All entries written in March, 2009
March 31, 2009 at 10:24 pm · Filed under Reviews, Thoughts
You know, I kind of like it. But not for the reason you might think–as a big fan of what The Simpsons once was, before it traded away its reality and intelligent humor for self-parody and cheap “laughs,” I’m happy to see its current form take on a new look that manages to distance it from the past it so unwisely left behind. The thing that the show has become is no longer shuffling around in the corpse of its former glory. You can almost convince yourself that it’s a spinoff created by a totally different team!
But here’s what’s really interesting: the format change actually seems to have breathed some new life into the last few episodes. The writers are holding one idea for an entire half-hour! I might not always like the direction things go in, and much of the weight Springfield’s world once held is still collapsing as ancillary characters rely increasingly on shtick, but the show feels more competent now than it did even half a year ago. I think it’s a welcome change.
Oddly enough, I find the much-touted new opening sequence to be one of the weakest parts of the package. Although I do like certain touches (such as the prominent inclusion of Grandpa as part of the family and the updated price on the supermarket scanner as Maggie passes over it), things like Homer getting hit by the car instead of running from it underscore the baser impulses the show has all but given in to. Also, in light of the care and detail taken with most of the opening (all of which was presumably meant to show off The Simpsons‘ new HD prowess), moments like Maggie shaking her fist at Gerald and Sideshow Bob taking a swing at Bard, which appear to be comprised of 2-3 frames each, just come off looking lazy. And what’s up with the prominence of that crazy cat lady, anyway?
All that said, The Simpsons is still my favorite of the Sunday night Fox animations.
March 14, 2009 at 8:29 pm · Filed under Misc, Thoughts
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March 7, 2009 at 4:13 pm · Filed under Personal, Thoughts
Around 1:30, I left my apartment and took the R train up to Stop & Shop. It’s an annoying trip, but just barely short enough that you feel like you can still transport food and have it survive. I even got lucky on the way there and reached the platform just as an R was pulling in. There’s a really thin line between a great R day and the worst possible R day on the weekends, because if you see it coming, you’re golden, but if you see it leaving, then you know you’re standing on that platform for a minimum of 20 minutes.
I did my shopping and walked back to the subway station. It’s sort of important to note that my watch broke recently, so I don’t know exactly how long I was standing there, but I was able to listen to Folie a Deux in almost its entirety and see two R trains come through going the wrong way without so much as a hint that something was coming on my side. I was starting to get worried about the perishables, so I did something I’ve never done before–I walked back up to the surface, forfeiting my fare, and started trying to hail a cab.
If it’s written somewhere that New York City cabs don’t do pickups and dropoffs within Queens, then I apologize, but I think it’s just taken for granted that they operate mostly in Manhattan. To which I say: what gives them the right to refuse any paying customer (again, unless its in the bylaws somewhere)? The first guy I flagged down refused me good-naturedly (because, of course, he was on his way back to Manhattan and didn’t want to delay), the second more gruffly, but by that point I’d already figured out what I needed to do: bribe him. I paid $20 for a $6.70 ride; I suppose it was worth it to save my food.
Understand this: I generally dislike people who throw their money around, and I can’t exactly afford to be doing things like this too often. I’m also not too eager to concede any ground whatsoever to the crappy reasoning that so many people have tried to sell me on in the past (”this is how things work,” “money makes the world go ’round,” etc.) Maybe assholes can be that way, but it’s not for me. Here’s what is for me, though: after so many boyfriendless years of getting shot down without being given a reasonable chance, after being told so many times that I’m not allowed to do this, that or the other thing when what I’m asking is neither unsafe nor amoral, every once in a while, enough frustration builds up to make me willing to pay for the illusion of control over my own destiny. These are the moments when I think to myself: you may not like me, you may not like what I’m asking, but it’s your job, this money says that I’m in charge, and you will listen to me.
I’d like to think that line of thinking saves me from being either a bad person or a jaded one.
You know what’s funny, though–every time I assert myself like this, I think it will make me feel good, but it never does. So that was $20 well-spent. I’d regret it completely if the food wasn’t a factor.
March 4, 2009 at 11:51 pm · Filed under Misc, Thoughts
I wish I could find this on YouTube, but apparently even “McDonald’s commercial 2009″ is too broad of a search query. I wouldn’t know what words to put to it except these: the commercial I just saw features Ronald McDonald and several kids looking out into a vast sea of blackness through a hole in the McDonald’s logo. The kids complain that they can’t see anything, at which point Ronald flicks a little something from his hand into the depths and creates the big bang, filling the sky with stars, nebulas and galaxies.
Yup, you heard right. This commercial casts Ronald McDonald in the role of God.
Be on the lookout for it. And if someone has a link to a streaming version, I urge you to let me know.
