A 1956 picture supposedly depicting a monk sitting in the pews at Eastry Church, Kent, England.

Would I Lie For You?

Would I lie about a “haunting” for my 15 minutes of fame? No. I am not a skeptic; I’m a believer. However, I am so deeply rooted to my beliefs that I don’t have to lie. I’m also a seeker of truth.

Don’t get me wrong. I blog to be read. I co-host a weekly radio show (Archer Paranormal Radio) to be heard. And I hope to convert just one person. Dangle the reality TV carrot and I will bite. Hint that I should over-embellish and I’ll refuse to swallow.

There is absolutely no reason to embellish and to stretch the truth. Some places are simply not haunted. When the Ghost Radar is silent, it’s S-I-L-E-N-T. Rarely do I capture EVPs. I get a lot of orbs; however, I…

A reader who prefers not to be named sends in this first-hand account of yesterday’s march-and-melée at the UCV Campus.

It began with the usual confusion about the starting point and route; uncertainty has become a mainstay in recent weeks of street mobilizations. Sophisticated production and days-in-advance mass publicity for these events are a thing of the past: there is no time or money to build tarimas or rent audio equipment. Instead, we run on tactically-convened, stripped-down, home-made rallies that tend to change at the last-minute.

Art. 43 of the Law on Political Parties, Public Meetings and Protests clearly states that every resident of this Republic have the right to free assembly, and need only notify the municipal authorities of plans to hold a public gathering, 24 hours prior to said event. To notify, as you may have gathered, is quite different from to ask for permission, which…

As I flit through the social media and romance channels, I hear so much about celebrating “real” women in romance literature. Heck, I have spouted off on this topic myself. However, it occurred to me that I’ve never read anything about celebrating real men.

Does it seem strange to do so? After all, romance is all about those buff, impossibly-delicious dudes who curl our toes. You know, the kinds who don’t exist so we authors have to create them.

Notwithstanding the perfect abs, full heads of hair and penchant for saving their women, I’d be willing to bet my last dollar that most of these unreal book boyfriends had their origins in some very real men. And why not? When I consider the real men who’ve been in my life, I’m struck by a few things.

Yes, they sometimes aggravate us. Sometimes they sit on the couch too much and…

Warning: Reporting what’s happening in Venezuela could be hazardous to your health.

Much has been said about the enormous pressure the government has applied on both domestic and foreign media in the current crisis, but that’s not the entire story. Many journalists on the ground have become direct targets of violence over the last few days

According to this list released on Sunday by the National Press Workers’ Union (SNTP), at least 62 press workers (including camera operators, photographers, production crew members, and others) have been victims of abuse and/or harassment by either police forces, the National Guard, irregular armed groups or protesters:

Most victims work for Venezuelan news outlets, yet the number of international correspondents involved in those incidents is considerable. From France Presse to Deutsche Welle to CNN en Español, from Colombia’s Caracol to Brazilian TV channel SBT, it looks like the pressure against international media…

Jimmy Vargas’s mom says goodbye.

This morning, around the same time Táchira State Governor enjoyed an easygoing chat from an air-conditioned Caracas radio booth about how not a single gocho has died during protests on his watch, Jimmy Vargas, 34, was on his way to his charcutería job, as usual. Finding the mall where he worked besieged by the National Guard, he sought shelter from the tear gas and rubber pellets that the Guards was firing indiscriminately into the second floor of the building.

One mis-timed peek out to see what was happening cost him his life. According to eye-witnesses, he fell to his death from the second story balcony after being hit in the face with rubber buckshot (perdigones) and a tear gas cannister and losing consciousness. Once he hit the ground, Jimmy´s lifeless body was repeatedly kicked by the same Guards who shot him, until the…

San Cristóbal’s new normal

No city in Venezuela has been hit harder by the recent violence than San Cristóbal, the city of 650,000 up in the Andes where the current bout of protests started 18 days ago.

Last night, the authorities shut down internet service to the whole city, which explains why so few YouTube videos have emerged from  San Cristóbal. The internet blackout caused serious fears about what the town’s people could be facing, so today we reached out to contacts in San Cristóbal to try to get the story.

How It Started: Protesting Sexual Assault

San Cristóbal is a college town, home to half a million andeans and a three large universities (UNET, ULA, UCAT). It’s pretty much where this whole protest movement started. On February 2nd, after over a year of asking the state government for improved security measures to curb rampant crime on campus, a freshman…

San Cristobal on Tuesday night

Dear International Editor:

Listen and understand. The game changed in Venezuela last night. What had been a slow-motion unravelling that had stretched out over many years went kinetic all of a sudden.

What we have this morning is no longer the Venezuela story you thought you understood.

Throughout last night, panicked people told their stories of state-sponsored paramilitaries on motorcycles roaming middle class neighborhoods, shooting at people and  storming into apartment buildings, shooting at anyone who seemed like he might be protesting. People continue to be arrested merely for protesting, and a long established local Human Rights NGO makes an urgent plea for an investigation into widespread reports of torture of detainees. There are now dozens of serious human right abuses: National Guardsmen shooting tear gas canisters directly into residential buildings. We have videos of soldiers shooting civilians on the street. And that’s just…