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= = = Creation = = =
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Matt Groening first conceived Maggie and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986 in the lobby of James L. Brooks 's office . Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show , and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell comic strip . When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life 's work , Groening decided to go in another direction , and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family . The baby of the family was named Maggie after Groening 's youngest sister . Maggie then made her debut with the rest of the Simpsons family on April 19 , 1987 in the short " Good Night " . In 1989 , the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons , a half @-@ hour series that would air on the Fox Broadcasting Company . Maggie and the rest of the family remained the main characters on this new show .
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The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette . The family was crudely drawn , because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators , assuming they would clean them up ; instead , they just traced over his drawings . Maggie 's physical features are generally not used in other characters ; for example , in the later seasons , no character other than Lisa shares her hairline . While designing Maggie and Lisa , Groening " couldn 't be bothered to even think about girls ' hair styles " . At the time , Groening was primarily drawing in black and white and when designing Lisa and Maggie , he " just gave them this kind of spiky starfish hair style , not thinking that they would eventually be drawn in color " .
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Groening thought that it would be funny to have a baby character that did not talk and never grew up , but was scripted to show any emotions that the scene required . Maggie 's comedic hallmarks include her tendency to stumble and land on her face while attempting to walk , and a penchant for sucking on her pacifier , the sound of which has become the equivalent of her catchphrase and was originally created by Groening during the Tracey Ullman period . In the early seasons of the show , Maggie would suck her pacifier over other characters ' dialogue , but this was discontinued because the producers found it too distracting .
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= = = Voice = = =
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With few exceptions , Maggie never speaks but participates in the events around her , emoting with subtle gestures and facial expressions . Maggie 's first lines were spoken in " Good Night " , the first short to air on The Tracey Ullman Show , after the family falls asleep . On this occasion , Liz Georges provided the voice of Maggie .
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Although she had previously spoken in fantasies and dream sequences , Maggie 's first word spoken in the normal continuity of the series occurred in " Lisa 's First Word " , when she was voiced by Elizabeth Taylor . Although it was only one word ( " Daddy " ) , Taylor had to record the part numerous times before the producers were satisfied . James Earl Jones voiced Maggie in " Treehouse of Horror V " . Maggie would later have brief dialogue in " Treehouse of Horror IX " , voiced by Harry Shearer , who used his Kang voice . In earlier episodes , Yeardley Smith did many of Maggie 's squeaks , cries , laughs and occasional speaking parts , although in the later seasons her parts are done by Nancy Cartwright ( including a single word spoken during the end credits of The Simpsons Movie ) . Jodie Foster voiced a Howard Roark @-@ inspired Maggie in the season 20 episode " Four Great Women and a Manicure " .
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In the occasional " Simpsons in the future " -themed episodes ( " Lisa 's Wedding " , " Bart to the Future " , " Future @-@ Drama " , " Holidays of Future Passed " , " Days of Future Future " ) , although an older Maggie is depicted , as a running gag within these episodes she is never shown speaking , so no voice actors have been utilized on these occasions .
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= = Reception = =
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Nancy Basile at About.com said her favorite Maggie scenes on The Simpsons are the ones that show her acting more like an adult than a one @-@ year @-@ old . Some of her favorite Maggie scenes include scenes from " Sweet Seymour Skinner 's Baadasssss Song " and " Lady Bouvier 's Lover " where Maggie meets her unibrowed archenemy , Baby Gerald , and the one scene from " Itchy & Scratchy : The Movie " in which Bart is supposed to babysit Maggie , but she escapes and takes Homer 's car for a ride . Basile also added that " whether watching ' The Happy Elves ' or falling down , Maggie is the cutest baby in the Simpson family " . Comedian Ricky Gervais named " And Maggie Makes Three " his second favorite episode of the show and said that the scene in the end where Homer puts up pictures of Maggie over his desk gave him " a lump in the throat thinking about it " . Todd Everett at Variety called the scene in " Lisa 's First Word " where Maggie speaks her first word " quite a heart @-@ melter " .
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In 2006 , Elizabeth Taylor was named thirteenth on IGN 's " Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances " list for her performance as Maggie in " Lisa 's First Word " . James Earl Jones , voice of Maggie in " Treehouse of Horror V " , was named the seventh greatest guest star on the show in the same list . In 2000 , Maggie and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard .
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= = Merchandising = =
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Four children 's books , written by Maggie Groening ( after whom Maggie was named ) and illustrated by Matt Groening , entitled Maggie Simpson 's Book of Animals , Maggie Simpson 's Counting Book , Maggie Simpson 's Book of Colors and Shapes and Maggie Simpson 's Alphabet Book were released on September 12 , 1991 . Other merchandise includes dolls , posters , figurines , jigsaw puzzles , and T @-@ shirts . Maggie was made into an action figure as part of the World of Springfield toy line , and was released in the wave one playset " Living Room " , featuring her and Marge in the living room of the Simpsons house . Maggie has appeared in commercials for Burger King , Butterfinger , C.C. Lemon , Domino 's Pizza , Ramada Inn and Subway .
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Maggie has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons . She is a character in every one of The Simpsons video games , including the most recent , The Simpsons Game . Alongside the television series , Maggie regularly appears in issues of the Simpsons comics , which were first published on November 29 , 1993 and are still issued monthly . Maggie also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride , launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood . Maggie starred in the 3D short @-@ film The Longest Daycare , which was shown in theaters before Ice Age : Continental Drift in 2012 .
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On April 9 , 2009 , the United States Postal Service unveiled a series of five 44 cent stamps featuring Maggie and the four other members of the Simpson family . They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while the show is still in production . The stamps , designed by Matt Groening , were made available for purchase on May 7 , 2009 . In a USPS poll , Maggie 's stamp was voted the most popular of the five .
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= Chasing Vermeer =
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Chasing Vermeer is a 2004 children 's art mystery novel written by Blue Balliett and illustrated by Brett Helquist . Set in Hyde Park , Chicago near the University of Chicago , the novel follows two children , Calder Pillay and Petra Andalee . After a famous Johannes Vermeer painting is stolen on route to the Art Institute of Chicago , Calder and Petra work together to try to recover it . The thief publishes many advertisements in the newspaper , explaining that he will give the painting back if the community can discover which paintings under Vermeer 's name were really painted by him . This causes Petra , Calder , and the rest of Hyde Park to examine art more closely . Themes of art , chance , coincidence , deception , and problem @-@ solving are apparent .
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The novel was written for Balliett classroom intended to deal with real @-@ world issues . Balliett values children 's ideas and wrote the book specifically to highlight that . Chasing Vermeer has won several awards , including the Edgar and the Agatha . In 2006 , the sequel entitled The Wright 3 was published , followed by The Calder Game in 2008 , .
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= = Inspiration and origins = =
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Chasing Vermeer is Blue Balliett 's first published book . Its original purpose was a book to read to her class for fun . She realized that a mystery about " real " art issues had not been written since E.L. Konigsburg 's From the Mixed @-@ Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and desired to write what she wished to read . Chasing Vermeer took about five years to complete , as Balliett was also a teacher and parent . She compared writing the book to weaving , as she first wrote mainly about art , but then incorporated the pentominoes and classroom scenes , creating many different levels to read on . She admits that it ended up more complex than she had thought it would be .
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Balliett used art and blank plates as inspiration for the characters ' names . Calder Pillay is derived from the artist Alexander Calder and Petra Andalee was inspired by the architecture in Petra , Jordan . The names were meant to be different , which Balliett considered " fun for a child . " Balliett felt that she could capture the attention of reluctant readers if they related to characters who enjoyed writing and math . Calder and Petra 's teacher , Ms. Hussey , was inspired by an old name on Nantucket Island and the old @-@ fashioned word hussy . Balliett compares herself to Ms. Hussey , stating that " [ we ] think a lot alike . " Some of Ms. Hussey 's assignments and dialogue even came from Balliett 's classroom . She chose the setting of Hyde Park , Chicago , where she currently lives , because she considered it full of secrets that children could discover .
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= = Plot summary = =
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The book begins with a mysterious letter that is delivered to three unknown recipients , two women and one man . The letter tells them they are of great need to the sender , but begs them not to tell the police .
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Sixth @-@ graders Calder Pillay , who enjoys puzzles and pentominoes , and Petra Andalee , who aspires to be a writer , are classmates at the Middle School in Hyde Park , Chicago . Their young teacher , Ms. Hussey , is very interested in art and teaches them in a creative way . Through her pressing questions , they discover the artist Johannes Vermeer and his paintings , especially A Lady Writing and The Geographer . Petra also finds a used book called Lo ! , written by Charles Fort , at the local Powell 's Books , owned by a man named Mr. Watch . They also meet an elderly neighbor , Mrs. Sharpe , who is also a fan of Vermeer and Fort . Calder receives letters from his best friend Tommy Segovia , who is currently living in New York City with a new stepfather .
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The children learn that A Lady Writing was traveling from The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. to Hyde Park . The next day there is a story in the paper of how the painting mysteriously disappeared . A letter from the thief appears in the newspaper , telling the public that he will not give back A Lady Writing until they prove which Vermeer paintings were truly painted by him . This sparks worldwide uproar . Calder and Petra investigate as their friendship grows . Mrs. Sharpe requests police protection and it is revealed that she and Ms. Hussey were two of the three recipients of the thief 's letter . Calder and Petra eventually conclude that the painting is hidden in the local Delia Dell Hall , and they sneak out and find it . They barely escape from the thief , who is later found dead from a massive heart attack on the train by the police . They learn that the man is Xavier Glitts , also knowned as Glitter Man , who was posing as Tommy 's stepfather under the name Fred Steadman . A known art thief , he was asked to steal the painting and sell it for sixty million dollars . The other recipient of the letter is revealed to be Mr. Watch .
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= = = Code = = =
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As stated in the preface , there is a code hidden in the paintings throughout the book . This was an idea of Brett Helquist and Balliett 's editor , Tracy Mack . The code involves images of pentominoes and frogs , which is a recurring theme in the book . To decode the code , one must count the number of frogs in every other illustration , as well as find the hidden pentomino . Once these facts are collected , you are to use the same code presented in the story that Calder and Tommy use in their letters in the book . For example , the first code in the book is V : 2 @.@ this means T when decoded with Calder and Tommy 's decoder . When the message is decoded , it spells out " The Lady Lives " .
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= = Genre = =
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Chasing Vermeer is classified in the mystery genre , although it was described by Liz Szabla of Scholastic as " a puzzle , wrapped in a mystery , disguised as an adventure , and delivered as a work of art . " Scholastic 's teaching website additionally added suspense due to the surprise ending .
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= = Themes = =
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Some of Balliett 's " real @-@ world ideas " in Chasing Vermeer were " Do coincidences mean anything ? " and " What is art and what makes it valuable ? " Balliett says her " central message " is " kids are powerful thinkers , and their ideas are valuable , and that adults don 't have all the answers . "
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A book by Rita Soltan entitled Reading Raps : A Book Club Guide for Librarians , Kids , and Families analyzed Chasing Vermeer 's themes as follows :
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Deception and problem solving are central themes in this novel as both the thief and the central adult players use a variety of ways to hide the truth while the children employ a series of mathematical and problem @-@ solving concepts to piece together the clues to the puzzle . In addition , Calder and Petra develop a special friendship and certain respect for the value of art .
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As the thief gains publicity by challenging the community to figure out which paintings claimed to be Vermeer 's were indeed painted by him , everyone starts to look at the depth in art . Sondra Eklund , who writes a book review blog , noted that the reader was left with the impression to study Vermeer 's paintings and art more closely . In the book , Ms. Hussey challenges her class to the question , " What is art ? "
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Other themes include chance and coincidence . During Chasing Vermeer , Charles Fort 's book , Lo ! , inspires the children to list and pay attention to coincidences as they realize that they are more than what they seem and explore the concept that they make up one unexplained pattern . Balliett stated that she wanted to convey how coincidences were noticeable and felt meaningful , and how they could matter even if they were unexplainable .
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= = Audiobook = =
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The audiobook for Chasing Vermeer , read by Ellen Reilly , was released on November 27 , 2007 from Listening Library . It runs about 4 hours and 47 minutes . AudioFile magazine praised Reilly 's voices and pace , but noted that , " Once the mystery is solved , however , the ending seems tacked on , falling flat . "
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= = Critical reception = =
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Chasing Vermeer received generally positive reviews . The New York Times praised the description and mystery . It was also listed as one of their " Notable Books of 2004 " . Kirkus Reviews awarded it a starred review with the consensus that " Art , intrigue , and plenty of twists and turns make this art mystery a great read . " Children 's Literature reviewer Claudia Mills gave generally positive comments , calling the novel " engrossing and engaging " . The website Kidsreads compared the book to classic mysteries such as The Westing Game and said , " Chasing Vermeer deserves a spot alongside many well @-@ loved children 's books . It 's that good . " A reviewer of The Trades website called it " an entertaining read that manages to serve several purposes in one concise novel " and found the characters " unusual yet likable " , but felt that " the disappointing bit of this novel is that the solutions always arrive through a series of disconnected events that just lead the kids to think in certain ways . " Kadon Enterprises , a game puzzle company , reviewed the book , praising the writing style and puzzles .
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= = = Awards = = =
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= = Film = =
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Warner Brothers bought the rights to a film of Chasing Vermeer in June 2004 and Brad Pitt 's production company Plan B Entertainment planned to produce it . P.J. Hogan was slated as director and the novel was adapted by Matt Nix . However , when asked about the film in August 2010 , Balliett answered ,
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" It ’ s been fascinating , watching this whole process , because Plan B did a wonderful job . They went through two screenwriters , and they ’ ve gone through two directors . It ’ s sort of like a house of cards . I have rights again . If they get it all together again , they ’ ll jump on it . But they don ’ t have exclusive rights anymore . "
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= Caught Up ( Usher song ) =
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" Caught Up " is a song by American R & B singer Usher . It was written by Ryan Toby , Andre Harris , Vidal Davis and Jason Boyd , and produced by Dre & Vidal for Usher 's 2004 album Confessions . The song was released as the fifth and final single from the album on November 30 , 2004 . The single peaked at number eight in the United States , the only single released from Confessions without topping the Billboard Hot 100 , and generally below top ten on most charts worldwide . It received positive reviews from contemporary critics .
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= = Background and release = =
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Although Usher " didn 't look too far " when starting working on his fourth studio album Confessions and decided to " continue building " with previous producers , he branched out with several musical collaborators . Usher enlisted Philadelphia producers Andre " Dre " Harris and Vidal Davis of Dre & Vidal , along with other musical collaborators . During the sessions , Usher asked them to create a " real up @-@ tempo beat " . When they worked on the track , they partied the whole time which Dre considered a " partly record " . He recalled , " We had some women , some drinks , some music . " After Dre created the beat , they decided to " make sure the mood was inspiring during recording . " They went to club to take a break , and played the song in Usher 's truck while on the way . Usher felt the collaboration was pleasing , seeing other people responded positively to the song .
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" Caught Up " was the fifth and final single from Confessions . It was released in the United States on November 30 , 2004 as a 12 " single . It was also released in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom on February 21 , 2005 and on March 8 in Germany . The Germany release contains the album version of the song , three of its remixes and the single 's music video . The song impacted US contemporary hit radio on January 11 , 2005 , alongside a remix featuring rapper , Fabolous .
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= = Reception = =
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" Caught Up " received positive reviews from contemporary critics . Andrew McGregor of BBC called the song " meaty " and " hip @-@ grinding " . Jon Caramanica of Blender magazine referred to the song like a " Southern marching band performing late- ' 80s R & B " . He characterized Usher 's voice playing like a rhythm instruments . Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine complimented Dre and Vidal for producing an old @-@ sounding music without sampling records , calling it " super @-@ tight " alongside " Follow Me " , another song from the album . Andy Kellman of Allmusic complimented the song as one of Usher 's best moments in the album , together with " Burn " . Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times called it a " thunderous song " from the album , adding that it gave Usher " a chance to do two of the things he does best : strut and pander " .
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= = Chart performance = =
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" Caught Up " did not live up to the chart @-@ topping performances of Confessions ' previous four releases . In the United States , the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number seventy @-@ six . It peaked at number eight for two non @-@ consecutive weeks , fifteen weeks after its release . " Caught Up " was the only single to not top the Hot 100 compared to the album 's four previous releases . The single stayed on the Hot 100 for twenty @-@ seven weeks .
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Outside the United States , responses from music markets were relatively similar . " Caught Up " debuted and peaked at number nine on the United Kingdom , remaining on the chart for also nine weeks . It reached number ten in the Netherlands , and under top ten on the rest of European countries ; much lesser in Finland where it only stayed for one week compared to other charts , remaining for several weeks . In Australia and New Zealand , the single reached number fifteen and twelve respectively .
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= = Music video = =
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The music video for " Caught Up " was directed by Mr. X , who was behind the laser light treatment of Usher 's 2004 video " Yeah ! " . The video shows Usher and friends riding a car while heading to his live performance . On the way , they fist fight after Usher saves a woman from an antagonist . Usher realizes he is supposed to perform , and finally goes to the venue . The video ends with Usher performing the song in front of a large crowd . The music video debuted on MTV 's Total Request Live on January 10 , 2005 at number ten . The video remained on the countdown for thirty @-@ four days .
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= = Track listing = =
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Germany CD single
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