Happy Birthday Bill Barretta!

You may know him more as performer extraordinaire behind (under?) Pepe, Bobo, and more recently the Swedish Chef, Rowlf, and Dr. Teeth, but Bill Barretta's first major role was performing the body of Earl Sinclair on Dinosaurs!

 Happy Birthday, Bill!!

From TVLine

PBS Adding a Shorter Sesame Street

By Matt Webb Mitovich / June 18 2014, 7:09 AM PDT

In response to the way kiddies now consume content on digital devices — and to offer said audience more viewing options — PBS is developing a streamlined, half-hour edition of Sesame Street.

As first reported by the New York Times, starting Sept. 1 PBS will add to its afternoon line-up a 30-minute edit of that morning’s hour-long Sesame Street, keeping elements such as “Word on the Street” and letter- and number-themed “dance breaks,” while excising the lengthier, more-serialized segments (e.g. “Abby’s Flying Fairy School”).

As PBS execs explained to the Times, the 60-minute Sesame Street “didn’t lend itself” well to mobile viewing, while the additional, half-hour broadcast will allow the 45-year-old series to “expand its footprint” and offer preschoolers “a great alternative” in afternoon TV.

I close with a fun fact nestled in PBS’ official press release: “A longitudinal study by the University of Kansas found that American children who frequently viewedSesame Street as preschoolers had high-school grade point averages that were almost 16 percent higher than those who did not watch.”

Archaia to make "whitch"ing new Storyteller miniseries!

From The Nerdist

EXCLUSIVE: ARCHAIA ANNOUNCES JIM HENSON’S THE STORYTELLER: WITCHES COMICS MINISERIES

BY AMY RATCLIFFE ON JUNE 17, 2014

Archaia, the official publisher of Jim Henson comics and graphic novels, is launching a new comics miniseries based on one of Henson’s franchises. The Storyteller: Witches will focus on different folk tales just like the television series from the late ’80s. The Storyteller featured a narrator sitting in a cozy chair by the fireplace; he told viewers about magical creatures and happenings. As the Storyteller wove his tales, you watched them come to life before your eyes.

The Storyteller: Witches will be similar except the stories will unfold on the pages of comics instead of the television screen. Each issue of the four-part series will center on folk tales involving a witch. The inspiration is pulled from folk tales – mostly European titles – and one of the issues is based on an unproduced teleplay from The Storyteller. Here’s how they break down:

Issue 1, cover A, by S.M. Vidaurri

Issue 1, cover B, by Missy Pena

Issue 1 (on sale 9/17 in comic shops):

“The Magic Swan Goose & the Lord of the Forest”
Written and illustrated by S.M. Vidaurri (IRON: Or, The War After)

Issue 2, by Kyla Vanderklugt

Issue 2 (on sale 10/15):
“The Snow Witch”
Written and Illustrated by Kyla Vanderklugt (Spera)
NOTE: This is a landscape-formatted issue.

Issue 3, by Matthew Dow Smith

Issue 3 (on sale 11/19):

“The Phantom Isle”
Written and Illustrated by Matthew Dow Smith (October Girl, X-Files, Doctor Who, Hellboy)

Issue 4, illustrated by Jeff Stokely (Six-Gun Gorilla, The Reason for Dragons), colors by John Rauch

Issue 4 (on sale 12/17):
“Vasilissa the Beautiful”
Based on the unproduced Storyteller teleplay written by Anthony Minghella, Susan Kodicek, and Anne Mountfield.
Adapted and illustrated by Jeff Stokely (Six-Gun Gorilla, The Reason for Dragons), colors by John Rauch

Archaia provides the stories, but you’re responsible for adding the fireplace and the big fluffy dog. And if you really want to commit to the role, you can try to get in touch with John Hurt’s people to see if he’ll come to your house and read the comics to you. Let us know how that goes.

Issue #1 will be available in comic shops on September 17th. If you’re interested, go ahead and tell your friendly neighborhood comics retailer you want a copy.

Disney Parks: Disney D-Tech on Demand

A new store within a store opened recently in Downtown Disney called  "Disney D-Tech," where you can buy laptop, tablet, phone cases, and other tech related items and accessories. 

They have a selection of "on demand" items as well -  items that they don't actually have stock of, but can be chosen from a selection of designs and printed - on demand.

Currently, they have four different Muppet cell phone cases to choose from.

Disney Parks: Miss Piggy Shoe Ornament

Disney Parks have also released the first Muppet in their line of character shoe ornaments - Miss Piggy! Each shoe is stylized around a character's clothing, personality and traits, but does not feature their face. 

Below are examples of other shoes in the line:

These are usually only available at the Disney Parks, but there are a few on ebay and Amazon.

Disney Parks: Magnets

Not to be outdone, Disney Parks now have their own line of Muppet magnets available as well. 

Magnet Set

Forbidden Planet has a magnet set to match the coasters with Gonzo and the Swedish Chef added in as well.