cephalopods
pharyngula | December 14, 2007All those kids who are expecting a white-bearded fat man to drop down the chimney are going to get a surprise on 'podmas.
pharyngula | December 14, 2007Octopus kagoshimensis
Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
pharyngula | December 8, 2007Hey, somebody went to the Cephalopod Appreciation Society show in Seattle — and Tikistitch came back with pictures! I love the idea of suede squid draped decoratively about the house, but at $2500 each they are a little bit out of my price range.
She has also discovered a Japanese fashion doll with a pet Cthulhu. It sounds neat, but ewww. The Chtulhu figure is cute and cuddly, but the doll…that noseless face, the tiny mouth that can only be good for sucking up fluids, the huge insectoid eyes taking up half her face. <shudder> It would give me nightmares.
pharyngula | December 7, 2007Sepia latimanus
Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
pharyngula | December 4, 2007I wish I could be there this Friday — this sounds like an extremely cool art gallery event, sponsored by the Cephalopod Appreciation Society. See, Seattle gets a whole society, while Morris just gets me, sitting in a corner, pining for molluscs. If you're in Seattle, you should go. Tell 'em I sent you.
Please join the CEPHALOPOD APPRECIATION SOCIETY Friday, DECEMBER 7th at the McLeod Residence for an art opening and squid celebration featuring 20-foot Giant Squids made of fabric by NY artist Cassandra Nguyen.
The general reception is from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., and from 7:30-8:30 p.m., the…
pharyngula | November 29, 2007
There are several other designs, too —order your Squidmas cards today!
pharyngula | November 25, 2007Looking for decorating ideas? This photo series shows how to make a beautiful squidmas tree.
pharyngula | November 22, 2007Noooooo! It's another paradox!
This is a Cthulhu birthday cake, but it's entirely vegan! This is just not right. A Cthulhu cake has to be made of various meats stacked in alien geometries and in a state of corruption and decay, topped with ichor icing.
(Hillary is out to get me because I haven't reviewed her book yet. Insanity doesn't make it easier!)
pharyngula | November 22, 2007I look at this and feel so conflicted.
Ick, it's a nativity scene. But it's got cute squid in it! It's so christian! With squid! Nativity! But squid!
It's like it was designed to drive me insane.
pharyngula | November 22, 2007So do I, although I favor more squid, less girl.
(Should be work-safe, since any nudity is tasteful, and human-animal chimeras aren't that offensive, are they? Besides, you should be at home, loosening your belt and letting that nice feast settle.)
pharyngula | November 19, 2007My library doesn't subscribe to this journal, but maybe yours does. Can anyone send me a pdf of this paper?
Mather JA, Anderson RC 2007) Ethics and invertebrates: a cephalopod perspective. Dis Aquat Organ. 75(2):119-29.
This paper first explores 3 philosophical bases for attitudes to invertebrates, Contractarian/Kantian, Utilitarian, and Rights-based, and what they lead us to conclude about how we use and care for these animals. We next discuss the problems of evaluating pain and suffering in invertebrates, pointing out that physiological responses to stress are widely similar across the…
pharyngula | November 17, 2007In weird medical news, researchers have discovered that an extract made from shellfish reduces scarring after certain medical procedures. It's a gel-like polysaccharide called chitosan, and it's injected up the nose after sinus operations.
I don't know what this means for my daily fix of squid goo — either my supply is about to be commodified, or the price is going to go up.
pharyngula | November 16, 2007Sepia officinalis
Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
pharyngula | November 13, 2007This link is NSFW or for anyone who knows anything about octopus anatomy—it's a couple of nudes with dangerously draped octopuses. I don't mind the nudity but I cringe inside at the thought of where those beaks are.
pharyngula | November 10, 2007
Since everyone on the planet is sending me this, I'd better post it. Besides, it's pretty!
pharyngula | November 10, 2007You have to see the mascot for Orangina, some fruity drink, to believe it. She's kind of hot in a peculiarly cephalopod/tetrapod hybrid way, but then…the video. Oh. My. Non-existent. God. Sex and furries. She gives a lap-dance to a bear-man and squeezes orange juice out of her mammaries.
My brain is scarred. I don't think I could ever drink Orangina without thoughts of bestiality frolicking unbidden through my head.
(No thanks to Jim Lippard for contaminating my brain with this stuff.)
pharyngula | November 7, 2007
I'm disappointed in Cory Doctorow. Look at the caption he put on this image:
I'm pretty taken with the sculptural work of Rune Olsen, which revels in a kind of twisting, arching form that lodges somewhere between titillating and disgusting.
I looked all over…so where's the 'disgusting'?