Scientists Catch Giant Squid Off Louisiana Coast

Thanks, Jim Java!



The squid was caught during a research cruise funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service, according to a news release.

More ... here...

Chulhu Sex Report

OK, from a fictional point of view, we know that Lovecraft selected oceanic vermin becuase these things totally disgusted him. They were the most nightmarish and unpalatable things he could imagnie, so he cast his extraterrestrial gods into those forms. Kafka had his roach, Lovecraft had his rats, frogs, and octopus.

However all that being said, we can make a leap of fictional faith and begin to discuss why one of those elldritch god-like minions took the form of an octopus, and if so, what biological characteristics would that being have also adopted. To be "in the world" one must necessarily be "of the world. As an analogy, the Christian faith proclaims that God entered the word in human flesh and was subject to death, pain, and temptation. So, too, might a creature made of dark energy take the form of some earthly critter in order to "sleep and dream".

In Science News of 19 July 2008 we read this pericope*: "Male squid inject females with sperm packages that burst out of her skin to fertilize the egg."

OK, fixate on that mental image for a brief moment. That is natural for squid. No problem. However, when an abberant sea-thing tries to impose its biology upon frail humans, one can only imagine the pain and insanity that would ensue. That, I believe, is the essence of what is Lovecraftian. The imposition of the alien upon the human in order to achieve madness and atrocity.

Buy why?

It points out or frailty. It shows how weak a species we truly are, that it is we who are the vermin upon the Earth. However, knowing Mr. Lovecraft as I now do, I also understand that within the madness and terror, there is a gleam of hope. Lovecraft was not a man of despair and darkness. He enjoyed life, he enjoyed friends, and the reparte of keen minds in word-combat. He left an escape clause. To he who was erudite and learned and understood the full mysteries. To he who was initiated and fully grasped the nature of "the Other", then that individual made the transition. He was now a peer of the eldrtich gods, and walked among them invulnerable of the madness that crushed the weaker of the species.

Still, erupting sperm from flesh is a bit icky.



Science News: Magazine for the Society of Science & the Public, 19 July 2008, Vol. 174, No.2, page 31, book review of The Score: How The Quest For Sex Has Shaped The Modern Man., Faye Flam (of the Philadelphia Inquirer), Avery, 2008, 224 pp., $24.95

3M Corporate Conspiracy? Cthulhulian Atrocity??

Chemical and Engineering News (11 August 2008) reports that curators at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History have selected 3M's Novec 7100 engineering fluid to preserve two giant squids now held at Saint Ocean Hall. They're set to be displayed in September 2008.

The fluid may be exotic enough to be familiar to an interstellar alien. It's hydrofluoroether which will envelop the squids without permeating their tissues. (It's non-fammable, has low toxicity, and virtually no global warming potential.

Perhaps the great beasts are spawn of Cthulhu and are merely sleeping ... awaiting ... the great and glorious day of ... Aieeee!

Cthulhu Jewelry?

Dave Goudsward found these octopus jewlery pieces made of real octopus. (I'd guess made by the lost wax process). And don't forget to checkout and buy Dave's books. (click here). - - And join the Google Group for more information that doesn't always make it to the blog.

These and other items can be found by clicking here.

The jeweler states (information unconfirmed):

The Octopus is a symbol of Transformation and Regeneration. Because of its reputation of changing colors to match its backgrounds, the octopus is also known as the Master of Disguise. Octopuses also have the power to regenerate. If an octopus loses an arm in battle it can grow a new one. Some can even detach and arm to distract predators and then grow another! Don't mess with the octopus because they can stun or kill you with one poisonous bite. The poison is called tetrodotoxin which is the same as Fugu, the puffer fish served in Japan. So treat your Octopus with Love! (o)(o)(o) (suction sound) - OctopusME!

Ia! The Eye! The Eye! : Cthulhu Science

{These creatures are amazing. Is there any wonder Cthulhu took the image of the majestic and graceful rather than the indelicate primate homo sapien?)

By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer Wed Apr 30, 6:07 PM ET
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Marine scientists studying the carcass of a rare colossal squid said Wednesday they had measured its eye at about 11 inches across — bigger than a dinner plate — making it the largest animal eye on Earth.
One of the squid's two eyes, with a lens as big as an orange, was found intact as the scientists examined the creature while it was slowly defrosted at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa. It has been preserved there since being caught in the Ross Sea off Antarctica's northern coast last year.
"This is the only intact eye (of a colossal squid) that's ever been found. It's spectacular," said Auckland University of Technology squid specialist Kat Bolstad, one of a team of international scientists brought in to examine the creature.
"It's the largest known eye in the animal kingdom," Bolstad told The Associated Press.
The squid is the biggest specimen ever caught of the rare and mysterious deep-water species Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, or colossal squid. When caught, it measured 26 feet long and weighed about 1,000 pounds, but scientists believe the species may grow as long as 46 feet.
"This is the largest eye ever recorded in history and studied," said Swedish Professor Eric Warrant of the University of Lund, who specializes in vision in invertebrates. "It has a huge lens the size of an orange and captures an awful lot of light in the dark depths in which it hunts."
The squids can descend to 6,500 feet and are known to be aggressive hunters.
Scientists using an endoscope to examine the stomach and other organs said later Wednesday on their blog that the squid was a female.
"We just found the ovaries — the specimen is a girl! The ovaries are full of several thousands of eggs!" the entry said.
Bolstad earlier said that females are believed to grow larger than the male.