New look for my LEGO blog

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Mike Walsh

This evening I installed a new theme for my LEGO blog.  This blog is run by WordPress and WordPress allows a site to be styled using what is called a theme.  I have wanted to build a new theme for my site for a while and I have been working on a LEGO theme based on the Sandbox theme for a while.  In the last few days I finally had some time to really work on it and finish it up enough to start using it.

The theme supports a number of color schemes and it will take me a little while to get them all done.  Right now I have three, red, blue, and green, working.  Adding colors isn?t hard, just picking some colors that look good together and adding them to the script which generates the CSS files.

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The 2009 LEGO Tour is coming to Raleigh

Posted on September 12, 2009 by Mike Walsh

There was a note in the N&O this morning about the 2009 LEGO Tour coming to Raleigh. The LEGO Tour will be at the North Carolina State Fair fr Ocrober 15-18. Now that Raleigh has a LEGO Store we are on the LEGO map. I think the last tour to com through Raleigh was in 1997 or 1998.

http://projects.newsobserver.com/taking_stock/the_lego_tour_is_coming

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Excellent LEGO Advertisement

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Mike Walsh

I am scanning through my RSS feeds this morning and found this article at the top of the list.  It links to Gizmodo and the article is mostly about the author?s visit to the LEGO Vault in Billund.

What really caught my eye was the scan of the old LEGO advertisement.  This advertisement is from 1981 ? 28 years ago!

What_It_Is_Is_Beautiful_450x621

The picture in this is amazing – the smile and obvious pride on her face is what makes this ad so compelling, particularly to me as a parent.  I have seen the {hotel, house, tractor, semi-truck, race car, etc.} that my kids have built.   I have seen that face, I have seen that pride, I have seen that excitement.

In so many ways simple is so much better and this is one of them.  An ad doesn?t have to scream at you, it doesn?t have to be in your face or so full of eye candy that you can?t tell what the message is.  This ad strikes the exact chord I think LEGO should focus on and what really separates it from other toys.

A 28 year old ad is as powerful today as when it first appeared.  The LEGO in the pictured in the ad is every bit as powerful and useful today as it was 28 years ago.  Not a lot of toys or other products for that matter, can say that.

Posted in Caught My Eye, LEGO, Media Coverage | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

LEGO Flex Track

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Mike Walsh

8867 It has been rumored for a while but it looks like it is a reality now.  Some images have popped up on a Czech LEGO web site of the new flex track.  LEGO set 8867 includes 64 flexible elements.  Looks interesting.  I may have to invest in some Power Function elements!  With this new track and the 10194 Emerald Night steam engine, 2009 is looking like a pretty good year for train fans.

Posted in Caught My Eye, LEGO | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Profile of Joe Meno in N&O

Posted on March 1, 2009 by Mike Walsh

Yesterday a profile of Joe Meno ran in the News and Observer in which I was quoted.  The N&O reporter had called me Friday morning to ask some question about Joe and the LEGO hobby.  I ended up talking to him for almost half an hour.

It is a nice article which really focuses on Brick Journal for the most part.  There is also some discussion of the hobby and the LEGO Store coming to Crabtree Valley Mall later this year.

Posted in Media Coverage, Shopping | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment