• About the Author
  • Archives
  • Categories
  • Return to Queer Paranormal

    • Archive for November, 2008

    « Older Entries

    Gobble, Gobble…


    2008 - 11.30

    Posted in family, friends, holidays, paranormal, personal, updates | Comments Off

    To sum up the last few days:

    Wednesday was a visit to an allegedly haunted home in East Cleveland (which I shall refrain from commenting on at this time). Thanksgiving was spent with friends at a fiercely non-traditional gathering hosted by my friend Bill. Friday was spent in the kitchen making pumpkin cheesecake and my special stuffing/dressing for family. Saturday was another long trip to visit my sister for a post-Turkey Day celebration before returning home and collapsing from exhaustion (not literally, mind you).

    Thanksgiving is one of the many holidays I can take or leave. Considering it’s an American holiday dating to the one time when Puritans and Native Americans were on good terms with each other, there isn’t much to celebrate in my opinion. Native peoples saved the invaders from starvation only to be persecuted and slaughtered for a few centuries… how utterly American to dress it up all pretty like some Rockwell painting of togetherness and joy. I would think a candlelight vigil would be a better homage…

    After recovering from sleep deprivation, I pulled my three-foot Christmas tree out of the closet today, but I’m still trying to figure out where to set it up. It’s too small for the floor, too big for my desk, and no other piece of furniture seems fitting for it. And then there’s the issue of choosing an outlet that isn’t in use. This could turn into an all-day project. And yes, I resurrected my Amazon.com Wishlist in time for the holidays. I need to get my hands on a few of the books to get back into the habit of regular reading again.

    Tomorrow, I’ll be writing about an author who combines his scientific background with parapsychology, so for those of you looking for hard science backing up paranormal research, you won’t want to miss this one…

    Not-So-Instant Replay…


    2008 - 11.28

    Posted in ghosts, ohio, personal, television, youtube | Comments Off

    Once more, I’m behind on posts! I’ll have to catch up late tomorrow when I’m back home from the late Thanksgiving dinner with family. Meanwhile, thanks to Chuck over at Creepy Cleveland, the videos from my Halloween appearance on Cleveland’s Channel 8 show That’s Life are now on YouTube!

    And here they are…

    Hell Town

    CryBaby Bridge

    Odd News Briefs…


    2008 - 11.26

    Posted in aliens, australia, cemeteries, england, history, medicine, news, science, space, werewolves | Comments Off

    In the last few busy weeks, several news stories fell through the cracks. Here’s a little glimpse at some of the obscure events happening around the globe.

    Keep You on Your Toes…

    Darlington, Victoria has a new claim to fame: it will soon be home to Australia’s first “vertical cemetery”. Bodies will be buried on biodegradable shrouds standing upright at a cost of $2000—that’s a savings of $5000 on a traditional burial. After all the plots are filled, it will become grazing and for cattle (gives a while new meaning to being put out to pasture, doesn’t it?). Critics in the mortuary business say it’s “disrespectful to the dead” but in these tough economic times, people aren’t too shook up over their rotting corpses.

    Mobile Monolith…

    After selling their historic manor in Abbotts Court, John and Suzy Burton planned to leave a stone circle constructed by fashion guru Thomas Burberry at the site. The developer made clear his plans to demolish the neo-pagan structure, so the couple decided to take it with them. Neighbors were caught off guard as trucks and cranes descended on the suburbs of Dorchester, setting up the the massive stones. Both practicing witches, the Burtons brought their coven to consecrate the grounds. The added positive energy to the neighborhood has been quite wel-received.

    Sweet Astronomy…

    Do extraterrestrials have a sweet tooth? It’s possible, since scientists recently found traces of glycoaldehyde—an organic compound related to simple sugar—some 26,000 light years from earth. The discovery, in a remote section of the central Milky Way where life was thought to be impossible, has brought up questions about other life forms existing in space. But the real, burning question is: one lump or two?

    Wolf Man No More…

    People suffering from “Werewolf Syndrome” may soon be able to live normal lives. Scientists at New York’s Colombia University have made advances in a possible treatment for hypertrichosis, involving testosterone injections. 50 people wordwide suffer from the disease, leading to excessive hair growth over the entire body. This is good news for patients, but bad news for razor manufacturers and circus sideshows.

    A Half Century of Science Fiction…


    2008 - 11.25

    Posted in anniversary, celebrities, doctor who, england, movies, television | Comments Off

    Sunday marked a milestone which passed me by entirely. It was the 45th anniversary of the British scifi series Doctor Who.

    On the day following John F. Kennedy’s assassination, November 23, 1963, the first episode of Doctor Who hit the airwaves. Through its many seasons, spinoffs, and incarnations, it has remained a popular story. It follows the adventures of “the Doctor”, a time-traveling alien “time lord” on his journeys throughout time and space, correcting injustices and exploring frontiers in a less-than-reliable archaic time machine known as the TARDIS.

    On an interesting side note, the show is featured in one of my favorite movies. In several scenes of Get Real, the lead character’s father is watching old episodes. A Doctor Who clock is proudly displayed on the wall and he is dressed as a Cyberman (one of the Doctor’s adversaries) as he prepares to attend a convention. On another interesting note, the lead actor (Ben Silverstone) is older than me… by only six days.

    The show has seen 751 aired episodes since the 1960s and is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running scifi series in history. Ten separate actors have been cast in the main role over the decades, including Peter Davison (’Tristan’ from All Creatures Great and Small) and the most current, David Tennant.

    This show marked my first indoctrination into scifi only a few years ago and quickly became a favorite. Its mix of real history, bizarre creatures, philosophical undercurrents, and quirky humor add to its unique charm.

    So, happy belated birthday, Doctor Who. Here’s to hoping for many more years of fantastical oddities…

    A Change Will Do You Good…


    2008 - 11.24

    Posted in gay, paranormal, personal, updates, websites | Comments Off

    Since I’ve been completely neglecting my duties as webmaster/co-founder, I finally decided to get a little work done on P.R.O.U.D. (Paranormal Researchers Out and United in Diversity), the networking site Buck and I created. The main goal for today was a change in color. I’m not sure about the rest of you, but the orange text was boring me to no end!

    So, to give it a little overhaul and a more “spiritual” scheme, I switched to shades of indigo and violet. Much easier on the eyes. And while I was there, I decided to help fill up some of the forum areas that were lacking. Six posts seem to be a good start. The banner is still slightly difficult to read, but I’ll figure it out eventually.

    Otherwise, I still have to get things finished and uploaded on my regular website, work on Christmas ideas, and send out a few more queries (probably next week, since Thursday is a holiday) along with the usual “yah, mule, yah” of subservitude in certain affairs. But I shall rank items in the coming months by a) importance; and b) purpose. After all, life is too short to be led from the barn only to get hitched to a plow for a few hours before being sent back into your stall in the barn. That means the new word for 2009 will be “diversify“.

    And so… once more unto the breach, dear friends! Time for me to slap that feed bag across my mouth and plow ahead!

    Keys to a Secret Melody…


    2008 - 11.24

    Posted in cape cod, massachusetts, mysteries, news, piano | Comments Off

    A mystery surfaced this weekend along a dirt road near Harwich, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. A piano of unknown origin found itself lost in the woods.

    Discovered by a hiker at 3:00 PM Saturday, the Baldwin upright piano sitting peacefully in a wooded section of Bell’s Neck Conservation Area has perplexed authorities. It was perfectly in tune and came complete with bench. Given its immense weight, this was no simple feat. It took several men to move the instrument back to storage as police await answers.

    Was it theft, abandonment, or a prank? No one has come forward to claim it. The Arcosonic upright, model number 987 – serial number 733746, remains in police custody as local law enforcement search for its rightful owner. Anyone knowing information related to its origins or the individuals who moved it to the site are asked to contact Harwich police.

    Is it the work of Liberace’s ghost, a tortured pianist seeking solitude, or bored teenagers? The ivories aren’t telling…

    The Curious Case of a Michigan Haunting…


    2008 - 11.23

    Posted in apparitions, cases, ghosts, michigan, paranormal, people, photos | Comments Off

    I was recently referred by a friend to a woman living in rural Michigan with strange tales about her haunted home. For the past two years, she and her daughter have experienced countess unexplainable phenomena in the 130-year-old house. While she has been too terrified to attempt any audio recordings, she has taken hundreds of photographs hoping to gather some evidence to support her claims.

    As is often the case, many of the images relayed to me by the owner are too difficult to judge as “paranormal” in nature. She does not use a flash, afraid that it could adversely effect any ghostly phenomena, therefore many of the images are darkened beyond recognition. Yet one stands out above the rest. After her dog began reacting to some unseen presence, she snapped a photograph in her living room in the direction of her dog’s agitation.

    What appeared on the left side of the image was the figure you see here* to the left of the text. No one else was in the home at the time. It might appear menacing to some, though I feel it could easily be a teenage boy dressed in Goth clothing.

    As I help her find a local investigation team to explore her case, I can’t help but wonder about the effects of camera flash in investigation techniques. Perhaps she’s on to something. Would the same results have occurred with a flash? Everyone has their own unique methods of capturing evidence. It might be something interesting to try in the future… even though I loathe the digital camera and its use in investigations.

    So, just what else have we been missing while blinding each other with brilliant halogen flashes? Instead of highlighting dust “orbs” and mosquito “faeries”, could we be missing the good stuff?

    *The image was brightened for this post for clarification.

    Dashing Through the Snow…


    2008 - 11.22

    Posted in classes, evp, ghost hunting, ghosts, paranormal, personal, updates | Comments Off

    Another class was finished tonight with members of Cuyahoga Valley Paranormal. The topic was electronic voice phenomena (EVP). Once more, the time flew by too fast and not everything was accomplished, but everything went smoothly. Participants joined us in an attempt to capture voices on tape in the upstairs theater in the former Grant School. While I haven’t analyzed my tape yet, one woman was pushed by an unseen force.

    Otherwise, I’m exhausted. So much to do, so little time. And there are always so many things to catch up on. Emails to send, queries to write, research to do… not to mention a never-ending list of plans and menial tasks waiting for completion. Perhaps Mother Nature wasn’t so off course with this wintry weather. It gives me a little time to sow down and get to work.

    A Disappointed Demon and Nutty Ghosts…


    2008 - 11.20

    Posted in celebrities, comedy, demons, ghosts, humor, paranormal, television, video, youtube | Comments Off

    My comedic tastes range from the traditional to the insane. And with the latter, one New York comedy troop comes to mind: The Whitest Kids U’Know. Their sketches range from absurd to offensive, yet comedy (as with beauty) is in the eye of the beholder.

    I’ve been overdue for a good dose of comedy and thought I’d share with you all a few interesting video clips from their program. Surprisingly, they each have a paranormal theme. The first follows a demon assigned to a Ouija board at a slumber party. It’s followed by a skit surrounding an office worker plagued by the supernatural. Like most jokes from WKUK, they speak entirely for themselves.

    The second video is definitely not safe for work… though it is work-themed.

    Ouija Board Demon

    Can You See Them?

    Making It Count…


    2008 - 11.20

    Posted in census, government, personal, tests, updates, work | Comments Off

    This morning, I decided to take a chance and apply for the 2010 US Census slated for this coming summer. They were having the test and application process at my local library, so I really had no convenient excuse.

    There were only four people in attendance, including me, so everything went by quickly and smoothly. The exam, just shy of 30 multiple-choice questions, was graded at the end so we were given instant results. I had the highest score: 100%. The instructor was a bit shocked, since he hadn’t graded a perfect exam in a very long time. This includes a 17-year-old high school student who missed one recently.

    So yes… I’m smarter than a high school student. Which, given the state of our educational system, doesn’t say much.

    Now, it’s back to the waiting game to see if I’m selected. Considering the number of census records I’ve researched over the years, I think I could handle the work and have a decent grasp of the data collected. Plus, it’s a government job… which would look quite favorable on my resume. I’m not too concerned about the background check, but we shall see what they say.

    It’s another opportunity to be a part of history. Every little bit counts!

    « Older Entries