idoubtit

rbreich, 5 days ago to random

All nine Republican senators running for reelection this year just voted against the right to contraception:

John Barrasso
Marsha Blackburn
Kevin Cramer
Ted Cruz
Deb Fischer
Josh Hawley
Pete Ricketts
Rick Scott
Roger Wicker

So much for the party of "freedom."

popcornreel, 5 days ago to random

BREAKING: Republicans in the U.S. senate have JUST voted to BLOCK a bill protecting access to contraception. (See Chiron.)

@SenSchumer voted no so that the bill could be brought up for consideration in the future.

#vote #Biden

sharona, 7 days ago to bigfoot

Location and imagination equals ‘cryptid’

Today, I’m making some general observations on the subject of strange animal sightings. I recently visited Lake Champlain and am convinced that many sightings of Champ, the lake monster, were logs or other mundane objects or animals. There are no cryptids there. But there is a granite marker and a friendly-looking fiberglass Champ depiction at Perkins Pier in Burlington, Vermont. Champ is stylized as a huge dragon-like sea serpent. It’s a mascot of the lake and the local baseball team. I can’t help but love this, while at the same time be frustrated by the remaining trend to suggest Champ is a prehistoric reptile or rare animal. The legend is sustained by the location and people’s sense of imagination.

https://i0.wp.com/sharonahill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_7902.jpg?resize=756%2C1008&ssl=1Champ as the mascot of the Vermont Lake Monsters baseball team, Burlington, Vermont

Strange animal stories have always had, primarily, a theme of wonder and amazement. Even when the animal is clearly visible, such as with clear videos or carcasses, many spectators opinionate that the creature is a “mutant” or a new species. They don’t recognize the obvious, natural, and better explanations. Or, they refuse to accept them because it is more fun to speculate.

Could our need for fantasy creatures be contributing to cryptozoology failing as a scientific field?

The area of study that was called cryptozoology gained scientific credibility with a society and a journal established in 1982. A group of scientists and people interested in animal research founded the International Society of Cryptozoology. Its mission was to investigate and analyze reports of unexpected animals with the goal of determining if they were new species that could be cataloged and scientifically known.

That didn’t work out well. The society dissolved in 1996 with no clear successes other than to document the optimistic nature of the participants. The scientific credibility declined, but some zoological hope still lingers, as several followers of the field insist that it can be a legitimate means of discovering new animals. The prospects for this goal grow weaker every year. Instead, the popular mythical and romantic view of cryptozoology has swamped the idea of cryptozoology as a scientific endeavor. The cryptid legends seem ever more immune to scientific thinking. The skin and blood of cryptids are made of human imagination and the spirit of place.

https://i0.wp.com/sharonahill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hodag.webp?resize=819%2C457&ssl=1The Hodag of Rhinelander, WisconsinIn the 2000s, there was still a strong tone of cryptozoology as a science-based endeavor. But, by then, it was almost entirely the domain of amateurs. Unlike fruitful areas of scientific investigation, the evidence never got better – there were no bodies, no DNA, no tested theories, just better hoaxes and more media circulating with enthusiastic commentary.

There also was more attention to local promotion. Festivals associated with local creatures became popular. Public displays became more prominent. New social media featuring existing legends, and creating entirely new ones, expanded the reach of cryptids to the younger online generation. This promotion, done on TV, YouTube and TikTok was done by non-scientists, even teens who knew little about the origins of cryptozoology.

https://i0.wp.com/sharonahill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/bigfoot-whitehall.png?resize=819%2C609&ssl=1A Bigfoot mascot in Whitehall, New York (at the Southern reaches of Lake Champlain)

Many cryptids are almost always associated with particular locations. The obvious are lake monsters because they are bounded by the water. (Almost every large lake has a story of a monster.) This is reasonable, as the legend is rooted in and grows around a cluster of reports. Land animals are naturally attributed to an area, like a forest or swamp. Here are some examples:

• Dogman – Forests of Wisconsin and Michigan
• Mothman – West Virginia and later Chicago area
• Bigfoot – Typically tied to the PNW but by the 1970s became popular in many states, often referred to by a local name [Beast of Boggy Creek (Arkansas), Momo (Missouri), Skunk Ape (Florida)]. Certain areas were associated with ape-like beings and other paranormal concepts and entities – Chestnut Ridge (Pennsylvania), the Appalachians, and Skinwalker Ranch (Utah).
• Ultra local stories include Loveland Frog, Dover Demon, Beast of Bray Road, Lizard Man of Scape Ore swamp, Goatman.

Of course, there are exceptions:

• Chupacabra – Started as a Hispanic legend and became a catch-all term for any weird animal anywhere.
• Yeti – Began as associated with the Himalayas but became iconic worldwide even though still connected to its origins in cold, mountainous regions.
• Entities that may be considered “fantasy creatures” like merfolk and fairies (and related beings) show up everywhere people have brought their culture and stories with them. The same can be said for Bigfoot (wild man) and lake monsters.

Cryptids tied to locations seems to be a product of the environment + promotion. The legend will often readily morph into a mascot for a town or area. The locals may eventually embrace their monster and make the most of it. The commodification and exploitation of the cryptid aids in the drift away from the prospect of a serious scientific endeavor to find it. It also promotes fakery for attention or fun.

The Comegato
The latest invented cryptid is the Comegato of Maine, a weasel man creature featured in a “documentary” on YouTube. While I’m sticking to the U.S. in this post, see also the British Cryptid (1974) YouTube channel for invented local cryptids.

As the depiction of cryptids turns more towards entertainment and whimsy, the thought of the “-ology” part becomes less emphasized. Many people will admit they don’t want their local creature found or identified. They love the mystery and will actively seek to preserve it. Thus, the cryptids’ value lies not in zoological discovery, but in social needs. The field of cryptozoology may be doomed to further slide towards a fictionalized, pretend idea of science.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating your local legends. I think the depictions of Champ, Bigfoot, the Fresno Nightcrawler, the Hodag, and all the other crazy critters are awesome, and I want to see the statues and swag. Celebrate your local monster for all the human reasons it exists.

#Bigfoot #ChampLakeMonster #Comegato #cryptid #Cryptozoology #Hodag #lakeMonsters #Monsters #Paranormal

https://sharonahill.com/?p=8584

alcootatooter, 7 days ago to random

Notorious herpetological taxonomic vandal, Ray Hoser, has just dropped some more 'papers' in his self produced journal. With species names like "fukdat", "watdafuk" and "muski" I think he is simply trolling at this stage.

#herpetology #taxonomy

dangillmor, 8 days ago to random

The Washington Post is about to lurch sharply to the right politically as former Murdoch apparatchik solidifies his grip on the organization. Current editor Buzbee is out, and he's bringing in people from Murdoch's Wall Street Journal and the Telegraph (right-wing UK news org).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/06/02/sally-buzbee-washington-post-steps-down/

tristansnell, 8 days ago to random

The NRA has endorsed Donald Trump.

Donald Trump can no longer own a gun.

juglugs, 11 days ago to random

Jury braver than 98% of elected Republicans.

gvwilson, 11 days ago to random

This felony conviction is the only thing Trump has actually earned in his entire life.

quasirealsmiths, 11 days ago to random

someone check the flag at the alitos' house

ZeroHour, 11 days ago to random

To anyone (rightly) criticizing the US:
Americans - as individuals - can do the right thing. Any one of these jurors could have hung the jury, gone public, and been set for life as a right-wing media darling. Book deals, speaking circuit, position in a future Trump admin, whatever they wanted. But all 12 put public service over personal gain. #USpol (From David Litt)

br00t4c, 11 days ago to Fox

Bystander Shouts 'You F*cking Suck!' at Fox News Host Outside Trump Trial

#fox

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bystander-shouts-you-fcking-suck-at-fox-news-host-outside-trump-trial

dangillmor, 17 days ago to random

The cops who tortured a bogus murder "confession" out of a man -- even threatening to kill his dog along the way -- are still employed by the Fontana, Calif., police department. The city's taxpayers paid for the $900,000 lawsuit settlement.

https://www.sbsun.com/2024/05/23/fontana-pays-nearly-900000-for-psychological-torture-inflicted-by-police-to-get-false-confession/

This tells you everything you need to know about police impunity.

NIH_LLAMAS, 18 days ago to random

These pigshits are beyond comprehension.

https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2024/05/23/fontana-pays-nearly-900000-for-psychological-torture-inflicted-by-police-to-get-false-confession/

rbreich, 18 days ago to random

The CEO of Live Nation — the parent company of TicketMaster — received $23.4 million in compensation last year.

Meanwhile, the median Live Nation employee was paid $28,207.

That’s a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 833-to-1.

Monopoly power is terrible for everyone but rich CEOs.

TheViking, 19 days ago to random

paulknightly, 20 days ago to random

Incredible drone footage of the Greenfield, IA tornado courtesy of Reed Timmer.

The drone was able to orbit through the outer circulation of the tornado capturing some of the best views I've ever seen of a multi-vortex tornado.

There's a lot that can be learned from this type of close-range footage. Includes a brief clip around 2:15 of a wind turbine being taken down by the outer wind field.

https://youtu.be/IEFGKMWYD-E?si=4ZNdSCufFAf6sFwJ

History_of_Geology, 20 days ago to random German

May 22, 1960, the strongest earthquake ever measured and recorded - at magnitude 9.5 - hits Valdivia in Chile. As this was a relative sparsely inhabited desert area along the coast, it caused "only" 2.300 victims and destroyed 130.000 houses.
Seven hours later the resulting tsunami hits Hawaii and 24 hours later Japan claiming another 1.000 victims.

https://tinyurl.com/y3nxzcxh

image/jpeg
image/jpeg

rbreich, 21 days ago to random

Tell me: how does it make sense that an entry-level federal employee is subject to more stringent ethics rules than Supreme Court justices?

gfarrell, 21 days ago to random

noondlyt, 24 days ago to random

Dance like no one's filming you on a trail cam.

A young elk dancing and splashing in a small pond in a shaded wooded clearing.

sharona, 25 days ago to Paranormal

Suspicious photos of alleged thylacine revealed by pop wildlife biologist

New photos claim to show a thylacine in Tasmania. Distributed by a popular television personality who popularizes mysterious animal sightings, the photos and the backstory appear bogus. In today’s tech landscape, where digital images can be easily manipulated or manufactured, cryptid images without additional evidence should, by default, not be considered useful.

On May 14, 2024, TV wildlife biologist Forrest Galante posted a YouTube video showing a Zoom discussion with a guy from Minneapolis who claims he and his Dad came upon what they thought was a dog on the side of the road at night in Tasmania. They stopped to help and took photos when they realized it wasn’t a dog. The photos he provided appear to show a thylacine, which has been extinct for decades. Galante interviewed the witness “Zach” and revealed the photos said to have been taken in mid-April at an undisclosed location (near Upper Stowport).

The video interview is long and somewhat annoying to watch because the witness isn’t very helpful and also keeps his face hidden. Galante doesn’t know what to think because he sees some problems in the story and the photos. While mentioning the inconsistencies, he still desperately wants to believe and also benefits from the hype this could generate. Many people want to believe the thylacine is still existing out there.

Thylacines (or Tasmanian tigers) were marsupials native to Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea that filled the role of top predator. The last known thylacine died in 1936 and none were captured in the wild after 1933. Data strongly suggests that the their population was in decline and efforts to eliminate thylacines from farmed areas worked too well. After decades of no verified accounts of its existence, it was declared officially extinct by the Tasmanian government in the 1980s. Some people insist it still is out there and see their possibility everywhere, however, the evidence is very poor – just stories and terrible visuals.

https://i0.wp.com/sharonahill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/collage.png?resize=715%2C713&ssl=1

The photos given to Galante looked to be edited or created from existing photos and models. They are strangely blurry, the background and shadows look wrong and the features inconsistent. There is no indication, besides the witness’ word, that they were taken in Tasmania. He did not give the exact location. The details are nonexistent or conflicting. Galante noticed the photos were not originals; he asked for the original unedited photos but there is no word that he got them. By the end of the interview, Galante assured Zach that he would contact authorities regarding this sighting.

https://i2.wp.com/sharonahill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mouth1.png?ssl=1

https://i1.wp.com/sharonahill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mouth-2.png?ssl=1

More analysis here by Miles and Trey:

Plastic Plesiosaur Podcast May 15, 2024

And Reddit: At Least Some of the Thylacine “photos” appear to be manipulated images of Archesuchus’ Thylacine doll

Galante and the photos are getting significant attention. Thanks to social media, more people than ever see these images and volunteer their opinion based on their hopes, not their zoological or technological experience. From the responses on Reddit and YouTube, there is a significant percentage of those who think these are genuine pics of a live thylacine, some people think the photos are clearly hoaxed, and a third portion think these photos are fakes but the thylacine is really still around. The proponents of a living thylacine have opinions based on little more than wishful thinking.

I marvel at the many instances where, when presented with the same visual evidence (for example, the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film), some people will insist that the images of a cryptid are obviously fake and others insist with similar enthusiasm they are totally legitimate and proof-positive documentation. It can’t be both. One party’s opinion is entirely wrong.

What’s the best bet?

For those making an extraordinary claim – that something declared extinct and not seen for decades is still around – you must do better than grainy, awful visuals or “I saw it” stories. Regardless of the alleged sighting reports of creatures, whether it be a thylacine or a Bigfoot, there remains key pieces missing in the interpretation that would make the animals’ reality plausible. We have no body parts, no DNA, no reliable sighting patterns – no item to test or solid path to follow. If there is one animal, there must be many, yet we don’t see corresponding evidence of that. People were able to track and kill thylacines to the point where so few remained that they could not survive. Why do we not see them now? How did so few remain for so long without discovery? Because they are truly gone and people aren’t seeing or photographing thylacines.

#cryptid #Cryptozoology #ForrestGalante #photos #Tasmania #tasmanianTiger #thylacine

https://sharonahill.com/?p=8561

micchiato, 26 days ago to california

An arrested University of #California #Irvine professor makes the connection between paying for #police repression of #protest and starving public #education with austerity:

“These police officers out here today: that’s thousands of student scholarships. Thousands of students could’ve been able to go to school and have books and have housing”

video/mp4

WideAtlanticWeird, 26 days ago to random

The clue’s in the name #enshittification

idoubtit, 26 days ago to random

I’m planning a trip to #vermont in a few weeks. What are some great spots to visit?

sundogplanets, 1 month ago to random

I am talking o a reporter about this in a couple hours: https://regina.ctvnews.ca/from-outer-space-sask-farmers-baffled-after-discovering-strange-wreckage-in-field-1.6880353

This is about an hour away from my farm, so this'll be a fun conversation, and yet another great opportunity to tell a lot of people about what a huge problem we have with unregulated commercialization of orbit. (Also I just redid my slides for my public talk next week, this is going in!)