Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks's office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpson family got their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989.
Abraham Jebediah "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa Simpson, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled "Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on The Tracey Ullman Show, before the debut of the television show in 1989.
"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a cult takes over Springfield, and the Simpson family become members.
"Lisa the Skeptic" is the eighth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 23, 1997. On an archaeological dig with her class, Lisa discovers a skeleton that resembles an angel. All of the townspeople believe that the skeleton actually came from an angel, but skeptical Lisa attempts to persuade them that there must be a rational scientific explanation. The episode's writer, David X. Cohen, developed the idea after visiting the American Museum of Natural History, and decided to loosely parallel themes from the Scopes Monkey Trial. The episode also makes allusions to actual hoaxes, such as the Cardiff Giant.
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J. Skoble, each of whom also wrote one of the eighteen essays in the book.
"Diatribe of a Mad Housewife" is the tenth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on January 25, 2004. Marge is inspired to write a romance novel, though after Homer hears rumors that Marge is secretly in love with Ned Flanders due to the storyline of the novel, he grows jealous. Meanwhile, Homer buys an ambulance and becomes an ambulance driver.
"Lost Our Lisa" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 10, 1998. The episode contains the last appearance of the character Lionel Hutz. When Lisa learns that Marge cannot give her a ride to the museum and forbids her to take the bus, she tricks Homer into giving her permission. After Lisa gets lost, Homer goes looking for her and the two end up visiting the museum together.
"My Sister, My Sitter" is the seventeenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 2, 1997. In the episode, Marge and Homer leave Lisa to babysit Bart and Maggie. Annoyed that his younger sister is his babysitter, Bart does everything he can to annoy her. When Bart is injured, Lisa must find him medical attention without spoiling her reputation as a good babysitter.
"Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 8, 1995. In the episode, Bart scornfully dismisses the concept of the soul, and to show he is serious in his skepticism he agrees to sell his soul to Milhouse. However, after several strange events make him think he really has lost his soul, he desperately tries to regain it.
"Homer vs. Patty and Selma" is the seventeenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 26, 1995. In the episode, Homer loses all his money in pumpkin futures and must turn to Patty and Selma for a loan. Meanwhile, Bart takes up ballet lessons, with an instructor voiced by actress Susan Sarandon.
"The PTA Disbands" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series, The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 16, 1995. In the episode, Bart Simpson manipulates Edna Krabappel into organizing a strike of Springfield Elementary's teachers union to protest Principal Skinner's miserly school spending.
"Brother from the Same Planet" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 4, 1993. In the episode, after Homer is late to pick him up from soccer practice, Bart turns to the program the Bigger Brothers, and is assigned a man named Tom. Out of jealousy, Homer gets himself a little brother named Pepi. Meanwhile, Lisa becomes addicted to the Corey hotline, a phone service where television fans can listen to the voice of a fictional actor based on Corey Feldman and Corey Haim.
Shanna Swendson is an American author of romance novels and chick lit. She has also written under the pseudonym Samantha Carter. Swendson is perhaps best known for the "Katie Chandler" series of novels, beginning with the 2005 publication of Enchanted, Inc.
BenBella Books is an independent publishing house based in Dallas, Texas. BenBella was founded by Glenn Yeffeth in 2001. It specializes in nonfiction books on popular culture, business, health, and nutrition, along with books on science, politics, psychology, and other topics.
Richard Ira "Rick" Klaw, is an American editor, essayist, and bookseller.
Lou Anders is the author of the Thrones & Bones series of middle grade fantasy novels. Anders is a Hugo Award-winning American editor, a Chesley Award-winning art director, an author and a journalist.
William Irwin is Professor of Philosophy at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and is best known for originating the "philosophy and popular culture" book genre with Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing in 1999 and The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer in 2001.
In the Wiccan religion, the term "fluffy bunny" is used as a derogatory term to refer to practitioners whose adherence to the faith is perceived as being superficial and dominated by consumerist values. In doing so, it contrasts the speakers' perception that their own practice of Wicca is authentic, as opposed to that of the inauthentic "fluffy bunny". The usage of the term has been examined by a number of academics operating in the field of Pagan studies.
A Sinner in Mecca: A Gay Muslim's Hajj of Defiance is the first book by Parvez Sharma, released on August 15, 2017, by publisher BenBella Books. The book focuses on Wahhabism, Daesh, Saudi Arabia, and the position of Islam in the Indian sub-continent. Sharma calls the book the final product of his "Islam Trilogy". The author recorded an audiobook version of this book for Tantor Media on December 14, 2017. In 2018, Parvez Sharma's book, A Sinner In Mecca: A Gay Muslim's Hajj of Defiance was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in the category of Gay Memoir/Biography and received Honorable Mention in the LGBT Nonfiction category for the 2017 Foreword INDIES.
Bibliography of works on The Simpsons is a list of works about the American multimedia franchise The Simpsons, its themes, and its cultural influence.
