Miss Manners the Gray

In a lesson with Ian McKellan, Sesame Street demonstrates the importance of being polite. And again, Sesame Street wins Vine:

OMuppetFG: Sequel!

There is a trailer out for the new Muppet movie, with rich, Tina Fey goodness!

a nearly perfect thing

Via fellow Muppet-enthusiast Kevin, there is THIS. Oh Dear God In Heaven.

Sesame Street made a muppet version of Les Misérables. With Cookie Monster. So much awesome.

"Les Mousserables: The Story of Jean bonBon, a French guy who was very sad... because he had no cookies."

Oh Flantine!

happy say

This has done wonders for my sad moodiness today. Sesame Street has won Vine.


"Yeah... I don't really say that."

Genius.

And more genius:





For reference:

Deus Duet

My two favorite people in the world, together.

Steve Martin and Kermit the Frog playing Dueling Banjos.

Steve Martin and Kermit the Frog in "Dueling Banjos" from Steve Martin

I'd like to go to Morrow

I curled up at the end of the long day today with take-out and season one of The Muppet Show. This is my new old favorite thing. I can't stop playing this.

when Muppets go bad

Alert Reader KK is hoping someone makes this movie.



I'm with him.

Big Bird was made from love

I had no idea that Big Bird is the (brain)child of two loving gay dads, married in every conceivable way except for a certificate from the state.

Big Bird’s Big Gay Love Story: From Birth to the 2012 Presidential Race

Via JoeMyGod.

maybe, maybe not

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I have been enjoying the Call Me Maybe lip dubs and covers.  Some of the mashups with Payphone are quite beautiful.

But, as usual, the muppets are batting cleanup.

First: the original video.  And gotta love the gay twist.



Second:  A compilation of about 75 lip dups and such.  Much fun.



Third: Carly Rae Jepsen singing Call Me Maybe with Jimmy Fallon and his band playing on toy instruments. You really should watch this charming bit to get some of the final references.



And finally: Cookie Monster sees that you have cookies, so share them maybe.  Extra love for "get the skim milk."

Statler and Waldorf and the rest of the gang

Regular readers and Friends of the Blog are aware that Kevin and I are "theater people," and also muppet enthusiasts, and when a show runs foul, we run Statler and Waldorf. We can bring our own good time. The recent run of The Henson Alternative's Stuffed and Unstrung show was our Nirvana. It's adult-themed muppet improv. (Except they can't say "muppet" for trademark reasons. Still, it's all Henson. A puppet by any other name is just a sock on a fist.) My face was sore for hours afterward from laughing too hard. And in our own muppet personalities, Kevin and I wanted to be a part of it in the worst way. And considering one of our recent ACT events, we are thinking of writing ourselves into a show just so we can make commentary from the balcony and see if anyone gets it. Not that we would care overmuch if they didn't. We're playing to those that do. And of course ourselves.

I've already got our poster one-sheet copy: We cross your lines.

Gratuitous fun:


But all of this muppet thinking led us to a sort of meta discussion of the upcoming Muppet Movie revival. In my readings, I came across this interesting treatise, which had a central point I was ultimately pained to agree with. When Jim Henson died, so should have Kermit. Someone else, meaning a character, could have taken over managing the cast. From now on, whosever hand is up Kermit's backside is no longer creating a performance, he's doing an impression. Not only can the character never grow again, but it's not fooling any of us. The popular educational children's show Blue's Clues carried off a successful transition of hosts by gradually writing the first one off to college and introducing the new host, which was accepted as natural by the audience. I could have accepted a similar plan for Jim Henson's creations. Some articles have left me to wonder if the decision to replace Kermit with a new puppeteer wasn't purely for commercial licensing reasons.

When Jim Henson passed, Kermit died too. But his body continues to be propped up and trotted out for our entertainment. They are trying to fool us. As such, I think it's pretty clever that Elizabeth Steven's titled her essay on the topic: Weekend At Kermie's: The Muppets' Strange Life After Death.

Excerpt:

Let me preface my next statement by saying that I know it will seem ridiculous to the casual reader, inflammatory to a good many fans, and downright specious to the expert of rhetoric, but for me watching Steve Whitmire’s Kermit is akin to watching someone imitate a mythic and longed-for mother—my mother—wearing a my-mother costume in a my-mother dance routine. This person’s heart is in the right place, which only makes it worse. “You should be happy,” the person pleads with me, “Look, Biddy! Your mother is not gone! She is still here.” Now, no one would ever do that. No one in her right mind would think it would work. A child knows his mother’s voice like he knows whether it's water or air he's breathing. One chokes you and one gives you life. Strangely, I feel the same about Kermit. Whitmire is an amazing performer—especially as the lovable dog Sprocket on “Fraggle Rock”—but, when he's on screen as Kermit, I can feel my body reject it on a cellular level.

In the 2000s, the Muppets turned up a lot on TV; they do game shows, reality, infotainment, late night, usually promoting a DVD release or movie with a few gags. In 2007, Kermit showed up on “America’s Got Talent,” sharing a cheesy duet of James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend” with a contestant. What was strange about this cameo (besides that it wasn't at all funny) is that Disney didn’t use Whitmire for it. The frog was puppeteered by another guy than the other guy. Kermit had been Weekend-at-Bernie-ed. And as I watched, I wondered, on behalf of all Muppet fans, how did we get here?

Just some thoughts that have been rumbling around my head and lingering on a sticky note as a reminder to add to the blog.

Regardless, LOVE my muppets. And I am excited for the new movie. Statler and Waldorf may even go in costume.

muppets make me Gleeful

And this is kind of awesome. Sesame Street spoofed Glee recently, complete with Rachel's annoying superiority and hair flips, and Sue Sylvester's mocking Mr. Schue's copious use of hair gel. The sketch is to educate kids on the two sounds G makes: soft g and hard G. I clearly remember the Sesame Street scene I watched as a toddler explaining the two Gs: it was a song between G, Grover, and G, George.

dose of awesome

And suddenly, my day is awesome:

Muppet goodness

This was making the rounds last week and I resisted reposting, until I realized that I am at heart a Hensonite whose love for muppets is almost religious. As such, how can I not celebrate this particular rhapsody?

for the love of Muppet surrealism

From Alert Reader and Funny Guy Scott Grissom (of my past life) comes a link to this: a compilation of The Muppet Show's 10 Weirdest Moments. And that's saying a lot. Even better than the WTF Muppet clips are Jon Gutierrez's summaries. This is Muppet gold.

How the hell did The Muppet Show ever get on the air? Imagine it from a TV executive's point of view: a weekly variety show, in an old vaudeville theater, featuring puppets, and a mix of A, B and C-list celebrities that catered to both kids and adults. That's not a pitch... it's a just list of random words that don't go together.

Of course, I was always a fan of the one-liner dancing scenes and the musical numbers, from the originally surreal Sax and Violence,



to the more contemporary but entertaining Ode to Joy:

Muppet Night!

Wakka wakka wakka that was FUN!

Shilpa and I planned a surprise Muppet night for Kevin, with dinner and a viewing of The Great Muppet Caper. Shilpa had never seen it, and Kevin and I hadn't seen it since it came out. Freaking funny on soooo many levels. (I never noticed the cameos—and Diana Rigg in a starring role.)

We kept it a surprise for Kev, and even so, he showed up with a complete fancy-cocktail bar (he's a professional mixologist now, complete with imported violet liqueur) and Muppet t-shirt (the one I gave him a while back). Destiny!

What inspired this:



We followed the movie with some Muppet Show clips. The DVDs feature a pop-up trivia feature which is not to be missed.

As Sandy Duncan sang in the first season:
What's a nice girl like me doing in a place that never closes?
...Now would you tell me what a nice girl like me doing by the dance floor after hours? Pouring over rows of whiskey sours?

Imagine her in the Castro for two-for-ones...

Also brought to you by the letters L, G, B, T and Q

From Newsweek: Sesame Street, The Show That Counts. (How Sesame Street Changed the World)

Sadly, it's not counting too high in the ratings or funding these days.

But Lord don't we all have warm fuzzy monster memories!


And did you know the 12 pinball counting voices were the Pointer Sisters? Awesome.



And check out the discography on the Muppet Wikia. You've gotta love titles like "Grover Sings the Blues" and "Sesame Street Fever"!

Oh yeah, how much to you love that the Daily Show's footage of RNC Chairman Michael Steele is always the muppet customer complaining to waiter Grover. There's a whole Daily Show section on the Muppet Wiki.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Daily/Colbert - The Muppet Show
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Kermit the Frog
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

And OMG! How could I forget Gitmo!

The Great Muppet Caper, starring George Clooney

From Alert Reader Shilpa Patel, lots and lots of awesome:

Henson's 11


Just brilliant!

Via iFilm: "Kat Reilly created Henson’s 11, a mash-up of Ocean’s Eleven and The Muppets films for a non-linear editing class. Sadly, I’d pay to see this movie."

sometimes you need a good cry

I defy you to watch this and not at least get a little misty.

Via BoingBoing, a video of Big Bird singing at Jim Henson's funeral.

Beaker!

I love Beaker. I have always loved Beaker. My first Halloween in San Francisco was also my first proper date with the guy who would become my first boyfriend. I went as Kenny (known only to the underground then). He went as Beaker.

And it's bits like this that make me flove YouTube and the Internet.

It makes me so....joyful.



Love to Doug.

(Love I couldn't give you then, I send you now.)

bedtime for Gonzo

How did we miss this?

Gonzo Unleashed: Muppet star tells all

There is a specal Muppet history/exhibit/presenations/events at the Yearba Buena this week. It's almost over and we've already missed the good bits. Although considering my schedule last week, i wouldn't have been able to go anyway.

Sigh. So much happens in SF on a daily basis it's hard to keep up.


Muppets, Music & Magic
Jun 21–24, Jun 28, Jun 30 & Jul 1
$8 regular, $6 seniors, students, youth & teachers
$6 YBCA Members

We pay tribute to one of the world’s most inspired and innovative film and puppetry artists, Jim Henson. A visionary TV producer and a worldclass puppeteer who created indelible characters like Kermit the Frog, Henson brought a unique combination of childlike wonder and adult sophistication to his groundbreaking work for children and adults alike. The daytime screenings feature films for younger audiences, while evening programs focus on Henson’s experimental work, rarities, and films for older kids and all the adults who never grew up. This two-weekend series will explore all facets of this true American genius.

(I am disturbed that the puppeteer of Gonzo looks so much like Donald Rumsfeld.)