The Brony Contentions Part 1: MLP:FIM

Here we are, at the beginning. Ultimately, this is what first needs to be addressed: why is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic worthy of its fanbase?

There are a few key points to examine. First, the cultural expectation.

  This issue has longed plagued bronies. The first obstacle surmounted in the creation of bronies is the inevitable threat to their maturity, manliness, and whatnot they feel. Let me open with a quote from C.S. Lewis, renowned Christian apologetic, writer of Mere Christianity, the Screwtape Letters, and the Chronicles of Narnia:
   "Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

  If your maturity is threatened by the mere viewing of a children's show, one has to wonder how strong it was in the first place. Ultimate maturity can transcend these prejudices- they see past the bias and judge on the actuality. In retrospect, there have been many historic occurrences where the manliest, most violent, etc, has a love of ponies. This phenomena is found in Tangled:

One would hope not.

In Toy Story, Sid says in his dream: "I want to ride the pony." Or something like that. Red, a one episode character, (and quite likely Madame Foster) from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends liked ponies.
Not only are there many more examples, but countless more of masculine individuals loving small animals, like the Abominable Snowman from Bugs Bunny, dozens of cartoons, books, and so on. The gentle giant idea fundamentally fits this, from Fezzik in the Princess Bride to Ham in Mistborn (though he was admittedly more of a philosopher). These characters are loved, not scorned.

  One notes that they are never mocked for this- they still retain their full popularity and role in whatever story they are a part of. To pull this point to a close, I quote Jayson Thiessen, Season 2 director of MLP:FIM: "Good has no demographic."

  If you have extra fears for the fact it's for girls, Lauren Faust, the key figure in the revival of MLP into its current form stated this:

  The evidence against writing off on the principle it's for 7-year old girls is overwhelming. However, that by no means prove this show is good- these biases had to have had their base somewhere. That's where MLP: FIM is spectacular- it is one of those few cartoons that retains quality. It is story-driven, with diverse plots and plentiful characters, each with their own personality. Lauren Faust, the director for season 1 (and still onboard in season 2, if to a lesser degree) previously worked on such hits as Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and the Powerpuff Girls, both of which had popularity past its demographic. She also compiled a team of highly skilled artists, and we got the result we have.

  One of the biggest things that stands out for MLP is its animation- it's not afraid to be unique. It's excellent but retains its originality. These days, most animators are drifting towards realistic animation, in what I believe is a mistake. Nothing is better than an original but creative art. Bugs Bunny, the Pink Panther, all the great cartoons were atrociously unrealistic, but it gave them style, a feel to them, and the art of MLP syncs with its mood masterfully.

  Another thing that is remarkable about MLP is the songwriting. For most shows, songs are an add-on, thrown in to please little girls. However, the songs in MLP are brilliantly written and have universally catchy tunes. Produced by Daniel Ingram, there is a reason that much of brony culture is centered on music (more on that in part 2).
Here's the first song: Giggle at the Ghosties, and then fan favorite, Winter Wrap-Up.

One also finds a certain sophistication in these songs, such as in Art of the Dress, where the line "a stitch in time saves nine" can be found. This is an homage to 1930s politics, when part of FDRs New Deal was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, only to have FDR threaten to increase the amount of justices on the SC, rendering the opposition harmless. Ultimately, the decision was undone, saving nine justices from being appointed.

  Such references are another of the prevalent features recommending MLP. In episode 19, the main antagonists are the Diamond Dogs, often likened to Gollum from the Lord of the Rings and kobolds from DnD. In the 4th episode of season 2, a background pony is dressed as a character from Mortal Combat. Another prominent background pony is an homage to the BBC television series Doctor Who (a personal favorite). Doctor Whooves, as he is called, is found in multiple incarnations of the Doctor, though the most prominent is that of the 10th.

Allons-y!

Even MLP's advertising contains referencing, such as this ad, the Ponygeist, after the movie the Poltergeist:

and the TV spot Equestria Girls, referring to California Girls:

Others include the Mysterious Mare Do Well in S2 E8, with the hero being likened to Batman in paraphernalia and references to Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland.


  Finally, the writing itself is of high quality. While it uses some common themes, it spins them to become original. For example, instead of evil doppelgangers/clones/twins, the main characters are corrupted by the villain to be evil themselves. Each character has there own strengths and weaknesses, from kindness and shyness to generosity and vanity. They are not black and white- they suffer from moral quandaries.  In the most recent episode, Hearth's Warming Eve, there is even a political commentary on the proper performance of leaders.
  Likewise, there is an overabundance of great one-liners. Here are some fan favorites:
"The fun has been doubled!" -Luna
"It needs to be about 20% Cooler." -Rainbow Dash
"10 seconds flat" -Rainbow Dash
"Muffins" -Derpy Hooves
"She's speaking fancy!" -Applejack
"Can you do that? Can you explode twice?" -Spike
"Oatmeal? Are you crazy?" -Pinkie Pie
"YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!" -Fluttershy
"Don't use your fancy mathematics to muddle the issue!" -Applejack
"Um, I'm just wondering if it's okay if I hold you down against your will for a little bit?" -Fluttershy
Plus all the others that are best in context:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLTZctTG6cE -Fluttershy

-Luna

  However, the one thing that is really spectacular in this point is when it reminds you that these can be overcome- it does not fall into pessimism but retains its realism- life is tough, but doable, and ultimately pretty much great. And when one gets right down to it, we are never to old to learn about friendship.


  The cumulative result is: you can't just say it's bad. Societal dislike is baseless, and it is abounding in quality, from the animation, to the writing. Adults can actually enjoy it more than kids, as they pick up the subtle humor and references, and everyone enjoys the songs.

Found in MLP is a fundamental advocacy to improve, to make great things, to take action. Be a good person, don't hate: appreciate, and above all, LOVE AND TOLERATE. And today, with the bombarding of media and society to the contrary, anything that makes people want to be good is worthwhile in my book.

  Here's a 20-minute video by Saberspark that also covers a lot of this, plus some other points. I'll be posting one of these at the end of most of these, but this one is all about the show. I have some things he doesn't mention, and he covers things I don't. If you're up to watching it:

As I bid adieu:

And of course, the link to the first episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZryW1J_wj4

The Brony Contentions

This will be the first of a series of posts, devoted to proving the legitimacy of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Over the course of this series, I intend to establish what a brony is, why we exist, why we're relevant, what the brony fandom has done, and address common arguments. It will be composed largely of evidence, but contain some original argumentation.

Part 1: What is so special about MLP:FIM?

Part 2: What is a Brony?

Part 3: Why is the Brony culture legitimate?

Part 4: What has the Brony culture done?


If I gain a following at some point, I will use this to settle disputes/debates/etc on all matters pony.

Governmares

A low-res test of Paint.NET. From left to right, Manearchy, Skytrot (Trotsky's name is clearly just a humanized pony name), and the Invisible Hoof.

The Glory of Harmony

More Species

As I said, I would be adding a few more species to the list, and here they are. This is what has been added to the Gibs page:

This is a subgroup of Gibs that have fairly obvious similarities, like B, C, and E in the previous group.
L) Well accustomed to heat and dryness, this lizardlike Gibs is venomous and hardy.
M) This spined Gibs is similar to a hedgehog in mechanism, but their personalities and the like cause them to use this capacity in different ways.
N) The shelled Gibs is especially accustomed to difficult environments, such as mountainous locations. Their shell is flexible but strong and becomes immovable if a significant electrical charge is provided (which this Gibs can).

Merry Christmas!

It's a good day to give something, even if it's a simple picture on a blog no one reads.

Redux

Revamped the BG and the Gibs page. I also plan to add some more species I found in my old files.
Other content can be expected, whether it be minecraft, ponies, or whatnot.

Either way, here are some pictures I've made recently (but not since I started posting again).

The New BG

The British Eyeball

The Lich- The Dichotomy of Lawful Evil

The New Gibs Species Chart

Rammer Dragon

The Intrepid Reporter

The terrain.png

The items.png

Gibs of Equestria

Considering I am a brony, and my symbol is a Gibs, I saw fit to do a mash-up.

It's still not the best, but I'm getting better at this:

 Even Earth Gionies (?-working on it, I'll figure out something) have something special- 6 legs.

Le random content:

A Long Way from Equestria- by MandoPony.
Found this and it entirely sums up my thoughts:
"I will never give up the fight.
I will never surrender to the hate
I know this world ain't perfect at all
But the world is just what we create
So let's make love,
Let's make friends,
Let's take time to make amends,
Let's make the world more like Equestria"

On a similar note: 

A Pale Blue Dot- Carl Sagan

There's no reason to be so vile as society frequently is- let's make this pale blue dot something a little better.

And that's it for sentimentality, I bid my "audience" adieu, and thus complete this post.

A Compilation of Craziness

Creeper-pony

Considering I managed this after a week of being a brony, not too shabby. The confused pose is actually more difficult   than any of the others. From the top:
1a. Gentleman Creeper- the ultimate critic of architecture, he attacks 100% of buildings he doesn't like by airdropping creepers at night (and he happens to dislike everything a player builds)
1b. Derpy Hooves no habla espanol demasiado bien. Es su problema.
2a. Definitely not Blitzcrank from League of Legends in Pony form
2b. Creeper ponified and dealing with personality conflicts
3a. Nyan Wright.
3b. DJ Pon3 has some epic glasses.
4a. Morshu combined with "Areas of My Expertise" by John Hodgman
4b. Some hipsters like to run social experiments. Why not Twilight Sparkle?
5. Fluttershy in a trench-coat playing chess.

I actually made each one (minus creeper-pony) for Christmas to give to someone. That is why somethings may seem a tad bit random- it's composed of our topics of conversation, something in their character, etc. And if it is not obvious- I am in fact a brony. Love and tolerance is a pretty cool guy. Eh pacifies aliens and doesn't afraid of anything.

That is all for tonight. I don't anticipate any more than say 5 people to read this (unless I by mad chance become famous and you are a journalist trying to dig up stories on me, or an employer, or something of the like).

-xkcd

Phoenix Right

The Lich

Just some art I did a while back. Fairly simple, featuring the Lich.

Fantasy Picture

So I finally found this picture. You know, the original one I drew for my fantasy. It's a bit cut off and zoomed weird, but hey, at least it scanned. Click to expand.

Just a Note

While it might seem like I haven't been doing anything, check again. I've been adding to the V/C. Also, SciCraft has received some serious upgrades (like most agricultural products and things in the item category). Things are getting done, it's just undetectable by radar.

Once again, sorry about the lack of updates (I say that as if I really had much of a following that's drooling for my next post), but my Internet has been trolling me since Monday. The Internet goes on and off randomly and makes updating and researching the V/C as well as finding designs for my texture pack quite difficult.

Ideally, it will start working normally soon. Until then, bleh.

A Few Obstacles

Unfortunately, my projects are currently going rather slowly, right now. It's more than a little irritating. There is still work being done, but ALL my sketchbooks are gone, so the fantasy book isn't going anywhere. The texture pack and the V/C suffer the same issue: limited computer access. I plan to get some work done today, but who knows. So, if you're curious about the lack of awesomeness coming from my projects, here's the reason.

Paradoxium Returns

The operator of the Green Knight of What is opening a new webcomic called Paradoxium Returns, on the blog of same name. I may or may not contribute to it, but it's gotten it's first comic up (though many more are done, it's the only one that's been taken through the computer and refined).

I HAVE RETURNED

Guess what? I've actually been gone more or less all week on a rafting trip! You people thought I was going to stop posting again, didn't you (However reasonable an assumption that would be). Fortunately, it was the lack of a computer, not a lack of will or ideas, that stopped me posting. I'll probably continue working on the V/C and then resume my other projects, though SciCraft 1.3 (my texture pack) is available on request. I'll probably set up a page on the Minecraft forum soon for sharing purposes.

Major changes:

•  Skeletons are now stormtroopers. 
• Starting to experiment with grass. 
• Sand refined. 
• Trees refined.
•  Zombies are now cybermen. 
• Armor has been changed to shields. 
• Pigs are now a basic jawa. 
• Cobblestone, bedrock, and stone refined. 
• Torches redone.

The V/C

The V/C, my LD philosophy page, is now in progress. Feedback is appreciated.

Fantasy Artwork

I'm having technical difficulties with the scanner (I drew them in a notebook) and I only got one picture to work (of 3) so I'm going to switch strategies and use a camera.

Until then, here's the one: (It's still cut off, and I don't actually have names yet)

Anyway, I feel like it turned out rather nice and all. I'm kind of thinking that I'll set them up for a sort of hated, misunderstood, but ultimately good race. And that's armor, not a truly different race.

Future LD Page

I'm just going to announce my intentions to add an LD page. It's focus will be on V/Cs in preparation for the next debate year to make sure the novii (much better plural for novices) won't be left in the dark.

WOTW #8

This is probably number 8, anyway. Who even knows?

Here's a bit of philosophy: Noumenon
(I'm taking this from Webster's New World Dictionary BTW)

n, pl. noumena
In Kantian philosophy, an object reached by intellectual intuition, without the aid of the senses.

A little philosophy never hurt anyone. Except for egos, dignity, and the like. Philosophers making you look like a fool have a tendency to do that, after all.

Oh, I almost forgot (or to be precise, I did, and I'm editing the post retroactively). I've got a few pictures for my fantasy that I'll upload as soon as I can. My scanner is a bit indisposed.

A Little Touch of Necromancy

Necromancy is terribly convenient when you kill something and 5 minutes later you realize that you didn't want it dead for whatever reason (i.e. the police are coming, roadkill is nasty, you or your cat ran out of lives in a videogame {or reality}).

Anyway, it's been 5 months since I've posted but the numbers don't matter. You should write that down. (Get the reference anyone?) So, I decided to do a bit of necromancy and revive this blog. Officially, this has just been a very long siesta. And, to celebrate, I've redone the design. I rather like it. Also, instead of posting 5 small posts like usual, I'm probably going to do one massive post from now on. I'm also going to post updates on projects I'm working on.

So, about those projects. I'm working on 2 that come to mind.

One is my Minecraft texture pack. As I've said, I'm a nerd. I'll report progress and updates here from now on. If anyone wants a copy it's at 1.2 right now and I'm open to suggestions on how I'll actually share it, since I don't at least see any way to share a zipped folder of files on Blogger. It's scifi themed with bits and pieces from various scifis, such as Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, Cave Story, Starcraft and cliche scifi-ness. The pack is a bit patchwork at the moment, though. I've done things like paintings, cobble, coal, axes, some swords, leather armor, wood, and so on, though it is 1.7 compatible. If there's anything specific you would like, or questions, feel free to comment.

My next project is really in the planning stages (starting today) but it's really a conglomerate of many ideas I've had in the past. What it boils down to is a fantasy novel. It was really launched by a two-part dream (how many people have 2-part dreams anyway?) where I developed a culture in the dream and it just happened to end with my viewpoint character walking around the main plaza of the city with an artistic eye. How ridiculously convenient (and serendipitous). I'm working on recreating what I can remember and I'll post pictures of what I've drawn as it's finished.

Noble gases. Punny.

Radioactive cactus.

Anyway, I'll just post a few pictures to keep everyone interested for now and I actually think I'll manage to be consistent for once.

Dissolving crab.

Bit art is a lot funner than one would think.

You've got Chainmail!

That's what computers should say when you get a chain letter. Just saying.

Anyway, I've about 2 thoughts bubbling around in my head and am finally putting them down in text. I would've written it earlier but anytime I feel like writing on my blog, I forget everything interesting that I think about. So, here they are. (Insert thunderous applause)

1. What would happen if our modern civilization was wiped out? And the only remnant for archeologists to find was your journal? Chances are, you don't have wonderful penmanship. Or many reflections on society today. Or culture. Or much of anything besides what seemed important at the time. Think about it. Archeologists might think that our civilization used a crude scrawl for written language and society was boring and blank except for vague relationships between whoever is mentioned in our book. It would be horrible if someone thought it was a religious text or something. This also begs the question- what if the writer of the Rosetta Stone had horrible handwriting? What if the hieroglyphics where just bored workers doodling on the walls? Who knows how we could have misinterpreted the past?

I'll write the second topic later as I've got to go soon, so yeah. No, it does not involve deposing despotic governments on other planets. Unless you ask REALLY nicely.

What was the best thing BEFORE sliced bread?

Don't worry, this blog says:"I'm not dead yet! I am HAPPY!" (Monty Python)

Bookmarks

"The world is my bookmark!"

That's my opinion on bookmarks. Once, I walked into a fast food place and before going up to the counter like a normal person, I used one of the ads on the tables to save my place in a book I was reading. This largely comes from the fact that I always lose my bookmarks so I hate investing in one.

Without bookmarks, dehumanization would be imminent, as everyone would be quickly driven insane by the constant need to find their page again, esp. having left the book for a few days. Also, it is well known that the only thing stopping world peace is illiteracy (because with more literate people we would have more book nerds who are very sane people to balance and overwhelm the crazies) and the only reason this exists is the utter lack of bookmarks and people getting fed up of reading without bookmarks so they tell their friend not to be literate and they unlearn how to read.

So, bookmarks are important.

"Sensitive people who were used to a rich intellectual life may have suffered much pain (they were often of a delicate constitution), but the damage to their inner selves was less… Only in this way can one explain the apparent paradox that some prisoners of a less hardy make-up often seemed to survive camp life better than did those of a robust nature."
-Viktor E. Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning)