Fudge in the Bible?

Keisha seems to think so

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Call me 513 373 4442

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Celebrating the past present and future

Thoughts from the commute

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Christmas 1997

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Kathy Underwood shares about Clash of the Choirs

Picture of Will and Ariel in crowds at church: Will in the left group and Ariel against the wall with the right group.

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From the soundbooth at church

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My thumbnail never looked so shiny!

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Peas for lunch!

http://frozenpeafund.com/

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How you can be successful on the road today

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Clash of the Choirs Finale Tonight!

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Can you subscribe and download Utter replies?

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Update: Sim from Utterz replied "not yet but soon".

How do you face intimidating opportunities?

Do you run toward or away opportunities that you know would require a change in your character? What I talk about here could be applied not only to job searching, but to life in general.

Links mentioned:

1. http://getthatjobonline.com
2. http://danieljohnsonjr.com
3. http://twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

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Related tags: getthatjob, get+that+job, job+hunt, job+search, career+advice, networking, professional+development, daniel+johnson+jr

Story - Christmas 1990 - Drive to Texas

Take two grown kids, put them in separate cars, have them drive halfway across the country for the first time. In severe weather. The result? This story (17:31).

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End of Year Musings

I used to get anxious and near-panicky as I saw the end of the year approaching. Mostly, I think it was because I wondered what I'd accomplished the entire year. This year I'm looking at things a bit differently. In many ways, it's still just the end of another month.

What do you think?

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Busy Weekend for Us

We have a busy weekend here at JIMM HQ, aka, the Johnson family. Today Keisha and I are heading to church for a 6-hour dress rehearsal for the Christmas play, which is a week from tomorrow. After that, there's a cast party.

Mom is on her way into town. My cousin Laura is picking her up from the airport, and she'll be staying with them tonight. Jennie works tonight, so on her way home tomorrow morning, she'll pick up Mom from Aunt Pat's.

Mom will come with us to church, where I'm setting up some A/V stuff, play rehearsal, and sax rehearsal. I'm on tap to play a solo during communion.

After that, we're heading over to Julie's house to hang out for some food and family time; also getting memorial stuff together for the funeral on Monday.

The Pod 5 will be recording live Sunday night, and I may or may not show up, for obvious reasons. Jennie works Sunday night, too.


(Picture of Loraine Mitchell, her son Walt Mitchell, and her grandson Ken Mitchell, circa 1970)

The viewing is on Monday from 10-Noon. After that the funeral procession will make its way up, stopping by Walt's house for one last visit at home. He so much wanted to go home so Ken and Julie felt he would appreciate this. Immediately following the graveside, we'll head back to Julie's house.

Early Tuesday morning, I'll take Mom back to the airport.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. I know we all really appreciate it.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr

Uncle Walt has passed away

This audio is all I want to say here at this time. More to come later.



Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr grief

Uncle Walt taken off life support

Mom just called and left us a tearful message on our answering machine:

Hey kids, Kenny just called, and they had to pull the life support today. It's in the process of being over. Pray that he has a peaceful passing. When I know anything else, I'll give you a call.

It's always been in God's hands.

Last night the doctors were talking about doing a tracheotomy on him, and Ken and Julie discussed it with each other. They were concerned about it leading to another thing, and then another thing after that. They were concerned that his overall quality of life would be nil.

I guess we'll find out what happens as it happens.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr life+support

Uncle Walt Update

My Mom posted an update at her blog

Update on Uncle Walt - not good

Just got this from my Mom. Janet was Uncle Walt's wife, who passed away about 4 years ago.

Ken just called with terrible news.
Walt is in full septic shock. his white blood count is extremely high and he has a high fever. They are giving him megadoses of every possible antibiotic they can. They also have him on full blown diaysis.They are willing to risk his kidneys to save his life.

We are being told to prepare for the worst.

I still believe in miracles and he will have one if that is God's will.

If not I pray for a peaceful passing to the other side where I know Janet, Mom and Dad will be waiting for him.

I still believe anything's possible, and God definitely has a plan. Please pray also for my cousins Ken and Julie, and their families. They've been going through this with their Dad.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm hypertrophic+cardiomyopathy heart+transplant daniel+johnson+jr

Uncle Walt Update - We Could Use A Miracle

Yesterday I updated Journey Inside My Mind with some urgent news about my Uncle Walt Mitchell, who has been having complications related to his recent heart transplant. I mentioned I'd update again once I've heard anything else.

Here's an update my Mom emailed last night at 9 PM Eastern to friends and family:

Ken just called and said they opened Walt up, and his chest cavity was filled with blood. They presently have his chest cavity packed and have basically left his chest wall open and covered with a dressing.

They know they have to go back in but are hoping they can hold off until sometime Friday to give his body some chance to recover. Today he has received 20 litres of blood.

He has spiked a 102 F fever now too.

He did come to at one point and was able to shake his head and mouthed "I love you" to the kids.

They are keeping him heavily sedated, of course.

The docs told the kids with all the technology, all the medications, and all the skill, it has pretty much come down to a crap shoot.

Ken said it's pretty much coming down to a miracle, and I told him my God is in the miracle-making business.

Keep praying. Prayer has brought him this far, and it can bring him through this.

I love all of you and want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Maybe we will get better news tommorow.

I continue to be amazed at how much something like this brings people together. Our family is so encouraged and inspired to know that you are praying. Please keep it up.

I'll be sure to post back when I get any news.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm hypertrophic+cardiomyopathy heart+transplant daniel+johnson+jr

Uncle Walt Update - Heart Transplant with Complications

Mom sent an email last night with the following update on my Uncle Walt:

Ken just called. The new heart is in, but Walt is bleeding profusely. And he is filled with infection. They just now are taking him back in to surgery again to try to stop the bleeding and figure out what to do about the infection. The doctors are not optimistic but as we have learned The Great Physician can do anything.

Please keep praying.

I was just chatting with her, and she added:

The doctors have taken him back to the OR to try to stop the bleeding. This was in the past hour. If ever Walt needed prayer this is it. I haven't slept all night. People all over are praying.

Ken said he'd call tonight (around 7 PM Eastern) with an update unless something worse has happened. So let's hope I don't hear from him until after 7.

Thank you all so much for having remembered my Uncle Walt in prayer; please keep praying. I'll be sure to post an update here when I get news.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm hypertrophic+cardiomyopathy heart+transplant daniel+johnson+jr

Inspire Me Mix

Today started off rather stressful. I'm feeling the need for some music to really move me. I posted on Twitter that I was looking for the theme song to the TV show "Smallville". I've often thought it was U2, but Zaldor sent me a message that it's "Save Me" by RemyZero. Then my other friend, who goes by the handle Phelgon, pointed me to the lyrics. Very interesting.

Gonna start off this mix with that song.

1. RemyZero, "Save Me"

Update on My Uncle Walt - Please keep praying

My Uncle Walt Mitchell has been in a Cleveland Hospital for complications related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. His Mom died from this when she was about his age. His brother and son also have this condition. More background info can be found at Update on My Uncle Walt - Prayer request. He was recently placed on a mechanical heart.

I got this update from my Mom, his sister, a couple days ago:

Ken just called. Walt had to have another surgery today. Apparently he had a lot of fluid building up in his chest again.

When they opened him up they discovered he has some kind of fungus growing. This is supposed to be the worst side effect of the artificial heart. They aren't sure they are going to be able treat the fungus effectively. One doc has hopes and others don't.

As long as he has the fungus, he won't be put back on the list for a donor heart. If he can't get rid of the fungus, he will be doomed to live out what is left of his life attached to the artificial heart, and eventually the other organs will be compromised by the fungus.

Ken is going to ask him tomorrow in a discreet way if that is the case what would his Dad want.

From the sibling viewpoint after we went through what we did with Mom, I told him we would not want him to suffer or just waste away or be in pain.

Ken put what life has been like for Walt the last few months in perspective. He said, "For the last 3 1/2 months my Dad hasn't peed in a toilet, taken a shower, washed his own hair, ate a meal at a table, smelled fresh air, or felt the sunshine. When he went into the hospital it was summer; now it's fall."

Anyone who sent him a card - Ken wanted those to know they meant a lot to Walt and did cheer him up.

I told Ken when he is out of ICU and back in a regular room, to let me know his new room #, and we can continue to send cards.

Please keep up the prayers. If Walt ever needed them he needs them now.

I don't want to think that God brought him this far, and he won't leave the hospital with a new heart; yet I know it's all in His hands.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr hypertrophic+cardiomyopathy mechanical+heart artificial+heart

01 Nov 2007 - Utterz from the road

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Red Lobster FTW on Jennie's Birthday

We went to Red Lobster tonight to celebrate Jennie's birthday. The player below contains about nine and a half minutes of that time.



I've also been having ppl call in to leave a voicemail wishing her a Happy Birthday. I'm going to mash up everyone's voicemails into a montage for her.

*FTW = for the win; i.e., used to indicate an awesome choice.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr birthday red+lobster utterz

Podcast Feeds Not Working With FeedPlayer?

FeedBurner podcast feeds are not playing on BigContact's FeedPlayer (www.feedplayer.com). Native feeds do - original RSS 2.0 feeds work. Are Google's servers denying service from FeedPlayer bcuz of amt of traffic? Is this more traffic than Google's servers can handle? What gives?

read more | digg story

New Media Cincinnati Meetup

The results of the informal, unscientific poll are in, and it looks like most folks want to meet at the Golden Corral in Middletown. It's actually in Franklin, according to the website (map). For more details about the meetup this coming Saturday, head over to NewMediaCincinnati.com

I plan to get there around 4 PM.

Update: We have set up a Twitter presence to help communicate with friends on Twitter - http://twitter.com/newmediacincy

Related tags: new+media+cincinnati daniel+johnson+jr

Vote on your preferred meetup location in Middletown, Ohio

In my conversations with several of you on Twitter and elsewhere, there appears to be some good interest in having a podcasting, new media, social media-type of meetup in the Greater Cincinnati area. A number of you are in Dayton, Ohio and even beyond.

With this in mind, I propose that we meet in Middletown, Ohio - halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton (hence the name? lol). I stopped there for gas this morning and looked around. Some things have changed since we lived there some years ago, but some stuff hasn't.

I've set up a poll in the sidebar of this blog for you to pick the locations you prefer. If you would like to suggest a different location I haven't included that you know is in Middletown, please leave it in the comments below.

I'm thinking of Saturday, October 20, 2007 around 4 PM as the time for us to meetup and get to know one another better.

The meetup is open to anyone, whether you're into podcasting or new media, or are simply interested, or just want to come hang out and listen to the rest of us talk.

To reiterate, I strongly feel that the purpose of this meetup needs to be a really informal way for us to get to meet each other in person. Not much more. Well, that, and to talk about the next time we all could get together, too.

The poll closes on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 11:59 PM EDT. If there's a tie, I'll choose one of them myself.

I really am looking forward to seeing everyone get together! Vote now.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr podcast+meetup cincinnati dayton middletown new+media social+media twitter tweetup

Considering a job offer

Good morning, you wonderful people!

I have a decision I need to make about a job change very soon - even today. I was given a consulting-type job offer that I'm seriously considering.

So many things point to it being good; a lot of the opposites to my current position.

I'm working through concerns over whether I can really do this new job, because it's different from what I've been doing. You see, in my current position, I get to be creative, and I've learned THAT is one of my strongest motivators.

I'm not sure that exists with this new job. But I'm considering taking it and then looking for something creative as a hobby outside of work. I mean, I already have creative hobbies outside of work, but continuing with them.

Another thing that strongly motivates me is that I can really do a good job at what I've been tasked to do; i.e., I want to set myself up for success in the work I do.

As I type that last sentence, it almost sounds like I'm limiting myself - maybe I am. In most of my adult life, I've not been one to take many risks, especially since I'm the primary breadwinner of our family.

Yet I can't help think that this could be the Lord prompting me to "get out of the boat."

I appreciate your thoughts and prayers and comments.

crossposted to Get That Job!

Daniel Johnson, Jr. Interview on Post It Cast Live on Tuesday

Post It Cast Live
Host: Michael W. Moss
Episode: Interview With Dan Johnson Jr.
Host Of The Journey Inside My Mind Podcast: http://jimmpodcast.blogspot.com/
Also huge promoter of a great cause: http://onevoicewalk.org/
Tuesday, 09 October 2007
6:15 pm Eastern
live podcast
724.444.7444
Talkcast ID 32555
Answers Here

-----
Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
Get That Job!
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

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VIDEO: 20/20 Story on Domestic Violence

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I saw this video from YouTube and had to share it with you. It comes from 20/20, and I am very grateful that ABC has let it be up there.

It's over 20 minutes long, and it contains graphic content. Domestic violence is real. It's disturbing, and it's outraging.



If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, there is help.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7933)

Please head over to the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast throughout October, because I'm posting content from the recent One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk. Or, if you have iTunes, add the show with a single click. That way you'll get new content as it gets released.

Help stop domestic violence!

Related tags: onevoicewalk, onevoicewalk2007, domestic+violence+awareness, 2020, video, journey+inside+my+mind, journeyinsidemymind

Update on My Uncle Walt - Mom got to talk to him

This email came in from my Mom overnight. For more on the context, check out the earlier post.

I called Ken to get an update since he didn't call me over the weekend.

Ken said they have to give Walt a pint of blood today. The doctors say they don't think he has another bleed, but that this machine(artificial heart) is using up the blood somehow. Ken and I figure it something like evaporation somehow.

But, Walt's white blood count is going higher again. Not by much, but it is going up, so Ken and Julie don't know if he is starting another infection.

Last year this time Walt weighed 265 lbs, much of it fluid. This past August he was down to 240. Presently he is down to 165. 100 pounds lost since a year ago.

He hardly eats. He wants to but has no appetite. Ken said he is trying really hard to do what he needs to do in order to survive.

Julie drove to Cleveland today to check on her Dad. She took a bunch of pictures of the family. When he saw them he broke down and cried. Then he picked up each picture and kissed it.

He is really homesick too. So he is starting to get depressed. I am going to find out if he can get mail, and if he can, I'll find out the address. Maybe we could start a card campaign to lift his spirits.

Ken said there are several cardiac ICU units at the Cleveland Clinic. The one Walt is in is like a MASH unit, using Ken's words. There are 7 beds, and from Walt's bed you can see the other 6.

Julie and Ken are going to ask the doctors to put Walt back on the transplant list. They feel if he has to be opened up again, it might as well be for a new heart. They think all this is taking a toll on their Dad physically and mentally.

So while I was talking to Ken, he did a 3 way call and got hooked up to a phone by his Dad, and we were able to talk for a minute.

Walt sounds very weak. If you didn't know better, you would think he was an elderly woman.

I told him to hang in there, that we all were rooting for him and that he needs to get better to come see me here in CA and go fishing in Lake Oroville (California). He said it sounds like a plan.

I didn't talk long because he was so weak, and I could hear the strain in his voice.

So that's the latest news. Keep praying.

Love all of you,
Margie

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm hypertrophic+cardiomyopathy

Updates on my Uncle Walt and other family news

It's been a little while since I shared updates about my Uncle Walt Mitchell, who for the past month or so has been in a Cleveland hospital for serious complications related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (illustration of normal heart vs heart with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). Below is the text of recent emails my Mom sent out with updates she received from my cousin.

The first one is from September 25, 2007:

Ken just called. Walt is going back in for surgery tommorow. He has fluid building up around the artificial device they have to drain. His blood pressure is low, his white blood cell count is high, and he has a fever. His kidney output has decreased again.

Ken said the surgeon said they think he may have something called cardiac capanoid (not sure I'm spelling it right). I don't know what it is or what is done if you have it. Before he could say much more about it he got a call and had to go.

Ken said he just doesn't have a good feeling about this. He is really scared for his Dad. This is the first time he has ever sounded less than upbeat about his Dad's condition so I am concerned.

He said something really nice about his Dad. He said his Dad is his hero for all he has gone through and has never felt sorry for himself and given the best fight he could. Makes me proud of my brother too and I know he has what I've always called "the Mitchell determination".

Continue to pray and when I hear more I will let all of you know.

This update came in just last night (September 26, 2007):

Ken just called. Walt is out of surgery. The surgery took about 3 1/2 hrs.

He had about a litre of blood pooled behind his artificial heart, and they found the source of bleeding and tied it off. Ken said he was already out of recovery, back in his room and tubes removed but was still asleep.

Keep the prayes going, it looks like they are working.

If things continue to do well for him, he may have the transplant within 2 months.

Love,

Margie

PS- I talked to [my oldest sister] Pat and she had talked to [our sister] Mary, so Pat updated me on [Mary's husband,] Uncle Dave. Dave had surgery last week, and he is healing.

This has been going on with him for some time now, and it was important this was successful, because if not, it would have affected his quality of life for his future.

Let's hope he continues to do well and life gets back to normal for him.

Amen. Thank you so much for keeping my family in your thoughts and prayers. As you can see, it's helping.

In a related e-mail from this past Sunday, my Mom asked if I could help start a Mitchell family blog, as a way for all of us to provide updates on stuff. I'm looking into that as well as setting up a private call for everyone over at TalkShoe.com.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm hypertrophic+cardiomyopathy

Interviewed in the Dayton Daily News

I was recently interviewed for a piece in the Dayton Daily News about the Harry Potter series and faith. I just found out that the article is available online here and will be in the print edition either Saturday (9/22/2007) or Sunday (9/23/2007).

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr harry+potter dayton+daily+news

Update on My Uncle Walt - some good news

I know that some of you have been following the news about my Uncle Walt since I first posted about his condition last week and the subsequent update. This e-mail came in from my Mom Sunday night:

Talked to [Walt's son] Ken a little bit ago, and Walt is improving somewhat. His kidneys are functioning almost at full capacity. Ken said his ankles are so small that he and [his sister]Julie don't ever remember them being so skinny. The artificial heart seems to be doing what it's supposed to do.

Walt was awake off and on and doesn't remember this whole ordeal, which is just as well. He isn't in any real bad pain more uncomfortable, which is amazing to me. He will be in ICU for about 4-5 more days and then will get moved to another room and start PT.

Praise God! Prayers do work.

He is by no means out of the woods but is on his way. If things continue to go well, he could be back at the top of the transplant list in 2 weeks to 2 months.

Keep praying.

Margaret Welker

Related tags: hypertrophic+cardiomyopathy

Friday night update on my uncle Walt

This email came in from my Mom last night:

Ken says Walt is somewhat stable, but doctors are concerned his kidneys are not functioning well. He has very little output, and what there is, is tinged with blood. They were starting him on diferent meds today and hoping this makes a difference.

Once Walt has stabilized, he will be a candidate for a human transplant again. Right now he is level 7, which means he is still on the list, but it's suspended for the time being. Once he stabilizes, he moves up to what is known as level 1A, which means he is at the top of the list.

Walt did resume some consciousness today a couple times, and he wrote Ken a note saying he was going home tommorow! Ken said he doesn't think Walt even knows he has the artificial heart. He is still on a ventilator.

The artificial heart is hooked up to a large machine at the foot of the bed that has among other things 2 air tanks. Apparently the artificial heart works with air, not electric. In the hospital the air is coming from inside the walls, but the air tanks are there in case of an emergency when the air supply would be cut off. Between the two tanks he would have about a 2 1/2 hour air supply.

As I am updated tomorrow, I will update again.

Keep up the prayers it seems they are working.

Todd Van Hoosear and Ryan Stiles - Twins Separated at Birth?

ToddOrRyan
Originally uploaded by tvanhoosear

You be the judge.

It's so funny how we get to certain places on the web.

1. Yesterday on Twitter, C.C. Chapman encouraged people to take pictures of themselves at work, upload them to Flickr, and tag them with "slackershots". He even registered www.slackershots.com to point to the tag page for it.
2. One of our fellow Twitter friends, Todd Van Hoosear, uploaded a picture of himself.
3. I browsed the gallery and remarked on Twitter that his picture resembled Ryan Stiles of Whose Line Is It Anyway?
4. Todd then posted the picture you see in this post and mentioned it on Twitter.

Todd and I have never met in person, but I sure hope we get to at some point.
What's that? You want to know what picture I submitted? I didn't have my camera with me yesterday, so I resubmitted my picture as a Home Fry Speed Demon.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind, journeyinsidemymind, jimm, daniel+johnson+jr, twitter, social+media, cc+chapman, slackershots, flickr, todd+van+hoosear, ryan+stiles, whose+line+is+it+anyway

Update on My Uncle Walt - Prayer request

Hi there.

A number of people have asked for an update on my maternal uncle, Walt Mitchell. He has a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. His mom died from it back in 1975 when she was about his age now. Another brother and his son also have it.

He has been in a hospital in Cleveland for the past month because his condition recently worsened. He was put on the top of the donor list, and a heart came in, but unfortunately it wasn't healthy enough for a transplant. After several days, the doctors needed to operate to get him on a mechanical heart.

On Tuesday (9/11) they operated for about 8 hours and couldn't complete the operation because of complications. Apparently Walt had a build up of plaque around his heart, and they spent about 4 hours trying to scrape it loose. The 70% chance of survival went down to 50%.

At one point they had to bring him back to consciousness to make sure he hadn't stroked. They wanted to get him stabilized so that they could go back in yesterday.

According to a recent update from my Mom via my cousin, my uncle Walt didn't have the surgery. He had been running 102 fever, his kidneys have not been not functioning well, and has had very low blood pressure.

The doctors told my cousin Ken that today they are going to go in and remove a part of the diseased heart and replace with some kind of artificial heart. This is basically a stop-gap measure to keep him alive until another decision can be made (we're assuming getting a human donor heart) when he recovers from this surgery. There are lots of risks to this surgery.

Ken said he does talk to Walt and has told him we all are praying for him, and Walt lightly squeezes Ken's hand. Just wanted you all to be encouraged by that.

Right now Walt is being kept sedated for pain reasons and to keep him calm.

There is still hope so keep praying. We know the Great Physician has His plan.

Thursday night update from my Mom: Walt went into surgery @ 2PM Cincinnati time and didn't come out until about 10PM. He is doing about as well as can be expected the doctors said so we are cautiously optimistic. I don't know too many more details because I was at a meeting when Ken called and he left a voice message.
I will try to get another update tomorrow ASAP. Keep praying he continues to do well.

Mental Monday

The face for audio
Originally uploaded by danieljohnsonjr

Mood: down

Where did the weekend go? I obviously know where it went, but it just seemed like Monday morning came up all of a sudden.

I'm having a down morning, mostly circumstantial-type depression. We have a lot of personal things going on in the family right now, and the stress from that contributes to it. In addition, pressure from work - new boss, new boss's boss - you know what I mean.

In addition, I still feel a lot from being at the One Voice Walk yesterday.

I want to be careful and not let my emotions get out of control. I have prayed and will pray, because I believe that God can handle and even take away the anxieties I feel. I also know (in my head, at least) that I'm not given more than I can handle. I need to remind myself constantly of that and get it down into my heart.

Two statements I remember having on my markerboard earlier this year:

• You are better than you think you are.
• You can do more than you think you can

Letting it marinate and letting the down engine do its thing.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr

One Voice Walk 2007

One Voice Walk 2007
Originally uploaded by danieljohnsonjr

Have you've been wondering where I've been this past month? I've been doing some online publicity as a New Media Consultant for the 4th Annual One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, which was held in Cincinnati, Ohio this morning. I took lots of pictures and recorded lots of audio from the event.

Hearing personal stories really moved me. I honestly felt a flood of emotions ranging from sadness, outrage, hurt, compassion, and more. It was really a lot to take in. And rightfully so. Domestic violence is an anathema to our society and must be stopped.

I really enjoyed interviewing people from the various local organizations and finding out what they are doing to help raise awareness for and to prevent domestic violence.

During the walk, I talked with other participants. In nearly all the interviews, I asked folks why they came. Really great discussions.

Do a Google search (aka 'google') "onevoicewalk", and you'll find this content as it all becomes available. For now, I encourage you to check out these specific websites:

http://onevoicewalk.org - the official website, with information about how to donate
http://flickr.com/groups/onevoicewalk - pictures taken during the event, with more to come
http://twitter.com/onevoicewalk - microblog of updates from before, during, and after the event
http://myspace.com/onevoicewalk - MySpace page
http://jimmpodcast.com - Journey Inside My Mind Podcast, where audio content from the walk will be posted

Speaking of the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast, head over there for the recent episode, Music for the One Voice Walk.

Related tags: onevoicewalk, onevoicewalk2007, domestic+violence+awareness, cincinnati, one+voice+walk, sawyer+point, jimmpodcast, jimm, journeyinsidemymind, journey+inside+my+mind, daniel+johnson+jr

One Voice Walk 2006 - Banner

One Voice Walk 2006 - Banner
Originally uploaded by danieljohnsonjr

Lifehouse 'Everything' - Skit

This video moved me to tears. Hope it moves you, too:


Thanks to Bob I. for sending me the link via e-mail.

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Swollen hand from being kicked by a horse

Swollen hand
Originally uploaded by danieljohnsonjr

VIDEO: Chocolate Rain (Stormy Mix)

This video remix, done by MusicRemixMaster, really captures what the song is all about:



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Reading List

I'm reading several books right now.

One of them is by a fellow podcasting friend, Charles Hodgson. I've been listening to his podictionary podcast for almost two years now and have even mentioned it here and on the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast.

Charles was very gracious in that he sent me a copy of the book, in return for my "helping get the 'word' out." lol.

If you've ever wondered where the words we use to describe parts of our bodies comes from, then this book is for you. I'm getting a copy for my Dad for his upcoming birthday, since he's also a word lover.

Carnal Knowledge: A Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia

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Blogger Buzz: Happy Eighth Birthday!

Blogger Buzz: Happy Eighth Birthday!

Elvis is Everywhere, Man!

It was thirty years ago today that the King of Rock and Roll passed away. I remember in January many years ago, WSAI-AM in Cincinnati played an Elvis marathon (It's now an ESPN station). We had wood floors, and my sister Steph and I would skate across the floor to the music in our socks.

In college I remember listening to WOXY-FM, and they'd often play "Elvis is Everywhere" by Mojo Nixon. This is the chorus, direct from my memory:

Elvis is everywhere
Elvis is everything
Elvis is everybody
Elvis is still the King
Man oh man
What I want you to see
Is that the King
He lives inside
You and me

Why not buy the song off iTunes today to hear for yourself? Just remember to steer clear of the evil, opposite of Elvis... the anti-Elvis. The Anti-Elvis has no Elvis in him.

Mojo Nixon, "Elvis is Everywhere"
Mojo Nixon, "(619) 239-KING"

pictures taken at the Memphis Welcome Center in May 2007

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr elvis mojo+nixon

danieljohnsonjr's Master Podcast Subscription Mashup

Okay, so I subscribe to a lot of podcasts. I think I have over 75 feeds in my collection at PodShow. Thankfully, I don't have to manage all of those individual subscriptions on my computer as the shows download. I used to at first, but when PodShow introduced Channels, I jumped on board. I started using GigaDial and Odeo to get individual items into a feed, shows that I not necessarily wanted to subscribe to, but just wanted to check out and/or make available to others.

PodShow+ does a pretty good job of helping manage the content delivery. I subscribe to my channel RSS feeds using Juice, and I'm glad that I only have a few subscriptions for each of my channels, versus the total number of subscriptions I have.

I also like being able to check out shownotes pages for the shows I subscribe to, and, until recently, I would subscribe to each individual feed in Google Reader. I found myself going through each individual show again, which became a bit cumbersome.

So after playing around with Yahoo! Pipes, which I first heard about some months ago from Christopher Penn, I am happy to say that I've created a configurable pipe, entitled "danieljohnsonjr's Master Podcast Subscription Mashup". It defaults to show 50 items, but you can increase or decrease that number as you wish. The pipe generates an RSS feed that I have subscribed to in Google Reader. I could similarly subscribe to this feed in Juice and further reduce the number of feeds I have there. I haven't decided yet. I can also listen to podcasts via Google Reader.

What I like about pipes is the ability to mashup content like this from various sources into one source, which is easier to manage.

So, if you wanna see my entire collection in a single feed, create one of your own from my subscriptions, or create your own to share, here you go:

Pipes >> danieljohnsonjr's Master Podcast Subscription Mashup: (link), (iTunes), (RSS)

As I play around with this tool, I can't help but consider its possibilities to aggregate information related to something for my job. Still letting that potential marinate. What interesting ways have you found to use Yahoo! Pipes?

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind, journeyinsidemymind, jimm, daniel+johnson+jr, yahoo+pipes, podcasts, google+reader, podshow, gigadial, odeo

JIMM 90 - Crazy Busy Sticky Hot

Listener feedback about past episodes and such. Police and ER visits, Twitter tools, AMP, the upcoming One Voice Walk. Music with a country feel. 2-year anniversary in podcasting coming up this month. Other warm, juicy goodness.

Head over to the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast to listen and read more.

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Thank you Sophia Ramos and Matthew Ebel for helping me get to work today

Situation: Our 1993 Saturn SL2 needs brake job. It's our only car. I work in Dayton but live in Cincinnati. We got a rental from Enterprise, and it has working A/C and a CD player. We dropped our car off at the mechanic's shop in Mount Healthy last night, and I drove the car to work this morning.

Normally, I'd listen to podcasts through my iRiver. I opted instead today to bring some CDs from home. I am so glad I did. I came into the office today so fired up from listening to Her Majesty from Sophia Ramos and Beer & Coffee from Matthew Ebel. Specifically, the following songs, in order, just made the hour-long commute so much more bearable (links to the iTunes Music Store):

Off Sophia Ramos's album, "Her Majesty"

1. "Black Madonna"
2. "What I Do Know"
3. "Esperanza"
4. "Kill Your Pain"
5. "Torn Down"

Off Matthew Ebel's album, "Beer and Coffee"

1. "I Know You're There"
2. "Trees"
3. "Nothing"
4. "Latté Days & Porter Nights"

Why not spend some coffee money and pick up some of these tunes? Or buy the albums - they're both rock-solid.

To Sophia and Matthew -- thank you so much again for sharing your talents. You both rock!!

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr sophia+ramos matthew+ebel daniel+johnson+jr

What were people most looking forward to finding out in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?

No spoilers here just yet. In case you haven't already found it, for your consideration, I offer up JIMM 089 - Harry Potter and the Anticipation of the End (spoiler-free), containing the audio I mentioned here earlier.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr harry+potter

8 Songs I Want to Buy Right Now

Feeling a bit reminiscent of my college days, I'm going to buy me some songs off iTunes.
1. The Police, "Message in a Bottle"
2. U2, "Vertigo"
3. New Order, "Fine Time"
4. Concrete Blonde, "God Is a Bullet"
5. Jane's Addiction, "Stop"
6. The B-52's, "Channel Z"
7. The Alarm, "Rain in the Summertime"
8. Depeche Mode, "Route 66"

Update: I bought 'em. Wow.