“The Gentle Genius”

Today we celebrate the anniversary of Jim Henson’s birth, he would have been 72 today. Jim Henson’s imagination and creativity has touched the lives of so many children and adults across the globe. Did you know that Sesame Street now airs in 140 countries? The Muppet Show has always been a favorite of mine - I loved to watch them on television, and it was always such a thrill to see one of the wonderful Muppet Movies at the theater. My favorite character was (and still is) the music loving, wild Animal.

Here are some more websites you might find interesting:
TIME 100: Jim Henson
The Jim Henson Legacy
Muppet Central
Sesame Street - Videos

What about you? What are some of your favorite Jim Henson-inspired memories? How has his work impacted you or your family? Feel free to share your comments.

How You Can Help

Our thoughts are with all our members and the many people who have been affected by Hurricane Ike. Although Ike’s destruction was primarily in the Southeastern regions of our country, the damage has been felt as far as the upper Midwest.

I have seen first hand the generosity of MySurvey.com members. I know many of you are wondering how you can help. The best way to help the victims of this disaster (and other disasters like it) is by making a donation to any of the charities listed on the Help For Storm Victims (CNN) website.

Remembrance

Today we remember those we lost, the heroes and the many lives affected by the events seven years ago. We will never forget.

TV Dinners

I saw a couple citations on the web that today is National TV Dinner day, but I have not been able to verify that fact. Regardless, I still thought it would be fun to post something about TV Dinners. Over the years we have done many surveys and product test about TV dinners and frozen dinners. In case you are wondering, we do ship frozen products for testing in special containers packed in ice. Our members really do receive frozen products just like if they were bought at the store.

I get very nostalgic when I think about TV dinners, it brings back a lot of fond memories for me. Similar to other new products, many companies played a role in the creation of the TV Dinner. The Swanson website has some fun information about the history of the TV dinner. You can also play a retro game of pong against your computer.

For something a bit more modern, there’s the Single Man's Guide to TV Dinners, user reviews for over 250 dinners and 1400 other frozen foods, how to choose a healthy frozen dinner and a growing number of organic frozen meals.

So tell us, do you eat frozen dinners? Which kind and how often? Do you get nostalgic thinking about TV dinners like I do?

Reading for Pleasure

Sorry I did not post last week, I was off on a long anticipated vacation with my family. We had a wonderful and relaxing time away from our daily schedules. While on vacation, I was able to spend time on one of my favorite activities – reading. I finished one book I was working on and started another book.

I really enjoy reading for pleasure and I use it as a “mini-vacation” from my daily life. I also use reading to expand my horizons and learn about history, different cultures and a different ways of living. As you can probably guess fiction is my favorite genre and I read almost anything in that genre including classic, modern, mystery, romance, espionage thrillers and sometimes science fiction. Here are some of the websites I use for book reviews and ideas:

Bestsellers - Barnes & Noble
Powell's Books - Review-a-Day
Books - The New York Times Book Review

How about you – how often do you read for pleasure and what do you like to read? Any good books you would like to recommend to our other members?

By the way, today is International Literacy Day, click here to read more.