The movie, The March of the Penguins, has raised a great amount of interest in penguins. One never imagined penguins to be so driven. Here’s an overview of the amazing penguins.

Known as the little tuxedos, penguins have always seemed a bit odd as animals go. All of that changed, however, with The March of the Penguins, a movie about Emperor Penguins. The movie focuses on the incredible hardships these penguins undergo to be parents. If you haven’t seen the movie, rent it now. It will make you laugh, cry and develop a healthy respect for these majestic animals.

Penguins live in a fairly limited area. They’re primary home is Antarctica. Penguins can also be found in the cold costal areas of New Zeeland, Australia and South Africa. There are no penguins in the Arctic. This is the opposite of polar bears which are not found in Antarctica.

There are seventeen species of penguins. The smallest are Rockhoppers, which average roughly twelve inches in height. On the other end of the spectrum are the Emperor Penguins, which average nearly 48 inches in height.

Penguins feed in the water, not on the ice of Antarctica. A typical meal consists of fish, squid or krill. Penguins can hold their breath underwater for six minutes, six times the average human. They are extremely strong swimmers, but can’t swim backwards.

As March of the Penguins revealed, penguins have a unique breading cycle. They only breed once a year and in protected areas called rookeries. Much like salmon, penguins return to the same rookeries each year. Depending on ice flow conditions, they may travel up to 70 miles to reach the rookeries.

Once at the rookeries, penguins will flirt with each other until they find the perfect mate. The female will lay only one egg. She will push the egg to the male who holds it on the top of his feet with his stomach fat hanging over it to keep it warm. He will do this for nine straight weeks and go without food. While he loses up to fifty percent of his body weight, the mother will head back to the ocean to feed as much as she can. She will then return to the rookeries just as the egg hatches and feed the baby from her mouth. The male, in turn, will head off to the ocean to eat and recover his body weight.

When you see penguins in a zoo or water park, you should feel sorry for them. Because they are natives of Antarctica, the natural defense systems in their body are not tailored to germs found outside of the frozen continent. As a result, large numbers die from diseases caused by germs they have no defense to.

Most people, me included, never have given a second thought to penguins. That is too bad since they are truly amazing creatures. Go see the movie.

Cozy novels do not have graphic violence, and little or no sexual content and abusive language. Society is “viewed as orderly and controlled, and the crime is a failure of the society to function correctly” (Niebuhr 7). In this type of novel, right and wrong are clearly defined, and the murder is considered to be an aberration, not something that is seen on a daily basis.

The detective in these novels is usually an amateur, although there are exceptions such as Agatha Christie’s Superintendent Battle of the CID. And the murder victim tends to have some inherent moral flaw that leads to his or her death. This doesn’t mean that the murder victim must be a monster. Take, for example, the character of Mrs. Argyle in Christie’s Ordeal by Innocence. She was a wonderfully kind woman who turned her home into a safe haven for children during World War II. After the war ended, she adopted five of the children. She loved and cared for her adopted sons and daughters very much and did everthing she could for them.

Everyone spoke highly of her…but she ended up murdered. Her moral flaw - she was too arrogant in believing she knew the best for everyone around her. She was never cruel to anyone, at least outwardly, but she made her entire family dependent upon her…financially and emotionally. They all felt imprisoned by Mrs. Argyle, and so she died.

In cozy mysteries, there are no innocent victims. In one way or another, the murdered person contributed to his or her own death. It might be nothing more than a lack of judgment in trusting the wrong person, but there must be some kind of character flaw.

For that reason, children should not be used as victims…usually. As with any rule, there are exceptions. If you do use a child as a victim, make sure it is not brutal and it’d help if the child could not be thought of as “innocent.” An example is Marlene, in the novel Hallow’en Party. Marlene, at the tender age of fourteen, was already an established blackmailer.

At the conclusion of cozy mysteries, the murderer is brought to justice and society returns to its orderly and controlled ways.

In hard-boiled novels, the detective is a professional, working for some law enforcement agency. The action is fast-paced, and includes graphic violence, sexual content, and adult language. This type of world is “a society where everything is suspect, including established institutions and the people who work for them - even the legal forces” (Niebuhr 7).

The detective-protagonist in these novels can be morally ambivalent, and can include characters whose actions are driven by circumstances out of their control. Morality is not black and white in the hard-boiled world, and justice isn’t an inevitable expectation in these novels.

The setting of your novel has much to do with what type of mystery your readers will expect. For hard-boiled novels large, metropolitan cities are usual. It would be incongruous to set a cozy in someplace like Miami, for example.

Cozy mysteries tend to be placed in a small, restricted society. Even if set in some large city, such as New York, you should make it obvious that the perpetrator of the crime could only have been committed by a few individuals, say, guests at a posh dinner party.

Refences from: Make Mine a Mystery: A Reader’s Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr

A passionate collector can depict a sense of what makes them who they are by simply surrounding themselves with an animal that display’s the same attributes in the wild.

Wildlife Figurines are being sought after by a large cross section of society and one has to wonder what makes collecting wildlife figurines such a popular past time. It could be assumed that people feel a sense of emptiness when they think of how quickly the habitat of the earth’s wildlife is diminishing, or they feel in awe of an animal or birds unique presence in the wild. Either way they feel an attachment and decide to surround themselves with wildlife figurines, art, sculptures, decor and so on. So if this is the case, then how does one choose the animal? Well I believe in most cases they don’t, the animal chooses them.

It’s obvious to me that the material used to make a wildlife figurine does not seem to matter as much as the actual animal itself. When people come to our site searching for wildlife figurines, rarely do they search for the form or material along with the animal, and I think it’s because people are what they collect.

Eagles display authority in the air, and are seen this way, so a collector of eagle figurines may have a deep sense of gratitude towards authority or be an authoritarian themselves. The eagle is also known as the American eagle in North America and so a collector of American eagle figurines may feel a deep sense of patriotism.

A Dolphin has intellect and some people will see them this way, along with a sense of playfulness and willingness to swim with people. Collectors of dolphin figurines may themselves be playful or easy to get along with or admire intelligence.

Elephants display a strong desire to stay within their groups and have a strong family sense. They also mourn their losses, so a collector of elephant figurines may see family as their biggest priority in life and admire the elephant for doing the same.

The animal kingdom and it’s constituents display a large variety of characteristics, some unique, some shared, and some beyond civilized human capabilities, yet a collector of wildlife figurines should always be able to connect to something that gives them inspiration, harmony and a sense of self purpose.

Lion figurines, Giraffe figurines, Swan figurines, Wolf figurines, Owl and Moose figurines and are some of the other more popular wildlife figurines available at [url:www.wildfigurines.com]Wild Figurines[/url], but we also sell bear figurines, horse figurines, duck figurines, tiger figurines and so on. The number of available animals, birds and sea creatures is at 66 and growing so there is bound to be an animal to suit everyone’s inspirational and spiritual needs.

info@wildfigurines.com

1. It’s easy. No months spent learning theory here. Just a few chords and you’re off enjoying the joy of improvisation. Learning chords is the key to playing easily and effortlessly! And with New Age piano, the chords you learn can be used right away!

2. It’s fun! You can actually create your own music! In the classical music world you spend all your time learning how to play other peoples music. With New Age piano, you can sit down and “compose” a piece of your very own

3. It sounds good. You can, by using a few modern sounding chords, sound good playing piano right away.

4. Techniques are easily learned. New Age piano uses techniques that anyone can learn how to play in a matter of minutes.

5. No note reading involved. New Age piano is very much an improvised music. This being the case, chords are really all that you need to know. Although note reading is nice, it’s not necessary in order to create your own music

6. It’s modern. New Age piano is a modern genre. Having really picked up steam in the mid 1980’s, it’s something that can grow and become a vital force in today’s society.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

I was in a brisk discussion about whether a woman ‘would’ or ‘would not’ leave her wayward husband when a man interrupted and said, “But he’s not real! It’s fiction!” It was time to end the talk before I began my ten minute soliloquy that would have sent everyone in the kitchen for one too many drinks before going home. I knew the difficult husband in The Trading of Ken was not real because he fell out of my head and ended up on paper over a year’s time as I had fun punching him, his wife and girlfriend about. That’s exactly the point. Fiction has helped me put life in fascinating perspectives that allegedly truthful biographies, gooey memoirs, self-righteous improvement and dry scientific report studies can’t touch. Imagine:

Fiction makes judging human nature and gossip acceptable. Sunday school and ethics lessons can be overlooked when we dissect the behavior of Flaubert’s Madam Bovary. We can be arrogantly appalled, giving approval to our cherished ideas. Without apology or deference to a human being’s frailties we can smack our opinion about like a tennis ball hoping to aim and hurt. Or an author can give us that information on a character that forces our play; makes us look again and reconsider. Madam Bovary ‘loves without guile’ to gain sympathy and twist our presumptions. Then we can smack our ideas against the wall again because they’re not based on ‘real’ people and we can dissect them like an orange.

Fiction can be embellished and dressed up for drama. James Frey, author of memoir A Million Little Pieces, could add a word or two here Sociology, psychology, philosophy can all be dry as melba toast. Even a well written memoir can seem sanitized or a diatribe against all enemies. Very often they’re engaging stories and an occasional deep tidbit. In her memoir Two or Three Things I Know for Sure, Dorothy Allison states, “Women lose their lives not knowing they can do something different. Men eat themselves up believing they have to be the things they have been made.” All very lovely and clear enough to understand. Fiction overrides polite society to talk from the gut. In Bastard Out of Carolina, Allison hands us a whirlwind, “Seven children! Bad enough Alma’s got so many, but at least she knows how to keep hers fed and clean. That little Maggie can’t even change a diaper without coming on a dizzy spell. Woman has eaten Beau alive. Like some vampire sucking the juice out of him. You cut that girl open and you’d find Beau’s blood pumping her heart.” I love those lines. Maggie’s a woman who takes female caretaking to a new level and helps me see through myself and to my husband.

Fiction makes dry subjects like history, science and anthropology exciting and easier to learn. Readers willingly enter the world of writers eager to learn and enjoy a time in history (or the future) that school routinely fettered with weights. Consider the current popularity of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini or The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. They are both storylines we’ve heard before and see alluded to in the news everyday, but fiction gives an inside, human aspect to subjects we otherwise treat coldly and brush off.

Fiction invites imagination and insight. We come to fiction ready to believe and enjoy. Routine defenses and the usual ‘deaf ear’ are diminished as we let words and the stories of strangers absorb us. Like children taking in data from everywhere we are more vulnerable to the suggestions of a creative deft author. It’s one thing for the currently popular judgmental Dr. Knoweverything to say once more we are clueless about religion’s part in our life. It is another thing to read Barbara Kingsolver in The Poisonwood Bible, “I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.” Regardless of your view this statement is an invitation to define what you think.

Fiction entertains without expectation. Fiction gives grace and space from the workday world. We can and do enjoy a mini-vacation with a pal who doesn’t expect us to do anything but sit back and have fun. Readers define fun in many fiction genres from science and fantasy to sweet romance, but that’s just the point.

With fiction we’re not required to study, learn or even pay close attention. We’re invited to take from it what we will and enjoy the ride. That’s what’s special about fiction. No final exams from teachers, scientists, historians or social gurus; only invitations.

rebeccaguevara@comcast.net

Traditionally, the paving stones used in the construction of patios, drives and walkways have been York stone - stone cut from the quarries in York - granite, slate and sandstone. The increasing availability of imported stones from markets in India, China and Brazil have added some intriguing and stunning patterns and colors to the tried and true and still popular native stones. Because of the low cost of labor to quarry those stones, natural stone paving is as affordable as concrete and aggregate paving slabs, and natural stone patios have been rising in popularity over the past two decades.

Laying a stonework patio has become a popular do-it-yourself weekend project for homeowners. While patios made of concrete paving stone are as easy as assembling a jigsaw puzzle (and a not very challenging one at that), working with natural stone flags and slabs is far more challenging. The irregular thicknesses and rough edges of natural stone don’t come with pre-set spacer bars to help you determine how far apart to lay stones, or pre-stamped with a symmetrical pattern.

Rather than this being a discouragement, though, many homeowners find the prospect of creating a natural flagstone patio a challenge, and a well-made patio an accomplishment in which they can take pride for years to come. The homeowner who wants to try his or her hand at creating a unique patio floor will find plenty of information on how to lay paving stones, as well as patterns for some of the more popular accents and styles at many manufacturers’ and DIY web sites.

Choosing a Pattern for Your Stonework The pattern you choose should be one that makes the most of the space that is to be paved. A narrow walkway or path through a garden, for instance, won’t display the intricate beauty of a sweeping fan as well as the wider expanse of a full patio, while a patio can be as simple as an evenly spaced coursed pattern or as intricate as a tiled mosaic circle set into a squared frame.

The pattern you choose should also take into account the color and style of stone that you’ve chosen. The top surface of your stones may be sawn, riven or naturally domed. A polished sawn stone lends itself naturally to more intricate patterns that rely as much on color as laying pattern. A riven stone lends a more rustic look to your patterns, and reclaimed stones offer the time-worn look of casual elegance.

Whether you choose newly quarried stones or reclaimed, cobbles, flags or sets, limestone, sandstone, slate or York stone, nothing compares with the timeless beauty of real stone.

Matthew Anthony contributes to gardening sites such as paving stones and garden furniture.

To begin canvas work, you must first prepare a piece of canvas large enough to receive the design. ‘Large enough’ means the finished size of the design plus a margin of at least 5cm along each edge. When you are working with an uncharted design, finish size equals the dimensions of the drawing you will follow.

When a design is charted, finished size depends upon the number of canvas threads called for by the chart in relation to the threads per inch in the canvas. If the canvas is too narrow, lengths can be joined to get the necessary width. Make a pattern of the prepared canvas - it will be need when it is time to block the worked canvas.

Placing the design on canvas - method 1

This design transfer method places both the shapes and the colors of the design on to the canvas. The stitches are then worked right over the painted design. This method is recommended for use with any uncharted design, especially one that uses tent stitches only.

Before a design of this type can be transferred, both the drawing and the finished size of the canvas must be equal to the finished size of the item for which the canvas work is being done.

To transfer the design to the canvas, only use waterproof coloring pens or paints. If you are absolutely not sure about any pen, do not use it; colors that are not waterproof are likely to run while the worked canvas is being blocked. Use the painted canvas as a guide to calculate the amount of thread that will be needed.

Placing the design on canvas - method 2

This method of transfer puts the lines of the design, but not its colors, on the canvas. It is recommended for use with any uncharted design, particularly one calling for some ornamental stitches.

Both the canvas and the drawing of the design as prepared as for method 1; if ornamental stitches are being used, the name of the stitch is noted in appropriate areas on the drawing.

To transfer the lines to the canvas, use markers that are waterproof and neutral in color. As you work an ornamental stitch area, modify the size or shape of the area to conform to the space needs of the selected stitch.

A healthy puppy should be clear-eyed, somewhat roly-poly, loose-skinned, free from any skin trouble, hungry for its meals, and lively. It should not be timid or shy.

If the puppy seems warm or sleepy most of the time, ask one of your parents to take its temperature. A dog’s temperature normally is between 38 and 39 degrees Celsius. If its temperature rises above 39 degrees, call your veterinarian.

When you buy your puppy, ask what shots it has received and when it got them. If it has not received shots to prevent distemper, infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis, and rabies. take it immediately to a veterinarian to have them. Then get yearly boosters.You should also find out whether your puppy has been wormed. Most puppies have worms at some time.

For the first few days, you should feed your puppy the same diet as the owners did. If you wish to change the diet, do so gradually. Each day, feed a little of the new food mixed with the old.

Puppies 6 to 10 weeks old maybe fed 4 times a day. From 10 weeks to 6 months, 3 times a day should be enough. After 6 months, twice daily will serve. And after 1 year, once a day—plus a biscuit for breakfast—is ample.

Meat should be the main part of your dog’s diet. Fresh, canned, or frozen beef or horsemeat are good choices. It is not necessary to cook the meat, but it should be served at room temperature. With the meat, mix a dog meal or kibbled biscuit soaked in hot water, soup, or milk. You can get the meal or biscuit in the supermarket, feed store, or pet shop. Puppies need vitamins and minerals, and your veterinarian can give you vitamin tablets that your dog will enjoy chewing.

Other foods you may safely give your dog are well-cooked chicken, lamb, beef hearts, liver, and leafy vegetables. Hard biscuits of the right size for the dog’s mouth and dog candy will be appreciated too. A little cooked rice or dry toast may help the dog in illness or when it is recovering.

A puppy loses its baby teeth when it is between 4 and 5 months. It will be grateful for beef hide or rawhide strips to chew. You can buy them at supermarkets and pet shops. These strips are also very helpful in keeping the puppy from chewing your shoes and the furniture. Pet shops and markets also carry special hard marrow bones that help in teething and in keeping the new teeth clean and healthy.

Leave a bowl of water so that your dog can have a drink at any time—but remove the supply of water at 5 or 6 PM when you’re housebreaking a puppy. This will help the puppy go through the night without mistake.