Cartoon Sunday: Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado [OMG! HE TALKS!]

How's it going lurkers? Before watching Parasyte- The Maxim, Michiko & Hatchin, and Naruto Shippuden earlier this morning, I spent most of last night searching for animated adaptations to Edgar Allan Poe's stories.

I don't know about anyone else, but Edgar Allan Poe helps me get into the spirit of Halloween. This especially applies to this very moment.  

After witnessing a few getting their just desserts, I am somewhat in a celebratory mood. Last week, a YouTube vlogger friend shared a quote on her wall by David Avocado Wolfe. According to Wolfe: 

"Revenge can be bittersweet, but if you sit back and watch, KARMA can be pure entertainment." 

The man wasn't lying in the slightest. As much as I LOVE swearing vengeance, I love whenever lowlife scumbags get their just desserts. 

This especially applies when they constantly ruin other people's LIVES and burn bridges with so many people. I would confront those scumbags, but I have decided to sit back and watch the bridges burn.

Speaking of Halloween, there won't be a Cartoon Sunday considering that Halloween falls on Saturday. Therefore, next Sunday will be THE END of sharing more Halloween themed Cartoon Sunday blogs.

These next 2 blogs, you will be getting a double dose of Edgar Allan Poe. When I say "double dose," I mean I am sharing a 3-D animation of "The Cask Of Amontillado." Next Sunday will be "The Tell-Tale Heart."

As I was saying earlier, I spent most of last night hunting for an animated version of "The Cask Of Amontillado." I really hoped to find an animated classic version of Poe's short story. However, there was no such like. I just managed to stumble upon a 3-D animation of Edgar Allan Poe. 

Obviously, somebody is voicing the dead author, while reading "The Cask Of Amontillado." Watching somebody voice the author in 3-D is creepy-looking in itself. It actually made my skin crawl a little.

It has been nearly 20 years, since I last read "The Cask Of Amontillado." In fact, it was a short story we had to read for English Class my high school freshman year. I mostly enjoyed Poe's "The Cask Of Amontillado" because it's a story about revenge.

Yes, my family, friends, and even a few subscribers on other sites will tell you, that I can be a very vengeful person.

Whenever something bad happens, guess who gets the fingerpoints?

Sometimes I will be minding my own business and I will still get blamed. It is highly convenient for others, including the real villian, who loves hiding behind innocent people to do his/her dirty work.

Not that I'm doing the dirty work, but there are other scumbags doing the dirty work for an 8-headed snake. Then, enters the bitch, Karma!

When it comes Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Cask Of Amontillado," Montresor swears his revenge on Fortunato. It's ironic that the villain's name is Fortunato.

He ends up in a very UNFORTUNATE position.

Fortunato has a history of purposely hurting the protagonist/1st person narrator, Montresor. Montresor purposely isolates him. 

This is in order to get Fortunato drunk enough to bury him ALIVE in the catacombs. Montresor's family has a history of swearing revenge on those, who have wronged them.

His family's motto is "Nemo me impune lacessit," which translates to "No one attacks me with impunity."

Rather than explaining the entire story myself, it is best to allow you all to watch this creepy 3-D animated video of Edgar Allan Poe. He'll tell you the story of "The Cask Of Amontillado" for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Edgar Allan Poe: "The Cask Of Amontillado" (Short Story Published In 1846)

Song Saturday: Arch Enemy Block

How's it going lurkers? So, last night, I browsed around and realized that I've NEVER published a Song Saturday blog for Arch Enemy! In the past, I've shared a few songs and music videos for Arch Enemy with both Angela Gossow and Alissa White-Gluz as the band's vocalists, but never an entire block. Well, better late than never, right?

Over the years, I sometimes thought about the fact that the Death Metal band was originally fronted by the Swedish frontman, Johan Liiva. 

By 2000, Arch Enemy replaced Johan with Angela Gossow. She retired in March 2014.

Last March, Angela retired from the Death Metal band as their frontwoman and "handpicked" The Agonist's Canadian vocalist, Alissa White-Gluz, as her replacement. Angela Gossow is now Arch Enemy's manager.

It feels somewhat strange, now that Angela has taken the backseat. This German frontwoman had released 7 albums and 3 EP's with this predominantly male Swedish Death Metal band. 

Now, Angela Gossow is the band's manager and Alissa is fronting Arch Enemy, years later. Whichever works I suppose.

Even though Arch Enemy has been through a total of 3 different vocalists from 3 different countries, I will always be more of a fan of Angela's. I cannot help being automatically biased.

Compared to Johan Liiva and Alissa White-Gluz, Angela Gossow has THE MOST  history and vocal experience with Arch Enemy. Angela also continues to play a major role with the band, considering that she is now their manager.

With that being said, I have chosen 8 songs from Arch Enemy. Half of these songs consist of Angela Gossow doing the vocals. Johan Liiva and Alissa White-Gluz are both acknowledged for today's Song Saturday, as well.

1) Arch Enemy [Vocalist Johan Liiva] "Diva Satanica" Stigmata (1998)

2) Arch Enemy [Vocalist Angela Gossow] "Enemy Within" Wages Of Sin (2001)

3) Arch Enemy [Vocalist Angela Gossow] "Dead Bury Their Dead" Wages Of Sin (2001)

4) Arch Enemy [Vocalist Angela Gossow] "I Am Legend/Out For Blood" Doomsday Machine (2005)

5) Arch Enemy [Vocalist Angela Gossow] "Skeleton Dance" Doomsday Machine (2005)

6) Arch Enemy [Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz] "You Will KNow My Name" War Eternal (2014)

7) Arch Enemy [Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz "As The Pages Burn" War Eternal (2014)

8) Arch Enemy [Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz] "Stolen Life" War Eternal (2014)

Song Saturday: Gravediggaz & N.G.N. From Tales From The Hood

How's it going lurkers? I updated my previously published blog on Thursday night about the pioneers of Horrorcore Rap that was published last year.

In addition to the preceding blog, today's Song Saturday consists of Horrorcore rappers that were featured on the Tales From The Hood Soundtrack. 

It has been 20 years, since the time of the movie's release. Tales From The Hood is the equivalent of Tales From The Crypt except it's about lowlife criminals in the ghetto.

The Tales From The Crypt movie is in homage to the Tales From The Crypt Horror anthologies from the 1940's and 1950's.  

Meanwhile, Tales From The Hood is about 3 drug dealers from South Central LA, who are called to collect a stash of drugs from a funeral parlor.

The creepy funeral director, Mr. Simms greets the 3 thugs and shares 4 "moralistic tales of terror" about recently killed people in his parlor. 

Every moralistic tale the funeral director shares with them, the more terrifying the tales become.

Tales From The Hood really wasn't a Horror movie. It's more of a Horror Comedy about drug dealers from the ghetto. Personally, I didn't have a problem with the movie and appreciated it for its ghetto twist on Horror.

When people really think about it, real life incidents are always MUCH MORE appalling than what is shown in a Horror movie.

I believe that watching the Slasher Horror sub-genre is scarier than the cliche vampires, zombies, werewolves, etc. because serial killers actually DO exist. 

Turn on local, national, and/or world news and you will hear about a sociopath or a serial killer being on the loose and in a town near you.

Aside from the movie Tales From The Hood, I have 2 songs from its soundtrack. Both songs are by Horrorcore rappers. It's only fitting to have Horrorcore Rap on a Horror Comedy soundtrack about ghetto drug dealers. Don't you think?

If you ever have the opportunity and feel like watching something a little different, you should watch Tales From The Hood. So with that being said, here's another song by Gravediggaz and a song by N.G.N. featuring Killa for today's Song Saturday.

1) Gravediggaz "From The Dark Side" Tales From The Hood Soundtrack (1995)

2) N.G.N. [Featuring Killa] "The Grave" Tales From The Hood Soundtrack (1995)

Song Saturday: Thrill Kill Kult's Sexy Sucker (Juicy Mix)

How's it going lurkers? I seem to be experiencing a bit of deja vu. You may recall that I published a Song Saturday blog last year, featuring music from the Industrial Disco band, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult.

Earlier, I did a blog search on the band and noticed something interesting. If you look at the date of that previously published blog, I published it on September 13, 2014. Wow!

Today's Song Saturday blog is another blog about My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult except today is September 12, 2015. Uncanny, isn't it? I think so.

Today I was also finally able to locate another remix of the band's song, "Sexy Sucker." It's the "Juicy Mix."

I have always enjoyed listening to "The Juicy Mix" version off  The Thrill Kill Kult's 1997 album, A Crime For All Seasons. The title of their remix is slightly different.

Rather than being called "Sexy Sucker (The Juicy Mix)," it is called "Sexy Sucker (Suck It Mix)."

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult reissued their 1997 album, A Crime For All Seasons in 2000. The band's 1997 reissue included a remixed version of "Sexy Sucker" and it was "The Juicy Mix."

"The Juicy Mix" is by far the best remix of the "Sexy Sucker" single, which also happens to be my favorite. Anyway, let's revisit My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult 1 year later for this Song Saturday.

Thrill Kill Kult "Sexy Sucker [Juicy Mix]" A Crime For All Seasons (2000)

So Long, Wes Craven!

 RIP Wes Craven

How's it going lurkers? I know I am late publishing this blog, but I just wanted to say a little something. On Sunday night, I mostly spent time watching the 2015 MTV VMA's.

After watching the VMA's, I learned that Wes Craven died from Brain Cancer. He just turned 76 years old on August 2nd. An old college friend shared the news on my wall on Sunday night.

The Verge: Horror Movie Legend Wes Craven Dies At 76

This is such TRAGIC news for his family, friends, and Horror fans. Without Wes Craven, Johnny Depp probably would NOT  have landed his big break in A Nightmare On Elm Street and be a famous actor 31 years later.

Earlier this morning, I updated a Halloween blog, which I had published last year. I shared the documentary, SCREAM: The Inside Story.

In memory of  Wes Craven, let's revisit last Halloween's blog about the documentary, SCREAM: The Inside Story.

SCREAM: The Inside Story (2014)

Cartoon Sunday: Tokyo Ghoul Trailer

How's it going lurkers? These last several weeks, I have mentioned Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday block. 

Throughout last week, I searched for an official confirmation of whether or not Chiller TV canceled Anime Wednesday. 

I went as far as messaging the network. Chiller TV never responded back on Stalkbook. Facebook. 

While conducting Google searches, I only saw people on Chiller TV's social media accounts, YouTube, Anime News Network, Adult Swim, and other forums and social media sites claiming, that Chiller TV canceled Anime Wednesday. I also stumbled upon my very own Cartoon Sunday blog from last week.

Type into Google "Is Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday Canceled?" and scroll down the page. In case you missed the link to my blog on Google, the link is below.

Cartoon Sunday: Black Blood Brothers (2015)

As I was saying, there is no actual confirmation directly from Chiller TV. I read on another blogger's page, that Anime Wednesday tanked in the ratings. 

Supposedly, Anime Wednesday had ZERO ratings. I have always hated The Nielsen Ratings.

The Nielsen Ratings System is extremely inaccurate. Every TV viewer doesn't sit around documenting every little show we watch. I have never done The Nielsen Ratings because it's rigged and very biased.

Contrary to Chiller TV's so-called "zero" ratings, those of us Horror and Anime fans with Direct TV and Dish Network watched Anime Wednesday. There are several reasons why Anime Wednesday tanked.

Why Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday Tanked In Viewership:

1) Extremely niche- Only Direct TV and Dish Network have Chiller TV. It's not on Time Warner or any other provider. This is mostly what hurt Anime Wednesday's viewership.

2) Terrible advertising- I had no idea that Chiller TV started airing Anime again, until I just happened to be channel surfing the same night Anime Wednesday premiered. The block barely got any on and offline announcements.

3) Terrible scheduling- Anime on late Wednesday nights was already a bad idea. Had the block aired, during the early evening/primetime slot, Anime Wednesday would've gotten more viewers. Honestly, if Chiller TV would've premiered Anime on Fridays, during more reasonable hours, that could've improved its viewership. It most definitely could've rivaled Adult Swim's Toonami block.

4) Integrity- Much like NBC, Syfy, and Chiller TV's other sister stations, it lacks integrity. A nice chunk of Chiller's programming is a hub for Syfy's failbag shows. Before Chiller TV premiered ITS version of the Ani-Monday block years ago, I sometimes watched the channel for the late '80s Horror Anthology miniseries Freddy's Nightmares. 

Just when Chiller's Anime Wednesday block had a chance, the network POSSIBLY yanked the block.

5) Ignorant & Extremely Immature Horror Fans- On Chiller TV's Facebook page, I saw some middle school brats throwing their tantrums about a cheesy and highly censored PG-13 rated Horror channel airing "Japanese cartoons." I'm willing to bet that 1 particular brat was the same bratty, pompous ass, YouTube vlogger, who degraded and mocked Anime fans.

There is a wannabe hoodrat YouTube vlogger, who believes he is superior to Anime fans. Apparently, he's better than Anime fans because he's not (insert homophobic slurs), a "virgin," or an Anime fan since he has a sex life. HA! Yeah, right? 

Over compensate much? Hmm... Sounds like a 7th grade Incel trying to act cool to me!

Oh, how I love when bratty middle schoolers who still watch The Nickelodeon Channel condescend to viewers about Horror Anime on a PG-13 rated Horror Channel. What a joke!

I would've shared his vlog but I refuse to have my IQ drop even more, after listening to that over compensating, wannabe hoodrat failing at trying to sound "intelligent." Besides, he does not need anymore viewership. The poser needs to crack open a book and get a real education. Then, he can better articulate himself in his YouTube vlogs.

Generally speaking, Chiller TV doesn't know how to communicate with its Horror and Anime fans. This really doesn't help anyone. 

If the network wants to maintain its current viewers, having integrity, organization, better advertising, and showing consistency with its schedule would immensely help everyone.

Chiller TV needs all the help it can get because it is highly unwatchable for the most part. I get the impression that most of NBC Universal's networks are being run by a bunch of flakes, that ride on The Hot Mess Expresss Train.

It sounds a bit harsh to say, but I can't help it. Chiller TV really has potential for both Horror and Anime fans. Although, the people in charge of it obviously have no idea of how to run it, which is highly visible to its viewers.

Well, at least Chiller TV aired Funimation Entertainment's trailer for the Seinen Horror Action Anime, Tokyo Ghoul. I have heard about Tokyo Ghoul at least several times. Eventually, I will have a chance to watch it.

I still have yet to watch the entire series, Tokyo Majin (no relation to Tokyo Ghoul). It doesn't seem like Chiller TV will be resuming to Anime Wednesday anytime soon. Therefore, it is better to watch both Tokyo Majin and Tokyo Ghoul independently.

According to Anime News Network, Tokyo Ghoul is about a college student named Ken Kaneki. 

The protagonist meets a girl his age, named Rize at a cafe, who he frequents and quickly bonds with her. Ken Kaneki doesn't know, that Rize is a ghoul. 

Hunting and devouring human flesh is how Rize survives. 

After The Red Child (Rize's special organ) is transplanted into Kaneki's body, he becomes a ghoul and is trapped in a warped world where humans are not at the top of the food chain. Anyway, here is the trailer for Tokyo Ghoul for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Tokyo Ghoul Trailer (2015)

Cartoon Sunday: Black Blood Brothers

How's it going lurkers? It was already stated in yesterday's blog, that Chiller TV's Anime Wednesday block is triggering LOTS of controversy over these last few weeks online. 

Some Adult Swim posters have been complaining about Anime Wednesday. In fact, last week, someone from the Toonami sub-forum had a massive spazz attack. 

The rabid fangirl went as far as to assume, that Anime Wednesday has been canceled.

Just because Chiller TV didn't air the block last week, doesn't necessarily mean that it has been canceled.

Then again, I really should NOT expect much from the Shonen Jump Action Anime crybabies. 

This sounds like I'm being patronizing, however, I have interacted with YouTube vloggers over the last 3 years and have SEEN the way Toonami sycophants and zealots react towards other fans, who don't share their views. 

The Toonami fandom is extremely divided about the current programming, which is why those same vloggers stopped doing YouTube vlogs about Toonami.

The tards are extremely fixated on cartoon ratings and their childhood nostalgia. They believe it is a requirement to listen to Steven Jay Blum voice a talking CGI robot, in order to enjoy watching their favorite Anime.

TOM Gives His Patronizing "Life Advice" To His ADULT Toonami Viewers (2012)

Before Adult Swim rebranded its Anime programming as "Toonami," there was more diversity in the Anime genres and sub-genres being aired. Toonami is an Action block, which limits what can now be aired on the network.

As I was saying, the Toonami  Tards, that can get Chiller TV on their Dish Network and Direct TV packages are flipping their shit because Anime Wednesday wasn't aired, last week. 

I had to remind the biggest spazz from Adult Swim's Toonami sub-forum, that Syfy and Chiller TV's programming were always inconsistent. 

Both networks love changing their schedules on a whim. Therefore, viewers shouldn't automatically assume, that Anime Wednesday is canceled. I have not read anything online about the block being canceled yet the Toonami zealots are jumping to conclusions as usual. 

I also reminded Anime fans that even if Chiller TV did cancel Anime Wednesday, it's not the end of the world. We are NOT  living in the 1980's and early '90s, when Japanese animation was scarce.

We live in the 21st Century. We have the Internet and have more access to Anime than ever both legally and illegally. Not that I'm condoning illegal downloads and streams, but you get the point. Where there's porn online, there's Anime.

Watching Anime on TV is the most convenient for us all.

Meanwhile, I went back to Chiller TV's fan page on Stalk Facebook. Some Horror fans threw temper tantrums about Anime being aired on the network. Some Horror fans dislike the fact, that a PG-13-rated Horror network is airing "Japanese cartoons," again. This makes me roll my eyes and laugh.

When Chiller TV originally launched in 2007, I mostly watched it for Ani-Monday. As much as I enjoy Horror, Chiller TV's programming is censored. It mostly airs the worst movies and shows just like its sister station, Syfy. Chiller TV should be a premium channel like Encore and Starz, for examples. I will watch Horror movies on premium channels, before Chiller TV most of the time.

Anime and Horror are 2 of the most demonized forms of entertainment. 

Since I have always been an Anime and a Horror fan, I will tell you that BOTH fandoms are viewed as outcasts and have been treated as outcasts because we are usually negatively depicted by the media as being deranged serial killers and heavily medicated mental patients. 

Horror and Anime can both go hand in hand with each other, when it comes to content. I believe that Chiller TV is more willing to attract both Horror and Anime fans at once time, right now. The network has the ability to bridge the gap by uniting both Anime and Horror fans.

Chiller TV is also exposing Horror fans, who are unfamiliar with Anime to Japanese Animated Horror. Honestly, I commend them for putting Horror Anime back on the lineup. It would be fantastic to see the average Horror fan embrace some Japanese animation. 

Shonen Jump Action Anime is marketed the most to the Western audience. There are numerous Anime genres and sub-genres than Action meant to attract teenage boys. 

Most average people don't know more about Japanese animation unless they are exposed to Anime and have knowledge about Japanese culture and entertainment.

When it comes to Japanese animation, there's a little bit of something for all age groups, genders, sexual orientations, sub-cultures, etc.

Since this is another blog about Horror Anime, it's only fitting to share another Horror Anime from Chiller TV's current Anime Wednesday block. Today, I have Black Blood Brothers for Cartoon Sunday.

Black Blood Brothers is more of a Supernatural Action Dramedy. In order to give a better understanding, the Red Bloods are humans. 

Meanwhile, there are at least 3 elite vampire clans.

3 Elite Vampire Clans:

1) Old Blood- Vampires that have lived at least 100 + years. Their abilities are much greater than the average vampire.

2) Black Blood- Jiro and Kotaro are 2 examples. They have superhuman strength, can turn humans into vampires, survive wounds that would normally kill humans and don't age. Technically, Jiro is an Old Blood, that can survive being impaled by silver. Most vampires are vulnerable to silver. Although, Jiro can't handle sunlight or exposure to water.

3) Kowloon Children- Their lineage was founded by the 9 Dragon Kings and they are hated by other vampires. The Kowloons only need to suck the blood of humans and other vampires. Whenever they attack both humans and vampires, their bloodline is spread. 

Humans and other vampires can also be turned into Kowloons by drinking their blood. Then, Kowloon victims will fall under their control, which starts a chain of other vampires.

Now that you have learned about the 3 main vampire clans, here is Black Blood Brothers.

Black Blood Brothers Episode 1 "Black Blood Brothers"[English Dub] (2006)

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)

Song Saturday: Lords Of Acid Block

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, LURKERS!!! Judging by the above banner and songs for today's Song Saturday, they may appear unpatriotic but I am ALWAYS patriotic.

I'm a daughter of a military brat, was born on Flag Day, and will break out red, white, and blue attire for every patriotic holiday.

More than anything, I am celebrating freedom of speech with uncensored music by the Belgian Acid House band, Lords Of Acid.

Hell, I was PRESIDENT  in both 8th and 11 grade for History and American Government classes. As an adult, I remain to be anti-censorship.

Yesterday I dreamt that I was hosting my own radio show again like I did in college.

Before, during, and after being forced to attend my 10-year high school reunion several years ago, I was frequently asked, "Does it pay well?"

When it comes to being a Radio DJ/Hostess, you are not guaranteed to be highly paid; You are NOT guaranteed to be making lots of money like Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh.

I don't have an exact estimate regarding how much the average Radio DJ/Hostess makes. However, you must really enjoy doing the job. Club DJ's can make more money than a local Radio DJ/Hostess.

In 2002, I became a College Radio DJ/Hostess at UW-Parkside. At the time, it was only considered "voluntary work," even though we had to worry about FCC regulations and being fined 25 grand for having dead air and lack of censorship.

College students, who worked in the Food Services around Parkside's campus, made minimum wage whereas hosting a radio show 13 years ago was considered a "hobby."

Before my college sophomore year ended, every person involved with 101.7 WIPZ had to stand united by meeting with UW-Parkside's higher ups. 

We really tried our hardest to persuade them into making our campus radio station go full power. We could have and should have been paid. Years ago, our shows were only heard locally in Kenosha, WI and online. 

Since WIPZ had an online radio broadcast, our content had to be censored. This was unless our show aired during "Safe Harbor."

Safe Harbor began at 10pm and we as disk jockeys were allowed to air uncensored music. Sometimes I was lucky to host DJ Madness, which was during Safe Harbor.

During DJ Madness, I aired and sometimes premiered uncensored albums. Most of the time, I censored songs live, if there wasn't a pre-censored single for the explicit song.

If I ever became a DJ again, I definitely want to air more Lords of Acid. 

Like I said earlier, Lords Of Acid is a Belgian Acid House group, which has been around since the late 1980's and early '90s. Their original name was "Digital Orgasm."

At UW-Parkside, we usually played "The Power Is Mine." Most of the group's music is almost impossible to air because of the raunchy lyrical content and drug references.

Lords Of Acid always had an underground cult following. People in their teens and 20's today mostly know about the group because "The Crabulouse" was featured in the teaser trailer for Sucker Punch whereas people my age and older knew about Lords Of Acid 15-20 or so years ago.

Rather than explaining more into detail about Lords Of Acid, I have a block of their songs from their uncensored albums Lust, Voodoo-U, and Our Little Secret.

Whenever Lords Of Acid released an album, they followed it up with "Stript" songs. 

"Stript" songs were instrumental versions of songs from their previous albums, which did not require any censorship.

Anyway, here is Lords Of Acid for today's Song Saturday.

1) Lords Of Acid "Let's Get High" Lust (1991)

2) Lords Of Acid "Mr. Machoman" Voodoo-U (1994)

3) Lords Of Acid "Special Moments" Voodoo-U (1994)

4) Lords Of Acid "LSD=Truth" Our Little Secret (1997)

5) Lords Of Acid "[Concerto For] Me and Myself" Our Little Secret (1997)

6) Lords Of Acid "The Power Is Mine [Coda]" Our Little Secret (1997)

Have You Ever Killed Gremlins In Your Dreams?

How's it going lurkers? The other day, I had this really odd dream. Considering the timing, it was a bit strange. 

Those, who have been subscribed to me for the last 2 years already know, that I published a blog about Gremlins and its audiobooks.

As I was saying, I had descended our basement stairs (I haven't visited our basement, since the last days of The Bush Administration). 

A shadow of strange-looking ears flopped around with highly pitched cackling. I peeped around the corner of our basement and noticed there were Gremlins. They turned our basement into a recreational lounge!

Staring with both eyes, I did a double-take, while asking myself, "What the hell? Am I hallucinating or something?!" 

This led to yours truly grabbing 1 of our many brooms. My family will tell you, that I am always killing bugs (mostly spiders) with a broom. 

LOTS of damage can be done with a thick piece of wood and twigs, when you put enough force into it.

After putting on my gym shoes and grabbing a broom, I ran downstairs yelling, "GET UP! GET YOUR UGLY ASS UP, RIGHT NOW!!!" There was 1 Gremlin lounging on his bean bag, while giving me a cocky look.

"Don't give me that look. You know what I said just now. Get up or I'll make you."  Because he wanted to be a defiant demon, I whacked him upside the head with my broom.

Out of nowhere, another Gremlin threw a knife at me from the side. He didn't stab me. However, he did graze the side of my face. 

"This is the part where you start running. That knife just costed you your life."  That smug, piece of shit Gremlin, that was lounging on his bean bag finally got up and wanted to fight me.

"Oh, now you wanna do somethin', huh?" I took the end of the broomstick and jabbed him in the eyes with it, as he squealed.

Next thing I knew, the knife throwing Gremlin jumped on my back. I bit his slimy hand so hard, that he bled profusely. 

Then, I crushed it and began using him as a shield for the other Gremlin, that wanted to fight me.

The pompous lounger ended up killing his jumping friend. When he killed the jumper by accident, I chased that lounger around the house, until I was finally able to break my broom in 1/2, stake him, and force the broom through his throat.

Finally, I woke up that afternoon (The daytime's my Vampire Sleeping Hours) and asked myself, "What the fuck was that all about?"  I soon remembered that it is June.

June 8, 2015, will officially be 31 years, since the release of the movie, Gremlins. 6 days later, I will be turning 33.

Talk about strange! I'll leave you with these interesting facts:

Mogwai is an ambiguous word. In Cantonese, it can mean "monster," "evil spirit," "devil," or "demon." 

According to what I recently learned on Wikipedia, Mogwais [魔怪] exist in Chinese folklores. 

Supposedly, they are harm-inflicting demons, that reproduce during the mating seasons.

A Mogwai's reproduction is normally triggered by rain. The rain is suppose to denote "rich and full times ahead." 

Mogwais can also personify ghosts of unrelated family members, that swear vengeance on mortals, who caused them anguish when they were still alive. 

Learning can sometimes be so very interesting. It's amazing what we learn.

So, have you ever killed Gremlins in your dreams? What are your thoughts about this?

Song Saturday: Trippy The Clown's Shut Up

How's it going lurkers? Last week, Lord Marquis DeBlood shared some music videos on Stalk Facebook. 

They were highly visible in my news feed. In case you forgot, Marquis DeBlood is the website owner of Horror-Punks.com.

There was another music video I saw, that I liked. However, I can't remember the name of the band or the music video. 

Last week, I spent 2 hours hunting for it on his wall and Horror-Punks' page. There was no such luck of finding it.

Although, Marquis DID share another music video within those last few days, which I love. It is Trippy The Clown's music video for his song called, "Shut Up."

Once I heard "Shut Up," I said to myself, "I know this would be perfect for Song Saturday." If you want to learn more about Trippy The Clown, simply click HERE. Anyway, here is Trippy The Clown's "Shut Up" for today's Song Saturday.

Trippy The Clown "Shut Up" (2015)

 

Cartoon Sunday: The Original Fruits Basket Pilot

How's it going lurkers? I'm sure that most of you are really busy, since today is Mother's Day. My presents for Mother's Day and my uncle's birthday are all wrapped.

Because my mother said she needed more containers, I bought her 2. She doesn't really care about what people buy her. If I had more money, I would've bought my mother some clothes.

Then again, her bedroom is overrun with clothes, which was why she wanted more containers.

Since my grandmother loves wearing hats, I bought her a white hat to wear to her church. I am sure you are wondering about my uncle's birthday present. He is so picky about what everyone (including me) buys him.

My uncle has an ear wax cleaner for his birthday present. The man should like his present, since he always loved cleaning his ears with Qtips and dropping them on the floor. As if everyone wanted to stare at his dirty Qtips, when he lived with us years ago.

Considering that today being Mother's Day, I thought about sharing a Shojo Anime, which happens to be a Funimation Entertainment cult classic. Some of you are familiar with Fruits Basket. It has been years, since the time I last watched it.

Years ago, I did my senior thesis at Carthage College on Chinese Fortune Telling. It was mostly about comparing Chinese and Western Astrology.

During my research, Chinese Astrology seemed more complex than Western Astrology. I don't have my senior thesis in front of me. However, I remember reading about the different Chinese Folklores and the zodiac signs.

In 1 of the research books I had, it explained how all 12 animals had their own zodiac signs. The Buddha, who was originally a sage from India, roamed around Asia. I can't remember everything about his destinations.

Although, I do remember that Buddha was about to die and he called all the animals to meet with him, including the cat.

There is 1 folklore, that said the rat was supposed to wake up the cat because he was going to take a nap. By the rat forgetting to wake him up, the cat missed his chance at having a zodiac named after him.

As all 12 animals ran to meet with Buddha, the rat said he was tired and didn't feel like running as far. This led to him riding on the ox's back.

After all 12 animals made it to Buddha's house, the rat jumped off the ox's back and ran ahead of him.

If the ox didn't allow him to ride on his back the entire way, the ox would've been granted the 1st sign of the Chinese Zodiac rather than the 2nd. The rat is typically considered to be a cunning animal and zodiac sign.

When you really think about it, the rat screwed over both the ox and the cat.

The main difference between Chinese and Western Astrology is that Chinese Astrology is based on people's birth years, whereas Western Astrology is based on the month and day we were all born. Chinese Astrology also has different elements depending on the year that person was born.

Below is the order of each Chinese zodiac sign:

Chinese Zodiac Signs:

1) Rat

2) Ox

3) Tiger

4) Rabbit

5) Dragon

6) Snake

7) Horse

8) Goat

9) Monkey

10) Rooster

11) Dog

12) Pig

13) Cat

I was born on June 14, 1982. Based on both Chinese and Western Astrology, I am an Aquarian Gemini and a Water Dog. In Western Astrology, my element is mostly air. Because I am an Aquarian Gemini, I am double air. 

Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius all share AIR as our element in Western Astrology.

In Chinese Astrology, my element is water. Isn't that interesting?

I only wanted to give you all a somewhat brief explanation about about Chinese Astrology and how it was developed based on 1 of the Chinese Folklores.

If you continue to watch the entire Fruits Basket series independently, you will have a better understanding about each character and his/her zodiac sign.

As for the Shojo Anime, Fruits Basket, it begins with the protagonist, Tohru Honda. Tohru is a high school orphan girl.

Her mother was recently killed in a car accident and her father died, when she was a little girl. Tohru was living with her grandfather. Because his house was being renovated, she moved out and chose to live in a tent on The Sohmas land.

In this beginning episode, she happens to meet 3 of The Sohmas, Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo. Shigure is a dog, Yuki is a rat, and Kyo is a cat.

In case you do not watch this entire series, I want you all to know, that I chose to share it because it shows how much Tohru Honda really loves her recently deceased mother. Anyway, here is Fruits Basket for today's Cartoon Sunday. 

Click on the following video link:

Fruits Basket: Pilot (2001)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOTHERS!!!