The Alaskan Blob

As reported last week by the Anchorage Daily News, a twelve-mile long blob of organic material was discovered floating in the icy Arctic waters off the north coast of Alaska. What was initially thought to be an oil slick is in fact some unknown biological substance or marine organism, thick and gooey and emitting a strong smell.



Gordon Brower, from the North Slope Borough’s Planning and Community Services Department, assembled a team and was joined by the Coast Guard to investigate the substance. He stated that nothing like it had ever been seen in the area before. Brower said the material was “pitch black” when it came into contact with ice, discolouring the ice and clinging to it. Brower and his investigative team also saw jellyfish entangled in the mystery goo and the carcass of a dead goose was handed in to the borough’s wildlife department, with bones and feathers being all that remained of the animal.

But before anyone begins to freak out and think some kind of flesh-eating alien lifeform is floating towards a beach near you, samples of the Alaskan blob have been sent to Anchorage for testing, with results expected this week. If no further information is forthcoming, perhaps we can assume that the substance is indeed a major concern - so much so that the authorities believe information dissemination would create widespread panic…as the alien blob drifts across the globe devouring all in its path…an insidious invasion by a faceless usurper…

…the blob was last seen, moving with the current, north past Barrow.



by Max Drake
(Freelance writer and artist for GritFX.)

(Source: Anchorage Daily News – “Huge blob of Arctic goo floats past Slope communities” by Don Hunter)

Crossed Lines

If you’ve ever been disconnected from a phone call made to India, perhaps the photos below will illustrate why. Then again, it’s a wonder those pesky Indian telemarketers can actually get a connection to your home thousands of miles away. These photos, which appeared recently on rense.com, clearly display the shabby state of communications in some parts of the world’s second-most populous country.






by Max Drake
(Freelance writer and artist for GritFX.)

Reincarnation?

Whilst I don’t usually watch Fox News or put much stock in what its “journalists” have to say, an interesting story did appear on Fox8 regarding the memories and nightmares of a young boy named James Leininger. The 11-year-old had held a deep fascination with World War 2 aircraft since he was very young, seeming to show an intimate knowledge of certain planes. When he began to have nightmares and put disturbing wartime images on paper, his parents started to ask questions.

Eventually, as is shown in the video (see link below), his parents became convinced that their son was the reincarnation of a pilot (also named James) shot down by the Japanese. When they tracked down the pilot’s former comrades, the young boy identified them by name, even though they had never met. Subsequently, when James (the boy) was introduced to the sister of James (the pilot), he recognised her and called her by a name she had not been referred to since she was a child. Finally, Japanese filmmakers became involved, inviting the Leininger family to the Asian island to visit the site of the pilot’s death. It was an emotional experience for the boy.

It is an interesting tale, hailed by some as definitive proof of reincarnation. But to sour the story is the fact that the Leininger family have now transcribed the entire sequence of events into a book entitled Soul Survivor. So, to the cynical mind (or those unable to reconcile reincarnation with their beliefs), perhaps this was some elaborate marketing scheme to sell a work of complete fiction. You be the judge.

Watch the short video here:
http://www.fox8.com/wjw-reincarnation-txt%2C0%2C1190900.story



by Max Drake
(Freelance writer and artist for GritFX.)

Chaiten Spectacular!

On the 3rd May, the Chaiten volcano erupted in spectacular fashion, 800 miles south of Santiago in Chile. The photographs below were captured at night as the volcano did its thing amid a thunderstorm.

About a year ago, the volcano erupted for the first time in what was believed to be around 9,000 years. Evacuations of the neighbouring town of Chaiten have since been a regular occurrence as the volcano proceeds through its new eruptive phase.






by Max Drake
(Freelance writer and artist for GritFX.)

Seeds Of Life

In February 2008, on the remote Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near the North Pole, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was officially opened. The underground installation was drilled from permafrost and took less than a year to build. Otherwise known as the “Doomsday Vault”, it aimed to house nearly three million varieties of seeds from across the globe, and was promoted as a humanitarian cause. Through the collection and copying of seeds, the vault officially provided protection of what amounts to the planet’s lifeblood in the event of a global catastrophe. But considering that seeds of plants are already stored in various gene banks across the globe, there were immediate questions raised as to another explanation for the Norwegian installation.

The official position is that the vault was the undertaking of the Norwegian government, yet most of the funding came from outside sources. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spearheaded the project, and under the auspices of the Global Crop Diversity Trust – an independent organization – will direct and maintain the vault. Of course, there is a ‘conspiracy theory’ here if one wishes to find one. Considering that funding for the vault also came from such organizations as the Rockefeller Foundation and the Monsanto corporation, questions were obviously raised as to other possible explanations for the construction of the vault by many online researchers.

For example, the idea that the vault was built in case of a global catastrophe wiping out the planet’s seed banks, prompted many to ask if the wealthy elite knew something we didn’t? Was it simply their personal insurance policy? Or was it yet another move towards complete control of the planet through subjugation of the world’s food supply? It is no secret that many wealthy families have private underground installations that have the sole purpose of housing their rich bones during a nuclear or biological disaster - so is the seed vault simply an extension of this sub-surface agenda? Many also point to the actions of corporations like Monsanto - and other “Doomsday Vault” sponsors such as DuPont – who have spent billions on seed research, especially genetically modified organisms (this is another story altogether!), rendering the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to defy the philanthropic nature as advertised.

The vault is surely an impressive structure. Blast-proof doors guard the entrance, with state-of-the-art security and steel-reinforced concrete one metre thick protecting the precious seeds held within. But its purpose for what appears to be the benefit of a few rather than the entire globe, has done nothing but increase its infamy, even in the face of such plaudits from everyone from National Geographic to the UN.

For more on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and its history, I urge any interested person to read the excellent article by F.William Engdahl here:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7529


by Max Drake
(Freelance writer and artist for GritFX.)

Our Latest GritCOMPETITION WINNER!!!

Jim - aka "The Movie Whore" was pulled from our 'Barrel of Grit' and is the latest GritFX winner - congratulations Jim!

He won a FREE GritFX T-Shirt of his choosing... I hope to get a photo of him to share with you all!

Check out "The Movie Whore" Blog today...


*****

Our Next Competition...
"Guess the number of Jelly Beans in the Jar"


Details on how to enter will be posted early January 2009. Until then, if you haven't become a member of the GritBlog – go do so now! (only GritBLOG community members and GritFX Facebook Page fans can enter the GritFX competitions.)

*****

One last word from me - THANK YOU AGAIN TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO IS A GritBLOG READER!

Cheers,
Manz
On behalf of the GritFX Team!

Montauk, SAGE & The Monster

Controversy has ranged in many circles during the past week regarding a strange creature that washed ashore on Montauk Beach, Long Island. The creature, which appears to have a “beak”, has been written off by many and salivated over by conspiracists. Some say the “creature” is merely a dog with its snout bitten off and its hair eroded after some time in the water. Others argue it is a product of the continuing projects run by the US Military at the infamous Camp Hero on Montauk Point.

The Montauk Project has long been held by conspiracy theorists as the continuation of the Philadelphia Experiment – that disastrous 1943 project, the intention of which was to render the USS Eldridge invisible. Myths abound regarding the 1943 incident, said to have resulted in men being ‘fused’ into the hull of the ship as it entered hyperspace, and two men being transported to the year 1983 where they found themselves at Montauk AFB on Long Island. This was all documented in an 80’s film titled, imaginatively enough, The Philadelphia Experiment.

It is reported that the project was moved to Montauk, where a massive underground installation was built to house personnel and equipment. Originally, The Montauk Project was based at Brookhaven National Laboratory, but was moved due to the fact that, at the time, the nearby Camp Hero was one of the only locations that still had a functioning SAGE radar – considered essential to the project. SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Environment) was used by NORAD as an automated control system to track and intercept enemy aircraft. Operating from the 1950’s to the 1980’s, its manufacture was directed by MIT and IBM, leading to the latter’s domination of the computer industry in years to come. SAGE sites were erected near urban cities without residents even knowing what they were. The sites, traditionally, were massive concrete blocks housing four stories of equipment and the largest computer ever built – the AN/FSQ-7. The system was so advanced in its day that it could send automated instructions to an aircraft’s autopilot redirecting the craft to engage an enemy.

But what was the purpose of the Montauk Project and the SAGE installation at Camp Hero? It depends on what you are willing to accept. Anything from time travel to subliminal redirection of human thought via the SAGE radar. Most importantly, it was said to be a continuation of the electromagnetic shielding technique so disastrously attempted in 1943. But how could a base be built underground in the 1950’s and just how do personnel get into the facility without being seen?

Camp Hero was officially closed in 1969 and donated as a ‘wildlife refuge/park’, although, technically, the Montauk AFB remained in operation until 1987. Some state it was a provision of the land donation that ‘everything under the surface’ would remain the property of the United States Air Force. The fact that the SAGE installation has not been demolished is testament to some that the site remains operational. It apparently has underwater access and is still fenced off from the public. There have been reports of government officials and military personnel warning stray hikers to keep clear of certain areas.

But back to the monster….
It’s very possible that this ‘creature’ is nothing more than a freak of nature discarded by its human owners as defective. It’s also very possible that it was ejected through a wormhole from a parallel dimension – a freaky alternate world where Rottweilers have beaks and hooves and humans have ears on their shoulders. Now that is something you’d want to keep from the public.

by Max Drake


(Max Drake is a freelance designer for GritFX. Max has an interest in all things weird and will have regular posts on this blog.)

For more conspiratorial outrageousness, visit www.rense.com

Great Balls Of Stone

In the 1940’s, plantation workers clearing tropical jungle areas in Costa Rica discovered hundreds of spherical balls hidden beneath the foliage. The largest weighed almost 16 tons and was as tall as a man; the smallest was roughly the size of a tennis ball. When seen from the air, the balls were arranged in patterns – gigantic triangles, circles, squares and cosmological arrangements.


The balls were originally thought to be a product of perhaps Incan or Mayan civilisations, yet some archaeologists estimated their age at 400,000 years! Further examination revealed that the balls were almost perfectly symmetrical within a centimetre or two, and it was highly unlikely that they were the product of man. Incredible rumours began to spread regarding the ‘power’ of the balls – it was said that electronic equipment refused to function in their immediate vicinity, and that people experienced abnormal behaviour after coming into contact with them.

Found mainly in the Diquis Delta region, the balls are also found on Isla del Cano, to the west of Costa Rica’s southern Pacific coast. In the subsequent years since their discovery, many of the balls were looted and can be found in the streets and gardens of San Jose. Some believed that riches could be found within the stones, which lead to many being destroyed by zealous thieves. In the late 1970’s, three large balls discovered near Guadalahara were sent to the American University in New York state. The balls were cut and analysed, revealing the complicated internal structure – a coiled alloy of rare-earth metals whose chemical properties were mysterious. The scientists at American University declared that the balls were not man-made, but most likely formed by natural events.

Yet this does not explain the patterns the balls formed when first discovered. Would natural origins arrange the balls in triangles and circles and squares? It is said that there are no straight lines in nature, which lends speculation to the ‘natural’ theory. Of course, many theories have been expounded relating to the ‘Giant Balls Of Costa Rica’, the most outlandish being that they were used by giant creatures for some sort of gameplay. Similar balls have been found in other parts of the world and continue to fascinate to this day.

by Max Drake


(Max Drake is a freelance designer for GritFX. Max has an interest in all things weird and will have regular posts on this blog.)

For more on the “Giant Balls Of Costa Rica”, visit http://www.mysteryspheres.com/info.htm

But Can She Cook?

Sega Toys in Japan has produced a robotic girlfriend that kisses on command. Named “EMA” (Eternal Maiden Actualisation), the 15 inch tall “toy” runs on batteries and uses infrared sensors to enter “love mode” when a human head gets close. EMA can also hand out business cards and sing and dance, yet Sega will target “her” to a market of lonely men.

“Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype,” said Minako Sakanoue, a spokeswoman for Sega.
“She’s very lovable and though she’s not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend.” (Are you kidding me?)

EMA will go on sale in September for around US$175 and Sega hopes to sell 10,000 in the first year.

Japan, the undisputed leader in robotic technology, envisions a ten billion dollar market for artificial intelligence in a decade. Like something out of the Spielberg/Kubrick hybrid A.I., it is envisioned by some that sex with robots will be commonplace within 50 years.

I can see the advantages of robot love - you can turn her off if she begins to complain. And it’s not so hard to imagine given the battery-powered aids already in circulation. But devices such as EMA will only further detach an already technology-drunk population. Besides, if she can’t cook you a meal, what good is she?

by Max Drake


(Source: Reuters. Max Drake is a freelance designer for GritFX. Max has an interest in all things weird and will have regular posts on this blog.)

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For more robotic madness, check out the video of the humanoid at the 2006 Akiba Robot Fair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1SADcP5g1o&feature=related

MINDBOGGLING CROP CIRCLE

Mathematicians were confounded after a crop circle formation was discovered in a barley field near Barbury Castle in Wiltshire, England on the 1st June 2008. The circle is, apparently, a coded image representing the first ten digits of pi.


Measuring 285 feet in diameter, the formation had experts and enthusiasts perplexed until it was eventually identified by retired astrophysicist, Mike Reed.

Maths codes and geometric patterns have long been important factors in crop circle formations – the most famous of which was a formation in a field near Stonehenge some 12 years ago which depicted a complex set of fractals known as The Julia Set.

Yet despite the abundance of crop circle formations each year, their occurrence is rarely mentioned in the mainstream media, if at all. Most people still consider the crop circle phenomenon a hoax, regarding as proof the infamous TV demonstration many years ago of a circle being formed by a couple of guys with some rope and board. However, as most crop circle researchers attest, the most intricate geometric and mathematical formations (such as the recent pi formation in Wiltshire) would be impossible to create with such precise detail and on such a scale.

Other factors which should not be dismissed include the magnetic energy often recorded in the centre of crop circles and the biological changes that occur in the affected crops. These and many other factors cannot be explained by the ‘rope and board’ theory.

So what the hell are they? Who or what causes the formations to appear? Many theories have been extrapolated regarding crop circles, from electromagnetic fields to extraterrestrial meddling. Perhaps it is beam weaponry technology – maybe some bored NASA geeks using orbiting satellites fitted with invisible beam weapons are making their ‘hoax marks’ on the Earth’s surface.

Then again, maybe the extraterrestrial theory is more plausible.

by Max Drake


(Max Drake is a freelance designer for GritFX. Max has an interest in all things weird and will have weekly posts on this blog.)

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For more on the crop circle phenomenon, including a more intricate explanation of the 1st June Wilshire formation, visit http://www.cropcircleconnector.com