The Amazing World of Cryptids

Okay, so as a result of the article I found posted on the main page of nymag.com (click title to view article), I decided to do some Googling. Because Googling the world of the web never lets me down, I have discovered that Wikipedia has a page dedicated to listing the world's cryptids, or as they define it (interestingly enough, Merriam Webster does NOT have a definition): any creature whose existence has been reported but not proven scientifically (see image 1 above).
After going through the list and looking for images and the story behind each of these mysterious creatures, I investigate the Zuiyo Maru, which is a Japanese fishing trawler that apparently caught what was believed to be a prehistoric plesiosaur (see image 2). However, it is now thought what they caught instead was a basking shark, which does exist. I'll save that one for you to search, and move on along. At the bottom of the page about the Japanese catch, Wiki has yet another tangential link that says "Categories: Sea Cryptids." This leads to another list in which the word "Bloop" is mentioned (see image 3). Here's how it is listed on the page: "The Bloop is the name given to an ultra-low frequency underwater sound detected by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration several times during the summer of 1997. The source of the sound remains unknown. " A spectrogram of the aforementioned bloop is shown (see image 4). Just below it, is a recording of the actual sound for one to hear.

Now although I think ultimately this all is irrelevant, I still recommend reading the small entry and giving it a listen. Maybe you'll find it as intriguing as I do. Or maybe you won't.

If you're thinking of hiking, or camping, or just going outside...

I've been completely consumed with the outdoors these days. It all began when I stumbled upon this website dedicated to chronicling the ghost towns of Texas. And then from there, it just took off. I went on to find a site of a couple that had become so enamored with the idea of ghost towns, that they traveled the west, from north to south to find and document each one. After seeing those photos, I was sold. I was determined to take a road trip. Since this road trip was to encompass as much ghostly areas possible, that meant traveling through many a dead zone. So I purchased survival books and started doing some research.

Although we can't make the epic road trip quite yet, a few of my friends and I have instead opted for taking a shorter and more local camping, hiking, and canoing trip. In any case, I am still researching. And I'm still obsessed with bears. As usual, this lands me some place on Wikipedia's site, particularly a curious page titled "Deaths Due to Animal Attacks." (click title to go to page). After perusing this list and coming to the conclusion that crossing paths with any wild animal remotely related to a cat would be my worst nightmare, I'm led to a list of bear attacks. I'll spare you all of the things I read from that list (aside from observing that the majority of fatalities seemed to be of women being dragged out of tents by bears—is it that they might have had some sort of fragrant item with them?) Here, I stumble on a man by the name of Hugh Glass. Glass was apparently a survivor of a terrible bear attack in 1823. Assuming it is factual, his story is quite a hardcore survivalist one. And I'm a huge fan of survivalist stories. Especially apocalyptic style, but that's for another time.

Home Schooled, but not what you'd presume

Here's an amazing interview with a young piano prodigy. In a part of the interview, he comments (roughly) "I have to thank my mom, who played Schubert when I was an embryo."
I don't know about anyone else, but embryo was NOT in my vocabulary at 9, let alone Schubert—at least not by name.