Bishop73

Answer: I think it's just a joke about how out of work and the limelight he had been. This episode aired in 1998. From '88-'94, Macaulay had been in 14 movies, 3 TV shows, 2 music videos, and appeared on over a dozen shows as himself (SNL host, late-night talk show guest, etc). After "Ritchie Rich" in 1994, he wasn't in anything or on TV. So he was nowhere to be found for 4 years. Although, prior to the airing of this episode, he did appear in Sonic Youth's "Sunday" music video. But I think this episode was created before the release of the video.

Bishop73

Chosen answer: "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa.

Bishop73

Answer: In S15 E04, "T.M.I, " at the start the joke is that Maria Shriver, prior to getting together with Arnold, was hot; and now she's all bony (time code 00:00:40).

Answer: I believe this is from s15e12 "1%." Many people, especially on the internet, say that Maria Shriver looks like Skeletor because of the bony features of her face. She has very high cheek bones and a broad, flat, square jaw that resembles Skeletor's jaw (the mandible). Sometimes she appears to have sunken in eyes too.

Bishop73

Answer: S12e06 "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes." Homer creates his own webpage using the name "Mister X" and eventually begins posting rumors he overhears about others on his webpage (which turned out to be actual secrets, getting the townspeople into trouble). Incidentally, this Simpson's episode parodied "The Prisoner" in the 3rd act, which goes along with what Chef says that the Simpsons also reuse other people's ideas.

Bishop73

Answer: He appears in at least 5 other episodes, but usually just as a background character. He can be seen at Cartman's party in "Immaginationland". He was also one of the kids trying out to replace Butters in the "Professor Chaos" episode.

Bishop73

Answer: Essentially Stan was trying to return the blender that his dad, Randy, had bought because he knew his parents couldn't afford the extra debt. The blender, which represented mortgage-backed securities, had been bought on payment plan, meaning Randy had to make monthly payments, with interest, on something that wasn't essential. The episode represented the recession that was occurring at the time, including the housing bubble and mortgage crisis going on, so there's a lot going on. However, the payment plan (which is to say the debt) had been sold to another company by the store that sold Randy the blender. (To explain why, because of the recession, the store needed cash on hand, and they would only be getting a little money each month, if Randy paid his bill. So the store sells the debt to a company who gives the store the money upfront. Think of the J.G. Wentworth commercials, "I have a structured settlement, but I need cash now".) Because the store sold the debt, in ridiculous fashion, Stan had to return the blender to the company that bought the debt, although they too sold the debt to another company. Finally he gets to the U.S. treasury who tells him his blender is worth $90 trillion (again a ridiculous exaggeration) meaning that the debt owed is greater than the product is worth and to deride the way government agencies set up their budgets (which requires much more complex economic lessons). Kyle's whole point was people shouldn't fear the economy or see it as a vengeful being, but continue to spend and live as they normally do. Economically speaking, not spending money during a recession creates a longer lasting recession, and to solve a recession, people should spend money, although people and businesses shouldn't acquire debt during a recession because interest rates are higher. But on a personal level, individuals are fearful of losing their jobs during a recession, so they save money in case that should happen. But again, this is complex economics lesson.

Bishop73