Found Squirrels: HP Printer Squirrel

Today is a special day for HP; you know why? Because today HP is getting free advertising on this, my very special squirrel blog.

What did HP do to deserve this honor? Well, friends, HP decided to use my favorite rodent in their most recent advertising campaign. Behold!

This was in the New York Times yesterday, and to be honest I didn't even read the copy, just shrieked with excitement, which caused Brandon to come running because last time I shrieked it was because I sliced open my thumb with the apple cutter and it took almost 12 hours to stop bleeding. But I digress.

I love this squirrel. He's got a great shape with a cute little white belly and a big nose and and a perfectly curled tail. He's BLUE, which is a seemingly crazy choice but it really works here. I mean, this squirrel is using an HP printer, he's clearly cutting edge in many ways. I love the happy little way in which he lifts his legs to dance/walk, and how he's staring lovingly into my eyes. And the best part is really the stack of papers with color pictures of acorns. Genius, I tell you! There are days when advertising just works!

So, loyal squirrel blog readers, I beg you, if you're in the market for a new printer (or laptop, I hear they make decent ones), please consider HP. Companies need to be rewarded for using rodents in their advertising like this, and if we start small now maybe the whole world will be using squirrels in their ads in the next few years. One can dream.

I'm also hoping for a kickback from HP.

Because I clearly have a huge fan base.

Squirrel Stuff I Own: The World of the Gray Squirrel

I received this beautiful vintage book (copyright 1973) from my friend M on New Year's Eve at around 9 PM. It was a wonderful way to end 2009 and ring in 2010! As M had predicted, I pretty much stopped paying attention to my friends the moment he handed this over.

Not only is this book about squirrels, it's also OLD. And I adore old books. I love the black-and-white pictures, the old-fashioned vocabulary, the strange diction. Sure, this book is only 37 years old, it's not exactly an antique. But the world was a different place in 1973, and so was our study of squirrels. The introductory chapter in this book brings up squirrel hunting multiple times, and the authors themselves appear to have hunted squirrels for fun. There is also a large section devoted to distinguishing an adolescent squirrel from a fully-grown adult. I certainly learned some new things about a squirrel's pelage as it matures.

While this book is not nearly as useful as my other squirrel book, I'm still a big fan. This is my bedtime reading for the next few weeks, as I'm working my way through the chapters about squirrels in the different seasons.

Thanks, M!

Found Rodents: Jerboas At The Met

Went to the Met the other day with my friend S. I brought my camera, hoping to find some squirrels, but was sadly disappointed. It may have something to do with the fact that we spent all our time in the ancient art sections, and squirrels apparently were not a big part of Greek mythology.

We did spot a different kind of rodent in the Egyptian section...

Jerboas! Three jerboas, in fact, and from the 12th Dynasty! They're from a tomb, but the little sign didn't explain exactly why someone chose to have these little rodents in their tomb. Not that I'm judging; I would totally have rodents in my tomb.

Later we found another jerboa in the Greek and Roman Study Collection! So... while we failed in our mission to find squirrels, I did acquiant myself with a new rodent friend.

Squirrel Stuff I Own: 2010 Squirrel Calendar

Well, this is a timely post!

My wonderful B has once again purchased a squirrel calendar for me.

Please realize that this purchase is very meaningful. When he buys me a squirrel calendar, not only does he shell out money for a bunch of squirrel pictures, he also commits to looking at them every day for the rest of the coming year. Because he lives with me, poor thing. Nobody is as affected by my squirrel habit as he is, and I appreciate his undying love and support.

And I just want to note that I noticed that every single picture in this calendar was taken by the same person. There is somebody out there who is making a living by taking pictures of squirrels. I must become his protege.

Should old squirrels be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should old squirrels be forgot,

and auld lang syne?