Two Vehicles Stall On Pennsylvania Highway As Cylindrical UFO Passes Low Overhead (July 2, 2024)From: Researcher Stan GordonOn July 3, 2024, I received a UFO/UAP report from researcher Jim Brown in Fayette County. Jim has been a research associate of mine for many years. Jim is a very scientifically oriented investigator, and he designs and builds some high-tech instrumentation that is useful in investigating various types of anomalous activity. Jim’s Homepage -aka – DESTINATIONS (jimsdestinations.com)Jim has investigated numerous UFO/UAP and cryptid incidents around Fayette County. There has been a long history of anomalous incidents that have reportedly taken place, especially along the section of the Chestnut Ridge that passes through that area.Jim made me aware that he was investigating an interesting UFO/UAP incident that had taken place on July 2, 2024, on a busy highway not far from Smithfield, PA. Two vehicles driving along that roadway had both stalled at the same time as a solid cylindrical wingless object passed low overhead. Jim was able to arrive at the scene while both vehicles were still without power and was able to conduct an initial interview with both drivers.The following is the report that Jim Brown has now completed on the case.Object Sighted Near Smithfield, Pennsylvania(This is a computer rendering of the UFO created by Researcher Jim Brown and used with his permission. This is not an actual photo of the object.)Date:7-02-24  Time:  Approx 11:15 AM  Name / Contact information withheld by confidentiality levelWeather: Mostly clear, some haze in the distance over the mountains. Temp: upper eighties.The witness (“John”, not his real name) contacted me via the website and reported the following description of what he encountered. He was driving south on Rt 119, about one mile south of Smithfield when his car stalled out. He said it was like he just turned it off. At the same time, he saw a large black object overhead. His best estimate put it at about three hundred feet above him and very large. It seemed to hover for just a few seconds then moved off toward the mountains which put it behind some trees that were over the highway. He lost sight of it at this point. He had his camera on the seat beside him but didn’t have time to get a picture before it shot away. He could make out the object through the tree branches where it again had stopped and was hovering. He took his camera and got out to try to get to a spot where he could get a better view.About two hundred yards ahead there was an open field which allowed for a better view. By now the object had moved again and was now about a mile away. It would hover for a few seconds then move again. The general direction was east, which put it farther away each time it stopped. He took a few pictures with his iPhone, but the distance showed only a dark object with no detail. (The pictures have been sent to me to see if I could enhance them in any way.)John then returned to his car and noticed another motorist stopped behind him. He went back to see if this guy had seen what he just witnessed. The second guy (“Joe”, not his real name.) had also experienced car trouble and he too saw the large object. His view was also obstructed but saw enough to give a description. The two witnesses compared notes, and both saw essentially the same thing. It was at this point John, who lives near Smithfield and knew I was investigating these things, contacted me via my website. I happened to be online at the time and was made aware of what they saw and the issues with their vehicles. I messaged back and asked about the symptoms. Both said the cars would not start and said the batteries appeared dead.Since their location was only about three miles from me, I grabbed a few things and met them on 119. By now it was about 12:00 PM. When I arrived, I examined both vehicles for any obvious evidence. Neither showed any residue or any other obvious issues,  I checked for residual magnetic effects, and none were found. John said right before his car died his radio became “staticky”. Joe said his radio was not on, consequently he could not confirm the static John heard. I checked both radios and they were functioning normally when I examined the cars. At this point, I suggested they try again to start their cars. Both started after a few tries and ran normally. The second witness had already called his auto club, and a tow was on its way. He called them back and canceled the service request.The second witness, Joe, was not from this area but gave the following account of what he could make out through the trees:“It was dark gray, and almost reminded me of a piece of pipe that was hollow inside. There was some stuff inside the end, but I couldn’t make out what it was. The thing moved ahead of me and stopped over a car that was in front of me. That car stopped too. It was maybe one thousand feet ahead of where I stopped. I couldn’t get my car going and it looked like the car in front of me was having the same trouble I was. I could see the object seemed to be over the other car, but I couldn’t tell what was going on up there. I just knew something caused my car to stall out and I needed to get it off the road, so I didn’t cause an accident,  I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the object in the sky.” (The car he was watching ahead of him was John’s car.)I questioned this motorist to try to get more details, but his vantage point was not that good. Like John, his view was partially obstructed by tree limbs over the road. He estimated the object to be about fifty feet long and ten feet in diameter, or as he put it, “A piece of pipe that size.”  The second witness (Joe) was from out of state and had to keep going. I did obtain contact information and promised to keep him informed as the case progressed.I had a preliminary description from John who was stopped. He made a sketch of the object as he observed it through the trees. This sketch will be made a part of this report as it progresses. John described the object as a cylinder about 10 – 15 feet across and about thirty feet long. He said it was about three times longer than it was wide. In the end, he could see there was some kind of equipment or pointed objects. There was also a haze around the end of the object that partially obscured his view inside. The haze was a pale green fog that seemed to partly obstruct a clear view of the end of the object. He could see only one end; the other was pointing away from him.John’s contact information was obtained, and I took a couple pictures of the area for background and to create a computer rendering of the object in conjunction with an upcoming follow-up interview with John. The case is still active, and no conclusions have been made at this time.Interview with John. 7-12,24: John provided a few more details related to the object. He stated it moved sideways not in the direction it was facing when it relocated. When we discussed the reference the second witness made to a pipe, John stated that was true, but that it was also not round; he stated it was somewhat flattened. I decided to work with John and attempt to recreate what he saw. I also had John’s original photos and tried to enhance them, but the distance and contrast did not allow for any detail to be recovered from those images. I also took a couple pictures of the scene where John saw the object looking through the tree limbs.I also made contact by phone with the second witness and again reviewed the sighting from his perspective. The results indicated few changes in detail from his original comments as stated above. He reported no new effects, and he had his car checked by his mechanic who found nothing abnormal nor any reason for it to stall due to mechanical issues.July 29, 2024: Computer illustration is completed. John reviewed it and is satisfied that what was seen is a good representation of what he saw that day. Working with John’s original sketches and the description of the object we used a paint program to create a more life-like image of the object as John saw it. This image is attached to the report here.I also have John’s photos he took of the actual object on the day of his sighting, however, due to distance and resolution no detail could be extracted from the images. The object simply appears as an elongated spherical dot over the horizon.**********PHANTOMS & MONSTERS VIDEO LIBRARYPOLL: WHAT DO YOU THINK? Vote & comment on paranormal, cryptid & unexplained mysteries!HORRIFYING ENCOUNTERS! UNFORSEEN DIRE CONSEQUENCES | LIVE CHAT | Q & A (REAL EXPERIENCER REPORTS)LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS & MONSTERS REPORTS & CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHAREPHANTOMS & MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on SpotifyPHANTOMS & MONSTERS READING LISTCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistHave you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonOUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKSBigfoot and Other Cryptid Videos on YouTubeLYCANS! - PENNSYLVANIA'S CRYPTID CANINES UPDATE'KILLER BIGFOOT' HUNTED BY U.S. SPECIAL FORCES / GLIMMER MAN / MANTIS HUMANOIDSCRAWLER HUMANOIDS - GRUESOME INVADERS! (REAL EYEWITNESS ENCOUNTERS!)WEREWOLVES: DO THEY EXIST?'DOGMAN IN OUR YARD!' - AN OHIO FAMILY'S 12-YEAR SAGA WITH CRYPTID CANINESHey, folks. Thanks for the congrats on 'The Mothman Revisited' episode on Unsolved Mysteries. As a result, we are receiving more sighting reports and are very excited and grateful for the new information!I sincerely thank the Unsolved Mysteries team and Netflix for allowing us to tell the world about this phenomenon.If you have information about this or any other cryptid or unexplained sighting or encounter, please feel free to contact me by email or at 410-241-5974. Thanks again! LonCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistChicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive MapHey, folks. Please feel free to share your thoughts & comments on the recently uploaded video of the CHICAGO MOTHMAN. I'm interested in what you have to say. Thanks. LonEXCLUSIVE VIDEO of CHICAGO MOTHMAN RECORDED----------Become a Phantoms & Monsters Radio member - just $2.99 monthly, and receive these perks. Thanks for your support!-Members-only live chats-Exclusive members-only videos-Priority reply to members' commentsHave perks suggestions? LMK-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS

What are 'flying serpents/dragons' and what connection, if any, are there to humans?The Egyptian tales of flying snakes captured the curiosity of the Greek historian Herodotus (ca 460 BC). These winged drakontes were said to live under frankincense (Boswellia) trees in the Arabian Desert. To gather the incense, the Arabians burned styrax (resin of the Liquidambar tree) because the smoke drove the winged snakes away. Herodotus described the flying reptiles as small with variegated markings, shaped like a water snake but with wing-like membranes, like bat wings.Drakon: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds describes humanoids (Titans) that repeatedly interact with drakontes, both fighting against them and indeed alongside them, as masters and mistresses of them. Amongst males Apollo and Heracles are noteworthy in this regard, but it is the females that stand out more, notably Athene and Medea.Flying serpents and snakes are also mentioned in The Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon, sent by God to control humans. The Book of Enoch talks about the Watchers...supposed Angels dispatched to Earth to watch over the humans. They soon begin to lust for human women and, at the prodding of their leader Samyaza, defect en masse to illicitly instruct humanity and procreate among them. The offspring of these unions are the Nephilim, savage giants who pillage the earth and endanger humanity. Samyaza and his associates further taught their human charges arts and technologies such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery, and other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once. Eventually, God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim but first sends Uriel to warn Noah so as not to eradicate the human race. The Watchers are bound "in the valleys of the Earth" until Judgment Day. Is there a connection between the Flying Serpents / Dragons and those rebellious 'Angels' who survived the deluge and were made to hide in the dark recesses of the Earth?In more modern times, these beasts are still seen and reported. Here is an interesting vintage cryptid account:Fiery Flying SerpentMr. M. N. Ward, a gentleman connected with the mission at Pedang, on the coast of Sumatra, has published a well attested account of a flying serpent seen by the narrator. He saw the animal fly from a tree at the height of some fifty or sixty feet, to another tree some forty fathoms distant. It supports itself in the air by drawing its belly, widening itself and forming an arch as far as the ribs extend, and forces itself ahead with the rapidity of a bird, by sinuous motions, like a serpent swimming.There is nothing in the reptile which bears any resemblance to a wing. Its length is about four feet, and bite is dangerous. Another description of flying or darting serpents, is described by the natives, whose bite is instant death. It leaps or flies only about half the distance of the other, and makes none of the sinuous waving motion in the air. This discovery, of the truth of which there can be no doubt, shows the portion of Scripture which speaks of "burning fiery serpents" had a literal fact for the basis of its figurative language, though the species is now extinct in the region spoken of in the Bible. What a terrible scourge must be such an animal. Give us the sterility of the frozen, rather than the fertility of the torrid zones with such drawbacks. Polar bears are more agreeable than flying serpents. - Holly Springs Gazette (Holly Springs, Mississippi), August 04, 1841On September 25, 2001, a 19-year-old driving along Pennsylvania’s Route 119 reported what he described as “flags flapping in a thunderstorm” coming from above his car. When he looked up, he was astounded to see what looked like a bird with a 3–4.5 meter (10–15 ft) wingspan and a strange, elongated head flying above him.Over the next few months, two more witnesses would report seeing similar creatures in Greensville and Erie County, Pennsylvania. The reports were reminiscent of a string of sightings that took place in Texas in 1976 and 1982. In all cases, the creature described sounded remarkably similar to a Pterosaur. The sightings in Texas even occurred near to where the fossil of Quetzalcoatlus northropi, a large Pterosaur of the Late Cretaceous, was first discovered. Interestingly, these “Pterosaur” sightings seemed to occur close to each other in waves. That suggests that people were really seeing something...but what?In Africa, the native people of the Congo, Zambia, and several other regions speak of Kongomoto. It is described as featherless with smooth skin, a beak full of teeth, and a wingspan of 1–2 meters (4–7 ft). On the Gold Coast, British explorers in the 1920s heard tales of the Susabonsam, which grew to the height of a man and had thin, tenebrous wings like a bat. The truly large sightings of Kongamoto could be a surviving group of Quetzalcoatlus northropi, which, at the height of a giraffe, was the largest flying animal to have ever lived. Of course, they could also be condors, various storks, or other large birds seen in silhouette—or they might only be legends or outright hoaxes. But in 1988, Professor Roy Mackal led an expedition into the deserts of Namibia. He was investigating intriguing reports of a creature with a 9-meter (30 ft) wingspan seen gliding through the air. Eyewitness reports stated that it would appear at dusk, flying between two hills. Some even claimed that the winged monstrosity glowed in the dark. While the mission was unsuccessful, one expedition member claimed to have seen it from a distance, describing it as “a giant glider shape, black with white markings.”Then there was an encounter in Powys, Wales in March 2001 around 7:30 PM...as reported in 'Strange' Magazine.A British biologist and a few colleagues were conducting some research in the area after being notified by a local of "something" strange that was witnessed a month earlier. As they stood at the edge of some woods by a quarry they suddenly looked upon an extraordinary entity. Measuring 3 ft. or so in length, it resembled a serpentine dragon with four short limbs, but its head was shaped very like that of a sea horse, and it was airborne...undulating and wriggling as it flew about 10 ft above the surface of the quarry in a wide circle.They were unable to recall seeing any wings, but it had a long tail that ended in a pair of horizontal, whale-like flukes. The entity was green in color and shimmered somewhat, but appeared solid, not translucent or ethereal. They watched it for 3-4 minutes, at a distance of approximately 50 ft, before it finally vanished into one of the numerous caves and large crevices pitting the quarry. The biologist had the distinct impression while watching this creature that it was deliberately seeking to keep them at bay, warning them off from approaching further into its territory.A 'dinosaur-like bird' was reported near Murmansk, Russia in Summer 1995 at 8:30 PM by St. Petersburg, Russia's state-controlled newspaper.Two men were riding a car on a local road outside of Murmansk. Despite being in the evening it was still light out. The road was about 4 meters wide and was asphalt and surrounded by fields and tall canes on both sides. The road was straight and there was excellent visibility.At approximately 15-20 meters in front of the car, a strange creature was seen running across the road. The creature looked bird-like and it was visibly huge. The entity had long legs, about 2 meters long, dark feathers along the back, and an odd-shaped body. Unfortunately, the witnesses were unable to see any additional details, but discerned that the strange 'bird' was similar to a 'running reptile.'They stopped the car but realized that it was useless to look for the strange entity amid the dense cane fields. One of the witnesses, while reading a book on dinosaurs, found a picture that depicted almost exactly what he and his friends had seen. The image was later identified as a dinosaur from the Order Ornithischia.Local naturalists stated that no species of animal fitting that description lives in the region.In the book Native American Prophecies: History, Wisdom and Startling Predictions there is an excellent reference to 'Deganawidah: The Two Serpents':When Deganawidah was leaving the Indians in the Bay of Quinte in Ontario, he told the Indian people that they would face a time of great suffering. They would distrust their leaders and the principles of peace of the League, and a great white serpent was to come upon the Iroquois, and that for a time it would intermingle with the Indian serpent as a friend.This serpent would in time become so powerful that it would attempt to destroy the Indian, and the serpent is described as choking the life's blood out of the Indian people. Deganawidah told the Indians that they would be in such a terrible state at this point that all hope would seem to be lost, and he told them that when things looked their darkest a red serpent would come from the north and approach the white serpent, which would be terrified, and upon seeing the red serpent he would release the Indian, who would fall to the ground almost like a helpless child, and the white serpent would turn all its attention to the red serpent. The bewilderment would cause the white serpent to accept the red one momentarily.The white serpent would be stunned and take part of the red serpent and accept him. Then there is a heated argument and a fight. And then the Indian revives and crawls toward the land of the hilly country, and then he would assemble his people together, and they would renew their faith and the principles of peace that Deganawidah had established.There would at the same time exist among the Indians a great love and forgiveness for his brother, and in this gathering would come streams from all over -- not only the Iroquois but from all over -- and they would gather in this hilly country, and they would renew their friendship. And Deganawidah said they would remain neutral in this fight between the white and red serpents.At the time they were watching the two serpents licked in this battle, a great message would come to them, which would make them ever so humble, and when they become that humble, they will be waiting for a young leader, an Indian boy, possibly in his teens, who would be a choice seer. Nobody knows who he is or where he comes from, but he will be given great power, and would be heard by thousands, and he would give them the guidance and the hope to refrain from going back to their land and he would be the accepted leader.And Deganawidah said that they will gather in the land of the hilly country, beneath the branches of an elm tree, and they should burn tobacco and call upon Deganawidah by name when facing the darkest hours, and he will return. Deganawidah said that as the choice seer speaks to the Indians that number as the blades of grass, and he would be heard by all at the same time, and as the Indians are gathered watching the fight, they notice from the south a black serpent coming from the sea, and he is described as dripping with salt water, and as he stands there, he rests for a spell to get his breath, all the time watching to the north to the land where the white and red serpents are fighting.Deganawidah said that the battle between the white and the red serpents opened very slowly but would then become so violent that the mountains would crack and the rivers would boil and the fish would turn up on their bellies. He said that there would be no leaves on the trees in that area. There would be no grass, and that strange bugs and beetles would crawl from the ground and attack both serpents, and he said that a great heat would cause the stench of death to sicken both serpents. And then, as the boy seer is watching this fight, the red serpent reaches around the back of the white serpent and pulls from him a hair which is carried toward the south by a great wind into the waiting hands of the black serpent, and as the black serpent studies this hair, it suddenly turns into a woman, a white woman who tells him things that he knows to be true but he wants to hear them again.When this white woman finishes telling these things, he takes her and gently places her on a rock with great love and respect, and then he becomes infuriated at what he has heard, so he makes a beeline for the north, and he enters the battle between the red and white serpents with such speed and anger that he defeats the two serpents, who have already been battle weary.When he finishes, he stand on the chest of the white serpent, and he boasts and puts his chest out like he¹s the conqueror, and he looks for another serpent to conquer. He looks to the land of the hilly country and then sees the Indian standing with his arms folded and looking ever so noble that he knows that this Indian is not the one to fight. The next direction that he will face will be eastward and at that time he will be momentarily blinded by a light that is many times brighter than the sun.The light will be coming from the east to the west over the water, and when the black serpent regains his sight, he becomes terrified and makes a beeline for the sea.He dips into the sea and swims away in a southerly direction, and shall never again be seen by the Indians.The white serpent revives, and he too sees the light, and he makes a feeble attempt to gather himself and go toward that light.A portion of the white serpent refuses to remain but instead makes its way toward the land of the hilly country, and there he will join the Indian People with a great love like that of a lost brother.The rest of the white serpent would go to the sea and dip into the sea and would be lost out of sight for a spell. Then suddenly the white serpent would appear again on the top of the water and he would be slowly swimming toward the light. Deganawidah said that the white serpent would never again be troublesome to the Indian People.The red serpent would revive and he would shiver with great fear when he sees that light. He would crawl to the north and leave a bloody, shaky trail northward, and he would never be seen again by the Indians. Deganawidah said as this light approaches that he would be that light, and he would return to his Indian People, and when he returns, the Indian People would be a greater nation than they had ever been before.Going beyond terra firma the Alpha Draconians are possibly the oldest known Reptilian race in our galaxy. All Reptilian species are thought to be genetic hybrids and manipulations from an original race called the Winged Ciakar. A specific description from an alleged witness states:Alpha Draconians can be huge in stature, growing up to 15-20 feet tall and can weigh up to a ton. Some can parallel the dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptor in appearance...while others relate closely to legendary Dragons / Dracos, including wing structures for flying. They have black leathery brown scale bellies, with multiple abdomens. There are whiskers along their chin and jaw line. They possess a mating claw and multiple tongues.They lay eggs and what is called a battle hormone is used to accelerate the birthing process. They are a duality. This is why ancestral females did not participate in war, because if they did, there wouldn’t be others to help with the eggs and to secrete this hormone.Stronger young females were expected to defeat and kill older and weaker leaders in ritual combat.The Ciakar race is ruled and managed by genetic lineage. Genetic lineage always follows the mother, because you always know who the mother is, you don’t always know who the father is. In that particular line the females have all the say.Ruled by the monarchy of a queen genetic lineage they are one of the most powerful races in the galaxy. They have some of the greatest military might that has ever been seen in the galaxy and most of the clan members are zealots and will do anything for the glory of their clans, of their lineage.They have been the chief enemy of all human races in this galaxy in past conflicts. Again, we are talking about hydrogen breathers vs. oxygen breathers. They have three spinal columns. One spine is located ventrally near the stomach; the other two are located dorsally on the left and on the right of the Ciakars body.Spinal columns join near the dorsal of the geometric center at the extreme posterior of the trunk to form a long and very powerful tail. Inside of the hands are claws containing jelly-like sacks that excrete the various hormones and substances when the Ciakar is aroused, either for sex or for battle. - bibliotecapleyades.netThere are different theories concerning the Alpha Draconians...but for the most part, they seem to subject control over some of the other alien races. Their aggressive ways and scientific abilities suggest that they are the most dominant of the Reptilian races.You may wish to look at the Wes Penre Papers which offer information that suggests that the Alpha Draconians may have been responsible for the creation of an evolved human race, known as Starhuman.I believe our understanding of non-terrestrial and ultra-terrestrial beings is evolving...possibly to a point where tangible evidence surfaces proving our connection to other races of our galaxy and the multiverse within. LonInsiders Reveal Secret Space Programs & Extraterrestrial AlliancesThe Messengers: Owls, Synchronicity and the UFO AbducteeBloodline of the Gods: Unravel the Mystery in the Human Blood Type to Reveal the Aliens Among UsThe Custodians: Beyond Abduction**********PHANTOMS & MONSTERS VIDEO LIBRARYPOLL: WHAT DO YOU THINK? Vote & comment on paranormal, cryptid & unexplained mysteries!HORRIFYING ENCOUNTERS! UNFORSEEN DIRE CONSEQUENCES | LIVE CHAT | Q & A (REAL EXPERIENCER REPORTS)LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS & MONSTERS REPORTS & CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHAREPHANTOMS & MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on SpotifyPHANTOMS & MONSTERS READING LISTCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistHave you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonOUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKSBigfoot and Other Cryptid Videos on YouTubeLYCANS! - PENNSYLVANIA'S CRYPTID CANINES UPDATE'KILLER BIGFOOT' HUNTED BY U.S. SPECIAL FORCES / GLIMMER MAN / MANTIS HUMANOIDSCRAWLER HUMANOIDS - GRUESOME INVADERS! (REAL EYEWITNESS ENCOUNTERS!)WEREWOLVES: DO THEY EXIST?'DOGMAN IN OUR YARD!' - AN OHIO FAMILY'S 12-YEAR SAGA WITH CRYPTID CANINESHey, folks. Thanks for the congrats on 'The Mothman Revisited' episode on Unsolved Mysteries. As a result, we are receiving more sighting reports and are very excited and grateful for the new information!I sincerely thank the Unsolved Mysteries team and Netflix for allowing us to tell the world about this phenomenon.If you have information about this or any other cryptid or unexplained sighting or encounter, please feel free to contact me by email or at 410-241-5974. Thanks again! LonCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistChicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive MapHey, folks. Please feel free to share your thoughts & comments on the recently uploaded video of the CHICAGO MOTHMAN. I'm interested in what you have to say. Thanks. LonEXCLUSIVE VIDEO of CHICAGO MOTHMAN RECORDED----------Become a Phantoms & Monsters Radio member - just $2.99 monthly, and receive these perks. Thanks for your support!-Members-only live chats-Exclusive members-only videos-Priority reply to members' commentsHave perks suggestions? LMK-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS

News Star Trek: Lower Decks Tendi Pirates Up a Storm in Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Clip Tendi is back at the old family business, but hopefully not for long? By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on September 9, 2024 Credit: Paramount+ Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Paramount+ All good things must come to an end, and in that vein, it was a bummer when we found out that Star Trek: Lower Decks’ fifth season would be its last. On the bright side, we still have ten new episodes to look forward to! And to celebrate Star Trek Day, Paramount+ released a clip from one of those episodes. In it, we see Tendi (Noël Wells) working undercover while she’s still with the family pirate business. She’s quite good at her job (unsurprisingly) but also takes care to prevent her crew from murdering and maiming willy nilly. My guess is this is from an earlier installment in the upcoming season, as Tendi will hopefully rejoin her fellow Lower Deckers in Starfleet before the series ends. Here’s the official synopsis for the final episodes: In Season Five of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is tasked with closing “space potholes”—subspace rifts that are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Junior Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford…if they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all: their own career aspirations. This upcoming season on Paramount+ is a celebration of this underdog crew who are dangerously close to being promoted out of the lower decks and into strange new Starfleet roles. In addition to Wells, Lower Decks features the voice talents of Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman. It was created and is showrun by Mike McMahan. The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks will premiere on Paramount+ with two episodes on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Following the premiere, new episodes will drop every Thursday leading up to the series finale on Thursday, December 19, 2024. Check out the clip below. [end-mark] The post Tendi Pirates Up a Storm in <i>Star Trek: Lower Decks</i> Season 5 Clip appeared first on Reactor.

Books book review Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction Is Both Timely and Timeless A review of a Palestinian speculative fiction anthology edited by Sonia Sulaiman By Alex Brown | Published on September 9, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share It would be tempting to call Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction “timely,” but the themes, feelings, experiences, and traumas these stories call upon are neither new nor unprecedented. Each is part of a continuum of personal and cultural histories that trace back before any of the authors were born. If you take nothing else from this review, know that this is a fantastic anthology full of talented authors and imaginative premises. Thyme Travellers, edited by Sonia Sulaiman, isn’t the first anthology of Palestinian speculative fiction ever published, although not many people are aware of the previous ones. LIFTA: Future Palestine blends fiction art, poetry, photography, essays, and even blueprints to ponder the “intangible possibilities and impossibilities.” Similarly, Inara: Light of Utopia gives queer and trans Palestinians different creative formats and mediums to speculate on life in a liberated homeland. Reworlding Ramallah reimagines the future through a Palestinian lens. Palestine +100 also looks to the future, a century after the first Nakba, and tackles the question of what comes next using speculative genres. FIYAH and Strange Horizons, two excellent short speculative fiction magazines that often center marginalized identities, have also done Palestinian-focused issues. Each of these anthologies are criminally underrated and underread, and each are absolutely stunning examples of speculative Indigenous literature. Sulaiman had her work cut out for her making sure Thyme Travellers could live up to the high bar set by its predecessors, but she more than succeeded. Speaking of Sulaiman, she keeps a running list of speculative fiction by Palestinian authors, one I often refer to. Many of the authors in this anthology have been previously published, and their works are on that list. It’s well worth checking out. Buy the Book Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction Sonia Sulaiman (Ed.) Buy Book Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction Sonia Sulaiman (Ed.) Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget A few stories that stood out to me are worth mentioning here. “Cyrano de AI” by Karl El-Koura and “Generation Chip” by Nadia Afifi are lovely explorations of how technology both helps and hinders. In El-Koura’s near-future Canada, Nait’s father invents cyrano, an AI implant that can do everything from correct colorblindness to suggest conversation topics. Nait and his father have spent so many years letting their enhancements run their relationship that when they finally turn it off over lunch, it’s like they’re meeting each other for the first time. And in Afifi’s near-future Saudi Arabia, the adult grandchildren of a recently deceased grandmother who was one of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians expelled in the 1948 Nakba are given chips with her memories, dreams, and paths not taken. They must reckon with what they learn about who their grandmother really was and all the things she gave up. Besides the technology piece, the stories are also reflections on what our elders and ancestors felt they had to give up in order to ensure their children had a safe and secure future. I’m not Palestinian, but I saw a lot of my own family—with elders who actually knew people who were the first generation born free from slavery—in these families, particularly in the way it can be hard to talk about the painful parts of your ancestry so you stick to the surface level stuff. It’s easier that way, but the younger generation also misses so much about the steps and missteps that brought them to this point. Elise Stephens’ “Remembrance in Cerulean” tells of a man, Paul, whose father was responsible for the slaughter of newly arrived aliens called Ceruleans. The Puget Sound colony has had conflict with humans before, although it’s worth asking whether it can even truly be called a “conflict” when all the violence comes from the people who stole the land from someone else while the “other side” are refugees looking for a new place to call home. Paul finds connection in the community of Ceruleans and searches for a way to offer restitution and atonement. I can’t not talk about the story that opens this anthology, “Down Under” by Jumaana Abdu. No exaggeration, but it is one of the best short fiction stories I’ve read this year. The premise is that Palestinians all around the world are suddenly inspired to tunnel from wherever their diaspora landed back to their homeland. It’s painful, powerful, sharp, and bittersweet. It doesn’t give you the ending you want, nor does it surrender its dreams for something better. It left me feeling scoured and seething and energized all at once.  As with most anthologies, some stories in Thyme Travellers are stronger than others. Some could have been fleshed out more or needed a little something extra to make it pop. I would’ve liked some longer stories—many were only a couple pages—and a little more variety in the speculative subgenres, but these are quibbles. It took me several days to read this slight anthology, mostly because I kept going back and rereading stories. Not because I didn’t understand them or missed the point but because I enjoyed them so damn much I wanted to relive them immediately after finishing. “Must-read” gets thrown around a lot, but if you’re a fan of speculative short fiction, this should be at the top of your TBR.[end-mark] Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction is published by Roseway Publishing. The post <i>Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction</i> Is Both Timely and Timeless appeared first on Reactor.

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We said what we said.

It’s no secret that fake Republican Ana Navarro, co-host of ABC’s The View, counted herself as a close friend of President Biden; that’s in addition to her being a big supporter of Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). So it was striking during Monday’s show when Navarro seemed to pick sides and decided to press Pelosi on her role in forcing Biden out of the race behind the scenes, and about how Harris was quickly installed as the nominee. “There is a perception among some that there's a lot of hurt feelings because you played an outsized role in him stepping down which was a very selfless, but a very hard thing for him to do. I’ve heard that Jill Biden and her team, that there's people close to the Biden team that are upset at you,” Navarro prefaced, seemingly airing out the Democratic Party’s dirty laundry. Asking: “Have you spoken to him, and how do you respond to that?” Perhaps caught off guard by actually being called out, Pelosi appeared to say the quiet out loud, admitting that getting rid of Biden was a strategic decision make for political reasons: My point was we need a better campaign. As I said, a decision to win. I didn't see us on a path to victory. So, it wasn't about him not running. It's just, if this is the case, we have to run in a different way. The President made his decision, patriotic, selfless, the most consequential president of modern times. This has been a great president of the United States. Thank you for asking. The decision that he made was one that has, well, you see the result of it. It's going to preserve -- when we win, it's going to preserve his legacy!     In a follow up, Navarro confronted Pelosi about how nominating Harris was not an “open process”: Initially though, you wanted an open process. You don't want -- you didn't endorse Kamala. You wanted an open process, despite knowing her very well from San Francisco. Do you think now when you look back on it, that it was a mistake? Pelosi laughably insisted “It was an open progress [sic]” and that “Anybody could have gotten in” and made a run at the nomination, which was not true. “She got in, and she won, and a president of the United States had endorsed her who was very respected. So, that meant a lot, but people don't understand,” she declared. Further, Pelosi suggested that “Other people could have gotten in. [Harris] just locked up” because of how “Politically astute” she supposedly was. Showing tremendous cognitive dissonance about how the process was supposedly “open,” co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin each touted how Harris “got the delegates” and “worked the phones” (respectively). As the other faux conservative on the panel, Farah Griffin’s question wasn’t about anything impactful or substantive; like say the video of Pelosi on admitting she was responsible for the Capitol’s security on January 6. Instead, Farah Griffin teed up Pelosi to make a get-out-the-vote pitch: So madam speaker, there was obviously huge momentum for Kamala Harris going into the DNC and coming out of it, but the polls are in a dead heat. Statistically, this is the closest presidential race in a generation. How optimistic are you that she can win, and what do you think is going to happen in the House? Do you think Democrats can win back control? “We had made a decision to win, and so we'll make every decision in favor of winning,” Pelosi proclaimed. “The fact is though; Hakeem Jeffries must be the speaker of the House, he must have that gavel! He must have that gavel on January 6!” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View September 9, 2024 11:31:12 a.m. Eastern (…) ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: So madam speaker, there was obviously huge momentum for Kamala Harris going into the DNC and coming out of it, but the polls are in a dead heat. Statistically, this is the closest presidential race in a generation. How optimistic are you that she can win, and what do you think is going to happen in the House? Do you think Democrats can win back control? REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Well, thank you for that question. I didn't know if we could talk politics here, but – [Laughter] ANA NAVARRO: Have you watched our show? PELOSI: I meant that I couldn't. WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Probably not. She's been busy. PELOSI: We had made a decision to win, and so we'll make every decision in favor of winning. [Applause] And that means we have to mobilize and own the ground to get out the vote. So, all of you are enthusiastic about Kamala and Tim Walz, you must make calls, walk precincts and the rest of that. Secondly, mobilization. The message has to be bold and progressive, but not menacing. It has to be unifying. We have to use this election to unify America as Sara has said. [Applause] And third is the money and that comes in. The three "Ms." Mobilization, message, money. But, we also have to remind you all: No wasted time. Eight weeks from tomorrow is the day. No wasted time, no underutilized resources, and no regrets; the day after the election, we could have done this much more [gestures a small amount]. As far as the House is concerned – and I heard what you said earlier Alyssa about winning and then voting down the line Republican, and that's -- FARAH GRIFFIN: If they're good, non-election denying Republicans. PELOSI: There are a few who are. The fact is though; Hakeem Jeffries must be the speaker of the House, he must have that gavel! He must have that gavel on January 6! (…) 11:34:59 a.m. Eastern NAVARRO: You have a very long relationship, friendship with president Biden. You all have worked together for decades. PELOSI: Decades. NAVARRO: You’ve been personal friends. He awarded you the Medal of Freedom earlier this year. There is a perception among some that there's a lot of hurt feelings because you played an outsized role in him stepping down which was a very selfless, but a very hard thing for him to do. I’ve heard that Jill Biden and her team, that there's people close to the Biden team that are upset at you. Have you spoken to him, and how do you respond to that? PELOSI: No, but I -- my point was we need a better campaign. As I said, a decision to win. I didn't see us on a path to victory. So, it wasn't about him not running. It's just, if this is the case, we have to run in a different way. The President made his decision, patriotic, selfless, the most consequential president of modern times. This has been a great president of the United States. [Applause] Thank you for asking. The decision that he made was one that has, well, you see the result of it. It's going to preserve -- when we win, it's going to preserve his legacy! (…) 11:37:29 a.m. Eastern NAVARRO: Initially though, you wanted an open process. You don't want -- you didn't endorse Kamala. You wanted an open process, despite knowing her very well from San Francisco. Do you think now when you look back on it, that it was a mistake? PELOSI: It was an open progress [sic]. Anybody could have gotten in. She got in, and she won, and a president of the United States had endorsed her who was very respected. So, that meant a lot, but people don't understand. Other people could have gotten in. She just locked up. SUNNY HOSTIN: She got the delegates. PELOSI: Politically astute. As I said to you before. FARAH GRIFFIN: She worked the phones. PELOSI: So, I was one of the earlier endorsers of any of the leaders, right? Within 24 hours. NAVARRO: And yesterday you and a bunch of Italian-Americans did the paisans for Kamala. (…)