Dame Oubliiette,

Like you, I'm becoming more and more convinced UFOs are simply unknown experimental/military/whatever aircraft and nothing from unknown planets.  I forget which show (it's repeated fairly regularly), but this guy sets out to find the truth about Area 51, and ALL his research left him – and me – with the conclusion that  nothing 'alien' happened. All the "alien" roads led to dead ends while the military had very plausible, sane explanations for what really happened. Coupled with other shows that have debunked possible sightings, it just doesn't look good.

To get this back on topic, I've wondered recently: Now that everyone on the planet except my wife and I can take pictures with their cell phones; shouldn't there be more evidence of bigfoot, Nessie, etc?  Of course, pictures can be doctored; so there's always that. 

Oh, regarding the lady and the garlic; my wife's comment was, "Oh no, she has a daughter. That girl doesn't have a chance."

EDITED to reflect Oubliette's rise to power which apparently occurred during this posting.

I'd like to thank everyone who made this possible:

My wife for allowing me to retire from my main gig two years ago; thus giving me time to spend here.

The economy for tanking so I could get laid off from my parttime gig; thus giving me more time to spend here.

My remaining gig, which is seasonal, taking off this time of year; thus giving me even more time to spend here.

Starbucks, for closing the nearest store so I'm not tempted to leave the house; thus giving me untold amounts of time to spend here.

And finally, my creator; who makes all things possible. Joel, where ever you are – thanks.

Here is one review of Greg Long's book (there are more on this same site). Granted, it's from a pro-Bigfoot perspective.

Many of the Amazon.com reviews don't think too highly of it either.

About the evidence: it's easy to say we should've found a carcass or bones by now, but actually getting out in the woods and searching is one thing, then the likelihood of finding bones is another altogether. It's the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Since some have mentioned UFO's, I'll throw my two cents in on that as well. I do think there is other intelligent life (like us humans) out there somethere, maybe even in our own galaxy. The question then is: if "they" are out there, are they visiting earth? I just don't know.

I watched the Bigfoot MQ episode last week, and was very disappointed they didn't find anything new.  I did like the theory that, if there was an unknown primate there, it was nomadic and following the blooming of the berries so to speak.  By and large though, MQ does the best job of any of these paranormal/cryptozoological shows.  Except for maybe Destionation Truth.

Do I believe an undiscovered primate exists?  Yes, most likely the Yeti or Orang Pendek.  I just don't see one existing in the North American wilderness.

Now, on to UFO's.  I agree with most that the vast majority of sightings are either misidentification or experimental military craft (I have never believed the Roswell story, that was re-invented by Stanton Freidman and others in an effort to sell books).  One theory I had always considered is that the unexplainable craft were not aliens, but perhaps time travelers.  Our current level of understanding of physics and the forces of the universe leaves open a much higher possiblity for time travel than for interstellar travel.  Again, I am assuming that our understanding of the laws are roughly accurate.  We haven't had a major discovery in theoretical physics in 2 or 3 decades.  Some attribute that to the time spent on developing string theory, but perhaps it is because we have a pretty good handle on things.  That's an arrogant attitude for us (me) to take, and generally I steer clear of asserting that we know much of what we can know. 

On a completely different topic, anyone notice that UFO Hunters is far less crazy and even borderline credible this season?  Credible may be too strong a word, but last week they came darn near saying they de-bunked a sighting. 

J., have you ever read THE MAKING OF BIGFOOT? It's no surprise pro-Bigfooters hate the book, because Long's demolition of the case is really thorough. He interviews the guy who wore the gorilla suit in the film (Bob Heironimus), the guy who sold Patterson the ape suit (Philip Morris—-not the cigarette maker, but America's largest supplier of theatrical costumes), Patterson's relatives (like brother in law Al DeAtley, who financed Patterson's Bigfoot expeditions), and even the film processing labs who handled 16mm Kodachrome in 1967 (to show the film could not have been processed when and where Patterson claimed). If that's not enough evidence, Long looks at Patterson's paper trail—–from lawsuits over unpaid bills to his arrest for grand lacerny—-and it's clear Patterson was a compulsive liar and scam artist. Long  even managed to interview Gimlin briefly and catches him in some lies (for example, Gimlin denies to Long he has a criminal record but Long discovered otherwise). 

Logisti, it's easy to see how black panthers might be roaming in Florida. As you know, there is clandestine traffic in "exotic" animals. Many of these wind up in the wild when they escape or are released by owners unable to care for them. This is how pythons have been introduced into Florida, and it would be no surprise if large exotic cats, like black panthers, have been introduced in a similar way. (Heck, I wouldn't be too surprised if there aren't some chimps now in the Florida wilds.) For me, the problem with Bigfoot is the lack of objective physical "residues" of some sort and the widespread nature of the reports. Maybe there is indeed an as yet unknown primate in certain areas (like the Pacific Northwest) but when you have reports of Bigfoot from Florida, Ohio, upstate New York, northeast Texas. . . . . at that point, I go "whoa!!"

What really fascinates me about alleged paranormal phenomena is the possibility they are triggered by some currently unknown rare-but-real physical phenomenon. I've called this "quantum weirdness on a macro scale" in previous posts.  I have no idea whether that phenomenon exists, but I hope it does!

J, not trying to start a flame war, but you should read Long's book before you try to debate its content and conclusions.

You wrote, "If the suit could be bought or if it was in Heironimus' possession, then why didn't he and Long recreate the Patterson-Gimlin film?" Two good reasons, as the book makes clear: 1) the suit stayed  in Patterson's possession (although several people saw it and Morris had the order data), and 2) the suit was made in 1967; that design, made from an artificial fur called Dynel, hasn't been available for decades.

Long did film Heironimus replicating the "Bigfoot walk" and described the result, with photos, in a chapter titled "Bigfoot Walks." There is also an exhaustive frame-by-frame analysis of the Patterson film which should convince all but the most hopelessly credulous —-you know, the sort who really think a ghost tugged Grant's collar on Halloween!

You also wrote, "Smearing Roger Patterson and trying to make him look bad doesn't mean the P-G film is fake." "Smearing" someone is not the same thing as telling the unpleasant truth about them, especially when that unpleasant truth is supported by hundreds of pages of legal documents and corporate records. I defy anyone to review the record presented n Long's book and come to any conclusion other than Patterson was a liar of spectacular, almost sociopathic, scale. And, as I noted previously, Long catches Gimlin in some lies. Have you ever served on a criminal jury? If so, you might remember the judge's instruction that if you find a witness has been untruthful in one part of their testimony you are free to disregard all of the testimony of that witness. And by that standard, I don't see how anyone could possibly believe in Patterson and the validity of his film. If someone reads the book and still believes in the Patterson film, please contact me about some internet stocks I bought back in 1998 which would make great investments for your 401K account!  ;-)

Long is actually understanding of Patterson, pointing out Patterson had a recurrence of cancer (Hodgkin's disease) at the time he made the film, and was clearly motivated by the desire to create something that would produce income for his family after his death. But having terminal cancer doesn't make anyone more virtuous and doesn't give Patterson a pass for his Bigfoot fraud and other scams he pulled in his last years.

Enough of this; time to find a spot in front of the TV to watch my favorite team of late night investigative plumbers!