In his sunken stable of R’lyeh, dead My Little Cthulhu waits, dreaming. If you wish, you may brush his tentacles with the included comb. You do so at your own risk, however.

My Little Cthulhu by Spippo [deviantART] Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Upon seeing the tentacle rising from the vast, briny depths, it suddenly occurred to Lulu that, not only had her parents been quite negligent in giving her such such a large balloon, but that it would have perhaps been best to let go over the fairgrounds. After all, a few cuts and bruises would have been preferable to what now awaited her when she hit the water.

balloon01 [Flickr] uploaded by legohaulic : The Brothers Brick

Somewhere in France, inside a building with the words “Ancienne Maison Pain” emblazoned on its facade, a portal has opened. Here, the space between two dimensions has been bridged and something has come through. Something not fit for the minds of men. Squeezing its massive bulk through a tear in space-time, it has taken up residence, requiring several rooms to facilitate it substantial girth. Needless to say, its rent must be usurious.

octo-pied building by ~Filthylurker [deviantART] : Thanks, bela

A melancholy melody for your Friday morning. Andrew Bird’s “Lull” is a beautiful piece of music although, not being familiar with his catalog, I can’t say if this is due to his songwriting ability or the exceptional work of Dianogah. In the end I suppose it matters not, as the final product is brilliant regardless and the video compliments it perfectly. Using cutout transparencies it tells the story of a staid, button-down gentleman who falls into a passionate affair with a squid. As we here at Ectomo can attest, these trysts never go to plan, however; the tempestuous nature of squids making them less than ideal for long-term relationships. It all leads to a sad — and some would say, inevitable — conclusion.

Andrew Bird: Lull [Pitchfork] : stereogum

In 1933 a bathysphere expedition intended to break the world record for ocean descent was lost under mysterious circumstances. The cause of the disaster was never determined and no three-toed sloth was ever put in command of a bathysphere again.

Signed and numbered silkscreen poster from phineas x. jones.

Bathysphere [Etsy] : octophant[x]us

With Parliament defending their recent vote allowing for the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for scientific study, the future takes one step closer to the noisome, unsettling din we all eagerly anticipate. It won’t be long before that kind of strange bio-tech has wriggled its way into (semi) polite society the same way all far-out tech has trickled down into common usage.

First thing in the morning you’ll slap your wall-screen to life so that the beast-women of the world can preach the gospel of a new, better, psuedo-you. All followed by an advertising parade for genetic remapping agents so gratuitous and glossy in its hustle it would make the advertising execs of today weep. If you’re lucky maybe some seizure-inducing cartoons right after.

God damn I can’t wait for the future.

Mariko Takahashi’s Fitness Video [NotCot]

BLU’s Muto: animation on a public wall. Beautiful surely, but I couldn’t help but think about all the artwork he covered up to make it (I know, it’s a public wall, it comes with the territory.) Thanks to Ry-Tron and everyone else who sent this in!

The Octo-Dog Frankfurter Converter. It turns your hot-dogs into octopuses. The Ectomo hive-mind cries out in ecstasy for such a device.

From the artist who brought you Elder Clean Soap comes Shoggoth Jasmine Tea. Thanks, Jezcabelle!

Don’t you fucking dare post knitting patterns for Dr. Who characters. So sayeth the BBC, though most likely it was worded in a far more politely threatening manner filled with words contain superfluous “u”s. Thanks, August Moon!

Alas, poor Yorick. Thanks, Tim McElwee!

Inky hard at work. Or is he? Alt+Tab Command+Tab, Inky, COMMAND+TAB! Thanks, Scott!

A huge photo collection of miniature junk-bots. Thanks, Bela!

Some webcam footage of the defrosting process being conducted on the half ton colossal squid caught in Antarctic waters in February 2007, and currently housed in a New Zealand lab. The entire process will take up to two day to complete in order to not damage the specimen, as thawing it too fast would mean that the outside would being to rot before the internal organs had fully thawed. Researchers will only have a short time to examine the corpse before it is placed in a preservative, during which time they hope to, among other things, determine the squid’s sex; although the apparent lack of a six and a half foot penis leads them to speculate that it is female. It seems like a logical conclusion. They will also be live webcasts spanning the entire project. After the examination is concluded the squid will be put on display at Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand’s national museum in Wellington.

Colossal Squid Thawing; Hints at Even Bigger Beasts [National Geographic News] : YouTube : Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Steve points out that horrible, horrible things take place backstage at Nine Inch Nails concerts.

Phraust sends us cephalopod daisy chain art.

When life throws you a terrible curse in which you vomit squid, make calamari. Thanks, Michael!

Yeesh, lady, don’t play with your food. Set is NSFW. Thanks, Karenw!

The beautiful Anna Lucylle sent us a photo of her fantastic, Lovecraftian tattoo; as well as photos of it in its various stages. The ModBlog post contains a wonderfully heated, pedantic discussion on the correct pluralization of “octopus” as well.

Image by Paul Robertson, creator of the extraordinary Kings of Power 4 Billion %. Full image is NSFW. Sent in by Niero, mechanized pimp; prince among robots.

Is it art? I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that it appears to be a creature out of The Dark Crystal with huge, pendulous testes, hanging from gymnastics rings and covered in stick-pins. Yup, thanks John.

Abdopus aculeatus octopi lead a life of sex, murder, and gender obfuscation but only once. After that they die. Thanks to Jenny and everyone else who sent this one in!

Welcome your new cephalopod masters with a t-shirt. Thanks, Vinnchan.

Hikashu, who appears to have been Japan’s answer to the Talking Heads, sings “Puyo Puyo”. Thanks, bubliki!

The trailer for Angels and Idiots, a new film by animation god Bill Plympton. Thanks, Monkey!

Photo: Pink chirashi apartment mailbox advertising in Japan [YenX] : Thanks, Mark

Brass Goggles is kind enough to remind us that that yesterday was Air Kraken Day, a day set aside to commemorate this historical document of an attack by an Air Kraken on an ocean-bound steamboat. The scene of carnage and destruction is serenely overlooked by a hot-air balloon floating on the horizon. Contemporary historians suggest that this balloon was commanded by none other than the insane abyssmonaut Muad-Dib Al Masoud, directing the ectoplasmic tentacles with a combination of mad chantings and incense of extraterrestrial origin.

Brass Goggles suggests that her readers should all go out and fly kites shaped like air krakens to commemorate the event, and while we’re a day late to the festivities, we’re going to suggest our readers do the same.

Happy Air Kraken Day! [Brass Goggles]

If you are in San Fransisco tonight I would recommend going to Gallery 1988 for the opening of Bittersweet, an exhibition of work by Kathie Olivas which includes a stunning array of custom vinyl toys, along with equally amazing paintings and prints. The show runs through March 22nd.

Kathy Olivas - Bittersweet Preview [Work] : Suzanne G. : Misery Children (Artist’s Site)

After careful consideration Randy decided that his master could afford to purchase a new ball and that this particular game of fetch was over.

Thanks to everyone who pinged Ectomo on Valentine’s Day, it made Eliza’s puckered tear ducts moist with joy (or rage, I can never tell)!

The severing of a number of undersea communications cables have elicited claims of sabotage. Edward points to one of the more plausible theories.

The beautiful story of a young woman and the intimate relationship she shares with her speakers. Thanks, Tristion!

What happens when someone with a high speed camera takes video of insects being pelted with various liquids and miniature pies? Mable invites you to find out.

I do not know what is going on in this video but it is NSFW. Looks of disgust should be aimed at ithidet.

Thanks to nicoptere for the image.

Update: The ever lovely and erudite Suzanne points out that the above image is by two Swiss collagists, Plonk & Replonk, and is part of a set of postcards which can be seen here.

The trend among body-mod enthusiasts to implant chunks of shaped silicon under the skin is one that never sat well with me. From a purely aesthetic standpoint the implants rarely seem to take on a well defined shape. From a personal standpoint the idea of having a piece of plastic shoved under a flap of skin, all without the benefit of anesthetic, has simply never appealed to me. I make no judgements on the people that do choose to get these implants, but never considered it for myself. Until now.

These sucker implants seem to be exactly what this kind of procedure was made for. They have a slightly amorphous quality, thus not suffering from the swollen look this type of mod tends to take on (post-healing of course) and I’m certain there are more than a few of you that would withstand a bit of pain in return for an arm full of suckers. This is simply a fantastic execution of an idea, as though each sub-dermal implant was another step in the march toward the concept’s perfection.

Tentacle Implants [Modblog]

Featured prominently amongst this collection of Russian criminals and their tattoos is this menacing gentleman, his shoulder adorned with tentacles. It was only moments after this picture was taken that he leapt at the photographer, viciously beating him to death with his cat.

Russian Criminal Tattoos [English Russia]