Black Peter

I don't know who came up with him first. Who saw him first, or maybe who made him up, but sometimes I just feel the need to remind kids who say, "There's no such thing..." that Santa Claus does exist. And why wouldn't he? They say if you believe in God, then you have to believe there's a devil. Well, since I've seen the opposite of Santa Claus, it's only logical to think that the story about the Jolly old elf with a sack full of toys has some basis in truth.

Fact is, I was probably one of the few teenagers who still believed in Santa Claus. I made it a habit of scaring little kids in the family by reminding them that Santa Claus was watching (like some Seasonal Big Brother) and that I knew how to reach him to let him know who was naughty and who was just plain annoying.

I even had an idea, however ridiculous it was, that Santa Claus didn't keep an actual tangible, paper list. No. The list was just some cosmic alert system. If you believed, Santa left you something. If you didn't believe, you didn't get anything. The end.

And why did I believe all this? If you've never heard of Black Peter, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: The Grinch is not entirely fictional. Somewhere, somehow there's a darker, creepier and perhaps sinister version of the Smiling, red-cheeked old man on a Coca-Cola can.

In tradition, Santa Claus (Or Sinterklaas) is loosely based on Saint Nicholas, a 4th century Bishop who was known for his generosity. In Iceland, Santa Claus is in fact no different from the God Odin. The fact that Father Christmas is associated with a God is probably what should raise a few eyebrows among Ancient Alien Theorists.

Odin road around on a sky chariot being propelled by a magical creature similar to a reindeer. The creature was eight-legged, and originally (before Rudolph was invented), Santa Claus had eight reindeer. But Odin only left gifts for the children who fed his eight-legged beast.

Now, Black Peter, although never associated with evil, was (according to the Dutch) a helper of Sinterklaas. Not much else is known about Black Peter and maybe what I know as Black Peter isn't really him at all, but everything has an opposite, and if Santa Claus has one... I've seen him.

I was twelve and honestly, to this day I don't exactly remember why I decided to sleep on the couch. But I was the sort of kid that always wanted to prove something truth or false. I vaguely remember a pact with my sister to see if Santa Claus was real, but it's vague and I can't be certain. What I do remember is falling asleep on the couch, in front of the Christmas Tree.

It took me a while to finally knock out because the pulsing lights danced behind my eyelids. When I did fall asleep I was abruptly awakened by the fact that I was in complete darkness. The lights were no longer flashing in my eyelids. I had the unnerving feeling that something was standing over me, blocking out the lights.

Growing up in a haunted house, you learn a few things. First, never open your eyes when you KNOW something is standing over you and, Second, never ever assume it's just your mom. I had run in's with that kind of stupidity. Thinking the lady in white standing by my window was my mom, or the vague outline of a dark mass standing at the foot of the bed was my mom. Not this time. I was hyper-aware that whatever was standing over me was radiating a malevolence that my mother did not possess.

I remember talking myself into breathing calmly. Into making the thing, whatever it was, believe that I was still asleep. I had succeeded because eventually the darkness was replaced with the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. But whatever it was, it wasn't gone. Yet.

Plink! Plink! Christmas ornaments were dropping to the floor. Had it not been for the Skirt around the tree, they would have made enough noise to rouse my mother. Instead they fell with dull thuds, surviving the impact only to be crushed moments later by something making its way around the tree.

I listened to the crushing and crackling of smashed ornaments and the rustling of the tree before realizing that the dark foreboding I had felt moments ago was gone. It was safe to open my eyes. Or so I thought. When I did, I tried the 'slit-method'. A method practiced by millions of kids across the globe. It is the act of opening your eyes just enough to see but not enough to be seen.

At first I saw nothing. It wasn't until I opened my eyes wider and focused that I realized the tree was misshapen. It was bent over from the top and behind it stood a being so tall it had to crook it's head slightly to fit under the ceiling. It was as black as coal, and furry, not like an animal, but just like The Grinch. A humanoid with tufts of hair, in a dirty red suit. The kind of thing a drunken and battered Santa Claus working at a local food mart would wear.

Worst of all, it had red eyes. Not glowing red. Not evil red. But more like a crimson, or fiery red that burned as it looked at me. And what I got from the creature wasn't a feeling of absolute evil as much as a feeling that this thing was OUT-OF-PLACE. It did not belong here and it knew it. It shouldn't have been there and the fact that it was meant something else was wrong.

Even more odd was the sense that it was more afraid of me. But at the same time, it scared the hell out of me. Tall, dark beings in tattered old Santa suits do not hover over you on Christmas morning. I wish I could tell you more but the last thing I remember is blacking out.

The next morning the memory of Black Peter was vague and I didn't mention the encounter at all. We ate breakfast and we played Christmas music as we opened our gifts and I had all but forgotten about that 'weird dream' from the night before until my mother made her way to the back of the tree in search of more gifts.

"Who broke all of these ornaments and hid them behind the tree?" She said. Earlier that morning she mentioned the fact that the tree looked sparse, as if some ornaments were missing. Let's just say, I have yet to see proof of Old Saint Nick, but I have seen proof that however ridiculous a story may be to you as you come into adult hood and shun your child hood beliefs, just remember one thing: Every story begins somewhere.

The Peruvian alien is making the rounds

It has a non-human appearance because the head is triangular and big, almost the same size as the body. At first we believed it to be a child's body until Spanish and Russian doctors came and confirmed that, yes, it's an extraterrestrial being.

NAW! Really?

Of Giant heads and NO PROOF

Philip Coppens has an interesting article on the Mysterious Guatemalan stone head. My only question is how come no one has taken a picture of it recently. Just because it's been partially destroyed that doesn't mean it isn't still standing.

You can soak it all in here.

Let it be know, from hence forth... and yadda yadda...

...that if Micah (I've got a crush on you) Hanks can call himself a Keelian Researcher, then I hereby call myself: Tina Sena, Colemanian Researcher and... um... stuff.

And now, you may return to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

Why Nicholas Cage is not a vampire...

                                                                 (Count Bull-Crapula)

A few months ago a picture straight from EBAY began to circulate the world wide web. It was an 1864 image of  a confederate prisoner that bore a striking resemblance to the actor Nicholas Cage. Theories on top of lame ass theories came to light. One more popular idea was that Cage was a time travelling Vampire. Well, for those of you who need an answer, I have it.

Nicholas Cage is not a vampire. Why? Well because we've overlooked the obvious: Vamps can't be captured in photographs. The end.

Please people, use your imagination for more important things like John Travolta, the time travelling ALIEN.

Giant heads

Every so often Mayan culture becomes a topic of discussion. It has nothing to do with the worlds sudden fixation on Archaeology. People are just dumb enough to want to fulfill a man-made prophecy of impending gloom and doom. It's been pounded into modern, popular perception that the Maya predicted the end of the world: December 21, 2012.

Never mind the incredible pyramids or the fascination with human sacrifice... it's all about a calendar that ends on a certain day. And so, it comes as a relief when people finally start to relate the Maya to other shit entirely... like this giant head of unknown origin...

Producer Raul Julia-Levy (and son of the late actor Raul Julia) is making a documentary that states, unequivocally that the Maya associated with extraterrestrials. You can read on here.

Loren Coleman @ BOA

What's better than listening to Tim Binnall? Listening to Tim Binnall interview Loren Coleman. I shouldn't have to elaborate. Just go and listen.

Full Preview: We kick things off by finding out about Loren's International Cryptozoology Museum, which moved to a larger location on 11 Avon Street in Portland, Maine on October 30th. Loren details the origins and evolution of the museum, which began in his home in 2003 and, ultimately, became an international sensation when it opened its doors to the public in 2009. Loren discusses the massive media coverage that the museum has received as well as the reaction from skeptics and pop culture anthropologists. This leads to some discussion on how the museum serves as a unique research opportunity as it affords Loren the chance to see a wide array of visitors with varying degrees of cryptozological interests and beliefs. We also reflect on how the museum serves as a clearinghouse of crypto materials so that researchers' collections can be preserved and not discarded or destroyed.

Diving into pure cryptozoology talk, we begin with Bigfoot and reflect on both the resurgence in interest in the creature and also have Loren share his thoughts on where we stand in the quest to prove its existence. Loren talks about the paradox of high interest in Bigfoot contrasted with low funding for real expeditions as well as potential "secret projects" being undertaken to help solidify the case for the creature. Loren then shares a bold prediction on how Bigfoot may ultimately being proven to be real and explains how he came to that conclusion. Along those lines, he details an expedition along those lines which proved fruitless due to mistakes made by the researcher.

The conversation then leads to discussi

And there you have it, folks...

The answer to everything. No really.

A Magnetic Anomaly Map of the world can tell you about all the places where Unicorns are buried and UFO's land to get a cappuccino. However, that's not what mainstream science is saying. They have a really smart explanation that has to do with anomalies originating in rock. Yup. Because Science is cool. Or, maybe because no one is every gonna admit that giant machines are turning at the center of the earth where evil, hungry reptilians are madly tapping at their Ipad 5000's, trying to figure out a way to get tasty humans to visit hollow earth.

You can read more here.

Tonight PBS is gonna teach you Morons some SCIENCE

The Fabric of the Cosmos, hosted by Brian Greene airs tonight at 9pm on PBS. It's a four-parter, playing every wednesday night so you really have to ask yourself, "Do I watch a famous Physicist teach me something about the Universe... or, do I watch Ancient Aliens and feel once again compelled to punch something every time the narrator says, 'Ancient Alien Theorists'...?" Hmmm... so many tough decisions.

NOVA

Of Hobbits and Moons

In the newly released ART OF THE HOBBIT, J.R.R. Tolkien's original artwork for the HOBBIT is on display and bears and uncanny resemblance to the Lunar Landscape and the odd/anomalous/artificial looking moonbases/buildings that have been making the rounds on the web for years.

Talk about things that make ya go, 'Holy crap!'... you can see more images here.

It all falls down...

It's that time of year again. A holiday that has been so easily misconstrued and revamped for the consumer masses (much like Christmas), that it's been reduced to costumes and candy. There was a time when Old Hallow's Eve actually meant a lot more than annoying little kids in pop-culture attire, knocking on your door, hoping to score a snack-sized snickers.

But who cares about that now? The fact that Halloween no longer invokes ANY fear is what you wanted isn't it? It's been pounded into your head. The dead don't come back and ghosts don't exist and Halloween is just an excuse to be mischievous and greedy. We get it. Actually, 'We' get it... but the rest of you nine-to-fivers are clueless.

Every year a certain Hollywood monster makes it into the pantheon of epic plumage and this year the title goes to the Zombie. Once the c-list monster no one gave two shits about, the Zombie has risen to Dracula status. There are Zombie walks and Emmy award winning Zombie television shows. The Zombie has become a symbol of all things dissident, from OCCUPY WALLSTREET to TERRORISM to a fear of the self-fulfilling prophecy of the end times.

Just when you thought Zombies were a geek phenom, the UFO community has gotten in on the whole trend, starting with an episode of ANCIENT ALIENS that aired last week. Aliens resurrecting the dead. Scientists are using Zombies to make a case for bio-terrorism and the psychology of humanity at the end of the world and now Ufologists are making a case for an actual Zombie apocalypse.

Five words: Are you fucking kidding me?

Is anyone employing their knowledge of biology here? Better yet, is anyone sane anymore? Don't get me wrong, I love Zombies. No, I mean, I LOVE ZOMBIES. I consider myself a connoisseur of the Undead. Every movie, comic book, token novel, television show... you name it... I've seen it, I own it and I know about it. And yes, I have been known to joke about the impending fictional Zombie invasion I'm preparing for. But for cripes sakes, as if the sheeple haven't enough to worry about, now mass media is drilling the idea of Zombies-as-reality into their heads.

No money. No jobs. No hope. Oh, and now you may have to prepare for Zombies. Really? Is this how we invoke Mass hysteria nower days? Forget that infamous Hallow's Eve broadcast of Orson Welles that proved people are really, really dumb. Soon we may find ourselves coveting the last can of spam and barricading our doors, in preparation for the raising of the dead.

Nostradamus would be proud. If only because he succeeded in converting a whole new generation of suckers. Happy Halloween.

Stonehenge in the Black Forest

Every so often something is discovered and if it's megalithic it's tied to the stars. According to Archaeology News Network a Celtic calendar found in a mound at the royal burial site of Magdeleneberg is focused toward the moon which is the exact opposite of Stonehenge and it's utilization of the sun.

According to researchers, tombs at Magdeleneberg mimic the sky constellations of the Northern Hemisphere. Of course the researchers were aided by computers which says a lot about the builders of Magdeleneberg. They didn't have computers... or did they, because ya know, if you've been watching ANCIENT ALIENS on The History Channel, the aliens can do everything and our ancestors couldn't even wipe their asses.

What peaks my interest is the name Magdeleneberg. It's very close to Magdelene or Magdelena which is very obviously feminine in nature and more closely related to Mary of Magdelene/Mary Magdelene. So, who exactly was buried there?

A quick trip to The Megalithic Portal only gave me enough information to suspect only MEN were buried there because, nar der, women didn't exist back then. Like, everybody KNOWS that.

You can read more here.

Pterosaurs at Roswell. I thought I'd never see the day...

Roswell is the bane of my existence. That's putting it lightly. There are just so many HOLES in Ufology and it always seems that the portal Alice fell through is where all the Roswell conspiracies, ideas, stories and supposed truths live. In other words, Roswell is a lost cause. It's intangible. The story, if it ever was there, is gone now. It died with the people of that generation who were in the prime of their lives when that supposed Saucer fell.

Now, I'm not saying it never happened. All I am saying is getting to the truth is like finding a diamond in a mountain made of cow shit. Good luck.

But just when you think there is nothing left to the Roswell mythos, someone comes up with something else. Case in point, there's a Pterodactyl in Roswell. Did you know that? Yeah, me neither. But according to Nick Redfern, a sighting or two has been experienced. For more on the story, go here.

Fucking Pterodactyls.

Dr. Greg Korbon @ BOA

A spooky turn at BOA as Tim interviews Greg Korbon.



Full Preview: We kick things off with the bio / background on Dr. Gregg Korbon and find out about his life leading up to the events depicted in Beyond Reason. This leads to some discussion on the fact that most physicians appear to be very afraid of death and dying. Getting back to Gregg's story, we find out about his son Brian's terrifying birth and the medical difficulties that beset the first three years of his life. Gregg shares his recollections on Brian's remarkable personality which emerged following those early difficult years.
Gregg then takes us to the start of Brian's riveting story, when he predicted his own impending death. Gregg details the steps that the family took to determine how to handle Brian's death premonition. He also talks about the many incidents leading up to Brian's death which clearly indicate that he knew his demise was quickly approaching. Taking the story to its tragic conclusion, Gregg recounts the day that Brian died, which included a proverbial "going away" party that he'd insisted on having as well as the Little League game where Brian passed away.
Continuing the narrative, Gregg recounts the many 'coincidences' which indicate that Brian's death was clearly "supposed to happen" and how these paradoxical events both haunted and perplexed him. Given that Brian's death prediciton was fairly well known to Korbon family friends, we find out what their reaction was to the eerily accurate premonition. He also talks about the muted reaction from the otherwise intrigued media, which essentially refused to cover the predicative nature of Brian's death. Additionally, Gregg shares some remarkable insights gained from the support group Compassionate Friends, where he discovered that a significant number of bereaved parents had their children predict their own death.

Butch Witkowski on BOA

Butch Witkowski discusses the enigma of human mutilations by extraterrestrials. mysterious deaths are nothing new but deaths associated with alien abductions aren't a popular topic, for obvious reason. Tim Binnall and Butch Witkowski discuss the strange cases that will make you think twice about wanting to take a trip in a spaceship with E.T.'s because, ya know, some people are actually dumb enough to want to go along for the ride. 

  Listen here

Portals and Corners and Car crashes... oh my!

I grew up in a big house on a street with a curve that has rendered many careless drivers at the whim of gravity. I've seen motorcycles hit the wall; their riders bleeding in the road. I've witnessed people jumping the wall to avoid being crushed between rock and steel. For as long as my family has been here (almost 50 years), there's been a car crash to highlight each year.

You are probably wondering what is so unusual about cars hitting a wall on a road with a pronounced curve to it. There wouldn't be much of a story to it at all if not for the same account from each and every person that's ever hit that wall: " It's like I got to the front of the wall and I lost control. I don't know what happened."

I used to think it was one of those bullshit excuses people have because they don't want to admit they were doing something other than watching the road, but that wall has always had a very sinister past. For starters, half of it belongs to  a church and as you walked passed it you can't help but notice the white Mary (mother of god/virgin saint) Statue. What you may also notice is that some say it's Mary while others say it's Saint Matthew. How and why Matthew looks like a chick is beyond me. But I digress.

This is the very same wall I would have nightmares about, growing up in that house. The nightmare was always the same... playing itself over and over with no resolution. My father would meet up with an old friend at the corner of that wall. Maybe he was taking me to the corner store. I don't know. Dreams are funny like that. But the same thing always happened: A middle-aged woman would appear from nowhere, wearing a muumuu and seeming to have a pleasant conversation with my father. As they talked I noticed the tail curving up and out from behind this womans dress.

Same thing every time. The wall. The woman. And her tail. Her tail with the diamond on the end, like the devils.

My aunt has an old photograph of her teenage self standing by that wall. I recently posted it on facebook for feedback. A few people noticed sinister energy in the wall. Anything from faces peering back odd light formations. Personally,  I don't see much in that photograph. I guess it depends on the eyes.

A few weeks back another car (almost) hit the wall. Two young women were heading home. It had been raining earlier that day but the roads were dry. The sky was clear. My family was sitting on the porch when we heard that familiar screeching and the inevitable halt that followed. The story was the same. Once she got to that wall she felt as if the steering wheel had a mind of its own.

Is it the way the street is laid out that forces some vehicles to go out of control? Is it the curve of the wall and errant stupidity/drunkiness that is to blame? Or is it the fact that my house and the church next door are built on old land? The same old land that prompted my grandfather to dig his way to an ancient well that gave him such a bad vibe he covered it up and told my uncles to never dig in that particular spot again.

All I know is it's been years since I've dreamed about the lady and her tail and if I ever happen to stumble upon an old woman in a muumuu standing at that particular corner in the near/distant future... I'm climbing the churchyard fence and heading the other way. It's always been a quicker route anyway...

U.F.Oh shit!!!

Discovery:Channeled

Ashley and Kinga rock on.

I've been hooked to the adventures of Historian Ashley Cowie on Syfy's LEGEND QUEST, not so much because the guy knows his stuff, but mostly because when Cowie hits a dead end I start to wonder. I wonder how come someone really powerful hasn't taken Cowie's clues and taken the next step?

If Moses staff is in the wall of that old church, why hasn't someone tried to retrieve it? If that is the Excalibur, sitting on a shelf in a museum for so long, why isn't anyone studying it more thoroughly? The Spear of Destiny at Area 51? Attention Ufologists! (It was actually noted that Cowie and Producer Kinga Philipps did not film at Area 51. They never would have gotten that close to the gate anyway.)

And now it seems that Mr. Cowie may have stumbled upon the Stone of Scone itself. I waited patiently till the end of the show to hear Cowie say that the stone was retrieved and being returned to its rightful place to be studied for further proof that it is, in fact, the coronation stone. Instead, the stone will take YEARS to study. Really? And by whom? Worst of all, the media hasn't even covered the discovery.

At least not yet. The episode did just air tonight, so it may take a bit, but I guess I am just curious as to how Cowie can stumble upon new leads and stories tied to ancient mysteries we've all read about thousands of times and never heard anything new about?

How many times can you hear about Hitler and the Spear of Destiny? But hearing that the Spear may be at Area 51? Epic. The Staff of Moses as a conduit of water power, used by a tribe that was gifted in just that--- finding water. I mean, this stuff you can't make up and yet Cowie hands it to you as if it's common knowledge.

To say the show excites the inner, wanna-be Archaeologist in me is an understatement. If LEGEND QUEST does anything it inspires all the arm chair enthusiasts to find new sources of info instead of rehashing the same old propaganda. Best of all, Cowie is joined by Kinga Philipps who always keeps his head above water so he doesn't dig himself too deep into the mystery... so deep that he can't see what lies ahead.

The mysteries of the ancient world have been spun into complicated legends that lend themselves to unbelievable heights of suspension in belief, and yet Cowie reminds us that sometimes the answer is right in front of your face. And why wouldn't they be?

Many of these legends happened on this planet and were spun and woven in the very threads of our existence. To think our forefathers/mothers wouldn't leave us clues in which to navigate these stories and to be able to pick the truth from the malarky is absurd thinking.

Many of the legends Cowie encounters have to do with relics that were hidden because their power was too much to be trusted in the hands of ordinary or lesser men. But that doesn't mean someone worthy couldn't just uncover them and continue the destiny or prophecy. Eventually all mysteries are solved.

My only hope is that Ashley Cowie goes above and beyond, to search for the final resting place of Queen Boudicca, El Dorado or hey, even Atlantis. Whatever he does I will be watching because finally there's an adventure show on television that actually finds shit. And even when it doesn't it leaves the flood gates open to inquiry so someone else can continue the journey.

Monsters in the sewers

Used to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lived in the sewers. The belief was so strong among the kids in my neighborhood that some of us talked about going down there and looking. A few weeks later, a few kids--- not in my neighborhood--- did just that.

They didn't find any mutated, talking Turtles but there little misadventure did nothing to dissuade my generation from believing that the sewers were a habitat and that some things did live there. Stephen King told us Pennywise, an ancient evil that preyed on children lived there.

Old, corny horror films told us Alligators lived there.

So if you grew up in the city and rode the public transportation, you closed your eyes in the tunnels because you believed everything and anything lived there. Then you grew up and forgot about it. Well, guess what... some things never change.

CCTV in Northern Ireland ran a piece about a sighting in the sewers. The experts say it could be a trick of light but others have compared it to the comic book sometime villain The Silver Surfer. Davy Sloan, the Northern Ireland Water field Manager says:

"NI Water constantly finds inappropriate items dumped down the sewer. Items vary from nappies, wipes, sanitary products and cotton buds which wash into pumping stations and block the pumps [...] They also block sewers which often causes internal and external flooding. This time however, the CCTV picked up a spooky face at the end of the tunnel [...] We think the image is a result of a combination of the bend in the sewer line and variations in light."

Whatever dude. Just don't go down there in the dark.

(Newsletter)

Pic o' the day!

(image from IMGUR)