Welcome X-Eers and MLP Arena members!

Welcome to those arriving from X-E  and

 MLP Arena!

 I've recently shared my blog link with the fine folks of these sites and extend greetings to anyone who has clicked to me from there. Thanks for stopping by! X-Entertainment is one of the Intarweb's best 80s nostalgia sites, hands-down and I highly suggest anyone who feels lucky to have been a kid in the 80s (or wishes they could have been!) give it a visit. It's especially over-the-top awesome at Christmas!

My Little Pony Arena happens to be a fantastic place for fans of MLPs and even those just curious to learn more about pony toys. Friendly, enthusiastic members of all ages from around the world gather here to socialize, buy, sell, and learn. Take a trip to the Forums to see what I mean. Did you know My Little Ponies were not just a United States thing?

No matter which site you're from, I'd love to hear from you. Say hello, goodbye, good afternoon, or send up a signal flare. Let me know your screenname on either site and feel free to share a link to your own site! Hope you stick around for a while. :)

Interlude 3

 Ahh...a hot cup of cocoa on a cold winter's day. All bundled up and warm, time to sit down and enjoy a scan through the new issue of Better Stables & Paddocks. Nothing could disturb this peaceful moment....

Thanks, Aaron Wade!

Black Friday Fallout

Yours truly made the mistake of attempting to brave the Thanksgiving night crowds at Toys R Us in the name of purchasing a "limited edition" Christmas-themed Sing A Ma Jig. I'm sure "limited edition" meant "so few that it will incite a riot" so that the display of the toys resembled a scene akin to throwing a hot dog into a bear pit. But I never made it into said store to see if I was correct. Make no mistake, I tried to go to the store. I was in the general vicinity of the store. I actually had my feet placed on the cement of the plaza in which the store was. I even joined the line of humans also attempting to go into the store. But the line, which stretched the entire length of the plaza, was Queue Line Armageddon. Due to fire code laws, just to compound the problem, the line's movement was based on glacial-migration speeds. See, once the store was filled to capacity, it had to vomit sixty shoppers before they'd allow another sixty shoppers in.

There may still be shoppers in line at this particular store a full week later.

Ponies are not immune to these sorts of problems. They are herding creatures, after all, and when something like the Monster High fever that's hit the country trickles down to them, all hell breaks loose.

Several tiny ponies gather for some playtime. The usual baby toys, like stacking rings and pull toys, are scattered around. The twin babies are perfectly happy with these, until....

"Stack toys is fun! I like! Wanna play stack toy wif us?"

"Stack toys for dumb babies. I has something better."

"Bedder than stack toy?"

"No such ting!"

"Oh yeah? Den look at...."

"....THIS."

"WANT"

-----------

Later that day, back at home....

"MOMMY WE WANT MONSTOO HIGH DOLL. WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT....."

"WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT..."

"WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT..."

"WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT..."

"WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT..."

"I've just about had it! All I hear day and night is 'MOM WANT WANT WANT' over these piles of zombie plastic crap things! I pulled an all-nighter last night because these two wouldn't leave me alone. And they're totally sold out everywhere so I can't get them anyways!"

"Yeah, Mom, they won't leave me alone either!"

"Well, you wanted to have more kids, we were just fine with these two and now your kids are driving you nuts and I..."

"MY kids?! Oh sure, now that they're doing this, they're MY kids?! Not yours?"

"Totally uncool, Dad. Really lame."

"Look what you did! Now Mom and Dad are fighting because of your STUPID GIRL TOY. Monster High sucks! Bigtime! You two need to SHUT UP about them!"

The twins looked at each other with fire in their eyes. Someone had blasphemed their object of desire! They'd show them!....

"WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT...."

----------

Defeated, the twins' parents knew they wouldn't hear the end of it unless they found those dolls. Mom had remembered an ad she'd seen up in town and took Dad to see it...

"This is my last hope. Maybe they'll have extra for this sale. Otherwise, Christmas day is going to be a nightmare. I can hear it now....whinnying from sun up to sun down."

"Wow, no meadow muffins on that 'every foal's must' thing! Those dolls send out a siren song!"

----------

Black Friday rolls around. Mom and Dad trot out in the middle of the night, barely awake and squinting to see, hoping to finally find the dolls at the Toy Stall sale. Surely Black Friday can't be as bad as they heard it could be....

"Okay, so when the doors open, I'll dash in and grab two of those Julio dolls and..."

"Ghoulia! GHOULIA!!! How many times do I have to tell you?! It's the one with glasses on, so don't forget! Please! Besides, it's 3 AM, the place will probably be dead, so what's the rush?"

"Yeah. Dead. Dead jammed to the gills."

"Oh, just SHOOT ME NOW! All these ponies are here for those dolls?!"

The crowd from hell. Every foal in the area wanted a doll and the store was swamped with beleaguered parent ponies. Some were already defeated, some were gearing up for a fight, and all of them were impatient for the doors to open. Every one of them was sure that they would get a doll even if the pony next to them didn't...

"Are the doors opening yet? Has there been any movement? Stand on me and look!"

"I can't see anything moving yet! Door's still shut!"

Even the babies were at the end of their ropes...

"Mommy, diaper FULL! No more room for poo-poo! Stinky! Change me!"

Suddenly the door opened and a manager appeared. She had instructions for the crowd...

"Okay, everyone! We're about to open! We only have a limited amount of Monster High dolls, so we're going to have to make them first come, first served! Please proceed in an orderly single-file line and..."

That did it. Pony mass hysteria. Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was the massive wait. Maybe it was all that Thanksgiving food giving everyone heartburn. The ponies had snapped. The entire crowd pushed forward at once, every pony struggling to get to the door faster and move ahead in the line. Order and courtesy went out the stable window. In the blink of an eye, the door to Toy Stall was choked with ponies, all kicking, biting, and trampling the others....

"Aaaand the brats will be getting standard Barbies, like it or not. Let's go home, shall we?"

 

Forecast Calls For CONTESTS! G4 Ponies Anyone?

I had a rotten Black Friday experience last week, so of course it must be reported through plastic objects. If you're a fan of Monster High dolls, you'll probably doubly appreciate this one....Miss Ghoulia is the star. It's almost done..just a few more pics.

But I really showed up to let you guys know I am cooking up some CONTESTS!

::pauses to let you make excited hand gestures::

At the very least, they'll involve some Generation 1 My Little Ponies; collectors' speak for "Ponies you played with if you're a child of the 80s." But what I'm hoping for is to offer up a brand-spanking-new "Generation 4" Pony- these are the ponies that are the stars of The Hub's new MLP cartoon. I know a lot of people are looking for these, and so am I. Once I track them down, I'm thinking one of these new girls would be a great prize for a lucky reader, don't ya think?

Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments section of this entry. Like the idea of new ponies? Rather have them be old ones? Any thoughts on what kind of contest would be the most interesting? You can post anonymously if you'd like; you don't need to have a Google account or what have you to join in the conversation. I'm a geek for this kind of stuff so I'd love to discuss with y'all how this should come down.

Happy Thanksgiving from PTT!

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

The bunnies are so thoughtful! For anyone who might have had a turkey fallout today, they're offering fully-cooked turkeys for a small fee...

"Yes hoomans, we has oo cooked bird if oo too stoopid to do it right! It not that much. If oo can't afford it maybe oo should eat a cardboard terkee!"

 

No, that's not a mutant bird, I cook my turkeys white meat down :)

Episode 1-4

**After a round with a lovely seasonal illness, we're back!**

You'll hopefully remember a scene from Episode 1-1 that revealed big news was on the horizon for the Fakies. We return to that scene to discover just what the news happened to be....

"Everyone, there's a rebellion in the works. We've reached our limits when it comes to Fakie discrimination and we're going to do something about it finally! Recon has shown that the bunnies and the other ponies are working together to keep us repressed, but the bunnies hold most of the power. They must be overthrown! They must be shown that we're not push-overs!"

"And I know where to start. That blasted amusement park! The bunnies run it and I just know that the money they use to keep us downtrodden is coming from our own feedbags when we go to that place! We have to take over the park!"

"You know, it wouldn't be so bad if they just allowed us to have names. Maybe if we go ask politely they'll let us. Bunnies are pretty darn cute, so how can anything so lovable be mean? I think we just need to have some understanding and...."

"Oh, here we go again with that garbage, Ms. Heart Butt! Look, you can get all peace, love, and unity on me but reality says otherwise. We're hosed. They won't let us get any job that lasts more than a couple days and they fire us quickly even if we find one. All we do is roam around trying to find someone or some place that will accept us because of the smear campaign those creeps have going. It ain't gonna get better until we take them out. And worst of all...."

"...we got nuthin' left for some decent food! We're down to feeding the foals old Halloween popcorn balls!"

----------

Back at Rainbowville, misery abounds. The kids love it, of course, having an uncanny ability to ignore the worst of situations if they're having fun, but the grown-up ponies are another story....

The epic line for the new ride was still snaking through most of the park. Despite the cruel ejection of their friend from the line, the other Fakies were so deeply invested in the unbelievable wait that they just couldn't get out after all that time. Now even more irritable and mutinous, they still faced more hours marching through the queue lines. Although the smaller Fakie was just glad to get a day out while her foals were being cared for by the rest of the herd, the larger of the two Fakies was really getting cranky....

"Have you seen it go? I haven't seen it go in a while. Just wait! Now there's going to be an announcement...'The roller coaster is down, all you suckers'...it's probably broken!"

"I don't really care at this point because I'm so hot and thirsty!"

"You're in luck, then, because I see a pop machine coming up!"

"Four dollars for a CAN?!???"

"I don't care! I'm so thirsty and hot! I need a Coke!!!"

"Well, at least it ain't a RC Cola machine...fine..fine."

"Nothin's happening...I think they're out of Coke!"

"Ugh, alright. Maybe a Sprite then."

"I think you're out of luck again! Nothin's comin' out!"

Five minutes later, after trying more selections....

"Dude, all that's left is TAB!!!!!!! EWWW!!!"

Half an hour later....

"My hooves are KILLING me!"

"Mine too. I'm gonna have nothin' left but bloody stumps by the time this ordeal's over."

Forty five minutes later....

"Here we go again! I haven't seen it run for a while. I think I see maintenance stallions walking towards it!"

But the smaller Fakie has some issues and isn't listening. Something she found in the trash isn't settling well in her tummy....

"Oh man, pies in a pasture....I've got a gas bubble as big as my head. Maybe if I act normal nobody will guess I'm 'letting off some steam.' Hope it doesn't stink..."

"MOMMY, IS STINKY! SOME PONY POOPED!"

"Yep, I am just going to go over there and die of embarrassment!"

"RAIN?! Did you just feel RAIN?!"

----------

Meanwhile, some other unlucky ponies were about to get on one of the park's rides that was poised to have a mishap. The bunnies had ignored the inspector that had said the ride needed work because, after all, that would cost money that wasn't going towards a new ride or the next load of imported organic gourmet carrots for the executive bunnies. So the ponies were boarding, not a care in the world, with no idea that the ride wasn't going to be so pleasant....

"I LOVE this ride!!!!"

"Me too! It's so nice after some of those big, scary ones!"

And then it happened. When the baby pony operator started the ride, she noticed it was spinning awfully fast. And then faster. And then faster still. Before she could call for help the ride was totally out of control!

The ponies were sick beyond belief after that onslaught. They staggered off, so dizzy they could barely stand up...

"I'M NOT FEELING TOO GOOD."

"ME NEITHER. I THINK I'M GONNA...."

BLARRRGHHHHH!!!!

Ah, just another day at Rainbowville. But how long do the bunnies have before the Fakies wage war?

Lucky

Today was my 31st birthday. While I'm sure other '79 babies out there were lamenting another year into their thirties or turning 21 all over again, I was instead chomping at the bit for my big day because my wish list was crammed full of a lot of the toys you see on PTT. Also, 31 is a better number than 30. And I knew my obliging husband, who is just as quirky as me thank goodness, would be more than happy to have an excuse to buy toys! When it comes to him, though, the toy search doesn't usually go that well. He apparently is looking for toys that existed only on Io during the first Tuesday of the seventh month of odd-numbered years. I recently witnessed him tell a grizzled veteran vintage toy store owner "Never mind, I can't really describe it" when this gentleman asked him what he was looking for. No Ants In My Pants for him, no sir! Is it so rare that it's actually not physically possible for a human being to find it without the assistance of deep-sea-exploration robots? Yep, that's the one he's looking for!

My friends were no problem either. They were geeked out at the idea of a pal of theirs having a retro birthday party with My Little Pony and pastel-colored ice cream. I've figured out that most of them are friends with me as an excuse to get away from pretending to be interested in things normal people do. But when my Dad came around asking for what I wanted, I cringed a bit when I said "Uh....ponies?"

Would Dad go home, stare into the mirror, and wonder where he went wrong to raise a daughter that asked for PONIES for her thirty-something birthday?

Granted, he's used to it with me I'd figure. When I come around with a beat-up grocery bag from the thrift store and pour out my latest assortment of pathetic gewgaws and playthings, I don't get disapproval from him but a sense of "Well, good, she must be feeling well...if the day comes that she doesn't look at a half-moldy, decapitated oxen figurine and feel immediate need to 'rescue' it, I'll know we need to call 911." Let's face that our parents don't need to get or approve of what we do as adults, but it always feels nice to get a "Good job!" or "That's cool!" when it comes to our random passions, doesn't it?

My husband hit a home run this morning when he asked me to close my eyes and, upon opening them, my gaze fell upon a Rubbermaid container overflowing with ponies. He had heard me say "Man, it would be amazing to just come across a huge tub of ponies or something sometime!" I knew it happened to collectors but it was about as rare as a hamster that runs a hot dog vending cart in a tourist town. So instead he made it happen in a different way. He never ceases to amaze me when it comes to the diligence and thought he'll put into my gifts when they often take these very specific paths. He won't just give you an Elvis CD collection, he'll somehow find a way to shove electrodes up Elvis's tailpipe and get the King himself to sign one last autograph from the beyond. See why I married him?

So Dad came over tonight with some ponies my husband helped him to get on eBay. I wasn't expecting anything else nor would I have been sad had he just handed me a plastic bag and said "Here. Ponies." This is not man's territory and I give my husband and Dad credit for even going there into a world of ponies that poop rainbows. Instead, he walks in with some garbage bags which he began ripping open. Out pours a bunch of candy-colored balloons with ponies on them that he blew up himself. He grins and says he needs to go to the car for something else.

(He also brought me an adorable card that features a kitten singing "Happy Birthday" which was "signed" by my two cats. My two cats would actually rather soil my clean clothes, sit on my head when they want me to wake up, and stick their paws into my food when I'm not looking than get their beloved Mama a card, so Dad even managed to see good in two incorrigible brats.)

Comes back in bearing a cake. Not just any cake, but a cake in pony-esque colors and one that had My Little Pony decals on it. Not sure if he put the decals on himself but I suspected it which makes it all the more mind blowing. This is a former Air Force Captain we're talking about here, not Mr. Rogers. Taped to the top is a little unicorn and a Pony "birthday girl" badge. Candles were provided, but not just any candles...they were the kind that burn in various colors rather than just your standard "Devil's Hellfire" shades. (I'm sure the Ponies would approve) He had then crafted little boxes to put my eBay finds in and wrapped them. When I finally opened the packages, I found that he had hunted for more Pony-themed birthday trinkets and put them in the box. When I unwrapped a Pony tablecloth, two of the Newborn ponies rolled out!

Color me shocked. (This color is a nice ombre of Pony Pink to Unicorn United Nations Blue)

The momentousness of these gestures grew in my mind as the evening passed. I know him enough to know he wouldn't have put two seconds of thought into something he didn't approve of. When Dad goes so far as to bring you a pink My Little Pony birthday badge that he bought himself rather than send a proxy female in to find, he must find some value in what you do. He doesn't have to get it or get into it with me, he just needs to know that little things mean a lot; it shows that he's listening and not going home to wonder if that time I rolled an occupied Hula-Coupe down the basement stairs didn't also lead to latent head injury. Besides, some of us have to be the keepers of things that make up childhood for kids of the 80s. His generation worships the '57 Chevy and The Mickey Mouse Club while mine just happens to get misty-eyed over My Little Ponies and Transformers.

So I'm just posting to say I'm lucky. Lucky to have been truly surprised and touched tonight by the thoughtful efforts my Dad put into my gifts and for understanding and appreciation of my interests that doesn't need to be said to be felt. Lucky to have a husband who appreciates someone who will never say "Just get me something useful, like a broom" and would probably take a train to Australia if that's what it took to find a special gift. I'm lucky. And I'm very appreciative of the love I was shown today.