Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka

Dan Aykroyd's Crystal Head Vodka

A vodka with a paranormal bent? Crystal Head Vodka's website.

Thousands of years ago, thirteen crystal heads were scattered across the earth – and they are greater and more powerful than anything we have the ability to manufacture today. Their workmanship is perfect: they contain no tool marks and have been cut against the natural axis of the crystal, defying the laws of physics. Some say they are artifacts from the lost civilization of Atlantis, some say they date back to the Mayans, still others say they were created by a higher intelligence.

Brought together, the Crystal Heads are said to contain vast knowledge and enlightenment capable of unlocking our most enigmatic ancient mysteries. Alone, each is believed to house radiant psychic energy, which has magical powers and healing properties.

Psychopaths have brain structure abnormality

Scientists have long searched for a biological basis for psychopathy, a behavioral disorder attributed to chronic immorality. While previous studies have found no clear evidence, Professor Declan Murphy of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London believes he has found an area of the brain that is decidedly different in a psychopath as compared to a normal person.

It is unsurprising that much of the research to date has focused on the amygdala (the part of the brain involved with emotions and aggression) and the orbitofrontal cortex (which deals in decision making). However, an unstudied area is the uncinate fasciculus (UF), a white matter region that connects the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex. While the UF may not have a direct behavioral role, its dysfunction may lead to abnormalities in the areas which it connects.

Using a precise form of MRI, Murphy studied the brains of those labeled as psychopaths who had been convicted of crimes ranging from manslaughter to repeated rapes. The imaging found “a significant reduction in the integrity of the small particles that make up the structure of the UF of psychopaths, compared to control groups of people with the same age and IQ. Also, the degree of abnormality was significantly related to the degree of psychopathy.” [EurekAlert]

When discussions turn to psychopaths and sociopaths, talk of criminal proceedings cannot be far behind. While the study was small and has not been repeated, the mind immediately wanders to a court room where MRI evidence is given to support the conviction of someone on trial for mass murder. The controversy of the topic is likely to be heated. Could a jury be convinced with biological proof that a person’s brain is marked with the brand of a psychopath?

That day, however, is probably far in the future. Dr Michael Craig, co-author of the study, stated, “If replicated by larger studies the significance of these findings cannot be underestimated. The suggestion of a clear structural deficit in the brains of psychopaths has profound implications for clinicians, research scientists and the criminal justice system.” [EurekAlert]

[Examiner.com]

Archaeologist Claims Human Sacrifice Performed At Cahokia Mounds

Human sacrifice! Victims buried alive! Read all about it in "Cahokia -- Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi."

According to this new book by University of Illinois archaeologist and professor of anthropology Tim Pauketat, the mound builders were not always the idyllic, corn-growing, pottery-making, fishing-hunting gentle villagers depicted in various dioramas at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville.

Pauketat said these long-vanished people practiced human sacrifice of women and men on a mass scale and weren't always careful to bury only the dead.

Based on years of study of artifacts including many from the extensive excavation of the site's Mound 72 during 1967-71, Pauketat's book is getting national attention. The Washington Post described it as "undeniably hot." A national online review service used the headline, "Sacrificial virgins of the Mississippi."

But the "virgins" angle may be a bit of an overstatement, said Pauketat, but not by much.

"In the book I do not use the word virgin. I used female sacrifices," he said, noting that close study of the pelvic area of some of 53 female skeletons found in a huge pit below the mound showed clear signs of childbirth.

"They were selecting women of a certain age, but it's not like they're selecting virgins," he said. Most of the sacrificial victims were in their early 20s, he said.

The existence of 260 skeletal remains including of women all retrieved from within and under Mound 72 was not previously unknown in the metro-east. But because of the book, it's sensational news in other parts of the country, especially in big Eastern cities where residents are unfamiliar with the Midwest's often savage early history.

Pauketat said that the vast collection of data from the mound excavation included reports from the original archaeologist who found finger bones extended deep into the sand below some of the skeletons, evidence that victims were alive when buried.

"That's the interpretation of the original excavator. He's quite sure of that. I talked to him in person," Pauketat said.

"Basically, the book came together after we reached a critical threshold, all of the little pieces started falling into place. A lot of pieces from the Mound 72 dig are important because they help make sense of all the other pieces that have been found."

Ancient Cahokia, which reached its peak about 1150 A.D. with a population of 20,000, was a religious center of farmers and hunters that probably influenced much of what archaeologists call the Southeast Ceremonial Complex, a string of similar but smaller sites found from Illinois to northern Florida. It was abandoned about 100 to 200 years later and its descendants are believed to be the various tribes from historic times. At the time of its zenith, Cahokia rivaled London in population and was America's most-populous city until Philadelphia eclipsed it in the 18th century.

About 80 of the original 120 mounds survive, including Monks Mound, the largest prehistoric earthen structure north of Mexico.

In this society, often referred to as the Mississippian Culture, women played much more of a role than convenient sacrificial victims, Pauketat said. And even in this death ritual, women were respected, unlike some of the men whose remains were found with heads lopped off.

"The women never show injury. There is no trauma. So that means either they drank poison or they were strangled. But, that's speculation. They were very carefully placed into these pits," he said.

Ancient Cahokia's big draw, according to the book, was religion. And in the practice of various religious rites, evidence has been found that women were the rivals of this society's male religious leaders.

Pauketat said the evidence is in the form of curious female figurines carved from a type of clay found just south of St. Louis known as flint clay. The reddish substance dries rock hard.

Just last month, a small, 4-inch high female figure was found at a state-run archaeological dig in East St. Louis. Pauketat said only 23 other such figurines are known, including the largest, about 16 inches high.

The elevated status of women in religion in Cahokian society is illustrated, Pauketat said, by the decorations on the figurines that include a highly prized serpent figure, and of depictions of staple foods like corn and squash. On some figurines, baskets that have been interpreted as holding the bones of ancestors also have been carved into the statues.

"Clearly, a lot of the artwork of female gods and female figureheads show that women were probably highly elevated at Cahokia."

Pauketat said that at Cahokia, religion drew people from small farming villages all over the metro-east and from where present day St. Louis stands.

"People recognized in that place (Cahokia) a supernatural power on a scale and of a kind that was probably unknown in North America north of Mexico," he said

As for the female sacrifices, Pauketat said important women may have been chosen because of their status.

"These female sacrifices might not have been of unimportant people. This may have been a very honored role to fill. It may have been people who were impersonating some kind of corn goddess," he said, "And their duty was to die."

[Phantoms & Monsters]

Haunted 1940s Desota

Just when you thought only homes and properties were haunted - an upcoming documentary sets out to prove that cars can also be haunted.

A YouTube video from bandspirits introduces the idea and is seeking haunted automobile stories. If you have a story, call 216.759.8170.

I do know that in my research on the haunted Hinsdale House property, there are stories of a "ghost" car that approaches the property. Stephen King, of course, created the ultimate haunted car story with "Christine," and a second title I cannot recall now that involves a mysterious Buick that a police department keeps under wraps. Anyone know that title?

The photo with this story is a 1940s Desota housed at Chicago's Navy Pier. A sign alongside tells a horrible tale of a young couple in Bermuda who got married, and following their reception, decided to catch the last ferry departing that night - but something went very, very wrong - and the car - and bodies - were found at the bottom of the ocean. Rumor has it the car's brake lines were cut. I'd say it's the perfect candidate for a haunted car.

[Examiner.com]

A new kind of haunt: haunted cars

Another dire warning for 2012

Michio Kaku, a somewhat regular on Coast to Coast A.M., especially duriing the Art Bell years, appears on Fox News, predicting a cataclysmic event coming in the year 2012. Go figure! Don't worry, though, he's not some religious nut. He's not a tin-foil-hat kind of guy. No, he's a highly respected theoretical physicist. Or in other words, he's another college professor that has all of the answers.

Scientists Claim Portals 'Invisible Doorways' Closer To Reality

Using a technique known as transformation optics, the researchers have revealed a way to alter the pathway of light waves that could eventually allow them to create portals that are invisible to the human eye.

Pushing the laws of refraction and reflection to the limit, the team from Hong Kong University and Fudan University in Shanghai, describe the concept of a “a gateway that can block electromagnetic waves but that allows the passage of other entities”.

The gateway uses transformation optics and a "superscatterer" made from photonic crystals to create an 'optical illusion', forcing light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation into complicated directions to hide the portal.

Previous attempts at an electromagnetic gateway were hindered by their narrow bandwidth, only capturing a small range of visible light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation.

The breakthrough, described in the New Journal of Physics, also has the added advantage of being able to be switched on and off remotely.

Dr Huanyang Chen, from the Physics Department at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said that " people standing outside the gateway would see something like a mirror".

However, despite being theoretically possible many practical issues have to be overcome, the team admitted.

Professor Ulf Leonhardt, Chair in Theoretical Physics at the University of St Andrews, said the technique was an extreme version of the affect you have when you watch fish in a glass tank.

He said the deflection of light as it moves from the air to the glass to the water makes the fish seem bigger and in a different part of the tank that in reality.

"By placing photonic crystals at the right angle they can reflect light making a hole invisible," he said. "It is an optical illusion."

One practical use for the breakthrough could eventually be cloaking devices for the military.

In Harry Potter, wizards catch trains at platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross station in London. The platform is invisible to humans.

[Telegraph via Phantoms & Monsters]

Israel is in the grips of mermaid fever

Israel is in the grips of mermaid fever after numerous sightings of the mythical sea creature off its coast.

One town council is taking the reports so seriously it is offering a $1m (£609,000) reward to anyone who can prove the existence of a mermaid in its waters.

Kiryat Yam municipality, near Haifa, says it has been told of dozens of sightings in the past few months.

"Many people are telling us they are sure they've seen a mermaid and they are all independent of each other," council spokesman Natti Zilberman told Sky News.

The nautical nymph is only seen in the evening at sunset, according to media reports, drawing crowds of people with cameras hoping for a glimpse.

"People say it is half girl, half fish, jumping like a dolphin. It does all kinds of tricks then disappears," Mr Zilberman said.

Asked whether a dolphin or large fish could be a more rational explanation, he insisted: "They say it is a female figure, it looks like a young girl."

The council denied its offer of a reward was a publicity stunt, but said it hoped to nurture the mermaid as something which could bring in more tourists.

Capturing a mermaid is not necessary, a verifiable photograph will do, Mr Zilberman said.

Asked if the council can afford the payout, he told Sky News: "I believe, if there really is a mermaid, then so many people and tourists will come to Kiryat Yam, a lot more money will be made than a $1m.

[Sky News]

Eerie occurrences at naval museum attract ghost hunters

Books are flying off the shelves down at Columbus' National Civil War Naval Museum.

One hit a customer square in the back. Others from the museum gift shop’s rear bookshelves land up to 7 feet away — sometimes upright, as if someone set them there in a flash.

An invisible flash, that would be, because no one’s there to move them.

Jerry Franklin, the museum’s maintenance supervisor, said he was standing near the gift shop entrance one day when he saw a book shoot across an aisle and smack a woman in the back, right between the shoulder blades.

She spun around, saw no one there, then looked around the store until she made eye contact with Franklin. He shrugged.

This is the sort of eerie experience a team of ghost hunters will check out next weekend.

To workers who run the gift shop, this is common: “This happens all the time,” said Susan Ingram, the 1002 Victory Drive museum’s visitor service manager.

On average, a book shoots off the shelf every two weeks or so, sometimes more often, she said: “It kind of goes in cycles.”

[Read More]

Hawaii's Haunted History

Here's more on Hawaii's Haunted History. To learn more about Haunted Hawaii and Hawaiian lore, check out Haunted Hawaii.

Hawaii's Petroglyphs: More on Night Marchers

"Not exactly lore, (but) this story was handed down to me years ago by a dear friend who happened to be near here late one night," explains Akaka. " He reported seeing Hukai-po, or Night Marchers."

"Night Marchers! What are Night Marchers?" I ask, knowing that nothing in my culture will prepare me for the answer.

"Night Marchers are apparitions who move with purpose. Some carry torches, some beat drums, and it's said they roam through specific locations between the seashore and the mountains," Akaka says.

"And what happened to your friend?" I question.

"Nothing. Hawaiians know better than to interrupt a Night Marcher procession, or look at them directly because that could signal a grim fate," he says.

[Read More]

The Night Marchers of Hawaii

In Hawaii, a band of apparition warriors who move to the beat of a primitive drum. They are known as the Night Marchers or Hukai-po. Many stories are relayed about the Kukai-po. Some believe they are warriors marching to or from battles. Others speak of a high-ranking alii (rulers) spirits guided to new important locations or welcoming new warriors in to battle. Maybe they are only searching for a way in to the next world. No one knows for sure.

They roam during the night between seashore and mountains on certain nights designated by the moon. They have been known to march during the day if they are accompanying a dying relative to the spirit world. They are recognized by their raised torches and repetitions of olis or chants. Night Marchers are reported to float a few inches off the ground but manage to leave footprints in their paths. Other characteristics are heavy winds, game playing or revelry, mist or fog, and accompanying heavy rain or high surf. Some alleged marching sites include: Oahu's Pali Highway, The Kamehameha Schools campus and La Perouse Bay.

Locals say you should always show these warriors respect and never interrupt the procession. Legend states if you rest your eyes on them you or someone close to you will die unless you are accompanied by a relative a marcher. If you happen upon them, you are to crouch low to the ground, play dead and avoid eye contact. Avoid making any sound or movement or it will attract their deadly glance. Night Marchers are known to stick to their destination and don't deviate to haunt humans. Some say if you place leaves of ti around your home, it will keep them away from the area. If you hear drums in the distance or smell a foul odor, it is you who should leave the area to escape instantaneous death.

[Ghost Stories Blog]

Giant 'meat-eating' plant found

"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."
Mount Victoria, Philippines
The summit of Mount Victoria appears through the clouds

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.

[Read More at BBC]

Creative Taxidermy Fuels Your Cryptozoological Nightmares

While some taxidermists are meticulously preserving our animals for future generations, others prefer to color outside the lines of their chosen art form, creating bizarre and monstrous creatures better suited to nightmares than museums.

Crappy Taxidermy, the latest on the ever-growing list of one-note Tumblr blogs, logs the most egregious crimes against dead animal skins. In addition to pumps made from former hedgehogs and a truly disturbing number of kitten tea parties, there are the creature-makers, who transform once-normal animals into mermen, deer people, double headed critters, and cryptozoological monsters, with varying degrees of expertise.

[View the Gallery at IO9.com]

Michael Jackson: Pharaoh in a Previous Life?

Bloggers and Chicago dailies have been heavily covering the striking similarity between an ancient Egyptian bust at the Field Museum and Michael Jackson.

"We really have had many requests to see the bust, both from the media and our visitors," museum curator Jim Phillips told Archaeorama.

The 3,000 year old limestone statue, complete with a partially disintegrated nose and rounded eyes, depicts an unidentified woman.

"This bust was purchased in Egypt in 1899, and belongs to the New Kingdom Period. It has been on display at the Museum since 1988. That is all we know about the piece," Phillips said.

Phillips said it is doubtful that Jackson used the Egyptian statue as a model for his surgically-altered face. Indeed, it is unlikely Jackson ever visited the museum.

Nevertheless, the late pop singer cut a video titled "Remember The Time" which is set against an ancient Egyptian backdrop.

Visitors swear that’s Jacko’s face on the Egyptian bust.

[Discovery.com]

Computer technology brings 300million-year-old spider fossils back to life

Fossils of 300 million-year-old spiders have been brought to life with computer technology.

Scientists used a CT scan to generate three dimensional images of two of the creatures, Cryptomartus hindi and Eophrynus prestivicii.

Both were around the size of a 50p piece and they lived during the Carboniferous period, before the age of the dinosaurs.

[Read More @ Daily Mail]

The Math of Surviving a Zombie Attack

It is possible to successfully fend off a zombie attack, according to Canadian mathematicians. The key is to “hit hard and hit often.”

Oh yes, somebody actually did a study on mathematics of a hypothetical zombie attack, and published it in a book on infectious disease. So, while we still don’t know what to do if a deadly asteroid takes aim at Earth, an unlikely but technically possible situation, we now know what to do in case of a zombie attack.

“An outbreak of zombies is likely to be disastrous, unless extremely aggressive tactics are employed against the undead,” the authors wrote. “It is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble.”

[Read More @ Wired]

We have a 'right to starlight,' astronomers say

The public's "right to starlight" is steadily being eroded by urban illumination that is the bane of astronomers everywhere, the International Astronomical Union said on Friday.

The body, which wrapped up an 11-day general assembly in Rio de Janeiro that attracted galaxy-gazers from around the world, argued that authorities should use more unobtrusive lighting in cities and towns.

Such moves would not only free up the night skies to make for easier viewing but also promote environmental protection, energy savings and tourism, it said in a resolution.

"The progressive degradation of the night sky should be regarded as a fundamental loss," the union said.

It asserted that being able to see the stars "should be considered a fundamental socio-cultural and environmental right."

One Brazilian astronomer, Augusto Daminelli, told the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper that in Rio, "it should be possible to see up to 5,000 stars with the naked eye -- but because of light pollution we can only see 150."

He noted that nearly a third of electric lighting is directed to the heavens, and thus wasted.

Possible solutions include putting aluminum covers on street lighting to direct the illumination downwards, and using weaker, more energy-efficient lamps, he said.

"More than two billion people in the world are unable to see the Milky Way. For us, the sky is a heritage site for mankind," he said.

[Physorg]

The Dead in Wax: Aphrodites of the Operating Theater

La Specola is home to a collection of visible women and men, medical teaching aids that comprise some of the finest examples of ceroplasty, the art of modeling anatomical specimens in wax.

La Specola's waxworks are wondrous strange, indeed---a pathological beauty pageant worthy of Cronenberg's wildest dreams. "Le Grazie Smontate,"the "Dissected Graces" of the master modeler Clemente Susini (1754-1814), is a trio of recumbent young women, their tresses spilling over their shoulders, their shapely legs gracefully arranged, the fat, yellow sausages of their intestines coiled neatly on their disemboweled torsos. Gazing languorously up at the viewer, one grace toys girlishly with a braid, her modesty intact despite her bared entrails. Another sloe-eyed beauty flaunts a pert rosebud of a nipple, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that her breast hangs from a flap of flesh peeled back to expose her heart.

[BoingBoing]