Nik Wallenda just crossed the Grand Canyon without incident..
When it was over I felt like the security guards at the end of the TRUMAN SHOW an quickly switched channels for something else.
Though I took note of the slick placement of a 10:20pm season premiere of NAKED AND AFRAID. Good try, Discovery Channel, good try..
Intentional intrigue developing this weekend..
And to think you thought the highlight was going to be the man crossing the gorge at the Grand Canyon on a wire… Try flying all over the world evading the intelligence agencies of the United States government …
Edward Snowden left Hong Kong, in a plane bound for somewhere.. Cuba? Venezuela? He’s on the move..
It’s certainly not the first time someone ran with the shadows of the night. Pat Benatar becomes his soundtrack, from about 30 years in the past..
The best I could come up with: Running with the Shadows of the Flight
He may go to Venezuela.. Cuba… He has tickets to ride but the United States government wants him..
The supermoon.
Saturday night.
Summer beginning.
Perhaps no time better than to switch on Coast to Coast AM for science fiction writers all throughout the early AM hours.
John B Wells hosts: Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Paul Di Filippo
Science fiction.. predicting the future?
How about … the present has become science fiction.
LISTEN if you so desire..
A friend of mine just told me that she just got a new tattoo of Audrey Hepburn wearing a gas mask. And she told me because she said I was one of the few people who would appreciate it. I am so happy and glad to know that I am one of those few people!
And it is an amazing tattoo..
This seems to be a must read for all of Washington, America, and the world..
Wow…
Amazing video: This boy, age 3, has heard his father’s voice for the first time ever. And the video of it is amazing and heartwarming.. This is the good side of trans-humanism.. the kind of robotic and scientific work that will add years to our lives and give us health and amazing advances.. The bad side? There are lots of examples of the bad side. But for the sake of Grayson Clamp, we will only say watch for this video for a bit of hope in our world.. we need it.
And if you don’t tear up watching this, you’re not a human, let alone a transhuman.
Field of screams: Some believe that a ghostly presence made itself known on Tuesday at the College World Series.. according to reports — and video evidence— University of North Carolina players were in the outfield attempting to catch a ball when suddenly two appeared to trip over nothing..Media sources are having fun laughing about the trip up, but if you watch the video, it seems somewhat unexplainable. Science and reason should prevail. But I for one have no reason to understand why these two players flopped the way they did. What I noticed is that we may have funny little headlines about ghosts, but no one seems to have tried to get the players statements on what exactly happened at the College World Series..
Another reason that it’s a good time to reexamine our drug policy in this nation.. Ray Martin McFeters is 73 years old, and he faces prison time for pot possession..
Fisa court submissions show broad scope of procedures governing NSA’s surveillance of Americans’ communication
Normally government dumps info on a Friday. In this case, the government is probably dreading Friday GUARDIAN runs. Each time the information being revealed about the United States spy program becomes more and more interesting..
A group of whistleblowers have come forward in a new documentary, breaking their silence about the real investigation results from the TWA Flight 800 crash.
Very interesting story…
Conspiracy theories coming back.
The solstice.. and the longest day of the year is upon us.
This is something magical about summer nights.. the notion that it doesn’t get dark until 9pm or so in the middle of the summer season adds to the mystery. Also adding to the strange feeling of joy, love, teenage fun, and laughter: Those fast cars with the tops down, motorcycles without helmets, and fireflies littering the night sky.
But I noticed something different this year: Less fireflies than normal. It could just be my little place on the planet lacking them so far.. maybe not enough heat has broiled and boiled the landscape yet. But by now?? We’d see them..
I can only speculate on the cause. Bees are collapsing due to —something> Monsanto? Other animals are having a tough time escaping whatever affliction is being placed on them by whomever.
So if fireflies are next, just as the monarch butterly started to be about two years ago, it would only make logical sense. I certainly hope not.
I recall summer nights long ago, living in my little home town of Centralia, PA, when I would be accompanied in my childhood by my then teenage brother and sister, with their friends, and run into a large field where hundreds of fireflies just sort of hung out all night. I did the whole childhood collection of fireflies in jars.. and now? Those jars are empty.
Those fireflies just don’t seem to be there anymore..
"I want to look in your eyes, Vlad, Georgie liked you. Didn’t he call you Pootie Poot?"
"Oh did I tell you what I have been doing lately? My government can track EVERY phone call ever, and we even tracked Dimitri’s activity a few years ago!"
"Oh like YOU never did it, Mr. KGB!"
"Hey Barack, you may have a state of the art domestic spying program, but do you have a Super Bowl ring?"
"I don’t know what made me think we can start this relationship again. We’re through!"
A few days ago this website reported that Artbell.com was coming back.
The former radio show host himself announced that something was going to occur on that website, and that it was under construction, and to watch for more.. Around that same time the website appeared with an all black background and one single white question mark.
Early this morning, the site changed.
The black background still remains, but now a different punctuation mark is present: The exclamation point.
No word yet officially from anyone on what exactly Bell is planning to do with this website, but there are rumors rampant online that the former webmaster of Arbell.com is once again at the helm..
Time will tell, and since there are only a certain number of punctuation marks before you run out, I don’t know what we will see next..
Search giant asking secretive court to let the company reveal the number of government data requests.
Wow.. this will be VERY interesting..
A new project begins beaming your messages into deep space.. will any ETs hear them? According to the interesting article from SPACE.COM, the messages will take 17 years or so to get to their destination, GILESE 526, a distant star system.. And if there are life forms somewhere deep out there, hearing us.. will that be good. Is it good to announce to the universe “we are here! come and get us!”? Will it take 17 years for someone to get back to us? Just a fascinating story.
A series of behind-the-scenes mistakes by educators in a Florida school district led to children€™s’ biometric information being culled without their parents’€™ permission,
The future is now. Sadly.
Pope Francis blesses hundreds of Harley Davidsons.. The story reminded me of the scene from PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE when Pee Wee makes the almost life threatening mistake of knocking down rows of motorcycles, only leading him to put on the large shoes and dance on stage for the motorcycle gang.. In this instance, Francis has apparently accepted the bike culture at Vatican City.. Oh, and in Pee Wee’s movie, ‘Francis’ was the neighbor who wanted Pee Wee’s bike.. another weird connection, don’t you think?
The number of Americans earning minimum wage has grown significantly since the recession hit; here, stories of getting by.
Good read. And important..
Where are we going as a nation? Is it acceptable that we are not creating good jobs anymore, but instead expanding the base of the minimum wage earners—a future where the middle class will not exist and it will only be a rich vs poor Robinhood society..
Exclusive: phones were monitored and fake internet cafes set up to gather information from allies in London in 2009
If the Edward Snowden story has not had global ramifications, it certainly will now.. this is a barn burner of a GUARDIAN exclusive..
National Security Agency discloses in secret Capitol Hill briefing that thousands of analysts can listen to domestic phone calls. That authorization appears to extend to e-mail and text messages too. Read this article by Declan McCullagh on CNET News.
Clearly the numbers for the movie have been swelling to epic proportions over the weekend. We know Friday night and Saturday night date nights went well for the MAN OF STEEL.
Mother’s day came first. Dad was an afterthought. And then Father’s day followed.
But that’s fine.
You see, Mother’s Day, in many respects, is what matters. ‘Mom’ goes through the nine months of changes, the labor pains.. the glorious feeling when she holds her child. Dad of course had a hand in the whole affair, but.. .. .. and for that, we know why dads mean something.
I have sought to be the best father, ever. Period. I don’t know how often I sink or swim with my son, Ayden, but I certainly try..
Since the first time I looked at my son’s face, I felt a connection that is stronger than the physical form. This may sound corny, and for non-believers, potentially repugnant, but I see “God” in my son’s eyes. Whatever your idea of God is, of course. Because God may not be the God we think God is, or he may be a she, or maybe just electricity.. or maybe nothing. But I see more than nothing in my son’s eyes, therefore I know there is something more than nothing—and the something is something I have no clue how to even try to understand..
And re-re-reading that paragraph, I know it makes little sense. But life sometimes just… makes little sense.
What does make sense, though, is being a father. Sharing laughs, wrestling matches (without real punches), fights, and love.
Family first. At least according to Adam Sandler in CLICK.
And I follow that motto. Family first.
We certainly don’t have to be friends. But we need to be family.
In 1993, I received a Christmas gift: My mom subscribed me to TIME magazine. I have been a reader since. Though I will admit now over the past 10 years I sometimes page through the smaller than ever print edition and just toss it aside. But in 1993 I read a story called ‘FATHERHOOD’… Never of course, at the age of 13, realizing that 20 years later I’d be celebrating my third father’s day…
And in 2003, ten years after that TIME edition was printed on old paper, I was cruising around in my 1999 RED Volkswagen Jetta, searching for a mate and not realizing my best friend Tara would soon be my wife… While cracking the windows, I played my COMPACT DISC of Simple Plan. I’d Do Anything… And now, ten years later, my son Ayden is watching 2003 reruns of SCOOBY DOO and he is singing along to songs by Simple Plan, as they did the theme songs and background music for the show.. At one point about three weeks ago, I had Ayden in my car and put my old scratched up CD of Simple Plan in.. and me and my son shared a moment of singing along to music. In 2003 did I ever think I’d have a child, let alone be married? No.. I did not.
This is what happens. Life happens when you are busy making other plans. Right, Mr. Holland? Your Opus proved that..
I think I may go back to the 1993 article of TIME and read what being a father is all about..Though I think I know.
Being a dad is being there. Being the wrestler in Chief and sometimes the disciplinarian in chief. Easing mom’s tension by taking the child away for a while. Being a friend. A foe. And an ally to the end.
Yes, fatherhood is interesting, beautiful, and amazing. All at the same time. I am glad I am taking part in this grand experiment.
To all the dads out there, including my own: Happy Father’s Day. For a few hours Mom may tell you it’s “your” day. Actually it’s not. It is your child’s day — everyday..
JAMISON CITY, Pa. (AP) — Four central Pennsylvania residents said they used only a rope and a flashlight during a wild chase to rescue a young bear whose head had been stuck in a plastic jar for at least 11 days.
Clearly one of those ‘only in Pennsylvania’ type of stories.. The AP has now recorded it forever..
It is a beautiful weekend and in my opinion either a sin crime against humanity if you don’t get out and enjoy it..
But in the meantime my lines are open throughout the weekend.. ask me anything, tell me anything. I’m calling it the ‘DO ASK, DO TELL’ weekend in June..
Enjoy life, all.
Incidentally, my dad is a pretty good cook. And over the past few months, each time he made pork chops, he has claimed the meat is getting tougher and tougher—and he cooks it the same as he did years back when a pork chop was tender and juicy. If GM feed has this much of an effect on the pigs’ organs, does it not make sense to think the meat would also change in texture and taste?
What if they ask for your liver?
If you were pulled over at roadblocks this past weekend in Alabama, chances are you were asked for a DNA sample.. AL.COM is reporting that St. Clair and Bibb County residents who were stopped at several roadblocks set up and were asked for a voluntary samples of blood and DNA (for a study, according to the report) .. a study.. hmm.. were they studying something for scientific research, or were they studying how far they could make innocents motorists go in giving their own blood and DNA?
This does not effect my life, and it certainly won’t have an impact on yours. But Hollywood insiders are thumbing through images of Megan Fox. And they speculate that the NINJA TURTLES star is losing her hair due to hair dye. More here.
Ok, go back to your regularly scheduled worries and ambitions.
BUT.. if this happen?
Well then I expect a Presidential address to the nation.
Population over 25 without a high school diploma (by percent)
This is a very, VERY, interesting map. Take it for what it is..
I take it this way: The Civil War had permanent repercussions and the sins of the past are still evident in the actions of the present.
Never noticed until now, but apparently David Letterman likes drums. Like a lot..
There is something about this song I love. Maybe it’s because my wife recently introduced it to me and it reminds me of my relationship as it first started with her.. Maybe the restaurant theme is what makes me so into it.. or maybe just because it’s a plain old cool song with a great sound.
If you don’t know who George Noory is you may not appreciate this video. Or maybe you will because of how much of a train wreck this man is.
Either way, some inside baseball for Coast to Coast AM fans *or former fans* to enjoy..
This is someone interviewing Noory about his new “TV” show.. it’s Coast to Coast ‘in a tie.’
Two points that made me chuckle more than anything. Eight seconds in, you see Noory’s larger than life producer “Tommy” turning around to make sure his boss isn’t saying anything stupid again. And .. at about 1:27 into the video, we start getting a closer look at the rug that sits atop Noory’s head. The adhesive tape is clearly coming off around his ear where his sweat is building up under the hot lights of the health expo he pretended to know what he was doing at.
I don’t know what he reminds me more of: A used car salesman or a fraud minister asking for money.
What a freak show of a human..
The land of incarceration…….. I will go out on a limb and say that Sesame Street is doing the right thing in this regard.
(Maybe now it’s time to look deeper into the drug laws)
Handing genetically engineered seed giant Monsanto Co. another legislative defeat, the Maine Legislature has passed a bill requiring the labeling of foods made from genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
Time to move to Maine…………..
The UK and the USA are now in agreement that Syria has used chemical weapons against ‘rebels’ in Syria. THE NEW YORK TIMES reports ..
So what does this mean?
Will we take action?
Stinky wants to..
Will we not?
War?
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that human genes cannot be patented.
But in something of a compromise decision, all nine justices said a synthetic version of the gene material may be patented.
Initial reaction from investors sent the stock of Myriad Genetics, the company involved, higher.
Storms are slamming right now.. And thousands are already without power in the northeast, including NYC.. Stay tuned to your favorite source of weather.. Be aware..
So this is how to start your vanishing act: Make yourself Ungoogleable.
Steven Spielberg on Wednesday predicted an “implosion” in the film industry is inevitable, whereby a half dozen or so $250 million movies flop at the box office and alter the industry forever. What comes next — or even before then — will be price variances at movie theaters, where “you’re gonna have to pay $25 for the next Iron Man, you’re probably only going to have to pay $7 to see Lincoln.” He also said that Lincoln came “this close” to being an HBO movie instead of a theatrical release.
This is actually quite an amazing story.. The ‘implosion of the film industry’ as predicted by film industry insiders is like the President saying that the government has failed.. Amazing stuff. And they are right, though, really. Big budget films so often don’t do much for people anymore. Sometimes, in summer, one makes a couple bucks. But in the end, people are searching for something more.
I hate to keep coming back to this, but it brings me back to the PURGE. Some have called the movie disgusting, and revolting. I even got a private message informing my that a room in hell is awaiting me for even writing about the PURGE. But it’s how movies should be marketed in our age. Twitter. Facebook. Tumblr. These are the places where this generation go, nightly.. daily.. whenever-ly.
To make cash, these films are going to have to present not only big CGI effects, but also ………a story. Remember when movies had a story?
Think about this: The ONLY reason anyone knows someone is making another TRANSFORMERS movie is because there are rumors that Thumbsy-Megan Fox is going to make a cameo in it. Hollywood is clearly out of ideas. They may have state of the art graphics, but certainly not state of the art storylines…
I still think that is movie theaters disappear we will miss them. Hell, I miss drive-ins, and I wasn’t even alive for the period of time in which they were held in high esteem!
Indie movies will rule.. the future is bright for bright people—and not for the old and antiquated Hollywood sign that still hovers over a dilapidated and polluted city.
There is nothing wrong with change. And when change is good, it’s even better.
I predict movies of the future will be better than movies of today.
And that isn’t bad at all, if you want true entertainment.
(But… I hope we keep the stadium seating and the popcorn.. because ‘date night’ on an iPhone just sounds plain boring)
It’s Snowden-slime time.
Get ready.
He leaked big information about what the government does to surveil people. And now embarrassing photos are being sent online of him in 2002 (when he was much, much younger) .. if this is the worst they got?? well.. that’s not bad. But I am sure his calls were traced and recorded too. So get ready for that.
I have been reminded in my previous post that there have often been Superman-Jesus comparisons. I agree.. I dug up this article from the year 2002 talking about the very subject..
The only point I tried to make in my last post was that it appears they are actually trying to market the new Superman movie as Jesus.. perhaps because they know that people who are religious often go to movies if there is some type of religious connotation *(think PASSION OF THE CHRIST)* It’s smart marketing. Just as smart as the marketing was for THE PURGE (who didn’t go on Tumblr or Twitter and see those creepy masks since December?) …
So it’s all about marketing. And marketing Superman as Jesus is what they are doing. Even if they are trying to claim they are not.
Get ready for people to make constant comparisons between Superman and Jesus..
It seems that the new filmmakers of SUPERMAN actually are utilizing it to their benefit to market the film..
Will people worship SUPERMAN? Did the Bible actually mean the ‘second coming’ was going to be the sequel in a new SUPERMAN franchise??
And why isn’t SUPERMAN American!
Oh.. that’s the Mormons..
I am confused..
And haven’t we heard this story before anyway?
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans are quitting their jobs, suggesting many are growing more confident in the job market.
Really? Maybe people are just quitting before they get fired.. or just tired of dead end jobs.
I love economists.. they see so much in something that’s not there.. Any little thing—and the amazing thing is those small little events, like people quitting their jobs, are enough to move money markets around the globe..
Update from post earlier today.. Be aware everyone..
No ice please!
According to information being reported in the UK, ice in six out of ten restaurants has more bacteria than water from the toilets .. and it would make sense. Anyone who worked in a restaurant knows the perils of the ice machine—the mold, the mildew, and the bacteria..
Those machines must be cleaned.
But interestingly enough, it’s not just McDonalds and Burger King that was found in the UK to have the issue, but also Starbucks too..
One comical suggestion from a reader:
"Perhaps they should be making ice from toilet water"
Rare scare …
It’s beyond rare for this to happen in France, but it did: A tornado waterspout ripped through the South of France, shocking locals and tourists in the area.. There is video..
You can Google your own name.. you can deeply search images on Facebook.. but do you really want to know what is known about you but the ‘powers that be?’ By the man?
A new pop industry has developed helping you request your NSA or FBI file from the government!
It’s called GetmyFBIfile.com and it’s free of charge.. Ahhhh.. yes, the creativity of the net..
Of course you can just do it the ‘old fashioned’ way and ask for the file yourself from the FBI. But … asking for a file perhaps creates a file that didn’t exist to begin with? Oh the irony.. What to do, what to do..
Research at Russia’s North Pole-40, a station located aboard an ice floe in the Arctic, has ceased following an emergency evacuation of personnel. The ice upon which the station was built had begun to melt at an alarming rate and split into six pieces.
And they say the planet isn’t changing…
This is an extremely significant and dangerous weather situation developing for Thursday.. (Warnings like this are not common for the area where the purple shaded color on the map is) .. big thunderstorms with high winds are likely.. In the purple: Tornadoes are not only possible but likely—and there will be massive power outages if storms truly knock these areas..
The threat is Baltimore/DC/Philly.. a lesser threat but still potent exists back to Harrisburg PA and the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania..
Places like New York City, New Jersey, and other areas along the coast line could see wind gusts topping 50mph.. 37 million people are in the area where the most dangerous weather could occur Thursday..
Tomorrow is Tornado Thursday for someone, and maybe more than one city.
As I wrote here on Coal Speaker only yesterday *(about this upcoming threat as a matter of fact)*, we see now that tornadoes don’t care if you’re a populated area or a trailer park.
Pay attention to your favorite source of weather today and especially tomorrow. This could be a very bad day for millions of people, let’s hope it’s not.
StartPage.com is a good Google alternative. The front porch with a cold beer is better than Facebook. Except all your neighbors will probably still be on Facebook..
Pootie Poot strikes…
You read the headline correct, Russia is giving the United States lessons on when to surveil its citizens.
This brings me back to when former Pres. George W. Bush looked into Vlad the Impaler’s eyes and saw deep into his soul, or so he said.
Is it possible Putin has done the same to America?
If you’re in any of the colored parts on these maps you need to be aware and read this!
This portends to be a dramatic weather situation setting up in the eastern half of United States both Wednesday and Thursday of this week..
We are hours away from what may be 75 mile-per-hour winds ingrained in the storms and also widespread tornadoes. As we’ve seen with recent developments severe weather does not care if you are from a rural town or a big city..
Pay attention to your favorite source of weather, and be aware of the sky above you.
Is this really lightning hitting the new World Trade Center building in New York City? ACCUWEATHER investigates..
This amazing video from NASA shows dancing tornadoes on the sun.. and when I see something like this it makes me realize that we, as humans, may think we understand everything but really, actually, understand next to nothing.
