Reasonably Blogged

New Contest: Pigs on the Wing

2008-05-16T12:01:00.001-04:00

From the Mind of Tim "Gambort" Gould came the cave racers.
From the strangeness of Reasonably Clever came the concept of making animals the pilots.
From the magic of Brickforge comes some swanky swag.
(And Prizes from Reasonably Clever and Tim as well!)

Click to read all about it.

Episode 431

2008-05-16T07:48:00.002-04:00

Read the comic here.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to cut back to Past!Whiskey in the fourth panel or not - but I realized that Donut's explosive going off would probably be heard/felt by the group as they're somewhere on the same floor - although way off by the elevators at this point. Having Wash dismiss the event keeps the continuity running smooth. And I know a few of you are watching me closely on that...

First draft of Panel Four Dialog:
Past!Whiskey: what was that?? The whole building shook! The zombies must be revolting!
Past!MarySue: We did that joke already.
Past!Wash: Or we were about to.

New Contest: Clue #3

2008-05-15T12:01:00.001-04:00

Full details tomorrow.

Episode 430

2008-05-15T07:58:00.001-04:00

Read the comic here.

Tomorrow: Things get worse.

New Contest: Clue #2

2008-05-14T12:01:00.000-04:00

Full details soon.
Next hint tomorrow at noon.

Episode 429

2008-05-14T08:18:00.003-04:00

Read the comic here.

I'm considering doing one more "author speaks" strip to reassure everyone that this is just a special effect, and the actor who plays "Pat" is unharmed. (The LEGO who plays Pat, however...)

Oh yeah.

2008-05-13T20:16:00.002-04:00

Some things are worth waiting for.

New Contest

2008-05-13T12:05:00.001-04:00

Full details soon.
Next hint tomorrow at noon.

Episode 428

2008-05-13T08:14:00.003-04:00

Read the comic here.

I figured since not everyone reads the blog, I should put up a quick strip explaining the delay.

Technical Difficulties

2008-05-12T07:01:00.001-04:00

Read the comic...later.

Due to the weather being crappy this past weekend, I was unable to get in my planned special effects shoot. As a result, the comic will be delayed a bit. I hope to take the needed photos this afternoon after work and assemble strips tonight, but I can't be sure that'll happen either.

Regardless, when the photos do get taken, I'll post double-strips until I catch back up to the schedule.

Pumping Iron: Winners Announced

2008-05-09T12:15:00.001-04:00

The wait is over! The results are in, the creations have been ranked, and it's time to reveal just who walks away with the prizes from the Pumping Iron contest!

As usual, the top place models were all within a few points of each other - although this time the first place finisher had a good 20 point lead.

I've listed the rankings for the top 20 models - if your model didn't make that grid, you can always claim that your build captured spot #21. I won't argue.

To jump to the winner's grid, click the logo!

I'll be contacting the winners in the next few days to arrange for shipment of your prizes.

Thank you again to everyone who participated! I hope to see all of you again when we announce our next contest! (Probably next week sometime)

A new shirt for Whiskey

2008-05-09T10:27:00.002-04:00

So, as hinted at in today's strip, Whiskey's clothes will soon be filled with the stench of burnt butter - a good excuse to get him out of the Indiana Jones top and into something else.

What do you, the readers, think? Should he go back to his classic bomber? Something more summer weight?

Episode 427

2008-05-09T07:32:00.003-04:00

Read the comic here.

The fire in the final panel is cropped from a photo I took at my wife's birthday party a couple of years ago. We had a fire-breathing friend of ours perform. (You can read more about that here.)

Episode 426

2008-05-08T07:25:00.002-04:00

Read the comic here.

I thought about putting in a reflection in the glass of the escape pods, or using the building model to show them firing off, but decided to leave them "unseen" for now. I don't have any plans at the moment to come back and pick up the Brick Cola Exec's story, but you never know what the future may hold. And I'd really rather not have to keep an escape pod model built and archived "just in case."

My only real regret is not thinking of putting a LEGO bird on the windowsill outside.

What's Old Is New Again: Bootleg Reviews Back On-Line

2008-05-07T12:50:00.002-04:00

Feel like taking a trip down memory lane? At the request of a long-time reader, I found a copy of the old Island of Bootleg Toys site in my archives and have resurrected the Bootleg Toy Photo-reviews.

This content is over a decade old in places (circa 1995-2000 or so) so a lot of the links to external sites and whatnot are obviously not going to work. Other than applying the main template to the review pages I haven't done any editing - this is the content as it existed long ago. The navigation is frame-based, so returning from the archive may mess up things. (For now, I have it open in a new window; just close that one when you're done.) I'll fix things with the next template upgrade, but honestly I'm not in a huge rush.

Anyway, it's 20+meg of "new, if old" content for you to waste your time with. Enjoy.

Episode 425

2008-05-07T07:50:00.002-04:00

Read the comic here.

I wanted to spend a bit more time with the executives, but the timeline wouldn't allow it. Figuring out where to put the escape pod access was another problem - I hadn't designed the room for it at all. It worked out okay, though.

Tomorrow, interaction with Pat. I couldn't put that off any longer, either.

Contest Thoughts

2008-05-06T11:46:00.002-04:00

Winners in the Pumping Iron Contest will be announced on Friday.

I'm working on concepts for the next contest - I have a theme in mind, but I have to hear back from the potential judges before I move forward with that.

That said, I'm always open to suggestions, ideas, and friend-of-a-friending. Anyone know of a person (or persons) who would make a fun celebrity judge for a contest?

Episode 424

2008-05-06T07:53:00.001-04:00

Read the comic here.

Of all the second-string characters, I've really missed Chet the most.

Episode 423

2008-05-05T09:12:00.001-04:00

Read the comic here.

Not much to add on this one other than "I'm glad I didn't destroy the Brick Cola Office set."

Pumping Iron: GRID IS FINALIZED

2008-05-03T07:33:00.002-04:00

The Entry Grid is now FINAL! We have an amazing SEVENTY ENTRIES for our judges to sift through - I'm working up the spreadsheet to be sent out now, and hope to have results back in a week or so.

In the meantime, talk about your favorite entires here - anything inspire you to try your own version? Anything strike you as particularly clever?

(Just don't bash anyone's effort - all our builders deserve respect.)

Pumping Iron: The Final Hours

2008-05-02T09:15:00.002-04:00

The Entry Grid has been updated again - we're almost at 60 creations! You still have a few hours to get things submitted - but personally I'd rather be out watching the Iron Man movie.

(Remember, you HAVE TO SEND ME AN EMAIL following the entry instructions to get on the grid. Don't just post a comment, it won't count. And it has to be in my inbox by 2:22am Eastern Standard time on May 3rd.)

I don't envy the judges this time - there's some really funny and creative stuff on the grid. Picking the winners is going to be a tough job.

Episode 422

2008-05-02T07:32:00.003-04:00

Read the comic here.

The hallway is a slightly different design than the one Past!Whiskey and Company found on the top floor - Now!Whiskey and Company are still a few floors down in the building, so the decor is slightly different. (I pay attention to these tiny details because I know you care.)

I also managed to photograph things in the right order - if you track the plant in the hallway the group is actually moving forward for once.

Unintentional humor: The BH-M-80x? I was really just thinking of a jumbo sized "m-80" firecracker. But if you read the whole designation, it comes across as "Boom Box". Apt.

Episode 421

2008-05-01T08:08:00.001-04:00

Read the comic here.

Donut is sporting silver weapons from a Brickarms Prize pack for the Iron Man contest! (Will sent me a sample a while back)

Episode 420

2008-04-30T08:03:00.003-04:00

Read the comic here.

Some folks have asked about the small front yard that travels with the Brick House. I thought the idea of a TARDIS with a front lawn as amusing...and I also didn't want to move the house off of the baseplate it was on. So I left it.

Pumping Iron: More Entries, BETTER PRIZES

2008-04-29T16:11:00.003-04:00

The Entry Grid has been updated again - we're now at 35 models! (We'd be closer to 40, but you HAVE TO SEND ME AN EMAIL following the entry instructions to get on the grid. Don't just post a comment, it won't count.)

I also heard from Will at Brickarms today - amazingly, he's upped the coolness of the Brickarms prize packs!

First through fifth place, in addition to the Exo-Force prize, will now receive a
Brickarms SILVER SERIES III Pack!

The special Brickarms Grand Prize is now a SILVER Ultimate Pack!

What are you waiting for? Go build something!