Song Saturday: Tristania's My Lost Lenore

How's it going lurkers? 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 the 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: Mr. Nightmare's True Pizza Delivery Horror Story

How's it going lurkers? 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 skeptics, 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 skeptical the overall franchise has been over the last 48 years.

Did you EVER notice 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 skepticism. 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 skeptics.

I will even go as far as saying that CBS, Hanna-Barbera, and many other companies caused the last 3-4 generations to grow up as skeptics. 

Ad nauseam, they must disprove EVERYTHING that doesn't fit their skeptical 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 skepticism. 

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.  

By the end of each episode, all 3 characters were ALWAYS validated to make it seem like those, who DID believe in ghosts and monsters needed to be patronized by a shrink.

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.

Granted, it can be argued that Hanna-Barbera did not want to traumatize children with supernatural and paranormal phenomena. At the same time, the characters and the writing in this cartoon appear as being skeptical and wanting to ALWAYS disprove the existence of something or someone.

Anybody, who believes in supernatural and paranormal phenomena, are viewed as being crazy and delusional because skeptics 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 skeptics have not learned much of anything from today's blog, you should at least realize that just because you didn't see or hear something or someone, doesn't 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's his true pizza delivery story for today's Cartoon Sunday. 

LET THE SKEPTICISM BEGIN!

Mr. Nightmare "True Pizza Delivery Horror Story" (2016)

Cartoon Sunday: Tim Burton's Vincent [Narrated By Vincent Price]

How's it going lurkers? So, 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 protagonist 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 might find my description of Vincent Malloy to be patronizing, but you should most DEFINITELY 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 movies. 

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)

Cartoon Sunday: Let's Read {Featuring Corpse Husband} 2 True Scary Stories [Animated]

How's it going lurkers? About 3 days ago, I re-shared a Cartoon Sunday blog around Google Plus that I published just 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 buying 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 about Horror, here are 2 true scary stories about being at the gas station and ordering pizza for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Let's Read {Featuring Corpse Husband} "2 True Scary Stories" [Animated] (2017)

Cartoon Sunday: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders & Stands

How's it going lurkers? I must say, I am definitely surprised as well as pleased with the fact, that MORE of you enjoyed yesterday's Song Saturday blog. 

Yes' song, "Roundabout" was something a little different from their usual, "Owner Of A Lonely Heart."

As I mentioned at least twice, Yes' 1983 hit single, "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" was used as a sample in Season 1: Part 2 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency.

After publishing yesterday's Song Saturday blog and sharing it around social media, I saw a Viz Media promotional video by the voice actor, Patrick Seitz. 

Throughout the last 10 years or so, Seitz has voiced many characters for Shonen, Seinen, Josei, and Shojo age and gender demographics.  

Patrick Seitz is best known for voicing Luke Valentine from the Hellsing franchise, Bleach's Isshin Kurosaki and Kenpachi Zaraki, various characters from the Naruto franchise, Blue Exorcist's Igor Neuhaus, and most importantly... DIO Brando from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood "It Was I, DIO!" (2012)

 

If you would like to learn about other characters he has voiced, click HERE.

As I was saying, a Viz Media promo appeared in my Facebook news feed, which featured Patrick Seitz. He was promoting JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders for Adult Swim's Toonami block.

Viz Media: Patrick Seitz Promotes JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders For Adult Swim's Toonami Block (2017)

 

Watching this Viz promo for Stardust Crusaders made me giggle. It was clever. I love the way Patrick Seitz held that rose in his mouth, while delivering a witty promo. Seitz has voiced villains in the past, but voicing the villain, Dio Brando makes me snicker sadistically.

The supervillain, Dio Brando is the namesake of the late Metal frontman, Ronnie James Dio.

During the preceding promotional video, Seitz referenced to Dio Brando's Stand, The World. This particular season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure focuses on Stands. 

Stardust Crusaders begins with Joseph Joestar's grandson/protagonist of this season, Jotaro Kujo purposely staying behind bars in jail because he claims to be possessed by a supposed evil spirit.

Eventually, Joseph and his fortune telling friend, Mohammed Avdol strategize how to coax Jotaro into leaving his jail cell.

After Joseph, Mohammed, Jotaro, and his mother, Holly leave the jail, they have a meeting at a coffee & wine shop about their ancestry. This also includes revealing more shocking news about Dio Brando's association with The Joestar Clan.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders "Dio Brando's Revival" [English Subtitles] (2014)

So, what it is a Stand?

A Stand is a unique, supernatural personification of life energy, which is attached to the body. It can ALSO represent the manifestations of a human or a creature's innate "fighting spirit." To an extent, Stands embody the psyche.

At the start of this season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, it was already revealed that Joseph Joestar is a Stand User. He snaps screenshots and smashes his cameras as evidence to support his claims about having a Stand.

Who and what are Stand Users?

Stand Users are humans AND creatures with Stands, which can be used for various purposes.

Obtaining a Stand is currently unspecified. However, it has been hinted that having a Stand can be connected to bloodlines, rigorious spiritual and/or "Ripple Training" and/or a very STRONG will power, desire, and passion.

Since this season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure focuses on Stands, here is a list of Stand Users with their Stands.

Stardust Crusaders: Stand Users With Their Stands (2017)

In case you missed the previous Cartoon Sunday blogs I published regarding the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise, simply click on the 3 blog links below.

Cartoon Sunday: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood Review (2016)

Cartoon Sunday: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood & Battle Tendency Music References (2017)

Cartoon Sunday: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Recap With Stardust Crusaders Music References (2017)

Song Saturday: Yes' Roundabout

How's it going lurkers? I have some exciting news, in regards to Adult Swim's Toonami block. Yes, I know today's NOT Cartoon Sunday. 

In fact, I am sharing this news for all those, who watch the block. There appears to be a schedule change as of TONIGHT. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders and Tokyo Ghoul have been moved up.

Toonami Regains Half Hour of Programming

It would be nice if Naruto Shippuden was airing at the start of the Toonami block, but I can live with its new timeslot. I believe that The Toonami  Team actually took what I said, earlier this month into consideration on Facebook.

On the official Facebook page for Toonami, I told them that in order for more viewers to have a better chance of watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders and Tokyo Ghoul, both shows should be airing at earlier times. Then, both of their viewer ratings would be higher.

We all know how NEUROTIC Toonami zealots can be over cartoon ratings that were already RIGGED.

Regardless, I am so excited to see Stardust Crusaders! Hopefully, Toonami plays The Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian." It is the ending theme song for Stardust Crusaders, after all. 

On April 29th, I published a Song Saturday blog, featuring the band's music video. TALK ABOUT THE SO-CALLED FEELS!!!

Over 3 decades later, I still have The Bangles' album, Different Light on vinyl. 

My mother bought their 2nd album for me, when I was a preschooler. What can I say? Cartoons and music videos were a major part of my childhood, during the 1980's.

Now that I think about it, not too much has changed as an adult. I suppose some can say, that "old habits die hard." 

Meanwhile, the ending theme song for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency was a song I never heard in all my life. That was until last year.

When I heard Yes' "Roundabout" as the ending theme song for Phantom Blood AND Battle Tendency, it reminded me of the 1970's Disco group, Earth, Wind & Fire. Because Yes was a Progressive Rock band from the '70s, Jazz, Funk, Latin, and Disco can be heard in their song, "Roundabout."

This song from their 4th album, Fragile released in 1971. That was 11 years before I was born. 

Considering that I listen to some songs, which happen to be YEARS before my time, it is surprising that I have never heard "Roundabout" on radio stations.

Yes released their song, "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" 1 year after I was born. I have known about that song for the last 3 decades and still love it until this very day.

Speaking of "Owner Of A Lonely Heart," a quick sample of the song was featured in an episode of Battle Tendency. 

The song quickly played, when Joseph Joestar was in the middle of doing his Hamon training with Lisa-Lisa and Caesar Zeppeli, last season.

Since today's Song Saturday blog is mostly about the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise, here is its original ending theme song by Yes.

Yes "Roundabout" Fragile (1971) JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood & Battle Tendency Ending Theme Song (2012)

Cartoon Sunday: Blue Exorcist's Season 1 Episode 1

How's it going lurkers? It has been a while, since I last talked about, much less watched the Shonen Jump Supernatural Acion Anime, Blue Exorcist. 

Nearly 2 years ago, I published a Cartoon Sunday blog, which consisted of the series' bloopers. Early on, I noticed that Blue Exorcist was somewhat similar to Vampire Knight.

     Vampire Knight (2008)

 

Blue Exorcist (2011)

 

I spent HOURS last night and earlier this morning trying to find pictures showing the physical similarities between Vampire Knight and Blue Exorcist. 

 

The preceding images were the closest I could find regarding the similarities in high school academy uniforms. Both are Horror and Supernatural Action Anime.

Vampire Knight is a Shojo Anime meant for female viewers whereas Blue Exorcist is a Shonen Anime meant for male viewers. 

In order to give a better understanding of both Action Anime, I have compiled a list showing the similarities and differences between Vampire Knight and Blue Exorcist.

Vampire Knight: 

* Shojo Horror Romance Action Anime meant for female viewers, which heavily revolves around tragedy

* Somewhat considered Horror because it has some horror elements to it, that being vampires

* Cross Academy is named after the vampire hunter now turned headmaster, Kaein Cross

* Cross Academy is a segregated high school comprised of  vampire students attending night classes and human students attending day classes

* With long distance barriers, human and vampire students can socialize with each other on campus without being attacked 

* Yuki Cross is the female protagonist, who was adopted by Cross Academy's headmmaster and later discovers that she is a Pureblood Vampire

Blue Exorcist:

* Shonen Supernatural Action Dramedy Anime meant for male viewers, which has some tragedy

* True Cross Academy is a prestigious Exorcist Cram School, which is the Japanese branch of the True Cross Order

* True Cross Order is the main organization of Exorcists and a global exorcist institution that is controlled by the Vatican

* True Cross Order has roots to Christianity and was founded by Medieval Christian Knights

* Some Biblical scripture is used in this series

* Rin Okumura is the male protagonist with the ability to see demons

* Rin and his twin brother Yukio were adopted and raised by Father Shiro Fujimoto, who was an Exorcist

* Before Father Shiro Fujimoto sacrificed his own life to protect Rin from the demons of Gehenna, Rin discovers that he and Yukio are both Satan's bastard sons

Judging by the list of these particular Action Anime, BOTH use "Cross Academy" in their high school academy names, have protagonists discovering they were adopted because they're NOT fully human, and possess supernatural powers.

In addition to what has been listed about Vampire Knight and Blue Exorcist, BOTH series have male brunette characters wearing eye patches in high positions at both the Cross Academies.

It would've been so much better if I could've found a split screen picture of Vampire Knight's Toga Yagari and Blue Exorcist's Igor Neuhaus. They wear eye patches, have brown hair, and have COLD personalities.

If you have NEVER watched Vampire Knight or Blue Exorcist, you should definitely watch them both and observe their similarities.

It would be nice to see the 2nd season of Blue Exorcist and the entire Vampire Knight series air on Adult Swim or possibly on another network. We all know that Adult Swim will NEVER air Vampire Knight.

The men running Adult Swim not only show disrespect towards their OWN viewers in general, but also love discriminating against women. The assholes in charge of Adult Swim and the creeps that posted on their official forum for over a dozen or so years expect women to be inferior to them.

Otherwise, the teams at Adult Swim and Toonami put on facades by pretending to promote "women's empowerment," all the while showing female characters with very LITTLE self-respect and respect for other characters.

In spite of Adult Swim and Toonami Teams' facades, I really hope Adult Swim and those running the Toonami block renew their license to re-air Blue Exorcist's 1st season, then air its 2nd season, Kyoto Saga. Its 2nd season finished premiering in Japan, a few months ago.  

There have been claims by Toonami fans that Blue Exorcist's license expired for it to be re-aired on Adult Swim, and that the Shonen Jump Supernatural Action Anime supposedly did badly in ratings. 

Considering the negativity bias coming from Toonami zealots, who fixate on cartoon ratings for every series ad nauseam, I don't know if the bad ratings statement is true.

Some of us already know how much of zealots certain Toonami fans are, when it comes to the Nielsen Ratings. 

Because Blue Exorcist uses some excerpts from the Bible, has trained exorcists, students training to become exorcists, and the protagonist just happens to be 1 of Satan's bastard sons, I believe certain viewers are or will be repulsed by this series.

Judging from the ilk of Toonami sycophants and rabid zealots I have endured on Adult Swim's forum (before it was shut down), they are threatened by Christianity, Satanism, and religion in general.

Religion "triggers" this particular ilk of fans. They CANNOT  handle the sound of religion much like the rest of us can't handle them throwing temper tantrums like 2-year-olds over a cartoon's low ratings.

I advise viewers to watch and enjoy a show for yourself, NOT  because of a show's ratings. Much like polls can be rigged, ratings can be rigged too. Every household does NOT  own a Nielsen's box.

The fact that there are men, women, and children allowing a show's ratings to control them is pathetic in itself. If you need to obsess over a show's ratings, you will NEVER enjoy ANY show.

Since TONIGHT'S Cartoon Sunday blog is mostly about Blue Exorcist, let's start from the very beginning. Simply click on the link below.

Blue Exorcist Season 1: Episode 1 (2011)

Cartoon Sunday: Pitchfork TV's A Brief History Of Emo

How's it going lurkers? Today I wanted to switch things up a little for Cartoon Sunday. Every so often, I like discussing a variety of different topics, including the different types of animation not affiliated with Adult Swim's programming.

Next month, I will be sharing another cartoon that aired on MTV shortly before the network canceled it. Some, if not most of you already noticed that I constantly talk about Adult Swim.

As I have said many times in the past, I was watching Liquid Television Animation on MTV, during the 1990's. This was YEARS before Cartoon Network launched the original Toonami block and before Adult Swim was ever launched.

More recently, younger Millennials and Gen Z have been discovering older cartoons that used to air on MTV, during the '90s. Here's the real kicker, Adult Swim's latest animated promos for the network are only imitations of some of MTV's promos from the 1990's (circa 1992 and after to be more exact).

MTV Promo: "Ding-Dong" (1992)

This promo for MTV is only 1 example. I believe that Adult Swim is currently trying to copy what MTV started doing more than 2 decades or so ago with Adult Swim's latest promos. 

Don't believe me? 

Watch Adult Swim during the commercial breaks, especially on the weekends.

It is an absolute disgrace to see how so many networks and the people running them have LOST  their integrity. 

Rather than showing quality entertainment, local, cable, and satellite channels intentionally launch more low-brow Reality TV shows to pander, glorify, and normalize self-centered, attention-seeking, and highly entitled men, women, children, and pregnant teenage girls.

Speaking of entertainment, you may recall that earlier this year, I published several blogs about the Goth Sub-culture. 

In fact, I published a Cartoon Sunday blog about Pitchfork TV giving a brief yet comedic history lesson about the Goth Sub-culture. In case you missed this blog, click on the following link.

Cartoon Sunday: Pitchfork TV's History Lesson About The Goth Sub-culture (2017)

For the last 10-15 years, I've had some people, including an ignorant and estranged, affluenza man-child for a so-called college "friend," label me as being Emo. By no means am I Emo and have never dressed Emo. 

South Park Season 17: Episode 4 "The Difference Between Goths & Emos" (2013)

Regardless of the clothes I wear, the music I listen to, and TV shows and movies I watch, I have been Goth, since childhood.

Friends and classmates from 6th to 12th grade would not know it because my physical appearance was NOT  Goth, at the time. However, I did have some Goth friends in high school and my interests were always dark and morbid.

Decades later, I am STILL Goth.

Despite the negative depictions of Goths in the media, every Goth is NOT  a horrible person. Also, Goth Fashion does not always translate well, when you are in the workforce.

Depending on the company's dress code, you have to wear "normal" clothing, in order to assimilate. If you work at a company that allows you to wear whatever you want, OR happen to be self-employed, you can Goth it up as much as you want. Most companies in the workforce will NOT  allow it.

As I was saying about Emos, they are NOT  the same as Goths. The gif above is of the character, Sasuke Uchiha from the Naruto franchise. 

For the last 16 years, there have been plenty of gifs and memes about Sasuke because this character looks and acts like the stereotypical Emo brat and HURTS. 

I'm really surprised there hasn't been a meme with "Woe is Sasuke" captioned on it. Sasuke Uchiha memes captioned with "I'm so Emo" have been floating around the Internet, since 2005.

Emos normally listen to shitty Pop-Punk bands and "Crybaby" Rock Music whereas some Emos may physically appear as Goth because of their make-up, hair, and some clothing.

When you see someone with dyed black hair, an asymmetrical and/or spiky haircut, swept over bangs like Sasuke's, and possibly wearing horned-rimmed glasses, THAT person is without a doubt an Emo.

During my last 2 years at Carthage, an estranged guy friend continuously mocked and mislabeled me as being Emo-Goth. That's excluding his need to disguise his snide remarks and cheap shots as jokes. 

BTW: This was coming from an affluenza man-child, who gave a speech about his ACTION FIGURES in Speech Class! A female friend's roommate told us about it in their dorm room, which is the only reason why I know about it. Little does the affluenza man-child know that the joke's really on him. 

Because such a so-called "friend" had his tendency to mock me and disguise his cheap shots as jokes, I distanced myself from him, after graduating. That's not including he and his homely-looking girlfriend at the time causing division among us and mutual friends. Those were some other great reasons for dumping him. Welp, that's enough about me being intentionally mislabeled as an Emo-Goth.

When you watch Pitchfork TV's informative yet humorous cartoon about the history of Emo, you should realize that Emo is different from Goth Rock and the Goth Sub-culture in general. 

You should especially notice that I have NEVER featured ANY  Emo Rock bands in previous Song Saturday blogs.

Listening to songs by A.F.I. is MY ONLY EXCEPTION to Emo. Otherwise, like most people, I HATE Emo Rock Music! Anyway, here is Pitchfork TV's "A Brief History Of Emo" for Cartoon Sunday.

Pitchfork TV: "A Brief History Of Emo" (2017)

Cartoon Sunday: Schoolhouse Rock's Fireworks

 

How's it going lurkers? How did you enjoy Ikimono-gakari's "Hanabi" for Song Saturday? In case there are any confusions, I bold the links to these blogs to make them more visible for readers to click on.

If you missed the link in yesterday's Song Saturday blog, click on the link above. As a quick reminder, there have been some changes to Adult Swim's schedule.

Starting next Saturday on July 8th, Naruto Shippuden and Tokyo Ghoul are remaining at their same times. 

Earlier this morning on Toonami, it was confirmed that on July 29th, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders WILL be premiering at 12:30 am/11:30 pm Central!

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders [Toonami Promo] (2017)

My Reaction:  

Right now, I am overjoyed and would love for Blue Exorcist's 2nd season to also be shown. Adult Swim SHOULD renew its license for this particular series and re-air Season 1. 

Then, air Blue Exorcist's OVA, following it up with Season 2, which is Kyoto Saga. This is what I would like to see on the Toonami block.

Aside from Adult Swim's schedule, let's return to the topic of national and patriotic holidays. Our country already celebrated 2 of them in late May and last month.

Before our so-called Independence Day Weekend, you may recall the number of times I mentioned Flag Day. In case you are new and did not already know, I celebrated my 35th birthday on Flag Day, last month.

Speaking of Flag Day in our country, the following video explains about the American flag, its history, and etiquette. 

Andre Malok: American Flag Facts, Etiquette, & History (2016)

Some Americans are extremely proud and passionate about OUR American flag and our country. 

Our American flag represents that we FLED from England and THEIR control over us by building our OWN country.

Think about controlling and abusive relationships. Imagine being a man/woman in a controlling relationship. The best solution is to break FREE from that controlling man/woman.

THAT'S what the 13 original colonies did to free themselves from England, which is WHY the United States of America exists today!

Remember the ABC Saturday Morning Cartoon, Schoolhouse Rock?

Younger Gen Y born in 1985 and Gen Z probably know very little if anything about Schoolhouse Rock! This cartoon was an Educational Animated Musical from 1973 to 1985.

Schoolhouse Rock! covered school subjects such as Grammar, Science, Economics, History, Mathematics, and Civics.

Honestly, I always preferred Schoolhouse Rock! over Sesame Street. My family will testify on the witness stand and tell you how much I always HATED Sesame Street.

As a little girl, I felt that PBS's programming was patronizing and still is today; PBS always insulted children's intelligence, including mine. 

Being "educated" by a man dressed in a yellow bird costume pissed me the fuck off.

As I digress, Schoolhouse Rock! supposedly has a total of 7 seasons. These seasons are really short. In fact, all the cartoon's seasons are very short.

In 1975, America Rock was the 3rd season, which featured the segment, "Fireworks."

This exact segment even featured the song named after the episode, "Fireworks." "Fireworks" was written by Lynn Ahrens. 

Originally, the song "Fireworks" was performed by Grady Tate. Literally 2 years later in 1977, Mark Bowen, Kelly Mccubbin, and Laura Bruekner covered it.

This particular Schoolhouse Rock! song can be found on Season 3: Episode 8 of Schoolhouse Rock's! America Rock. 

"Fireworks" teaches viewers about the Declaration of Independence and the reasons behind America's 4th of July celebration. 

With that being said, here is the original segment by Grady Tate singing "Fireworks" for this festive Cartoon Sunday!

Grady Tate "Fireworks" [ORIGINAL] Schoolhouse Rock!: America Rock Season 3: Episode 8 (1975)

Cartoon Sunday: David Firth's A Day In Hell

How's it going lurkers? Several hours after publishing and sharing yesterday's Song Saturday blog, I learned that Adam West died from leukemia at the age of 88. If you would like to learn more about the ORIGINAL Batman and the late voice actor of Family Guy's Mayor West, The Hollywood Reporter published an article at the following:

The Hollywood Reporter: Adam West, Straight-Faced Star of TV's 'Batman,' Dies at 88

RIP ADAM WEST!!! He will truly be missed by many generations of his Batman fans, including yours truly.

Aside from the tragic news about the late Adam West, Japan Pop Culture HQ shared a link on their Google Plus page regarding the Live Action Movie for Tokyo Ghoul on Friday.

Japan Pop Culture HQ is late to sharing this news around social media. However, you can still read about Tokyo Ghoul's Live Action Movie on Anime News Network, in the link below.

Anime News Network: Live-Action Tokyo Ghoul Film Reveals English Poster, Worldwide Streaming of Launch Event

Meanwhile, some of my long-time subscribers should recall, that I published a Cartoon Sunday blog last May featuring 2 highly graphic and disturbing Stop Motion Animated Shorts by David Firth and Adam Rosenberg.

David Firth's "Crooked (Orcus) Rot" and Adam Rosenberg's "Manny" were very similar to each other. In case you missed this particular Cartoon Sunday blog last May, it is HERE for your viewing pleasure.

Today I am sharing another disturbing Stop Motion Animated Short by David Firth. In fact, this short precedes his 2008 short, "Crooked (Orcus) Rot." "A Day In Hell" was created by Firth in 2003.

Watching these shorts by the animator continues to be abstract and graphic filled with WTF? Moments. 

If you have ZERO interest in highly graphic and abstract art, chances are highly great, that David Firth's Stop Motion Animated Shorts will be of no interest to you.

Firth's animation is filled with disturbing and highly graphic images. His work is THAT disturbing. 

Now, some may argue that David Firth's Stop Motion Animated Shorts are more like watching "Gore Porn," since his shorts can be extremely bloody and violent much like a Splatterpunk Horror film.

You may be asking, "Huh? What is Splatterpunk?" If you need a better understanding of the term, Splatterpunk, here is a vlog by The Audiopedia explaining about the Horror sub-genre.

The Audiopedia: What Is SPLATTERPUNK? What Does SPLATTERPUNK Mean? SPLATTERPUNK Meaning, Definition, & Explanation (2017)

After watching the preceding video by The Audiopedia, I am starting to believe that 1 of my 3 more recent Short Horror Stories, "The Horrors Of Womanhood," qualifies as being a Splatterpunk Horror Story.

As you watch "A Day In Hell," you will quickly notice there are some elements of Splatterpunk Horror incorporated into this Stop Motion Animated Short. With that being said, here is David Firth's "Hell" for today's Cartoon Sunday.

David Firth "A Day In Hell" (2003)

Cartoon Sunday: David Romero's Other Lily

How's it going lurkers? Do you want to see more Animated Horror Shorts, that are under, over, or about 5 minutes long in my Cartoon Sunday blogs? Let me know in the comments section below today's blog.

I cannot speak for everyone else as far as today's weather forecast goes, but it has been storming like crazy here in Wisconsin lately. 

In fact, it was just storming earlier this morning, when I was trying to re-watch Naruto Shippuden in English.

Whether you are reading a story or watching something on TV, video, or online, there is something about thunderstorms that stimulate eerie feelings. Thunderstorms can also be eerie in real life. 

There is a lot that can go wrong, during a storm. In David Romero's Animated Horror Short, "Other Lily," the thunderstorm helps set an eerie yet ominous tone.

On a dark and stormy night (The setting sounds cliche, but it works for Horror), Lily receives a text message from her father. He reminds Lily to make sure her younger sister, Beth goes to bed before 10 pm. 

As Lily walks up the stairs to check on Beth, Lily notices a picture that was drawn by her younger sister. Beth drew herself, Lily, and another Lily in the picture. In the picture, Beth refers to her as "Other Lily."

"Other Lily" looks quite sinister in Beth's illustration. It makes me want to call "Other Lily" "Evil Lily" because she looks creepy as well as evil. Eventually, Beth's older sister, Lily goes to bed. 

As a side note, Lily suffers from sleep paralysis, which may have horrific implications in her waking life.  

In case you don't know about sleep paralysis, it can cause frightening hallucinations and nightmares. To learn more about sleep paralysis, you can read about it HERE.

So... while Lily sleeps, she dreams of the "Other Lily" opening her bedroom window and crawling around on her ceiling, waiting to attack her. 

Before the "Other Lily" could attack her, Lily awakes from her nightmare. Suddenly, Lily hears loud crashing noises from downstairs. 

Watching this short by David Romero will shock you. "Other Lily" without a doubt has its share of WTF?! Moments towards the end of it. The ending especially feels like a disturbing cliffhanger.

I did not explain "Other Lily" in its entirety on purpose.

How much fun would it be, if I spoiled EVERYTHING for my lurkers and subscribers?

It would completely defeat the purpose of me sharing this disturbing short. Some things are better left to the imagination. If you would like to know what happens next, you will have to watch "Other Lily" for today's Cartoon Sunday.

David Romero: "Other Lily" (2015)

Song Saturday: Static-X [REVISITED]

How's it going lurkers? Earlier this week, I was on the latest makeshift version of Adult Swim's forum and a so-called Static-X fan "triggered" me. 

Yes, you know that highly abused word, "triggered"? Well, this guy actually triggered me.

This so-called "fan" posted a thread asking if anyone remembered the Industrial Metal band, Static-X. Because I actually WAS a fan, since the band's debut in 1998, I opened the thread.

In this Static-X "fan's" thread, he said "It sucks that he committed suicide." Reading his post made me do a double take. In the back of my mind, I was screaming, "OMG! Are you fucking serious?!"

I waited for other supposed Static-X fans to correct him. Because no one did, I posted in his Static-X thread and let him know, that Wayne Static did NOT  commit suicide. 

If he was a real fan, he would've known that Wayne Static died of a drug overdose about 3 years ago.

Wayne died 3 days before his 49th birthday in his sleep because he mixed strong prescriptions such as Hydromorphone, Oxycodone, Alprazolam, and painkillers with alcohol.

Wayne Static's porn star wife, Tera Wray, on the other hand, DID commit suicide. Tera committed suicide on January 13, 2016 at her friend and roommate's house.

Supposedly, Tera Wray left a suicide note telling her friend, Jay'e Jones to call her mother, attorney, and several other people. When I originally learned about Tera's suicide, sources claimed she was depressed about Wayne Static's death.

The more I think about it, I am suspecting an inside job because Tera was NOT  well liked by Static-X, Wayne's family, OR his friends. She got into more arguments with them after he died.

To clarify the causes of both Wayne Static and Tera Wray's deaths (couple seen above), Wayne died in his sleep from a drug overdose and Tera supposedly committed suicide.

Not to sound like some crazed, elitist, Static-X fangirl or anything, but I am easily annoyed by those, who want to act like they are such "fans" of certain celebrities. All the while, those same "fans" are misinformed about everything.

You probably think I am overreacting, but posers annoy the hell out of me.

This is especially when there are real fans like yours truly, who know the history of certain bands and were there to experience and be a part of the history. 

Like I already said in the past, I was 16 when Static-X debuted and they were featured on the Bride Of Chucky Soundtrack in 1998.

Since today's Song Saturday blog is another blog discussing Static-X, and because I recently updated previous Static-X blogs, I thought I would share those same blogs with viewers, who missed them 3 years ago.

Wayne Static/Static-X Tribute Part 1 (2014)

Song Saturday: Wayne Static/Static-X Tribute Part 2 (2014)