Okay, I’m ready to ban all sports. There are too many deaths and injuries that result from organized play. It’s time the gubment did something. Ban ’em all. Do it for the children!”
Hockey sticks, billiards sticks and billiards balls, baseball bats, croquet mallets, 12 & 16 pound field shot, javelins, golf clubs, bowling balls, even medicine balls have caused a mixture of accidental as well as intentional homicidal deaths. I mean, after all, we banned yard darts didn’t we? We could also say the same of Britain and Australia, those forward thinking examples held up to the world for forcibly confiscating all firearms (in response to a school shooting).
Just When You Thought It was Safe, just when you thought we all dodged the bullet, that the Mayan calendar was wrong, or the interpretation of it was wrong, that the end of the world as we know it had somehow been forestalled… well, not exactly.
I’m old enough to remember (and young enough to still remember) 9/11, Y2K, H1N1, Vietnam, Haiti, Mogadishu, the Achille Lauro, the 72 Olympics, the 1963 Missile Crisis, Bopal, India, Jim Jones, Heaven’s Gate, H-Bomb tests, lighting off the Large Hadron Collider. I even remember my dad explaining to me when I was four why it was a dangerous thing for the Soviet Union to have both A-Bombs and Sputnik. It managed to frighten three generations of Americans into trusting their government over all else.
I watched as Saddam burned the oil fields of Kuwait and all the doomsday pundits predicted the smoke would cause a famine in India. Instead, India had a bumper crop. The oil smoke probably did far less long term environmental damage than the depleted uranium rounds used to pulverize Saddam’s Republican Guard.
Smoke and ash from coal is going to kill off all living things by the end of the century. An asteroid is going to kill off all living things in 2036. A nuclear winter is going to kill off all living things any day now. Ebola, swine Flu, Anthrax, tainted foods, lead paint, fracking, drilling, blasting, cigarettes, Twinkies. Well, we all have to go sometime from something, but I don’t think we’re all gonna go at the SAME time from the SAME thing (although the asteroid thing is a doozie).
However, that still leaves a lot of room for the “as we know it” part. Read more
What does it take to change the minds of world class curmudgeons? World class evidence!
For decades, if not centuries, we’ve been fed this idea that our progenitors were stupid brutes. The idea that people, even a few individuals, of previous eras could be anywhere near as smart as our current crop of academicians was cause for guffaws from said academicians. Time to listen up, boys and girls, your great grand daddy was a lot smarter than you used to think and probably was smarter than you are now. That is, ancient man seems to have been able to navigate without tools, math, or maps, using only his innate senses to guide himself and his vessel across open water. The alternative is that he had those things. Either way, he could do something we didn’t think he could until now.
The Island of Cyprus is not within sight of any mainland anywhere. It’s about a hundred miles from the nearest coast. In order to reach Crete by any known transportation means requires a set of complex skills related to operating a vessel or vehicle and navigation of that craft, itself a set of complex mathematical and spatial relationship skills. Read more
Beginning December 3rd, The Hollow Earth Insider will also feature a live daily TV show: The Oopa Loopa Cafe, with host, Rick Osmon
The Oopa Loopa Cafe, an internet weekly entertainment venue since early 2008, is now expanding in scope, schedule, and reach. A two hour daily schedule, a real multi-camera, TV studio with experienced and adept production personnel, and a substantial cable and internet audience are just the parts that make it technically possible. The most important aspect is the content. Adding to a rich history of informative and entertaining guests and topics, the Oopa Loopa Cafe will now also feature regular contributions from Ancient American magazine, Temerity Magazine, UFO Journal, InvestComicsTV, JOLE Productions, Unraveling the Secrets, independent films, localRead more
I just love it when somebody “gets in the spirit” of the celebration. In this case, the “celebration” is StarBase Indy, a Star Trek convention in Indianapolis Thanksgiving weekend. The Shane Company is sponsoring a portion of the “CON” insomuch as they paid to transport and secure a NASA moon rock for display at the Marriott Indianapolis East 21st Street venue.
However, if the ad agency is aware of the implications and irony of the ad, I would be very surprised. This is not an ad that would appeal to most bachelors, although Trekkers are not most bachelors. I wonder if the rocks on that ring are dilithium crystals…
I also wondered what they would do as a hand model recruiting ad for this sheet.
Modeling Position Available: Hand model needed. Real Alien implants preferred, but make up and appliques available to the right candidate. Must have reliable transporter.
All the elections in my voting lifetime,up to ’92, I had a pretty firm view on my party alignment. For me, the SHTF on elections that year. Watching every debate since and not seeing the main stream media (MSM) pay attention to any other party or candidates than the big two one, I feel it’s important to find some way to force MSM to pay attention. The other candidates offer well constructed solutions instead of well written rhetoric. That rhetoric has been the same old song and dance for twenty years now. It’s time for a new tune. And a new candidate…ME! Read more
No, I’m not talking about the blood-sucking plant of the Little Shop of Horrors named Seymour. Although there may be a little bit of blood sucking associated with Seymour, Indiana as well.
John Mellencamp sings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center at a free performance for wounded warriors, family and staff April 27. About 200 wounded soldiers, staff and family members attended the event, providing a small but energetic crowd. Date 27 April 2007, Wikimedia Commons.
After the end of the War Between the States (alternatively named the War of Northern Aggression), there was little work and nearly no prosperity in Seymour, Indiana, a town that had held many sympathizers for the Confederacy, and had even been home to a double handful of saboteurs and provocateurs who went out to aid John Hunt Morgan’s raid into Indiana. Another person of note that went forth to conquer from Seymour was John Mellencamp. His raids continue.
By early October of 1866, the local economy was in a dire state. The only business besides banks that was, to one extent or another, thriving was the railroads. Two rail lines crossed one another in Seymour, and both were doing fairly well. The North/South line, the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, was built in the 1840s connecting Indianapolis to the Ohio River at Jeffersonville. It ran through the Shields farm at the area that is now Seymour. In 1852 when the East/West railroad, the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, was going to be built, Capt. Meedy Shields who was the cousin of General John Tipton talked the surveyor, John Seymour, into putting it through his land. In return he named the town Seymour. All trains had to stop at a crossroad, making Seymour a bustling community and also making its railroad industry and associated travelers prime targets for criminals.Read more
I attended last year’s event and I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute – even tho I ended up sleeping the first night on a couch in the lobby. This year also features some fantastic personalities from those movies and TV shows with “STAR” in their titles -Rick Osmon
View a special NASA exhibit and tribute to astronaut Neil Armstrong at Starbase Indy, a Midwest science fiction convention, during Thanksgiving weekend Nov. 23-25 in the Indianapolis Marriott East, 7202 E. 21st St. Also on tap will be a chance for a Klingon makeover by a makeup professional, as well as guest stars from the television shows Star Trek and Stargate SG-1.
Besides the NASA exhibit and guest stars, the weekend festivities at Starbase Indy will include Star Trek-based musical groups, arcade games, robot battles, a masquerade, sessions on science and science fiction, and a free showing of Joss Whedon’s The Avengers (2012) at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 23.
“Starbase Indy’s Tribute to Neil Armstrong NASA Exhibit brought to Indianapolis by Shane Company” came about when Starbase Indy wanted to honor Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon. He passed away this year, but his life encouraged many young people to reach for the stars. Starbase Indy contacted NASA to arrange a special exhibit of memorabilia from America’s space program; among the items will be an Apollo helmet and space shuttle glove, a moon globe, Apollo 11 displays, and 12 to 25 NASA photos of the historic mission. Hoosier native and NASA astronaut David Wolf is also scheduled to attend Starbase Indy, pending NASA approval.
Turning from science to science fiction, one Starbase Indy attendee will win a full Klingon makeup treatment from professional makeup artist John Paladin. Paladin will also create Klingons out of actors Robert O’Reilly and JG Hertzler for their in-character appearance on stage and for photo ops Saturday, Nov. 24; both portrayed Klingons on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Other guest stars are Nicole DeBoer, who played series regular Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Alexis Cruz from Stargate SG-1; and Deborah Downey from the original Star Trek. Larry Nemecek, a prominent Star Trek author, archivist and consultant, will share his insights.
Beside seeing guest stars, convention-goers can don otherworldly garb to wander the halls of the Marriott and to strut their stuff on stage in the Masquerade contest, where the convention stage is built like the bridge of the starship Enterprise. Other convention activities include a robotics room to build and battle robots, and a 1980s video arcade room with games set on free play. Of course, the dealers’ room offers out-of-this-world items for science fiction fans who seek to beat the Black Friday crowds. Dinner with the Stars is back again this year, giving fans a chance to mingle with the stars and see them perform.
Star Trek fans can rock on with the second annual Battle of the Bands between Five Year Mission, a musical group that composes songs based on episodes of the original Star Trek, and il Troubadore, a Klingon band; both are Indianapolis bands. More music is in store during a Five Year Mission concert and a music room where other bands will play.
Starbase Indy is a non-profit organization and supports charities in the tradition of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who believed humans could create a better future. This year Starbase Indy’s charities are Cats Haven, a no-kill shelter; LUNGevity, which funds research and treatment of lung cancer; and the Jason Foundation, an educational organization dedicated to the awareness and prevention of youth suicide.
Cost to register for the entire three-day weekend is $40 in advance and $45 at the door, a price that has changed little since the early 1990s. Single day prices are $25 for Friday, Nov. 23; $35 for Saturday, Nov. 24; and $30 for Sunday, Nov. 25. Children age 12 and under are free. This is the 17th year for Starbase Indy, a convention run by local fans, for fans. For more information or to register, go to www.starbaseindy.com or call (317) 513-8651.
After a decade of debate about how best to spend a bequest left to America from an obscure English scientist, President James K. Polk signs the Smithsonian Institution Act into law.
In 1829, James Smithson died in Italy, leaving behind a will with a peculiar footnote. In the event that his only nephew died without any heirs, Smithson decreed that the whole of his estate would go to “the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” Smithson’s curious bequest to a country that he had never visited aroused significant attention on both sides of the Atlantic. . . . Read Complete Report
Invited Comment by Rick Osmon
Dennis has invited me to provide a bit of commentary on this particular story because he knows I continue to express profound doubt in the top level integrity of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Smithsonian is unique in several respects. It is considered by Federal law to be a private institution, yet when it goes to collect specimens it claims it carries the weight of law, in some cases, to force collection.
The Smithsonian claims to house in its collection more than 136 million artifacts, yet, when one inquires Read more
