Moving along...

We come to Ketchikan, famous for its fisheries and site of an Encampment of the Imperial Frontier Regiments. Note the lovely rushing stream and monument to the Imperial Salmon Stocks.
There's also an Imperial Seaplane Base.
There is much lovely nature and more rain forest.
The place also lends itself to the objet trouvé photography We so enjoy.
The locals are into art verité as well, as can be seen from this amusing installation found in someone's back yard.
The Imperial Encampment is located along a stream, making for convenient fishing to feed the hungry troops.
We also made sure to visit with the local morale officers to assess the spirit of the regiment.
They submitted a good report, though I might need to speak to the Provost Marshall about certain... uh... quality control issues with some of the morale personnel - if you catch my drift.

Penguin News!

The California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California is planning a grand opening.

What's being heralded as the greenest museum building in the world opens its doors to the public on September 27, 2008. The new academy in Golden Gate Park is insulated with nontoxic, second hand blue jeans and capped with a 2.5 acre living roof planted in native wildflowers.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at how the African Penguins are acclimating to the new Academy. Choose from any one of the three live webcams to watch the penguins.

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Thousands of Magellanic penguins have begun their yearly arrival to the coasts of the southeastern Argentine province of Chubut, where they will mate and breed for the next few months.

Local media on Friday broadcasted live images of the penguins walking ashore to meet their mates in what they call "The Penguin's Vigil".

And for the first time, this year the local Chubut government have also set up a website which is streaming the penguins' arrival to the Patagonia for 72 consecutive hours.

The migratory sea birds travel thousands of miles every year around this time from the coasts of Brazil to meet their partners and reproduce in the Patagonia's penguin colonies.

As temperatures begin to drop the penguins will then make their way back up the continent in search of warmer waters.

Chubut penguin website (in English)
Chubut daily penguin videos

Continuing with Our tour...

Our first stop was Juneau. Any modern despot needs to be environmentally conscious (right Kel?) and hence Our first duty was to conduct an aerial inspection of glaciation, alpine rain forest, and, of course, the Imperial Moose Herds. We boarded the Rodentine Arctic Bush Plane and took off by sea.
We landed dramatically in the vicinity of the Imperial Barge.
Then up through the clouds on a tramway...
offering another lovely view of the barge...
to inspect the rain forest.
Glaciers, check. Rain forest, check. Moose, prospering. To be continued...

Incisive Social Commentary...

I call this one "Technology Bringing People Closer Together". Tee hee hee! I'm SO wicked!

Come Sail Away With Me...

Well Hamsterfans, get ready! Here We begin Our account of the trip to the great northwest! First, let Us give you a little tour of the Imperial Rodentine Barge.

First, a general view on Our Amusements Deck, preparing to depart Our good city of Seattle.

Lots of room to scutter amongst the shavings! The lotus-plant light fixtures and shiny decor are meant to recall Cleopatra's famous golden barge.

Here is a view of the Great Hall. Behind in the center you see the stairs and balcony where We make official appearances to adoring assembled multitudes.

Like so...

Sometimes I assemble the subjects in Our floating Opera House for a morale-building HamsterHarangue:

Here is the entrance hall to Our Private Deck. No photography is allowed as We do not want visitors mucking about smushing down the exotic aromatic shavings...

We will, however, give you a peek at the hot and cold running Jacuzzis.

If WC or Sq sail with Us sometime, We'll have them changed to ale and lager.

Of course, We take very good care of Our trusty crew. Here's the Crew's Mess.

Up these stairs is the entrance to Our Private Dining Deck. Again, no photography allowed, but note the entrance to Our Wine Cellar on this deck.

More soon!

Shake your booty

We have returned! What a wonderful time, and what a wonderful reception We were given by Our imperial officials! There will be much to post. But for now, there is much sorting and stuff to do. As you can see, the pile of tribute We collected - not to mention a couple of new friends - will itself take some time to sift through.

Hamster just LOVES tribute!!! Since it was put in the imperial larder right away, the tribute of Our good city of Seattle was not included in the previous photo. So I post it below so as: 1) not to offend our good subjects in that city, and 2) to show Meritt We thought of her along the way (though not enough to prevent Us from joining the Rogue Nation, of course).

More soon!

On Vacation...

Please tyrannize yourselves
till I get back.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

To Our Right-Trusty
and Much-Beloved
Imperial Consort!!!

"Hello. . .

Bert! You still in there? Hello! You haven't posted since July 17th. Yoohoo! Hello..."

Sir Nils Olav Penguin

Video with reading of the Royal Proclamation here.

Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'

A penguin who was previously made a Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Army has been knighted at Edinburgh Zoo. Penguin Nils Olav has been an honorary member and mascot of the Norwegian King's Guard since the 1972. Over the years, he has been promoted through the ranks after being adopted by Royal Guard who visited the zoo. British Major General Euan Loudon officiated at the ceremony.

During the ceremony, Nils had a sword dubbed on each side of his head, where his shoulders should be, to confirm his regimental knighthood. A crowd of several hundred people joined the 130 guardsmen at the zoo. A citation from King Harald the Fifth of Norway was read out, which described Nils as "a penguin in every way qualified to receive the honour and dignity of knighthood".

The proud penguin was on his best behaviour throughout most of the ceremony, but shortly before the ritual was concluded and possibly suffering a bout of nerves he was seen to deposit a discrete white puddle on the ground.

Drawing a polite veil over that, Darren McGarry, animal collection manager at the zoo, said afterwards: "It went extremely well and we are delighted that the Norwegian Guard honoured Nils Olav with a knighthood. We all enjoyed the occasion and Nils was a perfect penguin throughout." The guardsmen come to see Nils every few years while they are in Edinburgh performing at the city's Military Tattoo. Mr McGarry, added: "Nils always recognises the Norwegian guardsmen when they come to visit him.He loves the attention he receives at the ceremony and takes his time inspecting the troops." Nils has also received medals for long service and had a 4ft bronze statue built in his honour.

Guardsman Captain Rune Wiik said: "We are extremely proud of Nils Olav and pleased that an enduring part of the Royal Guard is resident in Scotland helping to further strengthen ties between our two countries."

However, the penguin honoured on Friday is unfortunately not the original Nils Olav.He died in the 1980s and was replaced by a two-year-old penguin at the Zoo. Norway presented the zoo with its first king penguin in 1913, the year of its opening.

David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the charity that owns Edinburgh Zoo, said: "We have a long-standing history with the Norwegian King's Guard and it is something we are extremely proud of."

Published: 2008/08/15 14:11:44 GMT
© BBC MMVIII

Good Times @ Castelgandolfo

"And this week's winner for snappiest hat in the summer papal court, non-clerical category, goes to. . ."

Birds Gone Wild!

Lots of people wonder: Do penguins go on vacation? If so, what do they do? (Well, OK, no one asks those questions, but humor me - or the birds will be angry....) As many in our little circle of cybernetic acquaintances know, penguins do, in fact, love to travel. So vacations are important to them.

Not surprisingly, the beach remains a favorite for the modern penguin. Going off to a nice surf spot is popular.
Some even get blond dye-jobs to get the California Dude look.For those who prefer something less exerting, penguin spas are popping up all over the place these days.
Of course, some prefer to just crash at home. Given their frequent preoccupation with things nautical and piscatory, whereas we call this "vegging out" they call it "floundering."Some like traveling to exotic places and investigating foreign peoples and cultures.
Many consult a travel professional to find the right vacation to suit them...
and avoid getting stuck in cheap hotel rooms.Of course, being such popular fowl, sometimes the natives get overly exuberant in their welcome. It's worse than the paparazzi some times.
And, sadly, some have ideas about "getting away from it all" that are just plain unhealthy!