Indie Squid Kid

Speaking of podcasts…the newest episode of Skeptic Magazine’s Monster Talk podcast is out, and it’s all about the mythos and monsters of H.P. Lovecraft. In the show, Lovecraft scholar Robert M. Price discusses the life, works, and cultural impact of the master of cosmic horror. Additionally, biologist PZ Myers (of the Pharyngula blog) talks about the biology of cephalopods and how they served as the inspiration for Lovecraft’s most famous creation. (Spoiler Alert: it’s Cthulhu.)

The episode is a little over 1 hour long, and I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet. Of course, I have quite a bit of extra time on my hands these days (in theory at least), so I’m sure I can block out some time for one of my favorite topics!

You can download the episode (June 16, show 019) and read the show notes here.

Monster Talk is a skeptical look at the creatures of cryptozoology and folklore. Hosts Blake Smith, Ben Radford, and Dr. Karen Stollznow interview scientists and other experts about the science (or lack thereof) behind the word’s legendary beats.

You can subscribe to Monster Talk for free via RSS or iTunes.

Mur’s octopus, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.

I took this picture myself, so this might be cheating, but, hey, it’s my blog, and I choose to allow it!

This sinuous red cephalopod adorns the side of my friend Mur’s Rav4. Made by Tonky Designs, it is intended to be a wall decal, but it has actually weathered quite well on the outside of her car. (Mur has had it for several years at this point.)

It is available in fourteen different colors and in two sizes:
Large (43″ by 23″) – $50
Small (20″ by 10″) – $30

Buy it now from Tonky Designs.

(via BoingBoing)

If you are going to join a parody religion, it might as well be one that reveres cephalopods!

www.tarvu.com

Russian Cthulu, originally uploaded by peacay.

This looks like a job for the Vulgar Army!

Esty seller post is the creator of both a line of elegant and sexy illustrated stockings, and an assortment of quirky stickers for your toilet or laptop (under the guise of seller Fresh Decals).

Pictured here are the small/medium, white, full-length Octopus tights/stockings ($23), but this design is also available in additional sizes, colors and styles. Other designs to decorate your gams include bats, butterflies, and snow flakes.

And even if you don’t have the figure for moderately erotic pantyhose, chances are you have at least one toilet…

This vinyl decal is 13″ by 8″ and is the perfect way to jazz up your porcelain throne (or refrigerator or window or whatever). It costs $13 and also comes in black or white. (Be sure to specify which color you want…black is shipped by default!) For $8, you can also get a smaller version (~7.8″ by 6.3″), perfect for laptops. Other available designs include sharks, jellyfish, pandas, and unicorns.

BoingBoing beat me to it, but Gama-Go has an awesome new line of retro floaty pens, including, obviously, this one featuring the classic Gama-Go squid! Tip the pen and send sailors TO THEIR DOOM!

Buy it now for $5 (per pen), or get all six styles for $20.

I realized that I left out a couple of things from last night’s post, so here’s there rest…

The big book is Prehistoric Life: The Definitive History of Life On Earth by DK Publishing. It’s opened to the the section on Cretaceous invertebrates, and the reconstructed ammonite depicted there is the genus Scaphites.

The ceramic octopus was a gift from my friend Mur, and as soon as I know who made it (or where she got it) I will post an update here.

Lastly, we have one of this year’s Hallmark Keepsake ornaments. “Learning with Mr. Ray” depicts one of my favorite scenes from Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo. One of Nemo’s classmates is a young Flapjack Octopus (Opisthoteuthis californiana) named Pearl. Flapjacks, like all Cirrate octopuses, are deep-sea cephalopods, so, if she could have even survived living in a coral reef at all, Pearl must have been a transfer student or something. All the same, it’s nice to see obscure cephalopod species depicted in popular culture!

My plans for a week of short Christmas ornament posts got waylaid by a time destroying combination of illness, work, weather, and social commitments. So here are the two that were intended for Thursday and Friday…

This Santopus (or should that be Cephaloclaus?) ornament sports a biologically inaccurate toothy grin (and eye brows), but I’m willing to go easy on it because its arms all twist and curl in different directions. And I think that’s neat.

This one is probably my favorite of the bunch—a Sperm Whale and and a Giant Squid (and some echinoderms) on a wreath of seaweed. The ornament came from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. It is particularly appropriate because the museum’s logo was inspired by one of the oldest specimens in their collection: a complete skeleton of Physeter macrocephalus.

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like Hellboy draped in tentacles., originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.

The classic image of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy draped in giant tentacles, that we first saw in Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #2 (1994), was finally rendered in Christmas ornament form in 2002. The ornament was sculpted by the now apparently defunct Big Chief Studios and released by Dark Horse Comics.