Katy Perry vs. The Aliens

To see or not to see

I used to think experience was enough when it came to the paranormal. If you saw a ghost then you knew better than anyone else what it was. Better than the skeptic. Better than the guy who has never seen a bat in flight, much less a hazy apparition of a long since dead relative.

That was back when people had integrity, or maybe it's because back then no one could afford to lie the way they do today. Today lying can get you anywhere. Lying can get you fame and fortune. In this new generation of 'proliferation of exaggeration' everyone's got a story. And therein lies the dilemma.

I've experienced my fair share of the paranormal and maybe I'm not much of a sharer when it comes to personal matters, but I've come to know that being an experiencer doesn't make me an expert. I never say I know anything definitely and  I never lie. I'm coming to the conclusion that experience and honesty are working against me.

Maybe if I had more stories to tell, just maybe more people would read my blog. But there are just some lines I won't cross. Maybe this will lead me down to the road to obscurity where no one will ever really KNOW what I have to offer, to say, to add to the growing mystery that is the supernatty. Maybe Ufology will continue to be a male dominated endeavor.  Maybe all the popular bloggers with webcasts and magazines will continue to ignore me because I didn't have a probe shoved up my ass. Maybe... maybe... and maybe.

Maybe I just don't give a shit.

Maybe I should.

I didn't just fall into the paranormal. I grew up in a haunted house. I was the 5th grader in the library looking for books by Jacques Vallee and Erich Von Daniken. I imagined a career writing books and exploring haunted and hidden places. Then I grew up and came to the conclusion that if I didn't have a 'story' to tell, well then I was assed out.

This isn't always the case, but for those who have made it through the cracks having never been fully interested in the paranormal, or having never seen anything out-of-place and yet still making the glorious climb through the ranks, I commend you. You have it. The spark. Or whatever it is.

I think that I, like most, am just waiting for that one thing to happen... that one experience to trump them all. Then, maybe then I can write about something that hasn't been written before. Because most abduction stories bare the same basest elements. Many of the UFO sightings are ripped from the same page in the book of UFOLOGY and many a ghost encounter has its roots firmly set in the lore of every other ghost tale.

It seems there is nothing new to share and maybe that's my problem. I have nothing NEW to share. Nothing to amaze the masses. Nothing to make jaws drop, heads spin or interviewers stalk me for the deets. Nothing. But I know I am not the only one.

And  I am waiting for it. I know it's coming. Hell, it's happened before and I feel a wind blowing. Something wicked this way... it comes. It's in the air. It's testing the waters around me. I know a story is coming. If and when it happens I will write about it.

I might even share.






A

Aliens vs. Demons

I've said it before... the older I get, the more I lean towards Aliens-as-demons or Fallen Angels, if you will. Seems like I'm not alone.


Nick Redfern on the Djinn and Guiley's and Imbrogno's new book

Nick Redfern on Aliens and Demons...

I'm not as prolific as Redfern on the topic, so I'll just let him (and the links above) do all the talking.

Was the Battle of LA a hoax?

Seems that every time an old mystery enters the global consciousness, it is turned down by the awful truth: That there was no mystery to begin with. Battle: Los Angeles opened last week to packed crowds hoping to catch a glimpse at evil aliens destroying humanity.

Some folks went to the theatre seeking entertainment, but some went hoping to be a part of some historical
event that at one time was considered a reality, until recently when old, originals of the Famous photograph were dubbed a flat out hoax. What next? The Easter Bunny isn't real?

You can read it all here.

In Memoriam

(Photo courtesy of Crystalinks.com)

Every time a discovery is made of some lost, forgotten sunken land, people hop on the 'Atlantis' band wagon. Atlantis has become the Roswell of archaeology. If the place is ancient, under water and comprised of rings or concentric circles, than it is Atlantis. 

It is Annoying!

Consider the fact that many forgotten, sunken landmasses of yore lie scattered across the globe. Surely they can't all be Atlantis. Now, I venture to admit that much like we have our world divided into continents and countries and cities, etc.,. it may stand to reason that Atlantis may have been a continent or great country as well. 

That however, does not mean that every time we uncover some proof of ancient habitation on the sea bed that we are looking at a fabled land of Poseidon. We can't limit ourselves in that way. We have to realize that much in the way that our world is currently divided, our ancestors were perhaps not so different.

A discovery made in Spain has already been dubbed "Atlantis". How Atlantis came to be in the mud flats of Southern Spain is not only beyond me, but beyond Plato. It doesn't match anything every written about the whereabouts of the lost legend and there isn't much written about it to begin with.

This new find was located some 60 miles inland by and American Research team and the entire discovery has been documented by National Geographic to air on the channel as a special on Atlantis. But is it Atlantis? According to Richard Freund, the discovery may be a memorial city. Essentially, built in commemoration of the actual Atlantis. Perhaps by survivors.

But what if this 'memorial' isn't the only one? In fact, as I mentioned a while back, the city of Gilgal (Israel) and maybe even Stonehenge (with its concentric design) and many other spots on the planet may all be commemorations to an ancient way of life, an ancient land mass and an ancient people and perhaps the survivors of the catastrophe that wiped out Atlantis spread across various places on earth and went forth with whatever knowledge they had and tried to preserve it somehow. Somewhere.

Wherever they could.

Or, maybe Atlantis never existed. Maybe it's just a story. About a place. That time forgot.

You can read more on the discovery here.

Dr. Bob Curran @ BOA

Full Preview: We kick things off by finding out what Dr. Bob Curran has been up to since his previous appearance on BoA:Audio. We then learn what inspired Bob to pen his latest book Man-Made Monsters. Bob also addresses some of the fundamental psychological questions behind the interest in man-made monsters. Diving in to the book, we first look at some of the inspirations for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, notably Giovanni Aldini, an 18th century scientist who attempted to revive corpses with electricity. This also leads to some discussion on how, during those times, science and magic (for lack of a better term) were fairly well intertwined.

Next we look at the Golem and Bob starts out by detailing the origins of this mysterious creature. We also examine why the Golem has not achieved the same kind of cultural impact that creatures like the Werewolf and Vampire have. We also hear the amazing story of the 'Golem of Prague' and how it even resonated with invading Nazi soldiers during World War II.

We then discuss the alchemists and their infamous Humunculi. We begin with some background on the alchemists and how their quests go far beyond the classic stereotype of 'transmuting gold.' Then we delve into the homunculus and ponder what the goal was behind creating such a creature. We also find out about the concept of 'growing life' from the alchemists. Looking at alchemy, as a whole, we then examine the idea of when, or if, the 'science' ever died out.

This segues into talk about contemporary man-made monsters: clones. Returning to the realm of the homunculus, we find out what Bob thinks of the Jack Parsons homunculus experiment story. We then talk about another element of Man-Made Monsters: ancient computers and robots. Bob details some of the ancient computers found from Rome and China. He also shares some tales of amazing robots that existed long, long ago and where some of them can be found today. Bob also shares one story about a man who was told by the Church to stop making robots because they were 'too perfect.'

Digging into some of the other details from the book, we then cover the Voynich Manuscript. Getting back to contemporary man-made monsters, we talk about how the potential to make a truly monstrous creature is actually pretty strong. Beyond mere monsters, we also talk about the possibility of detailed tinkering with child development and the implications of such possibilities. Wrapping up the discussion on Man-Made Monsters, we find out where people can get it and also put over another series of amazing drawings done by Ian xxx that can be found in the book.

Angels and Demons

Photo courtesy of Zazzle.com

Last week, over at Mysterious Universe Micah Hanks talked briefly about UFO's, Extraterrestrials and their associations with the occult. If you would like to read the entire article, click the title above. It's an interesting thought considering the older I get the less I come to view E.B.E.'s as visitors from other Earths and more like evil, vengeful, fallen deities from other realms.

Yeah, sometime even I have a hard time understanding myself. Truth be told, had I not had the experiences that I've had in my lifetime, then maybe I wouldn't be so surefooted. But, I've never met an experience that was positive. There were no glowing entities with wings, promising to save humankind.

I get that there are people who claim to have such experiences, but they are few and far between. The rest of us see darkness, evil, fear and basically, something that shouldn't be there, and not because it's hard for us to grasp the reality of such things existing, but more so because something so downright evil has no place in our world.

Just think about it, we are flesh and blood creatures who live everyday with the same constant struggle: Awareness. We want to know who we are, what we are and where we came from. The unknown scares us. The unknown is like looking into the darkness and knowing, no matter how quickly you can look away, that there is a slim chance the darkness will look back.

As children we are told the darkness doesn't exist. It sets us up for failure. Because soon enough the day comes when we see what really lurks there (some of us sooner than most), and when we do, our world becomes even more chaotic and the answers seem farther from reach. We still have no clue who/what we are or why we are here, but even worse now we have to contend with the question of WHAT ELSE IS HERE WITH US.

And therein lies the inevitable fact that monsters can take on any guise. Superior monsters, those of old, ancient days are even keener to the ability of warping our perspectives. There was a time when they may have been beautiful men who glowed mysteriously and came down in chariots, but that's because our ancestors didn't know much about flight. But then again, even as I say that I am not fully satisfied or content with that answer.

Our ancestors met strange beings, called them gods, worshipped them, feared them and erected monuments in their honor. To say those beings didn't exist is like saying the celebrities that grace the covers of tabloids and sell films don't exist. Maybe in 15,000 years people will think Oprah was a myth too. Who knows.

The fact is, the beings of yore with their destructive powers didn't go anywhere. They just changed tactics. The wolf has changed clothes, but it is still a wolf.

(to be continued...eventually.)