WEIRD Magazine Interviews SMiles Lewis of the Austin Anomaly Archives
Read the Entire Issue Online: issuu.com/weirdmagazine/
W: Welcome to Weird Magazine. It’s been a while. Tell readers about the Anomaly Archives?
SAI: Hi Russell. It’s great to talk with you again. Thanks for the opportunity to tell you readers about the Anomaly Archives.
The Anomaly Archives is the lending library of the Scientific Anomaly Institute (S.A.I.), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks the preservation and dissemination of scientific research into anomalous phenomena, research into and analysis of our accumulated collections and the education of the public regarding scientific investigations into these many mysterious phenomena.
Our collection houses over 2000 books as well as research materials that includes videos, government documents, magazines, and personal correspondence donated from a variety of people in the UFO and paranormal research fields. Along with the S.A.I. collection, we also house the collections of Austin MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) and INACS (Institute for Neuroscience And Consciousness Studies). We house many great books that discuss a wide range of scientific subjects including UFOs and Ufology, Consciousness, Parapsychology, Fortean Phenomena, ParaPolitical Science, Human Potential, and Jungian Theory. Also located on site are thousands of books belonging to the Jung Society of Austin, devoted to the psychological theories of Dr. Carl Gustav Jung.
We have a wealth of information on a wide variety of strange phenomena available for free to the public and dues paying members can check out books to read at home.
We also sponsor local lectures and workshops on these subjects including past events featuring former military remote viewer Paul Smith as well as a Texas Ghost Lights Conference with guest speakers including British earth lights researcher Paul Devereux, Texan paranormal bigfoot investigator Rob Riggs, British transplant and Fortean Cryptozoologist and Ufologist Nick Redfern, myself and others.
W: What are the hours the public can visit?
SAI: Right now we are open most Saturdays from 1-5pm. Though there is often someone on-site during normal weekday business hours, interested folks should contact me ahead of time (miles@anomalyarchives.org) before dropping by unannounced. We hope to begin offering expanded weekday and weekend hours very soon. Folks can come visit us at our new location in North West Austin near the intersections of Research and Technology Blvds:
12593 Research Blvd., Suite 302
Austin, Texas 78759
W: How long have you been conducting the Archive?
SAI: Well, I’ve been collecting books on strange phenomena all my life. I had dreamed of starting my own paranormal research organization for a long time and in 2003 we officially incorporated with the State of Texas. By 2006 we’d been approved by the IRS as an official tax-exempt community group. So officially I guess I’ve been coordinating the Archives for about 7 years now.
W: So tell us SMiles… Bigfoot, UFOs, Men In Black, Aliens from Space, is there truth to any of these legends? If so, can we learn more through the Austin Anomaly Archives?
SAI: As you know Russell, there is at least a little truth in all of those mysterious legends and a whole lot of speculation surrounds each of them. Yes, there is a lot to be learned about these mysteries from the materials at the Anomaly Archives.
Most people don’t think of Texas when they hear about bigfoot but I’ve said for years that any big discovery about these elusive creatures is very likely going to come from research done here in Texas. Our big state has a long history of bigfoot sightings with a wide variety of regional names associated with these creatures including Wild Man, Hairy Man, Swamp Ape / Skunk Ape, Wooly Booger, to name just a few. The Piney Woods of East Texas’ Big Thicket have apparently played home to a number of such human / bigfoot encounters as documented in Rob Riggs’ excellent book In the Big Thicket: On the Trail of the Wildman.
Texas has one of the best organized bigfoot investigation groups in the country: The TBRC – Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy is a non-profit outfit doing some of the best ongoing instrumented cryptozoology field research not just in Texas’ Big Thicket but also into the forests that spread from here into Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. They also have one of the best annual bigfoot conferences in the country, previously held in Jefferson and most recently in Tyler. In fact for a time, Texas was home to two annual bigfoot events, one put on by the TBRC and one hosted by another fantastic Texas bigfoot hunter named Chester Moore Jr., called the Southern Crypto Conference.
The Anomaly Archives has a sizable section of books and videos devoted to Cryptozoology and the hunt for bigfoot, Sasquatch and Yeti.
I realize that many people find it very difficult to believe in bigfoot, but consider this: legendary primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall even thinks there is good evidence for the existence of an undiscovered North American primate…
Dr. Goodall: Well now, you’ll be amazed when I tell you that I’m sure that they exist.
Ira Flatow: You are?
Dr. Goodall: Yeah. I’ve talked to so many Native Americans who all describe the same sounds, two who have seen them. I’ve probably got about, oh, thirty books that have come from different parts of the world, from China from, from all over the place, and there was a little tiny snippet in the newspaper just last week which says that British scientists have found what they believed to be a yeti hair and that the scientists in the Natural History Museum in London couldn’t identify it as any known animal.
National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation: Science Friday – 9/27/02
Folks should check out the recent film released in 2008, Wild Man of the Navidad. It’s a nicely done retro horror movie based on stories of bigfoot-like wild people from the Navidad region northwest of Victoria. And let’s not forget the Hairy Man Road legends in Round Rock which now has its own yearly festival.
UFO (and Parapsychology) research are the Anomaly Archive’s strong suit and represent our largest collection. We have hundreds of books on the subject of Unidentified Flying Objects, Alien Abductions, and related areas of research. There are many approaches to understanding the UFO phenomenon including advanced secret technology, mysterious natural phenomena, etc., but of course it is the possibility that some sighting reports represent NOT “UFOs” but “IFOs” in the form of supposed alien spacecraft that gets most people excited about “Flying Saucers.” Despite there being a lot of nonsense surrounding belief in UFOs, there is much we can learn about ourselves, humanity at large and the nature of perception and reality by studying the phenomenon. I personally think that it is highly likely that humanity has been in contact with a wide variety of intelligences (be they extraterrestrial, interdimensional, cryptoterrestrial, time travelers, what have you) through phenomena variously described as UFOs, phantom airships, mysterious lights, spiritual encounters with angels and demons – all manner of mysterious interactions. There is a wealth of cutting edge science that could possibly explain these and other strange events, and the Anomaly Archives seeks to educate the public about these new scientific discoveries and old esoteric knowledge.
As for the MIB (Men In Black), yes, there are many stories of these bizarre shadowy figures who seem to arrive and depart more like phantoms than supposed government alphabet agency men. Some times these sinister personages seem very much like FBI types, presenting false credentials, intimidating witnesses, stealing evidence such as UFO photographs, but more often than not there is an absurd trickster-like quality to their behaviors and their very existance seems more like that of a ghost or some other-worldly denizen. The late John Keel (one of the best writers on the subject of UFOs) did much to popularize the notion of the MIB with his book The Mothman Prophecies. He and a handful of other writers described the reports they’d received of UFO witnesses encountering these often menacing Men In Black. However, these UFO writers, Gray Barker, Jim Moseley, Timothy Green Beckley and John Keel, could all be said to have their own sort of Tricksterish quality about them. <wink>
W: Tell us about Anomaly Radio.
SAI: I’ve been streaming my own webradio station since late 2000. During the past 10 or so years I’ve hosted a variety of terrestrial and internet-based radio shows. For a while I co-hosted the Thursday evening news on Austin’s KOOP 91.7fm radio station. I even co-hosted a show with you for a while back in 2002 or 2003. Beginning in about 2006 I relaunched my webradio station as the Anomaly Radio Network. The station features an eclectic assortment of live and pre-recorded paranormal and parapolitical shows produced by myself and friends of mine from around the country. Among the many fine programs on the network you can hear Greg Bishop’s Radio Misterioso, Robert Larson’s Out The Rabbit Hole, Raymond and Joe’s Disinformation, John Greenewald Jr.’s Black Vault Radio, Mike Watt’s The Watt From Pedro Show, Scott Horton’s AntiWar Radio, plus a whole lot more.
Every Sunday night my good friend and comic artist Mack White and I host PsiOp-Radio live from 7-9pm CST. Besides Anomaly Radio, the show is also carried on the American Freedom Radio and Revere Radio networks.
Anomaly Radio is not affiliated with the Anomaly Archives lending library.
W: You know Alex Jones of Austin, what do you think of his latest film “Fall of the Republic”?
SAI: Yes, of course. I’ve been following Alex Jones’ career since the late 1990s. It’s been amazing to watch his rise to prominence over the past 10 plus years. We have several of his documentaries available at the Anomaly Archives. In fact, two of our earliest large donations of books came from Mike Hanson and Chris Athanas. Mike Hanson was one of Alex’s earliest assistant producers and fans will remember him as the honorable man who snuck into Bohemian Grove with Alex. Chris Athanas was a then prolific Austin Community Television producer and staunch defender of liberty. Both Hanson and Athanas have graciously donated a number of books on a variety of topics to the Anomaly Archives.
Fall of the Republic is Alex’s best produced documentary to date. With each new film he raises the bar on parapolitical / conspiracy documentary filmmaking. It also doesn’t hurt that in FOTR he is perhaps the most CALM he has ever appeared in any of his films. This toning down of his usually overly dramatic persona has definitely made he and his message much more accessible to a wider audience.
W: Is there really a nefarious element deep within American Government or on a global scale that wishes to enslave humanity as portrayed in George Orwell’s hellish nightmare predicted in his book, 1984?
SAI: I think it is incredibly naive to think that people in power would limit their activities to only philanthropic pursuits. History is filled with examples of the Powers That Be colluding and conspiring to not only keep the power they have but to seek greater and greater levels of power. Empires throughout history have risen and fallen on the backs of conspiracies perpetrated by cabals of the rich and powerful. Various individuals and groups have conspired with designs on conquering and controlling the world. Very often this is accomplished not just through overt and obvious military might but through economic and psychological warfare which most people don’t even recognize as being used against them.
So while the tyrannical techniques described by Orwell in 1984 are mirrored in our growing Big Brother surveillance society, I think the evidence is equally clear that through accident AND design, a Brave New World Order “scientific dictatorship” as described by Aldous Huxley is the new preferred model for controlling populations.
I should add that “the views and opinions expressed by myself are not necessarily those of the Anomaly Archives or its board of directors.” LOL!
W: What are your thoughts on Climategate? And have you seen Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura on truTV?
SAI: Climategate is a perfect example of how science is NOT supposed to operate. Science is about making observations, testing hypotheses, asking questions and applying the answers to make useful predictions about the world around us. But science has always been politicized and weaponized, so this recent scandal is nothing new. However, whatever the true nature of global climate change and humanity’s influence on those changes, there should never be a climate of fear surrounding open discussion about the scientific research investigating those climatological processes.
So far I’ve only seen one episode of Jesse Ventura’s new Conspiracy Theory TV show, and it wasn’t the one on HAARP and weather control. However, I believe that episode featured researcher Jerry E. Smith whom I’ve interviewed on my radioshow about his excellent resource, Weather Warfare, which details the facts and history of human modification of the weather as well as the creation of earthquakes and more. When I interviewed Jerry, it was after they’d recorded the episode but before it had aired. He said that the TruTV folks had bungled several of the facts and details alleged in the episode regarding oil companies and HAARP related patents.
The one episode I’ve seen of Ventura’s new show was on 9/11. I thought it was very interesting and pretty well done. I was especially interested in the discussion about the official claim that no black boxes were recovered from ground zero for the WTC attack aircraft. All 4 boxes were supposedly never found. Yet there are allegations that they were found but have been suppressed for some reason.
W: Did you see the footage of the ALLEGED Russian Missile test in Norway? It looked more like a portal opening up out of Star Trek. Are you familiar with Project Blue Beam?
SAI: Wow! Yeah, I’ve watched as many of the video clips as I’ve been able to find. Yeah, it really looks like the “jump-gate” vortex from the Babylon 5 tv series to me. While I am initially inclined towards accepting the Russian Bolova missile explanation, there are aspects of the event that I have still not found adequate answers for. I’ve seen people use various mathematical formulas to both support the missile test theory and debunk it as well. But I think that if someone can create that dramatic of an event, whether with a missile or some other exotic technology and techniques, then it will be used as weapon for psychological warfare.
That is the basic premise behind the 15 year old rumor known as “Project Blue Beam” which appears to have been first publicized by researcher Serge Monast in 1994. This idea of a deceptive grand illusion has been one of my main areas of study since I first read Jacques Vallee’s seminal book Messengers of Deception, that he published in 1979 (and which was just republished by Daily Grail Publishing in 2008). In that book he suggested that the engines of deception employed by the Allied powers to defeat the Axis in World War II, might have been employed after the war to create UFO and paranormal manifestations with the ultimate goal of preventing another World War by uniting humanity through the production of a grand external threat. He doesn’t think these technologies and techniques represent the “true UFO phenomenon” but that the governments and militaries of the world are utilizing belief in these phenomena for their own political ends as psychological warfare.
Project Blue Beam has never been officially documented and is simply one alleged grand scenario in which images of a deity would be holographically projected into the sky around the world while accompanied simultaneously by another psychotronic technology designed to excite your “heart chakra” so you feel love and devotion while also inducing the “Voice of God” inside everyone’s head. Vallee has suggested that some UFO events might be small scale versions of a scenario like that described above, though to my knowledge, he has never specifically referenced “Project Blue Beam.”
W: Back to the Archive real quick, what else should Weird readers know about the Archive?
SAI: Well, Weird readers should know that we are a tax deductible non-profit organization that needs your support. You can learn more about us by going to our website at:
There you can find copies of our free monthly electronic newsletter as well as links to our Twitter, MySpace, MeetUp and Facebook presences:
www.Twitter.com/AnomalyArchives
www.MySpace.com/AnomalyArchives
www.MeetUp.com/AnomalyArchives/
www.Facebook.com/pages/Anomaly-Archives/17710117086
And you can go to LibraryThing to see a fairly up to date online catalog of our entire collection:
www.LibraryThing.com/catalog/AnomalyArchive
W: What is next for the Anomaly Archives? Ever thought about taking it on the road?
SAI: We have several events in the planning stages right now for this year featuring various paranormal and UFO researchers. We are starting monthly meetups for folks wanting to learn more about anomalous phenomena.
I would love to see the Anomaly Archives launch a tour across Texas and the United States educating the public about these fascinating, strange, and mysterious phenomena. If someone wants to donate an RV, bus or van then perhaps we can create our own Alien UFO Bookmobile!
W: Finally, what do you think about 2012 and climate change? Will the global Elite blame weather and 2012 as the cause for the need for a global carbon tax, in your opinion?
SAI: I don’t think that 2012 and climate change necessarily have anything to do with one another, though perhaps those seeking globalization through environmentalism-based governance might like to conflate the two.
I agree with Terence McKenna, who arrived at the December 21st, 2012 date through his own research into psychedelics and the Chinese I-Ching… that we will be unrecognizable to ourselves after that point. I don’t think it will necessarily be an immediate or dramatic event so much as an increasingly alienating experience of the world around us due to ever increasing technology innovation, political and social upheaval.
I have no idea whether the proposed global carbon tax will be the inevitable currency through which the forces of globilization shall seek to control the populations. One of the great things about McKenna was that he was an eternal optimist when it came to grand global conspiracies. He felt that the nature of humanity and the mind of the planet were far to complex to be completely controlled by nefarious human agencies. While I hope he is correct, I don’t think that should stop us from actively working to ensure that the Powers That Be fail in their attempts to use resources as weapons in an infinite cycle of crisis politics. Time and time again I come back to this quote:
“In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill … All these dangers are caused by human intervention and it is only through changed attitudes and behaviour that they can be overcome. The real enemy, then, is humanity itself.”
– Alexander King, Bertrand Schneider – founder and secretary, respectively, of the Club of Rome – The First Global Revolution, pp.104-105
W: Thanks SMiles, Take your pic of conspiracy. Rank the following. JFK assassins, UFOs & the Government, NASA Fake Moon Landings; 911 was an Inside Job; and the ET Presence on Earth. Best to worst conspiracy?
SAI: Thanks Russell. It’s been a pleasure talking with you and your readers.
Okay, if you mean for me to rank them in terms of Best Evidence vs Worst Evidence then here is how I’d rate them:
* UFOs & the Government – It is undeniable that the United States government and military have investigated UFOs in the past. There are thousands of official documents which prove this fact. To what degree they are still doing so is the real mystery.
* JFK assassins – There is significant evidence of conspiracy and multiple assassins involved in the death of John F. Kennedy. The 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that there was a probable conspiracy, contradicting the Warren Commission Report.
* 911 was an Inside Job – From my research into the events of September 11th, there are too many anomalies, inconsistencies, and outright cover-ups that are not accounted for in the U. S. government’s official conspiracy theory. There is evidence that was not acknowledged by the 911 Commission which clearly indicates that the alleged hijackers had help carrying out the attacks. If even one of those who helped the attacks take place was in a position of power, whether within the FAA, airport security, the FBI, the halls of Washington or the walls of the Pentagon, then there was indeed an “Inside Job.”
* NASA Fake Moon Landings – While I think it is naive to believe the United States government would tell us the absolute truth about such incredibly symbolic technological achievements I’ve not seen convincing evidence that the entirety of the moon landing was faked. It’s been said that if the United States discovered that the world was flat they would conceal this discovery so that it could be used to their strategic advantage. In a similar way I think we’ve not been given the entire truth regarding our trips to the moon. I’ve seen some evidence that makes me question the nature of what we’ve been shown and told is photographic evidence of the events, however, that doesn’t convince me that we didn’t go, it just convinces me that the government, as usual, isn’t telling us the whole story.
* ET Presence on Earth – I believe the UFO phenomenon represents humanity’s encounters with a variety of consciosnesses and intelligences. Evidence for the “alienness” of such entities is skimpy and highly speculative at best. I think the data much more strongly suggests what Mac Tonnies called the CryptoTerrestrial hypothesis. So far the only real scientific investigation into publicly documented ExtraTerrestrial life existing on earth has been the highly controversial findings of physicists Godfrey Louis and Santhosh Kumar of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam, India into the mysterious “Red Rain” which fell in the southern Indian state of Kerala in 2001.
Scientist scrutinizes spooky sight
This is a small batch of recent addtions ranging from books acquired on recent Texas road trips. One trip through Alpine to Marfa to look for the Marfa Mystery lights and one trip to a bigfoot conference in Northeast Texas. A good bookstore in Long View, Texas was on the way to the 4th Annual Texas Bigfoot Research Conference in Jefferson, Texas. The books from the Long View store are mostly Investigative Parapolitical Science books and Metaphysical titles. At the conference several Cryptozoology books, magazines and DVDs were acquired. (Those are to be found in their respective media databases.)