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The Agents of F.L.A.S.K.
- Thread starter Tiki Tom
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Tiki Tom
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The Borg arrive in the U.K.!
Of course, ”it is just a cloud.” Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, please. Perfectly square clouds occur every day.
Or perhaps it’s some sort of cloaking device?
How weird do you find this on a one to ten scale? (One= not weird at all. ten= highly weird/hard to buy the conventional explanation.)
Of course, ”it is just a cloud.” Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, please. Perfectly square clouds occur every day.
Or perhaps it’s some sort of cloaking device?
How weird do you find this on a one to ten scale? (One= not weird at all. ten= highly weird/hard to buy the conventional explanation.)
Tiki Tom
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Believe whatever you want to believe…
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/s...-windsor-castle-queen-elizabeth-death-photos/
https://www.newsweek.com/queen-eliz...e-rainbows-immediately-appear-britain-1741244
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/s...-windsor-castle-queen-elizabeth-death-photos/
https://www.newsweek.com/queen-eliz...e-rainbows-immediately-appear-britain-1741244
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Tiki Tom
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Monster of the week!
U.S. Navy ship attacked by unknown creature.
Apparently this is a true story.
Most noteworthy is the estimated size of the creature (assumed to have been a giant squid.)
On the one hand, the wold‘s oceans are vast and largely unexplored. On the other hand, why hasn’t a fishing boat ever caught one of these things?
This is a remarkable story.
https://www.iflscience.com/the-uss-...avy-frigate-shredding-parts-of-its-hull-65325
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Stein
U.S. Navy ship attacked by unknown creature.
Apparently this is a true story.
Most noteworthy is the estimated size of the creature (assumed to have been a giant squid.)
On the one hand, the wold‘s oceans are vast and largely unexplored. On the other hand, why hasn’t a fishing boat ever caught one of these things?
This is a remarkable story.
https://www.iflscience.com/the-uss-...avy-frigate-shredding-parts-of-its-hull-65325
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Stein
Tiki Tom
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From the Irish press. Literally: A fairy tale.
Dublin Live reports that a woman claims to have taken a walk in the Irish woods and to have passed through a portal. Fairy voices called out to her and tried to lure her to her doom.
Takeaway pro tip: If you find yourself in such a situation, turning your clothing inside out may help.
”I have a professional job,” the woman assures us, “I’m not crazy.”
Somehow, I find it reassuring to learn that fairy folk can Still be found on the Emerald Isle.
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/womans-terrifying-ordeal-after-hearing-25006288
Dublin Live reports that a woman claims to have taken a walk in the Irish woods and to have passed through a portal. Fairy voices called out to her and tried to lure her to her doom.
Takeaway pro tip: If you find yourself in such a situation, turning your clothing inside out may help.
”I have a professional job,” the woman assures us, “I’m not crazy.”
Somehow, I find it reassuring to learn that fairy folk can Still be found on the Emerald Isle.
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/womans-terrifying-ordeal-after-hearing-25006288
Who?
Practically Family
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Point of order.The Borg arrive in the U.K.!
Of course, ”it is just a cloud.” Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, please. Perfectly square clouds occur every day.
Or perhaps it’s some sort of cloaking device?
How weird do you find this on a one to ten scale? (One= not weird at all. ten= highly weird/hard to buy the conventional explanation.)
Not a cube …. The third dimension is much shorter than the other two.
Tiki Tom
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Robert Bigelow (founder of Bigelow Aerospace; net worth $700 million) is at it again.
You will recall that some time ago, Mr Bigelow paid a prize of $500,000 for the best essay on the subject of “best proof of life after death”. (See response #504, above. The winning submission is worth a read. It provides a wide range of evidence. Most of it anecdotal.)
Anyway, building upon the success of that contest, Bigelow is giving us a new challenge and a new opportunity to win up to $1 million.
This time the challenge is to propose research regarding communication with the afterlife.
https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/grant.html
You can’t make this stuff up.
Since the Fedora Lounge Adventure Speakeasy Klub (F.L.A.S.K.) has been investigating and discussing strange mysteries and occurrences since 2015, perhaps we are qualified to throw our hat into the ring. A fine Fedora, of course.
The question is: How would we even design such a research proposal? How could it be made scientifically verifiable and replicatable? Where is the line between legitimate research and jousting at windmills? Probably start by trying to find someone with a reputation for “real” psychic powers and test the hell out of them (trying to weed out the frauds). Ha ha! Then what?
Is Mr Bigelow pushing the boundaries of knowledge? Or wasting his money?
Well, we shall soon find out. I’m looking forward to reading the winning proposal. Deadline is April 1, 2023.
(2023 should be an interesting year. I’m waiting for the DNA results from Marshal Ney’s grave in North Carolina!)
You will recall that some time ago, Mr Bigelow paid a prize of $500,000 for the best essay on the subject of “best proof of life after death”. (See response #504, above. The winning submission is worth a read. It provides a wide range of evidence. Most of it anecdotal.)
Anyway, building upon the success of that contest, Bigelow is giving us a new challenge and a new opportunity to win up to $1 million.
This time the challenge is to propose research regarding communication with the afterlife.
https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/grant.html
You can’t make this stuff up.
Since the Fedora Lounge Adventure Speakeasy Klub (F.L.A.S.K.) has been investigating and discussing strange mysteries and occurrences since 2015, perhaps we are qualified to throw our hat into the ring. A fine Fedora, of course.
The question is: How would we even design such a research proposal? How could it be made scientifically verifiable and replicatable? Where is the line between legitimate research and jousting at windmills? Probably start by trying to find someone with a reputation for “real” psychic powers and test the hell out of them (trying to weed out the frauds). Ha ha! Then what?
Is Mr Bigelow pushing the boundaries of knowledge? Or wasting his money?
Well, we shall soon find out. I’m looking forward to reading the winning proposal. Deadline is April 1, 2023.
(2023 should be an interesting year. I’m waiting for the DNA results from Marshal Ney’s grave in North Carolina!)
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Tiki Tom
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October has arrived. It is the official month for celebrating strange phenomena.
According to this BBC story, for more than 100 years people have been seeing strange orange lights hovering just off the ground on a lonely stretch of road near Route 66 in Oklahoma. The lights were first documented in 1881 (before the automobile) and the Army Corps of Engineers has dubbed them real, but unexplained. Theories include “swamp gas”, Indian spirits, and automobile headlights seen at a distance. Locals swear that the phenomenon is real. Debunkers claim that people are too stupid to recognize car headlights. Which way do you lean? (The headlights theory sounds pretty unlikely to me.)
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221006-route-66s-glowing-mystery-orb
More info: (This one claims the lights were first seen in the 1830s.)
https://www.joplinmo.org/575/The-Spook-Light
Happy Halloween! If you have any stories of the unexplained, don’t hesitate to share.
According to this BBC story, for more than 100 years people have been seeing strange orange lights hovering just off the ground on a lonely stretch of road near Route 66 in Oklahoma. The lights were first documented in 1881 (before the automobile) and the Army Corps of Engineers has dubbed them real, but unexplained. Theories include “swamp gas”, Indian spirits, and automobile headlights seen at a distance. Locals swear that the phenomenon is real. Debunkers claim that people are too stupid to recognize car headlights. Which way do you lean? (The headlights theory sounds pretty unlikely to me.)
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221006-route-66s-glowing-mystery-orb
More info: (This one claims the lights were first seen in the 1830s.)
https://www.joplinmo.org/575/The-Spook-Light
Happy Halloween! If you have any stories of the unexplained, don’t hesitate to share.
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Tiki Tom
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Whoa! This is a pretty good one. Less than a two minute video. Comes to us from Taiwan. It gets better towards the end. It kind of reminds me of the giant mothership from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. —- Of course, since it is from Taiwan, maybe we should not discount the possibility that it’s some sort of psychological/electronic warfare technique, courtesy of the Mainland Chinese.
Tiki Tom
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”submitted for your approval”
The following link is to a posting board operated by the “Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences (AAPS)”.
The board is titled “The Archives of Scientists’ Transcendental Experiences (TASTE)”.
In a nutshell TASTE advertises itself as a safe place where accredited scientists can anonymously divulge paranormal/mystical/unexplained Experiences that they have had without fear of judgement. The site verifies the identity of the poster before publishing. In practice, many of the posters are quite senior and have no qualms about saying exactly who they are.
To get a taste of it, you might read the very top one (#97, “Following the evidence that is way beyond chance” by a Harvard Ph.D who now teaches at Arizona State and who names himself). At first you, as I did, might say “meh. Coincidence, coincidence.” But then —as he takes you down the rabbit hole— it DOES get pretty eerie. Coincidence? That’s for you to decide. But that business about the dog and it’s owner does seem like a crazy long shot.
Other entries cover visitations from newly dead friends, walking on hot coals, out of body experiences, very strange run-ins with parallel universes, etc., etc.
Anyway… It is not a crank site, in so far as it is managed By a very serious researcher and the entries made by his colleagues are, if nothing else, earnest.
As Rod Serling would say: “Submitted for your approval.”
https://www.aapsglobal.com/taste/
The following link is to a posting board operated by the “Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences (AAPS)”.
The board is titled “The Archives of Scientists’ Transcendental Experiences (TASTE)”.
In a nutshell TASTE advertises itself as a safe place where accredited scientists can anonymously divulge paranormal/mystical/unexplained Experiences that they have had without fear of judgement. The site verifies the identity of the poster before publishing. In practice, many of the posters are quite senior and have no qualms about saying exactly who they are.
To get a taste of it, you might read the very top one (#97, “Following the evidence that is way beyond chance” by a Harvard Ph.D who now teaches at Arizona State and who names himself). At first you, as I did, might say “meh. Coincidence, coincidence.” But then —as he takes you down the rabbit hole— it DOES get pretty eerie. Coincidence? That’s for you to decide. But that business about the dog and it’s owner does seem like a crazy long shot.
Other entries cover visitations from newly dead friends, walking on hot coals, out of body experiences, very strange run-ins with parallel universes, etc., etc.
Anyway… It is not a crank site, in so far as it is managed By a very serious researcher and the entries made by his colleagues are, if nothing else, earnest.
As Rod Serling would say: “Submitted for your approval.”
https://www.aapsglobal.com/taste/
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Tiki Tom
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Proof of time travel?
what do you see in this painting from the 1860s?
what do you see in this painting from the 1860s?
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I see what appears to be a young-ish woman, walking up a hill holding a small cup or bowl, perhaps filled with tea, coffee, or soup. Yeah, I know, we're supposed to see a cell phone in her hands, but I'm not falling for that.
Tiki Tom
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And you let these people vote???
https://today.yougov.com/topics/soc...americans-describe-paranormal-encounters-poll
https://today.yougov.com/topics/soc...americans-describe-paranormal-encounters-poll
Tiki Tom
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Weird and creepy. Let the countdown to Halloween begin.
What do you make of this? Firstly, I want to believe the woman who is posting this. She seems believable (yes, I fall for pretty faces.) But, giving the benefit of the doubt, what’s to be made of this piece of high strangeness?
What do you make of this? Firstly, I want to believe the woman who is posting this. She seems believable (yes, I fall for pretty faces.) But, giving the benefit of the doubt, what’s to be made of this piece of high strangeness?
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The first thing these people need to do is STOP MOVING THE CAMERA!!! They appear to be thinking they'll get better/more footage, but all they're doing is making what they want us to see blurry and ill-defined, which works against their purpose. Second, that could be almost ANYTHING.
Tiki Tom
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Happy Halloween.
Today’s CNN story about the modern vampire “courts” that can be found in New Orleans and Atlanta turned out to be kinda disappointing. It makes them sound like they are just misunderstood members of a group about as exciting as the Shriners, Lions, or Toastmasters. Although the article vaguely talks about how vampires like to feed on psychic energy and hints that some of them get their psychic energy from lots of sex, that’s about as interesting as it gets. Minimal talk about blood or the occult. Surprisingly, he says vampires can come from any religious orientation (!?!?). It’s almost as if CNN doesn’t want to get called out for anti-vampirist discrimination. I wouldn’t be surprised.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/29/us/real-vampires-new-orleans-atlanta-cec/index.html
Having lived a few years in Vienna, Austria, I had heard that there is a Vampire Court in that city too. (Sounds more believable than Atlanta!) However, for one reason or another, I never bothered to investigate the story. And I wouldn’t know where to start. But that was the first time my attention was piqued, as in “Really? There are people who self identify as vampires? Really? What do they do? What do they believe?”
But I set that thought aside until today’s CNN headline about communities of modern vampires. Thinking that CNN did not sufficiently drink the vampire Kool-aid, I dug a little deeper…
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2010/real-life-vampires/
Hmmm. Okay, a little more blood… but they apparently get it from willing donors and only a few drops at a time from syringes. That bit about having invisible tentacles to dip into peoples auras was new though.
Bottom line: yes, there is a small group of people who self identify as Vampires. However, unlike witches, I have never personally known a vampire as far as I know. Witches are MUCH more common. I have bumped into quite a few witches in my day, although most of them just seem like vegans with a thing for homeopathic medicine. Shrugs.
How about you? Has anyone ever met a person who self identifies as a Vampire?? Next up: Werewolves!
Happy Halloween
Today’s CNN story about the modern vampire “courts” that can be found in New Orleans and Atlanta turned out to be kinda disappointing. It makes them sound like they are just misunderstood members of a group about as exciting as the Shriners, Lions, or Toastmasters. Although the article vaguely talks about how vampires like to feed on psychic energy and hints that some of them get their psychic energy from lots of sex, that’s about as interesting as it gets. Minimal talk about blood or the occult. Surprisingly, he says vampires can come from any religious orientation (!?!?). It’s almost as if CNN doesn’t want to get called out for anti-vampirist discrimination. I wouldn’t be surprised.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/29/us/real-vampires-new-orleans-atlanta-cec/index.html
Having lived a few years in Vienna, Austria, I had heard that there is a Vampire Court in that city too. (Sounds more believable than Atlanta!) However, for one reason or another, I never bothered to investigate the story. And I wouldn’t know where to start. But that was the first time my attention was piqued, as in “Really? There are people who self identify as vampires? Really? What do they do? What do they believe?”
But I set that thought aside until today’s CNN headline about communities of modern vampires. Thinking that CNN did not sufficiently drink the vampire Kool-aid, I dug a little deeper…
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2010/real-life-vampires/
Hmmm. Okay, a little more blood… but they apparently get it from willing donors and only a few drops at a time from syringes. That bit about having invisible tentacles to dip into peoples auras was new though.
Bottom line: yes, there is a small group of people who self identify as Vampires. However, unlike witches, I have never personally known a vampire as far as I know. Witches are MUCH more common. I have bumped into quite a few witches in my day, although most of them just seem like vegans with a thing for homeopathic medicine. Shrugs.
How about you? Has anyone ever met a person who self identifies as a Vampire?? Next up: Werewolves!
Happy Halloween
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Many years ago when I was still working my wife and I and assorted friends would go out to dinner on Friday nights, just a little way of rewarding ourselves for making it through another week. At a local Marie Calendars the wait staff in the bar were almost all friends of ours outside of that restaurant, and eventually one of them revealed that our group was known among the wait staff as "The Vampires" because they only saw us at night.
Not exactly the type of story you were looking for, but real vampires (and werewolves, and Bigfoot, and cupacabra, and...) are just another extraterrestrial species.
Tiki Tom
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Great story!
on a similar vein (get it?), we have a woman friend who is sometimes referred to as “the vampire”. Reason: her skin is very very pale and white and blemish free. The fact that she often wears black only enhances the effect. She does not self identify as one of Dracula’s brethren, but the label is often applied to her nonetheless.
on a similar vein (get it?), we have a woman friend who is sometimes referred to as “the vampire”. Reason: her skin is very very pale and white and blemish free. The fact that she often wears black only enhances the effect. She does not self identify as one of Dracula’s brethren, but the label is often applied to her nonetheless.
Tiki Tom
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Final Halloween oddity. This one —as promised— is about a real (true?) werewolf story, “The Beast of Bray Road”.
What makes this interesting is that, back when it was breaking news, the story was assigned to a local reporter, Linda Godfrey. At first, it was just another assignment and, initially, Linda did not give the story much credence. But, gradually, after interviewing many witnesses, she came to the conclusion that there must be some truth to the stories about a wolf man in Wisconsin. She became obsessed with the tale and ended up writing a book about it.
https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Bray-Road-Wisconsins-Werewolf/dp/B098H61S18/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GWSI3XWY7ZYU&keywords=beast+of+bray+road&qid=1667163511&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjI0IiwicXNhIjoiMi42NiIsInFzcCI6IjMuMTUifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=Beast+of+bray%2Cstripbooks%2C304&sr=1-1
I guess it’s one of those unexplainable things. Like vampires, werewolves have been the stuff of legend for a long time. “When the moon is full…”. Might there not be a grain of truth in it?
What makes this interesting is that, back when it was breaking news, the story was assigned to a local reporter, Linda Godfrey. At first, it was just another assignment and, initially, Linda did not give the story much credence. But, gradually, after interviewing many witnesses, she came to the conclusion that there must be some truth to the stories about a wolf man in Wisconsin. She became obsessed with the tale and ended up writing a book about it.
https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Bray-Road-Wisconsins-Werewolf/dp/B098H61S18/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GWSI3XWY7ZYU&keywords=beast+of+bray+road&qid=1667163511&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjI0IiwicXNhIjoiMi42NiIsInFzcCI6IjMuMTUifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=Beast+of+bray%2Cstripbooks%2C304&sr=1-1
I guess it’s one of those unexplainable things. Like vampires, werewolves have been the stuff of legend for a long time. “When the moon is full…”. Might there not be a grain of truth in it?
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