Snarly Skepticism: "Why Bigfoot?" New BF Thread on the JREF

Over at my blog Snarly Skepticism a link to the JREF's latest Bigfoot thread. Not that I care anymore; and I certainly don't take them seriously (goodness no!) but it does amuse:

Snarly Skepticism . . . (and Unofficial JREF Watch): New JREF BF Thread: "Why bigfoot?"

On Cryptomundo: Forget Finding Bigfoot, Find Bobo

Cryptomundo Forget Finding Bigfoot, Find Bobo

Local Article on OSS, McKenzie River Bigfoot Footage | Oregon L.O.W.F.I

On my Oregon blog on the L.O.W.F.I. website I have an item on a local piece on the OSS, the McKenzie River BF footage, and more, from Bob Welch at the Register Guard:
Local Article on OSS, McKenzie River Bigfoot Footage | Oregon L.O.W.F.I

2nd Annual Oregon Sasquatch Symposium | | Oakridge News

Press release on the 2nd Annual Oregon Sasquatch Symposium (OSS) held, this year, at White Branch campgrounds. I attended the OSS last year, which was held at LCC, but won't be attending this year. However, if you're able, I'm sure it will be a good time!
2nd Annual Oregon Sasquatch Symposium | | Oakridge News

Nick Redfern and Elusive Cryptids

Nick Redfern theorizes on why cryptids are so elusive, paranormal theories offered, Coleman and many others agitated, back and forths from Redfern and Coleman, etc. and I throw in my own comments: Animal Forteana: Coleman Comments on Redfern: Cryptids Are Not Totally Elusive, Actually

Bigfoot Rag

You can read a bit of Bigfoot fun at my Bigfoot newsletter on Scribd.

Stan Gordon at McMinnville, Oregon UFO Fest

Just got back from the 12th annual UFO Fest in McMinnville. Stan Gordon was this morning's presenter. It was a fascinating presentation!

Gordon is a great speaker and his material was chock full of Fortean and UFO goodies. We were in for a treat, since Gordon really gave us two presentations in one. He began with the Kecksburg case, and even if you were familiar with this case and thought you knew a lot about it Gordon's information was refreshing. It's almost always nice to hear material presented in person, there were details I hadn't heard before, and overall, excellent presentation.

When Gordon was finished with Kecksburg, he moved on to Bigfoot-UFO high strangeness. Be still my beating heart! Truly fascinating stories of witness encounters with BHMs (Big Hairy Monsters) or Bigfoot. Aside from the Bigfoot sightings, UFO and other unexplained phenomena accompanied these Bigfoot events. While the height of these encounters occurred in 1973, they are still occurring.

I had the pleasure of meeting Stan and talking with him for a short bit; he was very nice and open.

I appreciated what he said about all of this: Kecksburg, UFOs, high strangeness Bigfoot, etc. and that is, he doesn't know what they are or where they came from. He just knows that "it" (UFOs, BF, etc.) are. Gordon doesn't have answers, and he doesn't pretend to have any. That might drive some people crazy, but I like that willingness to acknowledge bafflement in the midst of exploring and investigating the weird.

Stan Courtney Reposts of Blogsquatcher

D. B. Donlon has given Stan Courtney permission to repost the Blogsquatcher posts, which is good news! For those who don't know, The Blogsquatcher was a fantastic Sasquatch blog; thoughtful, well written, field research, willingness to consider "paranormal" Bigfoot, and lots of treats, like interviews with Henry Franzoni. So check it out here: Stan Courtney

Donlon's new blog by the way is dreams and phase transitions.

For many Russians, UFO and Bigfoot equally realistic - English pravda.ru

For many Russians, UFO and Bigfoot equally realistic - English pravda.ru

Sasquatch Classics: Jan Klements The Creature

This is a great find: Jan Klement's The Creature at Sasquatch Classics. Thanks to Steven Streufert at Bigfoot's Blog for link. Speaking of Streufert, he has a lot of very interesting items over there, including updates on Jim Dodge's Conversations with Bigfoot.

MonsterTracker.com

UFO Digest publisher Dirk Vander Ploeg has a new site dedicated to cryptos, cryptids, monsters and beasties at MonsterTracker.com. 

The Sasquatch People and their Inter-dimensional Connection– Kewaunee Lapseritis�|�Truth Seeker Forum

The Sasquatch People and their Inter-dimensional Connection– Kewaunee Lapseritis:Truth Seeker Forum

hat tip to Lesley at The Debris Field.

Updated: Phantoms and Monsters: Paranormal, UFOs, Cryptids and Unexplained Phenomena

I've updated this: below is what I posted yesterday, just throwing up a link, and not commenting, mainly because I was tired and also, I am fed up with the anti-Autumn Williams cabal:

Updates on rants against Autumn William's book Enoch on the BFRO:

Phantoms and Monsters: Paranormal, UFOs, Cryptids and Unexplained Phenomena

Update:
Here's the link to what Autumn has to say, along with several comments left by others at her blog Oregon Bigfoot.com: Apology to all the Mikes.
 
Why is this pack at the BFRO going at it once more at this time, almost a year after Autumn's book Enoch was published? I wonder if some of this doesn't have to do with the 2nd OSS (Oregon Sasquatch Symposium) coming up in June -- are they fanning embers?

Autumn can take care of herself, and she does so in her post. Still, this latest round from those at the BFRO is another example of the ugly nonsense that goes on in Bigfoot research. (The parallels to UFO research and other esoteric and Fortean realms applies.)

Someone calling him/her self "navigator" -- and the fact this person uses a screen name and not their real name is noted --  posted on the BFRO:

The fellow who told Autumn Williams (by phone) the stories that she eventually published in a book titled “Enoch,” is actually a yarn-spinning homeless person in central Florida who our investigators had encountered in 2006 in Polk County, FL.

2006. Autumn's book came out in 2010. And, as Williams points out, it's probably a correct assumption to say there is more than one person named Mike in Florida. And where is "navigator's"  documentation on his allegations?

Another poster: "JRawk12" comments on both Autumn's book and her mother's -- Sali Sheppard Wolford -- book Valley of the Skookum, which came out in 2006:

Is this really a big surprise in the first place? Usually the math doesn't add up for a reason...Good story, but it was painfully obvious that it was a fictional story from jump street. Same thing with her moms book. They're both good storytellers though! (Weird how defensive everyone was when people called B.S on her story back when it came out)

Personal opinion is personal opinion; we're all entitled and you think what you think. It's opinion Valley of the Skookum is "fictional," not fact. (Yes, the same can be said of my opinion . . .)

What irks me however is that, instead of looking at Valley of the Skookum, as well as Autumn's book, from a Fortean, open minded perspective, there seems to be a deliberate campaign against Williams (and Woolford) as well as debunking a particular aspect of Bigfoot research. That is, anything that presents itself outside of the flesh and blood box is considered suspect.

The former is ugly pettiness, sad but typical in Bigfoot, UFO, etc. circles. The latter is harmful for what it says about Bigfoot research. As with UFO research, the number of narratives in Bigfoot encounters that include high strangeness elements is huge. Yet many researchers continue to ignore these events and dismiss them with a virulence that is pathological at times.

What is ignored are the common threads of experience in high strangeness Bigfoot encounters. Whatever the causes for the similarities, they are... what about them? How to explain them? A glib response that witnesses are "whacked," or "lairs" simply isn't honest research.

I'm not suggesting Enoch and Valley of the Skookum are along the same lines -- they're not. Enoch is not "high strangess," (although, not doubt there are some out there who might say the relationship Mike describes is just that) and Williams writes about the roles of witness and researcher; an extremely important point that is too often missed by some.

For more, see my post for Oregon L.O.W.F.I.: Thoughts on Autumn Williams' Enoch.

Bigfoot From (Outer) Space! email newsletter

Emailed whenever. no.1, vol. 1 march 2011 available now -- see my blurb and info on etsy.

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.