And if you couldn't get enough
Odyssey news on Black Friday, I thought I'd share some more
news on Cyber Monday. I mentioned in Friday's post that the
Gold Audio Series is going
bye-bye. I'm sure by now that many of you are familiar with
the Passages book series from Adventures in
Odyssey, especially since we've been talking about it so
much in recent days. Fortunately, due to its success over
the years, the series will undergo a third cover design.
This is a new record for AIO books. All six books from Passages will be given an updated cover design in 2010
(I assume to match the audio drama's design). Not only that, each book will
also contain six interior color pictures (illustrations?)
and a new 2-page color map of Marus and outlying areas. Be
watching in the days as cover art is released and more
details are made available.
The good folks at AIO are busy
getting things ready for the new season. Music composer John
Campbell is working on a new theme song for the show (which
will appear on collection #51and beyond, tentatively), and the team is
working on some visual tweaks, scripts, and their sanity.
They're so busy that they're already considering which
episodes to put in collection #52! At the moment, six
episodes have been chosen and will be recorded at a later
date. The show must go on!
Mystery Stories... Detective
Agency... Magazine... What does this all mean?! Keep
checking back to the Odyssey Scoop in the days ahead to find
out!
As for site news, we just put
up our new "Recent Blog Posts" column on the right side of
this page, mainly because it's good for a blog to have a
menu. Trendy!
I
know all of you who entered our latest giveaway
have been waiting to see if you won, and today I'm excited
to present our two winners of the Eugene Sings! Christmas
Giveaway!
A big congratulations goes out
to our two winners, Joshua A. (Schroon Lake, NY) and
Melissa H. (Madison, IN). They will each receive
their free copy of
Eugene Sings! Christmas
in the coming days from the Odyssey Scoop! Joshua and
Melissa, if you're reading this and are thinking you're
probably the people I'm announcing today, check your e-mail
right now!
We decided to run this contest
a little bit shorter than the last one to give you guys a
better chance of being picked out of the hat. Last time we
had 66 people participate in our drawing, and this time we
had a total of 47 participants. From November 17-25, many of
you entered the contest. If you didn't win this giveaway,
keep checking back during the month of December for yet
another giveaway! And we're not giving away any more CDs of
Eugene singing.
Speaking of the Eugene
Sings! albums, it looks like they're a dying breed. Eugene Sings!is available for a limited time for
$2.99 at the
Focus on the Family Resource Center.
Unfortunately, I discovered
Eugene Sings! Christmasis no
longer available from Focus. If you've never experienced the
Eugene Sings! phenomenon, you may want to check into
getting a copy of each CD soon. While Focus only has copies
of the first album, I would recommend you shop around online
for the Christmas album. I'd recommend
amazon.com as copies are still floating around
there. Don't miss out!
I already
mentioned we'll be having another giveay! Trust me... it's
gonna be big...
Welcome
to Black Friday, everyone! It's a good thing you dropped by,
because we've got some interesting news in regards to future
Adventures in Odyssey releases. As you know, albums
1-15 are currently called The Gold Audio Series. They
were put together during a time when everyone was catching
on to the Digital Age and upgrading their products with cool
titles like "digitally remastered." AIO released albums 1-15
as the Gold Audio Series during a time when they had
to decide to phase out cassette releases for the show. However, now that we've all been drifting through the
Digital Age for a while now, it's time to switch things up
even more.
If you recall, albums 16-46
are undergoing a major repackaging project. We're close to
seeing them all redone for a consistent look for the series.
Yet, the project has expanded quite a bit since they
originally started. Although they're still working on
repacking the remaining albums, #3 Heroes is next on the lineup for repacks. What
does this all mean? In essence, albums 1-15 are going to
repacked the same way albums 15-46 have been. Starting with
album 3, Focus is going to repack these albums with the
typical arches and rays layout that we've become so familiar
with. The illustration will remain the same, but the arches
and layout will be changed.
That's right. The Gold
Audio Series is way out the door. It served its purpose
during a time when companies were getting up with the
industry standard. Be watching in the days ahead for
upcoming images of these releases.
Following the release of album
3, keep your eyes open for a new cover art for #26 Back on the Air. We may be seeing a new
character drawn by artist Gary Locke that he's never
illustrated before! All this and more coming up in 2010!
Be thankful. I
wrote a review of Passages: Darien's Rise
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Don't eat too much, because you have to make room for my
brand-new review of Passages: Darien's Rise!
You heard it on the radio. You read the book. You may even
have participated in the Ultimate Passages Fan Scavenger Huntback in August.Now find out what I thought about the whole thing. The
whole sha-bang. The big Marus addiction... high... buzz...
whatever you want to call it (okay, so I'm referencing a
certain fan podcast parody). I've laid my positives and pet
peeves on the table. It's the first review I've written in a
long time, and it felt great to get some things out in the
open.
It's a
book series that was waiting to be dramatized. Yes,
the Passages series has always been dear to
my heart since it was released in 1999. So you can
probably imagine my excitement to hear an audio
adaptation of the most popular Adventures in
Odyssey book series to date. Oh, to hear the
stories I had read over and over would now make it
to a radio drama! This produced the same emotions I
had experienced right around the time that Focus on
the Family Radio Theatre released its first
installment of The Chronicles of Narnia audio
dramas: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe...
...Read
Enjoy. If you agree with what
I've said in my review, shoot me an
email with your heartfelt concurs. If you disagree,
shoot me an email anyway and tell me I'm wrong. I can take
it. As for me, I'm off to follow the lovely smells coming
from the kitchen. Gobble, gobble!
Time
is running out! To celebrate the beginning of the holiday
season, the Odyssey Scoop is giving away two copies of
Eugene Sings! Christmas, and you could be one of
the winners! It
doesn't matter where you live or how old you are. Anyone can
enter!
But you better hurry... You have until 11:59
EST tonight to get your name in the hat. We will hold
the official drawing and winners will be announced on our
blog (right here) on Saturday, November 28. Enter
the drawing now!
Speaking of contests, Austin
Peachey is hosting his own little contest at the AIO Blog. You might want to get in on the "Sound
Warp" contest!
And if you're inching along to
next season, we've posted the January 2010 broadcast schedule
so you can see what's coming up in the new year. If that's
not enough, you can always get involved and ask the producers about the next season on their
blog. Your question may make it to the next edition of the
Official Podcast!
Today, I'd just like to make
you aware that I did some big updating to our popular Where
Odyssey Is Not section. Thanks to our loyal AIO
fans, seven more audio clips have been added to the growing
list of clues as to where Odyssey is not. I even included a
clip from BTV: Grace on the Hawaii page. If you
recall, that episode has never been released in an album. If
you're new to the site or have never seen this site feature,
well then today may be the day! Also today in the section, I
added a new page called Fan Remarks on
Where Odyssey Is Not. This
gives you a chance to see exactly which clues visitors have
contributed to the site.
As for other things going on,
you're running out of time to enter our latest drawing.
We're hosting our Eugene Sings! Christmas Giveaway, and you've got
until Wednesday night to get your name in the hat!
Where
would we be without a fan base? Today I'm pleased to present
20 new interviews with Adventures in Odyssey fans.
I'm continuing to plug away at getting our Interviews section completely up-to-date, and we've
just got a little over 20 more interviews in the vault
waiting to be posted. If you're still waiting on yours, hang
in there a little bit longer. It's on its way.
Interestingly enough, the
legendary Ethan Daniels from the Ceiling Fan podcast has stepped in front of the
proverbial microphone to share his story. You remember, he's
the one who claims to be the biggest Odyssey fan; and for a
while, writer/director Nathan Hoobler refused to admit he was. However, in
a recent podcast, Nathan reluctantly admitted it. I still
laugh at that particular podcast when I think back to it. It's certainly one
I will never forget.
Anyway, Ethan Daniels and 19
other avid fans are ready to share their stories about Adventures in Odyssey. Visit our
Interviews with the Fans feature in our
Interviews section. It's fun to sift through each
interview and read about the other fans. While there, you
may want to check out all the other interesting written,
audio, and video interviews with the Odyssey team.
Be checking back next week for
another special update!
During one of the recording sessions at the
Soundhouse, a studio in London, England, filmmaker
David Hamby captured some great behind the scenes
footage of The Basket of Flowers being filmed and
infused it with an interview with Lamplighter
Ministries president Mark Hamby as he discusses the
scope and mission of Lamplighter Theatre. (Lamplighter
Theatre blog, Nov. 18, 2009)
You may remember my brief
update about Lamplighter Theatre last month. Lamplighter Theatre is a new radio drama series, with
audio quality and acting much like Focus on the Family Radio
Theatre. Ironically, some of the former Adventures in
Odyssey crew are involved with this new radio series and
the two book dramatizations I've heard so far are anything
but a disappointment. Quite a few of the Radio Theatre
voices are getting in on this project, including Elizabeth
Counsell, voice of the Jadis (the White Witch) in The
Chronicles of Narnia audio dramas by Focus. Take a look
at this new video above. You'll recognize a few familiar
faces, such as Marshal Younger and a few others. Recognize
anyone?
If you're new to Lamplighter Theatre, why not
give it a try? Yet, we must never forget about
Adventures in Odyssey. Without the success of
productions like AIO and Radio Theatre and paving the
way for radio drama's potential, Lamplighter Theatre
couldn't, and wouldn't, exist. We owe a lot to Odyssey.
THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 19,
2009
AIO Fan List
Updated!
So time has a way of getting
away from us, and time really caught me by surprise this
time. Today I'm pleased to present a total of 147 new names
to the Adventures in OdysseyFan List.
Below I've highlighted some of my top favorites:
"AIO is too addictive." --The Walker Family, Missouri
I know it was crazy, but I
stayed up one night to finish listening to the entire
Novacom Saga. I was tired the next day and slightly
paranoid that someone was trying to take over the world.
Also, Eugene actually makes sense and is rather precise
most of the time. --James
Thanks for comforting me
when im down.. just turning on an odyssey makes me feel
happy again!
--elmorox!, Illinois
"Oh wow, oh wow!"
Adventures in Odyssey is the best radio drama ever
made!! Thanks Focus! --Irwin Springer, Wisconsin
Have u ever noticed that
"47" is AIO's favorite number? I mean, there's "Now
class, please turn to page 47 in your math books", and
"how many donuts did joey eat at her liitle sisters
birthday party?, 'what is 47!?!' ", etc. I know, I know,
I pay way to much attention to details, but I listen to
AIO so often that it's hard to ignore such details! --tobyMacBallerina, North Carolina
"i am 11 and an aio adict
my mom once took it away as punishment"
--Dot,
New York
"I'm in my 40's, but I
enjoy AIO! I like to borrow them from the library and
share them with my kids!"
--Toddhs, Illinois
"Wow, if he were alive
today, he'd be dead!" (Calvin from A Single Vote)
--Ruth
S., Nebraska
"I'm 65 years young and
enjoy every episode that I hear. Great job, keep it up!" --Helen, Florida
"Adventures in Odyssey is
going to captivate the entire human race . . . Would you
like a muffin?" --J.N.W.
As you can see, our list of
names is growing and people like to be creative when signing
the list. Have you signed it yet? Why not tell the
world why you like Adventures in Odyssey?
Also, don't forget to enter the Eugene Sings! Christmas Giveawaywhile you're
here!
WEDNESDAY,
NOVEMBER 18,
2009
The Official
Podcast #82
Well, well, well... It looks
like the product marketing guy at Focus on the Family is up
to no good. Somehow I don't think any of us will have a
problem with that, though. In the latest video edition
(yes, video) of the Adventures in Odyssey Podcast, Brock gets chased down by hosts Bob and Jesse as he
attempts to tell the fans all of Odyssey's latest secrets.
What would happen if Adventures in Odyssey started
afresh? Will we ever get to see the new actors playing new
roles? What about Mr. Whittaker? Can he be spotted in the
latest podcast? And what are all the juicy details about Take It from the Top? Find out all this and more in
the newest video edition of the Official Podcast!
In other news, we just
launched our latest giveaway yesterday. This time we're
giving away two free copies of
Eugene Sings! Christmas.
Enter
now for your chance to win!
TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 17,
2009
Eugene
Sings! Christmas Giveaway!
We
mentioned earlier this month to keep watching the site for
another special drawing... and today's the day! If you
missed our last drawing or didn't win, this is your
opportunity to croon with Odyssey's resident genius a second
time! We are giving away two free copies of Eugene Sings! Christmas and you could be one of
our winners! Just in time for the holidays, the Odyssey
Scoop is excited that two of our visitors will win this fun
album... and it could be you!
This contest will run shorter
than our last Eugene Sings! giveaway, mainly to give
you a better chance of winning! It doesn't matter where you
live or how old you are. Anyone can enter!
You have until 11:59 EST on Wednesday,
November 25th, to enter. We will hold the official drawing
and winners will be announced on our blog (right here) on
Saturday, November 28. Enter
the drawing now!
SATURDAY,
NOVEMBER 14,
2009
Darien's Rise Concludes
The
end has come.Today,the final installment of
Passages:
Darien's Riseairs on stations across the country,
and online:
Whit’s reading of the
strange manuscript nears its climax. The battle in Marus
rages on as Kyle and Anna try to return home and King
Lawrence races to escape the Palatians.
As always, you can order your copy at the Focus on the Family Resource
Center and own the entire drama to listen to in one sitting.
As we approach the end of the year with the holiday season,
perhaps this collection would make a nice Christmas gift for
someone you know. Time is flying and we approach a new
season in March 2010!
THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 12,
2009
Logo Contests
& Graphic Design
Well, folks, it looks like
that time of the year again. AIO Wiki is looking for aspiring talent (or at least
those who think they have a decent grasp of graphic design)
to come up with the best logo for their site next year...
and win! The new logo will be displayed for a year, or at
least I'm guessing from the way things turned out last year.
The current AIO Wiki logo was actually designed by me (yes,
it truly is a small world), and I was excited to learn my
logo was voted as the winner. At the time, I was buried in
other graphic design projects while taking a class called Advertising Design in my senior year of college. It was
fun to throw the site's current logo together, but I will
not be participating in the contest this year. It's your
turn! Designers, start visualizing! And if you don't know
how to use anything beyond Microsoft Paint, it's probably
not worth your trouble. Trust me.
Speaking of graphic design, I
have been looking for a graphic design position since early
this summer. I'd been going through the painful task of
sending out resumes, cover letters, and going to interviews.
It's a process I've grown to absolutely hate (And if you're
thinking hate is too strong of a word, I chose the
word for its harshness and exact meaning; job hunting really
is a hate-worthy job.). I survived a two-hour interview with
one advertising agency. Surprisingly, I interviewed with the
company's CEO, some of his graphic designers, their
financial people, and their art director... in two hours.
All were very topnotch in their qualifications. But I didn't
get the job. Yet, the interview was a good (and painful)
lesson in interviewing. My most recent endeavor is with a
publishing company nearby, who happen to be responsible for
approximately eight local papers. I made it to a second
interview, where I was informed I was one of two candidates
for a graphic design position.
But I lost the toss.
However, they called me
several days later offering a completely different position.
Basically, I would be working closely with around 15
salespeople, which involves basic data entry skills and
updating prices that clients would be paying for their ad
space. The difficult part of the job involves determining
the length (in pages) of four weekly newspapers, figuring
out which pages are color and which ones are in black and
white, then laying out previously-designed ads into the
document. It's mostly a bunch of confusing steps, a little
bit of math tossed in here and there, paperwork, and hoping
I get moved to a graphic design position someday.
Fortunately, the job comes
with a coffee pot in the break room, amazing coffee, a
co-worker who calls me "Malachi," and a lot of deadlines.
That's where I've been all this week. That, and jumping back
and forth to my retail job which I'm phasing out really
soon. So in essence, the publishing company must have
flipped a coin with two heads because I ended up with a
full-time job after all. And I start full time next week.
But if this job falls through (there's a LOT to learn about
this job I've discovered after trying it on for two days),
well, that's life. But hopefully things will go well.
Don't worry... I haven't
forgotten about you guys. I love keeping this site updated
now and then, especially since there's always something
going on with Adventures in Odyssey. Pray for me in
my new adventures as life brings a journey of choices.
Hmmm, I could just watch the
bread mold. Nah.
MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 9,
2009
Fan
Interaction
Welcome to Monday, everyone.
Brew up your cup of coffee... you're gonna need it. But
while it's brewing, let me tell you about some things going
on in the Odyssey fan realm. First, if you're a fan of the
Whit's End Podcast, they're now combining forces and
bringing you podcasts with more than one host. That leaves
room for audio fan discussions of the show. If you like what
AIO podcasts have done in recent days and can't get enough
of what other fans think, then be sure and have a listen.
And if fan podcasts aren't
enough, you may want to check out the Campbell County Message Boards. How does this site
hangout differ from The Town of Odyssey? Mainly, if you want to discuss
Adventures in Odyssey on a smaller, less elaborate
message board, I'd recommend you visit Campbell Countyand start getting involved.
Otherwise, The Town of Odysseymay be up your alley. It all
depends on what you're looking for.
Oh, and I believe I hear my
coffee is finished brewing! I'm off to go get my Monday
started!
The battle in the land of Marus takes an ugly turn as former
friends become enemies and allies become foes. Young Kyle
starts to doubt that the Unseen One is really watching out
for them. He wonders if a mysterious woman named Anastasia
may be the key...
As always, you can order your copy at the Focus on the Family Resource
Center as well. This release comes in a nice package with an
insert containing a map of Marus and overview of what the
book series is about. It's a great bargain... complete with
over 3 hours of top-notch acting, sound design, score, and
quality from our friends at Adventures in Odyssey.
Remember, the number of copies sold will determine if the Passages audio releases will move forward in the future.
AIO is a listener-supported radio drama, and sales of the
audio releases help the series to pay for itself.
It's hard to believe we're
already reaching the end of this series on the radio. It
seems like just yesterday we were hosting our Ultimate Passages Fan Scavenger Hunt with two of
the other fan sites. Where does the time go? As for what's
coming up in the future, we recently added the upcoming
airing Schedule for December. Stay tuned... a lot is in
store for those who patiently wait!
FRIDAY,
NOVEMBER 6,
2009
Odyssey
Blogging
It's been a while since I've
talked about some of the more less-known fan sites. Our
friends over at The Odyssey Timeshave been plugging away at getting
their site updated. Well, it's run by only one person, but
it's always more fun to say things in plural. Anyway,
they've expanded the site quite a bit over the past few
weeks and months. If you've never visited the site, why not
today? They've also got a daily
blog if you like following the latest news on
Adventures in Odyssey!
WEDNESDAY,
NOVEMBER 4,
2009
Passages
Art Contest
It's
time for another Official Podcast! In this edition, Bob and Jesse
reveal the finalists for the Passages art contest.
Also you have a chance to vote on your favorites in the
listed categories. Don't miss it!
It's interesting to note that
for a brief moment in this video podcast (yes, it's a
video podcast!), the script for the upcoming episode The Inspiration Stationis quickly flashed on the
screen to tease viewers. A fan over at AIO Wiki captured it for us. Take a look. It doesn't say
much, but it makes you wonder! Stay tuned... you never know
what's going to happen as we approach the new season,
starting in March 2010!
MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 2,
2009
Eugene
Sings! Giveaway Winners Announced!
As
I promised several weeks ago, the winners of our Eugene Sings!giveaway have been officially unveiled
today! As a fan of this CD myself, I thought it would be
cool if fans could enter for their chance to win a free copy
of Eugene Sings!, a fun musical album featuring
Odyssey's resident genius, mad scientist, and all around
Renaissance man of math, history, English, programming,
acting, and even the ukelele. So without further delay, it's
time to reveal our winners!
A big congratulations goes out
to our two winners, Beth P. (Washington, IL) and Luke G. (Port Matilda, PA). They will each receive their
free copy of Eugene Sings! in the coming days from the Odyssey
Scoop! Beth and Luke, if you're reading this and are
thinking you're probably the people I'm announcing today, be
watching your email on Tuesday (11/03) for a special email.
Once again, congratulations to
our two winners and thanks to all who entered. We received a
total of 66 entries in roughly 20 days, and the official
drawing was held on Sunday, November 1. If you didn't win
this contest and would love another chance to win in a
future drawing, be checking back during the month of
November for another exciting contest. I'm going to open a
small window of opportunity for people to enter another
drawing, but you'll need to keep checking back to see when.
The next drawing will run for an even shorter amount of time
than this one did, giving you an even greater chance of
winning. That means less people entering the drawing! So
keep your eye on the Odyssey Scoop. You never know when our
next drawing will appear!
I
know all of you who entered our latest
Welcome
to Black Friday, everyone! It's a good thing you dropped by,
because we've got some interesting news in regards to future
Adventures in Odyssey releases. As you know, albums
1-15 are currently called The Gold Audio Series. They
were put together during a time when everyone was catching
on to the Digital Age and upgrading their products with cool
titles like "digitally remastered." AIO released albums 1-15
as the Gold Audio Series during a time when they had
to decide to phase out cassette releases for the show. However, now that we've all been drifting through the
Digital Age for a while now, it's time to switch things up
even more.
Where
would we be without a fan base? Today I'm pleased to present
20 new interviews with Adventures in Odyssey fans.
I'm continuing to plug away at getting our
The
end has come. Today, the final installment of
It's
time for another
As
I promised several weeks ago, the winners of our
