I need a job again

Poor E. He was trying to relate to his coworkers and he made the innocent mistake of introducing them to the SD Zoo panda cam. Now, it's a black and white Pandaland at work for him, each and every work day. Bwahahaha! He has now (inadvertently) taken over Panda Watch for me, who, in my work hiatus, can no longer seem to find the time. The dogs don't walk themselves you know. So whenever the siren call goes up (starts with a "E" and ends with a "E!") he ims me to go check out the panda cub's doings, for which I am grateful and amused by the irony. The above image is from this morning. It's a little dark but you can barely make out the cub playing with her feet. Too cute!

I told E that if his coworkers needed help constructing a Great Wall of Panda in the office, I have the requisite building experience. And that if he wanted to start a support group for coworkers of coworkers with panda-monium, I might know a couple of people.

News Anchors Act Unprofessional, Go "eeeeeeeee!" on Local TV

This clip from ABC-Chicago about the San Diego panda cub is funny. The video shows the female news casters squealing and cooing as they watch the news bite, which shows the baby cub crying as she receives a vaccination and attempts to wriggle free. Then it cuts to the lone male news caster on this night's broadcast, who is holding his hand over his mouth and looking like he's trying not to hurl. Now where might I have seen this look before?

The San Diego Zoo is soliciting names for the new fuzzball from zoo goers, today through October 14. Quick, someone help me translate "I-can't-believe-it's-not-Tai-Shan" into Chinese!

Pandora?? Is that you?

If I ever got the chance to help zoo keepers examine a month old panda cub, this is how I envision it would go down.

First I'd prop her up on her little panda legs and make her 'walk' around the exam table, kicking all the instruments to the ground, and occasionally making the cub leap into the air (complete with airplane sounds) and land on a zoo keeper's head. Then I'd make her arms move, waving them wildly while saying "I'm a little panda - ROOOOAR" to all the other keepers, who by now are looking seriously annoyed. And then I'd smack her in the head with her own paw and ask her "Why are you hitting yourself? Huh? Huh?" as she squirmed to escape my grasp while the other keepers pinned me down so they get the straitjacket on properly.

Science be damned, it would SO be worth it!

you say goodbye, we say hello

Mei Sheng, a four year old male panda at the San Diego Zoo, will be sent to China in November 2007, under the terms of loan agreement between the Zoo and Chinese Panda Authorities. Mei Sheng, who was born in 2003, is only the second panda to be born in captivity worldwide. His sister, Hua Mei, in 1999 was the first panda cub born in captivity.

Mei Sheng is of special interest to the panda breeding program in China because he is the first offspring of a male panda whose genes are not represented among the present population. Genetic diversity helps an animal population stay healthy and prevents inbreeding, a common problem among endangered species. Mei Sheng and his offspring will help ensure a diverse and healthy population of future pandas.

To see Mei Sheng before he goes, click on the San Diego Zoo panda cam.

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This just in: What do Nicole Richie and Mei Sheng's mom, Bai Yun, have in common?