FLASHBACK: In early 2001 I was actively promoting the then upcoming 38th Annual National UFO Conference that I was Hosting and Organizing for a 3 day / 3 night ParaUfological Extravaganza here in Austin at the Original Alamo Drafthouse cinema. It was “The Best UFO Conference nEver!” … it was canceled due to the terrible events of September 11th.
The following article appeared in the 12th issue of Austin Daze – a very Austin publication that has thrived ever since. I don’t recall the author’s name, the article credits him only as “D”… but we met in his East Austin abode and discussed all manner of strange subject matter. His excellent stream of consciousness, gonzo-style approach to his writing was mirrored in the funkiness and fun of our actual meeting. I wonder what he’s been up to since …
So now, presented here for archival purposes, is the text, cover and a PDF of the Austin Daze issue featuring pre-NUFOC event coverage.
- SMiles Lewis
Austin Daze Volume #2, Issue #12 – September 2001 - pdf
It was late and I was anxious to get home. The day had been rough, and I was looking forward to a hot dinner, a cold brew, a lukewarm shower… and maybe, if I played my cards right, a clandestine midnight romp, a hairdresser with blue eyes and sturdy hips and a taste for decadence. I goose the truck along and curse the length of the road and bop to ‘jamming oldies’, whatever that is.
The Toyota stalls out and rolls to a stop smack dab in the middle of a railroad crossing. Wonderful. Dinner and suds and cleanliness are suddenly a long shot, and the odds on snatch are totally off the board at this point. Then the lightshow commences and the bells start clanging and big pieces of wood with orange stripes begin to descend towards my ride.
This is the first in a series of videos related to NUFOC 38 that will be uploaded this week. We hope to get the 30 second TV spot uploaded which featured an animated version of the official poster (left) by Mack White and that appeared several times on local cable television in the weeks preceding the (non)event. This rare television spot featured one of the first big hits by local Austin band PONG (formerly the infamous Ed Hall), Blues Underground – a song that had lyrics such as, “The Knights of Templar, They Run The Game, They’ve Got The Money, And All The Fame, Long Ago Across The Sea, The Invented Monopoly!”
