No Recap for this Sunday's episode

First I want to say RIP to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy May.
Definitely a tough week for Hollywood.

In other news, no Simpsons recap for this Sunday's episode. I will be watching the BET awards, so if you like the Hip Hop, R&B, or music in general I suggest you watch it. I heard they are going to honor MJ, so all you MJ fans may want to tune in.

I would promise a recap during the week, but I start my summer job this week and so I might be tired to go online at all.

"No Loan Again, Naturally" Recap

Well like I said in the previous post this episode was difficult to keep track of because I had to think of a way to recap and not make the post super long. I really don't like looking at all those words when I post it, but here I go. First I will start with the episode description on IO:

"When Homer and Marge's adjustable rate mortgage skyrockets, they have to put their house up for sale."

Couch Gag: the couch dies of wear and tear and is buried. They go to find a new couch from the ranch. Homer attempts to ride one and ends up hurt. They take home the cow spotted couch and Homer sits on it with a full body cast :)

And on to the recap...
Well the episode starts with Homer preparing for his annual Mardi Gras Party. Bart gets the Zydeco music while Grandpa lays in a coffin as the funeral procession plays and joins in by playing a trumpet. Mayor Quimby opens the party and Homer rides around in a huge dragon float and throws frisbees. One of which hits Flanders. Marge forces Homer to invite Flanders, which he does with his head through the fence. As he talks to Flanders through a fence people stick their heads through to vomit on the lawn and even Moe and Nelson's mom put their head through to make out. Which is funny because she thinks that he is a kind talking dog. All in all Flanders decides to join the party and in the end ruins it with a 12AM announcement of Ash Wednesday.

As the guests leave Lenny asks Homer how is he able to afford the party and Homer explains that he uses the home equity and the house ends up paying for it. I don't know much about home mortgage rates and all that stuff, but when Lenny said he didn't think that was how it worked, I could't agree more. Soon Marge gets a letter from the bank stating that their loan has been readjusted and they go to see their lender. Who is their lender you might ask? None other than Gil. I personally would prefer the blonde working women with the short hair.

So yeah they go to see Gil and he promises to help them because America takes care of their middle class....umm sure. So of course, with all the fees they find that they can't afford their new monthly payment, eventually their home is foreclosed, and put up for auction. Marge feels horrible and Gil encourages her to learn to make soup form rocks and grass and use the sun and hobo fires to cook it LoL. Gil obviously has experience in that area. So Marge being the strong one cries while Homer attempts to hang himself from a tree that thankfully falls over from his weight.

At the aunction, Mr. Burns tries to buy the house for his shoes, but Flanders outbids him and agrees to rent the home to the Simpsons. They are all so greatful that they turn a sign that says "Screw You, Ned!" to "Bless You, Ned!" But Flanders is not ready for the type of tenants that the Simpsons are. They force him to make dozens of repairs and when he refuses to do one they complain that he only comes to see them when the rent check is late...event though it was late. They even call the news station in a "Help Me Harry" style to complain about the kind of Landlord he is and characterize him as "Evil Ned" and as the "Worst Person Who Ever Lived." Umm didn't he just save them from homelessness?

Anyway, Flanders nails a notice to vacate on the Simpson's door. As they wonder what it is, Lisa guesses that maybe the document is theses to which Homer replies "ill thats gross" LoL I loved that joke...you know...because theses sound like feces...lol good stuff. So, the Simpsons search for a loophole and discover by moving granpa they can't get evicted because he is a senior citizen. Eventually, they decide to leave him at home to get ice cream, but they find that their stuff is out on the street. It turns out that Flanders moved Grandpa to his house.

The Simpsons are forced to go to a homeless shelter which is pretty sad, but hey they were jerks. But Flanders being the Christian he is allows them to move back in by denying a Flanders like family who decide to sue Flanders because he took back the offer. Flanders agreed that they should and would be a great way to keep in touch...Flanders is weird. So yeah the Simpsons moved back and the neighbors all decide it's time to move out. Homer reacts by saying...I really hate this neighborhood.

Overall, it was an okay episode. I didn't really like it but it had some funny moments and that heartbreaking scene in the homeless shelter. I think that by returing to those more serious moments it can make the Simpsons more like it used to be. But thats just my opinion. I hope you enjoyed the episode, too.

Simpsons Recap and Pop Culture News on Alice in Wonderland Pics Coming Soon

Hey last nights episode of the Simpsons was a bit complicated so my recap/review will be short because I can't include all the details so I won't. That will be up tomorrow.

In PoP Culture news, I am going to do a small post on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland because the pics are terrifyingly inspiring :)

I'll get it posted later, so come back soon.

Update: Here is the pic!

Tell me that doesn't make you want to see this movie. When a movie stars Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp you know it's going to be haunting. Lets not forget the taste of Tim Burton's style. When they cast Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter I knew she would be dark and sadistic like her character. Even Anne Hathaway looks enchantingly eerie. You can tell that this movie is going to be rich with color and fun and a bit spooky. Alan Rickman is going to play the voice of the Caterpillar so that makes two Harry Potter stars in the movie. Oh well, we'll have to wait til 2010.

Well tomorrow I might see a Transformers Revenge of the Fallen in IMAX screening, so I might have a review of that tomorrow along with my Simpsons Recap if I can get around to it. Are you excited for the Transformers movie to come out? I am; especially if I could go for free.

Until tomorrow!

Namaste

Would You Take Directions from Homer Simpson?

Well, if you answered yes to this question I know a product for you. The line of TomTom GPS devices for your car now offer Homer's voice (played by Dan Castellaneta) as an option for the GPS. It cost $19.95 to dowload his voice from the website. So if you have a TomTom and are a huge Simpsons fan download it now!

Blog Post: "Gone Maggie Gone" Recap

Well here is the recap of the latest Simpsons rerun. The couch gag of this episode was Ralph hitting the couch as a pinata and the Simpson family eventually falls out. I like anything that involves Ralph :)

So, the episode starts with a solar eclipse. As a result, sunscreen company employees are jumping off their office building and solar powered cars stop working. Homer breaks his eclipse viewer box and Marge lends him her own. Unable to resist the temptation to look at the eclipse, Marge eventually looks up at it and her eyes are quickly burned my the emerging sun. As a result, Doctor Hibbert bandages Marge's eyes and encourage her family not to stress her out or her eyeballs would explode like in those old cartoon shows.

When Marge arrives home, things immediately go wrong without her help. Reminds me of the episode where Marge leaves Homer and the house immediate runs a mock. In this case, rats have taken over the kitchen. Homer thinks that this would have Ratatouille results, but he forced to buy poison. When returning home with the poison, Homer accidentally drives off a bridge and is forced to leave Maggie in front of a church in order to get Santa's Little Helper and the Poison across a river. Maggie is taken in by the Nuns of St. Theresa and they refuse to give Maggie back.

In order to get Maggie back, Lisa joins the convent ("how do you feel about kneeling?"). A bitter nun, who doesn't like the fact that she is not able to play quarterback during the all nun football games, reveals to Lisa that the nuns want a certain gem. After figuring out the first 2 clues easily (playing heart and soul on a organ and reading every other word of the second clue) she discovers that she has to find the biggest ring in Springfield. This initially leads her to a clock tower. She is hesitant to go inside when she reads the sign "Do Not Enter," but enters anyway when reads the secondary sign that states "I'm a Sign Not a Cop." Inside she encounters the Brethren of the Quest (Skinner, Comic Book Guy and a Quest minivan) who are also after the gem. Eventually, Lisa figures out that the biggest ring is the "RING" in the SPRINGFIELD sign.

When they get to the sign they encounter Mr. Burns who also wants the gem. On the sign they find clues on the letters that read out "Great Crime Kill Holy Sage." Lisa figures out that it is anagram. Burns tells Lisa to figure it out and orders the Brethren to dig their own graves (Comic Book Guy calls on Superman to help him...dig the grave). Lisa figures out the anagram, "Regally, the rock gem is Lisa," but once they arrive at the church the nuns inform her that anagram actually states, "It's really Maggie Sherlock." Lisa accurately points out that this would only make sense with her first guess...I guess it's all part of the prophecy. As the gem child Maggie sits on the "throne" of the church and brings happiness, prosperity and rainbow light to Springfield.

Marge who hasn't been fooled by Homer and Bart's attempts to act as Maggie and Lisa arrives just in time to claim Maggie thus removing all the good that Maggie has brought the church. Marge doesn't think God would ask a mother to sacrifice her child for the good of humanity...again. Homer leaves Bart as a gesture of kindness and once Bart is on the throne the floor of church splits to reveal hot lava and the roof collapses with raining fire. Overall, it was a strange episode. The Brethren in their hoods and nuns in the Catholic church all connect to the Davinci Code which is also mentioned in the episode. Since I have neither read the book or seen the movie I couldn't really make any connections. The episode had its funny moments, but it was not memorable and that anagram sucked. Can't wait until the next rerun :)

Futurama Returns!

Soooo yeah, I'm not really a huge fan of Futurama. I watched a few times because of the Simpsons like animation and Matt Groening's general involvement, but I never really liked it. I thought the robot was annoying and that the one eyed women was weird. Eventually it got canceled and I did not really care. However, I am very interested in the fact that it has returned. It kind reminded of me an animated show that shall not be named that was initially cancelled, but is now a huge hit...okay the show is Family Guy (not a fan of this show because I prefer wholesome humor and not it's crude counterpart). So yeah Futurama might have the same future.

Fox has recently ordered 26 new episodes of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's emmy award winning animated show (O'Neil). Hope all you die hard fans are excited.

O'Neil, Tom. "Emmy Champ 'Futurama' has TV future! Bender will drink to that!" LA Times. 11 June 2009. <http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/06/futurama-tv-news-8369152704-story.html>

Recap of Sunday's Episode, "How the Test was Won" coming soon :)

Hey a recap will be up soon for the first rerun I have seen since the season finale. Check back later.

Update :
Finally, time for the recap. I removed my acrylic nails so now it is much easier for me to type. My fingers might not be lookin' good anymore, but Sunday's episode of The Simpsons sure did. It was entitled, "How the Test was Won" and consisted of 3 main story lines. However, it began with a first day of school party held by Marge and Homer. The kids were now the government's problem as Homer put it. I wonder what kind of summer they had with Bart and Lisa? Well, after the party the story was sorted into 3 story lines.

Marge asked Homer to mail the insurance bill which led to the first story line. Homer failed to deliver the insurance bill and became liable for the injuries of anyone on there property. Which eventually led to a injury prevention fiasco. Do regular people really get this type of insurance? is what I was left asking. But after watching the montage of Homer getting hurt ("what a week") I was convinced that it's necessary for some people.

The second story involved the VPAT test that all the Springfield elementary students were required to take as a result of the No Child Left Alone act, a play on the No Child Left Behind Act. As a result of this new standardized test the teachers began to teach students to pass the test, but to an insane degree. Krabopple taught common answer keys (ACACA-DABACA-ACABA) while the gym teacher used bombardment to help the answers to sink in.

Before the actual exam the school administered a practice exam that Lisa felt she aced and that Bart felt was pointless and bubbled in answers to form the words "Slurp My Snot." Lisa was shocked and complained to Homer that Bart was throwing away his future to which Homer responded in a sarcastic tone, "Oh no! Now who will sell oranges on the off ramp?" That has to be one of the funniest lines in Simpsons history. It was even funnier when Bart and Homer laughed at the statement. Gotta luv the Simpsons.

So the day of the test comes and Bart is informed by Principal Skinner that due to his amazing score on the practice exam he didn't have to take the test, but instead would get a helicopter ride along with all the other "Superstars." Turns out the helicopter was really a the school bus and that superstars included the bullies and Ralph. Bart immediately realized that this was a sham or a "con air"and Chalmers revealed that it was a way to keep the underperformers from messing up the test averages. Superintendent Chalmers sent Skinner along with the students to Capital City where Ralph got lost at MLK Jr. and Ceaser Chavez Way (ay carumba!)...in other words the hood. Skinner heroically saves Ralph from a garbage barge using the theory of angular momentum (i think) and the "Superstars" learn the importance of education and physics. Lisa who found herself struggling on the test was happy when Chalmers threw the test out as a result of Skinner's discovery that children learn from the real world.

Now back to the 1st storyline. When Homer finally realized that he forgot to mail the letter, he quickly sent it the insurance company. But he knew he wouldn't be insured til three, so he struggled to keep the people at the book club safe. There were hidden dangers everywhere. He succeeded until Burns got hit in the head with a knife and blood spewed from his ears and nose. Marge learns that she should never trust Homer with a simple task.

...did I mention ends with a Footloose performance in the cafeteria used for testing. I really liked this episode. Many classic lines and such, but it was kind of forgettable. Overall, can't wait to see it again.

Simpsons News: Simpsons, Stamps, and Smoking?

The Simpsons have been in the news lately for two main reasons. I'll start with the first reason.

This is probably old news to all you other superfans of The Simpsons, but the recently the United States Postal Service has recently released stamps in honor of the comedic, yellow family. Each of the stamps has one of the five family members with different brightly colored backgrounds. They can be purchased in your local post office or here online. I would buy some, but I have to save money with the recession and all.

Now for the not so great news. Recent online sources, such as the Age, have been citing an Australian study that has found that smoking imagery in The Simpsons, such as scenes of Selma, Patty, Krusty the Clown, and Mr. Teeny smoking, may encourage young viewers to smoke. The article provided some interesting statistics.

"... [of the] 400 episodes of the first 18 seasons of the show...They found a whopping 795 instances of smoking or references to smoking...More than half involved male characters, a fifth female characters, and about 16 per cent non-gender characters such as animals...Smoking was mostly portrayed in a neutral way, but in 35 per cent of cases it had negative connotations and 2 per cent of the time it was shown to be positive" (Medew).

They also add that regardless of the context, including those characters who show the negative consequences of smoking, the image of a character smoking would encourage smoking among young adults. Although the study cites the Simpsons as an example, other studies have shown that this applies to any character smoking in a television context. As a person who majored in Psychology in college I know that these type of studies should be taken with a grain of salt. Any correlation found between viewing Simpsons characters smoking and the amount of youth who watch the show who smoke may be caused by anything including just a possible overall increase in the amount of young adults who smoke in Australia.

Nevertheless, it is still very interesting to think about the amount of times smoking is shown and referenced in The Simpsons and that maybe it maybe time for a decrease in these instances. But hey if you don't care and want to indulge in the smoking imagery (like I wanted to do yesterday) check out the episode of the Simpsons entitled "Smoking Ballerina."

Source:

Medew, Julia "Simpsons 'may prompt' smoking." The Age. June 2009. <http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/simpsons-may-prompt-smoking-20090531-brpp.html>

MTV Movie Awards Reaction

Well the award show was more controversial than I thought it would be. I tuned in for the Harry Potter and New Moon clips, but there was a lot more going on. The whole Eminem stunt, in which many reports now claim it was staged, was really weird and kind of pathetic if that what he has to do for attention now. But hey I read in the paper that his album is number 1, so I guess it's working. Adam Sanberg (sp?) was funny as usual.

Okay, well Twilight came away with the majority of the rewards which shows the power of Twilight fans or "Twihards." Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson were as awkward and as lovely as ever. I have mixed feelings about the New Moon "trailer," (I really don't think it should be considered a trailer as opposed to some clips of the movie). During the first 50 seconds I was disappointed. The whole paper cut scene was extremely underwhelming. I thought it could be a lot more dramatic and that they could have expanded the scene with some kind of dramatic struggle. Laurent looked great. I thought he looked more like a wild thirsty vampire in need of blood as opposed to the Cullen type that have done without it for years. Still I couldn't understand why they would show all of that in the first teaser trailer. My entire opinion changed when I saw Jacob/Taylor morph into the wolf for the first time. I DID NOT expect to see that so soon, but it was a good surprise. Now that I have seen the trailer several times and examined the wolf I realize that the graphics are pretty poor, but still better than I expected. Hopefully they will spend additional time and money perfecting the design. Still it was awesome B+. I would give the beginning of the trailer a B-. Check it out below.




I don't really see the need to discuss the Harry Potter clip. It has been seen plenty of times. I give a B because I love Harry Potter, but because the clip has been seen before.

Okay expect some Simpsons stuff soon. Maybe not a recap, but pics of my time in the Kwikee Mart and other related things. Namaste! Adios! TTYL!