Mysterious “men in black” sightings reported along Muscatine Co. roadways

Mysterious “men in black” sightings reported along Muscatine Co. roadways:

This news in from the great state of Iowa.. Strange encounters with people either dressed in black or the MIBs.. You be the judge.

The Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office has taken notice, posting Monday on its Facebook page, “We have had several reports of ‘men dressed in black’ entering the roadway in rural Muscatine County.”
Several people have told KWQC that these same individuals have been spotted walking across homeowners’ yards, although the MCSO Facebook post does not mention sightings on private property.
The MCSO is now asking anyone who encounters the individuals to “call 911 immediately.”

The story is now gathering national and global attention, being linked in countless blogs and pages..

Why extremely rare events keep happening all the time ?

Why extremely rare events keep happening all the time ?:

I love this article from the Chicago TRIBUNE..
The money quote:

But still the recent pileup of other rare events to explain - some of them, such as the transit of Venus, much rarer than a solstice full moon. Another facet of the improbability principle can help. It’s called “law of combinations,” which Hand illustrates with a classic puzzle regarding shared birthdays: What are the odds that two people will share a birthday in a group of 23? If you’re in the group, the chance that one of the other 22 people will share your birthday is low, but the odds that any pair will match is better than even.

Likewise, there are many ways that different combinations of the sun, moon and planets can align in some interesting pattern. Planetary alignments are always unique, said astronomer Alan MacRobert, an editor at Sky and Telescope. “Whenever there’s an alignment of planets you’ll read that it has not happened in 20,000 years,” he said. But that’s the case of every night sky. “There are an infinite number of configurations of the solar system and every one is rare,” MacRobert observed. The universe is superabundant with possibilities, and that’s part of what makes astronomy fun.

The only constant is change.
And lately, weird occurrences.

This article, short as it is, appeared in “The Washington...

This article, short as it is, appeared  in “The Washington Post", Washington, DC, 28 Nov 1905…

Creepy in 1905. Creepy in 2016.

Vegan Blood is 8 times More Effective at Killing Cancer Cells

Vegan Blood is 8 times More Effective at Killing Cancer Cells:

The full link and research materials for those who don’t believe it.

Google is Quietly Recording Everything You Say — Here’s How to Hear It, Delete It, and Stop It

Google is Quietly Recording Everything You Say — Here’s How to Hear It, Delete It, and Stop It:

We knew about this in the 2000s.. But some of the newest generation of onliners don’t seem to know when the Internets can be a threat.

From the article:

The recordings can function as a kind of diary, reminding you of the various places and situations that you and your phone have been in. But it’s also a reminder of just how much information is collected about you, and how intimate that information can be.

You’ll see more if you’ve an Android phone, which can be activated at any time just by saying “OK, Google”. But you may well also have recordings on there whatever devices you’ve interacted with Google using.

But there is hope!

To delete particular files, you can click the check box on the left and then move back to the top of the page and select “delete”. To get rid of everything, you can press the “More” button, select “Delete options” and then “Advanced” and click through.

The easiest way to stop Google recording everything is to turn off the virtual assistant and never to use voice search. But that solution also gets at the central problem of much privacy and data use today – doing so cuts off one of the most useful things about having an Android phone or using Google search.

'I did the shootings': DOJ releases some redacted transcripts of Orlando killer's phone calls during massacre

'I did the shootings': DOJ releases some redacted transcripts of Orlando killer's phone calls during massacre:

“Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [in Arabic]. I let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings,” Mateen told a 911 dispatcher during a 50-second phone call at 2:35 a.m. on June 12.

Researchers digging in the desert of southeast Eritrea have...

Researchers digging in the desert of southeast Eritrea have uncovered what could be the first footprints that are clearly attributed to Homo erectus, a species of hominid widely considered to be a direct ancestor to modern humans.

Estimated to feature a size 12 foot size, the fossilized footprints were possibly made by tall individuals some 800,000 years ago in sandy sediments along the shores of what was once a large lake surrounded by grasslands.

Today the Aalad-Amo site where the H. erectus’s prints were excavated by a team of the National Museum of Eritrea and Rome’s La Sapienza University is occupied by the semi arid Danakil desert.

Get ready to rock and roll..

SCOTUS is about to get real with America..

Major rulings coming.

From the ‘snooze’ sites:

The Supreme Court is set this week to begin announcing decisions on roughly a dozen remaining cases, including contentious ones on abortion and immigration.

The rulings will be released from the bench starting Monday, with the high court typically waiting until the last week of June to announce those on the most contentious issues, in a tradition known as “spring flood” and just before the justices go on summer recess.

Rulings on this season’s slate of cases were complicated by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia – leaving the bench with four remaining conservative justices and four liberal ones.  

Hotter than a Texas sprout…

I would be really curious if anyone out there ever tried the Ketogenic diet..

I have been looking into this.. Fad/ Dud/ lame excuse for a lifestyle?

The low carb idea sounds interesting.. but I would love to really know if anyone out there has ever been in a constant form of ketosis to be able to tell me what this may actually feel like..?

But it also sort of goes completely against my whole food vegan(ish) diet I have been attempting to adhere to as of late..

Any thoughts would be great?

Lewandowski out as Trump campaign manager: The Trump family made him do it

Lewandowski out as Trump campaign manager: The Trump family made him do it

This news from Chicago.....

FATHER’S DAY VIOLENCE..

300 HOMICIDES THIS YEAR SO FAR..

TRIBUNE reports,

So far this year, about 1,800 people have been shot across the city and more than 200 of those wounded have died of their wounds, according to records kept by the Chicago Tribune. A total of 306 people have been killed this year by shooting, stabbing or other means, Tribune records show.

A 3-year-old boy was among the wounded who survived the weekend shootings. Police said he’s in critical condition. The boy was shot in the right shoulder near East 61st Street and South Kimbark Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood at 6:15 p.m. Sunday, police said. The boy was in a car seat when an unknown attacker fired shots at the car, police said. People in the vehicle managed to get the boy to University of Chicago Medical Center. He was then transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition.

Five people were fatally shot and nine others were hurt between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Four of the fatalities occurred in seven hours. The fatalities included a 16-year-old boy who was killed in West Englewood about 9:05 p.m. Friday. He was in the front passenger seat of a car driving through an alley in the 6500 block of South Hamilton Avenue when two males came up and fired shots, according to police.

What Really Scared You As a Child?

What Really Scared You As a Child?:

I am slightly offended at Bloody Disgusting.. Not by the name, but by some the content. Actually on a regular basis. For a horror site it pales in comparison to others.. for a mainstream locale for the latest in scary news, it is not the best.

That all being said, an article appearing today is even worse.. they offended one of my favorite childhood toys: The Lester Doll.

Here is what “Mr Disgusting” writes,

As young as I can remember I was mortified of ventriloquist dummies. I’m not anymore, but I still have a reoccurring nightmare I’ve been having since I was 8 years old.

The earliest recollection of the fear I have is of the below 1984 McDonald’s commercial featuring Willie Tyler and his ventriloquist dummy, Lester. Any time that commercial would pop on I would be in my parents bed that night – and I want to go as far as to say my parents were so annoyed they mailed letters of complaint to McDonald’s (like that does any good).

While Tyler is my earliest memory, the one that haunted me the most was spawned by Paul Winchell, who has his own variety show called “The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show.” Jerry Mahoney, pictured above left, was the scariest looking doll I had ever seen – so scary to a child that he would haunt my nightmares for 30 years. I’m not exactly sure how I saw this 1950’s show in the 80’s, but clearly it had a profound impact on me.

Ok, I get it.. the doll is a wee bit creepy to some. But for me, as a kid, it provided comfort and solace. It was my friend. 

I actually recall two distinct memories of Lester. First, a Christmas when he was under the tree.. I was as sick as a dog, vomiting from Christmas Eve straight through Santa and into the night the next day. Lester was cradled in my arms.. The second memory is another Christmas. The year prior, I cracked his face. And thankfully under the tree was a brand new Lester. Either from the Sears Catalog or Santa . .  I have a photo of me somewhere with the doll .. I will try to find it and post it for you to see, as proof that Lester was not scary but quite friendly indeed.

Lester was  a fine toy. There were plenty more nasty memories of toys and creepy things from childhood.. Don’t pick on Lester.

You want something really, really scary? 

TRY LADY ABERLIN FROM MR. ROGERS.. Now that was creepy.

A southwest scorcher of epic proportions

A southwest scorcher of epic proportions :

The ASSOCIATED PRESS reports the following about a sudden and urgent heatwave across the Southwest United States:

Phoenix didn’t reach 120 this weekend as forecasters said was possible, but Yuma, in the southwestern corner of the state, did. Plus, weather service meteorologist Andrew Deemer said he had “no doubt there are places in the Valley that hit 120 or so.”

On social media, residents commiserated by posting photos of boiling temperature readings on car thermometers and cellphones.

Some still ventured outside for quick errands. Kim Leeds, 28, had to take her dog Bo outside in the early afternoon for a bathroom break. The Australian shepherd wears special booties with rubber bottoms.

“He does really well with them. He doesn’t mind walking around,” Leeds said.

Preparing to enter her fourth summer in Phoenix, Leeds also decided to experiment with her car.

“I’m totally reveling in this experience because I’m actually baking cookies in my car,” Leeds said. “I’ve been here long enough that I’ve got to do these things.”

Temperatures aren’t falling soon. California is actually getting abundantly worried about what may occur with its power grid–informing residents to conserve water and electricity.. Easier said than done with a temperature above 120..

Meanwhile……..It’s summer. The solstice upon us, a Strawberry Full Moon behind us.

HOT TIMES AHEAD.

Man dies in cinema while watching The Conjuring 2 – and body goes missing

Man dies in cinema while watching The Conjuring 2 – and body goes missing:

This is going to fire up the paranormal activity surrounding the newest CONJURING film.. Here is the basic gist:

The incident occurred at the Sri Balasubramaniar Cinema in Tiruvannamalai, a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The cinema-goer, from Andhra Pradesh, had complained of chest pains during the film’s climax, and fainted shortly afterwards.

The story gets even weirder in the post-mortem period.. According to several published reports, the dead body and the person in charge of the body BOTH WENT MISSING after the corpse was sent to a medical location for research..

Some are acknowledging that there could be a perfectly rational explanation for the strange set of circumstances. But indeed, given the movie’s subject matter, rumors online are abounding about the possibility that this body and soul could have been devoured by the devil!

There is another video, perhaps you saw it, of a girl supposedly becoming possessed while watching THE CONJURING 2.. I didn’t see it yet. Really not sure if I am interested in it, really..

This whole conjuring CONJURING manure is similar to what happened in the post AMITYVILLE HORROR or EXORCIST screenings of the 1970s–back when claims were made of in theater possessions and heart attacks. All of the reports go to either help or hurt a movie. In the case of horror, anything like missing bodies or deaths during the film will prolong the chances of the movie’s staying power…

Kraken rumors rife as giant ‘sea creature’ spotted off Antarctica by Google Earth

Kraken rumors rife as giant ‘sea creature’ spotted off Antarctica by Google Earth :

scarystoriestouploadinthedark:

Kraken? Or a UFO? Or something else..

This has gone viral..

The Creepy Raggedy Ann origin

I never had a Raggedy Ann doll.. I never wanted to to be honest. When I was younger, it was the one toy that honestly freaked me out. Something was just un-quaint about it.. it was anti-calming, like a piece of folklore got disheveled with paranormal hauntings, made into a doll for you to own.

For that reason, I was most interested in an article appearing on my newsfeed this morning hypothesizing that the origin of Raggedy Ann came from a tragic vaccine injury that led to a girl’s death..

The story goes somewhat like this..

Not long after the creation of the much beloved Raggedy Ann, Gruelle’s only child and 13 year old daughter Marcella died a painful death after receiving a routine small pox vaccination at school, which was given without parental consent.

Reports indicate that after the initial inoculation Marcella had, “… lost her appetite, and became feverish and fatigued.” Amazingly, more inoculations were given despite her negative reaction from the first jab. Predictably Marcella’s health continued to decline to the point where she lost all muscle control, “becoming listless and lifeless like a rag doll.”

While all this was going on at school, her parents knew nothing about it and had never ever given their consent for any vaccinations.

Sadly, Marcella died a slow and agonizing death. The Gruelle’s were convinced beyond any doubt that the vaccination was the culprit behind the death of their only child, even though school authorities and vaccination proponents insisted Marcella had died from a preexisting heart defect.

Ultimately, “Seven leading physicians are called upon to opine about the cause of her death. Six consented it is the result of vaccine induced poisoning and call it malpractice. The seventh, being the head of the school board and a supporter of vaccination, declines to comment.”

If this story is to believed, the doll was created to entertain a child who was slowly dying after being given vaccines that injured her..

There are more than one theory of the origins of the doll, though.. This, taken from another website, explained, “

There are more legends about Raggedy Ann and Andy than there is space to recount them. Like any popular phenomenon – especially those for which well-documented information may not be plentiful– legends become a way to explain the unexplainable, fill in the gaps, and make sense of conflicting or confusing data. In interpreting the Raggedys’ 75-plus year history, the facts are extremely important. But, not at the exclusion of the legends. These fanciful accountings not only round out the story of the Raggedys (and shed light on the whimsical heart of their creator, Johnny Gruelle) – they also reveal our own unerring desire for Raggedy Ann and Andy to stay in perpetual possession of the whimsical, magical, make-believe dossiers Johnny Gruelle created for them.”

I want to delve deeper into this–and not only Raggedy Ann, but the origins of some other ‘well meaninged’ toys and symbols of innocence.. 

Clowns.. bright red noses. Death.
Raggedy Ann.. a little doll providing comfort to a sick child before death..
So many things that we have somehow come to accept as symbols of life actually tend to be reminders of peril.

THE END IS NIGH. BYE.

It happens so often.. not a month goes by–or full moon or solstice in this case–where we aren’t worried about end times..

Timothy Halloran, who runs the Rasa Lila Healing YouTube astrology channel, filmed a chilling video in woods in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday warning that the events around the Pagan-celebrated solstice may not be a calm and spiritual as people imagine.

He spoke of fears of an “increased energy” bringing about “madness, hallucinations and delusions of grandeur” among the population.

Mr Halloran, whose facial expressions and mannerisms have been compared to those of Russell Brand, the British comic turned turned revolutionist, prioduced promotional material for the video, called Full Moon in Sagittarius, June 16 2016 - Psychic Warfare and Crusading.

The UK EXPRESS has the rest. Including the ‘psychic’s’ photo..

And this as well:

He urged people to “bite the bullet” to see the “mechanism beneath the surface” rather than becoming “more delusional, even more crazy and even more in denial”.

After another rocky time of eclipses in September, will come peace through the dwarf planet Ceres.

He said: “What is light at the end of the tunnel is Ceres is saying peace and love

"Things will start to calm down going into the future.

"After all the changes, all the awaking, the electro shock, then comes Cancer nurturing time - back into our beloved ones circles, our tribes and empathy for one another.”

Okay.

The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of tragedy.. We...

The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of tragedy..

We are dealing with the mass shooting terror attack in Orlando.. the major news outlets gave us countless hours of coverage of the gorilla at the zoo being killed. Over the past 24 hours, we have been subjected to endless and tearful reports about the boy in Orlando Florida drug into the water by an alligator and virtually devoured..

Tonight, a mom took to social media to share an image of her own son playing in the exact same waters–right before the other boy was taken as a matter of fact–that the alligator attacked at..

It has been endlessly sad.. . cruel and callous.. the world seemingly is a hair trigger away from insanity. And we are going insane watching it all..

This late spring night’s madness is catching up to me a bit..
I ask, cautiously, this question: Do we simply know TOO much?

Gone are the days when news stories took time to circulate the world. Now it’s rapid fire–within moments, seconds.. Social media shared the “Chewbacca mom” and within a few minutes she rose to stardom, even now asking for $20 bucks a pop for autographs at public events.  The gorilla being shot was a national obsession.. The alligator, a tragic and awful story, is also becoming a major worldwide news event..

And people are judging.
Oh, are they ever.
People are saying “those parents should be taken to jail.” It even briefly turned into a mini-race battle on Twitter after each tragic event over the past few weeks…

We are so at each other’s throats anymore, aren’t we? So totally engaged but yet disengaged when it comes to true conversation. Keyboard warriors are battling in basements… the real conversation of humanity has ended. Now we’re virtual.
And living in a virtual world, we can get to know too much..

I am not discounting the tragic nature of the adorable and innocent boy being snatched by the alligator.. but I ask, simply, should we all be subjected to a barrage of media coverage about it?  Should we, as individual consumers of media, let this eat away at our psyche?  Is the 24/7 news stream damaging our actual existence, ruining our creative impulses, and ending our freedom to speak while at the same insane time giving us the amazing platform to say anything?

It is so immensely sad to watch news of the day… So incredibly painful to see grief and strife as it develops around the world. I get why people tune out. I understand why it is a turn off..

Bad news sells.
I just simply want to know if bad news is doing our bodies harm..
I am starting to think it is.

Not too many people know this, but one of my favorite movies in M. Night Shyamalan’s LADY IN THE WATER. Fine, laugh if you want. I found the film to be amazingly simple, quiet, and peaceful. Calm when we need it most–innocent to the most degree, and suggestive that humanity can be good.

The film features a character who, quite honestly, I fear I will be one day later in life.

A few years ago, I wrote an article titled “Mr. Leeds is watching.”

 I wrote then,

Despite it being one of the lowest rated movies of M. Night Shyamalan’s career, I loved LADY IN THE WATER. There is one character in particular who reminds me of so many people in our current time.. His name was “Mr. Leeds” played by actor Bill Irwin.  He is one of the tenants in the apartment building where a magical fairy tale will soon ensue.. but until it does, he is busy daily watching his television set of the latest scenes of chaos, strife, warfare and murder across the planet. Shyamalan presents him as a stoic man, someone who seemingly watches in a silent agony as the chilling news broadcasts play out 24/7 in his living room. And really, isn’t that all of us? The silent majority, not condemning the atrocities across the earth but instead attempting to live our lives as though they aren’t happening? Traveling to work in heavy traffic, consumed by radio interfering with our souls, standing around a water cooler with mindless dribble spewing? That is us.. We are good at heart.. But scared of the consequences of speaking out.

I am going through a period of time where, reflecting on the turmoil if past and present, I am re-evaluating just how often and to what length of time news consumption should occur..  Does watching the repetitive acts of human atrocity almost add to it? Make it continue? Force it into the zeitgeist so much so that we can’t escape its evil clutches?
Has the 24/7 news cycle create a pack of vultures.. we scour the headlines for the worst possible matter .. we consume and regurgitate, argue and point fingers.. and then quickly move on to the next carcass in our sight?

Perhaps a time out is needed..Instead of partaking in the less than blissful news cycle, just recoil into your cot and figure out how to concentrate for a bit..
And perhaps reflect on a very famous poem by 

“The Guest House,” by the Sufi mystic Rumi… 

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

Asymmetric molecule, key to life, detected in space for first time

Asymmetric molecule, key to life, detected in space for first time:

THIS FROM REUTERS. 

Scientists for the first time have found a complex organic molecule in space that bears the same asymmetric structure as molecules that are key to life on Earth.

The researchers said on Tuesday they detected the complex organic molecule called propylene oxide in a giant cloud of gas and dust near the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Akin to a pair of human hands, certain organic molecules including propylene oxide possess mirror-like versions of themselves, a chemical property called chirality. Scientists have long pondered why living things make use of only one version of certain molecules, such as the “right-handed” form of the sugar ribose, which is the backbone of DNA.

I still think we were seeded on earth. By accident. Or on purpose.

Fishwrap: Confidence in newspapers, TV news hits bottom

Fishwrap: Confidence in newspapers, TV news hits bottom :

Gallup found that just 20 percent have confidence in newspapers, a 10-point drop in 10 years. TV news saw an identical 10-point drop, from 31 percent to 21 percent.

But I don’t think it’s the left vs right issue causing this .. I think it’s a modern age vs old style 20th century style of thought.

Journalism is not dead. Paid journalism may be. And that’s going to be the struggle of modern reporting.