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Maine Mystery Beast Banner

Hot on the heels of Lewiston Sun Journal’s Mark LaFlamme being named “Journalist of the Year,” there’s more popular culture news of the Maine Mystery Beast. The 2006 Mount Desert Island Marathon® is to be run on that scenic Maine coastal location on Sunday, October 15, 2006. Artist Paul Szauter has written to inform me that: There are, at last count, 29 mile marker banners up for auction. The silent auction will conclude at the finish line in Southwest Harbor on Sunday. My banner for this year’s marathon celebrates the Maine Mystery Beast, the Terror of Lewiston. At Szauter’s webpage [...]

Mystery Kangaroos Again

Yes, Austrian, not Australian, kangaroos are in the news. According to an Associated Press report, one was seen leaping down a Tyrol province highway during October 2006. But on October 11, law enforcement officials explained to the public this was an alleged September escapee from an enclosure in the village of Volders. At least, that is the police statement. The uncaught kangaroo is still at large. Reportedly, in March, 2006, a kangaroo was encountered in southern Austria. A local veterinarian using a stun gun captured it. Then a Tyrol wild animal breeder came forth, saying it was his. Humm. These [...]

Cast Sale: Seekers Change Tune

The UK’s Telegraph is putting a new spin on the reason behind the selling of the Johor Bigfoot cast. Reporter Sebastien Berger in Lukut writes in an article entitled “Explorer hopes plaster cast will raise funds to search for Bigfoot,” in part: In the jungle of southern Malaysia, where legends of a giant man-ape echo along with the calls of forest wildlife, a plaster cast of a huge footprint is precious evidence. Syed Abdullah Alattas, the founder of Paranormal Seekers Malaysia, found the footprint outside Lukut, in Johor. But it is difficult to raise enough cash to help prove the [...]

Wired Magazine

Last reminder: The Bates College Museum of Art’s exhibition "Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale" ends with a closing reception (4-6 pm) at the Lewiston, Maine site, on Saturday, October 7, 2006. This is a page from the October 2006 issue of Wired Magazine, which you can enlarge by clicking on the image.

Where is Cassie?

I look forward to seeing folks at the closing reception at Bates’s exhibition “Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale,” on October 7th. In the meantime, I will be pondering why it has been so many years since anyone has seen Cassie, the Casco Bay Sea Serpent. Cassie, the local name I coined long ago in a magazine to characterize these cryptids seen near Portland, Maine, was bestowed in the same tradition that many freshwater and marine creature monikers are given – with passion, humor, and a nod to Nessie. As it turns out, of course, Portland is not alone in [...]