Halloween is here

Finally, after weeks of getting ready, Halloween has arrived. Everyone in Lego Land, including the NBA players, is very excited. Antoine Walker and Allen Iverson are going trick-or-treating dressed as samurai warriors (see photo above). Like every year, they will also be collecting money for the United Nations Children's Fund (more commonly known as UNICEF) to help needy children around the world. It is a good thing that Antoine Walker and Allen Iverson are professional athletes and in excellent shape, because the collection box can become quite heavy after a long night of trick-or-treating.

There is one surprising Halloween-related development, however. Due to a lack of communication, both Vince Carter and Tony Parker have dressed up in the same costume. Hopefully Jalen Rose can help them sort out this mess. (See photo above)

Below: Happy Halloween from everyone at Ape Canyon News Service and the Overflow Blog!

Antoine Walker wants you to know that drinking bottled water is bad for the environment

The weekend supervisor at the water company is unhappy that some people in Lego Land choose to drink bottled water rather than regular tap water. He has decided to start a public education campaign to teach people about how wasteful it is to drink bottled water. He wants to let people know about the negative impact of bottled water, from the creation of many plastic bottles to the high cost of transportation.

Joining him in this effort is Antoine Walker. Together they are going door-to-door trying to convince folks to stop wasting money and resources on bottled water. Today they are visiting an office where the workers pitch in to rent a water cooler and pay for bottle water to be delivered. The weekend supervisor and Antoine Walker patiently explain the many negative environmental effects of bottled water. They also point out that the high-priced water in the bottles comes from the exact same source as the municipal water does.

After hearing what the two men have to say, the office manager decides that she and her co-workers are wasting their hard-earned money. As soon as they finish the last bottle they have already paid for, they will be cancelling their service.

Below: Steve Francis and Jalen Rose inspecting the forklift from the bottled water company.

Everyone is getting ready for Halloween

All over Lego Land, everyone is getting their costumes ready for Halloween and trick-or-treating. Dirk Nowitzki is planning on going out dressed as Allen Iverson.

Road Kobe Bryant and home Kobe Bryant will be dressed as lifeguards.

Jalen Rose is going as Antoine Walker, and Tony Parker will be dressed as a mummy.

And finally (for now), Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett will be going door-to-door as Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein's monster.

Mountain rescue squad

The number of mountain climbing accidents and wilderness disasters in Lego Land has risen steadily in recent weeks. (See photo above) Because of this, Shaq and some of the other NBA stars have decided to form a mountain rescue squad to help out during outdoor emergencies. (See photo below)

Shaq and the others have raised thousands of dollars by selling autographs and personal memorabilia on the internet, and, with this money, they were able to buy the parts so that Steve Francis could build a rescue helicopter in his workshop. Steve Francis had never built a helicopter before, but everyone is impressed with what a good job he has done.

Today, the NBA stars/mountain rescue squad have their first emergency call. A mountain climber has injured himself and needs help getting off the mountain. Steve Francis and road Kobe Bryant head out to help the injured person. They have to use a special stretcher that is attached to a long rope to reach the climber.

Below: Road Kobe Bryant uses the megaphone to communicate with Steve Francis down below.

Below: Steve Francis has loaded the injured mountain climber into the stretcher. It is a wild ride back up to the helicopter.

Below: The stretcher is almost up to the helicopter.

It turns out that the injured mountain climber is not a mountain climber at all. It is Gary Payton, who had gone out all by himself searching for Yetis. Luckily, he is not very badly injured. Mostly he is just a little scared and a little cold-- nothing that can not be cured by a nice steaming mug of hot chocolate.

Road Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton have a long talk about what happened and what Gary Payton can do differently the next time he goes out into the wilderness. Gary Payton now understands why it is so important to always take a buddy with you. Next time, he promises that he will make sure that Vince Carter comes along.

Korbball? Ja!

This fall, Dirk Nowitzki is once again teaching a German class at the Lego Land Academy of Languages. Basketball has become a quite popular sport around the world in recent years, so many NBA stars have signed up to take the class. The class covers the introductory levels of German pronunciation, grammar, and usage. All of Dirk Nowitzki's students (both past and present) agree that he is an outstanding teacher.

Today's lesson is a very important one for the NBA players-- it is all about basketball, which is often called Korbball in German. For this lesson, Dirk Nowitzki has chosen a basic dialog for the students to practice with a partner.

Below: Dirk Nowitzki in front of his class

In the basic dialog, there are two people--Helga and Peter. They are discussing what they are doing that day.

Helga: Was machst du heute?

Peter: Wir spielen Korbball. Kommst du?

Helga: Ich glaube nicht. Ihr verliert das Spiel immer.

Peter: Meinst du das, oder sagst du das nur so?

The students do a fantastic job on today's assignment. If they keep up the hard work, Dirk Nowitzki is sure that they will all be speaking German fluently in no time.

Above: Steve Francis has a question for the teacher.

Below: Allen Iverson does, too.

The truth is finally revealed

An excited but well-behaved crowd has gathered this morning outside of Lego Land's finest hotel, the Transcontinental. They have all heard that Lego Land's newest arrival is staying at the hotel, and they have come to find out who it is. Rumor has it that the mystery person is staying in one of the penthouse suites (see photo below).

Everyone has their own theory about who it will turn out to be. For awhile, the most popular pick was Tim Duncan, but now a lot of people are leaning towards Chris Webber.

Suddenly, though, the balcony door to the north suite opens, and it appears that someone is about to come out. (See photo above) The excitement is so great that folks can hardly stand it.

Soon the mystery figure steps forward-- it is none other than NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant, wearing his Lakers home (number 8) jersey! A cheer goes up from the crowd and Kobe waves. He is obviously happy to be here in Lego Land.

Just as soon as the crowd starts to settle down, however, there is another surprise. The balcony door to the south suite opens, and someone else comes out. Who can that be? Are there two new arrivals?

Now the crowd is in for a shock-- there are two new arrivals, and the second one is...also NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant! Only this one is wearing his Lakers road (number 8) jersey! An even bigger cheer goes up from the crowd.

Two Kobe Bryants in the same town-- just imagine the possibilities!

People are excited, but they also have a lot of questions

Recently, an article was published by Lego Land's number one sports reporter (pictured above talking to Antoine Walker) that a new resident is on their way to Lego Land. Because of this, rumors have once again started spreading throughout town.

Everyone is all excited, but they also have many, many questions: Who is coming? What position do they play? What team do they play for?

Above: Tony Parker, Eva Longoria Parker, and Kevin Garnett's assistant are busy talking about the latest news. Meanwhile, Antoine Walker is getting ready to ride his skateboard.

Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, and Italian soccer star Gattuso are preparing to go deep-sea diving. (See photo above) They are so excited that they are rushing through the safety precautions that every deep-sea diver must carry out before entering the water. Luckily, Karl Malone (see photo below) realizes what is happening and reminds his two friends to pay attention to what they are doing.

Still, the rumors and counter-rumors are all anyone wants to talk about. Who will it be? Paul Pierce? Toni Kukoc? Pau Gasol? Allan Houston? When will they arrive? Today? Next week?

Below: Steve Francis and Shaq study the back of the box that brought Jalen Rose, Predrag Stojakovic, and Kevin Garnett. They are trying to figure out who the new arrival might be.

Allen Iverson and Antoine Walker go to the movies

Allen Iverson and Antoine Walker are very excited. Tonight they are going to the movies! Watch the video below and try to figure out what movie they are seeing.

Something is wrong with the water tower

Shaq has woken up early this morning, and right away he notices that the grass outside his front window is starting to look very dried out. So Shaq decides that it is time to water his yard. However, when he turns on the garden hose, nothing comes out. In fact, when Shaq goes back inside his house, he discovers that the water is not working anywhere at all. Of course, Shaq is very concerned about this situation, so he decides to call the municipal water company to file a report. (See photos above and below)

At the water company headquarters (pictured below), the weekend supervisor answers the phone. He writes down Shaq's customer complaint and then performs a systems check using his computer. The weekend supervisor quickly determines that the water has been cut off throughout Lego Land. It appears that there is a problem with the main water tower that supplies water to all of Lego Land.

The weekend supervisor at the water company calls Steve Francis to notify him of the problem. Steve Francis is one of the best people in Lego Land at fixing things. (See photo below)

Steve Francis and his friend Antoine Walker head over to the water tower to see what the trouble is. (See photo below)

Steve Francis climbs straight up to the top of the water tower and gets right to work. (See photo below)

Above: The view from the top of the water tower.

Below: Antoine Walker climbs the ladder up to the top of the tower.

Steve Francis and Antoine Walker are able to quickly identify and solve the problem. Within a few hours, water service has been restored to all of Lego Land. Now everyone, including Karl Malone (pictured below), can water their lawns, wash their cars, or do whatever else it is that they need to do.

American Culture 101

Currently, there are 30 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Of these 30, 29 play their homes games in the United States of America. Because of this, every player in the NBA is required by the league to have a strong working knowledge of American history, culture, and politics. In the past, several players have been issued long suspensions for failing to meet the high standards set by the NBA.

Recently, Dirk Nowitzki (below) was notified by the league that he is one of the players who has been randomly selected to take a written test that covers all aspects of American life. The test will include multiple-choice items, short answer questions, and at least one essay.

Dirk Nowitzki is, of course, worried about how he will do on this test, so he has decided to talk to his friend Karl Malone. (See photo below)

Karl Malone is more than happy to help out in any way that he can. He lends Dirk Nowitzki two very important items to study-- his Nixon/Agnew campaign button and his copy of The Collected Speeches of Spiro Agnew (published in 1971). (See photo below)

Dirk Nowitzki studies hard -- Spiro Agnew made many notable speeches in 1969 and 1970, and Dirk Nowitzki knows that he must read them all.

Now that Dirk Nowitzki is done studying, Karl Malone is helping by giving him a practice quiz (see photo below)--

• Question: Who are more dangerous-- the neo-isolationists or the radical-liberals?
• Answer: They are both more dangerous, just in different ways. (Correct)

• Question: Which rock-and-roll groups are most responsible for the blatant drug-culture propaganda that pervades our society?
• Answer: The Jefferson Airplane, Ten Years After, and Steppenwolf. (Correct)

Dirk Nowitzki passes the practice quiz with flying colors. Karl Malone is very confident that Dirk Nowitzki will so just as well or even better on the actual test.