Sepia latimanus
Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
I wish I could be there this Friday — this sounds like an extremely cool art gallery event, sponsored by the Cephalopod Appreciation Society. See, Seattle gets a whole society, while Morris just gets me, sitting in a corner, pining for molluscs. If you’re in Seattle, you should go. Tell ’em I sent you.
Please join the CEPHALOPOD APPRECIATION SOCIETY Friday, DECEMBER 7th at the McLeod Residence for an art opening and squid celebration featuring 20-foot Giant Squids made of fabric by NY artist Cassandra Nguyen.
The general reception is from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., and from 7:30-8:30 p.m., the Cephalopod Appreciation Society will host Squid-inspired Poetry and Music performances daringly paired with Live-Action Blind Drawings of the elusive giant squid!
Please come early to sign-up as a blind drawer – you will be randomly teamed up with a poet or musician, blindfolded, and only given the length of that particular piece to create your work. The giant squid has so rarely been observed by human eyes – we eagerly await the creative insight your blind drawing will provide!
Dedicated to spreading cephalopod love, knowledge & understanding through art and science, the Cephalopod Appreciation Society is going on its sixth year. It’s been a big year for giant squid, and a big year for us. We can’t wait to party with you at the McLeod Residence!
Sincerely, squid girl, Cephalopod Appreciation Society Members, and of course the Chambered Nautilus, Cuttlefish, Octopus and Squid
McLeod Residence
2209 2nd Ave.
Seattle, Washington 98121Squid-inspired poets and performers will include:
A.K. Allin
Anne Bradfield / Elizabeth Bradfield
Levi Fuller
Rachael Harper
Rebecca Hoogs
Rachel Kessler
Travis Nichols
Melanie Noel
Avery Slater
Cody Walker
Deborah Woodard
and more!For more information about this event, visit:
http://blog.mcleodresidence.com/2007/11/press-release-b.html and
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/328305/
Why do I have this urge to send this to Stuart Pivar?
Looking for decorating ideas? This photo series shows how to make a beautiful squidmas tree.
Noooooo! It’s another paradox!
This is a Cthulhu birthday cake, but it’s entirely vegan! This is just not right. A Cthulhu cake has to be made of various meats stacked in alien geometries and in a state of corruption and decay, topped with ichor icing.
(Hillary is out to get me because I haven’t reviewed her book yet. Insanity doesn’t make it easier!)
I look at this and feel so conflicted.
Ick, it’s a nativity scene. But it’s got cute squid in it! It’s so christian! With squid! Nativity! But squid!
It’s like it was designed to drive me insane.
So do I, although I favor more squid, less girl.
(Should be work-safe, since any nudity is tasteful, and human-animal chimeras aren’t that offensive, are they? Besides, you should be at home, loosening your belt and letting that nice feast settle.)
My library doesn’t subscribe to this journal, but maybe yours does. Can anyone send me a pdf of this paper?
Mather JA, Anderson RC 2007) Ethics and invertebrates: a cephalopod perspective. Dis Aquat Organ. 75(2):119-29.
This paper first explores 3 philosophical bases for attitudes to invertebrates, Contractarian/Kantian, Utilitarian, and Rights-based, and what they lead us to conclude about how we use and care for these animals. We next discuss the problems of evaluating pain and suffering in invertebrates, pointing out that physiological responses to stress are widely similar across the animal kingdom and that most animals show behavioral responses to potentially painful stimuli. Since cephalopods are often used as a test group for consideration of pain, distress and proper conditions for captivity and handling, we evaluate their behavioral and cognitive capacities. Given these capacities, we then discuss practical issues: minimization of their pain and suffering during harvesting for food; ensuring that captive cephalopods are properly cared for, stimulated and allowed to live as full a life as possible; and, lastly, working for their conservation.
I suspect the reasons for my interest would be obvious.
Thanks, all, it is now in my hands.
In weird medical news, researchers have discovered that an extract made from shellfish reduces scarring after certain medical procedures. It’s a gel-like polysaccharide called chitosan, and it’s injected up the nose after sinus operations.
I don’t know what this means for my daily fix of squid goo — either my supply is about to be commodified, or the price is going to go up.
