Ray's X-Blog

Hey – My Omicron Bread Is Soggy! If you track fads – especially the ones in book publishing – a great way to see if something is passé is by noting what ends up being tossed away, especially if it’s many items from the same category. No, I don’t engage in bin-diving. But I do check out the FREE BOOKS box at the local used bookstore. Recently I came across a bunch of titles from the CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE series published by Bantam Books. Apparently that craze is over; you can only give them away. CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE was aimed at what is classified as RL 4 readers, age 10 and up. You were the hero, making choices that end up in victory or defeat. You could be a cyberspace warrior or an international ski racer. Each book would introduce you to yourself as a particular protagonist, quickly filling in the backstory before plunging you into an adventure. At some point a crisis would occur and you had to make the right decision. Let’s say you’re a jungle explorer who is confronted b...

Latest Illuminati Ploy: Goofy Comic Books? What would Bill Cooper think if he was still alive? Cooper used to rant and rave on his radio program, Hour of the Time, about all the Illuminati symbols semi-hidden in everyday objects, from that mystical pyramid topped with an all-seeing eye on the dollar bill to any architecture featuring pyramidal shapes. It was all a pyramid scheme to him. The Illuminati, as defined by Cooper, was an interlocking network of organizations focused upon enslaving all of mankind under a new world order. Such organizations as the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Freemasons, Green Stamps Redemption Centers, whatever. One time I called Bill Cooper when he was a guest on another radio program. I talked about all the mystic symbols I spotted during the introduction to David Letterman’s late night show when he was on NBC-TV – you know, back in the days when Dave was funny. While the intro credits rolled, the viewer was treated to a fly-over of ...

Are you a flying saucer fiend looking for a ripping good read? Well, you can’t go wrong with the booklet, UFOMANIA (1998), by the late Allan J. Manak. The subtitle sums up the basis of this fascinating tome: THE LORE AND LEGEND OF UFOLOGY. The subtitle sums up the basis of this fascinating tome: THE LORE AND LEGEND OF UFOLOGY. Manak collected all sorts of bizarre UFO tales and while he doesn’t try to promote every incident as objective reality, neither does he completely discount every one. In the preface he states “...a true study of the UFO enigma must include a study of all encounters and incidents, not just the cases that support a specific theory. One must not overlook the ‘nut factor’ or ‘way out factor’ just because one cannot include it in his own way of thinking.” UFOMANIA presents an array of the weird, from jelly creatures dancing around their saucer to six inch tin can beings eying a stranded driver before scooting away on their tripod legs and taking off in a rocket. Of co...