Jim Henson & the Islanders

In the afternoon, I headed into Queens for the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image. On display were program proposals for a wide variety of programs (including some that were never produced), props, video clips, storyboards, and preliminary sketches, along with photos and writeups.

Of course, some of the preliminary sketches were pen or pencil on ruled notebook paper, etc.  Surely Mr. Henson would have laughed to see them professionally framed, matted and curated for his admiring fans to contemplate.  (It reminded me somehow of the fans' reverence for the muppets themselves -- essentially an inability to separate the muppet bodies from the performances that bring them alive -- and the puppeteers' clear-sighted understanding that these were just bits of fabric and styrofoam that could be thrown ignominiously into a drawer when not in use.)

Shortly after I started the circuit, right by the exhibit of Miss Peggy in a wedding dress, I saw none other than Frank Oz!  He was present solely in his capacity as a member of the museum-going public, with two companions (perhaps family members).  I might not have noticed, except that two kids approached and asked him if he were Frank Oz.  He admitted it, but asked them to keep it quiet.  They shook his hand and gushed about what he'd meant to their childhood (!).  He seemed pleased, but very worried about attracting attention.  The kids got in one question (why he performed his characters so rarely these days) which he answered (he said they don't ask him to).  Of course I found myself wondering how Mr. Oz felt seeing his former collaborator getting all the glory these days, but of course it's posthumous glory and so I'd say right now Mr. Oz may have the better deal.  (In the usual course of things, I suspect that Mr. Oz's friends and supporters will arrange retrospectives and fully celebrate his contributions only after it it too late for him to enjoy or be troubled by it.)  He agreed to a quiet photograph with the kids after they left the exhibit area.  He came across much as he did in the interview, as fully gracious and slightly reserved, and perhaps even slightly baffled at the attention.   I was tempted to say hello, but decided to honor his desire for anonymity and so kept quiet and just smiled to myself throughout the remainder of the exhibit.

It was neat to see some of Jim Henson's earliest work, from high school and University of Maryland (he apparently started up a poster company on campus), as well a photo of the pre-adolescent Jim posing as a snake charmer with creative use of a garden hose!

I enjoyed seeing some of the early commercials, and their storyboards. One of them was a spoof of Hansel and Gretel for an anti-shrink item (it makes sense: dryer = oven). This was quite timely given that I'd just seen one of my FAPC buddies perform in Opera Manhattan's show (music by Engelbert Humperdinck).  My favorite commercial: A muppet with a big old-fashioned camera announces he's going to shoot people who haven't tried product X; when the subject says "I haven't tried product X", of course the camera blows him off-screen; and then in a lovely twist, the muppet turns the camera to us and asks if we've tried product X.

I also liked the "visual imagination" video in which jazz scat takes over... and the main viewing area with extended clips from a good cross-section of the muppet show and others...

In the computer video gallery, I ran into G and her family - this serendipitous encounter resulted in (among other things) my stopping and enjoying a few episodes of Monsterpiece Theater (gotta love their version of Gone with the Wind), as well as a wonderful counting cartoon that takes us to the number 12.

Finally, I had to skedaddle to meet U and her family for my second-ever hockey game.  I made it just in time to U's place... but it turned out I needn't have hurried, since C was delayed getting home after work.  In the mean time, I was able to enjoy some homemade vegetable curry - yum!

Notice the new Jack Spade knit cap with built-in sunglasses!

So in the end we got there a little bit late, thus happily managing to miss the traffic and mayhem - and we snagged a wonderfully convenient parking spot!  We also had great seats:

When we first arrived, Calgary was leading 1-0.  This soon changed (thanks to #91, whose jersey now graces H's wardrobe) and eventually the Islanders won, 3-1.  

Victory was sweet!  We were true Islanders fans for the evening, except for our inability to join in the gratuitous cries of "Rangers suck!" after the game.  All the way home, C led us in a rousing chorus of call-and-response:  "EYYYYE-land-ers!" "YEAH!"