#the Countmobile

[turnstileskyline]

hold on fuck me i just remmebered the countmobile

[cleolinda]

Weekend links, June 16, 2024

My posts

Now all my crape myrtles have mildew. Additionally, I have hurt my back yet again and I am scuncht about it. Thus, I’m on muscle relaxers again, so here’s hoping this post is lucid. 

Also, I underestimated how many people really, really needed to hear good news about the “my husband and FIL insist I will die in childbirth” woman on AITA back in 2020.  

Reblogs of interest

Happy Loving Day (June 12), in honor of the Loving v. Virginia case that legalized interracial marriage in the U.S. within living memory. Good discussion in the reblogs. 

A Pride flag made of Space from NASA

The Sting Pain Index from Justin O. Schmidt, Pain Sommelier

You don’t even know you’re luft

Shark de Triomphe. Chomps Élysées. Bon-Jaws

Cats have always been cats: Witness my Act and Deed (1882)

Why be mean about the small dog? Well…

Count von Count and his Countmobile (ah ah ahhhh)

Attn freelancers: “There is power in a union, even if it's only the union in your head.”

John Singer Sargent portraits and their subjects

“You aren’t behind. You are gathering and processing data”

Faire does it all

You got wives at home

Gonna have the boys over to measure the five and a half minute hallway

BOSS MAKES A DOLLAR/I MAKE A DIME/THATS WHY I MAKE MEADE/OUTTA THE COMPANY SLIME

This Joe Kavik bird sculpture is eminently Shaped

Video

A musical dog

A fluffy kitten learns to skateboard

Petr Barna’s Charlie Chaplin routine for the 1992 Winter Olympics

The sacred texts

“You’d be so pretty if you lost weight!”

Personal tag of the week

Color, because I just really like pretty colors and we had a lot of them this week.

[zoanzon]

pumpkin spice, old english and vanilla latte for the ask meme :)

Pumpkin Spice : Dream car?

Ohhhh, nice one. If I can't beg/borrow/steal Count von Count's Countmobile from him, I'd probably say the 1951 Hudson Hornet. The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, but I also want a bit of speed and the Hornet is famous for being a big name in 1950s NASCAR for being able to race (and to win races), so...

Old English : You’re stranded on an island, who do you bring with you?

Hey, @fantasiavii, how do you feel about being stuck on an island for a bit so I can have some company? It'll get you out of working retail for a bit~

If they (understandably) decide to bow out, I'd piss off my friend Emily by stealing her fiance away: he was former military plus he hikes and camps, so he'll hopefully know how to keep us alive 😅

Vanilla Latte : Board games or drinking games?

Technically either, but probably drinking games if I have to choose one, if only because I think stuff like Never Have I Ever sound fun (I've never gotten to play 😭) and I find it fascinating to see how people's play-style (or competence) shifts as they get more intoxicated.

Thanks for the asks!

[muppet-facts]

Muppet Fact #177

The Count's car, the Countmobile, has had it's license plate change several times. Originally, it read "TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000." In Follow That Bird, it was "12345678910," but in Count All the Way to Sesame Street, a book based on the previously mentioned movie, his license plate is just "123."

Sources:

Follow That Bird. 1985.

Count All the Way to Sesame Street. Dina Anastasio. 1985.

Sesame Street. Episode 0716. January 13, 1975.

[jimhenson-themuppetmaster]

The Countmobile at the Gas Station, Follow that Bird.

[medusaoblongata]

The Count in his Countmobile

[mr-frisby-draws]

I was thinking “Steampunk Batmobile” I got Count von Count’s CountMobile. . I’ll keep at it. . I borrowed heavily from the 1922 Stutz Bearcat and added some odd Bat themed flair. . #cardrawing #carart #lineart #doodle #illustrate #draw #illustration #drawing #digitaldrawing #digitalillustration #procreate #steampunk #batmobile https://www.instagram.com/p/CDAX0JwjkX6/?igshid=1blwprr9gd5fl

[releasing-my-insanity]

Gifs from the Sesame Street appearance at the 1984 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

[themuppetmasterencyclopedia]

Count von Count

PERFORMERS

Jerry Nelson 1972-2012

Matt Vogel 2013-present

DEBUT 1972

PATTERN Large Lavender Live Hand

Count von Count is a mysterious but friendly vampire-like Muppet on Sesame Street who is meant to parody Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 premiere in 1972, counting blocks in a sketch with Bert and Ernie.

The Count has a compulsive love of counting (arithmomania, an affliction of legendary vampires); he will count anything and everything, regardless of size, amount, or how much annoyance he causes others around him. In one song he stated that he sometimes even counts himself. When he finishes counting, The Count laughs and announces his total (which sometimes appears on screen). This finale is usually accompanied by a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning, even on sunny days. (According to The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook, the Count has a personal cloud that hovers over his head and provides the thunder and lightning.)

Many of the Count's songs, including "Counting Is Wonderful" and "The Batty Bat," are in the style of Roma music.

The Count lives in an old, cobweb-infested castle that he shares with many bats. Sometimes he counts them. Some of the pet bats are named, including Grisha, Misha, Sasha, and Tattiana. He also has a cat, Fatatita, and an octopus named Octavia. He also plays a large pipe organ, and in some illustrations he is seen playing the violin. In recent years, the Count has appeared on each episode to announce the Number of the Day, playing notes on his organ to count up to the featured number.

The Count's most recent girlfriend, Countess von Backwards, is known for counting backwards. He had previously been linked to Countess Dahling von Dahling and shared a brief romantic tryst with Lady Two. His brother and mother have appeared on the show, and he also has an Uncle Uno.

The Count's profile on Sesame Workshop's website does not use the word vampire but does suggest that he may be a distant relative of Count Dracula. However, the book Sesame Street Unpaved describes the Count as a "Numerical Vampire." In contrast, the 2001 Sesame Street Muppets Drawing Guide insists "The Count is not a vampire."

Nevertheless, the Count resembles Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula in voice (speaking in an Eastern European accent and pronouncing his Vs as Ws), appearance, and sometimes mannerisms. For example, in early sketches, the Count waves his hands to exercise hypnotic power over other Muppets and holds his cape over the lower part of his face while moving. In addition, an early skit revealed that the Count shows no reflection in a mirror. Unlike vampires as traditionally depicted in legend and motion pictures, however, the Count often relaxes in the sunlight (as seen in "Counting Vacation" and "Coconut Counting Man," among others).

EARLY DAYS

The character was created by Sesame Street writer Norman Stiles. Performer Jerry Nelson recalled his immediate enthusiasm for the character in a 1999 interview:

“ Norman told me he was writing this piece with this new character who's called the Count... He's a vampire, but not a real vampire... He just has a jones for numbers. He's obsessed with counting things. So I went, "Oh, cool," and I went to Jim [Henson] and said, "You know, Norman's writing this new character called the Count." Jim said, "Let me hear it." So I went (in my Count voice), "Yes, I vould love to do it!" and Jim said, "Yes, you can do it." ”

The Count is now a friendly, non-threatening figure on the Street, but his early appearances in 1972 had a more sinister edge. He had hypnotic powers, and was able to stun other Muppets by waving his hands. After counting, he uttered a villainous laugh as lightning flashed in moody colors. He was often accompanied by creepy organ music. As the character matured, the sinister aspect of his personality was toned down, and his laugh became a throaty, Lugosi-style chuckle.

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APPEARANCES

He made cameo appearances in The Muppet Movie (in the finale) and The Muppets Take Manhattan (in the wedding), and has also been featured in the Sesame Street movies Follow That Bird and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. He also appeared in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years and A Muppet Family Christmas.

The Count made a special appearance on episode 518 of The Muppet Show, emerging with his Sesame co-stars from the Three Bears' cave when Ali Baba shouts, "Open Sesame!"

On November 14, 1988, Count co-hosted The Today Show with Meryl Sheep.

On December 11, 2008, the Count was interviewed on More or Less, a BBC radio show about numbers.

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NOTES

The Count's New York license plate number is "12345678910" in the movie Follow That Bird. However, in Count All the Way to Sesame Street, a book based on Follow that Bird, the Count's license plate number is simply "123."

The Count was a DJ for his own radio station on the album The Count's Countdown, and hosted a music video show in Count It Higher: Great Music Videos from Sesame Street.

In a Number of the Day segment for 0, The Count stated: "Oh hello, it is I, The Count. I'm called the Count because I love to count. Err, that, and I inherited my father's royal title." Despite this claim, the title of Count is one of nobility rather than royalty. (sesamestreet.org) Thus, The Count's claim to royalty might rest on his having inherited a lesser title of a royal ancestor.

According to the book Sesame Street Unpaved, after Jon Stone read the first script of a Count skit, he sent it back to the writer, Norman Stiles, with a note scribbled atop: "Good character, bad bit". That skit was never produced.

In Count it Higher: Great Music Videos from Sesame Street, The Count says that his favorite song is "Count it Higher". However, the book Sesame Street Unpaved states that his favorite songs are "Born to Add" and "Count on Me." Sesame Workshop's "Muppetbook" page also includes the song "99 Red Balloons."

The Muppetbook page also states the Count's favorite TV shows are 24 and 60 Minutes.

The Count's car is the Countmobile.

According to the 1998 book Sesame Street Unpaved, the Count is "written to represent an adult with the psychological age of someone who is 1,832,652 years old -- and still counting".

According to Sesame Street Stays Up Late!, the Count knows the exact time, and therefore knows when the new year arrives.

In Episode 4109, the Count states that he used to be a professor of counting from one to ten at the Institute of Technology at Moldavia.

In a few appearances (including The Street We Live On, episode 4109 and "Five By"), the Count sports a purple cape instead of his usual green one.

In Jerry Nelson's later years, Matt Vogel took over the puppetry of the Count while Nelson continued to provide the voice. This lasted until Nelson's death in 2012; Vogel debuted with his first vocal performance of the character in the 2013 video "Counting the "You"s in YouTube."

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FILMOGRAPHY

See Count von Count Filmography

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VIDEO GAME APPEARANCES

Sesame Street Countdown

Numbers

Get Set to Learn!

Search and Learn Adventures

Elmo's Number Journey

Count TV iPhone app

Elmo's Musical Monsterpiece

Kinect Sesame Street TV

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BOOK APPEARANCES

Books starring Count von Count

The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook (1973)

The Sesame Street ABC Storybook (1974)

The Sesame Street Book of Fairy Tales (1975)

Big Bird's Busy Book (1975)

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Smell No Evil (1975)

Bert's Big Band Paint-with-Water Book (1976)

The Sesame Street Postcard Book (1976)

Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree (1977)

The Sesame Street Block Party Coloring Book (1977)

Sesame Street Goes West (1977)

The Sesame Street Mystery Coloring Book (1977)

Who's Who on Sesame Street (1977)

The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook (1978)

The Exciting Adventures of Super Grover (1978)

A Day on Sesame Street (1979)

Down on the Farm with Grover (1980)

Early Bird on Sesame Street (1980)

Look What I Found! (1980)

Molly Moves to Sesame Street (1980)

The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)

The Sesame Street Pet Show (1980)

Special Delivery (1980)

The Tool Box Book (1980)

What Did You Bring? (1980)

Oscar's Rotten Birthday (1981)

Prairie Dawn's Upside-Down Poem (1981)

The Sesame Street Circus of Opposites (1981)

The Sesame Street Sun (1981)

What Do You Do? (1981)

City (1982)

A Day at School (1982)

[archaicfirehydrants]

in the countmobile out slaying cuntmobile

hold on fuck me i just remmebered the countmobile

[themuppetmasterencyclopedia]

The Count in his Countmobile again.

[bolters-and-rivets]

Countmobile? more like Cuntmobile

The Count in his Count Mobile.

[turnstileskyline]

^ COUNTMOBILE

hold on fuck me i just remmebered the countmobile

[hunty627]

The Count is driving the Countmobile on his mission with his friends to find Big Bird & bring him safely back home to Sesame Street.

The Count in his Count Mobile.