PHEW!!! Good grief I've missed a lot....and that's just in one day!
Hiya guys! Looks like you've really gotten the ball rolling. That's GREAT! Uhh...ahhh Sheesh! Where to even begin!?
Danny! Thanks so much for leading the charge into webpage land. I checked it out earlier and I like it. Sure, it's bare bones right now but it kinda gives ya that happy tingly feeling you get when you walk into a new home...
It's spartan....clean and just waiting to be filled with all of your most loved crap. It's exciting.
Also, I really wanted to say that the note you wrote several hundreds of pages back was really sweet. I agree! It's kind of the same attitude I take with my own students too. Don't be afraid to throw out idea no matter -how- ludicrous. We're all good people and if you have a really stupid idea, we'll tell you...laugh about it and move on. Never any hard feelings and all in the spirit of fun and affection. That's what family does! At least....that's what my family does. ^_-
P! Once you get that data and you give me the go ahead I'll get right on that letter sending for you. No rush! Better to do it right. Otherwise, I wanna say again what a great job you did on that.
Pinky!---
Hey does anyone else feel like we should be in a huddle? I need a whistle.---I digress---
Pinky! That's fantastic artistic skill you are showing off there you tremendous liar. You said all you could make were videos. You've been holding out on us. Thanks for finally coming clean and showing off what you're REALLY capable of and sharing it with us. Okay okay, in all seriousness....It looks great!
You know, this is jumping WAY ahead of the game but it wouldn't be a bad idea to start kind of brainstorming...lightly...about the kinds of things we would like to include in HensonCon. There are obvious panels such as puppet making and collector's booths. Add to that any guests we may be lucky enough to secure. Add some costume, fan art and singing contests and it starts lookin like a real convention.
Something that kind of popped into my head yesterday is touching a little on how Henson influences us in our daily lives. What I mean is, without even knowing it, some of what he preached I've taken in and used in my own job. IE Learning doesn't have to be tedious. We can have fun with ANYTHING we do, if the attitude is right.
So I was thinking....I am not a teacher, but I am a T.A. working in an ESOL classroom and I do have my own students. Danny is a teacher. It would be interesting to have a panel discussing how Henson's works and philosophy translate into something like a classroom setting. I mean, Sesame street alone illustrates this beautifully but then you have all of these wonderful Muppet productions used to convey ideas or to teach diversity or even counting and letters or potty training. Why does it work so well?
Anyway....I'm rambling now but you get the idea. Consider this... CGI, which is great in its own right, leaves very little room for the imagination if you are not the creator. I have nothing against computer animation. It's definitely an art form but it is all pretty much spelled out for you.
Now take something a little more concrete, like a muppet. You can reach out and touch it. Sure, the effects will be a little less than cutting edge, but it's kind of like impressionist art. It gives you a starting point, and your own imagination fills in the rest. There's just not enough of that kind of thing these days.
Henson creations really do leave room for the mind to reach out and explore. That's something I stress in education. You can't teach kids if you don't allow them to open their minds...to run with ideas even if they are a little nuts....And you certainly can't have an open mind if you are afraid of failure.
If you fail, so what!? Get up and try again! Try something different. We'll laugh, compare bruises and eventually we'll get there.
Eventually we'll get there and meanwhile...It's gonna be a heck of a ride! Hahaha
Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now.
Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Jim Henson Idea Man
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So I'm thinking way ahead of myself as well. It's hard not too but even if we do get this off the ground probably wouldn't be any big named Muppeteers. Those will come later. 
