; Phantoms and Monsters: Pulse of the Paranormal

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Fortean / Alternative News: 'Beyond the Edge' Radio, Shakespeare's Reefer Madness and Hawaii Light Burst


This Week on 'Beyond the Edge' Radio: Demonologist and Paranormal Investigators Keith And Sandra Johnson

Tune in this Sunday night at 10:00 pm est as Eric, Lon and the Forkchop welcome Keith and Sandra Johnson founders of NEAR - New England Anomolies Research!

Keith and Sandra are regularly called upon to assist individuals in dealing with alleged malevolent paranormal phenomena or potential inhuman infestation in their homes and together have over 40 years of experience as paranormal investigators.

Keith has had an interest in the paranormal since he was a teenager when he had phenomena occur in his own home. In the seventies, he was a member of the paranormal research group Parapsychology Investigation & Research Organization, out of RI College.

Keith has been featured on the SciFi channel’s Ghost Hunters, as a consulting demonologist, and both he and Sandra are former core members of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS).

They have been featured as demonology consultants in two first season episodes of the A&E series Paranormal State as well as assisting with documentaries dealing with the paranormal including New Gravity Media’s ‘14 Degrees’.

The pair are co-founders of New England Anomalies Research and host a local TV talk show dealing with paranormal topics called Ghosts R N.E.A.R. which airs locally in Rhode Island and can also be seen online.

Keith is the author of the ‘Paranormal Realities’ book series that chronicle his experiences as a paranormal investigator. Books I & II have been published and subsequent books are in the works and due for future release.

You can learn more about them by visiting www.nearparanormal.com.

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Mysterious bubble-like light burst seen over Hawaii

Footage of this incredible bubble-like burst of light in the night sky was captured by cameras at an astronomical observatory in Hawaii.

Sky watchers have been flooding internet forums with speculation about the burst, filmed by a webcam mounted on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea.

Captured in time-lapse footage, the glowing sphere takes several minutes to expand until it virtually fills the frame - then it vanishes as mysteriously as it appeared.

Theories as the cause of the mysterious luminous sphere have ranged from the opening of an inter-dimensional portal to the future to a battle between two alien starships.

But the most likely explanation is that is shows a U.S. Minuteman III inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), ejecting fuel as it enters the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere.

The time-lapse footage shows the night horizon filled with stars, when suddenly an ethereal arc pops into view.

It rapidly expands, forming a circular shell which grows as it travels across the horizon, then fades as it fills the view.

According to Discover Magazine's Bad Astronomy blog, the soap bubble-like characteristics of the light burst indicate that it has been caused by a 'sudden impulse of energy and rapid expansion of material'.

Citing online astronomy forums, Bad Astronomy reveals that a Minuteman III ICBM had been scheduled to launch from Vandenburg Air Force Base, California, three minutes before the burst was observed, at about 3:35am Hawaii time.

The stars of the Cassiopeia constellation are visible in the horizon behind the burst, indicating that the webcam was pointed north-east - towards the base and the missile's probable flight path.

Again citing internet forums, the blog speculates the burst could have caused by a charges in the missile's third stage detonating to kill its thrust as it arcs across the Earth.

At a pre-determined moment, ports in the side of this section of the missile are blown open by explosive charges, allowing remaining fuel to be dumped fast.

This rapid fuel dump cuts the missile's thrust at precisely the right time allowing the warhead to be targeted with devastating accuracy at the right spot back on the surface of the Earth.

As the missile is above most of the Earth's atmosphere at this point, when the fuel gas is suddenly ejected it blows away from the missile in a perfect sphere - which could explain the bubble-like characteristics of the light.

For this explanation, the timing seems to be right. However, it is only a theory and there has not yet been any official confirmation of the claims. - dailymail

Click for video

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Did Shakespeare have reefer madness?

Did Shakespeare smoke weed? University of the Witwatersrand anthropologist Francis Thackeray thinks he did. He'd like a chance to prove that, and also learn more about the Bard's life and death, by digging up his body. (Maybe they'll also determine if Shakespeare was Shakespeare, but that's another story.) In 2001, Thackeray and his colleagues unearthed pipes in Shakespeare's garden that tested positive for marijuana, cocaine, and other substances. From RAW Story:

Wikipedia Commons A A2 Shakespeare "We have incredible techniques," Thackeray told Fox News. "We don't intend to move the remains at all..."

"The pipes we tested still had dirt in them which preserved the residues inside the stem and bowl," Van der Merwe said. "The readings we got were the same as if it had tested a modern-day crack pipe."

Camphor, myristic acid, and quinoline were among other substances detected in the pipes.

"Myristic acid, which is found in nutmeg, has hallucinogenic properties, and camphor, perhaps, was used to hide the smell of tobacco or other substances," Thackeray noted in 2001.

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'Whitebirk witches' given anti-social behaviour orders

Two girls who were known as the "Whitebirk witches" have been given anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) for terrorising their neighbours.

Amanda Holt, 16, and Tori Duxbury, 15, caused problems for people living in the Whitebirk area of Blackburn, magistrates were told.

Police said they received a "catalogue of complaints" about the pair.

They included intimidating people, throwing stones at cars, damaging property, shouting and swearing.

Police said one resident felt like a prisoner in his own home and would keep his lights off after dark so the girls did not know he was home.

He also checked they were not outside before leaving his home.

The Asbos - which are in place for two years - prevent the girls from entering an area of Whitebirk, except when Duxbury is in the company of her mother.

They are also banned from being outdoors in a public place in Blackburn between 2200 and 0500 BST until 31 December.
'Targeted the vulnerable'

The pair cannot see each other or six other youths, nor can they act or incite others to act in an anti-social manner.

Pc Tom Sanford, of Lancashire Police, said: "The behaviour of these two girls has been unbearable for the other people living in the area.

"They targeted many properties and residents, many of whom were vulnerable.

"We are committed to making sure Blackburn is not blighted by this type of behaviour and will continue to use tactics such as Asbos to rid local communities of such nuisance."

Linda Clegg, Blackburn with Darwen Council's director of children's, safeguarding and protection services, said the local authority was working with the girls and their families to ensure they adhered to the orders. - BBC