I saw The Force Awakens! Here are some short, spoiler-free thoughts:

I loved it. I loved seeing the old characters, but even more, I loved meeting the new ones. The heroes and villains are wonderful and the new characters have more personality and life to them than I expected. I love the mysteries. I love that there are now thousands of fan-theories about where this is going. And I love that we need to wait until 2017 to learn the answers to these mysteries.

There are people who hate the movie, or at least loudly proclaim that they hate it. And that’s fine. But if I gave these people a billion-million dollars, they could not create a better Star Wars movie than The Force Awakens. Some people are just being cranky because A) if you disagree with something, it makes you seem smarter and B) they hate everything and nothing is good.

Haters can try to tell me that this movie was terrible, that it was a retread of other films, that the film relied too much on coincidence. And yet nothing they say can travel back in time and wipe the smile from my face that popped up when the movie began and stayed with me the entire night.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, avoid spoilers if you can, but even if you know how it ends, it’s a whole different experience to see it for yourself.

And to top off the experience, now I get to open a cardboard door and play with tiny piles of Lego Star Wars pieces!

Today’s item is… Continue reading →

I’m seeing The Force Awakens today. That means I will never write another blog without knowing what happens in that movie. This is it.

I hope the first word of the opening text-crawl is “Hey!” or “Lando.”

While watching the original trilogy this month, my girlfriend noticed that a lot of Star Wars characters (Jawas, mostly) sound like Minions. If a Jawa in the new movie says, “Banana!” we’re both gonna lose it.

Let’s see what’s hiding in one of the last remaining doors of this above average Lego calendar!

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Yesterday’s item was amazing, and so I’m not expecting anything grand in today’s calendar box.

I’ve wrapped up another successful season of Power Pencils! I won’t be able to process any new orders until after Christmas. If you missed out, stop by the day after Christmas and use your gift cards on magic pencils. It’s the gift you really want!

Thank you all for the support! I hope you love the pencils and signs. I had fun making them, and more are on the way.

And now let’s rip open today’s door and find… Continue reading →

I need to make this quick. I shouldn’t even be on the computer. There are Star Wars spoilers worming their way through the internet, and as such, I must blind myself from social media and live in a dark, windowless room until I get a chance to see the movie.

But my work depends on internet access, so I must tread as carefully as possible, clicking only the websites necessary to accomplish my job.

This is your LAST DAY to order gifts from PowerPencils.com and get them delivered by Christmas. While some items sold out, there’s still tons of great stuff that will make everyone on your gift list happy and surprised. I have complete sets of Power Pencils, funny signs and more! If you get your order in by 8 p.m. tonight, I’ll make sure you get it by Christmas. (This applies only to US customers.)

If you’ve already ordered your items, thank you so much for the support! I make funny, magical things because I want to live in a world in which funny magical things exist. When someone buys something I made, it makes me feel like I’m not the only one who likes adding magic and silliness into this world. It warms the heart. And now a single joyful tear rolls down my cheek.

Speaking of joy tears, it’s Lego time. The calendar is getting lighter and lighter. What surprise awaits us today? Continue reading →

Long-time readers of this blog will know that today is my older brother’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Dave!

My brother and I loved Star Wars as kids. I remember when Return of the Jedi came out, my parents thought the movie would be too scary for me (and they were right, for I was a fearful child who would cry at most things), so I visited my grandparents while they took my brother to the movie.

When they got back, I got all the details. My brother told me about Jabba the Hutt and the speeder bikes, while mom’s big takeaway from the experience was, “Han and Princess Leia kiss!”

Imagine hearing about Jabba the Hutt second-hand. My mind could barely handle it.

I don’t remember the first time I saw Return of the Jedi. Because this was before we had a VCR, I think my first time seeing it must have been on TV. Before cable and DVDs existed, the big networks would show movies from time to time, about a year after the film’s theatrical run. They would make a big event out of it. “Tonight, for the first time on television, it’s Return of the Jedi!” And they would fill it with commercials, so a two-hour movie would last (seemingly) nine hours. It was a struggle to stay awake. Corrupt, sinister deals had to be made to delay bedtime.

And if you missed it, you were screwed.

Imagine that level of stress on a six year old.

While I don’t remember the first time seeing it, I do remember going over the plot with my brother, who explained that Lando was in disguise and that the Emperor was Darth Vader’s boss. I didn’t even know Vader had a boss! I thought he was the boss. I was a stupid child.

So thanks, Dave. You’re a great older brother.

Today’s Lego item is…
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You know who kicks all the Christmas ass?

This guy.

That’s King Moonracer, from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

He’s a lion with a wings and his name is Moonracer, which sounds like a Star Wars character. He’s the leader of the Island of Misfit Toys, and he deserves his own holiday special and annoyingly-catchy Christmas song.

Something like:

Up in sky there’s a Christmas beast
Looking down on what to feast
He watches over us, everyone
He has teeth and wings and fun!

And then there’d be a clapping part and something about the importance of telling the truth. We need more new songs about mythical holiday creatures. If it ended in fart sounds and baby cries, it would still be a better song than “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”

I watched the new trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It look great, from this brief tease. And it got me thinking about the holiday creatures and the songs and why there aren’t any new songs. And then I thought of Moonracer. And then I spent a few hours on that song.

So…that’s how that happened.

Yesterday’s Lego item was a show-stopper. That means I’m not expecting much from today’s door.

What will it be? Continue reading →

By this time next week, there will be a new Star Wars movie living in our memories. That’s crazy.

We’re just days away…hours, really…minutes, technically…from returning to the Star Wars universe. Since we all know how the internet works, here’s my prediction for fan reaction.

Phase 1: Brag about seeing it. “Just got back from Star Wars! IT WAS INSANE! Here are pictures of me from Star Wars…which is where I just was.”

Phase 2: Love. “This is the greatest thing human beings can accomplish! To see this movie is to gaze upon the face of God and hear her whisper, ‘Yes.'”

Phase 3: Hate. “It wasn’t that great. Watch my 3-hour YouTube video in which I describe every plot hole in the movie as still images appear on the screen.”

Phase 4: Troll. “This is a complete bag of vomit. The effects look terrible. I’m more excited for Captain America: Civil War. That movie is going to be way better than Star Wars.”

Phase 5: Realizing no one cares what you say. “Hey! Did you hear me?! Attention all humans, I have thoughts on Star Wars! Please like, comment and subscribe! Hello?”

Phase 6: Looking to the future. “I bet the next one will suck.”

Phase 7: Politicize it. “THiS movie reAlly prooves that liberals/conservatives is waging WAR against this county. SIgn this peTIitshon to stop things.”

Phase 8: Compare it to soup. “If this movie were a soup, it would be….”

Phase 9: Explain it to Grandma. “No, Grandma. It’s not like E.T..”

Phase 10: Acceptance. “The movie was good.”

So what’s in today’s Lego Calendar? Glad you asked! Continue reading →

Last night I watched The Empire Strikes Back. My favorite moment might be the double-take Vader does at the end, after the Millennium Falcon makes the jump to hyperspace. It’s barely two seconds long, but it’s great.

Yesterday’s item wasn’t exactly a dud, but I hope something extra-magnificent comes out of the door today.

Today’s item item is… Continue reading →

We’re halfway through this box of bricks, and that means…nothing really.

For those interested in magic pencils, I only have two sets of Power Pencils Series One that can come with the carrying case. That’s it! After these two are sold, I’ll have no more carrying cases…which I hand made using hands and a sewing machine. Order yours today or else everything will be terrible and your Power Pencils will by flying around like bees! Bees!

Today’s item is… Continue reading →