Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Fish meals 'stop sunburn'  

Eating three portions of fish a week could offer significant protection from the sun, scientists have found.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:33 PM

Waiting for a Leader  

George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life yesterday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom. In what seems to be a ritual in this administration, the president appeared a day later than he was needed. He then read an address of a quality more appropriate for an Arbor Day celebration: a long laundry list of pounds of ice, generators and blankets delivered to the stricken Gulf Coast. He advised the public that anybody who wanted to help should send cash, grinned, and promised that everything would work out in the end.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:54 PM

'Cowboy' Bush failed in Katrina evacuation - Chavez 

"That government had no evacuation plan, it is incredible, the first power in the world that is so involved in Iraq ... and left its own population adrift," Chavez said in a cabinet meeting broadcast live on television.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:24 PM

20 oil rigs missing in Gulf of Mexico: US Coast Guard  

At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said.

"We have confirmed at least 20 rigs or platforms missing, either sunk or adrift, and one confirmed fire where a rig was," Petty Officer Robert Reed of the Louisiana Coast Guard told AFP.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:23 PM

Extra-virgin olive oil anti-inflammatory-scientists  

Scientists have just found out what gourmets have always known -- that there is something special about fresh extra-virgin olive oil.

A tasting experience at a molecular gastronomy meeting in Sicily led University of Pennsylvania biologist Gary Beauchamp to analyze freshly pressed extra-virgin olive oil, in which he found a chemical that acted like ibuprofen.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:18 PM

President's Poll Rating Falls to a New Low 

Is Katrina the end of the Bush administration? Remember, these poll numbers were taken before the gulf was struck, before the administration's tepid response, and before gas prices rocketed.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:13 PM

IRAQ WAR EXCEEDING COSTS OF VIETNAM WAR 

A stunning new report from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) shows that the war in Iraq has so far cost every person in the U.S. $727, making the Iraq War the most expensive military effort in the last 60 years. Moreover, the costs of the war and the continuing American occupation of Iraq have exceeded those of the Vietnam war during eight years.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:38 PM

2 elections officials indicted in recount 

Two Cuyahoga County elections officials were indicted Tuesday on charges of not handling ballots correctly during the recount of the 2004 presidential election.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:18 PM

Strain of Iraq War Means the Relief Burden Will Have to Be Shared 

With thousands of their citizen-soldiers away fighting in Iraq, states hit hard by Hurricane Katrina scrambled to muster forces for rescue and security missions yesterday -- calling up Army bands and water-purification teams, among other units, and requesting help from distant states and the active-duty military.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:08 AM

Dreams of Hollywood Disappear Along With Fake 'Real Rome'  

There are two reasons that Jeff Barr, an aspiring screenwriter, won't be able to bring himself to watch Sunday's debut of the HBO series "Rome."

The first reason is that Barr is among 18 writers, art and costume designers, researchers and a producer who allege that they were victims of a con involving a docudrama project called "Real Rome," which they mistakenly believed also was backed by HBO.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:38 AM

Archaeology from the dark side 

In February of 1961, three amateur gem collectors dug a mechanical gizmo encased in fossil-encrusted rock out of a mountainside in the Southern California desert. They didn't know what it was, and began showing it to friends and associates. Within a few years this thingummy, which became known as the Coso artifact, had assumed an almost mythic importance.

It consisted of a cylinder of what seemed to be porcelain with a 2-millimeter shaft of bright metal in its center, enclosed by a hexagonal sheath composed of copper and another substance they couldn't identify. Yet its discoverers at first believed it had been found in a geode, a hardened mineral nodule at least 500,000 years old. If the Coso artifact was real -- that is, if it was really an example of unknown technology from many millennia before the accepted emergence of Homo sapiens, let alone the dawn of human history -- it would turn everything scientists thought they knew about the past of our species upside down.

Alternative history, hijacked by Creationists. It's Salon, so you might have to watch a short ad.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:02 AM

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Freemasons in Space! 

No, really! Freemasons in Space!

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:24 PM

Buffing Up The Image Of George Washington 

Despite what he looks like on the dollar bill, it turns out George Washington may have been kind of hot.

This is unsettling for those of us who prefer to think of our first president in more statesmanlike terms. He is so stiff and grim in all those portraits. But before Washington was middle-aged and the father of our country, he was a tall, strapping 19-year-old surveyor who still had all his teeth.

With recreated picture of America's first hottie.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:51 PM

Did New Orleans Catastrophe Have to Happen? 

Newhouse News Service, in an article posted late Tuesday night at The Times-Picayune web site, reported: "No one can say they didn't see it coming....Now in the wake of one of the worst storms ever, serious questions are being asked about the lack of preparation."

In early 2004, as the cost of the conflict in Iraq soared, President Bush proposed spending less than 20 percent of what the Corps said was needed for Lake Pontchartrain, according to a Feb. 16, 2004, article, in New Orleans CityBusiness.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:38 PM

Medieval appetite suppressant could be new slimming aid 

Independent Online Edition > An 800-year-old herbal potion used by medieval monks to curb the appetite could soon find new popularity among 21st century dieters.

Archaeologists investigating an ancient hospital site founded by Augustinian monks about 845 years ago have found evidence that they used to chew on the bitter vetch plant to stave off hunger pains.

Great article.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:21 PM

Sorry, Troops Needed At Home Are Not Available 

According to Defense Department documents that show "a cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve personnel, who are currently mobilized," a total of 4,109 Louisiana Reserve and Guard troops are currently serving in Iraq.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:52 PM

Getting Agnostic About 9/11  

Anyone who types the words "9/11" and "conspiracy" into an online search engine soon learns that not everybody buys the official narrative of what took place on Sept. 11, 2001. As a professor emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology, 66-year-old David Ray Griffin would seem to have more affinity for leather elbow patches than tin hats, yet after friends and colleagues prodded him into sifting through the evidence, he experienced a conversion. Now he's spreading the bad news.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:48 PM

Brace for more Katrinas, say experts 

For all its numbing ferocity, Hurricane Katrina will not be a unique event, say scientists, who say that global warming appears to be pumping up the power of big Atlantic storms.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:31 PM

Poverty Rate Rises to 12.7 Percent  

Thanks George!

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:29 PM

Police reject woman's Azaria claims 

NORTHERN Territory police have rejected a woman's claim that she is Azaria Chamberlain.

The woman walked into Alice Springs police station this week claiming to be the baby girl who disappeared from near Uluru 25 years ago.

Nine-week-old Azaria disappeared from a tent while her family was on a camping holiday at Uluru on August 17, 1980.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:10 PM

New structure found at ancient Ohio site 

Archaeologists say they have something new to study at Fort Ancient State Memorial. A previously unknown circular structure about 200 feet in diameter was detected recently during preliminary work for an erosion-control project at the site of 2,000-year-old earthworks, state authorities said.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:21 PM

In Iran, Camera Traps Reveal Rare Asiatic Cheetahs 

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) scientists, working in conjunction with Iran's Department of Environment (DOE) in an isolated region in the Dar-e Anjir Wildlife Refuge, recently discovered that a remote camera set out to survey wildlife had photographed an entire family of extremely rare Asiatic cheetahs. The pictures show an adult female and her four youngsters resting in the shade of a tree, marking the largest-known group of these rare cats ever photographed in Asia.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:20 PM

Discs in night sky over Dryden 

There's been another UFO sighting in the Northwest.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:17 PM

Ex--special constable is latest to report UFO sighting 

More than a month after the Bracknell News series' first article about a flying saucer hovering above the Coppid Beech Hotel in Binfield, 67-year-old Janet Burrell contacted the hotline to say she had seen a UFO.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:15 PM

Democrats Demand Probe of Demotion  

Congressional Democrats demanded an investigation Monday into the demotion of a senior U.S. military contracting official who publicly criticized a controversial no-bid contract awarded to Halliburton Corp. for work in Iraq.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:45 AM

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Police puzzled by theft of Communion wafers from Lynn church  

Several priests contacted for this story declined to be identified and were reluctant to speculate on what uses the Communion wafers might have outside the church.

Hmmmm, I don't know, could it be.....Satan!

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:37 PM

Blood-sucking masterpiece 

Le Vampire," a sculpture by the French Art Nouveau sculptor Agathon Leonard (1841-1923) at Crissy Galleries, is a rare example of fin de siècle erotica. The sculpture will be on display until sold.

This decorative statuette derives its subject matter from the novel "Dracula" (1897), a wild tale of vampires and werewolves by the English writer Bram Stoker (1847-1912). "Le Vampire" is the personification of the undead, a sculptural confluence of realism and fantasy in art.

With creepy, sexy pic. Worth a peek.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:35 PM

Our herbal heritage  

While researching a new book on Queen Emma, Harriet O’Brien found Anglo-Saxons sought cures for ailments, from dandruff to pimples, just like u

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:29 PM

In haunting photos, the medium is the message  

Nearly a third of American adults believe in ghosts, a recent Gallup poll tells us.

And if you're in that apparition-affirming group, "The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult" might be just the show for you.

The exhibit, which could have been called "I See Photos of Dead People," opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sept. 27 and runs through the end of the year. It includes approximately 120 photos, artifacts from the heyday of Spiritualism, roughly from the Civil War to World War II.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:27 PM

Former FBI agent continues hunt for Cooper 

Former FBI agent Richard Tosaw is determined to find out what happened to the legendary skyjacker known as D.B. Cooper.

It has been 34 years since Cooper parachuted from a jetliner with $200,000. He was never seen or heard from again.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:20 PM

Decatur man writes book on "Weird Illinois" 

Troy Taylor thinks there's something very, very weird about Illinois.

Author of nearly three dozen books, Taylor, 38, makes a living hosting tours of places across the United States that are eerie, mysterious and offbeat. His latest book is "Weird Illinois."

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:12 PM

Is "Stormfront" a hoax? 

As Cindy Sheehan renews her vigil outside the Bush ranch, a group of "White Supremacists" have shown up just in time for the mainstream media to proclaim that the peace movement harbors racists and (shudder) anti-Semites!

The timing is just too cute to be believed, and in an age where Karl Rove has redefined political dirty tricks to a degree that even Dick Nixon would admire, one has good reason to be skeptical who the "White Supremacists" are and more to the point, who they work for.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:50 PM

Republican Statements When Clinton Went to War 

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." --Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:36 PM

Police chief- Lockerbie evidence was faked 

FORMER Scottish police chief has given lawyers a signed statement claiming that key evidence in the Lockerbie bombing trial was fabricated.

The retired officer - of assistant chief constable rank or higher - has testified that the CIA planted the tiny fragment of circuit board crucial in convicting a Libyan for the 1989 mass murder of 270 people.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:33 PM

Experts Warn Debt May Threaten Economy  

You owe $145,000. And the bill is rising every day. That's how much it would cost every American man, woman and child to pay the tab for the long-term promises the U.S. government has made to creditors, retirees, veterans and the poor.

And it's not even taking into account credit card bills, mortgages — all the debt we've racked up personally. Savings? The average American puts away barely $1 of every $100 earned.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:47 PM

Friday, August 26, 2005

Poll: Many Back Right to Protest Iraq War 

Many? How's 90 percent grab ya?

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:36 PM

Royal Servant George Smith Dies at 44 

George Smith, a former royal servant whose claim of rape sparked lurid tales of sexual misdeeds within the royal household, has died at the age of 44, his father said Friday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:18 PM

Truly, It Was a Whopper, but Are There Bigger Fish?  

Giant catfish from the Mekong, with pic.

Before he headed out on May 1, one of the men who caught it, Thirayuth Panthayom, 29, made sure luck would be on his side. He said he prayed at the shrine of the God of Catfish and begged his boat to help him, "Please, Miss Boat, let me catch something today and I'll sacrifice a chicken for you."

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:08 PM

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Hundreds Witness Flying Mothman in Serbia?  

Great thread over at the Rigorous Intuition message board concerning the flying entity sighted over Serbia.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:32 PM

The bizarre life of Mathias Rust  

On 28.May.1987 a 19 year old German guy called Mathias Rust made headlines around the world when he illegally flew his Cessna light aircraft from Hamburg to Moscow and landed in Red Square.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:27 PM

Bush's Obscene Tirades Rattle White House Aides 

While President George W. Bush travels around the country in a last-ditch effort to sell his Iraq war, White House aides scramble frantically behind the scenes to hide the dark mood of an increasingly angry leader who unleashes obscenity-filled outbursts at anyone who dares disagree with him.

"I'm not meeting again with that goddamned bitch," Bush screamed at aides who suggested he meet again with Cindy Sheehan, the war-protesting mother whose son died in Iraq. "She can go to hell as far as I'm concerned!"

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:48 PM

Haunted - by a snake with two heads 

Two local councillors have talked about a bizarre ordeal when their home was haunted by a two headed snake.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:04 PM

Farmer May Have Caught Legendary 'Chupacabra' 

A Texas farmer may have found what some would call a "chupacabra," a legendary animal known for sucking the blood out of goats.

With video.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:59 PM

The Cannibal Sorcerers 

In the lush Jayawijaya mountain range of New Guinea, live a tribe of people called the Korowai. They live in houses that are built into the trees as high as 30 to 80 feet off the ground on poles to save their houses from floods of the rainy season. This is a culture that has been untouched by the outside world for centuries. They live today as they have always lived; no outside influences have changed their way of life.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:55 PM

Spontaneous Human Combustion 

If you're a loser like me who spends Saturday afternoons watching Unexplained Mysteries (a rather redundant and poorly worded title if you ask me), you're already well versed in the mystery of "Spontaneous Human Combustion."

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:53 PM

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

MOHAMED ATTA SENIOR IN U.S. BEFORE 9.11 ATTACK 

In the second major blow in as many weeks to the credibility of the 9.11 Commission report, the MadCowMorningNews has learned exclusively that during final preparations for the Sept 11 attack, Mohamed Atta's father was 'visiting' his terrorist ringleader son in Venice, Florida.

Moreover, the FBI knew about the U.S. visit of Cairo attorney Mohammed El-Amir almost immediately after the attack, when, after seeing him on television denying that his son had anything to do with the terrorist hijackings, a number of credible witnesses called the Sarasota office of the FBI to report they had seen Atta's father in Venice with his son ten days to two weeks before the attack.

In addition, closed circuit videotape provided to the FBI as evidence of Atta Senior's presence appears to have been intentionally erased.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:18 PM

Rigorous Intuition: What do kids know? 

Absolutely terrifying.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:18 PM

Bush: Honor Dead U.S. Soldiers by Creating More Dead U.S. Soldiers  

Stay the course, Chimpy.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:08 PM

LA music producer missing after call to police 

LOS ANGELES Authorities report a Grammy-nominated music producer who has been missing since Sunday called a friend that day on his cell phone to say he was being chased by people with dogs.

snip

Irwin's sister, Sharon Riolo, says her brother got scared when he received a check for 50-thousand dollars in the mail from Nigerians.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:24 PM

Superman spotted in Serbia 

Serbian authorities are investigating reports of a real-life Superman after people claimed to have seen a cloaked figure flying over their houses.

Hundreds of residents in Ljubovija described seeing a cloaked person flying above buildings "as if he had an invisible engine on his back" and changing directions while in mid-air, local daily Blic reported.

And speaking of flying things, check out the Mothman Annotations, from where I retrieved the following quote:

Paul Stonehill, Director of the Russian Ufology Research Center in California, has kept in close contact with his colleagues in the former Soviet Union. In the early 1990s he received news about the legendary Letayuschiy Chelovek, the Flying Man of Vladivostok, from Alexander Rempel, a leading ufologist in the far eastern sections of Russia.

Most reports of the Flying Man describe only its strange call, a womanlike scream that ends in a drawn out howl. The cry is accompanied by sounds as if something large is approaching through the forest, but nothing is seen. Otherwise fearless hunting dogs flee the creature. The howls of the Flying Man were reported in the 1930s and '40s, and from 1989 on they have come again.

And let's not forget Charles Fort:

Louisville, Kentucky: Charles Fort writes in LO! (1931): "I found accounts in the Louisville Courier-Journal, July 29, Aug. 6, 1880 . . . The story is that, between 6 and 7 o'clock, evening of July 28th, people in Louisville saw in the sky 'an object like a man, surrounded by machinery, which he seemed to be working with his hands and feet.' The object moved in various directions, ascending and descending, seemingly under control. When darkness came, it disappeared." [Complete Books, p. 641]

Jim Brandon adds that "a tall and thin weirdo" appeared in the Louisville vicinity that very day:

He wore a sort of uniform, made of shiny fabric, and with a long cape and metallic helmet. On his chest under the cape was a large, bright light. His big thing seemed to be scaring people -- particularly women -- sometimes getting so familiar as to pull their clothing off. His favorite method of escape was by springing smoothly over high objects like haystacks or wagons, then vanishing on the other side. [Weird America, page 92]

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:53 AM

Gary Webb's "Dark Alliance" Returns to the Internet 

Gives whole new meaning to the term "crack troops".

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:31 AM

UFO 'expert' speculates about strange lights 

Local UFO "expert" Robert Allen got noticeably excited when he got his first look at photos of the unexplained phenomenon that appeared over these skies last week.

"I'm getting goosebumps," he said, adding that these may be the clearest photos taken of a UFO in decades.

With pic.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:28 AM

Romans in China stir up controversy 

Xie Xiaodong, a life sciences researcher, has finally started the laboratory test he wanted to do 10 years ago.

He hopes a comparative DNA analysis may get him closer to unraveling a mystery that has haunted him for a decade.

The findings may help establish a genetic link between some villagers in Yongchang County, Northwest China's Gansu Province, and the ancient Romans in the Mediterranean.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:14 AM

Ancient stone circle holds air of mystery 

Avebury may not be as convenient, famous or spectacular as Stonehenge, and you may never have heard of it.

But it also lacks the large crowds, high fences, entrance fees and "don't touch" restrictions of Stonehenge. And it's well worth a visit.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:11 AM

Neo as Johnny Stomp? 

Keanu Reeves and Catherine Zeta-Jones are circling "Stompanato," a biopic about Johnny Stompanato, the boyfriend of actress Lana Turner who was killed by her young daughter, Cheryl Crane.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:06 AM

The Mystery of Hitler's Lost Art Collection 

Art experts have long been fascinated with the story of Adolf Hitler's dream of creating a huge museum in the Austrian city of Linz. A new book looks at where the Nazi leader's collection came from -- and where it went.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:04 AM

Blog Round Up! Giddy-up! 

I've added some new links to my fabulous links bar:

Cannonfire offers great insights on a variety of political topics and I've been meaning to add this link for a while now.

Covert History is a new discovery with great information on the JFK assassination, among other things.

And Xymphora offers insightful analysis of current events.

Go read.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:52 AM

Church case documents say weapons confiscated  

Guns, ammunition, several swords, a crossbow pistol and more than 25 knives showed up in a search involving the Hosanna Church investigation, according to documents prosecutors provided to the defense Tuesday.

Detectives found the cache of weapons at a storage facility during an investigation of allegations of sexual abuse of children at the Hammond church, the records indicate.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:17 AM

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Nasty Monkey Bites! Sneezing At Tigers! Stiff Upper Lips! (Crikey!) 

Profile of old-school explorer John Blashford-Snell.

. . . a few old-school explorers are still hacking their way through the brush, square-jawed envoys to the secret world - and Colonel John Blashford-Snell is the most vividly drawn of the lot. He is quite possibly the only expeditioner who has his gear tailored on Savile Row. Or to have hauled an 800-pound grand piano 350 miles through punishing jungle deep in Guyana as a publicity stunt to raise relief aid for the flood-beleaguered Wai-Wai village.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:36 PM

London Bombing ringleader, Haroon Rashid Aswat - double agent for MI6? 

In a lengthy statement that will send shockwaves around the world, John Loftus, a terrorism expert and a former prosecutor for the US Justice Department, has publically revealed that the so called mastermind of the 7/7 London Bombings, Haroon Rashid Aswat, is a British 'Intelligence Asset'.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:59 PM

The Marlowe mystery 

Professor Park Honan has unearthed a crucial document revealing that the murderer was well paid for his crime. Employed by Lady Audrey Walsingham, a favourite of James I, Frizer won a royal pardon, while his mistress, the wife of Marlowe's patron Thomas Walsingham, amassed manors, wealth and favours from the newly crowned Jacobean King. Sir Francis Walsingham, cousin of Thomas and head of Elizabeth's MI5, was now long dead. Had he lived, what secrets could he have spilt of intrigues base and plotting vile around an ageing queen!

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:53 PM

Captured Bigfoot? Coleman vs. Biscardi  

First hour guest, cryptozoologist Loren Coleman reacted to Tom Biscardi's Bigfoot hunt. On Friday night's program, Biscardi claimed his group had captured one of the creatures and he would be presenting photos of it on Monday. Coleman said over the weekend one of Biscardi's associates posted in a blog that the capture story was a hoax. "This man is a Las Vegas promoter," and his actions speak louder than words, Coleman commented. Biscardi briefly phoned in for "equal time" declaring that he would be giving out the full story on Tuesday.

The funniest part is when Biscardi claims to have captured a "17 year-old" male Bigfoot. Coleman notes that readers have emailed him asking "how can anyone, with a straight face, claim they know a Bigfoot is 17 years old?"

You check his ID, of course.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:36 PM

Republican Committeeman Accused Of Molesting Boy 

A state Republican committeeman in the Poconos has been charged with molesting a teenage boy at an underage beer party in a Stroudsburg motel, police said Friday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:16 PM

Troops' Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans 

These Bush assholes have no shame. Just put "Died For a Lie" on there and be done with it.

"I was a little taken aback," Robert McCaffrey said, describing his reaction when he first saw the operation name on Patrick's tombstone. "They certainly didn't ask my wife; they didn't ask me." He said Patrick's widow told him she had not been asked either.

"In one way, I feel it's taking advantage to a small degree," McCaffrey said. "Patrick did not want to be there, that is a definite fact."

EDIT: On second thought, how about "My country went to war for no reason and all I got was this lousy gravestone"?



Bill Moyer, 73, wears a "Bullshit Protector" flap over his ear while President George W. Bush addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

Pic found over at Eschaton.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:08 PM

Tarot Kit for Teens  

Review.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:01 PM

U.S. dodges Robertson comments on Chavez 

The Bush administration swiftly and unequivocally distanced itself Tuesday from a suggestion by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson that American agents assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a frequent target of U.S. foreign policy.

Robertson's big mouth might be the best thing that ever happened to Chavez, but the Bushistas must be furious, because now they can't Wellstone him, or Carnahan him, or Colby him, or Baxter him, or Rice him, or Watkins him, or - well, you get the idea.

For some Rigorous Intuition on the subject go here.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:34 PM

The Vigilante 

At a glance, the office of Tijuana's weekly newspaper, Zeta, gives just a hint of the kind of publication that is produced inside. It sits on a residential street in a middle-class neighborhood, and only a small plaque seems to distinguish it from the rest of the block's modest family homes.

Look closer and a theme emerges: the building is set back from the street, with much of it obscured by a concrete wall; no first-floor windows are visible; and the front door has heavy grating.

Watching the paper's editor and publisher, J. Jesus Blancornelas, arrive for work dispels any doubts. A caravan of three vehicles pulls up, two Suburbans and a blacked-out Chevrolet Caprice. Out pile fourteen serious-looking men - soldiers in the Mexican Army - bristling with M-16 assault rifles, shotguns, copious clips of ammunition, and body armor. That level of protection would be surprising for a journalist in Baghdad, let alone for one in a quiet neighborhood thirty minutes from downtown San Diego.

The precautions are for good reason, though. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, a significant majority of illegal drugs destined for the U.S. - marijuana, cocaine, and heroin - transit through Mexico. Tijuana, host to one of the world's most heavily traveled border crossings, is a strategic chokepoint. In the first four months of this year, there were 163 homicides in Tijuana, many drug-related.

Local journalists know how dangerous it is to shine a spotlight on the trade and the corruption it fuels among Mexican officials. Nine reporters have been killed in northern Mexico in the past decade, with the perpetrators enjoying what the Committee to Protect Journalists calls a "nearly perfect record of impunity." In such an environment, Zeta stands out, both for the work it has produced and the costs it has incurred.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:25 PM

Second Officer Says 9/11 Leader Was Named Before Attacks  

An active-duty Navy captain has become the second military officer to come forward publicly to say that a secret intelligence program tagged the ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks as a possible terrorist more than a year before the attacks.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:29 AM

Why Casey Sheehan Was Killed 

Since President Bush won't meet with Cindy Sheehan to explain why her son Casey died in Iraq, I thought I would put forward the information I have. Like Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, I was in Baghdad's Sadr City on April 4, 2004.

I was there as an unembedded journalist. Unlike Casey Sheehan, I wasn't killed.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:25 AM

Monday, August 22, 2005

Cracking the Case: An Interview With Sibel Edmonds  

Just read it.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:31 PM

Don't Prettify Our History 

Guess what? Gore really did win.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:57 PM

George W. Bush's Job Approval Ratings Drop 

You can't spell Worst without "W".

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:23 PM

Councilwoman Ranks Possible Cell Phone Health Risk 

Here's the article. I tried to find the link to the actual report but I don't think they've listed it on their website yet, thought it's supposed to go up today. The website is right here.

Also check out Skin Rash? Maybe It's Your Cell Phone.

Or CELL PHONE RADIATION MAY CAUSE VISUAL DAMAGE.

Or Cellphone hazards.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:36 AM

Sickert's nemesis returns to the scene 

Crime writer Patricia Cornwell 'more certain than ever' that artist was Jack the Ripper as she revisits investigation on which she spent 2 million pounds.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:20 AM

New probe into PM's 1967 death 

Australian authorities launched a new investigation yesterday into the mystery surrounding the disappearance nearly 40 years ago of then-prime minister Harold Holt.

Holt went missing on December 17, 1967, at the age of 59 after going swimming at a beach near the southeastern city of Melbourne.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:55 AM

US website names MI6 officers 

An American website posted what it purported to be the names of 74 members of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, yesterday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:21 AM

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Essential Resources for Google Maps 

Great Google Maps hacks from lifehack.org.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:09 PM

The Heirs Of Rube Goldberg 

Washington Post piece on Make magazine.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:51 PM

Cool alternative homes 

Boing Boing has some interesting links concerning alternative homes, including this Micro Compact Home and this groovy Cardboard House.

And while we're over at Boing Boing, check out this link to Parisian Book Vending Machines.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:40 PM

Soldier 'instructed' to abuse Abu Ghraib prisoners 

One of the US soldiers convicted of mistreating prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison says his superiors made it clear those incarcerated were to be abused.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:58 PM

Unbelievable tales from London 

Xymphora's got the highlights. Ok, lowlights.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:01 AM

Marin filmmaker takes UFOs seriously, even if nobody else does 

JAMES FOX has heard all the jokes, seen all the smirks. He can sense the disbelief long before the eyes start rolling.
The Bolinas filmmaker doesn't blame anybody for any of it.

He rolls his eyes, too.

"I would say 95 percent of it is absolute hogwash," he says of UFOlogy and the cottage industry of conventions, books, movies, tapes and trinkets orbiting a widespread belief that extraterrestrial spacecraft are cruising earthly airspace.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:00 AM

Cheney's 'Spoon-Benders' Pushing Nuclear Armageddon 

Great article. A must read.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:54 AM

Crownpoint couple spots UFO twice 

It was William Shakespeare, the erstwhile Bard of Avon, who first wondered "What light through yonder window breaks?"

The same question has come once again to New Mexico, and no, not Shakespeare, N.M.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:42 AM

Changing times defang snake charmers 

Snake charming might be a stereotype of India, but the profession is dying. Capturing snakes is illegal. Seeing a snake dance has also lost much of its allure in fast-paced Indian cities.

"The next generation won't even know that something like this existed in the world," said Nath, 26, whose three children are afraid of snakes. "It's sad."

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:05 AM

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Quote of the Day 

"The future is just like the present, only later, and more so."
- Howard Chaykin

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:57 PM

Free Wi-Fi? Get Ready for GoogleNet. 

A trail of hidden clues suggests Google is building its own Internet - and might be looking to let everyone connect for free.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:48 PM

'Ripper' hanged in Dundee claim  

A Dundee author says he's convinced he knows the identity of one of history's most infamous serial killers. It's been claimed that Jack the Ripper, who carried out a string of brutal murders in the East End of London, was tried and hanged for a similar crime in the city of Discovery.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:02 PM

Ex-child actor, wife, charged in second murder  

Power Ranger goes really, really, bad.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:01 PM

OKBOMB case now open again, bombing documents ordered turned over to judge  

A U.S. District Court judge in Salt Lake City, Utah, has ordered the Oklahoma City FBI office to turn over unredacted copies of all documents currently at issue in a Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit involving additional evidence and the names of additional conspirators in the Oklahoma City bombing case.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:59 PM

Police Wonder if BTK Committed More Crimes 

As Dennis Rader begins serving his sentence, questions remain whether there are other unsolved murders he could have committed to which he never confessed - perhaps after the death penalty was reinstated in Kansas in 1994.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:59 PM

Army Planning for 4 More Years in Iraq  

The Army is planning for the possibility of keeping the current number of soldiers in Iraq - well over 100,000 - for four more years, the Army's top general said Saturday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:58 PM

Quebecer claims to have photos of lake monster 

A Quebec innkeeper claims to have picture proof that the legendary monster of Lake Massawippi exists.

Although it doesn't enjoy the status of Ogopogo -- the country's most famous water monster said to inhabit Lake Okanagan in the south central B.C. interior -- "Whippy" has been alive in local monster folklore.

With monsteriffic pic!

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:56 PM

Pulp and Adventure Heroes of the Pre-War Years  

A little bookmark for myself.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:37 AM

Friday, August 19, 2005

Talentless Morons sue Pathetic Idiots 

Which is more annoying, the real band or the imitation?

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:31 PM

Mystery of Bloodless, Decapitated Kangaroos in Melbourne, Australia 

Good article, with an interview with Catherine Smith, Senior Inspector, Victoria Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Thanks to Hex Correspondent auto161852 for the tip.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:21 PM

The Rocketbelt Caper  

James Bond meets the Coen Brothers in this riveting true story of three friends and their quest to build a Buck Rogers-style flying machine - the amazing Rocketbelt 2000. Perhaps the least incredible thing about their tale is that they succeeded in building and flying their futuristic device. But their obsession with the rocketbelt shattered their friendship and set in motion an astonishing chain of events involving theft, deception, violent assault, a bizarre kidnapping, a ten million dollar lawsuit, and a horrifically brutal murder.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:49 PM

Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory 

"As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose Monday in this embattled Midwestern state. Scientists from the Evangelical Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held 'theory of gravity' is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new theory of Intelligent Falling."

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:29 PM

A walk on the weird side 

The spine-chilling world of the paranormal never really affected Yvonne Draper until she took a job at haunted Bodelwyddan Castle.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:33 AM

Judge Crater Disappearance Possibly Solved 

Holy crap. First BTK, then Deep Throat, now Judge Crater? What's next? Amelia Earhart was the Black Dahlia Killer?

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:29 AM

The creature from the deep  

A visit to Kanas Lake in China, home of the gwaiwu (monster).

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:19 AM

Flying Spaghetti Monster 

Unhappy with your religion? Consider converting to Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (AKA Pastafarianism), the religion that worships the Flying Spaghetti Monster. You get to dress like a pirate and their Heaven totally rocks - its got a Stripper Factory AND a Beer Volcano. And be sure to contact the Kansas School Board to demand that Pastafarianism be taught in Kansas Schools.

It's getting some press.

Here's the Wikipedia entry.

Does anyone else think that the Flying Spaghetti Monster looks like Cthulhu? Or would that be Calamarianism?

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:31 AM

More Students Go Hysterical 

The mystery phenomenon that has affected students from two schools in the capital is showing no signs of abating.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:51 AM

The Classic Crossbow: You Can Build Your Own! 

With detailed plans.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:49 AM

British Scientists Create First Pure Brain Stem Cells  

Scientists have made the world's first pure batch of brain stem cells from human stem cells. The breakthrough is important in the fight against neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and could also reduce the number of animals used in medical research.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:47 AM

More Hawaiians Practicing Native Healing  

A growing number of Hawaii residents are turning to traditional healing methods long practiced in these lush Pacific islands as an alternative or in addition to visiting a regular doctor.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:36 AM

Mystery of 'Al Qaeda coupons' deepens in Kolkata 

Coupons bearing the name of 'Mujahideen Al Qaeda Pacific International' are being reportedly being sold for Rs25-50 in many Muslim-majority areas of Kolkata since early August.

The coupons say in Urdu that donations are for funding mujahideen, or holy warriors, fighting for Islamic causes around the world.

Coming soon - the Al Qaeda Bake Sale.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:34 AM

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Tube shooting family inquiry call 

The family of a man mistakenly killed by police hunting London bomb suspects is calling for a public inquiry.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:13 PM

Voice of the White House  

I don't know how much stock I put in the Voice of the White House, but considering this packaged claptrap from CBS that I saw this morning, I thought it might be relevant.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:15 AM

Fishermen's observation re-stirs Champ debate 

It's a flat, dead-calm summer evening on Lake Champlain, the kind of night when the water's surface looks like a gigantic mirror. Vermonters Dick Affolter and Pete Bodette, Affolter's 34-year-old stepson, are fishing for salmon just west of the mouth of the Ausable River on the New York side of the lake.

See Champ article below as well.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:46 AM

Gurlesque Burlesque Brings Out Satan's Angel 

Sixty-one-year-old burlesque legend Satan's Angel is coming to town for the first time since the 1960s.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:43 AM

Kidsbeer proves hit suds for minors 

Kidsbeer, a nonalcoholic brew aimed at children, is catching on with young drinkers and is posting monthly shipments of 75,000 bottles, according to maker Tomomasu Co.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:34 AM

Weird Science on the Religious Right 

"God said it. I believe it. That settles it." This familiar bumper sticker slogan appears to sum up the Religious Right's decision-making process on matters of heated public debate.

But when policies involving human biology and behavior are being hammered out, faith alone isn't always sufficient to win over voters and decision-makers. At such times, a bit of scientific evidence comes in handy, and some of the Religious Right's operatives aren't too choosy about where they get it.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:28 AM

'Ghost writers' tell town's haunted tales 

The stories they tell may seem haunting, but Kathie Lee and J. Neal Gray consider them part of the human experience.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:45 AM

Chinese experts: no such things as "lake monsters" 

They also say there's no such thing as "Taiwan" so take it with a grain of salt.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:33 AM

Mystery creature surfaces in Lake Champlain 

Two Vermont fishermen recently shot video of a mystery creature that surfaced in Lake Champlain near the New York shore.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:26 AM

Bush: Liar 

Planning for post-Saddam regime change began as early as October 2001.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:23 AM

Crocodile blood may yield powerful new antibiotics 

Scientists in Australia's tropical north are collecting blood from crocodiles in the hope of developing a powerful antibiotic for humans, after tests showed that the reptile's immune system kills the HIV virus.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:21 AM

Kansas Croc 

The operator of a home daycare was surprised to discover a 3-foot-long reptile in her front yard when she decided to investigate what was making the crows outside her home so rowdy.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:03 AM

UFO Locator 

A Google maps mashup of recent UFO sightings from the National UFO Reporting Center.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:58 AM

Hot stuff 

The latest research sheds new light on old Sol.

The outer two-thirds of the sun generates zero energy. "The light you see coming from the sun today was originally generated in the core, in the inner one third of the sun, through nuclear fusion a few hundred thousand years ago," said Bruce Twarog, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:53 AM

Mystery surrounds missing German pilot 

MYSTERY surrounds not only the whereabouts of the body of doomed Helios captain Hans-Juergen Merten and his absence from the cockpit on Sunday's flight, but also the man himself.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:48 AM

Investigation Into Jenner Double Murder Drags On A Year Later 

Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall, still unsolved.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:49 AM

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Court Overturns Judge's Order In Wicca Case 

A judge exceeded his authority by ordering an Indianapolis Wiccan activist and his ex-wife to shield their 9-year-old son from what his decree called their "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals," the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:53 PM

Library Missing Roberts File 

A file folder containing papers from Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr.'s work on affirmative action more than 20 years ago disappeared from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library after its review by two lawyers from the White House and the Justice Department in July, according to officials at the library and the National Archives and Records Administration.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:42 PM

Archeologists on trail of ancient warships 

Italian archaeologists believe they are on the verge of finding the ancient ships downed in the battle of the Aegates Islands more than 2,000 years ago thanks to modern technology and a police tip-off.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:23 AM

Ancient key found in Austria 

Archeologists believe they have found a key dating back to the late Bronze Age in southern Austria.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:21 AM

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Lawyer: Abramoff Willing To Discuss Murder 

Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, accused of federal fraud charges in a casino fleet purchase deal, is willing to submit to an interview with Florida investigators trying to solve the gangland-style murder of the businessman who sold the boats, Abramoff's attorney said Tuesday.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:48 PM

Congressional Scandal Roundup  

It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress.

Mark Twain

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:38 PM

Hello and thanks for stopping by 

I'm getting a record number of hits today, apparently from a Yahoo mail link (?). If someone would like to drop me an email to tell me how they got here I'd appreciate it. There's a Mail the Professor link to your right. So, to all you newcomers, welcome. Hope you like my site. Feedback is always appreciated.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:50 PM

Local karate instructor remembers the Elvis he knew 

This week, Elvis Week in Memphis, tour buses will be seen pulling up to the Khang Ree Institute at Suite 706 Trinity Commons in Cordova. Elvis Presley fans will get out and enter the doors with some awe.

The reason for that awe: the person they are about to meet, Khang Rhee, taught Elvis Presley karate.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:40 AM

Acupuncture May Improve Sperm Quality, Say Researchers 

Acupuncture may be beneficial for men who have certain types of infertility, suggests a new preliminary study. But after some inconsistent findings, the research team also stressed that more study is necessary before this can be applied in the clinical setting.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:13 AM

Cops seek diaper-clad culprit! : 

UK police said on Monday they were searching for a man wearing just a diaper, who approaches women late at night and asks: "Are there any baby changing facilities around here?"

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:08 AM

A 'devastated' Leonard Cohen 

Take an iconic artist, mix in missing millions, hints of tantric sex, a lawsuit replete with other salacious details, and a ruptured relationship with a long-time, trusted associate, and you've got the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. Except in the case of Leonard Cohen, it's a true tale.

Strangely enough, I just had what I called my Leonard Cohen weekend. Everywhere I went, Leonard Cohen was playing.

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:06 AM

Doom Days 

More Rigorous Intuition from Rigorous Intuition.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:58 AM

Christians boycott the implantable RFID VeriChip 

Christians across the US are calling for a boycott of the VeriChip implantable microchip, now becoming popular in the U.S., calling it "the mark of the Beast" as referred to in the Bible.

I think this is a press release.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:45 AM

Rolling Stones Legend may have been murdered 

Police are reportedly reopening the investigation into the death of Rolling Stones legend Brian Jones after fresh evidence suggests he was murdered.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:39 AM

Mysterious woman steals 1997 dissertation 

Neither police nor Indiana University's Math Department have yet been able to figure out why someone made off with a 1997 doctoral dissertation in mathematics.

It just doesn't add up....

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:37 AM

Little Green Men Festival 

The 50th anniversary of one of the most famous close encounters of the third kind in the history of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) will be celebrated in Hopkinsville August 19-21.

With schedule of events. Looks like fun.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:35 AM

World Trade Center Steel Rusting In St. Louis 

This week's release of 9/11 audio tapes of that fateful day in New York has opened old wounds.
And one of those wounds, NewsChannel 5 has learned, is in O'Fallon, Missouri.

More than 20 tons of hallowed steel from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were supposed to be placed at the city's municipal center. But after three years, it's sitting, rusting in a St. Louis construction yard.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:30 AM

Tom Hanks Faces Da Vinci Code Protests  

Tom Hanks and the rest of the cast of The Da Vinci Code found themselves in trouble, as the shooting location in East England was blocked by protesters.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:28 AM

Co-Pilot Said Alive Before Greece Crash 

The co-pilot and a flight attendant were among dozens of people still alive when a Cypriot airliner plunged into the mountains north of Athens, the coroner said Tuesday, deepening the mystery over what incapacitated the flight carrying 121 people.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:25 AM

'Nessie' stunt dupes viewers  

HUNDREDS of stunned tourists were duped into thinking they had seen Scotland's famous Loch Ness Monster, the television pranksters behind the stunt revealed overnight.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:23 AM

Monday, August 15, 2005

Is Bush Out of Control? 

Buy beleaguered, overworked White House aides enough drinks and they tell a sordid tale of an administration under siege, beset by bitter staff infighting and led by a man whose mood swings suggest paranoia bordering on schizophrenia.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:33 PM

What Fox News Channel Would Have Done to Rosa Parks 

Right on the money.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:20 PM

Scientists invent pee-powered battery 

Researchers in Singapore have developed a paper battery that is powered by urine. Despite sounding gloriously silly, the breakthrough promises a cheap and disposable power source for home health tests for things like diabetes.

Oh my god this is cool. How long until the urine-powered electric car?

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:07 PM

FBI eyes convict in pizza delivery collar-bomb case, ex-wife says 

The FBI seized letters written by a convicted rapist and interviewed his ex-wife as part of their investigation into the death of a pizza deliveryman killed when a bomb locked onto his neck exploded, according to a published report.

Definitely worth reading. A real nexus of scumbags.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:06 PM

Greek police raid Helios Airways offices  

Police in Cyprus raided the offices of Helios Airways in the coastal city of Larnaca on Monday, a day after one of the company's passenger jets slammed into a mountainside near Athens, killing all 121 people on board.

posted by Prof. Hex at 2:29 PM

Death in Stockwell: the unanswered questions 

He wasn't wearing a heavy jacket. He used his card to get into the station. He didn't vault the barrier. And now police say there are no CCTV pictures to reveal the truth. So why did plainclothes officers shoot young Jean Charles de Menezes seven times in the head, thinking he posed a terror threat?

Funny how London's CCTV cameras never seem to work when they're supposed to.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:17 AM

Tsunami clue to 'Atlantis' found 

A submerged island that could be the source of the Atlantis myth was hit by a large earthquake and tsunami 12,000 years ago, a geologist has discovered.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:43 AM

Bush ducks mother of dead soldier 

You can't spell 'coward' without 'W'.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:54 AM

Smoke rises over Civil War cannon sales 

Since 1994, Bruce Stiles has coaxed towns from Nebraska to New Hampshire to sell their Civil War cannons, iron and bronze sentinels that have graced cemeteries and parks for a century or more.

His success in obtaining dozens of muzzleloaders for private collectors in Pennsylvania stirs unrest wherever he goes, but usually after the fact. Weeks or even months can go by before residents even realize their veterans' memorial has been whisked away.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:37 AM

California Cops Want to Bust Ghost Hunters 

Police here are determined to bust the legend of Billy's ghost. For more than 20 years, ghost hunters, amorous teens and the just plain curious have flocked to Mariposa Elementary School in the wee hours in hopes of spotting the ghost of a boy that legend says died in the school nurse's office.

Or maybe he was hit by a truck. Or perhaps he split his head open after tumbling from playground swings.

Whatever the actual story, lovers of the paranormal believe little Billy decided to spend his afterlife roaming the school's halls after dark.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:33 AM

Spirulina: Protein for the Future 

The idea of eating seaweed has - for a long time now - been included among the standard jokes referring to natural food "fanatics" who'll consume almost anything (no matter how unpalatable it may be) in pursuit of glowing health.

Recent developments, however, indicate that the jest may soon turn on its tellers! The fact is that algae could well become an increasingly familiar part of everyone's diet, as the soaring costs of producing and transporting "traditional" foodstuffs force people to look for alternative sources of nutrition.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:56 AM

Hunting the Monster of Machado Lake  

Like the best creature tales, this one begins with something lurking in a lake.

The story has been unfolding in Harbor City, just north of San Pedro, where people have packed into Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park for three days. They scan the water for a glimpse of what authorities believe is a spectacled caiman, a crocodile cousin from Central and South America.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:50 AM

Hunting The Lea Beast 

WHO lives in a hole like this, was the question on everyone's lips after rumours that a crocodile is snacking on wildlife from the Old River Lea.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:45 AM

"Marine of the Year" charged with attempted murder 

A man who last month was named U.S. Marine of the Year for his service in Iraq has been arrested and charged with attempted murder.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:32 AM

Experimental Hybrid Cars Get Up to 250 Mpg 

Politicians and automakers say a car that can both reduce greenhouse gases and free America from its reliance on foreign oil is years or even decades away. Ron Gremban says such a car is parked in his garage.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:20 AM

Christopher Walken for President 

Walken 2008? Could it get any worse than it is now?

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:35 AM

Sunday, August 14, 2005

The qi-bioelectric body 

An interesting take on qi.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:27 PM

Dowsing has come a long way from forked sticks 

There was a time when the old guy on the farm up the road would cut a forked stick from a tree, clasp one hand on each side of the "y-rod," and walk his land looking for water.

When the stick suddenly dropped, the stem of the y pointing to the ground, he would dig a well. It was said that if he was a good dowser, he would find water on the spot.

On the Web site for the American Society of Dowsers, however, it appears the practice is no longer limited to looking for water on the farm.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:56 PM

A real life Hogwarts? Hogwash 

An Austrian school for witchcraft and wizardry has reported a surge in recruitment since the publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. When the Hexenschule first opened in 2003, the world's press scoffed, but two years later, it is booming.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:05 AM

U.S. explorers to mine alpine lake for Nazi loot 

Alfred Egner drowned.

He was just a workhorse, really, a 19-year-old boy from Munich, hired by a couple of former SS officers in 1963 to dive down to the murky bottoms of Austria's Lake Toplitz and resurface with fistfuls of treasures secreted away in this alpine paradise.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:27 AM

U.S. man lied about playing an Oompa Loompa 

A U.S. man who long claimed to have played one of Willy Wonka's Oompa Loompas in the original 1971 motion picture now admits he was lying.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:24 AM

The Kelly 'commotion' 

If Lonnie Lankford had been a little older, his mother might not have pushed him under the bed that night she thought she saw an alien outside her bedroom window.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:20 AM

Forest of mystery / New Bigfoot museum joins Mystery Spot near Santa Cruz 

It's hard to explain why I had to go to the Bigfoot museum. It could be all those twilight drives with my grandparents as a child, taking to Northern California's back roads to spot white deer (success rate: 50 percent) and "maybe even Bigfoot" (success rate: zip). Just as likely, it was a reason to drive through the Santa Cruz Mountains on a glorious summer weekend.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:15 AM

Florida's monster 

It's big. It's hairy. It stinks. It lurks in the woods - and it's been spotted near Tate's Hell.

It's Florida's own monster: the Skunk Ape, known in other parts of the world as Bigfoot, Yeti, the Abominable Snowman and Sasquatch.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:06 AM

'James Bond' war hero stole allied fortune 

A BRITISH war hero who fought with Balkan partisans against the Germans stole thousands of pounds in gold and diamonds sent to fund the war effort, newly released files have revealed.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:02 AM

In search of the Skunk Ape? 

If all this monster talk has whetted your appetite for learning more about legendary creatures, here's a wrap-up of non-credit cryptozoology classes offered this fall through the Florida Keys Community College.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:58 AM

Exploring Jewish Magic, Giants 

Jewish books about magic and giants are among the slew of ancient texts set to be translated into English.

The manuscripts, which date from the third century B.C.E. to the sixth century C.E., include legends about numerous biblical characters, magical and astrological handbooks, poetry, visions, oracles, and apocalyptic prophecies.

*********************************
They include some examples of nonconformist beliefs and practices, such as Book of the Mysteries, a Hebrew handbook written in the talmudic era listing magical incantations and spells that sometimes invoke pagan gods, a practice forbidden by Jewish law.

Others are downright provocative, such as the tantalizingly named "Book of Giants," which expands on a story told in the Book of Genesis where angels are said to have mated with the daughters of men who then gave birth to giants.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:44 AM

Hunt for lost treasure of Yamashita is on 

Rumours of secret maps, symbols carved in rocks and booby-trapped underground chambers filled with looted gold have lured treasure hunters to the Philippines for decades. They are drawn by a legend that Japanese occupying forces stashed away billions of dollars' worth of bullion and precious artefacts looted from across Asia when they realised their empire was collapsing in 1945.

Great article.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:35 AM

Creator of Kong 

Instead of making a third version of "King Kong" (to be released later this year), maybe Peter Jackson should have made a movie about Merian C. Cooper, the man who made the first "King Kong" in 1933. It would be something new, and, if Mark Cotta Vaz's Living Dangerously is any evidence, it would be at least as action-packed and exciting.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:23 AM

French dwarf jester haunts house 

Beaufort resident Dee Hryharrow was a much younger woman in the 1940s, when she first came in contact with another Lowcountry denizen who had been around for nearly 400 years -- and dead for nearly as long.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:19 AM

Man says science proves he stole that famous smooch 

Who was the mystery man who kissed Edith Shain?

On its Web site, Life magazine lists 11 possibilities, and Edith Shain has heard from 25 men claiming to be the man she kissed at Broadway and 42nd Street. Ten years ago, she identified a man named Carl Muscarello. The two re-created the famous event on television, but she later changed her mind.

See also V-J Day Kiss: 50 Years Later.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:33 AM

Friday, August 12, 2005

TERRORISTS' HOMETOWN PAPER DISCOVERS 9.11 

The importance of this week's revelation that an Army intelligence unit was tracking Mohamed Atta's movements in the U.S. during 1999 and 2000 is so mind-bogglingly massive that it seems that nobody quite gets it yet...

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:27 PM

Remember Mystery Meat? Prepare For Lab Meat 

Researchers say they can grow meat cells in a test tube without a cow or chicken in sight.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:25 PM

Small publishers say Amazon has opened big doors 

Changing times.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:23 PM

New facts back tale of brush with Atta  

NEW intelligence reports suggesting that 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta arrived in the US in late 1999 or early 2000 - six months earlier than previously thought - are likely to spark a reassessment of public servant Johnelle Bryant's incredible story of a face-to-face meeting with the terrorist.

In an extraordinary 2002 interview later branded a hoax by some media -- including the ABC's Media Watch -- Ms Bryant claimed to have met Atta in late April or early May of 2000 when she worked as a loan officer with the US Department of Agriculture's farm services agency in Florida.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:10 PM

Campfire stories 

The Bear Lake Monster and other tales from the campfire. Nice article with some good oral histories.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:46 AM

It's good to believe 

Fairies, Santa Claus, Bigfoot, the Flathead Lake monster. Skeptics are always quick to disprove the existence of the unexplained. But where is the fun in that? To believe in the mystical, the esoteric, is to sustain innocence.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:34 AM

It could be worse 

News of the Flathead Lake monster making recent appearances should be treated with respect and kindness.

It could be worse.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:32 AM

Thursday, August 11, 2005

JACK ABRAMOFF INDICTED FOR BANK FRAUD 

Earlier today, lobbyist Jack Abramoff was indicted for bank fraud in connection with his 2000 purchase of the SunCruz gambling ships from Greek millionaire Gus Boulis. To finance the purchase, Abramoff and his partner Adam Kidan were required by Foothill Capitol to put up $23 million in cash to secure the loan. Abramoff and Kidan signed sworn documents, provided to Foothill Capitol at closing, attesting that they had paid Boulis the $23 million. In fact, Abramoff and Kidan never paid Boulis and by October 2000, Boulis was threatening to sue. In January 2001, Boulis did file suit, but in February 2001, he was murdered in an unsolved gang-land style homicide.

posted by Prof. Hex at 10:52 PM

Study: Atlantis Sinking Has Scientific Basis 

Plato's account of how the fabled city of Atlantis sank below the surface of the ocean does have scientific grounding, according to a seafloor survey of an island west of the Straits of Gibraltar.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:39 PM

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

UFO sightings down 

First Cumbria, now Canada.

posted by Prof. Hex at 5:12 PM

Wife of 'Jackal' may defend 'Serpent' 

Sobhraj wants French attorney Isabelle Coutant-Peyre to defend his case.

Coutant-Peyre has earned her reputation as an attorney by stretching the limits of her professional zeal so far as to first defend and then marry international terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos 'The Jackal'.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:46 AM

Sex abuse probe records vanish  

Crucial police records relating to an investigation into alleged child sexual abuse by a prominent Melbourne radio executive have mysteriously disappeared, an investigation by Victoria's independent police corruption watchdog has found.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:36 AM

Brazil's biggest bank heist nets 65 mln usd - Forbes.com 

Thieves tunneled into a Brazilian Central Bank branch to steal 65 mln usd, officials said. The country's biggest-ever bank heist was one of the largest in the world.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:10 AM

Clairvoyant assistance 

El Pasoan foresaw 9/11, helped solve child's killing.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:15 AM

Plato's Atlantis. New proofs demonstrates that Atlantis were a Ibero-Mauritano empire. 

The famous investigator and scriptologist Hispanic-Cuban Georgeos Diaz-Montexano have discovered proofs that Plato, when described the island-peninsule of Atlantis did it being based on the geographic description of the peninsula or island of Iberia and part of the West of Morocco.

Press release.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:12 AM

Music detective work excites Vivaldi fans 

Music and mysteries don't usually go hand-in-hand, but some sharp detective work by a Melbourne academic has uncovered an ancient mistake that left the wrong composer's name on a piece of classical music. And her discovery that the real author was none other than the legendry Vivaldi, has set the classical music world abuzz.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:09 AM

Crusader Nabbed By Michigan Cops  

I have a thousand years of power!

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:05 AM

Monday, August 08, 2005

Did the GOP steal another Ohio Election? 

The Republican Party has -- barely -- snatched another election in Ohio. And once again there are telltale symptoms of the kind of vote theft that put George W. Bush in the White House in 2000 and then kept him there in 2004.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:45 PM

Cumbria falls off the intergalactic UFO map 

ET, it appears, has had enough of Cumbria. If there is a rosette system in the Alpha Centauri tourist board Guide to Earth, Cumbria obviously isn't getting any.

Chris Parr, the Whitehaven-based co-ordinator for Bufoh, warned yesterday that he and his helpers will have to call it a day if the decline in sightings experienced over the past few years continues for much longer.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:49 PM

Dragons in the Tibet Sky 

A photo of two peculiar dragon-shaped objects taken from a plane flying over Tibet's Himalayas piqued many users' interest when displayed on a Chinese website. The photographer is an amateur.

If you click on the Chinese language version of the article you can enlarge the blurry, indistinct photographs. But hey, they're dragons!

Article found over at The Anomalist.

posted by Prof. Hex at 8:37 PM

Army whistleblower draws fire  

In the world as Bunnatine Greenhouse sees it, people do the right thing. They stand up for the greater good and they speak up when things go wrong. She believes God has a purpose for each life and she prays every day for that purpose to be made evident. These days she is praying her heart out, because she is in a great deal of trouble.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:40 AM

Headless body of the last true Welsh prince may be buried - under a Cardiff pub 

The final resting place of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd - also known as Ein Llyw Olaf ("Our Last Leader") - has remained a mystery since he was slain in a Mid Wales ambush in 1282 as he spearheaded a rebellion against Edward I.

posted by Prof. Hex at 12:29 AM

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Chavez Accuses U.S. Anti-Drug Agency of Espionage 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of using its agents for espionage, and said Venezuela was suspending cooperation with the U.S. agency.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:05 PM

Candidate Drops Out of N.C. Council Race 

A city council candidate dropped out of the race Friday after it was disclosed that he posted comments to a white supremacist Internet bulletin board more than 4,000 times.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:59 PM

9/11 Group Says White House Has Not Provided Files - New York Times 

The White House has failed to turn over any of the information requested by the 10 members of the disbanded Sept. 11 commission in their renewed, unofficial investigation into whether the government is doing enough to prevent terrorist attacks on American soil, commission members said.

posted by Prof. Hex at 1:56 PM

The REAL Columbine 

This report hasn't been updated since 2000 but it is still worth a read. Something stinks in Colorado.

And be sure to visit the Columbine Research Task Force.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:23 AM

There's Something About Henry  

Serial killers and mind control. Worth a read.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:40 AM

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Chinese exercises combat diabetes 

In a study that is believed to be the first in the world to evaluate the effectiveness of Qigong and Tai Chi to combat the disease, PhD student Liu Xin has developed a series of exercises to reduce the risk of progression to Type 2 diabetes.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:32 AM

North Bergen: UFO hotspot! 

Moviegoers across America have been flocking to the theaters to see Steven Spielberg's blockbuster "War of the Worlds," which was filmed around North Jersey. But while the movie is focused on a fictional alien invasion, there are a lot of people in North Bergen who believe there have been many local invasions and sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) here over the last 30 years, most of which were centered on the southeastern end of North Hudson Braddock Park.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:22 AM

Bigfoot Expedition to Be Broadcast Live on 24-Hour-a-Day Pay-Per-View Webcast  

Press release.

"Now the whole world can watch us try to track down and study the elusive creature known as Bigfoot," according to C. Thomas Biscardi, leader of the expedition and founder of the Great American Bigfoot Research Organization.

Yes, you can watch it all at www.theresoneborneveryminute.com.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:19 AM

Could Bigfoot be lurking in Indiana? 

Could the legendary phenomenon Bigfoot be lurking in Kosciusko County? One man believes it could be, even though he's never seen it himself.

Bigfoot, sometimes called Sasquatch, is the substance of legends, just not normally in Indiana. However, the stories told about what's been seen will make you wonder.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:13 AM

Witchcraft in Africa 

Book Review.

posted by Prof. Hex at 4:04 AM

Peter Jackson to make documentary for original 'King Kong' DVD 

I am so buying this.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:33 AM

Why We Love Bad Movies 

Sweet.

The fact most often repeated about Hal P. Warren, the auteur of the cinematic freak show "Manos: The Hands of Fate," is that he was a fertilizer salesman, as if the occupation somehow disqualified him from moviemaking.

Maybe, maybe not. In the summer of 1966 Warren led a band of justly uncompensated players into the desert around El Paso to make what is now widely celebrated as the worst movie of all time. The tale of a family who falls into the grip of a Satanic cult—though the spoils of soul-selling amount to no more than a screen-door shack with a filthy couch - "Manos" is a work of dazzling stupidity and an incompetence so decadent that it's hard to understand how Warren managed to dress himself in the morning.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:23 AM

Reports link three to disappearance of Greenwich man 

Connecticut's top federal prosecutor would not confirm reports yesterday that investigators are considering two Russian men and a California teenager as possible suspects in the mysterious disappearance of a Greenwich man from a Mediterranean cruise ship last month.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:17 AM

Monroe mystery deepens with new 'confession' 

On the anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death, a former prosecutor has unveiled what he says are notes of her secret confessions to a psychiatrist that show her as anything but suicidal.

"There was no possible way this woman could have killed herself," John Miner told the Los Angeles Times for a story published yesterday. "She had very specific plans for her future. She knew exactly what she wanted to do."

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:14 AM

Friday, August 05, 2005

FBI agents search West's house 

The FBI has searched the home of anti-gay Republican man-shagger and Spokane Mayor Jim West, seizing his computers and related files, court documents filed today reveal.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:15 PM

New sea serpent claim 

Monster hunter Jan-Ove Sundberg continues his search for proof of famous sea serpents and once again claims that he has evidence for the presence of Selma, the beast reputed to live in Norway's Lake Seljord.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:49 PM

Atlantis expedition reveals structures 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: sunken ruins off Cyprus do not Atlantis make.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:47 PM

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Once Grand Camelot Hotel Had a Quick Demise 

I've driven by the rotting ruins of the Camelot many, many times. This is Part One of a multi-part series. Can't wait for Part Two.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:49 PM

Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum  

Down a narrow street lined with rowhouses stands a monument to American literature, the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum. Poe lived in the house for two to three years in the 1830s, shortly after it was built. The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore saved the home from demolition in 1941. And although it isn't located in the best part of town, this little rowhouse that once housed one of the most mysterious figures of the literary world provides a charming peek into Baltimore's and Poe's past.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:43 PM

Yoga May Help Keep Weight Off at Mid-Life  

The slow stretches and meditations of yoga don't burn calories like a run on the treadmill. But a new study suggests it might help people keep weight off in middle age.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:21 PM

Laser Treatment Kills Cancer Cells in Lab  

A nanotech-laser treatment that can destroy cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue has been developed by Stanford University scientists.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:40 PM

Idaho, Indio killings linked 

A convicted sex offender charged with killing four members of an Idaho family and abducting an 8-year-old girl has been linked to the 1997 killing of Anthony Martinez of Beaumont.

A partial thumb print places Joseph Edward Duncan III along Berdoo Canyon Road, just north of Indio - the site where the 10-year-old's body was found 15 days after he disappeared.

The Dark Side has been covering this closely, along with other unsolved murders possibly linked to Duncan.

posted by Prof. Hex at 7:52 AM

60 Years Gone: Hiroshima Cover-Up Exposed 

In the weeks following the atomic attacks on Japan almost 60 years ago, and then for decades afterward, the United States engaged in airtight suppression of all film shot in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings. This included footage shot by U.S. military crews and Japanese newsreel teams. In addition, for many years, all but a handful of newspaper photographs were seized or prohibited.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:52 AM

Indonesians remember ancient Chinese navigator 

Zheng He (1371-1433), the Chinese Ming Dynasty navigator who traveled the West Ocean 600 years ago, has been dearly remembered by the the natives as well as Chinese Indonesians.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:42 AM

This ancient door stood the test of time... 

It has been in continuous use for almost 1 000 years, and for a long time people believed - wrongly - that it was covered in flayed human skin.

On Thursday, a battered door inside London's famous Westminster Abbey was officially named as the oldest door in Britain.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:41 AM

The search for buried treasures 

Former outhouse sites yield some cool finds for three local men.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:37 AM

Does Anybody Remember Zoso? 

Occult Zeppelin.

posted by Prof. Hex at 6:31 AM

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

East Kingston woman reports second UFO sighting 

It's happened again. An East Kingston resident said she saw a "silver-cigar" shaped object in a daytime sky last week.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:43 AM

Mark Chorvinsky 1954-2005 

R.I.P., Mark. You'll be missed

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:24 AM

Witches' graffiti found in Palermo 

Women accused of witchcraft by the Inquisition more than four centuries ago left behind an impressive series of graffiti in a Palermo prison as they waited to be burned at the stake, archeologists announced on Tuesday.

The latest graffiti were uncovered during renovation work in the ancient complex of the Steri, the Palermo headquarters of the dreaded Inquisition, the Catholic Church's judiciary tasked with stamping out heresy.

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:06 AM

Bridge draws dogs to jump to death 

Donna Cooper still has no idea why her normally obedient border collie, Ben, leaped to his death this spring off a tall rural bridge in Milton without any warning or apparent rationale. "Ben's feet never touched the wall," she said, referring to the waist-high, 18-inch-thick barrier that has been hurdled - inexplicably and with a near certainty of death - by scores of dogs during the past three decades. "He just went straight over."

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:04 AM

Cabaret Performer Hildegarde Dies at 99 

Hildegarde, 99, the cabaret sensation whose elegant piano and vocal style -- combined with flirty banter and a champagne smile -- made her an icon of nightclub sophistication for decades, died July 29 at a hospital in New York. The cause of death was undisclosed.

"I traveled all my life, met a lot of men, had a lot of romances, but it never worked out. It was always 'hello and goodbye.' "

posted by Prof. Hex at 11:00 AM

Klingon Karaoke 

What could I possibly say? Except maybe pItlh DawIj!

Thanks to Hex Correspondent Sara for the tip.

posted by Prof. Hex at 3:19 AM

Monday, August 01, 2005

400-year-old book on surgery found under floorboards  

. . . after lengthy detective work by Lindsay Levy, the faculty's cataloguer of rare books, it was discovered that the mysterious book is in fact the 1634 edition of "The Workes of that famous Chirurgion Ambrose Parey – translated out of Latin and compared with the French". It is one of Parey's 10 books of surgical knowledge and one of only 22 in existence printed in English.

posted by Prof. Hex at 9:26 PM