octopus = holy animal?

[Trev]

Was this celebrated? I heard about this on August 9th!!

[Daishin]

I definitely think that we should have an 8 day holiday beginning on both August 8 and October 8th! That would be amazing! Someone should definitely consult Bobby on this one.

[Roland Deschain]

The thought of an eight day holiday in October is cool, and I have no problem with that. Some special dishes will need to be thought of, though.

[Daishin]

How about these beauties?

http://letsplaywithfood.files.wordpress ... -dogs1.jpg

[muunleit]

How about these beauties?

http://letsplaywithfood.files.wordpress ... -dogs1.jpg

I've seen this picture before and someone who had tried it commented it with "the spaghetti-part inside the sausage is inedible, because it's not cooked".

[pieces o'nine]

I don't think think this link has been posted here before...

[Roland Deschain]

I don't think think this link has been posted here before...

OMCthulhu! The gates of R'lyeh have opened, and the Old Ones walk among us! Oh great Cthulhu, we do worshi...Oh, wait a minute. That's a normal octopus, isn't it? I knew that...

[Tigger_the_Wing]

I don't think think this link has been posted here before...

Ahh, kind octopus giving the people a crab!

Also, to the woman who said "This is like the coolest thing I've ever seen!":

what was the coolest thing you've ever seen; and

in what way was this like it?

[Roland Deschain]

^ Tig, you are a woman after my own heart.

[DavidH]

^^

[Ravi Oli]

Help save the Pacific Tree Octopus and other endangered species such as the Australian Dropbear....

[Roland Deschain]

Help save the Pacific Tree Octopus...

If one of the magazine covers is anything to go by, i'm sure The Old Ones will look after them. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

[Arkaeon]

Cthulu for president! (Why settle for the lesser evil?)

Since you people insisted on resurrecting this thread, I'll throw in a little neo-shamanist commentary based on the actions of the octopus in pieces o nine's link:

When people are lonely or hungry for love (or just hungry), their cats will bring them mice, snakes, etc as if trying to console and support them. I knew one witchy girl whose 22-pound (10kg) black burmese cat (named "Norton" as in "Emperor Norton," the Swarzenegger of local felines) literally brought home rabbits for them both to eat when she was particularly poor. My own former cat used to bring me all manner of life-forms to study, proudly displaying them as if saying, "Look what interesting thing I found!" (He didn't eat them and was disappointed if they died in the process, and he would take them back out after I congratulated him on his discovery.)

Here we have an octupus showing off the bounty of the sea to the poor tourists who were gaping at his glorious home. He treats them like beggars at the door of a medieval landlord. He is saying to them, "Life is rich and there is plenty to share, if only there weren't so many of you to divide the spoils among!" He is giving them a handout, or a bribe to be left in peace from their intrusion. Red is the color of passion and irritation among octopodes. He wants them to go back and tell others the truth of balance instead of bothering him with their beggary.

Obviously, this is an anthropomorphism, and an excuse to make homily, but it fits the situation. Octopodes have a neural/optical development equal or superior to humans in size and complexity, both in terms of total body percentage and cellular development. What secrets of the interconnectedness of life do they understand inherently that we have taught ourselves and our children to ignore? What they don't have is kings, wars, priests, soldiers, or corporations, so they are in some ways at our mercy -- much like many peaceful indigenous people and the general biotome in so many ways. If you can ask yourself one question as a result, maybe it is this: "Which one is truly, or morally, superior?" Octopodes have survived since the cambrian era, several hundred million years, in balance with their environment. How long can we last, out of balance with ours?

[Roland Deschain]

You make a good point there. It reminds me of Ellen Ripley in Aliens:-

"You know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them f****** each other over for a goddamn percentage."