You're a middle aged man, why are you a brony?

Likeable characters, the stories are mostly well written, the animation is pretty good, voice acting is very good, it is fun. I like the positive message Which resonate with me. Hell, before MLP I haven't even liked pink color.

BTW, I cannot explain where this resonance is coming from. I've watched plenty of anime, but I find the best anime less attractive than MLP. When I was few episodes into MLP it struck me that there was already animated series under this name in the 80s. It's mind boggling how much better Friendship is Magic really is.

P.S. In anime there are examples of different "mismatch" where non-violent, non-sexual series for adult men are accessible for little girls, like Ah! My Goddess.

tldr: Friendship is Magic

Pony drawing for beginners

Well, don't expect me to to teach about art, but try to start drawing. It may be fun.

Whatsapokemon's tutorial

MPLdrawingschool

My first conclusion is that H pencil is easier to erase, so it's more suitable for inner lines.

Indian Army Mallakhamb

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Wikipedia for people who haven't heard about the event.

Russians obviously didn't want foreign visitors, so probably all of you will be watching transmission. Where can you watch the opening ceremony online?

How about first thoughts about the ceremony? Lukashenko  was so enthusiastic. What do you think about newcomers?

Slow the moon, embraced by shadow,

Climbs the hilly clouds of night

And upon the cheerless meadow

Sadly pours its pallid light.

*

Down the road, as white and eerie

As the wintry, boundless lea,

Runs my troika, and the weary

Sleigh-bell jangles drowsily.

In the driver's song unending

Much is there that speaks to me,

Now a plaint, my spirit rending,

Now a reckless gaiety...

*

All around is snow, and nothing,

Not a light to cheer the eye;

Mileposts rush to meet me, nodding

As they pass indifferent by.

"A Hunting Accident" waltz.

Surprisingly colorful pyrotechnic display during igniting the great Olympic flame.

4 rings and star .

Are you excited about new disciplines coming?

Porthleven; 2014-02-05

Why do EU countries still have embassies in each other's capitals?

There is no united foreign policy in EU. In addition there is Parkinson's law at work.

Modern city decay

South Africa , Venezuela ...

Google Launches Street View Service for Slovenia

Slovenia on MapCrunch.

Sochi By The Numbers: The Mind-Boggling Numbers Behind The 2014 Winter Olympics

http://www.rferl.org/content/sochi-statistics-olympics-spending-russia/25244191.html

U.K. town to deploy driverless pods to replace busses

• 2 passengers,
• speed 20 km/h,
• drives only on the dedicated track.

This isn't a replacement for a bus.

A woman visiting postal van; Rum, Belarus; 2010-03-24

How Our World Has Changed In Last Decade?

While celebrating Rosetta waking up, I started to wonder how different the world was when it departed, 2004-03-02.

No iPhone, no Twitter, Chinese economy is smaller than French, and no South Sudan, Facebook was site for Harvard students only and so on.

Hrushevsky street, Kyiv, 2014-01-20

Nightvision

http://vimeo.com/71501596

Charles Bridge, Prague

Rochefort Ridge

HMS Sheffield

Type 42 destroyer, identical to used on Argentinian side during the war. Lesson should be that while military dictatorship is most willing client, sometimes restrain in selling military equipment is necessary.

David Shukman

This guy sounds like a Victorian housewife on the verge of fainting, not a science editor.

That is correct. He is probably the worst journalist in the BBC.

Edit: The whole video is worth watching, but there is a gem: David Shukman published "a reportage from the apocalypse"...twice. He is total joke.

Where in the EU can one live for 400-500 € per month?

Berlin-Ljubljana line and most of area eastwards .


http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/gmaps.jsp?indexToShow=getCpiAndRentIndex

We want a United States of Europe says top EU official

Was it Winston Churchill?

Best skyline in Europe?

Easily Frankfurt , wider , at night .

Moving a cat from one EU country to another

Microchip

Vaccination against rabies

Pet passport

Finnish HIV vaccine testing to begin

These guys should receive some kind of award for writing abstracts:

A multiHIV fusion gene expressing an antigenic fusion protein composed of regulatory HIV-1 proteins Rev, Nef, and Tat, as well as Gag p17/p24 and a stretch of 11 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope clusters from Pol and Env, was cloned into a novel DNA vector named the Gene Transport Unit (GTU). A mouse H-2(d)-restricted HIV-1 gp120 epitope (RGPGRAFVTI) was cloned into the fusion gene as well. In addition to the HIV- 1 genes the GTU codes for a nuclear anchoring protein (bovine papilloma virus E2), ensuring the long maintenance of the vector and a high expression level of the selected immunogens. BALB/c mice were immunized with the GTU-MultiHIV DNA construct by different routes and regimens of immunization to assess the immunogenicity of the DNA vaccine in vivo. Mice developed strong CD8(+) CTL responses to HIV-1 Env and Gag measured by an ELISPOT-IFN-gamma assay and chromium release assay. In addition, T cell responses to regulatory proteins Rev, Nef, and Tat were induced. Antibody responses were detected to each of the HIV antigens encoded by the DNA construct. Minimal doses of the GTU-MultiHIV DNA delivered by gene gun were potent in inducing significant HIV-specific CTL responses. The equivalent doses of the conventional plasmid expressing MultiHIV DNA delivered by gene gun failed to do so. An ideal DNA vaccine should yield high expression of the viral antigens for a prolonged period of time, and expression of the multiple viral antigens is probably required for the induction of a broad and protective immune response. The GTU-MultiHIV DNA vaccine described is a good vaccine candidate that meets the above criteria.

They even don't find it necessary to divide it into paragraphs.

Welcome to Luton: Romanian arrival greeted by two MPs and a media scrum

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/01/luton-romanian-arrival-mps-media

Paranoid delusion.

What's a film where the hero actually loses leaving the villain victorious in their pursuits?

The Ninth Gate, Perfume, Paths of Glory, Vertigo, The Seventh Seal, Ran, The Exorcist.

Which is the most important event from your country for 2013?

The Epic Split.

What is the most irritating eurosceptic argument you come across?

"Europe is baning reuse of jars at home" - example. Some law which is not only false, but completely impossible to enforce.

Russia’s decision to put Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad confirms that threats have not gone away

That's stupid.

Russia can bring Iskanders into Kaliningrad Oblast whenever it wish. The action itself has no significance and doesn't make the country "more threatening" than having ICBM in Komi.

A well nourished Sudanese man steals maize from a starving child during a food distribution at Medecins Sans Frontieres feeding centre at Ajiep, southern Sudan, in 1998 | Tom Stoddart

Never trust anything you read here about people mentioning what the law is, what is legal/illegal, etc.

I cannot comprehend how something is posted without quoting or even referencing the relevant paragraph. Even when this is so easy to search for like the Geneva Convention.

Malaria in WHO European Region

http://imgur.com/a/fZXYD

World Malaria Report 2013.

People supporting an EU integration attend a rally at Independence Square, Kiev, 2013-12-04 | Gleb Garanich

I like how one can see the stage in the refection.

The film vs real places

http://imgur.com/a/AfIsv#lNNtPWT

Separatist and Nationalist Movements in the European Union

Map of rabies cases in Europe, first half of 2013

http://imgur.com/a/rVeAN

Source. The cases of rabies in bats are blue.

There are no reliable data from 1993 .

Ukraine seeks 20 billion euros in aid from EU in return for signing agreement

Thanks Azarov, that was funny.

Euromaidan

A man pulls a cow in front of an Abkhaz tank in the remote Kodori Gorge, author - Viktor Drachev

Shoutout for Viktor Drachev.

Politically European are strong as it is

My sides. European foreign is as fragmented as always and in almost all issues.

Dramatic examples are:

• Lack of agreement about lack of intervention in Syria, despite the fact that no EU member want this apparently.
• No wide support for recent intervention in SAR. There was even little discussion about it outside France and the coup was in March.

Enthusiasm for more modest issue like FTA's is also weak.

Fish market in Hamburg, 2013-12-05

PISA 2012 snapshot

http://imgur.com/a/DeRdb

Are Nordic countries ready to accept Estonian superiority?

PISA 2012 Results in Focus

Based on their recent signing of the Association Agreement, can anyone predict how long it will/would take before Moldova and/or Georgia could become member states of the EU?

It may be obvious, but for Moldova becoming the member state may be suboptimal. It would be better to fuse it with Romania.

Let's try placing US states on the map!

For my defence I've never looked into administational map of USA. I have only knowledge derived from American films. I'm pretty sure there is nothing interesting in Delaware or the states adherent to it. Whatever they may be.

Finnish grammar

What is one Documentary that everyone should watch and why?

The Ascent of Man - insight into briliant mind of Jacob Bronowski. In the series of essays Mr Bronowski explores his understanding of human mind in nearly poetic show we found connection of chemistry, physics, anthropology, history, drama, and art. He shows us tens of countries, about 40 during span of entire series, but manages to stay intimate thus inviting to his own home seems natural.