Get On My TinyLetter, STAT!

How's it going creepers and gumdrops? It has been a while, since publishing another blog on OMG, Anna! What's Going On?!

Those of you, who have been with me on this journey for the last 6 1/2 years, already know that the so-called "struggle has been real." 

From the time of joining the original Xanga 7 years ago to Blogster to It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns to Blogger, I still continue to blog. However, I have been blogging a lot less since 2017. 

Job hunting, submitting my short stories to publishers, finding dentists and clinics that accept my insurance for oral extractions, x-rays, etc. Helping to take care of my mother occupies most of my time offline.

As some already know, being a caregiver is a lot of time and work. My mother may not be a vegetable, but she is high maintenance. 

Imagine dealing with a bullheaded and defiant teenager, who acts like a know-it-all with bad health. Yeah, my mother's like that except she is in her late 50's.
 
Despite all the setbacks, I've been updating It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns and previously published blogs on it every so many days, weeks, and months. Therefore, I have not forsaken any of you or my content. In fact, I just changed the background scenery on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. So, check it out!

Why I am telling you all this?

Well, even though I may be unable to publish blogs on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns and OMG, Anna! What's Going On?! (which is on Blogger) 2-3 days a week, I DO update and share previously published blogs every so often and occasionally publish new blogs on both sites.
 
Webs.com has so many glitches. This is especially when it comes to sending and receiving notifications and comments. Their engineers still have yet to repair my Guestbook page.

Meanwhile, Facebook and other social media sites keep destroying the algorithms for entertainers, bloggers, authors, and content creators like yours truly. Therefore, sending newsletters is the best solution.

It has been repeatedly said, that entertainers, bloggers, authors, and content creators should have our own newsletters. 

Why should we have our own newsletter(s)?

Because we have our own content AND contact lists of subscribers. With a newsletter, we have a greater chance of our subscribers seeing our content rather than social media sites like Facebook changing their algorithms to hide our status updates and content on their sites.

For all those, who may have never had a chance to read and comment on past and present blogs, you have a better opportunity of doing so, now. 

If you have friends or know some adults 18 years old or older, that love learning about interesting foreign folklores, writing, music, animation, reading Psychological Horror, Crime, and Psychological Thrillers, etc, etc. send them my way! 

Get on my TinyLetter newsletter, STAT!

I promise not to spam you a gajillion times a day. If I do, you can always blame it on a malfunction.

Anyway, as I continue to work out some other kinks online, stay tuned!

What A Roller Coaster 2018 Has Been!

How's it going my gumdrops? Or should I call you "creepers" on OMG, Anna! What's Going On?! instead?

Let me know what you think sounds better. Gumdrops or creepers?

Yes, I know it has been another month, since last publishing a blog on here and on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.

What a roller coaster 2018 has been for a number of us! Since the start of this year, it has been extremely chaotic. There's no telling how unpredictable the end of the year will be. I can most definitely say that without a doubt.

I cannot help reiterating how stressful this year has been, especially for me both on and offline. 2018 has been a year of backburning projects, relocations, family funerals, repairs, etc. Luckily, some progress has been made towards the end of this year. 

Speaking of relocations, it was recently announced that Google Plus is planned to shut down 8/31/19. Considering the fact that their head moderators act trollish and condescending, and that their social media site is mostly a ghost town, good bye and good riddance to Google Plus!

Because Google Plus' moderators blocked, blacklisted, banned me and my blogs, as well as THREATENED to have my entire Google account suspended, 2 YEARS IN A ROW, they are THE MAIN REASON why I stopped blogging for most of 2018. The crooked moderators controlling Google Plus intentionally killed my blog traffic and page views.

More time was spent throughout 2018 searching for a better social media site than Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, etc. I had no such luck finding a better social media site, until 2 weeks ago.

All my friends, subscribers, visitors, etc. can now find me on the social media site, MeWe.
  
PR Newswire: Full Page "Dear Facebook" Letter In The New York Times From MeWe, The Competitor Mark Zuckerberg Refuses To Name

Imagine if Facebook and Google Plus were combined into 1 social media site, had more security with user friendly interfaces, less toxicity, and less division. THAT  is MeWe. 

Those who are sick of all the other social media sites with their bullshit political propaganda, agendas, division, spam ads, etc. and want to belong to a more interest based social media site with like-minded people, you may want to join MeWe. Recently, I created my own group page on MeWe for OMG, Anna! What's Going On?!

Aside from relocating from Google Plus to MeWe, I managed to submit 3 of my short stories to be reviewed at Writer's Relief, towards the end of last week.

2 of the 3 short stories I submitted for writer reviews were short stories I wrote 12-13 years ago. Even though my work is unpublished, some short stories have been bound to my Creative Writing Chapbook.

Over the last 2 weeks to 5 months, revisions for 6 of the short stories I have written over the last 6-12 years have been made. You're probably thinking to yourselves, "Anna, 6-12 years is a very long time. Why has it taken you so long?"

Battling my own health scare before, during, and after graduating from Carthage College really set me back. Throughout most of my 20's, I was severely ill.

Before my grandfather died in 2004, it was the beginning of what would later become a severe health scare, 2 years later. The first portion of 2006 was when I was the sickest in life.

In 2006, I was supposed to study abroad in Japan the last semester of my college senior year. It never came to fruition.

After my grandfather's death in 2004, my immediate family went through economic hardships. Less than 2 years later, my great-grandmother died. She died the month before my college graduation in 2006.

All the while, the first 6 months of 2006, I was severely ill. By the end of that same year, just when I was recovering from my own health scare, my mother had a severe medical emergency; She suddenly had a seizure.

It took not only a few years for her to be granted disability, but also years for me to be well enough to job hunt again.

Those, who have been my friends and subscribers for the last 5 years on Xanga, Blogster, Horror-Punks, and on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns already know, that I haven't helped my uncle with his company again, since 2013. However, that was due to my uncle appeasing his lying, gold digging, shrew. She micromanaged and purposely sabotaged his company, while plotting to replace ME with her FRIEND'S daughter. Therefore, you can do the math on that catastrophic division.

After my uncle ousted me from his company to appease his shrew, I've had more time to focus on my own content. In other words, I had more time to be the webmaster and blogger on my own website. This cannot be said regarding 2018.

The first part of 2018 was spent finding an oral surgeon, who was willing to accept my insurance for my wisdom tooth to be extracted. It wasn't extracted until 2 weeks before my birthday, 6 months ago.

Meanwhile, the constant interruptions mostly dealing with my mother's neediness, hypochondria combined with actual health problems that she has, doctor's appointments, home repairs, remodeling, and chores occupied most of 2018. I just managed to squeeze in time to revise my short stories for writer's submissions.

As of last Thursday, I feel like I was finally able to accomplish a long overdue goal. Now, I must wait at least 2 more weeks for reviews on 3 of the short stories I submitted. Knowing that I was able to accomplish at least 1 goal for 2018 makes me feel a little better about myself.

Hopefully, the reviews for my short stories are positive. Right now, I could really use some positive news. Like I said earlier, this year has been a roller coaster. 2018 has been so stressful, that I am only 36 and have been forced to recently take blood pressure medication.

If it is possible, I want to publish another blog on my website, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns explaining about the short stories I submitted to Writer's Relief for reviews.

So, what are your thoughts?

In the following links below, don't forget to find me on MeWe and let me know what you think! Thank you and I look forward to seeing you there!

mewe.com/i/annah614

mewe.com/join/omg_anna_whats_going_on

Got Any Questions For It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' 5th Anniversary?

How's it going my gumdrops? On September 23rd, it will be 5 years since the time of building my website, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. If it is possible, I would love to have another Q&A blog. 

It is tradition to celebrate It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' Anniversary by me annually publishing and sharing Q&A blogs.

Normally, I allow 1-3 questions per friend, subscriber, and visitor. My answers are usually very long because of the complex questions that are asked. 

With that being the case, here are 2 Q&A's I previously copied and pasted to my other Blogger page.

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns: Q&A #1

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns: Q&A #2

Here are the rest of the Q&A blogs from my official website.

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns' 2nd Birthday [Q&A EDITION] 

It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns 3rd Anniversary: Q&A

It's Not All Gumdrops And Unicorns Q+A 2017 [Part 1]

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

You have 1 week to ask questions, that will be published and shared for the upcoming Q&A. 

The questions typically asked are entertainment based regarding movies, musics, shows, writing, etc. I try to be as apolitical as possible. In other words, I refuse to alienate viewers with politically divisive questions and answers.

Once again, it has been a while, since I last published any blogs not only on OMG, Anna! What's Going On?!, but also on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.  

Over the last 5 years or so, I have dealt with more than my share of struggles. 2018 has surely been a year of deaths, health issues, hiatuses, and mostly repairs both on and offline. 

Normally, I publish and share blogs 2-3 days a week. Last Thanksgiving, my great uncle died of cancer and my mother had another medical emergency the day after Christmas. 

During late January 2018, a distant cousin's heart stopped. She was briefly put on life support. Then, she died a few days later. 

In addition, I spent months searching for an oral surgeon who would take my insurance. The oral extraction for my wisdom tooth wasn't done until literally 2 weeks before my birthday. 

Speaking of my birthday (which is in mid-June), this last birthday felt more like a Sixteen Candles type of birthday except I turned 36 rather than 16. Now that I think about it, both of those birthdays sucked. 

While doing yard work in the sweltering heat and on my birthday of ALL days this year, I lost my claddagh ring. 

Most of this year has been spent dealing with problems offline. That's not including having to deal with problems online. Since last year, the engineers at Webs have been unable to repair all of our websites' glitches. 

We still cannot send out e-mail blasts to our subscribers. That has to be the worst problem I have had, since the beginning of this year, regarding Webs. Luckily, Webs' engineers did modify our URLs by adding "https" to make our websites more secure. 

However, none of this changes the fact, that Webs continues to have problems. Because I have spent YEARS managing my website, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns on Webs, I continue to keep it live. 

Meanwhile, the asshole moderators at Google Plus made sharing my blogs harder by constantly blocking, banning, and blacklisting my content by marking it as spam. 

Is it not bad enough that Facebook keeps changing their algorithms, making it harder for everyone to communicate with each other? 

I refuse to go back to using Twitter. That social media site is a bigger sewer overrun with smear campaigns, cyber wars, negativity bias, and political division than Facebook. 

Regardless of what popular social media platforms I'm on, they are sickening to use. This is especially when the social media sites are user UNFRIENDLY,  as I share my online content into the void of mostly indifferent people. 

Today I almost didn't publish and share this blog, which should say something. You may be wondering, "Anna, are you burnt out?"

In a way, I think it is a combination of being burnt out from both on and offline problems, as well as being stuck in a rut without anything or anyone to help me.

The moderators at Google Plus have actually exacerbated my preexisting problems. It is amazing how a last resort social media site like Google Plus wants to treat their most loyal users like we're all a bunch of criminals.

Because of the all the preceding issues, that I have continuously been struggling with this year, I have continued to backburn working on my website and blogs. 

Even though this has probably been the worst year that I have had within the last 12 years on and offline, I have been more productive by contacting book publishers, literary agents, etc. 

Despite everything I have said, do you have any questions for me? I look forward to hearing back from you. 

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

Cartoon Sunday: BEWARE! The Curse Of The Banshee!

How's it going my gumdrops? Last night, did you remember to turn your clocks ahead 1 hour? Spring is coming around the corner, which is why it is best to be prepared to "SPRING forward."

BTW: If you have not already done so, make sure to like, subscribe, share, and +1 blogs from OMG, Anna! What's Going On?! 

This can be done via facebook, Google Plus, Blogger, or other social media sites such as World of Anime. Otherwise, there is always subscribing by e-mail. 

Also, for those who don't know how to find previously published blogs from my website, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, all the blog links are currently in neon green font. You can't miss these links. I post links in bright bold colors to make them highly visible for everyone to see.

With that being said, here is yesterday's Song Saturday blog once again, in case you missed it.

Song Saturday: Primordial's Hosting Of The Sidhe {REVISITED}

Speaking of World of Anime, I was asked on the Anime-centric social media site about why I did not publish a blog specifically about International Women's Day. 

Last month, I wanted to publish a blog about Women In Horror. Considering my hectic schedule offline with doing chores, attending doctor and dental appointments, and being a personal caregiver, there was not enough time. 

Most people have no idea the amount of times I have backburned things I really wanted and needed to do both on and offline. I still have yet to return to revising and editing my own Short Horror Stories. 

Let's also not forget, that I have published at least several blogs about women on here and It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns within the last week to 2-5 years. Therefore, me not publishing a blog about International Women's Day was nothing too severe. 

Since we are on the topic of International Women at this very second, I will have you know, that if you clicked on my blog link about Irish Horror Folktales, I specifically chose to focus on WOMEN from those folktales. 

Basically, I killed "2 birds with 1 stone" so to speak regarding the matter of International Women and Horror Folktales. That particular blog was linked inside of yesterday's blog above, in the bold neon green font. 

In addition to those previously published blogs on OMG, Anna! What's Going On?! and It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, you can expect to see more blogs about women in Irish Horror Folktales. 

This includes today's Cartoon Sunday blog about the banshee. The banshee was another woman, who was a part of Irish Horror Folktales. 

In March 2016, I published a Song Saturday blog on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns explaining about her. However, I never shared a Cartoon Sunday blog about the banshee, until now. 

Sapphire from Snarled shared an animated vlog enlightening viewers about such an appalling woman. Megan Matheson from Scotland told Sapphire in disturbing detail about her terrifying encounter in real life with the banshee. For today's Cartoon Sunday, be prepared to be creeped out. 

BEWARE: Curse Of The Banshee! (2017)

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

Song Saturday: The Cranberries Tribute

How's it going my gumdrops? How are you liking the latest background? At the moment, we are green for Saint Patrick's Day and the spring. With my extremely hectic schedule this year both on and offline, I have not been publishing and sharing as many Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs. 

On It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns ~ 2 months ago, I already mentioned, that I would be blogging less. 

Lately, funerals, doctor, and dental appointments keep throwing monkey wrenches into my plans. Also, technology keeps working against me every time I want to edit and revise my stories. 2018 is a year that I would love to see my goals and accomplishments come to fruition.  

Hopefully this month, I will be able to start revising at least some of my short stories; I want to start revising some of my short stories, which have been backburned for the last 5 years or so. 

Speaking of Song Saturday blogs and funerals, today's Song Saturday blog is somewhat overdue. Whether it is a celebrity, family member, or friend, it always sucks to start the year with a demise. Judging from what I can see, 2018 hasn't been as terrible as 2016 and 2017 in that regard. 

On January 15, 2018, I was shocked by the sudden death of Dolores O'Riordan. Dolores O'Riordan was originally the lead singer of the Irish Alternative/Celtic Rock band, The Cranberries. 

After learning about her death on the local news 2 months ago, I could not help feeling sadness. I guess you could say The Cranberries were another band, that was a part of my youth during the 1990's. 

Over the last several days, I noticed that MTV Classic has been airing The Cranberries' music video, "Linger." When it comes to their song, "Linger," it brings back childhood memories. (Or should I be saying, "pre-teen nostalgia"?)

The Cranberries debuted with "Linger," in 1993. At the time, I was only 11 years old and instantly took a liking to the song. I liked "Linger" so much, that I recorded it on tape. 

Gen Xers will know what I'm talking about. Younger Millennials and Generation Z have no idea what it's like to buy vinyl records, CD's, and audio cassettes (also known as tapes). At the time, I did not always have enough money in my allowance to buy albums. This led to me recording songs from radio stations to blank tapes. 

Before going on a family road trip to Michigan in 1993, The Cranberries' "Linger" was 1 of the many songs I just HAD to record before our trip. 

Growing up, it was a necessity to have my own music for road trips playing in a Sony Walkman. I didn't always want to listen to the music, that was on every radio station, while we traveled. 

Sometimes while traveling and if "Linger" happened to be playing on a radio station, I got excited and yelled at my mother to turn up the radio. "Linger" was such a soothing song. Now that Dolores O'Riordan is dead, I cannot help feeling a little depressed. 

A major disadvantage to getting older is hearing about some of your favorite icons dying. Throughout late 2015 to 2017, learning about so many music icons dropping dead ALMOST everyday was upsetting. Their deaths became a constant reminder of the end of certain music eras, genres, sub-genres, and most importantly, those icons' lives. 

We as fans can only hold onto our nostalgia. Even that can be depressing. For the last 1 1/2 -2 years, you have no idea the many times I have watched MTV Classic and have felt a little pain watching so many DEAD music icons' videos back to back in blocks. It's a constant reminder of how much time has gone passed and, that I am getting older. 

The autopsy report for Dolores O'Riordan will not be released, until sometime next month. 

Since this blog is mostly in tribute to the late Dolores O'Riordan, here are 3 of my favorite songs by The Cranberries for today's Song Saturday.


1) The Cranberries "Linger" Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993) 

2) The Cranberries "Ode To My Family" No Need To Argue (1994)

 3) The Cranberries "When You're Gone" To The Faithful Departed (1996)

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

Cartoon Sunday: David Romero's Midnight Snack

How's it going my gumdrops? Before visiting OMG, Anna! What's Going On?!, you should NOT  let the disclaimer scare you. Because my content is not exactly "child-friendly," I use the disclaimer mostly for that reason.  

I don't want or need someone, who is hypersensitive and/easily "offended" by the content I share, to be making a HUGE mountain out of a molehill on here OR on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. This especially applies to those obnoxious, political and religious zealots and helicopter parents.

So far, it appears that more of you like my blogs better on Blogger than on Webs, which is always a positive. I like it better on here, too. Meanwhile, there are at least a few of you, who prefer my blogs on Webs than on Blogger. 

If it weren't for the fact that, Webs has too many glitches and has no way for me to transfer all my content to Blogger, I would shut it down. I still have to do more experimenting with Blogger's features. Like I already said, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns will remain live.

On another note, it appears that my predictions were right! Last October on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, it was already anticipated by some of us Tokyo Ghoul fans, that the Seinen Horror Action Anime would get a 3rd season. 

Cartoon Sunday: Tokyo Ghoul A Rare Treat [The Handkerchief Scene]

Season 2 felt very incomplete. Sure enough, we were right about Tokyo Ghoul getting another season. 

On October 8, 2017, I published a Cartoon Sunday blog. In that same blog, I predicted, that Tokyo Ghoul:re would premiere sometime during this spring in Japan. In the following blog link, my prediction can be found:

 

Cartoon Sunday: Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart [REVISITED]

Low and behold, my prediction was right! Anime News Network recently confirmed it.

Anime News Network: Tokyo Ghoul:re Casts Yu Kobayashi, Mamoru Miyano

Hopefully, the writing for Tokyo Ghoul:re will be closer to the Manga than the 2nd season of Tokyo Ghoul. When you read Tokyo Ghoul's Manga, if not the summaries about it, you will have a much better understanding of the Anime and its characters.

 

What You Didn't Already Know About Tokyo Ghoul's Characters

Since we're already on the topic of Horror Animation, I have another Horror Animated Short by David Romero. The last short I shared was on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.

 

Cartoon Sunday: David Romero's Pine Devil

In David Romero's Midnight Snack, a homeless man seeks shelter, during a blizzard. The man runs into what would appear to be an abandoned apartment building. On the outside as well as within, it looks like a dump. 

Speaking of the homeless man in David Romero's Midnight Snack, the homeless man looks VERY similar to the hunter in Pine Devil. Anyway...

After seeking shelter, the homeless man's stomach starts growling. This leads to him scavenging around the apartment for the closest thing to eat. In his case, he rips something out of the wall, then fries it for dinner. 

The homeless man has no idea what he just ate. He ate something, that once belonged to a woman. Now, she is furious and out for blood.

David Romero Midnight Snack (2014)
 

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

Song Saturday: The Afghan Whigs' Gentlemen

How's it going my gumdrops? Gumdrops is what I normally call my subscribers and readers on my website, It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Is that alright with you? Let me know! If you would like to read all the previous blogs I published on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, simply click on this blog listing.

Speaking of It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, I published a blog yesterday letting all my gumdrops (readers and subscribers) know, that I will be experimenting with a re-branding on Blogger.

 

Experimenting With A Re-brand On Blogger

As of today, this will be Blog #1 on OMG, Anna! What's Going On?! Normally, I publish Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs every weekend on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. If you are interested in these types of blogs, that I publish and would love to know why I publish them, click on the following link:

 

Why Do I Publish Song Saturday + Cartoon Sunday Blogs?

If it is possible these next 2 weekends, 2 Song Saturday and 2 Cartoon Sunday blogs with creepy love and possibly disturbing themes will be published for Valentine's Day. All those, who know nothing about me should know, that I am a Horror and Thriller fan, as well as a Horror/Thriller writer. Therefore, you can expect to see CREEPY content being shared in these blogs. 

Speaking of creepy, are you familiar with The Afghan Whigs? The Afghan Whigs is an Alternative Rock band, that launched during the late 1980's. They managed to gain some mainstream exposure, during the 1990's. By the early to mid-90's, Grunge Rock was at its pinnacle. I don't really consider them to be a Grunge Rock band. 

After listening to some of The Afghan Whigs' older songs, they seem more like an Alternative Blues Rock kind of band. During the mid-90's, I always heard of The Afghan Whigs, when I was in my pre-teens or "'tweens."

However, it was not until last year, that I actually saw their music video on MTV Classic for their song, "Gentlemen." Watching the vocalist, Greg Dulli, in their music video instantly gave me creepy vibes. 

In fact, Dulli gave me creepy stalker/voyeuristic vibes in "Gentlemen." He somewhat reminded me of Greg from my short story, The Bill Collector. Greg is a nerdy, red-headed, sales clerk at an electronics store, who is obsessed with the customer, Alice. Greg is so obsessed with Alice, that he pretends to be a bill collector by stalking her beyond harassing phone calls. 

You may be wondering, "What does your short story, The Bill Collector, have anything to do with The Afghan Whigs' 'Gentlemen'"? 

Watch their music video for yourself and see how creepy Greg Dulli looks in "Gentlemen." With that being said, here is The Afghan Whigs' "Gentlemen" for today's Song Saturday.


The Afghan Whigs "Gentlemen" Gentlemen (1993)

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

Cartoon Sunday: Shigeru Okada's Saka Men

How's it going lurkers? From last night throughout earlier this morning, I have spent HOURS online hunting around for more entertaining animation to share with you.

Originally, I meant to share this Japanese Stop-Motion Horror Short on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns months ago. I'm starting to think that some of the content I meant to share over this spring and summer is more fitting for October.

Today we have Shigeru Okada's short, "Saka Men." Okada is a Japanese writer, director, and animator. 

His Stop-Motion Horror Short that I am sharing today focuses on the Shimenawa in the Japanese religion, Shintoism.

It has been ~ 10-12 years, since I last conducted research on Shintoism for Asian Studies. I mostly focused on the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. As I was saying, the Shimenawa is a special plaited rope, which is tied around trees.

Shimenawa Rope:

Shimenawa is normally tied around trees in Japan, in order to ward off evil spirits.

In this Stop-Motion Horror Short, after a man gets into a knife fight with a monk on the mountain, he cuts the Shimenawa Rope to wrap around his arm. 

His wife tries to warn him NOT  to cut the Shimenawa but he chooses to be defiant. Because he disobeyed his wife, all hell breaks loose. You will have to see for yourself.

To warn you in advance, "Saka Men" is in Japanese. You can watch this short in English subtitles. 

In order to really get the feel of "Saka Men," I highly suggest clicking on the video below and watching it directly on YouTube. That way, you can maximize your screen. Anyway, here is Shigeru Okada's "Saka Men" for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Shigeru Okada "Saka Men" (2014)

Cartoon Sunday: Tokyo Majin

How's it going lurkers? I meant to share this 2 weeks ago but as usual, a lot has been happening both on and offline. Once our Dish Network boxes and satellite dish were upgraded, I discovered that Chiller TV began re-airing Horror and Supernatural Action Anime.

If you have either Direct TV, or Dish Network as your provider, Chiller TV now has the Anime Wednesday block. The network is premiering English Dubbed Anime from Funimation Entertainment.  

Anime News Network and Chiller TV both published their articles about the schedule.

Anime News Network: U.S. TV Channel Chiller Runs Anime Block On Wednesdays

Out of Chiller TV's current Anime Wednesday block, I watched Black Blood Brothers, Devil May Cry, and Is This A Zombie? online years ago. However, Tokyo Majin was an Anime I never had the chance to watch, until recently.

Over the last 2 years on Xanga 1.0 and It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, I mentioned that Adult Swim should have acquired Devil May Cry. It appears that Chiller TV beat Adult Swim to the punch. The network's Anime Wednesday block appears to be a hot topic on Adult Swim.

Some Adult Swim posters are currently insulting Chiller TV's block. Their criticism is somewhat necessary. I have to agree with some posters. 

Because Devil May Cry is the most popular Anime out of the 4, it SHOULD be the opening Anime Wednesday series. At the same time, I'm somewhat annoyed with them complaining about Black Blood Brothers and Is This A Zombie? being aired. 

Granted, Is This A Zombie? is more of a Supernatural Comedy, but at least Chiller TV is trying to expose Horror fans to other Anime genres and sub-genres. 

Most people lack knowledge about Anime. There is much more to Japanese animation than Shonen Jump Action Anime. Everybody doesn't know about Anime except for most casual Cartoon Network and Adult Swim viewers from over the last 10-20 years. However, Anime Otakus know more than casual viewers hands down.

Anime existed before, during, and after Cartoon Network, Toonami, and Adult Swim were launched. Younger Gen Xers and older Millennials were watching Anime long before the existence of most of today's cable and satellite networks.

I cannot help feeling annoyed, whenever I have to deal with Anime fans, who consider Cartoon Network's Toonami and Adult Swim to be their so-called "Gateway To Anime."  

Younger Millennial and Gen Z viewers act as if Cartoon Network and Adult Swim are their Bibles and believe they know everything about Japanese animation.

Yes, the Toonami block on Cartoon Network helped "pave the way" for most American Anime viewers years ago. At the same time, those same viewers were only exposed to Action Anime. There is more to Anime than Action yet Action Anime is supposedly what sells better to the male American Anime demographics.

Within the last decade, younger Anime fans had and still have access to more Anime genres and sub-genres streaming online than us older Anime fans ever had growing up.

During the '80s and '90s, us 30 and 40-something-year-olds rented and bought Anime from local video stores like Blockbuster Video. Otherwise, we shopped at Japanese stores that sold imported products or got bootleg versions of Anime.

I hate sounding like an old lady, but today's younger generations have it made.

Since today's blog is mostly about Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday block and because everyone does NOT  have Chiller TV, it is only fair to share at least 1 of its shows. Here is Tokyo Majin for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Tokyo Majin Episode 1: "Moment Of The Demonic Encounter" English Dub (2007)