Tuesday, January 29, 2008
My responses to Theorris's 'I love..." challenge...
1. Old ladies
I love them for the irony of their apparent vulnerability vs. their strength. I love the way their houses smell, like Lux soap, and bread. I love their aesthetic sense, their brooches, 'set' hair, and general formality. I love that they were around when the word 'motoring' was used. I love that they outlive everyone. Old ladies are safety incarnate.
2. Smells
I love certain smells: sheets that have been in the linen closet for years, that first rich whiff of a flowershop after walking in, a very old garage, basements, and the smell of water from a hose, and the smell of water on a very warm sidewalk. Unusual, uncommon flower scents: linden, lily of the valley, tuberose. I love the smell of Stewarts Key Lime soda--I stick my nose in the bottle after it's all gone, and at the time, I can say it is the best smell that has ever been on the planet. There's a certain laundry smell that some people carry, that I still haven't figured out what product it is. I love the smell of certain books, some have it, some don't. My mom used to let me order whatever and however many books I wanted from those Scholastic school book magazines, and I would order so many they would come in my own box. I used to wait until I got home to open it, and take it in my room, so I could enjoy the smell that would puff out of that box alone, without looking like a goober. I love Grocery store smell, especially Dillons grocery store, in Topeka, Ks. I love the smell of the dirt in my houseplants that have been makeshift incense holders for years--there's the natural good dirt smell, mingled with an absorbed perfume. I could go on and on....
number 3 will have to come a bit later...
Okay, 3. Potatoes.
Monday, January 28, 2008
C2C photo...
There's a possibility that the characters may just have a runic appearance, due to the tool that was used to carve them. Obviously, straight lines are easier to impress than curved. It may be a regular alphabet.
Independence Missouri has quite an occult history, and is a center of all kinds of Mormon folklore. According to legend, it is the antideluvian Garden of Eden. Independence is the headquarters of the Reorganized LDS church, sporting their odd-looking temple. It is also somewhat of a spiritual battleground, there's legends about the LDS church taking over the land at some future point, and it is supposed to be Christ's headquarters from which he will rule after the second coming. I remember people saying that when the temple gets built (it's been there for years now) the time will be close at hand, and then when 'The Church' takes over, it will be any minute for his return.
Nearby is the strange land Adam-ondi-Ahman. I have been there, and it was a very odd feeling. Kind of unsettling, both good and bad. There is a stone slab, and there's a legend it was the altar of Adam and Eve. Rather impossible, from all angles. I have a picture of myself doing a backbend on it somewhere.
Perhaps this inscription was carved by the archangel Michael himself (Adam, according to the doctrine. at least i think that's doctrine. I'm too lazy to look it up this morning, and it feels like tornado weather, so I'm unsettled. Please feel free to correct any mo-mis-info I have here--I hate that.)
Here is a link to the Adam Ondi Ahman Church Hymn...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Love your hair, hope it wins!
...perhaps the best song ever. I'm sure few would agree. Also, check out P.M.'s boots (ha) and and the guitar/bass whatever guy at about 3:00--so 80s, love that.
...bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills, UFO debunking skills...
Skeppta, PLEASE!!!
I don't even know where to start on this one. But, if this is exemplary of his debunking case work skills, well, then Mr. Nickell's work is without a doubt at a base remedial level. First of all, there was never, ever any *real* thinking that the object was a "UFO" in the sense that it was anything more than a yet-to-be-identified terrestrial craft. Second, the object was identified within a few hours of its main-reported sightings. There were reports on the local news (and even made the national news too) within hours of finding out what the object was, with the guy who made the blimp.
I haven't listened to Joe yet, but how in the world could he even take credit for investigating and debunking this? There was nothing to debunk anyway.
So--we actually saw this thing, and took some video. I'll see if I can post it here. You can tell by our reactions, and watching the thing itself, there's no way anyone in their right mind would mistake this for an extraterrestrial craft, and it has little in common with other UFO sightings.
Note that in the intro on the video, I wrote "days later it was reprted.." It's not that it took days to discover what the object was--it's that the main sightings were days later. The news said the June 12th sightings were 'unverified.' My son and I also had seen this thing many months before this sighting, while in this same parking lot. I tried following it, but couldn't see it again, and there were no reports in the news then. There were no reports at all, until an apparently mass sighting, where it drifted across the valley out of control a couple days after this video. It origins were almost instantly revealed. Way to go Joe!
"It's, like, METAL.." I can be such a valley girl.
Friday, January 25, 2008
My Men in Black visit last night part 3
Since I wrote about the Triangle survey experience, I've been thinking about some other strange events I've had over the years. There's one that particularly bothers me, and it too, has the feel of a psych/social experiment. when this happened, I literally wondered if we were being filmed for our responses.
Probably about 9 or 10 years ago, my sister came over to my apartment on a saturady to take my son out to a little park by LDS hospital--it was just a couple blocks from my place. I stayed home, having to wait for maintenence guys to come over to fix god knows what at our crumbling, decayed, formerly-glamorous-a-century-ago, apartment. I'm sure it was the ceiling caving in, or fire shooting out of the floor, or some other common occurence.
Whatever it was, I was extremely stressed out over it, plus, I was in the final stages of a very complicated divorce. Aside from all that, I absolutely dreaded having to have workers come to my place. My old landlord would hire the cheapest people he could find. I could write a book about my experiences with these weirdos during the 10 years I lived in that building. The guys arrived--with a gigantic, spastic labrador retriever in tow. I was mortified. I cannot stand any form of unrestrained, random chaos in my environment--and I cannot stand labs. I know I probably made a few enemies with that statement, as labs are the pretty much Official State Dog of Utah. They're pretty much just giant cocker spaniels, and I never saw the point of those either.
Rather than argue or freak out about the dog, or have to watch the home invasion, I decided the best thing I could do was just remove myself from the situation. I intened to go to the library, but drove by the park and saw my sister and son, so I stopped. I sat with my sister on the bench, and started telling her about the dog, and how I was stressed, etc. So, my son is playing in the sand, and we're sitting on this bench facing each other talking, at a normal, 'conversational' distance apart, with ample space between us. We're obviously engrossed in some emotional stuff--I actually recall feeling like I was going to break into tears.
Any normal person approaching this scene would immediately recognize it as intimate and personal, and respect a proper distance and manner. And it's not like it was a 'scene' at all--the conversation was in an almost whisper, as my son, who was about 4, was present. And the park was empty, as usual.
But this woman approaches, carrying a small brown lunch bag. We're still deep in conversation, and as she gets closer, I'm thinking she is walking right toward us, and is going to ask us directions somewhere, or for the time, or something. No--she stands next to me, and says "can I sit here?" and without waiting for an answer, sits right down between my sister and I! We are just sitting there with our mouths agape in horror, and it's like a scene from Candid Camera; completely oblivious to us, she places the little paper bag on her lap, unfolds it, removes an apple, and starts munching it, looking around, surveying the park with a little grin, like she's totally alone.
It was so bizarre. I wish now I hadn't been in a funk, and just addressed the situation with her, to see what she'd have said--but we just kind of got up and my sister or I said something sarcastic but benign, and we separately departed. I kind of forgot about all this, so I'll have to ask my sister to recount the story to see what her take on it was.
The thing that really makes it weirder is--a couple years later, my son and I were walking home from the sweet branch aves library, and this same woman is on the sidewalk walking toward us. I recognized her even at a distance immediately--she is extremely thin (anorexia-thin) and has very big blonde hair. I'm sure it's a wig. She's actually kind of pretty--she looks just like this woman (can't remember her name) that used to be a game show fixture in the 70s. I'll search for her name and update (maybe with that description someone living in the aves will recognize her...)
Anyway, she's walking toward us, and I was hoping she wouldn't say anything or do anything weird. Well, no such luck. With every step she took, there was this *LOUD* noise--it's kind of hard to describe, but it was the sound of air being squeezed out of a bag. Actually, it's the sound of a bellows. But it was so loud, and even though it swooshed in time with every step she took, it did not seem to be originating with her feet at all, but surrounding her entire body. She didn't seem to be fitted with any kind of medical device, and I can't even imagine what kind of device would make such a noise anyway. It really seemed to be emitting from her entire body--like that's just the sound she makes when she walks.
Now the name of that game show celebrity is bugging me. She was known for her big boobs and blonde hair, and childlike, bubbly, wacky voice. I think her name was "sandy" something...
I'm sure she was on crap like that atre johnson show and whatnot. I'll find it.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
My Men in Black Visit last night..part 2
It was a little alarming--he just seemed to be standing there moving the light around--there was no knock, no noise, nothing. For some reason, I had the feeling it was a policeman with a maglite, looking around for my house numbers to see if he was in the right place. (the house numbers are in a weird place, etched into a small window.)
I decided to flip the curtain to see who/what the hell was there and happening. There was a young, dark haired, tall guy in a dark uniform with some kind of insignia on his jacket, and a helmet with a flashlight--like mining or spelunking gear. He was just standing there waiting, holding some papers. He had not knocked, or rang the doorbell. How long would he have patiently waited there for someone to coincidentally open the door? What are the chances that i would even be sitting there looking out the window to notice him? It was almost 10:00 at night!
So, still thinking it was some kind of poice person or utility worker or something, I opened the door, and he hands me--my mail. I said "what's this?" (kind of meaning what the f*#% is going on in general) and he just says, like I'm so dense, "It's your *MAIL*"
What the hell?
Also, remember that I saw that headlight (which turns out to be the headlamp on his helmet) sitting still in a certain place for a full minute before he approached my door. The place he had to be standing--is where my mailbox is! So, did this 'mailman' take the mail out of my box to hand deliver it to me? Why would he be standing so close to the unmistakable, very prevalent mailbox and not just put the dumb mail in there? (I usually receive my mail around 2pm. there was no mail delievered to my box as of about 4pm. I did go to the post office to mail some books out yesterday, and it was busy, because of the holiday the previous day. However, I have never had my regular post delayed for a reason like that.)
When I go to the PO tomorrow, I'll ask the guys there if this is something that seems 'normal' or if they have an explanation.
My Men in Black Visit last night...Part 1
I had received a phone call, kind of a telemarketer kind of sound to it, and the woman identified her group or whatever, and asked if I would like to take part in a survey and earn $30. Duh, of course I would. She said a representative would be by within a few weeks, and I would be receiving some info via the mail. I probably did receive that, but it certainly got recycled without opening--I don't even give anything that remotely looks like junk mail a second glance.
The day before my son and I were to leave driving our friends' car to New York for them, the doorbell rings, and it's a round little Latina lady with a clipboard. She's here to do the survey. Her accent is extremely thick, and I can barely understand her--so I ask her if we (or she...I can understand far better than speak. Actually, I can barely speak at all, what is that about?) can speak in Spanish, and she says she cannot.
The entire thing turned out to be one of the weirdest things I have ever experienced. The woman was very strange--that is such an understatement. I'm not sure if I can propery convey the weirdness. She asked for a glass of water, that's fine. Then she starts complaining about how many houses she has already been to today, and shows me some paper showing me she is supposed to go to a couple more. She wants my opinion on whether she has done enough. I think back to an lab/experimental psych class in college, and this felt like some kind of test or something. I just told her she was going to have to make that decision, that I know nothing about her job requirements or description. She did not let up--she must have asked me 40 times suring the visit for my advice.
She then asked if she could take her shoes off, and without waiting for an answer, took them off along with her knee high L'eggs, and kicked everything *way* under my big coffee table. Looking closely at her, I actually wondered if she was born female. Her hairline was receding like a male's, and there was something about her brow that was very masculine. Her eyebrows were shaved and redrawn on, and her bright red lipstick was all messy, and all over her mouth and chin. There was just something very non-female about her face. But her voice was extrememly high and feminine, no possible way she could be a man with that voice.
It was determined by whatever information she fed into her laptop that my son was going to be the one to take the survey. She was so apologetic, saying she was hoping we could both do it, and explained the math like 500 times, of how that then would have been $60 for us, instead of $30. Yes, lady, I get it, and I don't care at all. Look around, do I look poor? It was the weirdest thing. I felt like I was 'supposed' to act upset. Then, she said she would try to see if she could bend the rules, and she pressed one button on her cell phone, and immediately started talking, saying, "I have a lady here who would like very much please to take the survey, can we...no? well, okay..."
What the? I just told her we needed to get busy with the survey because we're packing, etc. "Oh, where are you going?" "what's the weather like in new york?" "where's new york, do you have a map?" The she starts telling me she's going to have to move somewhere because she can't take the heat of Salt Lake City and that there's something 'wrong with the air.' I asked if she meant the inversion, and she jumped on it and said "the WHAT!?"
It made me think she had just moved here, because everyone living here knows what the inversion is. I asked her how long she's been living here, and she says : 10 years. No way. There is no way she has never heard of it. Anyone living here can back me up with that. She was amazed, and even had me spell the word so she could get more information later. That did it, she's moving to New York! At this point, my son is sulking in his chair, with a weird look on his face that doesn;t come on very often. He doesn't like this person, I can tell.
All moms think their kids are brilliant angels I know, but really, I can independently verify my son's abilities in character perception. This is a kid who is magnetic and attractive by his nature--unknown babies in strollers reach for him as he passes, little 5 year old girls we don't know will absentmindedly start braiding his hair while we're standing in line--we walk through a crowded pub downtown, and old people that I've never met call out his name; they've met him somewhere along the way. He's the kind of person that wild birds would land on. It sounds like I'm bragging, but my point is my child rarely has a beef with any creature, and when he does, I know there's something wrong somewhere.
So anyway, the woman gave the survey to Tierney--a PDA with 100 or so questions. She told me technically, I could not look at it, because it would influence the outcome. But I insisted on seeing what he was reading. It was all about drugs!
After he was done, I had to seal all these envelopes she used, because she wasn't supposed to 'know my address.' I explained that there's no way that could be right, since she had to know my address to come here in the first place, but she said she couldn't 'officially' know it. Then there was a whole fiasco about the $30. She gave me $40 and asked for change! I told her I didn't have any change, and she was visibly upset. She said she was supposed to have the exact amount to give me, and begged me not to tell on her.
I told her I would be happy to keep one of the 20s, while she walk across the street to the gas station around the corner to get change for the other one. She said her feet hurt, and she could not walk anymore. I told her she could come back tomorrow for the change. That wouldn;t work. This went on and on, and I finally told her we needed to get back to our lives. My son volunteered to take the 20 and get change. She was nervous the entire time. Like this is *our* scam or something, like we are grifters. We finally got her out of there. A couple months later, we got a phone call that sounded like a recording, asking for my son. It wasn't a recording though, because it responded. It was this place, wanting feedback. I found the papers they sent--it's the triangle research group. This is the place that grows the marijuana crops for the people who have legal prescriptions in the US.
What in the world is going on? I'll write about the weird 'mailman' in part 2.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Wine recommendation...
Life review in slow motion: Topeka, Kansas and the Liminal
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Lazy, thriftstore-UFO-book reviews
There was a creepy used bookstore, on the 'wrong' side of the tracks, called Dean's Books that my sister used to beg my mom to take us to; I hated it because there was cordoned-off a porn section that...well, I'll leave that beautiful detail out of the story. I wonder if it's still there--it was as of 1996, when we took a ton of my dad's books there to sell after he died. We thought we would get so much money, but he offered us like $3. We were insulted, so ended up dropping them off at the thriftstore. Now, being a used book seller, I actually think that guy was being generous.
At Dean's books, so long ago, my sister was busy looking for novels that should have/would have probably been over her head, and I used to scrounge for any kind of UFO or paranormal type books I could find. I remember my mom saying "don't you have that one already..." because they all pretty much had the same cover, with "UFOs, blah blah" emblazoned across the cover.
While I'm out bookscouting now, of course I keep my eyes open for UFo books. I thought I'd start writing some brief reviews. Even though most of these books are out of print, many can be found at amazon, used, for literally a penny + shipping. Obviously, some things are outdated, but there are a lot of old, rather forgotten cases mentioned, and all kinds of ideas that have since become unfashionable. I'm all about UFO theories, so for me it's a great way to get information that might not be in the mainstream now.
Soon, I will post a review of one I just finished--Alien Agenda (not the Marrs book) by Clifford Wilson. He's got the demons going. Yee-haw, dammit.
Antiquarian book images for your perusal...
Looking for some images, I found this great group "Antique Books" at flickr. Lovely images, every one of them.
Image by ardorius
Friday, January 18, 2008
Unexplained incident at Lake Mead
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Fabulous UFO site of the week...
Sunday, January 13, 2008
today's cemetery picture on C2C...
Thursday, January 10, 2008
My only-possibly connected experience to an established Mormon folklore, temple's-on-fire-legend
Irritating stupid dumb media thing of the week: The guy living at the Ikea store
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Well, here we go with the girly-girl stuff.
Although earlier in Hillary Clinton's campaign, there were pathetic remarks made about her being a silly goose for laughing, I wondered at what precise moment the inevitable avalanche of adolescent misogynist sludge would rip free and cement itself for good, and here we have it. "Can Hillary cry her way back to the White House?" and "Clinton turns it around with emotion outburst..." blah blah blah.
There is more than an implication she won New Hampshire last night because of this one scene at an espresso cafe. I listened to commentary from several sources last night, everyone's onboard: the consensus then and this morning seems to be she won because she cried.
Obviously, there are more dynamics beyond that, and if it is rooted in truth, it may not be so dire and grim (the public recognizing and responding to her willingness to be honest and vulnerable; a shared perception and empathy, etc.)
My annoyance is the mindless reduction, the sense of justification: she cried, she won. And like many trivial, small incidents that happen in front of the camera, this has been and will be milked way past dry and stupidly pointed to literally forever now; we cannot get over ourselves because for whatever reason, we're stuck in the particulars of base gender dynamics, like a bunch of whooping, giggling kindergarteners.
When we look at what actually spawned her reaction, it's amazing she had enough restraint to keep from jumping up on that table and kicking the tall skinny lattes across the room; she was talking about her personal high hopes and plans for finally pulling the country out of the clutches of this mad freefall we've been in for 7 years now.
The picture has little to do with the post; I just like it.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Flying saucer postcard...
Monday, January 7, 2008
what's the mystery...?
Help requested: establishing a 'media presence' for the JREF million dollar challenge
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Tasty tonic recipe for winter ills
1-2 tbs. hot chocolate mix
1 tbs. rum
grated fresh ginger
cayenne pepper (as much as you can take)
1 cup hot (not quite boiling) water
Much better than theraflu.