Fear of Forests

I am a huge proponent of a “Bigfoot Hunter” show. I believe that all of us city and suburban folk who would shiver and hide under our blankets while watching folks sitting in a dark camp at night, waiting for BF to show up and them running in a scattered chaos. Every branch snapping, every animal howling will make us startle and the hunters, no doubt, who are already on edge.

Movies have done a fair job of making the woods scary. Look at “Wizard of Oz” and “Princess Bride.” How about the wonderful 70s slasher woods movies involving Camp Crystal Lake and “Just Before Dawn”? How about those eco-angry films like “Day of the Animals” and “The Prophecy”? There are numerous Bigfoot tales and movies, as well as gems like “Cabin Fever” and “I Spit on Your Grave.”

Werewolves? Woods. Hansel and Gretel? Woods. Little Red Riding Hood? Woods.

Nyctohlophobia: Fear of dark wooded areas.
Dendrophobia: Fear of the trees in a forest.

Is it because it's not our territory but the animals? Is it because things are hidden from view even a few feet away from us? Is it because everything in the woods is a beast and therefore not reasoned with like fellow humans? Perhaps the woods represent the unknown. Whatever the reason for the fear of the forest, it is a common thing.

If you're ever attacked by a bear, it was almost surely in the forest. If someone killed you and wanted to hide the body, it was likely the forest they would choose. If you were to get lost and have your arm trapped by a boulder and be forced to cut it off with a pocketknife, the reporters would announce this occurred in the forest. If you fall down a rock face, are killed by an avalanche or are trapped by a raging fire, it was probably in the forest.

I have had a lot of scary things happen in the woods, but the one that haunts me the most was when I was camping up in the Sierras. We were up in the Sequoias. The most beautiful hike ever. We parked our van and the group climbed out and looked up at a park service board that showed pictures of what bears had done to cars and campsites. These were not pretty pictures. We then hiked a few thousand feet past beautiful huge redwoods and giant ferns into a magical forest. We set up camp for the night. We tied our food up in a tree so bears wouldn't come. I felt fairly good about that, but the nylon tent worried me. Then, someone laughingly said to me (I managed a clothing store and was a 1980s clothes hound and fashion freak) "I hope you aren't wearing mousse with a fruity scent in your hair. The bears will go to you first." I crammed myself and my peach-scented hair deep into the sleeping bag and shivered as I listened to every sound outside. I never slept. As the campfire still glowed and the folks sleeping in the open around it kept feeding it wood during the night, I could see the shadows against the tent. I waited for the shape of a bear, certain it would come. Then, I heard one of the men near the fire grumbling. "Oh, it's a bear. Damn! A bear. Why? Why me?" He kept mumbling about the bear and I held the flashlight in my hand ready to hit the bear and scooted to the center of the tent, quaking for my life. The bear never came, but the sunlight did. In the morning, one of the campers laughed at the man who was mumbling about a bear all night. "I had no idea you could talk in your sleep. I know what you were dreaming about." Weary, I sank down near the dying fire and glared at the man who smiled sheepishly.

So, what happened to you in the woods that unsettled you?

Fact or Faked Reviewed

For our own entertainment, enjoy these deja vu classics...

(Breakfast Fact or Faked Club)


(Scooby Fact or Faked Doo)


(check the beginning--I'm thinking Fact or Faked might be The Goonies revisited)


(so, whatcha think? Inspiration from the movies?)

I love FoF, so I am having fun with them because I do that when I adore something. They do make me think of Goonies or Gilligan's Island maybe...





Okay, another episode of FoF is under our belts. The opening episode only teased us with what the season might be like. Now, we're into it. What did you think? I will expose my opinions in the comments with y'all. Here's what I'm curious about:

Do you think they picked good cases?
Do you think the right people were on the right cases?
Were the results clear-cut to you?

Come on, let's begin the review process...

Reminder tonight Syfy "Ghost Hunters" & "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files"

You know what this means? Tomorrow morning review of Fact or Faked (yes, and the tank top shot).

Upcoming Craziness

(my hair says it all--I'm a scrambled up, going in 8 directions at one time, bright and shiny mess)

Well, what's up with the wacky redhead and her buddy companion, Julie? Yes, it's actually a "quiet" time for us. Right!

In early April we will be cemetery attendants at the yearly Cemetery Crawl event in which teams of 3 hit the road in an Amazing Race format across the AZ desert to crazy and lesser known cemeteries and lots of crazy stop-overs to unbelievable sites to do certain tasks. We're staying in the WigWam hotel in Holbrook and that'll be fun sleeping in a giant tee-pee shaped room. Expect the both of us to do lots of picture taking and video. I am hoping to start hosting more videos of our crazy jaunts and ghost hunts and starting a ghost hunting theories channel on YouTube to make it all easier to find and enjoy.


(the 2009 Cemetery Crawl event above)

Julie and hopefully will be joining two others we have met through blogging in Tucson and hit some indian grinding stones in the desert. We're doing research for our book, "Spirit Vessels: Why Some Buildings Are Haunted" and we're going to do some studies and tests in this area and see what we come up with as far as spirituality and stone retention, construction and shapes of ancient stone sites.


(the grinding stones place we're headed to)

We are also planning on doing a ghost study inside a cave, probably this very one I visited when my son was little. We're hoping to see if while shielded from EMF and potential radiowave interruptions, we might still get things on our instruments inside of a limestone cave. We also want to see if caves are, indeed, haunted. I will, of course, be doing video hosting and we'll take lots of photos. I want to spend more time taking y'all along on the trips to hear what it's like, feel it, and see it.


I won't even get into all the book work going on, but I will update you eventually on that front. For now, just know that it never ends. We are also hoping to hit Vulture Mine for a ghost hunt, as well as some other unique places like the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone.

It's my goal to begin doing a lot more video of the places we go and things we do and I also hope to begin a series of "Alone" based on my "alone series I wrote for the blog (button at top of screen) of being alone in places most people don't like to be alone in. I want to do video versions where I take the flipcam with me into scary places and share the sights, describe the sounds and feels and all so you can see what it's like to explore creepiness by your lonesome.

The important thing for you to know is that we're taking y'all along and going to share it with you as best as is possible, as well as the findings. We can put together our think tank here and sort over the findings to make conclusions in the field of testing theories.

Hopefully, you're enjoying my writer's blog Sharon Day and Julie and I's Hug-A-Blogger site for bloggers and socializing.

Don't Be a Dork!

This is my new series to keep us perpetual nerds up-to-date on trendy things.

Mash-Ups

Mixing two songs to make a new one. This one is not only popular, but there are amazing music videos mashed up to make something that takes music from kind of 2D to 3D. Often, they take two bands that are completely unrelated and once mashed up, they actually make sense together!


(two of my favorite bands, Black-eyed Peas and Kings of Leon)

I get my fix every day on my favorite mashup blog, Mash It Up - The Music.

Josh Gates Journals

(Another episode of my tween'ish I-gotta-mad-Beiber-crush-on-Josh-Gates Journal)



Tonight Josh is going to go to check out an abandoned mining town in Nambia and some kind of creepy monster! OMG!

I don't know how he does it all! Some day, he'll have to settle down and start a family. I mean, he's totally awesome, so why not??? But, it's really important someone that smart and cute marries the right woman to make babies, right? LOL. He has a duty to better mankind with his totally adorable kids. That had me wondering, what would Josh and I's kids be like? I Photoshopped them, Josh. Won't our son and daughter be so cool? They're adorable! I'd be so proud to be their mama, Josh! (dreamy sigh)









QUIZ:
Josh ran into some physical obstacles on one of his adventures, was it...
a. Got bit by fire ants and his hand swelled up.
b. Got sick to his stomach and vomited a bunch.
c. Fell off a rock face and injured his knee.
d. Gashed his head and bled pretty nasty.

Don't forget, following this is the awesome new show "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen" and tonight Marcel has to design a romantic engagement party for childhood sweethearts reuniting in middle age. Can he do it, or will he just piss off the party planner? (Hint: A little of both)

Shivers Monday: Victorian Creepiness

Cameras and spiritualism--cool combo. I adore the turn-of-the-century Victorian era and the steampunk movement that has developed from it. To that end, my dear buddy at Gnostalgia sent me a link that fascinated me so much that I printed out four of the pics, tore their edges, decoupaged them to a canvas painted black and hot glued a rusted sprocket in the center to make my own creepy nod to horror and steampunk.

This Week in Paranormal TV and Horror Movies

(asterisk) means I'm watching it

MONDAY:
*Discovery Channel: “Mysteries and Monsters in Alaska” (from UFOs to monsters)
Syfy: “Being Human”

TUESDAY:
*Syfy: “Destination Truth” (an abandoned town & a monster) “Marcel's Quantum Kitchen” (sweethearts engagement party)

WEDNESDAY:
*Syfy: “Ghost Hunters” (“Frozen in Fear”) and “Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files” (Ghost in a theater and strange lights in the sky)
History Channel: “Ancient Aliens”

THURSDAY:
AMC: “Secret Window” (Johnny Depp movie)

FRIDAY:
Travel Channel: “Ghost Adventures” marathon
Bravo: “Ghostbusters” (movie)

Hug-A-Blogger: Blogging Social Site

Julie and I had started the Hug-A-Blogger project as a proposal for a book. We would drive across the country, meet and hug bloggers, get an anonymous looking picture of us (to keep up with the online mystique for everyone) and feature them and their blog in a chapter of the book, discussing how it changed their lives, what they expected going into it and how it paralleled what was going on in their own lives. Being cost prohibited, publishers were not jumping on-board.

But, a few days ago, it struck me like lightning! HaB must continue on--the idea is a good one. Julie and I not only became good friends and sisters, road trip buddies, explorers and adventurers, ghost hunters together, but we also published a book together. So, we wanted to make a social site where people could write in what their experiences have been; some got jobs, some were inspired by someone's example, some found friendship, pen-pals, romance,and met in real life. We want to hear about it and promote a place where bloggers can perhaps hear stories from their own regions of the country and meet other local bloggers, can showcase their blogs and tell stories that show how blogging changed their lives. We even talked about potentially having tank tops made with the logo and doing a wall of pics women can send in wearing the tank tops--because you know, I'm famous for tank top shots!

We've inserted tabs on the blog so you can look by region or by subject such as "work" "romance" "friends" "met in real life" "penpals" et cetera.

So, jump on and check it out and if you have stories, the email address is at the top. We can showcase your story and your blog(s) and keep things anonymous if you like or if one person wants to be anonymous while the other tells the story, cool. We encourage mysterious photos so we never fully see you, videos, anything. Let's have fun with this project and pass the word that HaB is a place for bloggers to connect and tell stories.

Here's the link...
Hug-A-Blogger

Adventure Sunday: Storm Chasing & Geocaching

(Eric fromBubba's place thanks for this pic, we don't get snow in Phoenix)


(a coming haboob--duststorm)


(atomic sky)

When asking yourself what kinds of adventures you can partake of, I have a lot of things the regular person who is not a Josh Gates can do to liven up an otherwise routine life. It's also free or very low cost. We've talked in the past about exploring cemeteries and watching documentaries, photographing abandoned sites and doing your own ghost hunting.

Today, let's talk about a couple of interesting things that you might be equipped for right now if you own a cell phone or GPS and a camera; geocaching and storm chasing.

You don't need to live in Tornado Alley to appreciate chasing a storm. Getting some rain coming your way? Get in your car, go to a high place and get a good view of its arrival. How about icicles hanging from an eve? Snowflakes silently dropping against a floodlight? A tree bending in the wind? Take photos of people's reactions to the weather; children jumping in a puddle, ducking into doorways from the rain, hair blowing wildly...

Here, when it's monsoon season, the storms are brutally intense and since there are no hills or trees to block the views, you can get into your car and chase down the action to film it. A coming haboob like the one above is a dense orange opaque cloud that you can see engulfing things for miles before it hits you and it only takes minutes to knock you over where you stand.


What is geocaching?

(Wikipedia) Geocaching is an outdoor sporting activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook where the geocacher enters the date they found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (tupperware or similar) or ammo boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is often described as a "game of high-tech hide and seek.

You want to grab your GPS and go looking for these treasures? Go onto this site where people post the ones they've hidden and the coordinates. You can also leave caches and post them. If you have a techno kid who isn't into adventure, this will get him into it. If you are a techno kid, this might be the way you can get excited about an adventure.

Now, I've given you two good springtime adventures, add to that reading about new subjects, watching documentaries, exploring cemeteries and photographing abandoned sites and you're getting your adventures geared up for the warmer weather explorations to come!

Please report back if you take any of these adventures. I want to hear all about it and so does everyone else with envy!

Check what's happening at the other sites:
Hug-a-Blogger (bloggers socializing site)
Sharon Day (author's site)

What is the Ideal Halloween Night?

So, I was contemplating it early this year: What is the ideal Halloween night?

For decades I imagined the ideal Halloween night while married to someone who hated costumes, horror, and anything Halloween. I daydreamed about doing fun and creepy things, being in the middle of the atmospheric time of the year, enjoying the carnivals and festivals, chili and beerfests, haunted attractions and pumpkin patches.

Well, weather is not at all accommodating in the freaking desert, so it's very hard to get into the mood while waiting in line for a Haunted attraction while it's still in the 80s in the nighttime.

So, I fantasize about the ideal Halloween...

I've always wanted to be at an autumn forest clearing bonfire on Halloween with a group in costumes, drinking beer, and having to creep into the dark woods to take a leak. Perhaps some unplugged musicians and an all-night fest.

Maybe I'd like to go to some kind of giant Wicker Man pagan ceremony with a burning effigy and crazy dancing and chanting, everyone in dark robes and naked beneath.

Then, I've always thought the ultimate haunted attraction is one in the NE, I believe, that takes people into the woods where there are cabins and headless horseman, villages and all kinds of creepy finds.

I would love to stay at a B&B farm with a huge pumpkin patch, corn rotting on the stalks with a scarecrow deep inside the corn maze, burning leaves and hot cider, moonlight over the orchards.

The very female part of me would love to make out with a man in a costume at a Halloween party and make love without him taking off his mask. That's a dark and delicious fantasy, but part of the daydreams that leaves a smile on my lips.

So, what sort of Halloween night would be ideal for you?

Inspirational Saturday: What Do You Focus On?

(one of my early paintings in the mid 80s--how I saw the beach where I lived)

When my ex would come home from work, he would begin with the criticisms immediately. He'd grumble about the traffic, complain that the neighbor's tree was growing over the property, point out the dust ball in the far corner of the kitchen where no one ever went, tell me that the food smelled like I put onions in it, did I put onions in it?

By the time he actually got into the meal that was awaiting him on the table, he would have voiced on average 5 complaints. No "hello, honey" or kiss. No sense of he's glad to be home. Never asked how my day was. Completely self-absorbed and tightly wound.

When I came home, I saw my haven, my family, and wanted to know all about their days. On the road, I dodged the stupid drivers and sang to the radio. I genuinely cared how my family's day went.

What you focus on, your world becomes.

Do you find what's deficient in your day? How other people are doing things the stupid way, getting in your way, not being nice to you? Do you assign fault and blame? Do you worry constantly about the outcomes of everything?

Your reality becomes; defensiveness, anger, frustration, hopelessness, helplessness and fear.

When I'm working on Blogger and inevitably things get all fucked up, I chuckle. Oh, jeez, it's being Blogger again! It's almost endearing. I know eventually I'll get it fixed and I'm not getting a final grade in college, so what do I care? I'll just patiently go at it and learn something new. Everything is a new adventure, a new skill, and always something to laugh at later.

My reality becomes; curiosity, humor, patience, confidence and passion.

What you focus on, becomes your reality.

So, what are you focusing on all day long?

Lonely on a Friday Night: Join Us!

Hey, it's that time again. I'm hanging out and totally bored and alone, so if you are too, join me. We can joke around and talk any subject. Come and go as you please. I'll know if you arrive and leave a message. No, not my psychic skills, email notices...

Haunting Us While Still Alive!

Residual Haunting (defined by Wikipedia): Repeated playbacks of auditory, visual, olfactory, and other sensory phenomena that are attributed to a traumatic event, life-altering event, or a routine event of a person or place, like an echo or a replay of a videotape of past events.

PLEASE, SLOWLY RE-READ THAT MEANING ABOVE.

I think I might have a case for residual hauntings of the living. See if you might have some other examples that fit that meaning...








Is it just me, or do they make you feel like you're stuck in a freaking time loop as if they are the only characters left in the entertainment world?

DON'T FORGET LONELY ON A FRIDAY NIGHT TONIGHT AT 7 PM EST HERE ON THE BLOG

What We Learn in Ghost Hunting From Squirrel Wrangling

Y'all know me well enough to know that I'll get you from A to B safely, but the ride might be kind of wild. Don't close your eyes, though, cause you might miss some very important points of interest along the way and scenic views you never would have braved before.

So, what does squirrel wrangling teach us about ghost hunting?

Picture if you will, a squirrel gets into your house when the patio door is open. Other than running around screaming and opening every door and window, how do you get the little rodent out? You grab a sofa cushion and maybe start wrangling him towards the door. What does the little devil do then? He climbs atop your TV armoire. Okay, so you start nudging him down. Now that he's down, he darts off deeper into the house. What do you do next? You chase after him again, huh?

You poor stupid sap!

The squirrel could freaking do this all night long. He's not even working up a sweat like you're doing. In fact, he's probably laughing at your efforts!

Now the hunt is on!

Well they don't call it "ghost hunting" for nothing. How does a team go about tackling a house? Why, they go in teams of two or maybe the whole pack of them, combing from the front door into the rooms that have a lot of activity.

They go in, activity goes out. We could do this all night long, and we do!

So, what's a team to do if they concentrate themselves together and move as a group from room A to room B and manage to usher out the culprit?

There are a few ways to wrangle a squirrel. One, of course is to pique his curiosity and bring him to you. Something novel and unusual might do the trick. I release tension by having some small talk, laughter and revealing secrets about myself in a location. I chit chat, talk about the trials of everyday life and laugh and relax and something magical happens; I attract curious intelligence. You know that syndrome where if a captor knows his kidnap victim's name and life, he can't kill her? Well, it's kind of like that in ghost hunting. Once you've made yourself a real person, your threat is gone.

There's a window of time when a team first arrives, that it's very upsetting. Imagine for a moment that you're at home and someone comes in with a bunch of equipment and strange people and start taking over your space. Then, they start grilling you with questions.

Another variation of wrangling the squirrel is to put someone in each room, leaving one well covered room open and empty of the living. This is a target room. You're basically showing the squirrel (ghost) the only unoccupied space in which to retreat to.

We've heard J&G say it before, but it goes without saying, there is usually a hideout place in a home where few ever go that is a place to retreat. Look at the building as a family lives and moves about in it. What is the "safe room." Now, be sure to monitor it, but leave it without any people in there all evening.

There's a lot of ways to wrangle that squirrel, but remember, he's stressed and he's not going to make it easy. At some point, when you quit chasing him, he'll find that door or window, but he sure as hell won't do it when you're chasing him with a broom. At that point, he just wants to survive your flailing awkward movements.

Same goes for ghosts, chasing them with a video camera and voice recorder is hardly going to endear you. Even the spirit world hates paparazzi.

So, next time you're out ghost hunting, just consider yourself to be wrangling squirrels (or, if you're a parent, trying to give your 3-year-old antibiotic medicine).

You Might Be Steampunk If...

**you might have noticed a button on the right-hand side for my author's blog. I figured I should have a place for my writing world to stand on its own. Check it out and follow.**

(I'd like to thank Barry from Gnostalgia for helping prompt me with ones I hadn't thought of)

You like to read...
Edgar Allen Poe
Mary Shelley
H.G. Wells
Charles Dickens
Arthur Conan Doyle
Bram Stoker
Robert Louis Stevenson
Mark Twain
H.P. Lovecraft


You admire...
Nikola Tesla
Thomas Edison
Harry Houdini
Wilbur and Orville Wright
Samuel Morse

Your style tends towards...
gadgetry
safari
victorian
angliophile
pipes and reading jackets
pocketwatches and hats

You love these movies...
Sherlock Holmes
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Sweeney Todd
Sleepy Hollow
Edward Scissorhands
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Time Machine
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The City of Lost Children
Van Helsing
Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Hellboy
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Golden Compass
The Prestige
Dark City

If you like this art.

Blogs you might like...
Cooking Steampunk
Totusmel's Wunderkammer
The Steampunk Home
Gnostalgia

Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files Reviewed!

Wahoo! New season and, yes, new tank top shots. Answer is still the same--fact!

I have been waiting for this season to start forever! It moved back with GH, probably to save the old show's sagging ratings. So long as they keep it on, I'll watch it when I can get it. I have always said the premise for this show is fantastic, and I hoped that between season 1 and 2, we might see an evolution into something more endearing. Endearing? Well, we fell for Jason and Grant and their Skipper and Gilligan relationship and we fell for Josh Gates and his eccentric bunch of team members. Though I readily admit a monster crush on Ben Hansen (his brains and his looks, people!), I would like to see something that makes me come back week to week. A well-matched team could study a Triscuit cracker for a full hour and we'd be entertained to hear them speculate how they make it so airy and yet so weighty, so woven and yet so fragile. The truth is, they are likely to run into nothing terribly extraordinary, but it is our hope that they run into more scary X-Files like cases and no more mermaid stories or anything like leprechauns and the such.

So, now that their first episode of the new season aired last night, what is your review? I like to have these reviews driven by the readers who watch the show. I very very much want your feedback because the powers that be actually do read blogs and contemplate what the viewers desire. What are the show's strengths? Weaknesses? What do you want more of? What do you want less of? Did they handle the right topics last night in the right manner?

Thanks for your input ahead of time. I will voice my own review in the comments with you.

Don't Be a Dork!

Hey, I thought every now and then, I'd do a post "Don't Be a Dork!" Helping us to stay up on something we hadn't heard about before. We'll always be dorks, nerds and dweebs, but perhaps our eyes won't glaze over when people talk about current trends we didn't know about.

Today, it's a class of music referred to as trip hop/electronic rock.



Did you like the Eurythmics in the 90s? Well, there's something just as equally synthetic sounding and intriguing. This band, Phantogram, is a great example of trip hop/electronic rock.

Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music. It began in the mid-1990s, growing out of England's hip hop and house scenes, including that of the Bristol underground. It has been described as "Europe's alternative choice in the second half of the '90s", and a fusion "of Hip-Hop and Electronica until neither genre is recognizable.

Electronic rock, also commonly referred to as electro rock or digital rock, is rock music made generated with electronic instruments. It has been highly dependent on technological developments, particularly the invention and refinement of the synthesizer, the development of the MIDI digital format and computer technology.



(above; Blue Foundation)

Find a list of trip hop bands here.

Don't Forget Tonight on SyFy! & Contest

Email me if you want the transcript from the Q&A with Devin and Ben from Fact or Faked at psychic62@hotmail.com


The second season of "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" begins! DO NOT MISS THIS ONE! They will be handling exciting cases including Battle LA, a 1942 incident that activated the military and had enormous amounts of witnesses, as well as a case on the Queen Mary. For the review tomorrow, I have a new tank top shot. I'm debating whether I should show it. It's rather risque. Oh, I probably will. I don't know. Maybe I can be convinced...



Tonight, Syfy we have "Ghost Hunters" and they're finally getting smart and bringing a dog on the investigation-how long have I been touting that? Our dogs at Aspen Grove were extremely aware of the activity and they were an early warning sign like the dogs in LA that barked like mad before we had the 6.0 and gave me enough warning to get into a safe spot. Besides, something tells me the conversation with the dog and Jason might be more stimulating that Steve and Tango.



Did you like "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen" last night? Want a chance to win a meet and eat with Marcel? Check here.

Mind Fuck Tuesday: Hiking in Tucson in Search of Ancient Stones

Here's the question Julie and I are asking in our upcoming book "Spirit Vessels: Why Some Buildings Are Haunted" What did the ancients know about stones that we don't seem to recall?

My buddy in Tucson contacted me about his recent desert hike and finding of circles of HoHoKam grinding stones. This brought back the question of circular stands of stones, sometimes toted long distances to build sacred structures found in places like Egypt, the UK, the Americas, Easter Island and more. When wood was easier to use and more convenient, many cultures demanded certain structures be stone and specific types of stones.

To that end, Julie and I are planning to hike with our buddy in Tucson to do some research for the book in such a sacred place. We will also perform some experiments and look for phenomena. I am strong with theories, but I also like to go out in the field and test them.

Here's how I see it; certain stones, put into the right formations become ideal spirit vessels. They retain spiritual energy and amplify it like the echoing chambers of a music hall. Many generations of spiritual practices in one area are likely to retain more and more collective memory, as a haunted house under the right construction and atop the right geology might be an ideal site for spirit activity.

So, I hope to bring dowsing rods, compass, do some chanting and dancing and see what I can visualize of the past activity of the place. In general, by touching objects, I can visualize past movement and activities, people and purpose. I hope to, of course, take video and photos to share with y'all as we go through the process of this research. We're hoping to hit it in mid April before the damn rattlers come out to play.

Let me know what you think of this theory. We hope to hold up all the things we learn about the components of spirit vessels in one example of a famous haunted site that has all the attributes x 1000.

Destination Truth: Josh Gates Journals

(Enjoy this installment of my tween-like Beiber-crush'ish journals about Josh Gates and his fantastic show, "Destination Truth" and always shown with an appropriate pic of Josh and his necklace in keeping with the episode. Oh, and don't miss the trick quiz question at the end.)



Josh Gates Journal: March 22, 2011

Josh is looking for the Ucumar in Argentina, a Bigfoot/Yeti-like creature. They will be poking around an abandoned prison. He's sooooo brave! (heart beating fast)

I wish I could send Josh a protective cape like a superhero. OMG! He'd be so cute in it! I guess his totally cool necklace will protect him. (dreamy sigh)

He better not go to any beaches down there. Those women in bikinis in Argentina are beautiful. What if he falls in love? What if he marries a supermodel? What if they have kids??? OMG! I'd be totally devastated! (deep breath)

Just in case, I looked ahead in the TV guide and it doesn't look like he stops to get married along the way. (exhales) LOL, now I can concentrate on really important things like seeing Josh in his khakis! LOL

Josh, this video is for you. You won't notice any other women while in Argentina. You'll just be seeing this in your head the whole time...



QUIZ:
What piece of evidence got Josh international news attention?
a. Bigfoot hairs analyzed to be nonhuman primate.
b. A cast of a Yeti footprint.
c. The bones of a potential alien from a Chilean cave.
d. A photo potentially of the Orang Pendek.

**Don't forget tonight is the new show "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen" on Syfy and I do believe it will be one of my top favorite shows. I've seen 2 episodes and I'm very pleased!**

Shivers Monday: Urban Exploration

(Pretty accurate feel of what it's like to come across a place)

Urban exploration, without a more formal explanation basically means poking around abandoned places, whether it's sewers, houses, missile silos, asylums, you name it! It is something I absolutely adore and finding these places is not always that easy, although in today's world, it could be the house next door.

Still, there are laws being broken to trespass into such sites. I always make it a policy that if it has posted signs, I won't enter. I'm not stupid. I have a perfect record and I'd like to keep it.

Why do people do this? It's very hard to explain, but something happens when a home is no longer inhabited and weather and nature has taken over, rays of light shine through, random pictures still sit on wall. It's sad and lonely where once it provided shelter and joy.

As a psychic and a ghost hunter, these buildings are precious gold and I just want to absorb everything inside of them, which is probably why Julie and I wrote our book "Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition)" because we want to share the love of urban exploration along with the psychic reads of their past, one moment in time in thousands upon thousands of moments in those locales. It makes you realize how fleeting every day, every event, every occupants time in a place really are.


(This abandoned German Steel mill should win the steampunk building award!)

A great source of pics of such places is this site.

Now, if you want to do an artsy video, consider trying something like this--capture the mood and the time period. Use old or very cheap crappy cameras or use black and white and old film effects to age it.



*Just a warning, tomorrow's post about Josh Gates Journals will have my dancing butt in it, so I will apologize ahead of time to those who cannot take such sights! As well, expect me to talk on Mind Fuck Tuesday tomorrow about some stones in Tucson we're going to explore to work on a theory. You know how I love my theories!*

This Week in Paranormal TV and Horror Movies

*asterisk means I'm watching it.

MONDAY:
AMC: “Speed” (movie)
Syfy: “Being Human”

TUESDAY:
*Syfy: “Destination Truth” marathon with new season episode “Haunted prison; Ucamar” **Followed by the first episode of my new favorite “Marcel's Quantum Kitchen” where he has to design a safari-themed party.

WEDNESDAY:
*Syfy: “Ghost Hunters” finally adds a new intelligent member—a dog. Following this is the mucha awaited Season 2 opener of “Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files” with research into the Queen Mary and Battle LA. This is going to be awesome! Don't forget—tomorrow is my show review of FoF with the trademark tank top shot. I want your input.
History Channel: “Ancient Aliens” and “Journey to the Earth's Core”

THURSDAY:
Syfy: “Saw II” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” (movies)

FRIDAY:
AMC: “Predator 2” and “Terminator 2” (movies)
Travel Channel: “Ghost Adventures” marathon
History Channel: “Monsterquest”

Hunting Females

Hey, I want to thank Timoteo for this concept. He said I should write an instruction book on females and their mysteries and I figured I have more secret knowledge about women than I'll ever have about the ghost world.

Let's assume your purpose in understanding the female is to make a relationship and "get some" regularly, and perhaps not be in misery once achieving these goals.

Here's what you need to know about the female before you go hunting:

Your woman dresses up to go out. She does this so you know what a prize you have, but also because she knows you want to show others your status as the man who can get such a prize.

If you tell her that she needs to dress down because you want to wear jeans, don't expect to get any that night.

If you forget to tell her that she's so hot you don't know if you want to share her with the world, don't expect to get any for the next week.

If you DO tell her that she's so hot that you don't want to share her with the world and you use that as an excuse to just stay in for the evening, don't expect to get any for a month.

When it comes to women, don't forget to give us head. Yes, well, get your mind out of the gutter... It begins with planting a hint in a woman's head that you cannot wait to be with her later on. Let her simmer on that thought all day. Then, we you do have your woman at hand, you must make love to her head first. No, not promises and sweet words. Those are very nice, but women need connection, intimacy. Put your hands in her hair, the nape of her neck, hold her face as you kiss her, slip your tongue into her ear and pant lightly so she can tell you're aroused and when you go for her neck, feel her melt beneath you. The neck is such a highly vulnerable and tender place on a woman, her body pools with heat and moisture. This is a female's Achilles. It's at that moment, you can rock your most aroused part against her in a mating gesture and she will part her thighs and very likely beg you to be in her right this minute! Don't miss the opportunity to whisper desperately why she arouses you so much. A woman's purpose is to be attractive and draw you in to want her and she needs to hear that and she feels powerful in a very vulnerable moment knowing that you too are overwhelmed. If you go for the head and neck first, she will give you the most mind-blowing sex she can possibly produce.

We know that it's a man's tendency to come at the woman with both hands cupped, ready to go at the three points of interest, but this just annoying for the female. It becomes apparent that you are after her parts and not the woman inside. We want you to be mad for us and then be thrilled when you discover we also come with parts.

If a woman bitches at you about the toilet seat, the lack of hygiene or dish cleaning or dirty laundry, it's really just legitimate things to gripe about when there are other things we really can't address with you, like clumsy lovemaking, lack of compliments and support, ignoring foreplay, giving us a toaster oven for our anniversary...

If you try to control a woman by telling her how to dress, how to act, what to do, what not to do, you will get a woman preparing to rebel like an angry teenager.

Women have so much to offer. Depending on if you're looking for breeding, hot sex, someone to do things with or someone who stimulates your creativity or mind, we can serve all those purposes. So, beware how and why you choose a woman. Try and get a balance of someone you can both talk to and sleep with, laugh with and look at across the breakfast table. Yes, we come with great parts, but those parts are just the fun extras on someone who stimulates your mind, heart and inspires you to be even more, long before you even bed her.

One thing you really need to know about women is we know why you picked us and we lose all security as times goes on if you picked us for looks or sex because we will age and make babies and stretch and not snap back so fresh and pretty. If you picked us for your companionship but took little interest in the sexual aspect of the relationship, we will be a roommate and companion, but hardly the passionate love of your life. If a woman knows you picked her for several features, she will always feel secure and confident in the relationship which greatly reduces any jealousy issues when we know you need us for several purposes and not just one.

Don't worry, women, I only gave them a few of our secrets.

Adventure Sunday: First, Don't Grow Up! Next, Visit Your Local Cemetery!

(At a desert dump, I found some nipples. Most folks walk past them. Not me, I think, "Hey nipple shot!")

I remember the day I packed away my Barbie dolls when I was turning 13. I looked at them and sighed. It was sad. No more make-believe. No more trying out real life scenarios in the safety of a Barbie townhouse. Now I had to live in the “real world.”

Well, one thing I've found about ghost hunting and exploring the world of the paranormal is that there is no need to grow up. As adults, we have a lot of responsibilities. Really too many, but we do miss those days when we had summer off and our biggest concern was whether we'd hear the ice cream man when he cruised too fast by our houses.

The last frontier for those of us who want to stay young for life is to explore. To ask questions. To seek knowledge. To go on those adventures I'm always pushing on my Adventure Sunday posts. Ask my dear friend Julie and she will tell you that I am a big excited kid. I want to pull the car over to take a picture of a hilarious roadside sign that says “Caution: Slow Children” and I want to stop at every abandoned building to poke around in it and take photos. I want to see how far my voice carries on a scenic overpass. I want to buckle up Dale the Doll in the back seat to get some hilarious pictures of him doing things that Dale would be seriously embarrassed to pose with.

How can we not grow up? Be spontaneous. Pack a picnic. Blindfold your significant other. Take a road trip. Turn down any roads and see what you find. Go to the outskirts of town and explore the rural areas. Go take pictures next to a famous haunted railroad track. Go on a ghost tour and ask questions. Sit in your backyard with a camera on a clear night and look for UFOs.

You wonder why people are into the paranormal? Most of us have had the unexplained happen to us and want to know more, but the unifying factor is that we are inquisitive, don't always trust the grown-ups answers to things and sometimes have to get into the thick of it to understand it.

If you continue to explore the world of the paranormal and unexplained, the world of nature, the world of knowledge, you will always be young in body, mind and soul.

Shows I recommend to make you remain a curious kid:
“Destination Truth” (Syfy)
“Ancient Aliens” (History Channel)
“Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files” (Syfy)
“Ghost Hunters” (Syfy)
“Brad Meltzer's Decoded” (History Channel)
"Beast Hunter" (National Geographic)

Here's the gadget for the week; a clip-on watch/LED light/Compass all in one, $29.95 with free shipping. Okay, I'm part McGuyver, what do you expect from me?

Now, I suggest as it's thawing out, you take a stroll at some of the scenic cemeteries. It's not hard to find historic cemeteries in your area, just Google them. Here's some in different parts of the country that are very picturesque. One of the best ways to deal with concern about death is to spend some time walking around one of these gorgeous memorial parks. The headstones have intriguing epitaphs and the statues are often gorgeous and sad. Bring a camera! Bring a snack. Bring the whole family. Try your hand and capturing the mood, whether it's the dead trees above a headstone, taken from down below lying on the ground with the headstone reaching up to the trees and gray sky, or a view looking up a lichen-covered statue. Some of the best pictures you'll take are in cemeteries, some of the best hikes there, as well. There is something soul satisfying about the peaceful retreat and the realization we all are more than the headstones we leave behind. Get a new perspective, have a great hike, take amazing pictures and venture into your local cemetery. Bring some flowers, leave one each baby's grave. Whisper the names of people who died so long ago, no one visits them or says their name any longer. Let me know how your retreat goes. Here's just some cities around the US that have gorgeous and atmospheric cemeteries:


Detroit MI
(above) Woodlawn Cemetery, on Woodward between 7 and 8 mile, opened in 1896. Since then, according to cemetery estimates, more than 71,000 have been interred there. When Mr. Burton wrote his history of the City, Woodlawn was relatively new, and interred, he estimated, about 6,000.


Pittsburgh, PA
(above) Allegheny Cemetery
Located in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Allegheny Cemetery is one of Pittsburgh's largest, oldest and most picturesque cemeteries. More than 125,000 dead are interred on the grounds of the 300 acre rural garden cemetery.


Baltimore, MD
(above) Green Mount Cemetery. Gorgeous, very historic, amazing cemetery. 1501 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD 21202


Charleston, SC
(above) Magnolia Cemetery
70 Cunningham Ave
Historic and beautiful


Birmingham, AL
(above) Oakhill Cemetery
1120 N. 19th St
Historic


Houston, TX
(above) Glenwood Cemetery
The Glenwood Cemetery is located at 2525 Washington Avenue in Houston, Texas. It was the first cemetery in Houston to be professionally designed and opened in 1871. The cemetery is situated between Washington Avenue on the North side and Memorial Drive on the South side, the latter overlooking Buffalo Bayou.


San Diego, CA
(above) Since 1869. Mount Hope Cemetery is conveniently located near downtown at 3751 Market Street, San Diego CA 92102.



(above) Boise, ID
Dry Creek Cemetery
Established in 1865, is located northwest of Boise, Idaho, in a serene setting along the Boise Foothills. On a clear day one can see the State Capitol and the majority of the Boise Valley, a beautiful panoramic view.
Dry Creek Cemetery became a taxing district in 1936.