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Wingnut

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  1. Wingnut

    Remembering my Dad.

    By Wingnut,

    In December of 2009 I went to Florida to spend the holidays with my parents and an aunt. It was fun for all of us, a typical family gathering with a mixture of eating, sightseeing, and playing Wii. Yes, even old people like Wii. ;P We also went to watch the film Avatar at the town center movie theater. After Christmas, my aunt and I drove to her home in Georgia where she lives with her adult children and grandson for New Year’s Eve. We had fun checking out some more sights in Atlanta but the wait to enter World of Coca Cola was too damn long. I asked if anybody wanted to go to the Peach Drop (Atlanta’s localized version of New York City’s famous ball drop) but there were no takers so we all had a quiet evening at the house instead.
     
    A day or so later I was back in Philly. I tried to give my dad a quick call to let him know my plane landed safely. My stepmom picked up and she said my dad was sick and she was taking him to the hospital. She sounded pretty upset. I was concerned, but I didn’t want to make things worse by calling repeatedly. January 3, 2010 was a Sunday. I was watching football when there was a knock on my door. I answered and I saw two of my stepbrothers standing there. They hardly ever visit me and they’re not the kind to drop in unannounced. I knew something was terribly wrong and my heart sank before they even said a word. They told me that my dad was dead. He had full blown pancreatitis and it was too severe. They hugged me and said they thought it would be better to tell me in person. I thanked them for stopping by to tell me and they left once I had assured them that I would be OK.
     
    I couldn’t believe that I was going back to Florida so soon. On the flight south I was given the window seat and I saw the most amazing thing. The sun was bouncing off the clouds beneath us at just the right angle to produce an amazing rainbow. I never saw that phenomenon before or since. It might have been a sign that dad was safe in heaven. The next few days was a blur including the funeral itself. I found out the hard way that I had gained a few pounds since college and I was barely able to fit into my old suit. After the funeral we spent time at my stepmom’s home with all of her adult kids and we had a good time looking at old home movies which included some appearances by my dad and yours truly.
    I don’t know why but I seem more down than usual for this time of year. I’ve already gone through three anniversaries and I didn’t feel as empty as I do right now. Seasonal Affective Disorder may be playing a role too as I have long shown symptoms of that condition. Regrets and missed opportunities have been on my mind. But lately I’ve been thinking about how short life is. I have some elderly relatives that I’d like to spend some quality time with. One of my goals is to have them help me identify people in my dad’s old photographs. Sadly, the few people on my mom’s side of the family I was in touch with were all older and they have since passed on. It’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security that family members will always be there. But that is definitely not the case, especially those who are in their 80s and 90s. We should never take relatives for granted, even the ones who work our nerves sometimes.
  2. Wingnut
    Welcome fellow MLP Forum members. Today I informed my friends on deviantART that I am a Brony and I wanted to give them a nice example of what makes MLP:FiM so fascinating. What follows is my entire DA journal entry including a foreword which challenges some of the misconceived notions still surrounding our favorite cartoon. Enjoy!
     
    ***
     
    FOREWORD: The rumors are true. Switchpoint is a Brony. But that comes as no surprise to anybody who has been paying attention to my recent favorites. Now some of you may wonder what the attraction is, thinking My Little Pony is just a shallow, insipid cartoon for little girls. If you haven't heard, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a drastic departure from anything that has come before it. The depth of the characters is enormous and some of them deal with dark and heartbreaking issues. Due to the TV Y rating, some of these themes aren't obvious and it requires older viewers to pay close attention. But they are definitely there.
     
    Do you think I'm bluffing? Do you think I'm reading too much into a cartoon that is aimed at thumb sucking toddlers? Then I dare you to read on. You may just think twice. This is an article I wrote for an MLP Forum thread entitled "5 things you love about your favorite pony."
     
    "All right. Since you really wanna know..." here are five things I love about Fluttershy!
     
    1. Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness. This is obvious, but we have to start here. Although she's painfully shy, her demeanor is very endearing to those who take the time to know her. Patience often goes hand in hand with kindness, and Fluttershy is also one of the most patient ponies you'll ever meet. Some of Fluttershy's detractors may complain that she is too placating, a person who acts super nice and polite because they are afraid of criticism, ridicule, and rejection from others. And, to be sure, Fluttershy does fear all those things. They are why she went inside a protective shell in the first place. But if I carefully weigh Fluttershy's words and deeds throughout the series, I see that it's a kind heart beating inside her chest, not a cowardly one.
     
    2. Fluttershy has a great love of and devotion to animals. Her kindness and patience carry her a long way here, enabling her to manage many types of creatures, each with unique needs. Unlike ponies or other sapient beings, animals don't judge, laugh at, or insult anybody. That's why Fluttershy is truly happy, outgoing, and free when she is with them.
     
    3. When the rubber meets the road, Fluttershy is as brave as anypony else. This is the first of her two great ironies. I believe she has a brave soul, but a neurotic complex prevents it from shining through. Due to her anxieties and phobias, she can be impeded and, on occasion, paralyzed by fear of looming threats. But sometimes it falls on Fluttershy to act because her friends cannot. In that case, she acts bravely and decisively. The most striking example of this is seen in Dragonshy. And when Rainbow Dash needed her help in Hurricane Fluttershy, she courageously refused to submit to her inner demons. Without this intestinal fortitude, she couldn't be one of the Elements of Harmony in the first place.
     
    4. Fluttershy is beautiful and adorably cute. Do I really have to explain this one? I can mention her successful run as a model, her squees, and her interactions with critters. It shouldn't be legal for a mare to be so lovable! If she can't make you go “d'awwww”, you have ice water in your veins.
     
    5. Kindness is Fluttershy's wonderful long-term response to the cruelty she endured as a child. This is her other great irony and it's also the most heartwarming part of her tale. This is a classic "from out of tragedy comes triumph" story. As far as we know, Fluttershy didn't suffer from material poverty or severe physical assaults. But the bully inflicted psychological trauma was as real as multiple kicks to the gut. You might feel I'm speculating too much to assume this was the cause of Fluttershy's problems. But I think Hurricane Fluttershy strongly implies this to be the case. We hear so much about the kids who grow up in hardship, misery, and fear. Many bullied children fall between the cracks and become troubled themselves. What we don't hear about as often and take for granted are the hard knock kids who surmount those obstacles. Despite long odds, these unsung heroes go on to achieve in school and in life. They refuse to let bad things dictate a life of crime or unhappiness. The inner strength required to do this is substantial and it's another positive trait Fluttershy has. It also needs to be said that the support of her one true friend, Rainbow Dash, was instrumental in helping her pull through.
     
    With her history of being mistreated by her peers, it would've been very easy for Fluttershy to embrace resentment and hatred. Nonetheless, she had a choice. She chose a different path and the doorway to that path was opened the day she fell out of the sky. The cartoon's unique perspective of her fall down from Cloudsdale can even be said to symbolize Fluttershy leaving the torment of the past behind and never looking back. A new life on the ground was a fresh start for her. She knew what it's like to be teased and hurt and so she practices the Golden Rule in her dealings with others. We don't know exactly what happened between The Cutie Mark Chronicles and the now except that Fluttershy grew up and became a professional animal caretaker. But all signs point to life being markedly better for her since leaving Cloudsdale.
     
    Although the original wounds have healed, the scars remain. Sometimes present day events can rip them open again. In extreme cases, this old pain may manifest itself as hysterical crying, white-hot rage, or toxic meanness. Also, Fluttershy's shyness is so deeply rooted that, despite temporarily beating it a few times, she'll probably have to struggle with it for the rest of her life. But I'm glad she no longer has to go it alone because she now has five great friends she can lean on as she continues her journey.
     
    Link to my DA homepage is here: http://switchpoint.deviantart.com/
  3. Wingnut
    Why is it that when something happens in this forum, it happens to a whole bunch of us at the same time? I almost wish we could go back to the love bug days from just a few months ago. Members were pairing off left and right. That was such a joyous and wonderful time by comparison. Everybody seemed so happy then, even if some of those relationships proved to be short lived. It’s only natural to be disappointed if things don’t work out or the girl of your dreams turns you down. It sucks, but in the long run that kind of a letdown can be an enriching life experience.
     
    The despair I’m seeing today is far darker than that. I’m talking about things like crippling anxiety and depression, academic failure, job loss, divorce, being evicted, and death in the family. The forum is being overshadowed by a giant cloud that has no apparent silver lining attached. Most of these situations, frankly, have nothing "good" for people to come away with. They’re just hardships that have to be confronted and endured. And it all makes me feel useless as I can do nothing to help except offer kind words and prayers. -_-
     
    It’s sad to see things looking so bleak this close to Christmas. How widespread is the misery? Bad enough that, if I lived in the fictional world of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I’d think a witch was behind all of this.
  4. Wingnut
    Red Sox win the World Series and the ride to Boston
     
    After Koji Uehara tossed the final pitch of Game 6, my roommate and I erupted in jubilation and sent Drift running for cover. Anyway, I called out of work and hopped a train to Boston on Friday. The Amtrak ride along the Northeast Corridor and Connecticut shoreline is always scenic. But today the ride was especially gorgeous. The New England countryside was ablaze with color as the trees were preparing for winter and the clouds had a delightful painted sky appearance. But by the time I reached Providence, it was obvious Boston was north of the color line. The trees past this point had already shed their pretty orange and yellow leaves. It was just as well as the sun had set before my train reached Massachusetts anyway. -_-
     
    Why this year is different
     
    Jaded sports fans in other cities may be wondering what the big deal is. The Sox now have three championships in the last ten years. From all four sports, Boston has a total of eight titles since 2002. That’s more than any other US city during that time span. So what is the big deal with this one? Several things. One, the Red Sox finished 2012 last place in their division. While their blockbuster off-season trades were expected to be fruitful, nobody expected this result so soon. Two, the last two Red Sox World Series titles were clinched on the road. This is the first World Series to be won at Fenway Park since 1918. And three, the region was reeling after the Boston Marathon bombing back on April 15. Ironically, that attack took place just over a mile away down Boylston Street. When all is said and done, baseball is just a game and it can never undo the horror of that day. But it still gave people something good to look forward to and to rally around at a time when they truly needed it. Even though I am a self-professed Bostonphile, seeing one of their teams win another championship would ordinarily not be that special to me. But this year, we are all Bostonians.
     
    The Parade
     
    Saturday morning, I left my motel in Braintree and took the Red Line to downtown Boston . The turnout for the parade was expected to be huge and people were advised to take mass transit. Thus we took on many more passengers than normal for a Saturday. After a quick transfer to the Orange Line at Downtown Crossing, I reached Back Bay which was steps away from my desired vantage point from the parade in front of Prudential Center. While there was certainly a crowd, the sidewalks are wide enough at this point that moving around was still a breeze. First the police escort arrived, followed by several Boston Duck boats carrying players, their families, front office staffers, and other VIPs. All the players were well cheered but the loudest pop was saved for Series MVP David Ortiz. I was also glad to see former Phillies’ hero Shane Victorino get a very warm reception from his new fans in Beantown.
     
    What is a Boston Duck boat? Check this out: http://www.bostonducktours.com/Default.aspx
     
    After the entire procession had passed, I thought to myself, what did I want to do next? Why not watch the parade again? With the Orange Line, it’s very easy to do. All I did was ride it several stops to State and from there it was a short walk to City Hall. A few minutes later, I got to watch the entire parade a second time. Besides the parade itself, I was treated to a humorous spectacle. Even though the media informed fans that alcohol wouldn’t be permitted along the parade route, many young fans brought cases of beer with them anyway. And each one of them met the same ignominious fate: Boston Police officers ordered them to open each and every can and pour the beer down a storm drain. The scent of Coors Light wafted in the air. Such a shame to see all those suds wasted. Oh well, you chose to ignore the warnings.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpyUdS4iDlY
    This video was shot from my vantage point in front of City Hall. In fact, I think I was watching the person who recorded this!
     
    Love is in the air
     
    You thought the forum had a love bug infestation recently? That was nothing compared to what I saw in Boston while I was there. So many couples holding hands, cuddling, and kissing. Either there's something in the water or maybe they're just extra lovey dovey because of the occasion. I bet a lot of marriage proposals were made at the conclusion of the World Series.
     
    Why I love Boston
     
    It's simple. In short, Boston has all of the things that people love about Philly but not quite as much of the bad stuff. There's less poverty, less unemployment, and fewer unproductive citizens. Make no mistake. Hardship can be found here, but it's not as much of a defining feature here as it is in Philly and most other US cities.
  5. Wingnut
    Let’s set the mood with some fitting music, shall we?
     

     
    One year! When I first arrived, I couldn’t imagine that I’d be here today with over 1,300 posts, 2,000 brohoofs, and a friends page filled to capacity. Dare I say I might even be getting...popular? The day I joined, work was canceled due to hurricane Sandy. If I wasn't stuck at home with time on my hands, I might not be here now. My only wish is that I joined sooner. I've only been onboard since Season 3. Too bad I missed the lively season 2 episode discussions when they were brand new. I could easily write a much larger blog than this. But to mark this occasion, I will bring up three basic points and expound on each one.
     
    This is the liveliest message board I’ve been on since 2005! Back then I was on a very popular fansite called Powerpuff Girls World. It was a forum that had pretty much everything this place does: Great ideas, raging debates, trolls, good moderators, romance between members, people getting banned, and more. I was heartbroken the day it shut down for good without warning. JUST as I got my 1,000th post there, no less. But even PPGW never had anything as exotic as the love fest that recently swept through here. Witnessing that phenomenon up close and personal was a real blast!
     
    Can an older fan fit in on a forum that has so many teens? YES! But when I first arrived, I wasn’t sure. Should I reveal how old I am or what sex I was? I soon decided to go ahead on both counts. The Brony culture is supposed to be welcoming first and foremost. A shared love of a great TV program transcends age, gender, racial, national, and many other barriers. Other than a few old man jokes from the peanut gallery, age has been a total non-factor for me. Really, the notion that anybody over a certain age who likes some kinds of cartoons is a creep needs to go the way of the Edsel. Besides myself, check out people like Fhaolan, Cutiecindyhoney, PonyHag, Thunderchild, and many more. We’re all normal adults with jobs, families, and lives who just happen to have a little room in our hearts for ponies too.
     
    Why I came here. I first became a Brony due in part to a best friend who introduced me to the show in the fall of 2011. We spent a good deal of time discussing MLP. But soon I became an even bigger fan than she was so she nagged me to find somebody else to talk to about it. That’s why I joined MLP Forums. Remember how Twilight originally set out to Ponyville to do a job and then go home? I came here only to talk about ponies and that was it. I had no intention of becoming emotionally attached to anybody. But fate had other plans for Twilight...and for me. That turned out to be an unexpected but wonderful blessing.
     
    Do you know what the most ironic twist of all is? The person who led me to become a fan of MLP is now a former friend. She and I had a painful parting of the ways earlier this year. Believe it or not, it happened on the same day Magical Mystery Cure first aired with its beautiful message about being a true, true friend. Without a doubt, that was a sad day for me. But the good news is that the people I’ve grown close to here have more than made up for that loss. It sounds corny, but I can honestly say that MLP Forums is magic.
     
    Finally, I want to thank everyone who has helped me make it to this point. As you may know, I don’t like doing individual shout outs. I just know I’ll overlook someone very important and I’d rather not do that. But rest assured, I value you and everything you’ve done for me very much. Thank you again!
  6. Wingnut
    Regular visitors to my profile page may have noticed the feature I've had going since the start of June. For anybody who missed a few, here is a repository of every PMV of the Month I've had to date and this will be updated going forward.
     
    June - Here's a fun PMV that shows Fluttershy overcoming adversity and her own phobias. She's so cute when she gets tough. The song is Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson.
     

     
    Sniff. Stronger got deleted...I really liked that vid. And subsequently uploaded again under a different account.
     
    July 2013 - Stellafera's Stand: This is Rascal Flatts' Stand by our resident PMV maker. She has made a number of amazing videos but, IMHO, this is still her best work to date. And I'm being totally unbiased even though I'm a Fluttershy fan.
     

     
    August - Fluttershy's Lament MLH: This is such a corny but catchy song. And I like the MLH version better than the original with ponies (yes, I know I'm weird).
     
     

    September - This is Hearts on Fire, one of those great motivational '80s songs. Written by Vince DiCola, he created most of the soundtrack for Rocky IV as well as the 1986 Transformers movie. If you ever watched both movies, that's why they sound so similar.
     
     
     
     
    October - As much as I enjoy watching Fluttershy reach down and uncover her amazing inner strength, I couldn't go on with that theme indefinitely. So for a change of pace...and a change of pony...here's the finest PMV I've seen of Michael Sombrello's Maniac from Flashdance. Pinkie Pie at her very best!
     
     
     
     
    November - At first I went back and forth over my PMV selection for November. Many of the lyrics in this Nicki Minaj hit are inappropriate for a video about children. But I think that is outweighed by a great tune and a very fitting chorus. "Starships were meant to fly, hands up and touch the sky..." This, along with some very well chosen clips, perfectly sums up the spirit of six young fillies who identified their dreams and achieved them. Therefore Starships is my choice for PMV of the month.
     

     
    December - This is Applejack's Lights, my favorite non-Fluttershy PMV from resident video maker Stellafera. This is also her second PMV to appear on my profile page.
     

     
    January 2014 - This is Ralph Bromley's excellent PMV which uses clips from Too Many Pinkie Pies and sets them to Weird Al Yankovic's I Think I'm a Clone Now. Enjoy!
     

     
    February - If you've never heard of this...or at least know the tune...you're not a real Brony! This is WoodenToaster's legendary Avast Fluttershy's Ass Undercarriage. He constantly changes the title using a different euphemism for butt or privates. I never figured out why because Fluttershy's bum never actually plays a role here.
     

     
    March - Pony Rock Anthem! Nuff said!
     

     
    April
     
    Here is one of my favorite Stellafera PMVs. This is Brohemian Rhapspony starring Fluttershy.
     

     
    May
     
    Most of the PMVs I've posted in this space have a great song, artistic merit, or something else that makes it stand out as a quality video. Then there are the cheesy vids that just grab your attention and don't let go. Here is Giddy Up, and special thanks to @Sugar Cube for discovering this little gem. She originally posted it in an April 16 status update. WARNING: If you are susceptible to earworms, you may not want to play this.
     

     
    Not enough Yonkers and Hershey for you? Try the one ten hour version on for size!
     
     
     
     
    June
     
    Now it's time for the other famous LMFAO MLP parody. This is called I'm Pinkie and I Know It!
     

     
    July
     
    This may just be be my favorite Rainbow Dash PMV. I have posted it several times elsewhere in the forum but it has not received the honor of appearing on my profile until now. Just in time for Canada Day and the Fourth of July, this is Firework by Katy Perry.
     

     
    August.
     
    This was a birthday present from my good friend Stellafera. She's amazing with PMVs and it's been forever since she made one focused on Fluttershy. Enjoy!
     

     
    September.
     
    October.
     
    This video includes a montage of John Joseco's fan art based on lyric's from Katy Perry's Last Friday Night. Fun, fun, fun!
     

     
    Want to see more John Joseco art? Click here: http://johnjoseco.deviantart.com/gallery/29033906/My-Little-Pony-FiM
     
    November
     
    For October I had a video which used Katy Perry's Last Friday Night. So for this month I thought it would be fitting to post a parody of a parody of that song: Jan Animations' Don't Mine at Night!
     

     
    December
     
    Time for your daily dose of diabeetus. This is an oldie but a goodie by Snapai called Beep Beep.
     

     
    Not enough beep beep for you? Try the One Hour version on for size!
     
     

     
    January 2015
     
    Here is another catchy song...let's go Caramelldansen with 26 ponies!
     

     
    Sorry but I haven't been able to find a one hour version of this classic.
     
    February 2015
     
    This is Take On Me. A fun song with a lot of memories attached to it. I'm amazed at how faithful to the original this PMV is.
     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03b_K_VK7dA
     
    March 2015
     
    I find Taylor Swift's newest hit Shake It Off to be quite catchy and it works very well as a PMV song.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1-8tVKZf88
     
    Taylor needs to be in an upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, for real!
     
    April 2015
     
    What better way to follow up on Taylor Swift PMV with another. The fact that the audio is sped up slightly doesn't hurt either...it sounds a bit Chipmunky.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4vw_gNsBvA
     
    May 2015
     
    Here is another personal favorite with a big Beastie Boys hit and all eyes on Pinkie.
     

     
    June 205
     
    Put giraffes in the air, put giraffes up in the air!
     

  7. Wingnut
    Most of you were in class on that fateful day. But because I'm so old, I was at work. I was at a low-rise government building on the outskirts of Philadelphia. When the first plane hit the World Trade Center, we all thought it was an accident. It wasn't until the second collision that we knew we were under attack. One of my coworkers asked to go home. Some of us questioned her wisdom as her travel path took her on transit right through downtown Philly. Everybody was afraid a plane might hit one of the skyscrapers there. A false report that a plane struck the Sears (now Willis) building in Chicago circulated through the office. But you can never stand in the way of a mother wanting to be with her children and so she went. A short while later, the rest of us were sent home too.
     
    Outside, the weather was mostly sunny. It was warm and humid, but not uncomfortably so. Because all the southbound buses were full of workers going back to the city, I decided to go north instead. A short bus ride took me to a shopping mall where I saw my first glimpses of the horror unfolding in Manhattan and Arlington on TV. After lunch in a moribund food court (several shops closed early), I made my way home. There I called my dad and stepmom to let them know I was OK. Ironically, September 11 is also my stepmom's birthday. And, of course, there was non-stop coverage on all the major TV networks.
     
    While few world tragedies match 9/11, we all have a first major disaster, assassination, etc. etched in our memories. I remember praying for the hostages in Iran in 1979 and President Reagan being shot. But the first event I clearly remember is the Challenger exploding a few seconds after liftoff in 1986. Older people remember Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and the shooting of JFK in a similar way.
     
    Please feel free to share your thoughts.
  8. Wingnut
    I've written many posts and blog entries on our favorite pink-maned pegasi. What is there that I haven't already said? I good deal, actually. Yesterday I watched this fascinating review by TheNinjaDC on Youtube.
     

     
    While most of his commentary focuses on Fluttershy herself, he goes even further in explaining why characters like her make such compelling stories. In short, Batman is cooler than Superman for the same reason Fluttershy is more popular than Applejack: We expect AJ and Superman to succeed because they are inherently more powerful to begin with. That makes it more amazing when Batman and Fluttershy prevail despite relative disadvantages.
     
    Minor quibble: Most of the video content is flipped. It gets annoying at times. I also have the comic that shows Fluttershy's "Extreme Knitting", BTW.
  9. Wingnut
    1. The alphabet, from Eh? to Zed, and peculiar suffixes like "-our" and "-re".
     
    2. What other country honours their most popular sport on their five dollar bill?
     
    3. Toronto, the coolest city on the Great Lakes!
     
    4. Athletes and entertainers like Bret Hart, Russell Peters, and countless hockey players.
     
    5. Fellow forum members such as Feld0, NewCalamity, Ashley, Norman, and NostalgicPony. Zoop, Kyronea, and DashForever are in Oregon, but they may as well be in Canada too! I know there are others, but those are all I can remember off the top of my head.
     
    6. Any Canadian singer with the exception of Celine Dion.
     
    7. While Canada largely embraces the metric system today, their railways still use imperial measurements.
    "Kilometerpost" simply doesn’t have the same ring as "milepost".
     
    8. VIA’s premiere train, the Canadian, which journeys from Toronto to Vancouver. My goal is to ride it to a future edition of BronyCAN.
     
    9. Tim Horton's!
     
    10. Lastly, thanks to Canada for hosting the studio that produces MLP:FiM in the first place.
  10. Wingnut
    1. The first time I walked into the dealer room, wow, talk about sensory overload!
     
    2. The number one impromptu chant was Fun! Fun! Fun! Also frequently heard were Gak! And Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing On Rainbows! But, surprisingly, no Stomp, stomp, stomp, stompeez!
     
    3. I can’t believe Fluffle Puff is so popular that when her panel was held people had to be turned away.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUV5WHF5PgM
     
    4. Walking through the convention center with my new Fluttershy plushie was fun. But having to travel through downtown Baltimore with her? Not as much.
     
    5. Because Baltimore is a regular host to Otakon, an anime convention, I thought everyday residents and tourists would pay little attention to the thousands of Bronies in their midst. I was wrong. I was even asked what the deal with all the ponies was when I was taking Fluttershy to my room.
     
    6. I overheard a couple of complaints about having Baltimore as the venue. But hey, at least it wasn’t in Detroit …or Cleveland.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM
     
    7. I recognized most of the MLP related memes that were seen. The one big exception were the lifelike horse masks a lot of people were wearing. The meaning of this went right over my head.
     
    8. More fans dressed up to honor Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash than any other pony by a significant margin. Yay.
     
    9. On the other hand, Spike was disappointingly underrepresented for a main character.
     
    10. I really hope to go again next year.
  11. Wingnut
    With less than a week to go, is anybody reading this also going to Bronycon? Wow, it's hard to believe it's right around the corner. I still have to get packed. I also need to gather my train and hotel info. But it'll be fun to finally hang out with some of you in person.
     
    And the part about the homes that blow up? This happened just today in South Philadelphia:
    http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9188531 The really eerie part? I recently lived in one of those homes! To be sure, the unit my roommate and I occupied is still standing, but it's right next to one that wasn't as fortunate. Talk about counting your blessings. There were eight injured but, thankfully, no fatalities.
  12. Wingnut
    There is so much criticism leveled at this movie and rightfully so. I don't have time to hammer out all of its shortcomings here. Most of you are already aware of its flaws. If you're interested, there are two very effective reviews you can read which explain them at length.
     
    Dark Qiviut wrote several blog entries before http://mlpforums.com/blog/91/entry-4814-mlp-equestria-girls-is-a-developmental-nightmare/ and after http://mlpforums.com/blog/91/entry-5625-my-little-pony-equestria-girls-reviewanalysis-revised/ watching Equestria Girls in his usual journalistic review style.
     
    I don't know who TacticalRainboom is, but he rips Equestria Girls a new one here: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/171002/real-talk-feminist-issues-with-equestria-girls While this blog was posted before the movie came out, most of the complaints made about EG ring true. For one thing, I agree that the Human 6 look too skinny. But the assertion that Twilight was "seeking affirmation via the approval of others" is slightly off the mark. A weird turn of events forced Twilight to run against Sunset in the Fall Formal because that was the only way to get the crown back.
     
    A common theme by both authors is that the MLP:FiM series is a breath of fresh air and a welcome departure from the usual cliché animation with teens/early 20s characters. This movie, sadly, plays right back into the humdrum world of beating a rival in a popularity contest and stealing their ex in the process.
     
    There are a ton of plot holes in the movie that leave me scratching my head. But there are some that I can make a half-assed explanation for.
     
    How did Twilight adapt to her human form so fast? I think the portal is designed to expedite that process by reprogramming the modified bodies. Once the portal traveler gets over the initial shock of their new appendages, they'll start doing what they want them to do. No lengthy training period needed!
     
    How could Twilight become friends and use the Elements of Harmony with these people who only shared names and personality traits with the Mane 6? The connection goes deeper than that. In this parallel reality, everybody appears to be a true kindred spirit to their otherworld counterpart. Twilight quickly picked up on this which allowed her to approach each person in the exact way needed to win their trust and friendship. Thus she was easily able to form the bond required to utilize the Elements with them. When you stop to think about it, this is actually less amazing than the FiM opener when Twilight did the same thing with five ponies she had no foreknowledge of.
     
    Why did Sunset Shimmer transform into a demon once she took the crown? Most likely Sunset was possessed or at least occupied by an evil influence of some sort. The first thing that comes to mind is Yu-Gi-Oh when it was revealed that there are "two" Marik Ishtars: The real Marik and a Yami (dark) Marik that took hold of him due to the hatred and bitterness in his heart. In the end, Marik showed the same kind of remorse that Sunset did. Or it is possible that the crown itself isn't entirely good. A parallel can be seen in Transformers because the Autobot Matrix was sometimes possessed by Decepticons. The most notable instances were Scourge in the cartoon and Thunderwing in the comic. In each case, the Decepticon morphed into a hideously powerful creature bent on inflicting death and destruction.
     
    How could the crown work for Twilight if she wasn't wearing it? EOH jewelry doesn't need to be on the ponies/humanoids to be used. As long as they're within a certain distance, they'll work. Remember how the Mane 6 were able to retrieve and repair the shattered crystals in the series opener.
     
    Why do we see them glowing the same way the ponies were in Magical Mystery Cure? It took three seasons for them to attain that state but in the movie they did it in less than three days. Something is wrong with this picture. I personally think this was unnecessary. All Twilight required was a friendship powerful enough to unleash the Elements and defeat Sunset Shimmer. That was accomplished credibly in my eyes. But the pink glowing stuff implies something a lot stronger has been created here. A very verbose article on what it really means can be read here. http://mlpforums.com/topic/51121-alicorn-apotheosis-an-ascension-analysis/ It makes my walls of text look concise and to the point by comparison.
     
    Long story short, the glow indicates that an extraordinary, intense love among them now exists. This happened when demon Shimmer tried to kill Twilight and all five of her new friends were willing to die save her. "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13 While Twilight no doubt deeply touched these Mane 6 look-and-act-alikes, I still find it a bit hard to believe she touched them all deeply enough to act in such a selfless way. Maybe if they had time to think it over, they wouldn't have done it. But they didn't think, they acted. There are many tales of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in times of crisis. So their valor seems unlikely, it's not impossible.
     
    From a critical standpoint, Equestria Girls falls short, but it still manages to be a fun movie. It's full of references, shout outs to the fans, and other little touches that I enjoyed, including:
     
    -Scootaloo doing the chicken!
    -Twilight's wingboner!
    -The fact that Twi's first meeting with human Fluttershy was a repeat of her original encounter with pony Fluttershy that we've all seen a thousand times and know by heart.
    -The way they translated the ponies' occupations and interests to human high school students.
    -William Anderson handled the background music well.
    -Twilight's extraordinary ability to show authority without being an authority was well displayed. Fellow students responded to this newcomer's compelling yet easy going leadership style. The fact that most of them were secretly fed up with Sunset Shimmer also helped.
    -It was bubble gummy, but Helping Twilight Win the Crown was the best number in the movie.
    -When Sunset Shimmer told Twilight Sparkle to die! You can't say that in a TV-Y cartoon.
    -Pony Twilight Sparkle is apparently an ice queen, but once she has teenage human hormones, watch out!
     
    In summary, I'm not so infatuated by MLP that I'm blind to the movie's imperfections. But they weren't bad enough to prevent me from enjoying what was good about it.
  13. Wingnut
    Why am I going to a My Little Pony convention for the first time this year instead of a Transformers event once again? Read on...
     
    1. Baltimore, being 100 miles from home, is a lot easier (and cheaper) to get to than San Diego.
     
    2. I've been to eight Botcons already. Although it has grown, I see a lot of the same faces every year and it's getting boring. Time for something new.
     
    3. This year's Botcon exclusives are Machine Wars toys. Yawn.
     
    4. There are no Edgar Allen Poe historical sites in San Diego.
     
    5. As far as I know, none of my mortal enemies will be at Bronycon. The same can't be said about Botcon.
     
    6. I'm allergic to earthquakes and only San Diego is a seismically active area.
     
    7. Peter Cullen isn't scheduled to come to Botcon this year. And I already have his autograph.
     
    8. Wanna take in a baseball game after the convention? The Orioles will be in town during Bronycon. The Padres are on the road during Botcon.
     
    9. I'll be picking up my custom-made 14 inch Fluttershy plushie there. Yay!
     
    10. A lot of cash was raised to get Poniverse to Bronycon. I need to go and make sure it was money well spent.
  14. Wingnut
    You know you're getting old when...
     
    News stories that used to be about Generation X are now about Generation Y.
     
    You're one of the only fans of G4 that has first hand memories of when G1 ponies came out.
     
    Your favorite oldies station is now playing '80s music on a regular basis.
     
    When you're asked to name a bad video game that you loved anyway, you say Atari 2600 Pac-Man.
     
    When you go out drinking with fellow fans after a day at Bronycon, you're the only one the bartender doesn't ask for ID.
     
    You get inspired remarks from MLP forum members such as "Y U so old?" "What's it like being 41?" And "You're awesome. You'd make a great forum dad."
     
    Not to worry. I take it all in stride and I'm proud of the fact that I've never outgrown cartoons.
  15. Wingnut
    Do you like indoor shopping malls? Me too! But not for shopping or even window shopping. Instead, I enjoy observing them as gathering places. Their place in relation to surrounding residential and commercial development as well as the regional transportation network also intrigues me. For many suburban communities for a very long time, they have served as the defacto Main Street. I should note that the term "indoor" mall includes places like Horton Plaza in San Diego. Most California malls were built without a roof over the common area. But virtually everything else about them is the same as a totally enclosed climate controlled facility.
     
    Like anything else, malls don’t last forever. In fact, so many of them are dead or dying, they should be considered for endangered species protection. The surest way to kill a mall is to build newer, better malls nearby. Demographic change and a decline in a community’s disposable income is also toxic to retail endeavors. And Walmart has built many of their stores close to existing malls in order to siphon off their business. Today developers consider the traditional indoor mall design to be obsolete. With one or two exceptions, they are no longer being built in North America. Instead, outdoor designs are once again the “in” thing for retail construction, even in areas with unfavorable climates. The current trend is the sprawling "town center" style shopping center where you can park outside of the door of your favorite store... almost a throwback to pre-mall days. This article also nicely describes the challenges traditional malls face. http://www.theinternational.org/articles/354-the-death-of-the-american-mall-and-the-re
     
    It wasn’t that long ago that the thought of malls failing seemed inconceivable. But what was once a rare occurrence has become surprisingly common. This is what prompted a couple of shopping mall fans to start a website called Deadmalls.com. http://deadmalls.com/index.html
     
    Another popular website that deals with malls is Labelscar. Unlike Deadmalls, successful malls are featured too. Best of all, readers are able to leave their own comments. One dying mall that is of current interest to me is Shore Mall in Atlantic County, NJ, just a few miles outside of Atlantic City. This is Labelscar's report on Shore Mall. http://www.labelscar.com/new-jersey/shore-mall I visited this mall early this year and while it had a low vacancy rate, it was clear the rents were low too. While community oriented non-profits and a model train club are nice things to have, they can't pay enough to support a mall's overhead, mortgage, and property taxes. So the inevitable happened on January 31, 2013 when most of the tenants were ordered to leave so demolition could begin. It is being demolished except for the far end with the Boscov's and Burlington Coat Factory.
     
    But in a sense, Shore Mall is an exception. Most malls, by the time demolition comes, are already more than 50% vacant. Some corners of a dying mall have nothing but closed store fronts and an almost eerie post-apocalyptic feel to it. A perfect example of this is Owings Mills Mall which is in the Baltimore area, in case anybody going to Bronycon is interested. You half expect to see zombies walking around. But I prefer to reflect on the pleasant memories, moments, and lives touched during better times.
  16. Wingnut
    I’ve always been fond of Baltimore . Starting in the '90s I would take regular trips there once every year or two. Although somewhat overshadowed by larger neighbors like Washington, Philly, and New York , Baltimore is a cool city in its own right. From Fort McHenry to the Washington Monument (yes, Baltimore has one of its own) this city is packed with history. As a railfan, I enjoy riding the Light Rail, Metro Subway, and MARC trains just for the heck of it. Baltimore is also home to the B&O Railroad Museum. Since the 1970s, the Inner Harbor has been the focal point of development and tourist activity. This activity has spread westward along Pratt Street to the Orioles Park at Camden Yards. Opened in 1992, my roommate and I visited last year for my birthday to celebrate the ballpark’s 20tanniversary. This facility kicked off the trend where several cities built new ballparks and other arenas as close to the established city center area as possible. In recent years, development has started spreading eastward along the harbor with several new office and residential buildings going up. There is always something going on even in the middle of winter. While I didn’t attend them, I have seen similar events such as Otaku Con being held at the Baltimore Convention Center. You’d see a lot of young people there wearing anime T-shirts and costumes. So, no, pony shirts and costumes aren’t going to look out of place at all.
     
    But most of all, I'm excited as this will be my first MLP convention. I've been to multiple Transformers conventions as well as ComicCon in San Diego plus some smaller gatherings. So I while I have a general idea of what to expect, this is still new to me as the emphasis will be on ponies. Unfortunately, it looks like the people I talk to the most on this website aren't going, but I have time between now and August to become better acquainted with those who are.
  17. Wingnut
    March Madness is what they call the NCAA basketball tournament for the national championship. But I had a bit of March Madness of my own when I cranked out five reports on five ponies in a rather short time frame. I started out small, but the last three on Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity each began to take on a life of their own once I started going on them.
     
    Some of you said my reports were well done, especially the three big ones at the end. My points probably looked random to most of you. But I wonder if anybody noticed a pattern in my essays? There was indeed a system I used. This was something I was taught in high school or college. By the time I got to the reviews on Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity, I decided to draw upon some of those lessons. Anybody with good basic writing skills can take advantage of this. Here it is:
     

    --


     
    Point one. Start with an important widely agreed upon point to engage your audience and establish your credibility. Initiate a theme that will run throughout your presentation.
     
    Point two. Throw out a curveball or an ironic thought somehow related to point one. If you have something unpopular or not well-understood to explain, now is the time to do it. Because you already have credibility in the reader’s eyes, they will hear you out.
     
    Point three. Go back to another widely held belief. Don’t risk alienating the audience by bringing up two potentially controversial items in a row if it can be helped.
     
    Point four. State an opinion of a relatively light-hearted nature. Chances are points one through three were all about fairly serious stuff. It’s time to let your reader come up for air. This is a good place for humor.
     
    Point five. Save your best point for last which should be based on the theme that has been present throughout. You also want to wrap up as many of points one through four as possible to bring it all together.
     

    --


     
    Because I wrote my Fluttershy essay well before the others, I didn’t use this formula there at all. If I were to write one about her today, the organization of points, at least, would be different. But I did follow this paradigm for my reports on Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity. The only big deviation from this was point four in Pinkie’s analysis. Her character proved to be quite complex and there wasn’t really room for an innocuous observation there. I know I didn’t always follow this system to the letter in other posts, but I was more or less loyal to it.
     
    Here are links to and the locations of my six posts:
     
    Applejack
    Location http://mlpforums.com/topic/4725-applejack-fan-club/page-10 See post 188.
    Message: Life is short. This is what drives AJ to excel at everything she does and to put others’ needs ahead of her own.
     
    Fluttershy
    Location http://mlpforums.com/topic/4731-fluttershy-fan-club/page-8 See post 143.
    Message: Fluttershy’s kindness is due to her strength, not her weakness.
     
    Pinkie Pie
    Location http://mlpforums.com/topic/4726-pinkie-pie-fan-club/page-10 Right at the top of the page!
    Message: Fun and games aren’t a joke to Pinkie. They are her tools for helping others to live life more fully.
     
    Rarity
    Location http://mlpforums.com/topic/4729-rarity-fan-club/page-12#entry1292103 Go to post 226.
    Message: More than many people realize, Rarity is living up to her Element of Generosity.
     
    Rainbow Dash
    Location http://mlpforums.com/topic/4900-rainbow-dash-fan-club/page-23 Post 457.
    Message: Winning means everything to Rainbow Dash. Incredibly, being loyal and helpful to others means even more to her.
     
    Twilight Sparkle
    Location http://mlpforums.com/topic/4724-twilight-sparkle-fan-club/page-14 Scroll to post 272.
    Message: Twilight would have been a good leader no matter what. But friendship has made her an outstanding leader.
     
    I realize my posts on Rainbow Dash and Applejack (especially) were rather short. They were my initial reaction upon seeing these old fan club threads pop up out of nowhere. At this point in time I don’t have the desire to make either one bigger. If you’d like to see more on AJ and RD, check out these commentaries which were written by my friends. They are just as thorough and gripping as my full-size overviews for the other ponies and I highly recommend them. And even if you read them before, they’re worth a re-read!
     
    Applejack http://mlpforums.com/blog/463/entry-2986-archived-essays-hurricane-fluttershy-and-why-applejack-is-best-pony/
     
    Rainbow Dash http://mlpforums.com/blog/448/entry-2418-why-i-like-rainbow-dash/
     
    I didn't think it could happen, but this process has caused me to revise my list of 1 thru 6 favorite ponies!
     
    Before
     
    1 Fluttershy
    2 Rainbow Dash
    3 Applejack
    4 Twilight Sparkle
    5 Rarity
    6 Pinkie Pie
     
    Now
     
    1 Fluttershy
    2 Rainbow Dash
    3 Applejack
    4 Rarity
    5 Pinkie Pie
    6 Twilight Sparkle
     
    This is mostly because my appreciation for Rarity and Pinkie grew significantly as I was preparing my reports on them. And while I am proud of Twilight for achieving her destiny, I liked her much better as a unicorn. She still means a lot to me, but she’s currently number 6 on my list. Just consider this to be unfortunate collateral damage from the whole alicornification controversy. Go ahead, tell me it's not fair and it's not her fault she became a princess. Guess what? Life's not fair. Deal with it.
     
    Hopefully nobody thought I was a Fluttershy fiend who wouldn't or couldn’t write about anypony else. But until recently almost all of my big posts dealt with the yellow pegasus and I was in danger of typecasting myself. While I still love Fluttershy the most, I am not blind to her faults. I acknowledged her failings readily as I was writing these essays. Oh, and I noticed Flutters somehow found a way to get a significant mention in ALL of my large overviews. If I were to enlarge my spiel on Applejack, she’d probably somehow work her way into that as well. I might mention AJ's willingness to take her around the mountain in Dragonshy.
  18. Wingnut
    Typing out big posts about Fluttershy is a labor of love to me. Anybody can ramble on and on about their favorite pony. But if you aspire to do anything greater with your writing than just adding comments to message boards, Yahoo news, and Equestria Daily, you need to know how to write outside of your comfort zone. That is why I took on the challenge of composing these reviews on ponies I don't identify with as well. I also wanted to follow the lead of others who have done great, in-depth appraisals on non-favorite ponies themselves.
     
    I was motivated to tackle this when the Fan Club threads for each Mane 6 pony were recently updated in Sugarcube Corner. Every opening post includes a full and thorough analysis of the featured pony. Kyronea did a great job bringing us into the life and the mind of every mare and telling us what makes each one tick. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that she has since updated every entry with new information as well as improving the original prose. I have only read her reports on Applejack and Fluttershy so far. I don't want Kyronea's expertly expressed opinions to impact the way I approach my own essays, so I'm not reading any more of those reviews until my project is finished. This is something I have to do alone.
     
    The first Five Reasons post was for Fluttershy, of course. This was a reply to a very popular thread from January. I showed it to HiddenPairer who gave me some tips for improving it. I orignally only posted a very brief summary of Five Reasons for Fluttershy in the fan club thread. But after mulling it over, I decided to repost the updated full size edition for the convenience of newcomers to MLP forums. http://mlpforums.com/topic/4731-fluttershy-fan-club/page-8 See post 143.
     
    Next, I did a little piece for the Applejack fan club. http://mlpforums.com/topic/4725-applejack-fan-club/page-10 See post 188. I could try writing an expanded feature for Applejack but it would probably end up being an imitation of Stellafera's wonderful Applejack essay. I wouldn't want her to accuse me of plagiarism.
     
    Rainbow Dash was number three. With over 2,000 characters, this one looks more like a Wingnut Wall of Text. http://mlpforums.com/topic/4900-rainbow-dash-fan-club/page-23 See post 457. This one can probably use some more content. One important aspect that's totally missing is RD's superiority-inferiority complex.
     
    Twilight Sparkle is next up. http://mlpforums.com/topic/4724-twilight-sparkle-fan-club/page-14 Scroll to post 272. Finally, a post that lives up to what my friends have come to expect of me. Today I added a few sentences that touches on her OCD in point one.
     
    Pinkie Pie is number five and the latest to be completed. http://mlpforums.com/topic/4726-pinkie-pie-fan-club/page-10 Post 181. Whoohoo! I finally get the top spot on a forum page! Fluttershy is my favorite pony and my original article on her only got two brohoofs. My sixth favorite pony, Pinkie Pie, got the most with seven. The irony doesn't escape me.
     
    Rarity is a work in progress. It will probably be posted to the Rarity fan club sometime next week and I will update this blog entry accordingly at that time. UPDATED MARCH 20 Here is the link to my last article in this series:
    http://mlpforums.com/topic/4729-rarity-fan-club/page-12#entry1292103 Go to post 226.
     
    Good writers are often their own worst critic. Even in my big, completed posts, I see lots of little things here and there which could be better. But you know what? This is MLP Forums, not English Lit 101. It's not like I'm being graded on this stuff. Therefore I will resist that perfectionist urge.
     
    But class isn't dismissed just yet. I'm handing out an extra credit assignment to anybody willing to take this on. Please write out a detailed overview of your least favorite Mane 6 pony and post it to the appropriate fan club thread. It might sound like a chore at first, but because many of you are in fact fans of all six ponies, you may end up surprising yourself.
  19. Wingnut
    Has anybody had an “Omigosh that’s Applejack!” moment when watching another program? Well, I have finally identified who I think is Applejack’s soul twin. Her name is Eleanor and she hails from the 1980s Chipmunks series. Along with her sisters Brittany and Jeanette, they are known as the Chipettes. You may know them from the recent live action movies. But it is only in the '80s cartoon that Eleanor's Applejack-like character is clearly defined.
     
    Eleanor shares so many traits with AJ it is downright spooky. She’s very honest. Despite her thick build, she is very athletic with a great competitive spirit. She’s nurturing to animals. Eleanor is very low key and down to earth. She isn’t flashy like Brittany or adorkable like Jeanette and fans often overlook her as a result. She handles many of the domestic chores for her sisters, especially the cooking. But most of all, she is not just Jeanette’s and Brittany’s sister. For the majority of their life, she has also been their mom to the best of her ability.
     
    This is the most touching song from The Chipmunk Adventure. Eleanor is the blonde who is, fittingly, cradling the baby penguin. Brittany is the redhead and Jeanette is the brunette.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWunDxyMMGc
     
    Because Chipette voices are sometimes hard to understand, here are the lyrics:
     
     
     
    I find this song to be powerful on numerous levels.
     
    1. First of all Eleanor is singing on behalf of the orphaned penguin.
    2. Eleanor is also lamenting the fact that the Chipettes themselves don’t have a mother.
    3. The Chipettes have spent most of their childhood without a legal guardian. Eleanor stepped up and acted as a mother toward Brittany and Jeanette as they moved from one place to another, to their classic treehouse in Seasons 1 through 3, and finally into Ms. Miller’s home Season 4.
    4. This last point is strictly personal. But the first time I saw The Chipmunk Adventure, it was only a year since my mom died of cancer. To say I found this song deeply moving would be an understatement. In fact, I’m starting to feel a bit emotional right now…
     
    This song has been used for one PMV involving all three Cutie Mark Crusaders because they resemble the three Chipettes in some ways. We see both Applejack and Rarity being motherly to their little sisters. Unfortunately, it predates Sleepless in Ponyville and therefore it lacks Scootalove. Also, to show Applejack and Big Mac telling the CMCs to get lost at the words a friend and companion, I can always depend on was a HORRIBLE mismatch between lyrics and images.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6gK0hlEVh0
     
    This could have been made better. I also think My Mother would also be a very fitting ballad for just Applejack and Apple Bloom. Oh-gee-I-wonder-if-someone-could-please-make-this-PMV-for-me? Hopefully Chipmunk/Chipette voices don't get on your nerves.
  20. Wingnut
    Welcome to my humble abode. My short time in this community has made me realize that Fluttershy is one of the most polarizing ponies in MLP:FiM. It seems like the majority of people either really like her or greatly dislike her. There aren't too many people in the middle. In fairness, some of them cite inconsistency and the use of her for comic relief. That doesn't reflect on Fluttershy but on the inattentiveness of the writing staff. Unfortunately, those effects are still felt and it's easier to like other ponies more. I also know that some of you genuinely love all six ponies (I'm one such person myself). But, due to the cruel process of elimination that ranking them one through six involves, somepony has to get that undesired number six spot.
     
    One thing that makes Fluttershy so divisive is her exceptional cuteness. Some people find it to be very endearing. Others say she is almost an over the top artificial kind of cute. She was deliberately made to ooze cute, after all. In Stare Master, Fluttershy proves to be cuter than the Cutie Mark Crusaders. A grown up that can beat kids in the d'aww department? That shouldn’t be possible. This rubs some people the wrong way. I get it. Even I think it's overdone at times. But as adorable as Fluttershy is, that's not the reason I care about her so much.
     
    Ironically, what captivates me about Fluttershy is her most tragic flaw. She has a tremendous amount of heart but her deeply rooted fears prevent it from shining through. I'm grateful that most true fans of the show, even the ones who hate her, understand this. If Fluttershy was in fact gutless, she wouldn't be able to control one of the Elements of Harmony. She wouldn't have stayed with her teammates through all of those dangerous missions together. She would go very reluctantly at times, but she still went. And most of all, she wouldn't have been able to achieve a state of true agape with her five best friends which allowed Twilight Sparkle to complete Star Swirl's spell. Depending on how you look at it, Fluttershy gets one sixth of the credit or one sixth of the blame for Twilight evolving into an alicorn.
     
    In a thread titled Why is Fluttershy so Cute, the original line of discussion about how lovely Fluttershy is gave way to a number of complaints that her character is very boring, predictable, and shallow. Here is my response to those allegations:
     
     
    Here are my two favorite Fluttershy PMVs. The first one focuses on her cuteness and beauty. The second highlights her great inner strength.
     

     
    For the record, I don't even like One Direction. I just adore this PMV! The clip selection matches the lyrics perfectly from start to finish.
     

     
    This is another fine PMV inspired by one of our brilliant young minds and made by one of our best resident video editors. I'd say more, but I don't want the compliments to go to their heads. I also want to add that my non-Brony roommate thoroughly enjoyed this video and she can't believe that Fluttershy has some haters out there.
     
    Thank you for taking the time to read my position. For everybody who has been paying close attention to the cartoon, there is no new information in this blog. But if this caused any of you to suddenly see Fluttershy from a new perspective, then I have accomplished my goal as a writer. If, after carefully weighing what I've said, Fluttershy is still your least favorite Mane 6 pony, I respect and accept your decision. It is much better to make a choice with a full knowledge of all the pertinent facts instead of going by knee jerk reactions and poor first impressions. Reactions due to feelings and emotion don't cut it for me. But I will honor any opinion that is based in logic and reason.
     
    Whether you like her or not, please feel free to share your thoughts on Fluttershy. All points of view are welcome.
  21. Wingnut
    The whole ordeal really irks me. Why would a standout football star who would have female classmates throwing themselves at him cultivate an online romance? Why would Ronaiah Tuiasosopo impersonate a woman on the phone and online to court Te'o? Why, in a day and age kids are taught to be Internet savvy, didn't Manti keep his emotions in check? Manti should have insisted on a real life meeting and when Ronaiah refused enough times, Manti should've broken up with "Lennay".
     
    As Doctor Phil would say, "What were you thinking?" The whole Manti Te'o case is a case study on how NOT to conduct oneself online. The exchange of great ideas and opinions between people on the Internet can lead to great friendships and romance. But we also need to practice good judgment to prevent misplaced emotions. These can lead to scams or twisted scenarios like the Manti Te'o scandal. A real life meeting is a must before things go too far. Until you truly KNOW who the person on the other end is, never give them your credit card number...or your heart.
     
    Just about everybody reading this has better sense than than guys like Manti and Ronaiah. And for those who don't, help is available in the Life Advice section. Anyway, I'm done running my mouth. I want to hear what you guys have to say about this case, or your own experiences.
  22. Wingnut
    Hello. I have a problem. For reasons I have yet to determine, I am developing a habit as a serial thread killer. While threads always tend to have a sudden drop dead time, this is now happening to me too often to be a coincidence. Two recent egregious examples stand out. The first one was “5 reasons you love your favorite pony”.
     
    http://mlpforums.com/topic/47958-5-things-you-love-about-your-favorite-pony/
     
    At first, all the posts were short and sweet. But then very long, meticulous posts started to appear. Thus the bar was raised for future five reasons article contributors. Most people continued to make concise entries. Others, including me, felt motivated to write larger, more touching five reasons posts. Thus there was a trend towards an increasing number of elaborate entries. So what happens when I put up my big ass essay?
    The thread immediately drops dead and I get just two brohoofs. Also, those brofhoofs came from two of my bestest Brony buddies. I’d never take my friends for granted, but sheesh, I was hoping for a little more feedback than that. Fortunately, I take rejection better than some people. Or ponies.

     
    I spent over two hours working on Five Reasons. It has literary gimmicks like similes to add life and draw the reader in. I wanted people to feel for Fluttershy. This was an opportunity for them to see inside the head of the oft-misunderstood pegasus. So, to post it and have it turn out as an almost complete flop with the members made no sense to me. It even caused me to question my abilities. I don’t presume myself to be a good writer; there is always room for improvement. But maybe my piece was utter crap? I was plagued by self doubt so I submitted Five Reasons for review by a forum proofreader. His conclusion: My fine points can use work, but the fundamentals are sound. I already knew that, but due to my nagging anxiety, I needed an impartial observer to reassure me.
     
    The other problem thread is “Which Ponies Have The Most In Common?” http://mlpforums.com/topic/48332-which-ponies-have-the-most-in-common/ Guess what? I figured out the one thing, besides possessing the Elements of Harmony, all six ponies have. I wasn't sure how to proceed because throwing out something EVERYPONY has could bring the dialogue to a screeching halt. On one hand, I thought about waiting until the thread was dwindling down, so as not to undercut the nice discussion already in progress. OTOH, I didn’t want to wait too long and risk somebody else beating me to the punch. I also thought using pseudonyms for the ponies would add some entertainment. Instead, this was a disaster. Not one brohoof. Not one quote. One intrepid soul attempted thread CPR, but to no avail. “He’s dead, Jim.” I can see two reasons why this post turned out to be a killer. One, some may have taken my tone in the second paragraph to be condescending. Two, I unwittingly put my fellow members in a no-win situation. For the thread to continue meaningfully they would need to identify other assets all six ponies have and there aren’t any! I’ll proceed more cautiously the next time I come up with an idea that has the potential to derail a thread. In the spirit of “5 things you love about your favorite pony”, I will now list five possible reasons for why my work is being overlooked:
     
    1. I’m not that popular here. It seems that the way to truly make a name for oneself here includes activities like role play participation, making videos, or posting tons of cute pony pictures. I don’t do any of those things. Maybe I should?
     
    2. Fluttershy isn't that popular here. Even though she tops popularity polls elsewhere, that doesn't seem to be the case in this forum. Since my latest big posts were Fluttershy heavy, there might be something to this.
     
    3. Blame it on my age. The forum's young membership probably expects to see quality writing from grown ups. Therefore, even if I write well, people still find me boring. Gee, I hope this isn’t the case. :/ And what could I do about it? Lie about how old I am? No thanks.
     
    4. Everybody was so blown away by my stuff; they forgot to leave brohoofs and comments. As delightful as that self-aggrandizing thought sounds, I’m not quite that delusional.
     
    5. Everybody finally got tired of reading enormous Five Reasons posts. Folks can only devote so much time to one thread. This may be the most likely and rational explanation of my Five Reasons problem. Too bad it doesn’t say why several other threads fizzled out.
     
    In closing, please don’t mistake this blog as an angry rant or whining. I’m not mad, just baffled. This forum has been so much fun for me and I hope things get even better in the future. My larger posts used to get a nice reception but lately they’ve been ignored. When I take the time to write anything substantial, my hope is always to spur conversation, not stifle it. And maybe, just maybe, I'm having a long streak of bad luck right now. But until I sort this out, I’m not wasting my time with any more oversized posts. For now, I feel like Rainbow Dash when she has those crazy monologues wondering why her fellow citizens don’t revere her any longer in The Mysterious Mare Do Well.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toFhxVmzn4A
     
    I couldn't find the exact clip I was looking for, but this does convey RD's inability to understand why she's not popular anymore. If anybody has some ideas on my dilemma, don’t hesitate to give me a holler!
  23. Wingnut
    Now that I've had a week to reflect on Keep Calm and Flutter On, I have a few more things to say. Fluttershy was truly amazing. She was already my favorite pony, but she showed faith and perseverance I didn't think she was capable of. Keep Calm and Flutter On is the first time I have seen Princess Celestia give a Mane 6 pony besides Twilight a major individual assignment. Fluttershy didn't let her down either by displaying a Twilight Sparkle-like diligence and commitment to carrying out her task. The quiet pegasus wasn't born yesterday and she knows all along what Discord is up to. She pulls off the acting job of the series, fooling Discord and own her friends, by pretending she's gullible and naive. The best part comes near the end. Attempting to turn Discord good appears to be a lost cause and Fluttershy has every reason to blast Discord back into stone. She's angry, miserable, and so sick of his shenanigans. Discord is just begging for it, but at the moment of truth she throws her element away. Without a doubt, Fluttershy is the most stubborn persistent pony I have seen since...Applejack! Three seasons in, we're beginning to see some of the ponies' best traits rub off on each other.
     
    Nonetheless, it was a huge gamble by Fluttershy. If Discord didn't have a change of heart, she would've taken the blame for allowing him to go and spread chaos all over Equestria. But speaking of Discord, I still don't totally understand him. He's loosely based on Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Q is just one member of a body called the Continuum which has a serious purpose for maintaining balance in the universe. Q also seems omnipotent except for whatever restrictions the Continuum is placing on him at the moment. He has potentially limitless power over space, time, and matter. But one thing I don't think Q has ever done is read somebody's mind. He can see the synapses firing and even the molecules that make up an organism's brain, but he lacks the ability to interpret that information. This allows the Star Trek crew to outwit him. I personally think this is a restriction imposed by the Continuum.
     
    I get the reason for Discord's existence: You can't have light without darkness, order without chaos, harmony without discord. Discord was the best villain of the series even though he lacks the heart of an evildoer. He is more like a force of nature. But he's not a “balanced” force like Q is due to Continuum policies. His innate predisposition is to create disorder and the only clear counterweight to that is the embodiment of harmony, the Mane 6. Time will tell whether that is enough to keep him out of trouble. Curiously, like Q, Discord can't read minds. Otherwise, he would have known the "kindness" Fluttershy was giving him wasn't totally sincere. I get why some people are opposed to Discord losing his villain status and I imagine some Trekkies didn't like it at the time when Q ceased being a clear cut threat. Q, and John de Lancie himself, have gone on to become legends in the Star Trek fandom. So I will give the MLP crew a chance to play this story out before passing judgment.
     
    A funny footnote: The brief episode description provided by my digital cable box says “Princess Celestia wants the ponies to tame Discord but Fluttershy is opposed.” Where did they get the idea Fluttershy was against it?
  24. Wingnut
    It looks like we are bidding farewell to TWO NFL venues this winter. The first to close was Qualcomm Stadium which began life as an MLB/NFL cookie cutter to house the Padres and the Chargers together. But multipurpose stadiums fell out of favor by the 1990s and so the Padres moved to the friendly confines of Petco Park in downtown San Diego. Meanwhile, the Chargers soldiered on in the aging arena. Qualcomm's last Super Bowl was hosted in January 2003. It was made clear that if the NFL was going to award another Super Bowl to San Diego, a new stadium would have to be built. Football facilities over a certain age are basically barred from holding the big game. Two notable exceptions though are the Superdome in New Orleans and the Dolphins Stadium in Miami. As long as they make regular upgrades, they'll continue to get a pass from the league since those cities are very popular Super Bowl venues.
     
    Anyway, the NFL and Chargers have approached city, county, and state governments several times for assistance to finance a new field. But in each case the Chargers were asking for more public money than was acceptable. I agree that sports stadiums shouldn't get excessive public subsidies but I still feel bad about San Diego's situation. Anyway, a last ditch referendum was put before voters last fall to raise money for construction and it was rejected. It was pretty much known that if it failed to pass the Chargers were leaving San Diego. The strange thing is, the Chargers already celebrated a potential Qualcomm Stadium finale last season as they were then first offered the option to go in on the Los Angeles Rams stadium with Stan Kroenke. Despite a hefty NFL relocation fee, being a tenant in the Rams stadium, and having to split the Los Angeles market with them, the Bolts ultimately decided to make the move.
     
    Anyway, here is a nice, concise overview of Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium's history.
     

     
    After years of sharing the dual-use Fulton County stadium with the Braves, the Falcons finally got an upgrade. Atlanta's Georgia Dome opened in 1992 and became the NFL team's new home. At the time it was well received. The Georgia Dome hosted the Super Bowl twice in 1994 and in 2000. But supposedly it didn't measure up very well compared to its peers that have opened in the years since? I dunno...25 years seems like an awful short life span for a sports venue but this guy makes a pretty good case for why the time had come to replace it. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1647485-yes-we-have-it-straight-atlanta-does-need-a-new-stadium-for-the-falcons In any event, the political climate in Georgia is different from California and getting public financing to complete stadium deals is relatively easy there. I visited Atlanta in 2015 and it was something else to see the Georgia Dome and its future replacement under construction right next to it.
     
    Here is the In One Minute piece on the Georgia Dome.
     

     
    At least the Falcons managed to send the dome out in style with a victory that led to their appearance in Super Bowl LI. Plenty of teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, closed out their previous digs with a disappointing loss.
     
    Next month's dead building feature will discuss a former NFL venue that is known for hosting one of the most popular WrestleManias of all time.
  25. Wingnut
    To change things up a bit this month, I've decided to look at other buildings who's days are numbered. One very much worth a look is Atlanta's Turner Field which was home to Major League Baseball's Braves since 1997. But this facility was first born as Centennial Park for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Give credit where credit is due...most new purpose built arenas for the Olympics are left to rot once the games end. But this was one case where they managed to give the stadium an immediate new life by tearing down part of the stands and building a new section to baseball specifications. It looked like the Braves were set for decades to come.
     
    I had the pleasure of visiting Turner Field last year for both a game and a tour. The place was filled with tributes to Braves greats from both the recent and distant past. Included was a museum that had artifacts dating back to their days in Boston, Milwaukee, and Fulton County Stadium. Two things that also stood out about Turner Field were the giant Chick fil A cow overhead and all the Coca-Cola banners. Both brands are based in Atlanta so that also meant my preferred cola flavor, Pepsi, was not easy to find.
     
    The Braves had much success during their tenure at the Ted including a World Series championship and what seemed like 322 consecutive division titles. But the Braves it turned out weren't totally happy with their location then Cobb County came calling with an offer they couldn't refuse. Thus the Braves will be bucking the recent trend where most baseball teams have been moving closer to their regions' downtown. Why? Despite a great view of Atlanta's skyline, Turner Field is not really that convenient to downtown. It's separated from the central business district by a large freeway interchange and even the closest MARTA stop is about a mile on foot. And even with a great deal of surface parking, the Braves claim to be short on parking. A season ticket sales heat map of the greater Atlanta area shows most fans live north of the city and the new stadium site near Cumberland Mall would be more convenient for most of them. Finally, the community around the Ted continues to suffer from crime and poverty. The presence of major league sports there for almost 50 years and a number of efforts have not adequately mitigated these problems.
     
    First, here's the pregame program for the first game ever played at Turner, a preseason game between the Braves and the New York Yankees. It has some interesting shots which show the now closed Fulton County stadium still standing nearby and a time lapse of changing the arena from an Olympic venue to a baseball one.
     

     
    And here's a retrospective of Turner Field as it heads into its final year.
     

     
    With the Braves in last place, the October 2, 2016 contest against the Detroit Tigers will be the final game at the Ted and mark the end of a rich era in baseball history.
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