Oh, brother...

Well, the amended "there was too cannibalism in the Donner Party!" statement from the archaeologists didn't get nearly as much attention as the earlier gaffe it sought to retract, but at least the retraction is out there. Anyway, the flap had calmed down and I was taking a breather, but Ken Dunn got me back to the blog when he alerted me to a new "independent horror film currently in development" called Donner Pass. The premise is a doozy:

"There are those who say the Donner Party was no accident. They say George Donner brought those people there on purpose." (Snort. ) "They say that by eating them, he could steal their life energy, and gain near immortality. They says he's still up there, still ravenous, still hunting for his next victim."

Ya know, that's pretty pathetic, gaining immortality only to spend it trapped in the mountains. What's the point? Heck, if I were immortal I'd want to travel, study, learn -- see and experience all the world has to offer, not just hang around one place!

The plot revolves around a group of teens who go on a ski weekend, get snowed in, and start dying in gruesome ways. Sounds kinda familiar, doesn't it? No word on when this is supposed to be released, but the website promises a "powerful twist ending," making the film "an elegant and terrifying modern-day take on the Donner legend." We'll see.

Donner Party cannibalism is still true

Two articles rebutting the latest "no-Donner-Party-cannibalism" flap were published today, Ethan Rarick's in the Los Angeles Times (Donner Party cannibalism -- it's still true) and Frank Mullen's in the Reno Gazette-Journal (Researcher: Donner Party did cannibalize the dead after all). Maybe they'll do some good; the LA Times is a major paper and Frank is an AP reporter, so hopefully other outlets will pick the story up.

Also, Publico.es, a Spanish news site, picked up the latest brou-ha-ha last week in La prensa se come a la ciencia, but instead of repeating the "news," reported on the US media's misinterpretation of the story. Ouch.