Volume 11 Archive
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 1 • July 2, 2017 •
It’s been a busy few weeks in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
l must confess that it is getting more difficult to find fringe history topics to discuss that don’t shade into the disturbing or the depressing. This week the media took notice of a claim made by a guest on Alex Jones’s Info Wars show that NASA had a child slave colony on Mars, part of a global vampire pedophile ring. While perhaps more extreme than previous iterations, the vampire pedophile reptilian elite myth has been around for many years, and the increasing willingness of the highest profile fringe figures to delve into the most nauseating and vile of allegations would, in an ideal world, limit their appeal. Sadly, the careers of Jones, David Icke, David Wilcock, and others show that there is nothing they could say that would stop audiences from buying what they’re selling.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of June 19-July 2:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 1 • July 2, 2017 •
It’s been a busy few weeks in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
l must confess that it is getting more difficult to find fringe history topics to discuss that don’t shade into the disturbing or the depressing. This week the media took notice of a claim made by a guest on Alex Jones’s Info Wars show that NASA had a child slave colony on Mars, part of a global vampire pedophile ring. While perhaps more extreme than previous iterations, the vampire pedophile reptilian elite myth has been around for many years, and the increasing willingness of the highest profile fringe figures to delve into the most nauseating and vile of allegations would, in an ideal world, limit their appeal. Sadly, the careers of Jones, David Icke, David Wilcock, and others show that there is nothing they could say that would stop audiences from buying what they’re selling.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of June 19-July 2:
- L. A. Marzulli Claims So-Called “Deep State” Is Plotting to Destroy Nephilim Researchers Like Him
- Are the Fragments of Abenephius the Remains of a Lost Jewish Account of Egypt?
- Did the Knights Templar Attempt to Take Harran to Steal Hermetic Secrets?
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 2 • July 9, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This month marks the seventieth anniversary of the newspaper article wrongly asserting that a “flying disc” had crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. Although this article was no different than other 1947 news reports about various small flying objects, the involvement of the U.S. military led ufologists to assign the story extraordinary importance upon its rediscovery in the 1970s and 1980s. To mark the occasion, Roswell had Expedition Unknown host Josh Gates lead a parade through town. It just goes to show you that paranormal culture is its own bizarre community, even if you cast yourself as a “mainstream” investigator of the subject.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 3-9:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 2 • July 9, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This month marks the seventieth anniversary of the newspaper article wrongly asserting that a “flying disc” had crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. Although this article was no different than other 1947 news reports about various small flying objects, the involvement of the U.S. military led ufologists to assign the story extraordinary importance upon its rediscovery in the 1970s and 1980s. To mark the occasion, Roswell had Expedition Unknown host Josh Gates lead a parade through town. It just goes to show you that paranormal culture is its own bizarre community, even if you cast yourself as a “mainstream” investigator of the subject.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 3-9:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S12E09 “The Majestic Twelve”
- Abenephius and the Medieval Egyptian Magical Tradition
- Panodorus, Annianus, and the Fall of the Watchers
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 3 • July 16, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
The big news in fringe circles this week has been the ongoing effort by Gaia TV to promote a growing number of ostensibly fake Peruvian mummies as the remains of space aliens. Even though the ufologist promoting the mummies has been associated with a number of hoaxes, and even though careful analysis of the evidence presented for these bodies shows them to be made from the bones of multiple individuals, including some infants, Gaia is still raising money off the promise of future evidence that will somehow, improbably overturn every piece of scientific evidence. I’d love to know, though, who would pay good money to consume lies. Too many, I suppose.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 10-16:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 3 • July 16, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
The big news in fringe circles this week has been the ongoing effort by Gaia TV to promote a growing number of ostensibly fake Peruvian mummies as the remains of space aliens. Even though the ufologist promoting the mummies has been associated with a number of hoaxes, and even though careful analysis of the evidence presented for these bodies shows them to be made from the bones of multiple individuals, including some infants, Gaia is still raising money off the promise of future evidence that will somehow, improbably overturn every piece of scientific evidence. I’d love to know, though, who would pay good money to consume lies. Too many, I suppose.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 10-16:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S12E10 “The Akashic Record”
- Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Endorses Robert Schoch's Lost Ice Age Civilization
- Clyde Winters Revisits the “Brazil Tablet,” Recycles Old Accounts as “New” Analysis
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 4 • July 23, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Creationists at Answers in Genesis tried too hard to avoid taxes and ended up costing themselves millions. When Ark Encounter, the group’s Noah’s Ark theme park, launched, it received $18 million in tax breaks from the state of Kentucky in a deal structured through AiG’s for-profit arm. But after a local municipality requested a $0.50 surcharge on tickets to pay for safety services, AiG transferred the Ark to its non-profit arm in order to claim religious exemption from taxes. However, that violated their agreement with the state, and their effort to avoid paying $7 million in taxes over 10 years cost them $18 million in tax breaks. I can’t say I feel sorry for them.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 17-23:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 4 • July 23, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Creationists at Answers in Genesis tried too hard to avoid taxes and ended up costing themselves millions. When Ark Encounter, the group’s Noah’s Ark theme park, launched, it received $18 million in tax breaks from the state of Kentucky in a deal structured through AiG’s for-profit arm. But after a local municipality requested a $0.50 surcharge on tickets to pay for safety services, AiG transferred the Ark to its non-profit arm in order to claim religious exemption from taxes. However, that violated their agreement with the state, and their effort to avoid paying $7 million in taxes over 10 years cost them $18 million in tax breaks. I can’t say I feel sorry for them.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 17-23:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S12E11 “Voices of the Gods”
- Astrology, Cycles of Time, and Chronology among Pagan Greeks and Christians
- Michael Shermer Publishes Journal Article Promoting “Enlightenment Humanism,” But Overlooks Basic Philosophy 101 Concepts
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 5 • July 30, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
A few years ago a hoax article from the World News Daily Report fake news site claimed that a Viking ship had been discovered in the heart of the United States, having sailed up the Mississippi in the Middle Ages. Since this was before the era of fake news, many naïve readers believed it to be true. A French philosopher named Michel Onfray managed to get duped by the story, which he reported as fact in his new book Decadence, but without citing the source. The details are the same. Here is Onfray (in my translation): “A knarr, a 16-meter-long warship, was discovered in Memphis, Missouri (sic), near the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers. Carbon-14 dating yields a range between 950 and 1050 CE. America was discovered by the Vikings at the end of the 10th or the beginning of the 11th century, in other words five centuries before Christopher Columbus.” World News Daily Report called the ship a knar, placed it near Memphis, Tennessee and said: “The heavily damaged ship was found near the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers, and lies on a private property. […] The carbon dating of the new ship estimates that it dates from between 990 and 1050 AD….” Onfray seems to have gotten his story secondhand and never checked the source, nor did his prestigious publisher, Flammarion.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 24-30:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 5 • July 30, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
A few years ago a hoax article from the World News Daily Report fake news site claimed that a Viking ship had been discovered in the heart of the United States, having sailed up the Mississippi in the Middle Ages. Since this was before the era of fake news, many naïve readers believed it to be true. A French philosopher named Michel Onfray managed to get duped by the story, which he reported as fact in his new book Decadence, but without citing the source. The details are the same. Here is Onfray (in my translation): “A knarr, a 16-meter-long warship, was discovered in Memphis, Missouri (sic), near the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers. Carbon-14 dating yields a range between 950 and 1050 CE. America was discovered by the Vikings at the end of the 10th or the beginning of the 11th century, in other words five centuries before Christopher Columbus.” World News Daily Report called the ship a knar, placed it near Memphis, Tennessee and said: “The heavily damaged ship was found near the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers, and lies on a private property. […] The carbon dating of the new ship estimates that it dates from between 990 and 1050 AD….” Onfray seems to have gotten his story secondhand and never checked the source, nor did his prestigious publisher, Flammarion.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 24-30:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S12E12 “The Animal Agenda”
- Uri Geller Plans to Excavate the Ancient "Egyptian" Treasure of Fictitious Princess Scota on a Scottish Island He Owns
- Classicist Claims White Marble Statues Lead to Racism; Plus: Scott Wolter Refines His Templar Claims
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 6 • August 5, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
The biggest news from the world of fringe history and conspiracies this week was the death of Jim Marrs, the longtime conspiracy theorist and ufologist, of a heart attack. I was astonished to read the eulogies for Marrs, not because his friends praised his warmth and kindness, but because they celebrated his research skills. This surprised me because they had three decades worth of work to cite, but could point to no major fact he discovered, no definitive proof of aliens or conspiracies. This is not to speak ill of the dead but to say that even the best the fringe has to offer have little to show for their decades of work beyond their own miniature cults of personality. They need better researchers, or speculation that matches actual facts.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 31-August 5:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 6 • August 5, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
The biggest news from the world of fringe history and conspiracies this week was the death of Jim Marrs, the longtime conspiracy theorist and ufologist, of a heart attack. I was astonished to read the eulogies for Marrs, not because his friends praised his warmth and kindness, but because they celebrated his research skills. This surprised me because they had three decades worth of work to cite, but could point to no major fact he discovered, no definitive proof of aliens or conspiracies. This is not to speak ill of the dead but to say that even the best the fringe has to offer have little to show for their decades of work beyond their own miniature cults of personality. They need better researchers, or speculation that matches actual facts.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of July 31-August 5:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S12E13 “The Replicants”
- Robert Schoch, Robert Bauval, and a Dermatologist Claim to Have Hieroglyphic Evidence That the Sphinx Predates the Pyramids
- Conspiracy Theorist Jim Marrs Has Died at Age 73
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 7 • August 13, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I had meant to offer a review of A&E’s new paranormal series The Lowe Files in which actor Rob Lowe and his two sons travel America to investigate paranormal and fringe historical mysteries, but the screener than A&E provided didn’t work prior to the broadcast date, and I never really found the time to watch the show. I caught a little bit of it on the History Channel after Ancient Aliens this week, and it was… just another ghost hunting show. I was appalled when Lowe and his sons pulled up in front of a massively elaborate Victorian building and immediately declared that they found the architecture creepy and upsetting. I, on the other hand, thought it a beautiful example of nineteenth century style, and that difference in aesthetics probably accounts for 90% of the reason that the Lowes scared themselves silly while I was more upset that the caretakers had let the interior decay so badly.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of August 6-13:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 7 • August 13, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I had meant to offer a review of A&E’s new paranormal series The Lowe Files in which actor Rob Lowe and his two sons travel America to investigate paranormal and fringe historical mysteries, but the screener than A&E provided didn’t work prior to the broadcast date, and I never really found the time to watch the show. I caught a little bit of it on the History Channel after Ancient Aliens this week, and it was… just another ghost hunting show. I was appalled when Lowe and his sons pulled up in front of a massively elaborate Victorian building and immediately declared that they found the architecture creepy and upsetting. I, on the other hand, thought it a beautiful example of nineteenth century style, and that difference in aesthetics probably accounts for 90% of the reason that the Lowes scared themselves silly while I was more upset that the caretakers had let the interior decay so badly.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of August 6-13:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S12E14 “A Spaceship Made of Stone”
- Scott Wolter Teases New TV Show and Talks about His Spiritual Journey, Involving Esoteric Masonry and “Druid Ceremonies”
- The Atlantic Chronicles American Unreason, Including Ancient Astronauts; Plus: The Week Condemns Americans for Eschewing "Realist Fiction"
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 8 • August 20, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
All right, I’ll admit it: This was not so much a busy week in xenoarchaeology as it was for pseudohistory and the debate over who should be allowed to use history for propaganda purposes. It seems that the question of what to do with twentieth century monuments to the Confederacy has prompted another round of concern about who should control the interpretation of history. It bothers me more than a little that both sides want to use historical events for modern political propaganda, but it is much harder to argue that Confederate sympathizers have a legitimate argument in favor of retaining monuments to slavery and secession at public expense. Faced with that weakness, supporters instead claim that to remove modern memorials to racism will lead to the eradication of all historic markers and statues since all people in the past were some degree of evil, particularly early U.S. presidents, most of whom owned slaves. The difference, though, is that only some—the Confederates—purposely fought on the wrong side of history, even when faced with the moral choice to do otherwise, because they believed slavery to be the morally right course of action, one that they would defend with their lives. Washington and Jefferson failed in their personal morality, but they did not take arms against the government to force their failures to continue indefinitely or to force them onto others.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of August 14-20:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 8 • August 20, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
All right, I’ll admit it: This was not so much a busy week in xenoarchaeology as it was for pseudohistory and the debate over who should be allowed to use history for propaganda purposes. It seems that the question of what to do with twentieth century monuments to the Confederacy has prompted another round of concern about who should control the interpretation of history. It bothers me more than a little that both sides want to use historical events for modern political propaganda, but it is much harder to argue that Confederate sympathizers have a legitimate argument in favor of retaining monuments to slavery and secession at public expense. Faced with that weakness, supporters instead claim that to remove modern memorials to racism will lead to the eradication of all historic markers and statues since all people in the past were some degree of evil, particularly early U.S. presidents, most of whom owned slaves. The difference, though, is that only some—the Confederates—purposely fought on the wrong side of history, even when faced with the moral choice to do otherwise, because they believed slavery to be the morally right course of action, one that they would defend with their lives. Washington and Jefferson failed in their personal morality, but they did not take arms against the government to force their failures to continue indefinitely or to force them onto others.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of August 14-20:
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? A Review of Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
- Poland’s Version of Fringe History Imagines a 70,000-Year Aryan Super-Empire
- Conservative Christian Touts Lovecraft as a Tool to Bring Readers Back to Christ
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 9 • August 27, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Two decades ago, Robert Bauval and Graham Hancock were an inseparable team investigating a fantasy version of history dominated by an ancient Atlantean-Egyptian cult (the Followers of Horus, i.e. the Watchers) who became the Freemasons and controlled everything from the pyramids to the American government. Who would have thought their paths would diverge so wildly? Now Bauval is an ancient astronaut theorist who believes he gained mental superpowers when he hit his head as a child, while Hancock is recovering from a stroke and coma brought on by overuse of a prescription drug, all while wondering if he has died and been resurrected to, essentially, guruhood. In 1998 both men wrote a book on ancient astronauts (The Mars Mystery), but Bauval went down the ancient astronaut path while Hancock decided to view the aliens as actual gods. Good thing they’re both still happy to appear on Ancient Aliens from time to time!
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of August 21-27:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 9 • August 27, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Two decades ago, Robert Bauval and Graham Hancock were an inseparable team investigating a fantasy version of history dominated by an ancient Atlantean-Egyptian cult (the Followers of Horus, i.e. the Watchers) who became the Freemasons and controlled everything from the pyramids to the American government. Who would have thought their paths would diverge so wildly? Now Bauval is an ancient astronaut theorist who believes he gained mental superpowers when he hit his head as a child, while Hancock is recovering from a stroke and coma brought on by overuse of a prescription drug, all while wondering if he has died and been resurrected to, essentially, guruhood. In 1998 both men wrote a book on ancient astronauts (The Mars Mystery), but Bauval went down the ancient astronaut path while Hancock decided to view the aliens as actual gods. Good thing they’re both still happy to appear on Ancient Aliens from time to time!
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of August 21-27:
- Review of Cosmic Womb: The Seeding of Planet Earth by Chandra Wickramasinghe and Robert Bauval
- Graham Hancock Recovering from Health Crisis, Says Negative Energy from Online Skeptics and Haters Contributed to Stroke, Coma
- Eric Kurlander’s New Book Attempts to Explain Nazi Supernatural and Occult Beliefs
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 10 • September 3, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I will confess to sometimes being dumbfounded by the sheer breadth of fringe claims. This week alone, I ricocheted from the geological evidence for mammoth extinction in Alaska to medieval accounts of Sphinx lore to conspiracy theories about the Knights Templar. What is fascinating, though, is the way these disparate fields are gradually congealing around a master myth that is still incomplete but taking shape roughly around the outlines laid down by Theosophy—that extraterrestrial beings (whether space alien or supernatural is still in dispute) came to Earth in the distant past and inspired the first and lost civilization of Atlantis, which was destroyed (whether by comet, flood, or UFO is in dispute) and whose remnants seeded historical cultures and founded an undying occult brotherhood (whether it is good or evil is still in dispute) to preserve knowledge of the past; and these extraterrestrials are going to return. One you recognize the overarching master-myth, all the lesser claims start to make sense as little pieces of this larger, and fictional, puzzle.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of August 28-September 3:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 10 • September 3, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I will confess to sometimes being dumbfounded by the sheer breadth of fringe claims. This week alone, I ricocheted from the geological evidence for mammoth extinction in Alaska to medieval accounts of Sphinx lore to conspiracy theories about the Knights Templar. What is fascinating, though, is the way these disparate fields are gradually congealing around a master myth that is still incomplete but taking shape roughly around the outlines laid down by Theosophy—that extraterrestrial beings (whether space alien or supernatural is still in dispute) came to Earth in the distant past and inspired the first and lost civilization of Atlantis, which was destroyed (whether by comet, flood, or UFO is in dispute) and whose remnants seeded historical cultures and founded an undying occult brotherhood (whether it is good or evil is still in dispute) to preserve knowledge of the past; and these extraterrestrials are going to return. One you recognize the overarching master-myth, all the lesser claims start to make sense as little pieces of this larger, and fictional, puzzle.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of August 28-September 3:
- Graham Hancock Wants Your Help Proving Alaskan Mammoths Died in One Massive Catastrophe
- Review of Forbidden History S04E04 “The Dark Truths of the Templars”
- Two British Retirees Are Looking for a Second Great Sphinx at Giza
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 11 • September 10, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Ancient Aliens came back after several weeks’ hiatus, and it introduced a new talking head, Ashley Cowie, a Scottish television personality who used to host the knockoff show Legend Quest on the Syfy Channel and who is also a Sinclair/Templar conspiracy theorist. I suppose I should be honored that he wrote a comment on my review of Ancient Aliens attacking me—or rather my aesthetics! It looks like I’ve earned another notch in my belt.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of September 4-10:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 11 • September 10, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Ancient Aliens came back after several weeks’ hiatus, and it introduced a new talking head, Ashley Cowie, a Scottish television personality who used to host the knockoff show Legend Quest on the Syfy Channel and who is also a Sinclair/Templar conspiracy theorist. I suppose I should be honored that he wrote a comment on my review of Ancient Aliens attacking me—or rather my aesthetics! It looks like I’ve earned another notch in my belt.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of September 4-10:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S12E15 “The Alien Disks”
- Jacques Vallée Offers New Claims about UFOs in Podcast Interview
- Review of Forbidden History S04E05 “The Real Mary Magdalene”
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 12 • September 17, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I have begun to see why so many websites and low-end publishers simply assert that a piece of writing is in the public domain and dare the onetime copyright holder to do something about it. Many internet sites publish copies of a 1943 academic work by W. B. Henning on the Manichean Book of Giants, asserting that its copyright has expired. I’m not sure that is actually the case, and since I wanted to do the right thing before adding it to my Library, I contacted Cambridge University Press, the publisher of the journal in which it appeared, many months ago to ask permission to reprint it. They said that it would take six weeks to respond, so I filed a request. As soon as I did I received notice that they were so backed up with requests, they wanted six months to respond. As of today, I have still heard nothing from them. I fully anticipate that once I do, they will ask me for cash. It astonishes me that in the internet age, they reserve the right to take half a year (!) to reply, which would make it impossible to license their work for anything timely.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of September 11-17:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 12 • September 17, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I have begun to see why so many websites and low-end publishers simply assert that a piece of writing is in the public domain and dare the onetime copyright holder to do something about it. Many internet sites publish copies of a 1943 academic work by W. B. Henning on the Manichean Book of Giants, asserting that its copyright has expired. I’m not sure that is actually the case, and since I wanted to do the right thing before adding it to my Library, I contacted Cambridge University Press, the publisher of the journal in which it appeared, many months ago to ask permission to reprint it. They said that it would take six weeks to respond, so I filed a request. As soon as I did I received notice that they were so backed up with requests, they wanted six months to respond. As of today, I have still heard nothing from them. I fully anticipate that once I do, they will ask me for cash. It astonishes me that in the internet age, they reserve the right to take half a year (!) to reply, which would make it impossible to license their work for anything timely.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of September 11-17:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S12E16 “Return to Göbekli Tepe”
- Daughter of Ancient Astronaut Believer Plans to Continue Father’s Effort to Find Ecuadoran Cave of Alien Gold
- The Inca Sun-Disc and the Lost City of Paititi
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 13 • September 24, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This past week, publications across the internet seemed to discover that the ancient astronaut theory is a racist, groundless bit of pseudoscience. The Awl ran a piece on why Ancient Aliens is “everything wrong with America,” while South Africa’s Mail & Guardian offered criticism of how racism drives the push to ascribe Africa’s archaeology to Europeans or even space aliens. While the articles are good, if superficial, I was amazed at how much play both got across Internet, with skeptical organizations trumpeting them as though they were a revelation. No offense, but I’ve literally been writing the same thing nearly every day without any recognition, and I am hardly the first to have made the point. It would be nice if the defenders of science and reason would get as interested in the details of the claims they like to dispute as they do the superficial act of opposing them ideologically.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of September 18-24:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 13 • September 24, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This past week, publications across the internet seemed to discover that the ancient astronaut theory is a racist, groundless bit of pseudoscience. The Awl ran a piece on why Ancient Aliens is “everything wrong with America,” while South Africa’s Mail & Guardian offered criticism of how racism drives the push to ascribe Africa’s archaeology to Europeans or even space aliens. While the articles are good, if superficial, I was amazed at how much play both got across Internet, with skeptical organizations trumpeting them as though they were a revelation. No offense, but I’ve literally been writing the same thing nearly every day without any recognition, and I am hardly the first to have made the point. It would be nice if the defenders of science and reason would get as interested in the details of the claims they like to dispute as they do the superficial act of opposing them ideologically.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of September 18-24:
- Jacques Vallée Discusses UFO Isotope Ratios and the Nature of Reality on Grimerica
- Former Head of Texas Board of Education Claims Greek Myths Are Really Misunderstood Bible Stories
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 14 • October 1, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
We’ve seen recently the unusual spectacle of fringe figures becoming explicit and open about the pecuniary motivation behind their dubious quests for truth. Nephilim theorist L. A. Marzulli went on a lengthy rant about the obscure and, for his radio listeners, irrelevant issue of YouTube declining to authorize advertising payments for videos that include content related to sensitive topics such as terrorism. Marzulli wants to get paid to talk about Nephilim, Satan, and “radical Islamic terror” and is quite open about his belief that he deserves, essentially, free money. Scott Wolter told a radio show that he won’t reveal his “proof” that the Templars colonized America until someone gives him another TV show. The characters behind the Roswell Slides alien photo hoax also claimed that money was a motivating factor behind the hoax. It’s almost as if there are now so many people playing in the fringe pool that they are dividing the cash too many ways and are each getting desperate to squeeze more dollars out of a generally static amount of audience spending.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of September 25-October 1:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 14 • October 1, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
We’ve seen recently the unusual spectacle of fringe figures becoming explicit and open about the pecuniary motivation behind their dubious quests for truth. Nephilim theorist L. A. Marzulli went on a lengthy rant about the obscure and, for his radio listeners, irrelevant issue of YouTube declining to authorize advertising payments for videos that include content related to sensitive topics such as terrorism. Marzulli wants to get paid to talk about Nephilim, Satan, and “radical Islamic terror” and is quite open about his belief that he deserves, essentially, free money. Scott Wolter told a radio show that he won’t reveal his “proof” that the Templars colonized America until someone gives him another TV show. The characters behind the Roswell Slides alien photo hoax also claimed that money was a motivating factor behind the hoax. It’s almost as if there are now so many people playing in the fringe pool that they are dividing the cash too many ways and are each getting desperate to squeeze more dollars out of a generally static amount of audience spending.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of September 25-October 1:
- Attack of the Nephilim! Skeptic Takes on Graham Hancock's Watchers, While Jim Vieira Explores Psychic Connections to Giants
- Jason Reza Jorjani’s Efforts to Expand Alt-Right to the Alt-White End in Predictable, but Satisfying, Failure
- The Final Episode of MTV’s Teen Wolf Brings to an End the Twilight Era
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 15 • October 8, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week Josh Gates of Expedition Unknown confessed that his interest in mysteries stems from childhood experiences with science fiction, while Michael Shermer used an example from science fiction as a moral allegory in arguing, oxymoronically, that only he, a non-believer in aliens and angels alike, resists the impulse to understand the world through religious allegory and belief. This theme of science fiction as the prism through which the irreligious experience transcendence showed up again on Saturday when Adam Savage of Mythbusters claimed that to consume science fiction is to experience the divine. “I’m not positive that literature could satisfy that deep need for the transcendent, but I hope it can, because for me it really has,” Savage said. I wrote long ago that the cosmic passages of The Cal of Cthulhu and At the Mountains of Madness were the closest I had ever come to feeling the power that others attribute to holy scripture, so I understand the feeling.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 2-8:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 15 • October 8, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week Josh Gates of Expedition Unknown confessed that his interest in mysteries stems from childhood experiences with science fiction, while Michael Shermer used an example from science fiction as a moral allegory in arguing, oxymoronically, that only he, a non-believer in aliens and angels alike, resists the impulse to understand the world through religious allegory and belief. This theme of science fiction as the prism through which the irreligious experience transcendence showed up again on Saturday when Adam Savage of Mythbusters claimed that to consume science fiction is to experience the divine. “I’m not positive that literature could satisfy that deep need for the transcendent, but I hope it can, because for me it really has,” Savage said. I wrote long ago that the cosmic passages of The Cal of Cthulhu and At the Mountains of Madness were the closest I had ever come to feeling the power that others attribute to holy scripture, so I understand the feeling.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 2-8:
- The 1884 “Exposure at Vienna”: The (Re-)Debunking of a Notorious Medium
- Review of Expedition Unknown: Hunt for Extraterrestrials Episode 1
- Is There a Conspiracy to Murder Ufologists? Math Suggests Not
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 16 • October 15, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This was a depressing week in the world of fringe history. On the same day this week, Travel Channel host Josh Gates went full-on ancient astronaut theorist, all but endorsing the claim that space aliens influenced early human cultures, while Chapman University released a new survey that found believe in ancient astronauts has now reached 35% of Americans, with belief in Atlantis now achieving majority status, with 55% of Americans claiming to think a lost advanced civilization existed in deep prehistory. It’s hard not to draw a line between the slow-motion collapse of serious history on cable TV (at least outside the ultra-specialized digital-tier channels like Smithsonian) and the rise of pseudohistory beliefs. What, really, can we expect when there are no other voices in the media but lunatics, and when bat-shit crazy things happen, like Tom DeLonge’s launch of a “perpetual funding machine” for UFO studies that just happens to give him a huge annual payout, barely a skeptical voice is heard as he goes laughing all the way to the bank?
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 9-15:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 16 • October 15, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This was a depressing week in the world of fringe history. On the same day this week, Travel Channel host Josh Gates went full-on ancient astronaut theorist, all but endorsing the claim that space aliens influenced early human cultures, while Chapman University released a new survey that found believe in ancient astronauts has now reached 35% of Americans, with belief in Atlantis now achieving majority status, with 55% of Americans claiming to think a lost advanced civilization existed in deep prehistory. It’s hard not to draw a line between the slow-motion collapse of serious history on cable TV (at least outside the ultra-specialized digital-tier channels like Smithsonian) and the rise of pseudohistory beliefs. What, really, can we expect when there are no other voices in the media but lunatics, and when bat-shit crazy things happen, like Tom DeLonge’s launch of a “perpetual funding machine” for UFO studies that just happens to give him a huge annual payout, barely a skeptical voice is heard as he goes laughing all the way to the bank?
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 9-15:
- Not Quite a “UFO IPO”: Tom DeLonge Is Seeking Your Investment in “To the Stars” to Give Himself a $700,000 or More Payday
- Review of Expedition Unknown: Hunt for Extraterrestrials Episode 2 & After Show
- Chapman University Survey Finds Majority of Americans Now Believe in Ancient Advanced Civilization, While a Third Believe in Ancient Astronauts
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 17 • October 22, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
After the launch of Tom DeLonge’s “To the Stars” company, ufological researchers seem to have woken up to the fact that the organization is structured, essentially, as a money-making scheme funneling cash back to DeLonge. A number of web articles and blog posts in UFO circles warned readers about giving money to a company that is already on the hook to pay DeLonge $1.3 million, $600,000 in loan repayments and $700,000 in royalties, on top of additional financial obligations. Meanwhile L. A. Marzulli is continuing his weeks-long vendetta against YouTube for not letting him monetize his hate-filled videos, and Expedition Unknown host Josh Gates tried to cash in this week on some of that sweet, sweet UFO money by appearing on fringe programs ranging from Jimmy Church’s radio show to Coast to Coast A.M. to sell out his Travel Channel TV show to the true believer audience the network has hitherto only obliquely courted. Basically, the veneer is coming off the fringe industry, and their money-grubbing is showing through.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 16-22:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 17 • October 22, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
After the launch of Tom DeLonge’s “To the Stars” company, ufological researchers seem to have woken up to the fact that the organization is structured, essentially, as a money-making scheme funneling cash back to DeLonge. A number of web articles and blog posts in UFO circles warned readers about giving money to a company that is already on the hook to pay DeLonge $1.3 million, $600,000 in loan repayments and $700,000 in royalties, on top of additional financial obligations. Meanwhile L. A. Marzulli is continuing his weeks-long vendetta against YouTube for not letting him monetize his hate-filled videos, and Expedition Unknown host Josh Gates tried to cash in this week on some of that sweet, sweet UFO money by appearing on fringe programs ranging from Jimmy Church’s radio show to Coast to Coast A.M. to sell out his Travel Channel TV show to the true believer audience the network has hitherto only obliquely courted. Basically, the veneer is coming off the fringe industry, and their money-grubbing is showing through.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 16-22:
- The Crown Prince and the Egyptologist
- Josh Gates Walks Back Endorsement of Ancient Astronaut Theory, But Claims Ancient Achievements Cannot Be Explained
- The Predynastic Sphinx: How Gaston Maspero Launched an Article of Fringe Faith
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 18 • October 29, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week certainly won’t go down in the history books as having changed any paradigms, but we did see Josh Gates try and fail to find space aliens, Micah Hanks try and fail to investigate anomalies in ancient history, and two popular biographers fail at spinning a wild conspiracy about Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria’s 1889 suicide. So, basically, it was a week of failure capped off with Tom DeLonge’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast to discuss his new for-profit space exploration and science fiction production company. DeLonge reiterated his claim that he has secret knowledge that he won’t share until after he’s milked all the money he can out of UFOs. So much failure becomes exhausting.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 23-29:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 18 • October 29, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week certainly won’t go down in the history books as having changed any paradigms, but we did see Josh Gates try and fail to find space aliens, Micah Hanks try and fail to investigate anomalies in ancient history, and two popular biographers fail at spinning a wild conspiracy about Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria’s 1889 suicide. So, basically, it was a week of failure capped off with Tom DeLonge’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast to discuss his new for-profit space exploration and science fiction production company. DeLonge reiterated his claim that he has secret knowledge that he won’t share until after he’s milked all the money he can out of UFOs. So much failure becomes exhausting.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 23-29:
- Micah Hanks Bungles Search for Pre-Columbian Elephants, Accidentally Leads Me to Fascinating Mexican Investigation of a “Giant’s” Bones
- Review of the Finale of Expedition Unknown: Hunt for Extraterrestrials
- Review of Twilight of Empire: The Tragedy at Mayerling and the End of the Habsburgs by Greg King and Penny Wilson
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 19 • November 5, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week’s big news was the discovery of a large void in the Great Pyramid at Giza, one located with the aid of cosmic rays. At the moment, no one knows whether this is an intentionally constructed chamber for the concealment of objects, or whether it is an architectural curiosity of either functional or accidental origin. Naturally, there has already been speculation about what Atlantean or alien secrets it may hold, but if past performance is any indication of future results, it will probably turn out to be empty, like every other chamber in the Giza pyramids. We can always hope for something more exciting!
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 30-November 5:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 19 • November 5, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week’s big news was the discovery of a large void in the Great Pyramid at Giza, one located with the aid of cosmic rays. At the moment, no one knows whether this is an intentionally constructed chamber for the concealment of objects, or whether it is an architectural curiosity of either functional or accidental origin. Naturally, there has already been speculation about what Atlantean or alien secrets it may hold, but if past performance is any indication of future results, it will probably turn out to be empty, like every other chamber in the Giza pyramids. We can always hope for something more exciting!
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of October 30-November 5:
- Tom DeLonge Appears on Joe Rogan's Podcast to Talk UFO Truth, But Instead Admits His “Secret” Knowledge Comes from Old Paperback UFO Books
- Juan Ponce de Leon and the Overton Stone of Nova Scotia: What's in a Name?
- The Origins of the “Hungarian Conspiracy” of 1889; or, the Freemasons at Mayerling
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 20 • November 12, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Well, maybe “busy” is a bit of an exaggeration. Frankly, it was a slow week in fringe history, and the big developments didn’t actually make much of an impact. It was the week of preaching to the choir. Curse of Oak Island returned to nearly 3 million viewers, but because these were the same viewers from past years, it resulted in virtually no impact on pop culture. Erich von Däniken released a new book, but because the publisher did not make it available for review, it, too, passed beneath the radar except among hardcore Ancient Aliens super-fans.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of November 6-12:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 20 • November 12, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Well, maybe “busy” is a bit of an exaggeration. Frankly, it was a slow week in fringe history, and the big developments didn’t actually make much of an impact. It was the week of preaching to the choir. Curse of Oak Island returned to nearly 3 million viewers, but because these were the same viewers from past years, it resulted in virtually no impact on pop culture. Erich von Däniken released a new book, but because the publisher did not make it available for review, it, too, passed beneath the radar except among hardcore Ancient Aliens super-fans.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of November 6-12:
- The Habsburgs and the Freemasons: The Making of a Templar Conspiracy
- Daily Mail Suggest That Nan Madol Offers Evidence for Atlantis
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 21 • November 19, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Most of the busyness in the world of fringe history this week revolved around The Curse of Oak Island, which made news on three fronts. First, the show received record ratings of 3 million viewers for its return, making it the flagship of fringe in a much-diminished age. Second, the History channel indicated that it would renew the series for more seasons, guaranteeing that the Lagina brothers will not find anything definitive until their contracts run out. Third, producers of the program teased radio listeners during an appearance last week that they would announce “proof’ of a Templar presence on Oak Island. But since it the tease was only a wink and a claim that they could say nothing about Templar proof, it’s almost certainly just puffs of hot air to sustain the show’s current ratings position, one gained in large measure by being the only new fringe history option for its TV audience. Don’t hold your breath for any real proof of a Templar presence.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of November 13-19:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 21 • November 19, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Most of the busyness in the world of fringe history this week revolved around The Curse of Oak Island, which made news on three fronts. First, the show received record ratings of 3 million viewers for its return, making it the flagship of fringe in a much-diminished age. Second, the History channel indicated that it would renew the series for more seasons, guaranteeing that the Lagina brothers will not find anything definitive until their contracts run out. Third, producers of the program teased radio listeners during an appearance last week that they would announce “proof’ of a Templar presence on Oak Island. But since it the tease was only a wink and a claim that they could say nothing about Templar proof, it’s almost certainly just puffs of hot air to sustain the show’s current ratings position, one gained in large measure by being the only new fringe history option for its TV audience. Don’t hold your breath for any real proof of a Templar presence.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of November 13-19:
- S. T. Joshi Is Feuding Over Lovecraft and Racism Again
- Italian Archaeologist Claims That the Trojan Horse Was Really the Trojan Boat
- Remembering the Animated Count Duckula Series
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 22 • November 26, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I hope all of you in the United States had a happy Thanksgiving and enjoyed the holiday. This week Career Press published Erich von Däniken’s latest book, which billed itself as the sequel to Chariots of the Gods, fifty years after the fact. It wasn’t, really, not any more than any of the other books he has written. I reviewed the book this week, and needless to say, I wasn’t impressed.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of November 20-26:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 22 • November 26, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I hope all of you in the United States had a happy Thanksgiving and enjoyed the holiday. This week Career Press published Erich von Däniken’s latest book, which billed itself as the sequel to Chariots of the Gods, fifty years after the fact. It wasn’t, really, not any more than any of the other books he has written. I reviewed the book this week, and needless to say, I wasn’t impressed.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of November 20-26:
- Review of The Gods Never Left Us by Erich von Däniken
- Rice University Religious Studies Scholar Claims Renaissance Painting Shows Unknowable UFO Mystery Beyond Human Knowledge
- Indian Newspaper Calls Out Nationalists for Using Fake History and Ancient Astronauts to Push Right-Wing Agenda
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 23 • December 3, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
It’s always nice to be recognized, I guess. On November 26, the Anomalist offered me a bit of praise in citing my report of November 21 about the religious studies professor who though he found evidence of unexplainable UFO mysteries in a Renaissance painting. “Despite Jason Colavito being more prickly than a New Hampshire Free Stater, he does have more points than a porcupine.” I’m not sure “more points than a porcupine” will go on my family crest, but there you have it!
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of November 27-December 3:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 23 • December 3, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
It’s always nice to be recognized, I guess. On November 26, the Anomalist offered me a bit of praise in citing my report of November 21 about the religious studies professor who though he found evidence of unexplainable UFO mysteries in a Renaissance painting. “Despite Jason Colavito being more prickly than a New Hampshire Free Stater, he does have more points than a porcupine.” I’m not sure “more points than a porcupine” will go on my family crest, but there you have it!
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of November 27-December 3:
- Swedish Scholar Finds New Evidence that the Kensington Runestone Uses 19th Century Runes
- Happening Now in “Who Really Built That?” Templars at the Newport Tower, a Lost Ice Age Civilization at Giza, and Australian Aborigines at Göbekli Tepe
- Review of Discovering the Mammoth by John J. McKay
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 24 • December 10, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week the History channel debuted its new Knights Templar TV series, Knightfall, a drama in which the knights are involved in a conspiracy involving the Holy Grail. The network’s head of programming had high hopes for the show, arguing that it was a brand extension of their nonfiction Templar conspiracy shows. When the cable ratings came in, the program attracted 1.77 million viewers, slightly more than Syfy’s Happy in the same timeslot, and four times the number watching Mr. Robot. However, observers quickly noted that Knightfall lost almost a quarter of its Vikings lead in, and its viewership, as one publication put it, “skews extremely old.” Almost two-thirds of viewers were over the age of 50.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of December 4-10:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 24 • December 10, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week the History channel debuted its new Knights Templar TV series, Knightfall, a drama in which the knights are involved in a conspiracy involving the Holy Grail. The network’s head of programming had high hopes for the show, arguing that it was a brand extension of their nonfiction Templar conspiracy shows. When the cable ratings came in, the program attracted 1.77 million viewers, slightly more than Syfy’s Happy in the same timeslot, and four times the number watching Mr. Robot. However, observers quickly noted that Knightfall lost almost a quarter of its Vikings lead in, and its viewership, as one publication put it, “skews extremely old.” Almost two-thirds of viewers were over the age of 50.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of December 4-10:
- Erich von Däniken Makes Podcast Appearance, Promotes Gaia TV Show, Decries Efforts to Start an Ancient Astronaut Cult
- History Channel Executive Boasts: Templar and Alien Conspiracy Shows “Continually Worked for Us,” Will Inspire More of the Same
- Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Conducts Fawning Interview with Graham Hancock
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 11 • Issue 25 • December 17, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of December 11-17:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 11 • Issue 25 • December 17, 2017 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
- As we move into the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, I’m taking my traditional week off from writing a newsletter. Due to a calendrical quirk, this doesn’t quite work out perfectly for freeing me up for the holidays like most years, so my next newsletter will theoretically come out on New Year’s Eve. We’ll see if I can manage that! I will continue to update my blog throughout the holidays, so be sure to check in frequently for the latest posts!
- As you prepare for the holiday season, however, be sure to think about whether someone in your life might enjoy a book or two from my long list of books. Overnight shipping will get the book to you in time for Christmas, and most have e-book versions for instant download! My books also are the perfect way to use that Amazon gift card you know you’re getting in your stocking…
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of December 11-17:
- Help Support My Website with Your Contribution This Holiday Season
- South African Philosophy Professor Endorses Graham Hancock's Lost Civilization, Demands Paradigm Shift in Archaeology
- Graham Hancock Endorses Book about Lost “Megalithic” Culture of North America
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• JasonColavito@outlook.com • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
