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

Entries for January 2016

Stardust Memories

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Not that I am trying to make my wife cry again or anything, but here's a reall cool Bowie tribute tatoo. With tentacles.


Get your tentacles off me, you damn dirty squid!

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These days Marvel Comics is StarWarsing it up all over the place, not to mention the runaway success of their whole Cinematic Universe thing. Back in the 70's, though, they attached themselves to the Planet of the Apes juggernaut. Feast your eyes upon this glorious cover from their series. It's the wrong number of tentacles for a squid, but makes up for it with a scantily-clad savage girl so it's all good.


Les Pieuvres de Paris

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I don't speak French, but I bet my wife can pronounce the title of this Pierre Zaccone novel. Translated, the book is called The Octopuses of Paris. Tragically it is not about an army of octopodes laying seige to the Eiffel Tower, but rather a social commentary about the decadence of Parisian women. Ah, well.


Hey There, Mister Space Man

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Today is Buzz Aldrin's birthday. That dude for realz stood on the mother-flippin' moon! In his honor, here's a painting by Julien Kalnecker of an astronaut with an octopus on his head, because of course.

As a bonus:  Today is also Tom Baker's birthday. Remember that time the Fourth Doctor battled a giant octopus thing in The Power of Kroll? Ok, not necessarily the show's finest moment, but there was still this:


There's No Place Like Home

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Sent in by reader 'My Sister', who lives three thousand miles away, here's a lovely brass octopus that she has set out to remind her of all of our childhood adventures. The photo next to it is of Haystack Rock in Oregon, where we used to go on family vacations.

 


Taking the Plunge

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When I proposed, all I had to do was take my lady to Disney World and find the perfect spot (Haunted Mansion). This poor guy has go on an actual underwater quest to rescue the ring from a voracious shark. Good thing he has the help of an adorable octopus.


Octopus vs Crab Redux

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Sent in by reader Lori DeFuso, video proof that ocotpodes are much better swimmers than crabs. Also:  I never knew that crabs could swim.


Veeptopus

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I never worry about running out of octopus posts. Why? Because every single time I dispair, the Gods of the Internet come along and prove to me that the web's capacity for true weirdness is both bottomless and unceasing. Case in point: Artist Jonathan Crow decided to draw every single American vice president, with an octopus on their head. Because, of course he did.

You can see them all over at his website, and you can purchase the entire series of 47 prints (The Full Veeptopus) at his Etsy store.

Bonus for you Hamilton fans:  Here is a print commemorating the notorious duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton:


Unipus

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Looking for the perfect t-shirt to wear to any upscale social event? Check out "Unipus", from Michael Houghton at Designed by Monkeys! He has even been kind enough to offer free shipping in the US for readers of this blog, just enter the discount code 'octolove' when you are checking out. Yay!


Snow Job Complete

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The Bartz Brothers have completed their snow sculpture, here is their Facebook post from last night:

Meet Octavius the Snow Octopus! Over 500 hours of work was put into its creation. At 18 feet tall and over 35 feet wide, it is our largest sculpture to date! We are grateful that our work will benefit those in need.

Enjoy!

Link for providing clean water in Haiti: https://www.onedayswages.org/…/sculpting-snow-life-saving-c…


Snow Job In Progress

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Every year, the Bartz brothers in New Brighton, Minnesota build a giant snow sculpture in their yard. This year they are building a twelve foot tall snow octopus, and so far it looks pretty cool (no pun intended.) They are also getting a lot of attention this year, so they have decided to raise money from their scupture for a the charity organization One Day's Wages in order to provide clean water to people in Haiti. You can follow the progress of the scupture (which they expect to be finished by Friday) on their Facebook page.


Kaiju Attack!

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Last week spectators in Japan were given the special treat of seeing a giant Humboldt Squid surface in Toyama Bay. I am not nearly as fond of squid as I am of octopodes, but this dude is pretty cool.


Amazing Color Changes

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Check out all the amazing color and texture changes throughout this entire video. I love early on, where the octopus gives herself a white racing stripe.


Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien

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A special bonus octopus today! Beloved fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. When I think of Tolkien and tentacles, of course the Watcher in the Water springs immediately to mind. Here then is John Howe's lovely illustration from The Fellowship of the Ring.