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ToM Dracone

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  2. ToM Dracone

    ... I Live.

    By ToM Dracone,

    Well. I haven't blogged in a while, the result of a combination of Thanksgiving break followed by an uncertainty as to what to actually blog about ... As to which two solutions came up today.
     
    First in the order of business, the results for the SSC3 have been posted (since a week ago), so go check them out. Among the Honorable Mentions were Kay, <dd>, and Takatu...
     
    Second, Thanksgiving was very delicious. My cousin's uncle (not sure what the term for that relation is), who is a chef, helped my aunt, uncle, and two cousins bake the dinner, and my aunt made a discovery that the instructions for cooking a turkey make it cook longer than strictly necessary, so she found out that it was fine only a few hours in, with the result of very juicy meat. Yum. The only problem with having dinner with them is that we don't get leftover pumpkin pie, but...
     
    Thirdly, upon returning I put into effect an idea I had for a revamp of Krekka, to bulky results (in the legs, at least, as I'm still building up from there), and I also continued to work on Desdemona, whom I could probably finish pretty quickly if I could get her torso to work as desired.
     
    Fourthly, as a mathematical interlude, we're now on synthetic division and the Remainder and Factor theorems in Advanced Algebra. The first is easy once you get used to it, the second I haven't mastered yet, and the third is obvious. Fun...
     
    Fifthly, I drew a sketch of Kalmah in my own style last night (another idea I got over break), which can be found here. Makes him a bit more like a cross between a squid and a humanoid, organic aside from actual armor...
     
    And finally – and of greatest interest to me – I got Defilak and Dekar today! *happydance* They are awesome, even if they're huge. They aren't much to look at from the back, and they still lack eyes (why!?), but they have a good and solid construction. It actually works better on Dekar, since the Kiril's round, bulky shape goes with the style of the Bohrok legs, but meh. The new tools are great, but I'm not sure why the Zamor launchers are iron grey (there's none of it on the Matoran!) and the Zamor pieces themselves orange (it clashes with Defilak's color scheme)... The misty pale green from Toa Hahli and Toa Jaller would make more sense, since they're solidified air bubbles and the elemental color of air is green. But regardless, their color schemes are great otherwise, and the dark green Kualsi and yellow-orange Kiril alone would keep them awesome. Old masks in new colors! Whee!
     
    Also, am I really the only one who thinks Dekar is better as an Onu-Matoran? Getting the set thoroughly convinced me of that, but I do want to know whateveryone else thinks... *points to the below entry*
    – ToM
  3. ToM Dracone

    *peeks In*

    By ToM Dracone,

    Got back from Driver's Ed semi-recently (about an hour ago, now), about to go off and do homework now...
     
    As you may have guessed from the above sentence, Junior year brings with it an unprecedented level of business. (Mind you, that's trisyllabic.) I've been having loads of notes for AP Bio and Euro almost every day, but thankfully I have a respite from those tonight. We still haven't actually gotten into Calculus yet; we're still in the mostly easy Precalc review period, so I still can't make much comment about that. Latin has turned out to be ... acceptable. I still find Mr. Perez's manner trying and dull, but it's become tolerable now that we're actually translating the text.
     
    Greek is awesome. We meet two or three times per week, and are trying to come up with more interesting places to meet than the Latin room... I also remembered today that Greek has both the aorist tense and a middle voice, so I can't wait to go over those.
     
    And now, some quotes:
    Dr. Jones (as Katie is lying across several desks): "Or would it get too informal?"
     
    Mr. Ambler, after Brook and Katelin forgot Bio lab was today: "A pox on them and all their children unto the seventh generation! May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in their nose!"
     
    Mr. Ambler, on the first day: "Oh geeze, she's already worried about the exam. I think this is a new record."
     
    Henry to Winona, on the length of her notes: "It would be a real waste of paper. You'd be kicked out of the environmental club."
     
     
    I must also point out that the hardest Latin sentence I have encountered to date is Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso quidve dolens regina deum tot volvere casus insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores impluerit. The first four words are easy; after that it's murder to work out.
     
    Musa!
    ~ ToM
  4. ToM Dracone

    *yawn*

    By ToM Dracone,

    Took the SAT today, for the first time. It was incredibly easy. There were a couple odd math questions, but I got the answers to them eventually, and then a few of those incessantly annoying questions where it's a matter of preference rather than grammatical propriety as to which option is the best... There's nothing wrong with the passive voice!
     
    But still. Piece of cake. Now to wait a month or so and find out how I did, although I can't imagine I did badly, since it was just as easy as the PSAT and I had a bunch of extra time to go back and look at all my answers...
     
    *wouldn't mind some cake right now, because getting up at 6:30 on a Saturday ought to warrant some*
     
    Also: THE DANDELIONS ARE ATTACKING AUGH
    ~ ToM
  5. ToM Dracone

    2006 Revisited

    By ToM Dracone,

    So, Sméag and I and then Janus and I were talking about this the other night, and I figured I'd make a blog entry about it, because goodness knows I'm not going to get around to writing a story about this any time soon.
     
    Anyone remember back in 2005, when Greg told us that 2006 would be returning to a more "tribal" feel? And then how there was actually none of that at all in the 2006 story? I mean, sure, the Matoran lived in a village by themselves, rather than a city, but that was just about it. There was no culture to it.
     
    However! The Piraka looked distinctly tribal, especially in the early leaked photos we got of them (Reidak particularly more so in prototype, with his glowing third eye and longer tail). Their faces just looked deliciously like wild, scary, tribal masks, and then of course the spines added a lot more in the way of wildness.
     
    So I was thinking about this the other night, how tribal the Piraka could have been, and that made me think – what if the Piraka had been the native species of Voya Nui? They would have existed as a more primitive culture than the Matoran, hidden in the depths of the forests of Voya Nui or inhabiting the various mountains on it. I would see them as not stupid, but having a social system such that the lower Piraka were deeply, deeply obedient to the higher ones. These higher ones in the social system would be shamans of a sort, controlling the lesser Piraka with an elaborate system of myths and legends and cautionary tales to keep them in line.
     
    The Mask of Life, hidden in Mount Valmai but known to the Piraka, would be a deeply significant object of legend to them, something the Piraka would be willing to die to protect – it would no doubt be the center of all manner of stories, and probably be attributed the property of protecting the Piraka species from Mount Valmai's eruptions. That, then, would be why they fought so hard against the Toa Nuva when they arrived to claim the Mask of Life.
     
    And I guess that's where the Matoran come back in. The six we got would probably be the few who had actually dared to explore further inland, sneaking through the forests and finding out both the lay of the land and about the Piraka, and thus they would help the Nuva on their quest for that reason.
     
    But! The Nuva would still get defeated, of course. But not by some awkward scheme of "well the Nuva are the most powerful Toa in the universe, but we have to get rid of them anyway, so we'll just give the Piraka way too many powers and pretend they're strong enough to defeat the Nuva." Nothing like that. The Piraka would defeat the Toa Nuva simply by better knowledge of the land, by setting booby traps for them in the forests. They would separate the Nuva from each other and then capture them one by one by ambushes, sneak attacks, traps, and poison darts.
     
    And then the Inika come along as usual.
     
    And hey, even Vezon would make a bit more sense now. He'd be a lone daring Piraka who ventured into the heart of Mount Valmai to find the Mask of Life, and was rewarded by being made its guardian. Perhaps he himself would be legendary among the Piraka – either that, or everyone assumed he perished in the attempt.
     
    Gods, I'd have liked that so, so much more.
    ~ ToM
  6. ToM Dracone

    30,000

    By ToM Dracone,

    Wow.
     
    My Bionicle folder now has more than thirty thousand views. That's quite a lot. I guess... um... thanks to everyone who viewed it? I should have some new MOCs up soon... I hope...
     
    Also, we are now translating an invisibility spell from a medieval spellbook in Latin. It begins by effectively saying that not many people know how to become invisible. And then it has all sorts of strange requirements – it has to be on a Wednesday, the moon must be waxing, you must have recently cut your hair and beard...
     
    This is awesome. I defy anyone to find a more interesting Latin teacher than Dr. Jones.
     
    Oh, I forgot to mention it, but yesterday during ninth period a bunch of my class went out and ran through the sprinkler. It was amazingly fun. I want to do it again!
    ~ ToM
  7. ToM Dracone
    Initially, I was going to go into some sort of rant about what abominations these sets are, but I've come to realize that that would be quite pointless, for a number of reasons. Instead I shall explain why I am disinclined towards them, including those reasons. It's possible, even, that this entire entry will be filled with things you already know.
     
    First, for clarity's sake, the best adjective to describe my feelings towards them is 'disappointed.' Not in the way I was disappointed with the 2008 Nuva, since I lack any sort of fondness for Ben 10 like I had with the Toa Nuva, since I had no idea what the show was so much as about until basically tonight. Rather, I'm disappointed with Lego for making them the way they did.
     
    Clearly, Lego has created sets that will sell well, and already are. I think it's pretty simple to say why: Ben 10 is a popular thing, and these sets look impressively like the aliens from the show (so much so that one wonders, if basing a set on a familiar image is clearly a ticket to success, why they didn't make the Nuva actually look like the Nuva we know, but that's another matter). Therefore, kids see them, like both Ben 10 and Lego, say "cool!" at the combination, and they fly off the shelves.
     
    Thus they achieve their purpose (making money for Lego), and you know what? They're pretty good-looking sets, from an aesthetic standpoint. Solid colors, smooth pieces, and we get some nice stuff out of them.
     
    But – I wish Lego's goal in them were more than just to make money. That is what I find so disappointing.
     
    They've done what's needed to make them sell well – now why not go a little bit beyond that? Why not actually, say, make the builds slightly more creative than Avotoran on a massive scale? I'm not talking UCS-type complexity here, or 2001-style functions. I'm talking about the level Bionicle's been at for the past few years, if absolutely nothing more: where the feet are separate pieces from the ankles and the torsos are made of several pieces, not just a front and a back, and the upper limbs have a 'bone' piece and then armor over that. Was it really necessary to strip all of what little complexity there is in the Bionicle style, leaving the Ben 10 sets with exclusively ball-and-socket joints as the connections between all but two pieces?
     
    The Ben 10 sets are made pretty much exclusively of big, clunky pieces. While I recognize this is what many AFOLs (and heck, some of us Bionicle fans) have complained about in Bionicle for years (see things like the Piraka torso), there's a crucial distinction between even the clunkiest Bionicle piece and the Ben 10 pieces: something like the Piraka or Avotoran torsos is riddled with Technic connection points of all sorts, and (minus the Avotoran-clone sets) every Bionicle set has been filled with Technic connectors of some sort. Ben 10 pieces are lucky to have an axle hole in them, and if they have anything more, it's just a minifigure rod-sized hole (the kind viking horns attach to, for clarity).
     
    We've already seen several creative folk make lovely-looking MOCs with the Ben 10 pieces, so clearly they're not useless (and some of them are in fact quite appealing, even to me).
     
    But what gets me is this: the Ben 10 pieces look as if they were not designed to be usable in ways other than what they do in the sets. And that is the essence of why I feel enormously disappointed in Lego here. They look like they're the result of some line of reasoning like "Hey, these sets need to be solid builds that look like Ben 10 characters. Don't bother making them work as anything else; the important part is that they sell well, not that their pieces are modular."
     
    Some are better than that. The lower legs are a welcome addition to the lineup of Bionicle limbs; the new torso is intriguing and does have a fair amount of connections, but is limited severely by how huge it is.
     
    But the rest... are just oversimplified and disappointing.
    ~ ToM
  8. ToM Dracone
    It's a wonderful thing.
     
    Whether it's in regards to something as small as a difference in tastes or desires or as large as religious or political beliefs, tolerating people who disagree with you or whom you disagree with is really the simplest way to keep things peaceful and, hopefully, plesant. There's no reason a long, potentially hurtful, and in the grand scheme of things probably unnecessary argument should occur if it can be prevented just by tolerating what it is you disagree with, you know?
     
    What it comes down to is understanding. Try to see where the person is coming from. It's probably not unreasonable, though in many situations it may be irrational – just how one feels about something without really knowing why, and that's fine. Everyone will have their opinions on things, and it's just so much better for everyone if people can accept that fact rather than trying to change those opinions to their own.
     
    Of course, if you feel that you really have to object to something, or disagree with it strongly, you're absolutely free to take it up with someone! But for goodness's sake, be polite, and be reasonable. Being outright rude won't get you anywhere, but having a nice, level-headed dicussion about things just might solve the problem without getting anyone angry at anyone else.
     
    Reciprocally, what my much-beloved history teacher says is quite true: one of the best things to have in life is a thick skin. Don't get angry or insulted as a result of something someone says to you – let it bounce off before you respond. Think before you say something. As Tufi has said, wait before you click "Add Reply", and think about what you're posting and how it sounds. I know from experience that it solves so many problems if you let yourself calm down before replying to something. Sometimes I think it's best just not to reply, to let something drop or go unmarked instead of making a big deal out of it.
     
    So really, please be tolerant, won't you? It can be anywhere from respecting someone else's views to preventing a conversation from getting heated to biting your tongue instead of criticizing something that you might not like, but someone else does. Which all really come down to the same thing...
     
    And for the record, I've been musing over this entry for a long time. It wasn't brought on by any one event, recent or past, it's not directed at anyone in particular, and it's certainly not limited to BZP. We can all learn from it. I can. There are things in here that I might not have done in the past, but that I want to in the future. At least think about it, won't you?
     
    As dear Sméag put it, isn't it so much nicer to get along, respectfully even if we disagree, rather than to bicker and fight all the time?
    ~ ToM
  9. ToM Dracone

    A Compendium

    By ToM Dracone,

    I meant to post a few entries in the past few days, but I got so wrapped up in CGing the below poster that I ran out of time...
     
    First and foremost! Chapter two of Learn to Fly has now been posted, now that BL10 spoilers are allowed. See if you can tell what set I drew on for Her design, though I think I made it pretty blatantly obvious...
     
    Second, my AP scores arrived today. I got a 5 on all of them (that's the highest score, for all unfamiliar with the system). It made me quite elated.
     
    Third, and I've had this sitting in the back of my mind, waiting for a convenient time to post, I got my SAT II scores a while ago. 770 on Literature, 790 on Biology (the easiest thing in the world after taking the AP), and then a delightful 800 on Latin!
     
    More will come tomorrow. Or so.
    ~ ToM
  10. ToM Dracone
    ToM has been extremely busy of late. The combination of a paper for English, presentation on Henry of Navarre for Euro, the regular great quanties of notes for Bio, and studying 200+ lines of the Aeneid for a test left him exhausted on Monday and barely standing Tuesday night, even though he had gotten the Latin test and Euro presentation out of the way. Combine this with driver's ed two afternoons a week, leaving insufficient room after school to, to use the common phrase, chill out before diving into homework, and you have a very tired Toa.
     
    But all that is now ought of the way, ToM finally was able to start CGing a 'doodle' of Lewa Nuva he did while watching Hamlet (he loves the play, but hates the movie they're watching in class), and he cannot be bothered to do anything but paint Lewa.
     
    Some things he has concluded in the past few days:
    Luna Lovegood would be wonderful playing Ophelia. Dumbledore remains his favorite character from Harry Potter. Wearing a pink circlet as his means of wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Day attracts a great deal of attention, most of it positive, almost but not quite as much as wearing a bright blue feathered hat down to the art room. The War of the Three Henries quite possibly ties with the Defenestration at Prague for the best name of a historical event. Nightwish is surprisingly relaxing. Cold, clear nights in fall with a full moon are beautiful. Something wicked this way comes. Leigh Ann: "Oh god, it's the metaphor." ~ KV
  11. ToM Dracone
    Though, not really an eventful one in terms of birthday-stuff. Being the day before Easter/Ostara added a great deal in the way of happenings – there was baking almost constantly in the kitchen, for instance – as well as the standard dying of eggs. But otherwise it was a nice, quiet, enjoyable, and productive day... listened to Celtic Woman, the Afrocelts, and Enya throughout the day... CGed a picture of Hahli (Matoran and Mahri forms), which I'll post tomorrow, which was enjoyable... worked on my Citrus Beetle (don't ask), and devised a suitable wing design... then read some of Mairelon the Magician and enjoyed a variety of twists and turns in Patricia C. Wrede's excellent style.
     
    Had a nice dinner, too, spaghetti with ham and an alfredo sauce, and then of course chocolate cake. All of which was followed by present-opening time, which consisted of only the Exo-Force Storm Lasher in the way of Lego, but I'll probably go out to TRU and Target and see about getting some other stuffs for myself, maybe Pohatu Phantoka. But I also got three things by Celtic Woman (an awesome group, if you've never heard them), Across the Wall by Garth Nix, and then Non Campus Mentis, a book with the subtitle of World History According to College Students, which is among the funniest things I've ever read. (Did you know, for instance, that Eve at the Golden Apple of Discord, that Babylon was different from Egypt because Canadians lived there, or that Rasputin was born a pheasant?)
     
    So nothing particularly extravagant, but I did have lots of fun. We also got some calla lilies, which are a nifty-looking flower... and all in all I had a fun birthday.
    ~ ToM
  12. ToM Dracone
    Yaay, I'm Premier again! I had been waiting for it to expire, since it was supposed to in July... But now I'm back to my blog.
     
    At the moment I'm extremely interested in coelacanths. So much that I built one for BBC 45. I actually found it very surprising that more people didn't take advantage of the various only-barely-described things in the RPG, like the enormous fish that I decided to make into a coelacanth...
     

    (That'll take you to the topic, as usual.)
     
    Votes are appreciated as always, if you're so inclined...
     
    They really are wonderful fish.
    ~ ToM
  13. ToM Dracone

    A Grey Birthday

    By ToM Dracone,

    First and foremost, I'd like to wish Kay (KKN_GN) a happy 14th birthday! As I've stated elsewhere, 14 was a great year for me – hope it is for you, too. Since you seem to have enjoyed the date so far.
     
    As for the grey part of the title, that's referring to my day, which was unusual in many respects. For one thing, it stormed all day. Not that I object to that – I love rain. However, this involved high winds, downpours as we were in various parking lots (and at home – I wasn't even dry standing on the porch, thanks to the wind), several light flickerings, and general darkness outside. I suppose the only reason I object was that I didn't get to properly enjoy it, as otherwise I would have been quite fine with such weather.
     
    I also had lunch at four in the afternoon. We went out to browse various furniture stores late in the morning and didn't get home until three, after which I wasn't even hungry but decided I would do better to eat something, which manifested itself in the form of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Some time after that, the storm kicked up again, just as we were listening to Sibelius's Tone Poems, some of which matched the storm eerily. And then there was one part where the wind and music coincided – whenever the music got louder, the wind rose; when it softened, the wind dropped down. Spooky.
     
    Which reminds me ... I think I'll work on that vampire story some more tonight ...
     
    And I guess this goes under Life, as it does deal with lives, even if not all of them are mine.
    – ToM
  14. ToM Dracone
    People are much more inclined to cooperate with you, even if they disagree, when you personally serve them cookies.
     
    This has applications in many aspects of life. I think it works along the same principles as why it's much harder to insult or slander someone or other such unkind things when you're saying it to them in person than with some sort of distance between you.
     
    (and if anyone starts talking about politics I will have to hurt you.)
    ~ ToM
  15. ToM Dracone

    A Need

    By ToM Dracone,

    I find myself in need of album cover art for Gravity Hurts. Now that I have an iPod I want to put it in there, but I also don't want my cover flow to become un-pretty because of it.
     
    I was able to whip something together pretty easily for Creeping in my Soul and Closer to the Truth using one of Cryoshell's wallpapers, but as far as I know no such thing exists for Gravity Hurts...
     
    I'm thinking green. Maybe something involving Lewa, but not necessarily. Because I need more green on my iPod.
     
    ... gods I am such an apple nerd.
    ~ ToM
  16. ToM Dracone

    A Preview Of Sorts

    By ToM Dracone,

    Turaga Vakama walked forward, clutching the Mask of Light. The only sounds were the sigh of the sea and the clunk of his staff. He could feel the eyes of the Toa Nuva, other Turaga, and two Matoran following him.
     
    In the center of the wide balcony where they stood was the symbol of Mata Nui, etched into the stone within two concentric circles. It was just as he remembered. The wind of a thousand years had done nothing to it, even though the railing had crumbled further and the rest of the stone had lost its previous sheen.
     
    He beckoned to the silent group.
     
    “Jala, Hahli, come here.”
     
     
    ~ ToM
  17. ToM Dracone
    :: :: 
    The following is addressed to citizens of the United States aged 18 or older.
     
    Please register to vote and please please please actually do vote in this election. I desperately wish I were old enough, because for once I actually dearly want one of the candidates to win. Not just because he's the Democratic nominee, but because I've listened to both sides speak, read up on the issues and where they stand, and know in no uncertain terms who I want as President.
     
    But I can't vote. So PLEASE don't waste your right to do so if you're one of those lucky folks born before November 1990.
     
    The deadline for registration is coming up, at some point in October determined by what state you live in. (It's October 10th in New York.) Google "voter registration deadline" and you'll get a bunch of lists. If you're not registered yet, go do so. If you're registered but going to be in a different state (or country) on November 4th, fill out an absentee ballot form. It's easy. Really it is.
     
    Remember this: if you don't vote, you are not allowed to complain about the results. (Unless of course you aren't even eligible.)
     
    Having trouble deciding? Read up on the issues. Find out where the candidates stand on things, and see who represents you more, or who you think would be best at the helm of the country. Their web sites are a good place to start, if you're lost in the midst of all the election stuff going on. And if you truly can't decide between Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin (if you were debating between them to begin with), find an independent you like better. There's probably someone out there.
     
    And lastly. YOUR VOTE COUNTS. Do not succumb to the allure of "I'm only one person; what does one vote matter?" It matters a lot. A majority is nothing more than a heck of a lot of individual votes added up, and if a lot of people are too lazy or apathetic to vote, that might well affect the outcome.
     
    I wish I could leave this open, in the hope that people would comment on voting rather than starting a flaming debate, but experience has shown that that would not be the case at all. So alas, I must keep this closed, but I encourage civil discussion in other venues.
     
    Mandatory endorsement plug: OBAMA '08
    ~ ToM
  18. ToM Dracone
    Not in that order.
     
    First, I'm a senior now? Apparently. Graduation was Wednesday, so since there is now officially nobody above my grade, that makes us seniors. But bah, I'm going to miss the class of '08... at least a bunch of us intend to do a bunch of things throughout the summer...
     
    Going backwards once more, Monday was the last day of school. Shortened classes in the morning to get back our exams, then some presentations, commencement rehearsal for the seniors, lunch, and then the awards ceremony in the afternoon. I was extraordinarily surprised and wanted to go hide somewhere in awkwardness afterward. I ended up with the Latin Prize again (I got it last year, too), and then got this one called the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Award, which is in the realm of Humanities and Social Sciences... Katie and Sam were trying to convince me I would get it, and it made me very awkward; interestingly, Sam got it last year, and Katie and I had been trying to convince him it was him. Plus the National Latin Exam and National Greek Exam recognitions, and Henry and I were inducted into the Cum Laude society.
     
    Sandy walked past us after she got this one big award and said "this is very awkard..." and I wanted to go join her. >>
     
    But on with the tale! Tuesday (and Wednesday) was spent coloring Onua, and Tuesday evening I spent at Seabreeze with Brook, Leigh Ann, Youri, and a few others as part of an end-of-year party. They made me go on roller coasters. I enjoyed having gone on them more than the actual going, I think... but still, we had much fun and got fluffy snakes from the arcade. I will treasure mine forever.
     
    Then Thursday and Friday there was this college workshop thing for upcoming seniors at my school, so I spent most of the day at that. There were useful things here and there, but on the whole I thought it was very useless given how we had heard pretty much everything already elsewhere. I did get a pink feather boa out of it, at least.
     
    And all of that is really there to list the reasons why I still haven't posted that MOC – I've been too busy with other things to take pictures, and then today it was too cloudy and dark. Tomorrow!
     
     
    Now, the Question. I'll be do a finalized Gali or Lewa next in Project Nuva, now that I've come up with a pose for Gali and finished Lewa's Miru Phantoka, but an idea occured to me. Do you think Gali would be better with an upper arm assembly like in the prototype shot I posted, or with an entirely new armor piece? The new shoulder armor would be based loosely on this (rotate the open area to be downward), and attach like Inika shoulder armor. And it would be silver, obviously.
     
    I was thinking that the Nuva 2008, even my own versions, are remarkably poor in actual new body molds – most of their new pieces are masks, tools, the new Nuva armor, and means of flight; only Pohatu's forearms are actually a body piece. And since the Mistika can't even count the Nuva armor as a new mold, new shoulder armor for Gali, or possibly Tahu, would help in the respect of new molds. But it's also not strictly necessary, either.
     
    What say you?
    ~ Mona Lisa
  19. ToM Dracone

    A Surprise

    By ToM Dracone,

    I can transform into a cassette player!
     
    ...that's not the surprise.
     
    I've actually started writing that serial I mentioned in the comments of the Nuva Armor entry, about my own version of Takanuva getting to Karda Nui and his adventures along the way – no dimensional hopping involved. I got the first chapter written last night and today (faster than I usually write most things), and I've posted it in Epics over here. The chapter isn't that long, so if you could read it and leave a review, that would be awesome.
     
    (I mention the length because a bunch of people said they'd review the restarted QfLD, but only one actually did. I think the length of just one chapter might have been what deterred them. )
     
    I noticed last night that I was writing a story titled Learn to Fly while listening to the Iron Man soundtrack. (Which is one heck of an awesome soundtrack.) It was an amusing revelation. :3
     
    Which reminds me, I have other things to blog about later. I don't really know why I haven't added an entry recently; it's not like I've been too busy... well, I was at the end of last week... I'll just stop talking now.
    ~ Soundwave
  20. ToM Dracone

    A Third Teaser

    By ToM Dracone,

    I go to pick up the printed poster tomorrow. If you're good, maybe I'll take a picture of the poster itself. Otherwise it shall be revealed properly at the end of August.
     
    Les comptes de mes aventures en Bruxelles viendront demain. Until then I am still away.
    ~ ToM
  21. ToM Dracone
    Hm, meant to do this at the beginning of December... Well, I haven't been on the computer much for the past two weeks, and I guess today might be the best day to post this anyway: a summary of ideas introduced in 2007's sets, and why they either succeeded or failed.
     
    Might as well start with the biggest.
     
    ~ Non-clone sets. This succeeded generally to perfection with the Barraki, but only partly worked on the Mahri. With the Barraki, each one had his own unique "body" mold (that is, not a weapon or face), which served to tie the rest of his pieces together into a distinct shape. Ehlek, for example, had his spine pieces, which worked with the shape of his body to tie mostly old pieces in old colors into a single shape... rather than looking a bunch of old pieces thrown together. The Mahri did not all have this. Jaller and Kongu had their chest armor, which worked just as well as the Barraki's new molds, but the others were more iffy. Nuparu had his spike armor, which would have done the trick if the rest of his limbs hadn't been see-through and his mask the only silver part of his body. Hewkii, too, had his shoulder spikes, but the rest of him was so mish-mashed that the result was a confusing bunch of pieces and colors. Hahli's wings and Matoro's shoulder pads did the trick for them, but not quite to the extent of the Barraki. (But since they were the Inika transformed, much of their bodies still being Inika pieces worked swell.)
     
    ~ Visors. Needs little explanation, and still going strong in 2008. Going straight along with these are the Mahri's masks – masks that can be modified by adding more pieces to them. This is good so long as the mask looks good even without anything attached to it.
     
    ~ Upper-half masks. Well, mask, with Hewkii's Garai. Interesting idea, and it worked pretty well on Hewkii, since the (in my opinion) unsightly mouth of the Metru head was still covered up.
     
    ~ Multi-piece shoulders. Only Kongu had this – a chest region where the body-to-shoulder attachment was actually built from multiple pieces, not just an Inika or Piraka torso (or Vahki hips). The idea was great, but because it resulted in such atrocious proportions as Kongu had it, it looked much worse than a standard chest.
     
    ~ Rahi familiars. (A familiar is an animal companion spirit, for those who don't know.) Meaning, of course, Jaller's crab. She looked good, did not mean Jaller had to be forced together from fewer pieces (I think he's one of the best-designed Mahri, really), and boosted his piece count as well. I would absolutely love to see a full set of Toa with familiars.
     
    ~ Winged canister set. Hahli looked awesome. Antroz follows in much the same vein, but with less flexibility; Chirox and Vamprah's wings are their arms, while Kopaka's are limited to up-down rotation. Hahli's are pretty much the best in terms of posing.
     
    ~ Shoulder pads. Looked great on Kalmah, Matoro, and Lesovikk, and it wouldn't hurt to have a few more pieces that could be used as such...
     
    ~ Shortened Metru eyepiece. Great piece, but I've always hated that air tank thing on Kongu's head... That blemish aside, now all we need is the eyepiece in more colors. And some Metru heads and Hordika necks in more colors wouldn't hurt anyone, while we're at it.
     
    ~ Waist articulation. Maxilos made good use of it – it looks stunning on him, finally allowing a set to be posed to realistically shift his weight. I can't truly say on Pridak, since I don't have him, but I imagine it works better on such a set as Maxilos, whose body is stabilized by his pistons, while Pridak and other canister sets might be a bit too top-heavy.
     
    ~ Full shoulder movement. Maxilos. Love that part of him. Might be difficult to make for a canister set, but more titans with such would be truly wonderful.
     
    ~ Nocturn. He's so awesome he gets a category all to himself. Two great things about his color scheme: one, suddenly releasing a large number of pieces in a color previously only used as a secondary color (all that lime); two, adding more pieces in a color blend introduced earlier (the Takadox-blue head and spines).
     
    ~ $15 Titan. Would be nice to see more of them – we now have Mutran & Vican for such, but they pale in comparison to Nocturn. I've thought for a while that Hydraxon, Lesovikk, and Toa Ignika would all be better as $15 sets, given their about-150 piece counts...
     
    ~ Lime? Just because it was remarkably prevalent this year – Ehlek, Nocturn, Hahli, Lesovikk, and Karzahni all had it with fair prominence, so I was just thinking that it might be interesting if another bright secondary color got the spotlight at some point... (Going along with Nocturn, the titan in a secondary color.)
     
    ~ One-piece blasters. Not so good. Certainly the Cordak and Midak would require pre-assembledness, given how they work (or my understanding of how the latter works, since I don't have one), but in the case of the former I'd rather have something that I can build myself and that fires every time. (Zamor anyone?) Also, every single Cordak blaster being red clashed and stood out horribly on a lot of its wielders – Midak is far superior by being both black and, as far as I can tell, guaranteed to fire.
     
     
    That's all I can think of at the moment – if you can think of more ideas introduced in 2007, do mention them. Most of these worked pretty well, and some are being continued in 2008 – most noticably the non-clone sets, but through different means than either Barraki or Mahri had them. One thing we that would be really good, methinks, is a multi-piece chest that doesn't result in hugely disproportionare shoulders.
     
    And I've got to go. I got the Exo-Force Arachnoid Stalker and Tanma today (no Karzahni) – the former is an excellent set in every respect; Tanma will be getting a full review from me... And with that said, happy New Year to all!
    ~ ToM
  23. ToM Dracone
    A couple possible designs for the shoulder armor I mentioned two entries ago... The one on the left is much more finalized and is Bionicle-stylized (note the practical pistons, Aanchir), but some of the other stylization is bugging me. For instance, the rectangular indentations on the upper half – I'm not sure if they look so great where they are. I might get rid of them and leave the top smooth, or they might migrate to the middle section of the top rather than the sides...

    The one on the right is an earlier sketch that I included because I like the general shape, though it's less Bionicle-y. This one's wider than the other; the top half would be four studs wide from side to side. Both stick out a stud and a half from where they lie on the upper arm socket.

    I'll probably end up combining them for the final thing, but... what do you think?

    Oh, this is also pretty definitely for Gali now. I'd like to put it on Tahu, but he has a ton of new molds and new ideas already, while Gali has fewer of both and thus could do with the added interest of new shoulder armor... much though I liked the Inika thigh armor/Nuva shoulder armor combination I had given her.
    ~ Shipwreck
  24. ToM Dracone

    About Those Names

    By ToM Dracone,

    So, that thing about trends in the names from 2001-2 I mentioned a earlier. Specifically relating to two consonantal sounds: f/v and s/z.
     
    V was all over the place in 2001, but f much less so. This led me, in considering the name "Faxon," to wonder whether it was a question of the following vowel that determined whether the hard v or soft f were used; for instance diphthongs like ai or au or stronger vowels like a or o or, apparently, u. For instance, Vakama, Vuata Maca, and Amana Volo, contrasted with Fikou, the only name starting with f I could think of, which had the softer i sound.
     
    This led to pondering the letters s and z, both of which were conspicuously lacking in 2001-2 – there were the Krana Su and Za, but before that all I can come up with even now are the Suva, Fusa, and Manas. Naturally, since the two sounds have exactly the same relationship as f and V, the same rule would probably apply to them, but with so few examples one couldn't say.
     
    Since then (actually just this afternoon), I've found that the idea of soft or hard sound depending on following vowels doesn't really work, as shown by the Fau Swamp and Fusa (I had forgotten about that one), but I think I'll still be using that rule in Matorau. It's a fun idea. I also just thought that with a name like Hafu, where the f sound is in the middle, whether f or v depends on the rest of the word. I say "Hafu" with that strong English – more American than British, I think – A sound (like in "ham" or "fan"), so that would override the u after the f... Whereas words like Nuva and Suva don't have such strong vowels.
     
    Just some ideas, really, which I'll be using even if they don't completely work within the Maori-esque age of Bionicle. The Fau swamp and Fusa would, I suppose, just be your average irregularities...
     
    ...Oh, that's enough for one entry. I'll list the names tomorrow, referencing this heavily, because I might as well go into the Makuta's names at the same time, and that will bring up a whole new subject at the same time...
    ~ ToM
  25. ToM Dracone
    It is so weird seeing images I made all over the forum. Pretty nice, though. I'm very fond of how most of them turned out. And oh, I had fun making them (roughly two-thirds, more if you count things I finalized), even if it took a while sometimes.
     
    Just you wait, the best are yet to come. I like the Inika, Barraki, Mahri, and a lot of the Karda Nui stuff best. Keep watching Kex, Screenguy, and munkey! Though there are some fun things on the way that I'm looking forward to hitting as well. As soon as I get past Master of Shadows Defeated, because I don't like the image I made for this one.
     
    Onward! And a happy Hannukah to all!
    ~ ToM
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