Been a while, my most humble apologies. Yesterday was a company-wide volunteer day. Yeah, I know. I've gone corporate. Sold out. Artistic integrity ceases to exist. Whatever cliches it may conjure, my company ended up sending me to the Center for Puppetry Arts, a place I haven't been since I was 8 years old.
I've never experienced nostalgic at this magnitude in my life. My memories of the Center were of a HUGE cavernous museum and stage--but now it was tiny. The Jim Henson exhibit is only one room, and the "puppets of the world" part wasn't near a maze of childhood nightmares like I remember it. Although it was pretty creepy.
That got me thinking. Perceptions of size obviously change as one grows, and maturity brings another element of approaching events. But what kind of environment would it take to synthesize how that museum felt when I was 8? I'm not talking about the size of everything, but what if it were possible to put all kinds of things in place, adjusted just right to match my maturity now, so that I still felt the magic and terror of a huge museum and puppet show?
Argh. I would probably be more disturbed by it than I was then.
Anyway, Jim Henson was a genius. The muppets have such long-term appeal, and much of it relies on the accessible humor. I can't wait for the new movie and hope Jason Segal brings them justice.
