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Indiana Jones, the Nazi Occult Bureau, and The Grail Conspiracies

Holy Grail Nazi science Uncategorized No Comments

I stumbled on the article, “Did Nazis really try to make Zombies? The real history behind one of our weirdest WW II obsessions” by Noah Charney in Salon August 22, 2015.http://www.salon.com/2015/08/22/did_nazis_really_try_to_make_zombies_the_real_history_behind_one_of_our_weirdest_wwii_obsessions/

I almost skipped it because Zombies never have been my thing, but I recognized Noah Charney’s name as a respected and prolific author on art and related history (more on him later) so I took a look.

Glad I did.  I was already familiar with most of the Nazi explorations in the occult and strange science from my own research on various of my thrillers, particularly The Grail Conspiracies.

But for the “normal” person (not so well versed in this stuff!) Dr. Charney provides a brief but fascinating summary of the background on the Abnenerbe, the Nazi Occult Bureau, and some of its operations before and during the war.

(I had forgotten that an organization like the Ahnenerbe appeared in some of the Indiana Jones movies. For that background alone, the article is worth a look if you’re fascinated by these things—or just liked the Indiana Jones movies.)

As to the question posed, Did the Nazis really try to make zombies? Charney’s response ranges over related issues, including the weird experiences  of Dr. Josef Mengele, as well as other research on various chemicals and pills to increase stamina.

There is also a segment on the background on the George Clooney film,  Monuments Men, as the search for stolen art linked in a weird way with corpses apparently hidden away to rise again with the rise of a new Nazism. (Yes, the whole range of Nazi occult obsessions are, collectively, beyond weird!)

Anyway, I recommend the article. As to Noah Charney, Ph.D.: I had first come on his name as I was researching my  thriller, Infinite Doublecross, as he has written several books and articles on art theft and forgery. (Full disclosure: I’ve never met him.)  I think the best overview is via his book list on Amazon:  Noah Charney books

Japan: “Scientists develop pigs for transplants”

My books Uncategorized No Comments

Plot spoiler warning:  Not needed here, as the method in my science techno-thriller, A REMEDY FOR DEATH, takes a very different approach to human-life extension (or “life-renewal”) than mentioned in what’s to come.

“Xenotransplantation” (an experimental technology which we do not  use in A Remedy for Death) involves transplanting animal cells or even whole organs into humans to replace what isn’t working. According to this article in more than 200 pig to human xenotransplantations been performed in Russia, New Zealand and other countries. Not in Japan yet, and not clear on the United States.

To clarify, in most of those experiments the organs (or stem cells, etc.) have earlier been implanted in the carrier animal, so what comes across is –for example–a liver grown in the animal, but a liver made from human cells.

We have in fact  covered multiple related issues in this blog, among them those you’ll see at the bottom of this page. (At the moment I’m having trouble inserting links here  today–so much for the limitations of technology!)

In any case, this new article  ( http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004283766 ) refers to work on growing special pigs for the specific purpose of serving as bearers for growing organs for transplantation to humans, using especially clean environments (even as the fetuses are removed from the uterus of a mother pig), and special checking for viruses that might be carried harmlessly in the small pig but be dangerous to humans.

2 novels: one looking at pre-historic cave art in France; the other at the deeper meaning of the Holy Grail

My books Uncategorized No Comments

My novel THE GRAIL CONSPIRACIES is a technothriller set in the present, with some plot loops back to World War II, mostly in France, and another loop even further back, to the era of the Knights Templar, alleged guardians of the Holy Grail.

That said, let me recommend another thriller (sort of a technothriller, which I’ll explain below). THE CAVES OF PERIGORD (by Martin Walker) is also set in the present, which also loops back to a good many scenes in the World War II era, mostly in France. And there is another loop even farther back– this time back 17,000 years to the time of the creation of the pre-historic cave dwellings in southern France.

Here the “techno” part of technothriller relates to finding and establishing authenticity of those prehistoric pieces of art.

Martin Walker (day job: foreign correspondent, now at a think-tank in Washington) clearly did heavy research, not just on cave art, but on the realities of life in France during the Occupation, and on the interplay of the various political factions within the Resistance. The German SS Panzer Division, Das Reich, also plays a (not-very-pleasant) role in the story . . . as it does in THE GRAIL CONSPIRACIES.

Martin Walker is also the author of the fantastic (to put it mildly) series on Bruno, Chief of Police in the small-town atmosphere of the Dordogne region of France. Last I looked there were about ten in the series, and here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_13?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=martin+walker+bruno+in+order&sprefix=martin+walker%2Caps%2C256&crid=NDE1TFIW6C6N

Interestingly, one of the most clicked-on pages in this blog is my reference to Max Hastings’ book, DAS REICH: The March of the Second Panzer Division Through France, which was one of the reference books I used in the background of The GRAIL CONSPIRACIES.

In a small coincidence, Max Hastings also wrote a newspaper opinion piece in a British paper at the time of the London Riots in the summer of 2011. I linked to that in a couple of earlier posts on this blog, as he describes, very astutely, the sad “army of feral youths” (his very apt term) who were immersed in those riots . . . who are also the same kind / mindset as the (fictional) worldwide army of angry misfits, followers of Twisted Messiah, the fictional rock group with political ambitions in THE GRAIL CONSPIRACIES.

My post at that time was “Twisted Messiah” fan riots improbable? Reality strikes in England!

Link to the Max Hastings article in London Dail Mail on the “army of feral youths”

5 steps in responding to questions and objections

Career Savvy People Skills Uncategorized No Comments

If you’re making a presentation, or even just sitting in a one-on-one meeting, and someone throws out a question, or even an objection, it seems only natural to respond directly to it.

But that’s not always the best approach, for a variety of reasons. First, you may not really understand the point they are raising (for that matter, the other person may not themselves really understand the issue they are raising). If you respond, more or less blindly, then you may fail to address the issue; worse, you may open up other issues.

Second, it’s best if you understand just why they are asking.  Sometimes the best response to a question is a really smart question.

To somewhat paraphrase — was it Yogi Berra? — if you don’t know where they’re coming from, you’ll never be able to get them on the right track to where they need to go.  Are they asking this to clarify things? Or to draw you into a trap and set you up for an attack on your idea?

Third, what sounds like an objection (“I don’t think your approach will ever work here”) may actually be a question (“Why do you think that’s going to work here, given our situation?”)  Conversely, what seems like an innocuous question may be the tip of an iceberg of deeper concerns, and if you don’t look deeper you’ll lose the chance.

Beyond that, what may seem like  a simple yes-no question may offer the opportunity to deal with other related issues . . . if you know what’s really on the other person’s mind.

Of course, if it’s a simple question, or a simple, direct objection, then do respond directly. You don’t want to detour into unnecessary issues.

Otherwise, I suggest these five steps, though adapted to the situation and the individual.

1.    Explore. Ask questions to get the person talking about what they really mean by the objection, and why it’s important to them.  (“Why do you feel that way? ” will do if nothing better comes to mind.)

2.    Listen well to their response.  You may have heard this objection a dozen times already this week, but this person may put a different twist on it.  Don’t be too quick in cutting off their  response in order to interject your answer or rebuttal.  The more you know about this individual’s needs and mindset, then the better you can target your response.

Sometimes, if you listen without cutting in, you will find that the person asking the question will actually respond to her own concern, and say something like, “Never mind, I think I’ve answered myself. That’s really not so important, after all.“

3.    Restate, if appropriate.  In many cases, it can be helpful to both yourself and the other person to paraphrase your  understanding of the core of the the issues they are raising.  For one thing, it forces you to listen closely, so you can restate it clearly. Second, it forces the other to listen to you in turn, to ensure that your restatement is accurate.  Further, in some cases, by restating, you may be able to defuse, or take the edge off, the customer’s concern.

4.    Respond to what they have actually said.  There may be a deeper meaning behind the objection, so focus on that. Example:   “You say that your firm has already tried using consultants, and isn’t interested.  But I’m picking up a deeper message  that your dissatisfaction was with the work of one particular consulting  firm that didn’t work out for you.  I’d like to explain how  . . .”

5.    Move on from there; don’t get bogged down in your response.  Respond to the objection, then go on with your sales call.

If you say too much in response to an objection, you may blow it up into something larger and more significant than they originally had in mind.  If you bog down on it, repeating and elaborating your reaction, the other person may begin thinking this really must be a major concern, and take that as a reason not to buy.

Conversely, if you treat the objection as a small issue that can be disposed of quickly and easily, then  you send  the subliminal message that it is just that— minor, not a significant concern, not an issue that could possibly prevent your proposal from being adopted.

 

This post was originally published in my older site CareerSuccessHow-to.com, which I am integrating into this MichaelMcGaulley.net.  To see other posts not yet brought over, go to http://www.careersuccesshow-to.com/

Art Theft of the New Millennium

art theft thriller Uncategorized No Comments

Some folks become connoisseurs of fine paintings. Since I started writing my thriller,  Infinite Doublecross The South of France: Art theft, art forgery, and artful duplicity I seem to have become a connoisseur of fine art thefts.  Here’s a “good” theft I’d forgotten about.

The sub-head for a recent article in The Daily Beast says it all: “As the world celebrated the dawn of a new millennium in 2000, a thief broke intro Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum and stole a Cezanne painting. It, and the thief, have never been found.”

You’ll find the article by Allison McNearney at http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-cezanne-stolen-in-the-perfect-art-heist-for-a-new-millennium

At that time, the painting was estimated at $4.8.  Probably would sell for a lot more now . . . IF, that is, it could be offered on the market.  Who would buy a stolen painting? Answer: Lots of bad guys (as we’ve discussed in this blog previously,as well as in more detail in Infinite Doublecross).