Letagi

I didn't like it at first, but got used to it without too much trauma. -L

Woah he's back. See you in like two days actually. -L

Unpopular statement: I have not seen The LEGO Movie. -L

It's a beauty, alright. -L

Since 2008, I've been a regular attendee at LEGO conventions - primarily Seattle's BrickCon, but I've made appearances in Portland and Virginia as well. I've attended nine conventions, and have plans to attend at least another three in the next year-and-a-bit. These conventions are horrendously expensive to go to, especially for a university student still largely dependent on his parents for financial support. Flights are of course the largest contributor to this - my flights to BrickFair were $700, with another $100 for baggage fees and travel insurance. Usually accommodation is quite affordable thanks to room sharing, but not affordable enough to offset the cost of transport. When I lived in Vancouver, West Coast cons were fairly easily accessible. Not so much from Edmonton. There are also other, non-monetary concerns, primarily in the form of missed school. I expected to miss four calculus classes for BrickFair; I ended up missing seven. My mark will come in any day now, and I really have no idea whether I'll pass. The cost of failing would be a lot of wasted time and a ton of frustration - not to mention paying to take the class again, since I need it for my degree. So I've been asking myself lately why I bother going to these events. The reality is that I usually don't get a lot out them in terms of LEGO-related benefits. The deals are nice, but given that I already have a hard time paying to get there, I can't generally afford to buy much; at BrickFair I came away almost totally empty-handed. I actually didn't mind that so much - I don't have a lot of time for MOCing these days anyways, nor do I have the desire to at the moment. Well, I do have a big project in the planning stages, but that's still a little ways off. This also relates to the fact that I seem to be going through a bit of what's called a "dark age" in terms of my interest in LEGO. I'm sad to say this, but my enthusiasm for Bionicle is and has been for a while at an all-time low. My interest in other aspects of LEGO is slightly better off, but not great. If I had the money to start the aforementioned project, I think things would be different, but in general I feel as if my LEGO hobby is largely on hold for the time being. The one thing I do get out of conventions is the social aspect, and it's been dawning on me more and more recently that that's the only real reason I continue to attend. There's a certain small group of BZPers I can call real friends whom I've gotten to know over the years, and I go mostly to see them. BrickFair was probably the most disappointing LEGO convention I've been to (ask anyone who was there - it was very much an off year) but it was by far the most incredible year in terms of socializing. If I go again, it'll be for that reason, regardless of how good or bad the con itself promises to be next year. But there are other ways to see people. Tomorrow morning I'm flying to Vancouver to visit my parents, and I'll be making a trip down to Portland for a couple of days to visit some people. Some other people are moving there soon; combine that with two of my closest BZP friends living in or near Vancouver, and in a couple of months I'll be able to visit almost my entire group of friends with just a train down to Portland whenever I happen to be in Vancouver. The Vancouver trips happen anyways for family visits, so that's only about an additional $150 for the round trip, as opposed to the amount mentioned above - plus minimal or no hotel costs, since I can usually stay with friends. Well worth it. Another advantage of seeing people outside of cons is the additional freedom. When you're registered for a con, you feel bad if you're not spending a lot of time there - like you're not getting your money's worth, or like you're missing out. At BrickFair, I really wanted to visit the Air and Space Museum and see DC, and I would have if it hadn't been BrickFair week. In hindsight, I would much rather have gone to those places with some friends than sit around bored at the convention for hours on end. I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of this entry is. I guess I'm just thinking out loud (in print?). I don't think I'll stop going to cons altogether - BrickCon will continue to be a thing for a while, I think, and BrickCan in Vancouver as well when it starts next year - but I might trim down my appearances at cons in favour of non-LEGO-related trips down the West Coast. -Letagi

I'm really looking forward to this Sue! The artwork is fantastic, as always. The designs you've worked out for Vakama and Teridax totally fit their characters. -L

Ah, yes. That is old news. -Letagi

Yup, I think that's pretty accurate. Except he fails at looking cool, too. It's honestly sad how terrified people are of acting nerdy or associating with nerds. I understand, because I used to be the same, but it's still sad. -L

I guess the article is a week old now, but I only saw it when Andrew posted it yesterday. So I think I can be forgiven for my tardiness. -Letagi

Meh. That more or less sums up my opinion of this article, but I've written a few more words on the subject here. -Letagi

Yesterday Andrew posted this article by Jonathan Last to the front page. While I agree it's nice to see a mention of the LEGO hobby in more widely-read media, as something of a journalist myself I have a few bones to pick with this bit of writing. The article on Acculturated is titled "The Cult of LEGO - It's creepy. And awesome." The title on the New York Post is "Why Legos [sic] are the best toy ever (for adults too)." Both titles are a little cringe-worthy if you've ever read or written for a real newspaper, but that's not their only problem - they're both totally inaccurate, because the article isn't actually about the LEGO hobby - it's almost entirely about the LEGO Company. Last spends most of the article giving a LEGO history lesson, and devotes only about two short paragraphs to discussing the adult LEGO fanbase itself. Granted, titles are often made up by editors and not by the author of the article in question, so I'll give Last the benefit of the doubt and assume he's not to blame for misleading potential readers. But in those few paragraphs, he makes slightly disparaging remarks about the members of the so-called "Cult of LEGO," despite having stated earlier that he is "down with the LEGO program" and even listing several sets that he displays in his workplace. He states that he wouldn't "want our children to grow up like them" - immediately previously saying in contradiction that they're a "good influence" - and that the "weirdos" who invest significant amounts of money in their LEGO hobby "have made some interesting life choices." Although he devotes most of the article to praising the LEGO brand, and although he purports to support the LEGO hobby in theory, he seems to disapprove of it in practice. I'd be curious to know what Last's own hobbies and interests consist of, and how much money he spends on them. Perhaps he's invested some extra money in a nice car - perhaps even $30,000, the very same amount that he semi-seriously mocks the builder of the LEGO St. Peter's model for spending. Reading through some of Last's other articles, one can tell he's the judgmental sort. That's fine, as long as he's not writing news stories. Some of his opinions I agree with, some I don't, and most I simply don't care for because the celebrity world bores me. The titles of his articles are consistently awful, and the articles themselves are mediocrely written. Oddly enough, that's something of a compliment when put into context, since almost all Internet journalism is terrible. Last's articles are actually significantly better than the drivel I'm used to regretfully stumbling across. He obviously does his research, and generally makes his opinions clear. But he does himself a disservice with his article on the LEGO fanbase - after reading it through a few times, I still don't know what his opinion is. Does he respect the LEGO hobby and those who practice it, or is he only impressed with the things people build and otherwise finds the hobby itself distasteful? Although I'm pleased to see a non-LEGO fan take the time to attend a LEGO event and write something about his experience, I'm a little disappointed with the execution here. Last's article could have been an insightful look into the LEGO hobby; instead, it serves only as a history lesson and as a means to make fun of nerds. -Letagi

I was going to just post the old pic, but some new acquisitions made it worth taking a new one: (Click for larger pic, and here when public for some individual pics.) The cool pieces are on the top right and middle left: Metru blue Matatu (one of only around a dozen), red/clear Hau Nuva misprint (one of maybe six), prototype Strakk helmet (one of three or four), red/gunmetal prototype Zamor sphere, WMKK (without the bag and card, sadly) and two Flintsmith customs - metallic purple Akaku and trans-orange Miru. A sealed copper Huna from a German cereal box will soon be added to this as well. In my almost-ten years of trading, this is the first time I've seen them, so they're clearly pretty rare. I'm also hoping to get a prototype silver Great Huna in the future. There are still some holes I'd like to fill. I'm missing two misprint purple Krana, two protodermic Nuva masks, two Shadow Kraata and a bunch of 2001 European misprints. None of those are particularly difficult to find, but getting them just hasn't been a priority. One day. To answer the topic question, technically the rarest piece here is the prototype Strakk helmet (based on numbers alone), but the most desirable and thus the most valuable would be either the Metru blue Matatu or the Hau Nuva misprint. -Letagi

What!? No donuts!? *Ahem* I think you're probably still familiar with the Letagi character that Tex developed. I'd love him to be in this! Also, please try not to break his epic survival streak. -L

Those dropbox links are really inconsistent. Sometimes they work just fine, other times not. I'm not really sure what the problem is or if there's a solution. As for the prototype non-collectibles, I may include them in the future. But like you say Steve, there are a lot of them, and documenting them would take a while. So I'll leave them out for the time being, but I might add them later. -L

I'm pretty sure they're brown, unless the seller somehow has two of Flintsmith's rare metallic purple ones. -L

You're sorry for something that wasn't your fault? Makaru confirmed as Canadian. I'm really looking forward to BrickCan; I just wish it wasn't still two-thirds of a year away! The River Rock should be an amazing venue for a con, especially if we get a discounted rate at the hotel. And hopefully it doesn't conflict with exams; that could be tricky to work out. -L

Sumiki - Thou art too kind. Thou flattereth me with thy kind words. My goodness, you're right. I'm terribly sorry - I've put you in in the correct chronological order, right after GSR who was the last person I met at the BrickCon before Cascade. -L

Ah well, at least I'm only paying $15 for it. Glad to hear everything made it safely. -Letagi

I believe the word you're looking for is "perfect". -L

First of all, this bit of genius courtesy of Avohkah Tamer featuring Sumiki and Lady Kopaka has be shared again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omT4z6xDL0Q Next, shoutouts to Trisha, Pat, Maddison, Andrew, Ben, Susannah, Vance, Christie, Corvin, Jess, Jamieson, David, Nate, Thomas, Pablo, Scott, Andrew, Yanni, Danny and more people that I'm trying desperately not to leave out but probably failing. You are all so wonderful. One of the greatest things to happen during BrickFair: Sumiki calling me "famous." His words, not mine. I'm honoured. Furthermore, my material acquisitions over the five days of the con (aside from the usual free BrickFair goodies) consisted of no more than two LEGO pieces, but they were particularly special pieces - TLH picked up an extra SDCC Scorpio mask for me recently, and I now finally own a Metru blue Matatu, which is a piece I've been wanting to have for almost ten years, and of which no more than twelve exist. Thanks Maddison! My convention plans for the next year - if finances allow, that is - include BrickCon in Seattle in less than two months' time, BrickCan in my hometown of Vancouver in April (finally one that I won't have to go through customs for), BricksCascade in Portland in June, and hopefully BrickFair VA again next August. Until next time, lovelies. -Letagi

Can I confess my platonic love for you now, Pat? But really, the whole West Coast vs. East Coast rivalry is something that I was a part of as well, and I'm sorry for that. I think it's great that there are now West Coasters who regularly attend East Coast conventions and vice versa. Like you say, whenever a large group of people gets together, there will be disagreements and people who don't like each other. I'm glad we can acknowledge that reality, while still moving past the ridiculous feuds of previous years. -L

I'm glad to have been present for such a confluence of mathematically aesthetic events. Happy birthday Andrew! -L

Words cannot express how amazing this is. AND IS THAT THE PABLO MOSAIC IN THE BACKGROUND OMG THAT IS PERFECT -L

DeeVee - That's fair. I'll probably go again next year, so I'll have something more to compare this year to. Xaeraz - Accurate. LK - I was glad to meet you too! And I'd love to keep in touch; I meant to talk with you more but it was such a hectic five days I didn't get the chance. You seemed like a really intelligent and insightful person to me; don't ever say you're not on the same caliber as someone else! Six - Likewise! BrickCan 2016? I checked, it's at the River Rock Casino Resort, which I can tell you will be an amazing venue for a convention. If the River Rock hotel is the official event hotel, it'll basically be the fanciest LEGO con ever. -L

Bottled Water. (Reference to BrickFair shenanigans for those who weren't there.) -L