Valentine's Day is approaching and the subject of love is in the air. There is a lot of folklore surrounding love dating back to time immemorial, here are a few known things aside from the better known red roses and chocolates:
- To dream of a dove is a signal of success in love
- Certain gemstones are connected to love, Onyx represents a joyous marriage, Diamond signifies victory in love and Jasper indicates reciprocated love.
- If you dream of a number 6 or of something in sixes it foretells of love.
- Touching a wedding ring to an aching tooth meant the pain would be relieved through the power of the love held within it.
- To attract a lover, ashes from the hearth could be sprinkled on the path or road leading up to the front door.
- Turquoise is a lucky stone for lovers, thought to be because blue is considered the best colour to wear when first meeting your love.
- To find an Ash leaf with an even number of points was considered lucky, make a wish and place it under your pillow to dream of your future partner.
So although the modern day Valentine's is somewhat commercial, there are many ways love was celebrated and foretold in the past, and possibly even ways to attract that special someone!
Thursday, 13 February 2020
Thursday, 5 December 2019
Hellier and Hellier 2 ... watch it!
No Spoilers!
So I just finished watching Hellier 2...and wow. Its hard to find words sometimes to describe something that one's mind can't quite make total sense of, but this is part of the absolute pleasure that is the Hellier series, coincidences, synchronicity and weird parallels abound.
Those of us who follow fortean subjects, social media, blogs, podcasts and the like know of Greg and Dana Newkirk by reputation, very well respected in their field they take us on their journey in a way that makes you feel like part of the crew on an unfolding adventure. Together with the team - Connor Randall, Karl Pfeiffer, Tyler Strand and (we are not worthy) John E.L. Tenney - clues, hints and obvious facts combine to lead a merry dance from what we thought was the main subject back in season 1, through a rabbit hole of strangeness to a whole new place we never thought we'd be...but then detours, revisitings and recurring revelations left me at least, literally saying "what the hell?!" out loud in my living room.
You. Must. Watch. This... in my opinion at least, I wouldn't steer you wrong would I? You will have goosebumps, you will be confused, you will be HOOKED!
I watched it on Amazon Prime but you can also find it on YouTube.
So I just finished watching Hellier 2...and wow. Its hard to find words sometimes to describe something that one's mind can't quite make total sense of, but this is part of the absolute pleasure that is the Hellier series, coincidences, synchronicity and weird parallels abound.
Those of us who follow fortean subjects, social media, blogs, podcasts and the like know of Greg and Dana Newkirk by reputation, very well respected in their field they take us on their journey in a way that makes you feel like part of the crew on an unfolding adventure. Together with the team - Connor Randall, Karl Pfeiffer, Tyler Strand and (we are not worthy) John E.L. Tenney - clues, hints and obvious facts combine to lead a merry dance from what we thought was the main subject back in season 1, through a rabbit hole of strangeness to a whole new place we never thought we'd be...but then detours, revisitings and recurring revelations left me at least, literally saying "what the hell?!" out loud in my living room.
You. Must. Watch. This... in my opinion at least, I wouldn't steer you wrong would I? You will have goosebumps, you will be confused, you will be HOOKED!
I watched it on Amazon Prime but you can also find it on YouTube.
Wednesday, 20 November 2019
SETI Founded 1984
On the 20th November 1984, the most famous institute (in my opinion) for exploring life in the universe was founded - incorporated as a 501(c)(3) California nonprofit organization - The S.E.T.I Institute which stands for the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. It was started by Thomas Pierson and Dr Jill Tarter along with their colleagues and it still going strong today employing many scientists and researchers with the mission to 'explore, understand and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe' and bring it to the general populace.
The SETI Institute has three main centres which cover it's work. The Carl Sagan Centre is primarily devoted to the study of life in the universe, The Centre for Education is focused on astrobiology, astronomy and space science aimed for students and teachers, and the Centre for Public Outreach produces the 'Big Picture Science' radio show, podcast and the 'SETI Talks' lecture series.
By employing the use of many scientific instruments around the globe including the Allen Telescope Array, the Very Large Telescopes in Chile as well as the space telescopes Hubble and Herschel have meant that SETI has been able to delve into the subject of life in the universe for many years and bring the research and result to life, there have been some rocky patches along the way with funding, criticism and skepticism of the work, but I for one will support the institute for as long as possible.
The SETI Institute has three main centres which cover it's work. The Carl Sagan Centre is primarily devoted to the study of life in the universe, The Centre for Education is focused on astrobiology, astronomy and space science aimed for students and teachers, and the Centre for Public Outreach produces the 'Big Picture Science' radio show, podcast and the 'SETI Talks' lecture series.
By employing the use of many scientific instruments around the globe including the Allen Telescope Array, the Very Large Telescopes in Chile as well as the space telescopes Hubble and Herschel have meant that SETI has been able to delve into the subject of life in the universe for many years and bring the research and result to life, there have been some rocky patches along the way with funding, criticism and skepticism of the work, but I for one will support the institute for as long as possible.
Wednesday, 13 November 2019
The Real Amityville Horror.
On the 13th November 1974, a well-known and enduring horror story started...in a very real way. A house - 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville - became the scene of a terrible crime, where Ronald J. De Feyo Jr. shot his family dead in their beds - both of his parents were shot twice, and each of his 4 siblings were shot once according to reports. De Feyo is still alive and is imprisoned at Sullivan Correctional Facility in New York serving six concurrent sentences of 25 years to life.
Jay Anson's book 'The Amityville Horror' was written in 1977 following the story of the Lutz family who bought 112 Ocean Ave, it and subsequent films tell of their brief stay of 28 days before leaving due to terrifying paranormal events. Some of their experiences include unexplained cold spots in the house, foul odors, green slime running from walls and Mr Lutz regularly waking at 3.15 in the morning which was the approximate time of the murders, just the tip of the iceberg.
If you haven't read the book or seen the film I recommend it, draw your own conclusions, as in most cases like this, there is conjecture as to the validity of the Lutz family accounts. The infamous house however still stands and has had a few owners since the events of 1974, although it has been renamed as 108 Ocean Avenue...for reasons we may never know.
Jay Anson's book 'The Amityville Horror' was written in 1977 following the story of the Lutz family who bought 112 Ocean Ave, it and subsequent films tell of their brief stay of 28 days before leaving due to terrifying paranormal events. Some of their experiences include unexplained cold spots in the house, foul odors, green slime running from walls and Mr Lutz regularly waking at 3.15 in the morning which was the approximate time of the murders, just the tip of the iceberg.
If you haven't read the book or seen the film I recommend it, draw your own conclusions, as in most cases like this, there is conjecture as to the validity of the Lutz family accounts. The infamous house however still stands and has had a few owners since the events of 1974, although it has been renamed as 108 Ocean Avenue...for reasons we may never know.
Monday, 11 November 2019
Typhoid Mary
Mary Mallon, also known as Mary Brown and famously as 'Typhoid Mary' died on this day in 1938. She was an Irish cook who moved to America in the late 1800's and one of the first people identified as an asymptomatic carrier - someone who can carry and pass on a disease without succumbing to it themselves - of a pathogen, in her case, typhoid fever. It is thought that she infected 51 people in her life, three of whom died. She was forcibly isolated twice by public health authorities after she refused to provide blood samples or cooperate.
Cases of typhoid fever followed Mallon wherever she worked as a cook, suspicions were alerted when incidents of typhoid occurred in areas when it was very rare. She died from pneumonia whilst in isolation where she had ultimately spent nearly 30 years of her life. During the post mortem, live typhoid bacteria were found in her gall bladder.
Cases of typhoid fever followed Mallon wherever she worked as a cook, suspicions were alerted when incidents of typhoid occurred in areas when it was very rare. She died from pneumonia whilst in isolation where she had ultimately spent nearly 30 years of her life. During the post mortem, live typhoid bacteria were found in her gall bladder.
Saturday, 9 November 2019
The Dechmont Woods Encounter.
On the 9th November, 1979, Robert Taylor, a Scottish forester parked his truck by the side of the road and walked with his dog up a forest track at Dechmont Law, West Lothian. Shortly after this he saw a flying dome shaped craft hovering above a clearing. He said the craft was a dark metallic sphere with small propellers around the rim and there was also a horrible odor in the area.
Smaller spheres like "sea mines" attempted to drag him to the craft at which point he lost consciousness. When he came to, the crafts were gone. He could not start his truck so walked back to his home. When he got there his wife recalled he was very disheveled and muddy, his clothing was torn and she called the police and a Doctor who treated his wounds. He took the police back to the site of the encounter, and they reported ladder-shaped marks on the ground. They recorded the incident as a criminal assault.
Robert Taylor's account is revered among ufologists and it became the only UFO sighting to be criminally investigated.
Smaller spheres like "sea mines" attempted to drag him to the craft at which point he lost consciousness. When he came to, the crafts were gone. He could not start his truck so walked back to his home. When he got there his wife recalled he was very disheveled and muddy, his clothing was torn and she called the police and a Doctor who treated his wounds. He took the police back to the site of the encounter, and they reported ladder-shaped marks on the ground. They recorded the incident as a criminal assault.
Robert Taylor's account is revered among ufologists and it became the only UFO sighting to be criminally investigated.
Thursday, 7 November 2019
2006 O'Hare Airport UFO Incident
At approximately 4.15 in the afternoon on 7th November 2006, in broad daylight at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, a large number of witnesses both inside and outside airport grounds, including United Airlines pilots, mechanics and management reported a UFO hovering over gate C-17. They described a metallic, saucer-shaped craft between 6 and 24 feet in diameter which was totally silent. After several minutes it "shot through the clouds at high velocity" leaving a hole in it's wake which closed up shortly afterwards.
To have a sighting described in the same way, by so many witnesses, some of whom were very familiar with the airport and who were professionals in their field is astounding...even more incredible is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 'declined to investigate' the incident as the UFO didn't show up on radar (even more reason to check it out in my opinion!) and explained it away as weather phenomenon.
NARCAP - The National Aviation Reporting Centre on Anomalous Phenomena published a 155 page report in the incident and called for a government inquiry on the basis that;
"Anytime an airborne object can hover for several minutes over a busy airport but not be registered on radar or be seen visually from the control tower, constitutes a potential threat to flight safety."
To have a sighting described in the same way, by so many witnesses, some of whom were very familiar with the airport and who were professionals in their field is astounding...even more incredible is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 'declined to investigate' the incident as the UFO didn't show up on radar (even more reason to check it out in my opinion!) and explained it away as weather phenomenon.
NARCAP - The National Aviation Reporting Centre on Anomalous Phenomena published a 155 page report in the incident and called for a government inquiry on the basis that;
"Anytime an airborne object can hover for several minutes over a busy airport but not be registered on radar or be seen visually from the control tower, constitutes a potential threat to flight safety."
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