PZ Myers. 2005 Dec 01. The holiday is upon us!. <http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/the_holiday_is_upon_us/>. Accessed 2008 Dec 04.

Posted on M00o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr on Thursday, December 01, 2005

The holiday is upon us!

I am caught completely off-guard: in my mail today I received some Cephalopodmas gifts from Bayesian Bouffant. There are some books (Secret Sea by White, and The Octopus by Norris), and a DVD of the legendary Calamari Wrestler. I didn't even know it was Cephalopodmas! I still don't know what day it's supposed to be! (In fact, google has never heard of "Cephalopodmas", although "Squidmas" seems to be popular.)

Since this is a holiday that should exist, I hereby declare 22 December to be Cephalopodmas. Everyone should have a nice seafood dinner, exchange gifts with a molluscan theme, and play tentacle games with your loved one. I'll plan on sitting down with the whole family to watch The Calamari Wrestler (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll) together.

Thanks, BB!

Posted by PZ Myers on 12/01 at 12:56 PM
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  1. Everyone should have a nice seafood dinner, exchange gifts with a molluscan theme, and play tentacle games with your loved one.

    I assume the herbivores celebrating Cephalopodmas will be allowed to nibble seaweed.

    Will there be Cephalopodmas carols (sea shanties?) to sing during the festivities?
    #: Posted by Dr. Free-Ride  on  12/01  at  01:31 PM
  2. I'll buy my mother live squid and leave them scattered throughout the house - like an Easter egg hunt! Oh, think of the joyous look on her precious little face as she discovers each squid...

    Should I paint them individually, or just leave them as-is? Maybe buy some plastic squid and fill them with candy or caviar?
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  01:36 PM
  3. I'm all over it, especially the tentacle games idea, squares with the corporate mission.
    #: Posted by fearless leader  on  12/01  at  01:39 PM
  4. I'm pleased to hear the old traditions are coming back.

    When I was in high school one of my teachers started the 'Save the Turkey' foundation and gave presentations for Squid meals for Thanksgiving.

    For a while I thought he was strange, but now I see he was just ahead of the curve.

    I never have figured out the Black-Powder gun demonstrations shooting wax balls at the school walls, however. Maybe there is a mixture of genius and strange -- I guess I'll have to ask PZ.
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  01:57 PM
  5. You're welcome.

    The stickers were off-theme but I'm surprised you didn't mention them.

    BTW, a paper will come out in Science tomorrow revealing that Archaeopteryx had feet like a theropod.

    I've got to go write some Cephalopodmas carols now, there's only 21 days left.
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  02:32 PM
  6. One of my favorite childhood memories is how we'd all gather around the TV on Squidmas Eve for the annual broadcast of Rudolph the Bioluminescent Nautilus:

    Then one turbid Squidmas Eve,
    C. Santateuthis came to say,
    "Rudolph, with your photophores so bright,
    Won't you guide my bathysphere tonight?"

    We never questioned at the time why that jolly old squid actually needed a bathysphere.
    #: Posted by HP  on  12/01  at  02:42 PM
  7. From a discussion of squid carols on LJ:

    "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlesquids"

    God rest ye merry gentlesquids
    Let nothing you dismay
    Not pinnipeds nor great sperm whales
    That do upon you prey

    and "I Am A Squid" (Joy To the World)

    I am a squid, a happy squid,
    A happy, wiggly squid!
    Let every cephalapod
    Extend its tentacles
    And sucker on to something
    And sucker on to something
    And sucker, sucker onto something

    http://www.livejournal.com/users/ursulav/397655.html?thread=10099031#t10099031
    http://www.livejournal.com/users/pixel39/284648.html
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  03:17 PM
  8. What do I do on Cephalopodmas if I just don't eat seafood?
    #: Posted by Alon Levy  on  12/01  at  03:44 PM
  9. I think a Cephalopodmas holiday would be great. Unfortunately I have a biochemistry final that day. We need to work on getting it declared a University holiday.
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  05:23 PM
  10. Hey, 12/22 happens to be my birthday...

    Oh well, it beats sharing it in the same week as a certain famous historical figure
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  05:44 PM
  11. ooh, tentacle games! can hardly wait!
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  08:49 PM
  12. Hey, it is the anniversary of my birth, too! I was considering going to Outback for steak, but I can always add an appetizer of calamari to my favorite coconut shrimp. Could go for sushi instead, but we do that at least twice a month, so it's not so much of a special treat.
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  08:56 PM
  13. Oh open sea
    The squid are swiftly swimming
    It is the night of the dear blogger's 'mas
    Long lay the world in lack of mollusc feasting
    Til Cephalopodmas appear'd and showed its worth
    A thrill of squid the weary world rejoices
    For yonder lies a plate of fried calamar'
    #: Posted by Jonathan Badger  on  12/01  at  08:59 PM
  14. Might I suggest Ween's song (and album) "The Mollusk" as appropriate music for this holiday?
    #: Posted by  on  12/01  at  09:32 PM
  15. What do I do on Cephalopodmas if I just don't eat seafood?


    You go downstairs and recite "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn..." wink
    #: Posted by  on  12/02  at  09:14 AM
  16. By the way, am I the only one to think we're collectively nuts and should go see a shrink first thing Monday?
    #: Posted by  on  12/02  at  09:24 AM
  17. I think I'll just stick with good ol' traditional Decemberween.

    o/~ Decemberween, Decemberween, you're fifty-five days after Halloween... o/~
    #: Posted by  on  12/02  at  09:31 AM
  18. Nothing will stop you from eating calamari for Decemberween, BronzeDog ...
    #: Posted by Keith Douglas  on  12/02  at  10:09 AM
  19. "Nothing will stop you from eating calamari for Decemberween"

    Perhaps, but the traditional Decemberween foods are gravied yams, stuffinged ham, and roast bunny. But I do recall a squid briefly appearing in Strong Bad's Decemberween pagent, so there may be some Cephalopodmas/Decemberween crossover.
    #: Posted by Jonathan Badger  on  12/02  at  11:40 AM
  20. I think we're collectively nuts, but there's no way I'm telling a shrink about it. I'd like to keep my insanity private, thank you very much.
    #: Posted by Alon Levy  on  12/02  at  12:11 PM
  21. Well, insight is the first step to treatment grin
    And your welcome.
    #: Posted by  on  12/02  at  12:56 PM
  22. Cthulhu Carols: http://www.cthulhulives.org/Solstice/
    #: Posted by  on  12/02  at  08:44 PM
  23. Commercially available squid music:

    Dr. Squid by Dr. Squid

    Institute of Dubology Featuring Duffhead, DJ Squid
    by Institute of Dubology

    Squid Row Daze by Gorilla

    Eats Parliament by Techno Squid

    Squid Virtual's Petting Zoo by Squid Virtual

    Billy the Squid by Tom Chapin

    The Squid and the Whale (movie soundtrack)

    Giant Squid is apparently still working on their debut album.
    #: Posted by  on  12/04  at  10:23 AM
  24. Commercially available octopus music:

    Octopus by Gentle Giant

    Red Octopus by Jefferson Starship

    Octopus by Octopus
    From A to B by ""
    Restless Night... Plus by ""
    Things That Are Safe to Throw Things That Are Not Safe to Throw


    One Ten Thousand Million by The Octopus Project
    Identification Parade by ""

    Octopus Off-Broadway by Parlour

    Lipstick Project by Black Octopus

    Popsicle by Octopus Harem

    Between Genius and Insanity by Loppy Octopus

    Octopus by Human League

    Dance of the Octopus by Red Norvo

    Oswald: Pop Goes the Octopus by Various Artists

    Octopus: Best Of by Syd Barrett

    Dance of the Octopus by various composers

    Smash the Octopus by Flattbush

    Width of an Octopus by Thundering Lizards

    Octopus by Mozzoforte

    Scoctopus: The In Sound From Octopus Records by various artists

    Octopus by Tiber & Stapleton

    Black Octopus by Paul Jackson

    West to the Octopus by Spitznagel

    Octopus by Murder Mansin
    #: Posted by  on  12/04  at  10:33 AM
  25. Commercially available nautilus music:

    Titanic by Nautilus Pompilius
    Tablokitaj by ""
    Wings by ""
    The Prince of Silence by ""
    and several other albums by the same group

    Nautilus by Jake Slazenger

    Sara K. Live / Nautilus Tour 2002 by Sara K.

    Three Cuts in London by Nautilus
    What Colour's the Sky in Your World by ""

    Nautilus by The Graham Goble Encounter
    #: Posted by  on  12/04  at  10:40 AM
  26. Searches on Amazon for popular music related to "cephalopod" or "cuttlefish" failed to bring up any music - an unexploited niche for the musically inclined Pharyngula fan.
    #: Posted by  on  12/04  at  10:42 AM
  27. Kraken-nacht! Giorno di calimari!
    #: Posted by  on  12/04  at  09:51 PM