Just another tame Severe Weather Alert Day

So Channel 4 this morning declared today a "Severe Weather Alert Day" with escalated coverage. Just before noon, there was a brief, light shower, and a tiny rumble of thunder. Then it was just cloudy for a couple of hours and then the sky brightened up. With the day almost over now, it doesn't look like there's gonna be any more rain today, let alone severe thunderstorms and the like.

Rewriting the Simpson family tree over and over again

So the Simpsons are 1/64th Black, according to a recent episode reran last night. Yawn. I see what Bill keeps saying about The Simpsons having become a thoroughly boring show. The problem isn't just that Family Guy did it first (remember Nate Griffin?), but also that in two decades the show has managed to write a lot of the tree.

I remember Grampa Simpson reminiscing that the Simpson family came from "the old country" (he didn't remember which) as immigrants to Ellis Island, and lived on the Statue of Liberty for a brief period. Granted, Grampa Simpson is as reliable a narrator as Peter Griffin, and the immigrant story even if true does not rule out American, Civil War-era ancestors for Bart and Lisa.

There's something else. I can buy Grampa forgetting stuff, but not Lisa. Wasn't there a much earlier episode in which Lisa examined the Simpson family tree looking for an ancestor to be proud of? And wasn't the conclusion of that episode that the Simpson men are boozehounds at best, while the Simpson women are doctors, scientists, activists, etc.? I don't remember the title of that episode, but I would think Lisa Simpson would remember what happened in that episode.