Odyssey Thought: The Odyssey Adventure Club

It's been a few weeks since my last post. I've been keeping with things and once again this blog ended up on the back burner. What brings me back into the world of blogging this time? Well, I've been lurking around the message boards, and the aio facebook page and other things and have noticed a reoccurring hot topic; the upcoming Odyssey Adventure Club.

I have a feeling I might be taking a slightly unique perspective, so I think I'll hide safely in my little cave to avoid  the oncoming torches and pitchforks. The club in question will contain exclusive episodes per month, along with access to all the AIO episodes including some "dusty episodes" which includes most Harley episodes, as well as Last Chance Detective episodes both audio and video, and the animated series for AIO. Along with all that is available for streaming, it also includes subscription to the clubhouse magazine, daily devotions and possibly other things that haven't been mentioned yet. What's the catch? The price is $15 a month.

Now most of you "die-hard" Odyssians already know all this and many have already expressed your views. The biggest down side to this club is that it means only hearing 12 episodes a year, while the clubers get an extra 12 episodes. For the ones that have already collected all of the albums or have heard all of them, would it be practical to join the club? Not really. Are there perks to doing so? Yes. Should you try to tear down the doors at Focus and force them to hand over the exclusive episodes? No. Sure it's disappointing that I won't be able to hear every episode that is out there. However, the way that Odyssey works is that you can listen to the episodes out of order and without ever hearing some episodes. I don't believe that they will create noticeable holes in the canon just to get people to join the club. Could it be that in order to know what happens with Jeff we have to join the club? Maybe. But that doesn't mean more doesn't happen with Jeff in the regular seasons. The fact is we don't really know one way or the other.

Now the common voice of the inter-fans is that they already have all the released albums, so why pay $180 a year to get twenty minutes a month of new material? While many fit into this category, there are probably many fans who might jump onto this club like a hound dog on a pile of hotdogs. The thing that most "inter-fans" may not understand is that this club is aimed for families. It seems to me that a large number of the fans speaking out against the club are more than likely 15+. Here is more of what is included in the club.
BROCK on October 18th, 2013 - 11:05am

• 1. The entire 726+ episodes of AIO streamed instantly to you on your computer of iOs device.
  2. Brand new exclusive Adventures of the month that have, a brand new AIO episode, a real story video doucmentary about the episode, and a whole lot of Web Quests (activities), comics, hands on projects, learning the language, maps, history, games, and more. Plus you’ll have brand new AIO daily devotions to read every morning
  
  
• 4. You’ll get a monthly subscription to Adventures in Odyssey’s Clubhouse magazine
  5. Learn about other ministries and organizations doing ministry and relief work around the world
  6. We’re giving away a percentage of revenue to these organizations each month, to build churhches, dig wells, provide livestock, or pass out vaccinations
  7. And a new community for you to interact with other fans and share your stories
  8. Plus we’ll be adding new content like
  
  
• 8. We’ll be adding new content like AIO episodes never released, LCD Movie, AIO movies, LCD audio, and a whole lot more, even some radio theater titles

Personally I wouldn't join now, but I would consider it if I had was older with a  family of my own and if the money was there. One of the things to remember is that along with many bonuses, a portion of the money also goes to help missions around the world. So while the rice may seem steep, they aren't making money off of all of it. One of the comments in the social shout out was that the club episodes will take the characters to different places around the world and helping others. To me it sort of sounds like an album like the truth chronicles. They exist but aren't really a huge part of the AIO canon.

What it boils down to is this; This club is an ok deal, some will be able to afford it some not. There is value to joining the club, but it might not be for everyone. Sure $15 a month equals $180 a year, but another way of looking at it is this. Netflix is $7.99 a month, Spotify premium is $10 a month. It's basically like paying for one of these services and the surplus going to missions. (I don't know how much of it goes to missions though.) I guess the major point I'm getting at is, while it seems expensive if one is motivated enough to join one will find the money to pay for it. I'm just tired of seeing so many complaints about it when it hasn't even started yet.

Once again this has been Freddy Jay connecting the gap between Odyssey and you. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments. Chau.

Odyssey Connection: Hard Work

Odyssey Connection - No Chemistry Whatsoever:

No Chemistry Whatsoever tackles one theme from two different angles. Two important angles, but we'll look at each one at a time. 

Connie signs up for what she thought would be an easy Chemistry class and winds up having Eugene as a teacher. She quickly finds out that she might actually have to put some effort into her work in order to get the grade she desires. Honestly there are a lot of people out there pulling a "Connie Kendall". They want to get through a class (or whatever) with very little effort and as quickly as possible. The problem is that with that mindset, you don't actually learn anything or at least not as much. The verse that comes to mind is Ephesians 6:7. 
"7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,"

I think they should have tied that verse in there somewhere, but that's alright. The point is even with our school work we should work at it as if for God. 

The second angle was with Barrett memorizing verses. Like Connie, he attempted to take the easy way out and memorize only the shortest verses he could find in order to get the prize of water world. He quickly found out that the prize wasn't the point. Mr. Whitaker was trying to get them to memorize scripture so they would have it as defense against the enemy and as a comfort in the hard times. The Bible isn't just a bunch of words for us to store in our noggins. It's our sword. And it's necessary for us to treat it like one. Let's say you're house sitting for a friend and an armed man comes to the door. You know there's a gun somewhere in the house, but you're friend didn't tell you where. The gun can't protect you since you don't know where to find it. Memorization is oober important for the same reason. It can't help us out if we don't know where to look. And yes it does take work to memorize the verses and their context, but it's worth it. 

Both of these angles stick out in my mind. I'm sometimes guilty of trying to take the easy way out. Hard work is well... hard. But that's the idea. You appreciate something a whole lot more if you actually spend time pouring, sweat, blood and tears into. Ok, maybe not blood but you get the idea. 

Here are some questions to ponder in reflection to this episode;

1. What is God telling me about working hard?

2. Am I working as if for God or for men?

3. Am I armed with the sword of the spirit?

4. Am I constantly working on sharpening my sword by memorizing scripture?

I want to challenge you to use this episode as a spring board for inspiration. Ask God to pinpoint the areas in your life where you need to work harder and put in the extra effort, and remember to work as if for God and not for men. That small change in mindset makes all the difference in the outcome.

Once again this has been Freddy Jay connecting the gap between Odyssey and YOU!

Odyssey Connection: Revamped (Hearing God's Voice)

Hey cyber world and the few possible readers I might have! I know it's been forever, and the main reason is that I've been keeping busy. It's an old excuse but a valid one. Anyway, I'm going to try something different with this blog and hopefully get it going again.

Back when I first started this blog, I did something I called "Odyssey Connections". After a while the connections got fewer and fewer and the news got more frequent. I'm going to try to bring those back in a slightly different way. (You'll understand by the end of this post.)

Your Servant is Listening 1&2- Odyssey Connection

If you take a look at Odyssey's biblical episodes they have covered a lot of the major stories; Moses, Joseph, Esther, Jacob and Esau, Ruth, Paul, Jesus, and more recently the Early Church. Honestly I was surprised when I heard that the story of Hannah and Samuel was gonna be in album 57, only because it came with the realization that they hadn't done it before.

This episode hit me like being double flip kicked in the face. Hannah and Samuel is possibly one of my favorite stories. But just hearing it as a dramatization was phenomenal, plus they added some really deep quotes. (I'll get to those in a minute.) Hannah had it bad. She couldn't have children and then on top of that Peninha constantly reminds her of this fact. The thing I like about Hannah is that she doesn't blame God for not being able to have kids, but continues to pray that God would make it so. She kept her faith strong in the Lord. 
One of the best quotes from this episode is this;

Camilla Parker: God's never talked to me.
Hannah: God is faithful to do what he says he will do. Perhaps the problem is that you haven't been listening. That you have ears, but fail to truly hear.

Mind = BLOWN! Hello? Does this sound familiar. Let's say you're in a classroom and you're "hearing" the teacher but then when he asks you a question you have no idea what the answer is. You heard him but wasn't listening to what he said. This thought is bookended with a quote from Samuel in part 2.

Samuel: I've never experienced God talking to me like he did last night, but he has spoken to me before.
Camilla Parker: Really?
Samuel: Yes, in other ways. Like when Eli reads the words of God out loud from the holy scrolls, or in the things my mother tells me when she visits, or that nudge in my heart reminding me what's right and wrong.
Camilla Parker: I've never thought abut God talking to me that way.
Samuel: I guess it takes time to recognize his voice.

O.O If you intentionally seek God's voice you'll hear what he has to say. He can speak through many things, but if you don't really know him you can fail to recognize his voice. It's so easy to miss God's voice due to the distractions we surround ourselves with. But He's still there nonetheless. Another example similar to this, is the story of Elijah going to the mountain. There was a fire, wind, and maybe some things I can't remember, but God wasn't in any of those. Then Elijah heard a quiet whisper and God was in the whisper. Sometimes we just have to be still and separate ourselves from things in order to hear God's whispers.

Here are some discussion questions to ponder in reflection to this episode;

1. How can Hannah serve as an example for my faith?
2. How has God been speaking to me lately?
3. Have I heard him recently? 
4. Am I truly listening?
5. How am I purposefully seeking his voice?

 The whole concept of this episode has really spoken to me. Which in part inspired the revamp of my blog, and Odyssey connections. I hope to continue these with my insights from the new episodes. (Maybe I'll catch up, but I won't count on that.) Feel free to drop your thoughts, on the new episodes or anything I've said. Comments are always welcome

Well that about wraps things up, I'm Freddy Jay with another attempt at connecting the gap between Odyssey and YOU!

Short Post on Quote World and Album 57!

Alright I don't have a lot to say in this post. However, I think I've been told that spring is finally here! I saw a cardinal the other day and then the following day it was 20 degrees with a high of 30.... However spring is just about here! The groundhog should be fired though.
On a completely unrelated note, there is a relatively new aio site called World of AIO Quotes. It posts two quotes a day, one from the episode on the air, and one from a random episode. AIOQuoteGuy also ha a page to submit your favorite quote if you wish. As of today it has 132 quotes and is still holding strong.

In a final word, we're learning more and more about alum 57! What are your thoughts on what might happen to Connie? What do you think of the cover art? Will you be able to wait until the FALL to hear these future episodes?

This has been Freddy Jay connecting the gap between Odyssey and YOU!

200th Post! Officially!

Hey guys, I know it's been a really really long time.... Here is something for my 200th post though!

On the Soda Shop Message boards there is a topic I made for Aio memes. Below are the ones I made.

So that's about all for now. Thanks for bearing with meme (lol) and for your patience. 

This is Freddy Jay saying " Where's my scarf, it's snowing outside!"

Unofficial Post (This isn't 200, it's 199b)

Last time I mentioned that I had a surprise up my sleeve for my 200th post. And now almost 2 months later I still haven't posted again. I'm really sorry about that. I've been really busy and haven't been able to do as many online things as I did. I thought I'd be able to keep it going, but with classes and all... I might get some sort of posts together during thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. But other than that, I won't be posting a whole lot during the semesters. Until my next post -- Freddy Jay

Captain Absolutely Comes to Physical!

The Official Podcast has released their latest, and with it some excellent news. Captain Absolutely is coming to Focus on the Family's Clubhouse Magazine. The Podcast takes us behind the scenes with the creators of the comic.

Bob and Jesse chat with Christopher Maselli (the author) and Dennis Edwards (the illustrator), the creators of the new Captain Absolutely comics in Clubhouse!

To check out the podcast, see illustrations, and see the first Captain Absolutely comic go here.

This has been Freddy Jay, connecting the gap between Odyssey and YOU!

Odyssey Connection: The Joy of Speeches...

I'm only a few posts away from reaching my two hundredth post. I may or may not have something special in mind for that post. You'll have to keep your eyes peeled.

I realize I mentioned Q's return before. But since Agent 3XQ's return he has ranted and raved about many things. In his most recent posts he has hinted at something mysterious in his past involving a "her". It's really intriguing and I can't wait to see what happens next. It's worth checking out.

Odyssey Connection:
Monday I had to give a speech for one of my classes. It wasn't a difficult speech, but the idea of speaking in front of people always makes my stomach crawl. No matter how many times I practice it, that feeling is always the same. And like Trent in "Called on in Class" I always make it out to be worse than it actually is. I imagine the worse case scenarios, like tripping over my shoe lace, or forgetting to breathe and passing out in front of the class. But every time, I've found that saying a prayer calms me down a little bit. And then when I actually gave the speech, it really wasn't that bad. I was still a little nervous, but I really had nothing to worry about. The key verse for this episode is:
^{John 16:33} “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Once again this has been Freddy Jay with CC Connection, connecting the gap between Odyssey and YOU!

Album 56 Back Cover

I'm not sure if this is new or not. But album 56 has hit the Focus bookstore, and with that here's the back cover, complete with all the themes for the episodes.

That's all for now. Have any thoughts about the themes of the episodes? Go ahead and comment.

This is Freddy Jay, connecting the gap between Odyssey and YOU!

Exploration Station: More Blogs

Here are a few more blogs for your consideration. They are worth checking out.

I've hit on some of the others, but here are some podcasts to check out.

The Boredom Buster Podcast
Abbie and Mandy's AIO Podcast
World Famous Odyssey Podcast

I haven't had the chance to listen to their podcasts, however I've heard great things about them and they are worth checking out.

The Agent's Blog:
Some of you may remember a blog run by Agent 3XQ. After almost a year of silence, it seems he's made a return. Still as looney as ever. He's the one that claims I have a plot to take over the world with a herd of flying mutant ninja squirrels and a pack of walking twinkies. If you'd like to check him out, Go here, but be warned he has some pretty wild stuff.

This has been Freddy Jay in the Exploration Station, connecting the gap between Odyssey and YOU!

Odyssey Connection: Hate, More than Just a Word

A bit ago I was watching an episode of Seventh Heaven. That show is amazing. It's a slice of life show that touches on real life lessons just like AIO. Granted some of the lessons are for a more mature audience. In this particular episode, the Camdens learned about hate. Ruthy learned that parents sometimes do things kids don't understand or like, but hate is a strong word that shouldn't be thrown around. Lucy and Mary hated a girl for no reason, and due to this caused problems between the girl and Matt. They all learned how troublesome hate is, and that love is a more appropriate action.

After watching this episode it made me think of the episode; The Greatest of These. Robyn learns a lesson about loving unconditionally.

Head to Head: Bernard Walton Vs.Red & Kramer

 Atttteeeeention OOOOOOoooodyssssssey Fans! It's time for HEAD 2 HEAD! In todays segment we're going to pit two of Odyssey's beloved characters against each other. Wait what's that? We're pitting two against one? It seems we have a change of plans folks. Today is a special Head 2 Head. So fasten your seat belts and lean in. In this corner we have Bernard Walton (BW), and in this corner we have  Red Hollard and Mrs. Kramer (RK) Who will come out on top?

Occupation:
 BW: Bernard has his own business as a janitor for the fair citizens of Odyssey. Businesses especially love Bernard's skill at window washing as it saves time, and Bernard's low prices can't be beat. Bernard is also the host for a local TV show called B-TV.

RK: Red is a handyman and skilled with a hammer and a saw. Mrs. Kramer works for the Library and busies herself with all the available clubs in the community.

Winner:

Something Old, Someting New, Part 2, Review

Something Old, Something New, Part 2

 Having Mitch come back in the episode feels forced. The opening scene of this part is understadable. It shows us Connie's feelings and makes us wonder if she regrets calling it off with Mitch. Mitch's match is Maureen. 

Now we find out that "CG" is really Mitch. But at this point we don't know the connection between Mitch and the MW (Mystery Woman). The whole thing feels out of the box to me, and hard to completely follow... 

Eugene bumps into Mitch and Maureen. Penny's comment "I'm having trouble with these plot twists" is completely accurate, and ironic that she'd say that. 

Something Old, Something New, Part 1 Review

Something Old, Something New, Part 1

This episode was one of those where I heard rumors about it, so therefore I wasn't looking forward to it... For one I heard that it was going to be a J&P Detective Agency episode, and for two I heard that Mitch was coming back. 

This episode opens with Connie complaining that Dreams by Constance doesn't get much business anymore. It's great hearing that she still has this business. It played a small part in the Mystery of the Clock Tower too. Penny being Penny offers to help Connie advertise.

Child's Play Review

Child's Play 

Eugene has been around kids on AIO for as long as he has been on the show. And now that he's received news that they can't have kids, he doubts whether kids really like him or not. At first this seemed silly to me, but on the other hand, sometimes thoughts and circumstances have their way of ganging up on us. In the opening scene it kind of felt like Eugene was being really hard on himself. I think a lot of his thinking is coming from the fact that he can't have children and is trying to peg a reason for it.
In the next scene Katrina mentions to Eugene that she has agreed to watch two kids over the weekend. This episode presents us the situation many fans have longed for;

Sergeant York Review

Sergeant York
 Instead of doing each part, due to the nature of this episode will review it as a whole.

I was really excited about this one. Partly because it's Odyssey's first 4 part episode, (Not counting Plan B) it features Red Hollard, and it's a history episode. Sergeant York is one story that I hadn't heard, before and his story easily became a favorite of mine. the fact that it has Red in it makes it even better. Red assists Eugene in telling York's story on kids radio, and it's well done.

Exploration Station: More AIO Blogs

As you may know there are quite a few AIO blogs out there now. I covered some in a past post, but here are a few more.


These first two if you haven't heard album 56 yet and don't want spoilers, AVOID THEM!.

Adventures in Odyssey Thoughts:
This blog has some interesting posts. When you get there the most recent post is on Great Expectations. It's a great review but if you don't want spoilers, I wouldn't check it out just yet.

The Adventures in Odyssey Daily News:
This blog tries to do a post about everyday. And so far has been doing reviews for album 56. It's a cool blog, but if you don't want spoilers STAY AWAY! He's covered all the episodes through The Lost Riddle, and the last four will come in his next post. He's also working on updating his blog to a site which will be available next month.


Just Another Odyssey Blog:
This blog is a bit more complex. It has several pages to check out. Adventures in Connelsville features installments of a story that Alex is writing. JAAIOPP (Just Another AIO Podcast) is his page that features his podcasts. While I haven't listened to all of the only podcast that is currently available, what I did hear was pretty good. This blog also features a Response to the Soda Shop page, where he writes about current discussions on the Soda Shop message board.

Campbell County:
This is a message board, it's centered around Odyssey, but also provides spaces to discuss other varieties of topics. Here you earn a currency called seashells and can spend them on various things in the shop. I encourage you to check it out and see if you like it.

There's still more AIO blogs to cover, so expect another post about them in the near future. What do you think about these AIO blogs/sites? You could comment here, but I'm sure they want to hear what you think too.
With that, that about wraps it up for today. This has been Freddy Jay connecting the gap between Odyssey and YOU!

55 & 56 Wallpaper and Facebook Covers

Here are a couple of backgrounds if you want them. Also with them are facebook covers. To use these simply click to view the full size version and then save as to save them to a folder and from there you can apply them to your use.

Facebook Covers

Backgrounds

Mistaken For Good Review

Mistaken for Good

Once you have a reputation it's hard to reset it. Jay is no exception. He's got a reputation for being rough, and picking on others. So far Jay has pretty much shown more bad than good, but unlike Rodney Jay expresses feelings like guilt and compassion. Vance is the type that seeks out ways to hurt others and scam money. Vance scares Jay, and Vance knows that he can get Jay to do things. This episode pushes Jay to a new level. I really enjoyed this episode, it shows Jay doing the right thing even when it meant putting himself under the bus. It's funny how Mrs. Kramer is appearing all over Odyssey, but it's kind of cool. It shows that she likes getting involved with the town, and you never really know when she could turn up next. Jay getting the music box for Mrs. Wilson, was so nice and the fact that he wasn't wanting anything in return makes it even more unlike the Jay we're used to.

To Mend or Repair Review

To Mend or Repair

 This was an episode I really looked forward to, and amongst message boards such as Campbell County, it had fans speculating and frantic to find out what the news could be that Eugene and Katrina got.

This episode is handled fantastically. The tone is really sad,