Indie Squid Kid

Target has always been good for the occasional cephalopod-themed product, but lately I seem to spot a new one every time I go there (which, for some reason, seems to be a least once a day ever since I got laid off last month). Here is an assortment of recent finds:

Little Tikes® Party Machine bubble blower

Disney Club Penguin "Squidzoid"

I know that Club Penguin is a MMORPG for kids, but I have no idea why this penguin is wearing a squid costume. I approve, of course, I just don’t get it.

Circo® Sealife Collection waste can

This same one-eyed, seven-legged pirate (presumabely) octopus adorns a whole series of new items from Circo: shower curtain, beach towel, bath towl, kids’ apron, kids’ dishes, etc. The collection also features cute little whales, sharks and submarines.

Here are two surreal Star Wars/octopus mashups that were posted recently at Distracted by Star Wars, one of my favorite Tumblr sites.

Star Wars and cephalopods, two great tastes that taste great together!

"The Disorder is Me" ©Rubens Cantuni

See more by this artist at TokyoCandies.com.

"Octotrooper" ©Aaron Jasinski

Visit this artist at deviantArt for Octo-Fett, Octo-Vader, and more!

Dan Beard, 1887

Via Cephalolove (via finegarten)

Via Succeed Blog

Mr. Sardonicus sent me this sighting of a super-detailed line of Japanese gashapon (aka capsule toys).

He says,

Produced by Takara/Tomy, the complete set includes 10 figures (3 octopi, 2 cuttlefish, 4 squid, and 1 “secret” argonaut) and runs upwards of $75, but it’s not too difficult to find individuals being sold on eBay for $10 or less.

I’ll definitely have to keep an eye out for these. Thanks Brian!

At long last, Dr. John Zoidberg makes his debut appearance on Indie Squid Kid!

I don’t know the identity of the artist who did this, so I have to assume it was spontaneously generated by the Internet just to make me happy.

Thanks to my brother-in-law Alec for sending this my way!

Yeah, I know, I’m a few days late, but Happy New Year!!! I probably say this every year, but I have a feeling that 2010 will be the Year of the Cephalopod. (Well, I don’t say that about 2010 every year, but you know what I mean.)

My week offline, while a pleasant change of pace, has resulted in a large backlog (well, larger than normal) of material for the blog. So, let’s start with a trio of octopuses I spotted at the Antropologie store at my local mall.

These De Vincennes Dinner Plates are Antropologie exclusives by artist Nathalie Late. They are $24 each and are also available at the Anthropologie website.

Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities by John M. Carrera.

When I was a kid I was always fascinated by the illustrations in the dictionary. I used to make up stories, often about a zoo that put all their animals in alphabetical order and you traveled through it in a series of similarly organized vehicles. Anyway, this book contains over 1,500 engravings from 19th century editions of the Webster’s dictionary. And yes, they are arranged alphabetically.

List price $35.00. Also available at Amazon.com.

Lastly, we have The ABC of Animals Activity Book by the North American Bear Company. It contains a cute little plush animal for each letter of the alphabet. O is, of course, for Octopus, and well…that’s all that matters isn’t it?

List price $75.00. Also available at Amazon.com.

Lynne Rutter, of The Ornamentalist blog, recently shared how she transformed a detached garage into this fabulous steampunk aquarium scene!

(Via The Steampunk Home)

Large Plush Squid Hat/Pillow - Blue

I’ve been meaning to blog about Obey My Brain Creations for quite a while now, ever since my friend Xtina sent me the link to his Etsy shop several months ago. However, it was Leah Riley’s recent post on her blog that convinced me to get off my ass and talk about squid hats.

OMB squid hats are, to put it simply, RAD. It’s as if a squid is trying to eat your head! They also can double as pillows, so you can get a good night’s sleep after a night out on the town.

Here are the specs for the large size hat:

Designed to fit snugly to an 22.5″ head circumference, it is stretchy enough to fit an inch or so larger.
Body: 16 inches
Arms: 14 inches
Tentacles: 24 inches

Made from 100% polyester fleece and filled with clean/safe polyester filling. The eyes have fleece details.

$49.99 USD

There is a slightly smaller medium size ($34.99), and a variety of available colors in both sizes (blue, pink, yellow, and tie-died purple at the time of this writing). For a mere $6, you can get a pair of plush bulgy eyes to accessorize your squid!

He also offers a plush octopus hat, some Cthulhu-themed art, and lots of other stuff featuring sharks, robots, mushrooms and more!

This post is also serves as the unofficial start of this week’s theme…Halloween!!!

Hot on the heels of Jameson’s inclusion of a giant octopus in their latest whiskey commercial, comes a new brand of rum whose entire marketing campaign and brand identity is cephalopod-based—The Kraken Black Spiced Rum. The Kraken’s website includes offers for a free poster (”Put a Beast in Your Belly”),  free 47 page book , and this trio of cool clip-arty animated videos:

Admittedly, I’ll buy just about anything promoted by a cephalopod, but I really want to try this rum.  (I also think a bottle of Kraken would look good an a shelf next to some Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head vodka.)

Sighted by Nick