So that Loyal Subjects G1 MLP topic got me thinking - what do most of y'all think about the CONCEPT of articulation in MLP toys?  Like, ignore the past attempts - they've been less than satisfactory, usually.   But if they could do the design well and not cut corners (3-jointed legs, body parts without weird indentation or bulges, etc.), would you be okay with poseable ponies?  Or do you just not like the look in general, and much prefer the "static" molds?  Some other reason?  Let's see your thoughts!

Hey Northern pony peeps!   

This year's Minnesota Meet is scheduled for -

Saturday, September 5th!! 

Our host pony this year will be -

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Applejack!  visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 


WHO'S GONNA BE THERE?

Here is an ongoing list of attendees I've compiled so far.  Please post here or PM me to let us know you'd like to come over and play!  I'll add you to the list to keep a head count going. 

Attending: (27 thus far)
silverdawn
loverofbalto
Aurora +1
Aquatic Neon +1
BethyVic
ponyqueen +1
Delphian
nessa16 +1
wizzer218
bubbles171
Nimrodel +1
himmie
scarlettkitty81
MoondancerMilkyWay
mngusty +3
Sapphire Rain
Kazzellin
rosierjay +1


Maybe:
RedRedRover


Unable to Make It:
ringlets_
seaponey

  FOOD & DRINKS

We're once again having a potluck for this year! Below is a list of categories and a few slots within each.  Please post here or send me a PM with what you would like to contribute!  Apple-themed dishes have been requested in honor of our host pony. 

[[[[Food Allergies]]]]:  Let us know if you have any special dietary restrictions, and we'll do our best to accommodate you!!

Main Dishes: (Suggestions: Potato, Pasta or Veggie Salads, Casseroles, Cocktail Shrimp)
1. Silver Glade - Hot Dogs & Hamburgers (+condiments)  Let me know if you would like a vegetarian option and what you would prefer!
2. loverofbalto - Pasta Dish
3. ponyqueen - Salad! (With spinach, red cabbage, shredded carrots, other veggies and garnished with berry vinaigrette, nuts, cheese, and dried fruit)
4. Kazzellin - Chicken Legs with Italian Marinade

Sides & Snacks: (Suggestions: Cheese & Crackers)
1. Silver Glade - Fruit Salad (Nectarine, Raspberries, Strawberries, Kiwi)
2. Delphian - Fruit/Veggie Platter
3. rosierjay - Japanese Treats
4. Aurora - Some Delicious Non-Dessert
5. BethyVic - Chips & Dip
6. bubbles171 - Watermelon
7. nessa16 - Chips & Salsa

Desserts: (Suggestions: Bars, Pies, Cobblers)
1. Silver Glade - Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
2. BethyVic - Apple Dessert
3. Aurora - Apple Cobbler

Drinks: (Suggestions: Pop [in a few varieties], Fruit Juices, Sparkling Water/Cider)
1. Silver Glade (bottled water in a cooler & punch in a bowl)
2. BethyVic - Pop
3. silverdawn - Sprite and Juice

Apple Dishes (Sweet or Savory):
1. Sapphire Rain - Apple Pie Cupcakes
2.
3.


Other Supplies:
1. ponyqueen (Paper Plates & Napkins)
2. BethyVic (Plastic Cups & Utensils)


SCHEDULE

10:00-11:00 Arrive and set up
11:00-4:00ish Shopping!!
12:00 Fire up grill
1:00pm People group picture, then Pony group picture
2:00 Announce contest winners
2:00-3:00 Play games
3:00-4:00 Group show and tell
4:00ish Door prizes / farewell
(Note: You're welcome to say later if you want to - I'll probably get a bonfire going come nightfall in any case.  I've had a hankering for s'mores lately.  LOL!)



ACTIVITIES
•Buying and selling ponies!
•Show and tell - rare ponies, customs, first ponies etc
•Group photo of host pony (Applejack)
•My Little Pony cartoons (playing on the house's lower level)
•Wear something pony-inspired
•Vote for contest entries
•Free bin for all your get-rid-of stuff

  GAMES
•$10 Mystery gift swap (optional, one gift per participant)
•Gift Grab dice game ($1-$3 prizes, many small gifts)
•Aurora's Bag Game, Icebreaker Game, and "What's in the Box" Game
•Guess How Many candy jar(s)
•Raffle!
     (Raffle details: I was thinking all guests get two tickets at the door, and additional tickets are 50¢ each.  Selective raffle boxes can be made up for certain groups of items (e.g. MLP prizes vs non-MLP gift set prizes, etc.)

CONTESTS
•Art Contest featuring Applejack (Any kind - paintings, digital, sculptural etc)
•Haiku Contest - submit an Applejack related haiku to me and I'll print them for all to vote on their favorite!  Funny, poignant, witty - anything goes!

•Can I get a head count on who wants to do the custom pony contest?  Please let me know if you would like to participate!!


  PRIZES
•Game prizes
•Art/craft contest
•Raffle prizes
•Custom pony contest (if doing)
•Door prizes (if leftover prize table prizes)



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 ATTENDEES!  PLEASE BRING THE FOLLOWING: visitors can't see pics , please register or login

•Ponies and other merch to sell/trade
•Cash, including a good mix of smaller bills
•Your potluck food contribution
•Haiku (submitted to Silver Glade) and art contest entries, if participating
•Items for prize table, unwrapped (maybe like 2 or 3 things? Small/inexpensive; pony or non-pony okay)
•“Gift Grab” dice game gifts, wrapped (if participating. Not mandatory but super fun. These are $1-$3 gifts, the fun is in the game!! Works best if each person playing has brought at least two gifts)
•$10 Mystery Gift, wrapped (if participating, not mandatory. One to one swap.)
•Ponies for “Show and Tell”
•Items for free bin
•A spare table
•Camping chairs/folding chairs

Definitely bring tables if you have them!  I have a feeling we'll run out of surface area fast at my house, though I do have several folding tables I can set out.  I have about 14 outdoor chairs and (of course!) furniture indoors, but the more chairs the merrier, I say. 

Would anyone like to volunteer to be a photographer?  I have small digital cams, but a big honkin' Nikon or somesuch would work even better!   

Please let me know, if you haven't already, what you're bringing for potluck.  That should be it - any questions you may have, ask me!  We'll be seeing each other soon!   

It's Ember, the spectacular chameleon filly!     This little girl came in several variations - which color combo do you like best?

I think I often default to Ember's RaMC cartoon color of lavender body and pink hair, because that's how I was originally introduced to her.  I do like her all purple/white star look too, but that's probably because purple is my favorite color.   

So something that the G1 cartoon does quite well is lack any particular focus on certain ponies.  This has its good and its bad effects, of course.  Out of a "central" cast of 23 ponies, it's hard to narrow down which characters are the most prominent.

I wanted to know then - just off the top of your head - who comes to mind first when you think of the G1 characters?  I thought a random sampling from people's memory banks might be an interesting insight as to who had the most memorable personalities! 

So, we all know that one of the signature features of MLP is all of the rainbow coloring the ponies have - Technicolor combinations that are, obviously, fantastical and nothing like real horses. 

I've got another hypothetical question for you guys!  What are your thoughts on MLP figures with "natural" coloring, i.e. coat colors and patterns based on actual horse breeds?  There are a few out there (like the Macau Jenny who is currently winning today's Derby poll), and most people know that MLP started out as the large "horsey-colored" toy, My Pretty Pony.

Would you have liked it if there were a couple special releases or sets of ponies in various browns, grays, golds, etc.?  Or is the candy coloration one of the most appealing things about MLP that attracted you in the first place?

Personally, I like the "reverse fantasy" idea of coloration in the MLP world; that earth-toned horses are just as otherworldly to the Little Ponies as their candy coloring is otherworldly to us.  Maybe some MLP legends and folklore have earth-toned ponies as the protagonists!  Or maybe earth tones were the "primitive" state of MLPs, and somewhere along the line they evolved into more random and bright coloration.   

I think it might have been fun to have a few special releases in G1 of "real world" colors - like a few mail order variants, or something.  What say you guys?

Hey all!

So, I'm sure most fans of the G1 cartoon (I'm mostly referring to Friends in this discussion, but the same questions apply to Tales as well) will readily admit that the series has its fair share of technical flaws.    I don't think there is a single episode of Friends that doesn't have some error to it (the wrong character speaking, really wonky animation, etc). 

So, if you had the authority and resources to clean up the original G1 series, what tweaks and changes would you make?  Personally, I would go all out and reanimate pretty much everything to give the ponies more equine and less awkwardly chunky character designs, and have them move a bit more fluidly.  I would keep the soft, rounded G1 aesthetic though - no drastic overhauls like G4-ifying everything!  I'd retain the original voicework (maybe remaster it to clear up the quality a bit), but I'd augment the sound design and background score for sure.  I'd add in some subtler sound effects (or change them to match the scenario better - e.g. no sharp, hard surface clop sounds while walking on a forest floor, etc.), and would compose a handful of musical themes to throw into the mix.  That's one thing, in my opinion, that gets old fast - the same minor key piece for "we're in trouble!" scenes, or transition music pieces, etc.

While I would restore the Midnight Castle and Catrina specials to their entire uncut forms, I think I'd be a bit more brutal to some storylines that were clearly just meant to fill in airtime.  Especially the ten-part "End of Flutter Valley" episode - it's impossible to sit through the entire thing!  It takes a very thin premise and stretches it out to an unbearably long runtime.  So I'd edit that one down, for example, to give it a length that suits its story. 

I think it'd be fun to add in some more ponies from the toyline, if only in non-speaking background action.  Just to fill out the world of Dream Valley a little more, rather than seeing the same 20 ponies over and over! 

And the last change I think may ruffle some feathers too much, but I'd totally change Megan, Danny and Molly into some other sentient species, just to remove the pesky human element in the show.  It'd still be ridiculous that the ponies would lean on Megan so much to rescue them from crises, but at least I wouldn't have to look at that silly ruffled outfit of hers.    I'd probably change them to anthropomorphic canine characters, like a trio of cute mongrels.  Because why not?   

I though it'd be fun to get a TIL topic going here!  Share any facts or trivia you happened to learn about today!  I'll begin...

Today I learned that 'scaleless' snakes exist.  And they're so smooth look like they are made of clay! 

(Scaleless ball python under the spoiler tag.)

Hola!

My horticultural marketing class wanted us to gather some basic info from any person 18 or older about... wait for it... processed vegetables! 

It's ten questions about processed veggies (frozen, canned etc.) and sustainability.  If any of y'all would be kind enough to take a few minutes to answer, I would definitely appreciate it! 

EDIT: I decided to format a survey and post a link rather than dump all the text here - for ease of use and whatnot!   

Click here for the survey!