The Muppet Thread

[Garpal Gumnut]

The use of the word muppet on asf has brought some heated responses from those who feel it is a derogatory term for investors who unwisely invest or take advice from foolish mentors.

It is not.

However, English is a changing language and the word "muppet" can be applied to a person who makes a foolish decision. This is its derived meaning I am told, by a mate who is a Professor of English and who spills spaghetti sauce constantly on his silk ties in expensive restaurants.

So I do not know whether we should take his word for it.


Some background on Jim Henson the originator of the Muppets.


And a group photo.


My favourites are Statler and Waldorf, the grumps in the balcony.

Jim Henson began working with puppets as a college student, creating the show Sam and Friends in 1955 for a local Washington, D.C. television station. The energetic Muppets soon became a popular fixture, and led to appearances on national variety shows. Henson's commercials for a local coffee company, Wilkins Coffee, were so popular that he was hired to create similar commercials around the country. In the early 1960s, Henson moved to New York City to work on a variety of projects, including a regular guest spot on The Jimmy Dean Show for the first Muppet star, Rowlf the Dog.

In 1969, Henson was invited to participate in a ground-breaking educational show for television, Sesame Street. Initially, the Muppets were meant to be just one element among many on the show -- but the popularity of Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Grover, Ernie and Bert soon made the Muppets the core of the show. Over the years, the Muppet cast has grown to include Mr. Snuffleupagus, Count von Count, Zoe, and, of course, the international superstar Elmo, who stars in his own segment, Elmo's World. Sesame Street is now in production for its 40th season, and the newest star is fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby.

In 1976, Henson created his signature project -- The Muppet Show, a weekly prime-time variety show filled with songs, sketches and talented guest stars. Kermit the Frog is the charming and mostly unflappable host, presiding over a motley crew of performers, including diva Miss Piggy, hopeful comedian Fozzie Bear, daredevil performance artist Gonzo, and the house band, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. The Muppet Show was a huge international success, making unlikely stars out of the Swedish Chef, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker, and the two old cranks in the balcony, Statler and Waldorf.

gg

 

[wayneL]

Statler and Waldorf

My absolute favourite muppets.

 

[nulla nulla]

It is not easy being green. Maybe that is why newbies to share trading, susceptible to the influence of others, are called "muppets" ?

 

[wayneL]

Should Daffy Duck be named as honourary muppet?

http://www.internationalstockforums.com/Smileys/classic/lipsrsealed.gif

 

[Stan 101]

In scuba diving terms MUPPET was an acronym for "most useless person PADI ever trained."

PADI being one of the major governing dive bodies.


Cheers,

 

[gooner]

Does not have widespread usage in Aus, but widely used in the UK. Below is an extract from wiki:

"Outside of the British Isles -- in the United States for example -- calling an individual a "muppet" can cause some cultural confusion, even causing a U.S. soccer fan to misinterpret it as a compliment.[1] These cases have assumed a literal interpretation of the Muppet characters, the property for which the term is trademarked.

Regional usage

In Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand the word muppet has come to be used as a mild term of abuse, meaning a stupid, incompetent, or idiotic person, or the obvious interpretation of someone who is inanimated or somehow not there.[citation needed][2] It is often used mildly affectionately.[2] It can also be applied to a strange looking or aesthetically displeasing individual.[3][4]
The term is frequently used by English football fans to describe an inept performance by an individual player, or a player or manager perceived to be lacking in skill. For example Roy Keane described Niall Quinn (then the chairman of Sunderland A.F.C.) as a muppet in his 2002 autobiography.[5]
The film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, penned by British writer/director Guy Ritchie, features an example of the regional usage of the term in pop culture. The character "Hatchet" Harry Lonsdale (played by P.H. Moriarty) remarks, "I don't care who you use, as long as they're not complete muppets."[6]
The term muppetry is also rapidly gaining popularity as a description for an individual, or group of people collectively behaving in a muppet-like fashion. The origins are believed to have come from workers in large organisations, who were unhappy with the low to non-existent level of thought or application, that other colleagues put into their work. For example - "I'm sorry the figures will be late this quarter, due to the high amount of muppetry going on in the accounts department", or "Gregory's muppetry appears to have been infectious."[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muppet_(slang)

 

[Mr J]

The use of the word muppet on asf has brought some heated responses from those who feel it is a derogatory term for investors who unwisely invest or take advice from foolish mentors.

It is not.

The word has been thrown around the Trading Strategy section quite a few times, and it's pretty clear that in those cases it was meant as an insult.

 

[nulla nulla]

Would someone that has total posts of 1,367 in a forum (6.46 posts per day) in barely 7 months be considered:

1. a "muppet";
2. a "troll"; or
3. someone that needs to "get a life"?

 

[Mr J]

I thought you would at least keep your personal attacks to my rare vists to the chat room. A muppet? I'm sure many disagree with a lot of what I post, but very little of it is what I would call foolish. Troll? I only have a handful of posts that have attitude, and have really only stirred up trouble in 2 threads. Get a life? I spend most of the day in front of the computer, like most people. The difference is that I have the time to post at an average of 1 message per hour.

1300+ is quite a number, but it's far less than the number of text messages that many people send daily. What's more is that I'm not texting someone to say "im bored", but am looking to discuss work-related material. I find your post funny, since it comes from a guy who spends all day in the ASF chatroom. No mods, this will not get personal, I won't be replying to Nulla.

 

[cuttlefish]

Statler and Waldorf

This may be an ill fated attempt to add some levity to a thread which I'm sure was instantiated with that intent ... but I think I recognised one of those blokes mentioned above from somewhere ...

 

[nulla nulla]

Would someone that has total posts of 1,367 in a forum (6.46 posts per day) in barely 7 months be considered:

1. a "muppet";
2. a "troll"; or
3. someone that needs to "get a life"?

I thought you would at least keep your personal attacks to my rare vists to the chat room. A muppet? I'm sure many disagree with a lot of what I post, but very little of it is what I would call foolish. Troll? I only have a handful of posts that have attitude, and have really only stirred up trouble in 2 threads. Get a life? I spend most of the day in front of the computer, like most people. The difference is that I have the time to post at an average of 1 message per hour.

1300+ is quite a number, but it's far less than the number of text messages that many people send daily. What's more is that I'm not texting someone to say "im bored", but am looking to discuss work-related material. I find your post funny, since it comes from a guy who spends all day in the ASF chatroom. No mods, this will not get personal, I won't be replying to Nulla.

I can't see any mention of you in my post, so I am surprised at the vein of your post. However I do not wish to see this thread hijacked or diverted so I will let it go,except to say that by logging on to the ASF chat site daily I have the opportunity to communicate with other "real" traders and exchange information in respect of shares that can be mutualy useful.
Of course, from time to time, we have to contend with the paper traders that arrive to tell everyone how it should be done on the basis of their hypothetical trading experience.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

This may be an ill fated attempt to add some levity to a thread which I'm sure was instantiated with that intent ... but I think I recognised one of those blokes mentioned above from somewhere ...

lol

I half expected that comment but not so well delivered with a picture.

Seriously though, in its ascribed context of "muppet" as "one having made a foolish decision", it does not make that person a muppet for ever more.

I think this is where people get mixed up and those who have thin skins get upset.

I have been myself a muppet in some of my trading decisions, but do not consider that this condemns me to being thought foolish in my trading decisions for evermore.

Someone may be a muppet for coming on to the CEO's wife at the Christmas party and being taken up on the offer !! or for having being caught out by Storm financial.

They are not muppets for evermore, just muppets in those decisions they made.

Thin skinned people who are called muppets need to take some harden up pills.

This thread however is to celebrate that great show of Jim Henson's "The Muppets".

There is no need to get hot under the collar.

This is a safe place to call each other muppets.

lol

gg

 

[Harleyquin]

As a former storm financial investor I'm more than happy to be called a muppet as I'm sure I've been called many things a lot worse in my life.

 

[nunthewiser]

Thin skinned people who are called muppets need to take some harden up pills.


lol

gg

And personally think that those that resort to namecalling when flustered because of there lack of mental ability to discuss a subject without getting emotionally unstable , should realise this is just the internet and they should grow the fark up and perhaps enagage there brains before they rant off abusive halfwit namecalling comments instead ........

 

[nomore4s]

As a former storm financial investor I'm more than happy to be called a muppet as I'm sure I've been called many things a lot worse in my life.

lol, don't admit that on this site, you could get lynched

 

[nomore4s]

*Putting my Mods hat on*

Do not let this thread turn into a slanging match please.

There already seems to be a certain level of animosity, if you can't keep it civil please don't post in this thread or it will be shut down.

Thank you

 

[nulla nulla]

And personally think that those that resort to namecalling when flustered because of there lack of mental ability to discuss a subject without getting emotionally unstable , should realise this is just the internet and they should grow the fark up and perhaps enagage there brains before they rant off abusive halfwit namecalling comments instead ........

I reckon calling some of the posters "Muppets" would be a compliment to the posters and an insult to the muppets.

 

[Judd]

I recall that at one stage investors who were taken to the cleaners though shonky deals were called Wood Ducks. Trevor Sykes of Pierpont (named after J.P(ierpont) Morgan) fame used that term extensively in some of his writings.

I didn't consider it was meant in a derogatory way but inferring *Sigh, the poor innocent buggers have been shafted yet again.

I've assumed that the word muppet was used in the same fashion. However, I concede that some could feel offended given their financial circumstances.

 

[Wysiwyg]

Let`s hope the callers don`t have to walk a mile in someone elses` shoes.

 

[MRC & Co]

Haven't you seen the remake yet?

New cast includes a new character.

Think he goes by the alias simply as: "God".