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FT344

Shall have to wait for my copy to arrive to see what all the fuss is re: ghostly hand...
 
I thought it was odd. It looked like it could have been her dress rucked up, but it just didn't quite work.
 
Now here is a nice little bit of synchronicity.

Early on in the issue my maiden name is mentioned. It's not an unusual but it's uncommon enough for me to notice it.
As I saw it I thought to myself, 'well of course to be Fortean my (equally uncommon) married name should be mentioned.'
Three pages later, there it is.
 
It was uncommon, but not unknown, for people to be "painted out" of photographs by a skilled retoucher. There's a classic picture of Joseph Stalin, from the 1930's, where the former comrade standing to his left (who was Purged) has been removed from the photo and a skilled retoucher has edited it. Did a good job, too, seventy years before Photoshop: the only clue to photomanipulation is that the ripples on the river behind where he was look a little bit "out".

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Unperson
Is it possible - and I know this is a long shot - that there might originally have been another employee sitting or standing to the left of our lady in the group photo? If one member of this group of employees was sacked or disgraced or otherwise became an Unperson... depending on the wishes of the owner of the mill or whoever took the picture - could she similarly have been "removed"? The photo is quite closely cropped at the edges and would not have needed much retouching. Is this a larger picture cropped down? And in a monochrome photo, painting in the folds and creases of the dress of the girl standing behind - straightforward? Shame the friendly hand on the shoulder was overlooked, though....
 
I just thought it was someone small hidden by the person in front, it doesn't look like a hand that belongs to a large or even medium-sized person.
 
Also, the article on the roots of modern Druidism in Wales. Dr William Price, a great eccentric, is presented here as a man with truly interesting views.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Price_(physician)
http://www.llantrisant.net/price.htm
The article cites Price, after listing a set of somewhat bizarre beliefs, as holding to the scrambled opinion that the Universe is really a giant egg. Interestingly enough... there is the Hindu doctrine of Hiranyagarbha, which is an origin myth which dictates that the created Universe began as a Cosmic Egg which shattered instantaneously in a time when there was no time. So Hinduism and the Big Bang can be held to be compatible, if you see the Cosmic Egg as a poetic metaphor. And various schools of occult thought, the Golden Dawn et c, and our old mate Aleistar Crowley, viewed the Aethyr as the primal state of matter and birthplace of the four alchemical elements. In the correspondence scheme, Aethyr/Ether was depicted as a silver-coloured egg... so it's interesting to assume that Price might have picked up on the metaphysical thought that kicked off ritual magick at the end of the century, or else he was tapping into streams of thought that were far older still?

EDIT - just wondering why this post has picked up a screenshot of this page, which seems a tadge circular... can't see it to edit it out, though...
 

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Really enjoyed the poltergeist article, nicely researched. The photo of the orphans was a bit of a heartbreaker, though. In the same way but more extreme, the Victorian serial murder article was just grim. I know it's over a hundred years ago, but it doesn't make it any easier to read in that detail.

Hippos are an invasive species now! Not content with messing up society, Escobar messed with Mother Nature too.

The Conspirasphere column deserved to be a whole article going in depth, it's a rich vein to mine, the whole mass false memory subject, we've seen it on this forum over and over.
 
I enjoyed FT344 immensely. Even the articles I didn't expect to find interesting and wasn't looking forward to turned out to be highly entertaining. Well done on this issue, Gang of Fort!:clap:
 
And why didn't anyone (either the Gang Of Fort or anyone trawling the boards here) notice the 13 year long mistake of the web address?!
 
Hey thanks GNC for the nice words on Tony and my "Dagg Poltergeist" article in 344. Glad you liked it! I just love polts :D
 
Don't mention it, it was fascinating! I hope you have another one published in the FT in the future.
 
This must be a Middle Of The Road issue, since no-one is either singing its praises, or arguing over a particular article!
 
i really enjoyed it, loved the ABC article, and the poltergeist and murders articles were very interesting if very sad and grim
 
And why didn't anyone (either the Gang Of Fort or anyone trawling the boards here) notice the 13 year long mistake of the web address?!
I've a feeling this wasn't originally a mistake, as such... I'm fairly sure that John Brown Publishing and I Feel Good Ltd owned both the web addresses, and that either URL would take a browser to the site, but at some point either IFG or Dennis Publishing decided that one was enough and stopped paying for the other. And that one line in a more-or-less unchanging info page wasn't fixed accordingly. So, not really a 13-year-long mistake, but certainly one of many years' duration. Of course, every single character on every page in every issue should be rigorously interrogated by eagle-eyed sub-editors, but, realistically, that ain't ever gonna happen. I presume nobody in your workplace ever makes a mistake, or fails to spot an error? (JK)
 
I've a feeling this wasn't originally a mistake, as such... I'm fairly sure that John Brown Publishing and I Feel Good Ltd owned both the web addresses, and that either URL would take a browser to the site, but at some point either IFG or Dennis Publishing decided that one was enough and stopped paying for the other. And that one line in a more-or-less unchanging info page wasn't fixed accordingly. So, not really a 13-year-long mistake, but certainly one of many years' duration. Of course, every single character on every page in every issue should be rigorously interrogated by eagle-eyed sub-editors, but, realistically, that ain't ever gonna happen. I presume nobody in your workplace ever makes a mistake, or fails to spot an error? (JK)

People in my workplace make mistakes, like in every other workplace, but they don't do it for thirteen years! (I understand the light hearted tone of your question)
 
People in my workplace make mistakes, like in every other workplace, but they don't do it for thirteen years! (I understand the light hearted tone of your question)
Well, as I say, the oversight happened the once, when one URL was allowed to disappear and we (I admit I'm guilty as charged) failed to check every page - but virtually nothing changes on the Reader Info page apart from the list of clipster credits and the sample date in the "how to submit" section (and very occasionally the Fort Sort list or the Special Correspondents), so it's not too surprising that it was never noticed subsequently... I don't think we were even aware of the exact date that one URL became obsolete. Oh well, life goes on until it doesn't.
 
Don't beat yourself up over it, mate, if you'd changed it to the right info and not mentioned the long-lasting mistake nobody would have noticed anyway.
 
Don't beat yourself up over it, mate, if you'd changed it to the right info and not mentioned the long-lasting mistake nobody would have noticed anyway.
I'm intrigued now, what was the long-lasting mistake nobody noticed?
 
OK, thanks. Never noticed it.
 
Good issue.

Interesting piece on the Westham serial killer(s).

I definitely want to visit the House Of Eternal return, brought heinlein's "and he built a crooked house" to mind.

S.D. tucker delivers a great article on eccentric and barking mad Welsh politicians/nationalists.

Not that much into ghost/poltergeist articles but Dagg's Demon was a cracking read.
 
I found the article about serial murder from the 19th century very well written and researched. Jan Bondeson is a very good writer. I found the cover article - about phantom Big Cats - to be rather lacking. It just seemed to list sightings, and go no further. Maybe the writer is working on the topic and will bring out more theory and analysis in a later article.
 
I found the article about serial murder from the 19th century very well written and researched. Jan Bondeson is a very good writer.

He is a good writer, and evidently a tireless researcher, among my favourite FT contributers. The only time I tired of him was a couple a years back when every issue seemed based around his obsession with dog stories. I suppose I'm just not that taken with dog stories.

I found the cover article - about phantom Big Cats - to be rather lacking. It just seemed to list sightings, and go no further. Maybe the writer is working on the topic and will bring out more theory and analysis in a later article.
FT periodically lists sightings of ABCs. I don't think there are many conclusions to be drawn objectively on that subject as things stand.
 
I assumed it was someone who was "photoshopped" out. If you look at the space next I felt there had been some touching up and repainting done.
 
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