High Strangeness The Motion Picture

Alas, work on the J. Allen Hynek book and trying to mount a remake of "Roswell, the Musical" has kept me away from my beloved blog for far too long, but now I'm back for good. Or at least a little while. We have a couple of vacations coming up. Anyway, the big MUFON 2013 Symposium is starting in two days in Las Vegas, and once again I am the only MUFON Certified UFO Field Investigator not going. So that means that for a few days my phone stops ringing off the hook and I can catch up some things around here. Here's what's been happening in my corner of the UFO world lately: * Last weekend my wife, kids and I attended a Renaissance Faire wedding. I know this doesn't seem to have anything to do with UFOs, but on one level the Ren Faire is all about a fringy cultural group creating its own hospitable reality, so it actually has a lot to do with UFOs in my opinion. My eldest son's best friend was getting married, and my son, as a groomsman, got to/had to dress up like Robin Hood, which was a kick. It was a very fun day, and you have to love the young newlyweds for totally doing things their own way. It also reminded me of the last time I went to the Ren Faire, with a group of Trekkies who dressed up like Klingons (don't ask me why)--to my utter amazement, the Klingons fit right in. A dozen sweaty, long-haired aliens, all of them standing seven feet tall, clad in black leather, their skulls bisected by bony plates, all of them carrying lethal wooden scythes, spitting and cursing at everyone around, and nobody even noticed them. That was a lesson in tolerance, let me tell you. " One of these Merry Men is my son. Can you guess which? * A writer friend who was extremely critical of this blog when I first started it out two years ago has suddenly reappeared and wants to be friends again, which is cool. At the time he assumed I would be holding UFO witnesses up to ridicule, but for the most part I have avoided that, so I guess we're good now. Anyway, I can't really blame him for thinking this blog would be crass, because it kind of is. * Speaking of estranged artists, the two estranged creators of "Roswell, the Musical" may both come through with long-lost recordings of the play, which is nothing short of a miracle! I will keep you posted as the situation develops. * A person who I had really hoped would grant me an interview for the Hynek book bailed on me today. The woman was Hynek's student and personal assistant in the early 1950s, became a well-known UFO investigator in her own right, and had a very close friendship with the Doctor until he died in 1986. I had phoned her last year to ask about an interview and she wasn't exactly excited about it then, but she did leave the door open. Read my articles about UFOs, and then if you have any questions you can try me again," she said. Well, I tried her again today, and after a very pleasant greeting she said she didn't want to be interviewed and she hung up on me. I know what you're thinking: this is two big interviews for the book that have crashed and burned. I swear there is no connection and the book is not doomed!That's all interesting, of course, but here's the really big news. My State MUFON Director, Vxxxx, forwarded me an email last night from a documentary filmmaker and asked if I could help him out since she's heading for the MUFON UFO party in Vegas. Here's what the filmmaker was requesting:"Hi Vxxxx!"My name's Mxxx Lxxx and I'm a documentary filmmaker from Nxxxxxxxx, TN. I'm working with my parter Mxxxx to make a film this summer about the supernatural and how the public perception of believers has changed over the past fifty years. We are traveling through many states on a brief road trip, and we are hoping to meet as many authorities as possible. We will be passing through Wisconsin early next week. Is there any way you or members of your chapter would be willing to be interviewed for our movie?Sorry for the short notice. We only just found out we had time for this project, but it is going to be a labor of love.Are you or is anyone from your chapter available for an interview next Monday-Wednesday?Best wishes,"Mxxx"Well, cripes, how could I say no to that? It sounds like a blast. It makes me a little embarrassed, though, that I once wondered whether "Sirius" could be the best UFO documentary ever. Obviously, that's wrong, because obviously this new UFO documentary that I might be in will be the best UFO documentary ever!