Had it with you, Simpsons

All right, it's been bugging me for at least this whole season and maybe a little longer: the misogynous thread that's crept into The Simpsons. Yeah, the show that once trumpeted stories like Lisa Lionheart and Marge going round the bend because of the stress of her family's unreasonable demands, has not had a show lately that didn't feature some moment of head-jerking anti-feminism. I've skipped more and more episodes because of it. Like the recently rerun Pranks and Greens episode, where Bart discovers he pales in comparison to a super-pranker in the past. Bart asks who he is and Skinner says, "Who said it's a he?" After Bart's stunned, "Huh?!" Skinner tells him nah, it's a guy, of course, and they both laugh at the absurdity of thinking it might have been a girl.

Last night's episode capped it for me. While the B story about Lisa getting popular when she receives an F and featuring Angela Bassett as Michele Obama made a feeble attempt to prop up the "girls can do anything!" message that was once key to the series, the main story had to do with a poorly written cameo by Sarah Silverman as a girl Bart kisses and whose parents threaten to sue the school. The "character" is simply defined by the way she capriciously jerks Bart back and forth between affection and scorn. But as the final lines of the show proclaim, that's just the way women are.

It's sad to see this happen to a show that was once groundbreaking. Enjoy your "poor men are just victims of wily women" scripts, guys. Seems I'm not the only one giving up on the show (even though it's miles better at its worst than anything from craptacular Seth McFarlane).

Why can't I be seeing Lizzie & Sarah?!

Medieval Simpsons

Thanks to Gene, I got to see the latest Simpsons which aired Sunday. While most of the excitement on line seems to be about the Wiggum '08 campaign, I was thrilled by the couch gag, which referenced the Bayeux Tapestry. This 11th century tapestry tells the tale of William of Normandy's defeat of Harold in 1066 at the battle of Hastings, which spelled the end of the Anglo-Saxon era and the beginning of the infusion of French language and culture that changed the tongue to Middle English (the language of Chaucer and the Gawain-poet). Some of the images follow below (tip o' the hat to Gene):

"Learn from a professional, kid!"

I walked through the ice and snow over to WAMC studios to tape my mini-essay on Anglo-Saxon yuletide today. We're not that far from the station, but with all the ice on the sidewalks I took my time (it was particularly bad by SUNY not just because of the frozen surface but because the surface was so uneven and ill-kept!). I got there and idled a few minutes, looking up at all the awards lining two walls of the studio as people buzzed busily around and the Roundtable crackled through the room. I met the producer, Andy, and we went into one of the little cubicle studios to record. He explained their procedure and I asked how close to be to the mic (at Saint Rose we tend to be right on top of them). I only had two pages so there wasn't much paper shuffling. I read a few sentences to set the levels and then he pushed play and we were recording.

When it was through he looked kind of surprised. "That was great. It usually takes more than that." I was tempted to say, "call me one-take Laity!" -- instead I told him I do a podcast at Saint Rose (not to mention being a practiced performer of my own stories). Of course it was nice to be complimented, and I walked back to campus and my grading feeling cheered.

The piece is scheduled at present to appear on December 17 at 10.20 am (yes, you can listen on line). Nice birthday present, eh?

Today's post takes its name from a piece of dialogue by Krusty the Clown in The Simpsons episode 1F12, "Lisa v. Malibu Stacy" [written by Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein] where the family's precocious middle child tries to fight the corrupting power of an insipid fashion doll:

The next step is for Lisa to record what her doll will say. She stands in the recording studio in front of a microphone.

Techie: Talking doll, take eight.

Lisa: "When I get married, I'm keeping my own name." Oh, no, that should probably be "If I choose to get married."

Techie: Uh, look, little girl, we got other talking dollies to record today.

Krusty: [barging in with cue cards] All right, you poindexters, let's get this right! One: "Hey, hey, kids, I'm Talking Krusty." Two: "Hey, hey, here comes Slideshow Mel" -- again -- "Here comes Sideshow Mel". "Sideshow Mel". Three: [does a Krusty laugh] Budda-bing, budda-boom, I'm done. Learn from a professional, kid.
[walks out, squeals his tires away]

Happy B-Day, Mr. Moore

(Look at lucky bugger James with Mr. Moore at the London Lip event). What better way to spend your birthday than with a guest shot on the Simpsons? It worked for Moore, who appeared tonight along side fellow cartoonists Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes. It was great to see the Lost Girls poster behind him and to see him seethe over the Watchman Babies: V is for Vacation book that Millhouse wanted him to sign. As he raved about the corporate leeches, Spiegelman leaned over and said something like, "lighten up, teacup!"

That's when Moore took out a Little Lulu comic and began to croon, "Little Lulu, I love you, Lu, just the same" and I just about had organ failure from laughing. Of course when the three of them stood together saying, "Oh no -- the store is in trouble!" then ripped off their shirts to become the League of Extraordinary Freelancers and promptly flew into action (yes, flew) I was helpless with giggles. I think I risked another organ when Spiegelman put a Maus mask on and said "Maus in the haus!" Oh my god, too funny.

Thanks to Gene for the screen captures and MP3!

(Yes, I will get around to the Springsteen review -- too many deadlines this weekend.)