Showing posts with label Cartoon Sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cartoon Sunday. Show all posts

Saturday, September 23, 2017

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.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Cartoon Sunday: John R. Dilworth's The Dirdy Birdy

How's it going my gumdrops? Did you enjoy yesterday's Song Saturday Tribute to the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park and Stone Temple Pilots? If so, let me know.

Meanwhile, I am sharing something a little different from the usual for this Cartoon Sunday. How many of you are familiar with John R. Dilworth? 

The actor, writer, director, animator, and producer is also known as "Dilly." "Dilly" is best known for the Animated Horror Comedy, Courage The Cowardly Dog. 

I find it is strange that no one credits the cable network, Nickelodeon. Several years before Courage The Cowardly Dog aired on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon aired it.

In fact, I remember channel surfing and stumbling upon Courage The Cowardly Dog on Nickelodeon, when I was in 6th grade. That was more than 20 years ago. 

Quite a few shows meant for children, which started airing on Cartoon Network WERE originally from Nickelodeon.

The TV series based on R.L. Stine's anthologies for Goosebumps aired on Nickelodeon, before Cartoon Network acquired it, is another example.

I remember Courage The Cowardly Dog airing on Nickelodeon years before Cartoon Network acquired it. 

Even though I was never a fan of the cartoon during my adolescence, there will be some man-child 1 generation younger than yours truly, discrediting me about something they were not old enough to comprehend, much less watch.

Unlike younger Gen Y and Zers, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, etc. were NOT  a part of my childhood or adolescence.

Watching Saturday Morning Cartoons and cartoons that aired on local channels everyday was how I grew up.

During the 1980's to mid-90's, cartoons used to air on local channels at least 5 days a week. 

On weekdays, cartoons aired on local channels in the mornings and afternoons. By 1992, I had already reached puberty and most cartoons meant for kids did not resonate with me as a pre-teen.

By 1994, I started watching the Liquid Television Animation block on MTV and Anime on The Sci Fi Channel. In '94, I stopped watching local channels for animation.

MTV and Sci Fi had more mature content in their animation that I wanted to watch. 

Cartoon Network and other networks aired more immature cartoons for pre-schoolers, kindergarteners, and elementary school children. 

Much like PBS's programming meant for kids, I found their content to be highly patronizing, especially as an adolescent. 

Some of you already know about me watching the Liquid Television Animation block. 

Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria, The Maxx, The Head, Celebrity Deathmatch, Aeon Flux, etc. were popular, during my adolescence.

The Cartoon Sushi block succeeded Liquid Television by 1997 on MTV. During the mid to late 1990's and early 21st Century, I was an adolescent, when MTV aired these cartoons. This was years before Adult Swim was ever launched.

By 1997, the local networks had replaced cartoons with Court TV and Daytime Talk Shows. These local networks assumed every household by that time had basic cable channels like Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, etc.

Truth be told, every household did NOT  have a basic cable package.

Because today's blog mostly focuses on MTV, the network's cartoon blocks, its cartoons from the 1990's, and briefly mentions John R. Dilworth's Courage The Cowardly Dog, it's only fair to share a cartoon, which briefly aired on MTV.

Have you ever watched John R. Dilworth's "The Dirdy Birdy"?

"The Dirdy Birdy" was a 7-minute animated short, which aired on MTV during the early 1990's. 

The short features a hostile cat (Fergurina) and the obnoxious bird (Purdy) sitting in a tree.

If you did NOT  know any better, you would swear that Purdy was the equivalent of an online troll sexually harassing Fergurina. 

Purdy is in love with Fergurina and expresses his affection for her. The bird's affections consists of MOONING her. The Grim Reaper also makes his cameo appearance.

Talk about an obnoxious creep! No wonder why the cat turns into a monster. 

Never in all my years have I ever seen a bird moon a cat in a tree or a cat transform into such a ferocious monster. This is surely a sight to behold!

Rather than explaining every detail of this abstract short, which used to air on MTV, it is much better for you to independently watch it, right now.

John R. Dilworth "The Dirdy Birdy" (1993)

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Cartoon Sunday: Christopher Christensen's The Stone Wall

How's it going my gumdrops? Since so many of you enjoyed those Animated Horror Shorts that I shared 2 weeks ago from Axeman Cartoons, I have another creepy short to share with you all. 

In case you missed 10 Two Sentence Horror Stories for Cartoon Sunday, you can check it out right HERE.

Today we have Christopher Christensen's poem, "The Stone Wall." "The Stone Wall" was illustrated by YeahManTV, while Let's Read narrated this creepy piece.

If you have an appreciation for Textured Art with abstract spirals, Dr. Seuss, and Edgar Allan Poe, "The Stone Wall" may be right up your alley. I'll admit to being automatically biased, when it comes to abstract spirals in the animation.

The spirals remind me of some of the work I did in high school for Art Class. Also, I did something similar to this type of Textured Art, when the band, KoRn held their album cover contest before releasing their 4th album, Issues in 1999. 

It sucks that I didn't win the the album cover contest. Then again, Issues wasn't that great of a KoRn album. The first 3 will always be their best albums as well as their 5th album, Untouchables. Well, I digress.

As I watched "The Stone Wall," it reminded me of Dr. Seuss meets Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask Of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart." This is along with a SMIDGE of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown."

If you never had the opportunities to read any of these short stories in high school or in college, you should read them now.

Listening to Christensen's "The Stone Wall" made me notice, that the protagonist in this creepy poem has a serious drinking problem. 

He drank an entire bottle of wine and is probably using some kind of a hallucinogenic drug.

If mixing hallucinogenic drugs with wine is NOT  the problem, the protagonist must be drunk from trying to drink away his guilty conscience about something. 

The Goat Man must represent his guilty conscience, possibly about his alcoholism, which he chooses to deny.

As far as the stone wall goes, it could POSSIBLY represent the protagonist's alcoholism which is acting as a barrier between issues he has and the fact that he chooses not to acknowledge them. Anything is possible at this rate with this poem.

"The Stone Wall" is the type of creepy poem, that really makes you think hard. The animation, illustration, and narraton for this poem, helped to add character to the protagonist, The Goat Man, and the overall story being told in the poem.

Some of you might be irritated by my psychoanalysis of Christopher Christensen's "The Stone Wall." I can't help paying attention to both the narration and illustrations for this poem. Both have this ability to make us really think.

Rather than explaining my perception of this creepy poem, I highly recommend watching "The Stone Wall" for yourself and judging with your own conclusions. 

Anyway, here is Christopher Christensen's "The Stone Wall" for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Christopher Christensen's "The Stone Wall" (2016)

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Cartoon Sunday: Goth Chicks In Animation

Yuuko Ichihara (xxxHolic)

How's it going my gumdrops? Did you enjoy yesterday's Song Saturday blog about The Cure and the Goth Sub-culture in general?

Yesterday, you may recall, that I explained about Goths and the sub-culture on here and on Anime League. For today's Cartoon Sunday, let's revisit the topic of being Goth.

Allow me to acknowledge some Goth female characters in animation. There appears to be more Goth female characters in animation than we have realized. So, with that being said, it's only fair to acknowledge a few of them.

In the illustration above, we have Yuuko Ichihara. The characters in the Seinen Supernatural Horror Comedy Anime, xxxHolic have freaky illustrations.

The characters normally have long, spaghetti legs like Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Like I explained last year, Yuuko Ichihara is a powerful witch, who owns a shop and grants people their wishes. I believe Yuuko is more like a cunning and opportunistic genie.

Most of her jobs consist of dealing with supernatural beings. In case you haven't already, I suggest clicking on the link above Yuuko's picture.

Next, we have Creepy Susie.

Creepy Susie (The Oblongs)


Some of you may remember Angus Oblong's shortly lived cartoon, The Oblongs from The WB. Creepy Susie is supposedly a 10-year-old character from the series.

Most people don't know that The Oblongs was based on Creepy Susie And 13 Other Tragic Tales For Troubled Children. This was a 1999 collection of illustrated short stories written by Angus Oblong.

This young, creepy, Goth Valley Girl is obsessed with death, was born on Halloween, and can tell an animal's gender by the taste of its blood.

Otherwise, there is Germaine Endez.

Germaine Endez (Neurotically Yours)

If you have been subscribed to It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns for the last 3 1/2 years, you KNOW how much I enjoy watching Goth webisodes featuring the slutty Goth-Punk protagonist, Germaine and her pet, squirrel Foamy. 

Who doesn't love Foamy?! That pet squirrel speaks THE TRUTH!

As for Germaine, she has been restyled a plethora of times throughout the decade. This character has been illustrated as fat, skinny, busty, flat-chested, constantly changes hair styles, etc.

The protagonist is a struggling poet/author desperately seeking to be published and works unstable jobs. At the same time, she has an identity crisis and Foamy The Squirrel helps to keep her grounded.

Meanwhile, here are some other Goth female characters, which have been shown in other Anime besides xxxHolic. There is my long-time favorite, Sunako Nakahara.

Sunako Nakahara (The Wallflower)

Despite the fact this homely recluse fears "beautiful people" (mostly attracive men), I love Sunako Nakahara. Sunako is a creepy Goth protagonist that resonates with me on MANY levels. She loves sitting in her bedroom and watching Horror movies ALONE. Sunako's also self-sufficient around the house.
 
I wanted to at least share a gif of The "Goth-Loli Sisters" from The Wallflower, but had no such luck. However, The Goth-Loli Sisters from this Shojo Horror Comedy are NOT  the only Gothic Lolita Anime characters in existence.

In substitution of The Goth-Loli Sisters from The Wallflower, there is Hildegarde from the Shonen Supernatural Action Comedy Anime, Beelzebub.

Hildegarde a.k.a. "Hilda" (Beelzebub)

Hildegarde is the main female protagonist in Beelzebub. She is a Demon Maid, who acts as the "adoptive" mother and nurse of Beelzebub IV. "Baby Beel" is the son of Beelzebub III and Iris and was sent to the Human World.

It has been a few years, since I last streamed this series. Too bad there wasn't another season of Beelzebub. Maybe someday it will get a decent English dub.

Last, but SURELY not the least of an acknowledgement is Saki Hanajima.

Saki Hanajima (Fruits Basket)

 

I have always loved this Fruits Basket character. I can't decide which character is creepier, Saki or her younger brother, Megumi. Both characters have psychic abilities.

When Saki Hanajima is not wearing her high school uniform, she normally wears a black cloak or a veil with her black dresses. I will NEVER forget that scene of her gothing up The Sohmas urinal for New Year's Eve.

Staring at the appalled expression on Shigure Sohma's face was hilarious. Anyway, if you would like to learn more about Goth chicks in animation, check out WatchMojo's choices for Top 10 Animated Goth Girls below.

WatchMojo's Top 10 Animated Goth Girls (2016)

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Cartoon Sunday: Murder Princess OVA 1 Birth

How's it going my gumdrops? I don't know about everyone else, but Anna is exhausted from the nonstop blogging since last week. I am especially exhausted from hunting all around the Internet for this particular Seinen Action Anime.

While posting on Adult Swim last week, an Adult Swim Helper posted a thread asking us posters about OVA's that could marathon on Adult Swim, during the holidays. Most of us are bored with the network marathoning current shows each holiday.

I completely understand, that Toonami wants viewers to catch up on missed episodes of certain titles. However, every viewer doesn't necessarily like a certain show, that is being marathoned as a recap for viewers. This is mostly a stall tactic for Adult Swim.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood will be premiering sometime next month. Since I only watched episode 1 in English Dub, I am waiting for this show to actually premiere on Adult Swim. 

While others will go into cardiac arrest over Samurai Jack getting a 5th season 12 years later, I am waiting for better shows to replace what is currently on the Toonami block.

Like I said earlier, a Swim Helper wanted us to give OVA suggestions to premiere, during the holiday seasons rather than marathoning more recaps. I suggested Murder Princess. This 6-episode OVA would be decent to air, during Halloween.

Chances are highly unlikely, that Murder Princess will air next month for Halloween. Although, Adult Swim could try acquiring the rights to this OVA for next year. 

Having action and monsters in this 6-episode OVA makes it perfect, since Toonami is now an Action block on Adult Swim.

Considering that I am rooting for this OVA, you may want to know, "What is Murder Princess about?"

Murder Princess English Dub Trailer (2009)

 
Murder Princess is a Seinen Action Fantasy OVA about a bounty hunter (Falis) and a princess (Alita) accidentally transferring bodies, while fleeing the land of Foreland. 
 
The scientist Dr. Akamashi stages a coup d'état in the Foreland Kingdom, which kills Princess Alita's father in the process.

After the king is killed, she flees to find her brother Kaito. While doing so, Princess Alita accidentally knocks Falis off a cliff. The forest guardian beast by the name of Jitterbug killed Alita's entourage of castle guards.

Because Princess Alita and Falis had near death experiences, while they were fleeing the Foreland Kingdom, both had automatically experienced a soul transfer. Once Falis regains consciousness, she realizes that she is in Princess Alita's body, then panics.

This should be summary enough for you. Murder Princess may ONLY be a 6-episode OVA, but it is action-packed. Like I said earlier, I did some major hunting for this OVA. Trying to find the English Dub of Murder Princess was extremely difficult.

From the looks of it, Funimation Entertainment had the dub yanked from YouTube. All the while, the company had no problem uploading episodes in English Subtitles. Leave it up to Funimation to monopolize every Anime in the Anime Industry.

Murder Princess was originally licensed by ADV Films but Funimation Entertainment acquired the rights to this OVA in 2008. 

I believe it was around that time, when ADV Films went out of business. Anyway, here is Murder Princess in Japanese for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Murder Princess OVA 1: "Birth" [English Subtitles] (2007)

Friday, September 23, 2016

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns Q&A 2016 [3rd Anniversary]


How's it going my gumdrops? Today is the day! It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns turns 3, this year! 

After announcing that I would be publishing another Q&A blog for It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' 3rd anniversary, I seriously expected more questions from everyone on here and social media. 

Were you scared? Unsure where to submit your questions? Had no questions to ask? Do you believe you know everything about me (Trust me, you don't!)? OR Do some of you feel extremely indifferent/apathetic about me publishing another Q&A blog?

Lately, I have considered publishing Q&A blogs once a week besides publishing Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs. 

However, I try keeping Q&A blogs for It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' anniversaries like today. I consider these Q&A's as "intimate fall treats."

Some friends think they know EVERYTHING about me, when they really don't. I have always been a very complex and multi-passionate person. Sometimes it can be really difficult to decide if I should publish blogs about more different topics on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, or stay with the current topics.

Before this turns into a long-winded blog of my digressions, here is the Q&A for It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' 3rd anniversary.

Donald Clements' Questions: 

1) Within the blogosphere, who are the people you look up to and why? 

2) How big is your current following, and how has it evolved over the years? 

My Answers:

Donald, these are fantastic questions to have asked me. 

1) Marie Forleo and Tim Ferriss are 2 bloggers and authors I suggest checking out.

Watching, reading, and listening to Marie and Tim will be beneficial to you, if you need self-help, want to become a better writer, blogger, etc. Both are really multi-passionate (like MOI except they are more informative, useful, less moody, and snarky).

You can learn so much from them both, especially Marie Forleo. Marie is motivational and entertaining to watch on Marie TV. I always look forward to a good laugh. 

Meanwhile, I believe I have a little more in common with Tim on different levels. The man is an Anime and Metal fan, which makes him awesome when you are a fan of both. 

Tim Ferriss also has personal experience with overcoming adversity such as dealing with being suicidal, years ago. He turned his life into something positive. 

This is all the more reason to commend Tim Ferriss.

2) My current following is gradually regrowing but it is much like a revolving door.  

Having false support from social climbers, open and closet "haters," and opportunistic friends hurts me and my traffic.

If followers TRIED being more interactive, this would definitely help. I ALWAYS respond to comments day and night.

It has been a major struggle these last 3 years. 

The fact that The Xanga Team was divisive by dumping their money issues into our laps at Xanga 1.0 definitely hurt Xangans, including yours truly. 

The Xanga Team REALLY should've taken out a business loan or so rather than beg us for donations, relocate to WordPress as a platform, THEN make it mandatory to pay to blog.

I cannot count, much less remember all the sites I have joined to generate blog traffic and to rebuild my following over these last 3 years. With that being said, my current following is extremely niche and can be temperamental.

The moment I share my opposing views about something, they leave. If I shared my political views, they would NOT be able to handle it. That's why I stay apolitical.

Danni Darkness Questions:

1) What are the logistics of your website? 

2) What was it like working at a radio station?

My Answers: 

Danni, these are 2 more excellent questions! 

1) Readers/visitors must create an account, read my blogs and excerpts to my short stories, comment, and share them on social media or e-mail to friends.

Meanwhile, I am a 1-woman show. In case you have NOT already done so, you should read last week's Cartoon Sunday blog. 

In the preceding blog, I explained the discussions I had with Jonathan Ian Mathers, last week via Facebook.

Whenever I am working on these blogs, most of my time lately is spent on finding the right picture to upload to this site, in order to capture the topic or theme of my blogs. 

Then, I must decide which links, songs, and videos to share. Afterward, I start blogging.

I work on these blogs, while everyone is asleep in bed throughout the night and early morning. Editing anything always takes the most time. Once I am finished editing, I publish these blogs, type and send out e-mail blasts to all my subscribers, share on Facebook and around the Google Plus communities I have joined.

Sharing around Google Plus takes more effort because I must share my blogs to every social circle to generate page views, traffic, feedback, and followers. It would be so much easier and better, if all my subscribers actually commented on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns and shared these blogs around social media. It's not like Xanga and Blogster where everyone is guaranteed to see these blogs.

2) Since 2002, I have always been a 1-woman show. During Fridays at 4-6pm Central, I hosted All Things Frightening. 

This was while attending and living on campus at UW-Parkside and commuting to Carthage College part-time for Japanese. My show originally broadcasted locally in Kenosha, WI and online. 

Due to FCC regulations, everyone at UW-Parkside's 101.7 WIPZ had to censor music live UNLESS they had a pre-censored CD. 

I usually carried my own CD collections to our campus radio station and played extra albums, that were already on campus.

Sometimes I seriously miss hosting my own radio show. I was able to discover other bands and expose listeners to music, that wasn't always played on traditional radio stations.

Hunter Gibson: Do you have a favorite movie and band?

Answer: Yes, I do and my favorites have always been very broad. 

If only I could narrow them down. As everyone knows, I am a Horror fan hence the Horror page I built with excerpts of my latest short stories.

Re-Animator, the original Carrie, The Crow, The Craft, Child's Play, Beetlejuice, and The Omen instantly come to mind. 

I enjoy movies from several other genres and sub-genres, but I always look forward to watching Horror movies from the 1970's to '90s.

During those decades, Hollywood filmmakers were actually more original and did NOT  remake every movie.

Lately, as for bands, I enjoy... 

Alien Vampires (they are actually an EBM duo), Lacuna Coil circa 1999-2002, Type O Negative, other Goth Rock bands like Bauhaus, Siouxsie And The Banshees. 

Stone Temple Pilots and KoRn from the 1990's were 2 of my favorite bands. So are White Zombie, Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills, Fear Factory, Arch Enemy, Slipknot, and lots more.

Growing up, music especially Metal was my entertainment and my catharsis. Most people young and old do NOT  realize, that the 1990's had the most music genres and sub-genres compared to now. Today it seems as if Pop and Rap Music have merged and ONLY 1 music genre exists.

There are too WAY many bands to think of from the top of my head. I was already drawing blanks with your questions because I really had to think much HARDER. 

Great questions! Even though there were not as many questions from most subscribers this year, the few I did receive were excellent questions. 

Hopefully, there will be more questions similar to these next year for It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' 4th anniversary!

What are your thoughts? Did you like this year's Q&A blog? If so, let me know in the comments section below!

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Cartoon Sunday: Neurotically Yours Programming Conflict [Chibisode]

How's it going my gumdrops? Towards the end of last week, I had the opportunity to talk with Jonathan Ian Mathers (You know the creator of Neurotically Yours and Foamy The Squirrel?) on Facebook. 

Those of you, who LOVE Foamy The Squirrel as much as I do, probably want to ask:

What was it like talking to Jonathan Ian Mathers (JIM)?

Honestly, I have no complaints. I respect the man for his individuality and his artistic ability. We need more people like Jonathan Ian Mathers more than ever, this second. Encountering more individualists like ourselves is like stumbling upon a unicorn.

Most people have no idea what it's like to create something of their own from nothing or to be more innovative. Take Hollywood now, for instance. 

Before we can blink our eyes, filmmakers announce that they are remaking and/rebooting classic movies, cartoons, and shows, that really DON'T  need remakes.

This is partly why I stopped investing time and money on watching, listening, and buying most entertainment.

Hollywood entertainment has become nothing other than garbage 98% of the time today. Only fools will waste their money on garbage. You may say, "One's trash is another one's treasure." Today that old saying barely applies anymore.

Almost everything sucks ass. This is not including the A to F-list celebutards. Over the last 12-15 years, those same know-it-all, zealots continuously patronize everybody and act like self-righteous, "political activists" about everything known to man.

Truth be told, those same people really don't care about much of anything or anyone. That is unless money, being pretentious, materialistic, and worrying about their own self-image to us lowly peasants are at risk.

Like I was saying, I like AND respect Jonathan Ian Mathers for his individuality and his artwork. Not only do I like and respect JIM, but I can also empathize with him for being mostly solo for these last 15 years.

While we were talking last Thursday and Friday, we discussed how saturated content creation is today. Everything has turned into a competition. 

Even JIM has problems reaching viewers like he was able to do years ago. This is mostly because we live in a world where everybody MUST  be seen and heard 24/7, almost every animal and person are "famous" now without notice, shallow and self-centered, attention whores must be told they are "beautiful" and "winners," and everyone IS a winner, now. 

Let's not forget about those uproarious "safe spaces."

Because someone uploads and posts pictures of themselves, their pets, and kids EVERY damn nano second, they are "stars" regardless of how shallow and vapid they truly are as humans and animals.

Meanwhile, content creators must overcome indifference from shallow and VAPID people. More original content with words or other forms of art and entertainment, which doesn't pander to mainstream audiences, are mostly underappreciated and ignored.

This is something I have been coping with over these last 3-5 years. INDIFFERENCE. You would be amazed at the number of people I have reconnected with over the years, who pretended to care about how my life has been and what I am currently doing.

The moment I mention the slightest accomplishment, they will typically want some favors, try social climbing because they expect me to be "famous," or assume I am close to FAME, since I have met and interacted with celebrities, politicians, and public figures.

Otherwise, those same people may become insecure, distant, feel threatened, jealous, resentful, make snide and backhanded remarks, and/transfer and project their own insecurities on me.

If not the preceding, I have to endure friend collectors on social media sites because they want an increase in their viewership for selfies like shallow, high school girls. People like that, I have no time for and had to dump a few over the last week to 5 years.

If you seriously don't care about long lost family, friends, classmates, exes, etc. do NOT waste OUR time by inviting yourselves back into our lives only because YOU want to say, that you know and remember us, then pretend we do NOT exist to you.

Since we were previously on the topic of content creation, Jonathan Ian Mathers also mentioned that he is not really skilled with self-promotion and that social media and other sites want money to promote our content. I understand exactly what he means. 

I am terrible with self-promotion and I don't have the money for someone to promote my content.

Self-promoting on social media is a royal pain in the ass. When you are surrounded by indifferent people, including "friends" on social media, it exacerbates the problem(s). 

In addition, Jonathan Ian Mathers and other content creators on YouTube now have to deal with censorship.

Since the time I was a teenager, I have always been anti-censorship. 

You know, if MORE average people and Hollywood entertainers desperately want to be "activists," they should go back to protesting censorship like entertainers did in 1984.

Tipper Gore and the helicopter moms from 1984 are to blame for the censorship we have today. 

It is also Slick Willy's fault, that we have the V-chip in our TV's. Notice which smarmy politicians made CENSORSHIP official?

*cough-cough* Clinton/Gore *cough-cough*

This is about as political I will get on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. I try to stay as apolitical as possible because most really CANNOT  handle other people with opposing views. All this talk about content creation and censorship is only fitting for this blog.

I believe Jonathan Ian Mathers was intentionally pushing the proverbial envelope with these 2 videos. He is actively exercising his rights to freedom of speech on YouTube. 

Those of you with YouTube channels should be doing the same. Anyway, here is today's Cartoon Sunday.

Foamy The Squirrel "R.I.P. Income: YouTube Ad Revenue Crisis" (2016)

Neurotically Yours: "Programming Conflict" [UNCENSORED] (2016)

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Cartoon Sunday: Tokko

How's it going my gumdrops? So, yesterday I mentioned that I spent last week updating previously published blogs from the last 2-3 years. This includes my Horror Anime Reviews from 2014.

In that blog review, I reviewed a variety of Horror Anime ranging from Psychological Supernatural Horror Mystery Drama, Horror-Action, to SciFi Horror. Those 3 types of Horror Anime sub-genres are mostly meant for Shonen (boys), Seinen (men), and Shojo (girls) demographics.

After publishing my Horror Anime Reviews, I gradually published more blogs about those Horror Anime individually. 

However, I NEVER published an individual blog about the Seinen SciFi Horror Action Anime, Tokko. Today you are in luck.

If you never had the opportunity to watch Tokko, before The SciFi Channel rebranded and was renamed "Syfy" and never saw Tokko on its sister network Chiller TV, today's Cartoon Sunday blog will be beneficial. I have spent a lot of time hunting for decent quality videos for this particular Horror Anime but had very little luck.

YouTube is our last resort. Hulu, Crackle, and OTHER online streaming sites, which have Anime in general did NOT  have Tokko on their lists. This surprised me, especially since Tokko had aired on TV a few times.

In case you don't want to scroll down the review I published 2 years ago, I will share the plot of this Seinen SciFi Horror Action Anime once again. In this particular series, it has more Police Procedural and Supernatural themes to it. 

In Tokko, Ranmaru Shindou graduates from the police academy and is assigned to Tokki. 

Tokki is a Special Mobile Investigation Force.

On the same day of Ranmaru's graduation, he meets a half-naked girl, who he constantly sees in his dreams, named Sakura Rokujo. Sakura happens to work for Tokko.

Tokko is the Special Public Safety Task Force, which is secretly within Tokki.

Eventually, Ranmaru joins Tokko mostly to avenge the death of his parents, and to solve the mass murder mysteries for Machida, Japan's residents. 

Because Tokko is a short series, it has a faster paced storyline. It only has 13 episodes, which makes it 1/2 season. The finale felt more like a cliffhanger.

Originally, I streamed Tokko in Japanese 10 years ago. Then, ~ 1 year later, it was announced that The SciFi Channel was airing Tokko on its Ani-Monday block. 

Several years later, Tokko premiered on Chiller TV's Ani-Monday block. I really miss watching Ani-Monday and Anime Wednesday on Syfy and Chiller TV. 

Both networks kept me watching their selections of Anime, which cannot always be said about Adult Swim's Toonami block.

Now that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood will be premiering on Adult Swim next month, this will give me another Anime to regularly watch. 

You gain some, you lose some. Anyway, here is Tokko for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Tokko Episode 1: "The Awakening" [English Dub] (2006)

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Cartoon Sunday: xxxHolic

How's it going my gumdrops? I watched the premiere of the Shonen Jump Action Anime, Hunter X Hunter, this morning. 

Much like I expected, this series is overrated. I have been reading and hearing about Hunter X Hunter for years on YouTube, social media, and Adult Swim's forum.

I am still REELING over the fact, that Adult Swim replaced Parasyte -The Maxim- with a very prepubescent series.

This is all the more reason why Cartoon Network should've kept Toonami on their OWN network rather than on Adult Swim.

When Adult Swim acquired the Toonami block, it was originally suppose to premiere more mature animation, which would appeal to the ADULT  viewers as opposed to Incels. 

After watching this 2011 remake of Hunter X Hunter, it felt like I was watching Naruto meets One Piece. 

Even though I enjoyed watching the original Naruto years ago on Cartoon Network, I was never a One Piece fan. 

Regardless, Hunter X Hunter does NOT  belong on Adult Swim. It belongs on Cartoon Network. The same thing applies for Samurai Jack.

With the direction Adult Swim is going with their version of Toonami this year, I think I will only watch Naruto Shippuden as a recap, in English. At least Naruto Shippuden has more mature content than Hunter X Hunter.

Adult Swim could've replaced Parasyte with Tokyo Ghoul, but that would've been too logical for Jason DeMarco and the idiots at Adult Swim. Then again, I have to remind myself that the network only acquired the Toonami block to pander to their crybaby fans, who remain stuck on their childhood nostalgia.

Aside from Adult Swim's Toonami, I just started watching xxxHolic last night. This Seinen Supernatural Horror Comedy Anime released, 10 years ago. 

I meant to stream xxxHolic much sooner, but I was always sidetracked with something else. Either I was streaming another series, or there was something else I needed to do.

Here it is a decade later and I am just NOW streaming this series. So far, I have only watched episode 1 and I like xxxHolic. Whenever I saw the billboard advertisements on Anime websites years ago, it automatically made me think about Hell Girl. 

xxxHolic's Yuuko Ichihara somewhat resembles an adult version of Ai Enma from the Hell Girl franchise.

Yuuko Ichihara is a powerful witch, who owns a shop and grants people their wishes. In my opinion, Yuuko seems more like an evil and opportunistic genie. Most of her jobs consist of dealing with supernatural beings.

Meanwhile, the protagonist Kimihiro Watanuki is a teenage boy, who suffers from the ability to see supernatural spirits and monsters. They are better known as "yokai" in Japanese folklore. 

The yokai are only visible to Kimihiro and he looks like a weirdo making a fool out of himself in public.

Eventually, the protagonist literally stumbles upon Yuuko Ichihara's shop and she grants Kimihiro's wish. 

Of course, granting his wish to NOT see anymore yokai has a catch to it. Because Kimihiro has no money to pay for granting his wish, Yuuko makes Kimihiro her part-time chef and housekeeper. In addition, she sends him on supernatural errands.

So far, I like watching xxxHolic. I can't believe it took me literally a decade to finally stream this Anime. 

My goal is to try binge watching xxxHolic as much as possible. With that being said, you have the ability to stream this Seinen Supernatural Horror Comedy Anime in English or Japanese on Hulu. 

You have 2 optional links below. Anyway, here is xxxHolic for today's Cartoon Sunday.

xxxHolic Season 1: Episode 1 (2006) [Japanese]

xxxHolic Season 1: Episode 1 (2006) [English]

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Blogger Is My Alternate


How's it going my gumdrops? You may recall that I published 2 blogs last weekend, on Blogger. Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday are blogs I normally publish on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Webs.com experiences glitches every so often. 

Since I'm already on Blogger, it's only fitting to publish Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs on here, whenever It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns goes down. I will just transfer those same blogs over to my website, after the glitches are over. That's basically what I did both today and yesterday.

Normally, I will share Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs to Blogger from It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Whenever I share those blogs on here, the links will redirect you to my website and vice versa. Isn't that fantastic?!

What would be even more fantastic is if Gen Xers and Millennials both liked, subscribed, shared, +1'ed on Google+, and left your feedback in the comments sections. I am online, during the evenings.

There is NO fee to join It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. The incentive to joining is that you have a chance to read my "Horror" page. That's something outsiders do NOT have access to. Just think about it. 

If you are having trouble with the navigation, here is a blog explaining how to navigate around It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.

http://goo.gl/kmXmUY

Anyway, thank you my gumdrops! I look forward to seeing you all very soon!

~ Anna H. 

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Cartoon Sunday: Foamy The Squirrel Rants About Bullies


How's it going my gumdrops? Yesterday, you may recall that I mentioned last week being rough both on and offline. In regards to cyber space, an Adult Swim poster "peacefully" died in his sleep, during the middle of last week. Some of his friends and other posters have been grieving over his death, whereas some choose to be malicious.

In fact, my number 1 slanderer on Adult Swim went as far as to name drop a racist troll, that he claims the dead poster was supposedly friends with. I don't know if that is really true, considering that it's coming from a slanderous poster, who continues to slander me on Adult Swim. When that dead poster was still alive last year, my slanderer called him "an asshole." Therefore, it's a matter of considering the source, which happens to be a highly glorified slanderer and megalomaniac with a God Complex.

This is along with the fact, that same glorified slanderer continues to down vote troll me and other Adult Swim posters. In case you have NOT already, I suggest reading last year's blog about why you should not join Adult Swim.

Why You Should NOT Join Adult Swim's Message Board

Since we're on the topic of Adult Swim, it has been confirmed that a new Seinen SciFi Action Anime called Dimension W will be replacing Akame ga Kill! on the network.

Toonami's Dimension W Promo (2016)


It will premiere next Saturday at 11:30 pm Central, which is right before Parasyte -The Maxim-. Right now, I cannot comment on Dimension W because I have not watched an episode of the series. However, the promo makes it appear to be interesting.

I just hope this new show is NOT complete hype. Adult Swim is skilled at pandering to a certain group of fans, which are Action Anime fans. I have said it before and will say it again, there is more to Japanese animation than Action Anime.

Hopefully, it's something worth watching because I really do NOT like every Action Anime Adult Swim airs. They have always been a hit or miss, whenever it came to airing shows in general. As of right now, I only know that Dimension W is being simulcasted both in Japan and here in the United States on Adult Swim. The series premiered in Japan on January 10, 2016 and it will premiere on Adult Swim on February 27th.

Since today's blog is mostly about Adult Swim, let's return to a previous topic. Earlier, I mentioned that I was being slandered on Adult Swim's forum by the same poster, who continuously down vote trolls me and shat in a dead poster's memorial thread.

That exact same poster is someone, who pretended to be my friend, when I originally joined Adult Swim nearly 2 years ago.

Last year, that Adult Swim poster was also a member of my website. After I removed him TWICE for lying, backstabbing, selling me out to his crazy so-called "friend" at the time, and getting me banned on Adult Swim, he attacked me through my contact submissions form and made libelous claims about me being another poster he's had problems with in the past.

My frenemy knows it's a bald face lie yet he continues to slander me around Adult Swim.

The worst part is that Adult Swim's moderators condone his trolling and slandering; There's mostly social politics on the network's message board, which is why so many have left. That's not including suicidal posters.

As much as I hate to say it, posters who know the truth and choose NOT to confront him about slandering me are just as guilty as he is. Some do want me to stay on Adult Swim but they don't act like it. If they did, they would show it.

Continuously slandering and anonymously down voting an adult poster on Adult Swim's forum is a perfect example of adult cyber bullying/trolling. Speaking of bullies, I have another Foamy The Squirrel short. In this short, Foamy The Squirrel rants about school bullies and gives unorthodox strategies about how to handle bullying.

Foamy The Squirrel: Bullies Rant (2011)


Thank you my gumdrops! Don't forget to like, subscribe, share, +1 on Google Plus, and leave your feedback in the comments section below!