To get things out of the way, if you're one of the frightening large number of people I've encountered who have never seen Star Wars, this entry is not for you. Instead, go find someone who has and tell them to read this, and then they will help you watch Star Wars. Since Episode I made its way into our lives in 1999, a new issue has been raised in the land of Star Wars fandom - what is the right way to watch the movies? And furthermore, how would you show them to your kids/someone who has nev
I don't know what the big deal is. He's a nice guy I suppose, unless he's being dumb. I have no idea how Becca puts up with him though, honestly. He's just always talking, even in his sleep! Love you bud!
So I mentioned over here about some hiccups during the upgrade. Nothing major, but it was all your fault. Yes you, the blogging populace of BZPower. Here's a quote from the IPS rep we worked with: Geez guys, you got a little carried away over here, you think? Anyway, they got through all the tags in the end, and hopefully it won't cause any problems in the future. As a result of this, however, I have changed some settings for tags: Maximum length per tag: 20 characters Maximum tags per
So I just saw the Castle Season 4 finale. Wow. Definitely don't want to spoil anything, but it was certainly a roller coaster of an episode. The ending has me excited for Season 5 and sad I have to wait all summer to find out what happens next. That, to me, is the mark of some truly great writing. I was also glad to see Tahmoh Penikett in there - he's a great actor and deserves a leading roll in something again. Maybe it's time to rewatch BSG...
BZPower has had a Calendar for a while now. It's seen intermittent use over the years depending on how the staff feel at the time. I just discovered a new feature that must have been added with the recent upgrade - RSVPing. Now events can be created with the option to allow members to RSVP to them. So now for real life kind of meetups, or even for contests on BZPower, we can keep a running tally of who is going. To test it out, I've added two upcoming LEGO Conventions: Bricks Cascade 2012 Br
It's already been nearly a week, but I'm finally getting around to making an entry about PAX East. In short, it was awesome. I took the train up last Thursday, from Maryland to Boston. It was my first time on Amtrak in a few years (since BrickFest 2006) and it was a pretty good experience. Longer than flying, but less of a hassle than dealing with airports or driving all the way up. It was about seven hours, and thanks to free Wi-Fi I was even able to be somewhat productive. Once in Boston
Since I have the current RPG contest on the brain, I thought that might be an appropriate topic for a Behind BZP. But first, some questions. Mailbag 1. It's fairly close to the top, actually. That said, I can give no ETA on when things will change. 2. They're like the staff anywhere else, except moreso. They have real lives and get busy. I can't say when they might start showing their faces more often, but I always hope it will be soon. There's always a possibility of appointing more staff, bu
I've had these sitting in my inbox for a bit, and I figured before they became completely irrelevant I should do something about them. Mailbag 1. Time. I really don't have the time even if I wasn't the Forum Leader over there. And not that I do a huge amount (other than reading through all the contest RPGs, dealing with reports, and running the contests - you know, little things), I haven't seen any other staffer maintain a level of activity in there that I'd be ready to hand things over to
Shhh, this is a secret. You guys are the first to hear about this, because I trust you for some honest feedback. Before the upgrade there was a 'Gallery' link that people always asked us questions about. The feature was never turned on, mainly because we were worried that hosting images on BZPower would adversely affect the performance of the site (even more). Things have changed, and now we have a new server and fewer active members. What would you think if BZPower had a gallery where you c
Hey everyone, now that I'm all done with Toy Fair coverage I thought I would do two things. First - update my blog more regularly again. Second - talk more about Toy Fair! I just can't get away from it, can I? Behind BZP - Toy Fair This was the eighth year I've been invited to a part of Toy Fair by LEGO. The way they've handled the event has changed over the years. Originally they had a private show room they would give us a tour of. Then they had gala events for a couple years where they'd ma
Sometimes real life takes priority over BZPower, unfortunately. This weekend, starting about three hours ago, is going to be a busy one. I'm not sure if/when I'll have time to post more Toy Fair coverage, but I'll bring what I need to work on it with me just in case. I'm going to see a presentation of the play 'Shakespeare Abridged,' tonight, which I hear is hilarious. Then I'll be helping a friend move into some new digs. Then I have some other possible plans. It should be a fun time, but put
I'm hard at work going through the pictures I took this morning at Toy Fair. Hopefully I'll be able to post something later today. To give you an idea of the work I have to do, and also what to expect from our coverage, here's counts for the pictures I took of each theme. Please note that I'll be taking out the bad ones and the duplicates so you won't be seeing this many posted: Bricks & More: 6 Cars: 6 City: 33 Creator: 12 Dino: 16 Duplo: 9 Friends: 26 Games: 10 Hero Factory: 52 Lord of t
In case you were wondering, I never said I was going to post these every Sunday. Mailbag 1. Tough question. I might have to go with Indiana Jones, because he's awesome. 2. Blue. No, yellllllow! 3. 6 (See what I did there?) 1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. I'm a computer engineer working for the U.S. Army. fishers wins with this outstanding suggestion for a Behind BZP. Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line. Being an Ambassador I had to go back and l
So just about exactly a week ago, I found myself sitting in Casey's at the Sheraton in Birmingham, AL with Jim Foulds, Kevin Hinkle, Watashi Wa, Emzee, and Abner (an AFOL who I've met at almost every LEGO convention I've been to). In case you're not in the know, Jim and Kevin work for the LEGO Community Team. It has a different name, but they change it every six months so I don't bother remembering. We came up with the best idea. Kevin was telling us about the many times he's driven through
I had only one question in my inbox for a mailbag this week, so I thought I'd share that first and then go on to the topic of this entry. Mailbag I like how you tried to set me up for a nice Behind BZP there. Unfortunately, we outline that process very well right here in the Staff Information topic. That doesn't mean I can't use it as a springboard though. Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line. Assigning Staff So once a potential staff mem
As I discussed last week, I was thinking of ending my Weekly Update series. And I am. Last week was the last one. It had become too much of recap of the news than anything substantial. You can get the same content from reading the front page. So I'm trying something new - 'Behind BZP' - where I'll pull back the curtain a little on the things the staff an I do. It won't be every week, but I'll be doing it as often as I can think of things. If you have something you'd like to see me talk about s
Intro Late again. Perhaps this Sunday thing was not such a good idea. Updates ChocolateFrogs posted a review of Splitface, slowly whittling down our 2012 first wave set list. There's not too many more to go, and we're working on them. BrickFair Alabama went on this weekend (hence the lateness of this update) and while there Jim Foulds revealed some 2014 set info. That's right, he skipped 2013 and went to next next year. Nothing earth shattering, but it might get you thinking. Speaking of B
Intro Welcome back everyone, for another joyful Weekly Update. Just think, the next one I do will be on Christmas Day! Updates We've continued to churn out 2012 reviews for you guys. First up, Bfahome took a look at the Joker, who is a great source for purple if not much else. Then ChocolateFrogs shared his thoughts on Jawblade, who isn't too bad of a set, apparently. In big LEGO news, a partnership with Warner Brothers was announced which means Lord of the Rings and Hobbit sets in 2012! I h
From the Rules & Guidelines: This goes for every section of the site. Recently, I've seen instances of our Blog Staff not receiving the respect they deserve. If they make a judgement call and you disagree with it, it does not mean you should make an entry complaining about it or throwing veiled insults around. Feel free to contact them and ask about it, or contact myself or another Administrator. If I continue to see this kind of behavior happening, you can expect Proto Energy and blog p
Alright, time to clear some things up. If you have heard anything to the contrary, unhear it. Pictures of ponies from the TV show, 'My Little Pony,' including 'wet mane' images, are not banned on BZPower, so long as they abide by BZPower rules. The content of pictures, as well as captions or comments relating to them, can make any image inappropriate. This site is not the place for sexual content or themes, so keep that off the site. I apologize for any of the confusion that arose in the p
Intro Another week, another update. Come, see what I have in store. (Hint: it's probably not that exciting.) Updates 2012 sets are here! LEGO has sent us some of the constraction sets for next year and Bfahome has started reviewing them for you all! Check out the Toxic Reapa and Evo reviews. Don't worry, there will be more coming up! There's a bunch of contests going on that you should check out. We've got CoT Short Stories Contest #2: The Christmas Connection if you like to write, SBC Cont
Intro Well I suppose Sunday is working out a little better in that I can put off writing this until the last minute. Wait I'm pretty sure that's not a good thing. Updates We posted another set review. This one also dates back to BrickFair (that's when I bought the Bucket Truck) and comes in the form of a video. It's an inside look into the craziness that goes on at events like BrickFair. Episode 29 of the BZPowercast went live earlier this week. I had a good time recording this one, and love
Intro Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving! Anyway, Fridays have just not been my day for updates, so I'm moving my Weekly Update to Sunday, the last day of my week. Hopefully this will work out better... Updates I've been reminded to remind you all about Short Story Contest #8! There's still time to enter or to volunteer to be a judge. Check it out! In even bigger site news, we updated the main page! Yay! There's still some stuff to be done, like the hot topics and Member Spotlight. I don't
Intro The forums are up this Friday! Woo! That means I have to do my Weekly Update though, which is almost like work. But not though, because I get to talk about cool stuff. See if you agree! Updates LEGO passed on news of an interactive store display at the LEGO store in Chicago. It seems similar to the technology used by the Xbox Kinect, where you can control the virtual world with your physical body. Seems worth checking out if you're in the area. If you're not near Chicagoland, maybe you
