Tenticular Gesticulation

Being a blog about my inexplicable fascination with octopodes

NOTE: I am not a marine biologist, I am just an idiot with a blog

It's Showtime!

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Yes, I survived the pandemic. After two and a half years I was inspired to post again when a cast member shared this for opening night (TONIGHT!) of a show I am in. "Don't tell me how to do my job now, 'Cause I'm totally doin' my job now."

(Thank you to Joe Llorens for inspiring me to revive this blog)


Octopus with Bottlecap Suckers

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My co-worker Melisa Lunt is a delight to work with, and it turns out she is a fantastic artist as well. Here is a wall-sized painting she did for a friend, which employs the use of bottle caps for the suckers on the tenticles. How awesome is that?


Yeti vs Octopus - Adorable Edition

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In just a few days I am headed off to Colorado for a work conference, a location not particularly noted for its native octopodes. The mascot for the conference is a yeti, though, so I searched for images of a yeti and an octopus in mortal combat. Instead, I found this bit of unbearable cuteness.


Christmas Gifts Part 4

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Here is a really neat decorative piece given to me by my mother, with a silver octopus astride a glass sphere filled with beach sand and seashells.


Christmas Gifts Part 1

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Holy cow, has it really been two months? Sorry. I kind of got distracted with a show I was doing and lost track. But I'm back now, and you will be shocked to hear I got some octopus-related gifts for Christmas. Here is a lovely new mug I got from my wife:


Happy World Octopus Day!

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October the 8th is World Octopus Day, because of course it is. Today I happened to be walking through Epcot at Walt Disney World and passed a very nice man with an amazing octopus sleeve tattoo, and he was kind enough to let me take a picture. Check it out:


Delinquent Octopus

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I haven't posted a new picture here in what seems like forever. I feel bad about that, like I have been misbehaving. So I did a google image search for "delinquent octopus" and was not disappointed. Thank you, Time Magazine.


Littleford's Got Talent

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I don't know anything about the Octopus Drama Group except that they are named after my favorite cephalapod, they are an acting troupe (which is near and dear to my heart), and they are doing a fundraiser next month in Thornbury, England (just north of Bristol, and pretty dang close to Cardiff in Wales, home of Doctor Who which is also near and dear to my heart), with all procees to go to JIGSAW Thornbury, a local charity that supporst special needs children (my own son is autistic, so this is about as near and as dear as you can get to my heart). I hope you'll support them.


The Eye of Rassillon

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So, I'm kind of a Doctor Who geek. I have another blog over at TimeTreadmill.com on that very subject, in which I am watching the entirety of Doctor Who while walking on a treadmill. I am also, as you might have noticed, an octopus geek. Here, then, is a custom tattoo design that takes the Eye of Rassillon from my favorite television show and converts it into an octopus. I am all aquiver.


DJ Otto

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Sorry for taking a month off. I got busy with work. But this awesome print by Brian Kesinger is just too amazing to pass up.


Farewell George Romero

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I am very saddened at the news today of George Romero's passing. It is no exageration to say that his work as a filmmaker played a formative role in my love of horror films. The work he did, particulary in the late 60's through the mid-80's, is staggeringly brilliant. Zombies may or may not be your thing, but the simple truth is that he personally had a massive impact on American pop culture - an impact that continues to echo today and presumably well into the future.

I haven't been able to identify the artist of this piece. If you happen to know, please drop me a line at ron@jamesaxler.com so that I can give proper credit.


Welcome to Long Beach, WA

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Check out this brand new sign that artist Joshua Blewett carved for the city of Long Beach in Washington State. I am a Seattle boy, born and raised, and have been to Long Beach many times. If you are ever in the great Pacific Northwest, I highly recommend a visit.


Dripping Art

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Our air conditioning has gone out here at Shmoolok Estates, and in Central Florida in July that is no trivlal thing. It's a wee bit warm and drippin in here, much like this amazing pop art octopus painted by Carissa Weber:


Lifelike Octopodes are Taking Over Cities

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Artist David Brodeur, @lockedandloading on Instagram or LockedAndLoading.com, creates amazing organic designs both practical and virtual. For his Invasion series he has placed several different octopus-like alien things out in real-world settings, and the result is visceral and hypnotic. You really have to go visit the Instragram page and see the animated versions to see them pulsing and throbbing. Wow! (source)


Patrioctopus

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I don't know whether this image was created by Brian Kesinger (of Otto & Victoria fame, and whose work I have featured here several times), or if he just found it and posted it. But it's the best, most patriotic thing I have seen all day:


I Want This Guitar

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I don't know that having this beautiful octopus-engraved guitar would improve my playing at all, but at least it would give people something entertaining to look at  to distract them from my playing...


The Feathered Octopus

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Sometimes inspiration for this blog is as close as my wife's bookshelf. True story: I knew she was the girl for me the first time I went to her home and saw she had a complete set of Doc Savage novels. True love, right there.


Dime Detective Magazine

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What can I say? I'm still on a trashy pulp kick. Speaking of which... why does the Dime detective Magazine cost fifteen cents? That just seems wrong.