Geek of the Week -- Jim Henson

We begin our term-long study of Geeks who are associated with fantastic creatures by profiling a man who devoted his life to creating them -- Jim Henson.



Henson got his start creating creatures early; his puppets were featured on a Saturday morning children's TV show in Maryland when he was still in High School. While in college, he created a five-minute show called Sam and Friends, which featured a prototype of one of Henson's most famous charcters, Kermit the Frog. Over the seven year run of the show, Henson developed techniques of constructing and manipulating puppets that revolutionized puppetry performance. His innovations made his creations more than just puppets, and thus the Muppets were born.

After Sam and Friends ended in 1961,

Henson moved on to advertising, talk and variety shows, experimental short films (his live action short Time Piece was nominated for an Academy Award), and then, to the place most of us first met the Muppets, Sesame Street.  He continued to push the boundaries of what puppetry could be, rejecting the notion that puppets were just for kids, creating shorts for Saturday Night Live, and going on to produce shows such as The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and The Storyteller.  Movies followed, some starring the Muppets and others, like The Dark Crystal and The Labyrinth, which featured darker subject matter and highly original and innovative puppets. 

Jim Henson's life was tragically cut short by an infection when he was only 53. While he was taken from us far too soon, his legacy lives on. I have barely begun to scratch the surface of the many beloved productions and characters Henson and his company have produced over the years. Henson's spirit is still alive today, in the company he founded -- now headed by his children Brian and Lisa,  in the network he helped to thrive -- PBS called him "the spark that ignited our fledgling broadcast service,"^[1], in the many characters he created, and in the countless hours of video still enjoyed by people of all ages.

For his creativity, his inventiveness, his contributions to early childhood education, and his legacy as a pioneer in his field, Jim Henson truly deserves to be a Ravenclaw Geek of the Week.

Learn more about Jim Henson:

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Jim_Henson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Henson
http://www.jimhensonlegacy.org/

[1]: Blau, Eleanor (May 17, 1990). "Jim Henson, Puppeteer, Dies; The Muppets' Creator Was 53". The New York Times.

Got a geek you'd like us to feature? Nominate them here. 

Firstie Friday-- Meet the Firsties (and Transfers!)

The excitement of Sorting has made way for the excitement of the first few days of term … but we are still so excited about all the new Ravenclaws who are calling the Tower home!

Our Fall 2016 Ravenclaw First Years are:

AFeskimo 
BarnOwl 
cn32 
CymraesCrochet 
delana75 
Extraterrestrial 
gardenmama 
Laura909 
Lettisia 
Mellian 
Mumblemee 
scrappinrobyn 
siouxsieshoe

Our Fall 2106 Ravenclaw Transfer Students are:

ahanson08 
TShaya 
frithuswith 
KhenaSanskula 
PinkLemons 
yarnfreak75 
cubejelly 
christinahwest

And our Ravenclaws returning to the nest are:

Astegal 
LladyLlamaFiberCo 
ravenclawamber 
Webschaf 
Bijou3owl 
GothKnitty

Welcome to all of you! Look for upcoming Firstie Friday features, where we’ll meet some of our Firstie and Transfer students, and see some of the amazing work that they’re creating! And be sure to stop by the First Year Dorm to say hi to our already chatty Firsties! 

Thursday Stats -- Spring 2016 Quidditch Round Up

A big hello to all you sports fans out there!!!  I hear the muggles recently had some big athletic festival, but it pales in comparison to the latest Hogwarts Quidditch Season!!!!!

Three cheers for the Gryffindors, who totally dominated the pitch.  The House of Lions threw themselves into the game and earned the Quidditch Cup by a large margin.

But here's a big shout-out to the Ravenclaw Chasers - Brilliant Work out there!!!

After a surprise upset win in the brutal first match, the Soaring Eagles worked hard to finish with a strong third place.  Remember, all those points counted toward our amazing threepeat win of the House Cup.  We also did very well with bonus points, showing that we know how to craft smarter, not harder.

Here is a look at the totals from the final match of the season, Match 5:

Thank you to all the Ravenclaw players and fans - you are a big part of what makes the Tower great!!!!

Let's keep up the good work this term - we can rock the pitch again!!!!!

Thank you to Quidditch Stats Beater greenheron for this look back at last term's scores!