March of the Empire Penguins

I watched on cable the other night the march of the Empire Penguins. If you've never seen it, you really should. They're incredible. How they live and survive the way they do is just unbelieveable. I know I couldn't do it.

French filmmaker Luc Jacquet created a movie about their exploits in "The March of the Penguins." I have get out there and see it. It's a nature documentary, but its also a love story. Morgan Freeman narrates the movie.

They endure such extremes. They breed during the Antarctic winter and during the four months of darkness they don't eat food or drink water and they continuously march in a tightly packed circle while balancing either and egg or a chick on their feet so that they don't come in contact with the ice. Now I'm talking about a whole lot of penguins all pressed together to keep warm doing a slow march for four months straight!!! I know I couldn't do that. I don't even think that monks have that much discipline, nor any humans that I know for that matter. Imagine slowly walking around in a circle with a hundred friends on top of the ice in darkness for four months while balancing your baby on your feet... now that's a weird picture.

And before they even did this ritual they had to make an insanely long journey across a frozen tundra in Antarctica. The walk that journey single file and they are very determined to get there (I guess they would have to be, otherwise they would just stay home). Their whole goal for doing this is to create life, but they have to defy death every single step of the way... besides starvation, exhaustion, cold, snow storms, they also have predators waiting for them... hungry seals and birds. Something mighty powerful must be in their brains to make them do all that.

The slowly walking while huddling would finally end when the sun returned. When the baby would emerge from underneath their bottom they could still secrete a "milk" nourishment for the baby from their oesophagus. Simply amazing. Genetics... who comes up with these things...

I wouldn't want to be an Empire Penguin... but seriously if you haven't seen that movie you really should... it at leasts makes you realize what a decent life humans have...