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Otter History Month Calendar Project
12 years ago
HEY EVERYONE. FREE SKETCHES!
I've had this idea for about a year now. When October rolled around last year and the furry hivemind branded it Ottober (for possibly the first year ever, I believe that trend began on Twitter last year) I christened Ottober 1st as the beginning of the Feast of St. Nom, to honor the otter saint who was martyred for creating clam chowder, which was deemed heretical for being so delicious. It was a fun bit of fiction and I want to do more- and I need your help. I want to present a whole month of fictional otter history- have feast days and strange traditions and honor 31 different otters who made their mark on otter history. Want to help? Its a collaborative project!
Let's create some otters!
Please reply to this journal with your idea of a historically noteworthy otter. They should be original and otter-specific. Personalities based off real historical people are not what I'm after- names like Abraclam Lincoln and Barack Ottbama are funny puns, but not what I had in mind. Remember Saint Nom? Here's another, which is a good example created by Roman Otter: Captain Benjamin Bartholomew Rudd, the explorer and inventor who pioneered navigation by inventing the ship rudder (and named it after himself.) See what you can do! Populate history with silly and amazing otters. Every suggestion will be considered and if it gets used I will credit your idea back to you.
Also, come up with unique holidays! The Feast of Saint Nom is an example of a fictional otter holiday that totally works. People can even have clam chowder to celebrate it (sprinkling a bit of hot sauce on top to symbolize the blood spilled to bring us this tasty soup, as is tradition.) So what else can you come up with? My friend Scruffy Puppy suggested National Coming Ott Day, when furs stop pretending to be other species and embrace the feesh. It's brilliant. Make some otter holidays and traditions for them that we can celebrate by being wiggly and squeaky or possibly even bring it into the real world with food or other things we can really do. I can't wait to see what you all suggest.
And GUESS WHAT
I'm gonna illustrate the whole thing!
All 31 otters that get chosen will get sketched and posted on their day. Here and on my Twitter, crashheartlives. One otter every day of Ottober. It's like an iron artist challenge for the whole month! You get a free sketch of the otter you suggest if it gets chosen, and we all create otter history!
I'll list the accepted submissions below: (revised 9/6/14)
1: Beginning of the Feast of Saint Nom, to honor the otter saint who was martyred on this day in 1392 for creating clam chowder
2: Davery D. Vydra, debuted the ill-conceived salmon-fueled Ottomobile in 1913
3: The home of the Bayshore Otters, Anchovy Field opens in 1870, becoming the first official major league baseball diamond.
4: the birthday in 1819 of Malcolm Dòbhran Bethune ORS [Otter of the Royal Society], Scottish pioneer industrialist and inventor, most notably of the TransSubAtlantic Railway and Seafood Buffet.
5: Largest street festival in the world, London's famous Otting Hill Carnival first held in 1959 in response to the great Fish Riots of 1958
6: the birthday 1901 of controversial Indonesian artist Josie Mae Berang-Berang, who explored feminist themes in her portraits of giant clams in the 1930s
7: Spike Rainier founded the Spike's Place Fish Market in 1907 in Seattle (Became Pike's Place)
8: The Leutrino, the subatomic particle responsible for wiggling, is first postulated on this day by Enrico Fermi's lab assistant, Polish-born Webster Pawloski in 1934
9: Charlie Motts invents beer in ancient Ireland. The arguably fictional patron saint of beer and drinking, his miraculous invention (traditionally held on this day) marks the official start of Ottoberfest festivities worldwide.
10: Rio 'Ripcord' Rodrigues, famed brazilian whitewater rafting champion and daredevil, becomes the first to successfully raft Angel Falls in Venezuela on this day in 1997. He was later killed when attempting the worlds highest cannonball dive, from low earth orbit in 2009.
11: National Coming Ott Day
12: birthday of pioneer zoologist Marina Morris, considered to be the world's foremost expert on seals. Best known for her decades long study of otter-seal relationships
13: The United Waterways of Otters is founded in 1879 (replacing the failed League of Rudders) on the close of the New Rudderlan Massacre- finally brokering lasting peace between sea and river otters.
14: Feudal Japanese Emperor Kawauso Ottokashi II defeats the cruel dog warlord Barkazai, ending the Whisker Revolution of 1358 at the Battle of a Thousand Squeaks
15: in 500 B.C.E. Emperor Lutramenes unites the Eastern and Western Otterman Empires on this day and declares Lutrianism a state religion
16: Chap Marlin founds the Federal Department of Fish and Fish in 1929 in remorse after his mismanaging of the fisheries commodity market nosedived, leading to the Great Depression
17: Captain Benjamin Bartholomew Rudd, the privateer and inventor who pioneered navigation by inventing the ship rudder (and named it after himself) exiled to Sardinia on this day in 1795
18: Birthday of Lutie Tailstrong, influential developer on the music style known as Spazz in the 1920's
19: The third sunday marks the traditional Chinese Festival of Hidden Fish (隐鱼节), celebrating the end of fishing season with sushi, gifts and competition
20: Czech composer Anton Kormidlo publishes 'Swim Every River' in 1945, the song which became the basis of the internationally acclaimed musical 'The Sound of Squeaking' 6 years later
21: Pierre Lutran publishes his water-splashing thesis "On the Origin of Feesh" in 1859, where he classifies most of the world's feesh species and postulates evolutionary relationships between them. Feesh were categorized according to various features, including taste.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31: Saint Lutro Ween/All Otter's Eve
I've had this idea for about a year now. When October rolled around last year and the furry hivemind branded it Ottober (for possibly the first year ever, I believe that trend began on Twitter last year) I christened Ottober 1st as the beginning of the Feast of St. Nom, to honor the otter saint who was martyred for creating clam chowder, which was deemed heretical for being so delicious. It was a fun bit of fiction and I want to do more- and I need your help. I want to present a whole month of fictional otter history- have feast days and strange traditions and honor 31 different otters who made their mark on otter history. Want to help? Its a collaborative project!
Let's create some otters!
Please reply to this journal with your idea of a historically noteworthy otter. They should be original and otter-specific. Personalities based off real historical people are not what I'm after- names like Abraclam Lincoln and Barack Ottbama are funny puns, but not what I had in mind. Remember Saint Nom? Here's another, which is a good example created by Roman Otter: Captain Benjamin Bartholomew Rudd, the explorer and inventor who pioneered navigation by inventing the ship rudder (and named it after himself.) See what you can do! Populate history with silly and amazing otters. Every suggestion will be considered and if it gets used I will credit your idea back to you.
Also, come up with unique holidays! The Feast of Saint Nom is an example of a fictional otter holiday that totally works. People can even have clam chowder to celebrate it (sprinkling a bit of hot sauce on top to symbolize the blood spilled to bring us this tasty soup, as is tradition.) So what else can you come up with? My friend Scruffy Puppy suggested National Coming Ott Day, when furs stop pretending to be other species and embrace the feesh. It's brilliant. Make some otter holidays and traditions for them that we can celebrate by being wiggly and squeaky or possibly even bring it into the real world with food or other things we can really do. I can't wait to see what you all suggest.
And GUESS WHAT
I'm gonna illustrate the whole thing!
All 31 otters that get chosen will get sketched and posted on their day. Here and on my Twitter, crashheartlives. One otter every day of Ottober. It's like an iron artist challenge for the whole month! You get a free sketch of the otter you suggest if it gets chosen, and we all create otter history!
I'll list the accepted submissions below: (revised 9/6/14)
1: Beginning of the Feast of Saint Nom, to honor the otter saint who was martyred on this day in 1392 for creating clam chowder
2: Davery D. Vydra, debuted the ill-conceived salmon-fueled Ottomobile in 1913
3: The home of the Bayshore Otters, Anchovy Field opens in 1870, becoming the first official major league baseball diamond.
4: the birthday in 1819 of Malcolm Dòbhran Bethune ORS [Otter of the Royal Society], Scottish pioneer industrialist and inventor, most notably of the TransSubAtlantic Railway and Seafood Buffet.
5: Largest street festival in the world, London's famous Otting Hill Carnival first held in 1959 in response to the great Fish Riots of 1958
6: the birthday 1901 of controversial Indonesian artist Josie Mae Berang-Berang, who explored feminist themes in her portraits of giant clams in the 1930s
7: Spike Rainier founded the Spike's Place Fish Market in 1907 in Seattle (Became Pike's Place)
8: The Leutrino, the subatomic particle responsible for wiggling, is first postulated on this day by Enrico Fermi's lab assistant, Polish-born Webster Pawloski in 1934
9: Charlie Motts invents beer in ancient Ireland. The arguably fictional patron saint of beer and drinking, his miraculous invention (traditionally held on this day) marks the official start of Ottoberfest festivities worldwide.
10: Rio 'Ripcord' Rodrigues, famed brazilian whitewater rafting champion and daredevil, becomes the first to successfully raft Angel Falls in Venezuela on this day in 1997. He was later killed when attempting the worlds highest cannonball dive, from low earth orbit in 2009.
11: National Coming Ott Day
12: birthday of pioneer zoologist Marina Morris, considered to be the world's foremost expert on seals. Best known for her decades long study of otter-seal relationships
13: The United Waterways of Otters is founded in 1879 (replacing the failed League of Rudders) on the close of the New Rudderlan Massacre- finally brokering lasting peace between sea and river otters.
14: Feudal Japanese Emperor Kawauso Ottokashi II defeats the cruel dog warlord Barkazai, ending the Whisker Revolution of 1358 at the Battle of a Thousand Squeaks
15: in 500 B.C.E. Emperor Lutramenes unites the Eastern and Western Otterman Empires on this day and declares Lutrianism a state religion
16: Chap Marlin founds the Federal Department of Fish and Fish in 1929 in remorse after his mismanaging of the fisheries commodity market nosedived, leading to the Great Depression
17: Captain Benjamin Bartholomew Rudd, the privateer and inventor who pioneered navigation by inventing the ship rudder (and named it after himself) exiled to Sardinia on this day in 1795
18: Birthday of Lutie Tailstrong, influential developer on the music style known as Spazz in the 1920's
19: The third sunday marks the traditional Chinese Festival of Hidden Fish (隐鱼节), celebrating the end of fishing season with sushi, gifts and competition
20: Czech composer Anton Kormidlo publishes 'Swim Every River' in 1945, the song which became the basis of the internationally acclaimed musical 'The Sound of Squeaking' 6 years later
21: Pierre Lutran publishes his water-splashing thesis "On the Origin of Feesh" in 1859, where he classifies most of the world's feesh species and postulates evolutionary relationships between them. Feesh were categorized according to various features, including taste.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31: Saint Lutro Ween/All Otter's Eve
Originally named Spike's Market, the S-es were lost over time and when Mr. Rainier finally retired, the street where his market stood was renamed Pike Place.
Debuted on the 12th of Ottober 1913 and quickly retired later that same year. They are considered extremely collectible among vintage car buffs and anyone who enjoys cooked salmon.
Known for his long standing rivalry with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, oft chagrined by Bethune for 'intruding upon the heritage of rightful otters to the sea', their feud came to a head in his favour with the Ottober 22 1848 with the grand opening of Bethune's TransSubAtlantic Railway and Seafood Buffet. Bethune was reported saying 'That impostor Brunel wishes to take his trains over the sea, let him! The fare is better beneath it!"
Sadly, Bethune's contributions were marginalized following his death, in part due to smear campaigns against his person by the Brunel estate for being Scottish.
Yes. A million times yes
So how about this:
Vince and Cane, two otter explorers who were shipwrecked off the coast of Maine while fishing during the late 1700's. Given bad directions by The Man By The Sea, the two otts ended up exploring the uncharted territory of the American wilderness years ahead of any official expedition. When the official expedition did finally happen, Vince and Cane's notes were discovered in an old abandoned Surf Shack on the California coast.
River Otter PearlStone, A native warrior who defended the river system from invading water buffalo tribes, ensuring it would remain in otter control for all of time.
Esteban Monet, famed otter rock star who's life typefied the excesses of fame and who's music both promoted the otter agenda, introduced the joys of seafood to a global audience, and helped unite the species in a time of great uncertainty and upheaval.
If I come up with something really inspired, I'll let you know, but I'm not used to working with no background.
I do know there should be a sushi day somewhere on the calendar...
Every year since 1966, three days in August have seen the city of London turned into a riot of colour as otters unite in the streets to show cultural harmony with other species and to give everyone a taste of life in warmer waters. Caribbean grilled fish is served on the pavements, swimming pools are packed with partygoers and a procession of otters in their most amazing costumes parade through the streets.
It began in response to the great Fish Riots of the late '50s as a reminder that fish can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of species, and that everyone can participate in ottery things every once in a while!
Declaration of Loving Feesh, each signed with a webbed paw and stamped with an otter nose (as river and ocean otters have very different noses)
And thus laid the ground work for the present Day: United Waterways of Otters (UWO)
Otters were no longer allowed to fish for there own dinner anymore since the crack down. This led to many fishing boats being destroyed on a daily basis but Mr. Rivers and The lady Marine, even for her size, were able to avoid this. Mr. Rivers wouldn't allow fishing directly off the boat's decks but down in the hull and storage he had a small trap door that many otts would fish out of and go home with fresh fish from the rivers.
When the prohibition was lifted Mr. Rivers was thanked by many otters for his help during these trying times and now on Ottober 28th of every year Otters celebrate National Rivers Fishing Day in thanks to the otter who helped feed many and keep fishing alive.
During his retirement Arthur spent many days writing his auto-biography detailing what life was like as a boat captain, owner, and illegal fisherman. The book went on to sell many copies and even got translated into different languages. Many Otter Studies classes around the world still use Mr. River's auto-biography as study material.
As for The Lady Marine, she is now nestled in port at the town that Mr. Rivers retired to. The boat has been fashioned into a museum and people can still fish from the open hatch in the base of the boat. There has also been talks of turning Arthur's book into a screen play.
Emperor Ottokashi II - A legendary ruler of of feudal Japan. Said to have used his great mastery over feesh to create an unheard of combination of many simple foods to create what we now know as sushi. With these rolled bits of feesh, seaweed and rice, he was able to unite the warring families of otters into one, strong and mighty clan that cast out the cruel Dog Emperor Barkazaki and ruled for 100 years of peace to follow. To this very day otters still come by his shrine and offer sushi in honor of his great creation, and how it brought his people to peace.
Ottober 31st! Happy Hallottween! Tonight is the night we mark the evening of Saint Lutrio Ween, whom, with his close friend Pardus de Leo, in 1666, on All Otter's Eve, donned homemade masks of clamshells, and seaweed. They took to the streets offering neighbors, both Mustelidae and Feline, feeshie treats to enjoy. Together they are famous for the tradition that finally brought Otterkind and Catkind together, to celebrate their love of da feesh. Otters and cats dress up for the night, trick-ott-treating, visiting their neighbors for fresh wigglefeesh, pinchfeesh, and shellfeesh. Traditionally, masks are still worn, made from clam shells, and seaweed in honor of Saint Ween, and de Leo.
Can't wait to see how this turns out.
After watching his son become dangerously ill from drinking from one of the rivers near his town, Curtis sent a bill to the US government requesting something to be done about the careless and unsafe practices of many major manufacturing companies. In response to Curtis' actions the US environmental branch was created to help monitor the health of the remaining natural lands in the country.
Lutie Tailstrong, who in the 1920's, was an influential developer on the music style known as Spazz.
There now exists colonies of mitosis capable space otters on the moons of Jupiter.
A very portly otter after his extensive "research" Dr. Lutran was forced to go on a diet after returning from doing his field work.
<3
laughing so much over this. Its perfect.
Doctor Allen Onyx is credited with the discovery of this minor holiday in the late 1890s that has lately gained a bit of notoriety in modern society. While doing research on his family's history in relation to the historical development of sushi in Southeast Asia, he uncovered descriptions of a game that young Oriental small-clawed otters would play. Before the weather turned too cold, the adults would preserve their feesh in fermented rice; however, the pups would hide their small pieces of feesh in large containers of uncooked rice and boast challenges to each other as to who could find the tasty treats the fastest. As the process of feesh preservation evolved into the modern form of sushi, the game gained enough popularity in Chinese society that the Festival developed to give otters a chance to celebrate the end of fishing season and let the whelps have their fun.
Not every country recognizes this holiday, though Dr. Onyx's reports drew enough attention that most Western societies have embraced the Festival as another reason to party. Modern celebrations are usually held on the third Sunday of Ottober, having replaced the feesh in the challenges with actual sushi as well as adding loose pieces of seaweed in the rice to fool unsuspecting lutrines. Some countries exchange gifts of sushi as well, to share their culinary works of art with their friends and family.
(it's an actual last name haha but I laughed when I first heard the name, can change the last name to something else like Johnson or strongarm :b)