Meets The Weird » reports

Swarm of UFOs Spotted Off California Coast [September 19, 2011]

John D — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:49:00 +0000

Here is an interesting video that comes to us by way of YouTube user ThirdPhaseOfMoon. Unfortunately, we don’t have very much information about the video other than it was supposedly shot somewhere along the California cost September 19th of this year. Making this video even harder to judge, the original soundtrack has been replaced with some eerie sounding drone type music. Despite these short comings the video is still extremely interesting (and I highly recommend watching at 1080p if your connection will allow it). The first thing that strikes me is that the objects, the cattle and the fore/backgrounds all seem to jiggle together when the camera shakes. This would indicate either an incredibly detailed CGI job or that everything that we are seeing was actually in front of the camera. The shakes themselves “feel” consistent with a someone trying to steadily hand hold a fully zoomed out camera. Again this could be CGI, but my gut just isn’t jumping up and down screaming fake. I would love to see more footage and have more info on the sighting, but for now I’ll leave it to you. UFO, CGI, or some other perfectly reasonable, non-extraordinary explanation?

Scientists Reconstruct What Person Sees Using Brain Scans

John D — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:40:57 +0000

In what can only be called a groundbreaking experiment, scientist at UC Berkley have managed to record video of what a person is seeing by using functional MRI. After showing subjects a set of baseline images and recording the corresponding brain activity, the researchers were able to create composite images that reflected, quite eerily, what the test subjects saw. As you can see from the video above, the images being produced are blurry, though I would imagine early photographs looked similar as the technique was being developed. Currently the researchers are only able to reproduce images that the subject is seeing, though they hope to be able to extend the technology to allow the viewing of dreams and possibly even memories.

While from a scientific standpoint this is amazing, I can’t help but feel a little creeped out by it on a personal level. This really is the stuff of science fiction (not the fun, happy utopia kind either) and while now researchers can only see what you are seeing using a huge machine where will the technology be in 10 or 20 years, especially if they are able to refine the technology to view memories and dreams? The US government already ignores the 4th Amendment wholesale, how long until they ignore the 5th? I can imagine there are some very excited people at Homeland Security imagining setting up scanning stations to pick out people thinking about committing a crime or act of terrorism.

Scientists use brain imaging to reveal the movies in our mind [via Engadget Alt]

Are large UFO organizations the best place to report a sighting?

John D — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:04:09 +0000

image by Markusram

In the past few months there has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding MUFON and a potential conflict of interest and/or interference from one of its largest benefactors. While all of the finger pointing hasn’t resulted in any tangible evidence of impropriety, the situation has brought forward some important questions about how and to whom UFO sightings should be reported. A little over two years ago, in a post about what to do after a UFO sighting, I wrote that reporting UFO sightings to an organization like MUFON or NUFORC was probably the best option. Now, in light of the MUFON controversy, I am not so sure that is the case.

The biggest problem with reporting a sighting to an organization like MUFON is that there is no way to know what agenda is driving the organization. Any group could easily be beholden to a corporate master intent on securing UFO technology for it’s own profit, or could even be a front for a disinformation campaign. Even well meaning groups are sometimes guilty of shutting out others in an attempt to be the first to a discovery. Ultimately, under close enough inspection, faults can be found with almost anyone or any group. With this unfortunate reality, how then can you ensure that your story finds its way to the right people?

First off, there is no reason not to report a sighting to any of the large UFO research organizations. All of the recent controversy has revolved around conjecture and evidence that is at best circumstantial. However, if you want to ensure that as many people as possible have access to information about your sighting, you shouldn’t stop with a report to MUFON and NUFORC. (Note that I said and, not or. There is no reason to to submit a report to both organizations.)

We are currently living in an exciting time where anyone has near instant access to millions of people they can share your experiences with (usually for free). There are countless forum sites dedicated the UFO phenomena where you can share information about your encounter. (Though before posting about your sighting, it is probably best to spend some time reading the forum to see what type of reaction you can expect. Many boards take a very skeptical approach to sightings thanks to the number of hoaxers that troll the internet.) Even sites like Twitter, Facebook and Myspace offer the chance to look for other witnesses or people who may be interested in what you saw. You can even start a blog to share information about your sighting.

While these are all excellent places to share your experience, you need to be conscious about exactly how much information you share. Unfortunately, persons interested in the UFO phenomenon are not usually held in the highest regard by the general public. Additionally, while not necessarily likely, the potential for visits from the government or other MIB style agents should also be considered. You should decide exactly how anonymous you would like to remain and take steps to maintain that level of anonymity. (GlobalVoices maintains a guide on anonymous blogging that is a good starting place for anyone interested in protecting their privacy online.)

Finally, if you are willing to endure the potential negative effects of going public with a UFO sighting, your local news is always an option. Most likely they will blow you off, but if it’s a slow news day, you might just get some local coverage that could potentially bring other witnesses forward. There is even a chance that like the recent Lake Erie sightings and the Stephenville, Texas sightings in 2008, that the national media could bring information about your sighting to a very large audience.

In the end, the best way to make sure that information about a sighting reaches as many people as possible is for the witness to not rely on a single organization (or any organization) to make their report available to the public. The more places a sighting is reported, the less likely that a single rogue group (or simple server failure) is to keep information about a sighting from the public where it is accessible to anyone interested in Ufology.

Chinese lantern ban would be boon to UK Ufologists

John D — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:06:58 +0000

photo by cowbite

With sales of paper Chinese lanterns (or sky lanterns) soaring over the last two years in the UK, the National Farmers Union have expressed grave concern over the risk the lanterns pose to livestock. The simple lanterns, constructed of paper, wire and a candle, are often launched to mark special occasions and can fly many miles from where they are launched. This poses a risk to grazing animals that inadvertently ingest pieces of wire from lanterns that land in their fields. The House of Lords have taken up the cause and are moving to join several other nations, including Malta, Germany and Australia, that have already banned sky lanterns.

Since Chinese lanterns can fly very high, can move around erratically, and are silent, they are often confused for UFOs. The potential ban would eliminate these false sightings, a major boon for ufologists working in the UK. With the sheer number of UFO sightings reported every year (well over 4,000 sightings were reported to the National UFO Reporting Center in the US last year), any reduction in the possible number of sightings is a welcome relief to any serious researcher investigating the UFO phenomenon.

Call To Ban Chinese Lanterns To Protect Cows [via Real UFOs]

Did the government recover a UFO outside of Barstow, CA?

John D — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:19:03 +0000

Reports are coming in of a strange incident along a highway outside Barstow, California this weekend. According to witnesses, a strange craft that was flying very low over the highway landed or crashed Saturday (12/12/2009). Following the landing/crash police, black government vehicles and a large military transport were reported racing to the scene. Upon arriving at the scene, the police and other agencies parked their vehicles facing outward, with their headlights on, so as to obstruct any view of the scene. While a photo of the scene was apparently take, as of now it has still not been posted online. Additional reports found by Phantoms & Monsters indicate that a craft was seen by truckers in the area flying low over the highway.

Adding to the mystery are the following videos from YouTube, supposedly shot in Tracy and Ridgecrest, California this weekend. Both videos are posted to established accounts with no other UFO related videos, which leads me to believe that they are genuine footage of some sort of unknown craft.

The video from Tracy, CA:

The video from Ridgecrest, CA:

While, I have not found any other corroboration of reports of a recovery effort along any highway near Barstow, California, the video evidence from Tracy (approx. 300 miles from Barstow) and Ridgecrest (approx. 60 miles from Barstow) of what appears to be the same object have peaked my interest in the case. I will be sure to pass along any updates if or when they come in.

BREAKING: UFO lands on Highway in Barstow, CA 12/12/09 [via Phantoms & Monsters]

Chupacabra Attack Reported In Champotón, Mexico

John D — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:50:12 +0000

Cryptomundo is reporting that last month’s Cryptid of the Month, the Chupacabra, has apparently made an appearance in the municipality of Champotón in the Mexican state of Campeche on the Yucatan Peninsula. The creature is alleged to have attacked and killed eight hens and one turkey leaving one rooster as the sole survivor of the incident. The animals were found completely drained of blood. Aurelio Tamay, the animals owner, said that he heard a commotion coming from his patio last Sunday (3/30/2008). When he went to investigate, he claims to have seen an animal “of strange form” leaving the area. Stranger still, he reports that there were no tracks or other markings around the dead animals. Locals believe that a Chupacabra is responsible for the attack because of similarities to previous killings throughout the country attributed to the creature.

The incident has local residents on edge, fearful of more attacks. They have taken extra precautions to protect their animals, moving them inside their homes in the hopes of preventing another slaughter. Additionally, search parties have been sent into the countryside in an attempt to locate the mysterious attacker and residents are patrolling the streets at night with machetes to kill the creature before any more animals are lost.

Breaking: Campeche Chupacabras @ Cryptomundo
Cryptid of the Month: The Chupacabra @ Meets The Weird

Update to our UFO Activity Monitor

John D — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:42:34 +0000

Some of you may have noticed that our UFO Activity Monitor has moved from its previous home up at the top of the page to new digs in the sidebar. Along with the move, the Activity Monitor has received a minor re-tooling. We have simplified the system down to 4 levels indicated by a colored dot and a text label (as seen to the right). Instead of the previous 6 possible levels of UFO activity, we now have Low, Average, High and Contact.

Low (blue) now indicates activity at least one order of magnitude below the 10 year reporting average.

Average (green) indicates activity within +/- one order of magnitude of the statistical average.

High (orange) represents activity at least one order of magnitude above average.

Contact (red) represents the most exciting level of UFO activity. It represents public UFO sighings/landings being reported by the mass media (think UFO lands in Times Square, at the White House, etc).

For a peek at all the level graphics, check out the About Page for our UFO Activity Monitor.