I Feel a Rant Coming On . . .

(cross posted at my blog The Orange Orb)

I Feel a Rant Coming On...

Which is one aspect of this blog -- all about ranting on some days. Migraine fueled rant at that.

What I posted on UFO Updates:

"Only $90.00?" That's a lot of money for some of us. MUFON, once upon a time, a long time ago, they did good things, good intent. Now they're in bed with Bigelow, and, oh dear. Individuals remain who do good work but as an entity, MUFON, no thanks. As to UFO events; the skies are busy busy busy these past decades with our own lights and it's hard to distinguish between the truly strange and "just" one of ours. Of course, "one of ours" often has its own sinister implications, but that's another track. Meanwhile, there are witnesses to really weird events -- myself included -- that have to do with UFOs. Aliens, or what, who knows, but the experiences are real, and I, for one, am not lying when I report on them. So I will continue to ponder and ask and wonder and delve. Sometimes it means looking at the light in the sky, if only to realize it's nothing. Other times it means asking -- demanding! -- hey, just what the hell was that whole missing time thing about?! Witnesses need to keep exploring and investigating, and researchers need to stop putting limits on what is acceptable and what isn't. True, Roswell slides mysteriously present showing real aliens is a huge and silly distraction, but knowing the players promoting such stunts helps and then we can move on.

The $90 reference was to the supposed cost of MUFON's official UFO investigation kit.

Things in UFO Land have been busy lately, what with the Roswell alien slides and TV programs about aliens and UFOs in general. On one hand, we have such a lot of popular culture stuff out there about UFOs. Within UFO Land, lots of the usual debating and in-fighting and arguments.

Distractions.

Meanwhile, the real questions and experiences seem to be ignored. Relegated to the fringe of the fringe. Unasked, not pursued. In fact, demands are shouted. Demands for science to step up. Demands for everyone else involved to be more scientific in the pursuit of UFO knowledge. As if that approach will answer, once and for all, The UFO Question.

Feh. And meh.

I'm not bored. I'm not giving up. I'm not shutting up. I encourage every witness, from the Bigfoot-UFO witness to the reptilian alien witness to the spinning lighted disco ball mother ship witness to report, write about, talk about, discuss, argue, defend, explore, investigate. Just be honest and clear. Hold your intent and focus. Compare and contrast.

Check yourselves. Check your religions, your belief systems. You do the work; don't let others dictate to you what that is. Now that's a hard one, because it's very difficult to be honest in that context.

But don't shut up. Don't stop. Don't let others tell you your story is unacceptable because it's too weird or that you're not a scientist.

Imbrogno: Just a Baby Kraken

Uber skeptoid feels very proud of himself for revealing that Imbrogno lied about his degrees:UFO Magazine - UFO Magazine Blog - A Phil-a-buster He who released the Kraken is gloating, comments right and left.. including two by me.

I really hope this is the last I'll say on this, but I'll watch where this goes. While it's naturally disappointing to find that Imbrogno lied about his background, I also find it intriguing to watch how news of his exaggerations and lies unfolded. Waiting for any chance to pounce and devour, said uber-toid did so, almost channeling the spirit of Imbrogno while staring, once again, at Imbrogno's MIT shirt in photo after photo. Said channeled spirit told the debunker to go forth and reveal the truth, which he's done on many a forum. This wasn't done for any idealistic or altruistic reason or wrapped snugly in the vibe of truth; simply one more item brought to the Skepti World for the show and tell segment. It's all kooksville to them, all of it (as the skeptic who outed Imbrogno proves at his blog, opening with a rant against the contactees, as if that has anything to do with Imbrogno.) Look! The contactees were lairs, frauds! Look! Imbrogno's ideas about the phenomenon are wacky! Look, Imbrogno lied about his education! That proves it's all bunk!

Really, show's over.

Meanwhile UFO sightings and UFO witnesses and UFO stuff of a thousand different manifestations -- good, bad, ugly, beautiful, honest, dishonest, scary, benign, and oh so much more -- continue. But you know, who cares about any of that stuff? I mean, seriously? Not the debunkers. They're rational after all.

(If you weren't sure, that last was sarcasm.)

No prizes awarded here for any great truth telling. Truth had nothing to do with this latest whirlpool in UFO Land. Or Skepti World. No one's won anything. No one's lost much either. The fact of things Imbrogno brought to us exist. Details may have been fudged; but diligent research is a part of the UFO journey; whatever grime may cover some of what Imbrogno has contributed can be washed off. His ideas on things still stand as highly interesting and, by the way, they are not unique. Call them Djinns, demons, "the Devil," ultra terrestrials, or any number of labels, the esoteric theories of energies manifesting as "other" and manipulating the human experience has been around for a very long time.

One Woman's Experience: "Encounters with Water Faeries"

I posted a link about this story of a very strange encounter with a reptilian on my Frame 352: The Stranger Side of Sasquatch blog: The Eel Siren of Maine. I found the story on Bigfoot researcher Linda Martin's Bigfoot Sightings blog, who has been in contact for some time with this woman. Here's the link (that's also embedded in Linda's article) to this woman's Squido site: Encounters with Water Faeries. And here's Linda's article:
Maine: Report of a humanoid that may be reptilian

This is a very weird story, and of course, as Martin points out, and is just a given, no way to know if this is real, delusions of some poor unbalanced person, outright lying or hoaxing, or, the truth. But let's say it's the truth, at least acknowledging that it's the truth as far as this person knows. Remember too, there are plenty of these stories in the UFO and Fortean realm; high strangeness encounters with reptilian beings, etc. Mostly, I am always impressed with those who are willing to put themselves out there and share their experiences, no matter how bizarre those experiences may seem.