Esoteric Radio Women

Here I am at what I will call the BFFF Blog. Sure those Hollywood types can have their BFF’s, but here we will have the best female fortean friends. In reality, I don’t really know Richelle, but I have read her writings and enjoyed them. On the other hand, Regan and I have been internet pals for a couple years now.

I thought I would use to opportunity of this blog to bring to mind the few women who do paranormal internet radio shows.

First there is The Paranormal Women League. They have some interesting and fun shows about ghosts, ESP, Wicca and other paranormal related topics. It is hosted by Amy and Kristy, two fun and intelligent ladies.

There is also Eye to the Sky with wonderful hostess Dee Andrews. This show is mostly about ufo related phenomena and Dee nabs some really great guests, including, Richard Dolan, Nick Redfern, Peter Robbins and Steven Bassett.

The last show is Karyn Dolan’s Through the Keyhole. As Regan already mentioned I did an interview with Karyn for UFO Magazine which will be in this month and the Jan issue, so I know her a bit better than the other ladies and honestly I found her remarkable. The fact that she manages to do so much, so well, while home schooling her and Richard’s two children amazes me. My hat is off to her, I seem to manage very little with no children in comparison to her.

In a few months you will also find an interview with Dee Andrews in UFO Magazine. I hope to eventually get around to the paranormal women too, but I figure I should at least write a couple articles in between interviews.

I find it pretty sad that out of about 45 shows I have listed at Beyond the Dial, only 3 of them are hosted by women. However, even though I think the numbers are higher than regular radio for the most part all radio is dominated by men. I am thinking of my local “big” talk station and I do not believe there is one local show hosted by a woman and since Dr. Laura was replaced by Sean Hannity I can’t even think of a national syndicated show they run that is hosted by a woman. Pretty sad, isn’t it?

BTW, if I have missed one of the great gals that hosts a internet paranormal show, please let me know. The slight certainly would not be intentional.

Women and Bigfoot

Cryptomundo blog has an item about
women in cryptozoology, namely Jan McGirk who investigated the stories of 10 ft. giant apes in Malaysia.

Also read Cryptomundo’s item that asks: Women Bigfooters Do Better Field Work? Interesting comments to this post as well.

I’m personally extremely interested in Bigfoot, but not as a field researcher. I’m interested in all Bigfoot stories, but especially the ones that contain the supernatural aspect. So it many ways it’s a moot point because Bigfoot will never be “found” -- as I say,
“Run, Bigfoot, Run!” But as far as male and female researchers go, there might be a difference in approach. Generally speaking, you have males with guns and making lots of noise and screaming into the forest, and you have women without guns who take a different, quieter approach, not so aggressive. This is all very gender specific and really, more than a gender thing, I think both women and men can go either way in approach, and it isn’t a case of who’s better at it. I’d say it’s more one’s personal philosophy in looking for Sasquatch.

Just two of the many women involved in Bigfoot research: Autumn Williams and Lisa Shiel.

Anniversary of Lourdes Visitation

Lourdes, France Visitation of a Marian apparition.

Catholics mark 150th anniversary of Lourdes, France apparition of the Blessed Mother.
Catholics mark 150th anniversary of Lourdes apparitions.

Our Magic Bodies

A while ago, I wrote an article about avatars, icons, etc., suggesting the mystical language and imagery that is appropriated may be more than novel or random. There is really a recent flooding of religio-occultism in technology and youth culture, and the rather mainstream lot of the 'alternative' culture.

There's also much linguistic oriented symbolism (think: cell phone. my cell. my prison.) It's all very curious, this idea of identity and visual representation, and it seems especially important to and is widely displayed among women and girls.

Just glancing through MySpace, or the lesser known paranormal networking site, I Am Haunted there seems to be a competition of sorts between: sexiest, flashiest, glitteriest, sparkliest, busiest, cutest, spiritualest...all alluding to 'best.'

There's oftentimes an occult edge to it too, sometimes angelic or white-mystical as shown here, or darker, with fangs, a tear of blood, or pseudo goth tattoos, etc. Usually, the imagery sports a rather obvious fetishist element. The appropriation of mystical elements and objects in presenting one's Self in uncharted territories seems to be desirable, acceptable, and maybe even necessary somehow. Perhaps there is a real semblance of power, energy, or protection. Or, perhaps occult and religious forms are the default visual language of sexuality and identity.

From The Towerlight: Get Turned On: I Dream of David Duchovny

Base sexual objectification? Sure! But you know, I’m not dead yet . . .

Krysten Appelbaum writes of her love for David Duchovny in the X-Files, (Get Turned On: I Dream of David Duchovny) and gives thanks he’s come back in Showtime’s Californication. About Californication; as Appelbaum comments, it’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s a good show, more to the point, Duchovny does a great job in the role of moody Hank Moody.

I disagree with her that when Duchovny left X-Files, the show wasn’t as good. True, it took getting used to, not seeing Duchovny. The show still worked; it just wasn't Duchovny.

As to X-Files, the second movie is due to be released July 25, 2008, costarring one of my favorite comedians, Bill Connolly. (If you’re not familiar with Connolly don’t be distracted by the fact he’s a comedian, he’s also a good straight actor.)

After all these years, I still think The X-Files was the best show of its kind, although I really like Torchwood very much. I think it comes very close.

Beyond the Dial in UFO Magazine: Karyn Dolan

This issue of UFO Magazine includes an interview by Lesley, who writes the Beyond the Dial column each month. The article is Karyn Dolan: A Ufologist's Best Friend.

Like many of us, Karyn has had an interest in the paranormal since childhood. (And yes, she is married to UFO researcher Richard Dolan.)

Little Space Girl

Greg Bishop at UFO Mystic has a series of flying saucer music items he posts now and then. Here's one: Little Space Girl. Read about it here.

Hot Pink Flying Saucers!

Hot pink flying saucers!

Outer space vixens in pink saucers? No, but still cool: really amazing clouds.

Culture of Contact: Jeremy Vaeni

Visit writer, film maker and abductee Jeremy Vaeni's Culture of Contact, for all kinds of interesting podcasts, including one with experiencer and artist Melissa Reed.

The Subversive and UFOs

Some consider UFOs and aliens (or what we usually call aliens) as Satanic. Bound firmly within a fundamental Christian context, UFOs, aliens and all the phenomena surrounding the two are evil. UFO writer Stephen Yulish, who writes frequently for UFO Digest, believes this. Yulish writes extensively on UFOs and related matters, and he has a solid background involving UFO research. I’m not disputing Yulish’s knowledge of UFOlogy; it’s that our interpretations on things UFOlogical are so different. (See
Yulish on “Demonic Trickster”)

Lilith and UFOs. When I saw this title on UFO Review, I thought “Sounds interesting, wonder who wrote it? Maybe Richelle (Hawks) or Mary Alice Bennett. Hmm.. .” so I click and find it’s written by Stephen Yulish.

A few things in his article startled me, for example, this:

Years later, when I worked for the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Federation of Phoenix, I read the Zohar, the bible of Jewish mysticism, and discussed Kabbalah with several Rabbis in town. I even channeled drawings from the yenne velt (the other world in Yiddish) and showed them to my Rabbi friends who loved them. Several were later published in the journal DreamWorks.

Sigh. I know, to each their own and it’s a free country and all that, but I always get nervous when non-Jews say things like this. Or, worse, when Jews who’ve turned to Christianity say things like that. However, that's pretty much a different ball of wax.

It’s here, though, that’s an excellent example of the huge divide between people like Yulish and myself. Lilith, like the Trickster, as archetypes are wont to do, are manifested within human behavior:

I also encountered several women who were Lilith archetypes and seduced me with their wicked ways.

(I wonder if Yulish is a fan of Henry Makow’s) Oy. Like the story of Adam and Eve, I’ve always wondered why it’s the female that gets the blame; not the weak male who so quickly and easily falls apart and gives in to temptation.

Not everyone shares Yulish’s views of Lilith. The Jewish publication Lilith magazine, for example, explains why they’ve named their magazine after the goddess:

According to myth and legend, Lilith was the first woman, created before Eve. She was Adam’s absolute equal.

In the Garden of Eden, long before the eating of the apple, the Holy One created the first human beings — a man named Adam, and a woman named Lilith. Lilith said, "We are equal because we are created from the same earth.— from the medieval text Alphabet of Ben Sira, 23a-b

I think a key word here is “subversive.” UFOs are subversive in their way as well. Their behavior is subversive; operating in our faces, so to speak, yet eluding all attempts to truly catch them either literally or figuratively.(And if a few have been captured, the powers that be withholding this information is being subversive.) Being involved in UFO research is subversive; its outside mainstream society. And any academic or scientist who looks into UFOs is being subversive, unless they’re out to prove the nonexistence of UFOs.

Lilith (1892), by John Collier

Another subversive topic is sex. Even in current times, with sex being highly objectified, ironically we’re still uptight about it, still argue over it, still remain ignorant of it. We’re still arguing over gay rights and gay marriage and sexuality is still mired in the political process. To come full out and openly about sex is subversive. UFO history is rife with sex; sex with aliens, humans kidnapped by aliens, strapped to tables, probed and prodded in personal places, disappearing pregnancies, hybrid babies, sexy aliens like the Nordics, bedroom visitations.

Here’s what Rabbi Jill Hammer writes in
Lilith, Lady Flying in Darkness;
The most notorious demon of Jewish tradition becomes a feminist hero.
By Rabbi Jill Hammer

In the Talmud, Lilith becomes not only a spirit of darkness, but also a figure of uncontrolled sexuality. The Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 151a) says: "It is forbidden for a man to sleep alone in a house, lest Lilith get hold of him." Lilith is said to fertilize herself with male sperm to give birth to other demons.
When the first man, Adam, saw that he was alone, God made for him a woman like himself, from the earth. God called her name Lilith, and brought her to Adam. They immediately began to quarrel. Adam said: "You lie beneath me." And Lilith said: "You lie beneath me! We are both equal, for both of us are from the earth." And they would not listen to one another. The Alphabet of Ben Sira

Lilith here is a metaphor for Jewish freedom as well as sexual freedom and independence for women, according to the Rabbi. In the 12th century, when the Zohar was written, Lilith was presented as a demon. Today, for many Jewish women, Lilith is not a demonic creature but a positive symbol. The archetype of Lilith isn’t bound in superstitious and fearful dogmatism, yet there are those who still cling to that model. The same can be said of some in their approach to UFOs; they stick to a firm nuts and bolts perspective, refusing to entertain anything outside of that idea. Still others choose either the negative (they’re all Satan) or the equally yet opposite end of the concept (they’re all Space Brothers.) We don’t know what they are or what they want, and very likely, like humans as well as archetypes, they vary in not only appearance but origin and motivation.

I think we need to recognize that we are active participants in the UFO phenomeana that help shape and define the process as we go along. We’re not just passive observers of weird things. We can choose to change in various ways aspects of the phenomena, if only in our personal perceptions of the thing. This isn’t to say “it” -- the Trickster, the manipulators, the UFOs, the aliens/entities, the players - aren’t in on it as well. History shows us they’re a lot better at it than we seem to be.

But we can be purposely subversive as well, just by deciding to look at the esoteric in different ways. Challenge it, question it, turn it around, turn it upside down. You can’t do that if you’re stuck in a rigid system.

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.”