Friday Filler – EA Going Too Far For Cheap Christmas Laughs?

Thank Grog It’s Firdday!

I was taught by my Dad, that if you have bad news, or some criticism to deliver, you always start with something nice first!  My Dad was a great guy that way…

So, I’ll start by saying that I rEAlly enjoyed the Christmas Event. As in, rEAlly!  That’s right…I’m giving credit where it is due.  Nice, short event. LOADS of storylines and content…with a very nice smattering of free  content and prizes!

So…what could I possibly dislike about this event?

I’l get to that…

But first, my FAVORITE two additions…the Cat Sleigh for Crazy Cat Lady, and the Greyhound Sleigh for Maggie and Marge.  I LOVE these…and they may be flying in my Springfield year-round.  We’ll see.   As I said in another post, the Cat Sleigh is way faster than Homer and his reindeer. But, interestingly, the greyhounds are also slower than the cat sleigh.  So you really have to time it right (as it in watch them go by a ton) to get all three in a screen shot!

So what didn’t I like about this update??? 

The way EA trashed the good name of Mrs. Claus! Come on…does everyone in Springfield have to be a raging drunk?

OK. Get it. It’s a big Joke.  Mrs. Claus is a drunken mess.  She does show up in “I won’t be Home For Christmas” (S26 E9) but she isn’t the REAL Mrs. Claus..she is a drunken Mall version of Mrs. Claus!  So, to make it like she is the wife of the REAL Santa (and yes…there is a real Santa) is just kinda creepy and mean…even though technically, she is “Canon.”

Sorry…just not a fan of making this one huge Drunk-Fest!

During her brief, but drunken quest-line, she is pounding spiked eggnog like the Orange One pounds KFC.  She is never NOT drunk…except when she is hung over.  And her permanent task list isn’t much better…

I get it. EA and the Gracie writers like to be edgy.  But dammitallanyway…just leave Mrs. Clause alone!  She is supposed to be a motherly, cookie-making, sweet and supportive, older version of Marge…without the blue hair.

But, the fact is…I have hardly had time or inclination to care that much about the event in the past week.  I have been in FULL- BABY-IMMERSION mode for most of the past week and will be until Tuesday (including a visit to our favorite Italian place, with Alissa, and her brood!).

We did one day in NYC to see Rockefeller Center, as well as a visit to the MOMA, capped with a trip to Macy’s (the birthplace of modern Christmas).

But, the REAL highlight has simply been Jake…the happiest, most fun kid in the world! I could inundate you with with pics and vids of this kid in action. But, I’ll just post this one, taken when Katie got home from work.  Yes…the sign in the back is appropriate!

And finally… a little more somber reminder about life and death and birthdays…

I posted this on my 65th birthday (on New Year’s Day) along with the story about the fact that my Dad passed away in 2012, on my birthday, almost to the minute of my birth. Pretty cool…and yet an annual reminder of how much I miss him.

My good friend Terri Thickstun, one of my Dad’s favorite art students, honored me by capturing Dad and me from an old photo, from when I was just 18 months old and Dad was finishing college after his tour in the Korean War.

It inspired me to write this song, and do a video honoring both my Dad and Terri.

But, here’s the twist.  The friend I mentioned last week, who has been recently diagnosed with cancer, is Terri.  She has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, which has metastasized to her lungs, liver, and lymph nodes.  She has undergone one round of chemo…and is going to do another before they try to remove the tumor in the coming weeks.

Soooooooo….while she is a very private person, she does believe in prayer. I believe in the power of positive intention (which works the same as prayer)…so I am asking ALL of you…no matter what your belief… to send some healing thoughts to Terri.  She, like me, just turned 65…and has children and grandchildren who need her amazing, sweet, humble spirit around for a few more years.  OK??  Just Do It. Thanks! 

Here’s the video. I wrote the song…and performed it through tears of both happiness and sorrow. So the vocals are a little rough…

I promise to keep you posted…and won’t beat you to death with sorrow. Especially if our collective energy can do the job of helping her heal!

Let’s make 2019 miraculous!