Demons and Deer

Thanks to Lesley Gunter at The Debris Field for the following links, both of which are very interesting for their perspectives on UFOs.

"The UFO manifestations seem to be, by and large, merely minor variations of the age-old demonological phenomenon. " (John A. Keel, The Trojan Horse)

Aliens are Demons We start with the following story link at UFO Disclosure blog: Experiences Changes Mind - Aliens Are Demons. Immediately the mind rebels: "demons?" That superstitious Christian fear based crap? But if we think of "demon" as an entity -- akin to Djinn, say -- and strip the label of its religious trappings, we might get somewhere. However, UFO Disclosure does not take any of these ideas seriously, commenting that he and Nick Redfern recently debated the idea of "demonic" forces at work within a UFO context. And the story itself, from "Messina" -- while described in somewhat sexist terms by UFO D. who paraphrases Messina's theory: "...including combining the missed periods of women in the 40's going thru the change of life - into being aborted by the aliens in their spaceship." (I've never interpreted my hot flashes as being alien induced probings, though they sure as hell feel damn supernatural sometimes.) Messina's story, about abductee Camille James Harman and linked to by UFO Disclosure, reports that Harman prayed for clarity regarding her alien encounters as she worked on her book about those encounters:

 "I started to pray, 'God, give me an answer to this whole mystery. I want to have a useful conclusion.' I was then guided to read a couple of books that I hadn't come across in my research. (Later on), a profound feeling of grace came over me. I felt the divine, protected and guided." Harman considers herself a born-again Catholic."

Not just a born again Christian, but a born again Catholic. I find this distinction intriguing for its connection to Marian apparitions and UFOs. I find myself in a betwixt and between place with all this. Fear and religious constraints vs. non-human but not ET alien alien. Meaning, some non-human, intelligent force that's been with us for eons. John Keel is just one of many UFO researchers who long ago came to this conclusion. Really nothing new, yet still a shadowy kind of theory that hangs out on the fringes of UFOlogy. This is not to say other entities also exist, including literal ETs.

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Deer Men and UFOs
I've been thinking on deer imagery in relation to UFOs for awhile now, as I wrote about not long ago. Besides the deer connection, the account of other animals and their behavior as signals something is definitely not at all right is a subject I've been following for some years. So I found this link at The Debris Field interesting: UFOs and Deer Men in Oklahoma, at Mysterious Universe. Very cool encounters, and scary as hell. Definite high strangeness!

The Debris Field: The Wake Up Now Conference - why was it important and what does it mean for Albuquerque now and in the future?

Lesley Gunter was a part of the team that brought The Wake Up Now Conference to Albuquerque-- how I wish I could have been there! It would have been wonderful to meet Lesley in person after all these years, and to meet and hear all the speakers. I'm glad it was a success, and you can read more about it here:
The Debris Field: The Wake Up Now Conference - why was it important and what does it mean for Albuquerque now and in the future?

Brazen Hussies Invade Earth! Serious UFO Research Attacked!

 Cigarette Smoking Woman Single-handedly brings down UFO research! In her slip, no less!

Disclosure:  I write for both the on-line 'zine, UFO Digest, as well as the print publication UFO Magazine. 

When Deirdre O'Lavery of Interstellar Housewife and JAR announced she was UFO Magazine's newest columnist, I was thrilled. She shared some of her ideas for her column's title with myself and a few others, including fellow UFO Magazine columnists Lesley Gunter at The Debris Field  and Alfred Lehmberg of Alien View.  The one column title that really said "Deirdre" to me was Saucers, Slips and Cigarettes, which is the one she chose.

A member of the Stuffed Shirt faction of the UFO Police doesn't appreciate Deirdre's cheeky 'tude, the brazen hussy, she.  David P. Kuhlman, FFSc, in his article for UFO Digest (UFO Mag Columnist is an Insult To Readers,) tells us why O'Lavery's column is offensive. Clues to Kuhlman's personal philosophy can be found in comments like the following: 

Do people give in to secular pressures, which can change the outlook and product for everyone? [bold and italics mine]

Indeed, in another article he wrote for UFO Digest; An Alien Reasoning, Kuhlman wrote:

I am a Christian. I was brought up through the years in church and I have strong roots with all Christian beliefs. I believe in God.

The use of the word "secular" in this context is clear: Deirdre O'Lavery has been seduced by the devil and away from the light, and is bringing the rest of us down with her into the roiling pits of hell.

John Collier, Lilith, 1892

Kuhlman goes on for quite awhile discussing what we all know far too well: UFOlogy has a difficult time being taken seriously, hoaxes hurt us all, there are good researchers who are "respectable," but some are not, and they're talking the rest of us down.  One of those who are not respectable, writes Kuhlman, is Deirdre O'Lavery, who should cause us all not only "concern" but "out-rage." Something about slips and cigarettes causes Kuhlman great distress:

Paging through to the seventh one [column] I noticed an unfamiliar face, a columnist. It initially caught my glance simply because I am familiar with the magazines layout since I read it often, and I knew this was a new addition immediately. I was curious and thumbed back to the index page and sure enough, the magazine had added a new columnist to its list, Ms. Deirdre O’ Lavery, Hmmm… never heard of her. Instantly I knew this was the place to start my reading journey through this months issue and quickly paged back to the column titled “Saucers, Slips, and Cigarettes”. That is where my blood began to boil!

I understand not liking a column, but really, his "blood began to boil?"  Sex, -- especially the "wrong" kind of sex, as in, anything you don't approve of between consenting adults -- is clearly the issue here, not UFO research. Women should be demure; we should speak softly and refrain from being sassy. Especially if we're wearing underwear. (Note to Kulhlman: some people prefer that kind of thing.)

The title of the column was strange I thought after reading it, it really didn’t seem to “fit” a serious publication on UFO research, but sometimes the title is to get the attention of the reader and it certainly did its job there and at least one word did correlate with the cigarette hanging out of the side of Ms. O’ Lavery’s clown painted, rose red lips. [italics mine]

Deirdre O'Lavery, get thee to a nunnery! And lest you think I am being overly flip here, Kuhlman himself is serious; of all the things in UFO land to get upset about, he finds O'Lavery's "rose red lips," cigarette smoking, and use of the word "slips" to be the targets of his repressed and misogynistic outrage:

"I have never been more agitated at any other piece of writing on UFOs than I am on this one . . . As I read I was disgusted and nauseated at her attempt to break the ice with the reader. Foul language and an utter sense of ignorance and disrespect to serious readers was her route. She goes on to write her column like a heathen speaks. [italics mine]   

He was nauseated? And "heathen?" "Heathen?" Did he really write that? Yes, yes he did. 

All that mishegas aside, he completely misunderstands O'Lavery's column, focusing instead not only on her lips but her "drunkenness":

Can people really take the UFO phenomenon seriously when it is painted that only sorry drunk people with no life dabble into this subject? Folks, this article is a disgrace to everyone that considers UFOlogy worth of investigation!

Kuhlman borders on the libelous; if it weren't so damn funny, it might be of concern. He not only finds Ms. O'Lavery "drunken," and what not but also believes she should be shunted off to the nut house:

She is certifiable for this piece of worthless paper with all of her slang and ignorant insight.

Her "slang?" Hey Daddyo, you sound like a real square!

Of all the columnists that write for UFO Magazine, this is the one that has caused Kuhlman --- after just one column! -- to stop reading the magazine altogether. If O'Lavery's one column can upset a supposed UFO researcher so much that he writes a rant about it and demands a "formal apology" from the publishers, then Ms. O'Lavery is one hell of a writer!

Painting by James Rich

One last point about Kuhlman's apoplectic response to Deirdre O'Lavery: he includes all of "us" (well, except for O'lavery) in his rant, beginning with his title: UFO Mag Columnist is an Insult to Readers. No, Kuhlman, it's not an insult to all readers; not to me, obviously. Speak for yourself. Clearly it's an insult to you, and possibly, to some others, so be it. But don't include me in your campaign to rid UFO land of Ms. O'Lavery. This is the problem with the UFO Police; they expect everyone to join them in their outrages and edicts about what they perceive to be right.

Congratulations, Ms. Deirdre O'Lavery, for bringing UFOlogy down to such a shameless level with just one column!

I Can't Take It Files: Billy Ray and UFOs

I don't know what to say, except the non-poetic and unimaginative "what the fuck?!" -- I mean ... it's ... uh ... um... you can't make this up... Billy Ray Cyrus is going to host his own show on UFOs. Yes, UFOs! AND, he's gonna debunk 'em! Hold me back, please. . . I can't take it. The world's gone mad. But we knew that already.

Anyway, Lesley Gunter says it well on her Grey Matters column for BoA:Redneck Ufology & The Best Hair on TV

...what exactly gives them any expertise as Ufologists or skeptics? Are they going to have real experts on or are we suppose to rely on their opinion? Seriously, it is totally ridiculous. What the fuck was SyFy thinking? Were they trying to make UFOs into an even bigger joke than the rest of the media already treats them as? What is next - ghost hunting with Heidi Montag or maybe Bigfoot hunting with Celine Dion?

I love that; "Bigfoot hunting with Celine Dion."  In the deep woods of her beloved Canada, searching for the elusive Sasquatch. Maybe she can wear these while she's out there: (hat tip by the way also to Lesley, who posted about these psychotic and disturbing er, "shoes" on her  Totally Girlie Blog.)

With Help From My Friends: Bringing Down UFOlogy

I try my best to stay out of messes within the UFO field; all those who attack and insult others have no business doing so, and I've long ago decided not to address those who do so to me. It's all just non-productive flaming and very sad. (Even while Ive tried to stay out of things, it's amazing how often I get e-mails from others who want me to get involved; even though I had nothing to do with whatever thing it is they're upset about. When I decline, I'm often dragged into it anyway. Astounding.)

However, now and then something comes up that must be addressed.

The thugs at UFO Iconoclasts and their mirror blogs have decided that I, yes, simple, little ol' me, is "destroying UFOlogy." They haven't quite heaped all the credit on me however, it seems that Lesely Gunter and Alfred Lehmberg are also co-contributors to the downfall of UFOlogy.

The smug arrogance of such an idea -- that anyone or thing can "bring down" UFOlogy is so fantastically hilarious it doesn't need to be addressed.

Really, I don't care what else these bozos have to say, except for the fact they have slimed on over that line from mere opinion to slander and libel. Here's what they have to say about me, and my co-conspirators in bringing down all of UFOlogy:

They gather ideas from others, either stealing those ideas or bifurcating them with gossipy innuendo and a mental haze that puts their psychological well-being into question.

They are UFO Destroyers because they degrade the phenomenon with their ignorance and wholesale purloining of ideas that others generate about UFOs.

Specific examples of this "stealing and gathering" or "purloining" along with arguments to support their allegations are not to be found. They just state it as fact, without backing it up. This passes for UFO commentary these days?

It's amazing to me how others in this field continue to support and hobnob with these jerks. Remember, Rich Reynolds, presumably the leader of this odious pack of drooling jerk-wits, is responsible for the very illegal and heinous crime he perpetuated on Lehmberg some time ago. Reynolds is also a shrink, (he says) which is literally frightening.

Sure, they've made fun of me in the past, insulted me, -- for some reason, they can't stand me, and that's their right. No use at all in responding or defending.

This is a bit different though, since they're accusing me of stealing. Call me a woo, a kook, a fruitcake, nothing I can do about it. We're entitled to our opinions. Call me a liar or a thief, and, while I won't defend myself since there's nothing to defend, I am going to point it out to others.



I also have to wonder why they see fit to mention my name, if I'm a nobody, which I happily admit I am. (As one commentator said on their stinky little blog, he's never heard of me -- or Lesley.) I just do what I do because I really like doing it. (Oh, and there's the part about me trying to figure out what it is I've seen and experienced; missing time, UFOs, silly things like that.) So what do they care what I have to say? I see contradictions zipping about in their thesaurus loving brains. Why be bothered about me at all? Are they really so bored as well as insecure that they think for one moment I, or anyone else, can destroy UFOlogy? I don't know if I should be insulted or honored. After all, that's some awesome crown of power to wear! Just think, me, with the help of my friends, bringing down UFOlogy all by ourselves! Pretty groovy. I like it!

So watch out, I am now giddy with power. That, combined with my penchant for stealing, which clearly means I have no morals or ethics, and the fact my "psychological well-being is in question" there's no telling what I might do! I'd be very careful if I were you out there; you're dealing with a mad woman here. Any day now, I can just see it. . . UFOlogy will be brought down! Destroyed forever! Bwahahahaha!

Oh, Right, It's Sunday

Sunday again. Cooler weather and rainy but still it's unseasonably warm for October in Western Oregon. Trees are just now beginning to turn.

ALIENS INSIDE UFO!
Well, what do we think of this story? UFOs photographed in thunderstorm reveals alien life! Red flags go up at the business/search engine tie-in on writer Ian Brokwell's part, plus the "aliens" inside the UFOs look very cartoon like. Then there's the copyright/no reproduction etc. notices plastered everywhere, and the costume advertising. On the other hand, the witness-photographer Christine Dickey is a field investigator for MUFON, has had her own past encounters, and an interesting history of hearing/feeling the urge to go out and look and there you go! UFOs. I've had that myself. We're also in a UFO flap and have been for awhile.

The response to this seems to be eerily quiet.

Hoax or no, doesn't matter. Hoaxes and distractions like this (assuming it is) are a part of Fortean and UFO events; just as much a part as the UFO itself. You can't have one without the other. Or, MILAB, Project Blue Beam type explanations could be the answer.

More on this later.

HELICOPTERS
A very interesting piece from Katharina Wilson of Alien Jigsaw on abductee Linda Murphy and her encounter with unmarked helicopter. One thing I liked about the story was the investigation piece. There's more on Murphy's experiences on the Alien Jigsaw site as well.

ESOTERIC TELEVISION
It stinks the Torchwood people think it's dandy to make five episodes, to air in one week, for the third season. Stinks, I tell you! At least there'll be a third season, and the latest seems to be that the Captain Jack Harkness character will be returning.

Fringe is still good. Last episode had the greatest MIB character ever. Excellent.

Looking forward to Eleventh Hour, and My Own Worst Enemy with Christian Slater.

My Trickster's Realm column for Binnall of America is about two shows: Psych, and The Mentalist. And Lesley, for her Gray Matters column, wrote this week about Fringe. (she likes it too!)

The season ending for Eureka has Sheriff Carter fired by the military. Not clear on the legalities of military, corporations, and a city all being in bed together, but it's TV. Good show -- we all know Sheriff Carter will still be around, and most likely get his job back; the question is, how will it play out?

VINTAGE STUFF
On Vintage U.F.O. I have some images of album covers with an outer space theme.

UFO MAGAZINE
My article in this issue of UFO Magazine is about beeping again. It just came out that way; interesting how I've written so much about beeping sounds in relation to UFO and paranormal events. And every time I write an article about beeping, either creatures, such as Bigfoot, or beeping as in your head, I get a lot of emails from people with similar experiences.


SHOULD, BUT NOT GOING TO
There's more, much more, but I'm tired. Time for a nap. The aliens can just wait.

UFO Mag Blog

Thanks to the efforts of Lesley and Nancy Birnes, editor of UFO Magazine, there is a new site/blog up where the public can participate. Take a look, read the blog entries,take part in discussions, have fun!

http://ufomagazine.squarespace.com/

Zorgy Awards

By now I'm sure you know that the Zorgy Award Winners have been announced. And I'm glad to say that Lesley has come in strong in two categories; for Best Paranormal Blog (4th place) and for Best Website (3rs place) (News Summary.) Congratulations to Lesley! And all the winners and nominees. Glad to see Odd Things got a nod as well!

Best Paranormal Blog
UFO Mystic - 161
The Debris Field - 151
Posthuman Blues - 76
Odd Things - 32


Best Website (News Summary)
The Daily Grail - 1,058
The Anomalist - 193
The Debris Field - 63
UFO Review - 36

Alfred Lehmberg won for Best Troublemaker, with Jeremy Vaeni in second place. Congratulations Alfred and Jeremy!

Best UFO / Paranormal Troublemaker
Alfred Lehmberg - 178
Jeremy Vaeni - 85
James W. Moseley - 72
David Biedny - 67

Now, I'm going to start in early this year. VOTE FOR ME! I have no idea when Paul Kimball will begin the new round, but I'm putting the word in now. VOTE FOR ME!
Just keep that in mind. In doing so, here are some of my other blogs:
Vintage UFO
Women Of Esoterica
Frame 352
and of course, the OrangeOrb.

I was too naive or dumb or both to know you could nominate yourself, so this year I'll be sure to do so. So remember, VOTE FOR ME!

To see all the winners in all the categories, go to Paul Kimball's blog The Other Side of Truth.

UFO Magazine Time!

My UFO Magazine hat arrived today. Thanks Nancy Birnes! You can see what the hat looks like by watching UFO Hunters with Bill Birnes on the History Channel, Wednesdays at 7:00pm PST, of course. Or visit Lesley's Debris Field blog, where she models the hat to simply effervescent effect, dahlings.

The new issue is now available, with articles on the Stephenville UFO sightings, Daniel Brenton and Red Moon, my column on Brenton's Signal to Noise and the Contactees, and the greatly titled piece by Farah Yurdozu: Mary Poppins, Alien Abductions, and Gurdijeff. (Farah, among other things, is a contributor to my blog Women Of Esoterica.) Lesley writes, in her Beyond the Dial column, on skeptics: Foo on the Skeptics, and Foo on the Debunkers. Right on Lesley. (Yes, I still say "right on." I'm old, I live in Oregon.)I liked what Lesley wrote about a recent Culture of Contact episode with Frank Feschino and Alfred Lehmberg:

Not only was the fantastic Frank Feschino on, but also my friend Alfred. I don't know very many of the other columnists here at UFO Magazine, but I do know both Alfred and Jeremy.

I was kind of half-hoping that Alfred would say something so outrageous that would make Jeff Ritzman turn purple but it didn't happen. Alfred was a total gentleman, as he normally is, or at least he has always been to me.

(I second that. Alfred gets a lot of grief from people who don't get him, don't want to get him, and started it in the first place. The difference is that Alfred isn't passive aggressive, while many people are. Then they act surprised, affronted, insulted, that Alfred calls them on it; and, overall, doesn't suffer fools gladly. That's my take anyway. Plus, he knows what he's talking about.)

Lots of other good things in the issue. My next column in UFO Magazine (also called the OrangeOrb) will be about Contactee Dana Howard.

Wales Seeing More UFOs?

And is it because of Torchwood?

Two things I need to remind myself of: there is no X-Files, not really, and David Duchovny is an actor, not Spooky Mulder. Not really. There is no Torchwood, not really, and there is no such person as handsome sexy Captain Jack in his black trenchcoat. It’s all pretend. Pretend. TV. These are two of my all time favorite TV shows; fictional shows.

So, this article asks if the popularity of Torchwood isn’t responsible for people seein more UFOs lately:

“Torchwood could well have brought an increase in the number of people looking at the skies rather than their feet when they are coming out of the pub.”

says Dr David Clarke,who wrote Flying Saucerers, A Social History of UFOlogy. I haven’t read the book, and don’t know the slant, but from his comment it seems like he’s being fair. (He also acknowledges Wales is a UFO hot spot.) If you look UP, you’ll see things. I know that, Alfred Lehmberg knows that (see his current article in UFO Magazine) Lesley knows that; all kinds of people know that. Try it.

I do take exception to Dr. Clarke’s opinion about the government’s innocence in such things:

He warned against conspiracy theories that accused the government of covering up alien landings, adding: “The idea that the government has a Men in Black department and they send out Captain Jack or whoever... it doesn’t happen.”

Okay, so maybe there isn’t a Captain Jack in a trenchcoat being all sexy assertive and commanding (and yet oh so vulnerable, the poor immortal dear) and jumping in and out of black SUVs, but come on, to suggest the government (theirs, ours, . . .) is content to let it all go by is naive.

X-Files, while fictional, did a lot to nudge us towards seeking out these areas. Torchwood seems to be doing the same. Shows like this are popular for a reason, and there are all kinds of people with all kinds of theoires on why this is so. Briefly, the theories range from "people are lonely geeks who need to fill a void with something magical" to "people are paranoid due to our ever increasing technological, post WWII world" to "Because they're here, damnit! Haven't you been looking up? And around?! Haven't you been looking?!" I go for that last one.

Lehmberg and Vaeni Podcast and Beer

Vaeni Interviews Alfred Lehmberg for Book of Thoth


Very cool, just listened to the interview of Alfred Lehmberg by Jeremy Vaeni on Book of Thoth. It’s great!

One thing that’s great is the appreciation of Lehmberg for Lehmberg’s sake that Vaeni has. Hmm, not sure if that makes sense. What I meant was that, as we know, there are many who don’t get Lehmberg, who don’t like him, who don’t take the time to try. Vaeni is someone who does.

What’s always neat, when listening to audio, is matching the person’s voice to how you’ve imagined they’d sound. Lehmberg pretty much sounded like I’d thought.

Jeremy Vaeni is truly great; and I’m not just saying that because he just interviewed me (to air Tuesday or Thursday on Culture of Contact.) He’s open, funny, honest, and very curious, as well as creative.

Fascinating interview, between two fascinating people.

http://www.book-of-thoth.com/book-of-thoth-podcasts.html#

Gender

Jeremy asked me about gender differences, and you’ll just have to listen to that interview for specifics. Mainly because I don’t remember what the hell I said. But after listening to Lehmberg, I had to laugh: he said (I’m paraphrasing) when someone sneers, he wants to eat their face. And I admit that I feel exactly the same way! But I’ve become passive aggressive; from getting into it with the skeptoid types, to just avoiding them. Unfortunately, this sneer trait goes beyond the skeptoids and there’s many a UFO researcher, supposed adults who should know better, who stoop to such tactics. I think both reactions may be gender based; the sneering, as well as the justifiable reaction of eating their face.

So I appreciate the face eating when I see it, and that’s one of the many reasons I respect Lehmberg. But me, I’m still in my avoidance mode, and just prefer to ignore those idiots.

But go Alfred! And all else who don’t suffer fools gladly.

UFO “Mavens” I’d Love to Sit Around and Have a Few Beers With

Alfred Lehmberg
Lesley
Tim Binnall
Jeremy Vaeni
Kithra
Nick Redfern
Richelle Hawks
Farah Yurdozu
Tina Sena
Snoopy the Goon

I don’t know if all of the above mentioned drink or not, but it’s the spirit of the thing that counts.

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.

Support Binnall

Tim Binnall, who runs the Binnall of America website, does an incredible job. His site is well put together and has a lot to offer: forums, podcasts, articles. Yes, I write for him; my column is Trickster's Realm. But that's not why I'm shamelessly plugging his site.

Tim consistently brings the rest of us great interviews with the top researchers, writers and thinkers in esoterica. He's into it all; UFOs to Bigfoot, and everything in between. He knows his stuff and has a nice style; he asks good questions, yet allows the person he's interviewing to say what they want to say. (He also does a nice job with the music and intros.)

And he does this all for free. He puts an unimaginable amount of time and effort into all this, and does a great job. Again, for free. Like others, Peter Davenport of NUFORC, John Greenwald of Black Vault, UFO Digest, etc. Tim provides us anomalist junkies with a quality resource for free. (Are you listening C2C?)

Tim, like many (Greenwald, etc.) do ask for donations. He has a PayPal button on his site; easy to do. So I urge those of you who can to donate a little something towards the expense of keeping Binnall of America going. There isn't anything as too little; after all, $5.00 is better than no dollars.

Sunday Orb

Shameless Pleadings

Read my Bigfoot blog. Link to it, Favorite it on Technorati, talk about it. Leave comments. Enjoy. Or even if you don’t.

My Bigfoot blog Frame 352: The Stranger Side of Sasquatch.

And Shameless Self-Promotion:
I’ve submitted a piece to the Book of Thoth site: They Want to be Seen, Not Discovered. No guarantee it will be accepted, but hopefully it will be, so look out for it.

On UFO Digest is my piece
Disingenuous Infiltration on the unethical tactics of Abdullah Hashem and Donna Bassett. Yes, both are “old news” but that doesn’t mean anything.

Currently on Trickster’s Realm for Tim Binnall’s Binnall of America is my piece on the Trickster: No Mere Prankster. (and I must say I was very jazzed about Brad Steiger's nice email to me about the piece.)

In the current issue of UFO Magazine is my article on The Purple Road, about my New Agey self.

Ghost Picture Contest
Lesley of The Debris Field has her ghost pic contest going again. I entered a photo I took a few years ago at a local cemetery. Be sure to enter; it will be fun to see all the ghostly images!

Recent Orb Postings


I'm still reeling from Noory's Flintstone comment.
The UFO footage from Venezuela does seem too good to be true, as one person commented, it could be a blimp. Whatever, it's unlikely it was a flying saucer from outer space.

Lesley: On Air War (More on 'Smackdown')

Lesley, of Debris Field, Beyond the Dial, etc. actually heard the Streiber/Pinchbeck interview, Her comments are in this week's Grey Matters, her column for Binnall of America. As always, be sure to read the rest of the good stuff over there (including my Trickster's Realm, heh) and check out the forums too.

OrangeOrb Sunday Round-UP

Quote of the Day:
I'm compelled to my expression -- I call it a provoked obsession. ~ Alfred Lehmberg.

Speaking of Lehmberg, his blog is An Alien View. He also writes a column for UFO Magazine.

Paranormal Smackdown
My item ‘Paranormal Smackdown’ generated a lot of comments. Also over on The Daily Grail.

While my two cents (and that’s all it is, fine people, my two cents, just opinion and speculation) is that Whitley’s interpretation of “the visitors” is heavily influenced by his Catholicism. That’s my take on it; but others disagree. And while I have my opinion, I want to make it clear that that’s all any of us have. It’s easy to play armchair psychologist and comment on other’s interpretations and experiences. Some of us, myself included, can’t help ourselves, because we’re in the same boat as the person we’re commenting on. We’ve had our own experiences. We’re all just trying to figure it out.

Paranormal Meet: New Blog Site
The Paranormal Meet seems to be going strong; new members join every day. It’s good for those of us with established blogs, as well as those who might be shy or unsure about blogging.

Jacques Vallee on C2C!
Monday night Jacques Vallee will be the guest on Coast to Coast. This is such exciting news, I’m going to . If Noory is the host, well, it’s kind of like Jay Leno interviewing ... well, anyone. God help us. But I’ll listen anyway of course.

Various Items
Pieces that went up in the past couple of weeks, in case you missed them:
Trickster’s Realm on Binnall of America on weirdness on the Oregon coast. Look for my new column that should be up sometime on Monday on Glowing Bird Theory.

My thoughts on faeries and other entities on UFO Digest: When Entities Collide.

Still obsessed with parsing UFOlogical terms on American Chronicle: What is a Real UFO?

Vote, Fave, Join, Promote

Don’t be shy. Click on any of the green and white “Technorati” buttons on your right and make The OrangeOrb one of your “favorite” blogs.

There are also a few Yahoo groups you can join: if you have a UFO blog or site, you can promote it at UFO Blog Listings. If you’re interested in discussing aspects of Trickster behavior, join Trickster and the Paranormal. And if you live in the Pacific Northwest, or even if you don’t, you can discuss paranormal, UFO and Fortean topics in Oregon Forteana. The Yahoo buttons on the side bar on your right will take you there.

And just for silly fun, you can vote for the OrangeOrb as being the best pop culture blog, “freakiest blog” or “blog about stuff.”

Sunday Round-Up at the Orb

Here's my shameless self-promotion for Sunday:

Paranormal Meet. Found this recently; and it's going strong. Lots of new people joining everyday. I like it, it's a good idea, and fun. Much better than having a MySpace page.Take a look, be sure to visit my blog and vote! And join if you can. There are a few little glitches, nothing major, but it's easy to find your way around and user friendly. I like the like minded, community vibe over there.

UFO Digest. My latest piece over there is on the blurring, or mimicking, or. . . something, of aliens/ghosts/Bigfoot, etc. When Entities Collide: Ghosts, Aliens, MIBs, and Entities and The Trickster Faeries

The current Trickster's Realm on Binnall of America is on my friend "Lola" here in Oregon and the high strangeness that follows the family: High Strangeness Follows Family? As always, be sure to read all the other great stuff on there.

My short article "What Is A UFO?" should be up on American Chronicle any time now. There's a holding period for pieces; I put it in today, so it can be any time from now until sometime tomorrow. Check this link for the article, as well as the rest of my American Chronicle pieces.

Mating Hedgehogs, my other blog about: politics, culture, media, weirdness, etc. Please check it out, there's everything from YouTube clips of Mothman and Mothra to rants about anti-feminist, anti-Semitic clown shoes like Henry Makow. Mating Hedgehogs.

And finally, Frame 352, my "stranger side of Sasquatch" blog. Follow the link over there to Lisa Shiel's Bigfoot Quest blog, where she has a poll going on about UFOs and Bigfoot.

Good night, have a good week! Let's hope we're all safe and good and remain relatively sane.

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.

Lesley for Grey Matters: Money in the Sky (Part 2) : The Pointless Point

Lesley (Debris Field blog, and Beyond the Dial in UFO magazine) has a good piece for her Grey Matters column for BoA: Money in the Sky (Part 2) : The Pointless Point. Lesley writes about the “they’re only in it for the money” line many scofftoids (and some UFO people, sadly) use to dismiss people who write about UFOs and happen to make money.

“Make money;” it doesn't matter how much money, if that “making money” is a few dollars here and there or enough to make ones living from. The latter is rare, I suspect. I write like the hepped up caffeine junkie I am about UFOs and related phenomena, but so far, I haven’t made a cent. So what? When the day comes that I do make “some money” I’ll be happy of course, but I’m happy now too. The point is, as Lesley writes, is that there is nothing wrong with “making money” from writing about these topics. However, there are plenty of the “UFOlogy Police” (as Lesley calls them) who spend their time attacking those who “make money’ or who they suspect “make money” from their UFO books, videos, and lectures.

Another comment Lesley makes is about humor. Lesley discusses UFO experiencer, writer and filmmaker Jeremy Vaeni -- one of the accused “money makers” -- and how some have added the sin of having a sense of humor to his crime of money making. I’ve been attacked for my sense of humor as well; in fact, I believe that those who’ve gone after me with such psychotic vengeance is the fact that UFO pundits aren't supposed to crack wise. And women especially aren’t supposed to be so damn cheeky.

I don’t know Jeremy personally, never having met him, but we’ve corresponded quite a bit, including an interview he did of me for UFO Magazine (Grilling Regan Lee) and I’ve always been impressed with his humor. He comes across as quirky, sure, but quirky is good, and there isn’t enough of it. More importantly (for we all can’t be quirky; you either are or you’re not) he is his own damn self. He’s not afraid to be who he is, doesn't pretend to be anything other than himself. That’s all anyone can expect in this arena: honesty.

As to “making money,” I doubt Vaeni is going to be moving to that villa in Tuscany any time soon.

This whole idea that “making money” from one’s UFO passion - and that it somehow proves the individual is lying -- is ridiculous.

I loved Lesley’s comment regarding this faux moral concern:

”What is Ufology? The Priesthood? You must give up all your worldly good and take a vow of poverty? Maybe you also need to promise to only bath once a year and crawl around your house through broken glass? Ridiculous!”

There are those -- way too many -- who have blogs and websites that write incessantly about how people who write about UFOs are wasting time. Apparently we;re wasting their time, our time, everyone's time. The irony escapes them: that they’re wasting time telling everyone else how much time we’re wasting. But they also can’t resist reading the material they judge to be crap. Rather than ignoring such “crap” and doing something productive, they attack, often going so far as to lie about the people they’re attacking. They harp on the “truth” and decide that they’re the ones able to judge. They insist material such as abduction accounts be classified as fiction, instead of nonfiction. True, there’s no ultimate “proof” of these encounters, which is a whole other topic, but here’s something Lesley said about this that I think is very important:

"I hate to sound all anarchist, but why should we be so concerned about whether something is true? If we find the story thought provoking, does it really matter if it is true? There are certain fiction books that have influenced my entire life, not because they were true, but because the values I learned from them are true and because they caused me to think about things that are beyond my ordinary daily life. I am not really terribly concerned about what Jeremy or anyone else says being completely true or accurate, I am more concerned about whether it is interesting and whether I can learn anything from it. Since I look at almost all Ufology as being subjective, none of it is really true. If dozens of people had the same esoteric experience, the chances that most would interpret it differently is highly likely. Even if they all agree that they saw the same thing, many will take different meanings from what they saw. This is not only true of esoteric events, ask any policeman about robbery witnesses. One person will swear it was a blue shirt the guy was wearing, while another insists that is was green. Both of these people will be completely sure they are right and the other is wrong. Human minds interpret things differently, that is just how it is.”

And it all gets down to this: for those that find some sort of twisted joy in attacking UFO and Fortean writers, Lesley suggests the following:

"Besides which, if they are so sure that they know the truth, then they should spread it, instead of spending their time sitting at their keyboard constantly griping about what others are doing.”

Excellent advice.

Pointless Blog Thing of the Day

Lesley of the Debris Field blog posts a lot of blog quizzes. This isn't exactly a "tag" but sometimes I'll post a "useless blog quiz of the day" kind of thing that I've cheerfully stolen from her. So here it is. And guess what, it's quite the New Age symbol, isn't it? (and yes, the irony of the swastika has been noticed, but remember! It used to be a good thing.)

You scored as Ankh, The Ankh is a representation of life. You are inspired by life, and all its splendor, and you feel you are empowered by your symbol. Ankh 100% Biohazard 69% Skull 63% Cross 38% Swastika 31% What's your symbol? created with QuizFarm.com