Things that remind people of me

It's time for another edition of that popular game where I browse through the mailbag and see what peculiar images people have sent to me, prompted by my peculiar reputation. It's not all flabby, slimy squid this week!

Click on the images to go to the source.


Why would the plaintiff have brought suit in the first place?

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Hubba hubba. Am I perverse for really wanting to see what's under that dress?

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Giant cephalopod! Fighting zombies! in Dutch!

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Much, much too young for me. But cute.

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Martian seagulls? That's different and cool.

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More like this

The foreshadowing last week was accurate. This week, we offer a review of Tentacles! Tales of the Giant Squid by Shirley Raye Redmond with illustrations by Bryn Barnard. Younger offspring: We should talk about my new squid book for the Friday Sprog Blog. Dr. Free-Ride: OK. What do you like…
Ok, what are the people at Quirk Books on? I have to say, I love the cover of the book, and the typographical trailer is cute - but isn't this just blatant meme abuse? Quirk explains The Meowmorphosis thus. . . "One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that…
Since I asked for it, and since so many were promptly forthcoming with a copy, I'd better give you a quick summary. Kubodera et al. have formally published their observations of the eight-armed deep sea squid, Taningia danae, that were in the news last February. There isn't much new information in…
It's been a few days. I was out in West Virginia last weekend watching my cousin get married. After driving back Monday, I started the new job with Linden Labs, and that has been occupying most of my focus. I've spoken at length before (in that and other posts) about why, despite how much I loved…

A couple of days ago, a wee baby girl was born unto me, and she's the loveliest thing to grace this planet, to be sure. Such a wonderful dress and handbag must indeed be perfect to set her on the right path in life. Any ideas where to find them, and do they come in size teeny-tiny?

Martin

By Martin Christensen (not verified) on 22 Sep 2006 #permalink

Those aren't alien seagulls, they're Nyctosaurus pterodactyls, from what's now Kansas (that particular neighborhood has gone down the drain since they've been there).

Does anybody besides me look at that second picture, and hope that maybe Tim Burton is back in form and planning something good? She does look like Christina Ricci, after all.

On the second picture, I'm confused: is a "huiveringwekkende" a couple of days spent fighting zombies with a vacuum cleaner?

This one definitely reminded me of you, but in a more-newsworthy, less-humorous sort of way:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/18/BAGF5L7LQS1…

A controversial scientist who hopes to help humans live for thousands of years has received a multimillion-dollar grant from a Bay Area entrepreneur.

Peter A. Thiel, co-founder and former chief executive officer of the online payments system PayPal, announced Saturday he is pledging $3.5 million "to support scientific research into the alleviation and eventual reversal of the debilities caused by aging."

The recipient will be the Methuselah Foundation, a Springfield, Va., nonprofit started and run by the most colorful scientist in aging research: Aubrey de Grey, a 43-year-old English researcher who says he hopes to "radically postpone aging, giving indefinite life spans."

In short, de Grey's thesis is that there are seven main causes of aging, and that if those can be licked, then people could live indefinitely.

Found here: http://www.boingboing.net/

SquidSoap dispenser shows you when you're done scrubbing
Squid Soap's mission is to "train tomorrow's great hand washers." The pump-bottle is decorated with a plastic squid, and the top of the pump has an ink-stamper that leaves a ring on your hand when you pump your soap. Once you've scrubbed enough to remove the ink-stamp, you've also scrubbed enough to kill the germs on your hands.
Link http://www.squidsoap.com/
(via Collision Detection) http://collisiondetection.net/

By Hank Roberts (not verified) on 22 Sep 2006 #permalink

Does anybody besides me look at that second picture, and hope that maybe Tim Burton is back in form and planning something good?

Actually, she reminds a bit of the classic Quiet, Please episode "The Thing on the Fourble Board."

Why would the plaintiff have brought suit in the first place?

Because it seemed the appropriate thing to wear to court. ;-)

Actually, one of my favourite cartoons of all time is one by Rodriguez, from National Lampoon's collection.

Scene: There is a rumpled burlap bag sitting on a chair, and through the opening of the bag can be seen one eye in the darkness. The lawyer sitting across from the bag says. "I'd say we have a VERY good case! Now, when did this autopsy take place . . "

Thank you most humbly, Shannon. Okay, maybe second most humbly. :-)

Unfortunately, I can't see any picture of the costume that might appear on the page to which you link, but I can imagine from the description what we're dealing with.

Here in Denmark, however, we do not celebrate haloween. But come the end of February, we have 'fastelavn', the breaking of the traditional month of fast (I've never, ever heard of any non-Jewish ethnic Dane actually fasting in February), where the kids do dress up and have their equivalent of trick-or-treating. They also 'beat the cat in the barrel', which traditionally was done by putting a black cat (a bad luck omen, of course), stringing up the barrel and beating the crap out of the barrel with sticks. Today we put candy, small (durable!) trinkets and confetti in the barrel for the kids and - more humanely - simply decorate it with black cats. The one to beat the bottom out of the barrel is crowned Cat King, and the one to get the last remaining boards off the rope becomes Cat Queen, regardless of gender.

Just a bit of cultural trivia that some of you might find amusing.

Martin

By Martin Christensen (not verified) on 22 Sep 2006 #permalink

"is a "huiveringwekkende" a couple of days spent fighting zombies with a vacuum cleaner?"

Hahahah... No, but I wish it were!

"Huiveringwekkende" means "horrible" in Dutch.

Unfortunately, I can't see any picture of the costume that might appear on the page to which you link

Maybe this direct link to a large image will work?

http://www.babystyle.com/images/product/17956_MID_l.jpg

Such cute little larval octopuses! ("If you eat all of your food, you'll grow up big and strong, just like the kraken, and pull ships apart!")

By Owlmirror (not verified) on 22 Sep 2006 #permalink

Wonderful! :-) Thanks, Owlmirror.

Martin

By Martin Christensen (not verified) on 23 Sep 2006 #permalink