Move over, Jellies: It's squid time!

Here’s a story. In the Seattle aquarium, a squid got out of its tank, walked (crawled, whatever) across the floor to the tank of its girlfriend. And got in. I’ve found squids inspirational ever since I heard that true tale.

I used to work for a DVD Magazine, Wholphin and they have this really lovely video of baby squid birthness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_rFoD1oE6U

Whoa! I love Wolphin! Also, I love squid love stories.

I have a great print hanging in my apartment entitled Squid Can’t Win which is no longer available, but the author has other nautical themed posters. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to share it :)

Here’s an awesome shirt.woot! I wish I’d seen this for sale. I would have snatched it up so fast. I need some squid gear. Does anyone know where to grab some?

This particular shirt reminds me that squids are to be feared.

Oh, my god, I forgot about this picture. I want that as a tattoo. STATtoo!

I fish for squid to use as bait. It’s pretty fun.

I say the more sea creatures the better :)
My favorite squid is a toss up between the bobtail squid (because they look beautiful), the colossal squid(this thing is just pure badass, its got hooks covering its tentacles instead of suckers that are the size of a tigers claws.) , and the Vampire Squid From Hell (this is what nightmares are made of lol)
cool squid site and heres one for cephalopods

My favorite cephalopod is definitely the flamboyant cuttlefish
though chambered nautilus are pretty cool too

/nerdy fish talk

And a nerdy literary reference:

The Chambered Nautilus

This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign,
Sails the unshadowed main,—
The venturous bark that flings
On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings
In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,
And coral reefs lie bare,
Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair.

Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl;
Wrecked is the ship of pearl!
And every chambered cell,
Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,
As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,
Before thee lies revealed,—
Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!

Year after year beheld the silent toil
That spread his lustrous coil;
Still, as the spiral grew,
He left the past year’s dwelling for the new,
Stole with soft step its shining archway through,
Built up its idle door,
Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more.

Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,
Child of the wandering sea,
Cast from her lap, forlorn!
From thy dead lips a clearer note is born
Than ever Triton blew from wreathed horn;
While on mine ear it rings,
Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:—

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!

By Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–94).

While snorkeling off a small island near Isla Mujeres in Mexico, I came across a small school of cuttlefish. They hard large, round dark eyes with which they very clearly checked me out, and beautiful coruscating patterns flowing across their sides. Then they suddenly and simultaneously became nearly transparent. In my peripheral vision, I saw a large barracuda cruise by. When it was gone, they magically “reappeared” and shifted their orientation to inspect me again. I was enraptured and enamored, and to this day, it’s one of my favorite interactions with the animal world.

Octopi, cuttlefish and squid are awesome!!

Squid with elbows

Tattoo

Love, love, love the baby squid video…

Also, how not to hold a squid.

Dear lord.