“Not your typical UFO convention.”
Retroufo.com
Steamshovelpress.com
Below: Ruby shoots Oswald; as envisioned by Jack Kirby; and as envisioned by Chauncey Holt, suspected mystery tramp at the grassy knoll.
“Almost all people are hypnotics.
The proper authority saw to it that the proper belief should be induced and the people believed properly.” — Charles Hoy Fort
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Jack Kirby, Conspiracy Theorist
When Steamshovel Press editor Kenn Thomas speaks on “JFK to UFO” at RetroCon, his prefatory remarks will concern “Jack Kirby, Conspiracy Theorist.” Thomas looks at the famous comic book artist’s interest in parapolitics as well as the possibilities that Kirby had back channel sources within the world of covert intelligence. Richard Hoagland speculated that the secret space program gave Kirby information leading to the artist’s 1958 comic book story, “The Face On Mars”--an anomaly that did not become part of the conspiracy lexicon until the Viking probe’s Cydonia photographs of 1976. Thomas examines the history of this as well as Kirby’s prescient forecasts of American involvement in World War II and Vietnam; the use of conspiracy themes in his 1970s comics; and his documented involvement with a CIA rescue operation during the 1980 Iranian crisis. How does central intelligence shape our view of conspiracies in the popular culture? Find out at RetroCon, at the Integratron in Landers, CA, April 26 and 27.
“Not your typical UFO convention.”
Retroufo.com
Steamshovelpress.com
Below: Ruby shoots Oswald; as envisioned by Jack Kirby; and as envisioned by Chauncey Holt, suspected mystery tramp at the grassy knoll.
“Not your typical UFO convention.”
Retroufo.com
Steamshovelpress.com
Below: Ruby shoots Oswald; as envisioned by Jack Kirby; and as envisioned by Chauncey Holt, suspected mystery tramp at the grassy knoll.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Beware The Pretty Hitchhiker... She May Be A Ghost
A real car accident caused by a ghost in Sintra, Portugal. Police authorities found a DV camera that show what happened before the accident...I was warned at Rick's blog that if I watched this I'd freak out. Well, it isn't all that dramatic, really ...but... it is indeed very creepy to think about what's just been seen. I hope I don't think about it too much later on, when I'm sleeping, for example! It does make me want to go to Portugal and drive this road, though. Yeah, I know, I'm nuts. And damned proud of it, thank you very much. Just gotta remember to buckle up.
English Subtitles. Subtitles credits to ruipcoelho:
http://coelho.homeip.net/articles/sintra_mith.htm
For a brief period of time, it would certainly appear that a person from the other side materialized to a level of reality that three people felt completely at ease with. They express only concern for the girl's well being. These transpositions in time fascinate me... this is seriously weird. It does not seem to be an actual rerun of the initial event, as in cases where the ghost might cross the road in front of a car.
She tells them that this is where her accident happened. Teresa (the ghost) seems troubled at the end, and one wonders why, assuming she knows her presence will recreate the event, she'd subject innocent people to such danger. That's the creepy bit. The feeling arises that something very bad happened to her just before she took her last ride. What would happen if the driver were to stop before reaching the spot, perhaps to ask if she's really alright. Would she protest the stoppage and insist on pressing on? No mention of this happening before or since at this spot, but it'd be interesting to look into the accident logs after Teresa died.
Do let us know what you think of this and the possibilities as to what is going on in the energy fields to have this sort of thing happen in the first place. Is it a sort of ground loop or ??? It would appear that the "soul" is clearly conscious and alive... High Strangeness indeed.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The New York Giants!
Monsters from the Mound
By Mason C. Winfield
Some old historians dissed reports of bizarre finds from Western New York, but most acknowledged mystery. We should be suspicious of stories from frontier papers that stood to gain plenty from tall tales. These are from historical texts.
When the Whites arrived, Western New York was littered with the works of earlier people. Stone walls, graded roads, and fortifications were reported, though most commonly these markers were earthen mounds or enclosures. The Native Americans seldom had any tradition about the people who had put them in place. Most of us now believe that the influence of the Mississippian (Mound-Builder) culture was behind them. The settlement and the plow have been lethal to most of these fragile works, and even the old mound-fanatic E. G. Squier confessed ruefully in 1849 that the Western Door held little any more worth looking at. As these works were destroyed in the last century a stablefull of curiosities seems to have come out.
T. Apoleon Cheney notes (in Illustrations of the Ancient Monuments of Western New York) that a twelve-foot high elliptical mound above Cattaraugus County’s Conewango Valley held eight big skeletons. Most crumbled, but a thigh bone was found to be 28" long. Exquisite stone points, enamelwork, and jewelry (like that of Mexico or Peru) were also unearthed in the area. The mound looked like those of the Old World.
Cheney also mentions a skeleton seven-foot-five (with an unusually thick skull) from a Chautauqua County site near Cassadaga Creek. Inside a very old mound near Cassadaga Lake were some large skeletons that were examined by medical gentlemen." One measured nearly nine feet. (In 1938 Charles Hunnington of Randolph was so inspired by Doc Cheney’s finds that he made two giant "wooden Indian" statues, probably still at the museum in Little Valley.)
The History of Cattaraugus County notes the town of Carrollton’s "Fort Limestone," whose rough figure-eight enclosed five acres. In 1851 the removal of a stump turned up a mass of human bones. Some were enormous. Franklinville’s Marvin Older virtually gamboled about the site with them: a skull fit over his size seven-and-a-half head; a rib curved all the way around him, a shinbone went from his ankle to above his knee, and a jaw - with bodacious molars - went over his own. It’s first owner had probably stood eight feet tall.
Stafford Cleveland’s History and Directory of Yates County refers to skeletons from a conical burial mound by Keuka Lake in the early 1800’s. A Penn Yan doctor found that many were seven footers. (Tales of ghosts and buried treasure cling to this vicinity as well.)
Turner’s History of the Holland Purchase reports an ancient three-acre earth fort in Orleans county (about one and a half miles west of Shelby Center) that covered seven- and eight-foot skeletons. Their skulls were well developed in front, broad between the ears, and flattened on top. Also, Turner notes that, upon digging a cellar on his town of Aurora farm, Charles P. Pierson found a giant of his own.
The 1879 History of Allegany County noted a circular mound between Philip’s Creek and the Genesee in the village of Belmont. Several feet high and fifteen or so in diameter, it disgorged human bones, some very large, when the railroad was made in 1849 and 1850.
Giant human skeletons don’t ring any bells with us. Some think the Scandinavians were in Western New York, and they were considered virtual giants in the ancient world (whose people were traditionally much shorter than those now). Many Vikings would seem tall even today, but they were not routinely seven-footers.
Not all the humanlike skeletons found about the Western Door were so surely human. Several old histories discuss the two very bizarre skulls taken in the early 1820’s from a mound on Tonawanda Island near Buffalo. One early writer notes each "portentous, protruding lower jaw and canine forehead." Another adds that the burial customs were entirely unlike those of the region’s natives.
Our County and Its People (Truman C. White, 1898) mentions skeletons that seem to have been "platycnemic" - flat-shinned. In the bluff at Fort Porter (Buffalo) one such skeleton was found near ancient implements. Burials of up to three such skeletons have been found high up on river or lake banks about the region. Their flat shins and "other skeletal peculiarities" were thought due to climbing and living in trees. These are odd stories to make up.
In nature’s evident experiments toward Homo sapiens, some of the discontinued models were very large (Gigantopithecus comes to mind); none are thought to have set foot or dragged knuckle on any American soil. Jess Stearn (in Montezuma’s Serpent) cites finds from the American southwest implying some giant, bestial hominid was here. Jim Brandon’s Weird America lists two such accounts from just outside the Western Door. An eight-footer turned up in an Ellisburg, PA mound (near Wellsville, NY) in 1886. The same year a team of professors and professionals found dozens of huge, oddly-skulled humans in a mound in Sayre, PA (near Elmira, NY). They averaged seven feet, though some were taller, and some had horny knobs on their foreheads. Several went to the American Investigating Museum in Philadelphia, into which they disappeared. Modern fans of Bigfoot (seen in almost all the states of the Union) might rejoice at historical testimony of monster bones; for the rest of us the matter is just... weird.
By Mason C. Winfield
Some old historians dissed reports of bizarre finds from Western New York, but most acknowledged mystery. We should be suspicious of stories from frontier papers that stood to gain plenty from tall tales. These are from historical texts.
When the Whites arrived, Western New York was littered with the works of earlier people. Stone walls, graded roads, and fortifications were reported, though most commonly these markers were earthen mounds or enclosures. The Native Americans seldom had any tradition about the people who had put them in place. Most of us now believe that the influence of the Mississippian (Mound-Builder) culture was behind them. The settlement and the plow have been lethal to most of these fragile works, and even the old mound-fanatic E. G. Squier confessed ruefully in 1849 that the Western Door held little any more worth looking at. As these works were destroyed in the last century a stablefull of curiosities seems to have come out.
T. Apoleon Cheney notes (in Illustrations of the Ancient Monuments of Western New York) that a twelve-foot high elliptical mound above Cattaraugus County’s Conewango Valley held eight big skeletons. Most crumbled, but a thigh bone was found to be 28" long. Exquisite stone points, enamelwork, and jewelry (like that of Mexico or Peru) were also unearthed in the area. The mound looked like those of the Old World.
Cheney also mentions a skeleton seven-foot-five (with an unusually thick skull) from a Chautauqua County site near Cassadaga Creek. Inside a very old mound near Cassadaga Lake were some large skeletons that were examined by medical gentlemen." One measured nearly nine feet. (In 1938 Charles Hunnington of Randolph was so inspired by Doc Cheney’s finds that he made two giant "wooden Indian" statues, probably still at the museum in Little Valley.)
The History of Cattaraugus County notes the town of Carrollton’s "Fort Limestone," whose rough figure-eight enclosed five acres. In 1851 the removal of a stump turned up a mass of human bones. Some were enormous. Franklinville’s Marvin Older virtually gamboled about the site with them: a skull fit over his size seven-and-a-half head; a rib curved all the way around him, a shinbone went from his ankle to above his knee, and a jaw - with bodacious molars - went over his own. It’s first owner had probably stood eight feet tall.
Stafford Cleveland’s History and Directory of Yates County refers to skeletons from a conical burial mound by Keuka Lake in the early 1800’s. A Penn Yan doctor found that many were seven footers. (Tales of ghosts and buried treasure cling to this vicinity as well.)
Turner’s History of the Holland Purchase reports an ancient three-acre earth fort in Orleans county (about one and a half miles west of Shelby Center) that covered seven- and eight-foot skeletons. Their skulls were well developed in front, broad between the ears, and flattened on top. Also, Turner notes that, upon digging a cellar on his town of Aurora farm, Charles P. Pierson found a giant of his own.
The 1879 History of Allegany County noted a circular mound between Philip’s Creek and the Genesee in the village of Belmont. Several feet high and fifteen or so in diameter, it disgorged human bones, some very large, when the railroad was made in 1849 and 1850.
Giant human skeletons don’t ring any bells with us. Some think the Scandinavians were in Western New York, and they were considered virtual giants in the ancient world (whose people were traditionally much shorter than those now). Many Vikings would seem tall even today, but they were not routinely seven-footers.
Not all the humanlike skeletons found about the Western Door were so surely human. Several old histories discuss the two very bizarre skulls taken in the early 1820’s from a mound on Tonawanda Island near Buffalo. One early writer notes each "portentous, protruding lower jaw and canine forehead." Another adds that the burial customs were entirely unlike those of the region’s natives.
Our County and Its People (Truman C. White, 1898) mentions skeletons that seem to have been "platycnemic" - flat-shinned. In the bluff at Fort Porter (Buffalo) one such skeleton was found near ancient implements. Burials of up to three such skeletons have been found high up on river or lake banks about the region. Their flat shins and "other skeletal peculiarities" were thought due to climbing and living in trees. These are odd stories to make up.
In nature’s evident experiments toward Homo sapiens, some of the discontinued models were very large (Gigantopithecus comes to mind); none are thought to have set foot or dragged knuckle on any American soil. Jess Stearn (in Montezuma’s Serpent) cites finds from the American southwest implying some giant, bestial hominid was here. Jim Brandon’s Weird America lists two such accounts from just outside the Western Door. An eight-footer turned up in an Ellisburg, PA mound (near Wellsville, NY) in 1886. The same year a team of professors and professionals found dozens of huge, oddly-skulled humans in a mound in Sayre, PA (near Elmira, NY). They averaged seven feet, though some were taller, and some had horny knobs on their foreheads. Several went to the American Investigating Museum in Philadelphia, into which they disappeared. Modern fans of Bigfoot (seen in almost all the states of the Union) might rejoice at historical testimony of monster bones; for the rest of us the matter is just... weird.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Arthur C. Clarke dies
Sci-fi guru Arthur C. Clarke dies
By Simon Gardner 4 minutes ago
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Pioneering science fiction writer and visionary Arthur C. Clarke, best known for his work on the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," has died in his adopted home of Sri Lanka at the age of 90.
He died of respiratory complications and heart failure doctors linked to the post-polio syndrome that had kept him wheelchair-bound for years.
Marking his "90th orbit of the sun" in December, the prolific British-born author and theorist made three birthday wishes: For E.T. to call, for man to kick his oil habit and for peace in Sri Lanka.
Clarke was born in England on December 16, 1917, and served as a radar specialist in the Royal Air Force during World War Two.
He was one of the first to suggest the use of satellites orbiting the earth for communications, and in the 1940s forecast that man would reach the moon by the year 2000 -- an idea experts at first dismissed as rubbish.
When Neil Armstrong landed in 1969, the United States said Clarke "provided the essential intellectual drive that led us to the moon."
Clarke wrote around 100 books and hundreds of short stories and articles, and wanted to be remembered foremost as a writer.
Trained as a scientist, he was renowned for basing his work on scientific fact and theory rather than pure fiction and for keeping humanity at the heart of his technological visions.
In 1964, he started to work with the film maker Stanley Kubrick on the script of a groundbreaking film which was to win audiences and accolades far wider than those of most previous science fiction -- "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Based loosely on a short story he had written in 1948, it dealt poetically with themes of human evolution, technology and consciousness and came to be regarded by many as one of the greatest films ever made.
BIG THREE
Clarke, one of the most prolific authors of his genre, was the last surviving member of a group of science-fiction writers known as the "Big Three."
The two others were the Russian-born Isaac Asimov, who died in 1992, and Robert A. Heinlein, a Missouri native who died in 1988.
"The thing about Clarke is he had this footprint lasting 60 years with a constant stream of publications," said Russell Galen, his New York-based literary agent for more than 30 years.
"So he has a kind of stature from his long influence that puts him in a unique, elite group."
Clarke finished reviewing the final manuscript of his latest novel "The Last Theorem" just days ago.
He had also been working on the idea of a "space elevator."
"The golden age of space is only just beginning," Clarke forecast.
"Over the next 50 years, thousands of people will travel to earth orbit and then to the moon and beyond. Space travel and space tourism will one day become almost as commonplace as flying to exotic destinations on our own planet."
Clarke's brother is traveling to Sri Lanka for his burial, due in Colombo's general cemetery later this week.
Clarke left written instructions that his funeral be private and secular.
"Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral," he wrote.
(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
(Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles)
:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-( - Iggy
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Stephenville’s Symbolist UFO - The David Caron Video
Bummed here at Firefox’s becoming, overnight, unable to display High Strangeness properly, leaving only IE able to fully do so, with Opera coming in a close second. Dammit. So I thought I’d watch this again.
The first thought that came to mind was of course camera movement, something seen countless times in ufological photographs and videos, even at Hessdalen, plus he says at one point that he’s hand-holding it. But... there are many shots of it as a pretty stable round ball, which tells me his hands are steady enough and that in turn infers that this object really is making these patterns. The transitions, as well, are just way too rapid in my view to be explained to any degree of satisfaction by movement of the camera.
So, that leaves us with trying to come up with some ideas as to just what this thing is trying to do. Communicate? Could be. Anthropically that makes sense, but... you know... anthropomorphizing is risky at best. Methinks we’ll have a hell of a time twigging what it’s saying, though. Given enough of that time... who knows, someone might be able to translate. That’d be pretty sporty, eh?
Oh, and... there’s a website for it... at StephenvilleLights.com
"For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thursday, March 13, 2008
NBA or NFL?
36
Have been accused of spousal abuse
7
Have been arrested for fraud
19
Have been accused of writing bad checks
117
Have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3
Have done time for assault
71,
Repeat 71
Cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14
Have been arrested on drug-related charges
8
Have been arrested for shoplifting
21
Currently
Are defendants in lawsuits, and
84
Have been arrested for drunk driving
In the last year
Can you guess which organization this is?
NBA or NFL? Give up yet?
It's Neither,
it's the 535 members of the United States Congress.
The Same group of Idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year
Designed to keep the rest of us in line.
AND THEY JUST VOTED THEMSELVES $15,000 PER MONTH PENSION FOR LIFE AFTER SERVING ONLY ONE TERM IN CONGRESS!
Doesn't that make you enjoy paying taxes?
via my little sister.
Have been accused of spousal abuse
7
Have been arrested for fraud
19
Have been accused of writing bad checks
117
Have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3
Have done time for assault
71,
Repeat 71
Cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14
Have been arrested on drug-related charges
8
Have been arrested for shoplifting
21
Currently
Are defendants in lawsuits, and
84
Have been arrested for drunk driving
In the last year
Can you guess which organization this is?
NBA or NFL? Give up yet?
It's Neither,
it's the 535 members of the United States Congress.
The Same group of Idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year
Designed to keep the rest of us in line.
AND THEY JUST VOTED THEMSELVES $15,000 PER MONTH PENSION FOR LIFE AFTER SERVING ONLY ONE TERM IN CONGRESS!
Doesn't that make you enjoy paying taxes?
via my little sister.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Lubbock Infant Can Read at 17 Months Old
Wow! Talk about an Indigo child! This is a truly impressive story that I just had to post. There's a video at the site, which didn't work in my browser, although the audio played. More and more points of interest along my path point to the possibility that we are seeing human evolution taking place before our eyes.
Some may think that's silly, but I don't hold to the theory that it takes eons for changes to happen. Look at viruses, insects and even more advanced forms that develop the things they need to carry on in the face of new developments in the very next generation. There is an awful lot of that going on.
I've been thinking the phenomenon known as Indigo children are the human manifestation of that same process. What bums me out about it is that they're often treated as though they have some sort of disorder and given drugs to stop their brains in their tracks. Actually it more pisses me off than bums me out, but, such is the state of medical thinking these days. That said, they're doing a hell of a lot better job of it than the horror stories I hear from oldies. I hope this kid turns out to be someone truly remarkable.
======================================================
Posted to KCBD's website: Feb 28, 2008 12:21 AM
Lubbock Infant Can Read at 17 Months Old
A month ago, when I got an e-mail from a Lubbock mom who told me her 16-month-old baby could read, I didn't really take it seriously - especially when she told me it was her first baby. But after a few weeks and a few more e-mails, I decided to meet her and see for myself.
Elizabeth Barrett is now 17 months old. She looks and acts like most babies her age, but her mom Katy says, "She can read sentences. She can read more words than we can count."
So we watched as Elizabeth pulled out her favorite book, climbed in her favorite reading chair, and looked at pictures.
Katy, a speech pathologist who is married to Michael, another speech pathologist, told me that most people don't believe their infant is a reader.
"The joke is that since we see kids with language problems, we think anybody with normal language skills is a genius. But as time goes on, it's harder to deny that she's exceptional," said Katy.
Aside from reading books every day, play-time means mom writes down a word on paper and Elizabeth figures it out.
When we asked to see what Elizabeth could do, Katy wrote excited on a piece of paper and said, "Elizabeth, what does this say?" Elizabeth said "excited" and waved her hand over her chest. Katy explained that Elizabeth not only read the word, but signed it as well.
Katy is convinced that sign language helped launch her daughter's reading skills, partly by watching shows like "Signing Times" on public television.
"What's this word?' she asked. "Bear", answered Elizabeth." Yes, it said bear.
But we still weren't convinced. So I asked if I could try it. I wrote down the word ball.
"Ok, Elizabeth. What's this word?" I asked. "Ball", she said. That's when I nearly fell over.
Next my cameraman, Brandon wanted to try, so he wrote down the word banana.
"What's this word, Elizabeth," he asked her. "Banana", she said. Indeed, it was banana. That's when Brandon fell back and said, "I am very impressed!"
So we played "stump the baby". I picked up a magazine, opened it somewhere in the middle and randomly pointed to a picture of a plate and the three words underneath it. "What does this say?" I asked her. Elizabeth said, "How to eat." And she was right.
So we kept at it. "What's this word?" "Family", she said. "Can you read this one?" "Good", she answered. "Ok, what's this?" "Night", she said. Every time, she was right.
It was obvious, Elizabeth talks like she's 1, but she reads like she's 7. So what does her doctor think? Dr. Steve Stripling, Elizabeth's pediatrician, says at 14 months he saw her sight read the word avocado.
"I was floored", he told me.
The Barretts say they weren't trying to impress the doctor when they showed him what Elizabeth could do. It was more important for them to know that she didn't have some condition, like autism.
Dr. Stripling told me, "Elizabeth does not appear to be autistic at all. It looks like this child is going to be completely normal and, likely, will be a great resource for humanity, being as smart as she is."
What a relief to the Barretts that they can quiz Elizabeth on dozens of words but still enjoy playing, laughing, watching TV, and many other activities. I listened to Elizabeth read words like happy, puppy, penguin, vegetable, and kangaroo. That was impressive enough, but apparently, she's inherited her parent's love of music as well. When her mom wrote down Led Zeppelin, Buddy Holly, and the Beatles, she said those words too.
Again, Katy reminded me that it's not bragging rights, but a call for help, that brings this family to NewsChannel 11 for this story. Dr. Stripling also told me he is very glad they are showing people what Elizabeth can do. The reason? When the parents contact major medical centers for advice on how to challenge their little girl, nobody calls or writes back. Because they don't believe what she can do. Dr. Stripling says since seeing is believing, maybe the right people will contact them after seeing this story.
Katy told me, "We just want to know what to do with her next. We want her to be challenged. We don't want to hold her back," Katy said.
Just for fun, I scribbled one more thing on a piece of paper and held it up for Elizabeth to read. "Tonight Show", she said. That's what it said, and I have a feeling that's exactly where you might see Elizabeth the next time she's on TV.
"Signing Time" is distributed by American Public Television. It airs on KTXT, Channel 5, at 8:30 on Sunday mornings. For more information on the program, (click here).
Since this story originally aired on NewsChannel 11, many stations from around the country have called us wanting to broadcast this story in thier markets. We have learned that the Today Show has made arrangements to fly Elizabeth and her family to New York to be interviewed on Friday, March 7th. They have set Elizabeth up with a specialist from New York University.
Some may think that's silly, but I don't hold to the theory that it takes eons for changes to happen. Look at viruses, insects and even more advanced forms that develop the things they need to carry on in the face of new developments in the very next generation. There is an awful lot of that going on.
I've been thinking the phenomenon known as Indigo children are the human manifestation of that same process. What bums me out about it is that they're often treated as though they have some sort of disorder and given drugs to stop their brains in their tracks. Actually it more pisses me off than bums me out, but, such is the state of medical thinking these days. That said, they're doing a hell of a lot better job of it than the horror stories I hear from oldies. I hope this kid turns out to be someone truly remarkable.
======================================================
Posted to KCBD's website: Feb 28, 2008 12:21 AM
Lubbock Infant Can Read at 17 Months Old
A month ago, when I got an e-mail from a Lubbock mom who told me her 16-month-old baby could read, I didn't really take it seriously - especially when she told me it was her first baby. But after a few weeks and a few more e-mails, I decided to meet her and see for myself.
Elizabeth Barrett is now 17 months old. She looks and acts like most babies her age, but her mom Katy says, "She can read sentences. She can read more words than we can count."
So we watched as Elizabeth pulled out her favorite book, climbed in her favorite reading chair, and looked at pictures.
Katy, a speech pathologist who is married to Michael, another speech pathologist, told me that most people don't believe their infant is a reader.
"The joke is that since we see kids with language problems, we think anybody with normal language skills is a genius. But as time goes on, it's harder to deny that she's exceptional," said Katy.
Aside from reading books every day, play-time means mom writes down a word on paper and Elizabeth figures it out.
When we asked to see what Elizabeth could do, Katy wrote excited on a piece of paper and said, "Elizabeth, what does this say?" Elizabeth said "excited" and waved her hand over her chest. Katy explained that Elizabeth not only read the word, but signed it as well.
Katy is convinced that sign language helped launch her daughter's reading skills, partly by watching shows like "Signing Times" on public television.
"What's this word?' she asked. "Bear", answered Elizabeth." Yes, it said bear.
But we still weren't convinced. So I asked if I could try it. I wrote down the word ball.
"Ok, Elizabeth. What's this word?" I asked. "Ball", she said. That's when I nearly fell over.
Next my cameraman, Brandon wanted to try, so he wrote down the word banana.
"What's this word, Elizabeth," he asked her. "Banana", she said. Indeed, it was banana. That's when Brandon fell back and said, "I am very impressed!"
So we played "stump the baby". I picked up a magazine, opened it somewhere in the middle and randomly pointed to a picture of a plate and the three words underneath it. "What does this say?" I asked her. Elizabeth said, "How to eat." And she was right.
So we kept at it. "What's this word?" "Family", she said. "Can you read this one?" "Good", she answered. "Ok, what's this?" "Night", she said. Every time, she was right.
It was obvious, Elizabeth talks like she's 1, but she reads like she's 7. So what does her doctor think? Dr. Steve Stripling, Elizabeth's pediatrician, says at 14 months he saw her sight read the word avocado.
"I was floored", he told me.
The Barretts say they weren't trying to impress the doctor when they showed him what Elizabeth could do. It was more important for them to know that she didn't have some condition, like autism.
Dr. Stripling told me, "Elizabeth does not appear to be autistic at all. It looks like this child is going to be completely normal and, likely, will be a great resource for humanity, being as smart as she is."
What a relief to the Barretts that they can quiz Elizabeth on dozens of words but still enjoy playing, laughing, watching TV, and many other activities. I listened to Elizabeth read words like happy, puppy, penguin, vegetable, and kangaroo. That was impressive enough, but apparently, she's inherited her parent's love of music as well. When her mom wrote down Led Zeppelin, Buddy Holly, and the Beatles, she said those words too.
Again, Katy reminded me that it's not bragging rights, but a call for help, that brings this family to NewsChannel 11 for this story. Dr. Stripling also told me he is very glad they are showing people what Elizabeth can do. The reason? When the parents contact major medical centers for advice on how to challenge their little girl, nobody calls or writes back. Because they don't believe what she can do. Dr. Stripling says since seeing is believing, maybe the right people will contact them after seeing this story.
Katy told me, "We just want to know what to do with her next. We want her to be challenged. We don't want to hold her back," Katy said.
Just for fun, I scribbled one more thing on a piece of paper and held it up for Elizabeth to read. "Tonight Show", she said. That's what it said, and I have a feeling that's exactly where you might see Elizabeth the next time she's on TV.
"Signing Time" is distributed by American Public Television. It airs on KTXT, Channel 5, at 8:30 on Sunday mornings. For more information on the program, (click here).
Since this story originally aired on NewsChannel 11, many stations from around the country have called us wanting to broadcast this story in thier markets. We have learned that the Today Show has made arrangements to fly Elizabeth and her family to New York to be interviewed on Friday, March 7th. They have set Elizabeth up with a specialist from New York University.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Your help is needed... will you?
I am mortified at the lack of response and caring that a young female college student has received after a vicious and brutal dog attack on February 26th around 11 pm near her home on Clara Street in Gastonia.
Melissa Henderson age 26 in Gaston County was mauled near her own home by 2 dogs belonging to 2 different neighbors. The lack of response by the Animal control when the attack was reported is unacceptable. While Melissa was still at the hospital receiving care for the multiple severe wounds she received, the Gaston County Police were notified of the attack. The victim and her family while at the hospital expected an officer to meet them there to see the horrific wounds take pictures of the severity of the attack and take her statement. But, that is not what happened instead they were informed that they were to call the Gaston County Police the next day to have a report taken.
The attack occurred on Tuesday February 26th at approximately 11 pm. The Gaston County animal control were notified soon after. The owners let the dogs out themselves to roam free, even though the owners have a perfectly great fenced in back yard for the dogs to run. As the victim lay in the road screaming for help in front of her home and next to the dog owner’s homes, the owners did nothing to stop the vicious attack. Only after she was able to fight them off with the help of her own dog. Her dog was on a leash. Her dog jumped on top of her covering her face and upper torso. Had he not done so I truly believe she would be massively mangled all over or maybe even had been killed.
When the attack was over the owner called the dogs inside her home and closed the door. She was unconcerned if Melissa was injured or needed help. It took numerous calls to Animal control before they finally picked up the dogs 2 days after this horrific attack took place. They were more than sympathetic to the dogs’ owner since she was so distraught over having her dogs taken for 6 days. The animal control officer informed Melissa and her family that the dog owner cried when he took them away. I just wonder why she didn’t cry over the fact that her dogs took large chunks of muscle, flesh and skin off Melissa’s legs and “ate” they actually swallowed parts of her legs.
This was not just a scratch, a tooth mark or just a break in the skin these dogs “ate” baseball size pieces of flesh and muscles from her legs that can never be replaced. The dog owners do not want the dogs put down and will get them back in 6 days. Melissa on the other hand will not get back the missing flesh and muscles from her legs or the thoughts of fighting off 2 dogs to save her life and trauma she has endured due to this attack out of her mind in 6 days. Surgery can not repair the loss of flesh so there will not be any surgery to hide the massive disfiguring scars she will have on both legs the rest of her life. Just surgery and prayers that she will walk again and hopefully be able to walk normally. She has been putting herself through college for the past 6 years to be a RN and is close to finishing and graduation this semester.
As of today, These dogs have been seen roaming at nearby businesses in the area most days. There is also a school located close by and young children are within walking distance of these dogs back and forth from school and the local stores. We have been informed by the Animal Control officers that if there had been a previous attack by these dogs or if another attack occurs by these dogs then maybe something can be done about them.
The pictures of the wounds Melissa received due to these 2 dogs are extremely graphic and sickening to see. But, we feel they need to be seen in the hopes to prevent an attack by these same 2 dogs happening to someone else. The next person could be you or someone you know and love. It may be a small child or an elderly person that can not fight them off. It may not just be the loss of someone’s legs next time it might be the loss of someone’s life.
What will it take before something is done and why are the owners of these 2 dogs not more concerned about the life of a human being over the lives of their dogs. Why do they still want to have these dogs exposed to other individuals that they might maul or kill someone when these dogs decide to attack again? How can their owners even look at their pets the same way knowing that they just chewed off pieces of a young woman’s legs in a vicious attack and swallowed them. If they were my beloved dogs and they did this much damage to someone there would be no question of if I wanted them put down or not.
As much as I love animals I feel a person’s life and well being still out ranks that of an animal that attacks and mangles a person to this degree and that there should not have to be more than one mauling by a dog in order for something to be done about them and their owners. It should not matter the age of the victims that are attacked by dangerous dogs or how their owners feel about what they have done. What would you want done if it was your daughter regardless of her age or maybe if the victim was your mother, son, sister, brother, niece or just someone you know after seeing these pictures?
Please help us in our plea for something to done about these dogs before it happens again. Call your local congressmen, newspapers, television stations, Police departments, Animal Control department and ask why is something more not being done to protect your family from these dogs and their owners, ask why it was not in the news so you would be made aware of how dangerous they are and the severity of what happened to Melissa? Call anyone that can help Melissa make sure this does not happen again to her or someone else and help change the laws to protect people from dog owners like this.
The responsibility for these dogs’ actions should be the dog owner’s responsibility. Please look at these pictures and make the calls as an outraged community that this could happen to one of us and nothing be done to protect us now. Demand to know why nothing is being done about this attack and why this information was not given to you by them first for your protection. Don’t believe everything that was told to the animal control officer about the who the owners of the 2 dogs are. They lied and said that Scott’s girlfriend Monica owned both dogs to keep themselves out of trouble and to keep themselves from being held accountable financially.
the dogs “real” owners are
Richard Henderson 709 Clara Street Gastonia 704-923-2469 and his dog is “Cocoa” a pit/lab mix
the second dog owner is
Scott Henderson 708 Clara Street Gastonia
A small article appeared in the Gaston Gazette today on page 3A below are the gruesome and graphic pictures they didn’t print The gaping wounds and missing flesh before staples closed them.
Everyone please call the following agencies….
Animal Control 704-922-8677 or 704-922-8678
Gastonia Police Dept non-emergency 704-865-2323
Gaston Gazette 704-869-1750 – Daniel Jackson
WBTV 704-374-3500
WSOC western bureau 704-867-4513
WCNC 704-329-0135
If any one wished to check on her condition and progress or help in any way
please contact us.
Melissa Henderson and her family can be reached at 704-923-0924
via my friend Katie
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Lunar Polluters Caught Red-Handed... Tsk, Tsk
Hey, this is a new one for me. Found this on a YouTube anomaly crawl in the wee hours last night, in an attempt to distract myself from the day's strangeness, State forms, late BE taxes, where that girl is and if she's okay, time management and my gross embarrassment for falling for all those Walson space object videos after seeing this video and then this one as the kicker. I apologize to you all. Sigh. Too many thoughts streaming through...
Anyway, this shot is indisputable and fascinating... and it clearly shows something that shouldn't be there if what we've all been told is the real state of things. There are too many lunar anomalies, both official and unofficial to lend any credence to the party line regarding the moon, however. I like the fact that it is one billion years older than the earth and that it appears after repeated NASA seismic testing to be hollow... which Sagan said a natural body cannot be. Most exciting!
About this video:
Paranormal investigator Joshua P. Warren appeared in the first hour of Wednesday's show to share evidence he has posted on his website regarding NASA UFO footage. Originally shown on a NOVA special, a tall cylindrical object releasing a "jet-like cloud," can be observed coming from the surface of the moon, Warren said, which he believes is not an illusion caused by debris.
Initially reported by the scientific journal Electric Space Craft, this object could be "thousands of feet tall" and indicate a secret technology, Warren surmised.
September 3rd, 2003
http://shadowboxent.brinkster.net/moon/esjmoon.html
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