View the nominees today; vote for your favorite starting tomorrow.
(I’m hoping for a second category of musical numbers.)
steve whitmire
Weldon ne parle pas français (Cave-In Episode 12)
You know what? Let’s skip ahead to the musical insert:
So, Weldon’s fingers can suddenly move on the neck of his guitar, and I didn’t notice it at first because I expect people’s fingers to move when they play the guitar. Then I remembered that Weldon is a puppet and usually his fingers don’t move, and then I got freaked out. It was exactly the feeling I had the first time I noticed Lips’ fingers moving on the valves of his trumpet.
FAQ About the Disney/Whitmire Schism
Well, folks … here we go again.
I don’t think Disney purposely timed its promotion of the new streaming Muppet series on Disney+ to coincide with the anniversary of the kerfuffle over the Schism three years ago. Nevertheless, a lot of casual fans are somehow still confused over the recast, and so the story is getting rehashed again in the press, sometimes fairly accurately and other times considerably less so.
Cave-In Episode 11: Pasture-ized
I just realized that I haven’t posted anything here since the last Cave-In, at least not on the main page. Where did this month go? Straight to hell, if there’s any justice. Although one could say that this month WAS hell, and that’s a valid argument, too. It’s just a good thing that Weldon taught us all coping strategies last month, because boy, do we need them.
Fortunately, this was a really fun episode that provided a welcome respite. The premise sounds vaguely familiar to us Muppet Pundit veterans. Coincidence? I think not. (I don’t KNOW, but I THINK not.)
Cave-In Episode 10: Coping Strategies
Generally speaking, I think Cave-In keeps getting more fun all the time. This one struck me as particularly playful. As a complete sucker for literary references, I really liked the joke about “Ozymandias.”
An Improbable 30 Years
I don’t particularly know why the anniversaries that end in 0 and 5 take on extra significance. I know that I like them because I’m bad at math and they make calculations a little easier for me. But Jim Henson’s death coincided with a moment when I was starting to make the gradual transition from childhood to adulthood, and this anniversary comes at a moment that I’m about to enter a new decade and a new phase in my adult life, so that gives it personal significance for me.
Cave-In Episode 9: The Mouse Is Out of the Bag
Now I can tell you what Steve told me back in November about these mid-episode pieces without spoiling anything. He told me that Weldon was going to do a “Mickey Mouse Club” parody recruiting members for the Troll Mob, and then Bret Iwan was going to come in and talk to him.
I told you last week that I didn’t know exactly what to expect, and that’s true, because, as I recall, Steve didn’t go into much more detail than that. (I sort of had the mistaken idea that Bret was going to talk to Weldon as Mickey; not sure how that happened.) So I didn’t know what to expect, and I was not prepared.
We All Win With Cave-In
Weldon’s guest on Friday’s Cave-In is Bret Iwan. For those of you who do not recognize the name (and who, like me, didn’t see the subtle emblem in the background until JUST NOW), Bret Iwan is the current voice of Mickey Mouse.
So this oughtta be good.
GalaxyCon Goes Virtual
He posted this yesterday, so I guess tomorrow is now tonight. I’m not on Facebook so I can’t participate, but could someone do me a favor? If there’s video of it that endures after the event concludes, can you send me a link so I can see it and share it? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!
Cave-In Episode 8
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.
Weldon’s Instructions for Surviving a Pandemic
New Cave-In on March 27th at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
By the way, I kind of make a “cameo” in this video at 51 seconds. Not me myself, but my avatar.
The Final Pieces to the Puzzle: Steve Whitmire’s OCon Q&A
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.
Get Sticky With It!
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!
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!
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.
I Got a Henson Funko Pop for Christmas
I only have one friend who ever gives me Muppet-related presents: my best friend Julie (the newlywed), who gave me my Wembley Funko Pop for my birthday last year (by which I mean 2018 because I still haven’t made the mental adjustment). For Christmas 2019, she gave me the Jim Henson Funko Pop holding Kermit.
Frog of La Mancha 