Riding those coat tails

A few weeks ago we were watching "The Incredibles" again. One of the repeating gags in the movie is that long capes are an occupational hazard. Capes get caught in sinister machinery, leading to bad times for the superheroes wearing them.

Imagine my surprise when I found the following story in my family history research just a few nights later:

"Francis Marion Cook [...] was visiting Ann and Lincoln in Aurora, MO. He had married his daughter Melvina. Two months later he was walking down town. He was looking at a big engine. He was dressed in his preacher suit (He was a Baptist minister) with long coat tails. The tails got caught in the big flywheel. Messed him up so bad they could not ship him back, so he is buried there."

It's hard to write fiction without a grain of truth (however unlikely) creeping in.

Zombie power

I had some downtime around the holidays, but the Weird never takes a vacation.

Here's a story of mayhem on the highways. You know those elecronic billboards that are supposed to warn us of impending construction? Someone has been hacking them in Illinois and posting horror-show messages, including "ZOMBIES IN AREA! RUN!"

Just a quick note showing the perils of letting too many writers get frustrated ... while funny to some people, we really don't need MORE distractions on the road.

Source: Yahoo News

Metallica's new zombie horde

I know, I haven't posted in a while. Sometimes the unusual just seems normal. But every now & then something comes up that's so odd, I just have to share. My brother tipped me off to this new Metallica video, a twisted horror homage to the Tunguska blast:

http://metallica.com/index.asp?item=601688

Even if you don't like the band, try the video. It's horrific, but so well composed, looking like so much authentic government archive video, plus an animated zombie hoard and a modern-day paranoid twist at the end. Thanks for the tip, Jon. ;-)

By the way, 2008 was the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska blast. If grew up hearing about it like I did, it seems hard to believe. If you're not familiar with it, Google it. Enjoy.

Whose flag is that?

I'm always on the lookout for strange events, and they have a knack for showing up where I least expect them. During the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics, there was an odd comment when the team from Liechtenstein entered the stadium.

Apparently, in the opening ceremony of the 1936 Olympics, during the procession of the athletes, Liechtenstein found out that they had the same exact flag as Haiti. So the next year Liechtenstein added a small crown to their flag so they would be distinct once again.

I always wondered about all those flags that have just two or three stripes ... are they really all different? Turns out they weren't, but now they are, again.

Freemasons and the City

I have to admit, I enjoy reading conspiracy theories and New Age mumbo jumbo ... well, maybe "enjoy" isn't the right word. It's actually saddening to see people sling assumptions and accusations around, with so little basis in reality. But it's what passes for mythology in our mixed-up culture. (Hmm ... that's even sadder.) Still, there are occasionally a few concrete things to talk about.

Like the theory that the Freemasons designed the street plan for the city of Washington, D.C., and included a pentagram in the design to demonstrate their occult powers. If this doesn't qualify for a blog about unlikely things, I don't know what does. The theory itself uses the "grasping at straws" method, where the authors take a few facts, like George Washington being a Freemason (true), and pentagrams being associated with Freemasonry (iffy), and come up with a weird scenario that sounds cool but demonstrates nothing.

The best site I've found for debunking this urban legend is a huge archive called "Anti-masonic claims refuted," at the Grand (Masonic) Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. Yes, the Masons have a right to defend themselves. After all, they get smeared all the time, and no wrongdoing has ever been proven. These articles are very well written, with proper supporting facts. A really fascinating collection.

For the Washington, D.C. case, see this article, which goes into detail on the flaws in the "theory," including who created the city plans, and who didn't. It includes links to the actual plan. What I like is the breakdown of all the unspoken assumptions that go into the theory. This is where the fringe stuff usually breaks down; by talking fast and being unaware of just how many pieces are missing.

So, was ANY city EVER designed to include Masonic symbols? For fun, the Grand Lodge site also has an article about the one city that is known to have a Masonic layout ... Sandusky, Ohio.

King Kong is Burning

Right now there's a major fire burning in the back lot of Universal Studios. The set from "Back to the Future" is reported as being destroyed, as well as the King Kong exhibit that's part of the regular tour, plus the set from Clint Eastwood's recent film, "The Changelings", the New York Street exhibit, a few other sets and a major film & video archive. Up to 50,000 videos and reels in the video vault may have been destroyed, but duplicates of these exist elsewhere, according to the report [1]. Ten firefighters are reported injured [2]. The fire started just before 5 A.M. and the cause is under investigation.

LINK 1: MSNBC 01 June 2008.
LINK 2: CNN 01 June 2008.
LINK 3: FirstShowing.net 01 June 2008 - good photos.

Like almost everything else, this has actually happened before. In November, 1990, another fire on these same back lots caused $25 million in damage, and destroyed the "Back to the Future" set. That fire was set by a security guard, who was convicted and sent to prison for four years.

Fish farts?

Every now & then, a headline is irresistible. Here's an odd piece about herring releasing bubbles from their tail eed, possibly as a form of communication.

LINK: New Scientist (05 Nov 2003)

I'm not sure this needs a polite scientific term, but it's called "Fast Repetitive Tick." They're not farts as we know them here in the air-breathing world, since "the number of sounds does not change when the fish are fed." Evidence as a form of communication includes, "when more herring are in a tank, the researchers record more FRTs per fish" and more activity after dark, when the fish can't see each other.

It's not the latest news, but it shows that sometimes the unexpected can be right under our noses.