BrickJournal 9 is....

big: 148 pages
diverse: Articles come from Europe, the US and Asia
fun: with LOTs of instructions
inspiring: with a story on FIRST LEGO League and a story on a person setting up MINDSTORMS classes in Jamaica.

The issue is in final proof, with release set for this week.


Woo hoo!

Yep, I should be working.

am doing some almost final stuff for the Journal - I say almost because I have to paginate the whole thing.

But I have to stop and rest for a moment...I have done about 80 pages of layout in the past four days...and there's a bit more coming in.

There are going to be some different articles in the Journal this time around. We got a display article from China and FLL in Jamaica, and some really nice and longer than usual articles from some events. There are some articles on builders and building, and more instructions!

Am I excited? Yes I am! Tired, but excited. The layouts are falling into place, and I got some last minute pictures for a story and am writing up a report...always to the wire.

But I have to say I completely love it!

PS The MINDSTORMS NXT Idea book is out, and I plan to review it!

banging my skull on an article...

So I am working on an article for the Journal..and it's been a tough one.

It's pretty odd how I ended up writing - I started writing because I had some contacts I wanted to have in the mag. Now, it's because I am the forward edge of the magazine and as a result, the one finding different things than the expected community articles.

There's a lot more out there about LEGO building than we know, and I want to find those things. I want to touch on as many aspects of the community as I can - there's something for everyone to see and if they want, join.

My article is about an educator who is creating robotics labs in Jamaica using LEGO MINDSTORMS. I have been online with him and talked to him on the phone, and he's a great person to talk to. His name is Marvin Hall.

This story is different from the usual article, but I feel strongly that the Journal show how our hobby can inspire people. What Marvin has done is use MINDSTORMS to teach technology to at-risk children in the Jamaican inner-city. Where there are guns and war, he is giving hope. And he doing this using LEGO sets.

The bad thing about writing these articles is thatI have to get a lot of information and then find the voice of my article and put everything off topic aside. And that's unfortunate. Talking with Marvin was a very secial moment for me, as he's got enthusiasm and passion in what he wants to do. He's a person that wants to give hope and pass what he has learned to the next generation. I was moved to tears on some of the stories he told me. He is a person of vision, and one that has become a ray of hope to his country.

In searching online for information on him, I found many articles and his blog, and there were some wonderful things that I got to read. One was an article in www.jamaicans.com. he has an interview, and he has some advice to students - and they are things that I try to keep in mend when I am writing and looking for stories:

From Marvin:

Whatever your field of study, make sure you love it. Act in spite of fear, take the risk annd immerse yourself in whatever you beleive in. you will not find your passion without exploration. most importantly, beleive in yourself at all costs. Some say that the most powerful force on earth is knowing how to be yourself. Five specific points for the students would be:

1. Keep on learning and never think you know enough
2. Develop your logic, critical thinking and problem-solving skills
3. Find a procedure to learn anything in the way that suits you best 
4. Maintain your enthusiasm from failure to failure, and learn from your mistakes
5. Collaborate with, and value the opinions, ideas and expressions of the community of learners around you.

It was very humbling to listen to him. But it also was inspiring. There's so much more to do, and so much to pass on.

Such as hope. We can make tomorrow better.

Whoa - long time!

Been busy as of late, so it's been quiet at the ol' blog.But there's a story on ABC about LEGO animation here:

http://i.abcnews.com/icaught/story?id=3580374&page=1

Take a look!