Just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy Halloween today! One of my favorite "holidays". I guess I'm too old to celebrate this one, but I love surfin the web and seeing all the creative costumes out there. I just found this one over on an Etsy contest - some really great ones there.
So Be safe and have a good time!
At this time of year I always have a bit of melancholy feeling for a "hobby" that I've since given up... Ghost chasing. Yep, I was part of one of those groups that would go into a "supposed" haunted place and look for signs of the paranormal. In 99.9% of the times that I went out to these places there were only 2 times that I can say that I was actually afraid. The first one was a sort of "unofficial" investigation with just my friend and I. We went to a local cemetery to see what we could see. We had been to this location several times in the past and always seemed to have something interesting happen (I got one of my best "ghost photos" there). But this particular night, we wandered into a new section of the cemetery, and I had an uncomfortable feeling. My stomach was physically upset (maybe something I ate for dinner?). But here's the weird part... I was standing at a sort of "crossroads" of 2 paths, when I thought I heard whispers. It sounded like 2 people were fighting off in the distance. My friend who was with me looked at me too and said "did you hear that?" "yea" I said. So I suggested, I think we should leave this area... he agreed. Later he told me he had heard the sound of a baby crying. (I did not hear that though). Never went back to that section again.
The other time I got "spooked" was really nothing but a trick of my mind... I was on an "investigation" of a historic building. It was an old canoe club that went back to the 1800's. At one point I wandered off down into the basement with a teammate. I was in charge of videotaping. Well, I wasn't really paying attention to my teammate, and they had wandered back upstairs. I was too interested in looking at all the boating equipment and junk that was down in the basement via my infrared camera. Then I realized I was alone (not supposed to be alone on these investigations). I pulled my camera down and suddenly realized how pitch black it was! I then sorta high-tailed it outta there :)
Do I believe in ghosts? I still ask myself that question from time to time. I've NEVER seen anything paranormal with my own eyes. BUT... I've heard "whispers" in areas where I should not have. I've seen "evidence" on film. I've heard strange "knocks". I have one AWESOME video tape of what I am 99% convinced is a spirit saying "hi" that still gives me chills when I hear it. So I guess I'm pretty positive that there is something paranormal out there.
BOO!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
UFO in PA
This item has been making a flutter in my "google news" updates for UFO related news. I don't hold much hope for any new information regarding this, but at the same time I'm glad NASA is being held accountable. I had never heard about the Kecksburg incident before until about a few years ago. It may have even been on the Sci-fi Channel that this Wired news item talks about. Turns out it was an event similar to the famous Roswell incident, but with much quicker military involvement (Guess they learned from the 1947 event) so it involved a quicker coverup. Nutshell... Something LARGE crashed into the rural woods in Kecksburg, PA on Dec 9th 1965.
As with almost ALL UFO stories it has a lot of the same elements... Supposed crash site in a rural area. Eye-witnesses giving mixed accounts of what they saw. Military swooping in and confiscating "evidence" - then as usual - denying any evidence ever existed. Then increased suspicious activity from the Government agencies regarding what they were doing there and what (if anything) may have been found.
Good wikipedia article on it here.
I hope to keep an internet ear open for developing stories on this one.
I'm gonna try a new feature of google here too... I'll try to "embed" a map of kecksburg, PA below. If you don't see anything, it's not you, it's probably Google working out the kinks.
View Larger Map
As with almost ALL UFO stories it has a lot of the same elements... Supposed crash site in a rural area. Eye-witnesses giving mixed accounts of what they saw. Military swooping in and confiscating "evidence" - then as usual - denying any evidence ever existed. Then increased suspicious activity from the Government agencies regarding what they were doing there and what (if anything) may have been found.
Good wikipedia article on it here.
I hope to keep an internet ear open for developing stories on this one.
I'm gonna try a new feature of google here too... I'll try to "embed" a map of kecksburg, PA below. If you don't see anything, it's not you, it's probably Google working out the kinks.
View Larger Map
Monday, October 29, 2007
Movie: Dan in real life
I forgot to post about this movie over the weekend!
I'm going to give this one a reluctant "green light". I think the reason for this is mainly due to Steve Carell. Steve's a good actor... Well, he still (like many other great actors) is a bit one dimensional but still he manages to always pull it off. My biggest complaint about this movie is that it was SO SAPPY! It's basically a chick-flick - thus explains the sappiness i guess. But overall it's still a good story which is what I like. There were some pretty good one-liners in there too. The dynamic between "Dan" and his daughters was pretty funny. I've also gotta say that Dane Cook impressed me both in his acting and his singing voice!
An example of the sappiness? Well, the setup is that this large family gathers at the parents house in the resort town of Nantucket (I think that's where it was supposed to be). Well, the brothers and sisters are all 30-40 something, some have kids, etc... well it was kinda like watching a norman rockwell painting come to life. Family games, family talent show, family bowling, family football game, etc... Just a little over the top for me.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
politics
I've been pretty disgusted with politics lately. I've been trying to kinda wash my hands of it all. I'm tired of all the rampant roughshod trampling of both laws, rights, and even truth, that the current administration is getting away with. And what frustrates me even more if that the people who are put in place to supposedly keep these guys in check are pretty much letting them do whatever they want (I'm speaking to you Democrats).
I'm baffled that "news agencies" are not seen for what they are... twisted propaganda machines.
Well, I read today's blog post via my bloglines subscription to "news hounds" and it's further "evidence" to me that I just want to wash my hands of it all. At the same time I'm scared that if we all just wash our hands, then the current administration will continue to just do what they want.
So first... this bit of disturbing news and video of some guys LAUGHING about dropping a bomb on Iran. Why is this such a big joke to these guys? (Including the prez, if you saw that video - in my best "lewis black" imitation... "Son of a Bi***" I was trying to find the video of this and instead stumbled upon Hilary Clinton laughing about the war with Iran.). Scroll down to the bottom video to see what I'm referring to.
[edit] I was gonna say "some guys" but that's not good enough... The man's name who is LAUGHING about bombing a country and taking our country into a third "war" is named FRED BARNES. Who is Fred? He is the executive editor of The Weekly Standard. Former senior editor for the New Republic. (I don't even want to link to these websites, but I will).
Here is his wikipedia entry, though it doesn't look like much is there. Here is his glowing bio on Fox News.
On the plus side...
I just heard a rumor that Kucinich is going to try to re-introduce the big "i" word again supposedly before thanksgiving.
I'm baffled that "news agencies" are not seen for what they are... twisted propaganda machines.
Well, I read today's blog post via my bloglines subscription to "news hounds" and it's further "evidence" to me that I just want to wash my hands of it all. At the same time I'm scared that if we all just wash our hands, then the current administration will continue to just do what they want.
So first... this bit of disturbing news and video of some guys LAUGHING about dropping a bomb on Iran. Why is this such a big joke to these guys? (Including the prez, if you saw that video - in my best "lewis black" imitation... "Son of a Bi***" I was trying to find the video of this and instead stumbled upon Hilary Clinton laughing about the war with Iran.). Scroll down to the bottom video to see what I'm referring to.
[edit] I was gonna say "some guys" but that's not good enough... The man's name who is LAUGHING about bombing a country and taking our country into a third "war" is named FRED BARNES. Who is Fred? He is the executive editor of The Weekly Standard. Former senior editor for the New Republic. (I don't even want to link to these websites, but I will).
Here is his wikipedia entry, though it doesn't look like much is there. Here is his glowing bio on Fox News.
On the plus side...
I just heard a rumor that Kucinich is going to try to re-introduce the big "i" word again supposedly before thanksgiving.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Christopher Hitchens...
These two images won't make any sense to you unless you watched the youtube video I posted a few days ago, or I guess if you are familiar with Hitchen's work maybe.
I was watching the video (which is long, did I mention that?) and found myself staring at his unmoving figure for minutes on end. The colors of his face and light suit against the dark black background started playing tricks on my eyes. Then at one point, his hairline faded into the background, and this was what I saw! :) I just thought it too ironic not to take a little liberty with photoshop :) No Offense meant Chris.
Not Guilty
Well, I got out of Jury Duty. I admit, there was/is a small part of me that wishes that I had stayed but the bottom line was that I just couldn't afford it. Turns out the trial that I was called for was some sort of criminal trial (I didn't get any details) and it was scheduled to last 8-9 days. So even if they stayed to the estimated time, I'd be out of work almost 2 weeks! I can't afford to do that. So, it was a fairly easy process to be excused. As a matter of fact, it was kinda funny... The woman gave all of us Juror's (yes, once you check in, you are considered a Juror) a sort of crash course in what a juror is expected to do. After this talk, she said "anyone who has a schedule conflict due to this being an extended trial, please see me in the back." Well, I was on the fence at this point. I didn't know if my being "self employed" meant that I had a legitimate excuse. I figured I would mention it in front of the judge and see what he said. But during the break, I was standing in the back of the room, when a guy next to me pulled the "jury woman" (I don't remember her official title) aside and started to ask her some of the exact same questions that I had. Self-employed, 8-9 days with no pay, etc... So at this point I spoke up and basically said "me too". She took both of our names, then about 10 minutes later, she called us both and said we were excused. Woohoo! I was a little surprised that they didn't even ask any sort of questions like "what do you do for a living" or anything. But, the bottom line (which she mentioned) was that if the trial went on for a length of time that we were uncomfortable with, it would not be fair to the defendant to have a jury member sitting there wishing the trial would just be over and getting frustrated. So, it all worked out for the best I'm sure. Funny thing too... both that guy and myself have the exact same job.
As I mentioned before... I'm also a bit relieved in the sense that I don't necessarily feel comfortable judging another person's actions and having the fate of his/her life in my hands. I'd probably stand up at the end of the trial and say "Your Honor? Can't the defendant just apologize and we can all go home?"
I did get the chance to read the questionnaire though... and chances are good that I may have been excused based on those... I had a real good friend back about 15 years ago who was a police officer and sheriff. I don't know if there is a time period on what they consider a good friend though. We just sort of drifted apart and our lives went a different direction. I also have a distant relationship in my extended family who is a police officer too. So because of that I may have been excused.
AND... There was one question that really bothered me the way it was worded...
"Generally speaking, do you consider a police officer MORE likely to tell the truth or LESS likely?" what? that's a loaded question if I ever heard one. What happened to "equally"?
I don't believe a person becomes more likely to tell the truth because he is wearing a uniform or wears a gun on his belt. I also don't consider them less likely either. I would like to believe that each person has an equal ability to lie and or tell the truth, regardless of their job.
One other comment... I thought "what are the odds"... I recognized a guy there that I knew from my old church of wow... maybe 20+ years ago! He really looked the same. He looked at me, and there was no sign of recognition, nor would I expect him to recognize me. I've changed a lot since then. But, I have to wonder... what are the odds of knowing someone also called for Jury Duty.
A few side notes:
I only saw 2 black people in all of the potential jurors (I'm gonna guess about 100 people).
I saw one Asian.
I saw 3-4 Hispanics.
I saw one Biker dude... had on jeans (as did I, several guys had jeans on), a T-shirt for a local biker club, and tattoos, and long hair braided in the back. (I overheard him say he knew someone on the list of witnesses, and defendants... I wonder if he knew the guy on trial?)
Everyone else was white, and I'd guess the average age to be about 45 and up.
At one point about 15-20 people raised their hands to say that they were state employees! That was almost 20%! That surprised me.
As I mentioned before... I'm also a bit relieved in the sense that I don't necessarily feel comfortable judging another person's actions and having the fate of his/her life in my hands. I'd probably stand up at the end of the trial and say "Your Honor? Can't the defendant just apologize and we can all go home?"
I did get the chance to read the questionnaire though... and chances are good that I may have been excused based on those... I had a real good friend back about 15 years ago who was a police officer and sheriff. I don't know if there is a time period on what they consider a good friend though. We just sort of drifted apart and our lives went a different direction. I also have a distant relationship in my extended family who is a police officer too. So because of that I may have been excused.
AND... There was one question that really bothered me the way it was worded...
"Generally speaking, do you consider a police officer MORE likely to tell the truth or LESS likely?" what? that's a loaded question if I ever heard one. What happened to "equally"?
I don't believe a person becomes more likely to tell the truth because he is wearing a uniform or wears a gun on his belt. I also don't consider them less likely either. I would like to believe that each person has an equal ability to lie and or tell the truth, regardless of their job.
One other comment... I thought "what are the odds"... I recognized a guy there that I knew from my old church of wow... maybe 20+ years ago! He really looked the same. He looked at me, and there was no sign of recognition, nor would I expect him to recognize me. I've changed a lot since then. But, I have to wonder... what are the odds of knowing someone also called for Jury Duty.
A few side notes:
I only saw 2 black people in all of the potential jurors (I'm gonna guess about 100 people).
I saw one Asian.
I saw 3-4 Hispanics.
I saw one Biker dude... had on jeans (as did I, several guys had jeans on), a T-shirt for a local biker club, and tattoos, and long hair braided in the back. (I overheard him say he knew someone on the list of witnesses, and defendants... I wonder if he knew the guy on trial?)
Everyone else was white, and I'd guess the average age to be about 45 and up.
At one point about 15-20 people raised their hands to say that they were state employees! That was almost 20%! That surprised me.
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