Abnormal July Heat in 2001

Map by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where red indicates highest temperatures projected for July 31 to August 4, 2001 after previous week of abnormally high temperatures.
Map by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where red indicates highest temperatures projected for July 31 to August 4, 2001 after previous week of abnormally high temperatures.


July 25, 2001  Washington, D. C. ­ Late July 2001 temperatures in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and New Mexico have averaged five to ten degrees above normal. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Weather Service, central Kansas hit 109 degrees Fahrenheit and southwest Oklahoma sweltered at 108 degrees F.

 

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Missing Link Between Humans and Chimpanzees ­Ethiopian Forest Bipeds 5.8 Million Years Ago?

140 miles northeast of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, near the Awash River marked in orange, paleontologists have discovered bones of a primate dubbed Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba which might have been the first upright ancestor to human lineage 5.8 million years ago.
140 miles northeast of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, near the Awash River marked in orange, paleontologists have discovered bones of a primate dubbed Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba which might have been the first upright ancestor to human lineage 5.8 million years ago.

July 21, 2001  Alayla, Ethiopia - A graduate student named Yohannes Haile-Selassie studying paleontology at the University of California, Berkeley, found bones on December 16, 1997 at a site 140 miles northeast of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which might be the missing link in evolving primates that went on to become humans. This creature, Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba, might have been the first primate to walk upright and the oldest human ancestor who lived in Ethiopian forests, not grassy plains, as far back as 5.8 million years ago. That's a million and a half years earlier than any other previous discovery and challenges the long held theory that primates stood up when they moved from trees to grassy plains.

 

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Part 2 – Gog Magog Hills, Cambridge, England – Two Unusual Crop Formations

"And I saw a great white throne and the one who sat upon it, from whose face the earth and sky fled away, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, great and small, standing before God; and The Books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in The Books, each according to the deeds he had done. ...And if anyone's name was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire."

The Revelation in the Bible 20:11-15

Second formation in wheat at Gog Magog Hills southeast of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, reported on July 25, 2001.
Second formation in wheat at Gog Magog Hills southeast of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, reported on July 25, 2001.

 

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Continual Power Surges Force Hartsville, Tennessee’s WJKM Radio to Move

At least sixty birds were found dead with feathers burned and melted, scattered all over the yard around country music radio station WJKM (1090 AM) on July 6, 2001 in Hartsville, Tennessee. Photograph © 2001 by David Randall.
At least sixty birds were found dead with feathers burned and melted, scattered all over the yard around country music radio station WJKM (1090 AM) on July 6, 2001 in Hartsville, Tennessee. Photograph © 2001 by David Randall.

July 18, 2001  Hartsville, Tennessee ­ Today I learned from Ted Randall that dead birds with burned wings were found all over Hartsville's city park, a diameter of at least a mile. In fact, in the afternoon of that same day, power surges and dimming lights were reported at an insurance company more than a mile from WJKM. This afternoon, I talked with Ted Randall and Dave Fluehe, owner of Dave's Covert Surveillance in Hartsville who provides electronic camera and video security monitoring equipment to businesses. On July 6 in the afternoon, Dave Fluehe was in an insurance company more than a mile away from WJKM when more electronic interference occurred.

 

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Mysterious, Destructive Power Surge at WJKM Radio in Hartsville, Tennessee

One of the sixty some dead bird's burned and melted wings after mysterious power surge hit WJKM in Hartsville, Tennessee at 10:45 a.m. on July 6, 2001. Photograph © 2001 by David Randall.
One of the sixty some dead bird's burned and melted wings after mysterious power surge hit WJKM in Hartsville, Tennessee at 10:45 a.m. on July 6, 2001. Photograph © 2001 by David Randall.

July 14, 2001 Hartsville, Tennessee - Friday, July 6, was a clear and sunny morning. But at 10:45 a.m., something very odd surged through the air, radio transmitter, power and phone lines at country music radio station WJKM (1090 AM) near the city park in downtown Hartsville, Tennessee. It also affected theVidette newspaper office next door and shocked one of the employees sitting at her desk.

 

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Laos – Part 4: The Rugged Road to Vilabouli, Laos.

On the rugged road to Vilabouli (Vilaburi), left to right: Producer Denise Blazek from Perth, Australia; Soundman Martin Geissmann from Bangkok, Thailand; a Laotian guide; Soukhasavanh Sanaphay, Vientiane Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Department; Reporter Linda Moulton Howe; Associate Producer Jax Hayes, Bang Productions Ltd., Hong Kong. Photograph by Videographer Brad Dillon from Hong Kong.
On the rugged road to Vilabouli (Vilaburi), left to right: Producer Denise Blazek from Perth, Australia; Soundman Martin Geissmann from Bangkok, Thailand; a Laotian guide; Soukhasavanh Sanaphay, Vientiane Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Department; Reporter Linda Moulton Howe; Associate Producer Jax Hayes, Bang Productions Ltd., Hong Kong. Photograph by Videographer Brad Dillon from Hong Kong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Part 1

July 12, 2001  Xepon, Laos – On June 29, the Bang Productions Ltd. crew, Phoudai Travel representatives, Mr. Soukhasavanh Sanaphay of the Vientiane Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Department and I got into an old Soviet military truck in Xepon, Laos to follow the trail of “Wild Men” sightings.Click for report.

Laos – Part 2: Vientiane – The Capitol of Laos.

Return to Part 1

July 8, 2001 Vientiane, Laos – On Tuesday, June 26, 2001, the Bang Productions, Ltd. crew and I flew from Hong Kong to Hanoi, Vietnam. Through the airline window, I took a photo of the miles of rice fields near the airport, a prelude to the beautiful, watery fields that stretched along all the roads we would travel in Laos.

Rice fields in Hanoi, Vietnam from airline window on June 26, 2001. Photograph by Linda Moulton Howe.
Rice fields in Hanoi, Vietnam, from airline window on June 26, 2001. Photograph © 2001 by Linda Moulton Howe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After changing planes in Hanoi, we flew to Vientiane, the capitol of Laos since the mid-16th Century when political power shifted from Luang Prabang (now Louangphrabang), the former royal center. The chief occupation in Laos is agriculture. An estimated 90 percent of the people farm rice. For centuries, political upheavals by powers mainly outside Laos have erupted, including the Vietnam war of the 1960s to 1970s. Yet, Laotian culture has remained closely tied to Buddhist religions and its own traditions of art, literature, music and drama that are largely free of western influence.

After checking in the hotel, Producer Denise Blazek and I took off on a location scout to visit some of the Buddhist stupas by open air taxi.

Denise Blazek, producer from South Perth, Australia in Vientiane taxi to scout stupa locations for Bang Productions Ltd. Photograph by Linda Moulton Howe.
Denise Blazek, producer from South Perth, Australia, in Vientiane taxi to scout stupa locations for Bang Productions Ltd. Photograph © 2001 by Linda Moulton Howe.
Linda Moulton Howe in front of the Phrathatluang stupa in Vientiane, Laos on June 26, 2001. Photograph by Denise Blazek.
Linda Moulton Howe in front of the Phrathatluang stupa in Vientiane, Laos on June 26, 2001. Photograph by Denise Blazek © 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The largest and most spectacular is the Phrathatluang that is said to house some bones from the Lord Buddha. Mr. Soukhasavanh Sanaphay from Vientiane’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Department told me that the shiny gold surface was made from melted gold coins.

A sign posted in front says in both the Lao language and English:

“PHRATHATLUANG – This stupa the original it was built in the 3rd Century and established of the Muang Vientiane in the same time. The stupa for the contain are some bone of the Lord Buddha.
The original a small stupa made by stone during the reign of the great King Xaisethathirath in 16th Century. After the king removed from the Luangphrabang reach to Vientiane in 1560 A.D. and in 1566 A.D. the king has enlargement of the Phrathatluang as we have seen at the present.”

Nearby is a monk’s house upon which are golden scenes of the Buddha’s life above steps protected by two Nagas, Sanskrit for “serpent.”

Monks house where two naga serpents guard the steps from evil. Photograph by Linda Moulton Howe.
Monks house where two Naga serpents guard the steps from evil. Photograph © 2001 by Linda Moulton Howe.
Naga carved in wood, one of two which guard the steps to the monks house near the Phrathatluang stupa. Photograph by Linda Moulton Howe.
Naga carved in wood, one of two which guard the steps to the monks house near the Phrathatluang stupa. Photograph © 2001 by Linda Moulton Howe.

In Hindu and Buddhist mythology, Nagas are semi-divine beings, half human and half serpentine. Their race is said to be strong and handsome and the beings can assume either human or serpentine form. Nagas are superior to humans and considered to be potentially dangerous. Their location on earth is an underground kingdom called Naga-loka, or Patala-loka, which is filled with palaces decorated with precious gems. Brahma himself, the personification of divine reality in a trinity with Vishnu and Shiva, is said to have relegated the Nagas to the underground after their population had grown too large on the surface of the earth. Brahma also commanded the Nagas to bite only the truly evil and so Nagas are frequently carved as door guardians.

The snake king, Mucalinda, protected the Lord Buddha from rain during a seven day meditation. Subsequently, when Nagas are depicted as human beings, there is often a canopy of many snakes over their heads. Nagas are also depicted as half-human with the lower part of their body below the navel coiled like a snake and a canopy of snake hoods over their heads.

More nagas guarding the doorways to other Vientiane stupas. Photographs by Linda Moulton Howe.
More Nagas guarding the doorways to other Vientiane stupas. Photographs © 2001 by Linda Moulton Howe.

There will be more about Naga mythology in the Bang Productions Ltd. series Modern Mysteries of Asia scheduled for air on The Discovery Channel in late November 2001.

From Vientiane, our group and all the photographic gear were split into two busses for a long road trip to Savannakhet and on to Xepon on the trail of the “Wild Men” of Laos.

Wet rice paddies along the road to Savannakhet and Xepon. Photograph by Linda Moulton Howe.
Wet rice paddies along the road to Savannakhet and Xepon. Photograph © 2001 by Linda Moulton Howe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued in Part 3: Eyewitnesses Describe the Wild Men of Laos

Mutilated Bull Calf in Missouri

Dadeville, near the center of the circle, is about 40 miles northwest of Springfield, Missouri.
Dadeville, near the center of the circle, is about 40 miles northwest of Springfield, Missouri.

June 22, 2001 Dadeville, Missouri - James Lee Roy has been raising cattle on a farm in Dadeville, Missouri for fifty years. He and his wife, Genevieve, bought their current pastures twenty years ago and now keep about 100 cows for beef sales. Wednesday, June 5, he found his second mutilated calf since 1990.

 

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