Volume 1 Archive

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1  • Issue 1 • June 3, 2012 •

Welcome to the first issue of my new newsletter. For now, I'm going to try making this a weekly newsletter, but depending on the amount of interest and material I have, I may switch to a monthly format. We'll see how it goes.

News
  • I've just turned in a new article for Skeptic magazine exploring the popular claim that Native Americans discovered Europe in 60 BCE. This article is a greatly expanded and more detailed version of my May 15 blog post on the subject, and it has some fascinating new facts that shed even more light on the origins of this weird claim.
  • I've also turned in the promotional jacket copy for my new book, Cthulhu in World Mythology, due out from Atomic Overmind Press this fall. The book is a parody of the Ancient Aliens and Chariots of the Gods school of history, and even the jacket copy is a satire on the overblown marketing claims of "alternative" authors. Here's a taste: "This scholarly masterpiece by history’s most insightful scholar of prehistoric extraterrestrial intervention upends academia’s traditional view of ancient mythology."
On the Blog

In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of May 28-June 3:

  • Did a French priest narrowly miss being crushed by a dinosaur in the Congo in the 1760s?
  • Did Native Americans bring South American pineapples across the Atlantic to Pompeii?
  • Did prehistoric Africans carve Saharan camels on a Peruvian mountaintop during the Ice Age?

Around the Web

Here are some of the most interesting links I've tweeted this week.


Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 2 • June 10, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • Atomic Overmind Press set a publication date of September 2012 for my new book, Cthulhu in World Mythology. To help prepare, I’ve made a book page you can check out here.
  • Skeptic magazine has also set a publication date for my new article on the alleged Native American discovery of Europe in 60 BCE. The issue will be out in vol. 17, no. 4 (Fall 2012).

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of June 4-June 10:


Around the Web
Here are some of the most interesting links I've tweeted this week.

  • Hollywood aliens are our own projections, steal from ancient mythology. 
  • Rabbi to hold class debunking Ancient Aliens because too many congregants wonder if ancient astronauts are real.
  • Bulgarian “vampire” skeletons uncovered in monastery.

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 3 • June 17, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • Progress continues on putting together Cthulhu in World Mythology for a September release. 
  • I've been asked to contribute to Swans magazine's forthcoming edition on postmodernism and New Age beliefs.
  • And I've apparently been blocked from reading Giorgio Tsoukalos' ancient astronaut tweets. I don't know why.
  • Be sure to check out the material I've posted from the U.S. government's secret ancient astronaut and alternative history files.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of June 11-June 17:

  • EXCLUSIVE: The Secret Story of the US Government's Involvement in the 1973 Pepperdine Atlantis Expedition
  • Ancient Astronaut Hypocrisy: Did Erich von Daniken Think Jesus Was an Astronaut?
  • Robert Temple and the CIA Persecution: Where's the Proof?

Around the Web
Here are some of the most interesting links I've tweeted this week.

  • 'Prometheus' vs. 'At the Mountains of Madness': How Ridley Scott killed Guillermo del Toro's dream project.
  • New dating method shows cave art is older: Did Neanderthals do it? 
  • WaPo says 'Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion' is too dull, too academic for its fun subject matter. 

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 4 • June 24, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
This week I've started work on a reprint edition of Cory's Ancient Fragments, an important collection of materials used by ancient astronaut theorists. Currently available editions tend to be error-ridden OCR transcriptions or blurry photostats, so I'm resetting the text from the original and hope to have an affordable, attractive hardcover. I'm hoping to have it finished sometime in the next month or so.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of June 18-June 24:
Around the Web
Here are some of the most interesting links I've tweeted this week.
  • Buzzfeed presents 15 Terrifyingly Awesome Cthulhu Tattoos. 
  • Authors show how Easter Island’s statues walked, illustrating controversial theory many archaeologists don't accept. 
  • Great comic strip: The ancient astronaut theory--teach the controversy!

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 5 • July 1, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
This week I've been working on Cory's Ancient Fragments, but I had no idea it would be such a complex project. Apparently the 1876 editor didn't feel the need to correctly cite any of the sources. Trying to track them down has been "fun."

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of June 25-July 1:
  • "Fact or Faked" Investigates Ancient Aliens at Stonehenge
  • Reviewing NatGeo's "Chasing UFOs": Can Aliens Be Boring?

Around the Web
Here are some of the most interesting links I've tweeted this week.
  • Loch Ness monster cited by Louisiana Christian schools as evidence that evolution is myth.
  • Woman’s lawsuit claims sexual abuse during exorcism. Priest allegedly used "devil" infestation claim to fondle woman.
  • Witnesses: Islamists destroy ancient sites in Timbuktu as "un-Islamic."

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 6 • July 8, 2012 •

In this week’s newsletter, I’m going to break format and talk a little about the new book I put together, Cory’s Ancient Fragments. This book collects in one place nearly everything that the Greeks and Romans preserved of the historical records of the Near Eastern civilizations that preceded them. Until the translation of the cuneiform inscriptions of Mesopotamia, these fragments were nearly all that was known about Assyrian and Babylonian history and religion.

Cory’s Ancient Fragments contains the texts of the Phoenician cosmology of Sanchuniathon, the controversial fragments of Berossus that some believe document extraterrestrial contact, as well as fragments about Atlantis and other vanished civilizations.

I. P. Cory first published Ancient Fragments in 1826 and delivered the much expanded second edition in 1832. In 1876, E. Richmond Hodges re-edited the work, adding a wealth of new material but deleting fragments he found distasteful, especially those that touched on cosmology instead of Biblical history.

Now, all of these editions are available online, but I’m sure that many of you, like me, would prefer to have an important reference work in print rather than electronically. It’s much easier, for me at least, to thumb through a printed book than to scroll through e-text, especially if I don’t have a specific keyword in mind.

The problem is that if you want one of these volumes in print, you have unsatisfactory choices. The first is to buy an original nineteenth century edition, which is exceptionally pricey and also not practical for reading, for fear of damage. The second option is the on-demand paperback reprints that either reproduce the original from blurry photocopies or optical character recognition reprints that are chock full of errors and bad formatting. I don’t want to pay $25-30 for that, especially with their ugly paperback covers.

And even if they were satisfactory reproductions, we have the problem that E. Richmond Hodges and his publishers produced a pretty bad volume. The citations for the fragments were incomplete and some were missing entirely (some of these were Cory’s fault); the formatting was wildly inconsistent. Some of the notes were placed in the wrong place.

So, for my own use, I went through and pounded the text into shape as best I could, updating and correcting the citations and restoring the best of the 1832 fragments omitted from the 1876 edition. (I didn’t put them all back… no one needs 20 pages of single line poetry fragments.)
Anyway, I made my version a library-quality, case-wrap hardcover that I plant to keep for years to come. I designed the heck out of the cover it, and I think it came out nicely. So, for my newsletter readers, I thought I’d share the link in case any of you would be interested in buying your own copy. At $22, it’s a little pricey, but you’ll be getting an updated, corrected, and formatted hardcover for less than most on-demand publishers’ slapped-together paperbacks.

I’m not looking to make money off this. (With a $2 profit margin, I don't think that's possible!) I made the book for my own use, but I think that many of you may find it useful, too.

I received my copy the other day, and it looks beautiful. The cover really pops, and I’m proud of how it turned out. I design all my own covers for my print-on-demand books, and I think it’s one of my better efforts. You can buy a copy here.

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 7 • July 15, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
This week I released my second JasonColavito.com Books reprint edition, Sea Monsters Unmasked by Henry Lee, a skeptical masterpiece about the origins of sea monster myths. It features some of my best graphic design in the cover art, and I think I did a good job making a beautiful book that comes in at least 40% below other print-on-demand publishers' versions. Be sure to check it out.

I also wanted to give my newsletter readers a sneak peak at my forthcoming print-on-demand anthology tied to the upcoming release of Cthulhu in World Mythology. The chapbook-sized The House of the Octopus will present five classic essays about the real-life Cthulhu cult of the Pacific that worships and octopus god and his undersea stone temple, is associated with megalithic ruins, dies and is resurrected, and is associated with madness and death. It sounds like fiction but it's all true. The book is at the printers and should be available in about two weeks.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 9-July 15:


Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 8 • July 22, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
This week the National Archives finally delivered the U.S. State Department's Erich von Däniken file after a full month of trying to obtain it. The documents are a fascinating portrait of the first international ancient astronaut celebrity at the height of his popularity. Von Däniken had written to then-president Gerald Ford to advocate a range of political views, including unilateral abrogation of a U.N. convention on demilitarizing space and the need to pander to UFO believers as a voting bloc for the 1976 election. I've posted the whole thing here with an analysis. The interesting thing is that the U.S. government didn't seem to care at all about ancient astronauts, while we learned this week that the Chinese government is endorsing the theory (see below).

I've also put up for sale the new chapbook The House of the Octopus about the real-life octopus-worshiping "Cthulhu" cult of the Pacific. Right now it's in paperback only, but I hope to have an eBook version available soon.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 16-July 22:


Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 9 • July 29, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • I discovered that I’m mentioned as a horror scholar and expert in the major new book from Viking, Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus, by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, which was cool.
  • I sent in the final edits for Cthulhu in World Mythology, which is scheduled for publication this September.
  • I’ve also been asked to contribute my eBook “The Origins of the Space Gods” to volume 6 of the Fortean anthology series Dark Lore, scheduled for publication this fall. So you can look for a revised and updated version in that upcoming volume.
  • Finally, I sent to the printers my newest JasonColavito.com Books reprint edition, George Smith’s 1870s bestseller The Chaldean Account of Genesis, which shocked the world with the first reports of the Babylonian Flood myth and the Epic of Gilgamesh. The book should be available for sale on my website later this week.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 23-July 29:


Coming up: Over the next week I’ll be reviewing Erich von Däniken’s most recent ancient astronaut book, Twilight of the Gods, on my blog chapter by chapter. So be sure to tune in! Here’s part one.

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 10 • August 5, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • My new book Cthulhu in World Mythology has reached the layout and typesetting stage and is quickly moving toward publication!
  • My edition of George Smith’s historic classic The Chaldean Account of Genesis is now available! Be sure to check it out on my JasonColavito.com Books reprint editions page.
  • I’ve sent to the printers Edison’s Conquest of Mars, an 1898 novel that presciently predicted the arguments used by ancient astronaut theorists six decades later. I’ve written a new critical introduction to the novel. It should be available by the middle of next week.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 30-August 5:
  • This past week I reviewed chapter by chapter Erich von Däniken’s most recent ancient astronaut book, Twilight of the Gods. Be sure to check out all seven parts of the series. There’s some great stuff in there about the author’s apparent self-plagiarism, deceptive use of quotations, and weird religious claims about memes. • Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 •

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 11 • August 12, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • As many of you have probably already heard, the National Geographic Channel cut me out of my scheduled appearance on the July 29 Secret History of UFOs documentary to focus more heavily on giving a platform to ancient astronaut theorist Giorgio Tsoukalos. I'm obviously very disappointed. I'll have more to say about this on my blog tomorrow, when I've figured out how to write about it without violating the confidentiality agreement they required.
  • There has been a production delay on the printer's end with my edition of Edison’s Conquest of Mars, the 1898 novel that presciently predicted the arguments used by ancient astronaut theorist. It should now be available by the middle of next week.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 6-12:
  • This past week I reviewed chapter by chapter 1421 author Gavin Menzies' most recent alternative history book, The Lost Empire of Atlantis. Be sure to check out all seven parts of the series. There’s some great stuff in there about the author’s shoddy sources, penchant for copying other people's arguments uncritically, and wild inconsistencies. • Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 •

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 12 • August 19, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • Cthulhu in World Mythology is now finishing up the layout and design stage in anticipation of its publication date just a few weeks from now. Get ready!
  • As I work toward the launch of Cthulhu, my blogging schedule may be a bit lighter than normal.
  • I’ve also put together all of my reviews of Ancient Aliens from the past year as A Critical Companion to Ancient Aliens that should be available from the printer late this week or early next.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 13-19:
  • Behind the scenes of NatGeo’s Secret History of UFOs
  • Robert Schoch’s weird theory that solar flares destroyed an advanced Ice Age civilization (Parts 1 & 2)
  • The photo that proves David Childress wrong

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 13 • August 26, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • In memory of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, who died this week, I have written a special account of Armstrong’s involvement in the 1976 expedition that went in search of the cave in Ecuador that ancient astronaut theorist Erich von Däniken claimed housed a library written by aliens.
  • My new companion to Ancient Aliens seasons 3 and 4 should be back from the printer this week and ready for sale by the end of the week.
  • I've also started a new page to collect alternative authors' manipulated, fake, and deceptive use of quotations. If you find an alternative author mangling a quotation, let me know and I'll add it to the list. (Zecharia Sitchin doesn't count since all his quotations are falsified through his fake translations.)

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 20-26:

  • This past week I reviewed chapter by chapter Ancient Aliens star David Childress’s most famous work, Technology of the Gods. Be sure to check out all four parts of the series. There’s some great stuff in there about the author’s unceasing self-plagiarism, recycling thousands upon thousands of words from his earlier books. • Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 •
  • I also examined the deceptive origins the strange claim that Spanish explorers found Caucasians in the New World.

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 14 • September 2, 2012 •

For the holiday weekend here in the United States, I'm taking it a bit easy in anticipation of the big fall push for Cthulhu in World Mythology, so I'm going to keep this week's newsletter short.


Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 15 • September 9, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • I have translated the French science fiction master J.-H. Rosny’s 1887 novella Les Xipéhuz, an imaginative tale of an invasion of inhuman ancient astronauts in prehistoric Mesopotamia, and posted it on my website. Although the story has been previously translated, mine is the first complete translation available in its entirety online. The story is a masterpiece, and of interest to every fan of ancient astronauts, science fiction, or H. P. Lovecraft.
  • We are counting down to the release of Cthulhu in World Mythology, which I swear is going to becoming out this month. I’m waiting on the publisher to send the final page proofs before it goes to press.
  • Finally, I posted a new video on the fossil origins of the mythological Cyclops, which you can view on my Videos page.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 2-9:
  • Pyramids in Antarctica: Where’s the Proof?
  • Stylizing the Human Form: “Aliens” in Native Art
  • Is Sirius Mystery Author Robert Temple Really a Professor?

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 16 • September 16, 2012 •

It’s been a (not-so) busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News

  • I had preliminary talks this week with a major media company about a high profile project. I wish I could say more, but since it’s only at the very early stages, it will have to be a secret for now. If the project goes through, you’ll hear it here first.
  • Otherwise, this was a pretty slow week.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 10-16:



Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 17 • September 23, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • Some of you may not have received my September 16 newsletter due a technical error with my mail delivery service. I didn’t even receive my own copy, and the delivery service did not provide an explanation. You can read back issues of my newsletter on my website if this problem should occur again.
  • I just received the page proofs for Dark Lore VII, Greg Taylor’s Fortean anthology in which I have an article on ancient astronauts, alongside other writers’ work on mushrooms, magic, and more. The book is looking great and should be on sale next month.
  • I should be receiving the page proofs for Cthulhu in World Mythology this week. I’m looking forward to seeing how it turned out.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 17-23:

  • You may have seen the little controversy this week caused when I criticized fellow skeptic Benjamin Radford for reporting incorrect material about a supposed ancient astronaut documentary. Here are the links to my posts on the issue: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 18 • September 30, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • I just received the galleys for my upcoming article in the next issue of Skeptic magazine. My article will expand on my earlier blog post covering the alternative claim that Native Americans landed in Europe in 60 BCE. The article will offer interesting new insights into how this modern myth emerged.
  • I’m featured in the new three-hour documentary Ancient Aliens Debunked. Be sure to check out the film, available for free online.
  • The layout and design of Cthulhu in World Mythology are almost complete as we head into October and impending publication. Remember: It will make a great Christmas gift!
  • I also introduced a new donation feature on my blog this week so you can show your support for my blog and help me to defray the costs of producing high quality daily blog content.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 24-30:

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 19 • October 7, 2012 •

Since this is a holiday weekend in the United States (Columbus Day) and Canada (Thanksgiving), today’s newsletter will be a bit different than usual.

This week’s most interesting development has to be Ancient Aliens pundit Philip Coppens’ efforts to shut down my criticism of his claim that the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep learned about pyramid building from space aliens or other “non-human intelligences.” Coppens complained that I suggested he lied about alien involvement, arguing that accusations of lying are inappropriate and offensive. This was hilarious because right after he criticized me, Coppens accused archaeologists of “a vociferous and vile campaign” to suppress truth in order to maintain “control” over the public through false facts, as well as (the week before) the purposeful introduction of “lies into the historical record.”

My original blog post discussing Coppens’ claim is here. Coppens’ lengthy, inaccurate, and vitriolic criticism is here, along with my commentary demonstrating exactly how Coppens uses manipulation, distortion, and false claims against me.  

So, since calling him a “liar” is offensive, I will instead say he engages in “a vociferous and vile campaign” to distort and manipulate history.

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 20 • October 14, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • Daily Grail Publishing has released Darklore 7, a new anthology of Forteana in which I have an article, an updated and revised version of my Origin of the Space Gods eBook. You can buy your copy on Amazon or most major online retailers.
  • I haven’t received the galleys for Cthulhu in World Mythology yet, so there may be a production delay of a couple of weeks before the book is released. I am checking on this with the publisher and hope to have more soon.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of October 8-14:
  • My Trip to Newsweek’s Vision of Heaven
  • Schoch Shock: Alternative Geologist Now Claims Magic, Demons “Genuine”
  • Philip Coppens Can’t Separate Criticism of His Ideas from Criticism of His Humanity
  • Star Trek’s Ancient Astronauts: The Case of Apollo

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 21 • October 21, 2012 •

This week, I want to share with you an exclusive first look at the page proofs for Cthulhu in World Mythology, which is making its way toward publication sometime in the next several weeks. The book is looking great, and I hope you agree!
Picture
Text © 2012 Jason Colavito; layout and design © 2012 Atomic Overmind Press. All rights reserved.

Also, be sure to check out my blog posts on medieval Moorish airplanes, Philip Coppens' latest misstatements, and Maya prophecies about Barack Obama.

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 22 • October 28, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • This week I was handed the high honor of having Ancient Aliens pundit Philip Coppens blast me on his blog as a “zealot” trying to steal magician James Randi’s skeptical crown. Read Coppens’ posting here and my response here. It’s good to know that even a small blog like mine can somehow shake an Ancient Aliens pundit to his very core with foaming rage.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of October 22-28:

And finally, as we move toward Halloween this week, don’t forget to check out my work on the horror genre, including Knowing Fear, A Hideous Bit of Morbidity, my Victorian story collection Unseen Horror, and my article on Dracula’s secret school, the Scholomance.

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 23 • November 4, 2012 •

As a result of Hurricane Sandy, a lot of projects were unavoidably delayed, including progress on Cthulhu in World Mythology, so it was a rather slow news week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Even the ancient astronaut theorists were mostly quiet this week, though I expect this to change significantly when Ancient Aliens returns to the airwaves with new episodes, promised for later this month.

However, I did publish two eBooks this week. Be sure to check out my e-edition of my translation of The Orphic Argonautica as well as a free e-edition of The Epic of Gilgamesh.

I also have updated the header for my newsletter. It's definitely better than the old one, but I may try a few other versions. We'll see.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of October 29-November 4:


Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 24 • November 11, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
First, if you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check out my article on the sociology of ancient astronaut and alternative history beliefs in Swans magazine.

I’ve  been talking with my publisher at Atomic Overmind about the release schedule for Cthulhu in World Mythology, and I wanted to pass along the latest update:
  • The marketing and distribution team feels that the book is going to be much bigger than first anticipated, so they have requested an additional couple of months to market and distribute it to booksellers.
  • But fear not! The current plan is to have two releases. First, by the end of this year the plan is to release a limited edition hardcover version of the book, with a wide release trade paperback to follow in the first quarter of 2013—we’re almost there!

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 5-11:


Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 25 • November 18, 2012 •

It’s been a (not so) busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
This week I’ve been working on preparing a single-volume edition of Edwin Sidney Hartland’s three-volume Legend of Perseus (1894-1896), an important early work in the anthropology of folklore and religion. Things were going well until the printer told me that I crossed a magic page number threshold, mandating a bigger gutter and forcing repagination. Fun!

With luck, I should have the book done by this time next week.

The print and eBook editions of The Orphic Argonautica continue to be my best-selling JasonColavito.com Books volumes, which surprised me. Who knew that so many people wanted to read it?

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 12-18:

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 26 • November 25, 2012 •

With the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., it’s been a not so busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. But let’s see what’s new anyway…

News
This week I completed my translation of all the references to the pyramids of Egypt in Al-Maqrizi’s Al-Khitat, a medieval Arabic compendium cited by ancient astronaut pundits as proof that aliens assisted in the building of the pyramids. As you can now read for yourself, it says no such thing and these pundits simply took advantage of the fact it hadn’t been translated into English to make wild claims about what the Arabic text said.

I also sent off to the printer my single-volume edition of Edwin Sidney Hartland’s three-volume Legend of Perseus. If the proof copy looks as good as I think it will, it will be one of the most beautiful volumes I’ve yet produced. It should be ready for sale within a week.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 19-25, which, not surprisingly, mostly reflected my work translating the Al-Khitat:


Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 27 • December 2, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • Ancient aliens star Philip Coppens took ill after completing filming of season five of the H2 series and was hospitalized. Let us all send our wishes for a swift and complete recovery.
  • I have officially released my single-volume abridgment of The Legend of Perseus, and it came out beautifully. Be sure to check it out if you’re interested in myth, folklore, and its persistence across time and space.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 26 to December 2:

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 28 • December 9, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • Unfortunately, my carpal tunnel syndrome has returned after several weeks of typing too much, meaning that I’m having a hard time typing. I’d try voice software, but do you know of one that can spell Enuma Elish, Tiwanaku, or Utnapishtim?
  • H2 has announced the return of Ancient Aliens on December 21, so to get all of you prepared, I’ve released my Critical Companion to Ancient Aliens as an eBook, on sale now! Buy it here.
  • Also, Atomic Overmind tells me that the proofs for Cthulhu in World Mythology will be ready for final proofreading this week! I can’t wait to see them.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of December 3-9:

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 29 • December 16, 2012 •

It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…

News
  • Just a reminder: H2 has announced the return of Ancient Aliens for December 21, which is this Friday, so if you haven’t done so, get ready by buying the eBook version of my Critical Companion to Ancient Aliens, ready for instant download now! Buy it here.
  • Ancient Aliens star Philip Coppens announced this week that he is suffering from an extremely rare form of cancer. Be sure to send him your best wishes for his recovery.

On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of December 10-16:

Until next week, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 1 • Issue 30 • December 23, 2012 •

Today, December 23, 2012, is the day Erich von Däniken claimed in Twilight of the Gods (2009) we would all experience “god shock” when the aliens return. Don’t hold your breath waiting, but if the aliens don’t come back today, remember this the next time you see von Däniken on Ancient Aliens.

It has been a long and wild year in xenoarchaeology, and I hope you’re all looking forward to what next year brings. To help get you prepared, be sure to read my reviews of the current episodes of Ancient Aliens and America Unearthed.

As we enter the holiday season, I want to take this opportunity to wish all of my readers the most joyous of holidays, whichever (if any) you choose to celebrate. I’ll be celebrating Christmas, so to all those who do, Merry Christmas! For everyone else, Happy New Year!

This will be the last Skeptical Xenoarchaeologist newsletter of 2012. I’ll be taking next week off for the holiday, but I’ll be back with more crazy claims and wild ideas on January 6, 2013.

Until next year, keep watching the skies!

Jason Colavito

• JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •

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