I wrote a lot of the articles seen here. I also wrote about conspiracy theories. I was interviewed by some students, and you can see the result here.

SEE my presidential gray hair! HEAR my hoity toity accent! KNOW what I actually look like! The main thing I talked about in the interview was how Jesus was an ass bandit.

At university, I did a course in business and management. This was not a whole lot of fun, and I wished I'd done English. My first job upon graduation was for the infamous Barings Bank. I worked in Human Resources, and when the company crashed, the first sign of trouble was when someone asked for the phone number of the head guy in Singapore at what would have been 3 a.m. there.

I got into I.T. while working for Barings, which had become known as ING Barings when ING bought the company for one pound. When ING's interest was announced, someone said ING was crap, like the post office. I said, “Hey! There'll be synergy!”

I left Barings to become an I.T. contractor, and was rich but miserable. Then, I thought I should have done computing at university. I was once rejected for a job in Sydney because I was "too flamboyant." ("Someone who wears green tartan suspenders to a job interview probably isn't going to fit in here")

When the bottom fell out of my corner of the market, I became an English teacher. I started to wish I'd done English at university again. University students in Bangkok complained that I was "too enthusiastic" and company students in Prague complained that I was "too theatrical."

I'm now attempting to eke out an existence from writing. I charge $25 per 500 words, if you're interested. I also do voice work and proofreading. My email address is timothychilman@yahoo.com.

Derrick Pitts is as respectable as it gets.

He has worked for the Franklin Institute Science Museum since 1978, designing and presenting many of its exhibits. He has been Director and Chief Astronomer of the Fels Planetarium since 1990. He has written innumerable columns for newspapers and national magazines on the subject of astronomy, and appeared often on major television networks, with a recent, impressive appearance on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Not long ago, he met with President Barack Obama at the first ever White House Star Party. He was the national spokesman for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009 and is presently a NASA Solar System Ambassador. He chairs the Academic Affairs committee for his alma mater, St. Lawrence University. He has won many awards, leading to his selection as “One of the 50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science” by Science Spectrum magazine in 2004. He has now gone on record to say that UFOs should be studied thoroughly.

Pitts said that UFOs are heavily disdained by the scientific community - “What? I'm not touching that with a 10-foot pole” - but scientists would be very interested if questions were phrased differently and did not mention the emotionally-laden term of “UFOs.”

Pitts said that “only kooks see UFOs,” which invited a response from Franklin Ruehl, Ph.D., challenging him to a debate on the subject. Ruehl presents the show, Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion, on cable television, presents a radio program, Hypergalactic Enigmas, and has made numerous other appearances on television.

Independent filmmaker, Dan Mack, who has made programs about UFOs, said that in the United States, astronomers fear to go public about their UFO sightings because they fear ridicule, but that astronomers see UFOs at a greater rate than the average person.

UFO and paranormal researcher and journalist, Alejandro Rojas, said that the U.S. government took UFO reports very seriously, and it was the Air Force that coined the term, UFO. The Air Force's study of the UFO phenomenon, Project Blue Book, which spanned almost 20 years to 1969, concluded that five percent of UFO sightings could not be explained. Col. Robert Friend (ret.), director of the project from 1958 to 1963, recently said that UFOs should be studied scientifically and that he had spoken to many Air Force pilots who had witnessed UFOs, sometimes at very close range.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek was the scientific consultant to Project Blue Book and also to Steven Spielberg's 1977 film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which he made a cameo appearance. It was he who defined close encounters of the first, second, and third kind. He interviewed 45 astronomers, and found that most would be forthcoming regarding UFO sightings they made if they were promised complete anonymity.

When astrophysicist, Peter Sturrock, conducted a survey of members of the American Astronomical Society about UFOs, one respondent said it would be “professionally suicidal” to pay attention to UFOs.

Astronomer, Jacques Vallee, who was represented in Close Encounters by a character played by Francois Truffaut, said in 1978 that society was paying the price for the “negative and prejudiced attitude” of the scientific community toward UFOs, leading people to pursue answers outside of science.

65 years after the Roswell Daily Record's headline of “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region,” a one-time CIA agent has revealed what his former employer really thought of the matter. Chase Brandon, who was in the CIA for 35 years, said, “It was not a damn weather balloon -- it was what it was billed when people first reported it.” He said the craft “clearly did not come from this planet.”

Brandon was an undercover agent in the Agency's Clandestine Service for 25 years, where his work involved international terrorism, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and international terrorism. His final 10 years with the CIA were spent as the Agency's official liaison to the entertainment industry. It was then, in the middle of the 1990s, that he entered a special section of the CIA's headquarters at Langley, Va., known as the Historical Intelligence Collection.

Brandon told the Huffington Post that this was a vaulted area to which access was strictly limited. One day, he was perusing the vault, where he could see hand scribbled summaries of the contents of boxes. The box that caught his eye more than any other had only one word written upon it: Roswell.

He took the box down, opened it, and rummaged inside it. When he replaced it, he said, “My god. It really happened.” The box held written material and photographs, which is as much detail as he is prepared to give, except to say that it “was the single most validating moment that everything I had believed, and knew that so many other people believed had happened, truly was what occurred.”

Brandon supplies no additional detail because he signed a secrecy agreement. He is aware that he wears two hats: as a private individual and as a former CIA officer. He is promoting his book, The Cryptos Conundrum, a science fiction novel telling of the history of Earth, contact with extra-terrestrials, and imagined apocalyptic events.

Stanton T. Friedman, a nuclear physicist who later became a UFOlogist, made contact with military personnel who witnessed events at Roswell in 1947 in the late 1970s. The military changed its story the day after claiming to have recovered a flying disk to say that the object that crashed at Roswell was no more than a weather balloon. Friedman's efforts, however, prompted many witnesses to tell their stories, and many other researchers have discovered more facts since.

More information concerning Roswell has been revealed by the widow of an Air Force General who was stationed at Roswell in 1947. Harry Cordes also worked at Area 51, was Deputy Chief of Staff at the Intelligence Headquarters of Strategic Air Command, and was employed by the CIA. He flew combat missions in Vietnam and was also a U2 pilot who was the first human to fly in a space suit. He was at the highest level of decision-making for many of the United States' most confidential concerns, including Star Wars – the Strategic Defense Initiative.

Cordes met his wife, Rogene, while serving as a radar operator at Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF). Her father's ranch was adjacent to the crash site. Both were fully aware of the crash of a “flying disk” and knew many of the witnesses. It was not until Roswell returned to the public eye in the 1980s that they discussed the subject.

Rogene used every tactic she could imagine to coax her husband into telling what he knew, including much pillow talk. Cordes was traveling at the time of the crash. He told her that many men knew what had happened, but it was a matter of duty to the country to not talk. After much pressure, he revealed that the object that crashed was no weather balloon, and that the best-known witness, Jesse Marcel, had been telling the truth all along. He said that if he told her everything he knew, she would never view life the same way, and asked her to not question him further. When she was undeterred, he said, “Rogene, if I tell you, I will have to kill you.” He wasn't laughing.

Cordes told Rogene that Area 51 does not house extra-terrestrial vehicles. He said that when he worked for the CIA, he looked for the Roswell file, but it was missing – or possibly hidden. As a pilot, when he was flying at a record-breaking 70,000 feet, he saw “what could only have been an alien craft.”

Rogene remembers that the day after the crash, she wanted to obtain ice for soda and beer over the holiday weekend. She called at Clardy's general store, but was told that military personnel from RAAF had bought all the ice. She also called at the train station, where ice was normally available, and was told the same story. Such a thing had never occurred before or since. It has been said that the Air Force used ice to preserve recovered alien bodies.

Rogene also remembers “military men with guns at their sides” who blocked entry to the crash site. She was closely acquainted with Walter Haut, the author of the original “flying disk” story, who founded Roswell's International UFO Museum in 1991.

Harry Cordes died in 2004.

Singer and actress Rihanna made a surprising confession recently when she admitted that she used to watch the skies for hours looking for UFO activity. Her time spent searching for extraterrestrial or other unidentified flying objects was at the request of her father, who made her engage in sky watching from their front steps for years.

It's the perfect time for Rihanna to share her story of scanning the skies for UFOs. Her science fiction movie debut hits theaters in April, and this may be the perfect way to generate some interest in the film. Battleship will feature the sexy singer battling extraterrestrials, according to The Sun.

Sadly, Rihanna's years of searching the skies over her home in Barbados were unfruitful. She said she never spotted a UFO, but she did see a shooting star. Since, Rihanna's search for UFOs was inspired by her father's demands and not a personal interest, it is unlikely that she still makes time during her busy schedule to look for UFOs, but you can look for Rihanna in Battleship on April 11, 2012.

 

It was recently disclosed that the best piece of photographic UFO evidence that ever existed disappeared from an interior wall of the British Ministry of Defence in the 1990s. Now, a new report claims that the death of a hoarder in Calimesa, CA resulted in the destruction of thousands of audio UFO files compiled by ufologist David Aaron, a well-known collector of amateur UFO video and audio files.

David Aaron and his girlfriend Sherry once shared a home in Calimesa. That's where Aaron stored his impressive collection of UFO files. After he moved out, he made arrangements with Sherry to have his collection transferred to his new home. Tragically, Sherry died before Aaron could move his UFO files. When he arrived at her home to recover the files in July 2011, he discovered that his former girlfriend had passed away and men in HAZMAT suits were evacuating her home.

The woman reportedly had a clowder of cats whose urine and feces had made the interior of the home a health hazard. Photographs published by Top Secret Writers show a massive pile of garbage that was removed from the home making it appear that the home looked like something from the television show "Hoarders."

Unfortunately, David Aaron was not permitted to retrieve his UFO files, and they are presumed destroyed. According to reports, an astounding "1,200 rare UFO radio program recordings" were taken or destroyed in the process.

 

Recent reports about a UFO photograph missing  from a wall in Britain's Ministry of Defence are raising some interesting questions. The poster-sized photo allegedly depicted an actual UFO in flight. It has been described as the best image of an unidentified flying object ever captured on camera. According to multiple sources, the large photograph disappeared between 1991 and 1994.

These reports do not answer a few important questions. If this was the most significant UFO photograph known to exist, why weren't there any backup copies or digital files? If it wasn't a digital image, then where are the photo negatives? If a poster-sized photograph disappeared from the wall, why don't they know when it disappeared? A three year range, 1991-1994, when the UFO photo vanished seems a bit unusual, to say the least.

The Huffington Post reported that the large UFO poster wasn't the only object to make a mysterious exit. Other missing items include additional photos and the negatives. All of these are believed to have disappeared during the 1990s.

The photograph was reportedly shot on Aug. 4, 1990 by a couple of hikers in Pitlochry, Scotland. It showed a diamond-shaped unidentified flying object as it hovered in the vicinity of a Royal Air Force Harrier jet.

National Geographic covered the incident of the missing photograph in the short video that you can see below:

In one of the strangest twists since a UFO was found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, an Austrian man claims he has discovered a UFO buried in a field. The man's name is Franz Knoglinger; he is a 47-year-old farmer.

Knoglinger made the incredible discovery on Sunday, March 11, 2012. He was looking for his lost cat Murlimann when he stumbled upon a perfectly round hole in the field. The hole was a staggering 25 feet deep.

Franz Knoglinger immediately recognized that there was something very unusual about that hole. In addition to its mere existence and remarkable depth, the hole contained a mysterious object.

Knoglinger believes that object is a UFO. Since he wasn't able to witness the unidentified object actually flying, his labeling the object a UFO obviously required a bit of speculation on his part.

With limited resources, the Austrian farmer decided to investigate the buried object the only way he could, according to The Huffington Post.

First, he threw a rock into the hole and observed that it made a satisfying metallic clunk when it made contact with the object. Then he lowered a large magnet into the hole, presumably with a long rope. He learned that the buried object was indeed metallic when the magnet stuck to it.

Franz Knoglinger enlisted the help of a local plumber who lowered a camera into the massive hole. Unfortunately, the camera failed to record anything once it reached the bottom.

Knoglinger told the Austrian Times that the buried object could be a spaceship. Hopefully, more research will be done and the object excavated from its resting place so that a positive identification may be made.

There has been a steady increase in mainstream media reports following UFO sightings recently. Several UFO videos filmed in California, particularly Fresno, are getting some special attention.

A man named Robert Thorson has been recording strange activity in the skies over Fresno since 2006. His efforts have aroused the attention of The Huffington Post, which reported that Thorson's video library includes footage of more than 200 unidentified flying objects. That's an impressive number by any standards.

The question remains: What exactly are these unidentified flying objects seen so frequently through the lens of Robert Thorson's camera?

According to one expert, a video from early March 2012 shows an object that is likely a rocket: "It has all the hallmarks of a rocket launch. The bright exhaust plume, and as it was going through the atmosphere, you would see it illuminate stuff as it passed through, just like a launch. Vandenberg Air Force base does night launches all the time."

Here is the video in question:

Another video recorded by Robert Thorson is likely nothing more than two mylar balloons.

It is important to note that there is a silver lining every time an unidentified flying object is identified. By determining which UFOs have earthly explanations, experts can isolate those UFO sightings that require further study.

Another benefit is that the interest these UFO videos generate in the public creates more awareness of the unexplainable sights taking place around the globe. With millions of eyes searching the night skies for signs of life, someone is sure to spot the real deal when it does come along, and there is sure to be video evidence.

Fresno skywatcher Robert Thorson is providing a valuable service by documenting questionable activities he sees above California, but he is not alone. Another witness captured this brilliant blue sparkler overhead on March 9, 2012. So far, there is no explanation for this UFO.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY SURROUNDING UFO ENCOUNTERS AND SIGHTINGS

Over the years, many have regarded what is coined as paranormal activities, such as odd noises, telepathy, apparations, electronic malfunctions and many other anomalies to be associated with that subject exclusively and as being totally separate from UFO investigations. However, a recent review of the files and information for the past twenty years has shed some light and shown there there very likely is a possible connection between the two, with paranormal activity playing a significant role in experiencers' lives.

The term, HIgh Strangeness was coined by Dr. J. Allen Hynek and the defination at this time states that it is the inexplicable effects and synchronicity of events related to and occurring before, during, and after research missions, various Close Encounters or UFO/ETS sightings, some examples being encounters with unknown creatures, MIB's, and the infamous black helicopters often seen by experiencers after an event. High strangeness can include everything from a feeling of time distortion(time slowing down) to items appearing though no one has purchased them to strange unidentifiable footprints to shadow dogs in the moonlight...these and many other strange occurances appear to be somehow related to the UFO phenomena as time and again, events unfold that fall into this category.

Many experiencers have oddities happen that formarly were thought to be of the 'spirit world' but upon further analyzation, have some sort of connection to a sighting or an encounter as evidenced by this recent post in a popular forum:

Last edited by jmgf3d; Yesterday at 07:28 PM.
'Is there anything you've noticed through daily living in your home concerning the presence of an ET, such as particular noises, electrical disturbances, sudden changes in temperature, chills, random television noises when it's off, etc? I feel as though my experience is connected with the odd things I've been sensing/hearing within my home, definitely in the living room when it is silent and in the early hours of the morning (before sunrise). Sometimes I feel as if something is moving about in my home as I go from room to room, and that there is something standing behind my television while I lay on my couch, but not noticeabley when directly looking at it. It's like this half-figure is two-dimensional when looking at it, but with my peripheral, it shows more outline, like it is a dimension of its own that we cannot interact with. But as I said, it just stands there, for hours. I've only started to notice this activity the last year or so.'

http://www.alien-ufos.com/personal-ufo-alien-experiences-alien-dreams/48606-abduction-5-hours-ago-3.html

Some experiences are disturbing and dangerous, as is illustrated in the following story:

'I was laying in bed, my boyfriend had just gotten up to go to work. All of a sudden I hear an “oh F***” and a very loud electrical popping noise, I jumped up out of bed because it sounded almost like my boyfriend had been electricuted. I came into the kitched to find the stove was on fire. All electrical units in our stove had popped at the same time and were actually burning. It was really scarey, especially since we had our animals and our son all in the house! After we got the fire put out we went outside to go and smoke again. It was around 3:30am (my boyfriend works at a factory and wakes up at 3am to go to work.) I’m looking up in the sky above our house at a really bright star, when that star begins to move. Then it stopped again and hovered, then another appeared next to it, then they both crossed over our house. Needless to say I did not feel comfortable enough to go back to sleep after he left for work.'

http://www.abduct.com/discussion/?p=725

An instance like this would have been formerly thought to be either some sort of purely 'paranormal' phenenomon or a very bizarre electronic malfunction. However, due to the fact that this occured right before the experiencer had an incredible sighting of a UFO, one can make a deduction that the two events are quite possibly related. Time and again we have seen that electronic surges have, at times, some sort of connection to UFO activity as demonstrated by the Great Blackout of NIagra Falls, New York in 1965. Originally thought to be an electronic malfunction, it was later determined that an actual power surge had occured from outside their power grid and from an unknown source. That same evening The Syracuse Herald-Journal was inundated with over 100 calls of UFO sightings in that area.

http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2011/03/great-blackout-of-1965-was-ufo-activity.html

THE SKINWALKER RANCH
Probably one of the most convincing stories in connecting paranormal occurances to UFO activity is the famous Skinwalker Ranch located in Uintah county, Utah. In 1994 Tom Gorman(not his real name) and his wife bought the ranch, a sprawling area in the high dessert plains of Utah.

Picture of the Skinwalker Ranch - http://www.skinwalkerranch.org/media/albums/userpics/10001/normal_vue_generale.jpg

Soon after they arrived, it was obvious that this was no ordinary homestead. On the day that the Gormans moved their furnishings into the home, they encountered what they would later feel was a foreshadowing of events to come. a wolf, apparently tame, came up to the family and was affectionate; the animal behaved as a dometic canine might. The family stroked the animal and then without apparent cause, the wolf jumped a fence and began to attack one of the family's livestock. The family began to yell at the wolf, and when that did nothing, began to try to shoo the animal away with sticks. Now the livestpck that the wolf was attacking was bleeding and the family became frantic; Mr. Gorman took his shotgun anf fired at the animal, hitting it squarely, and even seeing flesh torn off. Still the animal did not stop it's ravaging of the stock...Mr. Gorman continued to shoot the wolf, each time fhe shot finding its mark, and yet the animal appeared unfazed, eventually loping off in a casual way, seemingly unharmed.

http://www.aliendave.com/Article_PathoftheSkinwalker_p1.html

Sightings abound at the Skinwalker Ranch and the surrounding areas...Uintah county is well known for it's UFO activity and unusual traces of evidence found around or near sites. Here on this most unusual 'ranch', High Strangeness reaches new heights.

Carving out of ice found near Skinwalker Ranch - http://www.realityuncovered.net/reality/images/ice_sipapu.jpg

Strange Footprints at the Skinwalker Ranch

Though not all experiencers have such dramatic events as the Skinwalker Ranch, many report that some sort of 'oddness' will occur before or after a sighting, and it often shakes up the experiencer, and they seek feedback on the forums to confirm that they are not imagining these things. As these occurances continue to multiply, it gives us all pause to wonder how and why these things are connected...some appear quite 'personal' as if someone or something 'knew' what would upset the individual, while others are random things that do not appear to have any rationale behind it..

As the 'high strangeness' continues to grow, we can only observe and analyze these events, perhaps attempting to see if it is part of a bigger picture...

The 21st Annual International UFO Congress was held in Arizona last week. Excited UFO aficionados from around the world descended on the Fort McDowell casino to share stories, view UFO documentaries, watch the skies over Scottsdale and meet new people with common interests.

Among the items on display at the casino were statues of alien creatures that some alien abductees claim to have met. Many of those sculptures bore an uncanny resemblance. The small icons featured lots of elongated skulls, large dark eyes and small bow mouths. Some of them resembled praying mantises. Others seemed to have an Egyptian motif.

Many believers who attended the 21st Annual International UFO Congress brought along various relics, artifacts and souvenirs. Others were drawn to a film starring actor Dean Haglund.

With UFO sightings pouring into various reporting centers like MUFON and UFO Global Reporting Center on a daily basis, UFOlogy is receiving more attention than ever by the mainstream media. In fact, the recent UFO congress was covered by everyone from the Huffington Post to the Daily Mail. CNN correspondent Bryce Zabel was even in attendance. He spoke about the possible consequences of disclosure by the authorities.

There were some well-respected members of the community present at the event. Some of these honored guests included author and alien abductee Whitney Strieber and his wife Anne. The couple spoke about Strieber's otherworldly experience and his struggle with acceptance.

Chilean Air Force General (Ret.) Ricardo Bermudez was another distinguished guest and speaker at the congress. He is currently the director of the Committee of Studies of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (or CEFAA), the official UFO research organization of Chile.

Lee Speigel was also present. He was honored at the event for his contributions to the field of UFOlogy and presented with the prestigious 2012 UFO Congress Researcher of the Year award.

Sources:
Daily Mail
The Huffington Post