The Blog For Paranormal Happenings and News
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Bryan Singer To Direct Battlestar Galatica Movie
My Screen Addiction
Can we talk — calmly, and without raising our voices — about screen addiction? I put it that way because no one is quicker to fall into a defensive crouch than a junkie. This is something I know from personal experience. Accusation breeds denial. I'm a social user, the addict says. Besides, I can quit anytime I want.
But can you? Can I, for that matter?
I thought of this when I saw an article from UPI.com (yes, I read it on my computer) that claimed the average American adult spends 8.5 hours a day staring at various screens. The study was commissioned by the Nielsen Company. My initial reaction was classic addict-think: They can't be talking about me; I don't spend anywhere near that much time gaping at screens. At first, it seemed a reasonable conclusion. I don't Twitter, I'm not on Facebook (unless someone else put me there), I've never shopped on Craigslist, and I've made exactly one eBay purchase (someone else did it for me, because I have no grasp of the protocol). I own a cell phone but don't use it — I keep it in the car in case I break down in East Overshoe and need a tow. I think it takes pictures, but I have no idea how that function works, and I've never texted anyone in my life.
Scientists claim to have cloned glowing dogs
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases.The four dogs, all named "Ruppy" — a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" — look like typical beagles by daylight.
But they glow red under ultraviolet light, and the dogs' nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the naked eye.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
News That Bears Repeating: Buzz Aldrin Decking Conspiracy Theorist
Now Bart gets Hoofed By Ed Mitchell
Moon Nut Bart Brushed off By Armstrong
New Film 'Orphan' Boycotted Over False Fears
Several adoption organizations have expressed concern over "Orphan," an upcoming horror movie featuring a murderous orphan. They called for a boycott of the film and sent a letter of protest, co-signed by leaders of nearly a dozen adoption and child-welfare groups, to the film's distributor, Warner Bros.
The studio issued a statement pointing out that "it is not a depiction of any real-life events or situations and has never been portrayed as anything but an entirely fictional story."
It's not just adoption agencies who are outraged. Concern over the scary movie is so serious that several elected officials weighed in. In a letter to the studio, three senators (Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and Tom Coburn and James Inhofe, both of Oklahoma) and three members of Congress (Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, John Boozman of Arkansas, and Danny Davis of Illinois) also expressed their grave concerns about the film's impact on America.
Yet it's not clear what, exactly, the critics fear will happen. It seems unlikely that people will emerge from the film hating orphans or plotting to bomb orphanages. What possible influence or effect could a scary film have?
Believe ~ [A UFO film]
This music video is a short film about UFO's and how many types of ships that have been seen. I used only the best, and most clear quality clips in my video of UFO's. All footage is of real UFO's to the best of my knowledge, and is shown as such to the views of this video.
The Top 5 Haunted Places in America
People who want to see ghosts usually seek out spooky cemeteries or creepy houses. But what if you aren't lucky (or unlucky) enough to live next to a dark old mansion or a deserted insane asylum? A good place to start is the top five haunted places in America, where people have reported (and in some cases created) ghostly encounters.
Zombie Ants Controlled by Fungus
In a bizarre parasitic death sentence, a fungus turns carpenter ants into the walking dead and gets them to die in a spot that's perfect for the fungus to grow and reproduce.
Scientists have no clue how the fungus takes control of the brains of ants so effectively. But a new study in the September issue of the American Naturalist reveals an incredible set of strategies that ensue.
The carpenter ants nest high in the canopy of a forest in Thailand, and they trek to the forest floor to forage. The fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, prefers to end up on the undersides leaves sprouting from the northwest side of plants that grow on the forest floor, the new study showed. That's where temperature, humidity and sunlight are ideal for the fungus to grow and reproduce and infect more ants.
Once infected by the fungus, an ant is compelled to climb down from the canopy to the low leaves, where it clamps down with its mandibles just before it dies.
"The fungus accurately manipulates the infected ants into dying where the parasite prefers to be, by making the ants travel a long way during the last hours of their lives," said study leader David P. Hughes of Harvard University.
Rise Of Witchcraft Tourism In Spain
The Latin American Herald Tribune reports that Spain, hoping to boost their tourism revenue, is developing more occult and witch-themed tours through the Basque region. While Galicia has always been a popular destination for tourists interested in pre-Christian remnants and sorcery, thanks in part to the famous Queimada ritual fire-drink, Navarre is stepping up to capitalize on the Basque witch trials and the various witch-related landmarks in the area.
“This joining of Galicia and witchcraft and the claim that there are witches in that region, however, has been superseded – at least touristically – by Navarre’s initiative to exploit the richness of its own black magic traditions. Organizers in Navarre have set up a tour through 16 towns so that visitors can seek out and get to know, without fear, the areas where Spain’s best-known witches once lived, and perhaps still do … To speak of witchcraft in Spain is to speak of Zugarramurdi, the cave where people from every social class gather to worship the devil in the form of a male goat. It is there, to the side of the rocky outcrop where the cave is found, that “akelarre” is celebrated. That term, derived from the Basque words “aker” – male goat – and “larre” – field – refers to the spot where the “sorginak” (witches) gather. Zugarramurdi is the starting point for the new tourist packages being pushed by Navarre, a magical site located along the so-called “Border, superstition and witchcraft” route.”
In addition to the “Border, superstition, and witchcraft” route, there is the “First persecutions of witchcraft in Navarre” route, and the “Mountains and caves, between mythology and witchcraft” route, which explores sites sacred to the Basque goddess Mari.
Caracas Is As Dangerous For The Dead As It Is For The Living
CARACAS, Venezuela — Milvia Santos went with her children to the Southern Municipal Cemetery in the Venezuelan capital on Mother's Day to pay her respects to her late mother, Astrid.
As they were about to lay a dozen red roses on the grave, however, they found a hole in the concrete slab. When they warily reached in to open the coffin, they saw that Astrid's skull had been stolen.
Santos fainted. When she came to, she sobbed uncontrollably.
Ana Sambrano holds the name plate from the vandalized grave site of her husband, son and nephew at Cementerio del Sur in Caracas.
"This was supposed to be my grandmother's place to rest in peace for eternity," Yohan Camacho, Santos' son, said later by the grave site. "Instead, it was ransacked for black magic rituals."
Foreign Policy magazine last year called Caracas the world's homicide capital, and it isn't much safer for the dead than it is for the living.
Grave-plundering at the Southern Municipal Cemetery and others in Caracas has reached epidemic proportions. Priests, academics and the victims' families blame black-magic practitioners known as "paleros," who use skulls and other human bones to initiate members into an African-based cult that spread to Venezuela from Cuba and is growing rapidly here.
Jane Austen meets zombies in monster mash-up
LONDON — It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Jane Austen novel in possession of added gore will be a surefire best-seller. That's the conclusion reached by publishers since the success of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," an unlikely literary sensation created by adding dollops of "ultraviolent zombie mayhem" to Austen's classic love story.
"Zombies" — billed as 85 percent Austen's original text and 15 percent brand-new blood and guts — has become a best-seller since it was published earlier this year, with 750,000 copies in print. There's a movie in the works. And it has spawned a monster — or, more accurately, a slew of literary monster mash-ups.
Next month, "Zombies" publisher Quirk Books is releasing "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters," which adds giant lobsters and rampaging octopi to Austen's love story. Out this week from another publisher is "Mr. Darcy, Vampyre," a supernatural sequel which portrays the aloof hero of "Pride and Prejudice" as an undead bloodsucker. Later this year comes "Jane Bites Back," in which the author herself develops a taste for blood.
Even Austen purists admit a grudging admiration for the "Zombies" concept.
"In publishing terms, it's brilliant," said Claire Harman, a Columbia University professor and author of "Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World."
"Why did I spend three years writing a critical book on Austen? Why didn't I just think of that?"
Other Monstrous Books:
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
The War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts and Zombies
Villisca Ax Murder House During A Thunderstorm: Ghost Girl Says MAMA!
Iowa- Seth and Jay explore the Villisca Ax Murder House during a huge thunderstorm. Little girl moan and voice can be heard between 1:34 and 1:40. Also about 0:45 you can hear a quiet whisper.
There is a small blank part in the middle of the video sorry for the technical problem
OUIJA board stop listen and reconsider
Ouija Board? STOP, Listen, and Reconsider. - The funniest movie is here. Find it
On a very personal note: As a child my mother and brother dabbled with Ouija boards on numerous occasions. During many of their sessions I was attacked and hurt. I have scars from these encounters both emotionally and physically. I was tossed across the room, pinched, kicked, slapped and physically attacked. I will never be in the same room with a Ouija board nor will I allow one in my house. I have a strong connection with these spirit boards dating back to my infancy. That is another story. They are not a game. They are not something to be dabbled with lightly. Be carefull. This is not a joke