It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns Q&A 2017 {Part 2}

How's it going my gumdrops? Looks like more readers were interested in yesterday's Q&A blog. This is fantastic. I spent all last week working on these Q&A blogs mainly yesterday's. Hopefully, new readers learned something informative.

In case you missed yesterday's Q&A, you can read it HERE.

Song Saturday will resume on September 30th and Cartoon Sunday on October 1st. 

Speaking of cartoons, I think about how younger Millennials and Generation Z got shafted as children sometimes.

Younger Millennials and Generation Z don't necessarily know what it was like as children to watch all their favorite cartoons on local networks in a block before going to school in the morning, racing home to watch all their favorite cartoons after school, and watching more of them on Saturday and Sunday mornings. 

By the time I attended high school during the late '90s, most local channels removed cartoons and other programming for minors.

More families began paying for cable and local programming for children and teenagers was replaced with Court and Daytime Talk Shows.

In 1996, Cartoon Network became nationwide on cable, as opposed to remaining in only SELECT cities in certain states. Then, 1 year later, the network launched Toonami. 

Local networks stopped caring about their younger viewers because all their programming was sent to cable. Basically, children's local programming became obsolete.

Those same local networks assumed that everybody had cable 20 years ago, just like most people today assume that everyone has Internet access and want to watch online streams of shows rather than watching TV. 

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns Q&A 2017 [Part 2]

Today is Part 2 of my Q&A blog. Because there was only 1 last person to ask me a question, today's Q&A is all about answering Victor's question. He asks:

I have found a recent rare interview with Stuart Snyder from 2017. I have been listening to the podcast and it's a very interesting insect on the man himself. 

What are your thoughts about this podcast? Here's a link to it:

WGN Radio: The Business Behind Cartoons

Victor, I listened to this podcast last Sunday night. From the sounds of the podcaster, she seemed to be gushing over her interview with Stuart Snyder. 

It is understandable why she would be because he is best known for running Cartoon Network. 

However, this is the SAME man, who is notorious for DESTROYING Cartoon Network by launching boy-centric Reality TV Shows and sexist programming in general as Toonami's replacement, 9 years ago.

For Snyder to say, that Toonami tanked in the ratings, it was mostly due to airing some of the WORST Action Anime, the network could find.

Last I remembered, Stuart Snyder was and still is the most hated president of Cartoon Network. 

Who in their right mind wanted to sit through watching something as low brow as Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo? 

I mean, really? C'mon! Even One Piece isn't that dumb.

Not that I was severely heartbroken over Toonami's cancellation like most fans were. I always cherry picked, which cartoons I watched from both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

The podcaster and Stuart Snyder did make some valid points about Cartoon Network needing to air more child friendly cartoons. 

At the same time, Snyder RUINED quality animation with his tendency to air the most dimwitted cartoons such as Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack.

You may be rolling your eyes, scoffing, and thinking, "This is coming from the same lady, who still thinks Beavis and Butt-Head is hilarious." 

See, there's the whole "so stupid, that it is hilarious." Then, there is mind numbingly stupid, that you can feel your IQ dropping kind of stupid.

It also did not help that by 2005, Cartoon Network started airing more live action movies. It was named "Cartoon Network" for a reason. Cartoon Network and Adult Swim should return to airing animation ONLY.

Both networks are mostly garbage programming. Therefore, more people both young and old are forced to watch online streams of shows. If Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and all cable/satellite networks still had some level of integrity left, they would stop patronizing, insulting, dumbing down, politicizing, and dictating what viewers want to watch.

I believe more viewers would spend less time watching shows online and more time watching TV again, if creators tried being original. When I say original, I mean stop remaking/rebooting classic shows ad nauseam and come up with their own ideas.

How about TV networks and Hollywood entertainers make entertainment FUN, again?

Victor, I hope I answered your question. 

This concludes It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' 2017 Q&A blog. Let me know what you think! 

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns Q&A 2017 {Part 1}

 

How's it going my gumdrops? Today is the 4th anniversary of me building as well as launching It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Throughout these last 4 years, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns has been through numerous changes.

Last week, I had my friend, DJ Scott from Horror-Punks.net make some alterations to the home page design. There is now a bat laying dead next to the dead unicorn, while a crow is flying in the company of those hailing gumdrops.

Once again like last year, there have been lesser questions for me to answer. As I went through your questions, I noticed this year is also more like a so-called "Sausage Party." This really should not be a surprise to me.

Since the time of being a Radio DJ at WIPZ in 2002, my audience was ALWAYS male-dominated. 

It always felt as if my hobbies, interests, and views hardly ever resonated with most women. It has been this way for YEARS. 

Typically, I have more in common with men than with women. Most men were usually more loyal to me than women were, in the platonic sense. 

They still are today. If this does NOT say something, it really should.

Regarding the amount I questions I have answered from subscribers these last 2 years, just because I have less to answer now, doesn't necessarily mean other people don't have any questions. Quantity is not always quality.

Anyway, to celebrate the 4th anniversary of It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, here are the questions I answered:

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns 2017 Q&A [Part 1:]

Jesse: I have received new e-mail notifications about the new Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs, but they're invisible on this website. I can't find them and don't know why. Am I the only one with this problem?

Answer: No, Jesse you were NOT  the only person having these problems. As of 2 days ago, you should be able to see the newest blogs on the main page.

Whenever I send new e-mail notifications, I send shortened weblinks for you to copy and paste. Those same links send you directly to those blogs. Here are the latest blogs:

Cartoon Sunday: Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado [OMG! HE TALKS!] (2015)

Song Saturday: Tristania's My Lost Lenore (2017)

Donald's Questions:

1) In what way do you think you have grown as a content creator?

2) What would you do differently, if you were given the chance to go back and alter your course?

3) With the knowledge you have accumulated over the years, what would be your words of advice for other aspiring content creators?

My Answers:

1) During the '90s, only the "computer geeks" had their own websites. Now, it is important for us entrepreneurs and entertainers to have our own sites for gaining exposure.

Technology has advanced immensely, over the last 3 decades. It continues to do so. Today anyone can build his/her own site whether having a degree in Graphic Design, Computers, or not.

Over these last 4 years, I've learned so much as a content creator. Before ever building a site, I was not the most tech savvy. Had someone told me 20 years ago, that I would build my own website to blog on it in the future, I would've scoffed, rolled my eyes, and dismissed it.

I learned how to build It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns by watching Webs.com's YouTube tutorials. I continue to learn something new everyday.

2) Since the time The Xanga Team dumped their own money problems on us and caused division within the community in 2013, I have REALLY struggled to generate national and international traffic to my blogs these last 4 years.

After learning what I know now, I should've joined Xanga 10 YEARS or so before the original website shut down and relaunched on WordPress, years ago. Like most Xangans, I miss Xanga 1.0 as well.

I really should've learned how to build my own website MUCH sooner in 2013, while gaining more subscribers for an e-mail list, after the original announcement about Xanga shutting down. It would've been so much better than joining a highly divisive, flaky, and temperamental blogging community like Blogster.

Song Saturday was the best quality about Blogster. Otherwise, that community is a standoffish, Baby Boomer dominated community with a high turnover of bloggers.

3) Like I have said countless times in the past, you have to really love what you do. This is similar to being that so-called "starving artist." If you are PASSIONATE about building your own website and publishing your content, it takes a LOT  of time, energy, patience, and usually money.

If you are only building your own website for the sake of status and vanity, DON'T waste yours and OTHER people's time social climbing, copycatting, and acting like a pretentious, attention whore because you saw someone like yours truly with a site.

Yes, somebody else can always build your website or whatever it is, that you want for you. 

However, once I learned how to build It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns by watching tutorials on YouTube, I have a much greater pride, appreciation, and respect for the professionals, that get paid to build websites. Also, I find it fun learning as I go with managing this website because I discover something new everyday.

DJ Scott's Questions:

1) What is your favorite Beavis and Butt-Head episode and why

2) What is your favorite new animation and why?

My Answers:

1) You asked 2 hard questions. Even as a woman in my mid-30's, I still laugh my ass off watching Beavis and Butt-Head.

There was 1 particular episode of Beavis and Butt-Head, which showed Butt-Head throwing the trash can at Beavis and knocking him unconscious. My other favorite episode is "Take A Number."

"Take A Number" featured Beavis and Butt-Head at a Rock concert. It had 2 female characters with the same traits as them. Although, this is my favorite scene:

{My Favorite Scene}: Beavis and Butt-Head "Take A Number" (1995)

That scene NEVER gets old!

2) Honestly, I don't have any right now, UNLESS American Dad counts on TBS. Most of my time is spent hunting for animation to share for Cartoon Sunday blogs, that I find on YouTube, if not something from Japan like an Anime. Adult Swim does not air too many cartoons I want to watch, unless they are cartoons on the weekends.

Marquis DeBlood: What started your obsession with Anime?

Answer: I am not nearly as obsessed with Japanese animation as I used to be. When I did marathon Anime years ago, I still watched a wide variety of animation and I love sharing some of that variety in Cartoon Sunday blogs.

During the mid-80's as a toddler, I was already exposed to Japanese animation. It started with the Mecha Anime, Robotech. This was YEARS before Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, the Toonami block, Chiller TV, Syfy, and other cable/satellite networks were launched.

It was not until the early 21st Century, that Anime (also known as "Japanimation" during the '90s), reached its pinnacle.

Originally, Anime was scarce on TV, at video stores, and the Internet. That was until more cable networks took an interest in them. It wasn't until 11-12 years ago, that I discovered other types of Anime genres and sub-genres existed for different sexual orientations, age, and gender demographics.

Shonen Jump Action Anime have been the most popular for the last 20-30 + years in The West. That's what is normally shown on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. They ignore other genres, sub-genres, female, and age demographics.

At Carthage College, I wrote my Junior Symposium on Shojo Anime and Manga. 

Creative Writing, Sociology, Japanese Culture, Language, History, and Religion were all covered in my symposium.

Most of my favorite primetime shows were canceled and had series finales, 10-11 years ago. This was especially when shows I really invested in were constantly being canceled. After graduating in 2006, I discovered there was a plethora of Anime online for fans to watch.

Between 2006 to 2010, I took a so-called "pause" from most primetime shows and marathoned online streams of Anime. In addition, I started watching more of it on Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Fuse TV, Colours TV, IFC, SciFi, Starz, and wait for it... Chiller TV. 

After those networks stopped airing Anime except for Adult Swim, I continued to stream it online. 

Over these last 5 years, I am far behind on the latest Anime titles which released in Japan. 

Because you are a Horror fan like yours truly, I believe you would really enjoy the Horror Anime genre.

This concludes Part 1 of this Q&A blog. I am really surprised to see there were no Horror or music questions asked. Tomorrow, I will continue with Victor's question.