Simpsons Fun Facts: Fat Tony

Courtesy of The Simpsons 2009 Laugh-a-Day 365-Day Box Calendar:

• His specialty equipment includes an ice pick with a laser sight.
• Also known as William D'Amico, William Williams, Marion.
• His rival crime families are the Cuomos, Travoltas, Lasordas, and Boyardees.
• His itemized extortion bills always include a smiley face.
• His dream jobs deferred are pizza man, organ grinder, or leaning tower maker.

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JD Reccomends: Kings

Did you watch the premiere of "Kings" on NBC last Sunday night? Judging by the rock bottom ratings it received, probably not. That's too bad too because it is an interesting show. It's one of those shows that critics are loving, but has a premise too unique to market well. NBC may be the lowest rated network, but they're willing to take creative risks and stick with them (which is also why they're the lowest rated network). "Kings" is one of those risks.

In short: It is a modern "retelling" (used loosely) of the Biblical story of King David. It's set in a fictional country very similar to America, and run by corrupt King Silas (played by "Deadwood's" Ian McShane).

The first episode is well-written, shot, post-produced (by my friend Adam), and sets up a lot of interesting characters and storylines. It airs Sunday, 8 p.m., on NBC (Ch.3 WKYC in Cleveland). Check out "Kings" before NBC changes its mind and decides to cancel it. You're brain will thank you for not watching another episode of "America's funniest Home Videos."

Here's the first episode (or go watch it at Hulu):



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Syfy: What's in a name

The SciFi channel announced today that they are rebranding the network of "Battlestar Galactica" and cheesy Saturday night B-movies to appear less nerdy. The new name: Syfy. Really, guys?! Is that the best you could come up with? That's not a brand, that's a typo. That's like renaming CNN to CNN and saying "We switched the Ns around." What's the point of it? Even worse, they spend a lot of time and money coming up with this new strategy.

From the New York Times:

"No discussion of change affecting consumers could ignore what Mr. Howe called the “Tropicana debacle” — the recent decision by a unit of PepsiCo to abandon a major package redesign for Tropicana orange juice after shoppers vociferously complained.

“The testing we’ve done has been incredibly positive,” Mr. Howe said of the Syfy name, reading what he described as a comment from one participant: “If I were texting, this is how I would spell it.”"

So that's what it's come to, naming brands based on how easy they are to text.

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Simpsons Fun Facts: Lisa Simpsons

Courtesy of The Simpsons 2009 Laugh-a-Day 365-Day Box Calendar:

Her first word was "Bart."

Turn-ons include waffles, ponies, and women who have resisted domination by the patriarchy

Turn-offs include hypocritical self-serving politicians, environmental degradation, and the music of John Philip Sousa.

A real blog post is coming soon, I promise.

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Simpsons Fun Facts: Bumblebee Man

Courtesy of The Simpsons 2009 Laugh-a-Day 365-Day Box Calendar:

His country of origin is Mexico.

Talented at getting hit, stuck, struck, pinched, caught, and shocked by various objects and making it look funny.

His first network is Channel Ocho.

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