Minor Strangeness (IHTM)
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PeniG
Justified & Ancient
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The big question is, will she be the person who leads the mysterious attack on your life tonight, or will she be the one who swoops in to save you and explain your Destiny?
The friendly manner sounds like a good guy, but watch out for those smiling villains.
The friendly manner sounds like a good guy, but watch out for those smiling villains.
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This reminded me of something that happened to my friend recently.
She went grocery shopping late at night and as she was driving into the underground carpark she felt that, instead of parking alone in a dark corner (like she always does) she should park next to this dingy old car. There were a few other cars under there but it had to be next to that one.
She went inside, wandered around for a while and remembered she needed glue. In the glue isle she sees a really really cute guy, dreadlocks, black clothes, just the way she likes them. She was too nervous to say anything though so she just kept shopping.
Later on she's lined up at the checkouts when the cute guy lines up behind her. She was going to say hi but couldn't bring herself to say anything again. She left.
She walks out to the video shop, asks about a movie to find that someone's only just grabbed it off the shelf, wanders around a bit to find something else and as she's checking out, Glue Man lines up behind her again. With the movie she wanted. She still can't say anything.
She walks back to the car with her shopping and thinks about how funny it would be if the car she felt she should park next to was his. As she's packing groceries into her car, guess who starts paking groceries into that one? Glue Man.
She still couldn't say anything though (she's really shy) so she just drove off and as she left the car park she said the first thing she thought of was that line from Pirates of the Carribbean: "If you were looking for the opportune moment, that was it."
She went grocery shopping late at night and as she was driving into the underground carpark she felt that, instead of parking alone in a dark corner (like she always does) she should park next to this dingy old car. There were a few other cars under there but it had to be next to that one.
She went inside, wandered around for a while and remembered she needed glue. In the glue isle she sees a really really cute guy, dreadlocks, black clothes, just the way she likes them. She was too nervous to say anything though so she just kept shopping.
Later on she's lined up at the checkouts when the cute guy lines up behind her. She was going to say hi but couldn't bring herself to say anything again. She left.
She walks out to the video shop, asks about a movie to find that someone's only just grabbed it off the shelf, wanders around a bit to find something else and as she's checking out, Glue Man lines up behind her again. With the movie she wanted. She still can't say anything.
She walks back to the car with her shopping and thinks about how funny it would be if the car she felt she should park next to was his. As she's packing groceries into her car, guess who starts paking groceries into that one? Glue Man.
She still couldn't say anything though (she's really shy) so she just drove off and as she left the car park she said the first thing she thought of was that line from Pirates of the Carribbean: "If you were looking for the opportune moment, that was it."
escargot
Disciple of Marduk
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She had a lucky escape. I reckon Glue Man was stalking her with the intention of kidnap. He'd bought glue in preparation for sealing off his dungeon, picked up the film (which he'd already found from his research was to her taste) for her to play during her long hours of captivity, and had only been thwarted in his fiendish plan by her hunch about where to park. :shock:
If she'd parked in the corner he'd have abducted her, but parking next to his car in full view of passers-by and CCTV made it too risky so he gave up.
Oh yeah, and the dreadlocks were a wig off ebay.
If she'd parked in the corner he'd have abducted her, but parking next to his car in full view of passers-by and CCTV made it too risky so he gave up.
Oh yeah, and the dreadlocks were a wig off ebay.
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That's terrible.
I love it!
I love it!
PeniG
Justified & Ancient
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I took the bus up to Dyingmall yesterday in order to attend the public meeting on the proposed pilot BRT route. The postcard said "Norris Conference Center" and I supposed they meant the space that gets rented out for gaming conventions, so I headed over there. As I walked down the hall, an old man with a headset, who I presumed to be a mall walker, looked at me and said helpfully: "The bus meeting is at the other end, by Megaretailstore." So I said "thank you" and headed that way. As I went, I realized - I'd put away the postcard, so how did he know I wanted the bus meeting?
I see two possibilities. The first - the headset wasn't a music device, but a telepathic reader. The second, and less probable - he was mall security and he'd had to redirect a lot of people from one disused-retail-space-rented-for-conferences to the other, and when he saw me headed down that way he assumed that was what I was after. This is less probable, because he was too old for security work and because the other thing down that way is the covered parking, which anybody could be headed for. Nobody's going to park in the sun in July if they can help it. Also, if the mall wanted people to find special events, wouldn't they post signs?
I don't want telepathic old men in my nearest mall. If he joins forces with the jackass who runs around taking the things I want to buy off the shelves before I get there, I'll have to make all my own stuff for the rest of my life!
I see two possibilities. The first - the headset wasn't a music device, but a telepathic reader. The second, and less probable - he was mall security and he'd had to redirect a lot of people from one disused-retail-space-rented-for-conferences to the other, and when he saw me headed down that way he assumed that was what I was after. This is less probable, because he was too old for security work and because the other thing down that way is the covered parking, which anybody could be headed for. Nobody's going to park in the sun in July if they can help it. Also, if the mall wanted people to find special events, wouldn't they post signs?
I don't want telepathic old men in my nearest mall. If he joins forces with the jackass who runs around taking the things I want to buy off the shelves before I get there, I'll have to make all my own stuff for the rest of my life!
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Maybe he went the wrong way at first and as he saw you he was helpful so that you don't make the same mistake. He could have just been a nosy old git and had a snoop around in the unused part.
I do like the telepathic reason much more though
I do like the telepathic reason much more though
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Thought I'd post this here as it's my first post (hi!) and don't want to start a whole new thread.....
About 15 years ago my parents 'borrowed' a cottage in a very remote part of the Scottish Highlands (no electricity/phone, at the very end of a road before a mountain range). My dad grew up in the area and knew it well.
After arriving, my older brother and I went for a walk to stretch our legs (I was about 17/18, he was 25/26). We ended up following the river for about 3/4 mile and came to a house similar in design and layout to the one we were staying in, but this one was derelict.
Being nosy buggers, we climbed in though a window for a look around. There wasn't much to see: the house had clearly been used by people (as a bothy) and animals (straw on the ground) and we were in the house for all of about 60 seconds when I saw my brother scrambling back out of the window with some urgency. I called after him "hang on!" or similar, but he ignored me and continued to stride away from the house.
I scrambled out and managed to catch up with him. When I spoke to him, I realised he'd gone very pale. I asked if he was alright and what the problem was. He muttered something about getting "a bad feeling" in the house and needing to leave. I pressed this further and he said as "daft" as it sounded he felt like something had "grabbed his ankle". I suggested that perhaps a bit of straw had snagged his trouser leg or something and he said "yes, probably that's all it was". The fact he said this told me he wasn't merely trying to wind me up in a big-brotherly way, but I could also see that he didn't believe for a moment that it was a bit of straw.
Anyway, with us both a little freaked out, we headed back to our cottage and told our parents what had happened. My dad looked quite surprised and asked (somewhat rhetorically), "do you know about that house?"
It turns out that the last family who lived there (1930s) had gone out first-footing after church one New Years day and had been out most of the day (bearing in mind how remote this place is it would take a while to get anywhere!).
When they got back home, they lit a fire and sat huddled around it. It was the kind of fire which had a boiler on the back of it -the fire provided all the household's hot water. On this cold January day the boiler had frozen solid. On lighting the fire the boiler exploded, killing the family outright.
:shock: I have one or two other weird things to share.....looking at this, I shall perhaps try to tell them with a little more editing!
About 15 years ago my parents 'borrowed' a cottage in a very remote part of the Scottish Highlands (no electricity/phone, at the very end of a road before a mountain range). My dad grew up in the area and knew it well.
After arriving, my older brother and I went for a walk to stretch our legs (I was about 17/18, he was 25/26). We ended up following the river for about 3/4 mile and came to a house similar in design and layout to the one we were staying in, but this one was derelict.
Being nosy buggers, we climbed in though a window for a look around. There wasn't much to see: the house had clearly been used by people (as a bothy) and animals (straw on the ground) and we were in the house for all of about 60 seconds when I saw my brother scrambling back out of the window with some urgency. I called after him "hang on!" or similar, but he ignored me and continued to stride away from the house.
I scrambled out and managed to catch up with him. When I spoke to him, I realised he'd gone very pale. I asked if he was alright and what the problem was. He muttered something about getting "a bad feeling" in the house and needing to leave. I pressed this further and he said as "daft" as it sounded he felt like something had "grabbed his ankle". I suggested that perhaps a bit of straw had snagged his trouser leg or something and he said "yes, probably that's all it was". The fact he said this told me he wasn't merely trying to wind me up in a big-brotherly way, but I could also see that he didn't believe for a moment that it was a bit of straw.
Anyway, with us both a little freaked out, we headed back to our cottage and told our parents what had happened. My dad looked quite surprised and asked (somewhat rhetorically), "do you know about that house?"
It turns out that the last family who lived there (1930s) had gone out first-footing after church one New Years day and had been out most of the day (bearing in mind how remote this place is it would take a while to get anywhere!).
When they got back home, they lit a fire and sat huddled around it. It was the kind of fire which had a boiler on the back of it -the fire provided all the household's hot water. On this cold January day the boiler had frozen solid. On lighting the fire the boiler exploded, killing the family outright.
:shock: I have one or two other weird things to share.....looking at this, I shall perhaps try to tell them with a little more editing!
thats a spooky one Wendy... sometimes you can pick up residual energies from those of us who have passed on.
I had something a bit odd happen to me the past couple of days - I don't know if it means anything. Just yesterday I was telling my kids about a chinese series we used to watch as kids called "Monkey magic". I thought the Olympics BBC advert reminded me of that series. Anyway, I've also been thinking about buddhism a bit.. not to join but just interested. Then this morning I passed a shop window where there were these T shirts with star trek characters and also characters from Monkey Magic - characterised etc.. they were funny like Lego characters.
So later on I decide I'm going to the museum and I'd just got there when this young man asked my son to help him take a photograph. Well we got talking and it transpired that he was doing some research on water wheels and he was a buddhist, for some reason I got quite taken with what he was saying about certain things.. eco farming.. that sort of thing.. and then he opens up his jacket and he was wearing one of those T shirts with the lego characters on - the characters were from Monkey Magic!!
I had something a bit odd happen to me the past couple of days - I don't know if it means anything. Just yesterday I was telling my kids about a chinese series we used to watch as kids called "Monkey magic". I thought the Olympics BBC advert reminded me of that series. Anyway, I've also been thinking about buddhism a bit.. not to join but just interested. Then this morning I passed a shop window where there were these T shirts with star trek characters and also characters from Monkey Magic - characterised etc.. they were funny like Lego characters.
So later on I decide I'm going to the museum and I'd just got there when this young man asked my son to help him take a photograph. Well we got talking and it transpired that he was doing some research on water wheels and he was a buddhist, for some reason I got quite taken with what he was saying about certain things.. eco farming.. that sort of thing.. and then he opens up his jacket and he was wearing one of those T shirts with the lego characters on - the characters were from Monkey Magic!!
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Forever_S said:
Lovely when it all comes together like that, eh?
Thanks for the story.
This is something that happened a few years ago, and is one of those things that can be explained away far too easily to really think it was a fortean event... But hey, it was odd enough to stay in my memories. (And I don`t think I`ve posted about it before - but who knows, I may have. If so, I apologize!)
We used to live near a shrine to Inari - or rather, to Inari`s foxes. I used to ride my bicycle past it every day to and from work. As it was right in the middle of a steep hill and had a nice little shaded spot to rest, it became my habit to stop there on the way home (when going uphill). I can`t say I`m particularly religious or strongly believe in these things, but I have enough of a belief that there are things I don`t know in this world that... well, I`d thank the fox statues and pat them when I rested there. Can never hurt to be courteous!
Anyway, one night I was riding my bicycle home, and it was pouring. Thunder, lightning - I think that a typhoon was coming in. I was sopping wet and felt like general crap, so figured I`d "rest" under the tree and at least wipe my face off. As I was coming up to turn onto the street with the shrine, a big fluffy white cat was standing in the middle of the road. It just stood there, stared at me, then sat down. In the pouring rain. I stopped and tried to call it (A clean, dry looking cat like that was probably lost.) I stopped my bicycle, and just as I was walking over to it there was a huge flash of lightning along with an immediate clap of thunder. It darted, and I got a little freaked by how close the lightning had been and decided to get home ASAP.
When I passed the shrine, the tree I rested under was smoking. That`s what the lightning hit.
After I got home and thought about it, I figured that if I hadn`t stopped to call the cat I would have been under the tree when it was hit...
And the more I thought about it, Inari`s foxes are white, and in the rain I hadn`t gotten a good look at the cat.
I know it was probably just a big white cat that got out and was bewildered in the rain, but I`d LIKE to think that the foxes were paying me back for always "worshiping" them. Just to be safe, until we moved, I made sure to give them stuff and even made a bib for one of them.
Wouldn`t want them to think I wasn`t grateful.
We used to live near a shrine to Inari - or rather, to Inari`s foxes. I used to ride my bicycle past it every day to and from work. As it was right in the middle of a steep hill and had a nice little shaded spot to rest, it became my habit to stop there on the way home (when going uphill). I can`t say I`m particularly religious or strongly believe in these things, but I have enough of a belief that there are things I don`t know in this world that... well, I`d thank the fox statues and pat them when I rested there. Can never hurt to be courteous!
Anyway, one night I was riding my bicycle home, and it was pouring. Thunder, lightning - I think that a typhoon was coming in. I was sopping wet and felt like general crap, so figured I`d "rest" under the tree and at least wipe my face off. As I was coming up to turn onto the street with the shrine, a big fluffy white cat was standing in the middle of the road. It just stood there, stared at me, then sat down. In the pouring rain. I stopped and tried to call it (A clean, dry looking cat like that was probably lost.) I stopped my bicycle, and just as I was walking over to it there was a huge flash of lightning along with an immediate clap of thunder. It darted, and I got a little freaked by how close the lightning had been and decided to get home ASAP.
When I passed the shrine, the tree I rested under was smoking. That`s what the lightning hit.
After I got home and thought about it, I figured that if I hadn`t stopped to call the cat I would have been under the tree when it was hit...
And the more I thought about it, Inari`s foxes are white, and in the rain I hadn`t gotten a good look at the cat.
I know it was probably just a big white cat that got out and was bewildered in the rain, but I`d LIKE to think that the foxes were paying me back for always "worshiping" them. Just to be safe, until we moved, I made sure to give them stuff and even made a bib for one of them.
Wouldn`t want them to think I wasn`t grateful.
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Hi Tamyu
That's a really nice story. As you say it may well be coincidence but a good one none the less.
Would you mind telling me the significance of the bibs on shrines, I saw a lot of statues with red bibs on in Tokyo?
That's a really nice story. As you say it may well be coincidence but a good one none the less.
Would you mind telling me the significance of the bibs on shrines, I saw a lot of statues with red bibs on in Tokyo?
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I dunno, kitsu-ne are tricksters, maybe while you distracted, one of them stole your wallet.....
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Agreed! An absolute gem!
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nice. very nice.
*sigh* I love foxes
*sigh* I love foxes
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I'm getting a attoo of kitsu-ne on my back soon
liveinabin1 said:
I`m very glad you asked.
Originally, the bib thing started with Ojizo - the "Buddha" statues that are everywhere in Japan. They`re not really Buddha, but that`s another story in itself.
The figure they represent is supposed to help children who died to make it out of suffering more quickly. The children have the "job" of collecting stones, and Ojizo supposedly helps them with this. (That`s also a reason why you`ll sometimes see statues with stones piled around them.)
The bib custom started as a very very sad gesture - mothers would put the bibs from their dead babies on the statues... It was a way of expressing love via the entity that was closest to their child in the beyond. Also, a way of distinguishing their child from all the others - this is the scent of my child.
As time passed, it became a type of worship in itself. Red is a special color - the color of the sun and of life itself. As modern children don`t die at anywhere near the pace they did in the past, most of the bibs are hand made specially to put on the statues. Some areas put them on the foxes, some don`t. I know that it`s still popular to make and put bibs on the Ojizo if you miscarry, and the elderly often still make them every year or so for babies they lost long long ago.
So... It`s really a very sad custom.
I don`t believe we`re talking about the same foxes. I`m talking about Inari`s. You`re talking about the youkai. And even then, I seriously doubt they`d trick me. I have a sort of... connection with them.
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=521604&highlight=#521604
spiritdoctor
Away with the fairies
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The cat story reminds me about something I heard once - that it is a Buddhist tradition that buddhas or advanced souls can reincarnate as cats for short periods. I tried to find out more about it because it sounded interesting but I couldn't find any references to it anywhere. Does anyone know anything about that?
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i have a couple of items (well more than a couple but these are the ones that reading the thread has made me think about) of minor strangeness that don't fit elsewhere but might here
When i started my present job i was talking to one of my new workmates. Just general chit chat like you do when you are getting to know people you've never met before. It transpires that we have many things in common.
We were born on the same day,different year,
shes about 20 years older than me.
We got married on the same day at the same time (my first marriage, her second).
We now work in Pharmacology but have both got the same qualifications in microbiology and fermentation technology.We've both worked for breweries as microbiologists. This is strange as there are very few of these job around and few women working in brewing in general.
These thing came out over several conversations over several weeks so i didn't realise the coincidences building up at first until we both had our haircut the same way on the same day. Neither of us had an appointment and gone in on spec because we suddenly felt like a change when going past the salon, and no we haden't talked about it together before hand.
I'm a bit wary of further questioning in case i find out theres been a glich and we are different versions of the same person that shouldn't exhist on the same plane let alone work together.
And on a completely unrelated area of minor strangeness (my mind works very randomly sometimes but usually makes sense to me)
The talk of mirrors much earlier on in the thread got me thinking about our bathroom. Our bathroom was converted from a bedroom ever since it was converted I have had a bad feeling emanating from the area around the end of the bath. It feels like somebody just doesn't want you to be there. There was no bad feeling when it was a bedroom.When you use the sink,which is opposite the bath, you have your back to this area and the feeling is especially strong. So much so that I started brushing my teeth side on to the sink so I can keep an eye on the area and avoid looking in the mirror above the sink. If i'm going to see something I'd rather see it with my own eyes than reflected in a mirror, don't know why.
I've now found out that my husband feels/does the same.
We used to have mirrors facing each other here. The one above the sink and a shaving mirror on the opposite wall above the end of the bath. I had an inkling that moving the shaving mirror might help. I think facing mirrors are meant to be bad in Feng shui. I moved it onto the window ledge opposite the door. This was a few weeks ago and a couple of nights ago i realised that i haven't felt the feeling anything like as strongly since and the hubby hasn't felt it at all.
Sorry for waffling on for so long.
When i started my present job i was talking to one of my new workmates. Just general chit chat like you do when you are getting to know people you've never met before. It transpires that we have many things in common.
We were born on the same day,different year,
shes about 20 years older than me.
We got married on the same day at the same time (my first marriage, her second).
We now work in Pharmacology but have both got the same qualifications in microbiology and fermentation technology.We've both worked for breweries as microbiologists. This is strange as there are very few of these job around and few women working in brewing in general.
These thing came out over several conversations over several weeks so i didn't realise the coincidences building up at first until we both had our haircut the same way on the same day. Neither of us had an appointment and gone in on spec because we suddenly felt like a change when going past the salon, and no we haden't talked about it together before hand.
I'm a bit wary of further questioning in case i find out theres been a glich and we are different versions of the same person that shouldn't exhist on the same plane let alone work together.
And on a completely unrelated area of minor strangeness (my mind works very randomly sometimes but usually makes sense to me)
The talk of mirrors much earlier on in the thread got me thinking about our bathroom. Our bathroom was converted from a bedroom ever since it was converted I have had a bad feeling emanating from the area around the end of the bath. It feels like somebody just doesn't want you to be there. There was no bad feeling when it was a bedroom.When you use the sink,which is opposite the bath, you have your back to this area and the feeling is especially strong. So much so that I started brushing my teeth side on to the sink so I can keep an eye on the area and avoid looking in the mirror above the sink. If i'm going to see something I'd rather see it with my own eyes than reflected in a mirror, don't know why.
I've now found out that my husband feels/does the same.
We used to have mirrors facing each other here. The one above the sink and a shaving mirror on the opposite wall above the end of the bath. I had an inkling that moving the shaving mirror might help. I think facing mirrors are meant to be bad in Feng shui. I moved it onto the window ledge opposite the door. This was a few weeks ago and a couple of nights ago i realised that i haven't felt the feeling anything like as strongly since and the hubby hasn't felt it at all.
Sorry for waffling on for so long.
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Today in town I saw a guy in white overalls. He seemed to be using a metal-detector.
Later I was able to grab some distant pics of him. The device he's holding lacks the disc of a metal detector, and he was checking all around the bases of street furniture and kerbs.
I guessed he might be using some sort of gas chromatograph, but why?
Was he checking for Radon? Traffic pollution? Dog piss?
Any ideas?
Later I was able to grab some distant pics of him. The device he's holding lacks the disc of a metal detector, and he was checking all around the bases of street furniture and kerbs.
I guessed he might be using some sort of gas chromatograph, but why?
Was he checking for Radon? Traffic pollution? Dog piss?
Any ideas?
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No good ideas for you, but it might be time for you to invest in an air-tight suit and a gas mask!
JamesWhitehead
Piffle Prospector
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Gas-leak, almost certainly. When the house next-door - then unoccupied - had one, the bloke arrived at my door with his sniffer-machine, just like the one in your pic. He assured me that the levels would not have caused an explosion but was amused that I hadn't noticed them by nose. Bad sinuses kept me blissfully ignorant. Useful in the classroom too!
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When I passed him (quite close) I was preoccupied with other problems, so just assumed he was a metal detector and didn't pay much attention.escargot1 said:
It was a little later, sitting with a drink on the first floor of Wetherspoons, that I noticed him again, thought his activity was unusual (he was sniffing round the bases of the bus shelters then!) and got my camera out, and then took the pics as he investigated the central roundabout.