Obviously I would have liked to see the Packers in there, but beyond that I just get tired of seeing the same teams win it.  The Patriots are always contenders and I'm so tired of them at this point.  Would have been a lot more interesting to watch Luck and the Colts IMO.  On the NFC side, I would have loved to see the Cardinals or Lions finally get to the big game.  Just not interested in seeing either SB team win this year.

Had a coupon for a free minifigure with purchase at a LEGO Store so I stopped by over the weekend and snagged two of the Shadow Trooper battle packs. It bumped my VIP rewards to $50, so after saving up some cash I'll finally be purchasing the Ewok Village, at which point I'll only be 2 sets behind.

Sorry for the triple post but days after getting my Revo Vader I decided to preorder some more stuff on HLJ, including the Revo Stormtrooper, 3PO and R2-D2. Yesterday I get an email saying they have the Revo Stormtrooper in stock, and now he's on his way to America.

I'm just so tired of genpop hits being frowned on for awards.  If you sold a whole bunch of tickets and there's positive buzz around your movie, you should be up for "Best Picture."  If you were a little 200 theater release artsy fartsy that a dozen people liked, you should be up for "Best Artsy Fartsy." 

I get where you're coming from.  The only time in recent memory where we saw a blockbuster film get some serious recognition at the Oscars was for Lord of the Rings - Return of the King.  Avatar got nominated, and I think that's because of pure force of will on the part of James Cameron.  But he didn't win for Best Director or Best Picture.  Still, a film like American Sniper is doing well at the box office and got a bunch of nominations.

The problem is the Academy.  The people who vote regard themselves as artists/filmmakers.  Some of their work makes money, some doesn't. And they take themselves VERY seriously.  Probably far more seriously than they should.  When a comedian like Ricky Gervais knocks these actors while hosting the Golden Globes there are all these gasps and groans from the audience.  And really, they need to get over themselves and what they do.  They're entertainers.  They aren't curing cancer.

The economy of filmmaking does come into play here.  The blockbuster movies are designed to make money for the studio as a whole.  They're considered tent-pole movies that will support the studio as a whole as well as provide funding for the smaller films that are more artistic and less likely to turn a profit.  That sense of broad appeal seems, in most cases, to have this inverse effect among the Academy voters where a big summer movie rarely gets nominated.  At least not for the major acting awards.  So maybe there's some resentment from the filmmakers who are involved in the smaller projects that feel money that could be funding their films is going towards the next Star Wars or Avengers film?

All three of these vehicles are in huge supply at Disneyland's Star Trader. I think they are about $5 more than retail.