Happy One Year Anniversary of my blog!!

Just wanted to mention that it has been exactly a year since I started my blog. And in true Simpsons fan fashion I got an awesome Simpsons surprise in the mail.

I ordered if from Kohls the other day. The original price was 29.99, but with the help of some online tips I managed to get it for exactly $5.40.  That includes shipping in handling. I don't know if it's still on sale for 5.99, but you can check.

But yeah thanks for visiting the site and I hope you find my insights interesting.  I'm going to try to stay on top my recaps and news (you know instead of the whole links thing I have been doing recently). Oh yeah and I need to include some more pop culture news (like Lost is in it's last season and I still haven't given my review of New Moon). But keep looking out for new stuff. Until next time :-)

"The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3D! On Ice!" My Thoughts

Wow what a special. I thought it was really good. I didn't really want to do a full recap or just review, so I decided to just mention some things I thought were really interesting and a bit of why I thought it was interesting.

The special was hosted/documented by Morgan Spurlock, the guy from Supersize Me. I don't know about you, but I was a bit surprised to see him hosting this special. I didn't do much research on the special beforehand, so everything about it was a suprise. But I guess he's a big Simpsons fan. There were a lot of guests on the special including all the voice actors, the creators, producers, and a great deal of fans.

I learned alot about the special for this program. Some of the most important information is that it's the longest running primtime show, has won 25 Emmys, it's broadcast in over 90 countries and has been translated into more than 45 languages. The word d'oh was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2003, and it is used to market everything. In other words, it's a global force.

They spoke about the fact that the show has a world characters. I still need one of those posters with all the character on it. On the street they interviewed people about the character and a guy I know from NYU actually was filmed saying Hans Moleman...such a small world. Some of the fave characters were Apu and Moe. Others mentioned were Quimby for be a JFK like, corrupt politician and Mr. Burns for being super old and rich. A GLAAD spokesmen spoke hoped that Smithers would come out of the closet and Brian Williams anchorman for the NBC evening news really likes Kent Brockman because he feels he is doing the most important job in the world...obviously (in Snape's voice).

Matt Groening then speaks about how Springfield is based on his hometown of Portland, Oregons. Some of the characters names are based on streets there such as Kearney, Lovejoy, and Tirwiliger. There is even a a Springfield Elementary with the same silhoutte as the one in the show, except the principal seems 10 times cooler than Skinner. Krusty the Clown is influenced by a clown from the city name Rusty Nails, but they are exact opposites.

There was a segment where they show all the super fans, that I'm unfortunately not a part of. One is Chad Rowland who has a crazy Simpsons tattoo on his back. At the San Diego Comic Con, we met even more fanatics like a lady who claimed that learned most her life lessons from The Simpsons. I totally agree with her on that, but I feel like my life experiences also mirror many moments on The Simpsons. There were other fanatics that could answer the most difficult questions on the series that left me clueless and others who could imitate voices. We also met a fan named Glynne Williams who has one of the largest and craziest collections of Simpsons merchandise. I think having that much stuff in a home could be considered a fire hazard.

Next, we learned about the controversy that followed The Simpsons. They were able to get away with a lot of things because they were animated, but that didn't stop many people like George and Barbara Bush and the Catholic League for hating it. Many individuals in the in Nuclear Energy also found that they got a great deal of negative feedback from the show based on the industries portrayal. For example, they say that there are no 3 eyed fish out there as a result of nuclear waste and they would let an idiot like Homer work there. Groening takes this as an opportunity to describe how writing for Homer is like writing for a dog that can talk. LoL

One thing I learned and had no clue of beforehand is how the show makes American look to people outside the US. As an American I knew it parodies US life, but I never thought that it was possible that foreigners took it seriously. Some people actually believe Americans are as crazy and dysfucntional as the show.

In terms of foreigners, we also learn that Argentinans love the show and have their own duff brewery that is now involved in a lawsuit. On the other hand, Brazilians are not as fond after seeing their portrayal in the episode "Blame It on Lisa". I guess I would be mad if they portrayed my city as being overrun by monkeys, kidnapping and candy colored rats. The people of the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Aberdeen are trying to claim Groundskeeper Willie as a resident of their city.

They also addressed the complainers by saying you weren't as good as you were 5 years ago along with other comments because they find the negative comments really hurtful.

The show ended speculating about why the show was so successful and many point to the love between Homer and Marge. I disagree. I think that it is successful because the love between everyone in the entire Simpsons family. They may not get along, but in the end they are strong family.

On that note the show felt complete, but The Simpsons were disappointed by the fact that it wasn't in 3D or on ice. So, at that moment the television said put on your 3D glasses and the Simpsons proceeded to skate and it was kind of blurry, so it could have been in 3D, but I didn't have glasses to tell. Overall, incredible special! I bet all the complainers will want to watch The Simpsons, including the new episodes, from now on :)

By the way if you haven't seen the special...watch it on Hulu.com

Happy 20th Anniversary to The Simpsons!

Wow what an awesome Sunday night. If you watched The Simpsons: 20th Anniversary Special: In 3D! On Ice! and the 450th episode you would know why. I barely watched the 450th episode I admit, but I did enjoy Anne Hathaway's New Yorker/Jersey Shore accent and the beautiful illustration in Paris as usual.

On the other hand, I watched the entire episode The Simpsons: 20th Anniversary Special: In 3D! On Ice! Although only a small portion of it was on ice and supposedly in 3D, it was an incredible special. It completely reiterates what The Simpsons means to people all around the world. I loved watching the opinions, the collectors, the voice actors and the creators. I especially loved the big Screw You! to the haters who complained about the shows quality in recent years ("I'm sure your not as good as you used to be 5 years ago"). The only part I didn't like was the whole Comic Con portion where I learned I am totally not a super fan. I didn't know the answer to any of those questions. I need to step my game up LoL, but I am an awesome fan.

I'll have some recaps for the special, the 450th episode and the two episodes I'm missing really soon. Hope the show made your Sunday more awesome than anything!

Happy 20th Birthday to The Simpsons!

It was December 17, 1989 when the first full episode of The Simpsons,"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" premiered. I don't remember when I first started watching The Simpsons, when it first premeired I was only about 2 years old. However, I do remember watching it when my brother and I matched the ages of Bart and Lisa, meaning when I was 8 years old. Since then I've watched the Simpsons on and off. It wasn't until high school that I started watching it regularly and started to pay attention to the new episodes on Sundays. Soon I started to realize how The Simpsons covers almost every aspect of life and began annoying my family and friends (and strangers) by pointing out how every situation reminded me of something "on this episode of The Simpsons." Now I am an unofficial Simpsons blogger because of my love for the show and I'm happy that I started blogging just in time to celebrate the shows 20th anniversary. Are you reliving your first memories of The Simpsons, too? Okay until next time when I get some more recaps up.

Simpsons News Consolidated; Yankees!

There have been alot of things in the news about The Simpsons lately because of its 20th anniversary. Wired has a really good article up about all the things that are going on including Ortved's book, the Scavenger Hunt, details about the new episodes premeiring soon and just ideas about why the Simpsons has lasted this long. Check out the article here.

Speaking of Ortved, check out a review for his book The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History here. The review is pretty good, but it does state that Matt Groening and other key figures are left out of the story and that he also disregards the shows later years (definite pet peeve for me there). But I still think I will check it out and so should you. Send me your opinions on it, too.

Also Congratulations Yankees! aka the Bronx Bombers! I am so happy that they won because (1) I'm from New York and (2) The Simpsons will be on at their regular time again. In addition, the Office will also be coming on afterwards as usual. Also a new episode of the Simpsons (Devil Wears Nada) will be on this weekend. Can't wait :-)

I also cannot wait until the Scavenger Hunt next week. I need to start preparing.

FOX Announces the Simpsons Scavenger Hunt: Release the Hounds!

As you know the Simpsons are celebrating their 20th Anniversary and FOX just announced one of the big events. In a press release entitled, "RELEASE THE HOUNDS! FOX UNLEASHES “THE SIMPSONS” ON-AIR SCAVENGER HUNT."

In the press release they explain that the Scavenger Hunt starts Monday November 9th and ends Friday November 13th (ooo Friday the 13th). Every night after watching The Simpsons episodes you log on to the www.fox.com/scavengerhunt and test your knowledge. You can win downloadable extras and enter to win the ultimate grand prize (trip to LA, table reading with the Simpsons cast and more).

I don't know about you, but I'm excited. I watch The Simpson every night as if it were a chore, so to think I can possibly be rewarded for doing just that makes me really happy. The prize it definitely worth it. I can't wait to see what the downloadable content is. I will definitely spend hours on my computer waiting for it download. I would love the opportunity to go to LA (I'm on the East coast) and be part of that awesome experience out there, too. But yeah I'll try to provide updates on the downloads and I'll also try put a reminder update on the site for the start of the contest.

To learn more about the competition and the prize check out the press relase here.

The Simpsons Celebrate Their 20th Anniversary in California

Photo from the Associate Press --->

Well, recently in California there was a Birthday bash in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons. It is officially the longest running American Primetime scripted entertainment program. To read more about the festivities and interviews with creators check out the interview here.

See Your Own Simpsons Character on the Show!

-->picture of myself Simpsonized

Have you ever wanted to create a Simpsons character and see it on the show? Then here is your chance. According to Yahoo News, the show is having a contest in which you create and Simpsons character and if you win they will appear on a 2010 episode that will also include Coldplay's Chris Martin. In order to enter the contest you must be 18 years old and submit your entry to thesimpsons.com before October 23rd. The winner will be announced in November. The only rules seem to be that your character is a human (no Poochies -_-), the fit the overall coloring of Simpsons characters, and that they be funny. In your entry, you are expected "to describe the character's traits, including his or her name or nickname; age; appearance; occupation and catch phrases" (Yahoo News, Oct.14, 2009). Good luck creating your Simpsons character!

20th Anniversary of the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror

--> Photo from FOX Broadcasting Company

As you might know this Sunday is the annual Treehouse of Horror episode of the Simpsons. But you might not know that is the 20th anniversary of the special show. I got an email from FOX stating that:

"THE SIMPSONS scares up three new bone-chilling tales of the strange, spooky and supernatural. The frightfest begins with an homage to classic Hitchcock films. Then, the scare-ific tricks continue in a parody of the horror film "28 Days Later." In a nod to the Broadway musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," Moe serves the bar flies a delicious microbrew mixed with Homer's blood in the third final frightening fable" (FOX Newsletter, FOX Broadcasting Company Oct. 2009).

Sounds interesting. I have not seen any Hitchcock films or the Sweeney Todd (I'll put that DVD on hold as soon as I post this), so I don't think I'll get all the jokes imbedded within the episode. So, yeah don't expect my review to be stellar.

I enjoyed last years Treehouse of Horror, especially that one with the Grand Pumpkin. I leave you with some of my favorite dialogue in the episode.

Grand Pumpkin: I dont care thats a yellow pumpkin
Nelson: huh you're a racist!
Grand Pumpkin: I dont care at least I admit it...Pumpkin segregation forever!

Simpsons Anniversary Special Jan. 14th 2010

Are you excited for this? I know I am. Morgan Spurlock has been called on to produce The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice. It is a documentary special that celebrates 20 years of The Simpsons. I officially can't wait til next year! Can you?

www.ew.com