Somewhat Manly Nerd » the simpsons

The Last of the Great Simpsons

CajoleJuice — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 05:57:08 +0000

A few months ago, I picked up Seasons 7-9 of The Simpsons on DVD for $14 each. It is somewhere in these seasons that the greatest cartoon to air on television lost its infallible tag. Some people see Seasons 3-7 as the absolute golden age of the show, with others extending it to Season 8. Eye on Springfield, pretty much the official unofficial site of The Simpsons, claims Seasons 1-9 as the time “when it was still funny.” Slowly going through the episodes again once I created a digital library by ripping Seasons 1-6, I’ll say the show didn’t really get funny until its third season. The first season is way too wholesome for my modern irreverent tastes (remember, these episodes are over twenty years old), and the second season features a show that still hasn’t hit its stride.

I’ve only gotten through the fourth season when it comes to my comprehensive re-watch, but just looking at the titles of the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons I see a multitude of classic titles. Even Season 8 has its share of memorable episodes. Looking at Season 9, I’m not sure I remember too much after the premiere “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson” — an episode which would obviously stick in the head of a native of New York (State). I’m sure this will change once I get around to finishing my now complete collection of worthwhile seasons of the show.

So when I resume my oft-interrupted marathon, I look forward to spotting GIF-able moments and scientifically calculating the season which first hinted at the long, long decline that has lasted longer than anyone could have imagined. It’s a decaying process that has created a terrible monster that resides on Sunday nights on FOX. If The Simpsons are Law and Order, Family Guy is SVU, American Dad is Criminal Intent, and The Cleveland Show is Los Angeles. This analogy is really unfair to Law and Order, but it’ll have to do.

In the meanwhile, I put up a poll to see what my five readers think. I refuse to vote until I’ve watched all my episodes.

Because Everyone Loves Simpsons GIFs

CajoleJuice — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:39:02 +0000

Perhaps I should send these into Eye On Springfield. I made sure they looped perfectly and everything.

I can’t believe these GIFs are from Simpsons episodes that are 16 years old. IT’S ALMOST 2010 WHAT THE FUCK.

REAL TALK – 10/23/09

CajoleJuice — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:27:23 +0000

- Joe Girardi is proving himself to be a terrible manager this postseason, what between his moronic bullpen usage and having TWO pinch-runners on the roster. Thankfully for him, he has Mariano Rivera to fall back on.

- It only took a week with the iPod Touch to NOT care about the iPhone again. The Touch is already fucking up when it comes to playing my music and videos, so I’ll just assume the problems could only get worse with a device that also needs to make phone calls. I’m just glad I didn’t pay for it. Fuck Apple.

- I’ll admit that for whatever reason, getting a new iPod made me attempt to get into podcasts. I’ve been going mostly with informational ones; what a goddamn nerd I am. I actually found a 15 minute podcast on blinking interesting.

- Mark Sanchez went from hyped draft pick to immediate savior to bum rookie in record time.

- I had the first urge to play a video game in two months just now, but I decided to watch classic Simpsons instead.

Owner: Take this object, but beware it carries a terrible curse!
Homer: [worried] Ooooh, that’s bad.
Owner: But it comes with a free Frogurt!
Homer: [relieved] That’s good.
Owner: The Frogurt is also cursed.
Homer: [worried] That’s bad.
Owner: But you get your choice of topping!
Homer: [relieved] That’s good.
Owner: The toppings contains Potassium Benzoate.
Homer: [stares]
Owner: That’s bad.

I think I made the right choice.

- Wait, the NHL has started? There’s still an NHL?

- Fantasy football (or any sport for that matter) leagues consisting of only 5 teams do not work. And I say this because I am winning my 5-team league — when I wasn’t even present for the draft.

- Did I mention I won my roto fantasy baseball league by 12 points? That’s going to be a pickup line from now on. 12 POINTS!

- Totally fuck awesome movies I saw for the first time in the past month: City of God and 28 Days Later. The former being one of the best gangster (that qualifier might not even be needed) movies ever, and the latter being one of the best zombie movies ever — both shot brilliantly stylized. Nice to see I’m catching up with this decade’s classics just before the decade is over.

- THE BOOK is required reading for any baseball fan with a semblance of nerdiness — and also baseball managers. *cough* Joe Girardi *cough*. (Actually, *cough* pretty much every single manager *cough*.) You’ll never look at the game the same way again.

- Kate Hudson’s magic vagina isn’t enough for A-Rod.

A Nostalgia-Fueled Time Sink

CajoleJuice — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:12:03 +0000

Eye on Springfield — as it proclaims — is a retrospective of Simpsons hilarity spanning from seasons 1 to 9, when it was still funny. You won’t be able to stop browsing through it until you’ve reached the end. It makes you want to bust out your DVD sets. It makes you wish you were 10 years old again. It makes you realize The Simpsons really used to be THAT GOOD. It’s amazing to think that it’s been a decade since I watched the show with any sort of regularity, and almost as long since I’ve watched a new episode, period. (In case you’re wondering, I haven’t seen the movie, either.)

Now, I’m not going to bother making this into a long rant about how the show of my childhood has become the television equivalent of that Rolling Stones’ performance during the Super Bowl a few years back; there are plenty of people that have done it better. It’s just that looking through the entire site/blog/tumblr has conjured up this familiar feeling of resent. Although, I am also amazed at all the references I most definitely did not get as a kid. The first glimpse I had of that was when I was working through my DVD sets and Lisa showed off a copy of Less Than Zero. That better show up on the site eventually, I better finish getting through my DVD sets sometime, and you better subscribe to this site.

What better way to start your workday than seeing the following image: