Even if you dont like Micro builds....

This one is worth more than a glance.

Builder Jason "GoldenBoy" Allemann, kicks some serious micro ass!

Well..... to be totally honest, he kicked it over a year ago, when he displayed it at BF 05, but apparently he is a serious slacker when it comes to posting about it! (Says the woman that still has not posted her dollhouse that debute months prior to that same event.)

Fellow ParLUGger (member of ParLUGment) has put me to shame, of course, thats mainly because I havent learned the fine art of "polishing" my mocs. Oh well!

Check out his micro builds on his website... http://www.truedimensions.com/lego/customs/5400/index.htm

Apparently he is known for some huge crappy space ships (surely I jest!)... but imo, that just touches the surface of his building expertise. He has some great brickfilms (Under "Movies") as well as one of my all time favourite mocs, Junkbot (Under "Sculpture").

Don't mind the mocking, he can dish it out better than I can, and trust me, he does.

ParLUGment BBQ

I just got home from the annual ParLUGment BBQ...
always nice to see old familiar faces (well some of them anyway) and great to meet some of the new members as well. All my pictures here.

Here is my trip in a nutshell...

On Sunday, I headed to Toronto, (perfect timing like usual, I ended up coming into Toronto in the middle of the celebrations for the World Cup - remind me to never do that again.) I brought a tub of Lego that needed sorted but instead, I hung out with an old friend I don't get to see nearly enough, and stayed the night at my local haunt.

Fairly early (for me) on Monday morning I headed out to the National Capital. (I know, I am a wuss, but driving 9-10 hours straight isn't my idea of a good time). It was pouring out, and I began to have concerns about just how we were going to have a BBQ in torrential rain storms.

Since I hate driving on the 401 anywhere near Toronto, and it was morning rush hour, and the rain made visibility a bit of a joke.... I decided to take an extremely convoluted route to Ottawa which took me directly into the opposite way anyone with a clue would take. My "oh so intelligent choice" probably ended up adding two hours to my trip and was gifted with glorious stop and go traffic and a strange construction route moment. (This crazy dump truck driver decided the pylons set out to direct traffic were just for others and not himself. I quickly applied the brakes as I watched him totally kill 18 innocent pylons as he drove exactly where he wanted to go instead of the "suggested path".)

Anyhow, later that day the rain stopped and the sun was just starting to dry everything up as I arrived at deborah's beautiful home and was given the royal treatment... (this means not only did I get towels, but a big girl bed too!) The tour quickly ended up in her build room... where I got to check out her latest finished project, construction on her new project, as well as the chance to check out her parts, wink!

Since she was already ready for the party, we spent the rest of the day, chatting and hanging out waiting upon the other guests. Jude was the first to arrive, and wow, what a shock, dude, I miss the long hair!!! Shortly after... Paul arrive (seems like ages since I have seen him), since I had forgot to pack my best friend Crown Royal, Paul got suckered... errr I mean, volunteered to take me to the LCBO. By the time we got back many other members had shown up.





Before long the backyard was filled with ALES... and the BBQ was fired up and the Lego talk began... before I knew it, dinner was ready (Paul to the rescue again) and served.



Few moments stick out in my head... for example, I wish I could explain, what it is about Jude that makes me laugh uncontrollably... even when nothing at all is funny, but for some reason, anytime I am near him, my funny bone is extra sensitive, just as I hope his arm was, after I used him as a punching bag.


I was very touched by a little gift that Steve A brought me from Steve B... thank you so much, I miss you too... and I love the fact that not only did you think of me, but it was such a nice gesture.

After dinner ppl swapped, traded, and settled up Lego orders and purchases... and a few of the displayed mocs were admired. (Sadly I brought only one small moc which I left behind by mistake. I am trusting deborah with the job of taking it to Jason so he can actually build it better, than I can take the credit for it, next time its displayed, since I am such a poser!)

Then ~OF COURSE~ (it goes without saying), we did the secret cult handshake and song and dance. (I would love to tell you all about it... but you know, some things are better off left unsaid. Wink. - "Wow, tough room!")

It started to get dark, and the skeeters began to bite, so we headed inside, just before it started to pour. Most of the misc items still left outside were rescued before they were ruined... if I could only say that about the bowl of chips. (Later when Jude kept me company during a smoke break we were greeted by a bowl of chip soup, OMG, some things look soooooo gross wet!) After much more Lego chatting, guest started to leave, and before I knew it, it was Jude, Jason, deborah, and I sitting around to the wee hours of the morning with our hands in bricks and our conversations wandering wherever convos go at odd hours of the morn.

Eventually we got rid of, errr I mean, eventually Jason and Jude went home, and we (well deborah) tidied up, and headed off to bed.

When I finally dragged myself out of bed the next day and managed a shower, deborah and I sat out in the sun, drinking coffee, smoking (well me, not her) and did ton more chatting. Eventually we did some late day shopping, and then headed off to the "ballet" (yes that's an in-joke, and no, I wont explain it!) Apparently there are some important cool buildings and historical sites in Ottawa??? Who knew?

Another late night, of too many giggles, too much gossip, and way too much fun.
Apparently building a Lego set can be too challenging for adult builders!!! The should have a warning on the package or something!

A super late start on Wednesday meant that there was no way in hell I was ever going to make it home before it was dark. So I played the record in reverse, and while I didn't hear any satanic voices telling me "Paul is dead" I did end up back to the same hotel. Tried hooking up with Derek, but he had other plans (he probably just didn't want to get stuck eating dinner with me, nor sorting any of my Lego) so I spent a few hours sorting Lego in my hotel, and sadly my Internet connection didn't work, so I decided that it was just silly to spend the night alone, and cajoled the same friend from the first night to come over and keep me company.

Spent this morning driving around, looking for important things like... chocolate, Lego, and other misc items, and eventually left the city around dinner time and headed home. Picked up a hitchhiker just on my way out, on Airport road, who kept me awake until highway 89, (as he was heading to Collingwood, from Wistler BC, for his fathers funeral.)
Finally got home around 9ish, more tired than I should be, hauling in more Lego in need of sorting, thrilled to see my boys, pleased that I bothered making the trip, and not so happy to have a crap load of work waiting in my inbox. Oh well, life is full of compromises... and sometimes it's more than worth the drive to Acton... errrr Ottawa. In other words, sometimes your "Real Friends" are also your "Lego Friends".
(Oh my god, I must be tired, I think I'm getting sappy!)

Thanks guys for such a fun trip, and special thanks to deborah and Marc who were amazing hosts. Thank you so much for having me!

P.S. Jude, Jason, and deborah.... Can't wait to see you next month and... oh yeah...
(evil laugh)
"MOM!!! DAD!!! Jude is on my side!!!!
He is LOOKING at me...
HE took my gun!!!
He is ~looking~ at me again!
OMG, he is such a DINK!!!!"

(Starts packing all my "girly" accessories now, and no, it wont be an extra red fingernail!!!)

Few of my recent activities...

Okay.. a few of my (not so) recent activities...


I fired up Windows Movie Maker today for the first time, just to see what I was getting myself into...
and threw together this little narcissistic Lego promo clip for Janey "Red Brick".
Warning 12 MB ... http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/bccook/Misc/jrbpromo.wmv

---

Few fun pics from the past year...

The Red Brick Scandel....

So my friend Chris is working on some project... and posts to Lugnet... and right in the middle of the post, I see this... and I quote

"DO NOT show Janey this picture. Its important. DONT!!!"

So like any good red bricked Canadian, I went on protest... and responded with ....

OMG, How could you???? The carnage, the horror, the sick and twisted reality of it.... oh it burns, it burns!!!! Chris, I am ashamed to know you willingly did that to a sacred RED brick!!!! I mean, yeah, you can tease, stir the pot and be a total (censored), but come one, what did I ever do to you??? I have no shame, I need to tell you, that hurts, that really hurts bad! I’m cut to the core. I think you should hang your head in shame... brick modification is one thing, I am willing to over look that for the cause (after all, now that I understand it, DCC is pretty darn cool) BUT!!!!!!! Red Brick modification is just WRONG!!!!
Shaking my fists and picketing/boycotting/protesting all things Magno.


Chris retorts with...

"OK, you have forced my hand. I had no intention of showing these pictures to help protect the innocent.
this is what YOU saw.....
http://www.thepyroguys.com/000_0001.JPG
this is the BIGGER picture.
http://www.thepyroguys.com/Image002.jpg
THERE!!! Happy.
NOW you see why you could not ever see these. Distention in the ranks?
YOUR OWN figs were part of the horror.

Well I couldn't let the fun stop there...
so I recreated his "work shop" and posted this...
No, not happy at all! At first, I was in total shock... I couldn’t believe my eye, my OWN figs, total SCABS!!!! I was crushed when I looked at your second photo... In fact, for a minute or two, I was even happy that you hid the real truth from me. You know, I was about to give up the hobby, I thought, if I can’t even trust a Janey Fig, then who could I trust??? Then as pure luck would have it, I went to check my email... and wow, the shock continued! Now normally I wouldn’t open mail from an anonymous sender, but this time, the subject line was too much to resist “Red Brick Mod, the Real Truth”. The letter states that these pictures were taken just moments before the second pic you posted. Apparently, you cleared the scene of any evidence that could incriminate the real guilty party.

Yes, I saw the Janey figs... in the middle of a mod... but I noticed a few other things, such as the fact that they were CHAINED to the brick... and in the very corner, I could see something that looked like a WHIP!!!



Well honesty, my faith was restored, there was no dissension in the ranks, just some cleaver deception! Obviously my figs only modded under pure duress!
This left only one question in my mind. Who could be so evil to make my Figs do something so totally against their character??? Sadly I was not left to wonder very long, because a few moments later, low and behold, another pic, in my inbox... this one, sadly shows just who was SO evil.

Chris, I’m saddened to say, I recognised that Fig immediately... dark hair, thick moustache, blue jeans and serious 5 o’clock shadow. Yes, I have no doubts, it can be no other, but YOU!!!



So while I appreciate you trying to “protect the innocent”, truly my Figs were innocent, and sadly, I can clearly see, your Fig, not so much!!! Oh sure, you can try to debate this back and forth... but pictures speak louder than words.

Janey “The truth will set you free, Red Brick”

---

---

From Nov 2005

Toronto Hobby Show - November 4th, 5th, 6th - International Centre

Well another extended weekend (I was gone from the 3rd to the 7th) spent in Toronto has kept me away from my family, blog, and other online activities...
It was a pleasure seeing some friends I haven't seen for months, and a pleasure meeting new friends.

Recap of the weekend, as best as I can recall...

Early Thursday afternoon, while bombing into Toronto with my tunes blaring, Constable "Strongbad" clocked me going 31 km over the speed limit. I didn't try to fight it, I was clearly rushing and wasn't paying attention to my speed at all. Frankly I deserved the ticket, and he was kind enough to knock it down by 10 km. I wouldn't have minded at all, aside from the extended delay, if I had not have had already spent quality time with Constable "Strongbad" in the past. I'm not a fan of suits, that's not a surprise to anyone that knows at all, but I do have a healthy respect for our police force, even the OPP. I have no issue with doing the time, for the crime... candidly that was not the issue the first time Constable A-S pulled his BS with me, so years later apparently I am holding on to a little deep seated resentment. Anyhow, getting pulled over is always a bit of an adrenaline rush for me... so to chill out, I pulled over and took some pics of the wind farm building built. It's a beauty to behold. After snapping a few shots... I got back on the road and headed, once again for Hog Town.

I eventually arrived, booked a room and bombed over to the Centre. I would love to say that all things went without a hitch, but basically after a bit of a song and dance the tickets were acquired, clearly this would not be the first song and dance routine of the weekend. Frankly, I am not willing to dwell on those pointless issues because in the long run many of those bits of superfluous minutia really didn't end up making much of a difference. Besides its easy to be psyched when you are about to share a weekend with ppl that not only embrace your shared hobby, but understand it as well.

After that, the rest of the weekend is a blur...
Tables arrive, people milled about, smack and laugher was shared, builders came and went... text messages and phone calls fly... BTW YOU SUCK!!! Lego by the totes, boxes and car loads arrive.... and by Friday evening most of the group had arrived displayed this awesome collection of creativity. By the end of the weekend our display covered the gamut, including but not limited to; an awesome moonbase with working monorail, detailed architectural homes on a beach front, impressive space ships from scifi movies, perpetually moving great ball contraptions, outstanding art pieces including sculptures of macrofigs, animals, globe and cartoon characters, fantastic vehicles and heavy equipment/firetruck, an outstanding amusement park ride, precise train layout buildings, beautiful mosaics and even a few very interesting MOCs made on the fly from the free-build box. Yes the creations were remarkable, but by far, for me... it is all about the people.



A group of people from very distinctively different lifestyles thrown together over one shared interest... It is not just about building with Lego, (and yes, I know how hokey this sounds) but building lasting friendships. Long after I forget just what exactly what was displayed or how tired I am from hauling, or spending time on site, I will remember the truly touching and silly moments that make these events fun and worth the effort.
- people I have never met saying "Janey Red Brick??? We spoke via email...."
- the "Snowgasm" (best 2.50 I ever spent)
- the convos about questionably shaped aeroplane engines (wow, TMI)
- falling to the ground off a table without style (man I have a huge bruise to show for that effort)
- watching builders you respect gazing at your own work (huge smile)
- paying no attention to the man behind the gold curtain (wow, what a WoO moment)
- dancing like a very untalented ballerina and aeroplane rides (what amazing kids!)
- bowling for dollars.... errr I mean bowling for Sponge Bob (wow, who knew the sphere would die?)
- heading to the moon, but ending up on mars (can you say "wigged out?")
- the discovery that not everyone finds him sexy (who knew?)
- the banter, the fun bullshit and the well laid smack (I'm loud?)
- the breaking and/or rebuilding of others mocs (oops, sorry!)
- connecting with someone that see the world pretty similar to your own views (inconceivable)
- having people you can truly count on (thank you)
- the genuine smiles and the unbridled laughter (this is what makes me return)
Yeah.... Whatever... Meh!



I love this pic of Chris contemplating the worm to 24... and all the plastic dust created.



Deb and her niece checking out my contribution to the Hobby Show.



Dave and Allan having a moment... god, sometimes these pics scare me.



While being a horrible pic of myself, the moment is worth sharing.

Thanks to all the Ontario builders that came out, (the lugless, the rtlers, the parlugmenters, the splitluggers and the jluggers) They spent their time, money and effort to make it just what it was.... an amazing collaboration of time well wasted.

(Note - To see the rest of my pictures from the week, go to my Brickshelf Gallery here
Click on a thumbnail to see a larger version of the pic.)

Thanks guys, 100% appreciation.... Until next time.