During the evenings are best to interact with me personally. Normally, I spend all night and morning creating these blogs. You may even catch me at night, while blogging at the same time. It's really a matter of TIMING. Enjoy!
Paraskevidekatriaphobia: Fear Of Friday The 13th
Posted by Anna H. on October 13, 2017 at 4:40 AM comments (4)
How's it going my gumdrops? Since Grimm no longer exists on TV, we can't say "Thank Grimm it's Friday!" anymore. However, today is THE day that fills many of us with so much terror. Today is Friday The 13th.
Thankfully, I was born on an even number day. I already have bad luck as it is. Being born on June 13th would've made my life worse. The last thing I needed was to have my birthday fall on Friday The 13th.
Being Paraskevidekatriaphobic is having the phobia of Friday The 13th. Triskaidekaphobia is the phobia of the number 13.
Believe it or not, there is actually a website dedicated to BOTH phobias. If you would like to learn more about paraskevidekatriaphobia and triskaidekaphobia, make sure to visit Triskaidekaphobia.Info.
I never had any real fear of Friday The 13th. That was until Friday, September 13, 2013.
On our way home from working at a career fair, my oldest aunt and I were stopped at a 4-way intersection. As soon as the light changed to green, some asshole RANDOMLY drove past the red light on his side of the intersection and nearly crashed into us.
Luckily, my aunt instantly slammed on her brakes. That driver almost caused a DEADLY pile up.
It was bad enough at the time, that I was the front seat passenger to 2 previous car accidents, which were 2 WEEKS APART from each other. Before my 2nd accident, I had a really disturbing premonition in the form of a nightmare. It was about my 2nd car accident literally 2 nights before it happened.
Luckily, I was not in a 3rd car accident 2 weeks after my 2nd accident. I really couldn't withstand anymore pain, that I was already having.
During my 2nd accident, I got whiplash. Even though I was not in a neck brace or anything, I had Lidoderm Body Patches taped around my back, sides, and neck.
I previously had a phobia of driving. The premonition in the form of a nightmare really shook me up. I started having PTSD from it.
After literally being banged up in 2 going on nearly 3 car accidents, 2 weeks apart from each other, my fear of driving and being in cars became worse.
Nearly being hit in a 3rd car accident on Friday The 13th in September 2013 added to my anxiety.
Before my accidents, I never used to worry about any specific dates. Whenever Friday The 13th is approaching, I try my hardest NOT to schedule anything important on that date like so many other people.
Why take the risk of playing Russian Roulette, when you already have misfortune?
Not that I am intentionally trying to traumatize anyone, but there are many reasons why people including business owners avoid the number 13 and Friday The 13th.
~ $900,000,000 in productivity is lost annually in America because many people are superstitious about Friday The 13th.
Do NOT forget, that in the Bible, 13 men attended The LAST Supper. The 13th man was believed to have been Judas, who later betrayed Jesus. Jesus was crucified on a Friday, also. Dun, dun, DUUUUN!!!
Regardless if you are paraskevidekatriaphobic, triskaidekaphobic, superstitious, or NOT, stay safe on the roads, on the 13th floor of a building, or an elevator, etc.
Cartoon Sunday: Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart [REVISITED]
Posted by Anna H. on October 8, 2017 at 3:20 AM comments (4)
How's it going my gumdrops? As a quick update, do you remember, when I said in last Tuesday's blog, that some of us already anticipated, that Tokyo Ghoul would have a 3rd season because Season 2 felt unfinished? Well, it turns out that Tokyo Ghoul WILL be renewed for another season.
Literally 2 days after publishing my blog, "What You Didn't Already Know About Tokyo Ghoul's Characters," Crunchyroll sent me an alert on my tablet about the 3rd season, Tokyo Ghoul:re.
Tokyo Ghoul:re Teaser (2017)
Hopefully, this 3rd season will be much better than its last season and will explain everything, that happened. Sometime next year (my predictions are next spring), Tokyo Ghoul:re is scheduled to premiere in Japan.
Meanwhile, some of you may recall that I published another Cartoon Sunday blog, 2 years ago about Edgar Allan Poe. That particular Cartoon Sunday blog featured the animated adaptation of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart.
If you have never seen this classic short from 1954, you should definitely give it a watch for today's Cartoon Sunday. Click on the blog link below to watch it.
Cartoon Sunday: Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart (1954)
Song Saturday: Tom Petty Tribute Block
How's it going my gumdrops? No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is an actual picture of 2 legendary musicians (Prince and Tom Petty), that are now dead.
The image above was taken, during the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, which was in tribute to George Harrison. Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne, and Prince, performed "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
At this risk of sounding "melodramatic," it makes my soul weep knowing that we have lost so many legendary vocalists between this year AND last year. It seems as if 2017 has turned out to be just as shitty as 2016, in general.
I know I am not the only person, who wants this year to be over SOON. This is especially, when it comes to turning on the TV everyday and having to watch domestic terrorists attack innocent people at events.
To make matters worse, having the media exploit tragedies and overshadow other news. There are other catastrophes and tragic events for the media to report than spending an ENTIRE week replaying the same reels of homicidal maniacs.
The media fails to grasp, that THEY themselves are inciting MORE division and copycat massacres because they constantly harp on the same overplayed story, while ignoring other reports.
On Monday, we barely heard any reports about Tom Petty from Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers dying and other news. Reading someone's post on a forum about the legendary Heartland Rocker's death was the only reason why I learned about it.
Once I learned that Tom Petty died, I was in shock. Shortly after, a news reporter on my local CBS reported, that the LAPD retracted their statement on Twitter.
Supposedly, Tom was NOT yet dead. He was "clinging for his life," according to the LAPD. Eventually, Tom Petty died of cardiac arrest, after being pronounced brain dead and taken off life support.
Before anyone attempts to comment on today's Song Saturday Tribute Block, refrain from posting, "I was never a fan of Tom Petty's music." Posting THAT comment is like pissing on someone's grave.
Regardless if the singer was your favorite or not, it sounds very disrespectful and rude to whoever it was that died. You have no idea how annoying it is to read, watch, and listen to someone having the audacity to say, "I was never a fan of ___ music."
You may think I am acting bossy but there are people out there, who need to have a little more empathy and COUTH. Love or hate the icon, but that person had family, friends, fans, etc.
Tom Petty's music was a part of at least 4-5 GENERATIONS. With The Heartbreakers, Petty released 13 studio albums, 68 singles, and 9 video albums. He also released 3 solo albums, 5 guest singles, etc.
Tom Petty was a part of my childhood, during the 1980's and '90s. Now, he is another music icon to be added to the list of many other music icons, that are dead. This can especially be said about an icon, whose music videos were heavily played on MTV and VH1.
I cannot help reiterating how depressed I become sometimes watching MTV Classic. Having to look back at all the music icons, that are now dead in music video blocks breaks my heart.
Music was a major part of my life growing up. Therefore, watching a bunch a dead music icons can be depressing. This is definitely a fact about life.
Eventually, all good things must come to an end. Anyway, in memory of the legendary Heartland Rocker, here are 9 music videos by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers for today's Song Saturday Tribute Block.
1} Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers "Refugee" Damn The Torpedoes (1980)
2} Stevie Nicks [Featuring Tom Petty] "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" Bella Donna (1981)
3} Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers "Make It Better" Southern Accents (1985)
4} Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers "Free Fallin'" Full Moon Fever (1989)
5} Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers "Runnin' Down A Dream" Full Moon Fever (1989)
6} Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers "Mary Jane's Last Dance" Greatest Hits (1993)
7} Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers "The Last DJ" The Last DJ (2002)
8} Prince, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne, & Dhani Harrison "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" A Tribute To George Harrison (2004)
{BONUS:}
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers "Room At The Top" Echo (1999)
Thank you my gumdrops? Don't forget to like, subscribe, share, +1 on Google Plus, and leave your feedback in the comments section below!
What You Didn't Already Know About Tokyo Ghoul's Characters
How's it going my gumdrops? If you read the latest Cartoon Sunday blog 2 days ago, you should recall that I mentioned publishing another blog about other Tokyo Ghoul characters.
The franchise has so many characters, that it is hard to know who each character is in the series.
While posting on the forum AnimeNation yesterday, I was told that Tokyo Ghoul √A was a filler arc. This means the last 12 episodes we just watched was mostly to stall viewers, until there is more of an actual story.
Like I said 2 days ago, I would've loved to have seen more of the other ghouls. The ghouls, that helped managed the Anteiku Coffee Shop (Enji Koma and Kaya Irimi), should've been given more of a story. Those 2 would've been more interesting to watch than characters from the CCG.
The CCG (Commission Of Counter Ghoul) is a federal agency task force, that is specialized in handling crimes related to ghouls.
They believe that all ghouls are flesh eating criminals, when there are innocent ghouls trying to assimilate with humans.
As I was saying about the previous ghoul characters, Enji was an experienced waiter, who acted as the manager of Anteiku, when Yoshimura (manager) was away.
Meanwhile, Kaya was a main waitress. Both she and Enjii were leaders of their own gangs of ghouls. They later renounced their leaderships after being rehabilitated by Yoshimura. Enji led the Devil Ape Gang and Kaya led the Black Dobers.
Enji Koma and Kaya Irimi are presumed to be dead after battling the CCG. Another ghoul I would've loved to have seen more of was Uta, since he is the mask designer. Uta is a part of The Clowns, which is a mysterious group of ghouls.
The image above is a gif of Uta. He looks like a Hot Topic clerk, who designs masks for ghouls to hide from the CCG, as well as Kaneki's mask, and masks for humans.
The Clowns were responsible for Ken Kaneki's (protagonist) accident, when they attempted to murder Rize Kamishiro with a fallen I-beam.
Because of The Clowns, Kaneki received some of Rize's ghoul organs and is now forced to adapt to being a part human and part ghoul hybrid. Those that happen to be part human and ghoul are more powerful than a Pure Blood Ghoul.
Another ghoul, that should've had more of a story was Renji Yomo. There is A LOT more to him than being a ghoul, that collects suicide victims' corpses for ghouls to eat. In case other viewers didn't already know, Yomo is secretly Touka and Ayato Kirishima's uncle.
Renji Yomo kept his identity a secret from them after their parents died. However, he always closely watched over them. Speaking of his niece and nephew, Touka is Ayato's older sister.
Because Ayato resented Touka's peaceful living and ability to assimilate with humans, he left to join Aogiri Tree. According to Kaneki, he thinks Ayato secretly joined Aogiri Tree to protect Touka from a distance.
Aogiri Tree is a ghoul terrorist organization founded by Yoshimura's daughter, Eto. Eto also lives under the human alias, Sen Takatsuki, who happens to be a Horror novelist.
In addition to being Yoshimura's daughter, being a ghoul terrorist leader, and a Horror novelist, she is Kaneki's favorite author. What a twist?! It is AMAZING what you learn about Tokyo Ghoul, while reading summaries about it.
Had all this been explained in the Seinen Horror Action Anime, their would've been LESS confusion.
It appears, that I am not the only viewer anticipating a 3rd season for Tokyo Ghoul. We really hope there is after watching that tragic yet confusing cliffhanger. Loose ends need to be tied up for those of us, who only watch the Anime. Not everyone reads Manga and light novels.
Hopefully, today's blog gives Tokyo Ghoul readers and viewers a much better understanding of the franchise. This is especially when it comes to the series.
Cartoon Sunday: Tokyo Ghoul A Rare Treat [The Handkerchief Scene]
Posted by Anna H. on October 1, 2017 at 11:20 AM comments (4)
How's it going my gumdrops? Last night was the finale for the Seinen Horror Action Anime, Tokyo Ghoul on Adult Swim's Toonami block. If you have ever watched this violent series on Toonami or online, you know the finale was confusing as well as tragic and unfinished.
Over the last decade or so of watching 100's of Anime, I have never watched an entire series feeling so confused and cheated. That is UNLESS, you want to count Michiko & Hatchin. That was another Seinen Action Anime, that extremely cheated its viewers.
However, it is more complicated with Tokyo Ghoul.
Judging by the looks of it, I have the impression that Japan is probably undecided about granting this Seinen Horror Action Anime another season. I say this because Tokyo Ghoul was not given a full season.
In 2007, I watched the online show Anime TV. English dub voice actor, Johnny Yong Bosch hosted it. Someone sent a letter to him on Anime TV, asking why some shows have shorter seasons than others.
Johnny explained that Japanese TV networks must approve of the series getting more episodes, if the networks seem unsure about the its performance. Most Anime will be granted the standard 24-26 episodes, which is the equivalent of 1 full season. Anime with only 12-13 episodes, on the other hand, are only 1/2 season shows.
Looking at Tokyo Ghoul's episode list, this Seinen Horror Action Anime is divided into 2 small seasons. There is Tokyo Ghoul, and then there is Tokyo Ghoul √A. Both have 12 episodes each.
I suspect that Japan is trying to decide, if Tokyo Ghoul should be granted a small 3rd season. I really hope they do because the ending was confusing and left unfinished. I have so far read summaries about Tokyo Ghoul's characters.
The Tokyo Ghoul franchise seems to be popular in Japan, considering that it has 1 live action movie, 1 video game, 3 light novels, 2 OVA's, an Anime, and a Manga.
Therefore, I, as well as others are confused by the season finale of Tokyo Ghoul √A.
Too bad Toonami does not believe in airing OVA's for Anime. Some OVA's actually tie up loose ends to a series. I meant to watch the finale and its 2 OVA's last week, but I was preoccupied offline. Some of us are still hoping, that maybe SOMEDAY Toonami will air the OVA's for Black Lagoon. Chances are highly unlikely but you never know.
I really would've liked to have seen more of the other ghouls. The ghouls that helped run the Anteiku Coffee Shop (Enji Koma and Kaya Irimi) could've been given more of a story. I also would've loved to have seen more of Uta, since he is the mask designer and Shuu Tsukiyama.
As far the OVA's go, Tokyo Ghoul: JACK is the 1st OVA and is a prequel. This OVA has nothing to do with the protagonist, Ken Kaneki. Tokyo Ghoul: PINTO is another Tokyo Ghoul prequel, which is specifically dedicated to Shuu Tsukiyama. I can only imagine how crazy that OVA is because Tsukiyama is a very loud, pretentious, and flamboyant character.
Don't you just love how those 2 OVA's have nothing to do with the protagonist? Then again, I guess it doesn't really matter that much since both are prequels. I really do hope the Tokyo Ghoul franchise releases a short 3rd season.
Leaving us viewers with such a tragic and confusing cliffhanger only leaves us feeling angry, cheated, and like we wasted our time watching Tokyo Ghoul from the start to ending with an incomplete WTF?! ending. I will have to explain more in detail about Tokyo Ghoul characters in another blog.
Since I mentioned that loud, pretentious, and flamboyant villain with an extreme obsession for Ken Kaneki, I will leave you with that disturbing handkerchief scene with Tsukiyama and Kaneki for today's Cartoon Sunday.
Tokyo Ghoul "A Rare Treat" [Handkerchief Scene] (2014)
Song Saturday: Alice Cooper's Welcome To My Nightmare
Posted by Anna H. on September 30, 2017 at 10:55 AM comments (0)
How's it going my gumdrops? In case any or ALL of you took offense to yesterday's blog, you have to remember, that I have spent the last 4 YEARS putting my blood, sweat, tears, and PRIDE into building this website. Having to constantly deal with those, who only care about themselves rather than me, my content, and others is upsetting.
Like I said countless times, if you do NOT genuinely care about anything I share on my website and are only here to say that you KNOW somebody, who has her own website to further your personal agenda, then please unsubscribe.
A definite way to be ousted from this site is to ask or ASSUME, that I am "PMS'ing." Nobody wants or needs false supporters, social climbers, rude, and inconsiderate critics as subscribers.
There are times when I am highly tempted to erase this entire website I built because it can feel pointless having it. This is especially, when SO many people are indifferent to my short stories and blogs because they are not about inciting political division and HATRED.
I cannot speak for everyone. However, I feel this week has been a nightmare for many of us on AND offline. You already know this past week has been brutal for yours truly. The last 2 days have especially been nightmares.
Ever have any of your nightmares come true? I have at least several times. Speaking of nightmares, today's music video by Alice Cooper is a classic. I hunted for a better quality of his music video for "Welcome To My Nightmare," but this was the closest I could find.
Sometimes MTV Classic plays Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare." This song is actually older than both the music video and yours truly. In fact, the song is literally 7 years older than me.
"Welcome To My Nightmare" has been covered by the late Ronnie James Dio, Steve Lukather, Bob Kulick, Phil Soussan, Randy Castillo, and Paul Taylor over the years.
That's not including Cooper himself performing his song on The Muppet Show, during the 1980's. I am sharing the original music video for "Welcome To My Nightmare." It is a rare gem, that the younger generations never had a chance to see for themselves.
If you do not have MTV Classic, you are not likely to see this music video by Alice Cooper. That's unless you voluntarily search for it online.
Chances are highly great that Generations Y and Z have never watched the original "Welcome To My Nightmare." That's unless they were forced to watch it on a music channel because it was already on TV. Anyway, here is the original music video for Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare" for today's Song Saturday.
Alice Cooper "Welcome To My Nightmare" Welcome To My Nightmare (1975)
It's Not All Gumdrops And Unicorns Q+A 2017 [Part 2]
Posted by Anna H. on September 24, 2017 at 5:00 AM comments (4)
How's it going my gumdrops? Looks like more readers were interested in yesterday's Q&A blog. This is fantastic. I spent all last week working on these Q&A blogs mainly yesterday's. Hopefully, new readers learned something informative.
In case you missed yesterday's Q&A, you can read it HERE.
Song Saturday will resume on September 30th and Cartoon Sunday on October 1st. Speaking of cartoons, I think about how younger Millennials and Generation Z got shafted as children sometimes.
Younger viewers don't necessarily know what it was like to watch all their favorite cartoons on local channels before going to school, in the morning, rushing home to watch their favorite cartoons after school, and watching more of them on Saturday and Sunday mornings. By the time I attended high school during the late '90s, most local channels removed cartoons and other programming for minors.
More families began paying for cable and local programming for children and teenagers was replaced with Court and Daytime Talk Shows.
In 1996, Cartoon Network went nationwide on cable, as opposed to being in SELECT cities in certain states. Then, 1 year later, the network launched the Toonami block. Local networks stopped caring about younger viewers because all their programming was sent to cable. Basically, children's local programming became obsolete.
Local networks assumed that everyone had cable 20 years ago, just like most people today assume that everyone has Internet access and want to watch online streams of shows rather than watching TV.
{2017 Q&A Part 2:}
Today is Part 2 of my Q&A blog. Because there was only 1 last person to ask me a question, today's Q&A is all about answering Victor's question. He asks:
I have found a recent rare interview with Stuart Snyder from 2017. I have been listening to the podcast and it's a very interesting insect on the man himself. What are your thoughts about this podcast? Here's a link to it:
WGN Radio: The Business Behind Cartoons
Victor, I listened to this podcast last Sunday night. From the sounds of the podcaster, she seemed to be gushing over her interview with Stuart Snyder. It is understandable why she would be because he is best known for running Cartoon Network.
However, this is the SAME man, who is notorious for destroying Cartoon Network by launching boy-centric Reality TV Shows and sexist programming in general, which replaced the Toonami block, 9 years ago.
For Snyder to say, that Toonami tanked in the ratings, it was mostly due to airing some of the WORST Action Anime, the network could find.
Last I remembered, Stuart Snyder was and still is the most hated president of Cartoon Network. Who in their right mind wanted to sit through watching something as stupid as Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo? I mean, really? C'mon! Even One Piece isn't that dumb.
Not that I was severely heartbroken over Toonami's cancelation like most fans were. I always cherry picked, which cartoons I watched from both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.
The podcaster and Stuart Snyder did make some valid points about Cartoon Network needing to air more child friendly cartoons. At the same time, Snyder ruined quality animation with his need to air the most dimwitted cartoons like Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack.
You may be rolling your eyes, scoffing, and thinking, "This is coming from the same lady, who still thinks Beavis and Butt-Head is hilarious." See, there's the whole "so stupid, that it is hilarious." Then, there is mind numbingly stupid, that you can feel your IQ dropping kind of stupid.
It also did not help that by 2005, Cartoon Network started airing more live action movies. It was named "Cartoon Network" for a reason. Cartoon Network and Adult Swim should return to airing animation ONLY.
Both networks are mostly garbage programming. Therefore, more people both young and old are forced to watch online streams of shows. If Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and all cable/satellite networks still had some level of integrity left, they would stop chastising, insulting, dumbing down, politicizing, and dictating what viewers want to watch.
I believe more viewers would spend less time watching shows online and more time watching TV again, if creators tried being original. When I say original, I mean stop remaking/rebooting classic shows ad nauseam and come up with their own ideas.
How about TV networks and Hollywood entertainers make entertainment FUN, again?
I hope I answered your question, Victor.
Posted by Anna H. on September 23, 2017 at 2:35 AM comments (14)
How's it going my gumdrops? Today is the 4th anniversary of me building as well as launching this website, 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 also noticed that this year is more like a so-called "Sausage Party." This really should not be a surprise to me.
Since the time of DJ'ing and hosting my radio show at WIPZ in 2002, my audience was ALWAYS male-dominated. It always felt like 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, does not 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:
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:
Song Saturday: Tristania's My Lost Lenore (2017)
Cartoon Sunday: Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado [OMG! HE TALKS!] (2017)
Also, here is my blog listing page. It shows all my most recent blogs. THIS is the page, that you should be checking on a regular basis, when you miss blogs.
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?
1) During the 1990's, 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 have 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 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 site shut down and relaunched itself 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 SOONER in 2013, while collecting more subscribers for an e-mail list, after the original announcement about Xanga shutting down. It would've been 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 futility, DON'T waste your time and OTHER people's time social climbing, copycatting, and acting like a pretentious, attention whore just 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 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. 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?
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 binge on Anime years ago, I still watched a wide variety of animation and I like to share some of that variety in Cartoon Sunday blogs.
During the mid-1980'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 a few 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 continuously 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 watch 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.
Cartoon Sunday: Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado [OMG! HE TALKS!]
How's it going my gumdrops? As a quick update about that suspicious e-mail message, which was my supposed Webs "billing statement," Webs officially contacted me, last night. As, I already expected, that billing statement was fraudulent.
When I clicked on that "billing statement" e-mail message, it looked like Ransomware. In case you missed yesterday's Song Saturday, click on the following link:
Also, don't forget that Song Saturday AND Cartoon Sunday will be postponed, NEXT WEEKEND for my annual Q&A. Your questions are due SEPTEMBER 22ND. Here are the following details about this upcoming Q&A blog.
More Quick Updates And Another Q +A Blog (2017)
Let's continue where we left off yesterday with more Edgar Allan Poe. Nearly 2 years ago, I published 2 Cartoon Sunday blogs featuring Short Horror Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. An animated short of "The Tell-Tale Heart" was 1 of the 2, that I shared.
I am not re-sharing that particular story today. However, like I said ~ 2 years ago, Poe's "The Cask Of Amontillado" has been my favorite for the last 2 decades. Who DOESN'T love a good Revenge Story? You know I do.
While hunting for an animated short for "The Cask Of Amontillado" for Cartoon Sunday 2 years ago, I came across this creepy-looking video of Edgar Allan Poe "narrating" the story. Those of you, who NEVER watched this video, will know what I'm talking about, very soon.
Someone took 1 of Poe's portraits and turned it into some creepy CGI video. Imagine Edgar Allan Poe being animated to TALK. If you want to see it with your own 2 eyes, click on the Cartoon Sunday blog link below and listen to Poe "narrate" "The Cask Of Amontillado."
Cartoon Sunday: Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado (2015)
Song Saturday: Tristania's My Lost Lenore
How's it going my gumdrops? After signing back online yesterday, there was a message in my inbox supposedly from Webs. It was about a "billing statement" I needed to pay. Otherwise, this website would be "terminated" within 24 HOURS.
I could not help reacting to such an e-mail message. I built this website for free, while I was still helping my uncle with his own company, 4 years ago. This e-mail message led to me contacting Webs.
Webs replied back and said, that they will be investigating this suspicious message. The "billing statement" message has also been sent to other site owners.
Aside from the suspicious e-mail message supposedly from Webs, this weekend's blogs have an Edgar Allan Poe theme. If you have been friends with me for the last decade or so or have at least been a subscriber of mine within these last 4 years, you already know that I am an Edgar Allan Poe fan. A stereotypical Goth trait. Am I right?
Considering that there are a few songs written about legendary authors, I decided to search for songs written about Edgar Allan Poe. Lo and behold were at least several songs about him.
"My Lost Lenore" by the Symphonic Gothic Metal band, Tristania, really caught my ears. The name of this band sounds vaguely familiar. Tristania comes from Dalane, Norway.
If you have ever read ANY of Edgar Allan Poe's work, the name, Lenore should sound very familiar to you. This is especially if you loved reading his narrative poem, "The Raven."
In the 1845 poem, "The Raven," the character Lenore is assumed to be a deceased wife. Poe wrote a poem specifically titled, "Lenore," which was published 2 years before "The Raven," also.
After listening to Tristania's song, "My Lost Lenore," I instantly thought of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." The song was written by Morten Veland. If you would like to read the lyrics to "My Lost Lenore," click on the link right HERE.
"My Lost Lenore" was released on Tristania's debut album Widow's Weeds in 1998. Wow! This album will turn 20 next year and I just discovered this song 2 days ago. Had I known about Tristania years ago, I would've included the band on my music playlist, when I hosted my radio show.
To make up for it, I am sharing this Symphonic Gothic Metal band with you today. Besides, it has been a while, since I last shared any Gothic Metal bands in a Song Saturday blog. Better late than never, right? Anyway, here is Tristania's "My Lost Lenore" for today's Song Saturday.
Tristania "My Lost Lenore" Widow's Weeds [1998]
Cartoon Sunday: Witch Hunter Robin
Posted by Anna H. on September 10, 2017 at 12:40 PM comments (0)
How's it going my gumdrops? Trying to find the Action Supernatural Occult Detective Thriller Anime, Witch Hunter Robin last week was like struggling to pull teeth. After learning that Toonami is expanding their block again to now 4/3 am Central to re-air Cowboy Bebop for the gajillionth time, I became annoyed.
Anime News Network: Toonami Adds Half Hour of Programming With Cowboy Bebop
This latest news not only annoys more of us viewers because Cowboy Bebop has been replayed TOO many times, since the launch of Adult Swim in 2001, but also because Toonami wants to waste too much time pandering to certain fandoms.
Last month, Adult Swim's Toonami block acquired the rights to re-air Outlaw Star. I have been hearing about this particular series for years by its fans and how it needs to be put back on TV. Because I never had time to watch this series, when it was on TV, I had no comment about it.
After Adult Swim premiered the "uncut" version of Outlaw Star on their version of the Toonami block last month, I failed to see why it's had so much hype. I tried watching it but kept spacing out. Like I have said many times over the last 5 years, Adult Swim has overlooked many Anime over the last 16 years.
If Toonami wants to re-air older and more obscure Action Anime, why not show Action Anime titles, that younger viewers never had a chance to watch because their parents banned them from watching Adult Swim at night?
Even though I was a college student, when Adult Swim launched in September 2001, there were other shows I never had time to watch, since they aired during sleeping hours. Those hours were late at night and in the early morning.
Considering that the animated content was meant for ADULT viewers, Adult Swim always took over Cartoon Network late at night. Over the last several years, Adult Swim has been squeezed into the primetime slot. Therefore, it would be so much better to air shows at more reasonable times for their viewers to watch.
During the early Saturday evenings, Adult Swim airs the Dragon Ball franchise before re-airing them during the Toonami block. Giving this Anime franchise 2 HOURS to air on Saturday nights, while others only get 1 airing seems unfair to fans of other series.
Since earlier this year, I have sat through watching YouTube vlogs and reading online tantrums about Once Piece being replaced for Tokyo Ghoul. If Toonami did not waste time and money promoting the Dragon Ball franchise by giving it 2 HOURS, One Piece could've still aired on the block. Then, One Piece fans would not have spent MONTHS taking their anger and resentment out on Tokyo Ghoul and us fans.
Speaking of Tokyo Ghoul, this Horror Action Anime should be ending on September 30th. Considering that The Toonami Team is on that kick of re-airing older Action Anime, why not make Witch Hunter Robin Tokyo Ghoul's replacement to usher in Halloween?
Witch Hunter Robin English Dubbed Trailer (2003)
Witch Huner Robin may NOT be filled with Splatterpunk Horror Action like Tokyo Ghoul, however it does have supernatural and occult themes filled action. Witch Hunter Robin also has a history of airing once on Adult Swim, during 2004.
Witch Hunter Robin Adult Swim Promo (2004)
It was not until "binge watching" this series online 2 years later, that I was able to watch it. Like I said earlier, there were other shows I never had time to watch on Adult Swim years ago because other shows aired during times, when most people were sleeping.
During 2004, I was still a college student and had to be in bed for morning classes. As the voice actor for the character, Amon (Crispin Freeman) said, Witch Hunter Robin is "wonderfully gothic and romantic." The 2nd half of this Action Supernatural Occult Detective Thriller's scripts were adapted in English by Freeman as well.
At the beginning of this blog, I said that trying to find online streams of Witch Hunter Robin now is like struggling to pull out teeth. This is all due to Funimation's NEED to monopolize and control the Anime Industry.
Luckily, I was just able to find a site with streams of this Anime. Anyway, here is Witch Hunter Robin for today's Cartoon Sunday.
Witch Hunter Robin: Episode 1 [English Dubbed] (2002)
Song Saturday: Richard Bellis' George Dies From The Original IT Soundtrack
Posted by Anna H. on September 9, 2017 at 4:50 AM comments (2)
How's it going my gumdrops? On Thursday night for Throwback Thursday, I re-shared 2 older blogs regarding clowns around social media. Let's just say I managed to "trigger" some people's coulrophobia.
First I re-shared my Song Saturday blog, which featured Trippy The Clown's music video, "Shut Up." The image of Trippy which appeared after sharing it on World of Anime, frightened some. On the Anime based social media site, I talked to a few about Trippy's image and coulrophobia.
Because those same coulrophobics seemed interested in my blog about coulrophobia, I shared that blog after the Trippy The Clown blog. In the coulrophobia blog, there is a gif of a cute and friendly-looking Auguste Clown waving. That image frightened the same people, also.
If any of you are interested in learning about the fear of clowns, click on the following link.
Why Are Some People Coulrophobic? (2014)
Now that the 2017 remake of Stephen King's IT has been released in theaters as of yesterday, it would not surprise me if more coulrophobics became "triggered."
IT Remake Extended Trailer (2017)
After watching the remake's extended trailer above yesterday morning, it seems as if the remake of Stephen King's IT has potential to actually be a decent remake. As you already know, I am opposed to remakes and reboots 97% of the time.
The remake for Stephen King's IT seems like it has more jump scares and Splatterpunk Horror than the original film. Because this 2017 remake is an R-rated movie meant for theater viewers, the filmmaker had more flexibility to show more grisly content from King's novel.
Have I ever read Stephen King's novel, IT? No, I have not. However, I did watch the original TV movie that aired on ABC in 1990.
IT Classic Trailer (1990)
Before IT aired on TV, I will never forget picking up the TV Guide in my cousins' house to check the TV schedule and seeing ABC's advertisement of Tim Curry as Pennywise The Clown. As a little girl, I remember feeling somewhat scared.
Stephen King's IT contributed to people's extreme fear of clowns. Pennywise The Clown is normally a source of most people's coulrophobia.
It was not until 3 years ago, that I began conducting research and learning about such a strange phobia. My youngest aunt has a fear of clowns. Although, her fear is NOT as extreme as some people's coulrophobia.
When it comes to Stephen King's Horror novel, IT is supposedly more of a Coming-Of-Age Story about 7 children being terrorized by shapeshifter, that exploits their fears and phobias. This is in order to disguise itself, while hunting its prey.
This creepy shapeshifter the 7 children refer to as "It" mostly appears in the form of a clown named Pennywise, in order to lure its preferred prey of young children. In the novel, "It" takes the form of bats, leeches, werewolves, and sharks.
Meanwhile, this shapeshifter takes the shape of a serial killer named Pennywise The Dancing Clown, Mr. Robert "Bob" Gray, and Mrs. Kersh. Its true form is a giant female spider in the novel and original movie from 1990.
By me not seeing the 2017 remake of King's IT, I have no idea if the shapeshifter's real appearance is also a giant female spider or not. Past readers and viewers like some of us know that Its actual appearance is a GIANT spider, that shapeshifts into any child's worst fears, that traumatizes him/her into adulthood.
The staple themes in Stephen King's Horror novel are the power of memory, childhood trauma that is carried into adulthood, the hidden ugliness lurking behind a small-town quaintness, and overcoming evil through mutual trust and friendship.
Aside from King's Horror novel IT and the movies based on it, Richard Bellis composed the score to the original 1990 film. If you have not noticed lately, I have been sharing more music from Horror movies.
I cannot help emphasizing how much music sets the tone for TV shows and movies. This is especially when it's in regards to Horror films. The song I'm sharing with you today by Bellis is called "George Dies."
The story begins with George Denbrough sailing his paper sail boat. The paper sail boat sails down the storm drain. Shortly after George's boat flows down the drain, Pennywise The Clown appears and entices him with balloons and circus food.
IT "George Meets Pennywise" Scene (1990)
As writen in the novel and shown in the original movie made for TV, George OR "Georgie" declines Pennywise's offer and reaches for his sail boat. While George reaches for his boat, Pennywise grabs him, rips off the boy's arm, and kills him.
Combining Tim Curry's voice with that creepy music is enough to scare anybody watching this classic. Anyway, here is Richard Bellis' "George Dies" from the IT Soundtrack for today's Song Saturday.
Richard Bellis "George Dies" IT Soundtrack (1990)
Cartoon Sunday: Mr. Nightmare's True Pizza Delivery Horror Story [PARANORMAL]
Posted by Anna H. on September 3, 2017 at 11:35 AM comments (4)
How's it going my gumdrops? How creepy was the theme song from The Amityville Horror Soundtrack, that I shared yesterday? If you ask yours truly, I feel haunted houses and paranormal activity are more terrifying than monsters, unless they are Gremlins.
We all know those cynics, who don't believe in ghosts or much of anything that can't be proven based on science. This may be difficult to believe, but science is NOT the answer to everything.
A few years ago, I started reminiscing about the Scooby-Doo franchise. In fact, I happened to be watching a Scooby-Doo TV series. As an adult, I realized just how incredibly cynical the overall franchise has been over the last 48 years.
Have you EVER noticed that every time the characters on Scooby-Doo had to solve supernatural and paranormal related mysteries, there were ALWAYS arguments to disprove that supernatural and paranormal phenomena existed?
Growing up as a little girl during the 1980's and '90s, I was annoyed by the cynicism. I understand, that CBS and Hanna-Barbera wanted to appease the parent watch groups, in order to prevent more protesting during the '60s, but they actually helped promote and validated cynicism.
I will even go as far as saying that CBS, Hanna-Barbera, and other companies caused the last 3-4 generations to grow up to be cynics, who have to disprove EVERYTHING, that doesn't fit their narrative about something being SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN.
Do you remember Charles Riborg Mann and George Ransom Twiss' book Physics? In the 1910 book, they asked: "When a tree falls in a lonely forest, and no animal is near by to hear it, does it make a sound? Why?"
The question was supposed to be about physical point of view. However, I believe it was a question made to validate and promote other people's denial of something OR someone's existence with more cynicism. This can ESPECIALLY be said about those, who refuse to acknowledge supernatural and paranormal phenomena.
Let's use the Scooby-Doo franchise as an example. In the original cartoon from 1969, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Fred, Velma, and DAPHNE did NOT believe in ghosts and monsters. All 3 characters were ALWAYS validated by the end of each episode.
You may be saying, "Anna, you're overthinking this. It's only a cartoon." Scooby-Doo may be a cartoon, but it is a cartoon that has hidden messages in it. You really have to read between the lines so to say and pay close attention to the underlying messages.
You could argue that Hanna-Barbera did not want to scare children with supernatural and paranormal phenomena. At the same time, the characters and the writing in this cartoon appear as being cynical.
Anyone who believes in supernatural and paranormal phenomena are viewed as being crazy and delusional because cynics bought into George Berkeley's philosophical lies about "immaterialism."
Immaterialism in philosophy is basically the metaphysical denial of the existence of the material world. In other words, it's just your imagination; It's ALL in your head.
If some have not learned much of anything in today's blog, you should at least realize that just because you did not see or hear something or someone, does not mean that something or someone does NOT exist.
This next creepy story is another true pizza delivery story. It comes from YouTube's Mr. Nightmare. Mr. Nightmare's story was turned into an animation by Llama Arts.
In this paranormal story, Mr. Nightmare does his pizza delivery to a hidden house near the woods at night. Anyway, here is his true pizza delivery story for today's Cartoon Sunday. Let the cynicism begin!
Mr. Nightmare's True Pizza Delivery Horror Story (2016)
Song Saturday: The Amityville Horror Theme Song
How's it going my gumdrops? It appears that some visitors and subscribers are really liking this festive background, now that Halloween is creeping around the corner. I got several oohs and ahs online yesterday. Thank you so much for liking the current scenery! After October, this scenery will return next September to usher in the fall, Halloween, and the 5th anniversary of It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.
Check Out The Latest Scenery On It's Not All Gumdrops And Unicorns! (2017)
Aside from the latest scenery, it is Song Saturday. Originally, I meant to share this last April while house hunting last spring, but was side tracked with other issues at the time.
Last April, I went house hunting with my family and my grandmother wanted us to attend an open house for a house, that she and my mother found. After parking in front of that house, I instantly got creepy vibes from it. It was as if my whole body was humming The Amityville Horror Theme Song.
The Amityville Horror Trailer (1979)
Speaking of the 1979 Paranormal Horror film, it was based on Jay Anson's 1977 novel of the same name. If you have never watched the original movie, I recommend doing so. It should make you think twice about house hunting.
Like I said above, the house my family and I took a tour of last April instantly gave me creepy vibes to the extent that my entire body hummed The Amityville Horror Theme Song. Rather than it being painted white, it was a Lavender Blue color.
The overall exterior looked like an abandoned home on a cold and dreary-looking day with someone's ginormous, khaki shorts embedded into the backyard's grass. Who the hell flees a house leaving SHORTS behind and in the backyard? Come on! Was the house THAT haunted?
Regardless, that house creeped me out so much, I nicknamed it "The Amityville Horror House." It was already bad enough, that the house we've been living in for the last 17 years is currently haunted. Anytime someone left SHORTS behind in the backyard OF ALL places, there was no telling HOW haunted that Lavender Blue house was that we visited.
You may be in stitches from laughing at my description of that house, but the creepy vibes I got from it were INTENSE. There's no telling what happened in it. Somebody's corpse could've been buried in the backyard and the burier probably FORGOT to bury the shorts with the corpse.
To add to my unease, a mental institution was located literally 1 BLOCK AWAY from that creepy house. Call me "crazy" but there were too many red flags with that house and its location. Hypothetically speaking, if we were to live in "The Amityville Horror House," I would be getting less sleep than I have been over the last decade or so.
When it comes to the actual Amityville Horror House, Jay Anson's novel was based on the paranormal experiences that The Lutz Family endured in December 1975.
On November 13, 1974, which was 1 year EARLIER, Ronald DeFoe Jr. shot and killed 6 of his family members in a large, Dutch Colonial House, in the Amityville Village. This 5-bedroom house is situated on the south shore of Long Island, NY; It is in a suburban neighborhood in Amityville. The exact address of the murders is 112 Ocean Avenue.
In November 1975, which was literally 1 month before The Lutz Family moved into the house, Ronald DeFoe Jr. was convicted of 2nd degree murder. Meanwhile, The Lutz Family moved into the same house DeFoe killed his family in for $80,000.
That price was considered to be a so-called "bargain." The house was also still furnished, since the time of the murders.
The Lutz Family moved into the 5-bedroom Dutch Colonial House for 80 grand on December 19, 1975, then fled after 28 days of being terrorized by the paranormal activity stemming from the DeFoe murders.
While author Jay Anson documented The Amityville Horror, George and Kathy Lutz heavily supervised him. If ANYTHING, this real life story should make people think TWICE about house hunting on a bargain.
Anyway, since this blog heavily focuses on The Amityville Horror, here is the theme song for it composed by Lalo Schifirin for today's Song Saturday.
Lalo Schifrin "The Amityville Horror Main Title" The Amityville Horror Soundtrack (1979)
Check Out The Latest Scenery On It's Not All Gumdrops And Unicorns!
How's it going my gumdrops? Is that gif above freaky or what? It looks like it can reach out and grab you! It is now September 1st, which means we have ONLY 22 more days, until the 4th anniversary of It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.
I was REALLY looking forward to changing It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' web interface design. After experimenting with other interfaces, I changed my mind.
Even though there were some unique interface designs, I did not want a blank center where the text to my blogs go. You may question, "Anna, what's the big deal about having a blank center?"
Having a blank center would make this website look partially nude and I don't want to always hunt for compatible designs to complete every scenery. Having a blank center is the equivalent of having a missing piece to a puzzle.
If I did change the web interface design, the About and this Blog page would be white with the scenery ONLY being on the sides. I dislike that appearance. Blogster has that same appearance, which was another reason WHY I quit blogging on Blogster, 3 years ago.
Whenever friends, acquaintances, entertainers, visitors, other bloggers, and authors visit It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, they instantly compliment the designs. Then, some of those same people want to build their own websites, if not PAY somebody else to build their websites for them.
I love having a web interface design, which fills the entire site like the interface design I have been using for the last 3 years. Even though I did NOT change this interface, I DID change the background scenery for Halloween.
You can expect this scenery to stay, until November 1st. It helps to usher in the fall season, while looking festive for Halloween. Because September 23rd will be the 4th anniversary of It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, you can expect another Q&A blog.
Yes, there were other Q&A blogs I published recently. I thought about publishing those types of blogs on a regular basis and asked if you would like to see more of those blogs.
Since it seemed like most of you were indifferent to having Q&A blogs published regularly, I quit publishing them during the week. However, this type of Q&A is published annually for the anniversary of It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.
Therefore, if you have any more questions for yours truly (1-3 questions maximum), feel free to ask them in the comments section below.
Also, if subscribers would like to publish a testimonial on the Testimonials page, you are more than welcome to do so. Publishing a testimonial on the Testimonials page is more like publishing an online review. After submitting your testimonial, I can revise and edit it on my end considering that I am the webmaster of this website.
Having more testimonials helps generate MORE traffic to It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.
Cartoon Sunday: Tim Burton's Vincent [Narrated By Vincent Price]
Posted by Anna H. on August 27, 2017 at 10:55 AM comments (5)
How's it going my gumdrops? How did you like yesterday's Song Saturday blog, which featured Rammstein? Most viewers have probably never seen those other videos by them, unless they watch YouTube.
MTV, MTV2, and Fuse TV only aired Rammstein's music videos for "Amerika," "Feuer Frei," and "Du Hast." "Amerika" was not included in yesterday's blog because it was already a long blog. I never saw those other music videos, that were shared, until working on yesterday's Song Saturday blog.
Hopefully, more of you enjoyed that blog because I spent a lot of time working on it. Aside from my blog about Rammstein, it is Cartoon Sunday.
After watching this Animated Horror Stop-Motion Short for today, it reminded me of a Creative Writing Class I had taken. While attending UW-Parkside 15 years ago, I took a Creative Writing- Poetry course. We learned about different types of poetry. This included creating our own story poems.
Because our Creative Writing professor wanted us to write our story poems based on a past excursion, I wrote about the time I shopped at the store, Circuit City and bought KoRn's Follow The Leader album.
Oh, how I miss the days of Circuit City. If only Best Buy had helpful and competent employees, quality electronics, and better organization. As I was saying, I wrote a story poem about shopping for KoRn's 3rd album. I wish I remembered how I wrote that story poem years ago. It's somewhere in 1 of my old roller backpacks.
Returning to the topic of today's Cartoon Sunday, I found a rare gem by Tim Burton. On October 1, 1982, the Gothic Horror filmmaker released the Animated Horror Stop-Motion Short, Vincent.
Tim Burton's Vincent was a story poem with a sing-songy rhyme scheme about the delusional 7-year-old boy, Vincent Malloy. It was also narrated by the late great Vincent Price.
I say that Vincent Malloy is a delusional 7-year-old boy for a reason. I may take it a step further by saying that he is quite morbid for his age. Not that I can really talk. When I was Vincent Malloy's age, I was a morbid little girl except I did not practice experiments on my pets like a mad scientist, in order to create zombies.
In hopes of creating a ravenous zombie dog, Vincent practices experiments on his dog, Abercrombie. The character also idolizes Vincent Price, is obsessed with the works of Edgar Allan Poe including Poe's "The Raven," believes he's some "tortured artist," and is deprived of the woman he loves.
Some of you may find my description of Vincent Malloy to be patronizing, but you really have to watch Vincent for yourself. This Animated Gothic Horror Short was filmed, when Tim Burton was still an animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Vincent was Burton's 2nd Disney Horror film. In 1980, he debuted with the British American Horror film, The Watcher In the Woods.
I enjoyed Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, the Pee-wee Herman franchise, and the first 3 Batman films. This may or may not come as a shock to you but I am not a huge Tim Burton fan.
Even though the Beetlejuice franchise, during the late 1980's and early 1990's contributed to me being a Goth little girl, I find a lot of his other work to be contrived.
As much as I enjoy watching SOME campy entertainment, there is a time and a place for campiness.
Years ago at James O'Barr's panel for The Crow, O'Barr said he was approached with the idea of having Tim Burton turn his comic book into a Broadway musical, starring Michael Jackson. As much as I like Michael Jackson, that SCREAMS laughingstock.
It made sense for James O'Barr to turn down the offer. The Crow comic book was not comedic; O'Barr's comic book was mostly about tragedy.
When something is TOO campy, it starts to look and feel contrived.
Anyway, to lighten the mood and to segue into the Halloween spirit early, here is Tim Burton's Vincent narrated by the late great Vincent Price, for today's Cartoon Sunday.
Vincent [Narrated By Vincent Price] (1982)
Song Saturday: Rammstein Block
Posted by Anna H. on August 26, 2017 at 9:15 AM comments (2)
How's it going my gumdrops? Tomorrow night will be the 2017 MTV VMA's, hosted by the God awful Katy Perry. Apparently, MTV was extremely desperate for a VMA host anytime she's hosting this year's VMA's. Sometimes Katy gets snubbed for a VMA.
After last year's RACIALLY DIVISIVE show (It was like the BET Awards), I noticed there are more RACIALLY DIVERSE performers. MTV actually included more white entertainers, this year.
However, there being more racially diverse performers doesn't necessarily mean, that the VMA's will be worth watching. It could be another politically and racially divisive show like the last 2 VMA's.
Then again, now that Taylor Swift is back to starting more shit with her usual call out songs, something tells me that a cat fight may break out between she and Katy Perry. I find both of them to be incredibly sickening including KimYe.
Maybe I WILL watch this year's VMA's, after all. The best part about the MTV VMA's are the feuds these days. God knows it's not the music videos. I would laugh my ass off if KimYe, Katy, and Taylor ALL got their asses kicked. They are SO sickening!
Hopefully, there will be music tributes this year, since we lost Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington. Let's see if these tributes come to fruition unlike last year, when no music icon from MTV got a tribute. Last year, we lost 5 ICONS too soon!
Since I am already on the topic of Rock, I browsed the MTV VMA's archive to see what bands were nominated and won the Best Rock Video category. If you know the history of MTV, you already know, that the network launched in 1981.
MTV did not launch the VMA's, until 1984 YET the Best Rock Video category was NOT launched, until 1989. Considering that MTV has been playing Rock music videos since its launch, you would've thought the category always existed. Looks like you learn something new everyday.
Originally, the category was labeled Best Heavy Metal Video in 1989. Even though Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" was from 30 years ago, their video won this category 28 years ago.
GnR won over Aerosmith's "Rag Doll," Def Leppard's "Pour Some Surgar On Me" (both those music videos also released 30 years ago), and Metallica's "One."
When you have been watching MTV as long as some of us veterans, you start noticing the changes in the programming. Like I said earlier this month, how the mighty have fallen. Since 2004, MTV turned into a joke, especially when it comes to the VMA's.
In 2007, which was the same year Britney Spears bombed for the very 1st time ever as a VMA performer (also the same year she got divorced from Kevin Federline, had a breakdown, and shaved her head), MTV removed the Best Rock Video category.
The 2007 MTV VMA's was 1 of the WORST in VMA history. That year, MTV removed most of its original VMA categories. Then in 2008, the network brought them back probably because they realized that the 2007 MTV VMA's was a Shit Sandwich.
Once tomorrow night's VMA's end, something tells me that MTV will have to bring back their gender and some other missing categories, again because they will have angered more viewers for promoting genderless politics, CONTRIVED political correctness, and other regressive, political propaganda.
After last year's MTV VMA's, I believe it topped being the WORST to date. There is no telling how horrible this year's VMA's will be. For the 2017 MTV VMA's, Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters, Green Day, and Twenty One Pilots have been nominated for Best Rock Video.
Because the MTV VMA's have been extremely contrived and RIGGED, since 2010 if not before then, chances are highly great the award will be given to any band except Foo Fighters. If they do happen to win over all those shitty Rock bands, I will be shocked.
As I browsed through the category for Best Rock Video, I realized that Rammstein was NEVER nominated for a VMA within the last 2 decades. They were blacklisted from our MTV VMA's.
This is shocking, considering that MTV heavily played their music video for "Du Hast" in 1998. Luckily, Rammstein won a European VMA for Best German Act in 2005.
Then again, with the media's feigned outrage and need to demonize Rammstein as being a "fascist" band because they are from Germany, it shouldn't be a surprise. I have noticed over these last 15 years, that people are quick to label something or someone as a "fascist" or a "nazi."
This is especially when it comes to someone being of German descent or speaking in German.
Leave it up to a news rag like The New York Times, which allows authors with money to lie and pay them to say their books are "best sellers," when they NEVER were, to demonize someone for only being themselves.
The New York Times, which is also called "fake news" today, labeled Rammstein as being a "fascist band" for having militaristic content. Earth to The New York Times! Rammstein is NOT a fascist band!
Rammstein is an apolitical, Industrial Metal band from Germany. The New York Times exemplifies why most people (including celebrities) have always hated tabloids and the media in general.
The media loves to over exaggerate and publish lies about anyone they personally feel is a threat to them.
Rammstein has a total of 6 studio albums, 23 singles, and 26 music videos. For those who don't speak German, here are the English translations of their song titles for the music videos I shared below:
1) "You Smell So Good" 2) "You Hate" 3) "Angel" 5) "Fire At Will!" 6) "No Desire" 7) "Fuel"
You have to click on the link below for the last music video I shared. You must watch it on Vimeo because it is pornographic. In Rammstein's music video for "Pussy," it has porn stars. The band also had their own body doubles for their porn scenes. Yes, we are getting raunchy today. Anyway, here is Rammstein for today's Song Saturday.
1) Rammstein "Du Riechst So Gut" Herzeleid (1995)
2) Rammstein "Du Hast" Sehnsucht (1997)
3) Rammstein [Featuring Bobo] "Engel" Sehnsucht (1997)
4) Rammstein "Stripped [Depeche Mode Cover]" Sehnsucht (1997)
5) Rammstein "Feuer Frei" Mutter (2001); XXX Soundtrack (2002)
6) Rammstein "Keine Lust" Reise, Reise (2004)
7) Rammstein "Benzin" Rosenrot (2005)
[BONUS VIDEO:]
Rammstein "Pussy" Liebee Ist Fur Alle Da (2009)
Cartoon Sunday: 2 True Scary Stories Animated Featuring Corpse Husband and Let's Read
How's it going my gumdrops? Wow! Can you believe that not only is August almost over, but also summer? It seems like it was August 1st just yesterday.
Pretty soon, it will be time to celebrate the 4th anniversary of It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, which is at the beginning of fall. Changing my web interface's design and publishing another Q&A blog in celebration of its 4th anniversary is the goal for next month.
For a while, I planned on giving It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns a different interface. It has looked the same for the last 3 out of 4 years.
Earlier this month, I changed some of the font style. Now that Halloween is creeping around the corner, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns will start looking festive again.
If there is enough time, sharing more Horror, Supernatural, and Halloween themed content are my plans. It is not that I haven't been sharing anything Horror related. There has been all throughout this year. It's just that when it comes to Halloween, the holiday sets the tone for Horror a lot better.
Speaking of Horror, in case you happened to miss yesterday's Song Saturday blog, it was about the solar eclipse, Bonnie Tyler, Rober Englund, urban legends, and the Slasher, Urban Legend. You can can read yesterday's blog at the following:
Song Saturday: Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart (2017)
Meanwhile, I re-shared a Cartoon Sunday blog around Google Plus 3 days ago, that I published before Mother's Day. Axeman Cartoons, Let's Read, and Eden collaborated together for the short, 10 Two Sentence Horror Stories.
In case you missed it, here it is once again.
Cartoon Sunday: Axeman Cartoons' 10 Two Sentence Horror Stories (2017)
Recently, Let's Read was involved in another collaboration. This time, Let's Read, Mort Animations, and Corpse Husband worked together for 2 true scary stories.
Lately, I am starting to notice just how frightening getting gas at the gas station and ordering pizza can be. After watching these 2 true scary stories, narrated by Corpse Husband and Let's Read, it should make you think twice about being alone.
Since today's blog is mostly about Horror, here are 2 true scary stories about being at the gas station and ordering pizza for today's Cartoon Sunday.
2 True Scary Stories Animated Featuring Corpse Husband and Let's Read (2017)
Song Saturday: Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart
Posted by Anna H. on August 19, 2017 at 12:25 PM comments (4)
How's it going my gumdrops? In case you missed the blog I published Wednesday night, regarding primetime shows I will be watching this fall, here it is once again:
What Primetime Shows Will You Be Watching This Fall? (2017)
In that same blog above, I also gave quick reviews on Sleepy Hollow and Grimm. This was along with linking past reviews about those 2 shows and their flaws in that same blog.
Aside from Wednesday night's blog, you should've either read somewhere online or already seen the news about the solar eclipse on August 21st. My local news won't shut up about this eclipse and how we are not supposed to be staring at it.
At the same time, reporters repeatedly tell us to buy the right sunglasses for Monday's solar eclipse because there are faulty sunglasses being sold to stare at it. Does any of this make any sense to you? I am going with a NO.
Since the time the news has been reporting about the solar eclipse, Bonnie Tyler's hit single, "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" has been stuck in my head. MTV Classic aired the music video for it, last month. Every time I hear "Total Eclipse Of The Heart," I now associate it with that scene from the 1998 Slasher Horror film, Urban Legend.
Urban Legend was based on the premise that a serial killer was using strategies described in certain urban legends, in order to kill students at a New England university.
In the beginning of Urban Legend, a tone-deaf Michelle Mancini sings along to Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart," while buying gas at a gas station.
Urban Legend: Gas Station Scene [1998]
It has been years, since I last watched this movie. Urban Legend was filled with urban legends from start to finish. In regards to this particular scene, Michelle Mancini had a killer in the backseat of her SUV. The urban legend about the killer in the backseat is a car-crime urban legend, that was documented by Carlos Drake (folklorist) in 1968.
According to the research done by Indiana University students in '68, the killer in the backseat urban legend typically involves a woman driving a car, while being followed by a strange vehicle. The driver of that vehicle flashes high beams, tailgates, and may even ram her car.
After finally making it home, the woman realizes that the driver was trying to warn her about a man, which could be a murderer, rapist, or an escaped mental patient, hiding in the backseat of her car.
In some instances like what you just watched in the scene above, a woman stops for gas and the attendant can be a lumberjack, trucker, OR a man with a scary-looking appearance, that she mistrusts without reason. He asks her to follow him inside the gas station to sort out her credit card problem.
Inside, the attendant asks the woman if she knows there is a man in the backseat of her car. The woman then assumes, that the gas station attendant wants to hurt her, when in reality, he ends up trying to save her life.
So, what is the moral of this particular urban legend?
It really should be common sense for people to check their vehicles BEFORE getting inside. This most definitely applies to female drivers. Women are always vulnerable to attack by some creep.
What does any of this have to do with the solar eclipse and Bonnie Tyler?
On August 16, 2017, it was reported, that Bonnie Tyler will be performing "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" with Joe Jonas and his Dance-Rock band, DNCE. They are scheduled to aboard the MS Oasis Of The Seas cruise for their performance.
I wonder if Bonnie Tyler, DNCE, and their fans have ever watched the Slasher Horror film, Urban Legend. If you have never watched it, I recommend doing so. It is quite the clever movie.
Not only is the writing for Urban Legend CLEVER, but it also features Robert Englund as Professor Wexler. In this Slasher, he is the professor of American Folklore teaching students about the different types of urban legends. The film especially pays homage to Englund by featuring a puppet of his notorious character, Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare On Elm Street.
I tried finding the exact clip of the Urban Legend scene but had no such luck. However, I did find a video with scenes of Robert Englund in the film.
The Englund Files: Urban Legend [1998]
This should be enough news and trivia for now. Because this is supposed to be a Song Saturday blog about Bonnie Tyler and her 1983 hit single, here is the music video for Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart."
Bonnie Tyler "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" Faster Than The Speed Of Night (1983)
Thank you my gumdrops! Don't forget to like, subscribe, share, + 1 on Google Plus, and leave your feedback in the comments section below!
What Primetime Shows Will You Be Watching This Fall?
Posted by Anna H. on August 16, 2017 at 7:55 PM comments (2)
How's it going my gumdrops? We have now reached the middle of August. It is only a matter of time until it is fall and winter, again. I dread the thought of having to rake leaves and shovel snow all over again. While some people hate the summer, I love it. I love having been born on the cusp of summer, wearing less clothing, and having to do less yard work.
Not having school for 2-3 months (that was if I did NOT have to make up classes in summer school) and a vacation from sickening classmates, teachers, and professors were the best parts about the summer, when I was a student.
Not having TV shows to watch besides fighting and killing bugs have always been major disadvantages about the summer.
As much as I LOVE the summer, it kind of sucks not being able to watch your favorite primetime shows. Just think about it.
TV viewers have to wait 2-3 months, if not longer to watch weekly premieres of our favorite primetime shows. That's if those same shows did not already get canceled.
With the current state of my TV schedule, I only have 3-4 primetime shows to watch during 2017-18, now that Sleepy Hollow, Grimm, and The Real O'Neals have been canceled.
Viewers may not have already noticed that the writing for The Real O'Neals, Sleepy Hollow, and Grimm became too political. This most definitely applies to last year's shows in general.
Since 2016 was an election year, it was as if Hollywood screenwriters at Fox, NBC, and ABC needed to drag in divisive topics such as illegal immigration, homophobia, racism, the 2016 election, and other political topics into their storylines. It can be argued that The Real O'Neals was already political.
The Real O'Neals was an ABC sitcom about a socially inept, homosexual, teenage boy, who came from an Irish Catholic family in Chicago, IL. Before premiering, this sitcom was considered to be "offensive" towards the GLBT, Irish Catholics, and Christians in general.
Considering that The Real O'Neals was being targeted, before its premiere last year, Noah Galvin made a bad situation worse for himself and the entire cast of the show. Had Galvin NOT insulted other homosexual actors from other primetime shows and networks, he probably would've still had a protagonist to play, this season.
Meanwhile, Sleepy Hollow and Grimm were not necessarily meant to be political shows. Both shows were Horror and Supernatural Dramas with Police Procedural themes. Out of the 2, Grimm was my favorite.
I watched Grimm from the very beginning (not that I didn't watch Sleepy Hollow from the very beginning either). Over the years, I saw how much the writing for Grimm started to change.
I hated that the writers wasted too much time focusing on Nick and Juliette's on/off again relationship. This was along with making the show more about everyone else except the protagonist, Nick Burkhardt.
Also, the last 2-3 seasons wasted time politicizing Grimm by having Captain Sean Renard run for mayor. Much like Sleepy Hollow, Grimm had to focus on the 2016 election.
Even though Grimm was a Police Procedural Drama, it was about exploring different folklores. Had the writers spent more time focusing on international folklores rather than politics, I believe Grimm would've lasted longer.
The show's writers alienated their own viewers because of the way they wrote Grimm the last 3 seasons. Actually, I'm surprised that Grimm made it passed 1 whole season on a network like NBC. Sleepy Hollow had similar problems with its writing on Fox.
The writers of Sleepy Hollow CHEATED their viewers as soon as the Horror Drama was granted a 3rd season. Sleepy Hollow was campy, which was what I enjoyed about the show. By its 3rd season, the writing became TOO contrived like some fanboy's shitty fan fiction.
I was already annoyed, that the writers dropped the love triangle which was brewing with Lieutenant Abigail Mills, Ichabod Crane, and the bounty hunter, Nick Hawley in Season 2.
After placing more emphasis on Abigail Mills' sister, Jenny, Joe Corbin, and randomly inserting the Greek mythological character, Pandora and her supposed husband, The Hidden One, during Season 3, the show became unbearable to watch. I'm starting to believe that was probably why the actress for Abbie quit Sleepy Hollow.
How did a show like Sleepy Hollow go from having 10.10 MILLION viewers, during its 1st season to only having 2.93 million viewers by the end of its 3rd season?
Talk about pathetic! That Pandora arc was the ULTIMATE kiss of death for Sleepy Hollow's 3rd season. After the writers killed Lieutenant Abigail Mills, which was a significant character, fans stopped watching. That was if they didn't already stop watching it because of Season 3's premiere, 2 years ago.
When will the Hollywood screenwriters realize, that they are alienating their viewers by writing the most contrived storylines and heavily politicizing their movies and shows?
It's understandable if their TV shows and movies were intentionally contrived and political from the start. It's another to suddenly make shows and movies become political for the sake of wanting to jump on the bandwagon.
Politicizing shows, that were never meant to be political is the kiss of death to viewership. The same applies for contrived writing.
So, what primetime shows will I be watching this fall?
Judging by the looks of it, I will continue to watch American Dad, Family Guy, Hawaii Five-0, and Fresh Off The Boat on weeknights this fall season.
Speaking of political shows like American Dad, I have no idea when it will premiere another season. American Dad premiered its 14th season on November 7, 2016 and will have its season finale on September 11, 2017. There is no mentioning of a 15th season, right now.
Meanwhile, Family Guy premieres its 16th season on October 1, 2017. Now that Adam West and Carrie Fisher are dead, what will Seth MacFarlane do with their characters? Adam voiced Mayor West and Carrie voiced Peter's supervisor, Angela.
After Carrie Fisher's drug overdose last December, MacFarlane said Angela would appear in 2 more episodes, that Fisher already did voiceover work on last season.
Seth MacFarlane had no comment on Angela's future other than saying, that Family Guy will miss Carrie Fisher.
Hawaii Five-0:
As far as Hawaii Five-0 goes, I am somewhat unsure about its new season. The series premieres its 8th season on September 29, 2017. Hawaii Five-0's 2 Asian characters will be gone by their own doing, this season.
Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park demanded to be paid the same amount of money as Scott Caan and Alex O'Loughlin. CBS' final offer to Kim and Park was 10-15% LOWER than O'Loughlin's and Caan's salaries. This made both regulars of Hawaii Five-0 quit.
All the while, the actor Ian Anthony Dale, who plays Kono's Yakuza husband, Adam Noshimuri will stay a part of the show's cast. Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park have been written out of Hawaii Five-0.
TV Line: Hawaii Five-0 Gives Kono's Husband a Promotion, Adds Two in Cast Shake-Up
Grace Park, who played Kono was JUST starting to get interesting. Since the time this Hawaii Five-0 remake premiered in 2010, I always considered Park's portrayal of Kono to be vapid. There was nothing interesting about the character.
Even after getting married to her former Yakuza husband and Kono being a crooked cop like her cousin Chin, Kono was STILL a boring character. It sounds harsh to say, but Grace Park lacks charisma. I always felt that Park should've been replaced with Maggie Q. once the remake of the Spy Action Thriller Drama, Nikita ended in 2013.
Before Hawaii Five-0's 7th season finale, Kono actually became interesting in all of 1 episode about girls being sex trafficked. Season 7 ended with her getting on a bus to track down sex traffickers and Chin was undecided about leaving for San Francisco, CA to run his own task force.
Now that Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim left the cast of Hawaii Five-0, I don't believe too many viewers will be that heartbroken about it. Alex O'Loughlin is the star of the show and Scott Caan is the co-star.
More women are watching Hawaii Five-0 because of Alex O'Loughlin. Scott Caan was automatically grandfathered into playing Dano BECAUSE James Caan is his father.
Fresh Off The Boat:
Last but surely not the least is Fresh Off The Boat. Fresh Off The Boat's 4th season premieres on October 3, 2017. I'm so glad that ABC did NOT cancel this Taiwanese American sitcom!
I was worried about it possibly being canceled last season because the ratings were down much like The Real O'Neals' ratings. Fresh Off The Boat is the only primetime show I continue to watch on ABC.
Because ABC is so talented at canceling TV shows, I stopped investing time in watching most of its programming, years ago. The network loves alienating its viewers probably the most out of all the networks.
Anytime The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise is ABC's cash cow, that says little about them as a network. With that being said, I will be crossing my fingers this fall season.
More Americans spend less time watching TV and more time streaming shows online. I have not made enough time to stream shows online, over the last 5 years. Most of my time is spent doing other things online, if not watching some shows on TV, household chores, or something else.
Anyway, what are your thoughts about primetime shows for this fall? Have you been dying to watch any?