Found this in yesterday's Stripe

[AJHunter 265]

 

Sorry about the quality and clipping; had to scan in two parts, and the scanner's weird with page size detection.

[PonyEcho 1,610]

all I can say is dat flam cosplay.

[I used to be a stranger 7,993]

Transcription:

 

Stars And Stripes

Page 18, Saturday, July 14th, 2012

 

"It's colorful and innocent, which is something I don't have in my life. I like the community away from the show."

Zac North, 26

Dayton, Ohio resident and fan of "My Little Pony"

 

MANE ATTRACTION

Guys who like 'My Little Pony' make pilgrimage for BronyCon

 

Story by Dave Collins | Photos by Mel Evans

The Associated Press

 

Secaucus, N.J.

 

Dale Fjordbotten is a proud "My Little Pony" fan, with the shiny blue body suit and yellow lightning bolt, blue wings and blue tail to prove it. Like many "Bronies" - boys and men who like the cartoon "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" - the 25-year-old college student turned out in late June for "BronyCon Summer 2012" at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, which drew 4,000 men, women, boys and girls, many in colorful wigs and costumes.

"I thought about what people would say," said Fjordbotten, from Staten Island, N.Y. "'It's creepy. It's weird. It's a ... show for little girls.'

"It's just a great show ... the story line, the plot, the beautiful animation."

Bronies say they're a misunderstood lot who've gotten bad rap from the media. They're all about the show, friendship, love and tolerance and they have no bad intentions, they say.

"I discovered that there's nothing to be ashamed of being a Brony," said James Penna, 19, of Mastic in Long Island, N.Y. "People are into what we're into."

Outside the convention center, young men danced and sand along with the songs from the "My Little Pony" cartoon that blasted from loud speakers as a video screen on a large truck showed the show's characters. One observer said it almost felt like a Grateful Dead concert.

Inside, vendors sold stuffed ponies, pony accessories, pony signs, pony hats and just about every pony item imaginable. Stars who do the voices signed autographs and gave speeches.

Staff appeared to be a little overwhelmed at times. It was a little more than a year ago when BronyCon attracted about 100 people to some meeting rooms in New York City. Now there are thousands of Bronies across the country.

Hasbro released the first My Little Pony toys in 1983 and they led to television specials, a film and the first TV series from 1986 to 1987.

 

(Josiah Tyrell, of Syracuse, N.Y. is dressed as the character Flam from the "My Little Pony" cartoons at the BronyCon in Secaucus, N.J. Scores of men in brightly colored costumes were among the 4,000 "My Little Pony" fans at the weekend gathering for fans of the mid-1980s cartoon which has ballooned into a cult favorite almost 30 years later.)

 

The brand stuck around though the years. Along came the animator Lauren Faust, who was hired by Hasbro and sparked new life to My Little Pony when she created the "Friendship is Magic" series.

Faust had worked on "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" before dreaming up the land of Equestria, where My Little Pony characters like Twilight Sparkle, Apple Jack (sic), Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie get into all kinds of adventures.

Faust told The Associated Press at BronyCon that she never imagined the show would be such a hit with teenage boys and young men. She said her main target was little girls, but she hoped to draw in moms and perhaps some boys with strong characters and compelling story lines.

"We live in a society where saying that something is for girls is the equivalent to saying something is stupid, or saying that something isn't worthwhile," Faust said. "I think it's awful and I think that kind of attitude needs to be changed," she said. "And these men are doing it. ... They're proud that they're forward-thinking and modern enough to look past this misogynistic attitude."

Faust said she, like the Bronies, is disturbed at the negative images some people have about men who like the show.

"There are a lot of people who when they first hear about men watching a show for little girls, they're taken to a creepy place," she said. "They think there's something wrong with that, something devious about it.. I think that's unfortunate.

"I don't think you have to have bad intentions to like little girls or to like the things that they like," Faust said. "And it's upsetting to me that people jump to those conclusions. I think it's unfair to man and I think it's unfair to girls and women."

 

(Jared Bently, left, dressed as The Smooze, helps out with the costume of his friend, Daniel Chadborn, dressed as the pony-dragon hybrid Discord for BronyCon.)

 

To set the record straight about Bronies, Faust, John De Lancie and others are producing a documentary that filmed at BronyCon. De Lancie is the voice of Discord on "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and is perhaps best known for playing "Q" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Zac North traveled from his hometown of Dayton, ohio, to be with fellow Bronies in New Jersey. he dressed as his favorite character, the antagonistic Discord, wearing a hooded and multicolored costume complete with a dragon tail, since Discord is a pony-dragon hybrid.

Why does he like the show?

"It's colorful and innocent, which is something I don't have in my life," the 26-year-old Sam's Club worker said. "I like the community away from the show."

My Little Pony fan Gabby Pantaloni of Hershey, Pa., 20, said she was kind of shocked that so many guys like the show, as she stood in a line at BronyCon to get her picture taken with other enthusiasts dressed like her favorite character, Rarity.

"After watching the show, I could see why anyone of any age would like it," she said. "I think it just makes us all feel like kids again.

"Some of us are afraid of growing up. We're all just kids at heart."

Edited July 15, 2012 by Blue

[Ol' Sarge 885]

Looks like a reprint of the AP article. Very interesting that Stripes would carry it though. Hmmmm, I wonder if they know that there are Military Bronies out there?

[ponyvangelist 732]

If they don't know about military bronies, they'll find out soon enough, because a surprisingly large percentage of military bronies are quite open about it.

 

 

 

I guess if you jump out of airplanes, ride around in submarines or shoot machineguns for a living, you probably don't need to worry about how macho you look.

Edited July 17, 2012 by ponyvangelist