Archive for June 2013

Hellhounds…

June 27, 2013

Hellhounds– – Hellhounds as profiled on Syfy’s “Haunted Highway” show in a 2012 episode are supposedly the spirits of vicious dogs that were once abused by miners in the El Dorado Canyon in Nevada; attributed to be horse-high and razor-fanged,  they were sought by investigators Jack Osbourne and Dana Workman in the vicinity of the abandoned Knob Hill mine. 

A remote control car with a camera attachment was originally sent into the mine, but it malfunctioned, necessitating that the researchers enter the mine personally.  One supposedly summons such hellhounds by rattling a chain, and darned if they didn’t do just that, and to no effect; a lamp set upon a boulder to light their way back had been upset, however, by an unknown force.   A heat signature image of some kind of canine was earlier captured, which a consulted biologist upon reviewing the thermal footage contended could easily have been a coyote…others say it was a trained German Shepherd!  An EVP recording of a strange growling sound was also obtained, but overall the study was inconclusive.

I like the idea of terrifying spectral demon dogs, and we remember that hellhounds were among the monsters most feared by “Supernatural’s” Sam and Dean Winchester..

Manchester’s Rotating Egyptian Statue…

June 25, 2013

statue– – I love the notion of accursed artifacts, articles from antiquity bearing some kind of spell, curse, or enchantment.  Because of this, I think it’s totally cool that an ancient Egyptian statuette in the Manchester Museum in Great Britain is rotating seemingly on its own, and sensibly away from visiting tourists!  This ten-inch high statue, an offering to Osiris the ancient Egyptian God of Death,  dates back to about 1800 BC, and has been in the museum’s collection for about 80 years.

Some, of course, are claiming that supernatural forces are behind the statue’s rotation, while physicist Brian Cox offers the explanation that the movement is a function of differential friction, where the subtle vibrations of passing foot traffic make the statue move; the statuette only moves in the daytime during museum hours.  But before we call out the Hardy boys or arm mummy nemesis Brendan Fraser with a gun, perhaps we should harken to the inscription on the back of the figure, and provision it with the beer, bread, and beef that it’s calling for from one of the many excellent English pubs about…

Dorothy and Alice…

June 21, 2013

Dorothy and Alice

— Ah, the stories, the wonderful fantastic tales that could be shared if Dorothy from “Oz” and Alice from “Wonderland” could sit down together, and compare notes on a pleasant summer afternoon!  I’d surely pull up a chair to listen in to that conversation!

Alice could open by relating how she followed a white rabbit with a watch who seemed much preoccupied with the time, while Dorothy could share an encounter with a cowardly lion. Alice might speak of meeting a hookah-smoking caterpillar, while Dorothy could regale us with descriptions of flying monkeys. There would be reports of animal abuse, too, such as Alice’s description of a croquet game with flamingos used as mallets, and Dorothy’s account of a green-hued witch threatening her small dog.

Some of the strangest furry encounters in literature have been described or related by children, or by those with child-like, open minds. Weird shit, indeed, and oddly compelling…

Termites Are Monsters!

June 13, 2013

termites– – A new Terminix campaign visually supersizes termites and other household pests, making them visually repellent and a disgusting joy to watch.  Rather than the small and largely unseen insects that termites actually are, these are giant, horrific hell-beasts that look fully capable of eating your house and probably anyone inside it as well.  They are delivered to viewers complete with eerie horror-movie sounds and sinister voiceovers; Syfy original movie monsters should be half this good!  One almost expects to see Ellen Ripley and a squadron of space marines appear to dispatch these loathsome and dangerous beasties, getting slaughtered in the process…the termites even have circular buzz-saw type jaws within jaws!

 

…fearmongering sells, ‘ya see, as the political world has long since discovered!

Red Stag Breakaway Commercial…

June 8, 2013

red stag breakaway– – While we’re certainly not in the business of promoting alcoholic beverages here, the Red Stag Breakaway commercial for Jim Beam bourbon is a dazzling display of a stag on steroids.  The big red guy begins his dramatic run in a residential neighborhood, then takes a turn into the city…and talk about burning up the pavement!  A trail of flame initially follows the stag and cobblestones crumble beneath his mighty hooves as the stag charges ahead, literally running up walls and on the side of buildings to reach his final lofty height.  It’s kind of like The Flash on four legs; what a rush with this scarlet speedster!

Maxwell and Ted Have Hail Damage…

June 3, 2013

Boating Maxwell– – Hipster Maxwell the pig may have hail damage to his baby blue VW Cabriolet, but he’s so slick that he speedily gets an appointment through his Geico app with an insurance adjuster, and as fellow hail damage sufferer Ted struggles on hold with his insurance company, Maxwell even has time to steal Ted’s girlfriend away, and go boating with her!  “Later, Ted!,” chortles the nameless fickle girl. –What is it with pigs, anyhow, that makes them “chick magnets?”  Perhaps because they’re both farm animals…

Now if only they could have attached Maxwell’s trademark pinwheels to the handles of his Skidoo!  This porker gets out and about more than most of us do…but just remember that relationships with pigs are illegal in most states! 

Mermaid Mania!

June 1, 2013

mermaids– – Even in the rarified world of cryptozoology, consideration of mermaids has fallen into the realm of the really far out there stuff, to be greeted perhaps with rolling of the eyes and snide remarks.  Most likely this is because treatment of the very topic of mermaids/mermen has been tainted by embodiment in fairy tales and the Disney treatment in popular culture; we are inclined to think of mermaids as merchandised items, as plastic toys carried about and loved by small girls.  If we think of mermaids and mermen as being less like My Little Pony collectables, we’re finally at a stage where we can give the topic more serious consideration.  

Specials on the Animal Planet network have sparked new treatments of the mermaid topic, complete with the ambiguous videos and reported missing body parts, allegations that we’ve come to associate with Bigfoot investigations.  There’s even a linkage of sorts in that mermaids and mermen are speculated to be a kind of “water ape” that has evolved back to an aquatic existence from a previous incarnation on dry land.

First there was Mermaids:  The Body Found airing in May 2012, a docu-fiction including the tantalizing tale of inexplicable body parts brought forth from the stomach of a Great White shark on the South African shore that matched no other known species, body parts that represented perhaps 30% of a complete individual possessing mermaid characteristics, including morphological adaptations such as hands rather than fins, and an upright hip bone posture. While little of the skull of the specimen remained, reconstruction from what was present suggested the capacity for echolocation as is seen in aquatic mammals such as dolphins.  Researchers working with the remains had them as well as their research confiscated as they were about to return to the United States, or so alleges a reputed former NOAA scientist.

Remaining, however, are recordings of mysterious underwater noises coming from an unknown source which resembles a 1997 sound recording called the “bloop.”   This transmission contains known whale and dolphin sounds together with more sophisticated sounds of an unknown creature speculated to be communicating with the cetaceans.  There are also a number of disputed videos, including one reportedly taken by a boy on a cell phone camera following a mass whale beaching in 2007.  The images show in addition to whale carcasses and debris a still living humanoid-like creature that the boy maintains to have been a mermaid or merman…

For the record, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a statement denying the existence of mermaids or other aquatic humanoids.  Animal Planet has stated that the mermaid shows are not factual, and should be considered entertainment only; the shows are essentially science fiction, with some real events and speculative scientific theory incorporated.  While mermaids may be all wet, the ratings amassed by Mermaids:  The New Evidence are quite real, with 3.6 million viewers drawn, making the show the most viewed telecast on Animal Planet ever…