Something supercharged Uranus with radiation during Voyager flyby 40 years ago. Scientists now know what.

Forty years ago, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past Uranus and observed radiation levels that defied explanation. Now, scientists may finally know exactly what happened!

(An illustration of the solar storm that may have triggered the unusual magnetic activity spotted on Uranus during Voyager’s flyby. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Something supercharged Uranus with radiation during Voyager flyby 40 years ago. Scientists now know what.

LIVE SCIENCE, Feb 11, 2026

Scientists may have solved a long-standing mystery surrounding Uranus' extraordinarily strong radiation belt.

A new analysis of Voyager 2 data suggests that a temporary space weather event may have made the planet's electron radiation belt more intense than usual as Voyager 2 was passing by. The findings could help to explain why the radiation belt was so much stronger than scientists had predicted it would be.

Radiation belts are formed from interactions between the solar wind and a planet's magnetic field. The sun emits a continuous stream of protons and electrons from its outer atmosphere, called the corona. For planets that have a global magnetic field, including Earth and Uranus, some of those energetic, charged particles get trapped in the magnetosphere.

In January 1986, Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and measured the strength of its radiation belts. While the ion radiation belt was a little weaker than expected, the electron radiation belt was much more intense than scientists had predicted — close to the maximum intensity Uranus could sustain. Since then, scientists have tried to figure out how and why this was the case.

"Science has come a long way since the Voyager 2 flyby," Robert Allen, a space physicist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and coauthor of the new research, said in a statement. "We decided to take a comparative approach looking at the Voyager 2 data and compare it to Earth observations we've made in the decades since."

(Images: Two versions of Uranus images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986. Scientists may finally know what triggered inexplicably high radiation signals that Voyager observed during its historic flyby. (Image credit: NASA/JPL))

Earth versus Uranus

In the study, published in November 2025 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, Allen and colleagues revisited data collected by Voyager 2 during its flyby of Uranus. They found several similarities between the Voyager data and the data collected from Earth orbit during a space weather event in 2019.

Uranus' unusually intense radiation belt may have been caused by a "co-rotating interaction region," the team found. A co-rotating interaction region occurs when high-speed solar winds overtake slower solar wind streams. The phenomenon could have accelerated electrons and added energy to the radiation belt, the researchers said.

In the News: Psychedelics may rewire the brain to treat PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, combat, or violent assault. I know several people who have PTSD and I can't imagine the challenges they face.In the United States in 2024, an average of 17 veterans died each day by suicide. In today's blog (which is edited down from a much longer article), you'll learn about new research with psychedelics that may help with PTSD. 

Side Note: I do know that dogs have helped with PTSD episodes and dogs ALSO suffer from PTSD. As a dog dad who has adopted abused rescue dogs, I've seen PTSD in several of our dogs. - Dogs and PTSD intersect in two main ways: dogs can suffer from their own form of PTSD due to trauma, and specially trained service dogs can significantly reduce PTSD symptoms in humans. Service dogs assist with flashbacks, anxiety, and nightmares, lowering symptom severity and increasing independence for veterans. Conversely, dogs with trauma can exhibit hypervigilance, aggression, and anxiety, treatable with behavior modification.

 

(Image Credit: JHU:)

Psychedelics may rewire the brain to treat PTSD. Scientists are finally beginning to understand how. 

LIVE SCIENCE. By Jane Palmer, Feb 5, 2026

New research shows MDMA and psilocybin may restore neural flexibility in people with PTSD, thereby helping the brain unlearn fear and relearn safety.

For researcher Lynnette Averill, the quest to find a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is deeply personal. Averill's father served as an enlisted infantryman with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam and struggled to cope with his war experiences when he returned home. After years of ineffective treatments, he died by suicide when Averill was three.

Driven by a mission to support veterans' mental health, Averill trained as a psychologist and began working with people with PTSD — a condition that affects more than 12 million Americans in any given year. Victims of violence, abuse and accidents can experience post-traumatic symptoms such as persistent flashbacks, hypervigilance, and entrenched negative beliefs about themselves and their environment.

"People can be very stuck in black-and-white thinking, such as, 'I'm a bad person,' 'I deserve this,' 'the world is dangerous," Averill, a clinical research psychologist at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, said during a panel discussion at the Psychedelic Science conference in Denver in June 2025.

The root of these symptoms lie in how trauma shapes changes in the brain in the weeks and months after a frightening event. The brain's fear center — the amygdala — becomes hyperactive, constantly signaling danger, while the brain regions responsible for contextualizing memories and managing emotional responses become less active and less able to counterbalance those fear signals. Traditional therapies, such as antidepressant medications and trauma-focused psychotherapies, help only a fraction of patients and can take months to be effective.

"For many people with PTSD, they simply aren't enough, " Averill told Live Science.

Consequently, Averill is one of a group of researchers who are exploring a new potential avenue for treating PTSD: psychedelics. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, using MDMA or psilocybin, may act on the brain systems disrupted in PTSD, rather than simply treating the symptoms.

The early findings have been positive: A recent clinical trial showed that 67% of patients who received MDMA-assisted therapy no longer met PTSD criteria after treatment, compared with 32% in the placebo group, and clinical trials investigating psilocybin's potential to treat the condition are showing promise.

Averill is currently leading a pioneering Texas state-funded clinical trial investigating psilocybin for veterans with PTSD and has seen how quickly the drugs can act.

"There's potential for people to feel that the needle has moved in hours," Averill said. "And that is just quite literally lifesaving."

How trauma changes the brain 

PTSD shares symptoms with depression and anxiety. Yet it is characterized by a response to a single trauma or set of traumatic events. Such experiences spark fear and often challenge an individual's core beliefs that the world is a just, safe and predictable place. People with PTSD can feel helpless and without agency.

It's normal for people who have endured traumatic events to experience these symptoms for a short time, and for most people, they resolve within a week or two, clinical psychologist Gregory Fonzo, a co-director of the Charmaine and Gordon McGill Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy at the University of Texas at Austin's Dell Medical School, told Live Science. But a subset of people get stuck.

What Happens in the Brain During a PTSD Episode?

In PTSD, the amygdala remains stuck in an overactive state, causing symptoms like hyperarousal, irritability and being easily startled. At the same time, the prefrontal cortex, which normally calms those alarms, becomes underactive, leaving the amygdala's overreactive fear response unchecked.

Neuroimaging has shown that PTSD is associated with a reduced volume of the hippocampus, which is the brain region that processes the context — the where, when and circumstances — of an event. 

In normal circumstances the hippocampus can discriminate between real and perceived danger. For example, it will categorize the sound of a car backfiring in an everyday environment differently than the blast of gunshot, which occurred specifically in a war zone. But a diminished hippocampus could make it harder for patients to distinguish between the two. 

Clinical Trials 

 Clinical trials have found psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, to be a promising therapy for treatment-resistant anxiety and depression, and studies conducted on animals have pointed to its potential for treating PTSD.

A study on mature adult mice demonstrated that MDMA temporarily reopens a critical period for where the brain is sensitive to learning that social behaviors are beneficial by inducing structural and functional changes in the brain’s reward circuits. This enhanced sensitivity allows the adult brain to re-encode social cues as intrinsically rewarding and safe, facilitating the re-learning of trust and attachment for up to two weeks after a single dose, the researcher theorize.

What the Trials Have Shown 

Several trials are underway to investigate psilocybin as a treatment option for PTSD. In August 2025, biotechnology company Compass Pathways published its findings on a trial designed to test the safety of psilocybin for PTSD. The small safety study wasn't designed to measure effectiveness. Nevertheless, participants seemed to show an immediate reduction in PTSD symptoms after a single 25-milligram dose of the company's synthetic psilocybin. Clinicians reported the improvements had endured when tested 12 weeks later.

Challenges 

 Clinical psychologist Gregory Fonzo, a co-director of the Charmaine and Gordon McGill Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy at the University of Texas at Austin's Dell Medical School, believes the answer lies in the expansion of funding for clinical trials, but research in psychedelics still faces steep hurdles. Both MDMA and psilocybin are listed as Schedule I substances in the U.S. — a federal classification reserved for drugs considered to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. That label makes studying them a bureaucratic nightmare, as researchers must navigate complex regulatory approvals and secure special licenses just to handle the compounds.

FDA Not Moving Quickly Enough 

 For veterans who are experiencing suicidal thoughts as part of their PTSD, finding interventions that spur rapid change could be key, Weiss said. Despite the compelling findings, the regulatory approval of psychedelic treatments for PTSD is moving slowly. In August 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, citing concerns over the study design and blinding procedures. Many have been frustrated about the decision not to approve the treatment with guardrails, or for a subset of people who really need it.

CLICK FOR FULL AND MORE DETAILED ARTICLE 

STRANGE- New Mexico's Bandera Volcano Ice Cave: Always below freezing

Here's a bizarre story. In New Mexico, there's a cave with temperatures never go above freezing - it's a cold sink. It's located in a lava tube, which doesn't have lava in it - it's a cavern that lava used to move through. Today's blog shares the story and has a video.

(photo: Frigid conditions inside the Bandera Volcano Ice Cave have caused ice to grow there for at least 3,400 years. (Image credit: Zachary Frank via Alamy)

Bandera Volcano Ice Cave: The weird lava tube in New Mexico whose temperature is always below freezing

By Sascha Pare LIVE SCIENCE, Feb 6, 2026

Due to a weird quirk of geology, New Mexico's Bandera Volcano Ice Cave never warms above 31 degrees Fahrenheit, even when temperatures outside exceed 100 F in summer.

The Bandera Volcano Ice Cave is a hollow in the ground in New Mexico where temperatures never exceed 31 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 0.6 degrees Celsius).

The cave formed roughly 10,000 years ago, when the nearby Bandera Volcano violently erupted, spewing lava that solidified at the surface while caverns formed in the layers below. The cave's unusual geology has preserved frigid conditions, which have caused ice to form inside it for at least 3,400 years.

The ice inside the Ice Cave is up to 20 feet (6 meters) thick on the floor year-round. Due to the freezing conditions, Arctic algae have colonized the cave, growing on top of the ice to form a blue-green, living blanket, according to the Ice Cave's website.

The cave is "one of New Mexico's weirdest spots, where it's both hot and cold all at the same time," Paul Mauermann, an environmental educator and director of New Mexico's Sandia Mountain Natural History Center, said in a video.

VIDEO; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdbEa099T7M

The Ice Cave is freezing because it is nestled inside a collapsed lava tube. Lava tubes are natural tunnels that form beneath surface lava flows during volcanic eruptions. Because surface flows are in contact with air, they cool and solidify more quickly than the lava flowing closer to the ground. As a result, when a volcano stops erupting, the core of a lava flow drains away while the outside hardens, leaving an empty conduit, or cave.

The Ice Cave has porous walls and an opening that's just the right shape to trap cold air inside the lava tube while keeping the warm air outside. This "natural icebox" is continually replenished through rainfall and snowmelt that freeze upon contact with the icy floor, according to the Ice Cave's website.

Bandera Volcano is also remarkable, as it represents one of the best and most accessible examples of a cinder cone volcanic eruption in North America. This type of eruption is short but explosive, with sprays of lava that crystallize in the air before landing on the ground. This results in steep cones covered in loose fragments that make it hard for anyone to climb some of the volcano's vents.

Adventure in Making a Short video & Quick results: Cat Video

I've been teaching courses about how to write and market your book at a nearby adult ed school, and met several local folks who have written or are writing books. One of them, an engineer named Ethan, has published 4 books for young kids and 4 teen/adult sci-fiction novels. He's a talented writer who knows how to tell a story. So we've been talking a lot since last semester and helping each other. Today's blog is about my attempt to use AI and his help.

(An image I created with AI that made a collage instead of a video!)

Ethan and I have been helping each other on our respective books, and he's good at using AI, while I am not. He created two book trailers for two of his novels, and they were really good! So, I tried ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and a few others, and none would create videos, they only create an image. 

Ethan told me about an AI to create videos, and it's a subscription service. I can see subscribing if I were a video producer, but as a layman, who needs a few videos a month, it adds up. Regardless, I told him what I was trying to create and all of the attempts I made failed.

I had written out a short script based on one of the medium readings I did, where a cat kept giving me the name of a living person they liked but did not live with. It blew the mind of the pet parent, because she never expected the cat to call out anyone outside of the family in a medium reading. Same thing happened with a dog during their reading. But pets acknlowedge everyone who shows them kindness.

Ethan surprised me by taking my short script and cat image and creating a short video for me, which is in today's blog. I'm SO thankful to Ethan, and need to figure it out myself! 

QUICK RESULTS: I uploaded the video to TikTok and You Tube. In a couple of hours it was viewed 85 times on TikTok (1 on YouTube) and I noticed that "Pets and the Afterlife 4: Messages from Spirit Cats" - shot up in sales to be the most popular sold book of the day. So, making short 30-60 second videos is apparently the way to go. For YEARS I have been doing still images and blogs with good content. It seems everyone just wants to watch a video now. 

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/MP3mx7_4If4?si=lcjpZpSefUkMND3a

HERE'S THE TEXT I PUT WITH THE YOUTUBE UPLOAD:

Learn how your pets communicate from the afterlife!

Read the "Pets and the Afterlife" series of books by Rob Gutro.

In many readings Rob has done, pets will come through with names of people they appreciate - even outside of the immediate family. **Learn what signs to watch for, and that nothing is a coincidence!**

BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Pets-Afterlife-Messages-Spirit-Cats-ebook/dp/B0BMKFVM2R?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Remembering Buzz - His Mission of Healing Began Today

Today marks 21 years ago that my dog Buzz was tragically killed by a car, and the day he began teaching me how pets communicate from the afterlife. It turned out that was his mission - to help me bring healing to many grieving pet parents around the world. That's who and what today's Blog is about.

Since then, I've written an entire series of books, and have given lectures, helping to teach pet parents how their pets communicate from the afterlife. I've also recognized signs from our 6 dogs in spirit and they have their own chapters in the books. So, although a tragic anniversary it was this day, Buzz helped me start bringing healing around the world.

One of the things it took me a while to learn was about "Angel numbers." Those are numbers that spirits give us to tell us they are around. Buzz's angel number is 222 because of the date he passed, and I see it often. Watch for your pet's angel number.

**Learn what signs YOUR spirit pets can give you.

ABOUT THE BOOKS: Pets and the Afterlife: How Pets Communicate from the Afterlife

Learn how pets in spirit have the ability to send signals to the living, and wait for us in the afterlife. Rob Gutro, medium, paranormal investigator, scientist and author of Pets and the Afterlife series (books 1,2,3 and 4) will discuss how to cope with grief after losing a beloved pet. He will identify the signs they give us and the science behind why living pets can sense entities. By the end of the talk, you'll be able to find the signs from your pets in spirit. Based on Rob’s #1 selling and award winning series of books, “Pets and the Afterlife.” 

Read the "Pets and the Afterlife" Series of books by Rob Gutro. Available on Amazon in Paperback, Kindle or Audiobook.

Idiot of the Week: Former SC lawmaker MAGA Rep. RJ May gets 17.5 years in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material

This week's idiot is another MAGA conservative who has gone to prison for distributing child sexual abuse materials. This idiot, R.J. May from South Carolina went on to limit gender affirming care, and restrict drag shows. So drag shows are awful, but what HE did isn't. Absolutely ridiculous and sickening and he wanted to have sex with children that were his own kids' ages!  GROSS  Further, he used a False Screen name to say he was Joe Biden. What a DIRTBAG Today's blog is the story from WISC-TV in Columbia, South Carolina.

(Photo: Former South Carolina state lawmaker RJ May was sentenced Wednesday on federal charges linked to child sexual abuse material.(WIS))

Ex-SC Rep. RJ May sentenced to federal prison on child sex abuse material charges

Former South Carolina state lawmaker RJ May was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison Wednesday on charges linked to child sexual abuse material. 

By Nick Neville, Michael Owens and Marley Bassett  Jan. 14, 2026 at 7:04 AM EST

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Former South Carolina state lawmaker RJ May was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison Wednesday on charges linked to child sexual abuse material.

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, who oversaw May’s sentencing, said that the abuse in this case was “more severe” than any other she has seen and that May “claimed to be an advocate for children at the State House but was their abuser behind closed doors.”

May, a Republican who represented part of Lexington County in the South Carolina House of Representatives, pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing child sexual abuse material.

The federal government recommended a 20-year prison sentence. May, meanwhile, argued for a shorter stint in prison before serving the rest of his sentence on house arrest, working on his family’s Virginia farm.

While Currie’s sentence is slightly less than what federal prosecutors want, it is far more than the five years that May had requested.

May will also be required to register as a sex offender for life and is subject to 20 years of court supervision upon his release.

Because he is a convicted felon, he loses several other freedoms, including the right to vote and the right to own a firearm.

During the sentencing today, May addressed the court and expressed remorse for his actions and apologized to his victims. He also said that it “took him 40 years to build a life he was proud of and he destroyed it in an instant.”

Several people wrote letters in support of May, including his sister, stepmother, father and fellow Midlands state lawmaker Ryan McCabe.

U.S. District Attorney Lance Crick said at a press conference Wednesday that May’s sentencing proves that no one is above the law.

Prosecutors spoke Wednesday in Columbia after former state lawmaker RJ May was sentenced to federal prison.

“This sentence, this prosecution, this investigation, clearly underscores that nobody, no one is above the law... We don’t care if you’re a lawmaker, a judge, police chief, firefighter. If you exploit children, we’re going to prosecute you in federal court,” Crick said.

CASE BACKGROUND

After being arrested and indicted in June, May originally planned to represent himself in court despite not having a law degree. His earlier attorney had suggested May was framed by his political enemies. He pleaded guilty in September, with federal prosecutors dropping five other charges as part of an agreement.

May was suspended from his elected office right after he was indicted, and resigned from his seat nearly two months later.

Used an Alias to try and Frame Joe Biden

He had admitted that while he was a sitting state lawmaker, he knowingly sent videos containing child sex abuse material to other users of the online app Kik in April of last year and that he used aliases, including “joebidennnn69,” to do it.

Prosecutors claimed May actually sent nearly 500 explicit videos over a five-day period from late March to early April of 2024, but the five to which he has now pleaded guilty are among the most heinous and disturbing.

The explicit videos were shared with users in 18 states and six countries.

(Photo: Former South Carolina state lawmaker RJ May was sentenced Wednesday on federal charges linked to child sexual abuse material.(WIS))

Investigators said they did not find any child sex abuse material on May’s devices, including his phones, laptop and hard drives. According to a memo filed by federal prosecutors, Kik compiled data from May’s account in July 2024, with content containing 265 videos depicting child sexual abuse material. The data also showed May’s account sent or received nearly 1,150 messages with other Kik users over the five-day period his account existed, with some discussing trading child sexual abuse material.

Kik’s data also included IP addresses from each message that was sent, with May’s account being used at his home’s Wi-Fi network 958 times.

Documents also stated that a forensic analysis of May’s phone showed he deleted Kik as well as other apps, Telegram, Mega and Loki Messenger, within seconds of each other in April 2024. It also showed May used Kik to discuss the use of Telegram and Loki, which prosecutors noted “both of which are applications that have frequently been used by individuals engaged in CSAM activity due to their encryption and foreign ownership.”

The memo stated May’s Mega account was registered to the name “Eric Rentling,” which was an alias he used to create a Facebook account in that name. Investigators found the photo associated with the Facebook account “appears to be a picture of the back of May’s head.”

May later admitted to using the “Eric Rentling” alias.

Investigators also found the Eric Rentling account had conversations in Spanish with women from Colombia that “consisted largely of arranging ‘meet up’ dates, time, price negotiations and rules regarding the videoing of sexual encounters, all of which are indicative of sex work.” May would also allegedly conduct Facebook searches on South Carolina political candidates while on the Eric Rentling account, including those of his most recent primary opponent.

The memo further stated May’s activity on Kik revealed “he has a sexual interest in children the same age as his own children” and that he has “a sexual interest in incest” between young children and their parents.

The federal government said in a filing that said that May was a “hub of child pornography distribution” and that he “showed no mercy toward the children he exploited.”

Prosecutors also said in a court filing that the videos May distributed “showed his interest in extreme forms of child pornography.”

“All of the victims in May’s videos were too young to protect themselves, but many were old enough such that they will remember their abuse. The content May sought out, possessed, and distributed represents some of the most degrading and damaging content that comes before any court,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing recommendation.

POLITICAL CAREER

May, 39, had represented part of Lexington County at the State House since 2021 before his resignation in August.

He was most recently re-elected in November 2024, about three months after federal investigators raided his home and seized nearly three dozen electronic devices, including cellphones, hard drives and thumb drives. By the election, the search of May’s property had become public knowledge.

U.S. District Attorney Elliott Daniels said in a press conference that May was elected to give a voice to the people in his district and represent their values, which he failed to do.

“District 88, 41,000 voters counted on him to represent them and their values in the State House. What he did with that is he exploited and abused children,” Daniels said.

He rose to prominence in Columbia as a founding member of the hardline conservative South Carolina Freedom Caucus, which has helped push the Republican Party in South Carolina further to the right.

May spearheaded the group’s strategy during its early years as it frequently clashed with members of the larger House Republican Caucus, serving as vice chair of the Freedom Caucus until mid-2024, when the group elected new leadership.

Republican John Lastinger was elected in December to fill May’s seat for the remainder of his term.

Copyright 2026 WIS. All rights reserved.

Hero of the Week: NYC Detective Saves Choking 8 Month Old Baby

This week's hero is detective in the NYC police. Last week's hero was an off-duty officer that resuscitated a child, and this week's hero is an NYC detective who did the same thing earlier in December, 2025.

Credit: Peter Quillun

NYC Detective Saves Choking 8 Month Old Baby

WPIX-TV, : Henry Rosoff, : Dec 26, 2025

In Mid-December 2025, Detective First Grade Michael Greaney was captured on a TikTok video on the side of the Bronx River Parkway, saving an eight-month-old baby with the same firm back patting technique.

Cerpa is only seven months out of the academy and said they get trained on the back slaps for young ones, along with the Heimlich maneuver and using the AED machine.

“I never thought I’d have to use it, but I’m glad that they taught us at the Academy how to use it,” he said.”Amazing feeling to know that I hope to save a little girl’s life before Christmas.”

A number of fire departments across the Tri-State, including the FDNY, offer free training and information about what to do when someone is choking. The American Red Cross is another great resource.

FOX 5 NY's Sharon Crowley spoke to NYPD Detective Michael Greaney about how he was able to save a baby from choking.

Maryland Event 3/21 and 3/22! VIP Book Discussion & Paranormal Investigation at Haunted Linville Manor, 2 lectures

This is it!  The Paranormal Maryland Event you've been waiting for!

VIP Book Discussion & Paranormal Investigation at Haunted Linville Manor!! 

Then, the next day: 2 Lectures: How Pets Communiciate from the Afterlife and Witchcraft in Colonial Maryland.

LOCATION: Linville Manor (Bowie-Johnson House), 2302 Manor Gate Terrace, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 

WHEN: Saturday, March 21 from 7:30pm to 11:59pm ET

TICKETS  $55.20 for investigation: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vip-book-discussion-paranormal-investigation-at-linville-manor-tickets-1983063991782?aff=oddtdtcreator

OVERVIEW Join co-authors Winn Brewer, Rob Gutro, and Monique Toosoon in a book discussion about the ghosts of Linville Manor followed by VIP GHOST HUNT! 

IT'S A PARANORMAL WEEKEND AT LINVILLE MANOR!

 MARCH 21- Paranormal Weekend Part I

Paranormal Investigation & Book Discussion

7:30pm to Midnight

Rob Gutro returns to Linville Manor for the first time since 2021, when he helped discover the identity of one of Linville Manor's most notable ghosts. He and Winn Brewer (owner) will discuss that investigation, various paranormal accounts of the house, and conduct book signings. They will be joined by New England Paranormal Research and Drag Artist Monique Toosoon, and will lead visitors on a one-of-a-kind paranormal investigation until the midnight hours.      

      Don't miss this event if you enjoy spooky things, availability is limited so book soon. If you are interested in continuing your investigation into the late night hours, overnight stay options are available, please email us if you would like to book a room for the night! *Guests who stay overnight will have automatic admittance to paranormal presentations the next day!

EVENT TICKETS HERE   

TICKETS $55.20  (Includes snacks, drinks, lecture, investigation!) 

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MARCH 22 - Paranormal Weekend Parl II 

Paranormal Presentations

The paranormal weekend continues with two incredible paranormal presentations!

11AM - 1PM 

Rob Gutro 

Pets & the Afterlife 

As a medium, Rob found that he had the ability to interact with those beloved pets who have departed us. Many still have messages for their former owners. Come hear some of his astounding stories and some of the revelations he was able to provide to others. Perhaps he will even detect Linville Manor's very own ghost cat: Shadow.

EVENT TICKET (for both presentations)  TICKETS $12.51 FOR BOTH TALKS TOGETHER)

2PM - 4PM 

Ron Padron 

Here There Be Witches: Witchcraft in Colonial Maryland

Spoiled milk. Fallow fields. Lamed limbs. Join local author and historian, Ron Padrón, for a lecture exploring Maryland's witchcraft history. We'll explore how colonists dealt with the threat of witches among them, from the superstitions that fueled allegations to the legal system designed to bring them to justice. This lecture also includes a deep dive into the life and death of the only person in Maryland history legally executed for witchcraft. 

EVENT TICKET (for both presentations)

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GUESTS ALSO HAVE THE OPTION TO STAY OVERNIGHT - Please contact linvillemanor@gmail.com for overnight availability and pricing, which will also permit guests to continue investigating past midnight. 

*EVENTS ON Sunday, March 22nd (next day) will include presentations by Rob Gutro regarding Pets and the Afterlife (11 AM) followed by a special presentation by Ron Padrón on Witchcraft in Colonial Maryland. 

This is a paranormal takeover you don't want to miss!

*Special Notes:

Guests will sign a waiver to attend.

Plenty of parking on property.

Guests should expect dark areas, steps, and wear proper shoes.

No alcohol or marijuana products are allowed at event.

Guests may smoke/vape OUTSIDE off of front porch area.

Guests agree to be respectful to property, hosts, and other guests.

There will be ghosts.

Book of the Week (to avoid): "Doomsday Clock" graphic novel

This week's Book of the Week was a major disappointment. It's a graphic novel collecting a limited series from DC Comics called "Doomsday Clock." It's said to be "a critically acclaimed story," and as a long-time comic book reader, I couldn't even get past Chapter/issue 3. Today's blog explains why.

The first thing that didn't sit well with me were the "Watchmen" characters.When the original Watchmen graphic novel came out about this cast of "heroes," I read it from cover to cover, and I did not like the story or the characters (except for one, Rorschach). After I read that graphic novel, a film came out. Years ago, we tried to watch the movie "Watchmen" and it was so absolutely awful that we turned it off after 30 minutes.

This "Doomsday Clock" story has been out for 6 years, and I thought I would finally try reading it to see what all the acclaim was about. I'm sorry I did. After 3 weird and dark chapters of various storylines, which did involve the only Watchmen character I liked, I couldn't wait to be done with it. I stopped reading by Chapter 4, and flipped through it to the end reading here and there. When it finally brought in the superheroes I love, Superman, Batman, etc. I was totally disinterested. Really surprising to me as someone who has been reading comics since the mid 1970s. So, I gave up.

As a side note, I've always enjoyed Geoff Johns as a writer, and love artist Gary Frank's artwork, but it couldn't save this story for me. I'm sure many others will like it, but it was too dreary, dark and I didn't even like some of the characterizations. So, This gets a big 0 out of 5 stars from me.

ABOUT THE BOOK:  Doomsday Clock: The Complete Collection

 Plot: The story follows the near-omnipotent Watchmen character, Dr. Manhattan as he manipulates the DC Universe, rewriting heroes' histories, leading to a conflict where DC heroes must stop him as the "clock is ticking."

It is a graphic novel by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, and Brad Anderson that collects the full 12-issue miniseries, merging the DC Universe with the world of Watchmen.

DISCOVERY: 1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb in Mexico features enormous owl sculpture

The president of Mexico called the discovery of a 1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb in the Oaxaca region of Mexico, the "most significant archaeological discovery in a decade." Oaxaca is a state in southern Mexico known for its indigenous cultures. This tomb featured a sculpted owl with an ominous meaning. 

(Photo: A sculpted owl, whose beak covers the painted face of a Zapotec lord, decorates the front of a 1,400-year-old tomb in Oaxaca. (Image credit: Luis Gerardo Peña Torres/INAH)

1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb discovered in Mexico features enormous owl sculpture symbolizing death

LIVE SCIENCE, By Kristina Killgrove published January 26, 2026

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a 1,400-year-old tomb from the Zapotec culture that features well-preserved details, including a sculpture of a wide-eyed owl with a man in its beak, multicolored murals and calendrical carvings.

Officials found the tomb after following up on an anonymous report of looting at the site. Their investigation revealed the "most significant archaeological discovery in a decade in Mexico," Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, announced at a Jan. 23 news conference in Spanish.

The tomb was discovered in San Pablo Huitzo, a municipality in Oaxaca in southern Mexico, in 2025. It dates to about A.D. 600, when the Indigenous Zapotecs — also known as the "Cloud People" — flourished in the area. The Zapotec civilization was established around 700 B.C. and collapsed due to the Spanish conquest in 1521. However, hundreds of thousands of Zapotec-speaking people still live in Mexico today.

At the entrance to the newly announced tomb, archaeologists found a large carved owl whose beak opens to reveal the painted face of a Zapotec lord. In ancient Zapotec culture, the owl represented death and power, suggesting it held in its mouth a portrait of the ancestor the tomb honors, according to a translated statement from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Inside the tomb, a threshold between two chambers boasts an elaborately carved doorway. The top has a horizontal beam made of stone slabs engraved with "calendrical names" — a naming system in which deities and important people were given a specific symbol associated with their birth date. Flanking the doorway were engraved figures of a man and a woman, perhaps representing ancestors buried in the tomb or guardians of the palace, according to the INAH statement.

(Photo: Inside the tomb, there is a chamber flanked by carved male and female figures. (Image credit: Luis Gerardo Peña Torres/INAH)

The walls of the burial chamber preserved multicolored murals in white, green, red and blue. They depict a funeral procession of people carrying bags of "copal," a tree resin that was burned as incense during ceremonies in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.

The highly decorated tomb is an "exceptional discovery due to its level of preservation and what it reveals about Zapotec culture: its social organization, its funerary rituals, and its worldview, preserved in its architecture and mural paintings," Claudia Curiel de Icaza, Mexico's secretary of culture, said in the statement.