Save These Cats From a Horrible Death

This is sad and sickening, very disheartening. Please sign the petition. Read more on Siani’s Pot-Pourri; it’ll just take you a couple of mintues to do something from your computer. Please take the time.
http://sianikatts-gower.blogspot.com/2007/12/help-save-cats-from-certain-death.html

Candace Talmadge: Government Can't Protect Us

Candace Talmadge on:
UFO Coverup: If We Know, We’ll Realize Government Can’t Protect Us

I Warned You

I couldn't help myself . . . just couldn't stop myself . . .

Okay, I like the dots. Dots stay. Title doesn't. Alfred Lehmberg of An Alien View suggested "The Double X Files," for a title. Not bad.

Suggestions are welcome, and I'll keep thinking.

Female Gurus (Beyond the blog)

Beyond the Blog: Female Gurus

While the majority of gurus are male, there have been a number of female gurus, as Anthony North in Beyond the Blog writes. The difference between the two; males are sexual/ego oriented, females design the “cult” around a spiritual system that they are vessels for.

Carol Maltby

One thing about having blogs is that I meet all kinds of new people (new to me that is.) Carol Maltby, who is also blog obsessed it seems, (she appears to have five) left an interesting comment regarding Richelle Hawks article Yabba Dabble Doo: How Crowely Introduced the Iconic Gray Alien, which I posted about here.

I'll post Carol's comment here, since it brings up a very different perspective and worth thinking upon:

Little Lam, who made thee?

Looking at the Thelemic links that Hawks supplies, I'm struck by the way the writers miss some of the visual aspects of the Lam image.

Lam is a gateway all right. A vulva.

While the version Hawks uses is cropped to fit her Strieber cover art relationship, there are other versions available online that are not so murky. See for example this closeup at http://www.the-equinox.org/vol3/eqv3n1/LIBER71/lam.jpg

Let's play fashionista for a moment. What, precisely, is Lam wearing? One of Ed Wood's angora sweaters? A garment made out of the pelt of an Airedale? Or is it pubic hair?

What looks like hands pressed palm to palm at the bottom of the portrait in the smaller reproductions online clearly is not when you look at a better reproduction. In context, they are far more likely to be labial folds than fingers. Note the radiating lobes around the mouth, which resemble no normal chin structure, nor one customarily mentioned in descriptions of Greys. Thinking of them as anal ridges fits the vulval aspects, both in location and context.

If you are feeling like stretching the boundaries further, there's a fair argument to be made that Lam's head echoes the Venus of Willendorf.

Consider "his" cheeks to be her thighs, his dark triangular eye area to echo her broad pubic triangle. The highlighted rounded areas just above Lam's eyes show hints of nipples. The highlighted nose area rising up and dividing into two arms that set off the upper forehead echoes the uterus and fallopian tubes.

http://www.edu.pe.ca/rural/class_webs/art/images/venus%20of%20willendorf.jpg

What might this interpretation mean on any magickal level? I don't do turgid OTO-speak, so I can't supply meaning in that context, other than the self-evident notion that we do all come from an egg, and are of women born.

But I do know that not being able to accurately describe what's in front of us is the downfall of many trying to interpret the strange things they've seen, and really gets in the way of knowledge, especially when these interpretations ossify into the accepted explanations.

I encourage you to check out her blogs as well.

And Again With the New Template

Yes, I know, But I Can't Help Myself. . .

The blue I had was too stuffy, the pink was too girly, oy. This is kind of stodgy too and I should have gone with the polka dots. Still might.

Hey, at least you never know what you'll find over here.

Howe and Comments: The Final Comment

In conclusion of the Howe/Zorgy Designation . . .

Thanks to everyone who commented: wow, had no idea something like this would generate so many comments.!

Some interesting points have been made: one is concerning Adamski as a child molester. I had not heard that before; and would like to know more. (I don’t remember Bennett referring to that in his book Looking for Orthon; it may be, but it seems I would have recalled something like that.) However, when I say “I’d like to know more” I mean facts, not rumors or someone’s opinion. Anyone with legitimate sources, etc. to point me towards is appreciated.

As to Howe as a researcher, okay. We all have opinions. However, the allegations about her “highjacking” or plagiarizing (because that what it really sounds like the commentator was saying) needs to be fact and not a vague rumor. I don’t know, so I can’t say either way.

My issue isn’t arguing with the truth, my issue is making sure we all know what the truth is, not just throwing out rumors. If it’s your opinion, be clear on that. If it’s something you say you know is ‘true,’ back it up.

Loren Coleman made the comment that my post here might generate more votes for LMH as the worst over on the Zorgy poll. To that I said, well, if my little opinions (or anyone’s) on a thing causes someone to vote a certain way out of spite or who knows what -- that says a whole lot about them and their petty and/or shallow ways.

This is the only point, that still seems to escape some individuals, gathering from the posts left here. And that is the context, as I said before. The point is this:

If anyone thinks Howe deserves the “worst” designation over people who intentionally and casually played with someone’s mind (Paul Bennewitz) just because they could, and because they thought it would get them somewhere, it’s a sad blip within UFOlogy.

And if you can’t get that, oh well.

Comments are now closed, and thanks to all who stopped by and put in their two cents. Always appreciated!

Shirley MacLaine on Bill O'Reilly

My god, that must have been a surreal sight to behold. MacLaine and O'Reilly (or "Or-i-ly" as Keith Olbermann calls him) together, and talking about UFOs and the like. Here's a rough draft of the transcript.

Linda Moulton Howe and the Zorgy "Hall of Shame"

(Added November 21st: Comments now closed, thank you.)

I can't help but think, as cliché as this will sound, that there’s a bit of sexism involved in including Linda Moulton Howe in Paul Kimball’s Zorgy Award category: 2008 Hall of Shame.

Kimball asks for nominations for various categories; people send in their choices, and the voting begins. Here are the candidates for the Hall of Shame category:
Alfred Webre
Frank Scully
Richard Doty
Frank Scully
Philip Corso
Linda Moulton Howe
Silas Newton
William Moore
Ray Santilli
Frank Kaufmann
Gerald Anderson
Michael Horn
George Van Tassel
George Adamski
Ed Walters
Dr. Seth Shostak
Jaime Maussan
Kal K. Korff
William Cooper
Bob Lazar

The context -- a Hall of Shame -- implies something heinous, dishonest, etc. Being gullible, which I acknowledge Linda Howe often is, hardly qualifies for this category.

Compare her name with the list of others: really? Do you mean to tell me that, when compared with the others in the long list of candidates, Linda Moulton Howe is (so far) coming in second, with Bob Lazar in first place?

Ray Santilli, admitted hoaxer. Richard Doty, Silas Newton,Kal Korff, all deserve to be in that category. William Moore and Richard Doty, who admitted to playing with Paul Bennewitz’s sanity, and Linda Moulton Howe, in the same category?! Give me a break.

The Contactees, Adamski, Van Tassell, do not belong either. It is far too simplistic to dismiss them as kooks or hucksters, doing so does UFO research a real disservice. But that argument is for another time. (See Vintage UFO for a bit more on this.)

Is it because Howe charges for access to her Earth Files site? On that I’m fairly neutral although I do have problems with researchers holding evidence and data hostage for a fee. (On the other hand, that’s what an author does in a sense.) True, John Greenwald, Peter Davenport, etc. don’t charge fees; they ask for donations but make available their research regardless. I haven’t paid to access the Earth Files site, and I doubt I will. Whatever your opinions on this may be, the question remains one of context; is this really cause to induct her into the hall of Shame?

I hesitated in writing this, because I can predict all too well the kind of knee jerk responses of some: that this is whiny chick stuff, defend ones own gender, expecting special treatment, and all the rest. To that I say: feh!

Howe has won several awards for her work, including three Emmy awards and one nomination, a Station Peabody award, and awarded the Encyclopedia Britannica Award for Journalistic Excellence. She’s made several documentaries. And of course, her work concerning cattle mutilations helped set the stage for further research by others.

This isn’t about my agreement with Howe on things, or believing that she, or any woman, is immune to criticism. So don’t even go there.

The point is the context. If one believes Howe is somehow more deserving of an award for being “shameful,” than a Richard Doty or a William Moore, that says more about them and UFOlogy than it does Howe.

Richelle Hawks: Yabba Dabble Doo: How Aliester Crowley Introduced the Iconic Gray Alien

That All Too Familiar Gray Face . . .

Richelle Hawks (who wrote the A New Vision:
The Virgin Mary Tree of Salt Lake City Gothic Desert mentioned in a previous post, also for UFO Digest) writes on Aleister Crowley and his connection with the grays in Yabba Dabble Doo: How Aleister Crowley Introduced the Iconic Gray Alien for UFO Digest.

Asking "The Question", Hawks ponders:
So, if these entities we know as the grays are not from another planet, or perhaps not even aliens after all, then what? The theories and speculations are legion.
There is much here, much! For any of us interested in “aliens,” and their connection to UFOs -- and our connection to them -- Hawks article provides us with “new” (for as you’ll see, it isn’t so “new” ) food for thought.

Abduction Researcher Mary Rodwell

Mary Rodwell, on alien abductions, interviewed on podcast UFO Undercover on the UFO Paranormal Radio Network.

Lesley of Debris Field: Zorgy!

It's Zorgy award time. Last year I was nominated; no such thing this year! Very sad. Taught me a lesson though: you gotta nominate yourself!

Even though I'm not up for anything, lots of good people and places are, including Lesley of Debris Field.

So go over to The Other Side of Truth blog, (home and creator of the Zorgy awards) where you can vote, and cast your vote!

Bigfoot Quest Poll

Lisa Shiel, author of the book Backyard Bigfoot and the Bigfoot Quest blog, has a poll up right now. She asks if one thinks all paranormal events are in some way connected? I voted (guess what my vote was!) why don't you

Shirely MacLaine on Sage-ing, Age-ing and Aliens

Shirley MacLaine

MacLaine appeared briefly on the Larry King show Friday night to speak about UFOs a bit. The show itself was dedicated to UFOs -- and, as always, sigh, they had a “skeptic” on, this time James Oberg, who pathologically insisted every UFO case brought up by the panel was “misinterpretation.” At one point, he pretty much did call them lairs. But that’s another story.

Here’s an interview with MacLaine from the Wall Street Journal: Shirley MacLaine on Memoir, Metaphysics And the 'Overwhelming Presence of Aliens' with writer Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg.

MacLaine has a new book out “Sage-ing While Age-ing” and I like that title. I’m aging myself, and have been thinking a lot about the “sage-ing” part. The interview covers the book, her work in film, and her metaphysical work and beliefs.

Here’s part of what MacLaine said in response to a question about aliens:

WSJ.com: What are your views on alien life?

Ms. MacLaine: The presence of extra terrestrial life is fairly overwhelming, and I think it's time we looked at that. The world needs help, and from what I'm gathering they are there to help. They have shown up. They have taken certain people aboard their craft, including some who went willingly. What the star beings were saying was to be very careful about what we're doing on earth.

I think there has been a culture of concealment. Many are afraid of humiliation. Pilots have been fired because they encountered UFOs. People are reluctant to face what they see in their own lives. The visitors are here; there is no question. They are asking to be acknowledged. The governments of the world should release their files. Ours hasn't. It would be good to have more disclosure.

There’s also a little video of MacLaine talking about aliens on the website.

The Patio Alien with Glowing Eyes

The Patio Alien
Kithra’s recent article (an excellent piece) on the red glowing eyes of cryptids reminded me of an experience I had when young. It didn’t involve a cryptid; but a being of some kind. I mean, an “alien” type being, or humanoid kind of creature, as contrasted to a Bigfoot, Lizard Man, etc.

Los Angeles, California about 1958
I’m about four, no older. I find myself -- unexpectedly -- in the den. The dark den. In the middle of the night. No reason for me to be there; all I know is, I woke up, and here I am. And I’m terrified. I look outside through the french doors (no curtains or shades on them) that lead out to the patio, and am both mad and very frightened to see a being, standing in profile to me, fiddling around with what looks like our hose. I’m mad, outraged, that some stranger thinks he can just walk into our backyard and mess with our hose.

He’s a weird looking thing; no taller than I am, and wearing some kind of weird silver jumpsuit kind of thing, with a hood. He turns to look at me, and his eyes are two red lights, that are glowing. And he points the hose at me, which isn’t the hose at all, it’s some kind of gun or wand, rod type thing. He’s mad at me! For watching him. I’m not supposed to be there, watching him. I get a very strong feeling from this thing that he is not happy with me at all. He’s angry and the message comes through clear: stay put, stop staring at him. (it wasn’t until years later, in thinking on this, that it occurred to me: how could he see me inside? It was pitch black, no lights on inside.)

When he looks at me, I become immensely terrified, and start screaming. Crying. I don’t know what happened after that. I vaguely remember my cousin coming in but not sure.

For years after this, I remembered this as true. Not a dream, a real event that really happened. And it was so horribly frightening, that I didn’t like to think about it, and when I did, I would get an intense attack of anxiety, almost as if it were happening again.

When I reached my late teens I realized that such things couldn’t possibly happen, and it must have been a dream. And how silly to focus on a dream from so long ago. I convinced myself that’s what it was.

Those feelings of anxiety still crept in however, and as I became familiar with the esoteric, I realized that my memory was not fantasy or a dream. This episode is just one more in the journey of strange encounters and events in the context of my “paranormal life.”

A note on the images here: I couldn’t find the jpeg with just the pation alien, but I managed to find an image I had made a few years ago where I’d put several drawings of weird experiences and UFO sightings together in one view. At the top, you’ll see a little sketch or drawing I did of the “patio alien.”