Open Mouth. Insert Foot.
A teenage boy cautiously stood up in front of the gathered crowd of twenty. Eager anticipation grew as he revealed his newly created masterpiece model. Built over a single night's time, the beautifully designed LEGO church teemed with timeless charm and exquisite detailing. The crowd marveled. This was truly something to be proud of.
Gaining confidence with each reassuring nod of his inspired audience, he spoke: "I tried to make it as close to reality as possible. It's got a stained-glass window and a wooden door. I used a whole bunch of different colored bricks to make the walls look old and worn. Here's the alter and there are even three people in the pews..."
"Just like a real church," I quipped.
The crowd nervously chuckled and then a few began to "oooooooh." Oh man, I can't believe I let that one slip out. The kid smiled and continued onward with his exposition.
Later in the evening, the boy's father sat down next to me and politely smiled. "You know, I couldn't help but comment on your remark earlier. I'm a Baptist Minister..."
When I worked at Disney back in 1995, there were three simple topics that we were completely forbidden from talking about with guests: Sex, Politics and Religion. To entertain such a conversation with anyone on Disney property was grounds for termination. You would have thought that I would have learned a lesson so long ago. Nope, instead, I yet again had to acquaint myself with the unpalatable flavor of foot in my mouth.
Actually, the father was very cool about the whole thing and we had a pretty lighthearted conversation about how religion is struggling to reconnect with today's society. But it just reminds me yet again how I really need to work better at filtering my own thoughts.
On a less awkward topic, The Cafe Corner, now on it's third month on the market, has really inspired some very cool stuff in the fan community. I've been contacted almost every week now with someone showing me a link to someone's cool creation. If you're really bored, feel free to check out some of these fun links:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2395335
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=242115
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=241402
http://festum.de/1000steine/myimages/album836
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=243096
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=244148
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=245077
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=243628
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/matthewcrandall9/BF2007pix/pict0067.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BrickMeister/Liberation10182/liberation_at_cafe_corner_001.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=242586
http://brickzone.net/reviews/10182.html
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=244908
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2372535
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2408666
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2376217
http://www.maj.com/gallery/Timothy-Smith/10182/10182Modules/002.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=247453
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mumu/Vignette/MiniCC/minicc_01.jpg
My favorite link, however, has to be the new blog that Richard created for fans of the Cafe Corner. You can check it out at:
http://bricktowntalk.blogspot.com/
In non-LEGO news, I'm finally moved into my new apartment. It's a pretty decent place and the neighbors are really nice. After being in storage for over a year, all my stuff is finally over here too. Woo-Hoo! No more living out of the two suitcases I brought here 15 months ago :)
One of the other nice things about having my own place is that I now finally have internet access. Yay! Hopefully this will give me more opportunities to try and keep up with some of the family and friends back in the States. I miss you guys!
Gaining confidence with each reassuring nod of his inspired audience, he spoke: "I tried to make it as close to reality as possible. It's got a stained-glass window and a wooden door. I used a whole bunch of different colored bricks to make the walls look old and worn. Here's the alter and there are even three people in the pews..."
"Just like a real church," I quipped.
The crowd nervously chuckled and then a few began to "oooooooh." Oh man, I can't believe I let that one slip out. The kid smiled and continued onward with his exposition.
Later in the evening, the boy's father sat down next to me and politely smiled. "You know, I couldn't help but comment on your remark earlier. I'm a Baptist Minister..."
When I worked at Disney back in 1995, there were three simple topics that we were completely forbidden from talking about with guests: Sex, Politics and Religion. To entertain such a conversation with anyone on Disney property was grounds for termination. You would have thought that I would have learned a lesson so long ago. Nope, instead, I yet again had to acquaint myself with the unpalatable flavor of foot in my mouth.
Actually, the father was very cool about the whole thing and we had a pretty lighthearted conversation about how religion is struggling to reconnect with today's society. But it just reminds me yet again how I really need to work better at filtering my own thoughts.
On a less awkward topic, The Cafe Corner, now on it's third month on the market, has really inspired some very cool stuff in the fan community. I've been contacted almost every week now with someone showing me a link to someone's cool creation. If you're really bored, feel free to check out some of these fun links:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2395335
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=242115
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=241402
http://festum.de/1000steine/myimages/album836
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=243096
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=244148
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=245077
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=243628
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/matthewcrandall9/BF2007pix/pict0067.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BrickMeister/Liberation10182/liberation_at_cafe_corner_001.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=242586
http://brickzone.net/reviews/10182.html
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=244908
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2372535
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2408666
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2376217
http://www.maj.com/gallery/Timothy-Smith/10182/10182Modules/002.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=247453
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mumu/Vignette/MiniCC/minicc_01.jpg
My favorite link, however, has to be the new blog that Richard created for fans of the Cafe Corner. You can check it out at:
http://bricktowntalk.blogspot.com/
In non-LEGO news, I'm finally moved into my new apartment. It's a pretty decent place and the neighbors are really nice. After being in storage for over a year, all my stuff is finally over here too. Woo-Hoo! No more living out of the two suitcases I brought here 15 months ago :)
One of the other nice things about having my own place is that I now finally have internet access. Yay! Hopefully this will give me more opportunities to try and keep up with some of the family and friends back in the States. I miss you guys!