No one rationalizes like YOU, Dad!

[vovat]

I wasn't overly impressed by last night's Simpsons or Family Guy. Considering that I thought last week's episodes were really good, it was a little disappointing. It almost seems like they alternate good ones with weaker ones, but I doubt it would actually work out that way if I were to do the math. Had The Simpsons really run for so many seasons without doing an amnesia episode? I think it might have been the one idea in the Big Book O' Sitcom Clichés that they hadn't gotten around to yet. Anyway, it wasn't bad, but I didn't really laugh that much. I was amused by the speed-dating scene, and I thought the fight over cherries and the bit about the '74 Oakland A's were clever. As for FG, I thought it was weird that it was pretty much a direct Poltergeist parody. Have they done such an extensive parody of any one thing in the past? I know The Simpsons did it a few times (Shary Bobbins, anyone?), but then, I don't have the entire past of FG memorized like I do the past of The Simpsons. Maybe I'm forgetting something. Probably the funniest joke in the episode was the appearance of Statler and Waldorf. "They don't care for most things." {g}

Last night, I moved a few things, including a lot of my Oz books. I tried to get all of the Famous Forty, but I'm not sure how well I did. I need to invest in new copies of most of my Ruth Plumly Thompson books, anyway. The weak binding on the Del Rey editions combined with my constantly carrying them around in high school didn't leave them in very good shape. I also took my Oziana collection, mostly because I'd been meaning to read them again. I doubt I'll have the chance until after next time I move stuff, but oh well. I guess I could read them during breaks at work, but I've been concentrating on the Discworld.

Speaking of Discworld, isn't the American cover for The Last Continent pretty lame? I mean, I get what they were going for (it's a book about the Disc equivalent of Australia, after all), but, um, the Americas and a kangaroo-shaped continent? Not only do none of these things actually exist in the book, but it's tacky to boot. I do like the background colors, though.

obsessical sent me a copy of a Rilo Kiley EP, so thanks to her for that. I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but it's pretty cool so far. I probably should get their other albums soon. It's kind of crazy how, now that I have more expenses, I keep thinking of things I want to buy. But then, I've sometimes found that's the best time to get little things, because they don't seem as expensive by comparison. I recognize the flaws in this argument, but hey, our ability to rationalize things is what separates us from the animals, right? {g}

Comments

[obsessical.livejournal.com]

Yay, you recieved it! Sorry it took so long.

I didn't watch the Simpsons last night and now i'm not regretting it. I love reading your reviews because then i feel like I'm caught up.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yay, you recieved it! Sorry it took so long.

That's okay. I can't reasonably complain when it's not costing me anything. {g}

I love reading your reviews because then i feel like I'm caught up.

Thanks. You're not the first person to have said that. Honestly, I don't think my reviews are detailed enough that someone who hadn't actually watched the show would have any idea what I'm talking about, but I'm glad people enjoy them anyway.

And I'm sure they'll rerun that episode soon enough. They usually do.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Seems like the folks at the Discworld community are always complaining about how the American covers suck. But I don't particularly care. I learned the lesson about judging books by their covers way back in fourth grade when I decided to take a chance on this revolting blue-green book with really lousy 60s sci-fi circle thingies on it because I'd heard the TITLE A Wrinkle in Time was SUPPOSED to be good.... Seriously, it was the most horrendous cover ever. Actually most covers of Wrinkle have sucked. The only one I've ever seen that I actually like is the most recent paperback, which is pinkish and cartoony and has this cool egg theme to it. Anyway.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

This one.

Sorry, it's purplish, not pinkish. Wind in the Door is pinkish.

Can't find a picture of the really revolting cover. That cover went out of print in like 1973 or so probably.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

The thing is, I don't dislike ALL of the old American Discworld covers. I like the ones for Small Gods (http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~aahobor/Lucy-Day/Images/Covers-50/Small-Gods.jpg) and Interesting Times (http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~aahobor/Lucy-Day/Images/Covers-50/Interesting-Times.jpg), for instance. And I pretty much always like the colors, even when the images suck. And I can't say I love the earlier British covers that I've seen, either; Josh Kirby's drawings were really cartoony, which I suppose worked pretty well for the really early books, but not as much so once the series started becoming less madcap in style. I like what I've seen of Paul Kidby's work, though. I guess a lot of it is down to what you're used to. Regardless, I have to wonder why they thought Americans would prefer representative images to actual illustrations. Was there any actual market research behind this, or was it just another case of publishers thinking things needed to be changed for American markets?

[revme.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched the Simpsons for a few weeks now, which is really odd for me -- I've missed the bulk of this season. Wiggy. But I concur, as did basically everyone who watched it with me that yesterday's Family Guy may have had its moments (like the aforementioned Statler/Waldorf joke), but was pretty dang sub-par, really.

I DO find it amusing that the Joe/Peter relationship is fast deteriorating.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, that last Simpsons episode wasn't that great, but there have been a few pretty cool ones as of late. Did you see the stories-within-stories/treasure hunt one from a few weeks ago? I think that was the best of the season so far.

As I told obsessical, considering how often they rerun Simpsons episodes, I wouldn't worry too much about missing them the first time around.