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5月31日 Video Of Alleged Alien Shown To ReportersVideo Of Alleged Alien Shown To Reporters
Alien?
Now I'm not a big one for UFO stuff but this was just too good to pass! I am not completely convinced by the video. This could be a freaking puppet for all we know. With all the video cameras in the world now you would think someday we would get that definitive piece of video. Of course you could say the same thing about ghosts...
Days of 76 Museum nears completionDays of '76 Museum storage facility nears completion
It looks like this is going to happen right in time for our next visit to Deadwood. I am often amazed at how well this little town manages to preserve the historical heritage of the community. I have heard people be critical of the role gambling had in all this. I just have to admit that Deadwood does a better job than most towns. I would imagine that some gambling money did manage to make it into this project.
Science and the ParanormalScience and the Paranormal
Laurie discovered this interesting blog entry about the paranormal. I don't know that I agree with everything the writer says but I do agree with a lot of it! The fact is that traditional science often does dismiss what it can't explain. Only once a phenomena can be fit within the tangible framework of science's understanding of the world does that phenomena suddenly become real. I think it is awfully arrogant to dismiss so much simply because we don't understand it - yet. Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Exorcist calls time on pub poltergeist
I've got to give credit to Laurie for this story too! Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
School spirits
I need to give credit to Laurie for finding this old news story. I was a student at the University of Minnesota for a couple years. I can not say that I ran into anything supernatural during my days there but I didn't live in any of the buildings they mention. The funny thing is that this was the school where I first really started to learn about the paranormal while working for the Minnesota Society for Parapsychological Research. The Truth is out thereThe Truth Is Out There
History is always changing...
If you were to look for the roots of the 'Booming Prairie Chicken' you would find it founded in a passion for history's numerous mysteries. Many of these have very little to do with the paranormal. Sometimes events are only a mystery because no survivor left a record of what happened. This is my suspicion about many of the planes and ships that vanished in the so-called "Bermuda Triangle". Some mysteries have many witnesses but still questions remain. This is often where you enter the territory of the 'Conspiracy Theory' people. Just look at the Lincoln or JFK assassination. Too many questions remain about both and it is in these murky areas that the conspiracy theorist thrives. Then you have historical events that had a paranormal aspect. Sometimes the phenomena can be debunked. This would be the case with the proverbial 'Angel of Mons' during the early days of the First World War. The mysterious apparition has been largely discredited as a British propaganda device. Then there are historical mysteries in which the paranormal is not so easily explained. Take the 'foo fighter' sightings during the Schweinfurt bombing raid of 1943. The witness accounts from both sides of the battle have never been properly explained.
I enjoy doing research on various of these historical mysteries. Have I ever found the answer to some of these mysteries? I like to think that someday I will. I won't be so arrogant as to suggest that I will do any better than so many other people who have struggled with these. The fact is that history changes over time as new facts are discovered. I am going to try to explain some of the methods and techniques that I have for gathering facts in this pursuit.
Background Research
The first step is to do the initial background research. This is learning the most basic understanding of what happened and the 'official story' of what happened. Quite often the official histories might ignore the mystery associated with the historical event. One good example of this is that most accounts of the October 14th, 1943 air raid on Schweinfurt do not mention the UFO sightings associated with the raid.
I caution people on using Wikipedia. Sometime the people who post the entries on Wikipedia use questionable sources. Sometimes they don't reference any sources at all! Sometimes they seem to have their own agendas in their postings. Still I often find some valuable information to get started with. The important thing is to follow up on these initial findings. It is this research that starts becoming more labor intensive.
If you are serious about this you will need to set up some sort of database or filing system for your information as you gather it. Sometimes these databases begin to take on a life all their own. You might find that it will be months between you finding any new facts on a specific topic. I generally keep about a dozen different investigations active at any time. Now "active" is a very subjective word. I have one such research topic - Nazi Secret Weapons Programs - that has been ongoing for literally years!
The very first information in this database on any topic is this 'Background Information'. Sometimes this can be a book or two that has a reliable history of the event. Sometimes you need to know what was happening historically to better understand the mystery of the event. Laurie and I have gathered quite a library in this regard; at this point some thirty large bookcases. I used to try writing down on 3X5 note cards and saving it all in these plastic recipe card boxes. This was a throwback to research methods I had first learned in college. Now I try to store my gathered information digitally. There are numerous advantages to this. The information will take up less physical space. It can be searched quickly and efficiently. It can also be encrypted if there are security concerns. The problem is in the technical maintenance of whatever database you use and the redundant backup methods you use to protect and preserve what you find.
Let me put some emphasis on the last statement. If you decide to use a computer to store your information you should also get an effective backup system. Learn how to use it. Even practice what you will do if something happens that corrupts your data or you simply lose it all. It can take years to gather the facts but only seconds to lose it all.
We use a system of external harddrives and then physically disperse them. No disaster in any single area can destroy your data. In theory I will have at least two copies stored somewhere else at any given time. Sure, this is extra work and it can be tedious. The fact is if you want to preserve your data there is no better policy.
This is my blog article about the Western Digital drives we use for our backup system
Paratracker Professional is one of the best database programs I have yet seen that is spefic to ghost hunting. The same company also has a database program for people into ufology. There are also database programs that are easily adaptable to this sort of research. I just like Paratracker because all of the setup work is essentially done. You just need to start inputing your data.
Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Check it out
The Whaley House
Ghostly tourism again! 5月29日 History is always changing...History is always changing...
French dig may uncover mass grave of WWI troops
I have a particular fascination with the First World War. Part of this has to do with the amazing amount of paranormal phenomena associated with various battlefields. Another part of this fascination comes from the unbelievable carnage of most of the Western Front. The mass grave they discovered here was actually more common than most people know. During the war it was very common for both sides to bury the enemy dead in mass graves. They would generally mark them but due to the nature of the fighting these markers were often laost. I know of one monument in France that the British have to over 80,000 of their soldiers that were lost and their bodies never found. Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Weird Washington
http://www.columbian.com/lifehome/lifeHomeNews/2008/05/05292008_Weird-Washington.cfm
It seems like a new book on the paranormal comes out every week. The trend is for region specific history and guides. This is not a bad thing at all. If you want to research the phenomena this is the information to get you started.
Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
'Ghost Hunters' booed after Palace Theatre visit aired
It looks like Grant and Jason did not please some people with their findings this time. Some people get quite attached to their ghostly legends and debunking them is not going to be popular. The fact of the matter is that any serious and sincere investigation is going to potentially do this. 5月28日 Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Teen's Accidental Photo Shows Eerie Ghost-Like Hand on Banisterhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,359142,00.html Interesting little story out of Scotland. I'm including the link to the article in 'The Sun' that actually has the picture of the ghostly hand.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1216051.ece Check it out for yourself. Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Let's do the 'Time Warp': Theater reborn
Something right in my own area. You have to read about half way through the article to find out about the ghost stories associated with the theater.
5月26日 National Treasure 2: Book of SecretsNational Treasure 2:
Book of Secrets
Disney's 'National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets' came out on DVD this week. It seems like Laurie and I seldom see movies when they show up in the theater. For what it would cost us to buy two tickets and drinks we can just buy the thing when it comes out on DVD. Sure, you wait a little while longer but we can also pause the movie when we want to and watch it while we are in our pajamas. Just try doing that at the theater!
This movie is a lot of fun but tends to butcher history a bit. The part when they said the Battle of the Little Bighorn ended Custer's gold hunting sort of amused Laurie and me. The only potential gold-hunting expedition Custer lead was the Blackhills Expedition of 1874. This one was simply the government wanting answers to the stories of gold deposits and other natural resources in the Blackhills. The 1876 Little Bighorn Campaign was a lot more about putting down the aspirations of the Sioux and Lakota. This military disaster was in part due to an outcry for protection from the indians by gold prospectors in the Blackhills. The thing is when Custer and his men were slaughtered I think the last thing they were thinking of was gold.
Still the movie has a very interesting historical premise. It essentially revolves around a somewhat mysterious group known as the 'Knights of the Golden Circle'. This is a group that is near legendary in some corners of the Conspiracy Theory community. Allegedly the group was formed initially as a underground Southern resistance movement against the North during the Civil War. Some historians believe they survived the war and persisted in plans to raise the Confederacy from the ashes. To do this they worked zealously after the war at gathering a fortune in gold. If you research the stories around this gold you'll find those who earnestly believe it was lost to the KGC and waiting to be found by somebody.
Now the movie really doesn't touch on the KGC all that much. After about the first 20 minutes of the movie are done the KGC and the Civil War are pretty much out of the picture. It is very interesting though that on the extra features section of the two DVD set for 'National Treasure 2' they have a nifty little featurette about the KGC. It has interviews with a couple of historians and even shows their books on the KGC. There are actually a lot more books about the odd and mysterious events that followed the Civil War.
None of this new information in the Conspiracy Theory community. When you start doing research on historical mysteries and legends you almost inevitably run into these people. I'll tell you my truthful opinion, some of them are the lunatic fringe. There are some of them that are very competent historical researchers too. I tend to pay attention when they come out with some new idea or bit of evidence. The problem is the very best of them tend to not share their facts easily. You'll find a lot of paranoia around some of these people. The sad fact of the matter though is that just because you're paranoid doesn't mean somebody isn't out to get you.
This is a fun movie. I wouldn't recommend it as a history lesson. Hollywood generally tears up history to serve their creative needs. If you look at the movie as simple entertainment it is always great to see Nicholas Cage. He ranks right up there along side my hero Billy Bob Thornton. Still it was interesting to see them bringing up the KGC and the extras on the DVD set give you a lot of interesting stuff on the making of the movie and that historical segment on the 'Knights of the Golden Circle'.
Wikipedia entry about the Knights of the Golden Circle.
I'm not a big fan of Wikipedia but this article is actually pretty good.
Now if you really want to learn more about the KGC check this link out!
Now if you really want to indulge this fascination these are your people! Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Ghost chasers investigate Medicine Park hauntings
http://www.kswo.com/global/story.asp?s=8378696 This sort of news story is getting to almost a daily thing. I think the mainstream media is picking up on all of this more and more. I really don't know if this is a good thing or not. 5月25日 American Battlefield Ghost Hunter SocietyThe American Battlefield Ghost Hunter Society
Now I've found a new group that really gets me excited! This is right down the path of what Laurie and I like to do. I'm going to be watching what they do. I just wished that we lived closer to where they're at. We do have a few locations from the 1862 Sioux uprising that are within relatively easy driving distance of us but nothing on the scale of the Civil War battlefields.
I am particularly interested in what they do around some of the old forts. I have this personal theory that the old structures themselves might offer some good research options. I will be posting a few good books that we have pertaining to old forts in America. We are going to have to concentrate more on the old frontier army posts. This group does seem to have the right idea and have gotten a few impressive bits of evidence.
They also have an impressive website and offer a lot of educational material. They are well worth checking out! Something that really is scary...Something that really is scary...
Peak Oil
Here at the Booming Prairie Chicken this has become a real concern. I do not see these nifty new alternative energy sources coming online in a meaningful way in my generation. For some of these to work at all will require the complete replacement of much of our national infrastructure. I don't see Ethanol, Hydrogen or even Electric as being able to solve the problem.
I am really wondering what the world will look like in another year. I can easily see a day when nations will fight for the existing oil reserves. It may not be the United States doing the fighting but every such war would effect us. It really makes me wonder what the future will be.
The Booming Prairie Chicken has never been a political blog. There are too many political blogs already as far as I'm concerned. This blog is about history and the paranormal. I spend a lot of time learning about past conflicts that have tortured the world. I just wonder if the economic forces in the current growing world energy crisis are going to lead to the next major international conflagrations?
Now if somebody wants to send me some sort of convincing evidence that all of this isn't true, trust me, Ill welcome it. Right now I am planning for the future to be a lot worse than it is now. 5月24日 Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Mingle with Hollywood Celebrities and Learn About the Paranormal at TAPSCONhttp://enewschannels.com/2008/05/18/enc3113_130158.php
Sure, this is blatant endorsement but, heck, it looks fun! Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Steven Spielberg's Ghost/UFO Social Network To Be Called The Risinghttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/21/AR2008052100742.html Now this is very interesting! I will be very interested to see what this really turns into? Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Project Ghostlight
Interesting idea, check into the haunting legends of some very old theaters. |
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