Learning New Things

Hi and welcome to another Simpsons On Sundays post. On the birthday front, Kelsey Grammer had turned another year older on Monday. He is still active both inside and outside The Simpsons. His most recent episode on The Simpsons was the Season 31 episode Bobby, It’s Cold Outside. Also, Bill Oakley turnes another year older today. We know that he co-ran the show with Josh Weinstein for Seasons 7 and 8 and had a hand in writing a bunch of episodes before then. I tweeted him a happy birthday as usual, but I was a day early. I had tweeted my birthday wishes in the morning and he had replied in the afternoon. Here is my tweet, his reply and mine, minutes later!

Gordie. @thatbilloakley happy b-day.

BILL OAKLEY. Verified. Replying to ⁦‪@BlindGordie‬⁩. thank you! (it’s tomorrow but if you are in Australia it’s already tomorrow)

Gordie. Replying to ⁦‪@thatbilloakley‬⁩. I’m in Canada and I don’t know why I kept thinking it was today.

By the way, he liked both of my tweets!

I also should do some clean-up on a birthday of a guest star, as Matt Dillon turned another year older a week ago Friday. I remember first hearing his voice in the movie The Outsiders back in 1983 (as Dally Winston) when we watched it at school, in our Junior residence. He says that he had read the 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton, who makes a cameo appearance in the movie, as a nurse informing Johnny Cade (Ralph Macchio) that his mother is outside and wants to see him. My grade 5 teacher read the novel to us in class and then I had read it again, later on. Matt guest starred in The episode Midnight Towboy and was in the movie Singles, with members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, among other actors and musicians and had either acted in, or directed movies in more recent years. According to Wikipedia, Dillon is an aficionado and collector of Latin music? He apparently has a large collection of vinyl, including a notable library of Cuban 78s. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, ask someone who has a vinyl collection, which goes back years and years and years before you or I were born. I’m 48 years old and 78s go back nearly 20 years before I was even a twinkle in my mothers eyes.

This week, I really didn’t have much I wanted to post about so, I thought I would mention a significant death, which has a connection to a Simpsons guest star. Mark Lanegan, who was the singer for Screaming Trees, Queens Of The Stone Age and did vocals on the only album by Seattle supergroup Mad Season. He also wrote books, put out solo albums and had moved to Killarney Ireland, where he died on Tuesday at age 57.

Screaming Trees were on the Singles Soundtrack with the song Nearly Lost You and I’ve mentioned the Simpsons connection to Matt Dillon earlier in this post and in other posts to, relating to Chris Cornell, as he also made a cameo in the movie and has music on the soundtrack. I didn’t know that Mark had also worked with Anthony Bourdain, years ago. https://youtu.be/mqY1hW8YK9E

RIP Mark and thanks for the years of music and for helping Queens Of The Stone Age continue and for giving me something for my Simpsons blog.

After a month or so of no new episodes, tonight The drought will end with Pixelated and Afraid. I think that we will probably have new episodes every week, from now until this season ends, like we had during Season 29… which also had aired during an Olympic year.

Anyway, let’s all stay safe and be back here next week, for a new post and I promise, I will try and come up with something. Maybe I will do a post on when Bart went to Toronto, as I live there and was also born there. I will probably comment on any landmarks that may be mentioned too.

Behind The Scenes

Hi and welcome to another Simpsons On Sundays post. On the birthday front, Matt Groening turned another year older on Tuesday and I think his reason for inclusion needs no explanation. After all, it’s because of him that bloggers like myself and Youtubers are talking about The Simpsons, through website posts and videos respectively.

First of all, we have some news on a Simpsons guest star, as ed Sheeran is going to collaborate with metal band Bring Me The Horizon, on a new album. Here’s more on that. https://youtu.be/MU-zVtYzRxQ

This week, I am going to do something a little different in that I will talk about how I compose each post and where the ideas come from. I may have done this before, but not to this extent. I’m going to go into detail about how I do what I do each week, because I think you should know why each post looks the way it does. In other words, you will learn what goes on in the kitchen (so to speak).

Simply, posts come from either episode anniversaries, thinking about things in general, talking on the phone or on FaceTime, talking on my ham radio, listening to podcasts, searching on Google and in some cases, from watching YouTube. In fact, last weeks post is a direct result of waking up on Tuesday morning and checking out notifications, as one of which was what had inspired last weeks post. https://youtu.be/z4qxA2UrgMI

Some posts come from ideas in the shower and for the life of me, I wish I could give you an example of one. I can assure you that this is true. The same is also true about dreams inspiring posts, such as one from a few years ago I did on what happens while I sleep and dream.

Of course, the pandemic has also become a source of inspiration, with the news about The treatment of long-term care patients during the first wave of the pandemic in Ontario. I’m avoiding the alleged freedom convoy, because this isn’t the place to talk about it, unless we have an episode where Springfield citizens decided to form a convoy of trucks, going to Capital city.

As for how I write each post, I do it on my iPhone using the notes app and on rare occasions, directly through the WordPress – Website Builder app, which used to be called WordPress when I first downloaded it in 2013. I give it a title, paste the note into the post field, add categories, then either post right away, or schedule the post to be released on a certain date and at a specific time.

I have mentioned before that I am blind from birth and I do quite well! You may be asking because I’m blind, how do I use an iPhone to compose each post using only a touchscreen? Well, the answer is something called VoiceOver, or VO for short. It’s on all iPhones and iPads, along with all other Apple products including the HomePod and HomePod mini. It’s not the same as Siri, which allows you to do some form of writing, but it’s only short texts. Also, it doesn’t always decode everything you say properly, dew to either background noise or you are speaking too fast. That’s my experience and others may have a differing opinion on this!

With VoiceOver, I have many options to do what I wish to do at the time. I can write using the iPhone’s keyboard on the screen, using braille, using the default layout (for letters and numbers as well as symbols), using a Bluetooth keyboard and dictation. With VoiceOver, dictation has much the same problem as with Siri sometimes. However, there is more control over what goes out, as I can correct any mistakes before what has come out of my mouth, goes out either an email, text message, blog post, Twitter post, FB post, etc. I use a combination of all of the above, depending on the situation as my composition process is very fluid and depending on my thoughts at the time, I may run into a word which I have difficulty in spelling. That’s where dictation is a big help to me, as I could probably use a word like “chrysanthemum” and I seem like I am a great speller. I’m not and I freely admit that is my downfall as a writer. However, I try and if I can’t find the word I’m looking for (using what I have available to me) that’s where dictation comes in. Altho, I wish that when I am saying the word “imminent” it would decode it properly. For some reason “imminent” always comes out as “eminent”!

As for looking up words I haven’t read in books before, I have an app called WordBook, which I don’t use as much. I sometimes use it to make sure that I am using a word correctly, recognizing the power of language like George Carlin did throughout his life and career. That’s why I don’t use big words all that much, because I’m careful with what I write and I prefer to use as much plain language as possible, rather than using fancy-schmancy words all the time. I have always had an interest in words, but I never had a dictionary of my own, until my iPhone and thankfully, I have the freedom to use words that can translate my thoughts (as I think them) and not just using A simplified writing style of a child in school.

Something else you may ask, is how do I get information on the episode that is visual, even though I am blind? Well, that takes some research from various websites. I use Wikipedia and even Simpsons fan sites for help. I copy and paste in most cases, but I change words here and there to make the text my own and take the word, of the person who had composed the post on a particular episode.

I also get ideas from watching episodes of not just The Simpsons, but also other TV shows. For example: if you remember my post from July 2019 on the Season 19 episode Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind, I had mentioned another TV show it had reminded me of, which had 2 similar episodes, with a one-time character regaining memory. Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye has 2 episodes from their 3rd season, focusing on this person, who is supposed to be an assassin, but he has no memory of what his job was and he would regain memory of his assignment, threwout both episodes. It’s not the same as The Simpsons episode, but they had reminded me of each other. https://youtu.be/sW-YV_H3KX4 and https://youtu.be/beHscpgMzn

Speaking of Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, I may do a post on any Simpsons references in the show and other possible similarities. I’ve been watching the show on Youtube in the past couple of days or so, because I had found a playlist of nearly every single episode. The Simpsons is not the only reason for me going back to the show, because of other things in the news which related to law and order giving me something to blog about, in my personal blog, as apposed to this one.

Back to the kitchen metaphor for a moment, I actually compose posts in my kitchen, with my Bluetooth keyboard on top of my microwave oven. There for when I compose I hear a thump thump, everytime I type. No, I don’t usually do it while cooking a meal and I remove the keyboard from the machine, before using it to heat up my food, before I eat it. Before the pandemic, I could do bits anywhere I wish, but with masking regulations in affect, I had to restrict any writing for when I’m home. Thanks to my flexibility, I can compose inside or outside of my kitchen and even on the bus, using the keyboard.

Now that I’ve given away The secret of how I do what I do each week and I use every free minute of time I have, to devote myself to this blog, as well as others I maintain. I also make time to watch Youtube, listen to podcasts and other things, but Sunday morning is always a last minute dash, to finish off each post. Right now, I have just finished this post, after eating breakfast, which includes a mug of Coffee and plain waffles.

Guidopolis

Hi and welcome to another Simpsons On Sundays post. This week, I’m going to ask the musical question, if you were around in the 1980s do you remember this song? https://youtu.be/GgIsyoxZ7Uw

This song is an example of The Simpsons using a song for a specific episode, from when I was a pre-teen and by a band, who didn’t really get all that big, but who has a loyal following. Of course, they were compared (back in the day, to Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band. I will have more to say on why this is wrong later on.

This song was heard in the Season 19 episode Midnight Towboy, when Homer arrives at Guidopolis looking for milk. I didn’t know this, but Guidopolis is a reference to an Italian American life style called Guido. If you know what I have just said, please explain, because this is over my head, as a Canadian.

Remember John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band? Okay, do you remember the movie Eddie and the Cruisers and the soundtrack? The band wasn’t all that big, except for this song and 2 other singles, which got radio play! They were also compared to another band I had mentioned above, which is silly. First of all, Bruce and the band are from New Jersey, while John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band are from Rhode Island, the same state of the fictitious town of Quahog. Yup, the same state where Seth MacFarlane was a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, even though he was born in Connecticut. As for the band, I get that the saxophone solo sound similar to Clarence Clemons, but it’s not raspy enough. John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band are their own band and are still active today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cafferty_and_the_Beaver_Brown_Band

This song was given a hard rock jolt, by Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour, which he had recorded during the sessions for his solo album CMFT in 2020. This will appear on a new album CMFB …Sides on February 25th. Listen for the three songs, which have much the same cord progression at the end, which he had decided to insert into this really good cover. Let’s see if we can all pick them out! https://youtu.be/aJ1AOCvUVWU

In the mean time, it’s 2 more weeks until the next episode and no, I’m not interested in The Super Bowl, because I’m not a football fan. Altho, The halftime entertainment sounds interesting, as long as there is no wardrobe malfunction or any type of mishap that could make the news. Then again, it’s being held in California this year so, anything could happen. Right?

As for Corey Taylor, I would love it if he guest stars as a buddy of Snake Jailbird, Who also could have fallen into crime like him and had a regular job and a family, or just being a normal dude, without any aspirations of robbing anybody’s ass, much less his shrink. I don’t know, but I think that Corey would be good in that roll and he could be more of a hothead, which could be why they hadn’t spoken to each other in years. I’d just like to hear Corey on The Simpsons so I can brag that I actually met a Simpsons guest star.

Homer Alone, At Home Alone

Hi and welcome to another Simpsons On Sundays post. Yes, the name of the blog is now “Simpsons On Sundays” because of one of the categories I have made a part of it. In fact, it is the default category and so, the URL has also changed but everything else remains the same, except for the title of the blog and the URL I found that the original title was spelled wrong and I didn’t feel I could change it. However, I had managed to get that done, along with another blog I maintain, which also had a mis-spelled word in the url. I did that one first and then took care of this one, as it is the newest of my 3 blogs. Now you know why the url looks a little different!

On the birthday front, Jordan Nagai turned 22 years old yesterday. He is the only child actor to guest star on The Simpsons in the Season 21 episode “O Brother, Where Bart Thou?” as Charlie, a boy whom Bart thought was supposed to be his new brother, because he wanted one so bad. Jordan is the youngest guest star, at 9 years old and of course, the only child actor on The Simpsons. In 2020, I had mentioned that he has been studying judo since the age of five and currently has a black belt. As far as I know, he still attends Washington University in St. Louis, and is in the Class of 2022. Good luck with his studies and especially, during these pandemic times.

This week it’s time to go back and look at the classic episode from Season 3, Homer Alone. It’s the 30th anniversary of this episode and I will go through the basics of the episode and leave the rest for you to watch later on. After all, there is no new episode of The Simpsons until February 27th because of the Olympics going on in Beijing. So, are you ready? Okay, to get this started the title is an obvious play on the title of the Christmas movie “Home Alone” and just add the extra “R” and you have “Homer”.

After a particularly trying morning, where Marge had to deal with the demands from her husband, Bart and Lisa, along with having to drive Bart and Lisa to school because they missed the school bus, Marge has a breakdown and stops her car on a bridge. Marge is arrested after Homer finds out that it is her and convinces her (via a megaphone) to get out of the car. She is released thanks to Mayor Quimby insisting to Chief Wiggum that if Marge is put away, he can kiss the chick vote goodbye. Marge is released and she decides to go on a vacation, by herself. She takes a trip to Rancho Relaxo, a local spa. She leaves Bart and Lisa with Patty and Selma and Maggie alone with Homer.

While Marge goes on her trip, nobody is having the times of their lives, with Bart and Lisa being afraid and having to put up with The gruesome two some’s wants and needs, such as rubbing Patty’s feat and seeing the twins naked. Meanwhile, Homer isn’t exactly having a ball either. He only has Maggie and gets help from Barney, who is obviously ill-equipped to manage and almost immediately, Homer looses Maggie who goes looking for her mom… more on that later.

Speaking of Mom, Marge is having a great time at Rancho Relaxo, and probably has no clew, about how bad things are with Homer and the kids. Near the end of the trip, she calls Homer and tells him that she is coming back in an hour and Homer tries to think up a story, about why Maggie is gone. He fails in it and after calling the Department Of Missing Babies, going to see the gruesome two some if Maggie had somehow found her way there, but nothing. He goes home and Chief Wiggum thinks she is trying to commit suicide, when the police find her on the edge of an ice cream shop, where she is actually sleeping beside an ice cream cone, which looks like her mothers head. Homer has no idea and prepares to apologize to Marge for Maggie being gone and Chief Wiggum knocks on the door and brings her back. Then, he gets the call from Marge, goes with Maggie to pick up Bart and Lisa,. Then, they all go to the train station to pick up Marge. They all go home, with the promise that they will help Marge out around the house and that she will get some quiet time in the future.

All right, let’s talk about other aspects of the episode besides the main story. First of all, prank calling a guy and telling him his wife is dead, when he had just spoken to her? Why? I understand the logic of making funny phone calls like that for radio station morning shows, but that’s just plain stupid. Nobody has talked about this particular call (that I know of) and so far, I am the first and this happened during the time when Marge had her break down.

Also, the music that played on the phone, when homer called to report that Maggie was missing was Baby Come Back by Los Angeles rock group Player, from their self titled eponymous debut album. What makes me laugh is that this song plays while Homer is on hold and he had lost Maggie. If you haven’t heard the song, I got it right here. https://youtu.be/Hn-enjcgV1o

I didn’t know this until I had watched the episode and looked it up on Wikipedia, that the alternative metal band Primus had named their recording studio Rancho Relaxo, after the spa in the episode. So, that’s where a song like Big Brown Beaver was recorded? Cool! Years ago, I had found their version of The Simpsons Theme and now it’s gone. If anyone can help me with finding it on Youtube, I’d appreciate it. I recently found this as a result of a Google search and it’s in Toronto. This was from 5 years ago, but here it is anyway. https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/rancho-relaxo-toronto/

Rancho Relaxo appears in not just the episode but also in a couple of Simpson video game such as The Simpsons Road Rage and The Simpsons: Tapped Out. It also appears in books and comic stories, for Bongo Comics. I hope that the restaurant which I had mentioned earlier isn’t closed down, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On another note, Barney coming over and keeping Homer company is not there just because… and it’s all about the comedy. After all, Barney happens to be Homer’s best buddy and an alcoholic, who is a no shape to take care of an infant like Maggie. I wonder, why would Barney want to make Homer an omelette? Where is the comedy in that? Is it because Barney is probably inept at cooking to? Either way, it’s funny!

This episode ranks right up there with the rest of the classics and is interesting to both watch and listen to, for all of the scenes which cut in and cut out quickly, such as Krusty and Mr. Teeny in the car, or whe Chief Wiggum tries to talk Maggie down, or even when Fat Tony yelss at Marge to get moving, because he has a body in the trunk. Which reminds me, where does the sound of a tiger figure into the episode? I’ll leave that for you to watch it again and listen for it after Marge has her nervous breakdown.