AFOL A Blocumentary from AFOL on Vimeo.

Directed by Jess Gibson, AFOL: A Blocumentary is a 30 minute film that examines the appeal of Lego for adults, and the innerworkings and thought processes that occupy these very fans. As an AFOL myself i've heard the "but Lego is a child's toy!" on a number of occasions, and while this film does address that, it's the creations made by these people and their enthusiasm for the hobby that quickly dispel this very thinking. It's a really nice video that truly explains the appeal and joy of the brick.  (via)

A Lego Rose.

 Based on a design by Joe Meno / Given to someone rather lovely.

The ForbiddenCove.com Jolly Roger Contest

Proving once again that building for online Lego contests is a sport you just can't quit, FC kicks off 2010 with the biggest Pirate theme contest the interwebs have ever seen. Yep, say goodbye to January Richard- it's time to break out the bricks...again.

For my parents' Christmas I decided i'd go a little unorthodox and buy them a Lego set. Me buying a Lego set is nothing out of the ordinary, me buying one for someone else, is. Winter Toy Shop was the set in question- released by The Lego Group specifically for the holiday season, and presumably, in small numbers. One was also bought for myself- either for building, for the collection, or for the super secret Lego time-capsule -read: my wardrobe- a fate yet to be decided.

But anyway, it's always great seeing others build, especially those so umm..."out of the process". I've been building with Lego for fifteen years so it's obviously natural to me, but here was two people who hadn't actually played with the brick since Richard was a very little boy. What followed was arguing, dispute and a neatly organised table of bricks by colour as proposed by the opening page of the instructions. But more than that, what was clearly a 1x4 green plate became a "four studder", and radar dishes were "round things", the kinda incorrect trivialities that would only annoy actual trivial Lego fans. To make matters even worse, both of them had differing ideas for the names of each kind of piece.

Such a momentous task even prompted the usage of reading glasses, but two hours in, and the actual building was yet to be started, let alone finished. A small part of me is interested in sneaking down early tomorrow morning and building some more, but that would completely ruin the scientific investigation, and thus render the project as faulty.

Definitely a project worth watching.

Ten years ago in 1999 Dorling Kindersley published The Ultimate LEGO Book- a comprehensive and detailed history of the development and growth of both the Lego brick and The Lego Group. I've no idea where I was at the time, but I bought it on holiday as soon as I saw it. It came at a time when I was admittedly getting too old for Lego and entering my "dark age" of the interest, but it provided lots of memories and enjoyment through flicking and questing through the pages. Ten years later and DK have updated with a new two-part book simply titled The Lego Book.

As with the 1999 Ultimate, the book is an exploration of all things Lego, from the very beginnings in wooden toys to the electronic, licensed and diverse range of Lego we have now. The book starts with these very different beginnings showing timelines of bricks and figures as new ones were introduced, before moving on to cover themes in more depth. The final section of the book looks at the wider Lego world, so includes things like art and sculptures, the recent videogames and of course the parks themselves.

Of most interest to me was the theme development, showing the significant changes between the very first castles, police stations and pirate ships to what we have now. The section on Castle is understandably diverse, beginning with the basic classic knights, moving onto Wolfpack and Forestmen territory before arriving to where we are now, a theme with fantastical elements such as dragons, wizards and trolls.

The minifigs across these themes are something covered in more depth in the accompanying Standing Small: A celebration of thirty years of the minifigure. Like the ongoing changes shown by the sets in the previous book, the pages here are devoted to the evolution of the minifig from the prototype to the present and then again in outlining all the different doctors/police theme specific figs over the years or decades. Next to them are facts and "Did You Know?"ses which are genuinely interesting, ranging from obvious factoids to pointless yet fascinating trivia. The book is sadly a little incomplete, ignoring specific themes like Ninja, but as with The Lego Book, the art, photography, design and layout are all excellent.

Completing the DK/Lego releases is Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary. I'll be honest, i'm not really a big enough Star Wars fan or one the book was perhaps tailored to, but it's still enjoyable for me all the same, at least in regards to the Lego. Over the last ten years the Star Wars license has completely changed Lego bringing in a multitude of new fans and dragging many back to the toy for the first time in perhaps decades. It's of course paved the way for an increase in licensed themes. Harry Potter, Batman and Indiana Jones all being obvious examples, and the latter, a personal favourite.

The book is designed differently from the other two, focussing on certain entities such as characters or factions within the universe. Obi Wan Kenobi has a page spread showing the different minifig iterations and also the ships/sets he's piloted/appeared in. Species such as Gungans and Wookies too have their own sections, as does Stormtroopers and the Clone Wars and all sorts of groups that goes completely over my head. Nonetheless, it's a good read- that the book exists in itself shows the impact the license has had on Lego I think.

All three books are fascinating, complimenting both the toy and the interest, naturally a worthy purchase of anyone who loves the brick. The books are informative, interesting, and incredibly visual but most of all generally up to date and accurate. As time moves on and TLG continue to grow and redefine themselves, it's inevitable that a newer book will be out after the next ten years have passed. If it's anything like these or those before it, this is certainly good news.

Whoever suggested that unemployment was easy, was clearly lying, as the last few weeks have been pretty busy. The bad news is that yes, i'm still unemployed, but the good news is i've kept myself busy enough to prevent going insane from it all.

For the last few days i've been busy typing up my end of course assessment project -which doubles as the exam. The essay makes up a considerable percentage of the total score, so a pass is pivotal. Following the theme given to us as "conflict and identity" I chose to cover war graves and memorials and the effect they had on national identity. The researching and writing was pretty hard work and certainly recurring, but part of me is going to miss writing it.

Alongside that, i've been building too, you know, to keep the sides of my brain balanced and shit. Over at Classic Castle (as ever) a challenge was issued to build a castle within the pretty tight dimensions of 32x32 studs. Normally when it comes to castles or towers i'll be well beyond this size, but scaling down and still getting everything to fit on the base was a nice variation. Equally interesting was the entries of everyone else, and with no prizes or anything to be gained at all from entering it was fun. Sansalias is the end result.

Over the next few weeks i've got to finish my current course, and seriously step up attempts to get in shape- me? exercise? Yes. I've got a few months off from studying shortly after before I get to dip back into archaeology, but any preconceptions anyone may have about unemployment being all daytime TV and sleeping on the couch are clearly wrong.

I'm thankful for that.