I just recieved an odd package today. It was delivered to my home by a DHL currier. The writing was in Mr. Li's handwriting, and the return address was a park in Kyoto. All I found inside was a straight blade, approximately 42 inches in length, with what appears to be mid 1850's technique. A mettalurgical analysis however puts the time of manufacture to be in the early 1940's.

Anyone able to shed light on this? Or tell me who I am supposed to help here, and how? Or even why I am supposed to try to seek assistance on my thesis here?

I read those posts, the supposition of the misplacement of the "Japanese triangle" is quite correct, but Mr. lazlo had little to work with when he sketched it's location. Oral history and a few "unexplained" disapearances hardly map a section of ocean that size. The locals are not about to tell their families woes to a foreigner, that would violate too many taboos, and pirates from China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Indonesia are known to prowl those waters, providing a ready explanation of many dissapearances. The Discovery of the artificial nature of the Yonagumi monuments happened after Mr. lazlo's disapearance. His reasearch might not have been accurate, but it was not "bad", quite the contrary, he was remarkably close to the actual location, guided more by his theories, rather than solid evidence - proof in my mind that the theory is probably accurate.

The blade is fashioned rather like a traditional katana, but about 6 inches shorter, and without any curve whatsoever. As for the park all that was there is a small patch of green, with 3 stones side by side right in front of the trunk of a cut down tree.

Well, I am on my way to New York to attend an event, one of the speakers will be the commonalities of religion, myths and legends - those events and legends that have common representation around the world. thing like the great flood, dragons, some forms of demons, beings sent "from above" ect.

I would like to learn more about Mr. Li from those that actually knew him. I am afraid that over the years of our association, I viewed him more as an asset or resource, a source of knowledge and uncanny historical insight, than as a friend. I wish I had the ability to rectify that situation.

While I am in this country, is anyone with "special talents" willing to demonstrate them? One of the biggest hiderances of my research is the lack of subjects willing to perform in front of scientific equipment. The second largest hinderance is teh annoying tendancy of the equipment to not register or record what I see quite plainly.

Yeah, good luck with that. I mean it, too. I'm not really willing to expose myself to being studied under microscope and possibly scalpel and syringe. A lot of us aren't. Then when we are, we freeze up under the scrutiny and general air of disbelief we run into, or, as you said, our efforts can't be measured by machines.

If you want to come by next time I need to go out and deal with paranormal threats, and study and note my abilities for yourself, personally, as opposed to for the field of science, I wouldn't mind.

In the end, it's what you believe that counts, not what the scientific community acknowledges to be true.

Nevertheless, it would be helpful if we could be more public with our abilities...so again, I wish you luck in your endeavors.

Scalpel? Syringe? Do you think I am Dr. Mengele or something? Actually I am mostly looking for a scientific way to prove some of the things I have seen.

At it's most intrusive, my studies are with cameras, electromagnetic field measurement devices and a brainwave scan, oh ya and the polygraph - galvanic skin response can tell a great deal about what is going on inside a body.

I also have some specialized equipment I have been working on, but none of that seems to work quite right as of yet, I think it may have something to do with the frequencies and intensities of the energies involved, perhaps some sort inerferance from the materials in the devices, or some kind of undesired harmonic interferance.

Although I would be quite pleased to accompany you when you go out to deal with another paranormal threat, after I take some measurements and try for some photo's I may even be helpfull with dispatching such. I may not be able to perform any kind of magic, but it does work on and for me, the same is true of many "psychic" devices. If we can harness the power of the atom I am positive that we can find and understand the way "magic" and "psychic" abilities work.

I doubt that Mr. Tony would consider my research to be valid, as it is a bit "biased". I accept that there are such things and do not need proof to belive in them, I just want the proof so I can try to assemble a functional theory on how and why these things work the way that they do - a view that has made me less than popular at the university.

I'm sorry... I should've specified. My fear isn't of you cutting me open to find out what's what inside me; it's the rest of the scientific community. Some of them would be concerned about my health and best interests, I'm sure, but others would be more curious about how magic affects my biology (and vice-versa), and still others would just be interested in what allows me to wield energy the way I can. Then you'll have the "magic is evil" crowd harassing me and my families, and some of them might be in the scientific community, too, in the form of "This could be a threat against humanity!"

If being tugged in seventeen gagillion different ways doesn't rip me open, I'm sure there are a number of scientists out there who'd happily do the job themselves. I know you wouldn't intend to hurt me through your studies, but I fear the end results of those studies being performed on me.

However, I do have a fairly decent grasp of scientific theories in the field of quantum and subatomic physics. I only know them in layman's terms, as opposed to formulae and theorems with names attached to them...but I would be more than happy to discuss my theories with you.

Best to remember Ron that those damn eggheads have the most to lose if the supernatural is proven to exist. It's in their best interest for the supernatural not to exist. Not to mention that their hubris and pride won't let them see beyond their own theories.

Look at Galileo in the 15th century... People wanted so badly to believe that we were the center of the entire universe, they were willing to ruin one man's life and livelihood when he proposed something to the contrary.

It will be another cold day in Hell before the scientific community admits it was wrong on that kind of scale again.

Hell has been known to have the AC running, from time to time, but not terribly often.

I would love to be able to discuss your theories with you. As for teh desire to know how your abilities influence your biology, I will admit to an overwhelming curiosity, and would love to be able to measure for some particular phenomena that I have noted in the nueral functioning in several practitioners of kotodama, I would also like to try to measure for certain brainwave patterns that I have found common with many psychics.

As for the rest of the scientific community, they can take their "verifiable, repeatable reasearch" and use it as a cranial suppository, with a rectal insertion method. If anonymity is one of the conditions of my studies of an individual, none of the visual wavelength cameras view any distinguishing features, and no information is taken other than claimed age, and a case number that is required merely so that I have a reference when I am cross referencing my data from other such trials.

Uh-huh.

That better be all. I'm a Demolitionist that takes protecting his friends VERY seriously.

Bert want big boom.

I wonder if somehow I'll end up getting hurled back in time and being the force behind the Big Bang.

Would that mean I would have a little bit of you, in me?

Note to self: If I am hurled back in time and have to create the Big Bang, put a bullet in my head instead.

Glad we see eye to eye on this one

Seriously, I do take the desires of anyone who volunteers very seriously, it may slow down my ability to have anything publishable, but what good is getting one paper published if it causes your research to come to a complete halt?

One of the reasons I use so many different sensors and cameras is that I am trying to find what types of energies on what wavelengths are associated with what type of phenomena. Due to the fact that most psychic abilities that influence the psychics own body - looks like bio feedback on an unprecedented scale - are triggered by a particular brainwave pattern that is very similar to a delta wave state I have had some success at detecting the use of such with a scanner I have designed - unfortunately the range is far too cclose for any practical aplication, about 48 inches from the head, but saves a lot of annoyance in voulonteers when those are th etypes of abilities they are demonstrating, as there is no need for a helmet, or a bunch of contacts required to recognize the trigger point, for cross reference to the other feeds.

What?! No book? And you call yourself a scientist?

I'm too busy to be probed. Bert, however, ............

Koyla, the reason I am unpublished in this feild is due to my unwillingness to comprimise on my volunteer's requests for privacy. If you want I can point you in the direction of several cross specialty papers I have authored that cover the corralations of astronomy, archeology, and anthropology.

I was being mean.

I'm not particularly interested in those papers, but I know Natasha would be.

She's buried under a pile of research today and likely tomorrow and probably Sunday, too. But you should give her a shout. She could a break, I'm sure.

Be carefull when being mean, Koyla. I am an educated woman, so along with my inteligence, I am capable of being quite cruel, it's in the genes that make the species run, you know.

Please don't hurt me.