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Swert

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Blog Entries posted by Swert

  1. Swert
    So, as I mentioned in an earlier blag entry, I now work at a LEGO art studio called City Blocks. My first project for them is an event piece in which we are modifying the Green Grocer, a LEGO Exclusive set.
     
    What modifications, you might ask? Well for one, the whole thing used to be 32 studs wide. It is now 31. Two, it has only one middle section normally. Now it has three. Also, it has tan stripes. Not anymore. And finally, it had a rounded front market with steps going in. The shop front is no longer round, and the steps have a new purpose in life. We decided to elevate the floor to match the doorway, and by doing so we eliminate the need for steps going in and out, and plus it now looks so much better.
     
    All links go to photos I have taken across four days of hard labor. Bolded are the modification photos, not the originals.
     
    And finally, the photo you've all been waiting for.
     

     
    That's the final product. And that's only STAGE ONE. Stage two begins soon.
     
    I doubt I'll be able to post it here again unless I go premier, so keep an eye on the Folder (when public) and I'll try to update on BS01 or something.
     
    Aside from that? It's my first project, and I love it.
  2. Swert
    Let's see...
     
    $110 phone with Sprint
    $39 MP3 player
    Left 4 Dead 2 for $30
     
    and my biggest scores?
     
    XBox 360 Jasper model with a 150 GB hard drive and new controller: $75
     
    Also, Batman Arkham Asylum for $20 (Brand new copy) and LEGO Batman and Pure (pre-owned twin pack) for $10.
     
    And maybe Halo 3 or ODST tomorrow, pre-owned. Still deciding which. Oh, and I pre-ordered CoD: Black Ops and Portal 2 for 5 bucks each.
     
    And that's just stuff for ME, wow.
  3. Swert

    Blag Entry : O

    By Swert,

    So finally got off work long enough to post an entry.
     
    So what does the Swert do from now on, you may wonder? Easy.
     
    I work for a commercial LEGO Art studio in Tacoma. It is owned by Dan Parker, one of a handfull of LEGO Certified Professionals in the world.
     
    I've sorted and stocked bricks and plates, I've sold minfigs, and I've plugged our parties, but my favorite part? I've been given the chance to rebuild this set.
     
    Dan bought three of them and put three of the middle sections together to make one larger building. Now I'm taking one stud off of each left wall, and taking the tan stripes out. I already scraped two figures (one on each hand) in my building attempts.
     
    So yeah, ZOMG A BLAG ENTRY!
  5. Swert

    Amusing Fact

    By Swert,

    I had planned to post like lists of top 10 stuff involving music with Necro. Then I got busy and didn't. Now I have like 2 days left to do so.
     
    Woe is me~ -Swert
  7. Swert
    I must stop blagging soon enough, but I must ask the question before the day is out.
     
    What happened to Concept Albums? Seriously, it seemed like every single mainstream band put out one of these puppies every 4-5 years, and now it's rarer than a decent Generation One Pokémon card.
     
    Let's be honest, would you rather listen to 12 songs with barely any connection to each other, or 12 songs which tell a story of either love, hate, anger, passion, peace, war, anything? I mean, come on artists of the world. Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor's still doing it, and he's making good money.
     
    Also, remember when Green Day made one in 2004? They made very good money. In fact, so good they're probably still living on the sales very comfortably.
     
    Now granted, those bands who did it were very Classic Rock based, and the current generation has very little patience for story telling. It's one of the reasons we've got movies based on action and less talking. Now, this isn't to say a very -bad- thing, but I know for a fact it's not very good for those who enjoy reading a book or enjoying a lovely story being acted out, and not just guns blaring. And again, this isn't to say I hate guns blaring, and I'm losing track of focus here.
     
    I'm pretty sure people wouldn't mind seeing Concept Albums anymore in a more widespread fashion. Imagine what kind of money could be made on it after the album's done. Roger Waters was, at last check, writing a Broadway musical based on The Wall, a very famous concept album. Trent Reznor once mentioned that he was going to make a sequel to Year Zero soon, and that he also wanted to bring the album to the big screen, taking another feather from the cap of Pink Floyd when they made The Wall with their music. 10 Bucks says they ask Bob Geldof to star in it.
     
    I'm also pretty sure people would buy these albums and enjoy them. I mean, sure they buy singles and all that, which also bring in money, but which would get you more money, buying an album or buying a music download? That's the question before the board. Record Labels would call out Album, consumers (us) would ask Music Download. I'd gladly support Concept Albums coming back IF they were written in a way that it'd be awesome and could be converted into at least 2 forms of outside media afterwards, be it movies, a TV series, a book, a play/musical, or even a remix (Like Year Zero Remixed)

    -
  8. Swert
    It was about a year ago. Almost, not quite. I forget really.
     
    Anyway, Bonesiii and I were discussing stuff, as usual. Then Expanded Universe came up in discussion. A question was asked whether it would return. I was unsure. He was unsure. We then spent two months discussing WHY Expanded Universe failed to catch on. As you read in the news report announcing the guide, it was simple why it failed. There was no story to follow. So we spent months planning what will indeed be a VERY, VERY shocking story to read.
     
    Basically speaking, the original concept was simple. One planet, hooray. We made a planet! But then I switched it up by saying "What about one planet, stuck in seven different dimensions?" Okay, this is where the term Multiverse began coming into play. Over time, it evolved from one world in seven dimensions to seven worlds in one dimension. It made sense, because now there are physical changes to worlds that, with my first idea, would have not happened unless changed.
     
    So, we began phase two: The Plot. What, you may ask, would be a perfect plot? Well, the answer is simple, mystery. It worked well for 3 years in 2001-2003 in Bionicle, and has kept people coming back from 04 on. We planned out an entire origin for these worlds, most of which remains locked up in our heads, and have not once made it to any text program yet. Bones led that charge, with his physics and space-altering ways, while I worked out reasons for them to happen. It began to take form, and finally it made sense.
     
    Phase three, approval of contests from BZP. That was easy. Those will come out eventually.
     
    Phase four, characters to write about. Well, we spent a great deal of time on them, and I'm happy to report there are several that, if you don't feel too happy about writing your own character, you can use ours. (Within the rules, of course... for more on that, read the Guide, page 2.)
     
    And finally, Phase five, putting it ALL together. You can see we mashed it all into place with a mallet and a nuke or two, but it all managed to fit into 100 pages of glorified Guide reference. Bones again wrote most of it, asking me along the way for input, and I did my civic duty by doing graphics. He did his own duty by one-upping my graphics with his awesome PowerPoint skills. Needless to say any ego I had at that point was buried. It will not be missed.
     
    And so, the five-stage plan was complete. We had a setting, a plot, a set of contests, characters, and a set of guides we plan to release for awhile to come. What was missing?
     
    WE FORGOT THE PUBLIC!
     
    So we fixed that last week. Enjoy
    -
  9. Swert

    Return

    By Swert,

    It has been an age since I last posted here.
     
    Have I anything to say? Nah.
     
    Besides, what makes me think I'm notable here?
    -
  10. Swert

    Doomed, Pt. 3

    By Swert,

    "Why did they do it? We tried to warn them, but they wouldn't listen..." -Scientist in HL1.
     
    So yeah, why oh why did someone HAVE to retrieve the Mallard of doom? Now BZP's in for the fads again.
     
    I figure this should close off my blog, it's been fun guys. Let's do this again next year.

    - 
    Edit: Wow, I can still edit this? Sweet. -Swert
  11. Swert
    Oh man, this was an awesome game. Well, for a 4-year old game XD

    I bought it yesterday, and it took roughly 11 hours. Makaru and I have agreed many things, for example: There is a reason we don't go to Ravenholm anymore. *shivers*

    I. HATE. GUNSHIPS.

    For that matter...

    I. HATE. STRIDERS.

    ...

    I. HATE. HEADCRABS.

    Oh, and while I'm complaining...

    I. HATE. FALLING. OFF. OF. BRIDGES.

    That hatred follows on to every single sequel. Except for the hatred of Gunships, since I only take one down.

    It transfers to Hunters

    So yeah, now you know why I was so busy all day, to those BS01 readers. I might post a review on my BS01 Blog, since I won't have one written in time for here.
    -
  12. Swert
    Okay, I figure a bit of a BIONICLE theme this time.
     
    Based on observations, there might be repeats, but of different sets. Here we go. Also, they have specific reasons for why I like them, so I will note with a symbol behind each one. Chart for explaination at bottom of list. EDIT: NEW LIST BELOW.
     
    #10: Jaller Mahri (G) (K)
    #9: Nuju Metru (F) (T)
    #8: Vakama Hordika (T) (G)
    #7: Kongu Mahri (F) (G/T)
    #6: Lewa Adapted #1 (F) (K)
    #5: Pohatu Mata (F) (K)
    #4: Nuparu Inika (A)
    #3: Ignika (V) (K)
    #2: Takanuva (2003) (F) (K)
    #1: Lesovikk (A)
     
    #10: Jaller Mahri (G) (K)
    #9: Nuju Metru (F) (T)
    #8: Vakama Hordika (T) (G)
    #7: Kongu Mahri (F) (G/T)
    #6: Hahli Mahri (K) (Wings)
    #5: Pohatu Mata (F) (K)
    #4: Nuparu Inika (A)
    #3: Ignika (V) (K)
    #2: Takanuva (2003) (V) (F) (K)
    #1: Lesovikk (A)
     
    Chart:
    (T) Tool's awesome
    (K) Kanohi (or similar) rocked
    (G) Gun (or similar) rocked
    (F) Actual figure was awesome
    (V) Vehicle rocked
    (A) All of the above
     
    So there we go. Criticism is welcome But I think the list is awesome.

    -
  13. Swert
    Since it worked so well last time, I decided to do it this time.
     
    Again, THIS LIST IS OPEN FOR DEBATE. Please do complain that I didn't add rappers. I dare ya Also again, this is based on my experience, not on any "facts." Also, these are all Rock only, if I start using more out of that genre, the list is harder, and the Honorable Mentions is longer.
     
    #10: Nirvana
    #9: Guns N' Roses
    #8: Sublime
    #7: Foo Fighters
    #6: Beatles
    #5: Beach Boys
    #4: Metallica
    #3: A Perfect Circle
    #2: Tool
    #1: Pink Floyd (DSOM-Wall)
     
    Honorable Mentions: Ozzy Osbourne, Floyd Post-Waters, Beastie Boys (pre-00's), Nickelback, Creed (They were very decent, trust me), Audioslave, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam (got all the Seattle mainstream rock out of the way...), Calling the Kettle (Shoutout to you, Dav!), Billy Joel (He's rock, nobody better correct me xD), Paul McCartney and the Wings (Rather good), Led Zeppelin (If I do a top 10 Best songs, a few of their songs might make it on the list), NIN, Godsmack, Disturbed, and many more.
     
    Again, criticism and praise welcome.

    -
  14. Swert
    Okay, it's not a giant list of albums as impressive as Dav's (Kyn Ace) or Makaru's (Makaru), but it's my favorites.
     
    These are listed from my personal experience and is open for debate. As usual, all Top 10 lists are open to debate, except for mine 8D (sarcasm, of course). I might make this a feature for the rest of the week, and bring it over to BS01 in my blog there, it depends on feedback.
     
    #10: Pink Floyd's Animals
    #9: Metallica's Black Album (Metallica)
    #8: The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack
    #7: The Eagles' Hotel California
    #6: Jesus Christ Superstar Soundtrack
    #5: NIN's The Downward Spiral (Halo 8)
    #4: Tool's 10,000 Days
    #3: Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here
    #2: Pink Floyd's The Wall (Many would think I'd rank this #1.)
    #1: Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon
     
    Honorable Mentions, albums I felt had good music but not to the level I liked, consist of the following albums: Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Pink Floyd's Division Bell, Nickelback's The Long Road, Tool's Lateralus, Tool's Ænima, the Across the Universe Soundtrack, and the Paint Your Wagon Soundtrack.
     
    These are my list. I accept all criticism and praise.

    -
  15. Swert

    Doomed Pt. 2

    By Swert,

    So I've come to figure, what could possibly doom BZP if it were to return?
     
    We've covered Plushie Fad, so I'm thinking what's worse?
     
    I am [insert user name here], perhaps? Or perhaps the infamous Ducks?
     
    I can promise you, if Ducks came back, we'd be in trouble.
     
    Oh, perhaps combine old fads? Plushie All Your Base? That would scare.
     
    Let's go ahead and dedicate this blog entry to thinking of what would doom us all.

    -
  16. Swert

    Coke Vs. Pepsi

    By Swert,

    So some have come up to me on various chat programs and asked, "Do you like Coke or Pepsi?" Well actually no, they ask if BS01's going to add BL11 spoilers on the day the book comes out, but I'd rather discuss Coke vs Pepsi, so I will.
     
    I have had nothing but good things to say about both products. On one side, I love Pepsi's Cola, but on the other I love the Coke version of the Cherry flavoring. Also, don't even try to force me to drink Diet Pepsi.
     
    So, why discuss it? I clearly have no favorite.
     
    Ah, but I do.
     
    I drink Pepsi only when I'm forced to, but I prefer Coke.
     
    But that doesn't make sense, does it? Why do I love Coke over Pepsi when I like the Pepsi cola better? It comes down to one thing. If I buy a 20 Oz Coke, I get 3 Coke Rewards points, or if I buy one 20 Oz Pepsi, I get... 1 Pepsistuff point? That's bad marketing. Also, if I buy a 12 case of Coke, I get 10 points. If I buy a 12 pack of Pepsi I get... 2 POINTS! Very bad marketing.
     
    But I do still give my grandparents' stock in Pepsico some money. So, better christmas for me. Yay.
     
    Oh, and for the record, BL11 will be added 1 month to BS01 in white on white after it's spotted in stores. Thank you.

    -
  17. Swert

    Swert's Back To Blog

    By Swert,

    Ah yes, the Blog. I remember I had a blog here once... I nuked all the entries after the week was up.
     
    So, welcome to the Swert Blog, possibly the only blog you will want to forget
     
    I'm sure nobody here has heard of me, so I won't bother with introductions.
     
    I'll be here all week to post what I really think about anything. Maybe it'll be good? Maybe not? Who knows? (Who cares? )
     
    Hope everybody enjoys my works, I don't know what to say yet, post comments if you'd like, or make suggestions. I'm pretty much unsure what to say.
     
    Oh, one thing first, please don't mention "BS01." I talk about that -all the time- these days. Give me something different -Swert
  18. Swert
    As many of you know, or will now learn, I am fascinated with music. What kinds, you may ask? (Either that or you're being forced with this question.)
     
    I'm big into Classic Rock. The obvious connection from there is my Pink Floyd collection. My original Blog title was "A Momentary Lapse of Reality," an obvious play on words from the original title, which was "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," an awesome album from them. The current one is a more accurate portrayal of that, "A Delicate Sound of Blagging," which had an original name of "A Delicate Sound of Thunder," also a rather interesting album. I might perhaps call this "The Division Blog" eventually, to portray "The Division Bell," but that's optional.
     
    The next genre I'd like to discuss is current Rock. It's divided within several genres from that, some I like and some I don't. I actually enjoy Grunge, some Industrial, some standard Rock, Alternative, Post-Grunge, and some classic Punk (90's). I don't particularly enjoy the Goth and/or Emo styles. They were never a favorite of mine. I also dislike the current age rap and R&B, preferring classic (early 90's).
     
    This also leads me into another genre like it. Jazz and Blues. I love some Jazz numbers I heard my brother play in highschool band, and also I listen to Floyd's renditions of Jazz in songs. I also love the Swing genre, which derives from it a bit.
     
    Without a doubt, you can probably toss anything in front of me and I'll either enjoy it, endure it, or hate it. I'm not too picky with stuff from the 60's to the 90's, but I'm very picky about current age. Only one person really got me to listen to music I disliked, and that was Kyn Ace. He made me listen to NIN, who I hardly enjoyed at the time. I'm glad he did, because I enjoyed a few songs. Bravo, Dav.

    -
  19. Swert
    So last night/this morning around 3AM PDT, I linked the BZPower talk page on BS01 to... the Auto Plushie Generator.
     
    Most (if not all) newer members will not understand. All those members that joined before 2004 know what dangers that poses.
     
    I just hope it doesn't spark the fad again... PLEASE don't let it spark the fad.
     
    For those who don't know, in an attempt to be more accurate in our BS01 database, I dediced to post a new section called "Fads," which would describe all fads BZPower had that were notable. Notability, of course, is different from Wikipedia notability, since we still have more content on our site that WPedia would have deleted by now. Of course, one such fad, sparked by the appearance of "Plushies" in MNOLG2, led to probably the biggest sprite mania that BZP can probably record. It even sparked the first resistence group (You only thought you started it with Anti-Ponies ) that opposed them. Yes, the Plushie Fad.
     

    I just hope I didn't doom us all.
    - 
    EDIT: So I checked back, and Mahalis modified it to include a new watermark and he reset the counter. It says at 3:03 PM:

     
    We're doomed.

    -²
  20. Swert
    So I've been placed in charge of coordinating a (rather small-ish?) table area for a Lego art and play event in Tacoma, WA. I've already begun planning how it will form together, but the fun part still comes in that I need to build about 7-10 new items that go towards it being awesome, including a new display case for my masks.
     
    In other news, if you happen to hear from the TTV Brickfeed podcast I was on, I actually left my job of six years recently. This is one of the contributing factors in letting me get a chance to plan such an area in the first place (otherwise I'd be planning -everything else- at that event.) With that said, it's going to be an interesting ride to see what I can pull off design-wise.
     
    I'll try to post photos when I get it set up, if anybody's interested
  21. Swert

    BS01 Podcast and more

    By Swert,

    Whew, editing videos can be challenging some days. I posted not
    but BS01 Podcast Interview episodes on our YouTube channel. I have to say, I came up with a very useful format that's very easy to edit and publish, but eventually I'm going to have to find a way to make it even faster. Also the fact I have a 40 minute video to edit next will likely notKill me  
    I also finally got my ticket for BrickCon 2016 (YAAAY I'M GOING THIS YEAR!) and I'm going full-force this time. I don't know what I will do officially, but maybe I'll bring my new Nuva Cube? That'll be fun.
     
    Also I have a new Nuva Cube. It lights up. It's also tiled on the surface. You're welcome, Kayru!
     
    Otherwise, it's been chaotic the past few weeks (boss went on vacation in Europe, I had to handle the entire shop, practically by myself. Not much fun.) and now I'm looking forward to just catching up.
     
    Sooo yeah, that's that. Cheers, all.
  22. Swert
    I have to say, I am super proud of SPIRIT for getting us hooked up with Volta and the voice actors. Seriously, SPI does not get enough credit from us, and I want to fix that now.
     
    Basically, praise SPI. He earned it.
     
    ... Also go listen to our interviews.
  23. Swert

    Life update 8/3

    By Swert,

    Well, that was a rush.
    We just completed Skull Week on BS01's Facebook and Twitter accounts. ​We posted our first wave of reviews of the 2015 Summer Sets (Wave 2) by Dorek, with a slightly modified system. We gained some feedback over the last few months while reviewing the first wave of sets, and took them all to heart. Now I think we are truly ready for the future of BIONICLE. In addition to that, we also gave away a couple of summer sets. We hope to do so again in the future.
     
    In the other news of life, I'm patiently waiting for my shipment of Exploding Kittens (if you don't know what that is, I assure you it's NOT a bad thing... much.) to arrive. I bought the $35 bundle, which if you're in the know, you know what that means I intend to play as many rounds as possible until we all get sick of it. But, you never know when that might happen.
     
    Otherwise, it's too hot to do much else, so I'm going to go back to not doing much else.
  24. Swert
    MakutaFest 2015 is behind us. Now, it is time to look forward.
     
    ... But while we're looking forward, let's listen back to the past : D
     
     



    Again, thank you to all the listeners, and to my TTV and BS01 co-hosts. Let's never talk about this again.
     
    ... Until next year
  25. Swert

    WMKK

    By Swert,

    Twelve years after the legendary hunt for the Sterling Silver and White Metal Krana-Kal, I finally got my hands on at least one of the 5,000 WMKK. On top of that? I also got the card -and- the bag.
     

     
    I am very pleased with this addition to my collection. It is probably the only "rare" collectible I plan to go after in my lifetime, as it was the most likely to obtain.)
     
    Special thanks to Toa Lhikan Hordika for giving me the opportunity to use currency in a way to exchange goods to the benefit of both parties.
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