Meanwhile, my LEGO kick continues! :-)

And what a nice kick it is.

Even though my greatest interest in LEGO bricks remains with LEGO Space sets, especially those released between 1978 and 1999, I’ve never been closed minded to other eras and other genres. Having recently created a document titled “My Ideal LEGO SPACE Collection” for my own reference, I’ve noted that 240 Space sets were released in that era, and through cutting out duplicates, Product Collections, Super Model Building Instructions and the like, I was able to get that number down to 200. But if, by some act of magic, I was able to acquire such a collection, I’d more than likely end up with a further 16 sets from the LEGO Town, Pirates and Castle ranges, since certain sets were only available in Bonus/Value Packs.

Other sets which stood out for me from that era were the $AU4.00 ones, sold in boxes approximately 7cm x 7cm x 4cm in size, and introduced back in 1990. I had the good fortune of purchasing a dozen of these when they were first released, and I was thankful to be able to acquire four more from a local retailer called Toy Corner a number of years ago. And having catalogued these releases by saving a number of pictures to my hard drive, I’ve found that any attempt to purchase all 66 of them could actually leave me with 68 sets, due to set number 1624 being part of a Castle Value Pack.

I must also admit that I have a soft spot for racing cars in the Town genre, and on account of having six identically designed – yet differently coloured – cars between them, these three items would be great to have. Ditto for this little racer, largely due to sharing its design with set number 2886.

One more thing: with the massive expansion in the range of LEGO Minifigures in recent years, I can’t help but smile whenever I see pictures of them. And I have to say that if figures such as this one -

- and this one -

- were real women, I’ll bet they’d be red hot.

I needed luck, and I received it! ;-)

First and foremost, I’m immensely relieved that the second lot of $160 that was effectively taken from me by that errant ATM is back in my account, and has been since this past Friday. And as thankful as I am that this little crisis is over, I certainly hope that it never happens again.

And secondly, the visit to the good old Palace on that same day proved to be another good one. It was great to have baby Rose once again – in fact, it’s always great to have her company – and I hope she likes the little “Wanted” poster I created on my computer for her recently. Though I must stress that the picture in question is just a lovely, funny thing I’ve wanted to do for a while, and out of respect for my blooming playmate, I won’t be posting it here.

Moreover, I was due for another dance with Aura, and luckily, that’s exactly what transpired not long before Rose’s show on the back stage. However, I didn’t get to touch base with young Amy on account of her being absent, and considering how she was feeling the last time I was with her, I understand that completely. Let’s just hope that nothing too serious has happened to her in recent times.

Meanwhile, today has been somewhat eventful as well. Having received a call from my father last night, I paid him a visit at his Murray Bridge home once more, having lunch, a few chats, and watching – wait for it – The Longest Yard. Which is in sharp contrast to what I’ll be up to tomorrow:

1. A date with the ironing board;

2. Applying for a few more jobs; and

3. Anticipating a new Seven News Adelaide intro.

Many thoughts to chart here……

…… so here goes:

1. I’ve taken up the option of acquiring a ticket to the Bon Jovi concert at AAMI Stadium through BigPond Tickets, and as an unexpected bonus, Kid Rock will be the support act. Let’s hope that “I am the Bullgod” and “American Badass” are in his set list, since I think those two songs are his finest;

2. My mother’s off to Sydney for a few weeks tomorrow, and since my maternal grandparents don’t have a computer, saying so here shouldn’t ruin the surprise for them. That being said, however, my uncles, aunts and cousins do have computers, so just in case any of them find this blog, I’m trusting them to keep the secret;

3. I’m still keeping my eyes peeled for a new opener for Seven News in Adelaide, and I’m hoping that this coming Monday will be the day. And if so, then I won’t be surprised if the new headline transitions I’ve been noticing in the Melbourne and Sydney bulletins of late are adopted here as well; and

4. With a hopefully rosy Palace visit on the cards for tomorrow night, I can now say that the likelihood of my brother’s Bucks’ Night celebrations occurring therein is very high. With the best man having relocated to Canberra for a few months on a temporary work contract, another friend has taken on the responsibility of organising things, and while there’s still no obligation to follow through on any suggestions I might make, a phone call to me may be on the cards nonetheless.

As easy as I am to spot on a normal Palace visit, I’ll most definitely stand out in any location on the Bucks’ Night, since we’ll all be wearing fake antlers and specially printed T-shirts with nicknames and guernsey/jersey numbers. In my case, “The Big Walbowski” (a pun on both The Big Lebowski, and Sean “Val Venis” Morley’s secondary wrestling handle, “The Big Valbowski”) will be the nickname, and instead of a number, I’ll have the letter “X” (a la Bill Goldberg’s character, Joey “Battle” Battaglio, in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard) printed on my T-shirt.

I never thought I’d ever find myself doing this……

…… but in light of the existence of this thread at TFW2005, and the number of former members named therein, I have to say it: Thank you. Thank you for not bringing me into it, because I know only too well how monstrous some things I said back then really were, and it’s not something I like to think about.

Furthermore, if someone asked me what I thought the most critical and grievous error I made while posting on such sites was, it wouldn’t be any of the following:

A. Throwing in with the wrong people/cliques;

B. Making friends who would turn out to be of the fair weather variety;

C. Saying things so far out of left field that they’d make me a target for ridicule, and in some cases, outright harassment;

D. Getting on the wrong side of certain staff, on account of not being able to predict how they’d take even the most harmless remark about them; or

E. Daring to speak out about non-staff who could get away with anything.

Instead, it would be this:

F. Dropping my real name in such open forums in the first place.

And here’s why: because it made it more difficult to distance myself from any transgressions on one board upon joining another than using an alias would. To say nothing about the possibility of any Internet-savvy employers back then finding places in which I wasn’t always well behaved, and therefore using it as an excuse not to hire me, since I’m certain that this method of blackballing was occurring long before Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, WordPress and other forms of social media were even conceived. Of course, I grant that even a blog entry such as this could have a similar effect, but with the proliferation of social media and the ability to turn the tables that such tools can bring, I’d say the chances of that are much slimmer now.

As for whether or not I’ll return to posting on any message board of any description, the answer still has to be no. My inclination to take the piss out of certain people and phenomena – even in a nice way – would still be too great to resist, and I’d find myself doing these things very often:

1. Butting heads with Bronies, since many of them are only too keen to make their presence known in pretty much any popular culture forum these days, and their signatures and avatars serve to force their love of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic down the throats of those who can’t stand it; and

2. Knocking people who prefer third party items over official products, and if the news sections on a number of Transformers boards are any guide, even the most jovial gags such as suggesting “Where Third Party News Comes First!” for a tagline could provoke hostile responses from members and staff.

Besides, having collected 67 newer Transformers figures and reissues/redecos in the last six years, with plans to cap that figure at 72, walking the walk is much more pleasant than talking the talk.

“I am Tiberius of Borg. Resistance is futile.”

If it were up to me, that quote would be heard in the third Star Trek film in this new continuity (and the thirteenth overall), which will most likely be released in late 2016 in order to capitalise on the 50th Anniversary of the Star Trek franchise. However, I know only too well that it’s not up to me, and that a group of blokes named Abrams, Burk, Kurtzman, Lindelof and Orci will have the final say. What I can say, though, is that if they don’t get William Shatner involved somehow – after all, he still has at least eight years left in him if you ask me, as does Leonard Nimoy, whose involvement is probably locked and loaded already – I’ll consider it a slap in the face not only to long time fans such as myself, but to newer ones brought in by the rebooted films as well.

One idea I’ve read about on this site in recent times is this: it could turn out that the Kirk Prime who assisted Picard against Soran and died in Star Trek Generations was not the original, but a doppelgänger created by the Temporal Nexus, thus meaning that the real Kirk Prime may still be residing on the other side of a certain ribbon of energy. As sound as the idea may be from a pure science fiction perspective, it may prove to be too far fetched for the wider audience that these films are now targeting. And since it was firmly established in Generations that the energy ribbon moves through space, without mentioning any possibility of it travelling through linear time or in and out of other timelines, that could make the notion absurd even for the hardcore sci-fi buffs.

Therefore, I still think that bringing William Shatner’s Kirk Prime into this new timeline as Tiberius of Borg would be the most practical idea, even if it means canonising his “Shatnerverse” novels into the prime timeline and tying up those plot threads by way of a limited series by IDW Publishing. Of course, if he can write said comics himself – albeit with assistance from his long term collaborators Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens – then so be it, and having a member of the Q Continuum as an important character therein would make things really interesting.

That slight digression aside, here’s how a return could happen:

1. Having been found by the Borg on Veridian III in the 24th Century of the prime timeline, brought back from the dead, and assimilated into the Borg Collective, the newly-christened Tiberius of Borg is used as a tool with which to destroy the Federation in the past;

2. The Borg’s temporal vortex technology then malfunctions, leaving them in the intended target year of 2263, but in the “Abramsverse” timeline;

3. A triggering image or event compromises Tiberius, and it causes the Borg to sever their link with Tiberius and try to kill him;

4. The re-individualised Kirk Prime escapes, but crashes his escape ship on a nearby planet, causing him to send a distress signal;

5. The Enterprise investigates, leading to certain discoveries, explanations and comedic moments (such as Bones or Spock saying “Jim?” and both Kirks saying “Yes?” in response ); and

6. Having retained his Borg abilities and knowledge, Kirk Prime uploads all the information needed to defeat the Borg and restore him to full humanity into the Enterprise’s computers, leading to a Federation victory.

I realise that in the opinions of some, much of the above may fly in the face of my rant about rehashing in an earlier post. But as far as I know, a battle between the Borg and the Federation in the 23rd Century has never actually been done before on the big screen, the small screen, or in print.

As for why I’m offering these ideas now, it’s because my viewing of Star Trek Into Darkness yesterday was so enjoyable that it’s made me think of Star Trek’s endless possibilities once more. That said, you can easily guess what I’ll be up to next Tuesday afternoon (i.e., seeing it again, if only to pick up on any small details I may have missed), and it’ll be added to my DVD collection when the time comes.

It’s good to have something happen ahead of schedule for a change……

In this case, Fortress Maximus arrived a day early, and as I type this, the Autobot giant stands on my chest of drawers, waiting to be labelled. And there are a lot of labels, I must say. Also, I’m happy to say that any quality control issues thus far have been very, very minor, with only the common ones popping up such as Spike’s thighs being assembled back to front, a few joints being loose, and a few being a tad tight. No biggie, I suppose; I’m just happy to have a childhood dream come true at last.

Meanwhile, I wish I could say the same about that sum of $160 which remains missing from my account after almost two months. I’ve done all I can on my end, and I don’t want to have to bring the Ombudsman in on this or be forced to take my banking elsewhere due to the shortcomings of some (but not all) of the staff I’ve spoken to about things. Hell, there are still times when I think my attempts to assist them and clarify things have been more hindering than helpful, and I certainly hope that the cash is back where it belongs (i.e., with me) sooner rather than later.

Speaking of delays, and returning to the subject of Transformers, I’m sparing many thoughts for those people who are still waiting to receive their Subscription Service figures from the Official Transformers Collectors’ Club. Based on factors such as:

1. Diminishing returns at BotCon year after year;

2. Less people renewing and/or signing on for memberships;

3. Frequently delayed releases of exclusive toys;

4. Lack of consistent communication regarding any issues;

5. Failure to embrace the most effective technology and business practices; and

6. General buck passing, and in some cases, even blaming customers for certain problems;

I still think that as of January 2015, Fun Publications should be relieved of the right to run both BotCon AND the Collectors’ Club. Because I just can’t see any of the above problems being ironed out under the present management, and having:

A. Brian Savage become Glen Hallit Version 2.0; and

B. BotCon becoming Oatfuck Version 2.0;

are the last things that any Transformers fan should want to happen.

*Mmmph!* *Help!* *Women and children first!* :-)

A batty title, I know, but it’s another series of things I like to say to ladies during dances in order to keep a light mood. And very appropriate in summing up how things went at the good old Palace last night, I might add.

First of all, the gorgeous Rose was indeed on deck, and she appreciated the equally rosy gift I had for her, though I won’t be awarding any prizes for guessing what it was. Besides, I’d have to give out a lot of prizes, since I must confess that I’ve become a tad predictable in getting her Roses chocolates anyhow. In any case, if baby Rose has any other gift suggestions for me, I’m all ears.

Secondly, Amy was present, and as it turned out, she wasn’t actually at a party last time; it was a family visit instead. Still, it was nice to have her again, and since she wasn’t feeling too great, I did my best to make her feel more at ease.

In an unexpected turn, however, Aura did actually turn up, and in light of what’s been happening lately, I felt bad about not being able to have her for a dance this time around, money-wise. Oh well: the plan to have her again on the 17th remains in place, so I look forward to that with tremendous interest.

That aside, it’s time to focus on other matters:

1. My Transformers Encore #23 Fortress Maximus is in the country now, and I expect to have it by this coming Wednesday at the latest. And while I’m betting that a few very special Japanese reissues are on the cards for the 30th Anniversary of the Transformers brand next year (with G1 Scorponok, Trypticon, Overlord and the five Dinobots being heavily rumoured to be candidates), I still hope that the five characters I’ve suggested can be done in the Encore line before then;

2. That final Gumtree ad for certain DVDs of mine failed to have the desired effect, so I did indeed take them – along with the 30-disc rack – to Cash Converters at Golden Grove last week. As I was expecting, I only received $10 in total for them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the bloke who served me ended up keeping the Married With Children set for himself, since he’d been looking for it for some time; and

3. Surprisingly, the Bon Jovi concert planned for Adelaide is going to happen at AAMI Stadium on December 11th, rather than at Adelaide Oval after the Ashes Cricket Test. Which is fair enough in terms of the possibility of this being the last concert of this magnitude that AAMI Stadium will ever hold (unless a second show is announced, that is, though that’s unlikely), and I couldn’t think of a better sendoff. Also, it’ll be the first time I’ve ever set foot inside the venue, although I have driven past it more times than I care to remember!

My State of the Union address (although I’m not actually a union!) :-)

In no particular order:

1. The folks at BigBadToyStore are taking an unusually long time to ship the Transformers Encore #23 Fortress Maximus I ordered from them, and I have indeed been charged for it. Therefore, if no shipping notification reaches my Hotmail inbox by tomorrow, an e-mail may be necessary;

2. Seven News in Adelaide still doesn’t have the new-style opener yet, though I grant that it can take several weeks to create even a short animation such as that. So maybe a couple more weeks will be needed;

3. A prediction I’d made during my TWELVE25 days has come true: I believed that if Paula Edwards departed, my fellow volunteer Leesa Montgomery would be elevated to a paid position therein, and – for now, at least – she has been. As for how I know, it’s due to a phone call from Leesa earlier today, largely in order to get my answers for a long-overdue exit form, and I wouldn’t put it past Paula to have withheld it from me on purpose;

4. I received my copy of Hail from EzyDVD yesterday, and – surprise, surprise – I haven’t seen it for sale in any bricks-and-mortar stores here in Adelaide yet. Which is a shame, since it deserves all the viewers it can get, and it’s far superior to most of what Hollywood churns out these days;

5. I’m still $160 out of pocket, and that lost cash had better be back in my account by Friday, since it will have been four weeks since the revised dispute went through, and that’s how long it took for the first lot of $160 to be reimbursed. And besides, I need the cash for future expenses, such as renewing my driver’s licence next week; and

6. My rosy gift for baby Rose, which serves as an offer of thanks for her help in keeping the good thing I have with Aura going, is now wrapped and ready to be given to her on Friday night at the good old Palace. As for Aura, she’s notified me that she may be having the night off, and since I’m a tad overdue for Amy due to her absence last time, I’m sure she’ll be in that night.

I’ll be needing a lot of luck on a lot of fronts, methinks.

Blog posts don’t get much more constructive than this…… ;-)

I mean that in the literal sense, because I’ve been on a LEGO kick of sorts lately, and it’s brought back a lot of happy memories for me. Before I forget, though, I must declare that even though I live in South Australia, I don’t pronounce it as “LAY-GO” like the natives do, and the reason for that unique pronunciation here has escaped me. Maybe it has less to do with the name being derived from the Danish “leg godt” (meaning “play well”), and more to do with the coincidence of “lego” being the Latin – and, in turn, Italian – word for “I assemble/bind/join”. What I DO know for certain, however, is that the American habit of calling the bricks “LEGOS” instead of “LEGO bricks” is most bothersome, and I wish it would stop.

Of course, those who grew up with LEGO – and especially those who know of my inclinations in terms of toys, games and hobbies – will probably know what my favourite LEGO genre is without me having to say it, but I’ll say it anyway: LEGO Space. Even when it was first launched in late 1978, it was way ahead of its time, and it still was at the end of its unbroken run in 1999, when – if memory serves me correctly – it was forced to make way for the LEGO Star Wars sets. And although a few more Space-based themes have come and gone in the 21st Century, they seem – in my opinion, at least – to be more far fetched and over the top than their 20th Century predecessors. It’s almost as if the designers and creators have to do the imagining FOR their target market these days, instead of allowing those with vivid imaginations – and I hope the majority of those children fit that description – to exercise them.

It’s just as well, in that case, that my childhood was pretty much in synchronisation with what’s become known as the Classic Space range, which was released between 1978 and 1987, and the Futuron, Blacktron I and Space Police I ranges, which carried the LEGO Space genre between 1987 and 1990. Oh, and before anyone asks, I do indeed own the 6990 Futuron Monorail, which ranks as one of LEGO’s greatest achievements in my book.

Of course, the themes from the 1990s – M:Tron, Blacktron II, Space Police II, Ice Planet 2002, Spyrius, Unitron, Exploriens, UFO, Roboforce and Insectoids – were pretty cool too, and I own a handful of sets from that era as well. However, the Classic sets still hold the largest place in my heart, and with that in mind, here are some pictures of a Classic Space-based ship I initially created several years ago, and with which I’ve tinkered in recent times. Enjoy.

An incredibly true proverb (especially in this case). ;-)

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

With the recent world premiere of Star Trek Into Darkness in Sydney, and the wealth of spoilers that came with it, it’s particularly apt here. I must advise you, viewers, that if you wish to remain unspoiled until next month’s official openings, here’s some space to enable you to stop reading now.

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Right then. For the rest of you, here we go:

1. While Leonard Nimoy does indeed reprise his role of Spock Prime in a short cameo, there’s no sign of William Shatner anywhere. Perhaps bringing back Kirk Prime in this instalment was too impractical for the story J.J. Abrams and Co. intend to tell, and perhaps resurrecting him as a Borg and having him come into this alternate timeline might be more appropriate for the third “Abramsverse” film. However, since J.J. is contracted to direct only one more Star Trek film after this, and he’ll be devoting the next two years of his life to directing Star Wars Episode VII (which I will not be seeing due to Disney’s ownership of Star Wars, and I’m sure they’ll have a much tighter grip on it content-wise than they would on any Marvel projects), I hope “The Shat” is still around to be in the next Star Trek film if asked. Luckily, Bill’s still far more sprightly than most 82-year-olds would be, so I think he could do it;

2. Sure, homages to what came before are all well and good, but these days, I’m getting the impression that adding fanwank is the only thing Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are capable of doing well, creatively speaking. Elements from two previous Star Trek movies – The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock – are blatantly rehashed this time around, but this time, Spock isn’t the one who dies in a ship’s reactor and is brought back by a plot device. Instead, it’s Kirk, and I guess that it could serve as a strong “UP YOURS!” to that arrogant putz Rick Berman, whose steadfast refusal to revive Kirk Prime in a future film surely played a significant role in Star Trek’s decline in the mid-to-late 90s and early-to-mid 2000s. Still, the scenario proves that being fresh and creative doesn’t put multiple arses in cinema seats, but being familiar and clichéd does, which can be tragic in certain cases if you ask me; and

3. For those of you who believed that Benedict Cumberbatch would be playing Khan Noonien Singh (a.k.a. John Harrison in this timeline) after all, and that Alice Eve would be playing Dr Carol Marcus, you’re absolutely correct. Whether or not she’ll fall pregnant to Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk and have a son named David is uncertain, but what I do know is that Khan does survive this film, and could return in the next one. Star Trek Into Conquest, Star Trek Into Vengeance or Star Trek: Second Chances, maybe?

So while I’ve still yet to see the execution thereof, the ideas have dampened my enthusiasm somewhat, and now it seems that in spite of the initial shake-up, a status quo is going to be maintained from this time forward. Nonetheless, I’ll see how things pan out on May 9th.