Today in History: Oct. 20

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

According to Roger Patterson and his friend, Robert “Bob” Gimlin, the 950-plus frames of film they captured of a hairy creature wandering around in the great outdoors was shot on this date in 1967. The “Bigfoot film” is 49 today.

As with everything else that concerns this story, even the actual date of the filming remains unverified. Further, the original film stock itself was lost at some unrecorded point in time as it changed hands between film companies that tended to go out of business, as small independent film companies often do.

Was the film an honest-to-goodness recording of a real Bigfoot, a creature that has never been proved to exist? Or was it an honest recording of an honest-to-goodness attempt by otherwise unknown parties to play a hoax on the filmmakers? Or were the filmmakers in on a hoax and happy participants in it?
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An Update About Shawkan

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Update, October 19, 2016: Earlier today, Mehmet Abu Zeid, brother of Mahmoud Abou Zeid, the Egyptian photographer known as “Shawkan,” reported that when he visited the jail where his brother is being held, he was informed that his brother is not at the jail.

Mehmet informed my contact that he is at present waiting to be contacted by jail authorities and anticipating information regarding Shawkan’s current whereabouts and condition.

Speculation about this situation is rampant because speculation is easy. Is there any meaning behind this move? Quite probably. Is it good news or bad news? No one yet knows, but individuals close to Shawkan are pursuing the truth today, and I am making efforts to learn what they have learned and report it here.
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‘The Flower’

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

George Herbert (1593–1633) was a priest who composed devotional poems as a hobby. As he approached his early death (age 39), he collected his poems and submitted them for publication.

That collection, The Temple, went through eight editions in the next few decades, which speaks to its popularity in 17th century England. In a tumultuous era, his voice—calm, assured, embracing doubt as a necessary part of devotion—was a beloved one.

“Who would have thought my shriveled heart / Could have recovered greenness?” he asks in “The Flower.” He adds, “It was gone / Quite underground.” The poem, after the jump:
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