It's Time to Meet the Muppets...

The Muppet Show took place at the Muppet Theater, and featured both on-stage acts and frantic backstage activity.

Kermit the Frog served as host of The Muppet Show, and was also the director, assisted by Scooter. The show's orchestra was conducted by Nigel, and musical acts ranged from solo musicians such as Rowlf the Dog, the always enjoyable Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.


Because it was a puppet show, The Muppet Show had the advantage of being able to include an endless array of characters with only a small number of performers. Recurring figures included Sam the Eagle; Camilla the Chicken; Robin the Frog, (aka Kermit's nephew); and Link Hogthrob, the captain of The Swinetrek, among with hundreds of others, for example:

Beauregard
The lovable janitor at the Muppet Theater (who took over for George the Janitor). Although he tries to be helpful, his efforts result in disaster more often than not. Beauregard's appeared in The Great Muppet Caper as a taxi driver and brought Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo to the Happiness Hotel.

Janice
The lead guitar player in the Electric Mayhem, Janice also portrays Nurse Janice in Veterinarian's Hospital, and appears in various other sketches. In Michael Frith's original sketch of the character Janice was intended to be a male character, a takeoff on Mick Jagger's emaciated frame. Her name is probably a reference to Janis Joplin.

Jim
The banjo player for the Country Trio, which performed in variety show appearances in the mid 70s and occasionally on The Muppet Show, Jim is based on Jim Henson. His band mates (Frank and Jerry) are likewise based on muppet performers.

Sweetums
A grotesque, hairy ogre, Sweetums who towers above his human and Muppet co-stars. His bulldog-like lower jaw, thick eyebrows, shabby brown shirt, and threatening expression belie his more or less genial nature. Sweetums first appeared on the television special The Frog Prince in 1971. In 1976, Sweetums joined the cast of The Muppet Show and had a featured part in The Muppet Movie. Sweetums' performer uses his right arm to either operate the mouth or the right arm: when the right arm moves, the mouth can't move on its own, and vice versa. The eyes and eyebrows move by remote control.

For all thing Muppet, be sure to visit the Muppet Wikipedia

Hmmmm... What Would Jack Daniels Do?

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Question of the Week

(Geography) What capital city’s old section centers on a place called the Gates of the Sun or, in the local language, the Puerta del Sol?

C-c-c-covers

a. Pictures of You (The Cure) – Angie Hart
b. Glycerin (Bush) – Melissa Ferrick
c. Cruel to Be Kind (Nick Lowe) - The Bleeding Hearts
d. Free Bird (Lynard Skynard) – Cat Power
e. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
f. Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush) – China Drum
g. Everyday I write the book (Elvis Costello) – Alison Browne
h. One Angry Dwarf (Ben Folds) - VanVelzen

Random Trivia: Famous Missing Body Parts

Happy Almost Halloween!

John Wilkes Booth’s Neck Bones
A mere 12 days after shooting President Abraham Lincoln, Booth was shot in the back of the neck and killed. His body was eventually buried in an unmarked grave at Baltimore’s Green Mount Cemetery. Howeever, his third, fourth, and fifth vertebrae were all removed during the autopsy in order to grant access to the bullet. They can now bee seen at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Einstein’s Brain
Before his death, Einstein considered donating his body to science but as he never committed this wish to writing, his family and friends made plans to cremate him following his death in 1955. The pathologist who performed the autopsy, Dr. Thomas Harvey chose on his own to first remove the famous brain and then tell the family about it later. Naturally, Einstein’s loved ones weren’t thrilled when they found out, but they eventually for scientific study ton continue and the brain was sliced into 240 sections then disbursed to researchers. Today, many of the cerebral sections remain in scientific institutions, with the bulk held at Princeton Hospital. Einstein’s body was cremated as planned and his ashes were scattered in a secret location.

"Stonewall" Jackson’s Arm
Confederate general Thomas Jackson earned his nickname for the way he sat his horse; "like a stone wall" even when bullets were flying during the Civil War. That might be the reason why, during the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson was accidentally shot in the arm by one of his own men. The arm was amputated and then buried in the nearby Virginia town of Ellwood. Only eight days later, Stonewall died of pneumonia and the rest of him was buried in Lexington, Va.

Saint Francis Xavier’s Hand
Francis Xavier was a Spanish missionary who was sent to Asia in the 16th century by the king of Portugal. There he became wildly popular, and after his death in 1552, so did his relics. So much so that his body was regularly exhumed in order to obtain more. Today, half his left hand is in Cochin, India, while the other half is in Malacca, Malaysia. One of his arms resides in Rome, and various other cities lay claim to his internal organs.

Saint Catherine of Siena’s Finger
After this holy woman died in 1380, her body became an object of veneration. Pilgrims believed touching her miraculously preserved flesh could heal illnesses and bring them closer to God. Eventually, the Catholic Church laid Catherine to rest but not before one of her followers removed a finger as well as a few teeth and other various body parts. Pope Urban VI took her head. Today, both finger and head are on display at San Domenico Church in Siena, Italy. The rest of her rest beneath the main altar at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva Church in Rome.

Oliver Cromwell’s Head
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth. Cromwell died in 1658, but two years later, the reinstated English monarchy exhumed, tried, and hanged his body, then dumped it in an unmarked grave. In addition, as a warning to would-be killers, his head was placed on a pike in Westminster Hall, where it remained for 20 years.

Thomas Hardy’s Heart
In his will, English novelist Thomas Hardy specifically requested to be buried with his beloved first wife. His friends, however, lobbied to have him buried in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey instead. An ugly fight between Hardy fans and family ensued, until they reached a compromise. The author’s heart was removed and buried with his wife; his ashes were preserved in a bronze urn inside the Abbey.

For more famous body parts visit Neatorama. Information Originally from MentalFloss.

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Newman's Own

Paul Newman, actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian and auto racing enthusiast, recently passed away. Here's my tribute, in trivia form:

-Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland)
-He was the son of Theresa and Arthur Samuel Newman. His father was Jewish and his mother, who practiced Christian Science, was born to a Slovak Catholic family in the former Austria–Hungary.
-Newman had described himself as Jewish, stating that, "it's more of a challenge".
-Newman made his acting debut at the age of 7, playing the court jester in a school production of Robin Hood.

-Newman's first movie was The Silver Chalice (1954), followed by roles in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)/ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and The Young Philadelphians (1959).
-Newman appeared in a screen test with James Dean for East of Eden but did not get the role of Aron Trask, for which he was testing.
-That same year Newman would co-star with Eva Marie Saint and Frank Sinatra in a live, color television broadcast of "Our Town".
-Newman would remake this production in 2003, taking on Sinatra's role as the stage manager.


-Newman appeared in such classic films as Exodus (1960), The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Harper (1966), Hombre (1967), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969),The Sting (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974), Slap Shot (1977) and The Verdict (1982)
-Newman's last screen appearance was as a conflicted mob boss in the 2002 film Road to Perdition opposite Tom Hanks.
-He continued to provide voice work for films such Doc Hudson, a retired race car in Disney/Pixar's Cars.

-Newman founded Newman's Own, a line of food products, in 1982.
-He established a policy that all proceeds from the sale of Newman's Own products, after taxes, would be donated to charity.
-As of early 2006, this had resulted in excess of $200 million in donations.
-One beneficiary is the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a residential summer camp for seriously ill children.

-Newman was an avid auto racing enthusiast, and first became interested in motorsports while training for and filming Winning.
Newman's first raced professionally in 1972, in Thompson.
-He was a common competitor in Sports Car Club of America events for the rest of the decade, eventually winning several championships.
-At the age of 70 he became the oldest driver to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race, winning in his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona.

Info from Wikipedia

Question of the Week

(Lyrically Speaking) According to the song “Me and Bobby McGee”, what’s “just another word for nothing left to lose?”

Patience and Fortitude

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is one of the leading public libraries in the world and is also one of America's most significant research libraries. It is unusual in a way because it is composed of a very large circulating public library system combined with a very large non-lending research library system. The library is a privately managed not for profit with a public mission, operating with both private and public financing.

Currently, the library consists of 89 libraries: four non-lending research libraries, four main lending libraries, a library for the blind and physically handicapped, and 77 neighborhood branch libraries in the three boroughs served. All libraries in the NYPL system may be used free of charge by all visitors.



The two famous stone lions guarding the entrance to the main branch of the library were sculpted by Edward Clark Potter. They were originally named Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, in honor of the library's founders. These names were transformed into Lady Astor and Lord Lenox (even though both lions are male; bet Astor didn't like that). In the 1930s they were nicknamed "Patience" and "Fortitude" by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. He chose these names because he felt that the citizens of New York would need to possess these qualities to see themselves through the Great Depression. Patience is on the south side (the left as one faces the main entrance) and Fortitude is on the north.

More info at Wikipedia.