The Agents of F.L.A.S.K.

[Tiki Tom]

Why does it always come back to Devon?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11637610/big-cat-decapitated-lamb-mauled-devon/

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Why does it always come back to Devon?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11637610/big-cat-decapitated-lamb-mauled-devon/

Lol...... the good old 'SUN' can always be relied upon for fake news.
The feline in the video is a just a domestic moggie & one used to people if it lets someone get so close (probably it's owner).
Oh, and the photos of the pawprints in the 'article' are those of a dog.

 

[Tiki Tom]

The Holy Grail is in England! I’m starting to see a pattern.
Remind me to send this guy a F.L.A.S.K. Membership card and de-coder ring.
For his search, Apparently he has gotten permission to redirect a river (!)

https://nypost.com/2020/12/19/british-indiana-jones-claims-the-holy-grail-is-in-england/

 

[Tiki Tom]

The UK is still going for the prize! Flying humanoids in Britain?

https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2020/12/winged-humanoids-that-soar-across-the-skies-of-the-u-k/

But wait! Never allowing itself to fall to second place in terms of craziness, the USA gets in on the story too:

https://abc13.com/houston-batman-folklore-man-with-wings-bat-in/2587899/

Can it be long before Australia also jumps into the game?

 

[Zombie_61]

...But wait! Never allowing itself to fall to second place in terms of craziness, the USA gets in on the story too:

https://abc13.com/houston-batman-folklore-man-with-wings-bat-in/2587899/

"Houstonians"? That label is more horrifying than any of this other stuff.

 

[HudsonHawk]

"Houstonians"? That label is more horrifying than any of this other stuff.

Hey now...what have you got against us fair residents of the Bayou City?

 

[Tiki Tom]

I had always thought the term was Houstonauts.
Mission Control and all that.

 

[Zombie_61]

Hey now...what have you got against us fair residents of the Bayou City?

Absolutely nothing. In fact, to my knowledge I've never even met anyone from Houston. It's the term I dislike - "Houstonians". Far too Orwellian for my tastes. Just to be clear, "Los Angeleno" is even worse. Or, in the case of my home town, "Whittierite". Sounds like something you'd use to protect the paint on you car.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Absolutely nothing. In fact, to my knowledge I've never even met anyone from Houston. It's the term I dislike - "Houstonians". Far too Orwellian for my tastes. Just to be clear, "Los Angeleno" is even worse. Or, in the case of my home town, "Whittierite". Sounds like something you'd use to protect the paint on you car.

I suppose “Houstonian” is better than “Houstonite”. The latter sounds like some exotic crystal used to power your spaceship.

And speaking of demonyms...I’ve lived most of my adult life in Houston, but I was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. And despite the young transplants’ best efforts to change it, a person from Tampa is a “Tampan”, even with the juvenile giggling in the background. And if you’re really old school, a true native of Florida is a “Floridan”, not a “Floridian”.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I had always thought the term was Houstonauts.
Mission Control and all that.

Not a bad suggestion. We go back and forth with the space theme, despite being founded at the location because of the deep water turning basin for ships. And the official emblem of the city is a steam locomotive. A bit of an identity crisis.

 

[Harp]

On May 19, 1817 thirty Virginians led by a Thomas Beale departed St Louis for Santa Fe,
hunters set for buffalo and other native Great Plains game, a long haul that yielded a gold mine.
Beale directed mining and returned to Bufords, Virginia in 1819 with the first ore deposit,
secreting it near Bufords Tavern, encoding its location in a letter deposited with a trusted soul.
Beale returned to the mine, then made a second return to Virginia and deposited the ore and some
jewels traded for in St Louis. The Declaration of Independence is the apparent code key,
which opened one of three ciphers; two remaining ciphers are still locked, including locale.
Estimated at $30,000,000 earlier, in today's inflated gold quote, much, much more.
The tale seems proved veracity.

Further information including ciphers are available online.
A Covid downturn time=on=hand code break opportunity.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Thanks, Harp.

I have never heard of the Thomas Beale Treasure before. Thank goodness I no longer live in that part of the country, or I would probably immerse myself in the subculture of the treasure hunt just for the fun of it. I think the last two paragraphs of this article about the Beale Treasure hit the nail on the head. It is not about the truth of this or that far-fetched belief. It is the fact that there are otherwise rational people out there who are “true believers”. What drives them? What do they see that I don’t? What deep seated need is met by becoming a true believer in some arcane mystery ---or some gigantic conspiracy theory? Could even a small part of what they preach be true? Maybe. (Or maybe not?)

http://www.virginialiving.com/culture/hope-or-hoax/

In case anyone wants to go down the rabbit hole on this one, the following article contains all three sets of the coded messages needed to find the treasure. Along with some interesting commentary and clues.

“A set of 200-year-old ciphers may reveal the location of millions of dollars’ worth of gold, silver, and jewels buried in rural Virginia. For the past century, the quest to break these codes has attracted the military, computer scientists, and conspiracy theorists. All have failed. Which raises the question: Are the ciphers and the treasure even real?”​

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/540277/beale-ciphers-buried-treasure

 

[GHT]

Thanks, Harp.
I have never heard of the Thomas Beale Treasure before. Thank goodness I no longer live in that part of the country, or I would probably immerse myself in the subculture of the treasure hunt just for the fun of it. I think the last two paragraphs of this article about the Beale Treasure hit the nail on the head. It is not about the truth of this or that far-fetched belief. It is the fact that there are otherwise rational people out there who are “true believers”. What drives them? What do they see that I don’t? What deep seated need is met by becoming a true believer in some arcane mystery ---or some gigantic conspiracy theory? Could even a small part of what they preach be true? Maybe. (Or maybe not?)

What drives them? Avarice maybe, a lust for power, who knows. How many so called academics down through the centuries have searched for The Ark of the Covenant?
As a general rule, Judaism rejects physical manifestations of spirituality, preferring instead to focus on actions and beliefs. Indeed, the story of Judaism begins with Abraham who, according to ancient sources, shattered the idols that were the conventional method of religious observance at the time. Worship of graven images is harshly condemned throughout the Torah, and perhaps the greatest sin the Israelites collectively committed was the construction of the Golden Calf (in Ex. 32), intended to serve as a physical intermediary between them and God. Today, Jews do not venerate any holy relics or man-made symbols.
Rejecting idolatry, where does that leave The Ark of the Covenant?

Please send your answer to: GHT, New Forest, UK. Thank you.

 

[Harp]

^^^The purse itself is of limit hold, but the wealth of the human heart is infinite.
And isn't the heart and love the source of true happiness.? As Charlotte Bronte wrote,
The Heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed.
--------
The Beale treasure is more probable than not, those times being what they were,
and it is doubtful that Beale would compose ciphers-one of which is open now, just to cajole.
Certain men will accept the challenge for their own motives, however, the intellectual stimulant
therein is quite attractive. An undeniable drawing card for many.
_____

The Ark of The Covenant may now be in Israel. Like Noah's Ark atop Ararat, a biblical take it or leave it.
With the destruction of the Temple, subsequent diaspora, and Rumor being the whimsy that possesses her
smidgen of truth recipe, the Ark supposedly found kept in Kenya. Israeli commandos secured said; so told.
Who knows? Seems that the Ark properly belongs within the heart realm. In secret kept, in silence sealed.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

How many so called academics down through the centuries have searched for The Ark of the Covenant?

The answer is two. Dr. René Emile Bolloq & professor Henry Walton Jones Jr.

 

[GHT]

You are right of course, Lean'n'mean, I was just using The Ark of the Covenant metaphorically. Harp's take on the heart and love is to my liking.

 

[Zombie_61]

...As a general rule, Judaism rejects physical manifestations of spirituality...Today, Jews do not venerate any holy relics or man-made symbols.
Rejecting idolatry, where does that leave The Ark of the Covenant?

Not to mention the Star of David.

 

[Benny Holiday]

As a general rule, Judaism rejects physical manifestations of spirituality, preferring instead to focus on actions and beliefs. Indeed, the story of Judaism begins with Abraham who, according to ancient sources, shattered the idols that were the conventional method of religious observance at the time. Worship of graven images is harshly condemned throughout the Torah, and perhaps the greatest sin the Israelites collectively committed was the construction of the Golden Calf (in Ex. 32), intended to serve as a physical intermediary between them and God. Today, Jews do not venerate any holy relics or man-made symbols.
Rejecting idolatry, where does that leave The Ark of the Covenant?

Please send your answer to: GHT, New Forest, UK. Thank you.

Fascinating, I think, that when Moses asked the voice in the burning bush His name, he replied, "Ehyeh asher Ehyeh," "I will be what I will be." The idols of the ancient near east were representatives of gods people sought to seek favour from or control; they used their names in the same way. The God who spoke to Moses in effect says, "You cannot make an idol to control Me nor use My Name that way."

 

[Tiki Tom]

Doctor Jones, this thread has at last come to the final mystery!

 

[Harp]

Fascinating, I think... that when Moses....

In a secular sense there are some unanswered questions about Moses and the Israelites.

Now, Moses was the very first guy to have broken all Ten Commandments.
And, he did it all at once.

....Only an Irishman could do that. So the Irish are therefore proven the lost tribe of Israel.