Recommended viewing

We've been watching the much-anticipated-on-DVD Young Indiana Jones series. I think I'm enjoying it more than my son. Actually, I know I am. It's satisfying my 1990s' nostalgia-feeling that been going on all year. It just has that certain 90s magic that was embedded in Star Trek TNG, Seaquest, et. al. It's a great series.

UFO in 'found photo' on flickr...

Interesting...it's so round. Could be a ball, but I don't see any other people or activity.

source

Click photo to view largest size.

Bigfoot Beer Puts the Happy in the Holidays

Below is a link to an article/review I wrote a while ago about Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale. It just seems to go with this time of year somehow. Highly recommended.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/142440/sierra_nevadas_bigfoot_barleywine_style.html

Merry Christmas

Hosanna! Vinegar Tom wins best imp contest!

This just in: Vinegar Tom, the chimeraesque familiar, has again prevailed in the best imp contest. No words or speech yet from Tom, but there are unconfirmed reports that he has been taken to the hospital complaining of chest pains. In a telephone interview, Holt, who was once thought to be an imp, but was later identified as a brown squirrel with mange, claims that Tom is a "...sad old drama queen," and a "pathetic troll determined to milk every last drop of fame and attention possible before he dies soon in a pool of his own Tanquereyed-vomit."
---------------

ah, what the hell, nobody's reading this anyway, it's Christmas Eve day!

Why I don't buy the werewolf boy story...

Today, C2C has a news link to this story about a 'werewolf boy' who has crazy feet, snarls and bites, and who escaped from a clinic. I don't buy it.

There are a lot of fishy details here. First, I would be willing to bet those are not really his feet. Not only do they simply look very unlike a child's feet, there are some obvious deformities and issues that are not consistent with his young age,and apparent good condition with the rest of his unscathed body. A human living in the wild would be hindered by these claw-like toenails. I would even say they would not even be able to grow that long in the first place; walking around in the wild barefoot, they would get caught on branches, plants, etc. and break off naturally as they grew too long, or, because of this inconvenience, the boy would have learned to bite or tear them off.

On the tops of the feet are what look like age spots. Freckles maybe, but they look very much like age spots. The person who has these feet most likely has rheumatoid arthritis, and that is evidenced in the nodules in the joints of the lesser toes on the left foot. Also, a probable condition called 'claw toe', (nothing to do with the nails--rather, the curling, flexed shape of the toes themselves) in which the lesser toes become compromised due to a high arch that does not flatten properly when walking. Looking at the right arch that is visible, it does seem high. My guess is that these feet belong to an older person, and the dastardly condition of the toenails is due to an issue of immobilty and inability to care for one's self. The feet are the first thing people usually stop taking care of when they are sick, injured, and/or disabled. Sometimes it is physically impossible.

The footprints of aboriginals clearly show that walking barefoot in grasses and on natural landscapes help the foot maintain a much more healthy shape over time than our shoe-wearing, pavement pounding feet. So, I don't think the 'wild' factor itself could account for the deformities, especially with a person this young. Also, there is evidence of what may be surgical scaring/sutures directly under the toes of the left foot. Never trust a wolf in a white coat wielding a scalpel.

It also looks like these feet may have some minor bunions, and there's something going on with the the lateral area of the left foot too.

Of course, if these are the poor child's feet, these medical issues may be severe enough to account for his 'walking with his legs half-bent.' I'm not familiar with juvenile arthritis specifically, but I believe it is essentially the same disease in children as in adults. If he has a severe case of some type of rheumatic disorder, believe me, his untreated pain could also perhaps account for his snarling and bizarre behaviour.

The article states the boy looks about 10 years old, but inexplicably says the think he may be 'much older.' It says all they had time for before the escape was a shower and blood work, and other tests. I cannot imagine any type of test that would indicate an older age (or any age, for that matter.)

My new article at UFO Digest...

UFO Digest just published my article: Taking it Literally: Indulgent Musings on UFO Craft Shapes and Sexual Dynamics. It's about the words we have collectively decided upon to describe and name UFOs, and some possible gender/sexual, cultural/social issues that may be behind those choices.

Interesting book, first chapter online...

This looks interesting...seems to encompass myth, flight and its meaning, and even the history of the UFO mystery airships. The entire first chapter is online; it's a good read.

http://uncpress.unc.edu/chapters/parramore_first.html

Regan Lee's Fabulous New Article at UFO Digest...

Regan has written an article, The Mystical Contactee Encounters of Dana Howard:Parallels to Marian Apparitions? at UFO Digest. What happens when UFOs, Marian apparitions, and spiritualism collide? Read and find out...this is really a fascinating and unique story.

Strangeness at miss wikipedia

At wikipedia's entry for 'list of ufologists', Billy Meier, Art Bell, and George Noory are all listed. Billy Meier is a contactee, and the latter are radio hosts. I may edit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ufologists

An Intriguing Hypothesis: Shroud of Turin=King Tut?

As I have been droning on about for a couple weeks now, I have been reading some vintage issues of Omni Magazine. I came across a small article in the Continuum section (which is on the opposite page featuring a great little article about enigmatic killer clowns and has commentary from Loren Coleman!) that tells of Long Island accountant George Smith's assertion that the Shorud of Turin boasts not the image of Jesus, but the boy King Tut Ankh Amun. Smith claims that:

"...both are identical in height and structure..." and "...both have a beaded collar, a swollen right eye, and a shortened right leg."

The article says Smith has been studying the Shroud of Turin's markings for 11 years, and theorizes the image was made by some sort of radiation process.

I cannot find any references to Smith or this theory on the web anywhere.

'Tis the season (for sore throats!) An easy pain relief technique that really works.

A while ago, I wrote an article about an incredibly easy and extremely effective technique to stop the pain of even very sore throats instantly. It's so simple even children can use it, and it's even a little fun, because you get to make a very silly face. Here's the technique:

From Associated Content:
'Stick out your tongue as far as possible, trying to touch the tip of it to your chin. This is an extreme stretch; when you feel you have reached full stretch capacity, stretch it further, and then even further. You should give this all you've got. You should stretch your tongue toward your chin until you nearly gag. That's it! Usually, sore throat pain will be minimized (if not removed!) immediately. Repeat this technique every half hour until signifigant improvement is gained. I have used and shared this technique for over 10 years with family, friends, and clients, with nearly 100% of people reporting moderate to complete pain relief.'

*It should be noted that since writing the article, I have found that the technique doesn't seem to be effective for the pain of strep throat. I'm not sure why this would be, but it may have something to do with just the severity, or the origin (superficiality vs. depth) of the offense. It may be prudent to use the technique anyway, even if pain relief is not achieved, because of the engagment of energy, blood, and fluids to the area.

And here's the link to the entire article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/109210/ease_your_sore_throat_pain_instantly.html

Mars Cave details...

Photoshopped image of the Mars Cave as posted by Greg Bishop at UFO Mystic, to bring out details and depth features...

It looks like you could just kind of jump straight down and land, and walk or crawl in at the upper right.

I Want to Believe (that this photo was taken in Utah..)

At this web page, there seems to be some debate over the source of this famous daylight UFO photo. According to the page, the photo appeared in the first issue of Omni Magazine and lacked a caption or accompanying information. I have recently received 24 early issues of Omni Magazine via Ebay, and have been devouring them.


This photo is indeed published there, and while it may have originally appeared in the first issue, I have likewise found it in a later (although still early) issue. There is a caption, and it says the photo was taken in Utah! The scenery does look like Utah, specifically central Utah, I would say.

I will be searching for the photo (I really need to buy some of those tiny post it notes to mark things of interest--it is a smorgasboard of fun.) In the meantime, anyone with other information about this photo, please comment.
Photo credit: www.neilslade.com

Offer to Beamships Equal Lovers...

This is a fun and insightful little experiment. One of my interests is art/drawing analysis. I've read a fair bit about it, and put some of the ideas into practice very casually with childrens' drawings, and among my friends at gatherings.

For the drawer, the insights gleaned from drawings are often meaningful and accurate. For me, I just find it completely fascinating, and I love the interpretation process, the symbology going on, etc. So far, I have only tried the analysis with people I know fairly well, so I think having some fairly 'stranger' drawings might be more challenging.

If you would like a drawing interpretation, here's how to do it:

_______________________________________________________________________

Simply draw a picture of yourself picking an apple from a tree. Scan the image, and send it to me via an email attachment. Or, you could otherwise post it somewhere and point me to it. The drawing should ideally be about the size of a piece of notebook paper. The image you send can be smaller, but to give yourself enough space, use a full sheet of paper. Use whatever media you'd like, colored pencils, markers, pen, anything. The more details overall, the better. In addition to the drawing, include your age (this is crucial.)

________________________________________________________________________

Note the analysis has nothing to do with artistic skill, so don't let the lack of such stop you.

I will treat the drawings and interpretation with absolute confidentiality. A disclaimer--I am in no way trained for any type of analysis or psychology, and nothing should be taken as a professional opinion or anything but pure entertainment.

Send the drawings to: cemeterylegends@yahoo.com, or otherwise post and direct.

Calling Ghost Hunters, Mediums and Healers...

My article Four Easy Techniques to Develop Etheric Vision has been published at About.com. Go check it out!

photo courtesy creative commons attribution licensing via flickr.com, Teresa Stanton "T"

Is it real?

...and could it possibly account for some of the flying humanoid reports? Something about themovement looks very similar to the mexican flying witch.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XJARrc40imk&feature=related

Stephen Wagner of About.com Paranormal Phenomena Starts a Blog

This is not a photo of Stephen Wagner. It's a photo of alleged half-sasquatch half-human Khwit. Khwit has died, but Stephen Wagner hasn't, and he's started a brand new blog. Find his blog, "Stephen Wagner's blog" here.

Reptilians and Mormons and Security Guards, Oh My! A Brief explanation concerning my choice of the underground tunnels of salt lake city

catmarie rightly questioned the tunnels under salt lake for a forteana pick. It's a very intriguing story, and has all but disappeared from the map of legend. When I moved here in 1990, there was all manner of intrigue in the tunnels. There was an article in one of the local alternative presses, either Catalyst, or Private Eye, or something, about a yearly citizen's drawing, in which the winner got to take a rare guided tour of the tunnels. I can find absolutely nothing about this. I have posted on Salt Lake City bulletin boards requesting any information, and talked to everyone I know that would know of such a thing. Nothing.

I have even ventured into the underground myself. In 1991-93, I worked as a graveyard security dispatcher at the recently demolished Crossroads Plaza/Keybank Tower. My supervisor (D) claimed to be an alien, and knew of reptilians residing underneath the mall. He took me on a tour, but the fraidy cat aliens did not trust me, so they had changed the tunnels (holographically) to look normal. I took some photos for a photography class, and have some negatives still. unfortunately, I was not thinking of documenting the experience, and more concerned with close-ups and shapes and whatnot, as evidenced in the accompanying photo. There are some interesting articles I have found with some stories about the tunnels, and there are some kernels of truth at least within initials of crossroad security workers. For instance, the initial P is correct, as the security manager was named Pete.

I don't know who the R is in the story. It's not me. I had a friend name Rick that worked there, but he wasn't Pete's relative. Unfortunately, I have recently learned Rick has died, as well as another guy who worked there, named Frankie, who was murdered. There was also another murdered crossroads security guard, who met his demise in a love triangle thing while working at the copper mine. If it sounds like a soap opera, it was. The 'bomb threat' mentioned in the story in the link below is also probably true. Crossroads was always getting bomb threats. I specifically remember working during a big deal bomb threat the night of William Andrews' (the Hi-Fi murders) execution. The public was never made aware of these bomb threats, so I'm pretty sure the source of these stories was from a Crossroads Mall security employee.

http://www.angelfire.com/ut/branton/crossworlds.html

I am lazily doing a bit of research on the tunnels and hope to have a fully developed article sometime soon.

Seven Top Fortean Wonders of Utah

I'm copying. While Fortean Times is holding their 7 Fortean wonders election, and the 7 US Fortean Wonders have been announced, I decided to submit my choices for the top 7 Fortean Wonders of Utah. I believe they can hold their own with the best.

Below is a preliminary list, in no particular order:

Summum
Gilgal Gardens
The Koyle Dream Mine
The SLC Downtown Tunnels
The Virgin Mary Tree
The Miracle of the Gulls
Skinwalker Ranch

I'm sure I need to ruminate on it a bit more--I know I left out the Bear Lake Monster, and probably loads of other obvious ones. I'm accepting nominations & arguments for a definitive list.

If you think you hate the internets now...

...wait until you read this article. w007 this.

Wade Davis lecture in SLC

I'm so excited--at the library we found an Authors LIVE! flyer announcing ethnobotanist (and author of The Serpent and the Rainbow...) Wade Davis will be in Salt Lake on Feb 20th, at the Main Library Auditorium at 7pm. His lecture is entitled One River: The Life and Times of Richard Evans Schultes.

From the U of U's College of Humanities site:

"The Lost Amazon - Wade Davis Join National Geographic Explorer and Photographer Wade Davis as he follows the path of his mentor through the most remote and wild parts of the Amazon. This lecture is FREE and open to the public."

http://www.hum.utah.edu/display.php?pageId=613&showDetails=573#573

Unethical ThothWeb Part II

Unbelievable new email from Isis. She just refuses to be professional or logical. Recall my entire article has been printed without permission and without any copyright notice, or even without including my name as author.

Richelle, honey thhis isn't a commercial site its a private site that actually costs me a lot of money every month to maintain. Its a hobby and a public service, nothing more, nothing less. Its also an English and Maltese website, not American, so if you're so smalll minded and petty as to attempt an international law suit against a non profit web site - YES non profit!!! Then as I said, go for it, because trust me, I've got nothing to lose here, but you must have money to burn if you want to go to such lengths over an article of what .... 2,000 words. I'm assuming you're still young - I'm not, I'm old as the hills and less inclined to be threatened or intimidated, lol trust me on that. I haven't said I won't remove your article, I've simply said that I will replace it with mine - which says the same thing, after I've retitled and edited it. There is NOTHING in your article that's original, other than your style of writing, the content and ideas are over ten years old. Its nicely written, but its nothing new. You didn't 'think' of the Crowley Grey connection and you certainly didn't discover it - neither did I!!. I'm assuming by our discussions that you're an amateur writer who wants to write for a living. - I write for pleasure, more fun, no pressure. If you want to be taken seriously, never ever ever pretend other peoples ideas are your own. The Crowley - Grey connection is old hat - interesting old hat, but old hat nontheless. Read my article - which I sent you the link for - and then read yours, the only difference is the style and mine is longer because it provides more detail. Mines also Copyleft because the essay is whats important - nothing else. Why you can't just be thankful for the exposure I don't know, as it is - and as I've said before I will be replacing your article with an updated version of mine. to be honest, I've had my use out of yours - if I need to replace it with something more substantial thats hardly going to be an issue. If you were smarter you'd be glad of the exposure and the link, but if you were smarter, your article would have been more original in the first place. All we try and do here is share ideas and information - if you look there's a 50,000 word e-book that people can download for FREE. That's what the people here do, they give and they share and expect nothing back. How you can get your knickers in such a knot over a tiny little article is quite beyond me, it was never going to make the cover of Time. So sure, if you want to make a fuss and spend a lot of money doing nothing more than highlighting your own cheap rewrite - go ahead, but thats not really the sort of image you want to cultivate for yourself on the internet if you do want a career in writing, so I suggest you have a rethink. ThothWeb is just my little corner of the internet, nothing more and nothing less - it's a hobby! So there you have it, be patient and by the end of the week I should have had time to update my article. If that's not good enough - go see your lawyer - personally though I'd have thought you'd have better things to do with the money

Quickly spreading urban legend reported as news on Coast to Coast

Listening to Coast to Coast last Thursday, George Noory reported Donald Trump left a waiter $10,000 tip on an $82 bill. The story was a hoax that was also reported on by other news sites. Fact checking/shmack-checking. Maybe Noory reported the misnomer--I haven't listened to any of the following shows.
Here it is on Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/luck/trumptip.asp

Sensational Aleister Crowley Documentary

http://www.guba.com/watch/2000918554
...and by sensational I mean...sensaltionalIST. Tabloid. I rather liked it anyway.

Unethical ThothWeb

A while ago, I discovered my article Yabba Dabble Doo: How Aleister Crowley Introduced the Iconic Gray Alien, reprinted in entirety, at the ThothWeb site. Although that is unbelieveable in itself, there was absolutely no linkage to the original source (although why would anyone need to click on a source if the whole thing is right there?) or even my name attached anywhere.

An incorrect copyright notice is given to Associated Content at the bottom. In an email, I explained the copyright and fair use infringement, and kindly asked for he article to be removed. In a reply, 'Isis' writes:

As far as your article goes, I can either leave it where it is and simply amend the copyright notice, or I can update my original Crowley and the Gerys article, which is here http://www.thothweb.com/article126.html with the main points from your article. That way I can replace your article with the updated version of my article and simply keep the title. Obviously you wouldn't get any credit then, but we wouldn't be carrying your article, if that's such a concern. I don't mind, either works for me, so let me know which you'd prefer.

She actually wants to update her own article using mine as a source, without crediting mine as the source.

I responded:

Wow. Well, you don't have permission to reprint my article, so it's really not your decision to simply change the copyright and keep the article as it is. Listing a correct copyright doesn't entitle one to reprint something. You also cannot use my article as a source to amend your own article, or 'take my main points' like you have suggested, without proper citation or credit to me in your sources. Feel free to take my main points, but you must list me as a source. If not, then simply remove the entirety of my article altogether, or post the first paragraph with a link to the original.

Obviously, Isis doesn't seem to understand the ethics or copyright issues at hand. She responds:

okay let me put it to you this way. You've not come up with anything original in that article so my understanding is that I don't need to quote you as a source. If you think you have come up with anything original, please don't hesitate to let me know, but honestly, from what I've read you've not said anything that hasn't been said before. That's not to say your aricle isn't nicely written, it is, but its not original in what its saying - as my article clearly demonstrates - mine was written two or three years ago. Now, that might sound a little harsh, but its true. It may be that when I review your article there's nothing of merit in it anyway, but if there's anything in it that I can use to expand mine, I will be doing so. Occult articles should be organic in nature, they grow and evolve, that's the nature of the occult. If theres nothing usable in your article, I'll just do a clean swap. Frankly though, I'm a little surprised and disappointed by your reaction, but never mind, it would be a dull world if we were all the same.

Thanks for the lesson in the nature of occult, Isis. Now, you are going to learn a lesson about the nature of copyright infringement and proper citation.

watering down

According to yahoo's buzz log, "The Web has made it a lot easier to convey outrage." Yes, but it makes it a lot easier to convey anything. Like subtle rhetorical juxtapositions in titles, which create false assumptions, not dissimilar to political rhetoric narrative devices. Unfortunately, it doesn't take much to plant a false idea in the mind of the public. That's the whole point--it's called propaganda. So, what is behind this subtle scapegoating of Nicole Kidman? The yahoo buzz log article is entitled "Kidman film's religion ruckus hits the web." It's an article about the rise in search engines of terms related to the film's religion-oriented controversy. It's not her film. She was paid to act in it, that's it. Maybe she has a passion about the atheist/pro-religion idea one way or the other, but even that would be peripheral, since she had no input into the writing of the book, the subsequent watering down of the anti-authority elements within. She is not listed as a producer or anything else other than actor as far as I can tell. Obviously, it is her film in the casual sense that we use to wrap everything around certain selected people such as herself in this celebrity-oriented culture. So, it isn't necessarily a true falsity in itself, but it's rather dumb and misleading, and I question the intention of rhetorically putting this heated issue on her shoulders. Titles are all reduced down to keywords and search engines and whatnot--of course her name is going to be in the titles, but there seems to be a problem in this interplay somewhere along the way.

Here's an interesting "It was 20 years ago today..." journal marking Trek TNG's 20th anniversary, which began in September. (20 years!? Good lord.)

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/bst/article/2314813.html

Seasons Grievings: Holiday Pun Contest with OJ & Adam Gorightly

It's all so very comical. He's giving away a Tshirt to the winner. Just come up with the best, clever, hilarious pun.

Enter your best pun here.

Really cool DNA news video...

Leave it to a rich, eccentric Mormon.
video here.

Look at the FORMS...

Every now and then, you happen upon a book that just blows you away, that you know will be part of your life-long psycho-biblioarsenal. Jeremy Narby's The Cosmic Serpent is just such a book for me. I just began reading it, and already I have found it to be entirely profound, prophetic, and true.

This idea he puts forth, that nature uses imagery to convey meaning, really resonates with me. This idea is not new to me; it is an idea I have written about before many times,--looking for meaning in our large and small landscapes, by objectively viewing and making associations.

The idea of aesthetics comveying meaning almost above all else as a code is really compelling to me. The whole holographic universe idea, the as above so below, etc. From the very first time I heard and considered these things, I knew there was something of truth. This idea of aesthetics and forms is even a huge part of a book I am working on.

But, in Narby's book, the idea is somehow crystallized, somehow simplified and focused, yet manages in that simplicity to convey the ineffable complexities that reside in such a notion. The book is highly recommended for anyone interested in consciousness mysteries, general cosmic ideas, shamanism, anthropology, UFOs (read in conjunction with Terence McKenna, Graham Hancock's Supernatural, or the whole of Keel/Vallee, etc.) and mysteries in general.

http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Serpent-Jeremy-Narby/dp/0874779642

A cemetery special on Netflix instant viewing

The Netflix instant viewing selection is really growing and has many great new offerings--several 70s disaster movies, foreign films, and documentaries. I was happy to find A Cemetery Special, which I loved. It received terrible reviews at Netflix, and I really don't get it. I suppose people were expecting fantastic ghost stories or special effects or a Discovery Channelesque spectacle. Instead, it is happily a little love letter to the cemetery and all its loveliness. The preview can be seen here. (Note the misspelling 'cemetary' in the trailerhead.)

Supposedly "the proof you've been waiting for" in the forthcoming capturing the light dvd...

today I received this link as a promo/ad in an email. although I usually don't click on ads received in emails, this looked pretty interesting--I remember having seen this woman and intriguing story on several programs.
http://www.capturingthelightdvd.com/
and the youtube trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=a7jQpYwDvYs