Kermit and things

I think this will be a quick update, but we'll see.

So I got to Hollywood like a half hour before work today.  I don't really ride the buses at any set times or on any set schedule, since the buses themselves don't really run at any set time or on any set schedule (regardless of what they tell you) and my commute time changes depending on when I leave the house and so on.

  

Anyway, I got off at the West Hollywood Target like always, and decided to walk up to Sunset Boulevard to explore a little before I had to be back at work.  I started walking up, wondering what I might find.  Well, as I walked past the gas stations, fast food joints, and random stores, I started to wonder if there actually was going to be anything interesting to see up on Sunset. 

Then, as I was walking up La Brea towards Sunset, it hit me:  The Jim Henson Studios are on this street near Sunset!  I had found this out taking the bus home from Hollywood the first weekend I was in LA, and I was riding the bus down La Brea, not really paying attention to the random stores and fast food places until BAM,  there I see Kermit the Frog sitting on top of the studio next to a gate that says "The Jim Henson Company."  I knew the Henson studios were somewhere in Hollywood, but I was surprised to find them there.  So this morning I went back to take a few pictures and check out the place.

In the picture above you can see the cool statue of Kermit above the gate.  The studios are also extremely cool because they are the old historic Charlie Chaplin Studios.  Apparently Charlie built this studio and used it for something like 30 years to make movies.  The studio looks more like a small European town with the cool tudor style buildings.  

As I was walking by, a lady pulled in and the gate opened.  This was my chance to sneak in and explore what was sure to be a place of wonderful magic and fantasy.  Alas, I walked by, and by the time I walked back to take this picture, the gate had closed again.  

Visiting the Henson studio was kind of bitter sweet, because it reminded me of how there have been no recent Muppet projects.  Disney buying the Muppets was supposed to be a good thing, and was supposed to have thrown them back into the spotlight.  Unfortunately, it's only been disappointing.  Seeing Kermit sitting atop the studio gate, I was sad that the Jim Henson Company no longer owns Kermit and Co., and I doubted that anything all that exciting and creative was going on inside because of it.  After today, I must say that I wish the Hensons still owned the Muppets, and that Disney and Henson were just friends who worked together, like back in the good old days.  In the days of Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island.

"Thez gotta be something betta"

Although all of this sounds very dramatic, I really only walked by for like a minute.  Then I turned onto Sunset Blvd. and started East back towards Highland where I work.  There wasn't really too much that was exciting on Sunset there, except for the 24 Hour Hollywood IHOP, so I kept walking past Highland to where I knew the Crossroads of the World was.  I stop at the Crossroads, and took a picture.

Man these days in Southern California are beautiful.  Look at that sky!  Anyway, apparently the crossroads of the world used to be really cool with shops from around the world surrounding it.  Now its all offices.  Many of you may recognize this as it was, like the Chinese Theatre, recreated at the former Disney-MGM Studios, now Disney's Hollywood Studios.  Except here, there isn't a Mickey Mouse statue on top.  (I'm sorry, can I help it that Hollywood is full of Disney connections?)  Still, the original is beautiful!

Well, I was planning on writing a few more things, but that's enough for tonight.  Like I said, I'm excited to head to Universal on Saturday!  You can bet on an update following that adventure.  

Until then,

Keep it real,

Alex