dailygrail--2020-12-23--Will UFO Disclosure Move Forward Under Biden?

History teaches us that when science is twisted in order to serve political demagogy , the results are never pretty : In the Stalinist era , Trofim Lysenko ’ s deranged agricultural ideas condemned millions into famine .
Nazi Germans eschewed ‘ Jew science ’ like Einstein ’ s theory of Relativity , and favored pseudoscientific myths like the Hollow Earth and the Eternal Ice theory .
And in Cuba , Fidel Castro ’ s project to create a breed of super-cows yielded just one viable specimen , which spent the rest of its days lauded as a matter of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a postage stamp –take that , Clarabelle !
During the Trump administration , which is ( finally ! )
coming to an end , the 45th President of the United States constantly belittled scientific opinion with regards to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic .
The vast consensus among the scientific community is that his presidency was openly hostile towards science .
In fact , there probably hasn ’ t been a more evident anti-science mentality coming from the White House in recent years , since Nancy Reagan was consulting an astrologer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign was run mainly on one coalescing principle : that he is not like Donald Trump : Whereas Trump seeks to polarize and insult , Biden promises to unite and be civil ; after Trump cooed America ’ s enemies and mocked their old allies , Biden proposed to re-establish strategic alliances and reinforce NATO ; when Trump yells “ Law & Order ” Biden says “ Black Lives Matter ; ” and while Donnie dismissed the warnings of scientists telling him the world ’ s on fire and the pandemic is out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the American people he will put science first over politics .
So… where does that leave UFOs ?
The unveiling of Tom DeLonge ’ s To the Stars Academy of Arts ‘ and Science ’ ( more on that later ) and the New York Times article which uncovered the existence of the Pentagon ’ s UFO program , all took place within the first year of the Trump administration .
The three videos promoted by TTSA , and the testimony of former US Navy personnel corroborating the encounters of anomalous objects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wind change in the public opinion , and gave some an excuse to talk about UFOs more openly , without the fear of the ridicule factor which has accompanied the phenomenon for decades .
As a result , a few members of the US Congress and the Senate went on the record showing interest in the subject ; but from Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris there was nothing but crickets , and never was the topic mentioned even once during the televised presidential and vice-presidential debates .
On the other hand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject a couple of times –although his answers when asked about UFOs indicated he was not particularly interested in them .
Still , if there ’ s one thing the former star of The Apprentice has ever been good at , is exploiting things he doesn ’ t believe in for his personal benefit : The ‘ beautiful wall ’ between the US-Mexico border morphed from a silly campaign slogan to a priority of his administration and a matter of personal pride ( just like Castro ’ s super cow ) ; and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grabbing women by their genitals , was nevertheless able to convince fundamentalist Christians he was their god-sent savior by giving them what they wanted –a conservative-leaning Supreme Court and support for Zionism at the expense of stability in the Middle East ( Rapture Ahoy ! )
.
If voters wanted Donnie to woo them with woo woo , he was more than willing to comply : Meanwhile , Tucker Carlson ’ s show on Fox News became the go-to spot where TTSA spokespersons and other UFO luminaries could share their two cents with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same Tucker Carlson who denies Climate Change , promotes open war with Mexico and even makes fun of the future First Lady ’ s academic degrees .
When questioned by people like yours truly on why they agreed appearing on a TV show run by such an egregious bigot , the TTSA people tried to justify themselves by saying they had an equal-opportunity policy when it came to mainstream media , and were trying to get their message across as broadly as they could : But the truth of the matter is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to what was going on in American politics could tell you , if you wanted to try and influence Trump ’ s opinion , the best way to do it was booming it through Rupert Mudoch ’ s loudspeaker –at least until November .
Sorry , Chris , but you know fully well what you were doing .
If Joe Biden remains true to his vow of turning the tide , show the world that ‘ things are back to normal ’ at the White House , and focuses on fixing the mess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspect there is a high chance he will try to stay clear of anything that bears the whiff of the past administration –including UFOs .
Traditional mainstream media have managed to endure throughout the years by knowing where the wind blows , and big ‘ S ’ skeptics –who were too busy fighting against State-sponsored disinformation and anti-science propaganda– will now find themselves free once again to aim their barbs at their traditional nemesis ; already they ’ re getting back to their old antics , like this Salon op-ed written in response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israeli official , who seems to believe any crazy UFO story he read on the Internet .
It would not surprise me if next time some independent journalist , like Leslie Kean or Ralph Blumenthal , try to publish a UFO-based story on the New York Times , the editors of the Grey Lady will say , “ sorry but we don ’ t cover stuff associated with the Trumpian dark ages anymore .
Leave that to Tucker and the rest of the right-wing nutjobs.
” Why do you think anonymous whistleblowers didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platform , and went instead with a brand-new website to disseminate the rumor of more compelling photographic UFO evidence being part of classified reports ( just in time for Dr. Jacques Vallee ’ s appearance on the most popular podcast on the planet , I might add ) until the rumors eventually fizzled out… like a balloon ?
The UFO is a cyclical phenomenon , and so is the interest it receives from the status quo and mainstream media .
Remember how the 50th anniversary of the Roswell crash got to be on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are not old enough to remember all the buzz floating around back in those days –when the Governor of New Mexico had requested the Government Accountability Office to investigate the matter , and even the President of the United States was genuinely interested in finding out the truth about the most popular UFO story in the world– then I can understand why you felt this time it was going to be different .
“ Wait a minute !
” someone might object , “ but what about all the things accomplished by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
?
” Well , if you analyze those accomplishments objectively , you might get to realize they are less numerous and impressive than what they loved to claim on social media : there ’ s the NYT article of December 2017 , the ( unauthorized ) leak of the GoFast and the Gimbal videos –FLIR-1 does not count because that one had already been anonymously leaked to the Internet years before—and the testimony of Commander Fravor , Kevin Day and other Navy men which helped to substantiate the less-than-compelling graphic evidence ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ USS Nimitz and the USS Theodore Roosevelt encounters has yet to surface , and given the way the reformed Navy guidelines created to deal with UFO reports –for which TTSA also took credit—would forbid enlisted personnel to divulge such information to the public , the possibility of future whistleblowers coming forward is unlikely ; at least until they reach the age of retirement… The other feather in TTSA ’ s cap is Senator Rubio ’ s push to include an initiative to assemble a ‘ UAP task force ’ –or bringing it out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to the NYT article of July 23 , 2020—with the instruction to make *some* of their findings available to the public .
The UAPTF legislation ( and what does a ‘ task force ’ even mean ? )
was included in the National Defense Authorization Act ( NDAA ) for fiscal year 2021 , which Congress joined ( all too conveniently ) in the COVID-19 relief package intended to alleviate the economic hardships of American families after nine months of the pandemic .
[ Correction : Please see not at the end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are no coincidences in politics , so it at least strikes me as peculiar that on the same day Congress finally passed the relief package —currently in limbo due to one last Trumpian tantrum— word got out that Lue Elizondo , Chris Mellon and Steve Justice are leaving TTSA –described as an ‘ entertainment company ’ instead of an ‘ academy of sciences ’ by Elizondo himself in his latest public interview with George Knapp ( so what about their ADAM project and their supposed agreement with the Army to study ‘ metamaterials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pastures .
So… no coming 3rd season of Unidentified , I take it .
Critics to this op-ed will argue that I ’ m being as unfair about TTSA ’ s accomplishments , as the people whose expectations on them were so high , they truly believed Tom and the gang would single-handedly change the paradigm around unidentified flying objects –and give us a couple of cool man-made saucers as an extra-bonus .
In response to the dozens of disappointed followers who are trying to make sense of this sudden departure , Elizondo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to increase awareness only in the U.S. ” But if one takes a couple of steps back from the messy scene unfolding in the United States during the last three years , one can find extraordinarily little in the semblance of a ripple effect caused by the AATIP revelations .
Yes , Japan is thinking about emulating the American military guidelines to report UAP –in an age of modern warfare like advanced drones and hypersonic weapons , that ’ s a sensible thing to do .
And what else ?
When did To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or conferences to invite scientists and academicians , and convince them to consider the UFO phenomenon as a mystery worthy of serious study ?
( And No , their trip to meet with an Italian UFO group doesn ’ t count because that ’ s preaching to the choir ) What did the ‘ A ’ stand for in their acronym , again ?
The “ UFOs are a threat ” bingo card can only take you so far , especially when the world is dealing with more pressing threats right now .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough uncertainties –will the vaccination campaign succeed ?
Will the global economy recover in time to stop a catastrophic effect beyond the point of no return ?
Will QAnon finally turn into a domestic terrorist group ?
Do we still have enough time to ameliorate the effects of climate change ?
— so asking them to deal with the mother of all uncertainties –what are UFOs and what does their intermittent presence represent ?
– may be too much to ask .
…And yet , acting as if UFOs simply do not exist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the truth .
CORRECTION : On a Tweet following the publishing of this essay , D. Dean Johnson made the following observation regarding the inclusion of the UAPTF in the National Defense Authorization Act ( NDAA ) for fiscal year 2021 : Many thanks for clarifying this point .

History teaches us that when science is twisted in order to serve political demagogy, the results are never pretty: In the Stalinist era, Trofim Lysenko’s deranged agricultural ideas condemned millions into famine. Nazi Germans eschewed ‘Jew science’ like Einstein’s theory of Relativity, and favored pseudoscientific myths like the Hollow Earth and the Eternal Ice theory. And in Cuba, Fidel Castro’s project to create a breed of super-cows yielded just one viable specimen, which spent the rest of its days lauded as a matter of national pride, and even ended up in a postage stamp –take that, Clarabelle!
During the Trump administration, which is (finally!) coming to an end, the 45th President of the United States constantly belittled scientific opinion with regards to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast consensus among the scientific community is that his presidency was openly hostile towards science. In fact, there probably hasn’t been a more evident anti-science mentality coming from the White House in recent years, since Nancy Reagan was consulting an astrologer.
President elect Joe Biden’s campaign was run mainly on one coalescing principle: that he is not like Donald Trump: Whereas Trump seeks to polarize and insult, Biden promises to unite and be civil; after Trump cooed America’s enemies and mocked their old allies, Biden proposed to re-establish strategic alliances and reinforce NATO; when Trump yells “Law & Order” Biden says “Black Lives Matter;” and while Donnie dismissed the warnings of scientists telling him the world’s on fire and the pandemic is out of control, uncle Joe keeps assuring to the American people he will put science first over politics.
So… where does that leave UFOs?
To the Stars launching presentation, October of 2017
The unveiling of Tom DeLonge’s To the Stars Academy of Arts ‘and Science’ (more on that later) and the New York Times article which uncovered the existence of the Pentagon’s UFO program, all took place within the first year of the Trump administration. The three videos promoted by TTSA, and the testimony of former US Navy personnel corroborating the encounters of anomalous objects during military exercises, did cause a wind change in the public opinion, and gave some an excuse to talk about UFOs more openly, without the fear of the ridicule factor which has accompanied the phenomenon for decades. As a result, a few members of the US Congress and the Senate went on the record showing interest in the subject; but from Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris there was nothing but crickets, and never was the topic mentioned even once during the televised presidential and vice-presidential debates.
On the other hand, Donald Trump did talk about the subject a couple of times –although his answers when asked about UFOs indicated he was not particularly interested in them. Still, if there’s one thing the former star of The Apprentice has ever been good at, is exploiting things he doesn’t believe in for his personal benefit: The ‘beautiful wall’ between the US-Mexico border morphed from a silly campaign slogan to a priority of his administration and a matter of personal pride (just like Castro’s super cow); and a three-times divorced adulterer who bragged about grabbing women by their genitals, was nevertheless able to convince fundamentalist Christians he was their god-sent savior by giving them what they wanted –a conservative-leaning Supreme Court and support for Zionism at the expense of stability in the Middle East (Rapture Ahoy!). If voters wanted Donnie to woo them with woo woo, he was more than willing to comply:
Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News became the go-to spot where TTSA spokespersons and other UFO luminaries could share their two cents with regards to the latest Disclosure developments; the same Tucker Carlson who denies Climate Change, promotes open war with Mexico and even makes fun of the future First Lady’s academic degrees. When questioned by people like yours truly on why they agreed appearing on a TV show run by such an egregious bigot, the TTSA people tried to justify themselves by saying they had an equal-opportunity policy when it came to mainstream media, and were trying to get their message across as broadly as they could:
There is no intended political insinuation here whatsoever. We are simply trying to get the message across as best we can. We can choose which offers to accept, but not which programs offer us interviews. — Christopher K. Mellon (@ChristopherKMe4) May 8, 2020
But the truth of the matter is that, as anyone barely paying attention to what was going on in American politics could tell you, if you wanted to try and influence Trump’s opinion, the best way to do it was booming it through Rupert Mudoch’s loudspeaker –at least until November.
Sorry, Chris, but you know fully well what you were doing.
If Joe Biden remains true to his vow of turning the tide, show the world that ‘things are back to normal’ at the White House, and focuses on fixing the mess left by his predecessor, then I suspect there is a high chance he will try to stay clear of anything that bears the whiff of the past administration –including UFOs.
Traditional mainstream media have managed to endure throughout the years by knowing where the wind blows, and big ‘S’ skeptics –who were too busy fighting against State-sponsored disinformation and anti-science propaganda– will now find themselves free once again to aim their barbs at their traditional nemesis; already they’re getting back to their old antics, like this Salon op-ed written in response to the hoopla generated by a former Israeli official, who seems to believe any crazy UFO story he read on the Internet.
It would not surprise me if next time some independent journalist, like Leslie Kean or Ralph Blumenthal, try to publish a UFO-based story on the New York Times, the editors of the Grey Lady will say, “sorry but we don’t cover stuff associated with the Trumpian dark ages anymore. Leave that to Tucker and the rest of the right-wing nutjobs.” Why do you think anonymous whistleblowers didn’t resort to a established news platform, and went instead with a brand-new website to disseminate the rumor of more compelling photographic UFO evidence being part of classified reports (just in time for Dr. Jacques Vallee’s appearance on the most popular podcast on the planet, I might add) until the rumors eventually fizzled out… like a balloon?
The UFO is a cyclical phenomenon, and so is the interest it receives from the status quo and mainstream media. Remember how the 50th anniversary of the Roswell crash got to be on the cover of Time magazine? If you are not old enough to remember all the buzz floating around back in those days –when the Governor of New Mexico had requested the Government Accountability Office to investigate the matter, and even the President of the United States was genuinely interested in finding out the truth about the most popular UFO story in the world– then I can understand why you felt this time it was going to be different.
“Wait a minute!” someone might object, “but what about all the things accomplished by DeLonge, Elizondo and To the Stars??” Well, if you analyze those accomplishments objectively, you might get to realize they are less numerous and impressive than what they loved to claim on social media: there’s the NYT article of December 2017, the (unauthorized) leak of the GoFast and the Gimbal videos –FLIR-1 does not count because that one had already been anonymously leaked to the Internet years before—and the testimony of Commander Fravor, Kevin Day and other Navy men which helped to substantiate the less-than-compelling graphic evidence; radar data and other material from the USS Nimitz and the USS Theodore Roosevelt encounters has yet to surface, and given the way the reformed Navy guidelines created to deal with UFO reports –for which TTSA also took credit—would forbid enlisted personnel to divulge such information to the public, the possibility of future whistleblowers coming forward is unlikely; at least until they reach the age of retirement…
The other feather in TTSA’s cap is Senator Rubio’s push to include an initiative to assemble a ‘UAP task force’ –or bringing it out of the shadows of Naval Intelligence, according to the NYT article of July 23, 2020—with the instruction to make *some* of their findings available to the public. The UAPTF legislation (and what does a ‘task force’ even mean?) was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021, which Congress joined (all too conveniently) in the COVID-19 relief package intended to alleviate the economic hardships of American families after nine months of the pandemic. [Correction: Please see not at the end of this essay]
They say there are no coincidences in politics, so it at least strikes me as peculiar that on the same day Congress finally passed the relief package —currently in limbo due to one last Trumpian tantrum— word got out that Lue Elizondo, Chris Mellon and Steve Justice are leaving TTSA –described as an ‘entertainment company’ instead of an ‘academy of sciences’ by Elizondo himself in his latest public interview with George Knapp (so what about their ADAM project and their supposed agreement with the Army to study ‘metamaterials’?)—in search of greener pastures.
Otis T. Carr 2.0?
So… no coming 3rd season of Unidentified, I take it.
Critics to this op-ed will argue that I’m being as unfair about TTSA’s accomplishments, as the people whose expectations on them were so high, they truly believed Tom and the gang would single-handedly change the paradigm around unidentified flying objects –and give us a couple of cool man-made saucers as an extra-bonus. In response to the dozens of disappointed followers who are trying to make sense of this sudden departure, Elizondo claims that their mission “was never to increase awareness only in the U.S.”
Our mission was never to increase awareness only in the U.S. It was to ensure a serious global conversation takes place. — Lue Elizondo (@LueElizondo) December 23, 2020
But if one takes a couple of steps back from the messy scene unfolding in the United States during the last three years, one can find extraordinarily little in the semblance of a ripple effect caused by the AATIP revelations. Yes, Japan is thinking about emulating the American military guidelines to report UAP –in an age of modern warfare like advanced drones and hypersonic weapons, that’s a sensible thing to do. And what else? When did To the Stars ever attempt to organize symposia or conferences to invite scientists and academicians, and convince them to consider the UFO phenomenon as a mystery worthy of serious study? (And No, their trip to meet with an Italian UFO group doesn’t count because that’s preaching to the choir)
What did the ‘A’ stand for in their acronym, again?
The “UFOs are a threat” bingo card can only take you so far, especially when the world is dealing with more pressing threats right now. The Biden presidency will already deal with enough uncertainties –will the vaccination campaign succeed? Will the global economy recover in time to stop a catastrophic effect beyond the point of no return? Will QAnon finally turn into a domestic terrorist group? Do we still have enough time to ameliorate the effects of climate change? — so asking them to deal with the mother of all uncertainties –what are UFOs and what does their intermittent presence represent? – may be too much to ask.
…And yet, acting as if UFOs simply do not exist, again, would also be twisting the truth.
CORRECTION: On a Tweet following the publishing of this essay, D. Dean Johnson made the following observation regarding the inclusion of the UAPTF in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021:
Please note, the SSCI directive on UAPTF, etc., is NOT now tied to the NDAA (which was vetoed today), but rather to the “omni” bill (H.R. 133), which includes covid relief, the Intelligence Authorization Act, and many other things. H.R. 133 passed but not yet sent to President.
Many thanks for clarifying this point.


News Briefs 24-12-2020

On the first day of Christmas , my true love gave to me ♪ • U.K. variant puts spotlight on immunocompromised patients ’ role in the COVID-19 pandemic .
• 6000 years of arrows emerge from Norwegian ice patch .
The fact that in the future what would emerge would be bicycles instead of weapons speaks highly of you , my Norse amigos .
• British geneticist Bryan Sykes , who conducted studies to retrieve DNA samples from alleged remains of Bigfoot and the Yeti , passed away .
• Here ’ s an old Binnall of America show in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lori Simmons tell the story of a Bigfoot project in which Bryan Sykes was deeply involved .
• Corvus Sapiens ?
Ravens measure up to great apes in intelligence .
• High-altitude living has changed more than just the genes of some Peruvians .
• Overachieving aliens likely annihilated themselves , study suggests .
What about contacting the procrastinating aliens ?
Oh , wait… • The Q Files presents : the Kentucky meat shower of 1876 .
• Check out my Streamathon 2020 presentation , and be sure to tune in to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Day : Blood of Naples saint fails to liquefy in what is perceived as a ‘ bad omen ’ .
Bitch we ’ re in the middle of an apocalyptic plague , spit on that shit and start shakin ’ !
!
Quote of the Day : And so , as Tiny Tim said , “ A Merry Christmas to us all ; God bless us , every one !
”

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ♪
The COVID-Nineteen vacciiiine…♬
Quote of the Day:
And so, as Tiny Tim said, “A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!”
Charles Dickens


News Briefs 28-12-2020

The Grail news train stops for no man , not even on his birthday… • The Milky Way is probably full of dead civilisations .
• An analysis of the Proxima Centauri ‘ alien signal ’ .
• Meet the scientists hunting for alien technology through ‘ technosignatures ’ .
• Long before Ghostbusters , fiction ’ s detectives were exploring the otherworldly .
• That time a Flat Earther refused to concede an election , and all hell broke loose .
• In the northern highlands of Ethiopia stand 11 churches , each sculpted out of a single block @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Church says were built by angels .
• Ancient people in the Mediterranean ate foods from Asia 3700 years ago .
• Image ( s ) of the Day : More photos of the spectacular Ice Age rock paintings found in the Colombian rainforest .
Quote of the Day : Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy .
Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe .
It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things in that enormous @ @

The Grail news train stops for no man, not even on his birthday…
Quote of the Day:
Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things in that enormous immensity.
Wernher von Braun


News Briefs 29-12-2020

Sorry for the issues with the site folks , things will be fixed soonish .
In the meantime , click through on this news : • Rendlesham Forest UFO : Are we any closer to the truth , 40 years on ?
• Newly discovered ghostly circles in the sky can ’ t be explained by current theories , and astronomers are excited .
• Ashes of Star Trek ’ s Scotty smuggled onto the International Space Station .
• NASA Solar Orbiter waves ‘ hello ’ to Venus as it heads toward the Sun .
• In 1110 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now , we may finally know why .
• In exile from the dreamscape : We live in a wake-centric world that devalues dreaming , yet we need to experience dreams to be our authentic selves .
• How a rock opera director made the trippiest sci-fi movie of the 1980s .
• Korean ‘ artificial sun ’ nuclear fusion device sets new world record for 20-seconds-long operation at 100 million degrees .
• Image ( s ) of the Day : The best space images of 2020 .
Quote of the Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is full of intelligent life .
It ’ s just been too intelligent to come here .

Sorry for the issues with the site folks, things will be fixed soonish. In the meantime, click through on this news:
Quote of the Day:
I’m sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It’s just been too intelligent to come here.
Arthur C. Clarke


Happy Birthday, Greg!

Today , December 28th –or yesterday , depending on your geographical location– our own Greg Taylor , Grand Kahuna here at the Daily Grail , turned 50 years young .
He celebrated his birthday in the company of his loving wife and his amazing children .
Greg began this website in the 1990 ’ s –yeah , we ’ re talking Fresh Prince of Bel-Air level of vintage here , boys and girls– and during these three decades in which he has steered the helm of this little independent website devoted to grounded open-mindedness , avoiding the cliffs of uber=skepticism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sharks of corporativism ( eat your heart out , Myspace ! )
he has managed to maintain a community of devoted followers , while attaining the respect of his peers and many distinguished celebrities in the alternative history , parapsychology , near-death and the paranormal fields ; including Jacques Vallee and Graham Hancock .
But of course , he ’ s also managed to collect his fair share of critics and trolls .
Take for example James “ The Amazing ” Randi , who once called him a ‘ grubby ’ –because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a McArthur ‘ genius ’ recipient can come up with .
The silly nickname somehow stuck with me , and gave me the perfect flash of inspiration when Greg ’ s wife Tonita contacted me a few weeks ago , to request birthday messages and well wishes she was gathering among his friends and colleagues as a surprise to him .
So , this is what I came up with , to celebrate the life of the author of Don ’ t Worry : There ( Probably ) is an Afterlife .
Seems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaction I was expecting , because Tonita and her kids decided to have it printed and framed for him : So Feliz Cumpleaños , Skipper , and thank you for letting me join the ride as you get ready for the next half a century around the inner solar system 🙂

Today, December 28th –or yesterday, depending on your geographical location– our own Greg Taylor, Grand Kahuna here at the Daily Grail, turned 50 years young. He celebrated his birthday in the company of his loving wife and his amazing children.
Greg began this website in the 1990’s –yeah, we’re talking Fresh Prince of Bel-Air level of vintage here, boys and girls– and during these three decades in which he has steered the helm of this little independent website devoted to grounded open-mindedness, avoiding the cliffs of uber=skepticism, the whirlpools or fanaticism, and the sharks of corporativism (eat your heart out, Myspace!) he has managed to maintain a community of devoted followers, while attaining the respect of his peers and many distinguished celebrities in the alternative history, parapsychology, near-death and the paranormal fields; including Jacques Vallee and Graham Hancock.
But of course, he’s also managed to collect his fair share of critics and trolls. Take for example James “The Amazing” Randi, who once called him a ‘grubby’ –because apparently that’s the best thing a McArthur ‘genius’ recipient can come up with. The silly nickname somehow stuck with me, and gave me the perfect flash of inspiration when Greg’s wife Tonita contacted me a few weeks ago, to request birthday messages and well wishes she was gathering among his friends and colleagues as a surprise to him.
So, this is what I came up with, to celebrate the life of the author of Don’t Worry: There (Probably) is an Afterlife.
VINDICATION!!! Oh wait…
Seems the card got just the kind of reaction I was expecting, because Tonita and her kids decided to have it printed and framed for him:
Look at this piece of awesomeness that @red_pill_junkie created for my birthday! Family was so stoked by how good it was that they framed it so we can put it on the wall! pic.twitter.com/H2dqjcoEa1 — Daily Grail (@DailyGrail) December 28, 2020
So Feliz Cumpleaños, Skipper, and thank you for letting me join the ride as you get ready for the next half a century around the inner solar system 🙂


News Briefs 30-12-2020

Dance like there are no biological beings left to watch you dance… • Here ’ s what we ’ ve learned about aliens in 2020 .
• Mysterious asteroid the size of a dwarf planet is lurking in our solar system .
• What do fireballs , spaceships and iguanas have in common ?
They ’ ve all fallen from the sky .
• Murder hornets and monkey cannibals : 10 times nature freaked us out in 2020 .
• The best science long reads of 2020 .
• The cost of visiting Earth may be too astronomical for aliens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Day : The 100 best science photos of 2020 .
Quote of the Day : One day , you will perish .
You will lie with the rest of your kind in the dirt…your dreams forgotten , the horrors you faced .
Your bones will turn to sand .
And upon that sand , a new god will walk .
One that will never die .
Because this world doesn ’ t belong to you , or the people who came before .
It belongs to someone who is yet to come @

Dance like there are no biological beings left to watch you dance…
Quote of the Day:
One day, you will perish. You will lie with the rest of your kind in the dirt…your dreams forgotten, the horrors you faced. Your bones will turn to sand. And upon that sand, a new god will walk. One that will never die. Because this world doesn’t belong to you, or the people who came before. It belongs to someone who is yet to come.
Dolores, to William (in ‘Westworld’)


News Briefs 31-12-2020

• Nashville bomber hunted aliens and believed in ‘ lizard people ’ .
Hey I believe in lizard people , too !
Here ’ s a photo of an actual senior mutant scumbag turtle .
• Nashville bomber ’ s girlfriend warned police he was making bombs .
Funny how them men in blue didn ’ t react the same way they did in this case .
• COVID vaccines intentionally removed from refrigerator at Aurora Medical Center , in Winsconsin .
But let ’ s wait to hear how this is NOT terrorism either… • Even if it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many believe QAnon and other conspiracy theories .
• The Webcrawlers podcast invites John L. Tenney to discuss the ‘ Galactic Federation ’ , UFOs in the Bible , and what he really thinks about Tom DeLonge .
• Diana Walsh Pasulka on the Lex Fridman podcast : Aliens , technology , religion , and the nature of belief .
• On a planet where you can not breathe , is living on Mars the best idea ?
• Jurassic Melt : Well-preserved woolly rhino with its last meal intact found in Siberia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look forward to for 2021 aside from the vaccine ?
The new Evangelion trailer just dropped !
• Octopus and squid evolution is officially weirder than we could have ever imagined .
• 10 things we learned about our human ancestors in 2020 .
• One third of U.S. rivers have turned yellow or green , and scientists don ’ t know why .
• Self-deleting genes promise risk-free genetic engineering of mosquitoes .
What could possibly go wrong ?
• Last Red Pill of 2020 : The monolith craze continues .
Thank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during this challenging year .
May God bless you and your family , and all the best for 2021 !
Quote of the Day : Every new beginning comes from some other beginning ’ s end

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOOOOOWN!
Thank you to all who have supported us during this challenging year. May God bless you and your family, and all the best for 2021!
Quote of the Day:
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end


dailygrail--2020-03-30--Colonizing the Galaxy by Hitching a Ride with Stars

“ Where is everybody ?
” That is the famous question about alien life posed by physicist Enrico Fermi ( see : the Fermi Paradox ) : why have we not found evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations , given the likelihood of their existence , based on the fact that there are billions of stars in our own galaxy ?
Over the years , a number of scientific papers have tried to partially answer that question , by calculating the actual time period required for civilizations to populate the galaxy ( thus estimating whether E.T .
simply might not have had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ However , most of those were fairly simplistic in nature : they used a 2D model of the galaxy in which the stars are all fixed relative to each other , and simply calculated the distances that spaceships would need to travel to traverse all of the stars .
However , the ‘ Cool Worlds ‘ channel on YouTube recently posted a video about galactic colonization that addresses this issue , and it ’ s well worth a watch .
In the video , Jason Wright – Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has co-authored that attempts to model galactic colonization ( “ The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect : Exo-civilization Settlement , Expansion , and Steady States ” ) .
But this time , the paper is based on simulations using a 3D set of stars that were actually moving relative to each others , as they do in reality .
Here ’ s the entire video – I discuss some of the more fascinating topics of discussion below .
The most interesting thing that Wright and his co-authors found was that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by traveling long distances to stars , the more likely strategy would be to let the stars come to you ( as much as possible ) , and then ‘ hitch a ride ’ .
What that means is : once you set up a settlement your ships aren ’ t much faster than the stars around you ; and that settlement will move through the galaxy and constantly encounter fresh stars that haven ’ t been settled , and that this helps settle the galaxy .
“ You don ’ t need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the stars are moving , ” Wright explains .
“ The stars are your ships.
” Additionally , stars closer to the centre of the galaxy move faster , and those further out slower .
There are also a lot of stars in the galactic halo that don ’ t move in a disk – they don ’ t swirl like the rest of the stars : they go in towards the centre , they go out , they go every which way , they counter-rotate in the disk .
What this means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas quicker than you might imagine .
As Wright says , “ it ’ s sort of like you know stirring the jam in the porridge – you ’ ll just see the settlements eventually cover the whole thing , even if the individual ships aren ’ t very fast.
” That is , the churning of the stars themselves within the galaxy would help civilizations spread far and wide faster than you might think .
“ It ’ s not like they ’ re crossing the whole galaxy themselves – they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stars , ” Wright explains .
That ’ s not to say that the researchers assumed that every star system in the galaxy offered a potential place to settle .
For a start , obviously , there are a number of systems that would not offer any planets that were compatible with human life .
But the authors also thought outside the box , suggesting that another reason galactic colonisers might avoid some star systems is because they are already inhabited .
Wright and his co-authors called this the ‘ Aurora effect ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kim Stanley Robinson .
The fraction of stars in the galaxy that are worth settling was just one of the many variables the researchers used to create the colonization modeling .
“ What that means , if that ’ s very low then you have to wait a long time before one comes into range that you can settle , ” Wright points out , “ and that slows down the propagation of the settlement front considerably ” .
Other variables included how long civilizations might survive , how quickly they might reach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how far their ships might be able to travel , among others .
But they didn ’ t just make their own decision as to what the likely values were for each of the variables .
Instead they “ tried lots of different assumptions and then we mapped out the results of those assumptions ” .
What this showed was that the results varied widely depending on what the original values plugged into the model were .
“ What this research did for me , ” Wright says , “ is it helped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s beliefs , [ whether ] they think there ’ s nothing out there , or that there ’ s a lot of things out there .
”

“Where is everybody?” That is the famous question about alien life posed by physicist Enrico Fermi (see: the Fermi Paradox): why have we not found evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations, given the likelihood of their existence, based on the fact that there are billions of stars in our own galaxy?
Over the years, a number of scientific papers have tried to partially answer that question, by calculating the actual time period required for civilizations to populate the galaxy (thus estimating whether E.T. simply might not have had time to reach us yet). However, most of those were fairly simplistic in nature: they used a 2D model of the galaxy in which the stars are all fixed relative to each other, and simply calculated the distances that spaceships would need to travel to traverse all of the stars.
However, the ‘Cool Worlds‘ channel on YouTube recently posted a video about galactic colonization that addresses this issue, and it’s well worth a watch. In the video, Jason Wright – Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State – discusses a new paper he has co-authored that attempts to model galactic colonization (“The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exo-civilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States”).
But this time, the paper is based on simulations using a 3D set of stars that were actually moving relative to each others, as they do in reality.
Here’s the entire video – I discuss some of the more fascinating topics of discussion below.
The most interesting thing that Wright and his co-authors found was that, rather than having to traverse the galaxy by traveling long distances to stars, the more likely strategy would be to let the stars come to you (as much as possible), and then ‘hitch a ride’.
As Wright notes:
The truth is, moving near the speed of light just seems really really hard even for fairly advanced technologies…. It seems likely that if there are interstellar ships they move pretty slowly, and they take ten thousand or a hundred thousand years to get to their target.
What that means is: once you set up a settlement your ships aren’t much faster than the stars around you; and that settlement will move through the galaxy and constantly encounter fresh stars that haven’t been settled, and that this helps settle the galaxy.
“You don’t need to do it with the ships because the stars are moving,” Wright explains. “The stars are your ships.”
Additionally, stars closer to the centre of the galaxy move faster, and those further out slower. There are also a lot of stars in the galactic halo that don’t move in a disk – they don’t swirl like the rest of the stars: they go in towards the centre, they go out, they go every which way, they counter-rotate in the disk. What this means is that settlements can spread to different areas quicker than you might imagine.
As Wright says, “it’s sort of like you know stirring the jam in the porridge – you’ll just see the settlements eventually cover the whole thing, even if the individual ships aren’t very fast.” That is, the churning of the stars themselves within the galaxy would help civilizations spread far and wide faster than you might think.
“It’s not like they’re crossing the whole galaxy themselves – they’re just getting carried around by the stars,” Wright explains.
So the motions of the stars make settling the galaxy much, much easier, and that – as they say – sharpens the Fermi Paradox. It means it’s much easier to populate the whole galaxy than some of the more naive earlier models.
That’s not to say that the researchers assumed that every star system in the galaxy offered a potential place to settle. For a start, obviously, there are a number of systems that would not offer any planets that were compatible with human life.
But the authors also thought outside the box, suggesting that another reason galactic colonisers might avoid some star systems is because they are already inhabited. Wright and his co-authors called this the ‘Aurora effect’, naming it after the novel by Kim Stanley Robinson.
I really like this idea because it runs contrary to a lot of science fiction narratives that argue that [aliens] would want to come to the Earth exactly because there’s life here, and we have resources that they would want. But that assumes it’s a very natural tendency to see something someone else has and take it from them. And who knows maybe that’s completely contrary to the way that any any spacefaring civilization would behave.
The fraction of stars in the galaxy that are worth settling was just one of the many variables the researchers used to create the colonization modeling. “What that means, if that’s very low then you have to wait a long time before one comes into range that you can settle,” Wright points out, “and that slows down the propagation of the settlement front considerably”. Other variables included how long civilizations might survive, how quickly they might reach the spacefaring stage of development, and how far their ships might be able to travel, among others.
But they didn’t just make their own decision as to what the likely values were for each of the variables. Instead they “tried lots of different assumptions and then we mapped out the results of those assumptions”.
What this showed was that the results varied widely depending on what the original values plugged into the model were.
“What this research did for me,” Wright says, “is it helped highlight the assumptions that underlie people’s beliefs, [whether] they think there’s nothing out there, or that there’s a lot of things out there.”


News Briefs 30-03-2020

• We should message extraterrestrial civilizations , not just listen for them .
• Related : Is it really a good idea to try and contact extraterrestrial civilizations ?
• This epic ion engine will power NASA ’ s test mission to redirect an asteroid .
• NASA debunks an ‘ Ezekiel ’ s Wheel ’ UFO – is it hiding something ?
• What would life on Mars be like ?
You ’ re getting a taste of it right now .
• Coronavirus is a breeding ground for conspiracy theories – here ’ s why that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the largest indigenous group in the Amazon has tested positive for the coronavirus .
• Google is using A.I .
to design chips that will accelerate A.I .
• Early research suggests our brains sync up with musicians ’ during a performance .
• Tiny worm-like creature may be our oldest known ancestor .
• Image ( s ) of the Day : Incredible images show how bacteria set up tiny colonies on your tongue .
Quote of the Day : Two possibilities exist : Either we are alone in the Universe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equally terrifying .

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News Briefs 27-03-2020

Nuke the entire site from orbit , it ’ s the only way to be sure… • A weird x-ray @ @ @ @ @ galaxies and nobody knows why .
• The coronavirus : a novel threat , but @ @ @ @ @ i-Scry : Predicting the next pandemic using A.I .
• U.S. Space Force just launched @ @ @ @ @ into space .
• “ When secret mystery planes landed at the air bases where @ @ @ @ @ NASA data is showing something leaking out of Uranus .
Heyo !
• Experts : @ @ @ @ @ apocalypse in underground cities .
• Uncovering the mystery of the ‘ Bosnian pyramids ‘ @ @ @ @ @ socially isolating .
Is now a good time to trip on psychedelics ?
• Video @ @ @ @ @ into another world .
Quote of the Day :

Nuke the entire site from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure…
Thanks to @djp1974.
Quote of the Day:
A man is a god in ruins.
Ralph Waldo Emerson


dailygrail--2020-03-26--i-Scry: Predicting the Next Pandemic using A.I.

Last Saturday Apple CEO Tim Cook announced on Twitter his company would donate “ millions of masks ” for health professionals in the US and Europe .
Vice president Pence later confirmed the American company would be giving away 2 million masks , but by March 21 Cook clarified the actual number would be 10 million .
10 million ?
How is it that a technology company is able to acquire more N95 reusable masks than most countries ?
The news articles covering the story simply note that Apple took the precaution to stockpile masks due to the wildfires plaguing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cook ’ s tweet in saying the company is using “ its supply chain knowledge to source , procure , and donate the masks ” ) ; yet the number of Apple employees based in their saucer-like Cupertino headquarters is 12,000 –even if they had the 2 million originally mentioned by Pence stockpiled somewhere , and are procuring the rest using their “ chain knowledge , ” that ’ s still more than 160 masks per employee ( in contrast , Facebook is donating their emergency reserve of 720,000 masks , and they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ headquarter ) .
Mother Jones writer Ali Breland allegedly attempted to get an official statement on this seeming overzealousness in Apple ’ s prepping strategies , but they apparently declined to comment .
Could it be there ’ s something more behind Apple ’ s massive stockpiling than fear of fires ?
Early this year , when the COVID-19 wasn ’ t a full-fledged pandemic yet , I wrote an article about what we in Mexico experienced with the H1N1 outbreak in 2009 –including how Mexican authorities might have accidentally exposed president Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As part of the story I included the strange saga of Veratect , a small “ bio-surveillance company ” which claimed at the time to have been able to predict the origin of the viral outbreak using AI algorithms and “ a global network of multilingual analysts.
” As far as I could tell from my research for the H1N1 article , this company disappeared from the map in 2009 .
In January I wrote : “ Were their predictive claims unfounded and part of a shady PR campaign , or did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” 11 years may not seem like a long time , but in technological terms it is an entire lifetime .
In 2009 smartphones hadn ’ t become as widespread and ubiquitous as they are now .
Facebook hadn ’ t become the despised Blue Big Brother we now know –MySpace was still a thing , for crying out loud , and your auntie wasn ’ t certainly in it !
.
During the first decade of the XXIst century people still thought about artificial intelligence only in terms of giant terminals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idea that one day cars would be able to drive themselves still felt like an utopia as improbable as lunar colonies and jetpacks .
Oh , and the TV series Person of Interest wasn ’ t even an elevator pitch back then… It ’ s now 2020 , and whether we realize it or not AI is already impacting our lives in ways we barely perceive , driverless cars or not .
AI-based predictive technology has become one of the biggest sources of revenue ever conceived by mankind –in this day and age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diamond mine .
So if a computer program can already predict when we ’ re going to order a pizza or binge watch Altered Carbon on Netflix , how difficult would it be to predict the next global pandemic ?
Veratect ’ s bio-surveilance claims may have seemed bold in 2009 , but in 2020 they feel almost quaint .
The question is , then : If an IT technology were to develop such a viral outbreak predictive system , would they share it with the world for free , or would they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect their own interests and make a profit as a bonus ?
The first thing American politicians did after they were briefed on the seriousness of the COVID/19 threat , was dump their share stock and divert their portfolio in ways that would take advantage of the impending crisis ( like investing in work-from-home technology ) .
Taking a wild speculation here , perhaps tech companies like Apple are already capable of detecting dangerous trends in global health , but as far as we can tell –following this subjective and totally unproven train @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alarms with the WHO and national governments –although calling Trump would have probably been a huge waste of time .
But even if my tinfoil hat is blocking the blood flow to my brain and I ’ m writing out of my ass here , the question remains : Why are tech giants more interested in developing tools to sell us jeans and baby diapers , instead of keeping us safe from the oldest enemies of our species –viruses and microbes ?
In his most recent article for Financial Times , best-selling author @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that after the worst of the COVID-19 catastrophe is over , there will be no going back to the way things were .
We are already at a crossroads , in which on the one hand modern technology coupled with our current economic system will coax us to accept draconian digital surveillance tools , which will invade not only the privacy of our social circles , but even the intimacy of our biology .
All in order to “ keep us all safe.
” But on the other hand , we are still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that these new tools are used humanely in order to empower citizens and not governments or corporations , in order to make better informed decisions for the sake of our community and loved ones .
The choice between 1984 and Tomorrowland* is still in our hands –after we wash them with soap , of course .
( * ) : A personal favorite of mine , and a much better quarantine movie night choice than Outbreak or Night of the Living Dead IMO .

Last Saturday Apple CEO Tim Cook announced on Twitter his company would donate “millions of masks” for health professionals in the US and Europe. Vice president Pence later confirmed the American company would be giving away 2 million masks, but by March 21 Cook clarified the actual number would be 10 million.
Tim Cook
10 million? How is it that a technology company is able to acquire more N95 reusable masks than most countries? The news articles covering the story simply note that Apple took the precaution to stockpile masks due to the wildfires plaguing California last year (the Verge quotes Cook’s tweet in saying the company is using “its supply chain knowledge to source, procure, and donate the masks”); yet the number of Apple employees based in their saucer-like Cupertino headquarters is 12,000 –even if they had the 2 million originally mentioned by Pence stockpiled somewhere, and are procuring the rest using their “chain knowledge,” that’s still more than 160 masks per employee (in contrast, Facebook is donating their emergency reserve of 720,000 masks, and they have 10,000 employees at their Menlo Park headquarter). Mother Jones writer Ali Breland allegedly attempted to get an official statement on this seeming overzealousness in Apple’s prepping strategies, but they apparently declined to comment.
Could it be there’s something more behind Apple’s massive stockpiling than fear of fires?
Early this year, when the COVID-19 wasn’t a full-fledged pandemic yet, I wrote an article about what we in Mexico experienced with the H1N1 outbreak in 2009 –including how Mexican authorities might have accidentally exposed president Obama to the virus during a state visit. As part of the story I included the strange saga of Veratect, a small “bio-surveillance company” which claimed at the time to have been able to predict the origin of the viral outbreak using AI algorithms and “a global network of multilingual analysts.”
As far as I could tell from my research for the H1N1 article, this company disappeared from the map in 2009. In January I wrote: “Were their predictive claims unfounded and part of a shady PR campaign, or did their AI technology go ‘underground’?”
11 years may not seem like a long time, but in technological terms it is an entire lifetime. In 2009 smartphones hadn’t become as widespread and ubiquitous as they are now. Facebook hadn’t become the despised Blue Big Brother we now know –MySpace was still a thing, for crying out loud, and your auntie wasn’t certainly in it!. During the first decade of the XXIst century people still thought about artificial intelligence only in terms of giant terminals beating Russian chess players, and the idea that one day cars would be able to drive themselves still felt like an utopia as improbable as lunar colonies and jetpacks. Oh, and the TV series Person of Interest wasn’t even an elevator pitch back then…
It’s now 2020, and whether we realize it or not AI is already impacting our lives in ways we barely perceive, driverless cars or not. AI-based predictive technology has become one of the biggest sources of revenue ever conceived by mankind –in this day and age an algorithm is more valuable than a diamond mine. So if a computer program can already predict when we’re going to order a pizza or binge watch Altered Carbon on Netflix, how difficult would it be to predict the next global pandemic?
Veratect’s bio-surveilance claims may have seemed bold in 2009, but in 2020 they feel almost quaint. The question is, then: If an IT technology were to develop such a viral outbreak predictive system, would they share it with the world for free, or would they keep it to themselves in order to protect their own interests and make a profit as a bonus?
The first thing American politicians did after they were briefed on the seriousness of the COVID/19 threat, was dump their share stock and divert their portfolio in ways that would take advantage of the impending crisis (like investing in work-from-home technology). Taking a wild speculation here, perhaps tech companies like Apple are already capable of detecting dangerous trends in global health, but as far as we can tell –following this subjective and totally unproven train of thought– they failed to ring the alarms with the WHO and national governments –although calling Trump would have probably been a huge waste of time.
But even if my tinfoil hat is blocking the blood flow to my brain and I’m writing out of my ass here, the question remains: Why are tech giants more interested in developing tools to sell us jeans and baby diapers, instead of keeping us safe from the oldest enemies of our species –viruses and microbes?
Yuval Noah Harari
In his most recent article for Financial Times, best-selling author and historian Yuval Noah Harari warns us that after the worst of the COVID-19 catastrophe is over, there will be no going back to the way things were. We are already at a crossroads, in which on the one hand modern technology coupled with our current economic system will coax us to accept draconian digital surveillance tools, which will invade not only the privacy of our social circles, but even the intimacy of our biology. All in order to “keep us all safe.”
But on the other hand, we are still in time to change direction and demand that these new tools are used humanely in order to empower citizens and not governments or corporations, in order to make better informed decisions for the sake of our community and loved ones. The choice between 1984 and Tomorrowland* is still in our hands –after we wash them with soap, of course.
Interdimensional Social Distancing
_________________________
(*): A personal favorite of mine, and a much better quarantine movie night choice than Outbreak or Night of the Living Dead IMO.


News Briefs 31-03-2020

Once quarantine is over , we all gon na be like… • Star ships , for real : Colonizing the galaxy by hitching a ride with stars .
• Necroplanetology : the strangest field of astronomy you ’ ve never heard of .
• Scientists develop AI that can turn brain activity into text .
• Timor-Leste cave art could be link to Australia ’ s first people .
• Tests to determine age of Cerne Abbas giant .
However old he is , he doesn ’ t seem to need Viagra… • Astrophysicist gets magnets stuck up nose while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spacetime-bending forensic analysis of Tic-Tac shaped Nimitz UFO video captured by US Navy .
Sounds legit… • Video of the Day : Relax everyone , you can socialise again .
Televangelist Kenneth Copeland declares COVID-19 “ finished ” after commanding God to destroy it .
Quote of the Day : Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy .
Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe .
It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things in that enormous @ @

Once quarantine is over, we all gonna be like…
Quote of the Day:
Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things in that enormous immensity.
Wernher von Braun


dailygrail--2020-03-31--On the Trail of UFOs (Web Series Review)

In the past I ’ ve often mentioned how , despite my life-long interest in the UFO subject , I ’ m not much of a fan of UFO TV series or documentary films .
In fact whenever I hear about a new project in the works or about to be released , the cynical question that inevitably pops in my head is : “ do we really need yet another TV show ?
” After watching Small Town Monsters ’ On the Trail of UFOs the non-cynical answer is : Yes , as long as the series is willing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On the Trail of UFOs follows narrator Shannon Legro and Seth Breedlove ( director , writer and co-producer with his wife Adrienne ) as they travel across America visiting famous and not-so-famous “ UFO hotspots ” while conducting interviews with witnesses , researchers and witness-researchers .
Shannon is the host of the podcast Into the Fray , which deals with all sorts of paranormal topics –even though Shannon ’ s forte is into Cryptozoology and Bigfoot .
As such she dives into this year-long exploration of the wacky house of mirrors known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unbiased perspective than you would get from a seasoned UFO hunter , or a hard-nosed debunker .
The fact this series is hosted by a woman actively involved in paranormal research is something that should be applauded and replicated by all future UFO-related media products –hooray for female investigators in Panama hats competing with male investigators in Fedora hats !
For it is the sad reality of most paranormal fields that they tend to be male-dominated , to the point that the stereotype of “ middle-aged unf $ % # able white dudes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UFOs and Bigfoot gets perpetuated in pop culture .
The male/female ratio of interviewed researchers –Micah Hanks , Alejandro Rojas , David Weatherly , Ron Regehr , Ryan Sprague , Greg Bishop , Lynne D. Kitei , Linda Zimmerman , Stan Gordon , Eleanor Hasken , Mark Matzke , Aleksandar Petakov , Michael Huntington , Michael Stevens , Butch Witkowski , Carolyn Larocque , etc– was unfortunately not as balanced as I would have liked ( 3 to 1 ) so perhaps this is something that could be improved for season 2 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old guard ” / “ young guns ” ratio was more leveled ) .
The series comprises 8 episodes of over 30 minutes each .
The overall quality production is kept high ( although I did cringe a few times over panoramic scenes shot with dirty lenses ) and the inevitable CGI scenes to recreate the cases reported by the witnesses were used with restrain and good taste –I particularly liked the filters employed by visual artist Santino Vitale , which somehow reminded me of the illustrations found in the old Mysteries of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for any serious paranormal fan ) .
Kudos also for showing many of the ‘ real ’ videos that briefly appear in some of the episodes as “ purported ” UFOs .
More than a “ UFOlogy 101 ” or “ Top Ten Cases ” approach , On the Trail of UFOs chooses instead to explore the ways UFOs and close encounters have shaped our culture in the past , and continues to do so as the phenomenon morphs from will-o-the-wisps to airships to flying saucers to black triangles and now white Tic-Tacs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ square one of : “ are UFOs real ?
, ” the series is willing to ask deeper questions , like : “ what does it mean to have an ongoing UFO presence ?
” ( i.e .
‘ it ’ exists so what do we do about it ? )
.
I should also point out , for the sake of transparency , that several of the researchers interviewed in the 8 episodes which comprises the series happen to be good friends of mine ; which probably makes me partial in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , since the reason these people are my buddies in the first place , is because I happen to agree with their views about both the phenomenon and the field , and I would rather watch THEM offering their 2 cents in front of the camera than your typical UFO celebrity peddling their particular grand solution to the masses .
Because that is another thing which characterizes my friends –and the rest of the featured researchers , for that matter : Neither of them pretend to offer ANY ultimate answer to this mystery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of On the Trail of UFOs remains pleasantly agnostic throughout all the series .
There ’ s no attempt to validate any particular theory over another , and all of them ( ETH , interdimensional , time travelers , black projects , Earth lights , etc ) are explored dispassionately , acknowledging the fact that there are problems with ALL the theories , and that putting a label on a thing is very different from actually understanding the thing –e.g .
the “ placebo ” effect , which has been categorized by modern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from comprehending how the mind can cure the body by force of will and belief alone .
If anything , the common denominator in the perspective offered by the show and its ‘ talking heads ’ is : the best approach to better understand UFOs is paying attention to how they impact the lives of those who have been fortunate or unfortunate enough to encounter them .
Putting the focus back on the people and asking them how their sighting changed their political , philosophical and religious perspectives , how they might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , might be more fruitful than continuing to fill file cabinets with reports in which only the ‘ exoteric ’ elements of the mystery are considered –e.g .
the shape and size of the object , its color , trajectory , etc .
I wholeheartedly welcomed the neutral and grounded tone of On the Trail of UFOs , certainly not the norm with paranormal media products in which either arrogant skepticism or blind belief are assumed .
The last episode ( “ Longer Ways to Go ” ) was probably my favorite , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves , and the reasons they keep doing what they ’ re doing after years or even decades of searching for ‘ the ’ answer and not finding it ; seasoned researcher Stan Gordon , for example , has been investigating UFO and high strangeness cases in rural Pennsylvania for 50 years and he ’ s never had a sighting himself !
Another legendary Stan ( Friedman ) passed away last year without having a direct experience of his own , nor was he able to unmask the “ Cosmic Watergate ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coverup and mainstream media ridicule .
“ Don ’ t let your ego get in the way ” admonishes Radio Misterioso host Greg Bishop to any would-be UFOlogist .
“ Get in the field and don ’ t sit in front of your computer ” is the advice of David Weatherly .
“ Be wary of cults and charlatans ” recommends Alejandro Rojas .
“ Don ’ t expect to make any money out of it ” reveals Ron Regehr ( Amen to that ! )
.
But perhaps the best comment was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who acknowledges the fact he may end up going to his grave like Stan Friedman without finding the answers he ’ s been looking for , yet he ’ s smart enough to recognize that in this field the journey is more important than the destination , and that investigating UFOs may not yield the results we expect , yet it will still be fruitful if we end up learning more about ourselves .
On the Trail of UFOs is now available in DVD/Blu-ray as well as Vimeo on demand and Amazon @ @

In the past I’ve often mentioned how, despite my life-long interest in the UFO subject, I’m not much of a fan of UFO TV series or documentary films. In fact whenever I hear about a new project in the works or about to be released, the cynical question that inevitably pops in my head is: “do we really need yet another TV show?”
After watching Small Town Monsters’ On the Trail of UFOs the non-cynical answer is: Yes, as long as the series is willing to pose different questions to its audience.
[Mild Spoilers]
On the Trail of UFOs follows narrator Shannon Legro and Seth Breedlove (director, writer and co-producer with his wife Adrienne) as they travel across America visiting famous and not-so-famous “UFO hotspots” while conducting interviews with witnesses, researchers and witness-researchers. Shannon is the host of the podcast Into the Fray, which deals with all sorts of paranormal topics –even though Shannon’s forte is into Cryptozoology and Bigfoot. As such she dives into this year-long exploration of the wacky house of mirrors known as “UFOlogy” with a less unbiased perspective than you would get from a seasoned UFO hunter, or a hard-nosed debunker.
Shannon on location at Area 51
The fact this series is hosted by a woman actively involved in paranormal research is something that should be applauded and replicated by all future UFO-related media products –hooray for female investigators in Panama hats competing with male investigators in Fedora hats! For it is the sad reality of most paranormal fields that they tend to be male-dominated, to the point that the stereotype of “middle-aged unf$%#able white dudes” being the only ones interested in UFOs and Bigfoot gets perpetuated in pop culture. The male/female ratio of interviewed researchers –Micah Hanks, Alejandro Rojas, David Weatherly, Ron Regehr, Ryan Sprague, Greg Bishop, Lynne D. Kitei, Linda Zimmerman, Stan Gordon, Eleanor Hasken, Mark Matzke, Aleksandar Petakov, Michael Huntington, Michael Stevens, Butch Witkowski, Carolyn Larocque, etc– was unfortunately not as balanced as I would have liked (3 to 1) so perhaps this is something that could be improved for season 2 (on the other hand, the “old guard” / “young guns” ratio was more leveled).
The series comprises 8 episodes of over 30 minutes each. The overall quality production is kept high (although I did cringe a few times over panoramic scenes shot with dirty lenses) and the inevitable CGI scenes to recreate the cases reported by the witnesses were used with restrain and good taste –I particularly liked the filters employed by visual artist Santino Vitale, which somehow reminded me of the illustrations found in the old Mysteries of the Unknown book collection (a must-have for any serious paranormal fan). Kudos also for showing many of the ‘real’ videos that briefly appear in some of the episodes as “purported” UFOs.
More than a “UFOlogy 101” or “Top Ten Cases” approach, On the Trail of UFOs chooses instead to explore the ways UFOs and close encounters have shaped our culture in the past, and continues to do so as the phenomenon morphs from will-o-the-wisps to airships to flying saucers to black triangles and now white Tic-Tacs. Instead of remaining in the eternal square one of: “are UFOs real?,” the series is willing to ask deeper questions, like: “what does it mean to have an ongoing UFO presence?” (i.e. ‘it’ exists so what do we do about it?).
I should also point out, for the sake of transparency, that several of the researchers interviewed in the 8 episodes which comprises the series happen to be good friends of mine; which probably makes me partial in my judgement of On the Trail of UFOs, since the reason these people are my buddies in the first place, is because I happen to agree with their views about both the phenomenon and the field, and I would rather watch THEM offering their 2 cents in front of the camera than your typical UFO celebrity peddling their particular grand solution to the masses.
Because that is another thing which characterizes my friends –and the rest of the featured researchers, for that matter: Neither of them pretend to offer ANY ultimate answer to this mystery, and in this regard the tone of On the Trail of UFOs remains pleasantly agnostic throughout all the series. There’s no attempt to validate any particular theory over another, and all of them (ETH, interdimensional, time travelers, black projects, Earth lights, etc) are explored dispassionately, acknowledging the fact that there are problems with ALL the theories, and that putting a label on a thing is very different from actually understanding the thing –e.g. the “placebo” effect, which has been categorized by modern Medicine, yet we are still far away from comprehending how the mind can cure the body by force of will and belief alone.
The On the Trail of UFOs team
If anything, the common denominator in the perspective offered by the show and its ‘talking heads’ is: the best approach to better understand UFOs is paying attention to how they impact the lives of those who have been fortunate or unfortunate enough to encounter them. Putting the focus back on the people and asking them how their sighting changed their political, philosophical and religious perspectives, how they might have strained their marriages or professional careers, might be more fruitful than continuing to fill file cabinets with reports in which only the ‘exoteric’ elements of the mystery are considered –e.g. the shape and size of the object, its color, trajectory, etc.
I wholeheartedly welcomed the neutral and grounded tone of On the Trail of UFOs, certainly not the norm with paranormal media products in which either arrogant skepticism or blind belief are assumed. The last episode (“Longer Ways to Go”) was probably my favorite, because it focuses on the UFO researchers themselves, and the reasons they keep doing what they’re doing after years or even decades of searching for ‘the’ answer and not finding it; seasoned researcher Stan Gordon, for example, has been investigating UFO and high strangeness cases in rural Pennsylvania for 50 years and he’s never had a sighting himself! Another legendary Stan (Friedman) passed away last year without having a direct experience of his own, nor was he able to unmask the “Cosmic Watergate” he was certain to be behind the official coverup and mainstream media ridicule.
“Don’t let your ego get in the way” admonishes Radio Misterioso host Greg Bishop to any would-be UFOlogist. “Get in the field and don’t sit in front of your computer” is the advice of David Weatherly. “Be wary of cults and charlatans” recommends Alejandro Rojas. “Don’t expect to make any money out of it” reveals Ron Regehr (Amen to that!). But perhaps the best comment was made by researcher and podcaster Ryan Sprague, who acknowledges the fact he may end up going to his grave like Stan Friedman without finding the answers he’s been looking for, yet he’s smart enough to recognize that in this field the journey is more important than the destination, and that investigating UFOs may not yield the results we expect, yet it will still be fruitful if we end up learning more about ourselves.
On the Trail of UFOs is now available in DVD/Blu-ray as well as Vimeo on demand and Amazon Prime.


News Briefs 01-04-2020

Relax : today ’ s news is ( as best I can tell ) an April Fool ’ s free zone… • Can we actually teach artificial intelligence empathy ?
• Reaching the singularity might be humanity ’ s greatest – and last – accomplishment .
• Ancient bones reveal Irish are not Celts after all .
• Vox Populi : ancient gossip of the talking statues of Rome .
• Study finds our ancestors were swinging through trees more recently than we thought .
• On the trail of UFOs .
• Related : UFOs and swarming drones – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Undersea telescopes scan the sky from below .
• Ocean creatures have been protecting us from millions of viruses this entire time .
• Astronauts could use their own urine to build moon bases one day .
• Coronavirus lockdowns have literally changed the way Earth moves .
• QAnon conspiracy theory post about the coronavirus is spreading on social media .
• Cops are wearing COVID-19 helmets as reality just gets weirder during the pandemic .
• Psychedelic research company is trying to create a type of magic mushroom that never produces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Day : Success is a lousy teacher .
It seduces smart people into thinking they can ’ t lose .

Relax: today’s news is (as best I can tell) an April Fool’s free zone…
Quote of the Day:
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.
Bill Gates


News Briefs 02-04-2020

To all the people who , just a couple of months ago , were fantasizing about staying at home doing nothing but watching Netflix and reading books with no pants on —Be careful what you wish for… • Scientists are experimenting with three kinds of COVID-19 vaccines .
Of course , neither one will work if some of us keep REFUSING to vaccinate , you know… • Nope , drinking warm water with lemon and/or bicarbonate won ’ t do squat against the Coronavirus .
• Argentinians believe the Virgin Mary appeared over their skies to protect them .
• @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and unexplained happenings from Utah ’ s secretive Skinwalker ranch .
• Your complete guide to UFOs , mysterious deaths and space-time anomalies in Russia .
• How to see a UFO with David Halperin .
• Stratolaunch to launch hypersonic vehicles from the world ’ s biggest airplane .
• Meteorites reveal that Martian water came from different sources .
• A year from now , our knowledge of the Universe will change forever , thanks to the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope .
• The astounding new story of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New AI system translates human brain signals into text with up to 97 % accuracy .
• Red Pill of the Day : Truck hauling toilet paper catches fire in Texas interstate —I just can ’ t *sniff* Thanks to all the people still going off to work each morning so the whole thing doesn ’ t collapse while the rest of us cower inside our homes .
Respect !
Quote of the Day : It ’ s all real and it ’ s all illusory : that ’ s Awareness !

To all the people who, just a couple of months ago, were fantasizing about staying at home doing nothing but watching Netflix and reading books with no pants on —Be careful what you wish for…
Thanks to all the people still going off to work each morning so the whole thing doesn’t collapse while the rest of us cower inside our homes. Respect!
Quote of the Day:
It’s all real and it’s all illusory: that’s Awareness!
Ram Dass


News Briefs 03-04-2020

“ The greatest danger to our future is apathy.
” • Three different human species living side by side .
@ @ @ @ @ “ Only if we understand can we care .
Only if we care will we @ @ @ @ @ help shall they be saved .
”

“The greatest danger to our future is apathy.”
Quote of the Day:
“Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved.”
Jane Goodall