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Every time I go to the BZP front page, it says: Welcome, You Have 24 Hours. You have 0 new messages. If it wasn't my name, I'd assume BZP was threatening me. --- Anyway, I now have the urge to host a boinilces mafia game subtitled "You Have 24 Hours." Like 'BIONICLE MAFIA: You Have 24 Hours', in which you have 24 hours to perform 'night' and 'day' actions taking a maximum of nine rounds, one extra if nobody has won by round eight and then split into four quarters with two rounds each: morning, afternoon, evening, night. Don't know how that'd quite affect things, but I was thinking along something basic and simple to understand like the Mafia getting the chance to kill twice in the night rounds due to it being darker (also to hasten the pace of the game, since it'll hopefully be near its end at that time), while in the morning some roles like the traditional Detective/Doctor duo were 'sleepy' and on their way to work, preventing them from acting until the afternoon. Need to think this through a bit more. Open to suggestions, though. If the game ever comes into existence.

What have I gotten myself into. I mean, the people that work there are cool, and generally speaking taking calls isn't that bad. But man. There is so much misinformation. Like, no, sir, I can't upgrade you a month early. I don't actually have that power. I'm sorry the person you called lied to you. But I actually cannot do that for you. No. Ma'am. I don't know why your refund didn't get processed. I Realize they said that, but this is what actually happened. I can fill it out for you right now though, Please hold. Sure, I'll get a supervisor right now. No. Listen, in order to get into the account I need a number tied to the account. I can't just magically bring it up because you need me to. Your MDN is not actually SPI, you can give it to me, and if you don't I can't magically find an account, that's not how any of this works. The store told you this wouldn't affect your upgrade date, well I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but that was false, please hold while I scream in frustration that I just processed a free upgrade for you that you are now going to deny. Sir, we don't have an HR department, I don't know anyone who has access to those records. I'm sorry your bill is too high, really, I really am, but after giving you several ways to drop down your bill and you denying every one of them, there is not actually anything I can do. I now have a far deeper respect for anyone in a customer service position. Except the ones who misinform the customers, you make my life that much more difficult.

The "hideous building" looks like a Gothic building on Geonosis. Also I will change my name to Pablo in order to make an appearance on this new show.

This past weekend at Bricks Cascade, the collaborative Gali Masters Mosaic finally came together. (A little last minute too, with the ones being sent in arriving just in the nick of time and another one requiring some last minute updates.) I haven't got pictures for everything else yet, but time to present this mosaic in its full glory! And it wouldn't be a BZPower mosaic without a group pict of all the builders. (Yes, ALL of them, even the ones that weren't physically there.) From left to right: Trisha, Andrew*, Jason, Ben, Dan*, Riley. Thanks again to everybody who contributed. And fret not if you weren't able to see this one; it's on the BZPower Convention MOC circuit, so it'll be showing up at a few east coast conventions, including BrickFair! *photoshopped into pict

Time for a short debrief of the weekend. BricksCascade was my second LEGO convention in Portland, the first having been BrickFest 2009. Since that was the last year of BrickFest, Cascade has taken its place as the biggest con in the area. The organization of Cascade was in general somewhat lacking. One of the great things about BrickCon is the many seminars, discussions and roundtables; Cascade didn't have much in that department. What Cascade did have was lots of free and discounted sets. Every attendee is guaranteed one free big set - I got the Ultra Agents Hurricane Heist - and on Saturday night there was a scratch-and-dent sale with sets for 47% off. I bought the Star Wars AAT, the Superman Battle of Smallville and the Ultra Agents Mission HQ for a grand total of $91. The Exo-Suit, Kopaka, Protector of Jungle and a couple of Hero Packs were acquired at the LEGO store. Also, Micah (Kakaru) generously gave me one of the trans-orange Tahu Masks that LEGO sent him, and Pat (DeeVee) gave me a clear Tahu mask and, even cooler, one of the Bionicle t-shirts from NYCC! By far the highlight - and, more and more with every convention, the biggest reason to go - was all the people. I listed all the BZP members that attended the full convention in my last entry (plus Rene). Dallior and possibly some others also made an appearance during the public hours. Trisha (Kayru) and Ben (ChocolateFrogs) were fantastic roommates for the weekend. My flight on Sunday night to Seattle was delayed, which would have caused my to miss my flight from Seattle to Edmonton. Instead of staying in a hotel in Seattle for a night, Jason (xccj) generously agreed to put me up for the night. Ben was staying with him as well. Staying the extra day turned out to be great; I had the chance to explore Portland a bit more, and I took advantage of the extensive shopping district. I also watched an apparently homeless man sing the Irish national anthem like a pro in Pioneer Square. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and the only thing that went wrong ended up being a good thing. Thanks to all for the great company and memories. See you all next time! -Letagi

Season 3 sees the introduction of permanent Guest Star Pablo Neruda

The Bricks Cascade LEGO convention took place this weekend in Portland, Oregon. After hearing from friends how it's worth visiting, this year I was able to see for myself! At about 200 AFOL attendees, it was a little small for what I was used to. But that meant a much higher chance of snagging deals, getting into some games and taking home some freebies. On Friday I played the Mixels Mix Up, where players combined two Mixels sets into something else (using all the pieces). I got third place in the judging (and more free sets)! And then on Saturday I got second place in the one-handed speed build with a City set! (No prize.) And since everyone was guaranteed to win a big set, I won the latest iteration of the Mos Eisley Cantina set! There were a few other perks due to support LEGO has started contributing to conventions. There were plenty of cool MOCs on display (pictures coming soon to the front page), some big, some small, and something that stood out in every theme. Keep in mind the con was "tiny" by my usual standards, but MOCs were still impressive both for the attendees and the public. Speaking of the public, Micah tipped me off that local Marvel Comics scribe Matt Fraction was visiting on Saturday. Due to my wishful thinking (wishful hoping) that he would, I wore my Hawkeye #3 "Because boomerangs" t-shirt, met him and had him sign it! (Majhost is down, so no pictures.) He immediately recognized the shirt to which I said it was my favorite issue. It was really cool meeting him since I missed out at New York Comic Con. For me, the main attraction has become less on MOCs and sales and more on hanging out with friends! Getting to the West Coast has different advantages than the East Coast, so I was able to see some friends I haven't seen in years, and some friends I haven't seen in months. Other members also attended, so making new friends was just another perk. You know who you all are. It was great to be able to spend time with everyone, and I think I divided my time appropriately (and hanging out as a group was great too). I also made sure I took some time to hike the famed great outdoors of Oregon. On Monday xccj and I hiked Eagle Creek and then stopped by Multnomah Falls. Due to the weekend's rain, all the waterfalls along the Eagle Creek trail were at full blast and made for some amazing scenery. Absolutely beautiful. It was great to be able to go hiking and get some fresh air, something I hadn't done in way too long. And now, another fun event has come and gone. I wholeheartedly recommend seeing if there is a LEGO convention or similar event in your area (even if going is a committed day trip) for any country. BZPower aims to have a large presence at many of the US-based conventions, discussed in our Event forum along with the goal to display your MOCs! My next big event will be BrickFair VA in August, but I plan on building some more between now and then. Events like this rejuvenate my inspiration to build something different and, if I really want to aim towards some awards, big and unique. Until then, leg godt! -CF

Doctors recommend one dose of Zatth once per every 150 years for good functioning as a country.

Bought a weekend pass (with a 20% discount as a perk for going to Let's Play Live) this afternoon! I can't wait for August! Plus some friends from school will be coming down for it. I'm almost looking forward to seeing them more, honestly. ~|ET|~

haha call centers are so lovely right right (find a better job as soon as it becomes possible call centers are terrible)

I feel like Barcelona needed a little Zatth.

I have returned! The trip was fun, and yes, there will be pictures below. We arrived on Friday at 11:45 pm, and spent the next two days in the Hilton Barcelona preparing for the tournament. Monday and Tuesday we competed, and we did well (we Sophomores crushed it, having five of our six class members winning 1st place in one of out events). (Pictured above: the Sophomores of GMU 4N6, and the people I love the most on the team) By Wednesday, though, we were finally free to travel and visit places! We walked for an hour and a half to the Sagrada Familia, and I was not prepared for it. Wednesday I focused just on the outside, but even that was astounding. We then returned back to our new apartments (conveniently located literally in front of Camp Neu), and prepared for Thursday. Thursday I had a group go with me to the Sagrada Familia Archives for my project; we also used the time to visit the cathedral itself. Two things I want to highlight; the first being the stained glass and how the light made the inside literally change colours the second being how amazing and gorgeous the inside looks (and how it does replicate a forest) Needless to say, I cried. (I also got sweaty palms, but that was when we went up one of the bell towers. Fun fact: I discovered then that I have a fear of heights!) We then spent the evening in the Gothic District, where I found the chance for a literary inside joke that only true (15)90s kids will understand: Spent the next day again in the Gothic District, which conveniently is right next to the beach (Look at these nerds) (CURSE YOU, SEA!) The last day we went to Els Quatre Gats (and I began writing a meta short story right there and then, which I might post here in the future) We then ended the day by going to the Picasso Museum and taking some vague, heroic photos (Pictured here: a fool who thinks he looks cool). In all seriousness, this was a wonderful trip. I got to see one of my fave buildings in the world, spent a week with my friends, and ate amazing. I can't stress enough how lucky I am to belong to such a great program, that dazzles me every day and lets me be thankful for what I have. PS: While there, we filmed the pilot for our new sitcom, Pablo & Pablo. Below are two promotional images:

So I fly out for Portland (still weird to say that) Thursday pretty early, and I'm stoked. Let's do this. I'm bringing more MOCs than I've ever brought to a convention before, which is crazy, because I felt like I had a ton of MOCs at BrickfairVA, but this is somehow even more (at least six more?) I'm ready to be back home for a few days and to eat all the food I miss and see the sights and the people I miss. My old store is the one nearest the convention center too, so I'm excited to spend some time with my old co-workers too. It won't be perfect, since not everyone who should go, can go, but we will make the best out of it!

I agree with the above comment; you're handling it much better and more maturely than I did when it happened to me. Here's a funny video that should get your mind off of things: look in YouTube for: "Simply Delicious Shower Thoughts with Cookie Monster". ​If nothing else remember it's ok to feel whatever it is you're feeling; don't try and ignore or deny those feelings. Let them come over you, allow yourself to feel however you want to feel, but after a sufficient time, move on. In this way you allow yourself to feel as you wish, but also understand that, as many a philosopher has said in ages past, "this too shall pass."

I support this mafia idea, but only if it's XXIV. That way we can have Bionicle Mafia XXIV: You Have 24 Hours.

Hey, folks. It been awhile since I did a little ramble here, so I thought I pop in and do one today. I guess I’ll start off by confirming (as I have done in the topic here) that I will be going to BrickFair VA this year. Hm…I guess I kind did confirm this in last entry by mentioning what my Brick Badge would look like. Although at that point, I was still working out transportation details. Now those issues have mostly been resolved as the friend, I took the Day Trips with previously, has expressed interest in coming along with me. And well, I have now registered him for the event and placed a reservation for one of BrickFair VA reserved rooms at the Holiday Inn. So I feel pretty safe now saying that me being there will be a thing. Hopefully my friend won’t feel too out of place there. Not that I am saying I am going to fit right in or anything. I mean I am not that good of MOCer (Just look at what I sent on convention circuit last year.) and well, I am a loser with terrible social skills. *shrugs* So I may try to see about checking out some other stuff, outside the convention, like museums, while we are down there. Oh, and we will be there from Wednesday (July 29th) till Monday (August 3rd). Alright, that’s enough on BrickFair VA. I am sure I’ll have more thoughts and stuff on it as we get closer to the date. I imagine my nerves will be completely shot the day before we head down. XD In other news, I guess I mention here really quickly that I finished TV series, Farscape, recently. I must say I enjoyed it a lot. I’m actually still thinking about it, even though I am happy with its conclusion. Well, the conclusion that isn’t the Season 4 finale. That one was literally the worst ending ever (I would describe it, but I rather not spoil things.). I am glad the fans of show were able to push the studio to at least produce a better ending by means of the TV movie, the Peacekeeper Wars. The Peacekeeper Wars was a great ending to the show, although I imagine it could have been even better if a season 5 had been a thing as it was originally planned. But anyway, thanks again to Black Six for suggesting Farscape to me. Oh, since I finished Farscape, I have start watching Firefly for first time since I didn’t feel like jumping back into Star Trek right away. I am currently about halfway through it and to put it simply, I am quite enjoying it. Although I am rather sad that such a unique show (It’s a Space Western!) only had 14 episodes to play with. It feels like it deserve more than that. Maybe that’s just me though. Speaking of Star Trek, I plan on getting back to watching that after I finish with Firefly. Although I decide to change my viewing schedule of it. Originally I was going to watch TNG movies before watching the Enterprise series, but it looks like unfortunately Netflix doesn’t have all of them available for streaming. So new schedule will be as follows: Enterprise > TOS (+ Cartoon) > TOS & TNG films I am probably going to see if my uncle has a copy of any TOS or TNG films that I can borrow since I know he is a big movie and TV buff. That and I am pretty sure he is a fan of Star Trek (I recall him having like models of the Enterprise and stuff.). Alright, moving on from that topic, I guess I can ramble about video games next. Although to be honest, I hadn’t play much video games this month, outside the Beta for A Hat in Time. I guess I’ll talk briefly about A Hat in Time. It looks like it is shaping up to be pretty good from what I play of it (I managed to get 11 of 14 available Time pieces. I have no idea where the first two are, but the third one is on a brutal 3D platforming map called, “Beta Hero Challenge”.). Its menu interfaces are a lot better than they were in Alpha. The camera feature is pretty cool addition (It may of been inspired by Link Selfies feature in the Wind Waker HD.). Oh, and umbrella hookshot is really fun to play with. I admit when I first used it, I thought it made you swing too fast (It doesn’t really work like Wind Waker’s hookshot does as in Wind Waker, you have more control over your swing.). But once I got used to it, it is really ideal way of getting around Mafia Town quickly as you can kind of like chain swing your way to places on the map. So yeah, A Hat in Time is looking pretty good. I look forward to seeing the finished product. It should be fun. Like I said, that’s pretty much the only video game that I played this month. I should probably play more of Majora’s Mask or any other unfinished games that I have. XD Alright, that’s enough on that topic. Hm…I guess the next topic is how my convention circuit MOCs (Dragon’s Head) are coming along. Honestly I hadn’t made any process since I have been waiting for parts for over a month now to arrive. They supposedly ship out two weeks ago, but I have yet to receive the package. So yeah, it has been on hold. Although I am starting to think the Dragon project is too complex for me, so I might just disassemble it and starts over with something else. It’s hard though trying to come up with something that moves or has lights *shrugs* Okay, I think that’s enough rambling for this entry. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and I hope you all have great day. Talk to you later, BZPers. - JMJ 2015

I don't think I mentioned it under your confirmation of BFVA, but I live 20 mins away from the Dulles Expo Center, so if at any point you need anything (a tour guide for the museums, a ride somewhere, even a late night recommendation for a place to eat dinner), feel more than free to send me a message or anything! Hopefully Sumiki and others can attest, at least, to my willingness to go on and on about the museums here and whatnot. Anywho, super glad you're joining us! (And don't worry about the social awkwardness thing, because not only are you much cooler than many of us, but you can do what we do to forget our social awkwardness, which mainly involves hats, Galidor, and overused jokes that we beat to the death. Mainly a combination of all three )

WAIT. Your name isn't already Pablo? How is that possible. No, no, the opposite must be true. It is destiny. Fun fact: the direct translation of "Cap'n Subnuki" into Spanish is Pablo! [CITATION NEEDED]

WAIT. Your name isn't already Pablo? How is that possible. No, no, the opposite must be true. It is destiny.

Takanuva! (Nidhiki's a close second though I think...gosh so is Toa Ignika...and Gadunka...and Dalu........)

This happened with a friend of mine, kinda. She was all set to go with a mutual friend of ours, but he had her on hold. He was waiting to hear back from this other girl, and he asked her and she said yes. So, after she got dumped, I asked her to go as friends. We rounded up a group and all chipped in for a limo (and our mutual friend was with us, so it might have been slightly awkward? I couldn't tell because limo + friends = awesome). So, yeah, don't let it get you down too hard (though you sound like you're handling it well). Friends can be awesome for just these situations.

Click the banner to play! A new game from me, but played (and managed) by you! If you win, you get prizes from me.

Look at the time. 24 hours is up, and a new set of 24 hours begins. A Matoran wanders in, asks a few questions, and then... You Have 24 Hours. Don't tell me you don't what the time limit's for - remember when I said 'no exceptions'? I didn't actually mean it. There's always an exception. If someone says no exceptions, you can practically guarantee there's a exception somewhere. Maybe the right circumstances will bring it forward into the light, or perhaps it's hidden away behind a loophole... perhaps it'll take a bit of what we prefer to call 'persuasion', perhaps they are the very exception they claim doesn't exist. In this case, the exception happens to be you. You're new. Too new to trust. We won't trust you, and we can't trust you. You just wandered in here and asked if you could join. You even proposed that I was an Ostrich! You were being rather obstinate about it. You even complimented me on my name, saying it was 'such name', which I have to wonder... why? Then you asked me if I had 24 hours. Once again... why!? That's where the exception comes in. You are the exception in that you have no known ties to me, no history, a clean slate. Too clean. Too clean for our tastes, too clean for us not to be suspicious. I want you to dirty that clean slate. I want you not to stop until it's the dirtiest slate in existence, a slate so grimy and unsightly that you disgust even the most degenerate of wastrels. When you're done, I want you to arrive back here, right at the moment when 24 hours is up. I want absolutely no second, minute, hour of that period to go wasted. I want to see it on the news. I want to see evidence of it. What I do not want to see is you relaxing, talking to others, or calling for help. Help is for the weak. If you do any of the aforementioned things during the period, or anything not especially heinous and unbefitting of a future criminal like yourself, then you forfeit your life. Ever since you wandered in here, you've been my possession. You belong to me, and if you want to live, you must become worse than I. Because I can't have you ruining the image of the Mafia now, can I? Remember: You Have 24 Hours. --- Well. You Have 24 Hours came out of nowhere and was the top-voted name.

10/10 Would watch Pablo & Pablo for the rest of my life 24/7

ginger ale confirmed for best bonkles character; someone write up an entry for this fantastically written character on bs01 IMMEDIATELY

Ginger ale. ... Wait, what do you mean, "not that kind of pop quiz"?

Yeah, but then... I'd be the G&T universe, but I'm like Mata Nui in that I'd rather disregard my inhabitants and get flung out my heart in a tiny mask.

Possibly not the most physic-y topic, but my all-time favourite has to be chaos theory. Other than that, black holes and space-time/general relativity, although I don't understand that much of it. ^^ Leonardo da Vinci/Renaissance art in general. I've always adored sketches and paintings from that period. And emotions, as cheesy as it may sound. ^^"

you all are making it too complicated [] You see, this represents the singularity of the human experience, and the emptiness and futility of it all that one feels inside of themselves on a daily basis. As well, the outside of the bracket represents the walls that each and every one of us puts up to keep others out, and more importantly, to keep ourselves in and at check. Therefore, my brackets are simply the best because of the rich texture and thematic meaning behind it all.

{[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]} {()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()} {[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]} {()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()} {[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]} {()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()} {[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]} {()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()} {[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]} {()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()} {[]()[]()[]()[]()[]()[]} art

And then... And then... I'M ON FRIGGING IMDB. I have an IMDb page. This is real. This is actually happening. Part of me can't believe it. Now let's get this sucker screened at a festival.

Well, Voxumo. It looks like you... Lost control.

Ben, the West Coast is really big. Google says it's almost a 17 hour drive. It's not like we're talking about New York to Washington DC.