The capture of Bigfoot

#bigfootisreal

This weeks featured movie for Bigfoot Entertainment Weekly.

IMDB: A small town has made an industry out of Bigfoot sightings and ancillary merchandising. All this may come to an end very soon though. A local businessman hopes to trap Bigfoot once and for all, so that he can get all the publicity gravy. 1979

As the cult following movies continue the capture of Bigfoot should be watched at least once by true fans. Find out what Rev. Jeff and your old pal Wes Losner think on Monday nights review. For now here is a chance to see the movie ahead of time.

Bigfoot discovered by Drones - SLP3-32 - Updated

#bigfootisreal
Back in action after a week off the SLP is ready to fire on all cylinders once again. Tonight Rev. Jeff and Dr. David Batdorf (DPS) take a long hard look at all the new Drone technology for good or for bad and break up all the madness with the news of the week. It all starts at 8pm PST, 10 pm CST 11pm EST 4am UK and 1pm AUE on www.youtube.com/sloungepodcast

Check back later for the live link to the show

-Update show starts at 8:30pm tonight folks we'll see you then!

-Update 2 Tonight's live link

Bigfoot Ent Weekly 1-12

#bigfootisreal
Come join Rev. Jeff and your old pal Wes Losner for another edition of Bigfoot Entertainment Weekly! This weeks feature is Bigfoot the Movie from 1970. Staring John Caradine and a host of other groovy 60's people to unleash a film like none we had seen before. 8pm PST 10pm CST 11pm EST 4am UK 1pm AUE on www.youtube.com/sloungepodcast

Here is a link to the movie

Tonight's live link

#SLPNEWS - First New Canid in 150 Years Described

[via - National Geographic]

Sometimes, a new species is hiding right under out noses.
African golden jackals are often sighted, but recently, scientists have discovered that they differ from their Eurasian lookalikes - and are actually not jackals, at all. They are a new species of wolf, as shown by an in-depth analysis of their DNA.
This species reclassification is one that the 'lumpers' and 'splitters' won't have to argue about!
Read the full article [HERE].

#PSEUDOSCIENCE - Your Memory Sucks!

[via - smithsonianmag.com]

Since I am derelict in my blog posting duties and I'm in a skeptical mindset... aaaaaand I've had a couple beers... Let's talk about memory.
One of the most important concepts in the discipline of skepticism is to know yourself and to be conscious of your shortcomings.
Like many others, I have a terrible time with names. I have no trouble with faces, unless you ask me to describe a stranger I just saw. If I see them again, I will remember what I was doing the last time I saw them, what we talked about and possibly, what I was on my way to do next.
The whole point is, our memory is flawed and subjective. This is why, in my professional life and my Squatching life, I choose to write details down [or record them in other ways] as they occur.
It could be a name, a phone number to call back or a GPS coordinate of a place I'd like to revisit... my brain is full of other details and I am not necessarily the master of what gets permanently stored.
If you read the article [HERE], you will find some insight into the frailties of human memory and why witness testimony is not held in high regard in the field of science.

The article follows a recent study:

Researchers found that simply observing another person performing an act can create false memories that we performed that act.

It goes further to describe other tests: 

This research follows other research demonstrating that imagining an event is often enough to create the false memory of that event. Imagination activates many of the same brain areas that a true memory would. In essence, a memory of the imagination may over time become indistinguishable from a memory of a real event – and a false memory is born.

And goes further, yet:

This is especially relevant to many UFO abduction therapists who use hypnosis and encourage their clients to imagine themselves being abducted. This “research” is, in fact, optimized to produce (rather than uncover) false memories of alien abduction.

These are reasons to be careful about accepting witness testimony as fact, when we know our memory can be easily modified by outside or internal forces.

For the full article and a link to the study, click [HERE]

#SLPNEWS - Alaska Grizzly Cam? I'm in!

[via - explore.org]

As I sit here, 23:36PST... it is daylight in Alaska... and there is a live streaming video of a Grizzly searching for fish. #EPIC
If you need a calm moment watching bears do what they do best, the fine folks at explore.org have set up some streaming webcams, for your enjoyment.
I can't promise there will be a bear on cam, but there are many other cams available.
To catch the Brooks Falls Grizzlys, click [HERE]

#PSEUDOSCIENCE - Why Do People Believe Conspiracy Theories?!

[via - google image search]

Conspiracy theories in Bigfootery, abound!

[Squatcher's Lounge Podcast - SLP3-3]

*Video optional and should be enjoyed  after reading this article and the source article!*

Wether it's government coverups or interpersonal conspiring, there is definitely a propensity toward this line of thinking in the field of the 'unknown'. I wouldn't want to limit this to the realm of Bigfootery, because that would be a lie. 
When dealing with large groups and decidedly sparse data, this behavior should be expected, as the psychology behind this phenomenon shows us that it is extremely common.
Special interest groups on social media are extremely aware of the components that lead to our belief in these types of situations and use them to their advantage, almost exclusively... as do some in the Bigfoot field.
The best way to combat the onslaught of misinformation and be sure we don't take down gulps of the next group's Kool-Aid is to understand the attractive components of conspiracy theories [true, fictional, political, fabricated or otherwise, completely bullshit].

I recently read a great article on scientificamerican.com, where Christopher French, a professor of psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, leads us through the components that allure us to believe in conspiracy theories.
He begins with confirmation bias - something that folks in the cryptozoological field know all too well. From strange sounds in the night with no visible source to visible blobsquatches that cannot be rationally discerned, we thrive on this type of self-gratifying 'brain candy'. It allows us to bolster our preconceived notions, without necessarily meeting a reasonable burden of proof. Basically, the notion that "Bigfoot has to exist, if everything is Bigfoot!"

 “Confirmation bias” is the most pervasive cognitive bias and a powerful driver of belief in conspiracies. We all have a natural inclination to give more weight to evidence that supports what we already believe and ignore evidence that contradicts our beliefs.

The next component goes to the larger scale questions like, "What happened to all the people who have gone missing in the National Forests?" or statements like, "If there is all this proof that Bigfoot [or Aliens] exists, the government must know more than they are telling us!"
From 'Missing 411' to 'The JFK Assassination', the ludicrous seems to be more plausible, in the face of immense proportions.

“Proportionality bias,” our innate tendency to assume that big events have big causes, may also explain our tendency to accept conspiracies. This is one reason many people were uncomfortable with the idea that President John F. Kennedy was the victim of a deranged lone gunman and found it easier to accept the theory that he was the victim of a large-scale conspiracy.

This next alluring aspect is one bourn of ourselves. It would seem likely that people whom conspire, themselves, would not only be more likely to believe that a conspiracy was taking place, but also be able to use these components of interest against the unwitting.
Wether malicious, enterprising or justified paranoia [because, you'd do it to the next guy], this is the aspect is less about the 'belief' of a conspiracy or falsehood and more about the person who believes it, or the person who intentionally proliferates that belief.

Another relevant cognitive bias is “projection.” People who endorse conspiracy theories may be more likely to engage in conspiratorial behaviors themselves, such as spreading rumors or tending to be suspicious of others' motives.

Don't get me wrong, I'm skeptically suspicious of many things I see online... The difference between a 'conspiracy theorist' and a 'skeptic' is - a skeptical approach would be to reserve your opinion of a situation until you looked at the matter in a pragmatic way, got all of the useable information together and then formed your own opinion of a matter. 
That means you must first wade through and weed-out public opinion, pseudoscience and half-truths, understand that not everything that is presented will be true and then go forth with the simplest, educated opinion.
There are always going to be, at least, two divisive sides to matters of public opinion. 
People who bend the truth or misconstrue information to their own means are the true conspirators. They work their respective side of the coin of public opinion to alter the truth or heart of a given matter. 
In a world of fabricated world of 'Facebook alter egos' and 'bandwagon mentality', isn't it time to begin to engage the bombardment of photos, memes and 18 second videos, for ourselves?
I will leave you with this last quote from Christopher French...

The crux of the matter is that conspiracists are not really sure what the true explanation of an event is—they are simply certain that the “official story” is a cover-up.

Read the full article [HERE]