Mah Na Mah Na! New article at American Thinker

I might have broken whole new ground in op-ed writing by using the word "Pufnstuf".  But anyhoo, American Thinker this morning has published a new article by Yours Truly.  "And then they came for the Muppets..." delves into Disney's slapping an "offensive material" disclaimer on several episodes of The Muppet Show.

A sample from the piece:

These declaimers are micro-sermons about the virtues of inclusion. They are meant to “foster dialogue.” But anyone who sits the children down for a heart-to-heart discussion about Muppet morality probably doesn’t get the point of the Muppets anyway. These disclaimers, along with all the others that Disney is slapping onto Lady and the Tramp and Peter Pan and other films, accomplish nothing of the sort. They are nuisances at best. By the end of the show the average child will have forgotten all about them.

That's the second article in a row (counting the one about Gina Carano from last week) that's addressed Disney+. I'm not out to "get Disney", honest. But it has to be said: that company is pumping out some real fodder for opinion writing lately.

Anyway, cue the music, light the lights, and read my new article.  Do you think Statler and Waldorf would approve?

Read More

Jerry Nelson has passed away

Late last night it hit me that I haven't posted any classic Sesame Street clips in quite some time. And I almost went for another Bert and Ernie skit. Even had one picked out. It just sorta popped into mind for no apparent reason. Dunno why I didn't use it at the time but it was like something was telling me, "wait". Maybe it was providential...

The very sad news today is that Jerry Nelson, legendary puppeteer who brought Count von Count, Herry Monster, Sherlock Hemlock, Amazing Mumford and many other lovable Sesame Street characters to life, has died at the age of 78. It had been eight years since Nelson had done physical puppeteering but he continued to provide his voice to the characters. He even appeared as the telethon announcer in last year's movie The Muppets. Nelson also worked on The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock.

Here is Count von Count, in a clip that seems especially appropriate today...

And that clip that I thought of using last night? Here it is: Jerry Nelson performing Count along with Jim Henson as Ernie and Frank Oz as Bert, in one of the most disturbing (just look at Ernie's eyes) Sesame Street skits ever...

Thoughts and prayers going out to his family this afternoon.

Thanks for all the great laughs and good memories, Jerry. And if the Count could, he would be counting "ONE! One new angel in Heaven, AH-AH-AH-AH!!"

Read More

Kermit and Miss Piggy slam Fox News!

The Muppets opened in cinemas domestically on the week of this past Thanksgiving. The ladyfriend and I saw it and loved it!! I keep hoping and praying that somebody will make an '80s Robot toy so I can put it on my desk: 'twould look so nice next to my chunk of the Berlin Wall, my Darth Sidious figure and other stuff.

Okay well anyway, it turns out that back when the movie first came out, Fox News claimed that The Muppets was a front for some devious liberal agenda! Because the film's villain, Tex Richman (played and rapped by Chris Cooper) is an eeeee-vil oil baron out to acquire the Muppets Theater by any means necessary. Seems that Fox News thinks that little kids are going to be turned off from capitalism.

Ehhhhh... whatever. I saw that movie and the only thing "liberal" is a cameo appearance by James Carville (speaking no lines) as one of several celebrities manning the phone banks during the telethon.

So The Muppets is on the eve of its international release and during the press conference the Fox News matter came up. And Kermit and Miss Piggy addressed it brilliantly! Here's the clip!

Might we be seeing a feud soon between Kermit and Bill O'Reilly? Personally, my money's on the frog.

Read More

Johnny Cash singing "Ghost Riders in the Sky" on THE MUPPET SHOW

The Man in Black himself performs "Ghost Riders in the Sky" on The Muppet Show. It doesn't get much more awesome than this!

Y'know, Johnny Cash really was the only person in history who could say the word "Hell" on The Muppet Show and get away with it.

Read More