Weirdness
pharyngula | December 10, 2007The belts and straps and chains slipped that day! I had no idea there was a cameraman hanging around at the time.
It's a
nice T-Shirt anyway.
pharyngula | December 9, 2007This is weird. Am I dreaming that I'm blogging what I'm dreaming about? Or am I blogging that I'm dreaming about what I'm blogging about?
(hat tip to Adam Cuerden)
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 8, 2007You really don't want to know what goes on inside a slaughterhouse. That way, you'd never hear about toxic pig brain mist.
In a rapid-fire process that is noisy, smelly and bloody, severed pigs' heads are cut up at the head table at a rate of more than 1,100 an hour. Workers slice off the cheek and snout meat, then insert a nozzle in the head and blast air inside until the light pink mush that is the brain tissue squirts out from the base of the skull.
This is in the news right now because Minnesota slaughterhouse workers are coming down with an autoimmune disease, chronic inflammatory…
pharyngula | December 5, 2007This is some tree:
An important point of clarification. Some have objected to the diversity of terms used for this holiday: Cephalopodmas, Squidmas, Cuttlemas, Cthulhumas, Octopusmas, Nautilmas, etc. Do not be intolerant! This is a thoroughly ecumenical, non-sectarian holiday, and we gladly embrace all of our molluscan brethren. You can just call it 'podmas for short.
pharyngula | December 5, 2007OK, I saw these links to weird decorations, and except for this set, there's nary a cephalopod to be seen. And then I realized these aren't squidmas decorations, they're nerdmas decorations! Obscenity! Heresy! By not exclusively recognizing our sacred traditions and not snubbing alternatives, this is clearly an instance of the War on Squidmas.
Don't allow this to happen. When someone waves a Mario Bros. ornament at you, or shows up wearing a stormtrooper helmet, or says "Happy Nerdmas!", slap 'em with a tentacle and howl about how they're oppressing you.
pharyngula | November 28, 2007Since we're entering the holiday season, and I wouldn't want to be accused of contributing to the War on Christmas (oh, horrors!), here are some fortuitously christmassy entertainments.
If you're shopping for just the right gift for that devout Christian, look into the Twelve Days of Kitschmas. These are exactly the kind of garish ticky-tack most appropriate for your beloved followers of the prosperity gospel.
But perhaps you want to share with more spiritually minded loved ones. How about some Bible verses? In fact, how about the most badass verses in the entire Bible? 1 Samuel 18 suggests…
pharyngula | November 27, 2007Whether you love Christopher Hitchens or hate him, there's something here for you: you can read Hitchens' account of getting a full Brazilian. There are photos (don't worry, nothing to make one stagger to the fainting couch).
I think I'm going to have to cancel my appointment, though. It sounds like it hurts.
pharyngula | November 26, 2007For those of you who just like your cephalopods natural, here's a plush cuttlefish. It's cute and cuddly, and I wouldn't mind having one to snuggle up with.
On the other hand, if you like your cephalopods unnatural, you could carry out perverse and disturbing acts on ordinary stuffed animals, turning them into chthonic entities with alien properties.
They're all fun, and all part of a happy squidmas celebration!
pharyngula | November 25, 2007Looking for decorating ideas? This photo series shows how to make a beautiful squidmas tree.
pharyngula | November 25, 2007And Dorid is working on a coloring book.
I have no idea how atheism is getting all tangled up with squid.
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 21, 2007Nice t-shirt.
It might confuse people if I wore it, though, since they wouldn't be aware of the original cartoon.
pharyngula | November 20, 2007Instead of getting a couch, that guy who draws xkcd got a ball pit. This sounds like a good idea, since you can control who gets to use it.
Surely I'm not the only parent who has had the delightful experience of discovering a disposable diaper in the public ball pit? Personally, it kind of turned me off on the whole idea.
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, 2007I used to live on this stuff in the good ol' days.
Now you can get it on a t-shirt through the University of Texas at Austin School of Biological Sciences. Although, you know, "Texas flavor" does sound like it's setting up the punchline for a joke.