Faithful readers of this blog know what a hero and inspiration Jim Henson continues to be to me (I lobbied unsuccessfully for each of my kids to have "Henson" as a middle name. Hmpf.) Anyway, I want to share some marvelous wild Henson geniusness I've come across recently:

Jim Henson video collection at the University of Maryland . I am especially excited about watching the "Experimental Films", some of which I have read about many times but never thought I'd get to actually see.

The Cube. Henson's wild film about a man trapped in a cube that others can enter and leave, but he has to figure out how to get out himself. Thanks to my super-wonderful brother, I now have my own copy of this. You can actually download it, it's in the public domain now. Or just watch it. (About an hour long.)

Timepiece. The Oscar-nominated short. Watch Jim Henson paint an elephant lavender, among other things. (About 9 minutes.)

Wilkins Coffee commercials. We've said "A house just isn't a home without Wilkins Coffee!" since we were in high school. Here's why.

Outtakes from Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. Not for the kiddies, but really, really funny. Jerry Nelson and Frank Oz are joking in the longest clip.