"Be Wise…" Allergy Campaign

A new allergy over the counter medication -- Xyzal -- is using an owl, in a cartoony puppet type way, as its mascot. Complete with a British accent.

(Sanofi debuts first Xyzal ad campaign with wise old spokes-owl | FiercePharma)

Sanofi explained the owl in a email to FiercePharma: "Owls are nocturnal animals that are known for being wise, so ‘Nigel the Xyzal Wise Owl’ seemed like a perfect character to educate allergy sufferers about this brand," (Fierce Pharma)

The Xyzal owl is shown in a library, wearing a monocle, sometimes wearing a lab coat. Assuring us there is knowledge, wisdom, and scientific history within this new allergy stuff. There's something comforting in the old fashioned, white coated and bookish owl.

I'm struck by the imagery: wise owl (owls long considered wise in popular culture and used to promote wise behaviors), its use of a Brittish accent, which seems to always impress us Americans, and the name itself. A series of X-Files like letters -- Xyzal -- invoking titles for top secret files and scientific gene things. (I know, I need a more wholesome hobby, one that gets me out more.) And of course, we have the Owlman mystery, also British, still unsolved. You can Google the Owlman legend and get lost researching the topic, but here's one link to a 2015 piece by Nick Redfern on the topic: The Owl-UFO-Connection Continues.


Owls are a Fortean staple in UFO narratives. "The Owls are not what they seem" is a pop culture classic line from the T.V. series  Twin Peaks. Giant owls appearing during UFO experiences are common. For a great read, see Mike Clleland's The Messengers: Owls, Synchronicity, and UFO Abductee.

No idea how this allergy med works. As someone who does, indeed, suffer greatly from allergies, I might give it a try.

Giant Bug Zappers, Daisy the Goat, and Devil Dog Stew: Mountain Monsters

This is a post I wrote for my Animal Forteana blog, August 2014 --  reposting it here.

Giant Bug Zappers, Daisy the Goat, and Devil Dog Stew

Seriously. The mountain men monster hunters of Destination America's Mountain Monsters show built a giant 'bug zapper' trap to capture Mothman. Then they set up lit torches along a path -- all this in the woods -- to lure Mothman to the trap. A bit later, the torches were found re-lit, burning unattended. Why, Mothman must have done it! Because, the mountain monster hunters insisted, those torches were put out!

Three things disturb me about shows like this. One, the arrogance of the "investigators." Armed, tromping around in habitats, disturbing creatures just for the hell of it. They'd tell you, no doubt, that it's no mere joy ride, they are indeed chasing after mysterious -- and often dangerous -- creatures, which is very important business. The assumption however seems to be these mysterious creatures are inherently evil and deserve to be trapped, harassed, placed in captivity, and possibly killed.

Ulisse Aldrovandi,  Italian illustration.

 Two, in their lust for chasing down non-human beings, they are generally disrespectful of the environment. It's their personal monster playground. Hell, they almost set the place on fire in the Mothman episode.  Building giant traps and luring would be monsters -- simply ridiculous. I assume they get permission from various authorities; Fish and Game, etc. before constructing their contraptions. (The website has a disclaimer about not attempting to build traps yourself, and getting permission from authorities.)

Exploiting animals for para-tainment; like Daisy, the poor goat used as bait. Now, Daisy, we were constantly assured, was not going to be harmed. But imagine Daisy's freaked out mind, and how can we be sure that something unpredictable could happen? Can these armed mountain monster hunters move fast enough to protect Daisy from a fast moving predator -- "monster" or not?

Food porn is another aspect of these kinds of shows.  On the Mountain Monster section of 
Destination America website, there is a recipe for 'Devil Dog Stew':

'Ever wonder what a Wampus Beast tastes like? How about the Ohio Grassman? All this
 hunting for fearsome creatures on Mountain Monsters got us wondering...what would you 
do with a trapped mountain monster? They might be kinda tasty, no? 
We decided to find out and it turns out, mountain monsters make delectable meals. 
Here is a recipe for one such creature.'

Of course I don't believe real devil dog meat -- or, hopefully, any kind of dog -- is the main 
ingredient. The point here is the appeal to the gratuitous, the titillation factor.

Mothra

 Three, the fact that these shows are popular is disturbing.  Mountain Monsters isn't the only
 program that relies on entertainment, and ignores facts and data. For example: Mothman
 is not a giant moth with evil intent, akin to a malevolent version of Mothra, as the producers 
and actors in Mountain Men would have us believe. 

When it comes to the unexplained, including Mothman, producers have their own agendas. 
They then set out to find willing participants who will partake in their made-up 
monster scenarios.
 
Not to say that shows exploring UFOs, cryptids and other anomalous topics can't be, or 
shouldn't be, entertaining.  With all programming, not matter the topic, producers have their 
agenda, and editing is brutal. But some do attempt to present a deeper look into whatever 
phenomena is being explored. Shows like Mountain Monsters are gratuitous and are not 
concerned at all with authentic cryptid research. 

MOTHMAN CAUGHT ON CAMERA IN ARGENTINA? - UFOmania - the truth is out there

So they say . . .

With photo, but unsure if it's the alleged photo from Argentina, or a made up photo. (UPDATE: according to Lon Strickler of Phantoms and Monsters, he posted on his FB page that the photo is a "mock up.")  They also have a video compilation of various mothman sightings -- including the hoaxed winged entity near the world trade center towers -- linked with his item.

Interesting though that I've been noticing recent mothman items popping up on the internet, beginning with the day after cryptic film maker Christopher Maloney commented on Coast to Coast (September 7)  that there have been no Mothman sightings since the 1960s Pt. Pleasant appearances.

MOTHMAN CAUGHT ON CAMERA IN ARGENTINA? - UFOmania - the truth is out there: A mysterious figure with wings was sighted in the small city of Qulino in Argentina. The small city only have 5000 habitats. The case happened in October but it only reached international websites now. This seems to be something related to Mothman, because winged humanoid sightings are not that common, at all. So here’s the news summarized: Back in October, the citizens of Qulino started to report about a strange humanoid figure showing up in the middle of the night and disappearing like a wizard( turning invisible as they said). (UFOmania)

ebay find: A Young Keel Writes for "Hobo News"

Found on Ebay; going for $550.00, an issue of Hobo News from 1946 with a short piece by Keel, who was sixteen when he published Say It With a Song.

I Am The Mothman

Found this on Facebook, and you know I had to steal it and post it here!

Chip Coffey on Mothman and a Strange Pull

(cross posted at my blog Orange Orb Tarot)

A few years ago, television's Paranormal State aired a Mothman episode. Medium Chip Coffey was a part of that investigation. One moment in that episode I found very interesting; just before Coffey uttered his comments on what he thought Mothman was, I felt a weird electrical feeling. I also knew what Coffey was going to say; that Mothman was an intelligence, a true and non-human presence.

The other night Coffey was on Coast to Coast, and when asked what he thought was his strangest paranormal experience, he said it during the Paranormal State Mothman episode. That he felt Mothman was "superior." Not negative, or evil, just "superior." Very interesting word to describe this entity.

Which suggests to me that, one, Mothman is not human. Nor a barn owl. (The popular debunk theory to explain away Mothman.) Quite obviously an "other" and paranormal, or more accurately, supernatural entity.

I myself have never seen Mothman or been to Pt. Pleasant. But like so many unexplained and mysterious things, I have not only a fascination, but sometimes, as the case with Mothman, some type of pull, something that calls and tugs between me and it. A sort of anomalous mediumship or communication.

Related links:
Host of Paranormal State Ryan Buell on the Mothman episode, and his odd experience involving a tape recorder. 

"Saucer People" Trading Cards: Mothman

Many years ago I bought this deck of flying saucer trading cards, put out by Kitchen Sink Press, artist Barry Crane, 1992. Set of 36 full color cards, with illustrations of UFO researchers, abductees, famous flying saucer events, and even uber skepti-bunny Phillip Klass! Info of each case, person, etc on the back of each card.

Here's Mothy!

Mothy Synchronicity: Return of the Mothman

    

      Nick Redfern alerts us to a new work of fiction by Ted Browning, with promises of a review to come.  A bit of synchronicity, since I just posted about a dream I had last night (see previous post)  that involved me looking at books, and searching for the title Song of the Mothman. Then I go over to my Facebook page, and find Nick's post!

Cryptomundo Return of the Mothman: “Ted Browning moves back to his rural hometown of Logan, West Virginia, after learning his grandmother is dying of cancer. When he hears talk of Mothman sightings from miners at Bear Creek Coal Company he simply doesn’t believe it-until a series of events puts him in direct confrontation with the evil winged creature. Ted is forced to face his inner demons in order to protect the very loved ones he’s kept at a distance for twenty years…and to let go of a tragic past that is drawing him like a moth to the flame.”

Mothman Mystery Solved! So Not.

Soldier of Fortune magazine, February 2014

I apologize for the lousy quality of the image; using a different computer. But you get the idea. This is the one, and only, page in the big reveal: Mothman mystery solved by Soldier of Fortune magazine. Which, for those of you, such as myself, who are Fortean-Conspiracy minded, is a very interesting magazine indeed, regardless of any Mothy info.

The "article" by Harold Hutchinson is  a mere one page. Not even that, for roughly 1/4 of the page is taken up with graphics and the title "UFO Mystery Solved: "Mothmen" Were Actually Green Berets.
So right away, the complex topic of UFOs is combined with Mothman, and we're off. Yes, UFOs were seen in Pt. Pleasant along with Mothman, but the intent here is to just put all the weirdness into one category and be done with it.

Of course, not all the weirdness that was, and is, the aura of Pt. Pleasant is mentioned.

John A. Keel's book Mothman Prophecies is mentioned, but not the author:
"In 1975, the book The Mothman Prophecies was released, with actor Richard Gere and actress Debra Messing starring in a shady 2002 film of the same name."

"Shady?" And is it necessary to use "actress" -- it's 2014, usually nowadays we just use actor to describe those who act. But anyhoo, we all know Gere and Messing are actors, actresses.

The article has revealed the truth: Mothman wasn't Mothman, but parachuting  Green Berets, painted in luminous paint, which naturally glowed in the dark.  Reason for the paint, according to the article: "...to keep track of personnel." Seems obvious that night parachuting soldiers painted in luminous paint would be seen, yet this surprised the military:
"What the Green Berets making those jumps hadn't figured on was the fact that people on the ground could see it was well."

Hutchison references the lust filled humans of Pt. Pleasant inferring that their judgement was clouded, not only by the glow in the dark parachuting soldiers, but hormones. In the fist paragraph, witnesses are described as "...preparing for an intimate moment" when "their plans were interrupted" by Mothman, er, glowing soldiers. Later, they are referred to as "...the amorous couple..."

"Hysteria continued..." while the military kept quiet on their top secret maneuvers in Pt. Pleasant. The reason for the glow in the dark parachuting soldiers: HALO, which was being tested during the Vietnam War, more specifically, invasion into Laos.

Well, not since the crash test dummies as the Army been so blatant in their explanations for mysterious phenomena.

It goes without saying that this little puff piece of would be debunkery ignores the history of high strangeness in Pt. Pleasant, including a military presence that, I and other researchers suspect of manipulating the very real paranormal and anomalous phenomena that has been a part of that locale for decades, if not centuries.

I am mildly curious what the uber skepti-trolls have to say about this, for example, over at the James Randi forum, but I'll save that for another day.