Relishing the absurd - and cultivating a finer appreciation for Norway

So today I learned an interesting little fact: The Norwegian Army knighted a penguin.

That's right, they knighted this cute little guy:

Sir Nils Olav

Place of birth	Edinburgh Zoo
Allegiance	Norway
Service/branch	Norwegian Army
Years of service	1972 - current
Rank	Colonel-in-Chief & mascot
Unit	Hans Majestet Kongens Garde

Edinburgh Zoo

 Norway

Norwegian Army

1972 - current

Colonel-in-Chief & mascot

Hans Majestet Kongens Garde

His name is Sir Nils Olav. and he's an emperor penguin residing at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland.

Here's the Wikipedia article on Sir Nils and how he came to be knighted, you can read all that for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nils_Olav

What fascinates me so much about this is how delightfully silly it is.  We get so caught up in the seriousness of things that I think a lot of people forget the sheer, unadulterated joy we can get from appreciating the ridiculous.

When does this happen, exactly?  When do we wake up and decide that everything has to be so important?

There is joy in the absurd, the kind you felt when you were five and someone made a fart joke.

So it's sunny and beautiful today.  Go have some fun and enjoy being silly.

And if you see Sir Nils, pop him a smart salute from me ;)