Indie Squid Kid

Today is 10/10/10, which of course means that today is International Squid Awareness Day (for a few minutes more, at least)! To celebrate, I am announcing my new project: Architeuthis Across America…and Beyond!

The goal of AAA…B is to identify as many locations as possible that have on display either A) a preserved specimen, B) a life-size replica/model, or C) a sculpture or mural of Architeuthis (or other large cephalopod). To this end I have created the Google Map you’ll find embedded below.

View Architeuthis Across America…and Beyond in a larger map

This is still very much a work in progress, but eventually each pin on the map will include notes describing what you can expect to find there, squid-wise, as well as the occassional helpful hint. Additionally, each location will get a write-up here on ISK, and because I haven’t personally been to most of these places, any reader input/travel tips will be greatly appreciated. I’d like this to be as comprehensive as possible, so drop me a line if I’ve left anything out!

Once the our little teuthic travel guide is complete, all that will be left to do is rent a Giant Squid U-Haul and hit the open road!

In ancient times, sailors were constantly losing track of their drinking vessels. If you set down your tankard of grog for even a second, it was very likely to be absconded (sometimes inadvertently, sometimes not) by one of your fellow mariners. This problem grew exponentially during the cocktail parties which were thrown at regular intervals on long voyages. It was at one such ship-board soiree that an enterprising seaman (whose identity, sadly, has been lost to history) first grabbed a handy cephalopod and wrapped it around his cup as a way of easily distinguishing it from those of his shipmates. This venerable (and completely made-up) tradition lives on in this set of colorful cocktail charms from the kitschmeisters at Accoutrements.

These cute little plastic squids (not quite anatomically accurate, but that’s OK) come in a mix of red, blue, green, yellow, and, as you can see below, they perch on the rim of your glass, looking as though they just climbed out of your drink.

Here you see a cocktail squid in action on the Bloody Mary I made myself tonight. (We were having omelettes for dinner, so it seemed only appropriate.) I would normally have used Kraken rum for a demo like this, but, tragically, we finished off our bottle last month!

One could also use these charms on a wine glass…say one full of The Tentacle 2008 Syrah. However, it doesn’t appear that Accoutrements makes these anymore, so if you want to obtain your own shimmering rainbow school of tiny plastic cephalopods, Ebay may be your only option.

©Marvel Comics

Patsy Walker: Hellcat was a five-issue mini-series from the Fall of 2008. Here’s the official description from Marvel (which, you’ll notice, doesn’t mention anything about fighting a Colossal Squid…you’d think that would be their main selling point!):

Iron Man’s one-woman Initiative team for Alaska finds herself in WAY over her head. Patsy Walker, Hellcat, is thrust into a world of magic, witches, rally-cars and demons of all shapes and sizes, and all she thought she was going to do was rough up a few lumber-thieves.

Written by Kathryn Immonen, Penciled by David Lafuente, Cover by Stuart Immonen

Patsy Walker was created by Ruth Atkinson, and she debuted in Miss America Magazine #2 (November 1944), a teen romance comic. Up until the late 60s, the character appeared in similar genre titles like Girl’s Life and Teen Comics, as well as staring in Patsy Walker, Patsy and Hedy, and Patsy and Her Pals. A cameo in Fantastic Four #3 (1965) established Patsy’s place in the Marvel superhero universe, and by 1976 (The Avengers #144), she had been given the costumed identity of Hellcat. She would later join the superhero team the Defenders, where she would meet future husband Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. Long story short, Patsy was driven mad, commited suicide, went to Hell, developed psychic powers, and was eventually resurrected. She sided with Iron Man in Marvel’s big Civil War crossover event (2006-2007), which leads us into the events of the Patsy Walker: Hellcat series.

©Skot Olsen

The artist’s own words pretty much say it best…

Saint Architeuthis is the patron saint of doomed sailors. While the origins of the saint remain unclear, it’s recent history and worship are well documented. Whalers who turned their attention to catching giant squid and sea serpents in the 19th century, began asking Saint Architeuthis for mercy whenever a hunt would go awry, which was fairly frequent. When hunting for such animals, one would sometimes be thrown over board or a boat would sink exposing the men to whatever was in the water at the time. A sailor would ask Saint Architeuthis for the quick and relatively painless death of drowning, rather than the hideous demise of being ripped apart by the beak of the squid or chewed up in the sea serpent’s hideous maw. Often, men would have visions of Saint Architeuthis who would appear before them in the form of a gigantic, yet benevolent squid wearing a bishop’s mitre and carrying tools of the squid hunter’s trade.

Still available: Limited Edition (signed and numbered run of 50) Gliclee on heavy watercolor stock; 14.5″ x 27″. $200

This was recently submitted by my friend Will, and it seems particularly timely because I just finished reading Kraken by China Miéville. Although not specifically mentioned in the book, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this painting adorns the secret sanctuary of the Church of God Kraken.

The following squidtastic fabric patterns are part of the Sepia and Sky collection by Holli Zollinger. They are available from Spoonflower.com, a marketplace for print-on-demand textiles by independent creators. You can purchase any of these “Candy Squid” designs in a variety of fabric types and in sizes ranging from an 8″ x 8″ test swatch ($5) to multiple yards of cloth ($18-$32 per yard, depending on fabric).

Click on any of the images below to buy from Spoonflower or to find out more info.

I apologize for the lack of posts these past weeks. We’ve been having major issues with our home WiFi network, and it is taking much longer to diagnose and fix than should be permissible in polite society.

Also, I’ve been busy fighting an uppity squid, Nemo-style.

Yeah, that’s it…

This amazing animation showing how Physeter macrocephalus uses echolocation to hunt, is from the Whales Tahora exhibit now at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The Sperm Whale starts out hunting boring old fish, but don’t worry, he meets an delicious Architeuthis by the end of the clip!

(Via rhamphotheca)

Today’s featured design appears to have two different names. The tank top is called “Squid Swarm,” but the identical design on a t-shirt is simply called “Squids.” Both are available only in Womens sizes in the colors shown. (Although they have a Mens shirt called “Squid Swarm,” it is actually a different design! But let’s save that for another post, shall we?)

"Sqiud Swarm" Tank|$25

“A reprint of a Squidfire classic on a green m￩lange racerback tank top. Tri-Blend (50% Polyester / 25% Cotton / 25% Rayon) construction.”

Buy now from Squidfire!

"Squids" T-shirt|$25

“A new look on a Squidfire classic. This three color print on an American Apparel purple shirt features a school of octopi [sic] lounging by some seaweed.”

Buy now from SquidFire!

One final observation…the cephalopods depicted on these shirts seem a little confused on whether they are squids or octopuses. They are torpedo-shaped like a squid, but they seem to be missing fins. Furthermore, they have eight arms, but there is no sign of the pair of long feeding tentacles found on most squid. They could, I suppose, be a type of Octopus Squid (like Taningia danae), but if that were the case, they should have really HUGE fins. Of course, I would know better than to be a nit-picky bio geek when in the company of lovely ladies such as these! Sure I do.

From Octophant.us:

In 1933 a bathysphere expedition intended to break the world record for ocean descent was lost under mysterious circumstances. The cause of the disaster was never determined and no three-toed sloth was ever put in command of a bathysphere again.

Hand-printed edition of 70. Signed and numbered.

This print was 11″ x 23″ and only cost $20, but, tragically, it is sold out (at least at the time of this writing).

Phineas’ site has many more pieces of cephalopod-themed art, and some are still available! Visit Octophant.us to find out more.

Here we have another of this year’s birthday presents, and I’ll be posting a full review eventually. China Miéville crafts staggeringly original and brilliantly twisted fantasy stories, and, so far, Kraken is continuing this trend.

The Story So Far: Billy Harrow is a curator (an expert mollusc preparator) at London’s Darwin Centre. When he discovers that the museum’s prize Architeuthis specimen has mysteriously vanished, Billy finds himself thrown into a secret world of myth and magic where a cult of squid worshipers are just one of many factions trying to own the impending apocalypse.