World Series Celebration Pics

Erin celebrates the victory


Jeff Weaver, winning pitcher of Game 5 takes a victory lap


No caption necessary


The view toward centerfield from the leftfield foul pole


Down the leftfield fence


Taken by Orin with his Treo, about an hour after the Cards won game 5 to clinch the series.

Happy Halloween!

Carve your virtual jack o'lantern today!

World Series Winner!

No time to post, but of course you all know the St. Louis Cardinals are the 2006 World Series Champions. Erin and Orin and some neighbors went downtown late to celebrate! We'll put up some pictures in a few days.

Travelling (or "On the Verge!")

While Shannon travels to the Diocese of Ogdensburg, NY today and tomorrow, and both Orin and Shannon journey to the Diocese of Sioux City, IA tomorrow and Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals will be doing their best to not have to travel again this season. A win tonight at home would clinch the 2006 World Series and avoid one last trip to Detroit for another game or two.

Travelling can be quite challenging, difficult, tiring... It can also be exhilarating, fun, and quite enjoyable and educational.

When Oddwalk travels, we do so as intinerant evangelists, committed to spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, especially the messages of community, participation, and mission. We travel always with the joy and expectation of seeing new faces and new places. A treat this weekend, Orin will get to meet up with his parents on Sunday, traveling so close to his home town of Tyler, MN.

But don't tell the Cards any of that "travelling: good" stuff — let 'em win it at home, in the first season in the new Busch Stadium.

Go Cards!

Fantasy Congress

Your baseball team didn't make the playoffs?
Your fantasy football team went down the tubes after picking Orin as quarterback (Orin's QB rating: -6.97)?

Well, try this: Fantasy Congress!

From the site:
In this game, we give you the power to draft and manage a team of members from the U.S. Congress. Enjoy our gift to you, o great nation: the power to play politics!™

Hours of fun for the whole family! No, really!

Thanks to Cribbly for the discovery.

If Bart and Homer "Go Catholic"

So that's what heaven's like.

Gene Goes to Canada and Curls

Read all about it here.

<--- PS: That's not Gene.





11/27 Update - This is:

Order for the Blessing of a Minivan

A parody from an Anglican blog up north (Canada - Alberta to be precise).

Buckle up!

A Properly Released CD

Saturday night, Oddwalk "debuted" our new CD to a great crowd at St. Luke Parish Hall in Belleville, IL. The energy in the room was great. This was partly due to the fact that we were projecting the first game of the World Series (between our hometown Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers) on the side wall. Whatever the reason for the enthusiasm, it was a really fun night.

We played through about nineteen songs which included surprises like Take Me Out to the Ballgame, You Can Call Me Al, and Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da. We also introduced new tracks from the CD. These songs included, Bless the Lord, My Soul, Let Us Go, Rejoicing, and We Will Go, Lord.

Thanks to Kyle Holtgrave and his youth ministry program for hosting the event. Thanks also to St. Luke parish for the use of their hall, allowing us to take a picture of the church entrance for our CD Cover, and for supporting Shannon through the years. Finally, thanks go out to all of those who attended the concert and showed their support for us (and the Cardinals). We really appreciate it. We couldn't do what we do without them.

Cards vs. Tigers

So we've earlier examined Cards vs. Padres and Cards vs. Mets for their significance to Catholicism. Let's do the same for Cards vs. Tigers.

Um. Hmm...

I've pretty much got nothing. I imagine a few tigers were behind the martyrdoms of many early Christians... But let's not go there.

GO CARDS!

PS - Don't forget about our CD release concert / Game 1 party tonight!

So, um, about this concert on Saturday...

WOOO HOOO!!!!

Can a guy who hit .216 for the season redeem himself with one swing. Yes! (See: Yadier Molina, NLCS, Game 7, Top of the 9th) Can a 25 year old rookie make you forget about the terrible year logged by Jason Isringhausen. Yes! (See: Adam Wainwright, NLCS, Game 7, Bottom of the 9th) Molina, Wainwright, Jeff Suppan, and the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals are headed to Detroit for the World Series. It is the 17th National League Pennant in franchise history.

Game one of the World Series starts at 6:30pm Saturday night. That is the time that the doors open for our concert, with the show beginning at 7pm. Obviously, we want you to come to the concert. So, here's what's going to happen:

-You (and every friend you have) are going to come to the show. You are going to wear red, preferably Cardinals gear if you have it.

-We are going to find a way to project the game on one of the walls in the St. Luke Room. We are determined to entertain you one way or another.

Bring your friends, bring your families, bring your kids, bring the neighbors! Come have fun with Oddwalk and cheer the Cardinals to a game one win!

World Series Bound!!!!!!

Our Cardinals pulled it off. They did it. They are the champions of the National League. Underdogs agains the Padres. Underdogs against the Mets. No matter. They are in the World Series, where they will once again be considered underdogs against the Detroit Tigers.

In true 2006 Redbird style, the Mets loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth. There had been lots of situations just like this one throughout the season. Most of them had not gone our way. This however, wasn't Jason Isringhausen. This was Adam Wainwright. Maybe he didn't know he was supposed to blow it. He didn't, and we're off to Detroit for game one on Saturday.

What a game!

Go Cards!
Shannon (and Orin too)

Fair enough

"The picture is a poor relation to reality."

-Catherine Vincie, professor at AI, after drawing a circle on the chalkboard to visually represent God (metaphysically, at least - Karl Rahner is hard!).

Follow Me

This past Sunday, Oddwalk had the pleasure of serving as the House Band for the annual Jefferson City Diocesan Youth Rally at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City. The event was an enormous success as it was attended by over 600 youth and adults from around the diocese. A theme of "Follow Me" helped bring focus to the day, and Oddwalk used a song called "Fish with Me" to keep the teens centered on that theme.

The rally was highlighted by a keynote address and breakout session by Andrew Hoyt. Andrew comes from South Bend, Indiana and is part of an annual vocation-based retreat/conference called NDVision. Andrew did an excellent job as he urged those assembled to "encourage the storm!", bringing their secular and spiritual lives into one.

Congrats to Tim Lorang, Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry, and the rally planning committee for an outstanding day.

300,000,000

I (Orin) heard on the radio this morning that at about 7am central-time America's population surpasssed the 300,000,000 mark; supposedly it was a baby born near Atlanta that tipped us over.

300,000,000 is a lot. But we still have Montana and Alaska!

(Sorry, folks, that's the best I could do.)

Happy Dictionary Day!

From Oxford University Press:

NEW YORK, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 16, people everywhere will be
putting decorations on their dictionary trees, hiding dictionaries for
dictionary hunts, proudly flying their dictionary flags, and going
door-to-door reading dictionary entries aloud for candy.

Well, no. October 16 is National Dictionary Day, but the celebrations
aren't that elaborate or widespread. Yet.

Established to commemorate the birthday (in 1758) of American
lexicographer Noah Webster, Dictionary Day is celebrated mostly in schools,
where teachers use the day to emphasize the importance of dictionary skills,
with activities that include finding the longest word in the dictionary,
creating classroom slang dictionaries, and playing Scrabble(TM).


So, get to it, you pulchritudinous lucubrator!

We regret to inform you...

Shannon and Orin both got our official emails letting us know our songs had not been selected as the NCYC 2006 theme song. We had lots of company, at least, some 25 others weren't picked either. Ah well.

To listen to Orin's submission, check the audio blog Gcast thingy over on the left. To hear Shannon's, click the "Posts" button to see previous posts.

For our esoteric readers

The Nietzsche Family Circus

From the site: The Nietzsche Family Circus pairs a randomized Family Circus cartoon with a randomized Friedrich Nietzsche quote.

Hours of fun for the whole family!

The caption I got with the cartoon on the left was: A great value of antiquity lies in the fact that its writings are the only ones that modern men still read with exactness.

Whee!

Dear Dad,

A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an envelope propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to "Dad". With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.

Dear Dad,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you.

I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion...Dad, she's pregnant.

Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy.

In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love,
Your Son John

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that's in my center desk drawer. I love you. Call me when it's safe to come home.

More Google Products

From the Oct. 16 Time magazine. Click the pic to see the larger version.

Cards vs. Mets

So, last week we talked briefly about the Catholic signifigance of Cards vs. Padres, this week it's Cards vs. Mets.

"So what" you ask.

Well, Mets is short for Metropolitans, and while we're sure the team isn't named for them (pretty sure anyway), Metropolitans, in the Catholic Church, are basically what we know as archbishops. Recall that the bird cardinal is named because it is the same color as the garb Catholic Cardinals wear. And to further confuse thing, many cardinals are also metropolitans!

So, Cards




vs. Mets - again, who do you root for?

Sacramental Techno-Gadgets

A conversation at the end of class at Aquinas tonight. Jack, seeing me check my email on my Treo asked if I could get sports scores too. I quickly showed him the Detroit-Oakland game score. In awe, Jack said:

Jack: That thing's cool. [pause] Almost sacramental.
Orin: You can't download grace.
Jack: [with a twinkle in his eye] Have you tried?
Orin: [pondering new possibilities] Hm...

"One of the great ironies..."

"One of the great ironies of the [post Vatican II] era is that those who fashion themselves as being most faithful to church law are often the most negligent of the laws and directives regulating the liturgy."

John Huels, Preparing and Celebrating the Paschal Feasts, Chronicle, Jan. 1989

A Busy Weekend

On Saturday night, Orin and I traveled to South St. Louis to provide entertainment for the TEC Founder's Dinner. In the St. Louis-area there used to be three TEC centers. They have now combined into one: Spirit of St. Louis TEC. This dinner was one of their first activities as a newly formed center. For the event, they brought in the founders of the National Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) Movement, Fr. Matt Fedewa and Dorothy Gerke, to give talks. It was a fun and inspirational night. Thanks to Ron Reiter and the TEC staff for inviting us in.

Sunday morning brought Noah's Baptism. Orin and I led music at Mass. The sacrament was administered during Mass (which we loved) and everything went very well. Madeleine, however, provided some comic relief. I was holding her during the Baptism, itself. After Dan (my father-in-law who is a Deacon) poured water on Noah's head, Madeleine threw her hands up in the air and said "Noah...CLEAN!" This is something she says when she is done with her bath. It was very funny, but also theologically profound. Orin and his wife Erin were proud Godparents.

We rounded out the weekend by celebrating Madeleine's birthday last night. Her actual birthday is on Monday, October 16th, but we needed to take advantage of the fact that Erin's family was in town. The party was a lot of fun. We decided to do a lot of things that Madeleine likes, so the house was filled with Cinderella decorations and balloons, and we ate the things Madeleine really likes. Our party food included: Pizza, McDonalds french fries, rice, manderin oranges, chips and vegetables with "dip, dip, dip!" and cupcakes.

It proved to be a crazy, but a very blessed weekend. For more on the family, go to cerneka.blogspot.com

-Shannon

A journey through God's creation

A flash-based jourey that starts 10 million light years away from earth and takes you from there all the way to the building blocks of individual atoms.

"And it was good."

We almost have a full album's-worth now

Click above to find out a little more info on NCYC 2006, Discover the Way / Decubre el Camino. Perhaps the biggest but most expected update: once again, Shannon, Orin, and Oddwalk have not written the theme song. But congratulations to Nick Cardilino and David Smith. No, really.

Seriously. Stop looking at us like that.

Fine.

PS - Check the Gcast audio blog thingy on the left to hear Shannon's submission.

Perhaps we spoke too soon...

Pope Keeps Limbo in Limbo

Pope Abolishes Limbo Dancing

What? Too bad too, we we're just starting to like the guy.








Correction:
Pope Abolishes Limbo - not the dancing. Ah, that's better.


Seriously, I like the quote at the end of this linked article:
[It is] the heartless doctrine the church now realises it cannot maintain. "Is that trembling cry a song?"

Marianne, you're very lucky

(Everyone else, we're not so sure...)

We got this email recently from audioblogger:

Hello,

As of November 1, 2006, Audioblogger will no longer accept phone
calls. MP3s made with the service will continue to be hosted and
served but you will no longer be able to use Audioblogger to post
new audio.

Audioblogger is an independent product, run by Odeo, Inc., a small
startup company in San Francisco, CA. We are not affiliated with
Google or Blogger except that we operate and provide the
Audioblogger service.

Given our limited resources, we have to make tough decisions
about what projects to focus on. And we've come to the difficult
decision that Audioblogger demands too many resources, time, and
money for us to continue its operation.

Thankfully, they have pointed us to some other free alternatives. We'll be testing them soon to make sure they're compatible with our blog and meet our needs...

Audio blogging should return soon - with a vengeance!

---

Update - Check the side bar! Whee!

Slightly New Look

Upgraded to the new Blogger Beta. Think everything's in order. Comment below if you see something missing or have any suggestions!

We're (a little bit) Famous!

As featured in this week's Belleville Messenger, the bi-weekly paper of the Belleville, IL Diocese! Click on the pic to see the larger, more legible size.

We're very excited and grateful to be featured like this. We hope you enjoy the article and maybe can come to our CD release concert or in some other way claim a CD or hear some of our music.

We think though the biggest question on people's minds after reading this article will be, "What the heck is Duck Booya?"

Padres vs. Cardinals

So, I (Orin) just realized: Padres is Spanish for Priests (and "dads" of course, but in this case, seeings as San Diego's mascot is a Franciscan friar, we'll go with Priests), and

The Cardinals, while named for the bird, the bird is named because it's red, just like our Cardinals in Rome.



Padres vs. Cardinals - who would you root for?

Shrine WYD 2006

Here are a couple pics (Thanks, Erin S!):


Oddwalk on Saturday (Orin had to arrive late)


Oddwalk on Sunday, at the Shrine Amphitheater

Read more about Mike Patin's visit to WYD here.

Madeleine Discovers "Knock-Knock" Jokes

This morning, my daughter started telling me "knock-knock" jokes. Erin must have taught them to her yesterday. When she tells them, she never actually gets all the way through the joke, but that makes it even funnier. Here is a real example of the "knock-knock" jokes Madeleine has told us today:

Madeleine: "Knock-knock"
Erin or Shannon: "Who's there"
Madeleine: "Orin"
Erin or Shannon: "Orin who?

Madeleine: "Knock-knock"
Erin or Shannon: "Who's there"
Madeleine: "Orin"
Erin or Shannon: "Orin who?

Madeleine: "Knock-knock"
Erin or Shannon: "Who's there"
Madeleine: "Orin"
Erin or Shannon: "Orin who?

Madeleine: "Knock-knock"
Erin or Shannon: "Who's there"
Madeleine: "Erin"
Erin or Shannon: "Erin who?

Madeleine: "Knock-knock"
Erin or Shannon: "Who's there"
Madeleine: "Orin"
Erin or Shannon: "Orin who?

Madeleine: "Knock-knock"
Erin or Shannon: "Who's there"
Madeleine: "Orin"
Erin or Shannon: "Orin who?

Madeleine: "Knock-knock"
Erin or Shannon: "Who's there"
Madeleine: "Orin"
Erin or Shannon: "Orin who?


When I told Orin today, he finished the joke for me. Here it is:

Orin: "Knock-knock"
Shannon: "Who's there"
Orin: "Orin"
Shannon "Orin who?
Orin: "Orin-ja glad I didn't say banana?"


-Shannon