Octopus briareus, the Caribbean reef octopus
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
Some days, I just have to admit that Canada is cool. They’ve got no GW Bush, but they do have the Burgess shale…and now I learn that Newfoundland has giant squid. And they treat them respectfully!
I’ll never tell another Newfie joke now.
It’s not a real proposal, but someone has come up with a provocative new genre, Squidpunk.
Fiction that unlike New Weird, Steampunk, or Slipstream, is at its core not only about squid, but about the symbolism of squid as color-changing, highly-mobile, alien-looking, intelligent ocean-goers. As a powerful ecosystem indicator, the squid is a potent symbol for environmental rejuvenation. Squidpunk is almost exclusively set at sea and must contain some reference to either cephalopods or to anything that thematically relates to squid, in terms of world iconography and tropes. Squidpunk is never escapist or whimsical. It is always serious and edgy. This combination of a hard punk aesthetic with the fluid propulsion system common to the squid has produced a unique literary hybrid beloved by Mundanes and Surrealists alike.
I’d read it. I would hope, though, that authors would realize that this definition is hopelessly restrictive and far too narrow to encompass the imaginings of the savants of the squidpunk movement. For instance, there’s no reason it must be set at sea; the landlocked prairies of cold northern states — Minnesota, for instance — can be a fertile backdrop for the more exotic variations on the theme, as can even temperate rainforests. The statement that it is always serious and edgy is also false: squidpunk erotica, with its softer focus on tactile pleasures and mind-expanding interactions with otherness is one of the most popular motifs.
And how could this critic overlook the common threads of biodiversity, evolution, and the alien within us? It’s like he never even read any squidpunk, and the whole essay reads like the guesswork of a poseur.
DO NOT TRUST THIS WEBSITE. It’s probably written by a chordate.
One last compendium, I think, unless I find unusually large quantities of Cephalopod Awareness links in my mailbox tomorrow.
A whole museum dedicated to octopus balls? The Japanese can be very strange, Tikistitch.
What? A whole collection of squid posts at Progressive Gold, and I’ve been missing them?
What? Is that woman vomiting up a tentacle? Or is that supposed to be her tongue? I don’t know whether I’m supposed to gag or be aroused.
A Nude, Transexual, Pornographic LOLCthulhu. Enough said.
A few more from the Cuttlefish Poet:
Architeuthis Double-Dactyl
Haughtily, naughtily
Deep-sea biologists
Claimed “We will never find
Fifty-foot squid!”
Nobody told, though, the
Cryptoteuthologist
Blissfully ignorant,
That’s what he did.
Nautilus Limerick
The nautilus swims back-to front
Which is quite an unusual stunt
But his shell–which is odd
For a cephalopod–
When he bumps into things, bears the brunt!
Cuttlefish Physiology Limerick
Look again, and you might doubt your eyes:
It’s the cuttlefish, cloaked in disguise!
As it changes, within
Its remarkable skin
Are chromatophores, changing in size.
More cephalopods are being celebrated everywhere. Send me more!
Cephalopod eyes, and a question: Does your god like octopuses more than men? I don’t know about you, but any gods I might have would be cold and cruel and regard us both with unheeding contempt.
A tentacled bra? For belly dancing? Paging Kristine…
Peter documents attacks by cephalopods on humans. There are three. That’s pathetic, and somebody needs to put some spine in those invertebrates.
I had not realized that the Canadians were trying to usurp our day with Canadian Thanksgiving. Do they serve stuffed squid on this day? With poutine?
We are advised to visit the alt.sex.cthulhu archive. Sensing a nameless dread, I recoiled in horror…and I hate to break the dreadful news, but the tentacled ones really aren’t interested in our meat-swaddled bony bodies, dry hairy skins, and inflexible, clumsy limbs in that way.
Watch out: squid can be overfished too.
Where cephalopods writhe, knitters are sure to follow. They are adorable.
True dedication is having your octopus inked into your skin.
If nothing else, you have to love squid for their contributions to neuroscience.
We have another round of cephalopodic loveliness. Send me more!
Kevin submits the ubiquitous octopus vs. shark movie.
How can something so cute be angry? (Oh, man, I hear that one all the time.)
Poulperia. I think it’s a variant on Santeria.
Roger Burnham sends us some movies: Caribbean Reef Squid 001, Caribbean Reef Squid 002, and Common Octopus 001
Octopuppy. It’s art!
More cephalopoetry, from the Cuttlefish Poet:
A Cuttlefish Limerick or Three
The cuttlefish: Squid-like, you think?
Just a cephalopod in the drink?
Then you also should know it
Refers to a poet,
Or any who hide in their ink.
For writers who think that they’re odd
And ignored, by indifferent God,
Don’t allow yourself–perish
The thought, and just cherish
Your label of “Cephalopod”
For today, there will be no rebuttal–
We will celebrate, loud and unsubtle!
Just the same as each squid
And each octopus did,
We’ll shake all of our legs, and our cuttle!
A Cuttlefish Double-Dactyl
Inkily, thinkily,
Deepwater cuttlefish
Hide in their ink (to a
Poet, that’s odd)
Writing, you see, is not
Characteristically
Part of the life of a
Cephalopod.
the classic Ogden Nash–
THE OCTOPUS
Tell me, O Octopus, I begs
Is those things arms, or is they legs?
I marvel at thee, Octopus;
If I were thou, I’d call me Us.)
Here’s the first volley of cephalopod recognition posts I’ve received. Do send me more, and I’ll put them up later. Do me a favor and put “Cephalopod Awareness” in your subject line so I can sort them out more easily.
The blog that kicked this all off, Cephalopodcast, has a vintage octopus wrestling video. I remember my dating days, too. It’s even from the Pacific Northwest, and that guy has a classic Seattle Scandihoovian accent.
Somebody has found their way to the inner sanctum of the cephalopod lords, and returned with pictures. Yes, it’s true: cephalopod worship, for some reason, involves scantily clad women.
Wait a minute…eating cephalopods? No scantily clad ladies for you, Rick.
The Other 95% has a collection of squid links and a video of schooling squid.
Peter Metrinko sends a poem:
Today we sing a love ballade
To the majestic cephalopod
True, they may look quite odd
But judge them not by their façade
The eyes that grace their lovely bod
Have photoreceptors like a rod
More worth our passion than some jihad
Waged for some fictitious god
Today we cast a loving nod
Towards the lovely cephalopod
See them in their natural environment! Here are some diving photos.
Check out the trailer for “The Future is Wild”: land squid! I think the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus site already did this.
