X-ZONE Podcast Appearance

This Wednesday night, November 26, I'll be on Rob McConnell's X-Zone podcast. You can find out more here.

"Old" UFO Clips

From YouTube, a collection of "old" ufo clips. Not all are dated, and some are from the 1990s, but some are earlier.

Pre-1947 UFO From Popular Mechanics

Here's a great cover from Popular Mechanics, about pre-1947 UFOs.

19th Century UFO Synchronicity

In Darklore II, Theo Paijmans writes about 19th century UFO sightings. Yes, that's 19th century.

In a bit of UFO synchronicity, I was searching for something I had written about UFO researcher (and professional musician) Gordon Kaswell, (Gordon Kaswell on Skepticism) who lives in Eugene. Reading over a blog post I had written -- actually, a post Gordon had written about skeptics that I put up on my blog The Orange Orb -- I found that a blog had linked to that piece with an entry titled "Why I Love Eugene." Apparently that person knew Gordon also, and had posted about running into him in town; where, Gordon proceeded to tell this person about UFO sightings in the 1800s.

And overall, I've been thinking about Venusians, UFO sightings and encounters in the 1800s lately, probably inspired by my husband's recent rediscovery of Tesla, this time with a flying saucer persceptive. We also have the British release of photos of UFOs, some going back that far.

Frank Strangeness, UFO author of classic vintage UFOlogy, has passed. Strangeness is probably most known for his book Stranger at the Pentagon, about Valiant Thor, the Venusian. You can read more from Greg Bishop over at his blog UFO Mystic.

I remember reading Stranger at the Pentagon in my teens; not knowing quite what to make of it, but enjoying it immensely.

Vintage Space Babies in Space

I don't know if this is wrapping paper or material, or bedsheets or what, but it's cute and typically space-retro!

1897: A Trip to Venus

This is from the book A Trip to Venus, by John Munro, written in 1897.
You can read the book on-line for free, or download it, at the Project Gutenburg site. A fantastic site by the way, that offers thousands of books in the public domain.

"What strikes you as the likeliest of these notions?"

"Mountain peaks catching the sunshine."

"Might it not be the glare of a city, or a powerful search-light--in
short, a signal?"

"Oh dear, no," exclaimed the astronomer, smiling incredulously. "The
idea of signalling has got into people's heads through the outcry raised
about it some time ago, when Mars was in 'opposition' and near the
earth. I suppose you are thinking of the plan for raising and lowering
the lights of London to attract the notice of the Martians?"

"No; I believe I told you of the singular experience I had some five or
six years ago with an old astronomer, who thought he had established an
optical telegraph to Mars?"

"Oh, yes, I remember now. Ah, that poor old chap was insane. Like the
astronomer in _Rasselas_, he had brooded so long in solitude over his
visionary idea that he had come to imagine it a reality."

"Might there not be some truth in his notion? Perhaps he was only a
little before his time."

Gazen shook his head.

"You see," he replied, "Mars is a much older planet than ours. In winter
the Arctic snows extend to within forty degrees of the equator, and the
climate must be very cold. If human beings ever existed on it they must
have died out long ago, or sunk to the condition of the Eskimo."

That last line is, unfortunately, is an example of the common idea of man's whiteness supreme over all, but, there you go.

Tim Beckley on Coast to Coast

Timothy Beckley, Mr. UFO himself, will be on Coast to Coast this Wednesday night, the 12th.

Legend Tripping with Iowa’s Black Angel and Mothman

I have a new item up on my blog Mothman Flutterings: Legend Tripping with Iowa’s Black Angel and Mothman

Where else would they be from?

Nick Redfern on Beckley's "Strange Saga"

Nick Redfern reviews Tim (Mr. UFO) Beckley's 'Strange Saga' on UFO Mystic.
Here's what Nick writes about the book and how it was in the good old days of UFO chasing:

It’s clear from what Beckley has to say that the world of Ufology back then was very different to that of today. For a start, it still possessed a sense of humor and wasn’t full of pompous, self-important ufologists (or there were certainly less of them, at least!). And the subject was full of something else too: characters.

I like that. So many full of themselves twits out there today, and that's within UFOlogy; forget about the usual uber sketpics and debunkers.

I was fortunate enough to have Tim Beckley send me a treasure trove of books as well; and his books, as well as his newsletter, are worth reading, espeically for "UFO buffs."