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!