PeabodySam

In addition to Dr. Walter Bishop and Dr. Glados, we'll be seeing more high-ranking scientists of Dr. Rex towards the finale of the Adventurers' Island story arc. Like Dr. Bishop (Fringe) and Dr. Glados (Portal), they will be named after characters who fall into the categories of "mad scientist", "evil scientist", or "sadistic being focused on science". Right now, I've got two candidates in mind. Both of them, one of them, or neither of them might actually appear in the RPG. In case they don't, here are their names: - Dr. Wallace Breen, named after the main antagonist of Half-Life 2 - Dr. Zed Provehzor, inspired by "Ze Professor" from the Conker series

"I knew this guy who was a black belt at karate. He killed himself saluting! Heh, heh... ouch..." - Flattened Shade, Hades Challenge It's official. As of Wednesday, July 21, 2010... PeabodySam is a second-degree black belt at Martial Arts. So, you better not mess with him, or he'll break your bones with a spin-sidekick followed by a 540... assuming he doesn't break his own bones in the process. Which he nearly did while testing. Ouch. I would have used the brand new Black Belt Minifig in these photos, except I don't have one seeing as Series 2 of the Collectible Minifigures is not yet released where I live. So, instead I used all five of my Ninja Minifigs... two from the original line, two from the Vintage Minifigures Collection, and one from Collectible Minifigures Series 1.

I wrote this long speech in Primis's blog entry about the same subject. So long, I decided that I should just repost it here as an entry now that I have access to the Blaaaahhhhhg again. For the most part, I find that there's a good reason why the majority of reviewers praise or criticize a movie. If most reviewers gave positive reviews to a movie, I can expect that to be a good movie. If most reviewers gave negative reviews to a movie, I can expect that to be a bad movie. If a movie has mixed reviews, then it's a case where I would need to see the movie to understand my feelings for it. Reviews are like book cover. A positive review is like an amazing book cover that gets you hyped up, a negative review is like a dull book cover that leaves you uninterested, and a mixed review is the kind of book cover that leaves you thinking, "Well, it might be good, or it might be bad... can't really tell..." And this is where I say the overly-cliched phrase: "You can't judge a book by its cover". And the reason I made the comparison between reviews and book covers is because "You can't judge a movie by its review". Critics hated Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991) to the point where Spielberg himself considers it an embarrassment (they even made a reference to this in the LEGO Studios Backlot game; the Director, modeled after Spielberg, says "It'll be worse than Hook!"). Completely unaware of this fact, I went to see the film and found it rather enjoyable. It was no masterpiece, but I liked the concept, the characterization, and the musical score by John Williams. I thought it was a pretty good movie, and I was shocked when I saw the 22% approval rating on RT. Most of BZPower, or at least the vocal section of BZPower, says that The Legend Reborn is a terrible film, an embarrassment to BIONICLE, full of corniness and kiddiness, and the number one cause of teen suicide. When I hear these people, I shake my head in disbelief. Every time I watch that film, I feel like it is the best of the four BIONICLE films, with actually less corniness and kiddiness than the others. The only major problems I have with the film are its lack of villain characterization and its lack of Nathan Furst (curse you, John D'Andrea!). So, once again I enjoy a film that the majority hates. On the other hand, according to RT, 62% of critics gave David Lynch's Dune (1984) a positive review, meaning more people liked it than hated it. And I despise that movie with every fiber of my being. It was a horrible adaptation of a great book, with poor storytelling that had many unnecessary changes and cuts. The whole movie was the definition of a mess. My father, who also loved the book, shares my opinion on this movie. Apparently, I only agree with 38% of "professional" reviewers. Also, one must remember that not everyone is going to have the same taste. If this was the case, every film with positive reviews would have a 100% rating on RT, and every film with negative reviews would have a 0% rating on RT. But that's not the case. Most well-received films have ratings between 75% and 90%, and most poorly-received films have ratings between 20% and 40%. There is always somebody who will dislike a movie with mostly positive reviews, and there is always somebody who will like a movie with mostly negative reviews. That "somebody" could very well be you. Reviewers are more like guidelines than actual rules. They suggest that you will probably like/dislike something, but they may not be right, so sometimes the best way to determine what you like is to go to the theater or rental store and see it yourself. However, getting back to The Legend Reborn, reviewers can also have a negative impact and can actually sway your opinion even if you disagree with them. For example, when I first saw The Legend Reborn, I was absolutely sure that it wiped the floor with the original trilogy (and this is coming from someone who did not hate the original trilogy). As BZPower's views of the movie became increasingly negative, it rubbed off on me, and my views went from being "Wow, this is the best BIONICLE movie by far!" to "Okay, I guess it's a bit better than Legends of Metru Nui...". I also think it is a good thing that I did not read reviews when I saw Hook. Self-fulfilling prophesy is a horrible disease. If you walk into the movie theater thinking to yourself, "I read reviews and they say that this movie is going to suck", chances are you'll be predicting a bad movie, and as a result you will have a higher chance of disliking this film because you predict it to be bad. It will create a sense of negative bias that would not exist if you did not read the reviews. If I had first seen Hook knowing full well that critics hated it, I probably would have viewed it as a bad film. Basically, reviewers can help, but you may not always agree with them and you cannot let them sway your feelings.

I think that I should give a few hints as to several plot developments that will take place in the Dino Attack RPG... if anybody tries to ready this Blaaaaahhhhhg, they will know these before anybody else! Some of these, I've had in mind for a while... others, I actually came up with this morning. The Second Headquarters Squad will be heavily involved in the revelation of Dr. Rex's spy.We will meet Dr. Walter Bishop in person very soon.Frank Einstein's prominent role will be revealed by the end of the Adventurers' Island story arc.We will meet one of the unused Minifig/Mutant Dino Hybrids.Four specific Mutant Dino characters of mine will return for the final battle.Somebody thought to be dead is... Still Alive!

That's right, it's time for another entry to the Blaaaaahhhhhg... the most boring blog on the internet! So, yay, it's BZPower's anniversary. You know what else it is? The fifth anniversary of the Dino Attack RPG! But nobody else on BZPower seems to care about that... why not? Anyways, now that I've got the Blaaaaahhhhhg... again, I'll keep you (nonexistent) readers posted on updates involving my fanfictions. I don't have much to say right now, but I began Chapter 19 of The Search for the Mask of Light several months ago... haven't finished it since. I have not yet written Chapter 3 of Five Years Too Many, but nobody cares about that. Nobody reads it, anyways. Want to change my mind? Go and read it! I have not yet started Reign of Shadow, but I've got some ideas on how to set it up. There will likely be two chapters per region on Mata Nui... one involving the Wahi, one involving the Koro. Yes, Koro. But what about Ta-Koro, Onu-Koro, and the other villages destroyed by Rahkshi? Oh, you'll see about that... So, that's an easy scheme to get the first twelve chapters, then the remaining chapters will likely be about the final battle against the Shifting Shadows and the ensuing celebration. Why haven't I worked on my fanfictions? Well, it's because my focus is currently on my two RPGs, Dino Attack RPG and Alpha Team RPG: Ogel's Last Stand. And, hey, they're kinda like fanfictions, right?

Normally, I don't participate in this kind of stuff, but "the brick is a lie" and "Still Browsing" made this too good to resist... I know you said that it doesn't have to be BIONICLE-related, but if you're doing this for BIONICLE.com, there's so many great BIONICLE/BZPower-related things that I just thought I'd point out a few: "You Kohlii-head, windfly to the Key to Nongu because that's what friends do! Now, beware my stinger tail!" (A collection of cheesy lines)"brakelatabasalata feed me " (Rather self-explanatory)"BURN STUFF!" (The stereotyped Tahu in BZPower's comedies)"The over-used pie joke is a lie..." (The over-used pie joke in BZPower's comedies, plus "The cake is a lie...")"92% blah blah blah. If you are 2% that don't blah blah blah, copy and paste into your sig." (Rather self-explanatory)"Carapar died to save your weapons!" ("RIP" sigs for Carapar)"Mutran died to save your swamp-filled cave!" ("RIP" sigs for Mutran)"Brutaka died to save your... oh, wait, never mind, he's not dead yet..." (A fake "RIP" sig by bonesiii back in 2008)"They're coming to take Vezon away, ha-haa!" (Spoof of "They're coming to take me away, ha-haa!" by Napoleon XIV)"I knew it! WOO-HOO! Name's Kiina, blah blah blah, WOO-HOO!" (Kiina's rather cringe-worthy "WOO-HOO")"i love bionicle" (Rather self-explanatory; you know, many spam topics make great memes)"Thok plans to steal the Mask of Light!" (S@H typo back in 2006 that had everybody on BZPower confused)"Listen again to the legends of the Bionicles. In the times before times, the Toas saved the Matorans and Turagas..." (Reference to the incorrect 'Bionicles')"Lewa's in trouble! Quick, call Onua!" (Self-explanatory)"BIONICLE was ruined the day GregF came up with 'Teridax'." (Some peoples' opinions of Teridax's name)"Tohu is not pleased." (Self-explanatory)"Trust in Hapori Dume!" (Self-explanatory)"Board Message: The server is too busy to complete your request." (Self-explanatory)"Play it again, Va." (An old Board Message)"Try bubble wrap. It's sooooothing!" (An old Board Message)"Must... have... MORE!" (What you'd hear every time you grabbed a new sheet of bubble wrap)"In BIONICLE, 'I can't answer that' or 'Follow the story and find out' usually translates to 'Yes'." (GregF's response to usually-correct theories)"My Matoran, these Three Virtues are what all true Toa strive for!" (Sorry, I know, it's horrible and cliche...)"Mata Nui x Virus / Matoran Universe + Ignika - Makuta + Teridax = The Plan!" (Putting the Plan into mathematical terms)"Remember that the Weighted Companion Nuva Cube cannot speak." (Weighted Companion Cube, anybody?)"Tuyet, I'm HOME!" (What GregF should've done instead of "Hi, dear, I'm home!")"Isn't it obvious? The traitor in BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn is Ahkmou!" (The 'big mystery' around TLR's traitor and a traitor in years past)">> Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... <<" (No, don't actually click it; the spoiler tag itself is the suggestion)Well, I've had my input... good luck choosing! EDIT: How about something completely unrelated to BIONICLE, then? "Onward! The monkeys await! We must defeat the cows!"

Well, guys, if I remember correctly, the whole Premier Perks thing is only a week long every year. Since BZPower returned last Wednesday to grant us these Premier Perks, I'm assuming that means tomorrow we'll lose the Premier Perks. That means no more fancy-shmancy rank images (yeah, mine's barely changed since last year), no more Polls (which I never make), no more Search Engine (oh, wait, that's right - you don't need to be Premier anymore to use it!), and no more blogging (not a great loss; after all, I still have my Blaaaaahhhhhg on deviantART!). So, I guess until next year, thus concludes "The Blaaaaahhhhhg". Have a nice trip, see you next fall! EDIT 10/04/09: Heh, heh, heh... don't tell anybody I'm doing this (not that anybody would be reading this), but I'm bypassing the inability to post more Blog Entries by editing my last entry! Anyways, I'd just like to say that Chapter 17 of The Search for the Mask of Light has FINALLY been completed! In addition to the Bridge of Death and Gorge of Eternal Peril, this chapter features a serious battle with some small humor thrown in, the arrest of a main character, the introduction of a mysterious villain, and - most importantly - the revelation of one of The Search for the Mask of Light's greatest secrets!

Alright, today I just posted Chapter 2 of Vakama's Secret. You should go read it. I'd just like to address why Vakama's Secret seems to be starting with a very boring version of BIONICLE: Mask of Light from a different perspective, because based upon these first two chapters, it sounds like Vakama's Secret will be completely BIONICLE: Mask of Light from a different perspective. First, the Epic will not be entirely BIONICLE: Mask of Light from a different perspective; in fact, only the first two chapters are. The rest of the Epic, starting with Chapter 3, will be completely original, only referencing the main BIONICLE storyline now and then as opposed to being about the main BIONICLE storyline. Starting with Chapter 4, the Epic will take place after the events of BIONICLE: Mask of Light and even after Vakama's finished yakking on about Metru Nui in the "present day" storyline of 2004-2005, so no more BIONICLE: Mask of Light. Second, I needed Frosam to be safely out of Onu-Koro before Turahk, Kurahk, and Vorahk arrived and brought down the place. At the same time, I needed to allow Frosam to encounter the Rahkshi for storytelling purposes. Third, it's only the beginning of the Epic - it's the exposition, not even the precipitating events yet! Expositions are always boring! Fourth, I remember that Chapters 1-3 were written before I got my new computer, which was in December 2007. So these chapters are old; over a year-and-a-half old. This does not mean that they're horrible; this simply means that my writing skills then were lower by a year-and-a-half's worth of experience. So that's why Vakama's Secret has a boring beginning. Just be patient; next week, things will be exciting. Just like its predecessor, The Story of Frosam - that, too, had a boring first two chapters and exciting things only started beginning with Chapter 3. As a side, unrelated note that just happens to be related to my fourth point, I believe that if my calculations are correct, Chapters 4-10 were written in 2008 and Chapters 11-17 were written in 2009. Just wanted to say this interesting-yet-trivial fact.

Well, it's been a long time since I've updated the Blaaaaahhhhhg. Over a year, in fact. But it's not my fault, it's because BZPower only does this Premier Perks thing once a year! What's that you say? It is my fault, because I could have paid for Premier Membership instead of waiting a whole year? SILENCE, FOOL! Let's get down to business. Obviously, due to the Forum Downtime, this Premier Perks thing was delayed for nearly a month. If that had not been the case, I would have been continuing my plan of giving you status updates on Vakama's Secret and The Search for the Mask of Light. However, because of the delay, I can't give you a status update such as "I'm writing chapter 15 now" for the former story, and for the latter story... I really have bad writer's block, because I have not written anything since the last time I could update the Blaaaaahhhhhg! But why can't I give that kind of status update for Vakama's Secret? Well... because I finished the darn thing! That's right - I took advantage of the Forum Downtime, sat down in front of my computer, and said to myself: "Alright, PeabodySam, you must stop talking to yourself." Then, I said to myself: "Alright, PeabodySam, you've got to finish this story that you've been working on for two years... before the end of July!" I thought that giving myself a deadline would make me anxious, and anxiety presumably brings that Writer's Block, or else lower-quality chapters. Instead, giving myself a deadline made me work harder and longer on it, and on July 31... I finished Vakama's Secret! And I said to myself: "Great! Now I gotta post it!" "... oh yeah, that's right... BZPower is offline. DARN IT!" So, I waited... ... and waited... ... and waited... Is this getting repetitive? ... and waited... Seriously, I think I should stop with the waiting. ... and waited... OKAY, ENOUGH WAITING ALREADY! ... and finally, today I checked BZPower, and to my delight I saw the news entry titled "The Forums Return". So, in no time at all, I updated The Story of Frosam's Review Topic and posted Vakama's Secret! And, if you want to read this long-awaited Epic, sit down and click! Alright, seriously, click this instead.

I was actually suspecting that the explanation would be something like this. Only, I thought that the Bara Magna inhabitants were 100% organic but wore lots of armor, similar to knights and such. I supose that wasn't far-off from 85% organic and 15% mechanical. Just a question, though, about the extent of the 15%. Looking at my Vorox sitting here on my desk, he looks pretty much like the mostly-robotic biomechanical creatures we've known since 2001. Would the 15% mechanical anatomy be an "exoskeleton" that covers his body, making him look more robotic? Or are there parts of the set that simply don't look organic but storyline-wise truly are?