Piece Of Art

The Fayette Factor Who--or more precisely, what--is "the Fayette Factor?" It is probably one of the strangest mysteries in American Forteana, first discovered by researcher William (Bill) Grimstad, back in 1977, and written about in "Fateful Fayette," Fortean Times , No. 25, Spring 1978. Namely, the "Fayette Factor" has been the finding of a surprisingly high incidence of Fortean (inexpliable) events linked to places named after one of the USA's Founding Fathers--the Marquis de Lafayette.  Fayetteville, West Virginia Since Grimstad's discovery , several items on this lexilink between Fayette (as well as its related forms - Lafayette, La Fayette, Fayetteville, Lafayetteville) and high strangeness have been published. In his book,   Weird America   (New York: EP Dutton, 1978), Grimstad mentions several Fayette hot spots but did not dwell on them. In exchanges with Bill, a small group of Forteans discussed the Fayette Factor privately throughout the l

Coincidences? Synchronicity? A Maryland man was charged with killing another man and eating his heart and portions of his brain. Maryland, Miami, and many, many more, as, literally,  cannibals abound . Now, a new movie opens named after a character who had his liver eaten every day. Science fiction becomes reality? Reality becomes science fiction? The newest " cannibal attack " has occurred in Louisiana, in, yes, Lafayette Parish. (Read more about the powerful name game at the " Fayette Factor .") What is going on? What myths are being worked out in front of our eyes? Prometheus (Greek: Προμηθεύς) is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who in Greek mythology is credited with the creation of man from clay.  Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to the mortals, an act that enabled progress and civilization. He is known for his intelligence, and as a champion of mankind. The punishment of Prometheus as a consequence of the theft is a major theme of his m

As I mentioned earlier ,  Seven Days in May  is a tale of the attempted overthrow of the United States of America. The book has been described as realistic, prophetic, and a page-turning tale of conspiracy at the highest political levels. The story is set to a background conflict occurring between Russia and the United States in... Iran . Both the fictional book (1962) and movie (1964)  Seven Days in May , employing twilight language, utilizes coded messages hidden in conversations about horse race betting and the running of the Preakness. So let's play this out. Now, on the threshold of the Preakness (see here for name game for this moniker), which will run on May 19th, the news is filled with Iran. The map of Iran at Wikipedia. Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran,  is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran," which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans,"  has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. Wikipedia Rick Gladstone at the

Peter Park sends along the following: One curious twilight-language coincidence I myself have long noticed but which I've never to my recollection seen in accounts of the 1955 Sutton farmhouse alien siege is the fact that Hopkinsville, KY, was the birthplace and home town of famous psychic and "sleeping prophet" Edgar Cayce. I've long been a little surprised that Christian fundamentalists who see anything "occult," "New Age," or "psychic" as "of the Devil" haven't picked up on the Sutton case, with its decidedly demonic-looking "goblins," as just some of Edgar Cayce's buddies paying a rerturn visit to his home town! Several twilight insights can be said about this. First off, in January 2008, Mac Tonnies (pictured above) looked at the Hopkinsville + hobgoblin 1955 invasion + Edgar Cayce "name game" link, here .  (Mac Tonnies was found dead on October 22, 2009, the same day that American comedian and t

THE NEMESIS OF NEGLECT. There floats a phantom on the slum's foul air, Shaping, to eyes which have the gift of seeing, Into the Spectre of that loathly lair. Face it--for vain is fleeing! Red-handed, ruthless, furtive, unerect, 'Tis murderous Crime--the Nemesis of Neglect! Jack the Ripper cartoon was published September 29, 1888 in Punch , or The London Charivai , John Tenniel. The attempted self-immolation by David Parker, 24, at Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine, a block from the Lafayette Hotel, occurred on September 29, 2010. As I have pointed out in recent postings here, the statue dedicated to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was unveiled on September 29, 1888. This date is also linked to the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. The same day that Punch published a caricature of Jack the Ripper, the Ripper decided to strike again. The illustrator of that cartoon would be none other than Sir John Tenniel (28 February 1820 – 25 February 1914), who is remembered today for his i

A new tragedy has hit Virginia Tech. Authorities are stepping up patrols near an area of Jefferson National Forest where two VA Tech students were found slain, during this first week of school. A man walking his dog in the forest's parking lot section of the Caldwell Fields area, Blacksburg, Virginia, early Thursday, August 27, 2009, found the bodies. They were 19-year-old David Lee Metzler of Lynchburg and his girlfriend 18-year-old Heidi Lynn Childs of Forest. When deputies arrived they found Metzler's body sitting in his car (a 1992 blue Toyota Camry), while Childs's body was on the ground nearby. The gravel parking lot of the campground and wildlife viewing area is popular among Virginia Tech students. A suspect has not been identified. Metzler was a sophomore industrial and systems engineering major and Childs, a sophomore biochemistry major. Caldwell Fields is a peaceful area away from the hustle and bustle of campus life, a hangout site for students, especially on t

Come view the "Fayette Factor" up close: WHAT: Lafayette in America book event with Alan R. Hoffman, Translator and Author WHEN: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, from 12:00pm - 1:00pm WHERE: Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, Maine COST: This event is free and open to the public. FMI: For more information call (207) 774-1822 or e-mail info[at]mainehistory.org According to the MHS: Explore General Lafayette's 1824-1825 Farewell Tour of the United States, including his visits to Kennebunk, Saco, and Portland, Maine. Translated from the journal kept by Auguste Levasseur, Private Secretary to General Lafayette, this rich new book describes the adoring welcome the 67-year-old hero of the American Revolution and apostle of liberty received from the American people. With its panoramic view of the young country - its burgeoning cities and towns, its technological innovations like the Erie Canal, and its industrious people - Levasseur captures America on the cusp of

Early on Friday, January 23, an unidentified male assailant, whose face was reportedly painted with black and white make-up, armed with a knife, went on a rampage in a childcare center near Brussels. Sky News said the crèche was attacked by a knife-wielding man wearing black and white facepaint, "like a joker," who is allegedly extremely thin, with red hair. (Update: U.K.'s Independent reporter Vanessa Mock in Dendermonde, noted on Saturday, 24 January 2009, that the man has "his face painted like the Joker character in Batman.") This crèche (French for "daycare") is located in northwestern Belgium. Researcher Theo Paijmans, reporting via email to me, while watching the Belgian media, writes that the death toll is two (2) babies and one female daycare worker fatally stabbed, with 10 children and 2 daycare workers wounded. Early alerts said five people have been killed. Flemish VTM television at first had said three children and two adults have been k