A set of five Google-coloured clay balls spring to life on Google's home page as a tribute to Arthur 'Art' Clokey, a pioneer in the art of stop motion clay animation.

Past Doodles have at times been interactive such as The Muppets and its creator Jim Henson, what would have been Freddie Mercury‘s 65th birthday, Les Paul the guitar hero and so on.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Art Clokey began experimenting with stop-motion clay animation in the 50′s. He and his wife created the Gumbasia project, which morphed into the Gumby series. Gumby has remained popular more or less ever since, even spawning a movie as recently as the mid-90′s.

Art Clokey died in 2010 and is remembered today as one of the key figures in American animation. His influence extends to many of the 20th century’s key animators, ranging from the likes of the Czech Republic’s Jan Svankmajer to Britain’s own Tony Hart.

The Gumby Google Doodle features a wooden block for the "G," with clay balls following the Google color scheme sitting in a row, just waiting for you to click and bring them to life. Gumby, in place of the "L," gives a wave when you land on the page, pointing to the clay balls. At the top of the screen, "Art Clokey’s 90th Birthday" links to the search results page for Clokey.

Hovering over each clay ball causes it to compress; moving away releases it to full shape... but when you click on them, they come to life.

Google doodles have gained immense popularity over the past few years and the Google team has put out commemorative doodles on events ranging from news events, civic milestones, birthdays, death anniversaries and important dates in history.

Google estimates it has created more than 900 doodles since 1998, with 270 of them running in 2010 and about 200 in 2011.

On September 24, Muppets creator Jim Henson would have been 75, had he been alive. And in his honor Google has rolled out its latest amazing Doodle a little early.

James Maury Henson is best known for ‘The Muppets’ and memorable shows such as Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper.

Internet search giant Google has created a new interactive doodle that allows users to control digital puppets to celebrate what would have been the 75th birthday of the Muppets creator.

"Become a digital puppeteer today and tomorrow with our homepage tribute to Jim Henson!" Google tweeted.

Google posted a message on its official blog, in which Brian Henson, the chairman of The Jim Henson Company, described his father as a playful, happy, forgiving, visionary and creative figure.

The Doodle is fully interactive with five different muppets on show. Simply use the buttons below each of the muppets to activate their individual animations.
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The Doodle allows users to become puppeteers through the Google homepage. Six original characters include their own animations including ‘bonus/hidden’ animations which can be discovered by patient Google puppeteers.

The characters were designed at the Henson Company and modeled into a digital puppet in Jim Henson's Creature Shop before being handed over to Google.

The 112th birthday of Jorge Luis Borges, the famed Argentinian author known for his works that explored dreams and unreality, has been celebrated with a colourful Google Doodle

Google doodles have gained immense popularity over the past few years and the Google team has put out commemorative doodles on events ranging from news events, civic milestones, birthdays, death anniversaries and important dates in history.

We see many different GOOGLE DOODLEs now which can vary to interactive creations or actual playable games.

Before there was the World Wide Web, the Internet, hypertext markup, or even a digital computer, there was Jorge Luis Borges’ idea of "forking paths." The Argentinean writer who envisioned "a massive branching structure as a better way to organize data and to represent human experience," was born 112 years ago today and is the subject of a special Doodle on Google home page on 24-Aug-2011.

On June 14, 1986 Jorge Luis Borges died of liver cancer aged 86.

His 1941 short story 'The Garden of Forking Paths' is viewed by many as the basis for what we know today as the World Wide Web.

Over the years Google doodles have been commemorating important dates in history. Some of these, including the most recent one for Les Paul was an interactive video.

America still loves Lucille Ball and is celebrating her 100th birthday by remembering her. Google celebrated the occasion by dedicating an interactive doodle to the world famous comedian.

Visitors to Google.com are met with the boxy, vintage television set and a short video that features the word "Google" scrawled over a black-and-white heart that mimics the opening of Lucy. Following that, a play button pops up, inviting visitors to use the television's dial to choose from several iconic clips from the show, which ran on CBS from 1951 to 1957.

In a blog post, Google doodler Jennifer Hom explained: "Lucy's creativity, absurdity, and ever-changing facial expressions (especially when she was scarfing down candy, stomping on grapes, or touting a new energy drink) have brought joy and laughter to generations of viewers.

Five-time Emmy winner Lucille Ball died in 1989 in Los Angeles, but her legend lives on, most famously via her iconic TV show, I Love Lucy. The show ran from 1951 to 1957, but can be seen in syndication around the world, introducing generation after generation to Ball's comic stylings.

Google Doodles are now an established part of Internet culture.

Apart from the static image doodles Google also puts up animated and interactive doodles. Interactive and animated Google doodles have now become a regular feature on the Google home page.

Google has more than 50 domains in 50 different countries, and it creates Doodles specific to many of them.

There's no reason to think that Crop Circles are the work of aliens - particularly when human pranksters have already admitted to making them - but they're still mysterious... not to mention a fascinating junction point between physics and art.

Crop circles, elaborate designs that are etched into farmlands that are a thing of beauty when viewed from the air have long been determined to be the work of pranksters.

Crop circles have confounded farmers and scientists alike since they were first recorded in the 17th century, and now physicist Professor Richard Taylor says the phenomenon is growing alongside advances in technology.

Taylor says physics could hold the answer, with crop—circle artists possibly using the Global Positioning System (GPS) as well as lasers and microwaves to create their patterns, dispensing with the rope, planks of wood and bar stools, the journal Physics World reports.

Microwaves, Taylor suggests, could be used to make crop stalks fall over and cool in a horizontal position - a technique that could explain the speed and efficiency of the artists and the incredible detail that some crop circles exhibit, according to an Oregon statement.

And another question -- why does an academic feel the need to get caught up in the world of alien landing conspiracies?

Matin Durrani, editor of Physics World, said Taylor was "merely trying to act like any good scientist -- examining the evidence for the design and construction of crop circles without getting carried away by the side-show of UFOs, hoaxes and aliens."

The latest Google Doodle celebrates the 113 birth anniversary of Alexander Calder, the American sculptor and artist famous for inventing the mobile sculptures and mobile art.

Two days ago, it was an arrangement of peas. Today (22-July-2011), it's an interesting looking kinetic artwork that has replaced the Google logo, to celebrate the 113th birth anniversary of American artist and sculptor Alexander Calder.

Friday's Google doodle shows a mobile, a type of kinetic sculpture that was invented by Alexander Calder. Mobiles take advantage of the principle of equilibrium and have objects hanging from rods. Kinetic art uses motion for an artistic effect.

Mobiles are usually brightly coloured free-moving creations in abstract shapes made from sheet metal. The mobile Google doodle sways on its own and can also be controlled by mouse gestures.
The Google doodle shows a mobile, a type of kinetic sculpture invented by Alexander Calder.

Google in a blog post confirmed that the Alexander Calder Google Doodle today is the first of its kind, not only because it’s the first Doodle to flaunt a shadow below the search input bar, but the technique used to create it is the modernist way that only an advanced web browser can support all of its hidden and obvious features.

Google regularly replaces its corporate logo with so called Google doodles which celebrate special occasions.

Recently the search engine celebrated music legend Les Paul’s birthday by featured an animated guitar which could be strummed.

Google also marked the 30th anniversary of the arcade game Pac Man by hosting a playable game on its homepage.

Doodles are fairly common commemorating special days. Everyone loves a good Google doodle. Whether it is for something major like Christmas or trivial like Pacman's 30th anniversary, the Google doodle has been an everchanging and entertaining aspect to the search engine.

An assortment of peas welcomed users to the Google home page on July 20, 2011.

The search giant paid tribute to Augustinian friar and scientist Gregor Johann Mendel Wednesday, as it marked his 189th birth anniversary with one of its Doodles.

Gregor Johann Mendel (July 20, 1822[1] – January 6, 1884) was a Czech-German Augustinian friar and scientist, who gained posthumous fame as the figurehead of the new science of genetics for his study of the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants. Mendel showed that the inheritance of these traits follows particular laws, which were later named after him.

The significance of Mendel's work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century. The independent rediscovery of these laws formed the foundation of the modern science of genetics.

Google has set up a team of designers dedicated just for creating wonderful works of art that make our internet browsing a bit more fun.

The first Google Doodle was in honor of the Burning Man Festival of 1998. The doodle was designed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin to notify users of their absence in case the servers crashed.

Subsequent Google Doodles were designed by an outside contractor, until Larry and Sergey asked then-intern Dennis Hwang to design a logo for Bastille Day in 2000. Hwang has been designing the Google Doodles ever since. Clicking on a Google Doodle links to a string of Google search results about the topic, which can drive a lot of traffic to unsuspecting sites.

So far, Google has created over 300 doodles just for Google.com, if we were to include international doodles… it’ll be more than 1000 incredible doodles altogether!

Google Doodle is back with a new celebration, internet search giant Google on Tuesday (12-July-2011) marks the 450th anniversary of Moscow's Saint Basil's Cathedral with a commemorative doodle on its home page.

Visitors to Google's home page will see an image of the cathedral integrated into Google's familiar logo.

Clicking on the logo will take the visitor to Google search results for St. Basil's Cathedral.

The Russian Orthodox church sits on Moscow's Red Square just yards from the Kremlin, and its distinctive onion domes have been a backdrop for military parades, concerts, New Year celebrations and Muscovites' wedding photos.

This is not the first time that Google featured the St. Basil’s Cathedral in the search engine’s patented Google Doodles. One of the best St. Basil’s Cathedral Google Doodle was featured on December 24th, 2010 alongside other Christmas-centric buildings, natural wonders and places around the world.

Today (21-June-2011) marks the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and as usual Google was one of the first to celebrate.

When clicking onto the world wide web, users at times will be met with a Google doodle representing a specific date on the yearly calendar, the latest being Fathers Day on Sunday just gone.

In honor of the Summer Solstice, the longest day of year, Google is celebrating with two homepage doodles from celebrated Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.

What is a midsummer night's dream like? Just ask Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, who's created a fantastical Google Doodle to celebrate the summer solstice.

The brightly colored cartoon, populated by smiling flowers and slightly sinister beasties, commemorates the longest day of the year. “Two super fun, superflat doodles today created by one of our favorite artists Takashi Murakami,” Google trumpeted this morning via Twitter. The other drawing depicts the winter solstice, with happy snowflakes and bunnies with frosty breath.

The summer solstice is the day on which the Earth's northern hemisphere leans closest to the Sun. In the southern hemisphere it takes place in December.

The term solstice is generally used to mean the longest day but it is actually the fleeting instant of proximity when the orbits align.

The time at which the Earth will be closest to the sun is 6.16pm (BST) today (Tuesday 21 June).

The solstice is a Pagan celebration day and believers gather at spiritually significant sites, such as Stonehenge.

Maqbool Fida Husain was laid to rest at Brookwood cemetery at Woking in Surrey, south of London on Friday (10-June-2011) afternoon.

The body of India's most acclaimed painter Maqbool Fida Husain was on Friday laid to rest with full Muslim religious rites at Brookwood cemetery in Britain, honouring his last wishes.

Husain was laid to rest at the cemetery, one of the biggest in Europe, at Woking in UK's Surrey. 95-year-old Husain died of lung congestion at the Royal Brompton hospital on Thursday.

The Indian government made amends by sending high commissioner Nalin Surie to lay a wreath on its behalf — a simple and solemn gesture, but one full of symbolism as the last rites were performed. Also present were London-based Indian businessmen Lakshmi Mittal and Gopi Hinduja apart from 50-odd mourners.

The world of showbiz and sports mourned the death of legendary Indian painter Maqbool Fida Husain over Twitter, sharing their memories and grief.

From Bollywood stars to the sporting fraternity, all commented and shared their feelings over Husain in the Micro-blogging site.

MF Husain's favourite muse, Madhuri Dixit mourns his death. She says, "I was shocked...it was out of the blue. It is a very, very sad day for me! ...India has lost a jewel."

The legend, MF Husain, lives on in the hearts of his admirers. One of them is 'world's most beautiful woman' - Madhuri Dixit Nene. The title was bestowed on the actor by none other than the celebrated painter himself.

MF Husain, the grand old man of Indian art who started his artistic journey by painting movie billboards, had more than a passing fascination for Bollywood and its beauties.

Actress Madhuri Dixit was MF Husain's first muse. According to him, she wasn't only a pretty picture, but also a complete actor. Her dance movements enarmoured him - the batting of her eyelids, the grace in her movement, and the magic of her smile.

He was so charmed by the bubbly Madhuri Dixit in Hum Apke Hai Kaun that he watched the film 67 times and booked an entire theatre to see her comeback movie Aaja Nachle in 2007.

M F Husain has painted beautiful women, but the one he was most enamoured by was undoubtedly Bollywood's dhak dhak girl Madhuri Dixit. The actress who is based in Denver now paid a tribute to, probably her most ardent admirer, so far in.

Saddened by the unexpected demise of the legend, Madhuri conveyed her deep grief over phone from Denver. "I will fall short of words to express myself on this legend. He shared a very beautiful bond with me. I will always miss him. May his soul rest in peace" says the actress.

The actress further remembered M F Hussein as a man full of child-like qualities. "Age never touched him. We were in touch always. He would travel a lot and would call me from different parts of the world to share smallest and big details about his life and profession. It was so sweet," the actress recalled fondly, adding, " I had invited him to come over to Denver several times, but Husain saab was always busy. I wish I could have met him once", wished the actress.

"I live in the US. There is a time difference. It was shocking. There was no indication of something like that happening. It's very very sad. It's a sad day for me," says Madhuri.

She continues to fondly remember him, "There was a little child in him, who was excited about everything that he saw. There is no doubt in my mind that he ever wanted to hurt people's sentiments, it is just perception- how he looked at it and how people look at it."

Comedy script for Maduri

Legendary painter MF Husain was all set to re-unite with his muse Madhuri Dixit to make a comedy film.

Husain, who made his Bollywood directorial debut with Gaja Gamini starring Madhuri Dixit, was scripting a comedy with the actress in the lead, said her secretary Riku Rakeshnath.

"He had called me to say that he wanted to make a film again and we were supposed to meet in London or Dubai to discuss it further," Rakeshnath, who was a producer on Gaja Gamini, told PTI.

"He was writing the script of the film, which was to be a comedy with Dixit in the lead," he added.

Rakeshnath recalled his experience of working with Husain on Gaja Gamini over a decade back, saying, "He was full of energy and had a strong memory. He remembered each shot and dialogue."

Husain's love for Bollywood beauties was well-known and Dixit impressed him so much that he watched her film Hum Apke Hain Kaun 67 times. He also immortalised the actress in his paintings.

After Gaja Gamini, Husain went on to make Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities with Tabu.

This may mark the end of an era. An era which was defined by the greatness of intellect and exquisite artistic abilities, Maqbool Fida Husain is no more. He passed away in the early hours of the day (09-June-2011).

Reminiscing his dear friend, painter Jatin Das said, "He was a very dear friend. But sadly people of India didn't protect him, he had to leave his country. It's a great loss to Indian art."

He was 95.

Popularly known as MF and regarded as the 'Picasso of India', the artist breathed his last at the Royal Brompton Hospital at 2.30 am local time.

Husain had been keeping 'indifferent health' for the last one-and-a-half month, family sources said. They said that funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised.

M F Husain, described by the Forbes magazine as the 'Picasso of India', was born on September 17, 1915 in Pandharpur, India.

The painter, who courted controversy over his paintings of Hindu gods, had been living abroad in self-exile since 2006.

His paintings on Hindu goddesses -- Durga and Saraswati - invited the wrath of Hindu groups. His house was attacked in 1998 by Hindu groups and his art works were vandalised.

In February 2006, Husain was charged with hurting sentiments of people because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.

Mr. Husain repeatedly expressed a yearning to return to India. "My heart will always be in India...it is my beloved land," he said in an interview to NDTV in March last year. "I never felt I was betrayed," he said of India, stressing that he was proud of India's democracy.

Three of Husain paintings recently topped a Bonham's auction here, going under the hammer for Rs2.32 crore with an untitled oil work in which the legendary artist combined his iconic subject matters -- horse and woman -- fetching Rs1.23 crore alone.

The nonagenarian painter's work is typically a blend of cubism and classical Indian styles that fetches millions on international art markets.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Mr Husain's death is 'a national loss.' President Pratibha Patil said his death 'left a void in the world of art.'

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