Or something, I can’t read Argentinian [Perfil.com]MATT GROENING IN ARGENTINA TO MEET WITH MISTRESS???
Or something, I can’t read Argentinian [Perfil.com]Or something, I can’t read Argentinian [Perfil.com]New York Times Art Critic Really Likes Simpsons Stamps
New York Times senior art critic Roberta Smith wrote a blog post describing her fascination with the recently released Simpsons postage stamps:
The Simpson palette has always seemed as radical and subversive as the show’s social commentary and close in artifice to that of innovative colorists like Andy Warhol, Bruce Nauman and Matthew Barney. Five amped-up hues suffice: egg-yolk yellow, magenta, Marge-Simpson’s-hair blue, darkened chartreuse and lavender, plus important bits of white (mainly eyes and teeth) and touches of red. Subtle distinctions of tonality are made. Homer’s yellow head is seen against a slightly darker yellow background. Marge’s hair is slightly darker than the blue behind Bart. Red defines only Homer’s tongue, Maggie’s pacifier, Marge’s beads and the smidgeon of Bart’s T-shirt.
Third, less is more. The “Simpsons” gestalt is boiled down to its essence and so is stampness. The images are stripped of detail except for the letters USA and the number 44 (cents, the new first class). No fussy engraved textures, no identifying names. This allows color to take over and the faces to pop out. Like a Richard Serra sculpture, only smaller and a whole lot cheaper, the stamps prove the adage that scale has nothing to do with size. They strike David-like blows against the Goliaths of American visual illiteracy.
Don’t have a Nauman! [Arts Beat]
Why Do The Simpsons Hate The Troops?
This one guy, Representative Mike Honda (D-CA), is real mad because the Post Office rolled out some stamps with The Simpsons on them, instead of some stamps honoring Japanese-American WWII veterans. Money quote: “I question the direction USPS is headed when it pays homage to Homer Simpson over the sacrifice of our venerable Nisei veterans.” BURN!!! The Stamp Police are all like, whoa, hey, we’re not supposed to honor specific military units, because all veterans are equal in the eyes of The Lord Almighty or whatever. According to them, stamps are supposed to be “a reflection of our culture,” which entails making literally a billion stamps with little pictures of cartoon characters plastered on them. These stamps are vitally important to America in order to “raise awareness about the show,” because apparently slapping Homer’s face onto every conceivable tacky piece of junk produced since 1990 just hasn’t been raising enough awareness of The Simpsons these days (it’s still on TV, you know!). Why does the Post Office, and by extension President Barack Obama, hate our veterans???
Also, ha ha, some nerd at Roll Call got a chance to show off his Simpsons knowledge by “incidentally” noting that Bart Simpson is a stamp collector, as mentioned in the fifth season episode “Homer the Vigilante” (episode 93, 5X12, original airdate 1/7/94, production code 1F10) [Roll Call]
Giant Lisa Simpson Cardboard Cutout To Save Tibet
An autographed 2-foot cardboard cutout of Lisa Simpson (she’s the girl one) is going to be sold off in a charity auction, hopefully not to some creep with a Lisa fetish, to raise money for Tibetan orphans. It was made an honorary member of a Tibetan center, for reasons that elude me. Godspeed, cardboard Lisa thing! [BBC News]
Sit Down, Shut Up Cancelled, Pretty Much
Sit Down, Shut Up, the recently-premiered TV cartoon on the Fox Network created by the creator of Arrested Development and produced by one half of the former Josh Weinstein/Bill Oakley Simpsons showrunning superteam, was pretty much cancelled (TV channels never actually say the word “cancellation” because it is like saying Voldemort, basically) in order to make room for the upcoming Family Guy spin-off about the black guy, which was picked up for a second season even though it hasn’t even aired yet. Yes, the first episode of Sit Down, Shut Up (or SitShut, as those in the ‘biz call it) was real bad, but it was getting better, yes/maybe/kinda?? Anyway, doesn’t Seth MacFarlane already have enough cartoon shows, and also the whole Spawn thing? “Simpsons Spinoff Showcase” is becoming true except for Family Guy because nobody in the world watches The Simpsons anymore, and even less people are watching the new shows [SFGate]
New Simpsons Stamps To Briefly Forestall Death of Post Office
A set of five Matt Groening-designed Simpsons postage stamps, suitable for sending anthrax or tea bags to elected officials, will be on sale from the U.S. Postal Service starting May 7th. [AV Club]
SIMPSONS CANCELLED
A day after announcing plans to cut as many as 800 jobs, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said Thursday it will cancel “The Simpsons” and “The Martha Stewart Show” in a cost-cutting maneuver.
Celebrity Sought For Simpsons Appearance
Simpsons producers are supposedly hoping to get U.S. celebrity Barack Obama to lend his voice to an upcoming episode. According to a script obtained by rubbercat.net/simpsons, the episode involves Ralph Wiggum competing in the Special Olympics. [Simpsons Channel]
O.J. Simpson Legal Fund Formed
Barrett Prody, the brother of Simpson’s former girlfriend, has created a nonprofit corporation and an Internet Web site, the Society Against Legal Injustice Inc., to raise money for Simpson.
“I hope to help out someone who has gotten to be a good friend,” Prody said by telephone from his home in Fargo, N.D. “I want to leverage his name in an effort to right an injustice out there in Las Vegas.”
Conan O’Brien Still Afraid Of Matt Groening
Upon being reminded that Simpsons creator Matt Groening grew up in Portland, former Simpsons writer and future Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien said this:
“He’ll always be my boss. You know how you feel when you run into your third-grade teacher at the supermarket? Your worry that you’re going to get in trouble, even if you’re 45? That’s how I feel when I see Matt Groening.”