LEGO Stuff: “Creepy Corridor”

Hey, guys! For today’s post, I wanted to share my most recent LEGO creation with you. I actually built it earlier in the summer — June, I believe — but I’ve only just now dumped my camera’s SD card data onto my computer. So, since I now have access to the pictures I took, I figured I’d post ’em here!

This little doohickey is different from the kind of thing I usually build: castles. Yeah, it’s still castle-themed, but instead of building an entire castle this time, I decided to do a little scene instead — a vignette, I guess you could call it. A sort of cutout, if you will.

. . . I should probably just show you.

Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaaa!

See what I mean? Yeah, I think you do. You’re not stupid, after all. (I think.)

Anyway, while I was building this, I imagined two teenage boys lost in a haunted castle. Things get worse as they’re separated. One of them (as you can see) is cornered by a cloaked skeleton on a bat-winged skeletal horse, and he fights it with a sword he found and the frying pan he brought. The other explores cautiously, searching for his buddy, and comes across a corridor with treasure guarded by another skeleton. Fun stuff. ^_^

Here’s some more views for ya.

I tried to get an authentic castle look by placing some mismatched colors in the wall. As I understand it, real castles were often built in this way in medieval times — not many castles (if any) were made entirely of one stone color.

I really like how a lot of recent LEGO minifigures have reversible heads with a different expression on each side. It allows for some scene-enhancing effects such as the nervous look on this guy’s face. The only thing that would have made this better is if his flashlight actually lit up!

To increase the fun, I added the functionality of a removable roof. And as you can see more clearly here, I tried to get a lot of detail into the corridor itself: spiders, wall decorations, an arched window, etc. It was a fun challenge working in such a small space!

Hope you guys liked seeing this! I enjoyed designing it quite a bit, and I plan on making similar “cutouts” of scenes in the future, whenever I do find more time to sit down with the ol’ LEGO collection.

See you in two weeks!

Adieu, Summer. Adieu.

Well, it’s finally come.  For me, today marks the final day of summer vacation this year.

Oh yeah, this was taken by me last summer. ^_^

It’s a bittersweet feeling. Summer, as I’ve stated on this blog before, is my favorite season. And this one was pretty fantastic! There was much swimming, gaming, reading, theme parking, playacting, vacationing, lazing around, movie seeing, TV watching, hanging out, and just all-around having a ball. I did a lot this summer.

There’s a weird feeling I’ve got about the whole thing, though. I feel both like it’s all flown by in a flash and like it’s lasted for ages at the same time. I find myself thinking: “It can’t already be time to go back to school!” But then when I really think about it, imagining myself sitting in the cafeteria on the last day of classes, eating lunch right after finishing my last final, it really has been quite a while. More than three months.

And, while I’m absolutely going to miss summer (almost too much, really), that really is plenty of time. And it has been a blast.

So, I’d say I’m ready for the new semester. It’ll be a much easier transition than last year, that’s for sure. Sophomore year, here I come!

To close, here’s a very nice summery tune for you to chill out to.

See you all next time! And if you’re still on summer vacation, make it last while it’s still here!

Try Something New

I’ve got a quick question for ya.

When was the last time you tried something new? Now, I know that’s a pretty broad question, so I’ll narrow it down a bit.

You like media, right? I’m assuming you do. TV, movies, maybe video games? Yeah, that kind of stuff. You’ve probably got a well-developed palette of personal tastes when it comes to these things, too. And if you’re anything like me, you’re probably somewhat reluctant when it comes to trying new things with your media.

In this short little blog post, I’d like to encourage you to look past your apprehension and try to watch or play something you’ve never tried before. Why? Well, it’s kind of been on my mind recently.

Here’s a couple of short examples. I was looking to download a new game on my Wii U, and I came across a game called Child of Light. I had been planning on playing it at some point, because I’d heard it was good, but at the same time I was a bit reluctant. The game is an RPG (role-playing game), a genre I’ve been unfamiliar with in video games. However, when I saw that there was a huge discount on the game, I figured: “What the heck. Might as well download it now.”

And when I started to play it, it was a revelation. Sure, it took me a bit to figure out how the combat system worked and such, but once I got over that first hurdle I was loving it! It was fresh and new, and my enjoyment of the game was bolstered by its absolutely gorgeous aesthetic.

*drools*

Moving on from that, though. Recently, some great friends of mine recommended a cartoon to me. I’d heard of it before, but had largely overlooked it. Avatar: The Last Airbender. I knew very little about it. It was on Nickelodeon several years ago, it was inspired by Japanese cartoons, and it centered around a Jedi-like ability to “bend” the four elements: fire, water, earth, and air. That was about all I knew.

Then, just last night, I finally put on the first episode. And I was hooked just about from the beginning. The characters are already great, the animation is quite good, the story is compelling, and it’s also very funny. Suffice it to say that, thanks to my friends, I’ve found a gem.

But enough about me. What about you? Is there a movie, TV show, game, etc. that you’ve thought about trying, but have been skeptical about? Or maybe a friend has recommended something to you but you’re really not interested. Whatever the case, I encourage you to step outside your media comfort zone and try something new.

You might just find that you enjoy it. Think about it. Your favorite movie, show, or game was once completely foreign to you. Don’t be afraid to expand your horizons.

That’s all for now, friends and followers! I meant to get a new post up earlier this week, but late summer is a busy time. Rest assured that next time I’ll be more punctual!