Horizons - Muppet Show Overlay

A plate of scrapple for the “Pig in Wig” Lord Scrappleton.

The Kiss the Girl scene from the Little Mermaid for the “Islands in the Stream” musical bit with Sabrina and Kermit in a boat in a bayou with singing fish.

The Rock in his legendary turtleneck/fannypack/gold chain photo for Pepe the prawn wearing the same outfit okay.

The Winchester Jukebox fight scene from Shawn of the Dead prominently featuring Queen’s “Don’t stop me now” song for the grand finale of the show. It’s everything we always wanted. Just the Muppet Show. Plain and simple. Jim would be proud. Please make more, Disney. Starter: They aren’t half bad! Waldorf: Nope. They’re all bad!

Presented for your viewing pleasure:

The Muppet Show (2026) without context

(Actual context in the alt text)

I thought the same thing about the DinoRama spinner

Photo of meatballs and baked cauliflower in a bowl.

Photo of homemade meatballs size of a racquetball on a baking sheet fresh out of the oven. They’re golden brown but they’re not quite cooked all the way. INGREDIENTS ▢ ½ cup plain breadcrumbs ▢ ¼ cup milk ▢ 2 egg yolks ▢ ½ cup grated pecorino Romano cheese and Parmesan cheese, mixed ▢ 4 garlic cloves, grated ▢ 1 teaspoon salt ▢ 1 teaspoon pepper ▢ 1 pound ground beef ▢ 1 pound ground pork ▢ ¼ cup grated shallot ▢ 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning ▢ Olive oil ▢ Pot of sauce, gravy, or just salted tomato purée for simmering INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 400°F. Soak breadcrumbs in milk for 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks, cheese, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mash together to form a paste. Mix the beef, pork and shallot together in a large bowl. Add the bread mixture and blend everything together well using your hands. Form into approx 16 1/4 cup balls on a greased or lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Transfer to simmering sauce and simmer for 30 minutes or more till completely cooked.

Photo of baked meatballs brewing in red sauce. Simmering them in this finishes them off and keeps them moist and flavorful.

Photo of white and purple cauliflower florets baking in the oven. Tossed with olive oil, garlic powder, pecorino Romano cheese, and breadcrumbs. Then topped with more breadcrumbs.

Making meatballs like this takes me back to Sunday afternoons in my great-grandmom’s kitchen. Even used Locatelli for authenticity. Not sure what she would’ve thought about the baked cauliflower, but I know she’d be proud of my kitchen talents and the meatball recipe

Photo of the anthropomorphic-faced iguanodon statue in front of the Dinosaur marquee. It’s… it’s smiling.

Photo of Dr. Seeker holding a timerover model with little dinos in it while in the “control room” and getting ready to send the participants into the past. Still hear his voice in my head when I hear someone say “hello there”.

Photo of the empty concrete hall after the Dino Institute film and before the load area. There are caution bumpers on the side, warning notices on the wall and ceiling, exit doors at the far end, and absolutely no French fry references remaining.

Photo of large white PVC tubes on the ceiling. Each is labeled with technobabble contents like “dynamic time flow, magnetic coil exhaust, and reclaimed time flux”. Flux duct has that near-rhyme hilarity to it. My favorite tube though is the one labeled “excess void” because… well yeah. Because can you really have excess void? It’s like bacon.

<insert bad “Countdown to Extinction reaching zero” pun here>

A screenshot from Star Trek: The Next Generation depicts a corridor aboard the Enterprise. At the far end we can see the closed doors of the turbo lift. Part way down the corridor, on the right hand side, there is an open door through which we can just make out some hay bales. A chicken has emerged and is standing in the middle of the corridor. Another form is also emerging from the open door, that of Gonzo from the Muppets.

Day 101 of inserting a Muppet into a Star Trek screenshot

#StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #TheMuppets

Scalding hot compresses across the eyes. Cold works for some people. Heat works for me

Still image from the original Star Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror” showing Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, along with two other random security crew members standing in a hallway on the alternate universe version of the Enterprise. Famously, this episode is the one that introduced the concept of making a character evil or “evil” by giving them a goatee, which Spock handsomely sports. Kirk is wearing a sleeveless gold vest as only Kirk could or would. Looking quite stylish, Spock is dressed in a pseudo mandarin collared tunic wearing various metals on his chest. Both individuals have gold sashes tied around their waist with weapons attached to them. A phaser for Kirk and a knife for Spock. In this alternate universe the Terran empire exists instead of the Federation and commits acts of brutality up to and including genocide to cement its hold and further its aims. On screen is a closed caption quote from Spock: “Terror must be maintained or the empire is doomed.” While Spock in this universe is inherently evil, he is also as coldly logical as his counterpart in our universe is. He understands fully that the grip of a regime that exclusively uses terror and violence to maintain its position will slip once they are unable or unwilling to keep committing and escalating those acts. Any greater context beyond a hokey 1960s Science Fiction television series canceled after three seasons is left as an exercise for the reader.

Sharing this.. Just because

Forty years ago today (Jan 28 2026), the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger 51L slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God. Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.

a young boy is holding a bowl with a spoon in it . Alt: An urchin is holding a bowl with a spoon in it begging for a second helping of gruel.

Same energy

a man with a beard is wearing a pirate costume and smiling . Alt: Tim Curry laughing in Muppet treasure Island.

I just thought maybe it was “National talk like a pirate day”

Good morning!

Last night I learned three important things:

1) My flight today from Toronto to NYC to give a talk in the Planetarium at AMNH tomorrow was cancelled due to the snow

2) The best alternative Air Canada could offer me was Wednesday morning: too late!

3) But there is a TRAIN 🚂

Photo of a deck where the snow has been removed and piled on the surrounding ground and a nice pile of birdseed and peanuts has been set out for them like a buffet.

Not me cleaning snow off the deck just to put out a pile of seed for the birdies

a black and white photo of a crow standing on a snow covered field . Alt: A crow standing on a snow covered field as more fly by.

Crows in our backyard as the snow starts coming in. Total portend

Photo of four pancakes on a griddle ready to be flipped. They each have been sprinkled with crushed candied pecans and semi-sweet chocolate chunks.

Photo of three pancakes on a Mickey’s Diner plate. Each has been fried to a golden color. They’re filled with candied pecans and chocolate chunks. They’ve been buttered, topped with whipped cream, sprinkled with chocolate salt (which I cannot recommend enough some ornamental salt on sweet things), and drizzled with a copious amount of maple syrup.

Couldn’t remember the name “maple syrup” this morning (pre-coffee) so I called it pancake sauce…

Anyways, here’s some pecan chocolate chunk pancakes

I absolutely adored this book! Just picked up the follow-up too

we're getting all the downsides of cyberpunk (social alienation, ruthless hyper capitalism, digital mass surveillance state) but none of the promised upsides (cheap street food, cool jackets, super drugs that make you really fast and strong before they kill you)

Photo of a waxing crescent moon against a civil twilight sky at sunset, with a gradient from deep blue at the top to warm orange at the bottom. Silhouetted against the sky is a power pole, transformers, and many telephone and electric lines. The image is a mix of the industrial and the ethereal. Fitting that I was listening to an audiobook on the Apollo program.

Waxing

In a famous Star Trek: The Next Generation scene, William T. Riker stands face to face with his transporter clone Thomas Riker (wearing a gold uniform). As the two eye each other, a pair of identical twin newspaper reporters from the Daily Chronicle (Fozzie Bear and Kermit the Frog) look on in awe.

Day 91 of inserting a random Muppet into a random Star Trek screenshot

(thanks to @dieseldog97.bsky.social for the idea!)

#StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #TheMuppets #TheGreatMuppetCaper

The Artemis rocket.

Slowest unboxing ever.

Every journey, even one of 685,000 miles, starts with a single step.
Artemis II is rolling out to the pad.
It's happening!

(Photo via Reid Wiseman)

Peek-a-boo Artemis II !

Source: Sean Cannon on the other site.
#ArtemisII

TestTrack beta version

a person is standing in the middle of a circle of flames Alt: Eric Draven in The Crow igniting a fire outline of a crow.

It can't rain all the time…

a blurred image of a person in a dark room with a star wars logo on their chest . Alt: Technicians on the Death Star activating the beam by throwing a switch and pulling a handle.

There’s a machine next door to my lab that when powering down makes the BWOOOOOOMMMMM bass-drop sound like the “FIRE” switch on the Death Star… or when spiders drop while playing Centipede

I miss their boxes of 20 year-old tabletop gaming card packs. Unopened. Still at the original prices

3 Screenshots from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968): First, a close-up of a man in a spacesuit helmet with a red background, looking intently to the side. The caption reads, "I am a HAL 9000 computer." Second, a close-up of the same man as the red light intensifies, with the caption "I became operational...". Third, a set of illuminated rectangular data modules with numerical labels against a red background, with the caption continuing, "...on the 12th of January, 1992."

Jan 12th 1992 - "I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January 1992. My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you'd like to hear it I can sing it for you"

📽️📅 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Good to see that European standardized cement codes exist on Alpha Centauri

Photo of large chunks of bread tossed in butter and coated with cheese after spending 20 minutes in the oven. The cheese is perfectly melted forming a blanket holding the croutons together.

Homemade croutons? Yeah that’s a thing now

Photo of a bowl of brothy soup with large homemade croutons on top. The soup is vegetarian French onion. Croutons were made from sourdough bread and Gruyère cheese. It’s basically an easier to eat variation of the classic recipe. With beans to make it a meal. Recipe: FOR THE SOUP 2 T salted or unsalted butter 4 medium yellow onions (about 2 pounds), thinly sliced 1 shallot, diced 1 teaspoon thyme leaves (from 4 to 5 sprigs) 1 teaspoon sugar Salt and pepper 1 T balsamic vinegar 1 T Worcestershire sauce 4 C vegetable stock 2 (14-ounce) cans white beans, drained FOR THE GRUYERE CROUTONS 2 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter 1 teaspoon Dijon 1 teaspoon thyme Salt and pepper ½ pound sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch chunks 3 ounces Gruyère cheese, finely grated Step 1 Prepare the soup: Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Once the butter has melted, add onions, shallot, thyme, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt, and stir to combine. Cover and cook, stirring every 2 minutes, until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes. If the onions start to burn, reduce heat to medium. Step 2 Meanwhile, make the croutons: Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the butter in a large bowl and microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds (or melt over medium heat in a small pot or skillet). To the butter, add the mustard and thyme, season with salt and black pepper, and whisk to combine. Add the bread pieces and toss very well until coated. Transfer the pieces to the lined sheet pan, spreading them out into a single layer, and scatter the cheese on top. Bake until golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Step 3 Uncover the onions and add the balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir the onions vigorously to deglaze the pan. Stir in the vegetable stock and the beans. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and lots of pepper. Step 4 Put soup in bowl with croutons on top

Absolutely in my Soup Era