Ghost to Ghost of His Former Self

At one point, Art Bell was synonimus with esoteric radio. I remember reading books and people would refer to shows using him as the measuring stick. He was awarded the Lifetime Acheivement Award, which he deserved. However, I think he forgot that they ususally give those out to people who need to call it quits before they ruin their legacy.

Art Bell has ruined his legacy and has now, in my eyes, become just another huckster. A shill for the global warming crowd. Every interview he has done since his return with new wife in tow has referred to his views on global warming.

It's not just the global warming crap, it's his entire "holier than thou" attitude he has had. He is disinterested in the guests, rude to the callers and generally boring to listen to. When a caller gets on the line, no matter what, his first words to them are not a greeting, but a "turn your radio down", he sounds like an old man telling the dirty hippies to turn down that rock and roll.

Art had his moment in the sun. He has hit his share of homeruns for the team. He's had his game winning hits. Now, he seems like a player on his last legs, trying to compete with the younger generation and striking out every at bat. It's time for Art to go, before he ends up making all his fans feel as much anger towards him as I do.

Meds: 1, Me: 0

So after deciding I needed to go to the doctor and get something done for my ear infection, I gave his office a call. My doctor is a really good guy and just by listening to the symptoms over the phone he had enough samples of the antibiotic that he was going to prescibe to me waiting for me at the nurses desk. This helps me out a lot since I am on disability from a stroke I suffered and don't have any insurance. So not only was my medication free, I wasn't charged for an office visit.

I get my meds delivered to me by my mom who volunteered to go and pick them up and read the directions. One pill, four times a day. Ok, no problem there. So I take the first pill when I got them and promptly zonked out. My mom woke me up about 10 pm to make sure i take another one. I do and the same thing happens, I fall fast asleep. This same senerio repeats itself up until about three hours prior to me writing this. And the only reason I haven't dozed off yet is I haven't taken one since I woke up. (Which I will as soon as I finish this up)

I had forgotten how antibiotics affect me. Whereas most people take them and nothing happens, I am knocked out by them. I always have reacted this way to them, I don't know why, but it happens. Strangely, when a medication says "May cause drowziness", I am up for days after taking it. Maybe my body chemistry is out of whack or maybe it's a psychosomatic response. Who knows?

But, I know that I basically have lost two days over it, but it's worth it not to have that pain inside my ear canal and my jaw. I'll oly get a few hours of sleep since I want to wake up and put my nieces wagon together for her birthday today.

Her nana and papa (my mom and dad) got her a little red wagon and a swimming pool for her birthday. I got her one of those kiddie push cars that have all the electronic sounds like a horn and sirens and other stuff on it and a DVD of "Monster House" (I figure I can watch that one with her). Her party is going to be tomorrow afternoon since her mom has to work on her birthday (she works in a hospital so it's hard to take off), but being the traditionalist, I decided we will give her her presents today on her birthday.

I lost a few days over this stupid ear infection, but at least now I can actually take her outside and play with her with her new stuff. So i guess it worked out for the best. First birthday's only happen once and I want it to be special for her.

Quick Thoughts

Seeing as how I have an ear infection that's driving me crazy, with the pain travelling from my ear all the way through the entire left side of my jaw, this is just going to be a quick update that has pretty much nothing to do with my normal "out there" posts. I have a doozy planned for tomorrow. Anyway, here we go.

1. Wow. All I can say is Wow, do my Cardinals suck this year! I can't remember a time when a defending World Series Championship team was this bad. I still say that they need to get rid of Larussa, but I've been saying that for years now. With Rolen hitting less than I could, it's time to give Spezio some starts at third base. Walt Jocketty needs to start getting some players during the offseason instead of letting your starters go and signing nobody to replace them. Really the only big deal he has made was getting McGwire in 1997.

2. "Hostel" is my pick for worst movie ever made. Although to be fair, I've never seen Gigli or From Justin to Kelly.

3. Am I the only person alive who isn't interested in seeing or hasn't seen Borat?

4. Larry King looks like the old Tootsiepop Owl from the commercials.

5. To the writers of the WWE: We get it, John Cena can't be stopped. He is the alpha-male. He is Superman without a cape. It's time to let him lose the belt. Or at least get rid of that God awful spinner belt.

6. Coast to Coast AM needs to have JC call in every episode. He is the best thing that the show has going for it lately. Also, Art Bell, we understand the world will burn up because of global warming. Talk about something else for a change.

The upcoming Birthday Girl

Just Four more days until big number one!!!! Uncle Chris loves you!

Who has the burden of proof?

America's judicial system is based on the idea that someone is innocent until proven guilty. This is one of the most basic principles that someone learns about law. Does this apply only in the context of a trial? Or does this transcend the law and become a general principle of life?

Before anyone thinks I've gone completely insane that's all the talk of law I will do. I'm not a lawyer and never wanted to be one, I leave that for my cousin and my other cousins husband. No, the reason I brought it up is the fact that to prove something you have to have evidence to back it up. However, it seems that in the fields of esoteric studies such as Ufology, cryptozoology, and the paranormal the supporters have to provide all of the evidence while the debunkers and skeptics just have to say the words "hoax" or "fake" to seemingly denounce and disprove in the eyes of the general population any and all evidence that the esoteric researcher might bring forth.

To quote Shane "Hurricane" Helms. "Whatsupwitdat?"

What is the proof that researchers can provide that would be considered substantial enough to get past the cry of scam from the list of debunkers? Ufology seemingly provides proof on a daily basis, be it video or photograph, only to have no less than our own government claim the always popular "flare" excuse. The advent of computers and programs such as "photoshop" have done nothing but give skeptics one more piece of heavy ammunition to use in their war against anyone who doesn't think like they do. To them, every photo or video is now painstakingly reworked on a high end computer with an operator who can make a Madonna picture not look like a dried up husk.

Really, what would it take? It seems that even if their was a landing on the White House lawn, someone like The Amazing Randi would say it was all done by George Lucas's ILM Studios. The big question is why is it like that? Maybe we as a community aren't as dedicated in our beliefs as we like to say we are. Maybe it's just something that has been instilled in us that since our beliefs go against the norm we are used to it and think it's to be expected.

Maybe if enough people say that the skeptics have to prove us wrong, maybe then, they will have the burden of proof on them.

Earth Chronicles

I haven't read all of the books yet, but I am digging the hell out of Zecharia Sitchin's Earth Chronicles series of books. Just the idea that the mythology of ancient man is really the history of our world is fascinating.

The two books I have read in it are The Wars of Gods and Men and Genesis Revisited. There are more to get, however, since I don't use credit cards ordering them from Amazon or some other online bookstore keeps the books I can get to the stock available in the brick and mortar stores.

I know a lot of people crap of Sitchin's ideas, but to me they seem just as plausible as anyone else's so far. Besides, a lot of the ideas in his books fit in with ideas I've had myself. So maybe I like it that many of my thoughts are justified by someone.

The Boggy Creek Monster

As a lifelong resident of Arkansas, I have been told a lot of different stories about the state. I have heard the stories of Bonnie and Clyde having coffee with my great uncle, stories about the "Hanging Judge" (and if you've ever seen Rooster Cogburn, you know who I'm talking about), so basically I've heard just about every story that came out of the old west and the depression era from the state.

However, there is one story that to this day fascinates me. The Legend of Boggy Creek.

Yes, the same one that had the horrible movie made about it in the early 70's. The same movie that was immortalized in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. As bad as that three film series was (only made watchable by the appearance of the late, yet always cute Dana Plato in the second film), the stories behind the films are as much a part of local folklore as Ted Williams and Babe Ruth in Boston.

During the early 1870's in the town of Fouke, Arkansas the Ford family was attacked by an unknown creature. During the same time period, the same creature was blamed for the death of local livestock. This creature is said to be from seven to ten feet tall, weigh anywhere from 250 to 800 pounds, has a chest 3 feet wide, long dark fur and bright red eyes the size of silver dollars.

Tracks have been found that give the creature a 17 inch foot that is 7 inches wide. However, unlike any other creature of it's type, it is claimed to only have three toes.

Since the 1970's there has been sporadic reports of the creature. In 1991, it was seen jumping from a bridge and in 1998 it was again reported in a dry creek bed. The biggest year for sightings was 1997 where there were 40 reported sightings.

As usual, with any type of creature that can't be labeled definitively, there is speculation that it is a bear or a mountain lion. Some claim that it is some type of unknown hominid. While others say it is a part of the Bigfoot family. Whatever it is, with the amount of wooded areas that are prevalent through the state, there are plenty of places for it to hide so we may never know and the naysayers can always claim hoax.

Southern Spirits

What is it about the south that makes it such fertile land for tales of the supernatural? I can say, and feel pretty safe about it, that no matter how big or small every town or city in the south has at least one house, building or piece of land that has it's tale of ghosts or other paranormal activity. In the city I live in I know of at least a dozen such places in a ten mile radius from where I sit right now. The neighboring city has it's share also, including a theater that where I myself have noticed strange occurrences when driving by on my late night trip to Wal-Mart.

An ex-girlfriend told me of a time she and her (then) husband were redecorating a house they had bought. They had spent the day sanding down all the walls so they could paint the next day. The dust from the sanding was all over the wood floors and when they left for the night, they padlocked the front and back door. The next day they entered the house to find the footprints of a barefoot child going to the stairs and to the windows and back to the stairs.

When I was in high school, my friend was spending the night and when we woke up the next morning we walked to an old family cemetery about a mile away. We were just going to look at some of the dates on the remaining headstones (which went back to the earlier part of the 1800's) and then to the store to pick up some sodas. We thought we were in the cemetery for about fifteen or twenty minutes. When we got to the store we looked at a clock and somehow we had lost over two hours we were never able to account for.

Whatever the reason, the south has a grand history of paranormal activity. Whether it is ghosts, vampires or whatever, it seems that the mantra of "the south shall rise again" has more to it than most people think.

Message from Primus to Binnall

I just want to take the time to offer my prayers and well wishes to Tim and his family during this difficult time.

Tim runs a great site www.binnallofamerica.com and for over a week he has been going through a lot. Sometimes we forget that the people that run these sites are real people like ourselves. When they are activly involved in their work and take the time to keep involved with those that frequent their sites it makes things that happen to them in their lives a bit more personal. Tim does that on his site. And this is the only way I can think of to say thank you, so thanks Tim. You're the Ted Williams and Bob Dylan of esoterica.

Nightmare Prequel

With all of the prequels that have been released over the past few years, most of which were bad (I'm looking directly at you George Lucas), it's crazy that there hasn't been a Nightmare on Elm Street prequel yet.

Now I know that supposedly there is talk of one, but until there is definitive proof that one is upcoming I have the right to bitch and moan about the lack of one so far. Freddy Krueger is to horror films what Darth Vader is to Science Fiction films. He's the cool bad guy. Sure he was a child molester and murderer but we want and need a film that tells the whole story as to how he became what he is.

Ok, so the child molestation angle would have to go in today's world, and rightfully so seeing as how it is an occurrence that happens much too often in real life. But, the film could still explain that he was a child killer without being graphic and leading to copycats in the real world. Besides, just the story of why a man would grow up to make a glove with razor sharp knives for fingers and end up getting torched by the neighbors is just too good to pass up.

The snippets of his past we have seen in the movies have made us want more. Please, whoever is in charge at New Line, give us this one crumb. As long as there isn't any Jar Jar Binks, we'll be happy.