Archive for the ‘anomalies’ category

“Warehouse 13” Works!

July 8, 2009

Warehouse— If you haven’t heard, the Sci Fi channel has been re-branded Syfy; the old name was felt to be too limiting and geeky, conjuring up images of aliens, space ships, and ray guns.–Well, what’s wrong with them?!–Add mummies, the living dead,  mysterious ancient civilizations, cryptids, and I’d never tune anywhere else!

Anyways, Warehouse 13, kind of a hybrid of X-Files and Raiders of the Lost Ark, debuted on Syfy, and just might work with Saul Rubinek supervising a top-secret government storage facility in South Dakota that looks remarkably like the one glimpsed by Indy at the end of Raiders; fantastic and supernatural objects abound here, with Pandora’s box several rows over.   The gadgets alone have been described at “catnip for nerds;”  for example, there’s a wonderful ray gun designed by none less than Nikola Tesla.  Throw in Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly as stereotypically mismatched Secret Service agents in the Mulder/Scully tradition, and this fox might bat the catnip around a bit even if it seems familiar…

All God’s Kitties Got Wings?

June 3, 2009

cats-wings-2– – Not wishing to alarm you, valued readers, but you may wish to know that a cat has been born in Chongqing, China with wing-like growths on their back…moreover, other cats with this feature were noted in Sichuan province in China in August of 2008 (pictured).

“…and why not?,” you may ask.  “Don’t the Chinese manufacture everything else these days?”

The point is well-taken.  It is to be stressed that these are only wing-like growths, not true wings, even though there is bone in them.  The growths are non-functional at present, and do not seem to be causing the kitties any discomfort or emotional distress.  The speculation is that the growths resulted from exposure to chemicals in utero, or may be a genetic defect.- -The wings may even be the remnants of a cojoined twin!

All of this poses some interesting questions:

…if cats can fly, will pigs be far behind?

…are you in danger from aerial hairballs?

…wouldn’t “Skycat” be a great new Japanese anime character?

…would wings give “Sylvester” an unfair advantage over “Tweety?”

…would wings improve “Scratchy’s” odds against “Itchy?”

…wouldn’t “Catwoman” be even more awesome if she could fly?

(Directions:  Break into small groups to discuss the above.  Alternative activity:  sketch “Skycat”)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

– -Clearly, what is now needed is a cat with a set of wings that work… and I ask you, why isn’t MonsterQuest on top of this story?!    😉


Florida’s Sea Monster…

April 23, 2009

florida–It has a large, somewhat mammalian head, clawed fins, and a trident-like tail…so they say of Florida’s sea monster, with sightings dating back to the 1800’s.  There’s apparently more than one of these puppies, and they have the potential to move quickly with a lot of power.  Hours of video footage exist by a guy named Sowerwine showing bits and pieces of the creature.

MonsterQuest went to an ocean-fed coastal lake in Florida to investigate such legends of a sea monster with a forked tail, but the lake was full of sediment, and the divers couldn’t see diddly.  They did, however, have an intriguing sonar hit of something about 14 feet long moving quickly, although murky water conditions made it impossible to find the sucker.

One expert feels that the creature is a manatee, although the snout of the beast is skinnier and its eye and head structure appear different.  Others feel that the animal is a seal of some kind following the Gulf Stream, possibly a Hooded seal or a Caribbean Monk seal, thought to be extinct.  Then it may be a hybrid creature, part-manatee and part seal…

…at any rate, there’s something as yet undiscovered in Florida waters!

Pink Dolphin Found!

March 2, 2009

pink-dolphin–A pink Bottlenose dolphin has been found swimming in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA.  The dolphin is actually an albino variant, which is reflected in its reddish eyes. Other than its hue, the dolphin appears normal and healthy.

The dolphin has become such an attraction that conservationists have urged people to observe the animal at a respectful distance, and leave it alone!

Cattle Mutilations

February 13, 2009

mutilations–Cattle mutilations repel and fascinate at the same time; examination of the photographic record is not recommended for the overly-sensitive or those with weak stomachs.  Thousands of cattle mutilation cases have occurred in North America under abnormal circumstances; cows are found dead of undetermined causes, often exsanguinated  (all of the blood removed), and have had certain bodily organs removed with surgical precision.  Often reproductive and/or rectal organs have been removed as well.

Intriguingly, abnormally high radiation levels have at times been detected near the dead animals, and scavengers will not in some  cases touch the carcass; nor are there often footprints leading to and from the cows.  Clamp marks have been found on some animals’ legs suggesting that the cattle were taken from their usual habitat and mutilated elsewhere.  Sightings of UFOs and/or black helicopters have been associated with a number of cases.

A recent episode of MonsterQuest has dealt with the cattle mutilations, and one expert concluded that many although not all of the incidents may be attributed to natural predation from species such as coyotes; this explanation hardly explains such incidentals as irradiated soil where it occurs.  Satanic cults have been blamed for the mutilations, although there has been little supporting evidence of this.  The deaths have also been attributed to intelligence agency secret projects involving chemical weapons testing.  Others contend that the deaths were natural occurrences by viruses or lightning blown out of proportion, but the deaths look extraordinary rather than natural.  The extraterrestrial experimentation explanation seems to tie many incidentals together, and UFO “hotspots” such as Nevada and New Mexico have been especially hard hit by the occurrences…

“Skunk Fu” Worth A View!

January 19, 2009

skunk-fu-foxThe Cartoon Network tends to be a mixed bag, with some decent ‘toons and some better left forgotten.   A cute, funny, and very viewable series that didn’t originate there is Skunk Fu, featuring a panda kung fu master and a variety of martial-arts trained anthropomorphic animals.  Skunk is a likable, spunky title character given to laziness at times and seeking shortcuts.   Vulpines are well-represented by Fox, a vixen who is quite graceful and alluring and uses agility rather than strength to defeat her opponents;  Rabbit has a serious crush on her. Other animal characters include an ox, a snake, a turtle, a tiger, a bird, and a pig (among others that include insects).

Recurring enemies include a baboon with an Aussie accent, his legion of seldom-effective ninja monkies, and a dragon mastermind who was once a friend of Panda’s. The dragon had been assigned  to guard the animals of the valley, but grew arrogant and so was punished by Heaven with imprisonment; now he’s angry and bitter, and blames the animals for his situation.   Most of the other characters also have histories and at times, issues

Intended for children, Skunk Fu can be appreciated for a variety of things, including fight scenes uncommonly fluid for ‘toon characters…

The Yowie

December 19, 2008

yowie–Not to be confused with Howie Mandel, a Yowie is an unidentified hominid reputed to lurk in the Australian wilderness of Queensland.  This cryptid is similar to the North American Bigfoot and the Himalayan Yeti.

The creature, said to be a cross between a human and an ape with big red eyes, large canine teeth, and fangs emerges at night to eat whatever it can, including humans.  Grainy, blurry photo and video exists of the beast, including a video from  May of 2007.

Reports of Yowie-type creatures are common in the legends and stories of Australian Aboriginal tribes.   There were a wealth in sightings in the mid to late 19th Century, with reports having continued to the present day…

White Lion Cubs Born

December 18, 2008

whitelions121008–Two rare white lion cubs were born at the Belgrade Zoo in Serbia recently; aren’t they cute?   The mother of the cubs was a white lioness, while their father was a regular-color lion. White lions are not a separate species, nor are they albino.

A 2004 study counted only 30 white lions in the African wild; although considered divine by local African people, they are unfortunately also prized by hunters…

Significant UFO Sighting

November 4, 2008

tinley-park-ufo–Over Tinley Park in Illinois in August of 2004 occurred a UFO sighting regarded as one of the best documented sightings ever.  The phenomenon was witnessed by hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, and 25-30 videos of the event exist. Seen were lights in a triangular formation.

The official explanation that the lights were “flares attached to balloons” seems especially lame…

Body Parts Update…

October 26, 2008

–In October over a year ago in a post that has remained strangely popular, I wrote about a New York man who headed up a scheme to plunder cadavers at Philadelphia funeral homes and sell the stolen body parts.  This scheme involved carving up bodies without permission of the families of the deceased and without medical tests.  Authorities say the sometimes diseased parts were then sold for implants and other procedures…truly ghoulish and despicable crimes.

Well, the 45-year-old man involved has been sentenced to 25 to 58 years in prison, with this sentence to run concurrently with an 18-to 54-year prison sentence he received in New York.

“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit.  Crime does not pay…the Shadow knows!  –Ahahahahaha!”