This is a Giant Squid on a boat off Ogasawara Islands, Japan, on December 4, 2006. The squid was caught on special fishing line; it's about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long and about 50 kg (110 lbs), was caught at a depth of 650 meters (2132 feet) off the Islands.
The excitement over this beast is that it's the first one ever actually caught live, although it died. The real excitement is that this is a very small one. Apparently they grow to 20 meters long. North Korea should take to fishing these... one of them could be breakfast for the entire nation.
short Reuters video
Comparatively underwhelming is this giant Philippine lobster, a species recently discovered in a developed Philippine-French joint project in the island of Panglao. I've seen 'regular' lobsters bigger than this, but we don't yet know what it tastes like with drawn butter and so the news is reported here in anticipation.
Finally, nobody's eating this one, although he does come with his own poaching equipment and broth. The official cap from Mainichi Daily News, Japan:
Kurobe, a 10-year-old Labrador retriever with problems in his hind leg, receives a massage in a hot bath at 'El Perro', an aqua fitness centre for dogs, in Tokyo February 25, 2007. The fitness center offers physical training and weight loss programs and remedies for bone and sinew problems for dogs.
He looks happy, and I'm happy to think that that somewhere in the world there is an aqua fitness centre where dogs can get an Asian massage.
Does he get a happy ending? There, I said it so you don't have to. Happy Friday.