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ChocolateFrogs

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Blog Entries posted by ChocolateFrogs

  1. ChocolateFrogs

    The Hunger Games

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    Whooooooo! Just finished it! It was amazing.
     
    Oh, I can't stop being so excited for finishing something I enjoyed so much.
     
    OK, rundown:
     
    Partly Battle Royale, set in a future, post-apocalyptic United States, the nation of Panem who's powerful and oppressive Capitol government makes the surrounding poor 12 districts send a girl and a boy "tribute" between the ages of 12-18 each year to fight one another to the death in an arena. This to remind the districts the control they have on their citizen's lives and children.
     
    Katniss Everdeen, 16, is such a tribute. She is a strong hunter, but passionate and protective of her little sister. Coming from a poorer district, it seems as if she has no chance at winning. She can only hope the other tributes get to each other before they find her...or she finds them.
     
    (Not to mention the other plot points. This story is rife with twists and turns.)
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... « I will admit that some parts were predictable, but those things could not be avoided. And it made up for it with its storytelling and unpredictable twists contained within it.
     
    Regarding the ending, I was really expecting Peeta to propose to Katniss, but luckily that did not happen here in this volume. I hope Gale understands, because he was definitely about to say he loved her before being dragged away.
    Overall: I am really glad I read something like this on a whim. I heard about it through the excitement for Mockingjay, the final book of this trilogy, which came out a few weeks ago. I did a quick search which led me to the first book. I shrugged it off, but then heard more excitement, so I looked to see if my school library had it, and they did. Knowing almost nothing about it, I jumped in, and was rewarded.
     
    Next? Getting Catching Fire, the sequel, from my library later today.
     
    -CF
  2. ChocolateFrogs
    Remember Crustaceous? I built him in the Spring/Summer of 2008, and is probably my best MOC to date, at least as far as Bionicle MOCs are concerned.
     
    Well, being old, and having already seen three conventions, I decided it was time to mix things up before he made his third BrickFair appearance. So I made him a crutacean-minotaur.

    *2*_*3*_*4*
     
    I kept one arm, sort of a Davy Jones thing going for him. I knew I wanted to use the Axonn mask when searching through my collection. So now the challenge was building the torso and making it fit in smoothly with the body. If I had had more time I probably would have given him a better staff, but I was running out of time. I had started working on a torso at July's WAMALUG meeting, but to almost no avail, aside from thinking about color combinations amongst black, silver, and gunmetal. (For I had blended in everything else in well, especially after adding on the gunmetal Bitil wing.)
     
    Luckily Arpy was able to help me finish it right before BrickFair. (What a lifesaver!)
     
    I do not know what will happen with him next. I had hoped to disassemble him by now for the pieces, but obviously that did not happen, but I do not mind. He looks cool on my LEGO shelf in my room. Hopefully he will become part of a big summer project (no, I have no idea what that will be, other than that I want to make some more Bionicle MOCs (despite my losing my touch due to lack of Bionicle building because of college) and have some bigger-than-Toa stuff at BF11).
     
    -CF
  3. ChocolateFrogs

    New H P Sets

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    I so dearly wanted a Quidditch set when I was a kid (aside from the small one LEGO had once, ug), and now it is here! Thing is, now I have learned that selling minifigs can generate some good cash that I can then immediately put back into my LEGO spending. After eliminating the Quidditch players, save Hooch for her goggles, there is not much left to the set. I could, however, sell Harry and Draco, keeping the beaters for their fig pieces (house shirts, hair, face, etc).
     
    But wait, what about collectivity? Well, I already have a yellow Harry fig. What more do I need?
     
    Actually, Hagrid's Hut would be quite cool. Four important figs and a significant story piece (though the spider should really be a Blast-Ended Skrewt, IMO). Maybe I'll get this if it is on sale.
     
    The Hogwarts Express would be cool, especially for Luna and, GASP!, a chocolate frog! (I shall need at least two though.) Plus it is a nice train. Too pricey for me though. (Half off damaged next year at BrickFair?) But dissecting it for pieces for my collection is a tad hard.
     
    Granted, getting any of these is going to be hard now that I am at school.
     
    -CF
  5. ChocolateFrogs

    Sci-fi Rogues

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    Who would win in a fight:
    or
    Captain Mal Reynolds (Firefly) or Han Solo (Star Wars)
    (And no, the correct answer is not "the audience.")
    Leave ships out of this, since Firefly-class ships do not have weapons. (Plus, we do not really know the exact measurements of Serenity's space-flight speed, unlike the Falcon.)
     
    -CF
  6. ChocolateFrogs
    I got woken up this morning at 9 AM by my roommate who wanted to check where I was because apparently there was an armed robbery in my apartment.

    Luckily it was not actually in the halls and such, but in the shops below me.
    Directly below me.
    Like, when I got out of bed at 9:30 due to my roommates continuously talking about what was going on and thus not able to keep sleeping, there was yellow police line tape directly below my window. Three cops and a forensic guy were walking around less than 20 feet from my face.
     
    The school has an alert system which sends out texts in emergencies, this being one of them. (Maybe even the biggest emergency they have texted about while I have been here.) Basically it said there was an armed robbery in my apartment area (remember I live above shops). Lock myself into an interior room and do not come to main campus (across the street).
     
    Wow what an exciting morning!
     
    -CF
    (No word on if they caught the guy. We think we saw the police pick up a few bullet shells and a/the bag of money, you know being right there and able to see it, but we are not sure. I shall wait for the news report from the school and local newspaper.)
  8. ChocolateFrogs

    Dunk!

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    Gotta love human innovation:

     
    I do not dunk enough (or elsewhere that I would not already have a glass of milk from dinner), but I can see it as being fun to walk around a party with this.
     
    -CF
  9. ChocolateFrogs
    ^Album
     
    -LEGO table
    -15 normal posters, 1 oversized, numerous smaller pictures
    -My own 12' x 12' room! And bathroom! (Which, BTW, has a Despicable Me minions sticker from work on the mirror.)
    -My desk has more than one Arpy item on it.
     
    I wish I had more room for posters, though. When/if I get a Scott Pilgrim one from the theater, that will go under Inception. But it looks like ordering an 11th Doctor vortex poster is out of the question. (Ironically, a landscape Amy Pond poster could go next to HP7, but, despite the Summer Glau--Serenity poster, I don't think I would go for just that)
     
    -CF
  10. ChocolateFrogs

    Geddan

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    Is it bad that I want to waste my first LEGO stop-motion attempt making a Get Down (Geddan) minifig video?
    (I just discovered the meme last night, and the song is quite catchy.)
     
    -CF
  11. ChocolateFrogs

    Laundry

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    You know how a college kid's laundry cycle is determined by how much underwear one has left?
     
    I'm out of socks. (Well, white ones anyway. I'm wearing thin boot-sock-liner, but I could have chosen dress socks.)
     
    -CF
    (Note: I have not done laundry since arriving here two weeks ago, so tonight that will change.)
  13. ChocolateFrogs
    Y'all better read this.
    BrickFair Sci-Fi and Castle coverage
    Not just because themes other than Bionicle are equally awesome, but because it took sooo long to post, and I put so much effort into it. (Writing it was no problem (and yes I reread over and over), but setting it up afterward with the codes and stuff was a pain. I can haz BBC?) (See, brain fry=lolspeak) I better get back to that homework I've neglected for the past 2 hours...
     
    Plus, Arpy had a paragraph in it, and Nuju Metru's functioning castle MOCs were featured. (Note: They're awesome.)
     
    -CF
  14. ChocolateFrogs

    Sleep Schedule

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    Well this all might change once I start my job next week, since working in the morning would be best for me and I practically get to choose the 8-10 hours I work, but for now...
     
    With class not until noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday and not until 4 Tuesday and Thursday, I find myself constantly staying up late and waking up after 10.
     
    While not necessarily bad, it just is not necessary. I could just go to sleep at one and wake up at nine, no?
     
    I think right now I shall read a little, get in bed by 2, and wake up at ten, or something. Class is not until 4 and I do not have any pressing matters. (Though I do have matters to attend to, so I might as well do something.)
     
    -CF
  15. ChocolateFrogs

    The Prestige

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    I just recently watched it for the third time.

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... « First time I saw it I thought it was weird, because Hugh Jackman is essentially killing himself over and over.
    The second time I grudgingly watched it because my roommates were, it was a weekend night, and a few people had not seen it yet. All was well in my mind, and I appreciated it more.
    (I still like The Illusionist more because of my first thoughts given of this film. But a friend recently told me some thought that it depends on which film you see first to be which you like more, and I saw The Illusionist first.)
    But with Inception just released and all, I crawl back to this Christopher Nolan film for a third time. What I found really interesting was catching things I had not noticed at first (or second), and thinking about parts of the story, such as which twin of Christian Bale was dressed up as who whenever you saw them.
     
    Which brings me to the point of this entry: One big question I think now racking my mind when addressing that issue is this: Which brother died and which killed Jackman? The one that loved his wife or the one that loved Scarlett Johansson?
    And a second point: I keep finding myself rooting for Jackman. I think he has better ideals than Bale's character(s), and in the end Bale is a pretty nasty guy. Yet in the end he dies. Is there supposed to be some comfort in that, and a happy ending with Bale the victor? I think not, because in the end it was Bale that did the murdering, Bale that was being a ##### (why in the world is that filtered?), and Jackman is just a confused and envious victim. Happy ending it is not, but it is finally a movie that still leaves the audience (me) satisfied.
    Gotta love Nolan. In fact, this is based off a book, where the story is a series of letters back and forth between the two magicians. The author, actually, loved the movie and what was done with his story.
     
    -CF
  16. ChocolateFrogs

    I Don't Reread

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    Blog entries, term papers, even news stories sometimes. I just do not go back and reread what I wrote and check for errors.
     
    Is that bad?
     
    I trust spell checker too much and I trust my writing well enough the first time around.
     
    Now, I know that Stephen King's editor said that the first draft, he is writing for himself, and the second draft he should be writing for his audience, so you then take out all the little things you felt like inserting. However, I remember once my editor said he liked the feel of my article because it was not as bland or straight as other articles.
     
    Plus, when I get a 90 on a 5 page paper I wrote the night before, I know I am good.
     
    Still, to reiterate the question: Is that bad?
     
    -CF
  17. ChocolateFrogs
    Packing peanuts come from the Devil: they are messy and get everywhere and are thus irritating. Bubble wrap comes from God: it is organized and nice and, quite especially, makes us happy.
     
    Things that need to be included in your BrickFair/Fest/Con shipping box:
     
    -MONEY
    -Bubble wrap
    -Return address
    -Username
    -MOC pictures (ALL of them)
    -Wrap Mosaic pieces up in cling-wrap.
    -Seal MOCs in zip-lock bags.
    -Bubble wrap
     
    And if you do not include money, a return address, username, and photos, there is a very high chance your MOCs will not be returned. (Seriously, I have two Hahnah crabs at home and I am kind of looking forward to keeping that armor piece.)
     
    I plan on posting something similar come next BrickFair MOC shipping time.
     
    -CF (Bubble wrap)
  18. ChocolateFrogs
    Movie posters are not the only benefit of working at a theater, it seems:
     
    One day as I was walking through the booth (where the movies are reeled and the projectors are) I saw some movie film in a small trash can. Being the obsessive movie enthusiast that I am, I start to look through it, for a friend recently bought a few frames from one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, so there is a market for this, apparently.
     
    What did I find? The second Tron Legacy trailer:

     
    A manager said I could keep it and then helped me reel it together. I do not know what compelled them to throw it out, but I figure it is a collector's item and could be valuable in a decade or so (assuming the movie is as awesome at it looks).
     
    -CF
  19. ChocolateFrogs
    1) Inception
    2) No, really, Inception rocked.
    The real 2) Despicable Me/Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
    4) The A-Team/Toy Story 3/The Karate Kid
    7) Iron Man 2/The Sorcerer's Apprentice
    9) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
    10) Dinner for [Foolish People]
    11) Knight and Day
     
    I did not get to see Salt or Predators. I guess I might redbox them if plenty of people say I should.
     
    -CF
  20. ChocolateFrogs
    ...who, after BrickFair (it happened last year too, and with this current one) thinks that whenever he sees someone out of the corner of his eye there is that tiny spark of "oh hey it's [cool member he hung out with over BrickFair]"? (If, out of that corner-eyesight, a few features seem familiar.)
     
    Or are the rest of you more sane than I am in that regard?
     
    Just another reason why we need a BrickFair City...
     
    -CF
  21. ChocolateFrogs

    More Posters!

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    Just when you thought my apartment room would not have any more wallspace, the time has come to find some more.
     
    I got this big 6-feet-tall, 4-feet-wide Despicable Me poster!
     
    But better yet, my manager litterally threw five, yes, FIVE (5) Inception posters at me. (Three of the left, two of the right.)
     
    Along with two from Up of the house floating with the balloons--it looks really nice. Finally, another regular Despicable Me poster for my sister.
     
    With any luck I should be getting a Scott Pilgrim poster in the mail from my theater.
     
    It's all totally awesome.
     
    -CF
  22. ChocolateFrogs

    Poster Tease

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    As you know by now, I have my own room at school, and plenty of wallspace for my own posters.
     
    I just spent a few hours (off and on, not all at once) putting up my posters, and boy was it quite a task. But it was also well worth it.
     
    I am not posting pictures just now, since my room is not quite yet complete for fantastical presentation, nor are the posters in the living room up yet, but for now I shall leave you with a teaser:

    (Lots and lots of sticky-putty was used, especially with the Despicable Me poster.)
     
    -CF
  23. ChocolateFrogs

    So Excited

    By ChocolateFrogs,

    Seriously.
     
    I moved in on Monday.
     
    So this entry is late.
     
    But still.
     
    I have my own room for the first time since 3rd grade!
     
    (Pictures will come once I get my posters up. But I have a LEGO table dedicated to building.)
     
    Also, a "walk-through" closet to my own bathroom.
     
    The four of us share a laundry machine and dryer, so that's good. And the kitchen is better than last year's because now we have a garbage disposal, dish washer, and plenty of pantry space so we do not need extra shelves.
     
    -CF
    Sorry for this weirdly-scripted entry and lack of enthusiasm that I am trying to convey. It's 3 AM, I just ordered books, and I still need to get stuff off my bed since I still needed to unpack.
  24. ChocolateFrogs
    I just got back from the theater after watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
    I knew nothing about this until the trailer popped up online. When I got home from school I borrowed the first 5 graphic novels from my library and diligently awaited #6 to come out so I could buy it. (Which, btw, you can buy from me for cheap. PM me until Sunday night.) I can not say I was the biggest fan of the writing, but the story itself was fun. So I could not wait for the movie.
     
    I did not have the biggest expectations for this movie, but from the trailers I really hoped it would be amazing. So, within five minutes, my mind was blown.
     
    This movie was AWESOME!
     
    Granted, it probably takes a special taste to realize what this movie is trying to do, how it is trying to tell the story with all the extra effects and slight video-game insertions, kind of like The Spirit, but I think a good portion of the BZP populous can appreciate that.
     
    It also helped that I had read the graphic novels. You do not have to, those I saw this with had not and enjoyed it, but it definitely made me like it even more. As I said, I was enjoying this within the first two or five minutes or so. From the 8-bit sounds of the opening Universal theme to the black boxes with each character's bios.
     
    While there were some alterations to the story to fit it within a two-hour movie, they stayed pretty true to the source material, right down to the lines. That itself is pretty awesome. (Though I wish they had fit in the twin's Halloween scene, and the ending was just slightly different but I think that might have been because the final volume was not even done yet.)
     
    In summary: I think that if you are looking forward to this, you will not be disappointed. If you feel like reading the comics first, that is a great idea too. This is a great, hilarious movie.
     
    -CF
    PS, I was going to give you a quick review of Dinner for [Foolish People], saying that aside from the off-color humor it was funny and I always like Steve Carell, but I'd rather focus on Pilgrim.
  25. ChocolateFrogs
    Falls Church, VA, my hometown? Newport News, VA, my school and thus now where I spend the majority of my year?
     
    Where does my BrickBadge say I'm from?
     
    (I had Falls Church on there from last year, and NN for this year, (not to mention a simple BZPower brick from BF06) but took them off when I got these.)
     
    -CF
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