[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_HReR_McQ?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

I recalled watching the original DON’T HUG ME I’M SCARED years ago. Heck , with how fast time moves, it seems like ages .. but it was 2011 (prior to the birth of my son, so it does actually feel like a whole other time period.)

The video was created after a kickstarter campaign helped Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling bring it to life.. While the original video has aged now, it was brought back into focus this weekend when Clyde Lewis posted a message on his Facebook page saying that he was speaking to someone who told him that the DON’T HUG ME I’M SCARED series is being used for MK ULTRA mind control. He asked readers to simply say what they thought after watching .. 

Reaction was mixed–some said that people were taking the video too seriously.. Others were simply freaked out by the imagery and music. A few remarked that the video was social commentary on the education system–how eSome interesting notes to mention on this whole entire subject.

Theories have been around for some time, this is not the first time someone has asked what the true nature of the short video is .. and even more, entire websites are devoted to in depth studies over the commentary presented in the DON’T HUG ME series..

And if you thought the video’s allure would have been confined to only 2011 or the years since, you’re wrong. More DON’T HUG ME I’M SCARED videos are on the way.. In May 2014, Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling announced that they would begin a kickstarter campaign to make four more episodes of the show. The third episode was just released in October of 2014, it features one character called Shrignold teaching another called The Yellow Guy about love..

But to go deeper into what Clyde Lewis posted, the mystery behind the meaning of the video is answered, a bit at least, by the makers. Sloan said this when asked about the project in an interview with YES YOU CAN:

We decided to create something psychedelic to compliment Tame Impala’s music. We had the idea to create an abstract journey set during the split second when two people’s eyes meet for the first time. As we wanted it to be set inside someone’s head, we looked at a lot of MRI brain scans for inspiration, as well as looped animations by artists such as Al Jarnow.

Pelling followed up with this,

We wanted to create something unique looking, and had never really worked with plasticine before. Our aim was to focus on using it in a new way, avoiding the obvious Wallace & Gromit approach. The good thing about plasticine is the fact you can smudge, mix and even melt it into certain shapes. This creates a very acid-y, psychedelic look without using loads of digital effects

However that answers few mysteries, but it certainly does confirm to a degree that a partial goal of the filmmakers was to present something with hidden messages and a constant weird flow of  creepy and disturbing images.  It does not go into much detail thought of meaning.. A Google search, though, will reveal countless websites that cover topics.. One I found was written by Chris Gibson on a hubpages site, where he explained in good detail some of the meanings he was seeing in the film. The date of June 19th shows up a lot. Gibson wrote this on that topic,

This is a tough one. There aren’t very many clues to this other than the date and the content of the videos themselves. The only real theory I have comes from typing the date into Wikipedia and searching year by year to try and find something that corresponded. The only event that seems to be related at all is the establishment of the FCC on June 19th 1934, or in other words,The Communications Act of 1934. The organization created are the people who dictate what is okay to watch on TV.

More mysteries.. What struck me was this.. The original video–from 2011–and subsequent, made heavy references to June 19. The Kickstarter campaign to make new videos that was announced years after the first video, was fully funded in 2014. On June 19.
Really.
June 19th.
That date..again. Perhaps the reality of that creeped me out, even more so than the actual video ..

Even religious folk have debated the movie.. A forum on a Catholic themed website in October debated the topic…

Mind control?
Commentary?
Forced creepiness?

One comment on the official DON’T HUG ME I’M SCARED Facebook page made me ponder if an MK ULTRA message abounds.. It said only this on Christmas Eve,

these videos god as witness describe my brain
i do listen to the voices in my brain

You can be the judge. But I dare you to only watch the video one time. But I challenge you to not watch it too many..

But green is not a creative color.ducators always tell children to be creative but then attack them for doing so.

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

Facebook apologizes for ‘Year in Review’ feature

I personally hate the year in review .. @

Facebook apologizes for ‘Year in Review’ feature

Two More Stores Closing At Mall At Steamtown in Scranton

Not much seems to be able to save to once mighty Steamtown Mall now .. Maybe not even Mr. Boscov this time..
The mighty will fall.
The mall may fail..
And ace of base
Will give chase
To the online world.
Where shopping is heard..

Two More Stores Closing At Mall At Steamtown in Scranton

Creepiest presidential moment of the year
Okay.. You’ve all probably had enough of this Obama hologram theory.. But take a look at the opening 5 seconds .. The unedited footage shows the President literally appearing out of thin air.. Very bizarre .

Best Megan Fox of the year
There was one Megan Fox who starred in TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURLES and partially showcased her breasts whereever she traveled.. And then there was the other Megan Fox, who suddenly turned into a star. She became famous on YOUTUBE. She became the talk of the internet.. she was made famous online for walking through a museum being critical of evolution and other stories of science.. Her creationist beliefs caused a stir, and many laughs. She is InternetFamous. And she shares her name with another FOX, one that this Fox would most likely believe is devilish..

The dumbest idea (that made money) in 2014
The selfie stick. People who want to get the perfect self image are going wild for the Selfie Stick. It can clip to certain phones.. it extends far out to get the perfect snapshot.
And it’s the dumbest looking thing I have ever seen.
Say cheese..

Creepiest photo of the year
The devil’s in the details. And maybe in the clouds.. This image was shot at a UK rock festival.. There was a heavy thunderstorm and this face-like feature ensued in the clouds. Of course the instant rejection occurred as readers said the image was Photoshopped, but judging from the comment thread on the article, the image was real, as some testify. They say they were there, and saw the devil emerge from the thunderstorm above.. Regardless of its authenticity, the image is creepy.. 

The year of the clown
This year, you could not escape the blank stare of clowns around the world. The death face was abounding, no matter where you looked. On television, the biggest horror show of the year was AMERICAN HORROR STORY (though some WALKING DEAD fans may disagree) .. and in real life, there were armed clowns, there were sinister clowns, there wereclowns behaving badly, there were creepy clowns walking through the streets, there was Wasco the clown, and there were promises that the movie IT with Pennywise the Dancing Clown was going to be remade into a cinematic release. Clowns abound.
But who’s the fool. I want to pity them..

Weirdest new face of the year
My, what a new face you have..
It’s sort of gossipy and ridiculous to even worry about the plastic surgeon victims in Hollywood, but I always enjoyed Renee Zellweger’s normal face when compared to the rest of the frauds around her in Tinseltown.
I cannot say that anymore.. Renee has done something monumentally destructive to what once a normal and attractive mask..
But this is Hollywood, baby, where the real get unreal and the unreal get deals.. Scripts need to be written and new faces need to be applied.
Out with the old!
Renee has gone bold..
No more lips..
Just eyes that drip..
Droop..
Sloop..
Oh shoot.. 

Blinded with science

Worst science of 2014
Ebola was the big health story this year.. but the bigger blunder few recall happened in June, when a labratory made mistakes that exposed 75 US researchers to anthrax. Then in July, more bonehead mistakes almost got bad for the human race when it was discovered that the NIH misplaced 16 vials of smallpox. They were found in a storage closet.. Seriously people?? Eradicated in 1980. Found in a closet in 2014.. And the mistakes didn’t stop in the summer—just on Christmas Eve the CDC announced another potential Ebola exposure in a lab in Atlanta.. 

The coolest science of 2014
The world was able to look at space with renewed interest this year.. the Mars photos keep streaming and countless websites are searching the rocky formations for any sign of mirages, like squirrels or Obama heads. But the best science hands down was the ability for earthlings to successfully land a probe onto a comet.. the Philae lander accomplished much of its mission.. but darkness krept in and we lost transmission. MAYBE the summer of 2015 will change that, though.. that’s when Philae may be able to get more sunlight onto its solar panels and begin streaming live back to the earth once more..

BIGGEST DOWNFALL OF THE YEAR

Biggest downfall of 2014
Bill Cosby had his place in pop culture history as the ‘dad’ of America.. he sold us puddin pops in the 80s and he became a monument to good television and upstanding role models.
But that was all TEE VEE..
The real Bill Cosby never stood up, but his accusers did in 2014. Woman after woman, day after day, Bill Cosby was hit with accusations of rape and other strange things.. journalists reported that that they had weird moments of tension with the comedian. Some say he liked feet .. his puddin pop was jiggling for decades, and somehow it took a Philadelphia comedian’s angry rant on stage to get the public to listen up..

Christmas Eve worshippers hit with city parking tickets, fines outside church

Tacky tacky tacky in Harrisburgwacky..

Christmas Eve worshippers hit with city parking tickets, fines outside church

The movie of the year--but not because it's good

The INTERVIEW was never released.. but somehow, someway, it became the biggest film of the entire year. We were told that hackers from a group called THE GUARIDIANS OF PEACE stole a whole bunch of SONY inside information.. and then rumors began to circulate on the interwebs that the group was connected to North Korea. After the GOP found out people thought they were performing state sponsored cyber terrorism, they began to do just that, and threatened SONY with a 9/11 style attack on movie theaters if the film THE INTERVIEW got released.. The one problem: Few security experts–the real ones, not the fake talking head versions on the nightly news–don’t think SONY was hacked by North Korea at all! Some even went on to believe that was the biggest publicity stunt to avert eyes from the hateful messages between SONY executives ever pulled. Either way, SONY lost. Their movie was pulled by theaters and decided to end the ad campaign..

Perhaps the other side of this odd coin is this: Most of the people who actually saw the movie said it was the least funny and dumbest movie ever made. Perhaps SONY is counting their blessing.. the real bomb in the theater would have been completely cinematic were this film to have been given to the public for consumption on Christmas day..

The person of the year

TIME magazine chose ‘Ebola doctors’ as their safe choice. I highly disagree.. While the doctors who perform their functions are brave and amazing to go to West Africa to fight the deadly disease, EBOLA was not the biggest news event of the year..
TIME magazine picked Adolf Hitler and other creepy characters in the past for their ‘person’ of the most importance. They decide not by the best of the year, but the man or woman who most changed history.
In that same context, it’s without a doubt that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has most changed the course of modern history in 2014.. he’s the leader of ISIS–the group that murdered in wreckless regard for human rights throughout the entire year. At one time, he was so quiet you could hardly hear his voice. But not with a murderous zeal for power and an unholy alliance with the dark lords of hell, the gates of wrath have opened on earth and this man, more than anyone, changed events throughout the previous 12 months of our fragile existence.

2014 was a year filled with useless division, angry rhetoric, and faceless villains. Ferguson’s anger boiled over into other cities.. The death of the ‘gentle giant’ in the city may be a blip in history, or perhaps a bigger event that marked a change in race relations in the United States. But there’s something bigger of a story, it’s not Ferguson or the New York City protests or cop killings, it’s this: Media conglomerates and others ‘in the know’ were doing their best to keep the United States divided as much as possible throughout the entire year. With every single passing event, CNN and others snooze networks went wall to wall with 20th century relics talking about 20th century racial divisions. That’s not to say that the 21st century doesn’t have problems, but they are not the same as the previous. The insult on the American people is being force fed the same diatribe of hate from those who claim to want peace and love.
There is a real division in the United States. The 1% are completely isolated and divided from the rest of us. And all of us, the 99%, are in the same boat together. Now if only the media would report that, we’d come together in unification like never before..

COMING OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS: A LOOK BACK

CHRISTMAS 2014: The Pope's Christmas words

CHRISTMAS 2014: The Pope's Christmas words

Santa tracker volunteers U.S. Navy Petty Officer Brandon Wright, center, and his wife, Petty Officer Emily Wright, left, take phone calls from children asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their homes, inside a phone-in center during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Once a year, hundreds of volunteers, from generals to people who live near NORAD at Peterson Air Force Base, take calls from children around the world who want to find out where Santa is. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

TEXT OF POPE FRANCIS’ HOMILY DURING CHRISTMAS EVE MASS, 2014

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Is 9:1). “An angel of the Lord appeared to (the shepherds) and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (Lk 2:9). This is how the liturgy of this holy Christmas night presents to us the birth of the Saviour: as the light which pierces and dispels the deepest darkness. The presence of the Lord in the midst of his people cancels the sorrow of defeat and the misery of slavery, and ushers in joy and happiness.

We, too, in this blessed night, have come to the house of God. We have passed through the darkness which envelops the earth, guided by the flame of faith which illuminates our steps, and enlivened by the hope of finding the “great light”. By opening our hearts, we also can contemplate the miracle of that child-sun who, arising from on high, illuminates the horizon.

The origin of the darkness which envelops the world is lost in the night of the ages. Let us think back to that dark moment when the first crime of humanity was committed, when the hand of Cain, blinded by envy, killed his brother Abel (cf. Gen 4:8). As a result, the unfolding of the centuries has been marked by violence, wars, hatred and oppression.

But God, who placed a sense of expectation within man made in his image and likeness, was waiting. He waited for so long that perhaps at a certain point it seemed he should have given up. But he could not give up because he could not deny himself (cf. 2 Tim 2:13). Therefore he continued to wait patiently in the face of the corruption of man and peoples.

Through the course of history, the light that shatters the darkness reveals to us that God is Father and that his patient fidelity is stronger than darkness and corruption. This is the message of Christmas night. God does not know outbursts of anger or impatience; he is always there, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, waiting to catch from afar a glimpse of the lost son as he returns.

Isaiah’s prophecy announces the rising of a great light which breaks through the night. This light is born in Bethlehem and is welcomed by the loving arms of Mary, by the love of Joseph, by the wonder of the shepherds. When the angels announced the birth of the Redeemer to the shepherds, they did so with these words: “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12).

The “sign” is the humility of God taken to the extreme; it is the love with which, that night, he assumed our frailty, our suffering, our anxieties, our desires and our limitations. The message that everyone was expecting, that everyone was searching for in the depths of their souls, was none other than the tenderness of God: God who looks upon us with eyes full of love, who accepts our poverty, God who is in love with our smallness.

On this holy night, while we contemplate the Infant Jesus just born and placed in the manger, we are invited to reflect. How do we welcome the tenderness of God? Do I allow myself to be taken up by God, to be embraced by him, or do I prevent him from drawing close? “But I am searching for the Lord” – we could respond. Nevertheless, what is most important is not seeking him, but rather allowing him to find me and caress me with tenderness. The question put to us simply by the Infant’s presence is: do I allow God to love me?

More so, do we have the courage to welcome with tenderness the difficulties and problems of those who are near to us, or do we prefer impersonal solutions, perhaps effective but devoid of the warmth of the Gospel? How much the world needs tenderness today!

The Christian response cannot be different from God’s response to our smallness. Life must be met with goodness, with meekness. When we realize that God is in love with our smallness, that he made himself small in order to better encounter us, we cannot help but open our hearts to him, and beseech him: “Lord, help me to be like you, give me the grace of tenderness in the most difficult circumstances of life, give me the grace of closeness in the face of every need, of meekness in every conflict”.

Dear brothers and sisters, on this holy night we contemplate the Nativity scene: there “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:1). People who were unassuming, open to receiving the gift of God, were the ones who saw this light. This light was not seen, however, by the arrogant, the proud, by those who made laws according to their own personal measures, who were closed off to others. Let us look to the crib and pray, asking the Blessed Mother: “O Mary, show us Jesus!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzj3S2p2W44?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

This is Darlene Love’s final performance of CHRISTMAS (BABY PLEASE COME HOME) on David Letterman.

And it may be the best I’ve ever seen..

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

The war on Krampus.

News from Ohio this year.. A homeowner is making news after reporting to the world that his township is telling him to take down his zombie nativity scene.. The owner of the scene also has a haunted house called 13 ROOMS OF DOOM… And he believes his first amendment rights are being violated..

The fight before Christmas.. This scene was one of chaos.. police attempted crowd control after a fatal shooting near Ferguson..

Another fatal shooting near Ferguson.. accoridng tom reports, an 18-year-old pointed a hand gun at a police officer.. he was shot. The protesters say that the brutality aspect entered when police failed to call for medical assistance for Antonio Martin after he was shot.. The St. Louis Police Department is handling the internal investigation, but we know that the inital AP report is this for the record: “One of the men pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer, Schellman said. The officer fired several shots, striking and fatally wounding the man. The second man fled, and the dead man’s handgun has been recovered, according to Schellman”

When worlds collide.

SANTA MEETS JESUS IN PHILLY..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4aiUd7IEa8?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

After all that.. SONY will show THE INTERVIEW in ‘select theaters’ Christmas..

Call me a kooky conspiracy nut, but I offer up the following premise, only based on hunches and a windy tale of a spider web of oddities..

THE INTERVIEW was getting really bad press.. and awful reviews. Most who saw it said it was not funny. It looked disastrous..
The State Department helped write the ending. Along with someone from the RAND Corp, that was reported in the DAILY BEAST..

Sony got hacked—either an inside job or a group called the GOP. I don’t believe North Korea did it.. not that they wouldn’t want to. But SONY figured out a great PR way to make America hate North Korea, force headlines about racist and sordid emails OFF the front pages, and cancel a movie, only to create a demand to release it.

President Obama got in on the action.
And suddenly it seems to be a patriotic duty to go see THE INTERVIEW..

It reads like a spy novel.. or a badly written HOLLYWOOD film.
And really, isn’t all the world a stage?

Maybe we saw some players for who they are?

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

The Next Big Social Idea: Unconditional Basic Income

The fundamental theory behind this new social idea:

Unconditional Basic Income.

The UBI is a monthly monetary income granted every month, unconditionally, by a political community to each of its members from birth. Depending on the nation, in Europe and the U.S. it would probably be $2,500 per adult and $1,500 per child. It must secure a minimum livelihood and enable a participation in society. It is unconditional because it constitutes a human, civil and legal right and shall be provided without proof of need and without obligation to work, search for work, or performing any services in return. Yes, you’re being paid to live, work and participate as you please.

Some may immediately decry this as a socialist experiment on crack.. But there’s something to be said for one point of this: I often wonder about the future, especially about jobs.. as they dry and whither, does this UBI become more possible? Does time may it almost necessary to feed and clothe a population that has succumbed to the machine and lost out to the monotony that only robots can perform well?

Would this promote a new age of art and literature, perhaps people leaving jobs they hate and filling their newfound safety net with good things. Just very good things?

Or does all of this get wrecked with the lack of monetary value? 

I have a suspicious mind about UBI .. but I also have a belief that if we do not address the reorganization taking place within our economy, the vast majority of people who are going to lose their jobs in the next ten due to technology and progress are going to be in a very bad spot. 

But the 1% will still be fine..

The Next Big Social Idea: Unconditional Basic Income

[gallery]

I have written a bit about the Schuylkill Mall during the history of this website.. It’s my local shopping center, one that is now becoming more and more vacant by the day..

I offered some suggestions to mall management several weeks ago. Some weird, some a little outlandish, and some sort of in the realm of complete common sense to attempt to keep the mall open for some sort of business…

These two newspaper clippings are from the Reading EAGLE in September 1980. It’s amazing to see the article showcasing the excitement and hope.. Also interesting to see the full list of stores that were once at the mall.

I recall fond memories of being there, buying HE-MAN action figures, and going to eat with family..
I am sure you have the same memories of your local shopping center.

Thought you’d enjoy some history with some old newspaper screen shots..

The world of panic shopping starts..

The gray days are here.. 
Rainy Christmas over the white version.. no snow but cheer on the way. I hope.

Days before Christmas
And all through my town,
No smiles are found,
Only deep frowns .

The nation has weathered a tide of hate,
Rage and the like,
Demons left gates.

The moral compass is cracked and gone,
The heathens of hell are clever and strong.

The nation’s at war,
Bit our secrets came out,
Torture and weapons,
Now there’s no doubt.

Movies were canceled,
Due to a hack,
But that’s the least concern,
Of things in the stack.

It’s been a long year but it seems to fly by,
As the month turns, no doubt some will cry.

Because despite the ill will and moments of rage,
We are all still nostalgic for our place in this cage.

Christmas is here,
All through the land.
But we’ll never improve,
That’s the part I can’t stand.

Did historical Jesus really exist? The evidence just doesn’t add up.

…well at least we still have Santa.

Did historical Jesus really exist? The evidence just doesn’t add up.

The CIA Didn’t Just Torture, It Experimented on Human Beings

Human experimentation was a core feature of the CIA’s torture program.

The NATION magazine reports the full bit of details—at least the fullest we know.

I just want to say, regardless of your opinion or perspective, everything that “loons” like Alex Jones or Cynthia McKinney have been saying for 12 years all is true.

And then some.

THE NATION details the rest of the CIA’s human experimentation history. And then the newest stuff.

Makes you surely wonder.. what is the NEWEST stuff we don’t know about yet?

The CIA Didn’t Just Torture, It Experimented on Human Beings

Ayden met Santa for the second time last night. He announced his list, but this time shortened it down to two things. I think he panicked a bit and clammed up once he was face to face with the big guy..

Although afterwards he asked a good question: What is Santa doing here right now instead of the North Pole? He knew how busy a time it was.. how did Santa have a chance to come to Ashland, PA? I reassured him .. he was not as persistent as he will be at four, or even five. 

I recall my ‘moment’ of realization came around four. So if that happens with my son, I’m just loving getting this one magical Christmas with the amazing innocence of believing in something.

Funny enough, our moment with Santa has been recorded for posterity by the POTTSVILLE REPUBLICAN. A reporter even got a quote from both of us.. John Usalis writes,

Inside the Legion post, members sold hot food while people came in to warm up. Santa Claus was also inside, ringing bells as children came to tell him their Christmas wishes.

Ayden Smolock, 3 1/2, of Ashland, was attending his first Old Fashioned Christmas and told Santa that he wanted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sewer lair play set. He was also excited to get a candy cane from Santa. His father, Brian Smolock, enjoys coming to the event.

“The event has a very nice feel, like a mini Jim Thorpe,” Smolock said. “It’s a good atmosphere. I was over at the historical building across the street and they’re doing a good job there.”

So it is written.
SANTA, now you know. Even the media is reporting Ayden’s wish list!

The year Santa Claus was safe

The year Santa Claus was safe

As usual, Skeletor wins.

Organic Fish May Soon be Coming and it is a HORRIBLE Idea

Good honest read from a proponent of organic who is horrified by what USDA organic fish may mean..

Organic Fish May Soon be Coming and it is a HORRIBLE Idea

North Korea Didn’t Do It: Expert Hacker Believes Sony Hack Was An Inside Job

This makes a lot more sense to me than a repressive nation state—though of never put any insanity outside the realm for Kim Jong Un..

Either way, and no matter how unfunny this movie may be, there are good chances it will be a hit no matter the venue it’s eventually seen..

North Korea Didn’t Do It: Expert Hacker Believes Sony Hack Was An Inside Job

Phobias may be memories passed down in genes from ancestors

This makes some true sense to me and is one step closer to what I feel the real truth is; Our reincarnated selves are being motivated in fear because of trauma in past existences.

Phobias may be memories passed down in genes from ancestors

Twas (less than) a week before Christmas..
And all through the town,
Not a person was smiling,
It’s littered with frowns

MONEY, INSURANCE, SECURITY..

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN A JOB?

Some food porn.. Bison and fried kale with raw pecans for crunch..

THE SHOW'S OVER: CHRISTMAS CANCELED FOR SONY!

This is major.. This is unprecedented. The Guardians of Peace have won this battle..

THE SHOW'S OVER: CHRISTMAS CANCELED FOR SONY!

Shock new SONY leak: State Department OK'd the ending of THE INTERVIEW

Shock new SONY leak: State Department OK'd the ending of THE INTERVIEW

Pakistan has begun three days of mourning in the aftermath of one of the most disgusting attacks on children that has taken place in humanity’s recent history.. The Taliban attack on the government school yesterday in Peshawar ended with 145 dead. Most of those brutal killings including shots in the head and beheadings were suffered by children..

Today the Taliban is attempting to provide justification for the senseless atrocities committed on the most innocent.. They said that the children murdered ‘aspired to follow their fathers’ footsteps’ and join into the army to target militants..  Even more, they say that the killings were to avenge the deaths that children in tribal areas suffered at the hands of other fighters.

Others believe that it may be a sign of desperation.. attackers targeting the most vulnerable and easily able to prey on isn’t brave or courageous, but instead horrendous in theory.

Others believe that the attack could very well be a response to Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Peace Prize..
Speaking of Malala, one piece of text that she said to the United Nations on her 16th birthday is July 2013 has truth:

We realise the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realised the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns. The wise saying, ‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ It is true. The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them

Books and pens. And children reading and writing, developing common sense and a higher sense of being. That does scare people with an alternative view of reality—one stuck in prehistoric times of bloodshed and tribalism that has no place in the modern world..

But this is the world we live in..
The gates of hell wide open. the demons abound to prey on the souls of the innocent.

So often I stare into the blazing stars of the night sky and ask if there is a God.. I also cry out to him and hope my prayers and words are heard.. Now and then I wonder if aliens are watching, too.

Either way, God or extraterrestrials, I hope someone makes an appearance soon to remind us of how we need to act in our ant farm called Earth. Bloodshed has becoming stifling to growth.. in the 21st century, the barbarism of the 15th has no place.

Imagine no religion?
How about this: Imagine aliens landing on the lawn of the White House. Maybe we’d start to think twice before killing our fellow human beings..

Or maybe not.

Peshawar: At a hospital near the school, blood stained the floors. Crying relatives roamed the wards and searched operating rooms, desperately searching for their sons and daughters. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, which Pakistani officials said appeared to be aimed at the children of senior military personnel.

Peshawar: At a hospital near the school, blood stained the floors. Crying relatives roamed the wards and searched operating rooms, desperately searching for their sons and daughters. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, which Pakistani officials said appeared to be aimed at the children of senior military personnel.

Sony Hackers Threaten 9/11 Attack on Movie Theaters That Screen ‘The Interview’

I have asked a number of times now whether the Sony hack was an act of war.. Now it appears an actual threat , an ominous one as well, is being made..

They promised a ‘Christmas gift’.. This is getting beyond creepy..

Sony Hackers Threaten 9/11 Attack on Movie Theaters That Screen ‘The Interview’

What you really Googled in 2014

Judging from what we searched for, 2014 was a very depressing and scary year..

That or the internet generation has simply grown up..

What you really Googled in 2014

Pennsylvania town tense as police hunt alleged killer

This is the second strange instance in Pennsylvania this year like this.. The first was Eric Frein, now it’s this former soldier turned family killer..

And entire area is frightened in their homes and being told to lock doors as a result of the past 48 hours of turmoil..

Pennsylvania town tense as police hunt alleged killer

Kazakhstanis hit by mystery sleeping sickness, doctors claim

Making matters weirder: Radiation from an abandoned mine is 16 times higher than normal—but the symptoms don’t match what would typically be poisoning associated with radiation.

It seems like there have been a ton of medical oddities in 2014, don’t you think?

That or our awareness is just higher..

Kazakhstanis hit by mystery sleeping sickness, doctors claim

Families dealing with mental illness need support, too.

A good read from SLATE

Families dealing with mental illness need support, too.

A revenge for Malala?

<a href=”http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/peshawar-school-attack-talibans-revenge-malala-yousafzais-nobel-peace-prize-1479754”>THE IBTIMES HAS MORE ON THAT</a> .. It’s an assertion and explanation that makes sense in a very sick way..

The horrors are only beginning to become known—teachers burning, execution style shootings, and children being beheaded ..

I am both sickened and saddened by the information coming out.. I may need to break with the news for an hour or more to clear my mind of the evil clutter that this disgusting day has brought to it..

A Peace Prize winner speaks

Malala Yousafzai: ‘I am heartbroken by this senseless and cold blooded act of terror in Peshawar that is unfolding before us. Innocent children in their school have no place in horror such as this’

Pakistan School Attack: Taliban Militants Kill 126 in Peshawar, Take Hostages

Not only were some children shot execution style one by one, but this happened too: a teacher was set on fire with gasoline and children were made to watch the teacher die..

Pakistan School Attack: Taliban Militants Kill 126 in Peshawar, Take Hostages

I want to hide from this but we collectively cannot escape it

More than 120!people, most of them children, have been killed after a group of gunmen stormed an army-run school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

The number of the injured is quickly rising.. As is the casualty count of the dead..

The vast majority of those dead are
Children.

This from the Associated Press dispatch only minutes prior to this post being written:

The overwhelming majority of the victims were students at the army public school, which has children and teenagers in grades 1-10.

The horrific violence, carried out by a relatively small number of militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban group, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government, also sent dozens of wounded flooding into local hospitals as terrified parents searched for their children.

Sone children were shot execution style one by one, according to witnesses who escaped..

Government troops arrived at the school and exchanged gunfire.. At least 500 were in the school when large explosions were heard..

There are fears the numbers of dead and injured are not done rising..

This is a developing story..

The Sydney siege was yesterday’s nightmare before Christmas.. Today’s is much more violent and deadly..

Water leak found at Berwick nuclear plant in Pennsylvania

Oh great…

A case of the glowing Mondays.

Water leak found at Berwick nuclear plant in Pennsylvania

Sony Hackers Promise to Deliver Large "Christmas Gift"

Hackers released a seventh cache of files leaked from Sony Pictures Entertainment on Saturday, along with a promise of more to come.

It would appear things are going to get a lot worse for SONY..

Sony Hackers Promise to Deliver Large "Christmas Gift"

My wife, a proud graduate. Me, a proud husband. Ayden, a perfect angel during graduation (with the help of ear buds and an iPad.) A good day.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN0CMGNA3uk?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

Here is some cool conspiracy for your Saturday..

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

Sony suspends filming. And lots of other sordid truths now streaming out after hack attack

Sony Pictures, which made the James Bond and Spider-Man films has abandoned shoots after hackers crippled its computers and leaked four films

This is huge..
The news is being submitted to the masses by THE TIMES in the UK.. The reason, so the story goes, is because all of the hacking implications have now led SONY unable to process payments..

There are some other bits of news that join this headline about Sony today, including the news that Angelina Jolie cannot attend an UNBROKEN premiere because she has developed Chicken Pox!.. 

The brutal hack attack is doing a lot more hurt to credibility of not only SONY but other power players too.. Like Maureen Dowd, who according to leaked documents now being seen promised to show her column to Amy Pascal’s husband before publication.. Perhaps no ethical boundary was crossed, though? Dowd denies she did this. Sure the documents show she was going to, but now Maureen is in damage control..

With all of this information now becoming public—and more and more every day—SONY employees just got a message on their computers. From the hackers! According to an article appearing in THE WRAP, a new warning message was sent to computers.. the article dubbed it ‘ominous’. Several staffers who got the message, the WRAP says, felt disturbed after reading it..

Just to think back for a bit. This entire news cycle of hacking mania began when the Guardians of Peace delivered movies not released yet to the public after their hack job.. It wasn’t until days later that more of the drips and drabs of info was spilled. Racist emails between execs.. Dowd’s denials.. most of SONY pictures computers now offline to the point where payments cannot be processed. Social security numbers released. Families of employees getting threatening messages..  All because of THE INTERVIEW?
North Korea?
Still so many unanswered questions..

And investors have just got to be watching this.

I have asked many times over since this story developed that, if North Korea is linked and proof is evident that the nation state was behind the hack job and subsequent further hackings and warnings, then what? Is this an act of war? Cyber war is how the future’s games are going to be played.. does America respond? Did we already?

Clandestine efforts may be made in the aftermath of the PR and criminal disaster now hitting SONY.
But follow up responses may not matter when payments aren’t made, the talent cast trust the employers, and the public sees the true secrets of Tinseltown’s most ugly players.

This SONY hack attack has more implications than anyone could have imagined last month. Then it made a blip on the evening news.. A few movies released by hackers.

Today… so much more is happening. So much more of cyber war.. 

I have a feeling we are only seeing the opening credits in this long movie.

Sony suspends filming. And lots of other sordid truths now streaming out after hack attack

Crying over spilled ice: The day I quit retail shopping

Crying over spilled ice: The day I quit retail shopping

A new argument attemps to put the Christ back in Christmas: Argument that Christmas on December 25th is not from Paganism

The argument uses Biblical history as evidence that Paganism didn’t lead to Christmas.

But explains Christmas trees..?
And why the Church chose a Pagan holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ.

I love Christmas.. I think religious people and secular can agree, Christmas is fun and festive, cool and cold. 

I was born and raised Catholic, so I understand both sides of the argument. But I was never offended by the notion that Paganism was the original Christianity. I love it.. 

I even love Krampus.
I was always afraid he’s give me a stick.

A new argument attemps to put the Christ back in Christmas: Argument that Christmas on December 25th is not from Paganism

A stunning human achievement: The oceans now contain 5 trillion pieces of floating plastic

That’s over 250,000 tons.

If we would have tried a bit harder, we could have got this to 300,000 tons. 

There’s always next year.

A stunning human achievement: The oceans now contain 5 trillion pieces of floating plastic

The Weather Channel waits a bit to issue their winter forecast.. the NOAA does it in the fall. I think Accuweather does it the winter before (I kid, I kid. But they do at around the end of the summer and sometimes get it right on the money in some freakishly psychic way.) 

But the Weather Channel waits. 

They waited so long I actually missed it when they issued it—November 23!

But since I was searching for weather related news—while looking outside at about 13 inches of snow that fell yesterday—I found it. Read it. Digested it. Became somewhat dyspeptic. 

The point at which I cringed:

WSI forecasters looked at several other technical indices and long-range computer models that also point to an above-average chance of blocking patterns in the northern latitudes — the kind of patterns that can force bitterly cold air from the polar and Arctic regions southward into the U.S.

WSI says that, based on conditions over the Pacific Ocean, the West Coast is more likely to be protected from those intrusions by a northward bulge in the jet stream — known as a high-pressure ridge — and that those cold air intrusions are more likely to be pointing toward the East Coast and the Deep South instead.

So. Get ready for that.

The story behind this photo.

It is a statue of Neptune. According to a number of websites, like this one, it is guarding an underground ballroom. The site linked—and many others—are showcasing a number of other photographs of the secret room under a lake in Witley Park in England.. The site has gone viral, as they say..  It is being shared across the internet and people are making their typical sarcastic and somewhat but not really humorous short lived comments about the images featured.

This is just a re-do of old articles about this very place—the UK DAILY MAIL did a profile on the ‘story behind Britain’s most bizarre folly’ in 2011.. 

But that’s the internet. A place where news cycles get spun and news stories constantly get recycled. 

On this most recent burst of news articles, it all started on REDDIT—things mostly do, either REDDIT or 4CHAN. In this case, a user posted the images of the under water ballroom and …viola.. sent around the globe.

But now this message appears on REDDIT where the image was once hosted: 

Hi, folks, I’m the guy who first posted this to /r/interestingasfuck , and it kind of spread from there.

Since then, I received a very polite email from the son of the couple who lives on this estate asking that I please take the post down. They suffer several break-ins on their property whenever information about this room hits the internet, and he’s worried both for their safety and the curious people coming to find the room. Not only is the lake an obviously dangerous place to poke around, the couple also has several firearms close at hand because break-ins are such a problem, and he is worried that someone is going to end up shot because his parents are so scared.

You’re free to do as you please, of course, but I have removed my 
post. It’s probably too late to do much good, but it’s something we can 
do to help

Perhaps even more interesting, if you follow through to the FLICKR account where the images were first (first?) posted in the year 2008, this message appears:

Since my visit, I have been informed by a number of sources that the ballroom is now also locked and alarmed. I don’t need to point out that breaking into a locked premises is breaking and entering and is illegal; it’s also against the generally accepted urban exploration rules (somewhere here: www.forbidden-places.net/why.php).

 Due to the above, please don’t contact me for access details as I won’t provide them.

I also suggest against visiting Witley as you will have a long walk around the lake only to be confronted by a padlock. If you get spotted wandering about private properly with bolt croppers, expect to be arrested.

I get this feeling, regardless of what the owner of the property hopes for, this newfound internet exposure is only going to lead to further attempts at break ins..

I grew up in Centralia, and still live close by at this point in my life adventure. For decades now, tourists and sight seers have been coming by the town to look for any bit of history or smoke filled mountains from the underground fire that they can. Often they walk away confused and disjointed—you can hardly see evidence of a burning fire, they don’t know that until they get there.  I also think that it’s probably best all of the houses besides the few with residents are gone. If not, they’d be broken into by people, things stolen.. valuables trashed. Memories bashed.

Even Chernobyl has looters and people who don’t care too much about radiation, and instead just want to get a piece of nuclear history.

In the matter of the house under the lake: The property owners will not have to face even more news coverage as these images are one again passed around. They must cringe when they turn browse the Net..

The mass face sitting begins.

Some 500 protesters will gather outside Parliament on Friday to take part in a mass “facesitting” in demonstration against new “draconian” porn laws which have banned the screening of acts largely associated with female pleasure.

These protests will feature women sitting no men’s faces. Also included: Whipping, female ejaculation, spanking and fisting—all banned by the new regulations for online porn in the UK.

Should be quite an interesting day of voicing concerns about civil liberties and the freedom of expressing. And female ejaculations. 

‘CIA will continue torture with help of mediators’ – UK's former envoy to Uzbekistan

For those who think the Senate torture roper was going to make an impact..

‘CIA will continue torture with help of mediators’ – UK's former envoy to Uzbekistan

CBS announced that May 20, 2015, will be David Letterman’s final show on the network.. 

This will be a milestone for the country. I really mean that.

Letterman may not be really all that funny anymore, but he was once so cutting edge that he was sharper than new knives. He was inventive and ironic..

I was at a taping of the LATE SHOW in the early 2000s.. Not impressed completely by that but still amazing to be in the Ed Sullivan theater. 

I grew up watching Letterman. Ever since, as a kid, I read the Frank Miller DARK KNIGHT I was inspired to figure out who the pop culture icon was featured in the comic: 

I fondly recall Friday nights, staying up late, watching LATE NIGHT and then LATE SHOW when he switched networks.. 

I also had a secret in school. Not many other kids really knew who Letterman was, so I would set my VCR each night to record his show. The next morning, before school, I watched his skits and copied some of the humor off of it, doing the same types of things at school that day. No one ever knew.

Until now.

Regardless, the whole thing changes on May 20 next year. Letterman will ride off into the sunset, and become the next biggest talk show host since Carson to leave television. Will Bette Midler kiss him, too?

I am not so sure about Stephen Colbert.. the jury is out.

But on Letterman, my decision was that he redefined late night comedy. 

Now someone has to redefine it again. I don’t think it’s Colbert.

I personally have always believed whichever network chose a woman to host a late night comedy show was going to be the one that redefined it. And that has yet to happen..

During what became quite a significant snowstorm today, I discovered something about Mutley the Dog: He refuses to walk on any part of the ground that remains untreated. ANSI shoveled, he moved down a row. If I stopped, he’d stay.

Crowd control for animals: Stop shoveling?

The sky is falling. Or changing.

I wrote what one of my friends called the weirdest of all posts yet the other day here concerning how, well.. I think the sun’s angle in the sky is changing compared to this month other times in the past. I understand this sounds loony.. I get that is also is illogical. But at the same time, photographs prove to me that something is different.. 

I note this previous post from days ago only because I received what I felt to be an interesting comment on the story.. The screen cap here:

I ask you only to add this to your already steady diet of lunacy. Watch the videos.. discern for yourselves. I am humble enough to know I should not comment much on things that I can be proven very wrong about. And this issue is one of them.. You can watch the videos yourselves and check out the links included.

I just know this: The sunset last year at this time is not where it is this year. 

That much I know.

Don't fear the reaper

The other day, while I explaining to my mother some of the best parts the future has to hold due to technology, she espoused the common belief among her age group: “I hope I’m dead by then.” Mixed in that sentiment: The fear of the future, and the regretfullness at the same time of not learning everything about the internet that she wants to. 

But she is not the only one who fears upcoming upheaval. I do, too. Technology’s advancements and human beings’ changes are occurring mighty quickly lately. No more slow drips of progress.. these days we are printing in 3D everything from houses to lungs and the future, oh that future, appears to be muddled in some kind of puddle transhumanism/eternal health and happiness.

Regardless of the niceties to come, there are reasons to fear.. When certain governments use progress to hurt society that is awful. When corporations hate their customer and worker, that is equally unfair.. 

In a sense, robotic advancements on their own are neither moral or immoral. A robot lacks a soul, it lacks the consciousnesses of life.. We think at least. But let’s go with the idea that they do.. When human beings, rife with more good and evil thoughts, get a hold of the robot, bad things can happen.

A robot can be used to build a house.
Or destroy an entire village of women and children in a war.
Take you pick.

On the fear concept, we are hearing from Google’s Eric Schmidt. He says to embrace the brave new world of the artificial future..don’t fear the reaper.

WIRED reports in more detail. Issie Lapowsky writes,

According to Schmidt, people have been concerned about machines taking over the world for centuries. “Go back to the history of the loom. There was absolute dislocation,” he said, “but I think all of us are better off with more mechanized ways of getting clothes made.” Plus, he argued, in the past economies have prospered the more they adopt these new technologies. “There’s lots of evidence that when computers show up, wages go up,” he said. “There’s lots of evidence that people who work with computers are paid more than people without.”

The real threat, he believes, is that education systems around the world aren’t teaching their students the skills they need to work together with these increasingly intelligent machines. “The correct concern,” Schmidt explained, “is what we’re going to do to improve the education systems and incentive systems globally, in order to get people prepared for this new world, so they can maximize their income.”

Lapwosky goes on to write of how Schmidt thinks that technology is much more primitive than people think. I agree with him on that. I do not think we are quite ‘there’ yet as far as the real rapid fire changes that society is going to have to adapt to. I do disagree with him, too. I think humanity is not ready for robots to replace their jobs. Government is not ready, either.. businesses may not be either! 

Robots are doing everything from picking apples in farms to making cars to serving food at restaurants. All things have a mechanical element. Even the idea of bureaucrats pushing paper for hours a day in theory could be replaced by a robot doing the same—and perhaps more efficiently without office gossip or smoke breaks to boot.

People used to be freaked by Google. Remember about ten years ago when Gmail was introduced? Millions of people are shocked to learn that Google would be able to scan personal email to use it as product placement and ad generation. (and much much more, we just don’t talk about that) .. Then millions of people signed up and all was forgotten. 

Same will occur here. Everything is eventual. And technological advancements are as well..

But for the betterment of society? Only society’s response in years will tell us the real tale of what good or bad effect it had..

I can say this, though: We need to start preparing now for a majority of people not working, not having the ability to compete with robots, and signing up for government benefits.

Maybe the idea of the wage floor will make sense to a society in the future.

Maybe that future is coming very, very soon..

DEADLINE SPLASHES: Sony E-Mails Shocker: Amy Pascal, Scott Rudin Have Hollywood-Size Egos! Filmmakers React

But even more important from the DEADLINE read on this SONY hack job: Why are people who had projects with SONY suddenly tweeting their horror at the SONY hack? One even saying the information dump is ‘terrorism.’

My take: They are reading the trove of emails between Pascal and Rudin.. they are seeing the racist comments about the President.. they are amazed at the free flowing hatred of Jolie.. and they are looking themselves in the mirror attempting to recall what type of sordid things they wrote while under contract or employ at SONY..

Philip Lord called the SONY hack terrorism—noteworthy that this battle cry waited for almost ten days to be made..

Rian Johnson said “This Sony hack is some vile shit.” 

In the spirit of full disclosure, I also asked the question: If the Sony hack was inspired by a nation state or conducted by one, is that an act of war?  That was written on November 30—when the SONY leak actually occurred and the “GOP” group claimed responsibility..

Since then major news outlets, both of the Hollywood kind and the mainstream, have latched onto the controversial emails and could care less about why they were hacked or what ramifications it has on geo political affairs.

At first I thought SONY was trying to make a positive out of a negative, turn this into a story about North Korea attacking them over a movie, and using that to advertise the movie. Since that point, this has fallen apart for SONY, with investors and big money getting wary of what they will read next.

And read lots we are. Those big media outlets are in a feeding frenzy going through the bits and bytes of email for the next salacious thing.

Meanwhile, the INTERVIEW is readying for its debut and North Korea is silently smiling at the entire event..

Strange times we live in, indeed.

DEADLINE SPLASHES: Sony E-Mails Shocker: Amy Pascal, Scott Rudin Have Hollywood-Size Egos! Filmmakers React

BUZZFEED REPORTS: ISIS Is Trying To Sell The Body Of U.S. Hostage James Foley For $1 Million

BUZZFEED REPORTS: ISIS Is Trying To Sell The Body Of U.S. Hostage James Foley For $1 Million

Oh bloody hell mate!

Check out this scene.. 100+ mph gusts and a massive storm sweeping the UK.. 

I am sure the photos and news videos I am seeing on this just aren’t doing any justice to how raw and massive this storm is..

My hope is that British and other readers from the UK message me or SUBMIT news or photos to me of just how bad it is..

Hacked SONY emails now reveal true feelings on race: Scott Rudin On Obama's Favorite Movies: "I Bet He Likes Kevin Hart"

An exchange between Sony Pictures chair Amy Pascal and producer Scott Rudin turned into a riff on films they thought the president liked.

A few things can certainly be taken from this.. Regardless of how many people in Hollywood voted for President Obama, there are still filled with racist and bigoted intent.. The emails may prove that—unless of course they were just slickly joking in some form of an ironic sense of humor knowing the emails would never become public.

Until the Guardians of Peace stole them on behalf of North Korea. Or whatever happened.

Now we know.. Hollywood elites think that Angelina Jolie is a brat, and that black presidents will only watch movies about black people. The BUZZFEED report on the email chain now making some news,

In what has become the latest embarrassing email uncovered in a trove of messages leaked by hackers who attacked Sony, Pascal wrote Rudin: “What should I ask the president at this stupid Jeffrey breakfast?” She was referring to a breakfast hosted by DreamWorks Animation head and major Democratic donor Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Rudin, a top film producer responsible for films like No Country for Old Men andMoneyball, responded, “Would he like to finance some movies.” Pascal replied, “I doubt it. Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?” Rudin responded: “12 YEARS.” Pascal quickly continued down the path of guessing Obama preferred movies by or starring African Americans. “Or the butler. Or think like a man? [sic]”

Rudin’s response: “Ride-along. I bet he likes Kevin Hart.”

So what else did these two crazy cats have to say? Oh.. give it a bit, it looks like we’ll find out.

Hacked SONY emails now reveal true feelings on race: Scott Rudin On Obama's Favorite Movies: "I Bet He Likes Kevin Hart"

The Coal Speaker Christmas 2014 family portrait has been taken. Mutley is edging in closer.. The leg lamp is on. The Christmas lights, though, are still balled up in a disgraceful mess on the desk. My wife Tara is a graduate and, as you can see, Ayden is fully engaged with snow and throwing it accordingly at me.. 

A little not: Ayden requested Frankenstein in a Christmas hat. Really.

He sees the little logo on top of CoalSpeaker.com when either update the site or view it.. he always stops and tells me to include Frankenstein, because he says Frankie is a ‘good guy.’  

So he joins the family in the Christmas spirit. 

BPA exposure linked to quick rise in blood pressure

New study finds that BPA may have a direct and immediate impact on your cardiovascular health.

I am not surprised that there is more medical evidence compounding the already clear dangers of BPA exposure in humans. And don’t forget: Every time you drink from a can or plastic bottle, you’re exposing your heart. When you drink a can of beer, you’re already upping your blood pressure. Add BPA to the mix and you’ve just created a cocktail of confusion for your body to attempt to digest.. Not a good circumstance at all.

Mother Nature Network goes on to write in the report, 

For the study, which was published in the journal Hypertension, researchers recruited 60 older participants, most of whom had never had issues with high blood pressure (although some did.) They asked the participants to drink soy milk from either a can or a glass bottle on three separate occasions, spaced apart by several weeks. The researchers chose soy milk because it does not have any effect on blood pressure and it is also fairly neutral in terms of leaching BPA from can or bottle liners, according to The New York Times.

The research team from Seoul National University’s department of preventive medicine in Korea found that when the participants drank soy milk from a can, their urine levels of BPA rose almost instantly — and so did their blood pressure. But when the same people drank the same beverage from glass bottles, which don’t use BPA linings, their BPA levels and blood pressure remained unchanged. 

The research did not look at how long BPA levels remained elevated, but the authors did raise the concern that even a short increase in blood pressure — repeated several times a day through BPA exposure in drinks and food containers — could have lasting effects on cardiovascular health. 

That does make sense to me. Even short-duration elevations have dangers..

Besides cans of beer and plastic soda bottles, can goods are also lined with the chemical..

And for me, I am having an eye opening experience. My latest addiction has became cans of seltzer water.. Perhaps I need to rethink my options…

HOWEVER»There are two sides to every table of food. The Center for Accountability in Science is raising some alarms on the alarm bell raised in the alarming report on BPA. 

They say the group studied—mostly women—was too small to conduct an accurate accounting to garner a conclusion.. even more, they said that there are gross overstatements in the report.

Should should I crack opened a third seltzer water today?

Or just drink down some bottled beer and chase it with coffee? Questions..questions..

BPA exposure linked to quick rise in blood pressure

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9e0PGSDeU?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

Predictive programming?

Expect either a big quake in Cali or, in some fashion, Dwayne Johnson will be the hero of 2015.

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

Now we know..
Thanks to the Guardians of Peace, the hacking group that may have worked on behalf of NORTH KOREA and decimated the personal information of Hollywood stars and threw Sony’s entire business operations into the public eye.

And apparently lots of folks really dislike Angelina Jolie. Including producer Scott Rudin.

According to some newly leaked emails from the information dump from the GOP, Rudin is on record saying that Jolie is a “minimally talented spoiled brat.” .. and another: “YOU BETTER SHUT ANGIE DOWN BEFORE SHE MAKES IT VERY HARD FOR DAVID TO DO JOBS.”

VARIETY has the full story..
As does the group GUARDIANS OF PEACE.

Among the billions of posts and GIFs online right now, there are a few little creepy ones that stand out for me.. They all come from the Tumblr account for the upcoming January 2015 film THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 . The site is http://womaninblack2.tumblr.com/.. you can find gems, like the one I feature with this post, and others including an arm reaching out to a woman from a baby carriage, freakish images of people screaming, and clever other ways the movie makers are getting their message out on social media.

But I see these THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 images being shared more than any others online in some time. Perhaps it’s because the there second clips are macabre and downright creepy—as the one featured here .. No matter how many loops over again it makes, each time I see it I still stop and get just a bit of a chill at the face on my screen..

And that is smart for THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 . People like GIFs.. the online community enjoys quick laughs and even quicker scares.. The movie is drumming up interesting simply by users freely passing around GIFs and other images with #SheNeverLeft as the tag…

And that is how marketing is now.. A chimp with half a brain and an empty wallet can do it. But to do it effectively, you need to know your audience, your platform, and the style of people who would share images like those being given out by the makers of THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 ..

I remember a time when images online had copyrights and those copyrights mean something.. Big studios would sent out directives to websites —like mine—demanding a cease and desist on the publication of certain movie images.. But now? Now things are quite the alternate. Now studios and Hollywood executives are fine with their movie stills being shared. They even help. They upload to platforms hoping that users ‘reblog’ and make them go viral—all free, all fast. And all effective.

Those cease and desists are long gone. Now we are encouraged to steal those images and post away—knowing the end result will add to the word of mouth advertising.

Everything I just said is common sense and has been so for years. But i still get a little impressed when I come across a TUMBLR site or media site as effective as the one for THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 .

The movie has another thing going for it: It’s being released in January, it’s PG-13, and it comes after the Christmas season ends.. I personally think that January releases for horror are a good thing. By that point, we have had it up to our mistletoe in Christmas cheer and happiness. We want to be scared again.. and teenagers, those who will most likely make up the vast majority of the PG-13 release crowd on January 2 in the wide box office open for THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2, will eat this horror up.

The distributor is RELATIVITY.. No word yet officially on the number of theaters the film debuts in. But it’s a wide release. And an even wider TUMBLR world of image sharing..

TIME made its call.. the yearly ritual of waiting to see who a nearly irreverent magazine will decide was the most important person of the year is here again. This one was out of left field for me.. I did not expect them to choose a series of people, ‘the Ebola fighters,’ as the person that mattered.. I thought for sure TIME would focus in on the Ferguson story and name the ‘protester’ as the person—though they did that in 2011..  I was wrong.

Perhaps if EBOLA gets really, really bad, next year’s person could be the EBOLA patient. And then TIME could just include another mirror on the cover like they did for the 'You' as the person of the year in 2006.

This could also be a clever way to sell magazine—five covers?? I have always been aware of the theory that local newspapers utilize local sports to sell fishwrappers—every high school football player, baseball player, or track star buys up the issue when they are featured. As do their family members and friends.

In this regard, TIME will sell at least 5 magazine this year, and maybe a few dozen more will buy because they know the person on the cover.

But seriously..The reception for TIME’s choice has been positives, according to the TWITTER feeds I follow. People are roundly applauding TIME for picking brave people who fought Ebola and risked their own safety.. 

I personally think this is a safe choice for TIME to make—one that will have no opponents and be affectionately thought of as a positive decision for the corporate magazine..Nurses and doctors could get the choice as person of the year every year.. As could police officers and others. 

I think my choice for person of the year—the one who most influenced the news and changed the course of history over the past 12 months (by definition, this is how TIME decides) would be: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the soccer playing Ph.D. who became the leader of ISIS.

When weather models dash dreams

My son is going to wake up for day care in about 20 minutes. In his perfect world he would have not , though.. See, even though Ayden is three and a half, he gets it. He understands the excitement and buzz created by snowstorm hype.. he knows that workers at his day care were unusually happy yesterday—he even told us why: They were actively speaking of a day off because of a monster snow storm that would hit.

So last night, around 7pm when it was not snowing.. I figured it wasn’t going to.. weather models seemingly got this one very, very wrong. At least for my little region of Pennsylvania..

Days ago, 6 to 12 inches were predicted.
This morning: It’s cold, windy.. and dry as could be. The only reminder that precipitation even occurred are wet pavements and puddles of rain that never changed to frozen liquid.

Ayden may not be happy.. but the high schoolers among us will be even worse off.

I hated these days—those storms where forecasters botched things up beyond wildest expectations and dreams were dashed of days off.. School is on for all of those kids who expected 6 inches of road blocking bus stopping snow. 

I hated these mornings as a student.. 
I trust my son Ayden will as well, along with anyone else reading this who expected a snow day.

Good news may be that the storm is just developing differently than first expected.. I am forecast to get some snow tonight into tomorrow. So .. heads up: Buses could still be affected in the very near future.

Pennywise's new dance

"IT" is coming back.

And I am sure entirely that ‘it’ is a good thing..

Pennywise's new dance

Facts Buried In The Senate’s 600 Page Torture Report

Some more of the noteworthy things brought forth in the torture report..

This may be of particular interest, 

“[A]n “intellectually challenged” man whose CIA detention was used solely as leverage to get a family member to provide information, two individuals who were intelligence sources for foreign liaison services and were former CIA sources, and two individuals whom the CIA assessed to be connected to al-Qa’ida based solely on information fabricated by a CIA detainee subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques.” [Page 12]

And this

“CIA officers also threatened at least three detainees with harm to their families—to include threats to harm the children of a detainee, threats to sexually abuse the mother of a detainee, and a threat to “cut [a detainee’s] mother’s throat.” [Page 4]

And one more

“Conditions at CIA detention sites were poor, and were especially bleak early in the program. CIA detainees at the COBALT detention facility were kept in complete darkness and constantly shackled in isolated cells with loud noise or music and only a bucket to use for human waste. Lack of heat at the facility likely contributed to the death of a detainee. The chief of interrogations described COBALT as a “dungeon.” Another seniorCIA officer stated that COBALT was itself an enhanced interrogation technique.” [Page 4]

Facts Buried In The Senate’s 600 Page Torture Report

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antigovernmentextremist:

descentintotyranny:

Horrifying revelations drip out as media continues to go through Senate Torture Report

12/9/14

Just keep telling yourself that they hate us for our freedom.

A not so brief wrap on what reporters are finding out as they slowly peruse the Senate report on torture.. 

I assume many more will be coming forth over the coming hours..

A scathing report released by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday found that the Central Intelligence Agency routinely misled the White House and Congress about the information it obtained from the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects, and that its methods were more brutal than the C.I.A. acknowledged either to Bush administration officials or to the public.

One new revelation I hadn’t heard of until now that surfaced in this report: Rectal feeding.

The NEW YORK TIMES reports, 

Detainees were deprived of sleep for as long as a week, and were sometimes told that they would be killed while in American custody. With the approval of the C.I.A.’s medical staff, some C.I.A. prisoners were subjected to medically unnecessary “rectal feeding” or “rectal hydration” — a technique that the C.I.A.’s chief of interrogations described as a way to exert “total control over the detainee.” C.I.A. medical staff members described the waterboarding of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the chief planner of the Sept. 11 attacks, as a “series of near drownings.”

Total control indeed..
The breaking down of human beings by those who did it best..

A scathing report released by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday found that the Central Intelligence Agency routinely misled the White House and Congress about the information it obtained from the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects, and that its methods were more brutal than the C.I.A. acknowledged either to Bush administration officials or to the public.

Mashable: The advice 13 entrepreneurs would give their younger selves

What some of today’s top entrepreneurs would tell their younger selves when first starting out.

Call me negative, but I agree with very few of these—and really even the ones I agree with I don’t classify as being important..

There are two paths to success: Luck and hard work. 

The hard work is the one where it seems the most failures take place..
The luck?
Well let me say it this way.. there are a number of business owners I know that fall into three categories:

1. People who are smart, but don’t have confidence in themselves or the choices they make. They mean well, but often have too much doubt to succeed


2. People who are dumb, and make really dumb decisions. They know they are dumb..


3. People who are dumb, but don’t know they are dumb, and have wild success in business..

I know a farmer who opened a restaurant. He does not have great people skills, only a small click of friends.. but a successful business. No tact. But a track record of just making food and having a place. Not too shabby.

I am a little negative about good business experiences.. I think it’s more a matter of dumb luck—sometimes literally.

Mashable: The advice 13 entrepreneurs would give their younger selves

CIA Torture Report: Bush Was Kept in the Dark

President George W. Bush was never briefed by the Central Intelligence Agency on the details of harsh interrogation techniques and secret detention of terror suspects for the first four years of the controversial program, and when he did find out the details, he was “uncomfortable” with some of the practices, according to the long-awaited report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

CIA Torture Report: Bush Was Kept in the Dark

US prepares for security risks from torture report

"There are some indications that the release of the report could lead to a greater risk that is posed to U.S. facilities and individuals all around the world," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday. "The administration has taken the prudent steps to ensure that the proper security precautions are in place at U.S. facilities around the globe."

US prepares for security risks from torture report

Strange new twists in SONY HACK ATTACK

The GOP did it. 
Not the grand old party.. but the North Korean supported hacker group. Unless SONY is just trying to make us believe that to advertise THE INTERVIEW.

In entertainment, and geo-political affairs, never believe what you read. The truth will come out 20 years later.

Strange new twists in SONY HACK ATTACK

How to Make Pennsylvania Coal-Cracker Apple Pie Boilo

This is from the website http://poconofoothills.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Pennsylvania-Coal-Cracker-Apple-Pie-Boil-O.. Didn’t really ever hear of it until a Facebook message told me to go to it.

I have had boilo before.. And I have made it too.. My recipe for success isn’t the greatest, I am not as skilled as others are in making the concoction. But if you never had it before, you should try some.. It goes great in the autumn or winter. And let me say this, while it has been about three years since I had boilo (and about 6 months since I even had alcohol), this drink is the best when you are sick, with a cold or flu.. There is something magical about downing an intense amount of warm alcohol with a subtle cinnamon flavor..

In my region, each year there are boilo contests and people who made large quantities of it to give as Christmas gifts.. When you get it as a gift you feel extra special, like someone really loves you enough to give you 200 proof liquid. Christmas cheer comes fast.

But be warned, if the source of your boilo knows what he or she is doing, chances are you will be consuming lots of alcohol very fast. Boilo has a tendency to taste like the greatest thing you’ve ever had. Get some good warm bread to go with it.. or soup. Make it a holiday night to remember..

How to Make Pennsylvania Coal-Cracker Apple Pie Boilo

Fast times

Have not gotten the time to get much to this site in a bit.. Sporadic events of the real kind have kept me from it.. Le me apologize to anyone who is concerned. Unless you already forgot about me and moved on.. As happens so often online.

Stay tuned for more. Or less.

Or neither.

Don’t cry over froze ice.