New writing gig

It's been a few days since my last post, so I wanted to take an opportunity to give you readers an update on what I've been up to. Never fear I have a few projects in the pipeline that will return us to your regularly scheduled Forteania postings that you've all come to love so much. As many of you are already aware, in addition to blogging here at Forteania I also write a column for Tim Binnall at his Binnall Of America website that's entitled Fortean Ramblings. Well you can add another url to your list of places to find my writing. As of Monday August 6, I began writing for Disinfo.com. My first (and so far only) post went live Monday evening in celebration of Charles Fort's birthday. What better way to celebrate not only my new gig at Disinfo, but also Fort's birthday? Below I'll give you a snippet of that post, but you should really follow the link below to check out the whole thing.

Happy Birthday Mr. Fort!

August 6, 2012 marks the 138th birthday of the great cataloger of the strange and unusual Charles Fort. Writing in the early 20th century, Fort would pen a total of seven books in his lifetime. Two early works, X and Y, were sadly never published as the author burned them during one of his many bouts of depression. Another title, The Outcast Manufacturers, was a fiction book that enjoyed some moderate success. The works that have made him rather famous (or infamous depending upon who you ask) are The Book of the Damned, New Lands, Lo!, and Wild Talents. Through the use of the New York Public library, Fort set about to dig up the data he felt that science had too long neglected. Almost right from the beginning Fort laid out his intentions pretty clearly. In his first work, The Book of the Damned, Fort wrote:

“A Procession of the damned. By the damned, I mean the excluded. We shall have a procession of data that Science has excluded”

Follow this link in order to read the whole thing. Also be sure to keep checking back on Disinfo for more of my writing. That's all I have for now, tonight should see normal posting resume here. Until then, Stay Classy internets!

Podcast interview!

Film-maker, and self proclaimed "outlaw for love", Paul Kimball recently interviewed your's truly on his revived podcast, The Other Side of Truth. You can listen to the podcast here. Here's the description of the episode:

In this episode, I spend an hour chatting with Fortean researcher / blogger Tony Morrill, one of the bright youngsters out there who are interested in the world of the weird and the wacky. In an eclectic conversation where we throw in everything but the kitchen sink, we start off with some background information on Tony, and how he became interested in the paranormal at a young age, and then follow up with a back-and-forth on everything from UFOs to ghosts to Bigfoot. We also find time to pontificate / ruminate about posthumanism, tip our caps to the work of the late Mac Tonnies, Greg Bishop, and Nick Redfern, and "imagine the imagination factory" - all while keeping our tongues planted firmly in our cheeks. We even managed to reference a couple of cartoon characters we like, and I slipped in a musical interlude that is tangential to the point of being apropos of nothing, but somehow it still fits. This was a fun episode to record, and reminded me more than a bit of some of my past conversations with my pals in the "Cabal". Tony has his feet planted firmly on the ground, even as he has his eyes set to the sky. It's a good place to be!

I also suggest checking out his other latest interviews with Aaron John Gulyas and Walter Bosley. 

Additionally, you can also head over to Binnall of America in order to find my most recent Fortean Ramblings column entitled "We didn't start the fire". That's about all I have for now. Come back soon for shenanigans!

Older and hopefully wiser

I was a pretty young child when I got interested in Fortean topics; although at the time I had never really heard that word. That story has already been told here and here. When I first began to read about aliens, UFOs, ghosts, and Bigfoot; I was hooked. I mean who wouldn't be right? The thing is at that young age (I was around 8 or 9 I think) I was positive that I was going to prove the existence of these things, scientifically, to the world. That's right, yours truly was going to go down in history as the guy that brought the reality of the paranormal to the average Joe on the street.

I know, its pretty funny even to me now as I am typing it. But keep in mind I was, like most kids I guess, kind of naïve about well life in general I suppose. Certainly I was naïve about Fortean topics. In order to 'solve' the problem of the paranormal; my friend at the time (again I was about 8 or so) Billy and myself created the PSA or Paranormal Society of America. The aim of this organization was to scientifically investigate claims of the paranormal. Soon we would recruit our younger brothers and the four of us proceeded to 'investigate' paranormal activity. We never really saw anything, nor for that matter did we ever really investigate anything, but we had a blast doing it. And through it I was slowly introduced to many of the concepts that I kept for years. Concepts that I have discussed many times, mostly about the ETH.

What's funny about all this, well OK there is a lot funny about this but I mean in a hindsight sort of way, is that I still have our 'Case Files' in my paranormal notebook (which I may share with you guys one day). My hope was that each PSA investigator was going to have their own notebook. Of course eventually the PSA kind of faded away as most things in childhood do. But still I held out the goal, I guess, or maybe desire to one day somehow 'prove' the paranormal. In a lot of ways I suppose that I was looking for some kind of validation. As I have recounted on this blog previously; when I was younger, other kids would often make fun of me for my interests in these paranormal topics. So, my reasoning went as a child, if I could prove the paranormal to these people they would have to apologize  to me.

But as I got older I began to start questioning that motivation. It definitely seemed like a selfish perspective to take. I mean my interest in the paranormal lead me to really think about life in really cool and exciting ways, so why couldn't I just share that with people? Why did it have to be in an 'I told you so' kind of way? That didn't really seem to work out too well either though, as I quickly discovered that people pretty much have accepted into their reality tunnel as much as they are willing to. The more that I tried to talk with people about these topics, especially about UFOs for some reason, the more they would act like the kids did back in elementary school.

This brings me to where I am at in this stage of my life. I have come to the conclusion, at least temporarily because as a Fortean I am always ready to cast this ideal aside for a better one, that I will just learn what I can from people that are older/wiser in these topics than I am and to share what  I learn with whoever is willing to listen. It seems that if there is some kind of 'point' to studying Fortean phenomena; it's simply to allow us the chance to evolve. At least on an individual basis. I know for sure that my life has never been the same since the day that I picked up my first UFO book. I think it's definitely for the better as well.

So for the foreseeable future the best that I can hope for is to continue having a conversation with those that are teaching me things. Greg Bishop has mentioned on his show Radio Misterioso more than once, that he does the show so that he can learn something. Because he wants to talk to the guests and if other people like it then thats great. I really like that philosophy a lot, so I freely admit that I have taken it and adapted it to my own life.

Besides, who knows maybe one of these days you will see me on the news having finally 'proven' a paranormal event. And if not, well hell you'll be able to find me here at Forteania. That's all for tonight, thanks for listening guys and gals.

                                    Fortean Philosopher
                                            Tony

Quick someone get David Icke!

On my way to class tonight I discovered that my school is likely being infiltrated by the same Shape-shifting Reptilian Aliens that David Icke has been warning us about for years. See the Picture below if you don't believe me!

Alright I'm kidding, no harm intended Mr. Icke. Anyways a real post is coming later tonight, this is just something to hold you over until then. 

p.s. For what its worth I have a few of David Icke's books. They are interesting if nothing else, although I believe about 0% of them.

New Fortean Ramblings column up at BOA

Hey there loyal blog readers. As many of you probably know in addition to writing this (wonderful) (amazing) blog, I also have a column over at Binnall of America entitled 'Fortean Ramblings". Well, while you wait for tonights new post here at Forteania, be sure to stop over and check out "Reinventing the Wheel". Then be sure to stop back by a little later tonight for a new post here.

Why do I continue?

    Many times I have often wondered why it is exactly that I stick around in the realm of Forteania, and especially Ufology. I mean I know the reason why I got into all of this mess in the first place (see my first column of Fortean Ramblings over at Binnall of America entitled 'Origin Story' for more), but why is it that day after day I never get tired of all of the countless shenanigans? Why after so many years do I still find myself listening with renewed interest as yet another explanation is offered for Roswell (follow the link for the latest one)? How come it is that even though it is disappointing, I still sometimes watch the 'lights in the sky' videos that are so often ridiculed on YouTube? Is it because 'I want to Believe'?

    Some might say yes this is exactly what is going on. Your friendly neighborhood Closet Anomalist suffers from yet another delusional belief system that causes him to seek proof for the very precepts he holds dear. Well I would like to think that is wrong. Of course it's true that on some level I do have some opinion about theses topics: be they UFO, Ghost, ET, or what have you, because why the hell else would I have a blog or a column over at BOA? (Now is where somebody will likely interject and say, well Tony it's simply because you like to 'hear' yourself talk. Which I guess is true, but it's not the only reason I am doing this damn thing.)

    No I would like to think that my intentions are far more noble (who doesn't right?) I want to find out what the ubiquitous 'Truth' is. Now bear in mind that's truth with a capital 'T' of course. Which in my mind would entail finding out just what exactly is behind all of the assorted Fortean phenomenon that I enjoy reading about so much. I would like to think that no matter what the explanations are for the phenomenon, no matter how potentially 'mundane' they may turn out to be, that I would still be willing and able to accept this reality. Take for instance, if somehow one could prove all sightings of unidentified craft spotted by even professional pilots, as nothing more than say some kind of atmospheric hallucination, I would be willing to accept that.

    Unfortunately however many players on either side of the fence, be they 'True Believer's' or 'Debunkers', are not willing to have this kind of open and honest dialogue about some arguably bizarre interactions are species has or had with something that many would argue we don't completely understand yet. As I have stated almost ad nauseum at this point, the problems with both groups is that they already have the answers that they are looking for. Which is fine if you are in a religion or a religious group, and that is what these two camps are I would argue. They both have their core set of belief's, or well in the case of the Debunker's 'disbeliefs', that they hold to be self evident. For many of the True Believer crowd, UFOs are ET spacecraft. Whereas for the Debunker's UFOs are misinterpretation of natural phenomenon. But you know maybe, just maybe the answer lies some where in the middle.

    Perhaps the phenomenon is comprised of both simultaneously. A pilot spots a UFO (in this sense meaning an artificial craft, that is not just a natural phenomenon), but then the next night sees a strange light in the sky, that turns out to be headlights reflecting off an air pocket or something. The latter by no means invalidates the former. This I think leads ultimately to why I am still here. Why I still put up with the shenanigans, is because I think it ultimately reminds us that we really still don't know everything. And that mystery is certainly enough for me to put up with all of the bullshit that comprises the field of Fortean Phenomena and specifically Ufology.

No Rapture talk here!

Originally I was going to write about how we are all still here and thus apparently no Rapture occurred. Then I realized that there would be a lot of that kind of talk going on and I didn't really want to delve into that arena. Instead I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you guys for sticking around with me for almost two weeks now.
    

Tomorrow (Sunday May 22)  will mark the second full week in a row that I have blogged everyday. I am really proud of myself for sticking to this. Some days it is much easier to post than others and especially now with my classes and everything, but I am going to continue giving it a try. I have been dreading completing my magazine article for some time now. I think that, much like when I first contacted Tim Binnall about writing an article for his site (see Fortean Ramblings), I am really nervous that the magazine will turn me down.
   

Like most people I am fairly critical of the work that I produce, but my blog seems to be getting a decent number of hits which is definitely a  positive thing. I have a lot of ideas and theories about all manner of Fortean phenomena, and it seems that in today's modern society you basically have two options to share your opinions.  You can either produce a Podcast (which I did for a very short time) or blog like I am doing now.
  

  I suppose that in a way I am hoping to help any young people that are interested in these topics to realize that they are not always as black and white as they are often portrayed. I know that, like I recounted yesterday, for me Fortean things used to be pretty simplistic. UFOs were alien spacecraft, ghosts were the 'spirits' of dead relatives back to see the living, and Bigfoot was just a large smelly ape that hadn't been discovered yet. But after a few more years intense research, I have come to a tentative conclusion that those models don't really seem to fit all of the data.
   

As a full disclosure thing I have only ever investigated in person one thing. My town has a road where, (and I'm sure you have heard this before), a school bus was stalled on train tracks and the train was unable to stop, so that all of the children died. Now, so the story goes, if you stall out on the tracks 'something' will push your vehicle out of the way. Well in order to test this theory we put talcum powder on the trunk of the car and 'stalled' out on the tracks. Sadly nothing happened. This may have been for a number of reasons, and not just that this whole is likely an urban legend. Perhaps the spirits realized that we were not in any real danger, as the car hadn't actually stalled out and I don't feel like the tracks are used all that much anymore either.
   

My point in telling that story was so that you the reader can realize that I am definitely not an investigator, nor am I an experiencer (though I certainly have tried see my entry entitled 'Be careful what you wish for') of any strange phenomena. What I am simply is a Fortean Philosopher and a bit of a Closet Anomalist. But that in no way invalidates my opinions on these topics.
    

After all I have read most of the books that have been written on this topic and seen the majority of the data. I really believe that this is enough to come up with some working models of what may be going on. On the same token of course there is nothing wrong with actual field investigations. Because we wouldn't have all of the data in those books that I have read if nobody did the actual legwork. But that doesn't make them any more or less important than those of us Closet Anomalists who sit on forums, or blogs, and try to come up with theories that we can work with.
  

  Well to keep this short and sweet, I would just like to say thank you to all of the readers out there that keep coming back day in and day out. Maybe you can learn something from me, and perhaps just as importantly I can learn something from you all as well.  This is your friendly neighborhood Close Anomalist Tony, saying have a good one.

I did it for the lulz

Some websites around the internets are all abuzz about the next apparent Anonymous attack. Anonymous is the hacktivist group that came from (was spawned by) the lower order of the internet 4chan. Recently Anonymous has been in the news for helping do DDOS attacks against some of the middle eastern countries where democratic revolutions have been breaking out. Additionally they may, but more likely didn't, have something to do with taking down the PlayStation Network for about 3 weeks. 

Well now it seems as though they have decided to target the Ufological field next. All over the internet today people have been buzzing about the so called 'Operation UFO'. Here's the supposed image from this event.

 

The blogosphere was all a twitter about this event. Personally I don't think much will come of this, well at least not for those that are in Ufology. Hmm although as I type that I realize that maybe they will be taken in by this event. I was going to say how hard it would be to pull something off like this now that it has been all over the internet today, until I remembered that many Ufologists likely don't have a strong online presence. It's likely that they will have missed this, because I don't believe it has been picked up by the media as of yet.

That seems like an issue to me. Of course I suppose the reason that the majority of them don't have an online presence is that fact that many of them are of an older generation. That only goes to show a bigger problem that exists in Ufology, were there seems to be no young blood in this field. (To my credit I am in my mid-twenties but I'm not exactly 'in the field'). Course many of the young people that could be in this field are busy doing shenanigans like the above 'Operation UFO'. Or worse they are indoctrinated to the dreaded ETH. (Which I really don't have anything against, I just feel like other theories should be given their just due)

I think the thing to take away from all of this is that on Sunday (if Jesus doesn't return on Saturday of course) hopefully people will ignore sightings of 'a triangle of 8 yellow lights in the sky' which are supposed to be reported to wherever UFO's can be reported to. Although with the phenomena as strange and tricksterish as it can be sometimes, I wouldn't be surprised if real triangle's of 8 yellow lights were to appear. Oh well that's Fortean phenomena for you. Until next time remember this is Fortean Philosopher Tony, reminding you that I do it all for the lulz

Recommended Reading; Project Beta

I finally finished reading Greg Bishop's book Project Beta. In this fascinating book Bishop examines the sad strange tale of Paul Bennewitz. Bennewitz was a physicist who owned and operated a company called Thunder Scientific Corporation, that was contracted with the United States Military specifically Kirtland Air Force Base. Bennewitz, who had long had an interest in UFO's, entered the history of UFOlogy and forever changed its face. 

Bishop takes the reader through this tale by weaving in all of the pieces of the almost 8 year long saga of what would become Bennewitz’s descent into madness. Helped along the way, according to Bishop, by AFOSI agents Richard C. Doty and ‘Falcon’. The book also details the origins of what many readers will recognize as the so called ‘basics’ of the modern UFO myth.

Crashed saucers, Government Treaties, Secret underground bases, and even Majestic 12 all show up along the way. According to the research that Bishop was able to uncover all of these topics have their source from material that was being fed to Bennewitz in order to throw him off of whatever trail he may have been on.

If you think you know everything about UFOlogy, or you are just getting started in the field, I can’t recommend Project Beta enough. This book is at once fascinating and at the same time eye opening. After reading this book your views on the modern state of UFOlogy will never be the same. It’s like Paul Kimball, director of Beyond Best Evidence, said on Twitter. (And I couldn’t have said it any better myself) “The take away from Project Beta should be that the UFO ‘field’ is irrelevant.”

Check out the book, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Together maybe we can get Ufology’s head of its collective ass and move on to solving the problem of the origin, rather than worrying about underground alien/human operated bases. Until next time, this is Fortean Philosopher Tony, saying take it easy.

Closet Anomalist/Fortean?

In yesterday's post I lamented about the label or charge of being called an armchair researcher and how perhaps we should come up with the alternative term Fortean Philosopher. Well today I am back to talk about another term that I haven't seen on the internets before so it may actually be a first. (Also apparently it is labels week for me or something, oh well I just sort of go with the flow around here).

 Today's term is 'Closet Anomalist/Fortean'. What I mean by this is someone who is interested in anomalous things, either because they read books on it, listen to podcasts on topics, watch tv shows, or in some other way participate in the genre. But they don't share this with other people in their social circles, whether at work or amongst friends and family. I got to thinking about this because I realized that with the exception of a few close friends, family, and my girlfriend, many people in my life don't realize that I am interested in Fortean topics. (And for that matter many probably don't even know what the term Fortean means) It dawned on me that for some reason I have hidden a fairly big part of my personality from those around me unless I feel comfortable with them.

I began to wonder why this was exactly. It's not that I'm 'ashamed' from my interest in these topics, on the contrary its such a fundamental part of who I am that in a way I feel like I am living a double life of sorts. When I brought this up to my girlfriend she remarked that perhaps I don't tell people because of the tendency people have to label those that are interested in these topics as crazy. To some extent she maybe correct. I can recall when I was in elementary school, I think it was around 3rd grade, that I began reading books on aliens and UFOs. At the time my classmates teased me and called me 'alien boy', and because of this it was a long time before I was able to let people in on what I considered my dark secret.

What I have come to realize in the ensuing years however is that a lot of people, to one degree or another, are also interested in the Anomalous. But it seems like until one person in their social circle openly admits the rest are content to keep it quiet. I can't tell you how many people I have heard over the years so something along the lines of "Once they found out I was the UFO guy they all came to me with their UFO stories." Really you can replace the word UFO in that statement with any Fortean topic (i.e. Bigfoot, Ghosts, Psychic Powers, etc.) and it would still hold true.

I find it fascinating that there is a kind of stigma around these topics that prevent many people, myself included, from talking openly about it. I can't help but think of how many times I have been asked in my life 'What are your hobbies?' and my only answer has been reading. Whereas it should have been "Oh well during the week I like to research ghosts and then on the weekend I go looking for them". I'm hoping that by blogging and posting here more frequently, and by writing my column for Binnall of America, it will help me to feel more comfortable with this aspect of myself. After all I don't think that there is anything shameful in being inquisitive about the mysteries that seem to pervade our daily lives.

As an addendum I am wondering if anyone else feels like they might be a 'Closet Anomalist/Fortean' and if so why are you uncomfortable with divulging this aspect of your personality. On the flip side if you  are open about it, what allows you to be so comfortable with it? Anyway just something to think about from your friendly neighborhood (Closet) Fortean Philosopher. Until next time, this Tony signing out.