Zack Hamblen: A Little Bit of Everything

So yeah, that basically sums it all up right there, I'm Zack Hamblen, and I'm all over the board. Brands, bands, genres, and predispositons really don't effect me in the slightest in the long term. My elemental philosophy is this: "Do what you want, like what you want, and don't let other people mold who you are as a person." I like what I like just because. I mean don't get me wrong, I like some things better than others, but that's purely by accident. For example, let's talk about music. Now, I'm a rocker for the most part with the vast majority of my iPod taken up by Metallica, Pearl Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots music. Even then however, those bands are WAY different from each other, even though they can all be called rock music. But that's not all I like in music, OH no, I have a little taste for everything from Eminem (Without Me is great), Lady Gaga, Usher, and Adele. What do I do in my spare time? Well, I do love playing Xbox with my friends, and listening to my iPod, and going on Facebook, and going on forums for fans of cool stuff. On the subject of friends, even they are totally different from each other; instead of being absorbed into one group of people with similar interests, I share SOME common ground and befriend a lot of totally different people. I got gaming friends, sports friends, music friends, brony friends, and friends who are just plain insane. But the best example of my conflicting interests has to be for a long time, I took both martial arts classes and orchestra classes at the same time. Just like the Yin-Yang, there is a hard, tough, bitter side to my personality, but there is also, the mellow, calm, and delicate side that balances that out.

This summer, I got to visit good ol' Massanutten Mountain Resort in Virginia. Now the resort in and of itself was fantastic, complete with a huge indoor/outdoor waterpark, ski lifts, pools, golf courses, you name it. But the best part of the entire vacation had to be when my family got to tour the White House and better yet, the Capitol Building. The White House tour was interesting in some places, and it was cool to be at THE WHITE HOUSE, but really, all you saw was the display stuff the presidential family never uses. Very little for the six months you have to reserve in advance and two ID checks and full body scan. On the other hand, the Capital Building was awesome. Lead on by an assistant to Kentucky's representative Geoff Davis, we went through the underground tunnels connecting the two work buildings for the congressmen, and the actual Capitol. Inside, we got to see the sights we've all seen on TV. We walked throught the old Chambers of Congress, marvelled at the statues of our nations best (Henry Clay included), walked right by John Boehner, and even got to sit in on actual deliberation in the House. All in all great trip.But enough of that boring information, let's get into that embarassing stuff that geeks me out!

Just a while ago, I mentioned some of my friends and how they are "bronies", which probably is an unfamiliar term for most people. It's a man who watches and enjoys very well the show: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. And yes, I am a brony myself. THAT's what geeks me out. Now with that being said, false predispostions and judgemental insults fly. But for sake of this post, hear me out for a second. Now, like you all probably feel, I thought 100% without a doubt the show was going to be a terrible follow-up to an already awful franchise. Those bright pink, purple, and blue shaded characters pestered me for years as their mindless quips and annoying nature preveneted me from watching shows I liked. (mostly Cartoon Network shows). I presumed that it would be mindless garbage, spouting nonsensical gibberish about rainbows, and tea parties, and all this other stupid crap that catered only to five-year old girls; like the old show did. Most regretfully, I put down a few of my friends who were bronies and said all sorts of things, basically, "You aren't a real man!" However, back in January I was bored one day and remembered my friends Sam and Ryan discussing the show and decided to watch ONE episode out of complete irony, to laugh at it's sure-to-be-terrible quality. BOY, was I wrong! This show is outstanding in every way with excellent characters that are fully developed and different from each other, excellent storylines, excellent moral lessons, and excellent humor! (There was a Big Lebowski reference in fact.) Soon thereafter, I got me a T-Shirt, made tons of brony friends, and watched the first two seasons with even more on the horizon next month! Obviously, with the name being My Little Pony, people immediatly deem the show garbage, and think of only what the previous incarnations had to offer. But it's really a case of "don't judge a book by it's cover" at it's finest. And so, that's why I ask ya'll to at least give it a chance and try it out. If it makes you feel any better, you know Seth Green? Yep, he's a brony too. Stephen Colbert? Yep, he gave a shout-out to us bronies a while back on The Colbert Report. So yeah, with that it mind, it has to be good right? Right!

Oh and here's my favorite website:

http://www.youtube.com