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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Daily 2 Cents: Crop Circle Still Unexplained -- Spirituality = Lower Depression Risk -- Visitor In My Bedroom


Crop circle still unexplained

Perhaps aliens got lost on the way to Area 51.

Or a CSU Monterey Bay student came up with a creative capstone project.

An elaborate crop circle in a barley field about six miles southeast of Salinas appeared to have landed from out of nowhere Monday, when a YouTube video depicting its alleged discovery made its way onto the Internet.

By late afternoon, news of the circle outside Chualar had drawn curious onlookers from throughout the Salinas Valley.

Stamped in the middle of the field, the design covered about an acre and looked like a strange computer chip with dots in the middle that some Internet observers interpreted as either Braille or Morse code.

Most crop circle enthusiasts were quick to call it a hoax.

But with the landowner apparently unaware of how it happened, theories were multiplying all over the Internet by press time.
Security guards from San Jose-based Echelon Security were outside the property Monday morning. They said they could not reveal their client, only that they had been hired to stop the area from "becoming a circus."

Ben Johnson, one of the guards, said the circle appeared either Sunday or Monday morning.

The guards were happy to lead reporters to the circle. From ground level it looked like nothing but trampled-on grass cut at different angles.

A representative from the company at its San Jose headquarters said he could not reveal when the firm was hired or who the client was.

The property belongs to Scott and Debbie Anthony. Reached at home where she was ill in bed, Debbie Anthony said she'd heard about the spectacle but knew nothing other than what she was seeing in news reports. Scott Anthony could not be reached for comment.

A man who identified himself as Hector at the ranch office said he had not been able to get out to the field to inspect the design.

In the 2½-minute YouTube video posted Monday morning, two men appear to drive along Chualar Canyon Road before sunrise and see flashing lights in a field.

They get out of a compact car, hop a fence and enter a pushed-down area of weeds on a cultivated field.

"Dude," says one man, "are you seeing this?"

Among the first people to spot the crop circle from above were Julie and Pat Belanger, co-owners of the 111th Aerial Photography Squadron company.

Julie Belanger said they were flying in a Robinson R44 helicopter from South County Airport in San Martin toward Carmel when they spotted the circle.

"Flying through that area is not always very exciting," Belanger said, "and then, all of a sudden, that thing's there."

She said she had never seen anything like it in 20 years of aerial photography.

"I don't know about aliens," she said, "but someone very creative put it there."

Joe Pezzini, chief operating officer of Ocean Mist Farms, one of the largest growers in Monterey County, said he'd "never heard about (crop circles) around here."

The circles are typically discounted as hoaxes, and at times their creators come forward. But there are dedicated researchers throughout the country who try to verify their authenticity.

Jeffrey Wilson of the Independent Crop Circle Researchers Association said there was a "dead giveaway" this circle was a hoax.

He said it was too aligned with the man-made road, looked like human-invented Braille in the center, and the YouTube clip seemed similar to guerrilla-marketing techniques Wilson has seen.

"My guess is that ... it is commissioned work for an advertisement," he said. "Or a commissioned work for a production company making a documentary on crop circles or for some kind of film."

Wilson said it seemed to fit the mold of one professional crop circle-making group, Circlemakers.org, which has done work for the BBC, Nike, History Channel and others.

An email sent late Monday to the company was not answered by press time.

Crop circle researcher Nancy Talbott of the BLT Research Team in Cambridge, Mass., said that at first glance the Chualar circle appeared man-made.

"I looks very mechanical," she said. "... It doesn't look the way most of the genuine circles I've worked on look. That doesn't mean I'm right. - Monterey Herald

The Heck Hypothesis: Crop Circles Unveiled - Highly recommended...Lon

The Heck Hypothesis: Crop Circle Insight

Crop Circles: The Bones of God

**********

Spirituality linked to lower depression risk

For people at high risk of depression because of a family history, spirituality may offer some protection for the brain, a new study hints.

Parts of the brain's outer layer, the cortex, were thicker in high-risk study participants who said religion or spirituality was "important" to them versus those who cared less about religion.

"Our beliefs and our moods are reflected in our brain and with new imaging techniques we can begin to see this," Myrna Weissman told Reuters Health. "The brain is an extraordinary organ. It not only controls, but is controlled by our moods."

Weissman, who worked on the new study, is a professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University and chief of the Clinical-Genetic Epidemiology department at New York State Psychiatric institute.

While the new study suggests a link between brain thickness and religiosity or spirituality, it cannot say that thicker brain regions cause people to be religious or spiritual, Weissman and her colleagues note in JAMA Psychiatry.

It might hint, however, that religiosity can enhance the brain's resilience against depression in a very physical way, they write.

Previously, the researchers had found that people who said they were religious or spiritual were at lower risk of depression. They also found that people at higher risk for depression had thinning cortices, compared to those with lower depression risk.

The cerebral cortex is the brain's outermost layer made of gray matter that forms the organ's characteristic folds. Certain areas of the cortex are important hubs of neural activity for processes such as sensory perception, language and emotion.

For the new study, the researchers twice asked 103 adults between the ages of 18 and 54 how important religion or spirituality was to them and how often they attended religious services over a five-year period.

In addition to being asked about spirituality, the participants' brains were imaged once to see how thick their cortices were.

All the participants were the children or grandchildren of people who participated in an earlier study about depression. Some had a family history of depression, so they were considered to be at high risk for the disorder. Others with no history served as a comparison group.

Overall, the researchers found that the importance of religion or spirituality to an individual - but not church attendance - was tied to having a thicker cortex. The link was strongest among those at high risk of depression.

"What we're doing now is looking at the stability of it," Weissman said.

Her team is taking more images of the participants' brains to see whether the size of the cortex changes with their religiosity or spirituality.

"This is a way of replicating and validating the findings," she said. "That work is in process now."

Dr. Dan Blazer, the J.P. Gibbons Professor of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, said the study is very interesting but is still exploratory.

"I think this tells us it's an area to look at," Blazer, who was not involved in the new study, said. "It's an area of interest but we have to be careful."

For example, he said there could be other areas of the brain linked to religion and spirituality. Also, spirituality may be a marker of something else, such as socioeconomic status.

Blazer added that it's an exciting time, because researchers are actively looking at links between the brain, religion and risk of depression.

"We've seen this field move from a time when there were virtually no studies done at all," he said.

Weissman said the mind and body are intimately connected.

"What this means therapeutically is hard to say," she added. - JAMA

**********

Visitor in my bedroom

Hi Lon,

I`d like to share a terrifying experience i had a few weeks back whilst in bed.

It starts with me in a dream, based around everyday things which leads me back to my bedroom. I`m then aware of being asleep in my bed and dreaming....if that makes sense. As I lay on my side quite comfortable with all of this I become aware a "person" in my bedroom but dont seem to care. (I put this down to my feeling of calm and contentment perhaps?) With eyes still shut I hear this person begin to move towards me and I feel the impression of something rectangular(around the same size as a matchbox) on the side of my head. Strange humming noises begin to fill the inside of my head that trigger a strange messed up memory. Fear engulfs me for I know that I cant do anything about what happens next. I begin shouting and crying like a child for a few seconds, even begging someone to help me. Then everything goes dark, blank and then quiet. I then open my eyes to find myself still on my side with dried tears on my cheeks.

The following morning whilst showering I noticed a 3cm(approx) line cut just below my right shoulder. I`m a nail biter. so I was puzzled as to how I did that in my sleep.

**********

TODAY'S TOP LINKS

UFOs 2013 - The Good The Bad And The Ugly

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Recently Reported Alien Encounters


The following entity related reports were recently entered into the MUFON CMS:

(Note: MUFON reacted personal information) - One summer between 1972 and 1973,in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the vicinity of Melrose & Virgil, N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] and S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] experienced a form of alien contact. It was between 3 & 4 in the afternoon and they were sitting at opposite ends of N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] 10-ft sofa. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] was straddling the large, padded, round arm end, of the couch and S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] was sitting in a chair at the other end of the couch. That was unusual because they normally sat close together, as they talked. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] said they were bored and just making small talk when she distinctly said to S [Item Moved/CMS/nd], “You are changing and you have a big head”. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] noticed that S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] face had changed. S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] face was smoky white with a large cranial area that tapered down to a pointed chin that was rounded at the tip of the jaw. The eyes were large and medium gray and covered approximately 1/3 of the face. The face had no wrinkles or hair and she felt the face was like a triangle, large at the top and tapering down to a pointed chin. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] didnt see any ears or eyebrows and the vision lasted more than 1 minute and less than 5 minutes. The being had a small mouth that was closed and it was like a slit or a line with no lips. The attached picture is very close to what she saw with the exception of the nose. She didnt remember seeing a pronounced nose or defined nostrils on the face. In the area of where a nose would be, she thinks she saw 2 small dots. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] did not remember receiving any telepathic thoughts or messages. The face did not move or show any type of expression and though she had no knowledge of what she was seeing it brought her a peaceful feeling. When N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] told S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] that she was changing, S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] replied that Norma’s face was also changing in the same manner. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] now had a big head and big eyes and S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] was no more frightened by the experience than N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] was. When talking about the experience, S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] would say it was all very weird.

N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] and S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] would talk about the strange event over the years and neither one could understand what their weird experience was all about. Not until the book Communion by Whitley Strieber that was published in Feb of 1987 did they have a better understanding of UFO’s and aliens. However, both had very different viewpoints on what they experienced after reading the book. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] still feels that the experience was positive and is still searching for answers on what she experienced. S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] stopped talking about the event after she read the book. She became completely silent and refuses to talk about the matter to this day. S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] felt it was an evil presence and as time went on she could barely remember the incident and in time she has completely forgotten the event and will not discuss it. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] had on several occasions and just recently asked S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] about the experience. However S [Item Moved/CMS/nd] says she no longer remembers the incident and remained silent when questioned about the event. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] feels she won’t discuss it with anyone else.

I asked N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] if she had any prior knowledge of the subject of UFO’s and she had none whatsoever. It wasnt until she read the book Communion and saw the picture of the gray headed alien on the cover of the book that everything fell into place and made more sense. N [Item Moved/CMS/nd] felt the experience was positive because the face conveyed a very friendly and peaceful appearance. It wasnt scary and it emanated a high level of consciousness as if you were looking at a Buddha or another religious deity. It’s as close to a religious experience that she ever felt.

She now believes that what happened to Shirley and her was an encounter with an out-of-this-world being. - MUFON CMS

**********

Tarzana, CA - 6/16/1969 - unedited: It happened many years ago when I was about 10 or 11 years old. It was nice whether. I went to my friends house. we all went outside to ride our bikes. This was a populated neighborhood with flat streets in Tarzana Ca. for riding bikes and not much car traffic. There was a long driveway with a graduated slant up, that we could all get our bikes up to the top and then turn around to ride down with some speed and when you get to the bottom where the driveway meets the street you have to go right or left so we always went right and raced each other down the driveway then right down the street back to her house..just a normal playing on an average day, nothing was different UNTIL I decided to go up the driveway one more time by myself for one more ride, as soon as I got to the top I noticed what I thought was kid riding a bike from the main part of the property that was wooded, seemed broken down and deshoveled, you could not see in the area that he came from, like outta nowhere, so I stood there while he rode over to me, Believe it or not he was on a boys bike with a sissy bar even, he was dressed in a red shirt with jeans,I noticed he was not very well versed and very shaky on the bike and noticed he had very thin long feet, but as he got closer I saw his head size was huge, his, what would be eyes were very large and black almond shaped taking up most of his face and up to his forehead, the whole face was like almond shaped. I cant remember a mouth or a nose or even ears, it was grayish white head and face, funny I do remember a hairline type black in color but not hair it was like smooth flush to the face and head, he had a very small frame extremely thin, but then when I looked at this fingers on the handlebars they were VERY LONG and thin and distorted not like ours even the hand part from the wrist was very elongated and were the same color as his head. The clothes he had on covered everything except his head and his hands the next thing you know he was face to face with me looking right at me and never looked away, never blinked and had a deadpan look while staring at me. I remember my thoughts flooding in to make sense of what I was seeing yet the weird physical deformations were not like anything I had ever seen before,Then I remember I was frozen, where I stood stradeling my bike, the reason I remember this is because I wanted to flee when I was terrified (kinda like when someone jumps out to scare you) That knee jerk reaction But absolutely I could not move or speak or even make a sound. Then next thing I know I was able to break away, I jumped on my bike terrified rode as fast as I could back to my friends house where to my dismay all the kids were in house eating with the TV on and laying around the couch Etc... I busted in the door wondering what everyone was doing in the house and eating and stuff we were just outside what happened to everyone, and did they see the freak boy. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy and to quit trying to scare them. They all looked at me like I was crazy and said they all thought I went home because they did not see me and that they had been in the house for a long time and were tired of playing, I remember I could not believe it I was very confused and I do remember feeling sorta like the odd man out all the sudden like I had done something wrong, so I left and rode my bike home, then I had to ride past that driveway and was so terrified I could barley compose myself to get home. That driveway has burned in my memory to this day I can barley drive by it I shutter everytime I go by it as an adult!

The only other thing I have ever happened to me is one night in the wee hous of driving back to LA about 8 years ago in the desert in Victorville I was the only one on the road when outta the blue in my rear view blinding bright lights White, red and blue caught my eyes speeding super fast and swooping down on the back of my car, I almost crashed trying to get outta the way, cause at first I thought it was the cops cause I was speeding but it all happened so fast and the lights covered a huge area, there was no sound. I had no idea what the hell was happening, then that fast they were gone. It freaked me out cause there was no one there, gone as fast as it came. - MUFON CMS

Aliens: Recent Encounters

Aliens in Ancient Egypt: The Brotherhood of the Serpent and the Secrets of the Nile Civilization

Earth: An Alien Enterprise: The Shocking Truth Behind the Greatest Cover-Up in Human History




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Monday, December 30, 2013

Drawing Energy


I recently received the following anecdote from a new reader:

I just stumbled on your website...well, not stumbled, actually, but was led there after watching a video on YouTube about Ted Bundy's ghost which mentioned 'Phantoms & Monsters.' Needless to say, I found your site to be quite interesting. One of the first things I read, out of curiosity, was Toxic Relationship or Vampire Attack by Dani Harper. This kind of peaked my interest because of something that pertains to me...or rather specifically, things that tend to occur around me and to me.

Allow me to explain: I was born prematurely in 1956, three months before I was supposed to be born. I weighed a little over 2 pounds, had a collapsed lung, and dropped to less than 2 pounds shortly after my birth. The doctor told my mother I would not survive, and she replied, "God wouldn't give me a child after twelve years just to take her away from me." He told her that if I survived the night, and start to put on weight, I just might live, but it would be a miracle.

In those days, they did not have neonatal intensive care units like they do today. I was put in a regular nursery with other babies. My father told me many times that babies who were healthy and normal started to die, and I began to thrive. I was so tiny that the wristband they were supposed to put on me, which just barely fit my father's thumb, fell off, so they had to pin it to my clothing.

Even nowadays, I find I can "draw" energy from around me. I used to belong to a coven in West Long Branch, NJ. We would all gather together for rituals during the full moon or on certain holidays, like Yule. On one such occasion, we gathered and then broke the circle to meditate together. The fireplace was lit and the room was very warm, but once we started to meditate, everyone stated how cold the room suddenly got, and began to shiver. I was the only one who was warm...and quite, well, content. Thunderstorms with lightning make me feel quite energized, and on another occasion, while in Manhattan for the Fourth of July, a friend and I decided to sit in Tompkins Square Park...my little girl was with us...and I told my friend to sit across from me...hold out her hands beneath mine, and let her mind go blank. I concentrated, and she said she felt a ball of energy between our hands and suddenly my daughter screamed with glee, and, my friend, gasped; around us must have been a hundred fireflies....just around us.

I've always known I was "different"....yes, I guess I relate to the whole "psychic vampire" thing. D

NOTE: It took me a fair amount of time to learn how to draw and store energy. When you mention that to most people they look at you like you're crazy...but I feel it is a natural ability that has been lost by a civilized society. Of course, there are some who use their energy-drawing ability to cause harm...which is unfortunate. It has been used against me and others I know on occasion. Nonetheless, it is an essential tool for those who heal others, as well as those who combat malevolent entities. Lon

-----

Who are these 'energy or psychic vampires?'

While they may not suck the blood out of you, they do drain your energies leaving you depressed and irritable say Wiccans.

If you've ever been in a crowded train or party and come back home feeling physically sick, angry, cranky, or irritable for no reason, you were probably subjected to an attack from a psychic vampire according to Sangeeta Krishnan, High Priestess, Maya Wicca Tradition.

How to identify a 'psychic vampire'?

Shahrukh Vazir, a tarot reader and East Indian mystic, says, "People associate the word vampire with blood sucking creatures, however the concept of a 'psychic vampire' is slightly different because they do not suck your blood but drain you of your psychic energy. You can come across a psychic vampire anywhere - a screaming baby that makes you irritable, a crowded train, a walk in the hot sun. But if there is a problem, there is a solution to it. There are ways to protect oneself from this loss of energy. To start off, we should be aware that one is loosing psychic energy. Next, it is important to want to retain this energy. This intention is enough to shield oneself."

How spiritual healing can protect you?

Sangeeta adds, "Not everyone is vulnerable to a psychic attack. If you are well grounded, and your 'spiritual immunity' is high, you will be protected from all kinds of psychic attacks. If you identify a place or person that drains your energy (whether or not it is unintentional or malicious), the simplest way to deal with it in the short term is by staying away from the person/place/object. You can also visualize a bright, golden sphere surrounding your body that diverts all negative energy. One very simple way of protection is salt. Salt crystals are powerful protectors of energy and one of the best ways to protect yourself using salt is to put a fistful of pure, uniodized sea salt in your bath water. Crystals like obsidian and tourmaline can be placed at a spot or carried around as they absorb negative energy. Smudging a house (or yourself) with dhoop or smoke of frankincense is another way to energize and strengthen your auric field and prevent psychic attacks."

Mandaar Naik, who is also a mystic, believes in the power of spiritual healing and faith. He says, "Every living body in the universe is surrounded by invisible energy, which we often refer to as an 'aura'. It's channelized with each other, knowingly or unknowingly. All of us draw energy from each other, as well as send it. However, there are some people who are knowingly or unknowingly drawing energies from other people. Such individuals are like 'energy/psychic vampires'. To avoid becoming a victim, one can turn to Reiki, chanting mantras and practicing meditation. You can also use tantras eg. Shiv-Swar shastra are tools to shield one self from such people." - timesofindia

Click for video - Psychic Vampires (How to Recognize and Protect Yourself From an Energy Vampire)

Read Michelle Belanger's online edition of the Psychic Vampire Codex or buy it The Psychic Vampire Codex: A Manual of Magick and Energy Work - Other good sources are The Demoniacal: Psychic Vampire and The Empath & The Psychic Vampire...Lon

Psychic Vampires: Protection from Energy Predators & Parasites

The Psychic Vampires Guide: To Subtle Body Language and Psionics

The Psychic Energy Codex: A Manual For Developing Your Subtle Senses

Daily 2 Cents: Strange Creature in Oregon? -- Mysterious Pentagram Appears in Kazakhstan -- Multiple Eyewitness Encounter


Fact or Faked? Strange Creature In The Forests Of Oregon

Click for video - Strange Creature In The Forests Of Oregon, USA

A reader sent this video to me...and asked for my opinion.

The footage appeared on the Audio Color World YouTube channel and shows an od humanoid entity crouching down at the side of a road.

Appears to be CGI...and not very well one as compared to others I've seen. What do you think?

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UK police recall 'paranormal' reports

Police may be used to mysteries but one person rang the Devon and Cornwall force to report he had been visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past.

The caller from Saltash presumably wanted officers to alert the team from the film Ghostbusters – or even Scooby Doo’s gang.

They may have been reading A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, where Scrooge is haunted by the spectre.

Figures released by 17 forces in England and Wales show that hundreds have called 999 to report supernatural activity.

Logs show 277 requests for urgent assistance because of “extra-terrestial” or “paranormal” activity in the last three years.

Most complain of ghosts or spirits which have possessed someone.

One train passenger said there were witches and warlocks travelling on a train from Edinburgh to London.

A caller in Hertfordshire told officers their partner was “some kind of vampire”.

One unfortunate man believed there was a ghost in his house and had found blood on the bathroom door. It later turned out his friends had played a prank.

Though police deal with illegal aliens of a sort, officers would have been pushed to respond to the 999 caller who claimed they had been abducted by aliens. - PlymouthHerald

The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories (Oxford Books of Prose & Verse)

Ghosts Among Us: Uncovering the Truth About the Other Side


**********

Sinister clowns roam Britain

Clowns in Britain are up in arms about impostors who are tarnishing their name by scaring people in public places.

The copycat craze, believed to have been started by a man known on Facebook as the Northampton Clown, involves people dressing as circus characters to surprise passers-by in public places.

Police in Derbyshire received 29 reports of clown sightings after social media claims a man in nearby Nottingham was dressing up and carrying balloons and a knife.

One report read: ''Caller scared as someone had tried to get in to their house - posted on Facebook that a clown had been going around village trying door handles.''

Another said: ''Caller reported having received numerous calls from concerned parents about a clown going up to the windows of houses brandishing a gun and knife, frightening residents.''

Tony Eldridge, the secretary of Clowns International, which represents the entertainers in Britain, said the problem had escalated beyond harmless fun.
''The fear of clowns - coulrophobia - is a real thing, some people will react very badly to this.

''This has nothing to do with clowning. It's a small group of people with stupid views and it spoils the fun for everybody else.''

He said most legitimate entertainers followed a code of conduct that included not wearing their costumes in public.

The trend emerged when the Northampton Clown, who posts photos of himself in public places, gained nearly 200,000 ''likes'' on Facebook. - SMH

**********


Mysterious pentagram appears in Western Kazakhstan

A new Google maps mystery has appeared to rack our brains. A five-pointed star or a mysterious pentagram is 200 meters (656 feet) in diameter and is situated somewhere near Aktau and Akshukur village, Tengrinews reports referring to Lada.

The symbol etched on uninhabited lands of Western Kazakhstan can be found at +43°43'46.07'' +51°07'43.02'' on the Google Maps.

No one can explain the origins of the pentagram in Aktau. The symbol has evoked superstitious associations among some internet folks. However, the hard-core realists believe the strokes of the five-point star are the marks of motor delta plane carts.

The Aktau pentagram is not the first one found in Kazakhstan. Daily Mail reported the first pentagram that appeared in Kostanai Oblast, some 12 miles from Lisakovsk town earlier this year. There were several explanations of the mysterious five-pointed star of around 365 meters (1,200 feet) in diameter situated on the shore of a desolate lake in Kostanai Oblast. The Dail Mail quoted Kurt Yates, from Seattle, Washington who claims to be a pilot: “It's probably an abandoned surface to air missile site. I was a military pilot and these things are all over the place in areas that use(d) Russian (Soviet) air defense systems.” He said that the shape is linked with the tracking radars work during the Soviets. However the conspiracy theory was proved wrong, when archeologist Emma Usmanova told LiveScience that the pentagram was an outline of a park created sometime in the 70s. Star-shaped parks were not unusual for the Soviets as the symbol was popular.

But the question remains: is the pentagram in Aktau another remnant of the Soviet Era, or maybe something else? - TengriNews

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Multiple eyewitness encounter

Madera, Ca. - 5-1-1991 - unedited: 15 years old maybe, I was coming home to Madera from Disneyland with a church youth group around 1990 in a Chevy Sprint. We had some short range hand-held radios in each of maybe 4 or 5 cars so we wouldnt get separated in Los Angeles. It was about 2am. We got off Freeway 99 out at Ave 12 (southern outskirts of Madera)and turned left going back over the freeway facing west to take the first guy home when some girls in one of the other cars went nuts on the radio talking about a UFO. I was dozing off in the front passenger seat. The driver and the guy sitting behind me were wide awake. The other guy was completely asleep for this entire experience. When the girls started yelling about the UFO I started to wake up. As we came down off the overpass the driver slowed down as he looked at the object. Firstly, I have to say that all I ever saw was a light. My eyes were blurry from sleep. The other 2 guys, who were not prone to exaggeration at all, said that they saw a saucer shape with a rectangular window and 3 or 4 humanoid shapes in the window. Again, I just saw a light and it was about 1000 ft away and 1000 ft up. When I first saw it, it was moving very slowly from south to north (my left to right). Then it stopped still. All at once, our cars engine and lights shut off. So did the cars stereo and the hand-held radio. The driver just said, "Wow!" or "Wo!" or something like that. I asked him what happened, but he just shook his head and said he didnt do it. Then the object/light in the sky shot from its position to about 1000 ft or so to the right (north) and stopped dead still again. It didnt accelerate. It just went from 0 to full speed in an instant then stopped dead still again without slowing down. It stayed there for a second or two then it shot up again, but this time at about a 45 degree angle up and away from us into or through the atmosphere and looked like it shot right into space. Basically, when it left it looked like a shooting star going the wrong way. At the same time, the cars lights and the radios both came back on. The driver just put the Sprint back in Neutral and pushed the clutch in and started the engine back up. The guy that was sleeping was the one we dropped off first and he never even woke up until we were letting him out. I got dropped off 2nd and I ran to my door and almost dropped my keys trying to get inside because I was shaking so badly. Now that Im older I dont believe it was little green men. Im sure there is some form of life out there somewhere, but I think the military was having fun with us or testing something that night. The only thing that isnt easily explainable is the things movements. I often wonder if all I was seeing was some kind of light or projection. It just moved too fast to be believable. What happened to the car was real enough, though. I just wish I had been completely awake and my eyes had been 100%. - MUFON CMS

UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record

UFOs in Pennsylvania: Encounters with Extraterrestrials in the Keystone State

Encounter in the Pleiades: An Inside Look at UFOs


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TODAY'S TOP LINKS

2013: A Big Year For Bigfoot

English Vampire in Spain

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The Secret Influence of the Moon: Alien Origins and Occult Powers


Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting

The Untold Story of Champ: A Social History of America's Loch Ness Monster

North American Lake Monsters: Stories


Saturday, December 28, 2013

'Phantoms & Monsters' Upgrade

Hi folks...I decided today that an upgrade to the 'Phantoms & Monster' site must be done sooner than later. The amount of errors on the old template is causing problems...and compromising the archive as well as the SEO. I'm hoping that during the changeover the archive doesn't get wiped out. Anyway...I'm going to perform the change this weekend (Saturday & Sunday). Hopefully I'll be back on schedule Monday. Thanks....Lon

Update: The upgrade went well and nothing was lost. If the readers have any suggestions or notice a problem, feel free to contact me. Thanks...Lon

Friday, December 27, 2013

Daily 2 Cents: Rare Mass Piranha Attack -- Mysterious Christmas Eve ‘Boom’ in Toronto -- Quran ‘Healer’ Kills Patient


70 People Injured After Piranha Attack in Argentina

An attack by a school of carnivorous fish has injured 70 people bathing in an Argentine river, including seven children who lost parts of their fingers or toes.

Director of lifeguards Federico Cornier said Thursday that thousands of bathers were cooling off from 100-degree temperatures in the Parana River in Rosario on Wednesday when bathers suddenly began complaining of bite marks on their hands and feet.

He blamed the attack on palometas, "a type of piranha, big, voracious and with sharp teeth that can really bite."

Paramedic Alberto Manino said some children he treated lost entire digits. He told the Todo Noticias channel that city beaches were closed, but it was so hot that within a half-hour, many people went back to the water.

Officials added the heatwave was partially responsible for why the fish congregated on the river's surface. - AOL

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'I was a fairy in a past life'

Melynda Moon, a 23-year-old Canadian model, has put herself through one of the most bizarre cosmetic surgeries I’ve heard of. While most people ask their surgeons to make their nose smaller or lips fuller, Moon aimed at making her ears pointier. Why? Because she wanted to look like an elf.

“I have always had fantasies about what it would be like to be something other than human,” Moon said. “So I decided to change my appearance to look supernatural.” In August 2011, she spent $400 on a painful surgery to have her ears modified.

To achieve the desired result, the tops of Moon’s ear cartilage were skinned. Pieces were cut from the tips to form points. Her ears were almost ‘carved’ into a triangular shape, reminiscent of the Elves from the Lord of the Rings.

The two-hour long treatment was by no means easy for her. She has confessed that her ears “were really swollen and sore with a slight burning sensation.” The stitches stayed in for a couple of weeks – that’s how long it took for the skin to heal into their new ‘elven’ shape.

But Moon said that the entire process was “worth it.” “Pointed ears are the most adorable thing, and I find the elven attire so elegant. My inspiration comes from The Lord of the Rings: the long hair, dresses and the closeness to nature. When I found I could have my ears pointed I have never been so sure of something my entire life.”

It’s not just the ears, Moon dresses like an elf too. She has a subdermal implant in her hand, representing the symbol of the Legend of Zelda. Even her name isn’t original; she had it changed by deed poll to suit her new personality.

“I am drawn to elves because of their innocence, elegance and free spirit. They are a symbol of love and laughter.” Moon strongly believes she was a fairy in a previous life. In fact, she has been “obsessed with all things mythical” since childhood. When she was a teenager, Moon would Photoshop her ears to make them pointed in pictures, and use makeup to make herself look ‘elven’.

Reactions to Moon’s appearance are varied. “I have a handful of people assume I am dressed up because I have put on pointed ears. When I tell them they are real, they look pretty confused as if they are waiting for me to say ‘just kidding’ – but I am not.” Some of her friends get their kids to behave by saying that they know someone who knows Santa. “Then their children see my ears and realize their parents aren’t joking.”

To critics, Moon has just this to say: “Not everyone is going to like you for a lot of things. When you stand out, you get more grief. Ignorance is bliss. If people want to judge me because their head is so far up their ass, then that is fine by me.” That doesn’t sound too elf-like, but she does have a point. - OddityCentral

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Mysterious Christmas Eve ‘boom’ heard and felt around Toronto

Around 11 p.m. Christmas Eve, people reported hearing a loud “boom” in Toronto, Newmarket, Aurora, Belleville, Richmond Hill, and Sutton. Not only was the boom heard, but it rattled houses, leaving many to believe that a tree had fallen on their rooftop.

But so far, there hasn’t been an official explanation.

Even more mysterious is that some people reported hearing booms at other times during the day as well, ranging from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Christmas morning.

The United States Geological Service (USGS) didn’t record any seismic event in Ontario yesterday, and there were no reports to the American Meteor Society.

So what was it?

The most likely explanation is that it was a cryoseism, also known as a frost quake.

Cyroseisms are rare, localized seismic events that occur when a sudden drop in temperature freezes the groundwater, which then expands and cracks the soil and rock. The crack will release a sudden burst of explosive energy, resulting in a loud noise and the shaking of the ground. They usually occur between midnight and dawn.

Temperatures north of the city — in Newmarket, Richmond Hill, and Sutton, for example — were a chilly -20 C or colder on Christmas Eve.

On January 18, 2000, when temperatures were near -20 C in Sadowa, Ontario, 12 frost quakes were recorded in two hours.

Cryoseisms are rare, but they seem to be more common around the Great Lakes.

Two similar events took place in the U.S. in 2011 and 2007.

According to media reports, in 2011, residents in southwestern Ohio and Indiana reported being awakened by a loud boom as well as the shaking of their homes.

A similar incident occurred in 2007 in Ohio.

What is similar about these events and the Christmas Eve events is that all of them had recently experienced an ice storm.

Is this the answer to the boom of Christmas Eve? We won’t know for sure, but it does seem to be the most likely explanation.

Then again, it could just have been a very noisy Santa. - GlobalNews

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Quran ‘healer’ kills patient in Yemen

Police in Yemen arrested a Quran “healer” who allegedly cures spiritual and physical diseases by reciting verses from the Quran, after the death of a patient in northern city of Ibb, a local newspaper reported on Sunday.

Al Oula daily said that the relatives of a 23-year old woman brought her to the spiritual doctor saying she suffered from psychological problems. The husband of the newly-wedded woman said that the healer told them that she was suffering from a demonic possession and magic and that he had to use forces to treat her.

The woman died when the man trampled over her neck in an attempt to “exorcise a demon from her body”. The paper said that the husband collapsed when he heard about the death of his wife as they had only recently been married.

Quran healing centres can be found in every corner of the poverty-stricken country. Healers say that this practice can treat mental and other diseases. - GulfNews

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TODAY'S TOP LINKS

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10 Exceedingly Bizarre & Lousy Ways To Die!


The following links from ListVerse.com are two older lists that describe bizarre deaths: 10 Truly Bizarre Deaths, and Top 10 Unfortunate Or Embarrassing Deaths. Lists of this nature are always popular as they often expose the darker side of human nature. This more recent list is no exception...truly bizarre!:


Hypatia of Alexandria
415 AD

Method of Death: Murdered by monks with shells


Hypatia of Alexandria was a Greek scholar from Alexandria in Egypt, considered the first notable woman in mathematics, who also taught philosophy and astronomy. Believed to have been the reason for the strained relationship between the Imperial Prefect Orestes and the Bishop Cyril, Hypatia attracted the ire of a Christian population eager to see the two reconciled. One day in March 415, during the season of Lent, her chariot was waylaid on her route home by a Christian mob, possibly Nitrian monks led by a man identified only as Peter, who is thought to be Peter the Reader, Cyril’s assistant. The Christian monks stripped her naked and dragged her through the streets to the newly Christianised Caesareum church, where she was brutally killed. Some reports suggest she was flayed with sea shells and potshards and set ablaze while still alive.


Sigurd the Mighty
892 AD

Method of Death: Strap-on head infected him


Sigurd Eysteinsson (aka Sigurd I The Mighty, ruled 875-92) was the second Viking Earl of Orkney, who succeeded his brother Ragnald the Wise. He was a leader in the Viking conquest of what is now northern Scotland. He died as a result of one of the native rulers he killed, Maelbrigte, moramer of Moray. He beheaded Maelbrigte and strapped his head to his saddle. As he rode, Maelbrigte’s teeth grazed against his leg, causing a wound that became infected and killed him.


György Dózsa
1514

Method of Death: Eaten alive


György Dózsa, Székely man-at-arms and peasants’ revolt leader in Hungary, was condemned to sit on a red-hot iron throne with a red-hot iron crown on his head and a red-hot sceptre in his hand (mocking at his ambition to be king), by Hungarian landed nobility in Transylvania. While Dózsa was still alive, he was set upon and his partially roasted body was eaten by six of his fellow rebels, who had been starved for a week beforehand.


William Kogut
1930

Method of Death: Suicide courtesy of MacGuyver skills


William Kogut was an inmate on death row at San Quentin, decided to commit suicide using only the rudimentary tools available to him in his prison cell. He began by tearing up several packs of playing cards, giving particular focus to obtaining pieces with red ink (at the time, the ink in red playing cards contained nitrocellulose, which is flammable and when wet can create an explosive mixture), and stuffed them into a pipe. He then plugged one end of the pipe firmly with a broom handle and poured water into the other end to soak the card pieces. He then placed the pipe on a kerosene heater next to his bed and placed the open end firmly against his head. The heater turned the water into steam and eventually enough pressure built up inside the pipe so that when it burst, the explosion shot out bits of playing cards with enough force to penetrate Kogut’s skull, killing him. In a suicide note, Kogut stated that he and he alone should punish himself for his crimes


Sirkka Sari
1939

Method of Death: Fell down a chimney


In 1939, well known Finnish actress Sirkka Sari (Jahnsson) was celebrating the premiere of her new film “A Rich Girl” at the hotel Aulanko. During the celebration (most likely in a drunken desire to have some mischievous fun) Sari climbed the stairs to the roof of the hotel. At the top of the stairs, she opened the door and saw a black rectangular area which she thought was asphalt. She mistook it for a scenery deck, and jumped right in it. Unfortunately for her it was actually a chimney. She fell to her death in the boiler at the bottom.


The Collyer brothers
1947

Method of Death: Eccentricity


The Collyer brothers, extreme cases of eccentric compulsive hoarders, were found dead in their home in New York in 1947. The younger brother, Langley, died by falling victim to a booby trap he had set up, causing a mountain of objects, books, and newspapers to fall on him crushing him to death. His blind brother, Homer, who had depended on Langley for care, died of starvation some days later. Their bodies were recovered after massive efforts in removing many tons of debris from their home.


Georgi Markov
1978

Method of Death: Murdered with an umbrella


Georgi Ivanov Markov was a Bulgarian dissident writer. In order to silence him, the Bulgarian government decided to have him killed and asked the KGB to help. On September 7, 1978, Markov walked across Waterloo Bridge spanning the River Thames, and was waiting at a bus stop on the other side, when he was jabbed in the calf by a man holding an umbrella. The man apologized and walked away. Markov would later tell doctors that the man had spoken in a foreign accent. Markov recalled feeling a stinging pain from where he had been hit, he assumed by the umbrella tip. That evening he developed a high fever and was admitted to a hospital where he died three days later, on 11 September 1978, at the age of 49. The cause of death was poisoning from a ricin-filled pellet.


John Bowen
1979

Method of Death: Killed by flying lawnmower


John Bowen, a 20-year-old of Nashua, New Hampshire was attending a halftime show at a football game at Shea Stadium on December 9, 1979. During an event which featured novelty and custom-made remote control flying machines, a 40-pound model plane shaped like a lawnmower accidentally dived into the stands with its sharp blades striking Bowen and another spectator and causing severe head injuries. While the other spectator survived, Bowen died in hospital four days later.


David Allen Kirwan
1981

Method of Death: Dove into a hotpool near boiling point


David Allen Kirwan a 24-year-old attempted to rescue a friend’s dog after it fell into Celestine Pool, a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park on July 20, 1981. Despite numerous shouts from bystanders, Kirwan dove headfirst into the pool but was unable to save the dog. After managing to swin back to shore, he was helped out of pool, where his injuries became apparent – the exposure to the 200oF (93oC) water of the hot spring resulted in third-degree burns to 100% of his body and had also blinded him. After being led to the sidewalk, Kirwan reportedly stated: “That was stupid. How bad am I? That was a stupid thing I did.” When one of Kirwan’s shoes was removed, all of the skin came off with it. He died the next day at a Salt Lake City hospital. Although there have been at least 19 deaths due to scalding at the Yellowstone, this was the only known case where someone died after deliberately jumping into one of the park’s hot springs.


Dr. Hitoshi Nikaidoh
2003

Method of Death: Decapitated by an elevator


Dr. Hitoshi Nikaidoh, a surgical doctor, was decapitated as he stepped on to an elevator at Christus St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas on August 16, 2003. According to a witness inside the elevator, the elevator doors closed as Nikaidoh entered, trapping his head inside the elevator with the remainder of his body still outside. His body was later found at the bottom of the elevator shaft while the upper portion of his head, severed just above the lower jaw, was found in the elevator. A subsequent investigation revealed that improper electrical wiring installed by a maintenance company several days earlier had effectively bypassed all of the safeguards.

Source: Listverse

Close Encounters of the Fatal Kind: Suspicious Deaths, Mysterious Murders, and Bizarre Disappearances in UFO History

Death by Stupidity: The 1001 Most Ridiculous, Bizarre and Astonishingly Idiotic Ways People Have Kicked the Bucket

Funerals to Die For: The Craziest, Creepiest, and Most Bizarre Funeral Traditions and Practices Ever




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