Sometimes it snows in April

 

MJB

Happy Birthday.

Enjoy some music...

 

Weirdly good...

I was thinking earlier today about where we all were six years ago.

The lockdown was in effect. I remember doing curbside pick up at Jo-Ann's. Spending a ton of time on my own with my cat, Penny. Nights spent writing. Days spent making puppets. Or watching movies to help pass time. I remember the first few weeks it was raining and gloomy a lot, which added to the feelings of dread.

And I felt weirdly good. Weirdly alive. But also alone. 

And in some weird way it was OK.  I knew it would end and "normal" would return. But then, what is even normal? 

A new normal for every aspect of life happened. 

Be good to each other. And as Lenny says: "Let love rule."

Sam Keith

Sam Keith, sweet dreams - job well done.

"The Maxx" is still one of my all time favorite comics, and Sam is one of my favorite artists.

He was so much more than "The Maxx" as well. Co-creator of "The Sandman", did amazing work on Batman and Hulk/Wolverine. And his two series "Zero Girl" and "Four Woman" are also amazing.

Always wanted to make a puppet of "The Maxx".

 

There is so much more to see...

Dear fellow puppetheads and Muppetheads...

I'm seeing some posts pop up with folks being negative towards new works featuring the Muppets.
Let it go. If you're unhappy with it look for alternatives to bring you joy. Keep it positive and share and praise good work. There are so many other groups of puppeteers and puppet makers and film makers carrying on their traditions that Jim Henson and his team began 70 years ago. And in some cases maybe even truer to the innovation and storytelling paths they were paving...

And I'm not just talking about Elmwood Productions and what we do. But, I totally am as well!

So I'm here to share some alternatives to the "big guys".

Links below are to the YouTube Pages for these folks...

Take some time and check them out, maybe you'll find you new favorite puppets somewhere in this list! And most of these cats have no corporate funding, independent artists... These folks need your t-shirt and merch sales way more than the big companies!

In no particular order and by no means a complete list:

Of course we have Elmwood Productions, I'd be a fool not to mention us.

Los Titeres TV - The Senor Loco Show

Boxjob

On The Puppet Front

Harkels Puppetry

Nate Puppets

Patrick McNeal's Stuff

Jellybean Jungle

Scraps TV
Transylvania Television

This is just a very tiny list, just a taste of what is out there. Take some time, expand our horizons...  

Also - remember - the people unhappy are usually the loudest. It doesn't make them a majority. These folks need to sit back, be happy with the years of entertainment they can look back on and continue to enjoy, and let the rest of the world like what they like.

Sweet dreams Penny.

2010-2025

 

Rich.

 

This is Rich. 

We're raising a toast to what would be a nite of a good buzz and a lot of laughs.

Two years ago over the summer Elmwood shot eight episodes of a show called "It's Going in Rich's Mouth" and a year ago we stated releasing them. Now, on almost the exact anniversary of the first episode coming out the last episode has hit YouTube.

This was fun show. Make sure to watch all the episodes HERE!

But this post is a Rich appreciation post.

I firtst met him in 1989 or 1990. I was 14 or 15. IHe came up to me in the hallway of our high school and asked if I was The Jungle Man. 

Great, I thought, another guy who is going to try to make fun of me for making weird movies. 

But I was way wrong. He though The Jungle Man movies were funny as Hell and wanted to be a part of it.

And now 30 plus years later he still is.

Rich is a sweet man and one of the funniest people ever. He is so funny he laughs at all his own jokes while telling them.
 And a legit good friend. 

Everyone needs a Rich in their lives.

"We're all tired of fuckin' something"

 It was 1994. 

Summer. My brother had been dead since early fall '93... 

I was living through Hell. Or so my 19 year old heart believed it to be. Hindsight makes one realize it wasn't as bad as it may have felt. But man, it fucking sucked.

Other than listening to Prince no other music that was new was making me happy. And I couldn't listen to the music I already loved because it all made me think of how much everything sucked. Whether it was thinking of my brother or the shit relationships I was in, everything just sucked. And I started digging into older music. Ray Charles. Dr John. Funkadelic, David Bowie. I was finding new in old.

And then I heard "'Round Here".

And I'm not going to lie and act like I was a huge Counting Crows fan. I never was and I'm still not, "Mr. Jones" was a pretty big hit for them and I just couldn't get into it, but that summer, "Round Here" hit the radio and I heard my friends.
I heard the life I was living. It was a new song that made me think about my friends and myself and the things we were going through and the people we wanted to be with, and the people we wanted to be. And it just made me feel good and broke my heart at the same time. 

There was this coffee shop that I worked at with Tricky called coffee company, Tricky's Uncle Vic owned it. And I remember the first time I heard the song I was sitting in the parking lot in my car and the song just hit me so hard. About 2 months ago I stumbled across this version of the song on YouTube and it just blew me away and it brought me right back to that heartbreakingly sad yet wonderful time between teen and adult, between angst and understanding sadness, between loving and loss. And it felt like an anthem for what suburban kids would lose as we became Gen X adults. I'm still not a really big Counting Crows fan. But this song and this version that I stumbled the cross hits hard.

But there's a girl on a car out in the parking lot. She says "Hey man, c'mon. Come on!" she said. "C'mon! Just take a shot!"

It's Not A Good Day To Be A Bad Guy

 May 13, 1994 was a Friday nite. I went to the movie theater by myself to see a flick I had been waiting for on opening nite.

I was there more for my brother who couldn't be there, but I know how badly he wanted to see the movie. I was a fan of the comic it was based on because he really wanted me to read it, and I did but only after his death when I came across them.

The next morning, I took a break at work from the coffee shop I worked at and walked over to Coconuts.

Remember Coconuts?

And I bought the soundtrack.

30 years ago.  Thanks, Michael, for telling me to check this comic out, and for making me want to see the flick.

March 27

 Today was a day that I didn't expect to go so well.
Today was a day I laughed so hard I started to wheeze, more than once.
I even cried form laughing.  Fuck, that feels so good.

Today would have been my brother's birthday.  And every year I try to find a way to celebrate.
And although I didn't bring it up with the Elmwood gang tonite as we had out weekly production meeting, they helped me celebrate by being my brothers and sisters. And making me laugh so fucking hard.

The past few years all my social media outlets, including this one, have turned to more Elmwood Productions focused. And that has been on purpose.  Who cares about my personal stuff?  Just share the films, the puppet, the creative suff... That madness that goes along with all of that.
It's probably better that way, and more fun for me and whoever reads this stuff.
Puppets are more fun than my bald head for sure...

As I was driving home from the studio, I had a CD in my car I haven't played in literal years. And the last song played as I hit my driveway.  I sat and listened to it and a flood of memoirs came back to me.

I used to have a blog where I vented about life. And things were getting dark back then. And at one point someone commented on a post with a quote from the song that was playing.

"I have faith that there's a soul somewhere that's leading me around,
I wonder if she knows which way is down."

And I found my way down. I even felt like I evaporated. And then there was rejuvenation.

As I lean into this time, where Elmwood is just going to take it all over on my socials as we release so much new and awesome stuff over the next year and more, I realize that I did go down.  And sometimes down lower than I thought was survivable...  And These people who made my face and chest hurt from laughing so much have pulled me back up. 
And I don't even know if they know it.
So, thank you to ALL the Elmwood gang...  And a few others who have made me smile so goddamn much.
I can only hope I do the same for you.

Thank you for being a part of my mad journey. 

Love and goodnite.

The Crow: This Time I'm Not The Target Audience

I'm not a critic. I'm not a journalist.

I'm a fan. Of films, of music, of comics, of puppets, of arts... And of coffee... And more. Since everyone in the world seems to have a webcam and an opinion, I figured this would be easier than writing a giant post on social media... And remember - opinions are like assholes, they all stink. Since the new "The Crow" movie trailer came out a ton of folks have been asking me how I feel about it since I am such a huge fan of the original book and also the 1994 film. My initial reaction was "Please stop it."... But I realized I am not the target audience for this new movie, and that is a strange feeling. But also, no one can take the old one away from me.

I just hope it is good.

Maybe this could end up on a "Reel Talk" episode!

Support Elmwood Productions -

Subscribe on YouTube - youtube.com/@ElmwoodProductions/?sub_confirmation=1

https://elmwoodproductions.com/

https://www.patreon.com/elmwoodproductions 

30 years later...

1971-1993

Not a day passes that I don't think about you.

Miss you every day.

Grateful for the 18 years I got to hang with you. 

 

Summer's not over yet!

  21 years ago, this week I moved back to Connecticut from a year and a half in Brandon, Florida.

Every year as summer ends, I think about that time.  And I'm always glad I came back. Until it snows of course. I hate the fucking snow.  But anyway...

And as the summer ends I also find my mind moving towards my brother who died just as summer was ending in 1993.  Next month it'll be 30 years since he died.

How did 30 years pass so quick?

Which means it's 23 years since my mom died. Almost on the anniversary of my brother's death.

How did this time pass?

1978

I don't feel old.  I don't believe in "the good ol' days". 
Every day is what you make of it.  The good ol' days are every yesterday. 
Not just memories from decades past.

Life has been good. 
I'm glad it's been weird too.

And if you're in: Let's make it even weirder.

Destiny...

 Took my dad to see this flick today. 

We've seen them all together since I was 6 years old. Full of fun, good action, and heart. Even got choked up a couple of times. 

The best sequels are movies that can stand on their own. And even with this movie making mention and wrapping up storylines from the previous four it could still be watched on its own and be a lot of fun and entertaining. Nothing will ever beat Raiders of the Lost Ark. But this movie is truly an Indiana Jones movie. I recommend it, all the characters are great and made sense. 

Again it was fun and fun is all I want when I see Indiana Jones. Ignore what the followers online will say because they just want to hate things to get more likes and views and just want to hate things cuz they're new. This was a fantastic way to wrap up 43 years of Adventures.

Give him hell Indiana Jones.

Ahh... 76.1

 Been a great couple months...

Been filming and prepping with the Elmwood gang and just living and loving and learning.

June 1st.  It's summer as far as I'm concerned.  Let's have some fun.

According to the National Center for Health Statistic the average American male now live 76.1 years.
So that gives me roughly 28 years.  
Got me thinking about two things. 
What will I do with those 28 years?
And, what was I doing at 28 years old?

After wracking my brain for a bit I came up with what was up at 28. 
2003, I had moved back to Connecticut from Florida in the late summer of 2002.
By my 28th birthday I was working a fun job, making puppets, collecting comics, and Elmwood was really just starting to become "a thing".  
Steve the Vampire was created within the year, for example.
My life...  Day to day...  I was married, addicted to coffee, had a great small apartment with wife and two cats. And Tricky lived next door.  Good times.
The master bedroom was the "Elmwood Studio" where I wrote, built puppets, and we filmed. It was cramped but awesome.
Reading comics, watching movies, and goofing off.  28 was a good year. 
Those two cats, that wife, and most of the folks who were part of Elmwood back then are all gone now. 
And that's the way of time.

What's gonna happen for the next 28? 
The fact is no one knows what will happen. No one can really predict if we will even wake up tomorrow morning. 
I have plans though.  Mostly to keep going. I'm afraid if I stop, even for a week, I won't start back up! 
Elmwood has dozens of projects to make. I have things I want to do outside of that. I like living this life. I like not being bored or sedentary. 
I want new things to keep happening.

Let's get weird.

Puppets on Saturdays will kick back in starting in September! 
Here's some pics from the start of 2023...

Smile.

Last Sunday I was going through boxes of things that I haven't opened in years.  Years.
And I found this picture of my brother in a little wooden box of my mother's that was packed in a box of her stuff.  This picture was taken somewhere within the year leading up to my brother's death. I took it.  I remember goofing around with the Polaroid camera we had in the house very well.

Today would have been Michael's 52nd birthday.  30 years ago today my family was celebrating what my brothers last birthday alive.  Thirty years.

Almost every year since 1993 I have gotten him some sort of birthday present. Something small that he would have liked, or an album by a band he liked, or something like that. 

Those who are close to me know the past couple years have been nothing short of insane.  Good and bad insane. Truely a run of the highest highs and the lowest lows.  And finding this picture simultaneously devastated me and filled my heart with so much joy.

He also died thirty years ago.  Almost 6 months to the day of his birthday.  And the three years after that were also a run of the highest highs and the lowest lows.

Today.
Happy Birthday Michael.  I think about you every day, and with a smile on your face when I do.  Even if it's just a smirk like in the picture above.
Today is the start of only living to push for the highest highs. So, when my time comes people will think of me smiling.

The Real Monsters...

 For a kid my age Scooby-Doo was probably my first introduction into what horror is. Sure, it was goofy and not very scary, but we were served up monsters with every episode. The show was dark, it was kind of moody too, and it was just kind of bizarre fun. 

Now if there's one lesson we can all learn from the Scooby-Doo cartoons is that monsters usually aren't real even in the Scooby Universe. The monsters are usually a rich old man trying to maintain his stature, his celebrity, and his wealth through any means necessary including hurting the people, community, and world around him.

Something to wrap your head around huh?

So, for Halloween I want to say thank you to Scooby-Doo and Hanna Barbera for being among the first to introduce me to horror. Horror of all kinds.

And decades later Scooby and the gang fought monsters with Axl.  So, there is that piece of awsomeness too...

 

That's how we did it in the '90's

 I could write a ten-thousand-word essay on the impact the films of Kevin Smith have had on me since 1994.

But I won't.  Who wants to read that anyway?

For tonite I'll keep it simple.

Clerks.
Now the best trilogy ever.
Goodnight and thank you to the filmmakers.
Indie Film Forever.

My Wibo. My Friend.

 Thank you Wibo.  

Thank you for the random phone calls the past couple years to make sure I was OK. 

Thank you for laughing so hard when we saw each other.  

Thank you for being you.  

A one of a kind.  Mr. Wilbert Boles.

It's been a rough week.  Shit.  This news does not make it better.

My heart hurts. So much. So fucking god damned much.

Lost a shining star of a friend today.

Be good to each other. We only have a limited time to do so.

We all get the same amount of time, a lifetime.

Treat people right. And you light will shine forever in them.

Sweet dreams to the one and only Wilbert Boles. Wibo.

My friend. The legend.

My uncle Wayne told me once that after my brother died he took a bow and arrow out and shot it into the sky, hoping to take out one of God's eyes to teach God a lesson.

And I wish I had a bow right now.

Hug those you love. Tell them you love them. And be real.

Good nite.

"Big things are coming for you" - Wibo 2022 ❤️

Everything is eventual.

Ten years... 

So much has happened. So much has changed. I think about you often my friend. And happy birthday.