Hey there, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. How are you? It's really sad that people have to be told not to consume disinfectants. By the way, don't stick a cactus up your ass either. So, I was wondering will there be a Murdoer Hornet stimulus check?
There are certain things we’re going to have to accept our society as places around the world start to open up. COVID-19 caused the entire world to follow the same few rules in order to get the pandemic under control. Common citizens are responsible for holding themselves accountable, as well as their neighbors. Social distancing and wearing masks while going out in public to re-up on your essentials have now become a global norm. And even though it’s the least everyone can do to own their part in fighting the pandemic, society’s reopening doesn’t mean those rules don’t just apply anymore. The coronavirus is an issue we’ll be fighting for a while, and at this point, you’re probably used to having a face mask in your car just in case you forget your main one. Nevertheless, one of the best parts about following these two simple rules while out in public is how creative people get to balance functioning normally again and taking safety precautions. And this cafe in Germany has probably nailed it.
This German cafe, Cafe & Konditorei Rothe, located in Schwerin, Germany, is a famous pastry shop with many customers anticipating its reopening. Germany, as a whole country, has done exceedingly well in handling the coronavirus pandemic, regarded as the “second safest country in the world” by the London Deep Knowledge Group. And this cafe is proof of why. Cafe & Konditorei Rothe’s owner Jacqueline Rothe reopened the cafe with heavy precautions. Along with serving customers only outside, the tables were also at least five feet apart, but she didn’t stop there. Justifying it as just a one-time event for the reopening of the cafe, Rothe used pool noodles to keep the customers in line with social distancing. Yes, pool noodles. And, it’s honestly an incredible idea. Rothe attached pool noodles to straw hats to give to the customers as they sat at the cafe. The pictures show these pool noodle hats effectively keeping the crowds of customers at a healthy distance away from each other while they enjoyed their pastries. But let’s be honest. I can go on and on about how commendable this is, but this is actually hilariously cute. My initial reactions to first seeing the pictures were just questions that popped up in my head. Did the customers come with the hats? From the pictures, it looks like all the customers had the same pool noodle hats. Pool noodles of all colors are attached to what looks like the exact same straw hats. So probably not. But did they reuse the straw hats? That would quite literally go against other possible health issues besides the coronavirus. I’m thinking lice and all sorts of other stuff that could be passed by using the same hat as a stranger. Hopefully not. I would hope that I would get to take my straw pool noodle hat home to remember the experience.
Colorado police are on the lookout for a man who wore a Ku Klux Klan hood to the store, presumably as a coronavirus mask as well as an ill-advised form of protest and/or provocation. The man in question wore the KKK hood into a City Market grocery store in Dillon, Colorado and proceeded to shop before being asked to leave by store employees. The man refused so employees called the police. It was only then that the man left without buying anything. Police are still working to identify the man. The hooded man was caught on video attempting to chat up other customers in the store and eventually began arguing with both customer and employees when literally all of them were more or less like, “What the hell is wrong with you, you racist tool?” The man’s confrontation with employees continued into the parking lot. In response to the incident City Market released a statement reassuring its customers that they are not down with the Klan, because this is a thing that has to happen in 2020. “At City Market, we train our associates to embrace diversity and inclusion and to show respect to every customer and one another. We ask our customers to respect these values as well when in our stores. Our store leaders are empowered to swiftly and respectfully address anyone who disregards these values, which includes blatant symbols of hate and intolerance.” After all the people potentially frightened and offended by this d-hole for good reason, you really have to feel for the City Market workers. Even the executives. Everyone who has to reassure people that a) they and the store are not pro-Klan, and b) that the store is safe to shop at. A store that may well be struggling to keep sales up and keep everyone employed. There’s no one’s week this piece of shit didn’t ruin. Is there any way you could consider wearing a Klan mask in public some kind of legitimate, provocative protest about coronavirus restrictions, or anything else, for that matter, without basically being illiterate?
Ew, ew, ew. Okay, this is so gross, but I admit, so cool at the same time. Just look at the size of that poor possum!
Can you believe all that chonkers fits in a python? My gosh, mother nature is sure scary. Imagine you’re in your house, you know, minding your own business and out of nowhere you look out in your backyard and see a freaking carpet python hanging from your roof. But no, not just that, that’s not the scary part. The scary part is when you notice this slimy reptile enjoying a tasty snack. By that, I mean yes, the possum, a full-on adult-sized ringtail possum. What in the world is Australia feeding their possums? Luckily, we have proof that this exists thanks to snake catcher Stuart McKenzie who was called out to the house on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. The resident had spotted the snake slithering outside their home, and well, was probably helpless and didn’t know what to do. In comes the Australian snake expert, seeing the 6.5 ft giant snake hanging from the roof with the large ring-tailed possum wrapped around its body so nonchalantly. So, not wanting to disturb its meal, Mr. Mckenzie decided to wait an hour to let the large python finish ingesting its meal. He stated, "I knew if I tried to take it away right at that moment, it would likely drop its food and not want to eat it again. It’s just nature so the best result is that the snake gets its food as it is already dead." That’s when he decided to capture the time-lapse video of the whole incident and took several photos to show how dangerous a python can be. After he finished, the man then transported it from the family’s home and released it into nearby bushland nearby so that it could then digest its meal in peace. Apparently it takes over a week to find a good warm spot for them to digest their huge meal. Luckily, pythons are non-venomous snakes. They catch prey by wrapping themselves around the animal and crushing it to death before swallowing it whole. Pretty creepy, but hey, at least you won’t die from the excruciating venom. In this case, the python was able to consume the large possum since its jaws are able to unlock and stretch around the larger creature. As I said, mother nature is terrifying.
Death is unavoidable unless you are a cyborg or Betty White. Grrrr. So why not go out with a bang, or in this case, a glittery bed to lay down to rest one last time? That’s right, The Glitter Coffin Company (there’s literally no ambiguity to their company name AT ALL), based in Plymouth across the pond in Britain, are designing sparkly coffins for stylish funerals across the U.K. They come in different colors too, like rose gold and lilac, for the ultimate sparkle effect, maybe even spice up the funeral home atmosphere while you’re choosing. The company was started the first time by Chris and Dawn Nicholls who also own The Glitter Furniture Company, which by the way, sell everything from Christmas decorations to full sofas covered in glitter. The British founders came up with the idea about a few years ago, and since they started producing them, the company has supplied way over fifteen coffins to patrons across the U.K. The company is now sending out samples to various funeral directors hoping to get some more sales before the end of the year, and the Wyatt Brothers funeral directors in Plymouth already offer glitter coffins. Customers are already sharing their gratitude to the company and how their coffins helped show the beauty of their loved ones one last time. Claire Savvas shared a post on the company’s Facebook page, stating, “Thank you all so much for helping make our mums funeral a special and magical day. She got a send off in first class style in the most amazingly sparkly pink coffin. Mum would be proud.” Coffins can be simple or outright outrageous to fit the personality of their patron. The Glitter Coffin Company sells its coffins online in a variety of beautiful colors, however, you’ll have to contact the company directly to get a price quote depending on the color you desire. According to the manufacturer, the coffins are covered in the same glitter you’ll find on Jimmy Choo shoes, making these glitter coffins cost a pretty penny. Here's what one looks like...
If a glitter coffin isn’t in your price range, the smaller ash boxes are only £169.99. The company also offers glitter ash boxes for your furry best friends, just in case you want to display your dog’s ashes on the mantle in a shiny box.
A St. Louis woman has come under fire from her neighbors and the suburban municipality she resides in for keeping three emotional support monkeys at her Creve Coeur home in order to help her cope with her PTSD from a past traumatic event. Texanne McBride-Teahan claims she needs to live with her three small monkeys, which are bonnet macaques, in order to maintain her mental health. So does her doctor. McBride-Teahan’s neighbors, on the other hand, contest that any day now the monkeys might escape McBride-Teahan’s home and start eating the faces off of neighborhood children, or something. The man leading the charge against McBride-Teahan’s emotional support monkeys is her next-door neighbor, Jim Hentschell. As Hentschell tells it, he’s just looking out for the community’s safety. And also, he’s a man of the law. “I believe in the rule of law. If they are considered a dangerous animal and can carry something as nasty as hepatitis, they shouldn’t be here.” Hentschell is referring to the following Creve Coeur ordinance. Inherently Dangerous Animals. The following animals are hereby classified as inherently dangerous: any lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, cheetah, margay, mountain lion, Canada lynx, jaguarondi, bobcat, bear, hyena, wolf, wolf hybrid, coyote, alligator, crocodile, python, venomous reptile, venomous arthropod, or non-human primate." That is, of course, a bullshit excuse. A cop out. If a law this arbitrary started fucking with Hentschell’s life it feels like a safe bet he might not react to that by standing at attention to the nearest American flag, saluting it, and proudly shouting, “Thank you, sir, may I have another.” He might, you know, challenge that law. Weird how that works, huh? Also, an essential part of “the rule of law” is the ability to challenge those laws. To be fair, monkeys are illegal to own in Creve Coeur because in 1932 a circus train derailed just outside of town and the twenty chimpanzees that escaped from the monkey car ended up killing twelve townsfolk, including the mayor, in a confused rampage dubbed by the local papers of the day as, The Night of the Monkeys. Oh, wait that never happened. No one has ever been hurt by a monkey in Creve Coeur. Also, this isn’t like, say, exotic pythons and lizards in Florida. These monkeys have zero chance of escaping and becoming an invasive species in Missouri. One good snow and they’re monkeycicles. The law is probably just a copy/paste from other towns’ municipal ordinances on animals. You really think at any point in history a couple Creve Coeur city councilmen sat down and did hours upon hours of research and deliberation about monkey safety? And look, I get it. The words “Emotional Support Monkey” sound insane. No one is a bad person for having that reaction. Some lady moves in with three monkeys to your nice, normal, Midwestern subdivision and you start getting visions of that one weirdo lady in the news a few years ago who owned a chimp, gave it wine and Prozac, and watched it rip her friend’s face off. That’s pretty fair. But every situation should be evaluated on its own and every person deserves to make their case. McBride-Teahan is no different. That’s the rule of law. Unfortunately for McBride-Teahan, the Creve Coeur City Council later unanimously approved a motion forcing her to find new homes for her three monkeys.
Instead of doing this blog thing I should be listening to this record...
Ummm... never mind. You know those Funko Pops, right? They just released a new one that I might have to get...
Who are not creative though is the protestors with their signs.
Most of you know my normal "costume" of choice is t-shirt, shorts, sneakers or flip flops but I'm thinking of switching it up to this...
What do you think? So, today's guest I have to tell you plays Elmo on "Sesame Street." I was wondering have you guys ever seen this book? Haha...
Couples are getting into a lot of mundane arguments in lockdown, but this pair took it one step further by engaging in a weightlifting contest that might have led to the end of their relationship. Now, the girlfriend is asking the Phile if she was in the wrong for lifting way more weight than her boyfriend and then "embarrassing" him in front of another guy. Their relationship is pretty new...
"I met this guy in January and he became my boyfriend in February. Comes March, the world goes down the drain and we decided to move in together for the time of the pandemic. Everything is great." The problems began when they saw an online post where a woman beat her boyfriend at arm wrestling. "In the morning, we have this routine where he browse the Internet and gives me the highlights. A few weeks ago, he shows me a post where this guy is challenged to an arm wrestling competition by his girlfriend. The guy didn't seem to have any sort of training/work out whereas his girlfriend did." He then mansplained to her about why all men are stronger than all women, and she expressed her doubts. "I commented he might have a surprise. My boyfriend started educating me on biology and how men are stronger than women. I told him there were way too many factors to take into consideration to make such a broad comment. I have been doing weightlifting for two years and my boyfriend has never seen a gym in his life, so I used us as an example." That was a BIG mistake. He refused to believe she could have a point. "He got really defensive and condescending, and made comments like 'that's cute.' I just let it go. Fast forward to yesterday. He's playing some game with his friend (online) and I can clearly hear him talk about me." Well, curiosity killed the cat. Then she overheard him telling his friends that there's no way she's stronger than him. "At first it's all pretty and my ego is bursting, but then he says I'm delusional because I think I'm stronger than him. Pause. 'Seriously? I know I'm weak but not weaker than a girl." So later, I decide to call him on his bullshit. I asked him if he wanted to come workout with me the next day (this morning) so he can show me how strong he is. He accepted and I was happy because I had been dying to bring him and initiate him to something I'm passionate about." They headed to a socially distanced gym to duke it out. "So, this morning, we went to my friend's garage (my region allows groups of ten or less and we wipe everything). I told him we're gonna do deadlifts. It's my favorite exercise and I was already planning to test my personal best so it was perfect." The boyfriend had to stop deadlifting at 185 pounds but the girlfriend made it to 265. "My friend was there cause he corrects my form and it's been our Sunday ritual since COVID-19. We started light and slowly worked our way up, doing the same number of reps as the other. Comes 185, his form starts to crumble so we made him go lighter. But 185 really isn't that much for me so I kept stacking the plates. He looked very supportive and impressed the whole time. I ended up beating my personal best at 265. I was ecstatic and so were they." But he wasn't happy for her... "When we got in the car, he was very silent. I assumed he was just tired. We got home and that's when he exploded and asked me if I was proud of myself. Apparently, I humiliated him in front of my friend. I apologized. I didn't realize he was feeling that way. He got angry and said it really changed the way he saw me, like I'm less of a woman now. He stormed to the basement." Now they're not speaking and she's wondering if she messed up. "I started collecting my things, but now I'm wondering if I should have been reading between the lines and stopped at 190 or something. Or just dropped it and never suggested we workout together? I knew very well I was stronger than him but I just had to prove it to him. Am I wrong?" You did nothing wrong and your boyfriend is a giant baby. This is hilarious and congrats on your personal best. You don't need a physically stronger man, but you definitely need an emotionally stronger man, because that's where your boyfriend is weak. You shouldn't have apologized for being better at something you work at than he is. That's your only error here. He wanted to shit talk and brag when he didn't deserve it. Don't EVER make yourself less to placate the insecurity of anyone. He's lazy and resting on the laurels of his gender. It must be rough for him to lose that cozy sense of unearned superiority. I'm imagining him smiling indulgently at you when you talk about workouts and thinking, "It's so sweet that she works so hard just to be... however strong she is, while I, a man, could easily best her at any time with no training! Ah, it's good to be king." I don't work out and I don't know what deadlifts are. But I know what deadweight is when I see it. Your boyfriend didn't know squat. Your boyfriend accepted the challenge and then got upset when you beat him. And then he insuted you by saying he somehow thought you were a less of a woman. Sounds like he has a poor self-esteem, is a sore loser and suffers from fragile masculinity. Let me know how it goes for you. If you have problem that you want me to try and sort out and tell you if you're wrong email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com.
Haha. This is a lame one but if you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, you know I live in Florida... well, things happen in Florida that happen no where else in the universe.
A 75-year-old Florida man walking his daughter’s golden retriever near his condominium had his leisurely stroll with a good boy turned into a life and death fight when a gator popped out of a retention pond and locked its jaws on the dog, because that’s just life in Florida. Ancient blood-thirsty dinosaurs pop out of ponds and try to eat your best friends. Buddy Ackerman wasn’t having any of that though. When the 8-foot (Jesus Christ) gator leaped out of the pond and grabbed Osi, Ackerman’s daughter’s dog, Ackerman immediately went into fight mode. Osi was on a retractable leash as Ackerman walked him around 5:30 in the morning, so it was still dark outside. Ackerman suddenly heard Osi whimpering and saw the gator latched onto the dog. He pulled on the leash before finally running up and kicking the gator in the snout repeatedly until the reptile bastard finally let go of Osi and slithered back into hell. The dog did not suffer any injuries. After taking the dog back home Ackerman called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline. That’s a thing. There are so many alligator attacks in Florida that there’s a hotline dedicated to it. The FFWCCNAH came along and removed the gator, so the dogs at that condo are safe. For now. For like a day. Before some python slithers along and eats… their owners, leaving the dogs to wander into the swamp before getting hit by an airboat being drunkenly driven. Remember, if your dog is attacked by an alligator do the following: Rescue your dog by any means necessary, take your dog back home, come back to the body of water the gator inhabits with a weapon of your choosing, murder the alligator in cold blood, display the alligator’s mutilated corpse as a warning to other alligators.
"The Last Man on Earth" "knew" this was coming, too.
Okay, let's see what is happening in Port Jefferson, shall we?
Is it me or are their more boats out there on the Sound? It's hard to see. Okay, now from the home office in Port Jefferson, here is...
Top Phive Things Teachers Said About The Struggles Of Doing Their Job During A Pandemic
5. I'm not ready for next year when parents call and say, "Well, in my experience as a home school teacher..."
4. Wrapping up my Zoom "office hours" for the day. I had one student show up. I asked her how many teachers' office hours she goes to and how many students attend. She replied, "I try to go to them because I just feel teachers are lonely." We are. And thanks, kid.
3. Just had Zoom office hours and a student asked if she could have a tour of my apartment.
2. I've gone twenty years without a student in my bedroom and now I meet thirty-three of them there twice a week.
And the number one thing a teacher said about the struggle about doing their job during a pandemic is...
1. A girl logged on to the remote class meeting with her camera on, and I said, "Are you chewing gum?!" And she spit it out.
The 125th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Phile Alum John Oates will be back on the Phile this Friday.
Today's guest is an American puppeteer who has played Elmo on "Sesame Street" since 2013. Please welcome to the Phile... Ryan Dillon.
Me: Hey, Ryan, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Ryan: I'm good thanks, thank you for having me.
Me: So, I first heard of Elmo pretty much when the toy Tickle Me Elmo was one of the biggest selling toys years ago in 1996. Do you remember that?
Ryan: Yeah, I was just a kid, but I remember. Elmo laughed all the way to the bank.
Me: Ha. Yeah, he did. How old were you then? About 8?
Ryan: Yeah, I guess so. I remember the craze and thought it was a little crazy at the time. Never in the world of Sesame that kind of thing happened.
Me: What was your relationship with Elmo at the time?
Ryan: For me as a kid I absorbed any Jim Henson content. It was my go to. I loved "Sesame Street," I loved "The Muppet Show," "Fraggle Rock." Anything with that type of puppetry style I was really fascinated with. As much as I enjoyed Elmo I enjoyed everybody on the show. I loved Grover, I loved Ernie and Bert, and some of the crazier characters too. I think I was happy that Sesame was still relevant and continues to be relevant and it went through the change.
Me: I was a big fan of Jim Henson and told this story many of times on the Phile, I even told it to Frank Oz when he was here I think... I met Jim when they were filming "The Muppets Go to Walt Disney World" at Epcot where I worked at the time and he asked me to move a trash can on top of a hill for a scene with Gonzo and Camilla. When they scene was finished a little bit later he said for me to put it back. I can't believe yesterday it's been 30 years since Jim Henson passed away. Do you remember watching the Muppets or "Sesame Street" and think this is what you want to do in your life?
Ryan: I do. There is a handful of those moments but the one thats sticks out to me every clearly was Jim Henson was very generous, on showing the behind the scenes aspect of the show. He never felt the need to hide that, and in fact we feel today that in enhances the magic of the puppetry we see how its done. I never forget there was this special where Jim, you see a tight shot of Kermit and a bunch of other Muppet characters and you hear off screen a Kermit like voice saying, "Now we're going to pull back and see what happens behind the scenes." They pull the camera back and you see Jim Henson and Frank Oz and Fran Brill and all these legendary Muppet performers with their characters, working in a soundstage on a blue screen. The set went away and I saw a giant blue screen and I thought I don't know what that is but I have to be a part of that.
Me: "Sesame Street" turned 50 last year. So, was puppeteering the only thing you wanted to do?
Ryan: To give a back story, from that day on knowing I wanted to work with the Muppets it was kind of my own real goal. I also loved the animation of Disney and Warner Bros. and I thought maybe I'll be an animator because it was a similar performance where I wasn't on camera but I could be a performer. I didn't have the patience for animation so I pursued the puppetry side of it and I was pretty self taught.
Me: So, how did you get into it? I love puppets but would never know how to get into it.
Ryan: I think I was 17 when there was a cold call, an open call for new puppet performers. At that time there was a lot of TV shows in production that were featuring puppets, which was pulling away some of the secondary assistant performers on "Sesame Street" and they needed to fill the bench. I did the audition and I think there was 150 people that got widdled down to about three or four of us. But in those first auditions what was really important was the people that were there, people like Jane Henson who was Jim Henson's widow and she was overseeing these new puppeteers and there were people like that in the room. What they wanted to see was that we could do basic puppetry principals such as lip-sync and making the lip-sync look really as if a person was speaking. I focused on making the puppets eyes were looking in specific directions, they never look like they're staring into the abyss. And so we go in and show how we can count to one to ten with our hand lip-syncing then they called everyone in my group except for me out of my group and I was the last one standing. Then they brought out this long stand that they would put televisions on in school and they wheeled it out squeaking and this was my test to see if I can perform in front of a television camera using the same principals. They didn't tell me what the song was and didn't tell me what I was going to be doing but they said, "Start lip-syncing now." They played "The Candy Man" and I had to perform the whole performance not knowing what I was going to do. Luckily for me they kept me for the next two days but it was a very strange process of being that young and auditioning for something I loved so much.
Me: So, what did you do for them?
Ryan: I spent eight years performing as an ensemble Muppeteer then eventually became under the wing of Kevin Clash, the Muppeteer who played Elmo. Kevin publicly resigned in 2012 which led a pretty big job opening.
Me: Did you know you wanted to be Elmo right away?
Ryan: No. In fact it was never really discussed. The way it works at Sesame certainly and the Muppet as well we never really plan for accidents or if a performer is not with us anymore. We don't really have a back up plan, we just handle those things when they happen. We certainly didn't want to do something where it was an open call audition. We felt very strongly and still do to this day with these characters, these classic characters, we try to keep them in the family as much as possible when a secondary performer comes in and takes over a role. So I never really talked about wanting to be Elmo and it never really was discussed because I thought no one ever really thought about it. So when the time came about who was really going to do it a very small group of us went it and had an audition I guess but it was really just us goofing around to see who was really going to be able to do this. I never really considered it, I never studied the character that much so it was a big learning curve bit it really helped I new the people who created Elmo and I worked closely with them for a time at that point.
Me: Do you remember a scene or a song when you really clicked as Elmo?
Ryan: It as very gradual. I would say the first year or two I definitely felt unprepared but pushing through nonetheless. I think that's always the case when I take on a character, I never feel like I'm ready as I'm doing it. But there was a few shows, Chrissy Ferraro who is one of our writers, she's a terrific writer who has a great sense of the emotional depths of the characters. A lot of times people think of Elmo as very much one thing, that he loves everything but my favorite shows are the ones he can feel different emotions, he can feel moody, he can feel sad and maybe he doesn't like everything. She wrote a very emotional Halloween episode, Elmo had handmade this costume that he made top to tails by himself and it was an astronaut, one of his favorite astronaut comic book characters and he had an aluminum shield and all these fun cute handmade things, and then another character came in and had all these store bought versions of those costume accessories and he felt very deflated, because he felt he wasn't good enough. Having that emotional depth with that character in that episode was really helpful for me because it helped me as an actor to say what does it look like when he's upset. Probably lookin back there was a lot of parallels, subconsciously between myself and that script but that was one of the small moments where I felt I'm not ready yet, but I'll get there.
Me: Is Elmo misunderstood? A lot of people just see him as a lovable, fun, happy, red monster with a high voice.
Ryan: Those are my favorite times when we can stretch that. Certainly there are times when we have more leeway with him. Especially in the "Late Show" appearances he can be a little bit snarkier or he can goof off with Jimmy Fallon, there's a fun give and take there. Then there's also this sweet and sensitive side of Elmo. When I'm interacting with children that connection is so strong it's so undeniable and it's so sincere. There's a real sincerity in it and an honestness. I think the adults that like Elmo, the part of Elmo that they love is slightly more emotional side where he can be reactionary and feel things I always look for those moments otherwise it'd be really becomes not one note but I end up playing the same beat a lot and I like trying to explore different ways of going through the same emotion.
Me: So, I always wondered is it "performs as...," "plays..."? What is the correct term?
Ryan: We call ourselves the Muppet performers, that's a perfectly appropriate title.
Me: So, I shouldn't say "you are Elmo."
Ryan: No, I think I would seek some help if I was calling myself "Elmo."
Me: Haha. So, there's a Muppet named Julia who has autism. On the Phile once in a while I have this stupid pheature called "It's Not The Same" and I say that "Sesame Street" is different now then when my son was little... and I post a pic of the show and write some very over the line scenarios. But in reality the show is different now, then when I was a kid. Anyway, does shooting scenes with Julia in it feel different?
Ryan: You know, 'Sesame Street" has a history of tackling issues that are facing children at the time. When we suffered through 9/11 Sesame respondent that. They had an episode where Hooper's Store, which is sort of the local store that everybody goes to on Sesame had a fire and it really infected Elmo. Those kind of things, we really try and tackle those topics with respect and as much research as possible. So, when we created the initiative of Amazing In All Children, which is our autism initiative it was important to all of us to treat it with respect and made sure everybody felt respected and appreciated.
Me: Last year the show introduced Karli whose mother is has an opioid addiction. Then there's Lily who is homeless. Elmo is always engrained in all these storylines. Why is it important for Elmo to be there?
Ryan: I think Elmo is very much the voice of the child on the show... as all the characters, but Elmo taps in that three and a half, he's younger than a lot of the characters so his perception of things is different. And certainly our audience of that age is as well. He's sort of the connective tissue between the audience and the show and how we can explain these things to children in a way that they can understand it.
Me: I'm 51-years-old and "Sesame Street" has been around all my life. How old are you, Ryan?
Ryan: I'm 31.
Me: Do you ever get worked up or choked up doing this gig? I know it's a job but if you're like me, an emotional wreck...
Ryan: Yeah, I personally feel its important to not get too personally emotional about it because at the end of the day it's not really about me, do you know what I mean? We are targeting those people who have it MUCH harder than I do in a scenario where I'm trying to get people to understand it in a respectful way. If I got too emotional it maybe will affect the work a little bit and our job is to try to keep it as honest as possible with what we have.
Me: So, why do you think the show has lasted for so long?
Ryan: Watching the show as a kid I got different things out of it than letters and numbers, I wanted to be there, I wanted to work there. But I do think there's a lot of empathy taught on the show, where it's shown by example and we don't tell people "you must be nice," it's shown. That is something that permeates throughout the show all through these years, teaching respect and kindness and that's something we get as well, a lot of that feedback.
Me: People complained that "Sesame Street" moved from PBS to HBO. Do you have anything to say about that?
Ryan: Yes, one of the things I want people to know about the show it is still on PBS and new shows still continue to air on PBS. It was important for us to make that move as the show to make sure as many people could see it as possible. We also wanted to make it for people who didn't have that subscription could also still be entertained by the show. And so the show still does run on PBS... free of charge.
Me: That's good. What do you hope your legacy will leave behind on your time on Sesame?
Ryan: It's hard for me to say. I think for me in my mind that's most important is that we keep these characters going because they helped people, they helped me. It is bigger than us, the show is a staple and I just hope that we can keep going and be true to the characters and true to the show.
Me: That's cool, Ryan. Thanks so much for being on the Phile. Stay well.
Ryan: Thank you for having me.
That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Ryan Dillon for a great interview. The Phile will be back tomorrow with actor and comedian Scott Auckerman. Spread the word, not the turd... or virus. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
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