Spooked!

Psychics in the European Union just might be feeling a bit of performance anxiety in the near future.

Since 1951, the Fraudulent Mediums Act has protected both psychics and their customers. Proof of fraud is required, thus convicting a fortune teller of misdeeds has been so difficult that only ten people have been found guilty in the past two decades. Now there is talk of instituting a new Consumer Protection Regulations. Disclaimers announcing the experimental nature of readings and no guarantee of results will be necessary, thought they will not always avoid civil action by both consumers and skeptics.

Cries of religious persecution are ringing out in England. Essex Spiritualist Carole McEntee-Taylor says these disclaimers require psychics to “lie and deny their beliefs” to avoid persecution and/or prosecution. Her husband David believes the new law “…is taking a religion… and turning it into a financial transaction.”

Others, such as researchers for BadPsychics (who also have a spin-off site, BadGhosts), believe this will bring more good than harm. Countless grieving families spend money in hopes to communicate with the deceased. Now, they will have a platform to fight back.

Honestly, if you’re such an incredible psychic that you charge people a hefty amount of money for your time, shouldn’t you be willing to defend it… even in a court of law?

It was a good weekend, but a long one. I’m still feeling worn out, but I’ll be back to normal tomorrow. So much to catch up on… and I’m too tired and sore to do it now!

When a building is haunted, most people try their best to ignore or deny the presences.

Not Goodwin House Bed & Breakfast in Burton, Ohio. They welcome the spirits. And don’t mind talking about them.

This 1828 house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built by Dr. Erastus Goodwin and most of the structure remains original, right down to the woodwork and foundation. The innkeepers quarters may date back as far as 1814. A few guests and paranormal investigators have reported unusual experiences, especially in the dining room. Robyn Morris, the innkeeper, heard her name called by an unknown person.

Of course, there are a few other hauntings in town. At least one spirit (”Peter”) is said to haunt Full Spectrum Art Studio. Burton Fox Inn, a former restaurant and boarding house in the southwest corner of Burton Square, is haunted by a little boy named “Charlie”. Belle’s Colonial Restaurant has been plagued by mysterious footsteps.

The Goodwin House, along with several other local haunts, will once again be a stop for the “Ghosts of Burton Historical Tour” on October 18th and 25th, so mark your calendars! Last year, the tour sold out so if you’re interested be sure to reserve tickets as soon as they’re available! The cost of the tour is $18 for adults. Call (440) 834-5050, email ghostsofburton@hotmail.com, or visit www.goodwinhousebb.com.com.

Aah, Easter. Tomorrow is the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days following his crucifixion. What that has to do with coloured eggs, marshmallow Peeps, and a giant white rabbit, I’ll never know…

Actually, Easter coincidentally originally fell on the Spring Equinox, when pagans celebrated the return of spring and the fertility of the coming year’s crops. The name itself, “Easter”, is believed to have originated from Eostre, the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. I guess we tend to mix things up over the centuries…

I’ll spare you all the usual ranting about misconstrued history and instead give you a bit of humour from Australia. The following clips are from CNNNN (2002-2003), a comedy show which preceded The Chaser’s War on Everything. After five long years, they’re still quite amusing…

What better way to honour Easter than to discuss Christianity and homosexuality?

“Why I endure under force majeure slander without shame or tact
I who studied make-up, mime and Buddha who taught two generations to react
About me the critics lied I ignored them and survived
in spite of coming under friendly fire
shot in the fatal cause of rock-and-roll
I have nothing, really nothing, to deny”

One thing in life is certain: the things you say to someone will often come back to haunt you.

Or eventually be thrown back in your face.

We all feel the need to vent out frustrations and disagreements. Most of us have our ways: talking to close friends, working out, even blogging. I’ve always been more of a writer, so I prefer to disperse any grievances through words. Be them emails or long, drawn-out journal entries, I find the most therapeutic (and humorous) way to express my inner bitchiness.

Occasionally, people will tell me “be careful what you write… you never know who may be looking”. So what? If I write something in a message to someone or in a journal, odds are I don’t care who reads it. I’m not out to be the most politically correct person who ever walked the earth. I spent too long trying to please anyone around me… tip-toeing around my words as not to offend or upset.

In reality, people become offended and upset no matter what. There is no way of expressing your view without someone feeling insulted, degraded, misunderstood, or worried. Everyone interprets things differently. What I may find to be laughable, others may think is dead serious. Guess what, people? Life isn’t that serious. Life is funny. People are funny (and often more amusing than apes eating their own feces, though amusing in the same manner).

I find much reason to laugh at life and people. Of course, in all fairness, I laugh and poke fun at myself just as much. We are all funny creatures… and often the more serious we try to play ourselves to be, the more humorous we appear.

The difference between my “humor” and some comments made by unassuming people? My jibes are all meant in playful fun. I’m not out to personally attack someone. I mean what I say and say what I mean. If I think something is foolishness or absurd, I’ll play that up to the utmost level. I may appear to personally attack someone from time to time, but I merely add a little whimsy to the caricature they paint of themselves.

I don’t go for the throat. I don’t speak of unfamiliar matters. I don’t degrade someone for having a differing opinion. I know and understand humbleness and humility. I accept the world for what it is.

Still, I’ve found myself the target of many snarky, arrogant, and degrading remarks and comments many times. Words intended to belittle and insult. Sometimes from the people who proclaim politeness the strongest. Negative energies from “positive-only” peoples.

I’m human, so yes it will effect me. But I don’t allow it to gain a stranglehold over my existence. I vent it out and move on. And often, I simply turn it into a funny, witty anecdote.

After all, most people are far more humorous than they realize.

66% Alexis Denisof (actor)
64% Philip Seymour Hoffman (actor)
61% Lance Bass (gay singer, N*SYNC)
56% Vyacheslav Molotov (Russian diplomat)
54% Sean Lennon (singer, son of John Lennon)
53% Jay Hernandez (actor)
53% Elvis Costello (singer)
53% Matt Stone (co-creator, South Park)

Who cares about the brushfires? The Australian state of Victoria has bigger concerns: a 16-year-old who has made global headlines for throwing an out-of-control party in Melbourne.

Corey Delaney (a.k.a. Corey Worthington) decided to throw a party last weekend while his parents were in Queensland. He sent out invites via MySpace… and ended up having over 500 guests show up. Drinking and debauchery ensued, and the police were called. The drunken party-goers pelted police vehicles with glass beer bottles. A helicopter and canine unit were finally called to the scene to break up the insanity.

Corey stated that he didn’t know what the problem was. He even said that he’d throw another party just like it if his parents went out of town this coming weekend. His parents are both embarrassed and furious… and facing fines from the police.

Corey (who apparently doesn’t realize how “metrosexual” he looks) was offered a job by a promoter after his little party. Luckily, the media is showing him for the twit he really is. In a radio interview, the host even tried to rip off his obnoxious-looking sunglasses.

After his 15 minutes of fame, he’s finally gone into hiding… probably because of the charges he’s facing: among them property damage and child pornography (I don’t even want to know about that last bit). The AU$10,000 he was offered by the promoter would only cover half of the damages racked up so far.

Kids these days… I swear.

Now let’s move on from this over-covered piece… just think about the world’s only blue-eyed koala instead…

Well, Alan asked me to update this, and since I FINALLY remembered my log-in information, that’s possible! LOL Actually, I have been keeping an up-to-date journal… just not this one. I know I have barely any readers here, but still… I thought the heads up would be nice!

My new journal is http://ghosthuntercub.livejournal.com so anyone out there wanting to know what’s been happening in the past months or so, feel free to read it! I actually need to add a few private posts on there too… some things were a little more involved than I wanted to post to the world. I’ll have to figure out how to let my livejournal-less friends read it…. if that’s even possible.

*sigh* I wish everyone I knew was only on one blog site. Life would be so much easier…

I never update this… if you haven’t realized that by now, you’re not ever reading it!

Well, life is a chaos of confusion for me most of the time. Single life isn’t as easy to adjust to as I’d hoped. It’s not that I can’t handle being on my own, it’s not knowing how to stop worrying about my ex. He has too many issues and problems, and I know he’s heading for total self-destruction. It’s sink or swim, but he never learned how to swim and can’t get over his fear of water.

Love is the one thing I don’t think will ever be understood by any one person in a lifetime. It’s confusing, illogical, and downright unpredictable. Ending my last relationship was a wise decision, but still the pain remains. Of course, my friends think that to be insane because of all the hurt, stress, and grief it caused me. Still, I love him and miss him… the antichrist that he is.

So, I’m trying to get back to normal. Still. Putting on that happy face and trying to avoid the little reminders. I went for a walk the other day and stopped at the cemetery down the road for a little reflection. As I went to the trash can to throw out a paper, the past stared me back in the face. It was the can of soda he had thrown out when we were there months ago. Of course, this made me think of two things: “don’t they ever dump out trash??” and “great… and I was in such a good mood”. I can be a sappy person at times, and in some ways, I’m a slave to my past. Both the good memories and painful ones stay around, resurfacing out of the blue from time to time. Hopefully, I can lock up that trunk and throw it into the ocean.

I think getting back to a social life will help though. Being left to stew in your own thoughts for too long isn’t healthy. I need to step outside and spend some time in the sun (which is next to impossible in Ohio… London has better weather). This too shall pass, and I’l be back to normal. Maybe then I can get back to my writing and working toward a future. A good slap in the face would definitely help!