Cap'n Ikki

Good day. It's a sad thing, but there's really no need to cover it in long, eloquent paragraphs. Right on to it: Lego hardly excites me anymore. The quality of the sets is in top for the most part, I'm sure, but I've discovered that whenever I buy a new set, I quickly get bored with it. Add to that the fact that it, as well as my time online, takes up most of my day, and you'll see that I would probably be better off with a healthy break. Not completely abandoning Lego or BZP, and I may find renewed interest someday. But not currently. I still enjoy playing around with my own stories and some of the older sets. But school and social life are priorities no matter what. And especially girls. I cannot afford to spend so much time on a hobby with the things I truly want being out there, someplace else. As you can see, my activity here is likely to drop a lot. I'll be on from time to time, sure, and I won't forget. For now, though, I thank you for all the fish. So long... -Ikk

Today, Ikki's Isle brings you an exclusively hosted entry regarding Bionicle, life, and all those big things -- brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood TILIUS! This message was partially inspired by this topic. But being a 'Bioholic', as it is so innocently put, is in reality a major issue for some members, and you could be one of these members without realizing. Also, before I begin, I should point out that this is not a flaming of members or anything of the sort. It's intended to be helpful. I'm not saying that you should be this way. I'm just suggesting, if you match the specified criteria, that you may want to take into account some points raised. If you don't want to, then that is absolutely fine. If you're under 13, I'd say you can ignore all this. Additionally, I really want people to properly think about the points I'm about to bring up. For your benefit, don't disregard information here and take it as simply being insulting. That is not the point here - the point here is to really think about where your life is, where it's going, how you are as a person, and how Bionicle affects this. Of course, a small 'slice' of Bionicle is fine. But this is about it getting out of hand, as it has done for myself and at least one other member. Thing is, Bionicle is something of an 'addiction'. It's obviously not as fatal as proper addictions, but it can in fact hinder your personality, social skills and general step into adulthood. A sign of being addicted, is that you may have bought sets recently, and after constructing them being somewhat disappointed with your purchase. Fair enough. But then, you go out and you buy another set anyway. And again, are disappointed. It sounds stupid, but you may even feel somewhat depressed. Thing is, over the past however many years of collecting, it's second nature to buy sets. They've most likely been a massive part of your life for a few years. You may think 'Oh, I have every set so far, I can't just stop my collecting, even if I'm disappointed/depressed after buying sets.'. This is not a good attitude, and it is one that I myself have felt over the past few months. You may also enjoy the MoCing side of Bionicle, and buy sets for pieces. But ask yourself, do you ever actually use these pieces? Have you actually used those Matoran pieces more than once? If the answer to this is no, then similarly, you are 'addicted' to Bionicle. And not in a 'Hehe I'm MAD about Bionicle!' way. In a 'I feel depressed and inferior to those around me. I have no money, and everytime I buy a set I feel down' way. Which is obviously not a good feeling, and it happens a surprising amount. It's a pretty painful feeling, but half of you can't stop yourself from buying sets - as I've said, they've been a big part of your life, and it's difficult to really move on, and become like those around you. And by 'being like those around you', I don't mean being a stereotype. I don't mean that at all. You can be yourself, but there's 'being yourself' and there's being unlike everyone else in a bad way. You need to get the balance - you need to fit in to get your social skills up, and improve yourself generally (in areas of fitness, having a positive personality etc). If you're spending most of your time on BZP or other Bionicle related forums (and I mean 3+ hours a day), it may be time to really think about what you're doing. The huge amount of people your age who share your interest may blur your vision of reality. 35000 is a large number of members for a forum, but not for the rest of the world - you're a minority, and if thats getting to you in the ways I've mentioned, then it may be time to change your ways. If you're happy with how you are, balancing BZP and life and are perfectly happy, having lots of friends, are not overweight, are intelligent (though not in a pompous nerdy way) then there's no real problem. Keep going how you are. This is all just for those who have a feeling that they may have a problem, an addiction of sorts. Another factor is the 'double life' aspect of the internet and real life. On BZP, you have a username, hiding who you are. I'm not saying change your name to you real name and such, that'd breach privacy (though that said, all this is advice to those who want it, not instruction). But make sure you are the same person online as you are in real life - preferably a positive and friendly person. I spent most of my time on BZP building up some false persona, trying to seem as some sort of 'hero' and trying (and admittently failing) to get respect from members. All this was ruining who I really was. I started to get somewhat wound up about pathetic things, such as people spamming or posting leaked set images...stupid stuff to get wound up about. This is a forum. It's not politics, it's a place to talk to people, it's not worth getting wound up about if a member is annoying you. Heck, it's not worth getting wound up about a set that has a very basic or repetitive build, or if the pieces are out of proportion to the older sets, or if the set quality has majorly gone down. At the end of the day, it's a toy. For children. Its the addictive side of you that's making you care - yeah, alright, it's a big part of your life, and for you its gone downhill. It doesn't matter, 'cause it's a toy. It's not the end of the world. You have to move on, either in the ways I've suggested, or simply moving on to similar things you do like (I suggest Lego Star Wars personally. =P That's another thing - you can still have a fondness of Lego, just don't go buying sets if they just sit there and don't get touched for months and are making you in any way unhappy). As a friend said, "You'll have as much fun with sets in your head as you would if you were to buy them". I cannot stress enough that this is NOT an insult, or criticizm of every member. This is intended to be helpful for those who feel the desire to change their lives and move on. If you find it offensive, or just don't want to pay any attention to it, then that is absolutely fine. =) So, what can you do to change your ways, should you desire? One helpful thing is to take any idolization of high-profile members, and instead apply it to someone you know in person, and see regularly, who is a popular and all-round positive person, and that obviously you like ('cause nobody wants to be something they don't like). In situations, such as when you're considering spending a massive amount of money on a set, think "What would they do?". If they'd probably spend it on DVDs or games, for instance, then perhaps go out and get one or more of them. You're less likely to feel depressed afterwards, as you're buying something that people your age 'normally' buy. There are also other things you can do, which need little explanation, but you can always try to encorperate them into your life if you think it'd be benefitial to you: - Excercise (choose something you enjoy and can do. If you can't think of anything, then try stuff out until you're happy.) - Get a job (improves people skills, confidence, and of course gives you a bit of money at the same time) - Join a club (anything that interests you. Book club, tennis club - doesn't matter, just get out there and meet people. - Cut down your internet time (do the essentials, but there's no need to hang around for hours on BZP to see new posts. Just check back every 2-3 hours, until gradually you can go for longer without having a desire to check posts. It's not good for the soul - you're spending all your time inside, alone, when you could be out there with friends or doing something truely useful (like catching up with homework - it'll take the stress off)) - Probably the most important is to make an effort to throw yourself outside your comfort zone. This last one can really boost confidence and popularity. Maybe become a sports captain at your school/club or something. I stood for the school council elections, which involved making a speech to the whole school. I was nervous on the day - my speech seemed short, the jokes that seemed funny to me at the time no longer seemed amusing. Then it came to be my turn, I stood up, and thought to myself 'Just CANE it.'. I was still shaking as I said my speech, but I managed to make it feel and sound improvised, and the jokes worked, and most agreed that my speech was the most entertaining. Then I won the overall election. I'd never done anything like that before, never even dreamed of it, and I'd come out on top. THAT is the effect that getting over your Bionicle 'addiction' and generally improving yourself. I'd say it's worth it - I feel much happier now than I did when I spent all my nights online, talking and trying to impress people with my false persona. Looking back on my posts, I can see how awful I was to people, and how pathetic my attempts at attention and 'glory' were. It's much more satisfying to get proper respect from those who matter, those who you are around every day of your teenage life. Again, this is certainly no insult to you all, I'm simply happy with the success I've had after quitting Bionicle, and want to help other people acheive the same. Yeah, I still glance at the Lego section as I pass through Woolworths, but I never properly considering buying a set. Most of that is behind me now, and, in my view, life is so much better because of it. ------------------------------------------- Thought out and written by Old Guard Tilius, hosted by blog manager Cap'n Ikki. Please share and enjoy! -Ikk

Will be very, very, very busy in the near future. See y'all. -Ikk

Just some general ramblin's o' life... Good discussion goin' on in a few blogs these days! David Arkenstone is the best guy for fantasy music, Bionicle 2001-style even. The 1999 version of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth is the best movie ever made. 2008 looks like the most epic year of Bionicle yet. That does not means it looks like the best one, however. The Answer really is 42. Girls are the greatest and most benefiting challenge on this great Earth. A toast to toasts! Dried apricots are pure win. I so looove parties and the people there. I've lost a ton of weight, and now actually look great. Hot-cha! I want to go everywhere, see everything, do everything, and live forever... ... and so, a drink to infinity! -Ikk

Blog entry may have to be postponed a bit due to schoolwork and social matters, but I won't forget it. It'll be pushed forward in the queue of blog entries if nothing else. I ran across a curious and insightful thing the other day, actually -- while a lot of the new sets look immensely cool in style, color, and such, I find them somewhat lacking due to the function-less and (in some places) repetitive build. Take the Barraki, for instance; actual cool look, great colors, look like the characters they represent, nifty features, and so on. Still, part of the excitement a good set gives me comes not only from the challenges it provides, but also from a highly inventive construction. Something that inspires me and looks both coolified (whatever definition you're using!) and features clever build! (All that IMT ) So I think that's a good guess at why a heap of the newer stuff fails to get me excited (and also a reason why I'm very excited about those bigger-than-Titans sets this year!). I actually do think the Newva sets do a nice job of staying true to their characters, while adding new interesting features; yet their overused construction will probably keep me from buying them. Probably where we differ most, I say. Ah well, at least I now know why -- it ain't style (mostly) but build versus looks. -Ikk

'tworked! bones, you win so much! Though I'm not sure I got the Grouping thing right with that mask. -Ikk

What, people go around saying "Hey, what's up, Toa Rocco: Toa Of Santa Hats!"? -Ikk

Where would you have preferred to see them? -Ikk

Bionicle or not Bionicle, it's dazzlingly awesome. -Ikk

Attabones! That's a good point to make, but it still leaves the question of whether doing it differently would be a wise move for LEGO. An upcoming blog entry will likely provide some of my suggestions for how to build a differently constructed humanoid with roughly the same amount of pieces, so that may be relevant... Another thing is that the Newva reuse the construction of two past years' canister heroes (and in one case villains), as opposed to the Mata & Metru builds which neither were featured so excessively. -Ikk

Where did I mention censorship? Had I been supporting that, I would have never entered debates like this or been posting my own views on any matter. What I am actually objecting to, though in no way demanding censored, is bring these old, dead-horse-beaten subjects up over and over again, without ever reaching any further. The Inika were there for argument in 2006, and we're nearly in 2008 now. Not to say an unfinished topic should be left alone, at all; but this adds nothing new to it. And the point is this -- I can easily find a plethora of similarities between, say, Matoro Mahri and Sidorak. Or Keetongu and Hafu. Or Tahnok-Kal and Pewku. The real question is, are these resemblances sufficient to act as a relation between the two sets in question, to the point of them being the same character in story? And that, of course, is all personal taste, which is why we'll never get any further than where we currently are. Only thing worth mentioning at this point is, that the majority of those who have entered debates on this matter seems to agree that the Inika are too far off their older forms in terms of sets. Also, we must keep in mind that any similarity found between the McToran and the Inika are purely coincidental. -Ikk

bones, you need a Mask of Summarization. I have skimmed your posts in ToM's blog and (obviously) read the ones here, but my brain went on strike afterwards. -Ikk

Request heeded, bones. I think where we differ is our view on clonism; whereas you approach the look and features of the set in question, I tend to look at construction mainly. Objectively speaking, it seems logical to say that the canister sets of this three-year arc are quite differentiated in terms of look, whereas they are very much similar, practically to the point of being clones, when it comes to build. Good, we're halfway to forty-two! So, a well-reasoned guess could be that the majority of LEGO's fanbase cares little to zip about how the sets are built, and tons about how they look when actually built. That seems to match the fact that sets have gotten rid of complicated builds and likewise functions. That's interesting. I wonder why these kids are into a building toy in the first place? Another intriguing question is, would it hurt LEGO to actually try out something groundbreakingly new in terms of construction? Obviously the sets can still be plenty humanoid, but sporting different techniques when it comes to assembling body, legs, arms, etc. I hope and pray (actually just hope) that some of these things ARE going to be tried out after this arc ends... amusingly, the Barraki and seemingly the Phantoka-Makuta do actually feature, in part, new methods like I described. So, I would be mightily obliged if this began to appear in the hero sets as well fairly soon... who ever said you cannot please old and new fans alike? Oh, BTW, I love the abundance of Old Pieces In New Colors (OPINC??), even if I may not have use for all of them. Just look at that orange Mata foot! And the Av-Matoran are delightfully sweet, as long as their bodies consist of more than one piece... as for the Phantoka, I'm so far kinda undecided -- I'll await differently angled pics for those. -Ikk

Nonononono... I got naught against transformations, mate! I DO, however, have aught against clonism, whatever the story excuse. Similarities within set groups are great, perfect, excellent, but 30+ nigh-identical sets in three years? Please, no! Oh, and regarding that trade of ours... EDITSIES (oh great): bones, you stalker. I'll reply in a minute. EDITSIES 2: Actually, it'll have to be later tonight... dinner's up an' ready! For the quick record, I lovelovelove Tanma... -Ikk

Pirakahrinika! Just that. -Ikk

I do not understand why LEGO went back to the Kal Concept recently. And I do not understand why it's working either, or why suddenly people are so fond of it. Please, I need this cleared up. -Ikk

PLEASE don't make me break out my Brickshelf edits again. The Inika masks, for the most part, looked plenty like their Matoran counterparts, as did the color schemes to some extent (Hewkii's being the exception). The Mahri bore even closer similarities in many aspects to the Inika, having even more similar color schemes and designs (with a little stylization), albeit with different masks entirely. While I do agree that these bear a great resemblance to their classic Nuva forms, they don't bear nearly as much resemblance as Toa have for the past two years. Anyway, no time for a long review, but might I add that I, too, noticed the Kakama similarity? It is rather a fascinating coincidence that Pohatu's Kaukau was indeed orange. Please. Can't you just accept that people do not agree with you? If you think the Mahrinika looked liked their old forms, fine, good for you, but most of us did not. At all. That's it, there's no more to it, and it's been debated to death and beyond. Can we put that behind us and focus on the new stuff for once? -Ikk

David Arkenstone is the BEST. Equalled only by Gordon Lightfoot and Stan Rogers. Never forget! -Ikk

I'm curious... you probably know by now I disagree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, but that's another discussion... but how well do you think the Toa Mata sets matched their personalities? To me, it was they who were the epitome and whatnot, something I have not seen in sets since them. Whadya say? -Ikk

Yes. And so far I have seen no replies to my question. -Ikk

DV, I take my hat off for you. I wish I could do the same for the Nuva. -Ikk

The new Nuva cannot look like the original ones, but it's perfectly fine for them to look more or less identical to the Inika & Mahri. Right? -Ikk

THIS... IS... BZP! -Ikk

Tagged Image File Format... like bones said, a file type. -Ikk