Metasepia pfefferi

Cuttlefish propaganda:

1. Because ink is mightier than bully beef.

2. Because our skin colours & textures are limited only by deficiencies in the perceptions of others.

3. Because sepia unlocks a common, universal history & the ocean is the original medium for all life.

4. Because the kraken wakes & cephalopods are the archetypal animus of the pirate & the awesome forces of organised entropic nature. Invert the jolly roger & hoist the flag of libertalia.

5. Because a life form sustained over 500 million years must have got something right in its relationships with its universe.

6. Because no intellectual property rights for jet propulsion, nor ink itself, have ever been paid to their true originators.

7. Because a single superordinate but connected central intelligence, with ten independently controlled arms, each chromatically & visually aware & suckered up for optimal adhesion, makes a pretty good fielding unit.

8. Because the man has a really hard time respecting the intelligence & awareness of any natural life form that does not share its prejudices & CNS architecture, & cuttlefish communicate just about well enough in a language the visually & symbolically prejudiced man can recognise to challenge that ignorance. The multidrug resistant staphs might better symbolise the oppressed & disenfranchised, but I don't sense they'd be a popular choice. Cuttlefish obviously know how to do play without pissing on anyone else's picnic.

9 Because of high energy protons, cosmic starlight, melanin & Vitamin D photosynthesis, melatonin & synchronisation of the pineal, melanocytic regulation of pigmentation, display & crypsis, calcium, phosphate & bone regulation, the infinite possibilities for communicative diversity, the milk of human kindness & right back around through local dairies, Bristols, Xanadu & chocolate manufacture. Woah; it's holistic; all too much for logical analysis & explicit causality.

10. Magical holistic panacea for writer's expression; just add a white or cream linen or canvas (nudge, nudge) background & away you go. Woodpulp is a bit extreme, & as for veal calf skin, we're not in the dark ages any more are we?

11. Because cuttlefish are not overtly threatening to cattle or their associated humans, but still retain a cryptic connection to the milky way which is open to being interpreted as a sign of mutual respect & kinship, & if we find ourselves in a tight spot with the man, we can always recruit the assistance of the local crab militia:


Metahumour:

So, this is educational, sort of, if you already know how to smell bullshit, & know the difference between east & west, & it has a disturbing & perverse last minute, so no cigar, but tries hard & it's good medicine anyway:

Playing with cuttlefish (for the young ones):