on peter jennings and ufo's...

alright, so this might be my official "real" blog. in other words...i had an intention of writing this blog...and put thought into it rather than using it to procrastinate on yet another project or paper. i even took notes while i was watching the show! (yah...welcome to my dorkiness.)

first, let me start off by saying that i am glad a respected journalist like peter jennings did a special on ufo's. he's given hope to people like me that maybe one day lesser-known opinions and ideas will become mainstream. that maybe, years from now, everybody's opinion will be just as respected as your average t.v. reporter and that stories about anything and everything will be printed on the front page of the sunday paper.

"I feel the same way about reporting about ufo's as I feel about reporting on Iraq," Jennings said. "The great joy we have in our business ... is the opportunity to learn new stuff every day, and to write about it." (want more where that came from? read this.)

now on to the other topic (and the subject of abc's 2-hour special): ufo's. let me start you off with some facts before i got into anything else:

1. 80 million people believe in ufo's
2. 40 million people have seen or know somebody who has seen a ufo
3. the study of ufo's is called ufolgoy
4. the fourth most popular radio show in america is by Art Bale (Bail?) and all he does is take calls of people who have just seen ufo's

onward. peter (yes, we're on a first name basis) starts off giving a brief 12 minute history of ufo's (you know, just the right timing for it to be followed by 3 minutes of nagging commercials before segueing into the next topic up for discussion). apparently in the 40's some pilots reported seeing some huge object hovering in the sky and word spread about the first ufo ever seen. and then of course hollywood got a hold of it and suddenly everyone and their pet lizard had seen a ufo. due to this fact, the air force opened a branch of service entitled "project blue book." "project blue book" was responsible for investigating all of these "sightings." (keep in mind that throughout the whole show there are clips of people talking about their personal encounters with ufo's.) so, "project blue book" investigates these thousands of cases and eventually comes to the conclusion that they are just weather balloons or search lights or crazy people from arizona. in other words (or at least in my words): they were in charge of making ufo's a national myth, rather than a national security issue.

following a few more commercials (that i got to "tevo" through), peter then goes on to question how anybody can prove, or disprove, the existence of other life forms in the universe. well, while NASA is trying to find enough scientific proof (or lack thereof) to decide either way...the scientist who was part of "project blue book" needed nothing more than the eyewitnesses. such faith this man has! on the other hand, there are those they really want proof before jumping on the bandwagon...

now this is the point in the show where i thought things got interesting. (okay, so maybe i let the conspiracy-minded, consumer-driven-society hating side of me take over a bit.) the premier company who studies outer space and the possibility of other life forms is owned by the co-founder of microsoft. so, in a way....microsoft (cough bill gates cough) is running the top ufo investigating company in the country. the day that an alien signal comes through my microsoft outlook mail program i'm going to say "i told you so."

in 1980 (two years prior to the birth of yours truly), the government cover-up theories emerged. people clung to the idea that the military was working on some huge project and wasn't telling anyone. more movies made, hysteria followed, and a tad of media frenzy was thrown in for a little spice. and what does all this create? a recipe for roswell, new mexico. all from one man's story about how he saw an alien in his field about 20 miles out of town. and now, as a result, america had found a way to market, produce, and sell "the unknown." and so followed the x-files (i believe he used the phrase "primetime mythology" when describing it) and fox's 90-something show of an alien autopsy. (oh, what would we do without fox...the "good fox," not the "bad fox.") and so following this alien craze...in 1994 the u.s. government said that the spacecraft found in roswell was just part of the "mogul project," designed to detect soviet union air craft that might have attacked. now where's the fun in that explaination?

so peter goes on now to a more serious side: abductions. you know, i tried not to think they we're crazy, but it was really hard to take some of the "abductees" seriously. regardless, it was interesting that they all claimed to have felt like they were paralyzed when they "returned." upon waking up they could only move their eyes. some claim this is a sign of abduction. as i was kindly informed by my best friend, psychologists say that this is a common sign of "sleep-paralysis." for those of you confused, it's pretty much caused by waking up mid-REM cycle. when you're in a REM cycle your body can't move, so if you wake up suddenly (often due to what are called "night terrors") this occurs. or you were abducted by aliens and you just got back to earth. take your pick. either way it's a weird thought.

anyway...that's my recount of the show. for those of you who missed it i'm sorry. now you might ask, "so am i believer now?" well, i've never seen a ufo or been abducted, but Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson said it best : ""To suggest that we're alone is inexcusably egocentric."