All creatures great and small…we want jokes for them all! Your joke could win you a copy of the NEW 2011 Animal Crack-Ups Page-A-Day Calendar!

Animal Crack-ups is good, clean fun for the whole family, and we need YOU to fill it with your best animal jokes! Each page of the calendar will feature an animal joke, along with an irresistible photo of that animal cracking up.

From elephants and tigers to bears and penguins, no creature is too obscure and no joke too corny. The only requirement is that the humor be family-friendly—and the more original the joke, the better! For inspiration check out these standard-bearers of silliness:

Kangaroo: I hate April!
Wallabee: Why?
Kangaroo: It rains so much, the kids have to play inside!

What happens when 50 rabbits hop backwards at the same time?
You get a receding hare line.

Post a comment below with your joke and email address for a chance to win! We’re looking for jokes that emcompass the entire animal kingdom, from monkeys and dogs to hippopotamuses and lizards—even the occasional llamas and hyenas—and everything in between. All we need are jokes to go with them! All submissions must be made by December 31, 2009. If we use your joke, you’ll get a free copy of the 2011 Animal Crack-Ups Page-A-Day calendar!

Read the official contest rules here

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Put another way, one kid’s nasty pair of kicks is another kid’s rubbery playground surface.

Inspired by the hundreds of no-cost ways to make a difference featured in How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist,  we decided to do our own small act of no-cost giving and hold a sneaker drive.  At the end of the week, we had collected a whopping 130 beat up, stinky, too tight, too old sneakers. 

The sneakers  were for the Nike-Reuse-a-Shoe program which recycles the sneakers into Nike Grind, a rubbery material used in athletic surfaces like running tracks, basketball courts and playgrounds. Nike has donated Nike Grind to 300 sport and playground surfacing projects across the country.

The picture above doesn’t do the pile justice.  It took three people toting four huge garbage bags through the hot, crowded streets of midtown to get them to the Niketown store.

It may not be John D. Rockefeller’s brand of philanthropy, but then again, the scientists of his day never found a clever way to recycle top hats.

John D. Rockefeller contemplates the merits of a Standard Oil spats drive

Via the New York Times, here’s a piece about a woman nearing the end of her quest to read a book a day over the course of a year. You can go to Nina Sankovich’s blog, www.readallday.org, and browse her choices and reviews there. (Mostly fiction, with a decidedly literary bent, though Twilight and a few other pop icons do make the list.)

And for a random dose of defiant bookworm spirit, here’s a storefront sign from Jackson Street Books in Athens, GA.

Meet Patricia Schultz, author of the 1000 Places to See Before You Die series, at the Adventures in Travel Expo in New York City, October 10 at 2:30 PM. The Adventures in Travel Expo is located at Jacob Javits Convention Center and runs October 10-11.

There will be a presentation with Patricia Schultz followed by a book signing. For more information, visit adventureexpo.com

To purchase tickets to the expo, visit http://www.adventureexpo.com/newyork. Use promo code: SCHZ for $5 off the ticket price.

Click here for a preview of 1000 Places to See Before You Die

I pride myself on being on top of all of the latest things. I read four newspapers a day, multiple magazines a month and watch a lot of TV (probably far too much…). Bottom line: I try to be as informed as possible on everything possible.

Yet I only recently discovered the phenomenon that is Bananagrams! The creators call it “an anagram game that is so fast it will drive you bananas.”

All I can say is that this innocent appearing amusement – which consists of 144 letter tiles in a banana-shaped bag – is one of the most addictive games I have ever played.

And I’ve learned that I’m not alone. I started telling friends and colleagues about this amazing “new” game I’d found and they all laughed and said “Don’t you love it? I’m a huge fan.”

Well, now I finally have some news to break to them: there’s a new version of this ridiculously addictive past-time. Bananagrams! The Official Book has just arrived at a store near you.

The book has 575 word challenges to drive you … wait for it … bananas. They range from one banana (easy) to four bananas (hard). I have to admit even some of the one banana puzzles stumped me at first. But the more I did them the better I got. Now I even manage to get through some of the most challenging ones without taking a sneak peek at the answer key!

My advice: don’t come late to this new trend. Get a copy of Bananagrams! now.  Trust me. You’re sure to find it a–peel–ing. (Sorry – I couldn’t resist!)

Kristin Matthews
Director of Publicity

It’s a designer’s dream…or the ultimate conundrum. You’ve bought an antique house and want to preserve the structure’s original glory—but you still need to live with today’s comforts, not those of the 1850s. Enter Restoring a House in the City by Ingrid Abramovitch, offering case studies, helpful tips and terms, restoration notes and resources, as well as over 400 color photographs to give ideas and inspiration to anyone who’s dreamed of (or is currently in the midst of) becoming an urban renovator.

You know if your kid is Horse Crazy…They have a never-ending curiosity to learn anything AND everything about the equine breed. Jessie Haas’ new book offers expansive knowledge and ideas for the young and horse obsessed. Get a list of must-watch movies for horse lovers, what tools are needed in the stable, a brief overview of how the species evolved in society, how to gear up on the saddle, and trivia tidbits that will keep the pages turning. With creative activities, practical advice and resources, this is one subject kids will be clamoring to learn about.

There are many conflicting views on what will lead this country out of the current economic recession, but Louis Foreman, the executive producer of the Emmy award–winning PBS show Everyday Edisons and the co-author of The Independent Inventor’s Handbook, is certain that innovation will be on the forefront of the recovery effort.

According to Louis, there has never been a better time in recent history for innovation: “It has been innovation that has led this country out of recessions in the past, and it will be innovation that creates new opportunities in the future.”

Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and one of the world’s great innovators, agrees. Addressing the recession in a recent interview he announced that “We’re going to invent our way out of this problem [recession]. This is a very inventive country. And, in fact, everywhere I travel all over the world I meet young people working on alternative energy and all kinds of new technologies that are going to make our economy more productive.”

And if you look back over time, many amazing inventions were developed during the recessions or The Great Depression. A few examples:

1930s Great Depression – Scotch Tape, Revlon Nail Polish, Miracle Whip, the Fluorescent Light bulb
1950s Recession – McDonalds, Hula Hoop, Pampers
1970s Stagflation – Post-it Note, UPC Code, Microsoft
1980s Recession – Diet Coke, Microsoft Word, MTV

Who knows what amazing inventions the current recession will produce? Ask Louis Foreman in a couple of months, when he wraps up his whirlwind tour of nearly two dozen cities, speaking to local inventor groups around the nation and, perhaps, giving his feedback on the Next Big Thing of 2010.

Click here to watch Louis’s appearance on a local Nashville TV show a few days ago.

Join six of Workman’s most popular lifestyle and health authors for a very special event at the luxurious Fairmont Scottsdale resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the Season of Personal Discovery weekend, these writers will share with you their knowledge on how to live your best life, today, and be in top-top shape in mind, body, and spirit. You will be transformed.

For more information, visit the Fairmont Scottsdale resort website.

The Season of Personal Discovery weekend includes:
-Lodging for two nights in a Fairmont guest room
-Cocktail parties and meals with the authors; Chris Crowley, Joseph C. Piscatella, Nicholas Boothman, Sean Foy, Tom Moon, and Tom Valenti
-Readings, demonstrations and Q&A sessions
-A special gala dinner

Click here to download a PDF of the event brochure

Wit, wisdom and observation served up in 140 characters or less. Twitter has become the ultimate vehicle to deliver your thoughts (succinctly) to the world, and David Pogue, the New York Times’ “Circuits” columnist, has channeled the ingenuity of social networking by posting humorous and provocative questions to his almost 500,000 followers.

The result? The World According to Twitter, which recounts the best responses received (25,000 thoughts winnowed down to 2,524) on any number of topics, from the silly (make up a concept for a new TV show that’s probably doomed), to the profound (what’s the bright side of growing old?), to the squirm-inducing (describe your most. embarrassing. moment. ever). Gives new meaning to “keeping it short but sweet”.