Feb 27: Happy International Polar Bear Day!

Mother Nature created the perfect snowy environment here in the Midwest to celebrate International Polar Bear Day. The day of recognition for this majestic bear was created by Polar Bears International (PBI). Their mission, as the world’s leading polar bear conservation group, is dedicated to saving polar bears by saving their sea ice home. Their focus is on research, education, and action.

Every February 27th celebrates the polar bear, and is a call to action to lower our carbon footprint, and save sea ice habitat. Do your part today by adjusting your thermostat to reduce energy consumption (other energy-saving ideas here). Perhaps you would also like to celebrate by adopting a polar bear. Ok, it’s a symbolic adoption, but you can imagine your adopted bear(s) frolicking in the tundra outside your window. Click here for adoption/donation details. Later today (3:30 CST), PBI will announce the winners of their Project Polar Bear Contest, via a special broadcast on the

PBI website at 3:30 p.m. CST on February 27. Project Polar Bear is a three-month-long competition that challenges teams of young people to design and carry out long-lasting community projects to reduce CO2.

You can also celebrate today by watching Siku via his personal webcam (click here for Siku Cam), from his home in the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Kolind. I enjoyed having breakfast with Siku (born 11/22/11) a few minutes ago. He is adorable!

Here are a few fun facts about Polar Bears I found on the PBI site:

• Only five nations host polar bears in the wild – Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States (Alaska). In 2008, scientists estimated the polar bear population to be 20-25,000. Threats to their survival include: rapid loss of sea ice (their major threat), pollution, poaching, and industrial impact.
• In the wild, polar bears live an average 15 to 18 years, although biologists have tagged a few bears in their early 30s. In captivity, they may live until their mid- to late 30s. Debby, a zoo bear in Canada, lived to be 42.
• Polar Bears are big! Adult males normally weigh 351 to more than 544 kilograms (775 to 1,200 pounds), and adult females are smaller, normally weighing 150 to 295 kilograms (330 to 650 pounds). The largest polar bear ever recorded was a male weighing 2,209 pounds.  An adult male may reach over 10 feet when standing on its hind legs.
• Polar Bears are designed to survive in the arctic climate, where winter temperatures can plunge to -45º C (-50º F). Polar bears are insulated by two layers of fur that help keep them warm. They also have a thick fat layer. In addition, their compact ears and small tail also prevent heat loss. In fact, polar bears have more problems with overheating than they do from the cold—especially when they run. Polar bear feet are furred and covered with small bumps called papillae to keep them from slipping on ice. Their sense of smell is powerful for detecting seals.
• New evidence suggests that the polar bear, Ursus maritimus, or the sea bear, started to evolve about five million years ago from brown bear ancestors.

While I did not find specific Happy International Polar Bear Day, Care2.com does have several Polar Bear e-cards (free) you can use to share the holiday.

Three Cheers for Polar Bears!!!

Related articles

• All About Polar Bears (gabriellebell.com)
• Protecting Polar Bears (sunsetdaily.wordpress.com)
• Polar Bear Populations Drop: Researchers Debate Methods of Preservation (scienceworldreport.com)
• Conservation group works to save the polar bear (nj.com)
• International Polar Bear Day at the St.Petersburg Zoo (rbth.ru)

Feb 23: Curling is Cool Day

Curling is Cool Day celebrates the enigmatic sport of Curling, an Olympic sport as of its debut at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. When the sport was officially introduced that year, I tried my best to understand it. Maybe it will become clear during the 2014 Games. In the meantime, here is an overview of curling basics and history from the Olympic website. There are also several terms in the glossary (a glossary!), so you can speak the lingo like a true curler. Now, bundle up, grab a broom and a stone, and find some ice. Happy Curling is Cool Day!

via Curling Equipment, History and Rules | Olympic.org.

Curling is a team sport played by two teams of four players on a rectangular sheet of ice. Its nickname, “The Roaring Game”, originates from the rumbling sound the 44-pound (19.96kg) granite stones make when they travel across the ice.

Scottish origins: One of the world’s oldest team sports, curling originated in the 16th century in Scotland, where games were played during winter on frozen ponds and lochs. The earliest-known curling stones came from the Scottish regions of Stirling and Perth and date from 1511. In the 1600s, stones with handles were introduced.

Key developments: The first curling clubs appeared in Scotland, with the Grand Caledonian Curling Club, formed in 1838, being responsible for formulating the first official rules of the sport. The Club was renamed the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1843. The key 20th-century developments in the sport have been the standardisation of the stone, the development of the slide delivery, and the use of indoor, refrigerated ice facilities.

Olympic history: Men’s curling was included in the Olympic programme in 1924 at the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix. It was then dropped, and later re-introduced as a demonstration sport in 1932 in Lake Placid. Between 1936 and 1992, curling was staged at the Games as a demonstration sport: in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936 and Innsbruck in 1964, under the German name of “Eisschiessen”; and in 1988 in Calgary and in 1992 in Albertville, with both men’s and women’s events. It was in Nagano in 1998 that it officially joined the Olympic programme, with both men’s and women’s competitions.

via Equipment and History

Broom or brush: There are two types of broom. The most common is a brush or “push broom”. The other is a corn/straw/Canadian broom, which, with long bristles, looks much like a normal broom.

Ice: For indoor tournaments the artificially created ice has its surface sprinkled with water droplets which freeze into tiny bumps on the surface. Called “pebbled ice”, this surface helps the stone’s grip and leads to more consistent curling.

Rink: The rink is 42.07m long and 4.28m wide with a target – or house – at either end.

Shoes: Special curling shoes are common; shoes should grip the ice well. While shooting, extremely slippery surfaces such as Teflon are used on the sliding foot. Some are built into the shoes and others are strapped on over the shoes.

Rock: Also known as a stone, a curling rock is made of rare, dense granite that is quarried on Scotland’s Ailsa Craig. Each rock weighs 19.1kg and is polished.

Pawsitively Purrfect Predictions for Oscar Night

As usual, I’ve seen about ten percent of the nominated films, so I’m clueless when it comes to awards night. To my rescue, come whiskers of wisdom. If you didn’t see the adorable puppies on Jimmy Fallon this week, click here to watch it. Or, visit the Film School Rejects to get predictions by Oscar the Cat (of Meowywood?) and Oscar the Dog (of Hollywoof?).

A Cat and a Dog Predict The Oscars | Film School Rejects.

While it may sound fitting for two film critics to name their pets Oscar, neither Christopher Campbell nor Kate Erbland named theirs for the Academy Awards. It just turns out that two of the Film School Rejects associate editors have animals (he a dog; she a cat) who share a name with the biggest film honor there is. So, we’ve decided to exploit these little friends and put them to work making predictions about who will win in the major categories this Sunday night. It’s okay, they were paid for their efforts.

First up is Oscar the dog (full name: Oscar the Groucho Marx Campbell), a tubby, ginger miniature pincher who enjoys sleeping under sheets and eating anything that’s not technically food (we swear he’s part goat). To make his predictions, he had a little help in the form of kibble, a piece of which was placed on cards for each nominee in ten categories (actually nine, because he got special doggy treats for Best Picture). Whichever name or title card he ran to first was his first-choice prediction.

The poor pup did experience a few snags. He initially chose Robert De Niro for Best Supporting Actor but the camera wasn’t recording (on second try he ran for Alan Arkin just to get it over with, it seemed). And while he chose Helen Hunt for Best Supporting Actress, he went for Anne Hathaway next and seemed to realize his mistake, turning to his friends as if to ask for a do-over. Finally, a funny thing happened with his Best Picture picking. On the first, confused effort, he actually ate all but the treat on Silver Linings Playbook. When redone for the official run, he went straight for Silver Linings Playbook.

Watch the video of Oscar’s predictions below:

Oscar the Dog’s Official Oscar Picks

Best Picture: Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director: Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Animated Film: ParaNorman

Best Documentary: The Gatekeepers

Best Adapted Screenplay: Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin

Best Actress: Quvenzhané Wallis

Best Supporting Actress: Helen Hunt (but look at how he knows he meant Hathaway!)

Oscar Erbland

Next up, meet Oscar Erbland (full name: Oscar Erbland), a skinny tuxedo cat who started life in an underground car garage and now lives in the absolute lap of luxury in Southern California.

Oscar the Cat Predicts 2013 Oscar Winners

Oscar the Cat Predicting

Oscar was self-assured about his early picks, including Lincoln for Best Picture and, shockingly enough, Michael Haneke for Best Director, but he began to slow down when we got to Animated Feature and Documentary. Eventually, he just tapped out and refused to budge, leaving an opening for his big brother Felix to bum-rush the picks for Best Original Screenplay. Apparently, Felix is a huge Wes Anderson fan, because that kit went straight to Moonrise Kingdom, pawed at it, meowed at it, and eventually just threw his body on it. Guaranteed winner. In any case, Felix’s ardor for Oscar prognostication lit a fire in his little brother, and Oscar tore through the acting categories with renewed vigor.Everyone got treats and scratching pads by the evening’s end.Behold, an entire gallery of photos of the world’s most charming seven-pounder feline picking Oscar winners (with bonus big brother!):

Oscar

Best Picture: Lincoln

Best Director: Michael Haneke, Amour

Best Animated Film: Wreck-It Ralph

Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man

Best Adapted Screenplay: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Original Screenplay: Moonrise Kingdom

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway

Who says that cats and dogs can’t get along? Oscar the cat and Oscar the dog agreed on the following Academy Awards picks: Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin) and…yup, that’s it. Wow, you’d think we were just going totally random with our pet-picked Oscar winners. Wild stuff.

via A Cat and a Dog Predict The Oscars | Film School Rejects.

Related articles

• Oscars: Who will win vs. who should (cnn.com)
• Sunday Is Oscar Night – Can Anyone Beat the Prediction Algorithms? (spectrum.ieee.org)
• Oscar fun facts: What you don’t know about this year’s best picture nominees (cnn.com)

I Hoodie Hoo’d – Did You?

At the stroke of noon, I was outside, doing my part to Hoodie Hoo away the winter. In my enthusiam to participate, I forgot to grab my coat as I went out – and 14F is cold! Still, I Hoodie Hoo’d my lungs out, hoping my lips wouldn’t freeze permanently in mid-Hoo.

We’ll see later this week if our efforts paid off – Storm Q is looming! I think it was a good sign that when I re-entered the building, teeth chattering ever so slightly, OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, for those few people who may just be a tad younger than I) was playing on the intercom. A rare occurence, that surely must bode well for us.

p.s. If you haven’t done so yet, get Hoodie Hoo-ing. Like Happy Hour, it is always noon somewhere in the world. The ritual works as a great stress-reliever, as an added bonus.

Feb 20 – Happy Hoodie Hoo Day!

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Got a bad case of the winter blues? Try shouting out some Hoodie Hoo’s! What? You’ve never heard of Hoodie Hoo Day? Ok, I confess – I hadn’t either, until I spotted it on Care2′s e-card site. Yes, they have a Hoodie Hoo e-card that you can send to all your friends (click here – it’s free!). A little Internet digging revealed that the holiday-creating super duo at Wellcat conjured up this day to encourage the coming spring to come a little bit faster. It turns out that Tom Roy and his wife, Ruth, have master-minded many joyous celebrations, including the uber-holiday Call in Sick Because You are Well Day. Well done, Wellcat! Back to Hoodie Day – the day to go outside at noon and shout Hoodie Hoo to chase winter away. You can see photos here, demonstrating a Hoodie Hooing crowd. Click on the Hoodie Hoo e-card to hear the Hoodie Hoo call (note: hoodie rhymes with moody), try a few practice calls, and get out there at high noon to scare away Old Man Winter!

Related articles

• Ways to Celebrate Hoodie-Hoo Day (apartmentguide.com)