Everything I believe is wrong...and a bird

Religion would have me think so at least. Why just today I had an e-mail in my inbox trying to teach me the truth of Islam and for the most part convert me. Having nothing against the Islamic faith I read through and decided, not for me. Why? Well I don't really know. One the reasons is probably the fact that I don't need daily scheduled prayer rituals to feel close to God. Another is simply the fact I prefer to associate more with Jewish and Christian tradition, albeit in my own way. The biggest problem is that I don't like it when religion tells me everything I know and believe is wrong (hence the reason I associate with it in my own way) like evolution isn't real (I've read Genesis and see nothing wrong with evolution coexisting with it) and that UFOs are controlled by demons (hey, angels might want to fly in some to).

That being said, I've looked a lot into religions. Just recently I've been reading up on one called Asatru, which is sort of a revival of the old Germanic/Norse god beliefs. In fact, roughly translated the word Asatru means "belief in the gods". Being of German (and possibly Scandinavian) descent, and with an interest in Vikings I was totally interested in this. None of the websites I found however really gave me any inkling of where to start. I did find that many people unfortunately associate this religion with hate groups, but the same can be said for Christianity and just about any other religion. Anyways, the end result of all the research was that although it's highly appealing to me, there are to many gods involved which would be highly confusing to me, which unfortunately means I get to miss out on all the drunken fun in Valhalla when I die.

Sadly I don't even know where this post is going...I'm writing merely for the entertainment of writing, as well as to share some of my odd viewpoints on religion and theology...which I really didn't get into theology at all in this post, but there is time for that later. So in the meantime here is a creepy picture of a demon or the devil handing a guy who looks Catholic (I think he might be a Pope) something...


Almost forgot. I saw a large bird flying around yesterday. It was brown in color, bigger then a hawk, and definitely not a sea gull or crow (tons of both around here, like pigeons in New York). My first thought was it that it was a golden eagle, but I've never heard of any around here, although they are in my state. The only thing I could figure was that it was a daytime sighting of a large owl which I do know live in the area. Heck I heard one a few months back, which instantly sparked thoughts of the owl imagery mentioned in Whitely Strieber's book Communion, but whatever, I'm off to buy a pack of Skittles.

What is going on? Oregon UFO wave?

I've received four different reports (through e-mail and in person) of UFOs this month from people here in Oregon, which is really unusual. Not just because people are seeing UFOs, but because people are searching for UFOs in Oregon and finding my blog since I've been talking about them recently. That tells me two things, people are seeing UFOs in Oregon and are searching for other sightings.

Having talked about Oregon UFOs in the past here I would have expected that people would on occasion stumble across my blog searching for them in Oregon. However, it's odd that I suddenly get three different e-mails (when I've never received them before about UFOs in Oregon) and one report from someone in person about UFOs here in Oregon, all being seen in same month. What is happening for sure I don't really know. The evidence is in bits and pieces and no one has really come forward with any photos or video to back of these sightings, but it certainly seems as if something is happening.

Finally, there seems to be a bit of consistency in reports (ones I received as well as ones I found on various sites) from what I can tell. They are either orange or white orbs (which can really be anything, but most seem to be out of the normal) and black triangles. Making things even more odd is that they are often followed by helicopters or fighter jets. I've only received one report that didn't really fit this pattern involving a truly bizarre storm which I might share later if I can get permission from the witness.

Perhaps I need to a do a end of month Oregon UFO wrap up and see if anything else comes to light...

Moving

Gonna be offline until Monday while changing apartments...moved to a three bedroom! YAY!

Weird dreams...

I wasn't going to put these on this blog, but figured what the heck, it fits just a little bit. Back last Wednesday (9-16-09) I had a couple weird dreams. The first one involved everyone's favorite H.P. Lovecraft creation, Cthulhu. The second was about some weird cloudy day full of bizarre clouds and fog.

I had the Cthulhu one sometime before I woke that morning. In it I was being forced by this agency to hand in my Cthulhu collectibles I for a reason I did not know at that time. So I hand them over to this lady behind a rather long counter in some sort of bizarre government type office with a a small warehouse room in the back that ran the length of the building.

After unwillingly handing over my Cthulhu figures the lady goes out to grab some papers for me to sign. While she is gone this guy pops out from the warehouse section and signals me to follow him. So I do and I see the room is full of Cthulhu items of all sorts. He then mentions that he is part of a real life Cthulhu cult and that this warehouse belongs to the government who is trying to keep Cthulhu from coming when the stars are right. He then proceeds to ask me if I want to join his cause, which is secretly dispensing the confiscated items back out into the public so Cthulhu can rise. Around the time I say yes, I wake up.

The second dream happened around noon that day and while I was napping on my living room floor (laying on top of a down comforter mashed against my couch in a comfy position, couldn't help it). In it I was at work looking out the big window at the front of the store I work, staring at the strange cloud covered sky. Literally it was a ceiling of bizarre gray clouds. Some of them took on this weird bulbous shape that didn't match any clouds I ever saw before.

As I'm watching them move through the sky, they suddenly get lower, forming a thick fog, with full clouds floating on by in it at face level. I was about to walk outside, but then my wife woke me up before I could see what was going to happen next. All I remember from it before that though is a weird smell, sort of like fog meets spring time rain, as I get near the door in the dream.

In all honesty I doubt these dreams have any significance, although in H.P. Lovecraft's stories, people would dream about Cthulhu before he made appearances. Although it's all just fiction...unless my Cthulhu 2012 prediction is more then the joke I thought it was, in which case...madness all around!

Multiple eyewitness UFO sighting in Portland, OR

I had an interesting conversation at work today with one of the vendors (and regular reader of the Realm) I see weekly about a UFO he witnessed on what he thinks was Monday (9-14-09) night in southeast Portland, Oregon.

He says around 9 PM that night he and multiple other eyewitnesses saw three (maybe more, didn't quite get all the details perfect since I was working) orange orbs heading west in the sky. One the orbs apparently turned white and zipped back towards the east, and then two helicopters (military?) appeared that seemed to be chasing after the two that were headed west.

After or during the helicopters someone directed his attention back to the east where the other orb that had turned white had gone. There he saw what he described as three white lights that looked as if they were a constellation, but they were moving slowly. Then the suddenly the lights zipped off at high speed in multiple directions if I remember what he told me correctly.

When the sighting was over he checked with a radio station to see if anyone had called in about it, but no one had. The next day he said he heard on the radio a report about weather balloons (we've all heard that excuse before) being over the city the night before, which totally does not fit with what he said he and others witnessed that night.

Now since I got home today I've been searching for (on MUFON, local news, etc...) UFO events in Oregon and Washington to see if I can find any other reports of these same incident or further sightings of these craft in and around the estimated date. From my knowledge, there are multiple eyewitnesses and it happened in Portland which is the most populated city in Oregon. If anyone who reads this has further information on this incident or similar ones on or around Monday (9-14-09) in Oregon or Washington, please leave a comment or e-mail me at phoenixorb83@gmail.com. I would to get more information on this incident.

Finally, before I go I do want to say I've known the person who told me about this for a year or more now and know that he would be pulling my leg. Also I will post details on my search results either tonight or tomorrow and perhaps be able to find more information this sighting.

One last thing, here is a similar incident reported to MUFON from Portland: Solid white light followed by jet that occurred on the 15th.

Perhaps it is the same incident, just with one person having a date mixup? Or perhaps they came back that next evening?

Quick update 9-17-09 8:33pm: There seems to be a lot of UFO activity in both Oregon and Washington seeming to start in July. I'm going to get a list of sightings by date going and see what I can come up with.

Gilgamesh Flood Story Part 2: Similarities

There are many obvious similarities between the flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the story of Noah's flood. This of course brings up the question of whether one was inspired by the other, particularly the story of Noah being inspired by Gilgamesh, which is the older flood account.

So to start, let's look at some of the similarities:

1. God (Genesis) and the Anunnaki (Gilgamesh and related stories, i.e: Atra-hasis) decide man must be wiped out by a flood.

2. An individual (Noah and Utnapishtim) deemed worthy to live by God or one of the Anunnaki is given warning of the eminent deluge and ordered to build a boat to save their family and chosen animals.

3. Both Noah and Utnapishtim send out birds to see if the flooding is going away.

4. Each makes sacrifices to God or gods once settled on dry land.

Those are just the most similar connections, however here is a link that gives a bit more in depth similarity studies side by side.

As I said earlier, the question is, was one inspired by the other, and if so what does that mean. Clearly there are many who take the Bible literally and feel that the story of Gilgamesh just lends more truth to the story of Noah's Flood. And while it does indeed do that, it is really a double edged sword. The fact that the Gilgamesh account was recorded before the book of Genesis was written tends to lead many to the assumption that perhaps the story of Noah was inspired by that of Utnapishtim. Unfortunately there is no proof either way, excepting a small bit of evidence that might prove the existence of a couple kings mentioned in the Gilgamesh epic which wouldn't do much to support the Noah believers.

Also if Noah's story was inspired by the tale of Utnapishtim in Gilgamesh, who is to say that perhaps that story wasn't inspired by an earlier tale as well? Most of our knowledge of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia is fragmented at best and much more is probably waiting to be found there. Who knows what the future holds.

Sources and further reading:
The flood story from the epic
Gilgamesh Flood Myth - Wikipedia
Is the Biblical Account of the Flood Modified from the Epic of Gilgamesh?

I ask you why not?

I had a thought the other day on space travel and the idea that UFOs are spaceships of an extra-terrestrial civilization. We all know space travel happens, we do it now at days ourselves, but we just don't go very far. Scientists though claim that theoretically most of our wildest space travel dreams are possible, although any efficient travel in space would require technology that is currently beyond us. Wormholes, bending the fabric of space, all takes lots of energy, well theoretically at least, but does that really make them that hard to produce once a decent energy source is created? If you think seriously about it, us humans have been really bad on the energy side of things recently. While we care and try to create new efficient energy sources, but we wrap each other up in endless red tape, whether it be a new energy's impact on animal habitats, environment, or it's noise level disturbing a lone farmhouse.

Now that being said, who is to say there isn't a civilization out there that has achieved both the energy source and the efficient space travel? Why is it that the same scientists who say that theoretically we can do both of those turn around and say that UFOs by no means are E.T. arriving on Earth? It's like they say one thing, but assume that because we haven't figured it out yet that no other intelligent species in the universe can unless we do. Well you know what scientists, I have news for you, wake up! Humans most likely not the only intelligent species in the vast reaches of the universe and that to me means there are pretty good odds that at least every once and awhile a UFO is just an alien spacecraft popping in for a visit, or perhaps some fries and a burger. And you know what? Maybe if we stop worrying about everything else and cooperate with each other as opposed covering each other in red tape, perhaps a century from now we can be popping over to Zeta Reticulli for a Zeta burger?

Was there a giant cephalopod in Devil's Lake?

I've always wondered why Devil's Lake in Lincoln City, Oregon was called Devil's Lake and now thanks to the book Spooky Oregon by Se Schlosser I now know. It would seem that in the lake there may have been, at least according to Native American legend, a tentacled monstrosity. To verify this legend, I did a search and sure enough it's a real one, and seems to share similarities with tale about a Devil's Lake in Wisconsin.

The short story as for as the Oregon one goes is that the Siletz Indian tribe centuries ago used to really like of the area of Devil's Lake. Then one night when a group of warriors was dispatched across the lake, massive tentacles burst forth from the waters destroying the canoes. The warriors where then flung around, beaten against the water and debris, and died from drowning or injury. From then on the lake was called Devil's Lake.

The lake itself was formed around 14,000 BC, but remains connected to the ocean via a 120ft river. At it's deepest goes down about 22ft. The lake's salinity I'd assume is freshwater since it has fresh water fish living there. However given that there is such a short river (shortest in the world apparently) connecting the ocean to the lake, I'm not sure. Perhaps it's somewhere between fresh and brackish...who knows. Anyways cephalopods (squids, octopi, and nautiluses) are not supposed to be able to survive in freshwater (excepting a species of squid that is able to survive in brackish water) and yet those are the only things with tentacles that I think would match the description of the offending monster. Reports have circulated around the world however of chance encounters with cephalopods that appear to be living in freshwater, some apparently have even attacked people.

Assuming that by some chance the legend indeed tells of an encounter with some unidentified cephalopod what type could it be? I think the giant and colossal squids are dead in the water in this case (no pun intended) due to the lake's depth being to shallow for creatures of their size. Perhaps it was some other semi-largish squid, yet I don't feel a squid could attack the way the one in the story given their body shape in general. That leaves us with the octopus (because nautiluses are totally out of the question since they don't get really large at all) which I think could attack in such a manner much easier then a squid.

Now the Giant Pacific Octopus is the largest known octopus and actually lives here in the Pacific Northwest. It can survive in a variety of depths, but does not the reach a size in which it can trash canoes, excepting of course it wound up in one. So maybe it was an unknown octopus of large size capable of surviving in semi-fresh water despite the fact cephalopods generally can't. Or perhaps the more likely scenario is that it was an fluke accident that the octopus grew to such large size to begin with, with conditions in Devil's Lake being just right for it to thrive in spite of what we know about cephalopods. Either way, it's all fun conjecture until all this talk about tentacled beasties gets someone eaten by a Cthulhu spawn.

Modified from a picture originally taken by someone from NOAA.

Sources and Further Reading:
History & Legend
Welcome to Lincoln City, Oregon

Also be sure to check the links throughout the post, especially the book I mention in the beginning!

Blogger's block, haunted local theater, and Cthulhu

Seriously, I am working on the next Gilgamesh post, for some reason though I've been hit by a serious case of blogger's block with this one. Heck, it's not just with that, it seems that it's been a problem for the last few months. I went from doing 20-40 posts per month to 10 or fewer.

I wonder if it's a seasonal thing. After all, I find it harder to focus on things during the more humid and warmer months. It's like all the summertime sun and warmth causes my brain to cloud up. Literally, it feels like my thoughts are blurred shapes behind a fog during the early spring and throughout all the summer. Now that autumn is on it's way again however, my mind is clearing and those thoughts are becoming more crisp and clear.

So to try and jump start my blogging again, I've picked up some inspirational reading in the form of a book called Spooky Oregon: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore. It's a book focused on, well the title pretty much gives it away, but the point is it's full of fun Oregon esoteric goodness. It also has cool pictures, one of which appears to have a tentacled squid beast! Also I can't forget that it has a section on the pirate treasure on the Oregon Coast I talked about not to long ago, which is cool.

Speaking of local Oregon stuff, it seems that the Venetian Theater in Hillsboro (just a 10 minute walk from my apartments) is haunted. Doesn't surprise me at all since downtown Hillsboro is as old as the Bible, well not literally, but the buildings are old, some possibly nearing the 100 year mark or more.

Anyways, the staff of the theater decided to call in the International Paranormal Reporting Group (IPRG), which it appears has connections to The Atlantic Paranormal Society, more commonly known as TAPS, the ghost hunting group made famous by SyFy's (I'm sorry, SyFy, but I liked your old name better) Ghost Hunters program. So the IPRG apparently found some interesting stuff and is now thinking about trying to get a TAPS training course done there sometime. So considering it's locale and the fact that I blog about the strange and unusual, it might be right up my ally. Of course I could also see if I can talk with some of the employees and do a post on the theater.

And before I go I have two more things I want to mention. First there was a creepy incident with a cart moving on it's own at a store I was at today. It was in the cart return, backed out of it, and turned stopping against a check stand. The clerk across the way looked at me and asked "You saw that too right?" and I replied "Of course not, you're nuts!" "Yeah, that was weird.", and he said "Good, I thought I was going crazy for a second." The eeriest part was I was walking up to the check stand with some Halloween decor which unleashed a horde of skeletons that have been trying to break through the wall by my desk.

And finally, say hello to Meanthulhu, my new Cthulhu buddy! That pink thing in his hand, yeah that's a person...hence his name. He was a rather expensive impulse buy today at a gaming shop (not the video game type, but like RPG and card game style instead) and is part of a collection called Mythos Buddies by John Kolvalic. Each box contains a randomized Cthulhu design, and you know yours truly is a bit of a Lovecraft nut, so yeah...$11.95 later...