Mac Tonnies I just found out that Mac Tonnies died on October 22nd at age 34, apparently from natural causes. From what I've read online, his book about his cryptoterrestrial theory was finished and should be published. I'm still in shock from the news. I first encountered Mac's work through his blog, Posthuman Blues . Unlike others in ufology locked into the ETH mindset, he was looking for answers beyond the “same old same old.” His voice will be missed. Other posts about his passing can be found here and also here .
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First Paranormal Expo Held In Plattsburgh For one day exercise gave way to X the unknown. Saturday, October 24th, 2009. The City of Plattsburgh Recreation Center welcomed psychics, ghost hunters, healers and others involved in the paranormal. The Northern New York Paranormal Expo was co-sponsored by the City of Plattsburgh and the Northern New York Paranormal Research Society. The setting for the vendors was a bit unusual: a gymnasium. The building was once the recreation center for the decommissioned Air Force base. Tables were lined up in neat rows on the gym floor. The basketball hoops were raised up, out of use for the day. Up above ran a second story track along the walls, a jogger doing laps while people waited in line down below to consult with a psychic. Muscles and minds. Other tables featured girl scouts selling Halloween cupcakes, an author with copies of his book for sale (“Saviors Among Us: The Story of a Northern NY Superhero”), recycled Halloween costumes (“Think ...
Speaking Of Flying Saucer Zines... In my previous post I mentioned Jim Moseley's Saucer Smear . There's another old-fashioned UFO zine out there, Flying Saucer Digest , published by Rick and Carol Hilberg. FSD offers a round-up of UFO stories collected from various sources. Two dollars to R. Hilberg Publications, 377 Race St., Berea, OH 44017 should get you a sample copy. They also publish another zine featuring Fortean items, Weirdology . Rick is still recuperating from a bad fall. He mentioned in a recent postcard that he's walking around with a cane and going for physical therapy, but he hopes to be able to walk by the end of the year. I've never met Rick and Carol in person, only have corresponded with them via e- and snail mail, but they have always been helpful. Despite his setback, Rick is still publishing his zines.
The Future Of Saucer Smear Besides the latest issue of Saucer Smear , I found an extra item in the envelope from Supreme Commander Jim Moseley: a white card with a big question mark scribbled on it. No, it wasn't a secret Illuminati message. Jim hadn't heard from me in a while either by snail mail or by phone. Of course, yours truly hasn't eXpired – at least not yet. I'm reusing Jim's question mark to illustrate this post. Why? The lead essay in the last edition of Saucer Smear (Whole Number 425/Oct. 15Th, 2009). In his RAMBLING EDITORIAL Jim talks about having “grim thoughts” at age 78. He mentions that “Sooner or later, your editor will have to cease publican of 'Smear.'” It had been announced that someone was in line to take over SS – but that circumstance has changed. There is no new editor set to continue his zine. Dr. Chris Roth had volunteered to take controls of the starship but has reconsidered his offer. As Jim explains in his essay, Roth...
Is There Only Death After Life? [ Spook: Science Tackles The Afterlife . By Mary Roach. © 2005. Nonfiction. ] One reason why I enjoyed this book: that snarky (ex-)Catholic girl tone. Sarcasm that an ex-Catholic like yours truly can really appreciate. As Mary Roach explains in Spook , her early years were steeped in Catholicism, her mother reading the Bible to her at bedtime. But as she grew into adulthood, science provided better answers than religion. For example, maybe the Lazarus story was just a case of premature burial; nothing miraculous happened. But Mary doesn't embrace science with blind faith. As she observes: "Of course science doesn't dependably deliver truths. It is as fallible as the men and women who undertake it... Flawed as it is, science remains the most solid god I've got." In her book she pursues the question: Is there a soul separate from the physical body that lives on after death? Or, to put it in a nutshell, are ghosts real? She b...
RX XR: Paper And Photons It's amazing how a small project can eat up so much time. After all these years publishing a hardcopy zine, you would think it would get easier. Nope. First, write enough material for an issue. Paste in all that text to fit. Then proofread, print a master copy and then go the the printshop to make photocopies. But that's about half of the job. Check the mailing list, address the envelopes, fold each zine to fit the business size envelope, seal each envelope, and then drop the whole mess off at the Post Office. I don't have a car so walking around town is involved. Good eXercise but... Compare that to publishing a blog: write, proofread, push a button, you're done. I started this journey with my zine, the Ray X X-Rayer . In the beginning it was fun, learning how to paste up a zine using a computer. Playing around with different lay outs and fonts. Now the whole hardcopy gig is a pain. So why do I do it? 1. I like getting zines via snail...
CST Where's my DSL installation kit? I'm walking around my neighborhood at night, looking for the box that didn't arrive at my door. I had signed up for the faster internet connection because I want to save time. For years I had tolerated a poky dial-up connection, a blazing 48 Kbps. But thanks to that poky dial-up connection, I found out that the box had been delivered earlier in the day, according to the UPS tracking site. I assume it was dropped off at the wrong address. No sign of it in the neighborhood, at least in the dim lighting. A phone call to UPS after my useless neighborhood search. I find out the package was delivered to my building but to the wrong apartment number. This pisses me off because I had the DSL service company repeat back to me on the phone my address when I placed the order. The wrong apartment has a separate entrance way that I had assumed was always locked. The package isn't outside that entrance way. Someone might have grabbed it. ...