Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #16

Originally Posted on 11/27/2002 by Jeff Harris

Ah, Thanksgiving in the USA. A time to appreciate what we've got and gorge ourselves on huge feasts while watching bucketheads play a boring sport and preparing ourselves for the incessant AFTER THANKSGIVING PRE-CHRISTMAS EARLY MORNING SALE ads that will filter through our heads reminding all of us that Christmas will be here. Of course Hanukkah begins at sundown this Friday for my Jewish friends out there. Have a happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, and I'll see you around this weekend.

Until we are . . . what? I still have time and space to fill? Gah! Alright. I guess I'll fill it in with something I think is seasonal. This Thursday, in the United States, we all gather together to give thanks, blah, blah, blah. I already said that. I want to give thanks to a few things this year in a segment I like to call:

Things I'm Thankful For This Year

- I'm thankful that Cox Cable Hampton Roads has given me Showtime Beyond, perhaps the only Showtime network worth watching not just for its anime selections like Dirty Pair and random movies, but also because it's a biweekly home for Shadow Raiders, a brilliantly done computer-animated series that was called War Planets in this country (financed by Trendmasters, but thankfully, the series didn't suffer from same fate another Trendmasters-guided show did qualitywise, and I refuse to name the series). Strangely enough, some folks down south have never heard of the series. At least they haven't heard of the series when I first talked to them. However, I'm not thankful that the same company replaced International Channel in favor of yet another pointless sports channel, Fox Sports World network. Joy, just what I needed. Soccer and infomercials.

- I'm thankful that Futurama will be coming to Cartoon Network in the '03. Finally, the show that the sly contradiction refuses to recognize will have an almost nightly run on Adult Swim (Sundays through Thursdays? Not bad!). And the kicker? It won't be preemptied by the No Fun League or the millionaire boys club known as Major League Baseball!

- I'm thankful that I finally got that piece of paper that says I'm good at something this year. Over five years of waiting for classes to open for my degree was worth it. I guess.

- I'm thankful that there's a CNX channel over there. Don't care too much for the snubbing from those within the network, but it is overall a good idea. Now maybe the folks stateside will get some ideas (though they shouldn't have the live-action element CNX has).

- I'm thankful for people taking a chance like the folks at BlackBelt TV and The Anime Network, actually creating genre-based networks based on genres WE want to see. Who knows how far both nets will go, but the prospect that both are launching next year intrigues my curiousity.

- I'm thankful for the yams. Daffy Duck taught me that the yams will always do you in! Oh, and my mom's sweet potato pie. Gawd dang!

- I'm thankful that Toonami continues to take over the world, soon to be expanding to Latin America, formerly Talisman domain. It's funny that the block's appreciated and treated as a MAJOR franchise throughout the world, yet it's treated as a second-class citizen at Cartoon Network (loosen up and open up a little you guys!).

- I'm thankful that we got the chance to see Zoids Chaotic Century at a decent time this year. Shame the last four episodes didn't air. On the subject, I'm thankful that the DBZami lineup will be gone by year's end and that Toonami will be taking over Saturday evenings for seven and a half hours starting in January. To quote the net denizens, w00t!

- I'm thankful that I have friends I can count on within the T.I.C.A. Tyler, Zogg, CookieS, Meteo, Discloner, Vince, Matthew, CC, and Ash for support. Not to mention my Toon Zone adoptive family and the countless readers and contributors on the big boards (too many to name, it'll last a while) all these years, and my close inner sanctum (the folks I talk to via IM on a regular basis) sticking with me through thick and thin.

- I'm thankful that Showtime Beyond, UPN, and Fox gives me my weekly sci-fi fix that I have been missing from, um, Sci-Fi Channel.

- I'm thankful that I have family and friends watching my back and supporting everything I do in the real world. The real world is complicated, but hey, that's life.

- I'm thankful that you found this site and I'm thankful that you've stuck by me in spite of myself. I know I've been silly as of late, and I'm sorry about that. In all honesty, I probably couldn't be here without all of you guys.

Well, enough of the gushing. No award this week because of the holidays. Next update, eh, who knows what I'll do. Stick around, and have a happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.

Until we are one, later.
Jeff Harris
CNX Creator/Webmaster
November 27 (still missing you Grandma), 2002