The Gralien Report

I’ve been finding so much craziness lately I haven’t known what to make of it. Therefore, I thought I’d just share a few of my favorites with you from the last couple of days, ranging from gigantic 18-foot-tall silverware in California to a Brazillian man showing up for his own funeral. Enjoy!

GHOST TOWNS: First up is a link to the most desolate and abandoned cities around the world:

BIG SURPRISE: The Fourth Kind hits theaters today… and is a big fake. Didn’t see that one coming…

BEATLE BUGS: Next, bigger than Jesus might not qualify, since this Beatle is only the size of a water droplet

TURN LEFT AT THE (GIANT) FORK IN THE ROAD: Super-sized silverware in Pasadena

HOSPITAL HELL-LETTER: Overhaul of health care is needed in more ways than we realize

GROWIN’ SHARPIES: Encouraging spikes to grow on an abandoned naked hedgehog

A RENDEZVOUS WITH DEATH: Man shows up at his own funeral in Brazil

My friend Kithra of the blog Kithra’s Krystal Kave sent along heartbreaking news this morning detailing the passing of one of today’s most celebrated ufologists, Mac Tonnies.

Tonnies (left, photo courtesy of Greg Bishop) was an American ufologist and futurist, whose books After the Martian Apocalypse and his much anticipated masterwork dealing with “Cryptoterrestrials” helped broaden the views regarding UFOs, strange creatures, and how they relate to time, space, and mankind.

My own interaction with Mac was somewhat limited… we would occasionally email one another, though arguably, one of the sincerest compliments I ever received came from my pal Red Pill Junkie at the Daily Grail who in his article Mario, Micah and the Midnight Oil compared Greg Bishop, Nick Redfern and I to Tonnies, saying that like the Mac-Man, we were “not afraid to have a broader view of all these phenomena, instead of desperately trying to keep them separate and compartmentalized.”

It was for this very reason, in my own heart and mind, that Mac will be so badly missed. I had looked forward to so many collaborations with him, and always found comfort in knowing that while Mac was among us, the world seemed a little smaller. A truly great mind indeed; you will be missed.

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My good friend Dean Warsing sent along this recent photograph of Joshua P. Warren and I investigating the fascinating mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights with National Geographic Channel near Lineville Falls, North Carolina:

MEN AT WORLD’S EDGE: Joshua (right) and I stand at the edge of a 200-foot cliff adjacent to Wiseman’s View in the Lineville Gorge. Though smiling, the fingers of Josh’s right hand were actually crossed, as we both prayed a sudden, strong gust of wind wouldn’t blow us into a corresponding 200-foot drop to oblivion below.

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I have to start by saying how immensely I enjoyed this book. Having skipped out of town for a “last ditch” retreat to the Isle of Palms off the coast of sunny South Carolina, I enjoyed this book in between jogs on the beach and the occasional swim. Cuba Libre’ and cigar in hand, I lounged by the pool under a palm tree as I enjoyed this page-turner; and let me be frank, there’s no better way to describe this book.

Nick Redfern’s Science Fiction Secrets From Government Files and the Paranormal is one of my favorite new offerings from Britain’s finest Gonzo journalist of paranormalia. From strange FBI tales involving the apparent paranoia of Sci-Fi writers like Phillip K. Dick, to weird parallels he draws between the terrorist attacks of 9-11 and television programs that predicted the disaster before it happened, this  book is a mind bender in the first degree, and will leave you wondering how soon Anomalist Books will be asking for “round two.”

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Tomorrow night from 8 to 11 PM EDST I’ll be filling in for Joshua P. Warren on his radio program, Speaking of Strange. During the second hour of the broadcast, our guest will be author and researcher Christopher O’Brien, who will discuss his new book Stalking the Trickster. If you have any stories that are newsworthy, please consider emailing them to me by clicking the link below:

Send a News Tip

To listen to the broadcast, visit wwnc.com and hover over “Listen Now” in the toolbar. Then select “Listen Live” to activate the live streaming. Or, if you’re old fashioned (and living in the Southeastern United States), you might try dialing 570 AM on your radio dial. Participate in the program by dialing 1-800-570-9962.

For many Gralien Report readers, it may come as a bit of a surprise that, in addition to my fascination with the unseen twilight realm of the unexplained, I share a mutual affinity for tasting fine craft brews, as well as exotic spirits of different varieties. Another website I moderate, Culture of Spirits, features reviews, news, recipes and a good selection of other interesting facets pertaining to the alcohol industry. Of particular interest to Gralien Report readers is a recent round-up I’ve done, regarding strange themes used in popular craft brews around the country that feature (sometimes very odd) paranormal imagery on their labels. With the help of my good buddy Christopher McCollum, one of the COS editors (as well as a correspondent to this website), I’ve managed to put together an entertaining bunch of selections for you, just in time for Halloween:

A Cavalcade of Paranormal Beer Selections

How many have you tried? Arguably, after trying ALL these at once, you’d be likely to see some spirits yourself! Remember: drink responsibly!

Chinese media outlet Sina.com reported that scientists at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China believe this footage could depict an unidentified flying object. Having filmed the strange object for close to an hour, the observatory, in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, claimed yesterday that “China had discovered near the sun, by observation staff, an unidentified object. Its physical nature remains to be further studied. Currently manpower is being organized to deal with this data, complete the data analysis and reveal the scientific results. This will take at least one year’s time to finalize.”

Purple Mountain Observatory and Chinese Academy of Sciences Fellow Ji Hai-sheng said “at present it is impossible to speculate what the unidentified object is…. however, research has started.’ Below is a video depicting various photographs of the UFO (although there is no translation from the Chinese as of yet):

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I thought I’d share a link to a recent interview I did with Greg Bishop on his radio program Radio Mysterioso:

Interdisciplinary Paranormalistics

Greg is a good buddy, and we always enjoy discussing a wide variety of topics. In this interview, Greg and I run the entire gamut on a variety of strange subjects that range from modern Ufology to the current state of science and how it relates to unexplained phenomena. An enlightening conversation, with several fun and slightly silly moments to enjoy along the way.

I wanted to take a moment to direct readers over to the new blog page for one of Nick Redfern’s latest offerings, Science Fiction Secrets: From Government Files and the Paranormal:

Science Fiction Secrets

Here’s what the editorial reviews had to say:

ALL THE INGREDIENTS FOR A HIGH STRANGENESS STEW: Mix two parts science fiction with one part high-level government secrecy. Add a liberal helping of the paranormal. Then let Nick Redfern heat and serve. The result is far, far stranger than anything that you could ever begin to imagine. SCIENCE FICTION SECRETS presents some mind-bending answers to a number of highly intriguing and thought-provoking questions, including: — Did the U.S. Government secretly assist Steven Spielberg in the production of his groundbreaking science fiction movies “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial”? — Why were special agents of the FBI so deeply interested in the life, career, and activities of science fiction author Philip K. Dick (of “Blade Runner” fame)? — How did “The X-Files” spin-off series “The Lone Gunmen” anticipate months in advance the terrible tragedy of 9-11?

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Greetings everyone,

A brief note to those of you who may have noticed the links in yesterday’s post, UFO Declassification Around the World: An Online Resource, are no longer working: strangely, once I noticed this error had somehow occurred, I went into the site and attempted to fix the problem. While doing so, a window appeared, telling me “www.gralienreport.com requires a password for you to edit and make changes to the post”. As the only administrator of this site, I entered my login credentials, but was still denied. I wasn’t even allowed to delete the post and re-enter it! WTF?

Therefore, the bad links cannot be replaced, at present. It’s strange stuff, to say the least… but what in the world could have caused this? Anyone out there with technical knowledge of such matters who may be able to help, please email me at info@gralienreport.com. Otherwise, perhaps it’s just that the aliens among us don’t want to be discovered…

UPDATE: I’ve managed to get nearly all the primary links working in the post mentioned above, and they should be working freely now for your perusal. However, I still can’t understand how an administrator gets locked out of his own posts… high strangeness indeed.