Civil War message opened, decoded: No help coming

From yahoo news

RICHMOND, Va. – A glass vial stopped with a cork during the Civil War has been opened, revealing a coded message to the desperate Confederate commander in Vicksburg on the day the Mississippi city fell to Union forces 147 years ago.


The dispatch offered no hope to doomed Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton: Reinforcements are not on the way.

The encrypted, 6-line message was dated July 4, 1863, the date of Pemberton's surrender to Union forces led by Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Siege of Vicksburg in what historians say was a turning point midway into the Civil War.

The message is from a Confederate commander on the west side of the Mississippi River across from Pemberton.

"He's saying, 'I can't help you. I have no troops, I have no supplies, I have no way to get over there,' " Museum of the Confederacy collections manager Catherine M. Wright said of the author of the dispiriting message. "It was just another punctuation mark to just how desperate and dire everything was."

The bottle, less than 2 inches in length, had sat undisturbed at the museum since 1896. It was a gift from Capt. William A. Smith, of King George County, who served during the Vicksburg siege.

It was Wright who decided to investigate the contents of the strange little bottle containing a tightly wrapped note, a .38-caliber bullet and a white thread.

"Just sort of a curiosity thing," said Wright. "This notion of, do we have any idea what his message says?"

The answer was no.

Wright asked a local art conservator, Scott Nolley, to examine the clear vial before she attempted to open it. He looked at the bottle under an electron microscope and discovered that salt had bonded the cork tightly to the bottle's mouth. He put the bottle on a hotplate to expand the glass, used a scalpel to loosen the cork, then gently plucked it out with tweezers.

The sewing thread was looped around the 6 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch paper, which was folded to fit into the bottle. The rolled message was removed and taken to a paper conservator, who successfully unfurled the message.

But the coded message, which appears to be a random collection of letters, did not reveal itself immediately.

Eager to learn the meaning of the code, Wright took the message home for the weekend to decipher. She had no success.

A retired CIA code breaker, David Gaddy, was contacted, and he cracked the code in several weeks.

A Navy cryptologist independently confirmed Gaddy's interpretation. Cmdr. John B. Hunter, an information warfare officer, said he deciphered the code over two weeks while on deployment aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. A computer could have unscrambled the words in a fraction of the time.

"To me, it was not that difficult," he said. "I had fun with this and it took me longer than I should have."

The code is called the "Vigenere cipher," a centuries-old encryption in which letters of the alphabet are shifted a set number of places so an "a" would become a "d" — essentially, creating words with different letter combinations.

The code was widely used by Southern forces during the Civil War, according to Civil War Times Illustrated.

The source of the message was likely Maj. Gen. John G. Walker, of the Texas Division, who had under his command William Smith, the donor of the bottle.

The full text of the message to Pemberton reads:

For the full story go here

Don't Good People Go to Heaven?

My Hero- Jesus Christ

Have a Jesus Christmas

Snopes.com Christmas legends

Very interesting Christmas legends here on snopes.com

Happy Christmas eveyone and God bless.

-Rob

Pope: What is Good and True Must Unite All People

Scholar Uncovers Legend of Jesus' Great-Grandmother

From aolnews.com

LONDON -- It sounds like the opening of a Dan Brown novel: A scholar finds rare medieval manuscripts chronicling the life of Jesus' great-grandmother. The documents name the previously unidentified matriarch as Ismeria and laud her as a charitable and devout woman who -- like her great-grandson -- ultimately sacrificed herself for the good of others.

The story of Ismeria was discovered by Catherine Lawless, a history lecturer at Ireland's University of Limerick, in two manuscripts from 14th- and 15th-century Florence, Italy. But while it's tempting to believe that these recently unearthed papers shed new light on the Virgin Mary's family, Lawless told AOL News that, just like "The Da Vinci Code," the tale is almost certainly a work of fiction.

There is no biblical-era evidence to support the manuscripts' assertion that Ismeria was the mother of St. Anne, who later gave birth to Mary. (Other medieval sources suggest Ismeria may have been Anne's sister). Instead, Lawless suspects that the story may have been created by a religious order as a "morality tale" intended to teach Florentine women how to be good wives, and later, widows.

The center panel of the Ortenberg Altarpiece, circa 1410-20, shows the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus surrounded by several saints. St. Ismeria, identified in legend as Mary's grandmother and Jesus' great-grandmother, is shown in the top row, second from the right.The manuscripts, analyzed by Lawless in the latest issue of the Journal of Medieval History, tell how the lovely Ismeria -- "the daughter of Nabon of the people of Judaea, and of the tribe of King David" -- married St. Liseo, who is described as "a patriarch of the people of God."

As a sign of her piety, Ismeria asked Liseo to only call her to the matrimonial bed one night a month. (During the month of holy fasting, they'd avoid each other entirely). "They lived together for 12 years in great joy and in penitence," writes Lawless, "and then had a beautiful daughter whom they named Anne." Twelve years later, Liseo died and Ismeria willingly allowed her relatives to walk off with all of her riches.

Reduced to poverty, Ismeria sought sanctuary in a hospital, where she carried out two Jesus-esque miracles. First, she restored a deaf-mute man's hearing and speech, and then she filled a shell with enough fish to feed all of the clinic's patients. Satisfied with this act of spontaneous seafood generation, she returned to her room and prayed for God to release her from the "vainglory of this world." Angels promptly whisked her soul off to heaven. The story concludes with Mary, Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the 12 apostles and others heading to the hospital and honoring her body.

So why would Florentine society want its women to behave like Ismeria? Well, marriage was a serious business for the city-state's patrician families. Potential partners weren't selected for their looks or lovability. What mattered was the potential to boost a family's wealth and power through new blood ties. A moaning, reluctant bride could hinder important nuptial negotiations.

"The manuscripts place a lot of emphasis on the fact that Ismeria really didn't want to marry in the first place," Lawless notes. "But she does so in obedience to God's will."

The tale also contains important lessons for women whose husbands predecease them.

"According to Florentine law, women who were widowed were entitled to a return of their dowry," Lawless says. "Dowries were often very large -- fathers would start investing in a fund as soon as their daughters were born -- so their withdrawal could cause financial hardship for the husband's family."

As the perfect woman, Ismeria opted not to remarry and deprive the family of their treasure. Instead she happily retired to a hospital and allowed her relations to plunder her riches.

Committing this morality tale to parchment was the perfect way to ensure that its message spread throughout Florence.

"The city had very high literacy rates, and we know these types of manuscripts circulated from house to house," Lawless says. "The main audience was what we'd today call the middle classes -- spice traders, notaries and doctors. We know that quite a lot of women read these papers too, as we have inscriptions by women saying that they either copied manuscripts themselves or had them copied."

The story of St. Ismeria may not tell us much about Jesus' family tree, but it does provide a rare insight into the lives of Italian women -- and the tactics used to keep them in line -- a millennium and a half later.

A Response To An Atheist's Challenge

Rascal Flatts Jingle Bell Rock from their Greatest Hits CD Volume 1

First Ghost Story Ever Recorded in the U.S.?

From paranormalnews.com

Written By: James Paradie

Posted: 10/21/2010

Published by Trendy Times on October 11th, 2010

Maine’s close, but believe it or not, the first ghost story recorded belongs to the Granite State. All the way back in 1682 is when a New Castle, New Hampshire family experienced some interesting activity that made them move out of their house, and it even followed them there too!

The documented account takes place in 1682 in the small town of New Castle, when, even as it is today, was the smallest town in New Hampshire. A family named the Walton’s woke up one morning to the sound of heavy rain. Thinking this was strange they soon realized it sounded like the house was being hit by stones. Rowdy kids? You’d think so, but more like rowdy poltergeists.

The family went outside and realized that the house was being pelted by stones, but by unseen hands as it was practically falling out of the sky. Some were small others were big enough to cause some serious damage if they were to hit anyone, but they were falling from the sky like rain, but elsewhere it was nothing, but just an ordinary spring day. As if the pure astonishment of it raining stones outside was strange it was even more odd that it was raining stones INSIDE the house as well! What was going on?

The Walton’s were not mad, they were a highly respected family around New Castle, so the thought of them doing this for attention or to get people talking was simply mind blowing. But, there they were, watching the house being filled with falling rocks, and before they knew it the whole floor was covered with several inches of the raining rocks. Windows were locked, they were not smashed, but yet it was raining rocks inside the house.

It was almost like the Walton’s were plagued with these falling rocks, because it lasted for months. No matter which friends house they used to get away from the rocks, it followed them their as well, and then when they moved back the rocks would cease at their friends, but then start up again at the Walton household.

One day, George Walton, the head of the house, gathered some of the rocks that rained upon them, and painted them. He then went and locked them away, but they would soon find a way out -on their own accord- and the painted rocks would rain inside the house all over again. Even the secretary of the colony of New Hampshire, Richard Chamberlain, saw these unexplainable phenomena’s happen before his eyes. Soon, talk got to other sections of the country, and scientists were coming from all over to see what exactly was going on to this plagued family. The scientists were frustrated that they couldn’t find an explanation for it and to this day it remains a mystery of how or why this happened.

Soon, the falling stones stopped, for good, and an old woman was accused of witchcraft and held accountable for the falling rocks of the Walton home. Lucky for her, she got away free and was ten years shy of when they used to execute people for using witchcraft.

What could explain these strange phenomena’s? One thing that can be said about this, is that ghost stories are as native to the state as the Old Man of the Mountain or the Passaconaway Native American’s. The state motto may have the word "Die" in it, but the spirits and the ghost stories that reside in this state will never die.

Primary Resource: "Manchester Ghosts" by Renee Mallett

Want to contact me?


E-Mail: scaredsheetlessncn@hotmail.com

Facebook search: Scared Sheetless or The NEPI Paranormal Experience

Website: http://scaredsheetlessncn.blogspot.com

James Paradie is a paranormal columnist who has been seen in such newspapers as the Northcountry News, Littleton Record, and the White Mountain Shopper. His stories can also been seen on paranormalnews.com where he is a regular contributor.


Note: Interesting story!

Old VenomFangX

VenomFangX is back on the air!

Thunderf00t Science Experiment Blew Up!!!

Prayer of Saint Michael.wmv

Never A Better Hero

Jesus Christ - His Hands

Naked man in cemetery: I was taking photos of spirits

Dec. 13, 2010 01:13 PM


Associated Press .

PICAYUNE, Miss. - A man caught naked in a south Mississippi church cemetery says he was trying to take photographs of spirits.

Robert Hurst tells the Picayune Item newspaper that he shed his clothes because he believes skin is the best canvas to show spirits' orbs of energy.

The 47-year-old says he only intended to remove his shirt, but he took off all his clothes - a move he now calls "stupid."

Authorities had set up a motion-activated camera to try to catch vandals. Shane Tucker, the chief deputy in Pearl River County, says Hurst is not accused of vandalism, but the camera caught an unexpected image of Hurst naked.

Hurst faces a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure. He posted $500 bond after turning himself in Friday.

Note: WTF!! Lol xD

-Rob

Science News - Unprecedented Topographic Map of the Moon

Unprecedented topographic map of the Moon

ScienceDaily (2010-12-19) -- Researchers are creating the most precise and complete map to date of the moon's complex, heavily cratered landscape. ...; read full article

Handbag Used Against School Board Shooter For Sale

http://www.npr.org – A purse wielded by a Florida school board member against a gunman who menaced a board meeting was listed on eBay for a while. It was pulled when the online auction company said the listing didn't meet its guidelines for a sale for charity. The bag is expected to be relisted in line with the rules

Man tells of possibly seeing a bigfoot playing peek-a-boo in headlights while parked west of Midlothian report #28461

From: bfro.net

Report # 28461 (Class A)


Submitted by witness on Thursday, November 04, 2010.

Man tells of possibly seeing a bigfoot playing peek-a-boo in headlights while parked west of Midlothian

YEAR: 1974

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 23

STATE: Illinois

COUNTY: Cook County

LOCATION DETAILS: The road is abandoned now but at that time in 1974 was Bachelor Grove Road west of Ridgeland Road and north of 143rd Street. This is three and half miles west of Midlothian. It was about one half mile north of 143rd Street.

NEAREST TOWN: Midlothian

NEAREST ROAD: 143rd Street and Ridgeland Road

OBSERVED: The following on-site interview was conducted by Stan Courtney. The first name of the witness has been changed.

Stan - Jim, can you explain what happened?

Jim - When I was about 16 years old, myself and two friends were parked by the woods, weren't drinking or anything, which is an important factor there. I actually saw a hand come around a tree, like you were gripping a tree, or something, but a big furry hand. And being a kid I thought it was a werewolf, the first thing I thought. And I told my buddies and they looked but didn't see it a first. Not even a moment later a big, I didn't know what it was, a big furry head stuck around the corner, peeked at us, and went right back. It didn't charge us and it didn't move. And then we took off from there like wildfire, just flew out of there. But, that is something we never really talked about because we never knew what it was.

Stan - What year would this have been?

Jim - That would have been in about 1974.

Stan - And in summer?

Jim - Yes, it would be middle of summer. It was just one of those little Forest Reserve cutoffs where you pull-in, and your car is kind of almost in the woods.

Stan - How tall was it?

Jim - I would have to say eight foot range. The hand was up there high, that is what caught me off-guard.

Stan - And what color was it?

Jim - It was a blackish-brown, I just remember seeing a big hand. You would almost mistake it for a gorilla-type thing. It is something that is not natural in Illinois.

Stan - And were you able to see the face?

Jim - Yeah, have you ever played peek-a-boo with the kids? You know how you do that? It was kind of like that, it stuck around the corner and went right back. I just remember it wasn't a person, eight foot tall and it was all furry, but it wasn't a gorilla face. We thought it was a werewolf, because we were all kids.

ALSO NOTICED: None

OTHER WITNESSES: Yes, I was with two other friends.

OTHER STORIES: None.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Warm, clear summer evening.

ENVIRONMENT: Heavy woods.

For more info please go here: bfro.net report #28461

Note: This is a very interesting report and encounter on the bfro.net
as I myself live close to Midlothian and lived their for 5 years from
2000-2005. I went to Bachelor's Grove Cemetery in 2000 an it
was scary to say the least. The wooded area was not that dense
but back in the 1970's I can imagine it must have been more denser
then now. -Rob

First Aid & Safety Procedures : How to Do the Heimlich Maneuver on a Child

One hand gun disarm tecniques (front threat)

Castlevania Dracula X: Rondo of Blood Part 1

Classic Gaming - Castlevania Dracula X for the SNES review

From gamespot.com

Castlevania is one of those phenomena that I'll probably never get. It's not that the series is bad or even average, it's fairly good in its own right but the dedication of gamers to this phenomenon is all but "normal". One thing is pretty clear however, Dracula X is not the greatest of Castlevania games, but it's a decent action game in its own right... granted you can stand some repetitiveness and some very cheap bosses.


Graphics: 8/10

The opening sequence in Dracula X is mind-blowing. In the background of the all too familiar, path-to-the-castle, flames rage, burning anything in their path. The effects used on these flames are surreal for a SNES game, with blurring and "water effects" along with astonishing lighting. Too bad the rest of the game doesn't keep up with this tradition.

Dracula X looks fairly well, with a wealth of detailed and well animated characters. All of the characters are correctly proportional to the subject matter and their animations are neither exaggerated nor stiff. The resolution and the special effects are also fairly good, but the special effects category could have used some more work in the "raging fire" and "water" areas.

Castlevania's problems only start during the level design. The levels feel graphically bland, with the same overused tile sets and tired old pixels which were used in Castlevania 4, albeit a little more colorful and detailed this time around.

Sound: 10/10

It should come as to no surprise that Dracula X "aces" the sound category: The music in this game is simply phenomenal. The successful combination of light techno beats with dramatic organ pieces keeps the pace of the game moving at a good rate even during dull moments. The music also fits the mood, pace, and levels of the game to perfection without a single feeling that a "tune" is in the wrong place or at the wrong time. However, above all else, this is the best sounding music I've ever heard in a SNES game. The quality is simply mind...erm, ear blowing!

While the sound effects are hardly worthy of such high praise they are no less a very good companion to the music, although most players will just turn them off so they can listen to the astounding score.

Gameplay: 6/10

Allow me to assure you of a few things: Dracula X doesn't offer almost anything new in terms of both a Castlevania game nor an action game. With that being said though, Dracula X doesn't do anything absolutely WRONG either, so it just becomes somewhat of a mundane game with a few great bosses and some ungodly music.

The story of Dracula X is... well, inexistent if you don't happen to know the general idea behind the Castlevania series or unless you own the manual and the box. The total absence of any decent introduction to the story is a bit disturbing (and a bit annoying) considering that most of the world really hasn't played a Castlevania game. In any case, the basic premise here is simple: Sometimes in the 1700s Dracula has been resurrected. It is now your job, as part of an ancient clan of Dracula-slayers to go to his castle and make sure he gets sealed away or something. Just be sure not to actually kill the guy this time either, otherwise a sequel will be impossible.

In games like Castlevania the story is really just a poor pretense for throwing as many varied enemies at you as the game possibly can; something that Dracula X excels at. The variety of enemies is fairly large in Dracula X, ranging from old favorites like Medusa Heads and Skeletons to newer enemies like the Armored Spearman. Bosses are the key attraction in the monster category, by a very large margin. The bosses range from Black Panthers, to Werewolves to Dracula himself and they're all fairly huge, nasty and very creepy-looking. They can also put up one helluva fight, despite the fact that they have perfectly linear patterns. The problem with the monsters in Castlevania is that they're cheap to the CORE! The Armored Spearman, for example, will have even the most astute player ripping his hair out in frustration. These creatures come in pairs (usually one above and one below), they have very quick, far reaching attacks, they can block almost all of your weapons AND they work in tandem to deliver an ass kicking of proportions. Bosses fair a bit better, but, as usual there's the cheap "Wait, I got one MORE form you didn’t know about! Ha-Ha!"-type-boss which will have you breaking controllers. This monster problem is not aided in any way by the hit recovery, which will ensure that you don't get pummeled just once but actually SEVERAL times in a row by even the most menial creatures.

As far as weapons go, Dracula X could do a great deal better. There are only some 5 extra weapons besides the whip and they're all very standard ranging from daggers to axes. There are no spells and the while can only strike in 4 directions (up, down, left, right), unlike in Super Castlevania 4. The whip also comes preassembled, unlike in other Castlevania games where death insured that you had to recover parts of your whip. Even more interesting is that fact that, the basic ammo for all of the special weapons, can be found in droves throughout the level. This makes the typical conservation of earlier Castlevanias obsolete.

However, Dracula X's real problems start in the level and length departments. The level design in Dracula X ranges from "bore me to death" to "if I have to take this jump one more time I'm throwing the mother****ing console out the window" and, to boot, all the levels feel dreary and they're underdetailed. There are also no alternate pathways to take and the tile sets are extremely overused, along with the "stairway of doom" and "platform jump" artifices. This way levels get very repetitive and very uninspiring, as one never goes out of the castle dungeon-castle wall circle. Dracula X saves SOME face by having to alternate levels which act as "mistakes" when the player falls off a ledge in Stage 4. As far as length goes, Dracula X is utterly pathetic. Despite a few tedious sequences and a few challenging boss fights, Dracula X is VERY easy and EXTREMELY short. Without redos, this game takes no more than 2 hours to complete, if even that.

Other aspects of Castlevania games are fairly intact in Dracula X. One can acquire the standard power-ups, solve the standard jump puzzles and bask in the glory of seeing a short outro video after having defeated Dracula. Oddly, Dracula X uses a password save system instead of the cartridge, but it's more of a kiddy-fit than a real problem or a tedious diversion. Finally, the presentation is still top notch, with great boss design and the astounding music and good graphics.

Multiplayer: N/A

None.

Overall: 7/10

One could do much worse than Dracula X on the SNES, but at the same time one could also do a whole lot better. However, some accolades are due here because Dracula X is far more "classic gamer" friendly than, say, Contra 3. Despite the fact that the latter is considered a "classic" not many players will stick by to even finish the first level, much less so the game. In Dracula X that's not a problem.

So if you're a classic gamer looking to try out an easy 2D action game with a good deal of personality try out this game. Otherwise, think twice before paying $50 for the CIB version.

(NOTE: The grade of Dracula X does not reflect IN ANY WAY the differences between the PC-Engine and SNES versions. The games are nearly identical in their core gameplay.)

Note: I'm new to the Castlevania series (I missed out on it when I was younger
for some reason as I was interested in other games at the time) I am playing this
game on zsnes emulator on rom and it is a great but frusterating game so far ;)

Scientist says he found Japan fish thought extinct

From yahoo news

TOKYO – A Japanese salmon species thought to be extinct for 70 years is alive and well in a lake near Mount Fuji, a science professor said Wednesday.


The black kokanee, or "kunimasu" in Japanese, was thought to have died out in 1940, when a hydroelectric project made its native lake in northern Akita Prefecture more acidic.

Before then, 100,000 eggs were reportedly transported to Lake Saiko but the species was still thought to have died off.

But Tetsuji Nakabo, a professor at Kyoto University, said his team of researchers found the species in Lake Saiko, about 310 miles (500 kilometers) south of the native lake.

"I was really surprised. This is a very interesting fish — it's a treasure. We have to protect it and not let it disappear again," he said.

He posed for pictures and video with a specimen that was dark olive with black spots on its back. The kunimasu grow to about a foot (30 centimers) in length.

Nakabo said the lake had sufficent kunimasu for the species to survive if the current environment is maintained, though he said in interviews he hoped fishermen would not catch it.

Lake Saiko is in a region popular with tourists for its Fuji views and hot spring baths.

The salmon is still listed as extinct in the public records of the Environment Ministry. Yobukaze Naniwa, an official at the ministry, said Nakabo's claim would be investigated before records are due to be updated in 2012.

Other species, including shellfish and plants, have also been discovered in Japan after being declared extinct, Naniwa said.

[video] Raw Footage Gunmen Opens Fire on School Board, Because Wife Was ...

Does Bigfoot really exist or not? Part 1 In Search of Bigfoot...

Is their a creature that lurks in the woods that is half man and half ape possible and stands over 7 feet tall, weighs over 500 pounds and can rip a man in half?

According to the bfro.net yes their is in fact such a creature that exists and that has been seen for centuries if not thousands of years in many parts of the world from North America here where I live to Asia and even Europe.

The bfro is one of my favorite sites and contains many interesting reports and accounts from various people and and Sasquatch which it the other term that Bigfoot goes by.

sources of encounters with Bigfoot


People from many different backgrounds have encountered this fearsome creature which is said to be at least 6 feet tall and 300 pounds in juveniles and at least 7 feet tall and 500 pounds or more in adult versions of the species.

It is sometimes hostile to humans and has been known to kill other animals for food.


This is from the bfro's website http://www.bfro.net/gdb/show_FAQ.asp?id=584


What is a Bigfoot, or Sasquatch?

Regarding the origins of the words "Sasquatch" and "Bigfoot":

The term "sasquatch" is an anglicized derivative of the word "Sésquac", meaning "wild man". The original word, in the Stó:lõ dialect of the Halkomelem language, is used by the Coast Salish Indians of the Fraser Valley and parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Indian tribes across North America have a total of more than sixty different terms for the sasquatch.

"Bigfoot" was a journalistic term generated in the middle of the last century during a rash of sightings in Northern California. The word has come to be recognized widely.

Many different terms have been used by pioneers and later non-native inhabitants of North America, including

"skookums" and "mountain devils".

The description given here is derived from a compilation of thousands of eye witness reports from the entire continent, some of astounding length, detail, and corroborative evidence; the Patterson movie, taken in 1967, and a recent computer-based image analysis of it; and statistical analysis of a large database accumulated over the last fifty years, primarily by John Green.


W. H. Fahrenbach, 2002


Their are legends from hundreds of years ago here: http://www.bfro.net/legends/


Pre-Columbian and Early American Legends of Bigfoot-like Beings
Introduction




(From : Traditional Attitudes Toward Bigfoot in Many North American Cultures, By Gayle Highpine)


Originally printed in the Western Bigfoot Society Newsletter "The Track Record". Excerpted from "Legends Beyond Psychology", by Henry James Franzoni III. Reprinted with permission from all parties.


"Here in the Northwest, and west of the Rockies generally, Indian people regard Bigfoot with great respect. He is seen as a special kind of being, because of his obvious close relationship with humans. Some elders regard him as standing on the "border" between animal-style consciousness and human-style consciousness, which gives him a special kind of power. (It is not that Bigfoot's relationship to make him "superior" to other animals; in Indian culture, unlike western culture, animals are not regarded as "inferior" to humans but rather as "elder brothers" and "teachers" of humans. But tribal cultures everywhere are based on relationship and kinship; the closer the kinship, the stronger the bond. Man Indian elders in the Northwest refuse to eat bear meat because of the bear's similarity to humans, and Bigfoot is obviously much more similar to humans than is the bear. As beings who blend the "natural knowledge" of animals with something of the distinctive type of consciousness called "intelligence" that humans have, Bigfoot is regarded as a special type of being."


"But, special being as he is, I have never heard anyone from a Northwestern tribe suggest that Bigfoot is anything other than a physical being, living in the same physical dimensions as humans and other animals. He eats, he sleeps, he poops, he cares for his family members. However, among many Indians elsewhere in North America... as widely separated at the Hopi, the Sioux, the Iroquois, and the Northern Athabascan -- Bigfoot is seen more as a sort of supernatural or spirit being, whose appearance to humans is always meant to convey some kind of message."


"The Lakota, or western Sioux, call Bigfoot Chiye-tanka (Chiha-tanka in Dakota or eastern Sioux); "chiye" means "elder brother" and "tanka" means "great" or "big". In English, though, the Sioux usually call him "the big man". In his book "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse," (Viking, 1980), a non-fiction account of the events dramatized by the excellent recent movie "Thunderheart", author Peter Mathiessen recorded some comments about Bigfoot made by traditional Sioux people and some members of other Indian nations. Joe Flying By, a Hunkpapa Lakota, told Mathiessen, "I think the Big Man is a kind of husband of Unk-ksa, the earth, who is wise in the way of anything with its own natural wisdom. Sometimes we say that this One is a kind of reptile from the ancient times who can take a big hairy form; I also think he can change into a coyote. Some of the people who saw him did not respect what they were seeing, and they are already gone."


"There is your Big man standing there, ever waiting, ever present, like the coming of a new day," Oglala Lakota Medicine Man Pete Catches km told Mathiessen. "He is both spirit and real being, but he can also glide through the forest, like a moose with big antlers, as though the trees weren't there... I know him as my brother... I want him to touch me, just a touch, a blessing, something I could bring home to my sons and grandchildren, that I was there, that I approached him, and he touched me." People continue to see Bigfoot all the time. Granted some sightings of the creature may be mis-identifications of other animals and even things like trees, and other humans in hunting gear or a fake suit I would still say that at least 10% or more like 25% of all sightings are of a real creature that science and zoologists have  not yet identifed.


What creature(s) lurks out their in the shadows of the North American forests late at night and the rest of the world?
 
Only God knows.


And a few eyewitnesses.

(The above picture is from the movie and TV show Harry and the Hendersons)


Search Amazon.com for harry and the hendersons

InsideCatholic.com | 1943: Progressive Evil | Feature | Articles

InsideCatholic.com 1943: Progressive Evil Feature Articles

'Jeopardy!' to Pit Humans Against IBM Machine - Yahoo! TV Blog

'Jeopardy!' to Pit Humans Against IBM Machine - Yahoo! TV Blog

the-true-cost-of-your-wish-list: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

the-true-cost-of-your-wish-list: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Mark Zuckerberg - Person of the Year 2010 - TIME

Mark Zuckerberg - Person of the Year 2010 - TIME



Congrats Mark!

:)

Scientists Find Clues Behind the Mystery of Amelia Earhart’s Disappearance - TIME NewsFeed

Scientists Find Clues Behind the Mystery of Amelia Earhart’s Disappearance - TIME NewsFeed

The Top Facebook Status Trends Of 2010: All About Slang - TIME NewsFeed

The Top Facebook Status Trends Of 2010: All About Slang - TIME NewsFeed

Katy Perry - Firework

Rascal Flatts "I Won't Let Go"- Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

The most unusual review of one of my books I've ever seen

The most unusual review of one of my books I've ever seen

InsideCatholic.com | Sunday Comics: Zombie Jesus | MyBlog | MyBlog

InsideCatholic.com Sunday Comics: Zombie Jesus MyBlog MyBlog

InsideCatholic.com | Fighting poverty with people | MyBlog | MyBlog

InsideCatholic.com Fighting poverty with people MyBlog MyBlog

TMZ video shows Miley Cyrus smoking

Ghosts, Spirits, and Demons!!

Owl City - In Christ Alone - Full Song 2010 w/ lyrics by Adam Young

Castlevania Bloodlines (Stage 1)

Thanks to NRA, America To Be Destroyed

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS | I AM NOT A ROBOT

Albert einstein - Does God exist ?!?!?!?! Real Story

Jenam1c -2- thumbnails hate me x)

Desperate Housewives, Friends Winning the War on Terror

God bless you, David Schwimmer.
Photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage

"What is America's most effective tool as it seeks to win over the hearts and minds of young Muslims around the world? An appealing foreign policy? International aid? Actually, it might be David Schwimmer. As hard as it is to believe, shows like Desperate Housewives and Friends, which are broadcast on Saudi Arabian TV with Arabic subtitles, make Middle Eastern youths less motivated to kill Americans, according to a newly released WikiLeaks cable.


"It's still all about the War of Ideas here, and the American programming on MBC and Rotana is winning over ordinary Saudis in a way that 'Al Hurra' and other US propaganda never could. Saudis are now very interested in the outside world, and everybody wants to study in the US if they can. They are fascinated by US culture in a way they never were before."

Of course, they will inevitably become disillusioned and turn to terror once they get here and discover that they can neither afford an apartment like the ones in Friends nor readily secure casual sex with gorgeous, horny cougars.

WikiLeaks cables: Jihad? Sorry, I don't want to miss Desperate Housewives [Guardian UK]"



.

Fans Remember John Lennon 30 Years After His Death

From abcnews.go.com

"John Lennon's fans celebrated his life Wednesday by visiting Strawberry Fields, the Central Park garden dedicated in his honor, while a newly released interview he gave shortly before his death showed he was optimistic about his future.


On the 30th anniversary of Lennon's murder outside his Manhattan apartment building, admirers played his music nearby at Strawberry Fields and placed flowers on a mosaic named for his song "Imagine."

The steady stream of visitors represented the range of people who love Lennon, from those who watched his career unfold as it happened to those who know only his music.

Father-daughter pair Paul DeLuca, 50, and Marissa DeLuca, 17, came from Boston to mark the day.

"I grew up with his voice," said Marissa DeLuca.

"The Beatles are the soundtrack to my childhood," she said. "His voice is just kind of like home."

Her father said, "Nothing is timeless like the stuff John and Paul (McCartney) wrote."

In Liverpool, where Lennon was from, hundreds were expected to gather for a vigil Wednesday around the Peace and Harmony sculpture, recently unveiled by Lennon's former wife, Cynthia, and their son Julian in Chavasse Park.

In the newly released interview, conducted just three days before he was gunned down, John Lennon complained about his critics — saying they were just interested in "dead heroes" and mused that he had "plenty of time" to accomplish some of his life goals.

The interview, believed to be his last print interview, was released Wednesday to The Associated Press by Rolling Stone magazine, which uses the full interview for a story that will be on stands Friday. While brief excerpts of Jonathan Cott's interview were released for a 1980 Rolling Stone cover story days after Lennon's death, this is the first time the entire interview has been published.

"His words are totally joyous and vibrant and hopeful and subversive and fearless," Cott told the AP on Tuesday. "He didn't mince words."

Note: Sad.

;(

-Rob

Evergreen Park couple move closer to title of 'World's Best' :: The SouthtownStar :: News

Evergreen Park couple move closer to title of 'World's Best' :: The SouthtownStar :: News

Religious Apparitions: U.S. Shrine Declared Legitimate

From http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/
and channel3000

channel3000 - "A Wisconsin site where an apparition of the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared three times to a Belgian-born nun in 1859 has earned the Roman Catholic Church's designation as the only of its kind in the U.S.


The site in the town of Champion has long been a popular destination for the faithful since the apparition was reported by Sister Adele Brise.

But only in the last two years did the Diocese of Green Bay undertake the official process to earn the distinction that puts it in company with sites including Lourdes, France; Guadalupe, Mexico; and Fatima, Portugal.

Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay announced Wednesday he officially approved the sightings as legitimate apparitions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help at Champion.

A diocesan spokesman said there are only 11 other such sites worldwide.

WLUK-TV reported that Ricken opened his investigation in January 2009. He appointed a team of three Marian experts to study the history of Brise's claim.

The bishop said Brise's character was a major factor in the decision to approve the Marian apparition.

**********

Most Reverend David Laurin Ricken, D.D., J.C.L.

By the Grace of God and the Authority of the Apostolic See

Bishop of Green Bay

Decree on the Authenticity of the Apparitions of 1859

at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

Diocese of Green Bay

GIVEN THAT

For over one hundred fifty-one years, a continuous flow of the faithful has come to Champion, Wisconsin to pray, to seek solace and comfort in times of trouble and to petition Our Lord Jesus Christ through the powerful intercession to Our Lady of Good Help.

Incessant prayer has gone up in this place based upon the word of a young Belgian immigrant woman, Adele Brise, who in October 1859 said that the Blessed Mother, a Lady clothed in dazzling white, had appeared to her on this site.

The Lady was elevated slightly in a bright light and gave words of solace and comfort and a bold and challenging mission for the young immigrant woman. The Lady gave her a two-fold mission of prayer for the conversion of sinners and catechesis. "I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners… Gather the children in this wild Diocese of Green Bay country and teach them what they should know for salvation… Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you."

Adele Brise began immediately to fulfill the mandate and mission entrusted to her by the Lady and oftentimes at great personal sacrifice went to the homes of the children to instruct them in the largely unsettled and forested area in Wisconsin.

Adele was ever obedient to the authorities of the Church and steadfast in the mission entrusted to her by Our Lady, no matter what difficulty she encountered. The mission given her became such a commitment that she set up a Catholic school of instruction for children and even began a community of Third Order Franciscan women, who assisted her in her obedience to the mandate of Our Lady to pray for the conversion of sinners and to instruct the children.

A long tradition of oral and some documented sources recounting answered prayers at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help include conversions and many physical healings attributed to the Blessed Mother's intercession. Many physical healings are memorialized by the multitude of crutches and other mementoes of thanksgiving for answered prayers left at the Shrine. Prayers for physical healing are answered even to this day through the intercession of Our Lady of Good Help. Though none of these favors have been officially declared a miracle by the Church, they are clear evidence of spiritual fruitfulness and the history of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Shrine.

Graces have been poured out through the sacraments celebrated in this place especially through the celebration of the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as well as through the recitation of public devotions and private prayers.

Our Lady has lessened or relieved the burdens of the People of God, whether about financial, familial, relationship or employment matters or even through diminishing inclement and tempestuous weather.

This holy place was preserved from the infamous Peshtigo fire of 1871, when many of the faithful gathered here with Sr. Adele and prayed through the intercession of Our Lady of Good Help, with the result that the fire that devastated everything in its wake in this entire area stopped when it reached the parameters of the Shrine.

There is clear testimony to the upright character of Adele Brise, her devotion to Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her unwavering commitment to the mission Mary entrusted to her. Moreover, the uninterrupted history of faith and devotion testifies to the spiritual fruits bestowed upon the pilgrims to the Shrine.

GIVEN ALL OF THE ABOVE

Three Marian experts have studied the history of this alleged apparition and all of the extant documents, letters, and written testimonies in order to determine whether or not there are inherent contradictions or objections to the veracity of the testimony given by Adele Brise with regard to the events of 1859 and to establish whether or not there is enough evidence to suggest that the events which happened to Adele Brise may be of a supernatural origin.

The accounts of the apparitions and locutions are judged to be free from doctrinal error and consistent with the Catholic faith.

There is nothing in the person and character of Adele Brise that would question the veracity of the substance of her account. In fact, her personal character is a major factor in favor of the recognition of the apparition.

Objections concerning whether there was enough evidence to support a judgment in favor of the supernatural character of the events were thoroughly investigated and answered by the experts. The documents from the early history of the Shrine are not abundant, due primarily to the fact that Green Bay at the time of the apparition was frontier country. One of the experts affirmed that any lack of information does "not invalidate the overall impression of coherence between event and consequences, personality of the seer and commitment to the mission received, the comparability between this event and similar recognized apparitions, and challenges of the historical context and responses given."

GIVEN THAT

These simple apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise became such a compelling theological and religious mission for her. The effects of these endeavors by her and many others have lasted these many years with such major spiritual benefit to so many people.

Many of the local clergy and clergy from other Dioceses and Religious Institutes have come here on pilgrimage with their people, also with spiritual benefit.

All of my esteemed predecessor Bishops of the Diocese of Green Bay for the past one hundred and fifty-one years have been present for special Masses in Honor of Our Lady of Good Help, and some of them have even actively promoted the Shrine.

THEREFORE,

It remains to me now, the Twelfth Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay and the lowliest of the servants of Mary, to declare with moral certainty and in accord with the norms of the Church:

that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful.

I encourage the faithful to frequent this holy place as a place of solace and answered prayer.

Given at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, Champion, Wisconsin, the eighth day of December in the year of Our Lord two thousand and ten, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

His Excellency, Most Reverend David L. Ricken, D.D., J.C.L.

Twelfth Bishop of Green Bay"

Note: This looks like a legit miracle to me!

For more on the story go to directly to Lon's
site at: http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/

Thanks.

-Rob

Students attack Prince Charles' car after fee hike

From Students attack Prince Charles' car after fee hike -yahoo news

LONDON – "In Britain's worst political violence in years, furious student protesters rained sticks and rocks on riot police, vandalized government buildings and attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, after lawmakers approved a controversial hike in university tuition fees.


Demonstrators set upon the heir to the throne's limousine as it drove through London's West End shopping and entertainment hub. Protesters who had been running amok and smashing shop windows kicked and threw paint at the car, which sped off.

Charles' office, Clarence House, confirmed the attack but said "their royal highnesses are unharmed."

Police said it was unclear whether the royals had been deliberately targeted, or were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The couple arrived looking composed at the London Palladium theater, where they were attending a Royal Variety Performance. Their Rolls Royce limousine was left with a badly cracked rear window and was spattered with paint.

Protesters erupted in anger after legislators in the House of Commons approved a plan to triple university fees to 9,000 pounds ($14,000) a year.

As thousands of students were corralled by police near Parliament, some strummed guitars and sang Beatles songs — but others hurled chunks of paving stones at police and smashed windows in a government building.

Another group ran riot through the busy shopping streets of London's West End, smashing store windows and setting fire to a giant Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square.

Police condemned the "wanton vandalism." They said 38 protesters and 10 officers had been injured, while 15 people were arrested.

The violence overshadowed the tuition vote, a crucial test for governing Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, and for the government's austerity plans to reduce Britain's budget deficit.

It was approved 323-302 in the House of Commons, a close vote given the government's 84-seat majority.

Many in the thousands-strong crowd booed and chanted "shame" when they heard the result of the vote, and pressed against metal barriers and lines of riot police penning them in.

Earlier small groups of protesters threw flares, billiard balls and paint bombs, and officers, some on horses, rushed to reinforce the security cordon.

The scuffles broke out after students marched through central London and converged on Parliament Square, waving placards and chanting "education is not for sale" to cap weeks of nationwide protests aimed at pressuring lawmakers to reverse course.

The vote put Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrat party in an awkward spot. Liberal Democrats signed a pre-election pledge to oppose any such tuition hike, and reserved the right to abstain in the vote even though they are part of the governing coalition proposing the change.

Those protesting in central London were particularly incensed by the broken pledge from Clegg's party.

"I'm here because the Liberal Democrats broke their promise," said 19-year-old Kings College student Shivan David from London's Trafalgar Square. "I don't think education should be free but I do think that tripling fees doesn't make any sense. We are paying more for less."

Inside the House of Commons and to the jeers from the opposition lawmakers, Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable insisted that the new tuition plans were "progressive" as a heated debate over the proposal began.

Many in his party disagreed, and 21 Liberal Democrat lawmakers — more than a third of the total — voted against the fee hike. Another eight, including at least one government minister, abstained.

Demonstrator John Dawson, 16, admitted that it might be too late to change lawmakers' minds but said protesters must keep up the fight.

"The fact that so many students came out to protest today shows that, even after the vote, they will still do whatever they can to avoid paying this much for higher education," he said.

Experts warned that fallout from the policy could pose a greater risk after the vote.

"The real danger for the government is not that they won't pass it through, but that it will be a policy fiasco," said Patrick Dunleavy, a political science professor at the London School of Economics. "By picking this fight with the student body ... the government seems to have gotten itself into choppy water."

All of this has made Clegg one of the least popular politicians on university campuses. Protesters chanting "Nick Clegg, shame on you for turning blue" underscored the sense of betrayal.

Clegg defended the proposals, saying the plans represent the "best possible choice" at a time of economic uncertainty.

"In the circumstances in which we face, where there isn't very much money around, where many millions of other people are being asked to make sacrifices, where many young people in the future want to go to university, we have to find the solution for all of that," Clegg told the BBC.

Cameron's government describes the move as a painful necessity to deal with a record budget deficit and a sputtering economy. To balance its books, the U.K. passed a four-year package of spending cuts worth 81 billion pounds, which will eliminate hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs and cut or curtail hundreds of government programs.

The government proposed raising the maximum university tuition fees in England from 3,000 pounds a year to 9,000 pounds. Students reacted with mass protests that have been marred by violence and have paralyzed some campuses.

In response, the government modified its plan by raising the income level at which graduates must start repaying student loans and by making more part-time students eligible for loans.

Students have said the concessions are not enough to lessen the blow of higher fees. They say that under the proposal, piles of debt will plague graduates and make a well-rounded education unattainable for many.

The controversy has highlighted regional educational differences in the United Kingdom.

The Welsh regional government has pledged to subsidize the higher fees for any student from Wales who enrolls at an English university. Student fees in Scotland are just 1,820 pounds per year, sparking fears of a future stampede of bargain-hunting students from England. Northern Ireland's fees are capped at 3,290 pounds a year.

Associated Press Writers Jill Lawless and Gillian Smith contributed to this report."

Note: I dislike Prince Charles but this was uncalled for.

-Rob

My 50th blog post!! And some News Story's thanks to Jen

So everybody this is my 50th post here at my blog and I just wanted to thank all
of you for looking at it and those of you who bookmarked it as well and com here
daily or at least once in a while lol.

Thank you all for your support.;)

Now here are some excieting story's that my friend
Jen aka JENAM1C on youtube pm'ed me yesterday:

Cops: Wife bites off husband's tongue during kiss - msnbc.com

John Toomey Santa Claus fired Macys telling naughty joke- dailymail.com

oap poisoned police with sandwiches?

Interesting stuff, eh? I liked the Santa Story lol.

Also I hope the police are ok and the man that
got his tongue biten off.

God bless and pax.

;)

-Rob

Is God evil?

Is God evil?

No He is not.

-Rob

Attack at Pearl Harbor

John Lennon: Top 6 most influential songs

John Lennon: Top 6 most influential songs

Why Evolutionism is pseudoscience, a COSMIC LIE #2 Time the Hero.mp4

Beautiful Mind-Oaces

Ghosts, Spirits, and Demons!!

The Five Crises in Evolutionary Theory

The Five Crises in Evolutionary Theory