Tag Archives: Lego

2017 Lego Advent Calendar: Day 3

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Before we begin, I’m still confused. Every year this songs hurts my brain. It…it doesn’t make word-sense. What the hell do these Kenny Loggins’ lyrics mean:

Please, celebrate me home,
Give me a number,
Please, celebrate me home
Play me one more song.

The first part sounds like a caveman asking for birthday cake.

The second part? Is “number” a slang term for a song? Is the guy a character in The Great Gatsby? “Why don’t you play a number, old chap, and then razzle-dazzle on the toots because America is a dream that never, ever ends, old chap!”

I complain about a lot of Christmas songs, but this so-called classic is confusing. Celebrate me home? Like…have a party around me as I walk to the front door? Or is it some ego thing. “I demand you sound the trumpets for my arrival, for I, the golden child, have returned!” I don’t get it. Sure…sure…the song is about a sad man being lonely, but that doesn’t mean you can disregard basic speech patterns and word usage. Might as well sing:

Please, happy me in a car…

And that doesn’t sound good at all.

Today is Day 3, and on Day 3 we get… Continue reading →

2017 Lego Advent Calendar: Day 2

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A few people have let me know they’ve been reading this Lego blog since I first started seven years ago. That’s amazing! Thank you!

Seven years! We could have all gone through med school by now or traveled cross-country on the backs of two turtles that we wear as turtle-skates and — Ooh! I have another idea to add to my “Children’s Book Pitches” notebook. [Dan adds “Group of people go to med school” to his ideas binder.]

Back when I started this, I was just a naive calendar opener, still using a flash when taking photos and on a desperate hunt for “Sausage Girl.” It was a different time. Gas cost a nickel, there was no sadness and [insert topical Matt Lauer joke]. Things have changed.

But at least I know the Lego Calendar will continue to spit out sacred items of joy on a daily basis in December. You can’t take that away from me.

And today we get… Continue reading →

2017 Lego Advent Calendar: Day 1

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Ho-ho-ho and welcome back to the annual opening of the Lego Advent Calendar!

Each year I crack open a toy calendar and marvel a the bits of brightly colored hardened oil that tumble out. While each year has its highs (Naked Santa) and lows (a purse), there is enough holiday cheer in these boxes to make me come back again and again. This year is a return to the classic Lego City Advent Calendar. I’ve been away too long!

Last year I opened a very nice, but too easy, Playmobil calendar which redeemed itself in the final days thanks to a goddamn electrical glowing rock and ghost pirate. The two years before that, I was in a Star Wars state of mind and opened the over-priced and somewhat bland Lego Star Wars Advent Calendars.

But it’s back to the original this year! Lego City! Hell yeah! This is what I need. This is what we all need.

If this is your first time here, take a few days and scroll through the previous calendars:

Year One
Year Two
Year Three – The bad time.
Year Four
Year Five
Year Six
Year Seven – Playmobil a’hoy!

As you know, the one thing I hoped to gain from each and every toy calendar I open is a Mrs. Claus. Though I now have about nine Lego Santa Clauses — some naked, some Darth Vader-ed — Lego has yet to provide a Mrs. Claus in the calendars. But just when all hope was lost…

My girlfriend, who is wonderful, ordered a Lego Mrs. Claus for me last Christmas! You may have missed her during the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations, so allow me to reintroduce you to Mrs. Delores Claus.

Mrs. Claus is every Golden Girls rolled into one. She has sat on my desk since last Christmas, waiting and waiting to be part of the calendar fun. You’ll be seeing more of her this year.

And speaking of my wonderful girlfriend (who also wraps the Lego calendar box so that I can’t see any spoilers on the cover), she is opening her own Playmobil calendar over on her Instagram account. She’s also opening an advent calendar that’s all different colored yarn. So yeah, we really, really enjoy counting to 24.

Now that Mrs. Claus is part of the collection, what am I expecting in this year’s calendar? Another Mrs. Claus would be nice, but honestly I just want some goofy Christmas junk. And clear pieces. You know I love clear pieces. If you don’t, then you don’t know me at all and I will kindly ask you to leave.

Let’s get to it and start this 24-day countdown to Jesus!

The first item is… Continue reading →

2015 Lego Advent Calendar: Day 23

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IMG_0312The calendar is almost empty. Christmas is almost here. I am almost ready!

I doubt I’ll open another Star Wars calendar next year. Looking at the items I’ve received over these past two years, I’m not sure there’s anything left in the Star Wars universe that I’d want in Lego form.

Already got myself a Speeder Bike, Millennium Falcon, AT-AT w/ antlers, and Middle School Principal.

So next December might be spent opening the classic Lego City calendar. But we’ll see how we all feel in 2016…when we’re all living on the moon.

What’s behind the penultimate door? Continue reading →

2015 Lego Advent Calendar: Day 22

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IMG_0293Today is the shortest day of the year and also the busiest. I haven’t finished my Christmas shopping, because…well, I don’t need to explain myself to you! BACK OFF!

Sorry. Sorry. Holiday stress.

It may be that I’m drunk on Star Wars, but I think this year’s calendar is better than last year’s…and last year’s was pretty great.

There are only three doors left! What lives behind door #22? Continue reading →

2015 Lego Advent Calendar: Day 21

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IMG_0284I 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 →

2015 Lego Advent Calendar: Day 20

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IMG_0273I’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!

Continue reading →

2015 Lego Advent Calendar: Day 19

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IMG_0265Yesterday’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 →