Whales

Today in French class (my first day of Alliance Francaise!) we were asked what kind of animal we would like to be (we were practicing the conditional).  Most people said things like "cat" or "bird" - though we had one chimpanzee - but I wanted to be a whale, une baleine.  Why?  I'm not entirely sure.  Maybe it's because I'm crazy about the ocean, maybe it's because of Whale Rider, maybe it's because unlike everyone else except for Mike (hi, darling!) I loved Moby Dick - I'm not really sure.  They seem majestic and noble and wise and kind, somehow.  But it's nice to know that I'm not alone in the whale thing.
People (who aren't me) like whales.  They think they look cool enough to be the basis for design inspiration (I especially love the woodblock-style sperm whale designs).  Short Story Design has a roundup  of pretty whale things.  The incredibly talented Dylan Meconis (of Family Man) has an incredible Moby Dick print hanging inside her house (scroll towards the bottom - it's the huge white whale on the wall).  And Apartment Therapy has a thing on sea creatures which include whales.
On second thought, maybe it's because I grew up in New England and on the shore everyone has little whale weathervanes that I like whales... or maybe I just like the idea of constant movement and water and stuff.
(whale poster from here)