Saturday, November 07, 2009
As for Me, I Think Mediums Should Stick to Murder Investigations
'Michael Jackson furious he's not buried next to Marilyn Monroe', claims medium on live TV seance | Mail Online: "Michael Jackson is annoyed he was not buried alongside Marilyn Monroe, according to a medium.
Derek Acorah claims he was contacted by the star during a televised seance and reduced fans to tears with his account of the singer adapting to spiritual life."
Derek Acorah claims he was contacted by the star during a televised seance and reduced fans to tears with his account of the singer adapting to spiritual life."
Here's the Plot of Your Next Cold Case Files Novel
Police: Teen missing since 1954 was slain - Crime & courts- msnbc.com: "A young woman buried as Jane Doe in Colorado 55 years ago. An Arizona family puzzled and saddened as Dorothy Gay Howard's disappearance stretched into decades.
It took a historian, a detective and a determined family member to make the connection after more than a half century that these two people were one and the same."
It took a historian, a detective and a determined family member to make the connection after more than a half century that these two people were one and the same."
There Will Always Be an England
Psychic 'leads' prompt murder inquiry | UK news | guardian.co.uk: "A police force has defended spending €20,000 investigating a man's death after his ghost was said to have told psychics that gangsters had forced him to drink petrol and bleach."
When Dolphins Go Bad
Monterey Bay researchers say dolphins are causing porpoise deaths - Santa Cruz Sentinel: "For the past five years, the growing number of dead harbor porpoises washing up on California shores has been a marine mystery -- until now.
In September, marine biologists with Okeanis, a nonprofit conservation group based in Moss Landing, captured the only video footage taken in Monterey Bay of bottlenose dolphins attacking and killing a porpoise."
In September, marine biologists with Okeanis, a nonprofit conservation group based in Moss Landing, captured the only video footage taken in Monterey Bay of bottlenose dolphins attacking and killing a porpoise."
I Thought the Percentage Would be Even Higher
Report: 237 millionaires in Congress - Erika Lovley - POLITICO.com: "As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress.
Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall."
Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall."
Friday, November 06, 2009
Maybe It's Just Me . . .
. . . but it bothers me that whenever there's a developing crisis like the Fort Hood shooting, the "news" channels fill the air with hour after hour of rumors, misinformation, and wild-ass guesses.
All Righty, Then
Clash Of The Titans Posters - FilmoFilia: "“Clash of the Titans” is a modern version of the 1981 Greek mythology film."
Okay, I realize that whoever wrote the above probably wasn't even born in 1981. Still, I do kind of resent the implication of that sentence.
Okay, I realize that whoever wrote the above probably wasn't even born in 1981. Still, I do kind of resent the implication of that sentence.
SMILE, you @#$%&'s!
Frown if you dare ... | The Sun |News: "A DESIGN student has created a high-tech hat that forces its wearer to SMILE.
The woolly headwear detects a user's facial expression and jabs a sharp metal SPIKE into their head if they stop grinning."
The woolly headwear detects a user's facial expression and jabs a sharp metal SPIKE into their head if they stop grinning."
Once Again, Texas Leads the Way
Police: Smell of pot sparks 12-hour SWAT standoff in gated Harris County community | khou.com | News: "A 12-hour standoff ended Thursday morning after police fired tear gas into a northwest Harris County home.
It all happened in a gated community in the 16000 block of Stoneside Drive. Police said they got a tip Wednesday night about the smell of marijuana coming from a home. When they arrived, investigators said a deputy confirmed the tip and knocked on the front door. The man inside did not answer.
Police then called a K-9 unit to the house. Investigators said the dog made two separate hits at the front door and the garage for drugs. Again, police said they got no response from the man inside.
Investigators secured a search warrant, and the HPD SWAT team was also called in to assist. The tactical team arrived around 2 a.m. Officers tried to contact the man over a loudspeaker and through a cell phone, but got no response after trying for two hours.
That’s when the officers fired the tear gas and the suspect came out."
It all happened in a gated community in the 16000 block of Stoneside Drive. Police said they got a tip Wednesday night about the smell of marijuana coming from a home. When they arrived, investigators said a deputy confirmed the tip and knocked on the front door. The man inside did not answer.
Police then called a K-9 unit to the house. Investigators said the dog made two separate hits at the front door and the garage for drugs. Again, police said they got no response from the man inside.
Investigators secured a search warrant, and the HPD SWAT team was also called in to assist. The tactical team arrived around 2 a.m. Officers tried to contact the man over a loudspeaker and through a cell phone, but got no response after trying for two hours.
That’s when the officers fired the tear gas and the suspect came out."
No Wonder I'm so Slow
Good Sprinters Have Long Toes: Scientific American Podcast: "When the starting pistol fires, sprinters launch into the race with a burst of acceleration. That initial velocity depends, in part, on the length of their toes. The scientists examined the feet of a dozen collegiate sprinters and a dozen non-athletes of a similar height. They measured foot length and used ultrasound imaging to watch Achilles tendons in action. And they found two things.
First, the sprinters have longer toes. That could give them an advantage by allowing them to maintain maximum contact with the ground as they push off the starting block. Second, their Achilles tendons have less leverage. That might sound bad, but it actually allows their leg muscles to produce greater force."
First, the sprinters have longer toes. That could give them an advantage by allowing them to maintain maximum contact with the ground as they push off the starting block. Second, their Achilles tendons have less leverage. That might sound bad, but it actually allows their leg muscles to produce greater force."
Even Older than I Am
Oldest American artefact unearthed : Nature News: "Archaeologists claim to have found the oldest known artefact in the Americas, a scraper-like tool in an Oregon cave that dates back 14,230 years.
The tool shows that people were living in North America well before the widespread Clovis culture of 12,900 to 12,400 years ago, says archaeologist Dennis Jenkins of the University of Oregon in Eugene."
The tool shows that people were living in North America well before the widespread Clovis culture of 12,900 to 12,400 years ago, says archaeologist Dennis Jenkins of the University of Oregon in Eugene."
My Mind is Boggled
Babies' Language Learning Starts From The Womb: "From their very first days, newborns' cries already bear the mark of the language their parents speak, reveals a new study published online on November 5th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The findings suggest that infants begin picking up elements of what will be their first language in the womb, and certainly long before their first babble or coo.
'The dramatic finding of this study is that not only are human neonates capable of producing different cry melodies, but they prefer to produce those melody patterns that are typical for the ambient language they have heard during their fetal life, within the last trimester of gestation,' . . ."
'The dramatic finding of this study is that not only are human neonates capable of producing different cry melodies, but they prefer to produce those melody patterns that are typical for the ambient language they have heard during their fetal life, within the last trimester of gestation,' . . ."
Forgotten Books: WE ALL KILLED GRANDMA -- Fredric Brown
As far as I know, this Fredric Brown novel hasn't been reprinted since the 1953 paperback release. There's a good reason for that. It's regarded as one of Brown's lesser efforts. I've had it on my shelves for nearly 40 years, and before this week I'd never read it.It has a promising start. The narrator, Rod Britten, has amnesia. His grandmother's been murdered, and he thinks he might have killed her. Even when the cops prove he couldn't have been the killer, he worries about it. Nothing new there, but the back cover of the book promises "a hammering, hard-driving murder." It is to laugh. I wonder if it's too late to sue for false blurbage. I haven't read a book that plods like this one in a long time. It's almost all talk, with no action at all. It's less about the murder than about Britten's attempt to recover his memory and reconnect with his ex-wife, and nothing happens for page after page.
There's a pretty good twist near the end, but by that time, you might have lost interest. I almost did, but Brown's style, even in a book like this one, flows so well that I kept on reading. And the title almost makes sense (don't be thinking Orient Express, though). I found the morality of the ending questionable at best, but what the heck. I can't really recommend the book. It's another forgotten novel that might just as well remain that way.
Oh, and that's not grandma on the cover, in case you were wondering. It's not anybody in the book, as far as I can tell, but at least the cover makes up for some of the book's shortcomings.
Update: Here's a good article on Brown by Bud Webster. All his "Past Masters" columns are worth a read.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
O. M. G.!
Undead Backbrain � Blog Archive � Dinocroc vs Supergator: "First there was Dinocroc (US-2004; dir. Kevin O’Neill), then there was Supergator (US-2007; dir. Brian Clyde) — both produced by the inimitable Roger Corman (see Undead Brainspasm article).
Now there’s Dinocroc vs Supergator, and courtesy of Jim Wynorski we bring you the latest images of the rampaging beasts — bigger and more fiercesome than ever!"
Now there’s Dinocroc vs Supergator, and courtesy of Jim Wynorski we bring you the latest images of the rampaging beasts — bigger and more fiercesome than ever!"
America's Youth -- Our Country's Future!
Obesity, poor education big obstacles to military recruiting - washingtonpost.com: "About 75 percent of the country's 17- to 24-year-olds are ineligible for military service, largely because they are poorly educated, overweight and have physical ailments that make them unfit for the armed forces, according to a report to be issued Thursday.
Other factors, such as drug use, criminal records and mental problems, contribute to what military leaders say is a major problem that threatens the country's ability to defend itself at a time when the all-volunteer force is already strained fighting two wars."
Other factors, such as drug use, criminal records and mental problems, contribute to what military leaders say is a major problem that threatens the country's ability to defend itself at a time when the all-volunteer force is already strained fighting two wars."
Tom Sawyer Update
Brazilian makes surprise visit at own funeral - Weird news- msnbc.com: "A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral."
Hat tip to David Cranmer.
Hat tip to David Cranmer.
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