I'm on Pinterest!

So now that I'm back from vacation, I thought I'd let everyone know I'm on Pinterest. I'll be showcasing my own stuff there, plus whatever other interesting things I find.

To start with, here's what you can do with that bratty Elf on the Shelf now that Christmas is over...

Click here for more!
Follow Leland's board Elf on the Shelf on Pinterest.

The Reason for the Season

Sorry I missed last week's post, I got caught up in other things. But I thought I'd share a couple of videos that capture the true spirit of Christmas for me. Hope everyone has a good holiday season!

What I Did Over Thanksgiving

So yeah, I skipped a week, but that was so I could be offline (well, except for Netflix, on my sister's computer) for a while and soak in the beauty of nature. I went to Moab with my Dad and we spent time with my sister down there for Thanksgiving. Dad and I hiked through Arches National Park, the next day I hiked through Negro Bill's Canyon (NAACP-approved) by myself. Didn't make it all the way to the end since I had to meet up with my sister, but it was still very pretty.

 Arches National Park

Dad under the Private Arch

The Double-O Arch

 Bridge-Span Arch

 

This is a raven...

This is a raven roosting on the roof of a restroom...

This is a raven roosting on the roof of a restroom rooting through refuse it retrieved rummaging through a rubbish recepticle.

Negro Bill's Canyon

Unfortunately not everyone does this.

Unfortunate Screenshots

Some more pics from my earlier days of  World of Warcraft.

Ride of the Val'kyr

If you don't get it, watch the clip...the flying creature is a Val'kyr, a World of Warcraft creature based on the Valkyrie, featured in Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries the famous opera number spoofed by Looney Tunes.

If Countries Were People...

Since Election Day was this week, I thought we'd hit on some political humor from BYUtv.

Day of the Dead

What's the party ghost's motto?

Eat, drink, and be scary, for yesterday we died!

Happy Halloween from the Night-Gaunts

A little video I made to help you sleep at night, courtesy of H.P. Lovecraft. If you like this kind of stuff, let me know, as I want to do more!

Sweet dreams!

Face Your Fears...

Here's another pic from my trip through Lehman Caves. Don't remember Arkham Asylum's Scarecrow being there, it must have been so scary, I blocked it from my memory.

A Haunted House Experiment

Here's an experiment I thought of that some of behavior researchers could try (just remember where you got from:-)). I wouldn't be surprised if somebody's already done this somewhere, but for me this idea was partly inspired by Dr. Marrow's little experiment in The Haunting.

You have two groups of people, Group A and Group B. You put Group A up in a "real" haunted house, meaning a place that actually has a history of rumors about paranormal activity occurring there. You do not inform the members of Group A that the house is supposed to be haunted; for the whole duration of the experiment, you make up some other pretext for them being there, but whatever it is, it should involve recording their activities. Unlike Dr. Marrow in the movie, you make a solid effort not to put the group on edge.

Now for Group B, you put them up in a "fake" haunted house, meaning a place that has had no supernatural history or sordid past. A brand-new house, built far away from any place that might be haunted, would be best. But with Group B, you tell them it is haunted, make up some spooky story about the house's history, and, like Group A, you ask them to record their activities throughout their stay.

So you have both groups staying in their respective houses for a week, with each member of each group making a diary of daily events, and at the end you have a little conference with each group where they talk about their experience. By the end of the week, which group will, in their personal logs or group discussion, report paranormal experiences? Will it be the group that has no idea what kind of place they're staying in, but where others have sworn they had a paranormal encounter? Or will it be the group in a totally innocent place, but who will be more inclined to jump at shadows and small noises?

My hypothesis is that Group B would be more likely to report supernatural experiences, though I wouldn't be too surprised if Group A reported them as well. Since I do believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the devil, and that our spirits live on after we die, I think it's possible that many supernatural reports are real. But I also recognize that some people will tell a good whopper now and again (especially if there is money involved) and that sometimes people get spooked over nothing.

One possible flaw in this experiment is that if Group A doesn't know they are supposed to expect and report paranormal encounters, each individual person may not tell of any such experience they had, if they think no-one will believe them. I know if I had a genuine experience with persons or powers from beyond, but no objective proof of that experience, I wouldn't go out and publish a book about it or make a movie on it, or even write about it here. Unless I was specifically instructed by God to spread it far and wide, I wouldn't share a supernatural experience with anyone who I didn't think would understand. I believe that such things are personal and sacred, and tossing them out to the masses is casting pearls before swine, figuratively speaking, and doesn't do anyone any good.

"Pirates of the Carribean Online", A Look Back

I thought I'd kick off the Halloween season with a retrospective of Pirates of the Caribbean Online, a now-defunct MMORPG run by Disney and featuring your favorite Caribbean pirates. It appears someone is remaking the game, but I'll believe it when I see it.

The game had you facing a villain named Jolly Roger, who has the whole Caribbean (and Jack Sparrow specifically) in his sights.

My fondest memories of the game are the invasions, which would happen on a regular basis at certain islands. The sky would turn green, the moon would acquire Jolly Roger's face, then the ships would come, and you would fight of waves of undead and walking trees (don't ask why) until old J.R. himself would show.

Yep, fighting creatures and undead, ship-to-ship combat, getting "killed" then coming to in jail, those were good times.

Arkham Trailers

Since Batman: Arkham Knight is coming out soon, I thought we'd take a look through the history of the Arkham games.

If only he'd learned defense against fruit...

When I saw this story about a guy robbing a store with a banana, I immediately thought of a certain Monty Python sketch...

Pause Screens are Cool

These "Pause" screenshots are from Batman: Arkham City. I like how they did away with the highlights and refined the details a bit.

Back From the Loony Bin!

Sorry to miss two posts, the last couple of weeks were rather crazy, but I'm getting back to a semblance of sanity. I've nearly been driven mad trying to get this batch of screenshots!

Anyway, I thought I'd pause for a bit to reflect on a black and white issue. I've been playing more of Batman: Arkham Asylum and I thought I'd show off some of the pictures I've taken with the game on Pause, which weren't easy to take, since I had to hit the screenshot key just at the right time to capture the fancy color filter, before the menu pops up. Batty, aren't they? (OK, I'll stop now.)

A Couple of Robin Williams Tributes

More Pac-Man Movies

The first one here I had seen but forgotten about until now, and the second I just discovered when looking up the first.

Pac-Man "Movies"

Hollywood, take note!

Creepy Dolls

When I first read this story about the dolls left on people's doorsteps, I thought of this song:

More Mario

A collection of other "Mario Movies" that I've stumbled upon over the years.

Mario Warfare

Two years ago the beatdownboogie channel began this masterpiece, and now it is finished, so I thought I'd share the majesty, the valor, and the heartbreak of Mario Warfare!

Character Inspiration Math

Arleen Sorkin...

plus Virginia O'Brien...

equals...

Transformers Universe Screenshots

I've been accepted into the closed beta of Transformers Universe, and while the game has its issues (my laptop doesn't seem to like the Unity Web Player), I was able to get a couple of nice screenshots of the Autobot Base.

Night at the Museum...

This pic was taken in the Ironforge Museum. See more at WoW lols.

You Shall Not...

Gandalf to a student he caught cheating:
YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

Gandalf to a lousy football player:
YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

Gandalf to a Monopoly player:
YOU SHALL NOT PASS...go.

Gandalf to someone staggering:
YOU SHALL NOT PASS...out.

Gandalf to someone with a grievous neck wound:
YOU SHALL NOT PASS...on.

Gandalf to someone eating a bean burrito:
YOU SHALL NOT PASS...gas.

Arkham City Predator Challenge Loading Screens

The only two predator challenge screens I don't have yet are the police station and wonder tower final score images (which are different from their loading images).