For the most recent Ponyfic Roundup, I experimented with not having star ratings. The weight of feedback was heavily in favour of having the ratings, and as such I have decided to go back to the way I've been doing things for ages. Star ratings have also been retrospectively awarded for the four fics I reviewed then. Happily, it was a good week! I've added them to the Ponyfic Roundup post, but for convenience here's a summary:
Cleave by BlazzingInferno ★★★★
A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing by Pascoite ★★★★
In Memory Of by Obselescence ★★★★
What They Don't Know by SoundoftheWaves ★★★
Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Sunday, 11 June 2017
In the national interest
 |
Okay, okay, it's a TV review from the Guardian.
Thursday, 8 June 2017
Ponyfic Roundup 160: An Optimist who Carries a Raincoat
General election day here in the UK. I shall of course go out and vote – I always do – but the national result seems a bit of a foregone conclusion. As I'm not a Tory, I'm not entirely thrilled with this. Still, life and Pony go on, so off we go.
Read it Later story count: 442 (-5)
Four more stories this week, but you may notice a small but significant change in the reviewing format. This isn't an accident. It's an experiment for now, so it's possible I may restore the old format in the future.* Also, I keep looking in the wrong place for character tags on Fimfiction now they've moved! I'll get used to it, probably. And there are definitely four stories under review this week:
Cleave by BlazzingInferno
A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing by Pascoite
In Memory Of by Obselescence
What They Don't Know by SoundoftheWaves
* Update 12 June: Following feedback, I have restored the star ratings!
★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 3 | ★★★★★: 0
Read it Later story count: 442 (-5)
Four more stories this week, but you may notice a small but significant change in the reviewing format. This isn't an accident. It's an experiment for now, so it's possible I may restore the old format in the future.* Also, I keep looking in the wrong place for character tags on Fimfiction now they've moved! I'll get used to it, probably. And there are definitely four stories under review this week:
Cleave by BlazzingInferno
A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing by Pascoite
In Memory Of by Obselescence
What They Don't Know by SoundoftheWaves
* Update 12 June: Following feedback, I have restored the star ratings!
★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 3 | ★★★★★: 0
Wednesday, 7 June 2017
UK PonyCon ticket situation update!
Ponyfic Roundup has been delayed until tomorrow, since this needs to be mentioned now.
The UK PonyCon folks have made this announcement about their ticket sales. In brief:
Sunday and Stallholder tickets remain on sale as before. You can go and buy these right now.
Weekend and Saturday tickets are on hold pending the con committee making a further visit to the venue, hopefully in the nearish future. Once that's been done, there may (operative word!) be additional tickets released.
The reason for this is quite simple: some ticket types have been selling extremely well! I'm not entirely surprised by this – last year's con sold out in July, and that was in a year with BUCK too. It certainly demonstrates that demand for MLP events in the UK is still very strong if the event in question has a good enough reputation.
Please do not buy UKPC tickets from third parties! Any third parties. They do not have the right to sell said tickets, since they are not transferable. Please don't be tempted into buying one, since you're liable to find yourself refused entry at the con registration desk!
If you'd like to attend UK PonyCon this year but don't yet have a ticket, and assuming you're not planning on being a vendor, you have two legitimate choices: either buy a Sunday ticket or wait and see what happens with the other types.
The UK PonyCon folks have made this announcement about their ticket sales. In brief:
Sunday and Stallholder tickets remain on sale as before. You can go and buy these right now.
Weekend and Saturday tickets are on hold pending the con committee making a further visit to the venue, hopefully in the nearish future. Once that's been done, there may (operative word!) be additional tickets released.
The reason for this is quite simple: some ticket types have been selling extremely well! I'm not entirely surprised by this – last year's con sold out in July, and that was in a year with BUCK too. It certainly demonstrates that demand for MLP events in the UK is still very strong if the event in question has a good enough reputation.
Please do not buy UKPC tickets from third parties! Any third parties. They do not have the right to sell said tickets, since they are not transferable. Please don't be tempted into buying one, since you're liable to find yourself refused entry at the con registration desk!
If you'd like to attend UK PonyCon this year but don't yet have a ticket, and assuming you're not planning on being a vendor, you have two legitimate choices: either buy a Sunday ticket or wait and see what happens with the other types.
Monday, 5 June 2017
Train travel in ponyfic – or the lack of it
Something that occurred to me recently was that there isn't much detailed treatment of train travel in ponyfic. There are exceptions, such as The Descendant's superb The Railway Ponies: Highball, but not that many. When you consider that rail is the basic way for ponies not otherwise equipped to travel long distances in Equestria, that seemed a little surprising. I wondered why it was so.
One possibility I can suggest is that most ponyfic is written by Americans, whose personal experience of train travel isn't entirely relevant to Pony. With a few exceptions, passenger railways in the US are commuter lines in densely populated cities. With the possible exception of Manehattan, Equestrian railways are all about inter-city travel. (Okay, not always between cities, but you get the idea.)
This fits with the show's vaguely 1900-era technology (again, outside Manehattan) since back then railways were the way to go cross-country in America. They aren't now: Las Vegas, a city of two million people, has, unless you count a limited monorail service, no passenger trains at all. In Europe, however, inter-city railways remain heavily used, and are familiar to hundreds of millions of people.
If you've only ever been on a train on holiday, especially a super-luxury cruising train, your experience perhaps hasn't been very close to the "Come on girls, we need to get to Canterlot!" experience of Equestrian ponies. Unless you're actually a rail enthusiast (like the aforementioned TD) it's probably going to be quite difficult to appreciate the rhythms of that type of train trip.
This isn't a very developed theory. I just thought I'd throw it out there and see what people made of it.
One possibility I can suggest is that most ponyfic is written by Americans, whose personal experience of train travel isn't entirely relevant to Pony. With a few exceptions, passenger railways in the US are commuter lines in densely populated cities. With the possible exception of Manehattan, Equestrian railways are all about inter-city travel. (Okay, not always between cities, but you get the idea.)
This fits with the show's vaguely 1900-era technology (again, outside Manehattan) since back then railways were the way to go cross-country in America. They aren't now: Las Vegas, a city of two million people, has, unless you count a limited monorail service, no passenger trains at all. In Europe, however, inter-city railways remain heavily used, and are familiar to hundreds of millions of people.
If you've only ever been on a train on holiday, especially a super-luxury cruising train, your experience perhaps hasn't been very close to the "Come on girls, we need to get to Canterlot!" experience of Equestrian ponies. Unless you're actually a rail enthusiast (like the aforementioned TD) it's probably going to be quite difficult to appreciate the rhythms of that type of train trip.
This isn't a very developed theory. I just thought I'd throw it out there and see what people made of it.
Saturday, 3 June 2017
Mild amusement
A couple of months back, my little story Like a Flower to the World got reviewed by a moderately prominent review group on Fimfiction. It was absolutely savaged, with the final verdict being "28/100 Avoid". That was the point at which it picked up its first downvote, I assume from its reviewer. I was, as you can imagine, more than a little disappointed with that rating – it's not an amazing story by any means, but I don't think it's that bad. But hey, everyone has a right to an opinion on a story. I'd be pretty hypocritical if I didn't believe that!
The thing is, since that happened, Flower has picked up 50-60 views – not negligible for a story with under 200 at the time of review! – and its thumbscore has gone from +26/-1 to +30/-1. I can only conclude that all publicity really is good publicity. Or that reviewers' opinions count for nothing, but that's too scary a thought for me to deal with. ;)
The thing is, since that happened, Flower has picked up 50-60 views – not negligible for a story with under 200 at the time of review! – and its thumbscore has gone from +26/-1 to +30/-1. I can only conclude that all publicity really is good publicity. Or that reviewers' opinions count for nothing, but that's too scary a thought for me to deal with. ;)
Thursday, 1 June 2017
UK PonyCon 2017 – places to eat
The out-of-town location of UK PonyCon this year means there aren't nearly as many options for refreshments as when the convention's been held in a city centre. This is not an event at which you'll have dozens of restaurants, pubs and cafés within a few minutes' walk. However, there's no need to starve! I've found a number of places to obtain food, and here they are.
Hours are given in the format (Saturday / Sunday). The linked distances go to a Google Maps page with directions to the establishment in question.
At the venue
There are two options in the UWE itself:
I have no idea how good the café is, but if it's even halfway decent (read: stocks muffins!) and not stupidly expensive, I do recommend eating there at least some of the time. First, it supports the venue, which is always a nice thing to do. Second, it'll be full of con attendees, which will give it a special flavour.
However, this won't be an option for breakfast, late night Saturday or any post-con meals on Sunday. You may also feel that you need a brief change of scene to get you through two packed days. I know I have done at times. As such, some possible alternatives follow.
Unlike some other convention venues, the UWE does allow you to take your own cold food and soft drinks in. No hot food or drinks and definitely no alcohol! Obviously, if you choose to bring food in, don't then go wandering round the vendor stalls with mayonnaise or chocolate all over your hands...
Abbey Wood Shopping Park
This retail park (0.7 miles) has a number of places where you can get a snack or a meal:
Other supermarket
Although not at Abbey Wood, there is one other supermarket with a café that's almost the same distance from the con venue. It is:
Local pub
Yes, singular I'm afraid. There is precisely one pub within a mile of the con venue, weird for an area full of students but there it is. I suppose they must all drink at the Students' Union. That one pub is not the cheapest, with the average main course costing £10–£12, but for those interested:
Hotel bars
The Holiday Inn bars are open to non-residents. These are as follows:
And that's the lot! Well, I think so, anyway. Let me know if I need to make any corrections. And no, your eyes are not deceiving you: all the options are pretty much the same distance from the UWE! If you happen to know of anywhere else to eat within a mile of the convention venue, then please tell me and I'll add it to the list. :)
Hours are given in the format (Saturday / Sunday). The linked distances go to a Google Maps page with directions to the establishment in question.
At the venue
There are two options in the UWE itself:
- Café (9am–7pm / 9am–4pm)
- Bar (midday–10.30pm / midday–5pm)
I have no idea how good the café is, but if it's even halfway decent (read: stocks muffins!) and not stupidly expensive, I do recommend eating there at least some of the time. First, it supports the venue, which is always a nice thing to do. Second, it'll be full of con attendees, which will give it a special flavour.
However, this won't be an option for breakfast, late night Saturday or any post-con meals on Sunday. You may also feel that you need a brief change of scene to get you through two packed days. I know I have done at times. As such, some possible alternatives follow.
Unlike some other convention venues, the UWE does allow you to take your own cold food and soft drinks in. No hot food or drinks and definitely no alcohol! Obviously, if you choose to bring food in, don't then go wandering round the vendor stalls with mayonnaise or chocolate all over your hands...
Abbey Wood Shopping Park
This retail park (0.7 miles) has a number of places where you can get a snack or a meal:
- Asda (supermarket open midnight–10pm / 10am–4pm; café hours unknown)
- Bella Italia (9am–11pm / 9am–10pm)
- Costa (8am–8pm / 9am–6pm)
- Frankie & Benny's (9am–11pm / 9am–10.30pm)
- McDonald's (24 hours / 24 hours)
- Nando's (11am–10pm / 11.30am–10pm)
- Subway (8am–9pm / 8am–7pm)
Other supermarket
Although not at Abbey Wood, there is one other supermarket with a café that's almost the same distance from the con venue. It is:
- Sainsbury's (7.30am–7pm / 9.30am–3.30pm) in Fox Den Road (0.6 miles)
Local pub
Yes, singular I'm afraid. There is precisely one pub within a mile of the con venue, weird for an area full of students but there it is. I suppose they must all drink at the Students' Union. That one pub is not the cheapest, with the average main course costing £10–£12, but for those interested:
- The Fox Den (midday–11pm / midday–10.30pm) (0.7 miles)
Hotel bars
The Holiday Inn bars are open to non-residents. These are as follows:
And that's the lot! Well, I think so, anyway. Let me know if I need to make any corrections. And no, your eyes are not deceiving you: all the options are pretty much the same distance from the UWE! If you happen to know of anywhere else to eat within a mile of the convention venue, then please tell me and I'll add it to the list. :)
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