The Case of the Curious Dollhouse

 Which remains unsolved.

I found this photograph as I was working the book room we're clearing out. It was near an envelope from the U of O, Folklore Department. I majored in folklore there; and yard art, outsider art was an interest of mine, still is. So I know I spent a lot of time taking pictures of yard art, things I found along the way, colorful mailboxes and folk art, especially religious or spiritual inspired folk, or outsider art. (The two; folk and outsider, are not necessarily the same thing.) In fact, the photo was near an envelope full of photos I took at the Saturday Market, where a woman who went by the name of Sister Bear decorated holy cards and night lights of Jesus and Mary.

I have no memory of taking this photo though. None. What an odd thing to find; a dollhouse in the middle of a pasture. Just sitting there. The area looks to be in the Lorane area, a rural area right outside of town, an area I drove through all the time and still do.

This will make a very neat mixed media, collage piece! 

Regan Lee,The Fairy Killer

 Robert Moss on Dreaming

Listened to Robert Moss last night on Coast to Coast. Moss is author of many books on dreaming. As readers of The Orange Orb know, I am fascinated by dreams. I had not heard of Moss before, but after listening to the interview last night I have ordered his recent book. 

Moss suggested setting intentions for your dreaming journey. I have many themes going on in my subconscious -- one thing I dream about a lot are animals.  For example, this is a mail art card I created recently and sent out:

Did I dream of a giant snail? And if so, what did I tell it?

“I’m going back to sleep” I said.

“Why?” he asked.

“I need to find out what I said to the snail.”             

MAIL ART by R. Lee 2020

 I set an intention last about my cat. I made up a little mantra: 'Manifest Mango Mind Meld.' Asking what Mango wants me to know. (He is fourteen and has been having trouble with his back legs.) 

Nothing there. But I did have the following dream:

Regan Lee, Fairy Killer

The curtain opens, revealing a kitchen set. My back is to the audience. I am wearing a white shirt, dark brown palazzo style pants that are short; the stop at the knees. A wide belt that holds a few daggers. 

I am looking quickly through the cupboards, on the counters. Now and then I spin around and look off to the sides, then go back to what I was doing. This goes on for about thirty seconds. Then I turn around, and face the audience. I go into a monologue. I talk about what I do, which is hunt fairies. "Oh, don't be fooled," I say, "these little glittery fairies, with their pink and violet and transparent wings and tiny sweet bodies are full of it. They are not to be trusted. They are often invisible, and are out to trick you. They are dangerous."

I show off my daggers. I assure the audience I know how to handle them. There's a slight comedic air about the whole thing though. A dagger accidentally slips from my hands and lands a fairy -- it goes "Squeak! Ack!" and dies. I say, "Oops, well, sometimes . . ." everyone laughs.

When my monologue is over, I leave the stage. End of Scene 1. Applause. They love me! Backstage, everyone tells me how great I was. "You're a really good actress," they say.

I feel great. 

 

Robert Moss said to check in with how you feel about the dream. The dream could be about anything, and for one person, that dream could be a nightmare, for someone else, it could be healing. My dream of being an actress and a fairy killer was a good dream, as weird as that may sound. I woke up feeling fantastic. Empowered. 

The Kitchen Fairy

Jim and I often say we have a kitchen fairy. We're not joking. This house has always had a slight other-presence vibe to it, especially when we first bought the place twenty-five years ago. The house was built in 1927.  To this day, things go missing in the kitchen, only to be found in the weirdest places in the kitchen. There are only the two of us here (and Mango!) and neither one of us is a prankster kind of person. I've never had a negative feeling from this kitchen energy, but not a super helpful friendly one either. Maybe it just is, and wants our attention. I don't know if this kitchen fairy of ours has anything to do with last night's dream, but I don't think it does. Just the feeling I have about it.

Fairies, Animals and The Stage

I also dream often of being on stage. Of performing, sometimes signing which is funny since I can't sing at all. I wish I could, that's one of my fantasies, that I am one hell of an amazing singer. I come from circus folk (literally) and a family involved with acting. I was a theater major at one time. 

Last night, before I settled on my Mango intention, I was bouncing around with ideas. So many dream themes and landscapes and questions! For awhile I was thinking about animals; why do I dream of animals so much, big cats but all kinds as well? And why do I dream of my performing on stage, and in circus like traveling groups, often with Jim, and often taking place hundreds of years ago? One powerful dream I had of us both as performers in Western Europe has both of us intuitively knowing that it had to do with a past life.

 Last night, I'm on stage, talking not about animals but fairies, which are not human, not animal. Something else, an other. I am banishing them. I see them for what they are. And yet it's a performance.

I was acting.  And yet, on the stage, it felt real. I was really sincere about the fairies, and the fairies that appeared on the stage were real. At this point, all I can say is reality beyond, or behind, another reality, that seems like a cover or not real, but is, even while being presented as "only acting." 

International Owl Awareness Day

It is International Owl Awareness Day!

Google International Owl Awareness Day and you'll find plenty of links to all kinds of sites with info on owls and the history  of the day. Like this one at the U.S. Department of the Interior.

A few quotes about the supernaturalness of owls:

“Perhaps he does not want to be friends with you until he knows what you are like. With owls, it is never easy-come-easy-go.” 

― T.H. White, The Sword in the Stone

“Oh, what a lovely owl!" Cried the Wart.

But when he went up to it and held out his hand, the owl grew half as tall again, stood up as stiff as a poker, closed its eyes so that there was only the smallest slit to peep through - as you are in the habit of doing when told to shut your eyes at hide-and-seek - and said in a doubtful voice

"There is no owl."

Then it shut its eyes entirely and looked the other way.

"It is only a boy," said Merlyn.

"There is no boy," said the owl hopefully, without turning round.” 

― T.H. White, The Once and Future King

“People say the darkness is where secrets are best hidden. Night time brings clarity and focus to owls, even if the aperture of this vision comes with a stigma.” 

― Kimberly Morgan, On Angels and Rabbit Holes

Brene Brown: "Stories are data with a soul."

"Stories are data with a soul." ~ Brene Brown


Ms. Brown has nothing to do with UFO or fringe research. She describes herself as a "storyteller researcher" (or researcher storyteller) in social work. Brilliant and funny and very important, but for completely different reasons having nothing to do with the weird world of All This Stuff.

But her quote about stories as data had me thinking about the value of witnesses stories about their sightings and experience. I think we tend to listen, then go off in a quest to delve, research, dissect the story, leaving the witness in the dust, and getting rid of the parts that don't match our ideas about What Is Really Going On. Reptilians? Go away. It's messy!!!! Crazy messy.

But we need to calm down and get over ourselves as oh-so-serious-bona-fide UFO researchers and listen.



Brown talks about vulnerability. She went in search of it; what is it in the character that makes someone intentionally vulnerable? Willing to be vulnerable. Certainly witnesses to the fantastic make themselves vulnerable every time they tell their story.

I'm open. I've discussed my most strange paranormal/supernatural life in detail all over the place. Why? Not for money, that's for damn sure. I've put myself out there and have been threatened and stalked. Accused of lying, being a man (?!), wanting to be a man, trying to sound like a man (again: ???!!!), being Jewish, gay, not using my real name, threatened with rape, and violence -- specifically, stabbing me with a knife. All because I've experienced the weird and talk about it. And damn well fight back when accused of devious motives. Those from ones who cannot allow themselves to be vulnerable.

That is vulnerable. That is telling my story.

By telling my story, I connect. Not with everyone, not with the majority, not with the mainstream or accepted topics of conversation. But when I do connect, I connect. I continuously find myself engaging with others with similar interests and experiences. Often surprising connections. 

That's the point of Brown's TED talk: connecting. We're connected. Being vulnerable causes our connections to be authentic.

It's also messy, what with lairs, hucksters, unbalanced (even there, though, showing a vulnerability grown forth from a trauma), and so on. So what it's messy? A lot more work, but, there it is.

Found Myself in the Archives: Abduction Narratives

I was searching for poetry and literature in Oregon, came across this from 1995: Folkloric Significance of Abduction Narratives, written by moi.

Content Description:Using Thomas Bullard's structure of UFO abduction narratives as an object of analysis, this paper looks closely at UFO lore and makes comparisons with Greek mythology. 

Long time ago...

Political Values and UFO Research and Neo- Pagan, Witchy Ways

In January I posted about "political values and ufo research."  I wondered how it is that some researchers who delve into the realm of the strange, are politically conservative. I find that a strange juxtaposition. I also find it strange that most on the left (as am I) mock the strange. As I've commented before, as much as I like Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, etc. when it comes to anything suggesting the anomalous, from UFOs to Sasquatch, it's time for smug dismissals of what is clearly perceived as superstitious paranoia -- and no doubt perpetuated by ignorant right wing bozos. I also find that a strange juxtaposition, as well as disappointing.


Today I came across someone on Twitter who follows me. Looking at their profile, they're all about the things I'm also all about. Paganism, magick, witchy ways, etc. Yet they "support Trump." WHAT?!

My relationship with those areas is many faceted. It's personal, intimate, spiritual, emotional, and important. It has to do with many things, including the planet, the planets, our relationship with ourselves, each other, and the other.
Animals. Spirits. And more that I am not wanting to share here. I am no fluff bunny, no naive goody glittery two-shoed fairy wanna be. I know there are things that go bump in the night, forces and energies you do not want to mess with. But my involvement with the poly-theistic/witch/pagan path includes a basic urge to do good. For us, for me, for each other. I assume that is why others also choose this path. But in my personal experience with that community, I've found that there are many who are politically on the right.

(I am aware that these areas, while often combining and sharing elements, are not the same. There is paganism, neo-paganism, magick, Magick, magic, witchcraft, wicca, wiccan -- oh the categories continue, boggle, and create great argument among followers.)

The history of magick is rife with those that would control, of course. (Nazis, for example.)  Maybe it's not so surprising after all.

From The Superplex: "Rh Negative Folkore"

Sue Entity at The Superplex isn't shy about sharing her opinions on the UFO lore regarding Rh Negative blood. She begins:

The Superplex: Rh Negative Folkore: We all know the UFO field is intellectually crippled (present company excepted of course), and the rain of inanities that continues to fall from the lips of UFO pundits about the Rh negative blood factor as being somehow linked to manifestations of the phenomena is just more proof of this. I admit to getting exercised about this issue; the whole Rh neg thing gets my panties so twisted that I doubt even Dr. Jacobs could straighten them out into one of his books. It’s a sad statement about the intellectual desert that UFO/phenomena studies finds itself in that even the people I hold to be the most informed and interesting thinkers in the area make themselves sound like idiots when talking about the Rh blood factor. (Sue Entity; The Superplex)

It is true UFO Land is full of the Rh factor motif: that those with Rh negative blood are in someway tied even more so to aliens than the rest of humanity. Sue Entity thinks not. I'm not arguing for or against that but I would have liked to have known more on why she thinks the lore is bunk.



She makes interesting points about culture and racism and how, in putting ourselves into categories of specialness, we also put ourselves above others. Better. More deserving of whatever gifts the gods/aliens have to share. (Personally, I don't think they're sharing much of what I want; the world seems worse off than ever.) I see her point but it is one that annoys me in context of the UFO (and other paranormal realms) -- that those of us with these experiences want to set ourselves up as special, different, separate.  Hell no, I don't put myself in those categories.  But I'm not going to keep quiet either. It is what it is -- I put it out there. I am what I yam.

So if the Rh negative factor has anything to do with the phenomena, well, there you go. If it doesn't, fine. For whatever reason it's become a part of the lore, and needs to truly explored.

By the way, folklore as a term doesn't mean, (just as with the word myth) true, or, not true. Another one of my Sisyphean activities: trying to change the perceptions of the words lore, folklore, and myth, just as I am with UFO. Which should really be U.F.O. as in the vintage years. Unidentified Flying Object.

Sisyphus, (Titian 1548-1549) oil on canvas

I am, myself, Rh negative. Also Cherokee, an educator, red hair (okay, that part comes from a box) and an artist. I fit into many of the UFO lore indicators for big time alien contact. Not to mention the life long sightings and encounters.


The question is, do these bits of data have anything solid to do with the phenomena, or not?

Vallee: "Data is not knowledge"

I came across a quote from Jacques Vallee: "Data is not knowledge." I think I know what he meant in the big scheme of things, but, at the same time, I respectfully disagree with his comment. (Of course, I'm taking this out of context, but I was inspired by the remark to wonder…)  Data is a sort of knowledge; the more data we have, the better. I realize many a UFO researcher has lamented that collecting witness accounts is simply tiresome and non-productive. And it is a huge task of course; collecting stories. Narratives. Accounts. All for what?

Well, that's the thing. All for what. Once we have a big pile of stuff, what do we do with it? Depends on the collector. On the one doing the interpreting. You and I might have the same exact set of stories of spinning UFOs and glowing eyed Sasquatch emerging from landed craft, but our interpretations of those events might differ. And what about the witness? What's her take on it all? So now we have three different ideas on the same case.

Come to think of it, in that context, data isn't knowledge, since no theory of everything (let alone definitive answer) has been determined. All we have are arguments, debates, interpretations, beliefs, even.

Still, I argue that data is important, and analyses of data from many different perspectives is a necessary process in order to arrive at some kind of agreed upon theory, as tenuous as it might be. It's a start.

We don't have to give up or throw the baby out with the bath water. Or believe that, by following one path we've rejected others. There are many paths, and there is no rule, no law, that mandates we rigidly follow just one.

And to be clear: I have the highest respect and regard for Jacques Vallee and his work and am in no way taking him to task in any way. So chew on that before commenting, thank you.

A Quote About Ancient Aliens

Jim, on Ancient Aliens: "They either go too far, or not far enough." 

That sums it up!

"Jim" being my dear one.

We still love you Ancient Aliens. It's just that, at times, it just gets so …. 

You know.

But as I said. We still love you!

In spite of … 

Organizing the Room of Doom

Bigfoot books . . . 

For some time now, have been calling the "study" the Room of Doom -- such a mess! An unholy, awful, mess. I would literally go into a spin of hysteria when entering that room and trying to deal with the mess.

I realize, too, that I need to rename that room and no longer encourage the negative energy of Room of Doom, and give it a more positive name to reflect the changes.

A few UFO books. . . and yes, I'm a nerd, official X Files mug and all

Somehow, finally, I had some kind of cosmic breakthrough and have been able to work in that room, enjoy it even! So I've been rearranging books, giving books away, donating books, selling books, and discovering that yes, I have a hell of a lot of UFO and paranormal, Fortean, anomalous type books.

A few more UFO books . . .

Then I messed up my knee and leg and had to take off for a couple of days. And I was looking forward to the next project: organizing my "haunted locations" shelf.

File holders full of Fates, UFO Magazine, Strange, Fortean Times and many more. Plus a free alien water bottle straight from Area 51/Exterrestrial Highway in Nevada, courtesy of a good and thoughtful friend.

Missing 411: The Devil's In The Detail For All -

Missing 411: The Devil's In The Detail For All - MessageToEagle.com: By Dustin Naef - MessageToEagle.com - "For all those who have read David Paulides “411 Missing” books, and believe you’ve figured out the Who or What behind all of the mysterious disappearances going on in our nation’s National Parks (and elsewhere), prepare yourselves for another paradigm shift."

I don't think there is any research out there that is stranger and creepier and downright scarier than David Paulides work into the disappearances taking place in national parks, forests, woods, rural areas, etc.

Lots of speculation, including supernatural or Fortean ones. Now, on one Coast to Coast interview a few months back, Paulides inspired me to think along lines of a Bigfoot type energy/entity being responsible for these disturbing disappearances. This generated a heated email from Paulides after I posted a piece on my thoughts.  on Cryptomundo and on my blog Frame 352: The Stranger Side of Bigfoot. Well, I did get a book out of it and, while I maintain he misunderstood what I said, that has nothing to do with his excellent research. He's the only one out there doing anything like this, and it's clearly extremely important work. I cannot wait to read his other books, including his newest; The Devil's in the Details.

I look forward to everything and anything Paulides has to share with us on these disappearances. What is going on?!  (Adding to the already disturbing mystery is the fact there is an obvious cover-up by authorities regarding the disappearances.)


And so, this brings us to Naef's review of Paulides newest book on the strange disappearances, The Devil's in the Detail. New information, new cases, new ideas as to what force is responsible for people disappearing and sadly in many cases, dying. Naef writes, on finding an answer to this mystery:

"Ultimately, I think this is a mystery which is not going to be solvable by any one person, or explained away to anyone’s satisfaction by an “expert”. But by making all of this information public and open-sourcing it I believe there’s a good chance that the mystery will someday be solved." ~ Naef

There are lots of clues, and clues that defy the mundane. Bigfoot, elementals, time warps, portals, fairies, who can say. Maybe none of those things, maybe some of those things . . . but it does seem obvious that there is something other afoot, something truly out of the ordinary, that is the cause for people disappearing.

Dream: UFO on Truck, I'm a Boy

Image source: Public Domain.net

The general oddness of the subconscious mind. Here we go:

I'm eleven or twelve, and a boy. It's a different decade, maybe late nineteen fifties, early sixties. I ditch school because somehow, I know a huge truck carrying a retrieved flying saucer is going to be coming down the alley behind my house. I don't know how I know this. I just do. I also know no one else in town knows about this.

Hanging around the narrow alley, and finally, hear the rumble of the truck. This truck is very long, and everything, from cab to bed to the three flat, oval cylinders on the bed, are steel, or chrome colored. Sticking up from the middle oval is a huge round thing. Sort of like a Ferris wheel. This "wheel" is the flying saucer.

The truck is driving down the alley to avoid taking the streets where it might be seen. Yet, no effort is made to completely hide the UFO. In fact, it's a sort of "in your face" act -- any questions about this strange object, and we're told it is a Ferris wheel. Of course, it isn't, and most of us know that, including me. 

The truck barely fits into the alley. I have to flatten myself against the backs of houses and fences, and there's only about a foot between me and this fast moving truck. As it turns -- there's a curve towards the end of the alley -- the truck's back end, the third section, starts to swing out and almost crushes me. I don't care, I want to get as close as I can to this thing. I want to touch it. I figure if I have to, I can just dive down onto the ground and roll under the truck bed.

Afterwards, I get caught by the school, and the principal, a male, who is extremely authoritarian, is furious with me for skipping school. He tells me there's no point in my lying because he has me on camera, waiting and watching in the alley. Turns out this man has put up surveillance cameras all over the town and has been watching everyone for years.

As dreams do, there's more, but not sure if the rest is part of the above dream, or different dreams. Part of what came later had to do with school and a principal, but unrelated to UFOs. Interesting about the time period, and the gender change! The only thing I can relate this to is that I am  preparing a presentation to a class of sixth graders about folklore in the context of "unexplained" stories, including UFO tales, (Trent photos, McMinnville, etc.) as well as Bigfoot.

A Favorite UFO/Fortean Event: The Kentucky Goblins

A favorite anomalous event, one that remains a mystery more than fifty-five years later. That is the Kentucky, or Hopkinsville "goblins." Small, alien looking creatures terrified the Sutton family in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in 1955. Shots were fired, the sheriff notified. No one has resolved the mystery, though of course there are dozens of theories. And of course, the skepti-bunkies will tell you they've solved it long ago. (See debunker Joe Nickell's --"Mr. Owl" -- theory here.)

Were the Kentucky goblins aliens from outer space? Owls? Drunken, paranoid hallucinations? Elves? Inner earth entities? Two recent articles discuss this classic case.


Greg Newkirk at Who Forted? wonders if these beings haven't returned:Have the Kentucky Goblins Returned? Exclusive Photos! | Who Forted? Magazine Newkirk shares an email he received about strange creatures in the Kentucky/West Virginia area. Strange creatures that, the writer comments, seem to be coming from an "abandoned mine located on the edge of my property." Another email, more details, and... the strange path leading to the origin of a name. And, there are photos!

Newkirk asks the right questions. I empathize with his curiosity combined with skepticism. (I too have been contacted at times with tales of strange sightings and weird beings, but you always wonder if the person is honest, on crack, or what. The anomalous explorer wants it so much to be something to explore, and yet. . .) I think the first photo of the alleged being is outright fakery but really that's beside the point. In the true Fortean mileau, it doesn't matter.

Micah Hanks considers the Hopkinsville goblins as being of inner earth, and gives us more background on the original event:The Goblin's Grimoirie: Hopkinsville Reprised, or the Hollow Earth? Hanks references Newkirk's article and wonders if the beings weren't from innter earth after all.

Abandoned mines as homes for strange beings -- including Sasquatch -- a theory that has been discussed before. Wm. Micheal Mott wrote about beings living inside the earth in his classic Caverns, Cauldrons, and Concealed Creatures.

 

(Photo: Ivan T. Sanderson with goblin replica. Soure: http://www.johnkeel.com/?m=201204)

The Kentucky Hopkinsville goblins are often associated with UFOs; thought of to be aliens. There are similarities to the "greys" after all. (Assuming the greys are aliens as well.) But then we have other enticing ideas about what these "goblins" might be. Not from outer space, but inner earth. There's an idea these beings are aliens from space but also of the earth; entities of both realms. The Hopi tradition speaks of the ant people, who now live underground, but came from the skies originally. Descriptions of the ant people parallel the grays, and, the Kentucky goblins.

Here's an interesting explanation of the origin of the word "goblin" which contains a reference to mines:

Standard scholarship holds that English took goblin from the French gobelin. The problem with Goblin this is that, while Middle English had the word goblin as early as 1320, there is no record of the French word gobelin until the 16th century. Interestingly, a 12th century cleric called Ordericus Vitalis mentions Gobelinus as the name of a spirit which haunted the neighbourhood of Évreux. It is possible that gobelin evolved from the ancient Greek kobalos "rogue, knave", via the Medieval Latin cobalus. If so, it is related to the German kobold, and hence to the name of the metal cobalt.

German silver miners (that's German miners of silver, not miners of "German silver") named cobalt after the kobold, a "goblin or demon of the mines" as it was not only worthless but caused sickness. Nickel (a German name for "the devil") has a similar origin.
~ Source: Take Our Word for It.

Whether or not Greg Newkirk's contact was telling the truth or playing trickster, the idea itself is a valid one. Many traditions tell of entities that live inside the earth. It is possible the goblins seen that August night in 1955 in Kentucky were indeed inner earth dwellers.

New blog: Ecto-Ville

Didn't want to do it, didn't mean to do it, but I did... new blog: Ecto-ville.

Metal Boxes=Dock Floats

Thanks to "terry the censor" who sent me the following links:

Beach-goers bewildered by mysterious debris
http://www.thesiuslawnews.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=5233&page=72

Strange boxes spark UFO rumors
http://www.southlincolncountynews.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=2942&page=72#

This entire "strange box on beach" mystery has shown us, once again, how silly things can get. Because there was recent UFO activity in the area (and that part of the coast is active, UFO wise) the illogical and melodramatic conclusion was that the boxes had some connection with UFOs. Various players: artists, UFO "reporters" who are, seemingly, of the hoaxing kind, debunkers who hurl insults and paint anything to do with UFOs as a pathology, and so on.

"le sigh," as skeptic Renae Holland recently commented on an episode of Finding Bigfoot. (I like Renae, yes, she's a skeptic, but -- and you're right, I can't believe I'm saying this either -- that show needs someone like her.)

Clipping From Mom: 'Beached boxes mystery'

Mom sent me this clipping about the metal beach boxes from the Newport News paper.  (speaking of mom, here's her blog: Skazski...musings of a malcontent.) [Beached boxes mystery: UFO-related remains along coast unexplained; Terry Dillman.]As she commented in her note sent along with the clipping:

This clipping is the only mention of those "mystery boxes" that have turned up (Friday's Newport Times) --- maybe its because the story took place in another county (Lane) and therefore not of interest to people in Lincoln County and so it goes--- who said we were narrow-minded, ha!

About Bill Hanshumaker of the Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC), Dillman wites:

Hunshumaker told the News-Times that he couldn't even venture a guess as to what the boxes might be, espeically without direct examination. Two sets of HMSC volunteeres dispated to Bray's Point found nothing.

In other articles Hunshumaker has been quoted as suggesting the boxes were debris from docks or piers where construction has taken place, or some such...

The article goes on to say that volunteer groups, like CoastWatch, as well as the Oregon Parks and Rec department, have sent out people to look for the boxes; none were found.

And yet, as my mother herself commented, as well as others I've spoken with -- to paraphrase -- "The government can come in and whisk away anything they want and silence whoever they want, when they want." Well, we all know that's true. No argument there. Whether or not that's true in this case, well, I just can't help but think there's no there there.

Masko defends his on-line postings in the Dillman article:

...reproters today "spend all their waking hours" in front of various screens, gathering the news vicariously via computer ...rather than following the tried-and-true "old school" way of "wearing out shoe leather and actually talking to people."

Masko seems to do a bit of a back pedal by basically shrugging and saying the story has taken on its own life about "some junk on our beach."

All this is interesting from a variety of angles: folklore, UFO data, artistic license and expression, Fortean stuff for its own sake. To be fair, I haven't personally spoken with anyone involved in this story, or even been able to make it out to the coast yet to see for myself. (and by this time, that window of finding anything on the beaches seems long closed.)

HULIQ:'UFO sighting beliefs counter today's science while new metal box theory floated'

(I had planned to go out there this weekend, but family illness keeps me in town for now...hopefully I can go out there next weekend.)

An update from Dave Masko on the metal boxes.UFO sighting beliefs counter today's science while new metal box theory floated. Theories are afoot. For example, "...the boxes on the beach are merely floats that were originally built to support docks," (William Hanshumaker, Hatfield Marine Science Center.)

The fear of metal boxes has to do with post Cold War angst. Or something. Time writer Jeff Wise is quoted in the article:

Mention “strange metal boxes” on the beach, and “people sort of shut down and call you a UFO nut. They need answers right now, and they won’t give an inch until they either try and understand or simply dismiss what you’re saying because ‘UFO’ is part of it,” added Errol when expressing her personal angst over being shot as the messenger for what other many in society view as real or not real.

In turn, people are funny adds Wise when noting how “the Cold War is over, but there’s still enough nuclear mega tonnage to end civilization,” but, alas, people will fear something unknown – such as UFOs and people who spot strange metal boxes on the beach – over loose nukes in our world.

The UFO connection will not go away. The boxes are disappearing, incorporated into art pieces and taken as souvenirs of alien activity.

Much of the article is the same material used in previous articles.

Keening Boxes: In Case I've Been Misunderstood

I'm very curious about this case of the keening boxes on Oregon beaches. For one thing, it's an excuse for me to get out to the coast -- research, you know.

I never thought for one moment that these glowing, screeching, impossible to open boxes buried deep in the sands contained aliens. Or came from UFOs.

The story goes: boxes, heavy, impervious to tools, glowing, weird noises, appearing on beaches said to be heavy with UFO activity. Who can resist a story like that? I'm interested in the story as a story, the insistence of those telling the story that there's UFO affected activity afoot, that residents have been awakened to terrible wailing noises, and all the rest of it. Persistence in the telling is what intrigues me.

This isn't to say UFOs aren't showing themselves along the Oregon coast. They most certainly are, and have been for some time. Whether or not the boxes have anything to do with them -- I am pretty certain the answer is a big "no."
(As my mother said, who lives in the area, "I don't think aliens would show up locked inside boxes.")

In the area is NOAA, newly arrived. The Hatfield Marine Science Center. The Newport Aquarium. There's even a Ripley's museum!

Government experiments: lost, gone awry, intentional. Or, not. Debris from the tsunami. Pretty likely. There's the insistence by some scientists that the debris wouldn't show up yet, but, it has been showing up.

Here's something interesting: a YouTube video of how the whole metal-box-on-the-beach-from-UFOs is a hoax. Furthermore, David Masko, coastal UFO investigator who broke this story, is a "CIA operative." This story gets better all the time.



There's also the snarky skeptoid words of an unnamed retired psychology professor who lives on the coast who, while correct in the opinion the boxes have nothing to do with aliens or UFOs, is utterly wrong in just about every other stupid thing that spewed from his mouth. I mean really dahlings, what a tool!

In turn, this retired professor said in a Feb. 6 Huliq interview at Stonefield Beach that most locals and visitors here “looking for those UFOs” are more or less carrying their own “baggage or self-as-content,” with views and experiences that now seem to define them.

...thinks the many “of these remote living residents who claim to see UFOs at night are simply not using the tool between their ears to figure this stuff out.”  [source: UFO sightings at Stonefield Beach reveal strange boxes up and down coast -HULIQ
 

And the astounding stupidity of those who blithely go up to the boxes, pets in tow, without a thought to the fact the boxes are glowing, and screeching, and just very odd. Either they contain ET or were ejected from UFOs, in which case it  seems like they might be dangerous, or they're radioactive debris -- or at least, an unknown something or another debris --  which means they're dangerous, (at least a good dose of potentially dangerous) material. Either way, not a bright idea to hang around the things.

I'm looking forward to finding out what I can once I get out there this weekend, but finding aliens? As much as I'd love that, it's very doubtful.

Back to Conspiracy Park

For a few years now, in various parks around here, I've been coming across  images of NWO, electronic harassment and anonymous/V spray painted on the ground, on light poles, on support beams of bridges, or on stickers and paper stuck on poles and walls.

Last summer I found one on a telephone at the end of my block:

About a block from my house, last summer 

 Here's a picture I took in August of 2009 at the other end of the park:

Taken at Valley River/Greenway Bridge, August 2008

The above, spray painted at either end of the bridge, was painted over by the city. Same signage on the ground at the other end, near where we were today, at the intersection of two paths, since covered over by the city.

I'd been seeing these for at least a year. Randomly (so it seemed) one of the local news programs aired a small segment on these signs; I wrote about it at Oregon L.O.W.F.I.:

A couple of nights ago, the local news had a short segment on these signs. Some neighbors in the area are “upset” because the signs are offensive. Apparently someone, and I suspect someone else not the original sign maker, sprayed swastikas on some of these signs. I haven’t come across any with swastikas. The news said the signs were publicity for “a movie.” I’m not so sure about that, it seems like a strange explanation, especially when no title was given or reason why they came to that conclusion. Hand lettered signs on cheap paper stuck to bridge supports, telephone and light poles; hand painted banners on flimsy paper stuck to wooden fences — doesn’t seem like much of publicity campaign.

I couldn’t find anything on-line about this from any of the local news outlets. I’m not sure which local news it was either, since they’re all the same and I switch back and forth. The short segment ended with the warning that it is illegal to affix any kind of flyer or poster, etc. to city property such as telephone and light poles.

Today, I came across these, at the other end of where we usually walk, and where I've seen the images. Today, we were walking close to the University side and Alton Baker Park. The lettering reads "What is the plan? We won't forget. Expect us." I didn't do a great job of taking pictures, I'm no photographer and my camera is just a cheap one, but I think you get the idea.

"Clown Selling" : Circus Offers Therapy for Clown Fear

Wasn't sure where to post this exactly, so I'll just put it here. (Er, clown "selling?" ) Anyway, speaking just for myself, I don't exactly have a fear of clowns; I just find them disgusting, creepy and dishonest. But if you suffer from a fear (as compared with just plain old disgust of sleeze, cheese and nastiness) you can now get clown therapy, or some such: BBC News - Circus offers 'clown-selling' for people's big-top fear. And oh hell, yeah, I am a bit scared of them too.