Lowly Worm

Created and illustrated by Richard Scary- Lowly Worm can usually be found standing next to Huckle the Cat. Lowly's age and family status is unknown but if memory serves, he shares a bedroom with Huckle in the Cat family home. Always dressed in a smart green alpine hat, with blue slack(s), a red bow-tie, and tennis shoe. Having one leg doesn't seem to slow this worm down- in fact some times he gets into more adventures than the rest of BusyTown's inhabitants. Who can forget when he found that doll inside a loaf of bread? Don't forget the time he tied himself in a knot to hold the door shut on a moon launch. Shades of Tom Hanks and the Apollo 13 movie! In the last couple of years Lowly has branched out into several books with just him as the star, as well as gaining a voice on the Showtime network's children's specials.

Kitchen Aid mixers

Everybody's mom has one, and odds are it's still working some 30 or more years later! It's the only mixer made of metal and not plastic. They have some sassy new colours now and I don't think they used to come with a glass bowl, but you can still get stainless steel ones as well, so traditionalists as well as those modernists can make cakes, whipped cream, and sauces with ease. With a few optional attachments you can just as easily make bread dough, baby food, sausage or chipped ice, so now how much would you pay.... *submitted by kitchen-magician and all-around self-proclaimed domestic goddess "Tracia Barbieri". Sorry fellas- she's happily married, but you can write to her and try and get her to give you some recipes, or ask her husband Doug what their family had for dinner last night!

Speed Racer

Here's a quick reminder of each control button's function: A - Releases powerful jacks which boost the car. B - Makes Mach-5 sprout gripped tires for traction over any kind of terrain. C - Releases powerful rotary saws from the front end of the car. D - Covers over the cockpit creating a watertight, bullet-proof chamber. E - Control for special illumination enabling Speed to see further and more clearly than with ordinary headlights. Can be traversed singularly or in tandem. F - Used when Mach-5 is underwater. Cockpit is supplied with oxygen and then a periscope is raised to scan the surface. Everything that is seen is relayed down by television. G - Releases a homing robot which can carry pictures or tape-recorded messages to whomever and wherever Speed wants to send them.

Felix's Bag of Tricks

Felix the Cat first hit the screen on November 9, 1919, in "Feline Follies". Created by Otto Messmer, this mischievous feline, rocketed to fame, holding a spot as the world's most popular cartoon character until the advent of Mickey Mouse. Some of the films he made during this period included such classics as Felix in Hollywood (1923) and Felix Switches Witches (1927). With his screen career faded in the 1930s, Felix spent a few decades in a memorable series of comics; during that time, Otto Messmer's assistant Joe Oriolo rose to the forefront, later to produce the 50's TV series about Felix's Magic Bag of Tricks. Today, Felix most recently lit up the screen in the Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, a warped series of feline yarns produced by Film Roman, Inc. shown CBS television in the US. Although 2 seasons were produced, only part of season 2 has been shown here in the US, with the series continuing to air internationally with both seasons included complete. The good news is BMG Video has released the entire first season of Twisted Tales on a laserdisc box set, containing all 34 shorts produced.

YellowPages' Index

Say you have a pesky raccoon terrorizing your backyard. Who will take care of your problem? No problem! Look in the index under "raccoon" and see that the term you really wanted is "Pest Control Services". But any index can just give you a correct term, the Yellow Pages index gives you the right one and the page number. How's that for service! (Trying to make up for the Chimes of Doom, eh Ma Bell?)

Swiss Army Knives

Words come to mind instantly. Powerful words, like precision, craftsmanship, and skill. For centuries, the inscription "Made in Switzerland" has carried with it an untainted mystique. An air of quality. And not without reason, Swiss craftsmanship is sought out by the world. From generation to generation, their attention to detail and devotion to perfection is as natural to the Swiss as the snow to the Alps. Their watches can be found on the wrists of kings. Swiss chocolates mark special occaions. And the Swiss Army Knife is the very picture of precision craftsmanship. Then add in the tooth-picks, tweezers, corkscrews, scissors, and a multitude of blades. There may be bigger, scarier, or tougher knives out there, but for all-around everyday use, these are the ones to beat.

Apple® Computer

128K in 1984, PowerPC in '94, OS8 in '97. LaserWriters, PowerBooks, FireWire, QuickTime & TrueType- the (r)evolution will be computerized. Can you name many other products that command this kind of loyalty? To quote the New York Times , "DOS Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq, Tandy, and millions of others are by far the most popular, with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans, on the other hand, may note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans, and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form."

Salon-washed hair

Ever run out of shampoo in the middle of taking a shower or try to conserve so you don't have to go to the store before you had planned? Well at the salon they always have shampoo and are not afraid of wasting it, in fact- the more the better! Plus the ever-decadent stack of hot towels and the reclining comfy chair with the cool sinks that allow you to only have to get your hair wet. I am guessing that this is the way the czars lived before they were all "retired." *submitted by "Stephanie K." who recently had a haircut that removed several inches from the bottom of her hair (You were expecting someplace else?)

Ed Emberly's Make a World Books
	Have you ever said, "I can't draw?" Well Mr. Emberly will show you how, in just a few easy steps! It may not look much like the real world but you sure will have fun creating and enjoying the final product. History text to go here

Bob Ross
	As long as we are on the subject of artists- how can I leave out the late Bob Ross. Here is another man who quite obviously enjoyed his work! If you follow Bob's instructions you are virtually guaranteed a picture that while may not exist in the real world, certainly could and should! History text to go here

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©1997

robertreeves thirteenjune