RA Doing His Penguin Impersonation on the Red Carpet ;)

Uh oh, a bit of professional envy rearing it's jealous head above - The actor on the right was the star of..

Starting to remind myself of Ross on Friends...hope you don't fall asleep while reading this;)--if you do, blame Fitzg for the tangent (see comments). haha

It seems we have more in common w/penguins than we might've ever imagined - female penguins prefer mates with deep voices,,,err, mating calls...

>Some penguin breeds mate for life.  Male penguins compete for the best nesting sites to attract potential females and arriving early guarantees not only a good nest site, but ensure that males actually get to mate. In some species there are normally less female than male penguins, due to the fact that females breed at a younger age and have a shorter life span, so late arriving males may not get to breed.

Once females arrive, males perform displays of waving their flippers and calling to attract females. Female penguins seek a mate that will be able to withstand the long fasting period while incubating their eggs. This makes larger, fatter males most desirable. Females can judge the size of a male from the tone of his call and show a preference for males with deeper voices. Bigger males have large chest cavities, which produce a deeper sound. The more fat around a male's voicebox, the syrinx, the flatter the call sounds. Thus, females head toward males with deep, flat calls. This system works well for first time breeders, but older penguins seek mates in a way that maximizes the chance of a successful coupling.

Penguins seek to reunite with their partner from the last breeding season by returning to the previous year's nest site. This strategy benefits both the male and female because in many species the sex ratio is not always equal. If there are more males than females, then males benefit by reuniting with their old partner because they are guaranteed a mate for the season. The same is true for females when females outnumber males. Females that choose a previous mate can also trust that her mate will not desert their young. If however, the couple failed to raise chicks the year before, the female will avoid her old mate and seek out a new male based on his call.<