Big Figures for Ventriloquist Figures

A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Puppet
Mannequin American views and guidelines on marketing/PR trends plus bits of humor and interesting but useless information. For information on Chip's background, go to http://www.dale-brown.com/.

Smile and Say, "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers!"
I know it's hard to believe, but when the opportunity arises, other vents actually like to have their pictures taken with Dale. I have no idea why.

Below, former Miss America, Kimberly Yeager, and current board member of the Raue Center for the Arts, Glen Chelius, flank Dale with their figures. All three puppets were created by Tim Selberg. Interestingly, Kimberly's puppet is a "Percy" figure modified from a black male to a white female. (See inset.) Although it often takes 18 to 24 months to get a Selberg figure, it's worth the wait. Most professionals consider his figures to be the finest available today. Personally I don't see the attraction. Louie and I staple our pants on one leg at a time like every other puppet. Click here to go to the Selberg site.

Below, our good friends Chris Donahoe (L) and Chris Johnson (R) pose with Dale. Chris Donahoe operates Backstage Pass Parties which offers a wide variety of very popular party packages for kids of all ages. I have no idea why he's holding a talking traffic cone ... but I know that it creeped me out. 

Chris Johnson is holding his Selberg figure.  Considering that Selberg's are very expensive, relatively rare and typically not yet shipped, it's impressive that 11 of them were in attendance at this year's convention. Someone took a group photo of Selberg puppets and owners. (Sort of like a Porsche Club.) If I can get a copy, I'll put it on the blog.

I'd estimate that there were around 1,000 puppets at this year's convention. That would be about two Mannequin Americans for every vent in attendance.

Take This Test ... It Could Save Your Life ... (If you're the outdoors type)

Test Your Instincts is a free (brought to you by Samsung Instinct!) quiz that gauges a person's wildlife savvy: what do you do when a jellyfish stings, when a shark comes angling for your surfboard, or when you're stuck in quicksand (which happens around my office all the time)?

The scenarios are multiple choice and there's no registration process so it's fast. I got 9 out of 13 right, proving that I'm a woodsy-type puppet who stays close to his roots. Let me know if you beat my score.

Four Years Later ... All Fines Rescinded for the Cup That Runneth Over

Back in 2004 (yes, it really was that long ago), Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were wounded by a "wardrobe malfunction" which caused most of Janet Jackson's boob to be seen by something like 80 million people. The vast majority of us smirked. Others got freaked out and began filing lawsuits all over the place.  (Dale made it talk...)

Well, four years later, it's all over and a Philadelphia Court of Appeals has injected some common sense into the debacle. The court overturned the FCC's fining of 20 CBS stations and the FCC's claim the stations were liable for the "malfunction." Basically, the Court of Appeals ruled the fines ran counter to the FCC's long-standing history of forgiving fleeting instances of indecency.

So that's it. It's all over. To my knowledge no ten-year-olds were everlastingly scarred by seeing Janet's boob for a millisecond. The pendulum has swung. Now we can get back to the Coors Twins, GoDaddy.Com girls, mud wrestling Miller beer babes and the notion that there's nothing inherently wrong with sex. If those who puritanically want to wipe sex from the earth spent the same amount of time and effort on combating violence on our streets, they might actually do some good.

Virgin Wants to Put You on TV

I almost didn't go to the Virgin Web site because the premise seemed a bit lame. But I'm glad I made the "click" because it turned out to be a rather clever marketing gimmick.

Virgin's "What Happens Next?" campaign poses three very short, unfinished scenarios: "Kidnap," "Police" and "UFO." Each 10 second video starts at a diner called the Rattle 'n' Hum. Then it's up to you to bring the pieces to their conclusions using tools which range from Devastatingly Minimal to Comic-Con. You can just add words or be more creative and adventuresome.  If you're the creative type, this site allows you to stretch your legs and release your inner Steve Martin or Alfred Hitchcock.