From: dona@bilver.uucp (Don Allen) Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors,alt.conspiracy,sci.skeptic Subject: FILE: MUFON article - Field of Schemes - Crop circles Message-ID: <1993Feb11.040414.7851@bilver.uucp> Date: 11 Feb 93 04:04:14 GMT Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL Lines: 860 (7063) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:18 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS 1/9 St: 7174> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e924992 MUFONET-BBS GROUP - MUFONET-BBS NETWORK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COORDINATED INFORMATION EXCHANGE - HOUSTON UFO NETWORK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following article originally appeared in the January '93 HUFON Report, the newsletter of the Houston UFO Network. Article provided by HUFON for posting by The MufoNet-BBS Network. ------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Circle Update - FIELD OF SCHEMES I By Bill Eatwell In the November 1992 issue of the Mufon UFO Journal, there is an article by Jim Schnabel titled, "Confessions Of A Crop Circle Spy". Well, as always, there is more to this story than is being published. For one thing, there are alleged inaccuracies in Schnabel's telling of his side of an a recorded telephone interview that was to be published in the journal of the Centre For Crop Circle Studies known as The Circular which is edited by George Wingfield. The interview was mysteriously pulled from the magazine before distribution. In October, while attending George Wingfield's Dallas, Texas lecture (see HUFON Report, Nov., 1992 issue), George gave me, in strict confidence, a copy of the Schnabel interview that had been pulled. George told me that his publisher in England, Michael Green, had pulled the interview from publication while he was on his lecture tour here in America. I was told to "sit" on my copy unless given the go ahead to publish the suppressed interview in the HUFON Report if George was unable to resolve the problem when he returned to England. On Saturday,(12/5) I received a call from a friend alerting me that a new publication in Dallas, the Texas Mufon Newsletter, had just published George's suppressed interview. I immediately called George in England and asked permission to reprint the same article in HUFON Report. I not only got the OK, but received the next day, by fax a copy of George's soon to be published reply to the above Journal article by Schnabel. Since not all HUFON members subscribe to the Mufon UFO Journal, I will carefully summarize Schnabel's article below. Included in this Crop Circle Update are both the suppressed interview, and George's faxed reply to Schnabel's article which should appear in the December Mufon UFO Journal. According to George, the following (suppressed) interview was made and recorded by Dr. Armen Victorian (AKA: Henry Azadehdel, Dr. Alan Jones, and for this interview, Cassava Ntumba). George says that there was no time lapse between Victorian's prior call to a Robert Irving, and Jim Schnabel. Why is this important? Because, Schnabel claims that Irving called him to warn of Victorian's question line and the two of them conspired to lead Victorian, as Ntumba, down the old proverbial false disinformation trail. George also told me that someone (he knows who) sent a copy of the "pulled" interview to Schnabel so he could fashion a quick cover story and, somehow, persuade the Mufon UFO Journal to print it. After you have read the following, I will have more at the end..... THE SUPPRESSED CIRCULAR INTERVIEW Subject of The Circular interview in this issue is Jim Schnabel. He has written several newspaper articles on the circles beginning with an item in the Washington Post last year which espoused the cause of orthodox Meadenism. More recently he collaborated with Robert Irving to produce a piece for the Independent Magazine in which it was implied that many of the major pictograms in the mid-Wiltshire area were hoaxed by the UBI group. Although UBI has faked a few minor formations (of which CCCS has full details) suggestions of major hoaxing by them --at, say, Alton Barnes--are known to be untrue and this article can only be seen as part of Schnabel and Irving's campaign to make people think that the pictograms are all hoaxes and promote the highly dubious claims of Doug & Dave. Unlike Doug & Dave, Schnabel is an accomplished circlefaker and in July he came second in The Cerealogist's Circlemaking Competition at West described then as the "Master of Grapeshot," he did not deny having had previous circlemaking experience. Ostensibly Schnabel is a student doing a post-graduate course in sociology at Bath University. Despite this his telephone number is on the Oxford exchange and his address in Bath (where Robert Irving lives) is secret. He usually gives his address as c/o Lincoln College, Oxford, although at the beginning of l992 Lincoln College stated that Schnabel no longer had any connection with them. Continued..... --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7054) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:19 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS, 2/9 St: 7055> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e924993 In the following candid interview Schnabel reveals his role as a paid disinformation agent working for an unnamed western inrelligence organisation. From what he says, one is made aware of the extent and determination of the continuing campaign to rubbish the circles and discredit the researchers. This campaign is but a continuation of the Doug & Dave scam with different faces, different players. The "interviewer" in this case is Armen Victorian, who has written for The Circular previously and who introduces himself as Kasaba Ntumba. Unaware of Ntumba's true identity, Schnabel gradually opens up to this apparently sympnthetic caller. It is only fair to say that Schnabel now denies everything which is contained herein and telephoned me some days later in a state of scarcely suppressed agitation to claim that he had just been ~winding up ~ Victorian (whom he had never met or talked to, apart from a very brief introductory phone call a short while before on the same day). Readers of The Circular will have to judge for themselves whether or not this is the case. One may justifiably ask why someone would ever reveal well- hidden secrets to a total stranger at such short notice. I can only say that Victorian has achieved similar coups time and again in speaking, by telephone to top intelligence officers in the U.S.A., in South Africa and in other countries and these people have frequently regretted what they have let slip. If Schnabel had been "winding up" Victorian, it is inconceivable that he would then ring me up and come clean. Apart from anything else he never normally calls me, and of all the hoaxes I 've known --not just circular ones-- no hoaxer has ever once sprung forward saying "it's all a hoax, don't believe a word I just said." Double bluff? Well, if you believe that, you'll believe anything ! The acid test, of course, is the tape recording itself rather than the transcript. Listen to this and, as with the recent "Dianagate" tapes, one soon discards the notion that the responses are contrived or false. It is to be regretted that information has been obtained in this way but in the face of a ruthless and sustained campaign to deceive the public and CCCS this is amply justified. For people who scoff at the idea that intelligence agencies have any interests in the circles phenomerlon, I can only say that when in Washington, D. C., last April I was taken specifically tomeet four charming gentlemen from the CIA who made no secret about their profession and also their interest in the circles and the UFO phenomenon. This is entirely consistent with the content of this interview. Continued..... --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7055) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:20 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS, 3/9 St: 7054<>7056 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e924994 [Telephone rings] Sch: Hello. Vic: Mr Schnabel? Sch: Yes. Vic: This is Mr Ntumba. Sch: Oh, hi. Hallo. Vic: I'm sorry to bother you at Ihis time of the night. I was...now then, I was speaking to your friend. Sch: Sorry? Vic: I was, I was speaking to your friend a few hours ago, Mr Robert Irving. Sch: Oh yeah, Rob Irving, yeah. Vic: Thal's right; and I understand that you won the second prize in proving that, eventually, these, eh, circles are not reaily what the others think are made by 7-feet green men. And they are very much in an earth bound situation. Sch: Yes, yes, I wouldn't have to prove anything really. Vic: My congratulations - [laughs] - you did a good job. Sch: Thank you very much, thank you very much. Vic: Have you published anything? Sch: Yes, eh, I have published a few things.... Vic: In magazines or newspapers - or private or.. ? Sch: Well, yeah, I published something just this past weekend. Vic: Ah! Sch: In the Independent Magazine - that was a collaboration with.... Vic: Hey! You have an American accent! Sch: Sorry? Vic: You have an American accent. Sch: Yes, I'm originally from the States, that's true. Vic: Which part? Sch: I'm from the East Coast. Vic: East Coast. New York part? Sch: In Virginia. Vic: Virginia, a beautiful part of the country. Sch: Yes it is, thank you very much. Vic: Beautiful part of the country. One thing. . . One thing that Mr Irving said to me that I was a bit puzzled. He said that he works at a group of intelligence . . ., or something like that. Sch: Oh, he did? Vic: He did. Sch: [Laughs] He, um... Vic: When? Sch: He sometimes, eh. . ., says things that he shouldn't say, but, eh... Vic: What? Did he work genuinely with an intelligence... Sch: Sorry - say that again. Vic: Did he actually work with intelligence in the past? Sch: Well, I really couldn't comment on anything like that. I mean I think you'd have to ask him. Vic: ' Cos he was saying to me that - you know...What did he say to me?... It was something that mystified me, to be perfectly honest with you. Eh, you know, he said that it pays, you know, that exactly what, you know, he said to me, to do what he is doing, and he works with a western intelligence... , he said to me. Sch: Yeah. Vic: And he said that man doesn't live on bread alone. Sch: Yeah, well, you know, I really couldn't comment on any of that, I mean, ...eh.... Vic: Do you know, if that's the case that he is actually working with.. ? Sch: Well, I wouldn't want to say anything on the record obviously. Vic: [Laughs.] Well I don't blame you, can I? But I mean is he. .? What I'm trying to say is you know....Look, you've handled these cases for several....sometimes people say things, as you've said yourself. Is it saying it in order to create credence and mystery or you know this....? because if it is the case, it backfires doesn't it, because that makes the man...you know what I'm trying to say. Sch: No, I'm not clear Vic: All I'm saying is....if that's not the case, the man doesn't work,.so why is he making all this, you know...statements, you see what I'm saying, it makes him look, you know, a person who doesn't have any credit in his opinion - do you see what I'm trying to say? Continued..... --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7056) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:21 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS, 4/9 St: 7055<>7057 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e924995 Sch: Well.... Vic: It's like me saying I'm the king..... Sch: Well, I don't know.... Vic: Well, it's like me claiming.... Sch: I don't know what he has said but I mean he does have some connections in....l don't know, but I don't think thats something that either of us want to talk about. Vic: But you know - there is a story... Sch: I don't quite know who you are, so I don't want to talk about it in too much detail. Vic: No, but I've been reading some of these magazines they have issued about groups and these articles about the 7-feet green men... groups put out that's there's intelligence in it, etc., etc., and now Mr Irving says that to me. You see I was a bit taken back. Is there any interest from the intelligence ,part in it as well? Sch: Sorry, intelligence....? Vic: Any interest from the intelligence part in the phenomenon? Sch: Well, does he have an interest in the intelligence? ... I'm not sure quite what... Vic: What I'm trying to tell.... it's my bad English, I'm sorry. Sch: About M15, or are you talking about UFOs? Vic: Anything...any government intelligence group.... Sch: No, no, it's clear to me now. Yes, well I mean....off the record, I mean I think a number of agencies throughout the world have taken an interest in this. Vic: Well, that we've heard, haven't we? Sch: It is potentially a very explosine phenomenon. Vic: I mean, can they exploit it, how can they exploit the phenomenon? Sch: Well, I mean, I think...l think some of us are concerned that the phenomenon may - it's difficult to explain, but.... Vic: Try me! Sch: We believe there is certainly something very sinister about what's going on - eh..., I don't know whether you're a Christian man or not....? Vic: Christian... of course I am. Sch: But some of us feel quite.... Vic: I'm a Catholic. Sch: Well, yes, yes, so am I. And some of us feel concerned that, eh.... Vic: Some arms of the government are doing something... psychological warfare, or psychotronic weaponry, you know. Sch: We think that sometimes that a little bit of intrigue . . sometimes is necessary in cases as serious as this, um, and sometimes measures have to be taken, but I think, I mean, overall, I think that the phenomenon is something which we think will disappear very shortly. Vic: [Bated breath!!] How, how, how, how, how, how? I mean, I'm sorry, but I'm just curious - it's mind-boggling what you're saying! But how, how do you know that will happen? Sch: [Sigh] Well, we think that it, that people will no longer take notice of it, I mean, it may continue but, eh, it.... Vic: But why do you say phenomenon? You proved that this is man-made, if it's a man-made... how could it be a phenomena? Or am I in the dark, or I've missed something somewhere? Sch: Well, I'm, I'm, I think some of them are definitely man-made; I mean definately. Vic: But, so, but so, we are suggesting that there's also a part to it that is genuine? Sch: I think there is a part which is entirely sinister and I'm not sure how genuine it is or whether it's made by people but it's something very sinister and I think it's something that.... Vic: Are we talking about mugic, dark powers? Sch: Possibly, yes.. and I think that it...hang on, I'm getting a bit. . . Vic: It' s intriguing, when we say dark powers arewe talking about... sort of Satan and that sort of thing, or are we talking about actually....? Sch: AbsolutelY! Vic: I see, I see, so there isn't any sort of military implication or the test of, of weaponry or anything of that sort, which is sinister? Sch: Oh, I wouldn't, I wouldn't say that.. l think it's a very complex issue though....... Vic: Are we talking about the part of the military wing who's under the brainwashing, or whatever, of the sinister forces who are doing this - you know, making it a bit more complex? Sch: Well, well it's very difficult to explain to vou - to explain the structure of some of these organisations, but...... Continued..... --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7057) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:21 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS, 5/9 St: 7056<>7058 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e924996 Vic: For example? Give me an example. Sch: Why? I couldn't go into detail but, eh, basically it's something which is concerning people worldwide and have pooled their resources, worldwide, and are involved..... Vic: How about the British Government? Are they also... ? Sch: Well, yes. The German Government, the American government, the Vatican as well. Vic: How about Robert? Does Robert have anything with any of this to help them along with it, to determine what is going on? Sch: I wouldn't want to comment on the record or anything like that. Vic: Of course not. Sch: Definitely, you know....as you seem to be sympathetic to what we're saying..... Vic: Of course! What you're saying makes me worried. He is definitely on the good side Sch: He is.... he is one of our best people, yes. Vic: And he's helping the governments to determine which faction is doing this? Sch: Yes, it's very... extremely sensitive, sensitive work as you can probably imagine..... Vic: Is it...eh...now, let's see, are we talking about military, or are we talking about intelligence, are we talking about the negative side, you see what I ' m trying to say? Sch: It's not quite a military thing but there are elements of military intelligence which have loaned resources. Vic. Ahhhh! ! We are talking about people who have had a career, they've left their career, they have corporations, etc., etc., they are developing some kind of weaponry and these are the testing ground. Sch: No, no, no, I wouldn't, I wouldn't go into that, it's much more of a spiritual warfare type of magic, I think.... Vic: And they trying to exploit the populus, I mean, what are they trying to achieve? This is what I'm trying to determine. Sch: I think they are trying to bring about changes in world consciousness and for evil; for, for, you know, not for good and, eh, there are some of us who are concerned about this, and would like to see this new trend stopped. Vic: Is there any positive element in the government who are supporting people like yourself or Robert or anybody else for that mattter? Sch: We have support, yes, we have support at the highest levels. Vic: That's marvelous -is it British government ....or... forgive me, I'm not trying to be a nosy parker. Sch: It involves several countries and as I say..... Vic: Are we talking NATO allies or are we talking about........... ? Sch: NATO ?...it's not at the NATO level, but it's Germany involved, and this country, and the United States... the Vatican as well. Vic: I see...I... are we talking about...? Sch: It's actually, it in volves a supernational organisation which I will not name. Vic: [Gasp]Supernational !!! Sch: Supernational organisation. Vic: Oh, good God ! Sch: Which is....? Vic. This is above my head. Sch: Which has ties to these countries, and organisations. Vic: Are we talking, for example trilateral, that sort of thing? Sch: I wouldn't want to get into any specifics. Vic: Do you have any information...'? I'm speculating... Sch: It's something that is very dangerous to talk about, and I hope, you will, you know... Vic: I appreciate it, I appreciate it...I mean, is it a mission that you volunteered or is it something that you actually commission people ....I mean how do they...? Sch: It's...we are quite committed to it, put it that way. It's not a sense of duty but it's also..... Vic: How about the other religions, does that come into it or is it only Christian religion or just Christians committed to it? eh, I mean Buddhism, or Judaism or Islam .... you know? Sch: I don't have a high enough overview of the whole situation to know. There may be some others involved. Vic: And the information that you gather is passed on to the higher-ups in order to be filtered out and deductions have to be taken, obviously; that should be the case? Sch: Yes, yes.. we are not just feeding information, we are taking active measures. Vic: I hope they pay for what you've done, for the time and all the things that you put in to it. Sch: Well, yes...it's only natural that one should be reimbursed. Vic: That goes without saying. Sch: One has to live, you know. Vic: That is absolutely true. How many are there? Is there any way I can get, sort of, you know, involved? Sch: Well, I'll tell you, if you can, um, give me some information, I understand you would probably want to do it on a very confidential level... some information or...I could have someone possibly give you a call or visit you or something. Continued..... --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7058) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:22 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS, 6/9 St: 7057<>7059 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e924997 Vic: Who, who? Is it Mr. Irving who would visit me? Sch: Oh no, it would not be Mr. Irving, it would not be Mr. Irving. You know ...possibly... Vic: Are you sure your telephone is not tapped? Sch: My telephone? [laughs] No,no, my telephone would not be tapped! My telephone is a secure phone. Vic: Give me your address, Mr. Schnabel, please. Sch: Um, well, ...[hesitation]... all right, it's, it's, um.... you can reach me, care of... I have to give you a sort of a safe, a safe box... Vic: Of course! Sch: . . . because I don't actually live here, but it's: c/o Lincoln College. Vic: LincolnCollege? OK,which school in Lincoln! Sch: Lincoln College, Oxford. Vic: Oxford ? Ah ha! Sch: That's all you need to do, just: care of...To Jim Schnabel, c/o Lincoln College, Oxford. Vic: I would be able to reach you there? Sch: Yes. Vic: OK. And if I actually wanted to put anything in it I would be hopefully visited by somebody? Sch: Sorry? Vic: I would be briefed about how I can start, you know, etc., etc.? Sch: Yes, I mean... if you give me some information........ [This section is intentionally omitted.] A second call is then made on the following day: Vic: Mr Schnabel? Sch: Yes. Vic: Hello, this is Ntumba speaking. I put something into the post for you today. Sch: Ah, good, good. Vic: It will be with you if all goes well, hopefully by Tuesday - you know how well your mail works... Sch: No, I think today is a bank holiday, so there won't be any mail through. Vic: Well, I had first class stamps so I did that... Now, I remember when this, eh, ******* came here, who...you know when you said to me... has been a very good source.. there was another man... Sch: Excuse me, just let me pull the phone into my room here to be private. Vic: OK, of course. [ Very long pause ensues] Sch: Yes, right. Vic: Is it better? Sch: Yes. Vic: OK. You remember last time when we were speaking you said that, you know, ******* has been a good source with regard to promoting the cause. Sch: Yes, yes. Vic: I remember that when ******* came here there was also another person. Sch: Yes. Vic: Do you know who he was? Sch: His name is #####. Vic: Ahhhh! He was very quiet. Is he also working in the same way? Sch: I wouldn't want to speak about further things, I mean it's extremely sensitive, I really shouldn't have told you all that I've told you already...and unfortunately at the moment I'm quite busy with some things, but um, do send the material and perhaps... l'll tell you here's um, a ...I'm trying to think. Will you ... [massive hesitation]l...oh, no, no, if you send the material to Lincoln College; send some indication of where you can be reached. Vic: O.K. Sch: We can discuss things further, someone else will contact you, and eh, it won't be me, it will be a much more senior person in the organisation and then subsequently, eh, you know, if things work out well and more information can be shared with you. Vic: The reason that I mentioned about that gentleman ... because he was talking almost on a similar line, you know, that you were talking in many ways... do you see what I'm saying? Sch: I really couldn't comment further on him, I wouldn't want to compromise his position. Vic: I see ! Well, I hope that, you know...that the mission will be acomplished and that, you know, after all this time. Has there been any good witness.. ? Sch: We have no doubt of success. Vic: Well I'm delighted to hear that. Now, about the payment. How do we claim for the expenses, etc., you know, how do we go about this usually? I mean, how do you go about that? Continued..... --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7059) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:23 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS, 7/9 St: 7058<>7060 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e924998 Sch: Well, that will be arranged and explained to you if, if, if...[mumble, mumble] Vic: Is it on a monthly basis? Sch: If you are found to be a suitable candidate -- it's extremely generous, don't worry about that. Vic: OK. You know there is a great deal of travelling backward and forward, you know, as you are involved in this... Sch: You will be expected to travel internationally. Vic: Oh, what .... that's fascinating, that is absolutely fascinating. What sort of data, you know, they would be expecting from my side to be gathered, to be collected for the cause? Sch: It woutd be not only gathering data but also taking active measures, possibly conducting disinformation campaigns and other measures. Vlc: In order to safeguard the initial whatever it is, isn't it, the ultimate goal. Sch: Yes. it's extremely complex, I mean I think you were... you touched upon it briefly last night when you mentioned the weapon... Vic: I was very much impressed..... Sch: The weapons systems, I mean there's the element of the weapons testing and there's the second element of the, eh, attempt to use the phenomenon of the circles to discredit the New Age movement and other such movements. Vic: Ahhhh ! I see. Sch: It's extremely complex and much more will be explained to you if it's appropriate at a further time. Vic: Of course, of course..... Sch: Don't worry about payment, I mean, it's very generous..... Vic: No, that's not my worry...... Sch: It's extremely strenuous work and...the organisation realises that, um, you know, sometimes people become burned out after a few years but usually they've made enough money that they are able to retire - you know, after a few years anyway.... it's very generous. VIC: That's facscinating...and the gentleman, or the person rather, who would be meeting me should my you know, whatever become serious, would he be, or would she be, an American or would she be English or different... you know? Sch: I'm not sure yet which organisation, I mean, that's not my decision - which person in the organisation, I mean, that's not my decision. It could be someone from almost. Vic: But, but, I mean what is the organisation that I would be dealing with? Sch: Well, I think that will all be explained to you. Vic: Oh, I see. When, if and when, I'm taken in. Sch: Yes. [Break] Vic: How about Colin Andrews' group - do you have any section with a remit in Colin Andrews' group or not? Sch: We have, eh...we have people in every group. Vic: Fascinating, fascinating, that's absolutely, you know, it's interesting to hear. As I said earlier, the machinery is already into the post so the best thing is I wait to hear further from you. Sch: Yes, OK, good Vic: OK. Thank you very much indeed for your time again. Sch: God bless. Vic: God bless you too. Bye bye. The following summary of "Confession Of A Crop Circle Spy" by James Schnabel is very brief as the original document in the November 1992 Mufon UFO Journal is five pages long. Dennis Stacy, the Journal's Editor, begins the article with a half page introduction. Stacy's comments center around the thought process regarding both UFO's and crop circles and how they are perceived and possible related. Also, he notes the lessons to be learned when hoaxing, fear of government agents and conspiracies and, as this article painfully illuminates, a wide spread paranoia begins to grip all those individuals who are intimately, and publicly, involved with both phenomena. ( Note that James Schnabel, by himself, won 2nd prize in the circle making competition in England, at West Wycome, July 11-12, 1992...He also wrote an article on "The Art of Circular Science" for The Cerealogist, No. 7, Harvest 1992, which will be available from the HUFON library in Jan. 93.) Continued...... --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7060) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:23 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS, 8/9 St: 7059<>7061 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e924999 James Schnabel begins his article by describing numerous unnamed crop circle researchers as "vociferous spycriers". The story that follows is what Schnabel claims happened when in a light-hearted moment he suggested to an inquirer, "Cassave Ntumba", that "yes, it was all true, he was indeed a spy". The phone interviews actually began with Ntumba calling Rob Irving, a photographer who had worked with Schnabel on a London newspaper article about one of the circle-making groups active in Wiltshire. Schnabel says that Irving recognized Ntumba as Henry Azadehdel, recalling Henry as the person who authored a story last year about Doug Bower and Dave Chorley being spies.(remember the Doug and Dave scam?) Irving reportedly recorded the conversation, and immediately afterwards called Schnabel and a "spy-chase" plan was conceived. There were several lengthy phone conversations between Irving and Ntumba, and Schnabel and Ntumba. Schnabel summarizes most of these but adds something to the first conversation that I could not find in the suppressed interview. The "Plan", as Schnabel outlines to Ntumba, "was meant (a) to divert attention from the ultra- secret Stars Wars weapons testing which caused the circles". Unless I missed something, this was not in the original text of the Circular Interview. As Schnabel unfolds his story, he begins using single letter references to various individuals leaving the reader to only "guess" as to their identity. One example is: "So I telephoned W and asked him to relay to the elusive zadehdel that the whole thing had been a send up. I hope-I said-that you have enough sense of humor to see that this was all done in fun. To which W responded: well I'm not sure I do, Jim. I mean, I wouldn't be in the lease bit surprised if you were a spy". Other lettered identities in the story are: R, E, G, F, T, D, U, M and G, C and his good friend B. The "Plan", as Schnabel calls it, received much notoriety following the Ntumba interview. The worst unmasking according to Schnabel occurred at the UFO meet at the Leeds Civic Theater, in England, where Armen Victorian (aka: Ntumba) was to present taped conversations of international debunkers. The taped interview between Victorian and Schnabel was played causing a confrontation in which Schnabel says he attempted to convince the audience that it had all been a put-on, a sham. Schnabel narrates only a portion of the recording in his story. When I compared the two recorded conversations, some sentences were not word for word. This indicates editing by one or the other writer. Nothing important appeared missing in the two recorded dialogs. The story ends with Schnabel stating his personal feelings of the events, his believed vindication, and his relief that W's article had been pulled from the printers, and the article detailing The Plan removed. However, Irving and Schnabel believe that there still remains a "hint of unsolved mystery" to their acts as one question still remains with the cerealogists: "How had we known so much?" As you can tell, the crop circle hoaxing issue is about to come to a nasty head. Personally, I believe that there needs to be more articles published on those persons doing valid crop circle research and less on those interfering with the phenomenon. I spoke with our new contributor, Rosemary Ellen Guiley and discovered that she had moved again. A copy of her Center's report will be sent to me as soon as it is completed. Meanwhile, Rosemary faxed the following comments for our latest column. Her new address, phone and fax numbers are included for publication per her request. Center For North American Crop Circle Studies Director: Rosemary Ellen Guiley Address: P.O. Box 4766, Lutherville, MD 21094 Phone: 410-628-1522 / Fax: 410-628-1524 December 7, 1992 Rosemary writes: Far too much attention was devoted this summer in crop circle circles to allegations concerning disinformation, conspiracy and hoaxing. Individuals alleged to be the masterminds of a plot to debunk circles were given more credit than they deserved by noise made by some cereologists. The unfortunate result was to shift attention away from solving the mystery of the phenomenon to focus on personalities and name calling. As for the circles themselves, in England they manifested in as mysterious shapes as before, with the signature of Goddess stronger than ever: snails, crescent moons, the knot of Isis (resembling and alpha) and the mu-at, a dumbbell with crescent that is also a sign of Isis. Overall, the activity was more low-key than the previous year, with the media paying scant attention to anything beyond the hoaxing contest done in July for the amusement of humans. Continued..... --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7061) Fri 29 Jan 93 18:24 By: John Komar To: All Re: HUFON/CROPS, 9/9 St: <7060 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @MSGID: 1:123/26 0e92499a In the U.S., reported activity also was less that last year, though reports continue to trickle in to the Center for North American Crop Circle Studies (CNACCS). Illinois was once again one of the more active states. The most dramatic formation was a dumbbell in alfalfa near Fergus Falls, Minnesota. More detailed reports will be available soon from CNACCS and the North American Institute for Crop Circle Research in Winnepeg. In closing, one final comment. An unusual bit of movement has occurred with two of the original English crop circle researchers. It is being called the "grain drain" by Rosemary Ellen Guiley. Seems that both Colin Andrews and Richard Andrews (no relation) have moved their crop circle business to America. Do they know something no one else knows? Stay tuned. =END= --- FMail 0.92 * Origin: (1:123/26) @PATH: 123/26 -- <*> Don Allen <*> 1:363/81.1 - Fidonet #1 - Homebody BBS dona@bilver.uucp - Internet 1:363/29.8 - Fidonet #2 - Gourmet Delight 88:4205/1.1 - MUFON Network 1:3607/20.2 -- Odyssey - Alabama UFO Net NSA grep food: Aviary, Ed Dames, Los Alamos - Majestic - Jason - RIIA - UN From dona@bilver.uucp Tue Jun 18 20:32:01 1991 From: dona@bilver.uucp (Don Allen) Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors,alt.paranormal,alt.conspiracy,sci.skeptic,talk.religion.newage,misc.headlines,misc.misc Subject: CROP CIRCLES: Michael Chorost MUFON Symposium Paper Keywords: Follow-ups to alt.alien.visitors Date: 17 Jun 91 19:14:41 GMT Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This information is presented for your persusal and is a continuation of my policy of informing the public what is currently available. As usual my *disclaimer* is simply to present the data and let you form your own opinion(s). Please feel free to agree,disagree,discuss or ponder :-) As I do not have a great amount of time available to pursue follow-ups exclusively, comments to me should be directed to dona@bilver.uucp in mail. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The following text comes from the MUFONET BBS (1-901-785-4943): ----Begin Included Text --------------------------------------------- Thesis for a Pre-Paradigm Science: Cereology Michael Chorost Written March 1991; published July 1991 1. Cereology as a Pre-Paradigm Science 2. Non-Human Intelligence? 3. The Problem with "Intelligence" 4. A Guess: Are the Crop Circles A Symbol System? 5. About Unconvincing Guesses 6. The Future Looks Back on the Present: A Hopeful Guess Appendix: Colin Andrews' Catalog of Formations, with Annotations by Michael Chorost (not included in electronic version) I'm writing this paper in March 1991, well before the start of the next crop circles season. I anticipate that by July, there will be new developments I will want to talk about, instead of reading a paper written months before. Thus I have not designed this paper to be read aloud. However, since it is oriented toward grounding cereology as a theoretical discipline, I am likely to presume many of its points in my talk. I will be happy to entertain questions about it in Chicago. 1. Cereology as a Pre-Paradigm Science In this first of six sections, I want to talk about cereology as a discipline, and acquaint readers with some of its complexities and prob- lems. In the remaining sections, I will explore one particular problem in detail: are the circles a language? And if so, how might we figure it out? The crop circles phenomenon is much more complex than it appears at first glance, so it follows that cereology, the study of the phenomenon, needs to think ways which will encompass that complexity. So it is impor- tant to establish right off that the phenomenon has aspects which make naive "the aliens have started talking to us" theories difficult to uphold. The evidence leads in contradictory directions. For example, researchers (primarily meteorologists) have gathered eyewitness reports of circles from as far back as 1918, and have found written texts describing what may be crop circles from as far back as 1590. One 17th-century text describes an event in 1633, where a school curate saw, while walking at night in a Wiltshire field, "innumerable quantitie of pigmies or very small people dancing rounde and rounde, and singing and making all manner of small odd noyses." He heard "a sorte of quick humming noyse all the time" and "when the sun rose he found himself exactly in the midst of one of these faery dances."1 Such "quick humming noyses" have been heard in present-day crop circles,2 and have been captured on tape by the BBC and other observers. The curate's story seems to fit, because modern crop circles are believed to form very rapidly, as this one apparently did, and the "pigmies...dancing rounde" could have been a 17th-century observer's way of interpreting a spinning, possibly glowing force field. Another text, authored by Robert Plott in 1686, discusses an appar- ently similar event in 1590 and theorizes that such artifacts are made by lightning. An illustration theorizes that cone-shaped "lightning strikes" are responsible for the rings and, astonishingly, rings containing squares. David J. Reynolds notes that Plott describes "'imperfect segments', rings within rings, squares (?!), 'Semicircles, Quadrants and Sextants' being formed by combinations of multiple strokes, differing angles of descent and variations in lightning strength across a stroke" (p. 348, italics in originals.)3 Unfortunately, Plott does not give enough information to make it clear whether he is observing "fairy rings", which are fungal infections in the soil which blight plants in slowly spreading circular areas, or crop circles. In fact, much of his discussion points away from crop circles. Not once does he mention that the plants are flattened in spiral patterns, nor does he talk about the intricate braiding often seen in crop circles. And when he digs under one formation, he discovers that the soil "was much looser and dryer than ordinary, and the parts interspersed with a white hoar or vinew much like that in mouldy bread, of a musty rancid smell."4 This is a finding entirely consistent with fairy rings. And yet, as Reynolds notes, Plott is quite explicit about the existence of non-circu- lar formations like quadrants and hollow squares, going so far as to provide diagrams of them. To my knowledge, there is no such thing as a fairy square. Thus we cannot eliminate the possibility that Plott saw what we think of as crop circles. Of course, it's also possible that he saw something which was neither fairy rings nor crop circles, but something else altogether. Plott's discussion anticipates parts of the modern debate with remarkable fidelity. He devotes considerable attention to rumors of pos- sessed satanic dancers, but ultimately concludes that such "hoaxes" could only account for a particular subset of the phenomenon: "If I must needs allow [dancers] to cause some few of these Rings, I must also restrain them to those of the first kind, that are bare at many places like a path- way; for to both the others more natural causes may be probably as- signed" (14.) It appears that Plott anticipated the meteorological theory by roughly 300 years. These observations have to make any alien-intelligence theorist stop and think. Plott talks about events which happened in 1590. The curate's anomalous sighting happened a decade after the publication of Shakespeare's First Folio. If they are true crop circles, and if they're by aliens who have been trying to get our attention for four centuries, there is at least one species in the galaxy which is remarkably dumb (and it's not necessarily us.) The finders of these texts subscribe to the meteoro- logical theory, so they interpret the reports as evidence of a naturally occurring plasma-vortex phenomenon. The reader may not accept that theory, but whatever he or she does accept has to take these astonishing writings into account. The 17th-century texts are not the only example of fractious data. For every eyewitness report of a glowing object or alien spacecraft making a crop circle at night, there is another eyewitness report of a violent wind which flattens out a circle in broad daylight.5 And there are now numerous articles claiming that the phenomenon is generated by "earth energies" which determine the location and shape of each crop circle. The theory relies on dowsing results. Nonsense? Possibly; but Terence Meaden, the arch-enemy of intelligence-oriented theories, has begun using dowsing himself, theorizing that "the metal-rod movement of the dowser may be related to a reaction to the minor changes in the local magnetic field of the soil induced by the plasma vortices and their fast- spinning fields."6 Whatever the validity of such claims (and they need to be tested!), they add further complications to cereology. I hope these examples have served to shred the belief that all the evidence points in one direction. Hoax theorists point to the Bratton hoax, an embarrassing but quickly detected hoax perpetuated on one of 1990's surveillance groups; alien-intelligence theorists point to eyewitness reports and the humming noises; vortex theorists point to other eyewit- ness reports, and the humming noises; earth-energy theorists point to dowsing results, and the humming noises; and everyone points to every- one else as terrible examples of interpretation of data. So we have a complex situation. That's nothing new; it's life. But there is an illuminating way to describe the kind of complexity that reigns now. I borrow from Thomas Kuhn's well-known work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions7 in suggesting that cereology is a pre-paradigm science. Kuhn defines a "paradigm" as an "implicit body of intertwined theoretical and methodological belief that permits selection, evaluation, and criticism" (17). More briefly, a paradigm is a way of thinking which unifies a scientific discipline. So far, that's exactly what cereology lacks. It consists of a mass of disparate observations and a few theories, none of which explain very much. The absence of a paradigm is beautifully illustrated by two very different interpretations of what may be an eye- witness report of a quintuplet formation being made. On July 13, 1988, according to Circular Evidence, a woman saw "a large, golden, disc-shaped object within [a] cloud" which emitted "a bright white parallel beam...from the bottom of the disc at an angle of roughly 65o [which] shone across the sky towards Silbury Hill" (p. 115.) Delgado and Andrews imply that an alien spacecraft used an energy beam to inscribe the formation. Terence Meaden, on the other hand, writes, "On 13th July 1988, a lady was eyewitness to a hollow pencil-shaped tube (not a beam) of light which reached from cloud to ground for an observed period of a couple of minutes. A huge volume of the cloud, which was at 4000 feet, appeared electrified."8 One event, one witness; two interpreters, two "facts"; no paradigm. So how are cereologists to conduct pre-paradigm science? Kuhn writes, "In the absences of a paradigm or some candidate for a paradigm, all of the facts that could possibly pertain...are likely to seem equally relevant. As a result, fact-gathering is a far more nearly random activity than the one that subsequent scientific development makes familiar." (15) This accurately describes how matters stand as of this writing. The sensible thing to do is to repeat history, i.e. gather as many observations as possible, omnivorously, excluding nothing. There should be routine data collection with IR cameras, geiger counters, magnetometers, plant DNA assays, weather stations, and so on. Good photos and accurate measure- ments need to be taken; even dowsing results and unusual physical sensa- tions should be assiduously recorded. And everything should be pub- lished. Some sets of observations may not be deemed relevant in the future--that is the risk of pre-paradigm science--but we owe it to future researchers and historians to bequeath them as rich a storehouse of data as we can. We could be doing better on this score. As of this writing, meas- urements and positional data of both English and North American forma- tions are both scarce and of uneven quality. Instrumental experiments are rarely performed. In addition, poor organization and political battles impede the release of what data does exist. Michael Green is sadly right when he notes that "inordinate professional jealousy and commercial rival- ry...has unfortunately marked the study of the subject to date, and has led to a hoarding of essential information."9 For example, the meteorolo- gists are sitting on their data, partly because they're unwilling to let their opponents have it. The alien-intelligence theorists are also sitting on their data, partly because they feel reluctant to give away the product of many hours of hard work. Neither concern is justified. Researchers are responsible only for the quality of their data, not for what others do with it. It seems to me that anybody who thinks his data will help his opponents more than it will help him is in an unenviable position, as far as his theory is concerned. And to sit on data is effectively to waste the work that went into its collection. The CCCS (Centre for Crop Circle Studies) is trying to overcome these problems, and we should wish them the best of luck. Steady but polite pressure from Americans may help, too. Two things are necessary, over and above performing the research: a smoothly functioning network funneling data toward publication, and the attitude that information should be shared with the community to promote further research. Secrecy and mercantile considerations serve only to gum up the works, especially at this fragile stage. It would be best if history could record that information was freely and generously shared in these difficult early days. A 1991 report by Chris Rutkowski and other members of the NAICCR (North American Institute for Crop Circles Re- search) beautifully exemplifies this attitude. It lists 46 cases of ground markings in 1990, about thirty of which appear to be English-style crop circles. It provides formation types, lay rotations, dates, sizes, and approximate locations. (I am now writing a review of it, which I anticipate will appear in the May 1991 issue of the Mufon UFO Journal.) I hope other cereologists will consider its example well. After obtaining data, cereologists will just have to theorize as carefully and responsibly as they can, and dare to be wrong. Francis Bacon writes, "Truth emerges more readily from error than from confu- sion."10 This maxim strikes me with particular force when I contemplate the meteorologists' corpus of research. I think its basic thesis is in error, yet even the few the scraps of data the meteorologists publish are more useful than the typically haphazard observations offered by people whom I think are closer to the mark. Organized error can be re-organ- ized into truth. 2. Non-Human Intelligence? 2001: A Space Odyssey seems less science-fictional than it did in 1968, now that artificial constructions of an anomalous nature are appear- ing repeatedly around the world. Most of the major researchers in cere- ology are convinced that human beings are not making them, because they cannot figure out what human device, however sophisticated, could pro- duce all of the observed effects and remain undetected for so long. I am inclined to agree with them, though I would add that it is always risky to underestimate the ingenuity of our own species. I suspect that the possibility of a fabulously intricate hoax, however slight, keeps a lot of cereologists awake at nights. Perhaps worrying about the hoax theory is one way of worrying about the implications of the circles not being hoax- es. Some researchers, primarily the meteorologists, believe that the circles are produced by a natural phenomenon that we have only now begun to notice. Many people find this unconvincing. Nature can indeed produce fabulously intricate structures, like us, but I have never seen it do so both overnight and on such a vast scale. And I find it difficult to ascribe the rapidly increasing complexity of the shapes to natural forces, which typically change slowly when they change at all. By elimination, I have become sympathetic to non-human intelligence theories--as I suspect many of my readers will be also. There is some slight anecdotal evidence for such theories; NAICCR's report on ground markings notes, for instance, that 4 of its 46 listed cases have UFO sight- ings associated with them. Anecdotal evidence is notoriously difficult to use, however, so I will not appeal to it in my analysis. Let us suppose--it is still more or less an outright guess--that the crop circles are the products of a non-human intelligence, and explore the implications of that thesis. It will be fun to do so, if nothing else. The rest of this essay will be devoted to that undertaking. It is possible, as I have remarked elsewhere,11 that the formations are the visible side-effect of some deliberately directed physical process, the way tire tracks and footprints are. At present, there is virtually nothing that can be said about this important theory. Discussion only becomes possible when one hypothesizes that the formations are supposed to mean something, either to their creators or to ourselves. And it is to this possibility that I will devote most of my attention. If we want to try to decode the circles, we are faced with gigantic problems at the very outset. Typically, when we receive messages from human intelligences, we have some amount of shared background to draw upon in decoding them. Shared language is obviously the most useful background; but if that is absent, there are usually others, such as shared physical environment, shared needs, shared knowledge of history, shared interests, shared physiologies. Not knowing Arabic, I can still guess that an Arab with me in a souk is hungry if he looks at me and mimics the act of eating. But we may share nothing with an alien intelligence. At any rate, we can presume nothing.12 We cannot presume similar sensory equipment or physical needs; we cannot presume similar evolutionary conditions; we cannot even presume corporeal bodies or a sense of self. I could go on and on about the radical uncertainty involved. To cut a long discussion short, it comes down to this: we must guess, just plain guess, that they are like us in some ways, and proceed accordingly. In writing about decoding a hypothetical alien message, Lewis White Beck argues that "we must guess that it is a message, guess what it says, and then try to see if the signal can convey that message."13 For example, we could guess that the dimensions of the circles encode mathematical relationships such as pi and e, and search to see if such numbers can be found in a sys- tematic way. Or we could guess that certain logical relationships are being implied, and search for the most basic ones, such as transitivity and hierarchy. Or it could be posited that the spatial locations of the circles relative to each other are related to spatial distances elsewhere, such as between stars. The chances of picking the wrong message are high, but Bacon's dictum about truth still applies. 3. The Problem with "Intelligence" I will dare to be wrong later in this essay, but I want to make a remark about "intelligence" first. The debate over the crop circles can all too easily polarize into two camps, intelligent versus non-intelligent causation. But the entire debate could be off the mark. The phenomenon's cause may not be "blind nature", but it may not be intelli- gence the way we know it, either. If it's aliens, they might be far smart- er than us in some ways, but dumb as bricks in others. Or suppose the circlemaker is Gaia--an intelligence resulting from complex interactions in the biosphere of the planet? Or, the combined psychic interactions of the human race? Or a natural phenomenon which is being manipulated by such psychic interactions? Farfetched ideas, to be sure, but so is the phenomenon. As my colleague Dennis Stacy has repeatedly warned me in correspondence, thinking along rigid "p or not-p" lines can overlook fruitful areas of inquiry. An arrow flying in a straight line can still miss the target. Also, it is well to remember that all of the words denoting "intelli- gent beings" in English were designed to refer to exactly one species: Homo sapiens of Earth. All English words denoting "intelligent non-human beings" are negatives: "alien" is rooted in the Sanskrit antara, which means merely "other", and "extra-terrestrial" means "not from Earth." In terms of thinking about alien intelligence, our language is as limited as the counting system which calls all quantities above five "many." However, I will guess an intelligence not altogether different from ours, simply because it is the easiest for us to think about. It is as reasonable a place to start as any. Of course, the problem of decoding would still be daunting. To manage it, we can make more guesses: perhaps the circlemakers have already observed us and know something about us. They may have guessed that our minds will leap to certain guesses, and attempted to play to our predilections. (Such double-guessing could someday tell us quite a bit about them.) As Cipher A. Deavours points out, aliens ought to have some interest in developing codes designed to reveal rather than conceal information.14 Decoding could be orders of magnitude easier if the cir- clemakers have taken our ways of decoding into account. We may be seeing our humanness being filtered through alien consciousness and played back at us. Of course, the simplest way of communicating with us would have been to use our own symbols, or to use something readily comprehensible to us, like groups of circles corresponding to the prime numbers. The fact that we have not readily understood the circles suggests a number of possibilities: we have not really tried yet; there is no message; there is a message, but one whose content is not directed at us; the entities are so profoundly different from us that they cannot figure out what we would find easily accessible; they have more subtle motives than straightforward communication; they have decided to dispense with easy formalities and want us to think hard, perhaps with the implied lure that the reward will be worth the effort. I find the first the most preferable, since so little has been done by way of attempts at decoding. In any case, it's reason- able to guess that something complex and multileveled is either happening or being communicated. 4. A Guess: Are the Crop Circles A Symbol System? All this said, I will now risk being wrong in a major way. I will argue that we are indeed looking at a symbol system. The shapes seem to have a certain "symbolicity" (see Colin Andrews' catalog, Appendix I.) I don't necessarily mean that they are a phonetic alphabet like English; I mean something more like pictorial codes or schematics. However, I shall have to be rather vague about what I mean by the word "symbol." The most specific definition I can offer is "a mark which means something to a group of people, by convention." For there can be many different kinds of symbols. A symbol can be a mark with exactly one referent; for exam- ple, there is a certain schematic which signifies exactly one kind of tran- sistor. Or it can be a mark amenable to different interpretations, like the color red in the Soviet flag (it means revolutionary political possibilities to some, raw tyranny to others.) Or it can be a mark which functions in a language, meaning little in itself but contributing to a total meaning. For example, the physical mark "key" contributes in a certain way to the sentence "Where are my car keys?" and in a different way to "The key to the treasure is there." It seems to me that the circles could be symbols in any of these ways (and there are many more possible ways.) I tend to gravitate toward the third, language-oriented kind of symbolicity, but I don't wish to exclude the others. My intention is to spark a rich debate by opening up possibilities, not to truncate debate by closing them off. To a lot of people, the formations "feel" like a symbol system. And they do have broad structural elements in common with human symbol systems (which, it must be pointed out, may not be much of a basis for comparison.) Like many human symbol systems, they can be broken down into certain recurring basic shapes--the circle the line, the rectangle, the ring, the curved arc, and so on. These elements are their "strokes." If the formations are complex, they are complex by the accumulation of pre- existing elements, not the creation of new elements (though each summer does bring some new elements.) Like human symbol systems, the crop circles present enough variety to suggest the possibility of reference to a large number of objects or ideas. If we saw only three formations repeated over and over, we would probably be more inclined to think them artistic or cultural icons, or natural artifacts, rather than members of a linguistic or representational system. Like human symbols, their variety remains within limits; of 1990's numerous single and double dumbbells, no two are alike, but all are recognizably part of a class. It's a bit like the way the English letters b,d,p,q,c, and o form a recognizable class. The Egyptian hieroglyph for "bird" would stick out and look very strange in that class, and indeed it would not belong anywhere in the alphabet. As would the letter "b" look very odd, if claimed to be a Chinese ideogram. The "variety within limits" argument is important for another rea- son. The appearance of "scrolls", rectangles, and triangles suggests that there is no physical limitation to the kind of shapes that can be created. If a short rectangle can be made, so can long ones to form lines, and the scrolls suggest that irregular lines can be drawn "freehand", as it were. The fact that the formations seem to vary within boundaries seems to suggest a defined and ordered system. Of course, there are problems with the argument, such as that the formations bear little obvious spatial relationship to each other the way human symbols usually do. One is also hard-pressed to group the weirdly curvy "scroll" formations as belonging to the same system as the highly angular double-dumbbells; perhaps the scrolls really are mistakes or doodles. Or perhaps the only message being conveyed is "Watch this space, and be here next summer." Humorists have also suggested alien art galleries and alien advertising. My guesses may more wrong than I can imagine. But for all that, I think it is not crazy to guess that we are looking at a symbol system, not random squiggles. It just may be possible to start grouping 1990's new formations into classes. Such attempts are highly arbitrary by their nature, conditioned by the viewer's predispositions (as are readings of Rorschach inkblots), but the attempt is worth making. It would be interesting to see what groupings other people make. Colin Andrews' catalog (see Appendix A) lists 65 formation types (one is a known hoax, so I don't count it.) I can derive the following classes from studying Colin's catalogue: (Numbers refer to the formation number in the catalog) Single dumbbells (21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 36, 55) Double-dumbbells (34, 35, 54) Thetas (40, 41, 49, 50) Plain circles with satellites (3, 5, 6, 17, 43, 52) Ringed circles (10, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 38, 64) Saturns (7, 8, 11, 32, 37, 46) Rings (44) Scrolls (45, 48, 65) Triangles (47, 63) Sports (unique formations, i.e. 26, 39, 53, 58, 59, 62) To explain my nomenclature: I call the "thetas" so because their split central circle reminds me of the Greek letter "O" (I imply no actual con- nection to Greek.) The "saturns" remind me of Saturn with its moons (again, no connection to the planet implied, though it's not impossible that there be one.) I take the name "scroll" from The Crop Circle Enigma (which shows pictures of them on p. 156.) I name the "sports" so be- cause a "sport" in biology is a unique object. Interestingly enough, it may be that the formation types are also roughly contiguous in space. The hand-drawn map reproduced in Issue 2 of The Cereologist (p. 3) shows that all three double-dumbbells appeared quite close to each other, in fact within an area five kilometers long and two kilometers wide, just north of Alton Barnes. At least six of the ten single dumbbells appeared in the Longwood Estate area, just southwest of Winchester. The four thetas may fall in a line (it will take much better data to verify this.) Two of the scrolls are quite close to each other, at Beckhampton. The spatial-relationships idea is being pursued vigorously by Harvey Lunenfeld of East Northport, New York. We've been trying to obtain positional data for as many of the formations as possible, in order to create a computerized database. Harvey and his son Randy are now configuring sophisticated mapping software which will facilitate the search for spatial relationships, and also for correlations with other types of data. So far we've been obtaining our positional data from thumbnail deduction from photographs and other available evidence. The job will become much easier once we gain access to satellite imagery good enough to show exactly where the formations are. Access to some of the English databases would also help greatly, of course. Allow me to call attention to the fact that certain elements recur in different contexts. The triangle's "F" is much like the shapes jutting out >from all three double dumbbells. (Could it be significant that none of the single dumbbells have such shapes?) The other triangle's flanking shapes are very much like the double rectangles on many of the single dumbbells (and, note, none of the double dumbbells.) One simple circle has a three- fingered shape jutting out of it which looks almost exactly like the one attached to the Allington Down (more precisely, East Kennett) double dumbbell. Some of the single dumbbells and the theta formations have partial arcs as components. The saturns are a combination of plain circles with satellites and ringed circles. This evident combination and recombi- nation of elements makes it plausible to suppose that there is some form of "grammar" ruling their placement. It may be possible to work out the properties of the grammar without understanding the meaning of the symbols. One way to do this is to compare groups of symbols to each other, isolating consistent statistical similarities and differences. For example, if the ratios of the areas of the two circles in single dumbells compares in some consistent way to the ratios of the lengths of the forks to their circles, that might indicate a meaningful element of language. This particular example is mathematically oriented, but other strategies are feasible, too: one could compare the spatial orientation of the thetas to that of all of the other groups, or compare the length of formations to their compass orientations. It is an encouraging fact that cryptographers are frequently able to decode messages whose plaintext is written in a language they do not know very well. Deavours writes, It is of interest that codes can often be solved where the underlying language of the plaintext is not known for certain. One can also gain an immense knowledge of the structure and character of a communication without understanding a single thought expressed therein. For intergalactic communication, this offers much hope that we may succeed in deciphering what is received (203- 204.) As evidence that meaning is not crucial to decipherment, Deavours men- tions that the great French cryptanalyst, Georges Painvain, of World War I fame, solved many complex ciphers of the German General Staff but possessed so little knowledge of German that he was unable to translate the deci- phered text after solution (209). Not knowing the language need not impede understanding its shape and general characteristics. Such research could yield one great practical benefit down the road: upon receiving a Rosetta Stone, we would then be able to learn and read the language that much more quickly, perhaps well enough to begin using it ourselves. In the touchy and uncertain days immediately following alien contact, such an advantage might be very welcome indeed. This makes it all the more imperative to facilitate re- search with an effective network of data distribution. Figuring out what the grammar's shapes represent (if grammar it is, of course) will be tough, because the formations appear to lack all social context. There is no "Rosetta Stone" permitting them to be compared to a known symbol system; there are no objects helpfully put next to them to show what they depict or schematize; there are no appreciative alien enti- ties in view admiring them as art. Quite the contrary, they are placed wordlessly (so to speak) on this planet's largest equivalent of a blank, lined sheet of paper. But we should try. We can attempt to restore the context, or at least make one. Our guesses might be correct. But a worrying philosophical issue intrudes here. Let us say we guess a message--a meaning--and find out that the circles transmit it. Can we be sure that we have truly decoded the circles? Perhaps not. Humans are infinitely resourceful at seeing patterns that are not there. Edward R. Tufte, in his engaging book "Envisioning Information", reprints a picture of a rock in southern Massachusetts which is covered with ancient hieroglyphs.15 Next to the picture he reproduces ten hand-drawn sketches of the markings, made between 1680 and 1854. Not only are the sketches strikingly different, but different scholars have triumphantly adduced totally different origins for the glyphs: Scythian, Phoenician, Runic, Viking, and Algonquin, to name a few. Tufte cheerfully damns this as "scholarship of wishful thinking" (73). I am not sure if there is any way to solve the problem, other than asking the circlemakers what they mean (and even that might not help as much as we think it would.) My reaction is just to say, "Let us see what we can guess and find, then see which guess convinces the most people, and deal with the philosophical problems as they arise." The lack of context is significant in another way. It is a truism that symbols mean something only in a social context. If these shapes have a concrete and socially-based meaning to their creators, how are they changed by being engraved on fields on another planet? Suppose that the magnificent Fawley Down pictogram (a "theta" formation) refers to a Rigellian action which human physiologies cannot duplicate? If we know nothing of Rigellian physiology, we'll never figure that out, will we? And, more importantly, how does the meaning of the symbol change when it is stamped, without context or explanation, in a field of wheat near Winches- ter, England? What does the symbol mean at that particular place and time, if anything? Not, I feel sure, just to tell us what Rigellians do. What would a glowing Coca-Cola advertisement mean in a Brazilian rainfor- est where Coke is not available? Anything but "Buy Coke." Perhaps it would be (meant as, read as) an ironic statement on the extravagance of modern advertising. But if a picture of that advertisement in the rainfor- est was reproduced as an advertisement by Coke, the sign would again mean "Buy Coke"--but also something more, like "Coke is, or should be, available literally everywhere." Meaning is an event with multiple layers, most if not all of which are radically and subtly dependent on context. It is attractive to suppose that the formations are a sort of logical puzzle, like an IQ test. This would seem to make their context internal rather than external; the shapes would define their own context. But this argument is misleading. If one was presented with an IQ test without knowing what it was, or being shown how to work with the shapes pre- sented, it would be meaningless. The very idea of the logical puzzle is socially constructed. The Soviet psychologist A. R. Luria has shown that it is almost impossible to convey the idea of the syllogism to normally intelligent but nonliterate people. When Russian peasants were given the syllogistic puzzle In the Far North, where there is snow, all bears are white. Novaya Zembla is in the Far North and there is always snow there. What color are the bears?, a typical response was, "I don't know. I've seen a black bear. I've never seen any others. Each locality has its own animals." From their point of view, it was absurd to try to figure out the color of bears with logic, since bear coats are something you see, not deduce.16 The ideas of the logical puzzle and the transitive relationship are evidently learned, not inherent to human intelligence. If there is a logical pattern, it would be nothing simple to figure out, for the first thing we would have to do is figure out what has to be figured out. And that would almost certainly require the discovery of some external context, like an alien culture's way of thinking and reasoning. Unless, of course, the circlemakers have tried to use some human mode of reasoning. There are an enormous number of possibilities. A reading of the circles will not come easily. A lot will depend on the ability to make inspired guesses, and convince other people that they are right. The rest will depend on good data, good analytical tools, and vast amounts of hard work. But the potential payoff ought to make any linguist salivate. The field has ample room for the next Chompollon. 5. About Unconvincing Guesses Having put forward a guess (of a sort), let me say something about unconvincing guesses. I have seen quite a few articles purporting to decode individual formations to reveal some definite meaning, like "Kha- wah" ("life giver")17 or "This is a dangerous place to camp."18 The typical move in such guesses is to declare that the formation contains letters in an ancient language or elements from an obscure symbol system, and decode it by translating those letters/elements into English. I find these kinds of guesses uniformly unconvincing. If you compare the cir- cles to any language or symbol system, you'll score a number of hits. Compare them to English, and you'll find F's, O's, C's, Q's, I's, M's, and W's. Compare them to American traffic symbols, and you can find resem- blances to stoplights (i.e. three circles in a row), dashed lines on the road, and "no entry" signs. This second example is deliberately ludi- crous, but it illustrates the "Rorschach" quality of the phenomenon: one can see almost anything in it. Simple resemblance alone, let alone highly approximate resemblance, is a very shaky ground for decoding. It is also very common for such arguments to ignore the fact that the supposed "letters" and 'symbols" are stuck onto unrelated shapes, and otherwise distorted and garbled. It doesn't make sense to use an alphabet or symbol system by making it nearly unrecognizable. Finding a highly resemblant set of symbols could change the whole game, but to my knowledge, no one has accomplished this, not even Michael Green in his ambitious attempt to link the circles to designs on ancient Roman and Celtic stone carvings.19 Green finds several interesting similarities between ancient carvings and modern crop circles, but it's not enough to establish a meaningful link, since hundreds of formations have appeared in the last few years, and there are hundreds of Roman/Celtic shapes which look nothing like any known crop circle. More problematically, the Roman/Celtic shapes are typically combinations of circles, so the probabili- ty of a few rough matches by pure chance is very high. And, of course, even if the Celts were imitating crop circles seen thousands of years ago, their interpretations of them ("cosmic egg", "sun god", etc.) cannot be known to be the same as the intentions of the entities who generated them. They could be completely off the mark, as far as the circlemakers are concerned. The historical link would be exciting and valuable if Green could establish it more strongly, but it would be of little direct assistance in interpretative efforts. In sum, most would-be "decoders" look at a few formations, ignoring all the rest; they make no attempt to resolve diverse shapes into a sys- tem; they fail to consider disconfirming evidence. Instead, they Rorschach their theories into a small part of the phenomenon, and find exactly what they want to find. Of course, no one can avoid Rorschaching into the circles. I myself have read my hopes, beliefs, and professional biases into them. But one must at least try to consider the whole phenomenon and think about it systematically. Error may then be productive error. Anything else is only confusion. 6. The Future Looks Back on the Present: A Hopeful Guess There is far more that could be said, but I am probably pushing the limits of Mufon's printing budget with a paper of this size, and the patience of my readers as well. I will close, then, by offering a hopeful look at the present from the viewpoint of the future. Someday, there may be a paradigm which explains the crop circles to everybody's satisfaction. Then it will be difficult for people to see this strange and beautiful phenomenon any other way. But historians will be fascinated by the pre- paradigm writings of this era. To them our ways of seeing will look untutored and naive, but also fresh and new--the words of children seeing things for the first time. Despite their superior knowledge, they may envy us, we who have the extraordinary opportunity of first sight. Naivete is a rare gift. Let us use it well. Notes (1) R.M. Skinner, "A Seventeenth-Century Report of an Encounter with an Ionized Vortex?" Journal of Meteorology, November 1990, p. 346. The source is John Aubrey's Natural History of Wiltshire (publication date not given.) (2) John Haddington reports hearing and recording "a strange and beauti- ful trilling noise" in a circle at Bishops Canning, 1990. See his "The Wansdyke Watch", The Cereologist, issue 1 (Summer 1990), p. 15. (3) David J. Reynolds, "Possibility of a Crop Circle from 1590." Journal of Meteorology, November 1990, pp. 347-352. The text is Robert Plott's The Natural History of Stafford-shire, Oxford, 1686. (4) Plott, p. 15 (italics in original.) I am grateful to Carl Carpenter for sending me a xerox of the relevant chapter of the book, pages 7-21. (5) For examples of the former, see Delgado and Andrews' Circular Evidence (Bloomsbury Press, 1989), pp. 179-190. For examples of the latter, see Terence Meaden, The Circles Effect and its Mysteries (Artetech, 1989) especially chapter 2. (6) Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Circles Effect (held at Oxford Polytechnic, June 23, 1990), p. 50. This has been reprint- ed as Circles From the Sky. The April 1991 issue of the Mufon UFO Journal contains a large bibliography which includes ordering information for most of the books cited in this paper. (7) University of Chicago Press, 1962. (8) Proceedings, p. 39. The event is also discussed in The Circles Effect and its Mysteries, p. 55. (9) Michael Green, "The Rings of Time: The Symbolism of the Crop Circles." In The Crop Circle Enigma (Gateway Books, 1990, ed. Ralph Noyes) p. 139. (10) Quoted in Kuhn, p. 18. (11) Michael Chorost and Colin Andrews, "The Summer 1990 Crop Circles", Mufon UFO Journal, December 1990, pp. 3-14. (12) Some people have tried to define what we can presume. Gregory Benford: "The most extreme view one can take is to reject any category of knowledge of the alien, declaring them all to be inherently anthropomor- phic or anthropocentric, and flatly declare that the alien is fundamentally unknowable" (26). Benford later goes on to suggest, though, that we may be able to expand our categories to include alien ways of knowing: "We can make ourselves greater. We can ingest the alien" (27). ("Aliens and Unknowability: A Scientist's Perspective", in Starship, vol. 43, Winter- Spring 1982-3, pp. 25-27.) On the other hand, Marvin Minsky argues that alien intelligence is likely to resemble ours, because "every evolving intel- ligence will eventually encounter certain very special ideas--e.g. about arithmetic, causal reasoning, and economics--because these particular ideas are very much simpler than other ideas with similar uses" (127). (Byte, April 1985, pp. 127-138.) Speculation is useful for defining the problem, but it's rather like Robinson Crusoe trying to do sociology. (13) Lewis White Beck, "Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life." In Extraterrestri- als: Science and Alien Intelligence, edited by Edward Regis, Jr. Cam- bridge University Press, 1985. (14) Cipher A. Deavours, "Extraterrestrial Communication: A Cryptologic Perspective", in Extraterrestrials: Science and Alien Intelligence. pp. 201- 214. (Interestingly enough, the author's name is not a joke.) (15) Edward R. Tufte, Envisioning Information. Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut, 1990. (16) Luria's finding is discussed in Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (New York: Methuen, 1982), pp. 52-53. (17) Letter by Ernest P. Moyer, reprinted in Focus (Dec. 31, 1990), p. 16. (18) Jon Erik Beckjord, broadside sheet, February 1991. (19) Michael Green, "The Rings of Time: The Symbolism of the Crop Circles." In The Crop Circles Enigma, Gateway Books, 1990, pp. 137-171. About the Author Michael Chorost was educated at Brown and the University of Texas at Austin, and is now at Duke, working toward his Ph.D. in Renaissance liter- ature and philosophy of language. His first article on the subject, "The Summer 1990 Crop Circles", was coauthored with Colin Andrews and was published in December 1990's Mufon UFO Journal. He has also authored a bibliography of the phenomenon. The author may be contacted at: North American Circle P.O. Box 61144 Durham, NC 27705-1144 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- EOF -- -* Don Allen *- InterNet: dona@bilver.UUCP // Amiga..for the rest of us. USnail: 1818G Landing Dr, Sanford Fl 32771 \X/ Why use anything else? :^) UUCP: ..uunet!tarpit!bilver!vicstoy!dona 0110 0110 0110 Just say NO! Illuminati < MJ-12|Grudge|TLC|CFR|FED|EEC|Bush > WAR = "New World Order" From dona@bilver.uucp Tue Jun 18 20:31:32 1991 From: dona@bilver.uucp (Don Allen) Newsgroups: alt.alien.visitors,alt.paranormal,sci.skeptic,alt.conspiracy,talk.religion.newage,misc.headlines,misc.misc Subject: CROP CIRCLES: Bibliographical Update On CROP CIRCLES Keywords: follow-ups to alt.alien.visitors Date: 17 Jun 91 19:09:52 GMT Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This information is presented for your persusal and is a continuation of my policy of informing the public what is currently available. As usual my *disclaimer* is simply to present the data and let you form your own opinion(s). Please feel free to agree,disagree,discuss or ponder :-) As I do not have a great amount of time available to pursue follow-ups exclusively, comments to me should be directed to dona@bilver.uucp in mail. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The following text comes from the MUFONET BBS (1-901-785-4943): ------Begin Included Text ------------------------------------------- Circles of Note: Bibliography on the Crop Circles Updated June 9, 1991 Michael Chorost Bibliographies always look rather dry. However, a careful reader can learn much from this one, since many of the entries have parentheti- cal summaries attached to them. Also, a close look at the topics will reveal the diversity of the crop circles phenomenon and the responses it has gathered. Finally, the sections on books, magazines, and studies include price and ordering information, where known. I should note two sets of exclusions. First, I have not indexed articles from journals devoted to cerealogy. Much of the best information has been printed in their pages; back numbers can often be obtained by writing to the editors. Second, I have tended to include newspaper arti- cles only of particular interest or informativeness, such as ones reporting circles in detail, non-English circles, or noteworthy points of view. Inclusion in this bibliography does not imply endorsement. I am indebted to my contacts and colleagues in England, Canada, and the United States, who generously sent me many of the articles listed here. I would be grateful to receive any corrections and additions, which will be included in future updates. Contact me at: Michael Chorost North American Circle P.O. Box 61144 Durham, NC 27715-1144 All items listed alphabetically by author. Books Circular Evidence. Pat Delgado and Colin Andrews. London: Bloomsbury Press, 1989. 190 pp. US price $29.95 hardcover, $14.95 softcover. At least three sources: (1) Phanes Press, P.O. Box 6114, Grand Rapids, MI 49516, tel. (800) 678-0392. (2) Arcturus Book Services, P.O. Box 831383, Stone Mountain, Georgia, 30083-0023, tel. (404) 297-4624. (3) Trafalgar Square, Vermont, NY, tel. (802) 457-1911. Crop Circles: The Latest Evidence. Pat Delgado and Colin Andrews. London: Bloomsbury Press, 1990. 80 pp. UK L5.99, US $13.95. Ordering information as above. The Controversy of the Circles. Paul Fuller and Jenny Randles. UK L4.20. BUFORA, 103 Hove Avenue, Walthamstow, London. Crop Circles: A Mystery Solved. Paul Fuller and Jenny Randles. London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1990, 250 pp. UK L13.95, US $30.95 (from Arcturus Books, see entry for Circular Evidence above.) The UFO Report 1990. Edited by Timothy Good. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1990. See "The Celtic Cross", p. 91-94. The Circles Effect and Its Mysteries. George Terence Meaden. Bradford- on-Avon: Artetech Publishing Company, April 1990 (2nd ed.) 116 pp. UK L11.95. Order from Artetech, 54 Frome Road, Bradford-on-Avon, BA15 1LD; tel. 02216 2482. Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Circles Effect. Edited by George Terence Meaden and Derek Elsom. Copyright TORRO- CERES (Tornado and Storm Research Organization-Circles Effect Research Group). 134pp. Conference held at Oxford Polytechnic on June 23, 1990. Available from Artetech (see previous item) at UK L10. Circles From The Sky. Edited by George Terence Meaden. The expanded, hardcover edition of the Proceedings (see previous item.) 208 pp. UK L14.99 from Souvenir Press, 43 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3PA. The Crop Circle Enigma. Edited by Ralph Noyes. Bath: Gateway Books, 1990. 192 pp. $29.95 (note price increase.) At least four sources: (1) The Great Tradition, 11270 Clayton Creek Road, P.O. Box 108, Lower Lake, CA 95457, tel. (707) 995-3906. (2) New Leaf Book Distributing Co, 5425 Tulane Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30336-2323, tel. (404) 691-6996. (3) Inland Book Co, P.O. Box 261, East Haven, CT 06512, tel. (203) 467-4257. (4) Bookpeople, 2929 Fifth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710, tel. (415) 549-3030. Physical Traces Associated With UFO Sightings. Compiled by Ted Phillips, edited by Mimi Hynek. Northfield, Illinois: Center for UFO Studies, 1975. The Natural History of Stafford-shire. Robert Plott (spelled "Plot" on title page.) Oxford, 1686. (Pages 7-21 describe what may be 17th-century fairy rings or crop circles.) Passport to Magonia. Jacques Vallee. Chicago: Henry Regnery Co, 1969. (See "Rings In The Moonlight", pp. 31-39, on "UFO nests.") Periodicals Circles Phenomenon Research (CPR) Newsletter. Editor: Pat Delgado. 1- year subscription (4 issues) $24.00 (but price may be reduced; write for current information.) CPR Satellite Office, 117 Ashland Lane, Aurora, OH 44202. Make checks payable to D.S. Rulison. (Sympathetic to theories of non-human intelligence.) UFO Newsclipping Service. Editor: Lucius Farish. 1-year subscription (12 issues) $55. Route 1, Box 220, Plumerville, Arkansas 72127. (Excellent source for newspaper reports of crop circles worldwide.) The Crop Watcher. Editor: Paul Fuller. 1-year subscription (6 issues) UK L13.00 (overseas airmail price.) 3 Selborne Court, Tavistock Close, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 7TY, England. (Sympathetic to the meteorological theory.) The Circular. Editor: Bob Kingsley. 1-year subscription (4 issues) in- cluded with membership in CCCS (Centre for Crop Circle Studies.) Over- seas membership UK L15, US $33. Payable Visa/Access/Mastercard/Euro- card. Write to Specialist Knowledge Services, St. Aldhelm, 20 Paul Street, Frome, Somerset BA 11 1DX, U.K., or call (0373) 51777. Journal of Meteorology. Editor: George Terence Meaden. 1-year overseas subscription (10 issues) UK L55 surface, L65 airmail. 54 Frome Road, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 1LD, England. (The bastion of the meteorological theory.) The Cerealogist. Editor: John Michell. 1-year subscription (3 issues) L7.50, US $18.00. Payable Visa/Access/Mastercard/Eurocard. Write to Specialist Knowledge Services, St. Aldhelm, 20 Paul Street, Frome, Somerset BA 11 1DX, U.K., or call (0373) 51777. (Closely associated with the CCCS. Eclectic approach.) The Swamp Gas Journal. Editor: Chris Rutkowski. For subscription information, write to the editor at Box 1918, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3C 3R2. (Loosely associated with NAICCR--see "Studies"; runs stories on Canadian crop circles.) Mufon UFO Journal. Editor: Dennis Stacy. 1-year subscription (12 issues) $25. 103 Oldtowne Road, Seguin, Texas 78155-4099. (Frequently runs articles on crop circles, particularly North American ones.) Articles "Midwest Crop Circles." Erich A. Aggen, Jr. Mufon UFO Journal, no. 272 (December 1990), pp. 15-16. (Irregular crop circles near Odessa, Missouri.) "Circular Evidence." Colin Andrews. Mufon UFO Journal, no. 243 (July 1988), pp. 11-13. (Discussion of several 1987 formations.) "Major Increase in Mystery Circles." Colin Andrews. Kindred Spirit (UK) vol 1 no. 5 (Winter 1988-89) pp. 27-28. "Crop Circles Appear in the U.S.S.R." Walt Andrus. Mufon UFO Journal, no. 270 (October 1990), p. 13. (Oval, 35 by 45 meters; Krasnodar region.) "The Thumb Prints of the Gods?" Anonymous. U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 11, 1989. (Short item.) "Prepare to Meet Thy Drought." Anonymous. Today, July 20, 1990. (Suggests the multiple pictograms resemble the Sumerian language or weather-map symbols.) "Mystery Circles in Fukuoka." Anonymous. Asahi Evening News (Tokyo), Sept. 28, 1990. (Two circles 12 km. E of Fukuoka City, Japan, found Sept. 17, 1990.) "More Circular Evidence." Richard Beaumont. Kindred Spirit, vol. 1, no. 8, pp. 25-28. (Interview with Colin Andrews. Discusses electrical, psy- chic, and historical events associated with the circles.) "Crop Circles: The Mystery Deepens." Richard Beaumont. Kindred Spirit, vol. 1, no. 12, pp. 32-37. (Summary of the key developments of the Summer 1990 season, with aerial photos.) "The English 'Circles' Mystery." Jon Erik Beckjord. UFO vol. 5, no. 6 (probably late 1990), pp. 9-13, 39. (Discusses personal visit to several formations.) "Possible Physical Mechanism for Producing Crop Circles." John Branden- burg. Mufon UFO Journal, no. 276 (April 1991), pp. 10-11. (Suggests microwave beams are responsible for flattening plants.) "UFO Report to Farmers." George Brandsberg. Farm Profit, July-August 1975. (Discusses scorched patches and long swathes of sliced-off corn.) "The Summer 1990 Crop Circles." Michael Chorost and Colin Andrews. Mufon UFO Journal, no. 272 (December 1990), pp. 3-14. (Layering of crops, EM effects, possibility of language. 10 photos, 3 diagrams.) "Circles of Note: A Continuing Bibliography." Michael Chorost. Mufon UFO Journal, no. 276 (April 1991), pp. 14-17. (This bibliography, as of April 1991.) "Theses for a Pre-Paradigm Science: Cereology." Michael Chorost. To be published in Mufon conference proceedings, July 1991. (Current state of cereology; further theorizing on language hypothesis.) "Erasmus Darwin on Cropfield Circles in 1789?: The Fairy-Ring Connection." Mark Chorvinsky. Strange Magazine no. 6 (date unknown; probably late 1990), p. 32. (Reprints Darwin's discussion of odd fairy- rings; it is quite similar to Plott's account--see "Books.") "UFO Mania Hits Odessa: Circles In Field Create Media Interest." Carol Conrow. The Odessan (Odessa, Missouri), September 20, 1990, pp. 2-3. (Discussion of Odessa crop circle in a field of sorghum.) "Circles in Lowe Fields Stir Interest Across Nation." Carol Conrow. The Odessan (Odessa, Missouri), September 27, 1990. "The Whippingham Ground Effects." Leonard G. Cramp. Flying Saucer Review, vol. 14, no. 3 (May/June 1968). (Extensive documentation of straight and circular plant flattenings correlated with a reported UFO sighting on July 10, 1967, near Newport, Isle of Wight.) "The Circles: England's Greatest Unsolved Mystery." Sean Devney. UFO Universe, July 1990, pp. 30-59. (Discussion of possible relationship to Stonehenge.) "Around and Around in Circles." Sally B. Donnelly. Time Magazine. Sept. 18, 1989, p.50. Letters of response in Oct. 9th issue, p. 14. (Overview of the phenomenon; three color pictures.) "Ever-Increasing Circles." Elisabeth Dunn. Telegraph Weekend Magazine (UK), July 8, 1989, pp. 24-28. (Basic overview; good photographs.) "Magical Mystery Tour." John Eccles. Sussex Express (UK), August 3, 1990. (Formation on Milton Street Farm, near Wilmington Priory.) "Logic Flattens 'Corn Circle' Theories." James Erlichmann. Guardian (UK), July 6, 1990, p. 24. (Reports Robert Cory's theory: "The phenomenon is caused by the old-fashioned circular irrigation machine.") "El Enigma Que Cayo Del Cielo." Hilary Evans. Ano Cero no. 2 (September 1990), pp. 50-55. "Mysterious Circles in British Fields Spook the Populace." Craig Forman. Wall Street Journal, Aug 28, 1989, p. A1. (Basic overview.) "Squaring The Circles of Alien Visitors." Nigel Fountain. Guardian (UK), August 1, 1990, p. 36. (Humor: "Stuff fluid dynamics, I want some aliens.") "Mystery Circles: Myth in the Making." Paul Fuller. International UFO Reporter, May/June 1988, p. 4-8. (Supports meteorological theory; presents two eyewitness cases of whirlwinds.) "Weird Circles Puzzle Britons." Jacqui Goddard. The High Plains Journal (Dodge City, Kansas), September 11, 1989, p. B1. (Basic overview.) "Circles Run Rings Around Experts." Timothy Good. Hampshire Chronicle (UK), Aug. 4, 1989. (Basic overview.) "Circles in the fields inspire talk of UFO's." Maria Goodavage. USA Today, November 15, 1990, p. 6A. (Short discussion of double-dumbbells.) "Daylight Close Encounter." Stan Gordon. MUFON UFO Journal, July 1989, pp. 18-21. (Discusses Pennsylvania UFO sighting and related circular landing trace.) "Retrospective Investigation of a Possible Trace at Mt. Garnet". Holly Goriss and Russell Boundy. UFO Research Australia Newsletter, March- April 1981 (Vol 2. No. 2) pp. 4-6. (Investigates a 1977 ground marking which looks like a crude quintuplet.) "Farmer's Amazing Find in Cornfield." Richard Green. Chase Post (Lich- field, UK), Aug. 9, 1990. (Chorley, Lichfield "cross" formation.) "Crop Circles Create Rounds of Confusion." Wendy Grossman. Skeptical Inquirer, vol. 14 no. 2 (Winter 1990), pp. 117-118. ("A genuine modern mystery.") "The Year of the Vajra." John Haddington. Link Up, Sept-Nov. 1990, p. 4-13. (Suggests dumbbells are Buddhist symbols; discussion of camera failures.) "If It Can't Be Explained, Women Ready To Listen." Bill Harlan. Rapid City Journal (South Dakota), March 10, 1991. (Report circles in area to Davina Ryszka of Custer, S.D., (605) 673-2818.) "Round and Round They Go: New Crop of Oddities Has British Going in Circles." Timothy Harper. The Detroit News, Oct. 2, 1989, p. 3A. (Basic overview.) "Going Round in Circles." Andrew Hewitt. Huddersfield Examiner (UK), August 7, 1990. (Supports vortex theory, dismisses hoax theory.) "Taking A Turn Around The Circles." George Hill. The Times (UK), July 27, 1990, p. 16. (Attack on uncritical media approaches to phenomenon.) "Beware of the Supernatural." Juliet Hughes. Wiltshire Gazette (UK), August 9, 1990. ("If the crop circles prove to be meteorological phenome- na, then all the more glory to God.") "England's Puzzling Crop Circles: The Shape of a Mystery." J. Antonio Huneeus. New York City Tribune, 2 parts: May 3 and 10, 1990 ("Science" section.) (Discusses history, and hoax and meteorological theories.) "A Sighting in Saskatchewan." J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallee, in The Edge of Reality (Appendix A). The Henry Regnery Co., 1975. (Discusses Canadian UFO sighting and related circular flattened areas.) "Experts Can't Square Explanations of Circles." Gregory Jensen. Wash- ington Times, July 27, 1990. Page A1. (Reports the Blackbird hoax inci- dent. Photo of one of the pictograms.) "Round and Round in Circles." Dianne Kenny. Global Link Up, December 1988/Feb. 1989, pp. 4-7. (Overview, theories.) "Corn Circles and an Artful Explanation." Miles Kington. The Independ- ent (UK), Sept. 5, 1990, p. 20. (Humor: "I would surmise that Wiltshire is a very out-of-town gallery for some galaxy.") "A Rare Circle for Skeptics." Marek Kohn. Weekend Guardian (UK), Aug. 18, 1990, p. 17. (Skeptical discussion of the phenomenon.) "The Corn Circles Riddle." Idina Le Geyt. Share International vol 9, no. 3 (April 1990), pp. 17-19. (Focuses on paranormal events associated with the circles.) "Spherical Sounds? Zounds!" Eugenia Macer-Story. Mufon UFO Journal, April 1991, pp. 12-13. "Strange Sighting at Silbury Hill." Richard Martin. Kindred Spirit (UK), vol 1 no. 5 (Winter 1988-89), pp. 26-27. (Glowing lights associated with circles.) "Mysterious Ring in Field Gets Plenty of Attention." Tom McCoag. Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Canada), April 22, 1991, p. A1. (Early 1991 formation in Amherst, Nova Scotia; 30-foot dia. ring, 12 inches wide.) "More Puzzling Circles Found in Fields." Donna McGuire and Eric Adler. Kansas City Star, September 21, 1990, p A1. (Map locates seven circles in Kansas City region; discusses microburst theory.) "Circles in the corn." Terence Meaden. New Scientist, June 23, 1990, 47- 9. (Argues for the plasma vortex theory.) "The Beckhampton 'Scroll-Type' Circles, The Beckhampton 'Triangle', and Strange Attractors." G. Terence Meaden, Journal of Meteorology (Trow- bridge, U.K.), October 1990, pp. 317-320. ("The triangle is nothing other than an imperfect circle." Useful for discussion of luminous tubes and diagram of a scroll.) "Crop Circles Explained???" Ernest P. Moyer. Insight, Sept. 24, 1990; reprinted in Focus, December 31, 1990, p. 16. (Translates one double- dumbbell to mean "Khawah", or "Eve, the life-giver.") "And Now...Cornfield Circles in Australia!" Paul Norman. Flying Saucer Review, vol. 35, no. 1 (March Quarter, 1990), pp. 7-8. (Briefly discusses nine 1980's crop circles in Beulah, Victoria, between 3 and 16 feet in diameter.) "And More Cornfield Circles in Canada." Paul Norman. Flying Saucer Review, vol. 35, no. 1 (March Quarter, 1990), pp. 8-9. (Briefly discusses 1989 circles between 6 and 24 meters in diameter in Manitoba; 2 photos.) "Crop Revolution 10 Years On." Ralph Noyes. Country Life, July 6, 1989, pp. 102-103. (Discusses White Crow, 1989's surveillance experiment.) "Circular Arguments." Ralph Noyes. Mufon UFO Journal no. 258 (October 1989), pp. 16-18. (Discusses books, meteorological theory.) "Farmers Fear Mysterious Vicious Circle." Nick Nuttall. The London Times, June 23, 1990, p. 4. (Oxford Polytechnic conference.) "L10,000 Reward." Terry O'Hanlon. Sunday Mirror (UK), July 22, 1990. (Mirror offers reward for solution of mystery.) "Mysterious Circles." Andrew Phillips. Macleans, Aug. 13, 1990, pp. 46-47. (Short overview.) "The Hertfordshire 'Mowing Devil' Woodcut: A 17th Century Circle Report?" Jenny Randles. UFO Times, no. 5 (January 1990), pp. 30-32. (Presents a 1678 woodcut showing a devil "mowing" a pattern which Randles suggests may be a crop circle.) "Shedding New Light on Mystery Crop Circles." Ross Reyburn. Birming- ham Post (UK), August 16, 1990. (Interview with Jenny Randles.) "Scientist Tells How He Squared A Corn Circle." Amit Roy. The Sunday Times (UK), July 1, 1990, p. 4. (Discussion of meteorological theory.) "Swirled Landing Trace?" Carol and Rex Salisberry. MUFON UFO Journal, no. 264 (April 1990), pp. 3-7. (A Gulf Breeze crop circle.) "Measuring the Circles." Michael T. Shoemaker. Strange Magazine no. 6 (date unknown; probably late 1990), pp. 34-35, 56-57. (Critical review of current theories.) "Did They Have Visitors?" Richard Simon. Fate, vol. 44, no. 2 (February 1991), pp. 66-69. (46-foot circle in shallow grass, Millersburg, Ohio.) "The Crop Circle Mystery." A. Robert Smith. Venture Inward, Jan/Feb 1991, pp. 12-16. "Unidentified Farm Object Shakes State." Wes Smith. Chicago Tribune, October 28, 1990, p.1. Reprinted as "Illinois Aflutter Over Unidentified Farm Object" in Austin American-Statesman (Austin, Texas), November 14, 1990, p. D10. (Discusses 1990 crop circle in Milan, Illinois.) "Field Of Dreams?" Dava Sobel. Omni, December 1990, pp. 59-67,121-128. (Extended overview, slanted toward meteorological theory; many photo- graphs.) "Graffiti of the Gods?" Dennis Stacy. New Age Journal, Jan/Feb. 1991, pp. 38-44, 103. (Extended overview, more balanced than Omni article; many photographs.) "River, Lake, and Creek." Michael Strainic. Mufon UFO Journal, March 1990, pp. 10-14. (Circles and UFO reports in British Columbia.) "Corn Circle Experts in Plea for Action." Chris Tate. Salisbury Journal (UK), July 27, 1989, p. 4. (British government not discussing the phe- nomenon.) "Hoping Some Furry Little Creatures Crop Up." Calvin Trillin. Syndicat- ed newspaper column, August 13, 1990. (A humorous look at the circles.) "Did a UFO Visit This Farm?" Lon Tonneson. Dakota Farmer, October 1990, p. 9. (Early Aug. 1990 "reversed question mark" in Leola, S.D.) "Anatomy of a Corny Hoax." Simon Trump and Bill Mouland. Today (UK), July 26, 1990, pp. 24-25. (Chronology of the Blackbird hoax.) "Proposed Physical Measurements of Crop Circles." Michael Wales. Mufon UFO Journal, March 1991, pp. 15, 23. (Suggestions for instrumented re- search.) Multiple stories, multiple authors, Fortean Times, issues 53 (Winter 1989/90) and 55 (sorry, date not known.) Issue 53 is entirely devoted to the phenomenon, with articles by Bob Skinner, John Michell, Ralph Noyes, G. Terence Meaden, Hilary Evans, and Bob Rickard. Issue 55 contains an update, pp. 7-13, on 1989-1990 formations outside of Wiltshire. "Das Ratsel im Roggen." Stern, #38 (Sept/Oct 1989), p. 250-1. "Ein Phanomen Zieht Kreise." Esotera, December 12, 1989, p. 52-57. "Los misteriosos y polemicos circulos aparecidos en los campos del Sur de Inglaterra." !Hola!, date ?, p. 134-140. Reviews "Crop Circles in North America: The NAICCR Report." Michael Chorost. Mufon UFO Journal, June 1991. "A Crop of Circles." Circular Evidence and The Circles Effect and its Mysteries. Derek Elsom. New Scientist, July 29, 1989, p. 58. "They Never Yet Could Find My Measure." The Crop Circle Enigma. Wendy Grossman. New Scientist, December 1, 1990, pp. 61-2. Crop Circles: The Latest Evidence. Jerrold R. Johnson. Mufon UFO Journal, March 1991, pp. 17-18, 23. The Circles Effect and Its Mysteries, Circular Evidence, and Controversy of the Circles. Ralph Noyes. Journal of the Society for Psychical Re- search, vol. 56, no. 820 (July 1990), pp. 235-237. The Crop Circle Enigma. Dennis Stacy. Mufon UFO Journal, March 1991, pp. 16-17. "Field Events." Circular Evidence. Alexander Urquhart. Times Literary Supplement, August 4, 1989, p. 845. Studies "Circles Investigation." Colin Andrews. Released 1986. 19 pp. Presents some data for the years 1975-1986, primarily dates and approximate loca- tions. Discusses hoax theory and circles' relationship to tramlines. Cir- cles Phenomenon Research, 57 Salisbury Road, Andover, Hampshire SP10 2LL, UK. "A Sample Survey of the Incidence of Geometrically-Shaped Crop Damage." Paul Fuller. Copyright 1988. 41 pp. Commissioned by BUFORA and TORRO. "North American Crop Circles and Related Physical Traces in 1990." Re- leased February 1991. 18pp. Conducted by NAICCR (North American Insti- tute for Crop Circle Research.) Presents data for 45 North American cases in 1990, about 30 of which appear to be English-style crop circles. NAICCR, 649 Silverstone Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2V8, Canada. Television (My thanks to Richard Benham and Paul Hicks for this information.) Good Morning America--May 9, July 24, July 25, July 26 (all 1990). Cover- age of the Blackbird surveillance operation and the hoax of July 24, 1990. ABC Evening News--July 19, 1990. Coverage of double-dumbbells. CBS Evening News--July 25, 1990. Coverage of Blackbird hoax. Unsolved Mysteries--January 31, 1990. Overview of phenomenon and 1989 events. Reshown with update on September 12, 1990. A Current Affair--August 27 and September 14, 1990. Latter show dis- cusses Canadian crop circles and interviews Whitley Streiber about them. Inside Edition--March 5, 1990. 20/20--September 21, 1990; 10-minute segment. Miscellaneous The Skyland bulletin board (Asheville, N.C.) has inaugurated an NACIRCLE conference (#14.) Contains an online version of Mufon's December 1990 article by Chorost and Andrews, and a copy of this bibliography (which will be updated regularly.) Sysop: Michael Havelin. Telephone (704) 254- 7800. 2400 baud, N-8-1. No charge. "Out of the Prairie Comes Proof that a Higher Level of Communication Has Arrived." Advertisement for Procomm Plus 2.0 (Datastorm Technologies Inc.) Clever depiction of a crop circle shaped like a computer diskette. Designer: Stephen Monaco. Ran in computer magazines starting Feb-Mar. 1991. A recent Led Zeppelin album cover contains a photograph of the first Alton Barnes double-dumbbell with a zeppelin's shadow over it. The Koestler Foundation is offering a reward of L5000 for a documented explanation of the crop circles. For information, write to The Koestler Foundation, 484 King's Road, London SW10 OLF. Include a stamped ad- dressed envelope. CD-ROM bibliographic sources are beginning to index articles under "crop circles. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- EOF -- -* Don Allen *- InterNet: dona@bilver.UUCP // Amiga..for the rest of us. USnail: 1818G Landing Dr, Sanford Fl 32771 \X/ Why use anything else? :^) UUCP: ..uunet!tarpit!bilver!vicstoy!dona 0110 0110 0110 Just say NO! Illuminati < MJ-12|Grudge|TLC|CFR|FED|EEC|Bush > WAR = "New World Order"