"The Greatest Story Ever D'Ohed" Recap

My recap will be up later, but I will say I was underwhelmed by this episode. A big step down from last week, but as usual it did have its good points. Check back for the full recap soon.

I have to say this episode started out pretty well, but soon the problems started. But lets just get into it.  The episode starts with Ned hosting a Bible Study group.  In order to keep the youth (Jimbo) interested he is forced to use computer words like twitter and download.  But the group becomes distracted by Homer sliping and siding naked next door.  Ned tries to fix the naked problem by bringing a leaf (very Adam and Eve), but Homer just annoys Ned.  As a result, Ned is depressed by his inability to save Homer who along with Bart and Lisa is playfully worshipping Santa's Little Helper.  But with Reverend Lovejoy's encouragement, Ned decides to invite Homer and family on a trip to Holy Land. Homer ponders this invite by saying things like should I take my children to a war zone where they don't believe in eating pork? Based on that information you would think no, but Marge is humbled by Ned's generosity and agrees to go on and pay for the trip. 

Once they're in Jerusalem the episode quality quickly deteriorates. Krusty is on the trip, but once he learns there is no hell in Judaism he quickly heads to the Gaza Strip Club.  In  Jerusalem we see the typical scenery jokes. There is the fiddler playing the violin on the roof although he is supposed to be cleaning the gutters and they stay at the Wailing Waldorf.  Then we are introduced to their tour guide Jacob who was voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen. I was expecting great things from Cohen, but I can't say he delivered consistently.  He said some funny things like that his English was so good that he sounded like Hugh Grant (it was quite the opposite). He also said some things like "Please shut your face." These lines were funny because they were delivered under a strong accent that initially added to the humor, but after a while it got just annoyting.  For example, while starting the tour he started yelling and cursing at a random Israeli for listening to the tour for free.  At one point he was only yelling in Hebrew and there were some bleeps to let us know that he was cursing, but it still didn't make it very funny. 

Meanwhile, Homer and Bart were just acting crazy on the tour. Homer recorded Bart as he went for a handstand record and Flanders prayed.  Flanders asked Homer to have more reverence and so they prayed together. However, Homer ordered a falafel with extra chees and other condiments ("Yes I know what a falafel is") right afterwards.

The next stop on the tour was the Wailing Wall. There people write their prayers on pieces paper and put them in wall.  Krusty put a note in the wall asking to have his parking tickets fixed while Bart reads the prayers at random. Homer tells Bart that they need to behave "religousy."  But Bart doesn't care and decides skateboard on top of the wall. Jacob's, the tour guide, helper girl tries to stop Bart.  When he attempts to use his Karate against her, she uses her Israeli Karate against him and wins.  It turns out she works for the army and they know all about Bart.  I like when Bart is viewed as notorious, but not all the way in Jerusalem.  Also the scene was way too long and not funny.

So yeah, toward the end of the tour Ned finds Homer sleeping in the Tomb of the Savior (a very sacred place). This gets Ned so frustrated that he actually gets himself kicked.  Ned then declares that Homer is not worth saving.  Ned then storms out.  Homer goes to look for Ned in the desert not knowing that Ned went for tea and then went to watch the Reformers (it's kind of like the Clownomorphs and Transformerbots...oh yeah and exactly like the Transformers).  Meanwhile, Homer is having a Lawrence of Arabia like journey in the desert.  He gets lost, sings a thirsty song, and sees the vegetables of the Veggietales who call him the chosen one. However, it is all a hallucination from drinking salt water.  But when he is found, Homer genuinely believes that he is the Messiah.  Dr. Hibbert diagnoses Homer with Jerusalem syndrome or the tendency of people to think they are the messiah while on a trip to Jerusalem. 

Before they know it Homer has disappeared, but Lisa deduces he could be found at the the Dome of the Rock which is a place that is sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims.  They find Homer dressed in white robes at the Dome of the Rock as declares a new religion of Chrimajews. In this religion they would celebrate their commonality, like their love of chicken. Peace and Chickens. As they all leave on Israeli Air we see there are many Jerusalem Syndrome sufferers dressed in Messiah robes.

Overall, this was an odd episode. I don't know much about Jerusalem, so many of the locations none of the locations ring a bell. But then again I haven't heard much about many of the locations that the Simpsons have visited. I just guess they didn't do a really good job. Also, Cohen's accent was over the top and sometimes difficult to understand and the little subplot of Jacob's assistant just seemed unneccesary and long. Also, the plot was a little too similar to some past episodes. But it did have its moments. I love the Simpsons regardless, maybe it will be funnier when I watch it a second time. 

Congrats to Taylor Lautner!

Congratulations to Taylor Lautner for winning the Kids Choice Awards for Best Movie Actor and Best Couple with Jacob and Bella!...yup thats right they beat out Edward and Bella.  That means these kids are definitely Team Jacob. A lot of people complain because they were never officially a couple, but they were definitely on the brink of a relationship. Only the whole imprinting thing would've been an issue :-) Congrats again Taylor.

New Moon DVD: Borders Special Edition DVD and Midnight Release Party Photo Post

On Saturday March 19th I attended the New Moon DVD at the Borders at Columbus Circle, NYC. I went to this location because Twilight Lexicon and Twilight Moms were hosting a live podcast. It was interesting to hear their stories about visiting the set of New Moon and the video from the stars of Twilight were also pretty great.

I went to the Borders DVD release party because I wanted their edition of the DVD.

I got their editon of the Twilight DVD as well. It was signed by Edi Gathegi. I might post pictures of that Midnight Release Party as an update on this post.

This is what you see when you open the first flap. Looks a lot like the Eclipse One Sheet right? The eclipse one sheet and sneak peek are so much of what we've seen before. But the Walmart edition did have some interesting Eclipse footage. You can check it out on youtube.

When you open it all the way you have the second DVD and then it has the necklace that comes out of the pouch in the middle.  The necklace has two sides. The side that is showing has the Cullen Crest and the other side has the wolf pack tattoo. I would wear on the Wolfpack side of course.

LoL I saw this shirt in Target the other day. Team Jacob all the way :)

"Stealing First Base" Recap

Can't wait to watch this episode in its entirety and give the recap. Just saw the kissing montage phenomenal...LoL. Check back soon for the recap.
Okay, so title started with Radioactive Man and Fall Out Boy flying by which I thought was notable because we haven't seen them in a while ("Watch out! ...Radioactive Man!"). The couch scene took place in the Simpsons' garden. They were bugs and they sat on the squash.

The episode started with Homer using GPS directions to drive Bart and Lisa to school. Like all GPS devices it's pretty faulty and so he is led into a construction site. I thought this was particularly interesting because last year Homer's voice was featured on a car GPS. I don't think this is a good marketing tactic. But yeah, they eventually make it to school thanks to the guy towing their partially destroyed car.

Once Bart arrives at school, his classroom is in chaos. We learn that Mrs. Krabbappel is in Portland, so Skinner decides to merge the two fourth classes. Each student in Mrs. K’s class has to share a desk with a student. Milhouse sits next to a surfer kid, Nelson sits next to a blind child who he swears to protect and teach the ways of the bully and Bart sits next to a dark haired Asian girl named Nikki (voiced by Sarah Silverman). As Bart reads The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar (“Damn this caterpillar can eat! [turns page] Damn! [turns page] Damn!”), Nikki reads Red Moon. I hope I don’t have to explain that this is a reference at Stephenie Meyer’s New Moon of the Twilight Saga.

When Bart realizes she is reading Red Moon he says “you girls ruin everything including vampires…vampires don’t put product in their hair like this loser.” Then they zoom into a cover of the very Rob Patz-esque Edward or whoever the vampire is in Red Moon. This was a LoL moment for me. Look for a New Moon post very soon. Nikki explains she likes the vampire because he likes girls who don’t like cheerleading and who are emo. Bart proceeds to draw a picture of real vampire and this really impresses Nikki.

Meanwhile, Lisa receives her first F is Ms. Hoover’s class. She thinks it’s a dream, but after failing at an attempt to fly she realizes it’s real. After the bad grade Lisa suddenly becomes more popular. However, after we learn that her paper was accidentally switched with Ralph’s, the kids make fun of her because she is considered a gifted student again. Lisa complains about the other children on her blog (Monday Mulching) and a commenter named Flotus1 encourages her to continue to overachieve.

Bart, on the other hand, is dealing with his crush on Nikki. He goes to Homer for advice, but eventually ends up going to Grandpa for advice. Grandpa encourages him to steal first base or to give Nikki a kiss when she doesn’t expect it. After skateboarding with Nikki he follows Grandpa’s advice and kisses Nikki on top of a slide, but Nikki freaks out and Bart becomes really sad. Nelson encourages his blind friend to say “ha ha.” The next day at school Nikki’s parents threaten to sue the school and Homer and Marge for Bart’s unwanted kiss.  So, Homer and Marge get really mad at Grandpa and tell Bart to leave Nikki alone. In addition, Homer decides to take Bart to see “Koyanis Scratchy: Death Out of Balance” which is essentially a 3D Itchy and Scratchy movie. In the movie, Scratchy’s body searches for its head. It goes to many strange places and when he finally finds his head he is shot by Itchy. The movie was based on Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance. Wikipedia say that “film consists primarily of slow motion and time-lapse photography of cities and many natural landscapes across the United States.” Seeing this on The Simpsons was pretty odd, but now I get it.

So, back at school Skinner holds an assembly against unwanted kissing and touching. In the sketch Skinner plays Bart and Willie plays a girl. For the sake of the play Willie and Skinner are forced to kiss each other. When Nelson asks “Hey Willie, does he taste like failure,” Chalmers forces them to kiss until the kids stop laughing. This takes an incredibly long time. As the children laugh Skinner and Willie go from tentative kissing to passionate kissing to exhausted caressing each others arms.

After the assembly signs pop up around the school discouraging kissing and touching. There’s one with Alaska Nebraska (I love her LoL) that says “Alaska Nebraska says: I took the no touching pledge” and another with the motto: “loose lips sink (scholar) ships.” But Bart encounters Nikki and she kisses him which just confuses him and he calls Nikki a psycho.

Meanwhile, Michelle Obama (voiced by Angela Bassett) visits the school via White Hawk and tells the children that she was once a young overachiever. Skinner tries to interrupt her, but Chalmers explains that he is their Joe Biden which is immediately understood by Michelle. She also tells the children that she got A’s when A’s were hard to get and she praises Lisa for being an overachiever like she was. Lisa figures out that Flotus1 stood for First Lady of the United States and then Mrs. Obama then uses her buff arms to open the White Hawk doors.

When she leaves we see Bart and Nikki on the roof. Bart accidentally falls off the roof in his confusion. Nikki loves him when she thinks he’s dead, but when she sees he’s breathing she loses her interest…umm this is more a bipolar thing than a girl thing I think. So yeah Skinner and Chalmers hesitate to give Bart CPR because of a fear of getting sued, but Nikki decides to do it herself. As Bart is being revived he begins thinking of some famous kissing scenes. The ones I recognized are the following: Lady and the Tramps spaghetti kiss, Planet of the Apes’ man and ape kiss, Ghost (Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze) kiss, Spiderman upside down kiss, Star Trek 2009 movie kiss with Spock and Zoe Saldana, Alien or Predator kissing Sigourney Weaver (not sure if that was real) and the Godfather kiss (I think it’s Michael Corleone giving that guy the kiss of death).

So yeah, Bart is revived and all is well. Nelson blind friend touches his face to see him and tells him that he asked to touch his face, not his butt. Nelson replies with a punch in the face and the blind kid thanks him for restoring his vision, but he sikes and ha-has Nelson and Nelson fears that the student has become the master. Bart on the other continues to get mixed messages from Nikki.

Overall, I really loved this episode. I loved the one liners and the story was pretty good. I didn’t like Nikki’s whole hot and cold act, but Sarah Silverman did a good job. The love for Michelle Obama was great because I really like her too. Angela Bassett did an okay job, but I think either the material or delivery weren’t very funny. My favorite part was the pop culture references. I need to find out where the other kisses came from. Do you have any ideas? Ok until next time.

Pop Culture: My Life as Liz Photo Post

I've been talking about this show a great deal. I love the hipsterness of the main actress. I took some pics of my tv while watcing the season finale so you can see the awesomeness of hipsterism and My Life as Liz.

Crop top, short shorts and maybe fishnets probably from a thrift store...very hipster

LoL..odd pic, but the kicks (sneakers for those who don't know) say hipster to me. Oh and the no matching.

They shop in thrift stores, but own Mustangs ... hmm... Hipster!

Umm wearing cap rim up and I think it's one of those annoying Ashton Kutcher type hats... Outdated hipster for sure.

Oh and the cruiser bicycle, hipsters are pro-environment.

Sorry for the hipster stereotypes, but hey I'm not hating on it. I actually love it.  I don't get the lifestyle, but I do love the fashion. Oh and I really want a bike.

Recap: "Postcards from the Wedge"

Just finished watching the episode and I loved it. Check back tomorrow for a full recap. I would do it now, but I have work later tonight and have to prepare for Lost tonight. Tune into Lost tonight on ABC at 9pm ET.

Took me a little longer to get to this recap than expected, but here you go.

So, the episode starts with Bart in class watching a cartoon entitled "Springfield of the Future."  The cartoon was very Hannah Barbara inspired.  It was very much a Jetsons-like future.  It encouraged the use of the cars by men over public transportation by showing that many germs could be exchanged through just the act of talking to each other ("You might as well be kissing").  The showed that there would be a skyway and claw used to pickup your kid from school (crushing possible).

After the video, Mrs. Krabappel asked them to take out their Hopi Indian Pueblo Project. Bart, who forgot as expected, tried to build something using the crap from his desk, but she wasn't fooled and decided to send a note home to Bart's family. She secures the note to Martin before having him deliver it to the mail box.  Bart chases Martin to the mailbox, but is unable to get through huge group of 6th graders ("I have unwanted boner" random line from a passing 6th grader).

In order to stop his parents from the receiving the letter Bart pretends to be sick. He rubs his ear, so when Marge uses the ear thermometer he would have a high temperature.  Lisa recommends she double check his temp, so she decides to use a anal thermometer. Before leaving the room Lisa tells him to "close your eyes and think of Milhouse." It took a minute for that line to sink in LoL. Another knock at Milhouse's sexuality and Bart's relationship with him. When Marge leaves the room, she confirms that Bart is indeed sick and has a high temperature. Lisa begins to ask Bart how he managed to fake that test, but he promptly tells her he does not want to talk about it. A lot of horrible possibiltites crossed my mind at this moment.

So, Bart waits inside the house by the door for the mail, but Homer retrieves from the outside first.  The letter reveals that Bart is a month behind on homework and at a meeting with Principal Skinner, Homer and Margge are shown this missing work.  Homer is angry and demands that Bart is given more homework because he wants him Korean by the time he's done....once again it took me a minute to take this one in.

However, Marge has a different reaction than Homer. She is worried about Bart being overwhelmed (I hate to be stereotypical, but that is such a mom way to view things).  So, Marge encourages Bart to watch a Pokemon-like cartoon instead of doing homework, but Homer stops him and forces him to work harder.  Marge undermines Homer again. This leaves Bart confused because he is being encouraged to do opposing things.  He decides to disagreement to play his parents against each other so he doesn't have to do any work.

So, when Homer makes him do work he complains to Marge about his huge workload and tells him to go out and play. This makes Homer mad, but Marge while in church just prays to that Homer learns to  agree with her. At home, Bart watches an Mouse, an Itchy and Scratchy that is just like house.  This little segment has been making a lot of waves on the internet.  In the episode, the cat comes to Mouse to take out a splinter, but Mouse cutts off his legs and go through a checklist of procedures including one that encourages Mouse to sever his body. Homer is upset that Bart is watching television and he and Marge have a huffing and puffing fight. Soon, they have problems just agreeing on a restaurant and Lisa tells Bart he is officiallly a sociopath ("at it's a path").  Homer and Marge continue to fight. Homer wants to be the first husband to win a fight, but after dreaming that he hits Marge with his "I Won the Fight" float, he decides to apologize. From then on Homer and Marge agree not to let Barts crazy behavior get in the way of their love ("Marraige is more important than Bart's future"). 

Meanwhile, while attacking Skinner with sugar water balloons (it attracts bugs), Milhouse and Bart stumble upon an old Springfield subway station and train.  They ride the train through town causing tremors that disturb the foundations of many buildings in town.  However, Marge and Homer could less about Bart's mischeif and Homer yells compliments at Lisa. 

Bart is disappointed by his parents' indifference, so he goes to the school bullies for guidance. Nelson tells him that he is missing the rush because no on is PO'ed (my fave word).  So, Bart decides to do something big. Once he discovers that the tremors are destroying the school, he decides to completely destroy Springfield Elementary witht the train. After finding a note from Lisa about Bart's plan, Homer rushes to stop him.  Just in time Homer pulls the trains Kill Switch and stops the train.  Skinner and the children rejoice and decide to raise the flag.  Unfortunately, the flagpole falls over and hits the school causing it crumble.  Homer and Marge return to their natural strictness with Bart and he is relieved.  Bart appreciates this change in attitude.  

At the close of the episode, Lisa confronts Bart about the letter that she supposedly wrote and we learn that Bart sent the note because he didn't want to get caught. Lisa tells Bart she won't tell their parents and they will continue to think of him as a "souless little psycho."  (Great line).

During the credits they show more of the family of the future.  Like the Jetsons it's the future, but they read the newspaper on paper versus an Ipad or something.

Overall, I thought this was a great episode. It had a good story and it flowed really well.  There were some hilarious one liners and they were actually risque. I think they're pushing the envelope for The Simpsons, but with Family Guy out there it's not going to make any real waves.  I'm surprised that the Mouse segment is getting so much attention. I guess there are a lot of House fans out there. Alas, no I'm not one of them. Oh well :-)

Simpsons Update and Links

It's been a while since I updated the site, but it has also been a while since they have aired a new episode of the Simpsons. Luckily, there is a new episode tonight. I also have some updates on other things like some of the Hipsterness of My Life As Liz.  The season finale was kind of annoying to watch as usual, but the fashion was also interesting as usual. I'll even give you the story of my venture into a Goodwill in New York.

But for now here are some Simpsons links. They're a bit old, but they're from 2010 and I'm trying to get all of the links on the site as quickly as I can. Here you go:

• 20 Great Guest Stars on the Simpsons According to EW.com...omg did you know Ellen Page was Alaska Nebraska and Meryl Streep was Jessica Lovejoy!! wow :)
• Historic statue turned into Homer Simpson  I don't condone this, but it is pretty cool.
• Life lessons from the Simpsons
• The Tomacco Man I don't think we need real Tomacco in our lives
• Homer's Line-o-Rama at IGN...Someone I know gave me a talking keychain with some of these Homer lines.
• Homer vs. Mickey Mouse An interesting article about the difference between Disney animation and Simpsons animation
• Homer's Top Ten List on Letterman I saw this live, but never brought it up on the blog...so ashamed
• Money Lessons from The Simpsons If you have money problems you might learn something
• 10 Classic Episodes and Most Memorable Quotes According to BBC...they're good stuff.
• 451 Episode Marathon of Simpsons ....crazy, yet appealing
• Simpsons Installation Wish I didn't miss it