Pop Culture

Lion Vanishes Into Misquotation Valley

Cryptozoology author Matt Bille, who found himself in the middle of a firestorm of “African lion” sightings in his hometown, was interviewed by the local media. On July 22, 2008, The Colorado Springs Gazette published an article about the Colorado Springs “lion.” In it they quoted Matt Bille. Or, should I say, misquoted him? Bille has emailed me that he “did not say the last half of the last sentence about making no rational sense.” Wildlife officials had a few things to say about the misquotations in the unfolding of this story too. Here is the article Bille sends along: [...]

When Cryptozoologists Die

Bill Rebsamen’s tribute to Scott Norman, who passed away suddenly earlier in 2008. This may be a difficult essay for you to read, but this is a subject we all have ignored for a long time. There is a darker side that occurs after the obituaries and remembrances are written. What happens after the tributes are published? Why have we avoided the obvious, and watched legacies vanish? There are some things I’ve got to say. We shall pick up an existence by its frogs. Wise men have tried other ways. They have tried to understand our state of being, by [...]

Does Mokele-Mbembe Have A Trunk?

William Munns and his reconstruction of Gigantopithecus. The famed recreator of Gigantopithecus, artist Bill Munns has opened a new window into his world and what we find inside is filled with wonders to behold. Bigfoot. Mokele-Mbembe. Saber-toothed Cats. A cryptozoo, indeed. Munns has shared with me his news that he has uploaded and opened his Bill Munns Creature Gallery. His continuingly upgraded site, Bill Munns Creature Gallery, represents 35 years of his work in varied fields of movie makeup effects, museum exhibit models, theme park robotics, and paleontology studies that have also included visualizations of prehistoric wildlife. As he points [...]

Cryptids’ Vet?

Variety is reporting on July 10, 2008 that Columbia Pictures has acquired a new motion picture property, Mythological Veterinarian. It is a comic pitch that will be written by Andrew Kurtzman and produced by Jimmy Miller. Principal Entertainment’s Danny Sherman will be executive producer. Andrew Kurtzman has been a writer on Down Periscope (1996), Camp Nowhere (1994), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), and 57 episodes (1982-1985) of “Saturday Night Live.” Variety says the project is about a modern-day veterinarian who’s recruited by a secret society that watches over the world’s mythological creatures. Now that plot sounds rather strange. [...]

Breaking: CHP Sighting of Monkey or Man-In-Monkey-Suit

The following is a scanner transcript noted on the California-based website rimoftheworld.net. It details a possible “monkey” or “man-in-monkey-suit” sighting. For those unfamiliar with “CHP,” it stands for the “California Highway Patrol.” Big Bear Lake is a four seasons resort community surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest, 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The distance between Devore, California, where Moe escaped, and this location, is about 50 miles across unforgiving terrain, forested areas, and through or around two other lakeside areas. The transcript goes from the most recent to the oldest part of the interactions. I have retained it [...]