Musical Monday

We've been indulging in a little Russian folk music lately.  "Коробейники" ("Korobeiniki" for those of us who don't read Cyrillic) is a lively tune for a tragic tale (isn't that typical of folk music?) of a peddler and a peasant girl meeting in the moonlight in a rye field (sorry for all the parentheses).  Isn't it picturesque?

When my peers hear the tune, though, a different picture comes to mind.  We see oddly-shaped puzzle pieces coming through the rye at an ever-increasing tempo, and we must fit them together before--oops, game over.  Yes, "Коробейники"is more widely known in the West as "Tetris Theme A."

Dandelionslayer thinks this would be a fun tune for beginning percussionists to play on their bells, so he has been researching arrangements and working something up.  It's not quite ready yet, so I'll share another version.  In honor of the Caterpillar's recent debut in the local marching band, here's the Cal Band playing Tetris:

Squawking at Sea World

Next on our San Diego agenda was Sea World.  Naturally, a visit to the penguins was a priority.

These Magellanic penguins didn't seem to think it was too hot,

but they could always go for a swim.

We watched polar bears pace, and pinnipeds prance.

We saw belugas and orcas, with their giant babies.

We touched soft, slimy rays that weren't quite that big,

and admired merchandise.  There was plenty to squawk about, 

and three boys fell fast asleep on the short ride back to the hotel.

Adding Monkeys to the San Diego Zoo

We continued our tour of the San Diego area with a trip to the famous Zoo.  As usual, we weren't sure whether our little monkeys would be allowed out of the zoo again, but we took the chance.

It really was impressive.  I don't recall seeing baby flamingos before, but we saw a few in San Diego.  See the awkward-looking gray birds?  I guess they haven't built up their shrimp reserves yet.

Quite a few of the animals were up and moving, like this orangutan.  Even the mama panda was chewing bamboo in full view of the audience, though I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of her.

It was a hot day, for San Diego.  I'd have liked to join this bird, splashing in the water.

This shady monkey fort looked pretty good, too.

This little leopard was a busy guy,

and thankfully smaller than the saber cats that used to roam California!