Everything Here All At Once

 I'm just going to throw it all out here. I have many blogs, some which I can't access due to massive Google/Blogger fuck ups. And after fifteen years or more of blogging I have no idea what passwords were when where... 

So the Orange Orb is all about UFOs. The things themselves, cases old and new, my own experiences, my friends, my armchair research, my rants,UFO Land,  ghosts, aliens, crytpids, and all manner of Fortean weirdness. Always.

But also art and poetry and writing and who the hell knows. Stay tuned. Please. Thanks.

Author's Page

 I'm still here. Lately I've been working on putting together chapbooks; you can check them out on my amazon author's page..  Soon I'll be putting up paranormal and UFO themed writings. Reviews are appreciated!

Also on Instagram under reganorb.

What else? Not much. I've been silent on the congressional hearings on UFOs because . . . it's happened before, and . . . call me cynical. I don't think there's a Big Reveal. What might be revealed will be carefully chosen, and what of all the bits not revealed? Because you can be sure it will never be fully revealed.

It's Not Nice to Steal

Back here on the original Orange Orb at blogger.

A comment: Don't steal my stuff. Linking to my content is great, but if you do, please cite the source. You know, something like "Written by the ever insightful and charming Regan Lee at Orange Orb" or some such.

Don't just rip off the post. I've had a lot my words just copied onto other sites, without any links or citations at all. I know this has happened to just about everyone who publishes on-line. And it sucks.

It's wrong. Knock it off.

Happy New Year! And a reminder.

Happy New Year!

And a reminder that I still am posting Orange Orb over on Word Press. Google/blogger/blogspot has become extremely confusing and messy, especially given that I have many blogs. For example, my Mothman Flutterings Two blog; I can't get into the dashboard to manage my own blog. Mothman Flutterings still shows up on-line, but nothing new will be posted there until -- and unless -- Blogger/Google hell can help. Which so far, has not happened.

I posted this same post yesterday, but it didn't go through. I'm not sure if that's because I linked to WordPress, (which doesn't make sense), or what the issue is. So just search for Orange Orb on Word Press and it will get you there.

My Ego

I always give credit to those that inspire me. If I read an article, someone's blog, book, or even a social media comment that motivates me to comment, rant or rave, I give a nod to the source.

I find it both amusing and slightly annoying when I read something on, say, a blog, a day or two after I've written about the very same thing, and no credit is given. No "I saw this on Regan Lee's Orange Orb blog and got to thinking .  . . " just an obvious riff on what I recently wrote about. There are a specific few blogs that do this consistently. But, since I am disliked by some (aren't we all?) as well as considered uneducated and even mentally unbalanced, no surprise there.

It's my own personal button-that-hates-to-be-pushed, this. It's a cousin to being called a liar. For whatever reason, or reasons, I hate being accused of lying when I most certainly have done no such thing. I've felt this way since I was a child.

#Metoo in the Fringe

Not to say males have been notoriously lousy with each other when it comes to UFO Land ... And Beyond! -- but women in this field have also experienced really vile stuff. No, this is not 'old news' --- it's been going on, it  continues to go on.

I've been a feminist since I was fifteen. That's a few months shy of fifty years. Same shit, same shit. More awareness, more men speaking out against misogynist behavior, and yet, still. . . it does goes on. Just because it may not be going 'as much,' (that is sarcasm by the way) or, that many good men are also aware, doesn't mean us women folk have to stop pointing out the obvious.

In this process of speaking out, is accountability. And it seems to be, that many have been given a huge pass in this field. Stalking, lies, name calling, threats, calling to question a woman's mental stability, her sexuality (real or imagined), and more,is a huge NOT OKAY. And yet, when these behaviors have been blogged about, discussed, pointed out, the ones responsible for these behaviors go on about their business. They still blog, post on Facebook -- oh, now under their 'real names' so that makes it okay. As if their previous behavior was simply a creative exercise in Anomalous Street Theater -- they get invited to speak at UFO conferences, their work is published, men and women (sigh) support them.

Yes, woman are more present and vocal in this field. All the time. And there have always been some women in this field. I'm not talking so much here as to the number of women in this field, but the behavior directed towards them, as well as the lack of accountability.

One more point: I've had some women say to me in various anomalous fields -- Bigfoot research, etc. -- that they've never had any problems at all.  As if this somehow diminishes, or dismisses completely, the experiences of those who have  encountered such behaviors from males. This is not an argument, or, a contest. If we can't extend respectful listening and non-defensive responses to our sisters, then how can we expect researchers to be respectful and non-judgemental to witnesses?

Book Reviewers: We Want ANSWERS!

After reading dozens and dozens of book reviews of various paranormal and UFO books, I noticed that many of those giving negative reviews were coming from one of two places. One, some were uber-skeptic debunkers and didn't have much to say other than shouting BUNK! The other seems to be a deep seated irritation that the author didn't give an answer to what UFOs are, or aliens, or ghosts, or Mothman, or MIB, or Sasquatch . . . Impatient with the author's exploring many theories instead of just one, the reviewer then gives the book a negative review based on the lack of an answer to the mystery being explored.

When I pick up a book on UFOs, the paranormal, cryptids, or other anomalous areas, I don't expect an answer. For one thing, it's only the writer's opinion -- it's never THE BIG ANSWER. Can't be. If it were, the world would be a different place. Paradigms would be shifted. Turned upside down. Inside out. So I don't expect a book to give me an answer, because it can't. All a writer can do is give their perspective.  Which is enough for me.

I read these books because of my intense interest in the subjects. I like to hear the narratives of others, find patterns, relate experiences to my own, discover what the author thinks. Which is different than giving us an answer.

When it comes to the world of the weird, our 'Goblin Universe' -- we might have some provocative physical evidence (that doesn't prove anything, just leaves us with tantalizing hints) but pretty much, we have mountains of witness reports. Anecdotal evidence. Which is not worthless at all. Within that data one can find patterns, connections, synchronicities, parallels and similarities to one's own experiences, historical information. Which then can lead us to develop our own ideas. Inspire us. Encourage us to keep studying. Compare with other works in the same field.

It's the writer's job to be honest (I do expect that!), respectful of witnesses, and to present his or her data clearly. Each writer has their own style and tone, and it's a matter of personal taste for the reader to decide which they prefer. (Myself, I like a variety; as long as I think the writer is ethical.)

But the rest is up to the reader. Hopefully the reader is inspired and motivated to seek more on her own. Not be fed easy answers to mysteries that have remained with us for centuries. No one book can do that, and I don't expect any one book to do that.

Orange Orb, Silver Sphere

Aside from my writing about UFOs and the paranormal, supernatural realms in general, I also write fiction, poetry, prose. (If so inclined, you can visit my fragments, found blog.) I rarely write about the fringe, anomalous stuff in my fiction life, but, occasionally I do come up with something. Here's a prose-poem I wrote recently about UFOs:

an orange orb, silver sphere

follows, hovers

beam of light

dreams follow:

paralyzed, silent screams

beams of light, again, so bright-white, vision transcends the norm.

awareness of cognizance, familiarity from the Other and yet, 

memory plays tricks, 

missing time, a lost drive begun

on a late summer afternoon.

waiting for a friend, a heavy sudden wind in the woods, a no show.

finding ourselves back home, hours later . . .

watching the orb stop, hover, drop in a neighbor's yard.

Do I follow? Call an authority? Instead, I dream 

of orbs and spheres, lights 

and enormous spinning shields above my head.

something intelligent, aware, knowing, follows, 

tracks my journeys on the astral.

so what? where? who, how, why?

questions, decades later, answers

evade.

Organizing the Room of Doom

Bigfoot books . . . 

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

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

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

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

A few more UFO books . . .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

Piano Synchronicities

Cat Spirits, Mother's Piano, Tarot Cards...june 2011. I found this in draft mode, intending to post it on one of my blogs. Since this is the ghostly season, I'm posting it here.

I posted the other day about possible spirit activity around here due to fixing up the house. Today I saw my cat Roswell walk into the bedroom. I then walked in the other direction, into the kitchen, and, there was Roswell! I saw a ghost cat! Cool!

Not so fast. Our other cat, Matisse, who I was convinced was outside, was the one who had walked into the bedroom He's gray (a Russian Blue) and Roswell is a tuxedo cat. When Matisse walked by, he looked jet black, not gray. He actually blends into the shadows very well, more so than Roswell, who's mainly black. Oh well.

On the other hand, I've been having interesting things happen around my psychic intuitiveness; getting back into doing readings with some positive and surprising things happening because of that. Doing so has opened up all kinds of things on many levels. This afternoon an abrupt tiredness came over me, I could barely stand up, I was so inexplicably fatigued. I go into the bedroom to take a nap. Afternoon naps are always strange; I have the weirdest, and most psychic kind, of dreams, and it is very hard for me to wake up from them. I have to force myself to move, to get up, and it takes me a long time to shake myself out of it. So my dream involved a lot of what I'd call French-movie-surrealism but one thing:

I dreamt I was in charge of facilitating a chamber orchestra. I myself wasn't a musician, but I was responsible for everything surrounding their playing; setting up their appearances, making sure everything was set up just so, etc. I go inside to the small privately owned, very rich estate where the orchestra has been hired to play. No one around, including the musicians, it's too early. I sit down at the piano, which I don't know how to play. Wish i could though. I remove a silk cover that is protecting the keyboards. I know I don't remove it quite properly; it's still showing, but it works. I think to myself, well, this is stupid, I don't know how to play, but her It goes, and I start to bang away. I think: "I'll fake it, just go for it," and before I know it, I'm playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Not very well, but anyone hearing it would recognize it.

Lots more that I don't remember very well,  including children and ghosts and not wanting to offend the snooty rich folk but I end up doing so anyway and when I/we do, it feels pretty good.

I wake up and turn on the radio right away, which is my habit. It's set to the classical station. And playing on the classical station, is Moonlight Sonata.

Regan's mother, Seaside Oregon, circa 1929?

Further synchronicity and messages; I usually talk with my mother every Sunday, but I haven't spoken with her for two weeks. The lack of communication had been on my mind. My mother was a concert pianist, playing when she was three years old and having recitals when she was not much older than that.  When we were growing up, she played at the Steinway in our living room, and one of the pieces she always played was Moonlight Sonata. She would get kind of sick of it, for we'd always ask her to play that for us.

And yet one more: I had just finished proofing this, then sat back as my husband read me the latest installment in his novel series, described as "paranormal science fiction romance conspiracy." Indeed. Anyway, he's reading me a part about the main character and his mother; the mother asks her son to play Moonlight Sonata for her on the piano. ! I hadn't read or told my husband any of this beforehand.

Piano Ghost by Regan Lee, abstract expressionism, acrylic on canvas, 2000?

Piano and childhood; must have more an impact on my subconscious than I realize. I painted this abstract expressionist style painting about ten years ago, and titled it "Piano Ghost."

To close things here, last night, I had a dream about my childhood home, moving furniture -- particularly the piano, which sat in our living room (we weren't wealthy by any means, my mom worked "outside the home" but dammit, we had a piano!) -- while my mom remained outside, shouting to us her input. It was a happy dream, but I woke up a little distressed, wondering if this had something to do with my mother's health.

Images and Old Poems

pastel drawing by Regan Lee

I've been going through some of my poetry and creative writing with the idea of e-zines, or chapbooks, or something, not sure yet where I'm going with this. I noticed that some of theses early poems from the 1980s have recurring images of orbs, night skies, and feelings of disconnection. In re-reading them, I realized many of these were written around the time I saw the orange orb. In fact, this poem refers to an orb, although it's a sliver orb, not orange. The imagery is interesting: moon women, orbs, shadows, and the end, sweet jesus, "capturing my frozen eyes." ?! What was that about? I also noticed that I wrote a lot of these kinds of poems during the late summer and the fall, which is the time frame for our orb sighting. And in going back further, reading poems I wrote while living in L.A., the imagery of orbs and night and planets, etc. were present. As Jim and I know now, we had UFO related, and/or high strangeness events occur when we were living in L.A., before the orange orb sighting. And, of course, going back to our childhoods, independent of each other. Are there clues in these poems, signals from the subconscious? No doubt, lol.

unconnected with moon women

a silver orb waits silently in a
musty corner on a wooden shelf,
hidden by sharp shadows like Chinese meat cleavers poised
on thick pegs above labeled spice jars, corked and racked, 
full of the herbs of mid-wives, now forgotten.

on the windowsill, tart purple grapes, hot and shriveled
grapefruit and pomegranate exposing their soft pink and secret glistening red waiting to be eaten.

unconnected with moon women i wait,
a single artichoke on a a scalloped plate, my tips half chewed, strewn about the cream white edges

the sliver orb shifts forward slightly in the night, and
one sliver gleams bone white 

capturing my frozen eyes.

~ 1982

Vol. 2: UFOs and the National Security State

Richard Dolan's second volume of UFOs and the National Security State will be available about the second week of August. I just ordered mine! You can pre-order at Dolan's site here.

Darklore III Now Available

The esoteric journal Darklore III is now available. Check out their website for ordering information, also, free pdf downloads of previous articles!

Bill Birnes: Berlin

Bill Birnes, of UFO Hunters, has a beautiful and moving piece (it made me cry)about the show in Germany for the upcoming "Nazi" UFO episode, on the UFO Magazine's blog

MUFON, The Brew That is True, and Other Things . . .

Okay, everyone back to what they were doing. The circus is over.

As I said, now and then it's fun to play along, and it's good fodder for inspiration. Which makes it all the more delicious, since we all know that wasn't their point.

I will share the lyrics from a scene from one of my favorite movies; The Court Jester with Danny Kaye. I loved Danny Kaye when I was a kid; still do. As I was searching for images to go with the previous humor piece, I came across the poster to the movie and used. (See post below.) For some reason, the lyrics remind me of the UFO/Fortean vibe surrounding our bouncing ideas and words; we think we have the magic key that will get the Big Question answered and we pass it on to someone else who theorizes it really means this when it could mean that...oh never mind.

Griselda: Listen. I have put a pellet of poison in one of the vessels.

Hawkins: Which one?

Griselda: The one with the figure of a pestle.

Hawkins: The vessel with the pestle?

Griselda: Yes. But you don't want the vessel with the pestle, you want the chalice from the palace!

Hawkins: I-I don't want the vessel with the pestle, I want the chalice from the what?

Jean: The chalice from the palace!

Hawkins: Hm?

Griselda: It's a little crystal chalice with a figure of a palace.

Hawkins: Th-the chalice from the palace have the pellet with the poison?

Griselda: No, the pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle.

Hawkins: Oh, oh, the pestle with the vessel.

Jean: The vessel with the pestle.

Hawkins: What about the palace from the chalice?

Griselda: Not the palace from the chalice! The chalice from the palace!

Hawkins: Where's the pellet with the poison?

Griselda: In the vessel with the pestle!

Jean: Don't you see? The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle.

Griselda: The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!

Jean: It's so easy, I can say it!

Hawkins: Well then you fight him!

Griselda: Listen carefully. The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle, the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true.

Hawkins: Where the pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle, the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true.

Jean: Good man!

Griselda: Just remember that.

Back to our usual programming.

MUFON has archived some of its early data.

Greg Bishop on UFO Mystic has a very nice post about his relationship with the late Dr. Karla Turner; his interviews with her, etc.

As you can see, I've changed the templates on The OrangeOrb, also on a few of my other blogs. It's springtime! Time for a fresh look. I wish Blogspot had more template choices, but I'm okay with what I have.

As usual, a plug for my other blogs: Vintage UFO, Women Of Esoterica, Frame 352.

Finding Paranormal References

Before I started writing non-fiction here in the UFO blogging world, I wrote a lot of prose, fiction, short stories, poems. My background is in creative writing; I was involved in public poetry readings, had my own little poetry rag going for a while, had some things published, editor of the arts magazine in college, creative writing workshops and programs, that kind of thing.

The other night I was going through my work, and came across a poem/prose piece I wrote a good ten years ago. Don’t worry, I’m not going to post the three pages of that piece here, but I found this stanza interesting:

All around our pink stucco house grow
gardenia, jasmine, honeysuckle,
I sit on the red concrete porch at dusk
and stroke the waxy leaves
of the yellowing brown gardenias,
crush the tiny twinkly jasmine petals,
lifting the tips of my fingers to my nose
inhaling and inhaling until I can’t smell anymore
I eat the crushed petals
I suck the juice from the honeysuckle
I hear crickets and freeway noises.
My mother and I look for spaceships in the night sky.

Where did that come from?

Then there’s this stanza:

I can taste the smoky scent of Natasha’s incense,
the tiny cones ashy red in the bronze turtle
that holds these foreign sticks of scents
I keep my gaze on the thin yellow line of light
that glows under the bedroom door.
I know if I do this long enough I will float through wood,
through Chinese red enamel,
past Wanda and Teresa and Nancy and Natasha
into the night, past the pine tree that guards our corner . . .
~ from The Mother’s Club, Regan Lee

I found it interesting I would include these paranormal/anomalous events in my childhood so causally in an otherwise not paranormal piece.

That last stanza refers to, of course, my many journeys with “them” -- the unseen but seen entities who came for me on many nights, floating me out the door and into the large tree on the corner, where I’d then go into their ship. It always stops at this point however: after I’m in the tree, and see their ship above me, waiting for me, that’s it. All I remember.

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 Book: Parapsychology and the Skeptics

The Daily Grail has an item on a new book: Parapsychology and the Skeptics, by Chris Carter. Good comments by TDG; take a look. Now you all know I can’t wait to get his book!

NOOOoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

(Beach Blanket Bingo,1965)

Not much UFO entries here lately, and it's partly due to the winding down of summer. I refuse to accept it; but a lot of good that'll do me. I go back to work Thursday. Well, at least I'll be going out of town for the long weekend.

It's good to take a break from the UFO arena for awhile, though it's never away from me. I just haven't been writing about it much on-line. Lots of funny weird stuff on Mating Hedgehogs however, one of my other blogs.

There's a lot I could say regarding UFOs concerning the nonsense some people seem to enjoy getting into; I don't know what it is, but otherwise intelligent, mature adults just go nuts every few months and start flinging cow poo all over the place. It's hard for me to take these people seriously or not call them things like "thugs" when they seem to take some kind of pleasure in jumping right in and throwing punches. But what's the point? Other than comment and say "er, yes, we all are aware of your fighting boys" and just let it alone.

MJ-12; some things going around about that on UFO Updates, UFO Mystic, Other Side of Truth, and elsewhere, and it is interesting. Maybe I'll comment later on that. For now, as much as I admire Stanton Friedman -- and I do -- I've always had the feeling he was the victim of an elaborate and planned disinfo campaign. That doesn't change things really -- I'll explain that later. Maybe. Shrug. Can't grow up my own damn self and "get" that summer is over, I will return to work, ... etc. But back to MJ 12, what is there about the new info that makes that any more true/real? Like everything else, grains of salt. . .

What else. Some UFO stuff going on here in Oregon; a woman by the name of "Cindy" has been in contact with me, I think I mentioned here a bit ago I'll get around to posting something on that.

And spending time with the esoteric, for sure, just not UFO -ish so much: drumming, writning (fiction, not fringe topics) and intent,cards, and things moving within on a personal level (all good) and all that New Age stuff. But it's all good, and as the saying goes, we can change our stories, since we're the authors. So my new story for end of summer and returning to work is still to be written, but it'll be new and positive. It'll be mine. And that's a good thing.