Alien Lore No. 107 - The French And British "X Files"

The British have joined the French in the rush to release information on aliens and UFOs. An article by James Randerson in The Guardian details how the British Ministry of Defence plans to open its "X-Files" on UFO sightings to the public for the first time. Officials haven't fixed a date for the reports' release, but it is may happen this month. The French national space agency okayed a similar release of its alien files a few months ago.



UFOlogists want to know what officials knew about Britain's most famous sightings and whether what the government did about the sightings. The Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk 1980 sighting has been called The British Roswell. At Rendlesham there were several witness reports of a UFO landing. The released files may answer the claims that radiation was found in The Rendlesham Forest at the site after the saucer crash.

The documents due for release are eyewitness reports of UFO sightings, incuding sightings by civil pilots and military personnel. Most were simply collected and filed by a small, secret unit within the defense intelligence group called DI55. A few incidents may have been investigated further by the military, but the details were never been made public. The 24 files due for release each contain 200-300 reports of sightings, along with Ministry of Defense briefings and memos and letters.

Before the files have even been released, the UFO community has lit up with various new conspiracy theories related to the release of these documents, as well as accusations of conspiracy because of the timing of the French and Brit releases. Will we learn of shocking new revelations? Unlikely. Will the UFOlogists debate, debunk, and exaggerate the release of this mother lode endlessly? Of course they will! Happy mining, folks.
---o0o---

Paul Revere And The Raiders - northwest rock pioneers (with video goodness)

For a short moment, after the British/Liverpool invasion, northwest party band heroes Paul Revere and The Raiders were about the biggest rock band in America. They had a string of 24 hit singles, and various gold records with great pop/rock tunes (Hungry, Kicks, Steppin' Out, Him or Me?, Let Me, I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone, Good Thing, Ups and Downs, among others).

The Raiders had a ridiculously campy stage show (they still do), and absurd and flashy Revolutionary War–era stage costumes. They were all over the TV, and also hosted a daily show on ABC called Where the Action Is. The Raiders were probably the first television age rock band.

Being a northwest band, they played Louie Louie too (and released a single, but another local band, the Wailers made it a hit), as well as their own creation, Crisco Party.





I saw them two or three times at the Seattle Teen Fair and at one of the local battles of the bands. Mark Lindsay was always popular with the girls and women. Paul Revere could have been a baggy pants vaudeville comedian. The stageshow was a strange mixture of slapstick and garage.






---o0o---

Senator Fred Thompson Responds To Michael Moore's Call For A Debate On Cuba

Senator Fred Thompson (and strong potential Republican Presidential candidate) put out this video in response to Michael Moore's call for a debate. Fred Thompson must have McCain and Giuliani quaking in their brogans. If I were to pick right now (I guess I am), this race will come down to Thompson v. Romney. While directly attacking Moore, but dodging his invite to debate, Thompson comes across as the sort of blunt speaking no-nonsense guy Republicans love. This, along with some other recent statements and actions, convince me that Thompson could conceivably whip McCain and Giuliani.

Fred -- I love the cigar!


---o0o---

A video by Yes (and lyrics): Starship Trooper

Starship Trooper

I. Life Seeker
Anderson

Sister Bluebird flying high above,
Shine your wings forward to the sun.
Hide the myst'ries of life on your way.
Though you've seen them, please don't say a word.
What you don't know, I have never heard.

Starship Trooper, go sailing on by,
Catch my soul, catch the very light.
Hide the moment from my eager eye.
Though you've seen them, please don't tell a soul.
What you can't see, can't be very whole.

Speak to me of summer, long winters longer than time can remember,
The setting up of other roads, to travel on in old accustomed ways.
I still remember the talks by the water, the proud sons and daughter that,
Knew the knowledge of the land, that spoke to me in sweet accustomed ways.

Mother life, hold firmly on to me.
Catch my knowledge higher than the day.
Lose as much as only you can show.
Though you've seen them, please don't say a word.
What I don't know, I have never shared.

II. Disillusion
Squire

Loneliness is a pow'r that we possess to give or take away forever.
All I know can be shown by your acceptance of the facts there shown before you.
Take what I say in a diff'rent way and it's easy to say
that this is all confusion.
As I see a new day in me, I can also show it you and you may follow.

Speak to me of summer, long winters longer than time can remember,
The setting up of other roads, to travel on in old accustomed ways.
I still remember the talks by the water, the proud sons and daughter that,
Knew the knowledge of the land, spoke to me in sweet accustomed ways.

III: Wurm
Howe

(Instrumental)
---o0o---

Reverend Falwell Found Unconscious, Rushed To Hospital, And Expires

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73. He was a hater, bigot, racist, and sexist cloaked in the habliments of The Church.


The reverend has appeared on the pages of All This Is That numerous times over the years; most recently last fall: Reverend Fallwell calls Hillary Rodham Clinton less appealing than Lucifer



---o0o---

Vanity Fair asks "Is Rudy Giuliani crackers?"

I don't want to say you read it here first, but you did. We first talked about this four months ago.

The only mystery about Rudy Giuliani's candidacy for President is when he will jump the shark. Anyone who has closely followed his career knows that he will soon enough, on camera or tape, completely loose his cool and incinerate his Presidential aspirations.

My friends Pete and Kev from NYC may disagree with this assessment, although anyone who has followed Rudy knows this. People seem to in general give Rudy a flyer on most of his transgressions because he "made the trains run on time." But a gentrified Times Square, a crackdown on crime, and (relatively) clean streets, do not mean that their progenitor should necessarily be the guy with his finger on The Button.

Read this fascinating article by Michael Wolff in Vanity Fair: Crazy for Rudy.

Recent Giuliani posts on All This Is That:

Giuliani warns of a "new 9/11' if Democrats take the White House
The Scariest Looking Public Figure We Know Endorses Rudolph Giuliani For President
Giuliani: The Candidate For 9/11—See The Onion
Giuliani son: "I have problems with my father, but it doesn't mean he won't make a great President."
Running on empty—Send in the clowns—Announced, probable, and possible candidates for President of the United States
Republicans tied to the whipping post
Bernard Kerik--The Rest Of The Story.
---o0o---

Show: The Posies At The Triple Door In Seattle

We saw The Posies Friday night at The Triple door, at the late show. It was an acoustic show. As far as Posies shows go, it was one of my least favorites. Ken was getting sick, and they just didn't seem to have a lot of energy. The song list had a few gems, but it felt like they'd played their favorites at the first show. And then Ken insisted on slamming the U.S. (citizens, not President), as a French expatriate. Ken, that's cool on your blog, but remember you were in Seattle...home of the WTO riot, two female senators and a governor, and a rock-solid blue state. Let's face it: unlike your adopted homeland, Seattle has remained solidly in the blue column. one of the most liberal towns in the country. But Ken's anti-U.S. tirade aside, it is always better to see The Posies than not see The Posies.

Here are a couple of pretty dark videos on YouTube from the show.







---o0o---

Poem: Higher Ground

Either the ocean is rising
Or we're all sinking

And it probably doesn't matter
Which is which).

If you grew up on the West Coast,
You remember the evacuation signs

Directing you to safe ground
When the tsunami arrives.

Now this whole world
Is moving on to higher ground

And the tide shows no sign
Of ebbing.

Did God make a mistake
With plate tectonics,

And forget the refrigeration
Under the ice caps,

Or is He just keeping
Us on our toes?

---o0o---

Disobey Your President For Disobeying The Rules

click to enlarge
---o0o---

How I became Jack Brummet

I was working for a magazine in Seattle called Construction Data. On my first day on the job, McGoo walked up to me and said

"I have your new business cards."

He handed me a box of the cards.

“Jack Brummet. Circulation marketing and feature article writer? Jack?," I asked.

“I like that, yeah. Jack. John is a pussy name. Jack’s the name of a man's man. These are constuction guys. Do you want to sell magazines, or be be some fop named John?”

I became Jack. And I still am.
---o0o---

CNN: Bush Resigns

The CNN Today program, just after midnight Eastern time, led with a graphic 'Bush Resigns.' Of course, they meant 'Blair Resigns.' Even though the graphic was on screen 12 seconds, the screen grab is now all over the internet...
---o0o---

My five favorite Elvis Costello albums

My five favorite Elvis Costello albums in ranked order:

1. Get Happy!
2. Armed Forces

3. Imperial Bedroom

4. This Year's Model

5. Brutal Youth

Trust, and My Aim Is True almost made the cut. Elvis Costello is absolutely one of the most versatile and creative stars of rock. His voice got better with age! His album and shows last year with American music master composer (Yes, We Can Can; Fortune Teller; Working In A Coal Mine) Alan Touissant were heartbreakingly great! I'm ready for another show!

---o0o---