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News Briefs 19-10-2004

Movie quote trivia day today. See how many you can pick out, post your answer in the comments section.

  • Science and religion. Why can’t they just get along?
  • Scientists attack intelligent design theory.
  • The civilisation of bees – it’s pretty nifty.
  • Gravity constant called into question. Scientists should give up and devote themselves to study the other great mystery of the universe: women!
  • Dinosaurs were struck down in their prime.
  • South German comet 5000 times more powerful than A-bomb. Life went on, and we prevailed.
  • Orionid meteor shower to peak on Wednesday night.
  • UK explosion explained by fireball in the sky?
  • Magnetic beams could power swifter spacecraft. I’m hanging in there for the C-beams glittering in the dark by the Tannhauser Gate.
  • Artificial intelligence could aid space missions. This conversation can serve no purpose anymore, goodbye.
  • An interview with Phoenix Lights ufologist, Jeff Willes.
  • Men in Black – a bumper crop of hogwash. The alternative explanation would probably be that swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.
  • Residents report glowing light in the sky. An event sociologique?
  • Abductee feels like ‘an Eskimo trying to describe what a desert is like’. Also: don’t bother kicking those aliens between the legs because they’ve got “no testicles“. Sound advice for one and all.

  • Chupacabra a mangey coyote. All the same, I recommend: stay on the road, keep clear of the moors.
  • Stench marks the spot – Bigfoot hunter follows his nose.
  • From the corporate mind control files – Coke takes over parts of the brain that Pepsi can’t reach.
  • Google search becomes personal. If members of the intelligence community aren’t already inside Google, you can bet they are working on it…the holy grail of intelligence gathering. Anonymise yourself folks, big brother is well and truly here.
  • Fragile conspiracy theories: what happened to Bush as the Arabian Candidate? His brain has not only been washed, as they say… it has been dry cleaned.
  • Rage against the machine. Literally. Hasta la vista babee.
  • Falling turtle damages Hong Kong taxi. Do turtles fly? I guess not.
  • Related news? Antelope found tangled in power lines.
  • Researchers ask: where do the fish go during hurricanes? Maybe they fly south with the turtles and antelope.
  • Being able to see auras may be just a quirk of the brain. You ever feel the prickly things on the back of your neck?
  • Mystery signal traced to man’s television. Wonder what he can do? I looked in the Yellow Pages. “Furniture Movers” we’ve got; “Strange Phenomenon” there’s no listing.
  • Weird America. New book scheduled for release at Halloween (see Amazon US).
  • Scientific models may underestimate climate swings. Mankind survived the last ice age. We’re certainly capable of surviving this one. The only question is, will we be able to learn from our mistakes?
  • The E-bomb is almost here. The deciding factor was when we learned that your country was working along similar lines, and we were afraid of a doomsday gap.
  • Randi’s rant for this week, in which he focuses on a lot of dead people.
  • Wealthy new lab aims to capture dreams. Come to Freddy.
  • A mission to Mars mean some tricky planning. Three commanders, one ship…there’s not enough rocket fuel in the world to get those egos off the ground.
  • The new face on Mars. Certainly seems a friendlier fellow.

Quote of the Day:

I’ve discovered I’ve got this preoccupation with ordinary people pursued by large forces.

Steven Spielberg

Editor
  1. Google boogie
    Aware of the privacy concerns raised over its e-mail service, Google has sought to stress that the company will not be able to peer into people’s hard drives. “It’s totally private,” said the Google spokeswoman. “Google does not know what happens when the hard drive is searched.”

    What an oxymoron … they will be able to search your hard drive, yet they won’t be able to see what’s on it. Yeah right. I trust them as far as I can throw my Googled computer.

  2. Who’s Game?
    C’mon, isn’t anybody going to take a shot at picking the movie quotes? Some are dead easy, some are quite obscure. A hint: they are all related in some way to the story they are posted on. Second hint: 15 in all (not bad out of 31 news briefs). Surely a joint effort should be able to out most of them?

    Peace and Respect
    Greg
    ——————————————-
    You monkeys only think you’re running things

    1. Movie quotes
      OK – a quiet day, so here goes:
      “Science and religion. Why can’t they just get along?” – Contact (?)

      “Scientists should give up and devote themselves to study the other great mystery of the universe: women!” – Woody Allen in The Sleeper (?)

      “Dinosaurs were struck down in their prime” – Jurassic Park (?)

      “Life went on, and we prevailed.” – Jurassic Park (again ?)

      “…the C-beams glittering in the dark” – (and ships on fire off the shores of Orion) – Blade Runner (great flick!)

      “…swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.” – Men in Black (and still the most plausible explanation for most UFO sightings. No, really.)

      “An event sociologique?” – is it that French bloke out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (?)

      “All the same, I recommend: stay on the road, keep clear of the moors” – An American Werewolf in London (pint at the Slaughtered Lamb, anyone?)

      “Hasta la vista babee.” – Arnie in Terminator

      “Wonder what he can do? I looked in the Yellow Pages. “Furniture Movers” we’ve got; “Strange Phenomenon” there’s no listing” – Phenomenon (or is that too obvious)

      “Mankind survived the last ice age. We’re certainly capable of surviving this one. The only question is, will we be able to learn from our mistakes?” – The Day After Tomorrow (?)

      “The deciding factor was when we learned that your country was working along similar lines, and we were afraid of a doomsday gap.” – Hunt for Red October (?)

      “Come to Freddy” – Nightmare on Elm Street (aah, they were the days)

      “Three commanders, one ship…there’s not enough rocket fuel in the world to get those egos off the ground.” – The Right Stuff (or the Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld lot getting into AF1). Ooh, did I just get all political?

      That’s me done. Ooh, ooh – How’d I do?????

        1. Nice Work 7/15
          Hiya,

          Thanks for taking a shot. And you did very well.

          “Science and religion. Why can’t they just get along?” – Contact (?)

          No.

          “Scientists should give up and devote themselves to study the other great mystery of the universe: women!” – Woody Allen in The Sleeper

          No.

          “Dinosaurs were struck down in their prime” – Jurassic Park (?)

          No.

          “Life went on, and we prevailed.” – Jurassic Park (again ?)

          No.

          “…the C-beams glittering in the dark” – (and ships on fire off the shores of Orion) – Blade Runner (great flick!)

          Yes. Great flick indeed.

          “…swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.” – Men in Black (and still the most plausible explanation for most UFO sightings. No, really.)

          Yes.

          “An event sociologique?” – is it that French bloke out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (?)

          Yes. Brilliant, I thought this might be one of the hardest.

          “All the same, I recommend: stay on the road, keep clear of the moors” – An American Werewolf in London (pint at the Slaughtered Lamb, anyone?)

          Yes. Again, supremely well done.

          “Hasta la vista babee.” – Arnie in Terminator

          Yes. Easiest of the lot.

          “Wonder what he can do? I looked in the Yellow Pages. “Furniture Movers” we’ve got; “Strange Phenomenon” there’s no listing” – Phenomenon (or is that too obvious)

          No.

          “Mankind survived the last ice age. We’re certainly capable of surviving this one. The only question is, will we be able to learn from our mistakes?” – The Day After Tomorrow (?)

          Yes.

          “The deciding factor was when we learned that your country was working along similar lines, and we were afraid of a doomsday gap.” – Hunt for Red October (?)

          No.

          “Come to Freddy” – Nightmare on Elm Street (aah, they were the days)

          Yes. Fresh meat, how sweet… 😉

          “Three commanders, one ship…there’s not enough rocket fuel in the world to get those egos off the ground.” – The Right Stuff (or the Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld lot getting into AF1). Ooh, did I just get all political?

          No. This is an obscure one, I’d really be impressed if anyone gets this.

          Xibalba’s cut the field in half. Anyone else able to track down the other eight?

          Peace and Respect
          Greg
          ——————————————-
          You monkeys only think you’re running things

          1. Movie quotes
            “Three commanders, one ship…there’s not enough rocket fuel in the world to get those egos off the ground.” – then it must be Mission To Mars (pile of poo movie)

            and I think “The deciding factor was when we learned that your country was working along similar lines, and we were afraid of a doomsday gap.” might be from Dr Strangelove (Peter Sellers at his surreal best)

          2. Two more!
            Well done, two out of two, on top of the previous seven correct. And you got the Mission to Mars one (at least something good came of watching the movie ;). Nine down, six to go.
            😉

            Peace and Respect
            Greg
            ——————————————-
            You monkeys only think you’re running things

          3. Nice One
            Heh, nice one Lee. I realised this one after the fact, I wondered why I kept hearing it in Jack’s voice, then I remembered. So I didn’t actually count it in the 15, but I give you the point for getting this one. Still six to go though…

            Peace and Respect
            Greg
            ——————————————-
            You monkeys only think you’re running things

          4. “Open the pod-bay door, HAL….”
            This conversation can serve no purpose anymore, goodbye. — 2001: A Space Odyssey?

          5. Yup
            Nicely picked up Rico. Of course, with the story about artificial intelligence in space missions, it pointed at the movie pretty directly…
            😉

            Five to go.

            Peace and Respect
            Greg
            ——————————————-
            You monkeys only think you’re running things

          6. Movie Quote Guess
            “You ever feel the prickly things on the back of your neck?”
            The Sixth Sense

            “His brain has not only been washed, as they say… it has been dry cleaned.”
            The Manchurian Candidate

            I’m still thinking on the others . . .

            Peace,

            AncientSkyman

          7. Woop!
            Nice one man, 2/2. I was waiting for someone to pick the Manchurian Candidate quote…it just fit the story so well a lot of people probably skimmed right over it. ;P

            Only three left…quite tough ones as well. I’m just wrapped that we got to 12, I thought 10 might be the limit. Well done all!
            🙂

            Peace and Respect
            Greg
            ——————————————-
            You monkeys only think you’re running things

          8. The Final Three
            Hiya,

            I’ve allowed 48 hours, so I guess I’ll fill in the final three blanks:

            1) “Scientists should give up and devote themselves to study the other great mystery of the universe: women!” – Back to the Future (Part 2 I think actually), spoken by Doc..although he says “I should give up”.

            2) “Life went on, and we prevailed.” – Deep Impact, spoken by President Morgan Freeman.

            3) “I looked in the Yellow Pages. “Furniture Movers” we’ve got; “Strange Phenomenon” there’s no listing.” – Poltergeist, spoken by mommy (They’re heeee-rrrre).

            Well done all, a good effort! Hope it provided a bit of fun for y’all.

            Peace and Respect
            Greg
            ——————————————-
            You monkeys only think you’re running things

          9. I’ll try
            “Three commanders, one ship… there’s just not enough rocket fuel in the world to get those egos off the ground.”

            Is it the movie with Clint Eastwood and James Garner and someone else who were all retired astronauts? Can’t think of the name.

            Just a guess.

            shadows

          10. Already answered
            Hi Shadows,

            Xibalba already got the correct answer, listed above.

            ** “Three commanders, one ship…there’s not enough rocket fuel in the world to get those egos off the ground.” – then it must be Mission To Mars (pile of poo movie) **

            Nice educated guess though, there are a few egos in that bunch…
            😉

            Peace and Respect
            Greg
            ——————————————-
            You monkeys only think you’re running things

          11. Thanks Greg
            er, I am a bit confused lately trying to catch up on all the posts.
            Can I mention here that I liked Mission to Mars? I’m probably the only one on the planet by the sound of it.

            I used to collect my favourite lines from movies but lost them, can only remember two.

            “Cue the sun….”

            “It was a run-by fruiting.”

            shadows

  3. Auras around others may simply be a quirk of the brain
    The author explains that the perception of the auras is created within the brain and, of course, it would be difficult to ‘argue’ this proposition.

    On the other hand, if we were to assume the above assertion to be correct, we would have to make a parallel with the concept that perception of the shape of the environment and its colors is also created in the brain (for most) and so are sounds, smells and tactile impressions.

    Can we then assume that the creation of that perception in the brain is the full description of the environment’s reality?

    Does everybody see the same thing, perceive the same colors and shapes the same way?

    If not, who got it right? Anyone in particular?

    Is there such a thing as an absolute, crystal clear perception?

    For perceptions to be created in the brain, if the wiring is inadequate, don’t then equate to observations of reality.

    On the other hand, if we are to state that what we see is what we get, we have to suppose that what some see and that most don’t may still be part of what is there.

    Considering the explanation (synaesthesia), one could also consider that an actual rewiring of the brain might actually allow it to perceive other aspects of its environment, perhaps even a bit like some experiences triggered with the use of some psychedelic inducing agents. Still, I don’t suppose that most would consider that a rewiring might actually add to the perception but instead would be led to believe that the perception of the majority is not only correct but the only perception that has any validity.

    At least, the article retained the speculative nature of the proposed explanation and withheld any attempt at debunking, such as would most likely have been conveyed by the likes of Shermer.

    1. The Reality of Perception
      Nice piece, Richard.

      I’ve often wondered if what I perceive, for example, as the colour “green” is perceived by others in the same way. Do they see it as I see it?

      I’ve never made the further leap of thought, though, to suggest that what shapes I see, sounds I hear (and of course, this applies to taste and smell too) fit into this same line of perceptive reasoning. Thanks for expanding my horizons on that one.

      Since the entire nature of these experiences is based on the perception of the individual, and thus depends entirely on how that individual’s brains is “wired”, I guess we will never be able to arrive at a concept of how other people perceive things without somehow finding some common ground of comparison, which then makes the whole subject somewhat self-defeating.

      So, following the argument through, as you have done, there is no way to say what is “normal” perception and what is not. People seeing auras (or ghosts, for that matter) may simply have their brains wired in a different way which makes them perceptible to these things (or in such a way as to have these things invented in their brains). That does not, though, minimise the impact of these things on that person’s sense of reality. For them, these things are very real, and they probably cannot conceive of a world where these things are not visible (as most of us probably perceive – probably!)

      An interesting subject, which has the ability to engage me for many hours, but which ultimately, I believe, would end up being something of a circular discussion.

      Perhaps a few pints at the Slaughtered Lamb might help to converge our individual perspectives??? 🙂

      Any idea what the final 3 film references are then??

      Xibalba

    2. do the anaconda
      Hi Richard,

      Twisting and turning again those so called scientists, apparently none of them ever heard of kirlian photography – unreal – considering they’re supposed to investigate the aura ‘matter’, googling seems to be too unscientific for getting some background.
      Anyway as auras can be photographed it is hardly a matter of perception. Nuff said, sack the suckers !

  4. Auras around others may simply be a quirk of the brain
    Here’s a novel idea: Perhaps people see auras around others because auras really exist, duh. And perhaps the thousands of years of research by the world’s experts in consciousness and perception (mystics) is valid. And when mystics say this is a real phenomenon, they actually know, and are not being “fooled” by chemicals in the brain.

    After all, ANY perception, psychic or otherwise, is going to have a corresponding chemical reaction in the brain, period. Does that mean the rosebud we see exists only in the brain as well? The post before me made a very good point.

    If scientists would pay just the slightest attention to say, Yoga philosophy, or certain Western mystic traditions, they would find that the understanding of what auras are and how they are perceived is already extremely detailed and scientific. Right down to what specific parts of the brain and nervous system are involved, and how the high vibrations of auras (so high they are outside the color spectrums vibrations) become transformed into the lower vibrations of color. They also can explain in great detail what causes the auras (there are actually three different auras, according to many traditions) in the first place.

    The reason science will not validate these traditions is because they are afraid of the one (and only one) required experiment that will settle it for good: experiments with their own consciousness via meditation exercises designed to allow them to see the auras themselves. They take refuge in the “it will destroy my objectivity” excuse, which is logically flawed.

    Presuming that “we know these things must be happening in the brain alone, because after all, everybody knows such psychic gobbledygook is impossible” is going to be a pretty embarrassing philosophy to follow one day.

    Dissing the whole idea because of the many charlatan “aura readers/cleansers”, as well as the circus side show “aura photographs” at New Age events is unfair. That is like saying there is no such thing as stars, because astrology is pseudo science. Or, there is no such thing as Pluto, because the “586x Super Power!” telescope you bought at Kmart can’t resolve it.

    Science should stop looking at the New Age subculture for information on these things and start going to the experts. Those that have devoted a large part of their lives to secretly developing themselves.

    Love,
    Dashour

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