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For those that believe no explanation is necessary.
For those who do not, none will suffice.
--Joseph Dunninger

12-1 OREGON FORTEANA (updated 2-25-05) , Submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks to the Red Queen.

Better to start here, the index page has become unlinked to the rest of the site.

There are so many strange web pages out there, full of such odd and wonderful crap that the Odd Emperor just can’t get around to review all of them. Many are just passing strange and get put on the Imperial back-burner to ahmm . season a while. Such a page is OREGON FORTEANA (updated 2/25/05) .

Now; The Odd Emperor doesn't say this page is not weird, it is all right. It’s festooned with your typical array of animated gifs so that it looks like a demented pinball machine.

But, many pages are.

It’s not that this page is operated (so to speak, it’s actually an Angelfire kit page) by the one and only Red Queen herself. It’s not that the page is full of semi-coherent ramblings of a person who thinks the world is out to get her and that all skeptical people should just shut up.

Other pages say that too.

It’s not the operator of this page is a big fan of the Odd Emperor, judging from the many pages of fan mail I've already received,

Well the Odd Emperor has lots of fans.

It’s not that she believes herself to be an abductee.
It’s not that she believes she is psychic.
It’s not that she thinks bleeevers should oppose any scientific ideals and skepticism should be a four-letter word.
It's not that she bitterly criticizes people but can't take so much as someone saying "boo" to her. (That's an attack don'tcha know?)
It’s not that she’s obsessed with the thought that some skeptical UFO researchers are Jew haters and therefore personally out to get her.
It’s not that she thinks Ted Nugent Alice Cooper and Kid Rock be forthwith put to death. (I don’t care for them either but *really*.) ; )

It’s not all of these things, not really. Some people *think* stuff like this.
The big difference is, the Red Queen *writes* these things out--in public places too.

But; I don’t want to be too rough on the Red Queen. We’ve had some nice conversations (and some testy ones.) She runs a butt-load of Yahoo groups, one of which I regularly posted for a while. I discovered that since I tend to be skeptical I'm just an object of scorn to the world of the Red Queen, she's not going to listen to any argument because, according to the Red Queen "I have a closed mind."

"'I'm not so much interested in "debating" with the likes of you all anyway. Think of it as a game, I certainly do." --We don't care much what you think, you're all just here for us to make fun of."

She said this to me as *the moderator* of one of her lists. I think that prefer my "closed mind" over her "open mind."

Well; she's not the only one. I've run into many "open minded people" who shout down any dissent, it seems to be a popular way to win arguments. lame as hell but popular. It also spares them the trouble of having to hear an opinion they don't like, it's much better to shout "YOU'R A PSYCHO!" over and over.

The real reason I pulled out of her forums? (yes, I did Red Queen; voluntarily.) Not simply because she's unfair, not simply becuse she has unbelivable double standards, not simply becuse she acuses people she dosen't care for with things she herself is guilty of.

No; I realized that any relationship with this person is a waste of my time. She's abusive to the point of libel, working any conversation into a direct confrontation. I also looked up the term "psycotic," something she has publicly acused people of on a number of ocasions and found this.

It was better to just pull out and be done with her.

Some good came out of it though. She introduced me to the term “woo” and pointed me to the JREF forum (which I quite like.) She was the number one viewer of the Empire of the Odd for March 2005.

What's puzzling is that she sincerely would like me to hate her, and I just--can't. Yes she can be crude--rude, obnoxious sometimes but, many people are.

I can't hate her--why?

Chiefly; she's not out to rip people off. Her convictions are sincere--honest even. Not many people in the UFO biz can say that. She's not selling anything except what she believes, and it must be truly frustrating that not many people will believe with her.

Also, I really don't hate anyone, not even people who are rude to the Odd Emperor. I wouldn't mock a crazy idea if I hated the person.

I sincerely hope that the Red Queen can find whatever it is she is seeking—someday, somewhere. Far out in the galaxy of strangeness, she may find that there are many many others out here seeking the same things, just some go about it in different ways. Truth is not something that can be found through hating others or by a dogmatic belief system. Truth cannot be forced by repeating the same things and over again. Truth is something that changes day by day, that alters itself to fit a current reality.

Truth is a wonderful thing, for those who find it, for those who have the courage to speak it.

The only truth one must have is to their own self. That truth is the most important one, above all others and I sincerely hope the Red Queen can find it--someday

Inducted April 2, 2005

12-2 Skeptical Investigations, submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks to 'jzs' of JREF.

At first blush one might think that this was another web site devoted to telling the truth about charlatans, fake psychics and purveyors of snake-oil. It’s an extremely well written site, the arguments presented here are sober, even convincing. But scratch the surface just a little and this page bleeds that green slime from the movie Ghost Busters.

This is a page devoted to debunking science or more precisely, debunking any scientist or skeptic who does not admit that snake-oil is probably an OK thing. This page is a camouflaged “woo" page, and not much else.

In their about section they write

“The Skeptical Investigations website is organized by the Association for Skeptical Investigation, the purpose of which is to promote genuine skepticism, the spirit of enquiry and doubt, within science. This includes an open-minded investigation of unexplained phenomena, a questioning of dogmatic assumptions, and a skeptical examination of the claims of self-proclaimed skeptics. “

That’s a pretty honest mission statement and indicative to how the rest of the site is written. They want to foster the spirit of doubt *within science* which (from reading the rest of the site seems to be) a doubt *of* science or perhaps a doubt of anyone who debunks.

What they don’t get is that any true enquiry of unexplained phenomenal is open minded or it’s not science at all. Science doesn't work dogmatically, it simply can’t. The only people who can not understand this seems to be the dogmatic believer community and perhaps the person(s) who wrote this web page .

Part of this page is devoted to ripping well known skeptics, A Who's Who of Media Skeptics Skeptics or Dogmatists? There are several paragraphs on people like Paul Kurtz and Mike Hutchinson. Really almost anyone associated with CSICOP seems to be fair game. To their credit the page authors list the academic standing of the people they review, and proceed to detail every mistake they ever made. You mean skeptics aren’t perfect? Wow, what a revelation!

The page has a clear agenda, one that is completely obvious with even cursorily examination. (In my words) “Science is OK so long as it does not attempt to disprove or debunk unknown phenomena. It can only be used as a mechanism to prove that unknown phenomena (read superstition) is real.”

Unfortunately this kind of thinking is not scientific, it is itself dogmatic and closed minded. Science is a process whereby errors are eliminated out of a system. That’s all it does. Science does not operate to prove or disprove any particular agenda or world view. Science does not and cannot exist simply to disprove superstition. The reason superstitious people are often so incredibly defensive of their beliefs speaks volumes of the effectiveness of science.

At least it should.

Inducted April 3, 2005

12-5 Alien Abduction Preventive Device, submitted by the Odd Emperor

"Thousands of individuals are abducted by extraterrestrials each year!!!" Screams the headline (of this webpage anyway.)

The Odd Emperor really admires the chutzpah of this fellow, he’s seen a couple of UFOs and this prompted him to create the ALIEN ABDUCTION PREVENTIVE DEVICE or AAPD. What does the AAPD do? It prevents Alien Abduction!! How do we know that it prevents alien abduction? Well; buy one ‘schmuck’ and you won’t get abducted.

SEE?

I looked for the cost of this thing (which looks just like a brass pin.) There is no price listed on the web page--so I did what any Odd Emperor would do, I asked! And got this reply;

The price for a genuine AAPD which is guaranteed to work is only, 5.25 less postage. “The Alien Abduction Preventive Device is guaranteed for LIFE. Should you or the holder of the Alien Abduction Preventive Device be abducted 110% of the purchase price will be refunded.

110% Oh really? And how do you prove that the device failed I asked.

"If after you purchase an AAPD you are abducted, just send the AAPD along with an Official US Government Report (Or an Official Government Report from your country) indicating the date, time, and place of the abduction and signed by an OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE to me and I will refund your purchase price. The refund however does not include postage."

Ok, seems clear enough, let's see--110% of $5.25 = 5.77,...

HEY! IF this lousy thing doesn't work and I get a refund, I'm out two dollars and forty-eight cents for postage!

(Dang-nabit!)

Inducted April 7, 2005

12-6 The Ascension Network, submitted by the Odd Emperor

Woo, wow!

I really can't say much more than that.

Inducted April 14, 2005

12-7 Energy and Spiritual Healing Center. Submitted by the Odd Emperor.

"--Wouldn't it be nice if we could make big changes in our life, our attitudes and even our beliefs in a shorter time than we think it takes now? Have you ever wondered what keeps us stuck or frozen in our lives? Working with your energy is my talent, my gift, my calling."

Meet Marlana and her faithful companion guide-dog Jupiter.

Marlana is a faith healer or something like that. She says;

"The life we experience is based upon a complex mix of external and internal energies. These energy fields include;

• All of those currently measured by traditional science.
• Those measured by the new sciences
• Those energies that are experienced and are currently not measured
• Those energies whose presence is unknown to us
• Greater sense of Self"

New science is like the advanced form of laser energy used for“a super charged line of nutritional supplement health products to satisfy various physical, nutritional and emotional needs.” Good thing they aren’t using any old ‘backwards-tobacco’ chewing laser energy.

OK, I can dig that.

Some of the benefits of Marlana are;
• Increased clarity
• Boosts in energy
• Becoming more peaceful and serene
• Relief from both chronic and acute conditions
• More awareness of inner choices"

Or how about MethusaLife? Just spray this junk under your tongue, It’s been found to boost lifespans 300%. Not human life spans, undefined rodents in an unknown laboratory by in an unknown study. The fellow who supposedly did the study was Dr. Max Odens. But his work (and there is scant mention of it) was on the long term effects of common brewer’s yeast on rats…you don’t think?

But it’s fortified by Splenda(tm) brand artificial sweetener! That’s got to account for something.

I suppose it’s not Marlana’s fault but I have to question anyone who sells stuff like this with a straight face.
The cost for services from Marlana? Only a heart offering of $240.00 US dollars per hour. Hey! When she was a real therapist she only charged only $120.00 per hour, now that she’s using psychic healing instead of that ordinary psychology stuff, she should be able to charge more.

Right?

Inducted April 14, 2005

12-8 Informent News, submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks to the UFO Seek forum.

"Please visit Informant News for the latest UFO news, huge ufo data base and archive, underground bases, extraterrestrials in religious texts and art work, crop circles decoded, shocking alien abduction and human mutilations with reports and photos."

Informant news, your typical-nutty looking, pinball machine UFO page. It’s got a few things going for it. The MOST PARNOID ESSAY EVER is here, (and coming to an Odd Empire near you!)

The entire page is done in PHP-Nuke, so structurally it looks like every other page done in PHP-Nuke. Except this one has, you know. Lots of alien heads and dumb animated gifs.

Most of the articles are links to UFOupdate or India Daily, reprinted from various sources. Some of the other articles have bylines like “One Smart Rat.” It’s pretty difficult for anyone, especially an Odd Emperor to take this seriously.

Inducted April 17, 2005

12-9 Colin Bennett's Combat Diaries, submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks to the Red Queen.

Colin Bennett is one of those people who defy description. By his own words he’s a postmodern deconstructionist satirist who's subject is UFOs. Or more prosaically, on people who write about UFOs.

To the Odd Emperor this is just a fancy way of saying he doesn’t give a rat’s hindquarters what anyone else thinks on the subject. Here’s the real world according to Colin Bennett thank-you-very-little and if you don’t like it, the next web site is only a click away.

The strange thing is--I do like it. It’s funny stuff, reminds me of Douglas Adams’s philosophers in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy The ones who would shout “We are for a complete and utter absents of facts!”

Bennett is kind of like that.

Not that Mr. Bennett would say it, at least not so efficiently. No; Bennett takes his time with the concept and lavishes words--in their thousands to say the very same thing. He’s pretty contemptuous about how science has treated the subject of flying saucers and aliens, he’s kind of contemptuous about any logical ordering whether it be an attempt to analyze flying saucers by accredited researchers or even simple information gathering.

Art (the art of prose in this case) is the only way that humanity is ever going understand UFOs acording to Mr. Bennett.

Now if humanity could just understand the prose, we’d surely be cooking with gas.

Inducted April 17, 2005

12-10 Rocky Mountain Paranormal, submitted by the Red Queen

You might think that the Odd Emperor was going to squash the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society. That he was going to ruthlessly and unfairly scoff at them. Laugh at their attempts to prove that ghosts exist.

Nothing would be further from the truth. I would scoff at them if they were silly regarding the subject of ghosts. Happily the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society is not all that woo’ish (just a little.) Sure they believe in ghost or they certainly appear to. From what I’ve been able to glean of their webpage, they tend to be rather skeptical when approaching a ghost investigation.

They have a photo gallery of their “ghost busting gear.” Kind of unimpressive, off the shelf digital thermometers, UV lights cameras and EMF gear (the last is almost completely useless. We are treated with several ‘ghost busting” write-ups. They take a bunch of readings and suchlike. It’s kind of silly because they don’t really know what an anomalous temperature or magnetic reading might in the first place.

Then they get kind of strange. The investigators spend the night while the occupants sleep. Kind of like researchers in that Spielberg movie Poltergeist. But, instead of ghosts the intrepid ghost busters get, more readings. Something variously called a cleansing or a smudge-cleansing is preformed and maybe a little Reiki. The occupants thank the intrepid team and they all go to Denney’s for the Super Slam.

I guess it beats hanging around graveyards or the Interstate (highways being the places many people actually die, one would think finding ghost there would be easy.)

Inducted April 19, 2005

12-11Bad Psychics, Submitted by the Odd Emperor

This is a very nice looking UK page that seems devoted to busting the Most Haunted TV program and silly paranormal stuff in general. They have a number of article and links to other skeptical pages. A short list of psychic frauds. Fake orb phots and bogus ghosts. A chat room, what more could you ask for?

Inducted April 19, 2005

12-12 The Project at Earth, Submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks from EarthSister of JREF.

You know, being a janitor must really suck. I mean come-on. It’s boring to go from jobsite to jobsite, cleaning up other people’s dirt all day.

Lucky for cleaning business owners Jack and Nancy Malacaria that they are alien experiencers. Now they can go to work each day secure in the knowledge that some bug-eyed things have selected them to bring stunning news to humanity from beyond the sky.

Want to know what that is?

… Save the trees!

Yep, no information on alien society, technology, culture or any of that interesting stuff. So; what is the reason hundreds of other planets are contacting some carpet cleaners in Hoboken is to warn us about cutting down too many trees?

Damn if I can tell.

Proof you ask Doubting Thomas?

Well the Malacaria have furnished just the thing! You can gaze at bad crayon drawings of the various aliens they’ve encountered and read FIRST HAND TESTIMONY!!! Wooooo! Like, in this day and age when freaking digital cameras come in toothbrushes we can’t take, you know.. a quick photo of your alien friends?

All we have are crappy drawings?

…..Right!

So I guess if the aliens need their carpets cleaned, they know who to call.

Inducted April 25, 2005

12-13 Blight Investigations, Submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks to the Red Queen.

What can I say about this page?

Very little.

Really; anyone can grab pictures from the internet and plaster them on a freeserver.com page. Anyone can writer gibber on a couple of pages that say?

.. Absolutely nothing.

The phrase “absolutely nothing” sums up this web presentation “almost completely.” Most of the ‘four’ links on the home page go nowhere, the single link that does go somewhere has a few lines and more grabbed images.

Big furry bigfoot deal!

Perhaps Ms Blight should spend her time ‘investigating’ exactly what makes a terrible web page.

She won’t have to look far.

Inducted April 26, 2005

12-14 Church of Virus, Submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks to the Red Queen

Church of Virus is to religion as Esperanto is to language. It’s a made up religion to “compete with the traditional (irrational) religions in the human ideosphere with the idea that it would introduce and propagate memes which would ensure the survival and evolution of our species.” Church of Virus virtues are “reason,” “empathy” and “vision. It’s sins are “dogmatism,” apathy” and “ hypocrisy.”

Not bad choices!

The patron saint of the CoV is--get this;
St. Charles Darwin.!

CoV adepts are taught “The most important thing to learn is how to think critically. Constantly question your beliefs, avoid inconsistency, and act rationally. Create a meaningful life by influencing the world around you.
That’s pretty cool! It would be neat if something like this would actually take hold. But alas, it’s heretical to the Christian God and more importantly, those who believe in the Christian God.

Inducted April 26, 2005

12-15 The New England Skeptical Society, submitted by the Odd Emperor

The New England Skeptical Society is almost exactly what it sounds like. Their goals?
1) To educate the public about the principles and necessity of skepticism and critical thinking in our society.
2) To investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims with an emphasis on local claims within New England.
3) To promote higher standards of education, especially in the areas of science and critical thinking skills.
4) To gather and disseminate information of interest to skeptics.
5) To provide a forum for local skeptics to publish their ideas and contribute to the ongoing dialogue on skeptical topics.
6) To lobby for rational law making in our state and in our country.

In addition they have a very fine set of skeptical articles ( I was amused by one entitled the Grand Unified Woo-Woo theory.)

Inducted April 27, 2005

12-17 WELCOME TO BECKJOR.COM submitted by The Odd Emperor by with thanks to odin of JREF.

"Read the real-life adventures of a real - life "Raiders of the Lost Ark" hero

Really! So; like Indiana Jones you're a low life scumbag who steals artifacts from burial sites so museums can purchase them?

Oh you don’t really mean that Raiders of the Lost Ark hero.

Actually hero’s not the way I would describe the maker of this web page. It’s really full of so much unsubstantiated horse-wallow, I almost can’t begin! How can I explain the giant yeti-head that ‘is’ mount Everest. How about the tribe of bigfoots that look, er – rather like tree stumps? Except for the couple that look like alien heads.

How can anyone explain all this?

He used his MBA skills, Mensa traits, & photographic skills, to go out and go after these mysteries full time, working only to get the next airline ticket, while others decided to raise kids, become middle-managers, watch TV, join Little League, and get early heart attacks.

Yah—rightly righty ‘o! All those people who are, you know, productive, work-a-day types are just wasting their lives while the real hero takes blurry photos of trees and claims they are bigfoots or whatever.

Thanks for clearing that up!

Inducted May 17, 2005

12-16 Sherry Shriner Submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks to ronda_zeoli.

This is the web page of radio personality and general prophetess of doom, Sherry Shriner. Never heard of http://www.sherryshriner.com/? Me neither. She has a bunch of web pages, with names like www.talmudlies.com and www.lastdaysprophecies.com. A butt-load of pages. What’s on all these web pages?

Not much really, aliens, bible prophesies, evil emanations out of cell phone towers and chemtrails. It’s all here in a big confusing mishmash of strangeness. She even has her own radio show! After listening it for a while you will either be a believer of have a whale of a headache.

(I have to go find the Imperial Tylenol right now.)

Inducted May 5, 2005

12-18 Galactic Diplomacy Submitted by the Odd Emperor

Galactic Diplomacy is a page “devoted to “track two” or “citizen diplomacy” with extraterrestrials.” According to the intro, this is to complement track one or official diplomacy with extraterrestrial races. Of course we know that track one diplomacy has been going on in secret for many years.

“Wait just a cotton picking minute” shouts the skeptics. What extraterrestrial races? When has humanity ever been contacted?

Oh many times says founder Michael E. Salla, (PhD.) He’s written very elaborate papers on the hows and what-fors regarding track two diplomacy with ET. Although well written the papers seem to cite, er—rather controversial sources including other elaborate papers written by, you guessed it! Michael E. Salla, (PhD.) Call me skeptical (please) but that doesn’t seem to prove alien contact at all. I would expect some external sources that are not, you know, flighty as stuff from greaterthings.com or George Adamski.

I was kind of amused to see the Ummites, those daffy folks over in Europe who mailed lots of messages to scientists back in the 1960s. Ummo is thought to be almost certainly an elaborate hoax, Dr. Salla thinks otherwise.

You can take correspondence courses in Exopolitics, for only about $330, US. A bargain don’t you think? You can also attend contact seminars, with dolphin swims! The ETs probably won’t be there but you can hear al the latest news, from er.. people who have never actually seen an ET but, they talked to someone who did once!

Did I mention dolphin swims?

Inducted May 22, 2005

12-20 George W. Bush is the Antichrist, Submitted by the Odd Emperor with thanks to the Viceroy of Lost Causes and Warlord of the Air

First off, the Odd Emperor really doesn’t like George W. Bush very much. That aside, it’s really difficult to understand a webpage like Buch is the Antichrist. Can’t the man just be some kind of lucky moron? Why raise him to demigod status?

Bush is the Antichrist is just that. Using the splendid tools of psudo-science this page creates a strong case for George W. Bush being a divine evil super-being.

What? HE’S the BEAST FROM REVELATON!! Scream the believers.

Well perhaps dolt but if he is the beast he’s fulfilling God’s will, just like the Pope!

Don’t you think?

Inducted June 9, 2005