The Alchemist and the Cryptozoologist
by admin on Jan.21, 2012, under Strange
Two very different books have one thing in common. In the allegorical fiction book The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, much of the story is about a shepherd boy’s travels far from his homeland; he returns to find his purpose fulfilled in his own country. In the nonfiction book Live Pterosaurs in America, by Jonathan Whitcomb, only a little is about the author’s travel to Papua New Guinea; he returns to find a possibility that his purpose may be fulfilled in his own country.
The Alchemist and Live Pterosaurs in America
. . . It’s in how something in a shepherd boy’s quest resembles something in the history of living-pterosaur investigations since the late twentieth century (traveling back and forth, literally).
But how strange it may strike readers when they realize that the non-fiction book is the one about modern pterosaurs—some would call them “dragons”—living in the United States of America, not the fictional story by Coelho.
Recent Pterosaur Tracks or Monster Tracks?
by admin on Jan.04, 2012, under Strange
In Mexico, an eyewitness of recent tracks believes they might have been made by living pterosaurs. When questioned by the American cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb, however, the man admitted that he knew little about pterosaur footprints: He believed that the large tracks were made by one or more large flying creatures that have terrorized a few Mexican citizens in these remote areas, perhaps within 200-300 miles of the border with Texas; he suspects those flying creatures are pterosaurs, for he had once seen an apparent pterosaur. Some Mexicans consider the flying animals to be dangerous monsters, regardless of how scientists or cryptozoologists might classify them.
The man firmly believes it was a large flying creature . . . The impressions in the soil were one inch deep, and he could not make that deep of an impression, even after jumping on the soil nearby; it must have been a heavy animal. One of the kinds of footprints was about 18 inches by about 20 inches . . . that is a large foot. During the excursion in which he recorded the following photos, there had been much rain just before the impressions were discovered.
This brings to mind the sightings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the 1965-1971 time frame.
We were walking down near the boat yards, headed home . . . There were some stagnant pools here and there . . . We were walking through that scrub area, and suddenly it [the "pterodactyl"] sat up, as if it had been eating something or resting. . . . right in front of us about thirty feet away. All of us froze for about five seconds, then it leaned to its left and took off with a fwap fwap fwap sound, in a big hurry, more of a scramble . . . and disappeared behind trees and terrain.
Deaths From Brain-Eating Amoeba
by admin on Dec.19, 2011, under Environment
In Louisiana, two deaths have been linked to tap water improperly used to rinse out sinus cavities.
Brain-Eating Amoeba (Fox News)
Louisiana’s state health department has issued a warning about the dangers of improperly using nasal-irrigation devices called neti pots, responding to two recent deaths in the state that are thought to have resulted from “brain-eating amoebas” entering people’s brains through their sinuses while they were using the devices.
Both victims are believed to have filled their neti pots with tap water instead of manufacturer-recommended distilled or sterilized water. When they used these pots to force the water up their noses and flush out their sinus cavities — a treatment for colds and hay fever — a deadly amoeba living in the tap water, called Naegleria fowleri, worked its way from their sinuses into their brains.
The deaths are still under investigation, and health officials are sure that almost all dangerous microorganisms are killed in the purification processes commonly used on tap water. Nevertheless, there is always a possibility that a few microbes can survive long enough to get into the human body.
Demon Flyer – The Right Phrase?
by admin on Dec.14, 2011, under Strange
Wikipedia, under “Ropen,” mentions the 2009 television show that MonsterQuest conducted “searching” for the “demon flyer” of Papua New Guinea (one of the participants in that expedition later revealed that the team was not there to do scientific investigating but to make a show). But recent writings on the ropen counter the idea that the word means “demon flyer.”
The second Umboi Island expedition of 2004 (a few weeks after mine) turned up an interesting perspective on the word “ropen.” Jacob Kepas, the native interpreter for the American cryptozoologists David Woetzel and Garth Guessman, knew the word but was puzzled. Why go to such trouble flying on a small plane to Umboi Island to search for a bird? In his village near Wau (mainland Papua New Guinea), “ropen” is the word used for a common bird. The large nocturnal flying creature that glows—that frightening creature they call “seklo-bali.”
The origin of the word “ropen” is something more likely meaning simply “flyer.”
Pterosaurs in Central America
by admin on Aug.16, 2011, under Strange
Three flying creatures, with an appearance suggesting a pterosaur, were seen flying together over a beach in Belize, Central America. The eyewitness, Vito Kobliha, who now lives in Southern California, was involved in a film project for an unrelated documentary, in 2006, when he and another member of the production team witnessed the three apparent pterosaurs. They were able to videotape them with a high-definition camera, although the creatures were flying high and at a distance.
The apparent pterosaurs were high and rather far off, but Kobliha had the impression that they were not ordinary birds.
Videotaping three apparent living pterosaurs with a professional camera—that set this sighting apart from other sightings. I hope to have a copy of his video soon, so that I can analyze the footage.
