CyclonatorZ

If we're talking about a fight between the two characters in their most powerful mode, Samus would win in a heartbeat. Besides the fact that she would have fourteen energy tanks to Master Chief's dinky shield, she would also likely have several different types of beam weapons, missiles, missile combos, and Power bombs, not to mention the boost ball, grapple beam, and the X-ray visor (for piercing Master Chiefs camouflage). In contrast, Master Chief would be the exact same power level he is at the begining of a mission, and I seriously don't think even a Gravity Hammer or Spartan laser would be enough to stop a bounty hunters whose taken on enemies way more powerful than her. Seriously, Master Chief has it easy in his games, period. Samus has had to defeat a giant metroid with a super laser, a huge quadruped robot, a massive space dragon who keeps managing to come back from the dead, an even bigger space dragon that shoots missiles from its belly, just to name a few of her foes. She's also blown up multiple planets while barely escaping with her life, had to fight off hordes of Space pirates by herself, and traveled to a realm where she initially takes damage just by stepping into the atmosphere. And she does it all without feeling like a Mary Sue at all. B) Actually, by the end of the last game in the timeline (Metroid Fusion), she's not only part Chozo, but also part X-Parasite and (ironically) part Metroid. So, she's really far from being a normal human, as she has the DNA of three other species in her system. ~~END~~

Well, I dunno for sure, but combined with the previous two posts, I have a feeling that it means your next MOC will have a lot of black in it. ~~END~~

What I've gotten out of everyone else's arguments is that they like Hero Factory for the simple reason that it's not called BIONICLE. Because, as we all know, it is a proven fact that "Bionicle SUCKS now and it will keep getting worse, anything would be better than this rubbish blarrrgggghhh." Personally, I thought Bionicle kept getting better and better, at least when it came to the storyline. But 2009 had amazing sets as well, and we probably would have gotten even more amazing sets if it they had continued with their original plan. We would have gotten the ELEMENT LORDS, for Mata Nui's sake - and instead we got six Avtoran remakes of sets we already had. Lame. Oh, and I don't like Hero Factory either, but not just because it's not Bionicle. I don't like it because, IMO, it's basically just Bionicle with a new coat of paint. There's no real innovation in the sets to speak of, whether in mask and weapon design or build. Heck, Von Nebula looks to be the wost large Titan figure we've gotten in years, and the heroes are just glorified Avtoran. Seriously, if TLC really wanted to make a line that would adequately replace Bionicle, they should have worked on making the set designs more unique. Because what we have here IS Bionicle, just with a different title and a few (mostly useless) new molds. Just my thoughts. ~~END~~

This. Seriously, who wants to use dual analog when you have the utterly precise control of the stylus? For some reason, a lot of people, which makes no sense to me. ~~END~~

Uh? I seem to remember having a conversation with you about how you thought the Hero Factory sets looked a lot better than a lot of recent Bionicle sets. Something happened that changed your mind? ~~END~~

At least until the series finale, which upset many of the show's longtime followers by not answering barely any of their questions. Or at least, that's what I've picked up from some people's comments on other sites - it seems people either hated the finale because it didn't really wrap up all of the loose plot threads, or loved it because "the show was not really about the island anyway, it was about the characters." I dunno, I haven't really seen the show for myself (save for part of one episode), so I can't really give an opinion on it myself. But regardless, it's obvious to me that there aren't very many shows out their like Lost. While that show was aparrently able to balance a heavy supernatural element without it taking prevalance over the characters, most shows that involve stuff like that make both of those elements equally important. Same goes for other sources of media, such as Bionicle - which from the begining focused just as much on the legends and mysteries as it did the characters. Now, tell me - would you really want a series like Bionicle to end with nothing changing since the begining? Would it please you to have nothing beyond the character relationships explained, and for few or none of your questions about the setting and plot answered? Because if you do, then I think it's safe to say you're in the minority of fans. As humans, it's natural for us to want to know why things happen, even if it only relates to a tv series, comic book series, or whatnot. Most of us do like mystery, but we can only take so much of prolonged mystery before we demand at least a partial explanation. Sometimes, this explanation only raises more questions - but as long as the show isn't stuck in limbo and is evolving over time, we're happy. From the begining, Bionicle was planned to be this way - a series that was based on an incredible concept, but also a concept that would only be revealed bit by bit. By the end of each year, we would think we had a grasp on what Bionicle truly was and how it's world worked - until the next year came around and blew all our previous theories out of the water. The mystery of Mata Nui's location and identity was crucual ever since 2001, and it would have been immensely disapointing if the Toa Mata never succeded in solving it. But they did - albeit, in a way that not even the story team could have predicted. This is IMO why Bionicle has succeeded all these years, and why (even despite the great book Journey's End) 2010 felt rushed compared to previous years. Up until the last two years, Bionicle had been evolving at a rather steady pace, treating us with enough revelation each year to keep us hooked. As we went from Mata Nui to Metru Nui to Voya Nui, and so on, we felt as though we were getting closer and closer to the truth about Mata Nui. And when we did, it was one of the greatest reveals in the history of Bionicle, for we had finally found the answer. Sure, some were unhappy with the revalation that Mata Nui was actually an entire universe - but for the most part, people were satisfied that the mystery was finally solved. Mata Nui had been found - and seeing him in a starring role was really more of a bonus than anything. Just my thoughts. ~~END~~

I admit that I only purchased Tahu Star for the awesome two-colored Ackar sword, which I then used on my remake of Tahu Mistika. I do still have him built, though, and he's currently standing on my desk computer. Also, Toy Story in general is an awesome theme - but as usual, I don't have enough money to invest in it. Still, it's nice to see it came out so well, especially after some people were so worried about how TLC would handle it. ~~END~~

Yep, it's definitely Nikira. ~~END~~

Personally, I think the Megabloks Halo sets look pretty nice. The designs seem to resemble the actual in-game vehicles pretty well, and there's a lot of useful pieces. Plus, although the minifigures certainly don't have the cuteness factor that lego ones do, they look pretty much like the actual video game characters as well. *shrugs* I guess I'm just more open to Megabloks than some people are. ~~END~~

Couldn't have said it better myself. ~~END~~

Do I have to really pick a favorite movie from 2009? Because I can't really decide between Up, the Blind Side, and Star Trek. One thing I can say for sure though: 2009 paled in comparison to 2008, movie-wise. Fortunately, 2010 is already much better: How to Train Your Dragon rocked, Iron Man 2 looks like it will be awesome, Toy Story 3 will be awesome, and there's plenty of other movies that look great (Inception, Harry Potter Seven Part One, Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader, Prince of Persia, etc.). Oh, and I'm probably like the only person who hasn't seen Avatar, and I don't intend to until my local library gets it on DVD. From what I've heard, there's no way I'm paying a single dollar to see a by-the-numbers Science-fiction retelling of Dances with Wolves, but I might as well see it for free. ~~END~~

Awesome. I haven't read too much of Takuta-Nui's writing (just a couple of his epics), but what I have read I have really enjoyed. In fact, his "Bionicle" epics were some of the first stories I ever read on BZP, so I guess I'm more familiar with his writing than you might think. ~~END~~

Heh, I figured my Nagur Turtle would do well with you Bones, since I remembered after posting it how much you heart turtles. Also happy that the other two are part of the Paracosmos now, and that the bios are still canon. Overall, this was another great contest, and I'm glad to have entered it. Now, when are you going to get the winners of the Bohrok Kool contest up? ~~END~~

I so agree. This is indeed the best spiderman cartoon ever, and it also happens to be my current favorite show. Greg Weisman is seriously a genius, and the animation is to die for. If there isn't a Season Three and beyond, I am going to be so upset. ~~END~~

Wonderful article, bones, and extremely insightful as well. As someone who once wasted a lot of his time debating things on a forum where no one respected me, I've come to realize that there is no real point in trying to convince someone of anything when they intend to oppose you from the start. As long as someone hates you from the outset, just because of their preconcieved bias against the political, religious, or other group that you identify yourself with, there's nothing you can do that convince him or her to have a reasonable, respectful discussion with you. It's that simple really. ~~END~~

Wow, I don't think I've ever agreed with you as much as I do now... I guess there's a first time for everything! Seriously though, people who are attempting to overthrow the establishment of BZP by breaking rules on purpose are only being selfish and inconsiderate of the members here who do follow the rules - AKA, everyone who isn't banned or suspended. As I believe others have said before, BZP is not a democracy, and if you think the rules are unfair, your best bet is to simply leave and join a forum that you don't dislike. Besides, it's not like the moderators here are really out for blood - it just seems like it sometimes. But I've come to realize that they're only doing it for the good of the site, and everyone who doesn't understand that just needs to leave and find some place more suitable to their standards. ~~END~~

All I have to say is that, if those potted plants Dume keeps smashing don't have at least a decent-sized role in the whole mystery, I'll be very suprised. Good chapter, but the wait was wayyyy too long. Hopefully the next chapter will be posted sooner than it took for you to post this one. ~~END~~

Cool, I've won another contest relating to Bonesiii's extensive projects! Seriously though, it's nice to see that I was able to place, even though Mechafiz had much better artwork than I did. ~~END~~

Can't agree with this at all, for reasons that I can unfortunately not get into here. But hey, what are you going to do? ~~END~~

Oh, trust me, it's way worse on other forums. Regardless, this is one of those times where I'm glad that BZP does have strict quidelines about post quality and respectfulness - without them, it would probably be a disaster area. ~~END~~

Didn't have the patience to read the whole thing, but what I did read was excellent as always. It boggles my mind how some people seem so insistent on only enjoying a small number of things (Ex. people who only like Batman: The Animated Series and refuse to enjoy any other Batman cartoons), and that they refuse to ever venture out of their comfort zone and try to enjoy things that are rather different to their tastes. I myself have struggled with this in the past, although I am much better now at opening my eyes to other forms of entertainment and media. Of course, I think you also would agree with me when I say that "having an open mind" doesn't mean we have to give universal praise to everything we ever watch, read, build, eat, etc. Because if everone did that, then no one would ever learn how to improve their products so that they can please more people and gain more fans. Generally, a product that fails very hard doesn't fail because people are just being especially picky about it - it fails because it simply isn't made well enough to be appealing to most average people. On the other hand, the most sucessful products are ones that have succeded both cost-wise and popularity-wise (ex: Bionicle,), and that is why they last longer than products that have neither advantage (ex: Galidor). The catch is, while we don't have to love everything we experience, we have to go into entertainent with the viewpoint that I want to be entertained. People who start watch a movie with a predeterined viepoint that "I am going to hate this movie because it is inferior to something else I like" are only hurting themselves, after all, and so are people who go up to fans of the same product with the viewpoint that "these people are stupid and have not taste for liking something I don't. Because, really, even the most popular products aren't perfect, and thus you can't expect your likes to be perfect etiher. Oh, and like I said in one of my previous replies to your blog, none of the above applies to entertainment that is morally and ethically contrary to your personal beliefs. You can't be forced to like something that is against your religion, belief system, philosphy etc, and if you have very strong convictions, you shouldn't necessarily let your tastes be opened up to something contrary to those convictions. Edit: Might as well give you an approval image, now that I've made a new one that is smaller and isn't so bizarre. That's exactly what I do, and it's helped me to see the potential in sets I don't initially like. Tarix was an excellent example - when I first bought him, he wasn't satisfying to me at all, but a few modifications were all it took for him to become one of my favorite 2009 Bionicle sets. B) ~~END~~

If I had an approval image that I actually liked at the moment, this entry would have won it. In all seriousness, fantastic entry Turaki. It boggles my mind why some people on this and other sites can't seem to understand this basic truth of discussion. If we all did, I think the world would be a whole lot better place to live in. Edit: Nevermind, now I do have an approval image that I approve of. ~~END~~

Oh, so Michael Bay didn't get his hands on the franchise? Thank goodness - I was about to cry when I saw read that he was interested in the Spiderman reboot. ~~END~~

As long as the current plans for this restart of the Spiderman Series consist of the words "darker and edgier," then no, it is certainly not in the interests of everyone. Seriously, throwing out everything that was previously established all for the purpose of making Spiderman "darker" is the reason trash like One More Day is so hated by the fandom. In the same way, the reason Brand New Day has succeeded is because most people want a Spidey that has a good balance between light and dark elements. Spidey isn't Batman, and The Dark Knight's massive success does not mean that now every superhero movie has to be uber-dark to succeed. Anyway, I liked the movies for what they are, and I thought they managed to have some great humor without having Spiderman deliver much of it. However, the only thing I truly care about right now is that The Spectacular Spiderman gets renewed for a third season. Seriously - BEST SPIDERMAN SHOW EVER, and everyone who is a fan of the early spiderman comics needs to see it if they haven't. ~~END~~