theBrickBlogger.com — Sharing the Passion of the LEGO Hobby!

Have a happy and LEGO filled 2014!

by Thita (admin) on January 1, 2014

in Community News

Welcome to 2014! At this time last year we discussed new year’s resolutions that can help LEGO fans managing their hobby; organizing, displaying, budgeting, planning for new LEGO projects, meeting new friends, etc. You can still joint that discussion here: What is Your LEGO New Year’s Resolution? Today I would like to reflect on the LEGO hobby in the larger scheme of things; how it fits into our lives and into the world we live in. 🙂

The reason I thought of this topic is because the LEGO company, as well as the LEGO hobby itself, has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past couple of years – in direct opposition of the rest of the economy. (See LEGO’s annual reports and progress reports here.)Prices on all basic necessities continue to rise, people have been loosing their jobs, their homes, their savings, and we are in a constant state of war with somebody or something. So why is LEGO so popular? Why are people spending money on a toy when they have trouble with other areas of their lives? 😕

A couple of years ago I read an interesting article (unfortunately I don’t remember where) about the success of child-actress Shirley Temple. She rose to popularity during the Great Depression; her sweet, innocent and funny nature stole the hearts of moviegoers. She took peoples’ mind off of the harshness of everyday reality and fulfilled their yearning for a better, kinder life. Besides being an incredibly talented and hard-working little kid, she was also at the right place at the right time to bring some sunshine into an otherwise bleak world.

The same thing is said about Cicely Mary Barker, a favorite artist of mine. Her charming little Flower Fairies became incredibly popular between the two World Wars and beyond (and are popular to this day). In the introduction of the book The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies – which is a compilation of most of her artwork – it is mentioned how the war-weary public was fascinated by Cicely’s fairies and charmed by her vision of innocence. It is said that when people are under a lot of pressure and there is a lot of darkness, hopelessness and uncertainty around, they either take to activities and substances to go even further down the abyss, or reach out to something innocent, creative, and beautiful that remind them of better times.

So what about LEGO? Of course LEGO has been around since 1949, but its recent growth has been quite unprecedented. Are people turning to the LEGO hobby as a welcome break from everyday life? Or because they know its long-term value and durability? Or is it all in the hands of speculators who are buying and selling LEGO on the secondary market making the hobby artificially inflated? What do you think?

Also, today theBrickBlogger turned 3 years old! I wanted to thank all of our readers, supporters, contributors, guest-bloggers and everyone else who helped us make 2013 a fun year! I also wanted to thank our friends at LEGO, especially Kevin Hinkle, Kim Ellekjær Thomsen and Jan Beyer, who work very hard to support both the online LEGO communities as well as LEGO Users Groups. Any time we have a question, request, or problem they are immediately there to help out. So thank you all! Below is a fun map of all the countries and territories that have visited theBrickBlogger; so far 224 countries/territories visited and 289 flags have been collected (you can find the full interactive map here). And yes, we finally have one visitor from Saint Helena, a tiny and very isolated island-group I was always hoping to get a visitor from! So where are you on the map? 😉

From the look of the 2014 LEGO sets and new releases; including the reappearance of LEGO Ninjago, the launching of The LEGO Movie and related sets, the launching of the LEGO Disney Princess line, the continuation of popular themes like LEGO Legends of Chima, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Lord of the Rings, LEGO Super Heroes, LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, LEGO City, etc., it seems like we are going to have another great year! What do you think?

What about you? What are your plans in regards to the LEGO hobby this year? What projects are you planning to work on? Any new sets you are saving up for? Any LEGO related events you are going to? Feel free to share in the comment section below! And have a wonderful and LEGO-filled year! 😀

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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Get the LEGO Legends of Chima soundtrack!

by Thita (admin) on December 31, 2013

in Other LEGO Sets & Themes

Although LEGO Legends of Chima is geared towards a very young television audience, the music by Danish composer Anthony Lledo (Screamfest Award winner for his Frostbitten score, released by MovieScore Media in 2006) is very much grown up. Written in the tradition of big orchestral fantasy-film scores and championing strong melodic content and colorful orchestrations, Legends of Chima is a mature symphonic score worthy of any epic story – and certainly a perfect accompaniment to the magical word of Chima. 🙂

For the Legends of Chima soundtrack album the composer has compiled the best music from the TV show creating a varied and exciting collection, expertly mastered by engineering veteran John Rodd (Elysium). Below is a bit of info from the official press-release:

“Legends of Chima is a direct continuation of the composer’s long-time association with LEGO, M2 Film and director Peder Pedersen for whom he adapted classic John Williams themes for LEGO Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Brick (2008), LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 (2009) and Star Wars: Bombad Bounty (2010) – all directed by Legends of Chima co-director Pedersen. Anthony Lledo’s work on Legends of Chima is an exciting, colorful and impressively epic score that plays an important role in expanding the world of Chima. The music benefits from the great support coming from live musicians: strings and brass are recorded by the F.A.M.E.’s orchestra is Skopje, Macedonia while woodwinds are recorded in Los Angeles. Highlights include the whimsical Playful Tribes, the majestic Chi and the epic The Great Story which features a guest performance by Anthony’s son, Elliot. The 13 tracks contain the most memorable moments from Legends of Chima.”

The total length of the Legends of Chima album is little over half an hour long. Below is the track-list from the album:

Laval the Lion – 3:17
Chi – 2:40
Playful Tribes – 2:36
The CrocSwamp – 3:04
Cragger – 2:37
Speedor Races – 2:10
When We Were Kids – 2:12
Rhinos – 1:51
The Warrior Within – 2:26
Forever Rock – 2:14
Drums of Chima – 1:30
The Big Battle – 2:20
The Great Story – 2:53

I have listened to the whole album, and I’m confident that LEGO Legends of Chima fans would love it. Also, even if you are not such a big Chima fan, but if you like epic film-scores you will enjoy this collection. The Legends of Chima soundtrack album is available for digital download at iTUNES, AMAZON, eMUSIC. There is also a CD version, but it is currently only available in the UK and Europe at the following places: KRONOS RECORDS, AMAZON.CO.UK. You can listen to sample music from the soundtrack at these location as well.

What do you think? How do you like the soundtrack of the LEGO Legends of Chima TV show? Are you considering buying the soundtrack? Or have you done it already? Feel free to share your thoughts or own review in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the LEGO Legends of Chima section for more news, reviews and discussions, or select from the following:

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Have a happy and LEGO filled 2014!

Get the LEGO Legends of Chima soundtrack!

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