Written on 8:43 PM by Reethi
Nicole Kidman gave birth to Sunday Rose, named after the Australian art collector Sunday Reeve, in July, in Nashville, Tennessee, where she lives with her husband, the country singer Keith Urban, 40.
Kidman has two adopted children with ex-husband Tom Cruise - Isabella, 15, and Connor, 13. She and Urban are reportedly planning to move to LA to be closer to them. Kidman recently attributed the 'miracle' birth of her daughter to the health-giving pristine waters in which she swam while filming in a remote location in Western Australia. Nicole told The Australian Women's Weekly: 'I never thought that I would get pregnant and give birth to a child but it happened on this movie."
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Written on 8:12 PM by Reethi
France has officially become India's first nuclear trade partner, after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Nicholas Sarkozy signed on the dotted line on Tuesday, ending India's 34-year nuclear isolation.
France becomes the first Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) country to formalise its intention of entering into civilian nuclear cooperation with India as the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal is still awaiting US Congressional approval. The agreement, though, is not a 100 per cent win for India. India will not get access to top end French reprocessing technology.
Although it has taken its first step in the nuclear mainstream, India still needs to sign the IAEA safeguards agreement, separate its civilian and military reactors , complete negotiations on an additional protocol with the IAEA and amend its own laws to allow private participation in the nuclear field. Source said that this could take anything from a year to two years.
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Written on 6:53 AM by Reethi
The 10-day grand Dasara festivities began today in this historic town with lighting of a lamp and special puja to Goddess Chamundeswari, the main deity, atop the Chamundi Hills in Mysore. Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysore Royal Family, performed a puja inside the palace premises earlier today. He would also observe religious chores as laid down by the texts and ascend the priceless golden throne on the occasion.
To celebrate the ten-day festival with all its traditional glory and splendour, the state government has released Rs 10 crore for the grand event.
More About Mysore Dasara: Dasara is the Nadahabba (state-festival) of the state of Karnataka. It is also called as Navaratri (Nava-ratri = nine-nights) and is a 10-day festival with the last day being Vijayadashami, the most auspicious day of Dasara. Dasara usually falls in the month of September or October. According to a legend, Vijayadashami denotes the victory of truth over evil and was the day when the Hindu Goddess Chamundeshwari killed the demon Mahishasura. Mahishasura is the demon from whose name; the name Mysore has been derived. The city of Mysore has a long tradition of celebrating the Dasara festival and the festivities here are an elaborate affair and attract a large audience including foreigners.
Visitors Guide to Mysore Dasara:
Hotel / Resort Names Phone Nos.
Dasaprakash Paradise 2410366
Hotel Maharaja 2426665
Metropole 5255566
Lalitha Mahal Palace 2470470
Mayura Hoysala 2525349
Mayura Yatrinivas 2423492
Dasaprakash 2444455
Mysore Hotel Complex 2426217
Nalpad 2491117
Ramanashree 2522202
Roopa 2443770
Roost 2410077
Royal Inn 2415132
Sandesh de Prince 2436777
Sree Guru Residency 5269111
Siddhartha 2522999
Southern Star 2426426
The Green Hotel 2512536
President 2425111
Olive Garden 2432729
What to See At Mysore:
Temples
The Chamundeswari Temple, atop the hill of Chamundi, is of great religious significance. It is dedicated to the Goddess Chamundi or Durga, who killed the demon king. This temple earlier was a small one, but later was expanded under the Wodeyar rule. It displays Dravidian influence in some of its architecture. It is quadrangular in shape, and there is a statue of the Lord Ganesha on the doorway.
The Mahabaleshwar Temple, which is said to be older than the Chamundeswari Temple, which somehow lost its importance with the latter gaining significance. Inside this temple you can see images and statues which have been built in the styles of Hoysala, Ganga and Chola art.
The Prasanna Krishnaswamy Temple, dedicated to Lord Krishna, and built by a Wodeyar ruler, dates back to the 18th century. The temple is home to as many 40 bronze statues of gods and saints. One can also see the statue of the ruler who built this temple. Another very old temple is the Lakshmiramana Swamy Temple, which is home to the presiding deity Nambinarayana, said to be one of the forms of Lord Vishnu. It is located inside the Palace. The temple also has enshrined the Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Venugopala.
The Trinesvaraswamy Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and located in the Mysore fort's north east end, is yet another temple to visit. It has been built after the Dravidian style and belongs to a time much before the rule of Raja Wodeyar.There are many other temples that you can visit like the Gayathri Temple, Someswara Temple, Kodi Bhairava Temple and the Bhuvaneshwari Temple.
Palaces
Mysore is known as the City of Palaces. Having been the Capital of Karnataka before it shifted to Bangalore, a large many royal families ruled here. Out of the many palaces built, those from the Wodeyar Dynasty are said to be quite noteworthy. The Mysore Palace is said to be the most magnificent and looks even more captivating on festive nights when it is lit up with as many as 97,000 light bulbs. Located in the city's centre, this is said to be the fourth one that stands there on the very same site.
This Palace is also called the Main Palace or the Amba Vilasa Palace , and it has drawn influences from Dravidian, Oriental, Roman and Indo-Saracenic architectural styles and is a three storeyed structure made of grey granite. You enter this palace through a Doll's Pavilion called Gombe Thotti, which is home to dolls from the 19th and 20th centuries. Another interesting feature is the seven cannons in front of this pavilion which are still used at the beginning and end of the Dusshera festival. The Palace houses 12 temples.
The Jaganmohan Palace is 150 years old and is very much like the Mysore Palace in terms of its beauty. Built in the 18th century, this was initially built in wood, which later got burnt down and was rebuilt. This is the palace where the King Krishnaraja Wodeyar was coronated as well as wed. The Palace is home to the Jayachamarejendra Art Gallery.
The Lalita Mahal Palace is another palace located atop a hill and 11kms from Mysore. This was built during the reign of the King Krishnaraj Wodeyar, mainly as a home to the Viceroy of India. Today it has been converted into a heritage property by the India Tourism Development Corporation.
Museums
The museums talk about the rich cultural past of the city. A museum to visit is the Jayachamarejendra Art Gallery inside the Jaganmohan Palace, which is a reservoir of rare art, artefacts, and paintings. A three-storeyed structure, the ground floor comprises paintings depicting the lineage of the Mysore Kings; the first floor with paintings from artists world over and in India; the second floor, home to many musical instruments; and the third floor once again with a gallery of paintings depicting the Dusshera processions.
The other museums are the Regional Museum of Natural History, Railway Museum and the Folklore Museum.
Other sightseeing:
St. Philomena's Church is said to be one of the oldest churches in India at 200 years old. It was built in 1933 in place of a smaller church that existed there, to cater to the increasing number of Christians in the city, during the reign of King Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. The church is built in the Gothic style and said to be one of the largest Cathedrals in South Asia. It houses the relic of the saint Philomena, located below the altar.
Brindavan Gardens
This is one of the most popular places visited by people from all over. Located 19kms from Mysore, it is below the Dam of Krishnaraja Sagar, and is known for its dancing fountains that are illuminated and come to life in the evenings.
Mysore Zoo
With a backdrop of the Chamundi hill, and an artificial lake within it, this Zoo is a famous attraction of Mysore. It is more than a century old and was built initially in a part of the Summer Palace by the King Chamaraja Wodeyar, a passionate nature lover. In fact, he also set up the famous Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary. Later on the zoo was expanded from ten acres to 45 acres, and was thrown open to the public.
Lakes
There are several lakes that are great picnic spots, and also a bird watcher's paradise. The lakes to visit are the Karanji Lake at the foothill of Chamundi, where you can also boat, the Kukkaranahalli Lake and the Lingabudi Lake
Mysore is famous for its silk sarees and sandalwood. You can shop at places like Cauvery Art and Crafts Emporium, and on roads like Ashoka, Sayyaji Rao and Devaraj Urs.
Srirangapattana
This island on the Kaveri was Tipu Sultan's capital. Now it is a nostalgic reminder of Tipu's bravery and his final defeat in the hands of the British. Tipu's Fort lies in ruins around. You can just see remnants of the fortress ramparts, the bathing ghats, dungeons, and the moat.
Some distance away is Tipu's summer palace, which is now a museum of his belongings.
The Sri Ranganatha Temple, the Jami Masjid built by Tipu, and the Church of Abe Dubois, the French scholar who lived there during Tipu's times, are places of worship from three representative religions of India.
Excursions:
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is on a group of six small islands on the River Kaveri, 20km away from Mysore. It was established by Dr. Salim Ali and is a great place for birdwatching or simply enjoying the outdoors.
You could visit the temple of Somnathpur, built in the peak of the Hoysala rule in 1268. It is shaped like a star and has elaborate carvings on its walls. It is 40 km distance from Mysore.
The monolith of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola in Hassan district (93km from Mysore) is a must-see. The gigantic statue of Bahubali or Gomateshwara is carved out of the hill
side and is 17 m high. It draws pilgrims from all over India.
Melkote, 60kms from Mysore, is another place of pilgrimage which is also home to some of oldest rock formations in the earth's history.
The famous Bandipur National Park home to a variety of wildlife is another great place to visit. It is 80 km from Mysore along the Ootacamund highway.
Visit the waterfalls of Bharachukki and Gaganachukki at Shivanasamudra, 85 kms from Mysore.
Tourism Info:
Regional Tourist Information
Old Exhibition Building
Irwin Road,Mysore
Tel: 91-821-2422096 / 91-80-22352828
Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation
Yatrinivas Buildings
J.L.B.Road
Mysore
Tel: 91-821-26352
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Written on 6:40 AM by Reethi
Actress Scarlett Johansson, married actor Ryan Reynolds over the weekend, a spokesman for Johansson said on Sunday. US Weekly reported on its Web site Sunday that the small wedding took place at a resort outside Vancouver, British Columbia. Guests included Scarlett's mother, Melanie Sloan, and her brother, Adrian Johansson, the magazine said.
"We're just enjoying our time," the actress said last month. "We're just recently — very recently — engaged. So, you know, we're just taking it easy. And no big plan yet. But it's a good time and we're just ... enjoying our time to be young and engaged.
"I mean, I'm 23. There's no reason to rush into it. Everything feels very natural and relaxed."
The Ryan Reynolds, Scarlett Johansson wedding comes as a bit of a surprise as they have only been dating since February of 2007. The couple announced their engagement only four months ago, so people were expecting a bit more time to pass, and perhaps more opportunity to snap some wedding pictures! Ryan proposed to Scarlett with a three-carat diamond ring estimated to be worth about $30,000.
The 23-year-old was seen with her mother and sister at the Monique Lhuillier boutique in L.A. last week (begs04Feb08), where they "stayed for a while" viewing a variety of gowns, according to the New York Post's gossip column PageSix.
However, it is also rumored that Stella McCartney, Beatle Paul McCartney's designer daughter, who also designed Madonna's wedding dress, created Scarlett's wedding confection.
Check out pictures of the Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds wedding soon....
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Written on 3:15 AM by Reethi
At least 147 people have been killed and over 425 injured in a major stampede at the Chamunda Devi Temple in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, where devotees had gathered in large numbers on the occasion of the start of Navaratri. Initial reports suggest that the stampede occurred after a wall collapsed near the entry gate which was followed by the rumour of a bomb explosion which caused the chaos among the people.
The incident points to a major lapse in the security as instead of the prescribed rules that the crowds should be sent in batches along the narrow path up the hill, the lack of enough security men led to people crushing on to each other. There were around 2,000 people in the narrow patch at the time of the stampede.
With Navratras beginning from today there were more than 20,000 devotees, mostly women, present in the temple at the time of the stampede. The stampede took place in the narrow street inside the temple when devotees tried to get the first glimpse of the Goddess. The stampede caused suffocation which led to the death of the devotees.
Jodhpur helpline number: 0291 - 2650316
- Reethi
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Written on 3:13 AM by Mrudula
The Zodiac Killer is a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. His identity remains unknown. The Zodiac coined his name in a series of taunting letters he sent to the press. His letters included four cryptograms, three of which have yet to be solved.
Even though police investigated over 2,500 potential suspects, the case was never officially solved. There were a few suspects that stood out, but the forensic technology of the times was not advanced enough to nail any one of them conclusively.
This October, 1966 killing began a ghoulish series of murders that panicked the people of the San Francisco area. For years the Zodiac taunted the police with weird ciphers, phone calls, insulting and cryptic messages.
Before it was all over, this clever and diabolical killer changed the lives of eight people, only two of whom lived to tell the tale.
The Zodiac story began on a darkened road near Benicia, California, on the night of December 20, 1968, when a motorist discovered the lifeless bodies of two teenagers at “lovers’ lane” spot [View the crime scene photos]. Months later, a gunman attacked a second young couple in a public park miles away, and, after leaving the scene, he traveled to a payphone located just blocks from the Vallejo Police Department and dialed the number of the station. When the police dispatched answered, the caller spoke in a low, monotone voice, as if he were reading from a prepared script.
“I want to report a murder. If you will go one-mile east on Columbus Parkway, you will find kids in a brown car. They were shot with a nine-millimeter Luger. I also killed those kids last year. Goodbye."
Investigators from Vallejo and Benicia realized that they were searching for the same killer and the bold, sinister phone call raised fears that the gunman would strike again. A teenage boy survived the shooting but was unable to help identify any possible suspects.
Twenty-six days later, three envelopes arrived at the offices of three Bay Area newspapers. Each envelope contained a handwritten letter and a piece of a coded message. The writer provided a list of details regarding the two shootings, and explained that the symbols formed a coded message that would reveal his identity. The letter ended with a warning, “If you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Fry. 1st of Aug. 69, I will go on a kill rampage Fry. night. I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, untill I end up with a dozen people over the weekend.” A crossed – circle symbol had been drawn at the bottom of the page.
Each of the newspapers complied with the demand to publish the cipher, and news of the gunman’s threats created fears that he would strike again. Experts and amateurs scrambled to decode the cipher while investigators sorted through hundreds of tips from helpful citizens. The deciphered message did not reveal the killer’s identity but the words did offer a chilling portrait of the author’s state of mind. “I like killing people because it is so much fun … I will not give you my name because you will try to slo(w) down or stop my collecting of slaves for my after life …”
When authorities expressed doubts concerning the writer’s claims, another letter arrived, and began with the words that would forever send chills throughout Northern California.
“Dear Editor – This is the Zodiac speaking. In answer to your asking about the good times I have had in Vallejo I shall be very happy to supply even more material.” The writer provided more details about the attacks and then took issue with some factual errors in news reports about his crimes.
Weeks passed and as the manhunt continued, the Zodiac moved north into the Napa Valley and California wine country, where he stabbed a young couple on the banks of Lake Berryessa. A survivor told investigators that the attacker had worn a black, squared hood with a white crossed circle over his chest. To prove he was responsible for the crime, the Zodiac used a black marker to draw a large crossed-circle on the door of Bryan’s car. Below his symbol, the killer listed the dates of the two shootings and added the notation, “Sept 27 69 6:30 by knife.”
At 7:40 pm, the Napa County Police Department received a call placed from a telephone booth located a few blocks away. Officer David Slaight listened as the caller said in a low, monotone voice, “I want to report a murder – no, a double murder. They are two miles north of park headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karman Ghia.” Slaight asked the man to provide his location, but the voice only grew more distant as the caller replied, “I’m the one who did it.”
Investigators from Napa met with detectives in Vallejo and Benicia and compared notes but were unable to develop any solid leads. The Zodiac may have believed that the three law enforcement agencies were not up to the task and he invited the San Francisco police department to join in the hunt.
Twenty-nine year old cabdriver Paul Stine picked up the Zodiac on the night of October 11, 1969. Stine drove to a destination in a wealthy San Francisco neighborhood where the passenger shot him in the right temple [View a crime scene photo]. Fingerprints found inside the cab and on its exterior were photographed and collected. On the driver's side of the vehicle, police found fingerprints which appeared to contain traces of blood. Investigators believed that these fingerprints may have been left by the killer.
Three young witnesses watched the crime in progress from a house directly across the street and contacted police. The descriptions provided by the three young witnesses produced a composite sketch of the man seen exiting Stine’s cab. Police believed that Stine was the victim of a routine robbery until the Zodiac began to send scraps of the cabdriver’s blood soaked shirt to prove they were mistaken.
The letter ended with another terrifying threat of violence. “School children make nice targets I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning just shoot out the frunt tire + pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out.” Patrol cars and aircraft followed buses to and from schools and armed officers rode onboard for added protection. [View a CBS NEWS report about the Zodiac bus threat.} The Zodiac then sent another letter along with diagrams of a bomb he intended to plant along bus routes.
The ongoing mystery attracted the customary crackpots, wild tips, false confessions and hoax letters. Infamous defense attorney Melvin Belli entered the story during a televised phone conversation with a man claiming to be the Zodiac. [Watch Belli and the Zodiac imposter.] Police traced subsequent calls to Belli’s home and identified the crazed imposter as a patient in a mental hospital. As if to reclaim the publicity, the killer mailed a letter to Belli that included another blood soaked scrap of the cabdriver’s shirt to prove that he was the real Zodiac. Despite Belli’s public offer to help the killer, the real Zodiac never contacted the famous attorney again. [During one call to Belli's home, the Zodiac-imposter declared "Today's my birthday!". The so-called "Belli Birthday Call" has since become the subject of controversy.]
More letters contained more threats, bomb diagrams and coded messages. The Zodiac also announced his intention to change his way of collecting “slaves for the afterlife” by staging his crimes to appear to be “routine robberies, killings of anger and a few fake accidents.” [Watch a 1969 TV news report on the Zodiac's November letters.] The killer included long, rambling descriptions of his fantasies of torture along with selected passages from the Gilbert and Sullivan musical, The Mikado. Letters soon featured a box score which credited the Zodiac with an increasing number of victims followed by the notation “SFPD = 0” and the taunt, “I hope you have fun trying to figgure out who I killed.”
Given the killer’s apparent freedom to do as he pleased, one particular passage was difficult to refute. “The police shall never catch me because I have been too clever for them.” The failure to catch the Zodiac was a constant source of embarrassment for his chosen nemesis, the San Francisco police department. Each new letter became a liability as the psychotic pen pal wrote, “Hey blue pig, doesn’t it rile you to have your nose rubbed in your boo-boos?” and, “I have grown rather angry with the police for their telling lies about me.”
The Zodiac also demanded that the people of the Bay Area wear “some nice Zodiac buttons” bearing his chosen symbol, the crossed circle. When the public did not comply with his wishes, he wrote that he had “punished” them “by shooting a man sitting in a parked car.”
-
Munnu
Posted in
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Written on 3:12 AM by Mrudula
The Voynich manuscript is a mysterious illustrated book written in an indecipherable text. It is thought to have been written between 1450 and 1520. The author, script and language of the manuscript remain unknown.
By current estimates, the book originally had 272 pages in 17 quires of 16 pages each.[2] About 240 vellum pages remain today, and gaps in the page numbering (which seems to be later than the text) indicate that several pages were already missing by the time that Voynich acquired it. A quill pen was used for the text and figure outlines, and colored paint was applied (somewhat crudely) to the figures, possibly at a later date. There is strong evidence that at one point in time the pages of the book were rearranged into a different order
The manuscript first came to the attention of modern scholars in 1912 when Wilfrid M. Voynich (after whom it is now named) discovered it tucked away in the library of Villa Mondragone, a Jesuit college in Frascati, Italy. He purchased the manuscript and brought it with him back to America
In the 1970s Robert Brumbaugh, using a complicated decoding scheme, decided that the manuscript was either a medieval treatise on the elixir of life, or a sixteenth-century hoax.
Since then, a variety of theories about the manuscript have been suggested. In 1978 John Stojko argued that it was an account of an ancient civil war written in an ancient, vowelless form of Ukrainian. In 1986 Michael Barlow suggested that Voynich himself had written the manuscript as a hoax. In 1987 Leo Levitor theorized that it was an ancient prayer-book, offering repetitive meditations on the themes of pain and death. More recently, Jacques Guy has wondered whether it might not represent an ancient attempt to transcribe an east-Asian language, say Chinese or Vietnamese, into alphabetic form.
To this day the Voynich manuscript resists all efforts at translation. It is either an ingenious hoax or an unbreakable cipher. It is thought that the horror writer H.P. Lovecraft might have used the Voynich manuscript as the model for the fictional work, The Necronomicon, which he refers to in many of his stories
- Munnu
Posted in
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Written on 3:11 AM by Mrudula
Since 1991, people in the Taos, New Mexico area have reported hearing an annoying, low-frequency hum, the cause of which has yet to be identified. Some residents of Taos are plagued by this machine-like sound that grinds away 24 hours a day, with only occasional respites. Some cannot sleep; others complain of headaches. Most people, however, cannot hear the hum at all.
Nevertheless, it is there. Instruments pick it up. In fact, they have even recorded a higher-frequency component that pulses between 125 and 300 cycles per second.
The cause of the hum is a mystery. One hint comes from the observation that the hum seems concentrated along the Rio Grande Rift, a fault that also runs into Texas and Colorado. One theory blames the hum on the fault's rock surfaces grinding against each other!
The hum is on the threshhold of human hearing - from about 20 to 20,000 hertz or cycles per second. Acoustic investigations have concentrated on low - frequency sounds between 33 and 80 hertz, but have failed to pinpoint the source of the strange sound. The sound has been described as low, grinding and pulsating, like a diesal truck idling in the distance. Explanations are as varied as the people who claim to hear the noise. Everything from a form of mild, contagious mass hallucination to possible secret electromagnetic warfare experiments being conducted at one of the high tech laboratories in the area are discussed as possible sources.
Yet Taos is not unique. Similar reports have been made in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Canada and many places in the United States, most recently in Indiana. Troubled hummers in England have even formed an organisation, the Low Frequency Noise Sufferers Association. The only certainty when dealing with the hum, is that some people hear it, while others do not. That is not to say that the noise isnt real, perhaps some peoples sense of hearing is more suseptible to the noise than others.
While a similar effect has been shown to occur with electric motors operating at certain frequencies, this does not appear to be the case in most of these situations.
- Munnu
Posted in
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Written on 3:10 AM by Mrudula
The Mary Celeste is often described as the archetypal ghost ship, which was discovered in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and under sail heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar in 1872. The fate of the crew is the subject of much speculation; theories range from alcoholic fumes to underwater earthquakes, along with a large number of fictional accounts.
She was built in 1861 as the Amazon at Spencer's Island, Nova Scotia, Canada and was the first large vessel built in this community. Her original name was "Amazon". She was 103 ft overall displacing 280 tons and listed as a half-brig. Over the next 10 years she was involved in several accidents at sea and passed through a number of owners. Eventually she turned up at a New York salvage auction where she was purchased for $3,000. After extensive repairs she was put under American registry and renamed "Mary Celeste".
The British brigantine Dei Gratia came upon the Mary Celeste sailing erratically midway between the Azores and Portugal on 4 December 1872. The crew could spot no one on deck threw their spy glass so the captain of the Dei Gratia dispatched a boarding party lead by 1st Mate Oliver Deveau. Deveau's team reported that the ship was fully provisioned and perfectly seaworthy yet mysteriously abandoned. A few clues indicated the crew of the Mary Celeste had quickly launched a small yawl for no apparent reason.
What ever has happened till today no one knows much aabout it.
-
Munnu
Posted in
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Written on 3:09 AM by Mrudula
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Written on 3:08 AM by Mrudula
The Count of St. Germain has been variously described as a courtier, adventurer, charlatan, inventor, alchemist, pianist, violinist and amateur composer, but is best known as a recurring figure in the stories of several strands of occultism – particularly those connected to Theosophy, where he is also referred to as the Master Rakoczi or the Master R and credited with near god-like powers and longevity.
Little is known of Count Saint-Germain's birth. He was said to be descended from an Alsatian Jew, a Portuguese Jew, a tax-gatherer in Rotondo, or the King of Portugal. Saint-Germain himself did not help to elucidate the enigma of his true identity. It has been also alleged, that he was the son of Prince Franz-Leopold Rakoczy (or Ragoczy) of Transylvania (1676-1735), or Juan Tomás EnrÃquez de Cabrera and Maria Anna von Neuburg (1667-1740), or Marquis de Rivarolo (1669-1749), or Sultan Mustapha II (1664-1703). Later he determined to take the name of Saint-Germain from the little town of San Germano, or from the holy brother, St. Germanus. Whoever he was, he was well educated, and at least for some decades he seemed relatively wealthy.
Several Theosophists claimed to have met Saint Germain in the late 19th or early 20th centuries:
* Annie Besant said that she met the Count in 1896.
* C. W. Leadbeater claimed to have met him in Rome in 1926 and gave a physical description of him as having brown eyes, olive colored skin, and a pointed beard; according to Leadbeater, "the splendour of his Presence impels men to make obeisance".[8] Leadbeater said that Saint Germain showed him a robe that had been previously owned by a Roman Emperor and that Saint Germain told him that one of his residences was a castle in Transylvania. According to Leadbeater, when performing magical rituals in his castle in Transylvania, Saint Germain wears "a suit of golden chain-mail which once belonged to a Roman Emperor; over it is thrown a magnificent cloak of Tyrian purple, with on its clasp a seven-pointed star in diamond and amethyst, and sometimes he wears a glorious robe of violet."[9]
* Guy Ballard, founder of the "I AM" Activity, claimed that he met Saint Germain on Mount Shasta in California in August of 1930, and that this initiated his "training" and experiences with other Ascended Masters in various parts of the world.[10]
* Edgar Cayce, the "Sleeping Prophet", was asked while in trance if Saint Germain was present. Cayce's reply was: "When needed." from reading # 254-83 on 2/14/1935
* Dorothy Leon, living author, has claimed to have had several encounters with Saint Germain and is an avowed disciple of his.
Saint-Germain's knowledge of diamonds, precious stones, and chemistry impressed his contemporaries; his dyeing skills were widely acknowledged. Graf Karl Cobenzl wrote in a letter in 1763, that he saw how St Germain made some experiments, "of which the most important were the transmutation of iron into a metal as beautiful as gold". Without any doubts, the physical goals of alchemy - the elixir of life and the Philosopher's Stone - fascinated deeply St Germain. The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung has argued that alchemy also corresponds to psychology. "What the alchemists called 'matter' was in reality the unconscious self," Jung claimed. Deliberate mystification can be pure bluff to exploit the credulous or projection of unresolved inner tensions. St Germain was secretive about his past, he had several identities, and in his occult studies, he perhaps indirectly searched the truth of himself.
- Munnu
Posted in
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Written on 3:07 AM by Mrudula
Elizabeth Ann Short was an American woman who was the victim of a gruesome and much-publicized murder. Nicknamed the Black Dahlia, Short was found severely mutilated, with her body severed, on January 15, 1947 in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. The murder, which remains unsolved, has been the source of widespread speculation as well as several books and film adaptations.
Elizabeth Short hailed from Medford, Massachusetts. She quit school at age 16 and became a drifter. During the last four years of her life, she floated from Massachusetts through California, through Florida through Indiana, and into Chicago where she boarded a train and rode to the Union Pacific station in Los Angeles. Soon after her 1946 arrival in LA, Elizabeth was tagged "the Black Dahlia." Her moniker was earned because of her raven locks, penchant for wearing black, intriguingly obsessive behavior and the release of Raymond Chandler's The Blue Dahlia as a motion picture.
The Black Dahlia murder has been a baffler. It is the most infamous unresolved homicide in LAPD history. But the solution to the Dahlia murder has been "there" for LAPD Homicide and the LA public for more than a half-century. This is a paradox with a simple explanation: the solution was shrouded in black symbolism, abstruse encryption, plus a plethora of reportage.
For over 50 years, the murder of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short, captivated the interest of virtually everyone familiar with the case. Within this site are the details of the life of Elizabeth Short and her gruesome and premature death. Through the deciphering of clues intentionally left by her killer, the Black Dahlia's murderer is revealed, along with his twisted motives and methods.
The story of the unemployed 22-year-old waitress has inspired dozens of books, Web sites, a video game and even an Australian swing band. The quest to pinpoint her killer has become a hobby for generations of armchair detectives. And this fall, Hollywood will recast her tragic plight in a star-studded Black Dahlia movie.
The Los Angeles Police Department has all but given up hope of ever closing the Dahlia case; the department has more urgent crimes to investigate, and the killer has likely been dead for years. Yet, it is precisely the unsolved status of Elizabeth Short's murder that gives it such an enduring allure.
We need to emphasize here that the case is so cold, the information so musty and bungled, that it's difficult to get a lucid picture of Elizabeth Short's brief life, much less her grisly death. The Crime Library will not attempt to solve the Black Dahlia murder in these pages, but to simply relate Short's story based on the most unbiased, accepted facts available, including historical newspaper articles and law enforcement records, as well as contemporary literature.
- Munnu
Posted in
The Mysterious
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Written on 3:05 AM by Mrudula
Bermuda Triangle is the greatest modern mystery of our supposedly well understood world: a region of the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, where explanation. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels have disappeared. Some people have claimed that these disappearances fall beyond the boundaries of human error or acts of nature.
The land was first seen by a sailor (Rodrigo de Triana), although the Admiral at ten o'clock that evening standing on the quarter-deck saw a light, but so small a body that he could not affirm it to be land; calling to Pero Gutiérrez, groom of the King's wardrobe, he told him he saw a light, and bid him look that way, which he did and saw it; he did the same to Rodrigo Sánchez of Segovia, whom the King and Queen had sent with the squadron as comptroller, but he was unable to see it from his situation. The Admiral again perceived it once or twice, appearing like the light of a wax candle moving up and down, which some thought an indication of land. But the Admiral held it for certain that land was near
With almost every case the same thing has happened. By the time concrete information is obtained, the story has lost its appeal, and no follow-ups ever find their way into the papers. I have tried to stay away, therefore, from relying on any newspaper accounts. These, unfortunately, have almost always been the exclusive source for any popular account of an incident, whether in a magazine or book, previous to this web site.
Many US warships are listed missing by the US Navy between 1780 and 1824, including the General Gates, Hornet, Insurgent, Pickering, Wasp, Wildcat and Expervier. Her disappearance in 1815 delayed the closing of the War of 1812. She carried the peace proposal on board.
And many more aircrafts were disappeared.
- Munnu
Posted in
The Mysterious
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Written on 1:21 AM by Reethi
ICICI Bank Ltd clarified today that rumours are being repeatedly circulated regarding the financial strength of the bank. These rumours, the bank states, are baseless and malicious.
A message from the MD and CEO Mr.Kamath on the ICICI Bank stability reads:
Firstly, on the global events. The current situation has two aspects.
There is inadequate capital in certain large institutions, as they have
sustained losses that they cannot absorb. And there are concerns about
the financial sector in general, which are significantly reducing
liquidity in the markets and thereby severely impacting the ability of
some institutions to carry on business as usual. Both these aspects are
being addressed through concerted regulatory efforts, such as the
proposed buyout of troubled debt in the US, government capital support
to systemically important troubled institutions and injection of
liquidity by central banks across the world. Private sector solutions,
in the form of mergers and acquisitions and capital raising from private and public markets, are also being rapidly executed.
Our own position is very strong and we are well-placed to meet the
challenges of this market environment and, indeed, capitalize on the
business opportunities that are emerging. Let me reinforce some key
points:
* ICICI Bank Limited has a very strong capital position. We
pro actively raised Rs. 20,000 crore (about US$ 5 billion) in June
2007, almost doubling our capital base. We now have a net worth of
over Rs. 47,000 crore (i.e. over US$ 10 billion) and a capital
adequacy ratio of 13.4% at June 30, 2008. Our capital adequacy is
the highest among large Indian banks. Our banking and non-banking
subsidiaries are well-capitalized and we have adequate capital to
continue to support their growth.
* We have consolidated total assets of over Rs. 484,000 crore (over
US$ 105 billion), which is diversified across a wide range of
asset classes in India and overseas. ICICI Bank's international
banking subsidiaries have, as part of their normal treasury
operations, a diversified investment portfolio, which includes
investments in financial institutions, primarily commercial banks.
The widening of market credit spreads would have a mark-to-market
impact on this portfolio, the extent of which will depend on the
market yields as conditions normalize. The absorption of this
impact will not pose any challenge to the Bank's capital position.
* ICICI Bank is profitable. We made a profit of Rs. 4,158 crore
(over US$ 900 million) in FY2008 and Rs. 727 crore (over US$ 155
million) in the first quarter of this year. This was due to the
strong core performance, which more than offset the impact of
adverse debt and equity market conditions in India and globally
since the second half of FY2008.
We have proactively taken several steps over the last year in the
context of the emerging environment. We raised capital, recalibrated the growth of certain business lines, sharpened the focus on cost efficiency and worked towards reducing our dependence on wholesale funding. All
these measures were designed to enhance our resilience to potential
challenges in market conditions. At the same time, we significantly
expanded our branch network to strengthen our presence nationwide,
indicating our continued confidence in our growth path.
While there are near-term uncertainties, India is on a sustained growth
path in the medium to long term. This will mean exciting opportunities
for us across our businesses both in India and overseas. We have the
financial capital, technology, distribution and brand to leverage this
opportunity. And most importantly, we have the unique team of people
that make the ICICI Group what it is. You are the face of the Group. I
would ask all of you to be conscious of our strengths and communicate
them to all stakeholders. Let us move ahead to realise our shared
vision.
Posted in
News
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Written on 8:17 AM by Reethi
Are you planning to break into the world of freelance writing? Here are a few tips that I have gathered from various online sources, to help you with all the tips you need before you begin freelancing.
Freelance writers are present in practically everything that deals with today's technology, from books to television to the Internet.. There are many fields to choose from; however, with a little research you will be able to find one that matches your skill, perspective and interest perfectly. And in doing so, you can tackle more than one type of writing or you can just stick to the one subject you know best. Whatever your choice is, paths amid the freelance marketplace are plentiful and always on the lookout for new talent. Here's a summary of the most common fields in freelance writing:
Travel writers, entertainment writers, sports writers; these are all experts on their topic and usually write for many types of print magazines. Article writers can be either freelancers or staff writers; but what they have in common is the ability to write pieces in a compact and succinct language. The market for well-written articles is enormous, both on and off the Internet. Experienced and highly regarded writers with a deeply specialized knowledge (medicine, technology, and consumerism) can make a very decent living in more mercantile publications. As for columnists, they typically meander amid the world of criticism, remarking mostly on popular trends, fashions and styles rather than hard-line news.
These days, you can find columns on pretty much about everything in newspapers and magazines. Those who are syndicated, in which their columns appear in hundreds of newspapers daily, usually are top of the line and make the most money. Some view writing a new article every week for the same column can be a bit of a challenge, though some feel it's one of the easier slots of writing to slip into. In more established publications, often a staff journalist with a reputable name provides the weekly write-ups.
Tips for better web copy:
• Say LESS
• Use the Inverted Pyramid
• Put more important content first
• Use clear headlines and headings
• Consider the users' goals
• Establish trust
• Use active voice
• Always use 10 or 12 font size as this font size is best for readability.
• As far as size goes always use Verdana, Arial, Palatino Linotype, and Helvetica. Reason being all of them are very clear, and well spaced.
• Avoid the usage of any other color in web content writing. At times it looks very jarring for the eyes and makes it difficult to read.
• Always use black text on white background as it is pleasant for eyes and also it’s the standard rule.
Before you begin writing for the web:
1. Most of your visitors will find you by doing a search, so your writing has to meet the needs of the search engines.
2. Most visitors are looking for quality information about a topic. They'll hit the back button if your site only lists your services or product specifications or is overly self-promotional.
3. Visitors often scan pages quickly for relevant information, so the writing and page layout must make this easy for them.
4. Reading on a monitor is more difficult than reading on paper, so your writing should be clean and lean.
5. Visitors respond much more positively to text that touches them personally and emotionally.
6. Choose a personality or voice for your writing which represents your business accurately and maintain that tone throughout your web site.
7. Guide your visitor. Use the copy and design to make it obvious what they should do next.
Note: This work requires intelligence, attention to detail, and in-depth knowledge. If you are willing and ready to go, you can attain online success in a matter of days! Stay tuned. I am gathering a list of freelance content writing websites which you can use...
--Reethi
Posted in
Freelance Writing
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Written on 3:18 AM by Mrudula
Anton LaVey
(April 11, 1930 – October 29, 1997) born Howard Stanton Levey, was the American founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan as well as a writer, occultist, musician and actor. He was the author of The Satanic Bible and the founder of "Laveyian" Satanism, a synthesized system of his understanding of human nature and the insights of philosophers who advocated materialism and individualism, for which he claimed no "supernatural inspiration”.
In 1998, estranged daughter Zeena Schreck and her husband Nicolas Schreck released a document titled "Anton LaVey: Legend and Reality". It claims LaVey deliberately misrepresented a number of the facts of his life. In "The Georges Montalba Mystery", LaVey’s biographer, Blanche Barton, replies to these accusations. Among the accusations: Anton's former wife Diane claimed that she forged Marilyn Monroe's autograph and inscription to Anton, which he had used as his proof of his affair
For brevity's sake, only the most well-known aspects of the legend will be clarified here.
LEGEND: Claimed that "Anton Szandor LaVey" was his genuine birth name.
REALITY: Born "Howard Stanton Levey".
SOURCES: Birth certificate 4/11/1930, Cook County, Illinois. Confirmed by relatives.
LEGEND: Claimed his parents were Joseph and Augusta LaVey.
REALITY: Parents were Michael and Gertrude Levey.
SOURCES: Birth certificate 4/11/1930, Cook County, Illinois. Confirmed by ASL's daughter Zeena and daughter Karla according to her entry on ASL's death certificate.
LEGEND: Claimed he was introduced to the Dark Side by his Transylvanian Gypsy grandmother, who regaled him as a child with supernatural folklore and tales of vampires and werewolves.
REALITY: ASL's grandmother was not Transylvanian nor of Gypsy stock. She was a Ukrainian named Cecile Luba Primokov-Coulton ("Coulton" was Anglicized from "Koltonoff"). Despite his frequent claims, ASL had no Gypsy ancestry.
SOURCES: Relatives, including ASL's parents.
LEGEND: In 1945 the 15-year-old ASL was brought to the ruins of postwar Germany by his uncle, a U.S. Coast Guard officer. There the teenaged ASL was shown top-secret films inspired by Satanic cult lodges and their rituals. ASL claimed that the "German" rituals in his 1972 book The Satanic Rituals were actual transcripts of the filmed rituals he saw as a youth.
REALITY: Young Howard spent the entirety of 1945 in suburban northern California, and never visited Germany at any time in his life. The uncle who he claimed brought him to Germany was incarcerated at McNeill Island Penitentiary for involvement with Al Capone-related criminal activity during 1945, and was never in the armed forces. Allied martial law forbade U.S. citizens from visiting postwar Germany. The "German" rituals in the Satanic Rituals are written in extremely poor, Anglicized German. They are clearly uncredited adaptations of the short story The Hounds of Tindalos by Frank Belknap Long and H.G. Wells' famous novel The Island of Dr. Moreau.
SOURCES: ASL relatives, former wife Diane LaVey, The Hounds of Tindalos, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Satanic Rituals, Church of Satan member Rosalind Herkommer (who translated ASL's rituals into German).
LEGEND: The 15-year-old ASL played second oboe with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, making him the youngest musician ever to play with that prestigious institution.
REALITY: There was no "San Francisco Ballet Orchestra" in 1945. The San Francisco Ballet was accompanied by a local orchestra, whose records show that none of its three oboists was named "Levey" or "LaVey".
SOURCES: San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum, San Francisco, California.
LEGEND: In 1947 ASL ran away from home and joined the Clyde Beatty Circus. The Circus employed the 17-year-old as a lion tamer. He then replaced the Circus calliope player, accompanying such famous Beatty acts as the Concellos, Harold Alanza, and the Cristianis.
REALITY: The voluminous Beatty archives show no record of a "Levey" or "LaVey" as lion tamer or musician. The Concellos, Alanza, and Cristianis were never Beatty performers; they worked exclusively for the Ringling Brothers Circus.
SOURCES: Beatty 1947 Route Books, Circus World Museum, Baraboo, Wisconsin (Wright, "SD", page 67); ASL relatives.
LEGEND: In 1948 the 18-year-old ASL was engaged to play organ at the Mayan burlesque theater in Los Angeles. There he met a young stripper named Marilyn Monroe, with whom he had a passionate love affair in the period before her rise to film stardom. According to ASL, Monroe had resorted to stripping to pay her rent. As proof of his relationship with Monroe, ASL later showed visitors a copy of Monroe's famous nude calendar inscribed "Dear Tony, How many times have you seen this! Love, Marilyn".
REALITY: ASL never knew Monroe. Monroe intimate Robert Slatzer and Harry Lipton, Monroe's agent in 1948, have exposed and discredited this tale. Lipton paid Monroe's expenses, including her rent. Paul Valentine, director of the Mayan Theater, has stated that the Mayan was never a burlesque theater, and that neither Monroe nor ASL ever worked for the Mayan in any capacity. Diane LaVey, ASL's former wife, has admitted that she forged the "Monroe" inscription on the calendar. ASL's former publicist Edward Webber claims ASL admitted he never knew Monroe.
SOURCES: Diane LaVey, Paul Valentine (Wright, "SD", page #68), Harry Lipton (Aquino-Lipton conversation 12/1/82), Robert Slatzer (letter to Aquino 11/27/82), Edward Webber (interview by Aquino 6/2/91).
LEGEND: ASL was exposed to the savagery of human nature during his stint as a San Francisco Police photographer in the early 1950s.
REALITY: San Francisco Police Department past employment records include no "Howard Levey" nor "Anton LaVey". Frank Moser, who was a SFPD photographer in the early 1950s, said that ASL never worked for the Department.
SOURCES: SFPD records, Frank Moser (Wright, "SD", page 68).
LEGEND: ASL studied criminology at San Francisco City College during the Korean War.
REALITY: SFCC has no record of ASL's enrollment at any time.
SOURCES: SFCC records (Wright, "SD", page 68).
LEGEND: ASL purchased the house at 6114 California Street (which would later become the headquarters of the Church of Satan - the infamous "Black House") because he discovered on first inspection that it was the former brothel of Barbary Coast madam Mammy Pleasant. The house was honeycombed with trapdoors and secret passageways, built by Pleasant to elude police raids.
REALITY: 6114 was ASL's parents' home. It was never a brothel, nor did Mammy Pleasant ever live or work there. ASL's parents first allowed ASL and his first wife Carole to live in the house, then transferred ownership of it to ASL and his second wife Diane in 1971. Such secret passages and hidden rooms that exist were constructed by ASL.
SOURCES: Relatives, San Francisco property records (Michael & Gertrude Levey, Joint Tenancy Grant Deed, July 9, 1971).
LEGEND: In the 1950s ASL traveled to Nice, France, where he recorded an album of organ music under the pseudonym of "Georges Montalba".
REALITY: ASL's first and only trip to France was in the mid-1970s, when his Dutch disciple Maarten Lamers, Amsterdam sex club owner, financed his voyage. The "ASL=Montalba" story appeared in 1989, when a gullible Church of Satan member found a Montalba album and suggested that it was similar to ASL's own music. ASL, never pleased by competition, responded with the preposterous "pseudonym" claim - which is still ardently supported by his posthumous followers.
SOURCES: Diane LaVey, Zeena LaVey.
LEGEND: ASL was the official city organist for San Francisco until 1966, playing for gala events such as government banquets and political meetings.
REALITY: San Francisco has never had an "official city organist". According to ASL's first wife Carole, his only income of $29.91/week was generated by his regular engagement at the "Lost Weekend" nightclub, where he was the house Wurlitzer organist.
SOURCE: Julie Burford, Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California (Wright, "SD", page 68). Carole LaVey's divorce proceeding records (Wright, "SD", page 68).
LEGEND: On the night of April 30, 1966 (the German Satanic festival of Walpurgisnacht), ASL in a "blinding flash" declared himself the High Priest of Satan, proclaimed that the Age of Satan had begun, and founded the Church of Satan as a religious institution.
REALITY: In 1966 ASL supplemented his income by presenting weekend lectures on exotic and occult topics, and by conducting "Witches' Workshops". He charged $2 a head, filling his living room with the curious and establishing a local reputation as an eccentric. Professional publicist Edward Webber suggested to ASL that he "would never make any money by lecturing on Friday nights for donations ... it would be better to form some sort of church and get a charter from the State of California ... I told Anton at the time that the press was going to flip out over all this and that we would get a lot of notoriety". In the summer of 1966, long after the fictional founding-date invented later, a newspaper article about ASL's lectures offhandedly referred to him as "priest of the Devil's church". This mixture of Webber's idea and the newspaper's characterization resulted in the creation of the Church of Satan as a business and publicity vehicle. Jack Webb, a San Francisco Police investigator who knew ASL from the "Lost Weekend" nightclub, also suggested that he should form a church of some kind to exploit his recondite knowledge.
SOURCES: Edward Webber (interview by Aquino 6/2/91), Jack Webb, Diane LaVey.
LEGEND: ASL's trademark shaved head was the result of a ceremonial head-shaving on April 30, 1966, to formalize his role as High Priest of Satan. This ritual was performed in the tradition of the Yezidi devil-worshipping tribes of Iraq, who were said to have carried out a similar ceremony.
REALITY: ASL shaved his head in the summer of 1966 due to a light-hearted dare from his wife. The "LaVey look" had nothing to do with the Church of Satan founding nor any mystical meaning attached to it later. Nor do Yezidi qawwals (religious teachers) shave their heads.
SOURCES: Diane LaVey; Ethel S. Drower, Peacock Angel, 1941; C.J. Edmonds, A Pilgrimage to Lalish, Royal Asiatic Society, 1967.
LEGEND: In 1966 ASL personally designed the Baphomet emblem of the Church of Satan. He owns the right to this design, claiming it cannot be reproduced without obtaining licensing rights from the Church of Satan.
REALITY: The Baphomet emblem used by the Church of Satan was neither original to it nor created by ASL, hence cannot be trademarked. The original Baphomet dates at least as far back as the medieval Knights Templar. The artwork for the current emblem's goat/pentagram first appears in a 1931 book by Oswald Wirth. The complete emblem with the added circles and "LVYThN" Hebrew letters appears on the cover of a book by Maurice Bessy two years before the creation of the Church of Satan. Early photos of Church activities often show ASL or his disciples using the Bessy book as a photo-prop because of its prominent cover-Baphomet, and he included that book in his Compleat Witch bibliography. The Baphomet, including this rendition of it, is clearly in the public domain.
SOURCES: Oswald Wirth, La fran-maconnerie rendue intelligible a ces adeptes - II, "Le compagnon", Paris: Derry-Livres, 1931, page #60; Maurice Bessy, A Pictorial History of Magic and the Supernatural, London: Spring Books, 1964 [the original edition of this work - Histoire en 1000 images de la magie - was published in 1961 by Editions du Pont Royal]; Thomas H. Hilton, Sex and the Occult, Vol. I, Los Angeles: Centurion Press, 1974;Church of Satan members, The Black Flame (a 1980s Church of Satan magazine).
LEGEND: One of ASL's most widely-accepted falsehoods is his claim that he served as technical advisor for the 1968 Roman Polanski film Rosemary's Baby. ASL also claimed to have played the curiously-uncredited part of the Devil in that film.
REALITY: ASL had no involvement with Rosemary's Baby. Polanski's close friend Gene Gutowski (original producer of the film) stated that there was no technical advisor, nor did ASL ever even meet Polanski. Producer William Castle, who details all aspects of the film's production in his autobiography, never mentions ASL. He does describe Polanski's diligence in basing the film exactly on the Ira Levin novel from which it was adapted, eliminating any need for technical advice. The father of the actress who played Mia Farrow's body-double in the Devil scene recalled that a young, very slender professional dancer played the part, dressed in a small rubber suit. In 1971 this suit was acquired by Studio One Productions in Louisville, Kentucky, for use in a low-budget horror film Asylum of Satan. Michael Aquino, technical advisor for that film, examined the suit and concluded that the 200-pound, 6-foot ASL could not possibly have worn it. [The suit was worn by a girl in the Asylum film.] Not a single member of the cast or crew of Rosemary's Baby has ever mentioned ASL's involvement. In 1968 a San Francisco theater did ask ASL to make an appearance at the film's local opening as a promotional event. This appears to have been ASL's only connection with the film that engendered the 1960s' popular interest in Satanism.
SOURCES: Gene Gutowski; William Castle, Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare the Pants off America, New York: Pharos Books, 1992; Diane LaVey, Michael A. Aquino (COS, page #17).
LEGEND: Jayne Mansfield, Hollywood sex symbol and actress, was a card-carrying Satanist and had an affair with ASL.
REALITY: Publicity agent Tony Kent, an associate of Ed Webber, arranged the meeting between Mansfield and ASL as a publicity stunt. ASL was smitten with the actress. Mansfield, who made no secret of her many affairs, denied knowing ASL intimately, and no associate of hers has ever confirmed any supposed romance with ASL. In a 1967 interview she said, "He had fallen in love with me and wanted to join my life with his. It was a laugh." According to ASL's publicist Edward Webber, Mansfield would ridicule her Satanic suitor by calling from her Los Angeles home and seductively teasing him while her friends listened in on the conversation. ASL's public claims that he had an affair with Mansfield began only after Mansfield's death in an automobile accident, which he also claimed was the result of a curse he had placed on her lover Sam Brody.
SOURCES: Edward Webber (interview by Aquino 6/2/91); interview with Mansfield quoted in Jayne Mansfield by May Mann, Pocket Books, 1974.
LEGEND: ASL wrote the Satanic Bible, his principal work, to fulfill his congregation's need for a scriptural guide.
REALITY: The Satanic Bible was conceived as a commercial vehicle by paperback publisher Avon Books. Avon approached ASL for some kind of Satanic work to cash in on the Satanism & witchcraft fad of the late 1960s. Pressed for material to meet Avon's deadline, ASL resorted to plagiarism, assembling extracts from an obscure 1896 tract - Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard into a "Book of Satan" for the SB, and claiming its authorship by himself. [Ironically these MiR passages are the ones most frequently quoted by ASL disciples.] Another third of the SB consists of John Dee's "Enochian Keys", taken directly but again without attribution from Aleister Crowley's Equinox. The SB's "Nine Satanic Statements", one of the Church of Satan's central doctrines, is a paraphrase, again unacknowledged, of passages from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The last words in the SB - "Yankee Rose" - have been puzzled over for years by readers. "YR" is actually the name of an old popular tune in ASL's nightclub repertoire.
SOURCES: ASL, The Satanic Bible; Ragnar Redbeard, Might is Right, Port Townsend: Loompanics (reprint), 1896; Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged (Galt's speech, ca. pages #936-993); "Yankee Rose" by Sidney Holden & Abe Frankl (Irving Berlin Music, 1926).
LEGEND: ASL claimed that at the height of the Church of Satan's popularity there were hundreds of thousands of formal members.
REALITY: Diane LaVey (who administered the Church as High Priestess 1966-1984), Michael A. Aquino (senior Magister of the Church and Editor of its Cloven Hoof newsletter 1971-1975), and Zeena LaVey (High Priestess of the Church 1985-1990) have all affirmed that the figures claimed by ASL were grossly exaggerated. The membership of the Church of Satan never exceeded 300 individuals, several of whom were nonmember subscribers to the newsletter or ASL friends receiving complimentary mailings.
SOURCES: Diane LaVey, Michael A. Aquino, Zeena LaVey.
LEGEND: ASL claimed to be a multimillionaire, owning three homes in northern California, a convent in Italy, a chateau in France, a fleet of luxury automobiles, a 185-foot yacht, three salvage ships, and other property.
REALITY: During Diane [LaVey] Hegarty's 1988-91 lawsuit against ASL, and ASL's subsequent 1991 filing for bankruptcy, ASL stipulated under oath that he owned nothing more than 50% of the house his parents had given jointly to him and Diane, along with the personal items he kept therein. ASL's final years were subsidized by California state aid. Assessors declared the house to be in such poor repair as to be nearly worthless on the real estate market. Family members have attested to the fact that by the mid-1970s the LaVeys lived in near-poverty, frequently having to rely upon ASL's father's generosity. According to other LaVey relatives, ASL continued to rely on handouts from friends and relatives until the end of his life.
SOURCES: Hegarty v. LaVey (San Francisco Superior Court Case #891863), Anton LaVey Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern California, Case #91-34251), Zeena LaVey, other relatives.
- Munnu
Posted in
Amazing Facts
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Written on 3:09 AM by Mrudula
Bible Facts – The Books of the Bible
The Old Testament has 17 Historical, 5 Poetical, and 17 Prophetic books in it.
- The 17 Historical Books are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
- The 5 Poetical Books are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon,
- The 17 Prophetic Books are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
The New Testament has 4 Gospels, Acts, 21 Epistles, and Revelation in it.- The 4 Gospels are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
- The 21 Epistles are: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.
Bible Facts – Miscellaneous Facts
The Bible contains 1189 chapters.
The Old Testament has 929 chapters and the New Testament has 260 chapters.
The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119, and the shortest is Psalm 117.
The longest verse is Esther 8:9, and the shortest is John 11:35.
The Bible was written:- over a 1500 year span (from 1400 B.C to A.D. 100)
- over 40 generations
- over 40 authors from many walks of life (i.e. - kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars)
- in different places (i.e. - wilderness, dungeon, palaces)
- at different times (i.e. - war, peace)
- in different moods (i.e. - heights of joy, depths of despair)
- on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)
- in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)
- Munnu
Posted in
Amazing Facts
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Written on 2:59 AM by Mrudula
The Church of Satan was established in San Francisco California Walpurgis night April 30 1966, by Anton Szandor LaVey, who was the Church's High Priest until his death in 1997
History in their Words:
"Anton knew the date upon which the first Church of Satan must be established. It would have to be during the traditional night of the most important demonic celebration of the year, when witches and devils roam the earth, orgiastically glorifying the fruition of the Spring equinox: Walpurgisnacht, the night of April 30th—May 1st.
LaVey shaved his head as part of a formalized founding ritual, in the tradition of medieval executioners, carnival strongmen, and black magicians before him, to gain personal power and enhance the forces surrounding his newly-established Satanic order. It was the enactment of an allusion at the end of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Kubla Khan: an incantation rejecting the Holy Trinity and the spiritual life in favor of one devoted to Hell and material pursuits.
Shaving the head is also traditional to the Yezidi devil worshippers as a rite of passage that the emerging adept must perform. The razor for this rite is washed in the waters of Zamzam, the subterranean well of Islam said to be the point of origin for underground streams flowing under the Seven Towers of Satan. The caverns beneath the Towers are supposedly tributaries leading to the place of the Satanic Masters, known as Shamballah, or Carcosa. Thus, shorn of his locks, he leaves the world of the descendants of Adam behind him. To make the ritual complete, LaVey declared 1966 Year One, Anno Satanas—the first year of the reign of Satan.
The Council of Nine, following the dictates of the Nine Unknown, was established throughout the world. Many significant writers have obliquely referred to this mysterious cabal—Shakespeare, John Dryden, Talbot Mundy, Richard Johnson—an archetypal formation which is reflected in the nine members appointed to sit in positions of absolute authority on the United States Supreme Court. The new Age of Fire had been inaugurated, and though the ceremony on Walpurgisnacht, 1966, was a highly personal, private one, LaVey would soon feel the tremors it was to produce.
“We blended a formula of nine parts social respectability to one part outrage,” says Anton LaVey. “We established a Church of Satan—something that would smash all concepts of what a ‘church’ was supposed to be. This was a temple of indulgence to openly defy the temples of abstinence that had been built up until then. We didn’t want it to be an unforgiving, unwelcoming place, but a place where you could go to have fun.”
And thus was initiated two revolutions which have carried over into today: 1) the integration of magic and logic, and 2) a religion based on self-indulgence, carnality (here and now instead of there and then), and pleasure instead of self-denial. Other ego-affirming, human potential programs like EST, drew from the ground-breaking attitudes and techniques of the Church of Satan. "
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- Munnu
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The Mysterious
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