Strange Invaders: Mysterious Object Photographed Over Mexico & Kentucky

A strange, large cylinder shaped object filmed flying into Mexico's erupting Popocatépetl volcano is eerily similar to an object witnessed by thousands of people in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia this past week.

A large bright object was seen hovering in the skies over the Appalachian mountain region of the United States on Tuesday of this week. Amateur astronomer Allan Epling of Pike County, Kentucky, was alerted to the object when a visitor's grand-daughter informed him there was "a strange plane flying in the sky".

Epling quickly grabbed his digital camera and began filming the bizarre object that appeared to be hovering at an extremely high altitude. Epling says the object would alternate between growing brighter and dimmer, in a pulsating manner. The object remained stationary and was observed in the skies by other witnesses for at least two hours.

Fast forward a few days to this related story about a very similar, cylinder shaped object filmed over the highly active Popocatépetl  volcano located outside of Mexico City. The mystery object was caught by a network television camera installed to monitor the potentially dangerous volcano, which has experienced increased seismic activity over the past year. A strange, bright, cylinder-shaped object can be seen entering the camera's view before apparently falling into the volcano's enormous crater as it exhales a cloud of ash. The object has been estimated to be at least one kilometer in length and approximately 200 meters wide. 

Astronomers have examined the footage taken from both Kentucky and Mexico and so far are perplexed about exactly what the objects could possibly  be. You can view video of the object falling into the volcano at the following YouTube link:

Hurricane Sandy Could Be Nightmare Before Halloween

Edit: The NOAA has projected the path of the massive storm to turn inland at Delaware and going far inland, passing directly over Washington, DC, before turning north to pass over Philadelphia, New Jersey as well as New York City. Keep in mind this is still an early projection and the storm [hopefully] will alter its course:

Residents of the US East Coast are keeping their fingers crossed and hoping that Hurricane Sandy doesn't turn into the "Nightmare Before Halloween" super-storm  (dubbed "Frankenstorm" due to the potential for a hybrid cyclone) that many forecast models are currently predicting.

Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica yesterday as a strong Category 2 storm, killing at least two people, bringing torrential rain, high winds and a dangerous storm surge to the Caribbean island nation. More than 70% of the island's population are currently without power or essential services. The storm quickly made its way to nearby Cuba, where it is currently battering the eastern part of the island.

Many of the current forecast models for the projected path of the storm have the monster skirting the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, with possible multiple landfalls anywhere from Virginia to Long Island, New York. The most current forecast models have meteorologists deeply concerned that the storm will collide with an early winter storm now forming in the West, and a strong blast of arctic air from Canada that would create a "Perfect Storm" scenario, referring to the monster Nor'Easter that did hundreds of millions of dollars in damages along the US East Coast in 1991 and was the basis of the bestselling book by Sebastian Junger and the movie of the same name starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.

 The "Perfect Storm" is  likely to hit during a full moon when tides are near their highest, increasing the chances of severe coastal flooding the NOAA has warned. With many trees still with leaves and the potential for snow, power outages caused by falling trees could last through to Election Day, some meteorologists fear. Some are saying this storm has all the earmarks of a billion-dollar nightmare for the coast.

People living along the entire Eastern Seaboard are being urged to have emergency plans in place, should the storm strengthen and become a severe threat. Evacuation orders should be taken seriously, and citizens are asked to check on elderly or sick relatives.

Some forecast models have the storm skirting the US coast before heading out to sea. Let's hope that is what happens with this storm...

Run, Forrest, Run! Tom Hanks Drops Huge F-Bomb on Live TV

Superstar actor Tom Hanks might be quoting a line from his most famous movie role—"Stupid is as stupid does"—after dropping the dreaded F-Bomb on yesterday's Good Morning, America. 

The Oscar winning star of Forrest Gump was in New York to publicize the release of his much-anticipated new film with Halle Berry—Cloud Atlas.  The actor was being interviewed by GMA co-host Elizabeth Vargas. After showing a clip from his new film where Hanks was using an English accent, Vargas asked the affable actor to re-create the dialect for viewers at home. 

Hanks began to ramble on in his version of an English accent, mostly unintelligible, but suddenly let the F word slip out, clear as day. Both Hanks and Vargas immediately covered their mouths in shock horror, with Vargas apologizing, "We are so sorry, Good Morning, America."

Hanks was red-faced and extremely apologetic as well, saying "Man, oh man, I'm sorry. I have never done that before. I want to apologize to the kids in America watching right now. And let me say the next time I'm on the show there will be a seven-second delay. ... Man oh man!"

The remainder of the interview went smoothly, without the use of any more gratuitous profanity.

ABC News released the following official statement regarding the incident, by way of apology:

This morning Tom Hanks accidentally used an expletive during a live interview on GMA with Elizabeth Vargas. They both immediately apologized on air, and the show was corrected for all subsequent feeds.

Cloud Atlas is now playing in theaters.

New Stage Play about End of Days Available, Royalty Free!

We didn't see it coming...

Orbit, a new royalty free drama for the stage, is now available to Kindle users for only .99 cents. The play features an All-American family going about their normal lives until the inconceivable news arrives that today might very well be the last day of their lives. Highly emotional and gut-wrenching, Orbit does not shy away from the terror and anguish of the moment.

It was just an ordinary day.

What would you do if you received only a few hours notice that the entire world you have known would be coming to a shocking, cataclysmic end? Where would you want to be, who would you want to be with and what would you want to say? This is the premise of "Orbit", a new drama for the stage centered around a typical American family facing just such an unimaginable horror and how they must come to terms with a terrifying, inescapable truth...



The play is available to any drama organization, theater group or budding film makers interested in producing a short film. The play would require three young actors and can be adapted to fit your needs. A paperback version will be available soon as well. Anyone interested may contact me by commenting on this page.



The play can be downloaded to a Kindle device directly from Amazon by clicking HERE:

As luck would have it, (if you want to call it luck) a real life massive meteor explosion was seen and felt over a three state area on the very day my play became available on Kindle Amazon. It has been confirmed that a bolide meteor did explode at high velocity over Louisiana shaking homes and breaking windows over Texas and Arkansas as well. Quite a coincidence, if you believe in such things...

More Bad News for Haiti As Wyclef Jean's Charity Goes Bankrupt

Photo credit: Jorge Cruz/AP

More bad news arrived for the long-suffering people of Haiti after it was revealed that Hip Hop superstar Wyclef Jean's charitable organization to help the people of the island nation has crumbled beneath a mass of debt and alleged mismanagement.

The organization named  Yéle was originally founded by Jean, the former member of Grammy-Award winning Hip Hop group The Fugees, in 2003 as a way to help the people of his homeland. The organization did not receive much attention until after the devastating January 2010 earthquake that rocked the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, crippling the entire city and leaving an estimated 250,000 dead, with millions more left injured and/or homeless.

Jean claimed to have raised more than one million US dollars for the charity in only twenty-four hours after pleading for donations via his official Twitter and Facebook accounts following the horrific disaster. Now allegations have come to light that the charitable donations given to the organization were mismanaged, to the tune of almost $16 million US. 

In one alleged incident, it is claimed that money for the Yéle charity—a reported $30,000—was used to fly troubled actress Lindsay Lohan from New Jersey to a charity-raising event in Chicago. The event only raised some $66,000. Another claim is that Jean brought actor Matt Damon and a host of his other celebrity friends to Haiti via private jet at a cost of almost $70,000. 

Jean—who made an unsuccessful bid for the Haitian presidency in 2010—has remained tight-lipped about the closing of the charity as well as the allegations. He directed followers on his official Twitter feed to read his statement posted to his Facebook account. . 

All of this is indeed sad news for the people of Haiti, who continue to suffer in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake as well as the effects of hurricanes, tropical storms and outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera. Some 300,000 people still reside in what was initially designed as "temporary" housing on the outskirts of the city, tens of thousands of tents that have since been battered by the elements. Electricity and potable running water are extremely scarce. 

Although not as grandiose, a percentage of the sales from my book Evangeline, Alive & Well: A Story of Hope in Haiti have been earmarked to help the people of the country, in whatever small way possible. The book is also available for Kindle readers here:

Cheese Cake, Secrets & Sex? The Golden Girls Are Back...

Cheese Cake, Secrets and Sex? Must Be The Golden Girls!

Take four amazing and talented actresses, add clever writing, loads of sex talk and a box of delicious cheese cake and what do you get? Why, The Golden Girls, of course. Test your Golden Girl's knowledge and see how big a fan you truly are! Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book is a loving tribute to one of the funniest and most popular sitcoms of all time and a must for any fan of the long-running television show!

By far the bestselling book that I have written, Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book is being relaunched with a brand new cover! The cover is a much-better representation of the show and what it means to its devoted fans. You may check out the new book and cover over at Amazon: 

 Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book with New Cover:

Dedicated UK fans of the series may check the book out on Amazon.co.uk:

 Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book Available in the UK:

Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty have all sadly passed away, but at least we still have the amazing and hard-working Betty White to remind us of how incredible this show is. I know whenever I'm feeling a little down, I'll just pop in a season of The Golden Girls in my DVD player and immediately start laughing and feeling better about the world. I know millions upon millions of people around the world feel the same way...

One of my favorite all-time scenes from the show...

Woman Receives Ten Quadrillion Dollar Phone Bill

If you think your cell phone plan is expensive with your kids always texting and downloading useless crap every few seconds, you'll be grateful that your bill has never been as high as the one a woman in France recently received!

The mademoiselle named Solenne San Jose decided that she would cancel her telephone service with French communications giant Bouygues Telecom (probably for shoddy service and continuous billing errors—just saying.) After severing her contract with the company, they promptly sent San Jose a bill in the mail for a staggering €11,721,000,000,000,000 or ten quadrillion US dollars. (That figure does indeed contain twelve sets of zeros, folks!)

After opening the bill, San Jose had a facial reaction that I imagine was quite similar to this:

"There were so many zeros I couldn't even work out how much it was," she said in an interview with French media. After taking a few nitro-glycerin pills, she contacted the company and informed them of what was obviously a colossal billing error.

That wasn't as easy as it sounds, as apparently the company felt that there was at least a slight chance that the bill was correct, but ultimately sanity prevailed and the company admitted that her bill was actually for only €117.21, or $151— and not the amount of the US trade deficit.

Everyone, go check your phone bills now...

What Lies Beneath? Louisiana Sinkhole Continues to Grow

Photo credit: phys.org

Update August 23, 2013: New video from the Louisiana sinkhole shows a large group of trees being swallowed whole by the sinkhole in one giant gulp! 

Update: March 25, 2013: The Assumption Parish sinkhole has continued to grow and as of now covers an incredible 9 acres of land. More methane gas leaks have been detected as well as continued seismic activity. Neighborhoods closest to the sinkhole are still abandoned, with local governments planning for more people to be evacuated should the sinkhole continue to expand, with no word on any plan to prevent the disaster from spreading. More information in the video below:

The mysterious Louisiana sinkhole that began opening earlier in the summer has continued to expand rapidly, and appears to be ready to completely encompass a 1 mile by 3 mile salt dome located beneath the ground.

Authorities have asked more than 150 households and businesses located nearby the sinkhole in the towns of Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou in Assumption Parish to evacuate the area as a safety precaution. The sinkhole was discovered on August 3 in a swamp located between Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou on property owned by Texas Brine Corp., parish officials have stated in blog posts. The sinkhole is about 200 feet away from the Texas Brine's cavern, one of 51 such oil and gas-related storage caverns carved out of the underground Napoleanville Salt Dome.

Local residents had been reporting seeing gas bubbles, hearing odd booms and feeling mysterious tremors in the bayous for several weeks leading up to the discovery of the sinkhole. The sinkhole, on land owned by Houston-based Texas Brine Co., initially began as an acre-sized hole that quickly liquefied into muck, toppling hundreds of cypress trees as it rapidly expanded. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has since declared a state of emergency in Assumption Parish.

The top of the sinkhole expanded to encompass more than 4-acres in the past week, swallowing up more trees as well as part of a road built to help clean up the site, officials have stated. Officials have also stated that the sinkhole will more than likely continue to expand in the coming weeks, months and perhaps even years.

An oil slick within the sinkhole is now so massive the fumes can be smelled by residents more than a mile away, with some complaining the diesel-like vapors are making them ill.