Volume 17 Archive
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 1 • June 28, 2020 •
It’s been a busy few weeks in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
On Friday, the American Anthropological Association issued a non-apology apology for the March 2020 issue of their journal, American Anthropologist, whose covered featured an archival photo of Margaret Mead with the severed heads of native Papuans. The AAA said that the cover image was meant to be “palpably ironic” because the journal’s content involved a deconstruction of anthropology’s historical role in fostering white supremacy. Their tone-deaf non-apology showed a deep lack of awareness of how media are perceived (they didn’t realize some people might look at the cover without reading the journal), a lack of respect for the dead whose remains appeared on the cover (they needed to read essay to learn why that was bad!), and a generally unpleasant attitude that serious subjects should be greeting with irony and archness rather than gravity.
On the Blog
Since my newsletter was on vacation, I have two weeks of posts to share. In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of June 15-28:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 1 • June 28, 2020 •
It’s been a busy few weeks in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
On Friday, the American Anthropological Association issued a non-apology apology for the March 2020 issue of their journal, American Anthropologist, whose covered featured an archival photo of Margaret Mead with the severed heads of native Papuans. The AAA said that the cover image was meant to be “palpably ironic” because the journal’s content involved a deconstruction of anthropology’s historical role in fostering white supremacy. Their tone-deaf non-apology showed a deep lack of awareness of how media are perceived (they didn’t realize some people might look at the cover without reading the journal), a lack of respect for the dead whose remains appeared on the cover (they needed to read essay to learn why that was bad!), and a generally unpleasant attitude that serious subjects should be greeting with irony and archness rather than gravity.
On the Blog
Since my newsletter was on vacation, I have two weeks of posts to share. In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of June 15-28:
- Review of Forbidden History S06E11: “Secrets of the Salem Witches”
- “To the Stars” Claims Credit for UFO Reporting Requirement in Authorization Bill
- Ambrose Bierce and the Myth of the Simurgh
- Review of Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone, Season 2: Another Bad Trip
- Mike Nelson Apologizes for Offensive Podcast; Plus, a Review of Love, Victor
- Review of The Politician Season 2: Retconning Away the Gay
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 2 • July 5, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
We saw a bit of an uptick in UFO and pseudohistory news this week, led by the History Channel, which is beginning its promotional push for the upcoming new season of Unidentified, set to begin July 11. History also began releasing full episodes of some of its back catalog in YouTube as an enticement to buy streaming access. That’s why they started promoting America Unearthed again, five years after canceling it. The week ended with Graham Hancock promoting the work of Bruce Fenton claiming that humans are alien hybrids. It was that kind of week.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of June 29-July 5:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 2 • July 5, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
We saw a bit of an uptick in UFO and pseudohistory news this week, led by the History Channel, which is beginning its promotional push for the upcoming new season of Unidentified, set to begin July 11. History also began releasing full episodes of some of its back catalog in YouTube as an enticement to buy streaming access. That’s why they started promoting America Unearthed again, five years after canceling it. The week ended with Graham Hancock promoting the work of Bruce Fenton claiming that humans are alien hybrids. It was that kind of week.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of June 29-July 5:
- Rebel without a Cause and the Flying Saucers: On Seeing vs. Believing in Midcentury America
- Tom DeLonge Says He Won’t Share UFO Secrets Out of Respect for Government
- Scott Wolter Claims Texas Stones Document Colonization by Crypto-Jews
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 3 • July 12, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I have been producing this newsletter for more than eight years, and I am not entirely certain that there is much of a point in continuing. Currently, the newsletter has fewer readers than my Twitter feed has followers, and for the month of June, the links included in my newsletter generated 13 clicks. That’s not per newsletter; that’s the total number for the entire month of June. Given the lack of engagement and small audience size, I am seriously considering putting an end to the newsletter, or at least scaling it back to biweekly or monthly instead of weekly.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 6-12:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 3 • July 12, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
I have been producing this newsletter for more than eight years, and I am not entirely certain that there is much of a point in continuing. Currently, the newsletter has fewer readers than my Twitter feed has followers, and for the month of June, the links included in my newsletter generated 13 clicks. That’s not per newsletter; that’s the total number for the entire month of June. Given the lack of engagement and small audience size, I am seriously considering putting an end to the newsletter, or at least scaling it back to biweekly or monthly instead of weekly.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 6-12:
- Bruce Fenton Thinks Aboriginal Australians Have Sacred Alien A.I. Probes
- The Ireland-as-Atlantis Crew Are Back, Now with Alleged Egyptian “Evidence”
- Review of Warrior Nun (Netflix), a Tepid Buffy Rip-Off
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 4 • July 19, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week I announced that I will be cutting back on my blog due to historically low readership. In years past, tens of thousands read each of my blog posts. Today, that number hovers between 300 and 500 page views for a new blog post on any given day, and sometimes less. At least some of those are repeat visits from the same readers, so the actual number of readers is smaller. Only two new posts in the past month have cracked one thousand page views, and each of those took two weeks or more to do so. As a result, I will be posting perhaps twice per week rather than five times so I can focus more on my book projects, including final work on Legends of the Pyramids, trying to get my novel published, and developing a book proposal for my new book on the moral panics over communists, gays, and UFOs that began in the summer of 1947.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 13-19:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 4 • July 19, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week I announced that I will be cutting back on my blog due to historically low readership. In years past, tens of thousands read each of my blog posts. Today, that number hovers between 300 and 500 page views for a new blog post on any given day, and sometimes less. At least some of those are repeat visits from the same readers, so the actual number of readers is smaller. Only two new posts in the past month have cracked one thousand page views, and each of those took two weeks or more to do so. As a result, I will be posting perhaps twice per week rather than five times so I can focus more on my book projects, including final work on Legends of the Pyramids, trying to get my novel published, and developing a book proposal for my new book on the moral panics over communists, gays, and UFOs that began in the summer of 1947.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 13-19:
- Upcoming Changes to This Blog
- MUFON Executive Director Arrested on Child Solicitation Charges
- James Dean, Ancient Astronaut Theorist?
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 5 • July 26, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
The close of this week saw the New York Times publish a highly-anticipated article on UFOs, only to immediately retract its most important claim, that former U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) had claimed to have evidence that the government retrieved and studied vehicles from another world that had crashed on Earth. Reid vociferously denied making the claim, and the Times issued additional corrections as Ralph Blumenthal’s and Leslie Kean’s reporting on the subject was revealed to have a number of errors. Blumenthal, for his part, took to the online comments to claim to be investigating online documents alleging that a military official had confirmed that the Roswell incident involved a crashed flying saucer. It’s all utter madness, and it is sad to see the country’s most respected newspaper going to bat for To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science by interviewing its employees and associates and passing off their profitable piffle as revelations.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 20-26:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 5 • July 26, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
The close of this week saw the New York Times publish a highly-anticipated article on UFOs, only to immediately retract its most important claim, that former U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) had claimed to have evidence that the government retrieved and studied vehicles from another world that had crashed on Earth. Reid vociferously denied making the claim, and the Times issued additional corrections as Ralph Blumenthal’s and Leslie Kean’s reporting on the subject was revealed to have a number of errors. Blumenthal, for his part, took to the online comments to claim to be investigating online documents alleging that a military official had confirmed that the Roswell incident involved a crashed flying saucer. It’s all utter madness, and it is sad to see the country’s most respected newspaper going to bat for To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science by interviewing its employees and associates and passing off their profitable piffle as revelations.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 20-26:
- Corey Goode Claims Trump Knows Roswell Was Really Future U.S. Time Travelers
- Marco Rubio Distracts Media with Hot Air About UFOs
- New York Times Correction: Oops! U.S. Didn’t Really Recover Crashed Flying Saucer
- Remembering Young Americans Twenty Years Later
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 6 • August 2, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week saw an avalanche of news about the world of the paranormal, pseudoscientific, and fantastical drop on Friday, of no particularly good import since it all came in the same week that the New York Times tried to defend its sloppy, biased UFO coverage and the president endorsed the work of a doctor who believes people have sex with demons and the government is run by Reptilians. It’s weird that every time I propose a book or an article that touches on any of these themes, the “serious” literary types turn up their noses and complain that it is unserious and unimportant, and yet here it is affecting national discourse. Sure, I’m the one who’s unserious and undignified for recognizing what is actually happening in the world around us.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 27-August 2:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 6 • August 2, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week saw an avalanche of news about the world of the paranormal, pseudoscientific, and fantastical drop on Friday, of no particularly good import since it all came in the same week that the New York Times tried to defend its sloppy, biased UFO coverage and the president endorsed the work of a doctor who believes people have sex with demons and the government is run by Reptilians. It’s weird that every time I propose a book or an article that touches on any of these themes, the “serious” literary types turn up their noses and complain that it is unserious and unimportant, and yet here it is affecting national discourse. Sure, I’m the one who’s unserious and undignified for recognizing what is actually happening in the world around us.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of July 27-August 2:
- Weekend Omnibus: Younger Dryas Volcano, Elon Musk’s Ancient Astronaut Tweet, Steve Quayle’s Plagiarism, and More!
- Trump's “Alien DNA” Doctor; Plus: NY Times Reporters Get Defensive Over UFOs
- Review of Day 13 (2020)
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 7 • August 9, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This past week, Tom DeLonge took to Twitter to say that ancient texts reveal a “common grouping of patterns” that say powers beyond our ken are using “control mechanisms” that we can’t understand to manipulate reality. It was that kind of week. DeLonge’s statements are ripped right from a Jacques Vallée book, and it is extremely doubtful that he read the ancient texts he claims support his paranoid supernatural vision. As it happens, I have read them, many in the original, and they say no such thing. There are certainly patterns, but of influence from Indo-European and Near Eastern ideas, not of “control mechanisms.” He needs to try reading outside UFO literature.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 3-9:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 7 • August 9, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This past week, Tom DeLonge took to Twitter to say that ancient texts reveal a “common grouping of patterns” that say powers beyond our ken are using “control mechanisms” that we can’t understand to manipulate reality. It was that kind of week. DeLonge’s statements are ripped right from a Jacques Vallée book, and it is extremely doubtful that he read the ancient texts he claims support his paranoid supernatural vision. As it happens, I have read them, many in the original, and they say no such thing. There are certainly patterns, but of influence from Indo-European and Near Eastern ideas, not of “control mechanisms.” He needs to try reading outside UFO literature.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 3-9:
- Donald Trump Says He’ll Be “Totally Guided” by “UFO Expert” Lou Dobbs
- Uncanny Parallels: UFO Culture and the James Dean Death Cult
- When Vampira Feuded with James Dean Over “Satanic Forces”
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 8 • August 16, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, the Pentagon announced the creation of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force to be led by the U.S. Navy with the intention of investigating claims by military servicemembers to have witnessed strange objects in the sky. Although the announcement has no implication for the existence of alien spaceships—since anything can be unidentified before you know what it is—UFO believers greeted the Friday news dump with excitement, like Charlie Brown with a football, assuming that this time Lucy was going to get to the bottom of the alien/space ghost menace.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 10-16:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 8 • August 16, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, the Pentagon announced the creation of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force to be led by the U.S. Navy with the intention of investigating claims by military servicemembers to have witnessed strange objects in the sky. Although the announcement has no implication for the existence of alien spaceships—since anything can be unidentified before you know what it is—UFO believers greeted the Friday news dump with excitement, like Charlie Brown with a football, assuming that this time Lucy was going to get to the bottom of the alien/space ghost menace.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 10-16:
- Unidentified Ratings Remain Sluggish; Plus: An Update on My Book Research
- The New Republic Runs Lengthy Piece Puzzling Over “To the Stars”
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 9 • August 23, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week Luis Elizondo of To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science and Unidentified joined Twitter and began teasing upcoming revelations about flying saucers and the potential for a multiplicity of “mankinds,” whatever that is supposed to mean. These teases come so regularly that they are part and parcel of TTSA’s brand, and yet nothing ever comes of them. “As a team, we are formidable,” he wrote, “but as an army, we are unstoppable!” Blech. As I wrote in response, “If he truly had real UFO information and honestly believed its importance worth risking soul and sanity, he could end the burlesque dance by spitting it out, consequences be damned. TTSA shouldn't be the world’s most expensive OnlyFans account.”
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 17-23:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 9 • August 23, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week Luis Elizondo of To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science and Unidentified joined Twitter and began teasing upcoming revelations about flying saucers and the potential for a multiplicity of “mankinds,” whatever that is supposed to mean. These teases come so regularly that they are part and parcel of TTSA’s brand, and yet nothing ever comes of them. “As a team, we are formidable,” he wrote, “but as an army, we are unstoppable!” Blech. As I wrote in response, “If he truly had real UFO information and honestly believed its importance worth risking soul and sanity, he could end the burlesque dance by spitting it out, consequences be damned. TTSA shouldn't be the world’s most expensive OnlyFans account.”
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 17-23:
- I’m Quoted in Britain’s The Telegraph Discussing Lovecraft and Scientology
- Q-Anon Stealth Aesthetics Infiltrate Instagram Influencers
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 10 • August 30, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
A few days after a state legislator in Washington State refused to apologize for promoting a conspiracy theory that Reptilian-human hybrids were kidnapping children for demon sex orgies, the originator of the Reptilian conspiracy theory, David Icke, led a group of more than 10,000 anti-mask protestors on a march in London to assert that COVID-19 is a hoax led by Bill Gates and a globalist cabal. Basically, every one of the worst fears raised by those of us who saw the dangers of alien/ancient mysteries conspiracy theorists have come to pass, and yet the public intellectuals and media elites still consider it just wacky fun, even as the conspiracy theorists’ deadly fantasies threaten the world.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 24-30:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 10 • August 30, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
A few days after a state legislator in Washington State refused to apologize for promoting a conspiracy theory that Reptilian-human hybrids were kidnapping children for demon sex orgies, the originator of the Reptilian conspiracy theory, David Icke, led a group of more than 10,000 anti-mask protestors on a march in London to assert that COVID-19 is a hoax led by Bill Gates and a globalist cabal. Basically, every one of the worst fears raised by those of us who saw the dangers of alien/ancient mysteries conspiracy theorists have come to pass, and yet the public intellectuals and media elites still consider it just wacky fun, even as the conspiracy theorists’ deadly fantasies threaten the world.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 24-30:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 11 • September 6, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, a team of German researchers presented evidence that the famous Nebra Sky Disc was not, as previously believed, Bronze Age in origin but rather is a thousand years younger, from the Iron Age. The shocking claim stood primarily on stylistic grounds, with supporting claims about other pieces believed to be part of the same assemblage of artifacts not actually belonging with the sky disc. The claim was quickly debunked with compelling arguments that the researchers didn’t know what they were talking about.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 31-September 6:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 11 • September 6, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week, a team of German researchers presented evidence that the famous Nebra Sky Disc was not, as previously believed, Bronze Age in origin but rather is a thousand years younger, from the Iron Age. The shocking claim stood primarily on stylistic grounds, with supporting claims about other pieces believed to be part of the same assemblage of artifacts not actually belonging with the sky disc. The claim was quickly debunked with compelling arguments that the researchers didn’t know what they were talking about.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of August 31-September 6:
- Did Lucian Parody the Book of Revelation in His Satirical True History?
- I Discussed Victorian-Era Homosexuality with Naomi Wolf
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 12 • September 13, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Well, it was a busy week for me, anyway, but mostly because I am writing my new book, though for what reason I can’t fathom since no literary agent or publisher has yet to answer a query. Otherwise, this was a remarkably quiet week for UFO and ancient mysteries types. Even the normally garrulous Tom DeLonge retreated back into his hole and said nothing about space aliens or interdimensional beings all week. It’s rather astounding how he clams up as soon as his TV show’s finale airs and he doesn’t have a current product to push.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 7-13:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 12 • September 13, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Well, it was a busy week for me, anyway, but mostly because I am writing my new book, though for what reason I can’t fathom since no literary agent or publisher has yet to answer a query. Otherwise, this was a remarkably quiet week for UFO and ancient mysteries types. Even the normally garrulous Tom DeLonge retreated back into his hole and said nothing about space aliens or interdimensional beings all week. It’s rather astounding how he clams up as soon as his TV show’s finale airs and he doesn’t have a current product to push.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 7-13:
- Time Magazine Wonders Where Voters’ Demon Pedophile Fears Come From
- New Book Update: Finding Weird Things in Old FBI Files
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 13 • September 20, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
It is getting to be depressingly familiar when Tom DeLonge spouts off about ancient astronauts and other ridiculous ideas. In the Guardian this week, DeLonge claimed that he and To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science helped prepare briefing materials for the Trump White House on UFO matters. He claims that military officials have prevented presidents from disclosing more because the Pentagon is “trying to keep civilization duct-taped together.” He then blathered on about the Star of Bethlehem being an alien spacecraft and that “the ancient texts” mistake space aliens for God. Oh, if only he had been able to share that with Trump. Imagine the conversation that would have followed. It would be like when two A.I. bots get into a nonsense loop mimicking human speech to each other.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 14-20:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 13 • September 20, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
It is getting to be depressingly familiar when Tom DeLonge spouts off about ancient astronauts and other ridiculous ideas. In the Guardian this week, DeLonge claimed that he and To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science helped prepare briefing materials for the Trump White House on UFO matters. He claims that military officials have prevented presidents from disclosing more because the Pentagon is “trying to keep civilization duct-taped together.” He then blathered on about the Star of Bethlehem being an alien spacecraft and that “the ancient texts” mistake space aliens for God. Oh, if only he had been able to share that with Trump. Imagine the conversation that would have followed. It would be like when two A.I. bots get into a nonsense loop mimicking human speech to each other.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 14-20:
- Thinking about J. Allen Hynek’s Fraternity Days and Ufology's Masculinity Question
- Scott Wolter Blasts History Channel in New Interview: “I Don’t Trust Them!”
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 14 • September 27, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
New Page Books strikes again. The occult and conspiracy publisher has just put out a new book by Nick Redfern claiming that Mars is chock-a-block with ancient, advanced life. As Redfern put it in a promotional article this weekend, “As I demonstrate, Mars is absolutely teeming with life; both flora and fauna, no less. Some of that life is highly advanced and incredibly old.” His argument is not wholly dissimilar to Graham Hancock’s in The Mars Mystery two decades ago, but with less belief in a conspiracy by NASA to hide Martians. Instead, he places the conspiracy in the hands of the CIA and other “shadowy” agencies supposedly interested in Martians. In other words, it’s more of the same material we’ve seen cycle through similar books at least since Richard Hoagland.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 21-27:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 14 • September 27, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
New Page Books strikes again. The occult and conspiracy publisher has just put out a new book by Nick Redfern claiming that Mars is chock-a-block with ancient, advanced life. As Redfern put it in a promotional article this weekend, “As I demonstrate, Mars is absolutely teeming with life; both flora and fauna, no less. Some of that life is highly advanced and incredibly old.” His argument is not wholly dissimilar to Graham Hancock’s in The Mars Mystery two decades ago, but with less belief in a conspiracy by NASA to hide Martians. Instead, he places the conspiracy in the hands of the CIA and other “shadowy” agencies supposedly interested in Martians. In other words, it’s more of the same material we’ve seen cycle through similar books at least since Richard Hoagland.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 21-27:
- Review of War of the Gods by Erich von Däniken
- Forgotten History: The Strange Impact of the Reuben L. Revens Trial
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 15 • October 4, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week saw the death of Ancient Aliens and Curse of Oak Island producer Kevin Burns, who passed away at the age of 65. I suppose in a way I owe him a backhanded compliment. It was his decision to show my work in the Ancient Aliens pilot, turning my name blood red as diabolical music swelled and Peter Coyote sneered, that raised my profile considerably enough to be counted as an expert on ancient astronauts and other occult topics. On the other hand, doing so locked me in to a decade of being typecast as only a writer on fringe archaeology, so it was not an unalloyed boon.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 28-October 4:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 15 • October 4, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week saw the death of Ancient Aliens and Curse of Oak Island producer Kevin Burns, who passed away at the age of 65. I suppose in a way I owe him a backhanded compliment. It was his decision to show my work in the Ancient Aliens pilot, turning my name blood red as diabolical music swelled and Peter Coyote sneered, that raised my profile considerably enough to be counted as an expert on ancient astronauts and other occult topics. On the other hand, doing so locked me in to a decade of being typecast as only a writer on fringe archaeology, so it was not an unalloyed boon.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of September 28-October 4:
- Graham Hancock and Brian Muraresku Hunt Ancient Psychedelics on Joe Rogan’s Podcast
- Ancient Aliens, Oak Island Producer Kevin Burns Dead at 65
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 16 • October 11, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week a powerful storm knocked out my power and internet for several days, so most of this week was spent scrambling to find alternative ways to work while also taking care of an increasingly restless toddler. It was … an experience. Fortunately, everything started working again late Friday night.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of October 5-11:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 16 • October 11, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week a powerful storm knocked out my power and internet for several days, so most of this week was spent scrambling to find alternative ways to work while also taking care of an increasingly restless toddler. It was … an experience. Fortunately, everything started working again late Friday night.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of October 5-11:
- Classicist Disputes My Analysis of Brian Muraresku's Joe Rogan Appearance
- White House Issues Proclamation Praising Leif Erikson’s Judeo-Christian Values
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 17 • October 18, 2020 •
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 week of October 12-18:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 17 • October 18, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
- The book I am currently writing about James Dean, flying saucers, and midcentury moral panics now has a literary agent representing it to publishers. I have my fingers crossed as I hope for the best.
- This week in space alien news, Giorgio Tsoukalos took to Twitter to defend the casting of Gal Gadot as Cleopatra in an upcoming movie, wading into a controversy about representation and ancient racial identities that, frankly, are probably a bit beyond his intellectual capacity. Meanwhile, his Ancient Aliens colleague Nick Pope speculated on Twitter that Donald Trump would unleash UFO disclosure in order to win the presidential election, calling space aliens the “ultimate October surprise.” It was almost as if he were wishing for divine intervention to save Trump.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of October 12-18:
- White House Praises “Splendor” of Columbus, Blasts “Radicals” for “Bleak” History
- The Book I Am Writing Now Has an Agent
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 18 • October 25, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
As my new book grinds toward its conclusion, I’m nearing the point where I am ready to dispense with the flying saucer portion of the narrative. However, as I researched the last act in the first wave of saucer material in the 1950s, when nuts-and-bolts ufology started to give way to contactees, I was surprised to learn that the government was infiltrating UFO enthusiast groups under the theory that they were Soviet fronts bent on subversion. What made this odd is that documents cited in every ufology book clearly reference this, but the ufologists, who probe every word for hidden meanings, have been almost completely silent about it. It fascinates me how certain facts get folded into a conspiracy theory and others are entirely forgotten.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of October 19-25:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 18 • October 25, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
As my new book grinds toward its conclusion, I’m nearing the point where I am ready to dispense with the flying saucer portion of the narrative. However, as I researched the last act in the first wave of saucer material in the 1950s, when nuts-and-bolts ufology started to give way to contactees, I was surprised to learn that the government was infiltrating UFO enthusiast groups under the theory that they were Soviet fronts bent on subversion. What made this odd is that documents cited in every ufology book clearly reference this, but the ufologists, who probe every word for hidden meanings, have been almost completely silent about it. It fascinates me how certain facts get folded into a conspiracy theory and others are entirely forgotten.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of October 19-25:
- Pop Culture Roundup: Celebrity Alien Contact and “Murder House” Ghost Tours
- Police Tie Berlin Museum Artifacts Attack to Satanic Conspiracy Theory
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 19 • November 1, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 19 • November 1, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
- This week, Ozzy Osbourne promoted his Travel Channel Halloween paranormal TV show by announcing his belief that ancient Egyptian pyramids had been built in imitation of triangular UFOs. “The interesting theory behind this is it’s pyramid-shaped. What if they built a replica of what the ship looked like out of stone? So they wanted to train everybody about the fucking pyramids. It could be,” he said in a YouTube video. As odd as it sounds, his idea is an old one. The Church Fathers wrote that the pyramids were stone replicas of Noah’s Ark, which they believed was pyramid-shaped. However, Osbourne was probably just remembering the movie Stargate (1994), where the pyramids were copies of pyramidal spaceships.
- This week, I didn’t write any blog posts because I was overwhelmed with book work. The copyedited manuscript of Legends of the Pyramids came in for my review, and I have only a week to complete the revisions and corrections. My agent also sent the proposal for my James Dean / flying saucers book to a specialist for feedback and comments. The specialist, who is an editor at a major publisher, called the book a “unique, fascinating, and saleable idea” and praised the strength of my writing. She has recommendations for improvements to the proposal that I will be working on ahead of a meeting with my agent to discuss the path toward selling the book.
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 20 • November 8, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 20 • November 8, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
- My recent book The Mound Builder Myth is now available in audio book format, narrated by Charles Henderson Norman. The audio edition runs eleven hours and eight minutes. The publisher did not share the audio version with me, so I have only heard the brief sample available through Audible.com. Not being an aficionado of audio books, I cannot say whether this is typical of the narration of others. I would have preferred a more emotional reading with a greater range of vocal intonation, to match the dramatic rhythm with which I wrote. But that is just me.
- In other news, I completed my review of the edited manuscript of Legends of the Pyramids and returned it to the publisher for typesetting. I also wrote a new overview for my James Dean/flying saucer book proposal and am waiting for my agent's office to finish their review to see if I hit the mark for a more personal and passionate case for the book. I hope to hear back on final changes this weekend.
- While I am working on book projects, I have not been blogging. I hope things will start to even out a bit more now that I have one of the two books set aside for the time being.
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 21 • November 15, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
The History Channel’s stable of pseudohistory programs has been off the air since the pandemic struck back in the spring, but this week the channel lurched back into an undead existence with the zombified shells of its big hit shows The Curse of Oak Island and Ancient Aliens, lurching toward new seasons of eating our brains. I had wondered how the pandemic would affect viewership, and it turns out that my suspicions were confirmed by the Nielsen ratings. Oak Island had a little trouble informing its audience that it had returned. It’s still the 900-pound gorilla of cable shows, but half a million viewers—one-sixth of its prior totals—forgot to watch this week. It had 2.85 million viewers. I’m going to guess that when we get Ancient Aliens ratings next week, they too will be low.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 9-15:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 21 • November 15, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
The History Channel’s stable of pseudohistory programs has been off the air since the pandemic struck back in the spring, but this week the channel lurched back into an undead existence with the zombified shells of its big hit shows The Curse of Oak Island and Ancient Aliens, lurching toward new seasons of eating our brains. I had wondered how the pandemic would affect viewership, and it turns out that my suspicions were confirmed by the Nielsen ratings. Oak Island had a little trouble informing its audience that it had returned. It’s still the 900-pound gorilla of cable shows, but half a million viewers—one-sixth of its prior totals—forgot to watch this week. It had 2.85 million viewers. I’m going to guess that when we get Ancient Aliens ratings next week, they too will be low.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 9-15:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E01 “The Divine Number”
- James Dean and the Philosophy of Conan the Cimmerian
- Happy Anniversary to The Cult of Alien Gods
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 22 • November 22, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
It turns out I was wrong about Ancient Aliens. When the show returned last week, it added half a million viewers its pre-pandemic ratings. This week’s ratings won’t be available until this coming week, but the return of the Ancient Aliens audience to 2017-levels of viewership after years of decline is remarkable. Perhaps that explains why Scott F. Wolter debuted recently as a newly minted UFO conspiracy theorist with wild claims that the U.S. government has turned to him to help promote UFO disclosure.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 16-22:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 22 • November 22, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
It turns out I was wrong about Ancient Aliens. When the show returned last week, it added half a million viewers its pre-pandemic ratings. This week’s ratings won’t be available until this coming week, but the return of the Ancient Aliens audience to 2017-levels of viewership after years of decline is remarkable. Perhaps that explains why Scott F. Wolter debuted recently as a newly minted UFO conspiracy theorist with wild claims that the U.S. government has turned to him to help promote UFO disclosure.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 16-22:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E02 “The Lost Kingdom”
- Scott Wolter Claims U.S. Government Approached Him to Aid UFO Disclosure
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 23 • November 29, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the History Channel gave Ancient Aliens the week off, much to my delight. According to the latest Nielsen ratings figures, last week’s Ancient Aliens episode shed 1 in 5 of viewers compared to its season premiere episode the week before. While this still puts the show at 960,000 viewers, it suggests that the “hey-that’s-on” excitement viewers seem to feel whenever the show returns from a hiatus fades after actually watching its repetitive nonsense and remembering that we’ve seen it all before.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 23-29:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 23 • November 29, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the History Channel gave Ancient Aliens the week off, much to my delight. According to the latest Nielsen ratings figures, last week’s Ancient Aliens episode shed 1 in 5 of viewers compared to its season premiere episode the week before. While this still puts the show at 960,000 viewers, it suggests that the “hey-that’s-on” excitement viewers seem to feel whenever the show returns from a hiatus fades after actually watching its repetitive nonsense and remembering that we’ve seen it all before.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 23-29:
- Scott Creighton Claims a Medieval Pyramid Story Is an Ancient Egyptian Text
- Kesha and Alice Cooper Ask If Interdimensional Space Demons Started COVID-19
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 24 • December 6, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week left me laughing after a much-vaunted Debrief investigation into the U.S. government’s effort to find the truth behind UFOs resolved into yet more evidence of idiocy and delusion at the highest levels of power. The article described supposedly remarkable photographs of unexplained craft that emerged from the world’s oceans to menace the skies and caused gasps of astonishment in the halls of the Pentagon and Congress. When a leaked copy of one photo emerged, it depicted what seems to be a Mylar children’s novelty Batman party balloon. Shortly after the article reported that longtime interdimensional space poltergeist believer Hal Puthoff had met with Senate staffers, Puthoff’s colleague in the To the Stars Academy venture, Christopher Mellon, revealed on Twitter that the Pentagon UFO task force everyone keeps blathering about comprises just two staffers with no budget.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 30-December 6:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 24 • December 6, 2020 •
It’s been a busy week in the world of xenoarchaeology. Let’s see what’s new…
News
This week left me laughing after a much-vaunted Debrief investigation into the U.S. government’s effort to find the truth behind UFOs resolved into yet more evidence of idiocy and delusion at the highest levels of power. The article described supposedly remarkable photographs of unexplained craft that emerged from the world’s oceans to menace the skies and caused gasps of astonishment in the halls of the Pentagon and Congress. When a leaked copy of one photo emerged, it depicted what seems to be a Mylar children’s novelty Batman party balloon. Shortly after the article reported that longtime interdimensional space poltergeist believer Hal Puthoff had met with Senate staffers, Puthoff’s colleague in the To the Stars Academy venture, Christopher Mellon, revealed on Twitter that the Pentagon UFO task force everyone keeps blathering about comprises just two staffers with no budget.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the week of November 30-December 6:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E03 “The Galactic Keyhole”
- New Article Claims Military Has “Clear” Photo of Flying Triangle Rising from Ocean
- A Literary Echo Chamber: Did James Dean Actually Read Books?
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
THE SKEPTICAL XENOARCHAEOLOGIST
• Vol. 17 • Issue 25 • December 13, 2020 •
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 7-13:
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
• Vol. 17 • Issue 25 • December 13, 2020 •
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 time off from writing a newsletter. Since the last two years had a short break due to a calendrical quirk, this year I get two weeks off. The next newsletter will come out, I hope, on January 3, 2021.
- 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… And don’t forget about my current book, The Mound Builder Myth, available from your favorite retailer. If all goes well, there could be two new books next year.
On the Blog
In case you missed them, here are my best blog posts for the weeks of December 7-13:
- Review of Ancient Aliens S16E04: Giants of the Mediterranean
- Mainstream Media Jump on Ex-Israeli Official’s Familiar Space Alien Claims
Until next week, keep watching the skies!
Jason Colavito
• [email protected] • JasonColavito.com • @JasonColavito •
