Normally I miss this day. It slips past me and I recall it after the fact and I'm okay. This week I was reminded it was approaching so today I'm stuck with the awareness of what happened nineteen years ago today.
Jim Henson died.
Man, even all this time later, just typing the words together makes my eyes water. That happens to me a lot with Jim, sometimes out of happiness, sometimes sadness. As silly as it may sound, pieces of felt and ping-pong ball eyes have a way of stirring my emotions. The Muppets are the first things I remember being a fan of as a kid, growing up at the right time to have both Sesame Street and The Muppet Show on at the same time. I joined the fan club. They've always been around.
When Jim died, they didn't seem to be around as much. I still had magazines I'd collected and my viewmasters, but the show wasn't on as much. They weren't on tape either. Not much anyway. I gathered what little I could and continued to be amused by it.
The past few years have been a happy revivification of the gang. There were the waves of toys; the toys I'd wanted as a youth that I was thrilled to see as an older youth. DVDs of the show have slowly been released. The Muppets have started to appear in new productions, ones that seem closer to the spirit of the older productions. There's a comic book now that's funny. I got to see Muppetvision 4D at Walt Disney World, one of the last projects Jim worked on.
It would still be better if Jim were still here.
"Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody. It's a good life, enjoy it" - Jim Henson
16 May 2009
15 May 2009
Cleaning Again
I've had a lot of time to work in the archive during this period where I don't have an assigned task to keep me occupied. I'd put it on hold for awhile for a couple reasons. One reason was that pausing allowed me to step back and reassess the situation, replan, rearrange. The other big reason was that it was easy to work on that and for me to neglect everything else I needed to get done. Like write or look for employment, stuff like that.
I did have something occur to me the other day, something that actually triggered the restart of the cleaning process: I've got fragments of old projects still littering the place. There are some cases and boxes that have been sitting in their current locations for months, sometimes years, that were meant to be there temporarily, until I could wrap up the project. They've sat long enough that they became part of the furniture. I clean around them like they're supposed to be where they are.
On the plus side to all this, the place is starting to get more organized and I'm starting to get some space back. You know what that means as much as I do: I'll end up filling it with something.
I did have something occur to me the other day, something that actually triggered the restart of the cleaning process: I've got fragments of old projects still littering the place. There are some cases and boxes that have been sitting in their current locations for months, sometimes years, that were meant to be there temporarily, until I could wrap up the project. They've sat long enough that they became part of the furniture. I clean around them like they're supposed to be where they are.
On the plus side to all this, the place is starting to get more organized and I'm starting to get some space back. You know what that means as much as I do: I'll end up filling it with something.
14 May 2009
Waste is Bad
The other week at the Comic Book Store we were having a conversation about walking out of movies. We all agreed that it was a rare occurrence and everyone recounted a film that was bad enough to leave. Well, almost everyone. I couldn't think of a movie I'd ever walked out on. I'd feel like it was a waste of money to walk out on something I paid for and I'm not so forceful that I'd demand my money back.
I'm not big on waste. I'm uncomfortable wasting food as I believe that, if I asked for it, I should eat it. I don't like pouring our drinks for the same reason. As a pack rat, er, collector, I'm not good at throwing things out that might be of future use. It's probably why I like to recycle; it's throwing things away and not wasting them at the same time.
Of course, eating things I don't like and watching movies I don't like does lead to the one thing I'm good at wasting: time. I keep thinking that I'll get better at scheduling myself but I rarely become that effective. An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force. Nothing much is forcing me at the moment.
Maybe I'll figure it out next week.
I'm not big on waste. I'm uncomfortable wasting food as I believe that, if I asked for it, I should eat it. I don't like pouring our drinks for the same reason. As a pack rat, er, collector, I'm not good at throwing things out that might be of future use. It's probably why I like to recycle; it's throwing things away and not wasting them at the same time.
Of course, eating things I don't like and watching movies I don't like does lead to the one thing I'm good at wasting: time. I keep thinking that I'll get better at scheduling myself but I rarely become that effective. An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force. Nothing much is forcing me at the moment.
Maybe I'll figure it out next week.
12 May 2009
Star Trek
I didn't get to see any 'Star Trek' until I was in middle school. It was one of those shows I read about as a kid but was only on at two in the morning and I wasn't allowed to stay up that late. In my pre-VCR days, that mean I didn't see it. Sometime in middle school, one of the local channels started running it during more normal hours and I liked it. I was in.
At the time, there was no need to identify the series as anything but 'Star Trek' as there was only the one series. This was 1985-1986. I saw the original series, watched 'The Voyage Home' in the theatre, and started buying books.
The interest faded soon into 'The Next Generation'. Things felt repetitive and plastic. The passion in the show was gone. Even when people were mad at each other and yelling, it felt muted. It might have been a stylistic choice but it didn't work for me. By in large, I stopped watching the different series as they came about, only really enjoying a fan fiction series my buddies wrote.
I think a lot of this displeasure on my part was due to the honcho at the time. Much like the Michael Eisner years turned me away from Disney, Rick Berman helped turn me away from Star Trek. Berman didn't interview well. I was getting Starlog on occasion at the time and an interview with Rick Berman turned me into a hater of his style. There may have been pressures on him that I don't understand but Berman became synonymous with running the franchise into the ground to me.
Today I saw the new 'Star Trek' film. I wanted to enjoy it. Luckily I did.
It felt like a movie, not an extended tv episode.
The characters felt true to themselves, with the new actors reflecting the originals without mocking them. Quinto plays Spock and does the thoughtful eyes like Nimoy used to on the show. Loved it.
The ship's design, inside and out, looks like an updated version of the original. It's retro and not at the same time.
Most importantly, the passion is there. The characters live. They struggle. Space feels new, fresh, dangerous. It doesn't feel like things are handed to them. Survival doesn't feel guaranteed.
There's the annoying shaky cam at use, especially in the fight scenes, but that's really the only thing I can say against the movie. 'Star Trek' feels fresh again. Hopefully it'll stay that way for awhile.
At the time, there was no need to identify the series as anything but 'Star Trek' as there was only the one series. This was 1985-1986. I saw the original series, watched 'The Voyage Home' in the theatre, and started buying books.
The interest faded soon into 'The Next Generation'. Things felt repetitive and plastic. The passion in the show was gone. Even when people were mad at each other and yelling, it felt muted. It might have been a stylistic choice but it didn't work for me. By in large, I stopped watching the different series as they came about, only really enjoying a fan fiction series my buddies wrote.
I think a lot of this displeasure on my part was due to the honcho at the time. Much like the Michael Eisner years turned me away from Disney, Rick Berman helped turn me away from Star Trek. Berman didn't interview well. I was getting Starlog on occasion at the time and an interview with Rick Berman turned me into a hater of his style. There may have been pressures on him that I don't understand but Berman became synonymous with running the franchise into the ground to me.
Today I saw the new 'Star Trek' film. I wanted to enjoy it. Luckily I did.
It felt like a movie, not an extended tv episode.
The characters felt true to themselves, with the new actors reflecting the originals without mocking them. Quinto plays Spock and does the thoughtful eyes like Nimoy used to on the show. Loved it.
The ship's design, inside and out, looks like an updated version of the original. It's retro and not at the same time.
Most importantly, the passion is there. The characters live. They struggle. Space feels new, fresh, dangerous. It doesn't feel like things are handed to them. Survival doesn't feel guaranteed.
There's the annoying shaky cam at use, especially in the fight scenes, but that's really the only thing I can say against the movie. 'Star Trek' feels fresh again. Hopefully it'll stay that way for awhile.
11 May 2009
Things I'm enjoying from Saturday's episode of ROH Wrestling
- Earlier shows had a very distinct format, presumably to let new viewers focus on the wrestlers. Each match was about the same length. The interviews were all backstage. Two months into the show, the programme starts with an interview in the ring, there's a squash match, another interview in the ring, a flashback to before the episode, and a possibly 30 minute main event. Way to mix it up!
- Commentary reference to Gordon Solie, the dean of wrestling announcers, not only using his 'game of human chess' line but attributing it to him.
- Ric wooooooo! Flair!
- Commentary reference to 'greco-roman knuckle lock'.
- Number one contenders match with the champ watching from the production booth.
- Bryan Danielson's submission holds. Ouch!
- Dives into the crowd ala old ECW.
- A match ending I haven't seen in ages. Wow! Excellent main event.
- Storylines starting to form.
This isn't perfect but it's good and getting even better.
- Commentary reference to Gordon Solie, the dean of wrestling announcers, not only using his 'game of human chess' line but attributing it to him.
- Ric wooooooo! Flair!
- Commentary reference to 'greco-roman knuckle lock'.
- Number one contenders match with the champ watching from the production booth.
- Bryan Danielson's submission holds. Ouch!
- Dives into the crowd ala old ECW.
- A match ending I haven't seen in ages. Wow! Excellent main event.
- Storylines starting to form.
This isn't perfect but it's good and getting even better.
So what if this is late?
Last night I dreamt I was back on the 'Pirates of the Carribean' ride with my friends. We splashed down in the area with the ship fighting the fortress, except there was a change. Past the ship, face buried in the corner, was a T-Rex.
I laughed. It finally was Captain Dinosaur's Pirate Ripoff, or whatever it had been named in Krustyland. I wondered why it was facing the corner with its tail to us. Things moved on.
All I remember from the dream is that scene with the ship and the dinosaur. The reasons for dreaming about Pirates was easy enough as I'd been listening to a ridethough on my way home from the Compound. The T-Rex, especially its positioning, had me flummoxed for a moment. I flashed back to Wednesday at the Museum and all became clear. I'd been standing behind the T-Rex. What I'd seen Wednesday was how it appeared in the dream.
I mixed the Milwaukee Public Museum and Walt Disney World together in a dream. I suppose that shows where I'm happy or something. It still sounds weird but if I could visit both in one day, well, I'd think that was a fine day.
I laughed. It finally was Captain Dinosaur's Pirate Ripoff, or whatever it had been named in Krustyland. I wondered why it was facing the corner with its tail to us. Things moved on.
All I remember from the dream is that scene with the ship and the dinosaur. The reasons for dreaming about Pirates was easy enough as I'd been listening to a ridethough on my way home from the Compound. The T-Rex, especially its positioning, had me flummoxed for a moment. I flashed back to Wednesday at the Museum and all became clear. I'd been standing behind the T-Rex. What I'd seen Wednesday was how it appeared in the dream.
I mixed the Milwaukee Public Museum and Walt Disney World together in a dream. I suppose that shows where I'm happy or something. It still sounds weird but if I could visit both in one day, well, I'd think that was a fine day.
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