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Terra Obscura - Culture | Theory | High Strangeness
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Terra Obscura - Culture | Theory | High Strangeness

Can I Be More Excited?

12/30/2015
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

And remember to Like us on Facebook!
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sleep paralysis and abduction culture

12/24/2015
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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...


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All our tomorrow's...

12/20/2015
PictureCourtesy of engadget


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.


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Returning to Our Roots - A review of Dr. J Allen Hynek’s, “The Hynek UFO Report” - Part 4 

12/17/2015
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'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.


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Returning to Our Roots - A review of Dr. J Allen Hynek’s, “The Hynek UFO Report” - Part 3  

12/15/2015
"Does it all boil down to credibility?"
​

The next two posts should be a little shorter. I apologize for the length of the first few- but there is always tons to get through when you start something like this. My initial idea for this project was a simple grade 5 book report; it has become something bigger- a way of linking the roots of ufology to the branches we all exist and differ on.

​For modern ufologists, there is a cesspool of data out there. I’m sure if we combined all the sighting reports over the last decade into a stack- it would go for miles and miles. The vast majority of these reports are lacking data and wander about the lines of storytelling, assumption, and fact. So what is a person to do and how can we sort out the good from the...crap?
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Returning to Our Roots - A review of Dr. J Allen Hynek’s, “The Hynek UFO Report” - Part 2 

12/14/2015
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"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.



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"Returning to our roots" - A review of Dr. J Allen Hynek's, "The Hynek UFO report"- Part 1

12/13/2015
PictureScotch makes it all better...
"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.


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Returning to our roots...

12/12/2015
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I have to start at the beginning. How did I get into this mess and why am I still in it? It was 1995 and I remember sitting in my parent’s basement watching TV. It was the summer, so I was allowed to stay up late. Channel surfing, my father caught the opening intro to a great Canadian-American show called The Outer Limits. It was a re-working of the 60’s show of the same name and very similar to The Twilight Zone.

He informed me that he used to watch the original version of the show when he was a kid, so we decided to leave it on. The episode, “The Voice of Reason”. The plot, alien invasion. As with every good episode of The Outer Limits, there is a massive plot twist. The man you think is an alien isn’t and the rest of the mysterious shadow committee is. The Earth is being invaded by alien infiltrators and humanity is basically screwed.

This is how it began. After that- science fiction, UFOs and everything related became the love of my life. I would consume silly alien documentaries like they were candy. Star Trek became my favourite show followed by The X-Files. I grew up watching the great ufologists talk about Roswell, Project Blue Book and every alien hypothesis under the sun, all of which I took with little seriousness...not much has changed.


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There are strange things done...

12/7/2015
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
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