everybody loves puppets

So, last night over the traditional post-writing group cocktail (Clint's last night even *sigh*), the subject of Thai puppets came up. I found myself pretty ignorant on Thai puppets and even made a couple of bad -- hey, people, I am SICK, the Revenge of the Sentient Cold here, okay? -- jokes about Thai puppet porn. I also resolved to google to the bottom of this matter. So I give you a bunch of excellent Thai (and Asian) puppet-related links:

The History of Thai Puppets
Traditional Thai Puppets (focus on "Joe Louis," who is not a boxer but the -- okay, I'm having a hard time coming up with the right word here, throwing out debreathed before, same difference -- deceased Thai puppet master and apparently the Joe Louis Theater is one of the main tourist puppet things in Bangkok)
The Lotz Doll Pages -- This is my favorite because it has pictures and squibs about all different sorts of puppets... some of them are pretty amazing. Including the Abe Lincoln puppet below:

Anyway, this post brought to you by Theraflu. Or you could go read Ursula Le Guin's further smackdown of the Sci-Fi Channel. (And really, isn't it just proof of what an impeccable, brilliant, classy dame she is that no one is suggesting she shut the hell up? Well, no one better, anyway. I mean, compare this to Anne Rice's screed of a couple of months ago. There is no comparison to be made.).

Head now inserted back in shell.