Jump to content

Avohkah Tamer

Premier Outstanding BZP Citizens
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    883

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Avohkah Tamer

  1. Avohkah Tamer
    This past year has had its ups and downs, good times and bad, as any year would; but overall, it's been one of my most awesome, memorable, and accomplished years of my life. Not only because of things that happened and cool events I attended, but especially in personal growth.
     
    I'm going to admit, I've always been a lurker online. That is to say, I've been content to join forums and websites, browse them almost daily, but rarely (if ever) actually post or contribute anything. I'm especially guilty of this on BZP, but also countless other websites and communities I've been a part of. I've always been too nervous and worried I wouldn't fit in, even on a website dedicated to a common interest (such as BZP). Really, it's a miracle I managed to get such an awesome close circle of BZP best friends, considering my infrequent (read: virtually nonexistent) activity here. This year, I actually started working to change that. You may not have noticed, but this blog has had more entries this year alone than from all entries in 2008-2011 combined.
     
    Why the sudden change? Well, as ridiculous as it sounds, I owe it to the brony community. Although I was initially a lurker there too, the supportive atmosphere slowly convinced me to get more involved this year; to participate in discussions, and eventually even a few collaborative projects. I gained friendships, experience, and most importantly, confidence in my ability to contribute my humor, insight, and skills in any online community (not just among my closest friends).
     
    In 2012, I went from almost no online activity to the point where I'm confident enough to record songs and even voice act for collaborative projects (more on that when it's completed).
     
    Prior to this year, my actual social life also suffered. I had next to no real-life friends, and I was too introverted and shy to attempt to meet people. Thanks to a good friend convincing me, I got over that and started attending my local brony meetups (which are not as much about pony as they are about hanging out, playing video games, doing general fun stuff together) and got to meet people my age, with similar interests to my own. I'm still far from being a socialite, and I still get pretty nervous and uncomfortable in social situations, but I now have real-life friends who like me for who I am, and I'm not quite so terrified of meeting new people anymore. It sounds sort of pathetic, but I feel it's a huge step forward for me and I couldn't be happier.
     
    In 2012, I went from almost no real-life friends, to about two dozen friends I hang out with on a fairly regular basis.
     
    How does BZP tie into all this? Well, if it weren't for my newfound confidence in myself both online and in real life, I probably would never have attended BrickFair VA and finally met some of my longtime best friends (and all you other awesome bros). Seriously, if Brickfair took place just six months earlier, I probably wouldn't have had the guts to go at all. Also, it would have been February and cold and miserable, so there's that too.
     
    All in all, 2012 was a great year of growth, self-improvement, and friendships. I hope 2013 is even better!
     
     
    Here's a recap of some cool 2012 things!
    POBZPC at last!
    My one-year brony anniversary
    My first brony meetup
    Brickworld
    BrickFair (Yeah I'm going next year)
    Meeting John De Lancie
    Midwestria (Followup)
    I VOTED

  6. Avohkah Tamer
    >Posts entry asking specifically for video game or pony-related pumpkin carving ideas
    >Gets suggestions for Pumpkinception, MSPA, BIONICLE, Ninjago, and Doctor Who series 5
     

     
     
    Well, at any rate, I found a design! Some of the details were extremely difficult, because my brothers somehow managed to break all of our pumpkin carving tools on their pumpkins, so all I had to work with was a dull steak knife and a small screwdriver.
     
    All things considered, I think it turned out pretty darn great:
     

     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  7. Avohkah Tamer
    As some of you may know, I try to carve a geeky/video-game related/pony Jack-o'-Lantern every year for Halloween.
     
    The problem is, tomorrow is Halloween, and I still haven't picked out a pattern to carve this year! Anyone have any ideas?
     
    I don't have any particularly nice tools (just cheap plastic saws from dollar store kits), and I'd prefer not to have any shaved/thinned parts as I found out they don't light up well with just a candle inside. I'd like to do another pony-themed pattern this year, but video game ideas are fine too.
     
    Examples from the past few years (Click the images for larger):
     
    2009 - Half-Life 2 (Click for a mock-up of how this pattern looks lit-up)

     
    2010 - Portal 2 (Particularly proud of this one, designed the pattern myself)

     
    2011 - Mare in the Moon

  8. Avohkah Tamer

    Ask AT!

    By Avohkah Tamer,

    Ask me things and I will answer things!
     
    Because jumping on bandwagons late is fun, and also because I need blog filler material since I have nothing else to blog about.
     
    I'll put all answers here:
     
    I'd say probably Joe. 
    I dream of electric sheep. Do they count as farm animals? 
    The difference is that one of them is a duck. 
    I dunno, but I'd like to shake his hand; he made my baby fall in love with me~ 
    Approximately 28.2 sgu* of sand. 
    More like a Daytime Lord. And only during the summer. 
    I'd have to say Brickfair, because I've been a fan of Lego for a lot longer than MLP, because I got to meet and hang out with all you guys, and because I finally got to meet some of my long-time best friends in-person for the first time ever.
    Honestly, it's a pretty close margin, though. Getting to hang out and sing karaoke with some of the staff writers from MLP was amazing. Better step up Brickfair's awesomeness in 2013!
     
    4.1 Jelly Bean!
     
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  9. Avohkah Tamer
    Oh yeah! I was supposed to blog about Saturday and Sunday, wasn't I?
     
    Saturday (9/15) was most definitely the high point of the con.
     
    I started out in the artists/vendors room, bought a bunch of buttons and a Vinyl Scratch hat. Ran into a friend of mine from my local meetups who was selling some of his own handmade plushies, and bought a Twilight and Fluttershy.
     
    I headed over to the game room, where we had about 35 people gathered for a massive game of "Are You A Changeling" (Ponified version of Mafia / Werewolf). BASELESS ACCUSATIONS AND SUSPICION is always fun!
     
    I also attended several panels and discussions. Some were boring, some were really interesting. The Writer's Panels were great, and videos should be popping up online as soon as Everfree Radio gets a chance to edit them.
     
    I went to the electronic artists' concert (with Eurobeat Brony, Chain Algorithm, Taps, F3nning, Seventh Element, and EHT), but technical difficulties forced them to delay the performance until later in the evening, so I headed off to karaoke!
     
    Oh, karaoke. Friday was my first time ever visiting a karaoke, but Saturday was the first time I actually went up to sing. M.A. Larson and Amy Keating Rogers weren't there yet, so I held off on MLP songs, but I still went up a couple times to sing "Hakuna Matata" (Big mistake, I didn't know that song nearly as well as I thought) followed by "Mr. Blue Sky" (<3).
     
    When M.A. and Amy showed up, me and my friend Shim rushed over to sign up on the queue for a couple MLP songs. As promised, we sang "At the Gala" for Amy (who wrote the lyrics for the song).
     
    Her response?
     
    She hugged me.
     
    KDSJFKASDJAKDFJAKDSFJJKSAFDJKFJAKJD
     
    A few songs later, we also got to sing "The Flim Flam Brothers" for M.A.,who wrote it, and completely NAILED IT. The audience even joined in! A couple of girls in cosplay ran up and did all the Mane Six speaking lines for us (including swooning Rarity), and everyone chanted "CIDER CIDER CIDER" and sang along to the chorus! (And yes, I did Granny Smith's part too. =P)
     
    I got standing applause and what must have been a dozen brohoofs after that, including from M.A., who called it an "extremely impressive" performance. I later discovered that he Tweeted a photo of me and Shim on stage during the song, and Daniel Ingram retweeted it.
     
    ADSKFJASKDFJSDAKFJAKSDFJKJDFJKASDKJFKDSAJFKJDKDJDFKSDJFKSJDFKJSDJFSKDJF
     
    After that, we mostly just hung around watching the other performances, but I did join in a rendition of the "Bad Horse Chorus" from Dr. Horrible and of course the inevitable "Bohemian Rhapsody" before heading off to the concert.
     
    Since the concert was delayed so late, they just decided to merge the concert and late-night rave, which just made everything better. Seeing Eurobeat Brony perform live was amazing, especially with LASERS AND GLOWSTICKS AND RAVE DANCING. Oh, also they gave everyone free foam pony ear headband things! I got blue ones.
     
    Sunday (9/16) was a lot more mellow, probably because everyone was tired from all the awesomeness the day before.
     
    There wasn't a whole lot to do in terms of actual con activities on the last day, but I did attend the musicians' panel and got to ask a couple questions. After that, most of my time was spent hanging out with my brony friends, roaming the con looking for things to throw our money at (I bought a second hat! A knit Twilight Sparkle cap~), and playing several more rounds of Are You A Changeling.
     
    Unfortunately, here's where the first and only bad thing happened: Some lowlife decided to steal my Fluttershy plushie out from under my chair while I had my eyes closed during the game. It really sucks, but the guy who made it offered to commission me a new one at a discount price. Oh, well. At least I still have my Twilight plushie, and I didn't spend too much on the Fluttershy to begin with.
     
    And at last, the con was over, and everyone had to head home. :C
     
    Speaking with the con staff afterwards, it sounds like everything was a huge success, and they can't wait to start putting together plans for Midwestria 2013!
     
    This was one of the best weekends ever~
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  10. Avohkah Tamer

    Midwestria Convention

    By Avohkah Tamer,

    Today marked the kick-off of the first Chicago-area brony convention, Midwestria 2012!
     
    Holy crud. It's been amazing so far. Despite the fact that I only got to arrive pretty late in the evening, due to my job.
     
    It's about 3:30 AM right now so I'll just recap a couple things and then go to bed.

    MLP:FiM writers M.A. Larson, Amy Keating Rogers, and Cindy Morrow are in attendance, and just kind of hanging out with everyone
    Not a lot of custom merch, unfortunately, but I'm sure I'll end up with at least one plushie and hat by the end of the con
    Both M.A. Larson and Amy Keating Rogers participated in karaoke. Multiple times. They're pretty good singers!
    Hangin' out around Final Draft and Joe Stevens of Everfree Radio
    M.A. Larson randomly started talking to me, and challenged me to go up and sing an MLP song on stage. (Tomorrow, since the karaoke queue was full tonight)
    Sweet Celestia, M.A. Larson himself is challenging me to sing karaoke (which I have never done in my life) of a Pony song.
    He also wants me to sing one of Amy Keating Rogers' songs, like Smile or At The Gala, so she can hear it because she will be there.
    Went to a rave. Like an actual rave. WITH GLOWSTICKS. AND LASERS. It was dubsteppy and pretty fun, though tiring.
    Hung out with a bunch of my local brony friends afterwards and we hung out and played card games until 2 AM
    oh my gosh there are still two days left of this

    So yeah.
     
    I'm going to bed now so I can get up early and spend THE ENTIRE DAY at the con tomorrow.
     
    eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  11. Avohkah Tamer
    Jeez, Johnny, I'm two feet away. You don't need to yell.


     
    Anyone here remember playing this on Lego.com way back in the day? Crazy to think it was over 10 years ago since it launched; less than a year after Bionicle started!
     
    Several fond memories:
    That one guy with the pointless three-question movie trivia
    Running around delivering coffee to the movie crew
    Spotting Takua in the Commissary (!!)
    Being a stunt double, jumping across crocodiles
    Falling off catwalks
    ALL THE GLITCHES

    So yeah. Good times.
     
    Oh yeah, and guess what?
     
    IT'S STILL PLAYABLE. WHY, LEGO, WHYYY???
     
    Protips:
    - If the first area is all glitched out and invisible for you, resize the window and it should fix it.
    - Never hit the Escape key, it freezes the game.
    - Hold Z to run (So much better than walking everywhere!)
    - If you played a long time ago, your save file probably still works! Try logging in and hitting Continue.
     
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  14. Avohkah Tamer
    Hey all,
     
    I would have blogged about this sooner, but I've been out of commission with a really bad cold for the last couple days.
     
    So here, finally, is my chronological account of Brickfair in EXCRUCIATING DETAIL.
     
    Enjoy!
     
    ---
     
    Wednesday, Aug 1:
    TRAINS
    MET TAKUMA AND HIS COUSIN (APOLLOMAHRI)
    MORE TRAINS
    TRAIN EMPLOYEES BREAKING RULES ON TRAINS
    SLEEPING ON TRAINS
    TRAINS TRAINS TRAINS

    .
    Thursday, Aug 2:
    DONE WITH TRAINS
    CAR RIDE WITH SMEAG
    BRICKBADGE GET
    BINGO (BUT DIDN'T WIN)
    SUMIKI: IS HUMAN KAZOO
    ZATTH: HAS ACTUAL KAZOO
    PANDA FEZ GLASSES SWAG
    BOARD GAME (TEN DOLLARS? TEN DOLLARS.)
    TREE PUNS
    KNEE SLAP

    .
    Friday, Aug 3:
    ACQUIRE MOUSTACHE FOR HAT
    GENERAL SHENANIGANS
    BOUGHT BIONICLE STUFFS
    PICNIC LUNCHEON BEHIND HOTEL
    DRAMATIC BOARD GAME NARRATION
    PHOTOGRAPH MOCS
    I'M BATMAN
    CHOLIE CHOLIE CHOLIE
    NOMMED PIZZA[acronym=Photo blatantly stolen from Chols ]*[/acronym]
    LASER TAG UNTIL MIDNIGHT
    WHERE'S HARVEY DENT
    AIM...
    ...
    ...
    ...DOWN

    .
    Saturday, Aug 4:
    OW MY LEGS HURT
    PHOTOGRAPH MORE MOCS
    PUBLIC HOURS AAAHHH
    HIDE BEHIND BIONICLE TABLE
    LM LM LM HI LM
    HANGIN' OUT WITH LM
    WOW PUBLIC HOURS ARE NOISY
    SISEN TAKES US THE SCENIC ROUTE TO ARBY'S
    QUEST TO FIND JMJ OR KOTHRA (BUT WE WERE TOO LATE)
    PUBLIC HOURS OVER
    PHOTOGRAPH MORE MOCS
    ZATTH IS A LIVING GIF
    ABANDON THREAD
    SO MANY GIFS TO MAKE
    DINNER WITH TAKUMA, APOLLOMAHRI, SUMIKI, BRICKEENS
    BANNED?! THIS SITE SUCKS
    WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD (TO CONQUER)

    .
    Sunday, Aug 5:
    PHOTOGRAPH THE REST OF THE MOCS
    PUBLIC HOURS AAAHHH
    HIDE BEHIND BIONICLE TABLE
    HELLO AGAIN LM
    TOWERING PILLAR OF HATS
    SILLY HOTEL ATM, YOU'RE NOT A MEME
    BRONY CALL-OUT ("DISCORD" REMIX)
    DANCE PARTY (WITH NACHOS)
    OPEN THE DOOR, GET ON THE FLOOR
    EVERYBODY WALK THE DINOSAUR
    EPIC FAILURE
    DESHI DESHI BASARA BASARA
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLACK SIX
    GROUP PHOTO (MEIKO AND DAIKER MISSED IT)
    PUBLIC HOURS OVER
    BYE LM :C
    YARD SALE (BOUGHT NOTHING)
    LEFTOVERS FROM YARD SALE (BOUGHT THINGS)
    COSPLAY MATORAN
    LORD GORMADON
    CUSTOM KANOHI GET (AND THE ONES I DIDN'T BUY)
    CON TEAR-DOWN
    CLEAN IT ALL IT MUST BE CLEANED CHKT CHKT
    CLOSING CEREMONIES
    DOOR PRIZES (TAKUMA'S COUSIN WON THIS)
    STAFF LEAVE FOR FANCY STEAK DINNER
    WE LEAVE FOR OUR OWN FANCY STEAK DINNER
    OURS WAS COOLER
    POST-CON HANG-OUT AT HOTEL ROOM
    SKYPE VIDEO CHAT WITH EMPEROR WHENUA, BFAHOME, AND KOHAKU
    SAD GOODBYES :C

    .
    Monday, Aug 6:
    PACK UP AND CHECK OUT
    HI AGAIN SISEN
    CAR RIDE WITH WINDRIDER
    NOT A WIND RIDE, I AM DISAPPOINT
    OH CELESTIA NOT MORE TRAINS
    TRAINS TRAINS TRAINS
    SLEEPING ON TRAINS

    .
    Tuesday, Aug 7:
    TRAINS TRAINS TRAINS
    BID TAKUMA AND APOLLOMAHRI FAREWELL
    ALONE ON TRAIN :C
    HOME

    .
    BONUS!
    Thursday Evening, Aug 9:
    'SHOPPED MEIKO INTO GROUP PHOTO, AS PER HIS REQUEST
    'SHOPPED DAIKER INTO GROUP PHOTO, AS PER HIS REQUEST
    'SHOPPED SOMETHING ELSE INTO GROUP PHOTO, AS PER WHO WOULD EVEN ASK FOR THIS

    ---
     
    This has been an in-depth review of Brickfair from my own humble perspective.
    I trust this detailed itinerary was both insightful and informative, and I look forward to providing further professional retrospectives such as this for future shenanigans.
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  15. Avohkah Tamer
    So, BrickFair is over, and I'm currently on the train heading back home.
     
    I'm gonna be perfectly honest here.
     
    That was the worst BrickFair I've ever attended!
    Because it was the only BrickFair I've ever attended. =P
    I'll miss all of you guys so much. :[
     
    I'll blog about ALL THE THINGS when I can get to a computer.
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  16. Avohkah Tamer

    Brickfair

    By Avohkah Tamer,

    Oh man, you guys.
     
    Take a wild guess who's officially registered for BrickFair.
     
    Yep, you guessed it!
     
    Takuma Nuva!
     
    And guess who our very own Evil Blog Master is going to be bringing with him to BrickFair!?
     
    That's right, HIS COUSIN! (Man, you're so good at this)
     
    Okay fine, I'll stop with the fake-outs and make my announcement:
     
    I've just officially registered and paid for BrickFair!
     
    I'll actually be hopping on Takuma's train when it stops through my area, hanging out with him all the way to BrickFair, and even splitting a hotel room 'cause he's just that awesome.
     
    This'll be my first time to BrickFair, so any tips from longtime attendees? Like how do I even mentally prepare for this level of amazing???
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  17. Avohkah Tamer
    Update: I'm home! 'Twas fun meeting you, Captain Marvel!
     
    Hey guys, I'll leave this entry short and sweet since I'm typing it from my tablet.
     
    So, how many of you would you like the opportunity to MEET ME in REAL LIFE at Brickworld tomorrow?!
     
    *crickets*
     
    ...No one? Eh, I'm not surprised. But hey, I'd still like to meet any of you who might be there!
     
    I and my brothers can be found at Brickworld Chicago all day tomorrow during the public hours! I'll be wearing one of these dark green BZPower shirts (Thanks again, Bionicle Raptor!), a backpack, and maybe I'll also have some sort of name badge with "Avohkah Tamer" on it (if I can manage to throw one together before heading out the door tomorrow morning). If you spot me walking around snapping photos of literally every MOC, feel absolutely free to stop me and say hi!
     
    I hope to see you there!
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  18. Avohkah Tamer
    Oh, man, tonight was awesome.
     
    I just got home from my first-ever brony meetup at a local Colonial Cafe restaurant! Around 25 people total showed up to hang out and discuss everything pony. (Photo*) (Also, try to guess which one is me)
     
    We showed off our pony collections on a big table, jokingly argued over who is best pony, sang Winter Wrap Up (among many other songs), ate ice cream, and then afterwards about 10 of us raided a nearby Toys R Us for all their pony stuff!
     
    Only I didn't actually buy any pony stuff, because they didn't have anything I was still missing from my wishlist. Still waiting for the new blind bag ponies wave 2-4, as well as the TRU-exclusive brushables that come out this fall.
     
    So I walked a couple aisles over to the Lego section and they had several boxes of Series 7 minifigures!
    I quickly dug through them and managed to find all 16 minifigs with no dupes, as well as Wolverine's Chopper Showdown set. Woo!
     
    All in all, an awesome night. This particular brony meetup is monthly, and I am so attending again in June.
  19. Avohkah Tamer
    There's no one around, and your phone is dead.
     
    Out of the corner of your eye, you spot him:



    SHIA LABEOUF






    -----


    Many of you who frequent the interwebs have probably heard this viral song by Rob Cantor and the meme it spawned.
     
    What you may not know is that Rob Cantor also happens to be a member of my favorite band, Tally Hall! (Rob's the one with the yellow tie)
     
    So yeah, I find this whole thing sort of awesome. Tally Hall has all sorts of crazy and catchy songs just like this, and PEOPLE MUST KNOW.
     
    Seriously though, check them out if you haven't already.
     
    ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)
  20. Avohkah Tamer
    UPDATE: Here's an audio clip I threw together!
    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27614263/Twiley.mp3
    Andrew Francis is the voice of Jaller from Mask of Light, as well as Shining Armor from the My Little Pony season 2 finale.
     
    UPDATE 2: And now his response to the audio clip!

     
    There are actually a number of voice actors with roles in both the Bionicle movies and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I posted this in Aho's blog comments a couple weeks ago, but here's a list I threw together:
    Tabitha St. Germain - MLP: Rarity - BIONICLE: Toa Nokama (LoMN, WoS)
    Brian Drummond - MLP: Mr. Carrot Cake - BIONICLE: Toa Onewa, Toa Matau (LoMN, WoS)
    Lee Tockar - MLP: Sea Serpent (Steven Magnet), Snips - BIONICLE: Makuta, Pewku, Kongu
    Scott McNeil - MLP: Flam, Caramel, Chief Thunderhooves, Blue Star - BIONICLE: Tahu, Onua, Graalok the Ash Bear, Bomonga, Keetongu
    Kathleen Barr - MLP: The GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie, Queen Chrysalis, Hoops, - BIONICLE: Gali, Roodaka, Gaaki
    Trevor Duvall - MLP: Prince Blueblood, Fancypants - BIONICLE: Pohatu, Toa Nuju, Iruini
    Andrew Francis - MLP: Braeburn, Shining Armor - BIONICLE: Jaller
    Chiara Zanni - MLP: Daring-Do - BIONICLE: Hahli

  21. Avohkah Tamer
    Just so my blog doesn't get stale (again), I've got a question/discussion topic for you.
     
    If you could have any ONE superpower, as yourself in your own life, what would be your choice and why?
     
    Choose wisely.
     
    Also I'm pretty sure this is my shortest blog entry yet.
  22. Avohkah Tamer
    So one year ago on March 29th, Takuma Nuva convinced me to watch Episode 1 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I then went on to watch five more episodes that night. That was the night I became a brony.
     
     




    I did not get a healthy amount of sleep that night.


     
    In the past year, I've bought pony merch, helped out a bit with several brony collabs and projects, and I even got to meet up IRL with a brony in my area for coffee! (He even gave me an amazing hand-carved woodwork Fluttershy!)
     
    So, in celebration of an entire year filled with pony, I've decided to face my fears and upload a complete vocal cover I recorded of The Flim Flam Brothers Song. Enjoy!
     
     

    http://vimeo.com/39448555

    Bumped because it was halfway through Page 2 today.
  25. Avohkah Tamer
    MUFFINS FOR EVERYPONY!


     
    Today (March 1st) marks the second annual Derpy Hooves Day!
     
    In honor of everyone's favorite mailpony, feel free to eat a muffin, mail somepony a friendly letter, watch some My Little Pony, mail somepony a friendly muffin, eat a letter, or whatever other Derpy-related activities you can think of!
×
×
  • Create New...