The Georgia Guidestones

America has its own puny version of Stonehenge? Who knew? The Georgia Guidestones, a large granite monument in Elbert County, Georgia, is made from six granite slabs. They were built in 1979 and are engraved with ten guidelines in eight different modern languages, as well as four ancient languages, that advise people to live in harmony with humanity and nature. The four outer stones are oriented to the Sun's yearly migration and each side of the tablet is perpendicular to one of the cardinal directions. Since the creation of the guidestones, there have been a number of controversies and conspiracy theories based on what the stones were really built for and what their message means. As of November 2009, the stones were covered in graffiti and splattered paint which has not been repaired as no one seems to want to accept the responsibility. You can find out more about this monument on Google or Wikipedia.

A Little More Light Weirdness

Just some un-themed oddities that caught my eye:

Plans to chop down a tree to make way for a roundabout in Jaslo, Poland have revealed that the oak was in fact planted to commemorate Hitler's birthday when the town was occupied during World War 2. The town's mayor, Maria Kurowska, called the choice between traffic improvements and the living memorial "simple," but not everyone agrees. "It's a historic curiosity," said local Kazimierz Polak, who was present at the planting ceremony as a child 67 years ago, adding, "It's not the tree's fault" (Reuters).

Two Bengal white tigers in a zoo in South Africa have given birth to a tiger cub that's not only white, but stripe-less (London Paper). Surely that's just called a lion?

A spiritual "healer" in Puerto Rico may want to re-read the manual today, after accidentally dropping a lit candle into the bath of alcohol he had instructed he lady patient lie in. The victim, who was suffering financial and marriage issues, can now add 50% burns to her list of problems (Metro).

The Swiss state of Appenzell went the whole of the second world war without a single German invader, so was perhaps unprepared to come under sustained assault by German hikers dressed in nothing but their socks and boots. Naked hiking, which has become a popular Alpine pastime apparently, has generated a stream of complaints from Swiss locals, and the authorities of the Outer and Inner Rhodes provinces of Appenzell have responded by imposing stiff fines of 200CHF ($175) on anyone caught without clothes, though where they expect the hikers to produce the money from is not explained (Cape News). To publicise the ban, the Swiss officials have ordered signs banning nude hiking, to the surprise of designer Dan Walter, who originally drew the sign as a joke (Metro).

Jesus Freak Documentary

A fascinating time capsule from 1971. Thirty minutes long, but watch at least the first five or so.

Traveling Gaia Project

New Age Space Marbles will save the world.


TRAVELING GAIA ENGLISH Ver. from TETSU-LOW on Vimeo.

Summum

Most Supreme Court cases are as dry as a particle-board sandwich. But not the one you can read about here. That's because this case involves a genuine wackjob cult named Summum, which believes, amongst other things, in sacred mummification of pets.

A visit to their site will be time well spent.

The Elves of Iceland

Maybe the Icelandic banking meltdown can be remedied with pots of elvish gold.

Marilyn Ferguson, RIP

Where would WEIRD UNIVERSE be without the New Age Movement, a belief system that has supplied us with so many great wacky incidents? Let us then pause a moment to honor the passing of Marilyn Ferguson, the woman credited with catalyzing that nascent trend toward gullible goofiness.

Here she is below in a 1992 interview, with a fellow who has a serious priest-wannabe look going on.

The Academy of Mystic Arts

[From Amazing Science Fiction magazine for August 1973.]

The "Academy for Mystic Arts" which sponsored this ad seems no longer to exist, although there are other, newer organizations with that name. The original Academy has left very few traces behind on the internet, although one lead seems to point to a connection with the famed astrologer named Zolar.

I love the testimony at the end about how relations with the boyfriend have improved. Well, of course they have--you put a zombie spell on him!

The Mulabhanda Cushion

In yogic practice, the perineum is referred to as the "mulabhanda," and has a pose devoted to it. You can see that pose halfway down the page here.

But if you're not an accomplished yogi yet, you might want one of these comfy little pillows shaped just right to help you.

Dion Fortune

Collecting novels of the fantastic as I do, I eventually and inevitably came across those of Dion Fortune, and bought a few. To this day, they remain untracked by my eyes. Nonetheless, I was sensitized to her name, and could spot her non-fiction selection Psychic Self-Defence readily on the shelf of a used-book store and snatch it up. A bargain at $5.00, I'm sure!

I haven't read it yet, but I'm much looking forward to learning how to protect myself against various types of intrusive mind assaults. Sample a few pages yourselves below.

And thanks to Google Books, you can read the whole thing online here.

All original content in posts is Copyright © 2008 by the author of the post, either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.