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About this blog

These blogs carry various editorials, articles, and essays.

Entries in this blog

"It's for kids/little girls!" is a STUPID excuse!

Have you ever seen a half-assed excuse used so much, it drives you crazy? Way too many drive me nuts, and one of them is "it's for kids" — specifically "it's for little girls" in and out of the fandom — as an excuse for shortcomings. As far as FIM (and this message board) is concerned, when making an in-depth analysis or review of something, the most common response I get and see is the "FIM is for kids/little girls" excuse. Friendship Is Magic's show and IDW comics are for all ages, enjoyable b

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I feel bad for Chris-Chan.

The Internet can be a really great or really dangerous place. The trolling that Chris-Chan has had to face for the past seven to eight years highlights the dangers of the Internet. "Autism," a clinical diagnosis, has been used as the new and so-called "cute" ableist slur, and apparently 4chan appropriated it as a result of Chris-chan's naivety and use of his condition as why he behaves the way he does.   But you know what? I don't care if Chris has been sexist or doesn't understand the concept

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Buffalo Man's hypothetical 2022 Hall of Fame ballot

MLB is in a lockout, but the Hall of Fame ballot isn't. To repeat from my past blog, every year, a select group from the BBWAA has the privilege to vote for a select number of players approved by the Screening Committee. In order for a former player to qualify for the ballot, they had to have played for at least ten years and not play for five afterwards. This year, thirty players qualified for the ballot, and residential ballot tracker Ryan Thibodaux re-created its layout for online t

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Buffalo Man's Hypothetical 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

With MLB knee-deep in the offseason, that means it's not just free agency, but Hall of Fame season! Every year, a select number of writers from the BBWAA have the privilege to vote for a group of players approved by the Screening Committee. In order to potentially qualify to be on the ballot, you must've played at least ten years and not play at least five after that. While there were about 35 players approved in each of the last few years, only twenty-five were on the ballot this year.

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Happy 11th Anniversary, FIM!

Time really flies, doesn't it? On July 22, 2011, I began watching Season 1 for the first time, starting with the pilot and plowing through to The Best Night Ever. The show got me hooked. Fluttershy became my instant favorite of the entire series, a spot no one else took. Not only did I stick with FIM for the rest of its run, but also its successor. Seth over at EQD posted a nice question celebrating this occasion, and I have something to say: Hell, no! You wouldn't produce nine seaso

Little rant: why "Black Lives Matter," not "All Lives Matter"

Way too many people don't understand why people say "Black Lives Matter." Since the start of the slave trade, Black people have been treated as worse than second-class citizens. Today, lots of people, especially whites, see Black people as less of a human and more of a commodity. This is especially the case when it comes to policing. Some of the first policing were slave patrols. While slave patrols don't exist anymore, the mentality remains. Police brutality has been an ENORMOUS problem for cen

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DQ's episode order from best to worst

After I failed Fake It 'Til You Make It, I decided to put all 28 failed episodes in order from worst F- minus to least worst F+. That list eventually expanded into a complete list of episodes I graded, from the best letter-plus episode to the worst letter-minus, . The statuses can be found here: A episodes, B episodes, C episodes, D episodes, and F episodes. With each list compiled, I'm taking every episode in the show and arranged it in order from the best to the worst. The list is always

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DQ's letter grades for various FIM media

One of my biggest peeves in reviewing is giving something a calculated score, because it's very difficult if not impossible to reduce the quality to such a mark. Plus, whenever many people see a score, they tend to not read the review at all and rely on the score/grade itself as proof for purchase. Nonetheless, if I were to grade the following based on the following items below, they would be the followings below the first rule. The grades are respective and separated to the following categ

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Twentieth Anniversary of a Belated Goodbye

Twenty years ago yesterday, famed Peanuts comic illustrator and writer Charles Schulz passed away from cancer at 77 years of age. The following day, his last strip (created well in advance) circulated the papers. Now twenty years since his last comic strip, Schulz’s lasting legacy remains firm, and Peanuts remains iconic for both young and old.

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"So shines a good deed in a weary world."

Note: A chunk of this analysis is credited to a YouTube comment from Plume from the featured video. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of the most nostalgic and memorable live-action musical films in the Americas. The wonders (and frights) of the chocolate factory, the songs, the large array of characters, and sets are fantastic. But one set that resonates so well is the climax. Early in the film, Grandpa Joe and he snuck a sip of fizzy-lifting drinks, which caus

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Top Moment of Digimon Adventure 02: Wormmon Returns

Digimon Adventure/02's American dubs infamously inserted jokes that aged so poorly that they soured before they aired on Fox Kids. But whenever it got serious, nine out of ten times did they not pull punches. When the partner of the former Digimon Emperor (Ken Ichijouji) disintegrated, it brought back horrifying memories of Ken watching his older brother getting fatally run over. Two episodes later, he got his own introspective, as he finally returned home after running away. Genesis of Evi

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"The Last Problem" Quickieview

Note: Taken from here and edited. A second, fuller review/analysis of how it's the perfect FIM finale is on the way. - A nitpick, but the adults are looking a little older than what they show. They're all at least in their mid-thirties if not closer to 40, but the giant bags under their eyes make them look like they're older than Bow Hothoof or Windy Whistles. Lighter, smaller, subtler lines under their eyes may work more to better match that range. - Twilight apparently had a li

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Ashley H's vlog of how FIM saved her life

FIM has had that magic touch that personally gets to bronies. Very often, you see, hear, or read stories of how this show has helped people become better, if not saved their lives. A few years ago, one user here gave $630 to the Forums as a way to show how much this show saved his life. Some of you might be familiar with Ashley H, a YouTuber who has posted voice-acting and editing work on her channel, particularly her magnificent series called "Remembrance." Last week, she posted a vlog of

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Why is "The Big Mac Question" Season 9's newest best episode?

Because Season 9 was its last, FIM was likely going to go out and try to deliver the best episodes possible. Out of the gate, Dubuc and Haber co-wrote Sparkle's Seven, one of the best comedic, animated, and written episodes of the series. Taking ideas from the lead voice actors, they blended together a tremendous script that never let up, delivered an excellent allegory of how well-made predictability transcends poorly-made unpredictability, and used that allegory to create an excellent plot twi

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"Daring Doubt" Review

Note: Expanded from my forum post. Credits to comments by @BornAgainBrony, @Truffles, and @Ittoni for the review. This whole episode is packed with lots of smaller details, which on rewatch go a long way. One of the first instances is this exchange between AK and her former fans. At first, it looks like a throwaway line that Groom Q.Q. Martingale threw in there. But in the beginning of Act 2, that concerned filly returns to her book signing, where we see more of this exchange:

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"A Horse Shoe-In" Review

Note: Credits go to I_Am_Number_6 on EQD, @Jerica, and @gingerninja666 for this review. Starlight Glimmer had one of the biggest arcs of the whole series. Debuting in The Cutie Map as Season 5’s top villain, Twilight successful convinced her to reform and change her ways. Rather than condemn her to Tartarus or exile, Twi elected to proactively teach her the Magic of Friendship. Even though she learned all the lessons academically in between To Where and Celestial Advice, she realized she wa

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"Dragon Dropped" Quickieview

Note: Review expanded from here, and credits to a comment by @BornAgainBrony. Back in Sonic Rainboom, Rarity showed her vanity, a big flaw to her character that hadn't been shown before. Was her behavior all that positive? Not at all. However, her position was completely believable. For the first time, we watched her gain recognition and attention outside of her comfort zone; it didn't matter if they were staring at her delicate wings or not. So it's easy to see why that vanity-dominant

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"She Talks to Angel" Review (Edited)

Note: This review has been edited to clean up and add more content, and credits go to comments by Sloppy Steve, The Dragon Warlock, and TwilightIsMagic for it. Yes, it's true. Real-life snakes can’t eat vegan; they're obligate carnivorous, so they can't digest vegetables in real life. Wolves are also primarily carnivorous, though do eat vegetation at times. If the animals behaved they do here, then yes, having carnivores eat vegan food here would be animal abuse. However, the episode m

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"God Help the Outcasts"

The Hunchback of Notre Dame's one of Disney's most underrated and best animated musicals. Darker than normal, but wrought with plenty of humor, drama, and emotion. One of the most down-to-earth, emotional songs ever published by Disney comes from this movie: God Help the Outcasts.  

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"A Trivial Pursuit" Quickieview

Note: Credits to @Cwanky and @OptimisticNeighsayer for this quickieview. After Dash had one of the most insufferable appearances of the series, A Trivial Pursuit is somewhat a return to form for Season 9. The best part, bar none, is Twilight's arc. While Lesson Zero slowly progressed Twilight into insanity, Twilight began to feel the pressure before the cold open; Spike's attempts to reassure himself and Twilight's obsessive grin and eyes give that away so quickly. When the episode con

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"2, 4, Suuucks, 8" Review

Since the start of Season 2, Rainbow Dash traditionally has the worst episodes of the season and show at large. After a swarm of some great and excellent outings, Season 9 releases its first clunker. Smolder had one of her best outings of the season. Representing the student body who wanted the cheerleading to work, she put up with all of Dash's crap and gave her the calling-out she so rightfully deserved.   After Dash gives an apology that didn't sound so contrite, she actually

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The Duck Knight Returns's fandom commentary

The Duck Knight Returns is perhaps the best episode of the new DuckTales. Of the many reasons why, the brilliant commentary on fandom's one of the most creative. It's able to comment about fandom without being mean, narcissistic, or retaliatory to criticism. It knows how to shape this commentary into the canon with nuance and care. There are five specific points that really shape up this commentary. Launchpad (representing the older fans) had a valid argument against the Darkwing Duck movi

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