Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Muppet Freak on Hiatus [From the Archives: 6-18-09]

[Usually when i repost an article from the archives, i include my current commentary at the end, but this time it seems better to preface the old post with a current introduction.

So far, as i've been reposting the old site's articles, i've managed so far to post them in the original order in which they first appeared.  However, i made an exception for this Archive Article since it's only fitting to post it right now rather than wait to catch up to it (especially because i may not be able to catch up on posting things for a while.)


As noted on my last entry, personal circumstances look as if it's going to necessitate putting the blog on hiatus for an unknown length of time.  The below entry was also written at a time when i knew i had to put the original Muppet Freak on hold and (like today), didn't know when...or if...i'd be able to come back, so it made for a nice "goodbye" message just in case...]

[The below article was posted on the original Muppet Freak on June 18, 2009]


Due to a sudden number of personal tragedies i'm contending with all at once right now (including but not limited to being laid off - the recession claims yet another statistic!), all my attention/energy is elsewhere and i can not currently maintain this blog.

I sincerely love writing detailed thoughts about the Jim Henson Company and the Muppets as well as my other areas of fandom and i hope that current readers enjoyed reading the things i had to say and that those discovering it later find some value in the archives.

At this point everything in my life is very uncertain, including how much time i may have left, so not only can i give any kind of estimate as to when it will be active again, i can't really even say IF it will be active again. If i can revive it later, trust me - i will. But right now all my fandoms are on the very bottom of the priority list.

The archives will still be kept up here in the event that things somehow end up getting better and everything can return to some degree of normalcy. Should that happen, i'll pick up where i left off. But if it doesn't, you'll at least have a few months worth of some stuff i hope is of great value to some of the people who come across it.

If anyone out there is looking for Muppet collectables, be it rare stuff like scripts or just a place to pick up some second hand books or cds - please contact me as i can use any and all help i can get in terms of income.  [This still applies by the way...I NEED FINANCIAL HELP RIGHT NOW so if there's anything someone wants that i may be able to provide, please don't hesitate to do so (and quickly before i lose net access!!!) dw_m@webtv.net ]

Thanks for reading - and thanks to all the various Muppet/Henson fans i've corresponded with over the years online, offline or both...it's always exciting to connect with people who share the same loves. Those are some of the best memories i'll hold onto as long as i can.

In the event this is my last ever entry here and/or on other fan forums, i'll close with the following thought. Right now there's a lot of ugliness in the world. Names don't need to be mentioned but we all know there's been a lot of world "leaders" who were so driven by personal greed and contempt for large numbers of society (particularly the lower and middle class) that have really harmed the livelihoods of a vast number of this country's and the world's citizens in the last decade. I implore everyone who's been touched by Jim Henson and all the team he's gathered who have carried on his visions since to keep alive the spirit of the values he tried to impart in those he touched via his works or his life. Be kind to one another, help those less fortunate, take care of the environment. Pass it on. Fraggle Rock may not have achieved the goal that Jim stated in that first boardroom meeting of sowing the seeds of peace and stopping all war in the world, but as long as his fans are alive worldwide, maybe they can do what they can in their own ways to make the world a little better one step and one day at a time.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Purple Hand o' Fate

Ernie:  Hey, Bert - Bert!  Let's go, Bert - it's time to leave, Bert!
Bert:  Uh, Ernie - hey, Ern, no.  You go on without me, I'm not going to come with you.
Ernie:  Oh but Bert, wait a second.  We've been planning this trip for a week - it's time to leave.
Bert:  But Ernie, I can't go out - I can't go out with you.
Ernie:  But Bert, why not?
Bert:  'Cause I have a purple hand...

Okay, so my hands aren't purple.  At least not right now, though they did have slight hints of purple at first.

This last week, i had a very bad fall and banged up both my knees and crushed both hands - i hit the pavement HARD with my hands bearing the full brunt of my body weight.  My right hand's pretty much back to normal and my left hand still has some pain and slightly reduced functionality.

Why am i telling you this?  Because it's going to affect the blog.

I can type and everything just fine.  But when it happened, i had to miss work at a time when i REALLY couldn't afford to do so.  (Exhibit #14,781 of Someone Up There Really Hates Me And Wants Me To Just Hurry Up And Die Already.)  For someone who's struggling financially and often goes without food so i can pay the bills, this is not a good thing.

Right now, if i'm going to get remotely by, i'll probably have to make do for awhile without one or both of the following:

(a) Internet or (B) Electricity (NOT a good option during Phoenix Arizona summers)

Of course, either way the end result is basically the same since no electricity equals no internet anyway - and no internet means inability to work on Muppet Freak for an unknown length of time.  If i can squeeze out another article or two before that happens, i will but whether or not i do, Muppet Freak will be on hiatus for who knows how long.

I do want to get all the archive articles up before the time comes when i have to just let go completely and give up the ghost and i'm really hoping the break won't be too long and i can get back to finishing things up here...but i don't have any realistic way of knowing if that will be possible or if the hiatus coincides with a permanent leave.

Right now there really isn't much more to say right now other than this...

Sunday, May 20, 2012

My Connection is Not a Rainbow One.

Thanks to everyone who's contacted me anxiously awaiting my next posts.

I'm STILL experiencing frequent issues with my internet connection going in and out!  It's been driving me up the wall (to say the least...)



So, it's still probably going to take another week at the earliest til i can get back to operating as normal again...but in the meantime, here's some videos reflective of what i've been going through:

In honor of my web connection, here's a good analogy as to what it's currently like:



And here's a song from one of my favorite groups, Shakespears Sister.  Not only is it currently an apt tribute to my web service, but for years, i've also tended to start singing this whenever i find myself in a long line.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Muppet Freak orders chicken soup

Wow - has it really been over two weeks since my last post?  Eep!  I guess it has.  Sorry, folks.  There's been a number of things adding up that's kept me from posting lately...

- My internet connection's been spotty lately; when i'm ready to spend some time working on the blog, i can't get on or i get frequent dropouts.

- I've been falling back into oversleeping - even though reviving Muppet Freak's helped get me out of the pattern i had fallen into during my severe bout of depression where i was spending any and all possible time in bed, it's still a gradual process and i had a small bit of regression for awhile.

- In between the changing of the seasons mixed with lots of stress at and outside work, i had become physically ill.  But no worries!  I've called upon some of the finest chefs to prepare me some chicken soup...


...and i ended up with this guy (problems like that tend to happen when you run a Muppet site).  So i ordered from a restaurant instead...



...But i kept getting my orders wrong.  (What do Charlie's and my web connection have in common?  The server's often down!!!)

So I looked for other places where i might find some chicken soup...


...I think i may have to just stock up on vitamins instead.  But at any rate, Muppet Freak will be back real soon with some great stuff coming up...

- That longawaited indepth look at one of the biggest issues confronting Muppet fandom today
- A spotlight profile on an underrated Muppet star
- A look back on muppets.com before the movie makeover
- An exclusive report from a very special guest detailing some shocking developments about Miss Piggy...

So stay tuned - i may not always post every other day or so but hopefully readers enjoy the posts when they do come and as always feedback on what you'd like to see is always encouraged.