Finding Bigfoot. :)

[Grif]

I'm a skeptic by nature, but in the true sense of the word. Not one to deny nor believe either way until strong evidence or direct observation persuades me.

All my life (literally all my life since able to read) I've kept abreast on reports of what can be termed Fortean phenomena. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Fort

At one point I had a massive library of books on cryptozoology, UFOlogy, the paranormal and other "pseudoscientific" topics. It was not a static library, I read them all, loaned them to friends, bought and sold them. The whole of it was immersive. So much so that in the true legacy of Mr. Fort himself began to lose faith in anyone or anything that purported have all the answers or even any of them.

Yes, I'm talking to you Mr. Science, and you Mr. Religion, and you Mr. Economist and you Mr. Conspiracy theorist. Reality truly bends when you realize that there exists many more possible things in the universe than there are probable ones, and many more of those probable ones than you can possibly imagine.

So when I say I'm a skeptic, this does not mean "debunker" or one who seeks to discredit observations of incredible things simply because they do not fit the common norm. Instead I study those observations try to find patterns and meaning in them. To me it is a very, very serious subject.

What concerns me lately is the exploitation of such subjects in popular culture. Where every "paranormal" TV show must have a big "BOO!" moment, every week, on schedule. Every Cryptid show has dubious evidence to "prove" existence of the monster du jour, every week, on schedule. Every UFO show has the latest footage of the "UFO" posted on youtube and was thoroughly dismissed as photochoppery two years ago. Not to mention the absolutely absurd leaps of supposition and logic that most all of them are guilty of.

Its not the subject matter to be resented, its the manner in which its presented. It cheapens the subject matter by providing a spook o' the week. Some manufactured, some misrepresented, some re-enacted. All to appeal to the masses who's critical thinking skills rarely extend to balancing their checkbook.

Speaking of checkbooks, yes, all of these shows do it for the money. If they were losing money, they wouldn't do it. There is no altruism in chicanery. If these shows inspire a few to do the nasty deed and bend thier minds around all things possible then that's great. My hope is that those so inclined will see with a critical mind that the charlatans outnumber the kernals of truth. Realize that noise is in the data so thick and so furious that you, yes YOU must dig through it yourself. Read.. check sources.. visit your library and research. Correlate it in your own mind, and always assume that even you are wrong.

That is the reality game. Good luck.

[Y33TREKker]

I'm a skeptic by nature...

I was just going to ask Ebenezer about something along the Fortean line in the Bigfoot community.

I've noticed over the years that unexplained phenomenon receive regular attention in the media with the occasional story about this siting or that, or with television series revolving around the subject(s), but it also seems there are times when that attention seems to be at a fevered pitch. The 70's were one such sustained time period, the 90's were again although with a little more subtlety, and now it seems to be happening again.

That's not to say that investigations of the varied phenomenon by specific groups has ever decreased or stopped altogether, just that those investigations start receiving more attention and widespread involvement at times.

I personally don't know for certain if Bigfoot, ghosts, or UFO's are real, but just because I don't know doesn't mean I dismiss the possibility or anyone who DOES believe they're real as crazy. And that's why I take what I hear by most news medias with such a big grain of salt. Most of the networks those news medias are operated by seem to have no qualms about putting television series that investigate or portray such topics on their network channels, but when it comes to reporting possible occurrences on their news reporting programs, they report the stories with such thinly veiled deliberate sarcasm that it's pretty much impossible not to notice the double standard.

If that's the way they really feel though, why devote so much time to the subjects in the programming? I personally consider the process to be a distractionary tactic, but by whom and for what ultimate reason?

But...I guess I got a little distracted myself. My question, Ebenezer, was this. Is it the general consensus in the Bigfoot community that the Sasquatch was being represented by Chewbacca in the Star Wars series?