Today, as of a few hours from now (2:45 to be exact), I was born...25 years ago. Happy 25th Birthday Celebration to me! Woo! P-A-R-T--Why? 'Cause I gotta and it's my maker-day, for pete's sake!

Remember how I mentioned several months back in a previous blog that The Muppets were returning? Well, it is OFFICIAL. With the 40th season of Sesame Street sweeping clouds away in November, Fraggle Rock: The Movie being in the production phase (after being in pre-production for ages) alongside a laundry list of related merchandise so vast that it would "curl your baloobius", and Stoller and Segal finally getting the greenlight for their re-imagining of a film that returns The Classic Muppets to their roots...the Muppet family is back in business and hopefully, better than ever before (or at the very least, better than most of the post-2004 things involving Jim Henson's creations)!

*laughs insanely at the Muppet parody posters of High School Musical (with The Electric Mayhem) and Hannah Montanna (with Miss Piggy donning the title role and doing a far better job at being a ham than Miley ever could ever dream of being)*

"The Rainbow Connection" is back!

*in Kermit-waving-arms mode* YAAAAY!

That's right, Disney and Mickey fans alike would be striken to find out that on May 18th, 2009, Wayne Allwine, the voice behind the world's most famous mouse for more than a few decades--1977 to 2009--has passed away. With that said, my condolences are sent out to The Disney Company, especially to Russi "Minnie Mouse" Taylor, who may not be up to voicing Minnie anymore now that her husband is no longer with her. Having noted this, I wonder who Disney will get to play the infamouse mice couple, if anyone. Anyway, rest in peace, Allwine. Disney and Mickey fans everywhere will miss you dearly.

Hello all. For school, my class is required to type a paper on a subject regarding Computer Mediated Commuications and I chose the subject of trust in online relations. Having said that, I would like to trust you guys and gals to pull your views in to help answer the question:

"How is trust created in online relationships, how is trust maintained in online relationships, and how is trust different in online relationships when compared to face-to-face relationships"?

Any ideas would be welcome and appreciated. Thank you for your time and attention. End blog.

I personally am not fond of testing on animals. I am not saying this just as an animal lover. I am saying this as a humane human with respect to all life.

Unfortunately, a major issue here is that as deplorable as it is, some sources claim that none of the vaccines created to protect us humans from disease would exist without that testing, people claim that some hunting is sadly needed to keep animal populations balanced, and then there's the whole issue that other animals themselves kill each other without us humans intervening.

But the real root of the problem comes from those who do unethical, unlawful, and outright disturbing acts like poaching and who euthanize animals under the guise of trying to find homes for these creatures (I'm a-lookin' at you, PETA[Yes, that PETA...the same organization that uses proproganda to brainwash the minds of young children]).

So, what can we do and where do you exactly stand on the situation?

If it is wrong, then what do you propose we do to make sure balance is maintained and that all animals--non human animals and the human animal--are protected and safe?

If it is right, then how can you accurately defend the idea of essentially testing on poor defenseless creatures who cannot speak for themselves, how can you account for those who go too far and who--for some scary reason--get a kick out doing the testing, and how can you face yourself if the situation were on the other foot (that is, how would you feel if you yourself were the animal being tested on, only to be left to die at the end of the whole procedure)?

Seriously, some of this is just scarring and mind-bloggling. End blog.

Ever have one of those times where you try to recall past times where you feel happy--such as reliving your childhood through viewing stuff that you grew up on--only to have your happy thought shot down by people who seem to just have so much anger within themselves that they hate to just hate?

I have been set upon by these people several times and as noted, these people exhibit extremist behaviors, hence why they're labeled extremists.

Such behaviors would often include screaming pointless insults towards fellow users using derogatory terms I shalt not mention here, drawing kill art of characters they seemingly have psychosis issues over, whining like crybabies when another person likes a different pairing than the one they support, calling other well-beloved characters Mary Sues and Gary Stues without acknowledging the faults of the characters they themselves support, and (as is seemingly the case in one well-known fandom) being so insanely crazy that not only would they pair themselves--real people--with a fictional character, they would also kill that character or even threaten to off themselves in reality just to have their dreams realized.

Seriously, these people need help and to see that too many fandoms are plagued with such people is astounding. I can understand disliking a character due to their characterization (ex: comic Terra being written as a character one is meant to hate) or due to some reasonable reasoning behind the dislike (ex: a character being written as a fangirlish stalker to another, as per that aforementioned well-known fandom associated with that last batch of extremists), but these people--as I said--seemingly just hate to hate and it doth boggle the mind.

But with the world being as it is right now (with the economic crunch; people suffering; society still glorifying exploitation, sex, and violence; kids learning about stuff they definately are not ready to handle at increasingly younger ages; and just the overall cynical demoralization of the world's young people [who are the future leaders of tomorrow]), how can we curb the hate and turn the dying franchises into something worth being proud of once more?

Indeed, people say that "it shouldn't matter, because it's not real", but the thing is that the creators of all these beloved characters created them with their heart and soul for a reason. And that reason was so that fans could find some light in a given franchise and enjoy it, despite all the problems a franchise might have.

To be honest, all these extremists--coupled with those who say "it doesn't matter" (and this time, I am not meaning to quote The Rock....it just fit the situation)--sometimes truly make me ashamed to be a fan of franchises and especially to be a fan with a romantic mind, for obvious reasons (the main reason being that some other fans seem to lump all shipping fans together as stupid, ignorant, blind, or what have you).

I just could use a pick-up, apparently, which is odd, because I am usually rarely like this. :(

In a turn of events, WWE is apparently working towards a lovely--and that's a word I rarely use to describe WWE matches--match at Wrestlemania's 25th anniversary. In a move highlighted by fan support, WWE is pulling together two of the well received veterans--Michael Shawn Hickenbottom ("HBK" Shawn Michaels) and Mark William Calloway ("The Phenom" The Undertaker)--and are pitting them against each other for the 25th anniversary of the granddaddy of 'em all.

This hopefully, will turn out to be a brilliant match-up, with twists and turns--as well as possible involvement from Undertaker's kayfabe half-brother Kane and the returning long-time confidant and manager, Paul Bearer--even if it all ends with the cliche end of having Undertaker retain the infamous streak in a victory over the self-professed Mr. Wrestlemania.

In the end, supposed storyline rumors dictate that both "HBK" and "The Phenom" are getting ready to retire and so, having them finally face off in a big pay-per-view match at the superbowl of pro wrestling just before that happens is sure to be a office-smashing ticket-seller. As a fan of both, I could honestly say that this is a match that's been long-awaited and that as such, I will most definately see the PPV for this match alone, if not for any other match on the card.

It's the perfect storyline: Two native Texans & the two best Wrestlemania performers who've remained loyal to the business being ready to retire, but having their last match against each other to decide who's best. The point is that The Man With The UNDEFEATED streak has NEVER beaten MR Wrestlemania one on one & in my aformentioned perfect scenerio...wherein "HBK" hits Sweet Chin Music, but 'Taker wins only to disappear in the end...he does NOT have to, as both retire gracefully, with Undertaker returning to Death Valley for the final time & "HBK" leaving to standing ovation.

Even though it's nowhere near Halloween, this blog will feel like it, because it is asking you which of the two hit series starring the first American families of fright do you prefer. Do you prefer the relative normalcy of a family of Munsters or do you prefer the more united-through-differences personality of a certain Addams Family? Ignoring both sequels (Munsters Today and All-New Addams Family) and movie/theature adaptations for a moment, in your heart of hearts--no matter if it's black as night or not--which of the two initial freak families truly captures your attention?

Myself personally, although I often say I relate to the Addams Family more, I can honestly dictate that whilst I adore the tight-knit family unit displayed by the family Addams, I also like the fact that a batch of 'Munsters' and a "black sheep" in Marylin can co-exist as a family without resorting to the stereotyped behaviors of the specific Hollywood monsters they resemble, thereby proving that I really do indeed love both families each for their own unique quirks.

No matter what synonym or other name it was called (for overseas viewers, it was titled The Disney Festival), in the early 1990's, Roy Disney (decendant of the original) and Micheal Eisner created the hit TV show block, The Disney Afternoon. The block was an immediate hit, because it created interesting shows incorporating some classic characters and some new additions in well-written situations. As well, the themes for each of the shows rocked, even until the block's end. The original seven shows seen on the block were:

The Adventures of the Gummi Bears

Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers

Duck Tales

Tale Spin

DarkWing Duck

Goof Troop

Bonkers!

Unfortunately, not everything lasts forever, and by the time other new shows began to roll around, TDA was repackaged and turned into Disney's One Saturday Morning, which was itself done away with once the new mellinium took place, ushering in the teenybopper generation of the present day.

So, in an attempt to return to the days of Disney's Rennosiance...for all you 1990's children-turned-adults, which of the original TDA shows would be your favorite? I--however--like them all equally, and so, I don't have a favorite.

Anyway, after moving day has taken place, I am a little worse for wear. It is not as though moving back to college took a lot out of me, because it normally doesn't. What did take a lot of my energy away for the past few days and why I was absent a few days is the fact that I am severly sick and hurt. Not only did I fall down my parents stairway a few days ago and split my head open severly (leaving a still-seething wound and a throbbing headache after bouncing up and down like a basketball for a few seconds before losing conciousness for a breif minute before coming to and seeing a pudde of blood on the floor after landing), but I apparently--according to my eye doctor--have an eye problem called pulleid marginal degeneration, which is a cornea disease that can only be helped by way of highly expensive contacts that would not only cause my eyes to irritate before wearing (let alone being able to get them on at all, due to my sensitive eyesight as is), but that would also pose a problem if lost in that I'd be practically blind were the contacts lost (and knowing how tiny contacts already are is already an obstacle). But anyway, besides my head injury and my eyesight failing, all is well. XD