Orin's hometown!

Oddwalk is in Tyler, MN! After visiting Orin's mom, still in the hospital but doing great, Oddwalk, Erin H, and Orin's dad returned to Tyler for a visit. Lunch at the local Pizza Ranch, a tour of the town for Shannon on his first visit, and some errands around the house... and a unique video of an Oddwalk tune on the electronic organ Orin grew up playing will be posted as soon as time allows...

Tomorrow we're off to Huron, SD for the Diocese of Sioux Falls Jr. High Youth Rally! Stay tuned...

Many Ford Escorts

The other day, Orin drove to school, and parked in the garage in his usual spot, and noticed that his spot was between two other Ford Escorts.

Like many of Orin's stories, that's about all there is to this one. Enjoy.

New OddPoll - Our New Shirts

Hey! Lookie over in the sidebar and vote for your favorite new shirt! To see them in more detail (or perhaps to obtain one for yourself), visit our merchandise page. Voting is open for about a week. Whee!

Scenes from a Rippin' Keytar Solo, etc.

Thanks to Erin B (at the Shrine) for the pics. We've only posted a few of them here - none of them, unfortunately, capture the essence of the event in its fullest glory.

Perhaps this was the moment of truth, though Shannon says it happened long before this part of the big solo. Observe the amusement of the drummer, Joe, and the young man in black.

Even while striking the final pose, the damage isn't too noticeable.

The next day, Dakota (owner of the well-worn Oddwalk shirt) from Teen Team plays a little air keytar. Really, it's an inflatable keytar.

Oddwalk assists Short Circuit Entertainment at the dance. I'm not sure the "Belly-Rub" is going to catch on though.

New T-Shirts & Other Keytar-Type Stuff!

Just in time (barely) for the Christmas shopping season (but, alas, not in time for last Saturday's rippin' keytar solo):

New Oddwalk T-Shirts and other merchandise!

Click the pics below for a better look, or visit our merchandise page by clicking here to get a much better look at the new stuff, which includes not only these shirts, but new Oddwalk pins and a nifty new magnet as well!

"Just Because You Can..."

"Behold, the Oddwalk Keytar"

Keytar Superstar

Community, Participation, Mission

Of course, all the existing, in-stock Oddwalk CDs are still there, and don't forget to check out the new, soon-to-be-released GIA CD, "Walk Away Different" and all the other cool pages (pictures, video, keytarsuperstar, etc.) while you're over there too!

Thank you for your continuing support of the mission of Oddwalk Ministries!

Shannon's Take on the "Tear"able Keytar Solo

As Orin mentioned, there are several teens who went home Saturday with a different take on the Youth Day theme, "Eyes on the Prize".

Anyone who has seen us do "Jammin' with Jesus" knows that, during that song, we enter into a whole other level of ridiculousness. Saturday was no different.

We got to the part of the song that we usually do the solo and Orin stepped into rock star-mode. To the delight of 400 teens, Orin wailed on, rocked, and even licked the Keytar, during the solo.

As he was scooting around on his back, I looked down and saw more than I ever wanted to see. Orin had a rip in his pants the size of Texas and he was displaying his underpants for all to see. Erin Brennan, one of the Shrine staff members also reported seeing a horrified look on the face of a young girl who was right up front. Since Erin didn't get a picture of that girl, I've included the picture you see here. It probably looked a lot like that.

Once I realized the problem, I yelled for Erin (Orin's wife) and then alerted Orin to his breezy situation. The rest is history, or soon will be.

The thing I regret most about the whole event, is not taking the opportunity to auction off his ripped pants later in the day. I'll bet we could have made a good chunk of change at Orin's expense. It would have been a great way to raise money for charity. Oh well...maybe we'll do it the next time he rips his pants in front of hundreds of people.

That Rippin' Keytar Solo We Mentioned

From Orin's perspective - Shannon's views will arrive later on today.

So, on Saturday, Oddwalk at the Shrine Youth Day Celebration played "Jammin' with Jesus" as part of our set.

Somewhere in the middle of the usual on-stage hysterics involved with a proper keytar solo, Orin's pants ripped. Not just a little, not just on a seam, but about a foot and a half right down the front, from beside the zipper down to the knee.


The pictures, snapped by Erin C, don't really do the damage justice. As I was really focused on the solo, I didn't even know it had happened until after striking the final pose, which itself is unfortunate. A clever placement of the keytar enabled me to finish the song and then head backstage while I waited for Erin H to run to the Kmart nearby and pick up some replacement jeans. In the meantime, I wrapped some spare purple cloth around the affected areas.

It was a moment that I, Oddwalk, the band, and about 400 junior high youth will probably never forget.

Now, that's what we call a really rippin' keytar solo!

Mary's Got My Back

Saturday and Sunday this weekend are the two days that make up the Shrine's Youth Day Celebration. One of the keynoters this year is Sarah Bauer, who is also featured on Oddwalk's Soon-to-be-released CD, "Walk Away Different."

One of her more popular songs is "Mary's Got My Back" - and singing that song at the Shrine amphitheater, she certainly does!


PS - We'll have another quite interesting post soon about a rippin' keytar solo this weekend (with pictures!) - so stay tuned!

Countdown to 200,000 - Update

Only 1,000 miles to go!

See previous post here for details.

Zip Zap Rap?

As Oddwalk prepares to launch our new album, it's worth mentioning that a lot of work went into the artwork, especially the cover:

Apparently the same cannot be said for all albums:

Click here for a list (according to stevecarter.com) of the worst album covers of all time.

Suing God?

Nebraska Democratic State Senator Ernie Chambers has decided to go straight to the top in an effort to stop natural disasters from befalling the world.

[snip]

Chambers says he isn't suing God because he has any kind of beef with the deity. He says the suit is to fight possible laws restricting the filing of frivolous lawsuits. Chambers tells KPTM FOX 42 News that his lawsuit is in response to bills brought forth by other state senators to try and stop lawsuits from being filed.

"The Constitution requires that the courthouse doors be open, so you cannot prohibit the filing of suits," Chambers says. "Anyone can sue anyone they choose, even God."

---

Really? Wasn't it Job, who perhaps might even have a case for suing God who said, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the Lord"?

Ahh! My Bubble!

Tonight, Shannon had a youth ministry event in his parish called Prayer, Praise, and Drumsticks (the ice cream). It's a regularly meeting group that spends time in prayer and fellowship.

Once the program ended, they invaded his bubble and snapped a few pictures. Here's one of the better ones:

Blogger Play

http://play.blogger.com/

In their own words:

Shortly after Blogger launched photo uploading two years ago, one of our engineers whipped up a web page that would show us the pictures that were being uploaded in real time. The result was fun, often beautiful, but above all, compelling. We couldn’t stop watching.

Over the years we’ve kept this photo scroller as part of the Blogger offices, on a monitor or projector, as an interesting (distracting?) slideshow, and a reminder of the diversity and vivaciousness of Blogger blogs. The fame of the scroller spread within Google, until one day we were asked, “so, when are you launching this?”

“Um...,” we replied. But we knew a good idea when we heard one. We got our UI people to come up with buttons and fadey effects and we got our engineers to make the whole thing fast and robust. A bit of work later, and now we can share it with all of you:

http://play.blogger.com/

Blogger Play will show you a never-ending stream of images that were just uploaded to public Blogger blogs. You can click the image to be taken directly to the blog post it was uploaded to, or click “show info” to see an overlay with the post title, a snippet of the body, and some profile information about the blogger who uploaded it. We also wrote a Blogger Play FAQ with more information.

A caveat: we use many techniques, including Google’s SafeSearch technology, to keep the images clean. Nevertheless, on rare occasions an image that you may find vulgar or obscene will slip through our algorithmic filters. Google does not pre-screen the images that appear in Blogger Play, nor is it responsible for their content. To report a terms of service violation, you may fill out this contact form.

Scenes from an iBook Disassembly

Oddwalk's laptop, the OddiBook, has been in some need of repair for a while. This weekend, Orin claimed it and brought it home, to check things out. He's confident it can be repaired (fix a power adapter part, replace cd drive, replace battery) and upgraded as along as it's all apart (bigger hard drive, it's already got enough memory) and hopefully all reassembled in a week or so.

Should you walk past the craft table in Orin's house in the meantime, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!

Scenes from a Youth Rally

Diocese of Jefferson City, MO Sr. High Youth Rally, Sept. 16, 2007. Oddwalk served as the house band and music ministers at mass.

Bob Perron, on the right, light blue shirt, short hair, leads "the best ice-breaker in the world, ever."

More of the ice-breaker.

Only at a youth rally (in a high school gym).

Shannon inherits a couple microphone windscreens, but unfortunately, not the instruction manual.

Better with every call

Orin's Mom continues to improve, better flexibility, speech, etc. They're still doing physical therapy and regulating some medicine, but there was a reported "big jump" positively overnight in her condition. Things seem to be going quite well, thanks again for continued prayers and such.

-Orin

Continued Improvement

Orin's mom continues to improve. Docs are still concerned about her ability to swallow, and that another clot (from the weak part of hear heart) may break loose, so they're continuing physical therapy and medications to treat her.

Orin continues to check in 2 or 3 times a day. This morning, trying to be a little silly, he asked his mom, after checking in heath-wise, "What else is new?"

There was a long silence, so that Orin had to ask, "Mom?"

After another moment she replied, "I don't know if anything else is new."

"Mom, I was being silly."

"I know," she answered.

So I guess things are pretty okay, all things considered. :)


Looking forward to seeing the youth of Jefferson City, MO tomorrow!

Orin's Mom Update

She is steadily improving! While obviously not 100%, her agility is coming back, and she can speak somewhat clearly. Dad and sis are by her side at the moment, I've been instructed (commanded?) not to come up by Mom, and that seems to be for the best at the moment. More updates as necessary. Thanks for well-wishes and prayers, please keep praying. -Orin

Prayer Request

Orin's mom, who has been in the hospital the last few days with a bladder infection had a small stroke overnight. His dad and sister will soon be with her at a hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. She is stable, conscious, knows who she is, where she is, etc. but at present has no motion on her left side. We should know more as the day goes on. Her name is Eva Johnson.

Thanks. -Orin

Apparantly, he calls himself a "Manualist"

And he's quite amazing at it. There's a whole lot of his videos over at YouTube.

Happy New Year!

Happy Jewish New Year that is, Rosh Hashana, 5768. One of Orin's other hats in life is accompanying services at Congregation Shaare Emeth in suburban St. Louis. Part of this morning's service was a traditional playing of the shofar, a rams horn. Betsy Cytron played and Rabbi Andrea Goldstein proclaimed. Orin sneakily shot this video with his cell phone. Unfortunately, he missed the two times Betsy played a continuos blast that had to have lasted 30 seconds or more.

Fight Procrastination Day...

Fight Procrastination Day was last week. Thought we'd let you all know.

OddPoll Results: Promo Pics

While not achieving a majority, it seems C has clearly won this poll. Also noteworthy is that E didn't win, although it came in a strong third. Why doesn't anyone like A?

Thanks for voting!

I think I confused Yahoo

Bingo Again!

Orin wins again! And there was much rejoicing.

Junior Oddwalkian Fashion Show!

Oddwalk received a gift certificate to an online custom clothes store, so we got Madeleine and Noah their own embroidered Oddwalk gear. Now they can show up to work one day wearing the same thing too. Shannon and Orin got satchels.

pOddcast - "Get It Together" sample

From the new album with GIA, "Walk Away Different" - have we mentioned ever how excited we are about this project? This clip would be a good example of the "fresh new arrangements" on this CD. "Get It Together" after all is on our "Let Us Go, Rejoicing" CD, recorded live; this version will be a much different experience for both performers and listeners (though it will borrow a little, literally, from the first recording!).

Find the podcast player/subscriber in the sidebar or other usual places.

I thought I told you, Wednesday was my day...

Orin was amused to arrive at the office today, only to find coworker and Oddwalk friend Joe dressed in a similar way.

I'm sure Joe is thrilled to be featured again on the Oddblog. While we've unfortunately lost the audio, click here to see his first go around with stardom.

OddPoll - Promo Pics

There's another OddPoll over in the sidebar:

Which promo shot of Oddwalk do you prefer?
A - Simple and straightforward
B - I like it when Shannon is surprised
C - When Orin points at me, I feel special
D - Any of the above, Oddwalk is cool
E - None of the above, and thanks for making me go blind

Vote early and vote often (for the next week or so)!

"...a Slurpee for your soul."

Oddwalk friend Mike has a new blog for us all to sip and savor: spirituallydelicious.com. Now you know.

Countdown to 200,000

Orin's 1998 Ford Escort is creeping closer and closer to a milestone - 200,000 miles! This morning on the way to work at the Shrine, I took this picture (notice I stopped the car - not in a driving lane - to do so).

For some perspective, 250,000 miles is roughly the distance from the earth to the moon, one way.

This car is nearly 9 years old, and has been this far a good and trustworthy vehicle. It's a little noisy these days, and unceremoniously referenced (usually) in our Jammin' With Jesus keytar bit, but still running well, and truthfully, a part of the family. We'll keep you updated over the coming weeks as we surpass this glorious moment in automotive history.

OddLabels & Random Post!

So, we're slowly introducing labels here at the Oddblog - under each post, check the tiny print to see how each post is categorized. If you want to see more posts in that category, click the label. There's also a "label cloud" down-a-ways in the sidebar that shows all our labels.

We'll be slowly going back through our archive of posts (over 500!) and labeling them as best we can. Give us time...

Also, a new widget in the sidebar will take you to a random Oddblog post. Try it out sometime when you're really bored.

A Night at Busch Stadium

Saturday night, Orin's choir at the Shrine had the honor of singing "God Bless America" before the St. Louis Cardinals game! Here's a pic Erin H. took of the jumbotron during the singing:



And here's the view Orin had, just before singing, behind home plate:



Later, watching the game with friends, Oddwalk friend Mike suggested I squish the Reds' player at first base:

Cribbly's got a new home on that interweb thing!

Oddwalk friend Anne Marie Cribbin (around here, we call her "Cribbly") has a new website as she pursues a career as an active itinerant minister. She is still 1/2 of Over the Top Ministries and an awfully nice person too. Please check out her new digs!