Now, I’m sure you’re sitting there thinking, ‘what the hell is that?’ – and you have a good question.  Not gonna deny it.  So let me explain.  If you have been a regular visitor to blog over the past few months, you may have thought that we sure haven’t had many posts go up here.  It looks like the ol’ o&j has all dried up for business.  They’ve got tumbleweeds blowing through their studio.  They must be standing in the windows looking out on to Main Street just hoping that a customer will walk into their studio and let them take their pics.  Yep.  It was only a matter of time.  I knew it was coming.  I’ve heard all sorts of things about that place.  MmmmHmmm.

Well, if you thought that, you’re wrong.  But again, if you were to base your assumptions on blog, I could see how you might start to think that.  So, I’m here today to change all of that.  Because in all actuality we’ve been busy as a mofo, and unfortunately, the blog had to take a back seat as we did some serious TCB (for all of you ‘non-Elvis’ fans out there, that stands for ‘taking care of business’) for our clients.  And it was with sadness that I looked at my baby – the blog – and would see it languishing there…all alone…no new posts…gathering dust.  But it had to wait.  Sometimes in life, you gotta prioritize.  But I’m happy to tell you that it’s time for the blog to once again regain all of its glory.

And how will this be done, you ask?  With the 4th of July SuperFreedom MegaPost!  What you’re about to feast your eyes on is a cumulation of the work we’ve done over the past few months, all mashed together in a jumbalaya of goodness for you to consume!  Before you go about checking out all of the goodness, we’d like to thank each and every person that is a part of this post – we love love love you all and thank you for being a part of the FunCenter!  Without you, we are nothing!

Now, let’s take another moment to offer thanks for what this holiday is all about, and no, it’s not about fireworks and drinking Keystone Light at the lake.  It’s about our country, this beautiful place we live in called The United States of America.  It’s about a day in July of 1776 when a group of individuals came together and created a Declaration of Independence.  It’s a day where we honor those men, honor our freedom, and honor those which have protected and are still protecting these same freedoms today.  It’s a day when we let those beautiful words ring true…

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Now, my good peeps, if your pursuit involves the lake and said case of Keystone Light, so be it – because in the words of J.C. Mellencamp – ain’t it America, it’s something to see!  Now my good peeps – Enjoy!

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Summer 2010 Hours of Operation

Wednesday – Friday: 11AM-3PM

Saturdays: By Appointment Only (Call 701.838.6181 To Schedule)

CLOSED SUNDAY – TUESDAY

Please call us at 701.838.6181 with any additional questions, or e.mail us at info@otisandjames.com.

MuchLove!
o&j

You heard me right.  It’s that time of year again.  A time for us to spend a lot of time in church basements, lurking around with cameras in our hands.  That sounds creepier than it actually is.  Trust me, it’s a good thing.  Really.  But I digress.  Where was I again?  Oh yes!  It’s time for weddings!

Now, we never really get to choose what the lead-off wedding of the year would be, but this year God smiled upon us and gave us the sweetlysweetness good fortune of having the ever-lovely Jettie & Jonathan as our first wedding.  You see, my good peeps, we have known this man, this man called Jonathan (aka ‘Jonny’, ‘Jon’, ‘Big Shooter’, ‘Tex’, ‘Sport’, ‘Pal’, ‘Buddy’, ‘Dude’, ‘The Killah From Manilla’ and ‘Typoon Scrimps’) for quite some time, as we used to be business neighbors.

Way back in the day, you see, we used to be North Siders.  North side of Central Avenue, that is.  Our studio was at 6 North Main, and his restaurant is located at 10 North Main (maybe you’ve heard of it…Jonny’s Taco Shack & Fried Food Emporium, Home of the Gut Buster Deluxe?  If not, check it out.  Tell ‘em that Otis sent you.  It will get you nothing other than a stern look and perhaps a slap on the face.)

Well, as we were starting our business, he was working on theirs.  The first time ever I laid eyes upon him [ed.  OK, dude.  This is really starting to sound creepy, even by your standards] he was painting the ceiling of the Taco Shack a deep dark red.  And he was red.  We didn’t know it at the time, but it was the beginning of a wonderful relationship [Ed.  OK.  That's enough.  This is not about you & Jonny, this is about Jettie & Jonny!!]

And here we are, practically six years later.  And in that period of time, we moved to the South Side of Central Ave., and the Taco Shack has only continued to flourish.  More important, however, is the fact that during this period of time a little something called ‘Jettie & Jonny’ happened.  My peeps, I’m going to let you in on a little secret of why that’s so important.  You see, if you work hard & strive to create something – whether it be a work of art, your own business, or whatever – none of it really makes a difference if you don’t have someone to share it with.  When it is all said in done, we can have a list of accomplishments, but the greatest achievement is how we treat one another, and the love we put back into our world.  Macca summed it up when he sang, ‘And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.’  You dig my groove on this?  Cool.

Which brings us back to this past Saturday and Jonny & Jettie, and our first wedding of the season.  Everything about the day was beautiful, wonderful, magical and fantastical!  And none of this would have been possible without the lovely couple and their awesome wedding party!  To say that we had fun would be an understatement, so I’m just going to let the lovely samplesnaps speak for how awesome this event was!

Before I let you go, I need to extend a huge MuchLove to the Bride & Groom, and to everyone that made our day so easy – I will give you digital hugs through the interweb!  Oh, and to everyone else out there in the Land of Blog – Enjoy!

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The admission fee for this event is $10 ($5 with a student ID), and is open to all ages. All proceeds will be donated to the Florence Anderson Center for Hope Minot YWCA Shelter. There are no advance ticket sales – all admission will be paid at the door.

At 6:30, we will start a cash bar cocktail hour (must be 21+), and music will begin at 7:30. There will be no admittance to the event after the music begins, so please don’t be late!

Sean Neukom, born and raised in Devils Lake, North Dakota, began violin studies at age 3 under direction from his father. Mr. Neukom is an alumni of Minot State University from where he received his Bachelor’s degree in music performance under the tutelage of Dr. Jon Rumney.

Mr. Neukom completed his Master’s in Music violin performance degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music under David Updegraff. As a chamber musician, Mr. Neukom has been coached by the Cavani Quartet, the Fry Street Quartet, the Luminous Trio, members of the Cleveland Quartet, the Ying quartet, and members of the Cleveland Orchestra.

As an orchestral musician, Mr. Neukom has played with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the Mansfield Symphony, the Southern Sinfonia, the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony, and the Minot Symphony Orchestra.

An avid performer and teacher, Mr. Neukom works to bring not only new music to the concert stage, but also innovative methods in their presentation. Mr. Neukom’s recitals frequently fuse mixed media and extemporaneous discussion concerning elements of classical music.

Also a composer, Mr. Neukom seeks to reignite the composer/performer duality and his music has been commissioned by organizations such as the Minot State University string ensemble and the New York Summer Music Festival as well as featured on the Western Art Music radio show in New Zealand.

Please join us for this wonderful event – it will be a lovely evening for one & all!

So, it’s time for a little taste of the goods.  The rest will be completed very shortly, so you’re just going to have to be a little more patient!  It is a virtue, after all.  Now, sit back, relax, and – Enjoy!

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