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Survivor of the Month Curse Continues 2014 First Survivor of the Month

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SOS Survivor of the Month

If you’re still keeping on with SOS after surviving the first full full moon of 2014 – first, congratulation, many thanks and second, the bad-good news continues, thanks to the Hatter, The Reaper and Fenrir a new carrier of the curse has been selected. Will they be strong enough to make it through another month? Or will it all collapse like a pile of zombies? We will see. Meanwhile if you don’t know what I’m talking about, read about the Survivor of the Month so you can avoid being one. Otherwise, let’s see if you can guess the clues….

Guess The Survivor of the Month

Who will it be?
Who will it be?

This Survivor:

1. Describes himself mysteriously as, “An ordinary run of the mill mythic…with all the right gear.” Sound like Batman to you? Well he’s not. He’s even better in most of the ways that count. He can fix your biomech. Something I’ve been meaning to ask him about ever since Robowolf ssent me that home exoskeleton kit…

2. In fact he once very nobly volunteered to be the Mayor of Mythics. Anything for the sake of a plan… 

3. Really, really, really hates wraiths. Really? Really.

4. Has a powerful Draconian brother goes by the name of Drakko.

5. Enlisted the help of many on the site to help him turn his friend – a genetic werewolf – ie: trigger his first transformation to help in a full moon fight against a team of hunters brought on by the Sentinel Cycle. So did he use silver as Chaoswolf suggested? Or Mutt’s suggestion of a fear trap? I’m still searching the archives to find out. Oh there it is. Clearly it worked but unclear how.6.. Is a master of propaganda and the public-stunt-coverup plan but seems to have a problem with aliens. For some reason he thinks mentioning aliens in a plan strains credibility. Huh.

6. Has met a lot of inarticulate reapers whose total vocabularies consisted of two words: “Burn,” or “Die,” which explains why he made an fast ally frenemy? of The Reaper. (Note: don’t say they teamed up. The Reaper hates that…)

7. Don’t ask him to volunteer for Area 51 research in search of Rusty. Why? He might actually do it. Although he might also get bored, trash the lab and take all the funding to Vegas, which might not be so bad except he could end up captured by Cirque du Soleil, swinging on a trapeze. Actually he might like that too. Point is, he just likes it when a plan comes together.

8. Coached Knox the Hovering through a trust crisis when it seemed his pack was turning on him last summer. Okay yeah, maybe Knox did disappear never to be heard from again shortly thereafter but I for one found his words inspiring and appreciated his efforts on behalf of a fellow survivor.

9. Sometimes spends his holidays in the Crypts of Nocturne. Mainly after violating his mythic contract with a council of 14 apocalyptic deities, leaking confidential mythic files and being locked there against his will. Wonder what it’s like there? Let’s see if he reports about that…

10. Was a big protector of Mary on the site, for which I for one was very grateful.

 These clues in progress. Think you already know who it is? Feel free to post your own clues below. Did you see the first Monstrometer Report yet? If not, please watch here…

In case you haven’t already guessed the Survivor of the Month is Velanko. Watch for his Survivor of the Month post tomorrow and in the meantime go watch this.

First Full Moon of 2014 Brings Survivor of the Month & First New Video “The Monstrometer Report”

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Full moon, full moons everywhere you look…

Annual Leprechaun looting on subways around the world this full moon.
Annual Leprechaun looting on subways around the world this full moon.

Did you get to school or work with your pants intact? If so, you did better than this guy in Munich, who didn’t even notice the annual pantsing in progress. It’s the fifth year in a row the little looters have claimed the first month of the year to give unsuspecting commuters the full moon treatment.

(I make no apologies to any leprechauns who may be offended by my characterization of them. Yes, I’m aware this annual event may in fact be the work of the so-called Leprechauns of the Dark Arts who are ostensibly materially different from the so-called Light Leprechauns but it all just sounds like one big lepre-con to me.)

In other news thanks to the hard work of the HATTER, the frosty focus of FENRIR and the repeat appearance of THE REAPER, SOS can announce another Survivor of the Month, a cursed prize intended to thank a survivor who has helped us all survive  for the long haul around here at SOS.

Who will be strong enough to carry the curse this month? We’ll see who makes it through another moon…

Check back as I go back through the month that was to see. I’ll make some links and clues while I upload my new video the first Monstrometer Report and we’ll see how the night goes. Will anyone survive? It’s anyone’s guess…

Woman manages to snag her pants back from a leprechaun just in time. Well almost just in time...
Full moons everywhere. Woman manages to snag her pants back from a leprechaun just in time. Well almost just in time…

Thanks to everyone who keeps on keeping on here at SOS. You are all supernatural survivalists to me, including in no particular order:

–>> NEWBLOUD on his Tajera Claws quest. Anyone know where to find these?

–>> WRAITH WATCH… HERE a WRAITH, there a WRAITH everywhere a WRAITH WRAITH… what is this wraith and what’s with that valise?

–>> RAINSTORM for stopping by to describe the haunted locker situation at her school. Does any of this sound familiar to you?  Did she find any clues in that locker?

–>> DARKONE – For helping his friend determine the difference between being a lycanthrope and a shifter. How did that turn out anyway? Also for sharing his research into the origins of Fenris. What does he have to prove to him anyway?

–>> LILITH – For  among other things, helping Fenrir  and Velanko defeat the Dark Year declaration and telling us about the portal at Stonehenge… not to mention her supernatural diplomacy with the Mediterranean witches and mer… Everyone knows it’s impossible to get witches and mer to work together!

–>> The number 9 for confusing me… can I crack the code before the moon sets and YouTube stops blocking my upload?

–>> Special Agent Backdraft — Did he win that bet?

–>> The HATTER for warning us all about the cannibal convention that could blow the lid on cannibal cloning farms when my investigation is complete.

–>> SCARLETT for having an idea… wait a minute. Maybe I should hear that idea before thanking her, this being Scarlett and all…

–>> WW? for reaching out before the full moon. Unfortunately, it was likely already too late for you. Hopefully you got to join a cool pack…

And more. This Full Moon Message still in progress…

This Week In Survival Jan 11, 2014

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Except for the global Time Traveler Twitter Test and an unexpected Cannibal Convention it was cold quiet one week here at SOS and around the globe.

Thanks to the Hatter for this HEADS up...
Thanks to the Hatter for this HEADS up…

That’s right, Cannibal Convention –>>

This gristly news from the HATTER, still coming in. Preliminary info shows it taking place in Colorado.

So hang onto you hat – and your head – while I try and get the scoop on that and more for This Week In Survival.

Keep on keeping on while I post the summaries and links below.

This blog post in progress over the next 33 hours….

Is it just me or do all these shrink-wrapped face-steaks look like the same face to you? Are cannibals cloning a source of white meat? If so, who is – or was  – this?  And why are they all a different price? Anyone noted the existence of a clone farm in Colorado? What if you see your face on a Cannibal grocery story shelf?

Poltergeist Problems

–>> Does MATHEW MEGA have a Class D Doorbell/Phone Ringer phantom? Will he choose the cherry pie? Or record the results and play them back? Keep on for that update…

Hats Off

–>> Did LILITH every get her hat? If so did it work? What did she want it for anyway?

Wish The Dark Had Taken You?

–>> See FENRIR’s latest update from the cold front of an epic winter war HERE.  What’s his plan now?

WANTED: Sword of Light

–>> Hmm wasn’t this one found last week? ANDRE wants to know. I’m checking that now… If I recall correctly ICE has it currently…

Spectral Survival 101 How to Identify a Photobombing Phantom

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Ever check your holiday photos only to find a photo-bombing phantom?

This ghost became an overnight Internet sensation.
This ghostly apparition became an overnight Internet sensation.

You’re not alone.  Along with time travellers and aliens, modern ghosts are probably the most highly visible visitants you’ll ever meet, and for a very good reason. As camera technology becomes increasingly sensitive to the spectra of light and dark, is it any wonder a specter would see your device as a conduit for their self expression? When the cameras come out for the holidays, so do the ghosts.

Take this latest incorporeal Internet sensation, the British Parliament New Year’s Eve ghost for example. Now I’m not here to debate if the photo is a product of camera trickery or a PS process after the fact by the photographer, Jules Annan. No, when it comes to suspected supernatural situations my only job is to help you prepare for the worst.

Mustering enough energy to make an appearance is not something a ghost will do just for fun. There’s a reason this ghost has picked you. And when quick communication is key to surviving any spectral situation, your ability to size up any spook quickly and accurately is your first line of self-defense. So you need to find out exactly who – or what – is your posing poltergeist and what do they want?

1. Inspect Your Device

Before you get caught up in the details of the photo, begin with a thorough inspection of your device. If it’s just a camera, this means inspect every one of your shots, for other appearances of your apparition. Chances are good there is more than one and if so the photos must be read together or even in sequence to understand their story.

If your device is also a phone you may also want to check for ghostly numbers on your call display or strange messages at strange times that repeat. For example, if your voicemail service translates calls into text like mine does, you may get a text that looks something like this:

Wed 30 Dec 2013 03:33:33:

“Aarrooooooooeeeaaaaaaaiiiiiiiaaaaaaarrrrrrwwww” (Please call into your voicemail to listen to this message.)

While disconcerting to be sure, messages like these can help you to decipher the intent of your incorporeal friend.

2. Inspect the Environment(s)

Sure there are lots of different high tech filters you can apply to see better or more but really, a simple zoom will give you enough detail to decipher. Do you see anything strange or different about the environment in your photo? I mean besides the obvious ghostly human. Stranger than that. I’m talking about faint blood splatter patterns that might be on the lens, mysterious symbols, cracks and holes, untraceable lights or flying cats, that kind of thing.

In the case of Mr. Annan’s ghost, the environment yields few if any other clues. The lights in this case were clearly from the Parliament building and no stone work appeared to be bleeding.  Which brings us to…

3. Phantom Phashion

 In the case of the New Years Eve ghost it’s really all the evidence there is to go on. What is your ghost wearing exactly and why? Strictly speaking, ghosts don’t need clothing, so when a ghost incorporates, he must choose exactly how to appear to you. Generally speaking this means she will appear in an outfit that is either a) easy for her to materialize because it was highly memorable or b) significant in some way to the message he is trying to convey to you. As a result, a ghost will seldom completely dressed let alone appropriately dressed.

I know a lot of Internauts have commented that Mr. Annan’s ghost is suspiciously well-dressed, right down to the warm winter boots. And that’s fair. But there is one exception to the clothing rule and it’s this. Ghosts who don’t yet realize that they are dead have the memory of their last outfit clear in their minds and as a result, it materializes in detail very clearly for a short time immediately following the events of their death. Certainly that would be the most likely explanation with the New Years Eve ghost, as he (or she) is wearing a very current style of warm boot that would take a lot of energy to materialize.

Did somebody wearing UGG boots die on their way to the fireworks on New Years Eve? As yet to be determined. Meanwhile, if you haven’t inspected your holiday photos, I encourage you to do so immediately. Somebody may be trying to send you a message.

This Week In Survival, Jan 05 2014

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sethisascoutI’m on the trail of a certain Greek goddess named Hebe and her fountain of youth chalice so I can refill my Bonk bounty before it runs out – thanks to ALEX for helping me get through This Week In Survival with a very lovely lid.

And thanks to everyone else who keeps on keeping on with me. I certainly never expected to survive to 2014, swimming in this supernatural soup and I know that I couldn’t have done it without you.

So without further ado, let’s see who you are this week. I’ll post some links below. Hope you’ll follow them and wade in wherever you can….

Pando Aspen Root Anyone? 

–>> Well if I can’t locate Hebe – or whatever she calls herself these days  – maybe I can find some of that Pando-Aspen Root FENRIR is talking about here. Those trees really know how to survive. Hey wait a minute. Maybe that’s a clue. Did Hebe lose her chalice in this forest? A Greek Goddess hiding in Utah?

The Pando Aspen colony's root system is estimated 80,000 + years old
The Pando Aspen colony’s root system is estimated 80,000 + years old

What’s In the Suitcase? 

–>> VELANKO and LILITH watching a supernatural suitcase situation in progress. Is there an inter-dimensional border patrol agent in the house?

Fimbulwinter Weather… What? 

–>>  Thought the Dark Year was finally defeated by the combined light of our collective Christmas clangers and Yule logs, to say nothing of the Fireplace channel? Then what’s this about a Fimbulwinter spell FENRIR??  Anyone know a good loophole to get us out of this one?

Wanted: Draconians

–>> If you’re not busy burning Indonesia liberating Baby Agni, MARNEY has a few questions about draconianism…

Still Wanted: Autograph 

–>> Is  REAPER still looking for Horus’ autograph?  Will HATTER finally help REAPER get one from his most famous patient? It doesn’t look to me like his therapy is working. He still seems pretty mad about a few things…

Phantom Wings

–>> RAVEN CLAW has them. Do they show up in photos? Shadows? Mirrors? Let’s try to find out…

 

 

Resolve to Be Immortal in 2014

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Turritopsis Nutricula Ages Backward to Childhood
Turritopsis Nutricula is Immortal – Why Not You?

Should auld acquaintance forget to look any aulder this New Years Eve – watch out you may be partying with an Immortal.

We all have them, that certain friend who never seems to change or age. New Years Eve brings them out. Maybe an imminent Gathering or just to laugh at the rest of us, nobody knows. One thing is sure though. There is most definately more than one. In fact there appears to be more everyday. Why?

A few theories:

Theory #1: Turritopsis Nutricula

Yes, the immortality jellyfish who has defeated death with its infinite ability to age backwards and forwards between adolescence and adulthood. Teams of scientists around the globe have been working tirelessly to unlock the Turritopsis secret and exploit it in creams, elixirs and infusions. Have they succeeded in clinical trials? Does this account for the Japanese businessmen in love with Hello Kitty? Or the middle-aged American women reading Twilight with hair in pigtails? I’d like to know.

Theory #2 – The Methuselah Tree

The earth’s oldest living organism is allegedly an aptly-named Bristlecone Pine in the White Mountains of California. Its GPS remains an official state secret after the ill-fated Prometheus Tree survived 4,844 years only to be mowed down by a sample-happy science student.

Is the Methuselah tree out of the woods? California is reputed to have the highest concentration of Immortals on the planet. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

Theory #3 – Evolution of Homo Immortalis 

Our ancestors just needed puberty and Dad’s cave for ten minutes to give a selfish gene everything it really wants – immortality in a new little host

Have you seen this chalice?
Have you seen this chalice?

body. But now that humanity has grown more selfish than even its genes, with record numbers declining to participate in the genetic marathon of life, what’s a smart gene to do? Could we be seeing the first of a new breed of Immortals, Homo Immortalis? Afterall if a mere jellyfish can do it, spontaneously develop the genetic ability to just NEVER die, why not a human?

Theory #4 – The Chalice of Hebes

Hebes the Greek goddess of youth is said to have a magic chalice that can summon water from the Fountain of Youth itself. How can you get some? Unclear, but she has been known to bring it out and share this water from time to time for a good reason, like to help win a fight a fight or gain love.

Can she be persuaded to share some youth water with you? Unknown. But well-known fact – Hebe is also famous for her clumsiness and absent mindedness. For instance she has been known to  sometimes completely forget to put on a shirt before going outside.

I’m not saying you should try to trick Hebe into leaving her chalice with you, I’m just saying she might do or in fact have already done this on her own.

What does this mean for you? I’m just saying this New Years, forget about the donut and workout resolutions. Resolve instead to become immortal. Start by identifying and studying one of the Immortals living among us. Get close and learn. Not too close though! You can’t party that hard – don’t even try! Immortals have a vastly different risk-assessment scale.

Then please do report back. We’re not getting any younger!