'Mermaid Girl' Dies

Ten-year old Shiloh Pepin, born with sirenomelia -- also called "Mermaid Disease" -- died this morning.

Shiloh was born with her legs fused together. Sirenomelia sufferers face many other problems: Shiloh had no lower colon, no genital organs, and only one kidney. Her kidney was only partially functional and she survived two kidney transplants. Her mom called her a "tough little thing."

When she was born, doctors told her parents she would likely live only a few hours, or days at best; this is the case with most sirenomelia sufferers. Early in October, Shiloh came down with a cold and quickly developed pneumonia. She was admitted to the hospital on October 10^th and had been in critical condition since earlier this week.

Shiloh Pepin's story was told on The Oprah Winfrey Show and other news outlets. Her fight inspired many, as can be evidenced by the comments on her Facebook page.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Mermaid Medical Association Set to Sue Kiryat Yam

A few weeks ago, we brought you the story of Kiryat Yam; the municipality is offering approximately $1 million to anyone who can "prove" the existence of a mermaid in the area, which eyewitnesses have been reporting for several months now.

On August 24^th, the municipality received a letter from a Brooklyn, NY organization calling itself the Mermaid Medical Association. The Association threatened to appeal to the International Court of Justice in Holland if Kiryat Yam does not rescind the $1 million offer within 10 days.

[The $1 million offer] badly and outrageously damages the legendary mermaid legacy.

- The Mermaid Medical Assoc.

Kiryat Yam officials said they were "shocked" by the letter and restated they are not encouraging people to hunt the mermaid, but to simply collect evidence of its existence. The offer states a photograph of the creature will suffice.

A spokesperson said Kiryat Yam intends to appeal to the Mermaid Medical Assoc. and ask them to get involved to help prove the mermaid's existence.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Israeli Mermaid?

According to officials in the Kiryat Yam principality, so many independent eyewitness reports of a mermaid have surfaced in recent weeks that they are offering $1 million to anyone who brings them irrefutable proof of the creature. (They said a photograph is enough.) 

When asked if the locale could afford such an amount, an official responded, "I believe, if there really is a mermaid, then so many people and tourists will come to Kiryat Yam, a lot more money will be made than $1m," leading many skeptics to accuse the council of creating the story to boost tourism. However, the council denied those claims, saying the eyewitness reports are detailed, independent, and cover a large area of the ocean.

Further, when directly asked if eyewitnesses might be seeing other creatures classically reported as those mistaken for such a fantastical creature (such as a dolphin or walrus) a spokesperson vehemently denied it, saying: "They say it is a female figure. It looks like a young girl."

The principality says the mermaid, which "jumps like a dolphin" and "does all kinds of tricks" before disappearing back into the waves, appears mainly at sunset. The reports, true or false, have drawn throngs of sightseers and tourists, hoping to capture a picture of what may turn out to be one of the few fisherman's tales to be believed.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Sci-Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth

Well, tonight was full of premieres on the Sci-Fi Channel -- with the season premiere of Ghost Hunters as well as the debut of a new series, Destination Truth.

I don't figure I need to say much about Ghost Hunters.  It's been proven a good, fun show -- and truly educational to anyone who has never been on a ghost hunt (a real, "professional" one).   It followed its tried-and-true formula (which isn't to say it's formulaic):

They went overseas, went dark, chatted and hunted, then did The Reveal.  Brian felt things no one else did.  But, the cool thing was that they found some evidence at both locations -- of course, this being the season premiere, that may be why this episode was shown first.  Hopefully the rest of the season will be as eventful, but like I said in an earlier post, one of the best things about this show is that they don't always find stuff.

Destination Truth was a welcome and very interesting surprise.  The host, Josh someone, really makes the show what it is: He's very passionate about what he does and he's very funny, too.  His narration is filled with pop-culture references and outright silliness, but never at the expense of the subject matter or the people with whom he is dealing.

Tonight, they traveled to New Guinea to seek proof of two uncatalogued creatures locals claim to have seen: A mermaid-like beast and what is possibly a living Iguanodon.   The most interesting thing is that they actually did uncover some evidence in the latter case!   One of the local tribes showed them bones from what is most definitely a huge animal, though it was not clear exactly what kind of animal it was.

At the end of the program, a zoologist who has been studying the local fauna and flora for decades suggested the bones might possibly belong to a saltwater crocodile, but that couldn't explain some of the other evidence they found in conjunction with the case. It also reminded me of another, possible modern-day dinosaur, which I'll get to here soon enough.

Destination Truth was a really interesting, good show, and I can't wait to see more of it!