Take a few moments to marvel at the amazing imagery in this post. While the "UFOs" in the two videos may have mundane explanations, the wonder of the natural landscapes will make your day. Not sure what to make of the phenomenon or reporting in NBC2's (Fort Myers, FL) Cape Coral Man Claims to Have Spotted 'UFO'. The Strange Object Captured on Night Vision looks like it separates into a string of objects as it rises in the sky before disappearing. Without more details on the footage, one notes that "There was also a SpaceX launch that same day" and wonders if the procession could have lost the sunlight and thus "vanished." (WM)

In October 1987 a disastrous extratropical cyclone assaulted the British Isles, causing billions in damage and killing 18 people. Nick Redfern thinks there was more to The Great Storm than just a severe atmospheric depression. Dreams of wolves and various paranormal entities from that night were later reported, making him wonder if an ill-intentioned someone or something was behind the catastrophe. Redfern goes further into this subject with Strange Storms & Weird Weather: From the Paranormal to Government Experiments. He makes us question whether dangerous, crazy weather patterns are natural, the result of government manipulation, or phenomena that are at least somewhat paranormal in origin. All three possibilities are worth losing sleep over, depending on your own anxiety triggers. (CM)

Somewhere mid-Atlantic will be heard the resounding crack of forehead-slapping, emanating from both sides of the Big Pond, thanks to the following two reports. First, as the title announces, dinosaurs are still thought to be among us, presumably by those who also think the moon is made of green cheese. And second, a Florida Woman Still Believes She Saw A 'Small Dinosaur' Running Through Yard, despite the fairly obvious likeness of the critter to an iguana or a monitor lizard, so often seen in that state. The bigger mystery, which gets no attention, is why does it appear to have a square fastened around its neck? Was it taking part in a marathon? Unlikely, but somehow more plausible than the dinosaur theory ... (LP)

A few more articles tamping down expectations about the upcoming government UFO report. Kevin Randle believes a recent The War Zone article by Adam Kehoe and Marc Cecotti--a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40904/faa-data-shows-strange-pattern-of-military-encounters-with-unidentified-aircraft-in-sensitive-airspace" target="_blank">FAA Data Shows Strange Pattern Of Military Encounters With Unidentified Aircraft, may lean the report towards "a terrestrial explanation for the current crop of UFO/UAP sightings." The War Zone writer Brett Tingley says The Navy Concluded Transmedium Flying Submersibles Were Possible A Decade Ago, thus tarnishing the "specialness" of one of Lue Elizondo's "Five Observables" separating truly interesting UFO reports from the pedestrian. Anthony Bragalia tries to inject some enthusiasm by probing What President Biden Really Knows About UFOs, but most of the article is based upon inferring from long personal associations. Perhaps predictably given their professional positions, some non-U.S. scientists produce the standard answer variations to the question Do Aliens Exist? We Asked Five Experts. And Metabunker video debunker Mick West says I Study UFOs-and I Don't Believe the Alien Hype. Here's Why. (WM)

Physicist and science editor Mark Buchanan worries that this "end" is perhaps the biggest potential human impact from proof of ET presence in the universe. He is not only against METI--Messaging Extra Terrestrial Intelligence--he also contends that SETI's increased funding and sophistication make the discovery of alien intelligence more likely--and even that worries him, for reasons he elucidates. Susan Demeter offers Discussing UFOs with Your Kids. Demeter mentions two books she found very useful when her children were young. There's also a new volume out by Scientific Coalition for Ufology Executive Board Member Robert Powell called The Truth About UFOs: A Scientific Perspective intended for ages 7-11. Interestingly, The Guardian's Linda Jacobson says The Truth about UFOs is out There, and US Students are Trying to Find It. In a move that would horrify the late Howard P. Robertson and Edward U. Condon, "Teachers across the US are taking advantage of the government's report on UFOs to engage students with science." And we close with Billy Cox' So Long, Mr. Reiss. A touching tribute to a dead man whose UFO interests were largely unknown to those near him. (WM)

What do clothes dryers and the earth have in common? Apparently they both have mysterious doorways into somewhere Other, where missing people and socks both vanish without a trace. This first case describes an online cult leader and his family, allegedly heading to Brazil, leaving behind all their worldly belongings to never be heard from again. (That's bad for cult recruitment, by the way.) Next we have A Weird Vanishing and Mysterious Death in Siberia. Volunteering for Greenpeace doesn't usually involve murder threats. Yet in this case a young man went missing from his group and was later found in the woods, covered in bruises and obviously moved to that location after death. (And where were his socks?) And lastly, The Mysterious Disappearance of Trevor Deely also pointed to foul play, but the police in Ireland could find no proof--and no Trevor--despite their best efforts. Just like missing socks, the absence of these vanished people vexes authorities to this day. (CM)

Chris Mellon is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and the former Minority Staff Director for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Here he outlines "the most important lines of questioning that I recommend Members of Congress pursue in their efforts to get to the bottom of the UAP issue." By and large they are hard-hitting questions, designed to highlight any inadequacies in the anticipated UAPTF Report and in the circumstances that have led to the present situation. And features of this condition are the evident inability, after (much more than) twenty years of data collection, to determine the source(s) of the reported phenomena; the many known reports of same demonstrating significant leap-frogging of acknowledged U.S. military capabilities coupled with a long history of government denial that these performance characteristics constitute any threat to US interests; and the apparent failure of relevant intelligence agencies to work together upon a common problem set. Serious ufologists have remarked the rather jarring appearance of former USAF OSI operative Richard Doty in two of the 17 inquiries. However, many in the field regard Doty's past actions as both reprehensible and at least tacitly approved by his superiors. The Doty queries also bring what are otherwise high-level matters down to a very individual human level. Given Mellon's past positions and current leadership in undoing the UFO Gordian knot of information denial, these are questions worth bearing in mind when the report, at least in its public form, appears. Thanks to Barry Greenwood for the heads-up. (WM)

Consciousness, at its core (and to the best of our understanding), is rooted in subjectivity. What one senses is different from what another will appprehend. According to Ed Yong, two scientists at Columbia University observed a phenomenon which plays on that theme. In fact, it's as if the way a brain interprets sensory data changes upon sensing it and things get much weirder. Meanwhile at Mind Matters News, it seems there's a New Paper Providing Further Evidence For Free Will. Making this new revelation all the more curious is how it concerns "readiness potential", a little something pushed by Daryl Bem in his "Feeling the Future" paper, and could have a significant impact on psi. A little more mainstream, after a couple of twists and turns, is the revelation about how Many People Have A Vivid "Mind's Eye," While Others Have None At All. More puzzling still is how both sides of that coin still function well, and Carl Zimmer heard through the grapevine about how Dr. Adam Zeman may have found the clues to solving this puzzle. Even then, should there be a cure? (CS)

If the Patterson-Gimlin film thrilled you, then this (relatively) ancient snap of a bagged Bigfoot is going to light your fire. Despite the visual evidence, David Childress finds this may be part of a conspiracy older and deeper than Roswell. Don't be surprised to learn this photo came from the capo di tutti of cryptozoology, Loren Coleman, who doesn't figure into Ethan Andrews's collection of Mainers Who Stumbled Upon Bigfoot. He pulls a few choice anecdotes from Michelle Souliere's new Bigfoot In Maine which are almost as fantastical as a visit to the legendary International Cryptozoology Museum. For a little more which Ethan may have missed, Allen Adams has his own angle on "Bigfoot In Maine" Examining the Cryptid's History in the Pine Tree State. (CS)

A big boom echoed throughout southern Calfornia last week leaving authorities and citizens scratching their heads over its provenance, writes Zac Self, but the culprit may be prosaic, albeit rare nowadays. A Sonic Boom May Be Responsible For Mysterious Noise In San Diego County. The military is claiming responsibility, but was the boom part of pursuing those pesky tic-tacs? In other news Courtney Kube and Carol E. Lee figure As Mystery Over "Havana Syndrome" Lingers, A New Concern Emerges since all these news reports are confirming whatever's being done actually works, emboldening potential suspects involved with the phenomeonon. (CS)

We here at The Anomalist have been concerned for the Grey Lady after they decided to go all Billy Cox on flyi^H^H^H^H tic-tacs, not to mention their ineffectual journalism during the previous political regime, but this takes the cake! This gem, by way of Jon Christian, isn't from the celebrated Weekly World News and illustrates some of the pecadillos of mainstream journalism. Meanwhile some hard-hitting scoops are rocking the internet's boat, and we begin with Tim Binnall and Mermaid Blamed For Car Crash In Jamaica. Not only does it tease us with a town called Bog Walk, but a haunted river, and a critter that's fishing for the mermaid. Excellent work, Tim but can this explain The Mysterious Tangayika Laughter Epidemic of 1962? One thing's for sure, according to Brent Swancer none of that "wacky tobaccy" popular in Jamaica was involved. What remains unexplained is why doctors and men of science appear to have been immune at the time. Perhaps they were comedy-distanced and wore masks? (CS)

Some scientists believe more strange stuff than most will believe before getting out of bed on a Saturday morning, but the thrust of Caroline Delbert's piece is panpsychism where the mysticism of consciousness gets diminished with the application of staid materialism. From our point of view it's like rejoindering to "Black Lives Matter" with "All Lives Matter". Still, Caroline has a few sprinkles of inspiration to intrigue and irritate anomalists. Paul Ratner has a particularly strange question, "Is Human Consciousness Creating Reality?" Physicalists can argue yes, saying consciousness begets will, which begets thought, sends bodies into motion changing the physical world. Bzzt, sorry physicalists! Ratner's thesis is far more provocative being the blood on the proverbial bleeding edge where thought/consciousness directly affects reality. Pish posh, you scoff? Well there's a controversial study which supports such a hypothesis, and Paul happily outlines it for us! Meanwhile over at Mind Matters News is a stern rebuke to a piece published at The Conversation, one so stupid we didn't deign to link it here, concerning how Consciousness Does Not Really Exist. Funny how 883 words by two stuffy academics are shut down with a mere 44 words. (CS)

Riffing on Paul Ratner's "Is Consciousness Creating Reality" is John Parrington's hypothesis that "inner speech" helps consciousness conceptualize itself. Like all mavericks, John talks about how consciousness is continuing to change with the advent of the internet yet his proposition is a tad anthropocentric. Keeping in the theme of language for this section, Max Louwerse reckons A GPS For The Past Can Be Found In Language. With the help of artificial intelligence, Max discovers how citing locations in text can convey their proximity to each other, perhaps even their longitude and latitude and the technique has already been applied successfully in the real world. This is a mind-blowing development! (CS)

displays both a knowledge of history and a truly scientific attitude towards the UFO problem in what has consistently been a shouting match between two warring camps. Bonus: a link to a Q&A on the University of Colorado UFO Project with the Lead of the CU Boulder Rare and Distinctive Collections archive. But perhaps Ms. Bowden should consult Chapter 14 of UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry, Michael Swords and Robert Powell, eds. for more insight on that Project. Vice's Tim Marchman says Whatever UFOs Are, They Are Absolutely Not Hypersonic Weapons. Marchman justifies his subheading that "Alien technology is a more credible explanation for UFO sightings than the new favorite theory of unnamed defense officials." American Military News' Ryan Morgan has noted Luis Elizondo's repetition of a ufological commonplace, with UFOs Took US Nuclear Systems Offline Repeatedly, Former Pentagon UFO Office Chief Says. The article and embedded video interview with Jacqueline Alemany promote Luis Elizondo's main talking points, similar to some of Marchman's arguments, but add a potential Elizondo run for Congress should the Pentagon continue obfuscating on the subject. Eric Mack also looks towards the upcoming UAPTF document, saying That UFO Report Has Us Thinking All Wrong about the Military. While making a good case for more data acquisition, Mack quotes, and himself offers, mostly skeptical points against the Extraterrestrial hypothesis for UFOs, even throwing in Salvatore Cezar Pais' patent that would enable "intergalactic travel" which at the least would seem to conflict with the leaked conclusion that UFOs "aren't ours." (WM)

Following the easing of Covid restrictions, Glasgow Boy went to the Loch and retrieved his trail cams, set there long ago. Nothing startling to report but certainly a fine day out and some food for thought about the chances of snapping Nessie among so many variables. So, what is The Way to Solve the Mystery of the Loch Ness Monsters…Well, Just Maybe… the answer is to head over to Loch Morar, where Nessie's cousin is thought to reside. Nick Redfern reckons that the finding is easier in this Loch, and if you can find one there, you've in effect, found the other. And finally, Redfern takes a look at The Strange Saga of the Men in Black of Loch Ness, who may have been putting the frights on Nessie hunters for a very long time. (LP)

Winning the prize for today's longest headline, Ryan Morrison describes an astounding discovery that only poses more questions. Chalk one up for poring over Google Earth imagery. Iowa State University proclaims that the Unexpected Discovery of Ancient Bones May Change Timeline for When People First Arrived in North America. The major find was literally "tucked away on the bottom shelf in a dark corner" of a laboratory. Andrew Somerville and collaborators believe "the first humans may have arrived in North America more than 30,000 years ago--nearly 20,000 years earlier than originally thought." This argument for earlier dating will not surprise some other anthropologist/archaeologists. Jason Colavito is disgusted as a Discovery Recycles the "Curse of Akakor". A wildly-strange, probable hoax becomes the basis for a borrowed short series by a major cable channel. On a lighter note, we close with Archaeological Research Shows Prehistoric Pendants Used in Dance. In a case of "research art imitating life," an auditory archaeologist danced for six hours straight to compare wear marks on modern elk tooth ornaments fashioned after Stone Age practice with elk teeth from four real Stone Age graves. They show "similar activity" and provided a near-hypnotic experience for University of Helsinki research team members. A 54-second audio/video experience is provided. Sounds good? (WM)

Nick Redfern is on a mission, and that mission is to convince the Bigfoot research community that Britain is not home to the flesh and blood beast. Redfern is convinced there isn't sufficient flora or fauna to support a Sasquatch population, and if there was there would be evidence, since the hairy man isn't an especially tidy eater. He suggests The British Bigfoot: Guardians of Ancient Sites? They Just Might Be. Sightings around these areas occur more than elsewhere, and doing security detail is a pretty good job when you're nine feet tall and prone to scaring people. (CM)

Jazz Shaw critically analyses some recently-reacquired data from an iconic UFO case. Shaw finds the evidence less compelling than has been supposed. A much older sighting is evaluated by Think AboutIts in 1904: Circular UFOs Maneuvered Near Ship. The USS Supply sighting had multiple witnesses, a more than two-minute witnessing period, and was certainly untainted by a "uforia" that was more than 40 years in the offing. In the present, New Details Emerge On The "Highly Modified Drone" That Outran Police Helicopters Over Tucson. With the aid of "MikeD" Brett Tingley sheds more light on a February 9, 2021, nighttime encounter. The Daily Star proclaims Britain to Relaunch X Files Squad Tasked with Detecting Alien UFOs in our Skies. Well, "could prompt the Ministry of Defence to bump up its own probe into UFOs" is not really a "slam dunk," and the prievious POTUS may be getting too much credit, but it all seems to hinge upon what the upcoming UAPTF report says and how that's interpreted abroad. And Paul Seaburn reports that a New International UFO Group Says UFOs and ETs are Coming From Underwater Bases. Paul introduces The International Coalition for Extraterrestrial Research (ICER), its suspicions about USOs (Unidentified Submerged/Submersible Objects; sorry Paul!), and its own mission. (WM)

Peter Robbins interviews Taras W. Matla, artist, curator, museum administrator, and ufologist who will be curating the first major retrospective exhibition of Budd Hopkins’ paintings in 2023, along with an exhibit devoted to Hopkins’ UFO abduction work, and Chris Bartel, a photographer and security services professional who worked at Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies for eight years, six of which were spent stationed at Skinwalker Ranch. Eighty of his works from his time at the ranch are now on virtual exhibit at the University of Maryland: Christopher Bartel: The Skinwalker Ranch Portfolio. By the way, Tara Matla's cousin is Adrian Rudnyk, the author of The Assessment: : The Arrival of Extraterrestrials. (PH)

Leonard David recaps recent DoD and public interest in UAPs with rather heavy emphasis on the skeptical side. Printing some hallowed-by-repetition terms for those who consider the possibility of unearthly UFOs, David marches out a bevy of skeptical champions before and after two important open-minded individuals get mostly bit-parts while advocating a more, shall one say, scientific attitude and approach to the matter. Oumuamua-advocate Avi Loeb (who offers "to lead scientific inquiry into the nature of these reports and advise Congress accordingly") and recent UFO culture author Sarah Scoles add commentary. David also consulted Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU) Executive Board Member Robert Powell, who argues for federal release of unclassified UAP data on David's UFOs, UAPs-A Sky Full of Unknowns? Powell's colleague Rich Hoffman is interviewed by Duncan Phenix at What's the Connection between Almost 80 Years of UFO Encounters? Hoffman discusses highlights from the recent SCU Conference, his 57-year historical take on what's happening now, and his hopes for a funded scientific study in the wake of the upcoming UAPTF Report. And in 'There is Stuff': Enduring Mysteries Trail US Report on UFOs, J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies Scientific Director Mark Rodeghier, the lone ufologist cited in David's Scientific American article, voices much the same hopes as Powell and Hoffman for the aftermath of the Report and proposes a sensible project using existing satellite resources as a possibility. Mark Hammergren presents the "requisite astronomer angle" and traditional points in this interview. (WM)

There was a bit of excitement along a midwest highway in the US recently as a pickup truck towing a massive crate made its way from Unit 79 Studios in Ohio to the Sasquatch Outpost Museum in Colorado. The crate was apparently marked to indicate it contained a living Bigfoot specimen. People noticed. And while we're on the topic of what's worth noticing, take a look at this new release: “On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey” — a New Film from Small Town Monsters. Filmmaker Seth Breedlove examines his "whys" for doing what he does, while he and his team interview witnesses and trek through areas known for Bigfoot sightings. On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey has just been released on VOD so we have no excuses to miss out. Get the popcorn ready. But don't feed the animals.(CM)

Nick Redfern reminds us that "The Government" is not one monolithic and homogeneous institution but more an organization of different groups, each communicating with the others on a "need to know" basis. Sometimes that need is primary and programmed into formal relationships between departments; other times--as with the shadowy association nicknamed the "Collins Elite"--the group is informal and its purposes unknown to most others. For more on the "Collins Elite" and its frightening beliefs see Nick's Final Events and the Secret Government Group on Demonic UFOs and the Afterlife, published by Anomalist Books. What the Government has believed for some time is that UFOs can be a useful tool for messing with people's minds. Nick's UFOs: "Mass Media," "Psychological Warfare" & the "Subjectivity of Public to Mass Hysteria" presents this point. It suggests the same kind of mass mental manipulation may be going on now. Unconvinced? Try Greg Taylor's UFO Disinfo: Four Times the US Military Hoaxed Alien Contact through the Decades. And there's some relevance here in Nick's The Real Reason Why Government Agencies Watch UFO Researchers. It's once again a "crowd control" thing--in this case, politics. (WM)

Mark Sumner considers different conclusions from the much-anticipated UAPTF report, depending upon whether or not the UFO videos so far made public accurately show what they appear to depict. Then there's Option 3: "The Answer We're Going To Get." Sumner's argument fails to acknowledge eyewitness and other instrumented data that we're told complements video evidence, but his conclusion may be near the mark. One group already thinks it has the answer, according to Not a Cult: Indonesia's Biggest UFO-Community BETA UFO Weighs in on U.S. Government Report. Wulan Kusuma Wardhani's article may perhaps err in saying the UAPTF report has been issued to Congress, but it's a good indicator of the worldwide interest in that document. Jack Brewer's UFO Disclosure and Transparency: Good for Thee, Not for Me decries what he regards a double standard, as certain advocates for governmental Disclosure and transparency sometimes claim exemption from same requirements when queried about their own exciting assertions. But not losing sight of such claims, Duncan Phenix' Secretary of Defense has Received Briefing on the UAP Task Force's Work has Pentagon spokesperson John F. Kirby admitting that, whatever their origin, the now-familiar aerial incidents "could potentially involve safety and or national security concerns. Absolutely." Kevin Randle makes rather the same point in Condon Committee Negated, after discussing how "the fix was in" against UFO importance early in that University of Colorado UFO Project's history. Kevin then shows how already-leaked UAPTF information contradicts the Condon Report's ruling out alien technology. (WM)