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Anomaly Archives eNews
Week of May 5th, 2016
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The Anomaly Archives Weekly Email Newsletter

May 5th, 2016 - Perhaps the biggest problem preventing the legitimizing of UFO research is the rampant belief in "UFOs as Extra-Terrestrial Craft." Many people who are skeptical about UFOs are so because of the behavior of UFO "true-believers" ... they see in those believers the fervor of people caught-up in the uncritical trance of a religion.

Some writers have gone so far as to compare such believers to those technologically primitive cultures that worshiped the technology of more modern societies, aka Cargo Cults. During the 1990s, with the rise of popularity of TV shows such as The X-Files, these subject areas became so popular that it seemed every new commercial for a product or service began incorporating Alien and UFO themes.

In the Fall of 1994 (within the second issue of my ELFIS zine) I began an occasional column called "Cargo Culture" in which I and a couple of other contributing writers covered the ever-increasing use of UFO, paranormal, and alien-themed imagery within various Popular Culture media streams. In issue 6 (Summer 1998) of my ELFIS zine I introduced the ELFIS Cargo Culture Gallery. There I chronicled the many products and media references for such "Cargo Culture."

With this week's installment of the newsletter we are launching a new semi-regular section focused on such "Cargo Culture" - featuring links to some of those past ELFIS articles and gallery, as well as a brief blurb about a strange, unofficial UFO/Star Wars crossover product from my childhood, along with a link to a UFO themed video for the 2001 pop-song "Side" by the band "Travis." I was very familiar with this song but had somehow never seen the very enjoyable video, until a couple of months ago when a friend sent me a link. We'll feature more of this kind of "Cataloging of Cargo Culture" in future issues - I already have a wealth of material for this since people still continue to give me items featuring aliens and UFOs, despite my skepticism of an ET origin of said phenomenon.

Meanwhile, this week's Book-of-the-Week is one that I had a couple of synchronicities with... late last year one of our local library volunteers was helping me re-organize the lending library collection and she came across the book Animal-Speak by Ted Andrews. It caught her attention because it features cover-art by her mother (Victoria Lisi), who happens to be a famous artist who has created many a cover of various Science Fiction / Fantasy books, including some with obvious UFO/Flying-Saucer imagery. Then a month or so ago, as a UT student was doing a preservation assessment of the Anomaly Archives (checking a random sample of books in the collection), he came across this book with surprise, saying it was a very sought-after book within the UT library system.

Also in this issue, we have the usual round-up of Anomalous Headlines, several of which deal with this issue's theme of Cargo Culture, including tales of French villagers in the 1700s attacking a hydrogen-filled balloon (thinking it was a living animal), a man who thought a sex-doll was an angel fallen from heaven, and Chinese villagers who mistook a sex-toy for an unknown mushroom!

That's all for now...

See you next week!

SMiles Lewis / Founder

AnomalyArchives.org
SMilesLewis.com
Cargo Cults & Para Culture
– alien entertainment, comics, clippings –


 
CARGO CULTure by SMiles

    We live in a world of emergent novelty. Or so we are told by Lyall Watson, Terence McKenna, Robert Anton Wilson and others. Human culture is one of the most novel systems the Earth has ever seen. It is a force which controls/influences every aspect of our lives. Billions of people's Reality Tunnels are pumped in daily via the international TV media net. For the last couple of decades we have seen the rise of another net which will soon merge with the older audio/video networks-the information systems comprising all electronic processing technology on the planet. This epic union will hit overdrive as we witness the quality of sensory simulation increase. I am speaking, of course, of the emerging Virtual Reality technology. As the computer "images" become more completely and totally sensory, so too the interface of mind and machine will reach the level where there is no discernible physical connection. The obvious down side is the frightening possibilities that these technologies offer to would-be mind control conspiracists.

    A connection has been drawn by observant researchers that UFO devotees, whether they be nuts and bolts techno-fetishists, space-brother wannabe spiritualists, or abductionologists seeking physical proof, exhibit similar traits as those "third worlders" who worship the cargo of us "moderns" (hence the term Cargo Cult). [see Cargo of the Gods by Paul Rydeen in Volume 1 of The Anomalist (PDF)] The analogy intimates humanity's search for the UFO as philosopher's stone, and is indicative of our hunger for divine product .This desire is evident in the need for divine space brothers as masters, so that we may attain enlightenment; the search for advanced alien technologies supposedly being researched in places like Area 51, Groom Lake, Nevada; and the quest for physical proof of the psychotronic implants of our abductors.


Read the rest of this article here: CARGO CULTure
E.L.F. Infested Spaces: Journal of Possible Paradigms - Issue 2, Fall 1994

See also:
  • CARGO CULTure by John Carter, E.L.F. Infested Spaces: Journal of Possible Paradigms - Issue 3, Summer 1995
  • Cargo of the Gods? by Paul Rydeen, The Anomalist, Volume 1 (PDF)
"Cargo cults and saucer groups are alike in having a millenial ideal; the forms this ideal takes are remarkably similar. They both have a non-personal entity (the ancestors and the Space Brothers) expected to manifest via mechanical vehicles (planes, ships, UFOs) bringing cargo (chocolate bars, radios, and postnuclear peacekeeping technology) and a just salvation. The impetus for both groups is not necessarily the material goods, but the status they bring... page 63
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke

“Who is John Frum? He is known to us by many names, this Visitor from Elsewhere, dispenser of endless abundance and wielder of mysterious technologies: John Frum, Quetzalcoatl, Osiris, “Bob.” His cargo is splendid, his generosity boundless, his motives beyond our understanding. But across the ages and around the world, the stories all agree: one day he will return, bearing great gifts. Our theme this year asks three related questions; who is John Frum, where is he really from, and where, on spaceship Earth, are we all going? …"

Theme by Larry Harvey, text by Larry Harvey and Stuart Mangrum, illustration by D.A. of Black Rock (aka Dominic Tinio)  

Appropriation of UFO Themes & Science Fiction Memes
 
Above artwork attributed to Bruce Pennington (here, here, here)

Some time after the release of Star Wars my mom procured a small supply of fabric from a local crafts store that featured likely unlicensed representations of characters and vehicles from the Star Wars franchise. These apparently bootleg, knock-off images were overlaid upon a colorful scene featuring flying-saucers lifting up human shapes inside a blue-beam, an apparent "cloud-cigar" type of UFO ejecting baby ball-of-light orbs as well as levitating humanoids next to their astral light-bodies. Most of this imagery was lost on me at the time as I was very young and was just becoming aware of the UFO phenomenon in general. My mother had gotten the fabric because of my love of Star Wars - she created a small, thin pillow with the fabric and I've had it ever since. It wasn't until recently that I realized that the sci-fi movie imagery was not part of the original artwork. Perhaps this early age exposure to such iconic UFO imagery is part of what led me down this path of being so obsessed with all things ufological.

[See gallery of pics (at bottom of Cargo Culture page) of a homemade pillow created by SMiles’ mother using a cloth pattern featuring the above Bruce Pennington artwork with UFO related imagery overlaid with Star Wars “knock-off” imagery.]

 
More Cargo Culture...
Official video for "Side", taken from Travis' third studio album, 'The Invisible Band' (2001), released on Independiente Records.

Lyrics to "Side" by Travis

Well I believe there's something watching over you
They're watching every single thing you say
And when you die they'll set you down and take you through
You'll realize one day

That the grass is always greener on the other side
The neighbor's got a new car that you want to drive
And when time is running out you want to stay alive

We all live under the same sky
We all will live we all will die
There is no wrong
There is no right
The circle only has one side

We all try hard to live our lives in harmony
For fear of falling swiftly overboard
But life is both a major and minor key
Just open up the chord

But the grass is always greener on the other side
The neighbour's got a new car that you want to drive
And when time is running out you want to stay alive

We all live under the same sky
We all will live
We all will die
There is no wrong
There is no right
The circle only has one side

Watch the Video...
Book of the Week...

Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small
by Ted Andrews (1993)
 

[Cover art by Victoria Poyser-Lisi & Julius Lisi]

Open your heart and mind to the wisdom of the animal world.

"Animal Speak provides techniques for recognizing and interpreting the signs and omens of nature. Meet and work with animals as totems and spirit guides by learning the language of their behaviors within the physical world.

Animal Speak shows you how to: identify, meet, and attune to your spirit animals; discover the power and spiritual significance of more than 100 different animals, birds, insects, and reptiles; call upon the protective powers of your animal totem; and create and use five magical animal rites, including shapeshifting and sacred dance.

This beloved, bestselling guide has become a classic reference for anyone wishing to forge a spiritual connection with the majesty and mystery of the animal world."
 
Read More...
Headlines
Here are some headlines of note for this week:
 

Cargo Culture Headlines

 

 

 

 
[NOTE: Inclusion of news & event info is purely informational
and does not indicate endorsement.]
 
Anomaly Archives
Our Monthly Public Meetings Are Changing.

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MORE DETAILS SOON

The Anomaly Archives holds monthly meetings (usually) on the Fourth Saturday of each month. Contact SMiles Lewis via email for updates. The meetings are held from 1-3pm at the INACS / Anomaly Archives headquarters located in North West Austin. (Map)
Read More...
Membership Drive 2016

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Social Media Links...
 
DOGMAN Symposium

Defiance, Ohio
August 6th, 2016

Featuring:
  • Linda Godfrey
  • Stan Gordon
  • Nick Redfern
  • David Weatherly
  • John E.L. Tenney
  • Ken Gerhard
  • Lyle Blackburn
Dogman.WeirdLectures.com
Event Info...
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The Anomaly Archives is the library of the Scientific Anomalies Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks:
  • Preservation and dissemination of scientific research into anomalous phenomena
  • Research and analysis of accumulated collections
  • Education of the public regarding scientific investigations into these phenomena
 
The Anomaly Archives board of directors are grateful to INACS (Institute for Neuroscience and Consciousness Studies) for their continued hosting of the library and archive collections.
 

INACS / Anomaly Archives (Map)

Institute for Neuroscience and
Consciousness Studies

12593 Research Blvd., Ste. 302
Austin, TX 78759-2214

Copyright © 2016 Anomaly Archives / Scientific Anomaly Institute, All rights reserved.


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