Occasionally, strange imagery and other questionable anomalies appear in footage collected by security cameras and other surveillance equipment, due especially to the strange locations and hours those cameras remain in operation. While scanning a series of emails I received recently, someone had forwarded me a link to this odd footage at the website Disclose TV, depicting some sort of abnormal illumination moving about:
Although the footage is labeled (rather sensationally) as “Aliens Caught on Tape in China,” what it appears to depict, in fact, is one of the better instances where the rare and ubiquitous phenomenon known as Ball Lightning has been captured on film. Previously, due to the sporadic nature of this sort of manifestation, it has been seldom filmed or photographed. Is this indeed the identity of the anomaly in the film, or is it something else?
These days, it seems I hear more and more about Sleep Paralysis. In my estimation, this must be due in part to the way that the culmination of information pertaining to strange phenomenon today has allowed an “overlap” of experiences. What I mean by this is that the variety of sources available allow people to relate to others who have had similar things happen to them, whether that be sleep paralysis, an encounter with a ghost, or perhaps a hallucinogenic episode that is remarkably similar to both of these.
But when it comes to Sleep Paralysis in particular, nobody comes to mind more quickly than my friend Louis Proud, author of the book Dark Intrusions: An Investigation into the Paranormal Nature of Sleep Paralysis Experiences (a close second would be Dr. David Hufford PhD., who authored Proud’s introduction). Recently, Louis sent me a recorded segment he has done where he gives a wealth of information about the nature of Sleep Paralysis, delving into a variety of the subjects discussed in his book, as well as rather startling personal experiences of his own with the phenomenon. Below is a link where you can listen to Louis discussing the scientific and paranormal nature of this strange sleep science:
Death, it seems, has now been dealt to the artist famous for creating the fantasy art character, “Death Dealer.” Frank Frazetta, whose dramatic paintings have graced both fantasy paperbacks and galleries, as well as Molly Hatchet and Yngwie Malmsteen album covers for decades, has passed away at a hospital near his home in Florida, after suffering a stroke. He was 82 years old:
Frazetta’s contributions to the world of fantasy art alone could have awarded him mention on this blog, but my specific reason for paying him homage here has to do with his colorful rendering of “The Mothman” (right), as well as a variety of other characters and situations with Fortean overtones.
At the Washington Post blog, Michael Cavna commented today that “Frazetta’s worlds of heavily muscled, barely clad men and women fending off creatures became so iconic, his name became synonymous with a genre,” noting that Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett recently paid 1 million for one of Frazetta’s original oil paintings.
Respected among metal heads and art connoisseurs alike, Frazetta’s work will long be recognized as some of the finest in his genre–or anywhere else–and his name will live on through his beautiful paintings.
Over at the Mind Hacks website, I was astonished to read about a recent study, in which scientists observed videos of individuals under the influence of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia Divinorum posted to the popular site YouTube. From these e-observations (using a process commonly referred to now as “armchair anthropology”) the study claims that five new groups of effects the substance has on its users were identified. This was based on 34 videos observed by researchers, the study says.
Before getting to the aforementioned categories, I must say I was a bit shocked by this bit of research for a number of reasons. First of all, the observations made are based on things which were videotaped by recreational users of hallucinogenic substances, then subsequently posted on the Internet. Although I am an advocate for considering the potential economic and political benefits we might garner from legalization of certain substances for medical and personal use (namely marijuana, for which many states are already taking measures to create legal markets for its sale), it must also be acknowledged that recreational use of many substances–particularly the more potent psychedelics available today–can be very dangerous and potentially deadly. Because of this, what other circumstances should be considered pertaining to the study in question?
Death, it seems, has now been dealt to the artist famous for creating the fantasy art character, “Death Dealer.” Frank Frazetta, whose dramatic paintings have graced both fantasy paperbacks and galleries, as well as Molly Hatchet and Yngwie Malmsteen album covers for decades, has passed away at a hospital near his home in Florida, after suffering a stroke. He was 82 years old: