spandex and monster (cosplay, comics, paranormal, and fetish items from Jerry Williams))

Silenced by the men in black? the sinister men in black When you think of men in black, you automatically think of Will Smith and others fighting alien hordes in a broad comedy.  Most reports of the real men in black are anything but comedic or pleasant, and usually involve weird men in black flashing nebulous government ids and driving brand new model cars completely in black to put pressure on any UFO witnesses.  There are numerous examples of men in black intimidation, but I'll focus on one incident involving the infamous mothman sightings of point pleasant. sketch of the mothman In the mid to late sixities in the sleepy town of point pleasant, sightings of an enormous creature with piercing red eyes were coming in at a frantic rate, the press dubbed the creature 'the mothman'. Quickly adding to the hysteria were the arrival of the mysterious men in black.  Mary Hyre, reporter for the nearby The Athens Messenger had done several stories about the mysterious mothman an...

Seven of nine, the new flesh Seven of nine (Jeri Ryan) When it comes to predicting the new flesh and nexus of science fiction, cosplay, and sexuality, few could argue the character Seven of nine, from Star Trek Voyager, is a poster child of sex in the future.  When Seven of nine was introduced to Voyager, she provided a kick into the sagging ratings of Voyager.  Seven, played by the striking Jerri Ryan, was a girl assimilated by the cyborg nemesis called the borg.  When she was rescued by Voyager and Captain Janeway, Seven was completely underdeveloped by human social skills despite her merge into the technologically superior hive of the borg. She learns what it means to be human, by her trial and errors of social interactions. How does the become a poster child for sexuality of the future?  Seven is a hybrid of science, machines, and humans.  Seven also has a quasi dominatrix costume and interaction with her 'weaker' human counterparts.  You co...

The third eye Belief in human's potential to interact with the higher or spiritual realm sometimes focuses upon the concept of the third eye.  The idea is someplace in the space on your forehead is a sleeping eye awaiting to open to a newer and deeper reality.  Sometimes known as the third chakra in Indian religions, the third eye also has a signifigance to bring a person closer to another plane of existence.  There is belief that the third eye can let the person see auras, or give them the ability to read minds. In some UFO circles, there is conjecture that this third eye is also a connection with other dimensional creatures that may be the 'aliens' of the flying saucers and UFOs.  It is true after the first modern sightings of UFO in the 1940's, there was an explosion of 'contact' stories of aliens, usually Nordic looking creatures who would contact people about the connection with aliens.  The people with elaborate contact stories were usually to a perso...

Silence The Cloud buster The Cloud Buster at work Few scientists ever had as much controversy as Wilhelm Reich.  Once a promising disciple of Freud, Reich branched into his theories about the unconscious, sexuality, and new sciences, he eventually got in trouble with FDA, who promptly ordered his machines and written works to be burned in bonfires.  To some, his death was not 'natural causes' since he was due to be released within weeks of his imprisionment, but rather a coordinated efforted to keep 'the Cloud buster' quiet. Reich's main work before Orgone was the seminal book, 'The Mass psychology of Facism', which explored the effect Hitler had on the german population.  He was well respected by academia, and had a promising career in analysis like Freud, and Jung.  At this juncture, Reich established his own theory of the unconscious called Orgone, which in a nutshell said the libido wasn't a state of mind but a cosmic energy of blue that came from al...

Thomas Edison, ghost buster When you think of inventor Thomas Edison, you think of the light bulb, the phonograph, and any one of his amazing inventions which are still a part of modern society.  It was no wonder that he acquired the title 'the wizard of menlo park' with his invention of the electric light.  What people don't realize is that Edison also took to finding a way to contact the dead with a device full footed in science. Thomas Edison working on an invention Spiritualism was the craze then, and it usually centered on a 'sensitive' who could bridge our world and the other world of ghosts.  The problem was, and still is, that the evidence is completely subjective on who the sensitive is, and to enter the realm of respected science it had to pass the idea of 'repeatable experiments' in a lab, and under laboratory conditions.  The field of spiritualism became a field of fakers, hustlers, and con artists who would use crude 'proof' such as ecto...

In the eighties, Carl Reiner cleverly spliced Steve Martin into public domain footage of poverty row quickies to make the comedy, Dead men don't wear plaid.  I've been thinking about that and the old VHS slasher quickies like Hellroller, Mummy in the basement, etc.  Essentially, it was the explosion of the 60's cinema done in VHS format.  Were there terrible movies?  Sure, but finding the diamond in the rough was a part of the charm, and a reason why VHS and shot on video horror films still retain a charm despite the ketchup blood and the stripper moonlighting as an actress kind of thing. My favorite director from that time period is Tim Ritter, and the film that definitely got me into that genre of film was 1995 Creep...when I moved to Lexington Ky...the only spot that dealt with offbeat films had it...it had a surreal cover and of course I rented it many times...it was a weird horror movie in a cartoony universe with Joel D. Wynkoopoop as the eerie Angus.  I, ...

Jedi knights and alien abduction When you see a star wars movie, the image of a brave and noble jedi knight who uses the power of his mind along his/her skills with a light saber to save the day.  The mind powers sometimes manifest itself in controlling or influencing 'weaker' minds.  In a weird way, the Jedi are connected to alien hypnosis therapy of unlocking hidden or tramautic memories with hypnotism. jedi knights When hypnosis first made the rounds, it was known as mesmerism after Franz Mesmer who believed his cures were the result of animal magnetism.  It was all the rage of France until it reached a blacklash from the science establishment which then decried mesmerism a fraud and a pseudo science with Mesmer and other practioners of mesmerism banished to fringe edge of science.  Only years later was the science of mesmerism given proper research under respected Scottish doctor James Braid and the practice and science of hypnosis was born.  Braid deal...

Led Zeppelin is one of the first supergroups of rock...a combination of blues, folk, rock, and eastern music that still resonates in popular music and culture.  What is lesser known is guitarist Jimmy Page interest in occultist Aliester Crowley.  During Zeppelin's heyday Page would buy items about Crowley culminating in buying his house off of Loch Ness.  The first printings of Led Zeppelin III, had the motto 'Do what thou will' which was the beginning part of Crowley's magic invocation, so the career of Crowley in a weird way shadowed the mega stardom of rock's most famous group mirroring the same tragedies of crowley as well. Jimmy Page How Led Zeppelin is connected to UFO culture is a interesting connection. Crowley's infamous 'Lam' spell has alien and UFO connections.  Crowley created his spell at the house which eventually was bought years later by Jimmy Page. Some say the otherworldly creature that eerily mirrors the 'grey aliens...

Alien space craft in 1639? When you think of aliens, UFOs, and alien abduction, most people think of the famous 'Betty and Barney Hill' case from the early 60's.  However there is some support that the first recorded UFO and alien abduction case came much earlier in 1639. Muddy River, outside of Boston Governor John Winthrop wrote in his journal of a strange case of men on the Muddy River observed a great light which they followed for some time, suddenly this great light contracted into the shape of a pig, and after it had left the men had found themselves mysteriously back at their original spot up river.  The journal took great pains to say that these were men of good character, and implied others had also seen this light. Governor John Winthrop The takeaway from this is men from that time period described the light contracting in a shape of a pig which could be a craft with landing struts of some kind.  The mysterious missing time and finding themselves back at the ori...