I'm off to the Atlanta History Center to watch a film screening of The Dark Crystal. I'm so stoked.








11pm- Wow. That was amazing. There was a good bit more than just a movie screening. We had a Q and A with Dave Goelz, who has been controlling Gonzo since his creation, and Steve Whitmire, the man who plays Rizzo the Rat and who took over the role of Kermit the Frog after Jim Henson died.

During the Q and A, they each brought out their respective Muppets and answered questions both of themselves and the Muppets. For a moment, everyone in the room was 6 years old and watching Sesame Street and the Muppet Show. I remember thinking, "Man, I'm 30 feet from Gonzo and Kermit the frog!"

Steve told the story of how it felt to take over the puppetteering and voice of Kermit after Jim Henson died. He said they had "sent over one of the Kermits, and I opened the box and it still smelled like Jim." He said that he put him up on a shelf and couldn't go into the room for a month and only got down to work on it when a worried Brian Henson called asking to see some tape.

He says that when Jim was inducted into the television hall of fame, he was working with him on set and had a video camera focused on Jim as the two of them performed. He used that film to get the vocal sound right by studying Jim's facial expressions as he worked Kermit. He says to get into the character, Frank Oz told him "First you have to perfom Jim, and then you will perform Kermit as Jim." That's some big shoes to fill.

They were so comfortable together and with us, that the Q and A ran far longer than expected but eventually the screening started. The Dark Crystal is a fantastic film, absolutely one of my favorites. And after hearing the stories from the puppetteers, it seems even better. It blows my mind that it was made before CGI and that all of the movie was shot on a soundstage. All of those beautiful sets and stages and were created from the ground up.

The two performers actually stayed to watch the film and afterwards came back down for a second Q and A session. It was really a class act. They relayed stories of how uncomfortable it was to get into the skeksis costumes and what a team effort it was to bring those characters to life. It took 6 operators per Skeksis; one for the head and left arm, one for the right arm, and 4 under the stage operating the facial and eye movements.

It was a memorable night. I almost didn't go, but I am really glad I did.

I'm just getting my breath back after a whirlwind trip to Las Vegas for my 30th birthday. It was my wife's first trip to Vegas, so we toured the Strip and downtown and saw the shows and walked...and walked...and walked.

Seriously, I thought my legs were going to fall off. I was also there for a convention and covering the floor everyday was about 2 miles, plus we walked the entire Strip, not to mention going inside all of the casinos and shops. Caesars Palace alone took 2 hours to go through. My blisters have blisters.

But, overall it was a nice time. I got to see some good friends I haven't hung out with in years, and drink catch up with them. I lost every single time I sat down to play anything, but I'm not complaining. Plus, I think the city impressed the wife enough that this may become an annual occurrence. Any one else want in?

On the birthday front, I've made it to 30. Apparently I'm supposed to be an adult now and put away my childhood. So, for my birthday, I bought myself a gamepad and spent the weekend playing Super Nintendo roms. We'll see who calls the shots here, age.