A Brief History of Invitations

Tech is the name of this game, the history of invitations closely parallels the inventions of all matters of the written word. The invention of the quill and of paper only slightly predates the invention of the invitation.

As soon as aristocracy invented free time they decided they needed to entertain themselves. That quickly led to the need for parties. This in turn led to the need to invite guests to them. At the time it was impossible to call or email.

Hand written was probably considered the most polite approach to the invitation through out most of time even after printing was invented and became affordable. Early writing was quickly elevated to an art form and one which was treasured then as it is now. Parchment was carefully decorated with calligraphy and folded into an envelope that was sealed with wax. This was stamped with the family crest of the sender and the intended guest's name was written on the outside.

Delivery in the earliest days of the formal occasion was performed on horse back on mud roads and the perfectly formed invitations required outer envelopes which could handle the abuse. Later the post printing press invitations needed to be protected from smudging so that tissue paper was inserted. The process has improved but the tradition of tissue inserts persists.

Much of our tradition of the invitation comes directly from the history of invitations. It is as much a keepsake in today's hectic society as it was in the day of grand balls and official court functions. Although today's invitation is probably not going to be hand lettered unless the function is a very important one. When that is the case professional artists can be found who will charge a kingly sum for the task. Today computers are often used.

A Brief History of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends

Thomas the Tank Engine gained the hearts of many children since the Railway Series of books first came out back in 1945, which isn't surprising considering Thomas the Tank Engine books have sold about eighty million copies all around the globe. As a celebration of the series' 60th anniversary, here is some history about Thomas the Tank Engine.

Back in 1943, little Christopher Awdry, a three years-old son of an Anglican clergyman named Wilbert Awdry, was suffering from scarlet fever. Due to the nature of the disease he was forced to remain in isolation. As a way to keep him entertained, his father started telling him several stories about a group of trains living out adventures and having fun together, and thus, Thomas the Tank engine was born.

As is to be expected with any child, he demanded his father to tell him the stories over again and again, and of course corrected him each and every time an inconsistency took place. To "protect" himself from his son's corrections, Reverend Awdry started writing down the stories onto pieces of paper to remember every detail.

To add to the storytelling, the Reverend made small sketches and drawings of cute small steam locomotives on the paper, along with the train stories. He drew a set of steam locomotives in an engine shed and added a human face to each of them, thus showing a "human" expression for each one.

One night, while his father was telling him one of the stories, little Christopher noticed a sketch of a small train with a sad face on the paper from which the Reverend was reading. Naturally, he asked his dad why that little train was so unhappy, and inquired what his name was. The Reverend then said the first name that came to his mind: Edward. That was when the first tale came to life. Since then, about a hundred small moral Thomas the Tank Engine tales came out.

The Reverend's wife thought that those stories were good enough to be published, so they started looking for an editor. Soon, Mr. Edmund Ward (a retired businessman) showed his interest in those stories, and since then there has been a Thomas the Tank Engine book released almost every year.

Surprisingly, Thomas the Tank Engine himself did not appear in the Railway Series until the second book came out in 1946!

The books came with colorful designs that were attractive to children. With a size appropriate to fit a little kid's hand, the books contained three stories and the stories were written on the left page, while an illustration of a certain part of the narrated events was on the right page. The first illustrator for the first dozen of Thomas the Tank Engine books was a man named C. Reginald Dalby, who established the appearance of all the characters based on the Reverend Awdry's sketches and the aspect of real steam locomotives.

Many of the stories are based on real happenings and people. For instance, one of Reverend's Awdry colleagues was a steam collector and is known to have inspired the character of the Vicar who saves "Trevor the Traction Engine" from the scrap heap. Being the most famous train of all times, Thomas the Tank Engine continues bringing healthy entertainment and marvelous, timeless magic stories to children around the world.

Thomas the Tank Engine gained the hearts of many children since the Railway Series of books first came out back in 1945, which isn't surprising considering Thomas the Tank Engine books have sold about eighty million copies all around the globe. As a celebration of the series' 60th anniversary, here is some history about Thomas the Tank Engine.

Back in 1943, little Christopher Awdry, a three years-old son of an Anglican clergyman named Wilbert Awdry, was suffering from scarlet fever. Due to the nature of the disease he was forced to remain in isolation. As a way to keep him entertained, his father started telling him several stories about a group of trains living out adventures and having fun together, and thus, Thomas the Tank engine was born.

As is to be expected with any child, he demanded his father to tell him the stories over again and again, and of course corrected him each and every time an inconsistency took place. To "protect" himself from his son's corrections, Reverend Awdry started writing down the stories onto pieces of paper to remember every detail.

To add to the storytelling, the Reverend made small sketches and drawings of cute small steam locomotives on the paper, along with the train stories. He drew a set of steam locomotives in an engine shed and added a human face to each of them, thus showing a "human" expression for each one.

One night, while his father was telling him one of the stories, little Christopher noticed a sketch of a small train with a sad face on the paper from which the Reverend was reading. Naturally, he asked his dad why that little train was so unhappy, and inquired what his name was. The Reverend then said the first name that came to his mind: Edward. That was when the first tale came to life. Since then, about a hundred small moral Thomas the Tank Engine tales came out.

The Reverend's wife thought that those stories were good enough to be published, so they started looking for an editor. Soon, Mr. Edmund Ward (a retired businessman) showed his interest in those stories, and since then there has been a Thomas the Tank Engine book released almost every year.

Surprisingly, Thomas the Tank Engine himself did not appear in the Railway Series until the second book came out in 1946!

The books came with colorful designs that were attractive to children. With a size appropriate to fit a little kid's hand, the books contained three stories and the stories were written on the left page, while an illustration of a certain part of the narrated events was on the right page. The first illustrator for the first dozen of Thomas the Tank Engine books was a man named C. Reginald Dalby, who established the appearance of all the characters based on the Reverend Awdry's sketches and the aspect of real steam locomotives.

Many of the stories are based on real happenings and people. For instance, one of Reverend's Awdry colleagues was a steam collector and is known to have inspired the character of the Vicar who saves "Trevor the Traction Engine" from the scrap heap. Being the most famous train of all times, Thomas the Tank Engine continues bringing healthy entertainment and marvelous, timeless magic stories to children around the world.

A Complete Directory for all Your Magic Needs

The magic world is a fraternity of unique artists who continue to create illusions that dazzle the mind. Every Magic trick performed creates a sense of power and almost every trick has been exposed at one time or another. Magicians such as David Blain, David Copperfield and numerous others, Have created fortunes perfecting their craft and forever learning and fine tuning their skills. The average amateur magician enjoys the art of magic for fun and entertainment and to be the center of attention at the family dinner table or at the office.

Magic can be an extremely rewarding and an addictive hobby to perform and to master, But it is a hobby that leaves your audience in awe and leaves them always wanting more. Magic is a universal form of entertainment. It is enjoyed by people of all ages and cultures. People love to be entertained and especially love to be dazzled. Magic is probably the one form of entertainment that the audience is left wondering "how was that done?" and "show me how you did that". Magic is an inexpensive hobby which can bewilder an audience with as little as a basic deck of playing cards or a couple of coins. So, come into the world of magic and become the magician in your world.

A Christian Hindu

He wears that long, white/cream, translucent silk garment that many know as a dhoti. He walks barefoot and visits any temple he can find. Sometimes, in traditional temples, they stop him with a stern, "this is a Hindu temple - for Hindus only" because his skin is white, with a ruddishness that waxes and wanes like the moon. He fobs them off with a "I am a Hindu" in chaste Tamil. They (the so-called sentinels) don't know what to say and let him pass. Inside, he clasps his hands, bows, prays and does what every devout Hindu does.

He looks like a �foreigner'. He is, in the conventional sense. But, isn't everyone? I don't know of a single human being who was borne by mother earth. All were borne by mother human females. Everyone or at least everyone's ancestors, at some point of time, were �foreigners' somewhere. So, that's no big deal!

Is he a Hindu? Yes, but he wasn't born one. What then is a Hindu? One who visits a temple? One who wears a �tilak'? Or one who believes he is a Hindu?

He must be an ISCKON'ite one might think. He isn't. But then, who knows, maybe, he is!

He has an altar at home. He lights incense and he prays there, too. He wears a ring, an astrologer advised him to wear. He enters a house (his new home, that is) after performing a vastu puja on a day chosen by a priest. He arranges his furniture and other home paraphernalia in keeping with the dictates of Vaastu. A picture of Ganesha wallpapers his desktop.

He is an American. A Catholic and hold your breath for you're not going to believe this�a priest, too. Yes, a Catholic priest�

Think about it�this is what a thinking person ought to be�one who is able to draw whatever he finds useful, in any way, from any religion�its philosophy, its beliefs, its rituals, its �superstitions', too, if you have such a word in your lexicon!

He drinks his beer, smokes his cigarettes and all in moderation�.and he can talk about different religions of the world, both past and present�he speaks half a dozen international languages with relative fluency�including the ancient Latin�he can discuss about a range of subjects and with impressive erudition�and accept criticism about the religion that gave him priesthood�but not without reason! He is a patriot but will criticize his country and the follies of its leaders with a sardonic smile�

He thinks therefore he is! He agrees, though, that a tree may not think (but then, who can tell for certain), but it still is...

He thinks and explores...therefore, to me, he is a Hindu�

I wonder if I will ever be a Christian Hindu or a Hindu Muslim Christian...I wonder how beautiful the world will be when there are more Hindu Christians, Muslim Christians, Muslim Hindus, Christian Muslims, Jewish Hindus, Zoroastrian Buddhists, Buddhist Hindu Muslims, Buddhist Jain Muslims....