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The Muppets take Baton Rouge

Few entertainers created so many indelible and varied characters as the late Jim Henson. Consider these: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Bert & Ernie, the Fraggles and even Jedi Master Yoda. Nor has any puppeteer ever engaged adult audiences with hit feature films, TV shows and countless appearances on everything from the Ed Sullivan Show to Saturday Night Live. This month the Smithsonian Institution brings his work to the Louisiana Art & Science Museum.

“Jim didn’t limit himself in any way,” says Karen Falk, exhibit curator and archivist for the Jim Henson Co. “He had no fences, and that’s his ultimate legacy. We hope young people see his work and are inspired to go out and make their own art, their own puppets, their own films.”

The exhibit will include more than 100 sketches and storyboards and 14 famous Muppets, plus props from The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, photographs from Henson’s personal collection and clips from his early experimental films. This is the definitive inside look into the furtive mind and creative process of one of the most accomplished artists and storytellers of the 20th century. Jim Henson’s Fantastic World premiers at LASM March 29 and runs through June 22. lasm.org —JEFF ROEDEL

Signs of the times

It’s taken years, but downtown finally has its way-finding signs. “These signs give more than just directions, they also show how rich in history the downtown area is,” says Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District. Some 70 signs offer maps and five-minute walks, and highlight historical artists and attractions. Too bad they don’t direct you to a guaranteed parking spot… —MARY HELEN CRUMPLER

Grading the governor

During his inauguration speech, Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke of Louisiana as being the economic focal point of the entire nation 200 years ago, while calling for a return of that success.

The new governor is a Rhodes scholar, but 225 thought we’d double-check his knowledge anyway. So we asked Paul Paskoff, a professor of history at LSU, if Jindal was accurate about our state’s former prominence. According to our expert, the 1825 completion of the Erie Canal connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean made New York City the most trafficked port in the country, though being the chokepoint for the Mississippi still afforded New Orleans plenty of commerce via the steamboat-driven flour, lumber and cotton trades until the Civil War.

“To say that, after the War of 1812, New Orleans became a focal point for the nation’s economy is, perhaps, a bit of an overstatement,” Paskoff says. “The governor has the economic impact of New Orleans beginning perhaps a couple of decades earlier than it did, but his main point stands as a pretty good characterization of the city’s economic vibrancy and importance.”

—J.R.

Robots, we hardly knew ye…

Some crafty hands brought robot chic to the abandoned gas pumps at Claycut and Acadian. Last summer Department of Environmental Quality officials said they’d soon be removing the pumps and preparing the government-seized lot for a tax sale. Soon after the robots went up, someone took them down, returning the property to its abandoned and unkempt condition. —TOM GUARISCO

Foot fetish

Slippers are usually a fashion faux pas outside the home, but some new Kit Stettner-designed footwear may have busted slipper comfort from its homebound confinement. So stylish are her comfy wedges you’d be just as content lounging at home as being seen wearing them at the grocery store.

Signature Shoes & Accessories on Jones Creek Road is one of a select few stores nationally carrying new KiKi*c Shoes. “I set out to develop fun, fashion-forward wedges with a slipper feel and a go-anywhere vibe,” Stettner says. “I wanted shoes that would allow women to combine their sense of casual style with their call for comfort.”

These uber-comfy slip-ons from Massachusetts have caught the attention of national magazines and online fashion blogs, and are being heralded as the ultimate treat for traumatized feet—their foot-hugging foam was inspired by NASA, after all. Prices start at $79. kikic.com —SARAH YOUNG

WINNERS

Harold Laird

Plumber, drag racer

There are plumbers, there are fast plumbers, and then there’s Harold Laird.

During the week the 43-year-old father of four is a plumber, but come Saturday he climbs into a specially built 1963 Corvette and blasts down quarter-mile straightaways in six seconds flat as a National Hot Rod Association drag racer—and he wins.

In 2007 Laird won the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind., finishing ahead of more than 25 top national teams. For the season he finished seventh overall in points, even though he only competed in six of 10 races.

Laird is preparing for the new season this month with the Gator Nationals in Gainesville, Fla. amspromods.com