The Pillars of Hercules

Space Porn

Ray Kurzweil on climate change and why you shouldn't sweat it (pun intended)...

Check it out here.

Micah Hanks talks Evolution @ Mysterious Universe

Photo courtesy of sporkinthedrawer.typepad.com

“If you read science fiction you might think that humans in the future will be slender, short, bald, with big heads and big eyes that sort of the stereotype that you get from the comic books,” Kaku said, (not the obvious reference to popular “Gray Aliens” that are prolific throughout abductee lore). However, when it comes to how humans will adapt and change, Kaku suggests there may be less change than we might expect, since humans are a product of our surroundings.

“In the old days, when we lived in the forests, there was enormous selection and pressures placed on us to develop a large brain, to understand how to use tools, to run, to be able to navigate, to survive in the forests. Enormous pressures on us because if you were not fit to live in the forest, you died.” True, there aren’t the sorts of pressures on humans that forged us into what we are today, as a result of our continuing adaptation. Hence, as Kaku says, “gross evolution, that is, evolution that will give us big brains, big eyes, bald heads and little bodies, that kind of gross evolution is pretty much gone.”

So in other words, we aren’t going to evolve into the sorts of “aliens” that we see buzzing around in flying saucers (scratch the “visitors from the future” hypothesis).

But perhaps there are in fact pressures on humankind today that are evolving and shaping us. While Kaku suggests that manipulation of humankind through genetic engineering may be a possibility a good ways down the road, the kinds of evolution taking place among the human species today may not be outwardly visible, like Kaku notes. Nonetheless, there could be potentials being crafted through the advancement of technology that will fundamentally restructure the way we think, act, and evolve, especially in terms of brain function and intelligence.

Read the rest here.

Deconstructing debunkers with Budd Hopkins

Probably no one seriously involved in investigating UFO reports has escaped the hydra-headed debunking machine and its many busy attendants. It’s long been understood that debunking and skepticism are two very different things, the former, an artifact of rigid ideology and the latter an objective, scientifically-inclined position. At the outset of any investigation of a UFO incident, the skeptic can accept the case as possibly legitimate or reject it as possibly a hoax or a misunderstanding or whatever, but the debunker has only one fixed option; he/she knows that the incident, whatever it was, could not have involved a genuine UFO. This rigid stance is akin to a kind of quasi-religious fundamentalism, and in my paper I intend to examine the various tenets of such true-believer negativity.

The reason I’m writing this article at this point in my life has to do with both health and age. I am about to celebrate (?) my 80th birthday and currently suffer from two almost certainly fatal diseases, so I’ve decided, while I still have the time and energy, to do a bit of deconstruction of the nature and habits of the debunking mindset. Also, along the way I hope that my piece will provide a little helpful information for those who, like me, are involved in the serious investigation of the UFO abduction phenomenon. 

 You can read all parts here.

My latest article @BOA

Some time ago, back when I first started writing for Binnall Of America, Tim Binnall asked me what my thoughts were on Bigfoot phenomena. I was never that forthcoming with my theory of the origins of the Hairy Beast man. Truth be told, I was exploring the Bigfoot as far back as second grade. It began with a bible passage about giants that has led me on a lifelong quest to solve the riddle of the human family tree.

You can read the rest here.

Ancient Mesoamerican (AWESOME) sculpture uncovered in southern Mexico

"It appears to me to be a depiction of an event or a way to convey other types of information," Hodgson adds. "This dates to a time prior to a developed written language, but like the modern symbol used internationally for the Red Cross, symbols are very efficient at communicating complicated ideas."

The main figure on the tablet is depicted wearing an elaborate headdress, loincloth and ornate accessories, including a pair of large, comb-like ear ornaments, a rope-like necklace and a thick belt with a jaguar-head buckle. A face on the headdress includes features such as sprouting plants that identify it as a corn god. The tablet also includes a smaller secondary figure and a series of asymmetric zigzag designs that the authors suggest could represent lightning, local mountain ranges, or other features of the natural world.

"This is closely connected with agriculture and the cult of the corn god," Coe says, pointing out the zigzags. "Thunderstorms bring the rain."

Phil Imbrogno @ BOA

Full Preview: We kick things off by scratching at the surface of Phil's remarkable career studying high strangeness by finding out what originally sparked his interest and how his career as an investigator evolved over three decades in the paranormal trenches. Phil provides a fascinating glimpse of what the UFO research scene was like in the mid-1970's when he first became actively involved in UFO studies. We then discuss Phil's transformation from a 'nuts and bolts' mindset to something more akin to examining the paranormal aspects of UFOs. This leads to some discussion on the difficulties in using 'mainstream' science to study the UFO phenomenon.

The conversation then turns towards the need to abandon specialization in paranormal research and begin connecting all the genres into a more unified field. This leads to some discussion on the potential benefits of giving a closer examination to UFO witnesses and how they react to their paranormal encounter. Diving in to some of the topics found in Phil's latest book, we talk about the apparent change in UFO shape from classic 'flying saucers' to black triangles and what that change might signify.

We then examine one bizarre trend that Phil's research has uncovered: that encounters with reptilians are surprisingly more prevalent than 'mainstream' Ufology and abduction research seem to suggest. This leads to some discussion on Nordics as well as why Reptilians seem to veritably under reported in UFO literature. This leads to some discussion on the importance of outlier cases in Ufology as well as some insight into the origins of Phil's study of the Stone Chambers of Hudson Valley. This leads to us talking about how the insights of the Native Americans may be critical to finding fresh clues as to the nature of paranormal mysteries.

Next we look at Phil's research into the controversial and enigmatic area of channeling. Specifically, he talks about his investigation of Dean Fagerstrom, who allegedly channeled amazingly detailed technical diagrams as well as other remarkable information from some mysterious entity named 'Donestra.' In classic BoA:Audio style, we turn the floor over to Phil as he goes in-depth on detailing this mind-blowing case and provides some tremendous first-hand information on Fagerstrom's stunning revelations and abilities apparently gleaned from channeling. Following that, Phil talks about some of the issues he has with channeling that make the practice suspect. He also shares the tale of how 'Donestra' appeared at a completely separate channeling session to 'personally' issue a bizarre warning to Phil.

Our discussion then turns towards the research of the late John Keel, who was Phil's friend, and how Phil's research differs from Keel's work. Phil also shares some hilarious observations from Keel about the world of UFO studies. This turns to some talk about the world of Ufology and Phil talks about what would be an ideal method of unlocking the phenomenon and how a similar concept had already been tried in the past.

Looking at Phil's ongoing research into the jinn, we specifically target the rumor, which Phil has heard on a handful of occasions, that the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United States are actively trying to capture an interdimensional being. This tangent ends with us discussing the idea of a secret faction within the government that looks at the paranormal and Phil shares some stories that suggest elements of this concept. We also find out about Phil's investigation into Steward Airport, where suspicious, surreptitious events seemed to be taking place in the past, including massive shipments of cattle being sent there.

Hearing another story from Phil's remarkable past, we find out about a strange phone call and documents he received, in the 1980's, from someone allegedly in the military and, ironically, said to be calling from Burlington, Massachusetts, which is the home of BoA HQ. Phil reveals how one of the items found amongst the documents revealed that the government had intercepted mail that was sent to a UFO researcher. Given Phil's lengthy career investigating UFOs, we have him speculate on how much the government really knows about UFOs and the paranormal.

Heading towards the close, our conversation then journeys into the concept of 'disclosure' and how it fits into the paradigm of the paranormal that Phil sees. We also then look at 2012 as well as the concept of a 'quickening' and what Phil thinks of these ideas. We also find out about Phil's appearance on Oprah back when she was first starting out and before she became famous. This leads to some general discussion on the problems of Ufology and the paranormal, while Phil shares some stories of dealing with the new world of paranormal reality shows. Wrapping things up, we find out what's next for Phil Imbrogno, including a number of tantalizing books due out over the next year.

Let's have a toast for the douchebags...

Tonight, the finest (or most popular) in the Music Industry are celebrated at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. Some will show up in outrageous outfits while others, in muted styles, will expect their talent to speak for itself. The only thing these people have in common, other than their love for music, is their dedication to the Art form.

You will find dedication and hard work in every medium. Sometimes you will know the difference between those that do all the work and those that enjoy all the glory. In Ufology it's no different. Just as you can listen to a song and tell whether the artist is worthy of the $20 bucks it will take to own the album, it's not hard to scour the web, reading blogs and buying books to figure out who the major voices are in the World Wide Weird.

But sometimes... just sometimes... something else slips through the cracks. The Showman. The one who is an elaborately built pile of bullshit. The one who can make up more stories than he/she can collect. The one who can write an entire book based on lies and disinformation. I am not going to hate on the inevitable rise of the UFOLOGY star, because there's always one. But, I will voice my disdain at the fact that many people are full of shit and somehow they manage to rise above the rest.

Some will say, "In Ufology there is no glory, celebrity or fame." That is bull shit. There are plenty of celebs in this game. Plenty. They are the inevitable hoaxers, the so-called professionals, the self-professed know-it-all's, the 'scholars', the Contactee's, the Gurus and those that Call DOWN... U-F-O's...

...yup.

They exist. They like the attention. They will never shut up. And frankly, they are the bane of my existence. Ufology has become a boring, crash course in testing ones nerves. For every sincere sighting that makes my heart rise, there is that inevitable fall of blood pressure when skeptics crawl out from under their rocks to knock everything down and 'experts' step in to add extra sparkle to the story.

I won't step to lower levels by naming anyone. Why should I? They know who they are. They know they are ruining it for everyone else. I suppose I am ranting because I still care. But soon enough my blog will be silent. I will have no more to say. Because I won't bother going on about something I no longer give a damn about.

Ancient robots

There are few things that make me happy. They are Robots, Spaceships and Zombies. In that order. Yes, there are the other things like Family, Babies, Comic books and flavored water, but for the most part it's all about the R's, S's and Z's.

It is because of my endearing love of robots that I fail to see ancient men in spacesuits when I look at the Dogu figures, Kachina figures and various artifacts out of Africa and India. I don't see ancient astronauts. I see ancient machine men.

You could say I'm biased, but c'mon, little figurines with knobs and joints and all the various accoutrements of a metal man cannot only be designated as ancient beings in spacesuits. For one thing, do EBE's actually even wear spacesuits? Do they need them?

I've heard all the stories of coveralls that blend into the surrounding area that would allow said beings to hide in plain site. I've heard the theories that greys wear suits because they can't function in their weakened, space-battered bodies. But, it still doesn't make up for the fact that our Astronauts do not wear spacesuits on space stations.

Astronauts wear spacesuits whenever the possibility of making contact with the harsh environment of outter space is inevitable, like space walks and entering and exiting our atmosphere. So, with that in mind, why would highly evolved beings who have far better means of spacetravel be wearing bulky spacesuits with far too many designs and knobs and... crap?

This Dogu figure is a modern interpretation in non traditional material. I am posting it because it pretty much solidifies my thought that we may be looking at a Robot.

The Kachina figures come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and designs and are mostly anthropomorphic. But they are most certainly not men in spacesuits.

The Kachina dolls/figures stray into odd human-animal motifs but many hold on to the odd aspects of not quite men, not quite animals. It would interest anyone to take the time to surf the web to take a look at the various different versions.

The Kachinas are said to be the physical embodiments of Deities. They also represent the spirits of animals and ancestors, hence the anthropomorphic figures. But it is the idea that they represent the gods of the Hopi that holds the most interest. Hopi gods/deities look, for the most part, like Robots.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section.

Bohemian monsters

Recently, Brad Meltzer and crew covered the mystery of Bohemian Grove. Never mind the fact that the most powerful and richest men have gathered there to get drunk, cavort, dress in drag and devise a plan to rule the world (some more), what got my attention was the giant 40 ft Owl.

Yeah, it's an OWL. When you think Owl, you think Strigiformes. Birds (of Prey). But when I see a giant owl in the middle of a grove, surrounded by hooded figures, I think EVIL. And with good reason. Owls are bad omens across the globe, from Africa to the Ancient Americas. It is a harbinger of Death and Destruction.

Most intriguing of all, from certain angles, the 40 ft Owl resembles Reptilian beings of Sumerian mythology.

The similarities are uncanny.

(more to come.)

The Awesome to conquer all awesome

There is nothing Dr. Beachcombing touches that doesn't turn into brain protein. This time the subject is Unicorns.

Mysterious Universe EP 504

Grundy talks hoaxes and secret Pyramid passages on ep. 504 of Mysterious Universe.

Crystal Pyramids and Dead Men

Philip Coppens has an interesting article about an alleged discovery of a Crystal Pyramid near Bimini. Not sure if the story holds any merit, considering the ONLY witness is now dead, but...hey...Bimini does have a road constructed from giant blocks. And, ya know... this planet is mostly water. Water that has claimed a lot of land in the past millenia. So, ya never know.

You can read it all here.

Flying invisible Manta Rays on Long Island...

excerpted:

Finally, after a few minutes, he looked over my head and yelled "oh my god! What *is* that?!" - I turned to look and 'flying' directly over my head was this huge creature I'd never seen! I will detail as best I can:

It appeared translucent/transparent; no color whatsoever - no visible structure outside of the motion which indicated what it looked like; now, I myself am a visual artist, so this left a very distinct impression on me. This 'creature' was shaped and moving in the way a Manta Ray would; yet completely transparent! No color at all; I could see the stars through this thing; the only thing to allow the structure any appearance was the moonlight shining somehow on its' exterior! 

Adam Davies @ BOA

Full Preview: We kick things off by finding out how 2010 was, in general, for Adam and how it stands as another landmark year for his work. We then begin our trek into discussing Adam's big 2010 expedition to India in search of the mysterious creature known as the Mande-Burung. We first find out what planted the seed for Adam to search for this very obscure cryptid and he details the extensiveness of the pre-planning for the trip as well as the dangers and environment faced on the expedition. Adam also illustrates the truly remote nature of the area when he shares the tale of a beautiful place he encountered that had previously barely been explored.

Adam then talks about how his reservations about the Mande-Burung's viability were changed as a result of the expedition. He also shares anecdotes about some of the promising evidence uncovered during the expedition. Looking specifically at the Mande-Burung, itself, Adam shares a number of remarkable stories from local witnesses who have seen the creature. We also hear an amazing tale of one man who witnessed the Mande-Burung over the course of three days. We then examine the theory that part of the problem in searching for bipedal primates is that they are migrational creatures and constantly on the move. Adam also contrasts the prevalence of the Mande-Burung in India with the Orang Pendek in Sumatra.

Digging into the finer details of his expedition, we ponder how Adam would handle a return trip in search of the Mande-Burung in the future. We then find out how long it actually took for Adam to go from Manchester, UK (where he lives) to the jungles of India looking for the Mande-Burung as well as having him reflect on spending nearly three weeks in the jungles. Adam shares the tale of the '100 Drums Festival' that he attended during the expedition. Adam also details what physical evidence his team recovered from the India expedition as well as a stunning story of how the trip may have inadvertently played a hand in discovering a new deer species in the area.

We also find out about filming that was done on the expedition and where that film may eventually be seen. This leads to some discussion on the relationship between Adam's expedition team and the filmmakers who accompany them. Covering another potential danger behind the trip, Adam talks about the diseases he had to be weary about when traveling there. We wrap up our Mande-Burung discussion with a look at where the search for the creature stands now.

Next, we dive into discussing Adam's proverbial white whale: Sumatra's Orang Pendek and he tells us about the amazing recent news of the DNA testing on the evidence he recovered during his 2009 expedition. He muses on how this new evidence is the latest shift in how the Orang Pendek is looked at by academia and animal experts. Being the leading expert on the search for the Orang-Pendek, Adam explains, in detail, where we stand with DNA, hair, and other evidence for the creature's existence. We also ponder what would constitute taking the search for the Orang Pendek to the 'next level,' should Adam return to Sumatra.

Wrapping up the conversation, we find out what Adam has on his dream agenda for 2011. During this segment, he reveals some very exciting potential plans for a series of future expeditions that will excite BoA:Audio listeners. We then spend some time discussing the logistics of this potential new expedition and how it may evolve.