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camwynIt has come to my attention that some of y'all are disturbed or confused by my current default icon, the KILLER SPLEEN CREATURE.
None of the photographs involved are of spleens. They are photographs of an animal called the Namib golden mole. These creatures are eyeless and by-and-large deaf. They live in the sand dunes of southern Africa, where they do not tunnel as other moles do, but instead move over the surface of the sand and occasionally dive to swim through it. Despite what the icon says they have four legs, not one. They eat insects and small lizards, which is an impressive feat given that they range between 75 and 85 mm long- three to three and a half inches- and have, as I said, no functioning eyes. They travel up to six kilometers a night in search of food. despite being- well- ambulatory kiwifruit really. I mean, come on, look at them. Tell me that's not an Ursula Vernon animal come to life.
The designation of the beasties as KILLER SPLEEN CREATURES has nothing to do with their temperament and everything to do with a discussion that erupted in the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
milliways_bar chatroom some time ago. Someone asked what sort of legal power you would have to have in order to authorize medical procedures for someone else- "for example, to have a spleen removed". This led to someone mentioning the Nickelodeon show "Two Angry Beavers" on which characters had to hide from the Killer Spleen. I did a Google search on the term "Killer Spleen" and was linked to this article at BrainClick.net, which featured the two photographs you see in the icon. The first response to the photos was from someone called Kramer, who said "ah, the killer spleen creatures!" and went on to claim they only had one leg and went "shhhhh ploot shhhhhh ploot" when they walked. It was late at night, and I wound up giggling hysterically, and the Killer Spleen Creature icon came out of that.
So, basically: I do not have any icons AT ALL with real spleens depicted. Probably the Namib golden mole has a spleen, but if it does, it's not visible in the photograph.
So sorry, kiddies.
(PS: Those photos seem to be the only photos on the net of the Namib golden mole. All the other photos I find are of the other subspecies, the Grant's golden mole, which is rather larger and loses the 'ambulatory kiwifruit' feeling as a result.)
None of the photographs involved are of spleens. They are photographs of an animal called the Namib golden mole. These creatures are eyeless and by-and-large deaf. They live in the sand dunes of southern Africa, where they do not tunnel as other moles do, but instead move over the surface of the sand and occasionally dive to swim through it. Despite what the icon says they have four legs, not one. They eat insects and small lizards, which is an impressive feat given that they range between 75 and 85 mm long- three to three and a half inches- and have, as I said, no functioning eyes. They travel up to six kilometers a night in search of food. despite being- well- ambulatory kiwifruit really. I mean, come on, look at them. Tell me that's not an Ursula Vernon animal come to life.
The designation of the beasties as KILLER SPLEEN CREATURES has nothing to do with their temperament and everything to do with a discussion that erupted in the
milliways_bar chatroom some time ago. Someone asked what sort of legal power you would have to have in order to authorize medical procedures for someone else- "for example, to have a spleen removed". This led to someone mentioning the Nickelodeon show "Two Angry Beavers" on which characters had to hide from the Killer Spleen. I did a Google search on the term "Killer Spleen" and was linked to this article at BrainClick.net, which featured the two photographs you see in the icon. The first response to the photos was from someone called Kramer, who said "ah, the killer spleen creatures!" and went on to claim they only had one leg and went "shhhhh ploot shhhhhh ploot" when they walked. It was late at night, and I wound up giggling hysterically, and the Killer Spleen Creature icon came out of that.So, basically: I do not have any icons AT ALL with real spleens depicted. Probably the Namib golden mole has a spleen, but if it does, it's not visible in the photograph.
So sorry, kiddies.
(PS: Those photos seem to be the only photos on the net of the Namib golden mole. All the other photos I find are of the other subspecies, the Grant's golden mole, which is rather larger and loses the 'ambulatory kiwifruit' feeling as a result.)
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Date: 2006-01-31 02:24 pm (UTC)Christ on a pogo-stick, Cam! People have been giving you grief about that icon? Compared to the icons I regularly see over on
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Date: 2006-01-31 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 03:57 pm (UTC)*snickers*
Well, I'm not sure about terrifying but having one leap on me from the shadows would definately freak me out.
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Date: 2006-01-31 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 04:17 pm (UTC)Yeah, that would be my first reaction. Those kiwifruits are savage creatures. ;)
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Date: 2006-01-31 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 02:32 pm (UTC)When you said 'They travel up to six kilometers a night in search of food' it was rather disturbing. Mostly because suddenly the mole thing became a lethifold, travelling in the dead of night to devour sleeping persons with a grim flutter.
My mind is so wrong.
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Date: 2006-01-31 02:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 04:06 pm (UTC)SHHHPLOOTSHHHPLOOTSHUUUUUUCK.
Frightening.
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Date: 2006-01-31 02:47 pm (UTC)Real spleens are oozier. A brief study of the spleen's function in the body will explain why, so I needed go into that here.
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Date: 2006-01-31 02:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 03:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 03:09 pm (UTC)I would love to know how those poor little bastards evolved that way.
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Date: 2006-01-31 03:12 pm (UTC)On the other hand, for true freakiness, the Namib golden mole can and does shut off its own thermoregulation during inactivity. If it's not out actually hunting or what have you, its metabolism goes into 'let the environment determine my body temperature' mode, like lizards, fish, and naked mole rats.
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Date: 2006-01-31 03:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 06:19 pm (UTC)First time I saw the icon, I thought to myself, "Oh, one of those sand swimmer type whatsitses. . . Golden Mole? Hahaha, shhh ploot."
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Date: 2006-01-31 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 06:37 pm (UTC)Scanning a few entries back would have been enough to figure out what the icon is from. It wasn't *that* long ago. >.>a
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Date: 2006-01-31 08:01 pm (UTC)- Mel
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Date: 2006-02-01 08:34 pm (UTC)especially if you`ve read a lot of sci-fi.