So, anyway, this past weekend I was a volunteer for Steve Bassett/Paradigm Research Group at the X-Conference 2010, which was the sixth X-Conference (“X” for exopolitics) and the first one held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC—two blocks from the White House, and twelve from the Capitol. I got there about 5.30 pm, because the conference registration was supposed to open at 6.30 and there was a “meet the speakers” cocktail party at 7, followed by the pre-premiere showing (i.e., directorial rough cut) of the film “The Day Before Disclosure” by Norwegian filmmaker Terje Toftenes.
Steve was delayed in getting there, but I got acquainted with some of the other volunteers and with Danish UFO/media people Frederik Uldall and Pia Knudsen. Eventually we assembled the materials and started handing out registration packets to the appropriate people, giving directions to the restrooms (very important) and showing them into the room where the cocktail party was being held, which actually took up most of the evening. There was food at the party but I didn’t get any myself, although I did manage to snag a beer at one point. (One of my “takeaways” from the conference was the certainty that I would not want to be in the catering business.)
I got to chat a bit with Dr. Bob Hieronimus, host of “21st Century Radio” out of Baltimore and author of books such as the terrific United Symbolism of America. (The radio show, which covers many fringe subjects, plus music and other things Bob is keen on, is available online and through iTunes, and is well worth a listen.) Linda Moulton Howe was there briefly and then disappeared somewhere, but a bunch of the other speakers showed up: A.J. Gevaerd from Brazil, Richard and Karyn Dolan, Peter Robbins, Gary Heseltine from the UK, and others. Eventually I got to see most of the film that evening, which needed a little tightening editorially but was very nicely put together: an overview of the whole UFO phenomenon, from the beginning to the present, including abductions, animal mutilations, and other high strangeness. Terje Toftenes is a tall, soft-spoken, amiable guy, and he was there with his wife/partner, Ragnhild Løken, also very tall and amiable, who reminded me of what a friend once called a female colleague: Amazon dot blonde. Fine-looking lady, if you ask me.
After a rather brief night with a few hours sleep (I was commuting by Metrorail from home, which meant late nights and early mornings), I joined the other volunteers and continued registering new people, handing out packets, taking money (cash or check only), and telling folks where the bathrooms were. The conference itself was delayed in starting because it was being live-streamed on the internet, and the correct connections were not managed until about an hour and a half after the starting time. Remember, it’s still Mercury retrograde until Tuesday evening.
Eventually the technical problems were licked and Richard Dolan gave his presentation, which as usual was well-done, scholarly, and fascinating. He has a new book coming out this September, which he is writing with the creator of the TV series “Dark Skies,” called A.D.: After Disclosure. After this, there was a presentation during lunch by George Haas and Bill Saunders based on their works The Martian Codex and The Cydonia Codex, in which they relate many of the anomalous features of Cydonia to Mayan and other Meso-American artefacts. Interesting and suggestive, but not entirely persuasive, to my way of thinking.
After lunch, A.J. Gevaerd—a very affable fellow—gave a lengthy and impassioned presentation on UFOs in Brazil, and the stance of the Brazilian government on the subject, which is a bit more enlightened than that of the USA. Even if they haven’t got fully into disclosure mode, they are at least quite honest about the fact that their military has, indeed, been tracking this whole area for a long time. Following him was Paul Stonehill, originally from Ukraine, who gave an enormously thought-provoking talk on UFOs in the USSR/Russia. Possibly the most interesting information was on the topic of USOs—unidentified submersible objects. He said the Russians have observed very large craft (or something) operating at great depths, not only in the ocean but in landlocked seas such as Lake Baikal. On one occasion, he said, a Russian military unit found humanoids who were some eight to nine feet in height conducting operations underwater (in either Lake Baikal or another inland sea), at tremendous depths but without apparent diving gear. The Russian commander decided to try to capture them, and sent divers down, who were fatally unsuccessful.
That evening—Saturday—was the banquet, which was something of a logistical nightmare. For a while it seemed uncertain if George Noory would make it, because his plane was delayed after running into headwinds and being diverted to Richmond, but he eventually arrived. Then, although we were very assiduous in checking tickets, there were many more people at the banquet than could be accounted for by ticket stubs, which meant that not only was there scrambling to get the facility staff to put on more place settings, set out more chairs, and provide more food, but the conference might be going seriously into the financial hole because each possible freeloader was getting a swell dinner that cost $80. Personally, I hadn’t planned to stay for the banquet, and I left about 9 pm, after everyone was seated and eating.
To be continued…
W.J. Smith
Dr Swerdloc, O.B.F.
'Ars longa, vita brevis'
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