Now you see me, now you don’t: cephalopods in hiding

Today’s post is about a natural phenomena so strange that one would swear it is a result of something otherworldly. However, sometimes the truly bazar is hiding in our own backyard and, despite the “reality” of this story, it seems worth sharing to those ether-minded readers.

(Source: http://www.dimensionsguide.com/size-of-an-octopus/)

Marine biologist, Roger Hanlon, studies cephalopods, which include squid, cuttlefish and octopus. During one of his expeditions, he was able to film one of the most interesting abilities of these sea creatures: the capacity to completely mimic their environment. On his Marine Biological Laboratory website page, Hanlon writes that the “distinguishing feature of cephalopods is that individual animals can change their appearance with a speed and diversity unparalleled in the animal kingdom: we term this ‘rapid, neurally controlled polymorphism.’” He goes on to write how some cephalopods can have 30 to 50 different appearances.  

Biologists have determined six “mechanisms of camouflage;” including: 1) General background resemblance, 2) Deceptive resemblance (including mimicry), 3) Disruptive coloration, 4) Countershading/concealment of the shadow, 5) Rarity through polymorphism, and 6) Cryptic behavior and vigilance. What is so striking about cephalopods is their ability to use all six mechanisms. A complete understanding of how this process takes place still alludes scientist. Still, they have surmised that sight is the primary cue for both texture and color changes despite being colorblind. The video goes on to show how the skin actually changes pigment and does a far better job of demonstrating these abilities than any words could.  

(Source: http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/watch/10397)

Special Note: Apologies are due for the limited number of recent posts. The Reaching Through the Ether team has been busy developing a website to replace the companion blog. This site will greatly expand on news, expeditions, films and books that creep out of the depths of the ether. Currently, this blog is still being used until further notice. 

Some more pics from Prospect

For information about Prospect Place, the history, the hauntings and our ghost hunt, visit these other posts: Mystery and murder at Prospect Place, Live from Prospect Place: I, and Live from Prospect Place: II. Now, for some more pics from our trip to Prospect.

Below: These are all painting that are for sale at Prospect Place.

 

    

 

Above: This one is hard to see, but it is a not-so-stable staircase.

Above: Cross painted on the wall in a large room on the, I think, third floor.

 Above: What appears to be an old well was down in the cellar. When you get inside, a collapsed tunnel leads under the house.

Below: The Adams' family tree.

Below: These were posted by some of the rooms on the second floor.

Live From Prospect Place: II

Well, travelers into the unknown, after another sweep through the mansion we have obtained no EVP or film footage of note. We do have one very frightening thing that we did indeed see. Behold:

We love this guy! He follows you everywhere...best comedy commercial on TV. Go Kevin!

There is a lot about Prospect Place that is interesting and we are eager to share. But, it is more about the history and what the educational foundation is doing. So, with that said, we will bid you all a good evening unless something reaches through the ether to grab us.

Thanks for reading!

Live From Prospect Place: I

Well, hello to all those who are following our Prospect Place adventure. The fact that we are blogging to you means one thing: we have not been murdered or possessed by the demons "prospecting"(did someone hear a drum to accentuate such a witty pun?) through these halls. We have gotten a bit dusty though. The maid has not cleaned in awhile, despite the fact that she has been seen near the stairs where she died. So...

We got in around 7:00 p.m. Below, you can see a couple photos of the gates leading into Prospect Place. The person taking the photos is much more pleasing to the eye than the subject of the photo, but, don't worry, you will have the chance to see that lovely lady in a bit.

Upon entering, this was the towering mansion of the dead (how is that for ominous?). Here was the beast we would be facing down this evening:

What you are all seeing here is a side view of the mansion. The entrance is around on the right side, where, as you ascend the front steps, you are first met with a pigeon and some cigarette-filled ashtrays. After calling the number posted on the door, George Adams, the descendant of - you guessed it, George Adams (who built the mansion twice - more on that later) answered the door. Unfortunately, the door bell did not create a loud gong sound and Lurch did not come to the door. However, we must say, Mr. Adams was surely far better company than Lurch would have been. After briefly showing us around, Mr. Adams sat down with us to discuss his family's epic history and how he came to live in an apartment in the back with his partner, Paul. Being that the purpose of this article is to let all of you know about the adventure, the details of this discussion will be saved for posts in the coming weeks. We will say, however, a thank you to Mr. Adams for his time.

From there, we explored the house and the barn. Below, are some pictures from this first outing:

I am not entirely sure what this is. Perhaps, a well? There are unsubstantiated rumors that there was a escape tunnel for slaves hiding in the basement. Now, there are only spiders...lots and lots of spiders.

This was painted on the wall in one of the upstairs rooms. It was red...must be blood, right?

We haven't encountered any ghosts yet, but the above and below pictures are creepy enough. They were rich; shouldn't they smile. The above picture is of Mary Adams, George W. Adams second wife. The below painting is of George himself.

Well, we are off to explore some more. Nothing of note to report at this time. Again, stay tuned to future posts and examiner articles where we will detail our discussions with Mr. Adams and the wonderful educational programs that revolve around Prospect Place. We're off. If we don't come back...well, that's not good.

Upcoming site visit: Prospect Place

On May 11, 2011, we published the article, “Mystery and murder at Prospect Place,” where we detailed the dark and eventful history of the family that built and resided in the estate. Prospect Place has gained national prominence for its hauntings and has appeared on several national ghost hunting television shows. In addition, we announced our upcoming site visit, which will take place on the evening of July 7th, 2011. A more lengthy review of the site can be read on our blog, Reaching Through the Ether, where we will also post live updates, pictures and videos of our experiences. Next week’s Examiner article will also review our experience; however, the more detailed information will only be provided on the blog due to space limitations. So, please join us and, on the chance we are not heard from again, find out what happened.  

"Ghost City" appears over Chinese river

ITN News

Earlier this month, what has been referred to as a ghost city appeared over the Xin’an River in the eastern Chinese city of Huanshan. For approximately four hours, buildings, mountains and trees could clearly be seen just above a thin cloud of mist that hovered over the river. The event had occurred following extensive rain and high humidity. Consequently, most reports refer to the phenomenon as a mirage, while others speculate that the appearance of the city was due to a vortex revealing another dimension. Despite the speculation, it is not known what created the vivid image, though the term mirage will be used for the purposes of this article.

ITN News

Video taken by the UK news network ITN, showed a woman looking upon the scene and saying, “It’s really amazing; it looks like a scene in a movie, in a fairyland.” This is not the first occurrence of a mirage in China. In 2006, the China Daily, an English language publication, printed four pictures of mirages off the coast of the Shandong Province. Mirages have occurred throughout the world, from Iceland to Japan, and have been the subject of the recounts of historical events. Despite the documentation and the endless number of pictures that can be found on the Internet, the clarity of the Xin’an event sets it apart and allows for much skepticism as to whether it was indeed simply a mirage. Mirages are optical illusions created by the bending of light rays as they pass through air with a high degree of variation in temperature.



ITN News





ITN News



What was not determined from the news footage or the various articles about the event was whether any investigation took place at the site. The mirage lasted for four hours. During that time,were there any accounts of someone traveling along the river and changing their perspective of the city? As one moved closer to the image, did it disappear or actually appear in all dimensions from all angles?  Was a boat taken to the image? Were any high-powered lenses used to look at the image? If this was a mirage, would any moving objects or people whose images were duplicated be shown in motion, more like a video feed? Or, would they be still? If anyone has found accounts beyond the general articles that are online and, essentially, provide the same information, please let us know.

What do you believe?

In his recent book, The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies – How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths, Michael Shermer writes about a 2009 Harris Poll concerning what people believe. 2,303 Americans were surveyed for the poll.  The results included the following:

Ø  God: 82%                       

Ø  Miracles: 76%

Ø  Heaven: 75%                                            

Ø  Jesus is God or the son of God: 73%

Ø  Angels: 72%

Ø  Survival of the soul after death: 71%

Ø  The virgin birth (of Jesus): 61%

Ø  The devil: 60%

Ø  Darwin’s Theory of Evolution: 45%

Ø  Ghosts: 42%

Ø  Creationism: 40%

Ø  UFOs: 32%
Ø  Astrology: 26%
Ø  Witches: 23%
Ø  Reincarnation: 20%

Of the 17 items listed above, only Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is a concept that has been tested using scientific means as well as being peer reviewed. More of the survey participants believe in the 10 supernatural items listed prior to the aforementioned scientific theory. It should also be noted that all of the 10 beliefs are Christian-based, which would be expected considering the American demographic that was surveyed. This is in contrast to, with the exception of Creationism, the beliefs that are not of a wholly Christian or religious base.

Though not stemming from a Judeo-Christian belief system, the “believing” author of this article would suggest that the sheer number of people holding supernatural beliefs implies something about the validity of paranormal experiences. So, the above poll brings the question: Why do people believe what they do? A strong majority of people believe in things for which there is no definitive evidence while dismissing comprehensively tested scientific theories. Are those believers in the supernatural simply examples of confirmation bias? Michael Shermer has regularly written about how this is indeed the case. In addition, he has extensively detailed how people come to believe what they do, which does not typically involve the objective study of a topic. So, then, if Shermer is correct, how can so many people hold such beliefs and give detailed accounts of otherworldly experiences?   

This blog post is not going to answer these questions. What the authors are hoping for, however, is a dialogue between those reading. In addition to the comments section for this blog, readers are invited to send more extensive examinations on the nature of one’s beliefs to reachingthroughtheether@gmail.com. Those comments that are particularly insightful will then be posted on this site, which will hopefully allow for a more in-depth discussion of the subject matter. Remember, the authors of this blog both hold drastically different views from one-another, with one being a believer in the paranormal and the other being much more of a materialist. Consequently, the intent of this exercise is not to provoke argument between the readers themselves or the authors and the readers. In addition, the authors are not wanting to simply learn more about what people believe, but, more importantly, to have readers answer the question of why they believe what they do. This is a public forum, so others may offer differing views. This is acceptable as long as it is done politely and the discussion centers on the beliefs and not the believer. Most importantly of all, responses to readers should further the discussion and our understanding of the wonderful and uniquely human characteristic: belief.