Giant Squid caught on film for Cephalopodmas

I’m not crediting this to anyone, because it seems that everyone but me has already mentioned it. (UPDATE: Metro whined, so he gets credit. But Archie is nicer) But I heard about it straight from the Squid, so there nyeah.

 

Some 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo, a giant sea creature lurks beneath the ocean surface.

Japanese scientists at the National Science Museum of Japan caught this big reddish animal on film, during research on habitats in the deep sea.

The three-and-a-halfmetre long squid is still a baby by giant squid standards.

It’s been captured some 650 meters under the water.

[Tsunemi Kunodera, Chief Researcherg]: “Nobody – except for fishermen – had ever seen live giant squids. We believe this is the first time a live giant squid was captured on video.”

This legendary animal hasn’t ever survived capture. Samples are pickled in a container for further research.

Dwelling in the deep seas, these monster squids are believed to grow to a tremendous size… with unconfirmed reports of some up to 20 meters long.

Japanese Scientists are also the first in the world to take still pictures of the squid in its natural environment during 2005.

pic o’ the day: the Aurora Borealis, seen from space

Gawd knows where I stumbled across this, but I had to post it. If this is what it looks like from the space shuttle, imagine what it looks like from directly below! I had the coolest parents when I was little (it was only when I got to be older that they became a PIA); they would wake us up if there were a particularly beautiful set of Northern Lights, so we grew up with the Aurora for our show and tell items, because we were the only little kids who were awake at midnight to watch them.

I also remember a night in Winnipeg, record cold, too, when, just as my mother finished setting the table and called us in for dinner, a huge snowy owl flew right into the living room’s picture window. SMASH! I tell ya, we even turned off Tommy Hunter, even though he had Glenn Campbell on that night! Yep, it was that special.

By the time my father got outside to investigate, the owl was gone. Not the first or last guest to come to temporary grief and lasting headache over the cocktail hour chez raincoaster, alas, but perhaps the prettiest.

We think he was making for the poodle, but we will never know for certain…

Aurora Borealis from space

saw this and thought of you: dried squid postcards

Dried squid...what does it look like, eh?Say so much, without saying a word.

Living, as I do, in Chinatown, I have gotten used to cultural dissonance as my default mode of being. I’ve lived here for six years now and I still say to myself “Holy crapola, look at that dried squid! Craaaaazy shit! And those dried minnows…shiny!!!” Well to be fair, I don’t have cable; I’m starved for entertainment.

But for years I’ve walked past these piles, bins, and impromptu Cthalderesque mobiles of dried squid and thought I wonder if the post office would deliver one if I put a stamp and an address on it.

Now Pink Tentacle reports (via Japanprobe) a Japanese company has taken the guesswork out of the process; they are producing edible postcards made of dried squid.

 Residents of the coastal town of Susami in Wakayama prefecture love the sea and the post office so much that the town once installed a mailbox on the ocean floor for scuba divers. Now, further evidence of this powerful sea/mail love comes in the form of “Surumail” — edible postcards made from squid.

Produced by the Susami fishing cooperative, Surumail postcards consist of dried surume squid (Todarodes pacificus), the local seafood specialty. The squid jerky is flattened and vacuum-packed into the shape of a postcard, and an adhesive label is included for the postage, delivery address and a short message.

So, should you get an unspeakably oceanically-scented and fully-digestable Cthristmas Cthard from me this year, don’t be too surprised.

Surimail, y'all

site o’ the day: the horny manatee

via Defamer, to whom we are still speaking.

I could make a pun, but when you’re talking about a horny manatee site (with bonus fan art!) what more can you say, really. Ladies and gentlemen, from Conan O’Brian and the deep blue sea comes the Horny Manatee! Be sure to click through all the galleries, including Upskirt Shots, Shaved Manatee, and Fetish Manatee, and don’t miss the Live Webcam!

Horny Manateen!

The fan art is really sumpin’ to see, too!

fan art on the horny manatee

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the meaning of life

according to they lion, from whence I stole this and raincoaster, it(the meaning of life)’s in here if you look hard enough. On enough fine spirits; we recommend armagnac.

Many of you believe that pandas are cute. This video will leave you either bitterly disillusioned or more in love with these strange marsupials than ever before. But make no mistake, you will be changed forever.

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