ita, is there a limit to the number of links I can send you in an e-mail? I've got a ton to send, but I can break them up if that causes problems.

Aww, poor Matilda. But OMG, she's old enough for tumbling?!?!

I am freaked out by Flea's possum. In the house?!?!? EEP!

Anyone know the French for "Surrender!"? Or of any French poetry that would have been famous in the Napoleonic era?

Gay Penguins Turned Out to be the Best Parents in the Zoo

Remember the gay penguins that got ejected from their colony because they were trying to steal eggs from other penguins? Well, the zookeepers gave the couple two eggs laid by an inexperienced penguin mom … and it turns out they became the best parents in the zoo!

‘We decided to give them two eggs from another couple whose hatching ability had been poor and they’ve turned out to be the best parents in the whole zoo,’ said one of the keepers.

‘It’s very encouraging and if this works out well we will try to arrange for them to become real parents themselves with artificial insemination.’

Wildlife experts at the park explain that despite being gay the three-year-old male birds are still driven by an urge to be fathers.

‘One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs. Despite the fact that they can’t have eggs naturally, it does not take away their biological drive to be a parent,’ said one.

Weasel-puke coffee

There's a little animal in Vietnam which has magical properties. Locally, it's called a weasel (though technically, it's a type of civet, but let's call it a weasel like the locals) and it sure likes to eat the fruit of the coffee plant. But the seeds don't sit well in its tummy, so it vomits them up. And that's where the fun comes in - for local coffee folks gather up the beans and lightly roast them. The stomach acids seem to wear away the bitter taste of the coffee beans, and the resulting coffee is delicious and smooth.

Weasel-puke coffee - it's a real treat
Even weasels prefer it to real meat

Poor Matilda. Those eggs hurt so bad when you ice them.

ow, I didn't know that so many divers had died in search of the elusive coelacanth....

That was an interesting read. I don't know whether I am grateful to not have such a lifelong obsession, or jealous.

Everything I read about the court fights on Prop 8 make me believe it has to be tossed out, and yet I couldn't believe people voted for the thing in the first place so I may not be objective.

Matilda's now conked out on the couch. She cried herself to sleep cuddling with me and watching old Betty Boop cartoons. The goose-egg side of her face is all smooshed down into the pillow so I can't see how bad it looks, but it's bound to be dreadful since we managed possibly five seconds of ice application (all in 0.5-second increments, several minutes apart).

At least she was talking and bouncing around and acting completely normal before she fell asleep (in fact, cheerful and not at all upset, right up until we came at her with the ice packs), and when I frantically Googled goose eggs and head trauma Google reassured me that the main benefit of ice is cosmetic -- the bumps look ugly but they don't harm the child.

Still, poor boo.

Also, the birthday party we're going to when she wakes up is for a daycare classmate whose mom had been all enthusiastic about signing her up for the same class as Matilda at the next session so they could be circus buddies. When the mom gets a look at Matilda's face this afternoon, that may change in a hurry.

I'm sending quiet, uneventful and low-stress weekend vibes to msbelle, ita and Teppy. Does anyone else need them while I've got 'em on tap?

Somebody needs to taste-test the weasel poop and weasel puke coffees against each other. Somebody not me.

Sail, there should be no problem. I'm not sure why Perkins got a bounceback or two. I'll have to check into it.

I've tried the weasel-poop coffee, and it wasn't bad.