Cave-In Episode 8

Mary A. Cave-In Tags: , , 2 Comments

I’m sure you’re already aware of it, but Episode 8 of Cave-In went up on Sunday. I wondered what it would be like since there’s so much legitimate misery in the world at the moment. I should have had more faith, however. Weldon (and therefore Steve) kept it light and fun, and I found it to be one of the best episodes so far (not THE best; that’s still Episode 5, in my opinion), except that I’m not thrilled with my part in it. 

I had a lot of things that I felt I could talk about, some that were COVID-related and some not, so I thought I would wait to decide to see whatever other people were talking about first, and if they were all talking about the pandemic, I would try to talk about something else. 

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Your Favorite Jim Henson Moments?

Mary A. Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

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I had so much fun doing 60 for 60 last year for Steve’s birthday that I’ve been toying with the idea of doing something similar in honor of Jim Henson—who was, after all, the founder of the feast. The year 2020 not only marks the 30th anniversary of Jim Henson’s death (as unbelievable as that seems), but it also would have been his 84th birthday. Now, 84 is not a milestone the way we usually think of it, but it is divisible by 12. So in theory, I could do what I did for 60 in 60, only with seven pieces a month instead of five. 

Nevertheless, it’s a daunting prospect. Jim was so prolific that even with an extra two pieces a month, it would be difficult to cover everything. I could make an entire year-long tribute out of Sesame Street clips alone. Also, so much of his career happened before I was born, and there’s a lot of material that I have never even seen. 

I haven’t decided yet if this is an idea I will follow through on, but it got me wondering: What are your favorite Jim Henson moments, friends? What are the songs and skits that make you laugh or cry? What would you cite to represent the best of him and his work? Why do you gravitate toward the productions that you do? What about a specific work resonates with you?

Share your ideas in the comments, and please feel free to include video clips as well!

The Final Pieces to the Puzzle: Steve Whitmire’s OCon Q&A

Mary A. Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

I originally drafted this back in August but held off posting it in hopes that the OCon organizers would post video of the Q&A. They have yet to do so, but I revisited this entry and discovered that it is as complete as it can be under the circumstances, so I’m posting it now. 

When I first met Steve on that Sunday morning in Omaha Council Bluffs, one of the first things we talked about was the Q&A that he was scheduled to do at noon that day. I told him that I intended to take notes at the Q&A so I could write about it on my blog later. I also pointed out that I’d never really done anything like that before, so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.

If I’d been more savvy and better organized, I would have tried to record it rather than taking notes. That way, even if I wasn’t able to post the video online, I would still have it as a reference and memory aid to help me write it.

Nevertheless, my notes of the Q&A probably would have been sufficient if I hadn’t spent the day at Steve’s booth and then devoted most of my mental energy towards remembering everything else that happened there. I should have reviewed my notes a few times in the immediate aftermath to encode those memories properly. Alas, I did not.

All of which is just to say that even with the benefit of notes, my memory of the Q&A is woefully incomplete. There are multiple phrases included in them that I have no idea what they mean. So unfortunately, (and ironically) my account of the Q&A is going to be less detailed than those of the rest of my day. I apologize. I’ll know better next time.

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Get Sticky With It!

Mary A. Cave-In Tags: , 5 Comments

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Weldon here…Be there, and BE STICKY…

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I did some research, and apparently the terms “sticky bun,” “cinnamon roll,” and “caramel roll” are all interchangeable. But to me, (and this may not be a South Dakota thing but a uniquely Mary-thing), a pastry doesn’t qualify as a sticky bun unless it is dripping in gooey caramel.

Friday’s Cave-In Looks To Be a Real SMASH!

Mary A. Cave-In Tags: , 6 Comments

Steve’s website is apparently down, and has been for the better part of a month, so it’s unclear where Weldon will live-stream (apart from YouTube, I guess?) but January’s Cave-In is set to go on as scheduled with special guest Lou Ferrigno!

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Hard to mind being hacked when the Hulk is involved…

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Okay, so here’s the thing: I’ve had a migraine for two days, so I’m playing catch-up with work. Therefore, I don’t have time now to tell you why I think this is so great (besides the obvious). When I have time, I’ll come back later and tell you why the Hulk is special to me, but I just wanted to be sure to let you know that, one way or another, the show is going on. 

Australian Bush Fire Relief

Mary A. Uncategorized Tags: , , , 5 Comments

“In times of great peril and shared suffering, all of us should set aside our differences and reach out to one another in a spirit of love and understanding.”
                   –-Sprocket (Steve Whitmire) as interpreted by Doc (Gerry Parkes), Fraggle Rock, “Marooned” (written by David Young)

It may not be a shocking revelation to say that I have issues with the most popular Muppet fan sites. They also seem to have issues with me, and it’s a whole thing, and I don’t want to get into it right now. 

But the reason I bring it up at all is because I also believe very strongly that good deeds deserve recognition. At the moment, the two most prominent fan sites, Tough Pigs and The Muppet Mindset, are engaged in a fundraising campaign to support relief efforts in response to the devastating bush fires in Australia which, as I’m sure you already know, have killed so many animals, displaced so many people, and laid thousands of acres to waste. The fundraising effort is a worthwhile cause, and I am happy to support them in their noble endeavor. 

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CF3 Podcast on YouTube

Mary A. Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

Hi, all! Happy New Year. Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet lately. Life is crazy. I’ve got a lot to say, and a lot of it is kind of cranky, and I don’t know when I will have time to get it all out of my system.

But in the meantime, I wanted to start off with something positive, and I’ve got something cool to show you. Remember last year when I went to OCon and I met Steve in the midst of his CF3 Podcast interview, and they recorded part of it? Well, they put that episode up on YouTube:

And because it is on YouTube, I can link specifically to certain parts of it, so here’s the start of Steve’s interview, and then about 30-35 seconds after that you can hear me getting all nervous and giggly. And then here’s the part where they ask him specifically about The Dark Crystal.

I want to say a thank you to Ethan, aka Captain Vegetable, who got in contact with me to tell me that this was on YouTube. I actually knew it already because I follow CF3 on Twitter, but I’m always, ALWAYS grateful for tips, so thank you so much for that.

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Remembering Caroll Spinney

Mary A. Uncategorized Tags: , , 2 Comments

Today would have been Caroll Spinney’s 86th birthday. I knew that I didn’t want to let the occasion pass without comment, but at the same time, I didn’t know what I could say that hadn’t already been said. Then I ran across a tribute that I hadn’t seen yet from Good Morning America: 

Here’s what makes it most noteworthy for me: On the occasion of Mr. Spinney’s retirement, I wrote about how when I was little, I couldn’t figure out Oscar’s raison d’etre. In this video, there is footage of Mr. Spinney himself expressing similar confusion, and it’s nice to know that I wasn’t the only one. 

I know that I need hardly ask, but I hope you will all join me in holding the Spinney family in your hearts during this time that should have been joyous but is instead steeped in tragedy.

Muppet Masters Q&A

Mary A. Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

Boy, did I discover an unexpected Christmas gift today! I was on YouTube, and one of the videos recommended to me was a Q&A from GalaxyCon Louisville back in November featuring Steve Whitmire and Kirk Thatcher:

It’s so great and entertaining and informative just in general, but here is what I particularly like about it: 

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Muppet Christmas Double Feature

Mary A. Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Merry Christmas, all! By the time I post this, it will technically be Christmas Day, but in my mind, at least, it is still Christmas Eve. This evening I watched Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and “The Bells of Fraggle Rock” back to back. I decided to do that merely because I hadn’t watched either of them yet this season, but in the process I found that they are more closely related thematically than I ever realized, and probably more so than anyone involved intended. 

I have some deep thoughts about that, and I’d like to share them, but it’s really late right now (or early, depending on your point of view), and I am tired. So I’d just like to observe that if Cantus had been on Sesame Street while Big Bird was having his crisis of faith, he probably could have explained to Big Bird how Santa gets down the chimneys. 

However, knowing Cantus, he probably would have done so in an oblique, metaphorical way that would probably just have confused and frustrated Big Bird, so he probably would have ended up on the roof anyway. 

Nevertheless, that’s a scene that I wish existed, because I would love to see it. 

Time Zones

Mary A. Cave-In Tags: , 1 Comment

Okay, so you want to know how much of a nerd I am? I was so fixated on the fact that the Mountain Time Zone shading in South Dakota doesn’t extend far enough east that at first I didn’t even notice that some of the states are labeled with the entirely wrong name, including some that don’t actually exist. 

Oh, that Weldon! Wreaking mayhem by making up fake state names!🤣