Nautilus collage by Able Parris
June 28, 2008
cuttlefish…er…nautilus, originally uploaded by able parris.
Here’s another piece of collage art, this time featuring the chambered nautilus, Nautilus pompilius (although it might actually be a Palau nautilus, Nautilus belauensis–the two are very similar).
The nautilus is, of course, the only extant shelled cephalopod, and the fossil record indicates that it has changed very little in the past 500 million years. There remain 6 species of nautilus (and 2 genera), all confined to the Indo-Pacific, inhabiting deep slopes of coral reefs.
Although this piece is not part of my collection, the original just happens to be on the wall next to my desk at Newfangled Web Factory, and it’s creator, Able Parris, is one of my coworkers.
To see more of Able’s fantastic collage art, visit www.ableparris.com.
Giant Squid found off California coast
June 27, 2008
From the Santa Cruz Sentinel via BoingBoing
Remains of a rare giant squid turned up off the coast of Santa Cruz, California yesterday. According to researchers from the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, this specimen was probably 25 feet long and weighed hundreds of pounds when alive. Only one giant squid has ever been caught on video alive.
From the Santa Cruz Sentinel:
A flock of gulls feeding on the carcass alerted the crew to the remains. Their first thought, said crew members, was that the animal was a seal but after motoring closer to it they recognized the chewed-up squid…
(Giant squid expert and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History curator Eric) Hochberg said there’s likely several squid along the California coast, but because the animal swims at depths of thousands of feet, it’s almost never seen and difficult to study…
“The animal is just so big and so rare … it’s very easy for people to get a little nervous about what it is, and the stories go from there,” Hochberg said.
Subbies Squiddy®
June 23, 2008
Subbies – Squiddy, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.
It’s summertime, and, for many, that means regular trips to the pool. I have to admit, I don’t have much use for swimming pools these days unless they are the kind that have a swim-up bar. However, if I were a regular pool-goer, you can bet this little guy would be my constant companion.
Meet Squiddy, the marvelous motorized mock-mollusk!
This was a house warming gift, so I don’t know where it was originally purchased, but it is by Mind Walk, a maker of fine aquatic and magnetic toys. It is a member of the Subbies line, which, at some point during the last 6 years, must have been bitten by a radioactive pool toy or something because they are now called Super Subbies. (Incidentally, other Super Subbies include Orky the Orca and Manty the Ray.)
Squiddy is powered by two AA batteries (not included) and, as the marketing copy says…”He Scoots Through The Water With His Arms Trailing After!” And, just in case one catchy tagline wasn’t enough, the back of the package tells us that Squiddy is “Cool In The Pool…A Blast In The Bath! And…”Watch Him Spin, Flip, and Race…All Over The Place!”
You can tell by all the exclamation points that is is a very exciting toy!
Capsule ‘Pods
June 12, 2008
gumball cephalopods, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.
Here are two of the littlest cephalopods in the collection–a six-armed squid (another one!) and a very surprised looking octopus.
If memory serves, these came from one of those toy capsule “gumball” machines at Toys R’ Us (or was it K-Mart?)…you know the kind that usually have shoddy Pokemon knock-offs, Hannah Montana stickers, or, if you’re lucky, Homies.
This would have been in the late 1990s, around the time my cephalopod collecting mania was really picking up steam. I don’t know how many quarters I fed into the machine just to get these two little guys, but I’m sure that somewhere I have an entire shoal of tiny rubber sea creatures with similar wide-eyed expressions.
Incidentally, I used a dime for scale because President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a well known amateur malacologist.
And yes, that was lie.
Nemo sticker
June 9, 2008
Nemo sticker, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.
More mystery comic swag!
I got this at Heroes Con 2006 (Charlotte, NC), and, again, I have no idea if it is trying to promote anything specific. Anyone out there recognize it?
It is also one of the many awesome stickers that remained affixed to my MacBook when I finally had to return it following my layoff. A damn shame, really, I was just getting started…
What Would Cthulhu Do?
June 7, 2008
What Would Cthulhu Do?, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.
I mentioned in my previous post that I used to work at the Bull’s Head Bookshop, the trade book store at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Our offices were in the basement of the main Student Stores building, and, as a result, we had no windows. So, in what some might consider a futile attempt to disguise the bare cinder block walls, we took to decorating with with images cut from magazines, effectively turning our work space into a series of giant collages.
This is a small section of the wall above my desk, and it is a single unit composed of three separate elements:
1. Tessek the Quarren (aka Squid Head), who is obviously deep in thought. Taken from an issue of Star Wars Insider.
2. Two different shots of Vampyroteuthis infernalis, commonly known as the vampire squid. From some wildlife magazine or other.
3. The caption that ties it all together, “What Would Cthulhu Do”–cut from various book inventory bar code labels.
Frogmen Vs. Radioactive Octopus
June 5, 2008
Frogmen Vs. Radioactive Octopus, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.
The elusive octopus finally makes an appearance (the first of many, to be sure) here at Indie Squid Kid, but this is no shy sea creature…
Behold the awesomeness that is Frogmen Vs. Radioactive Octopus!
Let’s get the formalities out of the way first. This fine product is brought to us by Accoutrements, the renowned purveyor of such delightful items as bacon bandages and the Crazy Cat Lady action figure. I purchased it a few years ago from my long-time former place of employment, The Bull’s Head Bookshop in Chapel Hill, NC, but you should look for it where ever tchotchke crap is sold.
The octopus figure itself is a pretty standard sculpt that is frequently used for toy octopi. However, this time it glows in the dark, prompting the following question…
We are left to puzzle this out for ourselves, but my money is on science.
The frogmen in question are, as you might expect,
They are armed with a variety of deadly weapons such as spear guns and pruning shears–but will it be enough to defeat this atomic monstrosity?
In this blogger’s opinion, not even close.
Some glass from the menagerie
June 4, 2008
glass “squid”, originally uploaded by Cryptonaut.
I found this odd glass figurine at a vintage clothing store in Durham, NC. (The Electric Blender, which, tragically, has since gone out of business.) It has only six arms, and what appears to be whale flukes at the end of its tail, but the overall shape suggests that this is supposed to be a squid. Of course, the color scheme suggests an unholy union of a giraffe and a banana slug…
