Eddie Codel put together a great video from Laughing Squid Paradise Lost where he asked people at the party “When was the first time you were touched by the Squid tentacle?”

It’s interesting to hear all the different stories of when people first became aware of Laughing Squid. Please feel free to share your experiences in the comments.

Laughing Squid makes craigslist missed connections via one of my photos from the TechCrunch party:

s.f. bayarea craigslist > san francisco > missed connections

cute at techcrunch party - w4m - 30

hi! this is crazy. thought you’re cute. you’re the tall blond guy with your back to the camera, wearing glasses, 3rd or 4th person from the left, in picture number 11? on laughingsquid. wish i’d talked to you.

Just doing my part to help out…

Thanks to Steve Rhodes for the tip!

Here’s the hilarious short that was shown before the “Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters”. It’s a spoof on the classic promos that used to be shown before films at movie theaters. It features Mastodon as a junk food thrash metal band performing “Linoleum Knife”, where they lay down the rules for the film’s audience.

WordPress recently launched their new online store, WordPress Shop and the first product they are offering is this great limited edition red WordPress t-shirt made by Indigo Clothing Ltd.

My friend Peter Hyoguchi recently launched Interviewing Hollywood, where he showcases interviews he does with interesting people involved in the film industry. Each interview is broken into a series videos, each focusing on a question. Peter’s latest interview is with Francis Ford Coppola, the first interview that he has given about his new film “Youth Without Youth”, Coppola’s first new film in 10 years.

Oh and check out Peter’s great interview with eclectic actor Crispin Glover.

Thanks to everyone who made it out Saturday night for Laughing Squid Paradise Lost. Here are some photos, videos and blog posts from the event.

- The Photoboof

- Lane Hartwell

- Derek Powazek

- Scott Beale

- Heather Powazek Champ

- Andrew Mager

- Steve Rhodes

- Willo O’Brien

- Courtney Patubo

- Ted Rheingold

- Chris Heuer

- Karen Marcelo

- qDot

- Magic Safire

- Fenchurch

- Jonathan Leavitt

- Chandler White

- Jones Ambigusan

- Nancy Tubbs

- Alex Choi

- Dave

- ignacy

Eddie Codel
- “When was the first time you were touched by the Squid tentacle?”
- “Rachel demos the KGB at Paradise Lost”

EmmettG

Mark Day

Andrew Mager

Valleywag

Magic Safire

We would like to give a shout-out to all of people who made this event possible.

- Our wonderful hosts Flora Grubb and Jim Kumiega of Flora Grubb Gardens and Eileen Hassi of Ritual Coffee Roasters.

- An extra special thanks goes out our our awesome co-organizer, permit wrangler and stage manager Helena “Noona” Nolan.

- Our performers DJ Otto von Stroheim of Tiki News, Project:Pimento, Chicken John, Hal Robins, Zero Boy, John Hell, Matthew J. Harman and Jarico Reese and his Dead Man’s Records Show.

- Our art and installations including Cyclecide and their Ferris Wheel, The Neverwas Runabout, Jon Sarriugarte and his SS Alpha Fox & Fire Garden, Photoboof, the (fire free) Flaming Lotus Girls, Art Cars, Doggie Diner Dog Heads, the visuals by On The Fly Films and the fabulous Squid Tiki by Loid Mongoloid.

- Our excellent bars run by Black Rock Arts Foundation (organized by Freddy Hanne) and Milton’s pirate bar.

- Lori Dorn, Simone Davalos and the rest of the amazing door staff.

- The Black Rock Rangers for their help keeping our event safe.

- Mutual Aid Response Services (MARS)

- Our volunteer coordinator Rick Abruzzo and all of the volunteers that helped out with the event.

- Hugh D’Andrade for creating such an amazing poster for the event.

UPDATE 1: Check out Valleywag’s awesome write-up on Julia Allison, the clueless woman who was completely obnoxious to our door staff, shocked that they didn’t immediately recognize who she was (we still don’t know) and that we had the nerve to try to charge her admission to an event that she knew nothing about and was trying to crash. Next time, do us a favor, stay in New York.

UPDATE 2: Adrienne So wrote a story on Laughing Squid Paradise Lost for Wired, accompanied by a gallery featuring the amazing photography of Lane Hartwell: “Paradise Lost, Found Again at Laughing Squid Benefit”

The Dog Heads have arrived. See you tonight at Laughing Squid: Paradise Lost!

Michael Arrington and Heather Harde hosted TechCrunch’s 2nd annual blowout tonight at August Capital in Menlo Park. I’ve heard reports that over 800 900 people were in attendance. It definitely was a packed house with the demos, food and drink flowing.

Here are my photos from the event.

Proceeds from the party, along with a matching amount from TechCrunch, were donated to KIPP Bayview Academy, a tuition-free middle school in San Francisco’s Bayview and Hunter’s Point community.

UPDATE: Here’s more coverage of the event from TechCrunch, Wired (photos by Lane Hartwell), Thomas Hawk, Michael Arrington, Jeremiah Owyang, Dan Farber, Brian Solis (bub.blicio.us) and Brian Caldwell.

IFilm has been posting some great videos of Comic-Con 2007, which is now in full swing in San Diego. They recently uploaded a couple of short interviews with Henry Rollins and the ubiquitous Elvis Trooper.

Today is System Administrator Appreciation Day. Big thanks goes out to our new sysadmin Michael Biven and his predecessor Barry Abrahamson for keeping the Laughing Squid servers up and running smoothly.

People-powered customer service startup Satisfaction hosted the first of their “irregular series” of gatherings at their new office space, The Satisfactory, located in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. Who could resist the tempting combination of cupcakes, cocktails, watermelon and beer. Here are a few photos I shot before I discovered the keg of Sierra Nevada at the bottom of the stairs.

Jackhammer Jill, a Squid is the latest from Adam Koford (aka Ape Lad). Xeni describes it as “Boing Boing + Laughing Squid, come to life!”.

Jackhammer Jill is part of Boing Boing’s logo and this illustration is a follow-up to Ape Lad’s wonderful Jackhammer Jill Hobo.

Thanks to Xeni Jardin for the tip!

Cincinnati blogger Subspace recently visited the Vent Haven Museum of Ventriloquism in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky and shoot some totally amazing and creepy photos of the museum’s ventriloquial inhabitants. Good luck sleeping tonight.

via » Boing Boing

The GigaOm Show, a new weekly show about technology and business hosted by GigaOm founder Om Malik and Silicon Valley lawyer Joyce Kim, has just launched on Revision3. Each week, Om and Joyce will profile an up and coming startups and talk to veteran entrepreneurs. Here’s their first episode, which features James Hong, co-founder of HOTorNOT and Bill Watkins, CEO of Seagate.

Last night they had a launch party at the top of the amazing Hamon Tower at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Here are some photos I shot of the event.

Here’s more on the show’s launch from NewTeeVee, All Things Digital and Valleywag.

UPDATE: Here are Thomas Hawk’s photos from the launch party.

Paul Reubens Day V, the 5th annual celebration of Paul Reubens’ infamous character Pee-wee Herman, takes place this Saturday, July 28th in San Francisco.

The event kicks-off early at noon on Saturday with a “Big Adventure” at Vesuvio in North Beach, followed by a Playhouse Party The Stud, which is a benefit for St. James Infirmary and The Center for Sex & Culture.

PAUL REUBENS DAY V

WHEN:
Saturday, July 28, 2007 12 Noon

WHERE:
Big Adventure
12 Noon - Vesuvio, 255 Columbus @ Broadway

Playhouse Benefit Party:
4-6pm - The Stud, 399 9th @ Harrison

TICKETS:
The Big Adventure is FREE (bring cash for drinks/snacks/strippers)

The Playhouse Party is sliding scale $10-20; $7-20 in Wee Wear

We don’t make monkeys, we just SPANK them! The Drunken Redheaded Sluts presents Paul Reubens’ Day V, a benefit for community sexual freedom fighters, St. James Infirmary & the Center for Sex and Culture. “Yeah, I’ve heard about that. It goes into the ‘it’s all good’ category…” admits Paul Reubens, SF Chronicle.

Calling all loners, rebels, talking chairs, genies, most-beautiful women, cowboys, ghostly truck drivers & red bow-tie sporting man-children for an explosive, surreal, wank-tastic journey through the sexy Playhouse that is San Francisco. “…Saturday…is ‘Paul Reubens Day’, & I believe that we should all do our part to honor Mr. Paul Pee-wee Reubens,” proclaims Moby, moby.com 2005.

The Big Adventure features a FREE citywide romp though toy stores (both the kid & adult variety), pubs, pubes & public parks leaving a wake of consensual bowties & unexpected mayhem. For the fifth anniversary celebration of sexual expression & Pee-wee Herman, the -Wee March will be revisiting highlights of PRDs’ past, taking the city by spoogey storm. Bring Kleenex! “We love Pee-wee, not in spite of his public masturbation charge, but inclusive of it,” declares Aaron Muszalski, co-founder of PRD. Check our site for up-to date info. Festivities begin at 1pm.

Porn & Tequila! PRD culminates in the Playhouse Party with zany performances, naughty burlesque, demented DJs & dishy clips form The Very Porn Paul Reubens was watching when he got arrested! Featuring the Reubens-esque Costume Contest, Miss Yvonne Beauty Pageant & Amazing Larry’s Trivia Contest! Contest details are on the website. Prizes sponsored by Good Vibrations & Costumes on Haight. Spotlighting a star studded cavalcade of local, ludicrous & libidinous talent including: Circus Finelli, KrOB & Sherilyn Connelly.

Paul Reubens’ Day lands on Saturday, July 28th, 2007. The Big Adventure starts at 1pm. The route is free, but bring money for drinks/snacks/strippers. Playhouse Party tickets are $10-20, sliding scale at the door; $7-20 with Wee Wear. Be sure to check paulreubensday.com for current times & locations.