What devilry is this? A T-shirt post on a day other than Tuesday?? Well, given the current trend of T-shirt sites that offer their designs for one day only, one has to learn to be flexible.
Of course, once again, I am a little late to the punch here, but this shirt is still available (only $10!) for a few hours more. It’s an octopus next to a pirate skull! What’s not to love? Buy it while you can from Ript Apparel.
I also have to give a shout out to Natalie for tipping me off about this one!
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.
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).
