"Saint George and the Dragon" by Lewis Carroll (June 26, 1875)
{via The Getty}
Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
Good day, Muppet fans! Today is an extremely exciting day for The Muppet Mindset, as it officially marks our 300th post! This is a monumental day for me, personally, because it's the biggest achievement I've ever reached. (Well... I did collect twelve box-tops once and get a light-up Lion King spoon.) In honor of this milestone, we've contacted a special contributor for this week's Weekly Muppet Wednesday article. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the one, the only, the unintelligible, Beaker!
DR. BUNSEN HONEYDEW
Meee Meep (1976-present)
First appearance...
Mo Meemee Mo (1976)
Most recent appearance...
"Momeemo Meemome" MoMoo Meemeep (2009)
Best friend...
...Me mo mo.
Memorable quote...
"Meemo mo! Mee me Momoo Mee, meep mee me mo mee me mo!"
WHO IS DR. BUNSEN HONEYDEW?
Moo mee me? Me mee mo moo meep mee! Mee mo mo, meep meep! Moo mo mo mo!
...Umm, I'm not quite sure what happened, folks, but Beaker just sort of... left? Sheesh. Some 300th post. That's the last time I work with a Muppet. (NOTE: I don't mean that, Muppet people who might be reading [Hey, I can dream too], I will of course work with the Muppets anytime anywhere. Just so we're on the same page here.) Sheesh. Well, I was hoping that would go longer and maybe have some fireworks or something... but that's all I've got. So... here's a funny picture!
See you tomorrow!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier
Sesame Street Brings Home Shiny Statues!
Ah, it seems like only a year ago that we were celebrating Sesame Street and their huge impact at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Well... that was only a year ago, so that means that it's time once again for the Daytime Emmy Awards! Sesame Street was nominated for 14 Daytime Emmys. Interested to see what they won? Meet me at the bullet points and find out...
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier
- Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing
- Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling
- Oustanding Individual Achievement in Animation: Abby's Flying Fairy School, Peter de Sève (Character Designer)
- Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series
- Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series
- Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series: Kevin Clash
- Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series: Joey Mazzarino
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier
"My hope is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here." - Jim Henson
The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service worked with The Jim Henson Legacy to create Jim Henson's Fantastic World, an exploration of the incredible art of the man who created Muppets. The exhibit traces the timeline of Jim Henson's career, but more importantly, it gives audiences a taste of Henson's creative process and the imagination that brought whole worlds to life.
I grew up loving The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, the idea that there is an entire exhibition celebrating the man responsible for Ernie and Fozzie (in addition to countless others) makes me so happy. The tour schedule for Jim Henson's Fantastic World still has some dates left, so if you want a multimedia taste of the art of this impressive visionary....mark your calendar!
"You're just my leeeetle sack of potatuhs."
"Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?" - (Lennon/McCartney - 1967)
Muppet Comic Mondays: Fraggle Rock #3
Fraggle Rock Comic Book #3
Comic Book Review
James Gannon - It really has been a treat, hasn’t it? For the past three months, we’ve had two Muppet comics earlier in the month, while a Fraggle Rock comic has rounded it out. Having a rough week, this issue really made my day, I can assure you. Especially when you see what Fraggle Rock #3 has in store.
The lead story, through the magic of just being an illustration, as opposed to the logistics nightmare the puppet building and filming would be for the actual show, two sanctions of Fraggle Rock that have never met, finally do. That’s right; Doozers and Gorgs. The whole issue features stories mainly focusing on them. All is wrong in Fraggle Rock when the Doozers, and more importantly, their Doozer sticks, are nowhere to be found. Even Large Marvin is stumped, and if he can’t find food, you know something’s up. Turns out, all the Doozers, led by Cotterpin, are erecting the grandest Doozer stick construction ever… right on the Gorgs’ property. There is a little scale cheating, whereas the Fraggles are rat sized to the Gorgs, the Doozers really should be the relative size of a large beetle. But that should be of no concern. After all, this scenario feels like a story that very well could have been used on the show, if only it weren’t so complicated in scale and scope for them to actually have done.
Ever wonder what it’s like for Doozers to throw a party? The second comic solves that mystery. Cotterpin introduces this foreign concept something she obviously learned from the Fraggles. Finally, Junior Gorg tries and fails at building the better Fraggle Trap. Oh, and we get not only one, but two different Katie Cook activities, one that actually uses RADISHES!This is the last of a three-part miniseries. The plan is to release further issues and put three issues into a graphic novel collection, similar to BOOM!’s Muppet (and entire Disney) line up. It was revealed in ToughPigs' interview with editor Tim Beedle that the next miniseries would begin in October.
I like to think that they will keep the same or a similar format, but somehow I’d like them to do things a little different (as I said in an earlier review). Maybe having all three comics connect with a common theme like this one kinda did with the Doozer and Gorg stories. And maybe mix it up, with a short comic lead in before the main story. Whatever they do, I really hope they continue with these. They have been amazing so far.Oh, and a quick shout out to this issues two contributors that have previously worked on BOOM! Muppet comics. Amy Mebberson’s B cover will make you wish that they could pull her away from the Muppet Classics and Muppet Show comics to do some more Fraggle comic art. Grace Randolph is just as adept at working with the Doozers and Fraggles as she is with Kermit, Piggy and company. I’d love to see other Muppet comic artists and writers contribute to this anthology series as well. If there’s one thing I can say the Fraggle Rock comic has over the Muppets is that each and every issue gives you more takes on the characters, in both and artistic and writing sense.
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier
Sandra Eterovic
You've gotta check out Sandra Eterovic's art (found in her etsy shop, on her flickr photostream, and her really great blog - and, yes, I am stalking her). I'm in love with her mix of Magritte surrealism and Scandinavian folk art. Her work is just so unique and fun...
Our good pal in Berlin (via Dublin) DJ Wool has another release out. And I'm pretty fucking wild about it. Sounds like he's been in Berlin for a bit, if you ask me. It drops tomorrow, June 28th on Beatport, go grab it. You'll be glad you did. Here's the vid:
Hot on the heels of the Das Shadow and Broad Bean Band releases, the new true-blue MONOlith label/collective known as We Collect Enemies hits you across the back with another banger by a brother under another name.
DJ Wool (AKA one 3rd of the originators of the WCE clique) has been on a tear for the last year with non-stop remixes, singles and new material for his group The Glass. Here he is with yet another feather in his cap, this time under the ID known as The Dark Snuggler!
Described as a "techy and breaky club banger" with hints of Detroit and bass, he's aiming this inaugural release at a bullseye on a target that exists in a place between fidget house, techno and dare we say, old school hip-hop? Whatever it gets described as, it bumps and clouds the dance floor like a smoke machine on auto.
With remixes by Lars Moston (Moston & Malente), Boeoes Kaelstigen (Adrian Recordings, Sweden) and Jetlag (collab. between The Smiths’ bassist Andy Rourke, yes THE Smiths and Russian/NYC DJ Ole), the release promises to pack lots of pop for the price coming from your pocket. A definite natural disaster in these days of earhquakes, oil leaks and volcano eruptions courtesy of the kind people over at We Collect Enemies. The 'Detroit' inspired video hits a youtube near you real soon...
‘The Dark Snuggler’ will be released exclusively on Beatport on 28th June 2010 and other download sites from 12th July.
Hot on the heels of the Das Shadow and Broad Bean Band releases, the new true-blue MONOlith label/collective known as We Collect Enemies hits you across the back with another banger by a brother under another name.
DJ Wool (AKA one 3rd of the originators of the WCE clique) has been on a tear for the last year with non-stop remixes, singles and new material for his group The Glass. Here he is with yet another feather in his cap, this time under the ID known as The Dark Snuggler!
Described as a "techy and breaky club banger" with hints of Detroit and bass, he's aiming this inaugural release at a bullseye on a target that exists in a place between fidget house, techno and dare we say, old school hip-hop? Whatever it gets described as, it bumps and clouds the dance floor like a smoke machine on auto.
With remixes by Lars Moston (Moston & Malente), Boeoes Kaelstigen (Adrian Recordings, Sweden) and Jetlag (collab. between The Smiths’ bassist Andy Rourke, yes THE Smiths and Russian/NYC DJ Ole), the release promises to pack lots of pop for the price coming from your pocket. A definite natural disaster in these days of earhquakes, oil leaks and volcano eruptions courtesy of the kind people over at We Collect Enemies. The 'Detroit' inspired video hits a youtube near you real soon...
‘The Dark Snuggler’ will be released exclusively on Beatport on 28th June 2010 and other download sites from 12th July.
The Epic CD-ROM Family Adventure: Part 2
Hey folks! Lisa the Intern here again with part two of my series on the Muppet Treasure Island computer game. If you recall, we left off with the opening credits.
The Epic CD-ROM Family Adventure: Part 2
Lisa Alexander - Once the credits are over, you find yourself standing in the Benbow Inn. There are two tables right next to each other, and Billy Bones is sitting at one of them with Gonzo and Rizzo behind the other. “And no one knows to this day what happened to the treasure, or the treasure map,” Billy says to your sidekicks. (By the way, Billy Bones is still played by Billy Connolly. How cool is that?) Then he turns to you and says, “Maybe you’ll find ‘em. Eh, Hawkins? …Hawkins?” Apparently incredibly entertained that no matter how loudly you answer, he’ll never hear you, Billy bursts into laughter. It’s about at this point that we start hearing some nice instrumental background music strongly reminiscent of “Something Better.”
“Tell us another story, Mr. Bones. My favorite’s the one about the one-legged man!” Gonzo says.
“Oh… the one-legged MAN! I told ye never to mention that cursed beast. Now get back there and finish brewin’ me stew. I feel the horrors comin’ on. Be GOIN’!”
“The horrors—oh, I think I’ll be goin’ now,” Rizzo says to you, and he shudders as follows Gonzo into the kitchen. We hear Gonzo’s distant laughter as dishes clank around in the kitchen, which apparently makes Billy angry, because he stands up and storms into the kitchen.
There’s a drastic change in music as the top half of the door opens and Blind Pew walks past, waving his stick around. We can see him through the door and the window as he says, “Ah! Billy Bones, it’s ME! Blind PEW! Come to settle a SCORE!” Then he laughs as he leaves our sight, but we do hear him crash into something.
Once Pew is gone, the top half of the door magically closes again, and Billy trudges out of the kitchen and up the stairs, adjusting something in his pocket. When he’s well out of sight and the music has stopped, we hear him shout (in a manner far less dramatic and drawn-out than in the movie), “THE BLACK SPOT! NO!”
Then Stevenson appears on the railing on the second floor, and we can finally start to actually play.
Some sound effects set the mood. We can hear the fire crackling in the fireplace—a fire we can catch a tiny glimpse of behind a table if nothing else is happening on screen. Once in a while, we hear thunder outside, or multiple men laughing, or Blind Pew laughing, or some dishes being handled in the kitchen. Every thirty seconds or so, a pirate from the movie will walk past the window, each accompanied by a different piece of music with varying levels of creepiness. You may see Mad Monty, Clueless Morgan, Angel Marie, or Spotted Dick. If one of them is walking past—or, really, when anything is happening on screen during the game—your cursor disappears until it’s over, meaning you can’t do anything, which is a little annoying sometimes.
At any point in the game, if you move your cursor to the top-left corner of the screen, it will change into a musical note. (A sixteenth note, to be exact.) Click, and you will get music until the next time you click somewhere else. Here, it’s an abridged instrumental of “Shiver My Timbers,” and it also stops the pirates from wandering by every thirty seconds.
But now that we’re free to use our mouse, what do we do with it? Well, there are all sorts of things we can click. The lamest one is to click on the stack of dishes we can see in the kitchen, which briefly shifts and makes some dish-noises. Slightly less-lame is to click on the fireplace, which creates an entirely pointless but nifty-looking puff of smoke. The rest of the things you can click are much more fun.
One of my personal favorites as a kid was to click the sign above the kitchen, which reads “Benbow Inn 1875.” When you click on it, a dish comes flying across the screen with a neat whooshing noise, and as soon as it’s out of sight, you hear it crash into smithereens. Your dish may be a bowl, plate, or cup, and may fly at varying heights.
You can also click on the kitchen doorpost to hear Rizzo raiding the kitchen. His comments are on random, so they’re not always consistent. You can hear “Where’s the food? No leftovers leftover!” and then hear “Ooh, cheese! And it turned all brown and yummy!” You can also hear him worry, “Geez, the refrigerator’s almost empty” before you hear him contentedly sigh, “Mmm! So much food, so little time.”
If you click on the table closest to the kitchen, a variety of things can happen. One, a random pig can come out and snootily say, “With those tall tales of his, Billy is a bigger ham than we are! Hm!” before he trots back into the kitchen with his snout in the air. Two, a different random pig can come out and chuckle, “Huh! Buried treasure… Ah, don’t believe ol’ Billy. I’ll tell ya, the whole matter’s hogwash—uh, if you’ll pardon the expression.” He laughs before he goes back into the kitchen. (I have no idea why Hawkins—or anyone, for that matter—is allowing all these customers into the kitchen.) Three, Gonzo and Rizzo poke their heads out and stare up towards the stairs. “Looks like Mr. Bones is checked out for the evening,” Rizzo says, to which Gonzo answers, “Boy, y’know he hardly ever sleeps in his room anymore!” Rizzo chuckles as they tuck themselves back into the kitchen.
Or four, and the best if you ask me, a tourist rat couple you may recognize from the movie come out in front of the table. (Everyone else was behind it.) In the movie, they briefly danced in front of the Electric Mayhem on the Hispaniola and later commented on the show and the food during Boom Sha-ka-la-ka. Their names are apparently Donna and Randy, and they’re already decked out in Hawaiian shirts and leis as they sing, “There’s gotta be somethin’ bettah… somethin’ bettah!”
“Yeah—there’s gotta be somethin’ bettah than this place,” Randy says.
“Maybe we’ll find it on our vacation! Bristol, here we come!” Donna says excitedly. “Did you remember the traveler’s checks?”
As their back-up music suddenly turns tropical, Randy says, “Don’t leave this place, without ‘em!” They laugh as they trot off to the right.
If you click on the window that pirates keep passing, the top of the door magically opens itself and Blind Pew creeps past with his creepy music. (He really creeped me out when I was a kid, so all this creeping that’s hilarious now was really nerve-wracking back then.) He might repeat what he said earlier about settling a score, or he might call, “Billy Bones! It’s your old pal, come to see you! HA! See you! Zat’s a joke! I cannot see!” He laughs particularly hard before leaving our sight and crashing into something outside. Or he might say, “Mm… I know you’re in zere, Billy… I can smell your breath, way out here!” And then of course he laughs, and we hear him crash into something outside.
Since clicking on the window puts us right next to the door, I will mention that putting your cursor over the door makes the cursor into an arrow pointing out and makes a green EXIT sign light up above the door. Yes, you can go outside, but I’m playing this in the longest way possible to show you all the intricacies of the game, so we’ll get there later.
Another click-option is the moose head above the fireplace. Oh yes, he’s the same moose head from the movie, and he’s another one of my favorites. Now, he can be a remarkably lame click that only results in him looking around. Or he can be funny and sneeze. Or, he can pull out a lovely British accent and deliver one of the following three gems:
"Hmm, let's see... Rats... Geeks... Scurvy pirates... Yup! Just another ORDINARY night at the BENBOW Inn!"
“You know, my brother’s on the wall of the HARVARD club! Hm… Mom always said he had a head for school.”
“You’re expecting Bullwinkle?”
I have no idea who performed him for the game and gave him that lovely voice and accent, but I have missed the moose head.
And I’ve missed Stevenson even more, so let’s click on him. On most screens, he has multiple things to say. When he runs out of things to say, he gives a quick “AND I repeat” before appearing on screen to talk. My intention is to give you as much of Stevenson’s dialogue as possible, because he’s just too wonderful a character to remain unknown.
The first time we click him, he says: “Follow Billy, okay? Why? Treasure Island? Buried treasure? A treasure MAP? Get the connection? There WILL be a quiz!” And he makes a cute little parrot noise before he goes.
The second time, he says: “A better idea. You want a better idea? Well I say: Follow the pirate!” That last line is delivered in an exciting whisper and punctuated once more with a parrot noise.
That’s all he has to say here, and since we are playing in the longest way possible, we’ll listen to him. When we roll our cursor over the stairs or ceiling, it turns into an up arrow. Click, and upstairs we go.
Can you tell that this is going to be a very long series?
Muppet Fan's Muppet Collection Chronicle, Part 2
The Muppet Fan's Muppet Collection Chronicle
Part 2: The Collection of Daniel Moss
Today we showcase the impressive collection of Muppet fan Daneil Moss. Daniel's collection consists mainly of Fozzie Bear memorabilia, making for a unique and extremely cool spin on the traditional idea of collecting everything Muppet-related. Take a look at Daniel's impressive Fozzie collection!
Thanks a bunch to Daniel for sharing his awesome Fozzie collection with us! I hope your wife or girlfriend doesn't find it unbearable! Ahhh! Wocka! Wocka!
Anyway... if you would like to submit pictures of your own Muppet collection for posting on The Muppet Mindset, send an email to Ryan Dosier at ryguy102390@gmail.com and we'd be happy to work something out with you!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier
Moments
If you have never heard the Radiolab podcast, you are very, very lucky. Lucky because you are a Radiolab virgin and have hours and hours of old episodes to look forward to, all fresh and funny and interesting and inspiring. I have gone through all of the archived episodes and now have to wait like the rest of the world for new ones, which don't come out nearly as quickly as I and the rest of the world would like.
One of my favorite Radiolab episodes, "Afterlife," was originally posted last September, and after the episode aired, the hosts continued with a series of short follow up podcasts, all about death and dying and what happens after. The final follow up short was the video, "Moments," by Will Hoffman. But it isn't about death at all. It's about life and the small moments that make it beautiful. You will love it.
One of my favorite Radiolab episodes, "Afterlife," was originally posted last September, and after the episode aired, the hosts continued with a series of short follow up podcasts, all about death and dying and what happens after. The final follow up short was the video, "Moments," by Will Hoffman. But it isn't about death at all. It's about life and the small moments that make it beautiful. You will love it.
Thursday, July 4th Cook Out, and Esty
I am not a giant fan of the 4th of July holiday hoopla- the parades are always too crowded, hot, and sticky and the fireworks, though festive, have awakened one too many babies in my care for me to truly enjoy them. I do, however, LOVE cookouts....the food, drink, and feeling of a backyard party are just the best, so for this Thursday and Etsy entry I am throwing a July 4th barbecue!
Some invitations to the folks who will come in the afternoon and stay until the sky lights up:
Having chairs with comfortable pillows not only on the deck, but in the yard too, is so welcoming:
Adirondack Chair courtesy of gardenfurnituremill
Some mason jar lanterns in the trees will keep the backyard from getting too dark, with a votive lending the perfect amount of night light:
The tables will be covered in colorful stripes and later illuminated with candles in tiny glass holders:
In addition to all the hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and watermelon the crowd can handle...some cupcakes dressed for the occasion:
And because it will undoubtedly be quite hot - a whole slew of these vintage pitchers filled with lemonade - classic and the pink variety:
A few of these tubs will be scattered about as well, filled with ice and drinks for the guests:
As I have said before, I can get caught up in dressing the little ones for celebrations- charming cook out ensembles:
To keep the kids occupied while they wait anxiously for the fireworks, a backyard scavenger hunt and some sparklers!
Maybe this is the year I become a bona fide fan of the 4th- who knows, next year it could be sticky parades and crowded fireworks displays all the way!
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