IS IT REAL? Russian Bigfoot

National Geographic Channel - Original Air Date: 2005-6

Does a Neanderthal survive in the Russian wilderness? Is the almas a survivor of prehistoric times, a wildman, or the Russian bigfoot?  A Russian woman claims to have seen one such caveman during a camping trip.  But scientists want physical proof.  Other wildmen, like the Yeti and Yarin are mentioned -- but this Russian beast is supposed to be more human than those.  The show's cryptozoologist searches Mongolia for the almas.  Again, more witnesses, but no proof, and his motion camera, bait, and stakeout catch nothing.  He finds some interesting caves, but no signs of the creatures.  A historical account says a wild woman named Zanna (sp?) was captured and may have been an almas.  Fortunately, the skull of Zanna and her (half-human) son are available for examination, and our DNA expert from the Ape-Man show make a return appearance.  The DNA proves that Zanna and her son were modern humans, and their skulls look modern as well.  The scientists doubt that neanderthal's survive, but believers refuse to give up hope.

IS IT REAL? Ape-Man

National Geographic Channel - Original Air Date: 2005-6

This show looks for the orang pendek of Sumatra, the meter-tall "little man of the forest."  The show sends an investigator out into the rain forest to try and capture the creature with photographic game traps.  Eyewitness accounts are, as usual, compelling--but is there any proof?  There are casts from prints, and a hair sample.  But could they be a hoax -- like Piltdown Man?  The show also looks at the Minnesota Ice Man (supposedly the work of a special effects house headed by a former Disney imagineer) and Oliver, the "missing link" chimp who now lives in a primate protection center.  A DNA test proves Oliver's mother was a central African chimp, and--disappointingly--his father was, too.  Oliver is just an odd-looking chimp.  Meanwhile, the supposed orang pendek prints are--in the opinion of one expert--not evidence of a new, bipedal primate.  But what about the hair?  The DNA sequence is human--though there is some chance it was contaminated by its collectors.  The photo traps turn up many interesting animals, but no orang pendek.  The search goes on.

IS IT REAL? Monsters of the Deep

National Geographic Channel - Original Air Date: 2005-6

This show looks at sea and lake monsters from the Pacific shores to Nessie.  As usual, the show has a good survey of the evidence, including famous photos and the controversial Rines Loch Ness shots.  It also includes a complete (and convincing) explanation of the "Surgeon's Photo" hoax.  From there, they go to Lake Okanagan, home of the mythical Ogopogo.  There are plenty of reports, but scientific evidence is thin, and skeptics are unconvinced.  The editor of Skeptical Inquirer leads a team of Okanagan to investigate.  "Phantom waves," called seiches, seem a likely explanation -- both here and elsewhere; they're rare and they can look like a serpentine, living creature.  Divers and sonar turn up nothing, and a past sonar hit is suggested to be rotting tree.  But, Ogopogo has been captured on film many times, unlike most lake monsters.  Are any of the images proof positive, though?  They look at three strong examples, and recreate one using a thirty foot boat, which proves that the supposed creature was closer to the shore than estimated and, thus, neither so large nor as fast as supposed.  (This is a common problem with witness sightings in cases of uncanny events.)  An FBI film analyst looks at the films.  He suggests one is a fish, another movement of debris in the water, and a third waves.  But, what about sea monsters?  Most prove to be pieces of known creatures, like whale blubber.  Cadborasaurus--a water-breathing reptile--is believed to be a sea monster living off of the North American west coast.  Bill & Bob Clark claim to have seen the monster several times in San Francisco bay.  Unfortunately, their best footage looks like a flock of birds.  The film expert advises to look at evidence, not passionate witnesses.  Sadly, sea and lake monsters are a long way from being proven to exist.

UFO HUNTERS - Hist. - Code Red

History Channel - Original Air Date: 4/30/08

This episode looks at reports of supposed UFOs over US Air Force bases.  The incident is an object (or objects) sighted at several locations on Edwards AFB and several nearby locations (5 areas altogether).  There are eyewitnesses and radio broadcasts from the time (Oct. 7, 1965).  The reports talk about UFOs (7 of them), and one of the air controllers says "We supposedly are having quite an invasion over here." Radar provides conflicting evidence, but people keep seeing strange lights in the night sky.  Aircraft tests seem unlikely, as the air controllers would have had to know about even secret flights in order to keep the airspace clear.  As one of the investigators points out, those scanning the night sky were looking for anything unusual, that could be called a UFO.  This does not mean the objects spotted, either visually or on radar, were alien craft; this was, after all, at the height of the cold war.  The team leader makes a big deal out of the base having a UFO officer -- though he seems to forget that UFO does not mean alien; it just means unidentified.  Official reports blame the sightings on weather balloons -- though the air controller doubts this explanation.  Eventually, an aircraft, an F-106, is sent to investigate.  The air controller tries to steer the plane to the UFOs, but they never catch up; the UFOs appear to be much higher than the plane, and then the UFOs vanish.  One expert believes that the objects were likely classified aircraft, possibly SR-71s or other secret projects.  The team then goes to check the official radar records, which were described by the military as unreliable because of weather conditions.  To at least one expert, the radar hits do not look like weather.  As to the radio reports, while the team leader claims, "The audio is the smoking gun," another member of the team points out that, "...There were a whole bunch of voices in that chatter that did not know what was going on."  That much, at least, is true.  And this, I think, shows clearly why scientists say that eyewitness stories are not evidence.

As usual with these historic reports, there's a lot of confusion at the time, and things haven't gotten any clearer since.  While "investigating" such reports may be good at building UFO mythology, it seems to serve little other purpose.  Remember, if you tell people to go out and look for strange things, they will find strange things -- even Air Force personnel are subject to this very human reaction. While something certainly had people excited that night, it seems unlikely that we will ever know for sure what those lights were.  Something strange happened, but the evidence for that something being alien craft is nearly zero.  If you want to hear these kind of UFO stories, watch this show; if you want investigation or some rational explanation for such encounters, forget it.  My best guess?  Test aircraft or high-altitude mirages/reflections.  As they say on Mystery Hunters, "Remember, things aren't always what they seem."

Unexplained Conference - Madison, WI 4-26-08

Friend of Uncanny Radio Noah Voss has organized the Unexplained Conference in Madison Wisconsin this weekend.  There's a nice article about Noah and the show here. My partner in the uncanny, Linda Godfrey, will definitely be there, talking and signing her books, and (family schedule willing) I'll be making the trip as well.  Hope to see you there!

Gygax - The Best Obit?

Recently, my buddy Steve Winter turned up this very good obit for Gary Gygax.  I may do another blog about Gary's passing -- I never did talk about the funeral or after-service get together -- but this is likely to be the last obit.  Since Steve's comments on this are so to the point, I'll turn you over to him now (with permission).  Thanks, Steve.

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Gygax Obit in Economist

It's fairly significant in that The Economist publishes only one obituary per week, and it's generally reserved for heads of state, Nobel prize winners, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

The author lays it on the line a tad more heavily than most obit writers, but the 2nd-to-last paragraph is priceless.

GHOST HUNTERS - Mount Washington & Ruffstone Tavern

SciFi Channel - Original Air Date: 4/16/08

Well into its new season, Ghost Hunters continues to be an amusing paranormal investigation show.  Things have calmed down a bit with the departure of Brian (to GH International), but that's probably good for the show's credibility.  In this episode, they investigate an amazing old hotel, the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire.  Jason and Grant continue to be the heart and soul of the show, and they continue to do good work debunking some of the more obvious hauntings.  During this investigation, they hear footsteps -- which they catch on tape -- and get an EVP (which they stretch out revealing for 3 commercial breaks) which seems to have a female voice interacting with investigators Steve & Tango, and Jason & Grant as well.  Is it the voice of the Princess who used to own the hotel?  I can't be sure, but it certainly seems to be a disembodied voice answering the investigator's questions.  It does not seem likely to be tape noise or the other usual skeptical explanations.  So, either it's a clever hoax by a PA or producer, or something actually uncanny.  It gave me the creeps (and I'm usually immune to these kind of "tricks").

The second (much shorter) investigation is of the Ruffstone Tavern in Providence, RI.  The tavern is experiencing sounds and smells, things falling, and perhaps even an apparition.  Investigating, the team finds a musty smell in a cabinet that isn't always open, and an out-of-plumb shelf -- which may explain the smells and the falling items.  High EMF levels are revealed to be wiring -- which may explain some of the eerie feelings.  (The show calls confined areas with high EMF a "fear cage" -- as it is believed some people may be made uneasy by such fields.)  Opening the main doors may create a reverse vacuum, explaining some of the other movements or sounds.  For once, there are is no unexplained evidence.  Such skeptical conclusions tend to bolster the Ghost Hunters'  paranormal claims -- though, personally, I think some of the sounds and "footsteps" they hear (hear and other times) can be explained by animals.  Living in the country for much of my life, I can attest that intrusive animals -- either inside or on the roof -- can make an amazing variety of sounds, from tapping to things that sound like footsteps.  Yet, I've never heard "mice" or "squirrels" or "raccoons" offered as an explanation for noises on this show.  Perhaps our intrepid plumbers should spend some time with an exterminator to bolster their experiences.  Still, exterminators or not, the TAPS folks continue to be a good watch.