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Ratbat, happy birthday! This is going to be hard to read, but your dad was mostly right. I don't know how mean he was about doing all this, but if my kid started pouting that the camera I bought them wasn't good enough, I would take it back. I don't know about Europe, but in America and Canada, a lot of kids have a sense of entitlement about presents, when they should be feeling grateful. I was the same way when I was a kid. One year I only wanted Transformers for Christmas, and when they were all sold out and I got a knock off, I was disappointed. A year later when I thought Transformers were dumb, I got a bunch and I was disappointed. My parents were too tolerant with me, and years later, I can't believe how spoiled I must have been (which is just a little above average for the suburbs). Anyway, my advice to you is to realize you were wrong to react that way, regardless of other crap you were going through at the time. Your parents bought you a digital camera! No matter what, that is a good thing. Think about it a bit, then, talk to your dad. Apologize. Tell him you know that you weren't appreciating it. If your dad was too severe with you in the way he spoke, tell him after, that he had a point, but that it's hard to take it in when he's so angry. Ask him to control his temper. If he says something like, "you're still not getting your camera." counter it with something smart like, "I understand, it's alright. I just want some time to think about things, okay?" If you come across as if you learned something, maybe you will get the camera. At the least, your parents will probably go back to their regular gift giving habits. Some kids have nothing. Some kids from broken homes would be happy if their dad just showed up to say happy birthday. ........................... As for me, my birthdays have sucked for at least a decade. Now that I'm in Japan, where birthdays aren't really important, I get little from anyone. My parents deposit a check into my bank account, and I thank them. Last year, I spent $100 on my wife, new plates, and I cooked a gourmet meal for her which we took out to a nice place and had a picnic. Time and money. Then she got me something for $30. That was it. I smiled and thanked her, and let her know I appreciated it. How to make a lady happy on her birthday: Find a spot away from the sounds of the city. A nice meal that can be served cold, and on new plates. The wine was cheap, but the missus doesn't care for wine all that much. I drank most of it

I'm sure they will someday, but likely after they've saturated the American market. It costs a lot of money and takes a lot of bureaucratic hassle to expand to another country. Like Wal-mart, Krispy Kreme, Apple Store, these American companies take their time getting to Canada. I'd love to see it there, much less Japan, which should get their first Lego shop in 2025. Japan has Lego virtual Lego stores called Clickbrick (http://www.clickbrick.jp/) but not in my prefecture, and I have been holidaying in natural spots for the last few years so I haven't been able to check them out. I'm going to Sapporo in April, with a day in Tokyo, so I might visit then, but since it's a family vacation and I'm footing the bill, I'll be too broke to buy anything.

Congratulations! I wonder if you watched the original originals or the mid-90's re-releases. I don't mind the new ones overall, though a couple scenes don't do anything for me (ie. Jabba in A New Hope). It reminds me of watching the Indiana Jones trilogy (yeah, I said trilogy ) with my wife, who managed never to see any Star Wars or Indiana Jones. She watched it as if it were real, saying things like "be careful!" "watch out!"... Not that you did that, but she watched it with fresh eyes, and since I've seen all the Indy and Star Wars films sooooo many times, there is zero suspense for me. Well, enjoy Empire. It's awesome. I could write an essay on why it was amazing. It's one of the most irregular blockbusters ever made, and very solid film making over all.

My room is overflowing with Lego now. It's everywhere. It's not a good situation. My current favorite sets stay built, mainly on a shelf I put in. It's a mishmash, and the shelf is looking a little unsafe at this point. On my scanner is the Home One set. In the window sill, little Indiana Jones vehicles, and mini Star Wars ships. The new Millennium Falcon is on a pile of books. The Republic Gunship, Drawbridge Defense, and Green Grocer are just sitting on the floor. I bought a wheeled rack to store other stuff. The top has a bunch of town, and other stuff built. But it's overstuffed too. More toward the thread's real question, with the sets I break down, about one third I separate into containers for me to do something with, and the other two thirds I assume I want to make again at some point, and can't bring myself to break down. I do build sets I like twice. The Republic Cruiser and Republic Gunship I built three times, so I'm glad when I don't mix sets. It's gotten silly now, so I need to slow down... I didn't buy any sets in January. But I bought five in December, and need to get Blackbeard ship this paycheck while it's still around, and that arc fighter, and the City Corner....By the time I get all I want, the summer line will be out...

What? That makes no sense.

Sir, respectfully, you are disgracing your regiment with your tardiness and your unshaven face. Is this how you choose to represent your country?

Even though the review is good, you got this for £2? I'm a little confused by this comment. Anyway, beautiful review Rufus. I don't like the Guard myself. I didn't like any of the single piece heads with no printing (ewoks, pod racers...). But this would have been a good set for the price when it came out. Thanks

A mod has been contacted, and the change made (Arigato seiuchi-san ) I like your theory about the show ending where it began. It would make a nice tidy circle. I need to watch the season 5 finale again to figure out all that happened. But, some major progress was made in this premiere, and a handful of new questions... specifically what was that temple about? I totally enjoyed it, but I wonder why it was basically a Mayan temple? What's it all about?

I think Willis is doing this as a favor to Smith. I love Smith's movies, but his "commercial" movies (Jersey Girl, Zack & Miri) make less than his "indie" flicks (a joke, nobody bother fact checking please) So, I think this is a slow lob over the plate so that Smith can hit a homerun and build up some credit in Hollywood. Then maybe he can do more "Kevin Smith" stuff again. He did a great job with the Reaper premiere two years ago, so I think he can handle this flick too.

Well, you'll be happy, he's just directing this, not writing it. I should watch Dogma again, it's been a few years...

Well, I meant that, but looking back at this thread, it's not right for me to declare that spoilers are off in someone else's thread. All the same, I don't want to discuss this action packed last season I'll wait to hear from the OP.

I have to say, so far, I'm only jealous of Etzel. I never gave much thought to Europe growing up in Canada, but as an adult, I'm pretty jealous of the easy access to lots of cultures. I thought of this thread as country by country, but a lot interpreted it as within the country too, which seems fair. So I'll add to my list: Canada: Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. America: New York, San Diego, Boston, Portland (Maine) Savannah, Panama City, Cincinnati and a bunch of other less famous places. Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Naha, Nara, Toyama, Gunma, Matsuyama, Kochi, Hakone, Saitama, Miyako, Kume, Kerema.... I'll go to Hokkaido on April and make the list longer. The country has 49 prefectures in a place the size of California, so there's still lots of locales for me to hit. Once again, I really want to hit Europe. If I'd travelled to Europe first, I'm sure I'd want to visit Asia instead. The only Asian locales I want to really visit are Vietnam, Cambodia, and Papau New Guinea. There are Lego stores there, right?

Unfortunately, you and Ralph are missing all that is funny about this. It's not about Amazon regulations or credit cards. The company has officially proclaimed it Adults-only. "This item must be used responsibly and appropriately" Do you really think 15 year olds will use this item irresponsibly and inappropriately? It seems to me an obvious screw-up between the tech side and the promotion side. You folks can make it about credit cards and national Internet ordering if you like

Season six, episode 1 & 2 were utterly awesome. "It worked" "Sorry you had to see me like that" Sayid. Season 1 was great. Season 2 was alright. Season 3 was dull and disappointing. Season 4 was pretty good. Season 5 was great. Season 6, (the final season) will be?.... Since this thread has been dead for a while, I propose this be an all-spoilers thread. Anyone disagree?

I subscribe to a handful of Podcasts, and I hope this can be added to that list. Things that appeal to me personally: a sense of humor, highlighting stuff I might not have thought of otherwise, and a reasonable length... an hour is probably hard to do. Twenty minutes seems worth downloading. Really, I'd love to see you succeed, and I'll subscribe. I think it'll be a challenge to get it going, so stick to it.

Not a news piece, but a funny blog post. http://www.danielbowen.com/2010/02/04/adults-only-lego/ No, son, you're just not legally ready for this toy.

Private Dan Gale reporting. I look forward to distinguishing myself amongst my fine fellows.

Not p.c. but very very funny! Also funny

Nice tweaks you've done. You tempt me to pull my set out of storage! Welcome to Eurobricks

Dogma is the only one I'd consider mainstream, in that I saw ads for it, but I was speaking about how the movie looks. He's pretty much made cheap looking movies. The Chasing Amy scene in the stand at the hockey arena jumps out at me, it looks like a Saturday Night Live sketch. His last one, Zach and Miri, was the first one that looked like it had a real cinematographer working on it. But this new one looks like a serious Hollywood movie. I was shocked. I wasn't getting at the distribution of his stuff as much as the vibe they gave off. I saw Mallrats in the theater, loved it, and still do. That "uncomfortable place" joke still makes me laugh It's a great movie, and made mini-stars about of Lee and Suplee, and Claire Forlani was about as beautiful as any woman I ever saw in a movie.

This is about the most international forum I've ever used, since Lego is an international toy, I suppose. Please tell us where you've been, (and of course if there's a Lego connection, please add it) and what was good. Me? My passport is Canadian. I've been to the States about 20 times, and it's a lot of fun. I've been in Japan for six years, and it's fun too. I've been to Taiwan twice. I love the food and the government buildings. I've been to Thailand twice. I love the temples, the bars, and the food. I've been to Indonesia once, and loved the food. I've been to China> Hong Kong once, and I didn't like it at all. I've never been to Europe, but I'd love to go to Greece, Italy, and of course, Denmark England, Germany and France are on the list after that. Last year, a Denmark delegation came to my prefecture in Japan, to promote their canned ham. The prefecture I live in has been one of the top consumers of canned ham (ie. Spam) since the war and canned ham is one of Denmark's main exports. I did private lessons with the local government's translator before the visit, and he'd never heard of Lego, though the Denmark diplomat was coming. He thought it was pretty crazy that they made something like DaiyaBlocks in Denmark. A funny experience

I thought that was funny, but I thought Avatar's plot was like Dances Like Wolves

It looks watchable. I'm always wary when an indie director goes mainstream. Sometimes it's a success (Peter Jackson) and sometimes it's utterly botched (Gavin Hood). This flick looks nothing like a Kevin Smith flick. Smith can make a million dollars of film look like it cost $10,000 to make (ie. Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) but I kind of liked that about his stuff. I like all involved here, especially Rashida Jones, so I hope it turns out.

Cheers, welcome to Eurobricks! Looking forward to your work

Welcome, another from Ontario! I'm from Ajax myself, but I've been in Japan a while. I love your avatar. Did you draw it yourself?