An episode from popular cartoon series The Simpsons could result in Grandpa Simpson being accused of infringing on someone else’s domain name. As you can see from the snap of the TV picture, Grandpa is fulminating about how the whole world has gone to rack and ruin. To that end Grandpa Simpson apparently set up his own web site, oldcoot.com, as was revealled in last night’s ‘The Fat And The Furriest’. But unfortunately, the oldcoot.com domain is registered to a real person, Samuel L. Bowman, based in Sharpsville, IN, who operates a business called Granpabusiness.com. This should be an interesting one to watch.
Tag: controversy
News
Fox Threatened To Sue Fox!
Matt Groening spoke to Terry Gross on her radio show “Fresh Air” this morning and discussed a Fox News lawsuit. In the Season 14 episode “Mr. Spritz Goes To Washington”, a Fox News parody was aired, including use of the news crawl. “Fox fought against it and said they would sue the show and we called their bluff cause we didn’t think Rupert Murdoch would pay Fox to sue itself.” said Groening. “We got away with it but now Fox has a new rule that we can’t do those little fake news crawls along the bottom of the screen, in a cartoon, because it might confuse the viewers into thinking it’s real news” How insulting! Reported by DallasNews.com and transcribed by myself.
News
Apu Bad For Convenience?
The convenience store has permeated our culture so deeply that people are analyzing Apu of the Simpsons. “Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has stamped both positive and negative images on the industry,” said Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores, whose article on Apu is to appear in November’s NACS Magazine. “There are some retailers who truly think he is one of the worst things that has happened to our industry,” Lenard said. “But Apu is also one of the most honest, lovable, good-hearted characters on the show. He’s a highly educated family man. But he often keeps a loaded rifle behind the counter and chases shoplifters, two dangerous practices that increase the likelihood of violence.” Read More >>>
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OFF Not Welcome In Court
Do you have the Simpsons theme song on your cellphone? Maybe you should rethink that. “Of all the embarrassing places where a mobile phone can ring, a coroner’s court must be on a par with a funeral. Inquests are often emotionally charged, as tearful bereaved relatives answer questions about the deceased from a coroner whose duty is to establish the cause of death. When the theme tune from The Simpsons suddenly clangs through the courtroom, people involved in the inquest can react with anger, red faces, tears or sometimes even laughter. Dewi Pritchard-Jones, coroner for North-west Wales, has seen this happen too many times. In one recent inquest, he warned that if proceedings were interrupted once more by a ring tone, the phone’s owner would be ordered to pay £25 to charity.” Read More >>>
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Homer’s Gold
If you are skeptical of the ‘Grow Rich on Beer’ plan you’re clearly a cynic with a negative outlook. It is a documented fact that beer investing has produced a return of about 50,000 per cent on at least one brand over the past decade. Duff Beer, produced in South Australia (home to many attractive people) in the mid-1990s, was banned from sale in 1996 after a judge found it breached the Trade Practices Act by ripping off the brand name used on the The Simpsons. Duff was then selling for about $24 a carton. Today, you’ll find cartons of Duff offered for $10,000. Duff is not for drinking after seven years it should all have the refreshing allure of a chilled bottle of Worcestershire sauce – but Simpsons fans see it as the Holy Grail of trivia. Read More >>>
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Scots, Start Your Whacking!
Simpsons’ devotees drew parallels to the infamous Whacking Day as news broke on Scotland’s day of war against 5,000 hedgehogs on one of the Western Isles. According to Reuters, the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), a conservation group, “sent a six-strong team into the wilderness Monday to kill the spiky mammals…” Apparently, Sonic’s brethren have been voraciously eating the eggs of the island’s rare birds. Unfortunately, the slaughter a.k.a. “cull” of the hedgehogs has sent animal welfare groups (and Nick Laws) into a big hissy fit, who called for a less bloody mass relocation of the creatures to the mainland. However, the SNH quipped back, reporting that such an act would result in a slower, more painful death for the cute yet cuddly mammals. Reuters did not report on the latest casualty estimates from the front.
News
Trail Of A Cartoon Insult
“Who knew, in April 1995, a clever line by an obscure character on The Simpsons would become ammunition against an entire nation? And who knew today, people who call the French “cheese-eatin’ surrender monkeys” are not cartoons and they are not kidding? French bashers have turned the insult into a national bullying cry. The joke was adopted, apparently by Jonah Goldberg, a Simpsons fan who also writes columns for the National Review Online. Goldberg, who credited the show, used the phrase for many years before the recent barrage of copycats made it unfunny. Google page after Google page cites references beginning in February on weblogs, Simpsons fan sites and articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Time and The Washington Post. The writers of The Simpsons aren’t sure who deserves credit – the joke was added during one of many rewrites to the original story.” Thanks Jukka. Read More >>>
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Art Imitates Light Pollution
If you thought the main storyline on the episode ‘Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky was far-fetched and ridiculous, listen up! “A high school student in Midlothian, Virginia, Barlow is the founder of National Dark Sky Week, which kicks off on April 1st. The week is dedicated to spreading awareness about that glaring and stress-inducing foe to astronomers everywhere: light pollution. Light pollution can most often be observed as the glowing aura of a city seen from the countryside. As our cities grow, so too does the problem of light pollution. Coincidentally, on Sunday night, the contamination of the sky was a subject on the most recent Simpsons episode. The problem was comically demonstrated when Lisa tried looking at Venus through her new telescope only to have it immediately swallowed up in a concentrated beam of light shot up from a stadium. Although the residents of Springfield, as usual, over-reacted to the problem, the episode did communicate a good point: How can society dim the light polluting our sky?” Read More >>>
News
Groening Lashes Out At Fox
It was enough to make Matt Groening yelp “D’oh”! Last year, after an interviewer asked The Simpsons creator how long his animated juggernaut could go on, it was reported around the world that Homer was about to scarf down his last donut. “But it looks like we’re going to be on forever. That’s my new line.” Groening tells the Sun. The same isn’t true for his other cartoon comedy, the space-age Futurama. For that, Groening squarely blames Fox. “The people at Fox didn’t ever support the show and it wasn’t to their taste and, in my opinion, they’re out of their minds. But they don’t like The Simpsons either. The idea of a TV show that they haven’t gotten their greasy fingers all over creatively drives them nuts. That’s why almost everything else is so lousy.” And as any Simpsons fan knows, Groening and his writers relish the chance to mock the once-fledgling fourth network. “I love the strength of The Simpsons — that we can get away with so much. They don’t like it. We took jabs at Fox News and we were told not to, so we decided to do it more.” Read More >>>
News
Lesbian Kiss Shocks Viewers
“The Simpsons is still making news these days but for all the wrong reasons. A raunchy scene in the cartoon classic stunned millions of viewers when it was broadcast in the United States this week. The episode shows a sizzling lesbian kiss as Homer’s schoolgirl daughter Lisa prepares for a spelling competition. In the episode titled “I’m Spelling As Fast As I Can”, the anxious youngster falls asleep as she lies in bed worrying about a bribe to throw the contest and get free entry into the college of her choice. She finds finds herself dreaming about the ‘seven sisters’ and as two toga-clad goddesses entice her to join them at their college, the heavenly pair move up close and share a tender full-on kiss.” Read More >>>
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Simpsons Yanked Off The Air
“Television networks quickly yanked material from the air to avoid appearing insensitive after Saturday’s disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia. An Albany Fox affiliate received complaints from viewers on Saturday when it aired a rerun of The Simpsons. The offending scene (pictured) included Bart building a rocket and firing it, and it falls to the ground, burning down a church. WXXA-TV pulled the episode mid-stream and replaced it with another rerun of The Simpsons” said Jeff Whitson, the station’s general manager. “It wasn’t as if we got hundreds (of complaint calls), but it was enough for us to pay attention to the episode,” Whitson said. “We had no way of knowing. The episode title (She Of Little Faith) didn’t give us any indication.” Read More >>>
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Homer Reported Missing
“Homer Simpson has been kidnapped, uh, sort of. An inflatable 7-foot Homer dressed as Santa Claus was stolen last week from the front yard of a Harrison Township home and hasn’t been found. ‘It’s irritating when you can’t even put out a Christmas decoration without getting it stolen,’ said homeowner Debbie Large.