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

[Benny Holiday]

I've got nothing actually constructive to add other than An American Werewolf in London is the best werewolf movie of all time. That said, I will now make a very swift exit out of here before the Lon Chaney Jr fans chase me down! lol

 

[Turnip]

I remember we once watched „The Beyond“ by Lucio Fulci, Book Of Eibon…, at a friend‘s appartment one night when suddenly an upside down mounted concrete cross tipped from a shelf in the rear what has been slightly creepy. We finished the movie, switched on the news and saw a first report about the reactor melt-down in Chernobyl and the radioactive cloud spreading all over Europe……slightly more creepy…

 

[Benny Holiday]

You guys might get a laugh out of this one. Back in the schlocky 80s, 1984 if I remember right, I was one of a bunch of friends who had a sleepover at a buddy's house. We were all 15-16 years old. The movie we watched on the old VCR (actually I think they only came out in Australia about 1983 so it was a NEW VCR then!) was a horror flick called Xtro. It was a typical gross-out picture of the time, about this hideous alien that looked like a brown grasshopper with big red eyes and loads of teeth. About the only bit of it I can remember is a scene in which a woman gives birth to an adult man after being impregnated by some alien freak or other! Schlock to the max.

Anyway, we were all grossed out and/or freaked out by this movie, but being adolescent males we had to play it cool and act tough and pretend none of it was getting to us. Until . . .

One of the feature walls in the house featured bevel-edged mirrored tiles near an alcove meant for a wet bar for entertaining. My friend whose home we were in had a brown Collie dog who decided to wander into the room right after one of the scary scenes. All we saw was the reflection of something four-legged and brown moving in the mirrored tiles. There were pseudo-macho dudes jumping about in fright all over the place, expletives and hollers of fear bouncing off the walls as we all scrambled to remove ourselves form the scene posthaste. I think I was just frozen to the spot! It would've looked hilarious had any adults been there to witness it.

To this day that movie still sends a shiver down my spine.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Turnip: That is pretty creepy about the cross tipping over.

Benny: who amongst us hasn’t had the crap scared out of us by a movie? In my case, it was ”the exorcist”. after the movie, it was late and dark. I dropped my girlfriend off and then drove home along an empty stretch of road. It is a wonder that I ever got home. I completely freaked myself out thinking about the movie and scared myself half to death. Ha ha. Sounds funny now.

Re: Werewolves. I learned a new word today. Lycanthropy.

In case anyone has NETFLIX: There is a new episode of Unsolved Mysteries titled “Paranormal Rangers.” It’s about a team of Navajo Nation Rangers assigned to investigate all sorts of paranormal events on the reservation. Sort of like a Navajo X-Files. I just watched it. If you like Bigfoot, ghosts, UFOs and shapeshifters PLUS the haunting loneliness/beauty of the desert southwest, this episode might be worth your time. Here is an article about the show:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/b...ajo-nation-residents-what-to-know/ar-AA13pCNh

 

[Benny Holiday]

@Tiki Tom I watched the Paranormal Rangers. The whole episode was extra creepy but the skinwalker was particularly evil. Weird correlation between the UFOs and Bigfoot - or maybe not so weird after all.

 

[Turnip]

@Tiki Tom We found the radioactive cloud over Europe was even more in that context because that or similar is how not too few of Zombi/Doom movie plots begin…

 

[Tiki Tom]

Yes! For a long time we were holding our breath due To the fear that the Fukushima nuclear disaster and discharge into the ocean might bring reality to the story of Godzilla.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Speaking of aquatic monsters, there has been another sighting of our old friend, Ogopogo.

I don’t see a bird in that photo. I do see some kind of submerged head, but who can tell?

 

[Tiki Tom]

Since the “Beast of Bray Road” story, I have been keeping my eyes open for current reports of werewolves in our midsts.

Here is one. A woman reports that, in Missouri, she was taking an evening walk by a creek. What does she see? A big, tall werewolf. Eventually it sees her and approaches her. So she whips out her pistol (this is America, after all) and pumps two rounds into it. The beast goes down, but then jumps up and runs into the woods. Holy sh$t! This is in the 2020s, not the 1880s!

https://www.lincolnnewsnow.com/news...cle_72c1c5d4-0764-11ec-9acd-574e0d11f14c.html

The article then goes on about another man who also saw something in the area.

Do I believe in werewolves? Not really. But on the other hand, I kinda find them more believable than, say, Bigfoot. After all, who hasn’t occasionally had the urge to howl at the moon?

EDIT: Here is an additional link about the Sugar Creek story, in case the first link does not work.

https://101theeagle.com/the-possibly-true-urban-legend-of-the-missouri-werewolf/

 

[Zombie_61]

Meh. "Werewolves", "Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Abominable Snowman/Yeti", they're just alien species' from other planets. Why they come here, I have no idea.

 

[Tiki Tom]

So, you are open to the idea that some of these things might actually exist in some form or another? Outside of being pure figments of the imagination? It is curious how the same stories appear again and again, across civilizations, continents, and centuries.

 

[Tiki Tom]

More NETFLIX news:
A new mini series, “Ancient Apocalypse“, is available.
The show follows researcher and best selling author Graham Hancock as he presents his theory that a human Civilization existed long before mainstream archaeologists are willing to admit. His theory received a big boost when the ruins of Gobekli Tepe were unearthed; roughly doubling the age of human monumental architecture in one go. Graham Hancock is still a controversial character, but he is not “Ancient Alien” crazy. Anyway, I read his books some years back and find him and his theory very intriguing. I will certainly watch this show. Probably this weekend!

https://decider.com/2022/11/10/ancient-apocalypse-netflix-review/

 

[Zombie_61]

So, you are open to the idea that some of these things might actually exist in some form or another? Outside of being pure figments of the imagination? It is curious how the same stories appear again and again, across civilizations, continents, and centuries.

Those stories re-appearing over and over throughout the centuries is one of the reasons I'm open to thinking some of these beings might actually exist. On the other hand, I'm an Agnostic in many ways; I've never personally seen a "werewolf", a "vampire", a "Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Abominable Snowman/Yeti", a UFO/space alien, or any of the other creatures that exist mostly under the heading of "Urban Legend", but I'm not so arrogant that I can state definitively that they don't exist. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Tiki Tom]

Well, that is creepy.

Of course, the big question is: Is this something that was genuinely captured on a home security camera? Or is it a manipulated image?

 

[Zombie_61]

Well, that is creepy.

Of course, the big question is: Is this something that was genuinely captured on a home security camera? Or is it a manipulated image?

It's just someone walking down their street at night. Their camera and recording equipment aren't capable of recording properly in such low light, so the image comes out rather "ghostly". *yawn*

 

[Tiki Tom]

To be filed under “the truth is out there.”

https://www.amisun.com/2022/11/14/ufo-sighting-reported-in-bradenton-beach/

 

[Tiki Tom]

More NETFLIX news:
A new mini series, “Ancient Apocalypse“, is available.
The show follows researcher and best selling author Graham Hancock as he presents his theory that a human Civilization existed long before mainstream archaeologists are willing to admit. His theory received a big boost when the ruins of Gobekli Tepe were unearthed; roughly doubling the age of human monumental architecture in one go. Graham Hancock is still a controversial character, but he is not “Ancient Alien” crazy. Anyway, I read his books some years back and find him and his theory very intriguing. I will certainly watch this show. Probably this weekend!

https://decider.com/2022/11/10/ancient-apocalypse-netflix-review/

BTW, I watched all eight episodes over a few evenings. High marks for exotic locations, Land Rover travel, and mysteries of history. Just the stuff members of F.L.A.S.K. Appreciate. On the downside, it sometimes is a little bit dry and academic… Graham Hancock is definitely trying to be taken seriously and to appear sufficiently bookish. That said, I don’t know why, in one episode, he discusses the so called “Bimini Road”, which I believe has been pretty well established to be a natural geologic feature. That aside, the series offers a lot of interesting information. I think his primary premise is probably correct; that civilization is older than we think and ancient ruins have yet to be discovered. Some of the wilder ideas found in his books (Atlantis, a global advanced civilization) are somewhat downplayed in this Netflix offering. Still, I enjoyed it for its globe trotting Indiana Jones feel.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Here is a great macguffin for anyone thinking about writing an adventure novel. It is the Hanjo Masamune, a legendary Japanese samurai sword that was handcrafted 700 years ago and was owned by a long line of Shogun (ruling warlords) through the centuries. Reputedly, it is one of the highest quality swords ever made. It has a mystical quality to it: legend says it will only cut if there is a good reason to cut. It is a just blade, discerning and honorable. The sword is a true Japanese national treasure. Needless to say, it is priceless.

What happened to the Hanjo Masamune? After the end of WWII, it was decreed that all swords had to be turned in to the authorities. The sword was handed over to the police and then —maybe— it was collected by a mysterious American Army sergeant. After that, the trail goes cold. Is the Hanjo Masamune gathering dust in your great uncle’s attic in Nebraska? Or was there never any mysterious sergeant, and it’s being held by a secretive nationalist Japanese group who are waiting for a new Shogun to arise? The story almost begs for an adventure movie (possibly featuring a man with a Fedora, leather jacket, and whip.)

https://www.swordsofnorthshire.com/mystery-of-the-enigmatic-hanjo-masamune-sword

https://www.historicmysteries.com/honjo-masamune/

Are there any other little known macguffins that we should be looking for?

 

[Zombie_61]

 

[Tiki Tom]

Well. This is something that I can definitely believe in.
Why?

Because I’ve known people who this happens to. You know, that certain acquaintance who, when they walk into a room, things start breaking. Wine glasses jump off tables, computers crash, lightbulbs pop, or other such minor breakdowns. I’m thinking of a specific guy I once knew who was known for generating such bad luck. All meaningless, of course. Just unlucky coincidence.

What I didn’t know is that it has a name: “The Pauli Effect.”
Wolfgang Pauli was a very famous and very respected physicist. He won the Nobel Prize for physics and the Max Planck award. Einstein considered him to be his natural successor.

But Pauli was famous for something else too. It seems that whenever he walked into an actual laboratory, things went wrong. Expensive measuring tools would mysteriously break, machines would explode or catch fire, test tubes would shatter for no reason. The anecdotal stories are endless. Other scientists —friends of his— would not let him step into their labs. It is said that he was not invited to join the Manhattan Project because of his well known effect on lab equipment.

Wolfgang Pauli himself believed something strange was really happening and wrote about it and consulted Carl Jung about it.

https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2021/03/the-strange-mystery-of-the-pauli-effect/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauli_effect

The whole thing is well documented. But the best most investigators can come up with is coincidence. Highly unlikely coincidence, but coincidence nonetheless.

Some however have drawn a link to a particular theory of poltergeist activity. Namely, that certain highly charged personalities can generate random, chaotic telekinetic events in their vicinity. They can involuntarily cause short circuits or other disruptions.

The problem with that, if that is indeed the cause, is that we would then have to go back to the drawing board and rewrite our understanding of physics and how the universe works.

But I can’t help but go back to the memory of that old acquaintance of mine who seemed to have been a living example of “The Pauli Effect”. Coincidence? Or something more?