Ektris

Naruto resumed with the start of a filler arc. Again. UGH! We had like 3 or 4 episodes after the last one! Tokyo Ghoul √A immediately reminded me of my biggest, and still pretty darn valid, problem with the first season - that ending was garbage as an ending. Fantastic episode, not a good close to a season. It was just a plain bad ending point. And how it resumed was horrible. But the ending of the first episode of √A would have been fantastic to end the first season! So that out of the way, I still liked it, and am definitely interested in where it's going. I also just learned it's going to be radically different from the manga, but by the author, yesterday. And that sounds fascinating. Also made me go read up on everything the manga's done lol. (And want to go read it properly now of course...) ~|ET|~

Anyone else get an email from LEGO with a free shipping code for some sort of flub made with the notification system on the 1st? Because I think I'll be getting some more sets a little sooner than I intended now. ~|ET|~

That poster is really awesome. I'm surprised we're not seeing it pop up more often.

Sounds like it's just an original score composed for the commercial. ~|ET|~

Just going to point something out here. The Skull Spider may be a measly opponent for a Toa, but there's more to their inclusion than just that. The fact that Skull Spiders can mind control a character by attaching to the figure's face means that once you have TWO hero sets (two Toa, or two Protectors, or one of each), you can replace one of their masks with a Skull Spider to allow for a much more even confrontation. It's a nice way of compensating for the 13-set initial wave only having room for a single dedicated villain set, since ANY set can be made into a villain using only the set's default contents. I think that's mighty clever, myself. So... you're saying... Get Lewa next? (But that's a fair point. So for now the Spider is chilling on my spare new head wobbling around lamenting his lack of a body.) ~|ET|~

All still prototypes though, and yes, as has been pointed out, I'm not including them anymore. Even if I have one of the transparent orange Masks of Fire and would love to show that off on the checklist. Also, thanks for the link Munty. Will update tonight if I remember. And keep tabs for whenever the gold and blue ones show up, which hopefully happens. ~|ET|~

Their games have just been such a refreshing change lately that I'd probably be all over this. It would undeniably satisfy that storytelling itch a lot of us probably have with the new generation. I've only played The Walking Dead (though do have Wolf Among Us and plan to get Game of Thrones, so my sample size will get larger but is not great right now), so using that as a base, one change that I feel would need to be made is more involved action. There's no way a BIONICLE game could be carried by story on its own. ~|ET|~

I now have a set in hand. If I ever said anything at any point criticizing CCBS anywhere, I would like to take it back. This system is kind of phenomenal. I especially like those "friction extenders." (I FINALLY understand some of the new jargon by having them in hand! Also, are they usable with old style Technic ball and sockets? Didn't want to try myself in case they were known to cause breaks...) Words only explain so much and I was generally pretty confused by a lot of talks about it due to my ignorance from not having purchased a set using the system. I was honestly scared at first by how tight the joints were, based on many of my most recent purchases being sets from 2008 and their infamous joint issues. But after playing with Tahu for a while, that fear went away. It's fantastic to play with. Although posing the arms can actually be a little bit of a chore thanks to that tightness, because it just wants to move the gears instead lol. Also, layering armor works really well and comes off pretty cool. I really do wish that there were more Technic connections on a lot of the pieces, though. I recall this being a common complaint when the system first came out and maybe it still is. It was certainly one of my first thoughts (and I totally expect to just be told to accept the way it is now, but still how I feel after just a few hours of messing around...). If I have any disappointment, it's the conflict in a box... And that's a huge personal one, since I totally understand the intent, applaud LEGO for it, and kids will probably love it. But the Skull Spider just became forgettable almost instantly. It's why I'll still be picking up the Lord of Skull Spiders and hoping that the summer sets include more bad guys. I want variety in my character alignment, but I also want there to be actual substantial sets for both. There's just not enough I could do with the spider. Tahu himself is just great though. ~|ET|~

I was incredibly disappointed walking into TRU yesterday to see full shelves, but nary a BIONICLE set in sight. But I was most delighted when the Target down the road had them! They had clearly been picked through a lot already - only empty spaces in the LEGO aisle even. Didn't see any $15 sets, only a handful of Protectors (don't think all of them were even there), but a ton of Kopaka. And maybe two Tahu. One of which went home with me and was an absolute delight to build. I'd have grabbed more, but other things I found had me put back a few Protectors. Still, seeing BIONICLE on shelves again was fantastic. ~|ET|~

Yeah so I got lazy again and haven't done much work lately. Not that there was much more than fiddling, but still. What you posted is basically what I was considering, Munty. Just still maintaining the minimalist approach to white space I like heh. Majhost is down right now, so I know I don't have anything to point to clearly (should probably update my Flickr mirrors since those are quite outdated...), but I'm still not really satisfied with the pictures used for the Skull Spider masks. They're from the online instructions and those were disappointingly grainy, so anyone know if anything better is online anywhere yet (that doesn't involve them with legs attached)? ~|ET|~

I was honestly more impressed with you finding this 2.5 year old entry than wondering why it wasn't working. Majhost, which it's hosted on, is just down right now. It'll hopefully get sorted out soon. And for reference, here is my current topic discussing the lists.

Once again, congrats.

Yeah I'm a few days late, but I'm also sitting here unable to sleep when I have to get up in 3.5 hours to go to the airport, so I wanted to find something to do. I want to keep this short. It feels like for the first time, I can confidently say that a year was good to me. I graduated college, I got a job, I'm comfortable where I'm at despite living truly alone for the first time, I got engaged... There were still some bumps along the way (still have some anxiety and other episodes), but as a whole package it was pretty good. I've walked into 2015 feeling confident, and it's a great feeling. So happy belated new year, everybody. May it be good to us all. ~|ET|~

All these years later, Lhikan & Kikanalo remains one of my absolute favorite sets. Brutaka and 2008 Takanuva come very close behind as excellent sets as well, but they just can't top that duo. ~|ET|~

I would really like to believe that they aren't. The weapons could very easily be passed along with the mask and title. But instead, everyone's probably just going to have ridiculously long lifespans again... ~|ET|~

My expectations weren't very high for a mobile app, so what we got looks pretty fun to me. For the time killer it will be. And I'm looking forward to playing it. I only hope it doesn't take too long to be made available for Android devices. Edit: And apparently it did go up since I checked this morning. Alighty, downloading now! Editedit: And I'm one of the people who can't progress past the level select screen... ~|ET|~

Ah, that's why you kept appearing and disappearing from my friends list. Pity that when my Friends List said you were online you weren't ACTUALLY connected to the internet in-game... I kept logging on hoping for you to appear so I could see you in my PSS and get your Secret Base... but no such luck. Oops. :3 Yeah I keep forgetting to go online in-game when I'm actually doing stuff... Just always forgetting that it's not automatic. But today and yesterday it's been all Ho-Oh. My fiancée loved the incessant notifications of me being nearby as she played AS next to me lol. ~|ET|~

Now that I've finished up all the shows I was watching this season, some thoughts... SAOII delivered for what I wanted it to. It was unquestionably better than the first season (taken as a whole... the charm of Aincrad is still hard to top and I do wish, like many others, that we saw more of that world). I just wasn't very pleased with the ending, which was blatantly sequel bait. It wasn't even a very exciting cliffhanger - despite that it would have also just been pushing for another sequel, there's a point a little farther along that I wish it had ended on that would have wrapped up the season together rather well instead of seemingly having three distinct plots. It would have been a much more impactful cliffhanger too. Psycho Pass 2 was a mess... It took too long to make it clear and it's all still shrouded in confusion, but I like the basic premise of "who judges Sibyl?" as the second season. It just was not executed well. Unlimited Blade Works has been great. I really wish it was continuing straight into the next season and not taking a break lol. It's just so much more interesting than the Fate route, and this show had a season finale I was satisfied with. They're doing a good job at making all of the characters interesting, which is a lot like Fate/Zero and I love it (well, except Rider, who went the way of Zero's Assassin... But then we should see more of her in Heaven's Feel anyways). Log Horizon is continuing so not much really to say here, although I definitely didn't care for the Valentine's Day episode. Just uninteresting. The conclusion to the raid before it was awesome tough. Next season I'll be watching: Log Horizon 2 (continuing from the current season)Tokyo Ghoul √A (What kind of name is that??)Aldnoah.Zero 2 (Even though I'm not pleased with what will happen... I feel like I need to continue)Durarara!!x2 Shou (This I can't wait for)~|ET|~

Trying to get a shiny Ho-Oh right now. Let me tell you guys just how much fun this is. ~|ET|~

Having a harder time deciding than I expected to. The Zamor Launcher were obnoxiously overused, but they did work. Although firing them was a little awkward. Cordaks were just kind of cool for their gatling function. The Midak Skyblaster I have always adored as perfection, even though it is definitely on the large size, to its detriment. The Thornax Launcher I had mostly forgotten about because I only currently have two sets that used it, so I never did much with one. But being reminded of them, they really were pretty good. And honorable mention to the Shadow Leeches for being cool and adding a lot to the aesthetic of the Makuta. Hmm... For my vote I want to go with what I remember playing with most, so ordinary Zamor it is I suppose. ~|ET|~

That's the beauty of a Wiki. You can go do that yourself. So basically just throw it up there with all the other spelling and grammar translation snafus the site's still rife with. Still odd that it alone stood out consistently. --- Still don't have any sets myself nor have I been able to look. But that's fine. I think I've decided to take a slow and steady approach anyways. ~|ET|~

Non-Christmas edition. S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gaim Kiwami Arms Play Arts Kai Kingdom Hearts II Roxas Transformers Generations Skids Nintendo Amiibo Little Mac Nintendo Amiibo Fox Transformers Age of Extinction Snarl BIONICLE Transparent Clear Mask of Fire BIONICLE Transparent Orange Mask of Fire Nintendo Amiibo Luigi Nintendo Amiibo Zelda Nendoroid Red Month started off on a mixed bag. I got Roxas and Gaim Kiwami Arms at the same time, and while Roxas I couldn't put down, Gaim... Well Gaim is a literal lemon amongst his fruit brethren (not to be confused with Duke Lemon Energy Arms coming next month though ). He's such a disappointing figure and fraught with issues. Luckily mine escaped having a shattered chest, but the chest sticker is still wrinkled and a little ugly. But again, at least Roxas is awesome. Skids was an impulse buy because I saw him. Then I got Snarl shortly after just to complete the movie Dinobots (which I'm not even sure anymore I should have ever started...). So Transformers this month were kinda meh .. It's the last wave of 2014 I really wanted but could never find, and with Combiner Wars showing up now (and I'll probably never see some of the ones I want most there too *sigh*), who knows if I will? Fox was also on impluse, but he's definitely at the low end of "hard to find" Amiibos, so I still didn't want to miss him. He was found during my hunt for a Little Mac, which was actually successful. The Gamestop I got it from had just one. So personal experience is definitely backing up the prevailing trend and I feel pretty confident blaming Nintendo for the intentional wretched distribution and intentional scarcity of these. Just not pleased with them. Zelda and Luigi I really did want and only did see that one time too. Unfortunately I never saw their other wave mates, so probably won't now. And the incredibly common 8 from the first wave I still haven't gone after, but probably will soon. With my luck I'll start after they're now hard to find lol. Red magically and randomly got listed on Amazon just a few days before I was flying home for the holidays. I couldn't pass on him though. Just look at how cute the starters are! So he got shipped to PA instead of TX and didn't get in the group picture heh. I can't help but love the little guy. Last but absolutely not least, my first little foray into BIONICLE 2015. Sets didn't show up in any of my stores before I left and I wasn't about to hunt while on vacation, so I'll be late to the party in getting sets proper unfortunately. But this start is incredible and half of it completely unexpected. Thank you, DV. Thank you. They've really got me excited for the new line and getting back into constraction. Not going to do a big end of the year update on the collection this year since, well, I'm just not with it heh. Still on holiday. But I want to do a beginning of the year one... after buying a new bookshelf or two... so be on the lookout for that. ~|ET|~

Now that's more like it! This is basically what I had hoped the power up models would be more like. Hopefully we see more. ~|ET|~

Hope everybody who celebrates had a wonderful day. So amidst the mountain of clothes and treats and literal large empty boxes with names written on the side for things to buy soon and ship directly to Texas instead of doing it ourselves (those were fun to open ), I think I did get some haul-worthy stuff heh. LEGO Movie and GTAV from the fiancée, books and Wolf Among Us from parents, and Xbox Live cards from future in-laws. Overall I think I had a pretty enjoyable Christmas (and Eve). Spent a lot of time with family and ate way too much. ~|ET|~

Congratulations!