Year: 2011

Posted by Santellana
In the “Truth in Advertising” Department comes today’s story reported by the Daily Health Report:
A popular candy bar made in Pakistan, the Nuclear Sludge Chew Bar by Toxic Waste has been recalled due to high lead content. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows lead content of 0.1 parts per million and these candy bars were measured as high as 0.24 parts per million.
The recall was voluntary by the company after discovering the high lead content during a lot test.
While all flavors of the candy bar were recalled (sour apple, blue raspberry, and cherry), a cherry flavored group was found to have dangerously high levels of lead. Levels so high, in fact, they could cause health problems for infants, children, and pregnant women.
As a cautionary measure, the company is working to recall all candy bars distributed since 2007.
No health reports have been made related to the candy bars, according to the FDA.
The candy bars were available at retail stores throughout the United States.
Due to the recall, the company has willingly stopped distribution of all flavors and is currently working to resolve the issue.
Source: http://www.dailyhealthreport.org/dangerous-lead-levels-cause-toxic-waste-candy-bar-recall/933/

So kids, instead of eating Toxic Waste candy, it might be safer to just eat the sugar directly…

Tetris Sugar designed by Danil Zdorov.

Source: http://www.likecool.com/Tetris_Sugar–Design–Gear.html

in fact, stop eating so much sugar and try eating some vegetables. At least that won’t kill you…
…or will it???

Source: http://laughingsquid.com/salad-alien-made-out-of-vegetables-by-till-nowak/

Posted by Steve Busti, Museum of the Weird owner
Remember those ghastly monster mags with names like Tales Of Voodoo, Terrors of Dracula, and Tales From The Tomb? These were just some of the macabre titles produced by Eerie Publications from the mid-60’s to the early 80’s, when the “monster kid” craze was at it’s height.
If you’re not familiar with the infamous Eerie Publications (not to be confused with Warren Publishing’s “Eerie” magazine), these comic magazines featured some of the most gruesome and gore-filled artwork ever to grace the printed page!

One of Eerie’s returning artists was our old friend, eye-poppin’ Dick Ayers, who had contributed the inks to some of my pencilled covers for Bizarre Fantasy and Fantastic Worlds back when I first launched Flashback Comics in the mid-90’s.

Well, recently I discovered this devilishly delightful animated video created by scarstuff.com’s Jason Willis that I just had to share with you. Jason spent a month painstakingly collecting, scanning, and animating cover art from several titles from Eerie Publications using a combination of Photoshop, Motion, and Final Cut Pro to produce this masterpiece homage to the genre. In addition, Jason synced up the artwork to what he describes as “the Worst-Best Halloween Record” ever made, the old Johnson-Smith Horror Record that used to be advertised in all the comic books of the day. If you grew up in that era like me, even if you may not have ever heard the record you almost surely were familiar with the iconic artwork of the ads.

I was so impressed by Jason’s animation that I had to post it here, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about Eerie Publications, over at BoingBoing.net there’s a recent article about Mike Howlett’s new book The Weird World of Eerie Publications, which covers everything you ever wanted to know about the sordid magazine publisher.
And now you can also buy Mike’s book right here through our web store, luckylizard.net! Get it now before they’re all gone!

Sources: http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/11/-myron-fass-publishe.html

http://scarstuff.blogspot.com/2010/10/cast-of-eerie-publications-perform.html

• Horoscope horror because Earth has ‘wobbled’ out of alignment with the moon
• Most who thought they were Virgo are actually Leo – but only in the East
If your horoscope has never made any sense to you, there may be a good reason why – it could be out of date.
Astronomers have called for the zodiac signs to be overhauled because they no are no longer accurate.
The ancient Babylonians based zodiac signs on the constellation the sun was ‘in’ on the day a person was born.
But during the thousands of years since, the moon’s gravitational pull has made the Earth shift on its axis and created a one-month shift in the stars’ alignment.
Astronomers are now proposing to move all the star signs back one month and introduce a 13th star sign, Ophiuchus, to help readjust the zodiac calendar.
The change will come as a shock to many who will discover they have been reading the wrong star sign their entire lives – and will not necessarily be happy with their new ones.
Those under dominant and creative Leo could now find themselves a Cancer, which means they are moody and sensitive.
A passionate Scorpio could become a more diplomatic and balanced Libra whilst if you were a Taurus, you could now find yourself a stubborn Aries.

The change was suggested by Professor Parke Kunkle, who teaches astronomy at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.
Astronomers study space and the stars from a scientific viewpoint whilst astrologers write horoscopes and claim that celestial bodies can give clues to personality traits.
Professor Kunkle said that those who read their star signs could have been reading the wrong one their whole lives and should readjust accordingly.
‘When astrologers say that the sun is in Pisces, it’s really not in Pisces,’ he said.
‘Historically, people looked at the sky to understand the world around us. But today I don’t think people who are into astrology look at the sky very much.’ The signs of the zodiac have roots in mythology and relate to the legend of how the 12 Olympian gods took animal shapes to flee the monster Typhon who was causing havoc on Earth.
They date back to Roman and Babylonian times and are based on the ecliptic, which is the path of the sun over the celestial sphere, or imaginary path around the Earth for a year.
In the beginning your star sign was indeed determined by the constellation in the sky that the sun lined up with at the time of your birth.
Since then, however, astrologers have adopted a mathematically equal division of the sky, so the position of the constellations is no longer relevant.
The proposed 13th star sign, Ophiuchus, is a constellation in space and existing prints of its symbol indicate it is a heavily muscled individual holding a snake to the sky.
Those born under Ophiuchus are said to have lofty ideals, enjoy longevity and are inventive. Those who are currently Scorpio or Saggitarius could make the switch.
The story has sparked controversy and debate around the world and instantly became the most popular topic of conversation on microblogging site Twitter, where some users were aghast at the change in their fortunes.
One woman summed up the feeling of many when she wrote: ‘I am now a Cancer. I went from being the top of the zodiac..Leo the courageous lion – to a crab!’ Daily Mail astrologer Jonathan Cainer vehemently denied Professor Kunkle’s claim and said that it was the work of a ‘jealous astronomer’.
‘He is right that the Earth has moved but astrologers have not for years based their predictions on the constellations,’ he said.
‘The star signs are named after the constellations of stars but they are not based on them or their positions in the sky.
‘For thousands of years we have used mathematically equal divisions of the ecliptic.
‘This is either willfully ignorant or mischievous and malevolent and shows that the scientific community reacts in a bigoted way when faced with mysticism.
‘There is no need for people to adjust their star signs or for a 13th star sign to be introduced. This is just a load of nonsense’.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1347140/Horoscope-change-2011-Sidereal-astrology-reveals-13th-OPHIUCHUS-zodiac-sign.html

The woolly mammoth, extinct for thousands of years, could be brought back to life in as little as four years thanks to a breakthrough in cloning technology.
Previous efforts in the 1990s to recover nuclei in cells from the skin and muscle tissue from mammoths found in the Siberian permafrost failed because they had been too badly damaged by the extreme cold.
But a technique pioneered in 2008 by Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama, of the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology, was successful in cloning a mouse from the cells of another mouse that had been frozen for 16 years.
Now that hurdle has been overcome, Akira Iritani, a professor at Kyoto University, is reactivating his campaign to resurrect the species that died out 5,000 years ago.
"Now the technical problems have been overcome, all we need is a good sample of soft tissue from a frozen mammoth," he told The Daily Telegraph.
He intends to use Dr Wakayama’s technique to identify the nuclei of viable mammoth cells before extracting the healthy ones.
The nuclei will then be inserted into the egg cells of an African elephant, which will act as the surrogate mother for the mammoth.
Professor Iritani said he estimates that another two years will be needed before the elephant can be impregnated, followed by the approximately 600-day gestation period.
He has announced plans to travel to Siberia in the summer to search for mammoths in the permafrost and to recover a sample of skin or tissue that can be as small as 3cm square. If he is unsuccessful, the professor said, he will ask Russian scientists to provide a sample from one of their finds.
"The success rate in the cloning of cattle was poor until recently but now stands at about 30 per cent," he said. "I think we have a reasonable chance of success and a healthy mammoth could be born in four or five years."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8257223/Mammoth-could-be-reborn-in-four-years.html

10:00 PM CST, TONIGHT: Welcome once again, as we bring you another mind-expanding episode of “The Shadow Hour,” with your host, Chris Walden.

At the metaphysical fair in Austin Texas, Chris met Diane Parma. Diane is a Numerologist, Card Reader and Reiki Practitioner, but we will be focusing on her experience with numerology. Since the days of Pythagoras people have looked at how numbers are reflected in and may affect the world around us. Learn a little about why this might make sense and some numbers that you may want to look for in your life.

Diane provides classes and personal readings, both in person and remotely. You may contact her through her web site: lifebynumbers.com.

As always, the lines will be open and we encourage you to call in with your questions. The call in number for tonight’s show is (347) 826-9662 or call toll-free at (877) 867-0829.

Listen right here with our blogtalkradio widget below. You can listen to past broadcasts at any time, or tune in tonight (Wednesday, January 12th) at 10pm Central for the live broadcast. See you in the shadows…

An Italian man who was struck in the head by a stray bullet during New Year’s Eve celebrations is recovering after sneezing the projectile out of his nose.
Darco Sangermano, 28, was hit in the temple by the .22 calibre bullet while wandering with his girlfriend through Naples – a city in Italy notorious for its rowdy New Year celebrations, often involving firearms and powerful fireworks.
The bullet went through the right side of his head, behind his eye socket and lodged in his nasal passage but miraculously did no serious damage.
Bleeding heavily, he was taken to hospital in an ambulance shortly after midnight, but while waiting to be seen by doctors he sneezed and the bullet shot out of his right nostril.
Mr Sangermano, a craftsman from Turin, returned to his hometown after being released from hospital.
"The route of the bullet broke his temporal bone, near his temple, and this slowed down the bullet which grazed his eyeball without hitting it directly," Dr Guglielmo Ramieri told Gente magazine.
Surgeons operated on the eye, removing splinters of bone that the bullet left in its wake.
"The operation lasted several hours but he is fine," said Mr Sangermano’s uncle, Vito Sangermano. "The doctors agree that he will not lose the use of his eye, even if for now his sight is blurry."
In the next few weeks Mr Sangermano will undergo laser surgery to repair damage to his retina and is expected to make a full recovery.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8250812/Italian-man-shot-in-head-sneezes-out-bullet.html

Anyone who even slightly believes there may be more life in the universe than just planet Earth perked their ears slightly when Wikileak’s founder Julian Assange said in an interview with the Guardian “it is worth noting that in yet-to-be-published parts of the cablegate archive there are indeed references to UFOs.” More speculative parts of the internet believed that the Cablegate archives could contain the smoking gun in a UFO coverup. The New Zealand Defense Force even got a little spooked and released thousands of files on reported UFO sightings.
Unfortunately, the first UFO Wikileak fell short of anything remotely interesting or even unknown. In a 2007 diplomatic cable from Minsk, an official is asked why his department no longer “investigates paranormal phenomena.” He responds: “Unlike during the USSR, the department is not engaged in studying paranormal phenomena. [Back then], we had greater means and opportunities which we could spend on anything and everything. Today the situation is different. Then, when society was excited by something, it entered our sphere of interest. But when it comes to healers, UFOs and such, we just can’t deal with them any more.” In other words, the biggest revelation so far on UFOs and other paranormal activity is that the Russians ran out of money to spend on hunting Aliens sometime after the Cold War.

While plenty more documents that reference UFO’s probably exist in the Cablegate archives, it’s more than likely they’re about as big a let down as when Geraldo opened Al Capone’s vault. Still, it’s well known governments fired wads of cash to study all different sorts of “paranormal phenomena.” The U.S. spent untold amounts on Project Blue Book. Americans still have no idea what goes on in any number of secret or so-secret-they-technically-don’t-exist facilities-around-the-globe. Even Julius Levinson knew the Pentagon didn’t spend thousands of dollars on a toilet seat. It’s more likely the real secrets will still stay buried for quite some time, since Proxima Centauri has no embassies. Yet, anyway.

Source: http://www.diatribemedia.com/2011/01/11/first-wikileaks-ufo-revelation-not-so-revealing/

A real-life Superhero dressed in tights, a mask and a black and gold lycra suit, says he is helping to make the streets of Seattle safer by scaring away criminals.
The man, called Phoenix Jones, wears a bullet proof vest, and also has stab protection as well as being armed with a taser and tear gas.
He says when he walks into an area, criminals leave because they see the suit and do not want to take him on.
It is almost a case of Superman meets Batman as on most nights Phoenix walks into a comic store, enters a back room hidden behind shelves and is transformed into his character.
He has already managed to stop a man breaking into a car and possibly stealing it.
The would-be victim, known as Dan, was walking back to his vehicle in a car park when he saw a man with a metal strip trying to open his car.
Dan said: "He started sticking it down between the window and the rubber strip."
Dan began to call 911, but said help arrived before he even finished dialling.
He explained: "From the right, this guy comes dashing in, wearing this skin-tight rubber, black and gold suit, and starts chasing him away."
Phoenix is not the only costume-clad crime-fighter in Seattle.
There are eight other members of his Rain City Superhero group who also walk the streets, looking out for crime and prepared to fight it.
Since Phoenix started his crusade nine months ago, he has been stabbed and was threatened with a gun several times, but received no serious injuries.
Unfortunately, he did not find the man who was breaking into Dan’s car.
He told CBS: "When I walk into a neighbourhood, criminals leave because they see the suit.
"I symbolise that the average person doesn’t have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing."

Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/US-Real-Life-Superhero-Called-Phoenix-Jones-Helps-To-Make-Streets-Of-Seattle-Safer/Article/201101115882064?lpos=Strange_News_First_Strange_News__Article_Teaser_Region__3&lid=ARTICLE_15882064_US%3A_Real-Life_Superhero_Called_Phoenix_Jones_Helps_To_Make_Streets_Of_Seattle_Safer

10:00 PM CST, TONIGHT: As we move into a new year, leaving behind the first decade of a new millenia, Chris Walden, host of The Shadow Hour, will be looking to you for your paranormal resolutions.

What will you be exploring that you’ve never dared before? Will you tap into your own hidden psychic talents? Will you finally take the first step to making contact with a ghost? Will you join a group? Improve your group?

Call in and share your resolution with all of us. Assistant Producer, Mark Faulkner, will also be on hand. That call in number is (347) 826-9662 or call toll-free at (877) 867-0829.

Now you can listen right here with our blogtalkradio widget! You can listen to past broadcasts at any time, or tune in tonight (Wednesday, January 5th) at 10pm Central for the live broadcast. See you in the shadows…