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!

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.

Chiller TV Beats Adult Swim To The Punch By Grabbing Devil May Cry

How's it going my gumdrops? It has been several months, since the last time I actually posted a blog on Blogger. Most of my content can be found on the official It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns website.

I blog over there at least twice on the weekends for Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday. These last 2 weeks, I have been updating my reviews for Christmas Slashers and Horror Anime.

Speaking of Horror Anime, Chiller TV recently started airing Horror Anime, again. Many of us viewers are excited about it. In fact, Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday block appears to be a hot topic on Adult Swim's message board. What amazes me about some of those posters is that they seriously believe, that Chiller TV is new.

It is somewhat understandable why they would assume that Chiller TV is a new network, if they have never had Dish Network or Direct TV. Those are the only 2 providers, that carry Chiller TV.

Over 2 years ago, I posted a rant blog on Xanga 1.0 about Chiller TV's programming. I transferred this same blog below to JournalHome.com, last winter.  

http://www.journalhome.com/RealistMe/1002103/chiller-tv-or-not-so-chiller-tv.html
 
Since the time I posted that blog 2 years ago, my views about Chiller TV really haven't changed. However, I'm glad that the network decided to re-air Anime. If you have been following my blogs on the official It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns website, you should recall, that I posted a Cartoon Sunday blog last Sunday about Chiller TV and Tokyo Majin.

Cartoon Sunday: Tokyo Majin

The fact that Chiller TV beat Adult Swim to grabbing Devil May Cry has me reeling. Since the time Adult Swim re-branded its Anime block on late Saturday nights and early Sunday mornings as "Toonami," I have been saying for the last 3 years, that Devil May Cry should be airing on "Toonami."

Instead, the Toonami Team bought Deadman Wonderland and other shows. 2014 was the most that I ever watched Toonami. Surprisingly, Adult Swim grabbed Hellsing Ultimate, last fall.

Not that I hate every Anime Adult Swim airs, but I can't sit through watching most of the network's shows in general.  

What are the chances of Adult Swim snatching more of Syfy and Chiller TV's sloppy seconds for Anime? 

Last Wednesday, I told some Adult Swim posters that I'm currently watching Chiller TV's entire Anime Wednesday block. This is something I could never say for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim's Toonami.

I may sound condescending for saying this, but Cartoon Network and Adult Swim mostly pander to Shonen Jump Action Anime Tards. Both networks have been for the last 10-20 years. This is partly why the casual viewers are unaware of other genres and sub-genres, that aren't Shonen Jump Action Anime.

Before last week ended, I politely asked Adult Swim's main moderator, if he could add at least 1 of our Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday threads to Adult Swim's Featured Topics. Of course, our moderator ignored me. Then again, he pays selective attention when he isn't randomly banning posters for defending ourselves against trolls.

Why You Should NOT Join Adult Swim's Message Board

If our main moderator wasn't so condescending and ornery, more Adult Swim posters would have some respect for him. Adult Swim posters and moderators can leave other posters with bad impressions of them. Generally speaking, if the people at Adult Swim didn't have such attitude problems, more veteran posters would probably stay and new posters would join.

The network is already a heaping pile. Anytime Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday block has a more entertaining block than Adult Swim's Toonami, that speaks volumes. Granted, both Chiller TV and Adult Swim have their flaws like every other network. Although, if Chiller starts airing better Anime than Toonami, Adult Swim will be up Shit Creek without a paddle and will lose another portion of its Anime fans.

Before the Toonami re-branding 3 years ago, Adult Swim aired better Anime with more variety and wasn't as niche as today. If Adult Swim continuously allows other networks with lower budgets to defeat them, more Anime fans will look forward to Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday instead of Adult Swim's Toonami.

Giving Blogger Another Chance

How's it going? I originally created my Blogger account 2 summers ago. During that time, Xanga 1.0 was shutting down and re-launching as 2.0 on WordPress. Within these last 2 years, I have dabbled with many blogging communities and sites.

Since last November, I have been revising and archiving my old Xanga 1.0 and Blogster entries on JournalHome.com. I currently have only 12 more blogs to revise and archive. After I'm done revising and archiving, I will leave Blogster next month. If you would like to read most of my older Xanga and Blogster entries, I encourage you to visit my archives page on JournalHome.


http://www.journalhome.com/RealistMe/archive/

The majority of my blogs are on my website, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. 

http://itsnotallgumdropsandunicorns.webs.com/

When you have the chance, please let me know what you think!

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)

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)

What Are My Overall Thoughts About The So-Called Xanga Relaunch?

This blog was originally published on Blogster July 18, 2013.

Xangans and Blogsterians, how's it going? Until now, I have not published any blogs this week and have barely been on Xanga 1.0. If anything, I have been trying to relax. After all, it would be pointless for me to publish another blog over there. We should REALLY thank The Xanga Team for causing "community" division.

If The Xanga Team sincerely cared so much about their so-called "community," why did they poorly deliver their "relaunch" message by pressuring every Xangan like they were our bill collectors? We should NOT  be required to pay to exist on Xanga 2.0. 

I cannot help reiterating that The Xanga Team used their financial dilemma to cause hysteria and fights among us. Isn't it already awful enough, that Xanga spams us with their daily Facebook notifications about changing Xanga's profile and cover pictures? I do not see exactly what The Xanga Team changed because they are THE SAME DAMN PICTURES! 

The reverse psychology may work on some people but not everybody. Not only that, but also some of us Xangans are tired of the favoritism being played on their Facebook page. 

As long as someone is cheerleading the Xanga "relaunch" like a sycophant, the owner of Xanga's Facebook fan page shares links to certain blogs.

Earlier this month, my blog about Xanga 2.0 made it in the top 5 on Xanga 1.0. It's still getting readers, responses, and recommendations. However, Xanga's Facebook fan page owner didn't share it. In fact, there were other Xangans, who made it in the top 5. They also weren't praising Xanga's "relaunch." Therefore, I know FOR A FACT, that The Xanga Team is blacklisting those of us with opposing views. 

My Xanga page and others keep getting hijacked by the self-righteous Xangans. They patronize us about paying to blog is a "privilege." They're The Xanga Team's pawns and are too blind to know it. Other Xangans that already pay are highly dissatisfied with Xanga's lousy service, and they support us free users.

Earlier, a Xangan subscriber of mine said to me over there, "Xanga's actions have poisoned the community well rather than helped it." I can't agree more. 

The incessant begging and pressuring every Xangan to pledge for Xanga 2.0 to be a mandatory pay site is the equivalent of bill collectors calling our homes 24/7. If you don't pay, something gets repossessed. In our case, since us free users never paid to blog on Xanga, our blogs are being stripped YET we still maintain our old subscribers and the ability to comment, once Xanga 2.0 uses WordPress as their personal platform! Wow! Talk about a crock of bullshit. Welp, I've stated all that I needed to, for now.

So Xangans and Blogsterians, what do you think about this Xanga 2.0 fiasco?

Xanga 2.0 = No Shirt, No Shoes, No Dice

This blog was originally published on Xanga, then on Blogster July 4, 2013.

 

Xanga's Current Situation:

We only have 11 MORE DAYS, until this so-called Xanga 2.0 "Relaunch" starts. 

When it comes to us FREE users, the new motto implies, that we either pay to be on Xanga, or we're gone. It's not that big of a deal for Xangans, who already pay to blog. They are allowed to be a part of the "relaunch." 

As I have said before on other pages, I fully understand, that Xanga is a business and needs money to run. What The Xanga Team FAILS to understand is by them requiring users to pay on Xanga 2.0, there will be LESS users.

If Facebook required users to pay, there would be less people on it. Isn't it already bad enough, that older Xangans left Xanga 1.0, before some of us newbies joined? 

I may not be a veteran Xangan, however, I feel like I am being treated like some low class low-life, who waltzed into a convenience store without wearing shoes and a T-shirt. 

The Xanga Team chose to use WordPress as a common ground for a blogging and social networking site, while turning Xanga into The Repo Man. See, THAT  already caused division within the community.

According to what I have been told by a several veterans, Xangans were ALREADY divided because most have fled from Xanga, before this relaunch. The Xanga Shut Down now turned "Relaunch" is the final nail in the coffin. 

I have already deleted more of my other Xanga blogs, since most of them are now on Blogster. I am still on Xanga because I am waiting, until I hear back from some more Xangan friends. Once July 15th comes, it's deuces for us free users. So, here's something I don't understand:

Hypothetically speaking, if Xanga does succeed in raising 60 grand to maintain the relaunch and every Xangan is paying to use the site, what happens when they are not on it DAILY? Are they still going to get their money's worth? OR a total waste of time and money? 

Saying that it is "possible" for Xangans to be on here for free is NOT set in stone. Therefore, us free users need to have a back up a blog or so. I am not begging for anybody to pay my way to be on Xanga 2.0. That's the last thing I want or expect. 

Had I known, that Xanga required me to pay use this site, I would've never joined and none of you would've ever met me. I will really miss my Xangan friends, who actually cared to be my subscribers. 

I wish that more Xangans would follow me to Blogster, but I know that will never happen. Everyone's not on WordPress and Facebook. This only leaves a functioning e-mail account for some.

Most of my Xangan friends/subscribers already know that I'm on Blogster, have me on Facebook, and my e-mail address. It's only up to those, who WANT to keep in contact with me. If they don't want to keep in contact with me, it is what it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After publishing this blog on Xanga, a rude and retired, old hag wanted to start shit on my Xanga page. She already hijacked my Xanga Pulse saying: 

"There's no free lunch. Why should there be free blogging -- I expect other sites will either not be free, or will soon begin charging too." 

That same hag returned to comment on my current blog. Because that hag would NOT stay in her lane, I blocked and deleted her ass from my Xanga page after she posted:

"You seem to forget that life is made up of choices and priorities. If it is your choice to blog elsewhere and not pledge to relaunch Xanga, so be it -- but the choice to pledge is also a valid choice for those who wish to make that choice. Perhaps it will be a smaller Xanga for a while, thanks to vocal naysayers who attempt to take that choice away, but in time it has the opportunity to become as popular and well-loved as it has been for all of us. If you choose to go elsewhere, perhaps your energies would be better spent blogging there."

Instead of responding back, "STHU and get off my page!" blocking and deleting her worked much better. An extra perk was that I got 2 free robo e-props.

So, Xangans and Blogsterians, what do you think about all this?

What Blogsterians Don't Know About Me

This was originally published on Xanga, then transferred to Blogster June 30, 2013.

 

 

Hey! How's it going? Is there anything else you want to know about me? Because I noticed, that I have quite a few friends on here, I ask.

I will share more from my Xanga profile, that Blogster does not have for a profile fill in. Anyway, here are more things Blogsterians don't know about me.

More Things Blogsterians Don't Know About Me:

* Nicknames: Anna and "DJ Daze" (to only name 2)

* Nationality: Multi-racial (Heinz 57)

* Expertise: Blogging, Creative Writing, Live Broadcasting, Disk Jockey, Live Radio Censorship, Lyrical Scanning, Radio Show Hostess, Script Writing, Japanese

* Favorite Authors: Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Octavio Paz, Stephen King, Bret Easton Ellis, R.L. Stine, and James O'Barr

* Favorite Book Genres: Short Realistic Fiction, Revenge Fantasy, Horror, and Psychological Thriller

* Favorite Cuisine: Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Fast Food, Seafood, Home-Made, desserts, etc. (As you can see, I love to eat.)

* Favorite Dishes: Too many to list but Shrimp Alfredo is 1.

* Favorite Desserts: Galaxy Desserts, Pie a la Mode, Home-Made Pudding, cheesecake, cake, ice cream, and cookies

* Favorite Junk Foods: Tacos, Burritos, Cheeseburgers, Jalopeno Poppers, Cheese Curds, etc.

* Favorite Restaurants: Red Lobster, The Cheesecake Factory, Taco Bell, Maggiano's, Culver's Frozen Custard, etc.

* Foods I Hate: Mushrooms, Salisbury Steak, Roast, Country Fried Steak, Hostess Cupcakes, Chicken Parmesan, Potatoes,Twinkies, Bologna, Hot Dogs, Indian, Sushi, Beets, Ribs, and PB&J

* Favorite Actors: Mark Dacascos, Tetsuji Tamayama, Mika Nakashima, Kenichi Matsuyama, Brandon Lee, Alex O'Loughlin, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Dave Chappelle, Kate Beckinsale, Maggie Q, Jack Nickolson, Brittany Murphy, Charlie Murphy, Val Kilmer, Johnny Depp, Chris Tucker, Jason Mewes, Eva Longoria, Seth Green, Amy Acker, Eliza Dushku, Keanu Reeves, Rachel True, Jackie Chan, and Jared Leto

* Favorite Directors: Alex Proyas who was the original director for The Crow 1 and Mary Harron for American Psycho

* Favorite Movie Genre(s): Horror, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Action, and Comedy

* Favorite Soundtracks: Airheads, Bride of Chucky, The Crow, The Saint, Le Femme Nikita, American Psycho, Queen Of The Damned (God knows the movie sucked.), etc.

* Favorite Music Genre: Goth Rock, Metal, Industrial Electronica, Industrial Metal, Acid House, Dark Trance, Japanese Pop and Rock (J-Pop and J-Rock)

* Music I Hate: Most songs from 2004 to now, especially songs by Green Day, Taylor Swift, P!nk, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Drake. Also, Country, Ska, Dub Step, Pop Punk, Emo, and Screamo.

* Guilty Pleasure: Taylor Swift PSYCH! Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!

* Where I Shop: Dots, Kohl's Department Store, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Sears, Hot Topic, and Bath & Body Works

* I Like To Wear: Pastel Blue and Pink, Emerald Green, Turquoise, Red, Black, Gray, Leopard Print, Plaid, and Pinstripe are my favorite colors and patterns.

Also, bootcut pants, mini and long skirts, and knee-high and ankle boots. I can't balance and walk in Stiletto Heels. Function over fashion, when it comes to me wearing regular shoes; I'm more into boots than shoes.

* Can't Live Without: My laptop

* Prized Possessions: My old Samsung TV from 1996 and my CD's.

* Favorite Channels: NBC (only for Grimm ), CBS, CW (only for Nikita) ABC (only for Dr. Oz now), MTV (only for The Real World, Girl Code, and The Challenge), Adult Swim (mostly for Bleach, right now), AXS TV (mostly for the MMA's), Oxygen (mostly for The Bad Girls Club and its spinoffs), etc.

* Characters I Relate To: Angel/Angelus, Darlene Conner, Daria Morgendorffer, Nikita, Kat Stratford, Gabby Solis, Ai Enma, and Lydia Deetz to name a few.

* Shows I Secretly Watch: MTV2's Guy Code

* Shows I Wished Weren't Cancelled: Everybody Hates Chris, Emily's Reasons Why Not, The George Lopez Show (Sitcom), Eastwick, The Secret Circle, Ringer, Moonlight, Fastlane, Eve,  Half & Half, All Of Us,  The Rub, The Crow: Stairway To Heaven, etc.