Video of "Chupacabra" Capture

Another hairless, blue-gray hued creature that's become known as "chupacabra" has been captured. No one can say what the animal is, (at times it looked like a fox, or some kind of strange little fawn, etc.) Fortunately, no one took a shot at it and they let even let it go. Which annoyed the hell out of the highly irritating hostess on the clip, but typical MSM patter and trivializing of events. That aside, (what else can we expect) interesting to have film of one of these creatures: Chupacabra Captured? Recap - Yahoo! TV

Data Mapping, Cryptids, ET and Us: Nickell Provides the Answers

The ever disingenuous Joe Nickell, self-described "paranormal investigator" debunker, has discovered answers to all myths of a crypto nature in the following article by Ed Grabianowski:  Paranormal Investigator Joe Nickell Reveals the Truth Behind Modern Cryptozoological Myths. (All of them? Impressive.)

Regarding Bigfoot, Nickell combines finding patterns in sightings data, his theories, and the usual skeptic based psychology: us humans love to make stuff up. We create myth and don't want to solve mysteries -- well, you know the routine.

"Bigfoot is our stupid cousin from the past."

That's humans for you, projecting our fears and dreams onto made up entities. As far as ET goes:

"The alien is the future version of ourselves."

Which alien version would that be? Reptilian? Bug eyed gray? Gigantic praying mantises? Good looking long haired blond Nordic Space Brothers and Sisters? Lizard Men? Hairy dwarf? I don't know about you, but that's a future self I want nothing to do with. (Well, maybe the good looking Space Sister but I don't look good as a blond. And I prefer the swarthy types to Nordic guys.)

Nickell looked at "convergent iconography" which led him to the conclusion we've simply created Bigfoot and aliens out of our own heads; the two are modern living myths. We did the same with Santa Claus and Jesus:

"The same convergent iconography can be seen in artists' depictions of Jesus Christ and Santa Clause."

There is some truth in the idea that we shape our gods and heroes and they ultimately morph into a sort of set version dependant on the culture. To suggest to a religious person however that Jesus, the BVM, or angels are just in their head, based on agreed upon cultural imagery is both insulting and missing the point. And while I am not a Christian or believe in any sort of monotheistic god that watches over us like a somewhat authoritarian parent, using Jesus Christ and Santa Clause in the same sentence subliminally suggests they are one and the same in terms of fantasy.


Grabianowski asks Nickell about cryptids that don't look anything like human beings. Using  "data mapping" once again, Nickell finds that reports of water monsters coincided with otter activity.  People mistaking otters for a sea serpent: "It really happens," (I love that) Nickell says. Of course it "really happens" people mistake things all the time. Not every weird light in the sky is a UFO, not all strange creatures in the forest are Sasquatch and so on. 


Nickell distances himself from combative skeptics and says he treats witnesses with respect; they're not liars or insane, just mistaken.

The article ends with a dismissal of paranormal programming which is "like wrestling" Nickell says. I'll agree with much of that sentiment, to a point. All TV is "like wrestling" when you think of it. For his arguments on how he's treated by producers as a skeptic, UFO researchers and other paranormal investigators can cite the same. It's about ratings, and whatever angle the show wants to present. Researchers and skeptics both can be damned; it's not about the individual ghost hunters, UFO investigators or cryptid chasers, it's about the producers, the station owners and their own agendas. Skeptic, paranormal investigator, or witness: they're all just the talent. Fodder for the program.

For some reason, most programs that deal with fringe topics believe that having skeptics on is "balance." To me it's just annoying. But it's not balance they want; it is, indeed, "like wrestling." There's an innate belief that conflict and tension is necessary for entertainment. Like wrestling.

My new article on Monster Tracker: Monsters Creating Monsters

I have a new piece at Monster Tracker: Monsters Creating Monsters.

 I love the History channel's Ancient Aliens; this article isn't a criticism against the program, but I found two segments in the recent episode: Aliens and Monsters, aired August 4th, disturbing.  I understand the episode's context: they included two segments concerning "Dr. Evils" as part of that program's speculations concerning alien manipulation of humans and animals, resulting in hybrids monsters and entities that we call myth today. Nonetheless, those two segments were extremely disturbing.  I couldn't look at those images of animals abused in this way and I'm not including images of these experiments in this article. (You can easily find related information and images by Googling.) 

I'm referring to experiments done, not by extraterrestrials,  but by humans. 

The Loch Ness Monster of Alaska?

Started to watch this, and was sorry right from the beginning, because I didn't like the two guys much -- too gung ho yee haw for my tastes. But when they started loading up on giant hooks and nets and guns, I turned off the TV. What, they're going to kill themselves a "monster?"

No idea what happened, but let me guess. They didn't catch one.
The Loch Ness Monster of Alaska? | The Upshot - Yahoo! News

Here Be Dragons! Itty Baby Ones, on Game of Thrones

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

If you haven't seen the season finale of Game of Thrones and don't want to know the end, don't read on.

But for those of you who did watch last night's episode, or don't mind knowing the end, we found ourselves rewarded with three baby dragons. The eggs hatched, put on the funeral pyre by Khaleesi/Daenerys Targaryen. And that was a scene; her mercy killing of her "stars and her moon."

I love Game of Thrones, and am not complaining, but last night while watching last night's episode I wondered, "Well, that's all good but where are the female rulers and leaders?" True, the women have power, but the King trumps the Queen. Ah, but not so fast, for Khaleesi/Daenerys Targaryen has come into her own. Surrounded by her dragons, she will indeed rule, I suspect. And I bet the red winged dragon will be her special one; the leader of the pack (all three of them), the one who leads the way. Speaking of dragons, I wondered how they breed -- are any of the dragons female? How many eggs do they lay? No doubt there are other dragon eggs dormant throughout the realm.

You can view the last scene here, of Khaleesi/Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons. 

It'll be a long wait for season two, but now I have True Blood to look forward to! Even though I think the show's become a little bit too camp, I still enjoy it. I mean, True Blood has not only vampires but werewolves! among other creatures, which makes for a lot of fun.

Sacrifice and Legend: The Dog That Killed Osama bin Laden

The (alleged) assassination/murder/killing of Osama bin Laden became mythic the moment the news stream broke the story. Amidst the lore (burial at sea, grisly photos, the compound, what the neighbors thought, ...) is the story of the dog that was brought along during the raid in Abbottabad. The story goes, according to various news sources such as the one cited here (Yahoo! News) a "military dog" took part in the raid:

a military dog (not pictured) was strapped onto one of the assault team members as he was lowered out of a Black Hawk helicopter and began the operation that killed the notorious terrorist on Monday.

Why a dog would be on the mission isn't revealed. Instead, the dog is presented to us as a hero, for the dog died during the course of the attack. If the dog was, indeed, there in the first place. The Pentagon won't confirm or deny if there was a dog used in the operation or not. Theories as to why a dog would be used: bomb detection, cameras (attached to the dogs), people finder.

The news seems to think that this dog -- so far unconfirmed to its reality-- was killed during the raid, which means the dog is a war hero. Other dogs, used during war and sacrificing their lives in the name of freedom and all that's right and holy have been given post-humus awards:

...there is some precedent for war dogs receiving military honors. The Navy awarded a Silver Star in 2009 to a dog named Remco who gave his life charging "an insurgent's hide-out in Afghanistan," Harris writes. According to Foreign Policy, another dog named Eli fiercely guarded his Marine, Private First Class Carlton Rusk, after he was shot by Taliban sniper fire in Afghanistan. Rusk's bomb-sniffing dog would not even let fellow Marines approach the wounded Rusk, who did not survive the attack. Eli now lives with Rusk's family.

It doesn't matter if this story is true or not. The meme's been released (sort of like The Kraken); once it's out, it's done it's job. Most everyone loves dogs. Our heartstrings are tugged. Apple pie and dogs, who can fight those? The Evil One is dead, justice has been served, vengeance performed, deaths avenged. And if anyone dares to question the anomalous aspects of 9/11, our complicity in affairs of the world, and certainly the operation itself, bring in the dogs. This dog story symbolizes bravery and patriotism. It's a both a symbolic distraction and a legend in the making (the "tale of the dog that killed Osama bin Laden") that seals the deal. This dog story also underscores the dichotomy between loving animals and caring for them, and using them as we see fit. This folk hero story of a brave dog mitigates any guilt over the fact we use animals in war for our own means.

It's a feel good story, full of the hackneyed effects Americans love: bravery, sacrifice, war, death during heroic acts.

Intense interest surrounds dog who may have participated in bin Laden raid - Yahoo! News

Game of Thrones 2nd Episode: Dire Wolf

Episode 2 of Game of Thrones was just as great as the first episode, and this time, we had more Dire Wolf goodness. I love the dire wolves; beautiful animals. Of course, they're not really dire wolves, but dogs. I've read on-line that they were huskies, yet, while they look husky like, they don't seem to be true huskies. Then I thought they might be husky-wolf hybrids, or something like that, but according to this Yahoo's Answers at Yahoo.com  about the show's dire wolves, the animals are actually a breed called Northern Inuit, from the UK. An Associated Content article has more information. The breed has only been around since the 1980s. And here's more on the Game of Thrones Winter Is Coming.net.

SPOILER!

The wolves were more present in last night's episode. A definite supernatural vibe to these creatures: special magical/spiritual bond between human "owner" and wolf, telepathic bond or communication, protection, loyalty, connections between the "tribe" as a whole, human and wolf alike.

In a very moving and upsetting segment, one of the wolves is ordered killed,in a moment of spite to presumably avenge the mistreatment of the spoiled Prince. Very hard to watch, very sad. A supernatural moment at her death however; the other wolves, separated by distance, responded to the murder of their sister. And the child who had lain still in bed for a month due to a botched attempt on his life (by the very same evil Queen who had the wolf killed) awoke at that moment. Is the dire wolf spirit now within him? The wolf, sacrificed to appease the need for power, control, and blood lust, may return in human form.

Readers of the book series by know what happened, but as I said in my first post about the wolves, I hadn't even heard of the books before the HBO series. So I'm a newbie. I don't know how the television adaptation compares to the books, but, I am loving Game of Thrones!

The News About the Gulf and BP, Then There's The News About the Gulf and BP . . .

There's this:
A year on from BP oil disaster scientists say Gulf of Mexico is almost back to pre-spill health levels...so why are a huge number of dolphins and turtles still washing up dead? | Mail Online

At the same time, we're getting this:

BP Oil Spill: How Bad Is Damage to Gulf One Year Later?

Yet nearly a year after the spill began, it seems clear that the worst-case scenario never came true. It's not that the oil spill had no lasting effects - far from it - but the ecological doomsday many predicted clearly hasn't taken place. There is recovery where once there was only fear. "A lot of questions remain, but where we are now is ahead of where people thought we'd be," Safina says. "Most people expected it would be much worse."

Take the oil itself: scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated last August that much of the oil had remained in the Gulf, where it had dispersed or dissolved. Many environmentalists attacked the report for underplaying the threat of large underwater oil plumes still active in the Gulf, yet later independent scientific studies indeed found that oil had largely disappeared from the water. Turns out we can thank bacteria. Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; University of California, Santa Barbara; and Texas A&M University traveled to the site of the blown well and found that microbes had digested much of the oil and methane that remained in the water. By autumn, the levels were back to normal. "It's very surprising it happened so fast," John Kessler, an oceanographer with Texas A&M, told me earlier this year. "It looks like natural systems can handle an event like this somewhat on their own."

So much more, these are only two examples of the mainstream media's back page treatment of BP, our government's complicity with environmental issues and drilling, and the reality of the situation. And have we mentioned the stories of so many sick, very very sick, residents in the area?

Already so many have fallen asleep; believing that all is now well in the Gulf.

The White Dire Wolf and Game of Thrones

Well, I got myself hooked on HBO's Game of Thrones, of which the first episode aired tonight. The series is based on the series by George R. R. Martin. I'm not familiar with the books, and have no idea how the television version compares, so no comment there.

A Game of Thrones is the first book in A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on 6 August 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award,^[1] and was nominated for both the 1998 Nebula Award^[2] and the 1997^[1] World Fantasy Award. The novella Blood of the Dragon, comprising the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel, won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella. (Wikipedia)

SPOILER!

A scene in the first episode includes the discovery of "direwolf" cubs by Lord Eddard Stark, leader of the House Stark. The mother dire wolf had been killed by a stag and the pups are about to be killed as well by the humans who find them. At the last minute, the cubs are saved, adopted by the would be killers, for, as one of the characters says, (paraphrasing) "The wolves were meant for us to find," since the dire wolf is the House Stark's totem.

image source here

After gathering up the five cubs, they are about to walk away, when one of the characters notices a sixth cub. Picking up the wolf, the others laugh at him, for this one is a runt. They comment that it figures he'd get the runt, since he himself is the bastard child of the group. An outsider, like the runt cub, which is all white. The bastard son's name is Jon Snow; the last name symbolically underscoring the symbolism of the white cub. Jon Snow has always been an outsider because he's the bastard son; his cub is also an outsider: white, a runt, and mute.

I suspect that the fact the bastard of the group found the runt of the litter -- and a white animal -- will reveal something along the lines of this character's heritage. A surprise, a link to royalty (magickal or otherwise), power. The white animal will also become something quite powerful; a protector, a fierce and wise guardian... both outsiders, both carrying power, magick, keepers of a legacy, or secret, a lonely quest, the hero's journey.

For those who know all about Game of Thrones, this might seem obvious, silly, or exasperating ("boy, will she be surprised when it turns out that... ha ha") but for me, it's all new, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, including the fate of the direwolves.

Direwolf - Game of Thrones Wiki

Fish Police

I loved this show; so sad it didn't last long. Here's the Wikipedia link for some background:

Fish Police is the name of a comic book series by cartoonist Steven Moncuse. The plot centers on law and crime in a fictional underwater metropolis with the protagonist, Inspector Gill, trying to solve various, often Mafia-related, crimes while avoiding being seduced by the extremely well-endowed Angel. The comic featured several marine species as its characters, while the plots and dialogue were reminiscent of film noir.

The Two Chupies

Leaving aside for the moment the idea that the 1990s Chupacabra lore began with one woman's viewing of the movie Species, we are left with many aspects of that mystery, including the "new chupie."

It seems the chupacabras mystery died down for awhile, the one we were familiar with at first: spines on the back, short creature, sometimes large red glowing eyes or wrap around alien-gray type eyes, etc. Then the chupacabra moniker reappeared, but this time what was called the chupacabra looked to be a mange ridden canine. Throughout the United States, hairless dog like creatures were being called "Chupacabra" and shot on sight.

I'm not sure why this shift took place, and I haven't come across any thoughts as to the whys of this change. I think some of it has to do with shows like Monster Quest, which in itself took a turn in its presentation. At first, the series seemed like a good old fashioned unexplained monster kind of show, then it shifted to bozos with guns who loved nothing better than picking up some still alive squirming fish or other animal while laughing at how gross it was before killing the thing or tossing it back into its habitat without a thought. Gratuitous jollies seemed to be the point, and some shows really offended me in their caveliar and exploitative attitude towards known creatures: bears, feral dogs, wild hogs, etc. Somewhere in this MQ started calling these disease ridden canines "chupacabras" or, maybe it was the residents themselves. Not understanding what they were seeing, and why, they named these new "intruders" with something they were familiar with, a label that connotes mystery and danger.

But did, or do, these canines pose a threat? I don't know. I'm not familiar enough with the situation. However, I am fascinated by the shift in language and how that labeling affects both humans and animals (an uneasy, suspicious one, it seems, at this point) in this case.

Chupacabra: (Un)Solved Mysteries and Imagery

About fifteen years ago, I was working on my final folklore project in graduate school, focusing on cataloging the ways animals appear in paranormal, UFO, and Fortean narratives. Sometimes animals appeared as mundane entities as “witnesses”, other times, the animals were themselves supernatural or “others.” Here’s a small bit about the Chupacabra from the paper, tentatively titled My Alien Lizard Lover: Animal Motifs in UFO and Fortean Narratives:

The Chupacabra (goat sucker) is the creature of legend unto itself. Described as three to four feet tall, with large, “wrap around eyes (not unlike the eyes of the gray aliens) with a spiny ridge on its back, the Chupacabras has been a part of lore in the Latino community for a few years, originating from Puerto Rico, which has folkloric traditions of vampire type creatures who attack animal and humans alike. Chupacabra punctures its victims; rabbits, goats, chickens, and other small creatures, in the neck, draining the victim of all blood. Recently the stories have included attacks on humans. In the past two or three years, stories of Chupacabras have made their into Latino ethnic beliefs in the United States, as well as crossing over into non-Latino (Anglo, etc.) groups. Cooper’s Dictionary of Symbolic and Mythologic Animals gives this definition this definition of the goat sucker birds:

An evil and ill omened nocturnal, and therefore allied to the powers of darkness: said to drain milk from cows and goats.. Goatsuckers can embody the souls of people unable to account for crimes committed while in human form; their cries are said to be the wailing of the ghost expiating the sins.” (Cooper; 1992: 114) Cooper does not give any cultural reference for this however. But the parallels to the term Chupacabras and the concept of a creature draining an animal of fluid, as well as its avenging nature, are obvious.

Many personal experience narratives combine the presence of Chupacabras with UFOs and extraterrestrials. “A lot of Mexicans believe in extra extraterrestrials, so that’s what they think they are” (Arizona Daily Star, Sunday, May 11, 1996) “Others think the Goat Sucker may have come from outer space of is the mutant progeny of some mad gene-splicing scheme.” (Dudley Althaus, Register-Guard, May 14, 1996)

Tensions within the narratives of Chupacabra include the fear expressed by telling these stories, and the satiric songs and cartoons that have become an industry.

Elizabeth Casals, in her article “Chupacabra Weekend” (UFO Magazine) writes of her search for personal narratives in Mexico about the Chupacabras. No one would admit that they believed such lore, but Casals did find “souvenir stalls, their shelves pile high with plaster piggy bans and cowhide wallets. And racks of T-shirts. Several styles of Chupacabras shirts caught my eye: particularly the one that read “Beware - the Chupacabra will get you.” (Casals, 1996:30) Obviously tourism is good for the Chupacabras business, whether or not the lore is believed by locals. She did find a woodcarver who had carved an image of the Chupacabra.

People within this tradtion are usually reluctant to talk about the Chupacabras and are afraid of being ridiculed. A superstitious belief that they will invite the Chupacabras into their lives by discussing the creature may be the motivation for keeping silent on the Chupacabras, particularly towards outsiders. Yet, as happens so often in folklore, there are contradictions. Humor, satric songs, and cartoonish images often the fear an and unease about the unknown. The Chupacabra is an unknown, and is believed to be causing damage to people's pets as well as humans. By creating a story that this Chupacabra is, indeed a creature, and, that the creature is a “pet” of the aliens, some order has been made out of the chaos of harmful, unexplained events. The Chupacabra has been given a place and a definition.

The paper is over sixteen years old, and of course, I was writing within the context of approved-by-academia and the confines of my subject area, folklore. (I also notice in looking this over that a lot is lacking as to citations, style, and so on. ) Which, as I commented on the C-Influcence blog, required a particular mind-set regarding one’s philosophical treatment of paranormal-UFO events:

I loved the academic realm of folklore as a discipline, but, had a few major problems with it at the same time. I am not an academic, and , when in college, decided to not follow that path. I’m simply not wired that way; can’t deal with authorities, politics, 9 to 5 job milieu. . . but that aside, I found a huge problem in folklore studies -- as an academic pursuit - that seemed ironically contradictory. On the one hand, collecting stories while remaining nonjudgmental was encouraged. At the same time, it seemed to me folklore couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. Professors wanted conclusions, they wanted a psychological analysis. Well, I’d say, I’m not a psychologist, I’m not a psychology student, I’m not even taking any psychology classes. While I could give a sort of every-woman’s, educated take on, say, UFO narratives using psychology (Jung, etc.) it wouldn’t really be worth much. If not psychology, sociology, if not that, science, they wanted something. Pointing out that folklore, while utilizing those areas in some ways, is not those things, -- well, we just went around.

 To the above, I will add that the aknowledgement of these things as possible, let alone real, was simply not an option.

At the time, Chupacabras was big news in both the marginalized and fringe cultures of paranormal studies, as well as the mainstream news. Usual explanations from the latter group for Chupacabras included “cultural or sociological anxiety”, good old superstitions, and a sudden misunderstanding of predators and their affects on domestic and livestock, ranch and farm animals. As these stories do, Chupacabra faded away a bit, and for reasons I haven’t yet figured out, morphed into a new kind of Chupacabra: the canine type animal reported as a Chupacabra reported  throughout the United States.

Skeptic Benjamin Radford, in his recent and supposed solving of the chupacabras mystery, writes that one of the early Chupacabra witnesses, Madelyne Tolentino, had seen the movie Species a few weeks before her sighting of the Chupacabras, which Radford found “suspicious.”:

To me, that was the smoking gun," he said. "It can't be a coincidence that this Chupacabra that's now popping up around the world just happens to look exactly like the monster in this sci-fi film."

As usual with the kinder, gentler skeptic, the new tactic is not to accuse the witness of being mentally ill or a liar, just... “confused.”:

But Radford said he doesn't think Tolentino is a liar or hoaxer, just that she confused something she saw in a movie with something she saw in real life. 

There are similarities; but there are also differences. Like breasts, numerous tendrils upon the head, and the height of the entity, which is quite tall.

This same explanation -- of imagined creatures from an entertainment venue -- was offered by skeptics when Barney and Betty Hill described their encounters. An Outer Limits episode: "The Bellero Shield" aired on February 10th, 1964, a couple of weeks before the HIlls experienced their UFO sighting and abduction. Again, there are similarities to the aliens in the television episode, but differences as well, including height. Contrast the Outer Limits creature with drawings of what the Hills saw made by both the Hills and other artists.  Googling or otherwise searching out these images, and comparing and contrasting them for yourself will reveal that there are as many differences as there are similairites. (For a related article on imagery, see my Betty Hill's "The Supervisor": A Visceral Reaction, for UFO Digest.)

I’m not attempting to thoroughly analyze the merits of either case; but the point is, imagery within popular culture is often used to “explain” mysterious encounters. It’s silly to state images don’t influence us on many levels, every day, far more than we know. That is a whole other topic. At the same time, to throw about images from movies and television and use them to “solve” mysteries is just too simplistic.

I find it ironic that images and symbols are influencing us -- speaking to us --- every moment of every day and often in insidious and spooky ways, manipulated by the powers that be, and yet we remain ignorant of all that. At best, if we notice it at all, we label it “conspiracy theory” and move on. But the skeptics, and not a few UFO researchers, are quick to point to images as the cause for what’s perceived during paranormal or UFO encounters. This easy explanation takes care of everything in one fits all theory, and we no longer have to deal with the pesky supernatural, Fortean or UFO event.

A Squirrely Day

An odd day so far...

Jim hits his head, starts to bleed.  Not good, because he's on medication that affects bleeding and bruising --  the simplest cut bleeds profusely and takes a long time to heal. Scary but we think it'll be okay. Keeping a watch on it of course.

A few minutes after that, we're sitting in the living room, reading, when we hear strange sounds from the side of the house. Loud, scrambling scratching sounds. It sounded close to the sound a cat makes when it scratches its claws on wood. I had a fleeting thought it was one of our cats outside scratching on the side of the house, which has never happened, and, that would be one huge cat to make such a loud noise.

Then we hear something falling down the chimney and into our fireplace. Yep, a squirrel! Fortunately for us we have a wood stove insert, and the squirrel can't get out into the house. But the poor thing is stuck inside, terrified of course, and we're sitting here listening to its frantic scrambling. We wouldn't try to do anything ourselves; Jim can't afford to get bit or scratched, we have four cats, and the last thing I want in this crazy house of ours is a loose squirrel running around.

I've called Willamette Wildlife Rehabilitation and left messages. Our neighbor tells us they respond no matter what the hour or day of the week so we're hoping they call us back soon.

This is not the first time this has happened; a squirrel fell down our chimney a few years ago. Jim climbed up on the roof and put a cap on the chimney at the time. We've had a few storms and snow so no doubt things got out of alignment up there.

Superbowl Sunday. Not that I care about that, I don't, not one bit, but Jim does, (as I realize half of America) and all he wanted to do was relax and watch the game. Poor sweetie.

image: courtesy of Public Domain Image.

The OWL

The owl, as Forteans know, makes its appearance in various ways within UFO-alien abduction-high strangeness events and occult, para-political conspiracy themes.  Sometimes the owl appears to a witness of the anomalous as what it is: a bird, but. . . is it? Behind the owl there seems to be something else; an alien, an entity. Is the alien pretending to be an owl, appearing as an owl, or using the owl as familiar? Is the image of the owl projected; beamed to the human, as a tool to lull the human into a hypnotic state?

The owl, as a symbol, appears in conspiracies. The owl is on the dollar bill, and it figures strongly within the Bohemian Grove's rites; in these contexts, the owl represents hidden knowledge available to the few -- and privileged.

In a reversal mode, the owl is also a symbol of high skepticism to the point of ridiculous debunkery. Uber skeptic Joe Nickell has used the owl to "prove" that Mothman, the Kelly Hopkinville entities, and the Flatwoods Monster were simply owls. At least three seperate articles have been written by Nickell, where he details his anyalises of these very different (as to content, time and location) events, yet offers up the same solution: owls.

The television Twin Peaks (created by David Lynch)  acknowledged the esoteric imagery of the owl in what is now a cult classic line: "The owls are not what they seem."



Currently, AMC is airing its new series Rubicon, which is about a spy type think tank. Not exactly CIA, NSA, etc. but a department housed in a funky, run down old building that analyzes and reports on global political doings and individuals. Recent accidental deaths and suicides of Rubicon department heads and power mongers are how the main character, brilliant but naive in many ways, ends up as the new boss of his team. He's suspicious of the death of his boss, and begins looking into things. Soon, he's also being messed with. A small figure of an owl, found among the deceased belongings, appeals to and he puts it on his desk. There it sits, as a symbol of the conspiracy ("Who do we work for?" he asks his boss, who is either a mentor, or an enemy -- time will tell) swirling around him. Beyond the metaphoric meaning of the owl, this owl also serves a utilitarian purpose: within its base, someone has placed a bug in order to listen in to our hero in his office. The bug is discovered but is left within, later, he checks on it to find it's gone during a FBI lock down, only to discover the bug has been put back when they leave.

Sharktopus! On SyFy

 I cannot wait for this to air on SyFy. Produced by Roger Corman, looks campy, looks great. No air date, trailer just says "Coming Soon." WHEN, Syfy Channel, when?

"Ten Worst SyFy Movie Clips"

Giant bugs, giant snakes, giant ocotpi, giant sharks. I think my favorite is Dinoshark. It flies!

The Outer Limits: "Tourist Attraction"

My first post here was a short item on the "pink handfish" and I used the image of the fish like creature from the Outer Limits episode "Tourist Attraction," which aired in December of 1963. In Tourist Attraction, a marine biologist and wealthy adventurer bring back something from the deep. . .

This clip has commercials, sorry for that. 

I loved that show as a kid, and this was one of my favorite episodes. So here it is:

Pink Handfish: "Handfish" Species on Verge of Extinction

The pink handfish looks like something out of the classic television series The Outer Limits, but it's an actual fish, along with thirteen other types of creatures called handfish: Fish with Hands Discovered, But Species Face Extinction.