On Revelations, I explained my theory to William Henry that the strange ritual behavior we've seen with Barack Obama is based in the same feelings of anxiety that fuel ritual behaviors in people with OCD.
UFOs continue to make the headlines, particularly these stories from China. My automatic reaction is to dismiss any sighting in the mainstream media as a hoax and/or a setup, but the story being circulated about military testing seems more than a bit off to me, as if the Chinese are trying to control the narrative by leading people to believe it's all some kind of test.
Well, it's after-Labor Day (the autumnal equinox is a good two weeks away).
So after all the shouting and controversy, could it be that the "Ground Zero Mosque" is a hoax? Nothing would surprise me these days, but you gotta love Huffpost's beauty shot of the Stairway to Sirius here, especially given the site's penchant for super-loaded symbolism.
I could try to preface or frame this photocomic but there's no way I could make it any less strange and wacked out than it already is.
You know, I never noticed how much the CMS installation at CERN resembled old Sol. No surprise they're searching for the "God Particle" there. Hopefully the overweening narcissism of the current generation of scientists won't be all of our undoing.
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The Outer Limits would inspire - and lend creative personnel -- to two other landmark sci-fi series of the 1960s, series whose numinous power continues to overshadow any of the formulaic bilge that has passed itself off as science fiction in recent years.
Reader Brooke brought these to my attention- the new mascots for the London Olympics. And what a surprise- more aliens. These are faintly reminiscent of the Teletubbies, though the cyclops look is a bit disconcerting. The levitation bit is a nice touch, no?
I had tweeted these throughout the day, but since a lot of readers don't follow my Twitter feed I thought I'd recap yesterday's 17 celebrations from around the world. 
ITEM: As you'd expect, A wispy comet, a bursting star-forming cloud, the Andromeda galaxy and a faraway cluster of hundreds of galaxies are just a few of the cosmic sights seen in the first processed images from a new NASA all-sky survey. NASA's new Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, mission began scanning the entire sky in infrared light on Jan. 14.The Comet is labeled as C/2007 Q3. Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet.
ITEM: Speaking of the lamentations of ISiS, she got a new window onto the world, which NASA showed off on the 17th:
Astronauts in space are delighting in what they described as "absolutely spectacular" views of Earth after cranking open the shutters on the International Space Station's new window-covered observation dome for the first time.
Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi took this view from inside the cupola just after its windows were first opened on Feb. 17, 2010. The cupola's window shutters are open and the Sahara desert is visible below.
The Sahara. Where Egypt is located. Gotcha.
ITEM: NASA astronauts also took their third and final spacewalk at ISiS on the 17th:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts ventured out on the third and final spacewalk of their mission Tuesday night and unwrapped the International Space Station's phenomenal new lookout — the best window on the world that orbiting crews have ever had. Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick had a multitude of chores to complete outside, but the most anticipated was the unveiling of those seven windows, a fitting grand finale to the shuttle mission's spacewalks.3. 17. Patrick. Hmmm.
ITEM: The indelible link between NASA and Ancient Egypt was driven home yet again with this story, which made the news on the 17th:
The legendary Egyptian "boy king" Tutankhamun, commonly known as King Tut, died of conditions including malaria and complications from a leg fracture, according to a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Tut) ruled during the 18th Dynasty, from 1336 B.C. to 1327 B.C., according to the Web site Egyptology Online, and is believed to have died young. Forensic analysis of his mummy has put his age of death at about 17 to 19 years.
ITEM: What was the 17 President doing? He was talking to ISiS. USA Today: "Obama and students talk to astronauts in orbit":
Barackobamun (aka the new Tut) used the occasion to state that his commitment to NASA was "unwavering," even though he observed the 42nd anniversary of Gus Grissom'sSurrounded by a dozen middle school students from Florida, Michigan and Nebraska, President Obama spoke to 11 NASA astronauts by phone from the Roosevelt Room in the White House this evening. A video fed their images back at the same time.
The orbiting astronauts, from the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Endeavor, took turns answering questions from the president and the students.
ITEM: This strange story surfaced on the 17th, which I don't know what to make of:
It looks a bit too good to be true, but I will definitely keep my eye on future developments. But you don't need to look in hidden caves for Stargate depictions...A group of anthropologists working with hill tribes in a remote area of India have made a startling discovery: Intricate prehistoric cave paintings depicting aliens and UFO type craft.
Also visible is another object that might depict a wormhole, explaining how aliens were able to reach Earth. This image may lead UFO enthusiasts to conclude that the images might have been drawn with the involvement of aliens themselves.
...do you?
Well, I watched as much as I could take of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and DVR'd the rest. I realize all of the symbolism comes from indigenous cultures, but these four statues seemed a bit more canopic to me, like the four sons of Horus, or the four funerary goddesses. Maybe a little of both. At the same time. Canada is very liberal about that kind of thing.
