Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Spread the Word! from Robert Hastings
(Thanks to Alfred Lehmberg and his alienviews Yahoo group, where I found this post)
Spread the Word!
By Robert Hastings
In the months following the July 2008 publication of my book, UFOs and Nukes: Extraordinary Encounters at Nuclear Weapons Sites, I have posted online a number of excerpts from it.
The book contains dozens of interviews with former or retired U.S. Air Force personnel who were involved in highly-classified, UFO-related incidents at various nuclear weapons sites, including missile launch facilities, nukes storage areas, and bomb/missile test sites during the Cold War era. In some cases, the missiles’ functionality was reportedly compromised immediately after the UFOs hovered over them.
Because I am an American, UFOs and Nukes is written in English. Over time, persons from various countries have emailed me and asked for my permission to translate the posted excerpts into their own languages. I have readily and gladly complied with these requests. Other individuals or organizations have translated the same passages and posted them online without first asking my permission. While I would have preferred a formal request beforehand, as long as those translations are entirely accurate, then I have no objection to their appearance on the Internet.
The intention of this open message is to grant permission to anyone wishing to translate the already-posted excerpts from my book, into any language, for the purpose of posting them on the Internet. I would, however, greatly appreciate being notified of each and any translation.
NOTE: I AM NOT GRANTING PERMISSION TO TRANSLATE MY ENTIRE BOOK, ONLY THOSE EXCERPTS WHICH I MYSELF HAVE ALREADY POSTED ONLINE.
The excerpts in question appear below, together with their URL:
“A Shot Across the Bow”
http://www.cufos.org/hastings.pdf
“Beams of Light” http://www.theufochronicles.com/2008/11/beams-of-light-excerpt-from-ufos-and.html
“Launch in Progress!” http://www.theufochronicles.com/2008/07/launch-in-progress.html
“Like a Diamond in the Sky” http://www.eye2thesky.net/Hastings-Diamond_In_the_Sky.html
“Reporter Duped by UFO Debunkers” http://ufomagazine.squarespace.com/guest-blog/2008/8/27/reporter-duped-by-ufo-debunkers.html
“UFO Sightings at ICBM Sites and Nuclear Weapons Storage Areas” http://www.nicap.org/babylon/missile_incidents.htm
Given the obvious importance of this long-suppressed information about the UFO-Nukes Connection, I believe that it should be disseminated worldwide. To that end, I urge the translation of my research material into as many languages as possible. I ask only that the original English text be faithfully represented and that the following copyright notice appear with any such translation:
©Copyright 2008 Robert L. Hastings. All Rights Reserved.
I am available for interviews by the media in any country. My website is ufohastings.com and my email address is hastings444@.... If I do not reply in a timely fashion, please email me again—and again. Since the publication of my book, I have had some rather suspicious difficulties following-up with journalists worldwide who have expressed interest in writing about my research. While I admittedly have no proof of official tampering, one might speculate that these communications are being disrupted by some agency attempting to suppress the dissemination of my material. If this is indeed the case, don’t let Big Brother win! Keep writing to me until I respond. I am in touch with many other UFO researchers around the world. Write to them, if necessary, and they will forward messages to me.
In summary, nearly 100 U.S. Air Force veterans now openly state that UFOs have been monitoring and sometimes interfering with our nuclear weapons systems. The citizens of every country on Earth have a right to know the truth about these important developments. Spread the word!
--Robert Hastings
ufohastings.com
Spread the Word!
By Robert Hastings
In the months following the July 2008 publication of my book, UFOs and Nukes: Extraordinary Encounters at Nuclear Weapons Sites, I have posted online a number of excerpts from it.
The book contains dozens of interviews with former or retired U.S. Air Force personnel who were involved in highly-classified, UFO-related incidents at various nuclear weapons sites, including missile launch facilities, nukes storage areas, and bomb/missile test sites during the Cold War era. In some cases, the missiles’ functionality was reportedly compromised immediately after the UFOs hovered over them.
Because I am an American, UFOs and Nukes is written in English. Over time, persons from various countries have emailed me and asked for my permission to translate the posted excerpts into their own languages. I have readily and gladly complied with these requests. Other individuals or organizations have translated the same passages and posted them online without first asking my permission. While I would have preferred a formal request beforehand, as long as those translations are entirely accurate, then I have no objection to their appearance on the Internet.
The intention of this open message is to grant permission to anyone wishing to translate the already-posted excerpts from my book, into any language, for the purpose of posting them on the Internet. I would, however, greatly appreciate being notified of each and any translation.
NOTE: I AM NOT GRANTING PERMISSION TO TRANSLATE MY ENTIRE BOOK, ONLY THOSE EXCERPTS WHICH I MYSELF HAVE ALREADY POSTED ONLINE.
The excerpts in question appear below, together with their URL:
“A Shot Across the Bow”
http://www.cufos.org/hastings.pdf
“Beams of Light” http://www.theufochronicles.com/2008/11/beams-of-light-excerpt-from-ufos-and.html
“Launch in Progress!” http://www.theufochronicles.com/2008/07/launch-in-progress.html
“Like a Diamond in the Sky” http://www.eye2thesky.net/Hastings-Diamond_In_the_Sky.html
“Reporter Duped by UFO Debunkers” http://ufomagazine.squarespace.com/guest-blog/2008/8/27/reporter-duped-by-ufo-debunkers.html
“UFO Sightings at ICBM Sites and Nuclear Weapons Storage Areas” http://www.nicap.org/babylon/missile_incidents.htm
Given the obvious importance of this long-suppressed information about the UFO-Nukes Connection, I believe that it should be disseminated worldwide. To that end, I urge the translation of my research material into as many languages as possible. I ask only that the original English text be faithfully represented and that the following copyright notice appear with any such translation:
©Copyright 2008 Robert L. Hastings. All Rights Reserved.
I am available for interviews by the media in any country. My website is ufohastings.com and my email address is hastings444@.... If I do not reply in a timely fashion, please email me again—and again. Since the publication of my book, I have had some rather suspicious difficulties following-up with journalists worldwide who have expressed interest in writing about my research. While I admittedly have no proof of official tampering, one might speculate that these communications are being disrupted by some agency attempting to suppress the dissemination of my material. If this is indeed the case, don’t let Big Brother win! Keep writing to me until I respond. I am in touch with many other UFO researchers around the world. Write to them, if necessary, and they will forward messages to me.
In summary, nearly 100 U.S. Air Force veterans now openly state that UFOs have been monitoring and sometimes interfering with our nuclear weapons systems. The citizens of every country on Earth have a right to know the truth about these important developments. Spread the word!
--Robert Hastings
ufohastings.com
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Grey Matters: Esoterica and Social Networking Sites
Lesley Gunter (Beyond the Dial, The Debris Field, etc.) has a good article up at Binnall of America for her Grey Matters column: Esoterica and Social Networking Sites Like Lesley, I enjoy Facebook, much more than I thought I would. I found it hard to figure it out at first, still do sometimes, but it's more personal and fun, silly, things to do on it. I also, like Lesley, thought a couple of years ago paranormal networking sites were a good idea, but they seem to have gone under pretty quickly. One thing I like on Facebook are all the environmental and political causes that you can join up with and get the message out, and donate things to.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Explains All Reticence
UFOs are everything! From ancient times they wail and sing. Through the years they've shown themselves, we've pictures, film we've stacked on shelves. Anecdotes abound in waves, from Presidents without disgrace, to airline captains coming clean — these craft are NOT a specious dream!
Indeed! Alfred does it again; I really liked this one. For more visit the UFO Magazine blog, The Green Room, and read the rest of Alfred's post.
It's astounding, simply astounding, that there are still those who deny the fact of UFOs. Worse, are the ones who acknowledge the reality of UFOs, but play disingenuous head games around the fact. Those pathological skeptics who shrug and say "UFOs, lights in the sky, so what?" or yawn after hearing a witness relate an incredible sighting, mumbling something about classified military craft. . .
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
SDI #465 Twenty Questions
SDI #465 Twenty Questions
20 Questions _especially_ well addressed by Dave Furlotte, Stuart Miller, Chris Rutkowski... as chopped and channeled by the paranormal stylings of Errol Bruce-Knapp in a manner as reasoned as it is reasonable and as reasoning as it is... raison d'être...
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1. How does one "prove" the existence of something where no proof is accepted?
1. How does one "prove" the existence of something where no proof is accepted?
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2. How much has humanity grown with its technology, and how much has it _matured_?
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3. Why have our plethora of media recording devises not settled the UFO issue?
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4. Can our technology be depended upon to faithfully determine fact from fiction? Does that determination change the thing determined in the same fashion an electron is changed as a result of mere observation re the state of same?
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5. How much of George Orwell's _1984_ has actually been realized?
. 6. How can the existence of UFOs be validated given the existence of too _much_ evidence of UFOs, _bogus_ evidence effortlessly invalided but casting aspersions on the rest?
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7. Is there a mechanism employed to invalidate UFOs in the manner just described?
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8. Is the planet Venus a viable candidate for the UFO/police helicopter (crew of three) incident over Birmingham in England last month?
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9. Do radio controlled model airplanes fly circles around perplexed police helicopters as Nick Pope takes pains to walk the "safe path"... "worked up" even as his cautious interests are "justifiably" piqued?
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10. Where is the multi-spectrum video of same suggested in use by Errol and Stuart?
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11. Who is the "eagle-eye UFO sleuth" breaking the story out from staid official channels?
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12. Is there a sea change to the approach and manner of world ufological reportage, in general, lately?
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13. _Does_ a "professionally trained" observer remotely trump an untrained one? Will they _both_ make the same kind of "hysterical mistakes"?
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14. Can it be possible to be "sick" of the plight of the "UFO Hacker," Gary McKinnon ? Is McKinnon a man who should be rewarded for revealing gross security lapses in government computers as regards a security infrastructure and apparatus _allegedly_ overhauled and hardened at the cost of billions in the wake of 9/11? Is McKinnon _persecuted_ instead by the threat of decades in prison on the whim of the entirely discredited Alberto Gonzalez and George W. Bush? Sick, is it remotely appropriate to _say_ so?
.15. Has Great Britain deferred entirely to a "big brother" touting that they are "only here to help" with regard to that threat of terrorism?
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16. What is Kevin Spacey doing now and how does it touch upon the subject of UFOs and ancillaries in a film presently being shot in New Mexico?
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17. What are the quantifiable differences between skeptibunkies and consistent skeptics?
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18. Did Phil Klass have any moral justification beyond back-shooting his opponents from their lettered positions or driving them to suicide?
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19. How does Stuart Miller exactly mirror Dave Furlotte from earlier in the program?
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20. Crashed Saucers in the UK further mirroring Dave Furlotte?
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Zounds, but only 30 minutes remain in this short program... Stuart Miller continues with discussion as regards what "sticks" about Nick Pope et al, then Chris Rutkowski regales with a report on his new book about gingham tea cozies... gotcha! ...Just seeing if you were paying attention. Seriously it's a cited book about UFOs as a _true_ global phenomenon!
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Then, with as much "balance" as has yet been mastered, actually, Phil Klass was further "remembered."
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Too, J. Allen Hynek slept here! ...Lots of intriguing and astonishing stuff to make you go hmmm, yea and verily. ...Stuff hard to discount when it is so soberly reported by a person with the stature of Mr. Rutkowski....
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Ufological sensibilities remaining to be empowered are the listener's own! Subscribe or know the ubiquitous toad, fellow motes and travelers!
~
U F O M a g a z i n e -- www.ufomag.com
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Making Money, Changing the Vibe
It's true the uber-skeptics of the world lie about the huge piles of money pouring in from UFO book sales, TV deals, and other related UFO commercialism; that's how, these skeptoids tell us, UFO researchers, witnesses and pundits make their money. UFO writers make money from telling, and selling lies. That's the gist of the pathological skeptics meme.
Those within the UFO community will tell you it's not true, no one is making money, not much of it anyway, from publsihign their books or doing what they re doing. Very few make any money to matter. There aren't any UFO researchers out there who are making enough money from their UFO and esoteric interests to give up their day jobs.
The latter is true. The former is just more nonsense from the so-called skeptic crowd.
But, there's nothing wrong with making money, and there's nothing wrong with making money from something you love to do. In my case, it's writing, and in particular, writing about UFOs and esoterica in general. In my case, I'm investigating myself as much as others. I also enjoy facilitating people of similar experiences and interests -- like Women Of Esoterica -- I love that. Making money from this is a blessing.
Of course, I'm making very little money. So far. Not enough at all to give up my day job. That doesn't stop me from exploring the UFO and paranormal realms every chance I get.
What if we changed this idea that "no one ever makes any money" to "it's possible to make a living doing what you love." Constantly reinforcing this negative idea that no one makes money from this ensures it stays the reality. I'm not naive, it's a hell of a lot of hard work, and you have to have the chutzpah to be annoyingly self-promoting. But maintaining that intent, if that's what you want to do, is a start. Like attracts like. Why not make some money from this?
The next time someone says no one's making money from this, just ignore them. While it may be true, it doesn't have to stay true. Arguing with skeptids is pointless; I don't even go there. Exchanging nasty barbs is not my idea of being productive. But with others who know first hand the truth (so far) that there's little or no money to made in UFO and paranormal research, there's the very real possibility this can change.
Just setting the intent, while continuing to do what you do because you want to do it, is a start.
Those within the UFO community will tell you it's not true, no one is making money, not much of it anyway, from publsihign their books or doing what they re doing. Very few make any money to matter. There aren't any UFO researchers out there who are making enough money from their UFO and esoteric interests to give up their day jobs.
The latter is true. The former is just more nonsense from the so-called skeptic crowd.
But, there's nothing wrong with making money, and there's nothing wrong with making money from something you love to do. In my case, it's writing, and in particular, writing about UFOs and esoterica in general. In my case, I'm investigating myself as much as others. I also enjoy facilitating people of similar experiences and interests -- like Women Of Esoterica -- I love that. Making money from this is a blessing.
Of course, I'm making very little money. So far. Not enough at all to give up my day job. That doesn't stop me from exploring the UFO and paranormal realms every chance I get.
What if we changed this idea that "no one ever makes any money" to "it's possible to make a living doing what you love." Constantly reinforcing this negative idea that no one makes money from this ensures it stays the reality. I'm not naive, it's a hell of a lot of hard work, and you have to have the chutzpah to be annoyingly self-promoting. But maintaining that intent, if that's what you want to do, is a start. Like attracts like. Why not make some money from this?
The next time someone says no one's making money from this, just ignore them. While it may be true, it doesn't have to stay true. Arguing with skeptids is pointless; I don't even go there. Exchanging nasty barbs is not my idea of being productive. But with others who know first hand the truth (so far) that there's little or no money to made in UFO and paranormal research, there's the very real possibility this can change.
Just setting the intent, while continuing to do what you do because you want to do it, is a start.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Seriously, Don't Be So Damn Serious. Seriously.
Lesley has a great Grey Matters column this week at Binnall of America. “Seriously” addresses the stuffed shirts of UFOlogy; those who think having fun are doing a disservice to UFOlogy. (Just what is "UFOlogy" anyway?)
There are some who just won’t ever get it; that the exploration of the UFO phenomena is for everyone, no one gets to decide who can, and who cannot, join in the UFO mystery chase.
The UFO phenomena is certainly a grassroots, folklore (of the folk type entity) phenomena: while it’s necessary to have all sorts involved, including scientists and nuts and bolts field researchers, etc. to believe that this is the only valid approach is nonsense.
What inspired Lesley to write her column were the recent comments on UFO Updates about the use of the word “Festival” in context of UFO conferences:
The UFO phenomena has always been, at least in modern times, subversive to mainstream society. Its very nature is a huge “bleeeeeeeeech!” in the face of institutions, religions, academia, politics, the media. Dressing up in suits, chiding others for not behaving properly or insisting there be some Official UFO Police are ways to cause divisions, not achieve answers. (at least some of the answers anyway.) Of course, many who advocate for suits and ties, somber tones, UFO Guilds and a UFO etiquette would like this very much. Get rid of the embarrassing riff raff and they can carry on, being coddled and taken seriously (uh huh) by the very institutions that ignore -- and worse -- their UFO quest.
Lesley points out something that I don’t think is pointed out enough; that a lot of people (“the folk”) take UFOs pretty seriously:
The mainstream media may still have a ways to go, certainly academia, politics and science do, but the people are interested. They’re the ones with the experiences (I should say, we’re the ones with experiences; I include myself in that category.)
The purpose of a festival is to have fun of course, but it always serves a cultural need, including one that subverts the mundane. Lesley writes:
I hope UFO researcher and author Richard Dolan doesn’t mind my saying this, but both he and Karyn Dolan agreed that the Oregon, McMinnville UFO Festival last May was great. (Richard was the main speaker.) They enjoyed themselves very much, found it relaxing, and yes, fun. This from one of the most serious of UFO researchers when it comes to the work he does.
Speaking for myself, I am very serious about UFOs. This is something I’ve been experiencing my entire life. I have lots of questions about things I’ve experienced. Don’t you think that makes me extremely “serious” -- damn serious -- about this stuff? One way to be “serious” is to maintain personal integrity, and be yourself. If you have a sense of humor, can’t abide suits or pantyhose, or think, like Lesley does, that The Weekly World News is sometimes funny, because that’s who you are, you’d be a liar if you pretended otherwise. Which means you no longer have integrity, and in that case you would’ t be “serious.”
There are some who just won’t ever get it; that the exploration of the UFO phenomena is for everyone, no one gets to decide who can, and who cannot, join in the UFO mystery chase.
The UFO phenomena is certainly a grassroots, folklore (of the folk type entity) phenomena: while it’s necessary to have all sorts involved, including scientists and nuts and bolts field researchers, etc. to believe that this is the only valid approach is nonsense.
What inspired Lesley to write her column were the recent comments on UFO Updates about the use of the word “Festival” in context of UFO conferences:
Recently on UFO Updates there was a little discussion about the term "UFO Festival." Certain people don't like the word "festival" to be associated with UFOs, the feeling being that this would somehow keep people from taking the subject seriously. They may have been kidding, but there are people who feel that way.
The UFO phenomena has always been, at least in modern times, subversive to mainstream society. Its very nature is a huge “bleeeeeeeeech!” in the face of institutions, religions, academia, politics, the media. Dressing up in suits, chiding others for not behaving properly or insisting there be some Official UFO Police are ways to cause divisions, not achieve answers. (at least some of the answers anyway.) Of course, many who advocate for suits and ties, somber tones, UFO Guilds and a UFO etiquette would like this very much. Get rid of the embarrassing riff raff and they can carry on, being coddled and taken seriously (uh huh) by the very institutions that ignore -- and worse -- their UFO quest.
Lesley points out something that I don’t think is pointed out enough; that a lot of people (“the folk”) take UFOs pretty seriously:
I would say that 9 out of 10 people I meet have some belief in ETs or some other intelligence that is not what we would term as a human or Earthling and that may be flying around in the skies. You might not find them posting about it on the Internet or attending a festival or conference, but that doesn't mean that they don't take it seriously or don't believe something strange is going on. Most of them just don't have much extra time to devote to the subject.
The mainstream media may still have a ways to go, certainly academia, politics and science do, but the people are interested. They’re the ones with the experiences (I should say, we’re the ones with experiences; I include myself in that category.)
The purpose of a festival is to have fun of course, but it always serves a cultural need, including one that subverts the mundane. Lesley writes:
By the way, "festival" is a proper term for something like Roswell's annual event. You can call it whatever you want, but it is still a festival. It brings together all kinds of people and all ages and they hopefully have some fun as well as learn a few things. I see nothing at all wrong with that. Frankly, stuffy conferences mostly only attract those that already believe and the people there might take it all very seriously, but I don't see it convincing anyone else that Ufology should be taken seriously.
I hope UFO researcher and author Richard Dolan doesn’t mind my saying this, but both he and Karyn Dolan agreed that the Oregon, McMinnville UFO Festival last May was great. (Richard was the main speaker.) They enjoyed themselves very much, found it relaxing, and yes, fun. This from one of the most serious of UFO researchers when it comes to the work he does.
Speaking for myself, I am very serious about UFOs. This is something I’ve been experiencing my entire life. I have lots of questions about things I’ve experienced. Don’t you think that makes me extremely “serious” -- damn serious -- about this stuff? One way to be “serious” is to maintain personal integrity, and be yourself. If you have a sense of humor, can’t abide suits or pantyhose, or think, like Lesley does, that The Weekly World News is sometimes funny, because that’s who you are, you’d be a liar if you pretended otherwise. Which means you no longer have integrity, and in that case you would’ t be “serious.”
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
On UFO Digest: "A Little Experiment: Pendulums, Aliens and Telepathy
I have an article up at UFO Digest on my personal experience with UFOs and aliens: A Little Experiment: Pendulums, Telepathy and Aliens
Three different times I’ve had the eerie experience of knowing that “they” were in the room with us. Who “they” are, I’m not sure, but a few things I just know to be true are: “they” are related to UFOs, “they” are not human, and yet have a connection to us, and “they” are very much aware of us; far more than we are of them.
You might be wondering what Popyeye and Jeep have to do with anything; well, read it and you'll find out!
On UFO Digest: NASA ScO Observed a TALL ET
NASA ScO Observed a TALL ET In the Space Shuttle (1991) by by Clark C. McClelland (ScO)Space Craft Operator
Space Shuttle Fleet, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Space Shuttle Fleet, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
I, Clark C. McClelland, former ScO, (Spacecraft Operator) Space Shuttle Fleet, personally observed an 8 to 9-foot tall ET on a LCD 27-inch video monitors while on duty in the Kennedy Space Center, Launch Control Center (LCC).
The ET was standing upright in the Space Shuttle Payload Bay having a discussion with two (2) tethered US NASA Astronauts!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Dateline NBC Wants YOU!
If you've seen a UFO, NBC Dateline wants to know. Looks like they want video, not just stories. You can go here to find out more.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
UFO Hunters: "Ditch Diggers?"
Frank Warren reviews UFO Hunters on his blog (UFO Hunters: For Better or Worse) He didn't like the program last season, and he doesn't like it this season, giving it a mark of "C" which is an improvement, he says, over last season.
Warren's entitled to his opinions, of course, as we all are. It's a bit of synchronicity that this review appeared on Warren's blog, because last night I started my own review of UFO Hunters (unfinished) tilted "UFO Hunters: And I'm Not Just Saying That Because . . ." -- meaning, because I write a monthly column for UFO Magazine (Bill Birnes of UFO Hunters is the publisher) I'm not "just saying that" UFO Hunters is a good show; I really do think that, and in fact, think this season is the best yet.
Warren has several reasons why he doesn't think much of UFO Hunters, and while I disagree with him on those, it's his right to think what he does, though I disagree for various reasons that I might address in some other post.
What got me was the following comment by Warren:
While it bugs me that so many people dress like slobs, at least out here in the west , I'm all for dressing uniquely and in your own style, and thrift store shoppping is both a joy and an art. You don't want to appear unkept, or dirty, but wearing a baseball cap or wool hat per se doesn't make you a slob or give off an air of ineptness.
But let's be pragmatic. The UFO Hunters team do not look like slobs or "ditch diggers" and they're dressed for the occasion: usually cold weather, and having to tramp around in mud, rain, the woods, etc. Does one seriously expect them to wear a suit and tie? Or far worse, a polo shirt? Do we expect investigators to be dressed like geeky golfers or suits when they show up to reenact a sighting at night in the middle of a cow pasture?
There's also this point to be considered: going into rural areas, or even anywhere, really, dressed like an insurance salesman, will often just put people off. If you appear on someone's doorstep dressed in a suit and tie to take someone's UFO report, you're sending the message you're better than they are, you're removed from the situation, and you have a false air of officialdom that a lot of people don't like. That kind of stuffed shirt, faux authoritism discourages trust, not encourages it.
(Personally, I always find myself laughing inwardly a little bit at anyone who wears a suit and tie, unless they're Keith Olbermann.)
I like that the UFO Hunters team dress like average people, and appropriately for occasion, which is walking around often muddy fields, the woods, in the rain, climbing around on equipment, etc.
The subject of UFOs is taken seriously, or not, based on a whole mess of complex reasons, very few of which have to do with how one dresses.
Warren's entitled to his opinions, of course, as we all are. It's a bit of synchronicity that this review appeared on Warren's blog, because last night I started my own review of UFO Hunters (unfinished) tilted "UFO Hunters: And I'm Not Just Saying That Because . . ." -- meaning, because I write a monthly column for UFO Magazine (Bill Birnes of UFO Hunters is the publisher) I'm not "just saying that" UFO Hunters is a good show; I really do think that, and in fact, think this season is the best yet.
Warren has several reasons why he doesn't think much of UFO Hunters, and while I disagree with him on those, it's his right to think what he does, though I disagree for various reasons that I might address in some other post.
What got me was the following comment by Warren:
One thing that remains this season, which some may accuse me of being too cavil, is the slipshod appearance of the investigators; Ufology in general has an “uphill battle” in regards to being taken seriously, not only with mainstream science, but the media and public in general. “Blue jeans, tee shirts and ball caps” are what a ditch digger “appropriately” wears to work, not an investigative team whose hallmark claims to be “scientific, analytical research” to uncover the mysteries of the UFO phenomenon.
While it bugs me that so many people dress like slobs, at least out here in the west , I'm all for dressing uniquely and in your own style, and thrift store shoppping is both a joy and an art. You don't want to appear unkept, or dirty, but wearing a baseball cap or wool hat per se doesn't make you a slob or give off an air of ineptness.
But let's be pragmatic. The UFO Hunters team do not look like slobs or "ditch diggers" and they're dressed for the occasion: usually cold weather, and having to tramp around in mud, rain, the woods, etc. Does one seriously expect them to wear a suit and tie? Or far worse, a polo shirt? Do we expect investigators to be dressed like geeky golfers or suits when they show up to reenact a sighting at night in the middle of a cow pasture?
There's also this point to be considered: going into rural areas, or even anywhere, really, dressed like an insurance salesman, will often just put people off. If you appear on someone's doorstep dressed in a suit and tie to take someone's UFO report, you're sending the message you're better than they are, you're removed from the situation, and you have a false air of officialdom that a lot of people don't like. That kind of stuffed shirt, faux authoritism discourages trust, not encourages it.
(Personally, I always find myself laughing inwardly a little bit at anyone who wears a suit and tie, unless they're Keith Olbermann.)
I like that the UFO Hunters team dress like average people, and appropriately for occasion, which is walking around often muddy fields, the woods, in the rain, climbing around on equipment, etc.
The subject of UFOs is taken seriously, or not, based on a whole mess of complex reasons, very few of which have to do with how one dresses.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Is Peter Davenport Pooped?
Billy Cox reports that Peter Davenport, of the NUFORC, might be fed up. Fed up with bozos making prank calls to his hotline, fed up with apparent idiots who can't write a decent UFO report or take five minutes to do so; they'd rather call and tell Davenport about it. He's tired, he's fed up, he's disgusted. He's sick of not getting paid, of getting requests from others who make money by interviewing him. He's furious and tired of the "charlatans" in UFO world.
(I will say that many people are nervous, paranoid, sheepish, embarrassed, scared, etc. and writing down, in their own words, a UFO report is too much for them to deal with. It's not due to a lack of caring that many do not write, either by hand, or in an email, a UFO report. It's an unease, a paranoia, etc. that gets them. They don't want it traced back to them. (Of course, a phone call could be tracked, or tapped . . .) Years ago I didn't respond to a request from an alleged group of, as they described themselves, "ex-military" UFO researchers who wanted me to detail my triangle sighting. I just got an uncomfortable feeling and so, didn't pursue it. It isn't all just ignorant, lazy slobs who are unwilling to write down their UFO sightings.)
Can't blame him. He's been providing a much appreciated service for all of us for years now, and with his own money; so much for all those uber-skeptoids who insist that UFO people are in it for the money.
So, Davenport is fed up with the "American people." Okay. So am I, with a lot of them, for different reasons. That's another story however. I called Davenport once to report a sighting, and what I got was a very rude individual who kept trying to put words in my mouth, and got mad at me because my husband wouldn't come on the phone and talk to him. I also met Davenport at the McMinnville UFO Fest last May, and a more pompous, truly laughable yet highly annoying rude twit I've never come across.
While I don't appreciate being treated so rudely or bored to tears at a panel discussion on UFOs, or, as he would have it, the American Way, which is drilling the oceans for energy sources, Davenport does provide a valuable service we can't lose.
We choose to do what we choose to do for various reasons. I don't think anyone can blame Davenport for his feeling the way he does; I don't. It's too bad there are jerks out there who think making prank calls is funny, or that his work isn't important to the powers that be.
But that's the reality. If Davenport takes a break, or quits outright forever and forever, that'd be a shame. And if he does quit outright forever and ever, maybe someone else will take it up.
It's not all the "American people's fault" however. It's a combination of several factors; his attitude, expectations, the infrastructure, the UFO phenomena itself, and thinking that something like 80% of UFO researchers and witnesses are full of crap. At some point, there is some truth to the philosophy that like attracts like.
Well, despite his pompous arrogance and rah-rah America right wing conservatism, Davenport's done us a good thing.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Joseph Capp's Certainty Principle
"The UFO enigma should bring our community together . . ." says Joseph Capp of UFO Media Matters in The Certainty Principle. Sadly, instead, the UFO community is more about in-fighting, attacks, sneering, etc. -- well, we all know the drill. Capp calls this phenomena -- all this ugly at times nasty lying, insulting, fighting, pompous buffoonery and so on that divides, not unites, "The Certainty Principle":
You can read more here at Capp's UFO Media Matters blog.
We all have our opinions -- certainly I have mine about things like disclosure, the Trickster element, etc. but that doesn't mean I'm right. It means it's what I think, at least for now, and it makes sense to me, for now. I like my little theories, but I also know they can change, they could be wrong, (or here's something: not so much wrong, as, incomplete. . .) so much of our ideas about things are framed by our experiences, beliefs and cultural contexts. That's so obvious it should be a given but we lose sight of that a lot.
There's nothing wrong with speculating, or having ideas that aren't in alignment with someone else's --- what's "wrong" is believing you're RIGHT and therefore, superior, and everyone else is a (insert slur here___________)
The Great Separator is a belief system of rigid ideals practiced by “certain people” that seems to have no logical use in the real world -- except to keep the community ridiculously divided. I call this great separator “The Certainty Principle”.
You can read more here at Capp's UFO Media Matters blog.
We all have our opinions -- certainly I have mine about things like disclosure, the Trickster element, etc. but that doesn't mean I'm right. It means it's what I think, at least for now, and it makes sense to me, for now. I like my little theories, but I also know they can change, they could be wrong, (or here's something: not so much wrong, as, incomplete. . .) so much of our ideas about things are framed by our experiences, beliefs and cultural contexts. That's so obvious it should be a given but we lose sight of that a lot.
There's nothing wrong with speculating, or having ideas that aren't in alignment with someone else's --- what's "wrong" is believing you're RIGHT and therefore, superior, and everyone else is a (insert slur here___________)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
MUFON's Reaction to Ian Brockwell's UFO Article
Ian Brockwell recently wrote this piece for American Chronicle, UFO Photographed in Thunderstorm Reveals Alien Life!, about entities inside a UFO that was photographed during a thunderstorm.
On UFO Digest, Brockwell writes about MUFON's response to the above article MUFON's Reaction To My UFO Article
All very interesting. I like what Brockwell says about MUFON in the article:
MUFON also attacks American Chronicle, stating that American Chroncile ""has no standards for who writes for them." As Brockwell points out, American Chronicle publishes UFO stories. We need all the UFO info we can get. Mainstream media isn't doing it for us.
The point seems to be that MUFON attacks Brockwell for not being upfront, though Brockwell says he is, and from what I can see, he is. Agreeing with him or not, that's another issue. But as long as one is honest, that's all we can expect in this field.
Why MUFON seems to have a big buzzing bee in their bonnet lately is something I don't understand.
It's always good to do self checking and see what needs improvement; this is obvious and true in any field, including UFOs. But no one gets to tell anyone else what to do or say in UFOlogy, no matter how hard some might try bully others.
Instead of fighting each other, we should really acknowledge the diverse work being done by often equally diverse individuals.
On UFO Digest, Brockwell writes about MUFON's response to the above article MUFON's Reaction To My UFO Article
All very interesting. I like what Brockwell says about MUFON in the article:
It is somewhat disappointing that the MUFON site states:
"..one reason people join MUFON is because they want to be trained and have the opportunity to investigate cases. They want the hands-on, personal experience of interviewing witnesses, collecting information and analysing it themselves, instead of just reading about what others have done." Elaine Douglass, Co-State Director, Utah MUFON.
And when a member does just that, he is told that he "does not represent MUFON as a whole" and Carrion says "We have a standard process for investigation that is outlined in our field investigator manual, a certification process for field investigators and a mentoring program to hone their investigative skills. We have a body of consultants that assist in research. People join MUFON because they want to be part of this process."
You are wrong James, people join MUFON (and organizations like yours) in the hope that this will improve their chances of obtaining the truth, not to be told that they can´t try new methods (valid or not) just because you don´t personally approve.
MUFON also attacks American Chronicle, stating that American Chroncile ""has no standards for who writes for them." As Brockwell points out, American Chronicle publishes UFO stories. We need all the UFO info we can get. Mainstream media isn't doing it for us.
The point seems to be that MUFON attacks Brockwell for not being upfront, though Brockwell says he is, and from what I can see, he is. Agreeing with him or not, that's another issue. But as long as one is honest, that's all we can expect in this field.
Why MUFON seems to have a big buzzing bee in their bonnet lately is something I don't understand.
It's always good to do self checking and see what needs improvement; this is obvious and true in any field, including UFOs. But no one gets to tell anyone else what to do or say in UFOlogy, no matter how hard some might try bully others.
Instead of fighting each other, we should really acknowledge the diverse work being done by often equally diverse individuals.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Alfred Lehmberg: "Cognitive Dissonance"
Horrors beyond imagining, and it's not aliens eating our heads! It is us ourselves.
Columbus accomplished this bringing slavery to the western hemisphere according to James W. Loewen in Lies My Teacher Told Me. A very dirty-dealing Christopher —a lying, cheating, thieving, and serial-murdering-for-profit brand of "Chris"— initially found his "Indians" delightfully spiritual beings as "uncomplicated and intelligently innocent as gifted children" — to paraphrase from his own hand. Only later would he classify them as "guileful vermin" when he realized —with his second thought— that they could be terrorized into collecting gold for him in a color coded system that, oh by the way, lost the reluctant collector a nose or an ear ...or a child... if he didn't cough up the dictated tithe, on time...
Cognitive Dissonance, in so many ways . . . the above I know well, working in schools. Alfred's been there himself as well, read this.
Bringing us up to the UFO issue:
This begs the emblematic question. Who profits in this legislated, continuing and traditional ignorance regarding UFOs?
There's no interest, disinterest, and trivialization within ignorance of the subject; anyone who "believes in" UFOs gets the glassy eyed look from others. You know they can handle you blabbing on about the Rapture far better than the sujbect of UFOs, let alone aliens.
So why is the truth kept from us, about UFOs? As Lehmberg writes, it is, and anyone who thinks otherwise just isn't paying attention. So, why is it so? Read his article Cognitive Dissonance on his blog an alien viewand find out.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Personal: Some Links
I have a post on Women Of Esoterica about a recent OOBE that was both surprising and wonderful:
My Utterly Completely Wondrous New Age OOBE
And Alfred makes a many times before said, but always good to be reminded (because we need to be so damn often) comment on UFO Magazine's The Green Room: Shift Happening. I also have a post there about those who demand "accountability" over there.
Lesley comments on Prophet Yahweh and "diversity and UFOlogy" in Diversity in UFOlogy:
Oh yes, I know there are some out there cringing. They think people like Yahweh make everyone involved in Ufology seem like a nut. Speak for yourselves, it is my personal belief that nobody aside from yourself can make you look like a nut. So what if you do look nutty, why do you care? We should have all learned that from our families, almost everyone has that one crazy uncle or some relative that is a total nut, it only causes a few small minded people to think the entire family is nutty.
There is so much more; the world is literally in a "UFO Flap" right now. Scan any of the UFO/Fortean news sites, like The Anomalist, and you'll find many more links that lead to individual sightings, videos of UFOs, personal accounts, news on disclosure, tantalizing hints of things both deeper, darker, heavier, as well as things lighter, brighter, exhilarating, spiraling outwards.
Monday, September 1, 2008
SDI #462 20 Questions
SDI #462
20 Questions addressed in a program of singular significance by Dave Furlotte, Don Ledger, Michael Woods, and Alfred Lehmberg. Chilling observations by Furlotte with regard to the alien abductions play out, still, on UFO UpDates. Interesting observations are revealed by Don Ledger with regard to recent conferences and the Stephenville kerfuffle. Michael Woods explores the solar system and puts us right there, then offers to step outside with anyone impugning Moonwalker Edgar Mitchell's reputation:
1. If Alien Abductions are a result of mass hypnosis, who or what performs same?
2. Is humanity too advanced to be molested, or is humanity too primitive to be bothered with?
3. Should aliens show respect when it is so arguable that humans do not?
4. If a superior intelligence would show respect, of needs, and a "humanity" does not, what does that say of the intelligence of human beings?
5. If a superior intelligence won't waste billions studying an inferior intelligence why do humans spend billions doing just that?
6. How is denial the only option available to the "spring-butt" denialist?
7. Is humanity an abductor of inferior species?
8. Does the skeptic try to have the preceding argument both ways?
9. Was it a fluke that the Canadian Federal Government provided cash to conduct the recent Shag Harbor Conference?
10. Regarding the Shag Harbor conference, does a significant draw from outside the community show that society is becoming more conscious of UFOs?
11. When are we going to be able to see Mike McDonald's fine documentary on Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs)?
12. With the proposed museum at Shag Harbor, and St Albans, WV ...are UFO Museums beginning to pop up like toadstools?
13. How did the San Jose conference manage to keep the "woo-woo at low hum"?
14. Why were there a lot of "academic types" showing up at the San Jose Conference?
15. At the aforementioned San Jose conference, what was the impact of Belgian Major General Wilford DeBrauer and his investigation of the famous "Belgian Triangle"?
16. How is it significant to the UFO researcher that Military radar is superior to Civil radar?
17. With regard to the stillborn "Condign Report," how is it the report is completed by one man who is not allowed to interview any pertinent witnesses?
18. With regard to the "O'Hare Incident" how is Larry Lemke able to demonstrate a genuine anomaly?
19. With 400 to 500 pilots busted for impinging on GWB's restricted airspace over his reclaimed pig farm in Crawford Texas, who was finally busted for impinging on same during the "Stephenville Affair"?
20. With regard to data storage capability, anymore, why would officialdom lose data that was going to come back later and bite them on the ass, but that is _was_ going to come back later and bite them on the ass?
Stars and sputniks, saints preserve, and suffering ZOT but that 45 minutes remain of the neo-druid Michael Woods stewarding us around the moon, neighboring planets, and the moons of distant planets sporting waveless oceans of hydrocarbons smooth as the glass of black-based mirrors. Breathtaking. Alfred Lehmberg behaves himself... to a degree.
Too, badmouth Edgar Mitchell as a "loopy old coot driven space crazy" at your peril. There's a whole covey of us over here at Virtually Strange Network ready to stomp a new mud-hole in your flaccid ass, eh? Posted!
Know. The. Toad. The toad you know is the known toad knowing! Trifle _not_, the toad.
...Ufological sensibilities empowered are the listener's own! Subscribe!
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/sdi/program/
alienview@roadrunner.com
www.AlienView.net
AVG Blog -- http://alienviewgroup.blogspot.com/
U F O M a g a z i n e -- www.ufomag.com
20 Questions addressed in a program of singular significance by Dave Furlotte, Don Ledger, Michael Woods, and Alfred Lehmberg. Chilling observations by Furlotte with regard to the alien abductions play out, still, on UFO UpDates. Interesting observations are revealed by Don Ledger with regard to recent conferences and the Stephenville kerfuffle. Michael Woods explores the solar system and puts us right there, then offers to step outside with anyone impugning Moonwalker Edgar Mitchell's reputation:
1. If Alien Abductions are a result of mass hypnosis, who or what performs same?
2. Is humanity too advanced to be molested, or is humanity too primitive to be bothered with?
3. Should aliens show respect when it is so arguable that humans do not?
4. If a superior intelligence would show respect, of needs, and a "humanity" does not, what does that say of the intelligence of human beings?
5. If a superior intelligence won't waste billions studying an inferior intelligence why do humans spend billions doing just that?
6. How is denial the only option available to the "spring-butt" denialist?
7. Is humanity an abductor of inferior species?
8. Does the skeptic try to have the preceding argument both ways?
9. Was it a fluke that the Canadian Federal Government provided cash to conduct the recent Shag Harbor Conference?
10. Regarding the Shag Harbor conference, does a significant draw from outside the community show that society is becoming more conscious of UFOs?
11. When are we going to be able to see Mike McDonald's fine documentary on Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs)?
12. With the proposed museum at Shag Harbor, and St Albans, WV ...are UFO Museums beginning to pop up like toadstools?
13. How did the San Jose conference manage to keep the "woo-woo at low hum"?
14. Why were there a lot of "academic types" showing up at the San Jose Conference?
15. At the aforementioned San Jose conference, what was the impact of Belgian Major General Wilford DeBrauer and his investigation of the famous "Belgian Triangle"?
16. How is it significant to the UFO researcher that Military radar is superior to Civil radar?
17. With regard to the stillborn "Condign Report," how is it the report is completed by one man who is not allowed to interview any pertinent witnesses?
18. With regard to the "O'Hare Incident" how is Larry Lemke able to demonstrate a genuine anomaly?
19. With 400 to 500 pilots busted for impinging on GWB's restricted airspace over his reclaimed pig farm in Crawford Texas, who was finally busted for impinging on same during the "Stephenville Affair"?
20. With regard to data storage capability, anymore, why would officialdom lose data that was going to come back later and bite them on the ass, but that is _was_ going to come back later and bite them on the ass?
Stars and sputniks, saints preserve, and suffering ZOT but that 45 minutes remain of the neo-druid Michael Woods stewarding us around the moon, neighboring planets, and the moons of distant planets sporting waveless oceans of hydrocarbons smooth as the glass of black-based mirrors. Breathtaking. Alfred Lehmberg behaves himself... to a degree.
Too, badmouth Edgar Mitchell as a "loopy old coot driven space crazy" at your peril. There's a whole covey of us over here at Virtually Strange Network ready to stomp a new mud-hole in your flaccid ass, eh? Posted!
Know. The. Toad. The toad you know is the known toad knowing! Trifle _not_, the toad.
...Ufological sensibilities empowered are the listener's own! Subscribe!
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/sdi/program/
alienview@roadrunner.com
www.AlienView.net
AVG Blog -- http://alienviewgroup.blogspot.com/
U F O M a g a z i n e -- www.ufomag.com
Saturday, August 23, 2008
UFO Mafia: WOLVES IN THE FOLD…CAN YOU TRUST YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD UFOLOGIST?
At UFO Mafia, a post about the so called UFO researchers we need to be aware of. As Lesley points out in her blog The Debris Field, where I found the link to UFO Mafia, this is a sore subject a lot of us have been ranting about for a long time.
Many of these people are obvious. I'm not going to name names, but they are the ones I call "thugs" or sometimes "new thugs" -- they pretend they're aren't sitting on the fence, that they aren't hob nobbing with the trolls, that they aren't exhibiting nasty troll like behavior themselves much of the time, that they aren't wasting time and spreading negative energy by insulting others.
Here's a bit from UFO Mafia:
Many of these people are obvious. I'm not going to name names, but they are the ones I call "thugs" or sometimes "new thugs" -- they pretend they're aren't sitting on the fence, that they aren't hob nobbing with the trolls, that they aren't exhibiting nasty troll like behavior themselves much of the time, that they aren't wasting time and spreading negative energy by insulting others.
Here's a bit from UFO Mafia:
Bottom line is I’ve run into many a notable UFO researcher who just doesn’t fit into the equation of wanting to solve the mysteries involved. Instead they gripe, make bizarre accusations, try to publicly invalidate another person’s reports and theories, just real underhanded tactics one would think would come from the skeptics and debunkers.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Joseph Capp, UFO Media Matters: Part 2 Barney and Betty Hill Encounter
As promised, Joseph Capp at UFO Media Matters has posted Part 2 of his thoughts on the Barney and Betty Hill event. Betty And Barney Hill Part 2: Light, Action, Camera! Capp doesn't think the experience was an encounter with literal aliens from outer space, nor does he think it's some sort of fantasy prone, collective subconscious theater of the mind projection either:
MILABS? It's likely, especially given that the Hills knew some very interesting people in the military. If this is true -- that MILABS are the cause of many abductions (as they were with many Contactees) -- that doesn't discount the reality of actual aliens in flying saucers.
It's more than one thing, and both deceptively simple as well as complex.
It stretches the imagination beyond belief that star-traveling ETs have no advanced methods --including less painful methods-- of performing these medical tests.
The Relax, It’s Just The Trickster Myth At Work people claim this entire terrifying scenario shared in part, yet distinguished by particular differences between both individuals’ experience, was a projection of collective conscious. And so the Trickster Myth people would have us join their collective delusion that these terrifying claims of Barney and Betty Hill are nothing more than iconic mind projections.
That would be nice if we could leave it there. Unfortunately these myths and iconic projections have...been recorded on radar, killed our pilots, disabled our missiles, and destroyed at least one of our missiles --representing the most advanced weaponry on Earth.
MILABS? It's likely, especially given that the Hills knew some very interesting people in the military. If this is true -- that MILABS are the cause of many abductions (as they were with many Contactees) -- that doesn't discount the reality of actual aliens in flying saucers.
It's more than one thing, and both deceptively simple as well as complex.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Lesley Pops Out!
I just noticed a "pop out" widget on Lesley's blog The Debris Field. The podcast Mysterious Universe comments on an article Lesley wrote: UFOlogy Police, about those who want to ban theories, witnesses, or researchers they simply can't abide.
Good work Lesley!
(You have to scroll down a bit on the menu on the left and look for the little radio bar with UFOlogy Police as the title.)
Good work Lesley!
(You have to scroll down a bit on the menu on the left and look for the little radio bar with UFOlogy Police as the title.)
From Joseph Capp: Barney and Betty Hill: Profiles in Courage Part 1
Joseph Capp of the UFO Media Matters blog has a post about Barney and Betty Hill. It's a funny post in parts, but it's also moving and important, discussing the fact of what they went through regarding their interracial relationship, their activism and involvement in the community, and the efforts of debunkers, including Dr. Susan Clancy. This is Part I, and Part II promised to be equally as interesting. I wonder if Capp will address the topic of possible MILAB manipulation and the Hills connection with military? We'll just have to see.
Here's a bit of what Capp writes about the Hills in general:
One thing about the Hill case: it is a valid era in UFO history to research (as most "old" cases are) not necessarily because it might reveal something new and astounding but because of what we can learn, and then apply to current UFO phenomenon.
Betty and Barney Hill: Profiles in Courage Part I
Here's a bit of what Capp writes about the Hills in general:
Remember the ground truths of the era when the Hill case happened:
--Abductions were unknown…to Americans, at least;
--ET were not in the news, and the only information the Hills had was their own experience;
--The facts of the experience seemed too insane to be real.
The Hills stand out as people who couldn’t possible be the people the professional debunkers and disinfo agents made them out to be. They were fighters, these Hills. They were stand up Americans doing what America does best: standing uphttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif for freedom.
The beauty of the Hills was they were truly unspoiled, and yet they saw something very shatteringly bizarre, similar to what was reported before at Roswell, but kept smothered for decades.
One thing about the Hill case: it is a valid era in UFO history to research (as most "old" cases are) not necessarily because it might reveal something new and astounding but because of what we can learn, and then apply to current UFO phenomenon.
Betty and Barney Hill: Profiles in Courage Part I
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Your Rant of the Day
I have this posted as a permanent feature on the menu of The Orange Orb. Haven't decided if I'll do the same here, use this one, or what. (Thanks to Alfred Lehmberg for the image)
Very little if anything is hurting "Ufology" including using the term "UFOlogy." UFOlogy is kind of full of itself as a term, but what do you suggest we replace it with? UFO Studies? UFO research? Okay, not too bad. But there are bigger and better things to concern ourselves with other than the use of "UFOlogy."
But this isn't about the use of clunky terms. Today's rant is about the idea that some theories, ideas, and people, are "hurting UFOlogy." As long as sincere, honest individuals -- whether or not we agree with them -- are following their paths, there is no fault to be found. We can learn from it all; old cases, current cases, contactees, abductees, mysticism, and all the rest. We're not robots, we're individuals, with a variety of abilities, talents, and experiences.
Those that spend the majority of their time attacking others, and constantly calling for some kind of purge of UFO land are doing nothing positive and nothing productive. They need to get over themselves and get to work, whether it's exploring the self and one's own experiences, solid field research, what have you. It's all good, it's all needed, and no one person can be all things to all of the thousands of facets found in UFOlogy.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
UFO Fascists
Who needs enemies when you have friends like this? . . .
Alfred Lehmberg has a response to the recent posts by Dick Hall on UFO Updates, who is (once again) calling for a UFO cleansing. This time it's a "purge of UFO Updates."
If I wasn't so tired I'd write a long post about how frustrated I am concerning UFO people insisting only certain types of cases and phenomena get consideration, while others are to be forever ignored. When will they realize it's all part of the phenomena, and attempts to "seriously" study it by cutting away what offends is like wanting to study the human body, but not until you've cut off all the limbs and head.
Read Lehmberg's piece here.
Alfred Lehmberg has a response to the recent posts by Dick Hall on UFO Updates, who is (once again) calling for a UFO cleansing. This time it's a "purge of UFO Updates."
If I wasn't so tired I'd write a long post about how frustrated I am concerning UFO people insisting only certain types of cases and phenomena get consideration, while others are to be forever ignored. When will they realize it's all part of the phenomena, and attempts to "seriously" study it by cutting away what offends is like wanting to study the human body, but not until you've cut off all the limbs and head.
Read Lehmberg's piece here.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
On UFO Magazine Blog: "Kindred Souls"
Alfred doesn't know I'm posting this, but I'm posting the link to his piece Kindred Souls on "The Green Room" here because the article has to do with people; with individuals and the UFO experience. Well, it all has to do with people, doesn't it? Anyway. Read it here. Great image too!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Greg Bishop has a great piece up at UFO Mystic: Anti-Structure in UFOlogy.
Boy, wish I had said that!
Applying our standard concepts of information gathering to UFOs and the paranormal may be like trying to catch water in a fishnet, except that we don’t even know that the water is there.
Boy, wish I had said that!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Gray Matters: The Women Get It
Lesley (The Debris Field, Beyond the Dial, etc.) writes in her current column on Binnall of America, titled The Women Get It, about objectivity and nasty mean people.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Alien Abduction and Mystic Experiences (Gralien Report)
Micah Hawks, of the very excellent Gralien Report blog, has an item on Alien Abduction and Mystic Experience, with a link to Brad Steiger's piece on his My Strangest Alien Abduction Case" on UFO Digest.
There are so many aspects to the UFO phenomenon; nuts and bolts, the usual. And the mystical. What to make of those kinds of experiences in connection to UFOs? Some have not seen UFOs in the typical sense, yet have experienced deep mystical/spiritual events that include non-human entities that the individual puts into the UFO category. Like Nahu, for example, author of UFOs: Gods From Inner Space,who I wrote about some time ago in UFO Magazine. He, and his partner, have gone on to experience events like this, including seeing beams of energy, having psychic characteristics, etc.
Are some types of extraterrestrials capable of inducing these encounters? Is it something within us that enters into a symbiotic relationship with some of "them?" Are they more earth bound, or inter-dimensional, and not strictly UFO connected?
As always, there isn't any one answer to what UFOs are; except to state the obvious, which is that there are many varities of types and experiences. One type does not negate or invalidate the other.
There are so many aspects to the UFO phenomenon; nuts and bolts, the usual. And the mystical. What to make of those kinds of experiences in connection to UFOs? Some have not seen UFOs in the typical sense, yet have experienced deep mystical/spiritual events that include non-human entities that the individual puts into the UFO category. Like Nahu, for example, author of UFOs: Gods From Inner Space,who I wrote about some time ago in UFO Magazine. He, and his partner, have gone on to experience events like this, including seeing beams of energy, having psychic characteristics, etc.
Are some types of extraterrestrials capable of inducing these encounters? Is it something within us that enters into a symbiotic relationship with some of "them?" Are they more earth bound, or inter-dimensional, and not strictly UFO connected?
As always, there isn't any one answer to what UFOs are; except to state the obvious, which is that there are many varities of types and experiences. One type does not negate or invalidate the other.
One Person's "Abduction Memory"
Abduction Memory, by Daniel J. Burkhart, of the Rochester Paranormal blog.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Rehabilitation of Rich Reynolds?!?
The Rehabilitation of Rich Reynolds
One of the fundamental principles of the criminal justice system when it comes to sentence is denunciation; another is rehabilitation. In the case of ostracizing people from certain groups or communities for bad behaviour, the same rules should apply - go beyond the boundaries of civil discourse, and punishment is in order, so that the community as a collective can denounce the offensive behaviour. But, after a time spent in the wilderness, everyone deserves a second chance - that's the rehabilitation element.In the world of ufology, Rich Reynolds has served his sentence as far as I'm concerned. What issues remain between Reynolds, who was just profiled / interviewed in issue #3 of Stuart Miller's Alien Worlds magazine, and those he wronged, are between them to settle; as far as the community of ufology is concerned, Reynolds should no longer be persona non grata. Reynolds has always had some useful things to say about the UFO phenomenon, and the people who study it, just as he has had some absolutely ridiculous things to say (the percentages on those two categories are for each individual to judge for themselves). It's time to consider those views based on their merits, and not the person who offers them.Now, I can't control what others do, obviously, but as far as I'm concerned, Rich Reynolds has a second chance to make a positive contribution to the discussion about the UFO phenomenon. His prior bad behaviour has been sufficiently denounced, and it's time to move above and beyond things that happened in the past, and judge him by what he offers now, and into the future. He won't be the first person who has gone through this process in ufology, and he won't be the last.Paul Kimball
Posted by Paul Kimball at 4:13 AM
I'm reminding of the old fable ending with the line, "...but you knew I was a snake when you picked me up."
Too, I wonder, what the sentiment would be if RR had published to "enemies" and "employers" the suggestion that _you_ had had sex with children, Paul, and then additionally published that you "protested too much" in that regard... Outrage!
...Then RR goes on to wish death on all those not facilitating him or crediting him as you and Stuart do. Light speed "attitude changes" must now abound, so how valid could those "attitudes" have been to begin, eh?
...From "kiss-ass" to "keynote" in one cleansing and forgiving breath?
Well, rest assured. I'll be loping off this snake's head with every appropriate opportunity, and let me apologize in advance for anyone losing fingers in the senselessly insentient stroking of it.
You burn up a lot of earned idiosyncratic credit with me, Paul. And so needlessly, too. Pity.
To Jeff: you're right Sir. It _is_ absurd; however, some cross a line, and in as much there has not been an ounce of apology or reparation regarding false accusations of pederasty, reasonable "dues" have not been paid. Too, a rapist gets a "by."
In sadness,
One of the fundamental principles of the criminal justice system when it comes to sentence is denunciation; another is rehabilitation. In the case of ostracizing people from certain groups or communities for bad behaviour, the same rules should apply - go beyond the boundaries of civil discourse, and punishment is in order, so that the community as a collective can denounce the offensive behaviour. But, after a time spent in the wilderness, everyone deserves a second chance - that's the rehabilitation element.In the world of ufology, Rich Reynolds has served his sentence as far as I'm concerned. What issues remain between Reynolds, who was just profiled / interviewed in issue #3 of Stuart Miller's Alien Worlds magazine, and those he wronged, are between them to settle; as far as the community of ufology is concerned, Reynolds should no longer be persona non grata. Reynolds has always had some useful things to say about the UFO phenomenon, and the people who study it, just as he has had some absolutely ridiculous things to say (the percentages on those two categories are for each individual to judge for themselves). It's time to consider those views based on their merits, and not the person who offers them.Now, I can't control what others do, obviously, but as far as I'm concerned, Rich Reynolds has a second chance to make a positive contribution to the discussion about the UFO phenomenon. His prior bad behaviour has been sufficiently denounced, and it's time to move above and beyond things that happened in the past, and judge him by what he offers now, and into the future. He won't be the first person who has gone through this process in ufology, and he won't be the last.Paul Kimball
Posted by Paul Kimball at 4:13 AM
...Astonishing, dismaying, and not a little depressing.
I'm reminding of the old fable ending with the line, "...but you knew I was a snake when you picked me up."
Too, I wonder, what the sentiment would be if RR had published to "enemies" and "employers" the suggestion that _you_ had had sex with children, Paul, and then additionally published that you "protested too much" in that regard... Outrage!
...Then RR goes on to wish death on all those not facilitating him or crediting him as you and Stuart do. Light speed "attitude changes" must now abound, so how valid could those "attitudes" have been to begin, eh?
...From "kiss-ass" to "keynote" in one cleansing and forgiving breath?
Well, rest assured. I'll be loping off this snake's head with every appropriate opportunity, and let me apologize in advance for anyone losing fingers in the senselessly insentient stroking of it.
You burn up a lot of earned idiosyncratic credit with me, Paul. And so needlessly, too. Pity.
To Jeff: you're right Sir. It _is_ absurd; however, some cross a line, and in as much there has not been an ounce of apology or reparation regarding false accusations of pederasty, reasonable "dues" have not been paid. Too, a rapist gets a "by."
In sadness,
Alfred Lehmberg
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Hiding Data: Excluding the Folk
This was originally published on-line by UFO Digest in May of 2007. It fits in with the theme of this blog, so I thought I'd repost it here.
In a delicious bit of synchronicity, and fitting to be sure, over on UFO Digest, at the end of this article, appeared this image of Monty Python. It's an advertisement for ring tones.
Hiding Data: Excluding the Folk
by Regan Lee
Posted: 00:35 May 12, 2007
Jerome Clark coined the neologism "pelicanist" (initially jokingly awarded to James Easton, who insisted that Kenneth Arnold's 1947 UFO sighting was ... pelicans) to define "the practice of ascribing _any_ explanation, however scientifically unsustainable, illogical, or fantastic, to a UFO event or experience, in a desperate effort to deny that anything seriously anomalous may be going on". Pelicanists are advancing extraordinary claims masquerading as prosaic explanations. Source: hyper.net
I cannot abide, nor understand, the exclusivity factor a handful of so-called UFO and Fortean researchers insist upon maintaining. Actually, they're not UFO, crypto, Fortean, etc. researchers at all; they're wanna bes, new thugs, -- basically chronic cranky skeptics. Sometimes trolls, sometimes confused fence sitters, often a variety of Pelican, they get up blogs and forums and clubs that announce to the UFO/Fortean World that they're all about research. What makes their research different, better and true?
Well, it's only for the few. The bona fide researcher, as the bloggers at the UFO Iconoclasts blog refers to them. The serious, somber and apparently humorless individual, with some vague criteria that is never openly revealed, seems to be the type who can join these private research groups.
Documents, books, writings, research, data (allegedly) is kept from the common folk. Only the privately invited and arrogantly sanctioned can access such real information.
One of the messages of such pompously covert shenanigans is that only real researchers will get to join, therefore only real researchers will have knowledge of the real information. The great unwashed masses (that's me and you, according to the UFO Iconoclasts) don't deserve to know. We're all idiots anyway. We're time wasters, wasting time blogging about our experiences, theories, research and thoughts, trying to find out what happened. What the hell do we know? Not a thing. Who are we to dare to speak? And who dares to listen? No one worth mentioning. No one serious. They're all over at the private bona fide UFO Iconoclast group, or the Magoniax Project, or some other full of themselves group. Those of us out here aren't serious, nor are we telling the truth. If we were, we wouldn't be out here, so public.
But more than being just full of themselves, and silly, puffering around in their musty slippers among piles of squirreled away data, is the fact that this mind set hurts UFO and Fortean research.
It is also highly ironic. It's ironic, because such things as UFO experiences, Fortean experiences, Bigfoot sightings and the like are of the folk. They are folklore. They are experienced by, and told by, the folk, the everyday person. Which is most of us, including you and me. We're everyday people with jobs and families and bills who've had some weird things happen. The very nature of UFO and Fortean experience is folklore; living folklore. It lives on the fringe among the folk, forever outside the institutions of society.
To have stuffy individuals who sneer at the folk; the so-called unwashed masses, and keep their doors closed to the very people that experience and make up the phenomeana, is not only ironic, it's hypocritical, and harmful to research.
It hardly needs mentioning, the fact that there is a lot of bad research out there, or, what passes for research. The field is littered with liars, hucksters, the deluded, the sad, the mean, the weird, the disinfo agents, the garbled. But it's part of the folk and the answer isn't to hide behind thick doors, eeking out data and research to a self-imposed holy few.
The next time you read a blog or article that supports the following: exclusive research organizations, hoarding data, rejecting other forms of data, and calls for some sort of cleansing of the UFO and Fortean landscape, watch out. They do not have the truth as their objective, they do not want the truth at all. They do not seek knowledge; inner or outer, and they do not wish those of us with experiences or a vital interest good will.
In a delicious bit of synchronicity, and fitting to be sure, over on UFO Digest, at the end of this article, appeared this image of Monty Python. It's an advertisement for ring tones.
Hiding Data: Excluding the Folk
by Regan Lee
Posted: 00:35 May 12, 2007
Jerome Clark coined the neologism "pelicanist" (initially jokingly awarded to James Easton, who insisted that Kenneth Arnold's 1947 UFO sighting was ... pelicans) to define "the practice of ascribing _any_ explanation, however scientifically unsustainable, illogical, or fantastic, to a UFO event or experience, in a desperate effort to deny that anything seriously anomalous may be going on". Pelicanists are advancing extraordinary claims masquerading as prosaic explanations. Source: hyper.net
I cannot abide, nor understand, the exclusivity factor a handful of so-called UFO and Fortean researchers insist upon maintaining. Actually, they're not UFO, crypto, Fortean, etc. researchers at all; they're wanna bes, new thugs, -- basically chronic cranky skeptics. Sometimes trolls, sometimes confused fence sitters, often a variety of Pelican, they get up blogs and forums and clubs that announce to the UFO/Fortean World that they're all about research. What makes their research different, better and true?
Well, it's only for the few. The bona fide researcher, as the bloggers at the UFO Iconoclasts blog refers to them. The serious, somber and apparently humorless individual, with some vague criteria that is never openly revealed, seems to be the type who can join these private research groups.
Documents, books, writings, research, data (allegedly) is kept from the common folk. Only the privately invited and arrogantly sanctioned can access such real information.
One of the messages of such pompously covert shenanigans is that only real researchers will get to join, therefore only real researchers will have knowledge of the real information. The great unwashed masses (that's me and you, according to the UFO Iconoclasts) don't deserve to know. We're all idiots anyway. We're time wasters, wasting time blogging about our experiences, theories, research and thoughts, trying to find out what happened. What the hell do we know? Not a thing. Who are we to dare to speak? And who dares to listen? No one worth mentioning. No one serious. They're all over at the private bona fide UFO Iconoclast group, or the Magoniax Project, or some other full of themselves group. Those of us out here aren't serious, nor are we telling the truth. If we were, we wouldn't be out here, so public.
But more than being just full of themselves, and silly, puffering around in their musty slippers among piles of squirreled away data, is the fact that this mind set hurts UFO and Fortean research.
It is also highly ironic. It's ironic, because such things as UFO experiences, Fortean experiences, Bigfoot sightings and the like are of the folk. They are folklore. They are experienced by, and told by, the folk, the everyday person. Which is most of us, including you and me. We're everyday people with jobs and families and bills who've had some weird things happen. The very nature of UFO and Fortean experience is folklore; living folklore. It lives on the fringe among the folk, forever outside the institutions of society.
To have stuffy individuals who sneer at the folk; the so-called unwashed masses, and keep their doors closed to the very people that experience and make up the phenomeana, is not only ironic, it's hypocritical, and harmful to research.
It hardly needs mentioning, the fact that there is a lot of bad research out there, or, what passes for research. The field is littered with liars, hucksters, the deluded, the sad, the mean, the weird, the disinfo agents, the garbled. But it's part of the folk and the answer isn't to hide behind thick doors, eeking out data and research to a self-imposed holy few.
The next time you read a blog or article that supports the following: exclusive research organizations, hoarding data, rejecting other forms of data, and calls for some sort of cleansing of the UFO and Fortean landscape, watch out. They do not have the truth as their objective, they do not want the truth at all. They do not seek knowledge; inner or outer, and they do not wish those of us with experiences or a vital interest good will.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Back in the Fifities . . .
And sixties, and seventies . . . for none of this exists in a vacuum . . . it seemed the only ones reporting UFOs in our skies were "the people." Of course, that's all it ever is; "the people." Including politicians, academics, scientists, for in the end, we're all proletarians. Yeah, I'm just another Jew pinko commie, so there. Seriously, though. . .
All we have is ourselves, where ever we may be at any time, and some of us -- far more of us than would be acknowledged -- experience the unexplained. And some of us from that category go further, forever trying to figure it out. Others join in, out of sincere curiosity, regardless of their own personal weird factor experience.
When it comes to the weird, including UFOs, it's all open, since the only thing we can say for sure is, we don't know what's for sure. Even with the idea that, yep, let's just admit it and say ET is here (which I pretty much will say is the case) that doesn't answer anything, really. Just that "they" aren't "us." Or hell, they could be us in some way . . . see what I mean?
Those goofy amiable types from the Golden Age of Flying Saucerdom were experiencing something (most of them) in genuine ways. And even if they weren't so what? Most of them meant well.
Sure, most everybody was going through Post War Anxiety syndrome -- I remember the Friday sirens and Duck and Cover -- but as I said, nothing exists in a vacuum. Part of the problem in UFO studies is the idea that we can isolate segments of the UFO phenomena and then we'll find The Big Answer. This idea often includes eliminating the witness from the thing. Feh! dahlings, we're in this together.
Myopic Moron
He's a dick all right... make no mistake on that. A scurrilous cur who preys on those who'd advantage him, a bilious scat flinger as bereft of honor as he is of imagination: this is a portrait of a myopic moron as a young man.
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A young man who would later owe me effuse apologies, damages, and a measure of satisfaction.
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Below is my version... where the image is fragmented into RR as seen through a fly's eye, a representation of the bombastic literary schizophrenic in his glory... in my opinion, a despoiler of innocence and not even worth keeping around as a good example of a bad example.
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Here is the pompous and elitist swine who would label good people as a dismissed proletariat, and then wish death on all the rest not supporting him. What a guy!
I was reminded of Caligula... Flush twice to be sure, reader.
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Why the enmity? Glad you asked.
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http://alienviewgroup.blogspot.com/2005/11/smoke-and-fire.html
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Find you have to cross him on an issue and you may be under Reynolds' gun, yourself. Forewarned is forearmed. More later.
█_Æ£_█
alienview@roadrunner.com
Friday, June 27, 2008
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