LEGO | Indiana Jones Classic Adventures Collection

LEGO recently came out with the Indiana Jones Classic Adventures Collection, a series of playsets based on scenes from the Indiana Jones movies.

All 4 sets of the LEGO Indiana Jones Classic Adventures Collection

There are four sets available: Temple Escape, which recreates the trap-filled temple at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark; Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb, which features the hidden resting place of the Ark of the Covenant; Race for the Stolen Treasure, which is the chase scene in Raiders; and Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase, which was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb set, with the Ark of the Covenant, Marion,
and snakes (not shown)

Every set is packed with detail that LEGO is famous for, complete with a hieroglyphic piece that shows R2-D2, C-3PO, and Princess Leia--I'm not kidding, LOL. Not sure why nothing from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was recreated though.

The Temple Escape set, complete with gold idol, rolling boulder, and seaplane

The cheapest set starts at around US $10 (Motorcycle Chase) with the most expensive one being the Temple Escape at US $60. Let's see now...US $60 here is about P2,500--but since LEGO sets here are always ridiculously overpriced, expect at least double the price if these sets will be available.

Gizmos | Matte Bronze PSP

Today in Japan sees the release of yet another new PSP color, officially called "Matte Bronze." The new color really looks nice--I prefer this one than the mostly pastel PSPs that were previously released.


But wait! This new PSP color seems familiar...now where did I see it before? Oh right--this is actually the same color as the Special Edition Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G PSP that was released just last month, but without those cool-looking monster icons.

Well, can't blame Sony for wanting to milk more money from their gamers; the color is awesome, but the one with the Monster Hunter guild crests looks ten times cooler.

Music | Elvis Costello - Everyday I Write The Book

Another one of my favorites, from English musician Elvis Costello, which first came out in 1983, back when he shared equal billing with his band called The Attractions.

I'm not a big fan of Costello's songs, but Everyday I Write The Book was exceptional, plus it sounded way different from most of the tiresome New Wave stuff that came out during that time.

The song also had an excellent music video that featured lookalikes of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, with Diana looking extremely bored as Charles tries his best to get her attention.



It's uncanny to think that this first came out during the early 1980's, when Charles and Diana were still newlyweds--who would've thought that the video would turn out to be eerily prophetic on the state of their marriage?

Film | Horton Hears a Who!

I've always enjoyed reading the books by Dr. Seuss when I was kid--maybe because of the simple illustrations, or maybe because of the whimsical way the verses rhymed, despite the seeming nonsense they contained.

In any case, the books found their way to TV and movies through the years, with the animated TV specials becoming classics while the live movie versions turned into prime examples of everything wrong with Hollywood--the horrible How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was an exercise in overblown wretched excess, and the less said about the godawful The Cat in the Hat, the better.

So when I learned that they were making a cgi-animated version of Horton Hears A Who!, I was skeptical, even more so when I found out Jim Carrey was Horton's voice--Carrey, who overacted his way as The Grinch in the shitty live version.

It turns out that I was wrong, and boy was I glad. Horton Hears a Who! is the best Dr. Seuss film yet, and that won't make him mad. The cgi rendering captures the look of the books just fine, with every animal, every tree, and everything else looking so divine. ^_^

One big surprise was Carrey himself--his voice actually made Horton every bit as charming and valiant as he's supposed to be; who would've thought? Also included in the fine cast of voice actors were Steve Carell and Carol Burnett, who gave exceptional performances.

Horton's well-known line, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful one hundred percent!" can be heard here, even though it wasn't originally in the book, but in another Horton story, Horton Hatches the Egg. The book's most famous line is "A person's a person, no matter how small", and it's hard not to miss it in the movie. Highly recommended.