Cool photos of the Mothman statue in Virginia. Speaking of which, if you’ve not seen it yet, I highly recommend you watch The Mothman Prophecies. It’s quite the excellent tale and is based on true events (Mothman sightings and legends span the globe and go way back in history, although much of the lore centers around Point Pleasant, West Virginia).
Nice… as in NOT! “A Vatican official has said the Catholic church will excommunicate a medical team who performed Colombia’s first legal abortion on an 11-year-old girl, who was eight weeks pregnant after being raped by her stepfather.” Given the church’s record in matters concerning children, this is not surprising despite how nauseating it is.
A little Labor Day owlet. Check out the hi-res version; that’s one cute owl who looks quite disinterested in whatever the photographer is doing — namely invading the bird’s personal space.
Oil slick takes its toll on Lebanese coast: “Wildlife along the Lebanese coast has been heavily affected by the oil spill caused by Israeli bombing, according to an impact report by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).” Animals are already being affected, and the oil already has reached the seabed, most of Lebanon’s shores, and all the way to Syria. “Seabirds and early migrant species have already been contaminated by oil, and turtles and monk seals are also at risk.”
A short video showing the best sneeze ever!
Pull of the Moon: “While werewolves are the stuff of folklore, the light and the gravitational pull of the Moon do have real effects on the behaviour and physiology of a host of earthbound organisms — including, perhaps, people.” An interesting read.
Peter at Deep-Sea News points out that MSN has some fantastic National Geographic videos online for your perusal. Especially check out the one of the octopus attacking and killing a shark (spiny dogfish, to be precise). Very cool. Note that because this is MSN, you have to use Internet Exploder and Windoze Media Putrefier (in addition to Adobe Flash Player). I realize MSN’s requirements kill a good portion of surfers who don’t use Microsoft’s lame products, so perhaps those on Mac or Linux or other platforms should contact National Geographic and complain about it (I already did).
This is cruel and strange. “The mother of a boy abducted 24 years ago said she’s bewildered by two photographs left at her front door, apparently showing her son and two other children bound and gagged. The old photos appear to show 12-year-old Johnny Gosch with his mouth gagged and his hands and feet tied. The boy is wearing the same sweatpants Johnny was wearing when he disappeared while delivering newspapers on the morning of Sept. 5, 1982, his mother said.” 24 years after his abduction, suddenly the photos appear at her doorstep, as well as being delivered to others associated with the case. Heartless and bewildering at best. Of equal interest, Johnny Gosch “was one of the first faces of missing or abducted children to appear on milk cartons across the country.” [via Gay Orbit]