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Random lego thoughts
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Jun. 1st, 2008 @ 11:59 pm
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The new "Agents" sets seem reasonably cool, but in my own mental Legoland, I will continue to fold them into the older "Alpha Team" theme. It's good that, for a change, the bad guys seem to outnumber the good. However, there's still an appalling gender imbalance, with only one female character to nine males, and in one of the only two sets she appears in, it's as the "Agent in distress". Legoland Still Needs Women! And it's cool that 4 of the bad guys are cyborgs, but how come none of the good guys are? Obviously, this is still more evidence of our culture's pervasive anti-transhuman prejudice.
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If you think Bill O'Reilly is annoying...
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May. 20th, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
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Think how bad his producer must have it.
Also, the new ant pieces from the Indian Jones Lego sets can be combined with a decapitated minifig to make a decent Khepri:
I've also finally gotten around to un-screening my "unscreen this if i'm dead right now" posts from Iraq. Well, they're still friends-locked, but anyway. There are fewer than I remember, so I must have forgotten to tag some of them, and I'll have to go through my posts manually now to find them all. Oh well. And BTW, this is NOT a subtle cry for help, I feel surprisingly un-suicidal right now.
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OMG! Nazi Legos!
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Dec. 6th, 2007 @ 06:11 pm
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No, really! They're the villains in some of the new Indiana Jones sets. Now, they're not labeled as Nazis. They have no distinguishing Nazi insignia, and look like generic military grunt types. But we, the audience, know that they are, in fact, Nazis. We can also confidently predict that some moron's going to make a fuss and try and get Lego to stop selling them, and they just might succeed. So buy 'em now.
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Mini me.
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Aug. 13th, 2007 @ 11:13 am
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The new Lego Minimizer is even cooler than the old, 'cuz it has Guns and Booze!
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"Step on Drider!"
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Aug. 7th, 2007 @ 09:42 am
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Behold the glory of my completed lego Drider:
The only thing I'm not happy with is that I wanted to have him bend and twist at the "waist", but there was no way to do that without having it look crappy. Ah well, I suppose there are limits even to my awesome skill. And humility, don't forget that part.
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| » Yes, I CAN Has Drider! |
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I can has lolspeak too!
For those not in the know, a Drider is a Drow who failed the tests of their evil Demon Goddess Lolth, and was cursed to live as a half-elf, half-spider monstrosity. Furthermore, this beautiful creation of mine serves as a perfect rebuke to those fools who claim that lego pieces have gotten "too specialized". 10 years ago, it would have been impossible for me to create such a wondrous vision, as the pieces required did not yet exist. But now! We are truly living in the Golden Age.
The only thing I need to do now is get some color matching done, and find a better face and hairpiece. If I'd been able to afford the Star Wars Sandcrawler set, a Jawa head would be perfect, but I'm not spending 8 bucks to get that one piece used, and the set itself is still too pricey on ebay, alas.
Aug. 5th, 2007 @ 12:52 am
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| » Behold the Awesome Power of LegoGorgon! |
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Eater of souls!
You will notice that he's anatomically correct, in that he has two tails just like his big brother.
And he is to minifigure scale, not that the puny minifigs have much chance of stopping his fell rampage.
Still needs some pieces to be different colors, but overall, a fine half-hour's work.
Jul. 21st, 2007 @ 09:16 am
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| » Todd Goldman is still an Art "Thief"*. |
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Cross-posted to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) legos
"Oh, what a cool picture!"
"I think I will draw the exact same one and put my name on it!"
For an explanation, go here, and for vast amounts of other meme-sheep art, check out the links here. Hmm, people may think the term "Meme-sheep" is insulting. How about "Meme-slut" instead? ;-)
*Why did I put the word "thief" in quotes, you ask? Simple: I don't believe that so-called "intellectual property" has the same moral status that real property does. "But artists deserve to be paid for their work!" you say? You're right, they do, but so do cab driver, and no one would claim that a customer who cheated a cabbie out of his fare was "stealing" a ride the same way that a shoplifter steals physical goods. Both are equally wrong and damaging to the victim, both deserve equal punishment, but they are _not_ the same.
Personally, I think we would be much better off thinking of art, software, etc. as "Intellectual services" instead. Much less cognitive dissonance involved.
Apr. 26th, 2007 @ 05:08 pm
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| » Lego-Tech |
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Here are the updated versions of my Robotech lego projects. Know this, when you look upon their Glory: It is only beginning!
( Look upon my Bricks, ye mighty, and despair! )
Well, that's it for now. Next up shall be the rest of the Invid Mecha, then some Robotech Master Bioroids. Eventually, I suppose I'll do some good guys too...
Mar. 14th, 2007 @ 07:19 am
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| » Yes, I know, I'm awesome. |
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I have now created an Invid Scout model. Behold!
( More pics behind cut. They'll blow your <bleep>in' mind )
Well, that's that. A few moments of spontaneous praise for my brilliance would not be inappropriate right now.
For my next minor project, I'll build an Invid Shock trooper. This one won't be entirely accurate, though, as many of the pieces I need have never been made in purple.
As for my next _major_ project... BricKt'hulhu. While too angular to be non-euclidean, he'll be every bit as squamous and rugose as the original.
Feb. 16th, 2007 @ 07:16 pm
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| » I am just too cool. |
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Sometimes I worry that my sheer awesomeness may actually be dangerous, that it might overwhelm my mortal frame, and cause my body to burst like a hyperinflated balloon. I can only hope that when this happens, there are no innocent bystanders around. Only those who _deserve_ immolation...
Why am I so awesome at this specific moment in time? Because I finished my Logan Veritech!
( Read more behind the cut. You know you want to. )
Speaking of Robotech, everyone who's even vaguely interested in anime should go out and watch Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. Buy a copy, or rent it repeatedly. I wouldn't recommend stealing it, but if you do, leave a note exhorting the victim of your larceny to buy another copy.
I'd be lying if I said it was wholly satisfying; After 20 years of anticipation, the movie could have come with a free stripper and a keg, and it wouldn't _quite_ be enough. But it was still quite good. Though I disagree with _some_ of the plot developments, I suppose it's only natural that the writers changed things around, lest they be accused of ripping off the novel, comic book, and fanfic authors who have gone before. I am very much looking forward to what we'll see if a whole new series gets made. They're planning on doing one, but that can ONLY happen if DVD sales justify the expense. So get buying/renting/stealing, people!
Elsewhere on teh Intarweb:
Weed turns you into a muppet, Yet ANOTHER Gay Evangelist scandal, Another vaccine for the fundies to whine about, Illegal Immigrants blames for resurgence of neo-nazis, and finally, Faux News says Obama would have been pro-slavery. How stupid do they think their audience is, anyway? And how justified are they in that belief?
Feb. 11th, 2007 @ 10:53 pm
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| » The great sorting continues |
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I figure I'm about 3/4 of the way through with organizing my Legos. Soon as I'm done, I shall embark on a great-yet-relatively-modest project: a more or less minifig scale, transformable Logan from Robotech. For accuracy's sake, it should be tan, but some of the pieces I'll need for it don't come in that color. Or do they....?
In other geeky news, I'm enjoying the current series of "Transformers" comics more than I thought. They lack the campy fun of the originals, but they're actually intelligently written, and as realistic as a comic about giant transforming robots can be. For example, Megatron and Optimus Prime actually behave like _real_ leaders. Megs doesn't cackle or engage in mindless malice, and Prime understands the concepts of "acceptable losses" and "collateral damage". Simon Furman seems to have overcome his earlier limitations as a writer... Can I, then, do less?
Elsewhere, Bloggers vs brownshirts, God hates _a_ fag, How the Ex-gay movement really works, Crazy Harry plays with electricity, Some HONEST televangelists, Welcome to Law School, and finally, use condoms.
Jan. 25th, 2007 @ 10:39 pm
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| » 1 down, 3 to go. |
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Of the four footlockers full of legos in my collection, 1 is now sorted and stored in clear plastic storage thingies. Before I continue, I think I'm gonna need more thingies. I would never have started on this project if I hadn't accidentally locked myself out of my apartment, and then had to spend several hours down in the basement waiting for my roommate (who works nights) to wake up. :-/ Well, I would have gotten to it _eventually_, but who knows how much procrastinating I'd have done first?
Jan. 21st, 2007 @ 05:26 am
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| » Some Day.... |
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Some day, the Lego corporation will expand the current "Lego Creator" concept to a "brick-on-demand" service, where you will be able to order any brick you want, in any color needed. At that point, it will be possible to mass-order the transparent/translucent bricks needed to build such wonderful projects as the Palace of the High Ones, or an optically camouflaged Tachikoma. When that glorious time comes to pass, geeks everywhere will rejoice.
Speaking of Ghost in the shell, one of the neat things I've noticed about the "Stand Alone Complex" series is that optically camouflaged characters really _do_ become more noticeable when they move. I thought that was a neat touch. Something that I found highly annoying, though: For an elite paramilitary unit, Section Nine has _lousy_ muzzle discipline. They 'flag' each other _all_the_damned_time_. I don't care how advanced the fire-control capacities of their weapons and artificial cyber-bodies are, the whole unit is a frindly-fire Darwin Award waiting to happen. This would't be so jarring, if the rest of the show wasn't so realistic. But ASIDE from that, the series is great, and everyone should watch it.
Oct. 28th, 2006 @ 11:42 pm
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| » More CthuLegos, |
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I absolutely _must_ track down the creator of this scene, and devour his pineal gland so that the powers of the Legonomicon can be mine. As a fellow Lego & Lovecraft fan, I'm sure he'll understand.
Speaking of lego fandom, I'm somewhat annoyed. I just found pictures of another Johnny 5, built by someone in Taiwan. It was posted shortly after _someone_ in taiwan clicked on _my_ Johnny five. Coincidence? I think not! Now, his Johnny Five doesn't really look like mine, being much better articulated and detailed, and also being about twice as tall as a minifig, so it's not like I'm jealous or anything. Now, if his was better detailed and articulated _and_ still minifig sized, that would be another story. But he should at least have given me a courtesy pointer, a "Hey, I got the idea from this guy!" link. If he had, I would reciprocate. But he _didn't_, so I'll be damned if I send any traffic his way. This concludes our daily drama.
Oct. 15th, 2006 @ 10:16 am
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| » Semi-random links |
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"Most Iraqis Favor Immediate U.S. Pullout, Polls Show
BAGHDAD, Sept. 26 -- A strong majority of Iraqis want U.S.-led military forces to immediately withdraw from the country, saying their swift departure would make Iraq more secure and decrease sectarian violence, according to new polls by the State Department and independent researchers."
So, that means we have to leave, right? I mean, if it's a War of Liberation, and the people you Liberated tell you to leave, you're sorta obliged...
"Four charged in graffiti spree.
South Congress Avenue businessman Brandon Hodge doesn't care if he never sees the names Gimix, Scope, Radar or Zenac again... Hodge wondered who the graffiti artists were, so the president of the 60-member South Austin Merchants Association, acting on a hunch, logged onto myspace.com and poked around to see if any of them had a personal Web page on the popular hosting site."
And they did. Complete with incriminating photos. I hope they get extra punishment for sheer retardedness...
"Tattoo in prison makes molester a marked man.
CARLISLE, Ind. -- An inmate serving life in prison for molesting and killing 10-year-old Katie Collman is now the subject of an investigation into how he ended up with the tattoo "Katie's Revenge" emblazoned across his forehead."
As prison tattoos go, it was a pretty good one too. Nice, clean lines, looks like it won't fade or blur. My complements to the artist. (Evil grin)
In current events, Kip Hawley Is An Idiot. Going back to the news of a month ago, the liquid bomb plot was completely unfeasible. _I_ already knew that, having read the Poor Man's James Bond cover to cover. Further back in history, Why did Thomas Jefferson Hate America?
More important than all this foolishness, behold the glory of the Lego Hall of Justice. I wish I could take credit for it. But when I build my Lego Tachikoma, my place in Geek Lore shall be assured!
Oct. 1st, 2006 @ 03:42 am
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| » Legos are kewl. |
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Got the new Lego catalog, and of course my nephews destroyed it immediately. Before entropy prevailed, I managed to read it, and see the cool summer releases that are now available. Of particular note is the Ultimate Collector Series AT-ST. At 17 1/2 inches, it's roughly the size of a 1/40th scale Zentraedi Battlepod, and has similar proportions. Hmmm. Just looking at the pictures, it would seem that the AT-ST has no joints in the legs. I want my Battlepod to be fully poseable, but the standard Lego "clicky joints" might not be strong enough. I may be forced to build some technic contraption instead. :-P
After I'm finished building Zentraedi mecha, I'll do the Robotech Masters and the Invid. The Masters should be easy, as their Bioroids will be the exact same height as the currently existing Exo Force mechs. The Invid will be slightly more challenging, with a Scout being 2 1/2 inches, and a Trooper being 4 1/2, but the rest of them should be easy. The biggest problem with the Trooper might be finding enough purple bricks, as purple is the rarest of the main lego colors.
I'll only do RDF, Southern Cross, and REF mecha after I'm done with the bad guys. A quick Brickshelf search will find more than a dozen Valkyrie Veritechs, and even 2 Cyclones (The minifig scale cyclones are, of course, non-transformable, but still pretty sweet. If Lego could be induced to make official Robotech sets, then they could make the necessary special parts for transformable Cyclones...), but only one Battle Pod and 2 barely decent Invid. I shall do my part to remedy this sad lack, and only THEN shall I make human mecha.
The only Veritechs that I'll be able to make transformable at minifig scale are the Valkyrie and the Logan; The rest have transformations that are too complex to build at that scale. Ah well, some day...
Not that any of this matters, because within the next six hours you will _ALL_BE_DESTROYED_! Oh, you had your chance to buy your souls back from "Bob", but you chose to mock the Chosen OverPeople instead. Puny Pinks. :-P
Jul. 5th, 2006 @ 05:54 pm
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| » Legoland also needs more brown people. |
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3 years ago, Lego did a series of NBA tie-in minifigures. Of them, 2 were pink, 5 were dark pink or tan, and 25 were brown. A little bit lopsided, but it's basketball, so I guess it's accurate. Then, however, Lego makes the monumentally bad decision to start doing the movie tie-in minifigs in real skin colors too, thus bringing the spectre of race into the colorblind utopia that was legoland. Since then, there have been 5 brown minifigs, 1 tan, and _51_ pink. 3 of the browns are nameless minions, only Mace Windu and Lando Calrissian are important. Clearly, this is an outrage not to be borne. Maybe it's the weak scandinavian sunlight that's responsible? Perhaps they should install sunlamps in the minifig-breeding pens...
Mar. 30th, 2006 @ 02:56 pm
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| » Holy )(*^$%. |
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I am not even worthy to be on the same planet as the guy who built this. A minifig scale lego aircraft carrier. Complete with full complement of aircraft. And crew. And internal detailing. Seeing something like this can either enflame and inspire one's imagination for years to come, or force one to realize the utter soul-crushing insignifigance of one's own achievements.
Mar. 29th, 2006 @ 11:03 pm
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| » GLEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Batman Legos are out! So far, exclusively at Toys-R-Us, but they should be in general release soon. And speaking of legos:
( Johnny Five is alive! )
( TERMINATE! )
( NO DISASSEMBLE! )
Mar. 29th, 2006 @ 08:20 pm
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