Category Archives: Personal

My friend, the rock star.

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Every community has their own little eccentric character, someone who behaves and lives outside the general norms of society. Sometimes they are beset with mental problems and other times they are cursed by some kind of addiction that appears to have taken over their lives (normally an over reliance on alcohol).

 But they will always stop and talk to you. Invariably the conversation will always lead to stories about how they were the first to land on the moon or they had travelled to all four corners of the world before they were 18 years of age. Tall stories that clearly bear no semblance to reality, yet each tale being more impressive than the one previous.

This then brings me to my own eccentric character. This individual I had known for about 5 years. He lived about six houses away from me and I would see him walk past clutching cans of lager as if his life depended on it.

His appearance wasn’t the norm either. For someone who was the near side of fifty he possessed an extra long head of died black hair which ran down over his forehead and from the back was resting on his shoulders. His attire would be more at home on a teenage Goth. Alcohol had certainly taken its toll on him and his speech was somewhat slurred, but he had a very polite and gentle demeanour.

Recently he began telling me that he is in fact a member of a rock band and his band are currently touring in the States, but due to ill health, he was unable to go. This rock band he says, were massive in the 1970s and 80s, and they still have enough fans to ensure that their touring diary is full. He even played guitar with Ozzie Osborne and worked closely with the founder of Iron Maiden.

I would listen to his story and think to myself that this ‘alternate’ reality is probably all that this poor soul has. His own life probably consists of nothing more than consuming copious amounts of alcohol and trying to survive each day as it comes.

Then one day he gave me the name of his band. UFO. I had never heard of such a group and in my mind I regarded it as a fictitious name, part of his ‘alternate’ reality. His name was Peter Way and again I had never heard of a famous Pete Way.

“Check on Google” he would say, in a manner that would suggest he was still enjoying his drink too much.  “Type in Pete Way and I’ll pop up”.  Again I didn’t take him that seriously.

Then one night I was surfing away and I’m not sure why but my friend popped in to my head. I quickly loaded up Google and within the search bar I type in Peter Way and UFO.

The next 30 minutes was an emotional cocktail of disbelief and embarrassment. Everything he had said to me was absolutely true. UFO was one of the biggest bands on the rock scene and Peter Way was one its original members. Checking out his fan site he did indeed play guitar for Ozzie Osborne.

Watching him perform on stage on YouTube was a revelation. He still looks the same, although too much drink and drugs has reduced his speech to a milder version of that of Ozzie Osborne.

UFO are touring in the states at the moment and on their official website there is a mention for Peter Way who is unable to attend due to ill health. Peter tells me that he is no longer doing drugs.

I felt a tinge of embarrassment for immediately dismissing his tales. I don’t treat him any different now, but whenever he starts talking about his days as a rock star and the adventures he had had, my ears certainly prick up and I listen intently, lapping up every word he says.

Pete way having some fun!

Pete Way having some fun!

Take a look at Peters official website here

and the UFO website here

District 9

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Every now and again a movie comes along that reminds me exactly why i fell in love with the medium of film in the first place. District 9 is that film for me at the moment.

Produced by Peter ‘Lord of the Rings’ Jackson and directed by Neil Blomkamp, based  upon his short film, this is indeed a powerhouse of Intelligent filmaking allied with some of the most impressive visual effects i have seen in a long time.

Aliens have reached earth and their huge ship is hovering above the city of Johannesburg. Following months of inactivity the humans force their way in to the ship only to find thousands of starving aliens barely clinging to life.

They are transferred to the surface and kept in a compound known as District 9. This soon turns in to a slum and has the same social problems as any other slum anywhere  in the world. Some aliens start venturing out and commiting crimes against the human population. The authorities fearing a backlash decide to relocate them.

The film centres around Government worker Wikus Van De Merwe. He is tasked with managing the resettlement of the aliens and a search of one of their  homes yields an alien object which fires some liquid in to his face. The resulting problems caused by this  represents the cornerstone of the film.

What is the liquid? why was it there? are the aliens up to something? if so, what??

Neil Blomkamps decision to base the film in South Africa has paid off. The film has that gritty realistic feel, that has more in common with a social documentary than a science fiction film. But this only adds to the realism.

 There are times when you feel you are watching a socio political documentary about living conditions in the slums of south africa. The 30 million dollar budget is miniscule particularly against the back drop of highly impressive visual effects and action set pieces.

Watch and be impressed.

The Incredible Hulk

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The big green man with the anger issues has once again been thrust upon us. The previous effort directed by Ang Lee was criticised for not having enough action and instead concentrating on some psychological Freudian father/son subtext involving the two main stars.

What fans wanted was the Hulk smashing the crap out of everything and everyone.

Thus, ‘Transporter’ Director Louis Letterier was bought in for the next instalment to give the fans what they wanted.

The result is a two hour rollercoaster ride of a film that barely stops to catch its breath.

Playing Banner is the ever dependable Edward Norton with Liv Tyler as the Love Interest.

All the pretext about how Banner managed to become the Hulk is explained during the opening credits. So when the film starts proper its Banner is now in South America working in a bottling factory while the US military who claim ownership of his ‘altered’ Body is trying hard to track him down.

Tim Roth plays Emil Bronsky, a British Born Russian special forces operative who is given a tiny amount of Gamma radiation to enable him to take on the green fugitive.

However, the power it gives him, is not enough and he takes an overdose ,which transforms him in to a huge monstrous creature. Mayhem is caused as the creature runs riot. Can anyone stop him.

Well actually yes, we all know who and the climactic fight scene between the two is exhilarating. When you first see the Hulk he looks decidedly CGI, but as the film progresses, he is as ‘live’ and realistic as his co stars.

Is it worth watching? Put it this way, my wife wanted to watch it again straight after. You cant get a higher recommendation than that.

A ray of gorgeous Sunshine

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Our sun is dying. The Human race faces extinction. The only hope lies in a mission to explode a nuclear device within the heart of our nearest star in the hope of re-igniting it.

This is the premise of Sunshine. The first foray in to Science Fiction for British Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland. They previously worked together on 28 days later (2002) and The Beach (2000)

The Ship, Icarus II, is attached to a nuclear device that has a mass the size  of Manhattan Island. It is manned by a crew of scientists.

Principal among them is Kappa (Cillian Murphy), a physicist finely attuned to the operation’s risk factor. Psychologist Searle (Curtis) is slowly burning to a crisp as he sits on the observation deck, transfixed by the enormity of their target. Mace (Chris Evans) is the muscle of the operation and looks after the ships computer systems.

The Icarus II is the second mission of this type. The Icarus I had mysteriously disappeared 10 years earlier

When a signal is detected that belongs to the Icarus I, this provokes the first philosophical debate of the film. Do the crew alter their course to assist the crew of the icarusI, or do they carry on with their main goal of saving mankind.

This notion of the needs of the few outweighing the needs of the many soon becomes the central theme running through the film as events go from bad to worse as they attempt to save humanity..

So what kind of film has Danny Boyle constructed?

In short, it is one of the best science fiction films of recent years. Boyle has created a perfect blend of vision and music. A film of great emotional power.

The acting by the ensemble cast is exemplary. There are many great scenes that remain in the memory long after the film has finished. From the very first scene where what you think is the sun soon becomes the Icarus2. The repair of the shield sequence is as nail biting and tense as i’ve see in any film all year. And Kappa’s leap from the Iacarus to the Bomb as he attempts to save the planet is  truly stunning.

The pacing and editing is truly masterful.

The only downside is the rather contrite and confusing last act, which descends the film to the level of a  slasher flick. But by then you are so absorbed in to the world Boyle has created that this is a mere triviality.

The haunting Musical score by Underworlds John Murphy adds gravitas to the scenes.It is ironic that this great score is not yet available to purchase due to disagreements between Murphy and the studio.

Sunshine will stand alongside 2001 a space odyssey and Star Wars as one of the truly great Sci Fi films.

Well done Mr. Boyle, you did good.

Another Bigfoot found – WOW!!

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Watch the youtube video to learn about this mans amazing discovery!!!

Still Skeptical? here is the lastest one.

Ok, so i didnt really expect you to take this seriously, in all honesty, this is what the bigfoot world needed after the anger and embarrasment of the Georgia hoax fiasco. The guy is very funny and certainly made me laugh out loud. In fact it made my wife and daughter laugh out loud also!!

For the latest information regarding the Georgia Hoax visit cryptmundo.com. I dont really want to waste any more time on this saga

More info about the Bigfoot hoax saga

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Just finished listening to the Squatchdetective radio show. Steve kulls issued a statement regretting the things he said on the program the night before. I think he realised that he embarrased and let down a lot of people. He will mention more details in the next few days and also on his radio show.

Billy Willard also mentioned that he will be cutting all ties with Tom Biscardi and Searchingforbigfoot inc.

Other snippets of information i garnered from the chat lines on their radio blog you may find interesting, but have not been confirmed (to my knowledge), so take the information as is.

1. Whitten claims that Biscardi told him to buy the Costume and that Steve Kull was in on it.

2. The two Georgia boys also claim that Tom Biscardi coached them through all of this.

3. Whitten has been officially fired from his job.

Its Official. It was a hoax after all!!

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Over at Tom Biscardis website searchingforbigfoot.com, Steve kulls aka the sasquatch detective and close personal friend of Biscardi has released part a news release given to Fox news. An extract from the press release is as follows..

 “At that time we contacted Mr. Biscardi who gave us permission to begin an expedited melting process. We set up a salamander heater to heat the freezer. Within one hour we were able to see the partially exposed head, as I was now able to touch it, I was able to feel that it seemed mostly firm, but unusually hollow in one small section. This was yet another ominous sign. Within the next hour of thaw, a break appeared up near the feet area. As the team and I began examining this area near the feet, I observed the foot which looked unnatural, reached in and confirmed it was a rubber foot. “

He continues

“At that point we immediately contacted, Tom Biscardi and advised him of the situation and he began to take action on his end. Later that day, Tom Biscardi informed us that both Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer admitted it was a costume. They reportedly agreed to sign a promissory note and admission of what they had done, and set a meeting in their hotel room in California for 8AM on August 17th, 2008.

At that time I drew up the documents for Mr. Biscardi. On August 17th, 2008 Tom Biscardi went to the hotel where Dyer and Whitton were staying and found that they had left. At this time action is being instigated against the perpetrators of this fraud. Tom Biscardi asked us to contact you, the press, and share all that we have discovered.”

The problem i have with this story is that no criticism is labelled at Biscardi at all. Once again Biscardi will somehow wriggle his way out of this one claiming that he was also the unfortunate victim of the hoax.

I dont think it was coincidence that the first Person apart from the main antogonists to be allowed to view the body was a personal friend of Biscardis who would no doubt expose the hoax ( as planned) and then lay the blame squarely at the feet of the two ‘finders’ of the ‘body’.

Biscardi may not have made have made a fortune off this but certainly he has received a lot of publicity. And as they say ‘any publicity is good publicity’.

Will Teflon Tom wriggle his way out of this one. Only time will tell. but i think he will.
  
On a lighter note..

It would seem that even CNN are trying to make money off this. They are selling these T-Shirts . Good ole capitalism at work here. Wonder if Teflon Tom will be buying one?

I like it lol!! But wont be buying one. They only do a large size.

And Finally, since this saga first broke last week, i have had in excess of 300,000 hits to my site and many e-mails. But surprisingly not one additional entry on my guestbook. If you are reading this please sign my guestbook. This is very strange and i Hope there is not a probem with the page.

19-08-2008 Bigfoot body hoax RIP.

Nazis, Book burning and Bigfoot!

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The bigfoot community is a large disparate group of individuals and societies, each with their own views and opinions. As a result there are always disagreements.

During the early days of Bigfoot research when the four ‘horsemen of Sasquatchdom’ reigned supreme, the main points of disagreements was whether a bigfoot should be shot and killed in order to prove that it exists. Grover Krantz felt that only a body would convince the skeptical scientific community whereas Peter Byrne always maintained that bigfoot is more Human than Animal so to shoot one to prove that it exists would be criminal.

Later on, Erik Beckjord argued that bigfoot is a paranormal shape shifting being and poured scorn on those who who believed in a flesh and blood explanation for bigfoot. He became a bit of a nuisance on the various bigfoot forums.

Even today there there is a some animosity towards Matt Moneymaker and his BFRO website.

I personally have always stayed clear of such arguments. I respect other peoples opinions and views, even if i dont agree with them.

However, i came across something on a website i often visit. Cryptomundo.com is a website run by Loren Coleman, and in yesterdays blog he wrote an article about a 10 minute Youtube rant by the two individuals who run a website called bigfoottracker.com. In it they hurl abuse at Coleman and BFRO supremo Matt Moneymaker, and indulge in a bit of old fashioned NAzi book burning along the way. Loren Colemans book ‘Bigfoot! The true story of Apes in America’, to be exact.

Loren Coleman is a highly respected author and cryptozoologist. I spoke to him via e-mail many years ago and he was a true gentleman. His book on Tom Slick is one of my favourite reads. So i felt that i had to give my two pennies worth here.

These two individuals appear to disagree with the contents of Lorens book. But rather than write a critical review on their website they produce a 10 minute long diatribe of personal hate. Firstly aimed at Loren and then Matt Moneymaker. I do not know what their problem is with Matt, perhaps anyone reading this can enlighten me.

They go on about how they are the ‘best bigfoot trackers in the world’ in the manner of young school children proclaiming that ‘my dad is betting than your dad’!!

People who are truly good at what they do, do not shout about it from the highest roof top. (unless your a third rate wannabee with delusions of grandeur)

Their reputation has taken a battering as seen by the subsequest entries in their guestbook. Perhaps not what they envisaged.

Think about it, if you wanted someone to investigate a bigfoot sighting, who would you most likely call, a serious focused, respected bigfoot research group or Beavis and Butthead.
 
 The link to Colemans article and the video can be found here.