What is Muppet Hub?
Muppet Hub is where the Muppetational comes together!
It is a Muppet fansite, and also group of projects and pages around the web created by JD Hansel that are designed to help bring Muppet fans together, and/or celebrate Jim Henson and the puppetry arts. These include:
- Eleven Point Collar, a Muppet fan podcast
- Muppet Youth, a Facebook group and page for younger/teenage Muppet fans
- Mupdates, a YouTube series that recaps the Muppet news from previous months
- @PuppetProverbs, a Twitter account with tips and words of wisdom regarding puppetry
- Puppet Rants, a series that combines YouTube-style vlogging and ranting with Henson-style puppetry
- Henson History 101, a brief summary of the history and impact of Jim Henson and the Muppets
- And more!
What is Eleven Point Collar?
Eleven Point Collar (11PC for short) is a Muppet fan podcast hosted by JD Hansel with a focus on the history of Jim Henson and the Muppets. The usual episode has Trivia Time, Henson History, and Closing Clips, although occasionally I throw in Muppet Storytime or an interview. Aside from regular episodes of the podcast, mini episodes called Muppet Hub News Flashes update listeners on what’s going on at Muppet Hub at the time.
The show’s guests have included:
- Ryan Dosier of the Muppet Mindset
- Pasha Romanowski of Project Puppet
- Steve Swanson of The MuppetCast and The Backstage Podcast
- Noel MacNeal, Sesame Street puppeteer and the performer of Bear on Bear in the Big Blue House
- Peter Linz, Sesame Street puppeteer and the performer of Walter from the recent Muppet films
If you’re new to the show and don’t know which episode to start with, I recommend starting with Episode 54 (featuring Ryan Dosier), Muppet Hub News Flash #1, or the most recent episode, and then moving forward or backwards from there. I generally discourage people from listening to the earlier episodes of the show (episodes from before 2014) because they are not nearly as strong. Click here to subscribe!
Read more about JD Hansel
As a baby, my bedroom was filled with Sesame Street decor, and I fell asleep listening to Kenny Loggins singing “The Rainbow Connection.” It’s only natural that I grew into the big Muppet lover I’ve become. My Muppet fandom really sparked when I heard Steve Swanson’s Muppetcast, which I still consider the best podcast ever made, so when Steve talked about ending the show, I decided to create my own podcast.
Since then, I’ve been adding videos, artwork, articles, and episodes of my podcast to boobersblog.com, now muppethub.com, and it’s been a lot of fun. I hope that more young Muppet fans will be inspired by Muppet Hub, Muppet Youth, and Eleven Point Collar to start their own websites, pages, movements, communities, podcasts, video series, and other projects to spread the fun of Muppet fandom all around the world!
Read more about Muppet Hub
Boober’s Blog was a blog I created in 2011 (I think) that I decided to use for my podcast, Eleven Point Collar, in 2012. The blog soon became filled with over 40 episodes of the podcast, as well as articles, videos, and artwork. Since the name seemed to be confusing (and frankly embarrassing to refer people to) it was changed into Muppet Hub, which started on January 5, 2014, and merged with Boober’s Blog over the following few days.
Muppet Hub is designed to be like the former Muppet fansite MuppetFans.com, which used to be a place where fans could find the latest posts from the best Muppet fansites out there, but unlike MuppetFans.com, provides original content. Despite its changes since 2011, this website has always been about Muppet fandom, and hopefully it will help bring fans together to celebrate the works of Jim Henson.
Read more about Eleven Point Collar
11PC is a podcast created by a Muppet fan, for Muppet fans, hosted by me, J. D. Hansel. After the MuppetCast came to a close in late 2011, it was clear that there would be a big hole in the lives of Muppet fans, and it seemed like another Muppet podcast needed to be started. With that, Eleven Point Collar was created in January of 2012 at boobersblog.com, and originally was done in the voice of Kermit the Frog for the entire show. After the twelfth episode, the style started changing, and the show eventually hit its stride in 2014, at which time it was moved to Muppet Hub. More characters have been added to the show, including Louie, a kid who “helps” out from time to time. Since the beginning, 11PC been offering Muppet fans with great Muppet history, trivia, music, and surprises, and continues to do so in its fourth year.
Read more about Muppet Youth
I know how hard it is to meet other big Muppet fans. It’s especially hard when you’re a teenager, because when other groups of friends can get together and go see a movie they all will enjoy, we Muppetlovers are the only ones who can’t seem to find anyone to quote “A Muppet Family Christmas” with us. It’s also hard trying to produce content that other Muppet fans will enjoy because no one wants to watch or listen to some kid making a poor attempt at seeming professional. Plus, we’re too young for all of the Henson Company’s contests, which can get quite annoying.
So, I created a Facebook group, Muppet Youth, to help young Muppet fans spread their thoughts, interests, and art with people who might actually care about it. Because it was created for the teenage Muppet fans, I ask that only those under the age of 21 join Muppet Youth, however, anyone can like its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/muppetyouth. The group’s web address is https://www.facebook.com/groups/muppetyouth/, and I suggest that any teenage Muppet fan who wants his/her work known check it out. Also, I ask/recommend that, when you join, you go to the “Files” tab and create a brief document to let us know a little bit about yourself.
However, I must caution everyone that this page is currently public, so anyone can see what members post to it, including pictures and documents. So, be very, very careful, and I ask that any minors who wish to join get parental permission. I can change the settings so it is no longer public if it becomes a problem, but I want fans to know about this. For this reason, please invite friends to join the group and like the page so we can bring the community of young Muppet fans together.
Contact Info
Sometimes leaving a comment on a post isn’t the best way to reach me since I don’t always see the comments until after it’s been a while, so I suggest you do one of the following:
A. Email me at me@muppethub.com
B. Tweet @jd11pc
C. Sneak out in the middle of the night… whoops! I meant fill out this contact form:
I was 14 when my mom told me that Henson had passed. She had heard it on toviliseen, and later told me while eating at the dinner table that evening.I had a knack at a young age to pick out names from TV credits. Since their titles were always at the top of the Muppet Show end credits, I simply knew that the Jim Henson and Frank Oz names had to be a big part in the making of these shows that I loved so much.I remember my mom pointing out to me who Jim was at the end of the Muppet Christmas special as he played out his cameo washing dishes in the kitchen. That was the first time I could place a face to the legendary name that was Jim Henson’, and from that point I knew exactly who he was, it made a lot of sense to me.I was instantly sad when my mother told me, and I remember the short Entertainment Tonight special on him that night. I recall thinking that I’d never see Kermit & Ernie again, at least never see new performances from those characters. Then was appalled at the thought of anyone else performing those characters & voices, but later realized that those characters would never pass away as long as there was an excellent puppeteer ready to take on the task.I was only 14 when he passed but I’ll never forget how I felt. Like the news of a distant relative had just passed away. I didn’t know how much of a major influence Jim’s work had on me until I got into animation, and found myself studying puppetry in order to improve my character acting within the craft of hand-drawn cartoon animation. As the internet was really beginning to grow in the late 90s, I found myself researching Muppet websites and information, at first just for pure nostalgic effect.8 Years ago was my first time wandering through the Ebay website, I believe the third item I ever searched for was Muppet . I was always obsessed about finding or creating my own muppet characters, and had finally found a way to discover them. Ironically I have 12 puppets of my own now, none of them are actual vintage muppets, and Ididn’t get any of them from Ebay. But as I searched around I found many small puppet-making and puppet performing communities online, and eventually designed my own characters and found craftsman to build my puppets for me.As I think back on my childhood, I loved the Muppet Show and Sesame Street soooo much I simply assumed as a child and teenager that I would never have the opportunity to play around with a puppet. Little did I know that technology would make it very simple for me to get into it as a hobby, with the ease and inexpensive nature of digital video cameras and the internet; many puppet makers and performers are connected across the world thanks to YouTube and various Puppet Forums and sites like this one. This very easy way of sharing information and knowledge, and the love of all things Muppet related make it so simple for anyone to become a fan, to pursue their dreams and become a independent puppet film maker.I will always have Jim to thank, he still sparks creativity within me, even after all these years.-Ron
If I were you, next April Fool’s Day, I’d turn the site “upside down”, make it wild colours and call it Sidebottom’s Blog!
That’s a nice idea! I’ll try to remember that.
Maybe you could do crazy Sidebottom-ish things that day, such as crazy knock-knock jokes that are dangerous because laughing is BAD for you!