Welcome New Readers!
August 31, 2010
A salty salute!|Atlanta Aquarium cuttlefish|photo by Natalie Metzger
Last night I discovered that PZ Myers recently linked to last week’s Dr. Aquaman post, a simple act that sent a surge of traffic to this humble cephalo-blog. So, if you are one of the 3,000+ new visitors, I say WELCOME PHARYNGULITES! (Or is it Pharyngulists? Pharyngularians?) I salute you in the manner of our people, and I invite you take a look around the place. Here at Indie Squid Kid, it’s Friday Cephalopod every day! (Well, more or less. I haven’t been my typical prolific self lately, what with my busted thumb and all.)
Like it says up at the top of the page, I’m a collector of all things tentacled—squids, octopuses, cuttlefish, Cthulhu…I love them all! Within this blog you’ll find many examples from my own collection of ceph-stuff, as well as items trawled from the deep reaches of the Internet. Don’t know where to start? My Eight Awesome Octopuses article was pretty popular, and if you like that, why not take a swim with Ten Sensational Squids? Additionally, I’ve got a few (semi)regular features you might want to check out: T-shirt Tuesday, Wednesday Comics, and Flickr Friday. You may also be interested in some of my past theme weeks, such as: Art Week, Movie Week, Music Week, Action Figure Week, and Cthulhu Week. Sometimes, people even send me Sightings.
So, welcome again to any and all new readers. Feel free to leave some comments if you like, and, if you think you might want to stay while, please consider subscribing.
Thanks, and stay tuned for more tentacular content!
Monster Talk podcast: Cthulhu Rises
June 16, 2010
Speaking of podcasts…the newest episode of Skeptic Magazine’s Monster Talk podcast is out, and it’s all about the mythos and monsters of H.P. Lovecraft. In the show, Lovecraft scholar Robert M. Price discusses the life, works, and cultural impact of the master of cosmic horror. Additionally, biologist PZ Myers (of the Pharyngula blog) talks about the biology of cephalopods and how they served as the inspiration for Lovecraft’s most famous creation. (Spoiler Alert: it’s Cthulhu.)
The episode is a little over 1 hour long, and I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet. Of course, I have quite a bit of extra time on my hands these days (in theory at least), so I’m sure I can block out some time for one of my favorite topics!
You can download the episode (June 16, show 019) and read the show notes here.
Monster Talk is a skeptical look at the creatures of cryptozoology and folklore. Hosts Blake Smith, Ben Radford, and Dr. Karen Stollznow interview scientists and other experts about the science (or lack thereof) behind the word’s legendary beats.
You can subscribe to Monster Talk for free via RSS or iTunes.
CreatureCast #1: explaining squid iridescence
August 13, 2009
From NBC Bay Area via Pharyngula
The Humboldt Squid (Dosidicus giga) is a large predatory squid found all along the Pacific coast of North America. Also known as the Jumbo Squid, the Jumbo Flying Squid, and the Red Devil, Humboldts can grow up to 7 ft long and weigh as much as 100 lbs. They generally inhabit deep water, but come to the surface at night to feed. They can be very aggressive, and have reportedly attacked divers and fishermen.
Could a realatively minor earthquake (magnitude 4.0) really cause a school of squid to beach themselves? The experts seem to think it is just a coincidence, and point out that these type of strandings, while rare, have happened before.
Pharyngula and Friday Cephalopod
July 10, 2009
Sepiadarium austrinum
[Image originally published in Cephalopods: A World Guide by Mark Norman.]
PZ Myer’s Pharyngula is a blog about evolution, development, and a myriad other aspects of the biological sciences. Myer is a fellow cephalopod enthusiast, and every Friday he posts an image of a cephalopod (such as the one shown above, from today) as part of a feature called, oddly enough, Friday Cephalopod.
Pharyngula is a member of the ScienceBlogs family, the source of many of the subscriptions in my blog reader.
