Alanna from White Girls Be Like posted a challenge, a competition! She’s hosting a Funny Blog Friday which sounds pretty alright. Since I’m competitive, and I like to think I’m funny despite my total inability to remember punchlines, I raised my hand.
But then I started re-reading my blogs. Turns out grief, bracelets, and infertility don’t make for a rollicking good time. So here’s a collection of my worst, darkest, least funny, most painful, absolutely terrible thoughts recently. Let me welcome you to rock bottom.
-If my dad were still alive we’d probably go to the baseball game tonight.
-My dad was the only person to ask me how my day went.
-It’s getting darker earlier and soon I’ll be walking home from work in the dark. Because my dad used to be my ride home and now he is dead. And nobody asks me how my day went anymore.
The human species is great, but its tendency to claim superiority may be its affliction. View these photos and challenge your perspective.
The human race has an affliction of assumed superiority. Apparently with the advent of fire, the Homo erectus brain swelled to a proportion that allowed the capability to learn and develop language, fiddle with technology, and form meaningful relationships with others.
What didn’t happen with this ‘so-called’ jump in evolution, however, was the capability to live from a space of compassion, commune with nature, and respect (or easily perceive) the innate force that ties all together.
While human beings continue to transcend previous levels of innovation, intellect, and comprehension in self and the ‘Spirit’ of life, as a collective their air of superiority still reins supreme.
Which is why we suggest everyone take a good, long look at the photos gathered by diply below and really size up their existence in proportion to the majesty which exists in the rest of the universe.
FIRST, LET’S START OFF WITH YOU.
AT 30,000 FEET, THIS IS WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE:
AT 100,000 FEET, THIS IS YOU:
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Credit: Wikipedia
AND FROM 127,852 FEET (WITH FELIX BAUMGARTNER JUMPING OUT A CAPSULE IN THE STRATOSPHERE), TAKE A GOOD LOOK…
230,000 MILES AWAY, YOU’RE PRETTY SMALL, RIGHT?
WOW – IN COMPARISON TO THE SUN, YOU’RE TINY!
IN THE MILKY WAY GALAXY, EARTH ISN’T EVEN IN THE SCALE PHOTO.
DON’T FRET. HOW ABOUT SOME MORE CONTRAST?
THIS IS ROSETTA’S COMET. A PROBE WAS RECENTLY LANDED ON IT, AND THIS IS HOW BIG IT IS IN COMPARISON TO LOS ANGELES:
TIME FOR A SELFIE! THIS IS EARTH IN SPACE. GORGEOUS, HUH?
AND IF YOU’RE NOT VISUAL, MATH CAN BREAK IT DOWN:
LET’S INTRODUCE SOME PERSPECTIVE:
HUMBLED YET?
50 MILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY…
AND FINALLY, THE GRAND SCHEME:
THIS IS THE MILKY WAY. IT BOASTS OVER A BILLION STARS:
…BUT WAIT. YOU STILL MATTER.
Just because the Universe is mighty, doesn’t diminish the importance of a single life or the beauty that exists on plant Earth. We’re just hoping some perspective might introduce some well-needed humility to the human race.
Book Of Gomer Parable ( It wasn’t raining when Noah built The Ark )
These are the generations of Gomer, son of Homer, son of Omer.
And in the days of Gomer, Noah,the Prophet, went unto the people saying, “Prepare ye for the flood which is to come, yea, build yourselves a boat, that ye may not perish.”
Now, Gomer was a member of the Church, and taught Sunday School and played, yea, even on the ward softball team
.
And Gomer’s wife said unto him, “Come, let us build unto ourselves a boat as the Prophet commandeth, that we may not perish in the flood.”
But behold, Gomer saith unto his wife, “Worry not, dear wife, for if the flood comes the government will provide boats for us.”
And Gomer did not build a boat. And Gomer’s wife went unto Noah and she returned saying,
“Behold, Honey, the Prophet saith unto us, “Build a boat, that we may preserve ourselves, for the government pays men not to grow trees, wherefore the government hath not the lumber to build for you a boat.”
And Gomer answered saying, “Fear not, oh wife, for am I not the star pitcher on the ward softball team? Wherefore, the Church will provide for us a boat, that we will perish not.”
And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah, and she returned unto Gomer, saying, “Behold, mine husband, the Prophet saith that the Church hath not enough lumber to build a boat for everyone, wherefore, mine husband, build for us a boat that we might not perish in the flood.”
And Gomer answered her saying, “Behold, if we build a boat, when the flood cometh, will not our neighbors overpower us and take from us our boat; wherefore, what doth it profit a man to build a boat?”
And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah and she returned, saying, “Behold, the Prophet saith, build unto yourselves a boat, and have faith, for if ye do the Lord’s bidding, He will preserve your boat for you.”
But Gomer answered his wife, saying, “Behold, with this inflation, the price of wood has gone sky high, and if we wait awhile, perhaps the price will go down again. And then I will build for us a boat.”
And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah, and she returned saying, “Thus saith the Prophet, build for yourselves a boat RIGHT NOW, for the price of wood will not go down, but will continue to go up. Wherefore, oh husband, build for ourselves a boat, that we may perish not.”
But Gomer answered his wife, saying, “Behold, for 120 years Noah hath told us to build a boat, to preserve us from the flood, but hath the flood come? Yea, I say, nay.
Wherefore, perhaps the flood will not come for another hundred and twenty years.
And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah and returned saying, “The Prophet saith, he knows it has been 120 years, but nevertheless, the flood will come, wherefore, build unto yourselves a boat.”
And Gomer answered her saying, “Wherewith shall we get the money to build ourselves a boat, for are we not now making monthly payments on our snazzy new four horsepower chariot? Wherefore, when our payments end, perhaps we shall build ourselves a boat.”
And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah and returned saying, “Behold, the Prophet saith that we should cut down on our recreation, and our vacations, and even give each other lumber for Christmas, that we might thereby get enough lumber to build a boat.”
But Gomer saith unto her, “What a drag! Are we to cease enjoying life, just because we must build a boat?” Wherefore, Gomer built not a boat.
But behold, one afternoon Gomer heard thunder in the sky, and he feared exceedingly and he ran, yea, even to the lumber yard to buy lumber.
But behold, the lumber store was crowded with great multitudes, all seeking to buy lumber, and there was not enough lumber to be found for the multitudes.
And on the same day were all the fountains of the deep opened, and the windows of heaven were broken up, and the floods came — and behold, Gomer had no boat. And as the water rose above Gomer’s waist, his wife saith unto him,
“Skeleton of Giant” Is Internet Photo Hoax
James Owen
for National Geographic News
December 14, 2007
The National Geographic Society has not discovered ancient giant humans, despite rampant reports and pictures.
The hoax began with a doctored photo and later found a receptive online audience—thanks perhaps to the image’s unintended religious connotations.
GIANT HUMAN SKELETONS discovered at 7 separate gravesites!
A digitally altered photograph created in 2002 shows a reclining giant surrounded by a wooden platform—with a shovel-wielding archaeologist thrown in for scale.
By 2004 the “discovery” was being blogged and emailed all over the world—”Giant Skeleton Unearthed!”—and it’s been enjoying a revival in 2007.
The photo fakery might be obvious to most people. But the tall tale refuses to lie down even five years later, if a continuing flow of emails to National Geographic News are any indication. (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
The messages come from around the globe—Portugal, India, El Salvador, Malaysia, Africa, the Dominican Republic, Greece, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya. But they all ask the same question: Is it true?
Perpetuating the Myth
Helping to fuel the story’s recent resurgence are a smattering of media outlets that have reported the find as fact.
An often cited March 2007 article in India’s Hindu Voice monthly, for example, claimed that a National Geographic Society team, in collaboration with the Indian Army, had dug up a giant human skeleton in India.
“Recent exploration activity in the northern region of India uncovered a skeletal remains of a human of phenomenal size,” the report read.
The story went on to say the discovery was made by a “National Geographic Team (India Division) with support from the Indian Army since the area comes under jurisdiction of the Army.”
The account added that the team also found tablets with inscriptions that suggest the giant belonged to a race of superhumans that are mentioned in the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic poem from about 200 B.C.
“They were very tall, big and very powerful, such that they could put their arms around a tree trunk and uproot it,” the report said, repeating claims that initially appeared in 2004.
Voice editor P. Deivamuthu admitted to National Geographic News that his publication was taken in by the fake reports.
The monthly, which is based in Mumbai (Bombay), published a retraction after readers alerted Deivamuthu to the hoax, he said.
“We are against spreading lies and canards,” Deivamuthu added. “Moreover, our readers are a highly intellectual class and will not brook any nonsense.”
Other blog entries—such as a May 2007 posting on a site called Srini’s Weblog—cite a report supposedly published in the Times of India on April 22, 2004. But a search of that newspaper’s archive revealed no such article.
Arabian Giant
Variations of the giant photo hoax include alleged discovery of a 60- to 80-foot long (18- to 24-meter) human skeleton in Saudi Arabia. In one popular take, which likewise first surfaced in 2004, an oil-exploration team is said to have made the find.
Here the skeleton is held up as evidence of giants mentioned in Islamic, rather than Hindu, scriptures.
The Debunkers
Web sites dedicated to debunking urban legends and “netlore” picked up on the various giant hoaxes soon after they first appeared.
California-based Snopes.com, for example, noted that the skeleton image had been lifted from Worth1000, which hosts photo-manipulation competitions.
Titled “Giants,” the skeleton-and-shoveler picture had won third place in a 2002 contest called “Archaeological Anomalies 2.”
The image’s creator—an illustrator from Canada who goes by the screen name IronKite—told National Geographic News via email that he had had nothing to do with the subsequent hoax.
He added that he wants to remain anonymous because some forums that debated whether the giant was genuine or not “were turning their entire argument into a religious one.” It was argued, for instance, that the Saudi Arabian find was entirely consistent with the teachings of the Koran.
“This was about the same time that death threats and cash bounties were being issued against cartoonists and other industry professionals for doing things like depicting the Prophet Mohammed,” IronKite wrote.
How the Image Was Made
IronKite started with an aerial photo of a mastodon excavation in Hyde Park, New York, in 2000. He then digitally superimposed a human skeleton over the beast’s remains.
The later addition of a digging man presented the biggest technical challenge.
“If you look, he’s holding a yellow-handled shovel, but there’s nothing on the end,” IronKite said.
“Originally, the spade end was there. But [it] looked like it was occupying the exact same space as the skeleton’s temple, making the whole thing look fake.
“Now it looks like he’s just holding a stick, and people don’t notice. It’s funny.”
IronKite also altered the color of the man’s clothing to create a “uniform tie-in” with the white-shirted observer peering down from the wooden platform.
The two figures work to exaggerate the scale of the skeleton, he added.
(Related: “Shark ‘Photo of the Year’ Is E-Mail Hoax” [March 8, 2005].)
IronKite said he’s tickled that the picture—which took only about an hour and a half to create—has generated so much Internet attention.
“I laugh myself silly when some guy claims to know someone who was there, or even goes so far as to claim that he or she was there when they found the skeleton and took the picture,” IronKite said.
“Sometimes people seem so desperate to believe in something that they lie to themselves, or exaggerate in order to make their own argument stronger.”
Wanting to Believe
David Mikkelson of Snopes.com said such hoaxes succeed when they seem to confirm something people are already inclined to believe, such as a prejudice, political viewpoint, or religious belief.
A hoax also needs to be presented “in a framework that has the appearance of credibility,” he said in an email.
The “ancient giant” has both elements, according to Mikkelson.
“It appeals to both a religious and a secular vision of the world as different and more fantastic than mere science would lead us to believe,” he said.
“Proof,” Mikkelson added, “comes in the form of a fairly convincing image.”
For anyone who may have knowingly propagated the myth, Mikkelson added, the motivation “probably wasn’t any different than the motivation for engaging in a game of ringing someone’s doorbell and running away—because it’s an easy way to have a laugh at someone else’s expense.”
Alex Boese, “curator” of the virtual Museum of Hoaxes, said fake giants have a long history going back to the at least the 1700s.
The recent hoax is reminiscent of the once famous Cardiff Giant myth, involving a ten-foot-tall (three-meter) stone figure dug up in 1869 in Cardiff, New York, Boese said.
Many people believed the figure was a petrified man and claimed he was one of the giants mentioned in the Bible’s Book of Genesis: “There were giants in the Earth in those days.”
Likewise, Boese said, the recent giant hoax “taps into people’s desire for mystery and their desire to see concrete confirmation of religious legends.”
National Geographic News photo editor Sebastian John contributed to this report.
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SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
Hindu Voice
Worth1000
Snopes.com
IronKite’s Home
Museum of Hoaxes
Everyone is born with something special. Those ” something specials ” are a multitude of gifts and talents. Many don’t recognize them for what they are, either because they’re not developed fully or just not thought of as a gift or talent. Those special somethings are what defines a person, and helps to shape who they are or will become.
When I was young I didn’t know about these things. It was odd to me knowing things I had never read about. Someone might ask me, “Did you know about this?” and yes I did, even though I had never heard of it, or thought about it. I always thought of these things as tricks, like a magician, or mind reader.
I was born with a bunch of these special tricks. The bad part for me was, I never figured out a way to use these talents to make a living. I never even considered them to be gifts or talents, just me, and I knew I wasn’t anyone special. I grew up knowing my abilities were not worth a spit, let alone mentioning.
I know the time! Not just what time it is right now, but how much time has passed between things, like I have a set of clocks in my head. Real time, elapsed time, future time. It could only be an asset for someone who really needs to know things in a timely way.
I know when someone or something encroaches my space. I don’t have to see or hear to know. I always know when to look out to the road a 1/2 mile distant. I will see who is coming before the dogs are aware of it. I always see the wild animals out there. I just know when and where to look.
I see all of the things people seem to miss. Other people say I think sideways, or outside of the box. I don’t know that I do think that way, I just wonder why others don’t see an answer that seems so obvious to me.
I can read between the lines. This is good sometimes, as I can understand things without having to look it up. But it’s bad sometimes too, because I know when it’s time to leave. I know things, some of which I would rather not know. The best part of that little trick is I can make myself scarce, keep my mouth shut, and not give away any clues that I know.
I am a tool user and understand many of the laws of the universe. My brain calculates constantly, how far, how much, how many, what will happen if? I don’t even have to consciously think about problems. In the background my mind tells me what I need to know, or do.
When someone’s phone rings, I know who it is or what the call is about. I just ken the universe. I like to be by myself, so I don’t have to know what everyone else is up to. The little guy in my head keeps me amused, so I don’t miss noise or rather, I don’t need radio’s or t.v.’s. running in the background.
So what kind of freak am I? The real question is why aren’t you all freaks like me? Let me know what kind of freak you are, maybe I could write about it too.
Suppose you found a species of animal you thought to be extinct? Here are a couple of videos from YouTube showing footage of previously thought to be extinct animals. One of these videos was filmed in the 1940’s.
REAL Woolly MAMMOTH sighting (Yakutsk city, Sakha Republic, Siberia 1943)
Extinct Animals Rediscovered
When you come across these strange creatures, you will at least know what you’re looking at.
Been There, Wish I Could Do That.
I have been checking out a lot of the other blogs out there. When someone likes what I posted, I go to their place and make sure I don’t make a mess, and poke around and peruse….
I thank you followers and liker’s for making me feel like I’m not just a waste of digital presence. I only arrived here in your sight about a month ago, and am truly a fish outta the water.
I don’t know how to do much yet, but I will learn. My biggest bad habit is my stubborn way with not quitting. No mountain can impede my progress, and now I think I have digital friends to share my “everything” with.
Over the years I’ve tried to continue to believe people are inherently good, although I don’t see it in real life, very much. I am beginning to see it here on the blog. I didn’t go to Woodstock. I was already shying away from the crowds when that was happening.
I am reclusive, yet here on the net I am alone and yet finding Friends. I still don’t have the interactions I had hoped would transpire, but I’ve only been here a month.
Thank You for being willing to let me be this much more social with you. I do appreciate all of you, and hope to be a part of this neighborhood for a long time.
This is the 21st century. Mystery is no longer tolerable in our society. There are no blind dates, and if you got mixed up with the wrong person, it is your fault! We live at a time when anyone can find out the who, what, when, where, why, and how, of anything. No mystery, no imagination, and no chance for surprise.
I lied about no surprise. It’s easy to lie on your online profiles. We live at a time when lying, cheating and stealing are more common than truth and honesty. Everyone wants to appear to be more, or better than they really are. You don’t want to find out how boring, dull, uneducated, prejudiced or sexist, someone is, face to face. You can Google them and get all the “low down” right away.
People harbor secrets, so many times aren’t truthful with others as to “who” they really are or “what” they are after. The accessibility of facts makes it easier to find out about someone due to our new technologies, but still leaves you wondering, what is true and what is not?
The social medium allows people to appear bigger than life. More real than anyone else. Is the competition that tough? Can’t people find out anything by just asking a couple of questions, face to face? Too many people hide behind technology. Are you one of those people? The answer to you Lauren is a definitive YES, the internet has taken away the mystery, and the wonder of new discoveries, in person. You can discover everything on your smart phone, and save yourself an awkward encounter.
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