Shatner's Weird or What? on the SyFy Channel

I'm always up for a paranormal themed show, but, always, have to remind myself: it's really, in the end, all just para-tainment. Nothing deep and certainly nothing that is true shall be revealed.

And, most of these shows (with some rare exceptions) have the need to include skeptics debunkers -- for, as they'll tell us, "balance." In reality, these so-called skeptics assume much in their expected snarky ways, or re-enact paranormal events in order to "prove" such things don't exist. As if, my painting of a pear proves pears don't exist -- after all, I re-created it, didn't I?

It's always fun to watch Shatner, whether it's vintage Star Trek television episodes, reruns of Boston Legal . . . that's a given, that it's fun to watch Shatner.

So what do I think about his latest venture, Weird or What? Not quite sure yet, but I find myself after watching two episodes, irritated. Debunkers, silly stuff in the kitchen to underscore the episode's theme,  and no meaty conclusions at the end. In other words, typical of Sy Fy, as well as shows of this genre in general.

I haven't given up yet however. If you're a UFO-paranormal-Fortean nerd like I am, you might find Weird or What mildly entertaining in a guilty sort of way, like indulging in some kind of yummy creamy dessert you know you really shouldn't have. Maybe.

Chase Brandon of the CIA | Future Theater

Bill and Nancy Birnes (of TV's UFO Hunters as well as UFO Magazine) hosts will interview Chase Bradon on tonight's Future Theater podcast. Hmmm, I want to sigh and say "oy" but I love Bill and Nancy and so, we'll just have to find out! Chase Brandon of the CIA | Future Theater

Nancy Red Star

Press release arrived, passing it along:

http://www.nancyredstar.com/content.htm

Show airs live Monday August 6 th 1:00 pm cst
To listen click the arrow on the link belowhttp://www.paranormalpalace.com

Nancy Red Star descends from Redman/Parker/Vann/Mathews Cherokee bloodlines on her mother's side . She is the author of the Star Ancestors Trilogy (Inner Traditions/Bear & Co., 2000-03-05, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Germany) and Life With a Cosmos Clearance (Light Technology Publishing,Inc., 2003) and UFOs- No threat, Official Eyewitness Testimony (Light Technology Publishing, Inc., 2005-2006). In 2005~ Red Star became the Executive Producer, writer and host of her upcoming Feature Documentary entitled, Star Ancestors which is slated for theatrical release and worldwide TV distribution in the winter of 2011.
Red Star directs Willow Spirit Productions, LLC which was created for the purpose of documenting and distributing the archives of the testimony of world Indigenous peoples and select members of the Industrial Military Complex. Red Star has created a library of Text/ Audio/ Video support documentation for educational Seminars, Lectures and Workshops around the globe. She has been written about in numerous magazines including: Nexus, UFO Magazine, FATE, New York Magazine, ELLE, Shamans Drum, Majical Blend and more.
Red Star is a headliner at speaking engagements that have included the International UFO Congress, Conspiracy Con Conference, Santa Clara, CA, World Universal Expo, the Roswell Museum, Orange County MUFON, The Aztec UFO Symposium, Omega Institute, and she has appeared on Coast to Coast, Whitley Strieber, South African Radio, KRZA Hawaii, CONTACT Talk Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio and Atlantis Rising.

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Chris Carter on Coast to Coast Tonight

Chris Carter is an Oxford graduate, pretty cool. Did not know that. He's the guest during the second half of C2C tonight, where he'll talk about haunted castles, and "parapsychology's struggle for legitimacy":<a href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/">Home - Coast to Coast AM</a>

From Ghost Hunting Theories: Most Notable Paranormal Shows Ever

Ghost Hunting Theories blog lists her top paranormal shows: Ghost Hunting Theories: Most Notable Paranormal Shows Ever Glad she included UFO Hunters! Some of her picks I agree with, others not, but read her choices for yourselves and see what you think!

From Ghost Hunting Theories: Ghost Adventures Drinking Game!

Friday night brings us Ghost Adventures, a show I like in spite of myself, and Dead Files, both on the Travel channel. Great night for paranormal Fortean junkies like myself. (There's also Grimm and Fringe, though I think the season is over for Fringe and new ones won't be back for awhile.) One of the things I like about Ghost Adventures is their use of different types of equipment, which Autumn Forest at Ghost Hunting Theories mentions here in a funny post about watching GA and the drinking game: Ghost Hunting Theories: Ghost Adventures Drinking Game!

Torchwood Trailer: New Season/Incarnation

Thanks to UFO Casebook Frontier for this: trailer for the new "season" of Torchwood, the best, or at least, among the best (Fringe, X-Files and the original Outer Limits sharing the category) sci-fi/UFO/alien/paranormal shows. Torchwood, for those that don't know, is was a BBC program that aired on the BBC America channel. The last story arc was Children of Earth, absolutely the best story of the genre. If you haven't seen Children of Earth, make sure you do! The Torchwood series has been bought by STARZ, and will air Fridays starting in August. Many of the original characters are gone, but Captain Jack and Gwen are back, and they are the two main characters; without them, I don't know how it could really be Torchwood.
ALIEN, UFO CASEBOOK 'FRONTIER': Torchwood: Miracle Day - Trailer

Book Review: Insight

I just finished reading Insight, the young adult/juvenile fiction novel by Diana Greenwood. When I agreed to review the book I hadn't realized it is a "Christian" novel. I normally wouldn't read something in that category, but, I was sent the book and so I read it. I'm glad I did.

Insight is, first of all, well written, keeping within the classic coming of age genre. "Vira," (Elvira) the young girl, struggles with an emotionally distant mother and grandmother, and the disappearance of her father in late 1940s America.  Reasons for these: the fighting and hardness of mother and grandmother, the absent father, are due to many factors, including alcoholism and poverty.  And then, a sibling comes along, one who has psychic abilities that changes the direction of this emotionally damaged family.

Vira's mother decides to move across the country, and it is during this move that Vira discovers many things about not only herself, but her mother and grandmother. Throughout, Vira grieves for her father and the guilt she suffers surrounding his disappearance. 

Vira's sister continues to startle her family and those around her with her abrupt visions, culminating in what I found to be an unexpected yet satisfying end. The ending is a realistic one, and the term "realistic" might seem odd given the aura of supernatural presences, yet Greenwood weaves together the everydayness of life with something "other" in a seamless and satisfying way.

The Christian message is a universal one: the power of love and forgiveness. I am not a Christian, but I can't argue with that message at all. There isn't any preachiness or over the top fundamentalist religious message in this book.

Insight is a good read, and a good story. If you're not inclined to read religious type books don't let that stop you from reading Insight.

My Review of Sali Shepherd Wolford's Valley of the Skookum

I loved this book, couldn't put it down. Sali Sheppard-Wolford is mother to Bigfoot researcher  and author Autumn Williams, whose<u> Enoch</u> is fantastic. More on that book later. Meanwhile, enjoy! (You can also read the review at Amazon.com)

Valley of the Skookum: Four Years of Encounters With Bigfoot (Paperback) 

I started reading Sali Sheppard-Wolford's Valley of the Skookum, and I couldn't put it down. I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. reading it, almost getting to the end but not quite, and finished it the next day. (Sali Sheppard-Wolford is mother to Bigfoot researcher Autumn Williams. )


I expected to find the book interesting, but had no idea I would be so drawn to it. And I'm not sure why I felt such a strong connection and a familiarity with the topic as I was reading the book. Part of that connection might be due to Sali's writing style, simple and honest, a personal narrative of highly strange experiences. Sali writes about her years living in a remote place in Washington, with her young children, including Autumn, who was the youngest, staying at home with her mother during the day. Sali (and eventually the entire family) encounter Bigfoot, along with many other high strangeness events, including UFOs and orbs of light.


There's a beauty to this story and I can't put my finger on it. As I said, there was an echo of something that kept tugging at me. That aside, her experiences, while unique, do parallel other "LTW" (long term witnesses, as Autumn Williams calls them) of `paranormal" Bigfoot encounters.


This isn't fiction. This could be seen as a bold statement, after all, all this supernatural Bigfoot stuff causes so many researchers to gnash their teeth at the very thought of such things. But there are only two possibilities: one, she's lying. Or two, she's not. I don't think she's lying, so she's telling the truth. I choose to believe she's telling the truth. For one thing, her narrative style rings true. For another, as unbelievable as it may sound to some, her story isn't an isolated one. There are other witnesses out there with strange tales involving "high strangeness" Bigfoot encounters. Bigfoot researcher Autumn Williams (her daughter, and author of the Bigfoot book Enoch) saw Sasquatch when she was a child, confirming Sali's account. And lastly, I had the pleasure of seeing Sali Sheppard-Wolford give her presentation at the recent Oregon Sasquatch Symposium (which was a great conference all around) and it is clear Shepherd-Wolford is telling the truth.

pastel oil sketch of orange orb seen on Lorane Hwy, Eugene, OR

One of the things Sali writes about are orange orbs seen by herself and witnesses in the area. At times they're described as "basket ball sized" and when I read that, I almost fell off the bed. I've been collecting sighting reports of orange orbs for some time, and often they're orange "orbs" that are really pinpoints, or star sized, orange lights. The orange orb I saw so many years ago here in Oregon can be described as "basket ball sized." 

Impossible to know if these were the same kind of lights, or if the orbs in Sali Shepherd-Woolford's book have anything to do with Bigfoot. It's possible they do, it's possible the area is full of energy that caused these things to occur. Keep in mind that when I say "UFO" it doesn't mean flying saucer (necessarily.) In this context, I don't think they were. Of course, I wasn't there.


It is a fantastic story. And it may all seem a little much; psychic traits, psychic vampirism or energy drains, UFOs, MIBS, and Bigfoot. Sounds like a cheesy sci fi movie. As impossible as it may sound to some, there are people who've experienced these things. I know, because I know some of these people myself, and I've experienced a lot of these things myself.


It's a simple, honest and beautiful book. 

Stephen Wagner's Paranormal Phenomena: Write a Review

Here's your chance to write a review of your favorite, or worst, paranormal TV show. Stephen Wagner, at About.com's Paranormal Phenomena, invites you to contribute. Go <a href="http://paranormal.about.com/b/2010/11/19/write-a-review-the-best-and-worst-paranormal-tv-shows.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">here for more.</a>