Muppets vs Uni - Tales of Muppets & Me

[Beauregard]

Obviously, anyone who has been a longtime Muppet fan -- especially of the crazed, MC kind -- wants those around them to appreciate, understand, and at least just get the crazyness that is Muppetdom. At home, people got it. It was my thing, that was fine.

At uni, Muppets are simply off the charts. Those who actually do know who "the green one" Kermit the Frog is, still don't know the words to Mahna Mahna, let alone the spelling...And so it's my job to educate, to drop Muppets into conversations -- intentionally or by accident -- and to generally make myself look weird.

One of the first stories from my experience of Muppets at Uni, was a friend from my course doing an impression of Elmo. While the impression wasn't bad...her shock when she discovered that Elmo was a boy was enough to put her off SS for life. "How can he be a boy? Is he--" No...and, for the record, neither are Bert and Ernie.

The most recent round of Muppets vs Uni was when we were looking around a house to move into next year. I was mid inspection when it dawned on me that this house was number 123. "OH!" cried I with so much excitment that I practically screamed the word. Rveryone turned. I paused..."Nothing."

"What? What? Explain thy 'oh'ing," cried they.

"Well...I just remembered that 123 is the main house on Sesame Street..." *cough* *mumble*

Their faces were priceless...and I think mine went beetroot colour?

Stay tuned for more tales of Muppets and me, or share your own stories of Muppets vs the World.

 

[Beakerfan]

Aw, heheh. You know, I've had almost the opposite thing happen..... during my first semester, I had this purse I was slowly covering in Muppet buttons. One of the girls in my english class saw it started going on and on about them, and that her favorite character is Beaker, and she's friends with him on Myspace etc....

Also, when I went to Disneyland over the summer with about eight other graduates, I happened to bring my Animal plush with me (I can't sleep without at least one...) One of my guy friends picked it up and started walking around saying "AN-I-MAL! AN-I-MAL! WO-MAN! WO-MAN!" It was really funny, because he and I were the only ones who got it.

(Just noticed: we have new smilies! yay!)

 

[Beauregard]

Today we were all watching "Under the Tuscan Sun", a very amazing movie which draws one in completly, when a character emerged from a house holding a baby and...an Elmo doll.

Of course I squealed and pointed and cried, "Elmo! Elmo! Elmo! Elmo!" And was met with mildly annoyed looks, and a laugh. But you know what they'll be thinking next time they see an Elmo doll...they shan't be able to keep quiet!

 

[Skye]

Aww, hehe, great stories, Beau! Unfortunately, I don't have any fun or similar stories to add. All I got is that my family, and a lot of my friends like the Muppets, the Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and things like that just like I do.

But I love reading these stories of yours! It's so interesting to see people's different reactions to the Muppets (and the reactions of the strange people who don't like them ). But hey, you could even turn one of your friends into a Muppet fan after a little while!

 

[Fragglemuppet]

Yaaay Beau! This is fun to read, and good for you for spreading the magic, even if it's with varying levels of success!
I personally don't mind if people don't know about the muppets; I jump at the chance to explain my passion to them! It's when they just don't care that bothers me.
As for me, I'm in sort of the "muppet closet" if you know what I mean. I've only admitted to a few people my muppet obsession, although I have become somewhat less selective of late. I like stories like yours Alex. I just "came out" to a good friend of mine on the phone a couple of weeks ago. She called me back later that day, and appearently, just after she had hung up the first time, she proceded to watch two or three FR episodes on Youtube! She told me that she loved Junior Gorg and the Trash Heap!


Needless to say, I was eccstatic!

Of course, I have also had those who have just barely mannaged to humor me and those who have simpply ignored it.

 

[Beauregard]

Well, as they are keeping a few of you amused, here's a couple more anicdotes!

Today my friend Lizzy bounced into the kitchen and announced that "Since we are living in 123 Sesame Street we should get five gold fish and name them after Sesame Street characters!" Which I thought was a huge improvement, until she added, "Of course I want Elmo, because he's cutest." -- Naturally I had to explain that statisticlly, Grover was cuter and Super-Grover was cutest!

Which reminds me, they all seem to be until the spell-binding impression that Bean Bunny is cute...wonder why that is?

Anyway, another interesting story and piece of trivia! We were all discussing babynames and someone said they wanted to name their child "Richard Oliver." -- Which was an amazing coincidence, because my doctor's name was Oliver Richard when I was born, and I was nearly named Richard Oliver! -- Having explained this, she sighed and said. "Well...Maybe I'll name him Beau then. That's another great name." -- Naturally, I fell off my chair. And went on to explain that Beau was my main nickname, named after a Muppet!

 

[Fragglemuppet]

Ah, so people don't call you Beau offline. I had wondered about that.
Beauregard is a fine name though, along with Kermit and several others.
Ah but see, the Elmo Grover thing is a personal prefference, even though I agree with you, lol.
And likewise, I'd be thrilled just to find that people know who Bean Bunny is! I mean, he's not exactly well-known like Elmo or Kermit.

 

[Beauregard]

Actually, they knew him as "that cute rabbit from that Christmas Muppet film."

Hey, did I mention that I had a dream about Miss Piggy the other night?

In the dream, I was at home with my parents and brothers and sisters, and, oddly enough, Miss Piggy was sat on the sofa nearby. Now, we all had coffees and choclate...but she had none, so she turned to my mother and rolled her eyes back in her head and (being a dream) my mum was like, "Ahh! I see what you're doing! You're pretending to be pregnant (were did THAT come from?) so that we'll get food for you."

So I jumped up and went to the fridge to get more chocolate, but I'd run out...so I got her a handfull or lettuce and a garlic sausage instead (something I would NEVER do to poor Piggy!) Lets just say, she was less than impressed...

 

[MrsPepper]

Awesome thread, Beau!

Is he--" No...and, for the record, neither are Bert and Ernie.

STORY OF MY LIFE. Every other time I bring up the muppets, someone has to mention this. And I, as calmly as possible, explain that they have TWO separate beds, with the letters of their first name on the headboard, and that those beds have never been pushed together, never ever ever, and that they better stop now before they simultaneously ruin my childhood and send me on a rampage!

All the other times I bring up the Muppets, someone is clever enough to "inform me" that "they're turning Cookie Monster into the Veggie Monster!" **slams her head into a brick wall** Curse you internet for your slanderous, wholly untrue rumours! I have actually lost count of how many times I have explained to people that that is not true, that a few years ago Sesame Street did a health food kick and Cookie has a new song called "A cookie is a sometimes food" where they try to teach him moderation, but at the end he eats everything in sight anyway. And they insist, "but I read it on the internet - " And then my blood boils over and I walk away before any more damage to myself or others can be inflicted.

(Small side note: I had a TEACHER ask me this once, when I wrote something that mentioned Jim Henson in it. Apparantly her daughter read this on THE CURSED INTERNET and emailed it to her in a panic! I informed her properly, but I think my encyclopaedic knowledge of the current goings-on of Cookie Monster frightened her a bit.)

About every 5th conversation or so, someone mentions that Bert is evil (another internet abomination! lol).

So I sort of give up talking 'street (Sesame Street that is) or about the muppets in general with people I meet at uni because they just don't get it, and one more conversation like the one above and I will die young from a heart attack.

I actually do have a great friend who grew up on the muppets, like me, and was nice enough to lend me The Muppet Show Book . She is near and dear to my heart.

 

[Redsonga]

I always thought of Bert and Ernie as brothers, so that whole idea is just wrong to me on many levels . Besides the fact, that to me they are about 8-10 years old