News Briefs

News Briefs 09-05-2008

Turner Young — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:10:20 +0000

...And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

P. McCartney

5 days after the devastating cyclone, Yangon, Myanmar’s capital is still a city paralyzed. And with more rains to come and the initially rebuffed foreign aid only now starting to trickle in, many fear the conditions will only worsen (more here and here). If you’d like to help those affected by the storm, here are a few links to a few agencies assisting the people of Myanmar.
The still-erupting Chilean volcano, “Chaiten” causes thousands of evacuations. Meanwhile, local farms and animals are increasingly threatened by the white ash falling from the sky. More photos here. A satellite photo of the eruption, here. Chile has given holdouts a new ultimatum…
Amazonian rainforests threatened by clean air... And no, that’s not a typo.
Dubai entrepreneur redefines the meaning of horsepower.
No, you aren’t going crazy, Saturn *is* waving at you.
New findings show Mercury’s ‘iron snow’ helps maintain it’s magnetic field. Sadly, ironic snow is still waiting be discovered.
Wanna make $17,000 (US) the easy way? NASA study on the effects of microgravity will pay you 5k a month to lie in bed. Sam Lowry need not apply.
What do ‘Clowns on Velvet’, and a Lithuanian Zappa statue have in common? Oddly enough...it’s Baltimore. And in case you haven’t heard / seen enough of Frank as of late, here’s a little ditty from 1976… ‘Peaches en Regalia’.
Octocube has arrived. All hail Octotube. Wait, what is Octotube?
No wonder the time-stream’s been crowded... the Steampunks have gone mainstream!
Magnetic bracelets may be a bust, but magnetic rocks may be the key to finding life on Mars, (microscopically speaking, of course).
Contrary to popular belief, a new study claims. the Sahara dried out over thousands of years vs. abruptly. I didn’t actually see it happen, but I know a guy…
Tell me ‘lyes’, tell me sweet little ‘lyes’… If you’re in the market for a new method of corpse removal, alkaline hydrolysis may be your answer.
And while we’re on the subject of things-to-do-after-you’re-dead, here’s a little something from the 'too surreal not to be real' file. I give you… the reanimated mouse-jacket.
Why are all the bats dying in the Northeast? Looks like 'The Joker' may finally be getting his way…

Thanks to R.P. Junkie & Kat and G. Lee!

Quote of the Day:

A mind is like a parachute… It doesn't work if it's not open.

Frank Zappa

News Briefs 08-05-2008

red pill junkie — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:36:10 +0000

The time to awaken, is NOW.

Are Olympic Games really that important? And what is the price a nation is willing to pay for them? Let’s review the case of Mexico, 1968—China, pay attention.
Some say that Regina, the Queen of Mexico, died on that terrible day of 1968, in order to awaken our nation and the rest of the world. Who knows?
You need a lot of green to afford this green: Tesla Motors opens doors to the rich and famous.
Ever wondered how much energy you waste at your home? With this little gadget you can stop wondering. You think Al Gore has one of those?
Ok, you really wanna help the enviroment? Drop that doughnut and start eating bugs.
New in-body wi-fi could notify doctors of heart attack, but might compromise privacy… like letting strangers know WHO is causing your ol’ ticker to work in overdrive, for starters.
If you see someone lighting a cigarette, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. Secondhand smoke exposure can cause cell damage in 30 minutes.
We do live in a ‘Plastic World‘. And our children’s children’s children might pay a harsh price for it.
Ghosts and smell of victims haunt survivors of the Burma cyclone.
Idaho team readies artificial beak for wounded bald eagle. Guess the cat did win after all…
Platypus looks strange on the inside too. I mean, honestly! What was God thinking??
Science has finally looked into Yogi & Boo boo’s criminal antics. Next time will be Top Cat’s turn.
The Knitta movement: Guerrilla grannies? Official site here.
A picture of your face might not be worthy of belonging to the MOMA collection, but how about your DNA?
Astronomers found a solar system that looks like ours. Kind of an old link, but we here at TDG think its importance may be easily underestimated; besides most of you were probably partying during Spring Break, right?
Did Earth once have multiple moons?
Check out SETI’s new tool to snoop on ET’s private e-mail.
“Right Stuff” John Glenn says Space Shuttle flights should be extended.
Aerospace engineer applies for patent on flying saucer powered by ionised plasma and helium. Sorry guys, his name is not Zefram Cochrane.
Peak oil might explain lack of alien evidence. But I thought those evil reptilians were after our water!
Stick to Bigfoot & aliens, but if you start messing around with the “J” man, you might enrage some conservative bloggers, like the guy behind BLOODLINE just did. Also, see Loren Coleman’s response.
Blogging: a direct threat to the very fabric of society… if you live in Cuba, that is.
Whiz kid helps make groundbreaking archeological discovery. As a prize he will get one year of TDG news free of charge—the rest of you will start paying, BTW ;-)

Thanks Kat & Rick

Quote of the Day:

"To the land of the eagles its queen shall return
the prison of the Moon she'll be required to break
guardians of other times at her side will come
and joined all together battle they will give.

Wandering sleepwalkers will see her move forth
and the only one awake her aid shall ask
The worst and the best for her will unite
and the water fom the heavens will cleanse them all

To rings of the past the present will be heard
but only in the silence her voice will be listened
and in case of deafness a sacrifice shall be had
whose light for millenia the path will shine"

From the book "Regina: 2 de Octubre no se olvida",
by Antonio Velasco Piña

News Briefs 07-05-2008

Rick MG — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:45:57 +0000

One door may have closed, but another will open. If only I could find the lightswitch in the dark...

Exploring the Buddhist temples of Kamakura, Japan.
Bedouin and breakfast: staying at a desert camp in Oman's Wahiba Sands.
Carpet of stone: Westminster Abbey's 13th century mosaic floor.
The mystery of Stonehenge hinges on unusual blue stones.
Comedian Bill Bailey fell in love with Stonehenge as a lad.
The Newark Holy Stones are fake, but there's a reason behind the conspiracy.
Archaeological treasures abound in Ireland, but many are left exposed and neglected.
A 1200-year-old Viking trading settlement has been discovered in Ireland.
Archaeologists have unearthed two stone circles, possibly 5000-years-old, on the moors near Manchester.
On separate continents, two cultures were building pyramids: Giza in Egypt and Caral in Peru.
Dutch scientists say a reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles is long overdue.
Is Dr Who gay? He might swing both ways, he does have two hearts.
In 2015 a NASA spacecraft will fly into the Sun's corona. Ain't no Sunshine.
Two US astrobiologists propose covering the moon in mirrors and reflecting sunlight to attract the attention of ETs. That's why they crashed at Roswell.
As Tom Cruise spins with Oprah, ex-Scientology kids bravely tell their stories.
Researchers have found a way to mimic marijuana's pain and anxiety relief, without the side effects and legal issues. So instead of growing it naturally, we'll be paying Big Pharmaceuticals a fortune for artificial chemicals?
The 2008 Global Marijuana March recently took place, but you won't see mainstream media sources turn up in a Google news search.
Taking an ayahuasca trip: hallucinogenic tourism and sage advice.
The Pentagon will build a $5billion tourism and commercial centre in Baghdad, including shopping mall, Disney-style amusement park, and golf course. Imagine Falling Down if Michael Douglas was a Wahabi muslim.
An excellent editorial on the problems of religious sensivity and free speech. It's not what you say, but how you say it.
New terrorism early-warning system will use psychics, but it's not the first time.
The forgotten history of WWII Japanese balloon bombs.
Burma cyclone update: officials estimate up to 80'000 people were killed by the cyclone and tsunami. Almost twenty years of Junta oppression, including the violent crackdown last year, and now Nature. If you want to help, Medicins Sans Frontieres, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme are good places to start.

Thanks Greg, Kat and Perceval.

Quote of the Day:

"Please use your liberty to promote ours."

Aung San Suu Kyi ... Read More »

News Briefs 06-05-2008

Perceval — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:27:19 +0000

Time for a nice cuppa.

Three-foot pearl stretchered off Florida parking lot.
The Virtual Seismic Atlas - explore the crust, from submarine canyons in offshore Nigeria to mud volcanoes from the Caspian Sea.
Scientists say Indigo children do exist - or are they smurfs?
The Arlington Institute launches the WHETHEReport - a global strategic early warning system 'using aggregate human intuition as its intelligence source'. Read the pdf on the project.
'The CERN Stargate, designed to send matter from this universe into another dimension, comes online next week.'
Religion a figment of human imagination? I'm sure that was a church I passed today.
Earth's poles long overdue for reversal, but don't throw away your compass just yet.
Fungi help clean up the mess in Iraq and the Balkans.
Meanwhile, a bacterium that sits on uranium, drinks bleach and eats solid rock has been found. That's what I call an extremophile!
Odysseus: solar powered surveillance in the stratosphere.
Iranian builds one-horsepower vehicle. Isn't a self-powered horse box a case of putting the cart outside the horse?
Not for you? How about a gyroscopic unicycle?
The Museum of Unworkable Devices. My laptop should be in there. It'll never produce something worthy of the Virtual Math Museum anyway.
Man grows back severed finger with 'pixie dust', made from a pig's bladder.
The spiritual psychology of the chakras.
From one unexplored mound to another. Ireland's archaeological treasures dumped in a heap.
Some seriously twisted trees.
Elvis and the Rosicrucian brethren.
Things your body can do after you die. Put away your donor card and make the most of it.
Space aliens invade Canada.
Nuclear threat to Great British cuppa.

Thanks Greg

Quote of the Day:

My friends, as I have discovered myself, there are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London ... Read More »

News Briefs 05-05-2008

Kat — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:02:46 +0000

Blast from the past -- a mostly-history edition.
But first, just to keep you on your toes, here's a blast from the future that's in the past (2nd Indy trailer), and from the past that's in the future (new Star Trek prequel movie). ;-)

Vikings: from ram-raiders to fishmongers.
Wraps come off Westminster Abbey's carpet of stone -- a medieval mosaic foretelling the end of the world.
Neanderthals were separate species, says new human family tree.
Is our fragile relationship with Nature simply a feature of the modern age, or a recurrent feature of the last ten millennia of farming? What if we look back further still – were things more stable when there were only hunters and gatherers in the world? Martin Jones' book, Feast: Why Humans Share Food, is available at Amazon US & UK.
African rock art: The continent's true history.
The pharaoh Akhenaten - so strange-looking his family kept him hidden from public view until he ascended the throne - is to be the focus of this year's Historical Clinicopatholoical Conference, held each year to diagnose disorders that afflicted prominent historical figures.
Scientists chip away at mystery of Stonehenge.
Evoking the final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, when the Ark of the Covenant is crated and carted into obscurity inside a cavernous government archive, artifacts from a $10m archaeological dig now languish in storage.
In his knockout book The Jesus Sayings: The Quest for His Authentic Message (Amazon US & UK), author Rex Weyler sorts myth from history, and explains why we need both.
Having undergone massive renovations over the past year, the oldest archaeological site in North America - the Rockshelter at Meadowcroft - is to reopen to the public on Saturday. More.
Corporate jollies to oust 'cultural fuddy-duddies' from Pompeii ruins.
Did LSD change Britain?
Rainforest seeds revive lost paradise.
Off Chile, signs of hope for whales.
Sinking without a trace: Australia's climate change victims.
Straight out of Hitchcock (and maybe Earthfiles): Huge flocks of ravens are on a killing spree, attacking defenceless victims and eating them alive.
The world's first bionic sea creature.
Ape Genius reveals depth of animal intelligence.
3-Foot-Diameter Sphere Retrieved By Ambulance in Decatur, Alabama. "...the best I can describe it is a giant pearl - a shiny, white sphere."
Strange aerial lights like Texas -- but now photographed in Indiana, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
Who knows what evil lurks? Tourism Bureau offers $50,000 reward for definitive answer.
Is that lettuce really out to get you?

Quote of the Day:

Thirty thousand years ago there were at least four species of Homo alive on earth. When reflecting on our own evolutionary success, it is salutary to remember that our close relatives have not shared in that success. To be blunt, the hominid line as a whole has been short-lived and is mostly extinct. We are the exceptions, and are so because we are avid experimenters, compulsive chancers. That is how, in an epoch when the climate has grown more changeable, and Nature more fickle, we have spread to all latitudes and all parts of the globe.

Martin Jones, George Pitt-Rivers Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Cambridge

News Briefs 02-05-2008

Greg — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:59:26 +0000

How do I work this thing again?

Has J.K. Rowling turned from Cinderella into an evil, greedy witch?
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickenson's movie Chemical Wedding - a fictional story about the return of Aleister Crowley - will be released on May 23rd (site has the trailer video embedded).
Iron Man (like that segue?): the science behind the fiction.
Tracking satellites in Google Earth. Very cool.
Ten must-see 'First Contact' movies.
How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?
Birds can 'see' the Earth's magnetic field. Is there a bird version of Dr Hofmann?
Female jumping spider uses ultraviolet B rays to 'communicate'.
Colossal squid had light-emitting 'cloaking device'.
Next decade "may see no warming". How very convenient, Mr Gore...if that is your real name!
Global Warming? No problem, just a quick vacuum and your Earth will be livable again. Kaching!
Exposed: the great GM crops myth.
Incubator electromagnetic fields alter newborns' heart rates.
Is it time for power from space?
Universal language translator may be possible. Too late for fans of James Brown unfortunately.
Beware space kangaroos: boomerangs work in low gravity.
Dwarf cloud rat rediscovered after 112 years.
15 historical events that fascinate us.
Needing to have your heart in your mouth? Watch a little baby tossing.
Ancient sunflower fuels debate about agriculture in the Americas.
Inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos go to court to protect their upstanding Lesbian pedigree.

Thanks Rod.

Quote of the Day:

I incline to the acceptance of many stories of miracles, but think that these miracles would have occurred if this earth had been inhabited by atheists.

Charles Fort

News Briefs 01-05-2008

red pill junkie — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:51:51 +0000

It’s Labour Day and I just have one question to my fellow TDG Admins: when are we gonna get a UNION around here, guys? :-)

China rescues 167 children from slavery. That’s 167 of some 100 million by my calculations, keep it up.
DNA confirms IDs of czar's children, ending mystery. Now we are free to focus our attention on that wild-eyed Rasputin fellow.
“All we are saying is… make your bid”. Lennon’s 'Give Peace A Chance' lyrics going on sale in London.
With the present Food Crisis unfolding upon us one begins to wonder: Is living without eating possible? Breatharianism is the concept in which believers claim human life can be sustained without food or even water. Here is a link which supports the idea, and for the sake of balance also check the skeptic view on this highly controversial notion.
My, what big teeth you have! But what the Hell did you use them for? Ancient 'Nutcracker Man' is taking evolutionary theories for a spin.
Read this EW interview of Spielberg & Lucas where they talk about the new ‘Indy’ movie. You know, Rick? Computer keyboards do not react particularly well to saliva ;-)
Because in the Real World they’re not as funny as in the Summer Blockbusters: Somalia piracy resolution introduced at U.N.
Judge gives agency deadline for decision on polar bear. The clock is ticking… and the ice melting.
Hey, I’ve been thinking: if the eyes are the “windows of the soul”, and the Colossal Squid has the biggest eye in all Nature… does that mean Lovecraft was right all along?? :-(
Check out some more photos of said squid; or as our buddy Perceval called it, the “perfect ice lolly for a sperm whale”.
Bats screech louder than Rock concerts. Can they do stage-diving too? Encore!!
Monster Black Hole found 'escaping home galaxy'. A cosmic passional crime perhaps, or a simple case of plasma burglary?
Startled nomads see a burning capsule fall from the sky and save astronauts. Like something come out of a Von Daniken’s book, right?
Real Trekkie Tricorder Invented. Cute, but where the heck is our holo-deck? Keep up with our priorities, you bunch of petaQs!!
Two alien factions fighting about the human race. Are they referring to these factions?
Has Big Brother caught evidence of an alien abduction?
Police in Pikesville, Md. Investigate mystery boom and lights that woke the neighbours in the middle of the night. Having one of those wild parties again, Kat? ;-)
1974: The Welsh Roswell.
And speaking of Wales, do they have a crocodile in one of their lakes?
Has Science debunked the 'Green Fairy'? Absinthe's mind-altering mystery solved.
‘Synchromysticism’ is "the art of realizing meaningful coincidence in the seemingly mundane with mystical or esoteric significance." Ok, so I just remember I forgot to send my annual tax return form, and last night I dreamt I was being chased by a lion… so that would mean… Oh, oh! 8-(

Quote of the Day:

“The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor.”

George Orwell ... Read More »

News Briefs 29-04-2008

Perceval — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:41:58 +0000

Uh, where'd all my feeds go when I need them?

ET: No one home? Perhaps they live in the Canary Islands?
Doctor who underwent hypnotic regression reveals former life (well, death) as a crusader in Jerusalem.
First of the crop.
Spider silk created in lab, but it's too early to don the Spiderman suit.
Salvia, 'one of the most potent hallucinogens known', tested on primates.
Beekeeper builds churches for bees. Are they turning to religion to save themselves?
Colossal squid comes out of ice. Shame, would have made a great ice lolly for a Sperm Whale.
Why are ghosts seen wearing clothes? C'mon, everyone knows they're bedsheets.
Hans Holzer: the Original Ghost Hunter.
Findings of 'outstanding' mediumship study yet to be published.
Japan's cyborg research enters the skull
Body of work on show in the Anatomical Theatre. If that's not enough for you, 'head' on over to view these Japanese 19th century anatomy scrolls.
Neuroweapons: tools of preconscious war.
Video of Terminator's progenitor from New Scientist.

Thanks Kat

Quote of the Day:

One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious

C.G. Jung, Alchemical Studies
... Read More »

News Briefs 28-04-2008

Kat — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:36:37 +0000

There are worlds of mysteries yet to be solved. So let's get to it.

Pyramids packed with seashells: Many of Egypt's most famous monuments, such as the Sphinx and Cheops pyramid at Giza, contain hundreds of thousands of marine fossils.
MIT scientists think some of the blocks of Egypt's Great Pyramid may have been cast from synthetic material.
Nazi treasure, giant scorpions, and a crystal skull: the real-life exploits of British adventurer Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges read like an Indiana Jones script.
Incan Skull Surgery: Holes in ancient skulls reflect skilled medical care which rarely caused infections or killed patients.
Murals in Bamian caves show oil-based paints were used in Afghanistan up to 800 years before they first appeared in European art.
When hanging was too good for some: Thanks to the online publication of details of nearly 200,000 Old Bailey trials, many of history's black sheep have been named and shamed.
Parachute that Da Vinci drew is made to work... after 523 years.
Amateur archaeologists find ancient 'Thyng' in Sherwood Forest.
Cracks In The Foundation: Fundamental Geological Assumption Relating To Planet Earth Not Quite True.
Some light in Earth's aurora glow is polarized -- a state not thought possible for the aurora.
Researchers discover crisscrossing patterns of currents running throughout the world's oceans.
Swimming orangutans' spearfishing exploits amaze wildlife experts.
Researchers expect medical bonanza from the venom of predatory sea snails.
New approach strikes at the core of Alzheimer's -- when tested in mice, the strategy halved amyloid beta production.
Biologist discovers the eye uses light to reset the biological clock through a mechanism separate from the ability to see.
Trojan horse of viruses revealed.
The miracle berry. I'm still wondering, why the surveilance?
Enzymes that regulate genetic expression found to be just as important as the genome itself.
Charles Fort: The man who created the Fortean Times.
There's talk of Bigfoot encounters around the Sequoia National Forest in California, and Professor Jeff Meldrum reports hair and flesh samples from a Canadian site indicate something with a DNA signature between human and chimpanzee is roaming the North American woods.
What if you could make fuel for your car in your backyard for a fraction of what you're now paying at the pump?
US Air Force calls for 21st-century Apollo-style programme to develop greener fuels and tackle global warming.
Wall Street, Run Amok.

Quote of the Day:

A procession of the damned.
By the damned, I mean the excluded.
We shall have a procession of data that Science has excluded.

Battalions of the accursed, captained by pallid data that I have exhumed, will march. You'll read them -- or they'll march. Some of them livid and some of them fiery and some of them rotten.

Some of them are corpses, skeletons, mummies, twitching, tottering, animated by companions that have been damned alive. There are giants that will walk by, though sound asleep. There are things that are theorems and things that are rags; they'll go by like Euclid, arm in arm with the spirit of anarchy. Here and there will flit little harlots. Many are clowns. But many are of the highest respectability. Some are assassins. There are pale stenches and gaunt superstitions and mere shadows and lively malices: whims and amiabilities. The naive and the pedantic and the bizarre and the grotesque and the sincere and the insincere, the profound and the puerile.

Charles Fort

News Briefs 25-04-2008

Turner Young — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:00:17 +0000

Klaatu barada nikto (just in case)…

Were the ancient Egyptians the first to use concrete? Pyramid construction theorists, start your engines…
Think humanity is headed for extinction now? Just be thankful you weren’t here for the drought that nearly wiped us out 70,000 years ago.
Although, with the price of rice in Thailand hitting $1,000 a tonne as well as the run on rice and flour in the States, perhaps history is already repeating itself…
And now for something completely different… In arguably the most eagerly awaited but never conceived match-up of all time, I give you the aptly titled… ZOMBIE vs. SHARK! Local aquariums and mortuaries will accept bets until show-time.
Ancient supercontinent break-up solved? A new twist on an old theory from the merry old blokes at Geophysical Journal International.
Has the ‘Great Arctic Thaw’ already begun? With methane and carbon dioxide levels on the rise, the NOAA says it’s, “too soon to tell”. Thankfully, it’s never too soon to invest in hip waders…
Paleontological paternity test proves Tyrannosaur is the long lost ancestor of *all* birds. Which would mean (according to the transitive property of equality)… T. Rex tastes like chicken.
And in keeping with the above ‘genetics one-for-all’ theme… New study reveals how humans started evolving into two separate species before merging back into one population. More here from N.Geo…
Survey of EPA Scientists depicts “an agency under siege” from widespread political interference – all thanks to the president with the lowest job approval rating in *history* (according to a recent Gallup poll).
Supposedly extinct pygmy elephants are alive and well in the Northeast corner of Borneo. Perhaps Flores Man had an elephant named “Shep”.
Australia, my how you’ve grown…unilaterally speaking, that is.
Will planetary pinball wipe out life on Earth before the Sun’s expiration date (5 billion years from now)? Seats on Rocketship X-M are already sold out.
Does sensing the Earth’s magnetic field lead to suicide? A Russian scientist sees a link (and he isn’t stationed in Siberia… yet)
Scientists may have captured photos of a black hole emitting a super-charged plasma jet. More here.
According to a study from the University of Colorado, climate change in the Southern Hemisphere could be affected as the Antarctic ozone holes recover.
Was last weekend’s off-target Soyuz landing more dangerous than NASA first reported? Inquiring minds want to know…
The big brains over at Princeton have discovered an exotic state of quantum matter that may lead to the first ‘spintronic’ devices. In other news, the first “spintronica" albums will be on shelves by Sunday…
Darth Vader assaults Jedi Church. No… seriously (and it’s not just a shameless plug for the upcoming animated Clone Wars film).

Quote of the Day:

“A working prophet is able to see deeper than most of us into the human soul. Orwell in 1948 understood that despite the Axis defeat, the will to fascism had not gone away… the irresistible human addictions to power were already long in place… the means of surveillance in Winston Smith’s era are primitive next to the wonders of computer technology… most notably the Internet.”

Thomas Pynchon, foreword to ‘1984’