Indie Squid Kid

Underwater Land is a CD of marine-themed children’s songs, and it was Shel Silverstein’s last musical project before his death in 1999.  The Silverstein estate has finally released the album as both a CD and MP3 download, and both can be purchased from the Underwater Land project website, where you can also hear samples of several of the songs. The CD comes with a 32 page booklet featuring the lyrics of all 17 songs and previously unpublished Silverstein illustrations, and the download comes with a PDF version.

Underwater Land contains two cephalopod-themed songs: “Cuttlefish” and “Captain Octopus.” On the website you can hear a sample of “Captain Octopus” which is about all the different things an eight-armed sailor could do at once. Here’s excerpt of the lyrics…

And he can…

Raise the flag,

And paint the mast,

And lower the boom,

And polish the brass,

Squeeze the Juice,

And shine the boots,

And iron the captain’s sailor suit,

And still have one hand free

To give a salute.

(Via BoingBoing)

Ammonite, originally uploaded by elrina753.

This awesome replica of a turrilitid ammonite is from the Cretaceous Seas diorama at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. I don’t know exactly which type of turrilitid this is, but my best guess is the genus Pseudhelicoceras.

Members of the ammonite family Turrilitidae are characterized by shells that are not typical tight spirals—a condition known to paleontologists as heteromorph. It isn’t clear what ecological niche the turrilitids filled, but at least some species are thought to have drifted up and down in the water column. They lived world-wide during the late Cretaceous period, but, like all ammonites, they went extinct in the same global catastrophe that killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

We went to the NC State Fair today, so no “normal” ISK post tonight. Obviously it was Kid Indie Squid Kid’s first trip the Fair, but it was also my first time…and I’ve been a North Carolina resident for 25 years!

Here are some of the highlights…

chocolate-covered bacon!

all things are better deep fried

space angel

cryptids on the midway

requisite cephalopod!

Wonder Woman #75 (June, 1993)

Wonder Woman was created by psychologist William Moulton Marsten (who was also the inventor of the lie detector) and first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (1941). She has been in continuous publication (by DC Comics) ever since, and today is the world’s most iconic superheroine. Wonder Woman is one of the most powerful characters in the modern DC Universe, so this must be one strong octopus!

Brian Bolland drew the cover of this issue, and the story (called “The Last True Hero”) was written by Bill Messner-Loebs with pencils by Lee Moder. I’ve been unable to find a plot summary, but I have to assume that it contains at least one bout of sexy octopus wrestling. Exactly why Wonder Woman decided to soak her satin tights with a trip “Into The Depths!” will have to remain a mystery. At least for the time being…

design by Matheus Lopes and Emerson Rauth

Continuing the “octopus as artist” theme from yesterday’s post, this shirt is part of the Threadless Halloween Sale, and it’s going fast!

Buy on Threadless…just $10 while supplies last!

UPDATE: While the shirt is still in stock in a few sizes at this time, the Halloween Sale is already over, and the price is back up to $20.

This weekend I was at Target looking for a card for my friend Nick’s birthday, and I came across this…

I had no idea what the Sushi Pack is, but I knew two things.

1) An octopus superhero with an eye patch is very definition of awesome, and

2) This is the card I was getting for my friend! (It even beat out the “7th Birthdays are Magical” unicorn card!)

The back of the card tells me the octopus’ name is Tako, which makes sense since “tako maki” is, of course, the Japanese term for octopus sushi rolls. But I was still left wondering what Tako and the Sushi Pack’s story was. Fortunately, the Internet came to my rescue!

The Sushi Pack was an animated series that ran for 26 episodes from November 2007 to February 2009. The show, which aired on CBS, was a production of DIC Entertainment and American Greetings. I’m used to cartoons that seem to exist only to sell toys, but I didn’t realize there were ones meant to sell greeting cards as well! (I guess it worked!)

The Sushi Pack is a team of anthropomorphic sushi rolls that live in a donut shop. In addition to Tako Maki the octopus, the team’s membership includes Ikura Maki the salmon, Maguro Maki the tuna, Kani Maki the crab, and Wasabi Pow the, um, wasabi. There is also a group of evil sushi called the Legion of Low Tide, but the Sushi Pack would rather solve conflicts with friendship and teamwork than with fighting.

Tako Maki is the team’s unofficial leader, and the official Sushi Pack site has this to say about him…

A complex, charming and artistic octopus. He’s a suffering frustrated, misunderstood sushi who uses his ink-squirting capabilities for the peaceful expression of art.

Special Power: Shoots multi-colored ink.

Tako is voiced by British radio personality DJ Rick Adams (no relation).

First there was the Bearsharktopus, but now we see the gentler, fuzzier side of Ursine/Cephalopod hybridization.

Ursapus by Everyeskimo

Everyeskimo posted this wonderful creation to her blog on Friday, and it was apparently for sale in her Etsy shop. However, it must have been snapped up instantaneously, because by the time I got there Friday afternoon it was nowhere to be seen!

Coincidentally, Kid Indie Squid Kid was trying out his new bear costume over the weekend!

I’m not saying you have to decide which is the cutest, but if I did, I think you’d know the correct answer…

Coconut Octopus, originally uploaded by NG Richard.

Ever since I did the research for my Eight Awesome Octopuses post, the little Coconut Octopus is fast becoming my favorite eight-legged cephalopod. This image is cute and awesome and reminds me of a hamburger. That is all.

AKM is a company that makes novelty socks, which often feature animals, and that’s about all I know. (The Internet does not seem to want to give up its secrets on this one.) This cute pair of baby socks were purchased at the NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island gift shop. Each sock features a pair of pink octopuses and a white squid. (They also make a pair of socks for older kids with at least five pink octopuses and two purples squids per sock.)

Here they are being modeled by Kid Indie Squid Kid. These socks are even cuter when worn on a pair of cute little feet!

Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub #2 (Sept-Oct 1954)

Sadly, there’s not much to say about Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub, which ran for a mere seven issues between 1954 and 1955. Published by American Comics Group (ACG), the book featured the adventures of the title character and his three “Atomic Commandos.” That’s right, this was a nuclear submarine crewed by only four people! (They apparently needed all the extra space to house their “atomic plane.”) The giant octopus depicted on the cover (which was drawn by Ogden Whitney) appears to have the upper hand arm against the Atomic Sub, but I have a feeling that the tables get turned by the end of the story.

All seven issues were probably written by editor Richard E. Hughes (who co-created Doc Strange and Black Terror for Standard Comics), and most issues (including #2) were penciled by Sheldon Moldoff (best known as one of Bob Kane’s Batman ghost artists, and as artist and co-creator of many of DC Comics’ other Gold and Silver Age characters.)