List of hybrid creatures
March 2nd, 2010
Partly Human: Upper Part Human/Human with animal head/Human with some animal parts; Non-human
Archive for the 'monster' Category
Paging Mr. Darwin
January 8th, 2010
I actually have heard of the "gyascutus" which "has legs of unequal length so that it can walk easily on hillsides" though I think it might go by other names.
Creature Consciousness
October 19th, 2009
"These scholars want to break down the categories and distinctions that have defined how we think about our relationship to everything that is not us. Some of them see it as nothing less than a revolution in how to think and how to live."
Anatomy of Japanese folk monsters
October 19th, 2009
"Yōkai Daizukai, an illustrated guide to yōkai authored by manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, features a collection of cutaway diagrams showing the anatomy of 85 traditional monsters from Japanese folklore."
Aimee Mullins and her 12 pairs of legs
April 19th, 2009
TED talk from Aimee Mullins, whom I know primarily as one of Matthew Barney's muses and accomplices in the Cremaster cycle. She discusses the possibilities of prosthetics beyond simply regaining or replacing lost or diminished function.
Effects shop fulfills amputee’s mermaid dream
February 26th, 2009
"We wouldn't be surprised if 10 years from now there are mermaids swimming about in your local pool."
The Rise of the Machines
December 11th, 2008
Population information for industrial robots.
German farmer Karl Merk gets world’s first double arm transplant
October 17th, 2008
"It was really overwhelming when I saw that I had arms again."
The Humboldt squid beak
September 8th, 2008
Scientists are studying what makes it possible for the extremely hard squid beak to be safely attached to a head and body with roughly the consistency of jello. Also in the comments we learn about bee spit.
The Emerging Supremacy of Artificial legs
May 21st, 2008
Quick rundown of the actual reasoning behind the IAAF's original ruling and the reasoning behind the overturning of that ruling by the CAS. Also makes the point that as prostheses continue to improve, the Paralympics will likely become a superhuman event.
Pistorius
May 21st, 2008
Nice, long post about the recent ruling that allows double-amputee Oscar Pistorius of South Africa to attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. He runs on two carbon-fiber "blades" modeled after the lower legs of a cheetah.
Surgeons give hope to blind with successful ‘bionic eye’ operations
April 29th, 2008
Best part? It's called the Argus II. Argus is the name of several mythic figures, including Argus Panoptes (the hundred-eyed giant), Odysseus' faithful dog, and both the shipwright of the Argo and also a shipwrecked traveller rescued by Jason.
Search for the “Confectionary Behemoth”
April 28th, 2008
From the abstract for a story in today's New York Times about the acquisition of Wrigley's by Mars, Inc. Seems like the phrase only occurs in syndication of the story, but is worthy of a surrealist master.
Charles Simonds
March 2nd, 2008
Passersby found them on windowsills, on the brick facades of abandoned buildings, and in empty lots. The artist imagined these to be homes for a nomadic population he called "the Little People."
RARE MASSIVE 6-GILL SHARK SIGHTING AT 3300 FT DEPTH!!
February 8th, 2008
All kinds of superlative commentary but no one says that they're gonna need a bigger boat. But they are, probably.
Cyborgs and Space
January 14th, 2008
A not particularly carefully OCR'd pdf of Clynes' and Kline's groundbreaking article on the plausibility of modifying the human body to adapt to extended periods of spaceflight. Might be worth considering in the face of the doping scandal, might not.
Humans Carry More Bacterial Cells than Human Ones
December 5th, 2007
All of the bacteria in an adult human would fit into a half gallon jug, and surpass human cells in quantity by 10 times. Not only that, but some of our genes appear to be "bacterial in origin."
Vancouver 2010 Mascots
December 1st, 2007
Oh, jiminy cricket are these drawings ever cute. Also! Canada! Quit being better than us, with your suddenly strong dollar and your Olympic mascots that are all mythological creatures!
The Fantastic in Art & Fiction
June 16th, 2007
Ranging from treatises on prodigies from the 17th century all the way up to issues of Amazing stories.
Bear robot rescues wounded troops
June 8th, 2007
I'm going to limit my commentary on this to the fact that treaded legs seem a good idea and not talk about the fact that this looks like it got rejected from a Radiohead video for being too weird. Not the best way to avoid the uncanny valley, people!