Time Travel????

First Nicolas Cage, now John Travolta: Is this a photo of the Grease star in 1860? (Scientologists do believe in reincarnation)

From the Mail online.

He is a member of the Church of Scientology, which believes in reincarnation and asks some members to sign one billion year contracts of service.

And one photograph collector in Ontario, Canada, claims he has found a picture of John Travolta from a previous incarnation in 1860.

The 150-year-old photo of a man who looks remarkably like Travolta has been put up for sale on eBay.

Lookalike: The 1860 photo of John Travolta looks very similar to a shot taken of the Grease star in 1980

'I've had this interesting photograph for years and I've been unable to part with it,' the seller said on the auction site.

'When you look at it and into the eyes of the sitter you will see what I mean!

'I believe this is the photograph of a very young John Travolta taken around 1860... This is a ruby glass ambrotype photograph and it is one of a kind.

'It hasn't been changed, tampered with or altered in anyway. It is clear and is as nice as the day it was taken roughly 151 years ago.

The photo is listed at $50,000 or nearest offer, and while it has a large price tag comes with free shipping and gift wrapping.

On sale: The photo has been listed at $50,000 or nearest offer

Genuine: The photograph collector selling the picture says it has not been tampered with

The listings comes after another antique dealer joked that he has a photo that is proof Nicolas Cage is more than just an a-list actor - he’s also a vampire who lived during the American Civil War.

The eBay seller claims to have a 4” by 2.5” carte de visite photo from around 1870 of a man who looks exactly like the 47-year-old star of Con Air, Ghost Rider and The Rock.

The seller, who has put the starting price at $1million, says the photo is 100 per cent genuine and was taken of a man who lived in Bristol, Tennessee, around the time of the Civil War.

The man who put the photo on eBay is Jack Mörd, of Seattle, Washington, whose Facebook page says he is originally from Los Angeles, California, and owns ‘The Thanatos Archive’.

'My theory is that he allows himself to age to a certain point, maybe 70, 80 or so, then the actor “Nicolas Cage” will “die”,’ Mr Mörd joked.

Lookalike: An eBay seller claims to have a 4” by 2.5” carte de visite photo, right, from around 1870 of a man who looks exactly like the 47-year-old star of Con Air, Ghost Rider and The Rock, Nicolas Cage, left in 2006

Listing: The seller, who has put the starting price at $1million, says the photo is 100 per cent genuine and was taken of a man from Bristol, Tennessee, around the time of the Civil War

How the real Mr Cage is not immortal...

The photo comparison may suggest Nicolas Cage could have lived forever.

But the actor's radically-changing appearance over the years suggests he's as vulnerable to the ravages of time as the rest of us.

The 47-year-old Californian has clearly aged since his appearances in Con Air in 1997, top right, and then Adaptation in 2002, right.

Mr Cage's wife Alice Kim is around half his age at 27.

But hair transplants have seemingly helped maintain a youthful look.

‘But in reality, the undead vampire “Nicolas Cage” will have rejuvenated himself and appeared in some other part of the world, young again, and ready to start all over.’

The picture was found in the back of an album that contained many unusual death portraits from the Civil War era - but the Nicolas Cage lookalike was not identified by name, Mr Mörd said.

He has a 100 per cent positive feedback rating on eBay and his profile says he is interested in collecting and selling Victorian Era post-mortem photography, as well as other vintage pictures.

The eBay product description for ‘Nicolas Cage is a Vampire / Photo from 1870 / Tennessee’ says: ‘Original c.1870 carte de visit showing a man who looks exactly like Nick Cage.

‘This is not a trick photo of any kind and has not been manipulated in Photoshop or any other graphics program.

'It's an original photo of a man who lived in Bristol, TN, sometime around the Civil War.'

It is believed the photo was taken by a confederate Civil War prisoner of war photographer called Professor G.B. Smith.

Mr Mörd joked that Nicolas Cage could be a walking undead man who reinvents himself once every 75 years - and might be looking at going into politics or talk show hosting next.

WoW , Just WOW!!!!!

A bug's life: Photographer captures flies in exquisite detail by snapping each one 687 times through a microscope

If you are scared of creepy crawlies you might want to look away now.

These are the remarkable close-up photographs of flies composed by stitching together up to 687 separate images taken through a microscope.

Tomas Rak photographs a tiny area of the fly under a microscope before moving it a mere five hundredth of a millimetre and taking another snap.

It can take a staggering 687 movements and 'micro-photographs' to capture every part of the fly in such stunning detail.

Close up: The head of dung beetle, which is a type of earth-boring dung beetle. Its entire body is only 10mm long

Flying head-on: The photos are the result of an ingenious photography technique using a microscope. Pictured is the head of a wasp

Are you looking at me? The Ichneumon wasp close-up which has a body size of just 3mm. The bulging eyes are clearly visible

He then uploads the images to a computer and 'stitches' them together to create a larger whole.

They show the furry insects' bizarre facial expressions, bright colours and bulging eyes in an extraordinary new way.

Tomas, from Wandsworth, South West London, said: 'I put the flies on a special microslider which can be moved as little as one five hundredth of a millimetre.

'I then place this under a camera and microscope and take a photo.

'I get a really sharp picture but over a small area so I move the microslider across a tiny bit and take another shot.

Zooming in: The sawfly which has a body size of just 3mm. Even the hairs on its antenna are visible

No need for widescreen: A metallic wasp, measuring just 2mm. The insect can be seen in exquisite detail in the close up shot

High definition: Common fruit fly, left, showing it's actual size. The ruler is in millimetres, so this tiny insect measures just three mm in length. Right is the sawfly beside a normal match head

'This has to be repeated many times before I have photographed the whole fly. My record is 687 shots to make up a single insect.

'I look for insects everywhere, I always have a pot with me in case I see something interesting.

'Most of my insect are not larger than 3mm so I have to look very carefully for small black 'dots' on walls.'

Mr Rak, 29, added: 'Microphotography can teach other people what these insects really look like.

'My photos are pretty artistic. I particularly like to take shots of insects because I like their shape and they have so many invisible details which you don't usually see.'

'I have had a very positive reaction to the these images. People who see them keep asking me how photos on a scale such as this could even be possible!'

The vivid backgrounds in Tomas' images are real flowers which are then carefully boosted by the editing software.

Tomas has only been doing microphotography for eight months.

He had previously become a dab hand at macrophotography, a technique which also examines the smallest of objects, but not to a microscopic level.

He said: 'Microphotography is more difficult and more time consuming than macrophotography because with such huge magnifications, the depth of field has to be very small.

'It is actually the computer editing which is the most time consuming part.'

Creepy: The Ichneumon wasp, which has a body size of 3mm Mr Rak said microphotography can teach other people what these insects really look like

Side view: The common fruit fly. Photographer Tomas Rak uploads the images to a computer and 'stitches' them together to create a larger whole

Full frontal: The common fruit fly. Tomas Rak said it can take a staggering 687 movements and 'micro-photographs' to capture every part of the fly in such stunning detail

Toad the Wet Sprocket - Something's Always Wrong

One of my vids

Africa

Is this a time-traveller in a Charlie Chaplin film? Footage from 1928 shows woman 'using a mobile phone'

Perhaps she really is a time-traveller, sent back through the decades to make a jaw-dropping cameo appearance.

Or maybe she was a maverick genius, secretly testing out advanced technology for the government and caught on camera at the wrong moment.

Whatever the explanation, this footage from a Charlie Chaplin promotional film in 1928 showing a woman apparently using a mobile phone has left viewers stumped.

A traveller from the future? This clip from a film about the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's 1928 movie The Circus shows what appears to be a woman talking on a mobile phone in the opening scene (on the right)

The baffling scene is found in the extras section of The Circus and shows members of the public attending the premiere of the film at Manns Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

The short piece of footage shows an older woman dressed in a coat and hat with her hand held up to the left-hand side of her face as she talks.

There is no one around for her to be speaking to apart from a suited man who strides on ahead at the beginning of the shot.

Even her gestures and behaviour as she 'talks' will be eerily familiar to modern-day viewers as she appears to stop, mid-sentence, during her apparent conversation.

The bizarre anachronism was unearthed by film buff George Clark on his Charlie Chaplin box set.

Look who's talking: Her gestures as she walks and talks appear just like those of modern-day mobile phone users

Woman out of time: A close-up of the image shows the woman's hand is close to her face and she appears to be talking

He says he has shown it to more than 100 people and still no one can come up with a convincing explanation.

Some viewers have suggested she is listening to a portable radio close to her face, although this would not explain why she appears to be talking.

Others say she may be displaying signs of schizophrenia and covering her face to hide the fact that she is talking aloud to herself.

It has also been suggested that she is simply trying to hide her face from the camera so she is not filmed.

There are also sceptics who believe the footage is just a stunt created by Mr Clark - a film maker with Yellow Fever Productions - to publicise his latest film festival.

The first device that could be likened to a mobile phone was Motorola’s original ‘Walkie-Talkie’ which was developed in the 1940s, but that was the size of a man’s arm and still came more than a decade after the Chaplin film.

See you later... As the scene fades out, the mystery figure can be seen smiling

The main attraction: In The Circus, Chaplin's character falls in love with the circus-owner's daughter

Portable mobile phones that we would recognise today did not appear until the 1980s and even then they were still too big to hide in the palm of your hand.

In a video that Mr Clark has posted on YouTube he jokes that the only plausible theory is that the woman is a time traveller.

He says: ‘This short film is about a piece of footage I found behind the scenes in Charlie Chaplins film The Circus.'

'Attending the premiere at Manns Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California - the scene shows a large woman dressed in black with a hat hiding most of her face, with what can only be described as a mobile phone device - talking as she walks alone.

‘I have studied this film for over a year now - showing it to over 100 people and at a film festival, yet no one can give any explanation as to what she is doing.

‘My only theory - as well as many others - is simple... a time traveller on a mobile phone. See for yourself and feel free to leave a comment on your own explanation or thoughts about it.'

Chaplin’s The Circus was one of the master director’s final silent movies and won him the Academy Award in 1929 for ‘Versatility and genius in writing, acting, directing and producing’.

It tells the story of the Tramp, who works as a clown in a circus and who falls in love with a circus-master’s daughter.

Chaplin produced the film at the height of the legal fallout over his divorce from Lita Grey and he did not mention it once in his autobiography, even though it is now regarded as one of his masterpieces.

Need a new phone

The 99p mobile: Incredible deal of the budget phone that costs less than a cup of coffee

The cheap and disposable Alcatel OT-209

It’s the mobile phone that is cheaper than a Big Mac.

Carphone Warehouse is introducing the ultimate throwaway accessory – the 99p mobile phone.

Available in a range of colours as long as it’s silver, the handset is the perfect Christmas gift for the hard-up shopper.

The retail chain claims the OT-209, which is made by French firm Alcatel, is the cheapest pay-as-you-go phone ever to be sold in the UK.

Customers, who are not tied to an expensive contract, will be connected to the Virgin network.

The only catch is they will have to buy £10 of credit to make calls, otherwise there are no other fees other than the cost of making calls and text messages.

The phone is aimed at first time users and people fazed by technology.

It has just a few features and is uncomplicated to use.

Executive chairman Charles Dunstone told the Mail it is also useful for consumers to have as a back-up phone: ‘You have to remember at Christmas the one question we get asked the most in our stores is ‘what’s your cheapest phone?’ and at 99p this is the lowest its ever been.

‘I guess it reflects just how competitive the UK mobile market has become between carriers and manufacturers. Mobile phones are such an important part of people’s lives and so many are manufactured that they have become very cheap to make.’

Consumers are facing a wave of gloom as the Government hikes VAT to 20pc at the turn of the year and the Chancellor’s austerity cuts kick in.

But Dunstone says the 99p phone is not a reaction to Britain’s battered economy.

A screengrab from Carphone Warehouse's website whcih shows the Alcatel on sale for an unbelievable 99p on a pay as you go contract

‘I think if we could have produced a 99p phone in 2007 [when the economy was booming] we would have.

'It’s not about the current economic climate but more about retailers trying to find best possible deals to attract customers and make Christmas better than the last. The 99p phone is a regular mobile phone that four or five years ago would have cost you £100.’

The budget mobile

The Alcatel 209 weighs only 65g and has large, separated buttons

You can place hands-free calls, start conference calls with up to four other people.

Charges up in two hours and gives five hours of non-stop talk time.

The fake call function allows you to place a call to your phone with just the touch of a button, and quickly excuse yourself to take it.

Built-in FM radio and mobile games

One charge gives you up to 400 hours of standby power.

The 99p phone is the latest example of Britain’s throwaway culture. Tesco started selling jeans costing £4 jeans two years ago and Ikea has pioneered the market for cheap furniture.

Trend guru Lloyd Burdett, director of The Futures Company, said the trend towards value has been around for some time but it has been accelerated by the downturn.

‘There is a general trend towards shoppers not making large investments unless it’s very special,’ he said.

‘While the iPhone is as popular as ever – people are only willing to make an investment if something really stands out. Otherwise they think ‘why spend more than 99p for something so long as it works?’.’

Carphone say its Alcatel OT-209 is a simple, lightweight phone that weighs only 65g.

In its marketing brochure it says: ‘It is ideal for sending text messages, as it has large, separated buttons and a clear, bright display.

'The group messaging facility allows you to send the same message to up to ten people - handy when organising a meet up or rescheduling a meeting.

‘You can place hands free calls, start conference calls with up to four other people, and stay in touch throughout the day, with up to five hours of talk time.’

Unusually it also has a feature that allows users to fake receiving calls whilst already on the phone. This, the brochure says, is to help users extricate themselves from telephone conversations they are finding difficult to end.

It takes two hours to fully charge the handset, and one charge gives up to 400 hours of standby power.

Amazing pics

Incredible close-up shots of mantises as they feed and disguise themselves on twigs

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:20 PM on 7th September 2010

With bulbous eyes and their strange stick-like bodies, these mantises look like creatures from another planet.

Perched on the tiny stem of a plant, one insect enjoys a lunch of tiny yellow aphids.

Another picture shows a mantis about to pounce on an unwitting butterfly and one incredible shot even shows the creatures in larvae form, not much bigger than a thorn.

This ball of liquid is probably the contents of this mantis' stomach as they expose the fluid to the air to aid digestion

These incredible close-ups were snapped by wildlife enthusiast Jimmy Hoffman.

The 50-year-old scours the vegetation around his home in the Costa Brava, Spain, looking for the insects.

He said: 'I've been interested in nature since I was a child and I've always had an eye for wildlife, especially insects.

'Praying mantids are my favourite because of their special predatory behaviour, shapes and colours.

'I also like the fact that they can rotate their head in all directions and seem to look at you in an almost intelligent way.

'They can be found by thoroughly searching through vegetation.

'The morning is usually the best time to do this because they often sit on top of plants and shrubs to warm up in the sun.' As well as searching for mantises, Mr Hoffman collects the insects' egg cases, which he takes home and hangs in his garden so he can watch them hatch.

An Empusa Mantis, blending in with the colour of the flower on which an unwitting butterfly has landed

A Religiosa Mantis tucks into a lacewing insect it has caught

He said: 'I have witnessed the emergence of the larvae several times, it's a very special moment because they usually hatch all at once.

'The young larvae are initially very vulnerable but they are able to move very rapidly and can jump a little.' After finding his subjects, Mr Hoffman can spend up to two hours waiting to get the perfect shot.

He said: 'My favourite picture is of a mantis about to catch a butterfly.

'Unfortunately for the mantis the butterfly was too fast and managed to fly away before it could be caught.

'I got my picture at exactly the right moment and it was very special for me because I had waited a couple of hours for something interesting to happen. After that I decided to called the picture 'patience.''

Mantis march: A trio of tiny Empusa Mantis larvae march along the stem of a rose, passing a thorn

An Ameles Mantis eating tiny aphids

Despite their vicious appearance, Mr Hoffman has never been harmed by a mantis he has photographed - but admitted a friend had had the misfortune of being mistaken for prey.

He said: 'Mantids are real predators and grab prey which can be as large or even larger than themselves.

'Once one of them saw my friend's finger as prey and latched on, wanting to eat it.

'Thankfully, we managed to extract the digit without causing any harm to my friend or the insect.

'Mantids are normally completely harmless to humans as long as you don't move your fingers in front of them.'

An Empusa Mantis larva looks as if it's made from twigs, as it perches on one

A trio of Empusa Pennata mantises perch, clutched together, on a twig

High-kicking ninjas and Pac-Man: The incredible video homage to 80s video games made entirely out of Lego bricks

It took more than 1,500 hours over eight months and many thousands of Lego bricks.

But two Swedish musicians have achieved youTube fame with this animated tribute to the video games of their youth.

The animation, which lasts just over three and a half minutes, has already had more than seven million views on YouTube.

The three Lego ninjas from the YouTube video, which harks back to the classic 8-bit video games of the 80s

The odd music that plays throughout the video is known as BitPop - electronic music that is played entirely on old 8-bit computers and video game consoles from the 1980s.

The video begins with one of the pair lying down and being covered head to toe in Lego bricks.

It then segues into a fast-paced homage to classic video games from the 19080s which were played on consoles like the Atari, the original Nintendo NES and the classic Commodore 64.

A series of high-kicking ninjas crop up throughout the video and there are sections which reference classic arcade games Tetris and Pac Man among others.

The Swedes, who were formerly known as Rymdreglage, have now changed their name to Ninja Moped because it is easier for non-Swedes to pronounce.

No rundown of classic arcade games would be complete without Pac-Man - rendered in impeccable Lego

Their next project is even odder. They are appealing for funds to build a huge crossbow - more than 60 feet wide - that can be used to propel a collection of pianos more than 300 feet.

They want to to hurls the 62 pianos they have amassed into objects like houses and trees to so that they smash into firewood.

The pair said: 'The whole thing is filmed with a high speed camera in full-HD (1000 fps, 1920x1080) and wait to be history's most beautiful music video.

iwatch

Time for change: Apple's new 'iWatch' is so tiny it can be worn on your wrist

It was a busy day at Apple stores around the country as the latest range of new iPods went on sale, including what is thought to be the smallest music player on the market.

The nattily designed new iPod nano measures just 1.48 inches by 1.61 inches by 0.35 inches and weighs in at a slender 21.1 grams.

For such a small gadget, the battery life is also impressive, with 24 hours of music playback in addition to an FM radio.

Would you wear one? The new iPod nano is thought to be the smallest music player on the market and even boasts a clock face to make it look like a watch

Dubbed the 'iWatch', the latest addition to the iPod family boasts a clock face which appears at the touch of the power button but still allows users to view pictures and track your movements.

'It’s very tiny and instantly wear­able,' said Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. 'It even has a clock - one of our board of directors says he’s going to wear it as a watch.'

The tiny player is similar in function to the iPod and iPhone also boasts a 'multi-touch' screen, allowing more than one finger to be used on the screen at once.

It's thought that manufacturers will be quick to exploit the clock function of the new player by flooding the market with detatchable watch straps.

Several other new iPods have gone on sale. The fourth-generation of iPod Touch has a new slimline appearance and now uses the same high-definition screen as the iPhone 4.

New front and rear-facing cameras complete the make-over whilst the new budget iPod shuffle now costs just £39.

Gamers were also kept happy with the release of new iPhone software which allows for live competition gaming with other iPod and iPhone users worldwide.