Probably. The smilies thingy opens up in a new window, and your blocker is most likely stopping it. I tested it with my own blocker enabled and had the same problems.
Martialtalk will only 'popup' a window in very few situations:
-The smilies selection box
-Notification of a new Private Message (you can turn this off for your account)
-when clicking on a link in a post.
We do not use any pop-up/under adverts or similar. (Despite a few good money offers, I refuse to do them. I'm philosphically opposed to them.)).
You can safely surf MT with your blocker disabled. Just remember to reactivate it before you leave.