Belief has no part in this, only facts

So, here's a conundrum for you.

Let's say people have been seeing an animal for hundreds of years. Sightings go back to almost ancient times, but nobody has been able to catch one and prove the existence of the animal. But sightings continue, thousands each year. Does the animal exist?

According to science, no. It can be hypothesized that it exists, but it cannot be proven.

Ok, so people start looking for evidence of the animal. They find footprints, fur and other signs. They hear it and record the vocalizations. Sightings continue, thousands each year. Does the animal exist?

Well, if the fur can be DNA tested, maybe. But the research would have to be peer-reviewed and be published in a science journal. The rest of the evidence is apparently useless to science.

So, a researcher goes to the trouble of doing the DNA tests on samples collected across the area that have clear lines of possession (eliminating the possibility of contamination) and submits the research to scientific journals. Here's where the researcher runs into trouble. Because science has said in the past that the animal doesn't exist, none of the journals want to deal with the possibility of being embarrassed when they publish a paper about the supposedly fictional animal. So they decline to even give the research a fair hearing, and it becomes a catch-22: Science won't accept the animal as existing until research on it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but scientific journals won't accept the research because they all "know" the animal doesn't exist and would be too embarrassed to admit they are wrong.

In this particular case, a journal agreed to start the peer-review process, and then apparently got cold feet. Here's what Melba Ketchum, the DNA researcher in question, said about the process.

We encountered the worst scientific bias in the peer review process in recent history. I am calling it the "Galileo Effect". Several journals wouldn't even read our manuscript when we sent them a pre-submission inquiry. Another one leaked our peer reviews. We were even mocked by one reviewer in his peer review. We did finally pass peer review with a relatively new journal. It took a fresh outlook on the part of the editors and their careful selection of reviewers with knowledge of next generation whole genome sequencing in order to pass. I have no idea who the reviewers were though I have the reviews. That was kept confidential as is the way journals handle peer reviews. That was only part of the delay and problems associated with publication though. After this journal agreed to publish the manuscript, their legal counsel advised them not to publish a manuscript on such a controversial subject as it would destroy the editors' reputations (as it has already done to mine). I have documentation on all of this drama. So, rather than spend another five years just trying to find a journal to publish and hoping that decent, open minded reviewers would be chosen, we acquired the rights to this journal and renamed it so we would not lose the passing peer reviews that are expected by the public and the scientific community.

The author tried to give a concrete example of what the process has been like as well:

To get an idea of bias, the Lesula monkey paper in PLOS One used 6800 bases of DNA sequence to prove it was a new primate. We have aligned 2.7 million bases of nuclear DNA on two of the three Sasquatch genomes in this first manuscript and generated a phylogenetic tree to prove it. We also had 20 whole mitochondrial genomes at 16,500 bases each. That same publication wouldn't even send ours out for peer review.

All this said, the research is going to be ignored and ridiculed by many people for being 'self-published' although the peer-review process had already been finished before the rights to the journal were acquired. It's a pity, because I'd much rather have more scientists looking at the data, not just the subject matter, and drawing conclusions from solid facts. I'm fine with scientists finding flaws in the research, but I have an issue with simply ignoring a subject because it doesn't fit the prevailing viewpoint of the scientific community.

Cryptomundo has published the press release about the paper, and the project has a website as well. Without reading the actual paper, and possibly earning an advanced degree in DNA sequencing to understand it first, I can't say whether or not this is any sort of real proof. But I wish it had been given a fair shake.

Scientists can be as dogmatic as some religious folks on some topics. It's been a problem with human nature as long as there has been science, and will continue to be so into the future. Close-minded skepticism of anything out of the ordinary is as foolish as open-minded belief in everything.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Torchwood: Miracle Day: "Escape to L.A." - Ah, it's painful to watch characters making really stupid mistakes. But then, that's how real life works some times, too. Really stupid mistakes followed by other people paying for those mistakes. I like how they are keeping Rhys and Anwen in the show, but at the same time I'm not liking it at all. It seems like there wasn't a lot of forward progress in this one, so we'll have to see what happens next, if it gets a bit better.
• Torchwood: Miracle Day: "The Categories of Life" - Ok, so they are categorizing people into different slots depending on how "alive" they are. And there is a deep and terrifying secret to the overflow centers they are sending "dead" people to. This was a painful and scary episode. Disturbing in almost every way.


• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "Pawn of Shadows" - Best line of the series so far, Shaggy says, "Yeah, like, we've been teenagers forever" when giving advice to writer HP Hatecraft on current teens. That's just before the most scarring event of the series so far happens. Angel gets really involved in this one, and the end is a bit of a surprise. One more episode? I'm kind of excited to see it!
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "All Fear the Freak" - Final episode. The group investigates Fred's dad, as the friction of the group comes to a head. Secrets are revealed, stories are told, and the series ends with the possibility open for a second (or more) season. Wow. Best Scooby-Doo I've ever watched. I'd gladly watch a second season.

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This week's comic book related review is Aquaman: Death of a Prince. This collection features some of the most classic of Aquaman's tales, including Aquaman being deposed from his throne, Aqualad learning about his parentage, and the death of Arthur Jr. This is a very nice complete package, and I can say that those stories have probably never looked better. It's one of the best collections I've seen in a long time, and well worth it for Aquaman fans and just general comic book fans as well.

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Agatha Christie this week was Nemesis from 1971. Miss Marple is called upon by a dead man to solve a mystery without any clues whatever, and agrees. Of course, the clues start arriving once she's signed on, and eventually she figures it out. I didn't. Anyway, this isn't her best, but it's not a bad Marple story. I feel like her writing is in a bit of a downward slide, but I hope that's just my misperception. There's a scant handful of novels left for me to read, and a bunch of short stories. I'm sure I'll continue to enjoy them because even the worst Christie mystery tends to be a bit better than average.

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Finding Bigfoot - I was a little doubtful about this show, having heard allegations that parts of the hunt were misrepresented by the production crew to increase drama. I don't "believe" in Bigfoot, but I do accept the possibility of it existing. There's not enough evidence to prove anything, though, which is the problem. And that's the conceit of the show. The group is trying to prove that bigfoot exists by finding real scientific evidence. The catch-22 is that if the group proves the existence of bigfoot, the show is over... and we'll hear about it on the regular news before the show can air. So the fun of this show is the stories that people tell, because the show itself can never prove anything. Anyway, on to the episodes:

• "Swamp Ape" - This episode starts with a family who is having night visitations and think they are being stalked by a bigfoot at their home in North Florida. The team spends the night, and has inconclusive experiences. The group then visits the Seminole nation and discuss the beast with some members. Then they follow-up on three witnesses in South Florida and do another search, this time with cool remote control drones.
• "Bigfoot Crossing in Georgia" - Neat story about a cop with a passenger who spot a bigfoot crossing a road and catch the thing on the cop car's dashcam. The video is, of course, too grainy to use as proof, but it's still cool. Of course, they make someone run across the road in the middle of the night to try to duplicate it. Not dangerous at all, ha. They talk to some more witnesses, including one that isn't credible because he's easily led, then wander around the forests in the middle of the night.
• "Caught on Tape" - A thermal video taken in North Carolina Uhwarrie National Forest seems convincing until the team duplicates the video almost perfectly... which they justify with a bunch of excuses. Then there's a chase up a hill that apparently was a human and the crew knew it, but they presented it as a mystery. At a townhall meeting they heard some good stories and follow-up on a few. I'm liking Ranae, as she's the only one properly skeptic.
• "Fishing for Bigfoot in Oregon" - Another video, this one in central Oregon, that isn't exactly convincing at all. But the team goes and risks their lives in the middle of winter to duplicate the video, then hunt the bigfoot in the middle of the night. Again, Ranae is cool... Cliff and Bobo are ok, but Matt is actively annoying. Anyway, another area, another meeting with the locals to hear stories. The best part of the show by far, even if some folks are clearly not credible.
• "Frozen Bigfoot" - Ah, my home state. The team goes to Southwest Washington, the Silver Star peak in the Cascades, in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. They go to investigate some interesting pictures taken by a hiker a few years ago, and are able to duplicate the images pretty well, although not perfectly. They go to Yacolt for another town meeting, get some more cool stories. I like them deploying the goosecam and the disguised canoe, hilarious. This is a funny show.
• "Alaska's Bigfoot Island" - This one is a little different, as a community calls the bigfoot hunters in because a town is feeling threatened by unknown animals. They start with a witness to footprints and running around in the forest at night. Then another town meeting! Lots of good stories, particularly with the natives whose families have been in the area for centuries.

Conclusion: Overall, not a bad show, but not one that I would be inclined to watch much, especially if that Matt guy stays on it. It has a good format, but I need more skeptics like Ranae before it's truly watchable. I'm interested in bigfoot, but watching a couple of guys screaming in a forest in the middle of the night just isn't that interesting.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Destination Truth: "Thai Tree People/Aiya Napa Monster" - Josh goes to Thailand to hunt the Naree Pon, a tiny creature that grows on trees and leads people to their deaths. In Bangkok again, Ryder and Josh have fun with handcuffs. I like the elephant riding scenes. Josh did some dangerous spelunking and I sometimes think this series will end with the report that Josh was killed in an accident somewhere. All the crew brought back were pictures of the temple Naree Pon corpses, which were shown to an expert who couldn't determine what they actually are, so the mystery continues. The crew goes to Cyprus to look for a sea monster. They have the usual luggage and vehicle issues, and Josh snarks at a market. Then Josh jumps off a cliff. I like the video of a shipwreck they got while diving. Again, they don't find much, and decide the basking shark is a suspect for the identity of the monster. But it was sure nice to have an episode all about cryptozoology.


• Ghost Hunters: "Chasing Ghosts" - TAPS investigates the Higgins Armory Museum in Massachusetts. This would be a really awesome location for an episode of Doctor Who. Especially the basement, where creepy mannequins with covered faces lined the walls. The place was a personal collection of armor from history and was turned into a museum later, and the ghost stories are much the standard type. It's just an awesome location, and the group has entirely too much fun wandering the place, playing, and enjoying the atmosphere. They do some excellent debunking, particularly on doors that open themselves. In the end they find sounds and chains moving when they shouldn't, enough to make them want to come back.


• Being Human (US): "Dog Eat Dog" - More divergence, more developments, and another element of the original series added to this new one. Older vampires, Aidan's past, and dogfights. This series continues to add on and grow away from its roots. It's a pretty good episode. The Dutch are creepy. Interesting that the older vampires show up so quickly in this version.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• March 9th
• Zatanna #10 - Um, yikes? Wow, that's a cliff-hanger and a half. Well, it's some sort of hanging, at least.
• Birds of Prey #10 - So, I think I get what they are trying to do, but I'm not at all convinced they did it.
• JSA All-Stars #16 - Mostly a big battle scene with an unexpected twist that required the build up from previous issues to understand. I'm ambivalent about it. Fun and clever bits, but requires too much backstory.
• All New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #5 - Guy Gardner? Not the best ever team-up for poor Batman, although I seem to remember in the regular universe that a certain punch involving those two made history. And the guest star, wow. Fun.
• March 16th
• Brightest Day #22 - Not much Aquaman, unless you count zombie Aquaman. At least the DC zombies were creative and made in-universe sense.
• Power Girl #22 - I must've missed an issue where some dramatic events relating to Karen's company happen, as the whole thing is described within the issue in a throwaway line. Still, fun enough despite my confusion.
• Knight & Squire #6 - Oh wow. Wow. Not at all what I was expecting. Nothing like I wanted to see. But really really darn good. More, please?
• DC Universe Legacies #10 - So that's the end. Not talking to a reporter, like I thought. Sad. I found I wanted to read more. It was a good series. And the backups weren't all that bad either.
• Young Justice #2 - Needs more Aqualad, but I thought it was funny that Superboy hesitated with Superman, then tossed Aquaman over to check his theory.
• Tiny Titans #38 - This one was even more odd than usual, and that's saying something. Of course, I was so busy "SQUEE!"-ing that it harder matter. Artie Jr is AWESOME. Want more of Atlantis. Obviously.
• PS238 #49 - Ah, this is a really satisfying issue for me, as all the threads are finally coming together and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not that this book is ever tunnel-like, but I can feel the payoff coming up quick. YAY!
• Doctor Who V2 #2 - Wow, Amy really knows her history, doesn't she? Nice to see the psychic paper, nice to see it not work consistently.
• DMZ #63 - Parco didn't make the best choice, but I wonder what exactly he gave to Matty, and how it's going to affect the war.
• Northlanders #38 - Nasty nasty, with battles that really don't make sense from any realistic point of view - therefore entirely too true to life.
• Soldier Zero #6 - Oh, so that's it then?
• March 23rd
• Green Lantern #64 - Part one of the War of the GL. Hal and the gang meet up with Krona's big black book, and the Guardians get what they probably deserved.
• Green Lantern Corps #58 - Part two of the War of the GL. Ganthet's group is back from Qward, and get quickly involved in Krona's schemes. Um. Ok. Not pretty, but maybe this is going somewhere.
• Justice League of America #55 - Massive threat, GL involved, Starheart. Not sure what I think about this. I'm not warming up to it.
• Fables #103 - Wow, Ozma's a snot, isn't she? Pity she's probably right about it all. I'm warming up to this book. *sigh* That means we're going to have to get the trades and catch up, doesn't it?
• March 30th
• Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #8 - Part three of the War of the GL. Guy's very messed up group is headed home when Krona's actions hit them. The main draw of this one might be the knock-down drag-out fight between Hal and Guy. But all the threads are pulling together now.
• Action Comics #899 - I was disappointed at first, then justified, then disappointed, then justified. So I think this book worked. It's going to be fun to see what Superman makes of the whole mess.
• Jimmy Olsen #1 - While this seemed to be a lot of reprint, it all held together much better in one big issue. I thought it was a fun little book, and a nice way to introduce Chloe Sullivan into the DC Universe.
• Justice Society of America #49 - I think this and JLA are out of joint. But then, what else is new? Not liking the "new" GL. But at least the storyline seems to be slightly over.
• Zatanna #11 - Yay for smart assistants willing to dress down in order to rescue the super hero. And eek, and double-eek for the whole situation.
• Doctor Who V2 #3 - Ah, the most dangerous of situations, when one side is trying to play the Doctor off the other. I admit, I did look up the historical event involved to see how it really happened.

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My library book this week was The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. Hubby-Eric snagged this from the library to see if there were Oz references, I think. And I couldn't help but read it as well. Elizabeth is an average student who gets a job as a page at the New York Circulating Material Repository, a type of library that deals with objects instead of books. I really liked the building of Elizabeth as a character, with details of her family and social life coming through as needed. The story was a very nice take on fantasy and magic in the real world, and a different angle than I've seen before despite many many books about magic worlds hidden within New York. This would be a good one for teens to read, and is safe for younger children although the romance might just turn them off. Of course, it's a fun read for adults as well.

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Fortean Times #271 (March 2011). Fun cover with an intriguing promise asking if H.R. Giger is actually the "designer" of the Chupacabra as it is currently imagined. And the cover article makes a compelling case for the theory. In short, when the killings started taking place, a movie called Species was big in Puerto Rico. And the look that the monster took was based on a single eyewitness who happened to have seen that movie recently. The article argues that the witness confused events that had happened with the imagery in the movie, creating the Chupacabra we recognize now. It's a fairly compelling argument, taken all together.

Strangedays starts us off with the whole Wikileaks saga, and although the story itself is moving faster than a magazine can track, it does a fairly good job giving an overview of how Wikileaks has affected conspiracy theories. Another article is about the boys that were lost at sea for 48 days. There's also a story about dogs dying mysteriously after walking in a certain wooded area. Another frightening story covers some severe allergies.

An article in Medical Bag claims that there are studies that determined that prayer does work to heal people. I know that a lot of people cite a study that says the exact opposite, but I also know how the media almost always gets science wrong. Ghostwatch has more on the ghosts of those executed, and in some cases the executioners. Archaeology claims the Uffington Horse is probably a dog. The UFO files are good, again, with the discovery of recycled UFO photos used in later hoaxes, and some other short pieces. Blasts from the Past covers falls of flesh and blood... eeuuuuwww! The Random Dictionary is all about the religions that UFO contactees have created.

Another article talks about Quakers and their tendency to nakedity. There's a tribute to the UK World of Wonder magazine that ran in the early 1970s, including wonderful two-tone illustrations from their Strange Stories features. I'd love to see a collection of those. The Forum starts with an article about the shirt Charles I was wearing when he was beheaded, and the three claimants for being that shirt. The second article is about the music that used to be played at Japanese crosswalks. A third article talks about the King Cheetah, and whether it existed in Asia. The last article is about the Cholera outbreaks in Haiti and why the people blamed the UN troops.

The reviews cover some fun stuff, and have two perfect 10 ratings, which is not unheard of but is fairly rare. One of them is something I already want but cannot afford, the gigantic 75 Years of DC Comics book by Paul Levitz. The tagline on the review is entirely too true: "An extravagant treasure with a heart-stopping price tag". Too true (list price is $200, ouch). The other is a book called Cambridge Ghosts by Robert Halliday and Alan Murdie. The review's tagline describes it well: "You used to get a better class of ghost in Cambridge..." The other reviews are also good, and a couple of items got added to my wishlist. The issue is wrapped up with a pretty good set of letters. Another great issue of this great magazine.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Being Human (US): "I Want You Back (From the Dead)" - Josh is scared of his relationship, Sally wants to date a fellow ghost, and Aidan witnesses the child he defended get hit by a car. The plotlines diverge even further from the UK show, and it's to the point where I can't tell what's going to happen. And I'm enjoying it. Very different from the original, but it's got its own strong points.


• Who Do You Think You Are?: "Ashley Judd" - She starts by looking up a Civil War ancestor, then talks with an historian to get some information about that ancestor's story. So she next goes to find her New England roots, and is presented with an awesome family tree. She discovers that her New England roots are extremely deep, about as deep as any European-descended person can be. She goes to England to find out why her ancestor left England, and finds some good stories. All very impressive, which makes it all make sense that it's the final episode of the season.

Continuing my Ghostie Marathon:

• Ghost Hunters International: "Amsterdamned " - Aired Jan 26. The team starts in the Huissen House of Horrors, then goes to IJmuiden Fortress, both in the Netherlands. The first location is a private home that is trying to get rid of its owner, apparently. It's history involves deaths in a flood and suicides. In the end, they didn't find anything and tried to reassure the owner, which was good. The second location was a fortress used by the Nazis, now a museum. The Germans built a ton of concrete bunkers on the island, which make up an impressive fortress mixed with the original buildings. The museum has a spooky room with mannequins, yeek. Lots of EVPs and sounds there.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Army of the Dead" - Aired Feb 02. The team goes to the Petrovaradin Fortress in Serbia. A very very big fortress with some stern warnings for the ghost hunting crew, as some of the tunnels go deep enough that oxygen can be a problem. The location was like a maze, and I loved the walkthrough. As for the ghosts, with the tunnels open to the outside, and clearly people had gone there without permission before, I wasn't sure that any sounds they got could be taken seriously. So, of course, they got a very interesting photo. Another cool visit.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Shadows in the Dark" - Aired Feb 09. The Ghost Hunters visit Scotland and stop in at Usher Hall and Inveraray Jail. Usher Hall had some mild but fun stories, including an opera singer who stopped in the middle of a performance because she thought someone had walked up behind her on stage, but there was no one there. The crew caught a few sounds, but nothing definitive. The jail was a very cool location, and it looked like they enjoyed the visit there. Again, not much by way of evidence, but some excellent debunking.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Soldiers of Misfortune" - Aired Feb 16. The team heads to San Juan, Puerto Rico to check out El Morro Fortress and Tapia Theater. The fortress was pretty cool, and big. And the stories were lovely and fun. I liked that they easily debunked the orbs photo. Orbs aren't even slightly interesting to me. As for the second location, theaters are always difficult because of the acoustics, and they always seem to have a tradition of ghosts. This was a fun one, with its history and stories. I love it when they use the thermal camera. I really want one to play with.


• Ghost Hunters: "TAPS Meets the Real Housewives of Atlanta" - Aired Dec 1st 2010. Rhodes Hall in Atlanta, Georgia. Special guest stars include a bunch of people I've never heard of, but the female Ghost Hunters seemed happy there would be more females on the team for the night. Gorgeous building. Looks pretty busy, being regularly used, and has a lot of the standard kind of reports. The guest stars were a blond named Kim who freaks me out more than any ghost. Sheree, another woman with long hair who was the only one who seemed comfortable, and NeNe, who immediately focused on staying near Jay since he's the biggest of the team. I thought they would be much more annoying than they were. As it turned out, they were fairly normal for novice investigators, and it was a normal sort of ghost hunt.
• Ghost Hunters: "Ghosts of Christmas Past" - Aired Dec 8th 2010. A special Christmas episode, complete with new music and opening images. The crew first heads to the Christmas Farm Inn in New Hampshire, which only makes sense for a Christmas special. Lots of sounds, but not much else. Next, the gang goes to the Old Stone Fort in Schoharie, NY. A one-time church, surrounded by a cemetary, and used as a refuge during a war. Looks like a fun place to check out, but only in daylight. They did a bit of debunking, which was nice. But there wasn't much else there.
• Ghost Hunters: "Haunted Town" - Aired Feb 23. New season, new events. This time, the entire town of Alexandria, LA invites the Ghost Hunters team in to investigate three locations that have been paranormal hotspots: Hotel Bentley, Finnegans Wake, and Diamond Grill. The reveal will be in front of a crowd instead of a single client, as well. A very strange and fun event. The investigation was neat, it may have been the first time a town shut down an entire street for them so they wouldn't get any interference. I liked the reveal with the entire town looking on, and them giving their usual "take control, don't be afraid" responses. A very different and fun episode.
• Ghost Hunters: "Pennsylvania Asylum" - Aired Mar 02. The group is invited to Pennhurst Asylum in Pennsylvania. I love their new van. Apparently they do, too. The place looks like it's in terrible disrepair, being slowly overgrown. Considering its history, not a surprise. The tunnels were crazy. In fact, a lot of the place was insane. I love how Steve rants about how they never have the camera in the right place. Some interesting stuff there. I like the cows.
• Ghost Hunters: "Century of Hauntings" - Aired Mar 09. The team starts out investigating a family home in Oxford, MA, that has belonged to three generations of the family and creeps out the current generation. They got some really creepy audio, but reassured the family as usual. Next they went to Philadelphia to visit the USS Olympia, a very old ship with very narrow corridors. They decide to go in without a camera crew due to the tight quarters, and instead use shoulder-mounted equipment along with their stationary cameras. It made for a dizzy investigation, as the cameras weren't as stable as with a professional crew.
• Ghost Hunters: "French Quarter Phantoms" - Aired Mar 16. They get to go back to New Orleans, this time to visit the Old U.S. Mint, a building I've not heard of, but I loved the history of it. The whole Civil War part was amazing. The building was like a lot of old buildings. Lots of sounds, lots of echoes and strange acoustics. I admit, I loved Steve and Tango's reaction to the door opening, even if that had nothing paranormal about it. Overall, another fun episode.
• Ghost Hunters: "Hotel Haunts Unleashed" - Aired Mar 23. The Ghost Hunters' travels take them to Rapid City, SD and the Hotel Alex Johnson. A neat old hotel that has many stories of hauntings. The crew has added a new member, a dog named Maddie. Maddie is good at detecting EMF or animals, which can help with investigations. They took her on a test run through the hotel, and she was able to detect high EMF well before the handhelds, but didn't find any animals. The hotel was neat, and I liked the response of the hotel manager once he reviewed the evidence. On to the next!
• Ghost Hunters: "Frozen In Fear" - Aired Mar 30. The gang heads to Mackinac Island, Michigan and the Mission Point Resort that is generally closed for the winter. They are going in the icy cold, and have brought along Maddie. With the possibility of being stuck on the island if the ice locks up the ferry, Steve still chooses to go. Luckily, he manages to get the last ferry of the season. The rest of the group have to go back via plane, and the weather was so bad that the client came to the TAPS office for the reveal. Some fun bits in this one, including a computer server that sounded like someone talking, doors opening and closing by themselves, and a light turning on unexpectedly.
• Ghost Hunters: "Residual Haunts" - The crew goes up to Fort Knox, Maine to hunt for old soldier ghosts. The investigation is in the freezing cold, and they do a bit of good debunking. Why do so many of these old museum places have creepy mannequins? Sounds, as usual, but not much else. The second location was a private home built on apparently haunted land. The woman who called them in had been living on the land for 20 years, and has had experiences for almost the whole time. The crew helped comfort her, and debunked a few of her haunts. Overall, she seemed happy with the results.


• Destination Truth: "Haunted Island Prison/Ucumar" - Aired Mar 22. The Destination Truthers go to an abandoned prison on the Panamanian island of Coiba. As usual, Josh has some fantastic snark in Panama, particularly when the whole team gets hats. Getting to the island is a bit of a challenge, as the helicopter Josh charters can't land there in the weather, so Josh and Ryder jump into the water. Because they are looking for ghosts in a jungle, they find plenty of noises. I loved the frog. Next, they go to Argentina on the search for a bear-like creature called the Ucumar. Josh repeatedly states he loves the country, and they had a wonderful time tangoing in the street. The investigation involved lots of logistical issues, but they eventually found evidence of an endangered bear living in the area that could certainly be the Ucumar in some sightings. So it all worked out well for everyone.
• Destination Truth: "Sandstorm Spirits/Cerro Azul Monster" - Aired Mar 29. The crew goes to the abandoned desert town of Kolmanskop, Namibia, bringing along a guest from another show, Jael de Pardo. The snark was wonderful in the Germanic Namibia, including the group eating bugs from a street vendor and the new sound engineer proving she has an iron stomach. Ryder attempts to outrun an ostrich on the long drive to the ghost town. A dune buggy trip is a great deal of fun for the group. Oh, then they started hunting ghosts in abandoned buildings. Didn't find much of anything, but it was still an interesting trip. After Africa, they head to Cerro Azul, Panama to find a strange, hairless creature. I love the bus the DT crew "stole" and their regression into children while riding in it. It was cool that they interviewed the original witnesses, the kids who claimed to have killed the creature. I have my doubts about that story, especially since the photos definitely show a bald sloth that may have been dead for some time before it was found. But any excuse for Josh to run around in the middle of the night in a dangerous jungle!
• Destination Truth: "Jungle Temple Ghosts/Namibian Night Stalker" - The crew goes to Thailand to hunt giant ghosts called the Phret. They start in Bangkok, trying to debunk a video of a Phret climbing Victory Monument. They also free some birds at a shrine for luck, ride rapid boats as taxis, and wander off into the countryside to ride motorcycles (and crash, Ryder got stitches). Their overnight ghost hunt was at the Phanom Rung temple about 300 miles away from Bangkok. Rex got attacked by something invisible that tried to strangle him, and the crew find strange lights in the temple and a thermal hit of something they couldn't identify. Spooky. They next head to Windhoek, Namibia with Jael again, and look for an African Chupacabra. They go to Ondangwa, then to a remote settlement that had some goats killed by the night stalking blood sucker. The gang stopped at a border and stepped into Angola so Josh can claim he's visited 94 countries, and once at the destination, Ryder got painted red by the local Himba tribe (whose women were carefully blurred). They find a freshly dead goat, and see a rapidly moving animal, but can't prove the existence of any new beast. But hey, running around in the middle of the night in a dangerous area!

You know, I actually really enjoyed watching these in a marathon. I was despairing that I'd ever watch them all, but it was a lot of fun once I sat down and just watched them while I was alone in the house.

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This week's comic book related review is Tron: Betrayal. This is a prequel to the movie that bridges the gap between the original Tron and Tron: Legacy. I haven't seen Tron: Legacy, and don't really plan to at this point in time, so I'm not really sure why I read this. It's clear that effort went into deciding what would happen with Flynn, and a lot of work went into the book. However, the art isn't the best (at times I cannot tell the difference between Tron and Flynn). I'm more interested in seeing the sequel after reading this than I was before, but not enough to get me to go hunt it down now. So, I guess my opinion on this one is just so-so. Good, but not great. If you haven't seen Tron (the original) then don't bother, this will just confuse you.

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My library book this week was Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. This is the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. There were certain things I suspected had to happen in this book, and most of them did. But I didn't guess very well on anything else. In fact, closing the last page, all I could think was, "Wow." I can't really give any details at all about this book without giving away spoilers, again it builds so carefully on previous books that even character names beyond the main one may give something away. So, Katniss grows up, other characters develop and change like real people, and some really terrible things happen. I was slightly disappointed by the way the book ended, until the epilogue, and by the time I read the ending I was actually actively angry at the author for what she'd put certain characters through. I totally understand why this series is so popular.

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Agatha Christie this week was By the Pricking of My Thumbs from 1968. Tommy and Tuppence are getting older but they aren't out of the business of adventure entirely, and when Tuppence gets a feeling after meeting an old woman, she dashes off in danger before Tommy can stop her. A thoroughly enjoyable tale of the pair of almost detectives as they deal with getting older. It's more sparse than many of her stories in some ways, but I think it made up for it with how everything clicked together and fit. Her work has lost nothing, and I'm extremely sad that I'm getting to the end of the novels. I understand the enduring sales and fandom now, and I wish I could do what Holly did in Red Dwarf and erase them from my mind so I could reread the lot when I'm done. I'm reading them a bit slower now so as to savor them all the more.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Sherlock: "The Blind Banker" - Ooooh, I like this show. The visualizations that go along with Sherlock's thinking work nicely to keep the viewer in the game, while still being subtle enough to not be annoying. I keep finding out that I'm figuring out stuff a little before Sherlock... not because I'm any smarter than him, but because I'm looking from the outside and have the cues given to me by the filming. But it makes the story easier to watch because the viewer feels for a moment like they are one-up on Sherlock Holmes. Enjoyed this, slightly disappointed that there is only one more. But on the other hand, hey, there's one more!
• Sherlock: "The Great Game" - Fantastic episode... but oh, very not good in so many ways. The whole ongoing bit with Mycroft is amusing, but the reveal at the end of the story with the big villain was *much* more interesting than I expected. John continues to be the star of this show, despite Sherlock, and I love that Watson's blog is how people are learning about Sherlock's adventures. The ending of this episode is totally unfair, and I am officially complaining to the management about it right now.


• Beast Legends: "Winged Lion" - This time they make a manticore. They do some work to get the actual dimensions of a cave lion for the body. The lengths they go to get images of golden eagles was impressive. And the goofy animation they ended up with was nice. A fairly good episode.
• Beast Legends: "Wildman of Vietnam" - Looking for a Vietnam Bigfoot apparently just isn't as interesting to me as the more fantastic creatures they come up with. Possibly because I think of Bigfoot as a possibly real creature instead of a completely fantastic creature. Whatever the reason, this episode ended up annoying me instead of impressing me.


• Young Justice: "Independence Day" - Wait, Aqualad's real name is Kaldur'ahm? How cool is that? Ahem. Sorry. The sidekicks of several Justice Leaguers are allowed into the Hall of Justice, and eventually they strike off on their own, discovering a new hero along the way. I was absolutely thrilled by Aqualad. He's awesome. Writers too often forget that Aquaman lives at the bottom of the freaking ocean, and therefore is very strong and fast on land. These writers got it right. He didn't hesitate to jump into the fight against a possibly stronger opponent, and his water weapons are very cool visually. I want a lot more of his history now. Unfortunately, I've got to wait awhile. If I have any complaint, it's due to the lack of female characters in this pilot. I'm well aware that the original Teen Titans and the original Young Justice both started out with three guys and later expanded, so I'm not going to be picky about it. But the character added at the end isn't going to be enough for me. I wanna see Maxine Hunkel (Cyclone) as part of the team.

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This week's movie was Lennon Naked, starring Christopher Eccleston as John Lennon. I wasn't interested in this at all, but hubby-Eric DVRed it, so I watched it with him. It was a strange view of Lennon, taking a few years of his life and showing how his relationships with other people affected him. This wasn't a hit piece on him, although it certainly didn't paint him in a wonderful light. The strength of the piece is Eccleston's incredible job of taking on Lennon's persona enough that I usually forgot who it was acting. Naoko Mori of Torchwood played Yoko Ono, and the Masterpiece version we watched was introduced by David Tennant, so it was a Doctor Who movie for us despite the subject matter.

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This week's comic book related review is Amelia Rules! True Things (Adults Don't Want Kids To Know) by Jimmy Gownley. Let me start by saying if you have read and enjoyed any other Amelia Rules! story, you ought to get this one. Especially if you are a fan of Tanner. It's Amelia's 11th birthday, and the party goes well, but that's about all that does for awhile. As usual, there's more adventure, more drama, and lots of exciting moments for the Amelia fan to enjoy and savor. Even if you haven't read Amelia Rules! before, you might like this. Give it a try and find out. This is a great book to give kids, but adults will love it too.

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My library book this week was Stephen Fry in America by Stephen Fry. This is the companion book to the TV miniseries that I already reviewed. I enjoyed the series, with some disappointments (like the short amount of time some states got), and I enjoyed the book even more. Originally, I didn't intend to read the whole book, just skim through it to get an idea, read a couple of states I know, and then return it to the library. But hubby-Eric snagged it before I could start reading, and read it cover-to-cover. So I had to renew it at the library, and then found myself drawn into it and ended up reading the whole thing. This is NOT a travel guide. If you take it as such, you will be disappointed. This is a series of snapshots of the United States from the viewpoint of a foreign man with very particular tastes and opinions. There are definitely moments I disagree with him, and other moments I feel he's caught the spirit of America spot on. I'm sad that his coverage of Washington State was limited to Seattle, and a relatively tiny portion of Seattle at that, but at least we got more pages than poor Idaho. I'd love to see him do a follow-up, and visit places he didn't get to see on his first visit.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Plague of the Prototypes!" - Um, only one prototype, so how is that a plague? Opening teaser was ok, but I felt like we needed to know why Batman was there. Overall, a mildly disappointing episode for me.


• Battlestar Galactica: "Blood on the Scales" - And the mutiny is taken down. This one was intense almost all the way through, with almost no let up. Baltar's dream scared me a bit at first. And in the end it felt like there was going to have to be an awful lot of cleanup efforts to get back to something they'd call "normal".
• Battlestar Galactica: "No Exit" - Ellen... wow. I'm not ... wow. The whole final five is explained in great detail in this episode. We finally get all the answers about them. Well, most of the answers. And what will happen when Ellen gets to the colonial fleet and finds out that Saul has been busy? I'm still somewhat stunned by everything, all the interplay. Only one strange note... John Hodgman as a brain surgeon?!?


• Sarah Jane Adventures: "Lost in Time" - Three linked stories, each one fairly good in and of itself. Sarah Jane is so adamant that ghosts don't exist that I keep expecting someone to slap her with a clue-by-four and tell her that her definition of "ghosts" is too narrow. Eh. Except for that, I enjoyed her tale. When the granddaughter showed up at the end I felt an instant affinity for her. I would like to know a little more about the Captain. All in due time, I guess.


• Destination Truth: "Haunted Island Ruins/Moroccan Succubus" - First to Micronesia, where they visit ancient ruins that have some serious spirit issues. A little snark, particularly with the vehicle they got to rent... a truck with a tiki hut on the back. They even got pulled over because they were trying to prevent the hut from destroying the roadside trees. I'm not sure about Josh getting sick. You have to wonder if it doesn't have something to do with that stuff he had with the local bigshot earlier. Next they go hunting Aisha Kandisha in Morocco. I like Josh's bucket list item in Casablanca. Heh. Then they hot air balloon it over the Moroccan desert to find a place to camp, then go out there in dune buggies. Wow. That was a fun episode.
• Destination Truth: "Guam Zombies/Fangalobolo" - In the final episode of the season, Josh and company head to Madagascar to look for giant vampire bats and Guam to hunt zombies! Madagascar is beautiful, and I still think if you take out all the night-vision hunting bits, this show would still be wonderfully watchable just for the culture and good-natured snark. When they get to Guam, they show that off in spades with a visit to the local version of the mall. I was particularly amused by the turtle race. The injuries the team endured entering the sacred valley in Guam was frightening for a seasoned team like these guys. A very entertaining episode, particularly the climbing around in caves bit. That's it for this season, I hope there is another one. Best travel show on television by a mile.


• Ghost Hunters Halloween Live: The team is in Buffalo New York, with Josh Gates doing the hosting duties. They investigated the Buffalo Central Terminal Station a couple of years ago, and found it to be scary. The usual trappings of the live show are annoying to watch, as is the blatant product placement, but I'm willing to watch the Josh Gates bits just because he doesn't take it too seriously. And, of course, the witness stories at the beginning are pretty cool, too. I was interested in one of the special guests, Meaghan Rath, who is playing the ghost on the American remake of Being Human. The other guests didn't interest me much, but Ben Hansen turned out to be a solid investigator, although his height worked against him. Lots of activity during the night, but nothing that jumped out at me as beyond the norm for this show. I don't usually watch the full Halloween Live episode, but VLC made it easier with an option to watch at 2X the normal speed so I could get past the non-Josh bits faster.

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This week's movie was The Secret of Kells. This is a fantastic little movie with very much its own style. It isn't easy to watch at first, but when you get used to the accents and the style it becomes an incredible story that's a feast for the eyes. I *really* enjoyed the music and wished the soundtrack were available in the US in some form other than just a download. Definitely a good one to watch with a friend.

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This week's comic book related review is Stardrop, a collection of newspaper comics done by Thieves & Kings creator Mark Oakley. The story is about Galactic Empire Princess Ashelle, who doesn't like violence and so hides on a planet her father gave her... Earth. As is usual with Oakley's work, the characters are fun and quickly become real and distinct. The artwork is clean and does a good job of telling the story. The whole thing seems to end a little abruptly, but there's a good reason for that and it's all explained both within the strip then further explained in a note at the end from the author. I greatly enjoyed this, and wouldn't mind seeing another collection someday.

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My library book this week was 1,000 Comic Books You Must Read by Tony Isabella. There is a fatal flaw with this book. It doesn't tell the reader how to get these comic books one must read. And while I understand perfectly why, it is more than a little frustrating to read a great summary by Isabella and then realize there is almost no chance of laying hands on that book any time soon. This is also not a good book to check out of the library. This is one that belongs on your own personal reference shelf. So yeah, it's a great book, but I found it very hard to read knowing that I can't read the books he's describing.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

A Sunday Review

Missed posting last week because I was busy at BrickCon, but hey, here's some reviews for you now!

TV this week:

• Destination Truth: "Ghost Fleet/Japanese River Monster" - I think Josh is insane. Underwater ghosthunting, at night? Those wrecks are dangerous without the added uncertainty of total darkness on the surface. I really am curious what the engine sound in that wreck was. I really enjoyed the intro to the Kappa, and the travelogue featuring a capsule hotel and the theme from the Brady Bunch. Their trip up the river looked tough. Running around in hip-waders on a slippery riverbed in the middle of a freezing night isn't my idea of a good time. And... no, they didn't find anything, as usual.
• Destination Truth: "Siberian Snowman" - Quite a trip for them. Still one of the best ever travel shows, and this time wandering around Siberia in ancient vehicles. Oh, and they were hunting for a giant snowman, too. They found some interesting things, including a pack of wolves that apparently surrounded them, but nothing that could be considered proof. Great episode.


• Ghost Hunters: "Signals From the Past" - First the crew goes to the Rose Island lighthouse in Newport, RI, a local visit for them. They got a very interesting thermal hit near the barracks of an old fort, and a fun bit of research makes another person's experience seem more valid. I was impressed with what they came up with, but I was far more excited about their second investigation: The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Just the tour was what I was looking forward to the most. Imagine getting to run around in there all night long! Never mind the ghost hunting, just getting to run around there... Grant acknowledges the fun, saying the TAPS team was going to have to stay focused. Not much evidence, but they clearly enjoyed themselves.
• Ghost Hunters: "Lemp Mansion" - The Ghost Hunters visit the Lemp Mansion in St Louis, MO. A big building with a plethora of stories, and a pretty intense history. This one has a ghost smell, and Grant got to experience enough of the smell that he almost lost his dinner. The "Atlantis" and "Comet" thing was hilarious. I liked the lightning storm as they were cleaning up. Nice backdrop for a haunted house, but it makes any sound evidence suspect. Not a bad case, for all the lack of solid evidence.


• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "Howl of the Fright Hound" - I love it... "We'll be safer around all the dangerous machinery!" This is a show that knows it is being silly, and doesn't care at all. Scooby is framed and ends up in an animal asylum. Lots more of Velma and Shaggy figuring out their relationship. And the overall plot arc moves forward.


• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!" - A story of three Flashes and a Batman. Good story, with lots of fun continuity. A good tale.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "The Last Patrol!" - Wow. I had known about this story, but seeing it animated with all the Silver Age charm left intact was great. I loved it. And the Batgirl bits at the beginning were quite fun.


• Battlestar Galactica: "Sine Qua Non" - A touching and frustrating episode. You can see Admiral Adama spiraling into his own world and putting others in danger because of it. Zarek's situation is positively nasty, if understandable. And Lee couldn't see what was right in front of his face. And hey, ghost cat! I want more!
• Battlestar Galactica: "The Hub" - This one takes place at the same time as the previous episode, and features Laura Roslin seeing a dead person. Well, it's a lot more than that, but that in some ways seems to be the focus of the episode. Laura getting back to being human again. Very strange, very cool, and incredibly touching. Especially the bits with Admiral Adama and Roslin together. And frankly, the more I see of Helo the cuter he gets. I just wanna hug him!
• Battlestar Galactica: "Revelations" - AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH! They find it, and wow. That was a stunning ending. Thank goodness we don't have to wait for the next episode... well, not too long. We just have to wait for Netflix to send the next disc.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Sometimes a Great Notion" - As if that cliffhanger ending wasn't enough. A dead world with a crashed ship and the lost tribe. Lots and lots of shockers in this one. Amazing what you can do with a universe once you've set it up so well.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Webisodes: The Face of the Enemy" - If Gaeta hadn't been totally driven nuts by his previous experiences, this certainly must have put him over the edge. Wow.

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This week's movie was Orlando from 1992 starring Tilda Swinton. Ok. That was... unusual. I didn't for a minute buy that Swinton was a guy, even in that era. There were moments where it almost worked for me, but it never got over that critical edge. And the time jumps were disorienting and frankly the reaction of society to him/her didn't make any sense until the final monologue. I don't know if I liked it. I didn't hate it, but it's difficult for me to decide if it was good or not.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released September 22nd and 29th:

• Green Lantern Corps #52 - Still not interested in space stuff in the DCU. Not a bad story, but just not my cuppa.
• Justice League of America #49 - Creepy. Nice to see Garth in there.
• Power Girl #16 - Hrm, I don't like flashbacks that aren't resolved by the end of the issue. Sorry. Just a poor storytelling decision in my eyes.
• Royal Historian of Oz #2 - This gets goofier and goofier. I think I want one of those t-shirt advertised on the back cover, even though I don't have a dog named Toto (or fit the other criteria).
• Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #16 - The usual mix, lots of good stuff in this one. I was amused by the pull-out Marge Attacks cards. A bit heavy on the gore, but they can get away with it in the comic.


• Action Comics #893 - Not enough Death and too much Lex in the main story. The introduction of Chloe into the DCU proper was dramatic enough for me. Nice cliffhanger.
• Justice Society of America #43 - Why do I think a city controlled by the Starheart sounds like a massively bad idea?
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold #21 - Nice and goofy.
• Powers #6 - Man I wish this book came out more often. That was a heckuva cliffhanger page. Great stuff.
• Incredibles #14 - Ah, the storyline begins to finally clear up. I wonder if I should be reading this in collections, since it doesn't hold together well as a monthly comic.
• Torchwood #3 - A good start on that first story. The second one, the continuing one, is still very odd. Text story was ok, but again just a start. No complete stories in this one at all.

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My library book this week was American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson. I got turned on to watching the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson fairly recently, after I was told he was doing Aquaman sketches on the show. Sadly, I missed most of those sketches, but quickly became addicted to the quirky Scottish dude adlibbing his way through a comedy show night after night. I heard about a show where he talked about his father, and heard he'd had problems with alcoholism. Then I figured out he'd been a character in an episode of Red Dwarf, so I'd seen him years ago. I was intrigued enough by all that to go ahead and get his book. And it was worth reading. The guy made a ton of mistakes, screwed up over and over, and eventually pulled himself back from the brink with the help of friends. The story of his life is funny and touching, and sometimes makes you wonder how he managed to survive. It's a sad but ultimately uplifting story, and you can't help but grow to like the guy while you read it. It's definitely worth checking out if you have the chance.

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Agatha Christie this week was Double Sin and other Short Stories a collection of stories published in the US in 1961. I'd already read three of the stories, but only commented on two of them. So here's the lot of them:

• Double Sin - Hastings and Poirot help a stranger in distress after a bus trip turns into a robbery. This one had some nice misdirection, the usual commentary from Hastings, and an almost twist ending. Pretty solid.
• Wasp's Nest - Poirot goes to prevent a murder after running across some evidence of the impending action. I found this one to be great, if only because of the way it was so nicely set up. Poirot is, as usual, ahead of everyone else in the story and out of it. I didn't catch on, that's for sure.
• The Theft of the Royal Ruby - This is a retitle of The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding which I commented on here.
• The Dressmaker's Doll - In a dressmaker's shop, a ragdoll slowly starts to take over. I realized that this collection might have some supernatural stories in it, so I wasn't entirely surprised to find this little gem. Shades of the Mennyms in it, as the doll moves around but only when it's out of sight. A spooky little tale.
• Greenshaw's Folly - I've commented on this Miss Marple story here.
• The Double Clue - Poirot is called upon to solve a jewel theft with too many clues. I liked this one a lot even though I had a very good idea of who the thief was due to the name and having read a lot of Poirot so far. A fun and very short little story.
• The Last Seance - A medium agrees to give one last seance for a mourning mother despite grave misgivings. I read this one some time ago, before I was reviewing individual short stories. It was creepy then, and it's creepy now. This is pure horror, nothing to solve. Not my favorite Christie by a long shot.
• Sanctuary - A dying man takes sanctuary in a church and Miss Marple must help his final wish come to pass. This was a straightforward mystery story with a satisfying ending. It also had some familiar characters from A Murder is Announced. A good way to polish off this collection.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

A Sunday Review

This week's comic book related review is Hikaru No Go Volume 20. Only a few more volumes to go. Hikaru is in the running for a multi-country tournament, and a new character is introduced to challenge him on the style side of things. As usual, the end of the book is a cliffhanger where you aren't entirely sure who has won a game. All you know for sure is that either one deserves to go on to the tournament. As usual, I want the next volume now!

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This week's movie was Batman: Under the Red Hood, another direct to DVD animated Batman movie. And, like every other one I've seen, very well done and worthy of checking out. Yay for Netflix! This story is about the biggest failure of Batman's career, Jason Todd. I don't know how closely it aligns to the comic book adventures on the same subject, but it certainly hung together as an excellent movie story. The reveal of the reason for Jason's torment was particularly strong. I wasn't fond of the voice for the Joker in this one, although it was an adequate performance for the role. And I loved Nightwing's commentary as the story moved along. One particularly lovely moment was when Ra's experienced Batman's disappearing act. I enjoyed it, and we also enjoyed the other extras, mostly on upcoming projects, on the disc. Definitely worth a Netflix if you like the superhero genre.

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My library book this week was Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Cameron has Creutzfeldt-Jacob, "mad cow" disease. He's going to die. But first, he has a couple of things to do. Not sure why I picked this up, it must have been recommended on a website I read. But it turned out to be a very strange and pretty interesting read. It has somewhat adult themes, with NSFW language and typical teenage misbehavior that the innocent will find offensive and everyone else will shrug at. Most readers will figure out fairly quickly what must be happening, but it's worth continuing on, even if you know the conclusion, because you really don't. I won't say it's the best book I've read, but it certainly was worth the time it took to read it. Again, not for the innocent, but thought-provoking nonetheless.

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TV this week:

• Ghost Hunters International: "Demons of Nicaragua" - Another double-shot, starting in Masaya, Nicaragua and the Coyotepe Fortress. The episode started off with a visit to the family of one of the hunters, and a beautiful party thrown for the group. Brief but it was a sweet moment. The Coyotepe Fortress wasn't nearly as pleasant. The tales were of torture when the fortress was in use, and satanic rituals after it was abandoned. The boy scouts currently using the place had come up with some stories, and GHI thought they found something there. Moving on to a torture chamber in Leon, Nicaragua, Carcel XXI, which was a prison and is now a museum since 2000. The crew even talked with a man who was a prisoner in the place, was tortured there, and went back to be a museum guard and heard the voices of friends who had died there. I'm not too excited by what they found, particularly the orb, but it was an interesting place anyway.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Pirates of the Caribbean" - And now they are off to Omoa, Honduras and the Fortaleza de San Fernando. A zipline tour of the jungle to start the adventure, and I totally agree with Barry and his fear of heights. It was a massively cool ride but I'm not sure I would survive it. The location is a fortress on the edge of the Caribbean that has a long history including pirates and prisoners. The courtyard is beautiful, and the whole fort looks like one of those gorgeous old places that would be swarming with tourists. The stories of the place were incredible and I love how the people giving their personal tales end with something like "I decided to walk away as fast as I could." I'm not sure the evidence presented would have done anything to convince me there were ghosts, but it was a series of interesting sounds. Not the most exciting finish to a series, but then these are ghosts, the reason they aren't scientific is because they don't perform on demand.


• Ghost Hunters: "Haunted Hotel" - The team is going to Cooperstown! They are off to the Otesaga Hotel in New York. It's a big place, a resort, and they get to stay overnight. Oooh. Seriously, though, it's a really nice looking location. I'd like to visit, haunted or not. The experiences were strange and interesting, but still not compelling. I wonder if anything they ever produce would be compelling enough for me to believe it? And while they thought that voice was saying "Amy", I thought it was saying "Mommy". I did like that the hotel gave the Ghost Hunters the run of the entire place without any other guests. Too many of these investigations involve too much outside sounds. In any case, they didn't find anything that would scare me away from staying there if I ever get out there with enough cash to do it.
• Ghost Hunters: "America's First Zoo" - The team is visiting the Philadelphia Zoo, which just seemed insanely difficult to me. Animals make sounds, and the team relies on sounds. But the zoo appears to be a little bit more than your average zoo, and it's mostly the administration buildings that have the ghosties. The location was spread out enough that they didn't have enough cable to reach everywhere they wanted to cover. They immediately started to have interesting experiences, but so many of them were mundane. Knocks, bumps, footsteps, doors closing... I can't help but think most of those can be explained away entirely too easily to be considered paranormal. So, fun place, a dearth of animal sightings (no ghost animals?), and nothing special.
• Ghost Hunters: "Uninvited Guests" - Another two location episode, starting at the 1875 Inn in Tilton, NH. It has a story of major fires and a little girl named Laura who perished. Nothing spectacular in this one, but potential for debunking. The place looks like a funky little location, not a bad place to visit. But a dining room haunted by a gargoyle? All they found were voices, and I just don't take EVPs as enough evidence. Next they go to Oxford, NJ and the Shippen Manor. Another old building, now a museum, with cool claims. I like the look of this place better, a nice stone building in the woods. Stories include ghosts, slamming doors, rushes of wind that attack people. Mostly claims that would be hard to debunk. During the start of their investigation, I noticed that Jay and Grant believe that objects can contain residual energy ("be haunted") which makes a museum a place where all kinds of things could happen. The people I really respect in these investigations are the camera and sound crew. Having to follow these folks around tiny hallways and steep stairwells... fun. Again, nothing groundbreaking found here, but it looks like a fun museum to visit.


• Destination Truth: "Spirits of Angkor Wat/Canadian Lake Monster" - Oh man, Angkor Wat! That was cool. They should NOT have had the folks do that ceremony to ward off evil spirits, though. Doing a search for ghosts in an area with unfamiliar wildlife seems pretty difficult. They came up with some fun EVPs, and the thermal image was strange, but without experiencing the place myself I'm not really convinced. Loved their offering, though. Moving back to Canada, the group goes to hunt down Ogopogo in Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, not very far from my neck of the woods. In fact, pretty darn close. I don't recall having visited Kelowna but I may have sometime in the past. I've spent a decent amount of time in Canada. Anyway, diving in a frigid lake in the winter isn't something I would be inclined to do but hey, it's Destination Truth, so they do it! As usual, they came up with nothing definite, and only offered the sturgeon answer as a possible candidate, rightly pointing out that no sturgeon has ever been caught in Okanagan Lake. And so, the mystery continues.


• Being Human: "Series 2, Episode 6" - I loved the broken psychic. He was honest even when it seemed almost wrong to be honest. I can tell that George is wrong for Sam, and Sam is wrong for George, but the daughter is cute. Mitchell's decision and hopes are heartbreaking. And that was quite a finale to the thing.
• Being Human: "Series 2, Episode 7" - Complications as Nina returns to the house! And we learn who survived the explosion in the last episode, but unfortunately they learn who was behind it. George not figuring out daylight saving time seemed unlikely, but made for a very dramatic moment. And that last bit, when Mitchell learned Lucy's last name... ouch.


• The Muppet Show: "Season 3 DVD Set" - We're more than halfway through, but there are two guest stars I want to mention simply because their appearances were, in my opinion, the two absolute best episodes ever. One was Helen Reddy, who is one of my favorite singers and whose final number with the camel never fails to give me a smile and happiness. The other is Harry Belafonte whose "Banana Boat Song" skit with Fozzie taught me what the song meant as a kid. And the line from Beauregard, "I always thought these was peachies!" has kept me giggling for over 30 years. But the highlight is "Turn The World Around" with those incredible African mask muppets. I remember as a child being stunned that even the final note from Zoot was done by an African mask instead of Zoot. I have not regretted a moment of having these DVDs, and really want Season 4 & 5 (and yeah, Muppets Tonight) to come out on DVD as well. But frankly, having Helen and Harry is enough if I never get the rest.


• Battlestar Galactica: "The Road Less Traveled" - Kara is looking utterly nutcase in this one. I'm not surprised at the result her insanity brings. And Baltar comes off as something other than slimy for once. I can't help but feel for Tyrol, although this apparent alliance with Baltar sends chills up my spine.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Faith" - Ok, I really really wasn't expecting the mutiny to resolve that way. Really. That was just about the last thing I was expecting, to be honest. And the cancer bit with Roslin was breathtaking. I used to swim with a woman who had cancer, and I remember the awesome hats and scarves she would bring in, and how that was made into a way to deal with everything. So, what exactly is going to happen when the team sent with Kara to find Earth shows up with a freaking Battlestar in tow?


• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "The Siege of Starro! Part One" - Not enough Aquaman. No, really. I liked seeing Aqualad and Aquaman in the crowd, but I'm not a big fan of B'wana Beast, Firestorm, Captain Marvel, or Booster Gold, so the appeal of that particular team-up was limited. Still, nice to see how B'wana Beast was affected by Vixen being controlled. And clever of Firestorm to figure out how Captain Marvel could stop the main menace.

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Fortean Times #265 (September 2010). The cover shows off the capitol in DC with UFOs over it and the headline, "Weapons of Mass Deception, Washing, 1952: How the CIA Created the Flying Saucer Craze" Big talk, and another implication of a conspiracy in the CIA. In the editorial, Paul Cornell is announced as a guest at UnConvention 2010, which for the first time I wish I could get to. The usual suspects make up StrangeDays, including a 70-year-old radio that seems to play period music, crop circle pictures, bodies in hotel mattresses, insane collections, and falls of fish. Ghostwatch talks about ghost photography. The Necrolog is a long article on the great Martin Gardner, whose interests parallel those of both myself and my husband, and who will be missed.

Blasts from the Past talks about a volcano that isn't, and why it came to be reported as one. The Fortean Bureau of Investigation covers the Dark Star theory of Planet X, which is intriguing but doesn't seem to have much by way of evidence to support it. There's a fascinating article on the quest 200 years ago to prove that meteors came from outer space. Articles in the Forum cover holy feathers, telepathy between dogs and their owners, and monsters. The Reviews are rich with books, movies, and games and are as strong as usual. Nothing got really poor reviews this month. And the letter column was great as usual as well. And as usual I've left out tons of stuff that this magazine it bursting with in order to keep this down to only a couple of paragraphs. Still the best magazine around.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

A Sunday Review

This week's movie was Tron from 1982, with Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, and David Warner. Hubby-Eric wanted to see this before the sequel comes out, so we put it at the top of our Netflix queue despite the "very long wait" tag on it. This one comes with a lot of memories for me. I saw it back in the day and adored it. The effects were not particularly advanced, but they were unique and a different way to look at computers. My most vivid memories of the movie were the scene where Flynn is deconstructed, the lightcycle escape, and Dillinger's calm recognition that the whole thing was over at the end of the movie. I'd completely forgotten other bits, but they came back to me quickly enough. The plot is loose and silly, even in 1982 it was ridiculous, but it's a parable that recurs in science fiction a lot: computer gains self-awareness, computer attempts to take over world. Doctor Who did it 1966 with a computer called Wotan, this version just took a more inside view of the problem. The idea of taking over accounting programs and sending them to die in the arena is hilarious. And now that I really understand computing much better than I did when I was ten, the idea of the Tron program is quite appealing. I think I'm actually interested in seeing what the sequel will bring to the table.

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This week's comic book related review is Hikaru No Go Volume 19. Older bits of the story come back, and Hikaru continues to grow as a character. Even more now that he doesn't have a mentor standing over him literally every moment of every day. I love how little asides from previous issues start to tie in to the continuing storyline here. Both the throwaway game that Sai played against a random stranger once and that guy who was selling fakes that Hikaru humbled came up again. This is definitely one of the better comics I've ever read.

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My book this week was Three Hundred Years Hence by Mary Griffith. This is an utopian novel written in 1936 which features a male protagonist who, through an accident, ends up 300 years in the future (15th of April, 2135) experiencing the changes that the years have wrought on the world. As this is available on-line for free, and it's short, I won't go into much detail. Let's just say Mary really hated dogs. But she did manage to predict a couple of things correctly. What she got wrong, however... whew. The whole "women are fantastic and as soon as they have equal rights war will cease" and other nonsense is almost pathetic to read. Did I mention she hates dogs? And horses, too. There are some nice Wiki links within the text in case you aren't familiar with the events and people being referred to, and a few images to help out as well. I think I first saw this on Boing Boing and just finished it a few days ago.

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TV this week:

• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "Battle Of The Humungonauts" - Another fun one with Shaggy caught between two worlds and the whole team having to deal with it. Freddy's uniforms were hilarious.


• History Detectives: "Chicago Clock; Universal Friends; War Dog Letter" - The Chicago clock story was a good one, with a geniune discovery of a historical artifact that had a noted position in the history of an area. And it was a good looking clock, as well. Pity that the restoration removed parts of the original mechanism. The Universal Friends story was pretty interesting for me, as I know that era very well from teachings in my childhood. It was a different sort of story of a religious decisions in a time of social upheaval. I'm glad they were able to connect the family to the group, because that seemed the least likely part of the research to succeed. The War Dog Letter piece was a repeat. A secretive training program for dogs on Cat Island was designed to teach the animals to scent Japanese and hunt them down. The guy who came up with the idea wrongly believed that Japanese had a different scent and used Japanese-American soldiers as bait. Of course, the efforts failed, but the guy went down fighting... which was the subject of the original letters that started the investigation.


• Battlestar Galactica: "He That Believeth in Me" - Baltar is so cringeworthy that even this turning him into a prophet is hard to watch... but that bit where he agrees to die for the life of the kid was a great piece of work. In the meantime, Starbuck's 6 hour adventure is a nice mystery. And even she wonders if she's a Cylon, which makes me wonder about my feeling that she is one.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Six of One" - I love the fact that the other Baltar appeared to Baltar, and I love his reaction to it. And I love how Adama resolved the Starbuck problem, which was how I thought he ought to have solved it in the previous episode.
• Battlestar Galactica: "The Ties That Bind" - Oh wow. Not what I expected. Cally has never been my favorite character, but I really wasn't expecting that to happen to her. And Tory is a bit more brutal than I would have thought. Self-preservation is a pretty strong instinct, though. As for the Cylon side, well, I can't say they don't deserve the dissent they are getting.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Escape Velocity" - Baltar gets attacked and takes revenge while Tyrol deals with his grief. Really not liking Tory. In fact, I think it's safe to say that she's my least favorite character now. I could do without her. Baltar of course is my second least favorite.


• Destination Truth: "Poltergeists of Pompeii/Nandi Beast" - YAY! The Snark is back! This is the best travel show on television. Well, except for that wandering around in the dark bit, which is just organized stupidity. Though climbing down into Vesuvius in search of a sacred type of rock for an offering was rather impressive stupidity as well, even if it did happen in the daytime. The science of this show is dubious, but it's still very entertaining. The Pompeii bits were neat, but uneventful. I have problems with ghost hunts in open areas like that, and while the thermal image was cool, without knowing more about how thermal cameras work it is no more impressive than the Masada thermal hit. The Nandi Beast investigation sure seemed like a really dangerous one, with African wildlife all around them at night. The late night safari drive was just cool, particularly when they spotted the lioness and cubs, and later the zebras. As soon as I saw their visualization of the nandi bear, I figured it was a hyena on steroids. They also came to the conclusion that the current sightings are probably of hyenas, though the nandi bear itself may have been a different beast in the past. I love this show. Next week: Angkor Wat and the mysterious distant Canada!


• Ghost Hunters Academy: "Episode 7: The New Class" - I confess that I've been letting all my ghostie shows pile up. I'm going to try to get through all of this year's Ghost Hunters in the next couple of weeks. This is a new team of 8 people being judged by Tango, Steve, and Jay. The prize is a place on one of the GH teams. The first location is the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, which is just an awesome place anyway, haunted or not. One of the "cadets" has a nasty habit of wandering off alone, with only the camera crew... so I wasn't surprised at who was dismissed. I did find it a little strange that the two who were allowed to come back from the first series didn't.
• Ghost Hunters Academy: "Episode 8: Crazy For Power" - Off to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, as asylums are definitely the best place to find ghosts on this show. After the grilling that Jay gave the guy last episode, I just wasn't surprised at who went away. They need people who are both independent and get along with others. A yes-man is no good when your perceptions are key, and turning off equipment didn't help him along.
• Ghost Hunters Academy: "Episode 9: Dissension In the Ranks" - Off to the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT. Wow, that is a freaking gorgeous house. Talk about beautiful. And so well-maintained. The history of the house isn't particularly gruesome or sad, except for the daughter who passed away. I really want to visit that place sometime. I hated the picking of teams. I really felt for Rosalyn. I thought the judges were a little harsh on some actions. But then, these folks signed up for being criticized and it is a competition, so they asked for it. But it's really really ugly to watch. The person leaving this episode was a surprise to me, I felt no one screwed up so badly they deserved to go.
• Ghost Hunters Academy: "Episode 10: Island Castaway" - Back to Fort Delaware, the site of one of the strangest voices ever caught by TAPS, which I still wonder wasn't someone pranking them. But the haunting was less important than the interplay between the crew, and Eric made himself a pain in this episode. But the one who was dismissed was the one who keeps missing evidence in the review. I think I would get dismissed for the same reason, because much of what they think of as evidence I consider random sounds on the recordings. I was pleased that Vera got to be team captain, but I wasn't sure that she could handle the stress.
• Ghost Hunters Academy: "Episode 11: Schooled at Shawshank" - At the Mansfield Reformatory, and Vera is already screwing up with the set up by not crediting Adam for finding the central location. And she also didn't make a plan on the investigation. That's what screwed her up in the end, because otherwise all of them were great. I don't know how they are going to pick a final out of the remaining three, although Eric is too overbearing for me to tolerate in one of the regular shows.
• Ghost Hunters Academy: "Episode 12: Finals at the Stanley Hotel" - Totally cool location for the final, as I'd love to visit the hotel. Preferably before I actually see the movie The Shining. All three of the cadets are good at the whole thing, but there are some little errors that mess people up. The flashlight thing... man, I wish I could believe it, but it is such an easy thing to fake or to be due to simple technical issues. I think if I was going to attempt a real scientifically rigorous study of ghosts, I'd probably try to do it at the Stanley Hotel. That said, every investigation they do suffers from the same problems of too little time and not enough scientific method. But despite the flaws, it makes for good TV. The reality contest aspect annoys me some, but it does allow the viewer to see more of what goes into their form of investigating. I was glad to see that the winner was joining the TAPS team and not being shuffled off to GHI.


• Ghost Hunters International: "The Spirit of Robin Hood" - The team goes to Nottingham, England and visits the Galleries of Justice which is the location where the Robin Hood legends originated. It was an ok location, and the new team seems to work together well. They found nothing special, just a couple of EVPs and some blurry photos.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Sweeney Todd" - A two location episode. They first got to Port Talbot, Wales and check out Margam Castle, which has a nice history and an awesome guide with a lovely Welsh accent. The building is nice enough, but it sure seems sadly bare. I love the grounds of the place. Again, some voices, a blur in a picture, and strange lights. Next they go to Colnbrook, England and a very old pub called The Ostrich Inn, which was the inspiration for Sweeney Todd. The manager wants them to "clear up a few riddles" about the place. The Blue Room was the infamous place where the bed was placed that dropped rich visitors into a vat of boiling oil, and the manager and his staff really don't like the feel of the room. The whole place looks like a cozy, even cramped, place with a lot of potential to be scary just due to the history. Again, not much found, but it's interesting how the "foot" story impacted the manager's feelings about the place. We are a storytelling and story believing race.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Wolf's Lair" - The team go to Poland to visit the Wolf's Lair, where Operation Valkyrie attempted and failed to assasinate Hitler. It's a set of bunkers out in the wild, dangerous and spooky just on its own. Throw in a haunted hotel and it could be a fun night for the investigators. I'll admit that the scariest bit for me was that someone was burning a memorial candle on Hitler's birthday in that particular place (yes, they were investigating on Hitler's birthday). Again, the usual stuff was found, but that doesn't detract from my interest for some reason.
• Ghost Hunters International: "The Devil's Wedding" - Aw yeah, Norway! The team goes to Halden to visit Fredriksten Fortress, where a ghost actually pushed someone to his death. The team didn't find any ghosts, violent or otherwise, at all. Next up was The Old House in Tallinn, Estonia. I love the tale that the devil held a wedding in the house. Very freaky old folk tale, more freaky because it's tied to that particular place. But in the end, the team just found a creaky old house with sounds that carry. Overall I couldn't help but enjoy this one because of the great locations and the neat tales. Hearing those really cool stories is the main reason I watch these shows.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

Linkdump on Wednesday

Comic Book Legends Revealed #266: Thanos, Mesmero, and Roger Stern on Amazing Spider-Man.

Which side do you drive on?

Oldest Working UK TV found. "The few controls include volume and vertical hold, but there is no channel changer, as there was only one channel when it was made: the BBC."

The Wallingford Beast. Awesome. "...described as being insect-like with a chimpanzee head and the ability to climb a brick wall..."

Check out telephone promos for The Empire Strikes Back. COOL!

The Peeps trial happened.

I'd love to try these. But I think they are a bit too expensive for me.

Unattended Children... the battle is escalating.

LOLCat Theology.

Pug for the in-laws and comic book fans.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Gorillas In Our Midst!" - Interesting opening. The Spectre isn't someone you want after you. The main plot, with Detective Chimp, was fun. I'm afraid I don't see B'wana Beast and Vixen as much of a pair, though.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Scar" - Fighters that get better even if you destroy them. The Cylons are pretty scary creatures. Interesting how much Tigh insists that Sharon isn't a person, she's an it.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Sacrifice" - Ok, I really wasn't expecting the death in this one. In fact, I was depressed by it. I wonder how it'll affect Dee in the future? For that matter, how will it affect the President?
• Ghost Hunters: "Inn of the Dead" - The location is the Orleans Inn, in Orleans Massachusetts. Listening to the stories, a lot of them seem to be fairly debunkable (candles relighting, creepy basement). Admittedly, the crazy ladies and the apparitions aren't so easy to figure out, but people are strange, so things like that are hardly good proof. The flashlight test is always impressive, but again it relies on absolute trust of the people doing the test to be believable. And you have to be confident that the flashlight can't turn itself on and off. It's not particularly scientific. I liked how the SFChan cameramen show up and even talk in this one. I sometimes wonder what goes through the minds of the crew while watching TAPS do their stuff. A fun episode, but not enough to prove anything.
• Destination Truth: "Spirits of Easter Island; The Moa" - Sad to learn that this is the final episode. I really do enjoy this show. Easter Island and New Zealand in this one. I'd love to visit Easter Island someday, but seeing it on a show will have to do for now. One of their translators looks a little like Sergio Aragones. I love that they have a volcano quest to get the island to accept them. Nice weather for their investigation. One of the guys drops his equipment and rips off his shirt in terror thinking that something is crawling on him after they follow a light onto a beach. They find some neat reflections and sounds in a cave. And they nearly drown in the rain. The cave moans were cool, but not enough proof. Very neat place. And they lastly get to go to Southwest New Zealand to hunt for an extinct giant bird. Love that cryptozoology! Josh's multi-lingual GPS was a fun bit of snark, as was Ryder's sheep hunt. Fun Lord of the Rings references, as well. Josh's tendency to jump off cliffs was fun. I'm sure his crew was delighted. Pity they didn't find anything definitive, but the trip was wonderful.
• Doctor Who: "The Time of Angels" - I was on the edge of my seat watching this one, as I'd managed to avoid all spoilers about who appeared in this episode until the preview last week. So I was happy happy glee glee. Poor Eric, unfortunately, had an attack of the killer naps, and as the episode had a lot of quiet bits he actually fell asleep, poor guy. He'll watch it again. In the meantime, I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to next week and the second part. Whee!
• Who Do You Think You Are?: "Susan Saradon" - This one has a narrative. What happened to Susan's mysterious grandmother, who walked out on her family when her children were babies (after being married at 13). This is like the dream episode for this show. A mystery, plenty of journeys and such, and revelations all over.

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This week's movie was Up from Pixar. That opening alone is worth the view. A bittersweet montage that shows immediately that Pixar still has it. And the whole thing was a series of surprises that was both comfortably predictable and yet new and exciting. I admit that I was pretty close to crying a few times during the movie, but I enjoyed it overall. Wow.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released Apr 7th and 14th:

• JSA All-Stars #5 - Strange new character. It'll be fun to see this one play out.
• Demo V2 #3 - I'm curious as to how all those post-its got out on the street, and what it means.
• Doctor Who Classics Series 3 #2 - I found this issue really hard to read. It's a dense story with lots of little psychological bits. I want to read the whole thing in one sitting. Perhaps I should have got the collection when it was available.
• Brightest Day #0 - Aquaman and Mera together again, but Garth? I'm not entirely happy with the way this has played out, and I'm not entirely sure I know what to make of it now. At least there is some decent artwork in this.
• DMZ #52 - Still not entirely sure what has happened to NYC in this, but I have suspicions that it'll all be revealed soon enough.
• Powers #4 - Another strong issue, and no, I didn't read the letters page.

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My library book this week was Coyote Rising by Allen Steele. This is the second book in the series, continuing on from the almost cliffhanger ending of the first. In this book, the original set of settlers have to fight for the freedom that they originally left the earth for. I found the ending of the book to be a bit of synchronicity for this week due to the events in Iceland and Europe. I don't know how many books there are in this series, but I'm glad to find another strong science fiction series to read.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist