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bonesiii

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  1. bonesiii

    How To Contact Me

    By bonesiii,

    Just a quick note -- anybody that needs to PM me about anything classified (hint hint, you-know-who-you-are ) but can't, feel free to send an email to:
     
    bonesiii@gmail.com
     
    And let me know your member name when you use this.
     
    I'll try to actually check it everyday.
     
    Otherwise, yall may comment here or in my profile comments for the time being.
  2. bonesiii

    The Orange Fades

    By bonesiii,

    This is one of my poems from the Poetry class I mentioned I'm taking at my college. Lemme know whatchall think of it.




    The Orange Fades

    I saw a carved pumpkin on a porch yesterday.
    It made me think of an old Autumn-themed scrapbook from my childhood.
    I pick it up, feel its orange-leather cover.
    I open it and step into all the photos
    I wish I’d taken.

    An unpainted, wooden storefront towers over me,
    barrels of gourds and miniature pumpkins out front.
    Orange, red, yellow maples and oaks wreath the building.
    Five plywood planks climb over wild grass to the front door.

    Photograph taken by a heavy black camera, leather grips on the sides.
    Reels of cider film inside, developed in a red darkroom somewhere in the city.
    I struggle to remember more about the scene.
    What was inside the store? Did I even go in?
    No, I stayed in the car. Was that the rusty blue Aerostar?

    An eyeless face with dry off-white fur and orange pimples.
    Pumpkins everywhere in a field full of what
    might be hay, might be straw.
    Some with brown rough spots.
    Others neon orange.
    I turn around, my sneakers crunching the hay or straw.
    All I see is pumpkins, like an ant in a vat of candy corn.

    Two photographs.
    First taken with a panoramic camera, printed in vivid colors,
    patterns of curvature of orange dots created by the panorama.
    Second taken from a helicopter directly above me, looking down at the field,
    the smiling road, the wild apple-orchard hair.

    A barrel lodged in the middle of a wall,
    made of rich, dark wood paneling clothed with shelves
    full of cinnamon candy sticks, mugs, pumpkin carvers.
    The smell of apple cider draws me to the barrel.
    Paper cups catch cider from the tap, and
    I don’t care that liquified worms might also be soaking my tongue.

    Photograph taken with a disposable camera.
    Smell of cider captured inside a sealed plastic tube
    that I filled with for a week, and only open rarely.
    After ten years, the smell is almost gone.

    A row of characters I imagined with my carving knife and markers.
    Obese green and yellow gourds with warts.
    White and yellow speckled midgets with crowns.
    Titans with jagged orange teeth.
    One squat miniature pumpkin had a blue and white snowsled
    origamied and markered from posterboard,
    and a paper hat with an open top for his stem.
    He had a name. What was it?

    Photograph taken of the whole group that year, seven in all.
    An eighth later preserved, a softball-sized pumpkin with white-out eyes,
    hollowed and laminated, the clear plastic so thin I can still feel the texture.
    But it didn’t fit in the scrapbook, so it became a windowsill decoration.
    The dust blurs the texture and the sun washes out the orange.

    But I stand in front of the house with that pumpkin,
    carved by another’s hands. It’s not the same.
    The scrapbook in my hands crumbles to dust.
    The orange mist fades from sight, from existence.
    I clench my fists, knowing that in ten more years
    even what’s left of the memories may be gone.
  3. bonesiii
    Today the Bones Blog brings you an interview with the creature Gollaga, former wielder of the One Refresh, the weapon of our enemy, Evil Lord Survurlode. We believe that this artifact is tied to Survurlode's powers just like Sauron was to his One Telephone Ring. Let's hope we can figure out how to find and destroy it! But don't tell Gollaga that, please...


    bones: Thanks for agreeing to talk with us, Gollaga. We've been trying to track you down for months ever since Evil Lord Survurlode told us of your existence, and that you once owned the One Refresh.

    Gollaga: My precious.

    bones: Yes. My precious.

    Gollaga: MY precious! Nasty Survurlode stole it! It's MINE!

    bones: Sorry, that's what I meant. YOUR precious. Anyways, why don't you begin by introducing yourself to our readers?

    Gollaga: We are Gollaga, my precious. We shows it, yes we does.



    bones: Well, I didn't mean your name. But where does your name come from? I haven't heard any strange coughs yet. Is it just because you're similar to both Gollum and a Rahaga?

    Gollaga: No, no. It's because when we sneeze, it sounds like "Gollaga."

    bones: Okay then. Why do you call yourself "we", though? Most people don't do that.

    Gollaga: Why does it ask us this? It called itself "we" too!

    bones: What? Uh, no, I meant "we" as in me and my fellow BZPers. But back to my question -- I meant, details about your life.

    Gollaga: We eat cheese puffs, precious, five times a day.

    bones: ... So I've heard. I don't blame you -- I love 'em too. But I mean, you know, about your past.

    Gollaga: My what?

    bones: You know, what you were like a long time ago.

    Gollaga: We ate cheese puffs yesterday too. And the day before that. Seven times a day.

    bones: I... I thought it was five?

    Gollaga: Was it? We forget. We hates math, we does, precious. We think we used to be good at it... But no longer.

    bones: So, you do remember something about your past?

    Gollaga: We remembers that we were once not that different from a Hobtoran.



    Gollaga: But then we found my precious. It changed us. Gave us unnatural long life, hunger for cheese puffs, and a Rhotuka power of Verbosity.

    bones: Say what?

    Gollaga: Big words, precious. We shows it, yes we does. *fires at himself* The target becomes incapable of communication without the dialectical aesthetic of a Lawyerahk.

    bones: Wow. That sounds like torture. But what is a "Lawyerahk"?

    Gollaga: A shapeshifting, complexilinguistic species of minion for Lord Survurlode, that has infiltrated the legal justice system. At the temporality when Survurlode captured me, I saw one, and took the liberty of capturing a visuodigital image:



    Gollaga: In regards to the aforementioned torturosity, grammatical precision becomes paramount, despite the latter being a requirement which even the topmost perfectionist is incapable of. NOOOOOOOO! I ENDED A SENTENCE WITH A PREPOSITION! ABOMINATION AND DOOM! AAAAAGH! "DOOM" is a short word! AAAAAAGH!

    bones: Calm down! It's okay!

    Gollaga: SHORT WORDS! AAAAAAGH! MUST. CONSUME. CHEESE PUFFS.

    At this point he stopped talking for several minutes, his mouth being otherwise occupied. I mean, eating. Yikes, some of that Rhotuka power must have contaminated me... I mean, got to me...

    Gollaga: We offer our deepest apologies for the aforeseen outburst. We shall endeavour to maintain our composure by remembering to refer to ourselves as "we". It is composed of two letters, unlike "I", my precarious.

    bones: You mean "precious."

    Gollaga: What? Yes, my predacious. I mean, my preconscious. Anyways, the pointaciousness of this dialogue is that Lawyerahks are a contingent of Survurlode's minionosity that he has endeavored to keep secret, thus you are now privy to classified information.

    bones: Thanks. So, the Lawyerahks are part of his "Dreaded Real Life" attack wing? It sounds like they're trying to drain life out of conversation. Am I right?

    Gollaga: Yes, they feed on the aforementioned linguistic life-force. They have also infiltrated certain professorships, especially in the English and History departments, in order to vampirate said life from written communication as well.

    bones: So that's why my History professor was ranting against the word "very" the other day... Anyways, next question. You mentioned you like cheese puffs. Tell us more.

    Gollaga: Yes, precursacious, cheese puffs are the exploding device in common colloquial tongue.

    bones: You mean... the bomb?

    Gollaga: They are the bomb. NOOOOOO! SHORT WORDS! AAAAAGHISHNESS! "No" is a short word too! I mean, non-affirmation is characteristic of brevity! I mean we!

    bones: But why cheese puffs? I don't see what they have to do with servers being flooded by the sea?

    Gollaga: Well, skeletoidinous, we would submit for consideration that finned aquatic creatures have little to do with the magmatic substance inside Mount Doom... Doomah... Doomahfication. And yet the Creature Gollum liked fish. However, because you have inquired, we shall provide the answer.

    bones: Yes?

    Gollaga: My precognitious glows orange. Cheese puffs are orange.



    bones: You used short words!

    Gollaga: NON-AFFIRMATION!

    bones: So does this mean that Evil Lord Survurlode is obsessed with cheese puffs too?

    Gollaga: Oh yes. At the temporality when he enslaved us and stole my pretentious, he fed us from his spare supply of puff... puffations. He had warehouses and warehouses full of it. Once we ate an entire warehouse-full in one day. The Chief Gremlin informed us that we should likely become annihilated if Survurlode found out. It became challenging to explain our appearance then.



    bones: Wow. How many puffs did you eat, man? How long did you stay orange?

    Gollaga: Approximately a quarter of a gazillion. Our color began to merginate to black after a period of fifteen whiles.

    bones: I forgot about the math thing... How did you survive?

    Gollaga: We simply targeted ourself with our Rhotuka and explained the situation in all its subtlety to Survurlode. He was obliged to smile and nod, pretending he understood our speechification, given his reputation as a master of linguistosity.

    bones: So anyways, the... your precious gave you these powers. What happens when you put it on? Sauron's One Telephone Ring would make the user invisible, just like how you can't see the other person over the telephone. What does the One Refresh do?

    Gollaga: You mean my parecious. We mean, my precocious........ The point is, it reforminates the user with transpixelification.

    bones: Yikes, that is a dangerous power! What's it mean?

    Gollaga: Why does it ask that? Anybody with half a neural network knowledgififes it means you become pixels.



    bones: Sounds... pointless?

    Gollaga: Nonsensiness. Pixelatiousnesses are energiness, unlike matter, thus we become intangible. Means we go through stuff. Whoa, we guesses our Rhotuka power is waning in effectaciousness, so you are fortunate I was able to use such short words to aid in the definition's understandability.

    bones: I know what "intangible" means. But now I'm confused -- in the pic you showed earlier of you wearing the... your precious, you didn't look like pixels.

    Gollaga: Oh, yes. You see, the whole "Frodo go poof in the middle of the bar" was never in the intentions of Sauron's designination -- it was a glitch. Survurlode is a much greater level of geekinosity, being master of the internet rather than old fashioned phones like his brother, so he overcame that particular difficulty. The power is activated mentally.

    bones: I see. So, at some point in your life, Survurlode captured you.

    Gollaga: Yes, and he STOLE my precious!

    bones: You said it right!

    Gollaga: We did! We thinks the Rhotuka power has almost worn off!

    bones: But why do you say "we" and yet you call it "my" precious? Why not "our" precious?

    Gollaga: GAH!

    bones: But back on topic... He stole your precious?

    Gollaga: And hid it, he did. Far far away from all life, he hid it, precious.

    bones: Any idea where?

    Gollaga: The precious calls to us, it does. Far far away, in the oceans on the surface of the Bionicle world, my precious calls to me. We can feels it.



    bones: Hrm. That's a big ocean. But why would he hide it in the ocean? I thought it was forged in the ocean, just like Sauron forged the One Telephone Ring in the fires of Mount Doomah. Wouldn't it get destroyed there?

    Gollaga: No, no. Survurlode is much smarter geekitudinosity than Sauron, remember? We thinks he made my precious... OUR precious so that it needs water. So anyone foolish enough to try to destroy it by mimicking Frodo would only make it stronger. No, the only way to destroy it is to take it to the driest, hottest desert. That's why it glows orange, not blue, when it's on land. It would crumble to ash, our precious!



    bones:

    Gollaga: Why does it grin that way?

    bones: Oh, right. Erm, I mean, good thing it's safe underwater, eh?

    Gollaga: Yes, precious. Safe. But we will finds it someday. It's ours. OUR precious.

    bones: Right. And once we... I mean you... find it, would you be willing to help us defeat Survurlode? Us not meaning just me...

    Gollaga: We don't know -- he might steal our precious again...

    bones: I'd share the cheese puff warehouses.

    Gollaga: WE SHALL SEND SURVURLODE TO HIS DOOMAHFICATION!!!!!

    bones: Excellent! There's been rumors, BTW, that he was already defeated partially with Brave Knight Binkmeister's latest blow, kinda like how Sauron was defeated once but kept alive due to the Ring. That's why Bink felt confident enough that he could afford to leave for the realm of Bionicle.com. I've noticed the server acting up a little again, though -- is Survurlode making a comeback like Sauron did?

    Gollaga: Yes, precious. He is now in the form of a giant tower with an "I" of water on it.



    bones: I've seen that picture before -- the Cheif Gremlin told me about it. I thought it was just in the planning stages?

    Gollaga: So there are many secret projects it doesn't know about, precious. No, the Gremlins built it many whiles ago, along with five hundred forty seven other classified projects.

    bones: That's a lot.

    Gollaga: Or was it seven thousand and twenty?

    bones: Do you know anything about them? I was under the impression we were aware of most of his plans already.

    Gollaga: Survurlode is like Makuta, precious. Plans within plans. Most things you've learned, he wanted you to learn, to make you either scared or overconfident. But we knows about two more projects. Right now, Project MiB is in action.

    bones: MiB? Survurlode was behind that? What does "MiB" stand for?

    Gollaga: Mosquitoes in Black.



    Gollaga: Survurlode hoped to scare the members with clones of an annoying bug he found on Voya Nui once. It can drain the passwords out of accounts if they are simple enough, and take the accounts over, but it failed so miserably that he didn't want anyone to know he was behind it. He was quite embarrased, my precious.

    bones: Ah, yes, that was when we set up the zappers. Zaps 'em every time.



    Gollaga: Yes. We hates that bug, because it wants to steal our cheese puffs. We had to buy zappers at Hut Depot for our hidden puff supply cave. So we wants your members to make sure they make long, complex passwords with letters, numbers, capitals, lowercase, whatever they thinks of. Make passwords of Verbosity, and nothing easy to guess! Use different passwords for your email, brickshelf account, etceterosity, and change your passwords every three whiles.

    bones: Noted... What was the other project?

    Gollaga: The Orkrana. That was a mission Survurlode made us go on -- to steal a krana from the prison-holes on Mata Nui. He mutated it into a squid form, and cloned it, precious, and gave them tsunami powers. Then he sent them out to possess the Orcas.



    bones: The Orcas, the whale-like creatures he wanted because their names sound like "Orc"? The Chief Gremlin told us Survurlode failed to tame them. Wasn't he trying to wipe them out since then?

    Gollaga: Yes, precious. But he still wants them under control. He just needs the Orkrana to sneak up on the Orcas. Only if that fails will he wipe them out, precious.

    bones: Yikes. We'll be looking into that. That could be a toughie, 'cuz we'll wanna stop that, but we wouldn't want to be responsible for their deaths either...

    Gollaga: The other one was the Spam Trolls. They are mindless beasts with an elemental power of spam. They throw it at anybody they see, especially themselves. We had to clean up after them many times, precious, when we served Survurlode.



    bones: Ah. So spammers aren't human. I always wondered... But that was three projects...

    Gollaga: Was it? We thought we said five?

    bones: There's more?

    Gollaga: Yes, but the rest we have been forbidden to reveal. If we does, Survurlode says he will hunt us down and imprison us in a room with no cheese puffs for a hundred whiles. And on top of that, he will put a clockcuff on our hands. We live without any evil clocks, you see, precious. We are free to roam where we wants, when we wants. To be enslaved to time would be the worst torture we could imagine.

    bones: I understand. I only had one other question -- how did you escape Survurlode's enslavement?

    Gollaga: Why does it ask us what we cannot say? If we told you that, we would be doomed if we were enslaved again.

    bones: True. Well, thanks for your time, Gollaga. Oh, BTW, I've got a research paper for that history Professorahk due in a month -- you wouldn't mind hitting me with one of those Rhotuka around then, would you?

    Gollaga: We wouldn't mind, precious. We wouldn't mind at all.

    bones: Thanks! ... I think...
  4. bonesiii
    Today the Bones Blog brings you an interview with one of Evil Lord Survurlode's minions, the Chief Gremlin. I discovered the existence of these creatures only by a slip of the tongue on Survurlode's part on the last interview. I've hunted down the Chief and he has agreed to let me interview him in person at his home. Though I was a little confused when he told me to meet him on a tiny rocky island off the coast of Metru Nui... This time I brought my own camera, so I could include snapshots, and I recorded the conversations. The following is the transcript.


    bones: Hello... Mr. Gremlin. Do you have a name other than "Chief Gremlin"?

    Chief Gremlin: Actually, it's THE Chief Gremlin with a capital T, just like THE Shadowed One.

    bones: Oh. I see. So, introduce yourself to our readers, since you were classified until recently. Who are you? And maybe a little bit about what Gremlins are?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Well, basically we're amphibious biomechanical minions based off a stolen BoM Fohrok design. Which is based off of stolen Bohrok designs. Which is based off of stolen design sketches from these weird fleshy creatures called something like "Hoomons" who live in a distant land called "Billund". Or so I heard. Anyways, we specialize in making computer glitches to help Evil Lord Survurlode bring BZPower and the rest of the Internet to its knees. I'm the one in charge of the others.

    bones: I see.

    THE Chief Gremlin: Don't forget to snap a photo!

    bones: Very well.



    THE Chief Gremlin: Like my fancy armor?

    bones: Whatever. Next question. What gave Survurlode the idea to make Gremlins biomechanical rather than just mechanical like Bohrok or Fohrok?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Well, Evil Lord Survurlode got tired of hearing all about the "Orcs" that served his brother, Sauron -- which are biological -- so he became obsessed with inventing his own minions. He tried Rahi called "Orcas" for a while. It made sense, given his power over water. But being whales, they didn't really listen to orders... Later he figured out that Bohrok may have once been biomechanical too, so he just worked from there.

    bones: Do you have any images of these "Orcas" for our readers?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Yes, I have some in my house.

    bones: Oh -- so you actually have a house? I was confused on that. All I see here are a few rocks and lots of water.

    THE Chief Gremlin: Well think about it -- my boss is obsessed with flooding every island he can, so a normal house would be pointless. No, a long time ago all of us Gremlins upgraded to an iHouse.

    bones: A what?

    THE Chief Gremlin: iHouse, ya know? It's the latest craze! It's a phone, mp3 player, video game console, printer, full-sized keyboard, computer desk, chair, refrigerator, oven, microwave, bed, and more. For some reason there's no Kitchen Sink, but we have so much water thanks to my boss that it doesn't matter. [He pulled the iHouse out of his pocket.]



    bones: All I see is a... doorknob?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Watch. [He pressed a button on the iHouse.]

    [At this point, a house magically expanded out of the back of the knob, on the island. Unfortunately as it was expanding one wall slammed into me and knocked me off into the Silver Sea, and I sunk, being an undead skeleton and all. Had to climb up the steep underwater sides of the island before the interview could continue. My recorder was ruined, but thankfully THE Chief Gremlin had another one inside his iHouse, which he lent me. Later I was able to recover the text of the first part of the interview when my recorder dried.]

    bones: Nice place you have. It's very... clean...



    THE Chief Gremlin: Yes, sorry about the lack of a mess. I get these strange impulses to clean... it all... every once in a while. It all... must be... *ahem* Sorry. Leftover code from the Bohrok design. Anyways, that's an Orca in that photograph. It's one I tamed.



    bones: I thought they couldn't be tamed?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Well, you see, Survurlode has this way with his obsessions. He became obsessed with eradicating all Orcas from the Bionicle Universe. I had to secretly tame that one so that it could survive until Survurlode forgot about it (but don't tell him that), and I discovered that the Orcas are actually very intelligent -- they just didn't like Survurlode's personality. I have a big weakness when it comes to animals in distress. I released it into the wild a few years ago.

    bones: Wow. Why would Survurlode do that? I mean, I know he's evil, but wiping out an entire species of animals just because they wouldn't obey him?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Actually, it wasn't that. He had wanted servants because of the Orcs, remember, but later when his brother died, he realized the Orcs had failed to protect Sauron. So he figured, "Orcas" might fail too. So he ordered their deaths to prevent his own downfall in his own version of a Mount Doom scenario.

    Voice from another room: DooMAH!

    bones: Who said that?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Ah, yes, you will want to meet my Pet Peeves!

    bones: Your what?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Pet Peeves! Creatures that feed on things that are annoying. They come in all kinds of species. It's sort of a hobby I have, collecting them.

    bones: Is that anything like Peeves, the Poltergeist in Harry Potter?

    THE Chief Gremlin: No, silly! Harry Potter is fiction!

    bones: Oh.

    THE Chief Gremlin: Just come over into this room, and I'll show you. [We walked through that crooked doorway you saw earlier.] These kraata-like things are Plural Apostrophe's.



    THE Chief Gremlin: They all have a hive mind, so the whole group is really one creature. They have very intense appetites -- most people can't handle them. The trick is to feed them with any book that you own, if it has typos in it, a couple a day. So obviously I spend a lot of time at the bookstore. Mostly I feed them Faulkner.

    Plural Apostrophe's: *Hisssssssssss*

    bones: And what are these tablets with eyes?

    THE Chief Gremlin: These are Bionicles.



    THE Chief Gremlin: They're pretty easy to handle. They just sit there and quote from the legends of Bionicle whenever they're nervous. They're an endangered species, because only a few inhabitants of BZ-Koro domesticate them, and they're very vulnerable in the wild. Although I've heard that those fleshy things in Billund have some too.

    A Bionicle: "And that is the way.... of the BIONICLE."

    Another Bionicle: "We must rescue the Matorans!"

    Yet Another: "Unity! Duty! DESTINY!!!!11!1!"

    THE Chief Gremlin: There there. [He fed the Bionicles some snacks called "Topic Titles", and they calmed down.] Anyways, I also have some Alwayzon Turnsignals, some of their relatives the Neveron Turnsignals, some Chalkboard Scratchers, and the one you heard was a very rare specimen, a Doom.



    Doom: DooMAH!

    bones: Oh, those. I think I've got one running around at home, actually...

    THE Chief Gremlin: Yes, there are many Wild Peeves too. I'm actually writing a book called "How to Catch a Wild Peeve". Or at least, I'm trying to write it, but every time I make a typo, the Plural Apostrophe's eat the draft...

    bones: Now, this is interesting. You are a head honcho in the most evil organization known, and yet you have this soft spot. Is this, maybe, because deep down, you know you're on the wrong side?

    THE Chief Gremlin: Ha! No, no, I love my job. What is this, good cop, bad cop?

    bones: I'm a moderator, not a cop... besides, there's nobody else here to be the other cop.

    Another voice: *ahem* And what am I, a fly on the wall?

    [At this point I noticed the evil clock in the room. Which was, incidentally, on the wall, but I didn't bring it up...]



    bones: Ah. No, didn't mean to imply that. But aren't all evil clocks higher ranking than Gremlins? You would be THE Chief Gremlin's overseer, yes? Maybe he is just pretending to like his job since you're here?

    Wall Clock: I serve merely as the messenger to the Chief Evil Clock for The Chief Gremlin. I knew about the Orca, you know -- and I didn't pass that on. I'm loyal to The Chief Gremlin. And by the way, you don't have to keep yelling "THE". Yeesh.

    bones: Sorry.

    The Chief Gremlin: Anyways, no, I am proud of the E.V.I.L. we have accomplished. Recently, although Brave Knight... I mean, Cowardly Scum Binkmeister did deal us a serious blow with the board update, I singlehandedly created the Gremlin Database Corruption Glitch, which as you know has been randomly deleting members and topics, making random forums or topics inaccessible. Etc.

    bones: Oh, yes, I know. You made S&T inaccessible the other day. And one of the RKs lost his account. So... just remember who you're talking to before you get all cocky...

    Wall Clock: You are powerless here, skeleton. Remember the clockcuff that is still on your wrist, despite your silly sledgehammers.

    bones:

    The Chief Gremlin: And we've made plenty of headway lately. Remember brickshelf? That was our doing. All the busy messages on BIONICLEsector01? Gremlins, and same with the host difficulties, with the help of an Evil Clock. We've even managed to interfere with people's abiltity to back up their files during the short time they still have brickshelf!

    bones:

    The Chief Gremlin: And we have more plans. Oh yes, don't you doubt it.

    bones: Anything you can tell us about those plans? And please don't say "Sorry, that information is classified." I hate it when you guys steal my lines.

    The Chief Gremlin: Oh! Then maybe you'd be interested in helping me catch a Stolen Thunder Peeve?

    bones: Uh, no thanks. Sounds... dangerous. And don't change the subject.

    The Chief Gremlin: Well, I think we can afford to reveal one of Survurlode's backup plans, just so you don't think you can ever win. You see, Sauron was once in a form much like Survurlode's current form, but he was "killed" when Isildur cut the One Telephone Ring off his finger, right?

    bones: Yeah?

    The Chief Gremlin: Well, as you know, Sauron came back in the form of a giant tower with a giant I of flame. So we Gremlins have designed a similar tower for Survurlode, just in case Binkmeister ever "kills" him. It's a giant I of water. Here, I've got the plans of it here.



    bones: Are you sure it was an "I"? I thought it was an "eye".

    The Chief Gremlin: That was only in the movie version. In real life it was an I, because Sauron was... well, very selfish. He said "I" a lot, you know? They just made the eye in the movie to emphasize how all-seeing he was, just like Survurlode.

    bones: I see. Um... pun not intended...

    The Chief Gremlin: And by the way, once you read the transcript of this interview on the recorder I give you, you'll noticed I said "E.V.I.L." earlier rather than just "evil". That's one of our plans too.

    bones: What's that stand for? And what's the plan?

    The Chief Gremlin: It stands for "Every Villain Is Lemons". And all I can say right now is, it involves Ahkmou, and it will involve the Bohrok and the Nuva...

    bones: Oh dear. You didn't hack the Bohrok that the Nuva just awoke did you?

    The Chief Gremlin: It stands for "Every Villain Is Lemons". And all I can say right now is, it involves Ahkmou, and it will involve the Bohrok and the Nuva...

    bones: Um. You said that already.

    The Chief Gremlin: It stands for "Every Villain Is Lemons". And all I can say right now is, it involves Ahkmou, and it will involve the Bohrok and the Nuva...

    bones: Hello?

    Wallclock: It's the glitches. We call it Broken Record Syndrome.

    bones: Yeah, Evil Lord Survurlode mentioned this happens sometimes. How do I knock him out of it?

    Wallclock: You wait.

    bones:

    The Chief Gremlin: It stands for "Every Villain Is Lemons". And all I can say right now is, it involves Ahkmou, and it will involve the Bohrok and the Nuva...

    bones: You know, with cars, "lemons" are defective.

    The Chief Gremlin: It stands for "Every Villain Is Lemons". What what? Oh. Sorry. There I go again. Again. Again. *ahem*

    bones: I was hoping to ask you about the mysterious Poolantir that Survurlode has. What are its powers? How does it work? All I know is what it looks like, from this photograph our spies obtained:



    The Chief Gremlin: It must be cleaned.

    bones: Um...

    The Chief Gremlin: CLEAN IT ALL!

    [At this point he began running around, grabbing brooms, vacuum cleaners, sponges, dustclothes, etc. and cleaning the house. And he dusted off the same windowsill twenty times. It got a little old.]

    The Chief Gremlin: What are you just standing around for, Matoran slave?

    bones: Wh... Oh great. Don't tell me there's leftover code from the Fohrok too!

    Wallclock: Well how else would they be so glitchy?

    The Chief Gremlin: What are your orders, Makuta?

    bones: Who... me? Oh! Right, right. Well, first, betray Evil Lord Survur--

    Wallclock: That's QUITE enough! Snap out of it, The Chief Gremlin!

    The Chief Gremlin: What? Oh! Sorry. It really does need cleaned though!

    bones: Poolantir! What are its powers?

    The Chief Gremlin: Sorry, that information is classified. Sorry, that information...

    bones: Well, I can see this interview is over. Thanks for giving our readers this time, Chief Gremlin--

    The Chief Gremlin: THE Chief Gremlin... Sorry. Pet peeve.

    bones: And I look forward to perhaps talking with you again sometime.

    The Chief Gremlin: It's been a pleasure, Matoran Slave. What? What are you babbling about, slave? Go clean your room!

    bones:

    [After this point, I was priveleged to witness the other glitch Survurlode had mentioned -- The Chief Gremlin decided he wanted to eat me, so I skedaddled out of there as fast as my bony legs could take me. I think I'll go back to telephone interviews from now on...]
  5. bonesiii
    Just a heads up that I've posted an Artwork topic for lotsa Survurlode artwork, mostly vector, some edits, from all four interviews, here: Spam Troll, Orca, & Other Evil Lord Survurlode Art

    Contains some new art too, including a revamped Orca with bonus wallpaper, another Pet Peeve, an improved THE Chief Gremlin, and the iHouse in both knob and house modes!

    Any posts/comments on this artwork would be greatly appreciated.


    NOTE: Includes bio info, allegiance status, plus some brand new classified info in Survurlode-proof spoiler tags!
  6. bonesiii
    Been a while since I've done a Dreaded Real Life entry, and figured I might as well announce a few other things along with that:

    Blog:

    -- I've revamped tons of imagery and such for the Bones Blog. The cheesy example skull from this entry: Vector Art in Powerpoint: Quality, Inexpensive, Easy inspired me to make a real one. Not as an av -- I still like my avvie as is -- but for blog stuffishness like the main pic at the top of the sidebars. It's also used for the brand new Skull of Approval for blogs:



    Omi and ToM have earned it so far. Lotsa past entries could win; haven't decided if I'm gonna do that or just award for new entries. Feel free to make suggestions, just like the bonesiii Gold Key to Nongu award for theories, except with this blog award, I decide purely on my own reasons. New sidebar content block added for that, listing winners. Note that it's blog entries that wins, not the blog in general, so you can win more than once.

    Revamped my categories, adding "debate" and "coolified artwork", and changing "Other" to "Ectetera." The two guides to Powerpoint are the main things in "Coolified", as well as the Ruthless Elegance: A Visual Guide to Cool entry (one of my top favorite entries). Also cooler banners, standard for the six main categs, and three special banners for my main creative writing serieseses.

    Lotsa more entries planned for the future. My free time and typing/drawing speed can't keep up with my ideas at the moment. I wanna keep posting them often; we'll see how that goes with evil homework and such.

    Real Life:

    In my final semester of college (fiiinally). Done with four semesters of German (I'm actually teaching Ojhilom German now; my homeschooled brother), done with vast majority of everything else. Taking a poetry workshop, which I'm shocked to find that I'm enjoying the most and the class is liking my poems. I might post some of my best poems here later. I think of myself as a prose writer, not a poet, but maybe I should think of myself as both. I'm learning fast; there's a lot to poetry that I never realized. BTW, that prof is hereby exempt from the status of evil professor.

    The history methods seminar prof is not even close to exempt. Ugh, evil homework galore with that class. All this fancy stuff due with barely any lecturing at all -- how we supposed to learn if not taught? This is the main reason I'm not on here much getting things done. Also taking a senior capstone with the poetry guy, basically a workshop with info about publishing and such. Another good one.

    Got a weekend paper delivery job now. Before this Friday, it took almost all of my free time on the weekend; literally out there walking from house to house from sunup to sundown on Sat and bagging all afternoon on Fri. Plus side is we're really popular with the bigwigs 'cuz we do a better job than most everybody else. Whole family helps, paychecks go in my name. Had to take it 'cuz my dad lost his job; he's in tool and die and that whole industry is just dying in our area. Thankfully, today he started a new job.

    I enjoy it, so no complaints. It's not evil like homework -- with college I slave away at it, and I have to pay them rediculous summages so they can torture me. It's extortion, really. I'm lucky enough that I enjoy learning so I haven't yet lost my mind (I think ). Of course the pay isn't that great, but I work here for free.

    I say before this Friday 'cuz the other paper in the area stole our two biggest advertisers, so technically the company I worked for ceased to exist, as it was a delivery company that included a newspaper and ad packs. But the newspaper is still gonna get delivered and due to being popular with the bigwigs I got hired there last week. Start this Friday, driving and throwing out at driveways this time instead of walking, and taking half a zipcode instead of a neighborhood. No idea what it will be like.

    After college be over, not sure what I'll do other than just try to get some other job. So no idea how that will affect BZP time. I hope, hope to have more time when I graduate. One thing I am reasonably certain of -- I would prefer a job with no homework. (Had my prof tell me he thinks I'd make a good teacher -- when I talk, people listen. I suppose I would, but I'd have to grade stuff! )

    Oh, BTW, I'm on the Dean's list at my college. I don' remember if I ever said that here. It's really annoying; they're always mailing me "Buy this fancy class ring! Sign up for this group that meets every week taking away what little free time you had left!" I wasn't trying to get on the Dean's list. All I did was my homework. The other students are the ones that decided not to get all "A"s. But whatever. It's cool anyways.

    (In all seriousness, having no job until now helped. Most of my fellow students have jobs, and not just on the weekend, so it's understandable. I'm feelin' that pressure now even with this job and it's quite possible I'll have to struggle to keep a "B" in the methods seminar. Tryin, tryin... Last thing I would do is quit the job; I support the paper and they really do need reliable deliverers.)

    BZP:

    There's another BRC topic in the works. Freetime willing, we should be able to get that sometime next month. I was hoping for October... we'll see. Nothing superduper amazing but it should be helpful.

    Also tons of updates and stuff needed with the BRC existing topics, including many things that are my responsibility. *reminds self* Blame the evil profs.

    Paracosmos Computer RPG:

    The RPG isn't dead, it's just that all these other things are priority and progress is going slooooow. We really have the Le-Wahi update almost done and what's left is almost all Ojhilom's department, but he's got a lot going on too. I reeeeeeally wanna put that update online cuz it roxorz, especially the (only for now) Le-Koro minigame. My fav so far; both Ojh and I spend more time playing it than coding.

    There's also a lot done for the final level, and I loooooove that soooooo much, the rest pales in comparison. But also a looot to do; I'm torn between trying to get a skeletal version of that up, or putting it off so I can get just Le-Koro up. Hrm.


    ...

    Did I forget something? Eh, probably.
  7. bonesiii
    Today the Bones Blog brings you the answer to one of the most commonly posted debate tactics on BZP. This is answered already in the Debate Terms Guide, but the answer is somewhat spread out over many entries there and that length can be daunting to read. So this blog entry addresses the idea directly. For clarity, key points will be bolded; don't confuse the bolding for emotionalism.


    Can Opinions Be Wrong?


    One of the most common ideas I encounter in debate is this: "These are my opinions. You can have yours too, but in no way am I going to change mine." [slight paraphrase from a current debate.]

    Usually this comes from someone who posted an opinion that was worded as if saying "I am right, others are wrong", that I or others had then disagreed with. The idea sounds good--that "I have a right to my opinion." Sure! But what if someone uses this to stick to an opinion that logic clearly shows is incorrect? Such as the opinion that the sky is orange, when it is in fact blue, as one example? Well, the answer is more complicated than you might think--what if what they really meant was they wished the sky was orange? That would be okay, right?

    The fundamental question is not whether you have the right to your opinion, but whether your opinion makes sense. The question is, can opinions be wrong?


    Two Kinds of Opinion


    The answer is, "Depends on what they mean by 'opinion.'" We must understand that the word "opinion" is occasionally used where really the word "taste" would be clearer. There are basically two kinds of "opinion":



    When you talk about what you like, or dislike, or feel, or what your preferences are, that's taste. That is unique to everybody, and nobody should feel that they are wrong for having theirs. These are not about the outside world, but about you. Therefore the outside world shouldn't change your view of who you are and what you prefer. If you dislike a set that was popular, you should not pretend that you liked it or feel pressured to like it. Same if you liked one that was unpopular. Sometimes I call this "taste opinion" to be clear, and it can also be called just "taste" or "preference" in standard English. Taste opinions cannot be wrong--they are individually unique.

    When you talk about what you think; what you say makes logical sense or is somehow a universal rule or definate truth, that's an opinion. These are not about you, but are basically theories about outside reality. These can be wrong. For example, if you have the opinion that a set didn't sell well, and sales prove you wrong, your opinion was wrong. And thus, you should change that opinion. I call this a "LEGO should" opinion, a "thought-opinion", or just a "logic-opinion" to be clear. Logic opinions can be wrong--truth and logic is not subjective.




    This is a basic principle of logic (which is the study of human mental processes). Issues of fact and theory, rules, morals, objective quality, common sense, storyline logic, debating, study of majority and minority tastes, sales results, methods of art, and so many others all fall under "logic-opinion".

    In contrast, personal statements of preference; of taste; statements worded similar to "I like/dislike this" are considered by logicians to be outside the realm of logic, and are not logically debatable. They fall under "taste-opinion".


    The Answer


    So the answer is this. "If you mean your tastes, then you're right to refuse to change your opinion. However, if you mean a 'logic-opinion', then you should be willing to consider you might be wrong, and if you're proven wrong, admit it and change the opinion."

    If it does turn out that the member is holding a "logic-opinion" that someone disagrees with, then that is the time to carry out a debate, look at evidence, and get into what I call "truth-seeking debate". That is, for both sides to be willing to change their minds if it turns out they are wrong. Because in those cases, either one side is wrong and the other is right, or both are wrong and the truth is something else entirely. However, if it turns out they were really holding a "taste-opinion" then there is no reason to debate that taste.




    Clarity -- Which "Opinion" do you mean?


    What most people debating me do not realize off-the-bat is that I'm not putting down your tastes. Instead, I am challenging you to word things more clearly, while I'm asking you to clarify your point. To reconsider how you originally worded your opinion, or to try, in the future, to make it clear when you mean your tastes.

    This can be done in many simple, easy ways. It's done by simply adding a "marker" phrase like these in your statement:

    "Personally"

    "To me"

    "I don't like this"

    "In my tastes" (I often abbreviate this; "IMT" to differ from "IMO")

    "In my preference"

    "In my personal tastes"

    "Tastewise, I feel"

    "I feel"

    "Myself"

    "Please note, this is just me"

    Etc.

    Unfortunately, some people mistakenly think "opinion" is one of these words. It is not--it is confusing, since it can mean both things. If "taste-markers" aren't used, the member often must be asked to explain their point more clearly. As a logician, that rarely confuses me, however, others who aren't logicians often misunderstand, and this can trigger unneeded debating, and sometimes even flame. This is usually how flame wars are started, often without any actual ill-intent by the person who started it! Just a big misunderstanding caused by unclear wording. When you state your tastes as fact or logic-based arguments, it comes across as putting down others' tastes and saying yours is superior, even if that's not what you meant. This can be especially true of younger members, but believe me, it's not limited to age--the same confusion causes flame wars on forums for adults/teenagers too, and I've witnessed this.

    In short, if you mean your tastes, say so!
  8. bonesiii
    Today the Bones blog presents a four-tiered feature on the official & approved 2008 set images seen in this article. First, enlarged and lighting-fixed images are used here that make judging each piece and the overall set easier. Second, my in-depth objective analysis of the sets is included with each image, as well as my own in-depth subjective personal reactions. Fourth, at the end I will make my customary predictions about how these are likely to sell. If nothing else, I hope the improved quality of these images helps you better make up your own mind about these sets.


    All of the following is spoilers, so read at your own risk.
    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

    Firstly, the "Analysis" sections below are written as objectively as possible. Any traces of my own bias you see in these, please point them out and I will try to remove them.

    Secondly, the "My Reactions" parts are totally written from my own personal tastes. Feel free to skip those sections if you like, although I do make some observations in there objectively that aren't mentioned in the analysis. I spend time on it partly just for my own sake, but also because I do tend to resemble most fans in a lot of what I like, so perhaps my reactions can be used to roughly gauge how these might play with most fans. But please take that with a grain of salt, because it is really just me, and of course there are some things I differ from most fans on.

    Thirdly, please do not link to or describe leaked images, as too many keep doing when discussing these official images. Suffice it to say, the leaked images were apparently prototypes, which is why you shouldn't go by leaks anyways (well, one reason; it also doesn't help that they're illegal).


    Nuva Nuva!

    Analysis: The Nuva are now able to get the storyline spotlight for 2008, something most BZPower voters have supported (see here), and storywise this is not technically a transformation, but (apparently) simply new weapons, tools, and armor, as this was what Greg told us would be discussed (though whether this was approved as the explanation has not been revealed).

    The Nuva sets update these characters to the "new" style that evidence indicates most fans prefer, as opposed to the older, more Technic style that LEGO originally assumed would be most popular (and that has proven not to be the case since 2001). So right off the bat, when we compare these to the older sets, these are likely to play much better with most fans. Also, we see the better standards of articulation at work here, and much more varied use of pieces, less clonism, etc. They play up differentiation from their old forms much more than the 2003 Nuva, but interestingly their masks and tools resemble their old ones much more so than the Inika compared to their Matoran forms or the Mahri to Inika. Projectiles return with something like looks like a mix between the Cordak launcher in shape, and the Zamor launcher in what it fires.

    Due to the move to the new style, this will likely be a set group with intense reactions; strong liking by those who prefer the newer style, and strong dislike by the minority who prefers the older style, especially those emotionally attached to the Mata/Nuva03's exact forms and style. Very few fans in the main fanbase now remember 2003 or these characters, and even on BZPower most support this move, so overall the negatives to the "Newva" are minimal.

    My Reactions: I'm very excited about these sets overall, because I disliked strongly several features of the older sets, both Mata and Nuva, such as the chunky bodies, the gears, the lack of knees and elbows, the gears, the less cool style of some parts of the body design, and the gears. I'm happy to see the more Mata-esque mask designs. The Nuva were a good attempt at "coolifying" the masks, but only a few of them really struck a chord with me (mainly the Miru, and Kaukau). These masks are much more in line with the 2001 Kanohi, the Mahri's Kanohi, and other similar "cool" designs.

    I was hoping for a few more new pieces than we see here, but old pieces in new colors are cool too. The best part of that is that now, seven years in, Bionicle has finally built up a good collection of varied pieces for legs, arms, feet, etc. This makes it much less expensive to reduce clonism today than in 2003 (for example), and is something I've been looking forward to for a long time. Still, almost all of the limb and feet pieces are recycled (possible exception being Pohatu's arms).

    Got a bone to pick with the projectile weapon, though -- it's the same problem as the Mahri's Cordak Launchers. To me, the weapon isn't very stylized in appearance. To me, that is very important. There is evidence that most fans don't care since it's a gun, and certainly many real life guns are similar in that design. So it might not be a real problem, but my question is, why not coolify it anyways with a little with Bionicle-style pistons, serrations, etc. on the sides? The Zamor launcher, or both styles of Kanoka launchers, or to an extent the Squid launchers were good examples of cool looking launchers, IMT, and I miss that in Cordak and these weapons. Theoretically, that might make it even more attractive to most fans. However, it is much cooler looking to me than the Cordak Launcher, so it's a step forward.

    Kopaka Nuva

    Analysis: Kopaka's mask is the most recognizeable, with the lens concept included. He is very true to the style of the Nuva, maybe more so than the other two, in the smoother limb design and the more plain metallic design of the wings, much like the plain metallic design of the 2003 armor. He also has what appears to be a sword, much like how Kopaka Mata had one sword (although in his Nuva form he had two). The blade might be attached to the weapon like a bayonet; not sure. His feet are the first Hahli Inika feet in white, as I recall.

    My Reactions: He's my least favorite of the bunch, but still miles ahead of the 2003 forms. Mainly, I just didn't like that old metallic plainness all that much; I wanted him to be more original and less "true" to the older form. I love wings in a Toa, hoped for them for years. And the wings definately fit his style of cold strength. Airplane wings fit him much better than, say, Hahli Mahri's wings which were more "feathery". But I would have liked more "coolification" with these wings. Also, his mask isn't that attractive. Plus side is that it resembles an Akaku, but minus is, again, it's not that "cool" in the way I see coolness. The use of red in the laser thing seems very out of place on this set. And the feet have always been my least favorites ever since they first appeared in Hahli Inika (I believe). Best parts seem to be the sword/bayonet, the arms and legs, and the presence, at least, of wings. Personally I'd rather spend my money on Hahli if I want a winged Toa, though.

    Lewa Nuva

    Analysis: Again we see a lot of similarities to his older forms, in this case especially to Lewa Nuva. The mask has the same lower cheek things as the Miru Nuva, and the mouth area is very close to that. The top resembles the Miru Mata more closely. Lewa Nuva used to have two Katana until a Piraka broke one -- and this Lewa has one sword, again an interesting similarity given that these are apparently new tools the Toa get. He features the first use of jets (aside from Vakama's Kanoka launcher). And he brings a mostly new color scheme to the table for Toa; lime green instead of Mata or Metru green, balanced with gray and metallic colors. And his feet are the first silver Mantax feet.

    My Reactions: Lewa and Pohatu are sortof tied for my favorites of the Newva. Overall, I like the style of Lewa best. He's the most coherent of the three, his lime balanced perfectly with the gray and silver, the jets providing the perfect balance to all of that, the sword stylish and sensible, the weapon free in his other hand, again, sensibly. Kopaka's pose makes his sword/bayonet seem clumsy and his face doesn't fit that well with his body, and Pohatu's eyes are hard to understand and his tools seem awkward -- none of those problems exist with Lewa. (Pohatu comes close mainly because he's orange, and I'm bonesiii.) Lewa is a perfect example of what "cool" means to me in a Toa, and quite possibly to most fans too.

    I love the jets -- not just a little, but I think these are the best jet pieces LEGO has ever made, that I can think of, including System jets. Reason being the two-pronged look of the top end, mixed with the wider and roundish lower end; they just look so cool! The sword is awesome, very much like his old Katana, but coolified.

    And the mask -- it's perfect. It looks exactly like what the word "mask" in Bionicle means to me; slightly curvy enough to tell this is something molded from a Kanoka disk and worn on the face, not the face itself, coherent, not just round, and with some serration things going on. Plus what seems to be "visors" as a bonus. The one possible downside is that it looks a lot like Lesovikk's lime Faxon, but personally the strong resemblance to both forms of Miru nullifies that as a problem, whereas L's mask looks more like a lime Kaukau.

    Really the only downside IMT to Lewa is that he's not orange.

    Pohatu Nuva

    Analysis: Yet again we see a strong resemblance to his former forms. The Kanohi is almost identical to a Kaukau Mata, with the top turned into a visor. He's got a wide build, though unlike his previous forms it is not inverted. His last tools were double-clawed hand tools; these seem to be able to actually fold in like claws, and again there is one per hand, just like Pohatu Nuva. In color scheme he modifies Hewkii's yellow concept into orange, which might make more sense, and possibly might play better with most fans. On the one hand, yellow is perhaps more eye-catching and stone elemental energy has always been yellow, plus tan stone is one of the most common colors and tan is simply gray-ified yellow. On the other hand, orange is closer to red, the most popular color, also eye-catching, and closer to Mata brown, which is simply dark orange. It's also very close to Hewkii's yellow, which had a slight orange tint to it. It may very well be a perfect compromise -- one that increases interest both with many of the rare older fans and with the majority alike.

    The tools are apparently some sort of helicopter-like blades, so in addition to closing like a claw, they might rotate, giving Pohatu his method of flight to match Kopaka's wings and Lewa's jets. However, I can't quite make out a method of rotation; the only hinge I see is the sideways one to make them snap like claws, so that might not be true. His body also seems to be built something like Kongu Mahri's. The front half of his arms appears to be a new piece, and it might be part of the tools; that stick thing by the elbow might be connected to the helicoptery things to spin them. But that's just a theory.

    My Reactions: He. Is. Orange. Rad cool, man, my favorite color of all time. The mask with the visor is very cool, too, if a little less coherent than Lewa's. It's a little cooler than the Kakama Mata, and a lot cooler than the Kakama Nuva. His feet are my all-time favorite Toa feet, because they are bar none the most "coolified". Spikes are the key. The shoulder-mount for the weapon is good, not new, but still good. And the style pieces on the limbs are my favorites of those. What takes him down a little to me is that he's less coherent. The blade things look awkward, the visor color isn't balanced anywhere else, and the shoulders are maybe a little too wide. Or, I should say, for shoulder that wide, the arms seem too small (but that might be the pose). And I don't like the front of the arms, as far as I can see. Looks too industrial, not cool enough.

    In terms of recognizeability, LEGO could have switched Lewa's and Pohatu's feet, as Mantax feet look a lot more like Pohatu's old feet addons. But then Pohatu would be second best in terms of coolness, so I can understand and appreciate the reasoning, and I can especially appreciate my favorite Toa feet being orange.




    Phantoka

    Analysis: We know next to nothing storywise about these characters, except that they are batlike, and there was a bat-related teaser pic this year that many are connecting to these sets. Setwise, we are seeing some of the most uncloned designs ever, with a lot of "coolified" style (putting the term in quotes because whether it comes across as cool is, of course, subjective; my understanding of most fans' tastes is that they see it that way) and a lot of innovation. The nonclonism even goes so far as to give two Phantoka feet, and one something more like an insect leg. They seem designed to come across as "spooky" or "creepy" as villains, a common theme with bats, of course. The canisters look very rocklike, another similarity to the teaser image people are talking about.

    My Reactions: It's a lot harder to judge these sets than the Newva thanks to lower quality images, but there are lots of things I can tell for now. What stands out to me are 1) the wings ROXOR, 2) the faces are varied and cool; Antroz' resembling a coolified Krana or a mask, Vamprah almost humanoid, like an alien, and Chirox almost skeletal (you can guess my reaction to that). Also interesting is the sphere where the belly would be. Not sure what the deal is with it, but I guess it's a weapon they would release while flying sorta like a WWII bomber. Certainly innovative, although perhaps a little awkward, not sure. It's interesting to note that there doesn't seem to be anything else like a projectile with the Phantoka. Perhaps a pin in the back pushes it forward like a Zamor launcher, though, who knows.

    The rest is so varied it's better discussed with the individual sets. Overall, though, the Phantoka prove to me that Bionicle can still put out innovative canister villains just as much, if not even more so, than in the past. I can't think of any villains since the Bohrok that have been this "out there" in terms of cool innovation. Possibly the Vahki, but then they were so clony, it got watered down. Rahkshi, Piraka, and Barraki are very very Bionicle, and Visorak are maybe a little more "out there", but these are even more unique and unusual. Perfect villains to face the Newva too, in that they are very Rahi-esque, with enough variety to conceivably be different species.

    Antroz

    Analysis: Antroz features a red and silver (or possibly white, like Pridak?) color scheme, very triangular wings, some sort of blades (again, something like Pridak's?), and clawed feet. The feet are apparently the tri-claw Piraka feet, but might possibly be the new bi-claw piece in the smaller villain sets and Chirox; hard to tell at that angle compared to the canister's plastic overlapping the image. The face is perhaps the oddest in Bionicle yet, very remniscient of a krana or a Kanohi with no forehead. The red appears to be Mata red, not Metru red, though it's hard to tell for sure, especially considering the lighting in the original pics was so much darker and these are the brightened images here. The body, legs, and arms aren't visible clearly in these images.

    My Reactions: Aunt Rose. Sorry, can't help but notice the name resemblance. Antroz is the most beast-like in appearance due to his face; looks with this lighting like a giant mandible mouth or something; very cool. The claws are very cool, though apparently an old piece (an old favorite IMT). The wings are a good example of how I like wings -- they're stylized, but not feathery. Something more like this would have been nice in Kopaka, even without the bat shape of the inner-upper part. I like the bomber-belly (if you will) in Antroz; the red matches his color scheme well, and the size of that sphere looks intimidating as a weapon. (Incidentally, I wonder if it reloads storywise?)

    Vamprah

    Analysis: Not as much can be said about him as the arms and/or wings are still distorted on the sides of the canister. The wings or blades seem to be the long and skinny type, but I can't be sure. His head features a more distinguishable face than Antroz, somewhat humanoid, possibly with some kind of fangs (as the name might hint as well). Most notably, his legs are insectoid blades rather than feet, somewhat like a Visorak leg mixed with a Vahki staff in four-legged mode. I'm assuming Vamprah can walk with his arm-blades and leg-blades like a spider, but can't be sure because I can't make out the arms. But otherwise it would impossible to balance him, so something along those lines is probably the case.

    My Reactions: Vamprah is to me the creepiest of the three, with the face and legs. The face almost looks like a Kanohi, again. All good points, and I think the wings/blades look cool but I can't tell for sure. I don't like the red of the bomber-belly with his blue; it's the only place red is used in this set. Blue would have been more coherent.

    Chirox

    Analysis: Chirox features a skull-like face with what seem like fangs, a color scheme of black and silver (and possibly white?), skinny arms with blade weapons, Nuparu Mahri style pieces on the legs, the new two-toed feet, and apparently his bomber-belly has just fired in this image, which is what the half-and-half sphere below him with the green things coming out is.

    My Reactions: First. The. Face. Is. A. Skull. With. Fangs. I am in skeleton heaven. Of course, not 100% sure skeletal is the look they were going for, but I see it in there. So I happy. The wings look the best, the feet look the best, and the body looks good sans weapon. I'm even not really minding the skinny arm as it does fit with the skeletal theme. And fangs. Downside... again, I don't like that the weapon is red. At first I thought it -was- loaded in his belly but was simply black -- that would have been far cooler, a black weapon. But ah vell. Still, overall he's the coolest of the three IMT. He also seems the most intimidating; whereas the others might be creepy or beastly, if I ran into this guy, I might really cower in real fear. Except of course that I'm a skeleton too. Anyways. Also, side note, but the tone of gray on the canister is perfect. I love that color. Not sure the arm has two halves, though, which I don't like, but that's hopefully just the pose.






    Matoran

    Analysis: Before I begin, here's a pic of all three side by side. I bothered to make it, might as well include it somewhere. The 2008 Matoran seem to be much more oriented towards new pieces than 2007, with new legs, arms, body, and masks. The feet are all Mata feet, and the tools are old tools from various years. They appear to have only fake knees and elbows, though I can't be sure given that this is only an image. They do have working necks, apparently, though. And again the colors are lime, white, and orange.

    My Reactions: These are my favorite Matoran sets since the Mctoran 2001, which is saying something, because I was beginning to think LEGO couldn't surpass them. I love their masks, their colors, the choice of old tools, and the Mata feet even seem to fit perfectly. The body piece seems very cool, as do the stylized arms and legs. The masks are all based roughly on the Toa Newva masks, interestingly.

    What I loved most about the Mctoran was their coolified arms with serrations, along with the hunchback design, gear-free design, and the fact that the arms were longer than the legs, ape-like, and the heads big compared to a tiny body. All of this has been imprinted on my mind as "Matoran", and all these other forms since have gotten away from it. I don't think that's been a wise move, at least if most fans are anything like me (and they often are). But the Mctoran had no balljoint articulation and their feet were not that cool. These bring back arm serrations, they bring back body to head ratio, they are gear-free, they're hunchbacks, they have all of this, plus articulation. And, even what is there is coolified beyond the Mctoran, with the body especially, and the Toa Mata feet are far cooler IMT than the Mctoran feet.

    If the limbs don't have bendable knees and elbows, though, that would be dissapointing. Mctoran-worthy Matoran with knees and elbows would be awesome, but it doesn't look like that is the case. They're certainly better than Bohrok limbs (though those were cool too), but bendable joints are an important aspect of sets, to me. Of course, they're just small sets, so not that huge a priority. Also, the arm serrations still aren't as pronounced as with the Mctoran, which is dissapointing. Overall, so much of these sets I have been hoping for for so long, thinking I'd never get, that I still have trouble believing it's really coming next year!

    Tanma

    Analysis: Tanma features Lewa Nuva 03 Katana. His mask resembles Lewa Newva's mask, but it stylized differently and has no visor (that I can see). His arms and legs are different, the arms at a 90 degree angle with a highly noticeable serration, the legs looking somewhat like the Toa Metru shoulder armor.

    My Reactions: I like these arms the best as they're the closest to the serrated Mctoran style. The Katana is a perfect choice for the green set, the mask is an even cooler variation on the theme of Lewa Newva's mask. The knees look great, like a much cooler version of the Mctoran leg style, albeit with smaller feet compared to the rest of him.

    Solek

    Analysis: Hewkii Mahri swords, a variation on Kopaka Newva's Kanohi, and four identical limbs with slight serrations and pistons characterize Solek. Again, the legs appear locked into a 90 degree angle.

    My Reactions: This mask is what I would have liked as Kopaka's mask, maybe with a lens added too (sans the red laser). I could still coolify it, but within the Mata style, it's very cool as is. There's less serration on the legs, which to me is a downside, but the design is cool. The Hewkii swords are an excellent choice; one of the best tools out there, just like the Katana, IMT. In this case I'm very glad the designers didn't go with a "borrow from the Nuva" theme on the tools, as neither Kopaka form's swords were all that cool (although a silver Kopaka Mata sword might have been interesting -- no idea if that mold even still exists).

    Photok

    Analysis: Unlike the other two, only his arms feature the primary color orange; the legs are gray. Again the arms have some serrations; I can't tell if this is a new piece, or the same as Tanma's legs at a new angle. The legs appear to be Tanma's arms, but again, not sure. The mask is yet again a variation on the Newva mask of this color, looking much like the original Kakama in this case, even more so than Pohatu's new mask. And finally, Chronicler's staffs are his tools.

    My Reactions: Orange. Too bad the legs aren't orange, though, since that piece (if it's Tanma's arms) is my favorite out of the bunch. But great mask; maybe the most 2001ey of all these Kanohi and a lot like something I might design for the Paracosmos. Chronicler's staffs always rock; again I'm glad there's no Nuva-borrowing going on there. There's something confusing going on with the shoulder, though -- it seems way too high up to me. And there might be something attached to the back, or that might just be part of the background, can't tell.




    Small Villains

    Analysis: It's been a long time since Bionicle has featured small villains; the last I can recall is also the first; the Bohrok Va. Considering how much more advanced these are than the Va, these are a first. They appear to be essentially Chibi Phantoka, each with a variation on the faces of the corresponding Phantoka (just like the Matoran and the Newva's mask similarities). They use the same body piece and leg pieces as the Matoran, and two of them use the same two-toed feet as Chirox. All three appear to have the same bat-wing pieces, that resemble System bat/dragon wing pieces LEGO has made before. And like the Matoran, they each feature an old bladed weapon, one in each hand.

    My Reactions: Very cool. The Va were... well, their heads were alright, but that was it. They were cheapie extras, but these are real quality (IMT) sets that happen to be small. The wings are even clearer than the Phantoka's to be wings, although they look a little too small to really help in flight much (but this is Bionicle physics of course). The two-toed pieces and the spider-leg pieces work really well in them, and the tool choices are excellent. The faces I have mixed reactions to, but will save that for later. And the canisters are a nice chibi version of the stone look in the Phantoka canisters.

    Kirop

    Analysis: Kirop features Matoro Mahri claws, two-toe feet, and apparently Photok's arms as both arms and legs (and at this angle, it appears Tanma's legs must be this piece as well). The face looks the most batlike of all of these, apparently with four fangs just barely discernable at the bottom.

    My Reactions: My fav of all three. The bat-ear look with the fangs is great, the black wings fit the color scheme best, the weapons are perfect (and perfectly coherent), and for a villain the limb choice looks perfect. I love the two-toed piece, especially in a small set like this. And the face reminds me of mimes or those bad guys in Zelda... um... the one with the fish.... Windfish? Anyways. Red eyes are perfect. It's just a great set. I think those wings could be bigger, though. And I keep mixing his name up with Chirox, but I'm learning, I'm learning...

    Gavla

    Analysis: Gavla features a blue and black (or possibly dark gray/silver) color scheme, with either white or silver at the top of the head. Again the feet are the two-toed pieces. The limbs appear to be Tanma arms. And the tool is the green Visorak's pincher.

    My Reactions: Again LEGO is hitting the mark perfectly with the coolest old tools to choose. The Visorak Keelerahk jaws were always my favorite [Lol, no, they're Carapar claws, which are very similar, and also my favorite Barraki tool -- thanks to xccj for catching that mistake), as I've posted on here many times (were you guys reading my posts, lol?), as they seem the "coolest" in my view of what is cool. Head isn't as attractive to me; it's a little plain, though there might be a sortof batwing/tentacle thing going on at the top. Reminds me of Mantax's head, which I thought was only semi-cool until someone finally showed a pic of it from the top view, revealing it to be the coolest perhaps ever made with those sweep-back tentacles. Might be something like that going on here, not sure. Again, I love the two-toed piece. This guy looks like perhaps the most dangerous of the three with the longer weapons. I'm dissapointed that the wings have to stay black. Blue versions would have rocked.

    Radiak

    Analysis: Again we see the spidery formation of legs, and in this case it's clear that the arms form the other two legs. Takanuva staffs are held by Tanma arm pieces in the front, and apparently the back is the same, though it's hard to tell. Again the batlike wings come out the back, and the face resembles another Krana-like shape just like Antroz's. The red also, again, appears to be Mata red, not Metru red, but, again, might just be this pic.

    My Reactions: This is what a Krana should have looked like, IMT. All those spikes sticking off the sides rock. Spikes are the key to cool. Interesting that the spider design is in red, whereas with the Phantoka, it's in blue. I wonder if white, orange, and lime Phantoka and small sets will have some of this spider design? Again, I wish the wings had been colored; red in this case, not just black again. Takanuva staffs -- again, the best of the best of tools are being used here. Again I feel like the set designers are reading my posts. This guy ranks very close to Kirop to me, close to being best, with Gavla a little behind. Mainly, it's because both Kirop and Radiak are coherent, overall, but Gavla's head does not fit with the coolness of his weapons. Also, Radiak and Gavla's black wings aren't as coherent as red and blue would have been, but Kirop's black wings are coherent with other black in him. Remember the importance of coherence -- it isn't just pure cool shapes that make up the whole of "coolness" IMT.




    Big Box Set

    Toa Ignika

    Analysis: Obviously, the name and mask bring up many storyline questions. I think it's safe to say for the moment that Toa Ignika wears the Kanohi Ignika and leave it at that here. This set is much like Toa Takanuva, in that it presents old pieces (like a Titan set would) to construct a Toa and a vehicle, with a new piece for an elite mask, and sells in a box. The main difference is that this Toa includes the same projectile weapon that the Toa Newva have.

    In this case, we see a standard Toa Inika/Mahri/Newva style body and limb design, decorated with bladelike shoulder armor and Nuparu leg armor that also looks somewhat bladelike. The bladelike theme is repeated in the Hewkii Mahri staff and several places in the "hoverboard", matching the bladelike ridges in the also-silver Kanohi Ignika on his face. There's a Piraka torso, Rahkshi legs as limbs, and Toa Metru feet. In the hoverboard there's a Jaller Mahri sword, two Brutaka swords, and two other swords I can't make out.

    Also of note is the color scheme -- largely silver, but there is also some yellow. Same yellow featured in Hewkii Inika/Mahri and other sets like Keetongu.

    My Reactions: THIS is cool incarnate. Blades/Spikes, serrations, great blade-like shoulder design (a key to coolness I use often in my own MOCs and such), a great staff weapon, a hoverboard... Not just any hoverboard, a cool one with sharp streamline front with a three pronged design, and wings. Wings apparently even slightly bent forward. Perfect design for a hoverboard. Perfect example of an ubercool, coherent set. This rocks.

    Only real downside is the lack of new pieces. Of course, that's standard fare for box sets anyways so no surprise. The main new piece, the Kanohi Ignika's 2008 form, is familiar but still coolified a little, in the way it's pinched in at the cheekbones a little compared to past forms. And regardless of being coolified since its last form, it was already one of Bionicle's coolest masks. I would have increased the spike/ridges on the top though.






    My Predictions

    I've had a tradition of making informed predictions for many years now about how sets, mainly canister sets, will come across to the fanbase and how that will affect sales. My approach has proven correct in almost every instance as sales results come in, most recently the Inika and Piraka. For the moment, my predictions on the Barraki and Mahri are still waiting results, so I'll rehash that. The Mahri should sell roughly as good as the Inika, possibly down due to some flaws in coolness with some body designs and Cordak uncoolness, but also probably up due to their higher degree of nonclonism than the Inika, better (more "Bionicle") masks, and of course, the Cordak are "guns" which is guaranteed to earn major point. The Barraki should sell even better than the Piraka, due to less clonism and very strong cool designs of heads, bodies, tools, etc. What might bring them down is that overall many are not as "out of the box" as something like Visorak or Bohrok, and their coolest parts aren't as intense as something like Piraka spines or Rahkshi spines (except Ehlek -- but he is lacking limb styling pieces).

    So here's my thoughts on 2008's sales prospectus.

    First, there is a high level of coolification throughout many of these sets, and so that right off the bat is going to grab attention on the shelves. The strongest sets in this respect, to me, are the Phantoka. We are seeing the most stylization and the most "spikes" and such in these sets, and they are also highly innovative. Much like the Bohrok or Visorak, they are a new shape to Bionicle, and much like the Rahkshi or the Piraka, they focus on style over mere practicality. They seem somewhat biomechanical with the style of their faces and in two cases, the toed feet, as well as the wings. In addition, they are very non-cloned, so interest in buying all three (for now) will likely be strong. All of these make them stand out as something worth buying, rather than just another canister set. These are the first villain sets I've seen aside from some of the Barraki that combine all of these positive factors together in each set and roughly balance them out perfectly.

    I predict that for villain sets, these will sell very well. Possibly even surpassing the Piraka.

    Second, the Toa Newva. I have issues with some aspects of them, especially those issues mentioned with Kopaka. Judging purely based on Lewa for the moment, I see the same balance of cool, coherence, and a high degree of innovation, with a very cool color scheme, and a better-than-Cordak launcher. Lewa, I think will sell well. Pohatu will probably look a little clearer with higher-res images from the magazine, and a better pose with Kopaka that shows off his sword/bayonet, or whatever it is, may also cast him in a more positive light. Both, especially Pohatu, are at least equal to the Toa Mahri in level of cool. Kopaka could have gone a lot beyond it than he did. Pohatu could have been more coherent. The weapon could have been far more cool and stylish. Kopaka's feet could have been better. Body armor could have been cooler (just like with the Mahri), with spikes or the like. Things like this seem to make them look less like the noble heroes that fans want, in my understanding, and a little more like machines, especially Kopaka. So there are some negatives that I think might hurt them. Overall, though, they are very cool.

    I predict the Newva will sell roughly like what the Toa Mahri will sell (which should be about like the Inika, which was very good). I worry the Newva might not go as high as they could have gone in success, though.

    Small sets. These are strong in coolness, the Matoran with possibly better Kanohi than the Newva, the small villains miles better than the Bohrok Va (Phantoka Va?). Tricky to judge small sets, but I predict these will sell decently. Most likely the Matoran are the strongest of the two kinds, with so much similarity to what was cool about the original Matoran. There really is no context in which to judge small villain sets, though, other than the Va, so that prediction is less certain. Given that these are high quality cool sets, it's a safe bet that they'll far surpass the Va. By how much, I have no idea, because villains rarely sell as well as good guys.

    Toa Ignika. This should sell a lot like Takanuva in 2003, which was a strong seller despite that year overall being down, and quite likely a lot like Lhikan and Kikanalo, though there is no Rahi here. I.e. this one should teach big box sets how to leave shelf. Main possible weakness is lack of new parts, but since the old parts that are included are the best of the best, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.



    Overall, as you can see, I expect 2008 to be very up for Bionicle. Will it be the best year ever? That's a question I'm not going to touch, as it is really purely subjective, though I'll be interested in how that question plays late in 2008 or in 2009. But I think it's safe to say it will be up to par, at least, with 2006 in sales. I think it will be a hard year to beat in years afterwards.



    Well, hope you enjoyed this or found it useful. Please comment any questions, corrections, disagreements, agreements, whatnot.


  9. bonesiii
    In mere hours, the next Reference Project will go live! A series of clues was hidden that revealed three levels of mystery about the project. All three levels have been solved! There is no more mystery -- except what exactly is in the new BRC -- and so there are no more question marks from this point on. The three levels of Mystery were these:

    1) The next Reference Project is going live! Today!

    2) It involves a shared account, the Reference Keeper Team.

    3) It is no small project -- this is the new Bionicle Reference Center, now in the form of a forum!

    The winners are: Ca'gerrin, Adventurer, GB#1, Gravitan, Lih, and Laughin' Man. Congrats, and enjoy those cookies!

    Inside this forum will be several topics full of reference posts by the shared account, written by Reference Keepers. For today, all you'll get to see is the empty forum, but over the series of days after that, one resource topic a day will be revealed. There is one more bonus clue that will tell you how many days (including today) we will be announcing. Thus, if you subtract one, you will know how many reference topics there will be. (Sorry, no cookies for that clue. )

    More details will be in the announcement article, along with a screenshot. Keep watching the front page!
  10. bonesiii
    One of three levels of the Mystery has been solved: The next reference project is done, and is ready to go online within a week of today! A series of clues is hidden throughout my blog that can be used to figure out what the project will be. Two more batches of digital cookies are available to those two solve the other two levels of MYSTERY!

    The two remaining levels involve:

    1) The mask the eyes in the third image belong to and the hidden clue that goes with the eyes.

    3) The scope of the new project, and what form it takes, as related to the three clues whose answers are identical.

    One of the three members who unwittingly gave clues has been identified: Gravitan. Two remain. One is more obvious than you might think. The other is talking about the same thing the obvious one is talking about.


    Ca'gerrin has figured out the first level, so he has won the first batch of cookies. Several other members have answered the riddles in the clues correctly, and my confirmation of those things forms another type of clue. All that is in the comment to the last blog entry.


    I want to thank all the RKs, including a few who have had to resign due to schedule conflicts, for making this project possible! I'm really excited about this, and I think you guys will like it! It's taken nearly a year, I think, to complete, and we had to overcome glitches and other technical problems that bogged us down, possibly indefinately. But that's all behind us -- and I'm am very happy to finally be launching this.

    Continue to post theories on the Mystery. The cookies are getting cold!
  11. bonesiii
    This is just a quick story for my Screenwriting Workshop summer class -- everybody in class liked it, so I figured, "Why not have a blog entry AND homework done?" Inspired in part by the Hagar the Horrible comic strip.

    It's written in the format for a screenplay (as close as BZP formatting can do), which might be a little jarring at first. Some tips -- "beat" means "slight pause", and the all caps either introduce a new character or are sound effects.

    Enjoy!

    ---------------------------------------------------------------

    Wise Guy

    FADE IN:

    EXT. MOUNTAINTOP – DAY

    PILGRIM, young man, reaches the top of a mountain. Wise OLD MAN, short, long gray beard, thick gray clothing, cloth hood, sits atop mountain. Peak has a small plateau surrounded by a few pointy rocks on the edges. Small stone house behind old man on other side of plateau. Snow covers house, ground, and old man’s hood and shoulders. Sound of WIND WHISTLING through the rocks.


    PILGRIM
    Greetings, oh Wise Man! I have heard of your great wisdom, so I have traveled far to this mountain and struggled for days to reach the top to seek--

    OLD MAN
    Yeah, yeah. My nose can tell. Go away.

    PILGRIM
    Oh! I’m so sorry if I have offended you in my rush to beg your advice! Such is my great foolishness compared to your lofty wisdom!

    OLD MAN
    I know. Scram.

    PILGRIM
    Please sir, I will leave quickly once you give me advice. You see, there’s this girl—

    OLD MAN
    You know how many times some random pilgrim has said that? Everybody thinks they can come here and say “How?” and I jump up, salute, and say “That’s how!” like a slave. I’m SICK of it.

    PILGRIM
    But sir! Your wisdom is so great, and I have traveled so far to learn of it!

    OLD MAN
    Well that was stupid. You think I came up here to have company?

    Pilgrim is silent, stunned look on face.



    OLD MAN
    Are you still here? Look, let me guess. You’re dating her, but she can’t stand your drinking problem, and you’re afraid to ask her to marry you.

    PILGRIM
    Why, yes sir! How did you know?

    OLD MAN
    Please. The nose, remember? Besides, look behind you. What do you see?
    Pilgrim turns.

    A line of OTHER PILGRIMS stretches for miles down the mountain, some coming, some going.



    OLD MAN
    Now do I have to spell it out, or do you have a brain?

    PILGRIM
    No sir. I mean, yes…
    (beat)
    What is your advice, great wise one?

    OLD MAN
    Marry the girl, quit drinking, work hard, invest in mountain climbing gear.
    (beat)
    Divorce the girl, start drinking again, retire, and write a book on why you shouldn’t invest in mountain climbing gear.
    (beat)
    Get rich. Then re-marry the girl, and keep drinking. Got it? Now go away.

    PILGRIM
    But sir! She doesn’t care about money. That’s what I love about her.

    OLD MAN
    Bah.

    Old man tugs his beard.



    OLD MAN
    Well, that was my giveaway advice. If you want anything else, you must answer a riddle.

    PILGRIM
    I’ll try.

    OLD MAN
    Where can a hermit find peace?


    Pilgrim looks deep in thought.


    OLD MAN
    And “on a distant mountain” is not an option…

    PILGRIM
    Well, I live in the city, and nobody ever asks me for advice. And I shave my beard.

    Old man’s eyes widen. He lifts his beard up, stares at it.



    OLD MAN
    Oh. I guess I forgot to shave again.

    Old man looks at pilgrim. Drops beard with a RUSTLING SOUND.



    OLD MAN
    Irony and paradox! The best place to avoid people is where the people already are. Brilliant! I say, young man, you are the wise one.
    (beat)
    You know, there really is no rum here. No beer, no wine. Would your girl, by chance, like a home with a scenic view?

    Pilgrim slowly grins.

    FADE OUT.

  12. bonesiii
    Today, the Bones Blog provides some much-needed perspective on the issue of the "violence level" in Bionicle. Often lately members have made false claims about certain types of "violence" nowadays compared to 2001 or other years. So I'd like to provide a list of the real story on the history of violence in Bionicle, subject by subject. This will be set up like a Myths and Misconceptions article, listing the subject or accusation that is false in bold then the explanation following.

    Note, that I put "violence" in quote marks because I am including whatever other members have seen as violence. Personally I see things like swordfights and gunfights and acrobatic fighting as "action" and gore and actual injury as "violence". But for this entry I'm looking at what others have alleged, so let's set that aside for now. From here on in this entry, "violence" means any physical force being used against an opponent, mainly if I've seen other members calling it violence.

    Also note, I'm including semi-official and official storyline together, since most members bring up even non-official story such as Bionicle Heroes in this debate. But for this entry, I will not include non-official story like that game, since I haven't played most of those (I have played Heroes, but I'm looking farther back in history here).







    Basics

    Violence is only a moral issue -- A rarer claim, but I'd like to clear up my view of this off the bat. Violence can certainly be a moral issue. However, in entertainment, there is one type of violence where the amount of it used and shown is actually only a matter of taste, not morals (in my opinion, please note, on this one). That is, "moral violence", as opposed to "unjust violence."

    The real moral issue in entertainment is whether or not violence is "glorified". When a villain uses violence against the innocent, it is clearly wrong, and showing that as wrong does not glorify it (Bionicle passes this test; this is what we have Toa heroes for). If a good guy uses violence for no good reason, it is also wrong, and it's not glorifying it if this is clearly shown as wrong too (Bionicle passes this test; MOL Poisoned Tahu for example or MNOG Infected Lewa, or the fight-to-the-death test in Inferno). If, on the other hand, a good guy uses violence where he or she must to stop a bad guy before the bad guy causes more violence, this is good and just. (Bionicle obviously passes this test as well; again, the whole point of the Toa.)

    So Bionicle's got it right on the moral issues. The other question, the one that is generally a concern to member is "How much violence is OK for the age group?" so that's what I'll look at for the rest of this entry. Again, this one is only my opinion, unlike everything that follows, so if you disagree, don't take this as set-in-stone. It is, however, the most logical conclusion I believe that can be reached, being a logician who has studied this issue and debated it several times with some who see it completely differently. It's also based on my religious beleifs, which many may differ from, since just violence is clearly seen as good in the religious text for my religion.



    2001 was not violent -- Very wrong. 2001 actually contained many examples of violence. A Muaka was frozen to death, Makuta was hit with a blast of fire (and the other elements too), Rahi punched (Tarakava), bit (Muaka), dropped from heights (Rama), swiped with their claws (Muaka, Rama, etc.), rammed with their heads (Muaka, Kane-Ra), lunge-attacked (Manas), shot poison (Jaga), and done who-knows-what-other-violence in the thousand years that they terrorized the Matoran. Makuta tried to drown Lewa (the plants in the comic), and kill the Toa (the final face-off). Infected Lewa sliced a bird's wing with his axe, sending it and its riders (Kongu and Takua) crashing. Infected Lewa fought Onua by punching, clanking weapons. Onua threw a huge clump of earth at Rahi. Finally, Kopaka even clanked his sword against a Muaka (just before it bit him--and a Muaka-bite is no walk in the park).

    Even all this only scratches the surface.

    2001 was very violent. It is simply faded memory at best, or selective memory at worst, that causes this misconception. These things aren't up for debate--they happened. The claim that 2001 wasn't violent is quite simply false. It is illogical to argue that what is OK in 2001 is somehow not OK in 2007; we must be consistent if our arguments are to be taken seriously.

    The real question is, was it less violent than later years?




    Violence Level is going up and up -- Actually, while this is to a degree subjective, the violence or darkness level increased in 2004, and it has stayed roughly the same since then. The style or method of violence has simply varied each year, for the most part. This increase was in response to BZP complaints and LEGO research that revealed that previously, Bionicle had been holding off a little too much on the level for what the target age group could handle/wanted.

    For example, the characters held bladed weapons, but rarely actually used them in melee combat, which was a source of annoyance for many fans. The basic change in level began with the "plant-death" of Morbuzahk and the real, violent death of Lhikan in 2004, not to mention the first really horrible catastrophe, the Great Cataclysm. Other lesser examples of this basic level are clear in the books, starting with Voyage of Fear.

    Since then, although not everyone agrees, not much has happned to "up" the level at all (read on for details). Now, one caveat to that is that with Pridak's "blood", if it had panned out as we originally thought, that would have introduced gore to Bionicle (although it would only have been fish blood), but this has not ended up being the case; it is simply red markings officially.




    Violence level has raised as fans have aged -- Absolutely not. Bionicle targets the same age-range in 2007 as it targeted in 2001. This is a totally unfounded myth that is contradicted by every available fact. For one, the vast majority of those complaining about violence are much older fans than most fans, even than many BZPers, so upping the violence level would be the opposite of what they want. Secondly, it was always clearly stated that the violence level was raised in 2004 because that is what the target audience was seen as wanting. Bionicle is a toyline; it targets kids, not teens.

    This myth is usually one of the main points made by those complaining about violence, usually coming in unaware of anything that's been said in previous debates on the issue and simply assuming it from the start, rather than thinking it through. It's understandable; many other franchises do this (Harry Potter, for example), but Bionicle has never done it that way, is not now, and never will or could. All the changes that have been made are tested with target age-groups, or done because of what the target age group wants, not the rare older fans. Most kids lose interest in toylines when they grow up, so there would not be enough to sustain that kind of targeting. Yet Bionicle's sales have gone up, not down, which can only happen if the target age group likes the change.



    Specifics



    Explosions -- First, remember that explosions are the answer. That aside, the allegation is that things like the Cordak Blaster are new increases of violence. In truth, the Cordak blaster is only used to blast the stone cord apart, not to attack the Barraki directly. Even if it was, a fiery explosion is no more violent than a blast of actual fire sent at an enemy. Tahu did this in 2001 (MNOG Makuta battle), in 2003 (versus Rahkshi in MOL, and when poisoned, against Gali), and perhaps most notably in 2002 (when he built up heat pressure to literally explode a Bohrok lair).

    And as far as actual explosive weapons, two words: Madu Cabolo. These explosive fruit were featured in 2001 (the first GBA game). And like the Cordak Blaster, they were used to blast through rock, not characters. [Note: Ojhilom says they actually could be fired at Rahi in the game -- I apparently forgot that myself. Not sure if you ever had to or not -- if so, that would change this quite a bit, but I do not want to just assume that. If anyone knows, please comment.] Fireworks were also featured in MNOG, presumably powered by Cabolo or something similar, though these are not weapons (but they could be used as them, as I have used them in one of my epics, for example).

    And let's not forget that all an explosion really is is a wave of high pressure expansion and/or in most cases, high heat as well. Tahu demonstrates both or just heat sometimes, but high pressure expansion is the same idea as powerful punches, which is seen all over since 2001. There are also many "explosions" not of fire but of some other power as well. Probably most notable is the "explosion" of Makuta himself at the end of MNOG. Pieces fly all over--and as far as we knew at the time, that "explosion" actually killed him. It didn't, but regardless, it hurt.

    Other examples include some of the Kal's demises, the explosions that seemed to blast dismembered Toa out of their canisters (a very violent-appearing opening to Bionicle itself, notice!), the explosions that blasted Takua across the island (big island, note) and made him lost his memory on impact it was so strong (if that's not a violent explosion, what is? He survived only because he landed on loose sand, really), Pohatu exploding a hill of rock (which then buried Kopaka alive), and many more.

    Note: There is some dispute more recently over whether the Cordak are used to fire at Barraki or not. I'm not sure what the correct answer is yet, but take note of this confusion for now. The primary purpose is, however, still to fire at the stone cord, and again, Tahu did the equivalent of it several times.





    Guns/Projectile Weapons -- When the Kanoka Disks came in 2004, we heard cries of outrage and dissapointment. "Bionicle shouldn't have projectile weapons" we were told. Well, many of us seemed to forget that we had projectile weapons in 2001 and 2002. In 2002, we had the clearly gunlike weapon of the Exo-Toa, and in 2001, we had powerless versions of Kanoka; bamboo throwing Disks. The bamboo throwing disks were specifically shot from a mechanical device mounted on the back of a Gukko (Kewa, as it was called then), shooting down flying Rahi (Nui-Rama). Both of these are projectiles, and essentially "guns".

    There have been two changes, however:

    1) The style of the projectiles has varied. The only point I've ever seen someone raise against the Exo-Toa launchers, for example, was that they did not "feel" like a gun to that person. This shows that it's a matter of style, not actually of violence level; that is a matter of taste for that person. Now, note that Bionicle has, for now, a "no actual guns" rule, but this is done purely for style reasons, for the same reason wheels were originally not allowed. It just isn't seen as fitting the Bionicle style as well as more inventive weapons like Zamor launchers or Cordak Blasters. But there is no rule against weapons that resemble guns, which is why Hakann's lava launcher and the Cordak itself look like guns. Neither is technically a real gun, because explosive force does not fire them in the story; they are simply launchers much like the Zamor launcher, with a different shape, so the projectiles are not going at bullet-deadly speeds.

    2) Projectiles have replaced collectibles in sets. This is important, because most Bionicle fans like "guns" or projectiles, much more than they like collectibles, and so Bionicle has adjusted accordingly. There are, of course, more projectiles now than 2001-2003. However, they aren't really new.





    Swordfights -- The first fully official swordfight was featured in 2006, when Zaktan fought Tahu. Swords were clanked, and when Tahu lost, Zaktan's sword turned into protodite form and "stabbed" underneath Tahu's armor, forcing him to lose consciousness so he could be captured. Those that don't like this might want to know that I take some of the "blame" on this one as I was actually one of the people arguing for this change. I based that on the fact that, as many had pointed out previously, the bladed weapons really would be used, and as long as they aren't actually used to cut anyone up (Zaktan didn't do that, notice) and thus there was no gore, it was "action", not "violence". Others may disagree, of course.

    But something that has stood out to me about most disagreement with this swordfight is total silence on the same thing in 2001. In MNOG, Lewa and Onua were swinging axes and claws at each other (Lewa was infected), and clanking them. At one point, Lewa actually swipes Onua so hard Onua flies backward and slams into a wall. This is essentially a swordfight. The only difference is that one weapon was an axe, and the other was bladed claws. The concept is the same, though.

    Kopaka, on the other hand, has a real sword. And he used it in MNOG. In what was probably the most violent action used by a good against a bad guy in 2001 (other than blasting Makuta to pieces, perhaps), Kopaka turned invisible with a Noble Huna, and swung his sword at the Muaka beast that was attacking him. It hit. Three times, once on the face! The animation shows dark lines on impact, implying strongly that the Muaka's armor was chipped. Curiously, those complaining about the 2006 swordfight never bring this up, and when questioned, they appear never to have taken objection to it, or they had brushed it aside for whatever reason and forgotten it.

    Now, one caveat can reasonably be applied here. MNOG was not totally official, and Kopaka's use of the Huna in this scene indicates that it may not be totally official. Officially, the Toa could borrow the Turaga's collected masks via the Suva, but they didn't collect their own, as the web team seemed to think. This case is a toss-up. Nuju wears a Matatu, not a Huna, so Kopaka could reasonably have switched. But the mask is shown gold in the scene, which is incorrect. The gold Kanohi could only change to the other Great Mask shapes/powers, not the Nobles. So it's possible the Muaka sword-clanking episode never happened in the actual story. But we also must keep in mind that since MNOG is semi-official, and also is mistaken for official story by many fans (and most, including me, assumed that in 2001), the perception that Kopaka used his blade on an animal is still protrayed, coming from LEGO. So just as someone might take issue with Toa blasting creatures in Bionicle Heroes, it would be consistent for them to take issue with this even if it wasn't official.

    And one final note; the Lewa Infection scene is known to be official, though it is less emphasized than his later Krana-ization which was featured in fully official story sources. Also of note is that the endscene with Makuta is official, and he is blasted to bits, which is arguably worse than clanking weapons that cause no major damage. So this caveat is not worth much; the point is that if what amounts to "swordfights" are okay in 2001, they must be okay in 2006.




    Deaths -- The first permanent death was in 2004 with Lhikan killed violently by Makuta (or Morbuzahk killed by the Toa, if you count smart plants), and other deaths have followed, with Visorak killed by Roodaka and Sidorak killed by Keetongu in 2005, Matoran being killed by Piraka in 2006, as well as deaths such as the messenger from Mahri Nui dying due to lowered pressure on the surface. Probably the biggest death imaginable is Mata Nui's death, which will occur this year (it's not even considered a spoiler, it is that huge). It's true that prior to Lhikan, no sapient being had ever been permanently killed.

    However, we should not forget that death is not new to Bionicle. It began, like most things, in 2001. Kopaka froze a Muaka to death. It was just a Rahi, true, but then in 2004 we learned that some Rahi are actually intelligent, such as Kikanalo, and mistaken by Matoran for dumb beasts -- Kopaka had no way of knowing for sure that the Muaka he killed was not sapient like himself. Makuta, as mentioned above, appeared to be blasted to bits. Dead as a shapeshifting doornail. It wasn't until 2003 that we learned he had only seemed to die (we even saw a corpse!). Several Bohrok were destroyed, as well as the Kal and Rahkshi armor, although these were not "alive".

    But more importantly, Jaller died in 2003. "But bones, but bones," you say, "he didn't stay dead." This is true. But an injury to somebody's skin by, say, a sword that cuts, can heal as well. Does this make the swordcut or the gore that, for example, a violent movie shows, any less violent? No, of course not. Death is death. It hurts, you die. Unless you're undead, your death is just as bad whether you are later revived or not. Jaller died; death of sapient beings began in 2003, not 2004. Takanuva died in that year as well; he was also revived.

    It's fair to say that here, yes, there was a change. Permanent death certainly has more of an impact on us as readers over the long haul. Many of us liked Lhikan, and wish he could still be around (although it's worth pointing out that he's actually gotten far more story features since his death than many characters who are still alive, lol--but that's just one example). So yes, this is one where we can say without question "it's changed from 2001." However, let's not kid ourselves into thinking it's changed all that much -- and let's be consistent. If these things are OK in what we assumed happened in 2001, or what happened in 2003, they must also be OK in 2007.

    Also, again, let's keep in mind that just because it changed, it isn't necessarily bad. If the deaths are not glorified and the age group can handle it, there isn't really a problem.







    Gore -- Actually, Al has never been in Bionicle. Just kidding. Obviously, Bionicle has never had any actual blood and guts, but this is an issue that is often on people's minds. Personally, this is where I draw the line, as do many others. Many wonder, "if the violence level is going up, will it include this, and go too far?"

    We had a scare recently. When the first images of Pridak came out, members noticed that the teeth and mouth, and blades, had red markings that appeared like blood. Official word was unclear at first, and there were rumors of set designers saying the equivalent of "let's have blood on this guy". For a while, Greg could provide no official answer, leaving it to fan imagination. It could be seen simply as red markings, or as fish blood, depending on the fans' choice. Since Pridak is a shark, he does eat fish, many of which in the surface Ocean being totally organic, not biomechanical, so reasonably could be assumed to have blood. (Most Bionicle characters/creatures do not have blood.) It would be reasonable to assume it was fish-blood stains, just like real sharks' mouths. If it had been this, even though it is "gory" to a degree, it could be considered to not cross the line, since it is simply a shark eating fish.

    However, recently it has been decided that it was merely red markings, not blood at all. So this is now a non-issue.

    Also there was a scene in one book where a Toa was fighting with Zaktan, and after the battle, there was a puddle of some sort of liquid and pieces of armor--some have claimed that this was offscreen violence or Zaktan "eating" the Toa. However, officially it is not stated what occurred. This is a case of readers reading violence into a scene where it may not actually be, not a case of actual gore, which speaks more to where the fan's imagination is at than what Bionicle is doing. We know that Zaktan did not "eat" the Toa; it is possible that some inorganic armor was simply chipped off in a swordfight (like the Kopaka 2001 example), and a stun liquid weapon was used on him. In any case, it was "offscreen", and clearly not glorified.

    The main change since 2001 is that armor-damage is clearly depicted now. However, remember that Kopaka's sword clank in MNOG seems to have damaged the Muaka's armor too, so the only change is that this is in official storyline now.




    There are certainly other issues, but these are the biggies that have been in people's posts the most. But if I've missed anything major, by all means, please comment.

    I hope this helps us keep in mind the actual history of Bionicle and violence/action. Regardless of your opinion on this issue, you can form a better opinion about just about anything when you keep its history in mind.
  13. bonesiii
    Hello, all. I'm posting this entry for two reasons.

    1) To assure yall that this blog is not dead. Just overloaded by homework (summer classes...), the latest BZPower Reference Project, which is very time-consuming (wish I could say more--but you'll find out hopefully this summer!), and #2:

    2) News on the RPG (Bionicle Paracosmos: The Map of Mata Nui). The topic may be dead, but the RPG is not--Ojhilom and I are hard at work getting that skeletal version of the Le-Koro Level ready for this summer. We're connecting as much of the storyline and boss battles as humanly possible together, so it should be possible to play through the next update to the end. Minor enemies are being neglected for now as well as some side-graphics, and all mini-games (although we've got a complete roster for music ready).

    But wait, there's more.

    That image in the banner above is not part of the Le-Koro Level. It's Kini Nui Hall-- the last level. That's right--we're going to have this update finish the RPG (minus the minor stuff for later updates). Sometime this summer if all goes as planned, Bionicle Paracosmos fans will get to play through to the end of the RPG's storyline. And if you're curious about the BP's mysteries, you're really gonna wanna play this. It's digging deeper than any of you have even guessed yet, and hopefully will leave you wanting more.

    Also has credits at the end, and a lot of you guys are on it--thanks for everything yall have done to help. The story ends then, but you can still explore and unlock some bonus content.

    The plan then will be to put up Epic 3 ASAP after that update of the RPG (which will obviously be a new topic). The storyline from here on out will be all written--no more RPGs. Just too time consuming for us--and this RPG is the most important storyline that could work for the format.

    In a hurry so won't make this an essay -- I'll just leave you with two teaser screenshots, these two from Le-Koro. First is my favorite graphic other than some of the bad guys (these are Rahi that Guard Tohunga ride; Towerleg birds--infected ones were in Epic 2), and second is the Main Pad in the Koro--that's Matau's hut, and that's everybody's favorite hovering Air Toa nearby.

    Click images for large size.



  14. bonesiii
    If you know me very well at all, you know I love the "Coolified" style of appearance in Bionicle sets. This style is in many people's eyes the opposite to the 2001 style, yet in my tastes at least it is the best Bionicle can be, and it seems like most fans share my preference in this, though it's certainly OK for others not to (to each hisher own). Because of the majority "Cool" preference, I think Bionicle is at its absolute best, stylewise, when it uses this style to the max in the sets. Both in terms of it's health as a franchise, and, luckily, for my own personal tastes too. [To be clear, not saying other people can't see the word "Cool" differently; this is how I personally define it. ]

    But what exactly is "Cool"? How can it be defined? I've been asked this before, and it's a little difficult to pin down. It's got variety. It isn't one exact "just so" style. And yet it has rules. It is something I know instantly when I see it, and something I'm dissapointed to miss when I don't see it. I know it is intense, but then some intensity isn't cool--some people who aren't into Cool even find it intimidating, even going too far (though down what road depends on the person). Some who aren't like me even see it as "ugly", because they have different tastes. It is often these people who are confused when I use words like "cool"--what does it mean, they have asked? Overall, the best way I know how to describe it is this:

    Ruthless Elegance.

    Cool does not hold back. Cool has well-aligned curves, spikes, spikes, serrations, scales, flares, knife-edges. Cool is made out of exploding gas, biological beings, stone, plastic. It's got texture, it's got form, it's got a pattern, it's got chaos. It's feathers and razor-teeth. Cool is elegant, not cheesy, but not "refined" per se or "classy" or any other terms. It isn't fragile, but it isn't industrially plain. It isn't afraid to be as elegant as it's possible to be. Yet it can contain elements of industrial plainness, or smoothness, or blockiness, even cheesiness! It is intensely powerful. It is also ruthless, because it knows that its intense style is not evil, though it can be scary--it knows it is neutral morally and can be equally expressed by both good and evil, and it is not afraid to express itself. It celebrates and exalts in its expression of elegance.

    But these are all just words. I know what they mean only because I have the meanings behind the words in my head. A picture, they say, is worth a thousand vocalized sound waves, or in this case, digitized linguistic symbols. So I thought today I would present with you with a Visual Guide to Cool. This guide will feature a selection of the coolest images I know of, picked out of this Gallery. There are gobs of bonus images in the gallery you can browse as well when it is public.

    Gallery Pages: 1 | 2 | 3

    Barraki

    Something some people don't seem to realize is that "Ruthless Elegance" isn't something invented by Bionicle or any other human being. Ruthless elegance can be found all over in nature. Probably the most obvious example of Bionicle similarities to real world "RE" is the Barraki. Carapice. Eel. Manta Ray. Each of the Barraki features their own unique sort of Cool that has a direct or indirect parallel in the world of nature, especially in undersea creatures. And these are rad cool creatures.

    You've got Carapar:



    Ehlek:



    Mantax:



    Kalmah:



    Pridak:



    And finally, Takadox:



    Okay, so that's a color edit, lol. Actual image here.

    Undersea

    The Barraki represent a whole class of ubercool undersea creatures, but they only scratch the surface. There are Icefish and Lionfish and Sunfish and Starfish (Sea Urchins in that pic too).

    The Range of Cool

    Ruthless Elegance isn't just found underwater, though. In the animal realm it also includes things like Egrets:



    It extends into space in a Solar Flare:



    Humankind has harnessed the power of Cool to fly in the sky:



    It exists in the plant world in a Dragon Tree:



    And it once existed in actual "dragons"; Dinosaurs:






    Extinct Animals

    That was the head of a T-Rex--but the Tyrannosaur's feet were cool too. Another really cool dino was Styracosaurus:



    And who doesn't love good old Sabertooth Tiger? Ancient predators even included giant girds, like the "Terror Bird" in this artistic interpretation.




    Reptiles

    There are a lot of "living dinosaurs" in terms of coolness even today, like the late Steve Irwin's favorites, Crocodiles. Isn't it Gorgeous? There are lizards with frills:



    And turtles with spikes. There's even a miniature version of Styracky.


    Mammals

    My brother Ojilom's mascot, the Elephant, is, as it were, Ele[g]ant. Especially its skeleton.

    Have a look at the skeleton of a Whale. And just as there are mammals in the sea, there are mammals in the air. But we usually think of mammals as being on the land, like the Armadillo:



    Or being furry, like the Emperor Tamarin.


    Birds

    Feathers instead of fur. There's the peacock of course, with its tailfeathers. And it comes in white:



    There's everything from the Hornbill to the Turkey.



    Bugs

    In the insect and arachnid world there's the somewhat familiar Wolf Spider to the unfamiliar Scale. Nui-Rama have their equivalent in Dragonflies:



    And Kraata have a rough equivalent in Snails.



    Plants

    To eat the bugs, there are Venus Flytraps, Sundews, and Pitcher Plants.

    Other plants range from cool ground foliage to Oak trees; their leaves seen here. Flowers aren't all roses. And don't forget ferns:




    Sun

    Those ferns need light--how about a nice star for us all to orbit?



    The sun can do a good imitation of a Zamor Sphere in certain types of photos. And personally I really like blue.



    Nebula

    Who knew. Carapar has his own giant cloud of gas--the Crab Nebula! Ooooh. Ahhhh. Explosions are the answer:



    It's the BOOMarang Nebula! Look at the Shockwaves. And look--Nebulae even mimic nukes!



    Manmade Cool

    We of course have nukes, and other types of Explosions. We've put Ruthless Elegance into everything from Buildings and Boats to Buggies and Biplanes.


    Bionicle

    Of course humans have also put coolness into all manner of fiction as well. But that's not my goal for this blog entry--it's to show that all of the above has existed in the real world, for real reasons, and usually without our control. In Bionicle, we've had rocking cool Rahkshi, we've had Kanohi masks, we've had Visorak; the one I think is the coolest being Da Greenie.

    Only recently though has Bionicle reeeeally gotten into Ruthless Elegance. The Piraka show this off like crazy. Take Thok, for example. The Toa Inika had this up the wazoo, with their rad Zamor multiclips, the Zamor launchers themselves, and their cool armor, feet, and masks. My favorite of the masks is the superior Sanok.

    But Ruthless Elegance has really taken off this year with the Barraki, and if Toyfair is any indication, the rest of the sets too! Good old Carapar, my favorite. Ehlek, after he "charges up" from the lightstone in the Bionicle.com movie/vision, looks really cool. And Mantax--wow, have all the promo pics of him competely slapped him in the face, as it were. Mantax's head is awesome, but I have never seen an actual image of its full awesomness until the piece was shown in one of the Toyfair playsets. See here. I want Mantax now. Of course each of the Barraki is also cool in a unique way, as we are all well aware. Even Pridak, my least favorite (due to the color scheme), has awesome tools, which I was excited to see in silver with Hydraxon.

    But the Toa Mahri. Wow. I've got a few complaints, not least of which is the launcher, which in appearance, to me, is decidedly uncool (I hope it's a prototype...). But there's just sooo much else that roxorz my soxorz better than ever before, it is sheer awesomeness incarnate. Hewkii's new mask is just as rad cool, if not more so, as the Sanok. As is Kongu's.

    And Hahli's mask. And! And. And. And. Hahli has... WINGS!!1!1!! *spamming spree of joy* Yay! Hwoot! *Toa With Wings!* Huzzah! Hooray! *deleting spamming spree of joy* Yahoo! Google!

    The wings are coolified, even. I like wings. Can ya tell? :-P

    And the masks of the others are about as cool, as well as most of the tools (though I would like a bit more armor... ). And the titans have so much coolness, just like Axonn, Fenrakkvezon, and Brutaka did last year.

    You knew this was coming: Wowser Bowser Good Gads Gadunka. What a rad cool Piraka foot!

    And the face is cool too.

    All in all, Bionicle is delving into Cool more, and more betterly, than they ever have before. Personally I am very excited about this. Beyond that, though, I strongly suspect that most typical fans are too, and so I would not be surprised to see Bionicle's recent gains keep going up!


    Well, that's enough for this entry. I hope this guide has helped explain in a couple ten thousand words what "Cool" means to me.
  15. bonesiii
    In Ko-Koro, we respect knowledge above all things.
    --Kopeke

    Well now that the Chronicler contest is over, and the final results are in, Kopeke will be the next Chronicler! He is also who I ended up voting for, so I'm happy with these results, just personally. But what about whether he fits the job? A lot of people have posted things like "his personality doesn't fit" or the like, and just generally asked, "Why Kopeke?"

    Well, I can only speak for myself as far as why I voted, but I thought it would be helpful to list the reasoning that went behind my vote (based on original list I posted here). Note, please, this -is- partly my personal taste, since I'm deciding to go with logical reasons he'd work as a Chronicler and coolness of the character in those terms over other things like cool speeches or other "crowd pleasers" that just make the character endearing overall, but not as a Chronicler. Other people are of course free to have different criteria. Still, hopefully this will help show why Kopeke does fit the job description well, if not best.

    First of all:

    What are the Criteria for being a Chronicler?

    I consider them to be the following:

    1) Observativeness. Gotta be interested in observing to fill this role. Someone like Okoth could probably do the job if lives depended on it and nobody else could, but over a Kapura or a Kopeke, shopkeepers, crafters, etc. aren't the best choice.

    2) Restraint. Chroniclers do their job best when they are not interested in taking all the glory for themselves. To a degree, Takua failed in this respect, though as far as "crowd pleasers" go, Takua obviously was a cool character anyways. Someone like Onepu fails miserably here, for example.

    3) Staying alive. Chroniclers are often in dangerous situations (this is where Takua gained tons of ground, BTW), so they need to adept at avoiding the fate of Kodan. Experience in battle, special advantages, anything like that is good here.

    4) Alertness. Part of staying alive--using observativeness not just for the job, but to remain alive and avoid things like ambushes.

    5) Desire to travel. Many Matoran from Mata Nui have to go against their traditional nature and force themselves to travel. Though most are probably getting over this with the move to Metru Nui, there are certain Matoran, including Kopeke, Kapura, and Taipu, who love venturing out there, so are better for the job in this way.

    6) Carving. Just a simple one--should be interested in carving down all that they observe when possible.

    7) Real world parallel. This one is personal to me, probably differs from person to person. Kopeke is much like me in personality, and I ended up as a reporter here, lol, as an example, and though I am usually quiet in real life, I type like mad.

    For this blog entry, I will reshift the list a little from what I've posted before, and add an 8th main note that many people have brought up:

    8) Outgoingness. Many have alleged that Kopeke's aloofness is a weakness. To a degree I disagree, given #2, #3, #4, and #7. That said, Kopeke's "aloofness" could be interpreted as "shyness" and it was my main question before I decided finally to vote for him. If you are willing to travel but not willing to discuss things you didn't personally witness with Toa and others, this could be a weakness for the job.

    9) Wisdom/intelligence. Another addon to my original list. Kapura, Kopeke, score highly. Taipu doesn't, for example.

    Then there are two crowd pleasers, and I could add a third that I didn't list before. Note that each of the above is, in my mind, worth 1 point, but the following is only about half a point each:

    10) Speeches. Kapura's Makuta Speech, Nuju's Flux Speech, Tamaru's Bohrok Taunt--cool speeches like those. Many of the Matoran have very interesting dialogue in MNOG and elsewhere, and this could make what they write as Chronicler actually interesting enough to read. Especially the ability to be cryptic in speech, and have more than one level of meaning. Kapura stands out to me with this. To a small degree, Kopeke's got this two. Just a lot less of it.

    11) Mysteriousness. This one is a 2001er's thing, might not matter to as many fans now, not sure, but personally mystery is really interesting. Someone like Okoth isn't mysterious. Both Kopeke and Kapura are.

    12) Coolness. This is a vague concept that will differ for everyone, but I felt it was worth throwing in as a general catch-all for any "crowd pleaser" aspect not covered by the other two. Kapura's cool. Kopeke's cool. Hafu's cool. Even Ahkmou is cool to a degree, XD. Random guard standing by a Koro gate? Eh.


    Next:

    Who are the best front runners?

    I'd like to briefly compare Kopeke to the other front runners--Kapura mainly, and Taipu. Also, Hafu, Macku, and Tamaru are other names I've seen at least a few people vote for. Onepu too.

    Kapura is in my mind the only clear contender with Kopeke for this position. He likes to travel, he is observative, and he has that nifty power that lets him travel far by moving slowly. Note: Greg does not know what that "power" means, so probably can't actually put it in the story, though as Ikki pointed out, it's in the encyclopedia, so it is official. The idea came from Bob Thompson, not the web producers, who has since left, so the world may never know, unless Greg can find out from Leah or simply make up a new explanation. So it's in doubt for story use, which was the main reason I hesitated to vote for Kapura. I'll list his specific standings on the Criteria List along with Kopeke later.

    Taipu is one that I don't get why his vote was so high. Endearing character, but not suited to Chronicler. He is super-strong; he could manage #3 well, stay alive. He's uberstrong on #5, desire to travel. He could probably carve, to a degree, though he's clumsy so I can't really call that--his "carving" experience is slamming a pick into rock to dig. But he's very dense in de head, hurting him on #1, the most important one, and #2, #4, and #9. His gullibility also hurts him in #9, and it could very well hurt him on #3 too. He rates a 3, including outgoingness. We can also give him #12 for a 3.5.

    Hafu would do well, much better than Taipu, IMO. He's obviously strong on #6 carving, and his courage is well known so he could stand #3 well, and as a crafter, he's probably observative, so 1 and 4 he does well on. He'd do notoriously poorly on #2, though, restraint, and I question his wisdom, or at least have not seen evidence that he's exceptional in this category. #1 might be hurt a little, and #8 too, by his ego--he may only observe that which reflects well on himself. And I have to say--though it was a great line, he would get hurt a little on #10, since after everything he wrote down, he'd declare "Another Hafu original!" He is cool, so he gets #12, and his skill can seem slightly mysterious, so a #11 too. He gets a5.

    Macku? Well, strong on #5, obviously... other than that I frankly don't see enough evidence to judge. She stayed alive in MNOG and was able to rescue her Koro, but that was only because of luck--she had disobeyed her Turaga to run off to Hewkii, and just happened to be out of town when the Tarakava attacked. #1 she'd probably be reasonable at, possibly #4 too. #3, I don't really think so. #6, not expecially, and quite likely not #9, even though her disobedience -did- help the Koro. She didn't know that and didn't do it for that reason. Personally, she's also just not that interesting of a character--she's Hewkii's girlfriend, basically, and not much else. She gets a 3.

    Tamaru... I just don't see it. He'd probably hold his own at #3, and he too was in the Chronicler's company so I suppose he'd be okay at #5 travel--he also did "leafrun" a lot, which is travel, though as part of his duty to protect the Koro. #9, he'd probably do alright at. #1 though? I dunno, and #8 might be a problem. He'd be another that could do it if nobody else could, but he doesn't stand out for the job. Tamaru does have a lot of #10, and #12, to be fair. He gets 3.

    Onepu. No. The one thing he'd be good at is #3, staying alive, but he would fail in #1, #2 (especially #2, with his ego and also his being used to leading troops), #5, #6, #8 in the sense that his ego would grate on people, and #9 as well. He can have #12, to be fair, giving him a total of 1.5.


    Kopeke versus Kapura

    Okay, so how do the front-runners stack up?

    1) Observativeness. Kopeke built a Wahi-wide ice-lense security system in MNOG. He... sees all. [ominous]He is watching you.[/ominous] Kapura is observative enough--he makes those cool riddles with what he's observed, which is a plus. But ya can't beat a Wahi-wide security system, sorry. This one goes to Kopeke, with, to be generous, a 0.3 to Kapura.

    2) Restraint. Silence is a virtue. Kopeke being quite might hurt him on #8, but here it's a strength. Someone who's willing to be quiet is probably going to notice a lot more, and with Kopeke's history of noticing things, I have no doubt he would have a greater understanding when chronicling. I think many people are confusing talkativeness with wanting to write a lot--I disagree, just from how I am. I don't like talking much in real life, but I love writing. Kopeke way ahead of Kapura here. I'll throw in a 0.5 for Kapura to be fair though.

    3) Staying Alive. Complicated--Kapura usually stands out as being able to escape with his "travel power". But--for it to work, he apparently has to slow way down. In an ambush, you can't afford to slow down, so I see it as up to battle smarts. Now, Kapura is a fair warrior. Sure. But so is Kopeke. I'd consider them tied, but Kopeke is pushed higher with his observativeness. This one goes to Kopeke, with a 0.5 for Kapura.

    4) Alertness. As said above, seems to go best to Kopeke.

    5) Desire to travel. Kapura and Kopeke tied here. Both spent tons of time outside Koro when possible.

    6) Carving. I've seen no evidence Kapura's the kind of guy who'd want to sit down and carve out records. He'd probably prefer to... practice. But Kopeke carved in ice all the time, including that spy-lense, and carving that key. Goes to Kopeke.

    7) Real world parallel. I'm a lot like Kopeke. I'm a reporter. Of course, not sure if that's close to universal, lol, but this is my view I'm talking about, so it counts. That's a Kopeke.

    8) Outgoingness. As said above, I disagree to an extent that Kopeke's "aloofness" counts as "shyness", since he seems perfectly willing to do what needs to be done and to say that which is vital to be said. However, we can give this to Kapura for sure. I will give Kopeke a 0.3 to be fair though.

    9) Wisdom/Intelligence. Gotta go with a tie here. Kapura illustrates wisdom and intelligence, while Kopeke speaks of his wisdom and hints at in in intelligent ways. What little he says shows that he's not making it up.

    Then the half-point "crowd pleasers":

    10) Speeches. Obviously, Kapura wins, though Kopeke's speeches are interesting enough. Overall, no justification for a tie, though, so 0.5 for Kapura.

    11) Mysteriousness. Kopeke and Kapura are close to tied--Kopeke might not have cool speeches, but characters of few words can be even more mysterious than those with many riddles. Kapura, of course, makes up lost ground with the whole traveling thing, whether it can be in story or not--Greg doesn't even know what it means, XD. So Kapura wins this round with 0.5.

    12) Coolness. This one is very subjective, with these two more than anybody. I think Kopeke is a super-cool character, personally, so I have to give this to him, with the possibility of a tie. However, I love the concept of mysterious powers that even mere Matoran can tap into, and we do know this is official, and Kapura also has cool MNOG speeches. That said, if that power cannot be in the official story, his coolness factor goes waaay down, to me, though of course I'd love it for my fanfics. A Kapura in the story without that is, to me boring--his cameo would probably be nothing better than his one book cameo already, in Metru Nui, which was boring as all get out. For the speeches alone, I have to give him this to for the tie, but if that power -could- make it into the story, I would see that as so rad cool that the value of #12 would automatically go up at least 1 above whatever's needed to beat Kopeke. But since that hangs in the balance, this one goes as a tie to both Kopeke and Kapura.


    Now for my favorite thing in the whole world. Math.

    Kopeke gets a 8.8, overall. And Kapura gets a 5.6. Correct me if I counted wrong--quite possible, XD.

    But it's clear that by those criteria at least, Kopeke is a better choice for the job than Kapura. Kapura is only slightly ahead of Hafu, as I'm counting it, in fact.
  16. bonesiii
    When ya see a topic in LGD about the LEGO Drome Racing game, and don't see your name mentioned anywhere on the first page... it's a good sign you're waaaay out of it, lol. Many of you newer members probably don't even realize who I am when it comes to the drome. So today I thought I'd take a little zoom down memory highway...

    When the drome first came out, I logged on, because I love racing games, almost as much as battle games, so I thought, eh, why not? Might be fun. I was a little surprised at first that it wasn't a steering game--you don't actually get to drive the car down a track, you set up the race strategy beforehand and let the computer simulate the race. The music was what hooked me, I think. I loved that music. I had to pick a team of course, and H.O.T.--High Octane Team--stood out the most to me. So an H.O.T.er I became, and I was glad of it. My experience showed that it was indeed the best team, for the longest running time.

    Keep in mind that at this time, all that we had was a Jungle Track and a perpetual "Coming Soon" list of other tracks. And level D--nothing higher. But that fitted me too--I liked the Jungle track, and the car I had--a Scorcher--did what I needed it to do. I needed a name, of course, and couldn't think of one, so I looked at the avatars available. The Skeleton stood out most to me. So I became "bones." But that was taken--and I refuse to string some random "54721495" number at the end of a name. So I decided to go with Roman Numerals for 3... but even that would not quite do. It needed to be distinctive, and I knew immediately how it would be. It would always be lowercase. bonesiii. Not Bones The Third, but "bones triple 'i'".

    So I raced a few races, figured out some winning strategies, and found I was quite adept at it. Those strategies, which are still classified (), turned out to even more winning than I thought. I went in to check the high scores one time... and lo and behold. I was first place. Of everybody. What shocked me most was that I was the only one who seemed to have thought of my strategies.

    Now to be fair, it -was- a new game. I'd always wondered how people get to the top of such high-scores lists, and short of just plain insanity, I think most get there because they got a big head start. That was true in my case--but now how could I hold the lead?

    Well, that's classified. But hold it I did, for a long time. The game grew up, and many competent racers tried to pass me but failed. Somehow I managed to become the Drome's very first major, long-term champion. I held the lead for at least half a year, maybe more, though now my memory of it grows dim. Eventually a maverick passed me, but even after I was reduced to second place, H.O.T. still dominated the Jungle Track, and overall was ahead of every other team. With most, they were ahead by a lot.

    I don't know what it was, and I'd like to hope that my big forefront lead helped H.O.T. stay ahead so long. But I strongly suspect the main driving force was the everyday team member, working hard behind the scenes to push those numbers up like one of Lord Survurlode's floods. That Maverick soon passed me by thousands. So far ahead I could never catch up and also have a life--it was just a fun game after all, and by that time I was beginning to get involved here. And yet... Maverick did not pass H.O.T.

    That I could not have done alone. Not possible.

    Now of course, the drome is different. My old account didn't work (I actually had had to get a second one before due to a glitch, becoming "bonesiii_v2"--that one now is abandoned as well). I have a new screenname for the new Drome, and I did race some races for sheer nostalgia, but to be honest since then I've forgotten the password. It was fun for a time but now I've moved on "to bigger and better things" as it were (BZP! ).

    I have now officially retired.



    So there it is in a nutshell. Y'all might know me now as the storyline geek for Bionicle, but my original claim to fame was as a Drome Champion. To this day I keep the basic idea of a skull insignia as my avatar here, and obviously the name has stuck, although nowadays I give in a little and capitalize it sometimes. But the Drome wasn't special to me just because I was a champion. Frankly, I don't even care about that. What impressed me was the teamwork that I saw evidence of, even though nobody really knew each other and there was no method of communication (other than BZP and other such outside places, and I did have the honor of meeting many fellow dromers). When you think about, all online communities and indeed just about everything else works for the same reason. It isn't the "champions" that make something great. It's the whole team.

    And my tactics are still classified.
  17. bonesiii

    Bzp Debate Terms Guide

    By bonesiii,

    In most debates, most of the "disagreements" actually arise because one side or another (or both) fails to clearly define the terms they are using. This is a continuing and profound problem on BZP that I run into often; and often I find myself needing to repeat myself over and over as new debate topics pop up with members posting in them that missed the last topic. Gets tedious, so here's a basic dictionary of the debate terms most important to Bionicle debates on BZPower! [Note: I maxed out this blog entry! XD This will instead serve as a link to a topic, thusly. Please post comments in the topic instead of here, until it dies.]

    I'll also include some common logical fallacies and the like frequently used on BZP, and a few terms that I came up with myself that describe some common tendencies we have here. Of course, this is nowhere near complete, but it does cover most of what is important. Any formal definitions I provide are from Dictionary.com and thus are easily verifiable by anyone who doubts me. Other links are to Wikipedia--note of course that this content could be edited/vandalized after I link to it, so keep that in mind when following those links.

    Each opening word(s) to be defined are bolded and blued. Key phrases or words within the definition are bolded so you can avoid sifting through the longer explanations if you wish. And when one defined word is mentioned in another's definition, the word is blued.

    Also note, some erroneous quotes here are from a certain BZP member, and are used with permission--the member has since realized the mistakes made in them--the quotes are not to be taken as disparagement of any member, but rather examples of very common mistakes made by many, many members of BZP. I'll leave it up to that member to decide if he wants to identify himself or not.

    Keep in mind that the point of this blog entry is not to stifle debate or complaining, but to help BZPers improve the quality of their criticism of Bionicle--so that it can be 1) constructive, 2) useful, and 3) logical and reasonable. I'll be linking to this often, I expect, in future debates, rather than repeat these definitions over and over. Feel free to link to it for the same reasons.

    Basics

    Problematic Cliches and Fallacies

    My Terms

    Hope this is useful!
  18. bonesiii

    /lІŋ-gwІs'-tІks/

    By bonesiii,

    Yes, yes! Believe it or not, I'm still alive! My prediction that I'd be super busy thanks to this college semester has unfortunately turned out to be very very very true--I basically have no time for BZP except a few hours sometime on the weekend, and wednesday. I've basically retired from my modding duties except if I have a spare minute or two. I'm still coordinating a project coming up for Reference which I think you guys will like--nothing too fancy since none of us really have time for much right now on the reference staff, but will come in handy. (Yes, classified. ) And yeah, still posting epic chapters, lol. That update for the RPG is taking longer than I hoped, but Ojh has almost got it ready. Hoping to get that up this weekend. In general though, I'm completely swamped with homework.

    On the plus side, though, at least I'm enjoying the subjects I'm studying. WWII, a subject I'd tried to get for a while but wasn't working with me schedule, continuing German, and got two lit courses that are pretty interesting. The main creme of the crop though is linguistics, a subject that's fascinated me since I was a little tot. The /fonεtIk sImbolz/ are really handy to know, and the principles behind linguistics in general are fascinating. I'm pleased to find that many of my own personal observations I made back when I was just a young teenager turned out to be accurate (), and it's really cool to be able to get some systematic study of accents and sounds that don't appear in english. (But of course linguistics is about much more than just auditory sounds!) Es ist so kuhl!

    And everybody should take a WWII course sometime in their life--there's just so much that's super relevant to our lives today, both in the fact that we live the way we do because of it and because of vital lessons to be learned from mistakes and good choices made in it. In those violence debates, WWII gets cited as an example a lot but apparently overlooked even then by most--it really shouldn't be. A careful understanding of that war and what was going on and why can reveal so much that is applicable not just to real life but to Bionicle and pretty much any fiction dealing with a struggle between good and evil. Plus it rocks. This course focuses on video footage from the war, which really keeps boredom out of the subject, definately a plus.

    And ironically taking German turns out to be pretty useful in two of the other classes--I can understand a word here and there in the German videos, understand some important linguistic facts since English and German share common roots.

    Huzzah for cool subjects!

    (But not for whoever invented homework... )
  19. bonesiii

    In Honor Of Penny

    By bonesiii,

    I've had the Post New Entry page up here for a few hours trying to figure out how to begin this... I guess perhaps this is the best way to do it: I don't know.

    When I said the Dreaded real life was attacking, I didn't realize it was attacking this strongly. One of my family's two dogs just died Monday, Penny. Golden Retriever, only 9 years old (compared to an average 12). We got Penny a few years after our last dog, Duke died (he was also a Golden, and lived to an amazing 15 years). She was an excitable puppy, and I remember she liked to try to eat a yellow ended toy golf club, and she was convinced that carpet was her territory for a long time. Once tamed, and for so many years, she was the sweetest dog you could imagine. She loved to high-five (I taught her that'n!), and get brushed. She'd sometimes run like a bullet all over the yard, chasing a ball or just for fun. She liked to chase ducks in water, and on land she liked to chase squirrels, though if she caught them she hadn't the foggiest idea what to do with them, and just let 'em wriggle loose. She enlisted dutifully in the War Against Cats, as the Sphinx Queen of the Upstairs, Hunter, will attest, but was always outsmarted, lol. Most of all she liked walks in the neighborhood or in metroparks. Lately she had to get used to Ezzy, the second dog (I think her name is technically spelled "Esne", but we just call her Ezzy, lol--she was adopted from a dog rescue service my parents are part of), and a regular part of the day is was to walk them around the neighborhood.



    Unfortunately, she wasn't as lucky as Duke in her old age. This wasn't a total surprise; she had had epilepsy for several years, and probably lived a lot longer than she would have if we hadn't gotten her on epilepsy pills. I still remember the day we found that out--we'd just finished watching Jurassic Park on some TV channel, and I looked over at Penny, and her eyes had turned red. I tell ya, not fun, especially since nobody had any idea what that meant (it was a seizure). The pills stopped that, thankfully. (Why is it that that feels like just yesterday?)

    Lately, she started to drag slightly behind on walks, which we of course just assumed was arthritis, since she was old... But it got worse, and she seemed to have trouble breathing... and one night she was coughing up blood. It turns out she was anemic, and nobody could figure out why. That was back in early August, and she just got worse from there. All along she was as sweet as always--the emergency vet remarked that there are three kinds of pets--dogs, cats, and Golden Retrievers. Goldens like Penny are just so friendly. We put her on medicine that seemed to help for a while, but she wasn't showing the right side effects of wanting to eat a lot that the medicine was supposed to make (instead, it was hard to get her to eat). She got weaker and weaker, until we discovered that her muscles were shrinking. Near the end, she couldn't even stand up on her own, her neck felt thinner than my wrist, and her leg muscles were practically not there. It was like my member name "bones" had become real for Penny.

    I got to say goodbye on Monday morning before heading into classes--we expected what might be coming, and my parents took her to the vet while I was in class. All day I knew that she might be put down, and I tell ya, that was for me the worst part, being in class while it ended. It was the second week of classes, and missing now would be unwise, but I feel like I should have been there. I was there when Duke died, and I'd always thought I'd be there for Penny. She had to be put down--the vet found a tumor that was literally sucking her blood away from the rest of her body. They couldn't even get blood into the legs to take a blood test.

    And then she was gone.

    I still can't believe it, I don't think it's sunk in. On the one hand it wasn't a surprise, but on the other, she was way too young for her breed to die already. And it all happened so fast. One week everything was normal, the next we were already used to her having to struggle to stand up. Now it just feels like she has slipped into a different room and she'll walk back in any second. I'm just glad I did get to say goodbye, and she was still responsive at the time.

    Well. I hope this does her justice in some small way--we'll miss you Penny!




  20. bonesiii
    Well, this semester of college has started up, and now that the first week is over and I have the syllabi and such, I can officially say that I am going to be absolutely swamped. Just a heads up guys that I might not be anywhere near as active as y'all are used to--it would be appreciated if people keep that in mind when considering PMing me about things not vitally important or whatnot.

    At this point I'm just hoping I won't have to resign from any of my BZP duties, though I'm almost sure something's gonna have to change. The RPG is a huge priority for me right now--it's not as important as other things on BZP but that is the reason it got postponed in the first place. I can't postpone anymore, so that is what most of my free time will have to be devoted to right now. So I'm pretty sure you won't see me writing very many of these longs posts and such or even modding much. I predict yall will sneak several complaint topics past me. *tricksy little hobbitses*

    At the very least, expect to see me take breaks from BZP this fall.

    *glares at Dreaded Real Life*
  21. bonesiii
    It's here! The first of the Part 2 levels in my RPG: The Map of Mata Nui, for the Bionicle Paracosmos, is now online! As promised!

    The level isn't 100% finished, but the important stuff is there, including storyline, 2 of 3 minigames, best graphics yet in the game, music, a new weapon, and more. Details are in the first post of the topic; the download is here:

    Download here! (Version 2.0)

    Have fun! I'll leave off this blog entry with the screenshots:


    (Ko-Koro)


    (Raitu's Hut Interior)


    (Kiraia Ice Fish vs. Snowball Chucker)


    (Sanctum Temple Exterior)]


    (Ice Bats are on Mata Nui)


    (Ko-Wahi Cable Car)



    Others:

    Chogo Attack

    Icicle Eatery Interior

    Library Interior

    Snow Dodgeball pic 1

    Snow Dodgeball pic 2

    Snow Slugs in Magic Battle Room
  22. bonesiii

    Saving The Eyesight

    By bonesiii,

    In an hour, the final S&T #2 polls will be closed. There are still a few judging nitpickinesses that will need dealt with before the wins can be final... but when the wins -are- final, I'm going to have the entire complete list of entries in the Results Topic, this time without any judging notes stuck next to them at all--instead there will be little tags showing off how far each got in the polls. "Awards", as it were.

    In addition... there were just so many awesome entries that couldn't win in the end--there's only room for one winner per island--that I simply have to include a "bonesiii Honorable Mention" award. This will include many entries that didn't go to the semifinals. Probably several that didn't get to the finals, etc. Entries that I think deserve some recognition for their imagination that didn't get that recognition in the votes due to the unfortunate One Winner fact.

    While I'm at it, here's the "award" tags as I've got 'em:

    Semifinalist

    Finalist








    (bonesiii Honorable Mention)

    And this all means that... after today (or maybe tommorrow?) all of us judges will get to have our eyesight start to slowly return!
  23. bonesiii
    Some Paracosmos news--first, I finally got around to updating something on the website. The reference section for the Paracosmos Kanohi has been "under construction" for a while, and recently I uploaded sketches of each and every one of the Kanohi that the Toa Olda know about and that is listed in the RPG. So why not make the guide?

    It's the same facts you can find if you talk to Vakama in the RPG, but here is it for easier reference sake: Paracosmos Kanohi Guide.



    Speaking of the RPG, good progress on Part 2: Ko-Wahi level has been made. We're hoping to get a skeletal version of Ko-Koro done and posted before Agents of Surrender is finished--the end of the epic will actually discuss some things that happen in this level, as already having happened, so there's no reason Ko-Koro can't go up soon. Not sure how soon that will be though; still got the final stages of the S&T Contest #2 to run.

    In the music department, with Black Six's help, looks like Part 2 will be even better than Part 1 in this category. Crossing fingers that it will work...
  24. bonesiii
    Lately I've noticed a trend on BZPower--it seems that the Voting Booth Forum gets very little attention. Polls are a valuable tool, at least for BZP, and sometimes even for the LEGO company (although we must always keep in mind BZP represents a minority). But they become worthless if only around ten people vote in them. Lately it seems many polls suffer from this disease.

    The problem? The MVPs--the "Most Valuable Polls" get buried in a slew of polls that are less important. From now on, if I have time, I'll keep a very short list in this blog of what I think are the Most Valuable Polls--the ones that lotsa folks should be voting in.
  25. bonesiii
    Since Lord Survurlode temporarily conquered BZP last Thursday, the voting period deadline for the S&T#2 preliminary polls is being extended to noon EST Friday July 21st.



    Paracosmos fans, note that the lastest update to the RPG Part 1 is available for download now.

    Today I'm trying to get through my inbox... *dives into giant mess of PMs*
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