ChocolateFrogs

So happy to see you again, especially getting an extra day beforehand once you landed. Take care!

It was great to spend another event with you. Being able to see everyone again is always fantastic!

Steampunk fans! Have you heard the sweet tunes of the Steam Powered Giraffe? For the uninitiated, they are a steampunk-themed rock band (with a slight hint of folk), and at shows they even act the part of being automatons through their movements and way they talk with each other. They have all kinds of songs, from things about steamboats to pirates and suspenders to magic. It's not a gimmick, their singing is really good and the songs are catchy! So I immortalized them in LEGO for BrickFair's Steampunk theme: Furthermore, I'm bringing another new Steampunk build, utilizing the Pteranodon: And, almost surprisingly, there are more MOCs to come! I've been keeping busy the past couple of weeks, seeing as how I procrastinated on LEGO building for a while. Stay tuned! -CF

Great review, xccj! These look great, and I'm happy to see LEGO embracing the Steampunk theme! I'll have to get one or all of them to spruce up my Steampunk builds. -CF

Applicability makes so much sense. It's terrible in Literature class when the teacher is trying to force meanings into things (though I also have problems with being forced to look for meanings), especially when they weren't there in the first place. It is, however, entirely acceptable to find things that entered the text without direct purpose simply because of what what happening at the time (like a war going on when Lord of the Rings was written). Influence versus force. -CF

Beard harder with all your might. As for insulation vs the heat, that little beard will make no difference. Mine is currently trimmed to a pleasant length and I've got no problems. -CF

This is a rant. It's about adults. Not adults like me, but adults much older than me who have some life experience and know what they're doing, and thus think nothing of the consequences on my psyche when conversing. Granted, I do know adults who have their life together--solid job, living on their own--but most of my complaints are coming because of even older adults. It's about conversation. And while I definitely dislike small talk, it's unavoidable. And while I'm learning how to ask small-talk-like questions that are actually meaningful, the same usual small talk queries are addressed to me whenever I meet new adults. The questions are simple: "What did you study in college?" and "What do you do?" (The latter meaning jobs and money, not in life in general in your free time. More on that later.) I understand that my answers are in my control. I'm living at home and underemployed. I believe in responsibility and accountability, and I hold myself to my societal shortcomings. Though adults are always kind in talking about the troubled economy and job market. But it falls to me. But what falls to them are the questions. Why ask things that remind me of my shortcomings? I understand it's easy, but even after that topic has been breached it remains the point of conversation. It's not like it's a lead in to other interests. Small talk like this would be so much better if we focused on, say, hobbies. "What do you do?" "Oh, I build LEGO creations and collect comic books." And there is so much conversation to be made going on from there. People are enthusiastic about their passions, and it allows the other person to continually ask questions and show/feign interest. And even if the job question has come up, my working in a bookstore is such a great lead for a deeper conversation about books. Everyone (mostly) reads! What isn't there to talk about in the world of books? Until such ends are met, I will just have to live with my problems, work harder in any job, and steer the conversation into something more favorable. Now, I know I have plenty of friends also living at home and not working in their field of study at school (if they even went to college). And I also have friends that are adulting better than I am either by making enough to move out yet remain underemployed or actually making a career out of their interests and studies. So I ask: What problems has everyone encountered? What have you done until better options came along? What kind of comments have been received; what kind of answers were given? And what is the best way to bear with the unbearable smalltalk? -CF

Yeah. It looks nice, but needs a conflict, of course. I can't think of the last $30 set that only had one minifigure, if there is one. -CF

You know what's great about having a friend who is extremely adept at making trades and scouring ebay for deals? He knows just how to grab something rad online. A few days later and bam!--Toa Lhikan Hordika puts in my hands the Collector, one of San Diego Comic Con's exclusive LEGO minifigs last year! (A trade, of course.) He looks good with the team, and by team I'm including the proper Nova, of course. And Drax has his signature energy axe. (A second thanks goes to xccj for grabbing me Rocket in his Ravagers outfit.) What is really cool about the Collector is the backing of the case unfolds to show a large image of him, scowling (the other side of his minifig head). Not that any sane LEGO collector would display this unless there was a safe way to do so, but it's a pretty neat bonus. But the exclusives don't stop there! I also have another benefactor: my manager who used to work at GameStop and snagged all kinds of extras for the LEGO video games. So now I have the exclusive Elrond figure and, better yet, Lex Luthor in power armor and, better yet, Plastic Man! Certainly exciting additions to my collection. What's next? Making a display case for all of these (and my other exclusives)! -CF

Baltimore Comic Con is happening at the end of September, and I'll be going! So far it sounds like 55555 is planning on going too, but it'd be cool to hang with anyone else attending too. Hopefully we'll be getting a hotel to stay a night and attend two days (Friday and Saturday, unless he has other plans), so if anyone else wants to join us and keep costs down, let me know. Right now it's planning logistics with Fivey, figuring out what/if I'm cosplaying, and which comics I need to bring to get autographed. But until then, I'm eagerly awaiting the convention that is coming way too quickly to keep up with my MOCing schedule: BrickFair VA! -CF

Oh wow! This fig is definitely worth getting! (So if FalCap.) Great idea for an exclusive. -CF

I love how his head can reverse to classic comic eye mask! It really completes the minifig. -CF

There are a few good memes floating around online. Philosoraptor is one such meme. And now he's come to LEGO: The PhiLEGOphy Raptor! (Cell phone pic with decently solid background at WAMALUG using a friend's raptor.) Make your own! Maybe more to come? Enjoy! -CF (Totally stole that thought from a LEGO Movie character guide.)

This looks great! But he needs a crimson cowl... Good luck to everyone trying to snag a copy! -CF

LEGO Marvel is absolutely fantastic! I recommend it for everyone. This was just the kind of sale I was waiting for to grab LEGO Batman 3. Good price with the bundle for the DLCs, which are going to be fantastic, so I couldn't pass up this opportunity! -CF

Agreed. Nuju Metru's design deserves to be on the shelves of LEGO LotR fans everywhere! The Maze, though, is a great choice! It's different from what LEGO has done, isn't a licensed theme, and will hopefully inspire kids with all kinds of build mechanics as they build it and build their own variations of games. -CF

What I'm getting from this is that "Kronkiwongi" is a nonsense-term LEGO made and then had kids build what they thought a "Kronkiwongi" would look like. Is it a robot? An alien? A fancy boat? A hat? LEGO isn't trying to replace the word "creation" (or "MOC") with "Kronkiwongi," but rather see what pops into children's imaginations when they hear the word. -CF

And that's why this is AFTER brunch!

I'm 100% serious about this: Everyone name at least one of their MOCs Kronkiwongi for BrickFair VA this year. One Bionicle. One spaceship. One castle defense. For each person! So we can have a variety of numerous Kronkiwongis shown off! -CF

This looks great! The Lunar Limo was one of the best sets of 2010, and this is a very fun and faithful adaptation of that. I'm a sucker for micro-builds! -CF

On Friday, May 1, I had the fortunate pleasure of seeing and hearing Neil Gaiman, my favorite author, speak in DC. It was a fantastic evening, shared with Toa Lhikan Hordika, who has also been a fan and is slowly being inducted into more of his works as well. The format was different than what I've experienced before with author talks. This time around, people could write questions down on a note card before the show. So he comes on stage, giving his usual "Hullo" we all know, holding a stack of maybe 300 note cards. The entire night is just him picking a card and answering it, going off on minor tangents when it suited him and digging deep into his personal experiences to share his world with ours. In that way it felt like we were having a conversation with him, or a very informal interview, in which he's simply talking to us, for us, about pretty much anything. He even answered my question! I asked what I can say, as a bookseller, to parents that are set on not letting their kids read new and genre-filled books since they're forcing their kids to read arguably boring and uninteresting books (depending on the reader)? His answer ("Ah, parents," he says, and the audience laughs) was to handsell books with a passion so that maybe they'd allow something new to be tried. A good answer, of course. He had various touching moments, from recounting how many women said Coraline inspired them as young girls to be brave, to speaking briefly about Terry Pratchett and writing Good Omens together. He had advice about writing and living a good life. He spoke of adventures he had even when he didn't realize they were adventures. He made us laugh, fall silent, and take in his every word in only the way his voice can as he pauses every now and then as if choosing his next word to make sure it is perfect. He also read a few short stories from his new book, the anthology Trigger Warning, and a few pages from Good Omens and then told us which part Pratchett had contributed to. I was especially happy because he read the October Tale from A Calendar of Tales, which is my favorite. It is about a genie who appears for someone who does not want or need anything obtained through a wish, and is happy with their simply life and starts to befriend the perplexed djinn. (The whole Calendar can be read for free online.) It was unlike anything I've experienced, and even if I see Gaiman speak again it will no be anything like that night. It was an evening filled with humorous, heartfelt, and truthful insight into his life and his books. What a fantastic way to start the month. -CF (PS, I recommend his books American Gods, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and his comic series The Sandman, for anyone interested in a starting point for his works. And then I recommend everything!)

General Grievous looks great--well, as great as he could be for a CCBS LEGO set. Quite a different direction from his first big iteration, and mostly for the better. I'm fairly tempted to get him, though I'd also be tempted to utilize him for pieces! All that tan, and the head especially--wow! There are a few good pieces in Obi-Wan too, though there's less wow-factor with him. -CF

I was cleaning up my room a bit and dug around in a few boxes. To my bemusement, I found an old Exploriens' box! While this is the oldest box I haven't recycled yet (I've recycled everything except Bionicle canisters, which up until recently were used as parts storage), the oldest set I still have built is a RoboForce vehicle that is sitting on my shelf (gathering dust). The Exploriens are my favorite LEGO Space theme, but I suppose at some point in my childhood I felt the need to take this set apart but was never compelled to do so to the RoboForce one. At this point I don't really feel like I should, if only to keep a bit of my childhood around (as well as a variety of figs). Also unearthed was a tub of Bionicle things I didn't miss: Piraka spines, Kanoka, Rhotuka, Kraata, Zamor, and some torsos from 2008 and on. I reorganized my Bionicle collection late last year but never said, "huh, I wonder where those Piraka spines are." But, I know they have building potential. (I wonder if the Rhotuka and Kraata are worth anything in my BrickLink store....) Oh and I found the LEGO Club BrickMaster CD with Bionicle comics #1-25 on it! Now I can reread most of the story (seeing as how I have no idea where in my house the physical comics are, despite now wanting to bag and board them). Just another day in the life of an AFOL! -CF

Until I finally get and print on some water slide decals, I've made the first version of Green Lantern Booster Gold: Now to make Skeets! -CF

Glorious! Good job, everyone!