GHOST HUNTERS

( 29 years apart, still going on weird adventures. The result? Always a curious and novel life! ) You wake up one day and there's a chicken neck, jowls, and frown lines on your face? How the hell did that happen? It's like it happened overnight. I know it's not a popular thing, but I actually don't believe time exists. It's a concept that was designed by man to explain a series of events over a life, the cycle of daylight and the aging of people--a point of reference, but there is only a series of events and happenings, incidents and physical deterioration and it is not "time" that is the enemy, it is the cumulative effect of living. Today, if I drink 2 sodas, I will gain 24 pounds in a year just from that one "tiny thing a day." Today, if I suntan every day, I can age myself a good 10 years within one year of tanning. Today, if I neglect telling a loved one that I love him, within a year he will become insecure, within a few years, he will bec...

It's that time again. I'm here all evening hanging out and watching the totally cool new episode of "Ghost Adventures," so please feel free to jump in and chat.

Julie and I's book, "Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition)" is available on Kindle and Nook for $2.99. We went to 12 places in the desert and took photos and did psychic reads on a scene from the past. This fascinating book was a blast to write and being able to do psychic reads at so many different sites was a dream come true. Enjoy!

Hales Bar Marina & Dam This should be the best dam episode ever! I'm certain it'll be the best dam drinking game night ever. Now, all we need is for Zak to get tormented by the dam ghosts and go on one of his dam rampages. It's time for me to give you the dam drinking game rules: Stay home. Take a sip/gulp for every "bro," "dude," "man," every time Zak thinks he's been touched, and every time Aaron's mouth hinges open in horror. Tonight's drink? Mojitos! It's my new fav. I have never been into mixed drinks but the taste is just unusual enough to keep me liking it. I'll never drink a dam Margarita again! LOL BTW: They offer overnight investigations in this abandoned huge dam building in Tennessee. **Don't forget Lonely on a Friday Night here. Come and go as you wish. I'll be here hosting and ready to enjoy the drinking game and watching the dam episode**

You only get a few words to make a lasting impression... Here lies Johnny Yeast Pardon me For not rising. Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake Stepped on the gas Instead of the brake. I told you I was sick! She always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her. Here lies an Atheist All dressed up And no place to go. Here lays Butch, We planted him raw. He was quick on the trigger, But slow on the draw. **In a few hours, a post goes up for a new episode of Ghost Adventures tonight that will be "dam" fun with a "dam" exciting drinking game!**

I've been in my industry too long, typing up medical reports. Every day is something insane and new about humankind. The ones that crack me up and have had plenty of time between then and now to actually reveal them, without saying where or who-- here's some things humans do. One man had an apple up his ass. Yes, a medium-sized apple. I had to ask the doctor, "he took that apple a day very seriously, hmm?" He replied dryly ( as only a doctor who's seen it all could ), "yes, the high-fiber diet, I believe." One man was pulled over by the cops, walking down a roadway with a ladder and a length of rope. He was going to hang himself, just looking for a tree. In the desert. ( Yes, he was pleasantly drunk ) One lady dropped her wallet in a toilet on the train. She arrived in the ER with her hand still in the toilet that the paramedics had removed from the train. One man got in a bizarre accident. It seems that he and a friend who were both wheelchair bound, ti...

I heard FoF was picked up again. ( Hence the special celebration pic! ) This season for me was a total clunker . Really bad choices for cases, doing things that they could have disputed without even researching, like glare from glass domes and mating manatees ( I could do this show from home with the Internet ) and a swingset swinging on its own -- WTF? The only good case they did was the chupacabra. I'm really disappointed. It just got super watered down and in the end they go, "well, we could repeat it so it could be a hoax, but then that doesn't mean it wasn't real, it just means it could or could not have been a hoax..." ( hem, haw ) All I gotta say about this episode ( it was a season ender??? DT went to Antarctica ). How is it possible that the only two times they need someone in a swimsuit for the show, they manage both times to need Jael to do it? What are the odds on a team of 6 people? No Bill in a swimsuit? Chi-Lon, I'd be seriously insulted. You...

So, Syfy will be starting a new show called "Haunted Collector" with a team that goes in search of haunted items. Argh! They really need a psychometrist- h-e-l-l-o? Okay, so since they stole my idea to use my own skills in such a form of entertainment, I'd like to suggest this show: "Paranormal Hostage" I go and knock on a random door and ask someone "will you commit to doing a paranormal investigation with me without knowing what or where?" If they say yes, I take the poor sucker (ahem) I mean person, along with me on a trip to hunt for Bigfoot or use them as a lure for the Jersey Devil or some other horrifying task. I enjoy a good deal of humor dealing with them along the way and leave them ultimately in a dark place to face a fear they never imagined they'd have to face. Syfy, you can find me here. I'm on this damn blog every freaking day! BTW: I also have an idea for a ghost hunting show that would be half amazing research/half Big Brother...

I know, I know, my way of looking at places and photographing them isn't your typical approach. I like to look at humans much the same way. Sure, you can look at their packaging and think you know them, but until you get up close and personal, you don't know their content! It's the same with photographing abandoned sites. (full shot) (partial shot) I could take a shot of the whole dang building, but all that says is "I was here. I saw this building. Here's what I saw." Now, look at the second shot. Doesn't it say, "What is this? It's creepy. I wonder if something is peering at me through the cracks." That's honestly how I felt. That building had major "I'm watching you" mojo. Lesson: Go past the entirety to find the one detail that says it all. (outside) (inside) Lesson: - you don't know jack shit! You think you see a building, right? Go inside! Now you know the building. (the building) (it's surroundings) Sometim...

Tomorrow's Tank Top Shot will be a special one for the occasion, something sticky and sweet.

You have to watch me. You never quite know what I'm up to. I am going to introduce you to another blog I have that is set up to tantalize you, intrigue you, and make you ponder. Who is Josiah and how did he become an undead cowboy? Josiah will be all over the place. You never know where he'll show up. This character has a mystery and a story. I hope to make you wonder about him and ponder the puzzle that is... Josiah . ( opening paragraphs revealed ) He is also on social media, Twitter , Tumblr and YouTube with new entries occurring all month leading up to his "release" on Memorial Day. There are buttons on his blog for all his social media sites and each place will give you new clues about the undead cowboy. Follow the countdown to May 30th on his blog. Learn bits and pieces of his world. After all, when a man has walked the earth for 140 years, he has a lot to tell...

I was not plagued by poltergeist activity after leaving my childhood home and entering my latter teen years. I figured it was past me. I still could not wear a watch without killing it within 1-2 days, but other than that, I had only the occasional TV turning on when I entered the room or store alarm going off or street light turning on. I didn't give those much notice because without consistency, one never knows what caused them. But, one day when I was in the worst part of my dying marriage and had so much repressed anger that I worked out 2 hours a day and still could not find a release, I was in the grocery store. I live in what was once a retirement area, but became the breeding ground for yuppie families. Still, the elderly like to shop at this small local grocer. I entered the end of an aisle where an elderly woman was picking out a few items. I pushed my cart just past her and stopped it so I could walk freely up and down the aisle and pick up what I needed. As I...

I admit to a great admiration for Josh Gates from Syfy's "Destination Truth." It's not just that the man is funny--although humor to me is HUGELY important. We can't really make new correlations and discoveries until we free up the tensions in our minds and bodies so we are receptive to new ways of seeing things. Creative folks understand the importance of humor. Scientists need to learn it and it should be taught to them in school. Taking a subject with such focus can sometimes make you miss the peripherals. That is why I started this theories blog, to take you outside of conventional ghost hunting "rules and regulations" inspired by the ghost hunting show popularity and pseudo-science involved. I envied that Josh got to go pretty much anywhere on the entire planet he wanted to, but I do not envy his 16-hour flights, insane road trips, and hiking into nasty jungles with offensive creatures ( no, not the cast, the critters! ) You either love or hate the ...

Yeah, it's that night, but you won't find me watching it. I just can't give the sponsors my attention for their ads when they're pasted on something that reminds me a lot of snake-oil and televangelists. But, in honor of the day, I am going to cover more in the creepy underside of the paranormal world where people make money off of fear and desperation. Let's begin this one about an amazing but common story of a psychic who promised to get rid of a curse for a price--200K! Yeah, this was an Orange County "self-proclaimed psychic" who spent a year milking 200K from the woman for a curse she claimed came from her mother's womb and had been present the whole woman's life long. Here's my practical advice on finding a psychic if you feel the need to have the insight. ***Do not miss tomorrow afternoon's post!***

*Askerisk means I'm watching it. MONDAY: *Syfy: "Urban Legends" A&E: "Paranormal State" (2 new episodes) TUESDAY: *Syfy: Marathon of Destination Truth (repeats) followed by season ender of "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen" WEDNESDAY: *Syfy: "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" (new--Whaley Ghost House and a Florida River Creature) Tank top review the next day! THURSDAY: Nope FRIDAY: Travel Channel: Yahoo! A new "Ghost Adventures" in a pretty bitchin' dam. Should be a really dam good episode. I can't wait to see Zak make a dam fool of himself. You know we have to have a dam drinking game, right?

I've had my eye on this statue above for years! I couldn't possibly use it at my old house with the grinch, but I can put my horror on now. I'd love to put this fella smack dab in the middle of my coffee table. I am starting a little statue fund and make this guy mine. He goes for $99.95 on Design Toscano . This is an awesome RC zombie. What a fun way to spend your day! He's only $24.99 at ThinkGeek . For $22.95, you can make a t-shirt statement . Here's a warning sign on Etsy for $24. How about a White Zombie Ale ( this sounds sooooo good ) "A Belgium white ale made with coriander, orange peel, and wheat. This beer is refreshing and tasty with a sweet and shimmering frothy head." Get your profile pic made into a zombi-tized version .

Breathe life into your life--or your relationship and be spontaneous with a day trip. KID-DIRECTED TRIP: Got kids? I suggest you let them pick a piece of paper from a hat: one says "pick the town" one says "pick the food" and one says "pick the picnic place." Pull up the map, let someone pick the town within 50 miles, when you get to the town, let one of them pick the place you pick up lunch. Then, drive around and let one of them pick the place to stop and picnic. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Pick a town within the day's drive and pull up the town's calendar of events online. See what's happening there on the weekend. Go there just for that event. CARNIVALS: Go find the fun on the traveling midway site to find a traveling carnival in your state. DRIVE-INS: Consider taking your loved one or family or friends to a drive-in theater . They might be in another town, but the trek will be worth it! Zombie Walk: If you have some good friends who want som...

You're sitting at home, quietly, minding your own business. Someone knocks. Scenario #1: You get up and answer the door to find a group of people in matching t-shirts. They push past you as if you are not even there and begin to set up equipment in your home, barking orders at one another. Then, one of them raises a fist and yells at the room, " Hey, I'm here! Come and get me! You can scare the people in this house, but you can't scare me! " Scenario #2: Same knock at the door. Same team of people in matching shirts. You let them in and they look around. "This is nice. Look at that! The authentic fireplace. This is a nice home. You must be very proud." They sit down at the table and have a little talk, gently encouraging you to join. "If you have something you'd like us to tell someone, please feel free to. We understand what it's like to miss someone you love." If what we're dealing with here is the intelligence of those in the a...

We have lives with wins and losses. How, though, do we pull ourselves back after we lose at a task and get moving on to the next one? Here it is in a nutshell: Do not let once incident define your life. That time you stuttered during your oral report in fifth grade? That time you missed the important basket in the basketball playoff? That time you slept with someone you didn't even really like? That time you yelled at your kid when you were tired and impatient? Your life got back up each time and kept going on with wins and losses again and again. No one task is the defining moment in your life. You find the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. Even those who achieve success, they never stop. They begin new companies, make another movie, cut another album. No one thing defines your success or your failure; they all just show a life in dynamic movement—the ideal motion. As well, no one loss is not insurmountable. I do recall swearing that I would never be happy again, ...

It's that time again. Drop in. Say "hi." Chit chat. Joke around. Ask questions. Be a dork. Whatever you want to do. I'll be here all evening. Come and go as you like. I will be here the long haul and will know if you've arrived.

Okay, followers, previously I did an audition for the lead ventriloquist singer of Radiohead . Today, I thought I'd go for something hip and current, Black-Eyed Peas. Besides, the Fergie chick reminds me of a doll I once dated and I'm guessing if I'm in the band, I get to score! The Human says I'm too squeaky clean and much too close to the lens, but I beg to differ. I think having me in the viewers' faces is a good thing and I definitely look like I could be singing that song. My technique was flawless and as a ventriloquist doll, that's my living! It feels really good to be mouthing again. The Human hasn't been letting me do any talking recently and that's my reason for being! When I submit my video audition, I think I should add this too. It shows I'm okay with show business. You might recall the movie "Twilight Zone" with the monster on the wing of the plane... Check it out at the 5:30 minute marker... The Human told me that I can post ...

It's that time again, my dearies, we're going to find out more about you! Count your a's, b's, and c's and see which one you get the most of. Scroll down and find out which horror movie scenario you could survive. 1. When it comes to school, I tended to have an easier time with... a. Shop, Home Ec, anything hands-on learning b. Dissecting frogs in biology class, things no one else wanted to do d. Debate team, using my mind, solving puzzles 2. My cliche in school? I'd probably say I was... a. Working class kid, regular guy/gal, average b. Daredevil, adrenalin freak, sometimes a bully c. A thinker, philosopher, debater 3. I most admire.. a. The Dirty Jobs dude, Mike Rowe, or Bob Villa the house fixer upper dude, handy guys b. Donald Trump, Richard Branson the owner of Virgin Airlines, movers/shakers/daredevils c. Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, the philosophers of old, thinkers/enlightened 4. I'm at a party and someone starts a fight with anothe...

Today is Ghost Ship Day being hosted by The Misadventures of HalloweeNut , one of my very favorite Halloween-lovers bloggers. In honor of the 31st anniversary for "The Fog" ( one of my all time favs ), I'm going to tell you about the location for the movie. I saw the movie when it came out ( yes, I'm that old! ) My first thought was "I want that job!" The character of Stevie Wayne the DJ in the lighthouse was a dream job, dream location! Every time they showed her walking to work, I'd think-- is that real? Where is that? Much of the movie was filmed throughout California's coastlines including the famous Bodega Bay ("The Birds") but the lighthouse was an actual lighthouse, Point Reyes. This wasn't a random site either. It is the windiest and foggiest place in America and can be found in the San Francisco Bay. The star of the movie ( the lighthouse ) went up into operation in 1870. It utilized a different and very unusual light that coul...

"Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition)" by Gina Hana and Julie Ferguson is the most unusual URBEX book ever written. Julie and I pieced together a most interesting urban exploration book based on sites in the Arizona desert, everything from a factory to a motel, a derailed train to an apartment complex. We went to 12 locations. Julie photographed the deteriorated structure and I did a psychic read on an item from the location. From these encounters, we pieced together 12 chapters that combine photos with a psychic read story of a moment in the past and the people involved. It brings to life a now dead location and also proves that, even though a place appears to have no life, it still contains its memories. As well, Julie has an Etsy shop, Backroads Treasures where she made items based on the debris in abandoned sites and photographs with a steampunk feel to it. This book can be found on Kindle and Nook.

The cop dashboard chupacabra was one I had seen way way lots of times online and studied over and over. I was thrilled to see them do that one. It was popular, but then it was also authentically filmed and left some shaking their heads. We want to think it was just a dog, but how the hell did its head look like that??? I had to giggle that they brought in a miniature horse. Oh, those city kids! Still, I find their conclusions as wishy washy as a politician straddling a fence. I was pleased they picked this case, but confused they picked the alien one. WTF?? That was terrible and so CGI looking and ridiculous. There is no way an alien would walk along as people are interviewing and that no one would see it either. Double stupid. Double cheesy looking. One of the critical things on this show is that they pick the right vids to pursue. Oh, how I wish they'd pick more creepy and dark ones. It seems like all their episodes lately are daylight and boring. I am, however, pleased that the...

People always coo with envy when I tell them I work from home. I figured I probably should explain the process a bit better before they start searching for home-based businesses. There are great benefits and some really annoying detriments... I'm an optimist. Well, perhaps an opportunist . I don't necessarily think everything works out well in the end, but I do believe that all course diversions along life's path lead to opportunities. ( yeah, I'm a lemons-to-lemonade kinda gal ) I very proudly entered the industry of medical transcription in 1992. I worked in an ER for years before I worked for a service from home. I was very pleased with my "profession," but in recent years, computers type up the reports and I edit. They pay me 1/3 the amount to do this and it takes as long or longer to edit a report as to type it. So, I am super screwed in a big, "bend-over-and-take-it-you work-for-a-sweatshop-now" kind of way. It's humiliating that I not only...

I cannot get enough of this stuff! We all complain about the vids they pick. Which one would you pursue of these vids and which do you think FoF would choose? **Don't forget--tonight is the season finale of "Ghost Hunters" and another episode of "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" which you know also means tank top shot and review tomorrow.**

It's the season ender of Destination Truth and I have to say that I got a chance to preview this episode and it was my very favorite one they've ever done. There were moments of it that read like a really good horror movie remake of "The Thing." I got shivers several times and it takes a helluva lot to get that reaction from me. It's time for my final Josh Gates Journals ( I've-got-a-tweenage-crush-on-Josh journal entries ) Journal Entry: 04/19/2011 Josh is going to Antarctica! I have never been so nervous in all my life! How could his season end already??? OMG! What will I do?? I wish I were there to help keep him warm and protect him from the ghosts of the abandoned research stations. Oh, Josh, you don't have to be so strong and brave with me. I know people think that Josh is totally brave and fearless, but I can see it in his pretty eyes, there's a little kid inside who is unsure and worried. He may look like Indiana Jones and he may joke around lik...

This is my best mind fuck so far and I do hope to continue these sorts of theoretical discussions often this year on the blog, so tighten your seat belts, this will be a crazy ride! If you finish reading this and don't feel strangely unsettled, re-read it . Carl Sagan explains it well... When I was a kid and laid down on the grass at night and studied the stars, I often thought about how vast it is. Too vast for us to understand. Are we seeing the universe as it really is, or just dots and bits of something even bigger? What if our earth and other planets are nothing more than cells that make up something inconceivably larger? Something like if the cells in your body see each other, but would not know they were part of a bigger thing called a human being. They have no perspective to understand that concept. Consider this: We have 2-dimensional things in our world, such as photographs and TV screens. If you were from another planet and visited us, it would seem quite strange that a ...

This proud mama wants to say happy 23rd birthday to her fantastically talented son. He has amazed me every moment of his life. Born a wise old soul, he was crawling at 3 months, walking at 8 months and reading at 3 years. He was in gifted programs his whole life. He excelled with computers, writing, art. You name it, if he decided to do it, he did it well. He recently graduated from college with a degree in intermedia art. He is a website designer and graphic artist, as well as a writer of a fantastic post-apocalyptic novel (yet to be completed). He is engaged to an amazing woman who is his perfect partner and equal. Can life be any better for this young man? I think not. I always called him "coach" and there is a reason for it. He taught me everything I ever needed to know about life that mattered and gave me substance. Happy birthday, Alex! Check out his work at his site . **Do not miss tomorrow's Mind Fuck Tuesday--it is my favorite post I've ever written.**

( Okay, just so long as Jael is no on this show--Syfy seems to like to spread her around ) "Urban Legends" starts tonight on Syfy. It asks its viewers to decipher fact from fiction. Three tall tales are dramatically recreated and the audience must decide which is real from these stories of astronomical proportion. In the sneak peek clip of the Season Premiere of Urban Legends, a man is held at gunpoint on his own living room floor by men that look to be on the SWAT team based on their gear and clothes. The man being held against his will can’t figure out the reasoning for the invasion in his own home, and soon realizes his two dogs have been killed and his mother-in-law has been thrown to the ground. He sees police standing outside of his house and realizes this is no ordinary invasion while trying to reason with the masked men in telling them he hasn’t done anything wrong and that he’s the mayor. The masked men think he must be crazy for claiming such a thing, and it all...

( Okay, just so long as Jael is no on this show--Syfy seems to like to spread her around ) Urban Legends asks its viewers to decipher fact from fiction. Three tall tales are dramatically recreated and the audience must decide which is real from these stories of astronomical proportion. In the sneak peek clip of the Season Premiere of Urban Legends, a man is held at gunpoint on his own living room floor by men that look to be on the SWAT team based on their gear and clothes. The man being held against his will can’t figure out the reasoning for the invasion in his own home, and soon realizes his two dogs have been killed and his mother-in-law has been thrown to the ground. He sees police standing outside of his house and realizes this is no ordinary invasion while trying to reason with the masked men in telling them he hasn’t done anything wrong and that he’s the mayor. The masked men think he must be crazy for claiming such a thing, and it all leads to an unmarked box. What’s insi...