Halloween Google 'Doodle' Features Time-Lapse Pumpkin Carving

"To celebrate Halloween this year, the doodle team wanted to capture that fascinating transformation that takes place when carving a pumpkin," Sophia Foster-Dimino, a Google doodler, wrote in a blog post. "Instead of picking up a few pumpkins from the grocery store, however, we decided to work on six giant pumpkins, specially delivered from nearby Half Moon Bay (some weighing well over 1,000 pounds)."

The music, Google said, is performed by Slavic Soul Party and composed by Matt Moran. For more, Google also posted a behind-the-scenes video of the carving.

Last year, Google celebrated Halloween with five different Scooby Doo-themed doodles, all of which featured the crime-fighting gang trying to solve various mysteries.

According to the History Channel, U.S. growers produce 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins each year, which is more than twice the weight of the Empire State Building. The top pumpkin-producing states are Illinois, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan.

Halloween has its roots with the Celts, who celebrated the new year on November 1 with a festival known as Samhain.

via pcmag.com

Google Doodle celebrates Halloweeen

Emmerdale Atkins' farmyard phobia

Emma Atkins has revealed she got scared during filming

Emma Atkins has starred in rural soap Emmerdale for more than a decade, but the actress has confessed she has a fear of cows.

The 36-year-old actress has been in the countryside show - formerly known as Emmerdale Farm - as Charity Tate on-and-off since 2000.

But Emma revealed to Inside Soap magazine: "I have a phobia about cows! I've been filming scenes where there have been cows and I had to make sure that I could see them at all times so I knew what they were up to.

"I was paranoid they were going to get close."

Feisty Charity has had one failed marriage and three failed weddings in the soap, but she is now engaged to Jai Sharma.

via tv.uk.msn.com

Charity is scared of cows!

Simple fitness tests for men - Health and Fitness - MSN Him - MSN UK

Duncan Smith-Photodisc-Getty Images

Think you're fit? These easy fitness tests will tell you the truth.

So you have no moobs to speak of, you still fit the same size jeans you always did, and running for the bus doesn't leave you gasping for breath. In other words, you feel pretty good.

But how fit are you really? To find out you could pay for a raft of expensive tests, or you could find a stopwatch and a spare 10 minutes and test yourself at home (or on the street). They're not perfect, but they'll give you a pretty good idea of just how fit - or not - you really are.

A quick note. Apart from the first one, these tests are aimed at those with a normal level of fitness and no serious health problems. If in doubt, have a quick chat with your doctor first.

via him.uk.msn.com

How fit is your man?

ART CLOKEY ‘GUMBY’ DOODLE: Google celebrates birthday of late clay-animation pioneer - Comic Riffs - The Washington Post

On Wednesday, Google’s home-page “Doodle” celebrates what would have been the 90th birthday of the late clay-animation pioneer ART CLOKEY with an interactive logo of Gumby & Friends.

The clickable animation also marks the launch of the website GumbyWorld, which features anecdotes, pictures and rare film clips.

The Gumby Doodle — which starts off with several clay balls and a child’s wooden block — was created by top animator Anthony Scott (“Coraline,” “Corpse Bride”) and puppet/prop maker Nicole LaPointe-McKay for the Clokey Productions Premavision studios.

(Click on each ball or block and a figure springs to life — including the galloping Pokey, Prickle the yellow dinosaur, the Blockheads and Goo, the flying blue goo-ball mermaid. Or click on Gumby himself and he bounces into a ball, a block and then a heart. Because, as the theme song says: “If you’ve got a heart, then Gumby’s a part of you.”)

“The Google Doodle is the perfect tribute to my father’s work,” Joe Clokey, Art Clokey’s son and creator of Gumby’s new website, said in a statement. “Art’s life and film career were ahead of their time. My dad would have been thrilled to be connected with Google in this way.”

via washingtonpost.com

Google Doodle in celebration of Art Clokey's 90th Birthday

Is she a toxic friend? - MSN Life and Style - MSN UK

Getty

Have you ever felt that a friend who's supposed to bring fun and laughter into your life actually brings you down?

Sometimes it's hard to spot the kind of friend where you 'don't need enemies' so here are the seven key signs to look out for:

Toxic friend sign no 1: Second best - when something better comes up you'll see the back of her and definitely feel second best. If a man asks her out or she's invited to a party she'll ditch your plans faster than you can say toxic friend.

Toxic friend sign no 2: Me, me, me - it's all about her no matter what. Even if you've lost your job, been dumped, etc, she'll somehow turn the conversation to her problems.

Toxic friend sign no 3: Sabotages the good things - when something good happens to you she'll always find a 'downside'. For instance, she meets your new boyfriend and immediately has loads of criticisms.

Toxic friend sign no 4: Very possessive - when you're invited to something (your cousin's wedding, an old pal's birthday party, etc), she gets all funny about it.

via style.uk.msn.com

How to tell if your friend is toxic