I, and the rest of my geekdom, are patiently waiting for January 24th. Why? The X-Files returns for a 6 part mini-series. The show and films left a lot of unanswered questions and fanatics like myself need the truth!

For those who need a sneak peak, here is a 21 minute preview video including some cool set snaps as well as interviews with the cast. A few interesting bits? A large "lizard man" hand...exciting! A massive crashed flying saucer...tell me more! A purse carrying monster...yes please! The best part of the whole thing is the commitment to the original concept of the show. While there will be an "over-arching theme"- each episode has its own separate plot and storyline. 

See you out there!

-Michael

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Do I dare type it? 

All those people, those victims of alien abductions, ghosts, ghouls and demons, did they just dream it up?

In a June 2014 essay by Karen Emslie published by Aeon Magazine, she discusses her battle with sleep paralysis, her experiences and the experiences of roughly 6% of the world's population. According to Emslie, the problem is as ancient as humanity itself. Dreams have always played a vital role in story telling and story making; sleep paralysis is the lucid living of that story, bad or good, terrifying or beautiful. As Emslie points out in her essay, alien abductions are most likely caused by sleep paralysis. It's a tough pill to swallow for the believers, especially those believers who have experienced an abduction event. The facts, so far, suggest she's correct. So let's talk about reality...

SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has delayed its Falcon 9 rocket launch until this evening. Why is this news? They need to land the rocket after takeoff- and since their last attempt ended in a catastrophic explosion, humanity's future of exploring the cosmos may be on the line tonight.

Perhaps one of the reasons people are fascinated with UFOs and ETI is that it provides proof that something is out there beyond our atmosphere. NASA and various other space agencies have spent great treasure and talent to explore space, but no "Holy Grail" has really occurred since the moon landing. I appreciate the technological leaps that have been made due to space exploration; I appreciate the various space stations, satellites, telescopes, and rovers- I really and truly do. However, none of these can account for a leap of philosophical ideology. I believe all people yearn to know what is over the hill, around the bend, and beyond our solar system- exploration is in our genes and it changes us and the way we perceive ourselves.

'The Illusion of Conspiracy and Disclosure"

I conclude my review, no, my exploration, of Hynek’s book by discussing the largest movement in modern ufology. I will undoubtedly do many posts on this topic, as it seems to be a juggernaut that requires further discussion. I will begin here- as this entire four part project has been about a return to the roots of UFO culture.
 
Hynek is, without a doubt, one of the earliest ufologists to touch on the idea of a government cover up. If you’ve been reading my earlier posts like a good little boy or girl, I wrote about “era” and “authority”. During Hynek’s heyday in the late forties and early fifties, when he was actively working for the Air Force, the suggestion that the military was working against the citizenry would have been undoubtedly taboo. The nation had just come out of a war, and not only that, a very successful war, which launched the United States, and many other western nations, out of a depression and into economic growth and prosperity. The idea of a cover up of any sort would have been absurd, as the military was regarded with deep respect, pride and gratitude. Looking back on his time with Projects Sign, Grudge and Blue Book, Hynek questions, in 1977 (the date he published this book we are reviewing), why many reports were never filed, were missing or never saw his office.

"Sightings and Reports"

​I’d like to expand on the first point mentioned in my previous post - the UFO reports submitted to the three respective projects in Hynek's book.
 
Hynek’s example reports typically go into great detail with regards to each sighting. The people who made these reports seem to have a good handle on directional information, speed and size information as well as providing detailed location data. More importantly, the reports are generally rich in detail and provide an in-depth understanding of what the person was doing at the time of the sighting. The majority of the reports in the book that were made by “non-experts” provide significant detail with nearly no assumptions as to what the object was (more on this later). There are nearly one hundred reports in his book, but a few personal favorites are Five Witness and Five Discs (p. 107), The Case of the Missing Report (p. 108), The Case of the Tricky Disc (p. 115), and UFOs at Oak Ridge (p. 142).
 
Note: These are titles that Hynek uses in his book, not official Blue Book names.
 
Let’s compare this to how cases are reported today. There are a handful of UFO reporting organizations and websites. The largest, and probably the one closest to holding a household name, is MUFON.

"A bit of background...so to speak."

The Hynek UFO Report begins where he began. He worked as a consultant for the Air Force on Project Sign, Grudge and the famous Project Blue Book studying the phenomenon of UFOs. Like his peers, his job was as a debunker and to propose natural reasons for any UFO sightings. As time went on, he began to realize that these sightings were more than just meteors, balloons or hallucinations. His account of Project Blue Book is steeped in criticism. According to Hynek, the commanding officers were typically low ranking junior officers who couldn’t requisition a car half the time to investigate a sighting. The filing and record keeping system was in such total disarray that a huge collection of the program’s files were missing. The most telling and sure sign for Hynek was the unwritten rule amongst Air Force Intelligence concerning a UFO sighting; as Hynek put it, “it can’t be, therefore it isn’t.” In simple terms, the three projects designed to investigate the phenomenon were lacking funding, integrity and proper scientific method and inquiry.

Welcome to Terra Obscura.

This is our first post and we would like to welcome you to our blog. This is a new project, and like all new things, will evolve over time. While we have some idea where we are headed, we appreciate that things change and evolve- often beyond our vision. 

Please enjoy the high strangeness and stand by.


Yours, 
Michael and Chris