Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales

In the Star Wars universe, Life Day is a stand in for Christmas, but there is no stand in for Halloween. So the new Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales (which can be found on Disney Plus) uses the Dark Side as the basis to tell some "scary stories". Let me clarify what I mean by "scary": these three stories claim to be terrifying, but they are really very tongue-in-cheek. As they should be. In true Lego fashion, they make fun of their own jump scares, they put lightning inside the buildings to broadcast how "scary" the scenes are, and they go over the top in breaking the fourth wall. This show is geared toward kids, with a few jokes sprinkled in for adults. Any given Treehouse of Terror is scarier, and even Sesame Street has more humor geared towards adults. 

But Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales is still an enjoyable show, if you can enjoy the fact that it’s for kids. There are some good references to The Twilight Zone, Carrie, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Lost Boys, The Shining, and The Fly. The battle droids become zombies saying “Roger! Roger!” instead of “Brainz!” Fun, silly stuff.

There are some simple lessons to learn about the balance of fear and courage, about being careful what you wish for, about tenacity, and about the dangers of greed. There are good references to the existing Star Wars canon, especially in "The Wookie's Paw" which is really just a clever adaptation of A New Hope. But as with any Lego property, the best parts are the background gags and the self aware humor. Darth Vader saying "Feel the power of the dark side … at the Empire Emporium!" Stopping to do wordplay in the middle of a battle. Using the name "Mr. The Hutt". 

The humor in this special, just like the most recent Lego Star Wars Holiday Special, is a little juvenile and over-the-top when compared to the much better jokes of Lego video games. But that’s to be expected. This is a Halloween special aimed at kids. But even still, there really are a few great moments of self-awareness and humor mocking the original Star Wars franchise itself, which older fans will definitely appreciate.

The Merch at Pop Con

A 95,155% markup.
Not bad for a bounty hunter!

There are so many fun things to check out at Comic Con: the panels, the cosplay, the celebrities, the workshops... But sometimes the most interesting thing to check out is the merchandise! I went to the Four State Comic Con in Harrisburg, PA, also known as Pop Con. What a well-executed local convention! There was lots to do, as always. But the thing that struck me most was all the merch. Kitschy and cool and quirky and rare and  campy and sooooo unique to comic con merch! So below is a sampling of some of my favorites...

By far my favorite thing for sale at comic con: A Deadpool Chia Pet! Yes, I now have this sitting proudly on a windowsill in my classroom where my 6th grade students can ashamedly shake their heads at me, but secretly want to be me.

Alf trading cards! I just want to know if the stale gum tastes like cats. 

The only game better than Beatles Flip Your Wig is Pretty Pretty Princess. Which I rock at.

Not technically merch since it was being raffled instead of sold... but how cool is this "Initiative Gauntlet"? Complete with 6 D&D dice, with a D20 cube as the mind stone, natch. I'm not even a D&D player, but I want this.

It's Yoda. It's Lego. It's a clock. I love it. I mean, they could have chosen regular Yoda for this clock. But they chose Lego Yoda. Just because they can.

A pterodactyl glider. Really flies! Holds passenger! I mean, I wouldn't trust this in a mission years. But I love the bravado! I mean, if you've been in the Land of the Lost for any amount of time, you ought to know by now that not everything here is logical.

So. Many. Lego. Figures!

Easily my second favorite item for sale at the comic con: The Necronomnomnom! It's a cookbook (really, it is!) based on the Necronominom. Because, why not?

Lego Star Wars Holiday Special

In 1978, the Star Wars Holiday Special was released in all its trashy glory! 42 years later, the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special was released in all its rollicking glory! Both are designed to sell toys, both prominently feature Life Day, and both have some bafflingly unintelligible grunting Wookiees. And both are pretty awesome, but for very different reasons. Lego properties are often light-hearted, genuine, and downright funny. So what makes the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special so full of the force? Let's break it down:

• BB-8's sassy hand. Such 'tude!
• Force Ghost Obi-Wan clearing his throat with a loud "ahem!" to get everybody's attention.
• Roasting tip-yip on the Millennium Falcon's engine thrusters.
• Vader vs. Vader. Yes, you heard that correctly.
• The slight bit of flex in the light sabers, to emulate what a "real" Lego saber fight would look like.
• The only thing cuter than Baby Yoda ... is LEGO BABY YODA!
• Three Obi-Wan Kenobis. Triple the awesome!
• The top of Darth Maul hobbling through the desert. (Still the most acrobatic fighter there is.)
• Old Han asking young Han if he wants to shoot first. (Yes, to quote Greedo, there are oonta goota Solos.)
• Vader covering for himself when he accidentally spills the beans to Luke that they are related. "My these binary suns!"
• 
  Kylo's entire shirtless scene. Lego shirtlessness is just as amazing as live action shirtless Kylo!
• Ever wanted to hear Star Wars characters sing "Jingle Bells"? In the original Huttese? Well now is your chance!
• Vader doing air quotes. With Lego hands!
• BB-8 facing off against a light saber ... using just his little Bic lighter thingy.
• Vader's ugly sweater. Happy Life Day!
  
• Great lines like...
• Poe: "If there are two things Wookiees love, it's arm-ripping, and parties!"
• Yoda: "Participation trophies for Jedi, there are not."
• Obi-Wan Kenobi: "Bored. Bored. Bored. Who cares about a trade dispute?!"
• Vader: "Now I have the ... what IS this thing?"
• Clone Troopers: "Jinx. Oh! Double jinx!"
• Luke: "I have no idea what a 'Darth Vader' is..."
• Vader: "Oh, that's original!"
• Poe: "The biggest intergalactic disaster since Jar Jar's senate speech!"
• Admiral Ackbar: "It's a wrap!"
• Luke: "I think that's what Yoda said. It was all backwards-y."
• Any of Ol' Sheevy Palpatine's insanely hysterical lines:
• 
  "Of course I'm the galaxy's best emperor. I'm the galaxy's ONLY emperor!"
• "Me want-y, you get-y!"
• "Yeah, yeah, blabbity-blah."
• "A lousy Tibanna gas mine?"
• "You think maybe you could put a shirt on?"
• "Less talky-talky, more fighty-fighty!"
• "Woo hoo! Dark side!"
• "Zappity zappity zappity!"

But in the end, what really makes the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special so awesome is its heart. When Force Ghost Yoda shows Rey the scenes she overlooked, it had the same Dickensian impact as the ghosts showing Scrooge scenes from Christmas Past, Present, and Future. He points out that it's all about connection. This was powerful to me. Not only was it a good distillation of the Force (everything is connected), but it also really describes one of my main philosophies in life (relationships are all about the strength of our connections). So when Palpatine says that Rey is alone and she emphatically replies "I am NOT alone", it really hits hard. 

May the force be with you all as you enjoy some joyous joy this Life Day!

And if you need some glorious Life Day trash, check out the original 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special!

Everything's Not Awesome

"Everything's not awesome, But that doesn't mean that it's hopeless and bleak..."

Have you seen Lego Movie 2? If not, get off your couch or chair or floor (wherever you are) and find a copy--it's $10 at Target, just FYI. I won't go into the plot details of the Lego Movie series, but that's not so important I suppose.

It's been a crazy the last couple months with quarantines and lock-downs and whatever else has been happening. It's easy to get caught up in it all (I've shared my fair share of memes, as you know if you've been watching our Facebook page). It's easy to get bummed out (even while chuckling the whole time) at all the "2020 can't get any worse" memes. I try to stay generally positive (despite life's anxieties and insecurities) and I actually generally avoid the this-year-sucks-uggghh memes. Generally just don't think that kind of humor helps me out at all.

"Everything's not awesome, but in my heart, I believe..."

Things have been rough. I actually count myself very blessed with everything that's been going on. My family hasn't been hit near as hard as many others. But whether it's this pandemic or some personal trial, there'll always be something to bring us down. Everything may not be "awesome", but it doesn't have to be the end. If we stick together and support each other, we can build a better future. Lately that's involved social distancing, but it also involves ministering to those around us. 

I typically cringe when I see Facebook spammed with the inspirational memes and quotes are preachy about positive thinking, but there is some truth to it. "Everything's not awesome" but if we give up on things getting better, it really won't be. I think it's part of having free will. We get to choose what we think about what, we get to choose how we react to life, and we get to choose the path we want to take in our lives. So while we can't change what's going on outside, we can change how we think about it. Give someone the benefit of the doubt. Count your blessings. Whatever it takes.

"We can make things better if we stick together, side by side, you and I, we will build it together."

The Ten Games You Need on Steam

Semester is over! That means plenty of time to go outside, look at the sun, turn on your heels, go back inside, and start playing some Steam games!
Some of these games have been out for a while, some are even re-releases of classic titles with a fresh coat of paint, but none the less each one has it's own unique style that someone can spend hours lost in.
Here are ten games currently out that are a must this summer. Enjoy!

Trove
Let's start this thing off with a freebie: Trove. Free to play through Steam, this game is a hybrid of World of Warcraft and Minecraft, without compromising anything in between. You build a character, choose a unique class like Pirate or Necromancer, then explore the world collecting blocks you can turn into building material for some impressive Minecraftesque models. A new update just released for the game so check it out now and see what you can build.

Stardew Valley
What is it with farming games being so addictive? Stardew Valley is an homage to the Harvest Moon franchise, with the slight dash of crafting modern gamers are completely in love with. Tend cattle, raise corn, court the pretty girl in the next farm over, and then do it all again the next season. At $14.99 it's worth every penny.

Final Fantasy IX
Really they're isn't a Final Fantasy you can go wrong with, but IX is series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's favorite game, as well as Mormon Geek's Joe Meyere's favorite Final Fantasy. The game's graphics have had a slight update since it was first released in 2000. $20.99 is the perfect price for playing this piece of gaming history, especially since now you don't have to switch between four discs like in the old days.

Cities: Skylines
Sim City has had a rough go the last few years, with Electronic Arts making some iffy choices regarding content. Cities: Skylines though take the gameplay of Sim City while cutting out EA's public mistakes. Spend hours covering the serene landscape with mile after mile of cement and steel.

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
This could easily be yet another Lego video game, but trust me, it's not. Anyone who's a fan of DC's War of Light is going to get a kick out of playing their favorite lanterns in this set, including Sinestro, Atrocitus, St. Walker and Larfleeze. The Suicide Squad DLC and the Bizarro World DLC make this one of the best DC comics games besides the Arkham series.

Elite Dangerous
Space: The final fronteer. These are the voyages of the starship TeddyBonkers. It's mission: To trade material across the galaxy and hopefully upgrade the stupid starting laser so it actually does damage against pirates. This indie mega game is probably the most expensive on the list, but if you want to forge your own adventure in a beautifully generated galaxy with your own starship then it's well worth the money.

Banished
This game is like a recreation of the early days of the church, circa Brigham Young. You have a handful of settlers and winter is coming so you better get busy working or get busy dying. You have to make sure there's enough warm clothes for your people, tools to work with, and room for your people to expand as families grow. You're not building an empire, you're building a small frontier life, which has it's own deeply satisfying rewards to go with it.

Long Live the Queen
This is probably the oddest yet most addicting game I have ever played. You play as a princess preparing to take her role as a queen. In order to do so you have to navigate tricky negotiations with foregn parties, understand warfare, trade, etiquette, industry and all while maintaining your mood and coping with your mother's death. It's not your typical Disney princess fantasy, but once your in you're going to want to make your princess the best queen she can be.

Project Zomboid
This game isn't about getting rescued. It's not about finding the cure, or saving the world, or even about winning. It's about how long can you survive the zombie apocalypse. It's not as dark as other zombie games, and the gore is pretty tame compared to other games. If you're a zombie fan but don't need the gore, check this one out.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Last but not least is a classic. Taking place some 1,000 years before A New Hope, the game is a Star Wars game without messing up any of the cannon. The gameplay is based on Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 rules, which more games need to be based in. If you haven't played this game and your a Star Wars fan, well what's wrong with you?


What games do you like on Steam?
-JOE

Lego: Doctor Who

Recently, there was an announcement from Lego that caught my attention. They are going to finally do a Doctor Who set. You can click here for that announcement.

As a kid, my brother was the one with the Lego obsession. He had a bunch and he would kindly (sometimes after my parents told him to) let me play with them. I remember one General Conference when he and I sat quietly building our own stuff. I don't recall what he built, but I built a house that I really loved. There was a dad, a mom, a daughter, and twin sons. And it was pretty cool. As a writer, there was a story involving them. I can't remember what it was now.

Anyway, I didn't play with Legos too much as a kid. I never had the patience to build anything bigger than a 20-piece set. However, my wife and I have recently bought Legos for our kids (the past two Christmases had a bunch of Legos purchased.) And this past Christmas/birthday for me I got a pretty good Lego Batman collection and I really want to expand it some. (Mostly for Catwoman and Mr. Freeze as I have all the other figures I really care about.)

 In discussion of Lego Batman with fellow Mormon Geek Joe, we've come up with the same issue. We love buying the Lego Batman sets, but every set comes with a Batman figure. I got the Batcave, Arkham Asylum, The Riddler's Chase, and the Joker Steam Roller. This means I got 4 Batman figures (5 if you include the Bruce Wayne figure with the Batcave.) So the downside with Batman sets is that you always get a Batman. They do what they can to keep each Batman different. But in the end, it's still Bruce Wayne in a costume.

But then that announcement was made and my whole Lego wish list immediately shifted.

Sadly, the above picture is not real. If it was, I'd be so excited to get the 4th Doctor. Come on, that scarf is just so awesome.

However, Batman's downfall is Doctor Who's plus side. Lego can easily create 13 different sets. And each set can have a lot of different characters. I could easily buy a set featuring the 4th Doctor (and his scarf) along with a Sarah Jane and a pair Daleks and turn around and justify purchasing the 10th Doctor with Donna and Ood Sigma. And then a little while later, I could by the 11th Doctor with Amy and Rory and Weeping Angels. Of course, there will easily be duplicates. Two Roses or three Sarah Janes. A "The Snowmen" set with all the main characters...(yes, big wish there.)

Seriously, Doctor Who has some staying power behind it. Not only that, but Doctor Who has become one of the most popular shows in the last 10 years. There are plenty of nerds and geeks that don't like it or don't get it. (I'm so sorry.) But in the last three (and only three) cons I've attended, I've seen so many different people cosplaying as a Doctor or a companion or villain. The lines for Doctor Who actors have always been long. Shoot, they sold out on tickets for the Doctor Who panel with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Billie Piper.

So, yes, I'm excited for whatever Doctor Who they bring out. I will definitely do what I can to purchase it/them immediately. But until then, I'm gonna keep a look out for official announcements as to what the sets will look like.

Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.

Recovering From Surgery-Gamer Fantasy or Extrovert Nightmare?

So guess what happened to me two weeks ago?

I went to the emergency room!

Yay!

With some help from my mom I also picked back up cross stitch!

See it turns out that having seven cookies for breakfast and a triple-cheese-grilled-cheese sandwich for lunch was a bad idea, because it aggravated my previously unknown gallstones. This all happened only a few days before we were to fly out on our big Halloween trip to Disneyland (That story next week). Luckily, after a very careful diet of carrots and asparagus, I made it to and through my trip without incident. As soon as I got back though I hired a man to cut me open and assassinate my gallbladder, though sadly he refused to wear a hood or use a hidden blade.

That was a week ago yesterday, and I've been on my couch ever since.

In that time I have caught up on The Walking Dead, Legend of Korra, Supernatural, Criminal Minds, several movies on Netflix, a bit of Arrow and a lot of Grey's Anatomy, as well as played Sims 3, Civilization 5, and Rogue Legacy.

And I can't wait for this to end.

See, here's my thing: I use video games, movies and TV as an escape from the stresses of everyday life, but whenever my everyday life is REDUCED to video games, movies and TV I start to wonder about my status as a true geek. I just can't stand having the only thing I accomplished in a day be that my Sim wife took a Sim vacation. I need to be part of the world, even if it is the occasional trip to the mall or even the bank, just so I feel like I'm part of a real society that doesn't exist solely behind a screen.

One trip to the Lego Store later...

I don't know how people can do it. I used to have a roommate a long time ago (No Andrew, this isn't you, calm down) who would go to work then come home and play video games all night, only to repeat the process the next day. He didn't go to church. He didn't go out to social activities or events. He sometimes didn't even bathe (See Andrew, I told you it wasn't you!). I could never understand the appeal of that life. Being here for just a week I already miss my friends, even my job and class which I use entertainment to escape from! For me I need a balance.

It's like in Star Trek. You can't appreciate the brilliant maneuver that finally beats the Romulan Warbird (Next Gen fan, they were always chasing the Romulans) unless you watch the ship get torn apart and crew members falling down next to exploding panels.

I know I shouldn't complain. I remember when my mother had her gallbladder assassinated she had to go back to work three days later, and that was on her feet! People do have it worse than sitting around watching Netflix and inhaling groceries, but as a geek I just wanted to take a moment and look at this little event.

Less complaining and more awesome next week!
-JOE

Also, have you seen Mormon Geek's Pintrest board? This is what I've also been doing!

Check it out!

Five things I want to do in video games

For me the biggest problem with video game is serving size. So many games require almost 100 hours to complete, with all the side quests, collections, and even the story itself! Because of that I've never hit 100% on any game, since I have things like a female and I'm getting an education. While most things in games I have no problem skipping (Who can get all those stupid Riddler trophies?), some I'd like to see if I can get.
Since this list is only five long I actually did order them sequentially this time so feel happy that the thing I want to do most is number one in case you really really wanted to know.

5: Beat one of the survivor modes on a fighter game
I like fighter games, but only if they have super heroes I've heard of before and/or Pikachu. Each one though has a challenge mode where you have to get through all the characters one by one without healing, and I can rarely get through it without switching the game to "easy for a deer to play" mode. I'm not the BEST at these fighting games, but I don't ALWAYS button smash...







4: Collect all the characters in a Lego game

I'm convinced that the Lego video game franchise isn't about Legos exactly. Sure, everyone is made of Legos but that's more of a general style than a plot point anymore. I think what Lego games are really about are letting you play your favorite characters from different franchises in a way that's fun and childish that doesn't need top of the line graphics. Each game has every major character, minor character and random tangentally connected guy in their universe as unlockables. What's disappointing is that most of the unlocked characters are just palette swaps of the characters you unlock in the story so gameplaywise they're isn't much point to it except to play the levels you just finished playing with a different characters to unlock more stuff. Still would be cool to play Lego Marvel again with Deadpool though.

3: Play one Civilization game from beginning to end
This is the game series where you start out with a group of villagers and advance until your flying spaceships to Alpha Centari, so it's long because you're basically playing all of human history. It's incredibly fun, but it takes endless hours to get through a game, even on the lower settings, so it's easy to get distracted. I'd still like to win this thing one day.

2: Watch a Sim live out its entire lifespan
This isn't just from when I drop them into a neighborhood and make them get into fights with the neighbors. I want to have a Sim make a Sim, raise it, watch it go to school, go to college, move out, get a job, fall in love, marry, make their own Sim, then die. Call me the most boring gamer on the planet but I think it would be fun, and I hear trying the real thing is fun too!

1: Collect all the Pokemon
We are now up to over 700 Pokemon in this franchise, and each one has its own way to level up. Since I've convinced several friends to buy 2DS's with me and play the latest game I honestly think I may be able to get this thing, however if I'm ever found passed out and malnourished with my game in one hand and my stuffed Charmander in the other you know what happened.

I would say that I wish my list was longer, but I actually don't. I like video games, but so many of them are either so incredibly long or the stuff you can do is so incredibly needless that it's hard for me to want to do more than hit the story and move on. Some games I like, some I want to finish, but many I just can't get interested in because it always comes down to the same thing: Would I rather play this video game or go play a board game with my roommate and that gal I'm getting ready to marry? Not many games win this debate.
-JOE

My adventures in Disneyland part 3

Day two:

Our tickets for Disneyland included a “Magic morning”, which means we got into the park an hour early. This is cool in concept, but it means most of the rides and park itself was closed, so we didn’t have much to do. We did get to see the flag raising ceremony and check out Disney’s latest attraction, the Mideval fair, which featured a little air conditioned room where you could meet princesses. So Andrew Katie and I met Arial, Cinderella and Aurora.

We spent the day much like the first: Going on rides and meeting characters. After a riverboat ride, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blaster and Indiana Jones we found ourselves in line to visit Pixie Hollow, I having a niece in love with the modern interpretation of Tinkerbelle. The problem though was that the line was 45 minutes long and had little to no shade, so my fairer skinned traveling companions got a bit sun-fried before the end. When we finally got in to meet Miss Belle, we found that she wasn’t alone. Now I know I said that I’m a huge Disney fan, but forgive me for not being acquainted with Tink’s new circle of friends. Who did we meet? I honestly have no idea. All I know is that he was a boy fairy who really liked Katie’s shiny hat. Tinkerbelle was nice enough to not only give me her autograph and photo, but to let us videotape her saying hi to my niece Bella.

As I said earlier, Katie and Andrew didn’t do too well in the sun, so they went somewhere to cool off while I checked out some sort of animal land with Winnie the Pooh. It was fun to explore Disneyland on my own, as I made my way back to Fantasyland and ran into Repunzel and Flynn Ryder, two more of my niece’s favorite characters. More pictures and another video later and I was ready to meet back up with companions.

We decided to hit Downtown Disney to find dinner and the legendary Lego Store, a must-see for a Lego fan. After a brisk exploration through the outdoor mall, we found a massive Lego model of Malificent, as well as giant Lego Buzz Lightyear and Woody and Belle and Beast. Inside was a paradise where I got to build my own minifigures and pick up a Lego Superman key ring. I was like a kid in a candy store, but with candy you probably don’t want to eat.

The next two days we hit the other parks on our tickets: Namely Universal Studios then Sea World. Overall: Universal was pretty cool and Sea World was kind of disappointing.

Let me explain:

It may be that I’d been spoiled by two days at Disneyworld, but Universal Studios was fun but kind of disappointing. The high points included the Simpsons ride, which felt like we had been catapulted right into an episode of one of my favorite childhood cartoons, Jurassic Park ride, which had enough animatronic dinosaurs to make my inner child squee, and the Universal back lot tour, where we got to see the Mule from Serenity as well as the world’s biggest 3D screen and a murder at the Bates motel, all very exciting. The down side was the “big” prop museum, which for a studio that kept harping on how they’ve been making movies for 100 years, you’d think that the prop museum would be bigger than a 711.

Day four brought us to Sea World, home of the giant fish monsters. I honestly thought we’d sit in an audience while some marine biologist taught me about whales and dolphins while they splashed around and did flips. What we got was something much… different. The killer whale show was whales jumping around while a video taught us about saving the oceans, the dolphin show was a 20 minute water ballet with about 2 or 3 minutes of dolphins, and the sea lion show… Well… I don’t think it’s a good sign when a 6 pound sea otter chases off a 400 pound sea lion and the trainer looks embarrassed. The highlights were when we actually got to see the animals without the useless trainers trying to “entertain” us. We saw penguins and a baby whale that was beyond cute.

Wanna hear about the last day at Disneyland when we hit California Adventures? Check out Mormongeeks Monday for the thrilling conclusion!

-JOE

Lego maniac!

So unless you grew up under the sea, you probably owned Legos at one point in your life. But if you're old enough to rent a car you probably haven't bought a Lego set for yourself in a very long time, to which I say "Why not?" I'm happy to report that as a twenty-something male adult, Legos are still just as much fun as when I was being yelled at for putting them in my mouth.

As a kid I had a pretty impressive collection, but due to moving across creation I lost the whole set. Fast forward ahead to two Christmases ago when my girlfriend decided to buy me a Lego Buzz Lightyear. After I threw it together in about ten minutes she took it as a personal challenge to find me a Lego set that would pose a challenge. We ended up with nearly the entire Lego Harry Potter collection, a few Star Wars pieces, and the Justice League before the Lego Death Star kicked my trash with a three day build time. I swear after I finished the two foot monstrosity everything I saw was in Lego and grey. I thought I was done at that point until Lego teamed up with Peter Jackson and came out with Lego Lord of the Rings, a set I had to buy if I wanted to keep my Lego geek membership card. I ended up only buying the sets that got me the entire Fellowship, which meant I also ended up with like 5 Frodos. It made sense since with the Harry Potter set I now have like 15 little Harrys.

Now I can jabber on all day about my Lego sets, but I don't they can be fully appreciated unless they're seen, so here's some of my favorite pieces.

Here we have the Death Star, freshly completed. The little guy at the bottom is Ron Weasley by the way. At nearly two feet tall it was definitely worth the three days and loss of sanity it took to build the thing.

Here we see the Justice League of America has taken on the Death Star, and for good reason (Note the Lego poster above the Death Star and my action figure collection on the mantle in the back:))

No wonder the League was after it! What's Gollum, Lex Luthor, Dracula, The Joker, Davy Jones, Emperor Palpatine, Voldemort and Magnito planning?

This is me, fellow Mormongeeks writer Stephen Larsen and our friend Chad Mosher in Lego Hunger Games style. 

The Hobbits went on a joy ride, though I think the only one who's enjoying it is Pipin in the back. 

The Toll Sheriff is my Lego bar and has everything that a bar needs: A Steampunk bartender, live music, and a dragon on top. 

The bad guys aren't the only ones who hang out, though after I put this together I decided I need the rest of the Avengers so that Cap there can have his buddies too. And for those who don't know, that's Robin showing off behind Superman. 

Hogwarts is actually a bunch of little sets, but I decided to combine them and build one big castle. 

An enchanted little forest, including a Steampunk hunter, Little Red Riding Hood, and Poison Ivy. Oh, and Harry and Ginny kissing on the tower. AWWWW!

All my other sets are awesome, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. Joker's fun house today features Robin tied up on the tracks with Harley ready to run him over and Batman being lowered into a barrel of Joker's Parana. Riddler is just there to chill. 

Last but not least: Here's just a pile of a bunch of my stuff. Shown here: Hogwarts Express, the Batcave, the Death Star, the Black Pearl and the Queen Anne's Revenge.

-JOE