Please, spare me: Performance Bigfoot Art Sues

Another guy in a Bigfoot costume, this time as "performance art," and, he's suing. His civil rights have been messed with:'Bigfoot' sues, says officials can't boot him from mountain
He'd get himself all up in a Bigfoot suit, and "scare" hikers as his friends filmed the whole thing. Good thing no one took a shot at him, thinking they bagged themselves a Sasquatch.

So, he's suing, since the park service put the kibosh on his antics.

Bigfoot Blog Find

Another high strangeness bigfoot blog (yea for us!) check it out: Bizarre Bigfoot.

On JREF: 'Bigfoot and Racoons', and the Assumption of Bigfoot's Limited Awareness

New Bigfoot thread on the JREF, bringing the total of Bigfoot threads over there to something like twenty-two million, about the OP's "hunt" for a rabid raccoon. Prefacing his adventure with his limited experience with hunting, tracking, and being a "city boy" even though he lives in a rural area, he asks why Bigfoot can't be found by experienced hunters and woodspeople:

So my question is, how can these people, who by and large are " Trained" in some way shape or form to find animals ( at the very least they have done some research into how to track, i am positive. ) , not be able to find a much, much bigger animal.

And here's the assumption, made of course by skeptoids and anti-Bigfooters, but many a Bigfoot hunter, that Sasquatch/Bigfoot is basically a "big, dumb ape" or some other animal; whatever, Bigfoot is nothing more than an oversized brainless bear, monkey, ape, ... put firmly in the category of less than us. Many humans don't even call themselves animals, and get insulted if you use the term animal inclusively. This is a world view of separation between us humans from other creatures, held by academics, scientists and the hoi polli alike. The arrogance and stubbornness inherent in that view insists we have souls, we have language, we have tools, we build things, we think about non-concrete things. That makes us different, and that makes us better. Of course none of that is true but it's still the assumption being passed off as fact.

Okay so I got off on a bit of a tangent. The point is, Bigfoot has eluded us because Bigfoot is highly intelligent and sensitive to its environment. And very possibly, paranormaly (for lack of a better term) so. That last idea is too fantastic for an uber-skeptic to consider, so I don't expect that. (It's also too wacky for many a flesh and blood Bigfoot researcher to accept.)

I know I make this comparison often, but there are many similarities to Bigfoot research and UFO research. And I don't mean, in this context, the subject of a UFO-Bigfoot connection. I mean the parallels to research methods, assumptions about the phenomena, and the rejection of the ... otherworldly. Paranormal, esoteric, supertnatual, not sure what word fits, but it's obvious in both areas there are those elements that transcend flesh and blood (Bigfoot) theories, and nuts and bolts (UFOs) theories.

We Love Bigfoot, Even Though We Hate Him

Just because: From November 2008; I wrote this when I was contributing to American Chronicle.

We Love Bigfoot, Even Though We Hate Him

I happen to think that Bigfoot exists. I don´t know this for a fact, because I´ve never seen one. I do know a number of people who have. These are people I know, trust, and are -- contrary to the opinion of ignorant or knee-jerk uber-skeptics -- often educated, professional people. The fact that some of these people have college degrees and work in white collar jobs doesn't mean that those who do not hold degrees or work in fields like education are any less intelligent or credible. In fact, those who spend much of their time hunting or camping, or living in rural areas and are familiar with the wildlife, have just as much credibility as anyone else.

I also have this opinion based on years of study about the phenomena. Given the fact I know people who've seen Bigfoot, and my own explorations, I have the strong opinion Bigfoot exists, not only here in the contiguous United States, but I also have the opinion a Bigfoot like creature exists in several places the world over.

Naturally, I could be wrong. But so far, I haven´t come across any compelling evidence to convince me that the reasons for its nonexistence hold up.

Uber-skeptics and debunkers have a very different opinion about Bigfoot of course. It doesn´t exist, end of story. Well, you´d think that´d be the end of the story, but it isn´t. For something that they are certain doesn´t exist, and that only the liars, delusional, or drunken/drug addled see, the pathological debunker spends a huge amount of time arguing about its nonexistence. For some reason, I find this stubborn insistence of disbelief fascinating.

The James Randi Educational site is a popular on-line site, with its own message board: the James Randi Educational Forum. The forum is divided into several different sections, like religion, politics, etc. and, of course, one category called "skepticism and the general paranormal." Everything from ghosts, UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, all the expected and usual stuff, is discussed here, including things that don´t make much sense at all as to their inclusion, like being a vegetarian.

Bigfoot is there too. Bigfoot is currently being discussed, in one way or another, in thirty-seven different threads (!) on the forum.

Thirty-seven separate threads on why Bigfoot doesn't exist! Wow.

To be fair, some of the threads are obvious jokes and attempts to have fun at poor Sasquatch´s expense, like "I Saw Bigfoot Kissing Santa Claus." A few are just snipe fests: attacks on pro-Bigfooters, or, attacks/defenses from pro-Bigfooters in the midst inside Skeptoid Land. One thread is actually interesting; that´s the "Native American myths/traditions support Bigfoot? A critical look" thread.

Overall though, the number of threads insisting that Bigfoot doesn´t exist is an intriguing insight into the mind of the debunker. To argue, so insistently, so persistently, that something doesn't exist seems . . . well, a waste of time, for one thing. Sheesh.

We´re still left with the big question: what is it that people are seeing? To dismiss such reports as, at best, cases of mistaken identity (a bear, an elk, etc.) and at worst, being an ignorant drunken fool, ignores the fact of the witness.

I happen to believe (but take note, it is not a dogmatic belief) that Bigfoot exists, but I don´t have thirty seven separate threads going on about it. The skeptics, who don´t believe, do. Which is the more rational?

Stan Gordon’s UFO Anomalies Zone (SGUAZ)

Cant' wait for to read this one; Stan Gordon's The Pennslyvania UFO-Bigfoot Casebook. And, just learned that Stan Gordon will one of the speakers at the McMinnville, UFO Fest here in Oregon this May.

Stan Gordon’s UFO Anomalies Zone (SGUAZ)

Dream: Bigfoot in Australia, Kind Of . . .

Bigfoot on a Bicycle
A funny and beautiful dream last night. I'm with a team of Bigfoot researchers somewhere near Australia, or New Zealand, sort of in between the two. A large island maybe.. wherever this is, it is simply the most beautiful, and very unusual, place I've been. Astoundingly lush. We're in a large park like area near water; the ocean, but it is calm and quiet, more like a large lake. Highly unusual earth mounds, or cliffs, that lead down to the water. These go on for miles. Velvet green grass everywhere. Glistening white concrete paths, wide and curved, with black iron rails, or fences, also curved.

Regan Lee, Alice's Wall, acrylic on canvas

The concrete and iron sound harsh, cold, but in the dream, it was all very beautiful. So, we're looking for Bigfoot. We know we won't see Bigfoot here, in a populated area. Across this promenade are houses, and further down, a small town. No way would Bigfoot walk out in the open like this in what amounts to a boardwalk.

But, suddenly! Yes! I see Bigfoot! I cannot believe this! Adding to the amazement of seeing Bigfoot is that this one is unusually colored; silver crested head, darker silver chest and back, black legs. I see him down below, on the opposite side of the ocean/lake, where the water is extremely shallow.  He's almost flying. Walking very fast, gliding over the water. I call to the others and we all run down to catch up with the Bigfoot, me leading the way.

I have a slight lucid moment where I think "Shouldn't this be called a Yowie, isn't that what he's called here?" and "This is the second dream I've had of a fast moving Bigfoot on the water's edge."

We catch up to the Bigfoot. And it's not Bigfoot at all, but a man on a bicycle. Wearing a sliver hooded windbreaker, with a darker bottom, and dark pants, happily "sailing" along on his bike, which was hidden from our view by the water and other things. That, and the way the sun was hitting the man on the bicycle, gave the appearance of a Bigfoot.

To the slight embarrassment of the others on the team, I run up to this man and tell him how excited we were, what we thought he was, and what we're doing; looking for Bigfoot. It's only after I tell him this I realize he'll probably think I'm a lunatic, but he thinks the whole thing is fascinating, and apologizes good naturedly for not being Bigfoot. As I'm talking to him, and enjoying his company (he's cute for one thing :) I have a nagging feeling he's lying, or something strange going on here. I wonder, feeling a bit silly, if he knows more than he's telling, or if he's a shape shifter, because, as far fetched as it would have been to see a Bigfoot out there, it was a Bigfoot that I saw! I even have a fleeting moment where I remember seeing the Bigfoot morph into the man as we got closer to it/him.

Shape-shifting Silvers
 It seems my dreaming mind has a thing about shape shifting, "fake," not-what-they-seem, gray or silver Bigfoot. I had forgotten about this dream, that I wrote about here.

And Water
Those two dreams, and this one, all have Bigfoot near, or on, water. In a dream -- and OOBE -- Bigfoot is by the ocean's edge, moving very rapidly over wet rocks. I remember thinking how agile this creature is, to be moving so easily and lightly over slippery rocks in the misty, dim atmosphere. The Bigfoot in this dream wasn't silver or gray; he was a dark brown. Nor was he pleasant as in the other two dreams, but highly annoyed I was there.

From Micah Hanks: Bigfoot and Big Brother: The Weird Exploits of the Crypto-Feds | Mysterious Universe

Micah Hanks on the feds and Bigfoot; is the federal government aware of the existence of Bigfoot and other cryptids? Bigfoot and Big Brother: The Weird Exploits of the Crypto-Feds | Mysterious Universe

For years, there have been allegations that creatures only alleged to exist such as Bigfoot might have been acknowledged in some official capacity. Folks calling in to late-night radio programs have told odd stories of ape-like creatures being killed, only to be subsequently zipped-up in body bags and spirited off by “Men in Black.”

Surprisingly, in the various literature pertaining to claims of cryptozoological monstrosities, such stories aren’t that uncommon, really. But is there evidence that suggests governments like that of the United States has taken interest in such wild claims as well?

As Micah writes: "Perhaps. . . "

dreams and phase transitions: The fall of the house of Blogsquatcher

Blogsquatcher is back, in a way. Not the blog, but the man behind Blogsquatcher, who managed one of the, if not the best, Bigfoot blogs, abruptly went off line some time ago, much to my dismay. (Also to my dismay, it seems I'm one of several who used his name alongside Blogsquatcher, which was something I wasn't supposed to do. I had NO idea that was the case! My big huge bad; I apologize:)

You'd be amazed how many times you can find "blogsquatcher" and "dbdonlon" right next to each other on certain websites..

When you click on the link that takes you to the Google search engine, there's Frame 352 in second place. Again, I am very sorry! I do my best to honor people's requests for confidentiality.

What is revealed in his post about Bigfoot is fascinating. Go here and read. It's amazing.

From Micah Hanks: "Startling Chupacabra Kill, or Merely Another Varmint Vanquished?"

Micah Hanks writes on the chupacabra: Startling Chupacabra Kill, or Merely Another Varmint Vanquished? I've posted here and on my Sasquatch blog Frame 352 about the trigger happy people in the U.S. who happily blast away at creatures they think might be the "chupacabra." Of course, as I and others have pointed out many times, the chupacabra is a spiny backed, red eyed, high jumping creature of the Fortean kind. Stories of the blood sucking cryptid came out of Puerto Rico, migrated to Mexico, Florida, elsewhere in the states and South and Central America, retaining its eerie high strangeness nature. No one spoke of mange ridden canines, or other mundane animals. Until, it seems, maybe three years ago or so, where reports of the latter creatures came in, mainly from the southwest but other states as well. People persisted in calling these poor creatures "chupacabra" and killed one as soon as they saw one.

So now the meme has been firmly planted: chupacabra of the true cryptid high strangeness variety, with all its conspiratorial theories -- government projects gone horribly awry, alien pets, inter-dimensional travelers, etc. -- are forgotten, and blue-gray skinned, hairless canine type creatures, probably foxes and or coyotes, etc. with mange or some type of disease have replaced the chupie of legend.

The fear persists however. Fear at seeing something unfamiliar. And so naming it with a handy pre-labeled moniker (chupacabra) and insisting the creature is unknown, a strange interloper, gives one justification for kill first, ask later.

As Micah correctly points out, the media that gladly reports on these stories, and the people that shoot away, are the same ones who laugh at the subject of cryptids, cryptozoology, and the like. Hanks quotes from a recent Fox "news" segment on a recent killing of a "chupacabra"

The legendary chupacabra has been spied, shot and killed — will bigfoot be next?

And rightfully points out the disgusting exploitative implications:

Wonderful to see that some odd-looking little creature (likely a possum, or perhaps a varmint of some sort, as we’ll get to in a moment) has been shot and killed, rather than the diminutive, lizard-like little monsters from the early Puerto Rican reports back in the 1990s. To be clear, this is not a “chupacabra” in the truest sense by any means. However, before we go any further with the report from today, is it too much to ask also that the word “Bigfoot” be capitalized? To quote Loren Coleman, author of Bigfoot: The True Story of Apes in America, since “words like Sea Serpent, Nessie, Bigfoot, Yeti, and related forms all have not been technically ‘accepted’ by systematic zoology, as of this date, the capitalized form (should) be employed.” (Curiously, the same does not typically apply to the use of the term chupacabra in Fortean literature, hence my use of the lower case… but I digress)

Startling Chupacabra Kill, or Merely Another Varmint Vanquished? | Mysterious Universe
Thank you Lesley at The Debris Field for link.

The Blogsquatcher: A Glitch?

In my "follow" list thingie I still have The Blogsquatcher on the list. Even though that blog has been gone now for some time, I kept it on there, hoping that maybe, he would return. That was a great blog. I noticed the other day a new post! Excited, thinking Blogsquatcher has indeed returned to us, I clicked, but found, not The Blogsquatcher, but this: Legend of Bigfoot: Bigfoot

It's not The Blogsquatcher, but a seemingly new blog run by Clark Anderson, who comments in his profile:

i am Clark, i am new here, to set up some blogs & be worldwide

I don't know how one link (Blogsquatcher) came to be this new link; maybe it has something to do with Blogger's set-up -- inactive blogs can be taken over? So, no return of The Blogsquatcher. But maybe this new blog will be something to look forward to.

Area Man Kicked Off Mineola Nature Preserve Trying to Bait Bigfoot in His Toyota - Dallas News - Unfair Park

A Texas man went looking for Bigfoot, attempting to lure the creature out with pieces of orange and nuts. Turns out someone called the police, for the guy was on private property, unbeknownst to him.

Some funny little phrasings in this article; the man was not armed, he just had a camera, but some see a camera has a potential threat:

Green [caretaker of private property] says the man had a camera in his car; KMOO reports he was otherwise unarmed.

Caretaker Green doesn't put much stock in Bigfoot's abilities. Referring to  the would be Bigfoot explorer, Green said:

"He was a big boy. He's over six-foot, 230-ish," Green says. "He didn't need nothing to be hunting Bigfoot. He could've gone down there with just a switch."

Area Man Kicked Off Mineola Nature Preserve Trying to Bait Bigfoot in His Toyota - Dallas News - Unfair Park

From Thom Powell: "Bigfoot Research: Intel not Science"

 "...we should regard them as guerrillas, not gorillas." ~ (Thom Powell on how we need to think about Bigfoot.)

Author of The Locals and Bigfoot researcher Thom Powell has a great post at his blog on Bigfoot research, and why the "scientific" approach is just not sensible. Powell comments that Bigfoot are intelligent, highly, extremely intelligent, and not "...dumb apes or wild animals." As I've ranted here on Frame 342 and elsewhere many times, Bigfoot/Sasquatch research still surprises me with the attitude, the innate assumption, that Bigfoot is basically just a big animal. Many acknowledge that Bigfoot is intelligent, but "just", really, a big animal. Still "lesser than" us, in every way, and an animal as yet unidentified but in the end, nothing more than an extremely smart bear or ape or even some entirely new creature but, "just" an animal that is below us, even if just a notch. Part of that assumption that Bigfoot is below us, no matter how short that distance may be; includes the attitude that this "less than" no matter how slight, gives us the right to hunt, trap, trick, kill, dissect, and or exploit. Often, "in the name of science" is invoked as justification, but sometimes it's just an arrogance, the assumption that we, as humans have the right because we want to, because we can, because "it" (Bigfoot) is there, because it'd be astoundingly way cool. But I don't want to get off on a rant :)...

As to using scientific means with equipment and methods, Powell writes:

While I am saying you'll never collect truly valid scientific evidence, I'm not saying you should find another hobby. I'm just saying you will not be able to satisfy that rigorous expectation called scientific proof. That's because you cannot do science on an intelligent and elusive being that does not intend to cooperate with our attempts to scientifically document its existence. Even though various items of credible evidence have been gathered over the years, such as the PGF, the Skookum Cast, and more track casts and hair samples than you can shake a bag of plaster at, they all fail the rigors of science in one important regard: they cannot be replicated.

Thom doesn't say we should give up looking for Bigfoot, but that we need to change our perspectives, our assumptions, and our approach when we do go out in the field:

...you are making a mistake by trying to be utterly scientific in your approach.  Instead, you should recognize the difference between science and intelligence gathering, and recognize that it is more pragmatic to settle for collecting intel as opposed to unassailable scientific data. 

Intel. Like the CIA, government spooks, spy stuff. Intelligence gathering. This is the shift in thinking and approach that needs to happen. As I frequently do, I see parallels to UFO research. After sixty years or so of research, we haven't found any answers to the UFO phenomenon. Well, that's arguable but also another article for another day. But  the following comments from Powell on research methods concerning Bigfoot and using an intelligence gathering mind-set can be applied ot the shift that needs to happen in UFO research as well:

Everything they [intelligence ops] gather is a bit uncertain but this does not justify throwing that data away . . .  That's how intel goes. It ain't science, but it ain't worthless, either.  It's all we got and it may someday be useful in designing and executing a truly scientific experiment but we aren't there yet. 

Powell is not "against' science, and this isn't about bashing science. The entire article is excellent and, a brave one in the sense that, in my experience, Bigfoot research is a conservative arena, more so than UFO Land. I think things are shifting though, in a new and creative direction.

Bigfoot attack in campground kills campers, BLM & Dept of Interior involved Inyo County mid 1970's...

Does the government know that Bigfoot exists? The idea that the government know there are creatures we call Bigfoot, and that they're keeping that news from the rest of us, has been around for a long time. Here's a story from the 1990s about Bigfoot in Bishop, California, the government's knowledge of its existence, and its tactics in keeping this secret. (Also, in this story, a violent Bigfoot is mentioned.)

Bigfoot attack in campground kills campers, BLM & Dept of Interior involved Inyo County mid 1970's...

Bigfoot Lunch Club: Bigfoot sightings return to Eugene, California and alarm residents

Bigfoot has been seen in my (now) home town of Eugene in Oregon. Actually, Alpine, which is about 28 miles from here. I know Bigfoot has been seen in the area for years.


Bigfoot Lunch Club: Bigfoot sightings return to Eugene, California and alarm residents

Award

 Very nice, two of my blogs, Mothman Flutterings, and this one, Frame 352, was named in Forensic Science.net's  list of top 30 cryptozoology blogs. Thank you!

Forensic Science

Top Cryptozoology Blogs

Levels of "Intelligence", Supernatural Sasquatch, and the No Kill/Kill Debate

Some are adamant about their opinions on this debate: kill, or, no kill. I'm adamant -- I won't budge -- I'm for a No Kill stance and that's that. Some are less adamant; they qualify their opinions depending on the perceived state of intelligence of the creature. The more human like Sasquatch appears to be, the less likely this type of person would attempt to kill one, but, if the creature is perceived to be "ape like," and more ape, less human, the kill policy reigns. Sasquatch is considered, by some, an animal, less than us, and while clearly intelligent, and astounding in its very existence in terms of scientific discovery, it's still "just" an animal. Still less than us, somehow. And that alone gives some the justification they need to support their kill view.

I don't care if Sasquatch turns out to be "just a big ape," some kind of uber-bear, or an alien. I don't care if the intelligence of Sasquatch is below that of a pinto bean. The intelligence level of Sasquatch should have nothing to do with killing it. I have major issues with hunting, but I do understand the justification for it in terms of survival; if one needs to feed oneself, then I'd be a hypocrite to say one should not hunt for food. If I were to find myself in certain circumstances, I might have to find I'd have to hunt as well. That aside, killing a Sasquatch is a very different issue.

I'll reiterate what I've said so many times before; I don't give a damn if science finds proof of Sasquatch's existence, and certainly not at the expense of a dead body.

Maybe this view of mine is based on my personal experiences with the paranormal, anomalous encounters and interests and UFOs: I don't care if anyone believes me or not, and I don't owe anyone an explanation or proof. I share my experiences for my own reasons, many of which I am clear about, many which I'm not. Who knows why we do what we do? We're not as focused as we sometimes tell ourselves we are. That's okay however... we're human.

My personal experiences involving the above mentioned phenomena is no doubt the reason why I am open to so-called "paranormal Bigfoot" encounters. I've never seen a Bigfoot (yet, :) and never had a supernatural Bigfoot experience (although, I suspect my cone of light experience related to Stan Johnson might be considered one such experience in some ways) but I accept these high strangeness stories. I accept them as interesting, true, and valuable. True, not necessarily literal.

So in some ways it's a non-argument; killing Sasquatch, if the creature is supernatural. Can you kill a fairy? On the other hand, we can't be too sure, and might as well continue the good fight against those who, regardless of where they fall on the kill policy continuum, would support killing one under certain circumstances.

On UFOs, et al: Stan Johnson Encounters a Sasquatch

From the UFOs, et al blog: Stan Johnson Encounters A Sasquatch.

I've been following Stan's story for many years, --he is deceased, but his story lives on. Johnson was a Sutherlin, Oregon resident who many experiences with Sasquatch of the high strangeness kind.

I met Stan once at a UFO conference in Eugene. Very charismatic man. I also had my own odd moment of high strangeness involving Stan regarding Sasquatch which I've discussed on-line many times. You can hear my description of this here; where Mike Clelland at thehidden experienceblog, interviewed me for his podcast.

Also a bit of synchronicity; just last night I was working on my manuscript of a similar case in Oregon, frustrated, once again, that I can't seem to get it done. Then I realized: it's because I haven't committed to what I think about "paranormal Bigfoot," -- I haven't gotten off the fence, and just say it. So I did, in the introduction, which caused everything else to fall into place. My next project concerns Johnson, and here I wake up to find this item on Johnson on UFOs, et al blog. Small synchronicitous Sasquatch world!

Bigfoot Lunch Club: Silent Invasion: The Pennsylvania UFO-Bigfoot Casebook

Bigfoot Lunch Club: Silent Invasion: The Pennsylvania UFO-Bigfoot Casebook

Endless PG Debate; Yeah, But There's Just One Thing . . .

For some perverse reason, I found myself once again lurking on the JREF message board in the surreal and looooooooooooooooonnnngggg (oh, so very long) thread Calling All Skeptics! Help Kitakaze End PGF Controversy - Pitch to Discovery Channel. As usual, I was struck by the bizarre and pathological - obsession of skeptics and debunkers to discuss, mock, and argue the non-existence of Sasquatch. And in particular, as on the above mentioned thread, the Patterson-Gimlin footage. "Kitakaze," as we know, has been on that hobby horse for some time; his crusade has been, well, interesting, as well as unnerving. (For example, see Melissa Hovey's comments about this on her blog The Search for Bigfoot.)

So, reading the last couple of pages in this thread, the sheer number of which boggles the mind -- it's what, around elevenity-million or something -- I had the idle thought that it doesn't matter if the P-G footage is a hoax or not, because, because, because: people have seen Bigfoot! Very simple.

Of course it does matter if the P-G film is of a real Sasquatch; my point is, in the great scheme of things, proving the P-G film is a hoax doesn't prove at all that Bigfoot does not not exist.

My question (rhetorical; please, if you're a skeptoid do not attempt to engage) is: if it's proven the P-G film is a hoax, will the discussion of Bigfoot's existence end for you all?  I doubt it; look at how many threads on the JREF there are about Bigfoot. A few dozen, easily. Not the first time I've asked this but I am intrigued: why spend so much time on something you believe doesn't exist? That you believe couldn't possibly exist, despite the number of witness accounts? 

The Search For Bigfoot: Trouble in Florida?

On Melissa Hovey's blog, "Mike" leaves a comment as well. This time, his comment is longer; he insists the book Enoch is "fiction."

The Search For Bigfoot: Trouble in Florida?