The 8th Annual McMinnville UFO Festival Mini Report

The 8th Annual McMinnville UFO Festival in McMinnville, Oregon. The festival happens in the small town of McMinnville every year, McMinnville being the home of Paul and Evelyn Trent. Paul Trent snapped two photos of a UFO he saw flying in the sky above his farm in 1950.

Last minute cancellation had us scurrying with little time to get up to McMinnville, and we didn't bring a camera (damn!) I forgot my cell phone, and we trusted the vague directions on the web site. 1-5 indeed! For anyone leaving the Eugene area, do not take 1-5, which should seem obvious, I do know. Oh, and another obvious point: don't travel during rush hour. Nothing like being stuck -- stuck! as in dead stopped -- on the interstate! We were in Portland before we realized we were way off, but since my husband's a maniac (thank god) we took a lovely rural road through Newberg to McMinnville. Next time: take 99W. Direct, simple, there you go. Okay, you probably don't want to hear about my near panic attack stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, and how I've turned into a hick living here for 30 years and now think of po-dunk Eugene as the big city,

We get there about 6:00 pm, no time to eat, and our blood sugar is dropping by the second. Check into the delightful McMenamins Hotel Oregon and walk a short block to where the conference speakers: Peter Robbins, Peter Davenport, and David Jacobs, were speaking.

The room seemed packed. It was good to know you could order a slice of pizza and a glass of that great McMenamins brew. (My favorite is the Ruby Ale, he likes their Hammerhead.) We hadn't eaten since noon; blood sugar going down fast. The pizza helped, but we both needed real food. The constant sound of the ancient cash register clanking every few moments was a distraction though, hard to hear the speakers.

First speaker, Peter Robbins, who gave a very thorough talk on the death (murder) of James Forrestal. Robbins was articulate, his research solid. I was interested, being very familiar with the Forrstal story. But as my husband said -- who wasn't familiar with the story -- it was boring. I have to agree; unless you had some background into the topic, it would be hard to see exactly what it had to do with UFOs. For the context -- a UFO Festival -- the choice was a poor one. Even I found myself getting impatient, and I was interested. Don't misunderstand, I thought Robbins did a good job of researching his material. I just don't think it was a good fit for this particular venue.

By this time it was getting late, and, despite the slice of pizza, we were both hungry and tired. David Jacobs was next, and he was very engaging. He was funny and his overview of UFOs in pop culture, leading up to the abduction phenomeana, was an excellent choice for the festival. We left towards the end, and so I didn't get to hear the last of Jacob's presentation.

I enjoyed Jacob's but wonder at his conclusions regarding the Contactees. He dismissed them as charlatans, and while he was funny doing it, I wondered at his easy rejection. Jacob's has said in the past that, as a history professor, he approaches the UFO phenomena from that perspective. That makes a lot of sense to me. While I don't agree with Jacob's on the abduction phenomeana (because I don't know what to think) I understand where he's going. Given that approach, why doesn't Jacob's see that there's something more to the Contactees than just a bunch of kooks?

Back to the McMenamins Hotel Oregon. Most of the rooms are just a room, bathroom down the hall. There are some rooms available with bathrooms, but those were booked long ago. Thank god the bathroom (very large, with showers, etc.) was right across our room. There's free Wi Fi, always a good sign. If you sign up for the UFO Festival package, it includes dinner and breakfast (good food), tickets to the speakers, two glass tumblers with the UFO Festival logo, and silly and fun bobbing things to wear on your head (yes, of course I wore mine!) There were also book displays, including Peter Robbin's collection of vintage UFO books and comics, a masquerade ball, and the alien parade the next day.



The McMennimmin's do beautiful and charming work; they retain the original features of the places they buy, and add their own touch. If you live in Oregon, or visit, try to explore one of their places. (The McMenamins in Troutdale is amazing.) Doors and walls are painted with original paintings of local artists. Many of the paintings, quotes painted on the walls, murals, etc. have to do with the history of the place. For example, two of the paintings on two of the doors are of Mrs. Trent, surrounded by her rabbits, looking up at a UFO, and one of the reporters who first wrote about the case.

Later that night we went one of the four bars inside the Hotel Oregon. It was much quieter there and the only people there were Jacbos and Davenport and several others at a long table. The next morning at breakfast Davenport came down and sat in the booth next to ours. We hadn't signed up for the full two day package, so didn't attend the morning panel. I would have liked to have stayed for that, but being it was short notice we had to get back to Eugene.

As rushed and crazy as it was, and despite the "doh!" moments, like no camera, etc. it was well worth it. We both plan to go next year, and this time sign up for the full two night package. And sign up early!

Edited to add: We reserved a room (no bath, those are already booked for next year!) for two nights. See you there next year.

McMenimins UFO logoimage source: http://www.ufofest.com/ufofest07/

Peter Robbins:
http://www.jerrypippin.com/UFO_Files_peter_robbins.htmC

McMinnville UFO Festival:
UFO Fest.com
http://www.ufofest.com/ufofest07/

“Be Honest About What You See . . .” Cooper and Symington

Looks like both The OrangeOrb (er, me) and the Heavy Stuff blog were wrong; Anderson Cooper has picked up on the Symington story. Actually, to be specific, the author of Heavy Stuff wrote that Cooper probably won’t ask Symington who ordered him to pull that trivializing stunt with his aide in an alien suit. Good question.
While Cooper does a good job of reporting on Symington’s sighting and what Symington has to say without stopping to mockery or lame little green men jokes, he didn’t ask that question.

The Stories

“Be honest about what you see, get out of the way and let the story reveal itself.” ~ Anderson Cooper

When it comes to UFOs and related experiences (Forteana, etc) this is the starting point for all of us. For many of us it is all we have. It’s all I have, regarding my own experiences. I don’t have bits of a spaceship, a photograph of an alien (assuming those two things were ever part of the events -- who can say?) I don’t have “proof.” (See Stanton Friedman’s articles in the March issues of UFO Magazine and MUFON Journal for his perspective on the demands for proof.)

The more conservative skeptics, who are perennially affronted at the likes of us, basically tell us to just shut up. They have many tactics for doing this, including trotting out the more garish and embarrassing characters in UFOlogy as proof the whole thing is nonsense. They’ve set up a closed system: anecdotal evidence isn’t evidence at all, therefore unless you have bits of a spaceship from Mars, go away.

So while the anti-UFOists, the chronic skeptics, debunkers and the like continue to mock and chide, the rest of us are left with our experiences. Getting no help from them (quite the opposite much of the time) we’re left with a hodge podge of UFO witnesses. Some have mind up their minds, sure, and that’s not good. Some believe they’re been in contact with extraterrestrials, and maybe they have. Maybe the beings have told them as much. That doesn’t mean they’re telling the truth: they could be anything from a mind control black op Dr. Evil government experiment to inner earth entities. Whatever they are, those of us who’ve experienced weird things are trying to figure it out. And all around us are people who feel they have some sort of intellectual -- moral, even -- imperative to insult, mock and harass. Or we have institutionalized science telling us, from afar, what it is we experienced.

The majority of the time, all we have is anecdotal evidence. Intuition. Imagination. Our own inner dance. Perceptions. And while I’m not so naive -- nor ignorant -- to think institutionalized science should suddenly get happy and embrace these feel good concepts, it wouldn’t hurt for the individual humans involved in these projects to check in with themselves from time to time.

UFO witnesses, experiencers of the weird in general, need to tell their stories, and their stories need to be listened to without rancor or ridicule.

Notes:

Lesley, of Debris Field, has written her new column for Binnall of America will be on the Phoenix Lights/Symington revealation, but it wasn’t up last time I checked. Keep checking BOA though.
BOA: http://binnallofamerica.com/
Debris Field: http://thedebrisfield.blogspot.com/

Heavy Stuff blog:http://theheavystuff.com/

Recent writings. . .

On UFO Digest, you'll find "Alien" "Abductions" musing on the term: is it an apt term to use or not?

And in the recent issue of UFO Magazine, I write about Joe Nickell, skeptic, and his thing for owls in "Attack of the Owls."

Look for my Trickster Realm column on Tim Binnall's site BOA (Binnall of America,) where I take yet another angle on the Trent Tempest affair in The Trent Trickster Three. The column goes up Monday. While you're there, take a look at the other writers over there: Lesley, author of Grey Matters, Tina Sena's Esortericana, Khyron's The K-Files and Joe Vee's Wrath of Joe.

Bob Luca Jr. Comments on "Luca Land"

In February, I wrote an item on Bob Luca Jr.’s contention the Betty Andreasson Luca UFO abduction was a hoax. He recently commented on that entry:

I am Bob Jr. First off, I did not leave the family 30+ years ago. You didn't read my web page or my write-up carefully enough. I had my falling out with my father a couple years ago. also, it is my father who backed out on taking a lie detector test side by side with me. I am ready willing and able. He declined. The item he posted in the paper about me was blown out of proportion. It is when I hit rock bottom from drinking and I called for help. I went in for rehab from drinking. He should do the same! My father just kicks up dirt, but will not debate me as what I say is the truth. Note for the record he is on psyc. medication, and not me! He still won't have the lie detector test done with me. Why is this. He could then proove me wrong so why won't he. Also, my statement about moving out when I was 19 refered to me being on my own and my father never lived on his own, but always with his mom and / or with a woman, but never alone. So I would read up better before you jump to conclusions to the story. What I print is true and there will be more testimony from more people soon. I amdoing that since he copped out of that lie detector test.

I replied that I did not say he left the family thirty years ago; I said the case was more than thirty years old.

I also told Luca, Jr. that I had freely acknowledged I didn’t give his site full attention, and the reasons why I didn’t.

You can read more on the original post here.

Whether you’re an experiencer,UFO witness,skepti-bunkie, skeptic, or wherever you land in all this (as with all UFO and Fortean experiences) all any of us have are the stories of others. Intuition goes a long way, and more of us should trust ours. As I commented to Bob Jr. no one knows the “true” story, certainly not me. However, based on his presentation, my own experiences, research, and intuition, I’m not so quick to buy into his his story either.

And in a not unusual bit of synchronicity, as I was writing this, I found this link in my email box from the UFO Experiences blog; an interview with Betty Andreasson.

Bigfoot:Patterson-Wallace Synchronicity

It feels like Bigfoot is following me. Lots of Bigfoot items coming my way, recent conversation with Lisa Shiel (Backyard Bigfoot,) and too many threads to follow up on. And last night I posted this item over on the OrangeOrb on My Space (basically it's a billboard and a back-up) on a Wallace/Patterson connection. Of a sorts. Then I see that Loren Coleman on cryptomundo has posted a Wallace/Patterson item as well. Maybe Sasquatch is psychic after all.

The Trent Tempest

image source:UFO Casebook

Another UFO tempest in a teapot: here's the last item (hopefully) on the so-called "lost" Trent photo: The Trent Tempest on UFO Digest.

UFO Digest: "Lost" Trent Photo

More on the McMinnville, Oregon “lost” photo by moi.
A “Lost” Trent Farm Photo Surfaces? on UFO Digest.

Fewer Crop Circles These Days

It appears there are fewer circles lately. Nick Redfern on UFO Mystic has a thread on this news. I commented over there that my take on the circles is that they're man made; not by hoaxers, as in guerrilla artists, shills, or pranksters, but some sort of technological weapons testing, or something of that kind related to the good old military industrial complex. Nick mentions that, while the crop circles are fewer in number, there's been a rise in UFO sightings.

LAST WORD ON ROBERT A. LUCA, JR.

As I wrote earlier, it’s obvious he’s a troubled person. Knowing a bit more about him from various sources, combined with the overall tone of his website, I think it’s best for UFO researchers to ignore him.

What’s sad about this -- aside from the unhappiness and negative energy this man is going through, and, seems to inflict on others -- is the fact this “revelation” is being used by many anti-UFOists to say “Ha! It was all just a hoax!”

Nothing of the kind, of course. And those who use the words of Ray Luca, Jr. to “prove” that the Betty Andreason Luca experience was a “hoax” reveal their lack of knowledge, and thinking abilities.

For these two reasons: the innate sadness of another human being, Ray Luca, and,the fact this proves nothing, nothing at all regarding the veracity of Betty’s experiences, serious UFO researchers and students should just put this to rest.

Of course, this is all just my opinion. As the good Lesley said recently in her article
“What Am I?” for her Grey Matters column over on Binnall of America, I’m just babbling.

As we all are.

But, I don’t think I’ll be babbling about this topic any more.

'Sky Lanterns:' A Few Thoughts On A Non-Issue

A few items have been appearing about the ‘UFOs’ that are really balloons, or lanterns. Sky Lanterns , or ‘glo-laterns’ are some terms for them. You can buy them on-line. Popular, and used at parties, weddings, celebrations, etc. these lighted orange balloons light up the night skies with (what I assume) is a delightful display.

At first, there were some misidentifications. Not knowing what they were; balloons, they were considered “UFOs.” Which, taken literally, they were. Very quickly, everyone realized they weren’t flying saucers from Mars, or anything paranormal, alien, or weird; just pretty lights with a prosaic purpose.

People have been making and releasing lights in the sky for decades. Pranksters, hoaxers, have been playing with candles, lights, clear garbage bags, etc. for a long time just to goof around.

And if you, or I, saw some odd lights in the sky, and couldn’t readily identify it, it’s a UFO. What’s wrong with that? What else are we to think? Of course it’s a UFO. It’s unidentified, and we don’t know what it is. Are we to ignore it and move on? Is that what the dominant paradigm wants us to do? So big deal, it turns out it’s a sky lantern. No harm. Good to know.

But some feel it’s important to go on about this non-issue and beat us about the head with the obvious. Sometimes I feel like I really am living in Alice Land. Up is down, mountains are molehills, molehills are mountains, the elephant in the room has just stomped on your dog and no one mentions it. We’re immersed in minutia while ignoring the huge big great immense awful mysterious lying deceitful poisoning wondrous stuff out there. Black is white, green is pink, and people get intellectually bent out of shape over nothing, while ignoring meatier issues.

And all this while, a lot of people want One Big Final Answer to Everything, so we can all go back to bed.

As if that will stop anything. Once we the Big Final Answer to Everything, surely that will only bring up more questions.

WHY DON'T THEY FAKE IT?

Pictured:Edward J. Ruppelt, General Ramey, image source:Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/edward-j-ruppelt

UFO Is Reported at O'Hare; Feds Are Silent

All Things Considered, January 1, 2007 · In November, a gray, metallic, saucer-like object was spotted hovering above Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. As many as 12 United Airlines employees spotted the object and filed reports with United.

Officials at the airline say they have no knowledge of the incident, and the Federal Aviation Administration is not investigating.

Melissa Block speaks with Chicago Tribune transportation reporter Jon Hilkevtich, who reported on the incident.

Reading Dr. Lynne Kitei’s book The Phoenix LIghts, two things struck me as odd. One, the apathetic and bewildered response (or lack of response) from official agencies (military, law, etc.) and the lack of response from both UFO researchers and anti-UFOists (chronic skeptics) about this.

About the Phoenix Lights: forget the “flare theory.” Even if you accept that as the explanation (sigh)) it doesn’t cover the nights previous to, and following, that night’s UFO events. (Not to mention a decades long history of UFO sightings in the area.)

UFOs were filmed and photographed; and literally hundreds of citizens witnessed these objects. Numerous calls to agencies went ignored, or were shuffled off to other agencies who didn’t know (or pretended not to know) anything either. Explanations, when forthcoming, changed, and it was clear no one in any official capacity knew a damn thing.

Seems to be the way with the O’Hare sighting. Whatever the object was, it was something and no, a natural phenomeana, like the flares story, just won't do.

It is beside the point, for the sake of this argument, what the UFOs in Phoenix and Chicago were, if they came from space or not, if they were ours, or aliens. I’m not so much concerned with inane questions about “beliefs” in UFOs and/or aliens, but the lack of a vital and active response from those supposedly in control.

The point is, we have layers upon layers of baffled bureaucracies that don’t know a damn thing, and have long ago given up any illusion of pretending to care.

Damn it. When we see weird objects in the skies above our cities, I expect local, state, and federal agencies to act like they have everything under control. That they know what’s what.

I want a few people -- in uniform, if at all possible -- to hit the airwaves, the radio, CNN, and somberly state that they are investigating, or that it’s classified, or that... anything, something, as long as that something conveys a solid sense of We Know What We’re Doing.

Even if it’s clear they’re lying (they’re politicians, law, and government, of course they’re lying) or that they really don’t have a clue, who cares? These days in particular, with our current administration, we’re well used to them lying even while not knowing what they’re doing. That’s a minor point; the point is, where is everyone?

From roughly the late 1940s to the 1960s our government had several official programs (Project Twinkle, Project Grudge, Project Bluebook, and the Air Force as official agency handling UFO reports) devoted to studying UFOs. Of course, as we know, the general purpose seemed to be debunking UFOs or passing on disinformation. But they at least pretended to assure the country everything was A-OK.

When it comes to UFOs flying over our cities, it’s insane to pretend that they’re not. And that is what various agencies of authority have been doing in recent years regarding UFOs. We’ll just say “what UFOs”and maybe they’ll go away. Like Alfred E. Neuman, the reaction to UFO reports is "What, me worry?"

Even if the UFOs don’t go away, as long as they’re not really doing anything (the UFOs, not the humans) the agencies can get away with acting oblivious.

They can get away with it because no one is calling them on it. The ones that are, are the ‘UFO kooks,,” the ones the chronic skeptics, the anti-UFOists, call anyone who refuses to quietly accept the silly explanations like swamp gas, plasma, flares, or clouds. Refusing to immediately accept the all too quick and weak explanations, those of us who say “hey, wait a minute...’ are allowed to get beat up by the anti-UFOists because no one’s shaking them by their collars and telling them to knock it off.

One would think the U.S. government would act all gruff and strong and humbug and serious and state firmly that the UFO event (Phoenix, O’Hare, etc.) is being taken care of. “We care,” they should be saying, “We really do. We’re looking into this. and now go back to whatever you were doing, nothing to see here.” One would think the government would at least pretend to act like it’s ready to take charge in a big blustery way and put up a good show to the rest of the world.

Instead, when it comes to UFOs, the United States seems to enjoy looking like buffoons. In this post 9/11 era, one would hope for something better. The Air Force no longer has anything to do with UFOs; no official agency does. (At least on the surface; it's a safe and rational assumption to think they're actually paying great attention.) As many have pointed out, including George Hansen in his book Trickster and the Paranormal, there is no official policy of being remotely interested in the subject. If it weren’t for people like Peter Davenport and his National UFO Reporting Agency, or MUFON, -- neither of who receive any government money at all -- we’d be up a creek in regards to UFO activity.


We have a smattering of reporters who risk credibility and their jobs in taking serious looks into UFO reports, dedicated individual UFO researchers like Peter Davenport, MUFON members, various bloggers, writers, investigators and UFO related publications and a scant handful of national television programs, like Out There TV, and C2C. After that are pod casts, local radio and televisions programming, satellite programs, etc.

As to officials, their seems to be a hierarchy among “officials” when it comes to UFOs. Municipal police seem to be neutral to matter of fact when it comes to UFOs. This is purely an observation, nothing more. But police will follow up on reports, and many a police officer has seen a UFO. (The Illinois UFO sighting in 2000 is a good example.) But the higher up you go, the more dysfunctional things get.

The rest are left to their own devices, sneered at by the chronic skeptics, ignored by government agencies at just about all levels. We pay taxes for these services and should expect more, even if they are faking it.

Instead, we get either a mad dash at a silly explanation before it gets squashed, or it’s ignored altogether.

Maybe “they’ (you know, them) have given up. After all, as I admit freely here, any uniformed official, as a Representative of Something (preferably Air Force/military) is going to be lying. We all know that.

One example: if the Triangles are classified military craft, and not something extraterrestrial, then what the hell are they doing flying over populated areas, and in the restricted airspace's of other countries? The officials can't very well admit that they’re doing something illegal. They can’t acknowledge they’re performing illegal maneuvers in restricted air space. Still, they could just lieif only to make us feel a bit better, even for a few moments. It wouldn’t be the first time.

But sometimes there’s comfort in faking it, even if all of us know damn well they’re faking it. The faker is a sort of scapegoat for us who don’t trust a thing he/she says. For the chronic skeptics, the faker will be perceived as a rational voice in the midst of UFO insanity. Which in turn will propel the rest of us to laugh heartily before getting pissed off and doing something about it, like exposing the faker for the faking faker he/she is. And for rest of the culture, people are left to decide for themselves what to do. Ignore the whole thing, believe the official explanation, etc. Witnesses who may not have had much previous interest in UFOs may now say ‘Hey just wait a goddamn minute” and begin their own journeys.

The Representative of Something can provide needed functions for our culture. In trickster like reversal, it’s possible the ostensible purpose of officials placating the public might actually do the reverse.

WELL, GLAD THAT’S ALL CLEARED UP!

"Skeptics longs [sic] knew (scratch that ... long suspected) that the very nature of UFO sightings -- always occurring away from urban areas . . ."

But no matter, because:

” . . .UFOs don’t exist.”

And here's the quote of the week, on why one would hoax a UFO photo:

"Stories also tended to make girls scared, and thus with a little alcohol, they could be hit upon."

RIP: UFO Sightings. b. 1946, d. 2006