Reading Digest: Bands! Edition

“You got Poison to play at our wedding?” – Becky
“We’re Cyanide, a loving tribute to Poison.” – Cyanide Singer
“We need a ride home!” – Cyanide Drummer

This week we might have a link of the month instead of a link of the week.  From Australia comes a list of bands with names from the show from all over the globe.  I’ve linked maybe three or four of them on here, and I had no idea just how many there really were.  It needs to be seen to be believed, and it’s hard to conceive of another show offering up this many possibilities.  Just astounding.  In addition to that, we’ve got more bootleg Bart stuff, some speculation on the demise of the DVDs, several pieces of fan art, love for Lisa, new merchandise, and more.

Enjoy.

This Is What A Festival Filled With Bands Named After ‘The Simpsons’ Would Look & Sound Like – Smooth Charlie’s Link of the Week is this list of real bands with Simpsons names.  They band play good.

The 13 Best Bootleg Barts – An excellent selection of new bootleg Bart images from that show in LA last week.

Bart Vs Video Game Trivia: How Well Do You Know Simpsons Games? – There’s even a quiz.

The Simpsons DVD news: Are the sales really that bad? No, they aren’t – The show was selling relatively well, but wasn’t doing gangbusters anymore if this is true:

Yes, those numbers are approximately half of the sales of season 16, but the numbers are still excellent given the market today. I think there’s more to this story than “sales numbers are poor.” Maybe their sales expectations are too high and they would rather make no money off DVD sales than less money.

What the article doesn’t mention is that FOX might not want to keep doing DVDs if they’re also selling the show through streaming and FXX.  I don’t know the full thinking (and this is FOX we’re talking about, thinking might not have been involved at all), but I don’t think it’s entirely coincidental that they canned the DVDs after they finally got their streaming product off the ground.  Thanks to @mstcambot on Twitter.

Eye On Springfield with Shayne Mathis – Fantastic:

My first exposure to vegetarianism was from the episode Lisa The Vegetarian. Has the show ever exposed you to an idea that impacted your life? (Lisa become veg, Barney quitting drinking, etc.)
I wish I had a good story for this question but the extent of The Simpsons’ effect on my life was that I prank called my local grocery store a few times and got them to page Amanda Hugnkiss, I.P. Freely, etc over the PA system.

Eye On Springfield with Chuck BB – My local station had Saturday episodes, except when they had baseball.  Stupid baseball:

The show was in its prime when I was in middle school, I think just entering into syndication – So I would catch The Simpsons airing every night at that point, memorizing jokes and lines and talking to the other kids about the replayed episode the next day. Every God Damn Day…except Saturday. Stupid Saturday.

The Last Word … Homer’s odyssey – I don’t know enough about British politics to fully understand this, but comparing Labour’s leadership election to “Lisa the Vegetarian” is pretty brilliant all by itself.  Thanks to reader David S. for sending this in!

‘The Simpsons’ predicted President Trump way back in 2000 – It’s always fun to watch things percolate up from the bottom of the internet to the top.  As soon as Trump declared, Simpsons geeks mentioned it, then it faded, then someone puts it on Reddit and it rises again, then it fades one more time, and then it makes it to the Washington Post.

The Singing Dorkette – I’m not saying I would trade in my family or anything, but that’s pretty awesome:

If there is one cartoon character that I have related to throughout my childhood, adolescence and feeble attempt at the starting blocks of adulthood, it is Lisa Simpson. Lisa relied heavily on self validation via grades and school success, had her social anxieties, often seemed to feel everything acutely with her sensitive soul, and had strong principles that meant she was faced with many ethical dilemmas. I feel that our outlooks on life are similar.

Plus, when I told my family that I was to stop eating meat, they, too, started a conga line around the kitchen and chanted in sing-song voices, “you don’t win friends with salad”.

Best of luck with the new blog!

Cowabunga – Some Bartkira panels.

Sketch-a-day 7.28 – An agreeably distressed looking Homer drawing.

Superhero – Fallout Milhouse to the rescue!

9 Songs You Didn’t Know Carole King Wrote – Apparently including Lisa’s Jazzman. 

Beaming For Bunnies: Stuff I got in the mail – Our old friend Galileo both sends and receives Simpsons swag.

Dear Life, | letters from milhouse – Yep:

I am milhouse.
Perpetually waiting for my Lisa.

My mom thinks I’m cool.

clearly marge had an affair – Heh.

TV Pick of the Day – Tuesday 28 July – Heh:

What is it: The Simpsons ‘King-Size Homer

Watch it for: The muumuu, the ass pay-off at the end.

10 Most Emotionally Packed Comedy Episodes – “Mother Simpson” makes the list along with, naturally, the dead dog episode of Futurama.

Character Options launches new The Simpsons toy collection – A breathing person actually said this:

With such a huge global reach we are confident that this will be a highly successful new offering within the Character portfolio.

More “collectibles”, on the way.

I Never Caught That: The Simpsons Eddie and Lou in background out of uniform – Nice catch.  Though, Wiggum did let all the criminals out for that game.

Hazel Likes: Sprinkle D’oh-Nuts Dress – More high fashion Simpsons clothing, this time a pretty pink dress.

1998 20th Century Homer Simpson Alarm Clock – Here’s a blast from the Krusty Brand Seal of Approval past, an alarm clock where Homer’s eyes aren’t even pointed in the same direction.

 

GIANT Homer Simpson Santa Claus 8′ Airblown Inflatable Gemmy Light Up – It’s less than five months until Christmas.  Start now.

Body Shapes, a Handy Guide – Heh.  Speaking personally, I’ve always been attracted to Bart women.

Quote of the Day

“I guess we could go to Martin’s party.” – Bart Simpson
“I don’t know.  If we’re seen there it’ll definitely take our social standing down a notch.” – Milhouse van Houten
“We’re at what now, three?” – Bart Simpson
“Three and a half.  We get beaten up, but we get an explanation.” – Milhouse van Houten

Quote of the Day

“Alright, seniors, we’d all love to share in your wisdom, experience, yadda yadda yadda…” – Mrs. Krabappel

Some Examples of Jerkass Homer From More Recent Seasons

“Hey, kids?  Always recycle . . . to the extreme!” – Poochie

Johnny Sugar, who once wrote a guest post for us titled “Where Al Jean Went Wrong”, has made it to what passes for the big time if you’re a blogger, Uproxx. There, he’s been the driving force behind their expanded number of Simpsons posts (you know, the ones that keep showing up in Reading Digest). On Sunday, he put up another one:

Homer Simpson’s Changing Ways On ‘The Simpsons’

It’s a rundown of things which will be sadly familiar. In order, they are:

He’s More Of A Jerk

Zany Homer Is Now The Norm

There Are Way Fewer Consequences for His Actions Now

He’s Good At Everything Now

Shortly after the article was published, Al Jean took to Twitter to belittle it:

“Article how Homer is “now” w eps from seasons 9,11.12.15.  All 10+ years old.  Is Homer the researcher?”

Jean is, of course, correct. All of the examples are from episodes that are now themselves more than a decade old. But his implication, that these traits are not present in more “now” episodes, is demonstrably incorrect.  Here are examples of each from just the last three seasons:

He’s More of a Jerk:

Season 24 – “Moonshine River” – The family goes back to New York City (Bart is investigating his many, many past loves).  Homer doesn’t do well in the “not being a jerk” department:

Season 25 – “Yellow Subterfuge” – Homer helps Bart get revenge on Skinner by pretending to murder Skinner’s mother:

Season 24 – “A Test Before Trying” – Homer scams the entire town with a broken parking meter:

 

Zany Homer Is Now the Norm:

Season 25 – “The Winter of His Content” – Homer becomes a zany old person:

Season 26 – “Bart’s New Friend” – Having done him as an old person, they went the other way and had Homer spend an entire episode thinking he’s 10-years-old.  Here he is playing tag with children on the school playground:

Season 25 – “Steal This Episode” – Homer opens a bootleg movie theater, gets arrested, breaks out of prison, hides in an embassy, then goes on trial, all in one episode:

This is the lame Fugitive scene, and, yes, they did it a million times better back in Season 7.

Season 24 – “The Day the Earth Stood Cool” – Homer changes his whole life around and becomes a hipster, so it’s zany, but in an ironically un-ironic way:

 

There Are Way Fewer Consequences for His Actions Now:

Season 24 – “Homer Goes to Prep School” – Homer gets obsessed with the apocalypse, becomes a doomsday prepper, then releases an “EMP” that wipes out the town, whereupon the Simpsons flee, only to return and find out that everything is fine:

In this scene, Marge and the kids think Springfield has just been destroyed.  Of course, it wasn’t.

Season 26 – “Waiting for Duffman” – Homer becomes Duffman, feels bad about being a corporate shill, then everything goes back to normal.  The picture speaks for itself:

Season 26 – “The Wreck of the Relationship” – Homer and Bart go on a father son cruise where Homer repeatedly falls overboard to no noticeable effect:

 

He’s Good At Everything Now:

Season 26 – “Covercraft” – Homer picks up guitar, gets immediately good, and ends up replacing a real band on stage in a stadium:

That’s Homer with Apu, Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Hibbert, and Kirk van Houten.  The crowd loves them.

Season 26 – “The Musk Who Fell to Earth” – Homer goes into successful business with Elon fucking Musk of all people.  They basically destroy society, but it all gets wrapped up before the credits:

Season 25 – “Labor Pains” – Homer delivers a baby in an elevator and becomes a great father to the kid:

Season 25 – “You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee” – Homer becomes a frickin’ World Cup referee:

Season 24 – “Pulpit Fiction” – Homer becomes a hugely popular deacon at the church:

They are still capable of a good sign gag on occasions.  Don’t say I never write anything nice.

I could cite a lot more examples, or keep going through Seasons 23, 22, etcetera, but the record is pretty clear.  And lots of these episodes could easily fit into more than one category.  When Homer delivers that woman’s baby and starts being a super parent to the kid, he neglects his own family and almost gets Maggie eaten by zoo animals (seriously), that’d certainly qualify him as a jerk in addition to being instantly good at something he’s always been terrible at.  Or when he goes into business with Elon Musk, they wreck society, but there’s no real consequences or fallout and everything gets wrapped up quickly.

The problems that Homer developed as the show slid into senility and Zombie Simpsons haven’t gone away.  They haven’t even changed much.  Any way you slice it, old examples or new, Homer’s been a successful, zany, consequence free jackass for fifteen years running.  And if FOX decides to exercise that option of theirs and take the show through Season 30-31, he’s going to keep being the same jerkass he’s been since Season 10 or so.

Quote of the Day

“I’m having some side effects from the dope.” – Bart Simpson
“It’s not dope!  It’s something to help you concentrate.” – Marge Simpson
“All I know is my testicles won’t fit in my underwear.” – Bart Simpson
“Bart, get those oranges out of there.” – Marge Simpson

Quote of the Day

“Now, remember, criminals prey on small town folk like us.  So, if anyone asks, we’re sophisticated millionaires from the Ozarks.” – Homer Simpson

Quote of the Day

“What the hell are you reading books for?” – Homer Simpson

Quote of the Day

“Ooh boy, what a mug.” – Nurse
“Yeah, you should see his genitals.  Would you like to see them?” – Cosmetic Surgeon

Quote of the Day

“Five . . . six . . . seven . . . eight.” – Bart & Lisa Simpson
“What are you kids playing?” – Marge Simpson
“Counting game.” – Bart Simpson
“That’s nice.” – Marge Simpson
“Nine.” – Bart & Lisa Simpson

Reading Digest: Fan Made Crossovers Are Better Edition

“But first, move over Baltimore!  Springfield has stolen your idea!” – Kent Brockman

Some internet genius put together a version of the opening credits of the third season of The Wire, including the song, but with clips from only Season 3 of the show, and it works.  Meanwhile, out in Los Angeles, someone’s putting together an art show that’s just about Bart and the various bootleg incarnations he spawned in the early 90s, all of which are more creative than, say, cramming the Simpsons into a Family Guy or Futurama episode.  In addition to that, we’ve got lots of .gifs, Azaria talkin’ softball, Bart and Marge as ducks, and more.

Enjoy.

(Oh, and if you haven’t taken that Simpsons survey yet, here it is again.)

Season three credits of The Simpsons and The Wire = The Wiresons · Great Job, Internet! – This was making the rounds this week, and with good cause:

As A.V. Club explains:

Credit should go to YouTuber CasimirN for managing to take clips from only season three of the animated hit and turn it into a reasonable facsimile, complete with images perfectly matching the real-world sounds injected into the theme song. This seems like a good fit for all Matt Groening and David Simon creations; we eagerly await the dark and gritty world of Tremerama.

Bart in the fitting room as the security camera cracks was damn near perfect.  Excellent.

The Springfield Gifhole: Bart the Murderer – Reader Nick D. sends in this excellent collection of .gifs from “Bart the Murderer”.  It’s a big page, and there are a ton of them.  I’m particularly fond of Bart pouring himself shots of milk and the kids kicking the crap out of Cocoa Beany himself.

Bootleg Bart Simpson Killed Saddam. He Ended Apartheid. And Now He’s Back – If you’re in or around Los Angeles this weekend, there is an art show of classic bootleg Bart happening tomorrow and Sunday.  Looks neat.

Beloved ‘Godfather’ and ‘Simpsons’ Co-Star Alex Rocco Has Died(1936–2015) – No real news here, I just find it amusing that the Simpsons is also in the headline.

Watch Hank Azaria Give the Mets a ‘Simpsons’ Voiceover – This was also making the rounds this week.  Azaria seems like a typically broken Mets fan.

Front Street Foods’ Miche Bakery outside Union Station sells The Homer doughnut – Toronto gets all the cool stuff:

“People don’t even have to read the name, they just say ‘oh! It’s The Homer doughnut,’” says baker Michelle Rose of her product. “They just know.”

That’s because Rose’s edible homage to the favourite TV dad is decorated with fuchsia icing and multicoloured sprinkles. It’s a bestseller at her tiny, pop-up bakery stand at Front Street Foods — Union Station’s summertime market, featuring local artisans.

Smartline – I do not have any upcoming gay weddings on my social calendar, but this would be a great card for one.

Hans Moleman Finally Gets Some Love In This New MC Lars Video – Let’s just say that the clips and almost all of the lyrics aren’t from Zombie Simpsons.  Well done.

‘The Simpsons’: Albert Brooks’ Iconic Guest Characters – A tribute to Brooks that, I’m sure done only for shock value, includes his appearances in Zombie Simpsons.  (He was the best part of the movie, however.)

The Simpsons: Someone has recreated the entire town of Springfield in Lego form. And it’s amazing… – We’ve linked this one before, but it was making the rounds again and remains damn cool.

Bart Gets An F. – Indeed:

At this point, the series only needed to tell a story without needing to barrage its audience with pop culture references.

There are a ton of references in there, but it’s not the flavor-of-the-week crap that they do now, it’s Hemingway and Melville.

OK, Okay, Okey-Dokey Are A-Okay – Teaching English with the Simpsons:

There are also funny ways to say okay. Some people say okey-dokey or okey-doke. These expressions were first used in the 1930s. Today, a character on the American television series, “The Simpsons,” says it another way. He says okely-dokely.

Summer Books – The Simpsons math book on a list of math books.

SOMEONE JUST PAID $38.5K TO OWN A MICHAEL JACKSON SONG – It was “Do the Bartman”, except that . . .

BRYAN LOREN DENIES THAT MICHAEL JACKSON CO-WROTE ‘DO THE BARTMAN’ – . . . maybe Michael Jackson didn’t write it after all:

“The story of the song and its creation has been a thorn in my side since I did it,” said Loren. “But, despite Matt Groening’s repeated confessions, I am the sole writer of the song.”

He added, “While it’s true, along with me, Michael Jackson does sing backing vocals. And it WAS his idea to call the song, DTB. AND, he did insist I include his name in the lyric. Hence, ‘If you can do the Bart, you’re bad like Michael Jackson.’ And so, obviously, he was involved. Perhaps this tidbit of info is not as sensational as saying MJ co-wrote the song, but I assure you, he did not.”

Epic Beer Names (Part 4) – Football to the Grain would be pretty awesome.

[PHOTOS] Lifetime’s ‘Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story’ & ‘Melrose Place’ Cast – Apparently this is happening:

“The Simpsons’” Dan Castellaneta and “Hot in Cleveland’s” Adam Korson appear in both films, as mega-producer Aaron Spelling and series creator Darren Star, respectively.

Castellaneta’s only 58, if they want to make a true-to-life story about those shows, he should be playing a twenty-something, maybe thirty-ish.

Adam Sandler brings ‘Pixels’ down to his sleepy, bro-ish level – Sandler’s latest cinematic bowel movement is getting largely panned, and this review contains an excellent classic reference.

But the real battle is between the high-concept, effects-heavy blockbuster and the slovenly, lazy, by this point arrogant cinema of its star — two things that go together like nuts and gum, which is to say because some overrepresented demographic likes them both.

Together at last!

Today on the tray: Hot dogs – The whole hot dog song is very catchy.

Tao of Homer – Heh.

Those were the days – A UK site for “free bingo” which sounds flakey, to say the least, e-mailed in with this admittedly kinda neat teevee cartoon retrospective.  I had totally forgotten about Bananaman.

Yellow like the Simpsons – Neat and weird little sketches of Bart and Marge as ducks.

Quote of the Day

“I’ve already planned our vacation.  We’re going to the Highway 9 bird sanctuary.  I understand they’ve installed a new bird feeder this year. . . . It’s shaped like a diner! . . . And it’s on this really tall pole!” – Marge Simpson

Quote of the Day

“Look at the size of this place!  I live in a single room above a bowling alley and below another bowling alley.” – Frank Grimes
“Wow.” – Homer Simpson

Quote of the Day

“Is that my good butter?” – Marge Simpson
“Can’t discuss that now, Marge, I have to write another delicious memo.  Mmm, memo.” – Homer Simpson

Simpsons Survey

“I hope all you kids come out this weekend and really pack this place, just to show ’em how grateful I am.  I told them you would!  Don’t make me a liar.” – Krusty the Klown

Our old friend Philip J. Reed is conducting a survey about the show:

I’ve prepared a very quick 10-question survey that I’d like you to answer if you’ve ever seen The Simpsons.
Seriously; it should be damned quick. If it’s going slowly, it’s because you’re driving yourself insane trying to be comprehensive…so don’t do that. Say what comes to mind, give it a little bit of thought at most, and submit.

This is all a prelude to some other, grander project, but he needs your Simpsons opinions, so you should probably go give them to him:

http://goo.gl/forms/1qNLH3OOxl

I just took it.  Didn’t hurt a bit.

Quote of the Day

“Can’t breathe . . . Sweet chocolate . . . cutting off air . . . nuts.” – Homer Simpson

Quote of the Day

“Whoa, this guy’s got more bread than a prison meatloaf.  He’s rich I tell you!  I never seen a place with a walk in mailbox.  Hey, who’m I talking to?” – Larry

He Was Moe Green, Damn It!

“That screwball Marge Simpson, we’ve gotta stop her!  But how?” – Roger Meyers Jr.
“Drop and anvil on her?” – Cartoon Writer #1
“Hit her on the hear with a piano?” – Cartoon Exec #1
“Stuff her full of TNT then throw a match down her throat and run?” – Cartoon Exec #2
“All your fancy degrees and that’s the best you can do?  You make me sick!” – Roger Meyers Jr.

Alex Rocco, the voice of Roger Meyers Jr. and the iconic “bullet through the eyeglasses guy” in The Godfather, died yesterday.  Our friends over at Flim Springfield have an excellent write-up of his career:

RIP Alex Rocco, 1936-2015. Voice of Roger Meyers Jr.

If you’re feeling it, his three turns were in Season 2’s “Itchy and Scratchy and Marge”, Season 7’s “The Day the Violence Died”, and Season 8’s “Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie”.  So long, Alex, nobody ever had a voice quite like yours.

Quote of the Day

“Wherever you go and whatever you do, I’ll be there watching and waiting.” – Bart Simpson
“He says that, but I bet he gives up pretty quickly.” – Chief Wiggum

Quote of the Day

“When the hell are we gonna get to . . . where the hell are we going?” – Bart Simpson
“It’s called Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport, it’s known as America’s Scrod Basket.” – Marge Simpson
“I thought Springfield was America’s Scrod Basket.” – Bart Simpson
“No, Springfield is America’s Crud Bucket, at least according to Newsweek.” – Marge Simpson

Reading Digest: Contradictory Beer Edition

“Here you go, Red Tick Beer.” – Moe
“Hmm, bold, refreshing, and something I can’t quite put my finger on.” – Homer Simpson
“Needs more dog.” – Red Tick Brewmaster

This week FOX announced that Chile would be getting a real life Duff variant, apparently prompted by unlicensed (and, one assumes highly popular) versions that were already on sale.  This is amusing in a “merchandising rules everything around me, get the money, dolla dolla bill ya’ll” kind of way, but it seems awfully contradictory.  Duff is supposed to be crappy beer that only a swine would drink, but presumably if they’re spending the money to actually make it, they won’t just turn it into the disgusting Budweiser/Miller clone it was meant to be.  So it’s going to be beer that’s good to drink but inauthentic to the show, or it’ll be crappy beer that’s hard to drink but true to the source material.  Either way we can complain, so I guess it’s win-win.

In addition to that, we’ve got yet more high fashion Simpsons clothing, more love for Lisa, a couple of people who agree with us, street art/advertising, and the video realization of that long simmering Bartkira project.

Enjoy.

The Principal and the Pauper: Worst Episode Ever – Smooth Charlie’s Link of the Week is this thoughtful dive into the most infamous episode in the show’s history.  This has always been one of the more grating aspects of that episode:

Beyond the ret-con of Skinner’s experience in Vietnam, it just doesn’t fit with the man we’ve seen in the show to that point. Skinner, in the Principal and the Pauper, is a chancer. Deep down, despite his bursts of cynicism (”come on Edna, we both know these children have no future!”) there’s the sense he cares for the kids, for the school and for his job. As shown in the Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Badaaasss Song, or even at the end of the The Boy Who Knew Too Much, he’s essentially a boring, sweet man. Yes, he may arbitrary, and is slowly being crushed by the system, and specifically Supernintendo Chalmers, but there is a goodness, and, dare I say it, an authenticity to the character.

Mmm … Real Duff Beer From The Simpsons – A licensed version of Duff is coming to Chile.  This will apparently be different than the Duff they’re selling at the theme parks since they’re consulting with a “brewmaster”.  If legal Duff spreads, will each country get its own brew?  That would actually be pretty cool.

Simpsons street art in Texas – They even got the spelling right.  Bravo, Houston not quite comedy club.

Bartkira the Animated Trailer – This was making the rounds last week and is really well done.  I have no idea how serious they are about actually doing the whole thing, but I’d sure watch it.

El Barto – And speaking of Bartkira, here’s some storyboard sketches.

6 exceptional artwork inspired by A Clockwork Orange – A couple of drawings of Bart, Milhouse, Nelson and Ralph as the gang.

Blood Feud | You Don’t Win Friends With Simpsons – This always gets me:

–Bart: How did the lion get rich?

Homer: It was the olden days.

Mounties, baseball and The Simpsons find way into new book, Strange Saskatchewan – Apparently Matt Groening’s father was Canadian:

For other examples of the curious or fascinating, take the story about the stagecoach robber whose conscience got the better of him, causing him to return his victims’ money and split a bottle of whisky with them. Or the legend that, in 1915, the wheat crop was so dense that farmers could walk across it. Or the fact Matt Groening’s father — on whom Homer Simpson is loosely based — is from Saskatchewan.

Billy and the cloneasaurus – Nice Cloneasaurus graphic.

The Simpsons: Everything you need to know from Comic-Con in our live blog – Lots of Zombie Simpsons news, if that’s your thing.

SDCC 2015: ‘The Simpsons’ Panel And Q & A – Video of same, if that’s your thing.

Yo Man! – Ye olde Simpsons button.

Alf Clausen: 40 Years of Music From “The Carol Burnett Show” to “The Simpsons” – A series of interviews with Clausen (via @simpsonology).

Eye On Springfield with Jason Cantu of Slaves BC – Best Flanders shirt ever.

Smartline – Some excellent Simpsons/album cover t-shirts.

‘The Simpsons’: 8 Fascinating Facts About ‘Marge Vs. The Monorail’ – Just what it says.  Nothing really new, but there’s a .gif of Wiggum watching the train go.

10 Lisa-Centric ‘Simpsons’ Episodes – Just that, happily there’s no Zombie Simpsons.

Threads | The Simpsons X Neff Collection – More fashionable Simpsons clothing.  This stuff must really sell.

Adorable ’90s Pop Culture-Inspired Lip Art – The first one is Homer, and it’s pretty neat.  The second one is the Cheshire Cat from the 1951 version of Alice in Wonderland, so I’m not sure how that qualifies as “’90s”.

There was a Family Guy/The Simpsons crossover and everyone thought it was a bit weird – The U.K. seemed to have as generally low an opinion of the crossover as the U.S. did.

Why Lisa Simpson Is An Awesome Feminist – Starting with Lisa, dressed as a Movementarian, shouting about the whole system being out of order was an excellent choice.

Daily Drawing 175 – Wonderfully creepy fan sketch of evil looking Marge, Krusty and Bart.

Rhymes of History Technology – A look at fictional picture phones, including the rotary version in “Lisa’s Wedding”.

We Talked to Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog About Ending the Simpsons and Getting Hella High with Snoop Dogg – This would almost certainly be better than whatever fizzle they eventually produce:

If you had to end the show, how would you do it? 
End? That’s unthinkable. I’d never make the Simpsons end. If I had to, though, the last scene would be Homer and Marge… getting stoned with Cypress Hill.

Running Away From Home: Central Park (NYC) – Being famous sucks:

Running in Central Park is so awesome even famous people do it! On our way back toward Columbus Circle, my wife and I saw actor Hank Azaria as he jogged through the park. He and I sort of made eye contact, in all likelihood because he noticed me looking at him as I was trying to figure out, “Is that Hank Azaria?”

My 5 Favourite Lisa Simpsons Episodes – An excellent list with nothing from Zombie Simpsons.

Is it Time Yet?? – A .gif of Homer’s stomach rumble from “Homerpalooza”.

The best of Groundskeeper Willie – Willie hears ya, Willie don’t care.

Cruelty towards hogs raise questions about pork – Excellent YouTube usage:

Lisa Simpson, arguably television’s foremost vegetarian, once tried to explain to her father that bacon, ham, pork chops all come from the same animal. “Oh right, Lisa, a wonderful, magical animal,” Homer retorts.

TV Pick of the Day – “Homer the Great” remains great.

Fashion Spotlight: All characters must die!, Gotta Train Em All!, and Dragon Peanuts – Arya Stark as Bart writing her names on a chalkboard.

The Simpsons Season 26 – And finally, I get to end with someone who agrees with us:

Weakest season of all. I can count the funny bits on one hand. Cought myself saying ‘really?’ almost every week.

Luckily, some weeks they don’t have new ones.