Meeting George Atamian

Brett (lizard boy), George, Me, Bryna
So, I met George Atamian, the current reigning King of Sea Monkeys, well, the COO of the Sea Monkey division of Educational Insights at any rate.

I contacted George when I first started this blog and I expected a cordial businessman, hopefully one who would send the oddly obsessed Sea Monkey blogger a few free toys to blog about. George turned out to be one of the friendliest, most vibrant and warm people you're likely to meet. He laughed loudly and promised to send me a box of Sea Monkey goodies, which he did. He told me to look him up if I ever made it down to LA and he started introducing me via e-mail to all the other Sea Monkey obsessives he knew.

When I'm not blogging about Sea Monkeys I am a comedian and as such I do in fact head down to LA quite often. My buddy Brett and I had been looking forward to eating bugs at a Thai Restaurant down there with all kinds of creepy crawlies on their menu. George didn't sound to enthusiastic about the bugs but he and his son did agree to meet Bryna (my fiancee) and I at Torung; a great non-bug cooking Thai Restaurant in Hollywood.

George and George Junior piled hot peppers on their food, sweated accordingly, and gave us a quick run down of their life stories thus far. Junior is a set dresser for films and tv shows. George is an astronomer who invented a unique aquatic microscope. The Sea Monkey folks contacted him, excited about this microscope which seemed the ideal way to view their miniature aquatic pets. The rest, as they say, is history.

I invited the Georges to see Brett's collection of reptiles (my buddy is The World Famous Lizard Boy.) As we walked through the west Hollywood neighborhood we had to stop repeatedly as George was amazed by the architecture, the palm trees, the cool posters on the telephone poles.

Brett's lizards thrilled him and when I told Brett that George was an astrologist, he snapped "ASTRONOMIST" so swiftly I had to check my pulse to make sure I was still amongst the living. Then the big smile, "Ha ha, astrologist. Get out of here, astrologist, HA!"

It was awesome to meet Mr. Sea Monkey and to see that Sea Monkeys are in such great hands (for now at least.) I hope to hear more of George's great stories of traveling the world as an ambassador of instant pets.

Sea Monkeys in London

Click Here to check out a blog entry featuring video and some Sea Monkeys who share space with a little bull dog statue.

If you want your Sea Monkey blog mentioned here drop me a line and let me know.

Kyle Machlachlan, mad Sea Monkey warlord?

I dig Kyle Maclachlan. He first came to my attention as a sweetly sincere, chicken walking Bud man in the delightfully weird David Lynch film Blue Velvet. He continued to work with Lynch and was equally wonderful as the overly enthusiastic detective on Twin Peaks. Show Girls was his best performance and he single handedly pushed that movie over the line into "fascinatingly strange" territory allowing it to escape the "just plain bad" or "utter train wreck" territories.

I was pleased to see his name show up in a blog search for sea monkey references. Maclachlan, now classing up the small screen with appearances on Desperate Housewives is quoted as saying of his love for Sea Monkeys:
“It’s a childhood hobby I’ve never grown out of. Soon I’ll have a sea monkey army to rival any in history. And then I’ll take over the world”

Of course I don't consider one blog a reliable source, and now I shall have to seek an interview with Mr. Maclachlan himself. Anyone know Kyle Maclachlan's cell phone number?

Funniest Thing I've Read All Year

Click Here to read the article at Animal Aid's website encouraging people to write to retailers of Sea Monkeys and ask that they not carry the product.
It's ridiculousness like this that makes the animal rights movement look silly, and that is a shame as it is a movement near and dear to my heart.

I see them huggin' monkeys with their sad faces in Animal Aid's logo and all I can think is, "I know what'd cheer them li'l monkeys up, a nice set of Sea Monkeys!"

Chinese Toy Scare not affecting Sea Monkeys

Are you safe buying Sea Monkeys? After all they do come in little plastic tanks with lots of plastic parts. Well, you don't have to worry. Sea Monkey accessories do NOT come from any of the plants that are currently involved in toy recalls. George Atamian assures us at www.sea-monkey.com that we're in the clear:

"All of our Sea-Monkey pouches are totally formulated and packaged in America by the inventors and creators of this wonderful & loved brand. Every batch of thse special powders are tested by our PhD expert with 45 years experience studying and analyzing all aspects of the Sea-Monkeys.

We make more than 100,000 tanks and sets in the USA and more in a factory in China with which I have personally dealt with, visited and inspected several times in the 12 years I have been associated with Sea-Monkeys.

We not only keep the lead out, but we constantly test for all heavy metals and other potentially hazardous contaminants.

My goal, and that of our world-wide dedicated Sea-Monkey team, is to provide you with a wonderful & joyous experience as you bring your Sea-Monkey pets to life and take good care of them over the years.
I wish you all health and happiness and remember…ALWAYS BE KIND TO YOUR SALTY SEA-MONKEY PALS!

Cordially Yours, George C. Atamian
Pres/COO
Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys®
Rancho Dominguez, CA USA"