“We shall pick up an existence by its frogs. Wise men have tried other ways. They have tried to understand our state of being, by grasping at its stars, or its arts, or its economics. But, if there is an underlying oneness of all things, it does not matter where we begin, whether with stars, or laws of supply and demand, or frogs, or Napoleon Bonaparte. One measures a circle, beginning anywhere.” ~Charles Fort, Lo!

UFOlogists don’t like to talk about bigfoot. Cryptozoologists looking for sasquatch don’t like talking about ghosts. Ghost hunters won’t talk about UFOs. And conspiracy researchers are constantly lamenting, and rightfully so, being linked to all of the above by the media as a discrediting tactic. It’s a fair criticism (for those not wishing to taint there own activist chocolate with those other fringers’ peanut butter.)

A corollary criticism often follows that television shows and movies with wacky paranormal conspiracy subjects generally condition the public to associate those topics and issues with so much silly entertainment. And again, I generally agree with that sentiment.

But some TV shows and movies can make excellent touchstones for educating that same neophyte public about both the paranormal and parapolitical. And while our myth-making media do condition the public to pigeon-hole conspiracy claims and UFO sightings research into the molds sculpted in the image of X-Files “True Believers,” some examples from these pop-culture continuums can be turned back on themselves as vast repositories of referential material and launchpads for further exploration. These exemplary cult-classics can serve to educate instead of obfuscate. For there are many True Believers and they each have their own cliques, but there are also those watching all the various cliques - and those watchers aren’t all working for the NSA.

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UFOlogy 101 with Mike DeGroff and SMiles Lewis

Tuesday, November 27th - Austin History Center

Explore the fascinating world of UFOs, Close Encounters and Strange Entities through a dazzling array of historic imagery; from ancient cave art, to classical paintings on to the modern era of digital photography and fakery. How do scientific groups like Austin’s Mutual UFO Network and Anomaly Archives investigate these mysterious encounter events? Come join the exploration and discussion of these fascinating topics being presented by Austin MUFON and the Anomaly Archives lending library. This IONS-SAI lecture will be at 6:30 PM at the Austin History Center, 9th and Guadalupe, Austin, Texas. Admission is free. For more information call 512-258-9878.

Mike DeGroff is the current State Section Director for the Travis and Williamson County Chapters of MUFON.

SMiles Lewis is a past leader of Austin MUFON and the Austin UFO Experiencer Support and Study Group and founder of the Scientific Anomaly Institute’s lending library, the Anomaly Archives.

www.AustinMufon.org / www.AnomalyArchives.org