Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Derpy Day Means Operation: Indiscriminate Friendship - Coming March 1


Last year marked the beginning of the very first Brony holiday: Derpy Day. It was a fun time for reflection, friendship, and realizing just how far I actually had to drive to find a bakery that would sell me a fresh muffin (the answer was ~30 miles, if you were curious). But one plucky Australian missed the date, and resolved to make up for it with something he called Operation: Indiscriminate Friendship. It was about delivering positive messages and cupcakes to strangers in exchange for impromptu renditions of the Evil Enchantress song, which I think turned out rather well.

The funny thing about holidays is that they come once a year, and wouldn't you know it, it's almost March again. And March means marching orders, everypony. If you want to get involved in a fun and silly little project to make the lives of total strangers just a little bit brighter, then check below after this delicious page break. Page breaks: still sponsored by Brony Cola, the only cola I can ever think of.



Hi, I'm Thanqol. I like ponies.

As some of you may know, March 1st is Derpy Day, the greatest holiday of all time. Derpy Day has the following rules:

- You must eat a muffin.
- You must take a picture of yourself walleyed.
- You must write someone a letter.


I, however, want to give something more back to this wonderful, messed-up world and all it's folks. You know the saying that there's no such thing as a free lunch? Screw that.

The world should totally be a place where you get a free lunch. The world should totally be a place where awesome things happen to you for no reason. And if the world isn't like that already, I'm going to do what I can to make it like that. That's why I'm running Operation: Indiscriminate Friendship.

THE RULES:

- I must distribute 50+ muffins to random passers by on the street.
- I must convince as many random strangers as possible to sing Pinkie Pie's "Singing Telegram" for the camera, which will be compiled into a video which will be uploaded to Youtube
- I must collect as many nice, hopeful and inspirational letters from people from the internet as possible and distribute these to random mailboxes all over town.


To prove I'm not bluffing, here's the link to last year's Derpy Day, where the song of choice was "Evil Enchantress" http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL63DBFF1BFF384B78&feature=mh_lolz


Where you come in:

I want you all to write a letter to a stranger. You'll have no idea who you're writing to because it'll be printed off and dropped into a random mailbox somewhere in Canberra. Maybe it won't get read, but maybe it will, and if it does it might just bring a smile to someone's face.

You can make them as long or as short as you'd like, but try to keep them less than an A4 page each. I'll also be collecting all these letters into a big document to put up for everyone to read at the end of the event.

Send all of these letters to indiscriminatefriendship@mail.com

(Note: Don't send attachments; put the text in the body of the email)

Optional Objectives:

If you feel I'm onto something, here are some things you can do to help make this event a little more indiscriminate.

- I need a poster image. I can design one myself but it'll be mediocre. It needs to promise free muffins in big, eye catching letters and not be too obviously pony related. I'll put any submissions in the compilation post.
- Sing "Singing Telegram" yourself, or convince any friends or passerby to do so on your behalf. If you know anyone with an awesome voice now's the time to call in a favour. I'll add any such videos to the completed Youtube playlist; email the links to the same email address.
- Print off and distribute your own copies of the Letters to a Stranger
- Hold your own parallel Derpy Day where you distribute your own set of free muffins.


Thank you for your time, everypony. Let's make the best pony proud.

Yours truly,

- Thanqol


Disclaimers:
- The pegasus ponies have been bonkers here recently, with summer hail and everything, so the event might be delayed a few days. Depending on volume of responses, I'm hoping to get everything compiled within a week of the event's end.

And that as they say, fillies and gentlecolts, is that. Write letters, share letters, send letters. It's everything a mailmare could ever want to feel loved. We're way bigger than we were before, so let's make this Derpy Day the best day ever!

119 comments:

Lauren said...

Last year's Derpy day was awesome!

CityFlyer502 said...

I wasn't around last year, but now that I'm here, I'm really gonna make it count. Not sure what I'll be doing on my end, but I'll certainly be giving it a shot.

Chaosbo1 said...

damn i wish Derpy Day was on the 3rd of March that way i can have it on my birthday.

Pyrobug said...

There's a Derpy Day?! Why was I not told?! I have so much to prepare. I go!

Big Love said...

I'd do something like that around here, but I'd probably get shot... There aren't many good people around here, let alone bronies. I know I'm not, but I feel like the only one in Virginia. ._.

Lauren said...

Eenope, March 5th! Then it'd be my birthday!

gillnavisingh said...

I'm on it, Mistress Phoebe!

Guarddogjr said...

I will do my best to make our favorite mail mare proud!

SomeFrenchBrony said...

I missed the first one, I joined this community on may.
But this is awesome !

acsinclair said...

This is such an excellent idea. I would love to make our world like that, and who better to do it than our community? This is so awesome! I'm definitely taking part.

ombutescentdin said...

Anything for Derpy! Especially if I get the chance to perhaps have left over muffins. OMNOMNOM!

iloveMLP said...

DERPY DAY WILL BE A SUCCESS!!!

Sketch Pad said...

Time to make best pony proud!

Luna said...

bah i don't have a store near me that sells muffins

Rafasde said...

Too bad I can't send a muffin with my letter! Well, it's time to get started with it!

Austin W said...

I was not a brony last March so I will have to make up for the year lost. I am going to bake homemade Muffins and hand them out at my school. I'll see if I can record some people singing the telegram too. Maybe bump into some other bronies.

pmcollectorboy said...

@mail.com? I've never heard of that server.

Ariathina said...

Just got done writing and sending out my letter. Gonna be hosting a muffin giveaway for all my friends and nieghbors on the 1st where i live. I may be new to the fandom but i am a brony to the end now! Happy Derpy Day everypony!

Ponybro7 said...

I can TOTALLY handle eating a muffin and delivering a letter to someone, but I'm not so sure if I can cross my eyes like Derpy can.

Casual Wisdom said...

As soon as my slave labor shift and mind boggling astronomy class is done, I'm all over this.

Pikari said...

Just curious, why is March 1st Derpy Day? And who decided that? Not that I have a problem with it, I'm genuinely curious, being relatively new to the fandom, and I wouldn't mind learning some brony history.

solobutterfly said...

Hmm...might have work that day, but I could probably make muffins for my coworkers. Also, I'll try to write a random letter or two in crayon with cute things to make people smile if I remember :)

My Stifled Laughter said...

I'll work on the poster, not sure if I'll finish it in time.
I'll def do the letter. :D

Pegasus Rescue Brigade said...

Page breaks still sponsored by Brony Cola?

I remember the Brony Cola post that got censored a few hours later; I think that was day 1 of a consecutive streak of my daily visits to this website that is still going.

So what, I've been here daily for... six or seven months now? Wow, that was fast...

Xian217 said...

A derpy day? Sounds rather awesome. I'll try to do the songs and muffins if I can. No promises on the collecting of letters though.

ChaosDX1 said...

Well I can definitely do the "eat a muffin" part.

ZeroHero said...

I can easily celebrate Derpy Day with the eating of a muffin. :3

Not sure about sending a letter though...i may be working that day anyhow..

BronyGamer said...

And why do I hear about this only now? Have to go buy some muffins...

The Orchestral Brony said...

I'll be on a snowshoeing trip with my school that day!

I KNOW WHAT I MUST DO. Break out the muffin making materials and the video camera, this is about to get MAGICAL.

Rowan said...

But March 1st is St. David's day.

Oh, wait a minute, nobody cares about Wales or any holidays relating to Wales. Not even me, and I live here.

(St. David is patron saint of Wales, if you didn't guess from that already)

Gaiascope said...

I wasn't part of this awesome community last year. But I will do whatever I can to make Derpy Day a success. Unfortunately I'll be stuck in school the entire day March 1st, but I'll hand out muffins to my classmates and on the way to and from school, and write letters to anyone I can!

Let's show the world kindness is a virtue worth having!

Rafasde said...

@Rowan

Of course we care about Wales! We have to protect them and save them and love them or else they'll soon be extinct and then--

Oh, wait... those are whales... my bad. *gets shot*

hawkfur34 said...

To celebrste im going to spread as many motivational letters as I can at school to all the strangers!

wloff said...

My only regret is that most likely my new Derpy mail messenger bag won't arrive in time for the event.

Regardless, I'll be passing out random letters and muffins from some less awesome bag instead!

Derpestia said...

You actually expect people to follow a holiday you make up on EQD? the sad thing is there are gonna be quite a few people who do something for this sad little pony that is derpy now.

sockpuppetman said...

Last march I was a closet brony. ThIs march I shal make 20+ muffins for everypony

Shingo said...

If muffins couldn't kill me I would definitely participate. The letters I can do though. I just sent mine. Hopefully it isn't contradictory and it makes sense.

Tony said...

This just proves to me that this is the greatest subculture I have ever been a part of. This is the kind of thing I've wanted to do for a while now just for the sake of making everypony's lives more awesome. I'll do all I can to help with this.

KestrelElk said...

I'm not much of a writer or singer, but I'll give it a shot =]

Fuzzyhead12 said...

DAMN U PGOE U STOLE MY PROGRAM!!!

Soph93 said...

you guys have really weird ways of entertain yourselves.

Fuzzyhead12 said...

ahhh screw that sorry Phoe , Thanqol u stole my program!! i wanted done the same exept from the letters cheater!

Lostcause said...

@Pikari
Well… Feeling pinkie keen aired around 1 year ago:
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/02/derpy-hooves-now-canon.html
If my memory serves me right Derpy day was started by facebook group… so I’m not sure if it was invented before Feeling pinkie keen or not.
I have always been in an assumption that it was to celebrate Derpy’s role in feeling pinkie keen.

jodyjm13 said...

@Big Love
I'm way the heck down in southwestern Virginia, so you're not the only one.

@Soph93
Yep; great, isn't it? Though this is also about random acts of kindness, too.

Octavia9th said...

I wasn't around last year, so I'm definitely making up for it this year. I'm not much of a baker, but hopefully I'll do better than Applejack...

comickid said...

ah poo. I can't do the muffin part but I can do the other parts... I'm very poor no more money to buy muffins or mix to make my own this month and I don't get paid til the 5th of March so I'll miss the holiday with that. I can however hit the street and try to convince others to sing Pinkie's song with me and I can write letters!

kakashipwnzor said...

So wait, do we go ahead and send in the letters now, or wait until March 1st?

kakashipwnzor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Iceman t3h pwnr said...

It's mah birthday and Derpy day !?
Winrar it is me.

Atlas said...

Totally going to bake chocolate muffins and rainbow cupcakes to distribute to all the random people I meet while I work.

Senior Waffles said...

I'm about to drop the hammer and deliver some indiscriminate friendship!

the-matthew said...

If it was a bit later it would be my birthday. I'll just have to get everyone at work muffins twice. (But where I work we'll sometimes buy treats just to celebrate the fact there's a "y" in the day.)

Sammy-Jack said...

Oh, man...what do i write in the letter? I dont know what to write! Seriously, what should we be writing in here?

Julius Scipio said...

Hm... why not?

I mean... what's wrong with a little bit of kindness, pony related or not? I'm all in for giving people a free muffin and writing a few letters.

Bronyhub said...

This sounds like a wonderful idea. I probably won't be able to do the singing/muffin part because of work, but I can certainty write a letter.

Insomnia said...

Checklist for 1st of March:
1. Bake muffins.
2. Walk up to random strangers at the Uni.
3. Give a stranger a muffin and smile.
4. Receive a "WTF?!" from said stranger.
5. Move onto the next victim.
6. Repeat steps 4. and 5. until I run out of muffins.

Secondary Goal:
- Keep an eye out for any closet bronies that upon seing you realize what is going on.

Papyra Scribe said...

I'M GOING TO GIVE AWAY FREE MUFFINS!!!! and write a letter to send...

MarioMaster1337 said...

Derpy Day is on my birthday! :D

vulpintissence said...

While I usually tend to just lurk in the community (*is shy*), I don't think I could resist doing this. What kinds of things should we write in the letters, though? And does anyone know any good recipes for gluten-free muffins? :)

Zaehlas said...

I unfortunately wasn't a Brony back then.

So this will be my first Derpy Day ever!

FastFaustR said...

Letter sent,

Derpy Day will be a success!

Brohoofs? /)

Nimbus the Unicorn said...

If March 1 is Derpy Day, what does that make January 21st (the day Derpy first got a speaking role)? Because that's my birthday.

Jake said...

Best tribute ever.

Lute said...

best day ever and also my birthday.

Octavia said...

I believe I remember the last Derpy Day last year. Though I think I was too busy with things to do much for it. And wouldn't you know it, again I'm also stupidly busy with things. If I can muster up the time and ability to write something that doesn't sound absolutely awful, I'll give it a shot. :)

Laurence Brown said...

Derpy Day: Where the power of bronies saves the U. S. Postal Service from bankruptcy.

MasterContinuum said...

What better way to celebrate getting "Friendship Express" in the mail than by eating a muffin?

_OJ_ said...

I swear, if some Brony walks up to me, hands me a muffin, and asks me to perform a rendition of any song, I'm going to drop the muffin and ask them to please stop making my fandom more embarrassing than it already is.

TheOneAndOnly said...

@Big Love

I know this is late, but I live in northern virginia and people there are really nice. Go up there and celebrate, you won't get shot.

August Flare said...

Okay, I'm totally going to write the letter, but I want to celebrate at my school as well. Problem is, I won't be at school on the 1st... Do you think I should just postpone the festivities or should I just forget it? =/

Kim said...

Um...I don't know how to do this :(
I can eat a muffin fine, write a letter well I think it's a tad weird if I don't know who I wrote to.
Sing...0-0...I have PLENTY of online brony friends I'll make them sing and post it on Youtube ^^.
Once 1st March arrices they will be posted so look out.
http://www.youtube.com/user/KanaTokisho?feature=mhee

Lumos said...

When should we send in the letters and stuff by?

Ten said...

I will do what I can as I wasn't around last year, but this definatly sounds awesome!

Unknown said...

This actually sounds surprisingly sweet and I find myself wishing there were more pony holidays.

ATacticalWalrus said...

Sent my letter, hope I didn't make too many disgusting grammatical errors

Minhal said...

Brony holidays? Get out.

Necromanteion said...

Just to clarify, is it @mail.com or @gmail.com?

techs181 said...

Where might we submit poster art? The email for letters, or is there a separate site?

Thanks!

Commentator said...

Muffin! Happy brony in the area!

Delicate Flame said...

I'd love to deliver some random letters! Sounds very fun ^^

I live in Sweden, so if anyone wants to write something in Swedish, feel free to send a letter to me (English is fine too)

Delicateflamey@gmail.com

Weihan Liang said...

Damn...if only I was in Canberra. Need to get something started in Sydney CBD stat!

LOL said...

This March 1st will be the second anniversary of her passing. She was a very loving and beautiful woman and though this holiday can never be a happy one for me, I will always be sure to celebrate it with my mother in mind. Every year, I'll write her a letter, bake a batch of muffins, and make sure to cheer up someone's day. :)

D&B said...

I dont think theres enough time to make it an official meetup,but for any Bronies in the Baltimore area, I will be in the harbor handing out (hopefully) upwards of a hundred muffins and letters to passersby.

Would love for some company

Floof Cat said...

You left out "wear grey"...

Random letter sent to Canberra exchange. I'll make sure to eat a muffin and try to take a decent walleyed picture on the 1st and share 'em as well.

As for Singing Telegram, I'll think about it.

Zeptometer said...

@Big Love and @jodyjm13 That's why you should move to Maryland, where we did love and tolerance before it was cool!

Thanqol said...

Thanks for the enthusiasm everyone! There are some downright inspiring letters in my inbox already!

Quick replies

- It's @mail.com . Turns out that is an actual server
- Deadline for letters is March 1. Send them before then!
- The last Derpy Day was a week late, so delay rather than cancellation is always preferable!
- January 21st is my birthday as well so it makes you my bro.

Thank you again for the responses!

- Thanqol

August Flare said...

Thanks for the clarification!

Deucey Dee said...

Just watched all 50 videos from Derpy Day. They were cool and all, but... I want my hour back.

Thanqol said...

@Deucey Dee

You can't have it. It's mine now.

nintendofreakgcn said...

My birthday is Derpy Day? Sweet! Free muffins for everypony!

Gummy said...

Sounds like fun, can't wait for derpy day!

techs181 said...

@Thanqol

Hey, you might have missed it, but I was wondering when/where we should turn any poster submissions?

Thanks!

Doctor Tempest said...

@ Big Love I know how you feel. As far as I know im the only brony in Louisiana.

techs181 said...

@Doctor Tempest

Throw up a few unobtrusive posters. I'm sure you'll find one. ;)

Thanqol said...

@techs181

Same email as everything else!

Trippn said...

Kinda wish this wasn't on my birthday. Oh well. And I'm probably the only brony who wishes this wasn't on March 1.

Sunstone said...

Oh man, I'm totally going to write something for this.

I can't wait to see if I'll see somepony passing out muffins. Are there many bronies out in San Francisco?

Twinkie said...

@Lauren

March 5th is my birthday too! Brohoof!! /)

Scott Phillips said...

What a coincidence, I've been working on propaganda posters this week... I could surely make a sexy poster for this event. Where do I submit it?

Thanqol said...

@Scott Phillips

Same email as everything else! :D

Nova25 said...

I remember the Derpy Day of last year... : http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/02/derpy-hooves-day.html

And the various stuff that happened on the 1st March : http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011_03_01_archive.html ...some bad, and some good stuff (heh, Wakfu).

A retrospective... now VS before, I wonder ?

...anyway, my home-made chocolate muffins were good.

Big Ditzy said...

oh boy, this is my first Derpy Day ever~ I'm going to try doing this to. I just hope I can get muffins in time~

Parafox said...

And as soon as Derpy Day is around the corner, Hasbro has to change Derpy's name and her voice. What sad timing.

Thanqol said...

@Parafox

Just makes Derpy Day even more worth doing.

ryan7251 said...

i'm so gaveing out free lemon poppy seed muffins for Derpy Day but i only have a few:( o well in the name of derpy have a muffin:)

wild thicket said...

I can't give out muffins to strangers, but I'll definitely try the Letters to Strangers part! =D Maybe even design a poster and send it too. ;D

But I swear I'mma make muffins, even if I have to go to Walmart and buy ingredients when nopony's looking.

Sgt Byrd said...

I can't cross my eyes, but I can anonymously distribute muffins to a theatre full of poor, hungry, needy students. I'm gonna try record it too, but that may be restricted by my woefully inadequate amount of ninjutsu.

I'll definitely eat a muffin myself too.

I'm toying over emailing Thanqol an anonymous letter, but I'm kinda blocked on what to say. Maybe it doesn't really matter as they are all anonymous anyway.

Sgt Byrd said...

@Sgt Byrd

Okey Dokey Loki, I've sent off my email. I don't think it's very good.

btw, mail.com is an awesome sounding mail server, although gmail kinda ruins it as everyone will just think you typod the g.

PhineasPhish said...

Happy Derpy Day from London!

didn't notice the time but it is now the 1st.

Sgt Byrd said...

@PhineasPhish

Ditto, I'm in London too. Happy Derpy Day all.

I have most of my resources ready for my muffin distribution, I'm gonna go buy the muffins themselves in a few hours.

IrishBrony said...

Glad i get to spend Derpy Hooves Day this year, I got alot of people in my neighborhood that are either bronies, or non-bronies, Im gonna try to get them to sing the "Singing Telegram" But at least i can get my Brother and Sis to do so.

Thomas Ricard said...

Yay Derpy dad is my Bday

Chuck norris said...

I am going to do this I have meh muffinz xD and I'm going to have a muffin making party at meh house with meh Brony friends

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