This is to announce that the new Ray Sixkiller column is up, and I've got a little back story for you.
I've mentioned before that I have little control over what goes in the head or what picture goes on top of my column.
My ability to keep writing this column is tied to clicks and Facebook "likes," and I have over time compiled a list of things that are "click bait." These things don't appear in the news every week, and since the column is based on the news, there's a certain luck of the draw quality.
Last week did really well with ladies' underwear ("Russians Drop Panties") but that was probably a one time deal. The standbys are celebrities and cute, cuddly animals. The all time record was a polar bear cub.
So, I usually provide the editors with a list of the animals mentioned in the column, just in case they have a cool photo lying around. This week, I mentioned Matt Taibbi's name for Golden Sacks, "vampire squid," but I thought he made that up, that the vampire squid was mythical like a unicorn.
Not.
I asked Professor Google and, sure enough, the vampire squid is a real animal, so I included it on the list. Lo and behold, what heads my column this week but a beautiful full color portrait of a vampire squid!
It is beautiful. It remains to be seen whether the readers rank it cute and cuddly like polar bear cubs, baby penguins, and young giraffes.