Have you ever heard of the phone app, Randonautica? It’s a create-your-own-adventure-meets-Magic-8-Ball kind of experience. Open the app, set an intention, and the app generates a random place. You walk, bike or drive there and the final destination will match your intention. YouTube has countless videos, some fake, others real, documenting the experiences of Randonauters. Some raise the hair on the back of your neck, others are life-affirming, while a couple have led to homicide detectives being called. All of that and more have lent an urban legend type status to Randonautica. I downloaded the app and gave it a try. From the inspiration behind its creation, to the polarizing founder, to the random number generator used, to the mystical element of setting an intention before you hit the discover button to influence the final destination, let’s get into it!

Sources and Materials: 

Overview of Randonautica on WikiWands

https://nationalpost.com/news/world/teens-filming-a-tiktok-find-dead-body-in-suitcase-after-using-popular-exploring-app-randonautica 

https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/what-s-randonautica-and-why-is-it-so-popular/story

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/07/randonautica-app-tiktok-body-reddit-quantum/614401/

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/project-stargate.html?safari=1

https://www.qualtrics.com/brand-experience/ai-marketing-research/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/daniellaemanuel/randonautica-weirdest-experiences

https://psychologycorner.com/randonautica-a-dark-phenomenon-predictive-of-a-dangerous-future-adventure-game-analysis/

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Season Two kicks off with a mystery that’s been speculated about across the globe for a handful of years, and has been allegedly solved by a doctor on TikTok. There’s a dedicated Wikipedia page, compelling Vox article, whose phenomenon is helping to solve a strange case in Australia, and begins a stone’s throw away from my corner of Washington state.

I’ve been compelled to track this mystery since the first foot washed up on the shores of a Canadian island fifteen years ago. Recently, though, when a doctor professed to solve the mystery once and for all on TikTok, I still scratched my head. Even today, when I googled the Salish Feet Mystery, my stomach hurt thinking of the people, maybe as many as 21 as of this recording, who passed away and part of them washed up on the coastlines of Washington state and British Columbia. These are real people that lived and died, and in all other tellings of it, that’s been missed. That’s why I felt I needed to tell their story. 

There’s a cluster of picture-perfect islands just a hair west of Washington state, the shape of breadfruit. One glance at the map and your brain fits the chain of islands into the greater land mass like a missing puzzle piece. Known as the Gulf Islands, they broke apart and drifted into what is now the Salish Sea, the Strait of Georgia and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 

 The islands are lush with old growth evergreens, wildflowers, high cliffs, sandy bluffs, inlets, and wide-open meadows. They hold secrets, too; abandoned homesteads, forgotten campgrounds, even the remnants of one long-forgotten cult whose leader died with the knowledge of where he’d buried gold coins buried in Mason jars. That cult leader is Brother XII and the place that may still hide the treasure is Valdes Island...

Sources and Materials:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salish_Sea_human_foot_discoveries

https://coolinterestingstuff.com/the-strange-salish-sea-foot-mystery

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/human-foot-found-in-shoe-on-vancouver-island-beach/(article after 13th foot found) 

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/18/16777724/human-feet-beach-pacific-northwest-seattle-vancouver

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Decades ago my big brother attended a conference at the University of Toronto in the dead of winter. He told me about their extensive tunnel system that connects the city and university, sparing people from having to walk above ground in the sub-zero climes. As young kids whenever we traveled over the Cascade Mountains, we begged Mom to take us on the Underground Seattle tour. From the Catacombs of Paris to rumors of underground alien bases to a town built beneath Umatilla, Oregon where immigrants were sequestered after sunset because of racist laws of old, I’m hooked. What else lies beneath our feet? 

This week we'll explore a cross-section of earth beneath bustling NYC then explore other secrets beneath the surface across the globe. By the episode's conclusion, I hope you discover a curiosity for what exists beneath your feet!

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The eye of the storm is eerily calm. In these tumultuous times, we need to fight our way to the center of the storm; preserve our souls from the chaos.

Live like you’re dying, except you aren’t. You are living with intention. It’s finding and remaining in that calm, steady eye of the storm seat as the world around us erupts in chaos. It is keeping the peace within, which is good for us as well as our families and communities.


https://www.powerofpositivity.com/7-ways-to-discover-peace-in-a-crazy-world/

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Stones. They can be the ultimate precious treasure or most dire punishment. They can be cursed or blessed, bring luck or fortune, found in the bellies of goats or on long stretches of beach. Odds are you are wearing a stone, whether as a symbol of eternal love or as a protection, or simply because it is pretty against your skin.

I became interested in stones while I was writing my YA trilogy, the Josie Jameson series, which is about witches that derived their magic from stones imbedded in their hearts. Interested is too light a word, obsessed is more accurate. Cursed stones; mythical stones; magical stones; properties; enchantments; stone lore and legends. Every culture on the planet has stories of stones that have come to life, endowed someone with power, predicate the end of the world if they are harmed; mark the entrance to a sacred place or portal to another world, and more.

I'll share some facts and tales of high strangeness. Hopefully when we part, you’ll never look at stones the same way again.

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Today we are talking about the phenomenon that is the human soul and I’d like to begin with an observation. As a species, we humans aren’t so good at dealing with things we cannot touch or measure, are we? I found a list on Listverse of the top ten images of invisible things. 

I’m struck with how many of them weren’t visible until technology caught up to the point we were able to capture these once thought invisible phenomenon. How is the soul any different? Chances are if you’re a listener, I’m preaching to the choir. But we are witnessing a time when doctors and scientists are becoming comfortable with the unseen, largely agreeing that the human conscience is real and that we are only now finding ways to document and study it further.

This episode will cover the inception of naming a soul, the search to define the soul, the science behind proving a soul exists, the dark night of the soul, and more!


Show Creators and Social Media Links:

Art Director: @NorasUnnamedPhotos (on Instagram)

Curious Cat on Twitter

Curious Cat on Instagram

Sources and Materials:

Listverse’s Top Ten Things that are Invisible: https://listverse.com/2020/10/16/top-10-images-of-invisible-things/

https://seekerproject4se.org/2022/03/24/what-is-the-soul-does-the-soul-exist-proofs-for-the-human-spirit/

Definition of the Soul and origins of the term

https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/brain-science/research/allen-institute-brain-science/

 Quantum Physics of the Soul https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xeh001ptDgo

Deepak Chopra Consciousness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erSd5xep30w

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/biocentrism/201112/does-the-soul-exist-evidence-says-yes

Article titled, “The Science of Dying” https://www.dw.com/en/the-science-of-dying/a-48372592

Scientific American article, Physics and the Immortality of the Sou

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I’ve become somewhat obsessed with Joseph Campbell lately. I found a copy of The Power of Myth and have been pouring over it these last weeks. Each paragraph blows my mind! He speaks of feminine mythos that were displaced by masculine mythos, and it got me thinking, this in-between torture we’re in the midst of? It is because of an imbalance between feminine and masculine energies.

Feminine and masculine energies have nothing to do with gender. We all have feminine and masculine energies in our bodies. All genders can tap into BOTH energies, though it’s common for most to have a more dominant energy, but this can shift day to day. Both have positive and negative attributes and our best life is when we seek balance between the two in all things at all times.

As we seek balance, it is IMPERATIVE THAT WE DON’T BURN DOWN, DIMINISH OR SUPPRESS the masculine. That will not result in balance. In fact, that's exactly how we got into the current mess we're in now. By the end of this episode, I hope you learn to embrace all parts of yourself and find that the balance between masculine/feminine is your superpower.

Show Creators and Social Media Links:

Art Director:  @NorasUnnamedPhotos (on Instagram) 

Curious Cat on Twitter

Curious Cat on Instagram

Host, Jennifer Hotes, on Twitter


Show Sources and Materials:

Medium Article: https://medium.com/thrive-global/learn-the-difference-between-masculine-and-feminine-energy-ff1c14366aed

https://www.chopra.com/articles/how-to-balance-and-harmonize-masculine-and-feminine-energies

https://chopra.com/articles/how-to-balance-your-female-and-male-energy

The Five Visions of Nikola Tesla 

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This episode will inform your journey if you are facing an end of life time with your pet. They don't have words, so we will dive into how to assess their quality of life, their joy or pain, and how best to nurture them through their final days.

It's a subject I know intimately; I’m in the midst of this for the third time, and wanted to share the experience in case you face this in the future. Because our pets don’t have voices, we must make the best guesses we can about their pain, their will to live, and their desire to cross the rainbow bridge. I don’t have all the answers, far from it, but I’d still like to offer up my experiences so that you don’t feel alone when you face this.

I’m currently in the throes of pet hospice for our 19-year-old Maine Coon, Romeo. He’s been losing weight fast these last few months. His body has a tough time tolerating food. At his last check up, the just-out-of-vet-school-doctor couldn’t wrap her brain around end of life care. When she noted his feather weight and tooth situation she began to write down a litany of tests she’s recommend to get to the bottom of Romeo’s poor health. “He’s nineteen years old.” That didn’t sink in. We asked about quality of life. How, since Romeo can’t speak, do we know that he’s not suffering more than he’s thriving?

Show Creators and Social Media Links:

Art Director: @NorasUnnamedPhotos (on Instagram)

Curious Cat on Twitter

Curious Cat on Instagram

Host, Jennifer Hotes, on Twitter

Show Resources and Materials:

https://www.lapoflove.com/blog/end-of-life-care-and-euthanasia/quality-of-life-assessment-a-critical-tool-for-your-senior-pet 

https://www.cinderrockvetclinic.com/site/blog/2021/09/27/assessing-senior-pet-quality-of-life

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3760804/After-Bel-Mooney-revealed-dog-came-death-sceptics-ask-dead-pets-really-come-comfort-owners.html

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While most think of cemeteries as great places to whip out ghost hunting tools, not so long ago people picnicked in graveyards, making a day of it.  Yes, these greenscapes offer much more than potential jump scares. Each grave holds the story of someone that lived, struggled, failed and prevailed. The tombstones are bookmarks. There is symbology on the graves that, if you take the time to decipher, unlock a secret language that adds depth to your understanding of local history and lore. From the tragedy of the Spanish Flu to tragic fires to the flower-cloaked graves of Hollywood-types, cemeteries have no entrance fee. In fact, the grandest cemeteries across the US were planned and developed by some of the preeminent landscape architects of our time. My personal favorites, though, are the ones you hear about in whispers at a local coffee shop, where the graves have been grown over with weeds and ivy and the trees above drip with moss. 

I’ve been obsessed with cemeteries since I was a kid. It all began when my mom needed to attend night classes. She hired an unusual babysitter. The lady was nice enough, but she was the daughter of a cemetery caretaker which meant we stayed at a cottage in the middle of Pasco Cemetery  while she watched us.

From the history of cemeteries, to burial customs, tombstone symbology, and an overview of cemeteries you MUST visit before you, well, need a cemetery...I promise you'll learn something new.

Show Creators, Social Media Links and Sources:

Art Director: @NorasUnnamedPhotos (on Instagram)

Curious Cat on Twitter

Curious Cat on Instagram

Host, Jennifer Hotes, on Twitter

Links to Sources and Materials:

Thomas Sherman Ambrose interred at Preston Cemetery on FindAGrave.com.

https://thefield.asla.org/2022/02/10/mountain-view-cemetery-oakland-california-an-early-olmsted-design/ 

https://oakwoodniagara.org/history-of-the-rural-cemetery/

Chinese Repatriation of Bones

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Transfigurers, wordless communicators, timekeepers. I’m not talking about Dumbledore from Harry Potter fame, no. Trees.

Trees. They are time-keepers, displaying the changing of the seasons, even in the time of high strangeness we just woke from, lockdowns, when being frozen in place was dissociative.

There are trees massive enough to drive a car through, whose rings count back to a time when the land they inhabited wasn’t the United States, not yet and bore witness to the deaths and births of millions. Their complex root systems extend as wide and deep below the surface as their canopies stretch across the sky. Their roots intermingle with neighboring plant life, conveying complex information beneath the Earth’s surface like an Old School world wide web. 

Trees. They transfigure carbon dioxide into oxygen. Their branches, leaves, trunks, and roots harbor entire ecosystems. Their timbers have been used to build cities. Their leaves are energy factories. Their chemistry have brought us medicines. They provide us with food, shelter, warmth; and if you’ve ever stood in a forest or grove and just listened, you’ve heard them rustle, flutter, groan, creak and sigh. Some cultures believe them to be elder spirits. There are stories about many that stretch the bounds of our imaginations. 

Show Creators and Social Media Links:

Art Director: @NorasUnnamedPhotos (on Instagram)

Curious Cat on Twitter

Curious Cat on Instagram

Sources and Materials:

The Ancient Magick of Trees by Gregory Michael Brewer on IndieBound

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/04/993430007/trees-talk-to-each-other-mother-tree-ecologist-hears-lessons-for-people-too

https://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/lumber/medicinal-trees

https://thesunlightexperiment.com/blog/2018/6/7/9-famous-examples-of-drugs-that-came-from-plants

PBS documentary, Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness

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