finding cain

What kind of Christmas tree will grace our house this year? I'm thinking smaller, made of plastic, and frankly, quite expensive. I'm planning to get this new LEGO Family Christmas Tree Decoration. It has a total of 3,171 pieces and retails for $329.99. It has a small sleigh and reindeer along with seven minifigs. These include Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and five elves. Of course, there will be moments of frustration – a misplaced piece, a section collapsing, but it will be fun. This LEGO set will be more than just an ornament; it will be a testament to my family’s beautiful and chaotic holiday spirit. We'll bond, we'll laugh, and we'll probably yell a lot.  

Because it's that kind of day, and because why not, and because, actually, it's kind of awesome, here is the album cover for Stone Temple Pilots' debut album Core , recreated in LEGO by Adnan Lotia . Did you know Core is actually 29 years old now? I bet if you turned on your radio you'd be able to hear it playing somewhere. "I wanna run through your wicked garden heard that's the place to find you/ 'Cause I'm alive so alive now, I know the darkness blinds you." Is it really just Wednesday? Anyway, enjoy. Stone Temple Pilots' Debut 'Core' Turns 25

Here's a stunning build-and-display model of the Taj Mahal. It's made up of 2,022 LEGO pieces and measures over 9 inches wide. The set costs $120, is available now , and sadly might be the closest I'll ever come to realizing my dream of being an architect. WATCH:

They're on mugs, clothes, bags, pillows, shoes. They're in cereals, cotton candies, cakes. Little girls love them. Heck, some boys and adults are obsessed too. But do unicorns exist? Yes. And there's lots of them.

This portrait of Marilyn Monroe is made up of over 3,000 tiny LEGO pieces and is part of a new line of building kits geared towards adults. It sells for $120 (about PHP 6,000) and is due to debut in stores outside the U.S. next month. Aside from Andy Warhol's Marilyn, other LEGO Art sets revealed include Iron Man, The Beatles, and iconic villains from Star Wars. One cool thing about these kits is that each comes with its own unique soundtrack for you to listen to while you're putting your wall worthy mosaic poster together. You can read more about them by visiting LEGO.com. If you like LEGO mosaic art, check out Peter Laven's creations . The Texas-based artist is famous for recreating distinctive works of art using thousands of LEGO bricks, and it takes him hours, even days to complete them.

This is the $300 LEGO version of Old Trafford football stadium. The set contains 3,898 pieces including an enormous instruction manual, and measures 18 inches long, 15 inches wide, and 6.5 inches high. The Danish toymaker has recreated all aspects of the model to be as accurate to the real thing—from details like the Munich Clock and statues of Sir Alex Ferguson, Matt Busby, and the United Trinity, to the Stretford End. Definitely not for the faint of heart. WATCH:

Nobody's ever too old for toys. And this LEGO version of the Batmobile from Tim Burton's 1989 Batman flick is a thing of beauty. The 3,300-piece set measures over 4 inches high, 23 inches long and 8 inches wide when fully assembled. It's highly detailed and comes complete with minifig versions of Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger as Batman, The Joker and Vicki Vale. Other features include a slide-open cockpit, pop-up machine guns, and a rotating display stand. The $250 model is the perfect Christmas gift for LEGO and Batman fans. Unless you've been naughty this year like I've been, then you can expect nothing more than a fruitcake. Check out BrickVault's review of the LEGO 1989 Batmobile building set below:

Before LEGO made plastic bricks, it was all about wooden playthings. Now the Danish company is releasing a limited edition collectible that commemorates its history as a wooden toymaker in the 1930s. The LEGO Originals Wooden Minifigure is five times the size of the usual minifig. It's carved from real oak and is presented in a premium gift box with 29 LEGO elements. The 7-inch version comes with a 28-page booklet that celebrates the legacy of the minifigure, the work that went into developing the wooden model, and ideas on how LEGO enthusiasts can customize their new collectible. It will be available to LEGO VIP members starting November 3 for $120. A global release is set for November 8.

Even if you don't know what's really happening in this new LEGO commercial, the ad is still a visual treat. Titled Rebuild the World , it's the Danish toymaker's first brand campaign since the 80s.

You may never own a real Defender, but you can proudly display this impressive LEGO Technic model, a collaboration between Land Rover and the Danish toy brand. The 2,573-piece kit is packed with authentic details and features, including a six-cylinder engine with a working winch, removable roof rack with storage box, a working steering wheel and forward-folding rear seats that reveal the 4-speed sequential gearbox. The replica measures over 8 inches high, 16 inches long and 7 inches wide. The LEGO Technic Land Rover Defender will be available starting October 1st and could set you back by about Php10,300. Time to start saving.

I envy the child who gets this for a present. It's huge. Clocking in at 4,784 pieces, the set features swiveling guns, a movable radar dish, hinged engine exhausts, two blaster pistol weapons, and two Imperial crew member minifigs.  You also get Princess Leia's Tantive IV ship to build, so you can relive that opening scene from Star Wars: A New Hope . If you'd rather show off your giant new building kit, you can use the included display stand and informational plaque. The 43-inch Devastator will retail for $700 USD beginning September 18 for LEGO VIPs followed by general availability on October 1.

Blind and visually impaired children can now enjoy LEGO just as much as their sighted friends do, thanks to the Danish company's audio and braille building instructions. From LEGO : "While these instructions show radical innovation, there’s still a lot of progress to be made in terms of further developing the AI software and automating the process. The long term ambition is to add more languages and support all future product launches - most importantly however, is to ensure fun and high quality learning through play experiences." The service is currently available for free through the LEGO Audio Instructions site . It's still in pilot stage but, depending on consumer feedback, the company will launch more audio and braille instructions next year.

How does Eric the Stormtrooper spend his time? He feeds sandwiches to the dinosaurs, dresses up as Batman, travels to beautiful places and plays the ukulele, according to these photos by Darryll Jones . The South African photographer is shooting images of his beloved action figure posed in various scenarios, either performing mundane tasks, doing awesome stuff, or just chilling around, for a project called Have You Seen Eric . Darryll's delightful photo series began after he moved to the UK from South Africa six years ago. He didn't realize how dark and cold the winter days could be and he found himself confined to the indoors, with only a few LEGO Stormtroopers as companions. "I took a little LEGO Stormtrooper down, and I used my 105mm Macro Sigma lens, and started taking a few shots of him, Darryll told the Daily Dot . "I started making little movie posters and intricate setups that won a few daily deviation awards on deviantART, and from there it just took o...

We can thank aBetterMonkey for this. After getting the required number of votes , LEGO has now secured the licensing rights and has confirmed that it will make an official Adventure Time set. There is no word yet on pricing, availability, or what the final version will look like. But what matters is that Finn, Jake, and the rest of the gang have finally been given the greenlight. I would play with those cheerfully and if any kids asked to join I would let them, but I'd have to be Finn.

If you happen to venture to England in the coming weeks, make sure to visit Legoland Windsor's exhibition of this massive LEGO Death Star. The spherical model contains over 500,000 bricks, weighs approximately 1,900 pounds, and took 15 builders with superhuman abilities over three months to complete. The 2.4 meter wide, 3 meter high creation will serve as the centerpiece of the 651,086-piece Star Wars Miniland Model Display, which will be showcased when Legoland Windsor opens for the season on March 11.  [h/t: Comic Book Resources ]

Brazilian designer Arthur Sacek created a delightful LEGO contraption that transforms a sheet of paper into a paper airplane and then shoots it in the air. The machine was all done in the name of a Super Bowl ad for Arrow Electronics, a company which specializes in distribution and value added services relating to electronic components.  The design seems simple but it took Sacek four days to build the apparatus, using thousands of pieces (including Lego Mindstorms intelligent bricks) and lots of paper. How did he do it? Check out the behind the scenes video here . [h/t: GeekWire ]

Peter Laven, an artist from Texas, recreated famous paintings like Leonardo da Vinci's The Mona Lisa , Edvard Munch's The Scream , Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring , and the iconic Japanese artwork The Great Wave using only LEGO bricks. The perfect mixture of colors used by Laven, who uses the pseudonym Morphy, makes these well known masterpieces easily recognizable. [h/t: Paris Match ]

Everyone hates stepping on LEGO bricks, because they hurt like hell. No worries though. For genuine LEGO fanatics, they can turn to these official LEGO hyper-padded slippers. More info at Golem 13 .

I just stumbled onto this expertly crafted monochromatic LEGO creatures by Toronto-based visual artist Ekow Nimako . His perfect selection of bricks really bring these animals to life. My favorite is the adorable black cat named Ms. Fortune (pictured above), which is crafted from almost 5,000 LEGO pieces.  His upcoming exhibition, Silent Knight , will be featured in next month's Scotiabank Nuit Blanche . The piece is made with more than 50,000 LEGO elements and captures the beauty and stealth of the barn owl like it has never been seen before. Ekow was born in Montreal, Canada and studied Fine Arts at York University in Toronto. An avid builder since childhood, his first LEGO installation, AVIARAGEDDON, depicted over thirty species of weaponized birds in flight as a commentary on war culture and its link to species endangerment.

If you're a LEGO enthusiast, this book is an absolute delight. If you know nothing about those colorful interlocking plastic bricks, this book will save you from ignorance. Compiled by LEGO modelers Dennis Glaasker and Dennis Bosman, The Art of LEGO Scale Modeling "displays amazing, fan-built LEGO recreations of real-life vehicles, showing off every amazing detail with high-quality photographs." The models featured on the 204-page hardcover are truly astounding. There's a four-foot-long ship constructed from more than 20,000 LEGO elements; a Caterpillar bulldozer complete with two motors; a U.S. military aircraft; F1 race cars; trains and other mechanical wonders rendered perfectly in bricks. The Art of LEGO Scale Modeling  will be available in bookstores everywhere this month and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com . [h/t: Car and Driver ]