Well, as you may (or may not) be aware, I browse the news in search of possible paranormal articles. And though I don't usually post them here, though I occasionally post them on Twitter (I should post more of them on twitter, @CleverKraken y'all, follow me so I have motivation to post paranormal news, okay?).
Anyways, the past couple months have seen a increase in the number of UFO related stories:
(Warning: some of these links are obnoxious with pop-ups, so make sure your blocker is on)
An Earth-sized UFO near the Sun?
http://www.examiner.com/article/earth-size-ufo-spotted-orbiting-the-sun-nasa-images-report
UFO on the Moon?
http://www.examiner.com/article/ufo-spotted-above-the-moon-s-surface-explorers-from-another-planet-video
UFO on Mars (this is probably a bolt-head)?
http://www.examiner.com/article/ufo-sighting-on-mars-nasa-image-shows-huge-flying-saucer-on-mars-video
UFOs visiting the International Space Station?
http://www.examiner.com/article/ufo-sighting-on-mars-nasa-image-shows-huge-flying-saucer-on-mars-video
And: http://www.examiner.com/article/is-a-ufo-monitoring-astronauts-during-iss-space-walk
And the Colorado Mountains?
http://www.examiner.com/article/ufos-sighted-over-colorado-mountains-formation-investigated-by-police-norad
Could this just be a successful result of my efforts to only look at news I'm interested in because the web keeps track of your activity. Well, yeah, but I've also gone weeks with no new paranormal, so I assume that means there were fewer UFO stories to find. So then, are UFOs a hot topic right now, or has there been an increase in activity? Time to head over to MUFON and such to see if there's any apparent spike, I guess.
Anyways, for your viewing pleasure, here's some more Supposed Stuff on Mars:
Elongated Skull:
http://www.examiner.com/article/is-that-an-elongated-human-skull-on-mars
Raygun:
http://www.examiner.com/article/gun-found-on-mars-by-nasa-rover-video
Ball:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/0929/Mysterious-ball-on-Mars-Where-did-it-come-from
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
Book Reviews II: Haunted Alaska: Ghost Stories from the Far North
Today's book for review is Haunted Alaska: Ghost Stories from the Far North, by Ron Wendt (2002, Epicenter Press).
(Note: I am in no way affiliated with Ron Wendt, Epicenter Press, or Alaska Book Adventures. I am reviewing this book from my own personal first edition copy I bought in Alaska. I am not being commissioned or compensated in any way.)
For those of you that like numbers and stars, this book gets 4 stars out of 5. It's good, it's a good casual paranormal read.
The book is short, perfect take along with you size, and just under $10 if you get it new. It consists of 15 loosely themed chapters, named for the first story in each, and each containing two, or more commonly three, stories. Usually there's a little history, then a fairly recent account of activity. The third story is usually in italics, and appears to have been quoted in their entirety from some interview or communique. A note explaining that better would have been nice.
Speaking of notes, the beware notes on/in this book are a little unnecessary and cliché, but don't really detract from the experience. The artwork is okay, though only slightly relevant, but I didn't buy it for the artwork anyways. I would have preferred pictures of the public locations myself.
At the front of this book you'll find a map, giving rough locations for all the events within the book. This is really nice, especially if you want to look up or visit, the public locations mentioned, like the Alaskan Hotel. And in the back, you'll find the usual source list, this one containing more personal names than usual. In fact many stories appear to be hearsay with no other documentation to back them up, however this is a fairly common problem in paranormal research.
Some of the stories don't actually take place in Alaska, but rather British Columbia and the Yukon. But that's really nothing to complain about.
My only real grip relates to the situations where there was more official documentation, but it's not mentioned save in the sources section. It would have been nice to know when the author had (or hadn't) found evidence that such-and-such ever existed in the first place.
(Note: I am in no way affiliated with Ron Wendt, Epicenter Press, or Alaska Book Adventures. I am reviewing this book from my own personal first edition copy I bought in Alaska. I am not being commissioned or compensated in any way.)
For those of you that like numbers and stars, this book gets 4 stars out of 5. It's good, it's a good casual paranormal read.
The book is short, perfect take along with you size, and just under $10 if you get it new. It consists of 15 loosely themed chapters, named for the first story in each, and each containing two, or more commonly three, stories. Usually there's a little history, then a fairly recent account of activity. The third story is usually in italics, and appears to have been quoted in their entirety from some interview or communique. A note explaining that better would have been nice.
Speaking of notes, the beware notes on/in this book are a little unnecessary and cliché, but don't really detract from the experience. The artwork is okay, though only slightly relevant, but I didn't buy it for the artwork anyways. I would have preferred pictures of the public locations myself.
At the front of this book you'll find a map, giving rough locations for all the events within the book. This is really nice, especially if you want to look up or visit, the public locations mentioned, like the Alaskan Hotel. And in the back, you'll find the usual source list, this one containing more personal names than usual. In fact many stories appear to be hearsay with no other documentation to back them up, however this is a fairly common problem in paranormal research.
Some of the stories don't actually take place in Alaska, but rather British Columbia and the Yukon. But that's really nothing to complain about.
My only real grip relates to the situations where there was more official documentation, but it's not mentioned save in the sources section. It would have been nice to know when the author had (or hadn't) found evidence that such-and-such ever existed in the first place.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Well, I missed the Blood Moon part of the Blood Moon
A faint beeping sound emitted from my phone, a sort of pinging tone. It was dark out, way to early to get up normally, but this morning there was an eclipse. The porch light cast a faint glow on the mist, and the sliver of moon left was not as viable through the mist as I'd have liked (it was too misty to see stars even). In ancient times this would have been the remains of a communal campfire. It was already easy to see how an early society might find this whole scenario mystifying.
I had missed the first Blood Moon stage. This I had intended to watch, but clearly I'd mixed up the timing, but at least there was still the final stage of the full eclipse. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, the sliver of moon that was left, disappeared into the misty darkness, quite and still. It would have been easy to believe the moon was being eaten by a wolf, by Quetzalcoatl, or by Kronos.
The frost colored spiderwebs stood out now, the texture of the porch wood, the dandelion seed stuck to the faux suede of my boot. Soon the animals started to state their disconcern. The owls were first and spoke out most often. Coyotes followed, then chickens, geese, and ducks, and a band of traveling raccoons, and some distant horses.
As I waited, I wondered how it must have felt, to wonder if the moon was ever coming back. After all if it had been eaten, there was no reason for it to return. And I waited. It was tempting to go get an electronic device, but of course that would have ruined my night vision. And I waited.
Eventually, I was too cold and tired to wait any longer, and went back to bed. Three possibilities stood out in my mind. First, it had clouded up, given the mist, this was likely, and indeed it was cloudy the next morning. Secondly, I was impatient and waiting longer would have been rewarded by the second Blood Moon phase, as well as punished by further sleep deprivation, as I had only really intended to watch part of it. Or thirdly, the moon was gone, not very realistic from a modern perspective, but I had just spent all that time thinking about it...
I had missed the first Blood Moon stage. This I had intended to watch, but clearly I'd mixed up the timing, but at least there was still the final stage of the full eclipse. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, the sliver of moon that was left, disappeared into the misty darkness, quite and still. It would have been easy to believe the moon was being eaten by a wolf, by Quetzalcoatl, or by Kronos.
The frost colored spiderwebs stood out now, the texture of the porch wood, the dandelion seed stuck to the faux suede of my boot. Soon the animals started to state their disconcern. The owls were first and spoke out most often. Coyotes followed, then chickens, geese, and ducks, and a band of traveling raccoons, and some distant horses.
As I waited, I wondered how it must have felt, to wonder if the moon was ever coming back. After all if it had been eaten, there was no reason for it to return. And I waited. It was tempting to go get an electronic device, but of course that would have ruined my night vision. And I waited.
Eventually, I was too cold and tired to wait any longer, and went back to bed. Three possibilities stood out in my mind. First, it had clouded up, given the mist, this was likely, and indeed it was cloudy the next morning. Secondly, I was impatient and waiting longer would have been rewarded by the second Blood Moon phase, as well as punished by further sleep deprivation, as I had only really intended to watch part of it. Or thirdly, the moon was gone, not very realistic from a modern perspective, but I had just spent all that time thinking about it...
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