Daily Jots

Thought of the Day:
“In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family. This courtship will begin with a long journey – a journey that will take them hundreds of miles across the continent by foot, in freezing cold temperatures, in brittle, icy winds and through deep, treacherous waters. They will risk starvation and attack by dangerous predators, under the harshest conditions on earth, all to find true love.”
“March of the Penguins,” Warner Bros.

Thinking Outside of the Box:
I have always had a special fondness for penguins. I’m not sure why or when it started, but there is something about them I find endearing. Now that I know it is Penguin Awareness Day, I can celebrate the penguin, along with everyone else.

So naturally, I had to do some penguin research. And of course I found there are many kinds of penguins but the ones that I like the best, and most people know about, are the ones found in the Antarctic. The Adelie and Emperor penguins are probably the most famous kinds of penguins. In fact, the recent movie, “March of the Penguins,” features Emperor penguins. They are the snobby looking ones. Okay, aristocratic. They are about 44 inches tall and walk with an attitude. It’s a fine line between snobby and sophisticated.

The Adelie (pronounced differently by people, but I have most often heard it pronounced the same way I say my name! Perhaps that has something to do with it.) are much smaller than Emperors, measuring only 18 to 24 inches tall. (I can hear you all saying, “Ahhhhh…. how cute!”)

So what can we do to acknowledge Penguin Awareness Day? I have some ideas:

1. Buy a copy on DVD of “March of the Penguins.” It is narrated by Morgan Freeman and is a wonderful movie.
2. Go to the official website of “March of the Penguins” and download some free desktop wallpapers, buddy icons and screensavers.
3. Visit the “National Geographic Store,” and buy some penguin themed products. They have the movie merchandise plus some other neat things as well.
4. Go to, watch, or listen to the Pittsburg Penguins hockey game tonight. Take a goofy looking poster about Penguin Awareness Day and wave it around. Certainly someone will notice!
5. Change your operating system from Windows or Mac to Linux. Okay, maybe that is a bit drastic, but you gotta love their penguin.
6. Have some fun at CafePress and look at the penguin products. People have created the most wonderful things and it is fun to just look. And if you buy something, you will be helping out a fellow netizen too! What more could you want?
7. Send a penguin greeting card to someone. These are free and there are six cute ones to choose from.
8. Be silly. Visit the Penguin Slap clip. It really is hilarious. It will take all of one minute out of your day and you can laugh at a couple of silly penguins.
9. Take the penguin trivia quiz. See how much you really know about penguins!
10. Last but never least, remember that penguins are a part of our planet’s ecosystem. They are not endangered at this time, and hopefully never will be, but our stewardship of this planet will determine the fate of these creatures as well as millions of other species. It is our job to watch over them.

Some Last Thoughts:
“Of all the things I would like to do during my life, my greatest dream is to go to Antarctica and shake hands with a penguin!”
Larry Mester

“Take it all in all, I do not believe anybody on earth has a worse time than an Emperor penguin.”
Apsley Cherry-Garrard

“Penguins mate for life. That doesn’t surprise me much because they all look alike. It’s not like they’re going to meet a really new, great looking penguin someday.”
Unknown

“When you say the penguins are coming back, I think that’s wonderful because that shows that it’s not just the penguins, that shows that the whole food chain is being renewed, that you’re also increasing the marine habitat.”
Susan George

“I have often had the impression that, to penguins, man is just another penguin – different, less predictable, occasionally violent, but tolerable company when he sits still and minds his own business.”
Bernard Stonehouse

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