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Nice Alopex! Revolting video, but awesome track. I love Aphex Twin. Listening to more retro-techno... Early 00's Canadian micro-house, Akufen. What a funky bastard!

Seriously, weird stuff happens all over. You're getting into a form of cultural relativism Beyond the fact that this is a LEGO forum, and probably not suitable for discussion here, there is a bigger question of why Westerners latched onto this story and repeated it endlessly for a decade (hence it got a snopes page) when the machines had already been illegal for eight years. For Japanese, it was some weird thing that happened in Tokyo once, not a major component of the culture.

The money is probably one reason... America loves paper money. Canada has $1 and $2 coins... Japan has ¥100 and ¥500 coins. It makes the machines a lot more convenient, big money, but no electronics. I'd hate to have to put 16 quarters into a machine, it would be a pain in the megablocks. http://www.snopes.com/risque/kinky/panties.asp Never seen it, but it's another example of Westerners taking the weirdest thing they can find in a country and holding it up as normal. I've heard about this from at least a dozen Westerners, even though most Japanese have never heard of it. It's about the equivalent of a Japanese reporter going to the New York gay pride parade and reporting back that Americans wear leather cock harnesses. Americans wear leather cock harnesses, don't they?

About the machine system in Japan, it is of a substantially higher quality than in the States. Canada has these machines too, but when I was a kid, they had super bouncy balls or glitter stickers or something, but it was all pretty disposable. Japanese ones often have collectible toy series, costing $4-5. The system could be done in the States, but people would have to accept paying more and aiming more for collectability than for novelty. It's not going to happen in the current economy though Also important to remember, Lego is contracting these out. The ad says Takara Tomy, which is a big toy maker here Also, note how crappy that ad image is: A clone walker in space? I don't think LEGO would produce an image like that. It seems like lazy design.

As some of you know, LEGO treats Japan as a special market. Sure, it's a massive economy and a big market, but LEGO is not priced as it is in the States, it has a premium price, often twice what it is in the States. There are no LEGO stores, instead there is an independent specialty store, ClickBrick. Lastly, they sell LEGO in gumball machines These machines, known as gacha-gacha are ubiquitous. Most big stores have at least two dozen of them, but 50 wouldn't be surprising. So, this is it: The mini-Star Wars sets given out with the newspaper in England, with two new minis, sold for ¥400 each, about $5 U.S. They're selling An-pan-man to the right, Tomato-Farms to the bottom, and princesses all around. You get a big ball: Do you care about wrinkled packaging? Tough titties. You get it in a big wad, and you better like it. And you get an 'exclusive' Japanese ad for all this stuff. I've got four of the five sets, I need the walker. I'd be happy with a repeat STAP, since they are good army builders. Or the vulture droid, since they are good as a space army. What did I get? That crappy little speeder. Doesn't look like anything from Star Wars, and doesn't even come with a speeder bike trooper. So, I think it's kind of crappy. On the plus side, the auction site here has lots of these sets for ¥250 mostly from people buying piles of them as army builders or something, so I actually ordered the two minis through there for about ¥500. Also, the price is fine for a gacha machine item, which usually costs from ¥200-400, so there is a good chance for kids to be exposed to LEGO. LEGO is not heavily featured in stores here, but gacha machines are everywhere. This is good branding. Just a pain for AFOLs. On the downside, this is the only way to buy the collectible mini figs here, ¥300 each... randomly I bought all 16 for about ¥3600 together on Bricklink, including shipping... all 16 for ¥3600, vs randomly searching for them at a combined total of ¥4800, if you got it perfect. Nope, I won't be buying any here at all. What do you think?

Star Wars photos made it to Buzzfeed, any EB'ers featured there? http://www.buzzfeed.com/iwannabeajedi/top-15-of-the-best-lego-star-wars-photos-32l2

There's some nice stuff here, but my little advice; crack out the ink! Pencil work is nice, but ink is a lot easier to display. Here's a little older illustration, using a little brush: This was done with a brush, and then computer-colored: Last year, I wanted to get a job at Lego, and started on a Lego superhero comic. This kind of action isn't my strong suit, but I should probably keep at it, even though I don't usually like doing "all-ages" art.

Yes, I was a blocker. But I found that saying I was an investigator would be plausible if I was 'sleeping' with players to block. It was easy for me to 'clear' players. As for the chapter breaks changed, I honestly hadn't noticed. That was the same time as the same time as the tsunami here, and I was pretty stunned and not paying attention to details. I didn't want to bring that up as an explanation for my not paying attention in the game though, since I though it would be using the event as a free pass, which would have been scummy in a way that I don't like.

The foog basically said it: the back story fingered me as guilty. I was the woman who married a guy whose wife died a suspicious death. It pointed pretty clearly at me. As for the investigator, maybe it was a lack of posting that made him look guilty. Certainly when both Shadows and Draggie weren't posting, and only one was replaced, it made them stick out, but that could just be me looking at it with the knowledge he was guilty. I do think that 100% randomizing roles can still create a compelling narrative as those roles get developed.

I got it and enjoyed it somewhat, but it really isn't as well thought out as Civ 4 was. The civ-states are great, and I like the hexagonal layout, but the one army per spot makes the game laborious, especially late game. After five or six games, I booted up in 4 again. It is an amazing game though, and easily I've played more civ hours than any other game ever. Nurturing a city into an empire makes it so personal. I really enjoyed the Iroquois in Civ 5. They can run through the forest like it was regular turf, meaning you can explore twice as fast, and invade twice as fast. In civ, your starting base is most important, and if you can get three cities set up quick, you can really kick megablocks. For advanced strategies, check here: http://www.civfanatics.com/ That site has resources to turn you into Genghis Khan in a week

おつかれさま〜！ Thanks for your hard work and perseverance, Bob I enjoyed the game more or less depending on the period. There were some exciting points, but then also some long drawn out parts. The stuff that took me out of the game was this: -the length. Three months is about as long as I can concentrate on a game. Cornelius Murdock was drilling me on stuff I did two months ago, and I genuinely didn't know what he was talking about. As for those Jedi and Harry Potter games that have been going on for two years, I can't fathom playing them. -I didn't know what to do a lot of the time. I was blocking players at night, and pretending to help out during the day. But the overall targets were vague. -There were a lot of mafia roles, and to be honest, I didn't expect any before I signed up. I'd read through some of Hinck's Red Moon or whatever it's called, and I hadn't noticed mafia roles in the pages I read, so it wasn't quite what I was expecting. No fault of yours, just it was different. The last thing is that you made Matt and Delores commies for their narrative value... but that also made us the first suspected characters for all the players. Were they made commies simply for narrative's sake? Looking back, was it too much of a problem? Thanks for your passion for this, I'm glad I had the chance to play, and lie consistently for months on end.

Cheers. Hope you get some good stuff

I can come clean. I'm a Soviet Union Spy sent over from Mother Russia four years ago. After extensive training for prolonged missions, I was sent over to infiltrate the Jefferson Family, since Patrick was a powerful Senator. I killed Laura, and then swooped him up. Since he retired, I was ordered to keep my current position, and to sleep with other powerful people in town, in order to get information. I do love the children, even though they are not mine. I also love Patrick dearly. I'm highly trained in killing, and therefore, I could protect myself if attacked at night, that's how I could survive when attacked. I maintained a position over the fire station, which I used only to spy on what goes on in the town at night. There was all sorts of incriminating evidence up there, so I cleaned it up day three or four. I killed Valarie while trying to kill Bradford. ~~~~~ I lied a lot during this, but I tried to keep my lies simple so I didn't get too caught up in anything.

Lovely review I'm very tempted by this. I'm already two Creator houses behind though. Very, very tempting. It would look great with the Apple Tree House.

No, I confirmed he wasn't a commie. I know nothing about any night actions, whether I block them or not.

Why are they the commies? And why would Ackerson kill Laura? I know Ackerson is not a commie. Would he have killed her for a different reason?

Holy Hell! Scott Pilgrim came out last summer! Well, at least Metric are good. Me, I want to hear a Canadian song about shoes... Hmm...

I don't learn that stuff. I just know he's on our side.

A victim of the game circumstance? Anyway, I visited Louis Harrison last night, and I'm confident he's not a commie. As for the rest... No idea. But I think the government workers are all clear.

I haven't bought much this year, but every now and then, a set really catches my eye. The 2011 series have been quite creative so far, with new and expanded themes, and the additions to Atlantis are no exception. And then I met the Angler Fish Set#: 7978 Name: Angler Attack Theme: Atlantis Year: 2011 Pieces: 200 Minifigs: 2; Atlantis Diver 6 and Atlantis Barracuda Warrior Price: ¥2,664 MSP: U.S.$ 19.99, £18.99 Peeron Brickset Bricklink The box The box shows your typical action shot. Atlantic Diver 6 is about to die. I like the Greek columns they used. The addition of those columns really changed how positively I view this series. As the diver raids the Atlantean treasure, the angler swoops in to deliver some aquatic justice. The booklets The cover is the same as the box, and the assembly is typically simplified as it's a slightly younger-targeting theme. The Pieces There are a nice selection of forest green and lime green pieces. Nothing particularly outstanding, though the column pieces are already a favorite. A small bit of leftovers at the end, including spare flippers. There's a sticker sheet, as per usual. The green scales add a lot to the fish, so I placed them, but the red ones aren't necessary. The barracuda is awesome. One massive sculpted head, with a gaping mouth hole in it. It's not too top heavy. So cute. The diver is a nice new head, and has a nice full quality body print. I'm really impressed at the current minifigs coming out in non-licensed sets. They've really improved over the last few years. If I make a diorama where a right-wing politician is caught with their secret gay lover, this is the face I will use. Nice mustache. The Finished Product There is a little set piece. Frankly, I have enough treasure chests at the moment. But, the metallic helmet is high quality, and I want more and more of these column pieces! There is a nice technique to making the column look dilapidated. Of the four Atlantis sets I have, this is the most inconsequential vehicle. It's not out of place, Diver 6 can do a little recon mission with it, but it's not much. It is well made, I like the red and green translucent pieces lining the inside, and it is asymmetrical. The star of the set is the angler fish. If you don't know what an angler fish is, shame on you for not knowing your deep sea fish. I'll let you check out the Wikipedia page on them before continuing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish They are one of the biggest freaks of nature. Terrifying. This thing is beautiful. It's densely built, has moving fins and a tail, and of course a lure on top. And a gangster style gold tooth. The stickers add a lot of texture to the set. WAAH! The bottom jaw has a rubber joint, and by pulling the switch at the bottom, you can open its mouth. The build techniques are really clever. The eyes sit on a pivot joint, on a pivot tile. So, they're able to sit facing diagonally. The Final Verdict Design: 10/10 This fish is great. The other two parts are really negligible, but they are about 20 pieces together. The fish has a really organic design. I'm impressed. Build: 9/10 Not predictable. Not difficult. Not boring. Playability: 10/10 This is all you could hope for in a $20 set. A good guy, a bad guy (though I don't know which are which; it seems the humans are the thieves), plus a mega fish. Minifigures: 9/10 I'm satisfied with the two. For the price, one more might be nice. Price: 10/10 This is a very fair priced set; for the colors and the molds. Overall: 10/10 I like it. I'm going to keep it built a long while. In my years of collecting, this is one of the more idiosyncratic sets I've ever seen. Highly recommended. I wasn't interested in Atlantis sets at all when they debuted, and now, it's one of the series I find most interesting. This set only keeps that interest going! And that's why you never follow dangly lights.

Without meta gaming too much, keep in mind, Bob is not running a mafia game, but a 'mystery game', meaning none of the traditional roles should apply to his game. I'm actually kind of disappointed at the number of 'mafia' roles that have popped up. But I'll touch on that after the game is done.

It's obvious you don't travel. Pharaoh's Quest sets might be out here in the summer. Might be. "I complained I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet" Ponder that. Canada's in a very so-so position regarding LEGO.

Speaking as someone who has received and given heaps of abuse in mafia games.... Get over it. It's not personal, unless you hold onto it and make it personal. ie. Someone calls you a moron. You have two options: 1) You outplay them and show they were either playing scum or were really the moron 2) hold a grudge and prove to people that you were/are a moron I only loosely followed Mafia School, so I don't really know what your frustration is, but the phrase "It's only a game" will do wonders for you in the long term

I wanted to do a few making more humor out of the LEGO-ness of the minifigs... This punch line was hard to write, originally, I wanted something about taking after his mom, but I figured it would cause some sort of nerd-aneurysm and went with something else.

Yes! An absolutely non-generic romance. A romance for weirdos who have given up on romance. ADHO15: 6 AndyC:1 Brickdoctor: 4 Brickyrob: 1 Captain Tamamono: 3 CDC: 1 Clone O'Patra: 1 chucker: 2 Cralegoboy: 1 def: 2 Jay Sathe: 1 Jippon: 2 RejectedShrimp: 4 simonjedi: 5 sok117: 5 The Legonater: 1 TinyPiesRUs: 1 Tocko: 1