Tag Archives: The Simpsons

Friday Filler – Time to Take A Reality Check and Some Perspective

Posted on October 2, 2020 by | 11 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

So, let’s start with the fact that if you are reading this, you own a padular/mobile device or computer of some sort, along with some type of data plan or WIFI associated with said device. As 2020 continues to throw us more curves than Henry Rowengartner in “Rookie of the Year,” things that we take for granted (like a daily dose of tapping) shouldn’t be on that list.

I realize that many folks play this “silly ‘lil game” to escape some of the realities of our everyday lives. I would be included in that group.  However, with the game being as simplified and EAsy as it has been the past 18+ months, it offers little respite. But, let’s be honest…as I implied…just having the choice to tap puts us in a category of “entitlement” that we very much take for granted.

I can’t/won’t get into politics here. I can’t/won’t discuss my current opinion of the “state of TSTO,” as both topics seem futile. As a nation…we could do with a whole hellofalotta less debate(s). Topics that should be discussed, rarely are. But, I digress…

So…instead…I am going to veer off course (what a surprise?) and talk about the fact that TSTO turned me on to the discovery of a new relationship…while cementing my allegiance to the community that is TSTOAddicts!
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Episode Reminder: Undercover Burns (Season 32 Premiere)

Posted on September 26, 2020 by | 15 comments

Tidings Terrific Television Tune-in’ers!

(Today’s post is sponsored by the letter “T”)

It’s officially Autumn here in North America and you know what that means? Yes, the leaves start to change…but The Simpsons Are Back! This Sunday marks the Season 32 Premiere! Woohoo!

So here’s your official TSTO Addicts reminder…all new episode, the season premiere, this Sunday, September 27th, at 8pm Eastern on FOX (also at the same time on CityTV in Canada)….“Undercover Burns”!

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Friday Filler – We’ve Never Needed Music More…

Posted on September 25, 2020 by | 23 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

The world continues to sputter along with a cough, a sneeze and a wheeze, depending on where you are.  Oregon continues to deal with containing wildfires, the residual smoke, and an uptick in Covid cases…so we kind of have the “misery trifecta,” as the kids are going back to school…without actually going to school.  My wife, as a school counselor, who actually had to deal with a couple of their staff members getting Covid, is playing more roles than Peter Sellers in “Dr. Strangelove.”  (look it up…great movie for the current state of the world). Not a happy camper…mostly because she’d rather be camping!

But, hey…WE GOT AN UPDATE!

EA hasn’t forgotten about us. And while I am just a few clicks into it (OK…so yes…I rushed it a bit…), I can tell you that with the world doing its best to come apart at the seams, we could all use a little more traditional jazz!

I know. I know.  Jazz isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But, hear me out. There are almost as many kinds of jazz as there are musical tastes. And as Lisa and her “saxamaophone” are a standard in every show opening, it’s nice to see the music get a bit more sophisticated beyond “Band Practice” with Dewey Largo,  in every opening montage.

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Friday Filler – Organizing and Creating from Clutter and Chaos

Posted on September 18, 2020 by | 20 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

I always felt kind of smug when I saw the pollution pics of Beijing, China. All of those people moving around in a thick haze, wearing masks, and scurrying from building to building.

And then the West Coast fires hit…and our area, most especially the “Real Springfield,” is still chewing the air in small doses, as we run from one AC haven to another.  If we are lucky, we are supposed to be down to just “unhealthy,” from “you would be an idiot to go outside,” by midweek…next week.

We joke about toads and locusts being next. But, we don’t joke much anymore.

**Update…as I write this, we got a few hours of respite after a night of coast air blowing things out for a bit. But, we are predicted to go back to awful for the weekend. Yes. I am golfing today while the air is less chewy. I will only play nine. I’m not a complete idiot. 

However…the hideous smoke has forced me away from my last home improvement chore of rebuilding our deck, and made me take time to do some “Digital Tap-Worthy Remodeling” of my town.

After deciding to store some of my “Bonus % Items” so I could design a bit within the Item Limits…I am kind of pleased at how the organization and designing has gone.

It really comes down to mastering and executing the ability to purge, design, and place. Let’s take a look at how things turned out.
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Friday Filler – When TSTO Duplicates Real Life…Things are Hilariously Weird

Posted on September 11, 2020 by | 20 comments


Thank Grog It’s Firday!

OK. First of all…we’re fine.

Thanks to all of you who dropped me personal notes asking if I am on fire. No. We aren’t on fire. But, close enough that the sky has been dark red, and the air full of ash since Tuesday. Needless to say, we are staying inside…and continuing to hope for the best for several friends who have had to evacuate.   Crazy times. Yes…the world seems to be on fire for a number of reasons figuratively…but where we live, it has been on fire, literally.  More on that later.


Apparently, God is trying to burn down the Left Coast. No politics intended.

As far as the Van Houtens Event, for my donuts, they saved the best Premium Item for last. It is the best New Character/Decoration combo in some time. Or should I say, Old and New Character…as the best new intros for my taste, were the introduction of Milhouse’s NICE grandparents…and their RV.

Call it coincidence, or call it “Tapping Imitating Life,” but the fact that the Grandparents and the RV were introduced during the very week that my wife and I took a couple of our grandkids on an RV weekend, was just too perfectly “Tapperitious” to ignore.

RV Life.  It’s a new chapter..and one fraught with instant challenges…especially in the Covid-Reality.
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Friday Filler – Living in a World of Diversion

Posted on September 4, 2020 by | 2 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

OK. So…I will avoid politics, because frankly, this isn’t the place.  While we cling to TSTO and this place as a diversion from the “real world,” the fact is, the real world goes on, and on, and on…no matter how many new ways we cling to, hoping that “getting it all” with every update, will give us some sense of satisfaction.

People are suffering. And the there is simply no way to gauge personal suffering of others, as the one thing this pandemic has done, is to isolate us away from one another for our “safety.” But, I have to admit, there are simply times when as a 66-year-old guy, who has lived a very wide and fulfilling life, I take the “risk” of going against the grain, and do things that others would not.

Remember the good old days, when “running with scissors” or “swimming before an hour has passed after a meal” were considered risky behavior?  Who knew that not washing your hands every time you touch something that isn’t from your “safe bubble,” or gathering with friends for a drink, without vetting where they have been over the past 14 days, would become “risky behavior?”

But, count me in.  I’ve been that guy. Almost all family…but my family probably isn’t a good indication of “super safe,” either. I missed them. So shoot me…or cough on me, or lick my fork before I eat my chicken salad.

What do I miss most during this pandemic??
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Thank You Tappers…When Tappers Step Up

Posted on September 1, 2020 by | 9 comments

There is no doubt that when I posted the plea for support for our rural school in Buyijja, Uganda on Saturday, I had very little hope that we could hit our goal over the next month.  Let’s face it…times are tough everywhere. If you haven’t read the papers (remember newspapers?), there is rioting in the streets, record unemployment, a contentious, raucous election, and…oh…that’s right…a global pandemic going on.

So, surely…common sense would tell you that it would take weeks to raise the target goal of $1,850 for remote teaching packets and supplies for the village of Buyijja, if at all. And especially for Tappers…who are known for playing TSTO “Cheapium”or “FullFarmer Freemium.” But, I had to try.

And I was wrong…

Because of Tappers from THIS AMAZING site, that reaches readers across the globe…We Hit Our Goal in Just Two Days!

That is not a typo. Two Days!

But there is more to this story…
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Friday Filler – When is Enough, Really Enough, and When Is It Just Hoarding?

Posted on August 28, 2020 by | 31 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

Well…as you may or may not remember,  a year ago I started a massive remodel of our house, with almost top to bottom remaking of the kitchen, two bathrooms, and flooring throughout the entire first floor main living area (family room, kitchen, bathroom, dining room, living room, stairs).

I have done all of the work myself…and with everything that has gone on during that year, find myself a bit awe-struck that I am not actually done yet (I still have an entire back deck tear apart and rebuild). But, then again, as I have also found out, once you start remodeling, and your wife is the primary “contractor” and you are “the worker,” you are never really done. All of the new, makes any of the old look shabby by comparison. And, even worse, that damn HGTV channel is still on the air, giving “the contractor” more ideas.

But, absolutely the worst part…is the massive land fill that now must be hauled off in a dumpster, along with decisions on what to do with the rest.  Clutter…thy name is Patric.  I admit it. I hate to throw away anything.

AND, to the point of this post…WE FACE THE SAME DECISIONS IN TSTO.  “Keep…store…or sell.” 
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Friday Filler – A New Look at Old Stuff to Recapture My Zazz

Posted on August 21, 2020 by | 17 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

Like many of you, between the Covid-Craziness, more politics than any human should have to endure, civil unrest and a clear letdown in our favorite diversion from all of it (TSTO), I found myself trying to find new ways to make the old ways feel new again.

This is common with the modern version of humankind.  We seem driven to be discontented with “the status quo” and are in a seemingly constant state of “the next best thing.”  Unfortunately, this constant game of “wanting more, but enjoying it less,” has brought us to a point in our existence where more really is less.  Less fulfilling, less gratifying, and far less hopeful.  And yes…I am talking about the game this time.

But, as I talked about in my last Filler, I have decided to “go back a few clicks” to a more simple time, when I wasn’t obsessed with Bonus %, and could actually slow down enough to design my town, in spite of the Item Limits.

Here are my first baby steps to reclaiming my “Zazz.”
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Friday Filler – Why Do You Still Play the Game?

Posted on August 14, 2020 by | 37 comments

Thank Grog It’s Friday!

I have to admit, I was happy, and a little heart-broken when Alissa sent me a text message late Tuesday night. It read, “An update was released. You’ll have to let me know if they upped item limits.”

Oh ye of bliss-ninny faith…

I affectionately call Alissa a “Bliss Ninny” as she always wants to believe that EA is going to listen to us, and TSTO is going  to return to its former glory. I love her for that. We need bliss-ninnies in the world right now. It’s no wonder that Disneyland (either coast) is her favorite place to be.  I can see her teaching Riley and Sammy that if they “clap loud enough” they can save Tinkerbell and the rest of the fairies.

But, unfortunately, I had to be the bearer of bad news, with a simple reply of “Nope.”

It’s been almost a year and a half since the last time EA upped the Item Limits by even a handful.  And yes…it sucks.  And yes…it greatly impedes my “joy of designing.”

SO…WHY DO I STILL PLAY? (as  more than a few of you have asked, when I hold EA and “Bob’s” feet to the fire).

The answer is pretty simple.
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