Giant Squid: your Saturday science vid!

I am sure that I speak for many when I say I miss those endless Saturday afternoon nature shows that came on between the sports. Take thirteen minutes and climb with me back into the cosy, cowboy-printed sleepingbag of your childhood as we watch The Search for the Giant Squid!

from the YouTube notes:

For centuries, sailors have told tales of sea monsters with massive tentacles. But it was only recently that a giant squid was actually filmed. One man has spent his life tracking the elusive creatures.

When his large, powerful yacht slowed to a virtual stop, Olivier de Kersauson knew he had a problem. “I saw two arms, twice the size of my arm, grabbing the rudder.” A giant squid had got caught in the propeller. “It had a lot of power and started to shake the boat.” It was a sight Dr Steve O’Shea would love to have witnessed. For over 30 years he’s been chasing the rare creatures. But recently, he’s become aware of a disturbing trend. “Squids are incredibly good barometers of environmental health”, he explains. “If I go back 10 years, I had 23 giant squids in one year. Now, because of the intensity of fishing, it’s tailed down to one a year.”

And here is the requisite wistful portrait demonstrating the futility and the beauty of human hopes and dreams, from the New Yorker.

add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: :: TailRank

Cthulhu Ctholouring Book

Cthulhu monsters by mail

Awwwwwwww, isn’t He adorable? So Cthute! Hat-tip to Cobwebs for this one.

Monster by Mail is as bizarre a fundraiser as I’ve ever seen, and as you know, we’re all about the bizarre and somewhat about the raising of funds here (didja notice the Paypal button? Support Operation Global Media Domination Now! Currently the status of OGMD is Global Media Slightly Annoyed, and that simply won’t do!) so here we are, posting about it.

It’s a natural, really. The birth of a baby brings great joy to the family and, not infrequently, thoughts of grim death, particularly at three in the morning when you’ve got a big meeting at eight and the sprog has been trying out for the Olympic Yodelling team for the past four hours.

And it is a fact universally acknowledged that a young, artsie, American couple in possession of a new baby must be in want of a bit of spare cash.

So Monster by Mail was born.

Summer is Here! And you know what that means: BRAAAINS! This round of Monster By Mail is a good-old fashioned standby: Zombies. Here’s how it works. You give me a name for your Zombie and I’ll draw it. You’ll get the original art in the mail within a few days. For an extra ten spot, I’ll make a video of the creation of your monster. And for the best value, choose the Mondo Monster Package* which gets you art, video and a “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Eat Brains” Zombie T-shirt with your order. (See it right here.) (And yes, I can do cartoonish zombie portraits if you ask nicely and provide a decent photo.) So what are you waiting for? Grab a blunt object and let’s start killing… er, drawing some zombies!

And now, the colouring book! Why didn’t I think of this for my birthday? Colouring in a Cthulhu colouring book has got to be the best way I can think of to prevent creeps from talking to you on the bus!



Zombie Letters from e-zombie.com

add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: :: TailRank

Jumbo Squid: we’re in ur oeshunz, attakin ur videocameras

Yes, another YouTube. I tried to hold off on this one (hey, seafood stays fresh for a long time, right?) but got scooped by weirdscience and poked by StilettoGirl, and so can contain myself no longer!

Let my Calamari go!

Dosidicus gigas wants to be free!

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

So who cares if they’re in California, eating all the seafood. We’ve got an inundation of tourists eating all of ours, up and down the coasts of Robson Street, and you don’t hear us complaining, though nary a Prawn Skewer they leave for us locals!

Come to think of it, if I ever start a rock band I’m totally gonna call it Jumbo Squid Invasion!

add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: :: TailRank

the flying jellyfish of Singapore

Jellyfish Balloons of SingaporeJellyfish Balloons of Singapore

As constant readers know, we at the ol’ raincoaster blog just can’t get enough of the gigantic, icky Jellyfish thang. I think (we thinks?) we’ve been traumatized ever since we went kayaking during the Great Indian Arm Jellyfish Migration and ended up accidently scooping them onto the paddles with every stroke, wherefrom they would sliiiiiiiiiide down the handle and onto our hands YUCJYUCKYIKUGH and then plop onto the spray skirt, where we’d have to flick them off with the back of our hand encased in a plastic bag, ew!

But we’re over that.

In any case, imagine our thrillation and excititivity when we found that according to the Guardian (source of the above flying jellyfish imagey corroboration) Singapore has apparently got an entire festival devoted to giant, flying jellyfish. Well all we can say is, if there were giant flying jellyfish around these parts, we’d be all for The Festival. Festivities? Festivatin’, yo. Gotta keep ’em happy; the specter of a world filled with giant, flying, pissed-off jellyfish is too horrible to bear!

add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: :: TailRank

relativity and seafood

More in seafood news…from Evilkid Productions, via Mistress Cowfish.

Lobsters

add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: :: TailRank