This is a Strange Blog and You are Strange too!

Courtney Mroch, who has the brilliant and beautiful blog Haunt Jaunts, stopped by the other day and left a comment on one of my posts letting me know she had an award for me.  She gave me the “Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits” award.  This means I am strange.  I've really always known that I'm strange, but I am proud that my strangeness came with an award.  Usually it only comes with strange glances and a step backwards.

The ‘Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits’ award is given to only the strangest of folk, and as the recipient of such you are deemed very strange indeed. Congratulations. I honor those that are strange as they have always been my favorite people, so if I am passing this award on to you,  you are one of my favorites.  You are my favorites among the many strange people I follow.

Of course, to accept this award you must do many strange things, because this is more than an award.
This is how Cate Gardner is celebrating the pre-release of her book, Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits, and
The “award” also qualifies you for a contest with neat prizes Cate is giving away.
So now it’s my turn to pass it on.
Now you must go forth and celebrate the strangeness of friends (and strangers – strangers are always allowed) by nominating blogs run by strange folk. *Beware, some people don’t like you to refer to them as strange…Try to avoid them if possible.  Of course,  I think that people not wanting to be called strange are strange so I may have violated this rule and I apologize if I have.  

Some rules:

1. Add the logo of the award to your blog post.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you (don’t mess with strange people).

3. Nominate seven other blogs telling us why you think the recipient is strange enough to deserve the award.

4. Leave a message for those nominated on their blogs.

5. And, if you email catephoenix(at)gmail(dot)com and tell her you’ve received the award for your strangeness, she’ll enter you in the biggest kick-ass Strange Men competition ever. Details over at strangemeninpinstripesuits

So the award goes to:

1.  The Time Human:   I love this blog about everything in science that I miss.  I think knowing this much about science makes him a little odd,  so he gets the award!  http://timehuman.blogspot.com/

2.  Paws and Reflect:   This is one of my favorite blogs!  I love reading it every day and must say it is a little odd because it is the only blog I've found that mixes recipes, science, current events, and cartoons together so that you'll never really know what to expect out of this wonderful blog.  http://laughing1wolf.blogspot.com/

3.  Beyond Pale Mother:   This lovely blogger writes about her life and thoughts in general and she has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of all things paranormal.  Almost every post I make,  she adds to and gives me more information about.   This is wonderful,  but a little odd.   http://palemother.blogspot.com/

4.  Labrynthian Creations:   This artist and blogger fills her blog with some of the most unique and strange art I've ever seen.  I've been so moved by her work I've even bough some of it at the etsy shop.   http://labyrinthcreations.blogspot.com/

5.  The Shadow Farm:  This is another artist and blogger that adds to the world of the bizarre with beautiful and unique art that I love looking at.  http://theshadowfarm.blogspot.com/

6.  Magikal Seasons:   I am showing my passion for Halloween art here, but I really love Halloween artists and Magikal Seasons is definitely one of my favorites.   I love her happy little pumpkins and haunted trees and they are definitely unique and strange.  http://magikalseasons.blogspot.com/

7. Histories, Mysteries, and Strangeness:  Do I really need to say any more about why I chose this blog?  It's all in the title isn't it?  http://histmyst.blogspot.com/ 

Thank you all for being strange and making my life that much more interesting by doing so!  I love all of your blogs!   Also,  thank you Courtney for appreciating my oddity.   Please visit Courtney at http://www.hauntjaunts.net/ to explore her strangeness!

The Demon Doll

I have fallen behind on my blogging this week and my last post was a pitiful summation of bizarre events  that occured while I was staying in my old family house.  My computer stopped working so I had to post from my iphone.  My pictures were blurred and everything went haywire.  My grandmother died yesterday before we made it back to see her and the only thing that's gone really well this week is my reading, which has gone at breakneck speed.   In the spirit of my flight of fancy,  I will tell a story I found in my favorite new book, There's Something Under the Bed.

Dolls scare the hell out of me so this story gave me nightmares.  This is the story of an over sized Raggedy Ann doll named Annabelle.   Annabelle was a gift given to a young nurse named Donna by her mother.   It wasn't long after Annabelle was given to Donna that Donna began to notice Annabelle moved about the apartment on her own.  Donna and her roommate, Angie, began to notice that they would leave for work and when they came home the doll would be laying on the bed in a different position.   The women started arranging the doll purposely in one position and they would find it with its arms crossed or legs moved.  This went on for some time and after a while the doll became more active.  It would change rooms.   Once, they even found the doll kneeling.  This is a position that is impossible for a raggedy anne doll on its own.

Over time the doll began to leave messages.  The messages were left in pencil on parchment paper.   The women had never owned parchment paper so its origin was as mysterious as the messages themselves.  The notes usually said "help us" or  "help lou".  The women began rigging the apartment to check for intruders.   They thought that maybe someone was tricking them, but there was no evidence of break ins.    One night they came home to find blood on the doll's hand.

Finally, the women contacted a medium to talk to the doll.  The doll said that she was a little girl who had died on the property who was lonely.  After this, the women contacted paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren.  The Warrens believed the story about the little girl was trickery to gain sympathy and that Annabelle was really possessed by a demon.  This belief was confirmed when Angie's boyfriend was attacked physically by some unseen spirit in the apartment.  The attack left a series of deep marks on Lou's chest.

After this,  a priest was called in to do an exorcism.  The exorcism seemed to work and the Warren's offered to take Annabelle home with them.   On the way home,   Annabelle caused the car to veer off the road almost killing the Warrens.  The Warrens dosed the doll in Holly Water and the activity stopped for a time.  Soon after,  Annabelle began to be active in the Warrens' home and they had to move her to their Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut.  They keep a website that documents their experiences with Annabelle at http://www.edandlorrainwarren.com/.  The doll has remained active since its placement in the museum and is even thought to be responsible for some deaths since that time.

Hang On A Minute, Lads – I've Got A Great Idea

I had an idea for a story today. I thought what if...? But I don't want to talk about the idea. I want to talk about where it came from.

Can all stories be got from a 'what if?' question? Is that where creativity comes from? I don't know. Did Picasso think 'what if everything looked like a set of cubes?' or did Dali wonder 'what if I melted some watches and spread them on a landscape?' Should modern art be appreciated as an example of original thought in its own right or is it just inspiration for the more practically minded?

As a development engineer I was always interested in how thing got invented. Do you remember the old-style kettles? They had a broad base so that they could absorb as much heat from the hob as possible with a handle at the top away from the heat. When the electric version came out, all they did was put an electric element inside, a socket on the back, some rubber feet and 'hey presto!' - a modern marvel. Then someone must have said 'hey, it doesn't have to be like this'. They made a smaller base so that it took less room on the worktop, made it taller, fashioned it from plastic and stuck the handle on the side. Being a technologist, I could never see the point of art, let alone surrealist stuff. But now I wonder if the person had been looking at a Picasso when the kettle idea came to them.

I'm still no closer to finding the source of my ideas. It's probably not important. Maybe the important thing is to stop worrying where it originates from and just look after it when turns up. I picked up this link from Frances Garrood's blog. It's a 20 minute presentation by a guy who is really funny and seems to know what he's talking about. It's well worth a look.
www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

And if you recognised the quote in the title – Michael Caine, The Italian Job. Now that film WAS inspirational.

EVP Pajama Party

It has been a long week here in the house that inspired my interest in ghosts. The Northern Lights were visible over the lake when I came and as I leave the matriarch of this Victorian mansion I am staying in lays dying a thousand miles away. We are leaving on Friday the 13th.

Over the last week the house has become more active. My sister and I have sat up over many late nights doing EVP sessions in the dark in our pj's. I love ghost hunting in pj's. Maybe I like everything more in pj's.
The first night was terribly uneventful. Quiet and nothing. The second night I picked up a soliary hello whispered in the red parlor. I am getting my pjs on for the final pj evp party.

Yesterday, there were many odd experiences in the house. I placed a hat over one of the old bedroom water spigets as a trigger object. The hat moved to the bed. I moved it back and my sister found it in the hall. While

curled up in my favorite reading chair, I heard another faint whispered hello. The house is definately stirring. I hope we get more on the EVP tonight.

Tomorrow, we go to see my grandmother before she passes. I know she'll come back here after and her family will be waiting.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Dresser St,Cheboygan,United States

This was a tough one. Could be legit. Not likely. But it required some inquiry. We started with this:


On Aug 9, 2010, at 3:50 AM, Jenifer Lee wrote:

I will like you to help me for a legal matter, please let me kow if you are ok with working with me, i will like to send you informations but let me hear from you first later i send informations.

Thank you for your time and hope to hear from you.
Regards,
Jenifer Lee


So I write back asking more information. Then we get the classic phishing line. If you kick around the site a bit you recognize this is just a redraft of the classic Family Lawyer scam.



Dear You,
I was Referred by George P. Kickliter and He told me to contact you. I am currently living in Japan and my husband live in Nebraska. I tried calling a couple of times and with the time difference(+13hrs EST) it is a little bit difficult to pick the best time to hit on phone you vice verse. We agreed under Collaborative Law Agreement for a one time cash settlement of $450,000.00 usd to his credit, he has paid me $104,000.00 usd but still owing $346,000.00 usd He is aware of my intention to seek legal actions .The lawyer that helped me with the matter earlier is retired now. I will be pleased to provide further information on this matter on request.I expect this to be a non-litigation matter. please let me know if you can handle this and also i would provide the Collaborative Law Agreement to you and also employ your service which would be duly paid for. Thank you and have a pleasant day.


Regards,
Jenifer


leejen@w.cn

Book Review: There's Something Under the Bed!

While I’ve been hidden away in the quiet of Northern Michigan in the sheltering arms of my beautiful family home, I’ve had plenty of free time to catch up on my reading. One of the first books I read while I was here was There’s Something under the Bed by Ursula Bielski. This book was a very pleasant surprise. I find many paranormal books to be very difficult to read. They may have interesting information and their writer’s may be well informed, but the writing is often stiff and bland and I have to shuffle my way through them.


Ursula Bielski’s book is nothing like this. She is a very good writer and the history of dirt can be interesting in the hands of a good enough writer. Ms. Bielski’s subject matter is very interesting too, making this book dangerously interesting. I’ve seen several books published recently on children and the paranormal and how to deal with children who see ghosts or have paranormal experiences. This is by far the most interesting of the group. Ms. Bielski starts with old folklore and the deep roots our child rearing practices have in folklore and superstition. She explains children’s fears and discusses the history of popular magical creatures we encourage our children to believe in such as the sandman, Santa Claus, and the tooth fairy. She then branches off and tells numerous interesting case studies of children who’ve been involved in the paranormal in one way or another.

My favorite and the most horrifying chapter in this book is the one on toys. Ms. Bielski tells numerous true stories of demonic dolls and wicked Ouija boards. I will never have another doll or Ouija board after reading this book. One of the creepiest stories is the story of three girls at a slumber party playing with the Ouija board. The board brings all kinds of wickedness that the girls are never able to dispel. I also really enjoyed the chapter on children who see angels and saints.

This book was so good that since we’ve gotten here three other people have read it.

Translink communication Asia Attorney

Harmless enough, right? A very pithy little email:

Name...: Mr cheng ming
Email..: mrchengming@live.com

Subject: A LEGAL QUESTION

i need a business litigation lawyer to handle collections matters.

I send a quick note back: What's up Cheng? Mr. Ming starts to smell phishy from there. As always, the new phishermen includes websites and lots of links. Good job reeling me in (even if it was only a little ways) Mr. Cheng.

Dear Counsel,

Thank you for your response. You will find the matter below.

However we have been able to establish that delinquent or past due accounts in your state TX in the U.S, running over $1.350,400.00 and about a year or more over due in some cases. There has been no complaints made about our products, no payment has been made with several previous attempt to make collection in these accounts ending negatively.

Translink communication Asia pte would have been settled if we had a reputable lawyer/ firm representing our organization in collections or possible law suit, hence, we are ready to work with you on collections on delinquent accounts.

Name of Delinquent customer for you to run a conflict check on them
Allied Electronics Inc,
address is 1651 N COLLINS BLVD RICHARDSON, TX 75080.

We are willing to maintain an evergreen retainer ship fee of $15,000 to demonstrate to you that we are ready to work with you on collections on delinquent account.

At this moment it will not be proper for me to provide you with list of Delinquent accounts or the copy of a typical contract/copies of invoices until there is client attorney Standard engagement /relationship.

We want you to provide legal consultation, collections of delinquent accounts, required Representation / brings actions in court against the delinquent customers based on agreed amount per hour or percentage on collection made.

Please accept my sincerest appreciation for your willingness to render your Services, as we look forward to your prompt response to my email.

If you have any questions contact me personally anytime by email.

Best Regards,


Mr Cheng Ming
Vice President
Translink Communications Asia Pte Ltd
#38 LIANG SEAH STREET #03-01
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE 1890
chengming@translinkcommunicationasiapte.net
mrchengming@live.com
www.translinkcommunicationasiapte.net