Monday, July 25, 2011

Muppet Love

Over the past few weeks there have been numerous articles online about The Muppets and their creator, Jim Henson. As a huge Muppets and Henson fan, this makes me super excited, with each article or blog post reminding me why I have so much love for Henson and his merry, furry band of puppets. One thing in particular that I have enjoyed is all the photos of Henson at work. Here are a few of my favorites.

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Fraggle Rock is one of my all-time favorites shows. I was so in love with the Fraggles, I wanted to be one. Red, to be exact. Oh, how I longed for a Fraggle tail and Fraggle pigtails, and Fraggle pebbles and Fraggle everything, basically. So naturally I love this photo of Henson with The Fraggles. Let the music play...


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One thing that I love about The Muppets is how real they are, and not just because they reside in the physical realm, unlike say, a CGI Nemo or Buzz Lightyear. Their lively personalities make it to forget they are essentially felt puppets, and this is a testament to the talent of the puppeteers and artists behind them. What I love about this picture is that Bert and Ernie feel separate from their puppeteers and yet still extensions of them. And I forgot how physical puppeteering could be! Frank Oz, Jim, and the other puppeteer are all arms and squished together, so much so that the third guy is (hilariously) right in Henson's armpit. That's dedication.

Photo credit

There's something about this photo that feels very intimate, as if the viewer is sneaking a peak at a quiet moment between Bert and Jim. What is Bert telling Jim that has his undivided attention? Could it be about the elegance of the pigeon? But just as you're contemplating the conversation, you remember Bert is a Muppet, and the image becomes an intimate glimpse of the artist engrossed with his work. And I just love the composition of this photo: the black and white, the full profile view of Henson with his legs pulled up and Bert on his arm, how the lighting creates an outline or a merge suggestion of Bert and Henson, the framing from the window behind them. Really beautiful.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Portrait of the Doctor as a Young Crustacean


I saw this make your own pom-pom conch kit at A.C. Moore and decided to buy it because it was fun, random, and cost a dollar. But I mostly bought it because the mouth tentacles reminded me of Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama.

I'll take eight! Woop, woop, woop, woop!

Dig the striped pipe cleaner shell.


I figure I can get some more pom-poms, pipe cleaners, googley eyes, and some felt and make a whole set of Futurama like characters. Maybe throw them on the tree for Christmas or something. Festive!


Saturday, July 9, 2011

The Boy Who Almost Was



So much love for Neville Longbottom.

Friday, July 8, 2011

This Week in Happy News: Attack of the Baby Sloths



It's basically the most adorable attack ever. You should probably put some Slow Loris saliva on those sloth wounds to combat the cuteness. Even things out a bit.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Tyra-saurus Rex: RAWR is dinosaur for...


Little known fact: Tyrannosaurus Rex actually means "diva lizard queen" and not "tyrant lizard king" as previously thought. True story.