Such a Silly Season.

Yes, I know. It's always some kind of silly season somewhere.  But for me, specifically, it's silly season in the world of AFL fandom.

As many know, I am a huge fan of Australian Rules football. I am a diehard Essendon supporter, who has suffered for more than 20 years with a team who seem to aspire to mediocrity. We are the butt of many jokes, and there are even webpages counting up the number of days since we have won a finals match. It is a ridiculously high number, and one that frustrates all Essendon fans.

Brad Scott, our coach, has just completed his second year at the helm. At the beginning of the year he cautioned against getting our hopes too high. It didn't help that for much of the year we were sitting high in the league ladder - higher than we deserved, especially when you looked at our percentages. But then we completely collapsed at the end of the season to fall outside the top 8, and miss the final series once again.

I was disappointed, but not surprised. We finished roughly where I had anticipated.  We won some close games, and lost when we played better teams. And faded badly at the end of the season.

While many fans are angry and upset, I understand that changes take time, and recognise the cultural changes being brought into the team. A slow change, but one that I believe will reap rewards.

And the silly season?  Why, that's the trade period that is currently happening, and finishes on Wednesday.  It runs for about ten days and the fan forums are either laughably funny at insanely delusional suggestions made (trade "this player who can barely get a game" for "their champion") or just downright frustrating at the negativity and hostility.

The media is no better.  One day Essendon is criticised for not being active enough in trades, and the next reminded we have no real trade capital and should go to the draft. You simply cannot win.

I'm sticking with Brad. It takes time to turn a team (and a club) around after years of complacency.  AFL is not like other sports where you simply buy in players.  We have a draft system for rookies, but then players in the system already need to be traded - either for other players or draft picks and so on. It provides some equalisation across the league, but means it is difficult to change things quickly when you need to.

So I do think the future is bright, despite the calls in forums for Brad to be sacked and everyone at the club to be replaced. We will get there, and I think it will be in the next few years.

But this season still hurt, though.

Communion.

I was fortunate enough to catch up with Whitely Strieber last week, which makes it sound like we're old friends and we had organised to get together.  That, of course, wasn't the case. I was just in a position where I knew I would be able to say hello to him. I have met Whitley once before. On that occasion he was seated with friends, and he was happy to talk and sign my copy of Communion.  But he was with some friends, and I made a point of not interrupting or taking up too much of his time.

On this occasion, we were able to talk a little longer.  (I would have kept him for hours, but I didn't want to monopolise him!)  He kindly signed my Communion DVD (He was played by Christopher Walken) and a couple of books, listened to a couple of my experiences, offered suggestions and advice, and answered a couple of questions I had.  He even remembered me from last time.

Whitley is lovely. A gentleman who has had many years of strange experiences. People have accused him of doing it all for money, but the truth is there was no money compared to his previous writing career.  These experiences also cost him a great deal, personally. Yet to hear him say he wouldn't change them if he could is remarkable.

I first read Communion in the late 80s, shortly after it was published. I don't recall why I picked it up - maybe it was simply because I'd always been interested in UFOs.  But I know that me, back then, reading it in a shared house, would have been stunned to know that I would get to meet and talk with the author a couple of times.

He is an engaging speaker, and I loved every minute of his presentation. He even went overtime, but unfortunately he had to finish as we had to be out of the space by a set time. He then said he could happily speak for five hours. Whitley, I could happily listen to you for five hours.

And anytime you're up around this part of the UK, I'd love to buy you a drink or two. Hmmm. How many could you drink in five hours?

Cool Cons.

I was supposed to be at the Awakening Expo  last weekend. I bought a ticket at the beginning of the year, but the conference was unfortunately cancelled.

While I understand things happen, I am disappointed by the lack of transparency here.  I was told second hand (and I did check to see a refund had been issued), but the Awakening page and website never even referred to the cancellation.  The following issue of Phenomena magazine (connected with the conference) mentioned problems, which was why it hadn't been published for a couple of months. It then stated that they were all resolved and the best thing was not to mention them anymore.

That is disappointing. I had to change plans and fight to get a refund on my hotel booking. I am aware some people didn't get one. Perhaps we deserve some explanation.

But I will continue to support Awakenings, and look forward to future events.

In the meantime I am excited to be going back to Edge-Lit next weekend. This is a writing convention up in Derby, and I've enjoyed the times I have attended. This year Charlie Higson is a guest, and while he is known for his writing, I'm more of a fan of his days in The Fast Show.  Ah yes, the memories of sitting with my friend in Tokyo in the 90s, sipping beers and laughing at tapes sent over from the UK.  I'm sure he'll be fantastic.

And then the following weekend, I'll be up at the OLM conference in Hull.  And, as a superb bonus, they've announced Whitley Strieber has been added as a guest.  I met Whitley a couple of years ago at the Awakenings conference, and he was wonderful to talk to.  His presentation was superb as well. I can't wait to see you again, Whitley.

All in all a couple of good weeks lined up.  Will I see you there?

Event Horizon?

My Dad turned 87 last week, my mother-in-law turned 90. While I could only talk to my dad on a video call due to distance, my in-laws held a large celebration.  We went away for the week, staying in a rental up in Yorkshire. It was a fabulous break.

These kind of events always make me think of the past - and I'm not referring to my last post about my dog. I think about when my dad was the same age as I am now. I think about time differences. Forty years ago doesn't feel that far back to me, but when my Dad was my age, forty years before was firmly in the 50s. Even when I was a kid, and he was in his mid-30s, WW2 was only 30 years in the past. A very different time.

Last week, I realised I have known people who were born in three different centuries. As a kid, I knew people who were born in the 1800s.  They say you can't put an old head on young shoulders, but I would love to see some of those people again, and ask questions about their lives. Even my Grandfather, who did tell me stories about his younger life.  I have so many more questions now, that will never be answered.

As I mentioned, 40 years ago doesn't feel that long ago to me. The 80s, a time when I was younger and my friends and I had a lot of fun. And because we don't notice gradual change, we forget how different everything was then.

Change continues, and it's getting faster and faster. Technology is developing faster than we can manage it. The singularity approaches, and we are so close to the event horizon - if we haven't passed it already.  apart from the spaceships and trips to other planets, this is the world I read of as a young reader. And I mean that both positively and negatively, depending on which book I was reading.

But I want the interstellar ships and to see other planets. Bring them on!

Time Travelling Dog

Sometimes, when I’m playing with my dog, I think of the past.

We will be wrestling, something he loves to do. We’ll be rolling on the floor together, with his playful "Grrrrrrs", and I know he's trying to beat me. I usually let him get on top of me and then flip him on his back and rub his tummy - something else he loves. His paws, of course, have no opposable thumbs and so of course, he can’t grip anything. He does what he can, he hold things the only way he knows, and so he grabs my hand or fingers with his mouth. But he is gentle, oh so very gentle. His  jaws never push too hard, never hurt or mark me.

At these times, I often think of his ancestors, the wolves, and how 25,000 years ago, wolves wouldn’t have yet been domesticated. And they certainly wouldn't have been as small as my boy unless it was a pup. And then I think of the time my wife and I were in France. We'd been to visit Grottes préhistoriques de Cougnac, a cave which has paintings on the walls.  These pieces of art are around 30,000 years old.  And they are stunning. Simple line drawings, ochre and charcoal, unknown artists but believed to be Cro-Magnon people. Beautiful beyond words. Moving and emotional.

That night we sat under the stars with a glass of wine, and I remember thinking how some of those who lived in that area at the time, perhaps even one of the artists, might be one of my ancestors.

I thought about how they saw the same forests I did, the same sky, the same stars. It felt positively prehistoric sitting there in the middle of nowhere, and I felt an intense connection with my past, our past.

And so I still have these thoughts and memories whenever I wrestle with my dog. I often also imagine that we are transported back in time to live among them. They are amazed I have a domestic "wolf" pup, and that he plays.  He can sit when I command, and likes to have his tummy rubbed.  And without sharing a language I try to explain that they needn't worry, that they should be kind to him, not hurt him.  I try to show them that when he grabs me with his teeth he isn't hurting me, has no intention to bite. He is a good, good boy. I imagine they wan't to go and kidnap their own wolf puppy, as they have no idea where dogs came from.  But I worry this won't work and there is no way I can explain that to them.

I have no idea when my mind first linked my dog's ancestry to France and Cro-Magnums via time travel.  But it's there in my head and reminds me of its existence frequently.

Maybe I need to pay attention to it and write a story about it.

The Truth is Out There?

During the past 3 or 4 years, I've had a number of experiences that cannot be explained easily. Of course there could be prosaic explanations for some of these events, but despite a lot of thought, research and exploration, I am left without any real explanations. 

That doesn't mean I'm automatically attributing them to UFOs and the paranormal, but these are subjects which interest me greatly. I've read widely on the subject, watched videos, and spoken to others. I'm not a tin-foil hat wearing conspiracist, nor am I firm in believing they are amongst us.  I do believe there are many things which cannot be explained with our understanding of science, and I also believe the Governments know things and are hiding them from the public.

I've read widely and regularly on this topic since I was about 12 years old. I find the whole idea of conspiracy theory fascinating. I find the worlds of ufology and the paranormal completely entertaining and interesting. Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe - but unfortunately I don't think my own experiences, despite their weirdness and high strangeness, are not convincing enough for me to consider as any kind of real proof.

There are many, many podcasts for those who are interested. I try to avoid the ones where the "woo" factor is strong, the ones that wander too far into the sensational or fiction. But there are plenty of others that attempt to be balanced and objective.

I still watch every episode of Sean Patrick Hazlett's Through A Glass Darkly, and Preston Dennett's UFOs and the Paranormal. That UFO Podcast is always enjoyable and informative, while Weaponized and Need to Know have seasoned, respectable journalists exploring the topic. I first read Whitely Strieber's Communion in the late 80s and was fortunate enough to meet Strieber and ask him to sign my copy. His Dreamland podcast continues on the same themes,  Richard Dolan regularly deep dives into aspects of the phenomenon, Cristina Gomez does a great job in covering current events and interviewing guests of interest, while Paul Sinclair's Truth Proof is informative and reasonably local to my own world.

As an aside, Bryce Zabel (Need to Know podcast) is a huge Beatles fan. I had his book on the Beatles many years before I knew of his UFO interest. (BTW, Bryce. If you're ever up for a discussion on the Beatles and UFOs over a beer, let me know!)

That's enough to get started with if you are interested in the topic. I have watched checked out quite a few others and discarded them from my playlist. Like so many other things, you have to find the right podcast for you.

As for my own experiences - if you truly want the details invite me to the pub, buy me a beer or two, and be willing to share your own thoughts as well. The truth, whatever that is (and I'm not saying ETs in UFOs), is out there. We just have to search for it.

Great to Get Away

We recently spent a week in Wales, enjoying the mist, cloud and rain that seems to be Summer this year.

The weather was, for much of the week, truly like that. And while I was attempting to be humorous, we actually did enjoy it.

We stayed in a place that is away from everything. It's in the middle of fields, far from civilisation. It has no TV, and we didn't even bring computers. Wonderful getaway.

Last time we stayed there was about two years ago during the week that hit 40c. Yes, it was hot but in the late evening I sat out under clear, starry dark skies and saw some amazing things. That couldn't happen this time, but the weather brought on a different atmosphere. Moody and mysterious.

We walked along clifftops in the mist, looking down at an angry sea pummeling the rocks below, and feeling quite medieval. We sat on the beach under grey skies and ate hot pizza. We walked across fields, with our small dog enjoying all the new smells. We even lit a fire one night and enjoyed our wine.

One of my favourite bookshops is down there, and I've never been disappointed with their selection of used books. I picked up a few, and even supported them by splurging on a new one.  It was one I had thought about buying anyway, but they had it for the same price and signed by the author.

And so I read a lot. I managed to finish two books I'd already started and read four more completely. As I said - cold wet evenings with no TV or computers to distract.

And now I can't wait for my next getaway.