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REVIEWS @ UNDERSTANDING HUMANS, ETs in 1947. Some creatures belong to orders & THE AWAKENING OF THE and families not yet classifiable, e.g., Lizard PLANETARY MIND Man (Reptilishomo viridis), reported in by Gary Opit Missouri in 1983, and Mantis (Doctagryllus Gary Opit, Australia, 2007 tegimen), an armoured insectoid species ISBN n/a (142pp, spiral bound) Se Maryland in O73. erse isi Available: PO Box 380, Mullumbimby, y these accounts, the universe is indeed a NSW 2483, Australia, tel +61 (0)2 6680 strange, diverse place that should inspire us a abi to be curious, not dismissive. Opit does his 5466, email garyopit@bigpond.com bit to encourage us to open our minds to n his self-published book, biologist Gary 1 d to oth ibiliti Opit advocates taking a multidisclipinary Ourselves and’ fo other’ Possipuiies. approach if we want to understand ourselves __,, " . " and our place in the universe. This under- THINGS" AND MORE "THINGS' standing must also take into account the pos- by Ivan T. Sanderson sibility of extraterrestrial life-forms, and Adventures Unlimited Press, USA, 2007 Opit discusses numerous UFO and ET sight- (first published in 1967 and 1969) ings—the eyewitnesses covering the gamut ISBN 978-1-931882-78-1 (380pp tpb) from top-level military personnel to Available: adventuresunlimitedpress.com Australian Aborigines in the desert. News and explorer Ivan T. Sanderson Opit reviews the latest findings on planets regarded himself as a true Fortean— outside our solar system and conjectures someone aligned with Charles T. Fort's about what is required to support the evolu- _ worldview that one should investigate things tion of life over extreme lengths of time. He _ scientifically but without believing what anybody else says, not caring what they say and having a good chuckle at a lot of what they do say. This book, "Things" and More "Things", is a reprint of two of Sanderson's books published in 1967 and 1969 and, coming as they did towards the end of his life, they recount some of the weirdest "things" he came across in his research. These so-called "things", for want of a bet- ter word, he admits, he categorises under headings of Live Things, Dead Things, Man Things, Funny Things and Nasty Things. In the first book he considers the evidence for and investigation of "Globsters" (unknown marine creatures or whale blubber?), lake monsters and giant eels, the ringing rocks of - — Pennsylvania and the stone spheres of Costa also explains how conditions on Earth seem Rica, unusual hominids such as the Toonijuk to have been set up to promote the develop- _ of Eskimo legend, UFO "nests" and oceanic ment of life; even the size, make-up and light wheels; flying rocks in the San placement of the Moon relative to the Earth Bernadino Valley, California; and the phe- and, indeed, the tilt of our planet are con- nomenon of suspended animation. ducive to the promotion of life—as if by In the second book he discusses the some cosmically designed plan. "neodinosaurs" of Africa, people who are We're all part of one universal ecosystem, said to walk underwater, frozen mammoths, so it's natural to ask whether life exists else- — Bermuda Triangle disappearances and mass where, says Opit (an occasional contributor hallucinations, among other things. to NEXUS; see 6/05, 9/01). If we consider Sanderson categorises "things" as estab- the human organism, we have to admit that _Jished facts/theories/concepts; accepted it is colonised by a vast array of symbiotic things that are not yet explained; reported micro-organisms that are essential to our facts/objects whose existence cannot be survival; so, again, we must know our place. enied but appear illogical or inexplicable; So, what might other intelligent life-forms alleged events/things that can be denied and look like? Going on contact reports of a for which there is no known explanation; range of extraterrestrial beings, Opit has and others, i.e., nonmaterial things that defy classified these according to zoological ter- explanation. He treats all these presented minologies; the family Juxtahominidae cases with an open mind in the spirit of includes Elegant Humanoid (P. ‘seudohomo inquiry, as well as with his wit and disbelief concinnus), recorded in California in 1896, where appropriate, having a go, too, at the and Roswell Humanoid (Homoides . Establishment's weapon called "The Wipe". roswellensis), seen at Roswell, New Mexico, An informative and entertaining read. in 1947. Some creatures belong to orders and families not yet classifiable, e.g., Lizard Man (Reptilishomo viridis), reported in Missouri in 1983, and Mantis (Doctagryllus tegimen), an armoured insectoid species seen in Maryland in 1973. By these accounts, the universe is indeed a strange, diverse place that should inspire us to be curious, not dismissive. Opit does his bit to encourage us to open our minds to ourselves and to other possibilities. "THINGS" AND MORE "THINGS" by Ivan T. Sanderson Adventures Unlimited Press, USA, 2007 (first published in 1967 and 1969) ISBN 978-1-931882-78-1 (380pp tpb) Available: adventuresunlimitedpress.com News and explorer Ivan T. Sanderson regarded himself as a true Fortean— someone aligned with Charles T. Fort's worldview that one should investigate things scientifically but without believing what anybody else says, not caring what they say and having a good chuckle at a lot of what they do say. This book, "Things" and More "Things", is a reprint of two of Sanderson's books published in 1967 and 1969 and, coming as they did towards the end of his life, they recount some of the weirdest "things" he came across in his research. These so-called "things", for want of a bet- ter word, he admits, he categorises under headings of Live Things, Dead Things, Man Things, Funny Things and Nasty Things. In the first book he considers the evidence for and investigation of "Globsters" (unknown marine creatures or whale blubber?), lake monsters and giant eels, the ringing rocks of Pennsylvania and the stone spheres of Costa Rica, unusual hominids such as the Toonijuk of Eskimo legend, UFO "nests" and oceanic light wheels; flying rocks in the San Bernadino Valley, California; and the phe- nomenon of suspended animation. In the second book he discusses the "neodinosaurs" of Africa, people who are said to walk underwater, frozen mammoths, Bermuda Triangle disappearances and mass hallucinations, among other things. Sanderson categorises "things" as estab- lished facts/theories/concepts; accepted things that are not yet explained; reported facts/objects whose existence cannot be denied but appear illogical or inexplicable; alleged events/things that can be denied and for which there is no known explanation; and others, i.e., nonmaterial things that defy explanation. He treats all these presented cases with an open mind in the spirit of inquiry, as well as with his wit and disbelief where appropriate, having a go, too, at the Establishment's weapon called "The Wipe". An informative and entertaining read. 72 * NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2008