Affected by the "Pony YouTube Crackdown"? Are you an overseas brony forced to take action into your own hands to get new episodes? Want to know why this is happening? Check out this special post to find out why.
As we all know by know, the Australian brony community is celebrating and having a ball at the first ever PonyconAU this weekend.
Sadly though for me, I wanted to go.
While living in a rural area does have it's advantages in the form peace and quiet and no nosy neighbors to worry about, the downside is that there is a lack of public transport in the town that I live in. That means in plain English terms that apart from one or two trains on a weekday, one service over the weekend and the public bus service not running on the weekends I couldn't attend the con this year.
Also I'm in the process of preparing for a major video project involving a family event in two weeks time, which in turn is costing me an arm and a leg in terms of money to buy new equipment including a camera tripod, spare battery and a new SD card.
With all of that said and done, I would like to say to those who are attending the con.....
To have a great time! Enjoy yourselves! Let your hair (or mane) down!
Oh, and don't get into any mischief or trouble OK?
WARNING: As per my previous posts on this topic, it contains items that are from a personal retrospective and are based on my thoughts and mine alone. Trolls, haters and wannabe heroes who want to cause trouble will be dealt with and run the risk of being reported. This post also may contains some spoilers for those who haven't seen the feature yet, so you've been warned. With that said......
"Sniffle" Oh boy...not this again! *cries*
Can somepony pass me a tissue or two please? *dries eyes*
Ok where was I.....oh yes!
For those who are wondering what the opening lines were all about, then you haven't yet seen a fan animation like this.
The team at Silly Filly Studios (link) premiered their new fan made animated project titled "Snowdrop" earlier today with a premiere stream on Bronystate.
For those who aren't in the loop or haven't bothered to check their YouTube inboxes in quite some time, Snowdrop is a story about a young, blind pegasus who, long ago, changed Equestria's winters forever on her quest to find herself.
Where do I begin? Do we start on the premiere stream drawing in in excess of 2000+ viewers from all corners of the world, or cutting directly to the chase?
Anyway, I watched the premiere on Bronystate this morning and well.....I'm lost for words. The feels, emotion, liquid pride and even a little bit of being emotionally attached to Snow Drop were the key reactions that fans are feeling right now. Although the feature was well animated, scored and voiced, the key part was the emotional scenes which provided a gentle touch and warmed many a heart.
One of the key scenes stole the show was when Snow Drop, after being told that the project that she was supposed to work on was due soon, she ended up on the cloud and feeling upset. This scene in general really hit me hard, and hearing her speak while literally being on the verge of tears and crying got me a bit weepy, especially when she does the wish:
"I wish, I hope, I dream, I pray."
I kid you not, those words felt to me that this was her "hour of need". That cry for help from the stars, the flashback, the voice cracking to pure emotion in the winter cold. All of those things reminded me of when I was in the same situation many times during my life and I could totally relate to what she was going through at the time, every step of the way.
But with her back against the wall and the odds stacked against her she prevailed, but as the sands of time pass, the ending to this story isn't a happily ever after, but a sad ending. One that left many a fan shedding a tear or two.
Overall, this fan animation project has to be one of the best I've ever seen.
If you haven't yet seen it, do so, but bring a box of tissues along just in case the liquid pride starts to show.
Speaking of which......"sniffle" "sniffle" *cries*
"My nan was the person who was there for almost anything. From family events such as birthdays, weddings, babysitting etc." - Ronnie (9/3/11)
(Sighs)....with each passing year after the loss of someone close to you, they say it will get easier. For me it turned out to be completely the opposite.
Today marks four years since my Nan, aka Pauline sadly passed away in Bowral hospital at the age of 67. I can still remember that very night when I got the bad news and the events which followed afterwards. After the funeral,the stress and anxiety problems began, then came the stress explosions and outbursts, which followed in venting my frustrations when I shouldn't have and then writing that "infamous" blog post on the RJRTV website and calling everyone out and just venting my thoughts on the whole situation.
This eventually culminated in me having a nervous and mental breakdown which required professional help and a lot of time to recover from, something that still lingers with me even to this day.
Since that time, I've always tried to look "on the bright side" as they would say, but from time to time I still get a misty eyed knowing that there is a huge empty void in my heart that will never be filled.
Whether it was staying out at my Nan's house for a night and ringing up the local pizza place in Moss Vale and order two colossal size pizzas, some garlic bread and a cheesecake to go plus a white Kit Kat Chunky bar and going on a sugar high, to the Nissan Stanza that she used to drive and Pop forgetting to put the radiator cap back on and the car almost catching fire once which resulted in me running around a McDonalds car park screaming"The cars on fire! The cars on fire!", these are the memories that I will remember the most about my Nan.
I would write more, but I'm starting to get very misty eyed and depressed. So I'll leave this blog post that I wrote on the RJRTV website a few years ago (link) to sum up my feelings.
Still missing you Nan.....always still, always will.
Despite being a brony for a year and a bit, I've never taken part in the annual Derpy Day celebrations.
Now before you start asking, what is Derpy Day?
Derpy Day is held on March 1st every year and is designed to encourage friendship and respect in and out of the community, and to also promote a more positive and bright outlook on life, especially in tough and rough times and to brighten someone's day. The event is named after everypony's favourite mailmare (timelord assistant etc) Derpy Hooves!
The main goal of the day is to do one of three things:
1.A person must eat a muffin. 2.A person must write a letter. 3.A person must take a photo of themselves cross eyed.
Now while I can't do the first item due to the nearest bakery being 8km away and I can't take a photo with my eyes crossed, even if I did, it wouldn't be enough to save my life. (joking there, don't get serious!)
But I can do the second item, writing a letter. But not in a form of a blog post, email, text message or Skype chat. I did this little number in Photoshop earlier today:
The main purpose of this letter is to not only provide some well needed inspiration and cheer, but to also showcase the purpose of the event.
The letter, which has been written by one of my OC ponies, Moonlight Ore, covers into some real life issues that affect us as a whole. From natural disasters such as floods, bushfires and even cyclones tearing lives upside down to the doom and gloomy world of the "big wigs" pushing their draconian agendas to take away our human rights and freedoms that we value and cherish.
With the drama and events of the last couple of weeks hitting the brony community and the world hard and a long, hard freedom fight to come, why don't you take the time today to celebrate the values of love, respect, friendship and the "spirit" inside of all us?
Bake or buy a muffin or two, take a pic of yourself crosseyed or even write a letter to someone, even a complete stranger on the street?
Derpy Day is one day of the year to showcase the best of what we can do as a whole, even in the face of fear.
So what are you waiting for? Go out there and spread the love and friendship!
With the pony off season now in effect and the withdrawal symptoms kicking in, I've been a bit "in the walls" as of late. Why do you ask? First off, my anxiety and stress levels have been going up and down like a yo-yo causing mini attacks galore over the last few weeks.
Then life outside of the studios hasn't been all that kind to me. I've been trying to keep a straight face and a positive outlook, but my mental health isn't up to scratch at the moment and I've been having attacks and some other things that can't be mentioned here, and it's starting to take it's toll on me.
But the positive thing that came out of the last few weeks is joining the Bronies Australia (BAU) forums news team, and I'm loving the experience that comes with reporting the news and even writing a few discussion articles for the front page.
Anyway, although this post was short and sweet, I thought I share one more thing that happened to me a few days ago. I wrote an article on Nicole Oliver's birthday for the BAU front page (link) and I sent a birthday wishes tweet as I normally would. Now in most instances, I would never receive a response due to the busy lifestyles they have to endure, but I got a huge surprise. I'll let the embed tell the story:
“@rjrgmc28: A very happy (early) birthday to @mouthnoize! From all of the Australian brony community and the Bronies Australia forums.” Xo
— Nicole Oliver (@mouthnoize) February 21, 2013
WARNING: As per my previous posts on this topic, it contains items that are from a personal retrospective and are based on my thoughts and mine alone. Trolls, haters and wannabe heroes who want to cause trouble will be dealt with and run the risk of being reported. This post also may contains some spoilers for those who haven't seen the show yet, so you've been warned. Also as an additional warning, anyone who wants to throw insults or flame due to not liking the episode, don't even bother. Same thing will apply. Blocked and reported. No excuses. No second chances. With that said....
"Sniffle" I can't.....I can't! "Sniffle" Here comes the waterworks! "cries"
Before I start, I don't normally ask this sort of question, but did anyone else cry or get a bit misty eyed during or after the episode like I did? Because I can safely say that I done so.
What I've just watched in the early wee hours of the morning has to be in my opinion, one of the best episodes that the series has ever produced. No joke. It was a spectacular masterpiece!
The cutie mark switching aspect of the story got me a bit light in the heart, especially with Fluttershy saying that she was heading back to her cloud home after failing to make the ponies laugh. I did put together a "what if" senario featuring the Mane 6 before the episode aired and although I was completely off the mark on the predictions, these were a labour of love to put together:
The songs made the episode what it is, but the main attraction was Princess Celestia finally getting a musical piece in the show. Yes, this was the same character that I told to "take a break" and "give Twilight a rest" and in the process with me risking banishment to the moon. But that song.....it.....it really made the finale for me, even to the point I broke down in tears.
Yes, I'm not kidding here. That song actually got me to break down down and start crying. Something that has never done in 21 years. I have gotten a bit misty eyed during some of the episodes, but never, and I mean ever, I got upset over a song or a scene in a movie or TV show that made me turn the waterworks on like crazy.
The last time this happened was when I watched The Muppets take Manhattan back in 1992 on television. It wasn't the "Saying Goodbye" number, it wasn't went Kermit got hit by a car, it was that blasted wedding scene!
I ended up in an emotional mess at my Nan's house on that fateful afternoon by watching the ending scene and I was moved by how well it was made.
The Celestia musical number was spot on, and as a result, I was crying in my sleep in the early hours of the morning. It was that powerful that it brought this brony to his knees. I openly wept!
So in closing, bravo M.A Larson for a spectacular well written finale. A standing ovation for Nicole Oliver for making me, and many others worldwide cry like I did. That was a spectacular performance, including the song number! And last but not least, bravo to all of the production team for their hard work and sacrifice to put this program together.
So until next season everypony? It looks the off season is all going to be about fighting for the future of the fandom and breaking down the walls of the "old guard". But that's for another post.
Now excuse me while I get another tissue! "wipes the eyes dry again"
What we have seen today has to be, undoubtedly one of the most darkest days in the history of the brony fandom.
Fans have been attacked, friendships have been tested and even broken, corporate greed has risen over and killed fan projects left, right and centre and that's only the tip of the iceberg.
With the second last episode in the third season going to air tonight/this morning, what we have seen today has to be one of the darkest days ever since Derpy Hooves was struck from the cannon records after her appearance in "The Last Roundup" was erased from existence.
From a personal standpoint, I have every right to be upset by this. You work hard on something that you cherish the most and then the legal heavies and the "corporate" big wigs snuff those dreams out, all because they don't want to lose those big profits.
The entire copyright and trademark system is severely broken and needs to be fixed, scrapped or tossed in a paper shredder. We've seen it do some damaging stuff over the last few years, first with Kim Dotcom and Megaupload, then with Ponyarchive, the YouTube videos being pulled without any recourse of appeal or fair use being recognised and now this recent saga with Fighting is Magic being shut down.
Now many people are saying that there's nothing we can do but sit by and let the damage continue on, but that's not the case. You can do something about it, and it all starts by contacting your local member of federal parliament or government and tell them that the system needs to be changed.
Also if you want to see some examples of how these broken laws are causing headaches for fans overseas, you can also check out the special blog post titled Adapt or Die (link).
For now, I'm still apart of the fandom, but I'm pissed at Hasbro for what they have done. In my opinion, they might just become the next Disney at this rate.
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