BellGab.com Archive

Just finished reading "Drama in the Bahamas" about Ali's last fight against Trevor Berbick.

  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25986749-drama-in-the-bahamas

I expected it to be mostly about a physically compromised Ali being battered in a bout he had no business taking part in. However, the book revealed in great detail the background of the debacle that was the promotion putting on the event, and made for an incredibly entertaining read. 

A few spoilers to perhaps entice you to give it a read:

* The promoter (Don Cornelius) was literally a novice at putting on such events. He was actually under scrutiny by the FBI and was living under an assumed name prior to coming up with this fight plan.

* The "stadium" was a run down baseball field that had been renovated from a WW2 airplane strip. It had no bleachers, so folding chairs were loaned from schools across the island.

* None of the networks wanted to buy the rights to Ali being pummeled, so the promotion was forced to seek a CCTV/PPV type of deal. The island had no technology ready to use, so most everything had to be shipped in from Florida.  A barge with satellite tech ended up sinking, marking another crazy happening in this cursed event.

* Ali was physically not up to properly training. He had the press with him for one "3 mile" jog. He made it a mile before he stopped to shadow box and goof around. He then walked a bit, before having his limo come pick him up.

* Don King saw the mess the promoter was in weeks before the fights. He tried to go through Ali to buyout the show, and eventually came to the island to talk with Cornelius directly.  Cornelius ended up having King beaten up and chased off the island.

* The island had no proper phone lines for the press to use, and the lines were still being installed as the fights were about to begin.

* Two of the men in charge of setting up the stadium were working in the makeshift "booth" being designed for the Bahama's prime minister. The police did not like how much time the men were spending and had them arrested on suspicion of plotting an assassination.

* The Stadium had 2 small locker rooms. Ali got crammed in one with his people and most of the other fighters were all smashed together the other. This caused some serious tension as men who were about to fight had to prep only feet away from one another. Thomas "Hitman" Hearns and Berbick were given RVs that had been "rented" from vacationing families to use as locker rooms. They had to order a porta-potty to be placed in between them

* On fight night, Cornelius realized their satellite time was going to be too tight and abruptly canceled 4 of the nine fights. He then went to Scott LeDoux and his opponent and asked them to fight in a 8 round fight instead of 12. The men had to refuse because a title was on the line and it would not count if it wasn't a regulation 12 rounds.  Ernie Shavers and his opponent made it to the ring when they were told their fight was now canceled. The men said screw it and ignored the orders and went ahead with the fight.

*A Bahama dance crew had been hired to perform before the Ali main event. The promoter canceled them to as they got in the ring. The girls refused to leave, and cops had to come in and haul them off.

* Cornelius did not know he was in charge of getting gloves, so the day of the fights he asked the men to use their own sparring gloves instead. Ali and others refused and Ali had one of his entourage have some shipped in at the final second.  Cornelius also had no ring bell, so 2 of his underlings were tasked with chasing down a cow in a nearby field and stealing it's cowbell.

* LeDoux only got 10 grand of his promised 40 grand purse. Shavers was majorly shorted too, so he locked the door with Cornelius in the room with him and threatened the promoter until a check was written. 


Memories?

http://ancientufo.org/2016/05/miracle-sun-ufo-sighting/

What became know has the Miracle of The Sun is maybe one of the most important UFO (and maybe alien) sightings in Europe’s history.

Starting on May 1, 1917, the children began to describe seeing a woman “brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and stronger than a crystal ball, pierced by the burning rays of the sun.” The being was reported to have appeared to the children on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13. According to ten year old Lúcia Santo, in the course of her encounters, the woman confided to the children three secrets, now known as the Three Secrets of Fátima.

On three separate occasions before the Miracle of the Sun, the children reported that the Lady had promised to them that she would, on October 13, 1917, reveal her identity and provide a miracle “so that all may believe.”

On October 13, 1917, the Miracle of the Sun was witnessed and reported by 50,000 to 100,000 people in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima, Portugal. The people in attendance had assembled to observe the publicized event. According to many statements, the best known from a respected scholar, after a downfall of rain, the dark clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disc in the sky.

The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern, frightening some of those present who thought it meant the end of the world. Some witnesses reported that their previously wet clothes became “suddenly and completely dry.” Estimates of the number of witnesses range from 30,000-40,000 by Avelino de Almeida, writing for the Portuguese newspaper O Século, to 100,000, estimated by Dr. Joseph Garrett, professor of natural sciences at the University of Coimbra, both of whom were present that day.

The event was officially accepted as a miracle by the Roman Catholic Church on 13 October 1930.

My co-worker told me last night that his sister was hardcore into drugs -- I quipped "Does she share?" and he replied "Uhh, she died of an overdose. It's kind of hard to talk about..."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyZDZCGQJf8

---

Share your awkward moments in life!

A few years ago I had a co-worker, tall, in shape and over endowed. Let's modestly just say double Ds.  She of course was highly popular, and we chatted socially from time to time.

FFWD to a few weeks ago... I was driving home from work, and I saw her walking her dog. It was a pleasant four seconds and I was glad to see the old gals again as I drove past.

Now recently I've driven by her every day at the same time, as I come home from work. Two days ago I caught her at a stop sign by happenstance and she and I exchanged awkward waves.  I have no idea if she recognized me.

So today I drove home and again there she was...and I almost subconsciously slowed down from 35-40 down to 25 as I gawked. In that brief 4 seconds I realized I pressed on the breaks and she turned to look at the car slowing down near her. I did not speed up, fearing that would make it more obvious, but it also gave her more time to put the puzzle pieces together.

I guess it's time to take a new route for a while

So anyone have any good stories on being caught as a voyeur???

https://sg.celebrity.yahoo.com/beloved-sitcom-cheers-set-return-stage-show-033000007.html

I'll go if they serve the actors real alcohol and then the last 30 mins is all improv

Have you been in any fights out in the real world?

Here's my scariest incident:
When I was in college, a group of Asians passed by me on the highway, and I think I sped up in quasi "drag race" fashion.  They took this as a challenge and cut me off.  Then proceeded to slow way down. When I tried to pass, they sped up and cut me off. I slowed down and they slowed down. Repeat for several minutes. They finally turn their car sideways and block me from going anywhere. Mind you this is during the morning rush hour so lots of cars are having to pull into the gravel on the side to pass these guys. I finally manage to get behind a van that is passing them and sneak by. They in turn race up ahead of me and stop again in front of me on an off ramp. Now I'm thinking that I'm going to have to pop the trunk and grab the tire iron to defend myself. The guys jump out of their car screaming. I open up my door say something like "I was just trying to drive to school" and hop back in and drive at them with my car. They have no choice but to watch me as I race away. 

http://observer.com/2016/05/were-closer-than-ever-to-bringing-the-dead-back-to-life/

QuoteThe biotech firm BioQuark was recently granted permission by the National Institutes of Health to begin clinical trials on 20 brain-dead patients on life support. In an attempt to bring them back from the dead, scientists will test a variety of therapies over the course of a monthâ€"from injecting stem cells to deploying nerve-stimulating techniques often used on coma patients.

QuoteA clinical trial is currently underway at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, in which emergency room patients have their blood drawn and replaced with a cold saline solution to induce hypothermia, thereby slowing metabolismâ€"ideally for transport and resuscitation efforts to be more effective. Similar procedures have found have high success rates on dogs and pigs without functional complications. Hydrogen sulfide has also been used to induce the same effect in mice, which doesn’t demand the equipment and cooling process needed to induce hypothermia. The jury is still out as to whether this method could be applied to humans.

http://www.alternet.org/nra-convention-sells-ex-girlfriend-target-bleeds-when-you-shoot-it

Classy

http://www.sundance.tv/series/hap-and-leonard

On the onset, I thought this show was going to simply be a about a band of thieving oddballs who were attempting to retrieve stolen money from a car submerged in water.  [spoiler]That angle was taken care of somewhat quickly, and now it has expanded to twists involving a drug selling dash for cash and the plot has added additional bad guys messing with our core group of anti-heros.[/spoiler]

Turns out the series is apparently only going to be six episodes, with 4 airing already. I am digging the show so far, even if I was only drawn to it initially to stare at Christina Hendricks. Is anyone else watching?   Ratings are dropping each week so far, so I'm not confident that we'll see any additional book adaptations of our titular characters.

I'll get us started...

The first team to ever have 4 players achieve 1,000 yard seasons in one year was the 1995 Atlanta Falcons.  Bert Emanuel, Terrance Mathis and Eric Metcalf went over 1,000 receiving and Ironhead Heyward surpassed the 1,000 mark rushing. Despite this, Jeff George still wanted out.

Go....

http://wavy.com/2016/03/05/alabama-lawmakers-introduce-sex-offenders-castration-bill/

QuoteMONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) â€" An Alabama lawmaker has a plan to permanently and physically punish someone convicted of certain sex offenses against children.
The bill, known as HB 365, would make those sex offenders have to get surgically castrated before they leave prison.
HB 365 was introduced by State Representative Steve Hurst, R-Calhoun County.
He said the bill will be for sex offenders over the age of 21 that committed sex offenses against children 12 years old and younger.
“They have marked this child for life and the punishment should fit the crime,” said Hurst.
This is not Hurst’s first time introducing the bill.
“I had people call me in the past when I introduced it and said don’t you think this is inhumane? I asked them what’s more inhumane than when you take a little infant child, and you sexually molest that infant child when the child cannot defend themselves or get away, and they have to go through all the things they have to go through. If you want to talk about inhumaneâ€"that’s inhumane,” said Hurst.
Hurst is hoping this would make sex offenders think twice.
“If we do something of this nature it would deter something like this happening again in Alabama and maybe reduce the numbers,” said Hurst.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/apollo-10-astronauts-reported-unexplained-music-at-moon_us_56c80662e4b0928f5a6c0679

QuoteThe crew of an Apollo mission to the moon were so startled when they encountered strange music-like radio transmissions coming through their headsets, they didn't know whether or not to report it to NASA, it's been revealed.

It was 1969, two months before Apollo 11's historic first manned landing on the moon, when Apollo 10 entered lunar orbit, which included traversing the far side of the moon when all spacecraft are out of radio contact with Earth for about an hour and nobody on Earth can see or hear them.

As far as the public knew, everything about the mission went smoothly.

Almost four decades went by before lost recordings emerged that revealed something unsettling that the three Apollo astronauts had experienced while flying above the far side of the moon.


The taped recordings contained "strange, otherworldly music coming through the Apollo module's radio," according to the upcoming Science Channel series, "NASA's Unexplained Files."

The conversation between the three astronauts indicated they heard sounds like they had never heard before:

"It sounds like, you know, outer space-type music."

"You hear that? That whistling sound? Whooooooooo!"

"Well, that sure is weird music!"
The unexplained "music" transmission lasted almost an hour, and just before the astronauts regained radio contact with Earth, they discussed whether or not to tell Mission Control what they had experienced:

"It's unbelievable! You know?"

"Shall we tell them about it?"

"I don't know. We ought to think about it."
"The Apollo 10 crew was very used to the kind of noise that they should be hearing. Logic tells me that if there was something recorded on there, then there was something there," Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden says on the Science Channel program. "NASA would withhold information from the public if they thought it was in the public's best interest."

http://culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-ghost-hunting-at-wisconsins-first-ward-school-house/#.Vio03fmrTIU

A look at my recent ghost hunt at Wisconsin's First Ward School. EVPs, strange knocks, shadow men and full on apparitions are abundant throughout this 120 year old building!

http://culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-ghost-hunting-at-the-jfk-prep-salvation-seminary/#.Vg0roHpVikp

I chronicle my ghost hunting adventures at Wisconsin's infamous JFK Prep Academy and Salvation Seminary. Spooky EVPs are included!

http://joehillsthrills.tumblr.com/post/126865229352/the-lady-the-shark

This is out there, but kind of interesting.

http://culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-bizarre-tales-of-the-missing-and-murdered/#.Vd81fvZViko

My latest true crime article features five bizarre cases of people who have gone missing, murdered or both. From serial killers to hippies who vanished in a supernatural glow, the stories vary from tragic to mesmerizing

http://culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-faith-or-fiction/#.VdXH-7JViko 

My latest article on the Paranormal covers two cases that can be be attributed to God, the supernatural or perhaps simply a man made hoax. You be the judge!

How many cases of Alien Abduction feature eye witnesses? Off hand the Travis Walton case is a definite, along with the controversial Manhattan abduction

http://www.ufocasebook.com/Manhattan.html

In any other case I can recall off hand, if your around an abduction, your probably going for a ride too.

QuoteThe USS Arizona was sunk in 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  Today, she lies on the bottom of the harbor essentially undisturbed and is the final resting place of over 1,177 crew members.  About two pints of oil leak from the wreck every day and it is said that when the last survivor of the Arizona dies, the leak will cease.

Leah and Wayne Orr were visiting the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor Hawaii in 2007 when they spotted the word "mommy" appear in the oil slick over the ship and snapped a photo of it.

I read up on true crime, bigfoot, UFOs and such all the time and when a story particularly clicks for me, I delve deeper into it and write up my own articles on these strange cases:

Gacy:
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-john-wayne-gacy/#.VWrbf89Viko I wrote this article to highlight how the police ignored evidence of a second person aiding Gacy in the serial killings he commited, how Gacy had other victims buried elsewhere - evidence of which the police again ignored and finally some supernatural happenings that occurred around this case.

Dennis Dupree and Tony Alamo:
culturecrossfire.com/etc/the-best-of-unsolved-mysteries-solved-cases/#.VWrba89Viko A look at the horrible murder committed by Dennis Dupree which inspired a Hollywood horror movie, plus I cover the sinister minister Tony Alamo's decent into grave robbing, slave labor, cult leadership and kiddie peddling.

JFK: I wrote three articles on JFK regarding the evidence that Oswald was working for the CIA, that Oswald had a double, trained hit men who were in Dallas the day JFK was shot, the cover up that went on after JFK was shot and more.
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-jfk-zapruder-and-the-tramp-whom-shot-him/#.VWrbWM9Viko
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-the-jfk-assassination-the-two-oswald-theory/#.VWrbXc9Viko
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-the-jfk-conspiracy-autopsy-anomalies/#.VWrbYs9Viko

Donald Kemp:
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-donald-kemps-strange-death/#.VWrbcs9Viko Kemp was an Abe Lincoln researcher who died under mysterious causes. This case involves robbery, kidnapping, ghosts and even UFOs.

Tina Resch:
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-tina-resch/#.VWrbfM9Viko A sad tale about an abused girl who develops telekinetic powers before winding up as a national sensation. She then went down the wrong tracks and ended up in jail for a murder she did not commit.

Gen. MacArthur
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-the-disappearance-of-gen-douglas-macarthurs-son/#.VWrbic9Viko I dive into MacArthur's controversial military background before covering the disappearance of his only son.

Sodder Kids:
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-where-are-the-sodder-children/#.VWrbi89Viko My most popular article, where I cover the strange case of the Sodder children who disappeared after a mysterious house fire.

East Area Rapist:
culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-the-east-area-rapist/#.VWrbgc9Viko I took a lot of info from "Sudden Terror" and wrote out the tale of the East Area Rapist

Joan Gray Croft and Tara Calico
http://culturecrossfire.com/etc/unsolved-mysteries-and-scary-stuff-tara-calico-and-joan-gay-croft/
Two very different tales of girls gone missing. One with a child who was kidnapped during a tornado, and the other being a probable murder with some frightening evidence.