The Grand Unified conspiracy theory-apparently there is one!

You guys must know by now that I love a conspiracy theory, Believing is a different matter. Occam's Razor works overtime when conspiracies are concerned. Some I can see he reasoning behind and can almost see being true. Take the JFK assassination for instance. It is fairly believable that this........

........was not the work of just one man in November 1963. All it takes to make this conspiracy true is a few more shooters being involved. JFK could do a lot of damage to many interest groups some of whom could arrange a cover up. It is not beyond the realms of possibility, though working out just who carried it out gives rise so some very complicated amendments to the basic conspiracy theory.

 

Project MKUltra: the CIA's Mind Control Program was initially a conspiracy theory and only later was it found that the CIA did run such experiments. They involved electronics, hypnosis, sensory deprivation and verbal and sexual abuse and ran from the 50's to 1973.

 

Elvis Presley's faking his death, again, very silly but why not. If he had had enough of fame and lack of privacy he may have taken this drastic action. Faking death certificates is not difficult, nor is bribing medical personnel and witnesses. The same goes for Marilyn Monroe.

Elvis Presley's autopsy result and Newspaper report of the death of Marilyn Monroe.

 

In fact any theories based purely on human nature, Bribes and criminal acts are eminently believable. It is those with a paranormal basis which I have problems with. It is these where good ol' Occam walks in and calls Bull**it.

 

I was searching for another theory to bend your long suffering ears with today, when I found something which is completely different. It requires the level of belief which your average Roswell believer just doesn't have. S/He merely believes an Alien ship crashed and the government captured one which they later autopsied. Admittedly they also tend to believe other theories but only 1 at a time.

 

The Grand unified Conspiracy Theory is very different. Apparently all the conspiracies which have been put forward are not only true but are following a plan laid down by one central (And Evil of course....Mwahahahahaha.) figure. You can pick your own puppet master, Satan, the Illuminati, Mysterious time travelling figures from the future, Men in Black or a mysterious Wizard from the Dark ages.

 

It is a curious idea. First it presupposes that all conspiracy theories must be true, Second that the controlling entity is either a group still in existence or has access to time travel or has means of manipulating modern events through time. I can hear Mr Occam a knocking already. It is also odd in that the Arch manipulator must be aware of that we know of his plan. Therefore this knowledge is all part of the plan.

 

Of course, if you disagree with the plan then you are part of it. Another aspect is the politics. Some theories are more left or right wing in terms of those affected and those who commit the acts involved. Some have a religious basis, some are favoured by Atheists. The Grand theory is non political and non denominational. The idea is that the central group or character just has mischief in mind. Basically this is a theory for the paranoid. The evil one just wants to sow discord. Governments are his/her tools. Anyone who denies the reality of any conspiracy theory or the Unified theory is a tool of the evil one too.

 

Curiously there have been pictures purporting to be of time travellers at major events in 20th century history. To the normal person this is interesting but the word fake would be going through your mind. To the average Grand Unified Conspiracist it would be strong evidence. I believe it. And there goes a flying pig.

 



Why we need a little mystery.

 

The above pictures are fairly well known. Crop circles have been a part of our lives for a few decades. Nessie (Or the Loch Ness Monster.) even longer. The one with the Leg is a case of Spontaneous Human Combustion, whereby a human body is almost totally consumed by burning (Which would require extremely high temperatures.) yet there is little or no damage to the surroundings.

 

The rise of the internet has proved one thing. We love our mysteries. The more inexplicable the better. While researching this I typed 'Unexplained' into Google and clicked images. The hundreds of results included a time travelling man, a 1940's girl with a suited astronaut behind her, a man with two faces, various supposed Ghost images, Ditto UFO images. The list went on. Many sites collate these things. There is a crossover with conspiracy theories here because all are covered by the title unexplained. Allow me to present you with a uniquely British example.

 

Spring Heeled Jack

 

This was a diabolical figure with fiery red eyes and clawed hands and was reported fro 1837 till 1877 and in various parts of the U.K. He was scary enough but his true terror for Victorian witnesses was that, from a standing start, he could leap 9 feet or more in order to escape. Various explanations were put forward, mainly upper class pranksters. Phosphorous and metal claws accounted for the physical aspects. Even the 1888 Jack the Ripper case was briefly attributed to this British bogey man. More often his appearances were put down to superstition or mass hysteria. More information can be found HERE.

 

 

Time slips.

 



This is another unexplained phenomena. One of the best known is two ladies who went to Versaille, France in 1901. They got lost on their homeward journey but noticed many anachronisms. The clothing was different. The atmosphere changed. Everything seemed flat and lifeless and they observed phenomena strongly suggesting they were in the 16th century. The full story is HERE

There are many other stories of unexplained events. Some point to modern watches found in Ming dynasty graves. Others maintain that the JFK story in 1963 involved time travellers and/or the Illuminati. The British at the battle of Mons in early ww1 swore that Angels had appeared and protected them from the German guns. The Irish Banshee appears on the roof of a house only when a member of the family's death is imminent. The Nazca Lines in Mexico are designed to be seen from the air despite being made in a time before flight.

Now I am a sceptic, I try to debunk Ghost images and it isn't difficult. I like to think we possess innate telepathic or telekinetic abilities but have never been convinced by stories of these abilities. I believe in Alien life but do not believe they would bother travelling all this way just to examine our bodies. I think the Illuminati died out in the far past. I really don't believe in a lot outside our own knowledge as a race.

BUT I get a thrill at the idea of a high jumping monster, banshees scare me, I get shivers at the idea of witches and hags. I like a good Ghost story provided research has given it at least a fighting chance of being based in fact. I would love to slip in time. I want a convincing story of a telepath. The man with two faces- Edward Mordake- would seem feasible as a conjoined twin but is just creepy enough for me.

I think this is the point. Our lives are full of the known and explained that we are desperate for something we can't explain and if it is slightly creepy so much the better. I have given myself some shivery moments looking at pictures for this post and I am oh so rational. If no one has ever managed to explain something with all our modern science and the facts cannot be put down to fakery then it might just BE supernatural. Personally I need something that can't be explained.

The anniversary of The Battle of Britain

 

 

If you are having a bad day, if you are spitting your dummy out because your broadband is not working or your smartphone has died, or even if you feel low please spare a thought for those who defended this country 75 years ago.

It is  summer 1940. Young men, many still in their teens, are sent into the skies with minimal training in their Hurricanes and Spitfires. Meanwhile German aircraft try to break the R.A.F. with daily raids. Each day young men from both sides are sent in fragile aircraft to face death. Each day many do not return home. They are replaced with more barely trained recruits and the cycle begins again.

September the 15th was the day that Germany tried to bomb London, to draw the R.A.F. out and destroy it.

I know we are at peace but I can't help feeling that our troubles must be put into perspective by the fact that these young men faced death regularly and did not shirk that duty. In case we forgot the ladies, they were often trained in flying these machines in order to deliver them to airfields. I am sure a German pilot would not care if the enemy was male or female.

I can't help feeling that we, with our pampered lifestyles and reliance on a cradle to grave nanny state could do as well.

Conspiracy theory 2.......Obama.

You will no doubt know that I am a Brit. Despite this I am up for a good 'Merican conspiracy as any other. So I found this online.....

As far back as 2008, some Americans began to claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States, but in Kenya. These claims have been promoted by fringe theorists, known as 'birthers', some of whom have sought court rulings to prove that Obama is ineligible to be the president. None of these attempts has been successful. Obama has released the full version of his birth certificate, which shows he was born in Hawaii. However, birthers claim it is a forgery. There has been what the Daily Telegraph describes as "a persistent campaign of misinformation on the subject", led at one stage by Donald Trump, the property mogul now hoping to be the Republican presidential candidate. According to a recent poll by New York Daily News 61 per cent of self-identified Trump supporters said they believed the president was not born in the US. Obama has nevertheless made light of the conspiracy and in 2011, during an address at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, even went so far as to release his "birth video": a scene from Disney's The Lion King.

Now my response to this is 'Errrrmmmmm, So what?' He must have been screened before standing and any discrepancies would have been found then. His enemies would have good reason to promulgate this idea so it is obvious where this theory would come from. Even if it had been true, it doesn't change anything. I can't even see who would benefit from such a conspiracy. They are hardly likely to impeach the Pres on such flimsy evidence (I.E. None.). Overall I don't see the point of this one.

The cemetary gets a bad press...........They can be really great places to relax.

Some of my friends and family would call me strange. Perhaps those less friendly might think 'Deranged' would be a proper term. Those who are not friends would probably go for 'Should be sectioned for his own good.'

Now one reason for this is that I love a walk in a cemetery (The picture above is the Local one.). Many would now be picturing an ancient Goth slouching along between the Graves but it couldn't be more different. Allow me to explain.

When I was a child we would go to dinner with Nan Elsie on a Sunday. After lunch in the summer she would inevitably announce a visit to the 'Sim'. Flowers in Hand the whole family would walk the mile or so, up tree lined lanes, to the place where most of her family were buried. There was a school in the lane (I later went there.) and it had wooden fences There was a smell of wood stain and the tree roots in the Lane grew up through the pavements. Each tree had a small plinth with the name of a soldier who died in WW1. It is still called the 'Avenue of Remembrance. On wet days there was a smell of leafmould from the last Autumn's fallen leaves that never quite disappeared.

Once in the Cemetary we would go to the family graves. We would perform the ritual of clearing them and laying new flowers. There were metal tanks with taps and watering cans. We would fill the cans and carry them to the graves to water the flowers. It is still a vivid memory.

Nan Elsie and Granddad Mac.

Nan introduced me to the delights of the cemetery.

 

I also recall visiting a grave with my Father, his Brother's I think. It sticks in my mind because it is one of the few times I remember being alone with him. He died when I was 11.

 

 

As I grew I started reading inscriptions on the graves, wondering who these people were. There was the grave of a footballer with a marble football carved in white marble. Another had an anchor carved on the headstone. It explained that the man died in an accident on the local creek. That one was doubly interesting because he shared my surname.

 

Later, graves became important due to my interest in Genealogy. It is one thing to know every date that was important in a given ancestors life. It is quite another to stand before his or her grave, Knowing that this is where they came when their particular race was run. This is another aspect of the Cemetary. If you are worried or troubled, there is a tremendous psychological boost to knowing that all the worry in the world cannot change the fact that we all end up here. Told you I was strange!

 

 

Then there is the fact that the Cemetary is a haven for nature in the middle of the mayhem. I first heard a Cuckoo there. Bird song is all around, squirrels run around between the graves and foxes are not unknown. There are no cars and there is little pollution.

 

 

When I had a stroke I knew I had to exercise and because of all this, a cemetery is still my favourite place to do so.

So in the summer it is one of my favourite places to go. What about the winter though? I still enjoy the cemetery then. There is a stark beauty to gravestones in the cold or with rain or snow sending a shiver down your spine. They will have connotations with death, how can they not. Yet they can evoke so many feelings while we are around to enjoy them.

So go to a Churchyard or Cemetary, open your senses fully and drink in the feelings it can evoke.

More Ghost stuff. Pictures, Common sense and the quirks of the Human Brain

I am a ghost sceptic and I have never seen a ghost picture I believe contains a genuine spirit. I would like to, but to date have never seen any convincing proof of the afterlife.

There are two concepts I would like you to bear in mind when reading this. They are:-

Pareidolia-is a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern where none actually exists.

Common sense-exactly what it says. The thing that makes you say. 'Hang on that can't be right.'

Using these you should be able to debunk 90% of Ghost Photos. When dealing with pictures of supposed Ghosts I will usually give more credence to pictures taken on old fashioned film as opposed to digital. Film is much more difficult to falsify unlike digital images which any Tom, Dick and Harry can alter to a reasonable standard. I have photoshopped many a picture to create a completely false image, (For my own education in Photoshop.). Unless you are an expert there are always signs.

Recently on Facebook I have seen 2 pictures, supposedly of Ghost images. The first was a vague image of a face on a net curtain (Seriously, on a net curtain, what self respecting Ghost would haunt a curtain.). For me a clear case of Pareidolia from someone who desperately wants to believe. The second was in a fish tank. Yes you heard me right. Now given the way light and water react it is almost guaranteed to produce strange patterns at times. I came to the same conclusions as with 'Curtain Ghost'.

Another poster posted a picture of a grave with a strange discrepancy at the very bottom. Underneath was an enlargement of the area the discrepancy appears in. It was labelled 'Enlarged, Brightness, contrast and sharpness improved. Now if you have to go to that trouble to get people to see what you see, it isn't very clear to start with.

So lets examine some celebrated Ghost pictures with a view to the reality of the ghost in each. First, and to my mind the best image with a view to believability, is the one at the top of the page. It is of 'The Brown Lady of Raynham hall'. It is on film so that is in it's favour. It could be a double exposure but the Ghost seems to be consistent with it's surroundings. The image does show signs of Double exposure according to some experts. Others accuse the photographer of smearing grease on the lens. However it does not set out to  produce a sharp clear human image and most sightings are of this type. Only a vague shape is usually claimed by the observer. So maybe a 5/10 for convincing evidence.

 

How about this. The floating head appeared in a picture when the film camera was on self timer. The flash did not go off. Then another picture of the same scene was taken a moment later and the lady was gone. Those who were there do not know who the woman was and experts have said there is no evidence of double exposure. However it was taken on a camera on which the flash malfunctioned so I cannot discount a camera fault. Also given that Ghosts are disembodied and use energy to manifest, according to most accounts, this lady is way too clear and would fit in to any other images recorded in the restaurant that evening. Even the lighting of the face is the same. However, given the expert testimony against Camera error it gets 5/10.

 

 



This one is a good picture. The little girl unaware of what is happening behind her. The floating woman is consistent with her surroundings so there is no double exposure issue. She is a bit too clear for me (I.E. not Ghostly.) but she is clearly floating. the picture shows no photoshop tell tales, it may even have been on film. Should score high, Right? I give it ......0/10. That is because the lady, far from floating, is merely running and one leg is up behind her while the other is behind the post. Furthermore, somewhat tired of this picture being relentlessly duplicated across the Net, she has told the story on record. She was quite simply running and the camera snapped just as her legs were completely out of view.

In this one the head peeking around the Church disappears when you go around the corner. Well yes it would, this is a fake and my nephews pulled stunts like this all the time as kids. There is no evidence given as to time and only the submitters word that it was anything other than a couple of kids playing with a camera. 1/10

 

This one was from a Reverend K.F. Lord at Newby Church, Yorkshire. While no one has ever proved fakery this is almost a caricature of a ghost, note the sheet with eyeholes cut in it. It is someone with no imagination drawing on the popular idea of ghosts. 1/10.

Finally a cautionary tale, let us examine a Photo which almost had me convinced.

 

The picture was of a fire at Wem town hall in Shropshire. Note the girl at the bottom right. Pareidolia, possibly. The person was taking a picture of the fire not a girl so he had no reason to fake it. This picture taken by Tony O'Rahilly in 1995 A young girl had died in a fire in 1677 and there was no reason that similar circumstances shouldn't bring her shade out to play. It was compelling but it was only while I was researching this post that I found an article claiming that the picture was debunked. If you want to read about it, go to :-http://www.ghosttheory.com/2010/05/17/wem-ghost-girl-photograph-finally-solved

For those with less patience a gent from Wem found this little girl from a postcard of Wem High Street.

Look familiar?I am not saying it is debunked but it is a bit too much of a coincidence for me. 1/10.

I don't know why people fake pictures but in my experience most ARE faked, or coincidence or just plain lucky. Maybe people want their 15 minutes, or they genuinely believe patterns on the wall are grannies face. Even Vicars are not immune, though maybe it was to draw the tourists in to pay for the new roof.

So by all means go looking for ghost pictures on the internet and look at your own pictures for Ghosts. Just apply common sense. It is more likely that the light on the curtains is just  a pattern of light that your brain is misinterpreting than a visitation from a dead dude.

 



If I could have been born............

I was born in the early 60's, but if your era was that which provided the images, events and music that shaped you it would have been the tasteless 70's. My last post told of my yearning to be a city boy. This one is about what era I would have grown up in given the choice.

I would love to have been a teenager in the mid to late 60's It was a time when youth found ways to not be their parents. They found new ways to express themselves. They shook off the wartime values of austerity and dull fashions and created their own.

It was a time of change and you could help to make the changes. It wasn't all about profit.

There were many groups of youths with different ideals and fashions. Each one had their own music. What would I be? I Like The Jam, Ska and Two Tone. I enjoy music by the Who. The smart pressed suits appeal to me more than Kaftans and Sandals. The leather and greasy hair definitely don't appeal so I guess I'd be a Mod.

Instead I got Glam. Oh well. Perhaps I can get a Vespa and try to re-live the 60's. Bet it won't be the same though.