Eating Cats in China?

Legend Of The Thunderbird

The Thunderbird: sighted for hundreds of years, the stuff of legend. But is it legend? Or is there something more to the mysterious sightings of a giant bird in Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas?

Regardless of the time period in question, the bird is described, in almost all accounts, as follows: six feet tall, brown / black feathers, enormous wings; a large and sharp beak and almost humanoid in movement when on the ground. The name comes from the Indian people of long ago, who said that the flapping of its feathers—just two or three to get the creature airborne to a great height—sounded like thunder. But more than thunder, a dreadful sound. The sound of doom. The sound which some have described they heard after seeing a black shape standing high in the trees.

Unbelievable as the tales may be, there is evidence to suggest that a bird of such proportions—with a wingspan in excess of eighteen feet—could actually exist. The wandering albatross, for example, can easily grow to a wing-span of twelve feet, while the Californian Condor often reaches similar proportions. It is not unthinkable to imagine a bird with a wing-span the width of a small street hiding out in remote areas where humans rarely visit.

Interestingly, and unlike many mythical creatures, footage can be found of the Thunderbird in flight; moreover, throughout history various people have laid claim to catching the animal; some stories tell of children and cattle being abducted. But the problem in corroborating this evidence persists: without any physical evidence nothing can be proved. And so until the day comes that the Thunderbird is finally captured—if it does indeed exist—the Thunderbird will be resigned to a myth, investigated only by intrepid Cryptozooologists and Synergy Vets.

Death By Gold Paint!

A friend was talking to me about films recently and we tried to figure out which was the greatest James Bond movie? He suggested Moonraker but I was firmly in the Goldfinger camp. It was then that he told me that the actress Shirley Eaton had died during filming of the movie as a result of being painted gold! Well I had to investigate further.

There are many memorable things about the movie of course: Sean Connery at his roguish best, Pussy Galore, Odd Job and the unforgettable Shirley Bassey theme tune. Equally memorable, if not more so, is the attractive young woman lying naked but covered completely in gold paint. This woman was Shirley Eaton and the story says that this very scene led to her premature death.

Eaton played the character Jill Masterson, secretary to the evil genius Auric Goldfinger. After a liaison with Bond, the secret agent is drugged and then Goldfinger wreaks his revenge by having her painted, hair and all, in gold. Bond wakes to find Masterson dead and explains that the body breathes through the skin, so covering all of the skin will starve the body of the oxygen that it needs resulting in death from suffocation. In a strange case of real life imitating art, the actress playing Masterson really did die as a result of the painting!

So the story goes, but what is the truth behind this urban myth? Well, disappointing though it seems, it is impossible to die through being painted! Humans do not breathe through their skin and so it does not matter how much of the skin is painted as long as they can still take in oxygen though the nose or mouth. It is hard to say why this myth seems to have gained such credence especially as Shirley Eaton is still alive and well. Five years after the film’s release, Eaton turned her back on films for good and devoted herself to her family. It could be that the absence of Eaton from public life led to the spread of these rumours. Whatever the reason it seems that although having no basis in reality, the plot device used by Bond’s creator Ian Fleming has become accepted as fact by many people, my friend included!

Last thing guys, I have just realized that I have been glaring at my computer screen for the last couple of hours and am really tired of my Battlestar Galactica Wallpaper, I think it is time for a change, these and more updates coming soon!