Phantoms and Monsters

The Mystery of Santa Rosalia
MIB: A Bizarre Encounter
Nashville Nightspot Deals With Ghostly Patrons
Diamond Oceans May Exist On Uranus and Neptune

Posted: 17 Jan 2010 11:33 AM PST

Statement with video: Many witnesses claim they saw Santa Rosalia appear in the caves of the famous hermit in the ruins in Sicily. Others, however, see an image far from reassuring and admit that they have come across a black hooded figure. The young people recorded these disturbing images.

NOTE: There was a rumor a few years ago that a group of pilgrims disappeared in the cave of Santa Rosalia. Of course, believers would say that this is impossible since saints only represent 'good'. Honestly, I don't know if the rumor has anything to do with this video. Back in the early 1980's, I was told of a woman who swore that she witnessed a being in the grotto when she was a child...saying it was shrouded in a hooded black robe with skeletal hands and feet. Anyway, take it for what it's worth...Lon
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SANTA ROSALIA, PATRON SAINT OF PALERMO

Saint Rosalia (1130–1166), also called La Santuzza or "The Little Saint", is the patron saint of Palermo, Sicily, El Hatillo, Venezuela, and Zuata, Anzoategui, Venezuela.

Devoutly religious, she retired to live as a hermit in a cave on Mount Pellegrino, where she died alone in 1166. Tradition says that she was led to the cave by two angels. On the cave wall she wrote "I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses, and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ."

In 1624, a horrible plague haunted Palermo, and during this hardship St Rosalia appeared first to a sick woman, then to a hunter to whom she indicated where her remains were to be found. She ordered him to bring her bones to Palermo and have them carried in procession through the city.

The hunter climbed the mountain and found her bones in the cave as described. He did what she had asked in the apparition, and after the procession the plague ceased. After this St Rosalia would be venerated as the patron saint of Palermo, and a sanctuary was built in the cave where her remains were discovered.

Santa Rosalia, clearly holds a special place in the hearts of many Sicilians. During the first week of June every year in Santo Stefano Quisquina, there is a special celebration to commemorate her miraculous intervention that saved Palermo from the Black Plague. Rosalia was the daughter of Duke Sinibaldo, Lord of the Quisquina and the Roses, who was a cousin of King William II of Sicily. Like Saint Francis of Assisi, Rosalia turned her back on a life of ease and chose to devote herself to prayer and solitude. The legend says that in 1159 she retired to a hermetic existence in a remote cave on Monte Pellegrino, the rocky cliff high above the Bay of Palermo. Nothing was heard from her again until 1624, when the plague arrived in Sicily.

Salvation to Sicily came in the unexpected form of La Santuzza, who appeared in a vision to a hunter lost on Monte Pellegrino. "Don't worry," she said "I will protect you and I will protect the city". She revealed to him the site of the cave in which she had lived as a hermit and told him to go back to Palermo and alert the archbishop and rulers of the city. The hunter did as he was instructed, and those leaders found her remains and displayed them through the streets of Palermo. Within three days, the plague ended, and she was proclaimed patron saint of the city.

Click for video

Sources:
Sicily - John L. Stoddard's Lectures
en.wikipedia.org
www.ferlita.com
chestofbooks.com

MIB: A Bizarre Encounter

Posted: 17 Jan 2010 09:45 AM PST

This is an intriguing MIB encounter that I remember reading many years ago. I noticed it was posted on a few sites this week, this from 'Encounters of the Unknown', so I thought this may be of interest. BTW, for those "Fringe" fans, does the description of the MIB remind you of 'The Observer'?...Lon

Chapter 14 of Dr. Berthold E. Schwarz's book UFO DYNAMICS, Book I, (1983) contains the story he was told of a very strange Man In Black (MIB) encounter described to him by a Maine physician, Dr. Herbert Hopkins. Shirley Fickett of Portland, Maine, was actually the first researcher to interview Dr. Hopkins about this mysterious and frightening sounding event. Here is her initial report:

"Call From Mrs. Hopkins"

September 12, 1976:

I received a call from Mrs. Hopkins approximately 1:00 p.m. stating that the previous evening her husband Dr. Hopkins had received a visit from an MIB. She was quite shaken and said the Doctor had been told to dispose of all his UFO material.

I visited the home of the Doctor on the above date and stated here is what he related to me.

His wife Madeline had gone to the outdoor movie with an elder son and his wife. Also, without knowing it the Doctor's younger son and his girlfriend were also at the same outdoor movie. This left the Doctor alone in the house, an occurrence that hadn't happened for some time.

The Doctor, a spiritualist minister, had just called Etna, Me (spiritual convention is held there). It was about 8:00 p.m. After his call the phone rang. Answering it, a man at the other end stated that he was the Vice President of "N.J. UFO Research Foundation." He gave no name but said he was a personal friend of Betty and Barney Hill. He had read about the Stephens case in "Official UFO" and wanted to talk to the Doctor about the case. The Doctor invited the man over, giving directions on how to get there to which the man replied he already knew where the Doctor was.

The Doctor put the phone on the hook and went to put the porch light on and the visitor was there immediately. He had asked if he was phoning from the area and he had said yes. (There is no public phone that could deliver him there that fast!)

The Doctor's thought was "He looks like an undertaker" observing his attire. The derby, black suit, black tie, black shoes, but white shirt. The suit fit the MIB like a dummy in a store. The Doctor noticed particularly the crease in the pants, not a wrinkle!

After greeting the MIB, the Doctor invited him in and the "Man" removed his hat with the Doctor observing that he had no hair, no eye lashes, no eyebrows! His skin was a pure white, his mouth was bright red in contrast. The Doctor asked him to sit down, which he did. "The crease in his trousers intrigued me," the Doctor stated. "The crease in the knee stood up and looked most artificial." The MIB spoke in monotone voice. Very articulate, as if he had learned our language but not mastered it! His face was without any wrinkles, nose was small and ears were small and set low.

The MIB asked the Doctor to tell him about the Stephens case and the Doctor complied stating that he had done some hypnosis and learned things that David had no knowledge of. "You made tape recordings," the MIB said. The Doctor affirmed that this was true.

The MIB then said, "You have two coins in your pocket!" This was correct, the Doctor pulled out a dime and a penny. The MIB (said) "Take one of those and place it in your outstretched palm." The Doctor complied and looked at the MIB, who told him to "Look at the coin and not me and don't take your eyes off it!" It was the penny the Doctor held. As he watched, it turned from copper to silver, then to a metallic blue. The Doctor then had difficulty at focusing his eyes upon the coin for there was a fuzzyness about it. The next thing the coin disappeared by fading away. The Doctor says he felt no sensation as this was happening, no vibrations, no tingling, nothing, but his arm did drop down and mustering up strength, he managed to bring it back up and placed it in his lap. Panic then began to build up within him.

While they were talking, the Doctor made an observation. The MIB at one point put his hand to his mouth and when he took it down there was a red stain on his fingertips (as though he were wearing lipstick or something painted on).

After the coin disappeared the Doctor said, "That's a neat trick, now make it come back!" to which the MIB replied, "Neither you or anyone else on this plane will ever see that coin again."

The visitor then asked if the Doctor knew why Barney Hill died and the Doctor answered that he understood that he was ill, he was then told it was because Barney knew too much! The Doctor said he understood that Barney died of a heart attack. The MIB speaks, "That is not correct. He did not die of a heart attack. He died because he lost his heart. "just like you lost your coin!" He continued, "If you don't do as I say, you will die like Barney Hill!"

The Doctor was then told to destroy tape recordings and all correspondence relating to UFOs, to put them out of his mind and not think of them again and the MIB stated that he would know when he did these things.

The visitor asked if the Doctor had recently had problems with the phone and the answer was "yes." To this he was told, "Well, just think about it."

The Doctor says that his son recently tried to call four times and it was like the line was dead. Also a patient had said the same after trying 3 times. This sort of thing had been going on.

The MIB said, "You received a letter from Shirley Fickett....destroy it!" The Doctor did this. Also told not to answer it!

Towards the last part of the conversation, the Doctor noticed the MIB's speech was slowing down, and he terminated the whole thing by saying, "My energy is getting low, must go now, Good bye!" With this, he got up and went to the door with the Doctor observing him going down the stairs with caution, slowly as if he might fall.

As the MIB walked towards the driveway, the Doctor noticed a bright light (as if a car was waiting for him) but he heard no sound, motor, no cars going by, etc. The Doctor then rushed to the kitchen to observe but saw no light except the porch light. The man was no longer visible. Upon this the Doctor then rushed to the front porch and knew the man would have to pass this window to get out of the yard. Still nothing! Upon going immediately outside and observing up and down the street there still was no one to be seen. Nor were there any cars anywhere at that time.

This statement was made to me by a person who was very much in control of himself, very definite on just what occurred and he wanted to relate it in the exact order of its happening. He said he did not have any fear of telling me this, but there was a fright within him about the threat itself.

The Doctor did not notice anything peculiar about the eyes of the MIB. It was the voice. It did not sound mechanical for all of its monotone quality, yet the Doctor stated, "What visited me here was not of this earth!"

He did not call police about threat for he knew what their response would be. He couldn't understand why he should receive the visit from the MIB for he was skeptical of their existence in the first place and even skeptical about UFOs.

After the man left the Doctor was very shaken and began to pace the floor. That was when he observed the light in the parking lot out in the yard. It was a light that kept shifting around and going off and on. About 4-5 feet off the ground and as large as 10 inches in diameter. It flashed in different places upon coming on, then would go off, etc. In all it must have appeared 6-7-8 times. He did not count it.

While at the movies in one car, the Doctor's wife (with the elder son and wife) looked out the window to the heavens and observed what she felt might be a UFO hovering. She at the same time felt an anxiety for her husband back home with the desire to return. They stayed for the entire movie although she expressed this desire to her son.

In the other car, at the outside movie, sat the younger son and his girlfriend. For some unknown reason, [son's girlfriend] was also picking up anxious feelings about the Doctor during their time at the movies.

Upon returning home they found a badly shaken man who had encountered the MIB. The young men suggested they go out to observe the yard for any marks that might have been left. They observed both cars tire marks there. Also there was a strange mark for about 4-5 feet in the middle of the driveway. They didn't feel this was done by a car since the other wheel would have had to have been too far to one side.

Nashville Nightspot Deals With Ghostly Patrons

Posted: 17 Jan 2010 09:14 AM PST

newschannel5 - Employees at the Flying Saucer in Downtown Nashville said their pool room is haunted. Several said they've witnessed paranormal activity firsthand.

Some servers have seen the change slot in the pool table move by itself, and others have turned off TV's only to have them turn back on again.

"The things I saw that night, I can't explain," said manager Jill Markey.

Others have seen apparitions in the two mirrors of the pool room. Paranormal experts have even visited the bar to search for spirits.

Employees believe the Flying Saucer is haunted because of its history. It's located right next to Union Station.

"This used to be the train station, I think this was the baggage claim," said server Jessen Jarden. "Soldiers are traveling, they're going to be going to war, that they're still waiting for their trains here which is kind of creepy."

Paranormal experts will return to the flying saucer in January to continue their search for ghosts and spirits.

NOTE: this original report was made around Halloween...I'm interested to see what the investigation finds. If anyone comes across this information, please forward...Lon

Diamond Oceans May Exist On Uranus and Neptune

Posted: 17 Jan 2010 08:34 AM PST

discovery - Oceans of liquid diamond, filled with solid diamond icebergs, could be floating on Neptune and Uranus, according to a recent article in the journal Nature Physics.

The research, based on first detailed measurements of the melting point of diamond, found diamond behaves like water during freezing and melting, with solid forms floating atop liquid forms. The surprising revelation gives scientists a new understanding about diamonds and some of the most distant planets in our solar system.

"Diamond is a relatively common material on Earth, but its melting point has never been measured," said Eggert. "You can't just raise the temperature and have it melt, you have to also go to high pressures, which makes it very difficult to measure the temperature."

Other groups, notably scientists from Sandia National Laboratories, successfully melted diamond years ago, but they were unable to measure the pressure and temperature at which the diamond melted.

Diamond is an incredibly hard material. That alone makes it difficult to melt. But diamond has another quality that makes it even more difficult to measure its melting point. Diamond doesn't like to stay diamond when it gets hot. When diamond is heated to extreme temperatures it physically changes, from diamond to graphite.

The graphite, and not the diamond, then melts into a liquid. The trick for the scientists was to heat the diamond up while simultaneously stopping it from transforming into graphite.

Ultrahigh pressures, the kind of pressures found in huge gas giants like Neptune and Uranus are some of the places where ultrahigh temperatures and ultrahigh pressures exist. Eggert and his colleagues placed a small, natural, clear diamond, about a tenth of a carat by weight and half a millimeter thick, and blasted it with lasers at ultrahigh pressures.

The scientists liquefied the diamond at pressures 40 million times greater than what a person feels when standing at sea level on Earth. From there they slowly reduced the temperature and pressure.

When the pressure dropped to about 11 million times the atmospheric pressure at sea level on Earth and the temperature dropped to about 50,000 degrees solid chunks of diamond began to appear. The pressure kept dropping, but the temperature of the diamond remained the same, with more and more chunks of diamond forming.

Then the diamond did something unexpected. The chunks of diamond didn't sink. They floated. Microscopic diamond ice burgs floating in a tiny sea of liquid diamond. The diamond was behaving like water.

With most materials, the solid state is more dense than the liquid state. Water is an exception to that rule; when water freezes, the resulting ice is actually less dense than the surrounding water, which is why the ice floats and fish can survive a Minnesota winter.

An ocean of diamond could help explain the orientation of the planet's magnetic field as well, said Eggert. Roughly speaking, the Earth's magnetic poles match up with the geographic poles. The magnetic and geographic poles on Uranus and Neptune do not match up; in fact, they can be up to 60 degrees off of the north-south axis.

If Earth's magnetic field were that far off it would place the magnetic north pole in Texas instead off a Canadian Island. A swirling ocean of liquid diamond could be responsible for the discrepancy.

Up to 10 percent of Uranus and Neptune is estimated to be made from carbon. A huge ocean of liquid diamond in the right place could deflect or tilt the magnetic field out of alignment with the rotation of the planet.

The idea that there are oceans of liquid diamond inside Neptune and Uranus is not a new idea, said Tom Duffy, a planetary scientist at Princeton University. The new Nature Physics article makes diamond oceans "look more and more plausible," said Duffy. More research on the composition of Neptune and Uranus is needed before a truly definitive conclusion can be made, however, and this kind of research is very difficult to conduct.

Scientists can either send spacecraft to these planets, or they can try to simulate these conditions on Earth. Both options require years of preparation, expensive equipment, and are subject to some of the toughest environments in the universe.

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