Akkhraziel

Happy greets. What part of Texas were you from, originally ? Akkh

I'll agree, the Shinhing Franchise would be very excellent. good to see another fan of that series lurking around. Akkh

Hiyas, and welecome back tot he world of little plastic bricks. For what its worth: a) Hey, I like Ice Planet, too. b) I didn't think it was too long at all, just the right length to convey your story :-D I hope you enjoy the miscellaneous conversations to be had around here. Akkh

That skirt is not within regulation standards, she'll need to return to the ship and change. I can see her tailhook from here. Akkh

Congrats, you have defeated the universe for yet another year. Enjoy the celebration. akkh

...and you did a nice job of it . ;) It may have something to do with how the other Technic sets did. I think the droideka did well, but all of the other technic sets sat on the shelf around here, to be clearanced out later. Admittedly, its a small scan of the lego world, but it generally appears that the SW technic sets didn't do real well. That said, I think Grevious would do well, for the same reasons the droideka did well. I'd like to see it. Akkh

This stems from adiscussion about: So perhaps the better question I should ask is that when you say 'world is governed' are you speaking in a strictly politicals sense, or in the broader day-to-day inteactions of individuals, which is to say how one individual and another interact is governed by force? Which is to say, is such a statment limited to a broad political view, or are you stipulating that it governs more personal interactions. This is a request for clarification, so I might better understand the points you presented. By 'not proven' I mean that both sides of that argument have data which validate their point, and further, becasue of that data, are extremely reluctant to accept the data the other side presents. Then again, thts more or less bound to happen when trying to study human behavior. I'd be curious to see what the different lines for Megablocks has generated what numbers for them. That they also have lower prices probably doesn't hurt any, either. Thats due in part to some of your statements. You speak of good and evil, which are at best are things dificult for everyone to come to one single definition of. Further, remember, there are some who see guns as evil. I know you undoubtedly disagree with such a sentiment (and please note, I'm not saying that I agree with that statement, either), but just becasue its a view that is foolish or nonsense in your eyes doesn't make that point of view any less real to those who hold them. Additionally, your posts tend to be big on generalizations, while that not necessarily a bad thing, it can make it difficult to get what your point is, hence why I ask for clarification. As aforementioned earlier in this thread, text is an interesting medium for conversation, but it eliminates tone of voice and body language, all of which might make your comments carry very different connotations. And lastly, I'm not trying to change your mind, in many way I haven't really stated what my opinion is, but I enjoy the converstion and this is an interesting topic, with many different points of view, and valid points in those perspectives. It is completely plausible that lego is missing out on a great oppurtunity by not making modern military sets. Its also completely plausible that they are avoiding wht could rapidly become a public relations nightmare. Evidence supports both theories, but it makes for interesting discussion. Cheers, Akkh

I'm all cool with judging, if you need people for it. I won't be able to enter anyway, and I'd love to see what people come up with. Akkh

This seems to be very true, but then again, if people were content with Best Lock's product, I'd doubt so many people woul be clamoring for Lego to make a modern military line. On a slightly more cynical note, I'm not all together certain that if they did do a modern military line, if people would be satisfuied with it. Personally, I'd rather not have spring firing missle launchers on my Lego Apache (or better yet, a KA-50 Werewolf, I love those things), but I'm willing to bet they come with them. Inevitablly, I'm not certain if they did decide to go tht route, if in the end the sets would be all that. Some part of me would rather not have the sets for the reasons given, and TLG to avoid the pr storm that would surround it, than to get lackluster sets. Akkh

There are many who would argue that our weorld is governed by economics, which is to say that the bulk of human existence boils down to who gets what. While certainly, application of force can play a part in that, a force centric viewpoint seems to fail to take into account several things and several facets of relationships, unless forcing your friends is something you inherently hold as necessary. As to the latter part of your statment, of course everything would not be okay, but that has little to do with the notions of children and violent toys. Your arguement seems to be "Its a vioelnt world, so what the big deal ?" and the counterarguement to that is "So, they take a stance that may or may not make the world better, but certainly hurts no one and might, given the anti-war sentiments in many parts of the globe, be a wise public relations manuver." It will never be conclusively proven one way or another whether or not violent toys have an effect on children one way or another, but until that time, given the kind of company TLG want to comport itself as, which is to say extremely friendly to small children, their stance is not hurting anything. As to the horrificness of swords and medieval weaponary, as the owner of several, I'm well aware of their destructive capabilites. That mankind has precipitated atrocity upon makind for centuries really isn't at question here. And yes, I'm actually fairly certain in another 25-50 years society may well be densisitzed enough for such things(modern weapon lego sets), but again, at its heart, Lego tries to stick to more innocent play themes. Its part of the company legacy, and part of the corporate image lego wishes to maintain, so that mothers have no qualms buying their products. Remember, the buying public is not a reasonable animal. There are people mout there that would boycott Lego as awhole if the produced a modern military set. And its against such things that Lego probably weighs it options. and if such a stance by the company troubles you so much, you could always choose to take your business elsewhere. As to the last, then my apologies, but your entire post came across as nvery derogatory in tone an measure, text can be a strange medium that way. And yes, I'm more than well aware of the gypsies and other individuals persecuted under the reign of the Thrid Reich. but in the end, I think its more a measure of public relations, market share, and a desire to remain faithful to the founding traditions of TLG that keep it from producing a military line rather than any assumption of core beliefs on the behalf of the owners/designers. Akkh

At this point I'd offer to pick the lock, but that might upset the more sensibly minded of you, or at the very least only add to your suspicions about me. *chuckles* Well, this is certainly getting interesting... Akkh

Hrm...no stab wounds...

Could be. I suppsoe we'll have to see how this plays out, won't we. I could be a cold blooded murderer, or I could simply be a scholar. Though to speak bluntly, that doesn't look like my work, and Ancient Egypt, while I have spent some time on it, is not the forte of my studies. Take that for what its worth. *chuckles and goes back to looking at the body* Akkh

Where to begin. First off: should they have a military line ? Maybe, becasue there are a number of liberal mothers in the world who buy their children lego but would boycott the moment they saw lego as going the route of war toys. Its one market versus another, and thats something TLG probably weighs very very carefully. As for the second sentece there, you realize that there would be no danger of of slavery or other such atrocity if military force weren't on the side of wrong. While your poin has some merit, so does the opposite side of that equation. In the long run, it comes down that there are some things that are touchy subjects, modern war and the things that go along within are one of them. Whether its because some parents are too busy (or lazy) to teach their children right from wrong, and what the proper application of force means, or becasue violent toys do promote violent behavior in children (I'm advocating neither position), TLG has decided against stepping into that particular public relations nightmare. Yes and no, at its core all of those fall in the realm of 'fantasy violence'. Which is to say western culture has romanticized it and sanitized it to the point that though the events and cultures were violent, there is not the baggage of it being real put on such things. This is an issue with Western culture, not an issue with TLG. After all, we aren't watching versions of Star Wars that look like Saving Private Ryan. For many, fantasy violence is all right, but where that line blurs into realisitc violence, a lot of people gt uncomfortable or unhappy with. Also, wars at their bloodiest and most horrific really came into its own after the introduction of gunpowder (and more accurate weapons) and before the medical improvements of the crimean war. this is due in part to larger numbers of men on battlefields and sheer destructive capability. While I'm not unfamiliar with the troubles and travaisl of ancient warfare, in many cases, it just got worse. Lastly: Returning to your last sentence there, a couple of points. One, with your lampshade reference, you are making a very direct correlation (and a flippant one at that) to the events of the Holocaust. Two, your choice of words seems to be linking the diredctors and designers at lego with the jewish people, which I'm not so certain is a valid nor viable link. Three, in referencing such things, you might want to be a little less flippant in going about it, as it indicates a great lack of respect on your behalf, which would be unfortunate if that was not what you were indicating. Akkh

Ahhh, so he has the the legendary sword of light, a beam klaive, or a sword of brilliant energy...which ever title works best. And who ever enchanted the hilt tyhough it would be nice if the magical blade matched his armor. I can dig it. :-D Akkh

*Akkh reaches up under the edge of his jingasa and produces a small scorpion light.* Here, I make it a point to keep this on me in my travels, you never know when you will be trying to read an ancient manuscript several meters under the earth, need to direct traffic (you'd be surprised how often this comes up) or use it to signal planes for pick up or rescue. Akkh

Actually, Phes, I think that if you followed the rabbit trail provided by the two clues, you'd find at least one aspect of it entirely amusing, if you haven't heard of it already. I mean, after all, it did involve the word 'piracy' in the clue, did it not ? ;) Akkh

River piracy is also big is Saskatchewan, but thats to be expected, since Canada is really big. And no, I don't particularly expect many people to catch those two references. Akkh

Very, very nice. I see someone else looked at the hp Hippogriff/pegasus and thought of all the nifty things that castle could do with that. Just a great battle scene, and a great foundation for the battle to take place on. So...why is the green knight taking a lightsaber to battle ? Akkh

To the original poster: I now have an urge to play like three boardgames from Cheapss games because of your username...I am amused. Nice pics, by the by...its interesting to note how small the oversized jeep is in comparison to the fortress. Akkh

As per below, Quie possibly...but I wasn't sure which of the two of you wasn't communicating with the other. And its all cheery now. Besides that , I have something else to blame you for, Phes... ;) Akkh

Kali: Female Hindu deity that embodies descruction. This involves both what would we would perceive as destruction as well as the destruction of ignorance, and it is the latter that is the reason that the black mother (Kali Ma) is well respected by seekers of enlightenment/ the divine nature in Hindu culture. Incidentally, the city of Calcutta is named for her, by tradtion. Incidentally, again, many depcitions of Kali show her with six arms. Akkh

Given the general anti-war sentiment in several countries, I think its still a safe bet we won't see anything quite like that anytime soon. To speak in broad generalizations, a lot of the people who can afford to buy lots of lego's for their kids also have a distinct dislike for violent toys. Given that in the last two years I've seen at least one picket line at Toys R Us about war toys, I can't say that LEgo is all together making a mistake. Akkh

Not only is he good with zombies, but Mattzitron is also good with lego exchanges !!! Akkh

I'm hoping the price stay reasonably low and these sell well, though I'll admit they are not my cup of tea. What I really hope is that the program continues, but with increased guidelines and an all in all better run contest. I heard far too many complaints of unfair advantage and manipulation of votes to be entirely satisfied with the results of the first contest. add in to the fact that half the sets are designed by the same person only lends further credo to the rumors and complaints, which is unfortunate if that one individual just happened to have a talent for designing mini-sets. Actually, speaking of such things, how did they every settle on that one Caste MOC set to produce ? Akkh