Cheap Wine and Plastic Cups: McMinnville 2011

I guess I'll give an update on the McMinnville UFO Festival. If you're expecting to hear my opinion of the three speakers, Robert Salas, Stan Gordon, and Paola Harris, you might as well click another link, because I only saw one of them and that will possibly be addressed in a collaborative post that Regan and I are considering. It might go a little something like this, though:

"Paola walks into a bar..."

My girlfriend and I had a mess of a time getting down to the festival. I had busted ass to get all of my work done on Thursday night so I could have Friday off to sleep in a bit, tidy up the house, and then get the Hell out of Portland. That all happened pretty much according to plan with the exception of timing. We hit the road an hour late, which turned into two hours and some change with rush-hour traffic. I use to think rush hour started at 5pm, but as I've grown older, I've come to realize that rush hour starts whenever I get on the fucking road.

Read more »

Just a Few Things

Last week I submitted my latest Saucers, Slips, and Cigarettes column to Nancy at UFO Magazine. The deadlines always catch me off guard, for some reason. I managed to finish, though!

The piece is called The Mediocrity of the Great Oz and talks (mostly) about how the abundance of information within Ufology has actually made me more skeptical of the ETH, when typically, you might expect the opposite. And yes, I am aware that many believe the so-called '4th Density' to be a non-physical realm, in which case, cocaine use would probably be non-existent. It was just funnier that way. Confused? You won't be after this episode issue of Soap UFO Magazine. Context is everything.

Read more »

Circles, Sound, and Synchronicity

I just got finished telling Erik (at some point we're going to have to stop mentioning each other all the time) that I was going to review Colin's Paratopia appearance as well as his blog before writing up my piece about his presentation this past Saturday at the UFO Fest in McMinnville, Oregon. However, after mulling it over, I was concerned if I waited too long, I'd forget some of the intensity I experienced -- not only with Colin, but with the weekend in general.

I had an idea of what to expect with Mr. Colin Andrews, but I really wasn't prepared for the full impact of his presentation. It started off a little rocky for me, as he divulged to us (apparently for the first time) that he had undergone hypnotic regression in the past and that he had 'hidden' memories of being contacted, citing "little men" as part of this experience. You know how I feel about hypnotic regression as it applies to abduction, so it was difficult for me to roll myself over that first hurtle. But he then went on to explain that during this regression he recalled a specific location from his childhood. Upon returning to the location that was brought forth through the regression, he discovered the 'remains' of an old crop circle, one that was formed in his youth, and where the ground is still scarred to this day.

Read more »

Reflections on the 2010 McMinnville UFO Fest

Well, that was unexpected! I had a great time at the annual McMinnville UFO festival, in McMinnville, Oregon! Oh, it wasn't so much the festival itself that was grand -- I mean, it was filled with your usual nutbaggery and abundant silliness complete with grey-type alien faces galore *shudder*. No, the best parts were the times Maggie and I spent with Erik Stitt, Regan Lee and her husband, James Rich.

Regan is an amazingly cool woman! I was very happy to finally meet her in person. We all had some great conversation the first night, nestled into a quiet corner in the always-overpriced McMenamin's. For those of you who aren't familiar with McMenamin's, it's a company that buys up old landmark buildings and converts them to restaurants, pubs, hotels and so on. This particular McMenamin's was a bar/hotel, but featured the same inflated prices and overrated consumables you've come to know and love from the chain. Despite this, I very much enjoyed myself.

Sadly, Maggie wasn't feeling well, so I drove her back to our hotel a couple of miles down the road and put her to bed, before I headed back to the pub to continue on with our conversations. Regan and her husband eventually called it a night and ascended up to their room, while Erik and I closed the bar -- and then some.

Read more »

McMinnville, OR - UFO Fest 2010

I'm really bad at promoting myself. I usually do all the necessary links to stuff I write elsewhere and so on, but don't do much beyond that. I think it's my "Who the fuck do I think I am?" mantra that rings in my head, preventing me from pelting you with how awesome I am. *cough*

That said, I'm going to mention this next thing:

I will be attending the McMinnville UFO Festival in McMinnville, Oregon next week, barring any anxiety/panic attacks -- I suffer from severe anxiety and also do not fare well in the sunlight either (it's Oregon so the latter might not be an issue!). Since it's Mothers Day, I'd like to take this time to thank my mom for the wonderful genes I received from her. *sigh*

Anyhoo, I'll be in McMinnville from Friday night through Saturday night (the 14th & 15th). I'll be the taller chick sporting reddish-brown hair with a blond stripe. I also have a lot of tattoos if that helps... unless you're a stalker, in which case, I have platinum-blond hair and no tattoos.

I'll be meeting up with one of my close friends, Erik of Contact as well as another friend, Regan Lee, who will be (unless anything's changed) interviewing both Erik and myself for her upcoming Podcast, Cafe Esoterica.

I think that's about it - more soon!


~Deirdre