To finish out penguin week, here are some inspirational words from our fine feathered flightless friends.

Have a good weekend!

Dr. Kool is in the house

One day a man was walking down the street when he saw a penguin ahead of him. He took the penguin and they became best friends.

One day the police saw them walking and so he told the man that he need to take the penguin to the zoo.The man said ok

The next day he saw them walking again
"I thought i told you to take that penguin to the zoo" said the police
" I did "said the man " and now i am taking him to the movies!"

dude

This little visual treat was created by Brianna Garcia and is for sale on deviantart.com. Brianna is an art student living in California, working for Disney (lucky). Unfortunately she works on a PC, but fortunately likes pudding. Artist statement for this piece: "Be different."

http://bri-chan.deviantart.com/

All dressed up and nowhere to go

This little emperor penguin will grow up to be among the tallest and heaviest of penguins, our favorite flightless bird. These poor birds endure the harshest of arctic conditions and have to walk 70 miles to get food after months of not eating... yet remain unceasingly cute and cuddly.

Macaroni penguins are the most numerous of all the world's penguins. They live in at least 216 colonies at 50 sites in places such as Chile, South Africa, and the Antarctic Peninsula. It is thought that Macaroni penguins were named based on the song Yankee Doodle because of the "feather in their caps."

www.wikipedia.org

All Hail Petty, friend of Pororo, the Little Penguin

Pororo has a friend, who's name is Petty. Here is a description of Petty, as taken from the website:
“Friendly and sociable penguin girl, Petty.
Petty is very open-hearted and gets along well with friends right after
She moves to the village. Although she looks very feminine,
She has a talent for every sport like soccer, running, swimming and etc.
Which other friends admire her about. Her friends are impressed with
Her easy going personality, but her cooking is very poor.”

Please visit Pororo and his friends at:
http://www.pororo.net/en/index.html

Pororo is from Korea, not Japan...

Have YOU joined the club?

Tufty the Traffic Safety Squirrel has a mission - to save all rabbits, badgers, hedgehogs, and even weasels from unsightly traffic-related deaths. Some find him to be an innocent protector of children, some feel he is the "mastermind behind squirrel world domination." What do you think? Would YOU join Tufty's club?

Girls who love Skwirls

[The camera turns again to Briar Rose. She's surrounded by the animals of the forest, picks berries and sings]

Briar Rose:

I wonder,
I wonder,
I wonder why each little bird
Has a someone to sing to
Sweet things to
A gay little love melody.
I wonder,
I wonder,
If my heart keeps singing
Will my song go wing-ing
To someone
Who'll find me
And bring back a love song
To me!

[speaking more to herself than to the birds, but they listen and answer her]

Nuts to you

The Abert's Squirrel or Tassel-eared Squirrel (Sciurus aberti) is a tree squirrel that is native to the Rocky Mountains from United States to Mexico, with concentrations found in Arizona, New Mexico, and Durango.

Abert's squirrels are 46-58 cm long with a tail of 19-25 cm. They are strictly diurnal. A number of subspecies have been described including the Kaibab Squirrel.

The Abert's squirrel does not store its food like other North American squirrels. The vast majority of the squirrel's diet consists of parts of the ponderosa pine. Feeding on the tree's seeds and buds in the warmer months, it depends on the inner bark of the tree for nourishment in the wintertime. Consequently, Abert's squirrels are found in coniferous forests with large populations of ponderosa pines.

The Abert's squirrel typically builds its nest in the branches of the ponderosa pine in groups of twigs infected with mistletoe.

History

The Abert's squirrel is named after Colonel John James Abert, an American naturalist and military officer who headed the Corps of Topographical Engineers and organized the effort to map the American West in the 1800s.

konnichi-wa risu

These are two squirrels from Animal Crossing. Mint and Peanut, I think. Animal Crossing is a catagory of cute that deserves it's own blog, really. We will try to do it honor here. I don't know why they are speaking in French. I had a squirrel named Caroline, who was my best friend. She was orange with yellow markings. She demanded pink furniture, I gave her pink furniture. Caroline moved out of my town after I failed to check in on her for a few days. Do you have a sad Animal Crossing story to share?

unprecedented: two posts in one day

I couldn't conclude Hamster Week without a memorial to Xena Warrior Hamster. She had spirit, she had spunk. She once escaped from her cage for three days during which she had countless adventures (if only she had written her memoirs). Our bunny announced her safe return by thumping, at which time we found Xena back in her cage, sound asleep, cheeks stuffed with food. We miss you, Xena!

on a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair...

The smallest of hamsters is the dwarf desert hamster (genus Phodopus) whose bodies are about 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) long. My motto: the smaller, the CUTER.

hamgoyle

The literal, no-nonsense definition of a gargoyle is as follows: "the carved terminations to spouts which convey water away from the sides of buildings." (wikipedia) Chimeras and grotesque figures are similar to gargoyles in form, but do not act as waterspouts and are merely decorative. The figures are generally eerie and demon-like. In other words, gargoyles (/chimeras/grotesque figures) are NOT CUTE.

Or at least that is what the general population thought until your friendly editors here in the Land of Cute stumbled across this adorable rendition of a "gargoyle." I'd gladly let this little guy protect me from evil spirits (or drain the water from my roof) anytime!!

hamster loco

Today's hamster is brought to you by the talented Aaron Nicholson, American Academy of Art student and Artist Extraordinaire.

This guy's got a bit of the crazy eye!

real life hamtaro

Continuing the hamster theme...
We visited the new PetSmart last week on "company business." (Okay, so we took a detour while we were supposed to be on company business. Anyway.) They have the cutest small pet section, which includes Panda Hamsters and Dalmatian Hamsters like the ones shown above. Hamsters are delightful pets, and I miss our little hamster friend Xena (rest in peace, warrior hamster).

Chick-ah-chick-ah-chick-ah

Hamtaro is a golden hamster with an insatiable curiosity. He is the cute and cuddly pet of fifth-grader Laura. His birthday is August 6, his height is 8.6 cm, and he is a Leo.

Together with the "Ham-Ham Friends," a bunch of hamsters as clever and unique as Hamtaro himself, Hamtaro lives each day as a whole new adventure...complete with fun, excitement, and friendship.

Some ham-ham words for your enjoyment: Atata: "I can't believe it happened. Oh no, I have been had." Bye-Q: "good-bye." Chick-ah-chick-ah-chick-ah: "The walking or running sound made by hamsters." Hamm-Hamm: "Sound used when eating; but also used when hamsters are being petted."

(www.hamtaro.com)

new addition

My niece, Leela Grace, was born last night. She is perfect in every way (of course). And so cute!

cup a' joe

Here in the Land of Cute, we can even find cuteness in a cup of coffee. We have compiled images from people who have too much time on their hands coffee artists around the world for your viewing enjoyment. Caffeine sold separately.

How much for the yak?

But Daddy, I want a STUFFED YAK! And I want it NOW!!!!

Dream A Little Dream Of Me

This is Ella. She is a long-haired chihuahua puppy. She has blue, fawn, and white coloring. She is from Yorkville, but in 3 weeks will live down the road from me at my parent's house. She enjoys sitting in small, green bowls. In one year, she may be a mommy!

It may not be easy being green, but it's cute

Keroppi
Real Name: Hasu No Ue Keroppi (Keroppi on the Lily Pad) Birthday: July 10

Always off on an adventure, this fearless, fun-loving frog is the star of Donut Pond. Keroppi lives there with his siblings Koroppi and Pikki (They are triplets). Singing and swimming are his specialties.

Find your inner rat

In the TMNT 2007 film, Splinter was voiced by the late Mako Iwamatsu. Splinter is portrayed as having grown more worried that his sons have split apart after the death of Shredder and calls them together again when a new enemy arises. Splinter is portrayed as a source of wisdom for his sons, but does indulge himself with a soap opera.