Haunted Hooey
I was watching Most Haunted Live on the Travel Channel earlier today, and I wasn’t impressed at all.
First of all, everything that took place were only claims of things happening to the people doing the “investigating,” by those very “investigators.” Where were the orbs, the indoor mist, the apparitions, the EVP’s and other paranormal phenomenon that I can see and hear for myself? They said they heard ghostly noises, but I didn’t hear them. Maybe I should’ve had the volume all the way up or something.
All I saw were people claiming to have paranormal experiences and that really seemed like bad acting. The cuts on the guy’s bodies were a nice touch, but I bet they got paid extra to let them do that to them, if it wasn’t fake blood and cuts that is.
They had webcams which some people watching the show at home claimed to had seen ghostly stuff on, but of course, they didn’t show any pictures of the paranormal things allegedly caught on them.
Honestly, it all felt really fake to me. And apparently, it felt that way for a good reason. It’s highly likely that it is all just done for entertainment, not to seriously investigate buildings and houses that are purportedly haunted, like it is claimed to be. Read the criticism section in the Most Haunted Wikipedia article and you’ll see what I mean. You can also view videos on youtube of the crew possibly faking evidence in this section.
I know this is TV and things are definitely not what they seem on it, but is it really too much to ask for a little honesty? If you claim to investigate ghosts, then I expect you to really be doing that. And if you aren’t, then at least have the deceny of being honest with the audience and telling them it’s all for their entertainment and not real.
At least the Most Farted spoof videos were funny.
Anyway, tonight I will be watching another paranormal investigation show, Ghost Hunters, live on the Sci Fi channel. Hopefully it will be better than the sham from across the pond.
Happy Halloween to you. Here, check out the history of Halloween, because facts are cool.
Tomorrow
Tomorrow is June 6, 2006 — 6/6/06. To some religious people, that means that something bad is going to happen on that day because the date has three sixes in it.
According to an older version of Wikipedia’s entry on June 6 (scroll down to 2006), “some people also believe on this date the birth of the Anti-Christ will occur and that dark times will follow.”
Yeah.. sure. I don’t believe that anything bad is going to happen at all. In fact, I think it will just be another normal Tuesday — no supernatural stuff, no sky turning red, no Devil coming out of the ground and wreaking havoc, no Anti-Christ showing up, etc. and ad nauseam. And besides, as Wikipedia correctly points out, the number of the beast is 666, not 6606. In fact, the number of the beast may not even be three sixes at all, it may be 616.
So it looks like people are just going to have to wait for 6/6/6000. Then again, that has zeroes in it too, so that is probably out the window also.
Believing that something bad, in a Biblical sense, is going to happen on Tuesday assumes that the Book of Revelation is about supernatural and future events, both of which I do not believe. I think the writer of Revelation meant people with his numbers:
The hypothesis that 666 is a code for a Roman emperor seems to have some historical support. The emperors were noted for their oppression of both Jews and early Christians. Both communities were known to use numerology and codes where living under Roman rule to avoid persecution. (source)
And I believe that he was writing his book for his people in his time. Do you really think he was concerned with things 1900 years into the future, or in his own time? I’ll go with what makes more sense, the latter.
On a related subject, people also think that Jesus is coming back soon, but I don’t believe that either and here’s one reason why.
Anyway, enjoy the day, despite what numbers are associated with it and just say no.. to superstition!
Recommended Free Apps
I’ve recently downloaded some good freeware (in my opinion at least), so I thought I’d share the new finds along with some other good, free programs that I also recommend giving a try.
First up is one I highly recommend: Bulk Rename Utility. Here’s the description of it from the site:
Bulk Rename Utility is a utility which allows you to easily rename files and directories, based upon extemely flexible criteria. Add date-stamps, replace numbers, insert strings, convert case, add auto-numbers, process folders and subfolders….plus loads more!
Next up is Launcher.
Launcher is an easy-to-use personal shortcut manager that can launch all kinds of files and programs.
Text editor time! First up is Metapad which I used for awhile until I came across Win32Pad a couple of days ago. Metapad has some features that Win32Pad lacks, but they are both good apps. Meta and Win32 (pad!) are good for Notepad replacements, but if you want something for editing HTML and other code languages, I recommend Notepad++.
If only NP++ had an option to make URLs clickable like Meta and Win32 (pad!) does, NP++ would be even better.
Speaking of editing HTML, there is that HTML-Kit you might want to also check out.
And on the Win32Pad site, there are also some other apps you might find useful.
The next app is one for the weather buffs, Weather Watcher.
Now it is the audio software’s turn. I have two for you to check out: Audacity from SourceForge and WavePad.
Screenshot Captor is a good app for snapping shots of your screen.
MR Tech has some apps you might like, such as Systray which:
… is a swiss army knife of tools, tweaks and system options. It will not only let you quickly shut down, restart or log off from Windows, it can help keep your hard disk a little cleaner, organize your MP3 & Other Media files, edit MP3’s iD3 tags, sort text lines, log reboots and tune your system. Other features include: system-wide shortcut keys, an incredibly fast program uninstaller, a directory jump list, enhanced system information, save or print screenshot/window and more.
For blogging, there is w.bloggar which is available in IE and Mozilla (for Firefox) versions. Speaking of Firefox, if it hasn’t replaced IE for you, then what are you waiting for?
And for an FTP app, I recommend FileZilla.
I found out about most of these apps via MR Tech.com.
Of course there are many other good apps out there, so here’s some help in finding them.
Wikipedia has much help regarding text editors:
The list of text editors and the comparisons of those editors.
And for other software in general, check out Softpedia.
Later.
Paranormal Poppycock
Continuing the theme of “don’t believe everything you hear”, there are two famous paranormal stories that most people probably believe are true, but it is highly unlikely that they are.
I am talking about The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror.
Read the following articles, then make up your own mind.
Exorcism! Driving Out the Nonsense
The Haunted Boy: the Inspiration for the Exorcist (this is quite long and has five parts).
Snopes.com article about The Amitville Horror.
Don’t Get Fooled By “Psychics”
This is just a quickie. Here’s some stuff you need to know so you don’t get fooled by “psychics” like John Edward, Sylvia Browne, and many others who claim to have psychic abilities.
Check out this article first and then when you have time to read a longer article, read this one.
I know this sounds like a cliche and common sense, but people still do the opposite, so it needs to be said. Do not believe everything you read or hear and see on TV. Doubt and question stuff.
Anyway, after learning the techniques they use, you too could become a “psychic”.
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