NEW YORK TIMES Review: Wearable Filip Phone/Tracker

The Filip phone, worn like a bracelet, keeps track of a child when paired with an app downloaded to a parent’s mobile device.

I am very conflicted with this story.

On one hand, anyone who reads this site knows I fret—sometimes outright fear—the future and how technology will be used to rid the world of humans and replace our emotions wand actions with those of the virtual nature.. But I’m a parent, too, who understands the dangers of society and how children can easily get lost in a K-MART let alone a big world…

So …I don’t know what to say. In a sense I get nervous about the government and big business monitoring our every move. I don’t like cameras watching my facial expressions in stores. I don’t like public buses recording my conversations. And I don’t like how far the NSA seemingly has overstepped some boundaries, at least according to the Snowden documents..

But parents being big brother? That may be allowable and morally acceptable in my mind. After all, constitutional protections sometimes don’t translate well when you’re talking about the relationship a parent has with a child. A dictatorship in a household is often the best course of action—not always of course..

So … The wearable flip phone tracker for children? I may be a fan. So now tell me, does that make me a hypocrite?

NEW YORK TIMES Review: Wearable Filip Phone/Tracker

No one owns the moon says scientist - Telegraph

From the TELEGRAPH story:

“The legal status of the moon is currently defined by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty of the United Nations.”

But he added: “There’s a strong case for developing international law in this area because in 1967 it was not envisaged that anyone other than nation states would be able to explore the moon. Clearly that is changing now and there is a case for developing the outer space treaty to include private organisations that may wish to explout the moon.”

He said there was also a case for developing the treaty in light of private companies who may in the future want to mine the moon for its minerals, but that it was unnecessary to worry about this at the moment as scientific exploration was still ongoing.

Makes me wonder if any other life forms out there in space debate the question: Who owns the pale blue dot?

No one owns the moon says scientist - Telegraph

Snooki Calls NJ Gov. Chris Christie a 'Bully'

Snooki Calls NJ Gov. Chris Christie a 'Bully'

One of the greatest David Blaine tricks, perhaps ever. And the best quote from Harrison Ford, too: “Get the fuck out of my house.” 

Love it..

I think I’d ask Dave to leave, too..

A fire has destroyed the historic Neale Mansion

This perhaps is more a story for my local readers in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania..

According to the Pottsville REPUBLICAN HERALD today, firefighters were called to he Neale Mansion in Foster Twp.. The paper does not yet have specifics as to the totality of the fire, but the word ‘destroy’ in the headline is enough to cause me to think it’s a loss..

This photo is from the newspaper: 

This would make the destruction of a house with historic appeal—and controversial appeal over the past few years.

James B. Neale was a coal baron who, according to books about him, was generous and took care of children from the area.. There are some very positive stories about Neale and idyllic goals.. James Neale was one of those coal barons who did little evil. . as a matter of fact, as the book "The Great Chance" explained, he wanted coal miners to be well housed, healthy, and sanitary, and educated. 

People have long ventured into the area to snap photos of the expansive and amazing mansion..

The mansion itself was subject to years worth of controversy. In 2008, the owners wanted to bar demolition of the mansion.... In 2010, Foster Twp asked a judge to allow work on the mansion. In 2012, it was officially sold.

In 2014: It’s burned to the ground..

Sad day for those who love history, and those who long cherished the ideals set forth by one of the few honest coal barons of that day, James Neale..

West Virginians risk non-stop vomiting if they drink or touch water after chemical spill

And here is some more information on this developing story..

Massive chemical spill in West Virginia forces state of emergency and a water ban in 9 counties! More than that.. schools and restaurants are closed in the main capitol of Charleston.. The water ban and state of emergency comes after a chemical leak into Elk River.. MORE: Affected residents have been told not to drink, cook, bathe or wash with the contaminated water supplied by West Virginia American Water .. Along with all of this, some people are being treated for water related issues .. from the CBS report:

"Once word got out about the governor’s declaration Thursday, customers stripped store shelves in many areas of items such as bottled water, paper cups and bowls. As many as 50 customers had lined up to buy water at a convenience store near the state Capitol in Charleston. "It was chaos, that’s what it was," cashier Danny Cardwell said. "

West Virginians risk non-stop vomiting if they drink or touch water after chemical spill

Whoa

A closed bridge over troubled water..

Does this nightmare ‘weighing down’ the Governor of New Jersey have enough to stop his road to the White House?

….so what other issues actually made Mitt Romney drop Christie’s name from contenders for VP? 

What else …is there?

Target: Stolen information involved up to 70 million people

Target disclosed that a mass information breach involved data belonging to up to 70 million customers, a number more extensive than originally believed.

Thanks for the belated Christmas gift, Target, the inclusion of 30 million more people in the original numbers..

This is a big, BIG, data breach. 

Must have been a Target on this store..

Target: Stolen information involved up to 70 million people

Forced abortion abuses in China being revealed

Forced abortion abuses in China being revealed

It’s Lego time for Ayden Kreuger

Dead cows washing up on beaches

Seriously space aliens, this is the best thing that you can do to get rid of the body?

Dead cows washing up on beaches

Security alert in southern Russia as bodies found in bomb-rigged cars

Security alert in southern Russia as bodies found in bomb-rigged cars

For some fun, I may seek out every newsstand and out this issue of Janet Yellen in front of all Playboy and Playgirl .. Just for fun. Some good clean Yellen fun.

The gloves are off! Fat jokes begin. Get the cattle prod.

I’d much rather hear less about politics and more about how I can warn 50gs in cash!

A quick walk in the woods yielded this, I think I found my Christmas tree for next year already!

A nightmare at naptime!

Ayden it’s going to daycare today looking slightly like a toddler version of Freddy Krueger. But.. The fluffy Ninja Turtle hat and Scooby Doo mittens may take away some of the fear factor.

Investigator reacts to leaked bridge scandal emails: Chris Christie is clueless or a liar

Wait a minute.. did Chris Christie eat the bridge!?

Investigator reacts to leaked bridge scandal emails: Chris Christie is clueless or a liar

1400% Radiation Hot Spot Found on San Francisco Beach

Nothing to see here………………………..

1400% Radiation Hot Spot Found on San Francisco Beach

Who needs parents when your kids have PJs

Another example of technology extracting even bit of human interaction in life.. Pajamas will soon tell bedtime stories to your kids. Seriously..

SMART PJs will be able to talk your child to sleep, I suppose..

While the pajamas will not be able to comfort a crying child who is scared of dark shadows at bedtime, I am sure a robot soon will. And you, as a parent, can achieve your splendid plan of doing nothing while raising your child. Congrats .. now the shining and most beautiful moment of the day—bedtime—will be taken from your by technologically advanced pajamas.

The Smallest and Faintest Galaxies of the Ancient Universe Spotted

Thanks Hubble for some more thought provoking images.. 60 faint and small galaxies far far away…

The Smallest and Faintest Galaxies of the Ancient Universe Spotted

New construction-themed amusement park being built in South Jersey

Diggerland Adventure Park, which is being touted by developers as the first construction-themed amusement park in the United States will be built in West Berlin, Camden County

Love it!

If only I was a kid again, I would have thoroughly enjoyed this. The hell with Hershey Park! Jersey’s going to have diggers!  You just won a Superbowl? You’re going to DIGGERLAND!!!

New construction-themed amusement park being built in South Jersey

George Knapp, get well..

I spoke with Coast to Coast part time host George Knapp today.. he is recovering after a life threatening illness. Sepsis almost struck down the great reporter..

Get well soon, Mr. Knapp. . 

We need you back.

 I don’t quite know what to make of this.. I have written before about my speculation that Dennis Rodman may be on a secret mission in North Korea to save the planet from World War III.. But today news that he sang happy birthday to Kim Jong Un is just creepy..

You can read the full report here from CBS..

The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the headline was that Rodman sang the song in Marilyn Monroe style to the Lil Dick-tator. 

Other players did NOT join Rodman..

This is how CBS ended its dispatch on this strange display of ….Rodmanism: 

Rodman has faced both ridicule and harsh criticism for his trips to North Korea, which some U.S. politicians and activists view as serving only as fodder for North Korean propaganda.

But he defended his visit, saying it would help “open the door” and was a “great idea for the world.”

"It’s amazing how we thrive on negativity. Does anyone know this guy’s only 31 years old?" he said of Kim, whom he calls his friend.

"Dennis, he could be 31, he could be 51," said CNN interviewer Chris Cuomo. "He’s just killed his uncle. He’s holding an American hostage."

After a schism, a question: Can atheist churches last?

Proof that organized atheism is just as religious as religion.. Now the churches of nothingness are splitting, fighting, and perhaps ruining their cause. Could there be a Martin Luther of Atheism? Someone who will bring about reform, and further the beliefs of nothingness to even believe in a stronger nothing ? 

After a schism, a question: Can atheist churches last?

Noahs Ark Risks Collapse Without Bond Buyers by February

Shame if the park isn’t created. No, not because I am anywhere close to a literalist, but because .. seriously.. this is a fun story and I have always remembers the Noah’s Ark song from my childhood!

As insane as the Noah story has always been to me, I’d LOVE to go to the theme park. Just alone to hear ‘scientists’ try to tell me why dinosaur eggs weren’t able to hatch on the boat.. 

And if there’s a rid similar to the last scene of EVAN ALMIGHTY I’d surely pay..

Noahs Ark Risks Collapse Without Bond Buyers by February

“Mein Kampf” Tops Amazon Charts

E-book versions of Hitler’s opus are rising in the rankings on Amazon and iTunes. 

I will let your formulate your own thoughts as to why this is occurring..The article doesn’t present theory but leads to further questions. 

I do predict though that the article describing how popular Mein Kampf is becoming will only lead to the book becoming even more popular.. 

“Mein Kampf” Tops Amazon Charts

Bravo to Saturday Night LIVE for finally adding an African American woman, Sasheer Zamata,  to the cast—first time since Maya Rudolph left the show..

A little late, sure.. And yes, Lorne Michaels, you’re show is becoming a bit outdated and stale.

But I think that happens with Saturday Night LIVE often.. There are transitional periods of time in which the show re-adjusts.. heck, I still remember when some famed stars left in the mid 1990s to do movies.. People thought the show would end. Until Will Ferrell and other greats came along and made the late 90s into the early 2000s some of the funniest seasons of the show yet..

Saturday Night LIVE will have trouble being the rebel without a cause that came in the late 1970s. But there are always chances for the show to becoming the ‘thing’ again. Maybe the inclusion of some new members of the cast will help. Certainly, Sasheer Zamata will help just in the fact that SNL has been a little uncultured in its cast members recently.

And the other positive: Kenan Thompson will finally be relieved of playing any role in which a black woman is needed.

Alfred Hitchcock's unseen Holocaust documentary to be screened

Did you know..? Alfred Hitchcock made a film about Nazi death camps?But according to this UK INDEPENDENT article, Alfred Hitchcock, the master of macabre, was so haunted and disturbed by actual footage of the Holocaust that he stayed away from the Pinewood Studios for a full week after seeing it..

And now, soon, we will all get to see the horrifying footage that haunted Hitchcock.. The INDEPENDENT reports:

In 1945, Hithcock had been enlisted by his friend and patron Sidney Bernstein to help with a documentary on German wartime atrocities, based on the footage of the camps shot by British and Soviet film units. In the event, that documentary was never seen.

"It was suppressed because of the changing political situation, particularly for the British," suggests Dr Toby Haggith, Senior Curator at the Department of Research, Imperial War Museum. "Once they discovered the camps, the Americans and British were keen to release a film very quickly that would show the camps and get the German people to accept their responsibility for the atrocities that were there."

The film took far longer to make than had originally been envisaged. By late 1945, the need for it began to wane. The Allied military government decided that rubbing the Germans’ noses in their own guilt wouldn’t help with postwar reconstruction.

Five of the film’s six reels were eventually deposited in the Imperial War Museum and the project was quietly forgotten.

In the 1980s, the footage was discovered in a rusty can in the museum by an American researcher. It was eventually shown in an incomplete version at the Berlin Film Festival in 1984 and then broadcast on American PBS in 1985 under the title Memory of the Camps but in poor quality and without the missing sixth reel. The original narration, thought to have been written by future Labour Cabinet Minister Richard Crossman in collaboration with Australian journalist Colin Wills, was read by actor Trevor Howard.

The Imperial War museum has now put together the real footage along with other material and have prepared the film to be seen in the same way that Hitchcock did.. it will be shown on British TV in 2015 when the world marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Europe—the film will then be seen at other theaters and film festivals.. 

Alfred Hitchcock's unseen Holocaust documentary to be screened

2014 is going to be a bad year for horror movies

Looks like the relics in your closet will be the must watch films of the year.. There aren’t too many horror flicks worth looking forward to in 2014. A shame, too.. So much was great in 2013. The CONJURING was perhaps among the best.

In 2014 there will not be any gems worth mining..

2014 is going to be a bad year for horror movies

Great article from PACIFIC STANDARD: "The Next Civil Rights Issue: Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet"

"Ignore the barrage of violent threats and harassing messages that confront you online every day." That’s what women are told.

Eye opening .. thought provoking..

Great article from PACIFIC STANDARD: "The Next Civil Rights Issue: Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet"

Satanists unveil 7-foot monument they want to erect at Oklahoma Statehouse

Yes, lots of people are really angry about this. 

But I got to thinking..

Maybe it’s sort of .. well .. fitting.

Satanists unveil 7-foot monument they want to erect at Oklahoma Statehouse

Honey Boo Boo, family 'really sore' after car wreck

I already see bloggers and Tweeters and others mocking the family and making some horrible jokes about this car accident.

Yes the show is deplorable. And no, I don’t watch it—not even the clips. But come on, people.. show some class, and interrupt your hate for a few minutes and just hope for the best for some of your fellow humans. 

Honey Boo Boo, family 'really sore' after car wreck

On January 6, 2014,  I was listening to Ground Zero Radio with Clyde Lewis. His guest was Peter Davenport from the national UFO reporting center.. Davenport spoke to Lewis about a seemingly large uptick in UFO reports since January 1 of this year..

A bit into the show, I learned about a UFO case that may forever haunt me—and I should have known about it since I know exactly where this incident happened.  Davenport spoke about Todd Sees from Northumberland County, Pa. Sees vanished in 2002.. Sees was 39 and lived at the base of Montour Ridge .. he was married and a father of two. One Sunday morning he took his ATV to the top of the mountain.. He never returned. They found his four wheeler. They also found his shoe in a tree.. they found his body some time later badly mutilated.. You can read more here about the case (and you can find some archived news stories from the DAILY ITEM here) or watch this video of homicide detective Butch Witkowski speak about this..

While the UFO movement has hitched a ride to the Todd Sees story, we must always strive to take stories of this nature with large grains of salt.

No matter what, though, this story in itself may haunt you for a long time after..

(Source: http://www.groundzeromedia.org/)

Canada's ex-defense minister: Aliens would give us more tech if we'd stop wars

Paul Hellyer, who has long insisted that aliens have visited Earth for many years, says that when aliens saw the atomic bomb they decided that we were a great threat to the cosmos. Read this article by Chris Matyszczyk on CNET News.

If he is crazy, then he’s crazy. If aliens are real, then he may be right. But what about those hostile aliens, you know, the ones in the cigar shaped craft that take us? What about the Grays, who do bad things to people from the South?  Paul Hellyer doesn’t answer much about that, but he does say that we need to give up warfare in order to get help from the creature above..

Canada's ex-defense minister: Aliens would give us more tech if we'd stop wars

A nightmare on Woodlawn Avenue in Wilkinsburg, PA, as a water main break leaves cars frozen solid to the road..

Major X class solar flare appears to be Earth directed

Major X class solar flare appears to be Earth directed

Caption this?

Angry Dennis Rodman defends North Korea basketball game

This is bizarre. Dennis Rodman just can’t stop loving Lil Kim Un..

Angry Dennis Rodman defends North Korea basketball game

It's cold

So don’t put your tongue on this website.

.. it may stick.

It’s a beautiful morning!

UFO spotted in Berkshire skies leaves investigators baffled

Object shaped like a rugby ball flew within a few feet of passenger jet at 34,000ft, claims pilot

While it may not be proof of aliens, a pilot’s testimony already strikes a special chord with me. Maybe it’s because I picture Chesley Sullenberger heroically landing a plane on the Hudson and saving the lives of hundreds. Or maybe it’s because I loved the movie AIRPLANE ever since I was kid.. Either way, if a pilot tells me something happened, I tend to believe it.

In this circumstance, we have a pilot’s own testimony that the plane was around 34,000 when he saw something..

It was said to be “cigar/rugby ball like” in shape, bright silver and “metallic” and travelling towards the jet. The pilot said he felt certain it was going to crash into his aircraft and ducked as it headed towards him, but it did not appear to make impact. He told investigators he believed the object passed “within a few feet” above the jet.

Beware the cigar shaped UFOs.. All UFO aficionados learn at an early age that they are the bad ones..

This plane is thankfully safe..
But the mystery remains.

A UFO?
Alien life?
Maybe a drone..

Or something having a little fun at everyone’s expense.. 

The jury is out.. 

UFO spotted in Berkshire skies leaves investigators baffled

Rise of the exorcists in Catholic Church

Forty years after The Exorcist scared the wits out of cinema audiences around the world, the Roman Catholic Church is training up a new generation of priests to meet a growing demand for exorcisms

It’s the Francis effect. He exorcises one guy in public and now it’s cool enough that everyone wants to do it..

Before you know it, people will be projectile vomiting in a bed near you. 

Rise of the exorcists in Catholic Church

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

This is a great video. It shows how we are not living in the moment.. too busy with cell phones and other technological gadgets distracting us from the beauty around.

There is nothing wrong with the phone you’re reading this one or the computer screen it appears on.. but we have lost that ability to ‘disconnect’ from the net. And that may have some negative side effects..

Remember in the wild new days of the net when it was young? When you could disconnect from dial up, or ‘dial in’ to the superhighway? Not anymore.. 

Now we must use will power to moderate our use..Or not moderate.. depending on your abilities..

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Your eyes are seeing a map of 19th century shipping and trading routes.. Amazingly enough, it is also a pretty decent and accurate map of the continents themselves.. read more here..

One creepy Gipper.

Here is a very interesting story from SALON.COM about Ronald Reagan and his constantly chipper mood.. According to the SALON article, Reagan’s optimism was shaped by Manly P. Hall, a famed occult thinker.. 

Couple that with tales of secret societies and we have quite the conspiracy theory. But before you scoff at it, SALON is reputable and TIME magazine was, too, when it published the cover story you’re seeing here.

Case of the Blue Mondays: Are you sad? Are you mad? You're not alone.. it's BLUE MONDAY and everyone is in the same depressing boat

If you didn’t already know it, people are calling today Blue Monday. Collectively, we are told, it’s the worst day of the year. Bills are coming in.. Christmas is over..lights coming down. Relationships over.. resolutions being broken.

Pretty sad. Depressing. Blue.

And if you’re like me, you’re probably confused. I remember Blue Monday being much later in January—I even searched Coal Speaker archives and found it to be the final Monday of the month. But alas, experts have changed the day!

Blue Monday,” which is said to be the most miserable day of the year, was originally calculated to be at the end of the month.

But researchers analyzed tweets over the past few years and found that Monday, January 6, 2014 is the day the most people feel sad and guilty.

Everything is instant these days. 

Even depression. 

Case of the Blue Mondays: Are you sad? Are you mad? You're not alone.. it's BLUE MONDAY and everyone is in the same depressing boat

An update on those horrors in the Central African Republic

Nearly a million flee violence in Central African Republic

FROM CNN:

The nearly 935,000 displaced people are hiding in bushes and seeking refuge with host families, and churches and schools have been turned in to makeshift shelters. More than half the population of the capital city of Bangui has been displaced, and nearly 60% of them are displaced children, according to the latest report from UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency.

Since March, violence has gripped the Central African Republic, or CAR.

Welcome to America in winter.. the dead of winter.. where the average temperature for the entire United States is current 14 degrees….

If this was happening anywhere except Africa, it would be front page news..

….but.. It’s in Africa.

LINK: Mutilated by a machete: The violence in the Central African Republic is getting worse.. and children are especially those feeling the horrors of war..

The story is very difficult to read.

On Saturday night, I posted a link to a story regarding children being beheaded in the CAR on my personal Facebook page with the subtext: “While you were watching football.” I got one comment and that was it. Zippo. We need to stop ignoring Africa.. Especially when tiny innocent children are being hunted like dogs .. 

NOTHING TO SEE HERE!

The risk of a global super volcano eruption is greater than previously thought.. Yellowstone studied in depth..

60 MINUTES goes in depth on nature’s ticking time bombs: Volcanoes..

Brain dead girl Jahi McMath released from California hospital

Jahi McMath, the 13-year-old girl on a ventilator who was declared brain dead by doctors in California after tonsil surgery, was released from a hospital.

This is just an emotional draining and horrific story. I cannot even imagine what he family of this beautiful girl, Jahi, is experiencing.  There are so many things I think about when  I read updates on this matter.

One thing I don’t like seeing over and over again: the media uses “brain dead” to describe Jahi in almost every headline. I understand why they would.. but can’t we give this 13-year-old girl more respect? Can’t we describe her as “loving Jahi” or “beautiful Jahi”? Oh, better yet, just “Jahi McMath!” Maybe that would work!

While I am not an expert on the brain, I am not quite sure if anyone is.. We are going into uncharted territories as we explore more about the brain, its functions, and what it does every single day when we wake up.I listened to a pretty interesting Coast to Coast AM show Saturday night about the science of reviving people in comas. 

We can say brain dead until we are blue in the face.. sometimes miracles happen.

I think we know that Jahi’s family is praying for a miracle.. As should we all..

Pray to whatever or whoever you believe in.. if no beliefs are within you, simply send some good will and feelings their way. There’s a butterfly effect of good that can result..

Brain dead girl Jahi McMath released from California hospital

The other surge: Violence against women surges in Afghanistan

The other surge: Violence against women surges in Afghanistan

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmC9SmCBUj4?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

The bastard makes pan frying a steak look so easy. How I loathe your skills, Gordon Ramsay..

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Wow… Happy winter I guess…

My childhood locked away in a cabinet in antique store..

Colts punter tweets half-naked picture of Andrew Luck

A word of caution: Always check your photos before posting. And maybe …well… Don’t take photos of people in locker rooms.
Bad form…

Colts punter tweets half-naked picture of Andrew Luck

Great.. My local mall has succumbed to the monarch mind controllers. It’d be ok if they at least had a Texas Roadhouse..

That’s right.. Because when I hear the word bravery the first thing I think about is rabbits ..