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2009 <<<< 2010 >>>> 2011
2010-DEC-18 [SAT] 10:59 PM
This is a continuation (kind of anyway) of our blog entry from
last month:
SERIAL KILLERS AND EVOLUTION
As I wrote in our previous entry, Mr. Blumberg is a very gifted writer and does a very good job explaining his ideas, simply and succinctly, especially the complex ones. So, we bought the first book of his that we talked about in our first blog entry: "Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution". We then ordered another book of his that was more about developmental psychology and thus a better fit with our serial killer research: "Basic Instinct: The Genesis of Behavior".
It starts off with a discussion about instinct and just what
exactly is it and how do you even begin to define it. You can
read some of the quotes we took from the
"Basic Instinct... "
and
"Freaks of Nature... "
books here:
SEK (Serial Killer): DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH
It then moves on to a discussion of evolution versus intelligent design. This is where we started having a bit of a problem with his logic. It's not that it wasn't spot-on, it's just that he concludes the existence of one theory (intelligent design) is no longer feasible, because the possibility that another one (evolution) has a higher probability of being the correct one.
The thing is, and what Mr. Blumberg seems to have forgotten is, that evolution is still only a theory and not a law, yet. The logic he uses to prove the probability of Evolution over Intelligent Design is pretty convincing, but no where in his logic does it disprove the idea (or competing theory) that the Creator Himself (or Herself, or both) designed Evolution as a tool to diversify life as we know it. In short, Evolution was one of God's ways to kick start the Universe (and life as we know it) and keep it going to this day and into the future.
2010-DEC-19 [SUN] 12:56 AM
Fox's
"Fringe"
is, in our opinion, the best show on TV, now or ever:
http://www.fox.com/fringe
The
"Fringe"
TV Show Encyclopedia:
http://www.fringepedia.net/wiki/Fringepedia
The best "Fringe"
reviewer, we've ever read, can be found here ("REVIEW:
Fringe
- 'Marionette'"):
http://www.accidentalsexiness.com/2010/12/10/review-fringe-marionette/
2010-NOV-27 [SAT] 11:29 AM
Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution
by Mark S. Blumberg
Started reading this book about a little over a week ago, and it is simply fascinating.
During the course of researching the 1952 Glen B. Denney case which involved an SHC (Spontaneous Human Combustion) event, one book ("Mysterious Fires and Lights" by Vincent H. Gaddis) led us to another book ("Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine" by George M. Gould and Walter L. Pyle), and while searching through the catalog at the Seattle Public Library for that book (Unfortunately the Library didn't have it), this one ("Freaks of Nature") was almost at the very top of the list of results from our original search. It sounded interesting enough, and thinking there would be a whole load of cool freak pictures, we put it on hold, and a week later, I went to go pick it up.
Before I tell you what happened when I got to the library, let me state for the benefit of the Politically Correct (PC) crowd that I don't mean to sound insensitive to those who are born with defects such as two heads or one eye. This is so far from the truth as to be laughable. Off the top of our heads we don't even know what the PC term is for them. I use the term freaks because that is what the name of this book is and don't mean it in a derogatory way by any means. As a matter of fact, I have a lot of respect for them, because in order to go on living they have to figure out a way to get past it and go on with their lives. This probably takes a whole lot more courage then I'll probably ever have, and with that said, let's move on also.
I was very disappointed right from the get go, because not only was it a small book, but while flipping through the pages, I also noticed that there weren't many pictures at all, with most of them being cartoon sketches. One series showed a progression of freaks starting with a face with no eyes, then only one eye, all the way down to one with two heads with all the different variations in between. Interesting, but no cigar.
Not only that, but the chapter headings and formatting looked more like something you'd find in a textbook or scholarly work, and was nothing like what we were expecting at all, but since I didn't have anything else to read on the bus ride home, I started reading it, and lo and behold, was very surprised at how interesting it was and how it fit right in with some of the serial killer theories we had that not only were they a result of genetics, but also environmental anomolies. We had never thought of serial killers as freaks, at least not in the same sense as someone with two heads, but in the psychological sense they were definitely freaks of nature. At least we hope so anyway. The alternative that they are not and are the norm is just too crazy to even think about, but that doesn't mean there isn't the smallest possiblity it isn't true. We just hope it isn't true, but in order to truly solve the problem of serial killers, an open mind is not only essential, but an absolute necessity.
Not only did this idea that serial killers were a developmental and evolutionary experiment have a certain amount of merit, but it was also a revelation of sorts, because it opened up a whole new room of ideas and theories to research and explore as to what exactly is it about serial killers that allows them to do what they do? What exactly is it about them that makes them so different from the rest of us? Are they a whole new step up (or down) on the evolutionary ladder?
Anyway, Mark S. Blumberg is a very talented writer that explains complex ideas in an entertainingly simple way, but not by talking down to his reader, but by using examples that are universally understood in their simplicity. Thus, we were now glad that I had given the book a chance and are seriously thinking of buying it for our library.
========================================
To read more about this book, please go to our AmyStrange.org
webpage here:
http://www.amystrange.org/UNX-Freaks-Of-Nature.html
Or to read more about serial killers or our theories about them, please go here:
http://www.amystrange.org/SEK-index.html
2010-SEP-19 [SUN] 09:24 PM
Did Jesus Christ Really Exist?
There is enough supporting evidence that results in there being a good probability (although not proving absolutely) that Jesus Christ did indeed exist, but whether he was or did all the things that were attributed to him are true is another story all together.
But, something happened to the apostles collectively that turned them from sniveling scaredy-cats cowering and huddling together in a room somewhere in the Middle East into great teachers of a truth that they believed was the Jesus Christ they knew. The question is what was it that happened to them that changed them in such a profound way.
========================================
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
"Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BC/BCE - c. 30 AD/CE), also known as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus, is the central figure of Christianity, which views him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament, with most Christian denominations believing him to be the Son of God and God incarnate who was raised from the dead. Islam and the Baha'i Faith consider Jesus a prophet and also the Messiah. Several other religions revere him in some way. He is one of the most influential figures in human history."
GO HERE TO READ THE REST:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
========================================
FROM: http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/little-evidence-jesus-died-on-a-cross-says-swedish-scholar/19530666
" ...a Swedish pastor and academic has revealed that Jesus may not have died on a cross, but instead been put to death on another gruesome execution device... "
GO HERE TO READ THE REST:
========================================
Here's an interesting twist...
FROM: http://www.apollonius.net/bernard1e.html
"In the year 325 A.D. was perpetrated one of the most colossal frauds and deceptions in the annals of history. This was the date of the Council of Nicaea, whose task it was to create a new religion that would be acceptable to Emperor Constantine, who, at the time, was engaged in the bloody persecution of those communists and pacifists of ancient times who were known as early Christians. What made Constantine, in the midst of his inhuman massacre of these defenseless and despised people, suddenly take over their religion and become its staunchest protagonist, is one of the enigmas of history which has never before been elucidated. On this point Reville, a Catholic apologist, writes... "
GO HERE TO READ THE REST:
http://www.apollonius.net/bernard1e.html
AND HERE TO ACCESS THE TOC (Table of Contents):
http://www.apollonius.net/bernardCe.html
2010-AUG-01 [SUN] 08:24 AM
Amanda Knox
At the time of the Meridith Kercher murder
2010-JUL-18 [SUN] 08:24 AM
Amanda Knox
At the time of the Meridith Kercher murder
2010-JUN-27 [SUN] 10:48 AM
Nanobacteria
How small can something be before it can be considered a living thing. Most scientist think that the smallest something can be before it can be considered living, which is based on the idea that living things have to have the ability to reproduce which means it has to be able to contain some form of DNA, is 0.2 (200 nanometres) um.
========================================
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanobacterium
"Nanobacteria (singular nanobacterium) is the name of a proposed class of living organisms; specifically cell-walled microorganisms with a size much smaller than the generally accepted lower limit size for life (about 200 nanometres for bacteria)..."
GO HERE TO READ THE REST:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanobacterium
2010-MAY-23 [SUN] 03:43 AM
Did Jesus Christ Really Exist?
There is enough supporting evidence that results in there being a good probability (although not proving absolutely) that Jesus Christ did indeed exist, but whether he was or did all the things that were attributed to him are true is another story all together.
But, something happened to the apostles collectively that turned them from sniveling scaredy-cats cowering and huddling together in a room somewhere in the Middle East into great teachers of a truth that they believed was the Jesus Christ they knew. The question is what was it that happened to them that changed them in such a profound way.
========================================
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
"Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BC/BCE - c. 30 AD/CE), also known as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus, is the central figure of Christianity, which views him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament, with most Christian denominations believing him to be the Son of God and God incarnate who was raised from the dead. Islam and the Baha'i Faith consider Jesus a prophet and also the Messiah. Several other religions revere him in some way. He is one of the most influential figures in human history."
GO HERE TO READ THE REST:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
========================================
FROM: http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/little-evidence-jesus-died-on-a-cross-says-swedish-scholar/19530666
"...a Swedish pastor and academic has revealed that Jesus may not have died on a cross, but instead been put to death on another gruesome execution device..."
GO HERE TO READ THE REST:
2010-APR-04 [SUN] 07:17 PM
TITLE: The Real Wolfman
TYPE: Documentary Film
STUDIO: A&E Television Networks
PRODUCER: Claire Callahan
WRITER: Laurie K. Miller
CAST: Ken Gerhardt, George Deuchar
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 2009 OCT 28 (USA)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Real_Wolfman/70129271?trkid=226870
========================================
This DVD issue is of a show we saw a few months ago on the History Channel. What they did was pair a cryptozoologist and criminal profiler to investigate the werewolf case in the Gévaudan region of France in the 1700s. The criminal profiler lost all credibility with us when almost the first thing out of his mouth was something to the affect that cryptozoologist were nuts. It was interesting none the less and still worth watching.
The criminal profiler (George Deuchar) was biased in favor of a man being the perpetrator, while surprisingly to us, the cryptozoologist (Ken Gerhardt) was in favor of a known species being behind the killings. They both laughed off the werewolf theories. The conclusion of the show was that the actual perpetrator was the man credited with killing the beast with one shot with a silver bullet. They concluded that he had somehow gotten a hold of a hyena and trained it to viciously kill woman and children.
Their proof? A silver bullet is not as accurate as a lead bullet because silver is too hard to be spun by the striations inside the barrel of a gun which is what causes lead bullets to be accurate. Bullets need spin in order to travel in a straight line, AND because a silver bullet doesn't cause as much damage as a lead bullet. In their mind, this proves the man had to get close to the hyena in order to kill it and the only way that could be done was if the hyena knew the man.
The funny part, we thought, was how the criminal profiler discounted much of the eye witness reports. Dave said, oh sure eye witness testimony is ok when your using it to execute someone, but not ok when using it to prove a new species exist or a severely mutated species might be behind the killings. I thought it was funny anyway.
And finally, someone in one of the Yahoo Groups we belong to refered us to the following website to read about the history of rifling which not only explained, in greater detail, what bullet spin was all about, but also rifling's historical timeline, including when it was invented and finally became commonplace in the manufacture of firearms:
========================================
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifling
"Rifling is the process of making spiral grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis. This spin serves to gyroscopically stabilize the projectile, improving its aerodynamic stability and accuracy."
[...]
"Barrel rifling was invented in Vienna at the end of the fifteenth century by Jaspard Zoller. In 1520 August Kotter, an armourer of Nuremberg, improved upon the work of Zoller. Though true rifling dates from the mid-15th century, it did not become commonplace until the nineteenth century... "
GO HERE TO READ THE REST:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifling
========================================
Ken Gerhardt's Blog and quick synopsis of the documentary itself can be read here:
http://kengerhard.com/2009/10/23/the-real-wolfman/
Especially interesting are the comments that follow Ken's synopsis.
========================================
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan
Beast of Gévaudan
The Beast of Gévaudan (French: La Bête du Gévaudan) is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan (modern day département of Lozère and part of Haute-Loire), in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching 90 by 80 kilometres (56 by 50 mi)...
GO HERE TO READ THE REST:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan
2010-MAR-28 [SUN] 05:02 PM
WEB BOT PROJECT
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Bot
Web Bot, or the Web Bot Project, refers to an Internet bot software program that is claimed to be able to predict future events by tracking keywords entered on the Internet. It was created in 1997, originally to predict stock market trends. The creator of the Web Bot Project, Clif High, along with his associate George Ure, who call themselves "The Time Monks", keep the technology and algorithms largely secret and sell the predictions via the website:
2010-MAR-28 [SUN] 10:51 AM
Cattle Decapitation Parasitic Infestation Extracted Pus Mistaken For Yogurt
Can't make heads or tails out of this one, but it has such an interesting enough title that we thought it worth posting here and maybe someone reading this could figure it out, contact us, tell us what you think it's all about, and then we can post it here so everyone else will know also.
We thank, in advance, whomever helps us out with this.
2010-MAR-27 [SAT] 11:00 AM
BBC Denies Dr Who Cuts As New Monsters Include Some Cheese And A Stick
24-03-10
The producer of Doctor Who has dismissed claims that new aliens, including Cheddron the Cheese, are the result of BBC budget cuts.
========================================
A few months ago, we watched the very first three episodes (serials) ever of Dr Who. The first (An Unearthly Child) was the pilot which introduced the characters and got them together and off on their first adventure which was to go back in time and meet some cavemen which weirdly enough could speak English. In the second (The Daleks) Dr. Who's most famous adversary is introduced, the Daleks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Who_serials
The Daleks weren't as cheesy as cheese on a stick, but still pretty cheap looking by today's standards of special effects. And even though budget cutting seems to be in vogue again, atleast it's not as bad as it was back when Dr Who was created. After the first three serials, it's almost impossible to find copies of the next few episodes, because back in those days, they used to reuse the tape of shows and tape over them or destroy them all together so they wouldn't need as much storage space or have to buy more tape. The industry term is wiped:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiping
LAST UPDATED: January 2, 20112009 <<<< 2010 >>>> 2011