Here's a picture of a cow fish. It doesn't look like a cow, but then it doesn't look like anything else either. According to the caption:
"When scared it can release a toxic chemical which can kill many surrounding fish, including itself."
So apparently it's not real bright either. Fark is doing a photoshop contest about the fish here.

According to my giant monsters mailing list, a professor Bill Tsutsui is writing a book about Godzilla:
"I am a professor of Japanese history (and lifelong Godzilla fan) who
is currently completing a book entitled "Godzilla on My Mind" which
examines the Godzilla films and the monster's enduring popularity in
the United States. The book will be published by Palgrave Macmillan
in October 2004."
He's looking for photos of Godzilla fans with their collections. You can reach him at this address if you're interested: btsutsui@ku.edu
I don't have a large enough collection for that, but the book sounds fun. I can't wait for it to come out now. It's probably one of many that will be coming out for Godzilla's 50th anniversary this year. (That's the 50th anniversary of the film in Japan. Godzilla came out in 1955 in America.) I hope so, I'm always on the look out for new books about giant monsters.

FYI: May 7th is No Pants Day.

The BelGeddes No. 4 looks like it could have been the coolest airplane ever. (Found at the ever helpful Cylindrical Primate Storage Unit.)

Juan Pablo Delgado is an accused pedophile and a doomsday cult leader. He says he's seen the Virgin Mary. (But then who hasn't these days?)

It snowed in Israel. I can't quite remember, but wasn't that one of the signs of the apocalypse in The Omen? I seem to remember a scene with Leo McKern looking over a snow covered archaeological site in the desert.

Terence Stamp (actor in "Superman II," "Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace" and "The Limey") says he believes in ghosts and sees them in his dreams.

Evidence about the Ray family (of Griswold, Conn.) shows that 19th century Americans believed the dead were preying on the living:
"According to the book "Legendary Connecticut, Traditional Tales from the Nutmeg State," by the late David E. Philips, after learning of Henry's sickness, the remaining family members lost their patience.
"They headed to the burial ground with shovels.
...
"Philips said the group was acting on the conviction that Henry Nelson Ray's seemingly fatal illness was caused by his brothers' emerging from the ground and draining the blood from his veins.
"The bodies of Lemuel and Elisha were said to have been dug up and burned. They chose not to dig up and burn the father."

Nice summation here of what is known about the giant squid (and its relative, the colossal squid.) It gives lots of interesting facts and figures, but nothing really new. (Link found at The Anomalist.)

I just finished the book "Candyfreak" by Steve Almond. Technically, this book isn't coming out until May, but I was able to get my hands on an advanced proof of the book.
Almond is a huge candy bar lover. The first chapter of the book goes into his love affair with chocolate and the family situation that caused it. From there, Almond decides to get himself some free candy. He heads out to a few of the smaller candy bar companies in the country, makers of candy like the Twin Bing, Abba-Zabba and Valomilk. Between trances watching the chocolate enrober, Almond considers the plight of the regional candy bar maker. Most of these companies would disappear if the big three (Hersheys, Nestle and Mars) went into a price war.
The book is at its best when Almond indulges his fantasies and talks about biting into his latest candy bar. On those pages, his love for candy bars shines through. (And makes me hungry. I've had more candy bars in this last week than I have in years.) He's at his worst when he tries to relate it to national politics. He goes off on tangents that seem to have nothing to do with candy.
But that's a minor quibble. The book is a lot of fun, a travelogue through an obsession. It's a fun read.

A salvage firm hopes to get rights to the artifacts it salvaged from the Titanic. If not, the firm says it should be paid $225 million for the five salvage dives it made at the Titanic.

I just saw a fantastic film called Musa the Warrior today. (That review is a good one. I'm surprised Rotten Tomatoes doesn't have a listing for it.) If you like epic, tragic action films, this is as good as it gets. The characters are so well drawn. Everyone has their moment of doubt, everyone shows what they are made of. There are no simple villains. There are also no easy answers. At the end, there is still no assurance that there was any point to this tragedy beyond an honorable death. It's a beautiful movie that should get more attention.

I just saw Comic Book the Movie. It was fun and weird. It's no cinematic treasure, but if you're into comic books, it's a good time. Anyway, there was this one guy in the film, and even more so in the deleted scenes, hawking his comic book. He was great, a P.T. Barnum of the comic book. So I started looking through the Comic Book The Movie Forums and found this entry from the man himself:
"I, Devin T. Quin, being of reasonably Unsound Mind and the body of an individual who engages in moderate regular exercises invite You All to buy My Fine Comic Book:
Robots R' Cool, Zombies R' Jerks.
It will enrich your life and the lives of all around you as you read it, stranger or friend.
We are working on our Website: www.deadfishcomics.com
In the Meantime, please e-mail me directly at unkiedev@aol.
The book is 1.75, plus 80 cents shipping. We do offer discounts for bulk orders, and are ALWAYS excited to talk to retailers, for they are the Mighty Cogs that keep this industry turning. Let me know in your e-mail if you run a store.
-Thanks so much for all the attention and support. May the Bat of Success Fly down all of our throats.
-Devin T. Quin, Citizen."
I don't know if the comic is any good or not, but it looked great in the movie and I'm willing to give it a try. Check out the Web site and see what you think. They say they will have a Pay Pal button up soon to order the comic at $1.75. Cheap!

Website at the End of the Universe made mention of Robot Stories, an indie science fiction film that's winning awards. I'm going to have to check it out.

As much as I don't like their techniques -- shaving heads and beating young lovers -- I gotta admit, I'm on the side of people who want to keep Valentine's Day out of India. Stupid, stupid holiday.

This story, about a girl whose eye was glued shut must be the stuff of nightmares for anyone who uses eyedrops.

In police news, "Police say they have few leads as the woman used a false name but are relying on a photograph and her unusually large bra size to find her, a newspaper reported on Thursday."

Barbie and Ken are splitting up. We're all shocked. They seemed like such a good couple together. They say they'll still be friends, but you know how that goes. (And then there's all those nasty rumors about Ken. But I'm sure that's just talk.)

In an effort to fight creeping creationism, atheists and humanists are pushing for the recognition of 'Darwin Day' on Feb. 12. And a quick search on Google shows The Darwin Day Program page.

Seals are being killed and mutilated in New England states, possibly to sell their skins and sex organs. The latest case, however, doesn't seem to be connected to the others. Someone decapitated a seal and left the letters "M A L" carved into its hide.
UPDATE: Turns out the "M A L" covered seal was not a mutilation. It was written in grease pencil and stands for "Marine Animal Lifeline."