The Simpsons-L mailing list points us to this hilarious set of complaints to the FCC about the Simpsons: http://www.governmentattic.org/docs/FCC_Complaints_The-Simpsons_2003-07.pdf. My favorite part is the sanctimonious letter that spends three paragraphs complaining about how well they are protecting their children, and even acknowledge that they can turn their TV off, but still ask for the Simpsons to be removed from the air. Allow me to paraphrase the entire PDF: "I've done all I can to shelter my children, yet TV is teaching them to be gay. And telling them about penises, but mainly the gay thing." If this is what the Simpsons gets, I can't imagine what complaints the Family Guy causes. Thank goodness we don't have to wonder. The awesome Government Attic website also has complaints for The Daily Show", South Park, Sex and the City and, believe it or not, Oprah Winfrey.

I felt a lot of emotions in the theater tonight. Of them all, I think that thirst, hunger and trepidation won handily. The first I solved with a small Coke, and the second with Butterfinger bites (how appropriate!). The third could only be calmed by the movie we were about to watch. Many years I have been a Simpsons geek, lover of the old episodes, hater of the new, buyer of much merchandise, cursed the name Scully, and watched the episodes God only knows how many times. Would the movie invoke the heady days of the classic episodes like "Homer the Heretic", or "Streetcar named Marge", or even "You only Move Twice"? Or would it be everything my fellow old-timers have come to hate - jerkass Homer mailing in the lines from a focus group driven writing staff blinded by the apparent success of potty humor straight from the pages of Family Guy and South Park? Well, jump through the spoiler break to find out.

For those of you who haven't seen the movie yet, some words of advice. First, go. Its worth it. Second, keep your eyes open - there are many treasures awaiting a real Simpsons geek. Thirdly, stay all the way through the credits (and I mean, all the way). Spoilers lay beyond the break.....

Here's a round up of news and notes from the impending Simpsons movie release (I already have my tickets, BTW - 8:15 on Friday!)

This just in from E3 (the gaming super show): The creator of the Simpsons, Matt Groening will be the final "superboss" in the video game out this fall. In case you haven't heard - the whole game is designed to be a sendup of the video game genre in general - the plot of the game is that the Simpson family discovers they are in a video game and have acquired videogame-esque powers. So having Groening in the game (and having the Simpsons fight him) really does make a lot of sense. I hope Groening's weapon of choice turns out to be either a huge eraser, or the severed heads of the last few executive producers, and the entire writing staff. Take that Ian Maxtor Graham!

Either way, I've got to buy myself a Wii to get ready. (This comes to us via slashdot).

As if we didn't have enough talking Homer stuff, this comes along. Its actually a pretty fun idea, but 50 bucks is a lot for a novelty talking gadget that is sure to be broken at the first big beer bash you throw.

Also, why is Homer the only character regularly featured on talking swag like the he giant Pez dispenser, and of course, my beloved Dotpal. Do the others just not have anything interesting to say, or is Homer the only one who moves merchandise? Hmmm... (from ubergizmo)

Have you ever thought to yourself - man, I wish my alarm clock was fun. Well, you can always scramble through your sock drawer to find a quarter and shut this alarm clock off. Or you can set off a sonic boom Of course, if you're not crazy, you probably just want something with a few buttons, and a hilarious cartoon character to wake your lazy ass up in the morning. So I give you a clock radio disguised as Moe's jukebox. Personally, I would prefer Krusty's alarm clock that features Itchy and Scratchy beating you with mallets if you hit the snooze button, but thats just me. - (from gizmodo)

This is the first in a series discussing the ongoing domination of the commercial world by officially licensed Simpsons products. Or, as Krusty the Klown so poignantly put it... "Look at all this crap with my face on it!".

Just yesterday, McDonalds announced it was moving to trans-fat free oil, which left most of America wondering where it will get the tasty fatty treats guaranteed by the Bill of Rights (I'm sure its in there somewhere). Well, fellow Americans, if the mega multi-national corporations won't help us, we'll have to do it ourselves. Thankfully,the Simpsons are here to help. The Homer Simpson doughnut maker is now available to clog your arteries and boost your blood sugar level. Why not buy three? One for home, one for the office, and one for those long car rides to the hospital. Yummy...