Mar 7, 2010 0
Mac Tonnies posthumous book The Cryptoterrestrials: A Meditation on Indigenous Humanoids and the Aliens Among Us is out from Anomalist Books.
I would have loved to interview Mac on this occasion. Seeing that the book is out makes me sad all over again. I look forward to reading it very much.
There’s also a new Mac Tonnies tribute site up.
Dec 24, 2009 0
According to the last order by Federal Aviation Administration—issued on December 10—BAASS is now the organization to contact if you are a pilot or an air traffic controller who gets close to an Unidentified Flying Object:
“Persons wanting to report UFO/unexplained phenomena activity should contact a UFO/ unex plained phenomena reporting data collection center, such as Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) (voice: 1-877-979-7444 or e-mail: Reporting@baass.org)”
Gizmodo: Federal Aviation Administration Officially Says Who to Call After UFO Contact
(via Brainsturbator)
Oct 23, 2009 4
I was just catching up on tweets and learned, via Captain Marrrk, that Mac Tonnies has passed away. I’m in shock. This is just so sad:
Nick just called to tell me that our friend and colleague Mac Tonnies was found in his apartment this (Thursday) afternoon, apparently dead of natural causes. There was no evidence of foul play or suicide according to a close friend.
It is hard to find the right words to describe my feelings at this moment.
The last time we talked was just after his appearance on Coast To Coast on September 28th. He asked if I thought he had done a good job. I said he hit one over the fence. Tentatively, I asked if he would consider collaborating on a fiction project, and he liked the idea. Now, I don’t really know what to do or say.
The manuscript of Mac’s last book was apparently complete and ready to be delivered to the publisher.
Nick will have his feelings and more details to follow, but Mac’s family have been informed, and we wanted to get the news out to people who either knew Mac, or were inspired by his original and highly intelligent contributions to the study of UFOs and other anomalies, as well as many aspects of leading-edge science and technology.
Just an indescribable loss. In the next day or so, perhaps I’ll have more to say.
From: UFO Mystic: Mac Tonnies Gone
Update: Some info about Mac’s heart problems
Aug 20, 2009 1
As part of the upcoming Aqua Metropolis festival in Osaka, engineering firm NTT Facilities has developed a pair of solar-powered, UFO-shaped floating water purifiers that will be deployed in the city’s canals and in the moat at Osaka Castle.
Pink Tentacle: ‘Solar UFO’ water cleaners afloat in Osaka canals
Jul 28, 2009 4
Above is a illustration from the December 23, 1893 edition of the Ottawa Journal’s reprint of HG Wells’s article ” The Man of the Year Million.” It may be the first visual representation of the famous “Greys.” The first description, however, may belong to Kenneth Folingsby, who wrote about a race of evolved beings in Meda: A Tale of the Future.
Iron Skeptic: A Media History of Gray Aliens
This makes an excellent companion to my Evolution of the Mutant in Popular Culture.
I will echo the comment from the bottom of that page that points out that there were many other representations of aliens in popular culture. The Grey-esque images the author links to sound relatively obscure compared to other portrayals by the time Grey sitings became popular.
A few questions:
1. Are there any older portrayals of “Grey-esque” creatures – in, for example, ancient tribal art?
2. When did accounts of Greys become particularly popular?
3. What is the likelihood that the earliest reporters of Greys had seen stuff like Amazing Tales covers?
FWIW, I like Douglas Rushkoff’s hypothesis from Playing the Future: the archetypal image of the Greys comes from the human fetus, and both their appearance and alien abduction phenomena correlate with the increased public debate over abortion.
Jun 10, 2009 0
The 2009 crop circle ’season’ started with abundance and now looks set to bring a summer of circles to Britain’s fields.
Whether made by human hands or an altogether different life form, no less than 20 formations have been spotted since the season began in April. This week alone two huge designs have mysteriously surfaced.
An intricate 150ft dragonfly appeared in a barley field near Yatesbury, Wiltshire, just days after a jellyfish design was cut into crops in Oxfordshire.
(via Electric Children)
Jun 3, 2009 5
It’s worth noting (mainly because few have bothered to note it, or to understand and appreciate the significance of the matter) that one of the “Recommendations” of a lengthy Technical Report prepared by the Air Force’s flying saucer study, Project Grudge, way back in August 1949, states: “That Psychological Warfare Division and other governmental agencies interested in psychological warfare be informed of the results of this study.”
The Department of Defense’s official definition of psychological warfare is: “The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives.”
As the above Grudge revelations show, way back when in the formative years of Ufology, certain players were looking to understand how the subject could be used psychologically.
UFO Mystic: Crashed UFOs? Probably Not…
(via Mac)
Dec 30, 2008 0
Richard: Human beings seem to find it hard enough to get on with other humans, never mind post-humans. What sort of relationship do you think will exist between us and post-humans? Will they be our slaves or will we be their pets?
Mac Tonnies: Neither. A posthuman civilization will probably have enough to think about without harassing its neighbors — especially if they pose no threat. When I see the Amish, I’m tempted to speculate along similar lines. Almost invariably, some of us will eschew transhumanism for various philosophical or metaphysical reasons, but that doesn’t necessarily entail antagonism or hostility.
Dec 29, 2008 2
The Israeli branch of the UFO centred movement known as the Raelians was planning something special to commemorate ‘World Orgasm Day’, a huge orgy in downtown Tel Aviv, the largest city in Israel. The event was going to attract at least 250 participants of all sexual orientations: Straight, bisexual, gay and lesbian and was meant to make a powerful and highly relevant statement in this most troubled part of the world: that it is far better to make love rather than war. Sadly however the organisers have been forced to cancel this year’s event due to numerous violent threats made towards both the movement and the venue. The threats are believed to come from ultra-orthodox Jews who feel such celebrations violate the sanctity of the Holy Land and go against the morality of Judaism.
(via Jon Lebkowsky)
Dec 20, 2008 1
They were getting completely behind their product, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, by ramping up a viral advertising campaign that would draw the public into their show. With the right public momentum, the gimmick would have netted them some serious press coverage and ratings. But the project got snuffed when the writers’ strike hit. That pushed back the airing date of this mid-season finale episode, and Fox moved on. In their wake, they forgot to let on about it and left the hundreds of UFO-ologists spinning up hundreds of thousands of hours combing over the Drones evidence and tossing out their conjectures. [...]
Did Fox perpetrate the viral ad gone south, or did they take advantage of something that is out in the public domain and made it their own, risking possible legal issues?
(Thanks Trevor)
Nov 27, 2008 6
After Trevor Blake showed us Drone’s “Strange Craft” video, my girlfriend went digging for more information on the dragonfly drone UFOs. Here’s what she found out:
it started off as several videos and photographs in big basin, CA, lake tahoe, and alabama. two similar impressive and otherworldly crafts were supposedly seen by several different eyewitnesses. the main witness spreading info in the UFO community was a mysterious guy named “raji”. well, when more and more people tried to contact raji, he disappeared.
internet forums blew up as a guy named isaac started posting about the crafts, and supposed official CARET documents.
isaac’s info however, did not hold up against internet forum scrutiny. posters shared that the computer company alienware had announced a contest that required entrants to crack an alien code; and the code was the exact code on the CARET documents.
Nov 24, 2008 1
Susan Wright writes science fiction novels and nonfiction books on art and popular culture. New York City is her home, where she lives with her husband Kelly Beaton. After graduating from Arizona State University in 1986, Susan moved to Manhattan to get her masters in Art History from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. Susan is currently the Spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, a national organization committed to protecting freedom of sexual expression among consenting adults.
TiamatsVision- For those unfamiliar with you and your work, tell us a bit about yourself.
Susan Wright- I’ve written over 25 novels and nonfiction books on art and popular culture. Right after I got my masters in art history from New York University, instead of becoming a professor as I had intended, I started writing. I was lucky enough to get an agent and in 1994, I published my first Star Trek novel, “Sins of Commission”. I wrote 9 Star Trek novels in all, and I have a new story in the Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows anthology coming out in January, 2009 called “Bitter Fruit”.
I’m also the spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. I talk to the media about BDSM, swinging and polyamory to debunk stereotypes and defend our communities’ right to hold events. NCSF is a great organization, the only one devoted to helping people in need. The website is www.ncsfreedom.org
TiamatsVision- You recently released a book called “A Pound of Flesh” which is a sequel to “To Serve and Submit” . What is this series about and what was your inspiration in writing it?
Susan Wright- These two books are about pleasure training houses in the 11th century – Viking sex! In “To Serve and Submit” , Marja is a submissive heroine who learns through her battles to save her homeland how to use her true nature to become a powerful woman. She falls in love with her master, Lexander. I got the idea from artifacts found in Newfoundland of Viking settlements, and I imagined what would that society be like if it had flourished. I knew the first “new world” settlement would include Native Americans as well as Vikings. Marja’s mother is a Skraeling and her father is Nordic so she straddles those worlds.
In “A Pound of Flesh” , Marja travels to Europe to save the slaves from the pleasure houses, but she has to fight Lexander, her former master and lover, to do it. I loved writing the BDSM scenes in this book because I think it makes the sex more creative – they aren’t the typical love scene. I have much more ability to move the story along during these scenes because the interactions are more intense.
TiamatsVision- Did you have to do any special research for this series?
Susan Wright- LOL! I found the leather community in New York City in 1991 and have been thoroughly involved ever since. So the BDSM is a completely natural expression for me.
For the Viking and real-world building, yes I did a tremendous amount of research. I also benefited because I studied art history for 7 years with an emphasis on the Middle Ages so I have a strong grounding in medieval societies.
TiamatsVision- Are there any future books planned for this series?
Susan Wright- Yes, but my editor left Roc and the future of this series is in doubt. At some point, however, I will return to Marja and Lexander’s story. They will go to Tantalis to deal directly with Lexander’s people who are enslaving poor misfortunates into their pleasure houses.
Jun 19, 2008 1
The formation, measuring 150ft in diameter, is apparently a coded image representing the first 10 digits, 3.141592654, of pi.
It is has appeared in a field near Barbury Castle, an iron-age hill fort above Wroughton, Wilts, and has been described by astrophysicists as “mind-boggling”.
Michael Reed, an astrophysicist, said: “The tenth digit has even been correctly rounded up. The little dot near the centre is the decimal point.
See also: Crop Circles in South Korea 2008
(via Cabinet of Wonders)
Feb 25, 2008 3
Waiting for Nesara is a documentary about “a group of ex-Mormons awaiting the announcement of a secret law which they believe will abolish the IRS, remove George Bush from office, expose him as a reptilian alien, and install a UFO-flying Jesus Christ as America’s new leader.”
(Originally via Post Atomic, reminded by Trevor).
Feb 20, 2008 4
“The Raelians have championed some strange causes in the movement’s 25-year history, including aliens and human clones, but now they are going to bat for a body part — the clitoris. The cult’s leader, Rael, whose real name is Claude Vorilhon, has become outraged by the custom of female genital cutting, the primarily African practice in which part of a girl’s genitalia is sliced away.
Now the Raelian Movement has resolved to build a hospital in the West African country of Burkina Faso, where women could come to have their clitorises “reconstructed.” “Rael thought this is a crime against humanity,” says Lara Terstenjak, a spokeswoman for Clitoraid, a nonprofit set up by the Raelians to sponsor genital surgeries.”
(via Wired)
Feb 1, 2008 0
According to the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, actor Wesley Snipes was “found not guilty of federal tax-fraud and conspiracy charges Friday, but was convicted on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file a tax return”. Looking into this a bit further, I found an article which states that he “appears to have associated himself with not one but two radical extremist groups, each with a long history of criminal activity. In addition to being advised by Eddie Ray Kahn (pronounced “Kane”), an IRS antagonist since 2000, Snipes appears to own a fraudulent trust of the sort that recently earned anti-tax activist Arthur Farnsworth a conviction for tax evasion (he is scheduled to be sentenced in Pennsylvania later this month). It’s not the best company to be keeping if one seeks to maintain good standing with the U.S. government. But what makes the case truly bizarre is the anti-tax movement’s deep association with anti-Semites and white supremacists.”
It is also rumored that he has ties to a “bizarre Georgia-based black nationalist cult, the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors-an apocalyptic organization that preaches a ripped-from-the-X Files m?lange of UFO lore, Egyptian mythology, Afrocentrism, and conspiracy theory. The group is led by self-styled prophet Dwight “Malachi” York, who in 2004 was sentenced to 135 years in prison for a litany of convictions including tax evasion and the sexual abuse of more than a dozen children of his disciples.”
How did he become associated with two different groups with radically different views? They found something in common. The anti-tax movement.
(via Radar)
Jan 28, 2008 0
I’ve read a couple of biographies of Jack Parsons, and I find the the idea of Parsons contacting an alien entity through the Babalon Working fascinating. IMO, he was trying to create a “Magickal Child”. An extension of oneself; a “being” that contain aspects that surpass most of those currently known to (wo)men that roam the earth at the present time. Although the idea that this “being” could be an “extraterrestrial” intrigues me, it also makes me question it that much more. (And yes, I’m familiar with Kenneth Grant and the ideas of the Typhonian OTO). Personally, I’ve always considered Aiwass (Crowley’s channeled “being”) to be an extension of Crowley’s Self and look at the “Book of The Law” as a prophecy. Take a look around you. Is not what’s written there visible and all around us right now? If you really think about it, the ideas in themselves can be interpreted in just about any way you want. Here’s an article looking at Parson’s and L.R. Hubbard’s workings in a different light:
“Well it is all fun and games for the Scientologists at the moment with the video controversy (apparently leading to hacking attacks on their site), the lurid claims of the Andrew Morton’s book and increasing hostility with the Germans. So I want to take a step back and look again at the odd links between them the occult, UFOs and the Navy, as The UFO Iconoclast(s) which makes a number of interesting statements:
(via Cabinet Of Wonders)
Recent Comments