The Enigmatic Mind Of Lightning Mustang: Now In Text Format!

Step 1: Put your iPod/MP3 player or iTunes on random.

Step 2: Post the first line(s) from the first 30 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song. (I took out any instrumental songs, lyrics that don't meet site rules, and any song where the title is uttered in the first line, so it's not entirely the first 20 songs that came up.)

Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from. Those guessing the songs should post in the comments or shoot me a PM. I'll be curious to see how many of these everyone can guess correctly in the week that I'm gone.

Step 4: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly and post the title in bold after the stricken song when it is guessed.

Step 5: (for those guessing the songs) If you look up the lyrics on Google or any other search engine, that's called cheating, so don't do it!

1. "I run on the wrong side of life, I'm the one that you fear when you hold your wife. I run where the darker crowds run, On the rain swept streets where the black rain runs."

2. "Even in buildings and still alleys, There is a sneaking threat breaking in. A little like fog, a little like heat, Too much like an invasion of safety."

3. "Well you're in your little room, and you're working on something good. But if it's really good, You're gonna need a bigger room."

4. "In the grip of a winter came love and greed. Insane with faith, I took the driving front seat. In the lowlight comfort of Berlin streets, The calm from emptiness duetted with my body heat."

5. "Give me the song and I'll sing it like I mean it. Give me the words and I'll say them like I mean it."

6. "It's soft to see the glow from the city up ahead. Connect my heart to the rhythm it's lead. Straight forward and ready 'cause I'm on my way home. It's so good to be alive in such a hazardous world."

7. "There are times when you find lobsters in a bucket. Can't climb out, why won't they climb away? Because other lobsters pull them down."

8. "Like miracles like clockwork and like miracles, you witnessed halos, but you failed to see its horns. The illusion of intelligence, a continuous sounding bell. And can you feel the interruption in the air? Can you feel the static? I've never seen you like this, seen you."

9. "(On my way, on my way) (On my way, on my way) I would like to reach out my hand. I may see you, I may tell you to run (On my way, on my way). You know what they say about the young."

10. "I am just a cowboy, lonesome on the trail. A starry night, a campfire night. The coyote call, the howling winds wail. So I ride out to the old sundown."

11. "One more day before you go. We'll stay up late for one more show. Grab the keys, we're going out. We're leaving home and we won't come back again. We're friends till the end, we'll take on the world. We just don't care at all."

12. "When the sky is dark, and the moon aglow. And the morning star, burning from afar, enters into view. 'All that I can say, all that I can know, is that I'll be dreaming,' he says, 'of you.'"

13. "When all beside a vigil keep, the West's asleep, the West's asleep - Alas! and well may Erin weep when Connacht lies in slumber deep. There lake and plain smile fair and free, 'mid rocks their guardian chivalry. Sing, Oh! let man learn liberty from crashing wind and lashing sea."

14. "Welcome fillies and gentlecolts, no reason to scream. Your favorite princess is back, she's walking up on the scene. She has been stuck on the moon, but that's no reason to fret. She's not a nightmare no more, so buckle down and get set!"

15. "I don't know why I got it so bad, but somehow I find, out of the fry pan and into the fire, we're at it sooner. Buried our souls, out of our headset, ready to go, slippin' and slide, I'm out of control. Crying'll hide my head in a hole. There's something about you I got to know before we go too far."

16. "I woke up at two with nothing to do, but stare at the ceiling in my room. There's places I'll go when I'm stuck here lyin' on the floor."

17. "I've kept it bottled up inside. This pain is unforgiving. The imperfection is much too shy to dominate me, control me. I see it's much too late."

18. "We like talkin' dirty, we smoke and we drink. We're KMFDM and all other bands stink. Our music is sampled, totally fake. It's done by machines 'coz they don't make mistakes."

19. "So you're sick and you feel like you've gotta stay in line. I keep the questions in my mind; the time is changing with the tide. It's never too late; don't put it all aside. Don't become the one you hate."

20. "The nauseating smell of waste contaminated by the blood dripping for the knife of a hatchet man. A self-destructive (cruel) act in the name of a god that is used to justify a holy battle plan. It's going down now, no hope for pow wow. You can't expel the devil from his dwell. There ain't no sanctuary safe enough, no shelter built strong and tough, to protect against this earthly hell."

21. "Well as I stand, stand, stand and deliver. You just bought yourself a first class ticket to being the giver. 'Coz you're always on the table; so is your mistake!"

22. "Cold am I. I'm beside myself because there's no one else. Have I grown so blind? Only god could save you if you knew your way to the light."

23. "Beneath the pitiless gaze of things, we interlock in tight coils. The outbreak of plague a little while before scorched flowers."

24. "All those years, you turned your back and now you're out of here. Still doesn't mean that you were insincere, and in my heart I hope that some things still hold true for you."

25. "Alone behind the cage of bone, they beat. In wait, they lie for love to ambush and retreat. All they know is to compete. They strain for victory, who have only known defeat. Never once, it bends a fee."

26. "First you said that you would never leave me; merry were my days. Then you told me life is never easy, and left without a trace. But how come I want you, like the soil yearns for the rain."

27. "A quicksilver tiger through shopping carts, a moment of panic from when I came out. This is a fraction, a piece of the truth. A justified action for reason of proof."

28. "Nio dagar blotet varar, låtom oss nu glädjas. Vilda danser i fröjd och gamman i gudahovets hall. Nio dagar blotet varar, låtom oss nu glädjas. Vilda danser i fröjd och gamman offerröken stiger mot skyn."

29. "Without our little miss Cheerilee, I don't see where the little foals would be. But behind every smile you see on her face, is a tormented mind, her world out of place. Teaching is her only distraction; her sanity is losing traction. All she does is cover up for the good of us all; her own life, which she's always losing control."

30. "Oxygen falls from the ceiling, just keep those cocktails coming. Turn off all mobile devices, electric chair still humming. Mile high, fuselage in the shape of a pill. Mile high, starting our descent into hell."

Best of luck everypony! There are a few humdingers on here! See you all in a week!

A friend showed me this potentially humorous meme, so I figured I would give it a try. You have set categories, and you turn your music to shuffle. As each song comes up, you put the song name and artist under each category. So, let's see what madness comes up for me. If you try it, please remember to keep it appropriate.

[OPENING CREDITS]: "Castle Dracula" by Nox Arcana

[WAKING UP]: "Post-Apocalypse Punk" by Abney Park

[FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL]: "Regeneration" by John Carpenter & Alan Howarth

[FALLING IN LOVE]: "Tall Man Preparing To Capture Mike" by Fred Myrow & Christopher L. Stone

[FIGHT SONG]: "Bout The City" by Reps

[BREAKING UP]: "Phenomena" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

[PROM]: "Immaculate Crucifixion [Leviathan Mix by The Barbarians]" by Juno Reactor

[MENTAL BREAKDOWN]: "Light [Musikist Macht Mix]" by Guenter Schulz/Michelle Baback

[DRIVING]: "Valkyrie's New Ride" by Samael

[FLASHBACK]: "Wardens" by Seppuku Paradigm

[WEDDING]: "The Medicine" by The Jazz June

[BIRTH OF CHILD]: "Total Soul Future (Eat It)" by Beck

[FINAL BATTLE]: "Ready To Blow (Dwarves Mix)" by KMFDM

[DEATH SCENE]: "Everfree (Pinkie Cake Remix)" by Icky

[FUNERAL SONG]: "Ole" by Fat Jon

[END CREDITS]: "Dixie Dieway" by Saviours

If anyone finds any other humorous music shuffle memes, feel free to share them. I would love to try them out.

Wow, it's been some time since I've blogged on here. Have a silly music meme!

TO TAKE THIS SURVEY, SIMPLY PUT YOUR MUSIC PLAYER ON SHUFFLE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS WITH THE TITLE OF THE SONG THAT COMES ON

[it's better if you don't cheat and don't skip any songs.]

What is your name? Love In Chains
How is your life going?: To Them These Streets Belong
What is your nickname?: My Own Life
What is your theme song?: Hole in the Wall
What is your best friend's theme song?: Demise

How is your life going to turn out?: The Forgotten Path
Will you get married?: Rule The World
Will you have kids?: Twenty Miles
What will your job be?: Babylon Forever

Did you/will you finish school?: Sacrificed Sons
Who is your best friend?: Spooky [Dance Mix]
Who is or will be your significant other: Putrid Minds (Extended Jam)
Who do you like?: Eres Mi Sol

How will you die?: Been Dreamin' (Instrumental)
How do you feel right now?: 2012
What is your favorite song?: Love Suite

How could you describe your parents?: Great Romances of the 20th Century
Your best friend?: An Outhouse
Your teachers?: YOUR FACE!
Your significant other [or crush...]?: Down Below
Yourself?: Autumn Goodbye

What is your best feature?: Giggle At The Ghostie (vs. Eurobeat Brony)
What will you be / should you be, profession-wise?: Surfin' Safari
How could you describe this survey?: Motorpsycho

What makes you angry?: So Many Wonders (Acoustic Instrumental)
What makes you sad?: Abran Fuego
What makes you happy?: Purge (Banishing)
What makes you dance?: Master of Puppets
What is your favorite color?: Moeity Prison
How would you describe yourself?: Vampire Hunters
Who is your worst enemy?: Split (Mirrorball Mix)
Who do you hate?: Mexican Brick
Who do you love?: The Ones
Who do you lust after?: Nuclear Dawn


Finish the Sentece

I wish: Cowbell Tutorial
I want to: Second Chances (EndoriaZeL's MLRRW Remix)
I want to kill: The Bold Fenian Man
I want to eat: Hobb's End
My head: Down With The Sickness

I am: Custer's Last One Night Stand
My best feature is: When Angels Cry
My eyes are: True Love
My hair is: Avast StormWolf's Plot - Eurobeat Mix
My face is: Hope Dies Painless
You should: Stomach Aches


Random

Words of advice: For Thy New Lunar Republic (vs. Not A Clever Pony)(feat. iBringDaLULZ)
How do others see me?: Der Mussolini
How do I see myself?: Becoming Popular

Sorry about how long this took to get up everyone. For those looking at this, you now know what I look and can stalk me at Everfree Northwest. I demand hugs if you come across me!

So over Memorial Day weekend, I attended a local scifi/fantasy convention known as MisCon. It's Montana's longest running scifi convention (we just celebrated our 27th year). The theme for this year was The Resistance, so I went with a steampunk look.

We had several guests of honor, but our big name guest was Jim Butcher. For those who don't know who he is, he's the author of the book series The Dresden Files. You should totally check it out! It's a fantasy story set in a modern setting, and it works a lot better than you would think.

Our artist was Theresa Mather, who is known for her unique fantasy art and for being a carousel restoration artist. She gave a really awesome talk about the old steam powered circus attractions, and how some of them are still going in the UK. Definitely fit my outfit well, but was also very cool to hear about. Now I really want to go to the UK to see one of these steam powered circuses.

The final of the big three guests of honor was Dragon Dronet, who does a lot of stunt work and creative design in movies and video games. He did all the stunts for Darth Malgus in the online Star Wars MMO "The Old Republic." It was fascinating hearing him talk about stunts he's gotten to perform in movies, along with all the props he's made. This guy has a ridiculous amount of talent.

We also had a lot of other artists and authors there, along with Paizo. If you don't know Paizo, they do all the publishing for Dungeons & Dragons Pathfinder. I was bummed I didn't get to see any of these guys, because Pathfinder is my favorite version of D&D.

There were a lot of really cool crafts and items to purchase. So, on with the pictures!

Spoiler: Myself and Dragon Dronet

Spoiler: Myself and Jim Butcher

Spoiler: My trusty Jackalope companion throughout the convention

[SPOILER="Lord of Owls" mousepad with art from Theresa Mather][/SPOILER]

Spoiler: Bookmark with art by Theresa Mather

Spoiler: Another bookmark with Theresa Mather's art

Spoiler: A shirt for the TV show Firefly designed by the artist Rob Carlos

Spoiler: Yes, the shirt is even signed by Rob!

Spoiler: Custom message I came up with for Jim Butcher to write, along with his signature!

Spoiler: I found pony pendants! I was told they use art from the comic series.

Spoiler: Closeup of the pendant art.

Spoiler: A prop that Dragon Dronet has made.

Spoiler: Poster of a comic that Tony Gregori has worked on.

Spoiler: Tony Gregori was taking inked commissions, so I decided to get one. For those in EPRP, here's Velox Ventus!

He's merely gone through a name change. That's right, I (SoulEmber), am really Lightning_Mustang! I was just curious to see how many check the name change thread, and wanted to have a singular name for all areas I'm part of on the site. Since I was a derp and used SoulEmber for my Livestream name, there has always been a bit of confusion. The radio side knows me as SoulEmber, while everyone else knows me as Lightning_Mustang. So I just consolidated and used one name for all areas of the site. So if you were wondering where that Lightning_Mustang guy went to, he's really been around this whole time. Quite a twist, no?

Song of the Day: [youtube]s08VjF7QLtQ[/youtube]

So yeah, I have to apologize for not being as active as I was before. For those who don't know, a lot has happened. First, I was given a temporary part time job while doing college. Then as this semester hit in college, I got a full time temporary position (that thankfully only overlapped with the part time position about a week). So my weekdays have been devoted to work and college, and weekends to homework, studying, and the small amount of family and social time I get. Fortunately, Finals Week is just next week. So I'm hoping I can become more active here then.

To top all of that craziness off, I've also become sort of an unofficial leader/organizer for the local brony meets here, and found myself a girlfriend. So if you're wondering why I've disappeared somewhat, that's all the reasons why. I know some staff have resigned because of heavy workloads in their real lives, and I've thought about this as well. I just want to continue doing my best to help make the site enjoyable for everyone I can, and I'm doing my best with the limited time I've got due to my real life.

I do feel as if my short times online aren't really helping much, though. The thought of possibly resigning is still there in my mind, and I'd rather not have to act on it. I might wait and see how much I can do after Finals before I solidify a decision. I just feel like at this point I'm more of a hindrance to the rest of the staff due to my schedule, and I feel they don't need any dead weight holding them back.

Song of the Day:
[YOUTUBE]-cf2nNpws-M&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

Sorry it's been pretty much forever since my last blog entry. I've had a lot keeping me busy. College has decided that since it's close to a major holiday, that it would be a good idea to dump a lot of work on me. On top of this, I've recently gotten a job, so I'm trying to get all the paperwork, immunizations, and drug tests finished for that. I've also started on some of the training necessary for the job as well, so that's another thing sucking up all my time. So again, I apologize if I haven't been very active lately. Oh, and this is all on top of also helping to figure out and plan for various events for our radio. So, the like one person who will read this (because hardly anyone reads my blogs it feels like. Or maybe they're just difficult to respond to. I dunno), did you know that we're in talks for helping stream the big charity event for Bronies For Good this Sunday? We indeed are, and we're very enthusiastic that we'll be able to help out with this fantastic event!

Did you know we've also been doing a live broadcast with some of the fine folks at FOB: Equestria? We're three episodes in now, and you can listen to us live every Saturday at 8:30 PST/11:30 EST (4:30 GMT). To catch up on what you may have missed, it's all on our Youtube which you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/user/EveryPonyVideos/videos?view=0. For this Saturday, our special guest is Rommel from Bronies For Good! He will be talking about the big event we're also involved in the following day (Sunday)! So please, tune in this weekend for lots of excitement and a chance to benefit charity. I hear that we might even have the Swedish VA for Spitfire (Anneli Heed) and the VA for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie (Andrea Libman).

I've got not a whole lot else to talk about here. We're always looking in the mod application threads, because I know there's some concern about that. I know the new threads in Site Discussion have been looked through, and we're working on how best to address the concerns that have been raised there. So that's all from me. I'll try to write these more frequently again.

Song of the Day:
[youtube]RjlrHw1UBPA[/youtube]

This weekend has been busy for me. Friday was spent doing classes and homework, then the evening is when one of my RP groups moved their time to. We're currently playing a Pathfinder game, and we're all learning that a lot of the classes are pretty broken (in being too OP, or overpowered). We still had fun regardless, and my character collected some decent loot. Last week's Monday night RP session in a different group, where we're playing Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition (blech, lol) we found a rare civilization in the game. How did we accomplish this? Literally flipped a coin to decide where we would go every time we came to a forking path in the cave system our characters are in.

Saturday was spent helping my aunt and uncle load things to help them in the moving process. I did get back in town for the evening, where I then proceeded to DJ here on the site. Had a lot of fun, and it was awesome to actually have somewhat of a crowd for a bit. Thank you to those who listen to our radios. We really appreciate it!

Sunday started with going out for brunch with my family, since my sister was in town for about a week (Sunday was her last day). Came back home, worked on some homework, and then went to another brony meet! Aw yeah! Yes, I did forget my camera again. We had a larger group this time, but not too much more. Last meetup was only three of us, and this one we had five. We all played Cards Against Humanity, and had an amazing time filled with much laughter. I saw on the forum I learned about these bronies in my state from that another brony had shown up, but got so nervous that they quickly panicked and left when they started seeing people show up. I couldn't help but think of Fluttershy, and it made me want to just hug them. I hope they're able to overcome their shyness and go to other meetups we plan. We are thinking of having another one next week, and I will try to remember my camera then. Then in the evening, we picked up my cousin and her boyfriend and took them to supper. The food was amazing! I had chicken enchiladas, which came with chips and black beans. I also had one of the local specialty beers that's only served where we ate (it being a brewery and all), and it was one of the best beers I've ever had. I was surprised that it had 7.1% alcohol by volume though, which seems high for beer. Afterwards, we went to an Irish concert. The band playing is called FullSet, and they've been earning tons of awards lately. After going to see them, I know why. They were a very impressive show if you like Irish traditional music!

Thus ends my tale of my very busy weekend. I hope everypony else had a great weekend. See you around.

Song of the Day:
[youtube]4wSPv9eqdK4[/youtube]

Whoo, I actually had my first local meetup with bronies yesterday! I found a site out of the blue for bronies in my state a while back, and suddenly got an influx of bronies who happen to be in the same city as well. So I missed one meetup because I hadn't checked the site for a few days, and said another meet before school starts would be fun. So I got to meet two other bronies that are here, and know that there are more out there. We just hung out at one of the parks in town, talked about different things (including ponies!), and got some Dairy Queen for a snack before parting ways. We have come up with ideas for what to do now that we know there are other bronies. Hopefully some of the ideas will work, like marathoning the first two seasons before the third season starts up and then watching the third season as episodes get released. So yeah, seems like awesome pony filled times are ahead for me!

I just realized it's been at least two weeks, if not more, since my last blog post. Not like I ever share anything important anyway

Song of the Day:

[youtube]cC1YMFLGloY[/youtube]

So I have three topics that I hope I don't rant too much about. First one will be the book I finished reading the other day, Zeitoun. This novel is a work of nonfiction revolving around the events that happened to a Muslim family before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. I simply cannot properly express my complete and utter outrage at not only the prejudices this family had to face, but also at how inept our country was at dealing with such a major disaster. I'm going to cover a few points that really got on my nerves, which are spoilers, so I shall put them in tags for those who would rather go into the book without knowing what exactly occurs.

Spoiler: Rant

First off, Zeitoun's wife is an American who converted her religion to Muslim, and yet everyone still gives her a lot of flak for it throughout the book. Zeitoun's painting and construction business used a rainbow as their logo, and some people immediately stopped going to them ever since because they didn't want to be associated with anything remotely homosexual. Then after the hurricane hits and devastates the city, and the water already has flooded the city, Zeitoun goes out (the rest of his family left before the hurricane hit, but he wanted to stay behind because New Orleans hadn't seen a hurricane of this ferocity before) in a canoe he had purchased and comes across a heavyset woman who needs help, but won't fit in his canoe. He goes to seek help and runs across a small platoon of military boats going by. They ignore his pleas that the woman needs help and just completely go by him. How can anyone just disregard this?!

After reports were getting leaked about the city descending into a state of complete anarchy, the military forces present in the city seemed to really go crazy. In a section of the book, he had gone by a staging area on dry ground where a lot of dogs who were now strays because their owners didn't take them during the citywide evacuation, were hanging around. They hadn't gone feral, weren't aggressive, and yet when he returns to the same location later on, he finds that all of them had been shot multiple times. This just sickens me. And the reports that were coming out about the unfortunate individuals trapped in the Super Dome... I can't even word on here how awful and disgusting some of what happened in there, as it isn't exactly site appropriate. Later in the book, he's in one of the houses that he owns with some of his friends and one acquaintance who has been stopping there to use the only working phone that they all knew of, when a mishmash group of soldiers from different military groups arrest them. There was no reading of the Miranda Rights, and the soldiers were far more aggressive and rough than the situation called for. They get brought to a makeshift prison that was originally a bus station, given a trial where they had no lawyers to represent them, and were accused of being terrorists. There were two Syrians and two Americans in the group. They had everything confiscated from them, even their clothing, and were strip searched. One of the Syrians, fearing that with the hurricane hitting would make anything regarding his bank account difficult, withdrew the $100,000 he had in his life savings. They took all of that, and he never saw it again, nor was any reparation made for potential damages. They got thrown into small cages, where the only structure is the large metal railing that the buses park in front of. If any of the prisoners misbehave, they get doused with pepper spray, which can start to burn and blister the skin if left unwashed. It starts to get to the point where the guards stop washing it off, then eventually they start using beanbag shotguns. From here, they get taken to a maximum security prison. One of the stories they had learned about is that one of the people that had been taken here was an elderly woman in her 70's. She had been staying with her husband in New Orleans, they heard about the hurricane, and rented a motel room on high ground. After the hurricane had already hit, she went to bring up some food from their car. She has the food, closes the door of the car and locks it, and military personnel are right there to arrest her for looting a grocery store that was broken into nearby.

There are just so many things throughout this book that make you lose so much faith in humanity... I should stop this present rant and move on.

Second topic for today: I went on a nice hike with my parents and dog. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring my camera, because there were some really nice views and scenery. Definitely wore me out though.

Third topic: The third season of the TV show Face Off premiered tonight! I love this show, and have been watching it since the first season. If you don't know it, the show focuses around a group of up and coming movie makeup and costume designers who are given a series of challenges until one wins it all. They have short challenges, usually judged by a major celebrity guest, that the winner of is granted immunity from elimination during the main challenge. Then there is the Spotlight Challenge, which is the main event of the show. In this one, they are given a subject and need to design a costume and makeup for it. Tonight's main challenge was creating an alien that would fit into a modern day Star Wars Cantina. The winning design will be featured on the Star Wars website, in both original form and a Clone Wars (that new animated Star Wars show) version. Overall, I really like this season's group of contestants. Two of them started to really get on my nerves though, and that's Joe and Tommy. The contestants were assigned to random teams, and these two happened to be on a team. Major drama was had all around. I didn't really like Joe much from the start, but seeing how he acted while on a team really irked me. I really wish that Tommy handled the whole thing better, but he had a meltdown about it in front of the judges. Then, and here's a spoiler,

Spoiler: First contestant gone

Joe just up and left the studio while the judges were making their decisions, and got disqualified!

How unprofessional is that?! Hopefully with them out, the other contestants can work together more cohesively in future team competitions. I give major props to Rod and Laura though. They took time away from their own teams to help out another team that was struggling. Seriously, awesome job on their parts. Faith in humanity isn't completely gone yet.

That's all I have for now. Hopefully this giant thing, rant included, will make up for missing a couple weeks. Good luck with school everypony!

For the song of the day, I've got one I heard during Olympic commercials, and really enjoyed it. So here you all go, listen to this for about the 20th time! Unless you haven't been watching the Olympics, you hipster

[youtube]eu-xFvLaE68[/youtube]

Seriously, this song just makes me feel so epic. Anyway, them Olympics. Been watching a few sports, but being here in America, it's a lot of swimming. I've enjoyed seeing some of the gymnastics, water polo, volleyball, beach volleyball, shooting, and a lot of other events. If you've noticed a drop in activity on the site from me, this is the reason. I will most likely become a bit more active once the Olympics are finished up.

On another note of decreased activity, I've put it just about everywhere I can but here, so it's going here now! I'll be out of town all weekend at a radiology conference for continuing education for the weekend. Afterwards, I'll be seeing family at some hot springs, so that should be nice and relaxing. I should be functional online by Tuesday, August 7. Expect an epic double shift thing (as I struggle to figure out what to do) with Zephyr and I that day on the Livestream! Laugh at me being a new DJ!

Speaking of which, I've enjoyed the two times I've DJed on Livestream already. Both have been great learning experiences, and I really enjoyed interacting with those who tuned in! Glad I could put smiles on some of your faces with my thank you shoutout about 20 minutes ago. Alright, it's late and I need to be awake early for my step class. So I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

My goodness, where does the time go?!

Song of the Day: [youtube]br1drerDQfU[/youtube]

Interesting song with an epic quote from Dune, which I highly recommend you read the book.

I'm sure you all missed me in my almost two day absence, in which I was camping (by all, I mean no one). I wish it was more back country camping, but at least it was more true to my idea of camping than everyone else who was in an RV. So I went with my parents, and we set up tents at the Swan Lake campground here in Montana. Got to see some beautiful scenery (which I feel bad for not bringing along my camera), this ridiculous giant vehicle that must have been some kind of motorhome, and a beautiful lake. I got a few mosquito bites, but nothing serious (the little buggers love me). Managed to get back today, so I apologize for those who have been waiting for me in RP's. It seems the short time I was gone is when they were the most active, just my luck.

Nothing much to note from my two RP groups. In one, we're letting someone try GMing for the first time ever, and they're basically having us RP through the video game Alan Wake. None of us have played the game before, so it's proving to be interesting. In the other, our group is going through the dungeon that has party wiped others before us, so that's fun. We already came close to a party wipe on our first night in it, but so far we've all managed to get by that particular room. We learned that we fail at puzzles, but we now have a better idea of the DM's style, so that should help. Curious to see what we run into next week.

I've seen a few movies that I thought were alright, but I already spaced what some of them are so I won't go into detail on those.

On the staff side of things, we are still working on several ideas that we hope we can announce fairly soon. Also, as Ramza stated in his blog, we have acquired some new staff. Who might they be? My hint is that none of the names contain a "g."

Until next time, arrivederci!

Geez, it's been a while, hasn't it? I should be more on top of this, what with being the blogs mod and all.

Song of the Day: [youtube]xXtJTeeVueY&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

This was the first song I heard from this band, and was instantly enamored with them. Pandora can be so great at helping you discover new bands!

So yeah, nothing super eventful has been happening to me. Been going to some step classes to try and get in better shape, and it's definitely tough. Kind of embarrassing being reminded how out of shape one is, but at least I can last for most of the session. Probably not bad for being fairly new to it.

As Zephyr mentioned in his blog here, the staff has been brainstorming ideas. I can't give any details on these unfortunately, but expect some changes around the site.

As for things going on with me, I've seen some movies since I've last blogged. Don't think I'll go into major detail about them for now to avoid boring you, but I might add some more information if I get bugged about it enough. Anyway, the movies viewed list now includes Brave, Take Me Home, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and Jesus Henry Christ.

That's all from me for now. Have a good one everypony!

Still getting used to tagging EPN Staff in the categories area for my blog entries. It's hard to believe that I was chosen to help out on the site, and I'm grateful to the staff for thinking I'd be a good fit. I certainly hope I'm doing at least a passable job for everypony, but do feel free to give me a piece of your mind if you feel like I've stepped out of line. I'm perfectly fine with receiving any constructive criticism. For those who for whatever reason read only my blog and not the community post (you must be a silly pony), there is now a Complaint Box on the site where you can make your voice heard about any issues you may have with the staff without having to worry about being punished for what you say. That can be found here.

Song of the Day: Full Moon Sway by Beck, from the BECK anime OST.
[youtube]SGJAc7WY23w[/youtube]

I pretty much immediately fell in love with this track the first time I heard it in the anime. A lot of the music in BECK is actually interesting and well done, but this was the song that really stood out to me. The title also is known as Moon On The Water.

Now, you're probably wondering if I'm going to explain the title of this blog entry. Well, lucky (or unlucky, depending on your view I guess) reader, I am! It was from a super silly one shot World of Darkness (new) based role playing game that my friends and I did. One of the players got to play the actual horse we had, who ended up running off near the end of the game. Another player was infected by a vampiric disease that made them pretty much go insane. So another player and I were trying to make him believe he was actually a horse... and we succeeded on our roll for it! The exchange was rather amusing. Here's a brief snippet of what I remember. Me: "So I hear you've got a horse in here." Character who would become the horse: "I'm not a horse!" Other friend helping me persuade: "That's just what a horse would say!" Much hilarity ensued, especially when the player whose character got convinced was a horse realized they had their boots stolen in the game. Thus, they exclaimed, "So I'm a horse AND you stole my shoes?!" To which the player playing the character that stole the shoes responded with, "They weren't shoes, they were boots! If they were shoes, they wouldn't have been worth stealing!" We were playing in a wild west themed location, by the way.

Now, time to wrap this up. I'm sure I've bored you enough for today, and I could use some sleep. Have a good one everypony.

So, I just realized that it's been a bit since I've made a blog entry and decided I should do so!

Song of the Day: "Bury You Alive" by Caustic

Brand spanking new (well, 16 hours old now) track from the band Caustic. Haven't heard of them? Well neither had I until earlier today! I was looking through one of my bands' Facebook pages, trying to soak up musical advice (some of which I want to ask those of you who make music) when I saw the label they're on post a link to this new song by Caustic. I figured I'd give it a listen, and now I'm hooked. New favorite band acquired!

[soundcloud]http://www.soundcloud.com/caustic/bury-you-alive[/soundcloud]

Alright, so I got a nice lesson in how poorly a 23-year-old body treats you after staying awake for something around 36 hours straight over the course of Monday and Tuesday. I was at one of the two tabletop RP groups I'm a part of, and only three of us showed up. So instead of RPing, we played lots of board games and card games. The main two that were played include Shadow Hunters and Dominion. Now, allow me to explain the simple run down of how these games work. In Shadow Hunters, everyone controls a character that nobody else knows the identity of. The three groups are Shadows, Hunters, and Neutrals. The Shadows goal is to find out who is a Hunter and take them out, vice versa for the Hunters, and the Neutrals are just caught in the middle and have special win conditions separate from the Shadows and Hunters. With only three of us though, we each had to control two characters each, which made things a bit more difficult to keep track of. The game still was a lot of fun regardless.

Now with Dominion, it's played mostly using cards. Everyone starts with three estate cards that do nothing but give you victory points (you want lots of these to win) and seven copper cards (your money to buy things with). There are different variations of the game, and they have released a lot of expansions with even more cards for new styles of play. The goal is to purchase action cards with various effects to help you build up more money, and eventually lots of property cards with victory points. It's a challenging game with a many different combos to try out, and I highly recommend it. We tried creating a modified version, but decided it needed a lot of work after it took us many, many hours to finish. After finishing with the games, we went out for breakfast at a restaurant one of the people works at, and got a generous discount, so that was really cool of him.

As for the 4th, I went to one of the big social events that the city puts on every Wednesday. They had a lot of good food vendors, and I ended up getting myself a delicious chicken souvlaki pita sandwich. Then I had some family over for dinner, which was grilled salmon and some salad (not to mention some excellent Irish beers, since we have an extensive Irish history). Later that night, we went to the local mall to watch the fireworks show they put on every year. Before it started, there were tons of fireworks going off both in the parking lot and across the city. We ended up in a patch of lawn separate from where most other people were sitting, and became glad we did. About half an hour before the fireworks started, the lawn that the other people were on had sprinklers suddenly turn on! The fireworks show was definitely impressive, and lots of fun was had.

With today, nothing really eventful. I did my usual volunteering at one of the branches of a local hospital in their physical rehabilitation department. And now I'm helping prepare for the big surprises that Everypony Network has in store for all of you! I'm super excited and hope you all are too! Now for my second hint for all of you: It will not be related to the WTF Collective (that I know of). Speaking of which, I just watched the third one. I know, I'm a slow poke. Super funny, just like the others! Ending was priceless for sure. Have a good one everypony.

Song(s) of the day:

This first one I just happened across while I was in the midst of badgering users about adding tags and/or categories to their blog entries. Both the video and song are surprisingly minimalist, but manage to keep your attention. Plus, who doesn't need some nice mellow music every once in a while?

[youtube]xEMQbtPqFe8[/youtube]

The reason I have this second song up is because I only just now found out (5 days later) that it has been selected by the London Olympic committee to be the main official song for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The song will be played throughout the Games including when athletes enter the stadium, in the lead up to the medal ceremony and also as the theme for all international TV coverage.

[soundcloud]http://soundcloud.com/warnerbrosrecords/muse-survival[/soundcloud]

Alright, now for my main entry. As the title states, this is now my first official entry as Everypony Network's Blog Moderator. I would just like to thank the staff for selecting me for this position. I'll do my best to meet (and hopefully exceed) expectations. So I guess now I can also say a thank you to all the members of this wonderful site for helping us achieve such an awesome milestone as having 3,000 members! We couldn't have done it without you. If it weren't for all of you lovelies, Everypony Network just wouldn't be the same. So I thank all of you for being a part of this wonderful community with us, and we'll try to cook up some interesting ideas to make you think about sticking around. For those of you who missed the Floxy Show this past Friday (6/29/2012), you should go and see if it got recorded and put up on the Everypony Youtube channel! If it isn't up by this Friday, I'll be sure to bug the staff about putting it up. For, you see, there is a hint about one of the things we'll be doing differently. Not to mention that myself and other new members of the staff got interviewed. My special super duper hint to you all extra to that broadcast is that Interrobang Pie's favorite letter (which is "g" for those who didn't know) isn't part of the surprise.

Now, what can you expect from me, somepony who you may or may not know, with this new section to Everypony Network? Well, I'll be scouring through every blog entry posted on the site. So even if your blog has no comments, you can rest assured that it is being read (and I'm just having a derp or super tired from staying up a good chunk of the night like I'm doing now). If either you forgot to add categories and/or tags, or didn't even know that it's a good idea to do so, I'll give you a friendly reminder and fill those in on that same entry. You can go right ahead and edit my changes if you would rather, plus then you'll know to how to do so! "Why must we tag and categorize each entry?" you may ask. Well, Grey Knightmare, our fantastic Technical Administrator, has already explained this for me! Just take a look at his blog entry here. Might be a good idea to subscribe to that blog, as it has all kinds of useful information. For those who don't feel like clicking that link, the reasoning behind categorizing and tagging your entries is so that if somepony does a search either within Everypony Network or Google, they'll have a better chance of finding your blog!

I'll be on the lookout for blogs that I think are interesting and present them to the rest of the staff. We'll discuss the blog, and if we select it, it will become a Highlight! This is also explained in that link I gave you for Grey's blog. A Highlight is a blog entry that the staff finds interesting, or that is generating quite a few comments. If we find your blog entry incredibly interesting (or if there's some important staff news conveyed through a blog), we will Feature that entry. This is similar to a sticky thread in the forums, as the entry will remain at the top of the Highlights section for a period of time. To get to the Highlights page, you can click where it says "Highlights" on the navbar near the top (under where it says Forum) or just follow this link: http://www.everypony.com/blogs/blog.php?blogcategoryid=2. For reference, Zephyr's entry is featured while Grey's and Foxytail's are just Highlights.

I look forward to seeing what you all blog about. Just remember to keep comments and entries within site rules, or I'll have to start issuing out warnings. If things get too far, I'll have to wield my delicious banning weapon of choice, the gumbo dowsing rod. I just aim and dowse the offender in gumbo, so at least they'll have something to eat during their ban. Or if I have to point you out to another staff member to do the banning, then I just feed them gumbo to strengthen their banning powers. Feel free to PM me or add me on Skype (look for SoulEmber) if you either want to chat, or have any questions about blog features. Please excuse my backgrounds if they shift around a lot. I'm just looking around for something that I find appealing, and that can be read easily. Thank you to those who have already made a blog. To those who haven't yet, please do so. It's like having a journal, but in electronic format! Now, it's 5 AM here and I need to be up in about 4.5 hours, so I'm off to slumber. Have a good one everypony~.