Carlin as a sophomore in high school in the musical Little Shop of Horrors.
In March of this year, I had an idea for the Nerd Lunch Podcast to discuss pop culture based musicals and within the context of the discussion we would create ideas for other potential musicals based on movies and TV shows. I felt like a topic like this begged for a special themed intro. So I created the “Nerd Lunch: The Musical” opener. I sang for a chunk of it, I enlisted the other podcasters from the show (including guest Klingon Pop Warrior Jen Usellis Mackay) to sing parts and my wife sang all the back up parts and I produced it all into one magnificent opening.
Take a listen to the first couple minutes below for the results and check out the entire show for the full discussion. Lots of creative ideas were shared.
Cover for Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens.
I’ve mentioned my Nerd Lunch projects here some in the past, but haven’t brought it up too much unless it was specifically to showcase what I was working on. However, a new episode of the podcast has been released that I think people who frequent this blog might enjoy. I was contacted by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens, the author of Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career, and I was asked to review her book and offer a blurb for use on the Amazon page. I did and found the book to be worthy of this blurb:
“When someone asks me who would I have dinner with if I could choose any person, dead or alive, my answer is always Jim Henson. Unfortunately, that’s never going to happen. This book feels like it is the next best thing. Liz Stevens has done a remarkable job at deconstructing the life and work of Henson in a way that thoroughly explains what made him a successful artist. Just like a meal spent with Henson would be life-changing, this book opens up the reader to ways of acting and thinking, as modeled by Henson, that will surely aid in the growth of one’s artistic goals. Stevens impressively points out threads that appear all the way through Henson’s entire body of work illustrating the struggle that exists between art and business…and more importantly, how the two can live in harmony.” —CT, Nerd Lunch
Elizabeth had written an article about two years ago about the Muppets in a post-Henson world and I thought the piece was brilliant and was so glad to see she had done more in regards to the Muppets. After reading the book, I thought she would be a great guest for the podcast and she proved me right. We had about a 45 minute conversation about the book, our creative struggles and the Muppets.
Stormspeed Now 