It’s Penguin feeding time at the ol’ Adventure Aquarium in Camden. As soon as I saw my raw cut of the footage I knew Cocco’s song Baby, After You was a perfect match. Given three hours of work time I probably could have synced the video and guitar perfectly, but really this is all about a penguin eating a squid and how it looks like they are deferring meal time to one another. They are cute. End of story.

I knowingly purchased a game in which the sum total of the experience appears to be blowing petals over a virtual lawn (albeit with rolling hills.)  I bought a big steaming plate of hype.

Not that FLOWER is a bad game, the art direction and fluid intuitive controls are top notch. It’s just… it’s more like one mechanic of a much more interesting game. I’ve played this before (including the interactive musical cues) when it was called Rez, and it was better. To use the parlance of our times, restoring greenery to a fertile land is quite satisfying, but between Prince of Persia and Okami, I think I’ve done this enough too.

… I purchased both FLOWER and the vastly superior World of Goo (but can they even be compared) out of an allegiance to the creative spirit, however misguided it may sometimes be.

For those looking for a Karmic realignment following marathon murder sprees in Grand Theft Auto IV, FLOWER’s relaxing escape to paradise may be just the thing.

Also, not to spoil but the game really gets compelling in its later portions.

Germany’s Knut the Polar Bear turned Two Years Old. He is one extremely photogenic bear.

If it would please the court, CUUUTE!

photos courtesy of Reuters.

But BEARS~!

Takako and I went to the Skylands Botanical Garden on a whim and happened upon a beautiful pair of black bears crossing our path by the Manor House.  Oddly enough I felt very comfortable around them. Albeit, with thirty feet between us.

Locals said that Black Bears are something of a rarity in those areas because the botanical gardens aren’t a good source of food. We got lucky!  BEARS!