Create Your Own Simpson Avatar!

Although I haven't seen the Simpsons Movie yet, I have been a huge fan since I first saw them on the Tracy Ulmann Show when I was a kid. It has been standard Sunday viewing after dinner at my parents house for over a decade.

The movie website lets you make your own Simpsons avatar. There's not a whole lot of choices, but it's enough to have a little fun with. I made the Simpsons version of myself & promptly downloaded my Springfield doppelganger. If the shirt was un-tucked & the pants had cargo pockets, it would look like a photograph...

The Simpsons Reality Zoom

The Simpsons is one of my all-time favorite shows. I don't really watch TV anymore so I don't see it as much, but it's still a long-running classic.

This is an animated GIF of one of the best show openings- in which the camera continually zooms from The Simpsons couch, to the Earth, to the cosmos, then loops into the atomic realm, into DNA, to the cellular level, then out to Homer's head.

 It is a humorous illustration of the idea of a fractal reality, in which dimensions and universes are nested withing each other.

The Simpsons Universe Zoom

This is an awesome looping animated GIF, made from one of the opening sequences from The Simpsons.

It playfully suggest the infinite, fractal nature of our own Universe.

Ouroboros of Scale

On Weird Wide Web, I saw this illustration of the mythical Ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail. It represents the cyclic patterns of destruction & creation.

However, this particular image shows the various scales of reality- from the microcosm > to the human > to the macrocosm... and back around.

This seems to imply a never-ending, continuous loop of spacial repetition that fractally repeats ad infinitum.

It reminded me of this loop of an opening animation from the Simpsons:

Simpsons Reality Zoom

Ralph Wiggum Quiz

The Best Of Ralph Wiggum - Funny videos are here

After Sunday dinner at my parents' house, my family can be found watching The Simpsons without fail.

I used to stay up really late when I was a kid, so I remember seeing the original Simpsons shorts on the Tracy Ulmann Show.

Anyway, Ralph Wiggum is one of the great characters in Springfield. My sister & I frequently quote his innocently wacky sayings.

In fact, he was actually my first choice for President of the United States.

On Neatorama, I saw a link to a Ralph Wiggum quiz, so I couldn't resist. I missed 3 & scored 80%.

"That's un-possible!"

Simpsons Humor

Ralph Wiggum: "I bent my Wookie!!!"

The (sometimes) Subtle Wit of "The Simpsons"

Principal Skinner: "Mr. Burns, what is the secret to your success?"
Mr. Burns: "Family, religion, and friends...
...these are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business."

Chief Wiggum: "Ralphie is so incredible, the special schools are all over him."

Homer: "I'm not normally a religious man, but if you're up there... save me Superman!"

Store Sign: "Mom & Pop Hardware: A Subsidiary of Global Dynamics Corporation"

Homer: "Alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."

Saleswoman: "...this is the first toy made for children, by children, with all profits going to children."
Lisa: "Really"
Saleswoman: "Well we're all somebody's children!"

Reverend Lovejoy (in a sermon about the 'Movementarians'): "This so called new religion is nothing but a pack of weird rituals and chants designed to take away the money of fools. Let us say the Lord's prayer 40 times, but first let's pass the collection plate."

Man vs. Wild

There are not many TV shows I watch religiously... The Daily Show, Colbert Report, The Simpsons, South Park, and a couple others.

I like the programming on the Discovery channel, but there is one show that I have become a big fan of - "Man vs. Wild". It is basically a show where a former British special forces soldier is dropped of in some extreme location & has to survive to find civilization. I had no idea that the host's name is Bear Grylls, but it just makes him that much more awesome.

Youtube: Man vs. Wild

Hmmm, am I in the mood for elephant dung, or my own urine?.....

Discovery Channel: "Out of Egypt"

In my last post I linked to an article encouraging us to disconnect from mass media in order to maintain perspective.

However, like everything in life, this cannot be seen as an absolute mandate, because their are a number of TV productions that are meant to be enriching for both the mind and even the spirit.

Personally, my most regular TV viewing would be The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Jeopardy!, The Simpsons, & South Park.

The Discovery Channel, though, comes up with alot of series & specials that grab my attention, too.

Earlier this week, I sat through a couple late-night hours of a new series on The Discovery Channel that is really excellent.

Discovery Channel:
"Out of Egypt"

The episodes I watched were "FLESH AND BONE" about relics of dead holy beings, and "SHAPE OF THE GODS" about the practical & sacred value of pyramids from around the world.

What's great about the show is that it explores the theme of the episode from the context of many cultures and time periods in a way that is well-produced & fascinating to a polymath information sponge like myself.

I would highly recommend watching the video clips & 'tuning in' to the show for a potpourri of great information about ancient cultures like the Egyptians, Mayans, Tibetans, etc./ religion & the occult/ social customs throughout the world / and an engaging hostess.

The only criticism I can speak of is that, as a traditional Egyptologist, Ms. Kooney asserts the narrative that the Great Pyramid of Giza was a burial chamber for King Khufu.

Through the study of secret knowledge passed down through the ages, I have determined that the Great Pyramid was actually an initiation complex scientifically designed to facilitate transcendent spiritual transformation.

Of course I've never been in the King's Sarcophagus in a Samadhi state while my Ka traveled the infinity of the cosmos, so I could be wrong. :)

Ralph Wiggum in 2008!

This Sunday's episode of The Simpsons didn't spend nearly enough time dwelling on the endless absurd possibilities that could come from Ralph Wiggum's presidential candidacy.

With promises of hope like-
"The only boom-booms will be in our pants,"
little Ralphie radiates the innocent, slightly-moronic optimism that America needs.

Since Steven Colbert seems to be out of the running,
President Wiggum is the next best fictional candidate.

To celebrate Ralph's brilliant strategic maneuvering,
I threw together this campaign poster in Photoshop, much to my own amusement:


I also just saw that Fox has actually set up a tentative campaign website with another cool Ralph '08 poster:

wiggumforprez08.com

Fun with Sunday Circular Ads

Sunday dinner at my parents' house has long been a weekly event in my family.

I am not usually big on traditions or rituals, but being able to be with the rest of the Micarelli clan every week is a great source of comfort & enjoyment that we all look forward to. Especially now that there is a new little dude among us, it has taken on a whole new level of fun.

Each Sunday we have a similar routine: After dinner we watch The Simpsons or sports, have coffee/tea & dessert, and since my Dad has always bought home a Sunday newspaper, we all look through the retail circular ads.

I don't really shop (other than for necessities), but I like seeing what's out in stores & sometimes get ideas or reference material for design projects I'm working on.
Last week, though, I was more interested in some truly amusing ads for products that are true gems.

First & foremost:

Recently I've been noticing the ads for the Amish Fireplace that have been a recurring source of entertainment for us.

It is actually an electric heater that looks like a fireplace, furnished in a wooden mantle supposedly hand-crafted by Amish workers. What gives these ads special appeal to my sense of humor is the shameless marketing & the classic 'Photoshopped' pictures of the Amish workshops:


This past week, though they came out swinging with a 2-page ad featuring provocative headlines & an Amish business deal taking place right in the Photshopped workshop.

"Amish hit hard by recession"

"CAUGHT ON CAMERA:
Photos reveal Amish secrets
of the miracle fireplace mantel"

I would recommend clicking these images to see the larger versions so they can be fully appreciated:




I'll let the other two items I found speak for themselves. These are things that should not be found in the home of any normal person, but are nonetheless simply awesome.

First, The Redneck Illuminated Christmas Village.

The main trailer ornament was hilarious enough to me, but my sister pointed out in the ad below that there is a whole village of holiday white trash to collect. Wow.


Secondly, I think there was some kind of Wolf & Moon internet meme that must have given rise to this Spirit of the Wild Express wolf train. How many people have enough interest in both wolves & trains to warrant such a completely useless convergence of collectible crap?




So yeah, this is the kind of ridiculousness that I live for...

The Undead Dick Cheney

Halloween must be getting closer...the forces of darkness are growing!

As I caught Chris Matthews saying tonight, Dick Cheney is like Freddy Kreuger- he's a blood-thirsty monster that just keeps coming back again & trying to frighten everyone around him.

(Update: It seems that provocateur extraordinaire Florida's Rep. Alan Grayson shares my sentiment of viewing Cheney as nothing but a detestable vampire.)

On the cable news channels earlier there were clips of Cheney admonishing Obama's approach to foreign policy.



The first thing that struck me was the pure hubris of this war-mongering, oil-stealing dungeon master who has personally caused so much chaos through his brute reaction to the world.

The second thing that struck me watching montages of Bush & Cheney during their time in power was how glad I am to have those evil bastards gone from the White House. Unfortunately, Cheney at least feels the need to keep forcing his horrific scowl into the public discourse.

It was appalling to watch the group of ghoulish men such as Reich Marshall Rumsfeld & the President of Cheney's Fan Club huddle around Cheney as he accepted whatever bullshit award his fellow neo-cons were giving him.

In my head, it conjured up the image of Springfield's Republican Party on The Simpsons- which includes GOP favorites such as Rush Limbaugh, the Rich Texan (big stretch there), Mr. Burns, & Dracula...

Space Monkey & The Overview Effect

This monkey from The Simpsons is experiencing the "Overview Effect" while gazing on our home planet, Earth, from space.

The Monkey Buddha Archives:

The Overview Effect & Cosmic Consciousness 

Oops, My Mistake...

At first, I attributed the problems of our so-called leaders in dealing with the crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina mostly to sheer incompetence and diverted resources in Iraq.

I had a huge paradigm shift, though, when my friend Phil was discussing with me the plan to renovate the area as a resort/casino haven like Las Vegas. Suddenly the lack of action to minimize the flooding and destruction of property, and the desire to remove all the poor residents out of the area made perfect sense. Pay these displaced souls some rock-bottom compensation, bulldoze the city, and build up a profit-generating developer's paradise. It may be considered cynical to think that the people in power would not prevent a major US port city from being destroyed so private developers, companies, and the government can make a killing from a new resort/port area, but I think it is simply naíve not to consider it, especially considering the dismal track record of this White House regarding public vs. corporate interests.

Developers Had Wanted New Orleans to be a Las Vegas

I also had a debate with my Mom about how much blame to put on Bush individually. I don't believe that President Bush himself mis-managed all the federal responses, the rebuilding contracts, and the gas price-gouging. That's Dick Cheney's job... duh!!! (Where do you think he was the first week of the crisis? I guess it takes time to plan the systematic exploitation of the American people for the benefit of Halliburton and KBR.) Her argument was... why didn't Clinton build up the levees, etc? I'm glad she eggs me on and makes me really consider my position on these matters (which is usually summed up as; George W. Bush and his Administration are a malignant cancer devouring this country).

Regardless of how much people would like to blame Clinton, the local governments, or the "sinners" at Mardi Gras, the facts are the facts.

**The report quoted below has plenty of concrete examples of the Bush Administration and Congress's mismanagement of our national resources. I'm an Independent, so I don't automatically think Bill Clinton or the Democrats are some kind of saints. However, compared to the corrupt, incompetent Oil-garchy sucking the life out of this nation, even Mr. Burns from The Simpsons looks like a responsible, caring leader!

The Bush administration's policy of turning over wetlands to developers almost certainly also contributed to the heightened level of the storm surge. In 1990, a federal task force began restoring lost wetlands surrounding New Orleans. Every two miles of wetland between the Crescent City and the Gulf reduces a surge by half a foot. Bush had promised "no net loss" of wetlands, a policy launched by his father's administration and bolstered by President Clinton. But he reversed his approach in 2003, unleashing the developers. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency then announced they could no longer protect wetlands unless they were somehow related to interstate commerce.

Excellent...
I'm finally winning them over!