'Belluminati', Pentagon UFO News

I know I'm not the only one who's noticed the new Taco Bell commercial:

Timing is interesting, and of course my conspiratorial oriented mind sees high strangeness with the juxtapositions of the Solstice season, Trump's tax cuts, and the Pentagon releasing the latest batch of UFO information.

As for the commercial, sure it's advertising just goofing on a trend, but those of us living in fringe world can't help but sense there's more to it than just pop culture appropriation of us fringe dwellers.

GASPING NEWS: UFOS ARE REAL!!!!

Where's that banging my head on the desk cartoon? Oh, here it is:

UFOs are real. Call them UFOs, UAPS, -- they're real. UFO means Unidentified Flying Object. Could be theirs, ours, or theirs…you know, Reptilian Overlords.  Specifically, they are pretty likely to be all three. Some are ours, some are the other guys, some are truly mysterious. Unexplained. ET. All at once, all vying for our attention distraction.

So the announcements are made, and the majority argue over the minutiae of what UFOs are, as if UFO is one thing. One explanation for what UFO is, as well as its motivation.

Meanwhile, the truth (most of it anyway) is out there and in our faces, mixed up with a lot other stuff. Misdirection. Allowing the arguments to continue.
The deeper issues continue to be ignored. Even with the concession that off world intelligent beings are hanging around, it's still a vague idea to many. Bills still need to be paid. We still have family issues, health, jobs. Aliens, cool, but, doesn't pay the rent.

The truth is, many people -- myself included -- have had intensely weird experiences that cannot be explained, no matter how hard debunkers, Big Science, religious know it alls, or fanatical true believers try their damnedest to Explain It All To Us. Behind the mundane goings on, these experiences remain. And meanwhile. . .

There is the issue of concurrent UFO activity, which is indeed ours. Whether it's the U.S.A. or another government, covert, often illegal and unethical experiments are conducted within the framework of 'UFO.' Not many seem to pay attention to either. The former is indulgent kook stuff, the latter is a shrug and dismissal, as if simply stating the obvious: "Military experiments" is enough to get on with things. Not recognizing that the implications of those experiments are huge.

We are spied on, tracked,lied to, treated like lab rats. Both the "other" and our own do these things to us -- and many of us don't seem to notice much.

Those Very Creepy Clowns . . .

Clowns seem to have a category all their own in the Fortean World of High Strangeness. The latest: clowns freaking people out in Greenville. Understandably, the authorities are not amused. And as much as I detest clowns, and understand the communities' ire, since when is it against the law to dress like a clown? Isn't that unconstitutional or something? The response of the police is as Fortean as the rest of this weirdness.

Addressing the incidents at a media conference Thursday, Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller said officers will arrest and charge anyone dressed up as a clown.
"It's illegal. It's dangerous. It's inappropriate, and it's creating community concern so it needs to stop," Miller said. Source: Greenville Online.

It's unknown why people are dressing like clowns, standing silently while staring at people. Fears about child napping clowns abound.

It may seem odd that that the police are threatening arrest of those in clown costume, it's a law on their books:

According to South Carolina state law, no one over the age of 16 can appear in public wearing a mask "or other device which concealed his identity." The statute makes exceptions for people whose trade or employment involves wearing a mask. There's also a city of Greenville ordinance that prohibits "molesting, disturbing or following persons." (Greenville Online.)

The anti-mask wearing law still seems unconstitutional, and the part about "…following persons" seems subjective.

Laws aside, it is unnerving -- I wouldn't want to come across some creepy clown standing around, wordlessly  staring at me -- but far more disturbing is the affect on children. The following is from Cleveland's Fox 8 news:

Deputies confirmed Monday they were called to the apartment complex on Aug. 21 to investigate after residents reported seeing “a suspicious character, dressed in circus clown attire and white face paint, enticing kids to follow him/her into the woods.” 

Investigative reports state police met with a mother, whose name was redacted, who witnessed the clowns in the woods after her son notified her of their presence. The woman told deputies the clowns were shining green laser lights in the woods.
Another resident also reported seeing a “large-figured clown with a blinking nose” standing under a streetlight near the trash dumpsters.
Deputies spoke with children who told them clowns tried “to persuade them into the woods further by displaying large amounts of money.” 

The Greenville clown scare is only the latest in a wealth of historical clown strangeness. All you have to do is Google something like "clowns Fortean" and all kinds of items come up. The first one being a 2007  blog entry about a Fortean Times article on clown appearances by, of all people, debunker Benjamin Radford. Which only adds to the high strangeness factor.

Organizing the Room of Doom

Bigfoot books . . . 

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

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

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

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

A few more UFO books . . .

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

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

The Skeptic in All Those Shows...

I haven't seen National Geographic's Chasing UFOs yet, since it doesn't air until tonight. Only those in the "industry" got a preview. Responses from those who have seen the show seem to be miffed there isn't enough skepticism; while others are miffed the show exists at all. In most paranormal and UFO shows the skeptic is included. For "balance" it is said. Nope. It's for ratings and action; that American brand of competition. Everything's a contest. Anyway... With UFOs, we can debate forever about what they are, where they're from, what it is people are "really" seeing. (Wait, we are debating that.) Focusing on strictly observations of craft for the moment, what use is a so-called skeptic? A WITNESS SAW SOMETHING. Is that debatable? Skeptic, schmetic. What you need, always, are those who can help -- as in assist -- with observations. What wondrous and strange forms clouds can take. Astronomy. Aircraft. (Ours. That we know of.) I know, I know, the moon's been mistaken for a UFO, Venus has been mistaken for a UFO, pranksters like to float up night flying kites and balloons ... sigh. And while the strict observation of a craft is straightforward, there's more. The researcher has to take into account more than just the sighting. If the witness describes feelings of disorientation, anxiety, yipes, missing time even! -- that has to be taken into account. Has to. None of this means that the thing seen is an alien craft piloted by space brothers. That's assumption and while it could be true, we can't prove that. We can prove someone saw something. And we can prove, in many cases, the physical, emotional and psychological effects of a sighting. Aside from the idea that aliens exist and are, indeed, often responsible for UFO sightings, is another idea. One not often brought up; especially not by the "skeptics." That is covert human activity. I mean deep dark ebony black shadow human factions. Often the closet acknowledgement of UFOs being human made is an almost glib explanation that it's "just" military. Just? Not if that "just" is an insidious creation that, whether intentionally or not, causes adverse physical effects upon the citizenry. Or afffects the weather or envirnoment. Or is a cover for spy operations. Etc. Once it's shown that a UFO is now an IFO and a human made object, the job is not always over. Not in cases where a lot of strangeness has occurred.

Meanwhile, UFO sightings continue. Explaining one away, be it the moon, Venus, classified military or a producer's classist take on a witness ("red neck," "hillibilly," "hippie", ...) leaves thousands behind.

What is the beef, the thing that bugs, these skeptics when it comes to UFOs? (Oh and oh god, please "skeptics" that's a rhetorical question) Shows aren't doing the topic of UFOs any favors, except for Ancient Aliens, which, thankfully, has avoided the trap of having skepti bunkies on every two seconds to give their two cents. It's show biz, it's distraction, it's playing into the culture of "vs." And it keeps us spinning inside the wheel of nowhere.

Back to Conspiracy Park

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

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

About a block from my house, last summer 

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

Taken at Valley River/Greenway Bridge, August 2008

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

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

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

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

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

A Small Moment: Finding My Watch

Yesterday I realized my watch was missing. One of them; I have several. After all, as I told Jim the other day, watches are more than just time keeping objects if you're a girl. They're accessories. Anyway, my cheap treasure find ($3.00, at Target, clearance rack) gold colored watch was missing. I had no idea where it was, with me, it could be anywhere. Anywhere. In a purse, the car,  or ... who knows. I pictured the watch in my mind; and thought to myself, "Well, I'll try using the dowsing rods, I've had success with finding lost items using them, so I'll guess I'll try it tomorrow."

Later last night, I was in the bedroom watching True Blood. That's my guilty pleasure; Jim stays out in the living room (can't blame him, especially this season) and I settle in, just me, the flat screen and True Blood. So I manage to drop the remote out of my hand, and in between the bed and my nightstand. Which annoyed me, since it is an extremely skinny space; between the bed and nightstand; I could barely get my hand down there. I'm peering down, and see, to my surprise, the watch! There it was, on the floor, in between the bed and the nightstand. Obviously I had taken the watch off and put in on my table and it fell off; but I never would have thought to look under the bed for my watch.

The Killers: Spaceman

It started with a low light,
Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed;
And then they took my blood type,
they left a strange impression in my head.
You know that I was hoping,
That I could leave this star-crossed world behind;
But when they cut me open,
I guess I changed my mind.
And you know I might
Have just flown too far from the floor this time,
'cause they calling me by my name!
And the zipping white light beams
disregarding bombs and satellites!

That was the turning point;
That was one lonely night!

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!"

Well now I'm back at home and-
I’m looking forward to this life I live;
You know it's gonna haunt me,
So hesitation to this life I give.
You think you might cross over,
You caught between the devil and the deep blue sea;
You better look it over,
Before you make that leap!

And you know I'm fine, but I hear those voices at night
sometimes... they justify my claim,
and the public don’t dwell on my transmission
'cause it wasn’t televised...

But, it was a turning point,
Oh what a lonely night!

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!"
The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!"

My global position systems are vocally addressed;
They say the Nile used to run from east to west,
They say the Nile used to run… from east to west.

I'm fine,
but I hear those voices at night,
sometime...

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!"
The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down...
Its all in your mind!"

(oh oh oh oh oh oh oooah x8)
It's all in my mi-i-ind,
It's all in my mind...

Synchronistic Linguistics and Twilight Language

I'm not sure what either one of them means; like other terms, such as exo-politics, disclosure, and post modernism, the definitions seem murky and ever shifting. But I like what I think I think those terms mean. Anyone out there who wants to educate me on these terms -- synchrnonistic linguistics, twilight language -- feel free. I know Loren Coleman refers to twilight language a lot, but haven't figured out exactly what it is.

In the meantime, I found the following article on the Paranoia Magazine site: Synchronistic Linguistics in The Matrix; Or How Bob Dobbs Became the Tetrad Manager, by Robert Guffey.

I do know I've been fascinated by juxtapositions and images as language for many years. Patterns, comparisons, startlingly little items that seemingly have nothing to do with each other and yet, for whatever reason, I see a connection. Or a . . . something. Maybe it's just the Fortean inclined mind.

Sunday Orb

Not much this Fall Sunday....

New posts over at Women Of Esoterica.

I like the new show My Own Worst Enemy. Better than I thought it would be. I like Eleventh Hour as well, but it isn't as good I had thought it would be. So there you go. Just about all of my favorite shows are laden with psy-op spook stuff, conspiracy, mystery, mysticism, metaphysics, monsters and aliens. Torchwood, UFO Hunters, Monster Quest, Fringe, Numb3rs, 24, My Own Worst Enemy, Eleventh Hour, Pushing Daisies, Eureka. A theme going on here I see, wonder how that is?

New post on Mothman Flutterings, which is really just a link to an article. I've started The Silver Bridge, a book I've been wanting for years. Thanks to Mothman's Photographer author Andrew Colvin, we all have the opportunity to get this book at an affordable price, since he's reprinted it. Check it out on amazon.com, etc. I can see that I'll be writing a lot about it when I'm finished. Already I'm hooked. And speaking of Mothy things, I have an article in Darklore III about Mothman -- it's not out yet but be looking out for it. You can read about that as it comes, and more, on The Daily Grail .

Predictions of UFO appearances and disclosures, and I just wasn't that excited. Interested, of course; I'm a chronically curious Fortean, but just not excited. I am however intrigued by the opera like goings on about Ian Brockwell's research into the UFO photographed during a thunderstorm. I keep meaning to go further with that, maybe I will. I wonder about the overall bizarreness of photographing aliens inside a UFO during a thunderstorm, MUFON's involvement, and so much more.

Sunday Orb

I forgot it was Sunday!

BIGFOOT
My Trickster Realm column for Binnall of America is on, now bet you can't guess . . . yep, that's right, the Biscardi Georgia Bigfoot Circus. I know, everyone has been commenting on this, including me. But this piece is inspired by a comment The Anomalist posted the other day: "have there been any positive takes on this story?" as well as Danielle Lee's piece on her blog The Spirit Guide, and Women Of Esoterica. So do I decide that I've been too harsh, too grumpy, too humorless? Read Turn That Frown Upside Down! and find out.

ANIMALS
Speaking of animals, (as we all are) I had a series of odd animal encounters today. I comment about them on Trickster Northwest.




PIN UP ART
Pin Up Art
Nothing to do with esoterica, UFOs or anything of that nature, but I'm shamelessly promoting Jim's artwork. So go take a look, okay? I suppose I have to put a warning and say that some of the work is "adult" so if you're offended by naked women, don't look. Visit James Rich Studio, also his gallery, with over 159 paintings, at Yessy.com.


PULP JELLO
Speaking of Pin Up art and such, I have a new blog: Pulp Jello. I had to have a place to indulge my love of vintage ads and cover art!

Image: The Brink of Sleep, original artwork by James Rich

The Scientology Meme: Mob Mentality

I’m no fan of Scientology, (had a personal negative experience with them involving a family member when I was young) but I’m no fan of organized religions or organized anythings. Like Groucho Marx once said:

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.

On many esoteric blogs, as well as the anti-esoteric blogs and forums (otherwise known as “skeptics”) there’s been a lot of self righteous anti-Scientology posts. Well, yeah, okay. Let’s go after the Vatican, various Christian sects, Islamic extremists, the Raelians, Buddhists (just because they’re not American and are suspect you know), Yoga, and Jews. Oh, and Wicca. Let’s go after all religions, spiritual and philosophical systems. Get rid of them!

The reasons why so many all over the world are now going after Scientology have to do with its existence on the fringe. Everyone’s gone after all the above mentioned systems; and many of those systems (Catholics, Jews, Muslims) are accepted by mainstream culture. As soon as you step over that line of what’s accepted, you’re fair game. Scientologists, like Mormons and Wiccans for example. are suspect. Their rights to freedoms, in this country anyway, are swept off the table, because, well, they’re weird. And if we think it’s weird, really weird, then we get to vilify. We’ll leave the Methodists alone but don’t be going around saying you’re a Scientologist or practice Wicca. Then we’ll get you. Get you good.

Another reason for the smug sense of being Very Reasonable, is the fear of criticizing religious Muslim extremists for what they are: fanatics. We don't dare go near there for fear of staring up something, or being “anti Muslim” and vilifying an entire group of people.

The same with Judaism, though less so. Everyone from the Left to the Right and in between gets to insist they’re “not anti-Semitic, just anti-Israel,” before they launch into a long winded, often erroneous, mini history of why Israel is so evil. But that aside, most people leave that alone as well. (Wait, no they don’t, look at Rense.com.)

The point is, no, I don’t like Scientology. (Although, as with all of these systems, don’t be so quick to throw the baby out with the bath water.) But there are issues far bigger than Scientology to focus your wrath on. The occupation (er, “war”) in Iraq. Global warming/climate changes/whatever the hell you want to call it, we’re all gonna die save the earth damnit, alternative energies, child abuse, elder abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse (Christ, we’re an abusive species!) poverty, education . . .

I’ve noticed that for those who proudly state they’re “skeptics” -- those very same who remain stubbornly ignorant of the facts when it comes to UFOs, who assume all kinds of wild things regarding the paranormal -- are quick to believe the most paranoid, outlandish things about things they want to annihilate.

I suppose one thing that bothers me in particular about this is the idea that those working so hard towards eliminating or “exposing” Scientology feel so damn proud of themselves, as if they’ve brought us a rare gift from another realm. This rare gift is presented as enlightenment from ignorance and superstition. It's an intellectual coup.

Kind of like what they do with UFO and paranormal topics. There are those within and on the fringe (the chronic skeptics looking in) of UFO studies who insist UFOlogy needs some sort of guild, organization, committee -- some kind of official body --- that will once and for all get rid of all that embarrasses and angers, and keep only what is approved. (Who gets to do the approving, and why, well, you see why it's a problem. . .)

Exercising our right to voice our opinions about these things is one thing, and exposing illegal or unethical methods is a good thing. Other than that, ranting on an almost daily basis, hacking into web sites and calling for blood seems over the top.

What disturbs me is the momentum. Worldwide, people have been unquestioningly and happily joining in protests against Scientology. And it’s this crowd gathering/one-mind vibe that has me worried. At some point, the lines blur: who are the ones acting as a mob, as a single unit, as a controlling mass? That’s scary.

Noory, Meet the Flintstones

Remember when Jeremy Vaeni was a guest on C2C with host George Noory, and that now infamous question: “How do you know it wasn’t an angel?” (Something to that effect) was posed by Noory?

Poor Jeremy had just related, in very forthright and clear terms, an experience he had with a UFO. A craft. And Noory, out of the blue, all he can find to say is, “How do you know it wasn’t an angel?”

A pin dropping was heard throughout the land that night, my friend.

Last night Noory did a similar thing, but not so bad. He had open lines and a woman caller related her story of being taken to Venus where she saw both the grays and the reptilians. The grays were all right, but the reptilians were terrifying. Anyway, she had to get out of there because the poisonous air and gases on Venus was starting to get to her, which is quite understandable. I hear it’s quite hot up there.

The woman mentioned that this was some time ago, and that the grays looked like what Barney and Betty HIll saw. Noory then asked if she thought the characters Barney and Betty from the Flinstones were named after the Hills! That struck me as very funny. Maybe it was all the cold medication I’ve been talking lately but I just about fell out of bed at the surrealness of that question.

Barney and Betty Hill had their abduction experience in 1961. The Flintstones aired from 1960 to 1966. There was an alien introduced to the series in October of 1965: “The Great Gazoo” was a little green man from outer space who crash landed on earth in his flying saucer. What I find interesting is that only a few could see Gazoo; only Fred, Barney and the children saw him.


I don’t know what motivated the creators of The Flintstones to introduce Gazoo; some sources call it the moment when the show “jumped the shark.” That’s possible, or maybe it was one of those disinfo/programming campaigns by psy ops. Or someone’s vision of blending visions of America’s space program with a popular children’s show. Any number of reasons, or any number of combinations of reasons.

A bit of the trickster is seen here as well, for Gazoo thinks little of humans, tries to help Fred and Barney out anyway, but ends up making things worse. And of course, only Barney and Fred, and the kids, can see the alien. As Gazoo tells Fred and Barney in one episode, after not showing up earlier to help them as promised: “I”m not only undependable, but I’m a bit of a kook.” Gazoo does tell them he’ll try to help them, but for Fred and Barney to “be careful for what you ask for, you might get it.”


Gazoo didn’t appear in any Flintstone spin-offs, but according to the entry on Wikipedia, he is a Flintstone vitamin, has appeared as a promotional character for a contest, and is “the mascot for Marshmallow Mania Pebbles cereal.” (Wikipedia.) There is also a Great Gazoo Wacky Wobbler toy you can buy. (Which of course I have to get.)

I’d forgotten about Gazoo; when I was a kid, I thought he was kind of neat, but didn’t see how it really fit. The whole thing was disconcerting. I liked the Flintstones and have good memories of watching the program.

To your right on the side menu, at the top, is a feed from YouTube on Gazoo Flintstone episodes. Have a look, and have fun.

Sources:
Wikipedia

Great Gazoo Wacky Wobbler

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. . .

Alien Ride Roller Coaster

I like this story: Alien Dreamer, by Daniel Joshua Rubin for The Motley Fool. Bryan Temmer, after a lot of rejection, will see his dream realized in Roswell, New Mexico for an Alien Abduction Roller Coaster. A dream, an obsession, a hope, Americana, aliens, -- it makes a goofy sense.


(image source:ROBERT COKER:ROLLER COASTER, 2003)

Mating Hedgehogs: New blog

FYI, it's been around awhile, but I hadn't done anything to announce it. Formerly called "ear mouse" until I discovered there's already a lot of things named "ear mouse." Go figure. So now it's
"Mating Hedgehogs," in honor of my favorite debunker theory to explain crop circles. Take a look.

I Know, It’s A Waste Of Time . . .

But I do wish the following would forever disappear from the culture:

“Do you believe in UFOs?”

"Are UFOs real?"

“Do you believe you’ve seen what you thought was a UFO?”

“Aunt Millie said she’s seen a UFO; do you believe her?”

“Do you believe UFOs exist?”

You get the picture.

I know, I know, it’s “only” semantics (a phrase that drives me wild) and it’s a ridiculous battle. No chance at all of ever winning, or even coming close.

Still, every now and then I just have to rant about the use of UFO as an: idol, an idea, a concept, a entity, an alien -- make that an outer space alien -- a mirage, a hallucination, a fantasy, a lie, a drug or alcohol induced event, a mental aberration, a religious figure, a God/

Instead of what it is: a weird object/craft/machine/light of unknown origin and purpose. Nothing to “believe” in at all. Do you “believe” in your microwave? The point some make that “we know what a microwave is; we don’t know what a UFO is” is a nonsensical response. Yes, yes, we know about microwaves, and we don’t know the whats, wheres, and whys of UFOs, but that’s what UFOs are. In that sense, we do know what UFOs are: we don’t know what they are. (heh.)

Putting all this other stuff onto an unexplainable light/thing/machine in the sky only reveals the issues of the individual doing the interpreting. Including the thuggish (or disingenuous, depending) response of the pathological skeptic who insists that “everyone knows when we say UFO we really mean aliens from space.” Speak for yourself there Mr. or Ms. Pelican Head.

I have ideas, theories even, as to what some UFOs are, but that doesn’t mean they are that.

I’ve seen several UFOs in my life. (Some with some high strangeness thrown in.) And while I won’t deny or try to explain away, nor rationalize in any way, that I’ve seen UFOs, -- because I have -- neither will I say I “believe” in them.

Around

On Tim Binnall’s site, BOA (Binnall of America) for my Trickster’s Realm column: Why Did I Lie? about my defensive response to alien abductions.

Be sure to read the other columns: Lesley's Grey Matters, Wrath of Joe, etc. and listen to the great, free, podcasts of Tim's interviews!

On UFO Digest: The Fortean Pinball Machine, about my theories on no theories, or, no theory about all those theories. Or maybe my theory is that it’s all very weird. Which isn’t a theory, it’s a given.

Sign up for the UFO Digest newsletter while you're there; it's free, and it's good.

Memory Games

image: still from Hitchcock film Spellbound, 1945


A lot’s been written on the nature of memory and UFO/paranormal experiences. All sides of the anomalous realm have tackled the hows and whys of our memories; skeptics of all stripes, UFO researchers, psychologists, debunkers, etc.

Theories as to our memories abound; explanations for missing time, screen memories, events that are as real as me sitting here in my armchair with my laptop but shouldn't ‘t be for their fantastic elements; all are either “explained” or debunked. And then there are the UFO researchers who take a nuts and bolts view: they happened exactly as described, for the aliens really did land, or communicate, or abduct, and that’s the end of that.

We’re fantasy prone. Or we remember what we want to remember. Or we think we remember but we really don't remember. We fill in the lbanks with things that aren’t there. We see patterns where there aren’t any. We want to see things so we do. We’re awake when we’re asleep, we’re asleep when we’re awake. Or we think we are. We suffer from sleep paralysis. We expect to see or experience something strange, so we do. We’ve seen too many movies about flying saucers. Some of us are mentally ill. Or some of us are just outright liars.

All the above combine in various ways to screw up our memory banks, and make us think we’ve seen things that we shouldn’t have, couldn’t have seen because they don’t exist. These are excuses to explain away all the weird things that happen in UFO events: missing time, screen memories, interactions with entities on some mid-plane (neither here in “reality” nor unreal.)

I’ve spoken with many individuals who’ve experienced the above, from a UFO sighting to alien abductions. I’ve personally experienced the following: UFO sightings, missing time, regression/hypnosis, interaction with entities, awareness of invisible entities. (Or what we interpreted as “entities” for all I know, they could have been microwaved beamed at us from a shadow government agency.) And in all of those experiences; my personal ones, and those of others, not once has the idea of these experiences being murky, iffy occurrences been expressed. There was never any doubt they really happened.

I don’t think I’ve seen UFOs, I have. I don’t kind of, sort of, in that vague dream like way, think I could have experienced missing time, I did experience missing time. The invisible entities: that was confirmed on different occasions by others who experienced the same thing. There is no question of false memory or sleep paralysis or other trendy chronic skeptic explanation.

I do have two memories I’m not sure about, and they have nothing to do with UFOs, the paranormal, or anything at all esoteric or occult. The question of course is why? How can it be I have two images/memories that won’t go away, yet I don’t know if they really happened? Were they dreams, or real? And why do I remember them at all?

In one, I am about five years old. I’m with my grandmother. We’re in a large place; the floor is black and white checkered linoleum. There are large pebbled glass windows set high in the walls, which are white ceramic tiles. The sun is streaming through these windows; the place is full of light. There are lots of clocks everywhere. I have no idea if this is a dream, or a memory of something real. It’s a persistent image however.

The other one concerns a concert. I have a memory of seeing Donovan at the Hollywood Bowl. But I’m not sure. I’ve been to a lot of performances there; and never doubted one of them. I’m positive about all of them. Except this one. You’d think I’d be “sure” if I saw Donovan or not. Why wouldn’t I be? Why am I not sure? I have a persistent image of him on the stage, sitting on a carpet, with flowers around his neck. I’m in the audience watching him. I think. I’m not sure. I don’t remember who I was with, how I got there, or what happened next.


Are these memories real? Is the first one a memory of somewhere I really did go with my grandmother? the Donovan memory: is it just one of those quirky aberrations, or some type of UFO or paranormal event after all?

While interesting, they have to stay where they are. In the meantime, the other experiences, as strange as they are, leave behind them plenty of questions as to what, who and why.

But not to their reality.

Update on: Biscardi’s Bigfoot Carnival

There's an item by Bigfoot researcherCraig Woolheater on the Cyrptomundo blog on all this Biscardi carnival like Bigfootmania.

Christ. Tom Biscardi has gone all out, joined up with cheesy, sleazy, too sadly all American Americana (its worst side) and gone the carnival route. Teaming up with “reality” TV,(which is a disgusting cultural phenomena all on its own) there will now be this new offering to the American public on Bigfoot: Capturing Bigfoot. The title says it all of course. For a few hundred dollars, it seems any Bozo can join Tom Biscardi on his “hunt” and it will all be televised for our “pleasure.”

No one in Fortean, cryptid, or cryptozoological studies can possibly think this i s a good thing. I don’t know, maybe some do.

Bigfoot researcher Craig Woolheater doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Good for him:

Craig Woolheater, chairman of the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy, which has annual conferences in Jefferson, does not condone Biscardi's methods, which he says "are produced for the sake of media coverage or for commercial purposes."

"This expedition is not a scientific expedition in my opinion; from what I understand it is being filmed for a reality-TV show entitled Capturing Bigfoot," Woolheater wrote in an e-mail. "As such, the TBRC is in no way, shape or form, affiliated with the very controversial Tom Biscardi."

And if Tom Biscardi and his “team” of yahoos somehow capture Sasquatch?

We've got two compounds at undisclosed locations where we'll conduct studies for 90 days, then release it back where we found it, I promise," Biscardi said.”

Good great goddess. Assuming the poor thing doesn’t die first (Bigfoot, not Biscardi) or a Bigfoot family comes to rescue the creature and wreak havoc along the way, or some Cabal of Dr. Evils comes along and offers Biscardi a million dollars, or worse yet, Disney Studios offers him five million dollars -- oh god, I can see it all now. Visions of Ted Nugent yukking it up with Tom Biscardi over beers. (Maybe they’ll have canned Bigfoot hunts along with the “hunt majestic buffalo” people whose ads adorn Nugent's website.)

I’m pretty well convinced Bigfoot exists. But that’s me. I don’t give a damn if one is ever captured or not, in fact, I hope to hell it never is. Let the thing be. Those who have seen it, know it’s real. That’s perfectly acceptable to me.