LATENIGHT - HALIFAX

Thursday, August 31, 2006

My Cup Runneth Out?

Further up South Park St., at night.
I did take some time to continue watching CTV's Sopranos love-in which is going on almost every night for the next couple of weeks as well as do up the latest installment of the Latenight Ladies tonight. I feel a bit guilty about satirizing Tommy Douglas, especially after he was deservedly voted the Greatest Canadian on the CBC special that aired a while back. Still, I want to be nonpartisan and I don't think I could stomach Ed Broadbent in a thong.

Mostly however, I sat down tonight to read Michael Bradley's "Swords at Sunset" some more. Bradley recently made news, not for Templar-related matters but for running over a Wendigo in Maine. Well, the DNA tests aren't in yet, but that's what is being postulated presently.

I'll be finished of his book soon and am still enjoying it. The bits near the beginning about the new research partner's feminine assets is a bit off track (maybe he was trying to add sex appeal?) I'm also quickly seeing why he had trouble getting the book published for very controversial views. I'll save the full review for when I finish the book.

On the plus side, it's encouraging me to get back into my own little investigations. I've not been so keen lately to hunt out historical consiracies and heterodox histories. The whole Da Vinci Code fuss has made everyone a "grail expert" while I've considered the question of what the final outcome would all mean in this day and age. So what if Jesus had descendants? Would they run for the Democrats in the States or the Liberal leadership up here? What's the real world impact of someone who can claim a two-thousand year old family tree. There needs to be something bigger behind the whole mystery or else I would be about to lose interest. Nonetheless, the simple possibility of pre-Columbian European sites that could yet be discovered incites my passion. The possibility of illuminating more about religions and beliefs that predate the known history of the world is tantalizing too.

Maybe I'm just chasin' a high, but the grail itself doesn't do it for me anymore. Ark of the Covenant, anyone?

Labels: books, cryptohistory, cryptozoology, Holy Grail, personal, television

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Beast of Bedford?

Bedford gets its very own lake monster.
This photo was sent in to me by Don from Bedford. Seems that Tuesday night, Bedford entered the big leagues when it discovered its very own lake monster! Lots of people turned out to view it, as did media, and the speculation began as to what this little beastie was.

Alas, the community may not be able to capitalize on this fortuitous visitor. It's no ancient dinosaur, nor is it any behemoth from the depths of the darkest waters. Experts have identified it as an Ocean Sunfish. Probably the scariest thing is that these fish are normally found in much warmer waters and I suspect this is a bad omen for the temperature of the Atlantic waters just off our coast. It's yet another reminder that we may be in line for a doozy of a hurricane season.

Labels: Bedford, cryptozoology, Halifax

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

The Northern Lights have seen queer sights...

I first heard about this find on CBC radio sometime last week, but images are now starting to trickle across the internet of the incredibly odd and mysterious skull found about a month ago, along a shore in Pangnirtung, Nunavut (on Baffin Island). As global warming steps up, lots of weird things are surfacing in the high Arctic, from unusual flora and fauna to long-preserved carcasses that are just now being thawed out of ice that had been millennia-old.

This thing is drawing blanks with zoologists however. Not a lot of creatures have horns like this in the Arctic these days. About the size of a person's fist, the skull is too small to be an adult caribou skull, yet the developed horns wouldn't be present on an infant. Some have speculated it might be some long-extinct species of deer or sheep.

Nobody, and I repeat NOBODY, has speculated that it came from outer space.

UPDATE: For a more great and informative write-up on some of the abnormal human skulls unearthed over the years (terrestrial or otherwise), check out Thothweb's recent article. (Link via The Daily Grail).

Labels: Arctic, cryptozoology, Nunavut, strange

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Big pussy down under

For some time, Australia's countryside has been plagued by the myth of giant cats. Fantasy? Delusion? Too much Fosters? To be fair, one must state that giant cat stories are getting increasingly common throughout the world. We have our own eastern cougar in Atlantic Canada and the United Kingdom has also seen a rise in these mysterious sightings over recent years.

Preposterous say experts. According to Sarah Hartwell at the cat resource website Messybeast.com:

"Gigantic ferals are entirely mythical. The stories are often fuelled by anti-cat individuals or organisations in attempts to further vilify the already much maligned feral cat. Unlike dogs, cats lack the genetic plasticity to breed to huge sizes. The genes for huge size simply don't exist in cats, and regardless of improved diet, cats have stayed pretty much the same size since they were first domesticated."

That's why it's a bit of a shock that a Melbourne, Australia deer hunter Kurt Engels managed to bag himself a big feline that measured a metre and a half in length and weighed over 35kg. Engels cut off the tail as a trophy, which was subsequently DNA tested, and 'lo and behold... it was a feral domestic cat.

So can we shoot them now? (In reference to the last post, maybe we can just go to Toronto and train the grey squirrels to take them out.)

Thank you to Stephen, who tipped me off on this story. His theory is that with the rapid reproduction rate of cats, what's happening could be an accelerated instance of natural selection when the beasts are out on their own.

I guess what cats lack in "genetic plasticity" they make up for in rampant promiscuity.

Labels: animals, Australia, cryptozoology, strange


	Moonlight missives from Atlantic Canada ∙ HALIFAX, Nova Scotia
	Thursday, August 31, 2006 My Cup Runneth Out? Further up South Park St., at night. I did take some time to continue watching CTV's Sopranos love-in which is going on almost every night for the next couple of weeks as well as do up the latest installment of the Latenight Ladies tonight. I feel a bit guilty about satirizing Tommy Douglas, especially after he was deservedly voted the Greatest Canadian on the CBC special that aired a while back. Still, I want to be nonpartisan and I don't think I could stomach Ed Broadbent in a thong. Mostly however, I sat down tonight to read Michael Bradley's "Swords at Sunset" some more. Bradley recently made news, not for Templar-related matters but for running over a Wendigo in Maine. Well, the DNA tests aren't in yet, but that's what is being postulated presently. I'll be finished of his book soon and am still enjoying it. The bits near the beginning about the new research partner's feminine assets is a bit off track (maybe he was trying to add sex appeal?) I'm also quickly seeing why he had trouble getting the book published for very controversial views. I'll save the full review for when I finish the book. On the plus side, it's encouraging me to get back into my own little investigations. I've not been so keen lately to hunt out historical consiracies and heterodox histories. The whole Da Vinci Code fuss has made everyone a "grail expert" while I've considered the question of what the final outcome would all mean in this day and age. So what if Jesus had descendants? Would they run for the Democrats in the States or the Liberal leadership up here? What's the real world impact of someone who can claim a two-thousand year old family tree. There needs to be something bigger behind the whole mystery or else I would be about to lose interest. Nonetheless, the simple possibility of pre-Columbian European sites that could yet be discovered incites my passion. The possibility of illuminating more about religions and beliefs that predate the known history of the world is tantalizing too. Maybe I'm just chasin' a high, but the grail itself doesn't do it for me anymore. Ark of the Covenant, anyone? Labels: books, cryptohistory, cryptozoology, Holy Grail, personal, television posted by Ian at 12:44 AM - link ... 0 comments \| links to this post ... Thursday, August 10, 2006 Beast of Bedford? Bedford gets its very own lake monster. This photo was sent in to me by Don from Bedford. Seems that Tuesday night, Bedford entered the big leagues when it discovered its very own lake monster! Lots of people turned out to view it, as did media, and the speculation began as to what this little beastie was. Alas, the community may not be able to capitalize on this fortuitous visitor. It's no ancient dinosaur, nor is it any behemoth from the depths of the darkest waters. Experts have identified it as an Ocean Sunfish. Probably the scariest thing is that these fish are normally found in much warmer waters and I suspect this is a bad omen for the temperature of the Atlantic waters just off our coast. It's yet another reminder that we may be in line for a doozy of a hurricane season. Labels: Bedford, cryptozoology, Halifax posted by Ian at 12:38 AM - link ... 0 comments \| links to this post ... Tuesday, June 06, 2006 The Northern Lights have seen queer sights... I first heard about this find on CBC radio sometime last week, but images are now starting to trickle across the internet of the incredibly odd and mysterious skull found about a month ago, along a shore in Pangnirtung, Nunavut (on Baffin Island). As global warming steps up, lots of weird things are surfacing in the high Arctic, from unusual flora and fauna to long-preserved carcasses that are just now being thawed out of ice that had been millennia-old. This thing is drawing blanks with zoologists however. Not a lot of creatures have horns like this in the Arctic these days. About the size of a person's fist, the skull is too small to be an adult caribou skull, yet the developed horns wouldn't be present on an infant. Some have speculated it might be some long-extinct species of deer or sheep. Nobody, and I repeat NOBODY, has speculated that it came from outer space. UPDATE: For a more great and informative write-up on some of the abnormal human skulls unearthed over the years (terrestrial or otherwise), check out Thothweb's recent article. (Link via The Daily Grail). Labels: Arctic, cryptozoology, Nunavut, strange posted by Ian at 1:10 PM - link ... 0 comments \| links to this post ... Wednesday, December 07, 2005 Big pussy down under For some time, Australia's countryside has been plagued by the myth of giant cats. Fantasy? Delusion? Too much Fosters? To be fair, one must state that giant cat stories are getting increasingly common throughout the world. We have our own eastern cougar in Atlantic Canada and the United Kingdom has also seen a rise in these mysterious sightings over recent years. Preposterous say experts. According to Sarah Hartwell at the cat resource website Messybeast.com: "Gigantic ferals are entirely mythical. The stories are often fuelled by anti-cat individuals or organisations in attempts to further vilify the already much maligned feral cat. Unlike dogs, cats lack the genetic plasticity to breed to huge sizes. The genes for huge size simply don't exist in cats, and regardless of improved diet, cats have stayed pretty much the same size since they were first domesticated." That's why it's a bit of a shock that a Melbourne, Australia deer hunter Kurt Engels managed to bag himself a big feline that measured a metre and a half in length and weighed over 35kg. Engels cut off the tail as a trophy, which was subsequently DNA tested, and 'lo and behold... it was a feral domestic cat. So can we shoot them now? (In reference to the last post, maybe we can just go to Toronto and train the grey squirrels to take them out.) Thank you to Stephen, who tipped me off on this story. His theory is that with the rapid reproduction rate of cats, what's happening could be an accelerated instance of natural selection when the beasts are out on their own. I guess what cats lack in "genetic plasticity" they make up for in rampant promiscuity. Labels: animals, Australia, cryptozoology, strange posted by Ian at 12:05 AM - link ... 0 comments \| links to this post ...	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