the alamo and me

New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research team recently took a 35-day trek to Antarctic waters collecting over 30,000 marine life specimen and discovering many new species along the way. Some of the most interesting collected were gigantic starfish, sea pigs, sea spiders, new octopuses (or is it octopi? I never know), several new fish, crustaceans, and so on.



Pictured above is a sea pig (really a sea cucumber) and pictured below is an octopus found 3,280 feet below sea level. Is it me or doesn't this octopus look like the alien baby Will Smith had to deliver in the back seat of a car during Men In Black?



Go check out the rest of the photos here at National Geographics. The starfish are gigantic.

Labels: Animals, Excitement, Newsworthy

I received an awesome little gift this morning from one of the editorial interns. I've been known to impersonate Velociraptors from time to time so she brought me this little guy...



This morning we re-enacted scenes from Jurassic Park because I also have a Jeep Transformer toy.



And this is exactly why I love my job.

Labels: Amused, Random

There has been much heated debate since Absolut ran a "controversial" ad in Mexico last month. Mostly from Americans who are butt-hurt over the ad and have no sense of humor whatsoever. Click the image below for the full ad.



I found it to be rather clever and a definite eye catcher. However, that small percent of "people who ruin it for everyone else" did not. The ad was meant to run in Mexico. Which means you cater towards that market. So the Americans who found it went up in arms over the entire situation. Which lead to blowing it out of proportion. Kaboom.

Last week, Absolut’s makers Vin & Spirit said the ad was created “with a Mexican sensibility” and was not meant for the U.S. market. Absolut released an apology saying “In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues.”

Go to Shape and Colour for the full rant on the issue.

Labels: Design, Genius, Ridiculous

In an attempt to re-instill itself into consumer minds, Starbucks has rolled out a new design on their cups.

Because the green Starbucks logo is so pervasive, the switch to the retro version is an immediate attention-grabber. It’s just one part of a much broader effort underway at Starbucks, in which the company is stressing a return to its roots and working to reemphasize its brewed-coffee chops.

Does this make you want to buy more Starbucks?

Check the full article details from Buzzwatch.

Labels: Design