Buzz...a day in the life of polar bears

If you're a regular reader of Books, Boys, Buzz, you'll know that I have a massive soft spot, not only for little animals, but polar bears. They're probably my totem animal, I don't know. But I just adore them.

You might remember last year when I introduced Knut to the readers. Knut was rejected by his mother in December of 2006 and had to be hand-fed by a keeper at the Berlin Zoo. He was a major sensation and a great spokesbear for the fight against global warming. The Berlin Zoo made a ton of money off of him that has gone back into his habitat, hiring more scientists and staff to care for the animals, and educating the public about the dangers to the majestic polar bears when our planet is slowing weeping for help.

Here is Knut as a little fellow...



And here he is on his first birthday in December 2007...



This is him getting a gander at a new book about his journey...



And he's still a star... click here to see a video of him playing to the crowd.

Well, make a little room, Knut, because there are even more polar bear cub celebrities out there.

My favorite that I've been watching is the precious little girl, Flocke, which is German for "snowflake." Sadly, Flocke's mom, Vera didn't really know what to do with her little baby. (It's thought that she may have possibly eaten her other cub.) She brought Flocke out of her cave wicked early and showed signs of not being able to handle her upbringing. So, the Nuremberg Zoo stepped in and removed Flocke from her mother. She's been hand-fed and brought up by a staff of keepers.



Just recently, the little darling made her debut to the German press. Don't you just want to put her in your pocket and take her home with you?



But wait...Flocke's not the only cele-bear-ty these days. There's also Stuttgart's newest arrival, Wilbaer. The good news about Wilbear, is that his mother, Corinna, is taking wonderful care of him and watching out after the furry little tyke. He, too, recently made his debut to the press and the zoo, in turn, is profiting from his popularity.

Here they are meeting the press...



Who is proud of their little boy?!...



And finally, more stars in Europe are the twin boy polar bear cubs at the Vienna Zoo. Their mother brought them from their cave not long ago and the two of them have been frollicking, playing, and entertaining the Vienna crowd ever since.

Aren't they adorable?...



Olinka's such a good mom!...



A day in the life for these amazing animals in captivity is filled with running and playing, getting bathed and rubbed by either the keeper or their mother. They also learn to swim at a very early age and they just love the water. The cubs are fed formula to mimic what they'd get from their mother, but they also get a good amount of fresh (not live) fish. These little bundles have amazing, realistic habitats that allow them to live their lives as "normal" as possible.

Many people might not approve of the man-raising of these animals, but to me, it means the world to me that there are people who will spend their time and career to try and save the species from extinction. And they're so adorable.

Have you ever seen a polar bear in the zoo? What was it like? And who's the cutest of all the cele-bear-ties? Me...I'm still partial to my little Knut, even though our little baby's all growds up. (And what movie is THAT from? LOL!)

REMINDER: The first two books in the SORORITY 101 series will be out in FIVE DAYS!!!!! As you know, I'm writing these books under the name "Kate Harmon." I hope everyone will get a copy of each of them!!!



Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (May 1, 2008, Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (May 1, 2008, Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS SERIES (May 1, 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

A Day In My Writing Life

You know those people who diligently adhere to an implacable schedule? Who get up at the same time every day, do their jobs or others tasks in an efficient order of events, eat at regular times, and go to bed in time to do the same thing the next day? I am so not like that.

Oh, I fantasize about being like that. I make plans and lists and detailed schedules. But then something invariably throws me off--staying up until 2:00am searching for cheap flights to Buenos Aires, an email that takes forty minutes to compose, a blog post I forgot to write ahead of time....

In my writing schedule, there is only one consistent and constant thing:

I MUST WRITE AT STARBUCKS.

(Okay, not necessarily at Starbucks, it can be a Panera or an independent coffee shop or anywhere with caffeinated beverages and comfy chairs. But it's usually a Starbucks, because there's one next door.)


Here's how a day in my writing life goes:

1. Walk inside. Scope out my comfy chair. (I'm very picky about this, and of the four comfy chairs at my Starbucks, only two are suitable.) If someone is in my comfy chair when I arrive, then I set my stuff at a nearby seat so I can pounce as soon as it's available.

2. Order my first drink of the day. What I get depends on my mood and the day. If I'm feeling blah, I'll get a frappuccino. If I'm feeling budget- and calorie-conscious, I'll get an iced coffee with toffee nut flavor. If it's cold, I'll get a soy chai latte.

3. Sit down (hopefully in comfy chair) and pull out all my stuff. When I'm writing something new, this includes any or all of the following: alphasmart (indestructible word processor), sprial-bound, pencil case, post-its, index cards, iPod shuffle, academic year planner/calendar. When I'm revising, my kit is the same except I bring my laptop instead of my alphasmart.

4. Put on headphones. This is a necessity whether I'm listening to music or not--it discourages people from talking to me (interrupting my work) and, if they're brazen enough to talk anyway, I can pretend like I don't hear them. (I know, I'm awful, but my concentration is very fragile. I protect it vehemently.)

5. Spend far too long looking at my calendar, making notes and lists of what I need to do when. (This is pure procrastination!) If I got stuck in a scene last time or if I'm not sure how to begin today, I'll spend a little time with my spiral-bound, brainstorming and trying to figure out what's working. (This is only slightly procrastination.)

6. Finally put aside the calendar and the spiral-bound and get to work. I'll spend anywhere from two to six hours writing--any longer and my brain begins to melt. This usually involves at least one more beverage, at least one trip to the ladies (leaving everything but my purse and alphasmart/laptop to stake my claim on the comfy chair). This also usually involves a lot of day-dreaming, staring out the front window, and making notes about interesting people.

(The staff at my Starbucks is convinced that I'm writing about them, but they're fairly normal. Nothing compared to some of the customers!)

7. When my brain/bladder/sleeping backside has finally had enough, I pack it up and head home.

So there you have it. My typical writing day. And, if nothing sets my schedule into a tailspin, I'll start over with the same thing the next.

Hugs,
TLC
OH. MY. GODS. -- Dutton, available May 1st!
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