Google, Porn Stars, and LEGO!

It has been an oddly eventful week for LEGO...

Just last week, millions of men across the globe blew the dust off their old childhood LEGO boxes and got building. Why? Because recently porn star Christie Mack made headlines after announcing via Twitter that she would perform a very NSFW act for whoever builds her the best LEGO model to put in her home. This is not only hilarious, but a very clever form of self marketing. Everybody loves LEGO, and she was just taking advantage of the cultural phenomenon that it is.

But that's not the only thing LEGO has done in the past week that's made headlines;

Apparently, LEGO is in full marketing mode leading up to the LEGO Movie (set to hit theaters in early February), having partnered with Chrome and releasing a new software that allows chrome users to build virtual Lego, somehow integrating this with Google maps. I think it's awesome that Google has made this partnership, as it proves that LEGO appeals to not only kids of people of all ages.

(Try it out at http://www.buildwithchrome.com/)

I, for one, already have Lego Digital Designer, so I'm fine without the program. However,I think that this partnership is just another example of how LEGO is a huge force in our culture and society.

Lego Digital Designer (First Project Update!)

Hello everybody

So, as you may or may not know, the purpose of my project is to build a LEGO model of my high school, and give it to the school when I'm finished.

A lot of people have asked me (1) how I plan on doing this, (2) how I'll get the LEGO, and (3) how long it will take. So here is my response to those questions.

1) I plan on designing the school on Lego Digital Designer  (also known as LDD). Digital Designer is a free computer program that is basically virtual LEGO. 

2) Once I've successfully designed the model, I'll take an inventory of the parts and order them on Bricklink, which is an online LEGO marketplace. 

3) I'm not exactly sure how long the model component of my overall project will take, but It should all be done and wrapped up around May 2014. 

I've already begun designing the base of school, referencing a map on the back of the student planners. I want everything to be as close to scale as possible, but I won't be bothered if it's not exactly perfect. (scale wise). I do, however, plan to pack AS MUCH DETAIL IN AS POSSIBLE, because with LEGO, anything is possible depending on how creatively you are willing to use the pieces.

My current progress on the base. LDD is very simple, and I've been using the program for a long time.

Introductory post (what is this blog all about??)

Hello all.

My name is Milo Krimstein, and I consider myself to be a Lego enthusiast. I'm a Senior at Evanston Township High School, and have been lucky enough to be a part of a class called Senior Studies. Senior Studies is a class that pushes students into adulthood by integrating them with their community, doing lots of community service hours, and teaching them about social issues. But that's all mainly first semester stuff. I've thoroughly enjoyed learning in Senior Studies, but I'm looking forward to beginning second semester more than anything.

A young version of myself
with what I believe is a pet
rock

So what's the big deal about second semester? Why is it so much cooler than first?

Well, the main feature of senior studies is the Second Semester Project! That is, an independent project that is just about completely self motivated. Some kids do extensive research projects for their second semester project, and produce a final product of essays or interviews or whatnot. Other kids take a more creative approach, and study music or learn new hobbies. The possibilities for what can be done for the second semester project are just about endless, and as soon as I heard about the existence of Senior Studies when I was a sophomore, I knew that I would sign up for the class and do a project focusing on LEGO!

My LEGO Citi Field
 (lets go Mets!!!)

So Lego it is. I build a lot of Lego and Lego has been a huge part of my life. My main intention for the project is to build a LEGO model of my high school. I intend to give it to ETHS when I'm done with it. On top of that, I plan to really dive into the Lego community that exists and learn about the many ways people use Lego, the many ways Lego impacts our society, and to uncover anything about the Lego culture that most people don't know about.

As for my previous experience in Lego building, I've been a builder my whole life. However, a large chunk of my childhood was actually somewhat "Lego-less" (no, not this guy). I say it was Lego-less because my physical Lego collection was actually in storage, far away from my house. However, I still found a way to build, which was by using Lego Digital Designer, a computer program that pretty much is virtual Lego building. Using this program, I built a lot of stadiums and learned a lot about the intricate potential for building that exists with Lego.

The seating bowl of Wrigley Field,
my first LEGO stadium

Here is a link to my MOCpages account: http://www.mocpages.com/home.php/20815
I enjoy looking back at my old models on this account and seeing how much I learned about lego as my models progressed. Ultimately, after my family moved to a house with more space I got my Legos back and had the opprotunity to build a real model!

I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can about LEGO over the course of this project, and I hope I can educate others about the many awesome ways LEGO impacts our society.