owl haiku

the owls

owls are plentiful
these days, appearing where you'd
least expect them to

And . . . more owls

Yes, more owls. Today in a room at work; the large bulletin board had . . . owls. Owl figures all over the place.

All this owl synchronicity -- in part, as I wrote earlier (see my owl posts below) it's messages, signals, signs, along the lines of "they're noticing you're noticing them" kind of thing. I put the intent out, as to conscious recall of orange-orb and related encounters, including missing time, and this is what happens. Throw in my affinity and relationship with animals, and we're off. But on a more mundane level, it's possible that owls are a new fashionable/trend/fad image in the culture stream; nothing esoteric, although, it is esoteric. The young person wearing a tee shirt with a giant owl on it is just wearing something they think is cool or looks good, but I doubt they're into esoteric-alien abduction-Illuminati symbolism.

But "they" know. Heh.

"Dream Academy" Synchronicity and the subconscious

Readers of The Orange Orb know that I post many of my UFO related dreams here. To my surprise, those posts receive a lot of comments and emails. I acknowledge I post those dreams here as a way of trying to discover . . . something . . . about my experiences. My own, free, little therapy blog. But others find something in these posts, as I do in the posts of others who write about their dreams, and other  vague, surreal moments. Mike Clelland's blog, hidden experience, Anya is a Channel, The Secret Sun, among others, discuss dreams, symbols, images as a language connected with the esoteric.  As individual and often just weird these dreams, experiences, or interpretations of seemingly mundane events are, these shared personal landscapes resonate, and often we find bits of synchronicity as well.

This morning, checking one of my favorite Fortean news sites, The Daily Grail, I find the following link: Dream Academy: Secrets of the subconscious unlocked. The article is a bit of a fluff piece and feels the need to add in the skeptic's  admonishments:

Louise Chunn, the editor of Psychologies magazine, said she could imagine dream groups taking off, in much the same way that "today's narcissistic society" is addicted to talking about itself on Twitter. "I can imagine talking about your dreams becoming a trend in the way that people photograph their food. Is this just another way to validate ourselves?" She warned that the upshot could be to leave those with less exciting dreams feeling inadequate.

Some psychologists and psychiatrists worry that dream groups might cause harm if the distressing emotions turned up by the subconscious mind are mistreated. Patrick McNamara, associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Boston University and author of Nightmares: The Science and Solution of Those Frightening Visions During Sleep, believes that dreams shouldn't be shared with anyone who lacks due regard for their complexity.

But the point of the article is that in the UK, dream groups are popular, and individuals are finding that discussing their dreams in groups is very helpful for them. In some cultures, discussing your dreams is not considered woo or "narcissistic" it just is, an important part of the daily routine.

Not all my dreams are UFO related. I have all kinds of dreams: dreams about obvious anxieties or issues about work, daily life, stress related dreams, weird dreams because I ate too much or not feeling well, fun dreams, silly dreams. When it comes to the UFO dreams, there is the question of intepretation, meaning. Are the dreams somewhat literal, something UFO related trying to get through, or are the symbols and scenarios stand-ins for something else? 

An example: I have a recurring dream that I find myself driving, usually alone, on a narrow, one lane bridge across the ocean. I just find myself in the middle of nowhere, all I can see is water on either side of me, in front of and behind me. The water comes up to the sides of the bridge, very scary. The bridge only has a small and frail rail on either side. It doesn't seem to have any purpose. It wouldn't stop a car from going off the bridge. I'm scared out of my mind because one slip and I'm in this water.  It's all so weird and scary: just one long narrow road on top of the water with no end in sight, no turn around, no signs, nothing.

I've had this dream for years, and still have it. Had one the other night in fact. What completely unglued me a few years ago was, I found myself on this very road! I was completely lost in Portalnd, no idea at all where I was, or going . . . I have no idea how I ended up on this road but there I was, on a narrow road with water all around, no signs, no turn around, no idea where I was going. None of that had to do with UFOs. Just a weird bit of synchronicity. 

Memory is a strange thing. Why do we remember vivid small scenes from childhood, the rest fallen away? What was it about that moment, that's stayed with us for decades, while others seem to leave? And what of the rare "scenes" where you remember, but not sure if it happened? 

image: Henry Fuseli: Nightmare (The Incubus)

Tales of the Black-Eyed People

I have my favorite UFO, esoteric/Fortean/cryptid stories, like Bigfoot-UFO accounts, Lizard Men tales, Mothman and MIBS. The glowing, talking raccoon that Dr. Kary Mullis encountered in 1983 is one of my favorite stories. Shadow people are interesting, and I've even had my own brief sighting of what I call a shadow person (something woke me up; I looked around, and a fleeting movement of something humanoid/bipedal and black, darker than the surrounding dim of the room, moving quickly through the air. It was somewhat transparent, about two feet tall. It really unnerved me) but the shadow people phenomenon doesn't scare me or intrigue me as much as other phenomenon.

But one that scares the hell out of me and grabs my deep interest are the stories of "black eyed" people. I first learned about the black-eyed people in the March-April issue of Nexus magazine. Reading Jason Offutt's Invasion of the Black-Eyed Children article was good, clean, scary Fortean fun. (Of course, I don't know how much "fun" encountering one of the people (entities?) would be; does not seem "fun" at all.)

Offutt has more on black-eyed people on his blog From the Shadows, about encounters in Texas and Nebraska.

Stephen Wagner has a few different accounts of witnesses encountering these creepy and eerie black-eyed people.

One witness account Wagner posted, from "Missy," describes the black-eyed person she saw in a Starbuck's. The description sounds like a MIB:

I should note here: I did not see anything unusual in his manner of dress. Jeans, black shirt, lightweight black jacket, (no hat, no overcoat) not unusual dress. His hair was almost black, but didn't look any darker than my boyfriend's hair (boyfriend is of Japanese descent). His skin tone was a bit olive and pale but not overly so. It was the eyes and the aura, coming off of him that scared me.

However, "Missy" goes on to say this person, or being, was decidedly malevolent. From reading other accounts of black-eyed people, they don't seem to be MIBS, not entirely anyway.

Stephen Wagner writes about a weird bit of synchronicity involving correspondence with a friend in Australia and black-eyed people.

Most of the witnesses seem to say that they were convinced the black-eyed "people" they saw weren't human. They may look human -- except for the eyes of course -- dress like humans, though often wearing either all or mostly black, but something about their overall vibe is not human. The black-eyed people seen by witnesses are both men and women. Wagner wonders what they are; are they just humans with unusually dark eyes, due to drug use, a medical condition perhaps?

Offutt writes that black-eyed people are usually:

. . .  children to young adults who use language and assertiveness that would seem to be beyond their means. But the most common thread is their eyes; black, without iris or whites, and dead like a Hollywood vampire’s.

Both Offutt and Wagner discuss the overwhelming fear witnesses experience when meeting these black-eyed entities, and the intense waves of malevolence coming off these beings.

Comparisons to both MIBs and the bug-eyed grays are understandable. The black eyed people seem to have characteristics of both. MIB type beings have been around in folklore for a very long time, predating what we commonly call the "UFO era," or, say, post WWII UFOs. (for example, see William Bramley's Gods of Eden.)  UFOs in classical art has long been a subject of interest; and here's an interesting figure in Botticelli's 1475 painting Adoration of the Magi, painted for the Medicis, shown below in full:

 Here's an inset of the painting, showing the small white or white clothed being with large black eyes, or black covered eyes, complete with black cape-like clothing and black hat:

Who knows what they are, demons, aliens, mind controlled humans... whatever they are, it's a mystery, and a downright scary one. Like other stories that are downright weird, the one thing that always has me coming back for more is the consistency and fact of the tale. In other words, as unusual as stories of black-eyed people are, (and other tales, like MIBS, Bigfoot-UFOs, reptilians, etc.) we come across these stories over and over. There are dozens of accounts like this, with the same characteristics, which is fascinating. And, creepy.

New Trickster's Realm: "Twilight Language: Cold War Inklings?"

My new Trickster's Realm is up at Binnall of America: Twilight Language: Cold War Inklings?" about the numerous Russian connections popping up in the culture stream.

Politics and entertainment (I know, what's the difference) merged when Vice President Joe Biden appeared on the Jay Leno show. Biden joined Leno in a comedy sketch and later, they discussed the busted Russian spy ring. Leno showed a photo of one of the alleged spies, Anna Chapman, who's been described as "sultry" by every talking head and newspaper it seems. Leno showed a photo of alleged spy Chapman and asked: "Do we have any spies that hot?" to which Biden, a frustrated comedian, said: "Let me be clear. It was not my idea to send her back." 

One element I could have added but didn't think of: the new movie SALT, with Angelina Jolie. I haven't seen the movie but here is another example of a "sultry" sexy female spy and a Russian connection. Is Jolie's character a good spy or a bad (Russian) spy?

Things are not what they seem in these culture episodes; politicians as thwarted comedians, Russian spies as citizens, Russian lovers/actresses/entertainers, betrayals, non-Russians appearing as Russians . . . is the culture missing the Cold War?

Stalking the Trickster on Hidden Experience

Mike Clelland of Hidden Experience blog brings us an interview with researcher Chris O'Brien on his new book Stalking the Trickster about the trickster in a paranormal/UFO context.

I've been a fan of O'Brien's for years, having read his three books on the strange happenings in Colordao's San Luis Valley. I haven't read Trickster yet but it's at the top of my list. (I hear that O'Brien in his book refers to an article I wrote but he cited the wrong source, not me; heh... trickster!)

From what I've heard O'Brien say about trickster here and other places, I like where he's going with sort of reframing the idea of Trickster in a Fortean context. Without having read the book I can't make any comments really... just have to wait.

Anyway, take a listen!

Sci Fi's Carny

Well, what a silly waste that was! Started off okay; hokey, but fun. Good monster. The Jersey Devil is caught, gets loose, causes a lot of trouble. SPOILER AHEAD...
I was enjoying it, as predictable as it was. Just enjoying the guilty pleasure of watching a TV movie about a monster. With Lou Diamond Phillips, so there you go.

But the movie didn't go anywhere, or, where it went ... didn't make sense. FAIR WARNING: here it is: at the very end, Lou Diamond Phillip's character - the sheriff, of course -- is killed. Everyone gets killed. Including the monster. The crazy preacher man character didn't make sense either; he's running around from the beginning of the movie warning everyone about the devil and how the actions of the townsfolk brought all this upon themselves; he has no compassion for the "freaks" in the carnival, and there were weird cuts and edits throughout, as if they had made the movie longer, or maybe originally wanted to air it as mini-series. For example, a relationship seemed to exist between the psychic at the carnival and the sheriff, but we didn't get to see any of that develop. A lot of plot lines were thrown out there, assuming that the audience would make assumptions.

A waste of time, too bad, but it was a good monster.

The End of the World As We Know It by Daniel Wojcik

NOTE: this wasn't done by Wojick; someone else did this and put it up on Youtube about Wojick's book. I have no idea if Prof. Wojick has seen this or not.

Well, this is a neat find. I was a student of folklore Professor Dan Wojick, author of this book, and my little contribution was to share my UFO library with him, for which he kindly acknowledged me in his credits. Professor Wojick is also very interested in Marian apparitions, (though I don't know or not if he shares my views on UFOs and Marian apparitions.) He was a great professor, his classes were all very enjoyable but more importantly, took a risk and addressed aspects of both folklore and Fortean type phenomena that not too many academics do.

Wojick is also interested in folkart, including folkart that has to do with UFOs, aliens, etc. Send images his way if you have any and are so inclined, or send them to me and I'll forward them.

---

Read about McMinnville UFO here!

Legend Tripping with Iowa's Black Angel and Mothman

I have a new post at Mothman Flutterings: Legend Tripping with Iowa’s Black Angel and Mothman

Quote of the Day

The Regan Lees, Frank Warrens, Don Ledgers, Moulton Howes, Steven Greers, Chris Rutkowskis, et al. are the UFO proletariat; they don’t count or matter. ~ UFO Provocateur(s)

Heh. Hey, I made it first on the list! Hooray for me.

Proletariat: pro·le·tar·i·at (prl-târ-t)
n.
1.
a. The class of industrial wage earners who, possessing neither capital nor production means, must earn their living by selling their labor.
b. The poorest class of working people.
2. The propertyless class of ancient Rome, constituting the lowest class of citizens.


All their other nonsense aside, they sure are a snooty bunch, aren't they?

Sunday Orb

Chemtrails
Recently chemtrails have been the topic around here. While I may mention them now and again, they are on my mind a lot. It can’t be helped; the things are up there almost on a daily basis.

Like many people, a few years ago I didn’t think about chemtrails much. I’d heard of them, as any esoterica buff would, but didn’t see what the controversy was. It all seemed too scientific and clinical in a vague way. But as I began to look both up to the skies and into the subject, I realized there was something going on. And it wasn’t (isn’t) just contrails.

I have yet to come across explanations -- satisfying explanations that make sense -- for: black beams shot out from near the nose of the plane. I’ve seen this twice. Plane going along; abruptly a beam of cloud or some substance comes shooting out from what appears to be the nose of the plane, or somewhere near the front.

The “explanations” offered by denialists have included such semantical nonsense as “I couldn’t possibly have seen a black beam since black isn’t a color,” “It was a shadow,” and of course, the old standby; I’m a liar.

I’ve seen white sky spheres -- machines -- moving slowly back and forth, in connection with the trails.

I’ve seen white, unmarked planes at extremely high altitudes, and speeds, leaving all kinds of trails behind.

I’ve seen trails that were thick, drippy, twirly, circular, X’s, elbowed or angled. I’ve seen huge squarish or rectangular shaped patches that stayed stuck in the same place in the sky for hours that were oily looking, with rainbow type colors. (The local paper called one of these a “natural phenomena” due to ice crystals. This on a hot July day, with lots of helicopter activity in the area a few days before and during.)

I think what Fortean author Colin Bennett has to say about this is excellent, and anyone even milady interested needs to read his article Chemtrails:A Fortean View.

Thanks to Cindy PDX for sharing her experiences and videos, and to everyone else, like Lesley of Debris Field, who also comments on the chemtrails in her area. Lesley of the Debris Field blog has also taken photos and video of weird things related to this.

There’s also all kinds of chemtrail forums out there, including the West Coast Chemtrails on Yahoo. Look to the menu on your right for the purple Yahoo sign up box.

Glowing Red Eyes
Kithra, who writes very well on weird things and folklore, wrote a piece on anomalous creatures with red glowing eyes. That inspired me to write about an experience I had with a being when I was a child. You can read about both on Women in Esoterica.


Native American Ancestry
There’s an idea that the majority of people with paranormal experiences and who study this field are Native American -- either enrolled in a tribe, or of that ancestry. (I’m Cherokee and Lenape.) I don’t know if this is true, and my little poll isn’t scientific in any way, but it’s interesting to see how it comes out. So far, those who’ve answered that they have Native ancestry are in the majority.


Bigfoot and Fairies
A relationship I’ve been interested in, and Lisa Shiel of Bigfoot Quest has an item on it. You can read more on my Bigfoot blog Frame 352.

The Great Gazoo Has Moved
I had a video clip stream going here of The Great Gazoo, the little green man from outer space from the Flintstones. I moved it over to Vintage UFO. Please take a look and leave comments. And if you have any unusual UFO related experiences you’d like to share that occurred before 1980, please E-Mail Me here.

Yulish on “Demonic” “Trickster”

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece on Mary as a Trickster for UFO Digest.

(Speculation on Mary as a Trickster.) What I pondered was: can we consider Marian apparitions not strictly as a religious figure, (and certainly not literally) but as a female Trickster? Stephen Yulish responded on UFO Digest with a piece of his own; he wrote:

Many Apparitions of Mary may be Tricksters but the Real Mary was not!

He and I seem to agree, kind of sort of, on the Trickster aspect, but for the wrong reasons. For example, Yulish writes:

Regan Lee's August 6 article in UFO Digest, "Speculation on Mary as a Trickster" was most fascinating. I would tend to agree with her that many if not all of the apparitions of Mary whether they are on a barn or on a tortilla or in the skies above Lourdes, are examples of tricksters, or what I would call demonic manifestations.

I have never said or suggested the Trickster is “demonic” and I don’t ever consider the Trickster in that context. Yulish, however does. So in that sense, he has misrepresented what I’ve written. Yes, I think Marian Apparitions are a Trickster like phenomenon, but never “demonic.”

This misrepresentation isn’t personal however. It’s caused by his world view, which is a religious one. Yulish considers UFOs “demonic manifestations of fallen angels sent here to deceive people.”

Yulish is correct when he writes “The Catholic Church in it's exuberance to win over native people's often incorporated pre Christian symbols and practices.” He continues that Mary couldn’t forgive sins, that she wasn’t a “saver of souls.” That may be, that’s religious doctrine, and I’m not concerned with that as much. My focus was on the image of Mary and within a paranormal context.

Yulish thinks that at a certain point later on, he “separates” from my views. I say that he’s “separated” much earlier, given his “demonic” viewpoint:

In my mind, these are examples of Ms.Lee's trickster motif. By "tricking" people into believing that Mary can save people or forgive their sins, they are kept from the truth that only Jesus can do these things. To associate these false apparitional tricksters with UFO sightings makes my case that both manifestations are demonic delusions to lead people from the truth.

He agrees, as I said “kind of sort of,” but I can’t agree, for Yulish is coming from a pronounced religious point of view. I don’t think for two seconds “only Jesus can do these things” for I don’t believe in Jesus as a divine being. Nor do I think the Trickster apparitions are “false” in the sense he means, nor “demonic.”

Yulish separates himself from me here:

Where I seem to separate myself from Ms. Lee is in her statement that Mary was not a virgin and might have been impregnated by an angel etc. Scripture is clear that the real Mary was a nice Jewish, virgin girl who found favor with God (Luke 1:27-35) and was immaculately infused by the Holy Spirit (God) not by an angel. The angel just told her what was happening.

Well, we’re just going around in circles. Scripture makes it clear, yes. Christian scripture. That don’t make it so. And this is the point his entire disagreement hinges on: he’s coming from, at all times, a Christian bias, whereas I am not.

One believes what they believe, and if Yulish believes in his version of a religion, in this case Christianity, fine. But he is in error in believing I think the Trickster is “demonic,” etc. for I do not.

Images that zap

I've seen hundreds of images of the "typical aliens" or what we think of as "typical aliens" in our current culture. I'm immune; no flashbacks of repressed alien abductions, etc. But now and then an image of "them" jolts me; gives me a deep physical nervous feeling I can't shake. The cover of Strieber's Communion did that to me.

The cover to Mike Oram's "Does it rain in other dimensions?" doesn't "scare me" -- I find it charming and familar (and okay, maybe a teeny bit "creepy") there's just something about it.

I wrote about this reaction I have someitmes to certain images from the anomalous realm on my Trickster's Realm for Binnall of America.com: Unexpected Reactions.

Here are some more images that just kind of zapped me over the years. On some subconscious level, these images just kind of unnerved me a bit.







Now I realize that none of these are of the real thing; a real photograph, video or film image. They're representations, interpretations of things some people say they say. They're not "real" in that sense. But art is an expression, and a communication, it is a type of folklore passed about. (ie folk art, etc.) Look at our current pop culture and its alien iconography. Even so, sometimes an image tugs at us, some memory, or acts as a reminder, or starts a process that pings one thing inside us and leads us to another place, and another. . .

New Trickster's Realm on BoA

The new TR - my column Trickster's Realm - is up at Binnall of America. This week's column shares stories of not only a haunted house, but a haunted road. The whole area itself seems to be haunted, from the cemetery at one end, to the Indian (yes, cliche) burial grounds at the other end. Furthermore, the question of hauntings and other weirdness following a family is posed.

While you're over there reading TR, be sure to check out all the great material on Binall of America: Lesley's Grey Matters, among others.

The Roswell Onion

Well, most everyone’s been writing on Roswell lately, due to the 60th anniversary of “the crash.” I’ve stayed away from saying anything because I have never delved deeply into Roswell, so therefore don’t have much to say. I don’t have anything of value to say about the particulars of the Roswell event itself. But I’ll go ahead and join everyone else and throw in my observations. Why not? That’s the perk of having your own blog.

Clearly, something huge and weird happened that’s continuing to be covered-up.

There’s that very large rut that’s still there, and not often mentioned. That rut is proof something on the big side crashed there.

Nick Redfern’s book Body Snatchers in the Desert offers new, if not horrific, information on what might have happened. And curiously, like that rut, his theories don’t seem to be considered seriously; or rather, they don’t seem to stick. I’m not saying Redfern is correct, who knows at this point, but he’s offered something new, and something disturbing, and something that should be given consideration other than a cursory “yeah, well. . .” and everyone moves on.

The Roswell, er, “mythos” (excuse the cliché) is in itself highly interesting. Stories of sticky fingered aliens, magic foil, and all the rest. All those people aren’t lying. Maybe they didn’t see aliens, just thought they did, maybe some sort of mass delusion overtook the town. It’s too simplistic to dismiss it all as lying townsfolk. Sure, now there’s circus folk involved (so to speak) and layer upon layer of disinformation and misinformation and okay, sometimes just plain lying, but that’s all part of any UFO event. Roswell’s just bigger.

Oh yes, then there’s those alien ghosts Jim Marrs speaks about. That’s highly interesting as hell!

I agree with those who think we shouldn’t spend too much time on Roswell, while ignoring other cases, particularly current ones. Still , to try to bury it once and for all would be a disservice to UFOlogy as well as the more general world of the weird and anomalous: myths, motivations, deceits, belief, government manipulations and more.

Whether or not one believes ET crashed there, something happened, something so important that the government still believes it needs to cover it up. Obviously the Mogul balloon explanation doesn’t fly, and no one took the crash test dummies seriously. (I don’t think the government took that one seriously either.)


Personally, I don’t think aliens crashed there. I’m not sure why I don’t believe that. I “believe” (hate that word) extraterrestrials are about. Out there, down here, and have been for thousands of years. But that’s just me and my good old ancient astronaut theory.


The point isn’t, almost, whether ET crashed there or not. (Well, now of course it is a huge point, if it could be proven. . .) I mean that, aside from that point, there are other layers to the Roswell onion that can still reveal things about ourselves, each other, and “them.”

Tim Binnall, Brad Steiger, and Trickster

Tim Binnall’s season two finale interview with Brad Steiger was inspiring, reminding me of what I consider to be the crucial points of esoteric research and phenomena. (Including UFOs.)

Steiger stressed that at the core of all these anomalous events (always keeping in mind this includes UFOs) is the Trickster element. (Steiger isn’t the only researcher that believes this; see George P. Hansen’s The Trickster and the Paranormal.)

Another point Steiger made was that no one has the answer, (which should seem obvious) and yet so many come out and insist that that is exactly what they have.

There was also the point made that younger researchers sometimes are ignorant of the older, previous researchers that have gone before and set the way for others; Steiger himself, Keel, Sanderson, Fodor, etc. Young ghost busters tromping through haunted houses with high tech equipment, or UFO “researchers” who read one or two books and think they know it all. I’d add to this that it isn’t just young people, nor all young people, but that this attitude is found among all age groups. There are calls to ignore the history and focus on the now, which is a disservice to all research. (At the same time, you don’t want to get stuck in the past.)

The chronic skeptics, in all their varieties, point to the fact that after so many years -- whether it’s sixty years or a thousand -- we haven't found any answers. That’s true, if one means, by “answer,” the final one size fits all solution to the UFO question. We haven't found “the answer.” The point is, we very likely won’t. That’s unacceptable for some. For others, it’s a non-issue, since we heavily suspect we’ll never find the “answer” and anyway, that’s beside the point.

(Painting: section of Boticelli's Adoration of the Magi 1475)


The persistently skeptical also tell us us that much of UFO and anomalous phenomena seems silly and downright pointless. Conflicting information given by “aliens,” their general behavior, the elusive nature; it’s too uselessly complex and nonsensical.

But that’s what makes it fun; and it’s what the Trickster does; confuse and play cruel jokes. Maybe it makes sense to itself; tough if we can’t get it. Or maybe it knows we can’t get it, and that’s why it delights in doing what it does. Maybe it’s nothing personal at all and we’re personifying; it just is what it is, and we are what we are. No matter, for the Trickster is still at it, regardless of what we think about it.

None of this means there really aren’t Martians living beneath the surface of Mars, or that there are bases on the back side of the Moon. (Maybe.) If any of that is so, that’s only a fraction of the Big Paranormal Picture. A lot more is still to come.

And actually, I suspect that it is really very “simple” in a way: as Steiger called it, we live parallel to a “shadow” world/reality. They do their thing, we do ours. Sometimes, more often than some of us would acknowledge, we meet each other, We find ourselves plunked into their world, or we meet up with “visitors” from theirs. The boundaries between the two aren’t all that firm, as much as some of us like to pretend it is. Indeed, one of the main functions of the Trickster is crossing boundaries.

So thanks to Tim Binnall for all his great work in bringing us (and for free) solid interviews with all kinds of UFO and esoteric researchers, including Brad Steiger.


Resources:
Binnall of America
Brad and Sherry Steiger
The Trickster and the Paranormal

Little Green Men

A collection of "little green men" (though a few aren't so little) images, just because:







A collection of "little green men" (though a few aren't so little) images, just because:

New Take on the "Owlman"

Another interesting feature today about the Mawnan Owlman. Tulpa? Manifested surrealism? Always a classic Fortean/Crypto story that never gets tiring. At least, not for flying saucer/crypto junkies like myself.

Wild Women and Shape Shifters

Lisa Shiel, author of the Bigfoot Quest Blog and Backyard Bigfoot: The True Story of Stick Signs, UFOs, & the Sasquatch encourages woman to get involved in Bigfoot research. As Shiel points out, there are very few women in Bigfoot research. There’s herself, and Autumn Williams, and that’s about it.

Both women are active researchers: they’re field researchers, actually going out there and doing all the physical “nuts and bolts” research things one does in search of Bigfoot.

But, there’s a difference as well. Both of these women have had no problem at all with making public their views that Bigfoot is more than just a flesh and blood creature.

Shiel believes that Bigfoot is much more than just basically a “giant ape” or some other animal. There’s much more to Bigfoot than the simple idea it’s another animal. It’s a shape shifter, it’s paranormal, it’s no mere big dumb missing link.

Williams has a different take on this, but both agree that it’s vital to include all the data when investigating reports, and that includes the stories of UFOs, floating lights, telepathy, dematerialization, and all the other weirdness often associated with Bigfoot encounters.

I’ve found that the few women who are involved in Bigfoot research in some way very naturally include the high strangeness data. They are more open to the possibilities, more open with their own experiences that many consider far too weird to discuss seriously.

(With all due respect, take a look at what Loren Coleman has said about Mary Green. Not pretty. Mary Green is a Bigfoot experiencer/researcher of the “high strangeness” kind.)

Shiel says that being a woman in a predominantly male field has its share of expected nonsense:

Now I like men. But as a woman—even worse, a single woman—engaged in a testosterone-ridden field of research, I can testify to the fact that most male Bigfoot researchers haven't heard about equal rights or women in the workplace. One man told me women don't want to get involved in Bigfoot research because they're afraid of the woods. Come on!

I remember watching a program on the Sci-Fi channel with Bigfoot researcher Autumn Williams. There were others on the team; I forget who, but she was the leader of the field research team and the only female. She was the bigfoot expert, not them. None of the men were in any way overtly asses, but one guy just had to up and mock her, and do stupid things like make ape calls as loud as he could. and this from an adult, who seemed to be in his fifties. I had to laugh at the way Williams really ripped him a new one.

This is the elephant in the room; I’ve spoken to a lot of female UFO and bigfoot writers, experiencers and researchers, and the things said -- and done -- to them at times is frustratingly astounding. We don’t talk about it for a lot of reasons. Females in any male dominated field experience this, this is not news. It’s so typical, it’s boring to even comment on. Still, it does get to one at times. It’s just a matter of fact aspect of being in this field. I’ve been sent ugly e-mails, and ugly things have been written about me openly on-line, by men. I’ve been called a lesbian (not that’s there anything wrong with that) (but I’m not,) a Jew-bitch, a man-hater. I’ve been “accused” of “wanting to write like a man” and, that I “write like a man.” (that’s either a backhanded compliment or so surreal it’s not worth trying to figure out.) I’ve been told I have a “castration problem” and my husband has been called names (he doesn’t even go on line!) simply because he’s married to me; the implication being he’s a wimp. (Listen, the man’s a double Scorpio, believe me, he’s not afraid of nuttin’, see?!) I’ve maintained for decades that the real last threat to some men from females exists on an intellectual level. (I experienced this in philosophy classes in college.) Men are no exception, we’re all called names and insulted. Take a look around and you’ll find insult fests going on between various male writers and researchers that make you wonder how we’re supposed to take anyone seriously, if they behave so badly? Anyway, this somewhat beside the point; I don’t intend to go off an a tangent here. It's a given, and you move on.


Shiel encourages women who are researching Bigfoot to contact her. Please do:

If you are a women involved in Bigfoot research, please e-mail me at lisa@upbigfoot.com. If you have a blog or website, we can exchange links. Women researches need to help and support each other as much as possible—start our own groups, exchange knowledge and wisdom, provide moral support.

I don’t consider myself a true Bigfoot researcher, since I've never once gone out in the woods to look for Bigfoot. (And it’s not because I’m afraid of the woods.) If anything, I’m an “armchair” scholar on Bigfoot, and that includes all the high strangeness stories concerning Bigfoot, the focus being on the anomalous aspects of encounters.

I don’t know if I personally will ever go out to look for Bigfoot on an expedition, because I’m convinced it’s pretty much pointless. Bigfoot will show itself if and when it wants to, not because you’re out there. Following up on stories would be interesting, however, and clues could be found; but it’s all in the approach. Banging around out there making lots of noise and thinking Bigfoot’s going to appear on cue is ridiculous.

Right now there is a possible Bigfoot case in my area that I’ve been keeping track of. The case includes paranormal activity. If I get involved in this further, I will do physical research as well. This isn’t in hopes of seeing a Bigfoot, but rather to gather any possible evidence of something anomalous.

So if you’re a female researcher of the anomalous, including Bigfoot, know that there are women out there like Lisa Shiel, like myself, and others, who are supportive of your efforts.

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Valley of the Skookum
I received my copy of In the Valley of the Skookum: Four Years of Encounters With Bigfoot, by Sali Sheppard-Wolford. (Sheppard-Wolford is Autumn Williams’ mother.) I stayed up until 3:30 am reading it. I couldn't put it down. I didn’t finish it, not for lack of trying, but I’m about a chapter away from the end. There’s much to say about this book, including the orange lights seen by many of the witnesses and my own orange orb sighting. But that’ll have to wait for another day.

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Linda Martin
By way of Lisa Shiel’s blog, I discovered another female Bigfoot researcher; Linda Martin. I’m not familiar with Martin, and followed the link from Lisa’s blog to Martin’s Bigfoot sightings, where I found she had picked up on my little WTF blurb on Technorati, on accepting anomalous Bigfoot data in Bigfoot research. Martin is open to the possibility of a shape shifting BF, but remains skeptical as well. Can’t ask for more than that.

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Notes
Lisa Shiel: http://bigfootquest.blogspot.com/2007/04/wild-women-of-woods.html
Linda Martin: http://www.bigfootsightings.org/
Regan Lee, WTF Technorati blurb:http://technorati.com/wtf/bigfoot/2007/03/30/bigfoot-a-shapeshifter-1
Sali Sheppard-Wolford: Valley of the Skookum

“Mock Them As Barflies From Venus and Mars”

Alfred Lehmberg, of An Alien View blog, has written another great piece, this one on the perception by chronic skeptics who spend large units of time sneering at abductees. No understanding, just the lowest and easiest form of attack. I also saw this piece as a metaphor for other issues, including non-UFO ones.

“Forget that the saucers still fly in your skies; forget the abducted, and pretend that their cries... are musings of idiots, cretinous loons who scratch at your wallet then howl at your moon. But it's you, not *abductees*, "out to lunch" here today! It is YOU, and not them, sopped in naiveté!”

What is so often missed in all this craziness and high strangeness, is what it does to all of us, and why. I don’t pretend to know the “why,” and often am unaware of it doing anything at all to me. We need these experiences, whether it’s us that’s having them, or someone else. Among other things, these abductees, and encounters with entities, and all the rest of it, are gifts. Not just for the individual experiencer, but everyone. These “gifts” are not often appreciated, wanted, or even good ones -- give it back! But they are gifts, of a kind, reminding us that it’s not just us solid citizens out here doing the hard core reality thing.

These events have been going on for thousands of years, and we’ve been trying to figure them out -- or suppress them -- for just as long. Doesn’t seem we’ve gotten anywhere, and insisting that those that experience the anomalous are money hungry, emotionally needy, lying fruitcakes with mental diseases is getting a bit tired.