Hey, it looks like I'm going to be on yet another online radio show, tomorrow evening...
"Join Sharon and Steven Streufert of Bigfoot Books in Willow Creek, California as they catch up on all of the Bigfoot related events of the summer." Wedesday, November 7, 2012 at 06:00PM Pacific Time, 9:00PM Eastern Time
Here is a little retrospective on one of the more ridiculous "Bigfoot" images to appear in the last few years.
The group obtaining this image are called "Extreme Expeditions," but apparently they like campgrounds and car camping. It was run by Adam Davies (of orang pendak fame) and Lori Simmons (of talking-to-trees fame).
"Extensive experience in the jungles" and such apparently didn't help him see a picnic table and sleeping bag clearly. Obviously, Adam Davies had is Lori goggles on at the time. Aided perhaps by those empty whiskey bottles? Look, he could at least have looked for footprints where there were others left by human boots. He could have released ALL the images BEFORE they and their ally Cantrall started declaring it a juvenile sasquatch or "Creature."
Really... The Show Was Nothing But Softballs. Too much deference was paid to Mr. Davies, mostly based upon his British accent and TV-based image. Look, does he really do Science or realistic investigations, besides those acted out for TV shows? It certainly DOES NOT look that way to me. In other words... the dude is an actor. And this Sleeping Bag Sasquatch thing was a FARCE.
That sleeping bag is smoking a cigarette.
This thing goes beyond misperception and misunderstanding to outright misrepresentation? This case seems to be one aproaching an attention-seeking hoax.
Before ANY real investigation was done, this was already posted as a self-promotion:
" Lori Simmons Tracks Bigfoot and Finds Him Lori Simmons who has been searching for Bigfoot for a long time, in her father's footsteps, seems to have found the creature! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lori Simmons (1) PRLog (Press Release) - Oct 20, 2012 -Lori Simmons has a life-long legacy with the mysterious creature known as Bigfoot. Her father, Donald Wallace, a real mountain man, tracked Bigfoot for 28 years through the North Cascade Mountains. Their collaborative book, Tracking Bigfoot, is a journal of their experiences looking for the elusive creature, complete with a description of a face to face encounter, footprints and hair samples that was turned over for DNA testing. Lori recently led another investigative team to the same area and this time they were able to obtain video footage as well as photographs of an unknown creature. The video provides a chilling glance at some type of large creature looking in on Lori and Adam Davies as they slept. Lori does not consider herself a “hunter,” but rather a preservationist, following in the footsteps of her idol primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall. Seeing the abnormally large footprints, the unidentifiable hair and hearing the shattering cries and pounding noises deep in the forest leave no doubt in Lori’s experience that Bigfoot exists. “I would like to learn more about these creatures, how they live, travel, what they eat, and how they communicate with each other,” explains Lori. Adam Davies, Lorie’s research partner and expert expeditionist on Nat Geo’s “Russian Bigfoot” and “Ape-man”; Monsterquest’s “The Real Hobbit,” “China’s Wildman,” and “The Abominable Snowman,” is clearly impressed by Lori’s ability to establish communication with the creatures and their obvious affinity for her. “There is no doubt that whatever these creatures are, they recognize Lori when she approaches their area, and make quite a ruckus,” says Adam. “There is clearly something the creatures like about Lori as when others from the expedition team tried to approach the same area and imitated Lori’s voice, the forest grew silent .” Lori is at work on her second book, chronicling her continuing explorations in the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile the recent photos, video and hair samples in the hands of experts who will be providing analysis."
Really? IT WAS A HOAX, not just a farce. They wanted to believe so badly, they HOAXED THEMSELVES. Adam Davies, whatever good things he's done in the past, has now proven himself to be rather gullible, or easily swayed by the pretty ladies.
Satirical poster from Facebook
Well, it needed to be said. At what point do we stop believing everything just because "nice people" report it, and when do we begin to express legitimate doubts as to the reasonableness of their presentation? We freely call Rick Dyer a current hoaxer, so why not in this case? Maybe it is not a total intentional fabrication, but it is clear that this is being exploited without due diligence to think critically about it and present the full set of contextual data and an accurate recreation scenario. In the real fields of Science this kind of presupposition would be laughed at and cast aside.
Hence, I am bending and expanding the use of the word, "Hoax," to include situations where belief and preconception precede proper critical considerations, and where they preclude obvious alternate considerations in the name of personal belief affirmation and considerations of self-promotion, fame, and status and acceptance in a belief-based community membership. Someone had to call it like it is. These aren't personal matters. If we want this field to be taken seriously by anyone beside ourselves then we are going to have to raise the bar as far as what we accept as evidence and proper research methods. How long must we tolerate the presentation of all of this crappy claimed "evidence," and risk being called "mean" or "closed-minded," and being attacked by fanatical believers, when we simply call crap "crap"? Really, I've grown tired of this silly tease. Only real, solid evidence, with context, and critical methods applied to understanding it will do. Blobs, pareidolia, and one-frame wonders just will not suffice.
Where was the investigation, where the tracks, the bigfoot drool, the hair remains, the investigation of the surroundings for other signs? NOTHING. Just a leap to a forgone conclusion, a deceptive recreation, the bending of "evidence" to match a supposition. This is nothing like Science, nor honesty before the evidence. That is why I say hoax... they seemed to have hoaxed themselves, and then they wasted a lot of time of a lot of people into this Bigfoot thing.
Here is the deceptive recreation, with the "Creature" position totally misrepresented...
Here is how the story broke on the WA Bigfooters Facebook Group...
Thom Cantrall 2:04pm Oct 19:
On Labor Day, 2012, I completed a short sojourn with Lori Simmons and an international expedition team in the North Cascades of Washington and returned home. The following day, a Tuesday, I received a call from Lori and the Expedition Leader, Adam Davies. I was asked to return to the site to see what they had found...
On Monday night, Sept 3rd, 2012, two of the team members decided to move their beds from their tents and to sleep beside the fire in the middle of the camp ground. In the middle of that night, the trail cam they had set to cover the camp was triggered. This is one of the images from that set. It very clearly shows an adolescent Sasquatch, about 6.5' in height leaning over the two bedded campers looking at them. Below I am posting a picture of myself standing where he is in this picture and my walking stick pointing to where the beds were. He is within just a couple of feet of them.
Also in the set is a picture of him taken subsequent to this frame that shows him very clearly exhaling and the frosty air condensing that exhalation.
In case you didn't know, Ms. Ketchum, is the Dr. in charge of the long-delayed Bigfoot DNA paper that has kept everyone hanging for years. Will it ever come out, especially with these odd statements that seem to be coming from its lead author about Bigfoot braiding horses manes, zapping people in pastures, and generally misbehaving in strange and metaphysical ways?
I have also spoken with the source for this article, to be kept totally anonymous, who swears that this story came DIRECTLY from Ketchum herself in a person-to-person conversation. So, either the source is lying, or this really happened and the Ketchumites are lying about it to cover it up. Who knows? Lindsay's version differs somewhat, in small ways, from what I heard, but some of that seems to be his conjecture as to what happened. Take it with a grain or two of salt.
Here is a brief excerpt. Read the rest through the link above...
One day Melba went out to a part of her pasture “where the Bigfoots like to hang out.” This is an odd part of the pasture. She says that as soon as you open the gate to this part of the property, “you are likely to get zapped.” By this she apparently means hit by Bigfoot infrasound. Frightening! She apparently went out there to attend to her horses in some manner.
At some point while she was attending to her horses, she seems to have lost conscientiousness [sic, should be "consciousness"]. Then she had some sort of a “lost time” event. Say she was with the horses at 7 PM. Next thing she knew, she woke up and it was say 9 PM. When she awoke, she became aware somehow (not sure how) that she had been unconscious for quite some time. Spooky!
She was lying on the ground in her stable on the ground, possibly clad in a dress. At that time, she became aware that she was “sore” in her vaginal area. There was no reason for her to feel that way. She concluded that a Bigfoots may have somehow zapped her, rendered her unconscious somehow, and possibly raped her.
In her now defunct, and
supposedly bankrupt,
laboratory, hard at play.
If this is true, we have to really wonder if this paper will ever come out, save in some metaphysical online journal. If the above event really did occur, one might ask, Did she obtain a DNA sample?
It should be hoped that Melba is well, and still able to do actual, reality-based Science work to finish this long and drawn-out project.
Read the whole article for more fascinating news, including the recent absurd flap, "Foolish nonsense of MABRC and whether or not they had a Bigfoot body."
Here is an article dealing with the closure of the Ketchum lab business in Texas, or, at least, its move to a new location and business model. Be sure to check the link to the BBB before you put all your Bigfooting eggs in this basket.
Finally!
Yes, folks, it has been a LONG time coming... but it's here.
The humble blog that started small, kept it simple, and is now the #1 Bigfoot web site in the country is called BIGFOOT EVIDENCE.
Every day there is new "evidence."
They have presented many good (and a lot of bad) cases for the existence of Bigfoot, but today's post seals the deal. This time Shawn Evidence delivers the goods.
NOW WE KNOW BIGFOOT IS REAL!!
I raise my glass to all the dedicated researchers over the last decades who tried valiantly and failed. Now they are VINDICATED!
Now we can all take down our trail cameras, put away the camo gear, put an end to all the arguments, get off the internet, go home and enjoy life with our friends and family.
Photo: "Bigfoot Corpse" at Logger Bar, Blue Lake, CA
Rumors are swirling today over a simple misreading of a MABRC Forum statement from Ed Smith published by the Robert Lindsay Blog, saying something about a captured Bigfoot. Somehow this got turned into a "Bigfoot Body" in the circulating rumors. Now D.W. Lee, lead honcho of the MABRC (Mid America Bigfoot Research Center) is out there saying he "can neither confirm nor deny" the factuality of this statement and interpretation. He is saying "no comment" wherever the issue arises. What is really going on here?
It's obvious. Robert misread the statement, put a spin of excitement on it, and now DW is using the situation to garner attention for his group. It would only take a simple phone call to his friend, Ed, to find out, would it not? Why the mystery mongering? Why play at X-FILES, being a sort of Mr. X character speaking mysteriously from the shadows? Why not just come out and tell the truth? Because it is good for web hits, and brings the MABRC out of its Oklahoma backwater. That is why.
Here is the statement, as quoted by Robert Lindsay...
I’m posting this in order to end some of the rumor mill speculation as to the reasons for my exit from the group. My expanding responsibilities of the family enterprise and the creation of a new business entity just would not allow me to continue in my original role in the O-6.
The remaining members of the group have been working diligently to get thier (sic) new organization on its feet and I’m sure they will achieve thier (sic) post capture goals and I wish them continued success.
So, what do we have here? All that was said is a manner of speaking: "post capture" being the important phrase. What could this mean? A dead Bigfoot? No. All it seems to mean is that they plan to be ready for that eventuality, SHOULD IT HAPPEN, or when it happens. It does not in any way mean that the MABRC or Mr. Smith CURRENTLY have a body. It means that the MABRC wants to be the #1 Bigfoot group in the country. They are ambitious. They want to be READY to be the ones to take over and step in front of the news cameras. Really, I think that is ALL it means, analyzed in terms of rudimentary English.
Here is Lindsay's opinion of Mr. Smith:
"Ed Smith is the typical unpleasant, egotistical, narcissistic, loumouthed, blustering blowhard that we know so well in this business. Ed has been talking a great game for years now, but he’s never had a thing to show for it. All bark and no bite is his name. Specifically, he’s claimed to have definitive biological Bigfoot evidence for a long time, and he claims that it was tested at genetics labs. However, the results that he laid out on his website don’t seem to make any kind of sense at all. So that’s the story with Ed Smith."
To clarify even further: It seems that Ed Smith is not even a member of the MABRC, but rather some super-secret conspiratorial quasi-governmental set of operatives called the O-6. Whatever. The news has spread in association with the MABRC, with DW jumping on the wagon, especially helped along by Shawn Evidence, when he spun his headlines like this: "The MABRC (Middle America Bigfoot Research Center), do they or do they not have a dead Bigfoot body? That's the question everyone's asking this morning. Also, what's the deal with Ed Smith and why did he leave the group? The group, currently being led by D.W. Lee, isn't saying much and it doesn't appear like they're doing anything to dispel any rumors either. Lee posted this cryptic statement on his Facebook page this morning after reading about his friend Smith and the rumored "body"...
What has D.W. "Darkwing" Lee been posting across various Facebook Bigfoot groups and the Bigfoot Evidence article's comments section?:
Again, I ask you, WHAT IS THE POINT OF SUCH STATEMENTS?
There IS no point. It is apparently only a silly game meant to gain attention. If he doesn't know anything, why doesn't he find out, or just say nothing? If they really had a Bigfoot in captivity, or even decent footprints or "grass balls," don't you think they would have been crowing it from the rooftops? The fact that he has said this stuff widely today leads to only one possible conclusion: HE WANTS TO LEAD EVERYONE ON WITH A SENSE OF MYSTERY. He wants you to think there MIGHT be something to it, when he knows damned well there is not.
If he wants attention for his group I would suggest this: This is NOT the kind of attention he should want. People will just be angry at another Ketchum-like shell game. It is the last thing the Bigfooting needs. We've had enough of Bullshit, already, DW.
Ugh.
Here is a little conversation I had today with DW, publicly posted on the California Bigfooters group on Facebook:
Dw Darkwing LeeIt always seems to be about "you" Steven, you have no right to demand nothing of me or the MABRC, you have done your fair share of bashing us.
Steven StreufertHa. I only demand truth, forthrightness and honesty, and I demand it in all cases. Bullshit is our worst enemy, and you should know that. I have nothing against MABRC as a group, but as its leader I'd think you'd like to avoid besmirching the group with this oh-so-mysterious behavior.
You can clearly see, above, that DW *KNOWS* that Robert Lindsay made a mistake of misinterpretation. Why doesn't he just ADMIT that? The answer, my friends, is obvious. I think everyone could learn to enhance their reading comprehension just a little, before jumping to conclusions, ya think? It would avoid a whole lot of wasted energy and emotion, I'll tell you.
