Some people really have balls!
Changing a light bulb high above Detroit.
Doing the same on top of the Empire State Building.
Standing on top of the spire of Wilshire Grand Tower in Los Angeles.
Changing light bulb on top of spire at One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower). 1,776 feet up.
QAnon is a movement started on social media made up of conspiracy theorists who believe the wildest things. They are hardcore supporters of Donald Trump. And Trump said he doesn’t know much about them, “but they like me”. For Trump no matter how looney any group is, if they like him, he likes them.
Back to the convention:
The deadly Capitol siege was fueled by far-out conspiracy theorists, including Ashli Babbitt, a QAnon supporter fatally shot by police as she tried to breach a barricaded doorway. Meanwhile, federal investigators are still looking into the belief system of Anthony Quinn Warner, who made statements about a conspiracy of lizard people taking over the planet before the explosion that damaged 41 buildings and injured three people in Nashville, Tennessee, on Christmas Day.
Many are scratching their heads. Why are people embracing such bizarre ideas?
The notion of shape-shifting, blood-sucking reptilian humanoids invading Earth to
control the human race sounds like a cheesy sci-fi plot. But it’s actually a very old trope with disturbing links to anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic hostilities dating to the 19th century.
Bonkers? Sure. Harmless? Definitely not.
Law enforcement sources say Warner’s writings indicate his interest in a number of conspiracy theories — including the lizard people takeover. He may even have had a pastime of hunting such aliens in the park. Before the blast, Warner sent packages to friends filled with material expounding on his bizarre worldview. They included a letter that began “Hey Dude, You will never believe what I found in the park.”
The world-ruled-by-lizard-people fantasy shot to prominence in recent years in part through the ramblings of David Icke, a popular British sports reporter-turned-conspiracy theorist known for his eccentric ideas.
Icke would have you believe that a race of reptilian beings not only invaded Earth, but that it also created a genetically modified lizard-human hybrid race called the “Babylonian Brotherhood,” which, he maintains, is busy plotting a worldwide fascist state. This sinister cabal of global reptilian elites boasts a membership list including former President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Mick Jagger.
Mick getting medical attention in the Nevada desert after a very long jog.
This nonsense is espoused by a variety of internet conspiracy-mongers, including far-right, Trump-loving QAnon adherents, one of whom was accused in 2019 of murdering his own brother because he thought he was a lizard. As many as 12 million Americans believed in this lizard people conspiracy in a 2013 Public Policy Polling survey. It’s safe to assume the number is higher today.
A QAnon lizard person at the Treasure Island casino.
Condo in Winnipeg with a different design. Locally known as the UFO building.
From the Indonesian movie “The Act of Killing”.
Hercules in New York is a 1970 low-budget fantasy comedy film. It is notable for being the first feature film to star (a then-unknown) Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was about 22 years old when the film was produced. It is further notable for being one of the films that Schwarzenegger admits regretting having appeared in.
In the scene a bear escapes from the Central Park zoo. Arnie confronts the bear and the fight begins. They grapple for a while then Hercules body slams the bear. After he has the bear down Herc starts choking the furry brute and punches it into submission.
Mary Pickford (left) stands on stage with Cecil B. DeMille (center) and Bob Hope after presenting an award during the first televised Academy Awards show on March 1, 1953.
An Academy Awards staff writes the names of the winners on a chalkboard on March 20, 1952.
William Lovelace / Getty Images
Journalists type up their reports in the press room on April 11, 1962.
Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images
Singer Bobby Darin (left), actor Sandra Dee (center), and composer Harry Sukman (right) pose for a photo at the 33rd Academy Awards on April 17, 1961.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Actor Audrey Hepburn is surrounded by reporters as she shows off her Best Actress Oscar she won for her role in Roman Holiday, at the Academy Awards ceremony on March 25, 1954.
New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images
José Ferrer (center) is hugged by Judy Holliday (left) upon hearing the news that Ferrer’s portrayal of Cyrano de Bergerac had earned him the Academy Award as 1950’s Best Actor. Holliday was named as the year’s Best Actress. Gloria Swanson (right), who was in contention for the Best Actress award, jumps with joy over Ferrer’s success.
Brich / BRICH / AP/REX/Shutterstock
Actor Annette Funicello (right) and former child film star Shirley Temple (left) hold a miniature Oscar statuette at the annual Academy Awards in April 1961.
Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images
Oscar winners (left to right) Peggy Ann Garner, James Dunn, Ann Revere, and Ray Milland pose for the press at the 18th Academy Awards on March 7, 1946.
Frank Worth, Courtesy Of Capital / Getty Images
Husband and wife actors Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood attend an Oscar dinner in 1959.
William Lovelace / Getty Images
Actor Gregory Peck and his wife Veronique are photographed at the Oscars ceremony on April 11, 1962.
Jack Albin / Getty Images
Actor Patty Duke holds her Oscar statuette and her pet chihuahua, Bambi, while seated next to Andy Prine during the Academy Awards afterparty on April 1963.
Getty Images
Left: Walt Disney repairs one of four Oscars he won at the Academy Awards on April 1, 1954. Right: Award presenters Audrey Hepburn (left) and Grace Kelly (right) wait backstage at the 28th Academy Awards on March 21, 1956.
It might look like as space hopper surrounded by model helicopters, but the 16-rotor E-Volo is an entirely new kind of
helicopter – which can hover motionless in the air without input from the pilot.
Its bold engineer, Thomas Senkel, took the machine on its first manned flight this week – lasting 1 minute 30 seconds.
It’s not the first electric helicopter flight – but this is a new kind of machine, steered simply by joystick, with the pilot
sitting above the rotors. Senkel says it could revolutionise transport.
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The three inventors claim their flying machine could be used for inspecting pipelines, as an air ambulance or for taking aerial photographs – as well as just for fun.
Once they have solved the problem of how to keep it in the air for longer – and support more people – Senkel hopes it might replace helicopters for good.
It’s far easier to fly than ordinary helicopters – it’s steered by rotor speed, which is computer-controlled, so the pilot just needs to use a joystick as if playing a videogame, rather than controlling multiple complex controls at once.
Senkel describes the easy-to-use machine as ‘good-natured’ and potentially capable of replacing the helicopter in many
situations.
A one-hour flight would cost around six euros in electricity. The machine has few parts, which could wear out, meaning the
aircraft needs little maintenance.
E-volo say their aircraft is special because of the ‘simplicity of its engineered construction without complicated mechanics,
and redundant engines.’
In an emergency, it can land even if four of its 16 rotors fail. And since the propellers sit below the pilot, a safety parachute can also be deployed.
The controls could be integrated with GPS software, the three friends claim, and the machine could even automatically avoid obstacles and direct itself to predetermined locations. E-Volo have already completed several successful ‘drone’ flights with the vehicle, controlled remotely from the ground.
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