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Rest well, Paul, you’ve earned it

Paul, the octopus who became a pop culture sensation by correctly predicting the outcome of as many World Cup matches as he has legs — all seven of Germany's games plus the Spain-Netherlands final — is going to retire.

The intuitive invertebrate will "step back from the official oracle business," Tanja Munzig, a spokeswoman for the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, told AP Television News.

Squid gets Canada Post's stamp of approval

I know I will be buying a lifetime supply, and ration them out for years to come:

A famous Newfoundland sea monster will soon occupy a space normally reserved for Canada's Queen.

Glover's Harbour's giant roadside squid statue has been chosen to appear on a new Canadian stamp.

"For a little town of Glover's Harbour to be picked? Shocking," said resident Cathy Haggett.

[UPDATED] Soothsayer octopus: Spain to beat Germany in World Cup semifinal

German football fans should brace themselves for disappointment in Wednesday's World Cup semifinal against Spain, according to the latest prediction of an octopus with a knack for picking winners.

Paul the octopus, a psychic cephalopod at Sea Life in Oberhausen, western Germany, has become a World Cup phenomenon after correctly predicting the victors in all five of Germany's matches so far. Tuesday's ceremony was carried live on German television.

If it’s us vs. them, it sounds like they’re winning. What worries me is, what do they want?

Giant squid ‘taking over world’ [excerpts]

By Simon Benson

Giant squid are taking over the world, well at least the oceans, and they are getting bigger.

According to scientists, squid have overtaken humans in terms of total bio-mass.

That means they take up more space on the planet than us.

Squid are now regarded as the “major player” in the world oceans by sheer volume alone.

indie Squid Kid

Horrible, yet awesome: squiddiest website EVER

Fathers' Day 2010 (Party Version)

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Better in concept than execution, the rocket ship cake got a little out of hand. Note to self: red whipping cream is really hard to make, it just turns salmon pink.

Fathers' Day 2010 (Daycare Version)

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Made for Noah + Sasha's daycare party; everyone likes a snail, right? The face looked a little better until Sasha Lu, the family klutz, "smooshed" it and some hasty repair work was called for. Must remember to reserve some icing of each colour for just this kind of fix up....

St. Patrick's Day

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My turn at the office for Treat Day fell on St. Paddy's Day, and I'd seen this recipe for a Doughnut Upside Down Cake, and really, when else are you going to get to use that, except for the office, where an extravagant disaster is almost expected?

Noah's 4th Birthday

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Noah's 4th birthday: started as a robot cake, along with robot cookie decorating. There was a plan to the candy distribution, but young children aren't so much for the colour coordination, and things rapidly spun out of control. The marshmallow googly eyes were a big hit.

Daddy's Birthday

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A moon cake seemed like a fun idea, and cutting a template out of waxed paper to drizzle icing sugar also seemed like a good idea. Actually worked better than it should have, but perhaps not as good as I'd hoped. Lifting the template off was a little messier, so some of the finer details of Rigel (top left) were obliterated....

Awesome, yet horrible (or horrible, yet awesome)

Giant Squid Eaten by Sperm Whale

A female sperm whale, carrying a piece of giant squid in her mouth, leads a gargantuan dinner party in the northwestern Pacific on October 15, 2009.

yummy

In my day, we’d call that “151”

Squid stranded on Tofino shore: More than 150 Humboldt juveniles found in the latest mass beaching

"Normally, these squid are found in at least 200 metres of water, but these immature squid probably came near the surface, perhaps encountered colder water or currents and became stranded on the beach."

Not exactly “squiddy”, but you can’t really say what it is just yet....

'Monster Shark' Chomps Into Great White

A giant shark that could be up to 20ft long has sent shockwaves across Australian beaches after a great white was nearly bitten in half.

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