Bugger John Campbell, I want The Simpsons back on every night. I’m very sad (I know, I know), but I can just watch them over and over and over, and my favorite bits are always where Homer is being smacked in the head repeatedly. There’s acres written about the genius of The Simpsons, but here’s a couple of points you may not know. Writer George Mayer is often credited as the number one Simpsons writer – and he was hired on the strength of his fanzine “Army Man”, tagline: “America’s Only Magazine”.

You can read some of the material here. It’s odd, bizarre, and weird – and very un American. These short and sharp bits of weirdness strike me as the kind of stupid humor more likely to be found in, say, the ‘Top Tips’ page of Viz, and just goes to show the genius at work behind The Simpsons. And a big Homeresque ‘in yer face’ to those who say Americans can’t do teh funny. Here’s a taste:

A “LAKELY” STORY
My friend from Michigan says if you pushed all the Great Lakes together they’d be as big as the Mediterranean. I say, why bother?

SILVER LINING
Eighteen months ago, doctors at Mercy Hospital told Manny Hofstedter he would never walk again. Sadly, they were right. Hofstedter is still in a wheelchair. The good news is that his three doctors will receive the prestigious Lundberg Prize for Diagnostic Excellence.

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