New Members: Please Post and Introduce Yourself

[epicllama]

Welcome...what field of music are you majoring in?

I am majoring in music industry with an emphasis on business. And before you even bother to ask, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my degree. Right now I'm thinking maybe managing a band or something. But only time will tell.

 

[NikZane]

Oops!

Hiya,

I didn't realise this Intro for Newbies thread was here... and as a newbie, i should really have started here first. Please forgive my rudeness

My name is Nik. I'm a 29 year old Muppet fan, and proud.

I grew up with the Muppets and they looked after me throughout my entire childhood. They've been with me for many years now and have helped shape who I am today.

I absolutely adore the Fraggles - they are probably my favorite Henson creation to date. I've also been a huge David Bowie fan since I was very young (thanks to my Mom and older sisters), and when Labyrinth came out, to me it was the union of two gods. As a Tolkien fan and fantasy fan in general, The Dark Crystal captured my imagination like nothing else before, or since. I have literally without exaggeration, watched this film more than any other film I've seen (with perhaps the exception of Edward Scissorhands) - I cannot estimate how many times in fact, so lets just say it's hundreds and hundreds of times (truly). Kira was my first true love.

I also collect toys. Mostly robots. I've always dreamt of having a robot best friend and absolutely love Bender from Futurama; he is one of my personal heroes. My toy collection is vast and consists of anything from The Muppets to Star Wars characers. I love figurines mostly, especially highly articulated ones. Spaceships are cool too (I'm also a Sci-Fi nut).

I've always been a voice for the opressed, a friend to the friendless, a leader of nobodys, a proud nerd, an anti-hero... I'm the guy at a party, sitting in the corner making robot puppets out of discarded beer cans and swizzle sticks. I also enjoy making origami creations out of bus tickets and leaving them on the seat for the next person to play with. However, I expect that most of them get thrown on the floor and crushed without ever being noticed.

When I was 15 going on 16, Jim Henson died. This is a time when emotions are at their most turbulent, a time also when most "boys" are trying to be "men". After hearing the tragic news, I just cried... and cried... and cried. Even now, at almost 30, when ever I think about Jim, whenever I hear Rainbow Connection, my eyes well up with tears and I get all choked up.

I was born in New Zealand to Welsh and Greek Parents, and grew up in Australia. Suffice it to say, I don't have much of a strong cultural background. Currently, I'm living in Los Angeles, California, and I love it here. I work for myself as a print and web designer and my office is my laptop. After many years of "workin' for the man" in a regular 9 to 5'er, I woke up oneday and decided I wanted my life back. Shortly after, I quit my job, sold nearly everything I own and bought some plane tickets. That was almost 6 months ago now and I don't regret a single nanosecond. Recently, for work I flew from LA to NZ, NZ to Australia, Australia to NZ, NZ to The Cook Islands, The Cook Islands to Tahiti, then finally Tahiti back to LA - that was 7 planes and 4 time zones, all in the space of ten days. Upon arrival back in LA, my body shut down and I was very sick for three days. I do not recommend that much travel in such a short space of time.

That said, I hope to travel the world and live in many different countries. After LA, I'll probably go to either Canada, or the U.K. I fear propinquity.

I have a fiancé and she travels with me. We've been together nearly 4 yrs and it feels kind of silly calling my soulmate a "financé". We're already married in our hearts and a little piece of paper doesn't mean much to us, but still, we're thinking of getting married in Las Vegas, by an Elvis impersonator. There's no logic behind that other than we think it'd be pretty funny. We'd also like to get married barefoot on a beach in a hippy ceremony with incense and beads, like Perry Farrell and Casey Nicoli in the Classic Girl video by Jane's Addiction.

Aside from all that, it's great to be here. I discovered this forum approximately 1 week ago. Although I love the Muppets, I'm not an afficionado like many of you here - I didn't even know who had been doing Kermit's voice all these years since Jim. (That's probably not something I should admit on muppetcentral.com!). So, I did a google search to find who had been doing Kermit's voice, followed a link or two and ended up here at mupppetcentral.com. And now, I'm hooked. I love reading all your posts and I've followed many different threads, and most of all I love learning more about my beloved Muppets and their creators. Everyone here seems to be so lovely, but then again, most of you are Muppet-loving adults (yes, I check your profiles), so how could you be anything else but?

Anywho, I'm glad I came across muppetcentral.com and I'm very happy to have been given the opportunity to the contribute to the editorials section (thanks Phillip - you and your team have done a fantastic job with this site) so that I could share my recent Jimmy Kimmel experience with a group a fellow Muppet/Henson lovers. You're all bookmarked now and I plan to keep ya there for many hard drives yet to come - I hope you don't mind.

Well, this has been a very long intro I know, my friends often tell me that I ramble on. If you've read this far and have not yet fallen asleep - I commend your endurance, bravo!

Take care kids, I hope to see ya around a lot more in future!

Nik.

 

[Super Scooter]

Hi-ho, and welcome to Muppet Central! Tonight, our very special guest is... YOU! YAY!

 

[froggiegirl18]

yes I am a newbie but that's ok because everyone was one at one time or another

Hi everyone...I am so happy to finally be able to talk to other strange people like myself. I have been doing puppetry for 6 years..I only have one character voice that I have been working on for three years. I started puppetry when I was 12 and started my own puppet team at my church.the only time I had a puppet leader was at a national puppetry festival for onewaystreet on the dream team. I am a huge muppet fan!!I have been one since I was little...mainly because of my parents since they know Steve because my mom was in his graduating class. I have yet to meet him...it seems I have a ton of connections but they are not connected yet..but I know one day I will...right now I am in college getting a bachlor degree in music ed. even though my dream is to be on the muppet team...it may take a while to get there as it seems this is how my life is going right now..just recently my friends in my dorm have realized that I am good puppeteer and they have been asking me to entertain them. My friend jen and I are going to perform a puppet song at a hayride festival...and since we did not have a proper stage we made one out of extra boxes from a clothing store. What I have realized is that they loved watching us behind the boxes rather than watching the puppets..they loved just to watch what we were doing..they loved the puppets..they said they looked so real. That is the goal when you perform is to make the puppet as life like as possible..that is why the muppets are so loved. You just want to just go up and talk with them as if they are your friends..so yeah if you need a stage and have no time to make one or you're rather broke..do not be complicated and rushed just make it out of cardboard and drape a black sheet over to hide the boxes. oh I also have a dream to go to a muppet fest. it would be a dream to just see the
puppet performers in action since I know their pain(as in the arm) and joy of making people happy...oh since I am in Georgia one of my favorite places to visit is the center of Puppetry arts...maybe one day I could perform there as well...I have learned that if you want to see your dreams come true you have to go for them with all your heart...Everyone have a great day!!

-Sandee-

 

[NikZane]

Hi everyone... <SNIP> ...Everyone have a great day!!-Sandee-

Hiya Sandee,

Welcome to MC! Loved ya story and wish you all the best with your puppetry career. I certainly hope that you do make it on to the Muppet team someday!

Nik..

 

[Kamit]

Hi everyone!
"Introduce yourself" you said so introduce yourself I will! Be warned though - I tend to go on and on about the things I love and there are few things I love more than the Muppets! (Like maybe my family - but that's it )

My love of the Muppets began musically, at a very young age. My mom and dad bought me a copy of Favourite Songs From Jim Henson's Muppets, followed quickly by the original Fraggle Rock soundtrack and two Muppet Babies tapes (Music Is Everywhere and Rocket To The Stars). I played them endlessly (and still do - although the original tapes were retired long ago).

We lived in the country and had no cable TV (only 6 channels) so my exposure to the 'grown-up' Muppets was limited. We had Sesame Street (of course), Fraggle Rock, and Muppet Babies. We would however rent the movies and Muppet Show compilation tapes from the movie store whenever we could. Then came The Jim Henson Hour. My sister and I were overjoyed. The Muppets were back on TV! We watched it religiously (a word that describes the extent of my Muppet-fandom quite well actually ) and were very sad when it went off the air.

Then came That Day. You know the one I'm talking about. I was watching Sesame Street actually when our babysitter told us "You know the man that made that character [she pointed at Ernie] died today." No! I couldn't believe it. She had to be mistaken - our babysitter was never overly fond of my Muppet obsession so I was sure she had gotten Jim mixed up with someone else. But no - Mom and Dad confirmed the awful news when we got home that night. I remember watching "the funeral show" and at the very end, when Kermit comes in, running to the washroom in tears because "It's not Kermit! He doesn't sound right! It's not Kermit!" (I have nothing against Steve Whitmire BTW - he's getting better with the voice - but I was 9 at the time and very upset).

In highschool I got the chance to show off my hand at puppetry. One year for our school Cabarat (basically a talent show without prizes) I preformed with "Birdie" a purple marionette I had. The two of us stole the show. The next year our school put on Little Shop Of Horrors and I got the part of preforming Audrey II. Yeah! Evil plants rule! And I wouldn't have done any of it without the Muppets.

As you can see the Muppets are extremely important to me (and my whole family - we're all Muppet-Nuts). They've inspired me my whole life. Whenever I'm feeling particularly upset, or even just a little down, it is to the Muppets that I run. I listen to Muppet Babies in my car. I play Muppet Central Radio on my computer at work (great station BTW ).

I'm 22 now and besides Muppets my other loves include anime (it's not all Dragonball and Pokemon, people), science-fiction, and fantasy. I am a cosplayer - which means I dress up in strange costumes whenever I go to a science fiction or anime convention. I do this completely for fun but my goal is to make a career out of it. I am, hopefully, about to begin my training as a special effects make-up artist. Who knows? Perhaps someday I'll be working for the Creature Shop?

I'll guess I'll stop there (for now). I'm excited to join this forum and get the chance to talk to other Muppet fans. It's nice to meet you all!

 

[Super Scooter]

you keep up, you're not gonna have anything to talk about on the forum! lol!

Hi-ho! Welcome aboard, Kamit!

 

[sarah_yzma]

you keep up, you're not gonna have anything to talk about on the forum! lol!

Hi-ho! Welcome aboard, Kamit!

it hasn't stopped you

If I had a nickle every time I fought the 120 second rule, I'd be a trillionaire

 

[Super Scooter]

it hasn't stopped you

I just keep going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and going.

 

[sarah_yzma]

I agree....I've zinged you somewhere else too....hehe