Shanthi the Elephant Plays Harmonica

Over at The National Zoo, the keepers recently noticed a possibly musically inclined female Asian elephant. So they decided to give her some instruments and see what happens. Check out this awesome video. As it turns out, Shanthi is a composer, who enjoys performing for her keepers of her own volition without being prompted or rewarded with food. Shanthi even performs one of her original songs in the video. Awesome. Thanks to Susana Polo of The Mary Sue for turning me on to this.

Kung Fu Pandas. For Real.

When the going gets tough, the tough watch panda videos. Not that things are particularly tough. Just hectic. If there were three of me to go around, it would be fantastic. In the meantime, thanks to The Mary Sue for always keeping me entertained while I catch up on the latest news. Here's a little panda video of twins practicing their aquatic kung fu that Susana Polo posted there yesterday. While you enjoy, I have to get back to work on my deadline for The Ravens Crossing (TRC). And, when you're done watching, don't miss the chance to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate by heading over to TRC and helping us pick a prom theme for Wildwood High's 2012 Prom.

Animal Magnetism

Annette Swofer's got it, apparently. She came home over the weekend in Tauranga, New Zealand to find a visiting baby seal sleeping on her couch. And this seal strayed quite a ways from it's mother to visit with Annette, crossing a busy street, climbing some stairs, and entering through the cat door in her kitchen.

Annette says she thought she was hallucinating at first, and she didn't really know what kind of animal it was, only that it wasn't a cat or a dog because it had flippers. She asked her friend to be sure she wasn't seeing things, and seemed relieved to find he could see it, too.

In an article at The Mary Sue, she was quoted as saying, "It's kind of like finding an elephant in your house." Actually, Annette, it's really not at all like that, but thanks for making me laugh -a lot. And thanks for calling the animal rescue people who returned the pup to its natural habitat. You can find more about this over at Huffington Post.

And speaking of people with animal magnetism, Cornell University's Round Robin posted a lovely article on the new Chris Linder book, Science On Ice. I am very excited about this book. I'll admit it's mostly because of the fantastic photographer, because I love his work. Although, I am also interested in the project's findings and the story of this amazing group of scientists who braved the elements of the Antarctica to study the Adelie Penguins. They nest on the world's largest glacier. Here is a fantastic video on their adventure. How could I resist a penguin video? Perhaps it should be said that penguins and baby seals possess human magnetism.