November 2012

Phone calls from the dead

A common - if unnerving - phenomena.

A recent plot twist in a certain popular television show got me wondering whether people have actually reported receiving calls from the dead. And it turns out that indeed, this is one of the most common forms of accidental communication with ghosts. Hundreds of cases have been reported over the years since the telephone was invented, and no doubt hundreds more went unreported for various reasons.

Bloop mystery solved!

The culprit: iceberg sounds

The "bloop" was one of the world's greatest mysteries… until now. This loud deep ocean noise was recorded from several different locations. It followed no known sound forms, and its location could not be pinpointed beyond the general area of the south Pacific ocean off the coast of South America. This ultra-low-frequency sound was extremely loud, carrying for hundreds of miles underwater. 

Obama secret mind control plot subject of Georgia GOP presentation

The "Agenda 21" conspiracy theory.

On October 21, Republican lawmakers in Georgia held a four-hour closed-door caucus. The topic: Obama's secret mind control plot, and his culpability in pushing a United Nations resolution designed to force Americans out of the suburbs and into the inner cities. The ultimate goal being for the government to take back everyone's land and herd the populace into a network of urban death camps.

The reptilian conspiracy

A conspiracy so unlikely, even Jesse Ventura doesn't buy it

Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theory is back for a new season, kicking off with an episode about the Reptilian conspiracy. The first episode of the third season brings in two new investigators: Jesse Ventura's son, and Oliver Stone's son. (At least they still have one female investigator, so it's not completely a bunch of white dudes. Not completely.)

Ghost captured on CCTV at haunted English pub?

Could this object be the ghost they named Beryl?

Ordinarily, I would dismiss something like this out of hand. It's just a blotch on the camera. Probably a speck of dust. You can read anything into it that you like. The pub's proprietor sees a woman who "looks like she is in her fifties. She appears to be wearing a fur collar and is looking down the bar towards the front door.

Biodynamics: When magic, astrology and farming collide

Manage your crops with magic and astrology!

Some populations seem more susceptible to superstition than others. Sailors, baseball players, and yes, vintners. People who grow wine have long had a reputation for strange beliefs and superstitions regarding their crops. Perhaps it is because, much like baseball and sailing, growing wine grapes and making wine is a perilous activity which is as liable to random failure as it is success.

But it wasn't until this Cracked.com article that I discovered how truly bizarre some vintner practices really are. It all stems from a practice with the bland and reasonable name of "biodynamics." Biodynamics began in the early 1920s with a spiritualist named Rudolf Steiner. Steiner's beliefs were a mix of astrology, mysticism, and spirituality. 
 
In 1924 a group of farmers asked Steiner to opine about the best way to grow crops. Although Steiner had no farming experience, he cobbled together a plan which treated the entire farm as one single organism. Steiner's method aimed to increase soil fertility without the use of any chemical fertilizers or pesticides. 
 
All well and good. Doesn't sound too bad at this point, does it? Let's get into specifics. 

Hurricane Sandy: The result of weather modification technology?

Some believe HAARP caused Sandy

I'm a little surprised (and frankly a little disappointed) to see so few conspiracy theories springing up in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. But one theory that crops up over and over is the idea that Sandy was created by the secret ability of governments to control the weather. Either accidentally or deliberately creating a superstorm.

The HAARP antenna array bears a lot of the brunt of this sort of thing. HAARP has long been a darling of the conspiracy theory set, due to its seemingly mysterious nature and a lot of overheated conjecture. (After watching the Jesse Ventura episode about HAARP, I came to the conclusion that HAARP theories largely boil down to people not understanding what science is or how it works, and a sort of generalized anxiety about government security.)
 
Chemtrails are showing up in Sandy chatter, too. Under normal circumstances, a passing jet airplane will leave behind a trail of condensation in the sky. These white trails may linger for minutes, even hours after the plane passes, depending on the high altitude weather conditions.