And the Japanese Whaling vs. Environmental Activits Continues

So, just when I start thinking the whaling incidents of last southern summer are a thing of the past I notice some new articles about the situation. I would have thought the next I would notice would be articles about new situations, but no these are still about further actions about the same situation. Some of my posts on the original situation of the environmental activists trying to stop Japanese whaling are here and here.

Here is just a blurb article about the Japanese seeking to arrest the activists and arrest warrants being issued.

New Antarctic History Book

Here is a press release about a new book about the 1841 Ross Expedition. The book is called Surviving Erebus by John Barel. It tells about the 1841 expedition led by Sir James Clark Ross with the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. Ross's expedition were the first to see the parts of Antarctica that now bear his name. This includes the Ross Sea, Ross Ice Shelf, and Ross Island as well as Mt. Erebus named after the expedition's ship. The troubles of the expedition included ship collisions, nearly freezing to death, and attempted murder.

Penguin in Toy Story Mania Ride at Disney’s California Adventure

I know this Antarctic blog has gotten a little offtrack into mostly about penguins, but what can I say I just love penguins of all types (hey, I even did one of my big college research papers on endangered penguins). The other week I rode the Toy Story Mania ride at Disney’s California Adventure. I was excited to notice the penguin on the ride and was reminded about the penguin toy in the Toy Story 2 movie (maybe, I will get around to adding a post on that movie to the Movies with Penguins section of this blog).

Toy Story Mania is an interactive ride kind of like the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster one at Disneyland Walt Disney World. This one, though, is even better because it is a 4D experience. This means you wear 3D glasses and there are 4D aspects, such as getting water sprayed at you when you hit certain targets. Basically you go through the ride stop at different points and use your gun/arrow shooter like device to shoot at targets and get as many points as you can before moving on to the next station.

One of the games you stop at is Bo Peep’s Baaa-loon Pop. This game has just Bo Peep in the title, but also the Toy Story penguin toy called Wheezy is also one of the hosts of this game. I also noticed that the cars have different characters on the side and one of them had Wheezy on it. Lastly, I noticed near the exit/where the wheelchair cars load that there was a sign on the wall that had Wheezy and said Wheezy’s Sno Cones.

Prehistoric Antarctic World Discovered Frozen in Ice

This article is about plants and animals frozen in the ice from the natural environment of Antarctica over 14 million years ago. The finds include moss, beetles, and midges. These things have been found on the coast of Antarctica, but this find was much further inland than before. The time period these are from is not exactly a warm one, but more like the Arctic in which there were warmer times of the year where hardy plants and animals could live.

Penguins at Sea World San Diego

Last week I was in San Diego and saw the penguin exhibit at Sea World. The exhibit has an outdoor area with some warmer weather penguins of the Magellanic Species.

Inside the habitat building they have the colder weather species from the Antarctic region. This includes King, Emperor, Adelie, Macaroni, and Gentoo. This is interesting to see, but it is pretty crappy to roll past on the moving sidewalk. There is an area you can view on a stationary platform, but it is behind the moving sidewalk and just not that great. Bottom line is I was not thrilled at all by the experience even though I love penguins. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has a more enjoyable viewing experience.

I did enjoy the gift shop of penguin stuff, though. I got some new penguin earrings, so I no longer have to wear my unmatching pair. Also, I got a t-shirt and a magnet for putting in my Antarctic bathroom (plan to share photos of this soon).

High Gas Prices Affecting Antarctic Research

The price of gas is not just affecting individuals. Here is an article about how it is now affecting Antarctic research. Basically the US Antarctic Program is way overbudget and a major reason is the increased cost of fuel along with the falling value of the US$1.

Baby Penguins Found Dead in Brazil

This is a kind of sad news story about penguins washing ashore dead in Brazil The hundreds of penguins are washing ashore on Rio de Janiero's shores from Antarctica and the Patagonia region. It is not entirely abnormal for the penguins to end up here, but it is far more than usual and more are dead. A few of the reasons include overfishing causing them to venture further north and getting stuck in the strong ocean current and pollution.

New Naming of Antarctic Landmarks Project

I just read about a project being undertaken in Antarctica in this article. The article kind of makes the main purpose of the project seem to be naming Antarctic landmarks, although that is really just a side aspect of the main project, which is mapping the landscape. As part of the updated mapping using satellite imagery they will be naming Antarctic landmarks that have not yet been named. They are looking for new names to be used in order to keep from being repetitive. Mostly they are trying to keep naming landmarks after people to deceased explorers, however, since there are already features named after most of the deceased Antarctic explorers they are open to using living explorers names.

The area being mapped is part of the Australian claim, although the Australians do not currently operate within the area. Currently it is mostly New Zealanders doing research in the area to be mapped. The New Zealanders work closely with the Americans in mapping the Antarctic and name-sharing. Thus Australia, New Zealand, and the United States will share the role of naming the unnamed features that are mapped.

It is interesting to read about how the naming process takes place, as it is not something that is done too much anymore. Also, it is of interest to note that they are trying to get these names formal to make the mapping consistent on an international level in case of emergencies the landmarks can be found and thus used to get help to those who need it.

Movie with Penguin: Hello Kitty Fairy Tales

Hello Kitty Fairy Tales DVD contains five episodes of the Hello Kitty characters putting on their own renditions of classic fairy tales. One of the characters is a penguin and he plays parts in each of the episodes.

In episode one the Hello Kitty Penguin character plays Robin Penguin.




In episode two the penguin is the Jack that jumps over a candlestick in the Mother Goose Fairy Tale.



In the last episode he is the deputy or the sheriff, I forget which exactly, in the Wild West set rendition of Little Red Riding Hood.

Video Game with Penguins: Madagascar Operation Penguin for Game Boy Advance

Madagascar: Operation Penguin for Game Boy Advance is a fun adventure style game featuring the penguins from the Madagascar movie in a plot about them trying to dig to Antarctica in order to return to where they belong. It is a fun game in which you get to play as a penguin. It is especially fun to do the tobogganing levels and the levels actually based in Antarctica. Sure it is fictional, but the penguins do have somewhat realistic looking graphics and it does have them going to Antarctica in the end.