“Congratulations, Mr. Simpson, this invention of yours has made us all rich, especially you! It’s simple yet ingenious, and it fits right in the palm of your hand. Every person in America now owns one of these, and in many cases, three or four.” – Imaginary Executive
“Uh, could I just get a look at that?” – Homer Simpson
“Now, why would you need to see it? You’re the genius who invented the . . . product in question.” – Imaginary Executive
The big news this week was the first look at “Simpsons World”, an app/website-of-some-kind that’ll be debuting in October. I have very mixed feelings about it, and I’m sure we’ll learn more once people who aren’t obsequious entertainment reporters can get their hands on it. For now, however, there’s quite a lot to be excited about (easy access to clips, being able to stream the show) and quite a lot to be pissed about (you must have cable, your cable company must have FXX, AND it’s only in the US). How much of either ends up in the final product remains to be seen.
In addition to that we’ve got word record breaking tattoos, two more Lego links, old video games, finger nail art, fan art, and some excellent usage. Enjoy.
With FXX’s Simpsons World, A Clip Database Comes Closer to Non-Linear Reality - Smooth Charlie’s Link of the Week is - by far – the most thoughtful first hand account of Simpsons World I read. There is some healthy skepticism here along with fanboi excitement about what some of the promised features could mean. It’s a little long, but in a week where every entertainment site seemed to do little more than quote the press release, you’re better off reading this than ten of those. The fact that there’s going to be a currency called “donuts” that you can “earn” makes me very leery, for obvious reasons.
Here’s how the new Simpsons app will change your life - A quicker breakdown highlighting some of the main features.
‘The Simpsons World’ app won’t be available in Canada - And this is part of the reason why I have mixed feelings. TV rights are locked into ancient distribution deals that are definitely bad for fans and, one suspects, also bad for the people who create the shows. Endless legal arcana has always been a big help to the bosses screwing the worker bees. As Bill Oakley sarcastically noted earlier this week:
Mondrian and Homer Simpson Inspired Wine Bottles - Some Russian designers created fake Homer and Marge wine bottles. They are gorgeous, too bad there’s no wine in them (yet).
Simpsons Fan Sets Record With 41 Homer Simpson Tattoos - I put this up on Twitter a few days ago, but there’s plenty of good pictures at the link. The one of Homer inside his Ganesh costume is a nice touch.
The … - Duplo Simpsons!
You can’t mess up with Lego. - Surprisingly creepy Flanders. Looks like after the Gremlin got to him.
“And I for one welcome our new insect overlords…” - The complete background and a few examples of modern usage.
The Simpsons to kill off Krusty the Clown: 6 life lessons he taught us - The hot rumor is that they’re going to “kill” Krusty. I would be skeptical if I bothered to care. However, there are some good Krusty moments here, including a great .gif of him killing the wealthy dowager.
10 Hilarious “The Simpsons” Moments - Plenty of good YouTube here.
Nvidia Announces Shield Tablet, an Android Device for Hardcore Gamers - Excellent usage:
In an online press briefing yesterday, Shield Tablet general manager Matt Wuebbling said the market for mobile devices has matured to the point that a company like Nvidia can respond to the specific needs of a niche like hardcore gamers. A trend of homogeneity turning to variety is coming to tablets the same way it came to cars and PCs, Wuebbling said.
And if tablets were cars, Nvidia seemingly wants the Shield to be the Canyonero from “The Simpsons”:
Unexplained fires will be a matter for the courts!
Speedy Ortiz talks the Simpsons and playing in space at Pitchfork Festival 2014 - Good answer:
DC: (If the world were going to end in a year) and you were allowed to play any one festival, what would it be?
MF: We got this question the other day, and I’m still sticking with the Simpsons one.
DM: Oh yeah, Hullabalooza. The Smashing Pumpkins would have to play.
SD: Sonic Youth plays too, right?
DM: Yeah. And Peter Frampton. He’s headlining.
And in between sets they could watch the acts from the Pageant of the Trans-Mundane.
Homer Simpson’s parenting advice - There’s a couple Zombie quotes on here, but it’s a pretty solid list.
The Simpsons 25 - A heartfelt and touching remembrance of a lost child through the show.
20 ‘Simpsons’ Quotes That Everyone Hears In Everyday Conversation - Nice list. Not sure how often you actually hear some of these, but nice list nevertheless (via @dailysimpsons).
Gameplay - Midnight Rescue was a great game, and don’t feel bad for learning wordplay from the likes of Chalmers. We all did.
‘Simpsons’ Fan Made Only Coke Name Bottle Worth Owning - Someone finally took this to its logical conclusion. Unfortunately, Coke is now sold out of “Bort” personalized bottles. I repeat, they are sold out of “Bort” bottles.
Mike Scully’s “The Simpsons”: When everything went wrong - Our old friend Stefan Grasso takes some swings at the Scully years.
Newt! (OMD2) - Fingernail designs inspired by “Radioactive Man”.
Planet of the Apes (1968) Review - I saw “A Fish Called Selma” long before I saw the old Charlton Heston movie too:
Aside from what I’d picked up in a Simpsons episode with a musical version of the movie, Planet of the Apes was a mystery. I had an idea that it was much more about chasing humans, action-packed fight sequences and heavy science-fiction.
It’s only after you’ve seen the movie that you pick up on other references, like the parents rounding up the kids at the beginning of “Bart’s Girlfriend”.
The Simpsons: “The Otto Show” - Even when people don’t like a particular episode, it’s still generally pretty good.
14 Classic Episodes from The Simpsons, season 5 (and 8 memorable ones!) - Season 5 is just insanely solid.
You Are Lisa Simpson - A list of sad animated moments includes “Jurassic Bark” and Homer sitting on the hood of his car after saying goodbye to his mother.
SNES A Day 59: Krusty’s Super Fun House - That was a pretty fun game.
“Going to a nice restaurant with my wife tonight.” - Heh.
“The Simpsons” needs to can its celebrity guest stars - And finally, I get to end the way I like, with someone who agrees with us. In this case it’s mainstream outlet Salon:
There are two ways the celebrity guest appearance goes on “The Simpsons”; in some cases, a star appears as him- or herself, as with the episode where Lisa and Lady Gaga become friends. In others, a star riffs on his or her persona, as in the episode in which Homer and Marge become friends with “hipsters from Portland” played by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. The only commonality here is that in all cases, no matter who the celebrity is, their persona takes over the plot. In the world of the show, Lisa would never become friends with a pop star and Homer and Marge are studiously unhip. But still the celebrities must be shoehorned in, even when it means that the story either ignores what we know about the characters or just makes the nominal stars of the show into bland sounding boards.
“The Simpsons” has never been realistic, but in its best years it obeyed internal logic as to how its characters would behave. Dustin Hoffman’s famous appearance as “Mr. Bergstrom,” Lisa’s substitute teacher, cleverly demonstrated Lisa’s need for respect from adults. But such stories need to be done subtly, with an attention to narrative coherence. Even stars as hammy as Kelsey Grammer playing Bart’s nemesis Sideshow Bob could have told an interesting story, but simply plugging in a celebrity and expecting greatness is a tall order.
Except for when they talk to reporters, the staff stopped expecting greatness a long time ago.
