Wednesday, December 17, 2014

What's So Funny? Rory The Guinea Pig Makes Me Laugh!

How's it going my gumdrops? Are you in need of some laughs, during this stressful time of the year? 

I'm not a huge, self-righteous, political activist about loving animals like many people are today, however I do love most animals. This especially includes reptiles.

Over the last several years of being on social media sites, many have annoyed the hell out of me with their cats. Today's cat lovers tend to regularly act like they gave birth to Jesus. 

This may sound harsh to say, but some cat owners can be just as annoying as those proud parents, who think their children can walk on water and turn water into wine. 

Apparently, some of these cat lovers feel like acting self-righteous and morally superior to others because giving birth to children is somehow BENEATH them. Ugh! Enough is enough already! Give it a friggin' rest!

Aside from the preceding rant, I have chosen to share something cute and furry for laughs. Today's blog is more of a tribute to a friend/subscriber from Blogster. 

Scottster has been having a rough time on Blogster. Surely, most of my Xangan and Blogsterian friends/subscribers are familiar with that problem, which is all the more reason why I only comment on their pages compared to blogging on Blogster, now.

Meanwhile, I stumbled upon this cute and funny YouTube vlog last week by Rory The Guinea Pig. 

Briefly voiced by Ricky Gervais, Rory read some of the hilarious insults about his physical appearance from his Twitter account.

Before watching that video, here's an informative Animal Planet segment about guinea pigs.

Animal Planet's Pets 101: Guinea Pigs

At the age of 7, my mother bought my original guinea pig, Christopher. Christopher lived for 5 years. 

After acquiring mite, he started having scratching seizures and had to be euthanized. 

For my 13th birthday, my mother bought my 2nd guinea pig, Fantastical. He was the craziest guinea pig I ever owned!

Fantastical seemed more like a human trapped inside a guinea pig's body. He constantly strategized ways of climbing outside his tank. 

As I was leaving my bedroom years ago, Fantastical literally climbed on top of his water bottle and hung from the rim of his tank. With good timing, I luckily bolted over to catch him from falling.

The next incident involved my youngest aunt and I eating breakfast, in our living room. We sat on our living room floor at the table, while watching MTV and monitoring Fantastical in his cardboard box that we carted him in for babysitting purposes.

Once I let Fantastical outside his box, he strolled across our living room floor and BIT  my aunt's bacon. 

Had she actually set her plate on the living room table, he would've been unable to reach it. 

Fantastical biting my aunt's bacon was hilarious! He almost lived an entire year. He would have lived at least 3-4 years longer had my great-grandmother's evil friend not put some Juju on him.

At 16, I bought my last 2 guinea pigs. Altivo (meaning "superior" and "haughty" in Spanish) lived for only 3 years. Ookii (meaning "big" in Japanese) lived for 4 years. Between the 2, Altivo was my favorite.

I believe I favored Altivo more because of the way the other guinea pigs mistreated him at Pet World. I saw another guinea pig bite his face and he started whining. I REALLY wanted to reach over that cage and smack his bully on the butt!

A month later, I bought Ookii and he became Altivo's next bully. The bullying was to the extent that I had to buy 1 extra cage to separate them from each other. 

Altivo and Ookii only shared a cage together, whenever I had to clean their cages every so many days. Had they always shared a cage, I believe Ookii would've killed Altivo.

Even though Altivo was my favorite next to Fantastical, Altivo would sometimes get an attitude with me. I made a joke about using his body heat to keep me warm and he got angry. Altivo's cheeks looked inflated and he started grinding his teeth.

I didn't say I was going to kill him for his fur or anything! I only joked about using his body heat to keep me warm and he took offense to it!

Psychologists claim that animals don't have feelings. I don't believe that for a second! I know when animals are happy, sad, angry, etc. 

After joking about using Altivo's body heat to keep me warm, he snubbed me! The next day, I went to take him out his cage and he literally did his paw at me!

Altivo looked like he told me, "Talk to the paw cuz I ain't listenin'!" 

I had a Michael Kelso moment from That '70s Show. You know those scenes of Kelso shrieking, "Oh!"? 

Yup! That was my reaction to Altivo giving me "The Paw." Talk about rude!

After giving me that attitude, I snuck up to his cage and flashed him! Within seconds, Altivo literally did a 360 bolt around his cage.

His 360 bolt around the cage was a slapstick moment. It was hilarious much like Fantastical sneaking and biting my youngest aunt's bacon.

Years later, Altivo and Ookii for some reason died days before Christmas. Their deaths were 1 year apart from each other. I was devastated when 3 of my 4 guinea pigs died. 

I was a little sad, although I wasn't heartbroken over Ookii's death. He always loved biting me.

During 10th grade, Ookii bit my ear once and I had to wear a band aid on it. 

My college sophomore year, he died, which was shortly after coming home from UW-Parkside for Christmas Break.

The year before, I cried tears and mourned Altivo's death because I watched him die, when I was in the middle of working on my Advanced Composition research paper. 

Our last dog, Alexis also seemed depressed because she viewed Altivo and Ookii as her puppies. That sounds strange, but it's true.

Anyway, I've talked enough about my guinea pigs. With that being said, here are 3 YouTube vlogs featuring Rory The Guinea Pig.

1) Rory The Guinea Pig [Voiced By Ricky Gervais] Promotes Just Sayin' App (2012)

2) Rory The Guinea Pig's Pets Add Life Interview (2012)
3) Rory The Guinea Pig Wishes You A Happy Holidays From Pets Add Life & The Talking Animals Channel (2013)

Sunday, December 7, 2014

What's That? Jason DeMarco ONLY Bought 8/10 Hellsing Ultimate OVA's 0_0

How's it going lurkers? Did you have a chance to watch Toonami's promo for the finale?

Hellsing Ultimate OVA's 9 & 10 Finale Promo (2014)


Last night, I re-watched both Hellsing Ultimate OVA's 9 and 10 on Adult Swim's Toonami block. Before the network premiered both Hellsing Ultimate OVA's, I was able to YouTube them last week.

You may be wondering, "Why did you watch OVA's 9 and 10 again, when you already saw them?" 

Normally, I stream Anime online in Japanese and I re-watch them in English Dub on TV as a refresher. I noticed that Adult Swim removed Alucard's childhood rape scene.

Last week when I watched the 9th OVA, the rape scene was very subtle compared to the corpse rape that Seras Victoria's mother endured. 

Her mother's corpse rape scene was grislier and more graphic than Alucard's childhood rape. Adult Swim removing that scene really did not surprise me. 

Considering that Adult Swim is a bundled network on Cartoon Network, the Hellsing/Hellsing Ultimate franchise was bound to be censored.

This especially applies for rape scenes, since this franchise no longer premieres on a premium channel like STARZ. That being said, I won't waste time ranting about Adult Swim's Toonami censoring Hellsing Ultimate

I'm still reeling over the fact that the "Toonami" Team did NOT  buy ALL 10 OVA's for Hellsing Ultimate from the start!

What purpose did it serve for Jason DeMarco and his brainwashed sycophants to only buy 8/10 OVA's before premiering the whole series?

DeMarco and his sycophantic Toonami crew always look like clowns with their highly syndicated acquisitions and their so-called "Toonami" block. At least Adult Swim is premiering the Hellsing Ultimate finale.

Will all 3 prequels of Hellsing: The Dawn premiere, sooner or later? 

That's a burning question fellow Hellsing/Hellsing Ultimate fans would like to know.

Cartoon Sunday: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol By Richard Williams

How's it going lurkers? This Cartoon Sunday, I have a rare Christmas Classic for you. Today, I have Richard Williams' animated adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

It wasn't until last week that I watched this version of A Christmas Carol. It aired on ABC in 1971 and won the 1972 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

I wonder if my mother ever had the chance to watch it. Chances are great that she and the rest of my immediate family did not. 

They were probably living on a military base in The Philippines by 1971, since my late grandfather was in the Air Force and they had busy childhood lives.  

Aside from those details, the art illustrations for Richard Williams' animated adaptation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol look fantastic!

As I watched this animated adaptation, I could NOT  help noticing just how authentic the illustrations appear. This particular animated adaptation also has multiple pans, zooms, and random scene transitions. The illustrations even look hand drawn. 

This is something that can't be said for most of today's animation, which mostly consists of gratuitous CGI. Therefore, I have a much better appreciation and respect for Williams' animated adaptation. 

This is along with the fact, that I have NEVER seen this version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, until recently. Richard Williams' adaptation was NOT  meant for the younger demographic. 

Supposedly, the emphasis of darkness and shadows appeared as having Horror qualities.

Williams' animated adaptation was considered to be "the most frightening of the many dramatizations of the Dickens classic."

This could explain WHY  I never saw Richard Williams' animated adaptation, when I was growing up during the 1980's and '90s. As much as I enjoy watching Peanuts' Christmas Specials on TV, it wouldn't hurt local and/or cable networks to show this 1971 classic of A Christmas Carol.

I have watched at least several live action movie adaptations of it. Stumbling upon this animated adaptation is most definitely a rare gem. With that being said, here's Richard Williams' adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol for Cartoon Sunday.

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol By Richard Williams (1971)

YouTube-ZTzyC9CZuOA

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns: Q&A #2

How's it going my gumdrops? Today is officially 1 year, since I launched It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. 

I built this website, when I was still helping my uncle with his website's content. The content I wrote for him was never used. So typical of him.

Anyway, I have my 2nd Q&A blog ready for you all to read. Pay attention to bold answers. I hope you're pleased with my responses!

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns Questions & Answers:

Richard: Are you a cat or a dog person?

Answer: I'm a dog person. My last dog (Lexi) was a Doberman/Rottweiler Mutt. 

She had to be euthanized 10 years ago because she was becoming vicious. In fact, the last time I went to pet Lexi, she grazed my left temple. 

My grandfather also returned for an in-home hospice my college junior year. Lexi's vicious temperament would've exacerbated problems.

Mimikoko: With your love of music, did you ever try to learn a musical instrument(s) or sing?

Answer: Growing up, I was ALWAYS required to sing in school concerts. By the time I was in middle and high school, I always ended up taking choir. In middle school, it was required to either take choir, or band.

I wanted to take guitar lessons but there weren't enough students for the sign up. Therefore, the class was dropped.

I never had a chance to practice playing my old electric guitar. It was bought for my 6th Christmas and had '80s Metal written all over it. My electric guitar was black, shiny, and V-shaped. ~16-17 years ago, it was ruined in a basement flood at our last house.

DJ Scott: Do you have any archives of past DJ work?

Answer: Unfortunately, no. 11-12 years ago, I never had a chance to do an on-air promo for All Things Frightening, either. 

There was so much chaos happening in my life, 10-12 years ago. I juggled UW-Parkside's classes full-time, a radio show, being a part-time student at Carthage College, and other people's issues. This was along with post 9/11 racism. 

Post 9/11 racism was a major contributor to my own problems so much so that it hurt my campus housing at Parkside. 

I was just lucky if I could sleep in peace WITHOUT  having a roommate and her obnoxious friends literally hovering over me to watch me sleep.

Anyway, had my original boss stayed, I believe my promos would've been recorded. We already bonded over some Type O Negative.

DanniDarkness: Will you keep the Halloween colors? I really like them!

Answer: Thank you, Danni! I am glad you enjoy my latest scenery! I actually changed it on September 1st rather than October 1st. 

I have It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns decorated for Halloween. This current scenery will stay, until November.

I love changing my template designs and font colors with the seasons and holidays. Thanksgiving will be coming up next!

Jesse Steele: Which states have you visited in the USA? Also which states did you like visiting the most? Are there any states in the USA you would like to visit? If so why?

Answers: Since my family used to always take road trips, I have visited quite a few states.

Illinois is next to Wisconsin (my state). I have also visited Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York (we had to drive through New York to get to Canada).

Most of my relatives live in Detroit, Michigan. I am amazed the entire city of Detroit is not my family because so many of our relatives live there.

I really enjoyed traveling to Arlington Heights, IL because it has a lot of Japanese companies and stores.

I haven't been on a Japanese field trip in 11 years. I started going on those field trips, when I was in 7th grade because my Japanese classes always went. 

By the time I was a college junior, I still went on Japanese field trips to Arlington Heights with my classmates, and we always rode in coach buses.

Reaper69: Don't you think it's a bit hypocritical of those, who forbid Metal for it's horror and gore, but don't think there is any problem with the most grotesque of films. Art is art, or is it not?

Answer: Yes, that is hypocritical.

We watch violence on the news, TV shows, and movies daily yet angry soccer moms and media watchdog groups are quick to condemn Metal. I've noticed over the last decade, that most Horror movies have Metal soundtracks. Horror and Metal go together like PB&J, salt and pepper, etc. You want to know something even more hypocritical?

Last year, I bought a Halloween decoration for my office desk. My decoration is a witch house in the woods with pumpkins, skulls, crosses, bats, and a witch. She resembles the witch from The Wizard of Oz and she is brewing with her cauldron. My uncle did NOT  have a problem with me having it as a desk decoration.

Then, literally 3 days before Halloween, he stormed into the building claiming, that his shrew flipped her shit over my Halloween decoration. They supposedly don't celebrate Halloween. I told him to his face, that Medusa was a hypocrite. 

This is the same pretentious, gold-digging shrew, who reads all those STEPHEN KING NOVELS and watches MORE Horror than me.

Meanwhile, she goes to church and wears this HUGE, self-righteous facade as a Christian woman. I told my uncle and the rest of my family, that Medusa only had a problem with my decoration because she saw HER OWN reflection in that witch. 

I'm just calling a spade a "spade." You know what I mean?

Marquis DeBlood: Glad to have you aboard! And congrats on your anniversary!! You seem to enjoy your Anime and are very particular about certain shows and what naught... What would you consider to be the best Anime series out there and why?

Answer: Thank you very much! I'm glad to have support from the Horror-Punks Community.

There's no simple answer because Anime has such a broad range of genres and sub-genres. 

I enjoy Comedy, Action, Mecha (Mecha is still a part of the Action genre but mostly military and war themed), Mystery, Romance, Horror, etc. 

Each Anime genre and sub-genre caters to both genders, sexual orientations, and age demographics. I enjoy the darker and lighter themed Anime titles.

I really love the NANA franchise. NANA is like a Japanese animated soap opera, which mostly focuses music, rival bands, and romance.  

NANA has Music, Romance, and Dramedy. There's even a love triangle/paternity test arc. 

Josei Anime are completely different from the stereotypical Shonen Jump Anime, which are mostly meant for teenage boys. NANA is mostly meant for young women, who love music and romance. 

To give you a better picture, imagine Lifetime, WE TV, and The Oxygen Channel but in the form of Japanese animation.

Speaking of, there is another Anime about music and romance, which is mostly meant for men. It's called Detroit Metal City. It is similar to Adult Swim's Metalocalypse. However it is mostly about this guy, who lives a double life as a musician.

He fronts this Death Metal band and is forced to live a notorious facade of supposedly killing and raping his parents. In reality, he is a nerdy Japanese guy, who loves writing Swedish Pop Music. 

I really enjoy NANA and Detroit Metal City because they are both romance and music oriented, which is rare in Anime compared to the stereotypical Shonen Jump Anime.

Amanda's Questions:

1) I know you have a minor in Creative Writing but what brought you to writing Horror? 

Was it derived from your interest in Japanese culture and the language or is that a stereotypical cliché of Japan?

2) When, you joined the Adult Swim group, you wrote on it being 'fascist' (my interpretation) and chauvinistic. I am NOT asking you your political views (LOL) but I'd be interested in what your perception is of the politics surrounding the shows on Adult swim.

3) You were also a Radio DJ, would you do it again if you could?

My Answers:

1) Actually, I started writing my own Short Horror Stories in 3rd grade.

Throughout each month, my 3rd grade teacher gave our class subjects to select.

When it was October, we had to select a topic everyday and write Short Halloween Stories using that specific topic.

My elementary school teachers in general always loved that I could take a simple topic and write a story about it. 

The more I think about it, I have been a Creative Writer for most of my life.

2) Adult Swim appears to be in a bigger rut than I realized.

I always knew the network had problems pleasing their main audience (men). It is mostly spin. 

For example, the Toonami block is mostly Shonen Jump Anime and dubbed Anime from Funimation Entertainment monopolizes the block.

There are several other Anime companies, genres, and sub-genres that Adult Swim purposely overlooks.

I'm glad there have been more Seinen Anime with leading female characters. 

All the while, the network still fails to acknowledge its female audience by not airing Shojo and Josei Anime.

I have read some of the female YouTubers' complaints about Toonami not airing any Shojo Anime. 

Adult Swim only wants to air Sailor Moon's reboot, which is the most irksome. I don't hate Sailor Moon. Although, it's not the only Shojo Anime to ever be released from Japan.

I think the main reason why the male audience wants to watch Sailor Moon so badly is because it has lesbian characters in it. 

Also, it pisses me off that Toonami only would air a Shojo Anime for men that fantasize and fetishize 2D lesbian characters. 

I'm not opposed to watching GLBT shows. It's just that most of us know there's a perverted double standard, when it comes to accepting lesbians.

Meanwhile, the social atmosphere of Adult Swim's forum is mostly cold, territorial, misanthropic, and unwelcoming. There are some nice posters on the forum but the atmosphere rivals YouTube.

It's almost impossible to have a civil conversation without someone instigating a fight. Also, some veteran posters will treat new posters like criminals. Rather than trying to learn more about a new Adult Swim poster, they assume the worst because the site is already swarming with trolls.

New posters must prove themselves much harder, in order to be liked and/or accepted. The constant psychoanalysis, negativity, arguments, animosity, inferiority complex, hatred, and territorial behavior drove away their newer and older posters. Mind you, this doesn't even include degrading and dehumanizing other posters.

3) Yes, I would love to be a Radio DJ/Hostess, again.

Throughout my 20's, I have applied to local radio stations and they never called back. In regards to local radio stations today, they only want to air dated and highly overplayed songs. 

Otherwise, they are airing the worst American Top 40 mainstream songs in existence. With the way technology is constantly advancing, more people will continue to podcast.

When hosting All Things Frightening 11-12 years ago, I never heard of podcasting. Our college radio shows were heard both locally and online. I predict that traditional radio stations will become obsolete, sooner or later.

This concludes my Q&A on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. I want to thank my loyal friends/subscribers from Xanga 1.0, Blogster, and Horror-Punks.com for always Liking, commenting, and sharing my content! You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

Since I mentioned Detroit Metal City, I'll leave you with the live action music video/theme song. Once again, thank you!

Detroit Metal City "Satsugai" [Murder] (2008)

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Cartoon Sunday: Hell Girl (Anime) Pilot

How's it going my gumdrops? Since Halloween will soon be approaching, today, I have the pilot episode of the Hell Girl Anime. 
 
Do you remember, when I reviewed this Shojo Horror Mystery Anime earlier this March?
 
If not, you still have plenty of time to watch and learn about this creepy series. It mostly focuses on REVENGE, but comes with a DOUBLE edged sword, so to say.
 
In case you missed my Horror Anime Review, you can learn more about Hell Girl by reading about the Shojo in the link below. 
 
Cartoon Sunday: Anna H's Horror Anime Reviews (2014)

Anyway, here's the link to Hell Girl for Cartoon Sunday.

Hell Girl (Anime) Pilot [English Dub] (2005)

Let me know what you think!

Wow! What A Hateful Online Community!


How's it going my gumdrops? OMG! 2 weeks ago, I joined Adult Swim's forum. 

By no means am I stranger to belonging to a forum. Not that I was expecting a welcoming committee, but the posters on that forum are fucking ridiculous. 

Posters of that ilk validate my reasons for NOT  uploading a forum (by using an app) to It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Adult Swim's posters are just as rude and obnoxious as rude YouTube posters. 

The posters nitpick the shit out of the most trivial bullshit, are EXTREMELY hateful, and judgmental of people they just meet.

Some Adult Swim posters have been civil and welcoming. The rest are rude, antagonistic, accusatory (some accused me of being a troll), pompous ass posters. There is 1 poster in particular, who is a complete know-it-all. I was informed that he was banned numerous times for his douchebaggery. 

He has the tendency to be condescending and act like he is putting posters in their places YET  he does NOT  know the difference between "then" and "than" in a sentence.

It's "rather THAN." NOT  "rather then."

While that same poster is so busy trying to "challenge" other posters, he should challenge himself by studying Basic English. Here is where it gets better: He automatically assumed, that...

1) I had nothing else better to do or watch than Adult Swim.

2) I was "throwing tantrums" and happen to be "more sexist" than I claim both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim to be with my opposing views.

3) He went as far as to drag Barbie into an argument out of thin air.

Wow! Seriously? Talk about a major joke. It is a good thing I was unallowed to use Cristina Scabbia's (from Lacuna Coil) doll as my avatar. 

I always love whenever people declare a war on Barbie. Being female and liking anything with feminine qualities is blasphemous! 

The female gender is forbidden from having beauty, brains, goals, accomplishments, a career, etc. 

Considering that I am "sexist" and all, why is that same dipshit posting in my thread?

Obviously, he is someone without a life of his own, if all he can do is instigate with everyone. That trollish poster is like a terrible rash, that won't leave.

Last night, there was another instigator in my Adult Swim thread. She psychoanalyzed and nitpicked my username. What a bitch.

My username served no relevance to the discussion I was trying to have with other posters.

This included her assumptions, that I didn't think the female audience should watch Shonen and Seinen Action Anime. 

I had already addressed this issue in a previous thread, but some continue to misunderstand.

I NEVER said I had anything against the female audience watching Shonen and Seinen Action Anime. I have watched my fair share as a woman. 

However, watching Anime specifically meant for the female audience would be a nice break from always watching male-centric Anime.

Shonen and Seinen Action Anime are specifically for the male audience. I feel some Shojo and Josei Anime titles should be added to Adult Swim. 

In addition to the last topic, I mentioned that having the "Toonami" branding on Adult Swim, limits the Anime genre to only Action Animation.

Anime in Japan is NOT  limited to Shonen and Seinen Action yet in America, this is the only gender demographic Anime companies want to market, which is specifically meant for the male audience.

Basically, companies marketing Anime in America is a Boys Only Club and purposely want to pander to Incels.

Shojo and Josei Anime supposedly do poorly in American sales. I believe this is because the female audience is barely acknowledged. Also, some male Anime viewers REGARDLESS of their sexual orientation DO watch Shojo and Josei Anime.

American companies and the media with their political propaganda brainwashed American Anime fans into believing, that everything is "gender neutral." In reality, everything is NOT "gender neutral."

We are watching Japanese Entertainment, which belongs to Japan and is a part of Japan's culture.

They are labeled Shonen, Seinen, Shojo, and Josei for specific reasons. 

Shonen and Seinen Anime are specifically meant for the male audience. 

Shojo and Josei Anime are specifically meant for the female audience.

Although, it's not like heterosexual males and females as well as the GLBT community don't watch each others Anime besides Shonen and Seinen Action.

Speaking of Seinen Action Anime, 2 weeks ago, 1 male poster complained about Black Lagoon. The series is specifically meant for men, but it mostly has women as leading characters in a male Action Anime. 

I love watching Black Lagoon regardless of the characters' genders and regardless of its gender demographic.

After the Hellsing Ultimate OVA's premiere next month on Swimnami, he will most likely complain about Sir Integra and Seras Victoria. Those are 2 female characters with leading roles in Hellsing.

Hellsing Ultimate OVA Trailer (2014)

Hellsing Ultimate happens to be another Seinen Action Anime, which is Black Lagoon's replacement. The Hellsing franchise is Seinen Horror Action.

Overall, my main point is that Shonen and Seinen Action fans are not the only Anime demographics in existence.

There are Comedy, Romance, Mystery, Supernatural, Horror, etc. Anime for both genders. People with little knowledge about Anime only know what the networks expose them to on TV. They are mostly exposed to Shonen Action.

I understand why Adult Swim's forum has such a high turnover with posters in general. 

The slightest topic about anything gets derailed into an argument and veteran posters are notorious for running away new posters.

Who wants to deal with that unnecessary division and dysfunction? 

I have too many things to do in very little time. I thought it would be fun to join another entertainment forum again, but apparently I was wrong.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Cartoon Sunday: Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob

How's it going my gumdrops? This Cartoon Sunday, I thought I would share something a little different in regards to animation. In other words, sharing a classic Hip-Hop webtoon from Bullseye Art, Ltd.

Most of you will probably dislike these webisodes, but I'm still sharing them anyway. 

On Thursday, my youngest aunt and I laughed as we reminisced about an old webtoon called, Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob.

We only knew about the short because an old college friend of hers e-mailed it to her back in 2000 from Netscape. 

Now that I think about it, I was still a high school student in 2000. We were introduced to the webtoon's 3rd webisode and were shocked by its adult content.  

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob reminded me of a Hip-Hop animated version of the Cherry Merry Muffin dolls circa late '80s to early '90s.

Cherry Merry Muffin Dolls Commercial (1988)

Talk about late '80s and early '90s nostalgia. The Cherry Merry Muffin dolls were actually similar to the original Strawberry Shortcake dolls. 

Compared to the Strawberry Shortcake franchise, the Cherry Merry Muffin franchise lacked ethnic diversity.

Growing up, I never had the actual Cherry Merry Muffin doll. However, Chocolottie and Betty Berry (which were featured in the original commercial above) were both my Christmas presents, 1 year.

I remember Betty Berry having a noxious odor. She nauseated me with her putrid stench. I never thought the smell of blueberries could make me feel so queasy.

Meanwhile, adult animation increased throughout the late '90s and early 21st Century. 

Before the launching of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in 2001, some adult animation premiered on local and cable channels as well as streamed online.

During the late '90s and early 21st Century, adult animation was too controversial to be shown on TV and was normally canceled. 

When adult animation wasn't soon to be canceled on local networks during that time, those cartoons were soon aired on cable/satellite channels if not bought on DVD and/or streamed online.

Nowadays, we can't help watching controversial adult animation on local, basic cable, and satellite channels, as well as streamed online. 

Like I already said, we were introduced to the 3rd webisode of Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob, 14 years ago. I never watched the entire series, until 3 days ago. It's amazing that it only had 5 webisodes and 2 music videos.

This classic Hip-Hop webtoon featured Miss Muffy and her "Muff Mob." Her "Muff Mob" consisted of Betty Bundt Cake, Patty Pound Cake, Cinama Buns, and Keisha Corn Bread.

Who had the most ghetto name? Cinama Buns or Keisha Corn Bread?  You decide.

Since there were only 5 webisodes, here is the webtoon Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob.

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 1 (2000)

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 2 (2000)

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 3 (2000)
Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 4 (2000)
Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 5 (2000)

Sunday, July 20, 2014

WHAT? Gurren Lagann Of ALL Mecha Anime As A Swimnami Replacement Series?

How's it going lurkers? While watching Bleach, Blue Exorcist, and Black Lagoon on Adult Swim last weekend, I realized all 3 shows are almost over!

Some of us are worried about their replacements. Some of us also like to call Adult Swim's revisionist version of Cartoon Network's Toonami block "Swimnami."

Last night as we watched the block, it was announced that Gurren Lagann will premiere next month.

Gurren Lagann Trailer (2013)

Gurren Lagann already aired SEVERAL times on Syfy (a.k.a. The Syfylis Channel) within the last SEVERAL years.

Of ALL the Mecha Anime franchises from Japan, WHY Gurren Lagann? 

It was entertaining until some of the MAIN characters were killed, THROUGHOUT  THE SERIES.  

If minor characters were killed, it wouldn't have been much of a problem. However, Gurren Lagann was a depressing Mecha Anime. 

The body count of main characters being killed in a Mecha Anime like Gurren Lagann somewhat rivaled those killed in a Slasher Horror film. 

This recycled Mecha Anime did have less of a body count than Slashers but it doesn't change the fact that several main characters were always killed in it for unnecessary reasons.

Speaking of Black Lagoon, what will be Black Lagoon's replacement after it ends? 

Chances are great I won't be watching Swimnami for much longer. Compared to 30 minutes, I have surprisingly been watching at least 90 minutes of the block lately. 

Compared to Bleach, Blue Exorcist, and Black Lagoon, will future franchises be just as good or completely insufferable to watch?  

Since Bleach is ending in the fall and Dragon Ball Kai is premiering near the same time, I predict that Dragon Ball Kai will be Bleach's replacement. 

Some of us cringe at the thought of this happening. Don't get me wrong, Bleach has been run its course. At the same time, we don't want to look at a shitty acquisition as Bleach's replacement. 

Besides, Adult Swim needs more space for shorter franchises rather than constantly airing perennial Shonen Jump Action Anime for teenagers and highly impressionable adults with Peter Pan Syndrome.

Countless times I have said there should be more Seinen, Josei, and Shojo Anime on Adult Swim. 

I can't help emphasizing that Adult Swim as a whole should have more variety, especially on Saturday nights for MATURE adults rather than ALWAYS pandering to an Incel only demographic.

If Jason DeMarco buys another short Seinen Anime, I pray to God that it's BETTER than Deadman Wonderland. 

Deadman Wonderland In A Nutshell By Terribad Anime Review (2012):

Okay, is it just me or does Terribad sound like Klaus from American Dad? I'm just saying.

I couldn't sit through the first 5 minutes of watching Deadman Wonderland without LEAVING my bedroom to come back online. 

The network should try acquiring the rights to Another. Another is a Seinen Horror Murder Mystery Anime based on the novel of the same name. 

Unlike Deadman Wonderland, Another is NOT  centered around a crybaby protagonist with mindless violence.

Because Jason DeMarco and his Toonami  Team on Adult Swim are so determined to air ONLY Action Anime, I would personally love to see more Horror Action, Supernatural, and Martial Arts Anime meant for the ADULT  demographic and NOT  teenagers. 

Even though Beelzebub IS another Shonen Jump Action Anime, it's not the stereotypical Shonen Jump theme and lasts for only 1 year. Regardless, it's still an Anime worth Adult Swim buying and could challenge Toonami viewers.

Beelzebub definitely needs an English Dub. It's a Supernatural Shonen Jump Action Anime, with Martial Arts, Romance, and more risqué Comedy

The protagonist Tatsumi Oga is considered to be "the strongest juvenile deliquent," during his high school freshman year at Ishiyama High School. 

Ishiyama is a high school specifically for juvenile delinquents. 

The series begins with Tatsumi explaining to his friend, Takayuki Furuichi about him (Tatsumi) sleeping by a river, while seeing a man float down it. 

Tatsumi pulls the man to shore but the man splits open. The man's open body reveals Beelzebub. 

Beelzebub- the Demon Lord's baby boy. Beelzebub was sent to Earth to find a human to raise him, while destroying humanity. 

Hilda- Beelzebub's maid, who informs Tatsumi Oga that he chose Tatsumi as his father, while living on Earth. 

Beelzebub electrocutes Tatsumi as he cries, whenever Tatsumi moves so many feet away from him. His crying is so dangerous that Tatsumi is forced to carry him everywhere. 

Tatsumi even fights other juvenile delinquents with Beelzebub clinging to his body!

If you enjoy watching Shonen Martial Arts Comedy Anime and don't care if it's in Japanese with English subtitles, I recommend watching this series.

Beelzebub Japanese Trailer/Preview (2012):

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Guess What? Astrologer Patrick Arundell Helped Me Dodge An Astro-Taroh Scam!!!

How's it going lurkers? Last month, I meant to publish a review about my favorite YouTube astrologers and tarotists, but I never had the chance. 

Speaking of the preceding, YouTube vlogger/astrologer, Patrick Arundell saved me from an astro-tarotist scam 2 summers ago! 

We have even been Facebook friends for the last 2 years. Slightly over 3 years ago, I met this so-called "psychic" astro-tarotist named "Jenna Your Astrologer." 

For years, I have questioned who I was in a past life/lives (reincarnation). I swear, I must've been a groupie or something in a past life. 

Sometimes when I listen to certain bands from the 1960's and '70s, especially bands like The Doors, it feels nostalgic, somewhat like I already existed in the past when I was born in '82.

In 2011, I was in the middle of searching on Google for information about who I was in a past life/lives. The astrological searches on Google became distractions. Suddenly, "Jenna Your Astrologer" appeared in my Google search. 

On "Jenna's" site, "she" claimed to give readings about past lives, birth charts, astrological forecasts, etc. "She" gave me some highly convincing free readings. 

According to "Jenna," "she" claimed that I would start working at a certain date (which changed each time). 

"She" kept pressuring me by saying that I needed to "take action" by paying for a reading, claimed a certain someone and I would be "reunited," and have this "long lasting," romantic relationship, etc.

Surely as you read this blog, you're all probably rolling your eyes and laughing at me. 

If you actually met someone, who was capable of explaining your ENTIRE personality traits, quirks, and qualities to perfection and your past life stages to you without EVER knowing each other, you would probably be convinced that he/she was a psychic. 

For the most part, I didn't know as much about astrology and tarot card readings as I do now. I didn't know about astrologers using our personal birth charts for each astrological sign. This doesn't bother me in the slightest. 

However, "JENNA" infuriates me because "she's" the type of astrological scammer, who pressures people like some bill collector for a payment, while claiming to be a "psychic."

In 2011, I was already emotionally vulnerable and insecure. 2011 was the year of my 10-year high school reunion. Before my reunion, I had the pressure of finding a new job. 

I was broke as a joke. I didn't want to be reunited with high school assholes bragging about being entrepreneurs, business owners, CEO's, doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. 

Also, I didn't want to be reunited with a pretty boy quitarist I fell madly in love with (and never completely got over like I originally thought), be potentially married to someone else. 

Then, I learned about a dark, traumatic secret, that a family member hid for decades. Suddenly, it triggered my traumatic memories to be awakened. There was something traumatic from my high school senior year, which happened to me that I forgot. 

It felt as if I was suffering from a nervous breakdown behind closed doors. Next, I began having nightmares about a potential massacre happening at my reunion. 

The nightmare felt more like a premonition, which was partly why I originally refused to attend our reunion. Long story short, I ended up having to co-host it UNFORTUNATELY.

Meanwhile, "Jenna" helped create more chaos for my life, 3 years ago. "She" pressured me like a bill collector to pay "her." In addition, "Jenna" made me believe that I could be reunited and have a "long lasting relationship" with somebody, who wants NOTHING to do with me!

Then, 2 birthdays ago, I sent "Jenna" a $60 check for my reading. After paying "her," I read the complete reading "she" did for me. NOTHING that "Jenna" said in "her" reading sounded compatible and/or realistic about my supposed future profession and love life.

I said that exact same thing to "her." Suddenly, "Jenna" verbally attacked and accused me of "taking advantage of her." Later, I realized that I forgot to write my signature on "her" check to FRANCE.

All the while, I contacted Patrick Arundell online in order to get a 2nd opinion. I remember him telling me that he disliked "Jenna's" approach to readings. This was followed by Google eventually posting links about "Jenna" being a scam artist. Look! ----->

When I originally stumbled upon "Jenna" 3 years ago, none of this EVER appeared in my Google searches. Had I known this 3 years ago, I would've left "Jenna" alone.

Here's the real kicker! "Jenna's" not even the astro-tarotist's real name! "She" happens to be A MAN! Basically, "Jenna" is a FAKE "psychic" astro-tarotist.

I have Patrick Arundell to thank for giving me a 2nd opinion. He advised me to cancel my money from being withdrawn. 

Unlike the fake "psychic" astro-tarotist Jenna, Patrick has credibility as a friend and an astrologer. 

He posts both weekly and monthly astrological vlogs on his own YouTube channel and website. Lately, I haven't been as active on Patrick Arundell's website like I used to be. 

Although, I will say that I enjoyed playing with his free online tarot cards and reading his daily, weekly, monthly, and annual astrological forecasts. 

Patrick's site is very useful and he does NOT claim to be a "psychic." 

I frequently visit his YouTube channel, as well as several other YouTube vloggers', astrologers', and tarotists' channels and websites. 

If you want to learn more about Patrick Arundell, you can contact him on Facebook, YouTube, and his website in the preceding bold links! This can't be said for "Jenna."

I hope this blog helps more people to NOT fall victim to "Jenna Your Astrologer!"

Monday, April 28, 2014

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns: Q&A #1

How's it going my gumdrops? I have been in the middle of updating 2 of my previously published Q&A blogs on my website, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. 
 
Since I have been experiencing glitches and because the original version had a large amount of content, the Q&A blogs are being transferred to Blogger.

This Q&A blog was originally published on April 28th, 2014.

How's it going my gumdrops? As you already know, I mentioned last week, that I would publish my Q&A blog today on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Here are the questions, that I've answered:

Mimikoko's Question: I was always curious about your Asian Studies. I fell head over heals in love with girlie J pop a few years ago and, a while later, with K pop. I was wondering how it was you came into Asian Studies and if you have managed to use any part of that in your daily activities or making a living.

Answer: I was exposed to Japanese in 6th grade. My middle school teachers taught 6th graders different languages each quarter. 

Once I started taking Japanese, I loved it. Japanese is a great challenge and a unique language. 

I took my 1st entire year of Japanese in 7th grade and I continued all throughout high school. Some of my high school classmates labeled me "The Curve Breaker" because I almost always broke our classroom's curve. 

Not that my peers couldn't learn Japanese. They reveled in being self-entitled, juvenile delinquents and making our teachers cry. 

They were such terrors, that our teachers annually quit. My classmates did this non-stop for 5 years (7th-11th grade). By the time of my senior year, Japanese was removed from my high school. However, I took the initiative to contact 1 of our Japanese teachers and I took Japanese as an Independent Study. 

During my adolescence, I wanted to become a Japanese Consecutive Translator/Creative Writer.

I took Spanish, German, and Japanese, during my college years. However, I always excelled in Japanese. I attended 3 colleges by the time I was 20 years old. At 20, I became a Radio DJ and hosted my own college radio show (All Things Frightening), while attending UW-Parkside full-time and Carthage College part-time, simultaneously.

Then, I completely transferred to Carthage College for the Japanese Major. At the last minute, I was forced to change my major to Asian Studies because the Japanese Major required students to study abroad for 6-12 months. I could not afford to study abroad. 

During that time, we had 2 deaths in my immediate family, my grandmother had a Triple Heart Bypass Surgery, and I acquired a severe bleeding disorder, which I have been cured of these last 3 years.

Anyway, having an Asian Studies Degree, I can become an Academic Advisor, Journalist, Writer, Teacher, Translator, work in Sociology, Politics, and even Media. It really depends on what he/she wants to do with a degree in Asian Studies.

In addition to learning the Japanese language, I learned about Japanese and Asian cultures and religions. IL has more Japanese people and companies than here in WI, which puts me at a disadvantage. 

Regardless, I can still use my Asian Studies Degree, since I learned about other Asians, their histories, cultures, religions, architectures, and art.

Victor Da Silva's Questions:

1) What are your thoughts on the actor, who plays TOM (Steve Blum) from the animation block, Toonami? Had you ever heard of him outside of shows you like? If so, do you have a personal agenda against him or had you not seen the shows he was on, aside from the elephant in the room, Cowboy Bebop? Have you ever met him at an Anime convention in your area or were you too busy with other things?

Answer: I have nothing against Steven Jay Blum. I like and respect him as a voice actor. No, I have never met him or attended any conventions. 

I didn't know, who Blum was until Scryed aired on Adult Swim, 10 years ago. Back then, I was in college and barely had time, much less privacy. 

I never liked Cowboy Bebop and I still cannot understand the hype. Steven Jay Blum has voiced many characters over the years. I miss him as Orochimaru on Naruto and Naruto Shippuden.

2) If you were to unintentionally meet Jason DeMarco in real life and had one thing to say, what would you tell him and why do you need to see him face to face?

Answer: I don't need to see Jason DeMarco in person. I can take or leave him. However, if I bumped into him, I would ask, "Will you ever acknowledge your female audience again, or are you going to keep ignoring as being a part of your viewer ratings?"

Marie Moore's Question: Why don't you put up any pictures of yourself?

Answer: This has been a common question over these last 3 years. I have endured trolls, cyber stalkers, opportunists, and creeps on social networking sites and forums within the last 2-4 years.

In fact, 4 years ago, I belonged to SOAPnet's General Hospital sub-forum. A troll, who has Fibromyalgia, had the audacity to make a mock prayer thread about my disabled mother. This was literally 1 day after my mother was released from the hospital.

My mother collapsed from strong medication, that her quack doctor prescribed and had a seizure. Not only that, but the poster also accused me of having a Facebook account. 

Her friend IMPERSONATED me on Facebook and claimed, that I insulted that troll with Fibromyalgia behind her back.

4 years ago, I didn't have a Facebook account. I did NOT  make my account, until 3 years ago. It was originally to reconnect with high school friends and classmates, since our 10-year class reunion was approaching. I purposely use my high school pseudonym and pre-blocked past trolls, stalkers, slanderers, high school bullies, frenemies, opportunists, cat callers, womanizers, exes, and simply people I can't stand. 

I bet I have 1,000 people on my block list.

I especially endure cat callers and random creeps inboxing me for nudie pics, cyber sex, etc. Besides, I am not somebody, who requires a gajillion selfies, and I'm surely not desperately seeking validation about my sexiness like most people (typically women) today.

Since the time I was a teenager, I always hid from cameras. My birth name is on my Horror-Punks URL. Yesterday, some creep on Vivaldi.net cat called my old Yahoo avatar.

Jesse Steele's Question: Have you ever met any famous people in real life? If so, who are they?

Answer: Yes, I've met Elaine Browne (a former Black Panther) and Charlie Murphy (Eddie Murphy's brother). 

The Dave Chappelle cast was at Carthage College doing their stand-up comedian tour, 10 years ago. 

Also, Def Comedy Jam's Tony Tone did a skit about me 8 years ago, in his stand-up.

He joked about my Demonia boots. My boots have a Steampunk/Fetish Goth appearance. Tone called me "Bigfoot from Wauwatosa" and claimed, that me and my college female friend could supposedly end the war in Iraq with her hat and my boots.

The month after we met Tony Tone, we met Eric Nieves. Because his show was just before Valentine's Day my college senior year, he asked us women in the audience what qualities we looked for in men. I shouted, "HE'S GOTTA HAVE ALL HIS TEETH!!!"  Eric did a spit take of his water on stage, while laughing at me.

I have met several comedians, political, and public figures in person. I almost met Jamie Kennedy my college senior year but my guy friend made me late.

I waited for my friend to return to campus, before Jamie did his stand-up. I was early for the stand-up but it was too late to meet him, before his show.

Thepowerman187's Question: In less than 700 words or so, tell us why you write the stories you do?

Answer: I write short stories that I believe other readers would be interested in reading. Some stories are about my past experiences, as well as other people's. I even add some twists to my stories to make them more appealing. 

The more I think about it, my work is mostly for the young adult audience, who enjoy reading Semi-Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Horror, and Thriller.

My grandmother nitpicks about my non-"Christian" short stories because she's more of a Legalistic Christian. Meanwhile, my mother doesn't really care about what I write, as long as it's entertaining.

isolateX's Question: I notice you have more than one account to put out your work and recruit followers. What is your goal concerning all these accounts (not sure how many you have)? Is it to get your writing recognized? Will you be making another account like It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns or are you just satisfied with that one? Also, do you have any books written?

Answer: Please read It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' main page. I explain more about myself and my chapbook. 

I have multiple accounts and It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns is mostly for writing exposure. I don't have all my stories shared on here. Although, I do have "Across The Street" posted on my "Horror/Thriller" page.

Only members can read it. My blogs are mostly public. Meanwhile, I don't plan on making another website, right now. I spend 8 HOURS managing It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns alone.

Anonymous Questions:

1) If you were dating someone, and one of your former friends was harassing them, would you tell them to back off, even if your partner had already blocked them? Would you still tell them to back off just to basically show your support to your partner?

Answer: Yes, I would. I would also block the frenemy afterward. 

The block list is my biggest Cyber BFF. It's also what I like to call my Cyber Shit List. I have more people on my block list than I do "friends." I don't care to be everyone's friend. This is especially when there are so many crybabies and temperamental flakes online.

2) Would you continue to date someone even if you loved them but your personalities constantly clashed and you felt unfulfilled at times?

Answer: No, I have done the toxic relationships too many times, when I was in my 20's. 

The constant fighting and dating somebody with jealousy issues is exhausting. That's not including dating someone, who's lifestyle, views, and interests are completely incompatible. The whole "opposites attract" is a myth.

If opposites really attract, why are there so many people, who are divorced and/broken up today?

People DON'T  have to date someone, who is exactly like them but if their lifestyles, views, personalities, and interests always clash, it's exceedingly rare, that those relationships will be long lasting.

3) What are your biggest pet peeves?

Answer: I could make a laundry list of my pet peeves. I am notorious for my complaints around family and old college friends. What's been annoying me most recently are a few things:

1. I'm tired of dealing with people, who are my friends on Monday. Then, on Tuesday, they're not only because I said something they dislike.

2. This somewhat applies to people, who get defensive about something incredibly petty and

3. people, who love being in denial about their own pasts or what their asshole friends have said and/done. 

Regardless if it has nothing to do with me, people really need to stop sweeping everything under the rug and acknowledge their faults. NOBODY is perfect, but it does not mean we should NOT acknowledge our own faults.

4. Pretending to support me and my website. If readers choose NOT  to join my website, that's their personal right. They're always welcome to visit the Guestbook on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.

At the same time, false supporters should NOT  be surprised, when I do NOT support their views, hobbies, lifestyles, attend their events, "Like" every selfie (whether they are drunk or sober in it) they post online, and whatever else they say or do.

5. People drunk dialing and/or inboxing me and expect me to not be aggravated. I hated whenever boozehounds drunk dialed me in college, when I was in the middle of sleeping. 

It is even more obnoxious now, that I am in my 30's and there are boozehounds (usually men) inboxing and arguing with me online, while I am in the middle of doing something and have already been warned.

I don't care how drunk they are. It only shows me and other people, that they can't handle their own liquor and/or lives. 

Then, after their family, friends, co-workers, bosses, etc. lose respect for them, they want to whine.

Whenever I drank, I was NEVER drunk. At the most, I was buzzed. Most people today only drink just to have an excuse to get drunk and rely on their liquid courage to say what they really feel about something or someone. I don't waste time dealing with drunken, cowardly, zombies.

This is it for Q&A blog #1. Stay tuned for the next Q&A!