My Mommy Always Said There Were No Monsters - No Real Ones - But There Are, Aren't There?

In case you didn’t hear, they caught a giant squid off of the coast of New Zealand not long ago (for some reason they’re not disclosing the date) and as they largest giant squid ever captured (not alive, sadly) it’s pretty big news. This thing weighed close to half a ton (about 990 pounds) and was just massive, although not quite massive enough to avoid capture, obviously. Click on the link and prepare to be amazed.

What’s really amazing about this event is that it’s not the only major undersea discovery made in the last few months. Another, even rarer species of giant squid was not only caught in the seas of Japan but it was caught on camera, the first time that’s ever happened. And then there was the case of the likewise rare breed of Frilled shark (how did they get a lame name like that?) that was caught on camera, captured and then died in captivity. I’m not a big marine life buff (although I love seafood) but my fascination with this stuff ties into my longtime love of monster movies (you knew it would get to that, didn’t you?). I’ve long said that one should never underestimate the appeal of giant monsters because there is always going to be some kind of basis in scientific fact about them. Unlike space aliens or zombies, giant monsters not only really did once walk the Earth, they still do, albeit they swim in our oceans although for some reason they seem to favor the Pacific over the Atlantic. God damn, they’re cool, though if I ever came across one in real life there’s no doubt in my head that I’d be incredibly freaked out. Wouldn’t you?

Anyway, you can't make this stuff up, which is what I love about it. So how much do you want to bet that a bunch of giant squid movies show up in the new release section of Blockbuster in the next few months?