt with Kool cigarettes rolled up in his shirtsleeve every day to work as a dairyman, and a suit and tie to church on Sundays as the Chairman of the Deacons. "AM Country" blared from his dusty, un-air-conditioned  truck with the windows rolled down, as well as from his dairy barn.  (I think the cows gave more milk because of the music.  This is why I sang to the ladies waiting in the pen to enter the barn.  But I digress.)

Are you sensing a theme?  I come from a long line of Texas sass & swagger.  I can't help it.

Maybe it was being the daughter of a real-life Superwoman who could bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan in heels (and even go-go boots!).  [Anyone else smell a whiff of Harper Valley PTA?]  A farmer's wife & mother of 4 who could effortlessly entertain 20 or more people, even in a 2-bedroom farmhouse, after working 40 hours a week in town!  I still don't know how she did it.  (I bow the knee.)

Me & Craig on our 25th Anniversary

Perhaps it was when I grew up and married a full-time minister.  The vast majority of ministers are not known for their cushy bank accounts, so I had to get creative (especially in the early years) to make a series of rentals "homey." (This is one reason why I so identify with and am inspired by The Nester.)  Our first couch was rescued by my Mom just before it was thrown into a dumpster at an apartment complex.  It still had a life to live!  I can count on one hand the times we've had the money to buy new pieces of furniture from a proper furniture store.  The vast majority of the contents of our home have come from basically what other people didn't want anymore.  And I'm not complaining because it has taught me to be resourceful and creative.  I've learned that most things can be cleaned, painted, reupholstered and remade into a new life.

To be continued...