I know Tough Pigs is the first place you turn to for Muppet news, commentary and fun while you drink your coffee and enjoy your Jimmy Dean egg & sausage biscuit every morning, but did you know there are other places on the internet where people talk about Muppets?
It’s true! No, really. It is. Really. No, I’m serious. There are a lot of people on the internet, and there are a lot of Muppet fans in the world, so it only makes sense that a few other enterprising souls would start their own Muppet-based websites and/or blogs.
You probably already know about Muppet Central, which I believe is the oldest Muppet fan site still up and running. Then there’s The Muppet Mindset, where our pal Ryan Dosier and his cohorts crank out new content on a frighteningly regular basis. Meanwhile, in the podcastosphere (Is that a word? It must be a word, right?), there’s the MuppetCast, which host/producer Steve Swanson recently revived after several months of retirement, essentially making Steve the Michael Jordan of Muppet podcast hosts. And of course, Muppet Wiki is the ultimate source of encyclopedic Muppet information.
But I’d like to delve even deeper into the ocean of Muppet Fan Stuff on the Internet and tell you about some other web destinations you may not know about. Put on your scuba suit and join me, won’t you?
Chris Stulz’s Muppet Stuff on Facebook
It’s hard to keep up with every little Muppet merchandise item that comes out, which is why most of the time, I don’t even try. Fortunately, Chris Stulz has us covered with his Muppet Stuff page on Facebook, which he updates regularly with photos and info on Muppet items both new and old. Not only does Muppet Stuff alert us when there’s something new we should run out and buy, it also informs us about vintage stuff we’ve never heard of. Did you know there was a Kermit Big Wheel?
Matt Smith’s Muppet Musings
The website hasn’t been updated in a few months, but if you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth taking the time to check out everything there. Muppet Musings serves as an archive of material by and about the Muppets. There’s a cool page full of press clippings, but the real gold lies in the video clips. During the publicity blitz surrounding the release of The Muppets, Matt Smith collected a zillion videos of behind-the-scenes stuff, media appearances, and more, and uploaded them all for the world to enjoy. The Muppet Musings YouTube channel also features a ton of comedy bits originally posted on the official Muppet website, some of which I don’t think are even there anymore. Among other things, this includes the great new character find of 2008: Topo Sticky!
Homemade Muppet Music
This is another one that hasn’t been updated in a while, but I sure hope that changes soon. Homemade Muppet Music is a Tumblr that collects videos of all types of Muppet fans performing cover versions of all types of Muppet songs. It might be a band playing in front of a live audience, or it might be a guy or gal singing directly into a webcam, but it’s always charming to see folks express their love of Muppets musically. Just take a look at this adorable family of four performing “Life’s a Happy Song”:
D.W. McKim’s Muppet Freak
D.W. McKim has been active in the online Muppet fan community since way back in the Usenet group days, and he’s been a Muppet fan for even longer. As such, he always has a unique take on Muppet productions past and present and why the Muppets mean so much to us fans, and his Muppet Freak blog captures his own personal thoughts on a variety of Muppet-related and not-so-Muppet-related topics. It’s worth noting that he’s probably written more about Farscape than the rest of us Muppet fan sites… mostly because the rest of us negligent fans have yet to watch Farscape.
Robyn Learn’s “Facts” About Muppets
I’ve long been exasperated by the sheer volume of misconceptions the general public holds about the Muppets. At a certain point, you have to realize that there’s no way you can correct everyone, and that you might as well stop losing sleep over it and just throw your hands up and laugh. That’s what I’m told, anyway. From this notion comes “Facts” About Muppets, a Tumblr created by Tough Pigs pal Robyn Learn, which offers a frequently updated selection of comments taken directly from YouTube and other websites, written by users eager to show off their “knowledge” of the Muppets. For example, did you know that Kermit is controlled by a computer? Or that Jim Henson was a “drunken slob” who was fired from Sesame Street and replaced by a different puppeteer who redesigned all the characters? You can “learn” all kinds of “facts” on the internet!
FrogFan76
There is no question about it: FrogFan76 is the bestest Muppet fan on the internet. He’s on Facebook and Twitter, but to truly appreciate him you have to keep up with his vlog on YouTube. Here FrogFan addresses pressing issues in the Muppet world, responds to viewer mail, and reenacts great moments in Muppet history, as only he can. His favorite Muppet is Mildred Huxtetter, and he loves Mexican Cheetos. He’s pretty unusual, even for a Muppet fan.
By the way, no one I know has any clue who’s actually responsible for FrogFan’s videos, if you know what I mean. It’s obvious that FrogFan was professionally… um, groomed. The videos are pretty slickly produced. And as a Muppet geek, FrogFan is a pretty strikingly accurate reflection of certain facets of fandom. So part of me would love to know who’s uploading this stuff, but most of me is content to never know.
In this vlog entry, FrogFan76 reviews The Muppets:
Muppet Mayhem
I think that’s what it’s called, anyway. Tough Pigs’ good friend Lara Frazier runs this Tumblr, which is regularly updated with super-fun Muppet pictures, videos, and animated gifs. Every once in a while she even posts something that I’ve never seen before, so I don’t know where she’s getting all this great stuff.
Never Too Old to Love Muppets
Man, Tumblr is confusing. This one, created and maintained by Tough Pigs contributor Julia Gaskill, has the URL “NeverTooOldToLoveMuppets,” but the top of the page says “WE’RE GOING TO GO BACK THERE SOMEDAY” and the sidebar says “Movin’ Right Along.” Anyway, much like Muppet Mayhem, this one offers a regular stream of Muppet things sure to brighten your day.
Muppet Pants???
I stumbled upon this Tumblr URL while looking for sites to include in this article. There doesn’t seem to be anything there, which is a tragedy, because if you ask me, “Muppet Pants” has the potential to be the greatest Muppet fan destination on the entire internet.
Click here to tumbl on over to the Tough Pigs forum!
by Ryan Roe – Ryan@ToughPigs.com
