In a snarky mood: Books

A UFO blog that shall not be named nor linked to recently posted "Three Books You Haven't Read" with cover images of the three books, and the comment that most readers of their blog had not read any of the books. Well, smart asses, I read one out of the three, it's on my bookshelf right now, I can see it from here: In Search of Schrodinger's Cat.

Feh. Pompous snark-masters.

Reminds me of the smug full of himself puritan professor I had who taught a James Joyce seminar each year. Me, in my enthusiastic naivety (older "returning student" as anyone over 40 was euphemistically called) and pure joy at being in college, said to him something like "I was happy to hear you teach a Joyce course; he's among my favorite writers." "Yes?" sniffed (literally, he sniffed!) Professor Important. "I love Joyce, I've read all of his work, ..." "You? You've read all of James Joyce?" he said. He seemed downright offended as well as shocked. And a bit suspicious. "Well, yes..." I said. "How interesting..." and he walked away.

From The UFO Trail: Guiley Cancels Second Book with Imbrogno, Cites Fabrications and Plagiarism

Jack Brewer at UFO Trail posts the latest news on researcher Rosemary Ellen Guiley and her past collaboration with "fallen ufologist" Phil Imbrogno: The UFO Trail: Guiley Cancels Second Book with Imbrogno, Cites Fabrications and Plagiarism.

I've defended Imbrogno in the past only in this sense: that his ideas about things paranormal and UFO were still interesting. Don't discount his ideas, which aren't new and have been proposed by many another through the decades, based on his dishonest behavior. Accepting his sources and research/data as valid is another issue, since it seems he has committed plagiarism.

Idle Fun

Taking a cue from Lesley at The Debris Field, who posts blog quizzes with her daily links, I took the "What Beatle Song Are You?" -- you know, being Sunday and avoiding housework I thought this was far more productive. :)

I had to laugh, because one of the questions was "If you could travel back in time to the 1960s, which event would you want to witness?" Moon landing, well, watched that happen. Beatles on Ed Sullivan: watched that when it happened. Woodstock, well, I wasn't there, but I remember the event, certainly. As I did with Maritn Luther King's speech: not there, but remember vividly watching it on the news and how it impacted all of us. So I chose the latter.

So here's what came up:

You Are "Across the Universe"

You are spiritual, deep, and at peace. You try to keep life in perspective. You can't help but realize how small you are in the universe. You're just thankful you exist. You tend to be a stream of consciousness thinker. You just let your thoughts flow, even when they don't make sense initially. You trust your intuition to guide you. You know that whatever is in your heart is right and true.

What Beatles Song Are You?

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!

Love that "even when you don't make sense initially." Sounds right...

New Issue of UFO Magazine

Regan Lee, circa 1977, James Rich, acrylic on canvas

I'm on the cover of the new issue of UFO Magazine ! Well, sort of. The cover features one of Jim's paintings.  I remember when he did the sketch of me. I was indeed wearing what you see, reading on the deck at a friend's house on the beautiful McKenzie River in Oregon. Jim was sitting a few feet away from me, sketching away. He saved that sketch for many years and did the painting about three years ago.

In fact, Jim has a series of UFO themed paintings planned. He hasn't painted much lately (either have I) -- busy with a lot of writing projects, but I know we're both missing painting and will get back to it soon. 

Federal Court Rules Against "Filmaker," For Raelians

Glad to see that would be documentarians Abdulluah Hashem and Joseph McGowen's were found guilty of lying about the Raelians. I've been following this story since 2005 and have written about it through the years. Hashem had an agenda based on his own religious (and political) fanaticism that rivaled the Raelians for sure.My new Trickster's Realm column for Binnall of America, on the court's ruling and the agendas of Abdulluah Hashem and Joseph McGowen, will be up sometime today. 

U.S. Federal Court Rules Filmmakers Lied About Raelians - PR Newswire - sacbee.com

The Mentally Deranged Card

We expect the pathological skeptics to label anyone who insists they've had a UFO or anomalous experience mentally ill. The infrastructure does pretty well in that regard as well. General culture, mainstream media. And if therapy is sought and you're not fortunate or savvy enough to get yourself a Jungian therapist --  who might understand, even if interpreting the experiences as non-literal but nonetheless profound --  you might find yourself not only so labeled, but prescribed meds or worse.

I expect that crap from those groups, so when the Dr. Posners of the skeptic world pontificate, I'm not surprised. I do find it surprising  when I come across it within the filmy walls of UFO Land. (And not a little misogynistic, for it seems that the labels are more quickly applied when it's female experiencers that are the subjects.) Emma Woods has been called many things by some within UFO Land. The vitriol is astounding. Among the things she's been accused of: being "unstable," mentally ill, emotionally unbalanced. And much worse. A visit to just about any UFO forum will prove that. One forum and podcast in particular that I will not link to, that likes to promote itself as being of the highest caliber of metal is notorious for such insults.

Neither Jacobs, the UFO researcher and author who happily used Emma Woods as one of his subjects, nor those attacking Woods are shrinks. And even if they are, armchair psychoanalyzing is just that; hardly a diagnosis that's worth taking seriously. What often accompanies such easily thrown out labeling is a heap of nastiness with a topping of misogyny. Positive sneering, and a weirdly gleeful sneering at that.

Recently, Leah Haley came out with her perspectives on the alien abduction phenomena. Her current take is that there is no such thing as literal alien abduction. After years of experiences and her own research, she's decided the alien abduction scenario is a staged event, controlled by humans. Mind control. MILABS. This is her opinion. She's entitled, certainly, and it's highly interesting. She could even be right. (Wow, how about that!) I have no idea if she is or not. I have long suspected humans are involved in what we loosely call "alien abductions." The point here isn't if Haley is right or not; but the reactions her announcement has invoked. An example from the above mentioned forum:

What would I call it?....uhhh.....errrr...nutsy monkey-batshit koo koo?
Ya know, I normally like cutting edge people and ideas, but this isn't one of them. This is mental dysfunction of the kind that doesn't let you process your sensory input without it going through a "I'm Nucking Futz" filter.

From the same message board:

But, I think she may be suffering from a mental illness.

Calling Haley mentally ill because she thinks human created mind control is the cause for abductions doesn't even make sense. I understand not agreeing with that opinion, but deciding it's a mental aberration? The U.S. alone has a long history of mind control experiments; why is the idea of mind control with an alien/outer space theme so outrageous for some to accept as a possibility?

If one is mentally ill, then they need support and compassion. So why the threats, insults, and stupid jokes at the expense of those UFO witnesses whose opinions you might find yourself in disagreement with? It's not as if those witnesses are being "mentally ill" on purpose.

What is the purpose of rejecting witnesses with sometimes glib, sometimes nasty (and not a little threatening) statements that they're lunatics? I've answered my own question: by stating (almost always with a false authority) that witnesses are mentally ill, the rest of us don't have to consider what they have to tell us. Nothing to think about here, move on.

But of course, neither Woods nor Haley are mentally ill. Not in the sense their critics mean. Vulnerable, anxious,obsessive possibly, even paranoid, -- all those are on a scale from "a little bit," to "hell fucking yes!" Who wouldn't be some of those things, at some times, given missing time, screen memories, encounters of non-human entities, sightings of strange objects, and other anomalous events?

There is also a bit of irony here; those inside UFO Land who otherwise align themselves with experiencers/"believers"/witnesses have no problem accepting UFOs and aliens exist -- which skeptics, etc. would easily call them "mentally ill" -- but bring up mind control, or MILABS, or "obsess" over being manipulated, used and sexually harassed, and you're mentally ill. Aliens: sane. Tell your truth: insane.

It doesn't work that way. None of us knows what's going on, and we can only listen and share. Sometimes it's hard to listen, and certainly it's hard to share. Attacking others as being sick in the head because one has a hard time listening makes it even more difficult than it already is for others to tell their stories.

Personal interpretations are open to debate. We all have our buffers and our beliefs.

UFO Magazine - UFO Magazine Blog - "...John Ford Rots In Prison, Still!"

Alfred Lehmberg has been writing about John Ford for years. He's one of the few writers on UFOs who've been doing so. We can't forget about the experiences and treatment of Emma Woods, Carol Rainey, Leah Haley and so many others who share their experiences; John Ford's story belongs in the category of those who have been wronged because of their UFO experiences. Or those who have been so affected by those experiences they seek attention, rashly, in the sense of needing to be heard. It's at that point, when the protests against treatment become too unbearable for others to hear, that others just turn away: those within UFOlogy, general culture, the mainstream media.

Not mentioned since our summer of abnormal discontent, still, Ford remains in gulag, minus bail! This is not incarceration, it is dogged persecution, so it's so much more than prison, or a jail.

A *threat* to dangerous shadows, he is locked up in their hole; he is incommunicado; he is totally controlled. He is fed his spice-less meals lacking interest or confection, and he's led around in routine's mindless grunge, lessexpectation... He is made to follow orders from the folks he'd disrespect, but he's drugged to an indifference—indistinct... and he forgets!

...And that was just the high point, folks! It's a pay back, day by day. He challenged *their* authority—you can bet *they* make him pay. He had the gall to stand up straight, and ask the tougher questions. He questioned the hypocrisy, so he suffers their "correction." What Ford had—I've not the courage... and neither, friend, have you. We're stunned by Ford's example... as the facts of it? They're true.

UFO Magazine - UFO Magazine Blog - "...John Ford Rots In Prison,Still!"

Don't Run With Scissors

In this disingenuous Associated Press item on the NASA satellite that recently fell to earth:

NASA satellite falls to Earth, probably in Pacific

The debris has no toxic contamination, but there could be sharp edges, NASA officials have said.

Item notes it's illegal to keep any pieces of the satellite since it's "government property". Instead, notify your local police department right away.

Tim Beckley on Coast to Coast Tonight

Our friend Tim Beckley is the guest on Coast to Coast tonight: Phantom UFOs - Shows - Coast to Coast AM

Tim will discuss "phantom UFOs" which is a topic I'm not up on. From the description, not sure what to think:

Involved with UFOs and the paranormal since the age of 10, Timothy Green Beckley, will discuss how he believes that UFOs are not extra-terrestrial, but intelligently controlled phantoms from terrestrial sources.

But it does sound interesting! "...intelligently controlled phantoms from terrestrial sources."  Also on the agenda: MIB. 

Ball of light spotted over Oregon | Local & Regional News | Eugene News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KVAL CBS 13

Damn! Missed it...Ball of light spotted over Oregon | Local & Regional News | Eugene News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KVAL CBS 13

The Hill Case Turns 50 - Articles - Coast to Coast AM

The Hill Case Turns 50 - Articles - Coast to Coast AM

Leah Haley on the Abduction Mythology

I've been following Leah Haley's story for years. So naturally I am keenly interested in her current stance regarding UFOs and abductions. Which is, as Jack Brewer at The UFO Trail relates:

Former self-described alien abductee Leah Haley has revised her perspectives about her experiences of high strangeness to conclude that no alien abductions ever took place in her life. She now completely attributes her remarkable perceptions to having been an involuntary research subject. Commenting on literal alien abduction from her home in Pensacola, Florida, Haley stated, “It doesn't happen.”

Now I'm really interested! I haven't experienced anything close to what Leah Haley has experienced, but, given my own two (possibly three) missing time episodes, and life long UFO/paranormal/high strangeness encounters, the abduction scenario has always been a part of this history. Like an unwelcome, sometimes embarrassing relative or friend that insists on being a part of your life no matter how diplomatically you tell them to just go away, the alien abduction scene persists in inserting itself. I've never thought I was literally an "abductee" -- and, in fact, don't think alien abductions are literal events or even, (maybe) related to ETs. Still, there is much weirdness afoot, and that weirdness is  from outside ourselves. (Mostly.)  These experiences (with some exceptions) are not due to psychosis or pathologies or la de fucking dah. They are real, and they of the "other." Of course, that opinion/belief rests on the assumption that the rest of us accept this "other" which of course, most don't. Worse, some do indeed accept that premise but pretend that they don't. That's the insidious side of all this. Some may call that view paranoid. Me, I'm being practical. It's real, it's insidious, it's part "other," it's part human. I've long suspected that humans are involved in much of this stuff: manipulating events, capitalizing on the dregs "they" leave behind or allow us to play with. Dark, paranoid, bleak. Sure. That's not all of it, and I am always hopeful. So I'm not completely pessimistic. In fact, I'm not pessimistic at all. Those humans that fuck with us in concert with "them" (ETs, and/or non-human entities) can go to hell. And if it does turn out they've messed with my head on more than one occasion as well as my husband's, that really is every bit as unnerving and fantastic as aliens. Something I've been saying for a long time.

So. Leah Haley. For years Haley has been writing about her experience concverning alien abductions. She wrote a book: Lost Was the Key, and related her experiences of UFOs and all kinds of related weird events. You can read about it by Googling and reading Jack Brewer's articulate article.

The idea of MILABS (Military Abductions) has always been an uneasy part of UFO research. Not many want to go there. Too paranoid, among other things. (I have had so many experiences with UFO groups who persist, like some Fortean Pelicanist-ostrich hybrid of keeping their heads in the sand, that only "positive" stories and theories of ET and UFOs be allowed. Even if your experience is the your truth, if it's "negative" they don't want you around.) There's a middle here; it's not only ETs, and it's not only humans operating covert staged abduction events. One does not exclude, or negate, the other. ETst still exist -- so do humans manipulating the idea of ET existence for all its worth.

Haley has uncovered government documents, incuding patents, that have led her to her conclusion that alien abductions are human created mind control experiments. For example, as Brewer relates:

Haley cited U.S. Patent Office documents, demonstrating evolution of electronic technology and non-lethal weapons that correlates with the time line of reports of alien abduction. Advances in technology during the 20th century included using electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) to remotely entrain brain waves, induce altered states of consciousness and transfer an otherwise inaudible voice directly into the brain. Overexposure to EMFs was documented to cause hallucinations, nausea, short term amnesia (missing time) and reddened skin, circumstances which became staples of abductee testimonies.

Robert Bigelow figures into this. MUFON founder John Schuessler  rejects criticisms and suspicious of Bigelow's involvement in MUFON and UFO reports, thinking such opinions are silly paranoia. But I've been suspicious of Bigelow's involvement (and indeed MUFON in general) and Haley's experiences add support to the idea of a hidden agenda. It's not altruism on Bigelow, etc. part. (I should add, "in my opinion.:)

Of course we can't know if Haley is being truthful, if she isn't, in reality, just paranoid, if alien abductions really are literal, if the government is pure as the driven snow, and so on. I have no idea. I'll amend that: of course I have an idea, or else I wouldn't be commenting. I have no proof. In my own case, all I have is the knowledge of my experiences:

• Seen several UFOs throughout my life
• Have had related UFO "alien" experiences: telepathy, "visions", dreams, precognition, shared events, synchronicities...
• Have had two episodes of missing time (and possibly a third), shared by another witness
• That witness is now my spouse, who has had his own life long experience with such things
• (We even lived a few blocks from each other when we were teens years before we met)
• Have cover or screen memories related to these events
• And all that's just for starters...

if she's telling her truth, she is not to blame for anything. 

In the meantime, those of us with experiences know something very odd occurs, and after years of investigating, exploring, speculating, sharing and discussing, no UFO pundit, self-elected UFO Police, or anyone else, has walked up to us and handed us a big "Here! All the answers to all your questions in this fancy little envelope." Nope.

So where ever Leah Haley's current opinions takes her, and us, we'll have to see. But in the meantime, for now, I appreciate her honesty in coming forth with her perspective. It causes us to take another look from a different perspective and that is not ever a bad thing in this realm.

The Debris Field: Sky Orbs

Lesley writes about "sky orbs" at The Debris Field:The Debris Field: Sky Orbs
This is a topic Lesley has written about many times and she's posted images of them in the past. I've seen these same orbs as well, and, as Lesley points out, they seem to often be in connection with chemtrails (or "contrails") -- unfortunately, I don't have video or photos. All I can say is, yep, I've seen them as well, quite a few times.

Entering the Orb: A Startling Realization

I have an "entering the orb" piece on UFO Magazine's blog, about the abrupt realization I had the other night concerning my orange orb sighting, and the reasons why I couldn't, no matter how much I very much wanted to, leave the house to investigate.

Sensing Earthquakes?

The past two days, I was thinking heavily about earthquakes. Not a surprise, since I live in Oregon and fifty miles from the coast. I have family all up and down the California coast, and so naturally the concern about earthquakes is a constant. That, and the general state of events in the world: Japan, etc. Even with those considerations, I was thinking about earthquakes and in particular, observing my cats. Their behavior lately hasn't been particulary strange, not like they were here recently a day or so before Oregon quakes, (Aug 5th) as I wrote about on Oregon L.O.W.F.I. but still odd. Not their usual patterns. My mind kept returning to "earthquake" and I found myself "seeing" earthquake activity on the west coast, though I didn't "see" or feel anything about Alaska, mainly California, Oregon and Washington in that order. Today's news brings reports of a 4.2 in Los Angeles, and a 7.1 in Alaska. (Related post: Tsunamai Dream.)