Aqua Expeditions has captured the Amazon River Bandits.  The CEO of the company, Francesco Galli-Zurgaro through Peruvian news agencies, announced the capture of six armed “bandits” who robbed passengers on July 26th on the river vessel cruising the Amazon in Peru.

All of the crew and passengers involved were not harmed, and passegers continued with their Peruvian travel.

The Aqua riverboat accommodates twenty-four passengers, and cruises are continuing as planned reports travel publication Travel Pulse.

Mr. Galli-Zurgaro’s company has instigated measures to prevent any further incidents which includes the “discreet stationing of security personnel on board”.

Aqua Expeditions feels the quick action in apprehending the “Amazon pirates” will bring a close to any future situations. 

www.aquaexpeditions.com

As I commented when I wrote about the Zero Point Field, we create our own reality.  The focus here is “consciousness is the prime foundaton of reality”.  Ergo ” is this not a way of saying the same thing?”

About every 50 or so years we intelligencia have  a mad urge to explain ourselves in relation to our concepts of what is and what might be.  The arena usually becomes as the essays point out, “Circular debates ending in belief system statements.”  Of course, this leaves them open-ended so we can continue endlessly.

It is written that “The Chasm that had been opened between scientific material universal consciousness; a dead mechanical universe vs. a living universe is being closed!  The change in thinking leads towards a mechanical universe (shades of 1984) vs. God.  And, during the last 300-400 years we’ve grown up along with our science to appreciate science and spirituality

To paraphrase Poincare: logic, therefore, remains barren until awakened by intuition. Quantum physics was the next leap led by such great minds as Einstein and Bohm.  Part of their discoveries was that the observer affects the observed:  “The iceberg in the ocean only appears separate from the sea.”

With the philosophy essays are, “Part of a new paradign realization process will be the continued rift between science and spirituality.  As one stumbles through long words and obtuse phrases, it smells of creativism, positurst reductionism, a “lifeless universe” and that lonely feeling that makes your stomuch hurt.

PSI is very slowly being accepted into mainstream studies as a measuring device.  Don Carroll, who summarized the book wrote “(We) need to name and measure which has its purpose, but as we are warned … “science is based on osbservation, and if science cannot measure, and observe repeatedly, the events are considered suspect.’

Trish Pfeiffer and John E. Mack, MD edited Mind Before Matter.  My brain is still maturing, but I applaud another “Thinking Man’s Book”.  Well done.

www.intuitive-connections.net

Japan Airlines (JAL) recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of their Los Angeles to Tokyo service.  Cabin service is, of course, important, but you also have to get up and walk around.  I can handle a tourist class seat for three hours.  On my flight from Los Angeles via Tokyo to “KL” with Malaysian Airlines, I crawled out of the plane at Tokyo and begged for an opening in business or first class.  I was willing to pay the difference.  It didn’t happen.

JAL has a 4-class service with tourist, business and first, but on the new 777-300ER aircraft on US routes to Asia they have first, executive and Premium Economy Class seats along with Economy class.  The four class cabin features 8 JAL Suites in lst class, 77 JAL Shell Flat NEO’s in Executive class and 46 JAL Sky Shell Seats – the world’s first shell type seating in the premium economy class.

Oh, to occupy a lst class JAL suite!  It’s 20% larger than the old JAL Skysleeper Solo Central seats, upholstered in pale grey leather with 5″ wide, thickly padded armrest.  In the upright position, there’s an ottoman on which to raise your feet.  Should you be travelling with someone else, and travel in a pair of suites, you can raise or lower privacy partitions located between them.  Enjoy Bose noise cancelling headphones and a 19-inch personal TV screen with movies, music or video games using JAL”s audio-visual on demand entertainment system.

Many moons ago I flew first class to London on Pan Am’s first grand 747 with dinner “upstairs” on a real table with 3 other passengers, linen tablecloth, china service and silver tableware  We were served “real” food.  Today the food seems to be made of plastic and tastes weird.

Now, on long hauls, you can order what you want when you want it in first class.  There are many airlines with menus and choices – vegetable, Kosher, meatless, etc.

On my last trip from Los Angeles to Honolulu I sat at the very front of the plane, in a middle seat.  I fell asleep having taken a connecting flight to Los Angeles earlier.  On awakening I found that my head had rested on the shoulder of a rigid Japanese gentleman who had braved my heavy head for hours.  I thanked him in Japanese.  He grunted, “Ah ha!”  And so ended my sleep.  We’ve come a long ‘way, baby.

While no one knows for sure, people all over the world throughout time have had experiences of what they call ghosts. Do ghosts really exist? It all depends on how you define “ghost.” What are ghosts?

A rational explanation is that our experience of ghosts, or paranormal phenomena, can be attributed to our evolutionary survival mechanisms. It is a way for us to explain things that we don’t understand. One scientific explanation is that what we experience as ghosts is actually caused by sound waves trapped inside of buildings.

For some reason, New England seems to have more haunted houses than the rest of the country. Paul Eno, paranormal investigator in New England, has some very interesting opinions on the subject. Paul Eno’s explanation of ghosts goes beyond the rational or scientific explanations, suggesting a whole new way of looking at reality as a multiverse.

Within the multiverse, parallel universes exist. It is a complex idea that has been around for a long time, it is just tough for a lot of people to understand, much less believe. Do you believe in the multiverse?

2012 is the next 1999. A whole lot of people seem to believe that on 12/21/2012 we will experience the end of the world as we know it. This date is based on the Mayan calandar.

I remember New Year’s Eve, 1999. I avoided big crowds. It was pretty anti-climactic. Nothing really changed.  I had friends who had stocked up food and other survival items in their basement. They have since quit their religion, got divorced, and moved on with their lives.

There are plenty of books, websites, and even a movie out there about 2012, the Mayan calandar, predictions and prophecies, postulations and speculations. There is so much information out there about it, I would recommend going to the library to research if you are seriously interested.

I think an even more interesting question than “is the world as we know going to end in 2012″ is “why do we seem to want the world to end?”

Some people may think that chickens are stupid and harmless birds. These people have never observed chicken behavior on a close level.  Yesterday two of our six hens hatched out some baby chicks for the first time ever. The other hens proceeded to tear one of the chicks limb from limb in a vicious attack, before we were able to rescue it. We were able to rescue three other chicks, however, and separated them and their mothers from the other vicious chickens.

Observing chicken behavior can be entertaining, but this was downright horrifying. And the contrast – first there are these sweet hens laying on their eggs and hatching out and caring for and protecting these cute little fuzzy chicks, and then there are the other hens, tearing apart a little baby chick in the dirt. So, I found some good merchandise – a bag that says “WARNING, beware of the killer chickens.”

If chickens were the size of dinosaurs, there would be no human race.

This mystery skull does not fit neatly into any known human skull deformations. But why would this lead researchers to jump to the conclusion that it was alien?

Apparently, Indian Legends told of “star-people” who came down and created alien-human hybrids, waiting until the offspring reached about the age of 6, when they returned to take them.

While no concrete proof has been found that the skull is actually that of a human-alien hybrid, researchers have still been unable to classify just what conditions caused the unusual deformations of this skull.

What do you think?

Well I started off this morning thinking I was going to write about the aquatic ape theory, and then I found The Moken. I went to Thailand about 12 years ago and loved the place, it’s history, it’s beautiful kind people. We even spent most of our time there around Phuket and Ko Phi Phi, and didn’t know a thing about the Moken, a group of semi-nomadic sea people, until today. Unfortunately now their way of life is threatened by tourism and the general encroachment of the rest of the world.

One thing I found fascinating about these people is that, according to one source, none of them died in the tsunami of 2005. Apparently, the fish told them it was coming. Some of them took to the mountains inland, others rescued tourists from the islands, and still others actually rode out the tsunami in their boats.

Seeing the way that these people live, it is easier to imagine that humans as a species evolved in and around water, as hypothesized by the proponents of the aquatic ape theory. What is harder to imagine is what would make people decide to move inland, away from the water. It used to be widely believed that North America was settled by the Native Americans by the Bering Strait land bridge, but more recently scientists have been looking at coastal routes as more plausible.

Some even suggest that global warming could cause cataclysmic flooding that would once again put us in a position of having to survive in a watery environment, as soon as 2012.

Ok, I actually don’t know if Bigfoot exists or not, but, like Fox Mulder from the X-Files, “I want to believe.” And I’m not the only one. Even though some Bigfoot sightings have been proven to be hoaxs, people continue to believe and look for the real Bigfoot.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization claims to be “the only scientific research organization exploring the bigfoot/sasquatch mystery.” Their website includes a comprehensive sightings database, where you can search Canada and the US for reports of Bigfoot sightings. Other websites describe sightings as well.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence of this creatures existance, many people still believe and hope to find this potential primate relative. There are myths of Bigfoot-like creatures all over the world, just like there are myths of “little people” around the world, and recent evidence has shown that “homo floresiensis,” a small homind, in fact did exist simulataneously with modern humans. So why not Bigfoot?

Apparently, this behavior is not unusual for male robins during the mating season. The male robin was actually trying to fight his own reflection. Their advice was to cover the window with cardboard, and after a few days he would go away. However, we have these huge windows and were only able to cover the lower half with large pieces of cardboard. The robin was not deterred. It continued for weeks. We got used to the slamming and tapping, but the worst part was that he would sit there and poop in front of our sliding glass doors. Just when we were so tired of it we started thinking of “getting rid of” him for good, we noticed the fantastic nest that he had built just a few feet away, in front of the wood shed.

It was so lovely, we just couldn’t bring ourselves to get rid of him. Then, when we had finally gotten used to the noise and the poop, it stopped. I went out to look at the nest this morning and discovered three little baby robins there (kind of hard to see in this picture). Finally, all the crazy behavior made sense, and I was happy to be able to share my “territory” with this nutty bird.

Here are just a few that I discovered today that I found interesting:

The child’s song “Sing a Song of Sixpence” was actually a coded message to recruit pirates.

Water boiled in a microwave can suddenly explode.

Outdoor temperature can be determined by counting the number of cricket chirps.

And, thankfully, some old wives tales I believed as a child are apparently untrue, such as:

Chewing gum takes seven years to pass through the human digestive system, and if you go swimming less than an hour after eating, you will get a cramp and drown.

If you get an email or hear a story and you are not sure what to think, you may be able to verify whether the information is true or not by checking the “Snopes” site.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether these people are serious or not. When I looked up “Cheesus” I found this great site for “Cheesus Industries, International distributor of premium quality, religious-themed cheese sculptures.” But I couldn’t figure out how to order my own personal Cheesus, or the Gouda Buddha.

Sometimes it is obviously a joke, as in the “uncyclopedia” entry about Cheesus. Other times, the line is not so clear between joking and complete irreverance, as with the line of cosmetics called “Lookin’ Good For Jesus,” whose products were pulled from the shelves in Singapore because they were offensive to some people. The products claim to “redeem you in his eyes and take the edge off sinning.”

I’ve got to say it; it all sounds pretty cheesy to me.

“Worldwide, the number of deaths attributed to the flu each year is between 250,000 and 500,000″ (Thomas Walkom, The Toronto Star, May 1, 2009)

Some have suggested that the media distorted the Swine Flu story in order to thwart attempts at economic recovery, or to weaken the social protest movement through fear.

The truth is that we live in a microbial world. “Humans Have Ten Times More Bacteria Than Human Cells.” Viruses are amazing. Trying to eliminate these microbes with antibiotics and antibacterial agents is counter-productive.

That is not to say that we shouldn’t protect ourselves. One of the best places to get sick is the hospital. It has been suggested that billions of dollars could be saved, not to mention tens of thousands of lives, each year, simply by cleaner practices in medical facilities. According to one source, “2 million patients get health care associated infections each year.”

It’s their world, we’re just living in it.

Science is typically slow to accept new discoveries. Eugene Dubois, who found “the missing link” (Java man, coincidentally also found in Indonesia) died an unhappy man – his discovery was not accepted as authentic until after his death. [See "The Man Who Found the Missing Link, by Pat Shipman.]

Everything that we know so far is based on what we have found. Just because we haven’t found evidence of other little people around the world yet, doesn’t mean that it is not there. There are stories from all over the world about little people: fairies, pixies, leprechauns and goblins to name just a few. And it turns out that there are local legends on the Island of Flores, about a small, hairy human-like creature: the Ebu Gogo.

Although archaeologists are calling homo floresiensis “hobbits,” and have found tools associated with their remains,

if they are indeed the Ebu Gogo of local legend, they were probably much more like Gollum or Goblins, stealing and eating anything they could get their hands on, and not even knowing how to cook.

Are the Ebu Gogo and homo floresiensis the same beings? Could they still exist?

According to an article in Anthropology Today, “Although not particularly probable, the survival of Homo floresiensis in remoter parts of Flores is not impossible.” [See also Gregory Forth's book, "Images of the Wildman in Southeast Asia."]

And finally, if homo floresiensis is actually the Ebu Gogo, are they also the clan of Yagog and Magog of the Quran, who will come through a wormhole at the end of days to devour the earth?

And so they instilled within our brains, young and old alike, the need and desire for cereal that tastes like candy, products that make us attractive or smell better, detergents that make our clothes brighter or retain their color and shape longer, lawns that grow greener and make our neighbors envious.

Beyond that, they offer us credit cards with our picture or the picture of our cat on them, plus they offer “special rewards” for using the cards at specific retailers.  The cards come in platinum, gold and silver.  Who can resist?

A long time ago I heard about “subliminal”  advertising being outlawed…certain messages were being implanted in advertising on TV.  And yet, I look around me at products I’ve purchased because my brain said “You may not realize it, but you really need this.”

Of course the credit card companies made it easy!  On radio there are the soft voices selling  CDs.  Have you noticed that advertising firms aren’t taking Chapter II?  They aren’t asking the government for a bail out!  So, stop blaming America for its spending spree…put the blame where it belongs.

“In the latest survey, astronomers sifted through thousands of signals from Sagittarius B2, a vast dust cloud at the centre of our galaxy. While they failed to find evidence for amino acids, they did find a substance called ethyl formate, the chemical responsible for the flavour of raspberries…Curiously, ethyl formate has another distinguishing characteristic: it also smells of rum.”

I’ve read a lot of science fiction over the years – some of my favorite authors are William Gibson, C.J. Cherryh, and Larry Niven.  But I never imagined that galactic clouds would have a smell, let alone a taste. Suddenly I’m envisioning future culinary tours of space, thronged with haute cuisine passengers waiting to sample vaporized intergalactic delicacies.

My ideal galactic cloud would smell of hot apple pie, combined with the mouth- and eye-watering flavors of fresh serrano chiles and extra-sharp cheddar cheese. I also wouldn’t mind the scent of fresh-squeezed lemon juice and the taste of a very dry gin martini. But that’s just me. How about you – what’s your ultimate galactic combination?

It covers the evolution of man billions of years in the future.  Today’s rapidly changing (I hesitate to use the word “declining”) evolution  could make those billions change to hundreds of years.  It’s a telepathic revelation of man’s chaotic future through space and time.

With a 1930’s perspective, peace is present until an “airship” crashes into London releasing toxic warfare gas.  England retaliates against Western Europe and a state of almost total extinction occurs.  The US and China become the super powers and agree to a peaceful solution.  Shortages of oil, metal and food follow, but an “inexhaustible” energy source is found and “we” cook the planet.  The last bit of life exists on the tip of an island close to the North Pole.  Darwinism takes over as man continues resulting in a stronger man who regains dominence over earth.  He decides to build a genetically perfect brain that will warn of impending doom.

“Brain” feels unfulfilled, replicates itself into a higher state.  Man’s prime urge shines through.  The brain designs Adam and Eve to experience emotions who eventually destroy the brain through their descendants.  A dark cloud appears above a  mountaintop and covers the terrain in a “green mist” which is a conglomerate of Martians which act together as the Borg.  After the mist consumes crops and people men once again surge forward and send the “mist” back to Mars.

Humans battle the remaining Martians and flourish, after which point the moon falls out of orbit.  They are down to a pitiful group, but somehow escape to Venus.  On arrival they find Venus almost covered by water.  A few islands exist, and there they survive.  Vesuvians live in the sea as swardfish creatures who dislike Earthlings.  When Venus becomes too hot for them, the humans move to Neptune.  The sun is dying.  Throughout the book there are flying humans, fish-like humanoids and a  “Planet of the Apes” evolution at the end (we make it through).

Yes, it’s Sci-Fi 101, but there were parts of the book that came almost too close for comfort.  I’m glad I’m not living in the “Green Mist” period.  And, yet, looking out the window…OH, NO……..

“Mom, about Mars…”  I got comfortable on the sofa and listened.  “Mars got hit by something a billion years ago, before life really had a chace to evolve.  Plus, Mars is further from the sun and photosynthesis evolution would have taken longer than earth.”

“Charlie, are you throwing my concept of life on Mars out?”  I began to panic.

“No!  The very slim possibility is that Mars was once closer to the sun eons ago before being knocked further away from the sun.  It’s also possible that before Mars got hit, it was oceanic.”

Okay, that made sense to me.  “So you agree that there was water on Mars?”

“Yes.  It’s obvious to me that water covered at least half of the planet when it was hit by a larger meteor.  Pushed away from the sun, it gradually went into the ice age from which it never recovered.  As water evaporated into space, it picked up two asteroids from the asteroid belt (or possibly one of the moons)…a remanant of the destruction of Mars.”

“And life, what about life?” I asked.  His reply was quick, “If life existed, it went underground with the remaining water.  Slowly, it evolved in underground caverns and pools.  Let’s just say intelligence found a way as life strives for existence universally to develop as a society underground out of detection so far.  In my opinion, they would either have very large eyes, or none at all.”

My mind filled with pictures of supposed aliens – no eyes.  Charlie had my attention.  “Quite possibly, ” he continued, “they could be amphibious to navigate underwater passageways.  Then, large eyes for low light would be  accompanied by sonar-type abilities like bass sending out high frequency squeaks to navigate caves.”

He’d outdone himself.  I needed to do research, and I tried to remember who I knew at NASA that might be able to get me on a quick, round-trip to Mars for Round 3.  I smiled, “Could we talk more, later…maybe?”

The stories continues well past the official abolishment of legal slavery in the US: segregation, KKK, Tuskegee.   For the student of history a true litany of offenses swiftly prove that African Americans were repeatedly and consistently wronged.  There is no equivalent “holocaust denial” for the truth of American history, here at least, is plain.

As a nation, the USA has struggled with the appropriate responses, inching along from abolition to integration as teh collective ethos shifted perspective and policy.  Recently there was the 2008 House Apology and calls for reparations will no doubt continue.

But the service of an African American President certainly tips the scales.  Has the long road finally come to an end?  In his inauguration speech and in his actions, Barak Obama spoke to the challenges of all people. He spoke not from a position of victim, but of triumphant hero, there to prove that the light truly shines.  Has American finally found racial equality?

The world’s best concierge, according to Virtuoso, in 2007 was Frank Lalno of the Stafford Hotel in London.  Actually, some of the best belong to the international association of  “Les Clefs d’Or” (literally translated “The Gold Keys”).  Members wear a small, gold pin and are the best of the best.

In New York I’ve asked the concierge for a good table at my favorite restaurant, a ticket to a sold-out Broadway show or an invitation to a fashion show.  I always give them as much time as possible, and that’s important!  And the tip?  It can be in a thank you handshake ahead of time, and when you leave the hotel so that you’ll be remembered.  How much?  Let the tip reflect the extent of the effort.

Most five star hotels have a concierge.  It’s part of their appeal for the traveling public.  Should a hotel not have a concierge, ask at the front desk or the bellman who might be able to help you.  At the Marriott Vinoy in St. Petersburg they have a car for hotel guests which can take you to a restaurant, the theatre or even to shop.  The Fairmont, Chicago offers a Bentley.  Four Seasons New York, a Rolls Royce.

There is the tale of Lalo finding an interior designer to gift wrap a Mercedes for a guest’s wife.  The best I ever did myself  was to find a monkey grinder and his monkey for a client’s daughter’s birthday.  A concierge can be your best friend.

The conversation began when I mentioned that we’d probably find life on Mars in underground communities as deep as seven or eight levels and, since there’s evidence of water having been on Mars’ surface, it was now down below.

Sighing, Charlie said, “The reality of intellectual life underground on Mars is unlikely because any type of miniwave communiction would have been detected by now.”  His concept is that an underground single or very limited cell organism may live near hot spots where water is available.  “Also”, he continued, I believe unearthing these living beings, however small, could be treacherous to our society because of unknown viruses.  Our bodies’ defense system wouldn’t be able to adapt to them fast enough before we became ill, and possibly died from them.”

I responded that, from the photos I’ve seen of Mars, especially the supposed canals, these are intelligent beings who have to be about our size for such construction.  Further, our space vehicles carry equipment to test atmospheres or lack thereof when we arrive.  Also, our astronauts wear protective clothing plus breathing apparatus and, on their return, go through decontamination.

Charlie shrugged his shoulders.  “Water dwellers indicates the possible presence of phosphorus, and light enabled by underground magna flows.  This would provide light for small ecosystems in the unseen caverns of Mars.”  I nodded in approval, and he continued, “Think of the ultra deep sea Angler fish that uses a phosphorus-enriched antenna as bait to catch curious prey.  According to NASA’s space exploration schedule, it will be 20 years before man sets foot on Mars, let alone explores water-filled caves deep beneath Mars’ undaunting surface.”

Smiling, I knew all of those sci-fi movies and books had produced a man not afraid to look into the future, and a mother who wants to live to see Mars for herself.  In Charlie’s words, “Extraterrestrial life does exist, and it’s up to us to accept that and not destroy it, or ourselves, in the process.”

In a Travel Pulse story from March 5, 2009 Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Balmoral took evasive action after a suspected pirate threat March 3 in those waters.  There was “suspicious activity” after two small boats followed the passenger liner.  All 1,000 on board were moved to safe havens below deck while the ship took evasive measures and moved.  This is among one of the few passenger ships put in this situation.

A House committee, the beginning of March, looked into a growing security threat which, heretofore, has been against tankers and industrial ships.  There were more than 130 pirate attacks last year in this area.  Top Defense and State Department officials told lawmakers that the U. S. Navy and a coalition of allies have curbed, but not done away with the pirate attacks.

Boarding attacks spiked last summer resulting in private shipping lines readily paying large ransom fees to rescue their crews and vessels.  One of the most spectacular raids was the capture in November of the huge Saudi cruide oil tanker  Sirius Star.  The ship was released January 10 after ransom payment was made by air drop.  This same group captured a Belize-flagged Ukrainian cargo ship off the coast of Kenya laden with tanks, grenade launchers and ammunition reportedly bound for a rebel faction in Sunan’s civil war – ransom was$3.2 million.  And we thought all we had to worry about was the economy?

www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/05

Pyramids have always fascinated me beginning in Cahokia, Illinois at the famous “Mound City” of the American Indians.  Their burial rites were somewhat similar to Egyptian and Mayan ceremonies.  To me, the mound was nothing more than a modified pyramid.

I backpacked through Chichen Itza, Tulum, Uxmal and Palenque continuing to Belize.  There was a common thread here.  As I trudged through Greece and visited the beehive pyrimids of Professor Mylanos a picture took shape and   Egypt all of the way through to Sudan brought my sphere of knowledge full throttle.

Despite the warnings of soothsayers, nobody knows what will really happen in 2012.  They give us a long list of possibilities which remind me of a new game of “spin the bottle”.  Maybe it will be a flu pandemic, a time travel error, machines will turn against us…aren’t these all movie plots?  Perhaps there will be a magnetic pole shift, a new ice age or our solar system will fall apart (super glue may not help)?

Under all the “survive” information came the concept that we should build modified, fortified pyramids as our home away from home, and thus possiblity avoid cosmic rays.  Okay, that makes perfect sense.  We now have vaster (note I didn’t say better) worldwide lines of communication.  However, unless something is explosive in nature, the media isn’t interested.  On one TV program they pointed out that with the extensive dissimulation of cyber information it can be harvested and used against us.

So, what about the Mayan Calendar?  I’ve see it, and been impressed.  But as advanced and intelligent the Mayans were, they were also beastial in their killings, with a bloodlust next to none to maintain power.

And then, there’s the arrival of an anti-Christ.  I had begun to watch he President addressing Congress.  What if…?

Born in Russia, Spektor’s playful use of language, music and video is like Lori Anderson with occasional odd sounds and intentional grating feelings but mixed in with a sweet ranging vocal essence that is compared to Tori Amos and Fiona Apple and the lyrical work of Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco and Bjork.  But comparisons are better made in one’s own head, so cruise on over to reginaspektor.com and enjoy a few minutes of respite from the crazy world – in the crazy offworld of Regina.

Right away you will become enshrined with her – “they made a statue of us, our noses have begun to rust. They’ll name a city after us, and later say it’s all our fault. Then they’ll give us a talking to!” Rummaging for answers in the pages, Spektor warns we are “living in a den of theives and it’s contageous!”

Wikipedia reports “Spektor learned how to play piano by practicing on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather. She was also exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father, who obtained such recordings in Eastern Europe and traded cassettes with friends in the Soviet Union. The family left the Soviet Union in 1989, when Regina was nine, during the period of Perestroika,

“Now tourists come and stare at us
Blow bubbles with their gum
Take photographs for fun, for fun”

Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.  Surely “Poor Little Rich Boy” goes along with “Better” but the latter sounds fit for a post-party dance floor and the former fitter for a rap-poetry open mike.

Her features favor the camera as well.  Heavily drooping eyelushes, naked of shadow surmount full lips that shape “lovesongs just to break my fall.”

See the spektacle for yourself at ReginaSpektor.com

It was always a festive affair from jazz music and banjos to the fantastic sound of the paddlewheel as she began her outward journey.  Memories of days gone by flashed through my mind of gambling boats which lit the night with gas lamps, the white gloved waiters and some of the best fried chicken afloat!

I’d cruised on this gingerbread steamboat several times out of St. Louis, and we had become friends.  Suddenly, the years caught up with both of us and neither of us were considered acceptable in the new, modern world.  She and I were shelved.

Now, the paddlewheeler would be temporariy moored as a hotel at Chattanooga, Tennessee.  She was met by great fanfare on her arrival – a “hug” that she needed.  If I could hug Harry Phillips (owner of Chattanooga Water Taxi and Fat Cat Ferry in Chattanooga) for having made the arrangements, I would.

As a hotel guests will be treated to jazz, the banjos will play, there will be concerts from the calliope (which played its heart out on arrival in Chattanooga), the white gloved family service in the dining room, “card sharks” showing how it’s done and all the trappings of a past time era.  I will miss you, old friend.  Bon voyage…

By Ace in the Hole

Is the future of weaponry and crowd control already here? Ray-guns are no longer science fiction, according to an article by Tom Burghardt at InformationLiberation.com. He says that acoustic microwave armaments, laser induced plasma channels and Vortex ring guns are real live Star Wars technology. “Welcome to the twisted world of ‘non-lethal’ weapons research brought to you by the ‘fun’ folks at the Pentagon’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD).”

Raytheon’s Active Denial System (ADS) is “the first integration of the key technology elements such as the millimeter wave source, cooling system, and antenna, among other things.” ADS is a directed energy weapon used for “crowd control.” Known for its “goodbye effect,” ADS is a highly-effective “pain ray.” With a range of 550 yards, the excruciating energy blasts can penetrate clothing and heats the skin to around 130 degrees F.

Read about more sci-fi weaponry coming to the real world in Burghardt’s article at InformationLiberation.com.

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Are you paranoid yet? As if the world is not already filled enough with corporate scams, sloppy hackers and overweight stalkers, there is a web site that is sure to make you believe in imminent asteroid impacts, global economic meltdown and nuclear armageddon. Using real news stories to bolster her case, Sorcha Faal (an inherited title, not her real name) reports on the “true” goings on in the world of politics and science.

What’s great is that she links to important and overlooked news stories from around the world, with a focus on the erosion of human rights, environmental degredation and economic inequalities. There is also a good dose of natural disasters, political machinations and technology that misses the average evening news. I also like her selections of YouTube videos with great documentaries on the Federal Reserve and the 2012 “prophesies.”

Every few days Sorcha Faal comes up with an essay, riddled with links to news stories to support the “shocking truths kept hidden from the American public.” Sorcha Faal considers herself to be privvy to Russian intelligence and other sources to affirm a new North American Union, secret battles between American political factions and recently a report that the experiments with CERN may be knocking the Earth out of orbit. This is all serious(ly crazy) stuff!

This site is amazing for the plethora of links to news sources online from BBC to Al Jazeera to your local TV10. These unusual and often alarming stories are all covered by the press someplace, and it is a very useful resource for learning about the rest of the world, with most of the news links in other countries and special sections for Russia, China, England, Germany, Israel, Turkey, Brazil, the UN and the creepy “Classified Catacomb: Buried News Stories You Need To Know.” The news links are all from “reliable” sources but the way Sorcha Faal puts them together in her essays can truly send a shiver down your spine if you fall for such childish games.