Sabtu, 12 Desember 2009

Mahmoud And The Talking Camel

Mahmoud And The Talking Camel


Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the feisty and foolish President of Iran, was coming back from one of his frequent addresses to students, who always agree with him 100%, when a camel walked out onto the road his limo was zipping along.

“Look, a camel,” called his perceptive driver, slamming on the brakes.

“Just give him a minute,” Mahmoud observed sagely, “and I’m sure he’ll cross the road to get to the other side.”

“Why?” the bodyguard next to the driver asked, inadvertently poking himself in the eye with his AK-47.

“To get a drink of water,” witty Mahmoud suggested.

“Ha,” chuckled the driver and the bodyguard, making up, through their feigned camaraderie, the usual “Ha, ha.”

But, instead of behaving as projected, the camel ambled up to the limo and looked in at Mahmoud. Then, quite to the Mayor-turned-President’s surprise, it began to move its lips as if it was speaking in Farsi.

Ever the obliging pawn of the ruling mullahs, Mahmoud rolled down his window, and asked, “Can I help you?”

“Yez, Prez,” the camel replied, with a curious accent that seemed to be due to its rubbery lips.

Astonished, Mahmoud exclaimed, “How can a camel talk?”

“It’z a zpecial gift from Allah.”

“Really?” the President pondered.

“Yez. There I waz, zleeping by a watering hole last night, when Allah appeared on my back, and zaid, ‘I have a problem.’

“I didn’t know what to say,” the camel went on, “because I didn’t know how to talk.

"Then Allah zaid, ‘Let’z talk.’

“And, suddenly, I knew how.

"So I zaid, ‘Thankz, what’s up?’

“Allah sighed, and told me, ‘Try az I might, I can’t find a zsingle Iranian with the courage to have an honest talk with Mahmoud. Zo I’ve decided to give you the azzignment.’”

“A lowly camel, appearing on behalf of Allah?” Mahmoud questioned.

“No, a camel chozen by Allah,” came the wise reply. “Zo I zaid to Allah, ‘How can I help?’”

“And what did Allah say?” Mahmoud half scoffed.

The camel glanced at the bodyguard with the AK-47 and trembled with fear.

“Relax,” Mahmoud told him. “He won’t shoot. I promise.”

“Thankz,” the camel replied.

“So what did Allah tell you?”

“He said, ‘Go to Mahmoud and tell him he has a suicide wish.’”

“A suicide wish?” Ahmadinejad exclaimed, and jumped out of the limo. “Allah told you that?”

“Yez, he did,” the camel said. “Not only that, he said you’re acting it out for the whole nation of Iran.”

“Now, why would I do that?” Mahmoud demanded.

“He zaid you mizinterpreted the Koran.”

“I did?”

“Yez, he said that you think after you die you’ll go to Paradize az a martyr and have a zubliminal wish to go there. But he zaid you forgot that he created you so you would live before you die. In fact, he created the whole univerze so you could live before you die. So ending your life by choice defeatz his primary purpose. Naturally, he’z upzet. Very upzet.”

“But how am I trying to commit suicide?”

“He zaid with your polizy of nuclear development.”

The bodyguard knew any negative talk about the Iranian centrifuge subterfuge would anger Mahmoud, who had somehow conflated the prestige of Iran with his, along with his superintending mullahs’, nuke-a-duke policy. So he hefted his principal means of communication, the AK-47, and asked, “Want me to silence him? I can do it without admitting it.”

“No,” Mahmoud replied insightfully. “A camel who can talk should not be shot.”

The camel did not take the bodyguard’s suggestion in stride, and uttered, “Uh-oh.” Then it turned to trot away.

“Come back here and tell me what else Allah said,” Mahmoud commanded him.

The camel stopped but only to call back, “He zaid you know you’re involved in a gamble you can’t win.”

“He said that?”

“Yez, he did,” the camel dared to affirm, and glanced at the bodyguard. “Don’t zhoot or I’ll zhut up.”

“He won’t,” Mahmoud assured the spooked camel, and turned to the bodyguard. “He may be a camel, but he’s a messenger of Allah. So no gunplay.” Then he looked back at the eloquent dromedary. “Did he say why I can’t win?”

“Yez, he zaid that the closer you get to succezz, the more other nationz will want to ztop you.” The camel swallowed hard and blurted out. “They will bomb you before they let you have a bomb.”

“He zaid that?” Mahmoud asked, and then, realizing he had just slipped into the curious accent of the camel, corrected himself. “I mean, he said that?”

“Yez, he did,” the camel confirmed. “Not only zhat, he zaid you’re telling the other countriez you’re only doing it for a reazon that izn’t credible, because Iran haz plenty of oil, so it doesn't need nuclear power for energy.”

“Anything else?” Mahmoud asked, grinding his teeth a bit.

“The most important zing: He told me to tell you to ztop.”

“Or?”

The camel swallowed hard, and then said, “I’m supposed to go from one city to the next and tell people to stop you, so they don’t have to die with you.”

The bodyguard waved his AK-47 in the sun.

The camel noticed it, and said, “Zo, quick! What’s your decision?”

“My decision is, you must be a mirage. Whoever heard of a talking camel – especially one who claims to be a messenger from Allah?”

“I think you’re right, boss,” the bodyguard called, and wiggled his rifle. “Want me to give it the hole-in-the-head test?”

Ahmadinejad took out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead, considering the possibility. Then he said, “Why waste bullets on a mirage?”

Getting back into the limo, he huffed skeptically, “Drive on. And don’t either one of you tell anybody I was talking to a camel.”

Enjoy These Useless Facts And Fun Trivia Questions And Answers

Enjoy These Useless Facts And Fun Trivia Questions And Answers


Question: Which is stronger -- concrete or bone?

Answer: Bone

Useless Fact: Human bones can actually resist 40 times more stress than concrete. Don't believe it is true? Then picture a piece of concrete the size of a bone and imagine how easily it would break.

Question: What bird lays its egg in another bird's nest?

Answer: Cuckoo, Cowbird, Whyda, Honeyguide and Black-headed Duck

Useless Fact: These birds, called brood parasites, lay their eggs in another bird's nest and let the other bird parents feed and raise their chicks. The "egg abandoner" is then free to mate again and lay more eggs in another nest. The cuckoo is the best known brood parasite and an expert in the art of cruel deception. Its strategy involves stealth, surprise and speed. The mother removes one egg laid by the host mother, lays her own and flies off with the host egg in her bill. The whole process takes barely ten seconds. Cuckoos parasitize the nests of a large variety of bird species and carefully mimic the colour and pattern of their own eggs to match that of their hosts. Each female cuckoo specializes on one particular host species. How the cuckoo manages to lay eggs to imitate each host's eggs so accurately is one of nature's main mysteries.

Question: What is the largest invertebrate?

Answer: Colossal Squid

Useless Fact: A species of squid reported to be significantly larger than the giant squid, is called the Colossal squid, officially named Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni. In February 2007 a live colossal squid was brought to the surface in Antarctic waters by a New Zealand fishing boat. This enormous squid, which was determined to be a male of the species, was 10 meters (32.8 feet), and weighed 450 kilograms (992 pounds), making it the largest squid (the largest invertebrate) ever captured. What is even more astonishing is that, from what scientists know about squid species in general, there is great sexual dimorphism in squids, with females being significantly larger than the males. If that holds true for the Colossal squid, this male specimen that was captured could very well be dwarfed by a much larger female of the species.

Question: What does the first letter of a radio station's call sign mean?

Answer: The location of the station

Useless Fact: Generally, in the United States, call signs begin with K west of the Mississippi River, and W to the east.

Question: Where was the first McD0nald's located?

Answer: Arcada, California

Useless Fact: Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald open a hot dog stand called the Airdome in Arcadia, California. In 1940, the brothers move to San Bernardino, California, on Route 66. After noting that almost all of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers close down the restaurant for several months in 1948 to implement their innovative "Speedee Service System", a streamlined assembly line for hamburgers.

Question: What is the largest insect?

Answer: Acteon Beetle or Longhorn Beetle

Useless Fact: There are different ways of measuring the size of an insect, most people would consider the largest insect to be the bulkiest and in that case the largest insect is the Acteaeom Beetle from South America. The male beetles can be 9cms long by 5cms wide by 4cms thick. If you want to measure largest by overall size, check out the South American Longhorn Beetle (Titanus giganteus) these giants can be over 16cms in body length (not including antennae) One other beetle, Dynastes hercules is also well known for reaching 16cms in length though it is not nearly as heavy. The longest insect in the world is the Stick-Insect (Pharnacia serritypes), the females of which can be over 36cm long.

How To Cope When You Are Surrounded By Idiots

How To Cope When You Are Surrounded By Idiots


Are the idiots in your life driving you crazy? Do you often feel like you are surrounded by idiots? Have you ever wondered if YOU are an idiot? Do the idiotic C.Y.A. instructions on the packaging of most products you buy these days make you feel like the world must think you are an idiot?

The following article contains lessons on stupidity. They cover things you should pretty much never do. There are many, many more lessons we could add, such as not floating face down in the septic tank or not applying your own tattoo with a wood burner and lead-based house paint, but these are normally material for a post-graduate stupidity course. You probably shouldn't attempt to comprehend these high-level concepts until you have mastered the more basic skills.

Experience has shown that the louder you yell the principle to the idiot pupil in question the better the procedure works. (OK, a little honesty here would probably be good. The truth is, shouting the lessons probably won't have much of an effect on the idiot, because as we all know, he/she is an idiot, but it will probably make you feel a little better).

Here are a few suggestions that could change your life if you are someone who is struggling with idiots in your life. If you are an idiot, try to find someone to read these principles to you and then apply them. If you are surrounded by idiots or if you have a loved one who has idiotic tendencies, you will probably want to teach these principles to the idiots in your life. You never know. It might just help.

1. You should never try to lick the bottom of the blender while the blades are still turning.
2. Never drink quarts of vinegar while eating boxes of baking soda.
3. Never clean up nitro-glycerin or unstable nuclear waste with a vacuum cleaner.
4. Never let friends hit you over the head with a baseball bat unless you are wearing a good helmet.
5. Never adjust your TV antenna during a lightening storm.
6. You shouldn't smoke while siphoning gasoline.
7. Don't microwave dynamite.
8. Never dry your hair with a blow torch.
9. Never pick your scabs while swimming with sharks.
10. Never hang glide during a hurricane.

Camcorders, projectors make life enjoyable

Camcorders, projectors make life enjoyable


It was a hot Friday afternoon in mid 2006 in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi. The hot weather, however, had no effect on Alim, a non- governmental organization worker, who on that afternoon sat absorbed in front of his computer with three electric fans cooling the hot air.

“Hot weather is all right for me as long as my computer works,” he said.
What was he doing? He was processing a video recording of activities conducted by his organization.

After a while, carrying a CD he left his room and went into the meeting room. With the help of a notebook and a projector, the video recording was projected onto the wall and dozens of people watched the documentary as if they were in a theater.

Thanks to technological developments, with a video camera and a computer you can make a film. Of course, first of all you must acquire the technical skills of operating these instruments. Various video camera producers are now competing to market their superior products, which are not only sophisticated but also come with various smart features. Besides, the prices are relatively lower than they were a few years ago.

Samsung Electronics, for example, has promised to introduce various revolutionary products this year, including Samsung VP-X210L, to strengthen its position as a market leader. “With the Samsung VP-X210L Sports Camcorder, hurdles in video recording can be minimized. This camcorder makes it easier to record an object hands-free and the durability of the batteries is also longer,” Lee Mun Bong, managing director of PT Samsung Electronics Indonesia, said at Ritz Carlton Hotel, Jakarta.

The Samsung VP-X210L, he said, is a future sports camcorder whose recording speed can be boosted by up to 25 percent with an optical zoom of 10 times. “The electronic picture stabilizer of the VP-210L makes sure that all features of an athlete will be recorded with great clarity,” he added.

As the use of a DVD format, which is capable of producing clearer pictures, is now gaining greater popularity, producers spare no time cashing in on this trend by offering various DVD-format video cameras complete with various sophisticated features that make it even easier for a user to make video recordings.

One such producer is PT Panasonic Gobel Indonesia, which has released its VDR-D300, VDR-D250 and VDR-D150 DVD-format video camera series. The VDR series allows recording output to be stored in the SD Card memory disc, thereby making it very practical to transfer it to a computer for editing. Technological sophistication and easy operation is, of course, helpful to the user in translating ideas into reality.

Another audio-video product that is gaining popularity is the projector. During the recently concluded FIFA World Cup Championship in Germany, people could not only watch the soccer matches on TV, but also on large screen thanks to projectors. Initially, a projector was invented for presentations in meeting rooms.

Today, however, many use one to watch movies or TV programs, such as aired soccer matches. Datascrip Business Solutions, which markets Optoma products in Indonesia, has launched at least seven series of Optoma projectors using Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology, namely DV10, EP729, EP7161, EP719, EP739H, EP758 and EP759.

DLP technology, said Jeremy Hemanto, manager of the multimedia division of PT Datascrip, uses an optical semi-conductor, which is better known as a Digital Micromirror Device (DVD Chip) to re-portray the existing material of a presentation. “With a Digital Light Processing processor, a projector is available at an affordable price and can be used by practically anybody in Indonesia,” he said.

Optoma, he said, is the leader in the world market of projectors using DLP technology, and in the third quarter of 2005 it enjoyed a market share of some 13.6 percent. Optoma of the EP729 series is a micro portable projector measuring 200 mm by 62.5 mm by 150 mm and weighing 0.99 kg. “Thanks to its brightness level of 1,600 ANSI lumens, this projector can present more lively pictures for various applications,” Jeremy said.

As for Optoma of the DV10 series, which is usually called MovieTime TM, it is a digital projector with an integrated DVD player and speakers. One can watch a movie using this device alone. Indeed, sophisticated technology has made it much easier for everybody to enjoy entertainment at home. [Asep Saefullah]

THE JAKARTA POST — TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2006 — PAGE 18

When the Dahlia Blooms at the Forest of Rubber Plant

When the Dahlia Blooms at the Forest of Rubber Plant

Dahlia is a name of flower that most women around the world familiarly know and even adore. In an upstream village in Sumatra Island, Indonesia, women make use of “Dahlia” to name a micro credit institution that they manage collectively to support their own daily needs.

Like a flower, the Dahlia micro credit institution— the Independent Community Organization (KSM) Dahlia to be precise— also grew out of a tiny seed. It began when the Indonesia Conservancy Community (KKI) Warsi, a non-government organization (NGO) working on environment conservancy, was implementing its program among the villagers of Lubuk Beringin Village, Jambi Province. From Jakarta, the Capital City of Indonesia, it takes an hour of trip by airplane and about some more five hours of land cruise on rugged country roads through a chain of dense forest of rubber plants.

KKI Warsi itself is the board of Sumatra Sustainable Support (SSS), a community foundation (CF) that later on advocates the forest farmers of Lubuk Beringin, taking over KKI Warsi’s role in the past. Through an Integrated Conservancy Development Project of Kerinci Seblat National Park (ICDP TNKS) from 1990 to 2002, KKI Warsi advocated the forest villagers— females and males— to empower and develop the village institution to improve the villagers’ economy and to manage the natural sources in sustainable way.

KKI Warsi facilitated the women, all of them are Muslims, to have a meeting on Fridays. They began with religious learning, and then went on with a lottery with equal share from every member who took turn to become the winner of the lottery. “The activity in August 2000,” recalled Rudy Syaf, KKI Warsi’s advisor.

At every meeting, each Dahlia woman is obliged to submit IDR 2,000— IDR 1,000 for lottery share and the other IDR 1,000 to be collected for the needs to support the religious learning. In the long run the women eventually managed to develop a credit union that they had been longing for. They began with collecting private funds of IDR 6,000 a person— IDR 5,000 as main share and IDR 1,000 as monthly saving.

“By mid 2001 the members of the group could demand a credit at most IDR 100,000 that they should pay off within 10 months,” said Nur Asiah, chairwoman of Dahlia.

Nur Asiah and her fellow women of Dahlia can wear a broader smile now. Since they have a credit union to support their own need, they can find a new source of finance which is quite easily for them to access, especially when they are faced with unexpected expenses.

Things had been quite different from the time when Dahlia was not yet established. In the past the forest farmers depended on traders of rubber, some still do, for money for the traders’ advantages. “But now we can find alternative financial resource, thanks to the credit union. Sure, we’re glad to see the credit union develops well, considering the fact that the idea sprung casually among us the women when we were doing the laundry at the stream,” said Nur Asiah.

Dahlia is now improving every aspects of its capacity to become a cooperative with a more powerful legal status. While the process is on its way, the village farmers develop a credit union where the members can have some loans, run a rental of items that people need when they have party, home industry of handy crafts, and productive gardens. Each year Dahlia holds an annual meeting of members, the highest council and a forum where the members distribute the net profit among them.

“We distribute some portions of the net profit among our members, spend some others for new investment, and save the rests for the village for conservancy operation cost. We always persuade our fellow villagers to give more care for the environment,” said Muhammad Jufrie, a facilitator for Dahlia and an agent of the village administration.

Lubuk Beringin is an independent village and the villagers find supplies of their livelihood from the surrounding natural resources. They mostly make th eir livings from the rubber plants which grow lavishly at the vast forestland around them. They also have a power plant of micro hydro that they build at a river nearby. “If the environment is destroyed, the forest degraded, we won’t be able to see the turbine going round anymore, and what we’ll find is that we’ll live in the dark,” said Jufrie.

Dahlia now owns total asset of IDR 200 millions. What is more, it has also developed to become a backbone of the village’s economy. But the villagers do not want to stop and get satisfied with what the have achieved. “We’re still keep trying to find ways to sell the raw rubber directly to the factories so as that we can have better values and cut short the complicated distribution chain,” said Nur Asiah.

Humour And Jokes For Healthy Life

Humour And Jokes For Healthy Life

Humour and jokes is not only relieving stress, but also enrich your life and keeps you in touch with friends and family. The fluctuation of emotional state, low blood sugar, heart disease, overactive thyroid and is also considered by science to some effects of stress. What makes a thing of such complexity that stress is actually different from person to person. There are people who might not be comfortable sharing their emotions with others, regardless of how they are close to the person. Writing about what happened during the day is a self-cleaning of all the worries over a hard day's work.

The fast pace of the world clouded by the pressures of work and they demands the humour and jokes compounds in life. Therefore, such websites have been a booming sector in recent years because people are made to believe that their use of services is the only effective way to increase humour and jokes in life. However, it is not necessary to participate in an activity splurging money to get humour and jokes. Take every opportunity to the millions of dollars flash smile. However, too much, it could yield negative emotional, physical and mental effects of a person.

A very inspiring book can create a sense of lightness and motivation of a person. Studies show that 40% of people who have heart disease are less likely to be inclined to laugh. As funny as it appears in, humour and jokes is the cheapest and easiest way to relieve stress. Joking with friends, watching funny movies or TV shows and reading funny cartoons are cheap and fun solutions to stress. Stress may be part of daily life, but this is not necessarily synonymous with grace and let it take over. Accentuating the positive is one way to cope. After all, stress is not what happens is how we react to it.

Recent studies at the University of Baltimore have shown that people who have humour and jokes are less likely to have heart disease. In addition, people with heart disease are 40% less likely to humour and jokes compared to the fate of these people without heart problems. If this is true, the very elixir which could solve a serious health condition related to heart is the prime condition of the act of laughing at jokes really funny. This is particularly important for those who do not have time to exercise or do physical activities. Laughing also prevents hypertension because it reduces the likelihood of stress. It relaxes muscles and reduces the supply of dopamine in the blood.

Knowing all this, how can you practice the habit of humour and jokes to keep from heart attack? The maintenance of a light-hearted provision is essential in preventing heart attacks. Whenever the stress began keeping in the think of these situations can reduce your stress and anxiety. humour and jokes not only produce natural laughter, but also help maintain good mental health. Therefore in every day hard working life humour and jokes is not only necessary to make laughter in your life, it also keeps you fit in the life.


Humour and jokes is not only relieving stress, but also enrich your life and keeps you in touch with friends and family. The fluctuation of emotional state, low blood sugar, heart disease, overactive thyroid and is also considered by science to some effects of stress. What makes a thing of such complexity that stress is actually different from person to person. There are people who might not be comfortable sharing their emotions with others, regardless of how they are close to the person. Writing about what happened during the day is a self-cleaning of all the worries over a hard day's work.

The fast pace of the world clouded by the pressures of work and they demands the humour and jokes compounds in life. Therefore, such websites have been a booming sector in recent years because people are made to believe that their use of services is the only effective way to increase humour and jokes in life. However, it is not necessary to participate in an activity splurging money to get humour and jokes. Take every opportunity to the millions of dollars flash smile. However, too much, it could yield negative emotional, physical and mental effects of a person.

A very inspiring book can create a sense of lightness and motivation of a person. Studies show that 40% of people who have heart disease are less likely to be inclined to laugh. As funny as it appears in, humour and jokes is the cheapest and easiest way to relieve stress. Joking with friends, watching funny movies or TV shows and reading funny cartoons are cheap and fun solutions to stress. Stress may be part of daily life, but this is not necessarily synonymous with grace and let it take over. Accentuating the positive is one way to cope. After all, stress is not what happens is how we react to it.

Recent studies at the University of Baltimore have shown that people who have humour and jokes are less likely to have heart disease. In addition, people with heart disease are 40% less likely to humour and jokes compared to the fate of these people without heart problems. If this is true, the very elixir which could solve a serious health condition related to heart is the prime condition of the act of laughing at jokes really funny. This is particularly important for those who do not have time to exercise or do physical activities. Laughing also prevents hypertension because it reduces the likelihood of stress. It relaxes muscles and reduces the supply of dopamine in the blood.

Knowing all this, how can you practice the habit of humour and jokes to keep from heart attack? The maintenance of a light-hearted provision is essential in preventing heart attacks. Whenever the stress began keeping in the think of these situations can reduce your stress and anxiety. humour and jokes not only produce natural laughter, but also help maintain good mental health. Therefore in every day hard working life humour and jokes is not only necessary to make laughter in your life, it also keeps you fit in the life.

Sabtu, 05 Desember 2009

A Short History Of The Muppets

A Short History Of The Muppets


There are a scant few celebrities who can say they have enjoyed constant fame since the mid-sixties. Even fewer can make this claim and say they have had no negative press in the 40 years they have been on television.

Despite what tabloids would have you believe, there is a group of characters who have constantly appeared on television since the 1960s, never once come close to a scandal, never aged and most surprising of all, are made of felt.

The Muppets are somewhat of a television institution, a part of many of our childhoods. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the excitable, fuzzy little puppets is the fact they continue to entertain us well into adulthood. Films like Muppets Treasure Island were equally popular among children and adults.

Reviews spoke about Miss Piggy and Kermit the frog as if they were real, living actors. USA Today praised the movie, saying; "Leave it to Miss Piggy and Kermit to discover uncharted gold in the shipwrecked-pirate genre". This is the power of Jim Henson's Muppets, they can make us forget that they are made of felt, ping pong balls and rods, but why? Where did the world's most beloved puppets come from and what distinguishes a muppet from a puppet?

The muppets took their first tentative steps into the world of television in the mid-50s. Their now legendary creator, Jim Henson, was still studying at the University of Maryland at the time. Although he had made puppets for Saturday morning television in high school, Henson was unaware of the monumental popularity his creations were to enjoy in just a few short years.

The muppet phenomenon began to take shape in 1955 on the Sam and Friends Show, it was there that Kermit the frog first appeared. He was not yet officially a frog, more of a nondescript lizard-like muppet. He lacked his distinctive neck frill so the join between body and head was still visible and his voice was not quite that of the polished Kermit of The Muppet Show. He was made from a green coat discarded by Henson's mother, with old ping pong balls for eyes.

Kermit came to be the template for the muppets, large eyes, a wide mouth and arms controlled by rods rather than strings. Unlike other puppets, usually made of wood, Henson made his muppets from foam rubber and soft materials, allowing for a greater range of realistic movement and emotion.

As the concept developed it became clear that a muppet can be almost anything. They have been human, animals, anthropomorphised animals (such as Miss Piggy and Kermit), robots, aliens and anything in-between. This multi-species cast transcended gender, race and religion and clearly showed Henson's values of friendship and cultural harmony.

It is not only the physical design of the muppets that characterises them. Henson pioneered the use of the camera frame as a sort of stage. He ensured his "muppeteers" were out of sight by simply holding the muppets above their heads and filming the suspended muppets from the "waist" up. Human guests would stand on platforms or muppeteers would work from pits similar to those used by orchestras to ensure the illusion was not broken.

Maintaining the illusion that the muppets are alive is a massive part of why they became so popular, Henson investigated all relevant new technologies to keep this illusion going. Remote control, partially motorised muppets and some degree of CGI animation is now used to allow the muppets to do things impossible for normal puppets such as riding bicycles and dancing with no visible muppeteer.

Despite the popularity of modern muppets life was not always easy for Henson and his beloved pals. Throughout the 1960s the muppets mainly appeared as guests on talk shows, doing the occasional skit for variety shows and on adverts. They were made and operated by Henson and his wife, Jane, until the birth of Henson's first child, after which Jane quit muppeteering to look after the new baby.

This was the point when Henson hired Frank Oz, the men developed a close friendship and a distinctive double-act. Their partnership came to shape the muppets, the characters of Bert and Ernie show the pair's well developed performing partnership at its best.

In 1969 Henson began work on Seasame Street, this was to be one of the muppet's greatest successes. After a shaky start the show went on to receive 109 Emmy Awards and is currently one of the longest running programmes in television history.

The runaway success of Seasame Street gave Henson the credibility to try groundbreaking new formats. He was keen to attempt a weekly television show aimed at the entire family rather than exclusively children. American television rejected the idea, they did not see the muppets as characters for adults.

Eventually Henson secured financing in the UK. The muppets creative team was moved to England and filming for The Muppet Show began. The show was family friendly but featured a satirical sense of humour that was designed to appeal to the parents of the children watching, an element which would become common in Henson's work, notably Dinosaurs and Fraggle Rock.

A combination of talented muppeteers, well designed muppets, non-offensive family friendly scripts and loveable characters created the global phenomenon that is the muppets. This wild popularity combined with the show's illusion that the muppets were alive led to them being treated as such.

Kermit the frog interviewed massive stars on The Muppet Show between 1976 and 1981 including: Diana Ross, Christopher Reeve, Johnny Cash, Elton John, John Cleese and Alice Cooper. Slowly The Muppet Show began to be taken seriously, as the show progressed it became the most desirable programme for celebrities to appear on. Kermit the frog was the Parkinson of the late 70s.

It was after the international success of The Muppet Show that Kermit and friends began to be treated as individuals rather than characters. Miss Piggy's book went to number one on the New York best-sellers list, Kermit became the first and only frog to address the Oxford Union and the characters became celebrities in their own right. Kermit the frog even has a Hollywood star.

At the height of muppet-mania disaster struck, soon after the completion of Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D Henson fell ill. On May 4th he commented he felt under the weather, 12 days later the father of the muppets was dead. Henson died from toxic shock syndrome brought on by a severe infection similar to pneumonia.

Two memorials were held for Henson, one in the US and one in the UK. Nobody wore black at either service and Big Bird sung Kermit the frog's signature song "Its not easy being green". Everyone waved a muppet butterfly as the surreal but deeply moving service progressed.

So just why do the muppets capture our imaginations so? It is perhaps the message of tolerance, love and friendship Henson wove deeply into every character. It could have been his tireless devotion to his art, to maintaining the illusion that the felt and foam characters he created were real. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact Henson's puppets got to interview and were interviewed by the biggest names of the day.

Maybe their enviable film and television careers. Whatever the reason, the muppets have enjoyed a 40 year media career and they are showing no signs of slowing down.

A new muppet movie is on the way and The Jim Henson Company (now run by Henson's children) has promised two new films based on Henson's work, Fraggle Rock and The Dark Crystal. These new films will continue Jim Henson's legacy, characters that bring families together and extoll the virtues of love and friendship, two things the world can never have too much of.