A Retraction

When you get older, you get more conscious of what you write and say out loud. I'm getting more and more aware of this everyday. My last post was a rant about how Odyssey was put on iTunes but you couldn't buy any individual episodes. Well, it's been about a week or so since I posted and almost all the episodes have been individualized. Of course I found this out AFTER I posted my rant. 

Don't look at me

Thanks for this guilt trip, Focus. Well played...

I recant! I guess I was too impatient and should have just sit back and let things happen. I'm sorry for jumping the gun and talking bad about Focus. I should have been more patient and waited a bit longer to see if the episodes would be individualized. 

Here's a picture of bunnies to make up for everything.

 
Just so you guys know, I plan to spend as much money as possible on these episodes. I've already bought several.
   
     •Pamela Has a Problem
     •The Price of Freedom
     •The Top Floor 1,2,3
     •Prequels of Love

I've loved listening to all of these episodes. They're great and I love having them on my iPod. I listen to them on the bus in the morning, when I'm in study hall, when I'm on a walk, or when I'm just relaxing at home. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm grateful to FOTF for making the episodes more available to me. Even if the episodes weren't individualized, I'd still be grateful. I may have seemed like I had a bad attitude in my last post but in the long run, I'm just happy that Odyssey exists.

Adventures in Odyssey on iTunes

A few years ago, you could buy episodes of AIO on iTunes. I didn't find this out for a while but when I did, I was very happy and managed to horde some money away and buy some episodes. (This was a few years ago so I'm not sure where I got this money from...) I bought 33 episodes. This may seem like a large number but I quickly listened to all the episodes. Then, one day, all the episodes disappeared off the store. (Mind you, not the episodes I bought but all the ones on the store)

Then, about a month ago, I read that Odyssey was coming back to iTunes. I've been keeping a close watch on iTunes and checking regularly. They're now back on! 

Oh wait...the episodes are only available in album form. This means you can't buy individual episodes. 

Come on!

If I was gonna buy a whole album, I'd buy a hard copy at my local Christian book store! The reason why I was so excited about AIO coming back to iTunes was the thought of buying individual episodes. I'm mad! I have money in my iTunes account that is begging to be spent and I don't have any Odyssey to spend it on! Odyssey is on the top of my list of stuff to buy on iTunes but I want to buy other stuff! Dang it, Focus! Now I have a predicament. 

My one hope is that the episodes are eventually gonna be individualized. You can buy the episodes from album 1 individually so maybe the rest of the albums will follow suit.  I don't see why they wouldn't. I'd be economically wise for Focus to do so because I think people are more likely to buy a few episodes rather than a whole album. I'm gonna keep my money in reserve and see what happens. Hopefully, we will eventually be able to buy the single episodes. 

Happy Hunting Review

*Spoilers for Album 56*

You wouldn't believe how excited I was when I found out that they were releasing a new episode early. I was so happy. 

  

I kind of looked like this. Except less awesome

Let's give this plot a quick summary. After a difficult day at work, Penny asks Connie how Connie stays so happy all the time. Connie is surprised by this comment. She claims that she's not happy all the time but often times, happiness is a choice. This comment sticks with Penny. Penny comes up with several ways she can choose happiness. First, she chose to buy a pair of cute boots to get some happiness. That doesn't work.

I don't know about Penny but if I got these, I'd be walking around the neighborhood whistling and singing "Don't Worry, Be Happy"

Then she tries running because exercise produces endorphins and endorphins make you happy. This backfires because she tripped down a hill and broke a few ribs because she ran in her new shoes. 

They all go back to Connie and Penny's apartment and Wooten offers to make dinner. He makes salmon by Penny's request because she read that salmon is full of Omega 3s. Apparently Wooten is quite a good cook. Penny ends up having an allergic reaction to the meal. (She'd never had salmon before) Penny ends up going back to the hospital. 

Penny then drags Connie to a happiness support group. (This is kind of a throwback to the Happy Smilers) Connie hates the group and is unhappy. Connie is becoming exasperated by Penny's pursuits of happiness because her positive attitude is annoying. Whit points out that thinking positively has roots in Scripture. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) Whit then makes the point that the quest of happiness can often be selfish because it focuses on ourselves. Penny then quickly draws the conclusion that to be happy means she must volunteer. Whit tries to correct her but Penny quickly runs with the whole volunteer idea. Somehow, Penny can make volunteering at a homeless shelter dangerous. She managed to dislocate her shoulder when she slipped and fell.

She's been to the hospital more times than I've gone in the past 5 years

Here's the part of the show where Whit comes along and sets everybody straight. This is the part of the show that I've been waiting for. Whit says that Penny had the wrong expectations about happiness. He says that happiness is only an emotion that lasts a short time. Penny counters by saying that she thought God wanted us to be happy. Whit explains that kind of happiness (happiness with joy and peace) can only be found in a relationship with him. Whit further says God has given us a number of things in our life to bring us happiness. Mainly, we have his love and forgiveness but we also have a beautiful world, family, and friends. If we focus on those things, happiness will be there. 

Let me say this, I loved this episode. I love Connie, Penny, and Wooten together. They are so enjoyable to listen to. The dialogue was quick and funny. I thought Wooten and Penny were both great. Penny feels like she's been on the show for a long time. Andre did a fantastic job as Whit. He's now really starting to sound like he's getting the hang on Whit. This was such a classic sounding Odyssey episode except for one thing; the message was about as watered down as you could get. 

At the end, I thought Whit was gonna come in a explain to everyone the problems with their thinking. Well, he did. He just left a big part out. It was a pretty important part. 

Whit was right in saying that happiness was only a temporary emotion. Happiness is the feeling you get when you buy a new pair of shoes, if your favorite song comes on the radio, or if you get an early released episode of Adventures in Odyssey. He was also right in saying that happiness combined with peace and joy is what we get from a relationship with God. He even mentioned one thing that gives us that special kind of happiness is God's love and forgiveness. Then we moved right along. 

Look, there was nothing wrong with what Whit said. He just could have said a lot more. 

Alright, John Avery, explain to me why God's love should make me happy. And why should forgiveness give me joy? Is it that important? 

Of course his forgiveness is important! You are beyond sinful and God demands perfection. Nothing can save you from your depravity except Jesus Christ- the perfect son of God. God, in his infinite love and mercy, gave up Jesus to take on your sins and give you his righteousness. You are now pure in God's sight. Why would God give his son for you? You didn't deserve it. What you deserved was an eternity in hell and isolation from God. God did it because he loves you. 

Let's just take a moment and appreciate how amazing that it. 

That's the Gospel and that is what gives you a combination of happiness, joy, and peace. 

I'm not sure when AIO started weakening the Gospel. I doubt it started with the reboot. I'm sure we can trace it back farther. Maybe it's always been a bit weak. I don't know, but I'm saddened when I hear such a missed opportunity like that. I've been to churches where they mention the name Jesus and they mention love but there's nothing more. You have to tell the whole story to get the point. My dad says if you aren't getting the whole gospel when you go to church, you might as well stay home and sleep in. 

The writers really scored when it came to the story, dialogue, and characters. If they can manage to start writing the Gospel back into the story, then I can see AIO going on for many more years.