Happy Labor Day – The Anomalist

Worry not, there is a translation for non-francophones who wish to read Florent Barrère’s biography of Mongolian cryptozoologist Zhugderiin Damdin. In this case, the mystery doesn’t surround a particular discovery but a lost manuscript concerning cryptozoology of which Florent only has fragments. Following up in Part 2 concerns Byambin Rinchen who walked a fine line in the midst of Mongolia’s communist regime and pursuing the intellectual freedom afforded by scientific inquiry. The real meat of the article begins when Florent relates Rinchen’s remarkable and provocative account of a particularly intimate encounter with an almas. Definitely a must-read for a holiday weekend, true believers. And for those who maintain Africa is the cradle of mankind, Katarina Zimmer outlines how Genetics Steps In To Tell The Story Of Human Origins. Evolution of the genus Homo is far from cut-and-dried, rife with overlaps and interminglings giving rise to our current conception of H. sapiens today, and Katarina illustrates what a long, strange trip it’s been. (CS)

Do you believe in quantum physics? What if Tristan Greene held a gun to your head and said if your next coin flip came up tails, that’s it for you? It’s all part of Eric Halloway’s thought experiment to prove the existence, or non-existence, of parallel universes. Science does come at a high price, but imagine the payoff! Flipping tails, Albert McKeon grumbles Despite The Hype, There’s No Proof Of A Parallel Universe. Rather than delving into science, Albert takes apart that story of interdimensional neutrinos hidden by a paywall which was exploited for clicks by cheap and lazy science writers. (CS)

Here’s an odd, but compelling, meditation on the link between healthcare workers and the paranormal. In the midst of death, healthcare workers are surrounded by stranger energies than normal, and Appalachian Paranormal Experiences touches upon several of them, including the hoary old tales concerning full moons. You know what we’re referencing as Max Channon points out Full Moons To Blame For ‘Rising Crime In Plymouth’. As for the details, you’ll have to read the link. (CS)

Nick Redfern promises some outstanding weirdness and delivers with several wild and relatively unknown car cases. From Men in Black Nick pivots to another favorite topic with Synchronicities: Roswell and the MJ12 Documents. Nick relates a coincidence regarding an MJ12 conversation that may defy statistical estimation–and he produces the photographic evidence to back it up. Nick then regales us with More on the Matter of Strange Synchronicities. These two stories are on the completely fun side. (WM)

Ardent advocates of anomalistics know well the tale of Mark Twain’s premonition concerning his brother’s death, but that’s not the only strangeness to have graced his life. Take his lifelong brushes with mental telegraphy, which connected him with friends and family around the globe. Unlike Gary Scharnhorst, Chantel Tattoli isn’t inclined to write off these anecdotes as mere coincidence. Another great psychic American is George Washington, and Christopher Coleman recounts George Washington’s Prophetic Vision which may very well rival those of Fatima. For an idea about how to tap into your own wild talents, Andreas Sommer’s made his William James And The Occult available as a free PDF to illustrate the philosopher’s deep discontent with dogmatism on both sides of the aisle. The more things change… (CS)

Everybody’s talking about aliens, but does anyone really know what to do if humanity makes first contact? After all, we don’t want to end up like Wile E. Coyote. Well Paul Glister asked Brian McConnell to give his two cents on what we could be looking for and how to make sense of those alien transmissions. Keeping with the theme, Adam Mann reckons if we want to talk to aliens, we should Try Changing The Technological Channel Beyond Radio. For years scientists have urged humanity to gather around the water hole while Adam Mann discovers others argue with the potential diversity of extraterrestrial life, humanity needs to reckon those aliens may not use the same methods we’d use to reach out and touch some… thing? (CS)

It’s one thing for a broken clock to be right twice, but there’s a whole other ball of wax for Bernard Beitman when it comes to people who constantly spy the same time on their clocks. Turns out your brain is a better clock than you’d expect, dovetailing nicely with his maverick proposal. Also toying with the mind-brain dichotomy, Rob Schwarz read a Study Showing Virtually Swapping Bodies Changes Perception Of Self with remarkable results. Not quite as profound, but still weird, is The Illusion Of A Sixth Finger from the keyboard of Nicolas Davidenko, and how our brain can be fooled into thinking its wired for such an appendage. Yet what are the origins of such delusions? Are they entirely mechanistic and materialistic, or are these Delusions, With Reason? Sometimes it helps to connect the dots to see how someone got to their destination, rather than insisting there was a better way in the first place. (CS)

While they may not have the same range as Michigan J. Frog, New Guinea’s elusive singing dogs have been rediscovered by western science after nearly half a century of hide-and-seek. Michael Price sums up many of the scientist’s findings, but leave it to Ed Whelan to announce a Singing Dogs Study May Tell Us More About Human Vocalization. Also from the shadowy realm of lazarus taxa, Elizabeth Claire Alberts is happy to announce how an Elephant Shrew “lost” To Science For 52 Years Is “Rediscovered” In Africa. We’re surprised this cutie has avoided humanity for so long, but critters like these are glimmers of hope for those banking on extant thylacines somewhere in the Australian outback. (CS)

Frank Miles uses National UFO Reporting Center data and an interview with its Director Peter Davenport to support his headline contention. He also embeds three recent Tucker Carlson videos containing interviews with British ufologist Nick Pope and “Tic Tac Chaser” Cmdr. David Fravor. “Metamaterials” and the why behind historical governmental reticence to go public with what it knows are key questions, as well as why there seems to be a growing or more publicized internal belief that UFOs truly are “out of this world.” Over at Blue Blurry Lines Roger Glassel has some more specific queries, and offers UAPTF: Pentagon Responds to Questions. There are a few short takeaways from the mostly boilerplate answers. (WM)

The face at the window–or possibly two faces–is causing some excitement after a local took a picture of an empty school in Scotland. Even scarier, some think the spook looks like Donald Trump or Boris Johnson. Meanwhile in England, regarding Cheshire’s county town, Jocelyn LeBlanc asks Are Ghosts To Blame? One Of Chester’s Most Haunted Shops Has Closed. The beautiful 14th century building in question, currently a furniture shop, is about to close its doors and some wonder if spooky goings-on are behind it. Maybe, though one can’t help wonder if the devastation wreaked on UK businesses by a certain pandemic is more likely. But going back even further than this old shop, is the story of Ghosts and an Ancient Lost Treasure in England. The treasure in question is the magnificent Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo burial hoard unearthed in the county of Suffolk in the 1930s. According to Brent Swancer, its discovery was due to the dreams and visions experienced by the owner of the land at that time. (LP)

A remarkable display leads three recent reports from The Institute of Hispanic Ufology. Drones or not, these lights apparently captivated many and one would like to know just how much “a long time” denotes for their appearance. Farther North, in Mexico: Social Media Debates Alleged Cancun UFO. Neftali Hernandez supplies a few details about this “Light in the Sky,” whose short video leaves less of an impression than the Colombia event. And Diego Llorente ensures that popular South American UFO sighting country gets a mention with Argentina: Bariloche Resident Claims Seeing a UFO. A biologist who didn’t seem to be out for notoriety snapped this cellphone photo. (WM)

A fellow from a village in Zimbabwe has found himself in a spot of trouble after neighbors accused him of poisoning their dogs. It’s not his first run-in with the law as he has also been accused of digging up his sister-in-law’s grave. The evidence? His shoes at the site of the desecration. And if Cinderella taught us one thing, it’s that shoes only fit their owner…Anyways, it’s doubtful he’ll be spending any time behind bars soon as he frightened off the arresting officers with Tokoloshes, i.e. goblins, in his luggage. House elves we’d understand, but goblins? Also out of Zimbabwe, Tokoloshes Fingered In Failed Revenge Rape. The story loses something in the translation, but essentially some creep raped a woman and told police he did nothing wrong because her family was using the power of Tokoloshes against him. It’s a different spin on “the devil made me do it” and we hope his fellow inmates find the tale fascinating when he goes to jail. (CM)

A gentleman in North Carolina who sounds like an extremely capable outdoorsman recently experienced something that would make many of us turn to knitting as our activity of choice. Camped out in his tarp shelter, alone on a cloudy night, he briefly noticed an anomalous ball of light, which was then followed by a visit from a pair of chattering Bigfoot. And as strange as this experience sounds, it’s not unusual for Sasquatch encounters. Stan Gordon: Lights & Bigfoot Connection provides further explanation, based on Gordon’s years of experience as a UFO and anomalies investigator in Pennsylvania. Evidently these spheres of light started being reported with more frequency only two years ago, making us wonder if an event occurred that only the Hairy Man knew about. If only he was amenable to shining a light on the subject. (CM)

Our species started becoming human about 300,000 years ago, but what was the driving force? A philosopher told Denyse O’Leary about his maverick proposal how sharing experiences, telling stories, and finding a commonality between individuals gave rise to the minds that graced the world with smartphones, Kim Kardashian, and Pepsi. For students of Julian Jaynes and his theory of the bicameral mind, they will find a lot of meat on these bones. Expanding on this theme, Megan Schmidt makes a point about How Reading Fiction Increased Empathy and Encourages Understanding by illustrating different viewpoints to readers. By merely using one’s imagination to focus on a story, building a mind and creating empathy is akin to meditation whereupon a mind can be reprogrammed. Riffing on this theme, in a bit of a self-help kinda way, Denise Winn’s proposal how Depression Is A Trance State, and how people can make their own luck for better or worse based upon their own preconceived notions. (CS)

Through the efforts of Jack Brewer the Central Intelligence Agency has made more easily accessible 2,780 pages of documents previously processed through the Freedom of Information Act. The 713 documents may be purchased individually or in toto on CDROM. Jack has all the details and does ufology a distinct service in doing so. Some will of course now ask if this is more evidence of new openness on the part of the government, while others will observe that the stuff was already released so nothing new has been given out. More on the matter of “disclosure,” “Big” or “Little” D: George Knapp reports that a U.S. Senator says UFOs Could Pose a Threat to National Security. Well, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Marco Rubio has made the remark before, but amplifies his thinking in a transcript of a recent interview that George provides, along with an excellent summary of what’s been happening in the Big UFO Story since it broke on December 16, 2017. (WM)

What reads like a tabloid news headline would be weirdly funny had it not such serious safety implications. Tyler Rogoway reports on last Sunday’s strange event with voice recordings and embedded videos of the most capable jetpacks in operation. Something strange that did originate from a tabloid is that a Mystery Explosion Leaves 50-deep Crater in Russia’s Arctic Tundra Amid UFO Conspiracy Theories. There’s probably a natural explanation for this and 16 other large holes that have literally burst out in the last six years. And there are major safety considerations even in that sparsely-populated area. Paul Seaburn asks of another odd happening Was Arecibo Telescope Intentionally Damaged to Prevent a UFO Revelation? Some folks think so, and to what a pilot said of the jetpack incident “Only in LA,” we might add of these other incidents “Only in 2020.” It might therefore be time for some UFO Critical Thinking 101. Jack Brewer offers some basic guidelines on evaluating information (UFO-related or otherwise) objectively while getting in a few digs at some of his personal betes noires. (WM)

Here’s a pair of reports that serve to remind us that not all Bigfoot-esque encounters are terrifying. This first story is set in the mid-1970s with a scientific expedition to Nepal that was visited by a wild mountain ape, aka Yeti. Evidently Abominable was curious about the encampment and took a saunter through, leaving behind evidence, and excited researchers who found it thought it was entirely plausible that the mountains could be home to such creatures. Next up, Torn flag in David City believed to be work of Bigfoot. The shredded flag was found in the Nebraska cemetery just after Memorial Day and was thought to be the work of vandals until the intricate knotwork was discovered. It all sounds crazy until you consider that horses from a nearby farm have recently come in at the end of day with their manes braided. While the image of horses doing one another’s hair makes a good comic, the task requires fingers and opposable thumbs. Unemployed hairdressers idling in the grassy fields perhaps? (CM)

In a recent virtual address to the membership, Bill Bengston, President of the Society for Scientific Exploration, shares the history of the SSE and discusses a way forward for dealing with edge science critics. He points out that the so called “skeptics” are real true believers, not real scientists, as they refuse to look at the data. He urges researchers to move past responding to belief-based criticism to finding out how things work because “we already know the phenomena are real.” And that includes remote viewing. Check out this interview with one of the most successful remote viewers for US intelligence agencies: Joseph McMoneagle and the Stargate Project. The actual interview starts at the 9:28 mark. (PH)

In the Fall of 1975 a series of “black helicopter” (or something) overflights of major Air Force bases raised high concern with the US military. Brett Tingley focuses upon one set of these encounters, in which the “clear intent in the weapons storage area” of the unidentified object tells all that’s needed about the threat perception. Coincidentally that quote inspired the title of an excellent book on the subject by Barry Greenwood and Lawrence Fawcett, Clear Intent: The Government Coverup of the UFO Experience. Also of great interest is the October 14, 1979 New York Times Magazine piece by our own Anomalist Editor and Webmaster Patrick Huyghe, prominently displayed as an historical document concerning the strange and still unsolved incursions. These overflights constitute one of the iconic UFO cases/flaps of all time. Another sensitive military event involved a Nike Hercules missile site in 1963, subject of Tobias Wayland’s Man Claims Dr. J. Allen Hynek Was Told to Discredit His 1963 UFO Sighting. (WM)

First up is a tale from Baltimore of a particularly violent polt manifestation that was eventually tracked to a creative young man who’d had enough of his family poo-poo-ing his ambitions–and enough of the family crystal collection, too apparently. Our second report comes from the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada. St. Catharines Property With Poltergeist Connection Listed For Sale for the sweet asking price of $699,900 in Canadian currency. Evidently the spooks are gone, departed with the family to whom they were attached, but the memory of what happened within those walls lives on. The building houses several rental units so potential landlords should beware, because the last thing they need are tenants damaging the premises and blaming it on a polt. Is there even insurance for that? (CM)

One of the most dramatic and certainly tragic UFO encounters soon after Kenneth Arnold’s 1947 sighting was Thomas Mantell’s early 1948 airplane crash. Felix Behr’s account focuses upon the people involved directly or peripherally, and doesn’t concern itself with the potential explanation for what it was Mantell was trying to intercept. Brent Swancer covers another controversial part of UFO lore in The Bizarre Story of Woodrow Derenberger and the Alien Indrid Cold. It’s a profoundly creepy story in addition to the debate over Derenberger’s veracity and indeed sanity. Hakan Blomqvist performs an historical service by spotlighting some important Swedish Women Ufologists. (WM)