Penguins Fly Together

Good Morning Ladies & Gentlemen,

The Official Interview went splendidly in my personal, humble opinion. They did call back after rescheduling...and it seemed like I answered the same questions again and again, with slight modifications like replacing Team with Individual and repeating phrases like "positive work environment", "delegation", "different points of view coming together to find an effective solution", and "leading to an incredible product" about a dozen times. I should now later today or tomorrow hopefully whether I'll be officially reoffered the job and as to when I will start there, probably next week...but who knows? I was kinda supposed to have a place there by now. No big deal. Today may be my last official day at work now. It should be awesome. Now for some news...

Iceland Going Bankrupt? - More than just the evil team from D2: The Mighty Ducks, the volcanic island nation of Iceland may be erupting into a major financial disaster…and is on the brink of becoming the first "national bankruptcy" of the global financial meltdown (like ice, get it?). Home to just 320,000 people on a territory the size of Kentucky, Iceland has formidable international reach because of an outsized banking sector that set out with Viking confidence to conquer swaths of the British economy from fashion retailers to top soccer teams. The strategy gave Icelanders one of the world's highest per capita incomes but now they are watching helplessly as their economy implodes with their currency (the Icelandic Krona) losing almost half its value and their heavily exposed banks collapsing under the weight of debts incurred by lending in the boom times. "Everything is closed. We couldn't sell our stock or take money from the bank," said Johann Sigurdsson as he left a branch of Landsbanki in downtown Reykjavik. The government had earlier announced it had nationalized the bank under emergency laws enacted to deal with the crisis. "We have been forced to take decisive action to save the country," Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said of those sweeping new powers that allow the government to take over companies, limit the authority of boards, and call shareholder meetings. A full-blown collapse of Iceland's financial system would send shock waves across Europe, given the heavy investment by Icelandic banks and companies across the continent. Weird thing is…that Iceland was voted "Best Country to Live In" during a poll by the United Nations LAST YEAR with its residents deemed the most contented in the world. I wonder how that would turn out now. Damn financial crisis anyway. Who knows? Maybe Iceland will become the 51st state or something…like Hawaii…but in the Arctic Circle. Now's the time to buy, that's for sure.

Bardot Speaks - French film legend-turned-activist Brigitte Bardot took a swipe at Sarah Palin on Tuesday, saying the US vice presidential candidate was a disgrace to women. She wrote in an open letter, "I hope you lose these elections because that would be a victory for the world. By denying the responsibility of man in global warming, by advocating gun rights and making statements that are disconcertingly stupid, you are a disgrace to women and you alone represent a terrible threat, a true environmental catastrophe." The screen icon from the 1960s, who now heads an animal rights foundation, went on to assail Palin for supporting Arctic oil exploration that could jeopardize delicate animal habitats and for dismissing measures to protect polar bears. "This shows your total lack of responsibility, your inability to protect or simply respect animal life." In a final salvo against Palin, the 74-year-old ex-star picked up on Palin's depiction of herself as a pitbull wearing lipstick and said she "implored" her not to compare herself to dogs. "I know them well and I can assure you that no pitbull, no dog, nor any other animal for that matter is as dangerous as you are." Wow. You know, I really just put this in my blog so that I would have an excuse to put a picture of Brigitte Bardot on the screen…but she may have a point. Anyway, enjoy the picture…and Ms. Bardot, you may not have to worry because according to the latest polls, she's not as dangerous as you think…but there's still a few weeks to go.

Penguins CAN Fly - More than 370 penguins that mysteriously washed up on Brazil's equatorial beaches were flown south on a huge air force cargo plane and released closer to the frigid waters they call home, animal advocates said Monday. Onlookers cheered as the young Magellanic penguins were set free on a beach in southern Brazil and scampered into the ocean, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said in a statement. It called the penguin release the largest ever in South America. The penguins were among nearly 1,000 that have washed up on Brazil's northeastern coast in recent months, said group spokesman Chris Cutter. About 20 percent of the penguins died and the rest were not healthy enough send back. The penguins, which had been kept at an animal rehabilitation center in the northeastern city of Salvador, were flown on an air force C130 turboprop plane usually used for heavy military cargo to southern Brazil and set free on Saturday. Environmentalists say it is not know why the penguins were stranded so far north, but suggest they could have been carried beyond their usual range by a flow of warm water. Honestly though, is it any wonder why penguins wanted to go to the beaches of Brazil? I mean…have you SEEN Brazilian women? In bikinis? I wanna go to Brazil. Heck, I might even swim over if I knew they'd fly me back home for free.

That'll do it for today. Yeah, kind of a little brief entry this morning...but in the next day or two, I should have a lot more pictures from the Going Away Party to share...and more general craziness that you should be used to by now. Have a great day everybody!!!