Want to feel like you're getting old? 10 movies turning 10 in 2016

Time certainly has decided to move faster, don’t you think?

Want to feel like you're getting old? 10 movies turning 10 in 2016

Christmas Eve 1955 Was Much Warmer

Yes it has been warm before.
And it is this year.

Enjoy a Heat Miser. You never know when the next really white Christmas will be.

In Irving Berlin’s 1954 musical “White Christmas” – the story line was 70 degrees in Vermont on Christmas eve and no snow. That was why they were “Dreaming of a White Christmas”

Christmas Eve 1955 Was Much Warmer

Hitler asked his personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann to take photos of him rehearsing speeches. Hitler would try out various gestures and expressions, then review the pictures to see if his postures looked stunning or stupid.

Though Hitler ordered Hoffmann to destroy the pictures for being “beneath one’s dignity,” the photographer kept them in his studio. He later published the photos in his memoir, Hitler Was My Friend.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bia9Yppa0B4?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

This is a good video.. 100 years of Halloween costumes that women have worn.

Yes, the 1980s were scary because of the style.

But in my opinion, the 1925 edition of Halloween may be the creepiest and more frightening of all.. it was intended to be fun. But as time beats on, the look has become sinister and mentally disturbing..

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

THE PAST IN COLOR!

1928 AS IT WAS.. PHOTOGRAPHED BY A CLIFTON R. ADAMS FOR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IN AUTOCHROME..

And seen now.

IN the 21st century..

The past is amazing when you see it as it was..

History is funny like that. It does not seem real until you see it more like it was.. in real ways.. in color. As it was to people then.
Then it seems real.
Very real..

900 Foot Megatsunami? Scientists Discover Tsunami Evidence in Africa.. A new study reveals evidence how an ancient 900 foot megatsunami wave caused widespread destruction in Cape Verde. It happened around 78,000 years ago

900 Foot Megatsunami? Scientists Discover Tsunami Evidence in Africa.. A new study reveals evidence how an ancient 900 foot megatsunami wave caused widespread destruction in Cape Verde. It happened around 78,000 years ago

The class of 18 learns about 9/11

I cannot fathom it being 14 years already since 9/11.. I have my personal memories, some I have shared in public settings, others I have kept very secret.. I have those images forever in my mind..    This morning while hearing news accounts of today’s ceremonies planned in the locations hit by terrorism on September 11, 2001, I realized this: The kids born that year, those who first were welcomed…

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MARBLES: THE GOOD FRIDAY TRADITION YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

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It was ten years ago today that Pope John Paul II died .. What started today in 2005 was a strange odyssey of prophecy and paranoia.. Pope John Paul II was made pope during an eclipse.. His funeral took place during an eclipse, as well.. 

But I recall one strange and often neglected bit of history that made news at the time: He became the decomposing Pope. At the time, people who were attending days worth of a viewing for the Pope were horrified at the sight. Some even complained of a smell.. Pope John Paul was only ‘lightly’ embalmed ..As a report from the AP said in 2005:

"For a four-day viewing, injections of formaldehyde and other preserving liquids are necessary," Signoracci told The Associated Press, cautioning that he could not be certain what had been done without examining the body.
The Vatican has said John Paul’s body was not embalmed, only “prepared” for viewing by hundreds of thousands of mourners, refusing to elaborate on the procedure used.
John Paul died Saturday, and his remains were put on public view two days later, through Thursday. His funeral on St. Peter’s Square and burial beneath the basilica took place Friday.
Maria Campos Guereta, a 29-year-old banker from Jerez, Spain, was among the last mourners to file past the body Thursday. “Truth be told, he looked really haggard,” she said.

The entire world was watching, on live TV often, the Pope decomposing as the process of death overtook his body.. It was actually quite a creepy sight to behold, and one that our minds perhaps have tried to purposely forget.. 

For those who don’t remember the events of ten years ago or just weren’t paying attention due to age or place in the world, Pope John Paul’s death was a big deal.. It was earth-moving, and policy shifting. 

But for me, what I will never personally forget, is the harbingers that occurred before his death—the white doves circling his head weeks before he died.. The thousands who gathered outside of the Vatican waiting for his passing… the election of Ratzinger.. The would be assassin calling himself a spiritual brother of John Paul..

And….that horrific sight of the pope decomposing before the eyes of the world’s population.. lightly embalmed and on display, rotting away.

April 2, 2005.. April 2 2015..  
Ten years later, the news of the bizarre and strange continues.. Two more Popes since, and some would say a furtherance of prophecy.. 

TERRI SHIAVO TEN YEARS LATER

As wretched a this image is, it’s the artistic representation of what Terri Shiavo looked like as she lived her final moments on earth, deprived of food and water by a judge’s orders 10 years ago.

This is a delicate subject.. and still as divisive today as it was then. My position then and today was that her death was wrong..and that the only person who benefited from it was her ex-husband. I still believe I am right.. I also understand the vast amount of people who think differently than me. But regardless of what anyone thinks, the description (graphic, beware) of her final hours needs to be documented for history books. Lawyers at that time were not completely honest about her “beautiful” death ..

Her brother, Bobby Schindler, wrote:

And yet, Schiavo’s attorney falsely told the public during a press conference, just days before Terri’s death, that she looked “beautiful”. This is what they want you to believe, not the harsh truth about the madness of what we permit in the rooms of hospitals, nursing homes and hospices every single day across this country.
These are the hard facts my family and I will have to live with for the rest of my life: After almost two weeks without food or water, my sister’s lips were horribly cracked, to the point where they were blistering. Her skin became jaundice with areas that turned different shades of blue. Her skin became markedly dehydrated from the lack of water. Terri’s breathing became rapid and uncontrollable, as if she was outside sprinting. Her moaning, at times, was raucous, which indicated to us the insufferable pain she was experiencing. Terri’s face became skeletal, with blood pooling in her deeply sunken eyes and her teeth protruding forward. Even as I write this, I can never properly describe the nightmare of having to watch my sister have to die this way.
What will be forever seared in my memory is the look of utter horror on my sister’s face when my family visited her just after she died.

The full article is here..

I believed in 2005 that this was not a case of a ‘right to die’ patient despite that current thought that it was.... Instead I believed there to be ulterior motives to the man who was requesting her death. It may be unfair to be a judge of character .. and I know this post may find some people who disagree with me. Fair enough.

But fair game: The truth about her final moments on the planet.. During a full moon in Florida, March 31, 2005. 

CounterPunch investigates: Cancer and Infant Mortality at Three Mile Island

CounterPUNCH has an interesting article running about the THREE MILE ISLAND anniversary.. and some disturbing historical facts that often go unpublished, even with 20/20 radioactive hindsight.. Such as this, 

David Lochbaum of the Union of Concern Scientists estimates between 40 million curies and 100 million curies escaped during the accident. President Carter’s Kemeny Commission estimated about 15 million curies of radioactive gas was vented from the containment building, including 43,000 curies of krypton-85 [2] — which stays in the environment for 100 years — and 15-to-24 curies of radioactive iodine-131. [3] (A curie is a huge amount of radiation — 37 billion disintegrations per second.) The NRC later admitted to several “deliberate but uncontrolled releases” of the cancer-causing gases. Estimates of these airborne releases are mere guesses, because half of the outside radiation monitors were not working, and of those that worked, a large number of them went off-scale.

And this

Approximately 400,000 gallons of highly radioactive cooling water leaked from the reactor into “containment” areas. This water was secretly dumped into the Susquehanna River, a source of drinking water for nearby communities. [5]Later, about 2.3 million gallons of radioactively contaminated cooling water were allowed to be “evaporated” into the atmosphere.[6]

And finally,

On the third day of the venting and dumping, half the population within 15 miles — 144,000 people — fled the area. By this time the bulk of the airborne radiation gusher had already been spewed and was drifting on the wind. Yet the Kemeny Commission ignored all data on the effects of wind-borne radiation, even though the wind blew 6-to-9 mph toward upstate New York and western Pennsylvania. [7]

The Counterpunch article points out that in 1980, (the year of my entry into the world) Pennsylvania State Health Department authorities reported a sharp rise in hypothyroidism in newborn infants in the three counties downwind from the reactor. And this: “The data actually shows more than a doubling of observed cancers in areas near the partial meltdown, including lymphoma, leukemia, colon and the hormonal category of breast, endometrium, ovary, prostate, and testis. For leukemia and lung cancers in the six-to-12 kilometer distance from TMI, the number observed cases was almost four times greater.” 

This has also been my problem with anniversary shows and remembrances.. The truth of what occurred that day is rarely presented in a true light.  Sure, it was a problem that came from no where and became a crisis within minutes.. and yes, perhaps, who can be prepared for that. 

But that argument is not solid.. Who can be prepared?

If you build a number of nuclear reactors near big population areas and major water sources, you should have a plan to be ready. And also officials should be honest about the very real dangers to the living conditions after a crisis like this does happen..

And we sure should hope nothing like this ever happens again.

CounterPunch investigates: Cancer and Infant Mortality at Three Mile Island

Three Mile Island: 36 years ago

Three Mile Island: 36 years ago

azspot:

Plugging a 1986 Mac Plus into the modern Web

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p>I love this article. . I tried the same myself with a 1997 HP.. I was surprised how well it worked but how awfully slow it was.. though there’s also a big difference between 97 and 86..

The Pope and the President

Pope Francis is visiting the White House this September when he in the United States..

For purposes of posterity, here are some photos of previous presidential and pontiff relations..

Two stories to make you feel very very small

Just when you think your plight in the grand scheme of things matters a bit, news comes along to give perspective to just how tiny we all are. Today, two examples exist in science news, presented for your review:

Maybe JUPITER is planet x!? There is new information to suggest that the early solar system was made up of giant super earths. And then Jupiter came along to smash things into pieces.. A theory for now, but certainly amazing when considering the mighty explosion something like this could have made..

And this other tale, a little closer to home: The huge Australian impact of an asteroid was so large that it caused cracks to the earth’s core..

When considering the history of our universe, and the ever-changing space around us, it’s pretty amazing that we are even here. That somehow we evolved into the creatures of habit we have.. and somehow still survive in a very hostile existence.. 

We are somehow alive..

No matter how big of planets of the past crashed and asteroids smashed.

Of course all of that could easily happen again..

The US executed 20 Molly Maguires in biggest federal executions ever

Irish miners hanged for fighting back against horrific working conditions.

This is a good read about worthwhile history of the coal region.. The area I am from is going downhill fast.. Vacant streets and empty storefronts. We are a mere dilapidated replica of the wealthy area we once were decades ago. But there is still reason to be proud .. even if I move from this area soon—and for my family and me, it will be the best choice when I do it—there will still be these proud roots in my heritage. A place where workers rights began in the United States. Where the government’s injustices were seen in black and white.. with coal soot on top.. 

The US executed 20 Molly Maguires in biggest federal executions ever

1. Will your child be six years, six months or older when he begins first grade and starts receiving reading instruction?

2. Does your child have two to five permanent or second teeth?

3. Can you child tell, in such a way that his speech is understood by a school crossing guard or policeman, where he lives?

4. Can he draw and color and stay within the lines of the design being colored?

5. Can he stand on one foot with eyes closed for five to ten seconds?

6. Can he ride a small two-wheeled bicycle without helper wheels?

7. Can he tell left hand from right?

8. Can he travel alone in the neighborhood (four to eight blocks) to store, school, playground, or to a friend’s home?

9. Can he be away from you all day without being upset?

10. Can he repeat an eight- to ten-word sentence, if you say it once, as “The boy ran all the way home from the store”?

11. Can he count eight to ten pennies correctly?

12. Does your child try to write or copy letters or numbers?

How to tell if your child was ready for kindergarten in 1979..

A historical perspective of liquor licenses in Schuylkill County PA from the 1800s.. THIS is when things were up and coming in the coal region, when coal was king and the barons were robbing. But the high tide of the economy also lifted all boats.. A  much different picture exists today..

Monica Lewinsky gave a really, really important TED talk on bullying

ok.. ok.. ok.. I get it.

But yet, there is a part of me that wants to discredit this and completely ignore the bullying aspect. She was a part of history. As was her dress. The 1990s was the Seinfeld era, the decade about nothing. 

Bullied? I don’t know about that.. I just don’t..

Monica Lewinsky gave a really, really important TED talk on bullying

The ghosts--literally--of 9/11?

For obvious reasons, I am careful when reporting ‘ghosts’ at Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center attacks so many years ago.. 

But there is an article appearing in the NEW YORK POST about the subject of paranormal activity in relation to the infamous terror attack site.. Gary Busio writes about a number of workers at the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island who were sifting the rubble from the 9/11 attacks reported seeing a female ghost holding a tray of sandwiches, a new book ­reveals.. 

Other police officers witnessed things, too, like large black masses and shadows. Some comments are mocking the story, others are accepting of it. 

I did a bit more research on the book that the NY POST was talking about. 

It’s called From Landfill to Hallowed Ground, by Frank Marra. Marra is a retired police officer. He also worked at the Staten Island Landfill World Trade Center Recovery Site from September 2001 until February 2002. The inspiration to write the book obviously came from the work he performed.. It does not seem that the entire book is dedicated to paranormal affairs, but instead offers an historic account of what it was like on the ground during the aftermath of the biggest crime scene in American history..

There are only two reviews at press time on AMAZON.. I think that number will increase with attention. 

I am a firm believer that the paranormal is NOT real until it happens to you. 

And it would appear many police officers now consider the paranormal to be very real..