HAPPY EGG DAY!

 

Manly P. Hall: Easter Lecture 1984: The Resurrection Mystery

 Manly P. Hall, 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Freemason and author of such important books as THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES (1928) and THE SECRET DESTINY OF AMERICA (1944), discusses "The Resurrection Mystery" in the lecture below... 

The Unofficial History of BLACK CAT MYSTERY MAGAZINE

A few weeks ago, acclaimed mystery writer Michael Bracken devoted a blog post to the unofficial history of BLACK CAT MYSTERY MAGAZINE, which, until very recently, was published by Wildside Press. The final issue was released in September of 2025. Since BLACK CAT MYSTERY MAGAZINE was hands down one of the best crime noir magazines of the past ten years, I was extremely proud to have sold my 13,000-word novelette “The Loser" to Michael Bracken, who took over the editing reins with issue #5. I was even prouder when he took it upon himself to nominate "The Loser" for a Derringer Award in the "Best Novelette" category. The Derringers, of course, are the annual honors given out by the Short Mystery Fiction Society to recognize excellence in mystery and crime fiction.

"The Loser" is a crime noir story based loosely on an actual murder committed by someone I knew back at Kurt T. Shery High, a continuation school in Torrance, California. The novelette appeared in issue #6 and was later reprinted in my debut short story collection, CRYPTOPOLIS & OTHER STORIES (which is currently on sale for only ten dollars if you purchase the book directly from the publisher, Lethe Press). Electronic copies of BLACK CAT MYSTERY MAGAZINE #6 are still available from Wildside Press right HERE. I recommend checking out Michael Bracken's February 24th post entitled "Sixteen Lives," which briefly charts out the rise and fall of one of the last great print mystery magazines. 

 

 

DAILY BEAST on Iran Speech Flop

From Annabella Rosciglione's 4-4-26 DAILY BEAST article entitled "Trump Schemes to Make His Goons Pay for Iran Speech Flop":

President Donald Trump is reportedly plotting drastic moves within his Cabinet to distract from his own sinking approval rating and perceived loss of control in Iran.

“A shake-up to show action is not a bad thing, is it?” one unnamed White House official told Reuters of potential firings to come.

The breaking point for Trump, according to sources who spoke to Reuters, was his prime-time address to the nation earlier this week turning out to be a complete flop.

“The speech did not accomplish what it was supposed to,” another official was quoted saying, noting the president’s dwindling support as economic issues persist amid the war.

Making big personnel changes within his inner circle would at least force a change in news headlines, said another official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

To read the entire article, click HERE. 

Who Blew Up The Guidestones?

I recommend listening to THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION'S new podcast, WHO BLEW UP THE GUIDESTONES? which delves into the mystery behind the explosive destruction of The Georgia Guidestones in the summer of 2022. This six-part documentary is hosted by journalist Tyler McBrien, who wisely shines a spotlight on the often neglected research of J. Michael Bennett (AKA Dr. Future), author of TWO MASTERS AND TWO GOSPELS (2020). Bennett definitively solved the mystery of who built The Georgia Guidestones in Christian J. Pinto's 2015 documentary, DARK CLOUDS OVER ELBERTON (2015).

To listen to WHO BLEW UP THE GUIDESTONES?, simply click HERE. 

You can listen to my previous appearances on the CONSPIRINORMAL podcast alongside J. Michael Bennett by clicking HERE and HERE.

The Cryptoscatology Top 33 Films Noir List

As I write these words, the Noir City Film Festival  is about to kick off at The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. To commemorate this annual event, I've decided to post my own "Cryptoscatology Top 33 Films Noir List" for those of you interested in exploring the seedy back alleys of cinema's dark past. If you want to freebase film noir, these movies represent the cream of the crop in terms of delivering a premium dose of crime, corruption, and conspiracy...

Edgar Ulmer's DETOUR (1945)

 

Joseph H. Lewis' GUN CRAZY (1950)

Joseph Losey's THE PROWLER (1951)

Robert Aldrich's KISS ME DEADLY (1955)

Nicholas Ray's THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1948)

Anthony Mann's SIDE STREET (1949)

Orson Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)

Roman Polanski's CHINATOWN (1974)

Jacques Tourneur's OUT OF THE PAST (1947)

Alexander Mackendrick's SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957)

John Huston's THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

David Lynch's BLUE VELVET (1986)

Curtis Hanson's L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997)

 

Don Siegel's THE LINE-UP (1958)

Billy Wilder's SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)

Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN (1949)

Charles Laughton's THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)

James Foley's AFTER DARK, MY SWEET (1990)

Fritz Lang's THE BIG HEAT (1953)

Martin Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER (1976)

Howard Hawks' THE BIG SLEEP (1946)

 

Rudolph Maté's D.O.A. (1950)

Orson Welles' THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1947)

 

 Joseph H. Lewis' THE BIG COMBO (1955)

 

Anthony Mann's RAW DEAL (1948)

Ulu Grosbard's STRAIGHT TIME (1978)

Orson Welles' THE STRANGER (1946)

Robert Siodmak's THE KILLERS (1946)

Irving Lerner's MURDER BY CONTRACT (1958)

Samuel Fuller's SHOCK CORRIDOR (1963)

Fritz Lang's MINISTRY OF FEAR (1944)

Robert Siodmak's PHANTOM LADY (1944)

 

Samuel Fuller's THE NAKED KISS (1964)

Drone Attack on U.S. Soil

Here's a brief excerpt from Stephen Bryen's 3-22-26 ASIA TIMES article entitled "Sophisticated Drones Attacked Louisiana’s Barksdale Bomber Base" (hat tip to Steven Snider for bringing this report to my attention):

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, in Bossier Parish not far from Shreveport, was attacked by drone swarms during the week of March 9. The attack disrupted B-52H aircraft launches in support of Operation Epic Fury against Iran. It is the first time a US airbase was temporarily put out of operation in wartime, something that never happened even in World War II.

Each wave forced the Air Force to halt operations and send its personnel to shelters. Barksdale is the command hub of the US Air Force Global Strike Command. Not only are B-52s based there, but the base is part of America’s nuclear triad. It shelters long range nuclear cruise missiles (such as the AGM-86B) and will soon house a new Long Range Standoff cruise missile. Shelters and storage sites for the new missiles are under construction.

The only other significant US airbase for B-52s is in Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Both bases are supporting Epic Fury. The aircraft can either fly to the UK and then on to Iran, or (as they did during the period when the UK blocked them) fly directly from Barksdale to Iran, a very long mission requiring eight in-air refuelings.

The drone waves lasted around four hours each day, an extraordinarily long loiter time for a drone. It is not known if the drones were fixed wing or quadcopter types, or how they were powered (liquid fuel or electrical). Each wave consisted of 12 to 15 drones, and the drones flew with their lights on, intentionally making them visible.

Barksdale AFB does not have air defenses, nor does it have fighter jets that can take down drones.

The airbase does have some electronic countermeasures that were designed to disable GPS and the datalinks between the drones and their remote operators. The electronic countermeasures failed to work.

The drones themselves may have been autonomous or semi-autonomous, and operated in ways suggesting the drones were equipped with multiple sensors that directed the behavior of each drone over the base and in response to attempts at jamming...

To read the entire article, click HERE.