BBBRASP!

Why should Brutus wish Mother Gargle season's greetings? He will probably see her at some point over the next week and she is over all the time. All. The. Time. Gladys shouldn't be shocked at Brutus' behavior. She knows he hates her mother and is slightly immature.

Based On a True Story

About a month ago, Chip took a trip to whichever syndicate actually pays him (I would assume United Features) and spoke with his editor about getting additional monies added to his contract in 2018. "My wife thinks my comics are pretty darn worth it," Chip cries as the editor taps on framed images from Get Fuzzy, Big Nate, Marmaduke, Pearls Before Swine, and Nancy, among others.

Soup of the Day

I'm assuming by Brutus' angry look that she has already taken the money and there is a giant sign behind her that reads "NO REFUNDS! NO EXCEPTIONS!" I understand how frustrating something like this might be but, hey, that's capitalism.

SuperBrutus

When I first saw this comic I have to admit, I drooled a bit. It almost makes me want to go to Cleveland and see this exhibit but it seems really stupid to drive all the way to Cleveland, Ohio from Kansas just to see an exhibit at the public library. If you are in or around Cleveland between now and March 31, 2018, go see "Superman: From Cleveland to Krypton."

Where'd that banana come from? It wasn't there in the previous panels.

Itchy & Scratchy & Marge

Credits
Episode 7F09 (#22)
Created by Matt Groening; Developed by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Sam Simon
Written by John Swartzwelder
Directed by Jim Reardon
Executive Producers James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Sam Simon
Starring Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, and Harry Shearer
Also Starring Pamela Hayden, Maggie Roswell
Special Guest Voice Alex Rocco

Story
Homer is gushing about Marge's pork chops and to reward her for being such a great cook, he goes down to the basement to build her a spice rack.

"Beautiful."

While down there, Maggie grabs a mallet and hits Homer on the head. It's learned that she learned this behavior from Itchy & Scratchy. Marge writes a letter to the president of Itchy & Scratchy Studios but receives a snarky letter back. Marge winds up creating an entire movement going to shut down Itchy & Scratchy so Roger Meyers, the president of the studio, relents and makes Itchy and Scratchy more peaceful and loving.

Kids stop watching Itchy & Scratchy and begin going outside. But when Michelangelo's statue of David is making its way across the country with a stop in Springfield, the same group Marge started wants to censor the statue but Marge isn't on board. Marge is questioned over how she could justify disliking the violence of Itchy & Scratchy but not the nudity of David. Marge cannot so violence returns to Itchy & Scratchy.

Random Observations

• This is one of my favorite episodes from the first two seasons. I like the 'behind-the-scenes' look at Itchy & Scratchy Studios and the argument against violence on television despite the world always being a violent place and of course compared to sex and nudity.
• Like Marge, I am against gratuitous violence on television not because it's offensive or because it may cause some to act on what they see but because it lead to viewers becoming desensitized to real world violence meaning that when something happens they won't react properly and won't be able to empathize with what's going on.
• Krusty can't read so after a couple of turns of the letter, he just crumples it up and throws it away.
• "...and the horse I rode in on?"
• Marge is spending a lot of time with her anti-violence group so the family has to resort to eating TV dinners.
  Homer: "There's peas in my fruit cobbler."
  Lisa: "There's peas everywhere."
• All through the episode, Roger Meyers is calling Marge a screwball. When letters by the mailtruck start arriving I love Alex Rocco's read of "Ladies and gentlemen, the screwballs have spoken."

• The first Itchy & Scratchy cartoon post-violence is just Itchy and Scratchy sitting in rocking chairs serving each other lemonade and commenting on how great friends they are. "Lemonade?" "Please."

• After the cartoon, Krusty threatens the audience: "Wasn't that funny boys and girls? Well? Wasn't it?"
• Michelangelo's David is arriving in New York, Springfield, and, if there's time, Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles.
• Helen Lovejoy: "I told you she was soft on full-frontal nudity."
• This is the last entry for #ElevenSeasons for the foreseeable future. I'm hoping to bring it back sometime in 2018 but with all the other things I am currently working on, keeping this going isn't feasible. Thanks for reading and I hope to be back with more Simpsons.

Underlined Even

Well, we're finally at that point. Brutus is now so far deranged that he can create whole television networks out of the irregular synapses in his brain. Gladys has no sympathy though. You take your degenerative diseases and go to hell.

The Good Parts

Was...Was he not supposed to eat it? If it's for Christmas then you should've made it on the 23rd or something. It's going to be stale by the time Christmas comes and stale graham crackers tastes like soggy linoleum.

Instead of getting mad at Wilberforce for eating something that should be eaten, you could've made it at your place and brought it over or instead of surprising him, just tell people not to eat it.

Christmas Greed

We are two grown-ass men! Why are we talking about giving a list to Santa?

I've never been rich and probably never will be but I've often wondered if there is a switch in the brain that changes when you get a certain amount of money where you wind up greedy and wanting more money. I understand wanting to keep your money--security and all that but why do you need more? Do you think your children are that incapable?

(202)759-7766

Great--Now the Elevator's Stuck

"Linus and Lucy", which was written by Vince Guaraldi in 1964, debuted on a jazz compilation by Guaraldi shortly before premiering on A Charlie Brown Christmas. It is technically not a Christmas song but yet always gets associated with Christmas. The song you should be playing from that special is this one:

Tauy Creek Digest #39: Bobbo in "Sleepwalk With Me"

Brooke had a slight snore as she slept. A small gurgle emanating from her throat and nose. She'd been asleep for couple hours--her bedtime being 9 o'clock. She then shuddered and pulled the blankets off her body. She sat up and extended her arms and began walking. Walking out of her bedroom and out of her house.

Bobbo was still awake, playing a video game. His window was open and his bedroom light was off so he was able to see outside. From the corner of his eye he saw someone walking down the sidewalk. He turned quickly, saw that it was Brooke, then went back to his game. Then he paused and dropped the controller, rushing to the window to confirm what he was seeing.

"Brooke?" he asked. "What is she...? Is she sleepwalking?" Bobbo left his room and went outside. He stayed several feet behind Brooke. He trailed her for a couple houses. Bobbo then peeled off and went to one of the houses and began tapping on one of the windows.

Max opened the blinds and pushed the window open when he saw Bobbo standing outside. "What's going on?"

"Brooke is sleepwalking," he pointed in her direction.

"That's not good."

"We aren't supposed to wake her up but we can try to make her safe and lead her back to bed."

"Uh, if you want to keep her safe then you might want to keep her away from that construction site," Max said.

"What?" Bobbo shrieked. Max jumped out the window and the two boys began running after her. Brooke entered the construction zone where an apartment complex was being built. There were several skeletons of buildings completed, all five stories. Brooke headed toward one of the buildings. She got onto some of the scaffolding and was soon making her way around the steel skeleton ten feet above the ground. Surprisingly, there was a watchman at the site eating a sandwich. "Hey, you have someone wandering around on one of your buildings."

The watchman turned and looked at Brooke, now, somehow, on the second floor of the skeleton. "She'll awaken...when she falls," the watchman said.

"That's a huge help, thanks," Max said and he and Bobbo ran into the construction zone to help Brooke.

"Hey, you two need hard hats!" the watchman shouted at them. He then shrugged and went back to his sandwich.

"What are we going to do?" Max asked.

"We have to try to wake her," Bobbo said. "You stay down here while I go up. Maybe I can lead her back down or get her to wake up on her own."

"Be careful, if you startle her she might fall."

"I hadn't noticed," Bobbo found a way up the steel structure and carefully walked along the beam. He made a quick down then panicked and grabbed onto one of the vertical support beams. "I didn't know I was afraid of heights."

His steps became more cautious and then he noticed Brooke now on the third floor. "How is she getting up there?" Max shouted from below.

Bobbo steadied himself and went after her. Down below, Max got an idea. He ran over to one of the big cement mixing trucks and found the keys still in it. "Terrible security in this place," he turned the key and started the truck. The loud noises of the engine and spinning drum echoed through the construction site. "Try to stay close to her in case she wakes up," he shouted to Bobbo but also followed her movement below.

Bobbo was heading after Brooke on the third floor and was about to reach her when she made a sudden turn. Bobbo stopped suddenly, lost his balance and fell over. His arm and leg was able to grab ahold of the steel beam so he didn't fall and wasn't dangling but he was now paralyzed with fear. Afraid that if he moved, he'd fall.

"Oh, balls," Max exclaimed. "I'm coming." Max ran to the building and made his way up to the third floor. When he arrived at Bobbo, he looked down to help his friend and got dizzy, falling back onto the steel beam. "I didn't know I was afraid of heights."

"Just help me," Bobbo cried.

Carefully, Max helped Bobbo onto the steel beam but both refused to stand up. "I say we just go back down and call the police or something. That probably should've been our first idea."

"That, or woke up her parents."

They carefully crawled their way down the building and to the ground. When they stood up again, their legs still shaking, they noticed Brooke was also back on the ground and heading out of the construction site back toward her house. They followed her and watched as she went down their street and turned toward her house. She opened the door, closed it, and was soon back in bed.

Bobbo and Max peered through the window and saw her climb into bed and go back to sleep. "What was that?" Bobbo exclaimed, waving an arm in a frantic gesture, his hand hit the window making a loud banging noise.

Brooke, startled, woke up and saw two faces staring at her through the window. "Bobbo? Max? What are you doing peeping on me? Do you do this every night? Get out of here you pair of perverts. You should be glad I don't wake my mom and dad. You should be glad I don't call the cops! Perverts!" she screamed and threw several stuffed animals at the window. Bobbo and Max ran off.