ACK!

You know, it's awful busy these days.

At any given time I have at least two things to attend to, and my deadlines are pretty much NOW. To which my answer is usually, "How soon is NOW?'

But I have to stop things every so often to gettsome things out.

Like now, or NOW.

In the past couple of months, I have been out of state and out of continent. The activities that I have gone to have to do with BrickJournal in terms of covering and participating...

The first event was the Festival of the Masters in Orlando, Florida. Located in Downtown Disney, this is an event that is a large (VERY large) crafts festival. Estimated traffic for this year was 300,000. And the Greater Florida LEGO Users Group had a display at the LEGO Imagination Center.

For me, the equation of LEGO and Disney adds up to a thing I cannot resist. I have been a Disney fan since about 1994 - on a lark, I took a job at the Disney Store. And I ended up staying for four years, and then transferring to Disney World and working at DisneyQuest. I learned a a lot in those years, including the importance of being positive.


Since then, I have doing what I can to get to the parks, as it's oneplace where I can basically forget everything to have fun. I finally got back after 6 years last year. And I returned this year, and I was able togo to the parks after the event.

Festival of the Masters is always fun for me - I get to relax and show off a model or two. Last year, I brought my old model of the Nautilus from the Disney movie "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." And did it hit a chord at Downtown Disney - The older crowd recognized it, and also remembered the long-gone ride at the Magic Kingdom. That was a really cool moment for me. This year, I rebuilt it as a waterline model, mainly because the display model didn't really work so well in a layout. Now, the Nautilus can be put in a train layout:-).

This time it was placed in the ocean fighting the squid in the movie. Along with that, I brought along my Star Trek microships (the theme of the display was 'Vs." - good vs. bad, Starfleet vs. Klingon, etc.). Other members brought in some really neat models - Todd Thuma did a Spy vs. Spy model from Mad magazine, KK Quah did a layout from "300" and a "War of the Worlds" layout. Robin Warner did a Batman setup, and Mike Huffman did a Peter Pan layout. There was also a Harry Potter layout by Scotty (no , I don't know his last name - I'm bad about that) and there were other things too.

This is a pretty straightforward public event and I really enjoy it - there's a lot of interaction that happens and we all get to talk about the models and the GFLUG members talk about the club and what they do. And with the traffic, there are a LOT of questions and people. It also helps that the LEGO Imagination Center has an event to go on as well - a master build of some sort. THis year it was a build of a 6 foot tall version of R2-D2 - with lights and sound. Master Builder Dan came back to coordinate the build and have a fun time and so outside we were displaying and inside he was building with the public.

With each visit I have stayed at Mike Huffman's place, and I should thank him and his wife Erika here. They are great hosts and they live literally behind the Magic Kingdom. Really. As in, you can FEEL the 9pm fireworks. Andto get to their place, you can drive through Disney property. Way cool in my book.

This year was really nice for me because I was made an honorary GFLUG member:-) I got it mainly because I showed up to the display with stuff from North Carolina:-). I'm very happy with that and thank the members for inducting me. They are a great group to hang out with and display.

As for Disney World, it's always fun!

About two weeks later, I went to Hawaii. Why? Well...

More later...

what, me write?

It's been a LONG time since last I wrote here (and in the Journal webpage too, for that matter) - it's been a matter of being too busy to settle down and write. In the past month, I have been to Florida and to Hawaii, and both had something to do with LEGO activities.

I'll give both of those trips separate entries to the blog, as there are some things I want to say about each.

But I also want to keep people posted on what is going on with the magazine, at least the parts that I can say. While I do my best to keep as open as possible, there are certain things that I do have to keep under lock and key.

If you are in the US and in some countries, (European, but I am not familiar with which  countries specifically)  you can order BrickJournal  at the comic book store. You can order now (essentially preordering) and pick up the issue when it's released. I don't know about deposits (in my experience, deposits are not needed) from place to place, so you might want to call your local comic store. These orders are being done by Diamond Comic Distributors, who gave us a nice feature in their catalog and website!

Also, Ingram Distribution is distributing to newsstands in the US and possibly internationally. I say this because the website for it isn't very specific in terms of international distribution. If you want to help out the magazine either preorder at a comic store or inquire about special orders at your favorite bookstore. It's very important to place an order or subscribe - the magazine's run is determined by the number requested. There will be a few more printed, but if you are interested in getting the mag, ordering it will guarantee you an issue.

To all of you internationally, there appears to be an international distributor, but I need to get things confirmed beforehand.

As to the actual issue status, it's completed for the most part - there are some final proofreading to do and addition of some information (barcodes), but besides that it's done. So what's in it? Well, I'll be posting some teasers on the BrickJournal webpage very soon.

There's some fun stuff! But more on that later.

The word is getting out....

BrickJournal has been noticed by some different places - not the usual LEGO-oriented sites. This is the result of having the publisher work on the marketing.

I'm very happy with this - part of BrickJournal has been being unconventional. To be an outreach, the magazine has to reach out. And there are a few things that care not noticed by the AFOL community that others notice. Like this notice.

I have a degree in Environmental Design, with a core study in Industrial Design, so it's a really nice compliment for BrickJournal to be called a "slick" magazine. Especially since my grades were not that good at all at  Design School.

There's also another note over here.

And this came from a press release from the publisher. Did I prod him to do this? No. Did I push for anything? No.

I let him do what he does best. And that has been the key to BrickJournal's success. I set goals and let people loose to reach them. I haven't been disappointed with what I have gotten with that approach.

Speaking of which, some articles are coming in....things are naturally going up a notch.

I'm pretty happy.

Oh yes, for those wondering: The magazine starting out will be 80 pages plus cover. Once we get some advertising, page counts can go higher.

And there appears to be a ship date: February 19, 2008.

Finding out some things...

BrickJournal will be selling compendiums of back issues 1- 9 next year. Since they will be books, the compendiums will have a little more accessibilty internationally.

Also, BrickJournal has distribution set up with Diamond Comics Distributors. If you buy comics, you probably know who these people are. In the US and Canada, they are big. DCD also has a catalog (Previews) to order that it sells - and BrickJournal will be listed in the December issue with TwoMorrow's other publications. You can order it at a comic shop and not worry about shipping!

Diamond also distributes overseas, but I do not know what countries it specifically ships to (Europe, Asia are mentioned). I guess the best idea ids to visityour local comic shop and see if they carry Previews magazine. If they do, you can get the Journal.

BrickJournal also is going to distributed by Ingram Periodicals, which works with the big booksellers, like Barnes and Noble.

Am working on other international distribution channels. More info as I get it.

Doing weekend funstuff....and some news about BrickJournal staff

I spent the last weekend in Washington DC.

I really like the city, and I have gotten to know a lot of people through the LEGO Users Group and LEGO Train Group there. This has only gotten me to like the place even more, although I used to visit often before I got out of Dark Ages.

Back then, I would go to Silver Spring (on the Maryland side of DC) and stay with my little sister (then a nurse in the Army stationed at Walter Reed Army Hospital), who usually come up with something to do, like going to the Kennedy Center to see a musical or something like that - so I got a little culture. It's something that I still do once in a while.

Now I go to LEGO displays and maybe a meeting. I can only go once a month, if that much, so it's either one or the other. This month I went to a display in Reston, Virginia called Autumn Adventure. It's a kid's event, where there are arts and crafts and entertainment (usually a singer that is...well...tune-impaired, I guess, and a clog dancing group).  As displays go, it's pretty easy and on the surface, a pretty average thing to do.

However, under the surface, it's a wonderful thing. I love to 'spread the word about the LEGO hobby,' so this is a perfect thing for me. Whether running a robot or talking about building to interested people, it's fun. And seeing kids when they see displays, or understand how a robot works, as well as adults, makes my day, or weekend.

There was a lot kids that built at the build tables, and just as many that saw the train display. And some adults too.

Now part of fun is funny for me, and a lot of funny things happened to me too. Coming into town is a 4.5 hour dive for me, and usually, I am coming with a good frame of mind. This time it was a little different. I had a rough week. And I was thinking of not so happy things, so I was a bit stressed. It showed in how I dealt with a small annoying and ultimately embarrassing thing that happened during dinner when I got into DC.

I met up with Tony Perez, a member of the train club, and also a cousin of mine (small world) and ate at the local Silver Diner. Nice place, big meals, relaxing atmosphere, and one of the few places still open late Friday night in that part of town. We got in, and had to contend with a very busy waiter, and while waiting, I noticed a table sign that mentioned there was a wireless network in the restaurant.

I purchased an iPhone, and this was a good time to play with it - I've had it for just over a month, and I can tell you it's a great device. Mainly because it makes my office much more mobile. And I wanted to see if things could work in the diner. So I turn on the phone, and let it sniff out the wifi...which it does, and after a few moments, it pops up the network, which I connect.

A moment later, the web page shows the Silver Diner entry page, and things look pretty straight forward, except...you need an account and password. I glance over the webpage, and it states in clear sentences, "Please ask your server for account and password."

I got very confused very quickly, looking on the page and miving the page to see where the server was so I could prompt it. I was a little teed off - how could I access a server if I couldn't get into the system? I mean, what it was telling me was that I needed server access to get the server information...which was lame.

Tony noticed my exasperation, and asked me what the problem was. "I need to ask the server, and I can't get to the server!" I blurted. Tony looked at me for a moment and started laughing.

"It means that server." Tony replied, pointing to the waiter who was running from table to table (he was one of two that were working that night, and it was busy!). Well, then I understood and started laughing too.

I was too focused on things to relax, and this was a sign to loosen up. So I did.

The event was Saturday (the next day) and I showed up way early, and set things up completely wrong (I don't like being led over the phone:-))but things worked out and the display went on with no snags.

One thing odd about the DC group - very few do anything with the NXT. I am the only one with any experienece (which isn't much) so I get to be the FIRST LEGO League spokesperson by default. So I ended up talking to some people about that over the day - even Junior LEGO League, which is something I  only know a little about. I do want to do a lot with FLL though. BrickJournal is working on covering FLL as a priority, as it's a positive part of the community that is a bit of a low-profile thing.

I spent a good part building the spider from the Monster Dino set for the display (it had a Halloween theme, so a spider seemed like the right thing to build) and after completing it I discovered that it doesn't go very straight. Sad thing is a boy about 14 years old told me what was wrong - the two motors that run the spider are different sizes, so they are geared to try to compensate, but it doesn't work very well at all, except backwards, when the weight f the battery pack helps with traction. So that was another humbling moment.

The train display ran well, with some Halloween items on the tables including a haunted house and a corn maze. There was a Thomas train and a MOC train and the Santa Fe train, and all of this was run with a 9v track linked to batteries.

After the event, we all went to dinner and LEGO shopping. And there was a lot of chatter about the LUGNET chaff that has been going on, and also about events.

You can see pics from Robert Gurskey here.

Sunday I spent goofing off on a beautiful day. Next time, I bring hiking gear:-) The leaves are changing color and falling, and there's something nice about the rustle of the leaves on the sidewalk.



On other subjects:

The contributors of BrickJournal have been doing some great things lately:

Melody Krützfeldt has her own section in LEGO Factory for making furniture for the Modular House standard. You read about her here. You can see her models here.

Christopher Deck, our Star Wars MINI modeler (most of the time) started a section on his web page for Stargate minis. You can see his page here.

Bryce McGlone from way back in Issue 2 is up to something really cool...

Joe Evangelista, from the past two issues, is doing video for the BrickJournal website.

And me?

I am doing a lot more than people know:-)

fun info coming out later...

not that it's big news, but it's a relatively new piece of info.

Can't say anything until later though. Take a look at BrickJournal.com

So what's been going on?

I haven't been able to post about Day 3 of Brickcon, as I have been pretty busy.

I had a really fun time at the convention, and I would like to congratulate Wayne Hussey and staff for having a fun event! It wasn't long enough for me to spend the time I wanted with friends old and new, butI will be back next year...and they already have a venue set up.

There are many ways to do an event, and Brickcon is a great example of how a convention can be appealing to both the AFOLs and public.

I have pics on my Flickr account and video will be showing up on teh BrickJournal website and Youtube.

On another subject, BrickJournal is going to print.

There have been a lot of comments about the Journal because of the printing and change in model of BrickJournal to a business model. It's been a bit frustrating to see the negative remarks, as most are by people who haven't seen what has to be done to get to this point.

BrickJournal cannot be kept free and be printed. And unless there is a benefactor who is willing to drop a sizable amount of money with no strings attached for printing, it's not going to happen. Getting a small number of issues will always be expensive - take a look at Lulu's printing for issue, and you'll see things pretty clearly.

The only way to get a decent price would be to get a large print quantity. Not dozens, or hundreds, but thousands. And this has to be at one printer - one 10,000 print run will be more expensive than two 5,000 print runs.

Why is that? It's because setup on a press is the expensive part of printing. Placing the printing plates takes time and money. Turning on the press and running it is cheap. So the idea is to maximize time running the press and get as many issues as possible. Lulu has a different, much more expensive mode of printing because it literally prints to demand. Magazines print to anticipated demand based on orders and then projecting.

Shipping is an issue because of the many different places worldwide - but most shipping is governed by countries. I am working on other ways to take care of this, but until I get some definite information, I cannot say anything at this time.

The comments about charging for previously free material are also a bit misinformed. Here's a question: If you had a choice of free material and material that you have to pay for, what would you go for?

Here's another question: If you knew that something on sale was going to become free, would you buy it?

Here's another question: If you could purchase a printed magazine or download a copy for free, what would you do?

And one final question: If you needed to fund your magazine, including contributors and staff, how would you support them if you cannot sell anything?

These are the questions I had to answer. And some answers I didn't like but had to follow.

Everything that is going on is going toward making BrickJournal a sustainable enterprise. The mailing list being created at TwoMorrows is one that is AFOLs and other interested people - it is a unique listing and one that can help the Journal in determining where to get issues sent to. revenues from download will be used to subsidize printed compendiums of back issues.

Ultimately, BrickJournal will increase awareness of the hobby everywhere. And that will help all of us.