Wednesday, October 28, 2009

5-year-old bodybuilder from Romania


Guiliano Stroe, the 5-year-old bodybuilder from Romania, has become an internet sensation as this viral video of him working out has spread like wildfire. The little guy is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for finishing the "fastest ever 10-meter walk with a weight ball between his legs in 24 seconds."


 

 

 
Questions have been raised about whether it might be unhealthy to begin lifting weights at such a young age; the practice is highly unusual. Regardless, Guiliano is capable of some incredible feats of strength

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/28/guiliano-stroe-5-year-old_n_336715.html 

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Green Building and Romania

Nokia factory in Romania one of world´s leading green buildings


Anca Enoiu

Nokia's Jucu Factory in Romania has been chosen as one of the world's leading green buildings by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).



The prestigious Gold Rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the first for a building in Romania and recognizes the major investment in innovative environmental features made by Nokia since its construction in 2007.




Jucu factory Managing Director Risto Meskus said today (Tues): "We are extremely proud to be leading the way in creating truly sustainable buildings in our operations. It is an honour that our factory in Romania has been picked as one of the world's most-sustainable buildings and Romania's greenest factory.




"This achievement demonstrates our strong commitment to, and investment in, sustainability, efficiency and environmental quality in the way we run our daily business," Meskus added.




Nokia Jucu factory is a 60 million Euro investment in Romania begun in 2007 and finished in September 2008.




Nokia is one of the most important investors in Romania in the telecommunications sector.

Law Abiding Citizen, Movie review.



I went to see this Sunday at Providence Place Cinemas 16 & IMAX (Rhode Island)


Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is a brilliant planner and inventor. One night two robbers invade his Philadelphia home and brutally kill his wife and daughter, and almost kill him. The killers are caught, and Assistant DA Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) is assigned the case. Nick is ordered by the DA to make a deal with one of the killers to testify against his partner for a 10 year plea bargain prison sentence. Clyde doesn't want Nick to make the deal, but Nick says it was too late and the deal is done. The other killer got the death penalty. After 10 years, the other killer is released from prison, and he soon ends up dead. Clyde is arrested and kind of admits to Nick that he did it. Clyde is put in jail, and he warns Nick that he must fix the broken justice system that failed him and his family or else anyone connected to his case will soon die. Even from jail, Clyde's threats become a reality, and Nick must stop Clyde before his family is next





My Opinion:

This was the Best film Crime/drama/action, Ive seen in a very long time. The film causes you to think, and think you do. The action isn't slow at any point. You might even think twice about using your mobile phone ever again. Each of the actors did a supurb job. To tell you anymore wqould give things away.







GO SEE THIS MOVIE!




THIS IS A "MUST SEE", HAVE FUN.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Boston Neck Rd, Suffield, CT Haunted Mansion

Boston Neck Rd, Suffield, CT Haunted Mansion in Ruins





Warning: This house is lived in. The place is huge, look at it from above on Google Earth, but.....the family is odd There are about 9 out building including the ruins of an old carriage house . They live like west Virginians lol, there are no fewer than 20 cars disabled and strune around the farm including old tractor trailors and yellow school buses. In its "hay day", it was a massive estate. I believe several families live in whats left of the buildings, Youve gotta look on Google Earth or Bing for an aireal view, its quite scary! Leave these people alone, or you might not come back. DO NOT go TRICK-OR-TREATING there! lol






The angle of the sun provented me from getting any side shots, this place is huge!






About Georgian Architecture:




Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom, and George IV of the United Kingdom—who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830.





General characteristics



Identifying Features (1700 - c.1780):


A simple 1-2 story box, 2 rooms deep, using strict symmetry arrangements

Panel front door centered, topped with rectangular windows (in door or as a transom) and capped with an elaborate crown/entablature supported by decorative pilasters

Cornice embellished with decorative moldings, usually dentilwork


Multi-pane windows are never paired, and fenestrations are arranged symmetrically (whether vertical or horizontal), usually 5 across

Other features of Georgian style houses can include - roof to ground-level:


Roof: 40% are Side-gabled; 25% Gambrel; 25% Hipped

Chimneys on both sides of the home


A portico in the middle of the roof with a window in the middle is more common with post-Georgian styles, e.g. "Adam"

Small 6-paned sash windows and/or dormer windows in the upper floors, primarily used for servant's quarters. This was also a way of reducing window tax.

Larger windows with 9 or 12 panes on the main floors




Schwartz pond, shot from stone bridge ifront of the house.



Colonial Georgian architecture


Georgian Architecture was widely disseminated in the English colonies of the time. In the American colonies, colonial Georgian blended with the neo-Palladian style to become known more broadly as 'Federal style architecture'. Georgian buildings were also constructed of wood with clapboards; even columns were made of timber, framed up and turned on an over-sized lathe. The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is an excellent example of Georgian architecture in the Americas.


Unlike the Baroque style that it replaced, which was generated almost solely in the context of palaces and churches, Georgian had wide currency in the upper and middle classes. Within the residential context, the best remaining example is the pristine Hammond-Harwood House (1774) in Annapolis, Maryland. This house was designed by colonial architect William Buckland and modeled on the Villa Pisani at Montagnana, Italy as depicted in Andrea Palladio's I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura (Four Books Of Architecture).


good example of a Suffield Georgian


The establishment of Georgian architecture, and the Georgian styles of design more generally, were to a large degree aided by the fact that, unlike earlier styles which were primarily disseminated among craftsmen through the direct experience of the apprenticeship system, Georgian was also spread through the new medium of inexpensive suites of engravings. From the mid-18th century, Georgian styles were assimilated into an architectural vernacular that became part and parcel of the training of every architect, designer, builder, carpenter, mason and plasterer, from Edinburgh to Maryland.




Very sad to see such a once proud property in decline.  There is a painting of this house back in its prime, at the library and ive seen it online.  I can't find it right now, but you wont believe the difference.




UPDATE!

You can see an aerial shot of this massive estate in run down condition at Bing maps, birds eye vie.  Here is the link:




While your there, drag the curser behind the house and follow the dirt farm road, endless busses and old farm equipment, its truly creepy!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

KENT PLACE MANSION II

KENT PLACE MANSION II

This is KENT PLACE MANSION! I compared the pic to known architecture. and the address matches.







In 1897 Sidney Albert Kent, a Suffield native who had returned from Chicago, offered the town a fine new building to be placed on his ancestral land across the green. The building, the first Kent Memorial Library, was dedicated in 1899. When plans for building a new library were made in the 1960's, some of the funds were raised by selling the old building to Suffield Academy to use as its library. The new Kent Memorial Library was rededicated in its new location, at the head of Mountain Road, in 1972. Warren Platner Associates, a world-renowned architectural firm, designed the library.


The library has an area of over 14,000 square feet. In addition to the book stacks, the library has a 70-seat auditorium, separate children's room, the Spencer Historical Room housing an outstanding collection of early Suffield and Connecticut books and manuscripts, and an outside courtyard. The building interior is a series of light and airy, yet warm and intimate book-walled spaces arranged around the garden court. The exterior of the building continues to evoke strong and varying opinions from residents and visitors alike as to its aesthetic qualities and whether it fits the character of the town.


Sidney Albert Kent came from a wealthy Connecticut family and was founder of the Chicago Union Stock Yard Company. His residence, one of the few remaining mansions on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Designed by famous Architects Burnham & Root. The generous window openings and the sculptured qualities of masonry materials are a precursor to the firm's later designs

OLD NEWGATE PRISON





I visited the Prison today but it was closed.  Supposedly very haunted.  Ive heard even the trails behind are filled with spirits.  I took these pictures but please visit  http://www.graveaddiction.com/newgate.html for interior shots that I was unable to get. 





NO JOKE: I took these shots on the supposed haunted hill on the rear facing side of the property. It is said that you can hear the sounds and see forms in the shadows, of former prisoners. When taking this shot I heard earie noises as if someone was walking close by. However, I was alone. I wasn't startled because it was broad day light. The odd part came when out of nowhere i was engulfed by ladybugs. They were covering my shirt, hands and trousers. Very creepy. They filled the air like a cloud of locust. It was hard not to inhale them.




This is the shot during which I heard foot steps. Odd. The sun was cut off by the trees. Im not sure what to make of it but its the only time I heard the noise and its the only shot that came out cloudy.





In this shot, you see not birds in the far off distance but ladybugs up very close to the lense.







WHAT DO YOU THINK?



I urge you to visit before the prison closes for the season on November 14th. Keep in mind, the trails and parking lot close at 4:30pm each evening.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY movie review.



After a young, middle class couple moves into a suburban 'starter' tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially when they sleep. The young couple suspects that their house is haunted by a malevolent entity. They set up video surveillance to capture evidence of what happens and find much more than they planned!




My spin:

The movie starts out slow, really slow and the cheesy "Blair-Witch" style camera work begins to wear on you but then you start to see thing!  Things that keep you watching until the films abrupt end.  You find the couples relationship to be believable which adds to the feel of the film.  I won't spoil the ending but it will drive most users to google facts about the film as well as leaving a few extra lights on.




four out of five fangs! lol Go see it, this is a MUST SEE MOVIE!

Monday, October 19, 2009

A FULL PARDON FOR WAR CRIMES.




The effect of a full pardon in the Vampir Metrou jurisdictions has been bestowed upon JOE PIFF on this day THE NINETEENTH DAY of OCTOBER, in the year of our Lord TWO THOUSAND AND NINE. It is said that this full pardon clears Mr. Piff from all infamy, removing all disqualifications and other obloquy, so that this pardoned person may take action for defamation against anyone who thereafter refers to him as a convict. In the Metrou Colectiv.



Two gold medals for Romanian gymnast in London



Romanian gymnast Marian Dragulescu surprisingly won two gold medals this week-end at the London Gymnastics World Championships in London.





Dragulescu, 28, won the gold medal in the floor exercise on Saturday and the gold medal in the vault on Sunday.



His success was a big surprise since he had announced his retirement after the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of neck and back problems.



The Romanian athlete had previously won gold medals in those events at the 2001 and the 2006 World Championships.




Romanian Flavius Koczi won a silver medal on Sunday in the vault, and Russian Anton Golotsutskov won bronze in the event

Monday, October 12, 2009

Jonathan Pasco's Restaurant, Ghosts or just good food?

Jonathan Pasco's


31 South Main Street, East Windsor, CT 06088




Captain Jonathan Pasco (A History)

When Jonathan Pasco was born on September 29, 1760 in East Windsor, George II sat on the the throne of England, and the thirteen original colonies--still under British control--were sixteen years from their independence. George Washington was 28 years old, and Abraham Lincoln would not be born for fifty years. America was a new and developing country and Jonathan Pasco would be a part of that development.



In 1776 Jonathan Pasco enlisted in Colonel John Patterson's Massachusetts regiment. He fought with that regiment in the battle of Trenton. The battle of Trenton, known as the Christmas campaign, was an important American victory because it renewed the spirit of the patriot forces and seriously disarranged the plans of the British. The battle was fought in the early morning of December 25, after the commander-in-chief of all the Continental forces, George Washington, crossed the Delaware River. They marched to the enemy's camp at Trenton and took the Hessians, by surprise. Nearly one thousand British prisoners were captured.




Legend contends that sometime during the Revolutionary War, Pasco and several other soldiers were captured by Indians. An unsuccessful escape attempt was made resulting in their recapture. As an example, one of the group was singled out, tortured and skinned alive. In order to establish his "parole not to escape," Pasco was given a pocketbook made of the torture victim's skin and was forced to take an Indian women for a wife. Pasco eventually did escape and returned to East Windsor. He named his second daughter Cleons, after his Indian wife. The pocketbook has been handed down through the generations.




After returning from the Revolutionary War, Captain Pasco constructed his home at 31 South Main Street in East Windsor. He married a local woman, Elizabeth Allen, and fathered eleven children while residing there.






At the age of eighty-four, Jonathan Pasco died. (August 21, 1844) He is buried in East Windsor in the Town Street Cemetery (historical name for South Main Street), only a mile south of the Pasco House. He also has a headstone in the Scantic Cemetery that commemorates his revolutionary War service.




Events and happenings occurred, history was made and changed, and Jonathan Pasco's house continues at 31 South Main Street moving through the centuries.





A Tribute

A collection of Pasco memorabilia is included in the decor of the restaurant, creating an interesting tribute to Jonathan Pasco. Pasco's decedents are scattered, but a few still remain in the East Windsor area. All have been helpful in creating the atmosphere of the restaurant and the accuracy of the history presented.







The House

The Jonathan Pasco House was built by its namesake in 1782 and completed for occupancy by his family in 1784. The original brick structure has been completely restored to serve as a restaurant dedicated to providing fine dining for dinner without altering the historical significance and traditional flavor of the Jonathan Pasco House.



East Windsor - Pasco's restaurant - movement of objects, closing doors, cold spots, etc.

I myself have eaten here twice and the food is good although I didn't see or hear anything odd.  The place is wall-to-wall Colonial decor, so its a cool place to eat.

Kent Place Mansion, Suffield Connecticut



Kent Place Mansion,




Mountain Rd, Suffield, Connecticut.






The abandoned mansion has been seen with lights on and with shadows in the windows. Even in the carriage house. Update The Carriage house has since been torn down. It is believed to be haunted by its past benefactor Sidney Albert Kent. Many occurrences of a mischievous conduct take place. Pictures fall and break. Light fixtures fall. Dogs scared of certain areas only at certain times. Lights mysteriously go on when they were known to be checked as off. Back hall too second floor has cold chilling sensation at times.






UPDATE:


WARNING THIS IS A PRIVATE HOME NOW WITH NEW OWNERS, DO NOT SNOOP!

I drove by and took this picture

A HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT



Southington - Meridan Ave. - It is an old funeral home. It is said that when it closed down a family moved in to the house, strange happening started occurring. The 2 boys lived in their room in the basement, which used to be the Morgue. The boys reported seeing people working on bodies of dead people, and one boy was possessed by a demon. They had to perform an exorcism on the house. Some people claim that you can still see ghosts of the dead people. It is also said that the sign that used top have the name of the funeral home next to the door, has been washed, painted over, everything, but it is still there.








http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/hauntinginconnecticut.php

Holloween hits CT and it starts all over again.




SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (AP) — A Hollywood horror film that depicts the alleged haunting of a former funeral parlor in central Connecticut is turning into a nightmare for the home's current owners and their neighbors.






The movie, "A Haunting in Connecticut," is long out of theaters but curious fans are already making a beeline for the Southington home that inspired the movie.




"It's just been really, really stressful," said Susan Trotta-Smith, who bought the home 10 years ago with her husband. "It's been a total change from a very quiet house in a very quiet neighborhood to looking out the window and seeing cars stopping all the time. It's been very, very stressful, and sometimes worrisome."



The family has never seen anything unusual inside their five-bedroom, two-family white wood-frame house and does not believe the property was haunted.



"It's got beautiful woodwork, and there is a nice warm feeling to the house," Trotta-Smith said. "Because it was a funeral home, the upstairs apartment is much more spacious. It's like two full houses, and it has a beautiful yard, too."



The movie, starring Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner and released by Lionsgate, is loosely based on stories that revolved around the house in the 1980s.




The residents at the time, the Snedeker family, claimed their son would hear strange noises in his basement bedroom, which once held casket displays and was near the old embalming room. He also claimed to see shadows on the wall of people who were not there. A niece visiting the home said she felt hands on her body as she tried to sleep, and her covers levitated.



The family brought in Ed and Lorraine Warren, self-described paranormal researchers, who became famous for documenting the alleged "Amityville Horror" haunting of a home on Long Island.



Lorraine Warren says she felt an evil presence in the Southington home and experienced the haunting herself when she spent a night there.




"In the master bedroom, there was a trap door where the coffins were brought up," she said. "And during the night, you would hear that chain hoist, as if a coffin were being brought up. But when Ed went to check, there was nobody down there."



Warren, whose husband died in 2006, has nothing to do with the movie. She said the house was "cleared" of the evil presence after a seance in 1988. A book and a television documentary followed.



The current owners, who rent out part of the home to another family, have removed the street number from the house and posted "no trespassing" signs. Trotta-Smith says they are concerned about the four children who live there.



"Most people are respectful. They stay on the road. They might take a picture," Trotta-Smith said. "But we have had a few problems with people kind of rudely coming up to the door and scaring our kids, telling them the house is haunted."



Police have added extra patrols to the neighborhood.




"There are creatures looming in the night but not inside the house," Southington police Sgt. Lowell DePalma said. "They happen to be people who are trespassing on the property, looking in windows and that kind of stuff. People are going to be disappointed. There are no ghosts."



Alison Taylor, 37, drove from her home in East Hartford with her camera after seeing a show about the haunting on the Discovery Channel and hearing about the new movie.



"I'm very intrigued," she said. "I figured since it was close, I could come. A lot of people are so skeptical, but I'm not. I'm sure some things are made up to make the movie look better, but I think it's great."



Katherine Altemus, who lives across the street, shoos curious onlookers away. She believes the ghost stories were a hoax.



"It's disgraceful," she said. "None of the haunting took place, and now it's ruining the lives of that wonderful young family that lives there."



Calls to the Snedeker family were returned by the film production company, who said they would attempt to arrange an interview.



Film producer Andrew Trapani said he believed the mother, Carmen Snedeker, was very credible, and believes the film does a good job depicting what her family went through. The movie was filmed in Teulon, Manitoba.



He said the names of the family and town in the film were fictionalized, in part to try and keep unwanted attention away from the real home. The Snedekers and Southington are identified on the film's Web site.



"We certainly didn't set out to upset anyone or have anyone show up at their home," he said. "I think in this case, this particular supernatural haunting had a much larger following than even I had anticipated."



Trotta-Smith said she's working with the police but has no plans to put up a fence. She said she just wants a normal life in the house, but she's not sure that will be possible if the movie becomes a big hit.



"I'm a little worried about this Halloween because I imagine that's when they will release the DVD and get everyone worked up again."