Category: paranormal

My Mt. Rushmore Dream

Lately, I’ve been anticipating my eventual immortalization as a sculptured stone bust on Mt. Rushmore. Hopefully, this will be fairly soon because I’m not getting any younger.

Among my many inventions is the internet. Don’t believe Al Gore, although he has persuaded others about his role in the development of what I argue should properly be called the world wide web. I’ve invented a lot of other things which I’ll tell you more about just as soon as I make them up.

Before I forget it, I want to tell you what I just noticed last night while I watching one of my favorite X-Files episodes, “War of the Coprophages.” I guess I never noticed that the cockroach invasion was about Artificial Intelligence (AI). It was the scientist, Dr. Ivanov, who mentioned it first and I just missed it the first few hundred times I saw the show.

Dr. Ivanov clearly thought that anybody who thought extraterrestrials would be green and have big eyes was probably crazy. Traveling across galaxies through wormholes and whatnot would tear humanoid organisms apart. The practical approach would be to send AI robots instead. You could see Mulder cringe at that idea. The little robot that kept edging closer to Mulder made him nervous and when he asked Dr. Ivanov why it did that, his reply was “Because it likes you.”

That doesn’t exactly fit with Ivanov’s other idea about extraterrestrials, which is that they would focus on important tasks like getting enough food, procreating, etc. without getting all emotional about them. Ironic that Dr. Ivanov made an AI robot that gets a crush on a sesame seed munching UFO hunter like Mulder.

However, the AI robots in the show are cockroaches which love to eat dung. In other words, they’re full of crap.

Moving right along, although I didn’t invent it, there’s a card game called schnapsen that Sena and I are trying to relearn. It’s kind of a break from cribbage. It’s a trick taking game with just a 20-card deck. We play the version that doesn’t allow you to look at your cards to see how many points you have so you can tell when you can close the deck or go out, meaning you have the 66 points to win. You have to remember how many points you’ve won in tricks. I think it’s a good way to keep your memory sharp.

Let’s see; I’ve lost every game so far, but that doesn’t mean I won’t end up with my bust on Mt. Rushmore.

Is Edinburgh Manor in Iowa Haunted?

I have no idea whether an old former county home in Jones County is one of the most haunted places in the Midwest or Iowa or the USA. And I wouldn’t be saying that if Sena and I had not watched a TV show called “Mysteries of the Abandoned” (broadcast on the Science Channel) which aired a 20-minute segment about Edinburgh Manor the other night.

Supposedly, Edinburgh Manor started off as a county poor farm back in the 1800s, which didn’t do well and then quickly declined into an asylum for the mentally ill. When a couple bought the old place after it closed sometime between 2010 and 2012, they started to report having paranormal experiences and it was then off to the races for the place to become a haunted attraction, for which you can buy tickets for day passes and overnight stays.

There’s a 10-minute video by a newspaper reporter who interviews the wife and which shows many video shots of the house. I can’t see any evidence that it’s on the National Register of Historic Places.

What this made me think of was the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm here in Iowa City, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. We’ve never visited the site, but you don’t pay admission and the tone and content of the information I found on the website is nothing like what’s all over the web about Edinburgh Manor. There are no ghosts tickling anybody at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm.

There’s a lot of education out there about the history of county poor farms in general. In Johnson County, Chatham Oaks is a facility that houses patients with chronic mental illness and it used to be affiliated with the county home. It’s now privatized. The University of Iowa department of psychiatry used to round on the patients and that used to be part of the residents training program (including mine).

I found an hour-long video on the Iowa Culture YouTube site about the history of Iowa’s county poor farms. It was very enlightening. The presenter mentioned a few poor farms including the Johnson County site—but didn’t say anything about Edinburgh Manor.

Empty Pants Running Away! How Did They Do That?

Last night, I was watching the TV show Strange Evidence and noticed that they were going to show what’s been called the ghost pants video from a few years ago. I went to bed because I saw it on a similar show a few years ago. I doubted that it was solved yet. The clip shows a pair of white pants running down a street. You can’t see anyone wearing them.

There are a few interesting video-based paranormal TV shows. The one I think is pretty well done is The Proof is Out There, hosted by Tony Harris. I saw one which showed a photo of a girl whose image was different from her reflection in a mirror. The question was whether it was evidence for something paranormal, maybe proof of simulated reality.

Tony and the group of experts finally settled on it being unexplained. However, on a subsequent episode, Tony explained that someone had notified him that the photo was shot simply by using the panorama mode on a smartphone camera. It was relatively simple. Sena and I made a couple.

That was about the same time the YouTube video about the white ghost pants was circulating on the internet. Today I found a YouTube short video that shows essentially the same thing made by a couple of guys who also made a 10-minute video explaining how to achieve the effect. It’s below the short video. Of course, I don’t understand the technical explanation, but I think it might account for the ghost pants video.

The Amaryllis Trio and Other News

The Amaryllis Trio in the living room are growing pretty fast, comparing them to a couple of weeks ago.

Other upcoming holiday news is that Sena ordered a Svengoolie holiday sweater for me. I’m not sure it qualifies as an ugly sweater. I hope it fits.

That reminds me that the upcoming Svengoolie film this Saturday is “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” That’s another kind of trio. They also meet other monsters, including the Wolf Man and Dracula.

This movie, released in 1948, has also been shown on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). You don’t need to try to puzzle that one out. Go to the TCM web site and read what they say about the film. Hint: it’s definitely not satire.

We’ve never seen this one. Sena thought Abbott and Costello were a lot like the 3 Stooges, but I spoke up in support of the pair of comedians. The 3 Stooges were slapstick guys, but I often think of the Who’s on First routine by Abbott and Costello.

Saying Goodbye to Zem the Mattress

We’re saying goodbye to Zem the mattress. This raises important questions. Who the heck is Zem? Why does a mattress have a name? If you’ve ever read Douglas Adams’ book “The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Five Novels and One Story,” you’d probably wonder why anyone should ask.

The name Zem is given to every mattress that exists. According to the Guide, mattresses were once living beings who were slaughtered (not clear who slaughters them) and sold throughout the Universe. They are friendly, talkative, and originate on Sqornshellous Zeta, a swampy planet on which Zem the mattress has a long, idiotic conversation with a depressed robot named Marvin. It’s true, at least in Adams’ book. Find it in Chapter 7 of “Life, The Universe and Everything.”

This raises the issue of how to replace a mattress. It’s a difficult thing and it’s likely there are exceptions to the rule that all mattresses have to go to the junkyard.

I should say that the crude drawing of our Zem is an original work by me, using Microsoft Paint. It’s definitely not made by something called Image Creator. Recently, Windows 11 added Image Creator to Paint, which claims to be able to create drawings just by clicking on the AI icon—which appears almost everywhere nowadays.

It’s getting harder to ignore, but I did. That explains why my drawing of Zem looks like it was made by a 4-year-old child. It’s a form of protest against AI. I’m not sure how long I can hold out. I suspect that AI will eventually learn to disguise itself as something completely innocent without formally introducing itself as AI.

Anyway, like most people, it was challenging to find a new home other than the landfill for Zem. It turns out there is an informal underground railroad leading to new homes for Zem. Zem can be recycled, or at least some parts of it can be repurposed, which don’t include going back into mattress production.

And, there are places like Salvation Army, Goodwill, and homeless shelters which may publicly refuse to take Zem—but then not always stick to the rules on the signs. The websites may say they won’t adopt Zem, even if it doesn’t have a port wine stain on its face. On the other hand, there are circuitous, by word of mouth only code talkers who guide you (sometimes from half-closed doors) to what “could” be a new home for Zem, but you didn’t hear it from them. That rhyme was unintentional, but it worked.

The process is a little like the old TV show “Hogan’s Heroes,” in which Stalag 13 outwardly looked like a prison camp, but contained cleverly disguised nooks, crannies, and tunnels which allowed trips to the Dairy Queen if inmates were so inclined.

It turns out Zem might have a new home—but you didn’t hear it from me.

Thoughts on X-Files Episode “Sunshine Days”

I saw the X-Files episode “Sunshine Days” again last night. It’s the second time I’ve seen it. It’s about a guy who calls himself Oliver who has telekinetic power and who yearns for a father-son relationship with a paranormal researcher (Dr. Reitz) who studied him when he was a kid named Anthony.  

The set of an old 1970s TV show “The Brady Bunch” was used. It was something Oliver created using the power of his mind. As a child, he used to insist that he and Dr. Reitz watch the show regularly. In his mind, it was the perfect family he always wanted but never had.

Anyway, Oliver (Anthony) endangers his life when he uses his telekinetic powers as an adult. He can’t control them and nearly dies from using them. He ends up near death in the hospital after showing the FBI agents including Scully and Doggett (who replaced Mulder) his miraculous ability. The agents and Dr. Reitz are ecstatic because they think it will change the world and humanity.

But after they realize the life-threatening nature of Oliver’s powers, they all agree, including Dr. Reitz, that Oliver should never use them again. Dr. Reitz even tells Oliver (who now wants to be called Anthony) firmly that he can’t use his power, to which Oliver replies that he can’t be alone. Then, Dr. Reitz tells Oliver that he’ll never have to be alone because he’ll always be with him.

A lot of fans hated it because it was the penultimate episode before the final show of the 9th and final season of the X-Files. It was one of the many Monster-of-the-Week (MOTW) shows that had nothing to do with the extraterrestrial mythology.

I liked the MOTW episodes better the ET/conspiracy shows, and Sunshine Days is one of my favorites. However, I never watched The Brady Bunch and the whole perfectly happy and well-adjusted family idea was ridiculously implausible in my opinion.

I doubt there is such a thing as a perfect family. Mine certainly was not and look how well I turned out. Even in nature, there are examples of savagery that can make you doubt the ultimate wisdom of whoever or whatever is in charge of evolution.

For example, birds can be exquisitely cruel. Cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of completely different species of birds, where the cowbird chicks bully their weaker nestlings. And surely just about everyone has seen the pitiless pecking of the larger of the two shoebill chicks in which the parents calmly watch as the smaller chick gets stepped on, pushed out of the next and essentially murdered by the bigger chick. This is because the parents know there is not enough water for both.

Even the song “A Boy Named Sue” is based on the natural law of survival of the fittest, which has nothing to do with kindness. Incidentally, that song came out in 1969, the same year that The Brady Bunch show began.

On the other hand, the reconciliation of Anthony with Dr. Rietz always fills me with joy.

The Cat is a Witness?

I have watched the Men in Black movies dozens of times, and I still get a little puzzled at the scene in which Agent J ask the deputy medical examiner (Laurel) where the cat Orion is.  Orion is carrying a tiny galaxy on its collar. You’ll have to see the movie to get the context about it.

Agent J asks where Orion is but the way he asks about it is odd. He says he’s looking for the cat because it’s a witness in a murder case and he needs to ask it some questions. Laurel doesn’t bat an eyelash and just says the cat’s not around but wants Agent J to take her with him instead.

Ok, I realize there are a lot of weird things in the MIB movies including a giant, ill-tempered talking cockroach. Nonetheless, it still seems out of place (at least to me) that he tells Laurel he wants to talk to a cat. Laurel has seen the little galaxy hanging from the cat’s collar. That doesn’t mean the cat talks. In fact, all Orion ever says is “meow.”

Why doesn’t Laurel ask why Agent J wants to try to ask a cat questions? After all, Agent K has neuralyzed her a couple of times, so she doesn’t remember seeing or hearing anything weird. I’ve scanned the internet to see if anybody else wonders about it. It looks like I’m the odd man out. You really need to see the scene and the movie for context. I didn’t see any comments about questioning the cat in a YouTube clip below, but I might have missed it.

Earthquakes and Railroads and Magic Fingers, Oh My!

The hotel we’re staying in while our house is being built is very close to railroad tracks. We hear the whistle and then, we feel the train going by. No kidding, we can feel the rumble. It shakes the chairs, the sofa, the bed. The whole room shakes for as long as the train passes through the area.

It’s kind of an eerie sensation. It reminds me of the Illinois earthquake in 2010, which was felt by many in Eastern Iowa. It rattled our bed. That went on for a few minutes.

And some of you X-Files fans will get it when I say this free association would naturally lead to memories of the Bad Blood episode (season 5). This hilarious show features Mulder and Scully telling their own versions of what happened in a little town full of vampires. Both agents got all shook up using the Magic Fingers on a hotel bed.

Scrub to about 2 minutes into the YouTube to see the first Magic Fingers earthquake. There’s more, but you’ll get the idea.

The Haunted Bellman’s Luggage Carts

When we moved into the hotel we’re camping in to wait for our house to be built, I rediscovered the joy of driving the bellman’s luggage cart. Does anyone besides me find this a major challenge?

I always get the cart with the crazy, wobbly wheel. Worse yet, they are impossible to steer and the rack itself is prone to popping out of the cart! I then get preoccupied with replacing the rack back in the dysfunctional hole while our luggage starts to tip over and the wobbly wheel prevents me from steering the thing into and out of the elevator.

I think all bellman’s luggage carts are haunted. They are possessed by the spirits of bellmen who didn’t get tipped.

That is why you should smudge the carts. I don’t mean you should actually rub dirt on them (they’ve got enough of that already). I mean you should get somebody who knows how to do that ritual to get rid of the bad energy in the cart. I think they usually burn sage (or maybe thyme?).

The Svengoolie Movie the Leech Woman and What About the Pineal Gland?

OK, so I watched the Svengoolie movie, “The Leech Woman” a couple of weeks ago and I think I missed the part where the June Talbot was told that the potion containing the pineal gland secretion and powdered flower parts entailed the requirement that the pineal gland secretion should come from a man. You can read the Wikipedia plot summary for background and watch the movie for free on the internet archive.

Leave aside for the moment that the film tries to make you think you can have easy access to the pineal gland through the back of the neck using a sharp point on a ring. Of course it’s deep inside the brain.

What I don’t remember is whether or not June was ever told that the pineal gland secretion has to come from a man in order to reverse aging. It won’t work if it comes from a woman. Aside from devaluing women in general, it was never clear to me that June was ever told that by Malla, the African woman who is over 150 years old but looks like she’s 20 when she gets her shot of pineal and petal.

I’ve looked on the internet for reviews which mention the mistake June makes when she murders her lawyer’s fiancée who is unhappy that June managed to easily seduce him. She’s so unhappy she threatens June with a pistol in a confrontation that gets rather comically violent, resulting a in struggle leading to June stabbing the fiancée in the back of the neck, obviously in an effort to get the priceless pineal juice.

What’s weird about this (other than the obviously ridiculous premise that pineal glands have anything to do with aging or rejuvenation) is that June apparently either forgets or never realized that the pineal stuff has to come from a male to be effective.

What’s even more puzzling is that, before assaulting a woman for the pineal fluid, June had adopted a predatory strategy to pop the pineals of several men, leading you to believe she knew the source had to be a man.

So, is this an example of dementia or stupidity?