|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arriving, hopefully, earlier than we have been the last few weeks, this is the binnall report, your weekly perusal of all things Coastly and such. Apparently we got four inches of snow last night, but I've yet to leave the house (or look out the window for that matter), so I can't confirm anything.
Stop the presses !! Word just arrived @ BoA : HQ ... it's a boy ! binnallofamerica.com congratulates BoA founding father Joe Vee on the birth of his son, Gabriel Alexander Vee, weighing in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and born this morning. Mother and son are resting and doing well. Father, Joe Vee, remains esoteric and caustic (though slightly less caustic, now that he is a dad). Welcome to the world, Gabriel !
This week, we look back at a bizarro week on Coast to Coast AM, where the on-paper great episodes turned out to be tepid and the assumed awful ones turned out to be great. We look ahead to next week's offerings, including the return of Red Elk and the debut of Joe Montaldo. We preview tomorrow's BoA : Audio with Farah Yurdozu, Turkey's first female Ufologist. Our weekly dip into the mail bag returns as we cover 911 Truth Movement v. Ufology. We go back in time via the C2C vault and look at the birth of Mel's Hole. And, of course, we find out the esoteric reasons behind Britney's head shaving, only in Hot Newz.
Sticking the fork in February, the binnall report starts now ...
The Week That Was
When I signed off last week, The Noor was about to welcome Brooks Agnew to the program to discuss Hollow Earth. I missed that, but will go back and check it out, as I am an old school Hollow Earth enthusiast, for sure. Standard Friday into Saturday Open Lines followed.
Saturday on "Ian", the guests were Bill Ryan and Kerry Cassidy, of Project Camelot fame, discussing Project Serpo. I ended up skipping this one, mostly because I've done the Serpo thing all too recently. Be that as it may, there was some strange buzz on this one. Later on in the weekend, Ryan and Cassidy were claiming that C2C wouldn't put through pro-Serpo callers and only allowed skeptics to call in (or something like that). No word on the veracity of these claims, but I figured they were worthy of note. Perhaps Ian will address them on this week's C2C AM Live.
Saturday night on C2C proper, Art Bell welcomed back James Gilliland, to talk about UFOs. I was nonplused when I first heard that Gilliland was coming back to the show, because I found his stuff had diminishing returns with each appearance, but my apathy turned out to be foolhardy, because this was a very strong episode.
I ended up tuning in about 45 minutes into the Gilliland interview and stayed listening all the way up until the final moments of the show. And while Gilliland was pretty interesting, it seemed more like it was Art that was far more riveting. You could almost hear the wheels turning in his head for about an hour while he mulled over the idea of the mass mind experiment. And, I'll confess, I was outside at 4 AM in my pajamas looking for UFOs, so he did a pretty damn good job of convincing me. Sadly, I saw no UFOs, so the mass mind experiment wasn't a success here @ BoA HQ.
I will, however, give high praise to Bell for deciding to do the experiment in the first place. And while I am bemused by the Fast Blast UFO reports and callers who claimed to see a UFO, I respect Art for trying. Kudos to Art for thinking outside of the box, and for actually using the C2C vehicle to possibly advance esoterica. Unlike Art and Noory, I wouldn't call the experiment a success, as it yielded nothing tangible so far as UFO information, it was the effort that made it key.
Sunday on the show, the guest was Ralph Sawyer and the topic was geopolitics, specifically China. Strangely enough, my C2C barometer must have been all afoul last week, as my expectations for this one were strong and it turned out to be a real snoozer. Just too dry all the way around, especially after the wild episode the night before. There was some interesting discussion, but it all felt too subdued for me.
Monday night, El Nooro was back as host and the guest was "time detective" Gunnar Thompson. In another strange turn of events, Gunnar was surprisingly straight laced and not at all wacky, despite being billed as a "time detective". I'd almost liken him to C2C stalwart Steve Quayle and I mean that in a good way. Lots of fascinating stuff about pre-Columbus America that I'd never heard before or only heard in a peripheral sense.
Noory seemed to pull the plug an hour early for Gunnar, ending the interview after two hours. Not sure what that's all about, though Thompson did seem a little "off" at times when answering question, more so in cadence than in content. That may have put The Noor off a bit and caused him to invoke Operation Floating Noory for a final hour of pure Open Lines. Good episode, but it never quite had a chance to spread its wings and fly. Hopefully Gunnar will be back to try again someday.
Tuesday, it was all about alternative science with James Gardner. I listened to part of this one, but it was, much like Sunday's episode, a bit too dry for me. I don't recall if they even got around to talking about ETs and religion, so chances are they did (c2c.com says they did) and it was way after I shut it off. Giving credit where credit is due, I did like his talk of "universe DNA" (my term, not his) and some of the more nebulous cosmology discussion. I just didn't want 3 hours of it. I'd deem this episode a "push".
Wednesday, Noory donned his furry hat and red "C.C.C.P." shirt and joined forces with Paul Stonehill to talk about Soviet UFOs. After missing it on the original airing, I managed to find some time this afternoon to listen to this one and I was duly impressed. Stonehill brought tons of fascinating information to the table about Ufology in Russia and notable UFO sightings there. Great international UFO material on this one and a strong contender for UFO Episode of the Year come Coastie season.
Thursday wrapped up the formal week on a high note as TBA turned into Todd Murphy discussing after death stuffs and neuroscience. At first blush, it looks like a dog, right ? Wrong. It was excellent. Murphy brought a level headed look at NDEs and weird psychic stuffs that made it all seem much more feasible and credible than your usual C2C bottom of the barrel "psychic". A near perfect mix of mainstream alternative science and the esoteric. A strong alternative science episode.
All in all, it was a weird week. The ones I expected to be strong turned out to be kind of weak. The ones I expected to be weak ended up being the most memorable. Gunnar Thompson, who I was sure was a nutter, turned out to be not a nut at all and quite fascinating, but perhaps that lack of nuttiness is what ended up hurting his appearance.
Up was down. Left was right. Bell did geopolitics and mass mind experiments. Noory did alt. science and had no Hoagland pop-ins. Ian did Ufology and there is somehow controversy about it. The "time detective" wasn't crazy. I'm not sure what to believe anymore.
The Week That Is
C2C kicks things off tonight with the monthly two hour Linda Moulton Howe report. LMH will be discussing threatened species. Sounds mildly intriguing. Following LMH, will be the usual madness that is Friday into Saturday Open Lines.
Saturday on "Ian", IP has Dr. John Abramson to discuss a cholesterol conspiracy, of sorts. Sounds kind of awful, but it's Punnett, so I assume he'll manage to find a way to shine this turd and turn it into a good episode.
Saturday night on Coast, Art Bell's guest is UFO investigator Dick Criswell to talk about the government's involvement in UFOs. I've never heard of Criswell, but apparently he was mixed up with DARPA for a while, so it sounds like he's privy to a bevy of inside information and sources. Given last weekend's UFO festivus and the high intrigue of Criswell, this should be a home run episode.
Sunday, Jim Sparks is the guest. The topic is abduction. Not too long ago, 12.9.2006, Sparks was the guest will Bell for a critically acclaimed 4 hour interview. I suspect they'll pick up where they left off and this will be another very strong episode.
Monday ... TBA. Like a bad snowstorm, I feel it in my thumb (which I broke in 6th grade), it's Sean David Morton.
Tuesday, C2C legend Red Elk returns to hold court with The Noor. Elk was winner of the 2005 Coastie for "Best Ian Episode", so I expect a strong performance here from the longtime fan favorite. They'll be discussing End Times prophecy, which is right in Noory's wheel house, so I expect good things all around.
Wednesday, Joe Montaldo debuts on C2C to discuss notable UFO cases. I'm looking forward to this one, quite a bit. I had the pleasure of meeting Joe at both the '05 X-Conference and the UFO CRC this past November. He's an interesting cat, possessing tremendous charisma, and strong know how regarding the UFO phenomenon. He hosts his own program (Wake Up USA), but I've only heard an episode or two. As a guest, given his style, I think The Noor will dig him. Depending upon how "on" Joe is, this could be very good to great.
The formal week wraps up on Thursday with Christopher Moon discussing communication with the dead. Noory seems to like this sort of thing and I suspect Moon knows his stuff, so this should be decent to good.
All in all, another very strong week, on-paper, with a follow-up for a strong guest (Jim Sparks), the return of a C2C legend (Red Elk), and the debut of a formidable newcomer (Joe Montaldo). Lots to look forward to here.
BoA : Audio, Season Two
We finally got back on track, this week, with the musical previews for upcoming episodes. Since we missed the Jerry E. Smith one, we went back and made the preview anyway, though now it is more of a "recap". You can check it out in MP3 form (just right click and then "save target as") or you can listen to it in Streaming Audio HERE.
This week : Farah Yurdozu
Turkey's first female Ufologist comes to BoA to talk about all things Turkish and esoteric. We're going to be discussing Turkish history and how it may relate to matters of the esoteric, the amazing story of ancient underground cities in Turkey, Turkish Ufology, what esoteric area of research hasn't made it to Turkey yet, UFO sightings and landings, abductions and the strange traditions of abductions, Turkish Men in Black, rumours of Noah's Ark being in Turkey and tons more. A truly fascinating episode of BoA : Audio.
Her website is farahyurdozu.com
You can hear an MP3 preview of our Farah's appearance on BoA : Audio HERE * Just right click and then "save target as". Or you can listen to it in Streaming Audio HERE.
Next Week : Paul Schatzkin, "The Boy Who Invented Television"
It's an ultrarare alternative history episode of BoA : Audio, as Paul Schatzkin joins the program to discuss Philo T. Farnsworth, who first thought of television as a farmboy and developed the invention from mere concept to the first working electric television, kicking off the television revolution in America. We follow the entire fascinating story that reads like a Hollywood movie, complete with a gang of underdog inventors, battles with big business, and the birth of a new era in media : the television.
His website is farnovision.com
binnall report mailbag
On the black vault show Richard Dolan talked about the troubles with the official 9/11 conspiracy theory, maybe if you ever get him back on the show you could ask him about how the UFO community and 9/11 truth movement go together, what they have in common and why very few leading people cross between the two. Other than Richard Dolan, Jim Marrs is the only one I can think of who is involved in both movements.
Richard in Wales Thanks for writing, Richard. When we get Rich Dolan back on the show, I'll be sure to discuss the sociological aspects of the 911 TM v. Ufology feud. I find it somewhat surprising that given the conspiratorial elements of both camps, that there isn't as much crossover, but I'm not that surprised, given that it is esoterica we're talking about. It's hard enough (if not impossible) to get everyone in Ufology on the same page and that's before we even get to the inter-disciplinary feuds that already exist throughout esoteric studies.
Personally, I do think, at their root, the 911 situation and the UFO phenomenon have some common factors. And while I don't think 911 had anything to do with UFOs, but wouldn't be surprised if some of the people behind 911 also have a hand in making sure the UFO answer remains elusive to the people.
I did ask Jim Marrs about 911 v. Ufology on the season premiere of BoA : Audio, Season Two, so you may want to check that out for more discussion on the topic.
Question ? Comment ? Gripe ? Query ? Love Letter ? Write to tbinnall@hotmail.com and we'll sort it all out.
This Week in C2C History
2.21.2004 : After a two year absence, Ian Punnett returns to guest host C2C in a one-off spot prior to his regular return in the Summer of 2005. This was my first time hearing IP, after listening to Joe Vee rave about him for quite a long time. The guest was Charles Higham talking about Abe Lincoln. IP's C2C return netted him a Coastie contendership spot, as we recognized the historic nature of the night, "The return of the dashing Mr.Punnett brought with it a fresh perspective to Coast. His status as chaplain at a local hospital added an interesting, albeit religious, twist to the host's chair." (2004 Coastie Contenders list)
2.21.1997 : The birth of Mel's Hole. "Mel, a listener from rural eastern Washington tells Art he has been putting his trash into a 9 foot wide hole located on his property, just like the previous owners. There is a retaining wall around it and a steel door over the opening. This hole has been used for decades to dispose of such trash as building supplies, dead cows, furniture, you name it.
He noticed that the hole never filled up. He started using fishing line to try to measure its depth. So far he has gone down 80,000 feet without hitting bottom. A few strange things about this hole, dogs won't get near it, birds won't sit on the retaining wall or door and there is no echo when you yell into it. Mel remembers dropping a refrigerator down it and never hearing it touch bottom. End Notes
There you have it, my friends, February is just about wrapped up and in the bag. Upward and onward to March, I say.
Plugs : Tomorrow @ binnallofamerica.com, Farah Yurdozu, Turkey's first female Ufologist joins BoA : Audio to discuss a wide array of esoteric topics and the country of Turkey. Sunday, Lesley's C2C Rewind @ The Debris Field. Monday, R. Lee's Trickster's Realm. Tuesday, Lesley's Grey Matters. Wednesday, Khyron's The K-Files goes to the movies. Thursday, Hot Newz. And, Friday, we do it all again here in the binnall report.
binnallofamerica.com ... esoterica unfiltered.
Finishing up with a decent amount of time to spare, this is binnall wishing you an excellent weekend, a stress free week, and signing off.