Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Top 5 Tunguska Event explinaions


On June 30, 1908 something happened in Siberia that resulted in 830 square miles of forest to be completely flattened. This mysterious event came to be known as "the Tunguska event". It is still unclear what exactly happened that day. Witnesses describe seeing a ball of flame and hearing an explosion from as far as 250 miles away. There have been more than a few explanations from more than a few interesting sources. Here are my top 5.

5. meteorite/comet impact

The most main stream explanation is of course the meteorite impact. The main problem for this is a lack of a giant crater that would be left from this impact. Scientists of course say that it was probably a "stony meteorite" (as opposed to one mainly composed of heavy metals) which would explode due to the heat of impact.
A comet seems to be more plausible because a comet is made up mainly of ice and would probably explode high in the atmosphere due to the heat. This is the most accepted theory by scientist but the least fun.

4. the Tesla death ray

Of all the legendary inventions of Nikoli Tesla, the death ray has probably created the most mythology. Officially, the death ray was never built but believers in this theory point to the Wardenclyffe tower. As Tesla's great unfinished project, the Wardenclyffe tower was designed for the wireless transmission of power. The project came to a halt when JP Morgan pulled funding for the project due to the fact that Tesla wanted to make electricity free to everyone. Many people believe, however, that the tower had secret functions such as an invisible force field to protect America and of course the death ray. The story goes that Tesla was testing his death ray by aiming it at the north pole. After the disastrous attempt the death ray was scrapped until it was rebuilt by the US government in the form of HAARP.3. Aliens.


Aliens have gotten credit for a lot of human history. They've been said to have built the pyramids, killed Kennedy, and even created modern man through genetic manipulation. Not to be left out of the fun, researchers studying the Tunguska event have of their own alien hypothesis. How exactly the aliens did this is up for debate. While most UFO experts say it was a crash, some believe it was a weapon, or aliens saving mankind from an asteroid.



2. Dark matter

Another explanation is that a tiny piece of dark matter floating thorough space hit our atmosphere. This cause not only an explosion a fireball and radiation. This explanation was put forth by Nobel Prize winning chemist, Willard F Libby. Libby was the inventor of radio-carbon dating and proposed that any normal matter explosion would cause a spike in carbon-14 in the year 1909. Because none could be found he concluded the Tunguska event must have been caused by dark matter.



1. a black hole

In the 70's black holes where at the height of their popularity in mainstream science as well as in fortean and esoteric circles. Black holes caught the imagination of the time in America and even a Disney movie came out about traveling into one. Around this time Stephen Hawking came up with the theory of the mini black hole. Hawking was talking about a phenomena that occurred shortly after the big bang. This didn't stop Nature magazine from publishing the theory that a spontaneous mini black hole caused the Tunguska event.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Elihu Vedder


The above picture is what sparked my interest in Elihu Vedder after I saw it in the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.

Elihu Vedder may not be a familiar name to conspiracy buffs but some of his art is. Specifically, his mosaics found throughout the Library of Congress, such as this mosaic of the goddess Minerva.

From the exhibit caption:
"Pictured on this mosaic in the arched panel is the Roman Goddess Minerva--guardian of civilization. She is portrayed as the Minerva of Peace, but according to the artist who created her, Elihu Vedder (American painter, 1836–1923), the peace and prosperity that she enjoys was attained only through warfare. A little statue of Nike, a representation of Victory, similar to those erected by ancient Greeks to commemorate their success in battle, stands next to Minerva. The figure is a winged female standing on a globe and holding out a laurel wreath (victory) and palm branch (peace) to the victors.
  • Shield and Helmet: Although Minerva's shield and helmet have been laid upon the ground, the goddess still holds a long, two-headed spear, showing that she never relaxes her vigilance against the enemies of the country that she protects.
  • Scroll: Her attention is directed to an unfolded scroll that she holds in her left hand. On this is written a list of various fields of learning, such as Architecture, Law, Statistics, Sociology, Botany, Biography, Mechanics, Philosophy, Zoology, etc. Minerva is therefore also the Goddess of Learning, an activity that can thrive in a peaceful society.
  • Owl: On Minerva's right is an owl, symbolizing wisdom, perched upon the post of a low parapet.
  • Inscription: Beneath the mosaic is an inscription from Horace's Ars Poetica: Nil invita Minerva, quae monumentum aere perennius exegit, and translated as, Not unwilling, Minerva raises a monument more lasting than bronze."
No peace without war? That sounds Orwellian before Orwell. Vedder was also involved in the occult and by some accounts was a member of blavatsky's Theosophic Society. He even named his son Enoch. I'm not one to villainize everyone who has so called occult beliefs, but it does lend some credence to the idea that the artwork in and around Washington D.C. is occult themed and specifically Goddess worship.



You can find a Vedder's complete works here.


Here is a great documentary about the art and architecture of Washington D.C.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

War Against The Machines

It seems inevitable that our interactions with machines will become more and more like our interaction with our fellow humans. We've already begun to make cars that respond to our voices, and our GPS systems respond with a voice of there own. It seems like just a matter of time until we use computers the way they do on the USS Enterprise. The question I want to explore, however, is how long until we're interacting with a computer like Data.



I came across this video and it puts forth the idea that not only is a robot revolution inevitable but that the media is preparing us to accept our new synthetic brothers with open arms. It's not unusual in the world of conspiracy for the "main stream media" to be accused of indoctrination, but this was a new one for me. The real point of interest for me in this video is the robot asking "what will it be like to be shut off?". I can't say that I am able to confirm that this is real or how it is done but it is creepy.

Recently in the news as well Is a robot from Japan that has the most realistic facial features and movement of any robot that has come before.




It's clear we are on the verge of a technological breakthrough, and not everyone will be happy about it. Is a robot takeover of mankind inevitable? Maybe not in our life time, and not in a terminator style war, but in a slow and therefore unnoticed takeover? A completely human-like robot could perform any job around. If you think outsourcing a call center to India is cheap, what if a computer could handle questions and think critically to provide answers. Are we ready for things like robotic law enforcement? Is it possible for man to really become obsolete?

The answer is simple, only when they can replace us at the one thing we're best at, being consumers.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Long Lost Friend

“Whoever carries this book with him, is safe from all his enemies, visible or invisible; and whoever has this book with him cannot die without the holy corpse of Jesus Christ, nor drowned in any water, nor burn up in any fire, nor can any unjust sentence be passed upon him. So help me.”
-John George Hohman



Compiled by John George Hohman in the early 1800's and published locally in 1820, the Long Lost Friend is one of the most important books in the Pennsylvania Dutch folk magic most commonly called Pow-wowing.

John George Hohman along with his wife Cathrine settled in Reading, PA in 1802. Although Hohman was a devout Roman Catholic we also held strong belief in faith healing, and started his own practice. Unfortunately, this practice along with his farm were never enough for Hohman to take care of his family, so he began to compile his book of folk magic, herbal cures, and general occultism. The book was a moderate success at first, and became quite well known after its first English translation was published in 1846. It has gone on to be an influence on many American occultists, notably, Paschal Beverly Randolph, author of “Eulis! The History of Love”, and modern author, catherine yronwode .

Within the book itself (you can find a complete text here) you will find “arts and remedies” , testimonials, and a preface defending the book against charges of “witchcraft” and explaining its congruency with Christianity according to the forty-ninth psalm. This justification of pow-wowing is common among practitioners because of the reaction to anything considered unchristian at the time.

It is also common for practitioners to use bible verses as incantations during rituals, in which particular verses were used for specific problems. The most well known verse is Ezekial 16.6, which is believed to be so effective that even non practicing people can use it effectively.
The testimonial section is largely what one would expect, although many of the maladies are colloquially described, naming such illnesses as “eye pain caused by a wheal” or finger pain caused by “the wild-fire”. Also found within this section is the claim that “This book is partly derived from a work published by a Gypsy, and partly from secret writings, and collected with much pain and trouble, from all parts of the world, at different periods, by the author, John George Hohman.”. These so called secret writing had quite a wide derivation, from the Kabbalah and Egyptian mystery schools, to German and English folk magic and Christian mysticism.
The bulk of “The Long Lost Friend” is a list of cures for specific illnesses and many other problems. The Book covers quite a variety of spells including curing a toothache with a needle and thread, vintager, flour and an apple tree, or, an incantation to freeze thieves in there tracks. The most interesting part is that Hohman claimed the book itself to be a talisman that would protect its owner from harm.

Pow-wow magic is still practiced to this day and “The Long Lost friend continues to be a part of its practice.


Tuesday, April 6, 2010