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	<title>symondrake.com &#187; Bizarre</title>
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	<link>http://www.symondrake.com</link>
	<description>Symon&#039;s blog (in case you hadn&#039;t figured that out already)</description>
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		<title>Mary Poppins. Hide your children</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/mary-poppins-hide-your-children/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/mary-poppins-hide-your-children/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bizarre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Confessions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Film]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reminscing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=206</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve never seen Mary Poppins in its entirety. Parts of it have always given me the creeps. Perhaps it&#8217;s is because of the not so subtle (down right scary) imagery hidden throughout the movie. Don&#8217;t be deceived by it&#8217;s cute Disney musical facade with the ever so innocent Mary (fresh from singing in the Swiss [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="justify"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/Svp_cmZ8q9I/AAAAAAAABTM/xiNr_L-KPSo/s1600-h/mary+poppins+horror.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402770832306777042" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/Svp_cmZ8q9I/AAAAAAAABTM/xiNr_L-KPSo/s320/mary+poppins+horror.jpg" /></a> I&#8217;ve never seen Mary Poppins in its entirety. Parts of it have always given me the creeps.</p>
<p>Perhaps it&#8217;s is because of the not so subtle (down right scary) imagery hidden throughout the movie. Don&#8217;t be deceived by it&#8217;s cute Disney musical facade with the ever so innocent Mary (fresh from singing in the Swiss alps).</p>
<p>Pure evil I say.</p>
<p>You doubt me? Watch the original trailer if you dare.</p>
<p>*Shudder*<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2T5_0AGdFic&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2T5_0AGdFic&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>What&#8217;s really lurking down the plughole</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/whats-really-lurking-down-the-plughole/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/whats-really-lurking-down-the-plughole/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:41:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bizarre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cryptozoology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home and Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=187</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I had to unblock the bathroom sink the other evening&#8230; joy. With the help of a crochet hook borrowed from PaisleyJade (yes, they really are good for something), I was able to pull out what I can only describe as a greeny, slimy, smelly, hairy, stringy goop that had to be seen to be believed. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="justify"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SqIrPOztmDI/AAAAAAAABMg/CPbbk1oflH0/s1600-h/sewer+monster.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377908445706819634" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SqIrPOztmDI/AAAAAAAABMg/CPbbk1oflH0/s320/sewer+monster.jpg" /></a> I had to unblock the bathroom sink the other evening&#8230; joy. With the help of a crochet hook borrowed from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error"><a href="http://www.kristydrake.blogspot.com/">PaisleyJade</a></span></span> (yes, they really are good for something), I was able to pull out what I can only describe as a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">greeny</span></span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">slimy</span></span>, smelly, hairy, stringy goop that had to be seen to be believed. What caused it? Who knows&#8230; who wants to know? Which got me thinking&#8230;</div>
<div align="justify">Does anyone really know what lurks in the pipes under our houses? One recent discovery has been aptly titled &#8216;The sewer monster&#8217; (see clip below).<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TcKpx2DxGwY&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TcKpx2DxGwY&#038;color1=0xb1b1b1&#038;color2=0xcfcfcf&#038;hl=en&#038;feature=player_embedded&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p>
<p>They are saying that the monster is nothing more than masses of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Tubifex</span></span> worms&#8230; but I say that is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">very</span> debatable. If you watch the monster closely, you will notice that it has what looks like a membrane enveloping it, unlike worms, and it is above the water, unlike worms, and it retreats from light as one organism, unlike worms (see clip below).<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zn9kh7MaFQQ&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zn9kh7MaFQQ&#038;color1=0xb1b1b1&#038;color2=0xcfcfcf&#038;hl=en&#038;feature=player_embedded&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p>
<p>To conclude, I wonder if what I pulled up out of the plughole was a decomposing &#8216;sewer monster&#8217;? My advice is don&#8217;t get too close to the plughole next time you brush your teeth.</p>
<p>(Why am I thinking about the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">facehugger</span></span> from Alien right now?) </div>
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		<item>
		<title>Authentic footage of Bigfoot attack?</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/authentic-footage-of-bigfoot-attack/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/authentic-footage-of-bigfoot-attack/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bizarre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cryptozoology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friends]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=180</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A couple of weeks ago Lesmond and I entered a viral video contest promoting PULSE by Jeremy Robinson. Although entertaining, the movie was far too long and I hate to say it&#8230; boring. Good news folks. I have re-edited it to a lean 1.15 minutes, and thanks to a blood-nose (don&#8217;t ask), it now has [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="justify"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SlRo4r4FayI/AAAAAAAABJY/41b6zcLdZoc/s1600-h/pulse.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356021179910286114" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SlRo4r4FayI/AAAAAAAABJY/41b6zcLdZoc/s320/pulse.jpg" /></a> A couple of weeks ago <a href="http://www.wassupwithlesmondj.blogspot.com/">Lesmond</a> and I entered a viral video contest promoting PULSE by <a href="http://www.jeremyrobinsononline.com/">Jeremy Robinson</a>.</p>
<p>Although entertaining, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlvfHFO1zjQ">movie</a> was far too long and I hate to say it&#8230; boring. Good news folks. I have re-edited it to a lean 1.15 minutes, and thanks to a blood-nose (don&#8217;t ask), it now has an alternate ending (like special edition DVDs ;-)</p>
<p>So PLEASE view the clip below and tell your friends about it as the more views it has, the better chance I have of winning. Thanks heaps!</p>
<p><embed height="345" name="Metacafe_3033851" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="400" src="http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/3033851/footage_of_bigfoot_attack.swf" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3033851/footage_of_bigfoot_attack/">Footage of Bigfoot Attack?</a> </span></div>
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		<item>
		<title>Mair Park Ghost Footage</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/mair-park-ghost-footage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/mair-park-ghost-footage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:52:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bizarre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cryptozoology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ghosts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paranormal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=178</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[About this time last year, I wrote of the time when my parents had a close encounter with the urban legend known as &#8216;The Mair Park Ghost. The original post created quite a stir, and you can read the subsequent shenanigans here: The Mair Park Ghost Haunted houses, ghosts and demons Ghost mystery solved&#8230; or [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347449655138396338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SjX1IRzPKLI/AAAAAAAABIM/arzahGCzoV4/s320/mairpark.jpg" border="0" />
<div align="justify">About this time last year, I wrote of the time when my parents had a close encounter with the urban legend known as &#8216;The Mair Park Ghost. The original post created quite a stir, and you can read the subsequent shenanigans here:</div>
<p>
<div align="justify"></div>
<div align="justify"><a href="http://www.symondrake.com/2008/06/mair-park-ghost.html">The Mair Park Ghost</a></div>
<div align="justify"><a href="http://www.symondrake.com/2008/07/haunted-houses-ghosts-demons.html">Haunted houses, ghosts and demons</a></div>
<div align="justify"><a href="http://www.symondrake.com/2008/07/ghost-mystery-solved-or-is-it.html">Ghost mystery solved&#8230; or is it?</a></div>
<div align="justify"><a href="http://www.symondrake.com/2008/07/symon-drake-ghostbuster.html">Symon Drake&#8230; Ghostbuster (heh)</a></div>
<div align="justify"><a href="http://www.symondrake.com/2008/07/revenge-of-mair-park-ghost.html">Revenge of the Mair Park Ghost</a></div>
<p>
<div align="justify"></div>
<div align="justify">On Saturday, my good buddy <a href="http://wassupwithlesmondj.blogspot.com/">Lesmond</a> and I decided to make a small video diary/doco about the ghost legend. What ensued was far from expected, or rehearsed. Disturbing footage follows.</div>
<div align="justify"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PlvfHFO1zjQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PlvfHFO1zjQ&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>
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		<item>
		<title>The Tunguska Catastrophe</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/the-tunguska-catastrophe/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/the-tunguska-catastrophe/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Aliens and UFOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Archaeology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bizarre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[humour]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=157</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I had never ever heard of the name Tunguska before&#8230; until I bought a PC game (for the kids) called Secret files: Tunguska. Then I became enlightened to an extremely fascinating and equally mysterious event which occurred 101 years ago in Central Siberia. In the Tunguska region at 7:17am on 30 June 1908 something of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>
<p>I had never ever heard of the name Tunguska before&#8230; until I bought a PC game (for the kids) called Secret files: Tunguska. Then I became enlightened to an extremely fascinating and equally mysterious event which occurred 101 years ago in Central Siberia.</p>
<p>In the Tunguska region at 7:17am on 30 June 1908 something of apocalyptic proportions occurred. This ‘happening’ flattened an estimated 80 million trees over an area of 2,000 square km. The blast (if that was what it was) was 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and generated a shock wave that knocked people unconscious 60km from the epicentre. In the following weeks, night skies over Europe and western Russia glowed brightly enough for people to read by. Mysteriously, there was no crater or any other clear evidence for what exploded.</p>
<p>The first report of the explosion was in the Irkutsk paper dated July 2, 1908, published two days after the explosion:</p>
<blockquote><p>The peasants saw a body shining very brightly (too bright for the naked eye) with a bluish-white light&#8230; The body was in the form of &#8216;a pipe&#8217;, i.e. cylindrical. The sky was cloudless, except that low down on the horizon, in the direction in which this glowing body was observed, a small dark cloud was noticed. It was hot and dry and when the shining body approached the ground (which was covered with forest at this point) it seemed to be pulverized, and in its place a loud crash, not like thunder, but as if from the fall of large stones or from gunfire was heard. All the buildings shook and at the same time a forked tongue of flames broke through the cloud. All the inhabitants of the village ran out into the street in panic. The old women wept, everyone thought that the end of the world was approaching.</p></blockquote>
<p>S.B. Semenov, an eyewitness in the village of Vanovara about 60 km south of the explosion site, gave the following report&#8230;</p>
<blockquote><p>I was sitting in the porch of the house at the trading station of Vanovara at breakfast time&#8230; when suddenly the sky was split in two and high above the forest the whole northern part of the sky appeared to be covered with fire. At that moment I felt great heat as if my shirt had caught fire; this heat came from the north side. I wanted to pull off my shirt and throw it away, but at that moment there was a bang in the sky, and a mighty crash was heard. I was thrown to the ground&#8230; and for a moment I lost consciousness&#8230; The crash was followed by noise like stones falling from the sky, or guns firing. The earth trembled, and when I lay on the ground I covered my head because I was afraid that stones might hit it.</p></blockquote>
<p>The most accepted explanations as to what caused the Tunguska event are:</p>
<li>A fragmentary asteroid or meteorite that exploded in the atmosphere.</li>
<li>The nucleus of a comet that likewise exploded in the atmosphere.</li>
<p>But I ask you, could a comet cause the following enigmatic effects that were recorded at the site?</p>
<li>disturbances in the Earth&#8217;s magnetic field.</li>
<li>a local geomagnetic storm.</li>
<li>a reversal of soil magnetization.</li>
<li>an electromagnetic pulse, similar to what would be created by a nuclear explosion.</li>
<li>aurora displays before and after the event.</li>
<li>unusually bright nights seen before and after the event.</li>
<li>genetic mutations in plants and animals.</li>
<li>accelerated growth of plants afterward.</li>
<li>radiation-like burns and deaths of exposed people.</li>
<p>Not surprisingly there are many learned people who disagree with the &#8216;accepted&#8217; explanation. Among the more &#8216;exotic’ theories are…</p>
<li>An unusual tectonic event.</li>
<li>A massive methane gas explosion.</li>
<li>A black hole that entered the Earth&#8217;s atmosphere from outer space and imploded.</li>
<li>A chunk of antimatter that reacted with the matter of our planet.</li>
<li>A crashed UFO.</li>
<li>A deliberate attack by extraterrestrials.</li>
<li>The result of a test of Nikola Tesla&#8217;s wireless power transmitter.</li>
<p>I agree that most of the theories listed above sound utterly ridiculous&#8230; but the event itself simply cannot be adequately explained using natural reasoning. Even now, 101 years later Russian scientists are still struggling to get a clearer understanding of what really happened that day.</p>
<p>What is disturbing is that if the Tunguska event occurred 4 hours and 47 seconds later, it would have hit the Russian Capitol.</p>
<p>(For an intriguing look at the Nikola Tesla hypothesis click <a href="http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/esp_ciencia_tunguska02.htm">here</a>.)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="480" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EiXpp-i442s?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EiXpp-i442s?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
</div>
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		<item>
		<title>My close encounter with a UFO&#8230; cult</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/my-close-encounter-with-a-ufo-cult/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/my-close-encounter-with-a-ufo-cult/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:18:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Aliens and UFOs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Faith]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=153</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was a fateful night in 1997 when the Aetherius Society came to town to promote their religion. For those who don&#8217;t know what the Aetherius Society is (I&#8217;m guessing about 99.9% of the people reading this post), it is a UFO cult. I was a zealous (and somewhat tactless) Bible College student at the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="justify"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/Sdcd761b6qI/AAAAAAAAA-8/kdhmE0VZr0I/s1600-h/ufo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320754400004401826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/Sdcd761b6qI/AAAAAAAAA-8/kdhmE0VZr0I/s320/ufo.jpg" border="0" /></a>It was a fateful night in 1997 when the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Aetherius</span> Society came to town to promote their religion. For those who don&#8217;t know what the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Aetherius</span> Society is (I&#8217;m guessing about 99.9% of the people reading this post), it is a UFO cult.</p>
<p>I was a zealous (and somewhat tactless) Bible College student at the time, and had just finished writing a study on Aliens from a Christian Worldview. So armed with my Bible&#8230; (yes, I took my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">NIV</span> Study Bible to a UFO cult meeting &#8211; told you I was tactless ;-), a wad of my UFO studies, and my 6&#8217;4&#8243; friend (you can never be too careful), I made my way into the venue, past the freaky door greeter (who had a crystal the size of a tennis ball around his neck) and sat down with about ten other people.</p>
<p>For the next hour, two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Atherius</span> reps spoke about what they believe in. This is it in a nutshell&#8230;</p>
<p>George King was born in England in 1919. He dedicated his life to the practice of Eastern Mysticism. One day he he heard a loud voice saying&#8230;</p>
<p><em><strong>&#8220;Prepare yourself! You are to become the voice of Interplanetary Parliament.&#8221;<br /></strong></em><br />Apparently, the voice belonged to one of the &#8216;Cosmic Masters of the Solar System&#8217; and George King became their &#8216;Primary Terrestrial Mental Channel&#8217;, bringing their message to Earth.</p>
<p>At this point I would like to include an except from the UFO study (soon to be posted on this site)&#8230;</p>
<blockquote><p>Some people claim that by putting themselves into a hypnotic trance they are acting as a channelling device in which extra-terrestrial beings speak through them. The same general message permeates over 90% of the words received by millions of people over the world while they are channelling. The following is an actual example:</p>
<p><em>We come from the Interplanetary Configuration of solar systems, and our purpose is to aid our brother man on the earth as the new age dawns. The teacher that was known to you as Jesus was able to use many more of the abilities than the people of this planet. Unfortunately, man upon planet earth has misinterpreted the meaning of this mans life. He was no different than any of you; he was simply able to remember certain principles. These principles may be realised by any one of you at any time, it is only necessary that you avail yourself to our contact through meditation in order to begin to realise that which is rightfully yours, the truth of the creation and the truth of your position in it. Know ye not that ye are gods? We have been puzzled at times by the inability of the people in general of this planet to be awakened to this truth. We find the state of hypnoses, brought about by the evolution of thought by the people of this planet is so great, that it is necessary for him to maintain a constant awareness of his spiritual nature by meditation.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I might add that there are absolutely no reports of any alien ever proclaiming that Jesus is the only way to find salvation.</p>
<p>This is from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Aetherius</span> site&#8230;</p>
<blockquote><p><em>At this significant point in the history of mankind, the Cosmic Masters have chosen to release a new level of understanding and wisdom to those who are ready on Earth. This wisdom in no way invalidates or replaces the wisdom given to mankind in the past by the great teachers such as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Shri</span> Krishna, Lord Buddha and the Master Jesus. These beings and several more, were also Cosmic Masters from advanced worlds sent to Earth to help mankind in the best way possible when they came.<br /></em></p></blockquote>
<p>I always find it amusing how so many New Age religions claim that Jesus Christ is &#8216;a way&#8217;, when Jesus Christ Himself said that He was &#8216;The Way&#8217; (John 14:6). There&#8217;s a very big difference between &#8216;a&#8217; and &#8216;the&#8217;.</p>
<p>Anyway, back to the story&#8230; At the conclusion of the night the well-meaning reps asked if anyone had any questions. It was then that I stood up and asked them to explain what the Bible meant when it talked about <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">end-time</span> deception and doctrines of demons (I even read out the relevant verses). As you can imagine, it didn&#8217;t go down too well. One of them said that it was easily explained in Revelation chapter 23 and asked me to turn there. Problem was, there is no Revelation chapter 23. And so the evening ended, much to the relief of the hosts, and I handed out the studies to the folk leaving the building ;-)</p>
<p>I sometimes think back to that time and wonder what on earth I was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">thinking</span>. Did I do the right thing in my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">challenging</span> confrontation? Did I exhibit the love of Jesus or push the people further away from Him? Would I do the same today? Lord, help me to be zealous&#8230; with knowledge.</p>
<p>To visit <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Wikipedia&#8217;s</span> page on UFO cults click <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_religion">here</a>.</div>
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		<title>We see what we want to see</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/we-see-what-we-want-to-see/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/we-see-what-we-want-to-see/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:08:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Aliens and UFOs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=151</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My sons reckoned they saw a UFO today (I was quick to remind my eldest that the last UFO he saw turned out to be a seagull). Like father like son. Ever since I watched &#8216;Close Encounters Of The Third Kind&#8217; as a kid, I&#8217;ve been fascinated by UFO phenomena. As a Christian, I definitely [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="justify"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SdB5cpeTyHI/AAAAAAAAA-c/gKkxIS4dVgw/s1600-h/ufo3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318884693000833138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SdB5cpeTyHI/AAAAAAAAA-c/gKkxIS4dVgw/s320/ufo3.jpg" border="0" /></a>My sons reckoned they saw a UFO today (I was quick to remind my eldest that the last UFO he saw turned out to be a seagull). Like father like son. </p>
<p>Ever since I watched &#8216;Close Encounters Of The Third Kind&#8217; as a kid, I&#8217;ve been fascinated by UFO phenomena. As a Christian, I definitely believe there is something out there, but I don&#8217;t suspect they come from other worlds&#8230; more like the demonic realm. I have an essay that I&#8217;ll post here one day, and might even tell the story of the time I gate-crashed a UFO cult meeting when I was &#8216;zealous without knowledge&#8217; and told them quite impolitely exactly what I thought of their beliefs ;-).</p>
<p>But for now I would like to prove that we generally see what we want to see. If we see something that looks like an alien craft, we&#8217;ll probably believe it is.</p>
<p>Check out the first clip below.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nk2c_2Zl99c&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nk2c_2Zl99c&#038;color1=0xb1b1b1&#038;color2=0xcfcfcf&#038;hl=en&#038;feature=player_embedded&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p>
<p>Quite convincing isn&#8217;t it (especially with the X-Files theme included). The Chilean air force released a press-statement claiming that the lights were from their training aircraft flying in formation. Surely those lights couldn&#8217;t possibly be training planes? Surely it must be a cover-up. Well&#8230; no.</p>
<p>Watch the following clip to understand what I mean about seeing what we want to see.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HH4yzudcCJk&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HH4yzudcCJk&#038;color1=0xb1b1b1&#038;color2=0xcfcfcf&#038;hl=en&#038;feature=player_embedded&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>
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		<title>Great Snakes: the slither continues&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/great-snakes-the-slither-continues/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/great-snakes-the-slither-continues/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:29:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bizarre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cryptozoology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=147</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[And just when you thought my giant-snake obsession was over! While having some brief down-time and browsing some crypto blogs I came upon the above photo (click on image to enlarge). The caption translated follows (the original photograph has it written on the back): &#8220;This is a ‘jiboia’ snake of which only part appears. It [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SbI_eKQ-mOI/AAAAAAAAA8U/mVuMsZ_uOdA/s1600-h/jiboia1949brazil.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310376698007427298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 188px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SbI_eKQ-mOI/AAAAAAAAA8U/mVuMsZ_uOdA/s320/jiboia1949brazil.jpg" border="0" /></a>
<div align="justify">And just when you thought my giant-snake obsession was over!</p>
<p>While having some brief down-time and browsing some crypto blogs I came upon the above photo (click on image to enlarge). The caption translated follows (the original photograph has it written on the back):</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;This is a ‘jiboia’ snake of which only part appears. It has approximately 48 meters and was found on the ‘Jari’ Lake, Pará state, where some people say there are no Big Snakes. On 11/10/1949&#8243;.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The photo is authentic but there is no way to accurately judge the size of the snake. 48 meters sounds impossibly huge&#8230; but even if it was half that size, it would be an absolute monster!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.strangeark.com/">www.strangeark.com</a> states the photo was originally published in April 28, 1949, in Brazilian newspaper&#8230; &#8220;The snake was alleged 45 meters, and was found on the Rio Abuna.&#8221;</p>
<p>A photographer has commented that the snake could be very close to the camera and its apparent size could very well be be just a perspective trick.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s nice to imagine it&#8217;s real anyway&#8230; in the relative safety of my house in &#8216;snakeless&#8217; New Zealand.</p></div>
</div>
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		<title>X-ray vision&#8230; for real</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/x-ray-vision-for-real/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/x-ray-vision-for-real/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:51:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bizarre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fascinating]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=146</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Comics of the 70&#8242;s, and early 80&#8242;s were graced with mail-order children&#8217;s novelty advertisements. These, I used to practically drool over, but it was torturous, as they never posted outside of the US. There were two items that I coveted most (well, three if you include &#8216;Kissing Secrets&#8217; but that&#8217;s a bit embarrassing)&#8230; The classic [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="justify"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SazotcuE1XI/AAAAAAAAA78/sq2MaStq_ec/s1600-h/xray.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308873928264177010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SazotcuE1XI/AAAAAAAAA78/sq2MaStq_ec/s320/xray.jpg" border="0" /></a>
<div align="justify">Comics of the 70&#8242;s, and early 80&#8242;s were graced with mail-order children&#8217;s novelty advertisements. These, I used to practically drool over, but it was torturous, as they never posted outside of the US. There were two items that I coveted most (well, three if you include &#8216;Kissing Secrets&#8217; but that&#8217;s a bit embarrassing)&#8230; The classic &#8216;Sea Monkeys&#8217; (more about them in another post), and the infamous &#8216;X-Ray Specs&#8217;.</div>
<p>I&#8217;ve spent most of my life pondering if they actually worked or not, and now, thanks to the modern-day wonder of Wikipedia, the secret is out&#8230; and it&#8217;s a resounding &#8216;not&#8217;. The lenses consisted of two layers of cardboard with a small hole in diameter punched through both layers. A feather was embedded between the layers of each lens. The vanes of the feathers diffracted light causing the user to receive two slightly offset images. For instance, if viewing a pencil, you would see two offset images of the pencil. Where the images overlapped, a darker image was seen, giving the illusion of seeing the graphite embedded within the pencil.</p>
<p>The cheesy X-Ray Vision gimmick of yesteryear, probably disappointed American kids by the thousands. Those kids now have another opportunity to &#8216;see through clothes&#8217; for real.</p>
<p>Enter the X-Reflect Glasses. The Advanced Intelligence Company, Ltd. manufactures a device called X-Reflect Glasses which is claimed to allow the user to partly see through certain types of clothing. These goggles are a variation of thermal imaging goggles, and retail for US$2400.</p>
<p>I can see their value in regards to intelligence and anti-terrorism, but shouldn&#8217;t x-ray vision be prohibited to save us innocent from daylight voyeurism?</p></div>
<div align="justify"></div>
<div align="justify">The manufacturers state that approximately 45% of swimwear can be seen through as though seeing through glass. Honestly, with the skimpy underwear people call swimwear these days would it make much difference? </div>
<div align="justify"></div>
<div align="justify">So, next time you are enjoying a relaxing swim at the public pools and happen to see a strange person wearing strange glasses wired to a strange box looking really strange (and creepy), you may have spotted a daylight peeping tom. I wonder if he was &#8216;accidentally&#8217; pushed into the pool, would the glasses&#8217; battery pack electrocute him?</div>
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		<title>Who&#8217;s afraid of the big bad wolf?</title>
		<link>http://www.symondrake.com/whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-wolf/</link>
		<comments>http://www.symondrake.com/whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-wolf/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:54:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Symon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bizarre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fascinating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wolves]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.symondrake.com/?p=134</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[PaisleyJade just finished reading a story about wolves, entitled &#8216;A Wolf Story&#8217; (witty title), by James Byron Huggins (her review is over at flannelgraph). I&#8217;m a huge Huggins fan, but reading about cuddly talking animals doesn&#8217;t sound all that macho&#8230; that is, it didn&#8217;t until this morning. I was researching broad-tipped arrow heads (Deadfall got [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="justify">PaisleyJade just finished reading a story about wolves, entitled &#8216;A Wolf Story&#8217; (witty title), by James Byron Huggins (her review is over at <strong><a href="http://flannelgraph.blogspot.com/2009/01/wolf-story.html">flannelgraph</a></strong>). I&#8217;m a huge Huggins fan, but reading about cuddly talking animals doesn&#8217;t sound all that macho&#8230; that is, it didn&#8217;t until this morning. I was researching broad-tipped arrow heads (<a href="http://flannelgraph.blogspot.com/2009/01/deadfall.html"><strong>Deadfall</strong></a> got me curious) when I stumbled upon this photo on a US hunting site&#8230;</div>
<div align="justify"></div>
<div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291725338493378994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HZViIQ8z5JA/SW_8KJnU4bI/AAAAAAAAA1I/tjMVZyy_fyE/s320/eaten_dog.jpg" border="0" /></div>
<div align="justify"></div>
<div align="justify">Way down under here in New Zealand, wolves would be on the very bottom of my imaginary &#8216;animals that scare me&#8217; list. I mean, come on&#8230; they are just big dogs aren&#8217;t they? Now, I&#8217;m not so sure. The &#8216;big dog&#8217; in the photo looks like he came off second best.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m interesting in reading that book now Paisley&#8230;</p>
<p>(Read the article accompanying the photo <a href="http://mainehuntingtoday.com/bbb/2006/07/18/verifying-one-heck-of-a-wolf-story/"><strong>here</strong></a>.) </div></p>
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