Archive for ‘Blog’
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Painting by Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann {1}
Mermaids are one of the most beloved and culturally shared beings on of cryptozoology. From ancient times, these creatures have been prominent in stories, tales, poetry, songs, and mythology. Almost any sea adjacent land has stories of mermaids in their history, and many non oceanic cultures as well. Despite all of this, no scientific evidence has ever been found to support their existence. They are basically the aliens of our oceans, people believe they exist but when it comes time to show the proof, all they have are stories.
When I said that legend of mermaids exist all over the world, I’m not exaggerating. Figures of mermaids appear in Stone Age cave paintings. Aboriginals of Austraila talk about the yawkyawks who have mesmerizing songs, similar to the sirens of Greek mythology (although sirens are part bird, not part fish). Other appearances of mermaid type creatures exist in Europe, China, Africa, the Caribbean, Japan, Brazil, and even the Philippines.
Depending on the culture and the stories being told, the mermaid can be either a sign of good fortune and protection, or a harbinger of death and suffering. The Japanese ningyo are known for eating human flesh, while many stories of the British Isles tell of tails of Mermaids rewarding the good deeds of humans with treasure.
P.T. Barnum’s Fiji mermaid {2}
Despite the stories, what are the possibility for real mermaids? Many hoaxes have been brought forth, including a taxidermy Fiji mermaid by P.T. Barnum which fooled many at the time. But no real remains of a mermaid have been brought forth. And no evidence of underwater communities exist either.
If they are out there, we can assume as they are traditionally depicted with a human head, that they need light to aid in their vision. Significant amounts of sunlight can be found as far down as 200 meters. If their eyesight is adapted to a more twilight atmosphere, we can go as deep as 1,000 meters, but that would be pushing it. Relatively speaking this is all still shallow water compared to the extreme depths the ocean can reach. Still, there is much of the ocean still left unexplored, so don’t give up hope yet.
Do you have tails of mermaids you would like to share or have any questions you would like answered? Post a comment below. You can also email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You should also check out our Facebook page for more paranormal goodness.
Till Fate brings our Future,
Daniel Palmer
A.K.A. Penguin Prince
{1} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elisabeth_Jerichau_Baumann_havfruen.jpg
{2} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Feejee_mermaid.jpg
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Escaping your home and being on the run in a Zombie Apocalypse, believe it or not, is the easy part. The hard part will be your day to day survival 6 months down the road you may find the dangers turn from zombies to something a bit more sinister.
Diseases will be difficult to deal with with a lack of proper medicine supply. {1}
At that point your going to find your undead foe’s easier to deal with. My theory is that most zombies will rot out within the first few months, and you will find less and less fresh undead you will have to combat. This means the speed of the zombies will be slower, they’re going to be a bit softer, and a whole lot easier to kill. You should also by now be used to the task of dispatching the undead.
The real problems at this point come from the not so obvious perils. This is what my brand new zombie panel will be about at the Annapolis Comic-Con on June 29th. Over the next two weeks I’ll talk a little bit about the panel and the information we will cover. Just to give you a taste. Take this excerpt for example:
Your biggest threat after the zombies in the zombie apocalypse will be disease. There are thousands of microorganisms out there that are more than happy to make your body their host. So here are five easy ways to keep you healthy in zombie land. Note: There are lots more healthy things you need to do, but I don’t have room for it all here. This is just a starting guide.
- Secure and protect your water supply – You can’t live without clean water. Once you have water utilize water purifying techniques before you ever drink any, or even use it to cook or clean with.
- Wash your hands – At times you will feel this is a waste of water, but your hands come in contact with your face on average anywhere from 10 – 20 times an hour. When you have little to no medicine, that’s 10-20 times an hour you could potentially get sick. Not to mention when you go to eat! Keep your hands clean.
- Cook your food all the way – This means no rare meats. Meat is known to carry great helpings of bacteria and other parasites that you have no want or need to come in contact
Look carefully for critters that may make you sick. As you can see, they can be tiny. {2}
with. A through grilling however will eliminate 99%-100% of the nastiness and make you much safer.
- Bath at least once a week – Every day baths will become a luxury you may not be able to afford, but going more than once a week without a bath can cause skin conditions that are mighty unhealthy. And if your daily routine requires that you get real dirty, you may consider upping that standard.
- Tick and Parasite Check – At least three times a day. If your living in the wilderness, no doubt your going to get bugs on you. And after six months, wilderness will start to get to be everywhere. So make sure your checking for disease carrying bugs like lice, ticks, flees, leaches, and other nasty critters.
Follow these rules and you will be well on your way to a healthy life of zombie dodging. If you have any suggestions for the blog, feel free to email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also get more paranormal goodness on Facebook!
Till Fate brings our Future,
Daniel Palmer
A.K.A. Penguin Prince
Image Sources:
{1} http://www.nimbios.org/workinggroups/WG_spider_feature
{2} http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/18/news/la-heb-new-disease-organism-lyme-20130117
A classic movie review would be sweet! Not that this is vintage it’s made in 2009 {1}
I decided to cheat a little bit with today’s blog post. Instead of writing about a paranormal creature today I wanted to take a poll from my audience. I wanted to know what your favorite movie monster is. I will tally the responses and from there I will select a movie with the most popular monster to review. So here’s how this poll will work.
There will be 3 ways to submit your vote.
1) Go to the comment’s section by clicking the red Comment Link below. Then use the convenient Facebook app to post a comment via Facebook.
2) Go to the comment’s section by clicking the red Comment Link below, then post a comment directly to the post.
3) Go to our Facebook page and answer the quiz I post there right around 9:00 AM.
Either way you decide to vote make sure you give me a movie monster AND a movie to go with it. Voting will end Tuesday at 12 PM EST.
Now let me tell you a story. I’m fascinated by the paranormal, but I’m a wimp when it comes to scary movies. This is your chance to make me watch a movie that will make me jump out of my chair and possibly scream like a little girl.
My buddy Martin constantly blackmails me with this video he has of me watching Orphan that he threatens to put on YouTube one day. If I get 100 votes in this combined between FB and or on the blog directly, I will let him video tape me watching your selected movie and post that to YouTube for the entire world to mock me. But again the only way this is happening is IF we get 100 votes or more, so share this with your friends!
Here’s my vote! {2}
Also the movie chosen must include some sort of paranormal creature and is not open to all scary movies. For example, movies like Saw, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Hostile do not qualify as they have no paranormal beings. Nightmare on Elm Street would count because Freddy is a sort of spirit that haunts the dreams of his victims, but Friday the 13th would not because Jason is a normal person in a hockey mask. Godzilla counts, but Seven does not. Get the picture?
So here’s my vote, and this does count… I have an un-rational fear of aliens, and even thought zombies are my favorite monster/paranormal being, I want to try to face my fears and look some freaky looking Gre’ys dead in the eyes. So my vote would be for Aliens. I can’t find a movie that focuses on Grey’s, but a close match would be The Fourth Kind. I’m told it never points the finger at Grey’s in particular but it does allude to them.
Thanks in advance for voting and I look forward to the results.
Till Fate brings our Future
Daniel Palmer
A.K.A Penguin Prince
Image Sources:
{1} http://bzfilm.com/horror-syfy-film-reviews/review-muckman-2009/
Bilocation is a new aspect of paranormal study for me. For other’s who aren’t familiar with the term bilocation is the ability to be physically in two places at once. I believe a lot of paranormal oddities. Ghosts, angels, demons, psychic abilities, fairies, etc. but even this is a little out there for me.
Multiple Man (Marvel Comics) is the only guy I knew that could be in 2 places at once! {1}
I always assumed that when someone saw someone who wasn’t supposed to be there it was some form of astral projection. I never dreamed it could be a second actual physical body. However if you look throughout history there are accounts of people performing this feat. Usually the accounts are of highly spiritual people performing this miracle.
Many saints in the Catholic church are accredited with this ability and it is well documented. The most recent saint to be accredited for this is of St. Padre Pio who lived from 1887 to 1968. The stories of his biolocation tales are well documented on many different websites. His most famous cases involve his appearance in the air over the city of San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II. According to accounts his body appeared in full figure in front of American bombers who were subsequently completely unable to release their payloads and thus saving the city from certain doom. I also found this interesting thread on the subject if you would like to read it. Apparently mission reports show that the planes hit their target, however it later came out that several pilots calmed the story of St. Padre Pio is true. http://forum.armyairforces.com/97th-BG-and-Saint-Padre-Pio-of-Pietrelcina-m93315.aspx. Most other sources that I have found list no witness names so I did not post them, however a quick Google search will land you with loads of information on the event.
St. Padre Pio {2}
I have not come across many accounts of biolocation outside of the Catholic church clergy, however I have read some strange accounts of incidences happening. From what I can tell the subject is completely unaware of a copy of them running around and when confronted about it has no explanation for the incident.
I should also note that the instances of bilocation differ from the phenomena of a doppelganger. Usually bilocation experiences leave the original subject completely unaware of the experience, where doppelgangers will occasionally manifest themselves to the subject. Also from what I read so far , doppelgangers can be considered bad omens of things to come, especially death. In the experiences of bilocation I have read the duplicate copies of themselves have manifested several miles away preventing any interaction of the two bodies whatsoever.
Have you ever experienced a bilocation event or have been witness to one? We would love to hear your story, please feel free to comment fellow. You can also contact me directly at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. Don’t forget to check our Facebook page daily for more paranormal goodness!
Till Fate brings our Future
Daniel Palmer
A.K.A. Penguin Prince
Image Source
{1} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Madrox
{2} http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2010/09/problem-of-bilocation.html
There is a lot of negativity surrounding Brad Pitts’ new movie World War Z. Everything from the delayed opening, to criticism of not staying true to the book, to the Inflated budget from the original $125 Million to a rumored $400 Million. People don’t like that the zombies do not fit Max Book’s description of Romero Style zombies (slow moving, shuffling, etc.). But for everything that people are criticizing the movie for (a movie they have not seen I might add), it’s got merits that you can’t overlook. I wanted to take a second to point some of these out.
Setting
The book World War Z took stories about the zombie apocalypse from all over the world. It does a great job of taking aspects of the cultures of those locations into consideration of how the story would unfold. Although I do not know how well each location will be represented yet, we do know that Brad Pitt and crew traveled all over the world in order to give the movie the most realistic feel as possible. We will quite likely see some breathtaking locations mobbed with zombies, and that will be memorable.
Music
I have not found a complete list of the musical score for the movie yet, but it is confirmed that Muse has contributed heavily to it. I head 3 songs at least, but that’s still a rumor as I have not been able to confirm it. What is confirmed is that Muse’s new song Isolated Systems will be in the movie. I feel the song has been beautifully done and should provide a great mood to the movie. Check out the music video above!
Feeling
Just look at the trailers and you know that this movie has done an excellent job at capturing the pure panic and chaos that will be the beginning stages of the zombie apocalypse. It may start to be an orderly escape from the city. Until grid lock kicks in. Then in the growing anxiety and frustration of not moving people start to get stir crazy, belligerent, and scared. Add just one zombie to this mix, especially one of the fast and fierce variety shown in this movie. Scared belligerent crowds turn into panicked mobs with chaos ensuing all around. And this movie does that perfectly!
{1} This movie will probably be full of zombie running thrills
Am I saying that you should like this movie off of merit alone? No. What I’m saying is you may want to put on blinders and ear muffs for the next two weeks. Don’t let critics and naysayers pre-ruin for you what could potentially be a great movie. Take it in for what it is without preconceived notions and make your own determinations of what it is. The movie has other good aspects including star actors who fit the roles they were assigned, great special effects and makeup, etc. Just don’t count this one out.
What are your thoughts or opinions. Share them below in our comments section. You can also email me your ideas for blogs or suggestions at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. Don’t forget to check our Facebook page daily for more paranormal goodness!
Till Fate brings our Future
Daniel Palmer
A.K.A. Penguin Prince
Image Source
{1} http://www.uproxx.com/gammasquad/2013/05/world-war-z-gets-a-vanity-fair-articlehit-piece/
Apporation is the transference of an object form one place to another, or the appearance of an object by paranormal means. Many people believe that this is the work of ghosts, spirits, poltergeists, etc. Although this could be the case I don’t have that same feeling.
Apporation was used in seances as a claim that the spirits were bestowing gifts to the living. {1}
There is a long history of “apporation” being used during “séances” as “proof” of their validity. This goes all the way back to Victorian times where séances were all the rage as entertainment. The medium would claim that the objects that seemed to appear out of thin air were gifts from the spirits. In actuality some good slight of hand or other magic trick was used to produce the illusion of the item materializing out of thin air.
If apporation were to exist, I would believe it would have to be the work of other forces besides spirits. It already takes a lot of energy just for them to knock on things, what makes me believe that they would have enough energy to make items appear out of nowhere? I would rather place my guess in the abilities of beings such as angels, demons, ferries, imps, etc. Could it be possible for humans to cause apporation? Maybe but I have not read or heard of any stories to support that line of thought.
Now and days the term apporation is not commonly used, and has instead been replaced with teleportation. The ability to move objects with apporation is not commonly used in media now and days, however a few examples do exist. The tv show Charmed was well known with quite a few characters having the ability to apporate objects, usually some sort of weapon. In the books and movies Harry Potter they use a spell call Apparate to teleport themselves from one place to the next and is quite a common form of transportation.
So what do you think of apporation? Is it all just hocus pocus? Or maybe something more? Leave your thoughts below. You can also email me your questions, comments, and suggestions to penguinprince@grimcrew.com. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page for more paranormal goodness!
Till Fate brings our Future
Penguin Prince
Image sources
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I’m about to touch on a very sensitive subject for some people. Is there life out there we haven’t discovered? And if the answer is yes, do you believe it has visited earth. When you ask someone these questions you get one of three answers, yes, no, or yes but they haven’t visited us yet, and 9 times out of 10 the questioned person will be passionate about their answer.
{1}
What is it about aliens that move us unlike any other paranormal subject out there? The subject both scares and thrills us at the same time. Aliens, arguably, have inspired more books, movies, and stories than almost any other paranormal subject. They have also inspired the most controversies, conspiracies, and hoaxes than any other as well.
The only reason to love a little green men… {2}
One theory is fear. Fear is a very powerful, instinctual, necessary emotion. It is basically what has kept humanity alive for centuries. Fear is invoked by stimuli that are unfamiliar to us. For example, haunted houses invoke fear by keeping you guessing at what’s around the corner or what made that noise? The unknown stimuli causes your heart to race, your senses to sharpen and testosterone to flow, and all of these responses add up to fear. The reason you react like that is because these things prepare your body for a fight or flight confrontation that could save your life. Maybe our fascination is a natural reaction to the unknown nature of the alien. Maybe it’s our way of preparing for the possibility of a confrontation that may never come.
Ok, so aliens don’t have to be all that scary… {3}
Another theory is that all of our stories about aliens really tell us about humans. No alien ever had personality traits or committed acts that humans themselves have committed. Even the strange and threatening Gray’s have humanity’s curiosity and thirst for scientific knowledge (hey they probe you for science sake, get your mind out of the gutter!) but to summarize here, our stories of aliens are similar to our fairy tails of old, they teach us of human truths that we might otherwise ignore.
More and more theory’s are out there that I don’t have the room to discuss in this post, but feel free to add on to this in the comments below! Remember I’m not arguing for or against the existence of aliens, just discussing why we are so fascinated by them! You can also email me your thoughts at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. I am also collecting data to put together future posts on different types of aliens so if you know of any good source material please feel free to share. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page for more paranormal goodness!
Till Fate brings our future,
Daniel Palmer
A.K.A. Penguin Prince
Image Sources
{1} http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/scary%20alien
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Lets face it. 99% of us may become zombies. Hopefully that made up number is wrong but really people are going to start eating brains and there’s really nothing you can do about it.
So why don’t you start getting used to the taste now? Below I have 4 recipes for brains that are actually consumed by humans every day. Dig in.
NOTE: We do not condone the eating of human brain, please use lamb, calve, pig, goat, or whatever the recipe calls for.
HEALTH WARNING:
Brain consumption can result in contracting fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and other prion diseases in humans and mad cow disease in cattle. It is also well known in the hunting community that the brains of North American wild animals should not be consumed, due to the risk of chronic wasting disease. (Copied and abbreviated from Wikipedia)
If you decide to use these recipes it’s AT YOUR OWN RISK. Please cook all meats and other ingredients to proper temperatures and according to recipe.
Note: This is not the sandwich below, it’s the closest I could find {1}
Brain Sandwiches
– Found on http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1726,145179-230204,00.html
Ingredients –
1 set of calves brains ● 1 qt. water ● 1 tbsp. vinegar ● 1 c. all-purpose flour ● 1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt ● 2 egg yolks ● 1 tbsp. melted butter ● 1 tsp. lemon rind ● ½ c. milk
2 stiffly beaten egg whites ● Lard for deep frying
Directions –
Soak brains in cold acidulated water (1 qt. water and 1 tbsp. vinegar) for about 3 hours. Skin them and soak in lukewarm water to free them from all traces of blood.
Firm the brains by again blanching in acidulated water to cover for about 20 min. (DO NOT BOIL)
Dry brains and pull into small pieces.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Beat egg yolks and blend dry ingredients into them. Beat in 1 tbsp. melted butter and 1 tsp. lemon rind (optional) and ½ c. milk.
Beat until stiff but not dry, 2 egg whites. Fold them into batter.
Add brains then fry in hot fat (lard) until golden on both sides. Dry on paper towel.
Serve on bun with pickle, onion and mustard.
{2}
Deep-fried Brains
– Found on http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/05/deep-fried-brains-recipe.html
Ingredients –
1 head of garlic, skin on ● Black peppercorns in a cheesecloth ● 1 bay leaf ● Bundle of fresh herbs
1 lb. brains (lamb, pork, or calf) ● All purpose flour ● 2 eggs ● 1/2 c. milk
1 c. panko bread crumbs ● 1 qt. vegetable oil for deep-frying
Green Sauce –
1 bunch parsley, leaves only ● 1/2 bunch dill ● 1 small can of anchovy fillets, finely chopped
12 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated ● 1 tbsp. capers, minced
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil, or to taste ● Freshly ground black pepper
Directions –
Bring to simmer 2 qt. of water and add in the garlic, peppercorns, and herbs. Simmer for 15 min.
Gently lower brains into pot and simmer for 6 min. Remove brains with slotted spoon and let cool.
When the brains are cold and firm, separate the lobes into 2 inch chunks.
Prepare 3 bowls with flour, egg whisked with milk, and breadcrumbs.
Heat oil to 350°F.
Roll each brain segment in flour, coat it in egg mix, then coat in breadcrumbs.
Deep-fry brain until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with green sauce.
To make green sauce: Finely chop herbs and mix with anchovies, garlic, and capers. Add enough olive oil so that the mixture is spoonable but not runny. Season with black pepper.
{3}
Scrambled Brains
– Found on http://www.pcq.es/en_receptes_detall.html?Id=22
Ingredients –
4 lamb brains ● 4 eggs ● 2 cloves of garlic ● Parsley ● Oil
Directions –
In a deep stew, boil plenty of water. Add brains and remove after 10 min. Reserve.
Cut garlic into thin slices and chop parsley. Cut brains into pieces. Heat oil in a frying pen. Fry brains with garlic and parsley.
Beat eggs and add brains in the same frying pan. Mix well until the eggs curdle. Serve hot.
Note: This may not be the salad described below, it was the closest I could find {4}
Calf’s Brain Salad
– Found on http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/calfs-brain-salad
Ingredients –
Calf’s brains – 2 pairs ● Vinegar – 2 Tbsp. ● Lemon – 2, thick, unpeeled slices ● Salt – 1 Tsp.
Lemon juice – 1 Tbsp. (Salad oil – 3 tbsp.) ● Dill – 2 Tbsp, minced (Salad oil – 3 tbsp.) ● Lettuce
Salt – To Taste ● Pepper – To Taste
Directions –
Prep -
1. Pour vinegar and lukewarm water over the brains (cover it) and keep it aside for about an hour.
2. Cut out the darkened small membranes on the top of brain.
Cook -
3. Take a saucepan, and add cleaned brains into it along with salt and lemon slices.
4. Cover it with water and cook uncovered for about half an hour on stovetop.
5. Drain and spread on absorbent paper to dry the brains.
6. Keep brains in a bowl and refrigerate. Keep it covered until ready to use.
7. Slice the brains, when it is ready to serve.
8. Take a small bowl and combine lemon juice, oil, and dill and spoon it over the brains.
9. Season the brains with salt and pepper and toss them lightly.
SERV -
10. Serve each brain portion on shredded lettuce or on lettuce leaves.
Have another recipe to share? Place it in the comments below or email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. Don’t forget you can also visit us on Facebook for more paranormal goodness!
Till Fate brings our Future,
Daniel Palmer
A.K.A. Penguin Prince
Image sources:
{1} Still from video at http://www.courierpress.com/videos/detail/brain-nota/
{2} http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/05/deep-fried-brains-recipe.html
{3} http://www.pcq.es/en_receptes_detall.html?Id=22
{4} http://www.anothermag.com/current/gallery.aspx?id=1637&image=49502&modal=false
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