Lego Space and I go way back. I vividly remember going to my neighbor Jason’s house when I was young to play the sci-fi-themed building blocks. It must’ve been 1980 or ’81 and Lego had introduced its space theme just a few years earlier.

Jason was lucky enough to have most every set. We would pool all the loose bricks together and take turns picking pieces. Then we’d head to a separate corner of his bedroom to build a massive space ship. The goal was to out-cool the other person with our creation.

For us it was all about the build rather than imaginative play. We didn’t need to role play to enjoy Lego. That was the beauty of the toys. Lego’s multiple dimensions of enjoyment are part of its success all these years.
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If you follow me on Twitter (and you should), you’ve probably heard me mention that this coming Saturday is going to be a big day for Saturday Morning Central. SMC is proud to be partnering up with DK Publishing as part of their blog team covering the release celebration of LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary.

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the marriage of LEGO and Star Wars, DK is publishing a visual dictionary packed with facts and photos. The book also contains an exclusive Luke Skywalker (awards ceremony from ANH) minifig!

If you’ve never read one of DK’s books like this, here’s a good idea of what you get.

You can buy the book now on Amazon!

I grew up addicted to their Star Wars Visual Dictionaries, and I was pretty excited to hear about the LEGO Star Wars version. 10-10-09 isn’t just a book release, it’s also a day packed with events all over the country. You can check out the official website of the book to find a complete list of stores, and if you’re lucky enough to have an event close to you, you should go check it out. Members of the 501st will be there to represent the Empire, and you may just run into one of my fellow blog team members.

Unfortunately, there is not a store in Indiana participating, so I will be coming up with some alternative coverage here on the site. Oh yeah, and did I mention the PRIZES? Soon I will post details on how to enter, but here is what you could win from DK:

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I can’t wait for this movie to come out.

/Film via the Spike Jonze Fan Blog

Chronicle Books, publisher of very cool books like Amid Amidi’s Cartoon Modern, many “Art of” books, and a lot of pop culture stuff in general, is having their annual Friends and Family sale. This only lasts until tomorrow, so you’d better act quick. Just enter FRIENDS as a coupon code, and you’ll get 35% off.

I took advantage of it to snag Cartoon Modern for $26.

Via Cartoon Brew