Indie Squid Kid

Frozen giant squid, originally uploaded by Timmy Toucan.

Preserved Architeuthis dux at the Melbourne Aquarium.

Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Concern is the cyber-arm of Dave Eggers’ hipster publishing empire. If you need one reason to pay this site a visit, that reason would be Notes on “Sweet Child O’ Mine” as delivered to Axl Rose by his editor. If you need a second reason, I reckon that would be this shirt here.

“Squid T-shirt” features the two largest living invertebrates: Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni (aka the Colossal Squid) and Architeuthis dux (aka the Giant Squid). While it is true that the Colossal Squid edges out the Giant Squid in both mass and length, “Mr. McSweeney” has perhaps misrepresented this size difference just a tad.

This American Apparel shirt is $22.00 and comes in men’s and women’s sizes. Be warned, however, these sizes run small. I have a men’s large, and, despite losing about 30 lbs in the past year, it still doesn’t quite look flattering on me (which is why I didn’t post a photo of myself wearing the shirt). That being said, you should still…

Buy it now from The McSweeney’s Store!

Dan Beard, 1887

Via Cephalolove (via finegarten)

“Bobtail squid with a handlebar moustache” by Nick Hobgood

For his senior thesis in the Illustration department at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Jim Tierney re-designed the dust jackets of four classic Jules Verne novels, including a particularly squid-tastic cover for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. If these books were for sale I would totally buy them. With money!

Jules Verne cover designs by Jim Tierney from Jim Tierney on Vimeo.

Via Faceout Books

Visit www.jimtierneyart.com to find out more about the designer and his process, and for detailed views of these beautiful creations.

“Give me your tentacled, your beaked
Your writhing masses yearning to break free,
The eldrich recluse at your teeming shore,
Send these, of head-foot, sucker-hook to me
I lift my lamp, you lift your photophore!”
(with apologies to Emma Lazarus)

This poem is dedicated to Gama-Go, the Official Clothier of the Coming Cepalopocalypse.

“Squid Liberty” is $28, and it is available in Navy and Army. (But not Coast Guard, for some reason…)

Buy it now from Gama-Go

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!

February has been a hectic and exhausting month, and it turns out I needed a little break from my usual frenetic schedule of daily blog posts. (Plus I’ve become slightly addicted to the Winter Olympics.) Of course, during the down time I’ve ended up with a large backlog of material—not the least of which are the final two entries of the Ten Sensational Squids countdown. So, while I work on getting caught up, please enjoy the following video presentation by David Gallo, which reminds us all why cephalopods are so freakin’ awesome.

$30 from Anonymous Venice

Available in Royal Blue and Black and “fits true to size,” whatever that means.

Fans of other ironically unlikely animal battles might also want to check out Shark VS Bear, Lion VS Gator, or Ape VS Elk.

Via Cephalolove

3. Magnapinna sp.

Pacific Bigfin Squid, photo by Richard E. Young (from tolweb.org)

Rare and poorly understood, Bigfin Squid were first formally defined in the 1990’s (although a single damaged specimen discovered in 1907 —M. talismani—has been subsequently assigned to the genus). Species of Magnapinna are characterized by small heads, large eyes, and very large fins that extend well beyond the posterior tip of the mantle. Almost all specimens described to date have been paralarvae or juveniles, and the adult forms are officially unknown. However, on multiple occasions in recent years, ROV submersibles have captured footage of a previously unknown large squid that is suspected to be the adult form of Magnapinna. Also known as the Long-arm Squid, these mysterious cephalopods are unlike anything previously observed.

photo by NOAA (from Wikipedia)

Its arms and tentacles (which are of equal length) are held perpendicular to the body and then angle downward (sometimes at 90°) at strange “elbows.” The relative length of arms/tentacles to the body is greater than in any other known squid (15-20 times the mantle length), and the total length of the animal is estimated to be as much as 8 meters (~26 feet). The Long-arm Squid has been observed in the Gulf of Mexico, the Indian Ocean, waters off Ghana and Brazil, and, as seen here, Hawaii.