Links: 3rd Edition

 Links: 3rd Edition

It's time for some links!  I'm working on some posts about cephalopod statocysts (to continue my coverage of sensory systems,) but in the mean time, here's what's going on (cephalopod-wise, mostly) on the web.  There are some really funny news items this week.

An article at Deep Sea News makes the argument that Paul the octopus is actually psychic; at least as far as we can tell by current statistical standards.

Speaking of our friend Paul, he has officially reached internet stardom:  Parry Gripp has written a song about him.

Another brand-spanking-new article from the same site addresses the possibility that pharmaceutical waste can alter marine ecosystems.

I recently lam-blasted the way popular media talks about the Humboldt squid.  Over at Thoughtomics, this article exposes another sciency media frenzy for what it is: crap.

A burglar in Reno, Nevada decided to mess with his victims in a very creative way:  by microwaving a squid.  Seriously.

A new Syfy channel original movie, Sharktopus, gives us a vivid picture of what life would be like if half-shark, half-octopod monsters roamed the sea.  And I though Lifetime movies were bad...

Apparently, email spammers are trying to sell people squid now.  Does this mean that Viagra and pornography are no longer profitable?  Let's hope that this ushers in a new, more creative era of spam marketing.

North Korea has started leasing squid fishing rights to China.  The arrangement brings income to North Korea and supplies the strapped squid market in China.  I find fishery management interesting, if only because it's so critical to ocean ecology.

Finally, this UK man is charged for possessing squid pornography (and child pornography, but that's not interesting enough for a tabloid headline.)  It's apparently a criminal offense in the UK to have photos of somebody having sex with a dead squid.  My favorite line of this story: "Prosecuters amended the charge when it was admitted it could have been an octopus in the picture."  Oh, it was an octopus?  That's a different story.

I wish I could make this stuff up.