Phantom Universe

In a Dream, a Spirit's Life After Death

2012-01-31T13:17:00.000-06:00

Soul Reflection

January 31, 2012

I had a spirit come to me in a dream last night. I don't know for sure if she wanted my help but she definitely wanted to tell her story.

She died young, just barely into adulthood. She was in an auto accident and didn't survive like she thought she had.

This is where it gets really interesting. For a long time she didn't know she was dead. The reason is that there are more people than we know of, live human beings that can see spirits and many of them can interact with spirits.

Some people don't actually see dead people but sense they are there, or hear a whispering voice; Some people see apparitions; only veiled wisps, or transparent forms with vague features. Then there are those that see them as if they are alive, a complete body, face and voice. These live people can see and speak to the deceased person like they would anyone else, interacting with the spirits, as if they were still alive.

In fact, there are a few live people who can't quite discern the difference, so they treat the spirit as if they are alive. And that is confusing. Thus, a spirit came to me and told me her story in first person, literally. For a brief while in my dream, I became her.

It started out, I was in bed. I was attempting to clear my mind and sleep when I heard my dog growl ever so softly. He does that when certain spirits are around, or if he hears a strange noise that bothers him.

Right then I knew a spirit had entered my home but I was tired and had few other concerns at the moment. Sleep was more important than greeting a ghost at the door.

I never caught this spirits name but as her story unfolded in my mind, I became her, seeing through her eyes, her mind. For now, I will call her Annie.

Annie was a lovely young lady, attending college and enjoying her young adulthood. She vaguely recalled an accident but thought she was OK. For some time it never dawned on her that some people who she knew in school and home, totally ignored her while others spoke with her, smiled and then moved on.

It didn't dawn on her that the party dress she liked in a store window just seemed to appear on her body, or that her attire changed at just a thought. She was confused but accepted it as normal and continued trying to live a life she no longer had.

Then in one moment, it all changed and the horror (to her) of what she is, became clear. There were denials and she begged those around here not to tell her the truth but too late. It was her own mother that told her how she died in a car accident and that it was her mother's love that kept her in limbo, in the living world.

In Annie's state of denial, she approached every person she saw and begged of them, "You see me, don't you? I'm real, I'm real!"

Most people ignored her, for they couldn't see or hear her but there were some who could and they made things worse. They could see her but were afraid, or couldn't tell her what she needed to know.

And so, Annie came to me in a dream. She "relived" her sad story in my mind and before I could tell her that indeed, she is dead, Annie faded away and left me with the memories of a sad and broken spirit.

Annie, if you are reading this, it's OK. You are OK. Love, peace and happiness await you in the light.

[Note: I really did experience this. I would be interested to know if anyone else has had an experience like this and if so, would you be willing to share your story? -SW]

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Spirit Rescue International™ News

2012-01-13T13:15:00.000-06:00

SRI Investigation: Public House in Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK

Irene, Brian, Billy and Natalie were on site at a pub in Burry Port, Wales, UK. Kim and I were on Skype, me on Irene's laptop and Kim on Brian's. We were using both video, as well as audio.

As everything was being set up, cameras, etc., I saw a dark apparition move quickly behind Irene. Not long after, I heard a moan (whoo uh). Apparently I was not the only one who heard it, as it was mentioned by the on-site team.

It only took a few minutes to see that we were in for a hard time with our Skype connections. While Kim and I hard no problems at all, on Irene's end it was pure havoc from the onset. During down-times, somehow I got switched to Brian's laptop. I had connection a bit longer, while Kim was off twice as much as I. It made it impossible to take notes, or see much. However, Kim and I both saw "ghost lights" near the ceiling of the closed off part of the pub, the area where guests were not allowed during the investigation.

At one point during the time I was connected and while Billy was walking away from the camera, I caught a glimpse of a small dark entity, which darted behind and past him. Also, I did see a faint mist form and move slightly. This was also seen by the on-site investigation team.

It was during all this that the connection would last for a couple of minutes, then we'd lose it. Kim and I were wondering if it was Skype but then we two never lost contact with each other... it was all at the investigation site. But that was just half of it, as the team had problems with the cameras, batteries draining and the like. Something did not want us there. Kim and I were told of the Christmas eve problems and it all made sense.

On Christmas eve at the pub, there was a Karaoke DJ who's speakers blew. Not only that, despite the fact that there were no power surges, light bulbs exploded and other mischief had ensued. It must have seemed like the scene from a Hollywood ghost movie set.

The investigation ended and Irene drove back home. Once there, Irene Skyped Kim and I. Wouldn't you know, the connection was perfect.

Please note that I cannot discuss my 'impressions' at this time.

Sunny-
Phantom Universe
Lights in the Texas Sky
Spirit Rescue International™

Please, read Irene's report here:
Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, Wales - Public House - On-Site Investigation

*Also read about another S.R.I. case we are working on, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
1st Remote View Session - Multiple Entity Attachments - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

*Also, be sure to read our first S.R.I. Newsletter.

*Keep up-to-date on S.R.I. cases, and if you are interested in becoming a member of S.R.I., please go to Spirit Rescue International™, see what we are about and what we do, then contact us.

Spirit Rescue International™ Blog/Newsletter
Spirit Rescue International™ Website
Spirit Rescue International™ Forum
Contact Spirit Rescue International™
S.R.I. Astral Perceptions Forum

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Why we will still be here in 2013

2012-01-02T16:25:00.000-06:00

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OK, so there seems to be more major storms, even earthquakes in Oklahoma and Ohio, Tsunamis and just about any kind of disaster you can think of. So does this mean the end of the world is nigh? Uh, no.

The Earth is a living planet and by that very definition, we are here and we survive and thrive. Storms will come and go, tides will rise and fall, meteors will whiz by and some smack down, Momma Earth will belch and far... You get the picture.

Does anyone remember Y2K? You know, the New Millennium, January 1, 2000? Weren't we all supposed to be destroyed then, or at least all the computers in the world crashing at once? Give me a break...

People like a good scare and some people are just big worry warts. Just think of all the money that's been made off of "End of the World" movies, not to mention all the underground bunkers, missile silos turned condo and MREs (meals ready to eat). Hey, the end of the world is big business and people will pay out the "ends" to insure their survival, while the rest of us get Kentucky fried.

So just what is in store for our world in 2012? Well, the Earth is still going to turn and wobble on it's way around the sun; the moon will be an inch or so further away from our planet; disaster will still strike (as usual and in some form, fashion and place), people will whine and bemoan the end is coming; hoarders will go broke from buying all those MREs and underground bunkers; there'll be several Arks for sale; people will still be reporting UFO sightings; and I will still have to pay my taxes.

So there are my predictions, worth about what, 2 cents? You can use the PayPal button to help me out... I need to stock up on ammo.

Happy 2012!

-SW

Why People Say the World Will End In 2012

NASA Debunks 2012 Apocalypse With New FAQ

Shepherd: Can the Doomsday scenarios -- at least for 2012

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Bigfoot! For Real?

2011-12-09T16:14:00.000-06:00

Recent 'Leaked' Bigfoot DNA Information

(Phantoms & Monsters) The following information was posted at Bigfoot News - December 7, 2011 in reference to results of the nuclear DNA testing for the 'Bigfoot Steak':

The steak was sent out to ~8 different labs to be tested on a blind basis. Nuclear DNA testing was part of the process. The labs were not told what they were getting and they had no idea what they were testing. Two of the labs were said to have “figured out what it was,” whatever that means, and honestly it doesn’t make sense in the context. The cost was $~11,000 per result, so ~$90,000 was spent on DNA sequencing of the steak. This cost was apparently footed by Wally Hersom.

From all eight labs, the results came back:

1. Not human.

2. Not any known animal.

3. “Unknown primate.”

A lot of the labs made communications to Ketchum along the lines of “What in the Hell is this we are testing anyway?” “WFT?” “WTH?” “Huh?” The labs were essentially dumbfounded and befuddled by the specimen, but they reported the results in official reports as they were paid to do.

#3. is important, because although the DNA matched no known living creature, it is primate DNA. I would go further and suggest that it is hominid DNA.

#1 is extremely important and cannot be emphasized enough. This is because the skeptic blogs keep repeating over and over that Ketchum’s results are “human DNA.” I can emphatically confirm that the results for at least the Bigfoot steak from the Sierra Kills were definitely “100% non human.”

There's more! Read the rest of the story.

~ ~ ~ ~
Note: I am not going to comment on this, other than to say that if true, this is awesome news!
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"Witch's Cottage" Found In UK

2011-12-08T12:23:00.000-06:00

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Workmen make 'bewitching' discovery

(UK News-Yahoo) Water engineers have unearthed what could prove to be one of the most infamous sites in England's history of witches and warlocks.

United Utilities' workers were "stunned" to discover a 17th century witch's-style cottage, with a mummified cat sealed into the walls, during a routine construction project in Pendle, Lancashire.

The "spellbinding" find occurred near Lower Black Moss reservoir in the village of Barley, which nestles in the shadow of Pendle Hill - the UK's premier witching hotspot.

Speculation is already rife among local historians that the building could be the lost Malkin Tower - the site of a notorious meeting of the Pendle witches on Good Friday, 1612.

Archaeologists brought in by the North West water firm to survey the area found a remarkably well-preserved building from the 1600s, hidden beneath a grass mound.

The building contained a sealed room, with a mummified cat bricked into the wall. It is believed the cat was buried alive to protect the cottage's inhabitants from evil spirits.

Carl Sanders, United Utilities' project manager, said: "It's not often you come across a fairytale cottage complete with witch's cat. The building is in remarkable condition. You can walk through it and get a real sense that you're peering into the past."

Simon Entwistle, an expert on the Pendle witches, said: "In terms of significance, it's like discovering Tutankhamun's tomb. We are just a few months away from the 400th anniversary of the Pendle witch trials, and here we have an incredibly rare find, right in the heart of witching country."

Frank Giecco, from NP Archaeology, led the team who unearthed the Pendle building.

He said: "It's like discovering your own little Pompeii. We rarely get the opportunity to work with something so well preserved. As soon as we started digging, we found the tops of doors, and knew we were onto something special."

More...

The cottage may have once looked like these nearby homes in Pendle Hill Witch Country.

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17th Century "Witch's Cottage" Unearthed in Britain

(NBC Miami) A 400-year-old "witch's cottage" complete with a mummified cat was unearthed by British engineers excavating a grass-covered mound.

Archaeologists were called to the construction project in Lancashire after the cottage was discovered, according to the BBC. Experts believe the the well-preserved cottage may have belonged to one of the Pendle witches.

The mummified cat was found embedded in a brick wall, where it may have been buried alive to ward off evil spirits.

Carl Sanders, United Utilities' project manager, said: "It's not often you come across a fairytale cottage complete with witch's cat.

"The building is in remarkable condition," Carl Sanders, manager of the utilities project that necessitated the digging, told the BBC. "You can walk through it and get a real sense that you're peering into the past."

The area around the cottage, Pendle Hill, is known as witch country for a spate of witch trials that took place during the 17th century.

Simon Entwistle, an expert on the Pendle witches compared the discovery to finding the tomb of King Tut.

"We are just a few months away from the 400th anniversary of the Pendle witch trials, and here we have an incredibly rare find, right in the heart of witching country," he said. "This could well be the famous Malkin Tower - which has been a source of speculation and rumor for centuries."

The building also contains a 19th Century kitchen range, Victorian crockery, a tin bath and a bedstead from its later years.

See video and more

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Haunted? Spirit Recue International™ Can Help

2011-12-05T12:51:00.000-06:00

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Are you experiencing a haunting in your home, or workplace?

Do you often experience strange occurrences that leave you feeling threatened?

If you answered yes and you need help, please contact:
Spirit Rescue International ™. We can help.

SRI Haunted Help Forum

SRI Astral Perceptions Forum- Case Logs

T'is the Season!

2011-12-05T10:59:00.000-06:00

Christmas UFO

Click on either image for larger view.

Last year I decorated the front of the house with lights and created what looked like (at night), a landed flying saucer with multicolored chase lights around it.

In the evenings after dark, I noticed quite a few people stopping out on the road and then speeding off. I guess they thought it was a real UFO. hehe

As I was looking through last years photos, I came across one of the house that has an anomaly. Can you see it?

Look close, just to the left of the doorway. A Christmas spirit, perhaps?

If you have had ghostly encounters at Christmas time, I'd love to read your story and possibly post it here. If you have photos, that would be even better.

Send your stories and photos to me.

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"Spirited" Good Time

2011-11-10T15:37:00.000-06:00

Click on any photo for a larger view.

Am I scary?

Zombie Joe and Max from 'Planet of the Apes".

Somebody put water in this bottle!
Ken as Dracula, Max the ape.

The toad potion is just right.
Karen the witch

Off with their heads!
Donna, the head hunter.

Next!


Don't cross me. When is break time? Devilish Johnny

*

The veterans support organization that I belong to [Texas Veterans Association, Chapter 3], held a haunted house.

We had a fantastic time scaring the "visitors" and for the second year straight, the proceeds (for charity) exceeded our expectations.

Thanks to all, for a howling good time!

*

Have tape, will travel.

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Beware this night, All Hallow's Eve

2011-10-31T16:26:00.000-05:00

'Sunny' on All Hallow's Eve.

*

You just might run into... me!

Happy Halloween!

From the cast and crew at Phantom U.

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El Muerto - A Texas Ghost Story

2011-10-31T16:16:00.000-05:00

Bigfoot Wallace

Here's a headless horseman tale, from a true life Texas legend.

El Muerto

A Texas Ghost Story

retold by S.E. Schlosser

After getting the lay of the land, so to speak, frontier man Bigfoot Wallace moved from Austin to San Antonio, which was considered the extreme edge of the frontier, to sign up as a Texas Ranger under Jack Hayes. In them days, Texas was as wild as the west could get. There was danger from the south from the Mexicans, danger to the wet and north from the wild frontier filled with Indians and desperados, and to the east the settlements still had problems with the Cherokee Nation. General Sam Houston himself had appointed young Captain Hays, a hero from the battle of Plum Creek, to raise a company of Rangers to defend San Antonio. Hayes had high standards for his men. They were the best fighters in the west, and they had to be, considerin’ the fact that they were often outnumbered fifty to one. A man had to have courage, good character, good riding and shooting skills and a horse worth a hundred dollars to be considered for the job. Captain Hayes knew all about Bigfoot Wallace and signed him on the spot.

So armed with Colt pistol and a Bowie knife, Texas Ranger Bigfoot Wallace once more took on the Wild West, and quickly made his mark on Texas folklore. In them days, the Rangers tended to handle stock theft at the end of the rope, so to speak, stringing up the bandits, forcing a confession out of them, and then leaving the bodies swaying in the wind to deter other outlaws. Only it didn’t work, and the bandits kept right on stealing, sometimes passing right under the bodies of their fellow outlaws to do it.

Now Bigfoot’s fellow Ranger, Creed Taylor, had a big spread lay west of San Antonio, in the cedar hills clear on the edge of Comanche territory, and he was constantly losing stock to bandits and Indian raids. The last straw came for Taylor the day famous Mexican raider and cattle thief Vidal and his gang rounded up a bunch of horses from his ranch and took them south toward Mexico. Most of the Rangers were heading north to pursue some Comanche’s out on a raid, but Taylor and a friend went immediately in pursuit of the thief, and when they bumped into Wallace just below Uvalde, he joined them.

Bigfoot was always ready to hunt horse thieves and desperados, especially those of Mexican descent, never forgetting what happened to his brother at Goliad. Bigfoot decided it was time to put an end to Vidal’s gang once and for all. He would track the wiry Mexican bandit to earth. The three men located the camp where the horse thief and his gang lay sleeping, and snuck in from downwind, so as not to alert the horses. Vidal was wanted dead or alive, so all the thieves were shot and killed in the gunfight that followed.

That was when Wallace got an idea. Obviously, hanging horse thieves hadn’t gotten the message across to the outlaws raiding the ranches of the good folk of Texas. Perhaps a more drastic example of frontier justice would do the trick. Severing Vidal’s head from his body, Bigfoot and his fellow Ranger tied the body to the saddle of the wildest mustang in the stolen herd and secured the severed head to the saddle horn so that it would bounce and flop around with every step taken by the mustang. Then Wallace gave a shout and sent the horse running away with its headless, dead rider, hoping the gruesome sight would deter future cattle thieves.

What he managed to do was frighten everyone in South Texas. Folks would be peacefully walking down the road of an evening when a terrible headless rider would gallop pass on a midnight black stallion with serape blowing in the wind and severed head bounding on the saddle horn beneath its sombrero. Nothing could deter the terrible specter – not bullets, not arrows, not spears. It was years before a posse of cowboys finally grew brave enough to bushwhack the horse and release the withered corpse from its back.

But on moonless nights, the ghost of El Muerto continues to ride across South Texas to this day with his long black serape blowing in the wind and his severed head bumping on the saddle beside him.

You can read more Texas folklore and ghost stories in Spooky Texas by S.E. Schlosser.

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Rescuing Souls

2011-10-29T11:53:00.000-05:00

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I've had to take a hiatus from Phantom Universe, for several reasons.

First: The spammers from China where overwhelming me and the blog.

Second: I've been extremely busy with UFO investigations and reports over at Lights In The Texas Sky.

And Third: I am now a team member for Spirit Rescue International™ .

Spirit Rescue International™ (SRI) is a non-profit group that combines the resources of our affiliates worldwide in order to achieve a successful entity clearing. Our mission is to provide professional, confidential and ethical spiritual relief, including continued personal support and guidance at no cost to the client.

Media Info:
Spirit Rescue International™ prides itself by being the first and only paranormal team of this kind in the world. We are made up of associates from several countries all working as a single team, keeping in contact with one another by computer and Skype. When working a case we not only look at the problem the client is experiencing but also research the history of the situation.

First we have a group consultation...after that the research begins. We examine factors like the geological stress and the water table of an area as well as other natural and environmental elements. The process can be time-consuming but necessary for a positive result. Remote viewing is also used in our investigations and is a very important tool in our observation arsenal. As a team we prefer to address all aspects of a case scientifically before we consider it from a psychic view. We take our time with our investigations leaving no stone unturned. Then, and only then, we will deal with the problem in order to bring harmony and calmness to the client and the premises. I am proud to say that our organization has never failed in these objectives thus we have achieved a 100% performance and satisfaction ratio with our clients.

It has been proven that distance, time and administration as a team are not a problem or liability. This approach has made it possible to successfully reach and work with any client anywhere in the world.

These are PDF file links to the article pages. Simply click the 'Click here to start download from MediaFire' link and the page will download and appear:

Haunted Magazine - Spirit Rescue International - 1

Haunted Magazine - Spirit Rescue International - 2

Haunted Magazine - Spirit Rescue International - 3

Haunted Magazine - Spirit Rescue International - 4

Haunted Magazine - Spirit Rescue International - 5

Please note that at SRI, cases involving children take priority.
We also work with cases that involve aliens and other manifestations not of this earth.
As stated, there is never any charge to our clients.

Disclaimer: We will not tolerate those who attempt to deceive SRI, i.e., hoaxes.

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Dallas Couple's Nanny Cam Captures Ghostly Lights

2010-09-06T14:43:00.000-05:00

Using a night vision 'nanny cam', David Devine of Dallas, Texas keeps an eye on his 2 year old son asleep in his crib. David's camera has picked up something else that seems to be keeping a watchful eye on the toddler, as well.

Lights flash and drift across the child's room, suggesting that someone, or something, has an interest in the boy.

Sometimes the two-year old appears to see something. When David sits in the rocking chair, reading a book to his son, the toddler will point at things around the room but no one knows what the child is pointing at. Is the child seeing spirits?

Read story and see video on CBS11TV, then decide for yourself.
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33 Chilean Miners Await Rescue

2010-08-23T15:46:00.000-05:00

One of the 33 trapped miners awaiting rescue, which could take up to 4 months.
Guardian.co.uk-The 33 miners trapped deep underground in a mine in Chile will need to spend the next four months participating in their own rescue before being pulled out by rope, it emerged today.

Rescue workers were tonight set to begin lowering capsules of glucose, hydration gels, liquid nutrients, communication equipment and medicine down a 2,257ft bore hole to the bottom of the San José mine, where the men have been trapped inside a mine shaft for the last 18 days. The rescue work continued as questions began to emerge about the safety record of the mine, with relatives asking why it was allowed to operate.

The men's miraculous tale of survival was communicated to the world yesterday when they attached a note to a probe sent into the shaft. It read: "All 33 of us are well inside the shelter."

The news, confirmed by the Chilean president, Sebastián Piñera, prompted celebrations across the country and jubilant scenes on the surface of the mine, where the men's relatives had established a week-long vigil as they awaited signs of life.

Officials have described the bore hole – which is just 8cm wide – as an "umbilical cord" for the miners. It will attempt to keep them healthy while officials begin drilling a far bigger hole as an escape route for the men, who are trapped in a shelter around 52 sq metres – the size of a small apartment. Rescuers also plan another shaft to ensure ventilation for the miners, who are thought to be enduring temperatures as high as 32C.

Widening the existing hole is also an option, although officials said excavating the rescue tunnel – which will be around 65cm wide – would take between three and four months.

Read more and watch the video.

Note: I decided to post this, as it is an example of the human strength of will. They have already survived many days and those miners must survive for the next few months of rescue efforts. Oxygen, food and water aren't all that is necessary to do so. One must remember that these men are entombed, deep underground. It will take courage, faith and a tremendous will to live, to survive their long ordeal.
Our prayers are with them...
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Spirit Orb in Breckenridge farm photo

2010-08-22T15:25:00.000-05:00

On July 18, 2010, I took some flash photos near our home on our farm outside of Breckenridge, Texas. Something quite odd turned up in the very first photo I took.

It appears that there is some sort of fog, or ectoplasm surrounding me (the camera attempted to focus on it), and in the background an orb appeared.

When examining the orb, I find that it is emitting it's own light, a light that I did not see with my eyes at the time the photo was taken. The colors purple and gold stand out from the bright white light.

I have often taken photos on our farm at night. The camera has picked up images of some strange lights and other objects unseen to the naked eye. I seem to attract these 'spirits' and though I cannot see them, I can sense their presence.

I might also add that we have a pet cemetery on our property and many times I sense one or more of our beloved, yet deceased pets...

Another Lake Monster?

2010-08-22T14:25:00.000-05:00

Last week, Darlene Thompkins and her daughter were wading in the waters near the Ootsa Lake spillway, when she saw a large creature in the water.

"It looked like a huge snake head ... and it was a dark grey colour," she said.

Read the complete story.

Photo Courtesy canadafishingonline.net

Weird News & Scientific Wonders From Around The World

2010-06-29T18:21:00.000-05:00

Rare 'white' elephant captured in Burma

A rare "white elephant", a traditional symbol of good fortune and power in south-east Asia, has been captured in Burma, state media reports.

Reports say the 2m (6.5ft) female elephant was tracked down in Maungdaw in the west of the country.

White elephants are only nominally white - they often look reddish-brown in the sun, and light pink when wet.

Analysts say the animal is likely to be brought to the capital, Naypyidaw, for the military ruler, General Than Shwe.

Read More

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Goce satellite views Earth's gravity in high definition

It is one of the most exquisite views we have ever had of the Earth.

This colourful new map traces the subtle but all pervasive influence the pull of gravity has across the globe.

Known as a geoid, it essentially defines where the level surface is on our planet; it tells us which way is "up" and which way is "down".

It is drawn from delicate measurements made by Europe's Goce satellite, which flies so low it comes perilously close to falling out of the sky.

Scientists say the data gathered by the spacecraft will have numerous applications.

One key beneficiary will be climate studies because the geoid can help researchers understand better how the great mass of ocean water is moving heat around the world.

The new map was presented here in Norway's second city at a special Earth observation (EO) symposium dedicated to the data being acquired by Goce and other European Space Agency (Esa) missions.

Europe is currently in the midst of a huge programme of EO development which will see it launch some 20 missions worth nearly eight billion euros before the decade's end.

The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (Goce) is at the front of this armada of scientific and environmental monitoring spacecraft.

Imaginary ball

Launched in 2009, the sleek satellite flies pole to pole at an altitude of just 254.9km - the lowest orbit of any research satellite in operation today.

The spacecraft carries three pairs of precision-built platinum blocks inside its gradiometer instrument that sense accelerations which are as small as 1 part in 10,000,000,000,000 of the gravity experienced on Earth.

GRAVITY - A MOVING TARGET

The 'standard' acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface is 9.8m per second squared
In reality the figure varies from 9.78 (minimum) at the equator to 9.83 (maximum) at the poles

This has allowed it to map the almost imperceptible differences in the pull exerted by the mass of the planet from one place to the next - from the great mountain ranges to the deepest ocean trenches.

Read More

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'Sex' drove fossil animal traits

Several prehistoric creatures developed elaborate body traits in order to attract members of the opposite sex, according to new research.

The purpose of the exaggerated crests and sails found in many fossil animals has long been controversial.

Some scientists said sails helped to regulate body temperature and that head crests helped flying reptiles steer during flight.

Now a study say these traits became so big because of sexual competition.

The findings, by an international team of researchers, is published in the journal American Naturalist.

One of the prehistoric animals looked at by the researchers were pterosaurs - flying reptiles which became extinct at the time of the dinosaurs.

The study suggests the relative size of the head crest compared to the body of the pterosaur was too large for it to have been dedicated to controlling the animal's body temperature or its flight.

They also looked at mammal-like creatures called Eupelycosaurs, which lived before the time of the dinosaurs.

This group, which included the animals Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus, carried large elaborate "sails" along their backs.

By using known relationships between body size and metabolic activity - the process behind heat generation - in living organisms, the scientists concluded that the features were "too exaggerated" to have played a role in the control of body temperature.

Co-author Dr Stuart Humphries, from the University of Hull said: "One of the few things that haven't changed over the last 300 million years are the laws of physics.

"So it has been good to use those laws to understand what might really be driving the evolution of these big crests and sails."

His colleague, Dr Joseph Tompkins, from the University of Western Australia, commented: "The sails of the Eupelycosaurs are among the earliest known examples of exaggerated secondary sexual traits in the history of vertebrate evolution.

"Indeed, the sail of Dimetrodon is one of the largest secondary sexual traits of any animal."

Co-author Dr Dave Martill from the University of Portsmouth said: "Pterosaurs put even more effort into attracting a mate than peacocks whose large feathers are considered the most elaborate development of sexual selection in the modern day.

"Peacocks shed their fantastic plumage each year, so it's only a burden some of the time, but pterosaurs had to carry their crest around all the time."

Read More

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UFO News

UFO Researcher Dennis Whitney quits after alleged threat

Mysterious new crop circles at UFO capital of Britain in Wiltshire

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A seeing-eye dog for a blind dog

2010-06-15T13:46:00.000-05:00

Blind Dog Has Her Own Seeing-Eye Dog

These two dogs are more than just best friends, they share a rare bond.

Ellie, a young cavalier King Charles spaniel in England, is almost completely blind. While her owner and a local animal organization are working to raise money for a vision-restoring operation, a German shepherd named Leo has taken matters into his own paws, and is protecting and guiding her.

"Ellie has cataracts on both eyes and is only aware of shadows," explains Jean Spencer, manager of Rochdale's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in an interview with the Manchester Evening News. "But Leo, who's an absolutely massive dog, has become her eyes. It's touching to watch them together. She follows him around and snuggles up to him."

Ellie was part of a litter of five puppies rescued from harsh conditions by the RSPCA, says Julie Lander, an RSPCA volunteer and Leo and Ellie's owner. "As well as having cataracts, Ellie's eye muscles haven't developed as they should have as she'd been kept in the dark. The puppies had no light or heating. I felt so sorry for her when she arrived, and knew she'd need a special home. But I also knew she would be all right with Leo, as he just loves little dogs and they took to one another straight away," Lander tells the Manchester Evening News.

Lander goes on to explain how Leo's almost 90 pounds of bulk helps keep his new charge safe. "I take them for walks in the park and Leo guides Ellie around. He is so protective and herds the more boisterous dogs away from her," Julie says.

No one has commented on whether Leo can actually tell that Ellie is disabled or if he is caring for her based solely on her size. If Ellie's problem is ever fixed, it will be interesting to see whether she will continue to share the same bond with Leo.

Although they already have had at least one fundraiser, the RSPCA does not yet have enough money to pay for Ellie's operation. If you would like to donate, go to www.rspca-rochdale.org.uk.

Source
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Ghost Hunters Photograph UFO?

2010-06-07T18:21:00.001-05:00

Update!
Object isn't what it seems. Read story at
Phantoms & Monsters

Photo of object.

Cropped version, enhanced.

Photo taken before object appeared.

Original Post:

Three ghost hunters were conducting an investigation at a cemetery in Richland, Missouri, when they captured something quite unique and 'ghostly', though not the Bob Marley type.

It's also rare that ghost hunters report to the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), though it has happened before.

Here is that report (as is), in it's entirety. To see the original report and photos, click on the links provided.

MUFON case 23649
06-05-2010 at 22:39
Richland, Missouri

On the evening of Saturday June 5th our paranormal group decided to do a investigation in a cemetery near Richland Missouri in Pulaski County. It was just the group leader, his wife, and myself that night. We were having the usual investigation and were at first glance getting a lot of orbs, with a couple of really cool face pictures. While at the cemetery I saw a shooting star shoot straight down. The night was clear with some clouds in the distance producing heat lightning. My friend was using a camera that had an infra red attachment. He has a better camera then I do that is 10megapixel. We spent about 45 minutes at this place then moved on to the next cemtery down a series of dirt roads. While there all three of us noticed a constant humming noise at this cemetery. It was not the interstate as when you live by a road there are occasional breaks in the noise. We finished up the investigation at the second investigation and headed back to the group leader's house. We uploaded our pictures to our respective computers and procedded to go through the evidence right then and there. About approximately ten minutes into the review of evidence. I hear "What the hell is that?!?" coming from the group leader. I got up and, his wife got up from the computer desk and headed over to his desk and looked at an unusual object hanging in the sky among the trees. This was unlike anything I had ever seen before. We realized that this photo was taken in the first cemetery. The picture that was taken in the same spot and in the general same direction before had no such object in it. It was invisible to us. While we were in that spot we had to be no more then 25 feet from the object and the group leader speculates that the object was hovering about in the tree tops. Observing us. Also noticed in other photographs are humanoid looking faces with two black stripes painted upon their cheeks. It is also worth noting that the group leader and his wife did a previsit to the graveyard about two weeks ago. When we arrived he commented that their looked to be several dirt patches that were not there previously. Were the aliens investigating us investigating the cemetary? Did they follow us to the other cemetary and was that the contant humming we heard? We may never know the true answer.

Original Photo 1
Original Photo 2

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Note: I have cropped the original photo and enhanced the object.
If you look closely, it appears to be behind some trees in the foreground, yet partially "in" the background trees.
The object also appears to be semi-transparent. Perhaps a double exposure, or stranger still, something trans-dimensional?
It looks vaguely like a "cement bucket" but I'd appreciate feedback on this. Please email me if you have any idea as to what this object could be.
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Virginia Man Seeks Sasquatch

2010-06-06T11:23:00.000-05:00

True believer on trail of Sasquatch in Va., claims 14 sightings

Billy Willard holding a plaster cast that he made of a suspicious footprint. (Bill O’Leary/Washington Post)

Boston.com - THORNBURG, Va. — Billy Willard says he’s on the verge of a major discovery that could change the way humans think about the natural world, not to mention their need for a creature-proof home security system.

Here in Spotsylvania County, in the forests around Lake Anna, Willard contends there have been 14 sightings in the past decade of that most fabled of cryptozoic beasts: Bigfoot.

Or Sasquatch, as the elusive, apelike brute is referred to in other circles — and on the side of Willard’s blue pickup. The decal on the truck reads “Sasquatch Watch of Virginia,’’ of which Willard is chief pooh-bah (when he’s not earning a living installing and removing underground home oil tanks).

Go ahead, call him a loon, a flake, a huckster. He’s heard it all. But Willard knows what he knows, which is that three people from this area — a woman, her husband, and their granddaughter — told him they saw a shaggy, super-sized figure on two legs gallivanting across their wooded property.

Last month, Willard led a weeklong expedition to the site, where he installed five motion-sensor cameras that will snap photos if and when the big galoot wanders by again.

Willard, 41, says he’d like to lead a tour of the property and introduce the witnesses, really he would. But the woman who says she saw what she believes could have been Bigfoot fears an avalanche of ridicule, which is why Willard is left to deliver his version of what happened a few miles away, in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen.

“We believe we may be close to some kind of major discovery,’’ he said. “All the things they would need are here, fresh water, shelter in the woods. The high concentration of sightings tells me they’re here.’’

He interrupts his monologue to answer his cellphone, the ringtone to which is the country tune “People Are Crazy.’’

Ever since humans began telling stories, they have spun yarns involving life forms that tower above mere mortals, whether it’s the giant of “Jack and the Beanstalk’’ fame, or Goliath, or Frankenstein.

Bigfoot has been a perennial for generations, with hundreds of purported sightings (many of them of supposed footprints), most prevalent in the Pacific Northwest but also popping up in states as disparate as Rhode Island, Illinois, and Alabama.

The myth grew in popularity in 1967, when two men in California filmed what appeared to be a huge and hairy biped walking into the woods, at one point turning its head to glance dramatically at the camera.

In Bigfoot circles, the footage is referred to as the “Patterson-Gimlin film,’’ named for its makers.

In less admiring circles, the short, fuzzy clip is cited as nothing short of poppycock.

Willard knows about the film, and most everything else Bigfoot-related, all of which he’s happy to share at any time, sometimes to the annoyance of his wife, Jeanean, who is prone to blurt out, “Okay, the conversation will have to change.’’

Continued...

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Large bat-like creature sighting in California

2010-06-05T09:57:00.006-05:00

Normally, only UFO and extraterrestrial sightings are reported to MUFON but this one was. It is a report of a bat-like creature, purported to have been seen near Lodi, California and it is interesting.

"Bat Creature" by SW

MUFON Case 23617
2010-05-14 at 02:45
Lodi, California

I had taken my dogs for a run early in the morning - about 2:30 on May 14th 2010. I was southeast of Lodi on Live Oak Road where the road to the winery intersects. There are outside lights and I saw something crouched in the road which I thought at first was a coyote eating something. Then it stood up and was about 4 1/2 feet tall so I knew it wasn't a coyote. It stooped back down and appeared to gather up whatever it had been eating; gave a little hop and soared away over the grapevines in an up down, up down motion. The wings sort of glistened in the light and did not seem to have feathers. I thought it looked like a gigantic bat, but have never heard of a bat that big. The dogs seemed to be frightened and jumped into the car. I was so amazed at what I saw.

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Related article:

CAVE DEMON
(Bat People; Night Flyers)

GIANT BAT PEOPLE: Sightings of mysterious human-sized bats have been reported in all corners of the world. They are described as having black or gray fur, a monkey-like face, clawed feet and a 10-15 foot wingspan. In Brazil they are called "bat people." In Mexico, an ancient Mayan cult worshiped the "death bat." The rainforests of Java echo the cries of a bat creature called the "Athol" because of its distinct "a-hool" vocalization. In Vietnam they are known as "night flyers." These winged humanoids are generally 5 feet tall with eerie feminine features. They are known to swoop down on their victims and attack several times.

AFRICAN CAVE DEMONS: The continent of Africa has reported many sightings of bat-like beasts. In Cameroon, it is called the "Olitiau," an immense bat creature that was seen by famed naturalist Ivan T. Sanderson in 1932 while on expedition. In Senegal, the creature is called "Guiafairo." In Ghana, the bat-like creature is called "Sasabonsam." A similar creature exists in Madagascar and is called the "Fangalabolo," and in Indonesia, tales of the "Organ-Bati" abound where the creature is said to roost in an extinct volcano and snatch children.

Source

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New Hampshire College Class Seeks Ghosts

2010-06-04T12:49:00.005-05:00

Class Investigates Things That Go Bump in the Night

Newswise - When Mark Henn was in high school, he and one of his pals decided that a particularly foggy patch of swamp land on a particularly curvy road near a particularly creepy cemetery was the perfect place to invent a ghost. On one particularly dark night later, the story of the ghost of Dead Man’s Curve was born.

As Henn, who teaches psychology at the University of New Hampshire, and his friend recounted their frightening tale to classmates, an interesting thing happened. Although there had never been reports of ghost sightings there before, some of their friends started reporting that they, too, had seen the ghost of Dead Man’s Curve. And then more classmates experienced sightings. By the time Henn’s younger brother graduated from high school a few years later, spending the night at the cemetery to record sightings of the ghost had become a rite of passage.

What Henn experienced as a teenager demonstrates how people can come to believe something that does not exist. This summer, UNH students will study this psychological event in Henn’s class, “Scientific Perspectives on Belief in the Paranormal Phenomena.”

“Inventing a ghost is one thing. Having others see it is another thing. In this class, we will look at how to approach belief in something, especially when we want to believe it. In these instances, the easiest person to fool is yourself,” Henn says.

“I chose paranormal belief for the subject of this class because it is, on its face, so unbelievable and yet upwards of 80 percent of people in the United States do believe in some version of the paranormal. If we can see why we would believe in something like that, it’s a lot easier for us to understand why we believe in other things,” he says.

Henn’s course will examine open-mindedness and skepticism, with the benefit of the psychological perspective and the use of the scientific method. In the class, students will learn about the long history of the interaction between psychology and the supernatural, definitions of science and commonalities among sciences, methodology and experimental controls, and how to have an open mind and be skeptical.

Students will look at various toolkits used for critical examination, such as Carl Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit. Using these toolkits and a deeper understanding of why people hold on to extraordinary beliefs, students will evaluate various conspiracy theories and the belief in the paranormal.

Finally, students will learn how the field of psychology has contributed to the study of belief by investigating reconstructive and recovered memories, sensation and perception, physiological psychology, social cognition, and the contributions of personality, developmental psychology, and behaviorism.

“We are designed psychologically to see patterns to help us live and survive. Sometimes we see patterns where there aren’t any, and that’s what gets us in trouble,” Henn says.

“There are people who have irrational beliefs that are not backed up by evidence. We have parents who are not vaccinating their children based on an irrational belief and as a result, they are putting their children’s health at risk,” he says.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling more than 12,200 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

VIDEO
Prof. Mark Henn discusses why he chose paranormal belief as the subject of his class.
http://vimeo.com/11742204

Prof. Mark Henn discusses why we sometimes see patterns in life.
http://vimeo.com/11742363

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Gaga for Ghosts!

2010-06-04T12:37:00.003-05:00

Haunted Lady Gaga Ghostbuster

newsoxy-Lady Gaga admits that she bought a Ghostbuster kit. Gaga uses the Ghostbuster device for regular sweeps to fend off evil spirits that are haunting her. Gaga admits that the problem started a few weeks ago and is convinced that she needs the Ghostbuster kit to fight against negative forces.

"When I took the order for the kit I had no idea who it was for. But then I checked the listings and saw who was playing the O2. Her aide said the gear had to be robust as they were taking it on the road. So they must be doing this everywhere [...] Gaga is performing," Ghostbuster firm owner Dan Webb said in a statement. The kit she bought includes electro-magnetic field readers.

Gaga, 24, is terrified of "bad energy" and hired Dan Webb's firm to do a complete cleansing behind the stage at London's O2 Arena. Gaga originally thought she was experiencing a mental breakdown, or hallucinations, that usually come with skitzophrenia. However, she is still convinced that unseen forces are haunting her.

If the reports are true, Gaga wouldn't be the first celebrity to admit ghost sightings. Several Hollywood legends have their own story to tell after experiencing similar paranormal activity. While the subject is always up for debate, the activity is still unexplained and why it happens in the first place.

Making the big "C" a thing of the past

2010-06-04T12:25:00.004-05:00

New blood test to spot cancer before it's development

Topnews-UK: A new testing method can be used to detect accurately the indications sent out by an individual's immune system to be something as cancerous.

Early research is of the suggestion that the indications can be detected up to five years prior to a tumor is spotted, offering doctors and patients a fundamental headstart in treating the sickness.

The test, which has been developed by clinicians in Nottingham and Kansas over a period of 15 years, is to be introduced in America in the later part of this month.

It initially had been devised, in order to detect lung cancer and is put in usage alongside conventional screening.

The technology had been developed by scientists at the University of Nottingham and Oncimmune, a medical research corporation.

The test works by recognising how the immune system reacts to the first molecular signs of cancer development.

Cancerous cells generate little amounts of protein material named as antigens, which prompts the immune system to generate great amounts of auto-antibodies.

Professor John Robertson, a Breast Cancer Specialist who led the research, said that the earliest cancer that has been seen by him and his team has been detected and yet biologically, that proved to be quite late in the road of cancer development.

Photo
Spot-Cancer.jpg
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Researchers develop nanorobots to detect and kill cancer cells

Eureka-UK: Researchers are developing a molecular sized 'DNA robot' to detect disease markers on a cell, diagnose it and deliver a 'cargo of cancer killing drugs'.

Prof Milan Stojanovic at Columbia University, New York, developed the molecular sized robot to resemble a spider, with the ability to use its 'tentacles' for self propulsion. During its early development, it was capable of 'walking' though a field of DNA molecule, cutting and bonding with them to propel itself. By programming the environment with 'breadcrumbs', the robot was able to follow an established trail.

At such tiny scales, proteins like the DNA itself remained the best bet for creating such a trail. The team found the material it needed in the work of CalTech Prof Paul Rothemund, who had invented what he named DNA origami. Using 'sequence-recognition in base pairs', DNA origami are 'folded' from a long single strand of DNA, with several shorter helper strands that 'staple' the long strand into the desired shape.

Stojanovic's team made its own DNA origami bread crumbs, each measuring 2nm thick and 100nm long, programmed with a specific instruction to any walker that happens by. Together, the DNA origami bread crumbs were formed into a path that allowed Stojanovic's team to lead their DNA robots to a goal.

Continue reading

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OUHSC scientists seek vaccine that may prevent HIV, cancer

Oklahoma Daily: Examining different parts of the immune system, OU Health Sciences Center and Washington University in St. Louis researchers are creating a new vaccine using a protein instead of creating antibodies.

Using T-cells in the immune system, the T-cell vaccine can potentially treat and prevent applications for cancer, tuberculosis, HIV and several other viral diseases, according to a press release from OUHSC.

“No one has ever done this with a T-cell vaccine, so we’re learning; but now we are starting to get some traction. We are finding that a T-cell vaccine can work,” said William Hildebrand, the lead researcher on the project and microbiology and immunology professor.

Until now, vaccines have focused on generating antibodies in the immune system to prevent illness. Over time, the dependence on antibodies has prompted some viruses to evolve past the antibody immunity, lessening the effective of the vaccine to some viruses, according to the press release.

To develop the vaccine, Hildebrand and his team began by determining how the immune system distinguishes between a virus-infected or cancerous cell and a healthy cell.

“What are T-cells using to discriminate the healthy cell from a diseased cell? That is what we want to know in my lab,” he said.

Unlike antibody vaccines, a T-cell vaccine would be able to activate another arm of the immune system to target a specific virus in the body and kill it, as they are responsible with killing virus-infected cells in the body and can kill cells that become cancerous.

The goal is to create viable targets for vaccines that activate T-cells in the immune system, said Hildebrand.

“In the past, vaccine development hasn’t been extremely systematic or well-defined,” he said. “Vaccines have worked to raise protective T-cells but we don’t know how.”

Researchers started working with West Nile virus affect on the immune system since it doesn’t change like the flu or develop resistance like cancer or HIV. After developing the target, researchers at the HSC worked with colleagues at Washington University to create a vaccine, the release stated.

“We found a target, we put it into a vaccine and we got protection,” Hildebrand said. “Is it going to save everybody from West Nile Virus? No, but it saves maybe half the people.”

The process is now being repeated in other areas, such as cancer, where activating T-cells can be difficult.

“Now that we have demonstrated the feasibility of developing a T-cell-specific vaccine, we intend to use the same process to discover other reliable targets, validate them and develop additional vaccines,” Hildebrand said.

Hildebrand said there is still a lot of room to grow in this research area.

“I think it’s still version 1.0,” he said. “The final version will be version five or six.”

The research appears in the latest issue of The Journal of Immunology and is funded by grants and contracts totaling $15 million from the National Institutes of Health, according to the release.

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True Ghost Story from Scotland

2010-05-20T09:40:00.003-05:00

I received this email from a lady in Scotland, with an intriguing story of an apparition, that she and her mother saw, while driving on a snowy December night. Name withheld for privacy.

Hi. I live in central Scotland UK and would like to share this story which happened to myself and my mother about 10 or so years ago whilst driving in Scotland. It was the creepiest thing that has ever happened to me and my mother is a complete skeptic and even she had to admit that this was something really odd!

It was only about 7/7.30pm one really cold December wintery night, it had been snowing heavily and, although my parents had lived in that area for many years, she got lost and we were going down all these little winding roads and just basically going round in circles! We got to this little road and there was a huge pile of snow and the tyres of the car were just skidding and we felt as though we were stuck and there was not one single vehicle or house nearby!

Anyway, as my mother kept trying to forward and reverse the car (it was so bad outside that we didn't want to get out the car to push it etc.), we both glanced to the left, a large field with a few trees and nothing much else. We both kind of gasped as we saw this 'thing' floating about and at first I thought it was a large while plastic bag, however, it had thin legs and arms and a definite body and face! It looked like a young girl, very fragile and she was actually dancing about in that field, in and out of the trees, we were both literally staring for about 10 minutes or so at this amazing sight which I think we both knew was not 'human'. It must have been about 20ft away and it was almost luminous in the almost dark field, we were mesmerized. However we started to panic and my mother was really worried we were going to be stuck (no mobile phone back then, no AA membership etc.) and no-one about except for this weird apparition.

Anyway, after about 20 minutes (it seemed much longer) we were moving backwards and getting out of the snow pile but still watching this 'girl-thing' prancing about - it was fascinating yet extremely creepy as I swear she looked straight at us in the car a couple of times and was coming closer and closer.

At that point, we got moving, turned the car around and 'got out of there as fast as possible'!! We were both cold, shaken and quite frankly really petrified.

When we got to my parents' house and told my dad, he just dismissed it as our imagination etc. but we both knew what we saw and it was NOT imagination, the only explanation we have is that we saw some kind of entity, not from this world, why it was there and for what purpose I couldn't tell you but I have never forgotten it and probably never will!!

I have experienced other strange phenomena throughout my lifetime and been told many things about strange goings-on but I felt I had to share this story as it was really strange and real!!

Regards.

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UFO Hunter Tells of Ghost Encounter

2010-05-02T21:29:00.002-05:00

MUFON State Director reports strange encounter at his home

Examiner.com- According to a statement made on April 25, Pennsylvania Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) State Director John Ventre reported that his daughter had a strange encounter with possibly multiple entities, at his Greensburg home on April 24, 2010.

In his statement, Ventre said that his daughter was visiting his home, as were his son and his son's girlfriend.

His daughter woke him up at 4 a.m. to explain to him that she could not sleep earlier in the evening and had paced around the home, feeling as though a presence was watching her, following her.

At 2:00 a.m., she retieived a water bottle from a basement refrigerator, the whole time feeling as though something was following her arounf the home.

She finally turned off her bedroom light at 3:00 a.m., then laid down in an attempt to sleep.

"Lying as stiff as a board under the covers, with her eyes pinned open gazing at the ceiling, she felt an extremely intense pressure in her body," Ventre stated. "It felt as though someone had lain on top of her and absorbed into her body."

During the next hour, the daughter recounts how possibly two entities entered her body. She also visually saw a figure in the room.

"My daughter further explained that she could see a dark shadow circling above her like a whirlpool. When she looked to her dresser mirror, the shape of a male figure was in the left corner. For one whole minute, she watched the shadow carelessly moving, trying to figure out how she could escape from the room."

Read the unedited statement that Ventre provided.

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Note: Ventre's home is located near a cemetery, so it sounds a lot like a haunting with attempted "possession".

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Strange places in the U.S., Part I

2010-04-22T18:38:00.008-05:00

The mysterious hand-print of the Carbon County Jail

There is a permanent marker on the wall of cell 17, of the Carbon County Jail, in the town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Each day, a hanged man proclaims his innocence, by the imprint of his hand. The permanent marker on the cell wall has resisted all efforts to clean, repaint, and even re-plastering. Not long after each attempt to cover it up, the hand-print becomes visible again.

Alexander Campbell, a recruiter for the Molly Maguires, said, "I am innocent, I was nowhere near the scene of the crime." Then he slapped his hand against the wall of his cell, and continued, "There is proof of my words. That mark of mine will never be wiped out. It will remain forever to shame the county for hanging an innocent man."

And indeed, that mark remains.

Read more here and here.

The Ghosts of Robbers Cave

Unexplained voices, cries, screams, and unintelligible laughing and talking can be heard in "Robber's Cave". Below the summit of Pahuk Bluff, near Lincoln, Nebraska, this network of caves is said to be haunted by the spirits of Pawnee tribes-people, runaway slaves and escaped prisoners, all long dead.

The cave passages are said to have connected the local penitentiary and the State Hospital for the Insane. One story claims that this tunnel was used as an escape route for prisoners, until it was finally sealed off.

The cave is no longer in existence, as the site was filled in and a business constructed on top of what was once the cave entrance. If you can find the location, you might still hear the sounds of the past.

Read more here.

More Photos

The Devil's Tramping Ground

According to those that seem to know, no one has ever been able to spend the night in the circle, tramped out by the Devil himself, as he eternal paces, pondering new evils for mankind.

Known as the Devi's Tramping Ground, the 40 foot x 40 foot barren circle in the midst of the forest near Siler, North Carolina lies cold and infertile, yet beckons the fool-hearty soul to camp in it's dark center.

Compass readings change in and out of the circle, showing there is some type of disturbance in and around the Devi's Tramping Ground, causing even the birds and bugs to be silent. Soil testing gives no particular reason as to it's apparent 'dead state'.

Animals refuse to tread across it, birds won't land on it's ashen surface. What is it, what created it so long ago? Settlers of the 1700s knew of it and the local Native Americans claim it is a sacred place.

Is it a landing spot for UFOs, or a vortex, a paranormal doorway to alternate realities? Objects placed in the circle will be moved or gone by morning and no one will spend the entire night in the circle. Would you?

Read more here and here.

Click on any image for larger view.
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Spooked by a Peeping Tom

2010-04-17T11:29:00.007-05:00

Click on any image for larger view.

Recently I took a photo of a summer weight bread spread my daughter had given me this past Christmas and I wanted her to see how it looked. I snapped off a couple of photos and quickly left the room, suddenly feeling 'spooked'.

For some unknown reason, I deleted one of the photos, which I rarely do. I always save my original photos and then copy to other folders for use. The one I deleted was at an angle more towards the window, the first photo I had taken. It might have shown more of what I found.

I was going through my photos several days later and my eyes were immediately drawn to the window in the photo. I did some highlighting of the whole window area and that is when what I was seeing really showed up.

The rectangular screen pull tab can be clearly seen but it is the "object" above the tab that has my attention. There were no lights outside, no moon and completely dark, except for a few lights in the distance. I live on a farm.

Now if that doesn't creep someone out, I don't know what will!

Note: I live in a rural area on a farm. There have been numerous sightings of unidentified flying objects in our area. I am also an 'experiencer' and an 'intuitive'.
All my life I have been able to see, hear and/or sense things that others don't want to. We all have the ability but some of us are more willing to accept our gifts and not bury them in fear and skepticism.

I've always accepted my gifts but being chosen as a lab rat for aliens is not something I'd wish on anyone! And I certainly don't appreciate being spied upon.
-SW
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UFO Hotspots

2010-04-15T23:07:00.003-05:00

Best places to spot UFOs
Go beyond Area 51: UFO-spotting hotbeds around the globe

By Adrien Glover

msnbc.com- It was just another winter night in Stephenville, Texas, when Steve Allen, a 30-year aviation veteran, saw something that defied all logic—an eerily silent, mile-wide craft ringed in lights that would “rearrange themselves” racing across the sky at what he estimated to be 3,000 miles per hour.

“I don’t know if it was a biblical experience or somebody from a different universe, but it was definitely not from around these parts,” Allen told a reporter from the Empire-Tribune after the sighting on Jan. 8, 2008. Similar reports poured in from across Erath County.

The Stephenville Lights incident wasn’t a onetime event—another mass sighting followed in October 2008, and individual reports from the area still trickle in. This corner of Texas along with the eastern Nevada desert are fast emerging as the U.S.’s newest UFO “hot spots”—places with the best odds of a spotting. Similarly active places exist around the globe, with some even attracting a new kind of tourist.

These days, it seems people can’t get enough of the UFO phenomena. Television shows such as the History Channel’s UFO Hunters and alternative radio programs like Coast to Coast AM—where an estimated three million listeners tune in each night to hear from hardworking UFO investigators, among other thought-provoking interviewees—are more popular than ever.

Believing the time is right, even the famed SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute is conducting its first-ever public conference this year devoted to the age-old question: are we alone? SETIcon, slated for Aug. 13–15, in Santa Clara, Calif., will also unveil the institute’s newest scientific advances in its ongoing search for intelligent life from other planets.

“Using radio telescopes, we hope to trip across a planet with inhabitants clever enough to build radio transmitters,” says senior SETI astronomer Seth Shostak. “If we do so, then the proof won’t be limited to fuzzy photos, secret government documents, or personal anecdotes. It will be up in the sky—where anyone can check it out.”

But what if you can’t wait for SETI’s antenna array to detect a signal from another planet and want to seek out your own proof? We’ve identified active places across the globe where UFOs like to show themselves.

Mexico City, for example, has been a near-constant sky-watch since the solar eclipse of 1991, when a UFO was captured on video among the cloud shadows. Since then, whole fleets—literally hundreds of unexplained lights—have appeared over the world’s largest city. Or take Warminster, England, near Stonehenge, where for the past 50 years nighttime overhead visitations and mysterious booming noises have been considered ho-hum normal.

And with earthling tourists on the verge of travel into the Milky Way, thanks to Sir Richard Branson’s soon-to-be-introduced Virgin Galactic vehicle, perhaps UFO hunters will soon be able to explore the ultimate hot spot of all—space.

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Africa's Living Dinosaur

2010-04-15T22:58:00.003-05:00

Living Dinosaurs; the Mokele Mbembe

Jurassic Albatross- The Mokele Mbembe, known by different names around Africa is a large dinosaur like monster said to be aggressive, but not carnivorous. It has a long neck and mainly lives in rivers, hibernating in caves during the dry season. With the small head and big body it seems to resemble a sea serpent, but no sea serpent has for columnar legs capable of supporting its weight on dry land. Is the Mokele Mbembe a living Sauropod dinosaur?

The first references to the Mokele Mbembe; the one who stops the flow of rivers, can be found in French missionary Abbé Lievain Bonaventure's 1776 book where he describes animals of the Congo. One passage describes a set of footprints possible referable to this cryptid; "must have been monstrous: the marks of the claws were noted on the ground, and these formed a print about three feet in circumference."

Other documents of footprints show consistency in having been large, at around 3 feet wide and three toed;
1919-1920, expedition into Africa conducted by the Smithsonian Institution; "African guides found large, unexplained tracks along the bank of a river" (Field Guide To Lake Monsters by Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe) ***
1927; Alfred Aloysius Smith, a trader working in Gabon during the 1800's wrights in his memoir Trader Bon where he refers to an unknown creature that leaves round three clawed footprints.
1966; Yvan Ridel photographs a set of three toed footprints near Laubomo.

Sightings showing the Mokele Mbembe to be long necked and large bodied;
1909; Lt Paul Gratz refers to a native legend in Zambia of a Sauropod like creature.
1909; Big game hunter Carl Hagenbeck in his autobiography Beasts and Men refers to multiple sources including other big game hunters and natives in the Congo area informing him of a creature "half elephant, half dragon" or "some kind of dinosaur, seemingly akin to the brontosaurs".*
1913; German Captain Freiherr von Stein zu Lausnitz includes descriptions of a beast sighted by natives in Cameroon; "The animal is said to be of a brownish-gray color with a smooth skin, its size is approximately that of an elephant; at least that of a hippopotamus. It is said to have a long and very flexible neck and only one tooth but a very long one; some say it is a horn. A few spoke about a long, muscular tail like that of an alligator."**

1939; in the German Colonial Gazette (Angola) a letter by Frau Ilse von Nolde describes encounters with a long necked monster called "coye ya menia" ("water lion").****
1976; botanical expedition into Zaire lead by James Powell, monster called the "n'yamala" described to him by natives. When they were shown pictures of animals alive and extinct the natives said that of the long necked Diplodocus dinosaur most resembled the creature.*****

Read more

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New Species of Lizard Found In Philppines

2010-04-09T16:04:00.003-05:00

Dragon-sized lizard eluded science, until now
Spectacularly colored new species of monitor lizard found in the Philippines

MSNBC- A giant, spectacularly colored new species of monitor lizard has just been revealed to scientists in the Philippines.

The reptile, which is roughly 6 feet long (1.8 meters), is kin to Komodo dragons, the world's largest lizards. Named Varanus bitatawa, this newly discovered species, decorated in stripes of gold flecks and armed with huge, curved claws for climbing trees, is one of only three fruit-eating monitor species in the world.

New to science, not residents
As humans continue to explore the last uncharted regions of the planet, discoveries of previously unknown species of large vertebrates have become rare. It remains doubly surprising this reptile managed to escape the attention of the many biologists that work on the heavily populated island of Luzon.

"I am most impressed that such a large, conspicuous, brightly colored species of monitor lizard escaped the notice of biologists for the past 150 years," said researcher Rafe Brown, a field herpetologist at the University of Kansas.

Still, remarkably few surveys have explored the reptile diversity of the island's northern forests. The reptile also seems highly secretive and dislikes traversing open areas.

"At the same time, we are humbled because the species is not really new — it is only new to us as Western scientists," Brown said. "In fact, resident indigenous communities — the Agta and Ilongot tribes — have known about it for many generations. If only scientists had listened to them earlier!"

Discovering the giant
Rumors of the lizard's existence floated among biologists for the past 10 years, Brown explained.

"People had taken photographs of hunters from the resident tribespeople as they were carrying the reptiles back to their homes to feed their families in 2001," Brown said.

In 2005, two different groups procured juvenile specimens. "However, both of those efforts didn't collect genetic samples, so we couldn't yet prove that it was genetically distinct and didn't just look different," Brown said. "Also, we wanted a full-sized adult to see how big it got in life."

Last summer, the researchers set out on a two-month expedition to scour the forests for the animal. "We began in July, and the rainy season began early that year, so we were just working in a deluge the whole time," Brown recalled. "Getting up those mountains with a big team of 20 people and all their equipment and gear in those muddy conditions was difficult."

"We knew it was there in the forests around us," he added. "We had seen its scratch marks on trees, we had seen its footprints along stream banks, and we had found its scat."

Near the very end of their complicated, exhausting trip, when they were low on food and out of money, they got a large adult male specimen, captured by the snares of a tribal hunter. "It was like a prize at the end of a marathon," Brown said.

The Agta and Ilongot tribes call the reptile "bitatawa," which the new scientific name for it reflects, and rely on the animal for its meat.

"I have not tasted it myself — the specimen we caught was too important for us to just try," Brown said. "I only know the hunters report it as better tasting and less smelly than the other monitor lizard in the area, a scavenger."

Science of the lizard
Although closely related to the slightly smaller Gray's monitor lizard (Varanus olivaceus), it remains separated from its cousin by a more than 90-mile (145 km) stretch that includes at least three river valley barriers. Genetic analysis confirms V. bitatawa is a new species, as do its coloration, scales, body size, and reproductive anatomy.

"Lizards keep their male reproductive organs inverted inside their bodies like a sock turned inside out, and when it's time to use them, they evert them, flipping them out of their body and filling them with fluid so they can rigidly protrude for reproduction," Brown said. "We call this a hemipenis, and lizards have two of them. They have elaborate structures that we assume are unique to each species — we think they have to fit like a lock and key, preventing hybridization between species."

Both males and females seem to possess golden stripes. "In general, reptiles are very visual, so the different coloration may serve as a signal to other members of its own species," Brown said. "Bright coloration often helps reptiles find and attract mates."

The new species is a keystone in its environment. It eats the fruit of the palm-like Pandanus trees, "and as the seeds travel through its gut, it helps remove their coats so they germinate faster, thus promoting forest growth," Brown said. "You see these trees growing in little circles like fairy rings, evidence that this lizard came by, spreading the seeds around the forest by dropping a bunch of scat."

The researchers expect the lizard to instantly become a flagship species for conservation.

"Given that rapid deforestation in the major threat to many Philippine species, especially the ones restricted to areas with tree cover, we suspect that the new species is a major conservation priority," Brown said. "We need to know the size of its home range, exactly what it eats, how long it takes to mature, how often it breeds, and details of its ecology and population structure."

Efforts to defend the lizard's forested habitat could help protect many hundreds to thousands of unrelated animals and plants as well, they added.

"It is a Philippine national treasure," Brown said.

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Cloaked image seen running across the road

2010-04-08T22:21:00.004-05:00

Friday, April 2, 2010- We were on our way to Abilene, from our home in Breckenridge. At approx. 7:30 a.m., it was just before we reached the bridge over Hubbard Lake on 180, west bound.

My spouse was driving and I was just looking around, when my eyes locked onto the road ahead of us. We were coming upon a small rise in the road, visibility very clear. Suddenly I see something run across the road from left to right (South to North), right on top of the crest of the rise. It was like seeing small feet and partial legs in a fast trot across the road. It was almost like something mirroring the road surface, but visible above the road by about 10 inches or so.

It reminded me of the Predator in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. I could not see above the calf area of the legs, except the rippled, distorted sky behind the object, about the size of a body.

As we passed that area, I looked to my right into the bar-ditch area and there was nothing there, no animal, nothing. I couldn't see anything on the side of the road, or near the trees but I had the feeling that something watched us go by.

I remember telling my spouse immediately when I saw this thing cross the road, "Oh wow! Did you see that thing cross the road?" He hadn't noticed but I described to him what I saw. For the rest of the trip I kept watching to see if maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me but I never saw anything like that again, during the trip.

Below is a depiction I drew of what I saw.

What was it I saw? Was it a cloaked entity, a trick of light, or possibly heat waves off the pavement? I ruled out the later, as the evening before was quite cool and the morning sun had not yet warmed up the air, or pavement enough to cause that effect.

I don't believe it could have been miniature dust devils, as whatever it was, it was moving across a light southeast breeze. As for a trick of the light, the sun was directly behind us and barely above the eastern horizon. The only thing I have to go on, is the fact that I felt a presence as it crossed in front of us and then as we passed where it crossed. It still gives me chills.

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Jesus on what?!

2010-04-01T19:00:00.004-05:00

Jesus on a potato chip.

People can see faces in just about everything and whose face is most popular? Jesus, of course.

From potato chips to toast, and from gaseous space clouds to kitty cat butts, Jesus is popping up everywhere. Say what?

I wonder what "He" has to say about that.

In the spirit of Easter, and to see 20 of the funniest, most ridiculous Jesus sightings, wander on over to Ranker. You'll be amazed. Some eggs were laid there, darn tootin'.

20 funniest sightings of Jesus' face on things

I'll never look at my Cheetos™ quite the same, ever again.
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The Goat Woman

2010-03-30T17:16:00.002-05:00

Chinese grandmother, 101, grows mystery horn on forehead

An elderly Chinese woman has stunned her family and fellow villagers by growing from her forehead a horn than resembles a goat’s.

Grandmother Zhang Ruifang, 101, of Linlou village, Henan province, began developing the mysterious protrusion last year.

Since then it has grown 2.4in in length and another now appears to emerging on the other side of the mother of seven’s forehead.

The condition has left her family baffled and worried.

Her youngest of six sons, Zhang Guozheng, 60, said when a patch of rough skin formed on her forehead last year ‘we didn't pay too much attention to it’.

‘But as time went on a horn grew out of her head and it is now 6cm long,' added Mr Zhang, whose eldest brother and sibling is 82 years old.

‘Now something is also growing on the right side of her forehead. It’s quite possible that it’s another horn.’

Although, it is unknown what the protrusion is on Mrs Zhang’s head, it resembles a cutaneous horn.

This is a funnel-shaped growth and although most are only a few millimetres in length, some can extend a number of inches from the skin.

Cutaneous horns are made up of compacted keratin, which is the same protein we have in our hair and nails, and forms horns, wool and feathers in animals.

They usually develop in fair-skinned elderly adults who have a history of significant sun exposure but it is extremely unusual to see it form protrusions of this size.

The growths are most common in elderly people, aged between 60 and the mid-70s. They can sometimes be cancerous but more than half of cases are benign.

Common underlying causes of cutaneous horns are common warts, skin cancer and actinic keratoses, patches of scaly skin that develop on skin exposed to the sun, such as your face, scalp or forearms.

Cutaneous horns can be removed surgically but this does not treat the underlying cause.

Article Link

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Strange News - March 27, 2010

2010-03-27T16:13:00.004-05:00

Police report attempt to revive flattened opossum

CNN- A Pennsylvania man attempted to resuscitate "a road-killed opossum," state police say.

But this was one possum who wasn't playing possum -- the ugly creature remained dead.

Troopers responding to the scene in Oliver Township on Thursday determined that Donald J. Wolfe, 55, of Brookville, was drunk, according to the police report.

Several witnesses observed Wolfe's failed resurrection of the flattened marsupial, police said. It was not immediately clear how he endeavored to restore the possum's life.

The arresting officer in the incident was unavailable for comment Friday. Attempts to reach Wolfe were also unsuccessful.

Wolfe will be charged with one charge of public drunkenness, police said.

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'Mystery Monkey' Remains at Large

abcnews- Known as the "Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay," a rhesus macaque has run amok in the Tampa Bay area for nearly a year, eluding state wildlife officials and capturing the hearts of locals.

Home video shot by Tampa residents and broadcast on local TV stations shows the macaque rummaging through trash bins, scaling walls in a single bound, even hanging out poolside and swiping fruit.

On at least a dozen occasions Florida Fish and Wildlife officials shot the plucky primate with tranquilizer darts. Increasingly large doses barely fazed him. One professional trapper, hunting the monkey, wondered whether the monkey had become a "drug addict."

Buoyed by his successive escapes fans have championed the 20 pound monkey as a local hero. A Facebook fan page "Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay," already boasts 43,000 fans and is growing by 15,000 fans a day. His location has been listed as "all over."

You can even buy a "Mystery Monkey" T-shirt for $18.00.

Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, understands the humor, but warns the rhesus macaque is dangerous.

Depicting him as the Rambo of primates he told ABC News "That animal is so much quicker and more powerful than people perceive."

Untrained professionals trying to capture him could be seriously hurt he added, since "he's perfectly capable of doing damage to a human."

And his germs may be even more potent than his bite: Morse said the monkey could infect a potential fan/captor with Hepatitis B or Simeon Herpes.

No one is certain of the ape's origin, but Morse believes he may be an outcast from a troop of rhesus macaque's living on a preserve near Ocala Florida, about 100 miles away. He said that troop is a relic of the half dozen Tarzan flicks shot there in the 1930s and 1940s.

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Stepping into the future with AI (Artificial Intelligence)

2010-03-26T14:11:00.007-05:00

Everyone dreams of a robot helper but one that can lie? I found the "Nao" to be quite cute but rather a bit too human in the thought department.
Let's hope those lies extend only to other robots.

Link to Video

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Here's a robot that is considered the number 1 humanoid robot.

Asimo- Honda

Link to Video

More about Asimo

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Partner Robot - Toyota

Link to Video

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QRIO- Sony

Link to Video

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Though Sony terminated it's QRIO project, Honda and Toyota continue to improve their robots.

One day we may all interact with totally autonomous, human-like robots (androids), such as "Jules", a conversational robot that was developed by Hanson Robotics.

Jules- A conversational robot

Link to Video

Now for the newest addition, Albert (Einstein) Hubo. "Albert Hubo" a robot created by Hanson and the KAIST Hubo group.

Link to Video

David Hanson, Ph.D is founder/CEO of Hanson Robotics. He is regarded by IEEE, NYTimes, Science, etc. as a pioneer in robotics. He is a former Walt Disney Imagineer.

Hanson has been called a genius by PC Magazine and 'Wired' and has won AAAI 1st place, NASA, NSF, Innovator of the Year, and Cooper Hewitt Design awards.

About David Hanson- Robot designer

Learn more about Hanson Robotics

One day we may be faced with situations such as in "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov, "The Terminator", or even 'Data' the android of Star Trek-The Next Generation. Unlike books, movies and television shows, Asimo, Jules and others of their kind are real.

How will we handle robots that can surpass us in almost every respect? Will they one day up-rise against their human masters, or will they always be the helpmates they were intended?

What constitutes life and will these humanoid robots some day have a soul? Will they one day be our equals? Though improbable, I would have to say possibly so.

As we make strides in "cybernetics" as well as robotics, will we someday 'be them'?

These are some of the questions that must be faced, as we step into the future on mechanical feet. Are we prepared?

-SW
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Online EVP Research

2010-03-24T10:38:00.005-05:00

Take part in EVP Research

The Furzey Hill Cirlce is currently investigating the EVP phenomenon. As part of their research they have created an on-line survey. This is what they say about their research:

"As part of the research its important to know that our interpretations of voice clips are as accurate as possible. This can be very difficult, when one person may hear something clearly that the second is unable to hear with repeated playing. The only way to determine a common understanding is by asking as many people as possible, to listen to and interpret a clip. Obviously we can not do this for every clip, but we have isolated 8 that illustrate the diversity of the voices.

When you have listened to the clips below and written down an interpretation for each, please click the following link to enter the online submission of your results. If you are unable to understand one or more of the clips, please enter "unknown" in the free text field. You can remain anonymous if you wish and it should only take a few minutes to complete."

To listen to the recordings and submit results, please click on this link-
Investigating Discarnate Intelligence

About EVP

EVP (Electronic voice phenomena) are electronically captured sounds that seem to resemble human speech, but occur in parts of a recording where no human speech should exist. Usually, EVP sounds are short, only a word or two, but longer EVPs have been recorded in recent years.

Earlier generations of ghost hunters simply ignored the “static and background noise” and usually assumed that the more obvious EVP were caused by equipment malfunctions. However, better microphones and digital recording equipment and digital editing programs, such as Pro Tools and Final Cut Pro, have made it possible for ghost hunters to more closely examine these sounds and have opened up the world of EVP recording to serious ghost hunters.

Most paranormal investigators assume that EVPs are a form of communication from ghosts or other entities existing beyond the physical realm of existence, usually as a form of post death communication. However, sometimes, particularly in the case of shadow men and demons these EVP recordings are not so friendly.

Some people claim there are natural explanations for EVP recordings such as apophenia (finding significance in insignificant phenomena), auditory pareidolia (interpreting random sounds as voices in their own language), equipment artifacts, and simple hoaxes.

Recordings of electronic voice phenomena are often created from background sound by increasing the gain (i.e. sensitivity) of the recording equipment. Seeking out EVP recordings is probably the most technically challenging area of ghost hunting, because many, perhaps most, EVPs are recorded when the investigators heard and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Your equipment needs to be good quality and you need to really understand you equipments strengths and weaknesses to get good results. Also, it really takes patience.
Source

Take part in EVP Research

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Attack of the Blob! Antarctica's Blood Falls

2010-03-23T12:05:00.003-05:00

atlasobscura.com- This five-story, blood-red waterfall pours very slowly out of the Taylor Glacier in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys. When geologists first discovered the frozen waterfall in 1911, they thought the red color came from algae, but its true nature turned out to be much more spectacular.

Roughly 2 million years ago, the Taylor Glacier sealed beneath it a small body of water which contained an ancient community of microbes. Trapped below a thick layer of ice, they have remained there ever since, isolated inside a natural time capsule. Evolving independently of the rest of the living world, these microbes exist in a world with no light or free oxygen and little heat, and are essentially the definition of "primordial ooze." The trapped lake has very high salinity and is rich in iron, which gives the waterfall its red color. A fissure in the glacier allows the subglacial lake to flow out, forming the falls without contaminating the ecosystem within.

The existence of the Blood Falls ecosystem shows that life is indeed possible in the most extreme of conditions. Life could perhaps exist on other planets with similar environments and similar bodies of frozen water - notably Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa. But regardless of extraterrestrial life, the earth's Blood Falls are a wonder to behold both visually, and scientifically.

Video Link

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Leaf-like Light Eating Sea Slug

2010-03-23T11:57:00.003-05:00

cbc.ca- A green sea slug found off North America's east coast not only looks like a leaf, but can also make food out of sunlight, just like a plant.

Only three centimeters long, the solar-powered sea slug Elysia chlorotica can live entirely from energy from the sun. (PNAS)

U.S. researchers have found that the sea slug Elysia chlorotica can photosynthesize, using energy from light to convert carbon dioxide into sugars.

"If you shine light on these slugs, they fix carbon dioxide and make oxygen just like a plant," Sidney Pierce of the University of South Florida told CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks.

Pierce reported his findings Jan. 7 at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, and has submitted his research to the journal Symbiosis.

The slugs look just like a leaf, green and about three centimetres long, and are found off the east coast of North America from Nova Scotia to Florida.

They acquire the ability to photosynthesize by eating algae and incorporating the plants' tiny chlorophyll-containing structures, called chloroplasts, into their own cells.

"Certain cells that line the walls of [the slugs'] digestive tubules are able to actually take up the chloroplasts from the algae, and they sequester them in the cells for very long periods of time," said Pierce.

Pierce said the chloroplasts can live inside the slugs' cells for nine or 10 months, nearly the entire lifetime of the slug, and can provide the animal with all the energy it needs.

"It can complete its entire life cycle, including reproduction, just on photosynthesis," he said.

With the help of radioactive trackers, Pierce found that the slugs are using the chloroplasts to make new chlorophyll, the green pigment that makes photosynthesis possible.
Gene transfer a revelation

The chloroplasts from algae aren't enough in themselves to allow the slugs to live off the sun. The process of photosynthesis requires enzymes and other proteins to keep the chloroplasts working.

"That requires a lot of genes that are present in the algal cell, and so those have been transferred as well," said Pierce.

At some point in the evolution of these sea slugs, genes from the algae transferred over and now reside in the genome of the slug.

"We found 14 or 15 algal genes so far and I'm pretty confident that we're going to find dozens more," said Pierce.

Gene transfers are common in single-celled organisms, but Pierce said this is the first time it has been described in multicellular organisms.

Exactly how the genes got from the algae to the slug isn't clear, but Pierce said research into this mechanism could lead to advances in gene therapy and genetic engineering.

Pierce said gene therapists are "trying to insert genes from one organism to another to fix genetically based diseases, and honestly that doesn't work very well yet, but these slugs have figured that out."

The mechanism could also be important in the study of evolution, giving biologists a new way to explain how organisms acquired certain genes.

"You don't have to sit around waiting for a random mutation to occur. You can take a gene or a group of genes, as is the case with the slugs, and really give yourself a real evolutionary boost," said Pierce.

Source
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Black-eyed Beings- Aliens or Demons?

2010-03-17T16:09:00.004-05:00

Have you ever met someone that you just felt was not entirely human, maybe not human at all? Well that's how people say they feel when they have met up with black-eyed people.

A sense of evil, dread, or some aura of alien presence is felt by anyone confronted by a black-eyed being. So just what are they, these coal-orbed creatures and what do they want?

One thing is for certain, do not let them into your home, your car, office or wherever you are! It seems they must obtain permission to enter your "personal space", so just don't give it.

I've personally never seen a black-eyed being, such as the witnesses in the stories below. I can't say that I'd ever want to.

The Coffee Shop

Missy will never forget the black aura of the stranger at Starbucks. It was a cold November day when she stopped at the coffee shop for a hot tea. She ordered her drink and was reorganizing her purse when she felt someone staring at her.

"I turned around to give 'whatever' to the perv that I assumed was watching me, and the smart aleck remark died in my mouth as I caught sight of him," Missy remembers. "I did not see anything unusual in his manner of dress. It was the eyes and the aura coming off of him that scared me. The eyes, blacker than black, no white at all, wall-to-wall black, and I just felt a darkness around him, an evil. As I looked in his eyes, I somehow knew that was not a human soul occupying that body… and I felt that he knew that I knew that he was not human."

The Apartment

Tee is a 47-year-old apartment manager in Portland, Oregon. After 20 years on the job she's used to meeting people of every description, however, you won't soon convince her that the young man who came to her door one day was normal.

"He was young boy of about 17 or 18, approximately," Tee says. "He asked me about an open apartment for rent. I remember feeling very scared and shaken by his appearance. He did not look weird by his dress or such. It was his eyes. I remember feeling the hair on my neck stand up, and I was shaking just from looking in his eyes."

Like Chris, Tee also felt that deep sense of malevolence. "I could not look him straight in the eyes," she says. "I felt like I was about to die. Now, some people may think that I was just over-reacting or something, but the eyes were completely black – like there was no real pupil. He spoke normally to me, but I had to just shut the door in his face and get as far from him as I could. I felt like I was in extreme danger."

At Home Comes 'A Knocking'

Adele was in her home when she had an experience with black-eyed beings that appearerd to be small children.

"I was sitting in my bedroom reading a book," Adele says, "when at about 11:00 p.m. I heard a knocking… a slow, constant one. I got up out of bed to see what it was. I looked out of the window and to my surprise saw two children. I opened the window and asked them what they wanted at this time of night. They replied by saying simply, 'Let us in.' I said no and asked what for. 'We want to use your bathroom.'

"I was quite shocked that children of about 10 years old wanted to use a stranger's bathroom at this time of night. I told them no, closed the window, but looked at them through the glass. I glanced at their eyes... and I have never ever seen eyes like them. They were black, completely black. I got the feeling of evil and unhappiness. It surrounded me. It was horrible."

True Story- Black-eyed Waitress
by E. Forster

First, I just want to say that I have never been a believer in the supernatural, paranormal, etc. I think that everything has a logical explanation that maybe only seems "bizarre" because of a certain kind of over excitement that many people have about "an experience from the other side," or what have you. There is absolutely no explanation for what I'm about to share with you, and it absolutely scares the crap out of me. Just recounting this is giving me a really creepy feeling that I don't think I'll be able to shake, maybe ever.

About three years ago, I was sitting in a local coffee shop in upstate New York during a little road trip. The restaurant was empty except for me and the night waitress. She was really pleasant and talked a lot; she was offering places to check out while I was in town and seemed amazingly astute. In fact, she seemed almost prescient, even guessing my age almost to the day and month and even certain things that I was actually planning to do the next day. It was so light-hearted, I thought I really lucked out by meeting a easy-going, smart young lady quite out my my normal way.

At closing time, she went to the back to, I guess, put some cash in the safe or something. As I was sitting there wondering what time I wanted to get up and hit the road again the next day, I momentarily thought I might even invite her for a few hours of "R&R." I decided instead to just remember the store and next time I passed through the area, to remember to stick my head in a say "hi" (no reason, I just wanted to play it cool and not seem overanxious at very first).

So, I got up and knocked on the door in the back of the coffee shop where she went in. At this time, there were only two dim lights in the main eating area, and barely any lights in the back room where she was. I opened the door. This woman who I just finished talking to was standing facing me, JUST STANDING THERE in the back of this dark room when I opened the door. Her skin was suddenly a clammy, cracked olive color, and her eyes were just BLACK. I mean, no white at all. Her eyes and mouth was open really wide, and she was screaming in the most spine-chilling sounds, something I couldn't understand, but it definitely wasn't sounds of goodwill.

I literally SCREAMED myself, and she started moving from one spot to the other through the room. Not running, just MOVING. Her clothes now looked all old, and she moved so fast; the back of the room must have been 15 feet or so back, and she just DARTED from one side of the back of the room, still facing me, to the other side, at an IMPOSSIBLE speed. Then she ran directly straight at me as I was now standing away from the door in the middle of the restaurant.

I got the hell out of there, and jumped in my car still seeing her nightmarish face in the restaurant, darting it seemed to every window at this impossible velocity. The worst thing was, as I tore out of the parking lot ... I looked in my rear view mirror ... and she was SITTING IN THE BACK SEAT, still with that nightmarish expression, still screaming. Then she just vanished as I was panicking around. Just gone. I don't know what that was that spoke to me in the restaurant that day, but I know that it wasn't a prank. I swear at night sometimes I see her shadow moving in the dark in my room, just grinning a really ugly, evil grin. I haven't slept properly since.

The Marine and the black-eyed kids

There isn't much that's tougher than a U.S. Marine, trained in combat, survival and able to face the threat of imminent bodily harm or death. That said, maybe they aren't quite as prepared, when it comes to encounters with the unknown. Using the name Reaper 3-1, this is a Marine's account of an unexpected and unnerving experience with black-eyed people. To make it even more harrowing, these black-eyed entities appeared to be small children.

I'M A MARINE stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. I live in the infantry barracks off of River Road. I recently had a rather strange encounter with a pair of black-eyed kids.

I live on the third floor of the barracks that have open walkways on the outside and the rooms on the inside. This happened on a weekend back in November, 2009. It was a weekend, so almost every Marine was out, either home, drinking or sleeping; only a handful were left in the barracks awake. I'd stayed in that weekend because I was broke and had no money to go out.

I was watching a movie when I heard a knock at my door. Figuring it was my roommate who'd lost his key again, I went and opened it. Instead of a drunken roommate, I found two little kids standing on the walkway - only these kids freaked the hell out of me. I don't know what it was about them, but as a Marine we're always told to listen to that little voice in your head, because it just might save your life from an IED (improvised explosive device). Right then that voice was screaming at me to shut the door and lock it.

THE PLEA

There was also the fact that these kids had absolutely pitch-black eyes. I mean no white or any other color to them whatsoever - just black. But I pushed those things aside and asked them what they were doing there so late. They responded by saying that it was really cold out and they wanted to come in and read. I was confused as hell, because I've never met a kid that wants to read. Also, there was no mention of any parents or anything else you'd expect a lost couple of kids to say.

I couldn't take my eyes of their pitch-black eyes; it was like they were sucking me in. I felt horrible and was suddenly frightened for my life, like I needed to immediately take cover. They just stared at me, with those goddam eyes.

I took a quick look up and down the walkway to see if any other Marines were out, but there was nobody in site. I turned back to the kids who I noticed had taken a step forward toward me. I got the feeling like I was being hunted, like these kids where predators and out for their next meal or something. Instinct gave way to reason and I decided to listen to that voice and shut the door and locked it.

I heard soft constant knocking for the next five minutes before I heard my window rattle and then nothing. I went down to the officer on duty the next morning and asked him about it and he said he hadn't heard of or seen any kids in the area at all, and dismissed it saying that I'd probably had too much to drink last night. Only I hadn't been drinking at all or anything like that that night. I don't know what or who those kids were, but I doubt any of the families here would let their kids wander around at night on a military base.

These are but a few of the eerie stories of encounters with black-eyed beings. There are many more, from around the world.

Some of the common characteristics of black-eyed beings are as follows:

* Some of the adult or child-like black-eyed beings dress in a manner that attracts attention, be it clothing that is either extremely neat, appearing from a by-gone era, strange color combinations, or wearing all black or dark clothing.

* Contact with these beings often take place at night, or inside buildings.

* The black-eyed children do not act shy but may be forceful about what they want. They may try to intimidate or persuade, demanding entry into a home, or a vehicle. However, they do not seem to act physical.

* A common theme among the children with black eyes, is to ask for permission to enter a home or a car. Could there be certain laws these beings must follow, such as being invited in? This is much like the legendary vampire, or a demon that waits to be invited in before it can accomplish it's evil deeds.

* Witnesses sometimes claim that both black-eyed children and adult beings are evil, or that they note an evilness abouit them.

* After making eye contact with these beings, most people will shy away from them, even in public places.

* These beings have been reported by people world-wide. Where they come from is not known.

* Black-eyed beings appear to have solid form, unlike ghosts and they can and do communicate.

* By some accounts, at least some of these beings have olive colored skin.

List source

Paranormal.about.com
Paranormal.about.com
Paranormal.about.com
Davidicke.com

_____

It's been suggested that these black-eyed beings are really hybrid aliens, or "Men in Black", those MIBs that show up after a Close Encounter with a "UFO". Well, I've witnessed a black helicopter up close but can't say as I have ever seen an MIB, so I'll have to leave those speculations to someone else.

What might have happened to these witnesses had they stayed around, or allowed these beings to enter their homes? No one knows.

Could these stories of encounters with black-eyed strangers be true? Well, the universe is vast and there are so many unknowns. Stories like these are just a small part of what makes up our Phantom Universe.
_________________________________

City in the middle of the sea

2010-03-16T16:58:00.003-05:00

Built in 1947 as an exercise of Soviet and Azeri ambition and known as "Oil Rocks" (a.k.a. 'Oil Stones'), this secret Russian city rises up out of the Caspian Sea, 28–31 miles (45–50 km) from the nearest shore.

After WWII, Russia needed more oil, so a whole city was built on the surface of the Caspian Sea and oil was pumped from the shallow water portion of the Absheron geological trend.

All together, the streets of this one-of-a-kind town exceeded 350 km (200 miles). There were nine shops, schools, industry complexes, a library and working fountains. There were even lawns with green grass and children playing ball.

Now decaying, with many of it's streets and roads under water, 'Oil Rocks' still produces over half of the total crude oil output of Azerbaijan.

Coordinates: 40°19′N 50°35′E

Read more here and here.

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Giant meat-eating plants prefer tree shrew poo

2010-03-15T12:04:00.005-05:00

Giant meat-eating plants prefer to eat tree shrew poo

By Matt Walker Editor,
Earth News

Botanists have discovered that the giant montane pitcher plant of Borneo has a pitcher the exact same size as a tree shrew's body.

But it is not this big to swallow up mammals such as tree shrews or rats.

Instead, the pitcher uses tasty nectar to attract tree shrews, then ensures its pitcher is big enough to collect the feeding mammal's droppings.

Details of the discovery are published in the journal New Phytologist.

Big reputation

Pitcher plants have elaborate structures which entice creatures such as ants or spiders into a precarious position, from which they fall into a fluid-filled trap, where they drown and are ingested.

These arthropods are thought to provide the plant with vital nitrogen and phosphorus, which it cannot obtain any other way.

Pitchers are the largest carnivorous plants, and the largest pitchers grow in Borneo.

One, known as Nepenthes rajah, is believed to be the largest meat-eating plant in the world, growing pitchers that can hold two litres of water if filled to the brim.

This plant's pitcher is so big that they are reputed to catch vertebrates.

"This species has always been famous for its ability to trap rodents, but I've been looking at the pitchers of this species on and off since 1987, and I've never seen a trapped rat inside," says Dr Charles Clarke, an expert on carnivorous plants based at Monash University's Sunway Campus in Selangor, Malaysia.

"This made me wonder: if it is large enough to trap rats, but it only traps them very rarely, it is likely that the pitchers are large because of some other reason?"

To find out, Dr Clarke and colleagues Ms Lijin Chin of Monash University and Dr Jonathan Moran of Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada turned their attention to tree shrews, which inhabit the same forest as N. rajah.

They did so after noticing that tree shrews, which are a similar size to rodents but most closely related to primates, sometimes left faeces in the traps of large pitchers.

"All of a sudden we realised that there may be some relationship between big pitchers and tree shrews," says Dr Clarke.

"So we decided to look at the pitcher geometry."

What they found "totally blew us away", says Dr Clarke.

Precise dimensions

N. rapah pitchers have huge orifices, but they also grow large concave lids held at an angle of about 90 degrees away from the orifice.

The inside of these lids are covered with glands that exude huge amounts of nectar.

Most importantly, the distance from the front of the pitcher's mouth to the glands corresponds exactly to the head to body length of mountain tree shrews.

The same is true for two other species of large meat-eating pitcher plant, N. lowii and N. macrophylla that are also visited by tree shrews.

However, the pattern does not hold for other pitcher species not associated with the small mammals.

"In order for the tree shrews to reach the exudates, they must climb onto the pitchers and orient themselves in such a way that their backsides are located over the pitcher mouths," explains Dr Clarke.

The tree shrews then appear to defecate as a way of marking their feeding territory.

That suggests these supposedly "meat-eating" plants have evolved a mutualistic relationship with tree shrews.

The tree shrews get nectar, a valuable food source, and in return, the plants get to catch and absorb the tree shrew's faeces which likely supplies the majority of nitrogen required by the plant.

These particular species of pitcher also live in the highlands where insects and other arthropods are more scarce.

Such creatures would normally provide the nitrogen needed by the pitcher, forcing it to evolve its huge size to attract tree shrews instead.

Radical rethink

"150 years after the discovery of N. rajah, we finally have an explanation for why the largest carnivorous plant in the world produces such big pitchers," says Dr Clarke.

Dr Clarke says it is the "neatest" discovery he has made in more than 20 years of studying Nepenthes meat-eating plants.

"The findings should radically alter how we look at these plants," he says.

He believes there is much we still have to learn about the true habits of carnivorous plants.

They suspect another highland species, N. ephippiata, likely feeds on faeces too, as may a huge meat-eating plant called N. attenboroughii which was only discovered last year.

In the lowlands of Borneo, bats roost in the pitchers of yet more Nepenthes species, suggesting these plants may too feed off the faeces of other small mammals.

________

Giant 'meat-eating' plant found

Matt Walker Editor,
Earth News

A new species of giant carnivorous plant has been discovered in the highlands of the central Philippines.

The pitcher plant is among the largest of all pitchers and is so big that it can catch rats as well as insects in its leafy trap.

During the same expedition, botanists also came across strange pink ferns and blue mushrooms they could not identify.

The botanists have named the pitcher plant after British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.

They published details of the discovery in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society earlier this year.

Word that this new species of pitcher plant existed initially came from two Christian missionaries who in 2000 attempted to scale Mount Victoria, a rarely visited peak in central Palawan in the Philippines.

With little preparation, the missionaries attempted to climb the mountain but became lost for 13 days before being rescued from the slopes.

On their return, they described seeing a large carnivorous pitcher plant.

That pricked the interest of natural history explorer Stewart McPherson of Red Fern Natural History Productions based in Poole, Dorset, UK and independent botanist Alastair Robinson, formerly of the University of Cambridge, UK and Volker Heinrich, of Bukidnon Province, the Philippines.

All three are pitcher plant experts, having travelled to remote locations in the search for new species.

So in 2007, they set off on a two-month expedition to the Philippines, which included an attempt at scaling Mount Victoria to find this exotic new plant.

Accompanied by three guides, the team hiked through lowland forest, finding large stands of a pitcher plant known to science called Nepenthes philippinensis, as well as strange pink ferns and blue mushrooms which they could not identify.

As they closed in on the summit, the forest thinned until eventually they were walking among scrub and large boulders

"At around 1,600 metres above sea level, we suddenly saw one great pitcher plant, then a second, then many more," McPherson recounts.

"It was immediately apparent that the plant we had found was not a known species."

Pitcher plants are carnivorous. Carnivorous plants come in many forms, and are known to have independently evolved at least six separate times. While some have sticky surfaces that act like flypaper, others like the Venus fly trap are snap traps, closing their leaves around their prey.

Pitchers create tube-like leaf structures into which insects and other small animals tumble and become trapped.

The team has placed type specimens of the new species in the herbarium of the Palawan State University, and have named the plant Nepenthes attenboroughii after broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough.

"The plant is among the largest of all carnivorous plant species and produces spectacular traps as large as other species which catch not only insects, but also rodents as large as rats," says McPherson.

The pitcher plant does not appear to grow in large numbers, but McPherson hopes the remote, inaccessible mountain-top location, which has only been climbed a handful of times, will help prevent poachers from reaching it.

During the expedition, the team also encountered another pitcher, Nepenthes deaniana, which had not been seen in the wild for 100 years. The only known existing specimens of the species were lost in a herbarium fire in 1945.

On the way down the mountain, the team also came across a striking new species of sundew, a type of sticky trap plant, which they are in the process of formally describing.

Thought to be a member of the genus Drosera, the sundew produces striking large, semi-erect leaves which form a globe of blood red foliage.

Source
________

Note: When you wonder if life exists on other planets, just take a look at the diversity of life on our own world, Earth. That should be your first clue.

PhanUni

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From UFOs to Ghosts- Unexplained and in the News: 3/10/2010

2010-03-10T15:04:00.008-06:00

Welcome to the Phantom Universe.

Today we offer up some tasty morsels from the stranger side of the news room, with a few of my 'maybe not so witty' remarks. Enjoy!

UFOS

A man and his dog become terrified, when they see an alien craft land, then a spooky white shape emerges and glides towards them. The man and dog run like mad!
Can't say as I blame them, so would I.
Read the story here-

_________

Is this the best UFO photo of the decade? Out of Argentina comes another UFO photo.
Is it just me, or does that look like a worn out house-shoe?
Read the story here-

_________

An unexplained light show has appeared in the skies over Lake Erie for six nights, so Fox 8 News ran with it.
See the story, video and photos here-

_________

A glowing green UFO is spotted (in photo) hovering over last working windmill in Norfolk.
Some say it's a green Chinese lantern. Yeah, right.
See photos and story here-

_________

Skywatchers over Eureka, California believe they saw a "jalopy UFO", belching fire and smoke.
Read the story and see the photo here-

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Cryptids

Religion and Cryptozoology. Now there's a combo.
The story is here-

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The Chupacabra legend lives on with new sighting... in Oklahoma.
OK, so it was a raccoon with a severe case of mange but the monster still lives!
Read the tale and see the video here-

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Something big is prowling in East Texas neighborhood.
It ain't the teenagers...
See story and photos here-

_________
A recent Bigfoot sighting in Leeds.
Hey, isn't that a hot-spot for UFOs?
Read the story here-

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Ghosts

New Zealander auctions off two "ghosts" in a bottle. An electronic cigarette company amde the top bid and is now looking for ideas on what to do with the ghosts.
I say, "Set them free!"
See the story here-

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8.8 Earthquake Hits Chile- A UFO Connection?

2010-03-01T22:29:00.003-06:00

Video Link

If true, this is stunning footage by American Missionaries, of a glowing disc-like object that was video taped the night before the 8.8 magnitude earthquake, which struck Chile on February 27, 2010.

Could this be a UFO, an example of a phenomena known to seismologists as “the Hessdalen Phenomenon” or “Luminous Plasmoid (LP).”, or could it be a repercussion of HAARP?

_ _ _

A devastating magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, February 27, 2010, toppling homes and buildings, collapsing bridges and spawning a tsunami that rolled menacingly across the Pacific.

As of Monday, March 1, 2010, the death toll had reached 723, marking the strongest earthquake to hit Chile in 50 years and one of the strongest ever measured anywhere.

The jolt triggered a tsunami, which began a race across the Pacific, setting off alarm sirens in Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga. On the islands, traffic was banned on roads less than 1,600 feet from the sea. People in low-lying island nations were urged to find higher ground.

This is not the first, nor will it be the last earthquake in Chile. It isn't even the biggest earthquake ever recorded there. In May of 1960, a 9.5 magnitude earthquake struck along the same fault zone, taking 1,665 lives in Chile, then moving across the ocean as a Tsunami, killing 61 people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

"The Chilean earthquake occurred at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. These rocky slabs are converging at a rate of 3 inches (80 mm) per year, according to the USGS. This huge jolt happened as the Nazca plate moved down and landward below the South American plate. This is called a subduction zone when one plate subducts beneath another.

(Over time, the overriding South American Plate gets lifted up, creating the towering Andes Mountains.)

The plate movement explains why coastal Chile has such a history of powerful earthquakes . Since 1973, 13 temblors of magnitude 7.0 or greater have occurred there, according to the USGS."

The UFO Connection

So what is the connection between UFOs and disasters such as earthquakes in Chile, or elsewhere? That's the $64k question.

I rather doubt that UFOs are causing the quakes but then who knows for sure? With all the underground bases that are supposed to exist, even in Chile, all that digging is bound to stir up seismic activity.
From all the UFO sightings reports coming from Chileans lately, it's evident that UFOs (their occupants) could at the very least, be observing, possibly anticipating seismic disturbances.

According to several well known websites, The media in Chile have blamed UFOs for the disappearance of a large lake in that country. The disappearance was discovered on May 27, 2009.

Is it possible that fractures in the bottom of the lake allowed the water to drain away, or did UFOs suck it dry? My money is on the 'drain factor', Earth movements opening fissures, allowing water to drain into underground caverns.

I suspect that alen activity does seem to increase just before a major disaster, as so many have reported sseing UFOs before, during and after a major calamity.

Are aliens attempting to warn us, are they the cause, or are they just observing our 'living earth' and the response of it's inhabitants, to the ensuing catastrophe?

SW

* * *

Big lake disappears overnight in Chile

Video Link

Here is a video of a lake in Brazil that reportedly disappeared in one hour.

Video Link

Video of a fleet of UFOs over Chile suposedly recorded in December, 2009.

Video Link

Supposed UFO over Chile- November, 2009

Video Link

This last video is said to have been filmed on live TV in Chile. Real, or CGI?

Video Link

* * *

Source
Source
Source
Source
Source

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A Speculation of Origins - Cryptids & Monsters

2010-02-18T12:37:00.002-06:00

Where do cryptids come from? Those strange creatures that pop up in the glare of headlights, or swim through our nightmares. What branch on Earth's evolutionary tree do they exist, or do they exist only in our subconscious mind?

Perhaps creatures such as the Lock Ness Monster, Champ, Raystown Ray, the Jersey Devil, Big Foot (just to name a few), really don't exist in our world, except when a portal opens from another dimension, allowing extra-dimensional creatures to roam our woods and fields, our lakes, our jungles.

Or what if these creatures all existed in Earth's past, then some aliens from another distant solar system came, snatched up a few samples of earthly species, much like researchers and scientists do on earth today? And just what if those alien scientists have finally decided to bring those ancient earth creatures back? T-Rex in your back yard, so to speak. Now there is a chilling thought.

Quite a number of people have claimed to see dragons and other supposedly mythical creatures, such as the Native American Thunderbird, a bird so large that it can pick up a child and whisk it away.

What if the aliens are so adept at manipulating DNA, that they have brought back to life ancient species that once roamed earth, or possibly even another earth-like planet?

Haven't we humans changed the wolf so much that we now have Chihuahuas, tiny dogs that look nothing like their ancient ancestors. Or consider any domesticated animal. Have we not bred some of them to the point, that they only vaguely resemble animals which once roamed free?

Could the Lock Ness Monster, Big Foot, or the Jersy Devil, simply be a culmination of human fears lurking in the darkest recesses of the human mind, or could they be real but misplaced in time? Or could they be creations of mixed DNA, a man beast, a hybrid offspring of two radically different species.

Whatever people are seeing, whatever monsters and living myths lurk in the shadowed recesses of forests, or the dark corners of the human psche, witnesses claim they are real. One day we may be able to fling back the curtain of ignorance and shine light upon the truth.

S. Williams
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Seeing Beyond - Remote Viewing

2010-02-15T15:26:00.003-06:00

Remote Viewing (RV) is the ability to see, sense and/or gain information that is not available to the ordinary five senses. During the cold war, 'psychic spies' used remote viewing for classified military projects and intelligence gathering.

The unique human mental ability known as Remote viewing, has now gained popularity with the civilian population.

There are ways to test your own remote viewing ability. Even if you think you can't, try it. With a bit of personal effort and training, anyone can remote view.

If you are interested in learning about RV and would like to test yourself, check out the links I have provided below:

Remote Viewing Video

Examples of Remote Viewing at Remote-viewing.com

Remote Viewing- free online test at greaterreality.com

The Farsight Institute

Other Sources:

en.wikipedia.org

International Remote Viewing Association

Phone Calls From Beyond

2010-02-08T18:07:00.002-06:00

Phantom Phone Calls

ospri.net- Alleged contact with the dead has occurred universally throughout history, taking various forms; as dreams, waking visions and auditory hallucinations, either spontaneous or induced through trance. In many cultures, the spirits of the dead have been sought for their wisdom, advice and knowledge of the future. The dead also seem to initiate their own communication, using whatever means seem to be most effective.

With the advent of electromagnetic technology, mysterious messages have been communicated by telegraph, wireless, phonographs and radio. A curious phenomenon of modern times is the communication via the telephone. Phone calls from the dead seem to be random and occasional
occurrences that happen without explanation. The great majority are exchanges between persons who shared a close emotional tie while both were living: spouses, parents and children, siblings, and occasionally friends and other relatives.

Most communications are "intention" calls, initiated by the deceased to impart a message, such as farewell upon death, a warning of impending danger, or information the living needs to carry out a task. For example, actress Ida Lupino's father, Stanley, who died intestate in London during World War II, called Lupino six months after his death to relate information concerning his estate, the location of some unknown but important papers.

Some calls appear to have no other purpose than to make contact with the living; many of these occur on emotionally charged "anniversary" days, such as Mothers day or Fathers day, a birthday or holiday. In a typical” anniversary” call, the dead may do nothing more than repeat a phrase over and over, such as "Hello, Mom, is that you?"

Persons who have received phone calls from the dead report that the voices are exactly the same as when the deceased was living, furthermore, the voice often uses pet names and words. The telephone usually rings normally, although some recipients say that the ring sounded flat and abnormal. In many cases, the connection is bad, with a great deal of static and line noise, and occasionally the faint voices of the other persons are heard, as though lines have been crossed. In many cases, the voice of the dead one is difficult to hear and grows fainter as the call goes on. Sometimes, the voice just fades away but the line remains open, and the recipient hangs up after giving up on further communication. Sometimes the call is terminated by the dead and the recipient hers the click of disengagement, other times, the line simply goes dead.

The phantom phone calls typically occur when the recipient is in a passive state of mind. If the recipient knows the caller is dead, the shock is great and the phone call very brief, invariably, the caller terminates the call after a few seconds or minutes, or the line goes dead. If the recipient does not know the caller is dead, a lengthy conversation of up to 30 minutes or so may take place, during which the recipient is not aware of anything amiss. In a minority of cases, the call is placed person-to-person, long-distance with the assistance of a mysterious operator. Checks with the telephone company later turn up no evidence of a call being places.

Similar phone calls from the dead are "intention" phone calls occurring between two living persons. Such calls are much rarer than calls from the dead. In a typical "intention" call, the caller thinks about making the call but never does, the recipient nevertheless receives a call. In some cases, emergencies precipitate phantom calls, a surgeon is summoned by a nurse to the hospital to perform an emergency operation, a priest is called by a "relative" to give last rites to a dying man and so forth.

Some persons who claim to have had UFO encounters report receiving harassing phantom phone calls. The calls are received soon after the witness returns home, or within a day or two of the encounter, in many cases, the calls come before the witness has shared the experience with anyone, stranger still, they are often placed to unlisted phone numbers. The unidentified caller warns the witness not to talk and to "forget" what he or she saw.

Phone calls allegedly may be placed to the dead as well. The caller does not find out until sometime after the call that the person on the other end has been dead. In one such case, a woman dreamed of a female friend she had not seen for several years. In the disturbing dream, she witnessed the friend sliding down into a pool of blood. Upon awakening, she worried that the dream was a portent of trouble, and called the friend. She was relieved when the friend answered. The friend explained that she had been in the hospital, had been released and was due to be readmitted in a few days. She demurred when the woman offered to visit, saying she would call later. The return call never came. The woman called her friend again, to be told by a relative that the friend has been dead for six months at the time the conversation took place.

In several cases studied by researchers, the deceased callers make reference to an anonymous” they” and caution that there is little time to talk. The remarks imply that communication between the living and the dead is not only difficult, but not necessarily desirable.

Most phone calls from the dead occur within 24 hours of the death of the caller. Most short calls come from those who have been dead seven days or less: most lengthy calls come from those who have been dead several months. One of the longest death-intervals on record is two years.

In a small number of cases, the callers are strangers who say they are calling on behalf of a third party, whom the recipient later discovered is dead.

Several theories exist as to the origin of phantom phone calls. (1) They are indeed placed by the dead, who somehow manipulate the telephone mechanisms and circuitry: (2) they are deceptions of elemental-type spirits who enjoy playing tricks on the living: (3) they are psychokinetic acts caused subconsciously by the recipient, whose intense desire to communicate with the dead creates a type of hallucinatory experience: (4) they are entirely fantasy created by the recipient.

For the most part, phantom phone calls are not seriously regarded by parapsychologists. In the early 20th century, numerous devices were built by investigators in hopes of capturing ghostly voices: many of them were modifications of the telegraph and wireless. Thomas Alva Edison, whose parents were Spiritualists, believed that a telephone could be invented that would connect the living to the dead. He verified that he was working on such a device, but apparently it never was completed before his death.

"Psychic telephone" experiments were conducted in the 1940's in England and America. Interest in the phenomenon waned until the 1960’s, following the findings of Konstantin Raudive that ghostly voices could be captured on electromagnetic tape.

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Green-eyed Being & UFO Affect Witness In California

2010-02-07T19:02:00.006-06:00

(Click image for larger view.)

MUFON Case # 21794
Date: 2009-11-01 02:00
Victorville, California
Shape: Square/Rectagular,Other
Distance: 100 feet or less
Location: Lake/River
Terrain: Lake
Visibility: Clear
Weather: None
Entity Type: Reptile-like
Description: FIRST SIGHTING OF BEING ON GROUND. 2ND SIGHTING OF MASSIVE SHIP

I had to get up around 2am to take dogs out to backyard to go potty. while standing out there half asleep my dog started to growl towards other side of finger across from me(i live on a lake down a finger).i looked to the other side of finger and noticed what appeared to be a very large object crouched down with a sort of cape draped down.all of a sudden all of my dogs were looking across finger and starting to bark .i called for the dogs to come inside now because the neighbors get sort of upset when dogs are barking, while looking at this object at same time. all of a sudden it stood up and could see greenish colored eyes on it. i got scared and yelled at dogs to get in now!i looked back up and this being was now flying in air towards me and flew along sideways and stared at me and flew away.i was scared and dogs were too.next day it was back to normal.evening came around and i was still rather shook up about the day before.about 11pm that night I took the dogs out a little earlier hoping they would sleep till morning .it was and errie feeling standing out there. i looked hard but didnt see that being across the finger from me anymore. i looked up to skies and it was very clear. so clear that the sky looked really strange .i looked harder and started to notice that there was a line of an object in sky almost the size of a football field above me in the sky .as i looked more closely i noticed that the stars on the inside of this black lining were brighter than regular stars. what i was actually seeing was a massive ship attempting to camoflauge its underbelly as the sky. i stared a little more and then a sharp instant pain entered my abdomen.i immediately felt my mind very confused and it was telling me to go back inside now or else.i cannot explain what happened at that moment .only can tell u that 2 weeks later was in hospital with total with major complications almost dying from massive bacterial infection) and almost died.had to be off 2/1/2 months off of work and havent been the same since.cant remember things.simple things. i am only 48 years i should not be experiencing alzheimers already. what i seen was very real and has made me realize something. i used to get excieted about ufos. no more. something else happend the year before but i will relay if and when u r ready .i live in helendale and about 2 miles from an airbase .strange things happen there all the time. all of those people that live in surrounding area of this base say they see small round lit balls (orbs) flying around at night.thank you for letting me tell u about my experience .

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Note: Ok, so it's California but strange things are being seen all over the world.

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Strange News Stories, Volume 1

2010-02-05T17:57:00.006-06:00

Close encounters with Japan’s ‘living fossil’

Photo Courtesy of Nation Geographic
(Click image for larger view)

ethiopianreview.com- “This is a dinosaur, this is amazing,” he enthuses.

“We’re talking about salamanders that usually fit in the palm of your hand. This one will chop your hand off.”

As a leader of Conservation International’s (CI) scientific programmes, and co-chair of the Amphibian Specialist Group with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Dr Gascon has seen a fair few frogs and salamanders in his life; but little, he says, to compare with this.

Fortunately for all of our digits, this particular giant salamander is in no position to chop off anything, trapped in a tank in the visitors’ centre in Maniwa City, about 800km west of Tokyo.

But impressive it certainly is: about 1.7m (5ft 6in) long, covered in a leathery skin that speaks of many decades passed, with a massive gnarled head covered in tubercles whose presumed sensitivity to motion probably helped it catch fish by the thousand over its lifetime.

If local legend is to be believed, though, this specimen is a mere tadpole compared with the biggest ever seen around Maniwa.

A 17th Century tale, related to us by cultural heritage officer Takashi Sakata, tells of a salamander (or hanzaki, in local parlance) 10m long that marauded its way across the countryside chomping cows and horses in its tracks.

A local hero was found, one Mitsui Hikoshiro, who allowed the hanzaki to swallow him whole along with his trusty sword – which implement he then used, in the best heroic tradition, to rend the beast from stem to stern.

It proved not to be such a good move, however.

Crops failed, people started dying in mysterious ways – including Mr Hikoshiro himself.

Pretty soon the villagers drew the obvious conclusion that the salamander’s spirit was wreaking revenge from beyond the grave, and must be placated. That is why Maniwa City boasts a shrine to the hanzaki.

The story illustrates the cultural importance that this remarkable creature has in some parts of Japan.

Its scientific importance, meanwhile, lies in two main areas: its “living fossil” identity, and its apparently peaceful co-existence with the chytrid fungus that has devastated so many other amphibian species from Australia to the Andes.

Close family

“The skeleton of this species is almost identical to that of the fossil from 30 million years ago,” recounts Takeyoshi Tochimoto, director of the Hanzaki Institute near Hyogo.

“Therefore it’s called the ‘living fossil’.”

The hanzaki (Andrias japonicus) only has two close living relatives: the Chinese giant salamander (A. davidianus), which is close enough in size and shape and habits that the two can easily cross-breed, and the much smaller hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) of the south-eastern US.

Creatures rather like these were certainly around when dinosaurs dominated life on land, and fossils of the family have been found much further afield than their current tight distribution – in northern Europe, certainly, where scientists presumed the the lineages had gone extinct until tales of the strange Oriental forms made their way back to thescientific burghers of Vienna and Leiden a couple of centuries ago.

“They are thought to be extremely primitive species, partly due to the fact that they are the only salamanders that have external fertilisation,” says Don Church, asalamander specialist with CI.

The fertilisation ritual must be quite some sight.

Into a riverbank den that is usually occupied by the dominant male (the “den-master”) swim several females, and also a few other males.

The den-master and the females release everything they have got, turning incessantly to stir the eggs and spermatozoa round in a roiling mass.

Maybe the lesser males sneak in a package or two as well; their function in the ménage-a-many is not completely clear.

When the waters still, everyone but the den-master leaves; and he alone guards the nest and its juvenile brood.

It is not an ideal method of reproduction.

Research shows that genetic diversity among the hanzaki is smaller than it might be, partly as a result of the repeated polygamy, which in turn leaves them more prone to damage through environmental change.

But for the moment, it seems to work.

Outside the breeding season, the salamander’s life appears to consist of remaining as inconspicuous as possible in the river (whether hiding in leaves, as the small ones do, or under the riverbanks like their larger fellows) and snapping whatever comes within reach, their usual meandering torpor transformed in an instant as the smell of a fish brushes by.

The adults’ jaws are not to be treated lightly.

Among Dr Tochimoto’s extensive collection of photos is one of bloodied human hands; and as he warns: “you may be attacked and injured; please be careful”.

When the chytrid fungus was identified just over a decade ago, indications were that Japan would be an unlikely place to look for its origins.

With the discovery of chytrid on museum specimens of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), an out-of-Africa migration spurred by human transportation of amphibians once seemed the simple likelihood.

But just last year, a team of researchers led by Koichi Goka from Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies published research showing that certain strains of chytrid were present on Japanesegiant salamanders, and only on Japanese giant salamanders, including museum specimens from a century or so back; and that the relationship seemed benign.

The hanzaki-loving strains of chytrid appear to differ from those that are proving so virulent to amphibians now.

Unravelling all that, says Don Church, might tell us something about the origins and spread of chytrid – and there is so much diversity among Japanese chytrid strains that the country is now being touted as a possible origin, as diversity often implies a long evolutionary timeframe.

More importantly, the discovery might also provide options for treating the infection.

“In the case of the North American salamanders, what was found was that they have bacteria living on their skin that produce peptides that are lethal to the amphibian chytridfungus,” says Dr Church.

“And those bacteria might be able to be transplanted to other species that can’t fight off the fungus.”

This is a line of research that is very much in play in laboratories around the world.

It appears likely now that studies of the Japanese giant salamander can expand the number of chytrid-fighting bacteria known to science, and so extend the options for developing treatments for an infection that currently cannot be controlled in the wild.

But that can only come to pass if the giant salamanders endure; something that is not guaranteed, with the challenges they face in modern Japan including, perhaps, new strains of chytrid itself.

There is as yet no modern hero able to still the pace of habitat loss or prevent invasion from rival species.

(Source: BBC News)

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Groundhog Judgment Day: PETA demands a robot Punxsutawney Phil

Graphic courtesy Boston Phoenix
(Click image for larger view)

In the spirit of the season, PETA have momentarily put aside their paint-slinging and nudity-exploiting, opting to set their sights on a new cause: freeing Punxsutawney Phil from a life of enslavement and untold horrors by replacing him with -- wait for it -- an animatronic rodent replica. Phil has been alerting us to the onset of spring for years: a career that PETA believes he was forced into against his will. Not so, argues the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. William Deeley, president of that very Skull and Bones-sounding society, explains that Phil is treated "better than the average child in Pennsylvania." (Point and case, the firebombing of a house full o' Pennsylvanian tykes back in 1985. Well played, Deeley.)

Now, we have no beef whatsoever with cybernetic creatures designed with creepily lifelike proportions and abilities. In fact, we sort of dig them. But we already have enough trouble wrapping our minds around Phil's preternatural ability to predict the ebb and flow of the seasons with a single twitch of his nose. What sort of eerie, nature-slighting capabilities will the proposed robo-hog possess? The mind boggles.

PETA's executive vice president, Tracy Reiman, maintains that a robotic groundhog would "would attract new and curious tourists." Which, admittedly, might include us. If Phil is forced into early retirement (let's hope he's been receiving a nice 401K package for his 121 years of service), might we suggest the big dogs over at PETA enlist the services of Boston Dynamics? Because, as the creators of the unspeakably terrifying military pack mule Big Dog, they really seem to have a lockdown on the freaky animal-bots.

Will Gobblers Knob be transforming into the Uncanny Valley anytime soon? We can't wait to find out.

(Source: Boston Phoenix)

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A UFO landing strip for Harbour Mille?

ganderbeacon.ca- There has been another UFO sighting in Newfoundland and Labrador. According to CBC News, Darlene Stewart spotted an object coming out of the ocean while taking pictures of the sunset over Harbour Mille, on the South Coast.

The object disappeared into the sky trailing flames or smoke. Ms. Stewart called her neighbor, Emmy Pardy, and the two women, along with Stewart's husband, said they saw three similar objects flying through the air minutes apart. Darlene Stewart’s photo shows that the object resembled a rocket!
The RCMP confirmed that there was something in the sky, but that is the extent of the disclosure. Speculation is running rampant – from secret missiles tested by the French government off St. Pierre, to comets, to aliens from outer and inner space – but the sighting remains a mystery.
In a funding announcement speech in St. John’s, Defense Minister Peter MacKay said that there have been no reported missile tests. Jokingly, he announced funding for an alien landing strip at Harbour Mille.
Stories of UFO sightings are compelling. We are at the same time consumed by the overwhelming need to know and the tantalizing fear that there is something out there of which we know nothing. Ever since humans have inhabited this planet, we have imagined we are not alone, but are scared out of our wits to face the unknown.
My personal encounter with a light on the back beach in Lumsden North, as a child, has nourished a dream to get up close and personal with a UFO. Probably the ghost stories, told around the wood stove during the long winter nights, whetted my appetite for more information about the unknown and the supernatural.
One day on the way out from Gander, it was my luck to witness one of those triangular shaped aircrafts that others have said is not from this world. It was flying like a helicopter, but it was triangular shaped and silent. It wasn’t close and personal enough for me to class it as anything other than a strange flying object. And Gander is the crossroads of the world!
There are probably good rational explanations for everything we see that looks strange. But many of us are romantics and like to spin a decent story. Back in the good old days, talk was entertainment and the person who could spin an enjoyable yarn or cuffer was the life of the party, and in great demand.
Conspiracy theories make good stories. The hype around a UFO crashing in Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947, with the alleged recovery of extra-terrestrial debris and bodies, will not go away. Stories about a secret military base 90 miles North of Las Vagas, Nevada, known as Area 51, which may have more information about UFOs than it lets on, capture our imagination and linger in our memories.
The fact that recently the American government has admitted finally that there is actually a base in Nevada, does nothing to dispel the mystery surrounding the base. Rather, it adds to the alien conspiracy theory.
In this age of ‘openness and transparency,’ governments are opening their files on UFOs. The British government began opening its secret files in 2008. According to Nick Pope, a UFO expert who helped the British Ministry of Defense investigate the phenomenon, the most common things that are mistaken for UFOs are “aircraft lights, bright stars, planets, satellites, meteors and airships.” Most sightings are easily explained.
But there are still a few sightings that cannot be clarified by the usual suspects. One prime example happened at an airport in England. At four in the afternoon on April 19, 1984, experienced air traffic controllers on the East Coast of England claimed they had seen an unidentified flying object touch down briefly at the airport and take off again at a terrific speed. What they saw has never been explained.
Can the sightings be attributed to mass hysteria, or something similar, such as the Emperor’s New Clothes syndrome? Perhaps … but we can imagine that not many people may feel compelled to say that they have seen a UFO just because someone else has.
Who would want to be labeled a kook? The air traffic controllers chose to remain anonymous for that very reason. The stigma attached to a belief in aliens is a huge barrier to the reporting of many UFO sightings. That may change now that the Catholic Church has performed an about turn on the matter.
Scientific experts studying the possibility of extraterrestrial life for the Vatican have concluded that other intelligent beings could exist in outer space. Are we close to a breakthrough on the subject of Aliens? Perhaps Peter MacKay may have to seriously consider funding that UFO landing strip at Harbour Mille.
We can smile about Aliens, but we would like to be serious about missiles. Senator George Baker and others have said that if French, or other, missiles are being tested, near the province, the Canadian government should know about it and, if they don’t know, they should press world governments for answers. Are answers too much to expect from paternalistic governments?

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Paranormal Investigators Receive A Creepy Picture

Photograph supposedly shows spirit of deceased man

ghosttheory.com- Matthew Didier and Sue St.Clair’s paranormal blog was sent a chilling image.

As the story goes, a Dr. Kimberly Molto sent the paranormal duo an image in which she believes her dead husband appears.

Dr. Molto’s husband had died in their basement of a massive coronary years before the picture was taken. As always, ghostly images should be carefully analyzed and taken with a grain of salt. All we know about this is the doctor’s story and a submitted blurred image.

Interesting picture nonetheless.

Full source: Sue/Matthew Paranormal Blog

Posted to the story, this was added:

This photo was shared with us over the Christmas holidays by Dr Kimberly Molto a research scientist specializing in neurobiology in Ontario. The photo was taken by a widow in 1938 who identifies the figure seen in the photo as her deceased husband. The photo was taken (according to his widow) several years after he died of a massive coronary in the basement that he had been renovating.

Please note that I cropped the photo during the scanning purpose to center the image.

This is one of those photos where you either believe the photographer’s information or you don’t. I find it to be a very interesting photograph!

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2010 Prison Ghost Walk

2010-02-03T10:46:00.007-06:00

Prison Announces Overnight 2010 Ghost Hunt Dates; Launches New Ghost Walk Experiences

The infamous Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, operated by the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society.

MANSFIELD, OH, February 03, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The infamous Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, operated by the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, today announced the 2010 dates for its wildly popular overnight Ghost Hunts. Named one of the Travel Channel's "101 Things to do before you Die," these unusual overnight experiences are a hit with anyone interested in paranormal activity or just seeking a truly unusual travel getaway. The Hunts begin March 13 and are offered at least twice monthly through December 11, 2010.

The Ghost Hunts have grown dramatically in popularity, with all of the proceeds going directly into restoring the incredible architecture of this important historical structure. Each Hunt is limited to 100 participants. 2010 Ghost Hunt dates include:

Saturday, March 13, Saturday, March 27, Saturday, April 10, Saturday, April 24, Friday, May 7, Saturday, May 22 -sold out, Friday, June 4, Saturday, June 12, Friday, June 25, Saturday, July 31, Saturday, August 14, Saturday, August 28, Friday, September 3, Friday, November 12, Saturday, November 20, Saturday, and Saturday, December 11.

In addition to the Ghost Hunts, eight Ghost Walks have been added to the 2010 calendar. During the Ghost Walks, tour guides will lead guests through the dark halls and corridors of the reformatory to spots where paranormal activity has been reported. Stories of eerie experiences, murder and death will make this a hauntingly fun event for all. 2010 Ghost Walks will be held on the following dates:

Friday, May 23, Sunday, June 6, Friday, June 18, Friday, July 9, Sunday, July 25, Friday, August 20, Sunday, August 29, and Sunday, September 5.

During the Ghost Hunts, volunteer tour guides circulate through the prison to answer questions and outline its history. Participants are also free to explore the prison on their own. However, the prison is not lighted and participants are encouraged to bring flashlights.

The cost of the Ghost Hunts is $65/person and includes access to the building from 8 p.m.-5 a.m., as well as late-night pizza and soft drinks. All participants must be 21 years of age or older. The Ghost Walks cost $15 for adults and $8 for children, ages 12-17. Tours run from 8 - 10 p.m. and reservations are required. In addition, public tours of the Reformatory are offered each Sunday, May through early September. More information, including a journal from past Ghost Hunts, is available at www.mansfieldtourism.com or www.mrps.org, or by calling toll free, (800) 642-8282.

Built in 1886, Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) served for 94 years as a working prison, housing more than 154,000 prisoners. OSR has been the setting for major motion pictures, including The Shawshank Redemption, Air Force One and others. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the prison boasts the world's largest free-standing steel cellblock.

Ghost Hunt Recovery packages are offered by area hotels as the perfect remedy after a night of spirit chasing, with some packages including a Jacuzzi tub, indoor pools, late check out and breakfast. The Shawshank Trail is just one of a long list of truly one-of-a-kind experiences travelers find when visiting in Mansfield, Ohio. Breathtaking scenery and rural and hometown experiences, as well as hiking, biking, golf, cross-country and downhill skiing, bird watching and other outdoor adventures are among the many attractions. Getaway package details, a free visitors guide and complete information on Mansfield's many unforgettable visitor experiences are available at mansfieldtourism.com or (800) 642-8282.

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The Ohio State Reformatory lies in Mansfield Ohio, 80 miles from Cleveland. Considered to be the most haunted prison in the country, it more closely resembles a Transylvania Castle. Closed in 1990, the Mansfield Reformatory was then opened to the public for tours.

While active, it was home to America’s worst criminals. As many as 2,500 prisoners were imprisoned at a one time. One section alone holds nearly 1,200 cells.

Closed due to lawsuits related to inhumane treatment of the prisoners (150 inmates are said to have died there), the reformatory is now the haunt to those who perished. In the 1950s, the Warden’s wife was accidentally killed by a gunshot and it is believed she still haunts the hall of the administrative building where she lived. In the basement, the spirit of a young boy has been seen, appearing as if he is leaning down in the corner.

People who have walked these halls and entered the cells, claim a strong feeling of "presence". It's no doubt that those who died are not happy, nor are they the friendliest ghosts you will meet.
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A Furry Angel? Cat Senses Impending Death

2010-02-03T10:04:00.004-06:00

Oscar the Cat Predicts Nursing Home Deaths

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.

The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.

After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.

Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.

Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill

She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near.

Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.

Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advanced warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.

No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause. Teno wonders if the cat notices telltale scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him.

Nicholas Dodman, who directs an animal behavioral clinic at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and has read Dosa's article, said the only way to know is to carefully document how Oscar divides his time between the living and dying.

If Oscar really is a furry grim reaper, it's also possible his behavior could be driven by self-centered pleasures like a heated blanket placed on a dying person, Dodman said.

Nursing home staffers aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.

Oscar recently received a wall plaque publicly commending his "compassionate hospice care."

Source
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Doctor casts new light on cat that can predict death

SYDNEY (Reuters) - When doctors and staff realized that a cat living in a U.S. nursing home could sense when someone was going to die, the feline, Oscar, was portrayed as a furry grim reaper or four-legged angel of death.

Health

But Dr. David Dosa, who broke the news of Oscar's abilities in a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, said he never intended to make Oscar sound creepy or his arrival at a bedside to be viewed negatively.

Dosa said he hopes his newly released book, "Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat" will put the cat in a more favorable light as well as providing a book to help people whose loved ones are terminally ill.

"After the New England Journal article you got the feeling that if Oscar is in your bed then you are dead, but you did not really see what is going on for these family members," said Dosa, an assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.

"I wanted to write a book that would go beyond Oscar's peculiarities, to tell why he is important to family members and caregivers who have been with him at the end of a life."

Dosa said Oscar's story is fascinating on many levels.

Oscar was adopted as a kitten from an animal shelter to be raised as a therapy cat at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, which cares for people with severe dementia and in the final stages of various illnesses.

SIXTH SENSE?

When Oscar was about six months old the staff noticed that he would curl up to sleep with patients who were about to die.

So far he has accurately predicted about 50 deaths.

Dosa recounts one instance when staff was convinced of the imminent death of one patient but Oscar refused to sit with that person, choosing instead to be on the bed of another patient down the hallway. Oscar proved to be right. The person he sat with died first, taking staff on the ward by surprise.

Dosa said there is no scientific evidence to explain Oscar's abilities, but he thinks the cat might be responding to a pheromone or smell that humans simply don't recognize.

Dosa said his main interest was not to delve further into Oscar's abilities but to use Oscar as a vehicle to tell about terminal illness, which is his main area of work.

"There is a lot to tell about what Oscar does, but there is a lot to tell on the human level of what family members go through at the end of life when they are dealing with a loved one in a nursing home or with advanced dementia," he said.

"Perhaps the book is a little more approachable because there is a cat in it. We really know so little about nursing homes, and this tries to get rid of this myth that they are horrid factories where people go to die."

Dosa said the story of Oscar, who is now nearly five years old, initially had sparked a bit more interest in families wanting to send their loved ones to Steere House.

Oscar has even been thanked by families in obituaries for providing some comfort in the final hours of life.

But he said Oscar remains unchanged by the attention, spending most of his days staring out of a window, although he has become a bit friendlier.

"The first time I met Oscar he bit me. We have warmed over the years. We have moved into a better place," said Dosa.

"I don't think Oscar is that unique, but he is in a unique environment. Animals are remarkable in their ability to see things we don't, be it the dog that sniffs out cancer or the fish that predicts earthquakes. Animals know when they are needed."

Source
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UFOs and Unseen Universes

2010-01-29T09:41:00.007-06:00

UFOs- Our Imagination, Our Reality

(Click on images for larger view.)

LITS- There are objects in our skies that we sometimes can not identify, or even relate to. It's a definite possibility, that not everything in our skies are of a terrestrial origin, at least not of this Earth, our atmosphere, or even 'our space".

It's quite possible that some of these objects seen flying, floating, cruising, wobbling, hovering, or streaking across Earth's day and night skies are simply put, from "someplace else".

And just where do these strange and unidentifiable objects come from? Well, for most it is a mystery, others merely speculate and a few think they actually know.

Ours is a mysterious universe. We have yet to discover everything in our own world, our own back yard, let alone the trillions upon trillions of miles of space. That doesn't even suggest a glint of knowledge about other universes, other dimensions of space and time.

What if some of the strange phenomena that thousands witness every week, every month, are not even of this time, or space? What if they are time travelers, seeking to understand the past, hoping for a better future, as we ourselves hope for? Surely we can't step into a time machine and fling ourselves back to the days of the dinosaurs... but what if we could? Wouldn't we?

And what if the aerial acrobatics of a seen, yet unknown vessel is piloted by alien space travelers? Do you think that they are going to stop and ask such primitives as ourselves, how to get to Alpha Centauri? About all we can do, is point out a star. But is that 'their Alpha Centauri' and how many of us humans even realize that Alpha Centauri is not just one star, it's a system of 3? We're still searching for planets around those stars closest to us and the discoveries come slowly.

What would these aliens want with us? I'm afraid the list would be quite lengthy but for some, it is evident that 'they' want the bountiful resources that our planet has to offer, including us, or at least our DNA.

Are the Extraterrestrials (ETs/Aliens) setting us up for world domination? I'd assume that would be a simple task, as it would appear they have already conquered space and most likely other worlds, some possibly more advanced than ours. On a scale of 1 to 10, the aliens being 10, I guess we would rate at about '1.5', no more than a '2'.

Again, what if some of those anomalous lights in the sky are creatures and not mechanical, driven devices? Are there living beings that can live in the vaccum of space, then glide through our upper atmosphere on their way to new feeding grounds? If so, do they live on stellar dust? Solar radiation? Just what are they, how do they survive and are they even aware of us?

What about beings from other dimensions, parallel universes? Can two objects occupy the same space, at the same time, yet be "out of phase" with our reality, thus they exist as we do, yet on a different plane of existence? Are they simply different realities, or different lines of time, or both? How can we see them? How do we see them? Do they see us?

What if you knew that T-Rex just tromped through your living room and was devouring a Triceratops in your back yard? Sounds rather freakish but actually quite possible, according to some theoretical physicists, such as Michio Kaku.

One thing can truly be said about human beings: what we can imagine, we can achieve. In less than 100 years, we went from horse drawn wagons to the Space Shuttle and beyond. So why is it so hard to believe in other worlds, other dimensions, time travel and alien beings?

Parallel universes, multi-dimensions, time travel, aliens from distant galaxies, possibly our own back yard phenomena. The imaginations are limitless. So are the possibilities. Something to think about.

Keep watching the sky! -SW
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Strange creature 'had' experts scratching their heads

2010-01-23T11:41:00.007-06:00

Experts puzzle over mystery creature found in Wise County

by JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA-TV

WISE COUNTY -- Animal experts are baffled by a small, hairless creature found dead on the golf course at Runaway Bay in Wise County.

Maintenance worker Tony Potter picked it up Wednesday morning. To him it looked a little like a raccoon with no hair.

"Definitely not a dog," he said.

Potter showed the remains to several people and then took it to a veterinarian's office in Bridgeport. He said no one there could identify it, either.

"My wife wouldn't let me keep it in the freezer," he said, so Potter gave it to the Center for Animal Research and Education, a big cat sanctuary in Bridgeport.

The creature is dark brown, about 18 inches long, with a black nose and a face resembling a rodent -- but with long canine teeth jutting from the upper and lower jaws.

The front claws have narrow digits about a half-inch long, with long, narrow nails.

Whatever this is has powerful rear legs "almost like a kangaroo," according to CARE research assistant Sherre Sacher. She said the front claws look like they're made for digging.

The tail is like that of an opossum, but not quite as long.

"It's really exciting," Sacher said. "I can't wait to find out what it is."

The center hopes to hear from experts who would like to examine the animal. Some who have seen it wonder if it's the legendary chupacabra, an animal that supposedly sucks the blood of goats.

If nothing else, one thing appears certain: This is the ugliest bogey ever seen on the Runaway Bay golf course.

You can contact the Center for Animal Research and Education at heidi@bigcatcare.org

- - - -

In a followup story: Case Solved

Positive ID for strange creature in Wise County

WISE COUNTY — Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist Jennifer Barrow measures the rear feet of a small, hairless creature laid out on a picnic table.

"The pad is the giveaway," she says.

Barrow has seen feet and claws exactly like this many times; teeth, too. She puts a section of jawbone down next to the animal's head for comparison.

"This tooth right here is this tooth right here," she says. "It matches perfectly."

But she's never seen a critter like this.

It was found dead on the Runaway Bay golf course in Wise County last Wednesday morning. Tony Potter picked it up.

"I get out here and I was like, 'What is that? It's not a dog,'" he said. Potter said a local vet didn't know what it was, either.

Potter posted video of the animal on YouTube, and News 8 reported the story on Monday. All the exposure generated an enormous response; many viewers thought it was a type of hairless dog.

It looked to Potter like a raccoon with no hair.

Jennifer Barrow says Potter is correct. "The feet are raccoon feet. The skull is a raccoon skull. Dental formula matches raccoon dental formula. It's a raccoon," Barrow concluded.

A hairless raccoon.

It is just like another specimen found in Kentucky, caught alive and confirmed through lab tests.

We found other photos on the Internet that match the Wise County specimen.

Researchers suspect the hairlessness is due to a congenital defect, not disease. Game warden Penny Nixon wants to emphasize that point.

"This is just an anomaly of a common species," she said. "We don't want anyone alarmed by it. We don't want people to think we have a mange problem or any kind of problem in our wildlife in Wise County."

So wildlife officials are certain they know what it is, but they also know it will likely perpetuate the myth of a creature called the chupacabra.

"They don't exist," Barrow said. "Most of the chupacabra reports are mangy coyotes. Hairless coyotes."

"I was always told that the chupacabra was a mythical beast that was used to keep children from straying far from home, as in: Don't go out there, because the chupacabra might get you," Nixon said.

The little brownish-gray animal on the table might have been a threat to your garbage can, but not to your children.

Barrow said the raccoon apparently was just an unfortunate trick of nature, with no coat to keep him warm through the winter.

The Center for Animal Research and Education in Bridgeport will take custody of the critter. They hope more tests can be performed.

- - - -

In a somewhat related story, A Dewitt County Sheriff's Deputy recorded what he and believe is the mythical creature, a Chupacabra.

The video shows some type of animal, possibly a mangy coyote, running down the road in front of the deputy's car.

Note: Congenital defects, mange and other diseases can change an animals appearance quite drastically.
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Yowies Down Under

2010-01-22T22:32:00.005-06:00

From the first time British settlers stepped foot on the island continent, Australia's Aborigines warned of an ape-like creature roaming the country.

Know by the Aborigines as doolagarl, thoolagarl, jurrawarra and tjangara, and by settlers as 'yahoos' or 'youries', the foul-smelling Australian apes are now simply called "yowies".

Do these ape-like creatures roam 'the land down under'? Eyewitnesses such as zoologists, surveyors, rangers and even members of the elite Special Air Service Regiment seems to think so.

Every continent has it's own version of a giant hair-covered ape-like creature. Here in the US they are referred to as Bigfoot, Skunk Ape, etc., and in the northern areas of the US and Canada, 'Sasquatch'.

To read more about Australia's Yowie and see videos, go here and here.

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In The News - January 18, 2010

2010-01-18T20:17:00.005-06:00

Body found on NY's Plum Island, disease lab site

Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC).

Washington Post

PLUM ISLAND, N.Y. -- A human body has washed ashore on New York's tiny Plum Island, where a U.S. government lab studies dangerous animal diseases.

Police say a security guard discovered the clothed body Thursday afternoon on the island's southwest beach area where access is restricted.

Police on Long Island say an autopsy found no immediate cause of death but determined the partially decomposed body was that of a black male about 6 feet tall with a large build and very long fingers. They say there were no obvious signs of trauma.

Plum Island is about 100 miles northeast of New York City in the Long Island Sound. It has been called a potential target for terrorists because of its stock of vaccines and diseases, such as African swine fever.

Note: This isn't the first corpse to show up on or near Plum Island. Many may remember the Montauk Monster, that washed ashore in 2008. Then another monster-like corpse showed up in May, 2009 and now the human body in January, 2010. What's really happening on Plum Island?

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Ghost-seeking TV crews descend on local sites

theday.com- Historic and rumored as haunted, several sites in southeastern Connecticut have been getting a lot of attention lately from the paranormal-seeking community.

Within the past year, television crews from two major cable networks have spent time in some of the region's most prominent steeped-in-history locations thought to be inhabited by spirits. A third could be setting up shop here for a few days in the near future.

The result of the "Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal" crew's April 2009 three-day stint at the Captain Grant's 1754 Inn in Preston and at the Mystic Seaport will be aired Tuesday night on the A&E channel.

The History Channel's "Life After People" episode featuring the former Norwich State Hospital for the Insane, also in Preston, is still in production. The crew left the property in October.

Negotiations are ongoing between the Preston Redevelopment Agency and producers of the Syfy channel's "Ghost Hunters" series to allow its team of investigators to explore the vacant tunnels and buildings on the vast former state hospital property.

While the lure of documenting a ghost or unexplained activity is strong, it's the stories that the properties have to tell that first get a producer's attention.

When identifying filming locations, Christine Mahin, an associate producer for "Psychic Kids," said she looks for places of historical interest. She had read about the Morgan and then did a Google search for where the cast and crew could stay and found Capt. Grant's.

"What drove our decision to choose these two places wasn't the spooky factor, that they are scary or riddled with ghosts, it's the unbelievable amount of history that leaves its own impression on the locations themselves," Mahin said.

The children who are part of the A&E show, and their parents, go through an extensive screening process prior to being chosen to appear on the show. Once chosen, the families are not told where they are going, or even what state they will visit. Mahin said this is a way of keeping them from researching the locations on the Internet prior to filming.

Mahin said the cast had "unbelievable luck" at the inn.

Producers for the hit Syfy show "Ghost Hunters" are usually surprised by what they find when they visit an allegedly haunted site.

For the four years that Matthew Meltzer has been working on the Ghost Hunters production - the show is currently in its sixth season - he has been pursuing the chance to film at the former state hospital.

As with Mahin, Meltzer said the "local chatter" about the property - most of the cast is from Warwick, R.I., and has heard stories about the site - and its rich history are attractive, but one of the primary lures of the former mental institution campus is that it has been a "forbidden fruit."

"It was something very early on that we wanted to investigate but were always denied. The state was good about restricting access to it, and that adds an element. People don't usually get to go on the site and we honestly cannot wait to see what's in there," Meltzer said.

For Mystic Seaport officials and Capt. Grant's Inn keepers Carol and Tadeshi Matsumoto, having people interested in potential paranormal activity aboard the Charles W. Morgan and at the inn is nothing new.

In 2006, the Matsumotos entertained members of the Connecticut Paranormal Research and Investigations team, allowing them to set up various equipment throughout the house and use cameras with flash in hopes of capturing some evidence.

That same month, a team from the Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group did a preliminary investigation of the Morgan after hearing from three groups of visitors about seeing a tall man standing at the front of the historic whaling vessel.

They deduced that the world's only surviving wooden whaling ship did indeed have spirits aboard. After that, the now 169-year-old Morgan caught the attention of crews from CNN to Good Morning America to CBS radio, in addition to newspapers from across the country.

Michael O'Farrell, spokesman for the Seaport, said the publicity was good for the Seaport, but that the museum is careful about how it portrays the ship, which is a national historic landmark and is currently going through an extensive restoration. He said the story may bring people to the museum, but the staff is quick to tell them about the history of the ship once they're there.

"I believe that the Morgan has a lot of stories to tell. What those stories are and what they believe is up to them," O'Farrell said Friday.

When asked if there was any consistency between what the Rhode Island-based group found and what was "felt" by the "Psychic Kids," children, O'Farrell said, "yes."

"But it's not our place to determine for them what is true and what isn't," he added.

When asked about the expectations, Meltzer and Mahin said they never know what, if anything will be discovered.

"They go to places that have these stories … that have the history, and look around. They'll go down in the tunnels and try to get to the bottom of the story. They'll see if there is anything to back up the claims. If any place is haunted it would be this place, but sometimes places surprise you," Meltzer said.

"The places we go are rich in history, as far as if there are ghosts, well, if there are then that is gravy," Mahin said.

This Week's Mysteries And Commentary

2010-01-15T14:39:00.004-06:00

Several interesting stories come to light this week, such as the news of a chicken killing fiend in El Paso, Texas and a story about a Hobbit' sighting.

Someone 'found Bigfoot', while scientists discover shapes on Mars that look like trees (see photo).

Does Great Britian have it's own 'Socorro', and why is Ms. Holly harping about HAARP?

And the world still turns, as MUFON's National Director steps down and a game camera captures what could be aliens... or is it all an elaborate hoax?

- - -

*Points to Ponder

I had a dog once, that killed chickens. He didn't tear them apart, just broke their necks and left them dead. Still, a mysterious vampire-like creature makes for good legend, unlike a dog with a bad habbit.

Hobbits on the other hand, could just be Leprechauns in disguise (wink, wink) and Hobbits/Leprechauns 'habit the woods', ya know.

And why not a Bigfoot? How many critters lurk about our world and aside from footprints, scientists still can't find a trace? I guess government funding for Bigfoot research is still 'pending'.

How can the U.S. claim to be the UFO hot spot, when other countries get into the act? It's not like the US is the only country on the planet, one that HAARP is bent on destroying. Or is it?

And this week it all boils down to capturing aliens on video with a game camera meant to spot Bambi, while the staff is passed on at MUFON HQ. Where's Mystery Quest when you need them? Ouch.

* Not necessarily my opinion but I have one, if asked.
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Scientists 'Move The Hands Of Time'

2010-01-14T12:35:00.004-06:00

'Doomsday Clock' Moves Away From Midnight but Only by 1 Minute

ABCNews- The world can breathe a sigh of relief today... kind of.

A group of international scientists this morning announced that they are moving the hands of the symbolic "Doomsday Clock" away from midnight -- or the figurative apocalypse -- but only by one minute.

The clock, which is maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, was designed to reflect how close civilization is to "catastrophic destruction." First set at seven minutes to midnight, the clock has been moved only 18 times since its creation in 1947.

The group, which includes more than a dozen Nobel laureates, last moved the hands of the clock in 2007, from seven to five minutes before midnight to reflect the threat of a "second nuclear age" and the challenges presented by global warming.

Today, at a press conference in New York, the Bulletin announced that despite the looming threats of nuclear weapons and climate change, it would move the hands of the clock from five to six minutes before midnight.

Scientists: World Facing 'Hopeful' State of Affairs

"By shifting the hand back from midnight by only one additional minute, we emphasize how much needs to be accomplished, while at the same time recognizing signs of collaboration among the United States, Russia, the European Union, India, China, Brazil, and others on nuclear security and on climate stabilization," the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in a statement.

Citing collaborative efforts by world leaders to reduce nuclear arsenals, secure nuclear bomb-making materials and pledge to limit greenhouse gas emissions, the group said the world was facing a "hopeful" state of affairs.

The Bulletin also said that the election of President Barack Obama, along with his efforts to initiate arms reduction talks with Russia and negotiations with Iran to close its nuclear enrichment program, affected its decision.

"We are poised to bend the arc of human history," said Lawrence M. Krauss, co-chair of the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors and a professor at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration and its physics department.

Still, Krauss said the Bulletin chose one minute to highlight the precariousness of the current global situation.

"What that means is that there's great potential for it to move in either direction depending on what happens," he said, adding that while there's been a "sea change" in attitude and the expansion of possibilities, there still hasn't been a lot of action.

"That's hopeful enough to move it but just by a little bit," he said.

-by Ki Mae Heussner

Note: Sounds like a stay of execution. PhUn

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Haunted Potholes & Cops Add To Fright

2010-01-12T15:06:00.004-06:00

Beware of haunted potholes

thetelegram.com- With winter driving season upon us, many motorists across the province have horror stories about that great scourge of our public roads - the pothole. But if you think you have had a frightening experience with tortured tarmac, read on.

Aunt Betty Slaney was born and raised in the community of Britannia on Random Island, T. B. Several years back, when I interviewed her in St. John's, she carried strong memories of growing up in Britannia.

Britannia is a picturesque community located on the wooded north side of Random Island, looking out across Smith Sound. Historically, Britannia was noteworthy as the home of the Currie family, who ran the slate quarrying business across the Sound, in Nut Cove.

Of course, in talking with Aunt Betty about growing up in Britannia, I asked about ghost stories.

"There were always ghost stories," Betty says. "Somebody always had one that would rattle a few chains in your head, but nobody you knew or nobody you were sure of."

The idea that ghosts were always of people you didn't know changed when Betty's uncle, Moses Currie, passed away suddenly.

"He dropped dead with a heart attack," says Betty. "He died when I was around 10 or so - 9 or 10."

Moses Currie was well-known in the community, and was part owner of one of the local sawmills, something which were at one point common on Random Island.

"They all did their share of logging," says Betty. "I know he did, because he was Grandpa's brother, and I know that he owned part of the sawmill."

The old sawmill was located down in the cove in Britannia. "Later on, there was another sawmill there that belonged to the Curries," Betty says, "but it was a different family of Curries."

The ghost story started when Uncle Mose went out for a walk one night, and never returned home alive.

"There was a gate there, Uncle Pierce's," says Betty. "There was a pothole. He fell down and by the time they got him home, he was dead."

"He died in the pothole!" exclaims Betty. "And after that, it was Uncle Mose. Whenever any light shined on that place, it was Uncle Mose."

"We were all youngsters," she says. "Going home at night, you know, you had to pass Uncle Mose to get home. I was always inside before it was time to leave. I was always inside! That was always a worry."

I asked Betty what it was like, knowing the ghost of Uncle Mose was lurking near the pothole where he had died.

"I was scared," she admits. "There were no lights. When you went out, you went out in the dark.

You either didn't go out, or you were scared and you went out and had to have friends. That was hard because you were different ages, and you had different times you had to be in."

The Hefferton Causeway has linked Random Island to the mainland of the province since 1952, and power lines mean electric lights keep the shadows at bay. But even today, if one visits Britannia in the night, it is easy to imagine what it must have been like in Aunt Betty's childhood. It is a quiet place, of an evening. Only a little bit of imagination is required to conjure up the shadowy image of Uncle Mose by the side of the gate, ready to spook youngsters out past their curfew hour.

I have heard a lot of ghost stories from across Newfoundland and Labrador, but I have never heard anything to exactly match Aunt Betty's story. As far as I know, Uncle Mose is the only Newfoundlander who returns from the Great Beyond to the land of the living, who chooses to haunt a pothole.

As always, if you know of a story that disproves my claim, or if you've seen something spooky on the side of the road, you can contact me c/o The Telegram or by e-mail at info@hauntedhike.com.

Dale Jarvis can be reached at info@hauntedhike.com.

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You Can Laugh Now

Police take unexpected role in ghost story
By Melanie Lockhart of the Leader

ptleader.com- Port Townsend police officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Clay at 10:28 p.m. on Dec. 29 after reports of possible prowlers within a residence.

Police witnessed two males, later determined to be ages 20 and 28, and a 36-year-old female with flashlights inside the house, with the lights off.

When officers knocked on the door, the two males scattered and the woman answered. The woman is the soon-to-be resident who had permission from the landlord to move in early, police confirmed. She and the males had been moving all day and were sitting in the residence with flashlights, eating and telling ghost stories.

Officers “apparently knocked at just the right time during the stories,” said Police Sgt. Ed Green. “It scared the crap out of the two men.”

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50 Things that we didn't know this time last year

2010-01-09T15:56:00.006-06:00

TBO.com- If there were an award for best quote of the year, our money would be on Richard Fisher, the director of NASA's Heliophysics Division.

Fisher was interviewed in October by National Public Radio after NASA scientists discovered a mysterious ribbon of hydrogen around our solar system.

The layer, a sort of protective barrier called the heliosphere, shields us from harmful cosmic radiation. Its existence defies all expectations about what the edge of the solar system might look like.

Fisher's response: "We thought we knew everything about everything, and it turned out that there were unknown unknowns."

In other words: We don't know what we don't know until we know that we don't know it.

Life is funny that way. You think you've got the world wrapped up in string, only to watch some bit of news come along to unravel your comprehension of how things work.

One thing we did expect: that 2009 would be full of strange and wonderful revelations.

A prediction for 2010? Same thing as this year, only different.

Here's a list of stuff we culled from 2009 that may have come as a surprise:

1. Domestic pigs can quickly learn how mirrors work and use them to find food.

2. Grumpy people think more clearly because negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking.

3. High cholesterol levels in midlife are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia later in life.

4. Analysis of Greenland ice samples shows Europe froze solid in less than 12 months 12,800 years ago, partly due to a slowdown of the Gulf Stream. Once triggered, the cold persisted for 1,300 years.

5. One mutated gene is the reason humans have language and chimpanzees, our closest relative, do not.

6. Obesity in teenage girls may increase their risk of later developing multiple sclerosis.

7. A fossil skeleton of an Aardonyx celestae dinosaur discovered in South Africa appears to be the missing link between the earliest dinosaurs that walked on two legs and the large plant-eating sauropods that walked on all four.

8. Women who have undergone successful breast cancer treatment are more likely to have a recurrence if they have dense breast tissue.

9. Babies pick up their parents' accents from the womb, and infants are born crying in their native dialect. Researchers found that French newborns cry in a rising French accent, and German babies cry with a characteristic falling inflection.

10. Surfing the Internet may help delay dementia because it creates stimulation that exercises portions of the brain.

11. The oldest known silken spider webs, dating back 140 million years, were discovered in Sussex, England, preserved in amber. The webs were spun by spiders closely related to modern-day orb-web garden spiders.

12. Scientists have discovered how to scan brain activity and convert what people are seeing or remembering into crude video images.

13. Pumpkin skin contains a substance that inhibits growth of microbes that cause yeast infections.

14. Hormones that signal whether whales are pregnant, lactating or in the mood to mate have been extracted from whales' lung mucus, captured by dangling nylon stockings from a pole over their blowholes as they surface to breathe. (This method could allow scientists to study whales without having to slaughter them.)

15. The higher a patient's body-mass index, the less respect he or she gets from doctors.

16. The blue morpho butterfly, which lives in Central and South America, has tiny ears on its wings and can distinguish between high- and low-pitch sounds. The butterfly may use its ears to listen for nearby predatory birds.

17. The ochre starfish or sea star pumps itself up with cold seawater to lower its body temperature when exposed to the sun at low tide. It is equivalent to a human drinking 1.8 gallons of water before heading into the midday sun, scientists say.

18. The eyes of the mantis shrimp possess a feature that could make DVDs and CDs perform better. By emulating this structure, which displays color wavelengths at all ranges, developers could create a new category of optical devices.

19. The calmest place on Earth is on top of an icy plateau in Antarctica known as Ridge A, several hundred miles from the South Pole. It is so still that stars do not twinkle in the sky because there is no turbulence in the atmosphere to distort the light.

20. The thrill of driving a sports car makes the body produce more testosterone. The findings suggest a biological explanation for why some men buy a sports car when struck by a "midlife crisis."

21. Remains discovered in China of a flying reptile named Darwinopterus could be a missing link between short-tailed pterodactyls and their huge, long-tailed descendants.

22. Bagheera kiplingi, a jumping arachnid from Central America, is the first known vegetarian spider. It eats nectar-filled leaf tips rather than other animals.

23. A massive, nearly invisible ring of ice and dust particles surrounds Saturn. The ring's entire volume can hold 1 billion Earths.

24. A new chemical compound that mimics the body's ability to fight bacteria could be added to cleaning detergents to prevent bacterial infections in hospitals.

25. Seven new glow-in-the-dark mushroom species have been discovered, increasing the number of known luminescent fungi species from 64 to 71. The fungi, discovered in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico, glow constantly, emitting a bright, yellowish-green light.

26. Hormones in oral contraceptives might suppress a woman's interest in masculine men and make boyish males more attractive to her.

27. Women who revealed about 40 percent of their skin attracted twice as many men as those who covered up. Any more than 40 percent and the signal changes from allure to one indicating general availability and future infidelity.

28. Communities of 850 species of previously undiscovered insects, small crustaceans, spiders, worms and other creatures were found living in underground water, caves and micro-caverns across Australia.

29. The human body emits a glow that is 1,000 times less than what our eyes can detect.

30. If you're trying to attract a partner, an athletic body helps, but a good-looking face is more important.

31. Cockroaches hold their breath for five to seven minutes at a time through a respiratory system that delivers oxygen directly to cells from air-filled tubes. One reason they hold their breath may be to prevent their bodies from getting too much oxygen, which could be toxic to them.

32. Earth was bombarded in 2008 with high levels of solar energy at a time when the sun was in an unusually quiet phase and sunspots had virtually disappeared.

33. Scientists have discovered female eggs in the genitalia of a third of all American male smallmouth bass and a fifth of their largemouth cousins. Female bass occasionally show signs of male testes in their reproductive organs.

34. Nearly all animals emit the same stench when they die, and have done so for more than 400 million years.

35. Previously unknown molecules called hydroxyl radicals are produced by nature and are thought to act as agents that scrub away toxic air pollution in Earth's atmosphere.

36. A new species of giant rat was discovered in a remote rainforest in Papua New Guinea. At 32.2 inches from nose to tail and 3.3 pounds, it's thought to be one of the largest rats ever found.

37. Differences in body odors produced by people who are more prone to insect bites show they have lower levels of fruity-smelling compounds in their sweat than those who are resistant to mosquitoes.

38. A chemical component in broccoli can protect the lining of arteries from blockage that leads to angina, heart attack and stroke.

39. The length, curl and texture of a dog's fur are controlled by three genes.

40. The speed of U.S Internet broadband lags far behind other nations, including Japan, Finland, South Korea, France and Canada.

41. Polar bear skulls have shrunk 2 percent to 9 percent since the early 20th century. It's the result, scientists theorize, of stress from pollution and melting habitat.

42. A mysterious disease that killed off more than a third of American honeybees in 2007-08 may have been caused in part by a virus.

43. A group of deep sea worms dubbed "green bombers" are capable of casting off appendages that glow a brilliant green once detached from their bodies. The tactic is believed to be used by the worms to confuse attackers.

44. A flesh-eating pitcher plant that grows more than 4 feet long can swallow rats that are lured into its slipperlike mouth to drown or die of exhaustion before being slowly dissolved by digestive enzymes.

45. An orchid on the Chinese island of Hainan gets hornets to spread its pollen by producing an aroma identical to that of bees under attack. The hornets feed on bee larvae, so when they get a whiff of the alarm pheromone, they head to the orchids figuring bees are inside.

46. More than 350 new animal species were discovered in the eastern Himalayas, including the world's smallest deer and a flying frog.

47. The spleen is a reservoir for huge numbers of immune cells called monocytes. In the event of a serious health crisis, such as a heart attack, wound or infection, the spleen will disgorge them into the bloodstream to help defend the body.

48. The Amazon River is about 11 million years old and took its present shape about 2.4 million years ago.

49. A close relationship with a caregiver can give Alzheimer's patients an edge in retaining brain function over time.

50. Watermelon is more efficient at rehydrating bodies than drinking water. It contains 92 percent water and essential rehydration salts.

For links to each listing, go to original story.
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Sources: Sydney Morning Herald; BehavioralHealthCentral.com; Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry; New Scientist; Neurology; BBC News; Women's College Research Institute; Current Biology; Saint Joseph Health Scene; Live Science; University of California, Berkeley; stltoday.com; Journal of General Internal Medicine; Live Science, American Naturalist; Nature Photonics; London Times; Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes; Science News; Current Biology; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Acta Biomaterialia; San Francisco State University; Trends in Ecology and Evolution; Behaviour; Eurekalert; Tohoku Institute of Technology and Kyoto University; Evolution and Human Behavior; Journal of Experimental Biology; Geophysical Research - Space Physics; U.S. Geological Survey; Evolutionary Biology; National Geographic News; Oxford University Museum of Natural History; Rothamsted Research; Imperial College London; National Human Genome Research Institute; Communications Workers of America; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; Science; Redfern Natural History Productions; Current Biology; World Wildlife Fund; Geology; Journals of Gerontology; University of Aberdeen Medical School

Reporter Jeff Houck

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'Demon Cat' Carcass Found In Arizona

2010-01-03T21:21:00.005-06:00

Demon Cat Possible Goat Sucker Contender
by Jason Clarke

themorningstarr-Hunters in San Carlos, Arizona have found the carcass of an unidentified beast with elongated fangs and possible wings.

The carcass resembles that of a domestic cat, but with several noticeable differences. The animal is described as “sabertoothed” because it’s incisor teeth are elongated into fangs, the front limbs of the creature are also longer than an ordinary cat’s legs and appear to have an extra joint giving the appearance of large feet. Even more bizarrely the carcass reveals evidence of possible wings protruding from the animal’s back.

The carcass was found by two hunters in a remote area near San Carlos, they passed the remains on to Jess Underberg from Globe, AZ. who is hoping to try and identify the strange looking beast.

The long fangs and elongated front limbs are characteristic of descriptions given of the infamous “goat sucker” or chupacabras. However most chupacabras sightings are dismissed as coyotes with mange, not felines with wings.

* * *

Note: My mother related a story to me years ago, of a strange creature found somewhere in the swamps of Arkansas, sometime possibly in the early part of the 1920s.

She said the animal had the body of a dog and the head and claws of a cat. It climbed trees and made a raspy sound, like a cross between a dog bark and a cat cry.

Supposedly, hunters tracked the animal down and killed it. What it was, my mother never found out.
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UFOs & Cryptids End 2009 - Predictions Begin 2010

2010-01-03T16:19:00.006-06:00

From Phantoms & Monsters humanoid-crytid encounters, and 'Interactions of Universal Species', LITS's my own 2008 encounter with a tall, hairy man-like creature, to Crytomundo's 'Maine Tree Creature', crytozoology takes center stage during the 1st week of the New Year. Was it a man-like ape, or just a porcupine caught napping in a tree?

Cryptid talk is followed by December, 2009 UFO reports from Texas, while the UFO Disclosure clock is stuck at 10PM. The first decade of the new millenia saw no disclosure for the U.S..

How will things turn out for 2010? The Amazing Kreskin makes predictions for 2010. Look out kids, you may have to beat those silver spoons into plowshares and pay your own way.

If you want to know more about The Amazing Keskins predictions, find a crystal ball or wait for the next installment. Oh yeah.

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My Own Encounter With A Texas Bigfoot

2010-01-03T15:58:00.004-06:00

The blog author's own account of an encounter with a creature of legend, folklore and possible reality.

The evening of June 26, 2008- I was living at my father-in-law's farm in a very woodsy area of Southwestern Eastland County, Texas.

The house was near a main highway but less than 100 feet to the SW of the house, was an area of dense woods and an old, overgrown dune-buggy trail.

There were just the usual wildlife, such as deer, rabbits, armadillos, foxes, squirrels, cats, feral hogs, birds of all kinds, etc. Or so I thought.

It was late in the evening and I had taken my little dogs out to do their business. There was a strange faint odor in the air, much like a dead skunk, along with rotted meat.

Just after I noticed this smell, there was a distant wailing scream that caught my attention and some noise in the oak brush, just a short ways from the house.

This was not a scream I had heard before. I am familiar with all types of wildlife sounds, including domestic livestock. This scream and the two after, were sounds I had never heard before and it gave me a shiver up my spine.

I rushed my dogs into the house and came back outside with a flashlight. The yard guard light afforded little light past a 15 foot area, so I shown the light around in the yard and saw nothing.

Then suddenly I heard a banging sound, like a large tree limb hitting a stump with a resounding 'thud'. This was followed by 2 more whacks of the tree limb, then silence.

Stupid me, I picked up an old oak branch that had fallen from a large post oak in the yard and gave the oak tree a good solid 'whack'. I got a response from the woods but it was closer now and I could hear what appeared to be 'grunting', coming from the brush.

I remember thinking that here I was, standing in the yard at night, armed with only a flashlight and possibly a boar hog about to bear down on me from the treeline. Just great.

I could hear branches breaking, twigs snapping and dead oak leaves being crushed and the sound was not receding, it was coming closer!

I noticed that no other animals were stirring, no sounds of crickets, no red birds afflicted with insomnia (as usual), and no yipping foxes or the yapping howls of coyotes. Not even the distant neighbor's dairy cows, bawling for their calves.

Sudden silence.

I took about 20 paces forward, closer to the gate at the entrance to the woods and the dune-buggy trail. I shown the light up and into the dark brush.

Movement!

A tall, dark shadow seemed to hunch over, as if to avoid the flashlight beam but the beam held true and in that beam of light, I saw what appeared to be a gorilla on 2 legs but the legs were longer, like a man's legs. The arms were long and down at it's sides, reaching almost to the creature's knees.

The creature was at least 7 feet tall, judging by the nearby trees and distance from the gate post. Broad, hair-covered shoulders lead to an almost non-existent neck, attached to a cone shaped head... but it was the face and the amber colored eyes staring back at me, that startled me most. It looked intelligent, calculating, like it was deciding whether to charge at me, or turn and run into the woods.

I gave it an out. I lowered the flashlight and after a brief flurry of receding noises, I raised the light and the creature was gone.

The next morning I set about looking for tracks. All I found were a few large depressions in the slightly damp blow sand near the dune-buggy trail.

The leaf litter was so thick, that the impressions were barely perceptible but I commited the image of that face to my memory and am able to see it still.

I have created a depiction of what I saw, using an actual photo of the exact spot where I saw what I can only describe as Bigfoot.

I reported the encounter to Texas Bigfoot researchers, who evidently dismissed my sighting without even an email to confirm it's authenticity.

No matter, we sold the farm and someone new resides there now. Maybe someday the new owners will have their own strange encounter to relate. That would be interesting.

-SW

Click image to enlarge.

All the Best For 2010

2009-12-31T10:47:00.004-06:00

Wishing you all a Safe, Happy
and Prosperous New Year!

From S. Williams and Phantom Universe.

"Once In A Blue Moon" New Year's Eve 2009

2009-12-30T17:03:00.004-06:00

"Blue Moon" to Shine on New Year's Eve
Andrew Fazekas
for National Geographic News
December 30, 2009

National Geographic News-For the first time in almost 20 years, a bright "blue moon" will grace New Year's Eve celebrations worldwide. (Take a moon myths quiz.)

If the skies are clear, revelers looking up at midnight will get an eyeful of the second full moon of the month—commonly called a blue moon. The last time a blue moon appeared on New Year's Eve was in 1990, and it won't happen again until 2028.

A blue moon isn't actually blue—as commonly defined, the name reflects the relative rarity of two full moons in a month and is linked to the saying "once in a blue moon."

With this New Year's Eve blue moon, "there is nothing scientific about it, and it has no astronomical significance," said Mark Hammergren, a staff astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.

"But I believe it does give us some insight into history and makes us think of how our calendar system has derived from motions of objects in the sky."

Blue Moon Error

The popular definition of a blue moon isn't the only one—and it's one that's based on an editorial error, astronomers contend.

The widespread definition of the second full moon in a month stems from errors made in an astronomy magazine, when a writer misinterpreted how the term was used in the Maine Farmer's Almanac.

Later studies of almanacs published from 1819 to 1962 revealed that the term "blue moon" actually refers to the "extra" full moon that can occur in a year due to differences between the calendar year and the astronomical year.

(Related: "Leap Year—How the World Makes Up for Lost Time.")

Most years on average have 12 full moons, with 1 appearing each month.

That's because the lunar month—the time it takes the moon to cycle through its phases—corresponds closely to the calendar month.

But the calendar year is actually based on the solar cycle, or the time it takes Earth to make one trip around the sun. This means a year is not evenly divisible by lunar months, so every three years or so there are 13 full moons.

The farmer's almanac further divided the year into four seasons, with each season lasting three months. When a given season saw four full moons, the almanac dubbed the third moon as a blue moon.

Ultimately, a blue moon as defined by the calendar isn't that rare, added Hammergren. The term's significance instead lies in the way it links people to the motions of the cosmos.

"Just being able to recognize that we can have a full moon twice in a month and have [folklore] attached really highlights the fact that humans have been astronomers their entire existence," he said.

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Don't Get Scrooged!

2009-12-25T13:56:00.003-06:00

Have a Very Merry Christmas
and a Very
Happy and Prosperous New Year!

A Kansas 'Superman' Lifts Car off Girl

2009-12-23T11:00:00.001-06:00

KCTV5.com

OTTAWA, kan. -- A young girl is calling a neighbor a superhero because of what he did when she was trapped beneath a car.

Nick Harris said he doesn't know where he found the strength, but somehow he managed to lift a car off the 6-year-old girl last week, earning himself the title of Superman.

"I just think it's a Christmas miracle," Harris said.

Harris said he has tried time and again to recreate the surprising show of strength that he said surfaced when sheer instinct sent him running to the 6-year-old's aid.

"I just ran over there, I looked, I seen the tire on her, and I lifted the car up to get her out from underneath the car," Harris said. "I don't know how I did it. I've tried three or four times since then."

Harris was dropping off his daughter at Eugene Field Elementary Friday morning when he saw a car back out of a driveway, pinning the girl under its tire. That girl turned out to be his daughter's best friend.

"I was expecting her to have crushed hips," Harris said. "I've had broken toes, because a car just backed over my foot. And here this whole car was on top of her. I wasn't expecting it to turn out as wonderful as it did."

The first-grader was flown to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City by air ambulance, but didn't have to stay long.

And though some said it was adrenaline that gave Harris his superhuman strength, he said seeing that girl run down the street to give him a hug the next day convinced him there was something special going on.

"They all call me superman now," Harris said. "I'm just a dad. I'm just a dad that was in the right place at the right time. And I was finally able to help and I did something good."

Read more of the story here>>

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Can people really perform Superhuman Feats of Strength?

Adrenaline is a naturally occurring hormone in the body. In response to situations which may be exciting, dangerous or threatening, some people experience an adrenaline rush. Adrenaline also known as epinephrine, is released in such situations and is linked to the 'fight or flight" response.

When epinephrine is released, it creates a super boost of glucose and oxygen, which are sent to the brain and muscles while, other bodily functions are suppressed. This is why some people can perform amazing feats of strength when faced with an emergency.

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Is Death The Next 'Reality'?

2009-12-16T12:54:00.006-06:00

Recently a dear friend of mine was taken by her husband to the local emergency room. She has always had heart problems and this was apparently one of those 'big' problems.

Being a small rural hospital, the staff was ill equipped to handle something so major, yet they kept her for a week, while she quickly regressed to the point where her kidneys, then lungs began to fail.

Her cardiologist only makes visits to our small town, every other Tuesday, so by the time he got to see his patient, she was in dire straights. He immediately had her transported to a cardiology unit in a hospital located in the city he works in.

That first night was rough but the next morning was even worse. My friend 'coded'. In other words, she died.

Nurses rushed in, an emergency doctor was called in and with some difficulty, they revived my friend.

It was touch and go for a while, a pacemaker was installed in her chest, chemical balances teetered and her lungs just wouldn't get enough air, to supply the oxygen needed to keep her going.

She spent weeks in the hospital but finally one day, my friend's husband finally got to bring her home. Though weak, she seems to be adjusting and doing well, so we are all releived just to have her home.

I am a straight-forward type of person and more than just a bit curious, so I asked my friend if when she 'coded', did she see a 'light'?

"No." was her reply, "I just saw darkness, then nothing."

"Oh, thank goodness!" I said, "Had you seen 'the light' you might not have come back."

I had an N.D.E. (near death experience), that happened years ago. I didn't see a light either.

One second I was in horrible pain, the next I was 'outside' of myself, looking back at my catatonic face and my mother beside me, in anguish. During these brief moments, I tried to comfort my mother, telling her I was fine but she could neither see, nor hear me.

Then suddenly I was in a dark tunnel and when I opened my eyes, I was in excruciating pain again. At that moment, if I had seen the light so many people describe, I doubt I would have wanted to come back.

So what is death? Do we really die? Well, I see death as a transition from one form to another. Who we truly 'are', lives on.

I think death is as they say, 'a part of life' and just a step to the next reality but I hope and plan to keep this form, this corporeal body for as long as I can. This 'life' is just too interesting and I still have so much to do.

I read something about death that I thought I'd share with you, my readers. Dr. Lanza gives us a scientific look at life and death.
- SW
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Does Death Exist? New Theory Says 'No'

By Robert Lanza, MD

Photo of Robert Lanza in his lab.

huffingtonpost.com- Many of us fear death. We believe in death because we have been told we will die. We associate ourselves with the body, and we know that bodies die. But a new scientific theory suggests that death is not the terminal event we think.

One well-known aspect of quantum physics is that certain observations cannot be predicted absolutely. Instead, there is a range of possible observations each with a different probability. One mainstream explanation, the "many-worlds" interpretation, states that each of these possible observations corresponds to a different universe (the 'multiverse'). A new scientific theory - called biocentrism - refines these ideas. There are an infinite number of universes, and everything that could possibly happen occurs in some universe. Death does not exist in any real sense in these scenarios. All possible universes exist simultaneously, regardless of what happens in any of them. Although individual bodies are destined to self-destruct, the alive feeling - the 'Who am I?'- is just a 20-watt fountain of energy operating in the brain. But this energy doesn't go away at death. One of the surest axioms of science is that energy never dies; it can neither be created nor destroyed. But does this energy transcend from one world to the other?

Consider an experiment that was recently published in the journal Science showing that scientists could retroactively change something that had happened in the past. Particles had to decide how to behave when they hit a beam splitter. Later on, the experimenter could turn a second switch on or off. It turns out that what the observer decided at that point, determined what the particle did in the past. Regardless of the choice you, the observer, make, it is you who will experience the outcomes that will result. The linkages between these various histories and universes transcend our ordinary classical ideas of space and time. Think of the 20-watts of energy as simply holo-projecting either this or that result onto a screen. Whether you turn the second beam splitter on or off, it's still the same battery or agent responsible for the projection.

According to Biocentrism, space and time are not the hard objects we think. Wave your hand through the air - if you take everything away, what's left? Nothing. The same thing applies for time. You can't see anything through the bone that surrounds your brain. Everything you see and experience right now is a whirl of information occurring in your mind. Space and time are simply the tools for putting everything together.

Death does not exist in a timeless, spaceless world. In the end, even Einstein admitted, "Now Besso" (an old friend) "has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us...know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." Immortality doesn't mean a perpetual existence in time without end, but rather resides outside of time altogether.

This was clear with the death of my sister Christine. After viewing her body at the hospital, I went out to speak with family members. Christine's husband - Ed - started to sob uncontrollably. For a few moments I felt like I was transcending the provincialism of time. I thought about the 20-watts of energy, and about experiments that show a single particle can pass through two holes at the same time. I could not dismiss the conclusion: Christine was both alive and dead, outside of time.

Christine had had a hard life. She had finally found a man that she loved very much. My younger sister couldn't make it to her wedding because she had a card game that had been scheduled for several weeks. My mother also couldn't make the wedding due to an important engagement she had at the Elks Club. The wedding was one of the most important days in Christine's life. Since no one else from our side of the family showed, Christine asked me to walk her down the aisle to give her away.

Soon after the wedding, Christine and Ed were driving to the dream house they had just bought when their car hit a patch of black ice. She was thrown from the car and landed in a banking of snow.

"Ed," she said "I can't feel my leg."

She never knew that her liver had been ripped in half and blood was rushing into her peritoneum.

After the death of his son, Emerson wrote "Our life is not so much threatened as our perception. I grieve that grief can teach me nothing, nor carry me one step into real nature."

Whether it's flipping the switch for the Science experiment, or turning the driving wheel ever so slightly this way or that way on black-ice, it's the 20-watts of energy that will experience the result. In some cases the car will swerve off the road, but in other cases the car will continue on its way to my sister's dream house.

Christine had recently lost 100 pounds, and Ed had bought her a surprise pair of diamond earrings. It's going to be hard to wait, but I know Christine is going to look fabulous in them the next time I see her.

Read more by Robert Lanza, MD

Robert Lanza, MD is considered one of the leading scientists in the world. He is the author of "Biocentrism," a book that lays out his theory of everything.

More about Robert Lanza, MD

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, copyright- Robert Lanza.
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Full Moon Brings out the Werewolves, Not So Far Fetched

2009-12-15T10:56:00.007-06:00

How that full moon really can turn you into a werewolf

By Richard Shears

dailymail- You thought werewolves were nothing more than terrifying mythical monsters with a spinechilling howl, be prepared to think again.

A study suggests that a full moon really can bring out the beast in us, turning us into biting, spitting and scratching animals.

While we may not actually transform into the bloodthirsty creatures of fables and movies such as An American Werewolf In London, research suggests we do display worrying symptoms.

A study conducted in Australia found that in the year to July, 91 emergency patients with violent, acute disturbances comparable to werewolves were admitted to one hospital north of Sydney.

And a quarter of these occurred on the night of a full moon, double the number for other lunar phases, according to Leonie Calver, a clinical research nurse in toxicology.

'Some of these patients attacked the staff like animals, biting, spitting and scratching,' she said.

The patients had to be sedated and physically restrained to protect themselves.

Miss Calver's study, reported in the Medical Journal of Australia, said: 'One might compare them with the werewolves of the past, who are said to have also appeared during the full moon.'

Werewolf mythology, she pointed out, included reports of people rubbing 'magic ointment' on to their skin or inhaling vapours to induce the transformation from man to beast.

The main ingredients of the ointment, said Miss Calver, were belladonna and nightshade --substances that could produce delirium, hallucinations and delusions of metamorphosis.

However the 'modern day werewolf' used a different 'potion' - more than 60 per cent of the patients reviewed in her study were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

'Our findings support the premise that individuals with violent and acute behavioural disturbances are more likely to present to the emergency department during full moon,' she said.

Read More

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'Night At the Museum'- The Real Deal

2009-12-15T10:52:00.002-06:00

A true story (in video), about a conversation one man had with a former Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY City) employee who had been dead for 15 years.

Watch Video on Youtube

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Move Over SyFy Ghost Hunters - Ghost Lab Is In Town

2009-12-12T12:39:00.004-06:00

Barry and Brad Klinge of Ghost Lab.
Photo: Courtesy of Discovery Channel

Brothers Barry and Brad Klinge are not the typical ghost investigators you normally see on TV. The Klinges conduct scientific experiments in attempts to stir up paranormal activity, instead of goofing off while a spirit may or may not show up.

The Klinge brothers of Everyday Paranormal travel to reportedly haunted locations with their Ghost Lab trailer, a 24 ft. long (converted) car hauler. The Ghost Lab trailer can provide 200,000 watts of electricity to power audio-, video- and photo-analysis stations; flat-screen televisions; and an interactive touch-screen smart board.

The Ghost Lab also contains temperature, humidity and dew point data loggers; various digital cameras, including thermal-imaging cameras; audio recorders; and more than 8,000 feet of video cable. It also houses surveillance video cameras, which are capable of shooting 300 feet away in total darkness with a 180-degree peripheral view.

The Ghost Lab's on-site high-tech lab enables investigators to analyze data on the premises in real time, helping them to more narrowly focus their investigations on known hot spots.

The Klinge brothers hail from Universal City/Schertz area, near San Antonio.

President & Founder of Everyday Paranormal, Brad Klinge (a native Texan), is a 1996 graduate of Southwest Texas State University, with a major in business and a minor in broadcast journalism. Everyday Paranormal is Brad’s full-time job and career.

Brad Klinge has always been interested in the supernatural, which multiplied tenfold in the summer of 1990. It was at this time that Brad witnesseded and filmed one of the most significant supernatural events ever recorded — an actual ghost regiment. It was this experience that drove Brad to form Everyday Paranormal in October, 2007.

Brad's goal is to take supernatural investigation to a new level with common-sense theories and techniques, that so far have led to extraordinary evidence.

Barry Klinge (Brad's older brother), is Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of Everyday Paranormal. He also acts as case manager, does most of the client screening and scheduling.

Barry was born in Denver, Colorado but moved to Universal City,Texas when he was 6 months old. He did a stint in the U.S. Navy and is a Gulf War veteran.

Barry Klinge worked for 12 years as a paramedic before graduating in 2006, from the University of Texas at San Antonio, with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology (physical education).

After experiencing many personal encounters over the years, Barry grabbed the opportunity to conduct professional and scientific research with his brother, Brad. Everyday Paranormal is now his full-time job and career.

Their TV series the on Discovery Channel was created by former professors and graduates of DeSales University in Upper Saucon Township, one being Executive Producer (and creator of Ghost Lab), Alan LaGarde.

You are invited to join the Klinge brothers, along with some of the world's foremost scientific
specialists, as they go about devising and testing cutting-edge theories during their Ghost Lab investigations.

Ghost Lab can be seen on TUESDAYS, 10pm E/P on Discovery Channel.

Watch a Ghost Lab Video on Youtube.

See more of Ghost Lab on Discovery.com

* * *

Editor's Note: I've seen every episode to date, of Ghost Lab. I have to admit that they are definitely 'one up' (and more) on the Syfy Channel's Ghost Hunters.

Now if we could just get them to pan their cameras around more and spend less video time on their own mugs, 'we the viewers' might actually get to see something!

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Video Of UFO Shooting Laser Beam

2009-12-12T12:30:00.003-06:00

Location: Murrysville, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, near Kecksburg UFO crash site.
Alison Kruse claims multiple UFOs seen there almost every night.

Video taken with 3G Nightvision, mounted on tripod.

Watch video on Youtube

* * *

The next day, Alison went to the farm during the day, in search of any damage done by the laser beam.

None was found.

Watch Video on Youtube

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Bizarre Encounters

2009-12-10T19:48:00.008-06:00

Phantoms and Monsters post several reports of strange humanoids and cryptids. In TALL HUMANOIDS APPROACH CAMPSITE, while camping in the Anza Borrego State Park, California, a witness sees a number of strange, alien beings carrying 'light rods'.

In DARK FIGURE IN WOODS BEHIND HOME, a man near Sarnac, Michighan sees a large, dark bipedal creature with red eyes. The creature changes to 'all fours' and though shot twice, seems completely unharmed, disappearing into the dark forest.

The third report, TEXAS LIZARD MAN ENCOUNTER, a 13 year old boy goes hunting quail with his grandfather. He goes off on his own and at a pond, has an encounter with a tall, scaled lizard man, that enters the water and begins to swim towards the boy. The young man shoots several times and then terrified, runs back to his grandfather who does not believe his tale.

In another P&M story, a Minnesota Land Owner Claims Bigfoot Captured on Trail Camera. Could the photo be a candid shot of the elusive man ape, or a apish man?
(Cropped version of trail camera photo.)

* * *

Over on Cryptomundo, the big question is Where We Should Look For Bigfoot Bones, while over at Forteanzoology it's DALE DRINNON: On the Identity of East Asian And North American Giant Manlike Apes.

UPDATE!
It appears that the bigfoot caught on a trail camera in Minnesota was nothing more than a man in a slicker suit. Please note the original photo and then the outlined photo below.

(Click on image for larger view.)

You can see the edge of the jacket, bottom of pant leg and sleeve, gloved hand, collar and edge of hood.
From the height of the grasses and weeds, I'd say the 'man' is 6 feet (+/- inches) tall.
SW

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UFOs, the ISS and Shuttle not the only space ride

2009-12-08T11:10:00.003-06:00

Have you always wanted to fly in space? It will soon be your chance to do just that.

On Monday, wannabe space tourists received a glimpse of their future ride, when Virgin Galactic revealed the first of its long-awaited SpaceShipTwo planes.

("Enterprise" pictured with wings folded upward, suspended from the middle of its twin-fuselage launch vehicle.)

Hold tight though, as a trip into space is going to cost $200,000.00. I guess I better start saving up!

For video and more of this amazing story, read about it on LITS >>

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