The Last Ever Post of the Oddblog...

Now, don't get all too excited... We're just upgrading... to ODDBLOG 2.0!


But, in fact, there's not a lot new or different going on; in fact we've tried to keep it all pretty much the same. So, us calling it the Oddblog 2.0 is sort of like saying we got a new car when really all we did is park it in a different garage.


So, that said, here's the new address of the blog:

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog

And here's the url for our new feed, those of you peering in from your favorite reader:

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/feed/

And for those even more paranoid, the whole past of the blog is parked over there now too, as well as all the stats on visitors, comments, etc. It all made it, and the migration was relatively painless, in fact.


Again, welcome, and let's hope we all enjoy the new parking spot!

Goodbye, at least for now, Blogger ol' pal, it's been fun!

VOTE!

Now!  Right now!  (Unless you already did.)

Or are driving a car.  (but then, how are you reading this blog at the same time?)

VOTE!

Ewe Arrrgh Takes the No-Prize!

(For the back story, check a few posts further down...)

"What's Missing" Contest

A friend of ours is having a contest over at his Youth Ministry Blog:

If you are a regular reader of the blog or a recipient of my e-newsletter earlier this month, you might remember this post that played on the whole "Ch _ _ ch: What’s missing?" devise.

If so, I am sure you will appreciate how funny I found this picture from a local booze merchant.

Which leads us to a contest….. What other two words can be used to still get the "…: what’s missing? U R" effect.

Comment away. I’ll declare a winner on Halloween morning. I’m completely unsure what the prize will be, but you should probably be in it for the honor of being the first www.catholicYMblog.com contest award winner, anyway!

So, head over there and leave your entries in his (i.e. not our) comments!

So, Apparently We're Running for President

We know, it was news to us too!

Watch the news report online here:

http://www.inews3.com/topstory.php?id=4f646477616c6b7c4d696e69737472696573

Cerneka, Party of Five

Hey Everyone,

Erin and I wanted to let you all know that we're expecting our third child around June 1st. We feel very blessed to have yet another addition to our family and ask all of you for your prayers during the pregnancy and beyond.

In case you're wondering how another Cerneka child will contribute to the greater good, consider that our other two children were born during years that the Cardinals went to the World Series. ('04, '06)

I have to say, I'm feeling pretty good about 2009!

See ya,
Shannon

"The Music That Unites Us"

Here's a flyer for an upcoming fundraising concert we're a part of - can you come join us?

Mockolate?

MSNBC - Oh, milk chocolate. Wherefore art thou?

Apparently not in some Hershey’s products that contained milk chocolate for years, and that has passionate chocolate aficionados fighting mad.

Products such as Whatchamacallit, Milk Duds, Mr. Goodbar and Krackel no longer have milk chocolate coatings, and Hershey’s Kissables are now labeled “chocolate candy” instead of “milk chocolate.”

What’s going on here? On Friday, TODAY consumer correspondent Janice Lieberman reported that Hershey’s has switched to less expensive ingredients in several of its products. In particular, cocoa butter — the ingredient famous for giving chocolate its creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture — has been replaced with vegetable oil.

The removal of cocoa butter violates the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s definition of milk chocolate, so subtle changes have appeared on the labels of the Hershey’s products with altered recipes. Products once labeled “milk chocolate” now say “chocolate candy,” “made with chocolate” or “chocolatey.”

More here...

MyCatholicVoice.com

You can now find "Walk Away Different" at MyCatholicVoice, along with lots of other content - music, videos, blogs, etc.  It's a rapidly growing site, and we may very well add more of our content there as time passes.  Be sure to check it out - in their own words:

MyCatholicVoice invites you to...
...ask questions...find inspiration...create conversation...listen to great music...share your thoughts...connect with people...seek your truth...participate in the global Church...see beyond the pew...explore tradition...find your voice...visit a safe place online...explore what matters most to you

 

Another new look

Hey, a new, fresh face for the Oddblog!  (Unless, like gene, you read our content via an aggregate thing-a-ma-bob.)  Why?  Well, to be honest, the most recent one wasn't doing much for me (Orin) and perhaps more importantly, wasn't formatting well on my new iPhone.

So, anyway, there's no poll to go along with this one - hope you can get over the disappointment on that.  I know gene can...

Movie Trailers Will Never Be The Same

CNN - Don LaFontaine, the voiceover king whose "In a world ..." phrase on movie trailers was much copied -- and much parodied -- has died, according to media reports. He was 68.

Don LaFontaine was featured as "that voiceover guy" [see below] on a recent Geico commercial.

LaFontaine, who was born in Duluth, Minnesota, began as a voice actor in the mid-1960s while working as a recording engineer, according to his Web site. His strong, slightly gravelly voice was featured on trailers for thousands of films, including "The Godfather," "Fatal Attraction" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." For a time in the late '70s, LaFontaine was the official voice of Paramount Pictures.

A couple more projects

Hey all,

Just to let you know, keeping looking back here or our main page over the next few months for a couple other new, exciting announcements about Oddwalk and GIA.  We won't spill the beans just yet, but the graphic below is a hint on one of the bits of news.  In fact, we haven't been keeping it real secretive, but you won't find anything about it online yet either.  So, happy guessing:

Better Than A Gold Medal

The Oddwalk family would like to congratulate our friends Ricky and Tania Willmann on the newest addition to their family, Jeremy Ryan. Jeremy was born on Thursday night and both Mom and son are doing well.

If you're interested in more information there are a couple of places you could look. Ricky keeps a couple of blogs. One of them, Those Wacky Willmanns, is more of a family-focused blog. You can find it here. The other is one, Richard the Deuce Tells it All, is a blog that Ricky keeps just for fun. You can find that one here.

Congratulations again to the ever-growing Willmann family. You are in our prayers.

New Puppies

For Erin H's mom that is -- meet Reese and Rory:

smartcatholic.net

Hey everybody, a friend of ours, Doug, just started a new website and he wanted us to help spread the word.  Doug says:

The Story: Last year I made a trivia game for our Jr. High Youth Ministry, and I had several parents ask me to make an version with tougher questions for them, so . . .  I set up a Catholic trivia site: www.smartcatholic.net -- Then, I did a Google search for catholic trivia and found some good . . . and some bad information about the Catholic Church.

So pay his new site a visit, and let him know what you think!

Lost and Found

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. A combination of a lull in the Oddwalk schedule, and usual summer craziness for each of us individually, has contributed to the slowdown.

This week, Orin (and wife, Erin) will be helping with another Youth Sing Praise music camp at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL. In case you don't know, Youth Sing Praise (or YSP) is a week long Christian theater experience drawing together 70-80 high school students from around the country. In a week, these talented performers will audition for roles in a full-length musical, be worked through grueling rehearsals, participate in a retreat like experience, and finally perform that musical for around 3,000 people at the Shrine Ampitheatre. Oddwalk has posted about past YSP experiences which you can find here, here, here, here, and here!

This year, YSP is performing Lost and Found, written by Rory Cooney, a well-known writer of Catholic liturgical music. If you plan to be in the St. Louis-area next weekend, we recommend that you stop in and see the show. The performance is scheduled for Saturday, June 28th beginning at 7pm. While there is no admission, there will be an opportunity to give a free-will offering. Hope to see you there!

Little Portion Hermitage Fire

Two days ago, the secular monastery where Catholic musician John Michael Talbot and others live and pray suffered a horrible fire and two buildings, the worship space and the common space mostly burned to the ground.  You can read more here and here.  The losses were great, physically and spiritually.  They hope to rebuild, and when they do, they hope to rebuild "green."  Donations to the order can be made here.

Congrats!

Oddwalk friends Sarah Bauer (featured on "Walk Away Different") and Chris Sansone just got married!  Here a pic of them at the reception with another Odd-Friend, Joia Farmer.

Happy Earth Day to . . . All of Us!

Today is Earth Day - and it is a very Catholic thing to protect all of God's creation through stewardship and environmental justice.

Read more here! 

Or here!

And maybe we'll see all of you at Our Lady of the Snows for their Earth Day for Schools this Thursday and Friday!

Earth Man and The Other Guy Return!

Happy Birthday Miriam!

Last week was Miriam's 2nd birthday - Miriam was adopted by Jason and Corinne, friends of Orin and Erin.

Sunday was the big birthday party, at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis.  Orin and Erin brought Miriam a nice flower, which mom put in her hair.  This is a picture of Miriam just before she decided she didn't want the flower in her hair anymore.