peopledaily - Two students saw a bright object fly into their camera lens that they thought might be an unidentified flying object (UFO) while taking photos of the city's night views at the 10th Pingyao International Photography Festival held in the ancient city of Pingyao in central China's Shanxi Province on the night of Sept. 22.
The whole incident lasted about 40 minutes. The two sent the photos they took to a reporter on the afternoon of Sept. 23 hoping the mystery could be revealed.
The object in the photo was a sphere with two flickering columns on its two sides. However, it actually could not be seen with the naked eye. The two photographers kept following it and shooting pictures, and were able to take many clear images of the objects.
The object kept appearing and disappearing in the sky from time to time and its position and flying trajectory also kept changing. When some tourists passing by were looking at the pictures taken by the students and comparing them with the sky, they were also surprised.
The two students took about 200 pictures of the UFO. For a period, the object disappeared in their camera lens, but at nearly midnight, it appeared again when one of the students adjusted the time of exposure to 20 seconds and pressed the shutter. However, this time, the columns on its two sides reversed and the object had also moved to a position above the moon.
A group of youth passing by witnessed the whole event with the two students and left their telephone numbers for them. A girl gave them her mobile phone number, and said that she was willing to testify about this incident in the future.
The two students, named Gu Peiwen and Sun Jiali, were admitted to the Department of Photography of the Harbin Normal University's School of Communication in 2008 and are in the same class.
On Sept. 18, the two traveled to Pingyao with their photographs to take part in the 10th Pingyao International Photography Festival. They always go out to photograph local scenery in their spare time. It was Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept. 22 and the moon was bright and beautiful on that night, so they went to Mingqing Street to take pictures of some night views.
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telegraph - The Bahia Emerald was dug up in Brazil in 2001 and tipped the scales at 840lbs. It is valued at around $400 million (£250 million).
Several people have claimed the suitcase-sized rock since it was found and a small army of lawyers gathered in front of a judge in Los Angeles on Friday for the start of a civil trial over ownership.
The precious stone, which consists of green shards embedded in a host rock, had a circuitous and mysterious journey after vanishing from Brazil.
In 2005 it was in a warehouse in New Orleans and narrowly escaped flooding during Hurricane Katrina.
At one point it was listed for sale on internet auction website eBay for $75 million (£47 million).
It was seized from a gem dealer in Las Vegas and is now in the custody of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
One of the claimants, Tony Thomas, is arguing that he purchased the emerald first from a Brazilian gem dealer for $60,000 (£38,000) shortly after it was excavated.
He claims that, after he arranged to have it shipped home, he was tricked into believing the rock had been stolen so it could be sold to someone else for more money.
His case is being considered by the judge but other interested parties have argued it should be dismissed because the emerald was never delivered to him.
Other ownership claims will be reviewed at a later date. They include a man who says he was retained by the Brazilian owners to sell the emerald.
Another claimant says he received it from a gem dealer as collateral for a shipment of diamonds.
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Man Faints With Head In Museum Noose
mcphersonsentinel - A visitor to Boot Hill Museum thought he'd found a photo opportunity Wednesday, but he wound up in the hospital instead. A 69-year-old man from Parks, Ark., discovered that a noose attached to the museum's "Boot Hill Hanging" Tree had slipped out of position Wednesday afternoon, according to Dodge City Police Chief Robin James. The man put his head into the noose and crouched down, increasing tension on the rope.
He was posing for a photo when he passed out and slumped into the noose. The man's wife and another woman were with him, but they were unable to remove him from the noose. They summoned help from others at the museum — including an off-duty police officer from out of town — who were able to get him out of the noose. "If there hadn't been somebody there within a minute or two, there would have been a different result," James said.
The police department learned about the incident shortly before 1 p.m., and an emergency crew was on the scene within minutes after receiving the call. When the police arrived at the scene, the man had just been removed from the noose and was being treated by emergency medical personnel. He was revived and taken to Western Plains Medical Complex, where he was in stable condition.
"It sounds like an oxymoron, but he's probably the luckiest man in Dodge today," James said. "The man was hung from a tree at Boot Hill, Dodge City, Kansas, and he walked away from the hospital without significant injury." He declined to release the man's name since no crime had been committed.
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More Evidence of Witchcraft at California Cemetery
valleycentral - Brian Hartung took our Action 4 News cameras to where his father has been buried at the La Havana Cemetery just west of La Joya
While making the small trek to the site an overwhelming stench took over.
"Why would they want to target his grave?" asked Hartung. "A Vietnam Vet's grave."
Hartung pointed to a corpse of a chicken, wrapped in a plastic bag, and placed on his father's grave-already covered in maggots.
"It's supposed to be some kind of sacrilegious---I don't know what the significance of it is--but it's disheartening to find this on my father's grave," said Hartung.
Brian said he is way past angry-he just wants answers.
"What's the purpose," asked Hartung. "This was an honorable vet who served his country proudly-- To come and find this is devastating."
This is not the first time there have been claims of witchcraft at the cemetery.
It was just last week that Action 4 News reported about a local mother who found a shrine to Santa Muerte, a cow's tongue and other objects she considered "evil."
"We saw witchcraft objects," said 'Jane.' "We saw a jaw with candle wax, burned paper, and red chile peppers wrapped in plastic bags."
Who's responsible for them remains a mystery.
But there are some that point to Pagans.
Those who practice said there is a misunderstanding about their religion and what they do.
"There are so many religions out there that intertwine together," said Karl Sawyer. "There are some parts of Christianity that intertwines with Wicca."
Sawyer, who owns The Gallery in McAllen, said Wicca is an Earth-based religion and not about casting spells to harm others.
"The religion has to do with worshiping a god and goddess," Sawyer said.
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Researchers Resume Hunt For Artifacts At Blackbeard Shipwreck Site
enctoday - As underwater archaeologists dive to recover 300-year-old artifacts from the shipwreck presumed to Blackbeard’s flagship, the effort to keep the public a part of the project are all 21st century.
A six-week dive expedition at the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck site began this week, and anyone interested in following its progress can do so via the Facebook page Blackbeard’s-Queen Anne’s Revenge. Full information on the project is also available at the website qaronline.com.
After a day of field preparations, a Wednesday afternoon Facebook post announced the biggest news of the expedition: “Returning to USCG Fort Macon. Still need to get a mooring in but unit grids are set. The first excavation since fall 2008 will start first thing (Thursday) morning.”
The 2010 expedition will continue through October. While small dives on the wreck, such as a three-day dive in May, have allowed researchers to monitor and conduct limited work on site, this expedition marks the first excavation in two years.
According to information on the QAR website, objectives of this dive include the excavation and full recovery of artifacts from approximately 37, 5-foot by5-foot archaeological units in the midship and forward hold area.
While little wet storage space at the QAR conservation lab limits the full recovery of the ship’s largest artifacts — such as its anchors and cannons — there are plans to move one of the ship’s largest main deck cannons from its current location to the large artifact holding area on site.
In other activities planned, members of the expedition will take readings from anchors and cannon already undergoing corrosion treatment underwater and attach the aluminum-alloy anodes to begin treatment on others.
The anodes are used to change the electrochemical process that corrodes iron in saltwater, reducing or even reversing the amount of salts absorbed by the iron objects.
By beginning the process underwater, it can save time and space in the conservation lab.
“It’s imperative that we stop the damaging effects of salt water on these treasures. This is a good alternative to help stabilize them when laboratory space is not available,” stated QAR Archaeological Field Director Chris Southerly in a news release announcing the dive.
A dozen cannons, which range from 6 feet to 8 feet in length and weighing 700 pounds to a ton, will undergo the treatment along with three large anchors. The anchors are 11 feet to 13 feet long and weigh an estimated 1,800 pounds.
To date, more than 700,000 artifacts have been recovered. Many are still undergoing conservation while others are exhibited at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort, the repository for QAR artifacts.
The expedition is being led by the N.C. Underwater Archaeology Branch with team efforts including NOAA, the N.C. Maritime Museum and Friends of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. The dive expedition is made possible by a grant from NOAA and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation as well as support from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, the U.S. Coast Guard at Fort Macon, Fort Macon State Park, Nautilus Productions and Discovery Diving.
Fortean / Oddball News - 9/25/2010: Gigantic Emerald, Chinese UFO and Blackbeard Shipwreck
