Monday, August 29, 2011

Did You Know There Was An Emperor Of The US?


This was a neat find from Phantoms And Monsters.

"In 1859, an unknown, young and failing San Franciscan businessman named Joshua Abraham Norton attempted to corner the market on rice after hearing of a famine in China. He lost everything he owned when a large shipment of Peruvian rice arrived in port unexpectedly, making his investments worthless overnight. This apparently unbalanced him enough that he declared himself Emperor of the United States (he later would add “and Protector of Mexico”) and for the next 20 years ‘til his death, he wandered the streets in full regalia, inspecting his domain. In January 1880 he collapsed on a street corner and died. Nearly 30,000 marched in homage to bury him and writers such as Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson would eulogize his memory.

Before then he wrote a large number of proclamations, all of which were duly published in the state’s newspapers. In 1869 for instance he, “being desirous of allaying the dissensions of party strife now existing within our realm,” abolished both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Another edict was instructions for the countries of the world to form a “League of Nations.” Perhaps his most famous decree was an order directing the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to begin construction of a suspension bridge across the bay as well as a tunnel, both of which were actually completed 50 and 80 years (respectively) after his death (no thanks to Norton).


Much beloved by his fellow citizens, Norton I paraded frequently through the streets in elaborate blue uniforms with gold epaulets given to him by officers of the nearby Presidio with a beaver hat decorated with peacock feathers. Although routinely broke he ate at the best cafes in town; these restaurateurs then added brass plates above their doors proclaiming “By Appointment to His Imperial Majesty Norton I of The United States.” The brass plaques were much sought after and a huge boost to trade.

One police officer in 1867 arrested Norton and tried to have him committed but this led to a number of blistering editorials in the newspapers and led to the police chief ordering him released and issuing him a formal apology.
Norton then magnanimously granted an “imperial pardon” to the young police officer and as a result, all police officers in San Francisco thereafter would salute him in passing.

The 1870 U.S. Census records list Joshua Norton as 50 years of age and his occupation is given as “Emperor.” Norton I would also issue his own money to pay certain debts, typically ranging from 50 cents to $10 and these notes are now highly coveted collectors’ items. He also wrote numerous letters to the widowed Queen Victoria (none were ever answered) proposing marriage.


When he collapsed on the street and died in 1880 the San Francisco Chronicle published his obituary on its front page under the headline “Le Roi est Mort” (The King is Dead!) and sadly reported, “In the darkness of a moonless night and under a dripping rain, Norton I, by the Grace of God Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life.” Most city newspapers likewise reported the news on the front pages in banner headlines. - rriverjournal.com"

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

New Thoughts On Time Travel


This was new to me...

"Physics Professor Ronald Mallett discussed his breakthrough research on time travel, which is based on Einstein's theories of relativity. "If we can control gravity with a device, then we can actually control time, as well, and that could lead to a machine," he said. The force of gravity is actually the bending of empty space, and the energy of light can create gravity, therefore light can potentially manipulate time, he explained.

Mallett's idea for a machine involves using a circulating light beam with a series of mirrors, that can twist empty space. According to Einstein, if you bend space, then you bend time. "If I twist space, I can twist the line of time into a loop," connecting the past to the future, he said. When a person travels back to the past, they will have altered the past, so the future may not play out in the way the way it originally did. This is known as the 'Butterfly Effect' where some little thing leads to a chain of reactions that alters the future, he detailed."

Picture is not from article but from Dreamtime..


Friday, August 19, 2011

Possessed Alien Statue


Those of you who are fans of Coast to Coast know the former host Al Bell.Reportedly,he recently contacted Josh Warren a NC Paranormal investigator with a problem...
"Joshua P. Warren shared breaking news regarding a possessed statue. Art Bell recently contacted him about removing a 5 ft. tall wooden alien from his home that had been given to him by Rush Limbaugh. Though Art had had the statue for years, family members started claiming "the thing was coming to life and moving around from time to time." Warren said he's acquired the haunted object for his Museum in Asheville."
http://www.joshuapwarren.com/
Picture from Coast To Coast AM

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Experiences Holy Water Miracle


A teen has surprise recovery when Holy Water is applied as she is removed from Life Support.

"Cheated death: Lucy on the day she came off life-support (Picture: Caters)

Lucy Hussey-Bergonzi was expected to die after she collapsed from a brain haemorrhage.

Her parents called in a Catholic priest to baptise her as they prayed and prepared to say their goodbyes.

But as the water touched Lucy’s skin, her arm shot up in air, the family said.

Within a day, she was off life-support machines and showing signs of recovery, leaving experts baffled.

‘Doctors were saying it was a miracle –

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/871871-teenage-girl-seconds-away-from-death-saved-by-holy-water-miracle#ixzz1V1LqyCrw

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Not DB Cooper?


Interesting in the continued search for DB..
:DNA Test Fails to Solve D.B. Cooper Mystery

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- DNA testing has failed to link a new suspect in the D.B. Cooper hijacking to a necktie that he left behind on the plane in 1971, the FBI said Monday.

Special Agent Fred Gutt cautioned that the test does not necessarily rule out the deceased man because investigators do not know whether DNA on the tie is that of the hijacker. Gutt said there are three different DNA samples on the necktie and it's not clear where the hijacker got it.

There are some questions about the tie itself: Was it a used tie, a borrowed tie?" Gutt said.

Investigators compared the DNA on the tie to the DNA of someone in the new suspect's family, Gutt said. A woman in Oklahoma recently came forward to say that she believes her uncle, Lynn Doyle Cooper, was the hijacker -- which she based largely on memories from when she was 8 years old.

Gutt said the FBI had an inconclusive round of fingerprint testing on a guitar strap and that investigators are now working with family members to identify other items that could be tested further for fingerprints.

Federal investigators have checked hundreds of leads since the man dubbed "D.B. Cooper" parachuted from a flight with $200,000 dollars in ransom in 1971."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/08/fbi-dna-test-did-not-match-db-cooper-suspect/#ixzz1UXFfk6Qk

Friday, August 5, 2011

Man Hears His Eyes Roll


Stephen Mabbutt, 57, from Charlton, near Banbury, could also hear his own heart beating.

Mr Mabbutt first experienced symptoms six years ago, when he felt a dull ache in the side of his head.

GPs treated him with nasal sprays and antibiotics, but his hearing deteriorated. Mr Mabbutt was eventually diagnosed with an unusual ear condition in which sounds inside the body are heard very loudly. The condition meant that the noise from chewing food became deafening.

His symptoms worsened to thMr Mabbutt told the BBC: "When I raised my voice I could hear it reverberating in my head and the vibrations made my vision vibrate.

"Eventually I could hear my heart beating and my eyes moving in their sockets. It was really distracting." e extent where loud noises caused
Mr Mabbutt was referred to Martin Burton, a surgeon from the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital who helped establish the Cochrane Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders Group. A CT scan found perforations inside the semicircular canals inside Mr Mabbutt's ear.

He was diagnosed with superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS), a rare condition discovered by American surgeon Lloyd B Minor in 1995, which is thought to only effect one in 500,000 a year in Britain.

The operation to cure the problem involved a 5cm (2in) incision behind the ear, making a channel through the bone to find the "balance organ" and using the patient's own bone to create a seal around the defect, the BBC said.
t was carried out by Richard Irving, an expert at the Birmingham Ear Clinic.

"It's made a big difference to my life. I feel a different person all round," Mr Mabbutt said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8674331/Man-who-could-hear-his-own-eyeballs-roll-cured.html

Picture and content from above source