We're a little behind schedule this week, as I've been pretty much enthralled by the baseball playoffs and when the Red Sox games are on, all work must stop. Hopefully this will be a trend that will continue throughout October. Sorry to see the Cubs get eliminated yesterday, they were my pick from the National League.
Anyway, we've got a few interesting items in this week's report. There's some more info on the upcoming premiere of
BoA : Audio, Season III, a fairly in-depth preview next weekend's esoteric double-bill that is the
Mass UFO Show / Monster Mash, some brief
Coast Notes, and the usual
Pop Culture Thoughts coupled with
End Notes.
BoA : Audio, Season III ... 10.20.7Less than weeks from today,
10.20.7, the underground esoteric sensation,
BoA : Audio, returns for our landmark third season. I'm happy to report that in about one week's time, we ought to have all of the next six weeks worth of programs locked in and ready to roll out throughout October and November. December will most likely be the month which sees the return of many favorites from season's past, culminating in our annual Christmas Special, with you-know-who.
As noted in this space a few weeks back, our Season Premiere will "air" on 10.20.7 with the venerable and legendary
Jim Marrs, discussing the re-release of his book "
Psi Spies" plus his thoughts on the last year in Ufology and 911 research.
Once again, I'm going to hold off on naming names just yet, but will say that amongst the episodes to be aired will be an in-depth discussion on an infamous and long-running esoteric mystery, along with the first ever interview from a newcomer to the field of Ufology who's new book serves as a refreshing look at the UFO field from a reputable outsider. We'll also be featuring our first "theme" episode of the new season as well as an interview covering an often overlooked, but critical, era in UFO history.
The audio preview for the new season will serve notice that BoA : Audio is coming back in a big way. We expect to have it up and running around the end of next week as we wind down the days until we storm the internet airwaves again.
Stay tuned ...
Mass UFO Show / Monster Mash previewI am now 100% confirmed to be in attendance at next weekend's esoteric double-bill that is the
Mass UFO Show /
Monster Mash in nearby Watertown, Massachusetts, next weekend (October 12th & 13th). Having spoken with conference organizer,
John Horrigan, I've been assured that BoA will be allowed nearly unfettered access to the event, allowing your humble correspondent some really cool behind the scenes insight into the festivities.
This second annual event is New England's largest paranormal conference. It's the perfect opportunity for the many esoteric enthusiasts in the area to convene, discuss the paranormal, and have some fun. Last year's version was a pretty big success and generated a ton of buzz, so I expect that this year's installment will be more of the same. From what I understand, tickets are still available, but are going fast, which is always a good sign.
Without any further superfluous discussion, let's take a look at some of the esoteric happenings scheduled for this jam packed weekend ...
Friday night's
Mass UFO Show kicks off @ 7 PM and features an interesting crew of UFO researchers. For starters, former BoA : Audio guest
Chris Styles will be discussing the famous Shag Harbour UFO case.
Don Ledger will be talking about the "black triangle" phenomenon.
Carl Feindt will be there to talk about the USO (Unidentified Submarine Objects) enigma, one of the UFO field's less discussed peripheral mysteries.
Nancy Talbott will be covering the Crop Circle phenomenon. And, the event's host
John Horrigan will be revealing, for the first time ever, his footage from the Roswell 50th anniversary, including what has been dubbed the "controversial press conference". The night will be co-hosted by
Matt Moniz, who has been involved in a number of key UFO cases over the years.
I'm looking forward to meeting Chris Styles after talking to him, at length, on a number of occassions last Spring. All of the presentations sound interesting, but Carl Feindt's session on USOs piques my interest the most, since that phenomenon remains on the edge of most UFO discussion. It should be an enlightening evening all around.
Saturday night, beginning begin @ 6 PM, is the
Mass Monster Mash, which is devoted to a mix of cryptozoology and ghostly type stuffs. The big draw is, of course, esoteric superstar
Loren Coleman, who has done a ton of research on the various mysteries in New England and will be talking about the Dover Demon in what is billed as a "rare Boston appearance". Other presenters include
Jeff Belanger, discussing poltergeists,
Don Keating covering the Ohio Bigfoot, and
Karen Mossey talking about EVPs.
Additionally,
Tom D'Agostino, author of "Haunted Rhode Island",
Kristyn Gartland, a member of the TAPS franchise from "Ghost Hunters" infamy, and
Chris Pittman, Bridgewater Triangle expert, are also scheduled for appearances in roles billed as "Special Guests" for the Mass Monster Mash.
Another special guest will be my friend
Christopher Balzano, of
Massachusetts Paranormal Crossroads, who has three new books that are set to roll out starting in early 2008. He's also been waiting patiently for me to get him a copy of that After Dark article I wrote about our trip to the Bridgewater Triangle last April, so I can finally cross that off my "to do" list.
On top of all that, the esoteric radio show "
Spooky Southcoast" will be broadcasting from the event throughout the weekend. I've heard a lot of good things about SS over the past few months, so it should be cool to hear their show and see them doing it in person. Along with the speakers and special guests, there will also be "
a trivia contest, souvenirs, concessions, exhibits, a slideshow, and a Q&A session" scheduled for both nights of the conference. Sounds like a killer weekend of esoterica and entertainment.
As long-time BoA readers may recall from my previous writings, the real thrill of an event like this is seeing the people in attendance. Despite how pervasive BoA has been on the national stage, I'm not a big socializer in the Massachusetts pararnormal scene. So there is a pretty rich community here in the Bay State that I have yet to explore and I'm really looking forward to meeting some of the regional talent that has done a great job of investigating our local mysteries. Hopefully, some of these meetings will bring about some new avenues for BoA to explore in 2008 and beyond.
Ticket Information :: Prior to this past week, the Mass UFO Show / Mass Monster Mash made tickets available only via pre-order on the web, but now their site is saying that "a limited number of tickets will be sold at the door". Be forwarned that only 200 tickets, total, are available, so if you are planning on attending, you better act quick before there is no more room available. Tickets are a mere $25 per night, which makes this event emminently affordable for people want to attend, especially since most other conferences take place on the West coast and require a plethora of expenses.
All information on tickets & directions can be found @ the appropriate websites :
Mass UFO Show /
Monster Mash Should you decide to make it to the big event and you see me, feel free to say hello. I'll be lurking somewhere in the building.
Coast NotesNot much to report here, other than we'll be getting a full dose of Richard C. Hoagland on Tuesday (10.9) evening. Sir Hoags will be joined by Mike Barra and they will be talking about their forthcoming new book "Dark Mission : The Secret History of NASA". Despite all my misgivings about RCH, I'm looking forward to both this interview and his new book. When Hoagland is talking about Mars or NASA conspiracies, he is pure gold. It's when he gets into the yawn-inducing hyperdimensional theories or jumping on the bandwagon whatever esoterica's mystery du jour is, that's when I have a problem with him. Hoagland's been beating the NASA conpsiracy drum for a long time, so I expect some really solid material to be on the horizon and, thus, the Tuesday episode should be killer.
The other big note for the upcoming week is that Jim Sparks will be back on C2C on Thursday (10.11), after setting the esoteric world afire with his two previous appearances on Coast that straddled the beginning of 2007. Of course, those interviews were with Art Bell, not The Noor, so I'm not sure what to expect here. Sparks is a polarizing figure in contemporary Ufology and it will be interesting to see if this interview will cover new ground or end up as a rehash of the previous two strong showings from Sparks.
Pop Culture Thoughts / End NotesMy attention to the new Fall TV season was diverted this week, as baseball playoffs began. When there is a triple-header of big games on back-to-back days, I find it hard to get excited about the latest offerings of scripted programming and bad reality TV. That said, I'm nearly through with all the shows that I decided to sample so far this season. Next week, I expect to have a pretty thorough look at what I liked and what sucked.
Speaking of which, I assume that next week's binnall report will arrive sometime around Sunday (10.14) evening, since I will be very busy @ the Mass UFO Show / Monster Mash on Friday and Saturday night.
That about does it for this week's installment. Have an excellent week, my friends. I'll catch you on the flip side next weekend.
- TB
Labels: binnall report, BoA : Audio, C2C
