Sunday, July 31, 2005

Flirty Fishing and the Children of God 

Flirty Fishing (FFing) was a form of religious prostitution practiced by the Children of God/The Family cult, from 1974 until 1987 (abandoned because of the AIDS scare). Its etymology can be traced to Matthew 4:19 where Jesus says "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men".

Flirty Fishing was a subset of The Family's love bombing activities and involved the use of sexual attraction and sex itself to win converts. Female members were told to be "whores for Jesus" in order to win converts and favors.

Be sure to catch the extremely weird comic given to children of the cult, explaining Flirty Fishing to them.

WARNING: Mild adult content.

Another great link from Cruel Site of the Day.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:11 PM

Self-esteem Games 

Imagine you could play a computer game for five minutes each morning that would help you feel more secure and confident in yourself. Our research shows that people may be able to change the negative thought patterns that sometimes produce insecurity. We are now examining whether over time, with practice, people can develop positive, beneficial habits of thought to help them become more secure and self-confident on a long term basis -- whether in the context of their working life, their personal relationships, or their overall sense of well being.

Very interesting stuff.

Link found at Cruel Site of the Day.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:50 PM

Santeria priest guides lost souls of Hollywood 

On a hot and yellow Saturday afternoon in Hollywood, a dozen people gathered at a seance for Olga, a young Russian Jew seeking help from Manuel.

They sat in the cramped rear room of a "botanica" shop on Santa Monica Boulevard, before an altar topped with a portrait of Jesus Christ. Charles Guelperin, the Santeria priest, explained the day's aim:

"We're doing an investigation of the spirits that work with her, or for her," Guelperin said, his English inflected with his Argentine roots. "It's nothing scary. Every person has a spirit that come in their life as helpers."

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:29 PM

Diana on phone as she died  

A NEW witness to the Diana death crash has cast new light on the accident that led to the Princess' death.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:22 PM

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Scientists Claim Mysterious 10th Planet 

Astronomers have discovered an object in our solar system that is larger than Pluto. They are calling it the 10th planet, but already that claim is contested. The new world's size is not at issue, but the very definition of planethood is.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:10 PM

Friday, July 29, 2005

Ritual Murders On the Rise in Liberia 

"Most of the victims were children whose body parts were extracted. The alleged perpetrators of such heinous crime go with impunity. Besides these seven complaints, the Commission is still receiving complaints of ritualistic killings in Bong County."

Huhu, Bong County....

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:32 PM

More items fuel cops occult hunt in fatality 

A crucifix, bottles of holy water, a 666 sticker, a medal of the grim reaper, and a coffin with a gargoyle were among the 45 items police seized from Brandon Obaza’s home last week, court papers say.

The items, which police say could be related to the occult or satanic worship, were detailed in an inventory sheet related to a search warrant in the investigation of Stephen Novak’s homicide.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:48 PM

Unidentified Sea Creature Found After Typhoon 

Early on the morning of July 23, a fisherman from Ningbo City in east China's Zhejiang Province was shocked by the sight of a huge creature lying dead beside the seawall near his home.

Liu, who lives in Yangshashan of Chunxiao Town in Beilun District and who has been a fisherman for over ten years, said "I have never seen such a monster; it was larger than a whale."

With blurry pic!

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:45 PM

Feds snort at Post's coke tale 

Federal drug agents are discrediting a New York Post front-page story that Osama Bin Laden tried to buy tons of Colombian cocaine to spike with poison and resell to Americans.

Best part: "The New York Post has refused to inform DEA of the basis of its allegations or share the document upon which the reporting is based," DEA spokesman Garrison Courtney said in a statement.

I wonder why?

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:22 PM

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Weird Wales 

NORTH Wales is spookily portrayed today as the weirdest place in Britain.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:57 PM

Real-life 'Amityville' owner horrified by his portrayal in new film  

Former haunted-house owner George Lutz says he's now being haunted by the way he was portrayed in "The Amityville Horror."

Lutz is suing the studios, producers and screenwriters involved in the recent remake of the 1979 horror classic for defamation and breach of contract, claiming he has suffered "loss of reputation, shame, mortification and hurt feelings" from the film's depiction of him as "a homicidal maniac."

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:53 PM

Mass. town hall said to be haunted 

The town manager of a Boston suburb is not interested in inviting a ghost-buster to the town hall to check out stories of a 19th-century spirit.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:49 PM

NASA Concerned Over Approaching Asteroid 

2029 - mark your calendar.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:29 PM

Christians demand removal of "satanic monument" 

An Evangelical Free Christian organization named The Resistance is calling for the immediate removal of the Georgia Guidestones tourist attraction.

Nutjobs unite against vague stuff!

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:12 PM

Man puts foot down, amputated limb returned 

Keep a jar of kidney stones and you have a conversation piece. Put an amputated foot in a bucket on the front porch, and the police show up.

Only in Lawrence.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:31 PM

Bush flips the press the finger yesterday  

Worst. President. Ever. Really.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:07 PM

CIA Sued Over Bin Laden Book 

The CIA is squelching publication of a new book detailing events leading up to Osama bin Laden's escape from his Tora Bora mountain stronghold during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, says a former CIA officer who led much of the fighting.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:18 PM

"Bigfoot" Hair Turns Out To Be Bison 

Bigfoot may yet exist, but a tuft of hair that went under scientists' microscopes failed to prove it.

The hair was found near a reported Bigfoot sighting in the community of Teslin in Yukon, Canada.

Residents of the village say they saw a large human-like creature, a trail of large footprints - and the tuft of hair that was collected as evidence.

The hair was turned over to scientists at the University of Alberta who subjected it to DNA testing. The results: bison, not Bigfoot.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:17 PM

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Atomic Saucers 

Several weeks ago, I discussed on this site something known as Project Silver Bug, a 1950s operation designed to build what was, quite literally, a man-made Flying Saucer.

To what extent the US military may have had actual success in this area is unknown; however, only a few years later, man-made Flying Saucers were once again the subject of official interest – and this time the plan was to make them nuclear-powered.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:06 PM

Yorkshire has its own Bermuda Triangle 

The Bermuda Triangle has long been a source of international mystery, with planes and ships disappearing without trace into the ocean.

Now the north has its own version of the legendary site - The Yorkshire Triangle.

Researchers have identified a 221 square mile area between York, Harrogate and Leeds as the second most haunted place in Britain. It was also named as the country's top location for seeing UFOs.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:02 PM

Shady Maple: 'It's all a bunch of nothing.' 

Like Bigfoot sightings, rumors of a county restaurant refusing to serve a military man in uniform are just urban legends, according to the restaurant owner.

"It’s all a bunch of nothing. Why don’t you tell someone to come on down here in uniform and see if we serve them," said Marvin Weaver, owner of Shady Maple Farm Market.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:56 PM

CSI Bigfoot a real-life whatwuzit 

Coltman is the associate professor of biology at the University of Alberta who is testing a tuft of coarse, chocolate-coloured hair plucked from the forest floor near Teslin, Yukon, near where several people earlier this month heard, or saw, what they swear was a legendary sasquatch.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:46 PM

From Myth to Man: a review of Tom Harpur’s The Pagan Christ 

Tom Harpur, the author of the Pagan Christ, has undergone a spiritual re-awakening and believes that the information revealed within his book represent "one of the most far-reaching tragedies in history." Harpur, (a columnist for the Toronto Star, a Rhodes scholar, and a former Anglican priest and professor of Greek and new Testament at the University of Toronto) suggests that during the third and fourth centuries C.E., the Christian Church, "either deliberately, in a competitive bid to win over the greatest numbers of the largely unlettered masses, or through willful ignorance" took a "literalist, popularized, historical approach to sublime truth."

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:41 PM

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Spirit tales reveal ancient landslides/dangers for Seattle. 

Researchers have been studying stories from the Salish people of the North American west coast about a'yahos, a spirit associated with shaking of the ground and rushing, muddy water. They say the tales are strongly linked to a quake that occurred in AD 900. By tracing the tales to specific locations, they have found evidence of ancient landslides.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:20 PM

Free copy of the Bigfoot Times 

Download it here.

I told my niece Goblina that there was a Bigfoot magazine and she asked how anybody could read it if it's written in Bigfoot.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:01 PM

Man reports a UFOsighting on Seacoast 

There was something odd reported in the sky last week, something that caused a Navy veteran with 10,000 hours of flight experience to have his own close encounter.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:18 PM

Coverage of bigfoot encourages others to come forward  

Two photographs of prints in the snow were anonymously delivered to The Lakeside Leader with an explanatory note last week.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:15 PM

Seafloor survey buoys Atlantis claim 

In a recent paper in Geology, Marc-Andre Gutscher of the European Institute for Marine Studies in Plouzane gives details of one candidate for the lost city: the submerged island of Spartel, west of the Straits of Gibraltar.

The top of this isle lies some 60 metres beneath the surface in the Gulf of Cadiz, having plunged beneath the waves at the end of the most recent ice age as melting glaciers caused the sea level to rise.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:03 PM

Ogie makes National Geographic  

Ogopogo hits the big time.

Ogopogo reports haven't surfaced since mid-May, but the existence of something big in the lake might be confirmed in a National Geographic special Aug. 1. Forensic investigator Joe Nickol and his buddy, Ben Redford, came to the Okanagan Feb. 4-6 and used a surveying crew after examining the first ­and some of the best film footage of something in Okanagan Lake.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:36 PM

Report: Bin Laden Cocaine Plot Fell Through 

Usama bin Laden tried to buy a massive amount of cocaine, spike it with poison and sell it in the United States, hoping to kill thousands of Americans one year after the Sept. 11 attacks, The Post has learned.

It's Fox News and the NY Post, so take it with a grain of salt.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:11 PM

Nashville police get reports on occasional occult activity 

Nashville police say they occasionally are called to investigate reports that could be linked to the occult. The reports range from spray-painted pentagrams to mutilated dogs.

A review of police reports by The Tennessean newspaper found fewer than 50 such among more than a (m) million incident reports. The reports covered January 2002 through July 13th.

In one of them, a Jeremy Pigg thought a pentagram outlined with chalk in his cul-de-sac was probably the work of neighborhood kids, but wanted to report it in case anything else happened.

Some reports are darker.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:11 PM

Incident uncovered in probe 

That headline is so bland I had to leave it.

Novak was found dead around 7:30 p.m. July 16 in a wooded area off West Main Street near where police previously investigated a pile of about 25 to 30 burned and mutilated animal remains found in a "circular-type altar." City police Sgt. Kevin Grevera in April 2004 said he could not speculate if the animal slayings were related to any type of satanic rituals.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:09 PM

Roman legion founded Chinese city 

Roman soldiers who disappeared after a famous defeat founded a city in eastern China, archaeologists say .

The phantom legion was part of the defeated forces of Marcus Licinius Crassus, according to the current edition of the Italian magazine Archeologia Viva.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:57 PM

U of Alberta lab starts tests on hair purported to come from sasquatch 

The envelope containing coarse dark-brown hair arrived Monday morning at David Coltman's University of Alberta lab complete with its own wildlife export permit - clearly labelled "Sasquatch sample."

I think if I opened a container labeled "Sasquatch Sample" I'd be relieved if it was only hair....

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:23 AM

Ancient phallus unearthed in cave 

Dildos of the gods.

A sculpted and polished phallus found in a German cave is among the earliest representations of male sexuality ever uncovered, researchers say.

It may also have been used to knap, or split, flints

Suuuure.......

With primitive dildo pic!

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:06 AM

Monday, July 25, 2005

New Witness In Search For American Teen In Aruba 

Investigators may have a new break in the search for a missing American teen in Aruba. A new witness has come forward with claims that he knows where Natalee Holloway's body is located.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:38 PM

Build your own Stonehenge! 

Dancing dwarves not included.

In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history, an ancient race of people... the Druids. No one knows who they were or what they were doing...

Found over at Make Zine.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:23 PM

The Secret of the Holy Grail and the Discovery of the Elixir of Life 

Snake venom and blood you say? Sounds delicious!

Found over at the Anomalist.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:01 PM

'Enemies of humanity' quote raises Iraq PR questions  

Why would anyone believe anything the military says?

And who is dumb enough to think this is an actual quote from Joe Iraqi?

'The terrorists are attacking the infrastructure, the ISF and all of Iraq. They are enemies of humanity without religion or any sort of ethics. They have attacked my community today and I will now take the fight to the terrorists,' said one Iraqi man who preferred not to be identified.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:30 AM

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Is the Rogers Theatre haunted? 

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, keep reading. The ghosts in Shelby want you to know what they have to share.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:45 PM

Is there anyone out there . . .Yes, 15,000 times, yes 

THE Ministry of Defence has examined more than 15,000 alleged sightings of flying saucers and other unidentified flying objects over Britain since 1959 and is still keeping an open mind on the existence of aliens.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:43 PM

Horse-and-Plow Farming Making a Comeback  

To some, the thought of a farmer patiently working the field behind a horse and plow might evoke pangs of nostalgia for the early days of agriculture. But in fact, the practice is making a comeback.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:30 PM

Flesh-Eating Caterpillars Discovered in Hawaii 

Holy crap! Special thanks to Hex Correspondent Sara for the heads up.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:07 PM

Satanic items found in search of homes  

Authorities recovered items used in satanic worship from the Nanticoke homes of Stephen Novak, who was found dead under a Jeep last Saturday, and a male friend police described as "a person of interest" in a search warrant application filed Friday with Magisterial District Judge Donald Whittaker of Nanticoke.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:17 PM

Summer time Bigfoot Madness! 

Bigfoot on the prowl. Must be the heat.

From the The Anomalist

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:43 AM

Friday, July 22, 2005

King George's Insanity May Have Stemmed From Arsenic 

Scientists trying to explain King George III's madness say arsenic may be to blame.

A study in The Lancet medical journal suggests the toxic substance may have been responsible for the severity and length of the Revolutionary War-era monarch's bouts of insanity.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:26 PM

Last WWII Comanche 'code talker' dies in Oklahoma 

The last surviving Comanche "code talker" from World War II, Charles Chibitty, has died at a nursing home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a tribal spokeswoman said on Thursday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:24 PM

Where the Yeti roams free 

"Sakteng is unique," reported the Environment News Service, "as the only reserve in the world created specifically to protect the habitat of the Yeti, known in Bhutan as the migoi, or strong man."

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:21 PM

Australian state legalises witchcraft 

Witchcraft, sorcery and fortune telling are no longer illegal in Australia's second-largest state, Victoria.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:15 PM

Sale of house hasn't a ghost of a chance 

THE SALE of a house said to be haunted has been abandoned after protests by anxious neighbours, it has been revealed.

Housing Executive chiefs in Northern Ireland are facing demands to flatten the property which has been derelict since a terrified woman fled eight years ago.

Strange, unexplained noises have been heard in the house which, according to legend, was built on the site of an old horses' graveyard.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:14 PM

Tomfoolery 

For a quarter century, diminutive, beetle-browed Tom Cruise has been one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. In his blockbuster movies he usually plays confident, even cocksure, all-American hero types, but in real life his shiny armor is starting to show chinks.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:13 PM

Loch Lloyd monster dead 

Alligators in Missouri!

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:12 PM

30 years later the Hoffa tips keep coming. Weird ones. 

The tips come in about once every week, sometimes from people who know things but mostly from those who are lonely, a little confused or up to no good.

After all these years--30 as of next week--the mystery surrounding the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa thrives, fed by a remarkably steady stream of tips. A second generation of investigators works from a shrinking pool of evidence as most of those who know what happened to the legendary labor leader die and those who think they know call the cops.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:15 PM

Bigfoot under microscope 

A scientist plans to do a DNA test on a hair that is said to come from a sasquatch.

Bigfoot no tall tale to witnesses

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:52 PM

Roberts Helped Counsel Jeb Bush  

During the tumultuous presidential recount in 2000, John Roberts flew to Florida and volunteered advice to Gov. Jeb Bush, whose brother was trying to clinch the election.

Some Democrats are now saying the trip should disqualify Roberts from the Supreme Court.

"The Senate should reject him on the basis of this alone," said Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla. "Now he is being rewarded for that partisan service."

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:46 PM

Top-end X-files revealed  

SECRET documents released by the Northern Territory Government reveal a mass of UFO sightings across the Top End, many of them unexplained.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:43 PM

Thursday, July 21, 2005

New Black Dahlia site 

I haven't had time to go over it all yet but Elisabeth Reynolds, who I trust implicitly, has pronounced it "awesome". Check it out.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:54 PM

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Build your own paper rocket! 

Still looking for something to shoot into the sky on new year eve? Here it is: Build your own little paper rocket - it comes complete with a pneumatic launch pad.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:43 AM

Wired News: Mind May Affect Machines 

Researchers at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research program, or Pear, have been attempting to measure the effect of human consciousness on machines since 1979.

Using random event generators -- computers that spew random output -- they have participants focus their intent on controlling the machines' output. Out of several million trials, they've detected small but "statistically significant" signs that minds may be able to interact with machines. However, researchers are careful not to claim that minds cause an effect or that they know the nature of the communication.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:23 AM

Einstein on 'spooky action-at-a-distance' 

The 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's annus mirabilis has not passed quietly. Newspapers, magazines and TV documentaries have all trumpeted the year in which Einstein published five papers rethinking the laws of time and space. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the former patent clerk's death.

Yet lying between these two dates is a less well-known anniversary. It is 74 years since Einstein attended the only seance of his life. What could have persuaded Einstein to attend such an unscientific event?

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:05 AM

Study: Green tea compound targets cancer-linked protein 

A major green tea compound called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG may target a key cancer-linked protein HSP90, meaning that EGCG may prevent a host of cancers, according to a new study presented at an international conference on diet and cancer, researchers funded by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).

EGCG, a major component found in green tea, has been extensively studied for its chemo preventive properties against a series of cancers such as breast, prostate, bladder, colon, stomach, pancreas and esophagus.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:54 AM

Monday, July 18, 2005

Robert Moog Treated for Tumor 

Get well soon, Bob.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:39 AM

Treasure hunters go Dutch for millions 

Dutch Schultz's long-lost millions might be buried in this patch of pines, if Hayden Henningsen is reading the sketchy treasure map correctly. Searchers perk up when a metal detector skimming the forest floor starts sounding:
"Mwwooooop. Boooooop. Boooooop."
Could it be?

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:28 AM

Skeletons clues to Polynesian mystery 

New Zealand researchers excavating a 3000-year-old cemetery in Vanuatu say it may offer clues to why mysterious voyagers who sailed through Melanesia - creating the Polynesian race - travelled so fast.

One possibility was that they were trying to outrun the worst form of malaria - not realising they were carrying the parasite in their bloodstreams, says New Zealand paleo-pathologist Hallie Buckley.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:11 AM

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Alternate bomb theories: Hot and hotter 

Cannonfire has the latest.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:35 PM

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Government investigating bush creature sightings 

Another reported incident of a sasquatch seen in Teslin last weekend is being looked into by staff from the Department of Environment.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:22 PM

Voice of the White House July 10, 2005 

"The "terrorist" attacks in London recently reek like a dead mackerel in the moonlight. It is a topic We Do Not Discuss in the Monkey Palace for very obvious reasons. Bush and Blair are suffering from meltdown. If Blair is booted out as PM, Bush would lose his most powerful ally so suddenly, another "terrorist" attack, coincidentally, just as the two liars are holding an "important" conference in Scotland (far away from any possible injury) and both rushed to the microphones to reaffirm their determination to pursue the "war on terrorism." As it is doubtful in the extreme that the honest and competent British authorities (at least not the Blair gang) would ever do such a vicious act for political gain, the suspicions here inside the Beltway is that the Porter Goss band of trained attack dwarves have struck again. Here is some additional input for your readers to chew on:

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:42 AM

Where Will You be on July 22, 2005? 

The independent media is abuzz with the significance of the 777 'signature' on the date of the recent London explosions (7+7+2+0+0+5=777). Have you also picked up on the significance that this event happened 16 Years, 6 Months, and 16 Days since the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which took place on 21 December 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland?

666 and 777 are very strong occult signatures, and there are many more 'coincidences' surrounding the London attacks – far too many to comment on here, particularly since this article looks ahead at other possible 'terrorist' attacks.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:38 AM

Scientology's real war of the worlds 

You could think of it as little green men vs. mankind's little yellow pill.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:14 AM

Mummies key to mystery 

The seven mummies on display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History are nowhere near as famous as King Tut, but they're just as intriguing.

Take the 2,000-year-old body of a teenager, found in the Netherlands. Who was she? Who killed her and why?

The remains of a cord used to strangle Yde Girl are still visible around her neck a century after she was found in a peat bog. Was the killing punishment, or ritual?

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:08 AM

Majestic temple rises in Texas oil country 

The workings of the nation's largest polygamist sect have long been shrouded in secrecy, but there's nothing inconspicuous about the majestic white temple the group is building here in the heart of Texas oil and gas country.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:04 AM

Durst released from prison 

No, not Fred.

Real estate heir and Scarsdale native Robert Durst was released from federal prison yesterday after serving time related to his efforts to escape prosecution in the 2001 dismemberment slaying of his Texas neighbor.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:54 AM

Honohana foot-cult guru gets 12 years for fraud 

The founder of the now-defunct Honohana Sampogyo foot-reading cult was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for bilking his flock out of 150 million yen in the name of religious training.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:48 AM

The Yard Sale That's 792,000 Yards Long  

Oh my god.....hey, Rikki, what are you doing in August?

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:44 AM

London: Was it suicide? 

Why did they buy return train tickets to Luton? Why did they buy pay and display tickets for cars? Why were there no usual shouts of 'Allah Akhbar'? Why were bombs in bags and not on their bodies?

The article stays close to the "Al-Qaeda did it" party line but brings up some interesting questions.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:32 AM

Newspaper Claims Former DOJ Officials Confirm Bombing Coverup 

The McCurtain Daily Gazette today reports several former powerful and high ranking Justice department officials confirm there was a coverup of the investigation to the Oklahoma City bombing.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:26 AM

Proof of Bigfoot existence may come soon says organization 

"The elusive creature known as Bigfoot may not be elusive for very much longer," according to C. Thomas Biscardi, a Bigfoot explorer and founder of the Great American Bigfoot Research Organization.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:56 AM

Oklahoma treasure hunters 

There are plenty of legends of lost treasure in Oklahoma. Prospectors who buried gold along Black Dog Creek in Northern Oklahoma are one of those legends. There is also word of thousands of dollars hidden by outlaws in the Wichita Mountains.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:52 AM

RFID Foes Find Righteous Ally 

Privacy advocate Katherine Albrecht, an opponent of the use of radio tags on consumer goods and in ID documents, is a woman any X-Files fan could love.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:48 AM

The Pharaoh’s Curse 

Myths about the "Curse of Pharaoh" took shape around the 7th Century when the Arabs landed in Egypt. They were incapable of deciphering the ancient Hieroglyphics so many things appeared bizarre and obscure. They associated almost everything with Black Magic and the supernatural.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:16 AM

Secrets behind the gate 

As work continues on a secluded compound in southwestern Colorado, authorities and neighbors worry what the nations largest polygamist group is really doing inside its guarded fences.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:03 AM

Teens in Satanist case enter plea  

Two New York teens avoided jail time for attacking a self-proclaimed "card-carrying" member of the Church of Satan by pleading guilty Tuesday to second-degree assault as a hate crime.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:42 AM

Pope of pulp 

Raymond Chandler, failed poet, found his talent only late in life, rattling out classic tales of molls, murder and Philip Marlowe - before the alcohol got him. Ian Rankin unravels the story of his life.

“Show me a man or woman who cannot stand mysteries and I will show you a fool, a clever fool - perhaps - but a fool just the same.”

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:26 AM

800-year-old ring is full of mystery 

AN 800-YEAR-OLD mystical ring unearthed in Warwickshire goes on public display for the first time tomorrow.

The precious gold and garnet band features a mysterious cryptic message, written in olde worlde French which has archaeology experts baffled.

It appears to say the words "Je suis une fleur" (I am a flower) and "amour" (love) but some of letters of the inscription are reversed and turned upside down.

Boffins from the British Museum believe it could be a coded token of affection between two lovers, or even a medieval spell.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:10 AM

The men behind Zheng He's successful expedition 

When Zheng He sailed through Asia 600 years ago, 27,000 people were aboard his fleet of 253 ships.

The crew included soldiers, sailors, doctors, weapon makers, agricultural experts, nutritionists, cooks, political observers, carpenters, poets and traders.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:06 AM

The nerd who saw too much  

A computer geek faces 70 years in jail for hacking into the top levels of US defence. He tells Jon Ronson how, hooked and stoned, he landed himself in such hot water.

What was the most exciting thing you saw?"

"I found a list of officers' names," he says, "under the heading 'Non-Terrestrial Officers' …. It doesn't mean little green men. What I think it means is not Earth-based. I found a list of 'fleet-to-fleet transfers', and a list of ship names. I looked them up. They weren't US Navy ships. What I saw made me believe they have some kind of spaceship, off-planet."

"The Americans have a secret spaceship?" I ask.

"That's what this trickle of evidence has led me to believe."

"What were the ship names?"

"I can't remember," he says. "I was smoking a lot of dope at the time. Not good for the intellect."

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:01 AM

Thursday, July 14, 2005

CULT FEARS IN ATTACKS 

A Satanic cult may be responsible for a spate of sickening attacks on horses across South Yorkshire.

See also Occult Horse Attacks.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:39 AM

MAHOGANY SHIP MYSTERY 

Everyone loves a mystery, and no mystery draws as much attention as the lure of lost treasure. In this case, it's an historic treasure. Its discovery would rewrite Australia's history, and declare PORTUGAL as the first country to attempt to settle here. So why does the legend of the MAHOGANY SHIP continue to haunt the residents of Victoria's South-West? For years now -- even before the Victorian government offered a quarter of a-million-dollar reward in the 1990s for proof that the ship existed -- determined enthusiasts have continued to comb the coast for confirmation.

Audio.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:02 AM

Another UFO flies over town 

A SECOND unidentifiable flying object has been spotted in the sky above Bracknell.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:51 AM

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

The end of a golden age 

WHEN I WAS growing up in the San Gabriel Valley in the late 1960s, people still believed in treasure. My parents took my three siblings and me gold panning on the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, and families all over Southern California stashed sluice boxes in their station wagons for impromptu prospecting jaunts to the Mojave.

Rock-hounding and gold-seeking were nearly as popular as stamp collecting in those days. We tore maps to buried treasure out of magazines and studied stories about dehydrated prospectors who stumbled into town muttering "Black Butte" or some such clue with their last breath, all the while clutching a scrap of bandanna concealing a lump of gold.

Great article on the treasure hunting impulse.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:13 PM

Building in Iceland? Better Clear It With the Elves First  

Do elves exist? Like many Icelanders, Hildur Hakonardottir considers the question to be more complicated than it appears.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:08 PM

How the Government Staged the London Bombings in Ten Easy Steps 

Ten Step Method To Staging a Terrorist Attack.

1) Hire a Crisis Management firm to set up an exercise that parallels the terrorist attack you are going to carry out. Have them run the exercise at the precise locations and at the very same time as the attack. If at any stage of the attack your Arabs get caught, tell the police it was part of an exercise.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:57 PM

New Developments In London Underground Exercise Story  

Will the real Peter Power please stand up?

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:54 PM

London Underground Bombing 'Exercises' Took Place at Same Time as Real Attack 

A consultancy agency with government and police connections was running an exercise for an unnamed company that revolved around the London Underground being bombed at the exact same times and locations as happened in real life on the morning of July 7th.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:53 PM

For UFO expert, sci-fi is real life 

Two or three times a month, someone in Colorado looks into the sky and sees something he cannot identify.

Often, that's when John Schuessler's group gets a call.

You can tell The Denver Post takes this seriously by the picture of Yoda illustrating the article.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:39 PM

Sasquatch sighting reported in Yukon 

It may have been a sasquatch, or perhaps some kind of bushman, but some people in the Yukon say they saw something larger than life pass by their house.

The report comes out of the community of Teslin, about 180 kilometres east of Whitehorse. Nine people there say a large, human-like figure covered in hair passed by the window of a house over the weekend.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:34 PM

Historic Dunedin castle rich in myth  

If the City of Dunedin is "the Edinburgh of the South" then it must have a castle, which it does.

And what castle would be complete without ghost stories?

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:33 PM

Haunted Family's Tale of Woes 

A haunting in Nairobi.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:30 PM

SCHIZOPHRENIA PECULIAR TO WEST, SAYS SCIENTIST  

According to study of the Australian scientists, people in the West suffer more from mental illness than those in poorer countries, with chances of recovery being higher in places like India than in says New York or London.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:03 PM

What is Tantra and Tantric sex?  

Tantra is one of the modern sexual buzzwords that many people are talking about. It’s the topic of many books, some are very simple and others show complex positions and breathing techniques, in fact almost every book written about sex today has a chapter on Tantra or refers to Tantra in some way. However, there is not much clarity on what Tantra or Tantric sex is all about.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:02 PM

Bigfoot believers compare notes at Longbow campout 

Here.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:59 PM

The Great Pyramid may still contain Khufu's intact pharaonic tomb 

For years scholars have believed that the pyramid of King Khufu, largest of the three "great" pyramids at Giza, had been plundered in antiquity and everything of value, including the body of Khufu himself, had been removed.

Now, Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and director of the Giza Plateau, suspects that might not be the case.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:57 PM

Faust's Magical Book of Forbidden Knowledge Not Fiction 

Smith College Professor Joseph McVeigh, Ph.D. has successfully completed the first-ever English translation of one of the most important occult texts of all time, "Opus Mago-Cabbalisticum et Theosophicum." Written in the 1700s by alchemist Georg von Welling of Germany, the original text has been jealously revered for nearly 300 years by German esotericists.

Professor McVeigh has successfully transformed von Welling's strange and provocative text and dozens of famous alchemical, magical and occult illustrations into English for contemporary readers. "Opus Mago-Cabbalisticum" had an immediate and direct influence upon the secret work of the 18th century German society, the Golden Rosicrucians, whose work in turned inspired esoteric Freemasons in Great Britain including the founders of the most famous magical society of all time, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Press release.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:55 PM

Myth or real, West Texas desert lights draw a crowd 

Legend? Myth? Natural phenomenon? UFOs?

Nevada has Area 51. New Mexico has Roswell. Texas has the Marfa Lights.

Whatever's out there sparkling or dancing across Mitchell Flat and toward the Chinati Mountains has both befuddled people and attracted them to this remote area east of Marfa for well over a century.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:52 PM

Questions still remain about Lincoln negative 

Some questions were answered and others were not.

Seaford resident John Wroten's trip to the Smithsonian Institution last Thursday revealed the 5-inch by 7-inch glass negative he recently brought from relatives in Oklahoma is not the original negative used in producing the model photograph for the Abraham Lincoln five-dollar bill, but is a copy negative.

"We do more but we're still a little bit in the dark, as far as value," said Mr. Wroten. "There still is a little mystery."

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:49 PM

Sunday, July 10, 2005

'Monster' of Tianchi Lake sighted 

A local tourist claims to have seen and videotaped the Tianchi Lake monster in the Changbai Mountain, in Jilin Province, Xinhua reported yesterday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:33 PM

Porno queen's mysterious death -- murder or suicide? 

Mystery surrounds the recent untimely death of Yumika Hayashi, star of over 400 blue movies and a woman referred to as Japan's Original Adult Video Queen.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:29 PM

Mystery of the magician who spent his life dodging bullets  

Will the strange affair of the mysterious death of Chung Ling Soo - the inscrutable magician once as feted as his contemporary, the great escape artist Harry Houdini - finally be solved in Edinburgh this August?

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:23 PM

Sturgeon sightings beg for explanation 

My July 1 column about the reported sighting of a sturgeon in Skaneateles Lake had a domino effect, as I knew it would.

After fishing guide Dick Withey went public about his encounter with a giant fish with a "funky-looking" head, several readers stepped forward to declare that they, too, had seen a sturgeon in the lake, from three years to three weeks ago. The spotters' estimates of the critter's size varied from 3 to more than 6 feet, a plausible range for a species with a reported maximum length of 7 feet, 11 inches.

If accurate, the sightings are remarkable because the scientific literature contains no mention of lake sturgeon in the coldest and purest of the Finger Lakes.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:48 AM

False Flag over London  

It was 2001 all over again: a year into his term, Bush and his poll ratings had sunk to historical lows, even further this time under the weight of scandals and rumblings of impeachment. Blair too was hurt badly by the Downing Street memo. Then out of the blue, salvation struck the pair. Yesterday, 7/7, saw the classic false-flag attack hit London, a simple set-up by western secret services to distract from the deepening woes of Bush and Blair, and perhaps to create the pretext for the next round of wars on Iran.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:45 AM

A Mystery as Deep as the Ocean 

An undamaged fishing trawler is found on the sea floor, its nets full. The captain and crew are lost. And no one can figure out why.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:27 AM

Underwater excavations 

This Santa Fe team protects and collects treasures from the waters of our national parks.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:19 AM

Friday, July 08, 2005

Doctor's diary: the benefits of hanging around bars 

James Le Fanu rounds up unusual remedies and perplexing mysteries.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:44 PM

New map details deep mysteries in Lake Champlain  

Scientists at Middlebury College unveiled a three-dimensional map of Lake Champlain's bottom Thursday, culminating nearly a decade of work that not only discovered more than 70 previously unknown shipwrecks but is expected to greatly advance pollution-control measures.

Not to mention Champ hunting.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:42 PM

Behind the myth of Ned Kelly's last days  

PRIESTS murmured prayers. A doctor checked the position of the noose. A white hood was lowered over the prisoner's face.

As the lever was pulled, Ned Kelly remarked: "Such is life". Such was the launching of the myths of Ned Kelly, Australian folk hero; or terrorist; or victim?

A new book by Adelaide law professor, the late Alex Castles, questions some of the myths. Eight years of his research casts doubt on those famous last words, recorded by a Melbourne Herald reporter.

A rival reporter at the 1880 execution in Melbourne Gaol quoted Kelly as saying: "Ah, I suppose it has come to this." A closer eyewitness says anything Kelly said was too muffled to be heard.

All at least agreed Kelly was dead. The government of colonial Victoria got rid of the notorious bushranger.

It has taken more than a century to reveal the government did it by a conspiracy which made Kelly a victim of the war on terrorism.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:39 PM

LORDS OF ACID 

How the Brotherhood of Eternal Love Became OC’s Hippie Mafia

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:36 PM

Mystery of Karl Rove/Matt Cooper Connection Deepens 

The mystery deepened today over top White House aide Karl Rove's involvement in the Plame case and how strongly special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is interested in that. The Washington Post's Dan Balz reports today that Fitzgerald "still appears to want more answers about Rove's role" and apparently is "focused on" his conversations with Time magazine's Matt Cooper, who has now agreed to testify in the matter.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:34 PM

Scientists dispel the mystery surrounding Stradivarius violins 

Antonius Stradivarius violins are shrouded in more myths than any other instruments in world history. At Mid Sweden University, researchers are using modern technology to uncover his secrets.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:33 PM

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Digging up the past 

Very cool article on bottle hunting.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:59 AM

Animal spotted in Pittsford area 

Mountain lion in New York?

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:49 AM

Writing About the Dead and Loving It 

Fascinating article on obituary writers.

Like members of an outlaw cult, obituary writers have been gathering annually in quiet, out-of-the-way places for the last seven years to discuss their craft and commune with fellow newsroom misfits.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:11 AM

Mountain lion attack? Maybe, maybe not, it's still a mystery 

Mountain lion in Missouri?

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:55 AM

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Arlington Cemetery Undergoes Expansion  

Bush Acres.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:32 PM

Bush's legacy, thus far 

Click here.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:57 PM

Team Bush Paid Millions to Nathan Sproul - and Tried to Hide It  

All the payments by the RNC to Sproul add up to a whopping $8,359,161. Where did all that money come from? Why did the RNC suppress their real expenditures? And what exactly did Sproul do for all that pay?

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:40 PM

Plants heal, herbalist teaches 

Leafy green plants crowd an array of garden beds flourishing all around the spacious backyard.

But unlocking the mysteries of those plants requires a keen eye, because most of them are unfamiliar to the typical gardener.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:24 PM

$1.25m Tassie tiger bounty expires 

They came, they searched and they left.

The Bulletin magazine's $1.25 million bounty for a live Tasmanian tiger has expired without a hide, hair or trace of the world's most coveted extinct marsupial.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:22 PM

Digging tombs of Qin Shihuang, Wu Zetian under discussion 

Chinese experts are studying the proposals to excavate the tombs of Emperor Qin Shihuang and Empress Wu Zetian, said Zhang Bai, vice director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) here Tuesday at a press conference.

"The tombs of Emperor Qin Shihuang and Empress Wu Zetian are preserved well and no illegal excavation and transport has been found so far," said Zhang, "We decided not to dig them right now because the technology is not mature enough," Zhang said.

Emperor Qin Shihuang, who unified ancient China in 221 B.C. and established the Great Wall, died in 210 B.C. and the imperial system he built set a pattern that was developed over the next two millennia in China.

Empress Wu Zetian assumed power from 684 to 690. Though her reign was brief, she was the only female Emperor in Chinese history.

Having never been unearthed, the two tombs hold many mysteries.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:20 PM

John Whitfield Middleton - Man of Mystery 

Historians have speculated endlessly, and entertainingly, about the life and disputed death of William H. Bonney, aka William Antrim, aka Henry McCarty, aka Billy the Kid.

Some believe he succumbed in Old Fort Sumner, N.M., in 1881 when allegedly fired upon by Sheriff Pat Garrett in a dark room.
Some believe he lived well into the 20th century under the name Brushy Bill Roberts in Hamilton in Central Texas. Brushy Bill, according to Brushy Bill, was born in 1859. According to his death certificate, he dropped dead of natural causes in 1950 at the age of 91.

We have no conclusive evidence that The Kid was killed by Garrett. We weren’t there. We have no conclusive evidence that Brushy Bill Roberts was The Kid. For all we know, he may have been Bing Crosby or Bob Hope.

What puzzles us is the historical neglect of another fascinating character in this mix who could have solved the entire mystery.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:13 PM

Karla Homolka says she's not dangerous and doesn't want to be hunted down  

Convicted killer Karla Homolka had only just slipped out of her "prison of stone" Monday when she appeared on TV to profess penitence for her unspeakable past and to assure Canadians she's not the monster she's been made out to be.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:07 PM

City's secret chemical tests unearthed 

Further details of secret germ warfare tests carried out on Norwich families in 1964 were today unearthed by the Evening News.

And we can reveal exactly where the top secret experiments were carried out around the city.

The Porton Down experiments - which first came to light five years ago - involved the dropping of chemical clouds onto Norwich from light aircraft on four separate occasions 41 years ago.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:03 PM

40,000-year-old footprint of first Americans 

A plastic replica of a 40,000-year-old, size eight foot has shattered previous theories of the identity of the first humans to walk in the Americas.

Scientists made the foot from tracks left on the shore of an ancient volcanic lake in central Mexico.

The traditional view is that the first settlers walked across the Bering Strait, from Russia to Alaska, at the end of the last ice age around 11,500 to 11,000 years ago.

But the discovery of footprints in the Valsequillo Basin by a British-led team provides new evidence that humans settled in the Americas as early as 40,000 years ago, suggesting that there were several migration waves at different times by different groups.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:58 AM

Monday, July 04, 2005

Monastery shut in 'devil'-related death 

Just weeks after 23-year-old Maricica Irina Cornici moved in January to an isolated hilltop monastery here with her brother, she began giggling during mass.

By April, she had descended into madness and doctors at a local psychiatric hospital diagnosed her condition as schizophrenia.

But for the monastery's two dozen nuns and its eccentric priest, it was not Cornici mocking and cursing them: It was Satan.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:32 AM

Buried gold along Banffshire coast  

Tales of pirates and buried treasure have long been a part of the folklore of the Banffshire coast. But now it's claimed that a hoard of gold potentially worth millions has been discovered by divers in the area.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:26 AM

Reporter Who Told Story of 2004 Vote Thievery Hushed by Mainstream Media Mogul 

Some people say Chicago Tribune columnist Robert Koehler works inside the belly of the beast, reporting for a corporate medium that is hungry for money but short on truth telling. Able to spit out a few morsels of truth every now and again, Koehler describes his unique position a little differently, suggesting it’s more like floating helplessly on top of a gigantic whale’s back instead of rumbling around inside its belly.

Wherever he sits, one of his recent columns, indicating that the 2004 presidential election was stolen, caused the ugly beast to let out a fierce roar, leading to a heated controversy inside the Tribune newsroom.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:23 AM

Whispers in the dark 

Just because you don’t see dead people doesn’t mean they don’t see you, especially if you’re in the Historic Washington County Courthouse. Whether there will ever be enough evidence to definitively prove the historic Washington County Courthouse is haunted is anybody’s guess, but Tulsa Ghost Investigators didn’t leave empty handed after their June 4 stay in the century-old building. "This courthouse does indeed contain some rather interesting, if not creepy, activity which is as yet unexplained," wrote Vicky Glidewell in her report of the investigation. Although it would take further investigation before Glidewell would say the building is haunted, Electronic Voice Phenomena recordings and strange meter readings taken in the building are indicative of such activity.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:16 AM

Pagan followers fight misconceptions, slowly gain acceptance 

The start of summer means shorts, swimsuits, Hawaiian shirts and sunscreen. And, for some, hooded black robes and pentagram.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:14 AM

Denizens of water trade circulate message of strange serpent savior 

"Lord Tsuchinoko? Ah, right. I've got one. Isn't this what you mean?"

The attractive woman, who operates one of the tiny bars in a corner of Shinjuku called the "Golden Gai," produced a cell phone and called up the picture to its display.

The photo she showed was a man named after a "tsuchinoko." For those unfamiliar with Japanese legends, a tsuchinoko resembles a snakelike creature, but one unlike any snake you've ever seen, with a big head, narrow neck and wide flat body. The existence -- or non-existence of this mythological creature whose existence has never been fully established. It's sort of like a land-based version of the Loch Ness monster.

Shukan Taishu (7/11) raises the issue because "tsuchinoko" has been making the rounds among people who toil in the water trade in the Golden Gai and its adjacent, much larger district, Kabukicho.

It was last April," recalls Anna, 20, a hostess at one of the area's cabaret clubs. "Business had been way off, since the new ordinance went into effect banning touts from soliciting customers on the street. We girls were just sitting around in the foyer, with nothing to do, and one of the older gals got the picture of a man via e-mail. It was pasted in upside down, and he was labeled 'tsuchinoko.' We looked at it and it sort of gave us the creeps.

"Then one by one, we began receiving the same picture via our own cell phones."

Since then, so widely have the pictures become propagated, the denizens of Tokyo's largest drinking area have come to refer to the phenomenon as the "Tsuchinoko-kyo," as if it were a form of propagation by some religious sect.

Interesting article.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:06 AM

Scots widow is named as jewel heist mastermind 

The mastermind behind one of the world's biggest jewel heists has been identified as a Scottish seafood company director from Aberdeen.

Dorothy Fasola, 54, a widow with one child, planned the robbery of an exclusive jewellery store in Tokyo last year, according to Japanese police files. Three members of the gang have been arrested already after an international investigation.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:57 AM

The Dynamite Fiend  

The Chilling Tale of a Confederate Spy, Con Artist and Mass Murderer.

Book review.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:52 AM

Notorious Sex Killer Set To Leave Prison 

The most reviled woman in Canada is set to walk out of prison Monday, facing death threats and rage from a public still bitter that she only served 12 years for the rapes and murders of teenage girls, including her younger sister.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:37 AM

Kanas "lake monster" stirs up tourism 

According to China Youth Daily, a project costing 1.5 million Yuan (180,000USD) to explore the mysterious activity of Xinjiang's "Kanas Lake monster" will proceed this July.

On June 6th and 8th, the media reported three shocking sightings of "lake monster" at Kanas Lake and one traveler even snapped shots of the "monster". The talk of Kanas' "lake monster" has stirred strong interest within domestic, even overseas, tourists in this matter. Up to the middle of June, the number of visitors approached 20,000, rising 30% over the same period last year.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:29 AM

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Local man says UFO experience is one he will never get over 

UFOs. Real or imaginary?

There's the Hollywood version and then there's Charles Hickson of Gautier.

Hickson and fishing partner, Calvin Parker, were near a pier at Shaupeter Shipyard in Pascagoula on the evening of Oct. 11, 1973, when they reported being abducted by robot-like aliens and taken aboard an egg-shaped, glowing spacecraft.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:01 PM

Mysterious 'stealth' boat plying Columbia River 

People who are used to seeing a variety of boats moving up and down the calm waters of the Columbia River have recently reported seeing a UFO - of sorts.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:19 AM

What Happened In Shag Harbour  

As promised in an earlier story, we will at last visit Shag Harbour, site of a documented UFO sighting in Nova Scotia.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:15 AM

Bigfoot capture imminent 

Well, by the time you read this, the mystery of Bigfoot could be solved.

You see, while perusing the wire seeking inspiration for this week's column topic, I ran across a story headlined, "Bigfoot -- Imminent capture anticipated."

After recovering from the horror of an editor using a dash in a headline, I read on.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:13 AM

Firm that owns most of Oak Island liquidating 

One of Nova Scotia's greatest mysteries is up for sale.

The company that owns most of fabled Oak Island is being liquidated, its two owners locked in a legal dispute for seven years with no solution in sight.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:11 AM

Today - 999 Today : National Gallery discovers a new Leonardo 

Curators, conservators and scientists have used infrared reflectography to discover two distinct underdrawings beneath the surface of the National Gallery's 'Virgin of the Rocks', sometimes dismissed as merely a copy of the Louvre's version.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:05 AM

New History Reveals the Truth About the Fatima Incident 

The Fatima incident was an important event in the history of religion. In 1917, three little Portuguese shepherds – Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia – suddenly encountered the Virgin Mary, illuminated in the splendor of heavenly lights, who told the children three secrets about the fate of the Earth. The contacts were followed by an unexplained aerial phenomenon, called "The Miracle of the Sun," in which the Sun was seen to dance in the sky by thousands of awestruck onlookers who flocked to Fátima.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:03 AM

The U.S. is murdering journalists in Iraq  

Knight-Ridder reporter, Yasser Salihee, 30, was killed on June 24, 2005. It was his day off and the Iraqi journalist was on the way to get gasoline to bring his family to the swimming pool.

But Salihee ran into a Baghdad road intersection where every exit had been blocked by U.S. Humvees. An ambush. Then a U.S. sniper's bullet ended his life.

But his journalistic carreer continued for three more days. He already had co-written one of the most important articles ever by a war correspondent. In that last article, published on June 27, Salihee explained how in one month the number of unexplained gunshot victims in the Baghdad morgue had jumped from 16 to over 500.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:01 AM

Ukrainian vampire drugged children and drank their blood 

Diana Semenuha, 29, believed that drinking blood could fend off a muscle-wasting condition.

She kept the children intoxicated on drugs and alcohol and bled them regularly, selling the surplus to other black magic practitioners. When that weakened them, she dumped them back on the streets and lured replacements with the promise of a place to sleep and a hot meal.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:00 AM

God found in DNA, Holy Grail Mystery Unveiled by Ohio Researcher  

"God has been found in the DNA and is communicating via this lightstream with us all the time," proclaims Ohio researcher and grandmother, Cynthia Carlheim Muller.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:54 AM

A Messy Mystery 

Nick Tosches’ new book, King of the Jews, is supposed to be about the gambler and underworld figure Arnold Rothstein.

Rothstein, who was murdered in 1928, was never actually king of the Jews, but for a time he did rule organized crime in New York City, and beyond. Rothstein was a behind-the-scenes man adept at manipulating both gangsters and politicians. He had his hands in horse racing, Prohibition-era alcohol peddling, and prostitution. Some consider him the father of the modern drug trade. Perhaps most notably, Rothstein has been accused of masterminding the Black Sox Scandal—when members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to lose the 1919 World Series. Rothstein was also the inspiration for Meyer Wolfsheim in The Great Gatsby and Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:51 AM

Mystery Plane Puzzles Lodi Residents 

Lodi residents are asking questions about a mysterious airplane that they say has been circling the city.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:49 AM

Mystery flag 

This is the most surprising thing I learned while doing research for my just-published book, Flag: An American Biography, a history of the Stars and Stripes from the beginnings to today:

Nearly everything I thought I knew about the early history of the American flag is wrong.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:47 AM

The Mystery of the Tunnels  

Lewis Greenstein, a retired city worker, first heard about the Underground Railroad on Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn in 1992, when his mother died and he inherited a building there. At the time, he said, its existence was treated as common knowledge - old people told stories about being scolded as children for playing in hidden tunnels in front of their houses.

In time, Mr. Greenstein noticed some strange things about the basement of his own building, at 233 Duffield, where his parents had had a business since 1953. On the lowest level were two alcoves that seemed to be fireplaces, two shafts leading to street level, and a circular spot on the floor, three feet in diameter, that seemed to have been filled in with stones and cemented over.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:45 AM