Indie Squid Kid

Inside the deep blue…., originally uploaded by hendradive.

I write a lot about squids and octopuses here, but let’s not forget the lonely and majestic Nautilus. One has to travel to the Indo-Pacific to see a living Nautilus in its natural habitat, the deep slopes of coral reefs. Only six Nautilus species remain, the last representatives of a cephalopod group that has existed since the late Cambrian period (~500 million years ago).

And so International Cephalopod Awareness Day part 2 draws to a close…and yet I am still working on my big Octopus Day post! If I could stop coughing, I’m sure it things would go faster…

Pike Place squid, originally uploaded by penmachine.

This life-size metal sculpture of Architeuthis has been looming over shoppers in the heart of Seattle’s Pike Place Market since early 2002. Created by sculptor Pat Wickline, the 35′ long squid is made primarily of sheet copper.

Articulate Matter is a “sculptural webcomic” by Justina Kochansky. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday she publishes a new hand-crafted tableau of the daily lives of squids, jellyfish, and other marine creatures. Justina’s sculptures are delightfully detailed and super adorable. Here is a small selection of some of my recent favorites.

Zombie Squid

Phrenology

The Great Escape

Blind Date

Live Long and Prosper

Follow the continuing adventures of Justina’s squiddy creations at www.articulatematter.com, and visit her Etsy shop for prints and original sculptures.

Coincidentally, Articulate Matter was also mentioned today on Cephalopod Tea Party, a blog that I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to name check for a while now. CTP is maintained by a number of different contributors, and their main focus is cephalopod-themed arts and crafts from the Etsy community. Check them out at cephalopodteaparty.blogspot.com.

photo by Chrysophylax

Cthulhu action figure by SOTA Toys.

Carcassonne board game by Rio Grande Games.

Like I said yesterday, Dragon*Con is this weekend, and I am rather bummed not to be in attendance this year. The con is more than just a science-fiction or comic book convention, it is a chaotic multi-media/multi-genre extravaganza celebrating every corner of geeky popular culture. Here is but a small tentacled taste of Dragon*Con from the past few years. All photos are from my Flickr account, unless otherwise noted.

Doctor Octopus (Dragon*Con 2008)

Stygian Depths booth (Dragon*Con 2008)

"Doctor Cthulhu" (Dragon*Con 2008)

Photo by Foenix

Cthulhu and Ichigo (Dragon*Con 2007)

Photo by Futuregirl_LeahRiley

"tentacle monster" (Dragon*Con 2005)

squidbox2, originally uploaded by RiverOtterWidgetStudios.

This beautiful hand-carved wooden box by Jon Gosling was originally available on Etsy, but some lucky bastard beat me to it! A similar one is currently available at his River Otter Rustics Etsy shop, but, frankly, it’s not quite as cool as this one. Jon has another Etsy shop—River Otter Widget Studios—specializing in steampunk-themed items. Check it out!

R’lyeh is for lovers!, originally uploaded by jvsquare.

Here’s a close up of the R’lyeh “Other World” space on the core Arkham Horror game board. The heart is an Arkham stamina token. The Cthulhu figurine is from a different game—Unspeakable Words by Playroom Entertainment.

Today’s Music Week (and Flickr Friday) entry is a gorgeous handmade cephalopod-themed banjo ukulele by Michelanious.

Here’s the first image I saw (via Dinosaurs and Robots), but one photo is not enough! There is so much cool detail here, that I would be remiss if I didn’t share the entire set.

Jewel Squid – Submarine Ride 2540 Feet, originally uploaded by hankplank.

This photo was taken at a depth of 2540 ft off the coast of Roatan. The Jewel Squid (Histioteuthis sp.) are notable for having one eye that is significantly larger than the other. For this reason they are also known as the Cock-eye Squid. When feeding at night, Jewel Squids orient themselves so that the larger eye is pointing upward, presumably to spot potential prey as it is silhouetted against the surface. Histioteuthis are moderate sized squid, with a max mantel length of about 33cm.

Euprymna tasmanica (aka, the Southern Dumpling Squid)

Originally posted by Saspotato.

This cute little guy is a Southern Dumpling Squid—a species of bobtail squid found in the coastal waters of Southern Australia. It grows to maximum length of 7cm and spends its days buried in the sandy bottom. For camouflage, it creates a mucus-lined coat of sand which can be shed quickly (with the help of acid glands) to create a decoy if attacked. Bobtail squid (Sepiolida) are closely related to cuttlefish, and they have a symbiotic relationship with bioluminescent bacteria, which inhabit a special light-emitting organ in their mantle.

This drawing (based on the photo at the top of the post) is by Joe Komenda. Joe is the creator of the webcomic Feral Chicken, the inventor of the bacon-infused Bloody Mary (yum!), and one of the many über-talented people I have the good fortune to know. The orignal drawing now lives in my house, and once I figure out where to hang it, I’ll post an update here.