Cover of the new Bob Schneider LP

August 02, 2011, 12:21pm

On the Christmas list.

Via @geoffnotjeff.

April 15, 2011, 2:41pm

La guerre est l’industrie nationale de la Prusse.

Via the Big Map Blog.

April 05, 2011, 8:54am

January 14, 2011, 9:32am

In 1898, the steamship Valdivia left Hamburg for a nine month scientific voyage to the Atlantic, Indian and Great Southern oceans [map]. Known as the German Deep-Sea Expedition, the mission was led by Leipzig University Professor of Zoology, Carl Chun and investigated chemical, zoological and physical characteristics encountered in the oceans during the voyage.

The Valdivia was equipped with state of the art biological and chemical laboratories, a first-class scientific library and ample storage space for marine specimens collected while at sea. With these specialist ship fittings and overall expedition objectives as well as vessel size, the Valdivia resembled the famous HMS Challenger from the 1870s, which had essentially established oceanography as a scientific discipline.

And like the Challenger expedition, the German Deep-Sea Expedition gave rise to an extensive series of post-voyage scientific publications. Professor Chun contributed a book on cephalopods (with a corresponding illustration/photograph atlas) to a multi-volume work called ‘Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der deutschen Tiefse eexpedition auf dem Dampfer Valdivia’ (From the Depths of the World Sea: Descriptions of the German Deep Sea Expedition).

All words and images via Bibliodyssey.

More images here. And here.

September 07, 2010, 5:15pm

August 31, 2010, 11:24am

Nothing like a little firefly watching and octopus adventuring.

via curryegg.blogspot.com

July 29, 2010, 10:45am

Goldman Sachs unveiled their new rebranding effort this morning.

May 10, 2010, 11:42am

March 24, 2010, 12:27pm

Minoan Octopus Vase 15th Century B.C.E.

February 08, 2010, 7:45pm

More blatant cephalopodsploitation in advertising, this time for dental floss.

August 19, 2009, 10:15am

Throwing the octopus is easy. More difficult is concealing the eight-legged creature until the toss is at hand, a skill that requires determination, luck and the ability to walk normally with 4 pounds of slimy cephalopod stuffed down your pants.

When Detroit drops in on Nationwide Arena Tuesday night in an attempt to further frustrate the Blue Jackets some among the Red Wings fans in attendance undoubtedly will have attempted to enter while packing octopus.

Some might even succeed, continuing a Detroit tradition dating to 1952 of throwing octopi on the ice during Red Wings games.

“I just sell it. What they do with it is up to them,” said Frank Gonzalez, owner of Frank’s Fish & Seafood Market in Columbus.

What they do with it is the second hurdle. The common method is to sneak the octopus through the turnstiles by slipping it into your trousers, a technique that Gonzalez does not understand.

“I wouldn’t want something moving around down there when you’re moving around,” he said, smiling.

“They’ve been creative,” said Eric Granger, general manager of Nationwide Arena. “We’ve caught them Saran-wrapped to the body.”

Most contraband carriers get caught before they reach their seats, having failed to elude the authorities, who conduct bag searches for every game and event.

But fans are not required to drop their drawers, so the danger always exists.

“We have not had one octopus thrown this season,” officials said, adding that arena personnel know what to look for after witnessing octopi hit the ice during previous seasons.

Those caught carrying an octopus must surrender it before being allowed to enter. Anyone who passes detection and manages to heave an octopus gets the immediate heave-ho.

During the 1995 playoffs, two Detroit seafood sellers tossed a 38-pound octopus onto the ice during the national anthem before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. A year later, they tossed a 50-pounder during the conference finals. The blob ended up displayed on the hood of the Zamboni between periods.

April 22, 2009, 5:10pm