Keep Portland Weird...the Incredible Simpsons Connection

 My Family has loved the Simpsons cartoon for years.  Scott and I were married in 1988 and the Simpsons debuted in December of 1989.  We have a shared kinship with them and almost the same anniversary. When our boys were growing up we shared countless nights of laughter being entertained by the antics of this family.  Some episodes may have been considered "edgy" and controversial, but they always seemed to be spot on and dealt with all kinds of contemporary issues of the American family.  They may have exaggerated to make a point, but the writing on the show was done in such a way that people really could relate to many of the circumstances of this family. If you are a Simpsons connoisseur like my family, not only do you know the core family characters: Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie, you learn many of the other characters in the town (No state!!?) of Springfield. I was intrigued to find out that much of the inspiration for the show came from Portland, Oregon.

I just recently found out that the creator of the Simpsons Matt Groening, was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. At any other time I would probably not give it a second thought...but next month we are planning a trip to Portland. This just adds to the excitement and challenge of finding some of the connections that Matt Groening made to the city when crafting his show. If you didn't already know it...The Simpsons is the longest running American animated series. Bravo!  Good for them, it's a great show.  But in my humble opinion, the older episodes were better.  Maybe back then they were not afraid to poke fun at certain institutions to make a point.

In any case, I found out that there are so many fun connections to Portland.  For starters Matt Groening's parents are Homer and Marge. His sisters were named Lisa and Maggie and Bart-an anagram for Brat-is a stand in for Matt himself.  He grew up on a street named Evergreen Terrace  and many of the character names were taken from street names in Portland. Here are just a few: Burnside, Flanders, Lovejoy, and  Quimby. I was going to give the reader tips as to which name matched with which character, but if you are a Simpson fan....you know.  Montgomery Park was cited as the inspiration for Mr. Burn's nuclear plant.  Also, in 2021 a Ned Flanders footbridge was built named after the Simpson's endearing and sometimes annoying neighbor.

When our family watched the show, we could really relate to some of the situations.  My family has always teased me that I am frequently an optimist, sometimes overly so.  They draw a parallel to me of the episode of Marge at the racetrack:

"Can't I just bet that all the horses will have a fun time?". 

In our family, we frequently spout Simpsons dialogue when the situation requires it. When I hear "Can't I just bet that all the horses will have a fun time?" then sometimes I know that maybe I'm trying to hard to "make" everyone have a fun time. Yeah, kind of strange, and perhaps a little passive-aggressive, but sometimes it works for the Smith family.

Keep Portland Weird, photo by Jimmy Emerson on flickr

I just know we will have fun looking for Simpsons connections as well as the Keep Portland Weird murals.  I wondered why they had a doughnut named "Homer" at Voodoo Doughnuts...now I know why.  Classic Homer.  

Finding Your Voice

 

When I was a young girl, perhaps in my early teens, my Mom, sister & I made several cross country road trips from Iowa to upstate NY to visit family. I fondly recall one summer when my Mom decided it might be prudent to get a CB radio, for safety reasons if we were on the road and had car trouble. It was the responsible thing to do, yet in the eyes of a teenager girl it was delightful fun to chat with the truckers and just about anybody else I was able to strike up a conversation with up and down the dial. Remember this was before the days of cell phones and before the days of social media. I found it great fun and so did most of the truckers...most of them.  It was all well and good until one of the truckers decided my "handle" should be "ratchet jaw".  In hind sight, it was funny, but at the same time hurtful.  It was one of those moments that you remember years later. It was one of the first times in my life I had been criticized for talking too much.  It also came to be the first of many times. Yet, many of us have traits...parts of our personality that are ingrained in us.  Sometimes it becomes kind of a self fulfilled prophecy.  When someone tells you that you are a certain way...then you start to see yourself that way.  Yes, sometimes I talk a lot, perhaps too much. When those moments arise that I am reprimanded for talking too much, I instinctively back down, for awhile anyway.  Then my need to be heard resurfaces and I feel the need to speak and be heard.

So talking easily with just about anyone is not necessarily a bad thing. I have been told I possess the "Gift of Gab".  It comes in handy for a whole bevy of social situations to help break the ice and sometimes put more people at ease. Yet, learning how to measure your words before you speak is an important skill to have.  It reminds me of the old adage: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt." This quote is sometimes attributed to Abraham Lincoln, although the actual origin has been debated.  Nevertheless, when I hear it, it sometimes causes me to think twice before making comments.  Especially on a topic I have limited knowledge on.  Tis better to listen and learn in those circumstances.

So frequently I remind myself of another adage: God gave us two ears and one mouth so we should listen twice as much as we talk.  Good point.  Nevertheless when I look at this image of a woman (circa 1950's) being a good girl and reminding either herself  or someone close by to "Shush"...the feminist in me rises and  I want to cry out until my voice is heard. Why is it that silence is sometimes equivalent to complacency?   Not always the case, yet being silent sometimes comes at a cost.

I guess we all need to feel that we are being heard and finding our voice with respect to how we communicate.  Many times it is not merely verbal, but our voice can be carried and displayed in a multitude of ways: music, art and in my case: writing. 

I have compared this blog sometimes to a journal...it feels so good to be able to express myself, to have my voice heard.  Yet someone (I'm not saying who...) said to me: ..."If it's like a journal than why should you care if anybody reads it or not?"  OUCH. Theoretically, maybe I shouldn't care if anybody reads it or not.  But it comes full circle as to why I write...it is a way of finding my voice.  So if no one listens to my "voice" why should I write? Good question. Why does an artist paint? Why does a dancer dance? I write because that is who I am.  Nevertheless, it would be nice to know someone is "listening".  Lately I have grappled with new ideas on how to reach my audience. As a writer and blogger it is sometimes sad to think that when you hit the "Publish" button your work has now gone to cyberspace, possibly never to be viewed except by your own eyes.  Yes, this is a bit dramatic, but sometimes it feels that way. Yet I just continue to write because it is one of the ways I have found my own voice. I have a favorite quote on my bulletin board: Real writers don't write because they can write, they write because they can't NOT write.  Let that sink in.  Therein lies the true nature of the beast.

Here's another food for thought...it's pretty evident to me why social media has become such a pervasive, sometimes even invasive, part of our lives.  People just want to be heard. Like so many ways of communication, there are pros and cons to discussions on social media. In it's early days, Facebook was merely a simple way to keep in touch and share photos, but it has morphed into something much more complicated...in good ways and sometimes NOT so good. Nevertheless, it does still allow dialogue.

So many times I think about communication and how it has changed just in the last few years. Not surprising that this would be a favorite topic of mine because my degree is in Journalism and Mass Communication. Both of those terms: journalism and mass communication encompass entirely different things now from when I graduated college.  It's mind boggling to think how we communicate has changed.  On a personal level, I think it is sad that so many local newspapers have disappeared.  Perhaps technology has replaced them with other ways of connecting with your community, but sometimes I still think there is a void in that respect.  Having connections relevant to your geographic area helps to create a stronger, closely knit community. It brings a sense of identity that only a local paper or local TV station can bring. The town I am currently living in had a local paper that closed down just a few years before I got here. Sad. Maybe I would have enjoyed working with them.  If when I graduated, I had been told you will operate 2 blogs, (what's a blog?)

self-publish 4 books and communicate with your family and friends across the country just by typing a note on your computer (Thanks Facebook).....well at that time I just would not have fathomed it. Not sure what the future will bring as we seek to Find our voice.

So Gentle Readers....I encourage you to Find Your Voice in whatever format is best suited to you.  Find your voice and let you voice be heard.  Julie Etta Smith

OMG! Not another acronym!

Long before texting and Facebook acronyms were in vogue, the pervasive use of acronyms in everyday conversations and written communications has been evident.  Think of the very first acronym you probably learned in elementary school, or earlier: the USA (United States of America) Some acronyms of this nature are so pervasive and commonly used, they take on a life of their own and almost become a word in and of themselves. 

Have you had your daily dose of alphabet soup today?

Yet many acronyms are only familiar to certain groups that use them with common shared interests. This frequently streamlines communications and assists in getting your message across…if the people you are conversing with understand what the acronym stands for.  How many times have you found yourself thinking….Oh Kaaaay, well what does that mean? The use of acronyms is very common and almost always found in a group of persons that share the same interest; they all use the same types of languages and phrases to share information about their common interest.

I was recently prompted to write about acronyms because of recent “overuse” of them in many modern conversations: especially pharmaceutical commercials. Oh Gracious! There are so many ailments that have been assigned so many different acronyms that even if you did become ill, how do you know what it is you are dealing with?  Also, how do you know if the recommended medication is for you? Obviously, talk to your doctor first. If you have reason to know what any of these letters stand for, I would imagine you would be discussing this with your medical provider….not pondering the possibilities from network television.  Nevertheless,  it is truly amazing the letters that get thrown out there frequently to confuse the subject matter. Bear in mind, too that you best not be mixing up your letters!   ED (Erectile Dysfunction) is quite different from ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), which is different from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).  When you hear a commercial on NBC (National Broadcast Corporation) about MBC (Metastatic Breast Cancer) you will know that are talking about breast cancer, not the station affiliate. I heard that commercial several times and I thought they were saying NBC. Closer listening helped me to identify it as MBC.  I’m not making light of the illnesses, I am just saying it gets very confusing throwing all that verbiage around. There are so many more, but here are just a few: MD (Macular Degeneration), COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis)….just to name a few.

Video Gamers, both on-line and solo versions, have developed a whole new language today including of course several acronyms for communicating with your fellow gamers. Here are a few that those who play are probably very familiar with: DD (Dungeons and Dragons), GG (Good Game) BG (Bad Game or Battleground, depending on the context), BRB (Be Right Back…even the most dedicated gamer has to take a bathroom break now and then…) DPS (Damage Per Second)

On the topics of sports and leisure, wow….the field of sports seems to even have the pharmaceuticals beat when it comes to the use of acronyms. Some of these are just so automatic; you don’t even think that the NFL stands for the National Football League….you just think NFL. Nevertheless here are a few more to load up your bowl of alphabet soup: AFC(American Football Conference, NFC (National Football Conference) NBA (National Basketball Association), WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association), NHL (National Hockey League) PGA (Professional Golf Association)…..well, you get the idea and I bet you can name a whole lot more.

In the work place, acronyms are very pervasive and definitely serve their purpose.  Every occupation has their own set of acronyms and abbreviations used fluently and frequently. Since I am married to an engineer and have a son who is also an engineer I am “privy” to many of the acronyms used in that field.  Here is just a sampling: ASCE(American Society of Civil Engineers), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), PMP (Project Management Plan), PE(Professional Engineer), EIT(Engineer in Training), CEM (Certified Energy Manager), PPE(Personal Protection Equipment, safety glasses, etc,)

Sometimes awkward moments, and frequently humorous results, occur when conversations including acronyms are not understood by both parties. True story: a friend of mine was discussing current issues when the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement came up.  My friend was not familiar with that particular acronym and could not understand how the Bureau of Land Management-BLM fit in with that story. Embarrassment followed and a little light of recognition came on. Ohhhhh, that BLM! It is also funny how one extra letter can change the whole meaning: if you recently received a map and directions from your local AAA (American Automobile Association) you can find your way to your AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting.

The texting and Facebook acronyms open up a whole new category of acronyms that are too varied and numerous to include in this blog. Yet, I bet many of us know the frequently used ones, and choose to use our favorites time and again. Right?  LOL!(Laugh Out Loud) So I bid you adieu for now and TTYL(Talk To You Later) JES (not truly an acronym, but I use it a lot: Julie E. Smith)