Lurid Illustrations: Juan Cabana
Don’t you love those bizarre magazines that strive to prove certain supernatural and mythical entities exist? Think Ripley’s, or those publications back in the day whose pictures and articles would either strike awe or scare a soul senseless. Even recently, there’s been a big debate on Animal Planet, Discovery and the likes on whether finned humanoids roam the depths of our oceans or not. In 2003, the Weekly World News had released articles, revealing sightings of mermaid and mermen remains.
Convincing for some, and otherwise rubbish for others, no one can deny the realism present in these corpses.
So the question remains–where are these dead mermaids and mermen coming from?
Strolling along the sandy beaches of Florida is none other than Juan Cabana. The dehydrated mermaid he comes across is actually his artwork, and he’s been creating cadaverous fish-folk sculptures since 2001. Enamored by the beauty and grace of these creatures, Cabana’s main mission is to expose us to the less glorious depiction of mermaids, mermen and other humanoid entities. Rather, these beings that supposedly thrive in the depths of the ocean, hiding from human eyes for centuries, instill a fresh perspective on life in the oceans.
Juan Cabana’s work incorporates authentic fish skins, teeth and scales. He’s created dozens of sculptures both human-sized and miniature, and have been featured in countless papers, magazines, and even on the Sci-Fi channel. Cabana has sold several pieces already, including his 2008 piece “Nerina” seen in the video. The 7-foot Mer was sold for a whopping $10,000. His portfolio is available to view on his website, The Feejee Mermaid. You are also welcome to send him questions and comments to him.
If you ask me, these versions of Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian are infinitely superior to Disney’s rendition.
Relay: Eau de Death–Evasive Zombie Survival
From the zombie lover to the necrophiliac (yes, we’re going there), there’s something about the decay (and animation) of expired human beings that, without a doubt, has captivated the masses. Flesh munchers (along with vamps, werewolves, fae and the sort) have wheedled their way into popular culture–with more reception than previously before.
But people start to wonder, question if zombies will someday be real. If you remember, there were a few incidents in the past of cannibalism, the most recent being the Florida man who almost chewed a kid’s face off. Since then, there’s been some fuss regarding the reanimated brain eaters. AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead hasn’t helped quell concerns of when the ol’ zombie apocalypse will occur.
Luckily for zombie apocalypse believers, Nebraskan chemist Raychelle Burks, PhD of Doane College has come up with a postmortem musk if you will, just in case a zombie outbreak does happen to take hold. In conjunction with the American Chemical Society, the researchers have been working on replicating the scent of early human decomposition.
The brew is predominately a mixture of two compounds–putrescine and cadaverine–and these highly-concentrated polyamines are emitted early in the human decay process. A touch of methanethiol (the scent responsible for bad breath, flatulants and other offensive sulfur-based scents) and the morbid mix is set to keep you protected from evil zombies.
Regarding the mass-production of these polyamines, apparently all of these chemical compounds can be cultivated from a modified E.coli bacteria, seeing it would have the amino groups necessary to produce the scent.
However, it should be noted that with a little research, the chemicals putrescine and cadaverine are quite lethal in large amounts. In a practical zombie survival setting, one would ask if constant application of this mixture would over time, decrease life expectancy due to constant exposure the mix. Little research has been put in to see if this mixture can be created organically from start to finish, however the cologne’s still in its infancy.
The scientists are still working on the formula, and it’s been noted that marketing a product like this would be like trying to sell salt to slugs. However if you’re in the market to protect yourself, or you just fancy that decaying flesh scent, it’d be in your interest to keep an eye on the “Eau de Death”.
Flora Gothica 