Overall, a bizarre week in the odd news world and that’s saying rather a lot.

• Nobody reads the fine print – that’s not news but those that didn’t signed over their souls
• A hidden basement church/speakeasy discovered in England – why can’t my basement be this exciting?
• Iconic architecture in Legos -what have you built lately?
• Apparently vampires are becoming too American

There are business theories out there that every every new thing moves on a time line from practical applications to finally pure entertainment which is where the real money comes in.  So something like a computer starts with highly academic and military applications then becomes a mainstream work tool and then you get video games.  What is odd is when the few things that start out or already achieved the fun end of the spectrum try to go back the other way, like salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

For example the world famous fishmongers in Seattle who throw fish for tourists then turned to corporate consulting with the book, When Fish Fly: Lessons For Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace From the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market.There are of course related coaching and seminars.

There must have been something in the water in the early part of the decade because LEGO got the same idea.  If you’ve ever had a corporate job you’ve probably encountered a team building workshop where supposedly everyone is equal and everything will stay in the room as you work to forge new and better and more effective partnerships (sound familiar?)  If you’re a believer you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog anyway but you might be interested in LEGO Serious Play where for an unspecified cost you can have team building with LEGO bricks but with a difference  “You will be building landscape models with LEGO bricks, giving them meaning through storymaking, and playing-out various possible scenarios…”  Doesn’t that sound like it could suck the very fun from the little bricks?

Here are three of the current best lego music videos I could find – seems like it is becoming a genre unto itself and no doubt there will be an award for it soon.

Dark Vador Lego Orchestra
by Wolverine

The lengthy and dramatic lego version of the Mariner’s Revenge

Carrot bombs kinda bombed – is this recent rash of carrot-related news indicative of something?

Legos that do braille – how cool i s that?

Diamonds are no longer the hardest substance – might be time to dump that De Beers stock

At last, colored soap bubbles – I can’t think of a better use of R&D dollars

Complete with sound effects, it’s hard to beat a good pirate movie, particularly if you can pull it off in under four minutes. Note at the end there’s a materials list so no more excuses for not building your own fully animated Lego theater.