You know, despite its limited flaws, America is the best country in the world. Maybe I'm feeling that because I live here. You may feel that you live in a great country wherever you are. I hear Canada and England pretty great too, but I've never been there, so I'm gonna stick with my original thesis that America is the best country in the world. I mean, where else could a foreign-born bodybuilder become an actor and become a leader of the world's fifth largest economy? You have to run with that great yet scary feeling that anything can happen in this great country of ours (mine if you're reading this in Canada, the UK, or Australia).
Take for instance the events that happened last weekend much to my surprise. Jerry Beck, notable animation historian and webmaster of the great animation news and commentary outlet Cartoon Research, linked to an article of mine, Checkerboard Confusion Afterwards, Animated Movies and Animation Blast linked to the article. I mean, I'm glad that my article got linked by a couple of animation-related outlets, albeit three of the most important ones out there, but I'm not all that excited by their linkage. Wish I knew why I wasn't but I'm not.
I just feel pleased that somebody of Jerry Beck's stature actually took what I wrote in an article to heart, that he saw something that I felt and made a connection with my words. It's not an everyday occurance, and it'll probably never happen again any time soon. I just wrote what I felt about Cartoon Network's current predicament and their struggle to find an identity that wasn't like the one that a lot of viewers found a connection with, but rather something they feel is more kid-friendly. That attraction to get Nick dollars totally deviates what the purpose of the network was, which was to provide the best cartoons on the planet for all ages, from classics to original programming. Because I felt a closeness to Cartoon Network, I never said a bad word about the channel. When that closeness was gone, I opened up . . . a lot. Without any swords dangling over my head, I was free to criticize Cartoon Network the same way I criticized Nickelodeon, Saban, DiC, Studios USA (nee Universal, soon to be NBC Universal), Jamie Kellner, WGN, Fox Kids, and Disney. I guess in a way, Checkerboard Chaos was something that I should have written a long time ago, but never had the nerve to do.
As for the praises, I don't really deserve them. Y'all know I don't do The X Bridge for fame or fortune. I do it for fun. I also do it to showcase opinions I have about the animation industry in America, which is a very, very strange one to say the least. Afterall, a lot of people (I think) check out my site from time to time just to see what ticks inside of my head. While I'm glad that Cartoon Research, Animated Movies, and Animation Blast linked to my article, I don't get an ego boost from it. That's not my nature.
I'm just happy that somebody enjoyed what I had to say. Not everybody agrees with what I have to say from time to time, but I'm cool with that too. I'm more into sparking dialogue, which apparently what the article has done for some weeks now. I know people are still frustrated by my views on the Saturday block (hey, they don't call it SVES, neither should I), and I expect them to remain frustrated. I don't want to immediately convert people into my way of thinking, but if what I had to say about the block permiated into the brains a little, then maybe they can see where I'm coming from. I have that freedom of expression, and so do those that don't agree with what I have to say.
That's the beauty of this silly, strange, and rockin' country of mine.
Gotta go now. Updated the FAQ and About sections. Real updates will come next week.
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Jeff Harris
The X Bridge Creator/Webmaster
October 10, 2003
