Phantoms and Monsters |  |
- Cryptozoologists Back to Search for Cameron Lake Creature
- Arizona Hotel Where Guests Don't Mind Being Disturbed
- Alligators on the Loose in Chicago and NYC
- Fortean / Oddball News - 8/24/2010
- Oscar the Cat Coming to the Big Screen
| Cryptozoologists Back to Search for Cameron Lake Creature Posted: 24 Aug 2010 10:29 AM PDT  PRESS RELEASE - PARKSVILLE-QUALICUM BEACH, BC – August 24, 2010 - John Kirk, president and head field researcher for the BC Scientific Cryptozoology Club, and members of the BCSCC will be at Cameron Lake, 30 km west of Parksville, on Tuesday, September 14/10 to conduct research into the existence of a large lake creature. Kirk and his team will be scanning the lake again, following up on their successful 2009 trip where two very large strikes on a fish finder indicated there is a large animal living in the lake. Sightings of a creature date back to at least 2004. "The sighting fits in with a surprisingly large and widespread body of local lake creature history," Kirk says of the of the Cameron Lake creature. "In fact, British Columbia is number one in the world for lake-monster sightings, beating out Norway and Sweden." The BC Scientific Cryptozoology Club was founded in 1989. Elusive creatures, such as lake monsters and Sasquatches, are known as cryptids and their study is called cryptozoology, from the Greek (cryptos) for hidden and zoology, the study of animals. Kirk and his team will be available for media questions. Coffee and refreshment will be provided. Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 Time: 12 noon Place: Cameron Lake west shore public park access. Media Contact: Valerie Katzarski Media Coordinator Seasmoke PR, representing Oceanside Tourism Association P: 250-480-1531 E: valerie@seasmokepr.com John Kirk BC Scientific Cryptozoology Club E: bcscc@bcscc.ca ********** Click for video BCSCC Press Release: Cameron Lake Cryptid May Exist - 9/22/2009 Cameron Lake, BC: It turns out where there's smoke, there is fire or in the case of Cameron Lake, where there's a crest in the water, there is an unknown animal. Researchers this past weekend found evidence of at least two large animals living in the lake located about 30 km west of Parksville-Qualicum Beach. "I'm not ready to say what it is, but there's something there and its very large – certainly larger than any trout or lake fish," said John Kirk, co-founder of the BC Scientific Cryptozoology Club and author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters, who conducted an initial research expedition on September 19, 2009 at Cameron Lake. After some preliminary ground work the day before, researchers spent Saturday afternoon on the lake, probing the depths with a sonar-like fish finder. The first pass of the lake located two large contacts at a depth of 56 and 58 ft. But a pass of the lake later in the afternoon was even more successful. "Something just went 'ping' on the alarm on the fish finder and we saw this absolutely massive object in the midst of various fish," said Kirk. They made four more passes of the object in a 20 minute span and received readings at a depth of about 74 feet each time, ruling out that it was a school of fish. "We were quite stunned that there was something that big in the lake, it was quite amazing," he said. The researchers have been planning to explore the lake since a 2007 sighting by Brigette Horvath, who noticed a strange wake in the water and three objects or creatures going in a circle. "Our organization has received reports coming from Cameron Lake since 2004," Kirk said. "Witnesses have been describing what looks like a dark creature in the lake." Kirk spent time on Okanagan Lake this summer in search of Ogopogo, and as chairman of the Crypto Safari Organization which sends investigators around the world, has traveled to Africa as part of research teams in search of living dinosaurs. Kirk said the initial findings on September 19 suggest that a further more in-depth study of the lake is necessary. "We definitely would like to come out here again," said an enthusiastic Kirk. "When the lake is calm, the water flat, and the day long so we can really have a chance to locate this creature and find out, to the best of our ability, what it is." The BC Scientific Cryptozoology Club was founded in 1989. The group studies elusive creatures, such as lake monsters and Sasquatches, known as cryptids and the study of called cryptozoology: from the Greek (cryptos) for hidden, and zoology, the study of animals. Besides numerous sightings of the Cameron Lake monster, Vancouver Island, along the Cryptid Corridor of Highway 4, has been the location of numerous Sasquatch sightings. A film and a History Channel program based on the elusive animal have been released, and it is also home to specialists in the field. _________________________ Previous post: Expedition Team To Search Lake Cameron, BC For Evidence of Monster  canada.com - People have reported seeing what they can best describe as a creature in Cameron Lake, just 30 kilometres west of Parksville, and John Kirk wants to find out what it is. Kirk co-founded a B.C. group dedicated to hunting unidentified animals, or cryptid, and said he and his fellow members of the Scientific Cryptozoology Club have been fielding calls from people who say it's time to take a closer look. The author of In the Domain of Lake Monsters plans an expedition to Cameron Lake to look for scientific evidence on Sept. 19. This initial inspection will determine whether or not people are mistaking natural phenomenon for a cryptid, Kirk explained. Once he and his team rule out things like submerged rocks or logs, they will return for a more in-depth analysis. So far, people have described the creature as long and serpent-like. One woman captured a photograph of a similar silver shape, an indication that it could be a fish, which would be just as interesting for Kirk because there are no known species of fish in the lake that can get that big, he explained. The 70-member club has experienced field researchers from all around the world but its small size and small budget often limit the expeditions they can go on. Oceanside Tourism, which represents both Parksville and Qualicum Beach, contacted the group and offered to sponsor the trip. "We've gotten some feedback from people who are concerned that if we find something it will stop people from swimming but it doesn't stop people in Okanagan," Kirk said. "There are no reports of anyone getting attacked at one of these lakes. In fact, it's a great tourist attraction. People make an absolute fortune on this type of thing." Lakes in the province are notorious for creature sightings, according to Kirk, who said there are 39 lakes with some sort of sighting reports. With very few of these sightings confirmed, Kirk does not expect to find anything in Cameron Lake his first time out. _____________________ Posted 9/12/07 Cryptozoologist Follows the Clues - Cameron Lake Monster  Scientific cryptozoologist John Kirk intrigued by sightings at Cameron Lake"There is definitely something in the water and it is moving." That's the opinion of John Kirk, the president and head field researcher for the B.C. Scientific Cryptozoology Club, about a photograph of a strange wake in Cameron Lake. He says what he saw was convincing, and now he's considering an expedition to Cameron Lake to look at the situation first-hand. The picture, taken by Brigette Horvath, reputedly shows evidence of something unusually large swimming in the lake. A TV segment featuring Horvath's story and photo caught Kirk's attention and a subsequent Internet search by his team pulled up the story in The News. It wasn't the first time they'd heard about this creature. In fact, he said his group first heard about the cryptid — the name given to unidentified species — in 2004. "We have been aware of the Cameron Lake cryptid for a long time," Kirk said.  Kirk and his team studied Horvath's image. They have since been in contact with her and he said he's contemplating an expedition to the shores of Cameron Lake. If he does come, Kirk will bring with him a wealth of experience spanning 20 years that has seen his search for strange creatures take him from the shores of Vancouver Island lakes to the jungles of the Congo.He leads a group of about 70 members — among them, he notes, two members of the prestigious Royal Society. He plans to bring some of them with him, and he has invited Horvath. The sighting, he said, fits in with a surprisingly large and widespread body of local lake creature lore. In fact, he said, British Columbia is number one in the world for lake monster sightings, beating out Norway and Sweden. "There are 39 lakes in this province where some type of creature has been seen," he said. "These phenomena happen all over the province." Other Island sightings, he said, include giant salamanders in Nitnat Lake, and an Ogopogo-like creature in Cowichan Lake. "There's a story of a guy fishing there in the 1950s or '60s being towed around the lake for an hour when his fishing line snagged on something very large." Tales of lake cryptids on Vancouver Island, he said, go beyond the 20-odd year history of the Cameron Lake creature, noting another lake may provide a clue about the history of lake creatures. "Sproat Lake is also a body of water with an unknown animal inhabiting it," he said. "In April, 1987 my family and a friend saw two large black humps swimming parallel with the shore at the northern end of the lake. We watched it for about minute. At Sproat Lake there are famous pictographs depicting an unknown creature known in the rest of the province as a Naitaka. This is the same name given to Ogopogo." An author and law enforcement support worker, Kirk has travelled to Scotland, Ireland and parts of the United States in his cryptozoological investigations. However, he said for him, his adventure in Africa stands out. "We were looking for a semi-aquatic creature in Congo and Cameroon, called Mokele-mbembe, which is described as a long-necked animal with a body similar to a hippo and elephant-like legs," he said. "It sounded like a sauropod. We heard reports of Pygmies seeing the creature." One father and son, he said, reported watching a Mokele-mbembe for three hours when its bulk blocked their passage on the river, and they were able to describe it in detail. Some of the locals, he said, were able to pick out a picture of the creature from a book — a picture which turned out to be of a plesiosaur. Interestingly, he added, the Pygmies described dermal quills on the neck of the beast — a feature of plesiosaurs largely unknown until very recently, and which weren't in the pictures. While Kirk said Mokele-mbembe could be some sort of holdover from another time, the Cameron Lake cryptid appears to be something different. "Someone said it was silver coloured and looked like a fish," he said. "I don't think this is a pleisiosaur or something left over from he age of dinosaurs. I think it could be an undiscovered species." Cryptozoologists Back to Search for Cameron Lake Creature  |
| Arizona Hotel Where Guests Don't Mind Being Disturbed Posted: 24 Aug 2010 10:11 AM PDT   Guests record their encounters with the supernatural in journals at the front desk. They have written of hearing whispers, of the remote control for the television not working or of a cellphone battery mysteriously losing power. A child wrote of losing her stuffed animal only to have it mysteriously reappear laterBisbee Journal - The Copper Queen Hotel is haunted, or at least that is what the owners claim and what numerous guests have affirmed over the years with stories about mysterious voices, odd sounds and smells, and even levitating objects. For many, a quiet, uneventful night at the Copper Queen, which dates to 1902, is a dire disappointment. "Oh, oh!" a non-ghostly woman exclaimed in surprise when she rounded a corner on the fourth floor one recent evening. When she realized she had encountered another non-ghost, she seemed disappointed. "Have you seen anything?" she asked. The front desk clerk's voice grew low as he told how he heard a female voice one evening while riding the elevator between the third and fourth floors, even though he was the only physical being inside. And he swore up and down that he once saw a room key floating in the air. At his side were the ghost journals, accounts left by guests over the years of their encounters with the hotel's resident spirits. So compelling are some of these tales that they have been compiled into a book that came out this month. One Copper Queen guest, Tina LaVon, wrote about how she had tried to take a photo in the hotel but the camera said it had no memory card. The scary part is, she insists it did have a memory card. Others wrote of hearing whispers, of the remote control for the television not working or of a cellphone battery mysteriously losing power. A child wrote of losing her stuffed animal only to have it mysteriously reappear later. Nine-year-old Devan heard breathing over his shoulder when he was reading the ghost book. Other guests said coins disappeared from the desk in their room, which legend has it is the handiwork of Billy, a young ghost, who died long ago in the nearby San Pedro River and supposedly now has the run of the Copper Queen. "Southern Arizona's Most Haunted," a book on Bisbee and other reputedly haunted locales in the southern part of the state, recounts how Billy has been seen jumping on the leather couch in the lobby. "The Copper Queen Hotel is haunted by over 16 spiritual entities," said the book's author, Renée Gardner, who has been named by the local Chamber of Commerce as the official ambassador to the ghosts and spirits of Bisbee. She conducts walking tours of ghostly spots around this old copper mining town, as well as a special driving tour in a secondhand hearse. All the spirits supposedly roaming around the Copper Queen, and some guests perhaps pretending to be spirits themselves, mean a lot of potential for mischief. A guest named Roxana wrote of a ghostly incident that occurred when she showered. "My husband and daughter left our room and I got in the shower," she said. "When I was in the shower I heard the bathroom door shake. When my husband and daughter returned I said, 'Very funny.' They swore they hadn't returned to scare me." Another guest, Natasha, wrote about something that may or may not have happened as she and her stepfather were dining one night. He had locked the door to their room, No. 401. She had seen him. But when they got back, their door was wide open. There have been rooms that got phone calls with no one at the other end of the line, a photograph on the wall that moved, a shaving kit that fell to the bathroom floor and mysterious taps on guests' shoulders by invisible beings. "My husband and I are believers but skeptics at the same time," wrote a woman who heard strange sounds in Room 316 at 2 a.m.  On Thursday nights, ghost experts lead guests through the creaky old building in search of mischievous Billy, a former prostitute named Julia Lowell (who is said to have taken her life in the hotel and now pays particular attention to male guests) and a mysterious bearded man in a top hat and black cape who smells of cigar smoke.Not all guests have ghostly encounters. On a recent night, the old elevator did make some groaning noises, but they seemed more mechanical than supernatural. From the hallway on the fourth floor, one could hear sounds from guest rooms, although they seemed to be CNN. Nothing appeared to have moved in Room 404 from late one night to the next morning. Yes, for some guests, the Copper Queen is not the least bit scary, offering little more than a good meal, a lively bar scene and an uninterrupted night of slumber. "Absolutely nothing happened to us of a ghostly sort," a guest named Crystal wrote in the journal. "The only sounds we heard were from the noisy people upstairs." ********** Ghost Legends - The Copper Queen Hotel  There are three resident ghosts at the Copper Queen Hotel. The first, an older gentleman, tall with long hair and a beard, is usually seen wearing a black cape and a top hat. Some claim they smell the aroma of a good cigar either before or after seeing him. He appears in the doorways or as a shadow in some of the rooms in the southeast corner of the fourth floor, near the Teddy Roosevelt room.The second and perhaps most famous, is a female in her early thirties but the name of Julia Lowell. The story goes that she was a lady of the evening on Brewery Gulch and used the rooms in the hotel for her clients. She supposedly fell madly in love with one of the gentlemen and upon telling him, he no longer wanted anything to do with her. She then took her own life here at the hotel. Her presence is felt on the west side of the building on the second and third floors. Some men have reported that they hear a female voice whispering in their ear. Sometimes she's seen dancing provocatively at the foot of the bed and it's said that she likes to play with men's feet. Others claim that she appears in the shape of a bright white smoke. We pay tribute to her here at the Copper Queen Hotel by naming a room (in the area where she practiced her profession) the "Julia Lowell Room". Our third and youngest ghost is a small boy, age eight or nine. It is said that he drowned in the San Pedro River. It's believed that his spirit found its way to the hotel because a relative, perhaps his mother or father was employed here at the time. He's the most mischievous of the three. Guests, on the west side, and also on the second and third floors, have reported objects in their rooms moved from one table to the next! A few have reported that you can hear his footsteps running through the halls and sometimes his intoxicating giggle. Others claim that when they run bath water, they feel his presence. He is never seen, just heard. Click for video Click for video Sources: www.stsnews.com www.nytimes.com www.copperqueen.com www.legendsofamerica.com www.the-arizona-tourist.com Arizona Hotel Where Guests Don't Mind Being Disturbed  |
| Alligators on the Loose in Chicago and NYC Posted: 24 Aug 2010 02:59 PM PDT   chicagobreakingnews - Bob the alligator wrangler was back this morning on the North Branch of the Chicago River looking for an elusive gator. So far -- nothing. On Monday, he set five traps baited with chicken drumsticks, then carried them atop his canoe as he paddled into the river. Watching him throughout the day along the river north of Belmont Avenue was a small crowd -- kids were even selling lemonade -- and Bob grumbled about the difficulty of trapping an alligator with other people around. "What if he swam upstream, what if he swam downstream? With all the commotion yesterday ..." Bob said this morning, adding it may take someone with a cell phone camera to spot the creature and lead him to it. Also known as "Alligator Bob," Bob has volunteered with the Chicago Herpetological Society for about 20 years and has rescued more than 70 alligators from Illinois and Wisconsin waterways, he said. That gives him a celebrity status he doesn't want, which is why he doesn't give out his last name. The last time he did, Bob said, he got calls from people all over the country asking him to take in their animals. "I am just a volunteer," he said, noting that he took a day off work to go gator trapping. It was the second time this month Bob had been called out to the same spot. On Aug. 6, he rescued a 2½-foot-long alligator he believes was once a pet, just like the one he tried to catch Monday. This time, officials called him after Sararose Krenger and her family spotted a 3- to 5-foot gator basking in the sun along the riverbank as they took a boat ride on Sunday. "My father said, 'There's an alligator,' and we said, 'Pretty funny,' but there really was an alligator there," Krenger said. "We thought it was pretty cool. "He was chilling there, there were ducks floating by. ... He was eyeing the ducks and moved his tail a little bit and decided not to go for it. The ducks were swimming closer, so we didn't know if they were just messing with him." Krenger said that as they sat watching the alligator about 5:30 p.m., they called police, who responded along with animal control officers. The next day, Bob went to work. "If I don't get it, the animal is going to die," Bob said, adding that alligators won't survive Chicago winters. Hoping to be there when he caught it, a small audience gathered Monday on the river's west side walkway. Every now and again, a passer-by would join the group and ask, "Has he caught him yet?" It has become a sort of summer ritual for Bob as owners release their pet alligators to the river when they get too big, about 2 to 3 feet long. "This one probably bit the owner," Bob said. Bob said that after he catches the alligators, they spend about three months in isolation to make sure they don't have any diseases. He then contacts organizations in Florida that are willing to take in the coldblooded crocodilians. "Why kill the poor thing? It is a living animal," Bob said. As Bob spoke, Jeff Nolan roamed the waters on his 15-foot boat trying to locate the alligator. He was fishing in Bridgeport on Monday morning when he got a call from a friend telling him about the alligator, so he decided to head upriver to try to catch the animal. "I almost did," Nolan said, but it got away. "It would have given me bragging rights for the rest of the season." Bob, annoyed at Nolan, asked him to leave the animal alone and mumbled that he was scaring the alligator The waters need to be calm for the alligator to come out and feed, Bob explained. By 3:30 p.m., Bob had set his five traps along both sides of the river. If the traps were underwater, the alligator would drown, he explained, so he made sure they stayed afloat. "Hopefully, it likes chicken," Bob said. On the shore, a crowd was gathering again after it thinned during lunchtime. Three young entrepreneurs, ages 8, 10 and 11, were busy selling cold lemonade and Rice Krispies treats for 25 cents each. Jacob Berry, 10, said his mother's friend had given them the idea. She had also taken photos of the gator, and they were debating how much to charge for the prints. "$5?" asked Ryan Lin-Peistrup, 11. "No, 50 cents," said Caleb Berry, 8, Jacob's younger brother. "$1.50 -- that's fair," said Jacob, settling the issue. Jacob left to get the photos as Ryan spotted his little sister walking toward him with their dad, who was trying to persuade Ryan to let his little sister help out. "Fine," Ryan said. "But she won't get in the press." ********** 2-Foot-Long Alligator Found Hiding Under Car In Queens cbslocal - The old urban legend about alligators living in the sewers of New York City gained some cred Sunday after a 2-foot-long alligator was spotted under a car in Queens. The alligator was discovered around 3 p.m. on Newtown Avenue and 29th Street in Astoria. Animal Care and Control experts aren't sure how the alligator got there. Spokesman Richard Gentles says the alligator would likely go to a licensed rehabilitator or reptile sanctuary. "He is in pretty good health and just seems to be taking it all in," Gentles told 1010 WINS. "He'll be kept in a quiet place so he's not stressed out." He says the agency rescues two to four alligators, crocodiles or caimans in the city every year. In 2006, authorities captured a 15-inch alligator at an apartment complex in Brooklyn. And in 2001, a 2-foot-long caiman was found living in a lake in Central Park. It is illegal to keep them in New York City homes. Alligators on the Loose in Chicago and NYC  |
| Fortean / Oddball News - 8/24/2010 Posted: 24 Aug 2010 09:05 AM PDT 'Jaws' Back In Cape Cod...Officials Issue Warning!  eturbonews - A tourist took photographs of a shark attacking a seal close to the beach on the Cape Cod National Seashore, the park's chief ranger said today.Bob Grant said the attack happened late Friday afternoon off a remote stretch of beach just north of the halfway point between two lifeguarded beaches, Race Point and Head of the Meadow. The two beaches are about four miles apart. He said the woman, Terese M. Carena, a tourist from Arizona, was sitting with her husband and other family members looking at the water when they noticed a seal suddenly pulled under. Then, realizing what was going on, she began snapping pictures. "It was definitely an attack," Grant said. A state expert confirmed that the sighting was of a great white shark. A number of shark sightings have been reported this summer off the Cape. The Chatham area appears to be a particular hotspot. A five-mile stretch of beach there was closed in late July. Grant said warning signs had been posted near where the shark had attacked the seal and officials were warning people to use caution in the area. ********** Earth's Helium Reserves Run Out In 25 Years dailymail - It is more commonly known as the gas that fills cheap party balloons and makes your voice squeak if you inhale it. But helium is actually a precious resource that is being squandered with Earth's reserves of it due to run out within 25 to 30 years, experts have warned. Earth's resources of helium are being depleted at an astonishing rate, an effect which will spell disaster for hospitals which use it to cool MRI scanners. The world's biggest store of helium - the most commonly used inert gas - lies in a disused airfield in Amarillo, Texas, and is being sold off far too cheaply. But in 1996, the US government passed a law which states that the facility - the US National Helium Reserve - must be completely sold off by 2015 to recoup the price of installing it. This means that the helium, a non-renewable gas, is being quickly sold off at increasingly cheap prices, making it uneconomical to recycle. Nasa uses the gas to clean its rockets of fuel while liquid helium is used to cool nuclear reactors and space telescopes. Nobel laureate Robert Richardson, a professor of physics at Cornell University in New York, told New Scientist magazine that once our helium reserves are gone there will be no way of replacing it. He also warned that although some substitutes can be found for some applications where helium is used, it will be impossible to use a different material for MRI scanners He told the magazine: There are some substitutes, but it can't be replaced for cryogenics, where liquid helium cools superconducting magnets for MRI scanners. What helium is used for 'There is no other substance which has a lower boiling point than helium. It is also used in the manufacture of fibre optics and liquid crystal displays. 'The use of helium in cryogenics is self-contained, in that the helium is recycled. The same could be done in other industries if helium was expensive enough that manufacturers thought recovering it was worthwhile.' Helium is formed through the slow radioactive decay of rocks on Earth and nearly all of our reserves have been formed as a by-product of the extraction of natural gas. The only way to obtain more helium would be to capture it from the decay of tritium - a radioactive hydrogen isotope, which the U.S. stopped making n 1988. The US stores around 80 per cent of the world's helium and so its decision to let it go at an extremely low price has a massive knock-on affect on its market. But Professor Richardson said that low price of helium meant that it was being 'squandered' rather than being treated as a precious resource. He said: 'The problem is that these supplies will run out in a mere 25 years, and the US government has a policy of selling helium at a ridiculously low price.' And he said that the only way to deal with the problem would be for the free market in helium to prevail. He said this will mean that a helium balloon of the kind used at children's parties would cost $100 in the future as the price soared. ********** On Second Thought...I'll Stick With The Soylent Green popularmechanics - It sounds like a sci-fi nightmare: giant sheets of grayish meat grown on factory racks for human consumption. But it's for real. Using pig stem cells, scientists have been growing lab meat for years, and it could be hitting deli counters sooner than you think. Early attempts produced less-than-enticing results. Then, in 2001, scientists at New York's Touro College won funding from NASA to improve in vitro farming. Hoping to serve something, well, beefier than kelp on moon bases and Mars colonies, the scientists successfully grew goldfish muscle in a nutrient broth. And, in 2003, a group of hungry artists from the University of Western Australia grew kidney bean-size steaks from biopsied frogs and prenatal sheep cells. Cooked in herbs and flambéed for eight brave dinner guests, the slimy frog steaks came attached to small strips of fabric -- the growth scaffolding. Half the tasters spit out their historic dinner. (Perhaps more significant, half didn't.) Today, scientists funded by companies such as Stegeman, a Dutch sausage giant, are fine-tuning the process. It takes just two weeks to turn pig stem cells, or myoblasts, into muscle fibers. "It's a scalable process," says Jason Matheny of New Harvest, a meat substitute research group. "It would take the same amount of time to make a kilogram or a ton of meat." One technical challenge: Muscle tissue that has never been flexed is a gooey mass, unlike the grained texture of meat from an animal that once lived. The solution is to stretch the tissue mechanically, growing cells on a scaffold that expands and contracts. This would allow factories to tone the flaccid flesh with a controlled workout. Lab-grown meat isn't an easy sell, but there could be benefits. Designer meat would theoretically be free of hormones, antibiotics, and the threat of mad cow disease or bird flu. Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins could be blasted into the mixture (see illustration above) or dispersed through veins. Revolting? You bet, but have you ever visited a sausage factory? Currently costing around $100,000 per kilogram, a choice cut of lab meat makes Kobe beef seem like a bargain. But meat-processing companies hope to start selling affordable factory-grown pork in under a decade. Bon appétit. *********  Nine-Day Chinese Traffic Jam Stretches Over 60 Mileschina - Maintenance work, wrecks and broken down cars caused a nine-day traffic jam in China that stretched for more than 60 miles (100 kilometres). The traffic jam, on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway between Beijing and Huai'an, began on August 14 when thousands of Beijing-bound coal and fruit trucks jammed the roadway. A major cause of the congestion was maintenance work on the nearby National Expressway 110, which had suffered damage from heavy vehicles. The roadworks work forced drivers to use the Beijing-Tibet Expressway instead. Coupled with several minor accidents and broken down cars, traffic has now been stranded on the expressway for the past nine days. The traffic jam is expected to last for almost a month with maintenance work on the National Expressway 110 not due to be finished until September 13. Drivers were reportedly playing cards to kill time on the roadway. Residents who live along the roadway were reportedly profiting from the traffic jam, selling food to stranded drivers at inflated prices. "Instant noodles are sold at four times the original price while I wait in the congestion," one driver said. "Not only the congestion annoys me, but also those vendors." About 400 traffic police are on duty by the roadway to maintain law and order. NOTE: some joker decided to stage a 'Chinese Fire Drill' and gummed up the works...Lon ********** Minneapolis Will Pay $165,000 To Zombies startribune - The Minneapolis city attorney's office has decided to pay seven zombies and their attorney $165,000. The payout, approved by the City Council on Friday, settles a federal lawsuit the seven filed after they were arrested and jailed for two days for dressing up like zombies in downtown Minneapolis on July 22, 2006, to protest "mindless" consumerism. When arrested at the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and 6th Street N., most of them had thick white powder and fake blood on their faces and dark makeup around their eyes. They were walking in a stiff, lurching fashion and carrying four bags of sound equipment to amplify music from an iPod when they were arrested by police who said they were carrying equipment that simulated "weapons of mass destruction." However, they were never charged with any crime. Although U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen had dismissed the zombies' lawsuit, it was resurrected in February by a three-judge panel of the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which concluded that police lacked probable cause to arrest the seven, a decision setting the stage for a federal trial this fall. The settlement means there will be no trial. "I feel great that the city is being held accountable for the actions of their police," said Raphi Rechitsky, 27, of Minneapolis, one of the seven zombies, who said he and his friends were performing street theater when they were arrested. He is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Minnesota. Minneapolis City Attorney Susan L. Segal said it was in the best interests of the city to settle. "We believe the police acted reasonably, but you never know what a jury is going to do with a case," she said. If a jury had concluded that the seven plaintiffs' constitutional rights had been violated and awarded $50,000 to each, plus defense attorney's fees, "it could have been quite substantial," Segal said. Fortean / Oddball News - 8/24/2010  |
| Oscar the Cat Coming to the Big Screen Posted: 24 Aug 2010 08:15 AM PDT  variety - Oscar the famous cat, who is able to predict the impending death of terminally ill patients in the nursing center where he lives, is extending his rounds to the bigscreen.Scribes Stephen Lindsey ("Hachi: A Dog's Tale") and Luis Ugaz are adapting David Dosa's bestselling nonfiction tome "Making the Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat" for Wind Dancer Films and Anonymous Content. Oscar, now 5 years old, arrived at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, R.I., as a kitten. A year later, staff starting noticing that the tabby would curl up with patients a few hours before their death. Oscar's track record was so impeccable that he became an early warning signal for doctors and nurses. Whenever he began a vigil, staff notified family members and friends to come to the center. Lindsey and Ugaz sold their pitch to Wind Dancer. Storyline will follow physician and geriatrician Dosa's discovery of the cat's ability and its impact on his own belief system, as well as the care given to people at the end of their lives. Film's producers are Anonymous Content's Steve Golin and Alix Madigan, while Matt Williams and Judd Payne are producing for Wind Dancer. David McFadzean and Dete Meserve exec produce. Dosa's book, published in February by Hyperion, spent eight weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and made Oscar world famous. Dosa first documented Oscar's story in a 2007 article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Oscar lives on the third floor of Steere House, an advanced dementia unit that has long used animals to keep patients company. These days, Oscar continues to patrol the halls. "Though at times he has been caught sleeping on the job, Oscar continues to hold vigils for departing patients -- mostly to the delight of family members struggling to deal with the death of their loved ones. He continues to be mentioned routinely in obituaries and during funeral services," Dosa writes on Steere House's website. Dosa and others speculate that Oscar might be sensing odors associated with death, specifically, ketones, the biochemicals released by dying cells. Oscar has already become part of popular culture. A cat with similar predictive abilities appeared in the "Here Kitty" episode of Fox's "House," while a fictionalized character bearing his name and likeness is the host of "The Oscar the Cat Show" on Sirius Satellite Radio's Raw Dog uncensored comedy channel. Lindsey and Ugaz are repped by Gersh and Principal Entertainment; Dosa, RWSG. Oscar the Cat Coming to the Big Screen Send us an email   New Items - Strickler's Celebrity Autographs   "The latest news from beyond the mainstream" Join Ben & Aaron for their weekly podcast! Check out Mysterious Universe Plus+ all access format!  Spirit Rescue International Providing professional spiritual help, support and guidance worldwide SPIRIT RESCUE INTERNATIONAL - HAUNTED HELP FORUM We created this community for people from all backgrounds around the world to discuss Spiritual, Paranormal, Metaphysical, Philosophical, Supernatural, Complementary Therapies, and Esoteric subjects. From Astral Projection to Pranic Healing, Angels to Reiki, all topics are welcome. Phantoms & Monsters Wiki A network for paranormal investigators, enthusiasts and those seeking the truth   |
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