Prettiest Lady Crab

I have a friend named Allie. She is smart, funny, super tough, tiny, and has the personality of a tiny striped shore crab (a little cranky and mildly reminiscent of Scrappy Doo).

Anyways, she's amazing. This is to cheer her up. :)

--m

P.S. I failed at coloring her species right (Pachygrapsus crassipes) so I'll try again later.

This is a Good Place to Be

Original photo by Richard Ling, mermaid by M. Rock

I had this idea weeks ago, but couldn't find a reef picture I liked. Finally found one tonight on Wikipedia, taken by Richard Ling.

Great Barrier Reef, I want to be a mermaid, same ol' same ol', really.

--m

They Know Our Weaknesses

A Softer World: Invertebrates tribute! The first of 2011! Mouse-over text would be: they know our weaknesses

--m

Pay No Attention to the Octopus on my Head

Really late comic. So late that I couldn't spell "confused." Time to sleep!

--m

Going Home, Happy Invertebratemas

 Home is where and what you make it,

so I hope wherever you are this holiday season, you're able to be with your loved ones, no matter how odd an assemblage they might make.

Sure, being around all that family can be stressful,

but there's nothing like being home for the holidays.

So merry Invertebratemas from Octopod Adventures, and safe travels to wherever you want to be.

--m

All images here (c) M. Rock 2010. Do not use without credit.

(I'll be traveling the next few days, so probably no comic. See you Saturday/Sunday.)

I Miss the Ocean Too

Whenever I'm away from here I miss it terribly. Coming back to the ocean is like finding a part of me I knew was missing but couldn't fix myself. This comes from the title of an explodingdog comic.

Now, time to go dream ocean dreams.

--m

Dream Big, Pet Owners

I ended up finding out about a musical tribute to the giant isopod tonight, which led me to thinking how cool it'd be to have one of these guys for a pet. I can't dream about getting a dog or a cat, so I may as well dream about getting a giant isopod, right?

Anyways, Bathynomus giganteus is both cute and terrifying and I love them.


--m 

Speaks for Itself

It's a sea turtle with a jetpack. It pretty much speaks for itself.

If you've actually been reading the blurbs, you know that this is the 200th post on Octopod Adventures! Yay! I've figured out what I'm going to do, but I will be doing it tomorrow rather than tonight because I need to sleep.

Anyways, enjoy your night! :)
--m

Let's Not Forget Time Spent on Facebook and Online Poker

Oh, emopus. You're so emo. These are photos of what I believe is a juvenile Ocotpus rubescens, given the rows of chromatophores on the arms.

Conference is over, and to celebrate being back to rain and fog (perfect weather for emopuses and m rocks everywhere), I present another installment of the A Softer World invertebrate tribute series. Mouseover text would read: "Let's not forget time spent on facebook and online poker."

--m

P.S. Photo credit to me. I have a whole set of videos and photos from this individual, so it will undoubtedly make an appearance again.

WSN Day 3: Nerd Tattoo Plans

Tonight's comic is a skin drawing of the rough drafts of a tattoo idea that we came up with at tonight's after-auction-party. The limpet is Lottia gigantea and there was a plan to try and go get it tattooed tonight, but it's probably for the best that this plan fell through.

This person I know wants the limpet to be peeking over his shoulder, like it's wanting to talk to him.

I think it'd be awesome, but the window of opportunity for actually getting the tattoo is probably gone--curses.

--m

WSN Post Numero 2

Conference going well. I'm done presenting. I had a celebratory drink followed by the dinner that I missed (by then cold) because of my presenting.

Now, to sleep!

--m

Emopus

Ah the emopus. At first I thought this idea was totally original to me, then remembered four or five years ago having seen this on Animals Have Problems Too. Damn. Oh well.

This is based off of Octopus vulgaris, and does remind me that I can "for-realsies" draw, I think. Some days I feel like I'm only good at stick figures.

--m

P.S. there are updates coming to the store soon, perhaps even new versions of the classic octoshoes!

Foggy Crabpocalypse

I have this fear of a giant, genetically-modified, half-robot crab coming out from the forest around where I live whenever it's really foggy out, and especially at night.

One of these days my irrational fears are going to become rational, and on that day, you'll wish you'd listened to me more about the impending crabpocalypse.

--m

(I've included a photo of what exactly this kind of foggy morning looks like around our forest.)

Dreaming of You

Drawing. It's late(ish)?

--m

Now Get Over Here and Help Me Learn to Tie a Bowtie

I've been watching a lot of Chuck lately, so spies are on the brain. Here's an invertebrate A Softer World tribute, starring a Rossia pacifica and an unknown octopus (either E. dofleini or O. rubescens). Photo credit to me.

--m

If There Is, I'm Screwed

A Softer World invertebrate tribute (the first in a long time). This is a Rossia pacifica, which as far as I'm aware of is not eaten for calamari and is not a true squid at all. This one was collected for research near Friday Harbor, WA. Mouse-over text: "if there is, I'm screwed"

--m

(photo credit to me on this one)

Poor, Dead Chitons

I'm holding a fluffy Tonicella of some kind. Tomorrow I have to go to work so I can finish up part of my data collection. The work might involve me straining my eyes a lot and an update might not happen.

Also, I miss my long(er) hair, at least a little.

--m

Just a Link Tonight

To wrap up sea life with facial hair week, I leave you with an awesome typeface mustache adventure. How could you possibly go wrong with that?

Enjoy the weekend, I know I have. :)

--m

Last of the Coloring Pages

At least for a while this is the last coloring page I'll do. I've learned a lot from this experiment (like how to make good coloring pages) so more than likely they'll be back again.

In the meantime, this is a scallop (unknown sp.) with a Napolean III Imperial Beard. Who even knew such facial hair styles existed? Not I, friends.

Time for bed, see you tomorrow.
--m

Sometimes You Need a Salvador Dali Mustache

I did not forget about the coloring pages, but I'm going back to the west coast tomorrow, so this weekend was a little hectic with packing etc.

Here's the dungeness crab with a Dali mustache. It fits really, really well. This should not be confused with a evil villain mustache. Also, according to wikipedia the genus name has changed to "Metacarcinus" based on a genetic study, but I'll stick with its old-fashioned name until I get ahold of that paper.

See you tomorrow!

--m