Are We Alone? - 2014

Next week (the first full week of March), is Science Channel’s (SCI) Are We Alone Week, featuring new episodes of shows like Close Encounters and NASA’s Unexplained Files (with breaks for some of their other shows late night to early morning).

It’s a good question, isn’t it? A lot of religious people will tell you the universe is nothing more than a glorious backdrop for us, devoid of life. However the sacred texts generally do not seem to indicate one way or another. If you want one that does, there’s always Scientology, but… well, here’s a quote from Wikipedia:

“In the OT levels, Hubbard explains how to reverse the effects of past-life trauma patterns that supposedly extend millions of years into the past.[132] Among these advanced teachings is the story of Xenu (sometimes Xemu), introduced as the tyrant ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy". According to this story, 75 million years ago Xenu brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and detonated hydrogen bombs in the volcanoes. The thetans then clustered together, stuck to the bodies of the living, and continue to do this today. Scientologists at advanced levels place considerable emphasis on isolating body thetans and neutralizing their ill effects.”

Personally, I find it egotistical to presume that a divine being wouldn’t feel free to create other worlds. Of course, I’ve created a lot of neighborhoods on the SIMs and come to the conclusion that I’d make sucky god. But basing a focused attention theory on that, would be treating god(s) like Schrödinger’s cat.

(If you didn’t get that last reference, the cat goes in a box, look it up.)

For a non-theological look at the question, might I suggest looking at the Drake Equation? Using the equation, you can change different variables to effect the resulting number of interstellar communication ready civilizations. There’s a few calculators for it online, which takes out most of the work, allowing you to focus on your speculative decisions (however it’s not a particularly had equation to solve yourself, there’s just several steps).

Perhaps even the sheer number of UFO reports should be convincing that there’s life somewhere else in the universe? Even if it is unevenly distributed?

(This is a screenshot of MUFON’s UFO Stalker interactive map, taken on 2014 January 17. Note the typical large cluster of UFO sightings over lower Florida. )

Well, what do you think? Is there other life out there, or are we alone?

Clever Kraken

Hey everybody, as you may know, I’m an artist. I make jewelry, paint, sew, and other things, so I’ve recently decided to open a shop on Etsy.

I promise not to constantly bombard you here with this, but rather I do plan to occasionally mention when I’ve added something of paranormal or mythical significance. Currently of interest are items such as the Mythical Unicorn pouch and Evil Eye Guard bracelet.

Anyways, if you’re interested in having a look, here’s the link:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CleverKraken

Bigger in Texas - Batsquatch

You’ve probably heard it before, everything is bigger in Texas. Well, it appears to apply to cryptids as well. I’ve already commented on how Texas seems to have it’s own version of Chupacabra, but it also seems to have it’s own version of Sasquatch, the infamous Batsquatch! Batsquatch is basically a Sasquatch with bat-like wings and a bad attitude. At least he was, according to Monsters and Mysteries in America, it was only seen there for 2 months.

However further research, really even just a quick web search, will reveal that the name Batsquatch is more closely associated with Washington, where it is apparently associated with the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens, the same way the Mothman is associated with the Silver Bridge collapse. There’s even a dubious picture that looks like a bat suit free-fall jumper photographed with an out of date cell phone, or possibly just an out of focus moth:
http://cryptidz.wikia.com/wiki/Batsquatch

Furthermore, Texans can’t even agree that it was Batsquatch. Some describe it as having bird-like wings and talons, earning it the cute name Big Bird. Other witnesses describe it as a possible pterodactyl! Which would make it in essence a Thunder Bird, yes?

MUFON’s Jan 2014 Statistics

MUFON’s statistics for Jan 2014 were just released to it’s eMail subscribers. And well, they’re kind of suspicious. Out of 747 UFO reports; 639 took place in the USA, followed by 26 in Canada, and 19 in the United Kingdom. Now the USA is a big place, and this trend would look to represent the areas of the world where tech and the English language are commonly spoken, until you scroll down to Japan’s 1 sighting, and realize that Peru has 4. While speaking English may be slightly more prevalent in Peru, much Japan’s younger generation has been taught English and it’s ahead in the area of technology. I can’t say for sure what that means, but I suspect it’s partially cultural, as is the case with many paranormal subjects.

California was also the most popular state for extra terrestrial visitors, followed by Texas and Florida. Florida being in the top three does not surprise me in the slightest, seeing as every time I visit the MUFON map I see a cluster of UFOs over Miami. Texas is a big place, so the disproportion there is perfectly understandable, but California? I can’t say I’m surprised, but I can’t explain it properly at the same time. Surprisingly New Mexico, the location of the best known UFO related event, only had 7 sightings.

Oh, and 7 people out of 747, were apparently at sea, in space, or just didn’t bother to report their location.

You can visit MUFON’s site yourself at: http://mufon.com/

Orion

Yesterday, approximately 2/3 of the US was covered in snow. Here in the Northwest, it was due to winter storm Orion. If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because it’s the name of one of the most commonly recognized constellations in the night sky. It takes it’s name from Greek Mythology, in which the goddess Artemis places his and his hunting dog’s images in the sky after his death. There’s some discrepancy as to how he died however, as in some tales Artemis is tricked into killing him, and in others he’s killed by Scorpio, the giant scorpion.

Some theorize that the Ancient Egyptian pyramids at Giza are aligned to mirror Orion, with the Nile River filling in for the Milky Way. Some even believe it may have some relation to aliens having once visited Earth. Skepticism of course, abounds, in both the accuracy of the alignment, and the exclusion of the rest of the stars in the Orion constellation, particularly the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.

Neither argument concerns me, as I feel both of these are easily explained. First, humans built the pyramids (and all the other monuments Ancient Aliens refuses to attribute to man), they’re not perfect, but they’re pretty damn good considering the limitations of technology at the time. And, furthermore, we know that the positioning of the stars in the constellation may have drifted over time.

Second, while these stars are seen and recognized all over the world, they are not always seen as the hunter Orion. For example; in Japan, Orion is seen as two overlapping constellations, a row of three new years cups (Orion’s belt), and two samurai preparing for battle (Betelgeuse and Rigel). Likewise, the Ancient Egyptians saw the belt stars alone as the god Osiris, representing them as a vertical line rather than a horizontal one. You can see a diagram on this site:
http://www.moses-egypt.net/star-map/senmut1-mapdate_en.asp

Therefore, is perfectly reasonable that three large monuments to the dead could be aligned to represent the god of the afterlife. Well, there we go. Nothing alien about it, but there may be a thread of truth in the theory after all.