Bigfoot: Valley of the Skookum, a Review by Ray Crowe 2011...

Ray Crowe reviews Sali Sheppard-Wolford's Bigfoot: Valley of the Skookum. Nice review!

From Oregon Bigfoot.com Blog:More clarification on the Melba Ketchum Bigfoot DNA Study | Oregon Bigfoot Blog

Bigfoot author and researcher Autumn Williams has a post at her site on the "Ketchum DNA" -- what is, and what is not, happening, and, why. Specifically how the scientific peer review process works. More clarification on the Melba Ketchum Bigfoot DNA Study | Oregon Bigfoot Blog

Honobia Bigfoot Festival 2011 Schedule

Among the speakers and music at the Honobia Bigfoot Festival in Oklahoma: Thom Cantrall, author of The Ghosts of Ruby Ridge. (Which, after all this time, I'm just about finished reading. Just too many books out there; hard to catch up.) You can check out the schedule of events at the festival site: Honobia Bigfoot Festival 2011 Schedule

Bigfoot & UFOs Invade the Comfort Zone! | Lisa A. Shiel

From Lisa Shiel, who is hard at work on her new book about strange Bigfoot encounters. I'm honored Lisa considered me as part of her research; we had a great discussion about the high strangeness aspects of Bigfoot encounters. Here she comments on what I and others have shared with her about, as researcher Eric Altman calls it, "comfort zones." Bigfoot & UFOs Invade the Comfort Zone! | Lisa A. Shiel

Barred Owl sounds

At SKOOKUM QWEST: Barred Owl, clips of, and links to, various sounds made by owls. Good to know!

Fear of the Unknown: Another Hairless Creature Killed | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

My new piece at Monster Tracker: Fear of the Unknown: Another Hairless Creature Killed | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

It's not about Bigfoot, but it does relate to trigger happy humans in the face of the unexplainable.

From Bigfoot-Evidence: Who are the Monsters?

Commenting on the story of "...reports coming from the West about the killing of a mother or grandmother and child Bigfoot. "
Bigfoot-Evidence: Who are the Monsters?

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.