Jeff Ross*brings this legendary thread back toward the front of the Not-Forum in honor of Groundhog Day*
*hopes the geese will eventually #BringBackManalive*
Jeff RossThere was a queue of flatbed trucks waiting for the traffic to move, but the drivers didn’t notice they were actually behind a parked car.
All I could do was shake my head at that pickup line.
Jeff Ross“I am Groot.” is a quote that evokes such strong emotion and nostalgia, though no one seems to remember why…
But don’t worry. We have contacted the original creatures to popularize this phrase, and they are going back to where it all began to see if they can figure out what’s going on.
In other words, they’re going back to their GROOTS! 😀
Jeff RossWow: 2020
Turned out to be a rough year,
Devoid of Haikus.
Jeff RossIf anyone asks, this is probably my favorite “silent film” of all time:
Jeff RossHooray for Christmas and the birth of our King!
Hooray for our Savior and the Joy that He brings!
Oh how grand it is to know that He loves us so!
May we share His love with others wherever we go!
Romans 5:8 is the verse that comes to my mind
Even though it’s not usually associated with Christmastime.
The thing is, Jesus’s birth had to happen before that verse could take place,
Which is why it’s appropriate to remember Jesus’s coming to earth and celebrate! ?
Jeff Ross*fetches drill for Ryan to help put together the episode*
Jeff RossI did something a little different for my fourth username pronunciation video, focusing on the way one person approached the challenge on multiple different occasions rather than the way multiple people approached it in one or two instances each:
Jeff RossIt’s time to celebrate the occasion again: Happy Auxversary to the Aux Cable! 😀
Jeff RossAnd here are all the designs I considered during the flag design process that I ultimately rejected:
Jeff RossI made a flag for my YouTube channel recently! Here is the reveal video:
Jeff RossAngie just messaged me out of the blue and said:
“Please tell everyone and yourself that I wish them a happy birthday.”
So here goes: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVERY F.A.C.E! ? – Groot
[In case it was not explained on the Not-Forum, last year at some point on the Skype chat we decided that greeting people with “Happy Birthday” would be a good idea, as it would help us to not forget anyone’s birthdays. Therefore, the primary purpose of the above message is to greet everyone, not specifically to address any actual birthday.]
Jeff RossGreetings to every F.A.C.E.!
Exactly three years ago (to the minute, if I do this correctly), I posted my first comment on the Not-Forum. Three years seems like a lifetime in the pacing of the internet, but like a fraction of a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of life.
In honor of this occasion, I have prepared a speech. *steps up to podium to make speech*
Fellow F.A.C.E.s, three years ago I posted a comment here to the Not-Forum that helped affect the trajectory of my life. Who among us could have known that it would not only lead to the most successful Inner Tube comment kerfuffle of all time, but multiple fancasts (including the greatest fancast of all time), marathon Skype calls, and internet friendships… Only God knew what would happen.
Our lives have all changed since August 2017, and would have regardless of our involvement with the Not-Forum and this fandom. Nevertheless, when I look back on this time, all the projects we completed, the memories we shared, and the puns we made… well, I am very grateful for the F.A.C.E.s. and the ways that God has used the members of this fandom to be a blessing to me.
I want to emphasize in this speech that even as our lives change, often in ways that are a bit different than we anticipated, God never changes. He still loves us the same now as He did then: infinitely.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
I don’t know what the future holds, but I do hope it still plugs in with an Aux Cable. And even if it doesn’t… well… wasn’t the real Aux Cable the friends we made along the way anyway? God holds our future, and I’m glad that He gave me the opportunity to be a F.A.C.E. 🙂
To God be the glory, great things He has done.
*steps down from podium*
Sincerely,
Jeff Ross
Trube Fan
F.A.C.E.
H.O.W.D.A.R.E.Y.O.U.
Jeff RossFor this video, just read the title and watch the brief clip. Then, only after it’s done, start reading the top comments.
Jeff RossAt the moment… not much. Mostly cross-posting some of the messages I put on the Skype chat so the F.A.C.E.s who are a bit more active on Discord than Skype can read them.
However, they would be good for voice or text chats or facilitating group game activities if utilized. It’s just a matter of deciding to use them and showing up to do so.
If you have a Discord profile, let me know and I can send you the links to the servers if you’d like. (Last spring my Dad talked about a few of his students conducting group meetings over Discord, so I know it’s becoming more common to have one.)
Jeff RossHmm… seems we may have some faulty wiring… the alert system is supposed to bring F.A.C.E.s in, not forcibly remove them. Plus the meme usage there wasn’t bad at all.
*yells to wherever TOPHAT’s Official Hug Dealer was removed to*
Hold tight, AP! We’ll get this “literally anybody alert system” fixed somehow!
*ponders quietly*
I’d better check the owner’s manual first… it could be that the removal wasn’t prompted by the literally anybody alert system after all, but by a different Not-Forum security system. I wonder if someone installed a “memer removal system” by mistake…
Jeff RossIt’s been a couple years, so it’s time to test the system. Feel free to state your presence, even if you’re a newcomer or lurker or time-traveler or “rarely visits anymore but I’m here today” receiver of this test.
(Also #BringBackManalive)
Jeff RossAw, it truncated my link because there is no page 3 on this thread… that’s mildly disappointing that I couldn’t leave a link that might work in the future but doesn’t work today.
Jeff RossSomeday I hope this thread makes it to page 3, so that this link will work:
Jeff RossIt’s almost been three years since the initial post in this thread, yet it still holds true today. Go read it right now.
Jeff Ross#HappyAmericanIndependenceDayEveryFACE
Jeff RossAll of those links in the above post work to potentially provide access to the newer Aux Cable Discord server. 🙂
[That being said, if Matthew says don’t click the links, you probably shouldn’t click them. After all, you wouldn’t want to accidentally unleash a random band of cheese-loving submarine passengers triggered from an errant mouse Clique. Staying away from the links should bring down the Level of Concern… although it might reduce your opportunities to play golf as well… I guess it’s up to you to decide where the priorities lie.]
Jeff RossMy conclusion is this: Discord is not inherently better or worse than any other online communication platform. In fact, I believe it can be one of the best if used correctly. It would serve well as a place to host online events or organize them. Therefore I recommend the F.A.C.E.s who have not done so to give consideration to joining the platform and the Aux Cable server(s). I also recommend the organizers of F.A.C.E. events to consider how best to leverage the platform in the future, even though the Aux Cable servers are relatively dormant currently.
Jeff RossI’ll list some more observations here:
-Discord has a ton of privacy features and whatnot, so the accessibility/restrictiveness of the experience can be more user-controlled than other platforms. For example, my profile is currently set to not receive friend requests or message requests from strangers. I’m not sure if that’s the default or if I changed it, so I highly recommend looking through all the settings to make sure they are what you’d like them to be for you.
-It’s designed for use with pseudonyms and usernames, which means relative anonymity is an option, similar to the Not-Forum. One downside is I’ve seen people far more willing to give out their Discord info than other social media, which means it’s easier to get sucked into messaging opportunities that are really just time-wasting distractions.
-There are a ton of features… to the point that it may seem overwhelming… but it also provides some unique opportunities. A good Discord community has no problem asking questions, running experiments, and looking up feature sets to adjust to the seemingly never-ending learning curve of the platform.
-You can go back and retrieve old messages for various chats, but it involves scrolling up for the whole chat as opposed to the Not-Forum’s handy feature of going from page to page. [Although this might be something that can be adjusted in Discord’s settings, whether now or someday in the future; I’m not sure.]
-Discord is built for focused communication rather than worldwide accessibility, so it won’t replace a blog or an Instagram account or any other platform with a publishing focus. Rather it may replace a platform like Skype, but Skype’s streamlined approach has its place too. (Some Skype F.A.C.E.s are more reachable on Discord than Skype as a result, although the Skype F.A.C.E. group chat is still the main hangout spot.)
-The worst aspect of Discord that I’ve witnessed is I’ve seen some teens use Discord to go behind their parents’ backs to chat when they are supposed to be doing other things. That, however, is a user issue, not a platform issue, and one that families have to deal with for any social media that their children are on.
I was very wary of Discord for the longest time, since its name is “Discord” (even though it refers to the platform being there to “end the discord”). The turning point for me came when I joined Discord servers for a sizeable gaming community on YouTube that I’d become a major part of (I had been made a moderator for multiple YouTube channels in the community). The Discord involvement led to me to becoming more integrated in the community, even getting to share the Gospel with someone on Discord who wouldn’t have been accessible through many traditional means. I don’t think the F.A.C.E. Discord servers would necessarily serve that function, but when you live you faith wherever you go, including in your online interactions, doors can open that you didn’t expect. (Then again, everything about 2020 seems to be “what you didn’t expect”. XD )
Jeff RossI apologize; It’s well overdue time for me to give an update. Here is my perspective after being on the Discord platform for over tube years now:
First of all, the loading art that I objected to was removed a long time ago. Most of the Skype F.A.C.E.s joined the original Discord server this past December, and Matthew started a new Discord server in April that is a little bit better organized for all F.A.C.E.s to join, designed for a broader audience than just “the Skype F.A.C.E.s” or even “F.A.C.E.s who are gamers”.
This brings me to the next point: Discord has morphed quite a bit, being used by more than just the gaming community, such that the platform has recently rebranded from “Chat for Gamers” to “Chat for Communities and Friends”. This is a plus for our purposes, as a greater variety of users means a broader array of features and intended uses.
From what I’ve observed in my limited use of the platform is that Discord is great for groups of people who associate primarily in other places, whether in-person or on other platforms. Like, the Skype F.A.C.E.s could chat mostly on Twitter, F.A.C.E.book, and Skype, then head to Discord for gaming together or having an audio-only chat or playing with a Discord Bot, have a good time, and then leave until the next Discord get-together. However, if they tried to use Discord primarily, the group would run into the pitfalls of Discord. It tends to be “easy come, easy go”. (Discord servers are often either very active or very dormant, with little in-between.)
Active Discord users frequently join a bunch of servers and make a bunch of “friends”, only to realize it’s tube much for them and have to scale back on everything, or scale back by choice after realizing that a lot of other people on Discord join a bunch of servers and become extremely shallow in their communications as a consequence. This is why I don’t recommend Discord to be the only place for groups to associate.
Jeff RossI spotted a video that made me think of this thread, whether or not it’s actually a video that fits with this thread:
Jeff RossI made a parody of TØP’s latest song “Level of Concern” about the VeggieTales reboot TBN has releasing through its new streaming service “Yippee”. The parody is below. There are a number of VeggieTales references in it.
FYI: The second verse takes some imagery from Lyle the Kindly Viking. To make it work, I also pulled from the fact that there once was a quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings named “Christian Ponder”. Probably a bit of a reach, but it’s what I used. Also some of the punctuation may seem off, but it’s to try to help fit the text to the pacing of the actual song lyrics.
Level of Concern
(Veggie, Tales)
(Veggie, Tales)
Wonder on the brain, world has gone insane
Things are beginning to worsen (mmm)
I can’t help but think I haven’t felt this way
Since I saw the Netflix version
Wondering:
Will someone, decide to intervene?
Or is this the way it ends?
‘Cause I told you, my level of concern
And you told me ev’rything we learned
From our friends Larry, and Bob of VeggieTales
About how God made us special, loves us very much
Ponder on the brain, efforts went in vain,
Kindly throwing up a prayer now
I don’t really know if they would cope
But I won’t give up hope;
A reboot seems a good idea now
Wondering:
Will we get, one in this quarantine?
Or is this the way it ends?
‘Cause I told you, my level of concern
And you told me ev’rything we learned
From our friends Larry, and Bob of VeggieTales
About how God made us special, loves us very much
(yeah) God made us special, loves us very much
(yeah) God made us special, loves us very much
Bring down my, level of concern
Remind me that God made us special, loves us very much (yeah)
(ooooooo oh ohhhhhh)
‘Cause I told you, my level of concern
And you told me ev’rything we learned
From our friends Larry, and Bob of VeggieTales
About how God made us special, loves us very much
Remind me that God made us special, loves us very much
Remind me that God made us special, loves us very much
Remind me that God made us special, loves us very much
Remind me that God made us special, loves us very much
Please tell me now
Remind me now
‘Cause I told you, my level of concern
And you told me ev’rything we learned
From our friends Larry, and Bob of VeggieTales
About how God made us special, loves us very much
(yeah) God made us special, loves us very much
(yeah) God made us special, loves us very much
You could bring down my, level of concern
Remind me that God made us special, loves us very much (yeah)
In a world, where Larry has no hairbrush
And it’s all rather hush-hush
It’s nice that you address
(My level of concern)
How God’s way is the best
(Remind me that God made us special, loves us very much)
I need that
(Veggie, Tales)
(Veggie, Tales)
Jeff RossAmen! Thank you for sharing that verse from “In Christ Alone”, Chris!
Jeff RossHAPPY RESURRECTION DAY! My favorite hymn of today is “I Know that My Redeemer Lives”, a hymn composed by Samuel Medley in the 1700s. It lists many of the benefits to us of Jesus still being alive today, beginning and ending the hymn with the line taken from the prophecy of Job 19:25-27: “I know that my Redeemer lives!”
Jeff RossThis thread is the perfect place to put this holiday message, for in Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One. I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY, EVERY F.A.C.E.! 😀
Though your church’s sanctuary might be as empty today as Jesus’s tomb, I encourage you to rejoice today remembering how blessed we are on account of Jesus’s resurrection! In John 14:19, Jesus said, “Because I live, you also will live.” 1 Corinthians 15 goes into detail of the significance of the resurrection for us, and it would do you well to take time to read it today, knowing that God’s Word still rings true despite the ever-changing circumstances around us in the world.
Every day is a holiday, but this holiday, remembering how Jesus even overcame death, hell, and the grave for us, is one of the most special causes for celebration that we have! Hallelujah, Jesus is alive!!!
