Showing posts with label Yahoo 360. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yahoo 360. Show all posts

Monday, September 23, 2019

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns Q&A 2019

Wow! Can you believe it? Today is the day that marks It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' 6th anniversary. How's it going my gumdrops? 

Before I forget, Happy Birthday to Whiskey Brewer on MeWe!

While still working for my uncle, I self-built this website on September 23, 2013. In a way, I cannot help feeling somewhat disappointed that I still have not accomplished as much as I really wanted this year.

Since 2017, I have endured a plethora of issues ranging from dealing with my mother's eternal health issues to chores, editing, revising, and submitting my short stories for publishing, contacting publishers, voice actors, editors, job hunting, etc.

Earlier this year, I was sick at least twice. For the 4th time in 19 years, I had bronchitis and a cold. Long story short, this year has been brutal.

Since this year's Q&A blog has a few jargon-filled questions, I tried answering them as best as I could by giving them the so-called "college try." Anyway, let's begin!

[It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns Q&A 2019:]

 Kersten's Questions:

1) What is the most difficult part about having kept a blog this long? 

2) Who is your favorite Horror artist?

My Answers: 

1) Creating a blog is nothing compared to self-building a website full of content. All the while, trying to generate exposure and attracting the right demographic. 

Also, spambots, site, and server glitches. Those have been my biggest problems.

In addition to self-building It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, there is managing it, generating SEO, traffic, visitors, and loyal subscribers. 

At the same time, enduring social climbing opportunists, selfish and misanthropic "friends" pretending to care about me, indifference, jealousy, envy, the bitterness of others, and copycats.

2) When it comes to Horror artists (because they are more than just Metal vocalists and guitarists), I guess I would say Rob Zombie, Glenn Danzig, and Wes Borland. Even though Wes Borland is best known as Limp Bizkit's lead guitarist, he collaborates with other bands besides fronting his own.

Tard Tardnation: What's your favorite type of weather?

Answer: I love the hot summer weather. 

Then again, I was born ~1 week before Summer Solstice. Now that it's fall, I dread having to rake leaves and shovel snow again.

Meanwhile, rain and snow help set ominous tones to my short stories, since I mostly write Psychological Horror, Crime, and Psychological Thriller.

Jesse: Do you ever use Duolingo or Babbel to help learn a new language? I've just started using Duolingo recently because I am interested in learning German.

Answer: Yes, I have heard of both Duolingo and Babbel but have never used either. 

Even though it has been years since I last took German I highly recommend the book, Komm mit! You may want to visit the 50 Languages foreign language website and download their app, too.

Much like my family, I believe it is best to traditionally learn a foreign language with drills. Using apps make for great aids but it is best to have a quality foreign language book. My youngest aunt uses Duolingo to help her with learning Japanese.

According to her, Duolingo is not the best way to become fluent in a foreign language. 

Regardless of what foreign language you want to learn, you MUST have quality foreign language books with drills to help learn a foreign language.

DJ Scott: What's your fondest memory from blogging/blog responses?

Answer: My fondest memories actually predate building It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.

For those, who didn't already know, I originally started blogging 13 years ago on Yahoo 360. This was months after graduating from Carthage College, while STILL battling a severe bleeding disorder at the time.

My English Literature Professor sometimes used my Yahoo 360 blog as an educational source for his classes. Compared to the last 6 years of blogging on here AND Blogster, more educational information was published on my Yahoo 360 blog.

Unfortunately, all good things always come to an end. This can most definitely be said about Yahoo 360. Yahoo always discontinues their best products.

Years later, I discovered the blogging community, Xanga. I regret not discovering Xanga years sooner.

Before The Xanga Team dumped their money problems into OUR laps by making it mandatory to pay to blog, which caused division within our community, I had both national AND international traffic, friends, and loyal subscribers. 

In addition, more readers genuinely cared about my content and I made top blogger AT LEAST  a few times, 6 years ago.

C. Afflerbach: Do you like crafting? Ancient aliens? Ghosts?

My Answers: 

1) The closest I will ever get to crafting is building this website. Otherwise, I always suck at crafting. As cool as crafts look, I never had that skill. 25 years later and I still suck at doing Origami.

2) I'm not a huge fan of ghosts and aliens. Blame it on Hollywood filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, for example and the media. 

They love spreading (as I use the cliche term) "misinformation" and stupid ass stereotypes about the paranormal and extraterrestrials.

The contrived and unrealistic scripts and special effects in Spielberg's movies only validate all those skeptics, who don't believe in ghosts and aliens. 

Even though I'm not a huge fan of either, I know that both DO exist, especially the paranormal.

Whiskey Brewer: Are there any cartoons you grew up watching, that you'd actually like to see remade for youngsters nowadays?

Answer: When it comes to movies and shows, including animation, you could say, that I am more of a "purist." Today's filmmakers, writers, and animators should leave Classics alone.

Continuously remaking and rebooting movies, shows, and cartoons because they want to stay relevant only proves, that all these filmmakers lack creativity and originality.

The incessant political activism and correctness, which mostly consists of CONTRIVED tokenism to pander to politically correct hipsters are biggest problems with today's writers, filmmakers, cartoonists, musicians, etc.

Why does Ariel from The Little Mermaid suddenly have to be black?

Why does a famous superhero suddenly have to be non-heterosexual or female? 

Speaking of, have you seen the commercials for CW's Batwoman?

Batwoman Trailer CW (2019)

If anything, more network programmers should introduce younger demographics to Classics. 

Yes, they may look dated but as they get older, they might have a better appreciation for said movies, shows, and especially cartoons. They should be able to imagine what life was like during an era(s) that was before their existence.

For example, every time I watch a movie that was made before, during, and slightly after I was born, that film allows me to embrace and reflect on what life was like before we had cell phones, laptops, tablets, the Internet, social media, etc.

As a 37-year-old woman, I do miss the days of publicly socializing with friends and on my bedroom's phone line as a teenager, going to public places without someone staring at his cell phone, while playing video games on it, and being able to cherish memories WITHOUT some girl snapping selfies and recording the play by play of her vapid, daily life with poses on social media for instant praises by sycophants.

C.S. Michel's Questions:

1) Have you seen the trailer for the new Joker movie?

2) Have you seen Doom Patrol?

3) Do you like Erotic Anime?

My Answers:

1) Yes, I have and please reread my answer to Whiskey Brewer's question. The Batman franchise was meant to be campy. Since the time of the 21st Century, filmmakers have ruined Batman by dramatizing what was originally a campy franchise.

2) I had no idea what Doom Patrol was until Googling it, last week only to discover that it was ANOTHER DC Comic Flick.  

Batman, Blade, The Phantom, and The Crow are probably the only movies based on comic books that I liked. Otherwise, I was never a comic book fan. 

As as a teenage girl 20 years ago, I tried but reading comic books just don't resonate with me.

3) Erotic Anime or in other words, Hentai? Since I love Anime, I am not that fast to dismiss Hentai. It has been a long time, since I last watched any Hentai.

Over the last 13 years, I have watched more Ecchi, Seinen, and Josei Anime that somewhat border the lines of Hentai Anime than actual Hentai.

Donald's Questions:

1) Over the past year, what has been the best resource you have turned toward to promote your own growth, both personal and professional?

2) The notion of incremental improvement is a powerful one, compared to yourself a year ago how have you bettered yourself and in what ways?

3) What are the best books or lectures you have interacted with on the subject of personal development?

My Answers:

1) I would say... reading articles published by John Matthew Fox, Writer's Relief, Web Design Relief, and Authors Publish Magazine. Just last week, I read this enlightening article published by Thriller author, Joanna Penn about Comparisonitis.

2) While re-revising my short stories recently, I noticed that I am able to mentally re-edit certain lines as I type. I believe that spending HOURS editing AND revising all the blogs I've published over these last 6 years, from night to beyond sunrise made me a better writer.

Despite what pompous elitists (including a few delusional Fan Fiction writers) think, BLOGGING is a fantastic way to improve writing skills. Blogging is journaling for the most part.

3) Please reread Answer #1.

So, how did I do with answering all your questions?

By giving it the "good ol' college try," I answered each question to the best of my ability.

If I misunderstood your questions, I apologize. However, I will NOT apologize for MY opinions in regards to today's Hollywood entertainment and how political correctness is destroying it with contrived tokenism.

So, thank you my gumdrops! Please leave your feedback in the comments section below!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Did Tonight's Episodes Of Family Guy And American Dad Hold A Lot Of Truth?

This previously published blog debuted on Xanga January 13, 2013.













 

 

Earlier this morning, I made this Xanga account. I would've published a blog a lot sooner, but I was busy and weighing thoughts. I used to have a Yahoo 360 account ~several years ago. Then, Yahoo decided to discontinue Yahoo 360 in America. Anyway, that's not why I'm publishing this blog, tonight.

Earlier, I watched American Dad and Family Guy. While watching both cartoons, I couldn't help noticing the hidden messages behind each episode. "Brian's Play" on Family Guy had a lot of truth to it.

Personally, I was never a Brian Griffin fan. That dog has always been a pretentious showoff, closet racist, and a pompous, self-righteous hypocrite.

A few years ago, there was a Family Guy episode titled, "Tyrone Is The New Black." In that episode, Brian asked Glen Quagmire why he disliked him. In a huge rant, Quagmire listed all his reasons for hating Brian. 

Family Guy: "Glenn Quagmire Explains To Brian WHY He Hates Him" (2013)



I LOVED Quagmire's rant. He was spot on about Brian's sickening personality!

BTW: Stewie and Quagmire have always been my 2 favorite Family Guy characters.

On tonight's episode, The Griffins attended Brian's play to show their support for the play he wrote. It was highly praised by critics.

Shortly after, Stewie asked Brian to give him feedback about the play that he (Stewie) wrote. Once Brian read Stewie's play, he realized that Stewie's play was better than his own.

Out of jealousy and letting his own insecurities get the best of him, Brian stole Stewie's play. He not only stole Stewie's play, but also buried it in the backyard.

Brian then lied to Stewie about his play being badly written because Brian could NOT handle that he was upstaged by a baby, which happened to be Stewie. 

Eventually, Stewie came to the realization that Brian lied about his play being inferior to his and confronted Brian about it. Stewie made sure to tell Brian about his play being mediocre and dumbed down for people like Peter.

As I watched "Brian's Play," I noticed that tonight's episode could be easily applied to today's society regarding education and entertainment as a whole. Some critics give Family Guy so much flack.

If more people would see beyond the pop-culture references, inside jokes, and "toilet humor," they would realize there are some hidden messages behind some of Seth MacFarlane's cartoons.

Viewers who watched "Brian's Play," could apply tonight's episode to jealous people. This is especially when those same jealous people are aspiring writers.

Believe or not, some writers are jealous of another writer's work and try plagiarizing it. Otherwise, they might insult someone else' work because they don't want to admit, that someone's work is more superior than their own.

Something similar happened to me, during my college senior year at Carthage College. I took an Advance Fiction night class and wrote my short story, "The Bill Collector."

Once I read it to my night class, so many of my classmates had questions about my story to the extent, that it sparked a debate. 

As "The Bill Collector" sparked a debate, a female classmate had the audacity to call my short story "a bunch of fluff." We all looked at her like she was insane. 

This female classmate was a classmate from my previous Creative Writing class, mind you.

Wanna know what that space cadet wrote for an Instructional Poem Assignment?

She wrote an Instructional Poem about how to apply make-up! I'm not kidding in the slightest. Could she had been any dumber, if not vapid and shallow? 

Her dumb ass literally wrote a poem about how to apply some make-up. 

That same superficial space cadet was getting her degree in Secondary Education. Sweet Jesus. Talk about appalling.

Well, I guess I shouldn't be too hard on her. She could apply for a job as a Cosmetic Technical Writer or something. Secondary Education was the WRONG choice for her.

The point is a space cadet had the audacity to call my work "fluff." Maybe if her dumb ass would've actually LISTENED and PAID ATTENTION to what my story was about, she might have understood it better.

After we attended our next classroom session, she decided to approach me and tried saving face by complimenting me on how good I was at my writing. Those who really know me, know that I will confront their B.S. in a second.

Overall, "Brian's Play" held a lot of truth to it, when looking at tonight's episode of Family Guy from a writer's perspective.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, tonight's episode of American Dad also held a lot of truth to it. It was mostly about Roger being lazy and taking credit for other people's work, while expecting everyone to praise him for it.

Entitlement seems to be a growing epidemic today, if you ask some of us. It's always infuriating to witness lazy and entitled people taking credit for someone else' work.

If you haven't already watched American Dad, Roger Smith is literally an illegal alien and Francine Smith is the housewife of CIA Agent, Stan Smith.

Francine loves enabling Roger for every little thing, whereas Stan and everyone else in their family know how much of a lazy, entitled, manipulating, con artist Roger is for an illegal alien (literally).

The moment Roger doesn't get his way, he cries like a big baby and Francine rushes within seconds to enable him.

In tonight's episode, Roger was supposedly "graduating" from another college and Francine was the only family member to attend his "college graduation."

Once they parked at home, Roger cried like a 2-year-old because no one else attended his so-called "graduation" except Francine.

Hailey, who is Stan and Francine's oldest daughter and the oldest child, told Roger that it was because he's a fraud. 

Considering that Roger always has a gajillion alias names with wigs and wardrobes to match each persona, there is a lot of truth in what was said about Roger being a fraud.

I think he has so many aliases because it's the only way he can assimilate on a planet with mostly human beings. Well, that, along with him always cooking up some scheme.

Francine tried getting Roger to do something, that he could actually take pride in and be able to say, that he honestly did something independently. So, Roger entered a race and literally fell on his face. In usual format, he started crying. 

As usual, Francine enabled Roger. She bought him a cone with 3 different ice cream flavors and gave Roger his own custom made "medal," once they got back into the car.

Next, Roger jumped out the car and started running in the race again. He supposedly "won" 1st place, and threw the ice cream cone literally on Francine's face. 

Roger also "won" a red Mazda Miata. Eventually, a man beat him up for the car. Because Roger loves confiscating other people's awards, I got the impression, that the red Mazda Miata was a stolen car.

Later, Roger concocted another scheme, claiming that he "built" some island and hired paid actors to pretend they were native people. He even choreographed their dance routines and attacks on he and Francine because he wanted to impress her so badly. That last part was and still is a major eye roll because it's total hogwash.

Regarding tonight's American Dad episode, the hidden message was mostly about lazy and entitled people, that love taking credit for someone else' hard work. 

Such an ilk of people has been pissing me off for years. Within the last decade or so, they became a lot worse. 

There is always some enabler(s) around the corner, who loves coddling and rewarding somebody for a job, which was not well done, much less a job NOT done.

This reminds me of the fable, The Little Red Hen. All the other animals wanted to reap the benefits but didn't want to do any of the work. That's what today's society has become. 

We live in a society filled with lazy and extremely entitled, opportunists, beating and cheating their ways to the top. If someone doesn't belong to a certain clique, he/she is royally screwed. Well, that's enough for tonight.

What are your thoughts? Let me know what you think!