The good news is that MightyFine is having another My Little Pony T-shirt contest and the prizes are huge! Lots of money to be won and the pot gets bigger the more people enter so start designing!

Now for the bad news… it seems like this contest is for Bronies and Friendship is Magic fans only. Both of the judges are from Brony and Friendship is Magic fan sites. Couple this with the fact that they still haven’t added adult sizes for their Retro My Little Pony shirt and this doesn’t mean great things for vintage MLP fans. While they don’t specifically prohibit submitting vintage MLP designs, how can they possibly win if the judges are only fans of the new stuff?

I love the new show as much as anypony but I’m a little mystified why they’re excluding the original fandom in such a big way like this. As someone who loves ponies new and old, I want to celebrate all of ponydom, not just the new stuff. I know this is a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease because Friendship is Magic is getting a ton of press but I’m starting to get a little annoyed that it’s become an either/or thing. If MightyFine isn’t willing to make retro merchandise, can’t they at least sell that license to a company that is? It feels like squatting.

You can be a fan of both Friendship is Magic and the original MLP content. Or you can just be a fan of Friendship is Magic or just a fan of the vintage stuff. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to be an MLP fan. One isn’t better than the other, it’s just different. The fans “taking sides” is annoying enough but to have the companies holding the license to make merchandise taking sides seems like a new level of slight.

I don’t want this to deter anyone from submitting designs to the contest because I still want there to be awesome FiM designs out there and I want one of you to win that nice big prize. I just wish people weren’t trying to make this a fandom Civil War.

What do you guys think?

Yay The Site Isn’t Busted Anymore giveaway!

This contest is open to everyone internationally as well as in the USA and is super easy. To enter, just leave a comment below that answers the following question:

When did you first realize that you were a My Little Pony fan?

Easy right? Comments and replies to comments both count as entries. No matter how many time you comment, it only counts as one entry. We’ll use a random number generator to pick the winners at the end. (Also, if you see me commenting, don’t worry, I’m not eligible. )

Here’s the only tricky part: We won’t pick a winner until there are at least 15 unique user comments below so make sure to pass this link around to your fellow pony friends to make sure we get enough. If we pass 30 unique user comments, I’ll pick a second winner. (Don’t worry, everyone who’s entered before that point will still be eligible for the second drawing so the sooner you enter, the better your chances.)

The winners of this contest will receive…

• A DVD of the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic episode The Ticket Master
• A euro-style My Little Pony MLP oval sticker
• A euro-style Friendship is Magic FiM oval sticker

So… what are you waiting for? Start commenting!

Now, two articles in a row have labeled female fans as pegasisters which does make sense because of the whole bro/sis connection.

I pose this question to you, the actual female MLP fans. What do you prefer to be called? What do you think of yourself as?

The answer is… sort of. Because look what I just found:

Adorable? Yes. Officially Hasbro licensed? It’s being sold by by Disguise which sells the other licensed MLP costumes so that sign points to yes.

And, before you ask, only child and toddler sizes. Sorry, adult sized guys and gals! But think of the fun you can have dressing your little ones!

Not comfortable ordering from Disguise? Amazon has these new My Little Pony costumes as well.

What do you think of this costume? Cute? Lame? Do you think we’ll see more before trick or treat time?

The Hub has embraced Bronies in it’s marketing, and hopefully other executives are taking note. They key to a successful children’s program isn’t churning out increasingly stereotyped shows in which girls pretend to be princesses and frolic with woodland creatures while boys fight and play with cars (or fight with robots that turn into cars). Men aren’t allergic to everything aimed at women, and with interesting characters and plots (and a dose of ’80s nostalgia) people of all ages, and genders, are likely to become fans.

What’s your favorite My Little Pony inspired drink? Leave your recipe or the link below.

The Official My Little Pony Convention is this July 8th and 9th in Pawtucket, Rhode Island at the Hasbro Headquarters.

First let me tackle a few misconceptions

• There will be men there. There have always been men at the MLP convention (I’ve been to several of them over the years). Some are MLP fans (yes, they existed well before FiM, they’ve just been quiet) and some are our husbands, boyfriends, etc. But, in the past, it was always about 30 to 40% men. I’m sure it will be more this year. Traditionally there are men only contests (with sweet prizes) so I imagine that will be the case this year as well.
• There will be love for Friendship is Magic AND the older stuff. I don’t know a single MLP collector that isn’t also a fan of the new show. Just keep in mind that there are many more years of older stuff so it’s inevitable that there will be more of that stuff around for sale. (Just FYI, to collectors Friendship is Magic toys are still part of the third generation (G3) so don’t panic if you don’t see the words G4 bandied about outside of brony circles. There will still be the current toys there.)
• The collectors and the Bronies don’t hate each other! This is not a thing. Most of us consider ourselves Bronies/Fillies. Just because we started earlier doesn’t mean we’re all in a blood feud. We’re grown people who love magic ponies. We’re not exactly violent. But seriously, everyone is welcome. Love and rainbows, y’all.

I’m not part of the organization of the fair so I can’t speak to how geared towards FiM the majority of the events are but, this year, the fair is two days. If you’re a fan of MLP I highly recommend checking out the first day (ie, the day of the Hasbro tour) even if you don’t think the second day (which is more of the collecting related events) is for you. Speaking as a fan of toys in general, getting to see how they make the toys (and last time they let us see how they make other things such as Transformers and a few other brands) and the headquarters (which is something to see) is really a once in a lifetime chance. When the convention was last in RI a few years ago, we also got to see some prototype toys that were coming to market soon and the process behind how they created them, previews of the new animated specials that were coming out (keep in mind that this was pre-FiM so I wouldn’t be surprised if they had clips of next season to show this time), and they unveiled some new stuff coming to market.

Let me put it this way: My husband doesn’t care one bit about MLP and even he thought the Hasbro tour was one of the coolest things he’s ever seen. So, in short, if you are into toys at all but especially if you are into My Little Pony I don’t think you can go wrong with trying to get into that.

There will probably not really be a chance to suggest new products. You can try, I suppose, but that’s not really the vibe.

As for the second day, it’s is going to mostly be like this: People will be chilling at their booths and chatting ponies. Almost everyone will have stuff for sale. Yes, much of it will be old but some will be new. Events will be going on and, at least based on prior years, some people will pay attention to them and others will ignore them completely and keep on doing their thing. Think of it like a brony meet-up where money occasionally changes hands or random things happen in the background. It will be very chill and laid back. If you wanted to just sit in a corner and ignore us all I suppose you could do that though it would be kind of sad.

Don’t make me remind you that friendship is, after all, magic!

If this doesn’t sound like your scene, well then it’s probably not for you. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that one of the big things going on will be trading which can sometimes be a great way to snag something you really want (say a hard to find blind bag item) by trading another item for it instead of paying cash. It’s a magical world where ponies are currency so if your little sister has some older G3s she doesn’t want anymore and you could, say, trade them for the Friendship is Magic McDonalds ponies without spending a dime, wouldn’t that be sweet?

Anyway, in short, I hope this gives you some idea of what to expect and lets you make an educated decision about whether its for you. I for one am totally behind on FiM and am cram watching them all so I can be caught up by the convention and chat with you all. Stupid day jobs!

If anyone reading this has been to an MLP convention in the past and wants to chime in, please do. Or if you have questions post them below and I’ll see if I can get the Fair organizer (who is named Summer Hayes and is a lovely lady) to answer them.

If you have no attention span, just read the title and trust me on this one.

If you could pick, what MLP licensed products (ie, not toys) would you most like to see?

What do you think?

And, of course, the infamous rock band episode…

Q: Did you watch any of My Little Pony prior to Friendship Is Magic? Either as a “real” fan or in a “there’s nothing else on TV and/or I don’t feel like wrestling the remote from my sister” way? – French Guy, via email

A: I only started with Friendship is Magic, but Jen Vaughn – my pony-watchin’ pal who has contributed art to Ask Chris before – is a lifelong fan, and she forced me to watch an episode called “Bright Lights,” where a bunch of creepy-ass ponies were kidnapped and had their life force drained by an energy vampire pony version of Prince named Knight Shade.

This thing was absolutely horrifying. First of all, the animation and voices are not what you’d call “good.” Second of all, this is a show about pony groupies being lured backstage by a shady manager, which, while probably useful advice for the young ladies of the ’80s, is still a little creepy. Third, I am deeply disturbed by the idea of humans and ponies coexisting, especially with no knowledge of why there are only two humans. And finally — and most importantly — it’s yet another example of shameful zebracism.

Read More: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/06/03/ask-chris-59-the-heroescon-lightning-round-special/#ixzz1OElRfq5W

For the record, there were three humans. Don’t discount Danny! if any of them shouldn’t count as human it’s Molly. She always annoyed the snot out of me.

What episode of the original My Little Pony show was the most disturbing and/or scarred you for life?

Talking about the new larger mass appeal of MLP: Fim discussed here: My Little Pony: the Hip, New Trend Among the Geekerati

If you were Hasbro, what would you do? I mean, obviously, MLP has been big with adults for years and we’ve had adult shirts, random stash boxes and other items but what would you most like to see this time out to appeal to us grown-ups?

See his answer here. 

But, on this subject, hasn’t this term come to mean all fans of the show, not just males? Why are the men trying to hog the cheesy puns for themselves?

At least now we know who the target demographic for this is.

What do you think?

Update 5/20: I found a better picture where you can actually see the ponies.

Soasig Chamaillard’s “My Little Mary,” 2010

• I have five words for you: Virgin Mary My Little Pony 
• iTunes is offering a free download of the first episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in HD for a limited time. Don’t forget to grab yours!
• Which My Little Pony are you? Take the personality quiz and find out! http://j.mp/hfetHp
• He-Man’s Orko as a My Little Pony http://j.mp/gpwUg5
• Not enough for you? OK, then how about a
  Avatar Navi pony? http://j.mp/gQ1q5t
• Extra booth space has already sold out for the MLP Convention! Make sure
  to buy vendor space soon before it’s all gone http://j.mp/hWDcIR
• Celebrity kids get My Little Pony (and other toys) at their own Oscars
  Red Carpet Event http://j.mp/dOWZdi (I want an Oscars Red Carpet Event with free MLP stuff, darn it!)
• Every since he wrote that great post on MLP vs Major Comic Book characters, (Which DC characters would best wield the Elements of Harmony from My
  Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?) Ask Chris has been getting lots of MLP questions. At the bottom of this post, he has to defend Pinkie Pie from detractors. 
• Lady Gaga played with My Little Pony as a kid AND they were part of her inspiration for the Born This Way video! I’m thinking we knew this already if we’d really thought about it.
• @Steves_Minty:
  “Sometime in the 80s Lady Gaga was playing Ponies when Express Yourself
  came on, and a career was born!” -@astrosteve
• We were getting a lot of very grumpy comments on the is My Little Pony:
  Friendship is Magic an Anime? post… http://j.mp/f7NVz2
• We added Facebook comments to this entire site. Try
  them out & let us know what you think! (We also left up old comments as well, don’t worry.)
• Struts: Slutty looking My Little Pony wanna bes? http://j.mp/ecq4aD Prepare see these
  mis-listed as MLP in the future…

Maybe I should start doing these weekly. That seemed like a lot. Anyway, know of any cool/funny/nifty MLP related stuff I missed? Please post it below!

It is a problem that Hasbro, which makes My Little Pony is acutely aware of. Spokesman Donna Tobin explained that the company had given the toy a child-friendly makeover.

‘We want our girls to stay little longer!” she said. ‘Look at My Little Pony. She’s cute. She’s pretty. She’s pink. She may have a different look, but she has always stood for friendship. We’re not about lipstick or shaving.’

OK, we need to talk about this. First of all, obviously, My Little Pony used to be about make-up like lipstick, there was official MLP make-up in G1 as well as the Sweet Kisses ponies with color change lipstick. G2 was so about dress-up it was the entire theme of their PC game. So, yes, MLP was given a child friendly make-over with G3 which a lot of collectors who grew up with the original MLP took issue with.

Except what photo did they use for this article?

Child-friendly makeover: My Little Pony is aimed
at children aged three to six

But anyway, how do you feel about MLP going for a younger audience? Do you think the MLP’s of the first two generations scared you for life because they had make-up?

Generations of any toy refer to the years of production, not the design. Yes, FiM ponies look different but that is actually completely irrelevant to what generation they are in. A new generation starts when the toy company ceases production for a significant amount of time and then relaunches the brand. This applies to all collectibles, it’s not something specific to MLP. The fact that most G3 ponies are still in production (such as So-Soft, Newborn Cuties, Ponyville, etc) should have been the big hint that we didn’t switch generations. Until Hasbro completely ceases production on all MLP items for a few years and then completely reboots the entire line, we are still on the third generation, especially since most G3 items are still in production. G3 and G4 can’t overlap, that’s impossible. A logo change and molded hair does not a new generation make.

Let me put it this way. Let’s say, like whoever wrote that note on Wikipedia thinks, the generation changed every time the style of the ponies changed. Well, then wouldn’t a new generation have started with each new set with a new look, such as Flutter Ponies or Sea Ponies? By that logic, wouldn’t Petite Ponies, Dream Beauties, So Soft Newborns and Ponyville each been their own private generation? We’d be on generation 25 or something if we just allocated generations with that loose logic. Hasbro has only rebooted the brand twice which means we are still on the third generation.

I’m not a Wikipedia editor so I can’t fix the note that causing all this confusion but I’m hoping this post will make the people who are spreading this incorrect info take pause and realize that what they are saying doesn’t make sense. I’m also hoping that informed collectors will start speaking up and clearing up this confusion before it gets out of hand.

Let’s spread sense.

In this post about iTunes apps, Vern Seward makes a case for one side:

Last week I wrote about three free first episodes of animated shows available on iTunes. I mentioned that My Little Pony seemed to be patterned after Japanese anime, and that the show wasn’t my cup of tea. Some of you suggested that I missed the mark on that show, that it contained wit that adult males would appreciate, and that the animation was top notch.

Well, I watched it again. My opinion hasn’t changed. My Little Pony is not for me.

The problem is that while My Little Pony is not anime, it’s close enough in style that it turns me off. In general, I’m not a fan of Asian anime. I can’t take the big shimmery eyes, the cutesy sidekicks, the exaggerated expressions, the randomly place poignant pauses, or the odd fascination with large breasted schoolgirls dressed in extremely short plaid skirts. I just can’t get into it, and I’ve tried.

If it isn’t anime, would you at least say it is anime-like in style? If you’re a fan of anime, would you say that you are more or less likely to like MLP: FiM?

Now, I don’t have a problem with MLP being mocked. Even the most die-hard fan amongst us knows that MLP is ridiculous on several levels. But there are several big errors in it and I found myself having to really resist the urge to be “that guy” (think Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons) and point them out in the comments. A few poor MLP fans have already tried and have been mercilessly ripped apart. The article also makes mistakes about other cartoons (such as calling Chip and Dale squirrels) so it will probably get your geek rage going at some point while you read it no matter what you are a fan of.

That’s what I wanted to talk about in today’s post: Geek Rage. That feeling you get when someone gets something wrong about a property that you either love or just know a lot about and you have this uncontrollable urge correct it or call names. No good can ever come of this and yet we still find ourselves drawn to point out that they really shouldn’t have had a photo of a G3 pony when really a first generation pony would have been much more appropriate or whatever geeky correction we want to make.

I have been in my share of geek wars, my friends, and I feel your pain. But just walk away, man. Walk away.

Are there exceptions? I remember a few years ago, Entertainment Weekly posted an article that talked about how there has never been a My Little Pony movie and people of all ages converged in the comments to be like, “Uh, morons, yes there was.” Calling out bad journalism is, to me, a totally appropriate use of our geek knowledge but you may not agree. But when it comes to blogs, especially comedy sites, is there ever a time when defending your geek beliefs isn’t a terrible idea? It’s almost asking for a troll attack.

Maybe we shouldn’t care. Maybe we should be staunch warriors for our favorite property, haters be damned!

So how do you feel about it? Do you like to call others out for their glaring MLP ignorance or just roll your eyes and move on? Has geek rage ever brought you something positive or do you feel like its better to just walk away, your corrections unsaid? Share your thoughts…

Oh, but before you do, I just can’t resist.

Hey, Cute Overload Page-a-Day Calendar…

Hasbro makes My Little Pony, you morons. HASBRO. Not Mattel. How hard is it to take five seconds and Google it? Jeez!

Whew. You know what? Forget what I said. I’m all about geek rage. It felt really good to get that out of my system. That’s been bothering me since I turned the page onto it this morning.

• So you were thinking of trying to customize a My Little Pony, hmm? http://is.gd/gKREy
• Passion for what you collect is a gift, a collector’s high http://is.gd/gKRpv
• Big massive Thank You to Mark Bellomo for his kind words about Summer Hayes’ My Little Pony books in this interview: http://is.gd/gKJhT
• When Sarah Palin made that “unicorn ranch” comment, I was all like the Show Stable in Dream Valley? Democrats live with Lemon Drop? My Little Pony is so rarely a hot button political topic, I feel like we should embrace this. I had no idea Sarah Palin was an MLP gal.
• Guys, I kinda hate the new My Little pony logo: http://is.gd/fX9bZ How about you?
• What do we think of this screenshot from the new My Little Pony cartoon? http://is.gd/fPRzA
• Win “new look” Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy or Rarity! in this Hasbro contest http://is.gd/fKLsX
• Aw, @oatmeal is wearing a My Little Pony hat for his birthday! http://is.gd/fKGQn
• So, Long Time, No Post http://bit.ly/aERgmz (From Summer Hayes)
• I object to My Little Pony belonging to the “world of psychedelic hallucinations” http://is.gd/fvJr7 Also, she spelled psychedelic wrong.
• Still can’t figure out what this has to do w/ MLP but here you go: Care Bears and My Little Pony: Brooklyn Treasure Trove http://is.gd/faoRQ
• My Little Pony creator Bonnie Zacherle will be doing a signing at this fundraiser in Virginia http://is.gd/faoJY
• You are so sweet, thank you! RT @MariaMargarit_: @MLPCollecting Hello, there! You have a very nice site and your books are just great.
• Not to be a stickler for details but this “My Little Pony Bomb Scare” has nothing to do with MLP. http://is.gd/f4eYS Wrong toy, kiddies.
• FYI, http://mlpcollecting.com and http://mylittleponycollecting.com now both go to the same place!
• pricednostalgia Actor George DiCenzo, Voice of Hordak on ‘She-Ra’, Dies http://is.gd/elK2D