Tickle Me Elmo Toys

Northern Minnesota which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs

when you tickle it under the arms.

Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for
her first day promptly at 8:00 am.

The next day at 8:45 am there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's
door. The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new
employee.

He complains that she
is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire
production line behind schedule.

The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself, so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pile up.

At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's. She has a roll of plush Red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles.

The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs.

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of
hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena ..

'I'm sorry,' he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, 'but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday...'

'Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles.

If you don't send this to your friends right away,

There will be five fewer people laughing in the world!

We Must Stop This Immediately

THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY!

We Must Stop This Immediately!!!

Have you noticed that stairs are getting steeper. Groceries are heavier.


And, everything is farther away. Yesterday I walked to the corner and I was dumbfounded to discover how long our street had become!

And, you know, people are less considerate now, especially the young ones. They speak in whispers all the time! If you ask them to speak up they just keep repeating themselves, endlessly mouthing the same silent message until they're red in the face! What do they think I am, a lip reader?

I also think they are much younger than I was at the same age. On the other hand, people my own age are so much older than I am. I ran into an old friend the other day and she has aged so much that she didn't even recognize me.

I got to thinking about the poor dear while I was combing my hair this morning, and in doing so, I glanced at my own reflection well, REALLY NOW - even
mirrors are not made the way they used to be!

Another thing, everyone drives so fast these days! You're risking life and limb if you happen to pull onto the freeway in front of them. All I can say is, their brakes must wear out awfully fast, the way I see them screech and swerve in my rear view mirror.

Clothing manufacturers are less civilized these days. Why else would they suddenly start labeling a size 10 or 12 dress as 18 or 20? Do they think no one notices? The people who make bathroom scales are pulling the same prank. Do they think I actually 'believe' the number I see on that dial? HA! I would never let myself weigh that much! Just who do these people think they're fooling?

I'd like to call up someone in authority to report what's going on -- but the telephone company is in on the conspiracy too: they've printed the phone books in such small type that no one could ever find a number in there!




All I can do is pass along this warning:




WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!




Unless something drastic happens, pretty soon everyone will have to suffer
these indignities.

Where did Maxine come from?

Maxine Life and history

Where Did Maxine Come From? This is interesting.. I never knew who the creator of Maxine was! After the Maxine jokes there is a summary on how she was created and a photo of her creator. More from the gal everyone loves and admires, and you finally get to meet her creator at the end. AFTER THAT THERE ARE NEW ONES NEVER SEEN BEFORE...DON'T MISS THE VERY LAST ONE "TOWEL HEADS"..I loved it!














Hummmmmm! How True.

Creator Of Maxine

John Wagner, Hallmark artist since 1970, says Maxine was inspired by his mother, his maiden aunts and his grandmother, the woman who bought him art lessons when 'fill in the pumpkins' was about the extent of his art classes at St. John's Catholic School in Leonia
N.J.


John remembers doodling as a preschooler and says both his grandmother and his mother encouraged his artistic interests. He eventually attended the Vesper George School of Art in Boston and landed at Hallmark as part of a new artists group. But it was the birth of the humorous Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) in 1986 that added a new dimension to John's professional life. The Shoebox way of seeing the world unleashed his talents and he created Maxine.

'Cartoonists are sensitive to the insanities of the world; we just try to humanize them,' John says. 'If Maxine can get a laugh out of someone who feels lonely or someone who is getting older and hates the thought of another birthday, or if she can make someone chuckle about stressful interpersonal relationships, then I'm happy. Putting a smile on someone's face is what it's all about.'

Those smiles have led to Maxine's becoming a bit of a celebrity. She (and John) have been the subject of media stories, including People, USA Today, Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, and Las Vegas Journal-Review, and they have been included in a major Associated Press story. Collector and trade publications have reported fans nationwide are collecting
Maxine items. Letters from consumers and fans to John and Maxine reveal a very personal connection to Maxine.

Many people say they are just like her.

Why the name 'Maxine'? 'People at Shoebox started referring to the character as 'John Wagner's old lady,' and I knew that would get me into trouble with my wife,' John says. The Shoebox team had a contest among themselves to name the character and three of the approximately 30 entries suggested 'Maxine'. John says the name is perfect.

John, who says he's humbled by such acceptance of Maxine, admits he's proud of her.

Now you know the story of how Maxine came to be.

SOME NEW MAXINES !
I haven't seen these before. Good ones.

Solar Tower for the 2016 Olympic Games - Rio de Janeiro

The challenge was to design a vertical structure on the island of Cotonduba that in addition to serving as an observation tower would become a symbol of welcome to newcomers in Rio either by sea or by air once it has been host city of 2016 Olympic Games.


Designed by RAFA firm headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, it is called "Solar City Tower, this structure was chosen in response to the initial proposal and it has the potential to generate enough energy not only for the Olympic city, but also for part of the city of Rio.


Its design makes it stores solar energy during the day thanks to signs at ground level, while the surplus energy produced is piped to pump sea water within tower giving the effect of a waterfall outside. This water is reused simultaneously by turbines which are designed to produce energy during the night




These characteristics give it the epithet tower generator which is intended as a continuation of some of the resolutions taken during the Earth Summit United Nations in 1992 that took place in Rio and also promotes the use of natural resources in energy among these people.





The tower also has an amphitheater, an auditorium, cafeteria and shops accessible on the ground floor where you can take an elevator that leads to various observatories and a retractable platform for the practice of bungee.






At the top of the tower, it will be possible to appreciate the scenery around the island where she will be erected and its waterfall will become a benchmark for 2016 and the city of Rio de Janeiro.

The Crows and the black snake Story

All the children are fond of Panchtantra stories that taught us all the sensible ways of living. Panchtantra is the first anthology of animal stories. Here in the inspirational corridors wall I share with you all one thought provoking tale, which indeed is one of my too.

Long ago, a crow couple lived in a nest on the top of a huge tree. They were living happily, when on one fateful day a huge snake came to live in the hole at the bottom of the tree. The crows were not at all happy with this new neighbor, but they couldn’t help it either.

Soon after the snake’s arrival, Mother Crow laid a few eggs. The couple was so eager to see their first baby crows. But there joy ended shortly. One day, when the crows left the nest in search of food, the snake crawled up the tree and ate all the eggs. When the crow couple returned after a day long quest fro food, they were taken aback to see the eggs broken and nest shattered. They were deeply grieved, but could do nothing.

Another few months went by, but the snake continued his brutal dance of death. In fact on one occasion Mother Crow even tried to fight the snake off, but she fell weak before him. Other crows also came to her aid, but before they could take him, the ruthless snake hurried into its hole.

Tired of losing her eggs again and again, mother crow wanted to abandon the nest as soon as possible. But Father Crow insisted to stay and said that this tree had been their adobe for many years and they must live here. But he also thought of teaching a lifelong lesson to the snake. For this the crow approached a wise old fox in the jungle to help him devise a foolproof plan so as to get rid of the snake.

The fox came up with a fantastic plan. He told the couple to go to the river bank where the queen comes to bathe every morning. Her clothes and valuables would be kept on the river bank. He asked the crows to pick up a necklace and fly away while cawing loudly. This would put the servants on alert and when they will run chasing crows to the tree, the crows would drop the necklace into the snake's burrow.

The next morning the crow couple did as fox told. The servants, as planned, reached the tree chasing crows where they saw one crow dropping the necklace into the snake’s burrow.

When the servants reached the tree, they saw the necklace guarded by the snake. As they were trying to get necklace back with the help of a spear the snake hissed at them angrily. The servants lynched the snake in self defense and retrieved the queen’s necklace. The snake paid his life for his misdeeds and the crow couple lived happily ever after.