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It's blisteringly hot today here in Boston, so I guess Summer is not going quietly. Tis another lazy Monday afternoon at BoA : HQ, so that can only mean one thing ... News Watch time, baby.
This week, in the Hot 5 from the Debris Field, we've got pigs helping ducks, Neil Armstrong in Malaysia, a big cat in the UK, someone craps on SETI, and an escaped monkey bites a butt. Future News Now looks at one troubling aspect of the post-Katrina US. Khyron is off buying textbooks for college, so I pen this week's "That's Entertainment !", where I take you inside my Tivo to see what I'll be watching for the new Fall TV Season. "My Fandom : Year 2" looks at the just concluded Red Sox v. Yankees series from this past weekend. Noory Story Showdown scores and, finally, another editorial on Katrina, this time I get all conspiratorial.
3, 2, 1, let's go !
Hot 5 Stories from The Debris Field
The links are straight from Lesley's blog The Debris Field. The commentary is pure binnall.
1>Duck Club Uses Pigs to Keep Seagulls Away (Earthlink)
http://start.earthlink.net/article/str?guid=20050905/431bc2c0_3421_13345200509051576812832
Ducks and Pigs living and working together. A sign of the apocalypse ? Perhaps. A rare sign of human ingenuity ? Certainly.
The gist of it is that the Duck Club in some town, whose name I can't recall, was being harassed by Seagulls. They can't shoot them, because they're the state bird, oddly enough, so they bring in Pigs which ferret out the gull nests and eat the eggs. The pigs are scared of the ducks and don't mess with them. Nature in balance, despite mankind, you gotta love it.
After other methods failed to be anything more than a temporary fix, a rancher near the club suggested the pigs would root in the gull nests for eggs and disrupt the breeding cycle. The pigs were turned loose every April and roamed the islands until mid-June.
The pigs stay away from geese, which are twice as big as the weaners and have a frightening hiss.
2>Neil Armstrong: Manned Mars mission 20 years away (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2005-09-06-mars-armstrong_x.htm
Only Neil Armstrong could emerge from his seclusion in Kuala Lampur, of all places. But that he did, for some leadership conference. While ol' Neil did not mention UFOs or conspiracy, he did make a clear statement on future space travel. Much like the rest of the thinking populace, he realizes that NASA is awful (though I don't think he outright said it) and that it will take decades, at least, till they can get to Mars.
How terribly embarrassing and sad that the first man to walk on the Moon probably won't live to see us set foot on Mars. We'd be there right now, if not for the powers that be holding us back. The Phil Plaits and Seth Shostaks of the world can blather on about NASA, but the fact of the matter is that they have not passed the test of time and are doomed to an ultimate failing grade. Don't be sad, the Wright Brothers don't own an airline company, i.e. just 'cause you're first doesn't mean you're the best.
The first man to walk on the moon noted that scientists must develop better onboard spacecraft technology and stronger protection shields from harmful space radiation before a manned flight to the Red Planet can be accomplished.
"It will certainly be 20 years or more before that happens," Armstrong said during a global leadership forum.
"It will be expensive, it will take a lot of energy and a complex spacecraft. But I suspect that even though the various questions are difficult and many, they are not as difficult and many as those we faced when we started the Apollo (space program) in 1961." 3>Has the beast struck again? (thisislocalondon.com)
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.626386.0.has_the_beast_struck_again.php
If you are like me, you're a big fan of the Beast of Ongar. Okay, okay, I have no clue what the Beast of Ongar, but with a name like that, how can you not be a fan. Until you find out it is one of the infamous UK "big cats".
I count the "big cat" angle to be about as compelling as Noory's beloved "big bird" angle. I'm still waiting for some bedraggled witness to claim to have seen his dog eaten by a "big hamster". Then I'll become a fan. For now, it's just big animals that we already know about.
A NEW big cat' sighting has been reported to the Guardian, seven years after we first covered the story of what has become known as the Beast of Ongar.
A large black animal has been seen in fields off Moreton Road, Ongar, and there have also been reports of a deer and other animals being killed and a horse being attacked in the area in recent weeks. 4>SETI politics (The Space Review)
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/444/1
Wha ? Another article crapping all over Seth Shostak. Yes, we double dip this week. For once, someone else does this crapping, the author of this article we feature, and boy does he crap on them. From an austere point of view, they go on to say that SETI is fascinating but sadly pigeon holed into one view point : alien exist, we can hear them, but they're not coming here. He seems to challenge SETI to pick up the UFO subject, but we all know that's not happening.
Most amusing is how he goes on a pretty nice tangent about SETI is not respected by the science community. Ironically enough, it is not respected by the UFO community either. So, I guess no one respects SETI, save for those folks who collect a paycheck from them and Paul Allen, who was crazy enough to open up his checkbook for them. This is the type of article that really must drive Seth Shostak crazy, so I applaud the author for a job well done.
SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has a fundamentally fascinating hypothesis. Not only do SETI researchers assume extraterrestrial life exists, which most mainstream scientists now take as a given, but they further theorize extraterrestrial civilizations exist that can be detected from Earth. Since about 1960, a handful of SETI researchers have tested that hypothesis by scanning the heavens using radio telescopes and increasingly powerful, sophisticated search programs. Optical SETI, looking for ET laser pulses, is now beginning. The political situation of the times, however, has pushed those interested in SETI into a narrow philosophical position.
Most humans want their life's work to be something respectable, especially to friends and close associates, and SETI researchers are no different. Unfortunately for them, SETI has not always been respected by the scientific community at large, and certainly not by Congress. NASA started a modest SETI program in 1992, but Congress quickly shut it down. Since then, American SETI programs have been university-funded, or funded through private donations. The SETI community has been trying to establish the credibility of its chosen field ever since.
5>Pet Monkey Escapes, Bites Boy on Buttocks (earthlink)
http://start.earthlink.net/article/str?guid=20050908/431fb740_3ca6_15526200509081130194625
What made me sit up and notice this was that it took place in Kuala Lampur. The exact same location as Hot Story #2. Hmm. Could there be a Neil Armstrong/Mars/Monkey/Buttock connection ? Quick ! Someone call Hoagland.
This also must go on record for the shortest story ever featured in Hot Newz : a mere 2 paragraphs. In fact, the entire article is excerpted here, a first for News Watch. Forever, the monkey bites buttocks article will hold the record.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A monkey, apparently a pet, escaped, then chased a 12-year-old boy into his house and bit him on the buttocks in the western Malaysian state of Pahang, a news report said Friday.
The monkey, which was believed to be a pet animal because there was a chain around its neck, ran up and down the street in the housing area in Kuantan town as it appeared just after dusk Wednesday, scaring people into their homes, the Bernama news agency reported.
Total Gun Confiscation of Law Abiding Citizens Begins (infowars.com)
http://www.infowars.com/articles/new_orleans/no_gun_grab.htm
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there is only one place to go if you want to be totally freaked out and convinced the government is taking over : infowars.com, of course. Alex Jones laid out probably four stories that could have been featured in "Future News Now", as it seems like the post-Katrina recovery effort looks like a template for New World Order madness.
I've been predicting Waco like shootouts if they tried to force people out of NO. Thankfully, after this story was published, the government rescinded it's forced evacuation policy. It appears the government realized Waco like shootouts were a possibility so they were in the process of rounding up guns. If you are licensed to have a gun and the government comes to take it and you give it to them, you are a moron.
The federal government has been chomping at the bit for decades to disarm the American people, and now an amalgamation of state and local police led by the BATF are having their deepest desire fulfilled in New Orleans.
Major newspapers are reporting that in middle-class neighborhoods undamaged by floodwaters paramilitary police are going door-to-door demanding citizens' firearms.
The New York Times even admitted that this is so that the citizenry cannot resist when they are physically forced to leave their homes.
That's Entertainment !
Our entertainment man, Khyron is still in the midst of getting his world restored as he begins another year of higher education. In an attempt to not strip mine his blog, the fantastic khyron.net , binnall will take to the streets again with That's Entertainment ! for this week at least.
For more Khyron in the meantime, visit khyron.net
binnall's Fall TV Preview
It's a little known fact that I am a TV junkie. Much to the chagrin of my esotericist friends who insist television is the devil and the feeding trough of the sheeple. Talk to the hand, sister, because I needs my TV.
This fall we see a few new shows that look good, a few returning shows that look promising, a much hyped spin off, and some other stuff. Here's what is going onto my Tivo Season Pass list ...
The Office (NBC, Tuesdays, 9:30)
I fell in love with this show when it first came on and was psyched to see it return this Fall. Steven Colbert is a genius and his role of the oblivious boss is the jinkiest. Pretty much the entire cast is great and they all look like real people, which helps make the show seem so fresh. The humor is off the wall but down to earth at the same time and the awkward silences that hang there after jokes are a riot.
Survivor : Guatemala (CBS, Thursdays, 8:00)
I'm an enormous Survivor fan. I'd fallen out of it after a few years, but the All Star edition brought me back. Since then each season has been different and intriguing. Totally addictive, it seems like each installment goes by faster than the last. I've enjoyed how they've played with the set up as times goes by, to the point where they always manage to pull out a few surprises and rule changes each season. Using my News Watch psychic skills, I will predict this season's winner ... a woman, aged 30 (give or take 2 years), possibly blonde.
Apprentice : Martha Stewart (NBC, Wednesdays, 8:00)
I hate Martha Stewart, but I love the Apprentice. What to do ? I know my mother will enjoy this, as she is a big Martha Stewart mark. Much like Survivor, Apprentice is addictive if you follow the show from week to week. Skip out on a few weeks, you've lost the show and you just don't care anymore. I enjoyed last season's Apprentice with Trump and I think they'll breathe new life into the vehicle with MS taking the helm.
My Name is Earl (NBC, Tuesdays, 9:00)
Looks promising. One of the most hyped shows of the season, which usually means it goes big or goes bust. I'm thinking this one may go big, if it works in tandem with The Office, which it seems to do. The cast of characters look more like normal people, for the most part, and the setting looks like some dreary mid-west city, as opposed to LA or NY where all other sitcoms seem to take place. I'll give it a shot to win me over.
Arrested Development (FOX, Mondays, 8:00)
An old favorite. This plucky little guy just seems to keep hanging in there. Awesome comedy, filled with great storytelling, vibrant characters, and a ton of laugh out loud moments. Easily the best sitcom of the past couple of years, though The Office may give it a run for it's money this year. Looking forward to more adventures with The Bluth family.
The War at Home (FOX, Sundays, 8:30)
I managed to catch the pilot of this show last night. So far so good. It reminded me a lot of Roseanne, but in a good way. They ventured into storylines that you normally never see on TV family sitcoms like "is our son gay" and "oh no, our daughter wants to date a black guy". A good show if you have kids. I don't, but I still thought it was pretty funny.
Coast-esque shows
From the success of Medium and Lost, it looks like there are a bunch of "Coast-esque" shows (i.e. dealing in esoterica). I confess, I know next to nothing about those, but I'm sure we'll find out if they are any good after a few weeks. I'm usually a stickler for authenticity, so I will probably be more chagrined if they botch details trying to tell compelling scripted dramas. (See the film "White Noise" to catch my drift)
Scheduling Conflicts
Due to some shows being on the air against some of my favorite and new shows I want to see, it is time to say goodbye to some shows I probably will be forced to give up on. So long, Stacked. It was fun while it lasted. I'll miss Pamela Anderson's ample breasts and the various ways they attempt to come up with original ways to draw attention to them. It's been real, Amazing Race. After you had Boston Rob on there, it was never the same anyway. I'll always remember that time you had the midget as a contestant. Everybody Hates Chris, another of the most hyped shows of the season, will not get my viewing pleasure as it is against Survivor, which wins out every time. Hopefully, EHC won't get cancelled before I get to see it.
Biggest new show : How I Met Your Mother
First show to be canceled : Freddie
Potential to be decent : Kitchen Confidential, Head Cases
Surely awful : Supernanny
So there you have the new Fall TV Season. Yes, for the most part it looks like crap. But there are still a handful of reasons not to totally give up on broadcast TV.
My Fandom : Year 2
After an awesome week where they took two out of three on the Anaheim Angels, including a breathtaking walk off homerun from "Big Papi" David Ortiz, the Red Sox headed down to NYC to do battle with the hated Yankees. Like any good Bostonian, I was glued to my TV watching this series with bated breath.
Sadly, my prediction to one of my cohorts was bass ackwards. I'd said that the Sox would probably win the first and third game, but lose the second. Sadly, the exact opposite happened and the hated Yankees are still in contention for the AL East title. Breaking it down, it all began on Friday night with the boisterous David Wells taking the mound for the Sox against some guy named Smalls who pitched for the Yankees. Unfortunately, Wells just didn't have his stuff Friday and Smalls was lucky to be facing most of the Sox for like the first or second time, a situation that usually quiets their bats.
The Sox also made an astoundingly annoying four errors throughout the game. Each one seemed more embarrassing than the last. Despite trying to rally some at the end of the game, the Sox fell to the hated Yankees, shrinking their lead to 3 games.
I was not looking forward to seeing Curt Schilling pitch on Saturday and I was beginning to think we were on the precipice of a great meltdown ... until he scorched the hated Yankees in a remarkable game. I'd been lamenting for weeks that Schilling has gotten no run support each time he's started this past month, but this time he got plenty and he pitched a hell of a game. Pundits say he looked almost like the Schilling of old and if he can stay in this form, they've got a good chance heading into October. The Sox regained the 4 game lead with a pretty decisive victory here.
Then came the rubber match on Sunday afternoon. By now I was getting exhausted as they'd played both games at one in the afternoon over the weekend, a painful chore for a night owl like me. Thankfully, this game flew by and was essentially a hardcore pitchers duel between Crazy Randy Johnson and Tim Wakefield. Randy Johnson was glaring at all the Sox players like they stole his milk money and Wakefield pitched one of his best games ever, keeping the hated Yankees down to something like 3 hits total. Sadly, one of those hits was a homerun by Jason Giambi, which won the game, by a quiet one to nothing shutout.
So, we're left with the Sox having a 3 game lead over the hated Yankees going into next week with a little over 20 games to go. The two teams meet again, at Fenway Park in Boston, for the final three games of the season. It may turn into a mini-playoff if the Sox can't grow their lead some. Meanwhile, the hated Yankees are left still very much fighting to even get into the playoffs as they are now one and a half games out of the wildcard race.
I'm hoping against hope that the Yanks will miss the playoffs this year, just to see the fallout in New York. It shant be pretty. As the race heats up, I'll do my best to keep you informed from this side of the fence.
The Noory Story Showdown
Announcement : Divisional Championship : $20 dollar BoA store shopping spree to the poster with most points in the forum that doesn't win the championship. Send inquiries re: this to binnall. Prizes for NS I are being mailed shortly. 1000 apologies for the delay.
This Week's Point Getters : I tried my best to sift through and tabulate proper Katrina earned points. Only 5 first run episodes this week, so less scoring overall.
Streamlinkers : FAZER : "Women dies in cemetary"
theUSofE.com : Oscar : "NO Mayor orders authorized forced evac", "Katrina Victims to Get $2K Debit Cards", "NOAA ISSUES SPACE WEATHER WARNING; SOLAR FLARE".
baemark : "Bush to seek $40 Billion in disaster aid", "Water level droping in NO", "Bush nominates Roberts as Chief Justice"
theorist : "Man survives snooze under moving train", "Infections kill 3 after Katrina", "Drunk woman dies in cemetery accident", "Hurricane Ophelia churns off East Coast"
PB@J : "CA earthquake could be next Katrina"
Current Standings as of 9.12.5 : Oscar (45), Baemark (40), mirage (10), Tony1 (6), somnus (5), dark matter (5), theorist (4), jerikai (4), Majestic Peak (3), FAZER (2), WTL (2), Green Moon (2), Shredder (2), Japanese American (2), SomeAverageJoe (2), 1234 (2), anotherlight (1), cns (1), qwerty (1), Nettie (1), and PB@J (1).
Score 1 point for posting a news story that gets read by George Noory, Art Bell, or a guest host on the show. Stories posted after they are read by the hosts do NOT count. If you are not credited by me in News Watch, YOU are responsible for letting me know that I missed it. You can ONLY post your news stories in either the Streamlink message board "Current Events" folder or the U.S. of E. message board "Current Events" folder. (News Stories posted in individual episode folders or "Anything Goes" do not count)
The WINNER is the person with the most Noory Story points (cumulative) in the January 2nd, 2006 Edition of News Watch.
The 1st PRIZE is a $40 dollar shopping spree @ the official binnallofamerica.com store.
The 2nd & 3rd place PRIZES are binnallofamerica.com T-Shirts and a mystery surprise item.
Any questions / comments can be sent to tbinnall@hotmail.com This contest is REAL. No wagering, please. Editorial
Someone, somewhere does not want to see this "Back to School" Editorial. In light of the tragic events of last week, we opt to discuss them instead of ripping on schools. We may do it next week, but if not, the gist of it is "schools stink" and "those who can't, teach". I was also going to encourage kids to drop out of school, which would have been funnier had I extrapolated more. However, we have serious business to take care of this week ...
Hurricane Katrina : "The 2005 Plan B Theory" (TM binnall)
Twas four years ago since I bounded up the stairs to cook myself a Hot Pocket and the world changed. The news of the day greeted me like an onslaught of insanity. It would be a year before I dove headlong into esoterica, but this may have been the world event that convinced me that there was something happening here, and I didn't know what it was. Did I, Mr. Jones ?
This year the anniversary was eclipsed by the events of Hurricane Katrina and the very 911-like aftermath. TV telethons bereft with A-list celebrities, endless charity drives, those obnoxious ribbons, it's all there. Now, all that exists to remember 911 this year is some brief moments of silence and then we move on to the latest botched job done by the government.
A part of me wants to advance a new theory, based upon my own delvings into esoterica. Equal parts Richard C. Hoagland, Alex Jones, and Sherman Skolnick, I call it the "2005 Plan B Theory". And it goes a little something like this ... the "powers that be" really wanted to blow up a nuke in America this Summer. Crazy folks like Alex Jones figured it out and screamed and yelled about it. After word got around the underground all Summer, it was damn near impossible to pull of their evil nuke plan. So, they dug into their files and came up with "Plan B", a massive natural disaster.
If the Illuminated Puppet Masters are as truly diabolical and skilled as some claim they are, they steered a Hurricane to New Orleans, blew up the levees, and created an effect almost as devastating, if not more, as a nuke attack. I believe they are that diabolical, but nothing quite tells me they are that skilled. With no natural enemy to blame this on, it keeps the conspiracy nutters off their tail for a while, save for those loonies who go on late night radio and rant about "weather wars" (I'm looking your way, RCH). And who is going to believe those folks anyway ?
The outcome remains the same : martial law, freaked out populace, advancement of tyrannical rule. Notice the yelping about how bad FEMA is. That's quite a reaction to the problem. I know what will help, a solution ... hmm ... I know, less freedom !
Meanwhile, everyone forgets about that war going on in Iraq and no one seems to be too worried about terrorists anymore. Setting it all up for the next shoe to drop. Like when the magician draws attention to his shapely assistant, we don't notice he's stuffing a dove into a hat.
Sure, the "2005 : Plan B Theory" is insane. But it's the best we've got, dammit. Otherwise, we just might have to declare War on Mother Nature. And then, look out all you hippies, because they'll be coming for the tree huggers first.
I want to thank everyone who has checked out the Season Premiere of BoA: Audio, Season One, with Jim Marrs. We've already gotten tons of feedback on the hour long interview and I'm looking forward to hearing what y'all think of the future episodes of our series. If you haven't checked out this landmark interview, you're missing out, big time.
Plugs : Tomorrow, Lesley takes a much deserved week off from "Grey Matters" and we'll be running a "Classic Grey Matters". You'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out just which one will be featured. Wednesday, could be "ghost files" could be something else. You'll know when I do. Thursday's Hot Newz will see the C2C stars help revive an ailing TV series heading into this coming Fall TV season. Friday, binnall report, with all the usual trimmings. Saturday, BoA : Audio, Jim Marrs (Part 2 of 2). We conclude our discussion with talk of Remote Viewing, 911, and some other esoteric stuff heretofore not fully discussed, to the best of my knowledge, with Mr. Marrs. Late night Saturday night, it's Saturday Night Punnett, the cult favorite that is part reality show, part mocumentary. Later in the afternoon on Sunday, its Smoker Dave with his poignant, at times caustic, look at the world. And, we round it all up here on Monday with another edition of News Watch. binnallofamerica.com : You've got to admit, it's getting better. It's getting better all the time.
That does it for this week. Until next week, be safe, be prepared, and be real.