Joe Meno at BrickWorld 2009

BrickMagic is a new convention this year. Why another LEGO convention? (not that I’m complaining…) JM: Why not? Seriously, BrickMagic came into being when my publisher asked me if we could do a convention in Raleigh a couple of years ago. My first reaction was that we could do one when a LEGO store opens here (yes, the discounts on a convention are a big incentive to many), and last year, a store opened in town! More to the point, another convention is another opportunity for AFOLS to meet and show the public what can be done with bricks, imagination and dedication!

This may go along with Question#1—is there a big LEGO fan base in the Raleigh/Carolina area? Chicago it ain’t, but…

JM: There is a fan base, or else there wouldn’t be a reason to have a store:-)! North Carolina has a LEGO train club and LEGO Users Group, and has been active in local events. The predecessor to BrickMagic is an annual event NCLUG/LTC runs in nearby Chapel Hill called LEGOPalooza, which is a local late winter display. This year, about 3200 showed up that weekend.

I don’t remember seeing a LEGO con before that marketed so much of the appeal for the con based on a guest of honor. Sure, fans within the community have long recognized a name like “Kjeld”—but it hasn’t gone much further than the hardcore fan base. Now we have someone like Nathan Sawaya who is pretty much the rock star of LEGO building … are we seeing a shift in LEGO fandom? Has it gone “beyond The Brick,” beyond “Zack the LEGO Mania?” Will LEGO personalities become as well known as movie stars and superheroes?

JM: Yeah, this is definitely different. To create more of a buzz, Nathan was made a guest of honor. For the AFOL, this isn’t such a big deal, but for the new people we want to see entering the hobby, he’s a good fit. There is a subtle shift happening with LEGO fandom as the company begins to open up about who the designers are and what they have done, but being as well known as movie stars and personalities? That will take a while.

Tell us about a day in the life of a BrickJournal editor…does it ever leave you time to build?

JM: A day for me is never the same. It’s a lot of looking online for article ideas and e-mails and writing and picture taking and…. The most intense time for me is the week or so I spend laying out the magazine…then I go into my hermit mode and work on the laptop…I grow my hair long and get a beard…and look pretty ratty when I’m done. Afterwards, I step back for a week and maybe build something. I don’t have the time to do big complex builds, but I always have the time to build *something* if I want to. The last model I built was my iPad and it was an allnighter!

BrickJournal is not an official publication of the LEGO company. As such, I imagine you have certain liberties, but ultimately, you’ve still got to keep LEGO happy, right? Seems like you’ve got some nice folks from within LEGO (Megan Rothrock, etc.) as well as folks from the fan community (Jordan Schwartz, etc.), even some who have had the privelege of being both at different times… (Mariann Asanuma). What is the relationship between the LEGO Company and BrickJournal?

JM: The relationship with the magazine and the LEGO Company is pretty nice, actually, They provided launch costs for a share of the magazine, however, they stipulated that I have editorial freedom. In other words, they became something of an angel investor/silent partner. That doesn’t mean that I have completely free reign, though. I made a decision at the beginning to create a magazine that was a positive representation of the hobby and community. Because of this, the company shares info and sometimes resources with BrickJournal – with the most recent ongoing collaboration being the articles from the LEGO Idea House.

As the guy who runs the book (and sometimes runs away from it:-)), I look for those people who fit the positive voice I want Brickjournal to have. With the staff in Billund with access to the company (Hi Megan and Mark) and handling European submissions and stories (thanks Megan and Mark!), as well as everyone else (Hi everyone else!) things have worked very well!

What is your favorite LEGO piece?

JM: That’s a tough one. Oh wait, does the LEGO dice count? It’s not really a piece, but it’s so cool!

Do you have a favorite LEGO set of all time (whether or not you own it)?

JM: Of what I own, the Technic Space shuttle – when I got out of my Dark Ages, I searched on LUGNET to see what the most popular set was, and it turned out to be the Space Shuttle. It was out of production by then (it was 2001 or so), so I got it for $150 on Bricklink. And after building it (which entailed getting some missing parts – turns out the sealed box was missing a bag of parts), I was really impressed. So impressed, I haven’t taken it apart. So it’s on my shelf now ready to go on a mission:-).

Of what I don’t own, the Moon Landing set from 1975. I had that set when I was a kid, and it had everything – wheels, figures, and a spaceship! It’s the set I have the strongest memory of, and seeing it on display always brings back memories.

I don’t know if you’ve ever read my webcomic, The Brick Side … there was a series of episodes several months ago that had Jonathan Bender as a character and he was having a conversation with a Power Miner (Starting with 38 and going about every other until 45). Well, at one point a guy came running through the park, and the Power Miner took off after him thinking it was Joe Meno … only to discover it was “Joe Meano,” the editor of WormJournal magazine.  I never took it any further than that one episiode, and I’ve been thinking about developing the character of Joe Meano. I’ve been dying to hear your take on it. Just don’t shoot me.

JM: I remember this one—the depiction of me being a photo runner is pretty funny, if not honest. Best quote came from Bill Bourne: If you want to get a pic of me, use a high-speed film, or Joe’s just a blur!

As for Joe Meano – develop him. I do have a sense of humor, so I won’t shoot you:-)! I’m interested in what you make him into.

Joe Meno takes your picture

Who is Jordan Schwartz?

If you read BrickJournal magazine, follow the Brothers Brick, or just about any popular LEGO blog, then you will have seen the work of Jordan Schwartz, commonly known in the LEGO community as “Sir Nadroj.” Jordan even has his own website, an online portfolio, appropriately punned as, BrickStud.com.

When I discovered that Jordan was heading to Brick Magic, I took the opportunity to pose a few questions, so we could get to know him a little better before the big event.

Jordan Schwartz aka Sir Nadroj

Identification by Jordan Schwartz

Took me a little while to figure out the “Sir Nadroj” thing—“Jordan” spelled backwards. It’s a bit of a pronunciation not common (at least not to me, in English). Why Nadroj? Nadroj was actually never my idea, but my oldest brother’s. About 7 or 8 years ago, he made me my very first Yahoo! Email account; on online forums, he had always gone by “SirNim” (Benjamin backwards, abbreviated.) So he chose “Nadroj” for me. I honestly can say I’m not particularly fond of it, but it’s stuck!

Is it tough being a TFOL? Is it your alter ego that no one knows about except for the online community? I mean, to us, you’re “famous.” Maybe it’s just that all us AFOLs that work full-time are jealous of you being in high school and having what we vaguely remember is called “free time”…

Nah, it’s not tough. A lot of people keep it as a dark, dirty little secret, but to me, it’s hardly dark or dirty. I’m proud of what I do, and I think it’s just something that makes me unique and different compared to my peers in school. I have no problems talking to them about what I do, and for the most part, they are happy for me and generally appreciate my work. Obviously, the lay-person cannot appreciate all of the subtle techniques and the like, but they can appreciate the aesthetic qualities of a given creation. I think the word “famous” is a little too heavy for the context of the AFOL community; I believe we are all pretty much in consensus that we build because 1.) We love it and 2.) to help each other and contribute new ideas to the building world. I hope I can inspire others to build (particularly the younger crowd), and if I have—even just one person—then what I have been doing was not in vain. I am moving to college to study architecture in Boston this coming Fall, so I will be at least an hour from my collection at any given time. I even have an interview at Frank Lloyd Wright’s school Taliesin in July in Wisconsin, so who knows—I may be just a “bit” farther from my collection in two years! I am trying to make the most of that “free time” because it’s going out the window pretty soon!

The Devil’s Motorcar by Jordan Schwartz

You’re a prolific builder. And I’m guessing that a lot of your builds have to be taken apart for subsequent builds. But what builds have you kept?

Before my first convention, BrickFair 2009, I almost never kept anything together. But now, since I do travel a bit, I try and keep as much together as possible. Among some of my creations still together right now include Rapunzel’s Tower, Bavarian Autumn, Octopus, Please Do Not Feed The Animals, Sentinel 400, Mauve Avenger, Moribund Char-a-banc, Maleficent(‘s head), NASA EX-LF Probe Module, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Petr-O-Rama, Double-Decker Bus, Ford Model-T, Ice Truck, Devil’s Motor Car, Stagecoach, Hip to be Square (American Psycho), Kathmandu and Googiecruiser (the last two have not been unveiled online yet.)

Can you offer a building tip to someone who is short of time but wants to improve his building skills? There are almost 21,000 different elements out there—there’s always a way to build something, so don’t give up—keep trying different methods and techniques; don’t settle for an “ok” likeness of the subject you’re building — strive to get every detail right. What is your favorite LEGO piece? Impossible to choose! Though I am fond of the old finger hinges, cheese slopes and any and every Fabuland figure (if they count).

Rapunzel’s Tower by Jordan Schwartz

Part of what makes a great MOC online is great pictures—do you take your own pictures? Can you offer a photography tip or two for taking good pictures of MOCs?

I’d call my photography my “Achilles’ Heal”—it’s sufficient, but I am always trying to improve upon it. However, I’d suggest always photographing a creation with the proper lighting and with a proper-colored background. Invest money in a light box (prices range, but mine was actually fairly inexpensive) or make one from an old cardboard box and paper; there should be plenty of tutorials online.

The Lost Temple of Angkor Wat by Jordan Schwartz

You’ve been to a few conventions this past year, what are looking forward to about Brick Magic, in particular? I’d say meeting new people who I have not met yet at the other conventions—anyone from Nathan Sawaya to other AFOLs from the online community. When it comes to conventions, looking and sharing LEGO creations is only half the fun—the other half is meeting new people, and that’s usually the highlight of any convention for me.

Can you give us an idea of what you’ll be taking to Brick Magic? (Unless, of course, it’s top secret…)

I actually have not decided yet! As I said earlier, I have quite a bit of small things still together, so I’ll choose my favorite from that list. I’m going with my twin brother Alex, and we’re only taking two carry-ons, so I need to use my space wisely!

Want to read more about Jordan?

• Check out Jordan’s personal website, BrickStud
• He’s also on Flickr: Profile | Photstream
• And MOCPages: Profile | Creations
• Read the April 2009 interview from Brick Space
• Hear Jordan on the June 3, 2008 podcast of LAML Radio (#43).

Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come by Jordan Schwartz

Nathan Sawaya

Who is Nathan Sawaya?

If you’ve heard only one name in all of LEGO building, it is probably that of Nathan Sawaya. This well-known lawyer-turned “Brick Artist” has even had a category about his work on Jeopardy! He is covered regularly in various news outlets — the first time I heard of him was from a CNN article in 2007.

I’ve had the opportunity to exchange a few emails with Nathan and to meet him in person. (It really made my day at BrickWorld 2009 when he said he liked my piece, Wicked Smile.)

Last week, after getting back from a volcano-prolonged stay in Europe, Nathan took a few minutes  to answer some questions for BricksABillion.

You obviously build a lot of sculptures and things like that—but do you ever build the official sets or any MOCs on a smaller scale (you know, like the stuff that you typically see AFOLs building)?

NS: Besides creating my artwork, I do spend time building the occasional official set. In fact, I just purchased the new Grand Emporium set. I also enjoyed building the Death Star set. It’s fun to work on such detailed sets. I find the process a lot different from my artwork, in which I tend to focus on larger sculptures using just bricks rather than detailed elements.

For those who haven’t yet had a chance to see your stuff on tour can you give us an idea what scale you tend to build in for people scultpures … for example, Yellow, Red, Blue, as well as Circle Triangle Square—are these all “life size” or a bit smaller?

NS: Most of my human form sculptures are life-size, although I have done some larger than life, and some smaller. Currently, my favorite subject is the human form. I use the male human form to represent the everyman, society, you and me. A lot of my work suggests a figure in transition. It represents the metamorphoses I am experiencing in my own life.

The big red face sculpture you did—when I first saw it, I thought it was supposed to be one of the Kryptonian judges from the opening scenes of Superman (1978)—but after seeing photos from your Agora Gallery opening, it became obvious that it was a self portrait. Am I right? How do you go about building your face in brick in that scale?

NS: Well, as you know, Kryptonian art has been a major influence on me over the years. Oh wait, no. My sculpture ‘Facemask’ is an attempt at a larger than life self portrait. I focused on just the ‘mask’ of my face, so from the mid-level of the chin up to the mid-point on the forehead, and then from temple to temple. I did the entire sculpture out of red bricks. The idea is to capture myself at a moment in time. I had my girlfriend take several photos of my face from all angles.

I’m looking forward to Jonathan “Brick” Bender’s book coming out next month, LEGO: A Love Story, for which you built the cover.  It’s brilliant by the way.  How did that cover come about? How did you settle on the idea that ended up being the cover? NS: The cover of the book came about from the publisher after many brainstorming sessions. We had discussed several ideas, but the publisher really liked a little LEGO book I had made years ago that sits on a shelf in my art studio. We decided to use a similar idea and have a LEGO figure reading a LEGO book. Rather than use a minifig, we decided to make it more artistic by having a fully formed LEGO person holding the book. I made the title of the book out of LEGO plates, and made it still readable so that it acts as the actual title on the cover. I even did the photography. [BB: Check out my interview with Jonathan Bender]

LEGO: A Love Story

You’ve done a lot to help make LEGO art mainstream—the gallery tours, etc. Where do you see the use of LEGO as an art form moving in the future?

NS: I have some more ideas where LEGO bricks can go as an art form, and I hope to keep exploring those ideas. I have tried to take LEGO into places it normally isn’t found, and that is the fine art museums and galleries. But it doesn’t stop there. In the past year I have done a bunch of LEGO tagging throughout New York City. It is my form of brick graffiti where I attach a small brick man to sign posts and bike racks around the city. As for new projects, I am currently collaborating on a project with another artist. We are creating artwork which uses LEGO bricks in a way that I have never seen done before. You’ll have to wait and see what that is. Just keep checking my website.

What does a brick artist do in Europe for a week after being stranded by a volcano? Is there a LEGO volcano in your near future…

NS: Being stuck in Europe for several days had its good points. I took several trains and visited Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands. I even ate a hamburger in Hamburg. Amsterdam was a nice town to spend some time in. I visited a lot of art museums and found some inspiration (of course that was at the Heineken Brewery Tour). I had my sketch book with me and jotted down several ideas during this forced tour of Europe. I think people will be surprised at the art that might come out from a trip like this. It is not necessarily directly derivative of a volcano vacation.

BrickMagic is a new convention this year—one I’m really looking forward to since it’s only a few hours away for me. Can you give us your take on what you’ll be up to at BrickMagic?

NS: I am looking forward to being at BrickMagic this year. I think it will be a great event and a wonderful chance to interact with the public. I might even show off a sculpture or two.

Visit Nathan’s website, BrickArtist.com
Follow on Twitter @NathanSawaya

Jonathan Bender

Who is Jonathan Bender?

Jonathan is the author of the upcoming book, LEGO: A Love Story, the basic premise of which is a chronicle in the year of a life of an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO). LEGO: A Love Story will have its world-debut at BrickMagic, and I plan to be there to (among other things) get my own autographed copy. [note: thought the official release date is May, a number of sellers seem to have the book available already]

Jonathan’s been blogging about the experience for a while, and it’s been great to get to know him this way.

I also have the privilege of not being sued by Mr. Bender for my portrayal of him as a minifig in several episodes of The Brick Side. (38, 40, 42, 45, 152)

Jonathan took a few minutes this week to answer some questions I had for BricksABillion.

I stated in The Brick Side episode 42 that your premise was to become “an AFOL for a year” and that this was impossible, there is no turning back! Now that the year is up, are you in withdrawal? Have you had to get counseling?

JB: I still have a fair number of LEGO bricks kicking around the house, although (and I imagine it’s a common complaint among AFOLs), I don’t get to build as much as I’d like these days. So far no counseling, but I have an extremely tolerant wife.

You’ve mentioned a childhood ambition of wanting to be a master builder, and that the book was originally going to be how to become one. What changed?

JB: Frankly, I could see that my skills wouldn’t progress quickly enough. In addition, the world of LEGO builders was less competitive than I initially expected, meaning the story became more about the community than competition.

What do you like to build? Are you strictly a sets guy—or have you gotten into MOCs at all?

JB: I love dabbling in all of the different themes—I’ve enjoyed putting together vignettes, micro-scale buildings, and even a vending machine prototype. Some of my MOCs are featured in the book, but I’ll admit I’ve been horrible at taking pictures of my creations. I am on Flickr, but those are mostly convention and LEGOLAND photos.

Is there an “official book tour?”

JB: My publisher, John Wiley & Sons, has been great. They’re helping me go to two LEGO conventions over the next two months—Brick Magic and Brick World. And I’ll be doing signings and talks at libraries and book stores around the country. [BB: check out the list of Author Events for a location near you]

Tell us about your day job. Is this one of those things that you come home from everyday and spend the evening building with LEGO, and one day soon you’ll just quit and be the next Nathan Sawaya?

JB: I’m a writer—so this book has been my day job, which makes me feel very fortunate. I currently have two regular writing gigs as a freelancer for The Kansas City Star and a food blogger for the The Pitch Weekly. I’m also working on ideas for as yet un-named book #2 in my secret lab/home office. I love my job and I certainly wouldn’t want to quit, plus, there is only one Nathan.

LEGO: A Love Story

Speaking of Nathan Sawaya … the book cover is brilliant. But it’s not like you can bribe a man who has over a million LEGO bricks in his office with more … LEGO bricks—so how did you land a Sawaya cover? (assuming you can tell and not have to kill us afterward…)

JB: Wiley approached Nathan and he agreed to do the cover, as well as the book video.  He’s been a great supporter of the book, which has been really nice.

What is your favorite LEGO piece?

JB: I call it a lunchbox, but it’s a 1×2 clamp.

What is your favorite LEGO set ever? (whether or not you own it)

JB: It might be: 8970—Robo Attack—I’m a sucker for robots that are threatening to take over downtown.

Want to read more about Jonathan Bender?

• Don’t miss the Brick Bender blog (say that 10 times fast)
• Read a sample (chapter 1, the index, or the table of contents) from Jonathan’s publisher
• Read a sample of Chapter 16 at the Brothers Brick
• Jonathan mentions The Brick Side on Brick Bender

Chris is a big name in the LEGO AFOL community. And “why” do you ask? Well, for a number of reasons. For one, he is well-known, especially among Spacers, as the guy who created Pre-Classic Space, referred to as PCS, for short. Originally most of this series was posted at pre.classic-space.com, (a sub-site of Classic-Space.com), but nowadays Chris does his posting at Flickr under the name Fazoom.

Because of his PCS theme along with collaboration with Mark Sandlin, the two were asked by LEGO to design a couple sets in the LEGO Factory line. Chris’s Pre-Classic Space became known as “Star Justice” in set 10191, and Mark’s 3vil (3 times the evil) became known as “Space Skulls” in set 10192. These sets were available from April 2008 to June 2009.

Furthermore, Chris and Mark were interviewed by Joe Meno for the Summer 2008 issue of BrickJournal magazine (pp. 52-55).

I had the privilege of meeting both of these guys several months ago when I joined up with DixieLUG, a LEGO users group based in North Georgia. (Being one of the few AFOL’s in the state of South Carolina, I have to deal with a long-distance LUG relationship. In the meantime, I’m very thankful for the online community!)

My original interview with Chris was mostly done back in September, but many things happened between then and now, or else you’d have had this lovely post sooner. We’ve also added a couple other questions about more recent events (bottom of the page). So the MOC pictured and discussed here isn’t his most recent, but is still a brilliant blend of PCS building technique and some great work in Photoshop.

Can you give us a little background about yourself? (i.e. what is your “day job” and what does that have to do with/not have to do with you as an AFOL, particularly a “space” guy)?

CG: My name is Chris Giddens. I’m married with one little boy and one little something on the way. I serve as Minister to Children at Pleasant Valley South Baptist Church in Silver Creek, GA. I use LEGO quite a bit with our kids. We have buckets of LEGO in our preschool rooms, but mostly I use LEGO as a great illustrator for elementary kids. It’s fun that they know I like stuff they like. There’s a lot of nerdy boys who brighten up when they know I speak their language of LEGO. It’s lots of fun. I’ve always been a space guy and I probably always will be. It’s my mode I guess. I used the process of building my latest MOC to illustrate some basics of building a Solid Life.

I remember last time I saw you (oh, back in May) you’d just picked up some Agents 2.0 sets in addition to some of the Space Police sets. Are there particular themes outside space that you find provide good piece fodder for your space building?

CG: SHHHH!!! Folks will hear you. Just kidding. Wait were you being all passive aggressive? “oh back in May”… just say it, you’re a lonely AFOL. Anyway, most LEGO themes are great for spaceparts, cuz with space you can do just about anything in your imagination. But, the trend lately is to pack sets with technic lift arms, bionicle bits and car fenders. It doesn’t help.

It looks like you are pretty exclusively a space guy. Do you dabble in building other themes as well? (and if so…what?)

CG: Usually when I build outside space, it’s to give someone something. I made a series of family scenes for some friends and neighbors. I built a train for a guy retiring from the railroad. I have a Cafe Corner and stuff like that. I’ll build this and that every once in a while, but it’s mostly just space.

Juno SV-7 Deep Space Science Vessel

juno1, originally uploaded by Fazoom.

Tell us about your creative process for the Juno, i.e. where did the spark come from and how did you take it from there to the creation we have in your Flickr Photostream?

CG: Juno started with the engine section. I build it, had it on my work table for a couple of weeks. Then I pondered, “what kinda ship needs a slow cruising engine with Warp pulse pods?” I honestly said that. I’m sick, I know. Then SCIENCE VESSEL sensor lit up and I started thinking about it and sketched out an idea… the Jedi Starfighter ring was lying there and wanted to join the party.

Do you ever think through story lines for your MOCs (i.e. this ship has this feature because Captain Pekirk is going to need it for …)?

CG: Oh sure. I usually imagine out who does what, and why and stuff. This ship has a valiant captain, a lovely pilot, and the old scientist aboard. They exist within my own PCS universe… Mark Sandlin and I have done some stories.

And if, so, can you share with us a bit of the story line for Juno?

CG: It’s an old freighter, converted for exploration. It can carry individual science pods to anywhere in the galaxy. That’s… about it.

A couple of your shots look like you set them up in Photoshop or some other photo-editing software. Do you do your own Photoshopping, and is it something you just learned on your own for LEGO, or do you use it for other things as well?

CG: I have Photoshop, I learned some in college, the rest just bluffing my way through. I do use it here at church to make stuff.

I see Jake show up in a lot of your pictures. Being a dad of two little boys myself, I know there can be some interesting conversations regarding the difference between “Dad’s LEGO stuff” and “son’s LEGO stuff.” (i.e. mine say, ”When can I get all the cool LEGO sets like Dad” and I say, “as soon as you start paying your own bills…”) How does that work for you?

CG: Heh, well we have some rules for the LEGO room. If it’s on my tables, it’s off limits. Everything else is fair game. My tables have my work, my small detail bits and prebuilt tidbits waiting on a MOC. All bulk brick and figs are in large drawers and stuff around the room. He’s welcome in those. He also has tubs of his own. We also have an agreement, if I build him something and he chucks it against the wall to crash it, it becomes my bricks again. It seems to work well. We go and spend a few hours every week in the LEGO room. We’re going to build him a big ship soon.

You got in on Angus MacLane’s CubeDudes. What compelled you to create the set you did?

CG: Cuz they’re awesome. I got to know Angus through flickr and facebook and stuff a while back. Turns out he actually bought one of my SLAM kits from 4 years ago. He’s a nerd culture, comic book, scifi nerd like most of us. The compelling thing about them is they detail such complex characters in such simple terms. I am amazed when someone does some thing incredibly cool with such small tight building. I can’t do that. As to the characters I built, I love the Big Bang Theory Show. It’s like Real Genius for today (without bunny slippers and giant balls of popcorn. It helps my wife see that I’m not the only one of my kind in the universe.)

How did BrickSouth turn out?

CG: BrickSouth 2010 was awesome nerd fun.  We created a new “deal”… Munchkin Counters.  Steve Jackson created the cool card game Munchkin a few years ago, then he spawned StarMunchkin and I was in.  Mark Sandlin intro’d me to the game and we played it at BrickSouth 2009.  I thought about making some sort of level counter out of brick.  Mark and I made a couple and the rest of the card players did the same.  They were neat.  The display at BrickSouth was double what it was last year.  The Florida train club joined with the Georgia one for a large display, we had space and a fantastic World Theater creation.  We ate BBQ, laughed, and had bunches of fun.

Do you plan to make it to Brick Magic? any other conventions this year?

CG: Apparently, cons and my schedule don’t like each other.  I haven’t been off to a Lego convention since 2006.  I miss it bad.  They seem to fall on dates I have work or family commitments.  I hate air travel (but will do it in a pinch)… so that hasn’t helped.  NWBC looked promising this year, but it hits on my son’s fall break, and my whole family is vacationing together then.  BrickMagic is on Mother’s day I think… that ain’t happenin… so we’ll see what the future holds.  One day someone will say “Giddens?  That wizard’s just a crazy old man”