Now is your
chance to participate in the Odyssey Scoop's
second annual
ScoopYourself contest... and win a cool prize in the process!
What
is
ScoopYourself?
Basically it's just a fancy name, but the concept will be a
challenge for you to be the Odyssey Scoop's top winner. In each
ScoopYourself challenge, you'll have the opportunity to incorporate
yourself into your contest entry and be the most creative to win
exciting prizes!
The Challenge
We want to see your Adventures in Odyssey collection.
Yes, that's right. We want you to come up with the most creative display
of your Odyssey albums, books, videos, DVDs, action figures, T-shirts,
and more!
What should I do?
First, it is necessary that you have access to a digital
camera and your Odyssey collection. You might also want to have access
to some props. Anything you would like to use in making your photo more
creative is fine by us. If you don't have a very large AIO collection,
you are certainly welcome to use what you have. If you aren't
camera-shy, you might consider posing with your Odyssey collection too,
though that's not required. You also may find it helpful to take several
photos and choose your favorite before submitting. Keep in mind that
lighting, location of the camera, and placement of Odyssey items will
make a huge difference.
Check out what our fans did last year in our
first ScoopYourself contest and get started on your entry.
What
will I win?
The contestant with the most creative arrangement of his/her
Adventures in Odyssey collection will win a free copy
of the highly-anticipated new album,
The Green Ring Conspiracy.
Your winning photo will be featured here at the Odyssey Scoop for years
to come! Even if you don't win, your photo will be posted along with
every other contestant's so fans can see it... and everyone else's. In
other words, it's time to show your stuff!
When is the deadline?
You have until 11:59 EST on
Wednesday, March 23rd, to
enter. Entries will be judged and our three winners will be announced at
a later date.
How to Enter
Send us an
email with your Name, Age, Location,
Mailing address, and photo attached. Be sure
you put "ScoopYourself" in the subject line. The higher
resolution the photo is, the better.
Guidelines:
Only one entry per person.
You can enter even if you live
outside the United States.
If you have participated in
a similar photo contest in the past, you may
participate again. However, we require you to submit
a different photo.
For further inspiration and
insights about this contest, check out what our fans
did last
year in our first ScoopYourself
contest.
Our first ScoopYourself
contest was such a smashing success that we decided to give
it another go.
Enter today!
In
our May 14, 2010 blog post last year, we had mentioned that
Adventures in Odyssey traveled to outer space
aboard the space shuttle
Endeavor with astronaut Col. Terry Virts.
It was historic news for Focus on the Family and
Adventures in Odyssey, which we've also featured in our
AIO Timelinefeature.
Today, the
Official Podcast interviews Col. Terry Virts about
his mission.
Listen:
In other news, I just received several hard copies of the
upcoming Album 53 release,
The Green Ring Conspiracy. The album will be available in March 2011. I think we
can all safely assume that The Odyssey Scoop has something special planned
in the coming days. Keep checking back!
Drum roll please... today we conclude our
2010 Adventures in Odyssey episode reviews
with our
review of
Grandma's
Christmas Visit, thanks to in-house writer Ben
Warren:
Grandma's Christmas Visit
ends a satisfactory season with a less-than-satisfying episode. If you
finished listening to the show with ringing in your ears, and attributed it
to the ringing of Christmas bells, it was more likely due to Connie's
screaming.Read full review...
Last season was quite a ride for Adventures in Odyssey
fans, and I'm confident that as the Spring 2011 season begins, fans aren't
going to be disappointed. Hold on tight, folks. I think we're in for a few
surprises beginning March 12th!
For the first time, I enjoyed this Kirby Atkins episode. He
wrote a script with more layers, with more twists and turns, than the
average episode has. This is how a proper mystery is done; it not only made
me question "whodunit" but "howdunit" too. I think those qualities are
strong enough reasons to rate this episode on the positive side, despite its
flaws.Read full review...
In his usual style, our reviewer hits the nail on the head.
If you haven't read our season reviews here at the Scoop, you're more than
welcome to catch up at our Reviews section.
We've got one more season review left to get to you guys. Stay tuned.
Hey,
friends! Season 3 of The Ceiling Fan
continues with their
latest podcast, and I think you're going to like what you hear:
When the Chief of Health and Safety starts investigating
the artificial town of Kidsboro, the citizens in the woods behind Whit's End
begin to panic. Also, Ethan and his band find themselves on the road headed
for their first concert. Can it get any better than this? Probably.
TCF never ceases to give me laughs, that's for sure. To learn
more about The Ceiling Fan, visit their official website. You
might want to keep your eyes on The Ceiling Fan. You never know what
you're gonna get when Odyssey hits the fan.
Adventures
in Odyssey has seen some of its devoted actors come and go since the
show's inception, and today we have some sad news to share. Kenneth Mars,
voice of Fred Holstein, Captain Quinn, and several other minor characters,
passed away on Saturday, February 12th, at the age of 74. His battle with
pancreatic cancer has ended.
Most of you remember the querkiness of Fred Holsltein and his
more serious role as Captain Quinn. I think all of us can say that without
Ken Mars, Adventures in Odyssey wouldn't be what it is today. The
actors bring so much to the show and Mr. Mars was no exception.
You can read Ken Mars' obituary in the
L.A. Times. None of us will ever forget the man who brought us the
character who can "laugh all the way down a short pier." From all of us
Adventures in Odyssey fans, Mr. Mars, we'll miss you, and thanks for all
the wonderful memories.
We
know, we know. This makes our second post in one day, but we're so excited
to let you in on the latest in
Adventures in Odyssey happenings. What better way than
through The Odyssey ScoopCast, video style!
Journey along with host Kevin McCreary as
he travels to Burbank, California to witness the recording
of "Adventures in Odyssey" Album 54!
Our podcast keeps getting better and better.
You certainly won't want to miss this latest installment!
Click here to watch the
ScoopCast.
Update: Unrelated news... The results
to the Avery Awards are here.
Listen
to the podcast awards ceremony and see the details of the
winners!
I'm
sure many of you are familiar with VeggieTales
creator Phil Vischer's
JellyTelly endeavor to reach kids with the gospel,
doctrine, and more. Well, Jellyfish Labs (producers of
JellyTelly) recently teamed up with Focus on the Family
to make this service available to more people and to back it
with funding. And they just launched a new website, which is
why we're mentioning it today.
With the re-launch of the website comes
something that Adventures in Odyssey fans will
definitely enjoy. For the first time, the Adventures in
Odyssey video cartoon series episodes are available for
online streaming on the site, along with JellyTelly's usual
programming. What does this mean for AIO fans? If you've
never been able to see the series, you can now
without purchasing the videos.
You can visit JellyTelly's website
for more information, or click
here for a direct link to all the available AIO
video episodes. As for me, I think I'll stick with the audio
series. It's really what makes AIO great.
By
now, I'm sure that many of you, if not all of you, have
heard that the newest Adventures in Odyssey
collection is available in advance as a digital download.
And there's no doubt in my mind that those of you who
purchased the album early have made it through all 12
action-packed episodes and are pleased with what you heard.
I've heard a lot of feedback already and it's mostly
positive comments.
For those of you who are planning on buying
the hard copy of this highly-anticipated release, it should
be available sometime this March. And if you haven't heard
the series yet, be sure to tune in March 12th for the season
premier of
The Green Ring Conspiracy.
Having heard the album completely myself, I
am very pleased with the experience. The Odyssey team is on
top of their game with this latest mystery and we can expect
great things in the days to come. Album 53 contains a great
balance for younger and older listeners alike. Younger fans
will probably need help understanding some of the very
involved plot (and yet it's at an understandable level for
them), while older fans will relish every aspect of the
mystery in all of its complexities. As a long-time listener,
I enjoy being able to listen as one of the big kids, one who
grew up with the show's characters. Adults out there, you're
not going to be disappointed.
Of course, if you can't wait until March to
get a hard copy, you can still order an mp3 download of the
album. It comes with a digital study guide and a nice inside
look (behind-the-scenes video) of the cast and crew of
The Green Ring Conspiracy.
To learn more about album 53, visit our
product page for
images and ordering links.
Today is a big day for Adventures in
Odyssey fans, and we're covering it as it happens with
our latest edition of The Odyssey
ScoopCast:
Hosts Kevin and Garrett unveil exciting news about how
fans can listen to Album 53, "The Green Ring Conspiracy", early. Plus,
Garrett opens his fan mail for this first time.
Yes, folks, the latest collection of
Adventures in Odyssey episodes,
The Green Ring Conspiracy,
is now available for digital download. In fact, our friends
at AIO just announced this big surprise at the
Official Site. Be sure and check it out!
Oh, and if you happen to hear the episodes
early, please be aware that others may not want to know what
happens until they hear the episodes themselves. In other
words, be careful how you comment on the site. Don't spoil
it for other fans!