Month: April 2015

FEELING LUCKY: Has GOOGLE found Nessie?

Go to GOOGLE today and click on their banner.. it will take you to a series of articles about how GOOGLE employed its technology to try to locate the potentially fake but yet elusive NESSIE, the Loch Ness Monster. You can now search for NESSIE from your computer using GOOGLE Street View. Google mounted a Street View camera on a boat to give people a 360-degree view of the 23-mile-long loch..

Give it a try. It’s fun.

One picture, in particular, may create a firestorm of speculation about the long-living legendary creature:

It could be a log. Debris.. reflection.. refuse. It .. NESSIE. You be the judge

And you can continue your search with GOOGLE. The engine bringing the paranormal and weird right onto your own device. The power to find NESSIE now rests with you.

Go find..

April 21, 2015
Not even POPE FRANCIS could fix this number

If you want to know why Catholic Churches and schools are closing throughout the United States, look no further than this number released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: $2.9 billion.

With a B.

That is the dollar amount that the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church has cost since 2004. It’s an insurmountable number, and it continues to drain the resources of the religion..

From the CATHOLIC CULTURE story filed today:

Only 59% of those funds were allotted to settlements ($62.9 million) and therapy for abuse victims ($7.7 million). The remaining funds were spent on attorneys’ fees ($28.8 million), support for offenders ($15.4 million), and other costs ($4.2 million), according to the 2014 “Report on the Implementation of the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People.”

These expenses brought the total cost of the clerical abuse scandal to American dioceses and religious institutes between 2004 and mid-2014 to $2,895,629,230, according to the data in the current report and previous reports.

The report added that dioceses, eparchies, and religious orders spent an additional $31,667,740 for child protection efforts in 2013-14.

65% of accused diocesan clergy “had already been identified in prior allegations,” and 75% “were deceased, already removed from ministry, already laicized, or missing.”

75% of those who alleged abuse by diocesan clergy and 87% of those who alleged abuse by religious-order clergy were male, and abuse typically took place between the ages of 10 and 14. Most of the allegations involved incidents that took place between 1960 and 1989, particularly the 1970s.

April 21, 2015
The hypothetical humanity killer

I have been following this NASA website recently: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/pdc15/ .. if you fear a life-ending asteroid, maybe you should too.

The first and most important thing to realize about the page: It is all imagined. The asteroid and work to stop it from hitting Earth is all hypothetical. But with each pretend statement about the asteroid and the would be trajectory, it seems very real. That is because the words on http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/pdc15/, though now unreal, could be accurate one day soon. We could be facing a mass extinction event. Something bigger than Chelyabinsk, something mightier. It may hit land and cause an impact zone crater on Earth. Or it could hit water and flood coastlines with a massive wave never seen during our lifetime.

The Planetary Defense Conference is a meeting of scientists, engineers, policy-makers, and people in Italy. They are playing an asteroid pre-war-game. Mapping out the possibilities and speculating on the impact aftermath.

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/pdc15/ is where people could follow online to the games.

The games..
But on the topic of the site itself, there is rampant speculation about the ‘game’.. and the chances it could all be a diversion meant to keep our mind believing it’s unreal and really, in the end, “they” know something is coming. The conspiracy minded folk, of which I join in now and then, think that there is a killer stalking this planet.. lurking not too far from our existence. And NASA knows it. They are so aware of it that they are going to great lengths to post this ‘war game’ on the internet, along with bringing the biggest and brightest minds together. Because the reality, some would say, is that they ARE INDEED planning a course of action over a real event.

My take is a little less paranoid, at least about this game. I think the simulation is that: A simulation. But I think sooner rather than later, we will be hit with something on this planet. It is my hope that we have simulated long enough to get the reason response.

And I pray to whatever gods of life exist that we will have years, and not months, to prep. And maybe decades–not days.

Chelyabinsk should have been a wake up call to the planet. Instead it became a “and finally tonight” segment on local newscasts around the world. Science is regulated too often to the “in other news” portion after sports and weather. But if Chelyabinsk would have hit NYC, or D.C., and would have been just a little bit lower in orbit, we may have been playing a whole new REAL game right about now…….

April 21, 2015
Plumbers of Walmart: Sometimes the conspiracy is as simple as that
There have been a number of theories concerning the reasons behind WALMART suddenly closing 5 stores for ‘plumbing issues.’ Among the many things being considered by the speculators who theorize in such conspiracy:
1. Jade Helm related.
2. FEMA camps
3. Underground tunnels to protect us from a nuclear/bio attack
4. The elite prepping their bunkers for the yet unannounced asteroid
5. The end of civilization as we know it.
But .. perhaps CLYDE LEWIS was on to something the other night when he had an alternative alternative theory: It was all about the money..

Just yesterday, a report was filed by CNNMONEY about the United Food and Commercial Workers union filing an injunction with the National Labor Relations Board to fight the closure.. From CNN:

Walmart unexpectedly closed five stores last week in Texas, California, Florida and Oklahoma, for what it said were severe plumbing problems. That put 2,200 people out of work.

But the United Food and Commercial Workers union filed an injunction with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of Walmart Monday seeking to stop workers from losing their jobs. It wants the NLRB to force Walmart to rehire all of the terminated workers.

Walmart said the workers at the affected stores were given two months pay, which is required under federal law regarding layoff notices. But the workers could be out of a job by mid-June unless they find a position at a different Walmart store. The stores are expected to be closed about six months for repairs.

But OUR Walmart says the company’s claim of plumbing problem is just an excuse to punish workers for protesting for higher pay. Workers at the store closed in Pico Rivera, California, led one of the first Black Friday protests back in 2012.

Walmart didn’t comment on the newest speculation..

I have read some reaction, though. A few say that this newest conspiracy theory was the mainstream theory and it’s only mean to throw us off of the other REAL conspiracy theory.. which could be any of the above numbered conspiracy theories or a brand new theory yet to be publicly conspired or opined about. Get that?
Or ..
The truth could be as simple as this: Walmart wanted to stop the spreading protests by performing a Reagan. He fired the airline workers. Walmart got rid of the cashiers.

And when the stores reopen? I wonder how many SELF CHECKOUT lanes will exist….
April 21, 2015
My newfound respect for the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

…AND I DON’T MEAN THE MICHAEL BAY INCARNATION..
I am talking about the cartoon..
AND I DON’T MEAN THE 20TH CENTURY VERSION..

I rarely speak much on here about the cartoon world. But thanks to fate and me having a 4-year-old TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES enthusiast, I am really getting to know the new NICKELODEON version of the show. We actively hunt down and try to acquire any new TMNT Nick toys at whatever unnamed store of choice. Some are pretty tough to find. Our family has been hitting some roadblocks..maybe AMAZON.COM is our only hope.

The show itself is amazing. I mean that. Not just because my son loves it.. not just because I am a TMNT fan.. but the storyline of the NICK cartoon is rough and tumble..ups and downs.. action packed and moving at times. It’s well done, and it has spawned something personally for me..

For about two nights in a row, I have had a nightmare about the RAT KING.

A little background on the RAT KING. When I was a kid in 1988, I really don’t remember seeing the RAT KING as a villain on the show. He made his first appearance in show #4 in February of that year.. The RAT KING has telepathic influences over, of course, rats. He has been an ally of the turtles, a villain, and evil doer.

But most recently in the NICK version of the show, he has morphed into a truly horrid looking creature who fights Master Splinter.

Though I am 34 and the show is just a cartoon, I have found myself dwelling a little too much subconsciously on the RAT KING, enough that he appeared in the last two nights of dreams. Last night, for example, I dreamed that I was trying to either hide something or myself. As the day goes on, I remember less about the dream. But what I do vividly recall from it: In the night time vision, the RAT KING was the entity hunting down either me or the unnamed hidden object. And it was startling–enough that I would consider the dream a borderline nightmare. I didn’t wake up in a cold sweat, but I was sure glad the alarm clock alerted me to daybreak so the dream could end.

There are elements of the show that are great for kids. There are also some that are perfect for those aging a bit. As for me, as a TMNT fan, the program is dark and grungy but yet filled with enough humor that it’s easy to watch. So while I am a few years behind, I am saying now: I endorse this show. It’s great. NO matter what age you are, you can still be a kid at heart..

But the RAT KING?
He is a little creepier than the average villain.

A noteworthy item of interest. This morning when my dream was over and I groggily walked into the living room to try to start the day, I almost stepped on one of my son’s Ninja Turtles action figures.
The RAT KING, no less…
Haunting at night. And a toy haunting by day…

NOT THIS:

But this:

April 21, 2015
THE VISIT poster makes rounds after REDDIT posting

A user on REDDIT posted a teaser poster to an upcoming M Night Shyalaman film THE VISIT set for release on September 11, 2015. The comments thread on the photo has taken on a life of its own..

Shyamalan ‘s THE VISIT tells a story of a brother and sister (Ed Oxenbould and Olivia De Jonge) who are sent to their grandparents’ remote Pennsylvania farm for a weeklong trip by Mom, Kathryn Hahn. The trailer for the film shows things going quite fine.. then tension builds when the two children discover that their grandparents are involved in something deeply disturbing.

Hence the warning: Don’t leave your room after 9:30 pm.

A number of people online have noted the similarities in appearance between the VISIT poster and THE VILLAGE ..

April 20, 2015
DOLLS ARE CREEPY. But have you met Peggy?

There are haunting dolls. And there is Peggy.. And if you believe the hype surrounding this latest paranormal internet sensation, she is so powerful in her fear that she causes nasuea, headaches. And heart attacks.

Annabel Fenwick Elliott described the situation in the UK DAILY MAIL. A number of other global media sources latched onto to the paranormal tale.

Here is the lowdown and what you need to know about this plastic piece of evil.. Jayne Harris is a paranormal investigator in the UK. She posted photos and a video of a doll that Harris claims is inhabited by the spirit of a Holocaust victim.. Viewers of the videos and content have written Harris with personal messages about how PEGGY, the doll, has affected their lives.. Some have complained of crippling headaches after seeing Peggy. Some reported visions of mental institutions and abuse. Others said they became anxious. And one said she experienced a heart attack..

The one video–creepy indeed–involves Harris driving PEGGY in the car. Peggy staring at the camera is a little unnerving.. I had to tell myself it is just a doll..
Just a doll.

And this is the doll:

And this is one of the videos:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1176217_1_1429262667692.html

From the DAILY MAIL story:

‘One lady said that when she opened a photograph of Peggy, her computer froze on the picture and the room went cold.

‘She then said she felt someone in the room with her and could hear them moving around.This lady was messaging me at the time via Facebook asking me to quickly advise her on what to do.

‘I took Peggy down into an isolation area and requested that she cease her tormenting. Apparently everything returned to normal.’

Mrs Harris continued: ‘Another lady yesterday said she had been experiencing light bulbs blowing and a presence in her home after she had been speaking about Peggy.

‘With Peggy, it’s not only while people are looking at her or watching her, it seems to be afterwards too.’

Mrs Harris, who has herself experienced migraines and feeling drained after working with Peggy, said she has never seen a case of this intensity before.

She runs an organisation called Haunted Dolls, and often gets random items in the post with no prior background.

Mrs Harris uses an array of gadgets and experiments to piece together the puzzles surrounding them.

There have been a wide spectrum of people attempting to place a story with Peggy, a background to the supposed spirit inhabiting the doll. Two mediums believe she is a Jewish soul and a victim of Hitler’s World War II atrocities.

There has been a Facebook group set up to study the ongoing odyssey of PEGGY..

But there are also many detractors who are looking at the PEGGY story as a bunch of loonies who need to be locked up. One comment on the DAILY MAIL article was funny enough to be reprinted here:

It really works I suffered bad chest pains by watching this! I thought I was having an heart attack but then I realised it was that dodgy kebab that gave me heartburn.

Even those who find this situation comical are also understanding that it could either be collective consciousness.. perhaps people giving the power to the doll to become fearful and mighty.. or just a group of people making each other scared.

Dolls are freaky.. Clyde Lewis showcased that brilliantly in 2014 when he broadcasted a live NET stream of Nickle in a dark room alone. The doll moved.

There is a little bit of a personal tale I’d like to relay, one that was brought to the forefront of my mind by Peggy. When I was a child, perhaps 4 or 5, I was at my grandmother’s house for Christmas Eve dinner. My brother and cousin devised a very elaborate prank that scared me to this day.. They rigged my grandmother’s doll (freakish as well) with strings, turned the lights off, and continued to call out my name to go into the room. A dark room.. with a little beam of light on the doll, from the shadows they would make the doll’s arms and legs move. I screamed and ran each time.. And in a weird way, Peggy looks sort of like that doll of my childhood fears..

Regardless of truth or not to the paranormal aspect, Peggy is one frightening lady. Blank eyes. Motionless face. A doll that I would not want to see staring at me in a dark room..

And for that reason, I myself did not watch the videos. Perhaps paranoia.. Or maybe I’m much more comfortable believing that PEGGY is just a doll..
Just a doll…

April 20, 2015
It’s all in a face: Wes Craven’s perpective on changes in FREDDY’s mug for NEW NIGHTMARE revealed

Freddy Krueger is still one of the most haunting horror movie icons of all time.. Robert Englund made that so, without him there would have been no sequels. But without the intricate and frightening makeup job that teams performed over the course of several movies, there would have been additionally no marketing and artwork that has accompanied the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise–minus the newest incarnation that Hollywood tried to pass on to fans..

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER interviewed Wes Craven about a number of different topics.. but the makeup of FREDDY’S face made the most headlines. Craven said he had no role in the MTV’s changing of the GHOSTFACE face.. And more, reported by Emmet McDermott:

“In general,” Craven says, reflecting on his own experience with the Scream sequel and beyond, “we didn’t mess with the mask at all. It’s something we didn’t try to change. With Freddy [Krueger] and the New Nightmare (below right), I felt that I probably should have stuck with the original face (below left). [With Scream,] we just let Ghostface be Ghostface.”

“It would have been safer [not to change Freddy],” Craven explains. “I’m not going to speculate in public, probably shouldn’t have even mentioned it, but you know, sometimes you realize that something’s not broken, so don’t fix it. And that was the course we took on all the Screamfilms: Don’t mess with that, it’s just perfect.”

For Craven, the success of the Scream franchise hinged upon the mask. No other mask would have done the trick. “No way. No way,” Craven insists. “I knew it in my bones that [Ghostface] was a unique find, and I had to convince the studio that they had to go the extra mile to get it.”

I thought then and do so more now after reading this HOLLYWOOD reporter story that the licensing fee to use the mask was much more costly than MTV would have preferred. Money talked. In this case, it became clear that changing the face would be cheaper, and they could spin it into somewhat positive press..

Craven’s perspective on changing Freddy may be a commentary on MTV’s change, too. Will people still watch the MTV version? Sure.. but will it feel the same? No.

x x x

While we are on the subject of FREDDY…ROLLING STONE recently posted a great article that NIGHTMARE fans may want to consider bookmarking or even printing if they’re so inclined to save paper .. Wes Craven and others talked openly about some of the aspects of FREDDY he purposely planned. Such as the glove.. knives, Craven said, have been scary for 1000 years. With a glove consumed by knives, Craven led to a modern day weapon that had deep roots in the human psyche for generation. The ROLLING STONE article also details the ‘Tina’ body bag scene from the first film–this was personally one of those moments in FREDDY history that haunted me. Amanda Wyss, who played Tina, described the REAL body bag that was used during the scene:

I freaked out in the body bag. It wasn’t a “stunt” body bag — this was a low-budget film, so somebody went to the morgue, got a [real] body bag and poked some pinholes in it. There’s no inside zipper on the thing, they just zipped me in. I was just like, “Seriously?”

April 20, 2015
FURIOUS 7 1at 3rd

FURIOUS 7 continues to rampage the box office, pushing to $1.15 BILLION with a B worldwide .. it’s making serious cash in CHINA, and despite a 51% dropoff since last week in America, it was still the number one film of the weekend..

Newcomers PAUL BLART and horror flick UNFRIENDED were no match for the spirit of Paul Walker. Or the CGI Paul Walker, in this case..

MALL COP 2 did better than some expected, coming in second place with $24 mil–not as good as his $30+ mil opener of the first film.. This movie was hit with horrid reviews. But often those pratfalls make people –not reviewers–last a little. But a full movie of pratfalls only? That doesn’t sound great..

UNFRIENDED had a great word of mouth and got good traction from a youthful brigade of horror fans.. it earned $16 mil strong–strong because it was one of the best opening weekends for a horror film since THE CONJURING. Yes it’s been that long..

While IT FOLLOWS was hoping for a wider release and good word of mouth, some not so great numbers have been resulting.. The film earned over $800,000 this weekend, but it also dropped 58% since last week. It also dropped 692 theaters .. But earning $13 mil + even though it only cost less than $2 mil to make? Well that’s a success. Plus it’s doing great and selling out in Australia..

April 19, 2015
WHAT’S YOUR FREQUENCY NORWAY?

Norway is about to set a trend. If you haven’t heard, they are going to become the first nation in the world to officially dump FM–frequency modulation–radio.

FM, around since the 1930s globally, has been a steadfast friend to people driving or radio fans for decades.

It’s obvious to say: The popularity of FM has waned recently.. though many still listen, they only do so often because they still don’t have other options..

Options such as DAB. Digital Audio Broadcasting. That is the new system being embraced by Norway. The Ministry of Culture is making the switch. By 2017, FM will start being phased out region by region. But the decision also seems obvious. In Norway, DAB listening now exceeds that of FM.

The squeeze is now on..
Whether other nations quickly or slowly follow Norway’s lead is up for time to decide. It’s clear that others will. And slowly by surely, as people give their love to the NET version of streaming instead of the FM version of sometimes staticy music broadcasting, the switch to DAB will become more of a global thing.

In America, though? I still sense an AM and FM lifespan to last a bit.. heck, there is still a market for ATARI, VHS, and even BETA. Radio will have a few more years before it goes the way of the FAX machine. Oh wait.. FAX machines are still around, too..

DAB, for the record, is used across Europe and Asia Pacific.. There are some interesting technical facts you can read on the means of broadcasting, should you want to.. But the important non technical takeaway: DAB is robust and for mobile listening–which is the really important fact. People have their ‘radios’ everywhere–their phones. DAB works well for the new style of music listening of our era.. DAB reception quality first degrades rapidly when the signal strength falls below a critical threshold, whereas FM reception quality degrades slowly with the decreasing signal.

And now NORWAY is paving the way for a whole new frequency.

So what’s yours, Kenneth?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWkMhCLkVOg]

April 19, 2015