Prayer Request

One of Orin's coworkers at the Shrine, Tom Mulhall, marketing manager, passed away suddenly the morning of July 28. He had struggled with MS for many years, but his condition had not deteriorated to the point where death would be expected. In fact he was at work all last week, including last Thursday and Friday. He was 53. He leaves behind his wife and three children. Please pray for him, the Mulhall family, the Shrine staff, and all who knew Tom and will miss him.

This picture is of the devotional area at the Shrine known as the Resurrection Garden. An eternal flame burns inside the rock, representing Jesus' empty tomb. May Tom today rejoice with all the angels and saints in heaven.

And during this Healiing and Hope Novena, we ask:
Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us.

A Couple Shrine Pics

Saturday night, pre-Novena, the OLS statue takes a ride from the Shrine church to the Outdoor Altar and Amphitheater.

Sunday morning, pre-Mass, Orin spied a deer across from the church.

Healing and Hope Novena

Orin coordinates the liturgies for this annual event at the Shrine, the Healing and Hope Novena.  Each night we celebrate mass at 7:30 with a specially-picked presider and homilist, good music ministry, meaningful ritual, and communal prayer.  Each night has a different focus, i.e. Finding Healing and Hope within... Physical Infirmities, The Loss of a Loved One, Spiritual Difficulties, etc.  The 9 nights of prayer lead up to August 5th, which is the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows.

Oddwalk and friends are providing music ministry the night of August 2, Finding Healing and Hope within Financial Stresses.  Please join Orin and many others in prayer at the Shrine July 28 to August 5, 7:30 each night, come for any or all.

That Happens Sometimes

Tonight my daughter Madeleine and I were watching the 1973 film, Godspell. She had never seen it before, so I asked her if she liked it. She said she did, and then asked what it was called. I told her it was called Godspell. She then replied:

"God spill? That happens sometimes."

-Shannon

pOddcast - Christmas in July!

Seeings as it is July 25th and all...

New on the pOddcast, a recording of Dan Kantor's "Night of Silence" (giamusic.com) as recorded (in a make-shift one-bedroom-apartment-studio) by Orin on the keyboard and his friend Heather Wessels singing.  She recorded this a few years ago as a Christmas present for her then-boyfriend, now-husband.  Aww...

Check for the pOddcast in the sidebar and the usual places.

Merry Christmas-in-July everyone!

New OddPoll - the "Secret Project"

Check it out in the sidebar:

OddPoll - What do you think Oddwalk's "Secret Project" really is?

* Writing the new Oddwalkia National Anthem, titled "No, Really, We Mean It"
* Creating a new, space-age keytar, usable on Mars!
* Having our pets either spayed or neutered (but not both)
* I already know, but if I told you, I'd have to kill you.

Voting continues for another 6 days or so! Vote early and often!

Oh, the humanity! (not really)

The Oddblog has previously featured this website, attempting to blend nearly everything under the sun in their ultra-powerful blenders.

This time, have they gone too far? They attempt to blend an iPhone! Ack! The horror! The fine particles of technology!

Oddwalk "Secret Project" - Hint #4,327

Odd-Simpsons

If our Oddwalk logo face-thing (sometimes called Hanya Mahanya) turned into a Simpsons character, he might look a little like this guy Orin created.  Or at least that's the best he could do.

Do you wanna give it a try?

We Might Have Guessed

So, our first Oddblog poll is closed...  It will disappear from the Sidebar sometime soon, whenever we make up a new one, so here's the official tally, just to the left.

Of course the keytar won.  That probably doesn't need any in-depth analysis.  We are a little surprised though at how poorly Matilda fared.

Thanks everyone who voted, hope it was fun - look for a new poll in the near future!

Simple Solutions

Not sure how much of this is true, but it is funny.  Thanks to Oddwalk friend Jared for passing it along!

---

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS ' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit
S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)
S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

(And the best one for last..................)

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

YNIA St. Louis 2007 Wrap-Up

Well, Orin's first Young Neighbors Summer has come to a close. Thanks to the folks in Saint Louis that made the week quite wonderful:

Mairin (all-around helper) and Erin H. (Site Coordinator), with Sean (led a group of participants from Belleville, IL)

Jane, the Program Coordinator

(Erin again and) Elise, cook and helper-outer

And, of course, all the participants! It was a great Summer of YNIA, both Tijuana and St. Louis - thanks all!

YNIA STL Day 6 Pics

Some pics from the last day of work:

Mixing cement for the end of the North City ramp.

Weeding down at City Seeds.

Not weeding (but they had been earlier) at City Seeds.

Mary and Joseph once again reunited in South City (see the day 3 pics).

South City ramp nearly done!

Staining a deck for a senior citizen.

Painting a sunroom next door to the deck.

Evening bar-b-que!

Yum!

After dinner, groups enjoyed the science center, the zoo, and the art museum, pictured above (the nifty Napoleon exhibit!).

Stay tuned for a wrap up post in the next couple days! Thanks for all the prayers.

YNIA STL Day 5 Pics

Gateway Greening folks visit a Midtown St. Louis Church.

Mairin, on of the program staff, lends a hand.

Ramp builders take a second to pose for a quick picture.

Yes, they even let them use power tools.

This ramp is almost done!

Brent Reeves from McKendree University talks to the participants in the evening about culture and diversity.

YNIA STL Day 4 & Erin H's Birthday!

Getting ready for some outdoor activities at the Griffen Center, East Saint Louis, IL.

Erin H. gets a birthday morning serenade!

Cooling off in the 98-degree heat.

Painting a fence for a senior citizen who couldn't.

Evening recreation at the St. Louis Arch.

I won't go into the backstory just now, but at night, we celebrated Erin H's 30th birthday 2 years early!

Happy birthday, honey!

YNIA STL Day 3 Pics - In My Own Backyard!

While work continues on the access ramps,

The Virgin Mary supervised,

And St. Joseph took some time off from selling homes to guard the water and the radio.

Some participants sorted garlic bulbs, destined for sale to support Gateway Greening.

Literally a half-block from Orin and Erin's house, participants helped repaint a fence and

clean up a backyard for a senior citizen unable to do so himself.

A quick stop to visit PENNY AND GRACIE!

Evening programming included "The Cookie Game" and a few folks got arrested...

Some art reflection from evening prayer: "We Have Been Anointed!"

YNIA STL Day 2 Pics

A bunch of pics from the first day of work at YNIA 2007 - St. Louis, MO:

Participants help with a relay race at the Griffen Center in East Saint Louis, Il.

Clearing out a jungle of a backyard in north-city St. Louis.

This group did a lot of tasks, including moving a refrigerator from the basement up, and the one from the kitchen down.

One of the participants poses at the Bell Garden, a public garden for neighborhood residents.

A couple groups help build wheelchair ramps at a couple sites with Home Services, Inc.

The participants at the evening session hold a rally based on the seven principles of Catholic Social Justice Teaching.

More of the rally.

At evening prayer, all reflect on Luke's beatitudes.