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Despite all the money, the glossy adverts and the brand marketing, Scotland’s international image is personified by the execrable Groundskeeper Willie from The Simpsons cartoon series.

Groundskeeper Willie, should you be unfamilar with him, is possibly the most offensive, angry, feral, fictional Scotsman ever invented. Think of the worst possible stereotype of the Scot; double it, and you have got Willie — a red-haired, bearded, foul-tempered, incompetent, haggis-eating, testosterone-filled boor who spends his private time secretly videotaping couples in their cars.

As the janitor at Springfield Elementary School, Willie is most famous for greeting a class of students studying French with “Bon jourrrrrrr! You cheese-eating surrender monkeys!” — a phrase that gained international fame when American neocons used it at the start of the Iraq war.

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Alf Clausen never knows what to expect.

Sometimes it's an arrangement of a classic melody, such as the theme to "The Great Escape." Sometimes it's a parody of a show tune, such as "The Monorail Song" (a "Music Man" pastiche) or several numbers from "My Fair Lady." Sometimes it's an original piece, such as "The Stonecutters Song." Sometimes it's basic instrumental interludes.

And sometimes, it's all of the above. After all, we're talking about "The Simpsons."

But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Clausen, who has scored the show for 18 of its now 19 seasons (the 19th begins Sunday), is time. He doesn't get much -- during the season, about a week to write and record the musical cues.

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This is a list of prank telephone calls that have occurred in the animated television series so far.

Season 1 - "Some Enchanted Evening" [7G01]

Moe: Moe's Tavern.
Bart: Hello, is Al there?
Moe: Al?
Bart: Yeah, Al. Last name: Coholic.
Moe: Lemme check... [calls] Phone call for Al. Al Coholic. Is there an "Alcoholic" here? [bar denizens laugh] Wait a minute...[to phone] Listen, you little yellow-bellied rat *@**@$$, if I ever find out who you are, I'll kill ya!

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The Simpsons Game is not the game of the movie, it's the game of the show. Or a game of a game. Or just a game based on the loveable cartoon family. Anyway EA passed by recently with the latest code and we were only too glad to spend an afternoon behind the control pad of both the PS3 and 360 versions.

The premise is simple; you get to play as Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa, who all have their own unique abilities, in what's essentially a straight forward platform game. It's good to hear a full cast of voice actors from the TV show has been brought on board though, it adds to its charm.

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Season 19 is scheduled to include guest appearances by Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Lionel Richie, Jack Black, Matt Dillon, Weird Al, Topher Grace and Terry Gross. As well, Amy Winehouse will meet Lisa in a blues bar.

Celebrities haven't truly made it until they've lost a few fingers and had their skin turned yellow. No, it isn't the latest procedure to keep aging starlets looking sharp on Wisteria Lane or a new Scientology initiation.

A guest appearance on The Simpsons has become the equivalent of hosting Saturday Night Live during that show's glory years, and Fox has unveiled the lucky celebs who will be visiting Springfield this upcoming season.

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