Fortean Mysteries SIG      recent history        issue 54        Newsletter of the Fortean Mysteries SIG of American Mensa          
  only 200,000 millicents per 3 issues     Published irregularly since Undecember 1658 AC

ON WAR
   Among other distractions since last issue was the Gulf War. Fort had something to say on that subject too (not unexpectedly). "Every attempt at peace prepares the way for war; all attempts at justice result in injustice in some other respect (The Book of the Damned, pg. 219)

ON TV
  We have seen some interesting reports on TV over the last few months.
   On "The Secrets of Sedona" we learned about its special energy vortex. (Sedona is anodes spelled backward. Is then there a Sedohtac somewhere?) Because of it "what's crazy elsewhere is normal" there.
   They now have an entity removal service, astrological business and real estate consultants, even a goddess support group. The Space Fathers and Brothers of Light are expected to make contact there.
   On "Visitors from the Unknown" the Sigmund Adamski was detailed: unidentified burns and substance on neck after UFO sighting; dead nine days later. P. C. Allen Godfrey while investigating had a 20-minute blackout after his close encounter -- and was no longer sterile!
   In the Salters case eight years later (in 1988) John Jr. and son lost almost 90 minutes. John's scar healed, his wrinkles and tobacco craving were gone.
   On "Unsolved Mysteries" was the case of Vicky Colby and Betty Cash who were exposed to some kind of radiation near a Texas Air Force Base. Whether it was ours or otherwise whatever bright object flew over them did not have good effects.
  The stories go on and on.
   Perhaps Fort's speculations on who these visitors from the unknown may be would be helpful:

extra-mundanians: temporary visitors to our world, like deep-sea divers to the ocean bottom, seen to us as ghosts, phantoms, poltergeists, abductors

tutelarians: visitors to our world which once attempted to convert or assimilate Humans to their ways, cultural heroes, gods, elves, fairies, giants, monsters, finally overpowered by the Owners

throw-backs: visitors to our world eho stay, passing as Human, and taking part in our primitive activities -- as churchgoers, college professors, congressmembers

LETTERS
   Dr. Robert Hieronimus writes us about his "Dr. Bob Show", forum for new paradigm thinking (Can they do that on radio?!) Of particular interest to us is his report last December on the UFOs in Voronezh, USSR, and their knobby-headed nine-foot aliens, reported by Tass. (Tutelarians reported on by Throw-backs?)

  We received a letter recently from professional astrologer Nicole St. James wanting us to write back about the chart she'd done, the third greatest potential for wealth and happiness she'd ever done -- ours. She guarantees $17,000 in 50 days.
  Let's see -- we did just have Linda Sun request "as many back issues as possible." If about 500 such orders, ten per day, start coming in, maybe -- or if our rich uncle leaves s a fortune, like Fort's did. What will be will be... what wasn't; what wasn't will be, but what will it be?

Dear Michael:
  Sorry about my long absence, but circumstances beyond my control -- namely, lack of time -- has precluded me from keeping in touch. I know I've been missing a lot of good stuff from you, and I have been hearing a few things myself; for example, recently a Chinese airliner flying from Beijing to Shanghai veered off course, and when the passengers asked about the matter, they were informed the pilot was chasing a UFO that had darted out in front of the plane. When they finally did arrived, the passengers emerged visibly shaken, and the pilot was -- er -- chastised for his indiscretion. (From Paul Harvey Radio News and Commentary)
-- Art Milano

BOOKS
   In the January Round Table is an ad for Llovable Lloyd's Cartoons by Lloyd A. Teilsworth, Sr. illustrating an original theory on how the pyramids were built. A few Egyptian workers are shown each carrying a huge stone block with the supervisor saying, "O. K., you guys, hurry up ... Gravity comes back on in twenty minutes!"
   It does remind us of a similar idea used in Science Fiction Theater (1956) which told of the Egyptians' use of an antigrav device.

   We see advertised the book, Great Hoaxes and Famous Imposters, Forgers, Swindlers, Con Artists Throughout History by Carlson Wade, The Encyclopedia of the Strange by Daniel Cohen and 50 Strange Stories of the Supernatural by John Canning.
   Ranging from 239 to 304 to 480 pages, they are not small books. "Thrilling", "weird", "chilling" are the words used to describe them. Anyone have more info? Anuone read them?

Or how about this one from the talented and mysterious mind of Sidney Harris? Ei
1991
   This year of the Lord 1991 is not only palindromic -- reading the same backward as forward -- but its digits sum to the century. AD 101 would have also qualified, except AD/BC chronology was not used before the 4th century. 1991 BC would not qualify either then.
   Is it unique then? No, not if we compare other eras: in the Roman reconing it'd be our AD 1238, in the Buddhists' 1447, the Hindi 2070 and the Muslim 2514. In the Jewish calendar it'd be 1769 BC. Do these years have anything else in common? We can't yet say for 2070 or 2514. 1769 BC was Abraham's era, 1238 perhaps the prime of te Holy Roman Empire and 1447 Buddha only knows.

NEW! NEW! NEW!
  Two of the "Top Ten New SIGs for 1991" (as listed by Doug Meyer in COL-M) were rather fortean:
Number 8 -- Mysterious Circles in Cornfields SIG and
Number 5 -- Extraterrestrial Intelligence Examination, Investigation and Observation SIG, the EIEIO SIG
DON'T
LOOK!

BRAINS
  Mentioned in the April G'raffiti (Vol. IV, No. 4), newsletter of the Camelopard Society, is an editorial and letter on the Cleo Society, 272 Sycamore, Oakland, MI 48363. The letter from "Cleopatriot" says: "If you calculate your IQ as follows:
IQ = (cos(pi) + i(sin(pi)))^1/2
you may qualify for membership in Cleo."
[We not only qualified; we also got an honorary Ph. D. in Academic Letters from CLEO.]
   Mensa,as you know, limits membership to the 98%ile IQ testers or higher, one-in-fifty. The there's the Triple Nine Society's 99.9%ile, or one-in-a-thousand. The Mega Society is for the one-in-a-million types and the Big B Society the one-in-a-billioners.
   So what's the most exclusive IQ group? One which admits only infinite intelligences? Can the greatest possible intelligence socialize? Yes, it's called the Trinity, the triune Godhead, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Alas a closed group. Associate membership to lesser beings are still available -- just ask one of the Big Three for requirements for admission into FAMILIA DEI, Friends And Messangers of the Incredibly Loving, Infinite, All-powerful, Divine, Eternal Intellects.
FREE MEMBERSHIP
LIMITED TIME OFFER

NOSTRODAMUS
  The recent special on Nostrodamus and his predictions about Greater Arabia and an unexpected alliance between the Arctic powers makes one wonder. They said he said,"The world's not fixed." Famines, floods, comets, wars and rumors of wars are no great predictions, but what could "a long dead tree grows overnight" mean? The revival of one of the French dynasties -- the Carolingians? Merovingians? Or not French -- New Babylonia?
   If the earthquake in May 1988 in New City can be identified with the one in LA in May 1989 many things are possible.

PERPETUAL MOTION
    Perpetual motion was accomplished by James Cox and Joseph Merlin in the 1760s. Their machine was described as the "height, size and dimensions of a common eight-day pendulum clock; the case is of mahogany, in the architectural style, with columns and pilasters, cornices and mouldings, of brass, finely wrought, richly gilt, and improv'd with the most elegantly adapted ornaments. It is glazed on every side ... it goes upon diamonds."
   This barometer-clock wound itself by changes in barometric pressure, disengaging when fully wound. It was exhibited from 1774 to 1806 -- running not 8 days, but 32 years or over 11,000 days.

"It seems for all purposes
that with the discovery of quarks
we have reached the end of our journey,
but there is an uneasy feeling
among physicists
that the trip is not over."
-- Heinz Pagels

GHOSTS
   On "Haunted Lives" we saw three ghost stories reinacted.
  Lovelorn farmhand Johan Johansen still searches for his lost Elizabeth, not accepting that he's dead apparently, caught in a time warp mixing the 19th century orchard and the Sunnydale Toys-R-Us store in the 20th.
   Murdered Kate Morgan appeared to her great great grandson Larry Mays on the unplugged TV in her old hotel room. She took him back to the scene of the crime in 1892, her faked suicide by her bigamous husband. He saw, but couldn't stop what he saw happen.
   Joe Torres and sons had trouble demolishing a school: a ladder danced, a 'dozer "dozed", a wall fell the wrong way killing tto (who had had a premonition_, and children's voices were heard -- spirits of childhood lost?
    On "Haunting" the case of the Smurls of W. Pittson, PA, was dramatized.It started with an unplugged toaster catching on fire, misplaced objects, overheard obscenities, daymares and got worse. Finally when an officially sanctioned exorcist prayed the demon and its enslaved Human spirits left. (The actual climax was not shown -- cut out?)
   An exorcism was shown on "20/20" done for "Gina" by "Fr. A." in Palm Beach, FL, Oct. 1990. Minga and nine other entities were identified and ordered to leave.
   Doesn't there seem to be an increased interest in the supernatural? The metaphysical? The paranormal?
   Maybe the too natural, too physical, to "normal" war has something to do with it?
   These extra-mundanians are certainly temporary -- only able to materialize to us for short periods, but perhaps able to take some of us to their world. (a hyperspace-time discontinuum?)

   According to Thomas E. Bearden's theory of quantum parapsychology time is occupied by thought-forms usually sufficiently incoherent to remain unobservable or virtual.
   These thought-forms can partially or fully materialize when virtual projections from multiple observers superposition or synchronize to breach the quantum change threshhold. Virtual photons interact with charged particles and fields -- when not quenched by real photons -- to produce "tulpoids".
   The materialization depends on the resonance with the observer's mindworld, occasionally coherent enough to form a tuning body-mindworld loop able to produce anomalies and even change remembered "past" and expected "future".