Established 1961 Lifestyle

TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2018

A picture shows a view of an installation by German conceptual artist, Ottmar Hoerl, made of 500 smallscale sculptures featuring German-born physicist Albert Einstein on the Muensterplatz square in Ulm, Einsteinís birth city. — AFP Lego-obsessed crowd packs convention every June near Chicago

f you think five straight days of Lego are for ‘Lego of My Chick’ ‘How many pieces are in this?’ Try answering “How long did it take you to the kiddie set, think again. Brickworld Chicago A Lego bellman even greets guests staying at No worries there. We were back in our hotel build this?” and “How many pieces are in this?” Iis a convention aimed at adults. Teens are wel- the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center following the mostly G-rated evening receptions, again and again and again. Even worse: “Did you come. So are tweens. But better nab a grown-up, Hotel, an hour’s train ride from downtown Chicago, speeches and charity auctions. And except for a glue the pieces together?” Kragle is an evil word boys and girls, if you want to hang with this Lego- while a restaurant there offers “Lego of My Chick” mild curse word or two, conversations were pret- among this crowd. (That’s a contraction for Krazy obsessed crowd. Children under 18 must be chicken-and-waffle sandwiches. Local university ty tame. The 2017 convention attracted approxi- Glue for those of you who didn’t see 2014?s “The accompanied by adults. And no skateboarding, student Casey McCoy will be back for his eighth mately 1,000 registrants. Weekend days, open to Lego Movie.”) Smile and be kind when reminding please, on the exhibition floor. No need to ask why, Brickworld Chicago, this time to help to run its film what with hundreds of painstakingly crafted Lego festival. Last year, he showcased a self-portrait creations filling the hall. made of more than 3,000 Lego bricks that took him Every June, Lego enthusiasts from around the three weeks to build. For the upcoming Brickworld, world descend on this northwestern Chicago sub- he created a 3,000-plus-brick portrait of character urb to build Legos, display Legos, play Legos, talk Eleven from the Netflix series “Stranger Things.” It Legos, swap Legos and win Legos. They watch took him 13 hours. “The very best part of Lego mini-figure films produced by fellow enthusi- Brickworld is meeting new people, getting to know asts, and play Lego bingo using cards with mini- their life stories, what makes them tick, why they figure characters instead of numbers and letters. love building,” McCoy, 22, said via email. Putting a They see who can build the most mini-figures in face to an online avatar - “meeting someone from two minutes flat. This year’s convention is slated the online world” - is especially satisfying, he wrote. for June 13-17. The theme is “Seasons.” If you go, you’ll need to know some Lego In the Dirty Buildster competition, participants acronyms. MOC stands for My Own Creation, as exchange random Lego pieces, grab-bag style, opposed to a standard-issued Lego kit. AFOL is and try to outdo each other with their concoctions. shorthand for Adult Fans of Lego, TFOL for Teen In hopes of setting a GBC (Great Ball Contraption) Fans of Lego, NLSO for Non-Lego Significant Photo shows Chicago-area college student Casey McCoy and the Photo taken at Brickworld Chicago in Scaumburg, Ill, shows some world record, they line up GBCs one after the oth- Other. I fell into that last category when my 11- self-portrait he created from more than 3,000 Lego bricks. art knockoffs, Lego-style. er - some relatively simple, others crazy compli- year-old son and I attended last summer’s “Lights, cated - to funnel the mini Lego soccer balls from Camera, Bricks” convention at the Schaumburg the public, attracted 10,000 people. Interestingly, the crowd not to touch, AFOLs were advised in device to device. Last summer, the continuous cir- Convention Center, not long after the release of while AFOLs live to build and love showing off the private opening ceremony. So if you really cuit covered 26 long tables. Lego machines battle, “The Lego Batman Movie.” The staff assured me their MOCs to other AFOLs, they can get agitat- want to impress these Lego masters of the uni- Lego flowers bloom, Lego trains chug, Lego that my Lego-loving tween would fit in, but ed when the public arrives. They worry a young- verse, do NOT ask them how long it took to build spacecraft hover, Lego bridges loom, Lego super- warned that late-night socials were strictly for ster will bump and destroy the creation, thus the their creation, how many pieces there are, and heroes pose, Lego tables and stools actually func- those of legal age and that it was my responsibili- sudden appearance of guide rails in the aisles whether their masterpiece is glued. And whatever tion, along with Lego TV consoles and Lego ty, as mom, to remove him from mature conversa- come Saturday morning. There also are the you do, don’t touch. — AP refrigerator cases. tions or situations. dreaded questions.

Photo shows a picnic, Lego-style, complete with ants. Photo shows a Lego-created scene from the movie “Toy Story.” Photo shows part of the long lineup of Great Ball Contraptions built from Legos for funneling mini Lego soccer balls from device to device.— AP photos

o shoes, no shirt, no problem: A Paris gallery Twitter after the visit, which the museum called the The French capital has become increasingly attentive Ngave nearly 200 people a rare chance for a first of its kind in France. The participants, who to fans of baring their all, with the city last year set- ‘Day to remember’ clothes-free visit this weekend, the latest snapped up the tickets in just two days after the event ting aside a designated patch for nudists in the Bois opportunity for the city’s flourishing nudist scene. The was announced last March, were able to take it all off de Vincennes park to the east of the city. They can Palais de Tokyo, a contemporary art museum in the for the show “Discordia, Daughter of the Night”. also enjoy a meal at their own restaurant, named for art-loving shadow of the Eiffel Tower, offered the guided tour They were then treated to a private cocktail party O’Naturel. —AFP before opening to the general public on Saturday. on the museum’s roof. “An incredible moment, what a “What a day to remember. A new chapter in naturism success! Mindsets are changing and naturism is nudists in Paris is opening,” the Paris Naturists’ Association said on becoming commonplace,” the nudists’ association said.