More Secrets Revealed

There is a new video podcast up at the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast Blog, not to be confused with the Adventures in Odyssey Blog.





It features Brock telling us about a new video podcast for Mother's Day. I'm not sure of all the details because I was concetrating more on what was going on behind Brock. Look closely, and you will see something that Blodyssey has been dying to see ever since the fake album art for Album 52 got out.

Also, for anyone who is following it, the second edition of The Odyssey Scoopcast is up. It provides a recap of all the new information and surprises being revealed around Blodyssey in the past week or so. Kevin McCreary, creator of The Ceiling Fan Podcast is the host.

Finally, the second heartcast is out on The Heart of Odyssey. And the 24th episode of The Ceiling Fan is up as well. It's pretty funny. Their podcast has a reputation of exaggerating and doing hilarious interviews.

That's all the info for now. Keep on the lookout for more updates and secrets revealed in the near future.

Arin's Judgement

For anyone who cares and hasn't yet looked at the other blogs:

Arin's Judgment, the second installment of the Passages repackaging project is out. Each book in the Passages book series, written by Paul McCusker, is being re-released a second time with a new look. Each new book will contain a new cover with a computer-generated image, and, I believe, an eight-page color insert in the middle of the book. I'm not sure if there will be a map included in these most recent releases. When they were re-released in the early 2000s, they came with a map attached to the back, but they may or may not do that again.

I've only read two of the books in this series, but the two that I did read were some of the most well-written, exciting books that I'd ever read. Paul McCusker does a fantastic job as an author. Check out some of his other AIO books here.

Also, if you haven't yet, check out the re-release of book #1, Darien's Rise. This book has also been made into a radio drama, and others are to be recorded as well.

This Episode Was...

I don't have much to say, nor do I have much time in which to say anything about this episode, so I'm going to go away from my usual long, organized reviews, and just do what all of the other blogs are doing and tell you some points I had on this episode:

• I loved hearing from Connie again. And there was great writing for hers and Eugene's characters. Probably because it wasn't just Tim Hodge writing. Paul McCusker apparently had a part in it too. That's probably why "Abuelita" was included and all of the characters remained true to their personalities.
• Olivia sounded a lot better in this episode. I just wish they wouldn't have said that she was eleven. She sounds more like fourteen/fifteen. But they probably didn't want to have her that old so that she wouldn't have to deal with teenage issues, since this is a show for 8-12- year-olds.
• I noticed something a little weird--when Olivia walked away and broke down, she sounded a lot like Connie. I guess that was just her actress' adult side coming out. And her wanting to go back in time with the Imagination Station reminded me of the AIO book "Strange Journey Back" in which Mark Prescott tries to go back in time and change the day that his dad left his mom.
• This episode reminded me of the episode where Connie has, like fifteen different things to do every day including writing for the Odyssey Times, and Whit teaches her how to manage her time, and she gives, like ten of those things up. Sorry for the run-on sentence, but I don't remember what the name of the episode is. (Comment if you know the episode I'm talking about!)
• This was a very real-to-life episode. More so than we've really ever seen in Odyssey. It sounded like a real-to-life girl having real-to-life trouble juggling real-to-life activities. But the episode, as some of the other reviews suggested, was somewhat lacking. There wasn't much action, and when there was, it was Olivia. There was only one storyline involving one kid, so it definitely seemed to be missing something.
• I liked hearing from Whit again. Mr. Stojka seemed to do a much better job in this episode. And I loved hearing him give advice from the Bible. If Andre isn't yet saved, at least these episodes can have a positive witness to him.
• I had never heard the word "flake" used any other way than to refer to a light, flaky object before this episode. I thought that that was kind of weird.
• I loved the ending with Chris. It reminded me of the old days when Chris had a lot more to say before and after episodes.
• And, finally, I wanted to say something about Red Hollard. Although we didn't hear his voice in this episode, we still found out a little more about his character. It was surprising to hear that he is active at Whit's End. I thought he was just going to act as a neighbor character to the Parkers. He seems like a mix between Wooton and Bernard, and I could probably get used to having him on the show a lot. But I would be very sad if Bernard was replaced by him.

Okay, so I guess I did have a lot to say. But I was just too lazy to try to make it look more organized. You guys are lucky I finish what I say I'll... Overall, this was a pretty good... I give it a...

Just kidding! I give 7/10 stars. Please comment!

The Heart of Odyssey

Hey! There's a new blog out called "The Heart of Odyssey". Our blog community just keeps getting bigger. It is very well done and the guy who runs it knows how to use his computer.

They have put out their very first podcast today except it's called a "heartcast". Very funny. It made me laugh, which is somewhat hard to do. It is a very original idea and I look forward to hearing their reviews on episodes. It'll be a good thing to listen to while we're waiting for Chris to come back from his missions trip so that he and Sarah can start reviewing some episodes for The Unofficial Adventures in Odyssey Podcast.

Also, I'll be adding some new pages to the blog under the poll. Tell me what you think in the comments.

Don't forget to put those questions in for "Ask the Parkers"! I don't know how soon the podcast is coming, but you'd best get them in quick because I doubt they'll ask 600 questions. The ones closer to the top will probably be the ones asked.

So go check out "The Heart of Odyssey" and be back on Monday for my review of "Finish What You..."!

Big Things Are Happening!

There was a conference call meeting at Focus on the Family on Tuesday. Brock Eastman, marketing director, e-mailed all of the bloggers a phone number for a room at FOTF where there would be a question-and-answer session for those who had questions about Album 52.

Audrey S., who writes AIO Insanity, and Sarah Benson, co-host of The Unofficial Adventures in Odyssey Podcast were among those who attended the meeting via telephone. I, alas and alack, did not find the meeting something worth attending, until I read Audrey's post yesterday. I will be getting most of my info from hers and Sarah's posts.

Here are a few things that were discussed at the meeting:

• The title of Album 52 is confirmed as being "Cause and Effect", while the album art previously released at CBD's website and AIO Wiki was just a fake cover. The real one will look much cooler with three main characters looking around for something in a clock tower. Also, it has been confirmed that there will be two one-part holiday episodes. One Thanksgiving and one Christmas.


• A new book series by Paul McCusker and Marianne Hering called "The Imagination Station" is set to come out this fall with books 1 & 2. Books 3 & 4 will follow next spring. These will be chapter books directed toward 6-9-year-olds.


• There is a new feature in all upcoming album releases/re-releases called the Family Fun Panel. You will be able to pop one of the CDs in the album into your computer and watch Brock and Diane Ingolia go into different families to try to complete challenges given in the video. Watchers are encouraged to do these activities with their families, and those who do, and contact Focus will receive a button with the album name, art, and challenge name imprinted on it.

Hopefully more updates are coming soon. Keep on the lookout.

Also, new from the Official AIO Podcast Blog:

Ask the Parkers!

We will be interviewing the Parker family kids on a future podcast.

Do you have any questions for the actors behind the voices? Let us know in the comments below and your question might be answered on a future podcast!

This sounds like a very fun opportunity, at least for me. I'm still not sure if they want you to ask questions of the fictional characters or of the actors. I asked mine as if asking the actors. I can't see why they'd want to have us ask the characters anything. I don't know about you, but I think it'd be exciting to hear my name read before my question is asked on an Official Podcast. Get those questions in and you might just appear on a future podcast! Keep watching for more updates!