I Know It's Pointless, But . . .

I was lurking on the James Randi forum, where there are several new threads about Bigfoot. Maybe sometime I'll get around to linking to them all, or at the least, posting the titles, but I got bored with that at around number 37. Anyway, while surfing through the threads over there, noticed a discussion on a combined thread on Sylvia Browne and Bigfoot. That's weird enough, but what got my attention was the blatant "people who believe in Bigfoot are nuts" refrain. Nothing new there of course. One poster commented that many otherwise smart, sane people for some reason believe Bigfoot exists, and this is baffling.

The skeptics go on about no proof, and lousy evidence. But I always wonder about the fact that people say they've seen a Bigfoot. Forget about proof; and just go with the anecdotal evidence. Relax, and listen. When someone you know is "sane," and "smart," and who knows damn well what a bear looks like, etc. and tells you they saw a Bigfoot -- what then? You have little choice here: the person has suddenly gone insane, or is lying. I suppose a third option would be a hoax; the poor witness was a victim of a prankster walking around in a Bigfoot suit. But at a certain point, the so-called rational explanations become irrational.

I know several witnesses who are average people, sane, smart, know the area, know the woods, and they've seen a Bigfoot. They're not lying. I doubt they're mentally unstable. And I also doubt that, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, someone decided to lug a Bigfoot suit out there and put it on just to scare them.

At some point, you have to have the intelligence to at least say "I don't know" instead of calling Bigfoot witnesses fruitcakes and losers.

NEW Bigfoot Thread on the JREF

Believe it or not, there's a new Bigfoot thread on the JREF: Is Bigfoot at the Top of the Food Chain? What, makes 31 threads now? About a creature they don't believe exists?

Feeling a Lack of Control? Bigfoot Can Help

This is my column for Tim Binnall's site week before last. I'm posting it here since it has to do with Bigfoot. My new TR column should be up sometime on Monday; it's about Mothman, animals and their awareness of the weird . . .

TRICKSTER'S REALM
Binnall of America

10.13.8
Feeling a Lack of Control? Bigfoot Can Help

News has been floating around the internet about a study done that concludes the following: if we're feeling out of control, we see things that aren't really there. Wait, it gets better. We see Bigfoot. And UFOs.

First, when I hear that someone is seeing something that isn't really there, I have to ask: how do you know it isn't there? The huge complicated subject of mental illness aside, it's terribly arrogant to assume that someone is seeing something that "isn't there" just because the other person can't see whatever it is that isn't there. Or is it. The tester didn't put the thing there, that's how they know it isn't "really there." Hmmm, maybe. It could still be there. Opens up all kinds of philosophical and esoteric possibilities.

As to seeing Bigfoot and UFOs, why would anyone see those things when they feel out of control? The theory is that seeing these things gives one purpose. Uh huh.

Let's see. I feel a lack of control in my life (hey, who doesn't? Unless you're independently wealthy and in excellent health, none of us are in control. Even with all that money and good health.) So I'm feeling wonky, depressed, maybe scared, even, and I see a Bigfoot, an eight foot or more, hairy/furry, smelly beast of unknown origin, and that's going to make me feel more in control? Who thinks of things like this?

UFOs are infamous for shape shifting. They come in all sizes, colors and shapes. They appear and disappear with astounding speed, almost magickal in their behavior. They're weird all right. They're unpredictable. So, feeling a lack of control in my life, I decide to see something that "isn't there" -- a UFO. And if I'm feeling a particular sense of a lack of control, I might see some aliens. Throwing in the towel altogether, I might even say I've been abducted. Don't blame it on my psycho boss, spouse, the kids, the government, but project all these things onto Bigfoot or UFOs.

Not to mention that all kinds of people, all ages, all walks of life, the world over, see these things.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Bigfoot really exists, that's why people keep seeing the things. UFOs are really here, they've been here for a very long time, and that's why people the world over keep seeing them.

What's contributing to this feeling of a lack of control over mundane issues is the media's and government's lack of responsibility when it comes to reporting these things.

"Seneca Sasquatch," Bigfoot, Mothman, TNT . . .

Now this is the kind of stuff that I love. Cryptomundo has a juicy Fortean post -- Seneca Sasquatch about Bigfoot in Seneca, Illinois, reports of which have been coming in for decades.These reports include sightings of Bigfoot swimming, among other things. But a most interesting fact is that a lot of the Bigfoot sightings take place in and around old Dupont (yes, that Dupont) TNT grounds, which shares a commonality with Mothman, who was seen hanging out in the TNT storage mounds in Pt. Pleasant. Coleman reports:

Now, as everyone knows, the reports of Mothman and Bigfoot, as well as other weird events, around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, were mostly in one specific spot - the TNT area, outside of town. The location was used to manufacture TNT during World War II. The first thing the “airport” gentlemen from Indiana whom I met, who is consulting in Seneca, asked me when I mentioned the WVA site was, “Was it a DuPont factory?”

I didn’t know, although I don’t recall hearing DuPont associated with Mothman. But I now wonder what company (or spinoff or parent company) owned the TNT site near Point Pleasant. Something to think about and research later, when I return home unless a Cryptomundian finds the answer before then.

And as Andrew Colvin, author of Mothman's Photographer, notes several times in his book, the corporate connection with Mothman and the paranormal-Fortean world cannot be ignored; if nothing else, there is a strange and strong relationship between the two. How and why, that's another story.

The swimming Bigfoot and underground tunnels, pathways, rooms, mounds, etc. gives support to the theory Bigfoot lives underground.

Yep, That's Right! A New Bigfoot Thread on JREF

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=121684

A new thread on the James Randi forum on why, how, it can't possibly be so, that Bigfoot exists. Or, doesn't exist. This one is called "Why Bigfoot Can't Exist in America."

Bigfoot in a Freezer: Don't Get So Excited

I have this posted as my Rant of the Day at Snarly Skepticism, thought I'd repost it here. . .


Bigfoot in a Freezer: Don't Get So Excited;
A Word to the Skeptoid Crowd

Uber sketpics are currently undergoing a false series of euphoric episodes. Elated at the idea the Bigfoot community has been duped, fooled, and shown to be the nutjobs and gullible morons they believe them (us, sure, I'll throw myself in there) to be, they're pontificating en mass about the latest Bigfoot hoax.

Namely, Biscardi and company. Rickmat. The Geogia hunters. The cop with the bandaged hand. Those guys. As if we didn't know.

So calm down mega-skepties, it's not the joyful day you think it is. No one that counts in Bigfoot research believed this for a second, though some held out hope -- an extremely thin, almost invisible slice of hope -- that it could be for real. How about that; reserving judgement until the results are in? What a concept.

I admit I clung for a few hours to that nebulous bit of hope myself, only because someone I trust -- Micah Hanks -- has a personal relationship with Biscardi.

Even if some Bigfoot researchers naively held out for a bit that, well, it could be the real thing, could be, maybe, couldn't it? --- that doesn't mean Bigfoot researchers are dumb, stupid, lame, idiots, or any of the other insults you can't resist flinging.

And it certainly doesn't mean Bigfoot doesn't exist. All this has done is make it harder for everyone genuine, everyone sincere and honest, to get back to work.

The good thing about this is a reminder that Trickster is alive and well in all that is Forteana (something uber storage skeptoids don't get -- at all) and we should have expected this. Even me, who was, and is, disgusted. The whole thing put me in a bad mood; I'm still not over it. (Meaning the whole sordid thing to begin with, not that "Bigfoot isn't real." Calm down.)

It's also a little reminder that skepticism is a good thing. Don't fall down in a fainting fit yet; I mean real skepticism, not the brand the klassturian pathological skeptics wear so proudly on their little dried beans they call hearts.

Get over it. No one got fooled, Bigfoot isn't "dead," -- nothing to see here. You can put the keg and tiki lights away; there's no party tonight.

New Trickster's Realm On, Come On, Guess . . .

My new Trickster's Realm column for Binnall of America is on -- now guess, come on -- yes, that's right, the whole Bigfoot mess, and why I'm such a grump about it. After that, I promise I am finished with this story!

The TR will be up on Monday. While over there be sure to visit the other great columns and their forum too!

New Trickster Realm Article: Bigfoot Fever and the Skeptics

My new Trickster's Realm for Binnall of America is now up. This one's on the twenty -seven bigfoot threads on the JREF.

26 Bigfoot Threads on the JREF

Yet another new one! I know, at this point it's possible that they're on to me and are just trolling and getting these threads up on purpose. Wouldn't put it past them. Then again, they are an obsessed bunch! Still, it's fun.

Check menu on right for all 26 links.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
This new one:
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=119109

The Daily Grail Interviews Nick Redfern

New interview with Nick Redfern at The Daily Grail.

Not only does he have a new book out; There's Something in the Woods, but this is what he says about his new book on UFOs, due out next year:

I’m doing at least one more UFO book – a very controversial one due to be published next year that may actually unsettle a lot of people –

What, Body Snatchers wasn't controversial enough? Looking forward to that one!

New BF Thread On JREF: "Did The Skeptics Kill Bigfoot?"

This makes 19, or maybe 20, threads on the James Randi forum (JREF) about Bigfoot. This time they think the perceived lack of Bigfoot interest and reports is due to their hard work in skepticism. Oy.

New Bigfoot Threads on JREF

Two new Bigfoot threads on the JREF; check the sidebar on your right. 18 threads now over there on how Bigfoot doesn't exist. Gotta love it!

The Trickster, The Killing Field and Bigfootology

Bigfootology: The Dark Side and the “Killing Field”

There’s the strange side of Bigfoot; as this blog is called: Frame 352: The Stranger Side of Sasquatch. Strange doesn’t mean bad. Just, strange.

Then there’s the bad side, the dark side, of Bigfoot. Or maybe “Bigfootology” to distinguish it from Bigfoot itself. I’m pretty much joking here. But like those who distinguish UFOs from UFOlogy (the thing/phenomena itself, and the people involved in the thing/phenomena itself) we have the Bigfoot itself, and those that study Bigfoot. It’s not Bigfoot fault (or the UFOs in the case of UFOlogy) that there are humans with grudges, who attack each other, who are out for money above all else, who see nothing immoral or unethical in using the phenomenon for their own greedy agendas, who lie and hoax, who get embroiled in weird, nasty and sometimes very dark things surrounding Bigfoot.

Bigfootology: The Dark Side. Welcome.

Cryptomundo has an item up on the latest darkness. Lots of other Bigfoot blogs and paranormal, Fortean news feeds have all kinds of material related to the following story of M.K. Davis, the “killing field,” supposed murders, censorship, fights, letters to state authorities, and more. It’s like some weird crypto Victorian novel.

M.K. Davis has been running around with the “killing field theory” -- that Bigfoot was killed at Red Bluff all those years ago. WTF?! Not the most professional reaction, but I am aghast at the whole thing, and that’s why I haven’t bothered to comment on this earlier. Some things are too weird -- too ugly -- to bother with. Davis has been “uninvited” to speak at an August Bigfoot conference. Lines have been drawn. People are disgusted. Etc.

(Davis has already been in hot water for being racist, according to some. The man is certainly controversial.)

Bigfootology -- why do some people go so far out there? While many BF researchers are busy arguing with each other over the validity of data that involves orb wielding, psychic Sasquatch emerging from UFOs, crap like this gets its fifteen minutes of fame. Fortunately, not many seem to take the “killing field theory” seriously. But my question is, why would someone -- in this case Davis-- even go there in the first place? That’s as much a mystery as Bigfoot itself. I suppose it’s just human nature. No matter what the field: academia, medicine, politics, science, or the trucking industry, you have drama. Often it’s High Drama bordering on theatrics. When it comes to world of Forteana, it’s all too often theatrical. As many have said, downright circus like. (Actually, I think of the circus as gaudy, sure, but not seedy, as in a carnival way. The carnival is the dark side of the circus world. That's just me and I'm digressing. . .)

It’s helpful to keep in mind that, as disgusting as all this is, it is to be expected. If you believe, as I do, that this kind of stuff is as much a part of the paranormal world as the paranormal world itself (and yes, I’m throwing Bigfoot in there with the paranormal world) it softens things a little. Trickster is alive and doing its thing; nothing can change that.

And while that’s all true; that doesn't’ make it right, or mean things like this should be tolerated. You have to call people on their stuff sometimes and stand up for your own ethics and beliefs, in whatever way is true for you.

I think some of this may have to do with a very misguided sense of wanting to protect Bigfoot. Another part of all this madness is that Trickster force again; playing with people’s minds. Get too close, too obsessed, too distracted, and before you know it, you’re being played. In turn, you start to play others, whether you know it or not.

P-G "Patty" Shot?

That's one story that's attached itself to the Patterson Gimlin Bigfoot film and has been around for awhile. Read more on Cryptomundo.

http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/bf-incident/

Two New BF Threads on JREF

This one's called "Bigfoot Found!" and guess what, no really, guess. . . they're mocking Bigfoot! Hard to believe I know.

This makes something like sixteen threads about Bigfoot on the JREF.

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=113609

But wait, that's not all. There's another one: "Moneymakin'! The BFRO Bigfoot Expeditions Thread."
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=113816

New BF Thread on JREF

This one is about a hoax in Montana. They have fifteen (I believe) threads over there, all discussing how Bigfoot doesn't exist. I think that's pretty funny.

15 BIGFOOT THREADS ON JREF, AND COUNTING!

Updated 5/19/08

Every time I think I have all the Bigfoot threads down from the JREF, I find that I've missed one or two. So here they are. Be sure to check for updates, because no doubt there will some!
Bigfoot Found!
Montana Bigfoot Hoax
Bigfoot in West Virginia
3 Toed SC Bigfoot
Bigfoot on video? Memorial Day 1996
Man accuses Bigfoot of sexual assualt
Another Bigfoot Video

Bigfoot - The Patterson Gimlin Film

Creekfreak’s Bigfoot hair samples and other non-photo related claims

Bigfoot is real I have the proof

Bigfoot: The Invisible Variety

Government Bigfoot cover-up

Native American myths/traditions support Bigfoot? A critical look
(actually, in spite of the context of this thread being on a chronic skeptic forum, it's an interesting thread at times.)

Bigfoot - the Skookum Cast

Juvenile bigfoot captured on game cam?

I Saw Bigfoot Kissing Santa Claus
Suppose Bigfoot was real and I had the proof?
As I've commented before, for a subject that invites ridicule from the skeptic crowd, they sure spend a lot of time discussing it.

"This is what happens. . ."

Oh for the love of the great flippin' goddess!!! When it comes to UFO and Bigfoot research, the biggest problem is not the (perceived) lack of science, or (perceived) lack of acceptability, etc. it's people. Big idiots acting like the idiots they are. Christ almighty, what a bunch of grudge holding, smug, self important, petty, and vindictive individuals that roam the UFO and Bigfoot landscape!


Bigfoot researcher Meliss Hovey writes about the pinheaded reactions of some in the field who seem to care about "morals" and her personal life, including her personal sex life. It's a very nasty tangled web out there in the world of the weird, and it isn't because of aliens, UFOs, Bigfoot, or other unexplained things. The only thing unexplained is why some people are such huge flapping clown shoes.

Son of Kong is Bigfoot?

I first saw this over on Lesley's blog The Debris Field, which provided a link to Cryptomundo, where you can read more about this Bigfoot movie. Great poster!

A Navajo Bigfoot Story

This was sent to me by a good friend of mine, who is the creator of The Granmother's Circle Gathering here in Eugene. She had fowarded this to me from one of her contacts.

CHINLE, Ariz., Jan. 31, 2008

I don't pick up hitchhikers for free.

They either have to teach me a Navajo word I don't already know, or tell me a story.

Lately, I have been hearing the same story so often, with so many variations, I'm beginning to wonder if it's true.

It is the story of a creature I've come to call "the Navajo Bigfoot." According to at least five different hitchhikers I have picked up over the last three years, there is a Bigfoot-like creature roaming in the Navajo Nation.

It is about 7 feet tall, black, hairy and apelike, and has feet about a foot-and-a-half long. None of the hitchhikers had actually seen it, but they all knew people who had.

Most people seem to think it resides somewhere between Summit and Fluted Rock, but a man from Navajo Mountain swore it lives somewhere up there. (Maybe there are two.) Footprints have allegedly been found as far south as Klagetoh.

Some folks say the creature has supernatural powers. It reportedly appears at some gatherings, and one man told me several friends of his at a ceremonial gathering saw it appear and then vanish into thin air.

The Bigfoot might have been around a very long time. A middle-aged man remembered his father telling stories of such a creature, saying it appears when times are about to get really bad.

But, if it is something supernatural, it apparently still needs to eat.

A woman told me all the ranchers near Fluted Rock know about the monster, because they will find dead sheep that appear to have been partially butchered with some kind of blunt knife. And the giant footprints are sometimes around.

A man I picked up near Ganado said a neighbor of his had chased it across Highway 264 on horseback once, but it was so fast that it got away.

Another guy said he visited one of the Apache reservations and was surprised to find they have similar stories ... except the Apache Bigfoot is white while the Navajo one is black.

I'm not saying I believe these stories ... for all I know, there's some kind of conspiracy among the hitchhikers to pull one over on hapless drivers.

All I'm saying is, if I'm driving late at night and some big, hairy, barefoot guy sticks out his thumb on the side of the road, I'm going to keep driving - unless he has a mighty good story.