The Placebo Effect

The placebo effect is when a person takes something they believe is medicine for an ailment they are suffering, and they get better. A placebo is an inert substance, and when taken makes the person get better, simply because they were expecting or believed that it would work.

Something similar, called the nocebo effect, is when a person takes fake drugs and thinks they are experiencing problems that would have been caused by the real drugs. They have been known to reduce pain as well.

Why they occur is mysterious and they are only one of the many complicated things related to the body-brain connection. In fact, our own bodies hold many unsolved mysteries.

Megalithic structures

A megalithic structure is some thing big made of rock. It could be a statue, or just some rocks strewn around in a pattern. The truly mysterious thing about the ancients is, how were they able to create such enormous things? They did not have the technology needed to efficiently make them. Stonehenge is a good example. A bigger one is the Great Pyramid in Giza, or the pyramids themselves.

Sometimes, even their purpose is unclear (Stonehenge), while other times, the structures in question are mysterious and seemingly supernatural (the pyramids). A megalith (I know, sounds like something from Di-Gata Defenders), a giant rock, is used most of the time, especially in the case of Stonehenge and the Carnac stones. Still, there are a few mega lithic structures that are not mysterious (like Great Zimbabwe), but mostly it seems impossible that the ancients made these things themselves.

Now, many would like to think aliens helped them. Yet even scientists say queerer things. They suggest that there may have been a lost ancient civilization that was extremely advanced, and they may have given later civilizations the knowledge to build such things. Yet there is no substantial evidence of either. Other examples: Easter Island Heads, Pyramid of the Sun (in Mesoamerica), other pyramids in central and south America, Colossus of Rhodes.

Creation of the Universe

The universe is vast and unknown. It holds many mysteries. And possibly the biggest mystery is how the universe was created. Scientists have suggested that there was a massive explosion billions of years ago called The Big Bang. That theory is now generally accepted, and scientists are looking for trails of energy left behind from the colossal explosion that created a trillion stars. Yet there is no absolute proof. But the creation of the universe is something too big to happen so simply.

Religious folks will say God/Allah/Vishnu created the universe. But scientists will say that there was a Big Bang, and that there is energy from the bang moving through the universe, and they are trying to locate the epicentre. So, the debate continues.

Religion vs. Science is probably the biggest conflict in the world. But what is religion? There are so many different types. And the difference between the Christian religion and Greek mythology? No one believes in Greek mythology anymore. But what is science? And math? Things created by man. So before saying that man created God and science proves it, people should realize man created science as well. And maybe, the universe is just something made up in our minds.

The Consequence

What makes this year so special? The fact that the Olympics are taking place in London? No. The ancient Maya civilization, from Central America, had a special calendar that was mind-blowingly accurate. And it predicted that the end of the human life cycle was on December 21st, 2012, the winter solstice.

The Mayans were also good at math and astrology(they accurately predicted an eclipse that occurred hundred of years later). So people are guessing that they were right about the end of the world thing, too. Something else that has gotten scientists curious is that there are some major astronomical things happening in 2012.

Apart from the occasional eclipse and comet, the entire solar system is supposed to pass through the center of our galaxy, something that happens only once every 26,000 years. And, there’s a risk of our planet’s poles switching. Sounds crazy, but scientists say this has already happened. Also, the Indian calendar, the Kali Yuga, ends at about the same time. Coincidence? I think not

Zombies in Haiti

Haitan vodou, part of their religious practices, has long been considered to be evil. And the base of this suspicion is that the vodou is used to create zombies. Not zombies as in Hollywood zombies.

Zombies like, sub-conscious humans who do everything they are told. Wade Davis, a Canadian ethno-biologist, uncovered a lot of info on this. Apparently, it originated in Africa, and two drugs (or poisons) are inserted into the victim’s bloodstream.

One creates a deathlike trance, and one makes the victim seem like they have no brain of their own, thus rendering them able to do whatever they are told. 3 important facts Davis found was:- zombification is not random, it is not common, and it is used as a kind of severe punishment,
most likely to those that have broken the sacred vodou law.

UFO in Pennsylvania

Hunters spots UFO in Pennsylvania - The following incident was documented to have taken place in Elk County, Pennsylvania in the United States at 4:45 am, on 4 October 2008: Two hunters had entered the woods at about 0445am. It had been raining and it was very dark. For lighting they had only a “hat light” and a mini Mag light. As the fellows walked further into the wooded area, they heard the sound of a coyote howl and the two men stopped.

A short time later, they heard coyotes howling from various locations all around the woods. It appeared to be three different packs of the animals. The men had hunted quite often and one of the men said he had never heard so many coyotes howling like that before. At times it was hard for the men to communicate with each other. Suddenly about 150 - 200 yards ahead on the other side of a field they noticed two very dim glowing lights, the lights were about the size of a baseball and about two feet apart, and estimated to be about 15 feet above the ground. They glowed, “like the indigo colour of a watch.”

The two men thought the lights were odd, but considered that maybe there were some hunters ahead. The men shut off their lights. As they walked forward, in the distance toward where they saw the first glowing lights, they now observed what looked like a flashing beam flashing back and forth between the tree line. They did not think this was odd, since it was archery season, and there was the possibility that other hunters were in the area.

Vampires

Vampires embody so much of what we secretly desire within. They are (presumably) immortal, they are often seen as so irresistible to the opposite sex, that their food supply willingly submits to whatever awaits them. The dark and foreboding nature of the character combined with the sexual attraction guarantees generation after generation of both wannabe vampires and wannabe vampire hunters.

If the myth and legend can’t be realized though, the next best thing is to invent a viable alternative. Thus was born the emotional/soul sucking vampyres of the modern era. It would just be too doggone easy to expose a fake because they either drink the blood of the living victims or they are seen as a fraud. That spoils the head-trip so… they dazzle their victims, vacuuming out their emotions and spirits. Since such cannot be seen to be confirmed, it can neither be disproved or denied. Very convenient.

Highgate Cemetery in north London is a spooky place at the best of times, and rumours of ghosts occupying its Victorian crypts and tombs have existed since its consecration in 1839. And the fact that Karl Marx, father of communism, is buried there only adds to its mystique. However, when a phantom figure was seen in the cemetery in 1967, followed by the discovery of animals sucked of blood in nearly Waterloo Park, rumours began of a vampire. The situation was not helped when a local paper dubbed the phantom the Highgate Vampire in 1970. And on Friday, 13 March of that year, a mass vampire hunt was organised. Hundreds of vampire hunters invaded the cemetery, armed with stakes, garlic and crosses. No vampire was caught, but much vandalism took place and a female corpse was exhumed. In 1974, a further, smaller hunt organised by famed vampire hunter David Farrant, led to claims that a vampire had been caught and destroyed. But rumours of sightings and dead animals continued well into the 1980s.

Petra Jordan

It is believed that the ancient, mysterious and hauntingly beautiful site of Petra in Jordan has been inhabited (in one way or another) for approximately 9000 years although its existence was kept secret from the modern West until 1812, when Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt “rediscovered it” and revealed its magnificence to the world. Petra - Jordan was designated a World Heritage Site in 1985 and it has been described as “One of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage”, by UNESCO. In Arab tradition, Petra is the place where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where his sister, Miriam, is buried.

The word Petra (as with Peter) means “rock” and is derived from the Greek and Arabic language. It is a wonderfully appropriate name as this ancient city is literally carved from the rose-red sandstone hills and outcrops.

Although Petra in jordan is most commonly associated with the Nabataeans, it has been occupied by many different tribes and nations over the millennia. The true mystery of Petra (the lost city) is just how little is known about its history although this is likely to change as each year new studies and excavations slowly reveal the secrets of the place. Evidence of Neolithic habitation of jordan and Petra in the form of six ascending rows of dwellings has been discovered near Baida and suggests that it may be one of the oldest recorded known sites of human habitation in the world.

The Cursed Ring

In the vault of a Los Angeles bank lies a silver ring set with a semiprecious stone. It is not a particularly pretty ring or even a very valuable one, and chances are that no one will ever dare to wear it again. The ring lies in the vault because it bears one of the most malignant curses in the history of the occult. Successive owners have suffered injury, misfortune, even death. And many people still believe it was this ring that sent Rudolph Valentino to a premature grave. Certainly, the violent incidents that have surrounded it over the years can hardly be shrugged off as mere coincidences.

Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926) was an Italian actor, sex symbol, and early pop icon. Known as the "Latin Lover", he was one of the most popular stars of the 1920s, and one of the most recognized stars from the silent film era. He is best known for his work in The Sheik and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Valentino was born Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi in Castellaneta, Italy, to a French mother, Marie Berthe Gabrielle Barbin (1856 - 1919), and Giovanni Antonio Giuseppe Fidele Guglielmi, a veterinarian who died of malaria, then widespread in Southern Italy, when Valentino was 11. He had an older brother, Alberto (1892-1981), a younger sister, Maria, and an older sister Beatrice who died in infancy.

As a child, Valentino was reportedly spoiled and troublesome. His mother coddled him while his father disapproved of his behavior. He did poorly in school, and was eventually enrolled in agricultural school where he received a degree. After living in Paris in 1912, he soon returned to Italy. Unable to secure employment, he departed for the United States in 1913. He was processed at Ellis Island at age 18 on December 23, 1913.

In 1917, Valentino joined an operetta company that traveled to Utah where it disbanded. He then joined an Al Jolson production of Robinson Crusoe Jr., travelling to Los Angeles. By fall, he was in San Francisco with a bit part in a theatrical production of Nobody Home. While in town, Valentino met actor Norman Kerry, who convinced him to try a career in cinema, still in the silent film era.

By 1919, he had carved out a career in bit parts. It was a bit part as a "cabaret parasite" in the drama The Eyes of Youth that caught the attention of screenwriter June Mathis, who thought he would be perfect for her next movie.

It was in 1920 that Valentino, at the peak of his success, saw the ring in a San Francisco jeweller's. The proprietor warned him that the ring was a jinx, but Valentino still bought it. He wore the ring in his next picture, The Young Rajah. It was the biggest flop of his career and he was off the screen for the next two years. Valentino did not wear the ring again until he used it as a costume prop in The Son of the Sheik. Three weeks after finishing this film, he went to New York on vacation. While wearing the ring, he suffered an acute attack of appendicitis. Two weeks later, he was dead.

Nostradamus 2012 - The End of the World

According to the beliefs of the ancient Maya is our world on 21 December 2012 end. At midnight her calendar jumps to the first time in more than 5000 years back to zero. This "end date" has fascinated scholars since about one hundred years the system of the Mayan era has been rediscovered.

The next day, 22 December 2012, are the sun at the winter solstice in a plane with a "stargate" in the center of our galaxy. As this happens only once every 25,800 years, it is the first time since the beginning of history, that humanity will witness such an event. This raises the obvious question: Why invented the ancient Maya, a Stone Age people who have not even used bikes, let alone telescopes all over, a calendar, culminating in a unique astronomical event, which for them was thousands of years in the future ? They prophesied that this event will be preceded by a series of huge natural disasters. These prophecies seem especially also very alarming, because the Maya to their own downfall in the 9th have predicted century BC itself properly.

The Maya had a cyclic understanding of time and believed that following the natural order of things goes through every age a cycle that ends in the destruction of all achievements. The highlight of the book however, is the thesis that the Mayan calendar for 2012, a "cosmic visit" prophesied. Adrian Gilbert has shown that they point to both the Old and New World in the existing belief that the days on which these gates are opened, the era of the "gods" over and start again.

Earth's Twin Discovered

A newly discovered planet orbiting Gliese 581 is the so far most Earthlike discovered yet. With scientists still marveling at the incredible similarities present in the new planet orbiting in the "habitable zone" around Gliese, and its relative proximity to Earth, the prospect of colonizing other worlds and finding planets that may have alien life on them seems closer to reality than ever.

20 years ago the prospect of finding another planet like Earth was one of the most distant and impossible seeming prospects to confront the world of science. The thought that anywhere in the galaxy there may or may not be alien life was more than enough to leave many scientists with the grim prospect that Earth may be the only planet habitable in the universe. And yet a planet just recently discovered is so close to Earth's own that many are calling it Earth's twin. Though the planet may be Earth's fraternal twin rather than an identical one, the discovery just goes to show how incredibly close a habitable or (better yet) inhabited planet may be. And given a couple million years it is possible Gliese 581's satellite may even be the perfect size for human life through natural events.

The planet rests at just the right distance from its sun, meaning water on its surface would remain liquid on its surface. Its size suggests the planet's surface would have a solid surface, and may even possess life on it if the conditions are right. Of course further study will be necessary to confirm this, and it's too early to even begin suggesting life may be present on Gliese 581's surface. But the perfect distance, size, and type of sun may provide a statistically significant image of what our universe is truly like and just how much life there probably is in it.

Gliese 581 is one of only 9 stars that have been studied thoroughly to discover whether Earthlike planets surround it. If Gliese 581g, the name of the possible Earth twin is truly anywhere near habitable, this is already showing a statistical significance of one out of nine systems discovered having possibly inhabitable planets orbiting it. If this were the case, then the billions of stars in our galaxy suggest life is not merely a rare occurrence in space, but could be quite prolific throughout the universe. So prolific, in fact, that there could be a whole 'Star Trek-like' universe out there complete with millions of various forms of life of varying degrees of advancement.

So with this new discovery coming forth in such a short period of time (only 15 years since the search really got underway) and already a planet being discovered that could very well possess life, what are the chances of more being out there that truly do?

And the proximity of only 20 lightyears away isn't as daunting as it may seem. A proposal by Stephen Hawking suggests that a rocket running constantly for six years could in theory achieve speeds approaching light speed, but never breaking them. By doing this the craft could reach a planet 20 light years away in a span of no more than 23 years travel. A long haul by any means, but one that the human race could theoretically perform with sufficient determination and technical ability.