JINZONINGEN73

Did they ever complete the scene with Yoda pretending to be a wacky animal playing in the mud to ditch the troopers? How about the scene with young Han Solo playing around on Wookie world? Or how about the Mon Calamari (up-close) swimming/dancing scenes seen in early press releases? ::doesn't have the DVD::

True, but the way technology is going in the arena of mental feedback interface, a car designed like that would likely be mentally controlled (give it 20 years, tops). As for viewing the road ahead, the windshield could act as a HUD (heads up display), or, the images of the road AND the control both go on in the driver's head.

I wouldn't call it a hoverbike or a submarine. I think the best term for this set from here on in might be "green guy with swords slapped on clumsily". Yeah, no more Lesovikk or whatever the ugly bastard's called for me. I'm only calling him green guy with swords slapped on clumsily.

*MEGA-BUMP* (Note: Mega-bumps are done only in cases where months pass and a questionably offensive yet possibly humorous new username slips through the cracks without getting banned.) :-D

(Stupid moving... I have really been gone way too long!) As with the initial topic, we're not ready yet for full-blown contests. Thanks to the 2 contestants for THEIR enthusiasm though. *sweet* Closin'.

Not Power Rangers enough, for me. I'd love a good, sturdy, easily detachable (no disassembly) kind of 80's giant robot interlocking limb mechanism. Large combiner robots aren't the easiest things to pull off in Lego.

I guess it's not just me then. Still, it'd be damn hard to undeniably prove beyond the shadow of a doubt. As for cross axle connectors, I'd forgotten how odd I thought it was at first that they ruined the aesthetic flow of the the things they connected to. I'm all for the new piece. I wouldn't count the old version out though... it has uses the new type can't support. I wouldn't be suprised to see them pop up here and there. (Going of course on an assumption that Lego has not officially declared it dead to news outlets among fans).

::gets back online:: Whoof. Seems our numbers are not yet great enough to support such an endeavor. :-P Perhaps contests are best left now for some point in the future. Next time, it probably should be staff run... to make it feel all tangible and officially and such. X-D Closing.

X D Oh well, more lime parts is good anyway. However, as in, "I'm going to go to the store and buy this" kind of "sweet"? HELL no. I'll just Bricklink 2 copies of the lime mask.

I think it's large size is smart... gives people reason to buy more Lego in order to get the rest of the town on scale with it. And when it looks good, who really cares. *sweet* It's good to see a UCS type dealie in minifig scale. Lego's being nice to us. See? See what making a good profit during the previous fiscal year does? Better budget for designers and better sets for us.

That's what i say. I can't imagine that the books are some big massive vortex sucking kids in to buying sets. just the opposite. The current good sales are almost certainly from more flashy sets, videogame exposure, and people bumping into their movies here and there. But the books? No way. Let the kids buy sets if they want to get more story, even if that's as something simple as 4 pages of text... (I say "text" because the kinds of minicomics included in Alpha Team and Knights Kingdom instruction booklets were incoherently paneled wastes of ink & paper). Or, if there's a few bucks left in the budget, a 2001-quality flash movie cd.

Well, there's always brickbilgerats.com : p

And didn't they totally POEG those two topics in doing so? The Peewee Hockey team one TOTALLY told the truth about "sports" and "sick kid" movies, in how uncreatively cheap, cliche' and outright dishonest they are... while the World of Warcraft one told the truth about the people who play the game. They're brilliant people working on it. And I'm 100% certain that they, like me, can't believe they have to go as far as they do to parody what seems to be common sense. You can tell they're just as flabberghasted that the majority of people in this world can't see how silly they are, or how easily they're led by the nose by institutions and companies larger than them. But luckily, they succeed in putting "obvious"" truths about life into a format that even the most non-thinking moron could understand. Exactly, they were just riding the Beavis and Butthead bandwagon. Now they're something totally different. Still juvenile (realistic) humor, still vulgar (realistic) but now with undeniably specific attacks on specific people, institutions and such. They've found their niche... and it's one that doesn't "outdo" Beavis and Butthead, for the humor is quite different, told by a different type of character(s). Woah, that time again already? ::opens up browser window to MRTWIG.NET in anticipation::

Cool site. Just the other day I was wondering what the difference in all the different motors were on Bricklink. Man... I bet the 5292 race motor must do some sick things when hooked up to the AC 9V power source of a train set. X-D

Exactly. Like you said, all it is now is constant upgrading silliness. Dragonball Z / get your asscheeks handed to you, then power up / change form type of poop. Lots of people who used to love Dragonball Z when they first got into it HATE it now because of the "never-ending" type story / character arcs. And yet, around 2 decades after the series first aired, here that franchise is, still making money. I guess that's where Bionicle is. Not really "good", but profitable. Ew... I never noticed that parallel to Bionicle. I loved the simple stories of "Dragonball", but eventually got bored of "Dragonball Z". ...weird. The arguments between that Bionicle are nearly identical. How didn't I notice this before now? And if that's the case, I've probably been wrong. Bionicle likely WILL be making Lego money a good while, and likewise, alot of the older fans will hate it, it's revenue coming from wave after wave of "new" but not long-term fans. Ah, you have a good point there. Books, comics, movies... they're ALL a pain to me. Books, for a normal person, take time away from building. And unfortunately, one might spend a day on a book only to find it sucked and they just wasted alot of time and some money. Comics... pfft. They come free in Lego mags, but are kinda' wonky in storyboard layout... very vague stuff. Movies... gyuuh... no. They cost alot of money to make and with the exception of the third, really aren't entertaining enough tio cough up 20 bucks OR wait a year or more for the next installment. But simple weekly or monthly online flash movies telling the story? You can't toss me a download button fast enough. What's that tell you? The 2001 guys of Bionicle Chronicles created a ton of interest for the next series Bionicle Adventures. Then, much sucking occured, which resulted in a 70,000 unit drop in sales for Bionicle Legends... a 70% decline in demand. You can't get numbers like that by being good at what you do. Sure, one could blame the people in charge of distribution, but... it's a bit far-fetched to say it accounts for a drop that drastic. I'm assuming those are the correct figures, as I haven't researched them myself. Oh god no.... *sing* I'll take a stab at it... all the good guys of their respective color get each merged into one "new" upgraded being, and the bad guys do the same? Like Kopaka & Matoro, etc merging into some new "ice" guy, Gali & Hahlii, etc etc? The judges would also have accepted: "Ok... who's going to die?"

The problem is that it's either feast or famine. They start off not really getting hurt, instead of rocks landing on guys they get melted, getting hurt happens offscreen... and it's a poison scratch. Mask of Light's violence and the hippy way they depicted elemental stuff was pure baby food, a step backwards in the coolness of 2001. They kind of got it going good in the last movie. It certainly seemed that death was taking place at the end, while leading up to it the characters had emotions and personal conflicts. There was even some mystique thrown in, however foofy that is for people. But now? It's kinda' just a mess. Personally the "elemental attacks" of 2001 were just a kiddy way of putting violence in without angering parents or scaring small children. Someone getting their head slammed into a wall once would've been welcome. Then again, the infected Lewa VS. Onua fight was pretty good, and was depicted in a way that there was still excitement. I recall Gali nailing a Rahi rather slammingly as well. True, mini-makuta not being hacked to pieces by sword or axe was just more fluffing up of the action to make it kid-safe, but there was still a decently exciting crescendo to the fight... and that just added to the humor, character developement, mystique and storytelling of what came leading up to that. That's nothing like what's going on now. There's no exploration... just a bunch of characters wearing nametags on their foreheads, getting chucked down waterslides and into WACKY cage fights. Which would be cool, if one were to have been given reason to care for anyone involved. Books, comics, movies... bah. Include a cd-rom in some sets containing flash movies emulating the way the first story was told. It's easy to make it rich enough to warrant interest, vague enough to induce creative thought, and I'm pretty darn sure it's cheaper to produce than a movie or line of anally-detailed books.' I mean what, does Lego want people buying Lego sets or sitting under a tree a few days reading a book that's been rushed due to deadlines? No, maybe they created those deadlines so the writer has to collate only the parts of the writing the execs want added in, making the books so "HUH?" that kids will instead be on messageboards for weeks on end complaining and theorizing about what's actually going on. X D There's no... newness. There's not anything inducing thought in the stories, and due to the currently simplified set designs, nothing inducing kids to moc (buy more sets). Their success now is a cheap fix... added violence where there wasn't before. Will that keep on working for years? Doubt it.

When it first came out and everyone was wearing T-Shirts from it, quoting it, etc etc, I was like "Oh look, Comedy Central's trying to rip off Beavis and Butthead". And they probably were lol. Beyond low quality production in animation, cursing, "shocking" taboo topics. But after Beavis and butthead went off the air (R.I.P. :'-( ) it like all of a sudden got better. Not every show's a hit, but SOMETHING in each episode makes me laugh aloud. These days, I love them for taking on alot of issues that stupid people treat "seriously" by totally going off the wall with it. Their attack(s) on Scientology are classic AND justified. Alot of people didn't even know what the group of wackos was all about until South Park ripped them a new one. Then, instead of buckling under public pressure and apologizing, they kept on going with it. Even after Isaac Hayes (Chef) left because someone from his cult called up Comedy Central and told them he had quit (and this was done by his masters without his knowledge!), they then didn't pander to get his hypocritical butt back on the show... instead, they took ANOTHER hit on scientology, mocking it with the "Super Fun Adventure Club" episode where Chef is gruesomely, irretrievably killed over a minute long death sequence. Even better, since he wasn't present for the taping of that show, they used (and obviously) a bunch of scraps of voice clips from the cutting room floor and other episodes. X D There's just too much good in that show. I wouldn't even know where to start. I don't even agree with all the liberal views they express, but at the same time, they DO give both sides of the story... something most things in media NEVER do. It's suprising that even though it's an adult show made by adults, they also seem to know exactly what kids find cool too. That's the same thing that was good about Beavis and butthead. It was grimey and nasty, but that's what the world is lol. The other reason I like it is they stick up for themselves instead of shutting up. The same reason I like Howard Stern, a man who gets LIED about non-stop in a media who's afraid of him. Alot just look at it and say, "the animation is ugly... and they're so vulgar!" ...But it's alot more than that, good and bad. X-D CLASSIC: http://youtube.com/watch?v=QZoOXYTb-nA

Are they spring-loaded like the old, exposed-spring technic pistons? Hmm... took me awhile to remember my password on Lego. When I got in, it asks for credit card info to order. I have none. V__V I bought from them in the past using just Postal Money orders, but I guess they want a card on file now. :-| Was going to order 2 of them, as well as the 9V train engine in the Pick-a-Brick section for $19.99... about $5 cheaper than even used ones on Bricklink.

Too bad it's done wrong. We asked for a hotdog and got one of those soggy, giant white sausages with the skin wrapper dangling off the ends. :-| Lol, no. It's like watching 2 minutes of a new Star Wars movie and not getting the next 2 minutes for months. Chaos imminent as "fans" over-think things. X D I actually sympathize with him here. Constrictive deadlines are one of the #1 reason comics, movie, videogames and books end up sucking. Like having a moc contest that has a hyper-detailed theme, but with only 2 days to get it built, photo'ed and uploaded online. Anyone who's ever held a job for any decent amount of time knows what insanity higher-ups are capable of as far as being given 2 hours of work to do in one half hour. Again, deadlines. It might be he's incapable to create a year of "every day life", AND add suspense and excitement into it, but he's screwed due to the deadline. We'll never know. :-/ I swear, if there was ever a more "Bionicle is coming to an end" statement than that. Although that'd indicate Bionicle ends, it doesn't mean a more laid-back sequel can't then be done... going back to that non-story "exploration" dealie I've suggested before. As "what the HELL?!?" we are over the story and set designs, imagine what it's like for him, when deadlines get tighter and he has to rethink a story created that took up a house to fit only in a shoebox. He is to be pitied, despite the negatives that are rightfully his in other areas.

Lol, I never heard about the Disney Cops / waiver / child maiming incident. Sounds like scientologist / Clearwater, Florida territory there. And that territory is DAMN spooky. ... ... ...am I the only one who thought Shrek was great? I avoided it like the plague at first due to over-saturation in advertising. It was airing ads on the radio. It was incessantly airing ads on the TV. It had promos on many food products while walking through the supermarket. Then, I go to work at night, a place I should be safe, and his head is plastered on every computer monitor image in the electronics ad out of the newspaper in the break room. It was a good few months later my wife dl'ed it and I kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. Yeah, there was crude humor, but geez... aren't people crude to begin with? I just farted 20 minutes ago, no joke. I'm chugging Mountain Dew, partially dribbling it. A little later, it's going to make me burp REAL loud. That's what the Shrek characters were. Normal. Not ...well ...whatever the heck all the actors and cartoon characters in all the other 800 million movies out there are trying to be. It was nice seeing a CGI cartoon that WASN'T a kiddy movie for once. Ok, I let you slide on not liking Shrek, but liking Over the Hedge... aaaagh! Lol. I saw it.. It didn't resemble the (good) Sunday comic at all. None of the witty humor was present. Really, it was just more of the same ol' same ol' cliche' stuff. It was like watching "Chicken Run", except instead of a cocky, smartassed rooster, it was a cocky, smartassed racoon. I'm just going to throw this out for the hell of it... What did you think of the CGI Garfield movie, if you saw it?

And here's an older site, describing just one of their tactics used to try and get away with it: http://www.monitor.net/monitor/0202a/pooh3.html But UNFORTUNATELY : So 2 billion doesn't seem like much, does it? Still...

They stole Kimba the White Lion. They steal and emulate other people's properties all the time. But for once, all the payoffs, threats, bullying and (documented!) document-shredding DIDN'T WORK. http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/64459 You think 2billion is enough though? Once Disney realized they might actually lose Pooh, they went crazy apeshit with the marketing of items with him and his friends on it. They probably make 2 billion off him in 2 months, much less the years they've held him hostage.

Hee.

I get what you meant. He's saying if Lego's so <insert that tiresome argument>, then what the heck's a UCS Falcon doing there? Alot of stuff is "dumbed down" both in content (castles that are a WALL with 2 protruding walls on the sides) and in large, too-specific parts (Bionicle pieces, castle walls, rock faces)... but the fact remains that there's still plenty of tiny parts to go around. You can still build as complex as your mind allows you to. You don't need an instruction booklet for it. I do sympathize on the concept that new fans and kids are missing out on learning complex configurations, but heck... it doesn't mean that ability has been removed from Lego. If, say, you had a Transformers robot who one year took 5 minutes to transform and was highly detailed, followed by next year's model "auto-transforming" from the spring-loaded push of a button... yes, yes THAT would be bad. Lego is timeless though. Until they stop making bricks in high quality, anti-aging plastic... it's still Lego. Sure, Lego went all Dragonball Z with faces and stuff, but I don't think it drags the play experience down as badly as alot of AFoLs say. I remember my brother's space sets in the late 70's... everyone was smiling. As I've said before, Lego faces looked like "child's learning toys", so sterile that they should have been stocked on the toy shelves mixed in Playmobil. I ask you... as a young kid, did you not do or at the very least want to whip out a pen and draw "better" faces on them? I sure did. It just made sense. When I saw Alpha Team's dynamic faces, my only gripe (and a small one) was that they added microphones next to some of their mouths. THAT'S an example of cutting down on playability, not the dynamic expression or detail, the fact that you couldn't hide the microphones under different hair or hats. The new faces though, ... I LOVE them. Similarly though, there's definitely a NEED for the classic smilies. I'll explain... When you walk around on a city street, you probably look at everyone walking by as just a bunch of identical forms moving about... UNTIL one person catches your eye for being different to your interest. I don't think someone's cityscape would be harmed by a bunch of smilie figs doing their thing with a small scattering of the more detailed newer faces. And think about this... Lego's minifig tools have graduated from space-cone guns to legitimate weapons. Would it not be kind of twisted to have a smiling gunman caught in time shooting a smiling victim? Shouldn't that victim be allowed to show more horrified expression or anger than simply tilting backwards a few degrees and raising their arms in the air? Shouldn't that gunman be allowed anger or some other emotion? I dunno'... dynamic faces just make sense... as do smilies. One's incomplete without the other.