The Zorgy Awards

Don't forget that the annual Zorgy Awards nominations are still open until the 10th of November, so get your e-mails in ASAP! The awards are a lot of fun, and the nominations are bound to contain a bunch of great resources.

Are We Ready for Contact?

There's some interesting discussions going on between Mac Tonnies and Paul Kimball about the possible effects of disclosure, and/or contact with beings from elsewhere in the universe. Much of which was probably spurred by a post by Stuart Miller on his blog.

I think what would happen here on Earth would be likely to be widely varied based on what kind of contact, and where on the planet you were. For instance, as I've said elsewhere, if there were simply a confirmed signal from SETI, it was deemed harmless and too far away for conventional travel, I think most people would forget about it within a couple of weeks. While many of us would debate the ins and outs of it forever, probably, I can't imagine many of the people I work with, for instance, thinking about it for more than 24 hours, at best.

If actual contact were disclosed, either via the government or some other way, I think the reaction would be more severe. People would worry, assign each and every conspiracy in the world to "them" and would probably even assign their own behavior towards "mind control" or from listening to the alien contact in their heads, etc. I think in many cases paranoia would take over.

If ETs came and landed on the White House lawn, I think the reaction might actually be panic in many cases. Particularly if it were seen that they had something to gain from us, by either taking us over or by other means. However, I think many people would realize that if a technologically advanced society wanted to take us over, making open contact probably wouldn't be the first choice of how to do that. Simply doing it would be. Many people wouldn't stop to think, though, I'm sure. The world as they knew it would completely and totally change, and many would assume that the change was not for better.

Anyway, the possibilities are endless when you start thinking through all of the ways that such contact couple play out, but, I'd like to think that most people wouldn't panic given the knowledge that we weren't alone in the universe. There might be some crises of faith, some general worry, but I think it might even be empowering in the end to know that we weren't alone in this big universe.

So, I guess to answer the original question of "are we ready for contact?" I think it entirely depends on the circumstances, but given the right ones, I think so. However, like Paul said, do I think that everyone would throw down their weapons and embrace their fellow man? No, I can't see that happening either, but I do think it would likely be somewhere in between that and total panic and anarchy. Like I said, it might even spur some good in the world.

Richard Hoagland Press Conference Update

I haven't seen a thing on the Hoagland press conference as of yet.

My guess is that this is because it was little more than some free publicity for his latest book, complete with grainy photos. I could be wrong, and I do actually hope that I am, but something tells me he didn't exactly deliver with rock solid proof of his claims yesterday.

If anyone's heard anything more on this story, though, I'd be interested to hear it.

Congrats to the Sox

I guess it has to be said...congratulations to the Sox. They finished the sweep with another nail biter, but they did it. I really didn't think there was any way they would out duel the Rocks on a night when the pitching match-up was Lester versus Cook, but you've got to hand it to them.

Fortunately for the Rockies, this is just the first big game of many for these young players. Two of their starting five down the stretch(Jimenez and Morales) wouldn't have even sniffed the majors this year if Hirsh, Cook and Lopez hadn't gotten hurt. Getting to the World Series without three of your starting five is a great accomplishment, and pitching for two months at the end of the season and through the playoffs is only going to help their development. Jimenez has Beckett type stuff, and if he develops into the kind of pitcher which he could be, you'll see those two go head to head in the future.

Beyond that, 16 of their 25 players are from their farm system, and all but Todd Helton are under 28. I think there's big things coming for this team as long as they find the money to resign Holliday and keep him out of the Boston or New York outfields. They're deep in starting pitching, and they've got more good position players than they can put out at one time.

Enjoy it Paul. We'll be coming back for another shot at it next season.

As for Boston, see you again in the NBA finals for a Nuggets-Celtics series.

Another Roswell Witness Comes Forward

Another Roswell military witness has come forward with his story.

Much like most of the rest of them, his story seems to confirm the legend of an unknown flying craft coming down containing multiple dead unknown creatures, and at least one live being.

At this point, I'll be the first to admit that the witness pool is tainted and probably unsalvageable. However, the fact that so many people continue to come out with basically the same intertwining story, despite the fact that they might lose their pensions for it, or suffer in some other way, seems to speak to the fact that they at least believe that they're doing the right thing by coming out with what they say they remember.

I think it's more than coincidental, and more than people hearing stories and believing that they remember the same thing, that keeps this story coming back over and over again. I think we are at a point in time where many of these people are coming out with what they know because they know it might be their last chance.

I guess at this point, Roswell is likely to go down as one of those stories that people will bicker about forever. Until proof is shown otherwise, I think I'll continue to come down on the side of something unknown to the local military having crashed in the desert.

The Large Stone Head Mystery Continues

It looks like the large stone head mystery has been solved...at least partially.

As much as I read his site, you'd think I'd remember this article, but Philip Coppens has written an article previously about the stone head. I actually remember the article now that I've seen it again, but I certainly didn't place it with that picture yesterday.

It seems as though the stone head is from Guatemala, is a bit out of place there, but the overall mystery of it will probably live on forever. Unfortunately, before it was properly studied, anti-government rebels used it for target practice basically destroying it.

I guess the mystery of how a large stone head, vaguely reminiscent of the Easter Island heads, got to Guatemala and when it was carved will probably live on forever. Just another connection from around the world, probably lost forever, it seems.

Pyramids in Europe

I ran across an interesting lecture that Philip Coppens gave at the Nexus Conference 2007 in Brisbane about pyramids in Europe. The article he's posted has pictures of each site he discusses which go a long way toward showing the similarities and differences between the sites.

He does a really nice job of discussing some of the known pyramids in Europe, while leaving open the idea that there's more to discover. As odd as that seems, that a pyramid could go "undiscovered" it does seem to be the case quite often.

For instance, he gives a lot of time to the remarkable discoveries of apparent pyramids in Bosnia. As large as they are, and as apparent as they seem in photos, no one seems to have thought about them being anything more than freaks of nature until a few years ago. The base of the largest is 365 meters on each side forming a perfect square, and it stands 220 meters high. This, according to the research team, would make it the largest pyramid on Earth.

The reason seems to simply be that no one believed that pyramids that large could exist in Europe, and, therefore, they must be very strange natural occurrences. However, upon further research, evidence seems to be growing by the day that these are, in fact, man made pyramids.



The evidence to support that hypothesis is mostly structural, in the fact that large blocks have been found in place, reminiscent of the size of the blocks used in the Giza Plateau, a floor seems to be in place made of rectangular stones much like modern paving stones, and it's a well known fact in the local community that a "cement" exists on and around the pyramid, approximately 1 meter underground, which locals have been unable to dig through for wells or basements. Beyond that, the corners of the pyramid line up the the cardinal points, and tunnels also seem to travel in many locations underneath and around the sites of the pyramids.

In fact, just about 6 weeks ago a research team of Egyptian archaeologists and pyramid experts released a statement based on their first hand look at the Bosnian pyramids, which read, in part:

...the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun is the largest pyramid ever witnessed; it is an amazing structure of a great importance for the entire world.

It seems as though they're sold on the idea that at least the largest of the Bosnian pyramids is man-made.

Obviously, with these pyramids in Bosnia being fairly new discoveries, research is currently ongoing, and more is bound to come out about them along the way. Much of the archaeological excavation is slow work and time consuming, and many of the tunnels have been sealed by the locals over the years, probably for safety's sake. Stalagtites found in one of the tunnels, though, has already yielded a minimum growing time that pushes the creation date into the BC era, and as with any study of ancient history, it's almost certainly likely to be pushed back further as the research develops.

Beyond the fascinating story of the Bosnian Pyramids, Phillip explores pyramids in France, Spain, Italy and Greece. None are as impressive or large as the Bosnian or Egyptian pyramids, but each has a fascinating story to go with them. One of the things that stood out to me reading about each one was the lack of research that's gone into them. Each is largely unexplored, or has much exploration left to go, so the stories that each holds are bound to come out over the years.

For instance, at a pyramid site in France it took almost one hundred years from discovery until exploration, and even then tunnels were located which were not explored extensively at the time. When the lead researcher came back three years later he found the tunnels sealed, and it seems they likely still are to this day.

Perhaps the stigma of saying that there's pyramids outside of Egypt and other well known locations is wearing off, and serious research will continue, and in some cases begin, giving us more answers about our shared history. I think the story that will eventually come out of this will continue to tie various ancient cultures from around the world together in ways we never realized before.

Large Stone Head

Doctor Fong has this interesting picture of a large stone head up on his blog which he's trying to identify. He's asking for help, so if anyone knows what it is and where, speak up.

Those Darned Red Sox

Well, what can I say? Josh Beckett's the new Koufax and the Sox rolled. The Rockies looked stiff, rusty, rattled, and not ready to play. Bad news all around.

I still think the Rockies will win the series. Lets get the Sox to Colorado and see how they like no DH. I'll take the Rocks in 7.

Can you hear Sox Nation right now? They have the Patriots, the Sox, Boston College and they're convinced they're the best thing to ever hit the sports pages. I never realized quite how obnoxious they are as a whole until I came down to Florida. Don't even bother going to a Rays-Sox game...45,000 people from Boston all drunk, loud, obnoxious, and on a long weekend. Whoa.

Anyway, I should have known there'd be a member of Sox Nation even here amongst us on-line. Yes, Paul Kimball is cheering along with the rest of them. Enjoy it for now Paul, it's bound to end soon.

Richard Hoagland Press Conference

Today I was sent an e-mail by a friend of mine with details of the press conference Richard Hoagland is hosting at the National Press Club next week.

I'm actually curious to see what comes out of this even though I'm cautious with anything Hoagland does these days. At times I've thought that he's put out some interesting info, and made some nice connections. Other times, particularly more recently, I feel like he has no problem stretching(or possibly even more than that) a story to make it more sensational and to claim more headlines.

As I've said before, much of that seems to be human nature. Once people get headlines, sometimes they feel like they have to go bigger and more wild to keep getting headlines. I think that has happened to quite a few people who are at heart decent researchers over the years, and maybe that's part of why I'm wary of any claim Hoagland makes these days.

In the end, call me cautiously optimistic that something interesting comes out next week. If he's got legitimate proof of more happening on the moon than is known, then it's certainly going to be worthwhile. If he throws out a bunch of speculation that's light on the proof and big on attempts to grab headlines, then it's probably going to do more harm than good.

The Hunt for the Skinwalker Review

"The Hunt for the Skinwalker," for those who don't know, is a book about a Utah ranch that seems to have almost every paranormal occurrence all at once, and the scientists who have and are trying to study it. The book's written by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp, with Kelleher being a PhD scientist who took the lead on the study of the ranch.

The research was funded by the National Institute for Discovery Science, a scientific organization set up to scientifically study phenomena which would probably otherwise go unexplored by the scientific community.

The book gives excellent background of the area and the history behind the phenomenon in that location. The bizarre phenomenon there seems to go back at least 15 generations in Ute history, and for all we know might have been going on long before that. In short, in Native American lore the phenomenon is attributed to "skinwalkers" who are witches who use their power for evil. This ranch is said to be "in the path of the skinwalkers" and, therefore, the members of the local tribe will not step foot on the property for any reason.

Having asked many people I know who are familiar with the skinwalker phenomenon whether it's real or not, I can report that almost to a person, each came back to me with stories and legitimate fear for their own lives. Many people who have attempted to research skinwalkers have terrifying tales which scared them off of the notion of any legitimate research.

The nature of the occurrences on this particular property take the shape of everything from frightening poltergeist behavior, to telepathic communications, to UFOs of almost every variety reported from around the world, to Bigfoot, bulletproof animals including an extremely large wolf, to cattle mutilations, and even unknown creatures stalking the grounds.

The former residents of the ranch regularly ran into some of the strangest encounters I've ever heard of. For example, one of the most common occurrences was an orange "window" which would open up in full view of the house, up in the sky. Once, while watching the window, a resident of the ranch saw what looked to him like another sky through the window. Shortly thereafter a triangular shaped craft flew through from the other "sky" into the sky over Utah.

This seems to speak to the possibility that this ranch is located in an area where cross over from other dimensions or travel through a wormhole might be a reality. Many, if not all, of the other phenomena might possibly be explained by that as well, as strange as it seems. However, much of the happenings on the ranch seem to fall along the trickster motif; occasionally seemingly random occurrences with no obvious motive. That doesn't mean the motive doesn't make sense to whatever does it, but it's hard to come up with a reason why, for instance, a 75 pound post digger would disappear from a job site and show up later in a tree.

One of the more interesting points which I think was made in the book is the obvious intelligence of the behavior of what is often called an "entity" in the book. When the NIDS team showed up on the ranch at first, the occurrences were in full swing and happening regularly. They came in with a central command trailer, high tech equipment and people stalking the grounds on regular rounds. It was not exactly a low key operation, and it seems to have been obvious to the "entity" that it was being stalked. Almost at once, the occurrences dropped to near zero, with just hints of activity and strange phenomena here and there. While the research team certainly witnessed some things which they can not explain in everyday terms, they were mostly unable to come out of their experience with lasting proof of what happened. In most cases, it seems like that's because whatever was going on there simply didn't want to be filmed or caught on camera.

All in all, I found the book to be a fascinating read which did not disappoint from my previous stance that if they book lived up to the hype it might just help solve the mystery behind much of the paranormal. With such a wide range of happenings in one place it would seem unlikely that they aren't tied in together in some fashion. How is probably up to the likes of the Vallee's of the world to explain(who is on the board of the NIDS), but maybe the answers are closer now than they were before the NIDS spent over a year at the ranch in Utah. If you're interested in attempting to explain bits and pieces of the paranormal I'd certainly recommend making this book a part of that research.

The Gary David Podcast

It's been another two weeks, and that means it's time for the release of the Book of THoTH podcast.

In this episode, author Gary David explores Hopi culture & cosmology in a new way that mysteriously links them with Hindus, ancient Egyptians, and Tibetans. Could the ties that bind be extraterrestrial? Also, what, if anything, do the Hopi have to say about 2012 and the coming of a new age?

We find out some of the answers to this and more in the fourth episode.

Gary David and Jeremy Vaeni had a far ranging discussion for about half an hour that covered all of that and even more, including Gary's upcoming book "Eye of the Phoenix" which promises even more ancient connections. Gary's research always seems to be able to tie cultures from around the world together in the past in new ways, and then link that to what might be in store for all of us in the future. This is certainly a podcast you won't want to miss out on listening to.

Click here to go to the main podcast area for streaming audio

Click here to download the podcast directly

Go Rockies!

One very important note tonight everyone. Do not let Red Sox nation become even more obnoxious than they already are.

Root for the Rockies in the World Series. Thank you.

The Orion Zone Review

Anyone who knows me knows that I've had a hard time reviewing Gary David's amazing book "The Orion Zone: Ancient Star Cities of the American Southwest" in part because it's influenced my own theories on the history of modern cultures so much. Sometimes it's hard to remember in my own mind where Gary's research ends and my own begins. In that sense, "The Orion Zone" is likely to be my most used reference material when I'm looking for connections in the histories of North American cultures. So, instead of a traditional review of this book, let me point you toward an article I wrote which was inspired by Gary's work first.

After reading "The Orion Zone" last year I immediately realized that it tied directly into much of what I'd been thinking about and beginning to research previously. His book inspired me to write a couple of articles, and immediately push my research further. After a fairly long layoff, I've been back to it recently, and "The Orion Zone" is once again a starting point for learning about the past.

The opening premise of his book, and thus the title, is that there are cities in what is now Arizona which are laid out in precise relation to the constellation Orion. How is it possible that people from so far back could have so laid out their villages with such amazing precision? You can see from the diagram below just how amazing the correlation is, with the major angles being off by only a few degrees.



From there the book continues to amaze with connections. For instance, the Hopi deity Masau'u's name translated is actually "grey" just like the color. Representations of him are often almost identical to what modern UFO/alien buffs would call the greys. Could that be a coincidence?

The Hopi have ancient stories about paatuwvota or flying shields. When rock art of these are compared to modern stories, once again, they are often identical to modern day reports of UFOs. In the mythology of the Hopi, these paatuwvota are also said to have rescued people, and directed the way to safety in times of world catastrophes. Interestingly enough, at times they led the way to what the Hopi called "the ant people" who have an interesting correlation of their own.

Many people today are familiar with the term Anunnaki. The stories of the Annunaki are taken from Sumerian legends and writings, and have been popularized by Zecharia Sitchin. The interesting connection to the Hopi is that the Hopi term for ant is anu. The Hopi term for friend is naki. Put the two together, and the term ant friend becomes anu naki. Once again, how could this be simple coincidence?

Did the Hopi have a helping hand from what most people would call extraterrestrial life today? It's an interesting question, and one that Gary does a fine job of hashing out. While at it, he also manages to tie the Hopi into Egyptian history as well as Mayan history. Most people are familiar with the idea that the Giza plateau containing the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx seems to have a layout resembling Orion's belt. Is it possible that two societies on opposite sides of the planet just happened to spend so much time laying out mirrors of the sky above them? Both focused on one particular constellation in the sky amongst thousands of stars? Could these societies have had common ancestry? It's certainly something I plan on writing more about in the future.

Another fascinating connection made in this book is where the Hopi believe they "emerged" from. There's a particular star in the Orion constellation which they describe as their extraterrestrial origin. This star has been tagged by NASA as being a prime candidate for having Earth-like planets orbiting it. Once again, out of all of the stars which the Hopi could see, why choose that one? What are the chances of it being such a good candidate for life?

At this point, I realize that I could quite literally go on and on with the amazing research Gary's done to the point at which I'd have basically rewritten his book. I'm continually fascinated by the connections which Gary's made, and I feel it's a certainty that at some point much of it's going to have to revolutionize the way we look at the history of people on this planet, and how and when they got where they did. The common past of people from around the world is also something I think you'll be hearing much more about in the future as these links are uncovered.

So, go buy the book. It's a worthwhile investment in some groundbreaking information which may just change the way you look at things.

Also, I'm happy to say, Gary's got another book coming out next year titled "Eye of the Phoenix" which is sure to be another hit. I haven't heard all that much about it yet, but I'm excited about it as I hear that once again, our research paths seem to be crossing. Between him and Gary Osborn, it seems as though I just have to think about an article topic, do a little research, and they announce a book or write an extensive article about the same topic! Synchronicity at its finest.

One last thing, Gary was kind enough to do the Book of THoTH podcast interview for the next episode. I'm just downloading it now to give it a listen, and I'm sure it's going to be full of great info in his half hour discussion with Jeremy Vaeni. Be sure to check back here on Tuesday for the link to the streaming and downloadable versions.

Thanks everyone!

Thanks for all the kind words that I've gotten via e-mail and such everyone. It's nice to know that there's people out there who actually read this and care about what's going on. It's been a really long week, and we're back to the doctor's office tomorrow morning, but I think things are on the mend now.

Hopefully I'll post one or two book reviews tomorrow. One, my long awaited The Orion Zone review, the other a review of the Hunt for the Skinwalker. Both are excellent books that help to make sense of the crazy paranormal world out there.

Real life might take me away from the computer for a few days this week, so if that happens, I'll apologize in advance. My fiancee is having surgery first thing tomorrow morning, and should be home recovering for a few days after that.

So, in case I'm unable to sit here at the computer and type away for the next few days, I'll leave you with some great articles to read. Book of THoTH has had some great ones on the front page over the last few days, and I just haven't gotten a chance to read them all and respond.

Regan Lee of the Orange Orb Blog posted an article on UFOs, and why she thinks "they"(whoever "they" might be) seem to want to put on a show, but not have any more contact than that. Many of the things which Regan says seem so obvious until you realize that her common sense approach to the UFO enigma is in many ways missing from the field far more than it should be.

They Want to be Seen, Not Discovered

Michael Bourne, aka THoTH, posted an article he wrote about Daniel Dunglas Home. I'd never heard the name before, and was interested to read about all of the paranormal activity which seems to have surrounded him. Even skeptics who took their time to research the phenomena seem to have agreed that there was something to the stories.

Daniel Dunglas Home - Who?

SolAris has then posted an amazing tale, in two parts, about his hunt for the Grail. This is not your traditional hunt, either. He begins by taking a very close look at a murder mystery in Virginia, possibly solves that 30-plus year old mystery, and follows the clues right through the eastern US seaboard in a style which only Sol is capable. If you've ever read anything by him before, you know his writing style is very engrossing. I always feel like I'm right along with him whenever I read one of his stories.

How to Look for the Grail
Some Notable Roadways to the Virginia Grail

I saw a headline today about a new materials science discovery that really seemed too good to be true. Apparently it was first reported over a week ago, but I'm just hearing about it now.

Scientists at the University of Michigan are reporting a new nano-layered plastic with some amazing properties. It's transparent, strong as steel, thin as paper, biodegradable, non-toxic, cheap and requires very little energy to produce.

Almost sounds too good to be true, but I think we're at a time in which materials science is going to be able to do some pretty amazing things. While they've only made pieces about as large as one meter by one meter at this point, they say that it might be ready for commercialization within a couple of years, so keep your eye out for it.

It appears as though Daniel Brenton is back to writing again. If you've never taken a look around his site, take the time to go do it right now. I don't think anyone who reads this blog will be disappointed.

Here's hoping things are easier for you from here on out Daniel.

After listening to Mac Tonnies latest interview on the Book of THoTH, I realized something which might be interesting to incorporate into my future research. I never realized quite how close some of his ideas were to some of my own regarding the ancient history of man.

To give some insight into my upcoming article, I've been spending quite a bit of time researching the link I believe exists between the people who managed to map the entire world previous to Antarctica becoming covered with ice, megalithic structures from around the world, astronomy and regular worldwide catastrophes.

So, you might be saying, where in the world does Mac tie into that? Well, his take on the cryptoterrestrial hypothesis might actually tie in quite well, and I now think it's something I'm going to have to reference in my speculative part of what might have been in the distant past. If you still haven't figured out where this connection might have come from, go check out the interview and see if it makes sense after that!

As for my other thoughts regarding the podcast, I really have to say that Mac came off as one of the smarter, more well versed people I've ever heard speak, as usual. His interview was wide ranging, and well spoken. Like most people, I can't agree 100% with everything he says, but there's nothing he said which I can, or would, take umbrage with. That goes for everything from the CTH, human future, human past, DMT, to the current state of interesting folks in the UFO community.

I think the fact of the matter is, if you can't get behind the things that Paul Kimball and Mac Tonnies have said in the first couple of BoT podcasts with Jeremy Vaeni, then you're probably very closed minded to what's out there and what the possibilities are in this world. As has been said elsewhere, there's no need to always agree with everything in these topics, but there's no reason not to listen and take what was said to heart, especially with such intelligent, well spoken people speaking.

One thing's for sure...I'll be waiting patiently(for a while longer at least...) for Mac's book on Cryptoterrestrials. I'll be on my way to the bookstore(actually amazon...I'm lazy) as soon as it hits the shelves.

With all that's been said about the Book of THoTH podcasts here and elsewhere, it occurred to me that while Jeremy Vaeni's been out there giving amazing interviews for Book of THoTH, I still haven't given his latest DVD a proper review here.

So, here's my thoughts on "No One's Watching: An Alien Abductee's Story":

I found it to be a compelling movie, actually. I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is there a documentary feel to it, he throws some theatrical twists into it that make it even more strange and compelling somehow. The discussions between him and his family and friends about what they thought about his experiences were very interesting and informative. For those who believe that "abductees" only come from broken homes and are generally abused at home, I think the interviews with his parents make that seem far from the truth. In fact, his father even discusses the topic, admitting that he was worried at one point that something had happened to Jeremy, but in the end, he seems to accept Jeremy's explanation as best he can. It's obvious that Jeremy comes from a typical american home with loving attentive parents and good friends.

The only negative that I, personally, found in the DVD was that it seemed to wander off track, and I think that Jeremy felt that he needed to spice up his story, when in fact, discussing it with his family and friends in a documentary style was the most compelling part, and well worth the few bucks it costs to give it a shot yourself. Heck, as Jeremy's quick to point out "if you hate it or are just ambivalent, click on that commentary track and watch it again...for the first time. It's a whole new experience with my comedian roommates trashing everything on screen and saying to me most of the stuff you'd like to. You'll laugh 'til you cry and be happy that you didn't have to turn my DVD into a beer coaster."

Now that's good value folks. A documentary and a comedy all in one. Give it a shot, I don't think you'll be disappointed...unless you just don't understand Jeremy...which...well...a lot of people don't...but...just give it a shot.

The latest Book of THoTH podcast is up, and this one features an extended interview with Post Human Blues' own Mac Tonnies.

In it author/philosopher Mac Tonnies explores other possibilities as to the origins of species. Not ours. Alien. And if not alien, then what? Therein lies the mystery.

Join host Jeremy Vaeni and Mac Tonnies as they share their perspectives on this controversial topic.

This is a great follow up to the Paul Kimball interview as Mac and Jeremy go about 35 minutes or so in this extended discussion. It's well worth the time to listen, and I'll certainly have more to say about it in the coming days!

To stream the podcast, follow this link:

Podcast area

To download it, just click below:

Download it here

Can life be created in a laboratory from scratch? It seems as though we're embarking on the age of science in which this question will be definitively answered.

A US genetic scientist has apparently been able to create what he is calling "artificial life" from lab made chemicals. Craig Venter and his team of 20 top genetic scientists are apparently set to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

The new species is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium, and they've dubbed their new creation Mycoplasma laboratorium.

Of course, this brings about another question. Are we ready for a world in which new species can be readily created in the lab?

As Mr. Venter said to the guardian, this breakthrough is "a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before".

Some people are, understandably, worried about the discovery. Pat Mooney, the director of a Canadian bioethics organization, the ETC group, says it's basically a "chassis on which you could build almost anything. It could be a contribution to humanity such as new drugs or a huge threat to humanity such as bio-weapons".

I guess in my mind there's really no such thing as a scientific discovery that can't be used to do something bad in the end. We can't really give up, and say that we're fine where we are and we don't need to learn anything new anymore. So what do we do? We keep moving on, hoping that each new discovery will be used with the best intentions, and not just to make a new bio-weapon. Hopefully this work will lead to a whole new generation of breakthroughs which really help the world.

Someone else has jumped on the "Randi is a fraud" bandwagon. Add to the ever growing list Adam Blake, CEO and co-founder of Pear Cable.

For whatever reason Randi decided to take a shot at him and try to "debunk" his $7,000 stereo cables. I'm not exactly lining up to buy $7,000 cables, but it seems as though there's a market for them, and Pear Cable has published frequency response plots detailing exactly how their cables work and why they think they're worth that price. Why Randi feels the need to try to make him prove it in his bogus million (non-existent) dollar challenge I just don't know. However, I found parts of the response from Pear Cable amusing, and, of course, right on:

Yes, by now we have heard about this challenge (although we were never contacted directly). Unfortunately, like most offers of $1 million this one is a hoax. While James Randi is claiming to offer a $1 million dollar prize to differentiate between these speaker cables, by reading the official rules of the challenge, it becomes immediately clear that the offer is not valid. One must be able to "demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability" in order to qualify. Since there is a wealth of scientific information explaining the differences between speaker cables, the offer is not a valid one (and James Randi knows it).

...

In addition, according to the editor of Stereophile magazine John Atkinson, James Randi has completely fabricated the statements about Atkinson made in this "challenge". Furthermore, another audiophile who goes by the moniker "Wellfed" on the AudioAsylum forums, says he tried to take the challenge twice for what I consider a more dubious audio tweak (the GSIC chip), but was denied the opportunity and was lied to by the Randi Foundation. Finally, according to these forum posts: http://www.talkaboutaudio.com/group/...es/719041.html at least one person has tried to take the "challenge" previously to show that they could differentiate between loudspeaker cables and they were denied by Randi who said "Wire is not wire. I accept that".

So, at the end of the day we have claims made by a high school educated retired magician, which are refuted by independent studies and publications conducted by experts. Most importantly, James Randi's "challenge" is backed by nothing.

At times I think it would be nice if Randi just gave up on his completely fake crusade, but, then who would I get to make fun of on a regular basis? The fact of the matter is, I've known more people who didn't believe in the paranormal to begin with who decided to give it an open minded look after watching Randi make an ass of himself than there will ever be people who are convinced by his new magic act.

There's an interesting "new" UFO video making the rounds:



I only say "new" because even though the case has been known and discussed for over 50 years now, this is the first time I've ever seen this footage. I have yet to see a good explanation of why it suddenly surfaced now, which makes me believe it's a new recreation of the event, unfortunately.

However, the case is legitimate, I believe. In July of 1952 these lights were reported all over the eastern seaboard, along with pictures being taken of them flying over the Capitol. Apparently, around the time the pictures were taken, Andrews Air Force Base reported an "orange orb" hovering over the base. During the same night, and other times during the same week, dozens if not hundreds of UFOs were sighted all around the US and elsewhere in the world. In fact, the incident over the Washington DC was apparently witnessed by, at least, hundreds of people.

In fact, the sighting over the Capitol even made the front page of the Washington Post the next morning:



No reasonable explanation has ever been put forward that I've seen, and whether or not the video turns out to be real, the case is certainly an interesting one.

Isn't it funny how synchronicity works? It never fails to amaze me, frankly. With all of the reading I've done recently, and not so recently, I've had an article percolating in my head for a while now. Only over the last few days have I gotten serious about putting down a semi-outline and putting together the references and quotes I'd like to use.

The topic is semi-mythological, historical, related to the megalithic constructions, ancient societies and what I believe they might be telling us about the future of our planet.

So what happens as I'm pulling all of this together? Gary Osborn sends me an article he's written and would like me to read over. I've only read the first page so far, but he might as well have taken it directly out of my head and written the intro to my article for me.

So, look for Gary's article here and on Book of THoTH's front page shortly, and possibly mine afterward if I have anything left to say when he's done!

All I can say today..or type, I can barely talk...is way to go to my beloved Colorado Rockies. What a game, and what a way to enter the playoffs. With all of the history that's out there in baseball, I'm not sure any team has ever gotten to the playoffs in more dramatic fashion.

Unfortunately for me, the game didn't end until about 3 hours before I had to get up to go to work this morning, so I have to admit that I'm way too exhausted to even think clearly.

Go Rocks!