Well, I did say "if..." I do have to admit, based on Loren Coleman's initial reaction that he posted in his original blog entry Bigfoot Body: "Georgia Gorilla" Will Shock the World, I was cautiously hopeful that this could indeed be "the real deal". Sadly, however, the public has been subjected to another pathetic hoax by a trio (Matt Whitton, Rick Dyer, and Tom Biscardi) of financially-motivated scam artists. One bit of news that gave me a modicum of satisfaction was that Matt Whitton, the cop from Clayton County, Ga, was fired from his job because of his involvement in this scam (link to article here).

Those of us who have a sincere interest in topics such as cryptozoology, ufology, and the paranormal in general, are a community; and as a community we do not tolerate publicity-seeking idiots that perpetrate hoaxes in the interest of making a fast buck. The best thing that we can do, as a community, is to completely ostracize these people: do not visit their website, do not call in on any radio show on which they appear or attend any event at which they're appear, do not buy any book, dvd or any other product or service that they are selling. In the case of Biscardi, who makes a living in the "bigfoot business", that would essentially cripple him financially - and he deserves nothing less. Ignore them, and they will go away.

What bothers me the most about this whole business is the fact that it hurts the field of cryptozoology and devalues and belittles the work of gentleman like Loren Coleman, Matt Moneymaker (head of BFRO), Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, and our friend Adam Davies.

Adam Davies has appeared on our Internet radio show 'The Paranomalists' and will be speaking with us again on Sunday, August 31st at 9:30 AM EST. If you haven't read it, pick up a copy of Adam's excellent and highly entertaining book "Extreme Expeditions: Travel Adventures Stalking the World’s Mystery Animals". He is a tireless investigator of mystery animals (as the subtitle indicates) and he has frequently put himself in life-threatening situations in his search for these creatures. In a recent email Adam wrote to me, in his understated way, "Man, when you risk your life for this stuff, its difficult to find anytime at all for hoaxers..." (hope you don't mind me putting that out there, Adam).

The fact is, these types of pranks/scams/hoaxes - call them what you will - shed a poor light on a legitimate field that, unfortunately, already suffers from a lot of bad press because of the involvement of liars, hoaxers and the lunatic fringe. A good friend of mine said to me yesterday, "Well that should put to rest all this bigfoot nonsense". "Of course it doesn't!", I argued. "Simply because a few asses decide to perpetrate a hoax, does not invalidate all the strong evidence that points to the existence of such creatures". I do believe that, and I continue to respect those serious individuals who dedicate themselves to the search for and classification of cryptids.

John Carlson

The Paranomalists

Note: I'm using the terms "Georgia Gorilla", "Georgia Bigfoot", "bigfoot" and "sasquatch" interchangeably. The creature found in Georgia by Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer (if it's real) may be one and the same as the creature known as sasquatch or bigfoot that has been seen for centuries throughout North America, or it could be a subspecies. It might be a while before we have the answer to that question.

Last month, my co-hosts Ash Hamilton and Mark Gray and I interviewed an avid and experienced hunter on our paranormal radio show, The Paranomalists. The hunter happened to be Ash's dad, Marvin Hamilton. Because we're always searching for new subjects and twists on existing ones, we thought it would be interesting to ask, in a purely speculative manner, what it would be required to bring down an animal with the size and bulk of the legendary sasquatch. Mr. Hamilton has hunted some very large game I'm told, and we thought it might be an interesting to get a hunter's perspective on what kind of firepower would be needed if one would choose to hunt such a creature. It was a relatively short interview (for us) and it can be downloaded on the Audio page of Disclose.tv. The segment is titled "Paranomalists - What Can Take Down Bigfoot?".

I was quick to add that this conversation was purely speculative and that in no way do The Paranomalists advocate the hunting and killing of sasquatch, should the creature actually exist. Now, less than a month later, we're facing the possibility that the legendary bigfoot may indeed exist (see my previous post, The Georgia Bigfoot - could this be the real thing at last? or go to Loren Coleman's article Georgia Gorilla: Bigfoot Body’s First Photo!).

If, on Friday, 8/15 we discover that the so-called "Georgia Gorilla" is the real thing, bigfoot, then I can envision an ugly scenario taking place that must somehow be prevented. Does anyone remember the scene in the movie "Jaws", when all those overzealous morons descended on the town of Amity to try to claim the reward money by bagging the shark that ate the poor little Alex Kintner boy? What do you think will happen if this bigfoot body is the real deal? Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, the two Georgia residents that discovered the body, are keeping the exact location of its discovery a secret in order to protect the creatures. However, the fact that it's known that the place where the carcass was found is in the northern woods of Georgia is enough. I can see the area being overrun by "bigfoot hunters" with high-powered rifles. The fact that Whitton and Dyer have been offered a million dollars for just the photos of the body is sure to bring a lot of greedy idiots with weapons to the woods of northern Georgia. Hey, if getting a second body of one of these creatures will bring millions of dollars, it's going to tempt both experienced hunters and novices to enter the fray in the hope of taking home the ultimate trophy.

As for myself, I'm not a hunter and probably couldn't bring myself to kill a squirrel (although I've run over a few with my car) and I certainly could not kill something that looks very close to being a human being (hell, I saw a dozen guys hairier than that this weekend down at the Jersey Shore). To me, that would be akin to murder rather than simply "hunting". But, once again, this whole thing could turn out to be a big hoax, in which case my point here is moot. However, if this is an actual flesh-and-blood, living animal or being, then it needs to be protected. State and Federal laws need to be put into place immediately to protect the Georgia Gorilla and the North American sasquatch from indiscriminate slaughter. Heavy fines should be levied, as well as jail time, for anyone who kills them. Who really knows how many are left in the wild? Can we afford to lose even one to a hunter's bullet?

John Carlson

The Paranomalists

For any of you who are reading this that haven't yet heard the news, this Friday, August 15th, a press conference will be held to reveal DNA evidence and photographic evidence of the creature as "bigfoot" or "sasquatch". The body of this creature was said to have been found in the northern woods of Georgia, here in the USA. If you go to Loren Coleman's excellent site, Cryptomundo.com, you can read the article for yourself. Also, a photograph was leaked of the supposed Georgia Gorilla (as Mr. Coleman has suggested calling it) or Georgia Bigfoot, and Mr. Coleman was given permission to post the photo on his site. (NOTE: Their web server is understandably swamped right now, so you may or may not be able to get to the page, or at least, it may take a while to load).

Now, I'm sure many of you are skeptical, as am I. We've all seen our share of blobsquatch photos and have endured the shenanigans of so many hucksters that have attempted to profit by capitalizing on people's desire to believe in the existence of this creature. With so many past disappointments, we're all hesitant to get our hopes up. Having said that, however, I am more than a little curious (maybe even a little excited, I'll admit) about this latest development in the bigfoot saga. And that's because none other than Loren Coleman, one of the preeminant figures in the search for conclusive evidence of the North American ape, has said that this "...indeed, may be the real deal". Wow. If Loren Coleman is putting that out there, even tentatively, it has to get your hopes up a little, doesn't it?

The other reason to believe that this might be the real deal is the fact that the two Georgia residents who discovered the creature, Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, are allowing the body to be investigated by credentialed scientists. According to Loren Coleman's article on Cryptomundo:

"The hominoid (please note, not hominid) body, found in the Georgia woods, is now in a secure location, under armed guard, and set to be examined by a battery of academic scholars, skeptical scientists, Bigfoot researchers, and debunking writers."

If Mr. Whitton and Mr. Dyer are willing to do that, then they may actually be the first to have gathered solid, physical evidence in the way of a carcass of the creature known as "bigfoot" or "sasquatch". Of course, this could all turn out to be an elaborate hoax, in which case Whitton and Dyer deserve to be collectively spanked and fully ostracized by the public. But.., their willingness to present physical evidence to a objective group of scientists is encouraging. And this is exactly as it should be: nothing short of a full scientific analysis and necropsy of the creature will do if we are to take this seriously. The public and the scientific community needs nothing less than complete and total proof that this is truly an unclassified, undiscovered species of ape (or perhaps something between ape and human).

If this "Georgia Gorilla" is the real thing, I'll be overjoyed that this discovery has been made within my lifetime, and I'll be even happier for people like Loren Coleman, Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, Jane Goodall - people who have worked and sacrificed and often have opened themselves up for ridicule among their peers because of their belief in the existence of these creatures. I wonder also how this will affect other areas of research that are considered by some of the public and much of the mainstream scientific community to be "fringe" or "pseudo-science" - other areas within cryptozoology, as well as subjects such as ufology, parallel dimensions. It's my belief that if this Friday, August 15, 2008 we are finally given conclusive proof of bigfoot's existence, that we must then open our minds to the possibility of other undiscovered creatures existing in the wild, other entities in our midst. What was once "impossible" now because possible. If bigfoot exists, what else might be out there?

John Carlson

The Paranomalists

I am a fan of the Indiana Jones movies. No doubt about it, and I can watch them repeatedly, never feeling that urge to critique or evaluate them as movies. They are movies, but they always feel like a little something else too, don't they. That is what separates them from the Die Hards, the Lethal Weapons, the Terminators. They are adventure yarns, episodic tales that feel as though they are equally at home streaming from a radio, bookended by Little Orphan Annie and Buck Rogers as they are glowing pieces of celluloid sandwiched between a myriad of Matrix rip-offs and self important oscar-worthy dramas. If my disdain for a lot of current Hollywood fodder is apparent, well, let me just say that catering to the 12-21 crowd is slowly killing the creativity is this country, Now let me take a moment to clarify myself. The American media engine's IDEA of what the 12-21 crowd wants is killing the creativity in this country. Sadly, they are so persuasive they are often able to tell this demographic what they want, and just as much the sin as my Lexus driving neighbors here in suburban America, they fall prey to believing it.
Hey, wasn't this supposed to be a movie review? I'm getting around to that I assure you. I' m laying a little foundation because I believe the vision of Indiana Jones deserves it. I believe the belief in a hero in a hero-less age deserves it. Why should Indiana Jones be any different than any other action hero. Plain and simple: Righteous Indignity. Indiana Jones is a hero because heroes have a little something called righteous indignity. Righteous indignity has been given a bad rap for a long time due to the people who throw the therm around: the self professed righteous who are usually anything but. For all the "kick-assery" that the character of Jones represents, Indiana Jones is a professor, a pacifist and scholar in a world that desecrates the idea of inherited knowledge, forcing the hero to exercise righteous indignity. So with that being said does Indiana Jones belong in 2008? Can the world understand the concept of a hero, or just of vengeance, often blurring the lines between the two? This is where Indiana Jones has always worked in my opinion. The series manages to present us with an era where the idea of heroes, while still not necessarily understood through the jaded eyes of the children of a new millenium, can be accepted without the usual pinch of cynicism. Indiana Jones works, because like the characters own displays of righteous indignity, it is blissfully unaware of it's nostalgia as tact, using it instead to create a world that makes it a little easier to suspend disbelief.

That being said Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is escapism. A serial retrieved from the golden era of radio much like its predecessors, and it works. As much as it is self referential, you never feel a sense of self awareness here. That is a good thing. It's a good thing when the cool kid doesn't know he's cool. He's easy to still admire and yet still approachable. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is VERY easy to admire. Spielberg never makes any excuse for Indiana Jones at 65, letting the character dismiss reinvention and instead reestablish himself as a formidable action hero; one with a conscious and purpose that makes most modern day heroes look amateurish, despite their guns and computer saavy. More so, Kingdom is still approachable despite obvious homages to the earlier films. Characters like Marcus Brody and Indy's father are missed, but they're never written off. Instead, we see the passage of time without letting those losses become a burdening undercurrent, letting them reinforce the character's reintroduction instead. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull proves that even when a hero can't escape time, he can still age gracefully.

Ash

The Paranomalists

I am aware of personal space. I am also aware of an individual's comfort zone. I am aware that some people's comfort zones exist solely in the space below their parents house. Yes, I am referring to that pastiest of creatures...the ComicCon attendee. Now this may sound like a disclaimer, but let it be known I RARELY apologize BEFORE I offend, so I'll start by saying that I too am a ComicCon attendee. I bought my tickets, I made my wishlist of items that I wanted to purchase...I even printed out a floor plan of the show. I am a convention goer and I am a comic book fan. Now, I have, in the comic book world, more of an everyman's knowledge of comic books that the die hard purist that comprises a large portion of the comic book convention audience. I have a select number of books that I've always followed, and I am a reader moreso than I am a collector. I know a considerable amount of comic trivia compared to those outside of the industry, but compared to they guy with the custom leather x-men suit (so he also had circa 90's reeboks on) I am not "living the dream", I am simply a spectator. That being said, the stands us spectators were relegated to were, unfortunately, downwind.

My hygein varies depending on my mood. However, I will, at the very least, work to disguise my dissent from the world around with a combination of deodorant and cologne. I might smell like a whore, but I don't smell like a whore in a ditch. Now, if I can use the participant to spectator analogy again, I'll draw a parallel to Nascar...even though any one who knows me knows that i do not understand the world of competitive racing... I just know that it is keeping the Cling-On windshield decal industry alive. My lack of understanding aside, I can only guess that race car drivers work up a sweat behind the wheel. I can then also assume that a LARPER (Live Action Role Player) sweats behind their imaginary wheel. The distinction between the two is that the race car driver does then not process to sit in the stands with the fans when his/her race is over. Could be that the race car driver realizes that as fumes roll out of their car's exhaust, fumes are rolling out of their own exhaust. This concept, much to my disapointment, is lost on the majority of convention goers.

If Yankee Candle Company ever needs to research a new smell codenamed ASS, I think I can be of some assistance. I even have a floor plan. The New York Comicon needs a Renuzit the size of a grain silo. With more time and a well engineered action plan, I could have made a difference. Unfortunately I was too busy trying to find my "happy place". A happy place filled with flowers, and soft breezes carrying the smells of spring to my now molested nostrils.

In closing..by all means attend the New York Comic Con and have a blast...a blast of ass to rape your olfactory nerve. Just don';t ever let your nose watch The Accused again as the trauma is just way too much.

Ash

The Paranomalists

For those of you have listened to the first two shows of The Paranomalists, you probably know that I've developed something of a fascination with that mischievous imp, the Argentinean Gnome. If you haven't already seen this little guy, here's the YouTube link: Gnome Video.

As you may also know from our podcasts, my friend and fellow Paranomalist, Ash Hamilton, and I own a small web and graphic design company called Alchemy Labs Digital. Ash does the graphic design, and I do the coding & programming (the exciting stuff). In addition to static graphics, Ash is also very experienced and proficient in computer animation, 3D modeling and video editing. So in effect, we have an in-house expert in CGI here at theparanomalists.com (you can check out more of Ash's work at www.ashhamilton.com).

After hours of viewing and studying this video, and drawing upon his experience and training, Ash has come to a couple of conclusions: 1) he does not feel that the creature shown is a computer-generated creation; and 2) the proportions of this being are much smaller than a normal human being or even a person born with dwarfism. So, if this creature that is not a CGI creation, it is not a full-sized human being, and it definitely does not have 'typical' dwarf proportions, then what we are seeing is a primordial dwarf, or, it is indeed a Gnome.

Now, I know that the latter concept is pretty "out there" for a lot of people; the idea that this creature is actually a Gnome (for lack of a better term — but geez, I mean, it does have the pointy hat and all). However, is the idea that this being is actually a primordial dwarf skulking around in the bushes at 1:00 AM (when this was reportedly filmed) along a remote rural road in Argentina, dressed in full Gnome-garb, much less far-fetched? Bear in mind that primordial dwarfism is an exceedingly rare condition, with only about 100 documented cases of the condition worldwide. You would think that if there was a primordial dwarf that lived in the area he or she would be well-known and the first person that the locals would assume was pulling this prank (apparently other townsfolk have seen this creature as well as the young men who captured it on their video phone).

So let's entertain the notion that this creature is, in fact, an actual Gnome or some type of anomalous, humanoid creature. If you have an interest in such things - bigfoot, yeti, mothman, ufos/aliens, and the like - then it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to entertain the idea that this is some type of unidentified humanoid creature. So let's say for a moment that we believe that is indeed what was caught on the video by this group of Argentinean teens. If this is the case, then where do such creatures come from? I assume this being must have a dwelling someplace, a Gnome "base of operations", as Ash put it. Is this, then, some kind of as-yet-unidentified intelligent humanoid species that occupies this planet with us? And how is it that we haven't captured one, or found a carcass, or stumbled across it's domicile or nest or Gnome-hole? (no snickering, please).

However, these same questions can be asked regarding other accounts of anomalous beings or animals. In the following posts I'm going to discuss a number of these sightings, as well as relate some experiences that have happened to people close to us, such as:

• Ash's mom's thunderbird sighting in Illinois


• My wife's sasquatch encounter, right here in New Jersey


• The assault of the infamous "white thing" on Ash's mom's cousin

I'll go in to more depth in my next Anomalous Creatures post, but let me leave you with a couple of statements and my personal opinion on the matter. First off, I am not, nor are my fellow Paranomalists Ash and Mark, the types of people that believe each and every report of a strange encounter or paranormal event that we hear of. I feel that we at theparanomalists.com have a pretty healthy amount of skepticism regarding the entire subject area. While it's obviously foolish to take all reports of paranormal phenomena at face value 100% of the time, we feel that it is equally silly and narrow-minded to dismiss all such reports of anomalous creature sightings as delusions, misidentifications, or lies. For such accounts that are truthful and valid, it is my opinion that we're looking at beings and creatures that are inter-dimensional - ie., they have the ability to cross over from their 'plane of reality' or dimension, into ours.

We'll pick up with that idea in the next post. Meanwhile, I invite and welcome your opinions, thoughts, criticisms, and would certainly love to hear about any personal experience that you might have had with anomalous beings or creatures. Until then, thanks for reading.

- John

The Paranomalists

The Paranomalists

The Paranomalists

The Paranomalists