We stopped by this rainforest canopy lodge. While the amenities look incredible, the $3000 fee per night is more than a bit out of our range.
Monthly Archive for December, 2008
Just some Christmas day images from my trip to Belize.
Literally twittering from the Miami International Airport. Seems several bedraggled finches make terminal C their home.
The Sleeping Giant
I know how much many of you like the snow, and it looks like much of the United States will enjoy a white Christmas this year. While you warm your chestnuts, I will be heading down to Central America for the holidays to visit with family. But I hope to share as much of the tropical heat with you as I can. As time and wifi allow, I will upload updates from the field.
One of the destinations is the vista pictured here. The plan is to spend Christmas near the mountains of the Sleeping Giant in central Belize. The range is so-called because in person it really does look like a large man in repose (but maybe not so much in the picture). That is his brow, nose and chin to the right and his heaving chest in the center.
I may also get a chance to go diving too and still hold out hope of spotting the elusive Cozumel toadfish (Sanopus johnsoni) someday. It truly is a splendid looking creature in photographs and Belize is supposed to be the right place to look.
In case I don’t get to update soon, here is wishing all you fine readers a Happy Cephalopodmas, Merry Fishmas, Splendid Squidmas, a Heebo Tarvu Day, Happy Monkey, Happy Holothuriday, and a Scintillating Solstice (remember, axial tilt is the reason for the seasons)!
![Gibbous Cephalopodmas! [300x300, 16K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/cephalopodmas.gif)
Today is the day to get your special squamous someone something fetid! December 22 isn’t just for celebrating the solstice anymore. It is also Cephalopodmas! You can sing along with the lyrics to the thirteen days of Cephalopodmas (below) or check out A Very Scary Solstice and other seasonal selections from the HP Lovecraft Historical Society.
Or get a Cephalopodmas ornament from Noadi (while they last).
On the thirteenth day of Cephalopodmas,
Cthulhu gave to me
Thirteen Hapalochlaena,
Twelve ink sacs squirting,
Eleven Architeuthis,
Ten ammonites,
Nine tentacles strangling,
Vampyroteuthis infernalis,
Seven photophores a-flashing,
Six arms a-flaying,
Grimpoteuthis,
Four snapping beaks,
Three suckers,
Two cuttlefish,
And Histioteuthis heteropsis.
More lyrics…
You can also celebrate with giant squids, pterodactyls and bumps.
More celebrations:
- Apelad: Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #649
- Squid Zone: Winter Solstice 2008 - Happy Cephalopodmas!
- Cephalopodmas on Twitter
- Digital Cuttlefish: It was Cephalopodmas… (2007)
- XKCD: Cuttlefish. Not explicitly Cephalopodmas, but still miraculously amusing.
As the Internet meme of yesteryear, 7 Seconds of Love still grossly amuses me. Here is their YouTube ode to kelp:
- Kelp lyrics
- More odd 7 Seconds of Love songs at rathergood.com, including Zoology Dragon and Submarine. I dedicate this last one to the DSN boys. N.B.: some of their lyrics are NSFW. Parents proceed with caution.
![Pucker and Bloat web comic by Jason Robertshaw [500x324, 136K]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/3094930958_8f0e2f7e93.jpg)
Pucker and Bloat #4, Squidmas Pickle. © Jason Robertshaw
Hi ho, the Pucker and the Bloat return with Seasons Greetings. But as you can see, the War on Squidmas continues even into the briny deeps. But Pucker has done his ecumenical best to cheer his pal Bloat and so too, whether you are a Pastafarian or Spewish, celebrate Squidmass, Cephalopodmass or Fishmess, here’s hoping for good things for you and yours in the coming years. May all your growth rings be bright. Happy Holothuridays!
- Cephalopodmas comes on December 22! Don’t forget to get your special squamous someone something fetid!
- 25 Days of Deep Sea Christmas
- The Christmas Pickle. Get yours here
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- Pretty pictures of sea cucumbers in the Family Holothuridae
![The Cephalopod Tea Party Web badge, antiqued gold letter on a navy field [200x58, 20K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/ctp-button-lrg.png "The Cephalopod Tea Party, steampunk octo culture with a side of Etsy arts")
If you ♥♥♥ cephalopods like I ♥♥♥ cephalopods, you might consider joining the Cephalopod Tea Party. Like many a brave cephaloblog before it, this one fathoms the depths of of the interwebs “for all things octopus-ish, squidly, and tentacled for your enjoyment.” And as you might expect, they are not afraid to serve a bit of steampunked sea biscuit alongside their Darjeelings.
![Carnival Of The Blue logo, a blue sphere half-filled with water. [100x100, 7K]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1148/531775421_125285bc74_t.jpg "Carnival Of The Blue")
Carnival of the Blue #19 is now available for your consideration over at WaterNotes. WaterNotes is one of my favorite blog discoveries of 2008, often focusing on marine conservation and environmental education from central Florida’s Indian River Lagoon. Many of the entries in this month’s cavalcade of compositions are concerned with seafood, including my own contribution.
Next month’s festivities will be hosted at Biomes Blog. For a list of past Carnivals, visit the mothersite.
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