December of the Penguins
Dec. 16th, 2005 10:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calimacB. and I took advantage of the film's release on DVD and her own release for two weeks from the durance of work to watch it in the comfort of home, where we could coo and giggle over the penguins without disturbing anybody else except Pandora.
After we took our Alaska cruise, the company put us on their mailing list, and for a while we were getting brochures for their Antarctic cruises. These had lots of great photos of penguins. But much as we enjoy penguins in pictures or at the zoo, we are not tempted by these cruises. Too long, too expensive, and while it wouldn't be too cold for us on such a cruise, we far prefer being able to see the penguins without having to smell the penguins.
The film was of course fabulous, but equally interesting were the "making of" documentary and another short documentary from National Geographic on two scientists who are studying the Emperor penguins' sea-feeding habits by strapping small cameras to the penguins' backs. Among other things these documentaries told us exactly where in Antarctica the main film was made (near the French base on the Adelie coast, unsurprisingly), which the film itself did not say, and also made clear that there are some forty separate colonies of Emperors; the film rather gives the impression that there is only one. Well, it was forty, now it's thirty-nine, for the Nat Geo piece mentions the tragic fate of a colony on the Ross Ice Shelf that died off when its sea access was blocked by an iceberg the size of Cyprus.
I have read that March of the Penguins has been seized by some who think it demonstrates 1) the virtues of monogamy; 2) the existence of Intelligent Design. They must not have been watching very closely. The penguins are serial monogamists only, mating for the year and then breaking up to form new couples the next year for a total adult lifespan of perhaps 15 years. That's even leaving aside the existence of gay penguins. The film also makes clear that the Emperor life-cycle is jury-rigged and perilous, hardly intelligently designed by any reasonable definition of "intelligence" or "design," and implies that it evolved through the penguins' remaining in Antarctica as its climate long ago turned from tropical to polar, a clear example of natural selection as I understand it.
The Nat Geo documentary also featured a couple guest appearances by Adelie penguins, which I was glad to see. This is, as a glance at the book's pictures makes clear, the penguin species of Mr. Popper's Penguins, and as that was the book on penguins I grew up with, the Adelie will always remain for me the default penguin. But I salute the Emperor for its mad but defiant life-cycle.
After we took our Alaska cruise, the company put us on their mailing list, and for a while we were getting brochures for their Antarctic cruises. These had lots of great photos of penguins. But much as we enjoy penguins in pictures or at the zoo, we are not tempted by these cruises. Too long, too expensive, and while it wouldn't be too cold for us on such a cruise, we far prefer being able to see the penguins without having to smell the penguins.
The film was of course fabulous, but equally interesting were the "making of" documentary and another short documentary from National Geographic on two scientists who are studying the Emperor penguins' sea-feeding habits by strapping small cameras to the penguins' backs. Among other things these documentaries told us exactly where in Antarctica the main film was made (near the French base on the Adelie coast, unsurprisingly), which the film itself did not say, and also made clear that there are some forty separate colonies of Emperors; the film rather gives the impression that there is only one. Well, it was forty, now it's thirty-nine, for the Nat Geo piece mentions the tragic fate of a colony on the Ross Ice Shelf that died off when its sea access was blocked by an iceberg the size of Cyprus.
I have read that March of the Penguins has been seized by some who think it demonstrates 1) the virtues of monogamy; 2) the existence of Intelligent Design. They must not have been watching very closely. The penguins are serial monogamists only, mating for the year and then breaking up to form new couples the next year for a total adult lifespan of perhaps 15 years. That's even leaving aside the existence of gay penguins. The film also makes clear that the Emperor life-cycle is jury-rigged and perilous, hardly intelligently designed by any reasonable definition of "intelligence" or "design," and implies that it evolved through the penguins' remaining in Antarctica as its climate long ago turned from tropical to polar, a clear example of natural selection as I understand it.
The Nat Geo documentary also featured a couple guest appearances by Adelie penguins, which I was glad to see. This is, as a glance at the book's pictures makes clear, the penguin species of Mr. Popper's Penguins, and as that was the book on penguins I grew up with, the Adelie will always remain for me the default penguin. But I salute the Emperor for its mad but defiant life-cycle.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-17 07:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-17 04:19 pm (UTC)As if that differed from their responses to pretty much anything else!
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Date: 2005-12-17 04:27 pm (UTC)This immediately put me in mind of a part from a book I'm reading, Rice's Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton about the 19th century English scholar, adventurer, soldier and spy. Apparently this was on its way out when he was in India in the 1840s, but there was there something called "temporary marriage" which was just like the regular thing but per a written contract and limited in time (even as short as a week, the author mentions).
no subject
Date: 2005-12-17 06:25 pm (UTC)considerably longer than the smaller breeds of penguins (which are
in the 15-20 year range). Something I was curious about, and haven't
seen research about, is how many years the adult emperor penguins
go on those breeding expeditions. After getting "too old for this
nonsense" do they start wintering in more pleasant waters with steady
meal service? Or are they hardwired to keep up that march across
the ice year after year until they drop?
In any case, the vastly longer lifespan for emperor penguins compared
to the rest of the breed (and critters in general) points to their unique
behaviour being a pretty damn successful survival strategy.
Many years ago I checked out a book about penguins published in
the 1910's. I had a shock of recognition at the photographs and sketches
of penguins in that book. The poses and groupings of penguins
were identical to those seen in many pages of "Mr. Popper's Penguins".
Obviously this old book was the reference used by Robert Lawson
when he illustrated the beloved children's book. I'd like to locate that
old book again.
By the way, the story behind how "Mr. Popper's Penguins" came to be
written is rather interesting and sad. I long wondered why there were
no other wonderful books authored by Mr. and Mrs. Atwater after they had
hit one out of the park with this one. I'll recheck the facts on this
and post the story on my page someday.
On another hand, is there any illustrator who has participated in
a wider range of beloved children's books than Robert Lawson?