Jonathan Chester - Flipping Brilliant: A Penguins Guide to a Happy Life

Flipping Brilliant photos copyright 2008 by Jonathan Chester. Text copyright 2008 by Patrick Regan. All rights reserved. Printed in China. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews. For information, write Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, an Andrews McMeel Universal company, 1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

E-ISBN: 978-0-7407-8748-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007939835
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A nyone who says penguins cant fly has never seen them underwater. In the ocean, penguins are transformed. Their short, flat wingsall but useless on landserve as powerful flippers. Their comically tubby bodies become streamlined torpedoes. They soar, glide, dart, and dive. In essence, they do whatever they care to do. They are completely in their element.

Its a lesson worth learning: Every speciesand every member of that speciesexcels at something. You need only find the right conditions to make life a truly brilliant experience.

This little book contains some extraordinary photos of penguins in their natural habitat, but it is not a book about penguins. Instead, this book is about another oddly endearing flightless biped. Namely, us. We, too, sometimes stumble and occasionally look awkward, but nonetheless have the innate ability to soar.

A penguins approach to life is intuitive, practical, and cooperative. It also seems, at times, undeniably joyful. As this little book shows, we can learn a lot from these fat, feathered fellows at the bottom of the world.

T here are two kinds of penguins: the white ones coming toward you and the black ones going away from you. That probably qualifies as the oldest joke in the Antarctic. Its not true, of course. There are actually seventeen kinds of penguins, and most have at least a bit of color. Its tempting sometimes to see the world in black and white and to take unwavering positions about right and wrong. But things are seldom that simple, and its lifes full spectrumof colors, emotions, philosophies, and ideasthat make it so worth living.

T heres no denying it. The world can be an unfriendly place. There are brutes, bullies, and bad guys out there, and sooner or later, everyone runs into someone with whom reasoned conversation is not an option. Stand up for yourselfeven if it means getting knocked down once in a while. More often than not, youll find that a bullys heart doesnt match his bluster.

P enguins have always been a favorite of cartoonists, and the joke is usually a variation on the same theme: they all look alike. Fine. To us, penguins of the same species do look very similar, but they can tell one another apartby sound, touch, sight, and other ways biologists havent quite figured out. Truth is, stereotypes dont work with penguins any better than they do with people.

W hen penguins wish to attract the attention of a potential mate, they stand bolt upright, pull their flippers back, and bellow skyward. A corollary behavior frequently seen in human colonies involves an early-adult female teetering on a barstool and bellowing, I am sooo drunk! Among penguins, the behavior is called an ecstatic display. Among humans, it is commonly known as the Daytona mating call.

U ntil we learn to translate their various calls, whistles, and trills, what penguin parents say to their chicks will remain a mystery. But observation tells us that penguin offspring learn all the important life skillsforaging, swimming, navigation, avoiding predatorsby modeling their parents behavior. A helpful reminder when you have chicks of your ownour actions will always speak louder than our words.

A t the last stage of adolescence, a penguin chicks fluffy feathers are replaced by waterproof adult feathers. Within a period of a few weeks, the sub-adult transforms from one of the cutest, cuddliest creatures on Earth to a mangy mutant. Anyone whos lived through junior high can relate.

I f the Olsen twins ever get locked in a walk-in cooler for two days and are forced to live off their own body fat, theyre goners. Penguins? Theyre good for months. A little extra baggage comes in handy once in a while.

T he classic black tuxedo. The little black dress. In a world thats always chasing trends and this seasons hot color, black is rock solid. Its the go-to hue when an impression simply must be made.