Phantoms and Monsters

Gigantic 211lb. Catfish Landed At River Ebro
Zimbabwe Schoolboy Experiences Bouts With 'Goblin'
Videos: Close Encounters - 1977 'Out Of This World' Documentary
Photo: The Time Traveler?

Gigantic 211lb. Catfish Landed At River Ebro

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 11:01 AM PDT

dailymail - Whenever a fisherman throws his arms wide and claims he 'once caught a fish this big', you can generally bet on it being a tall tale.

But 18-year-old Simon Field will have no such trouble convincing fellow anglers of his story. He reeled in an enormous 211lb catfish... and has the pictures to prove it.

The underwater beast, 7ft 11in from head to tail, was captured during a trip to the world famous catfishing area, the River Ebro in Spain. Simon, from Park Road Westhoughton, joins an elite club of around 30 people in the UK to have caught a freshwater fish weighing 200lb or more, and around just 300 anglers in Europe.

The teenager, who is studying fisheries management at Myerscough College, near Preston, said: 'It was the fish of a lifetime. I'd always wanted to go to Spain to try and catch a big catfish, I don't think I'll ever catch anything that size again or even close to it. It's a fisherman's dream come true and it's just sinking in.'

Former Westhoughton Parochial School and Canon Slade pupil Simon has been fishing since he was little and goes regularly, but it was the first time he had been abroad to follow the pursuit.

Simon and his godfather, Richard Cornes, travelled to Spain on Easter Sunday and put in 18-hour stints on the water's edge, 6am until midnight, along the Segre, a tributary of the River Ebro.

On the first day Simon thought he had a large catfish but it got away. Two days later as his evening meal arrived he got a second chance.

Simon said: 'I'd lost a similar sized one, which was unlucky, so I was hoping this was my chance.

'It took about 20 minutes to bring it into the bank and it hurt, it was the hardest battle I've ever had. I was in shock when I saw it. No one would believe me until they saw the photographs.'

The catfish, which was landed with the help of a fishing guide and a 100kg braided line, is the biggest caught on the river so far this year.

It is just 15lb under the record weight for that river and measured seven foot 11 inches long.

After photographs the creature was returned to the water.

NOTE: As a trout fisherman, I am a serious advocate of 'catch and release'...Lon

Gigantic 211 lb. Catfish Landed At River Ebro

Zimbabwe Schoolboy Experiences Bouts With 'Goblin'

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 10:37 AM PDT

dailymail - A thirteen-year-old Visitation Makumbe High schoolboy cut short his studies in February after he was afflicted by a strange condition that causes him to physically fight an invisible "monster".

Confirming the boy's condition, Visitation Makumbe High School resident priest Father Barnabas Mukumba last week said the boy initially complained of stomach pains that were followed by bouts of unconsciousness.

The Form One student was described as intelligent and scored four units in last year's Grade Seven national examinations.

The school authorities believe that the invisible "monster" could be a "goblin".

Although the school authorities could not confirm it, the boy's parents say their child experienced a "transfiguration" on February 10, the night before a major fight with the invisible opponent caused his body to glow.

"The boy would complain of stomach pains that would end in him being unconsciousness. At times he would be taunted by the invisible monster which would force him to scream and use his hands to fight it.

"One could actually see the boy simulating a fight with something or someone we could not see.

"On the first occasion, the boy claimed to have seen a short-bearded man wearing a black cloak. During his initial contact with the invisible creature, he would scream and try to ward off the invisible attacker and we later taught him to pray as a way to fight it off," said Fr Mukumba.

He said the school authorities initially tried to assist him through psychological counselling until they eventually handed over the matter to the priests for spiritual guidance.

"Together with other priests we took him through spiritual counselling and discernment. I initially suspected the boy was playing tricks so that he could go home and be with his family.

"After further probing we realised the problems were greater than what we had anticipated. We later invited the parents and they then asked us to assist him through prayer and use of holy water," said Fr Mukumba.

The boy would experience relief after prayers and on realising this, the school authorities arranged for him to stay with the priests.

"On one occasion he screamed during lesson time and said a short old man was trying to forcefully take his pen away. He struggled with his invisible tormentor for some time until he became unconscious.

"He is an intelligent young boy who achieved four units at Grade Seven," said the deputy school head.

The boy's father (name withheld to protect the minor's identity) told The Sunday Mail from his Chitungwiza home that he believed his son had spiritual powers that enabled him to fight goblins.

"The boy is gifted spiritually and that enables him to fight evil spirits. There were numerous reports from his school and we asked the priests to assist him.

"They have been praying for him until February when we decided to withdraw him from school because he was attracting unnecessary attention from the other pupils," said the boy's father.

Zimbabwe Schoolboy Experiences Bouts With 'Goblin'

Videos: Close Encounters - 1977 'Out Of This World' Documentary

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 10:08 AM PDT

NOTE: Here are two personal accounts from the 1977 British documentary 'Out Of This World' with Gordon Creighton. These reflections are very interesting since the viewpoints are from people who are much less media savvy than most others...Lon

Click for video

Staffordshire, England, October, 1954 - Reports of very close sightings of discoid UFOs with transparent domes, with "human-looking" UFO-occupants, include Mrs.Roestenberg, age 29 at the time, and her two sons over her home near Ranton, Staffordshire, England in Oct-1954

Click for video

Winchester, England, November 1976 - On 14th November 1976 about 9.00 pm near Winchester, Joyce Bowles and Ted Pratt were driving down the A272 when the car started to jolt and shake, and then veered off the road into a grass verge by the roadside. The car was subject to electrical interference as the engine roared, and the lights seemed to be shine brighter than normal. They spotted what appeared to be a cigar shaped craft with three entities behind a window in the object. As they watched a bearded humanoid wearing a silver suit came out of the object, walked to the car and looked in on the occupants. He then disappeared and the couple were able to drive off.

Videos: Close Encounters - 1977 'Out Of This World' Documentary

Photo: The Time Traveler?

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 08:35 AM PDT

gizmodo - When you look at most of the two dozen or so people in this photograph, which belongs to a Canadian museum, there's no doubt that they're from 1940, the year in which it was taken. But what about that guy?

Those funky sunglasses? That stamped t-shirt and hippie shawl? The doofy, disinterested expression? He sure as hell doesn't look like any Roosevelt-era bro I have ever seen. Maybe that's just it—he looks like a "bro," which we all know didn't come into existence until the 1970s, at the earliest.

Forgetomori has an extensive analysis of the photo and the mystery man, and, with some help from members of ATS, points out that no single item of his wardrobe is technically out of period.

But his entire essence, especially in contrast to the sea of fedoras and 1940s enthusiasm around him, screams that he's from another era entirely. Sorry, time travel bro, you've been spotted.

NOTE: Maybe it's an 'observer' :) I've been reading the theories on this photo and, honestly, I have no opinion...Lon

Photo: The Time Traveler?

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