I do have another new blog, Menagerie of Mystery. It will be joining with the website as soon as I get around to redoing the website. It has nothing to do with UFOs, it is for vintage things, especially vintage jewelry and jewelry in general. Well, I suppose that could include UFO related stuff, but so far it doesn't.
I had some other stuff I was going to say, but I guess I will behave myself. Instead, do any of you have comments on people asking for your money? No, I don't mean someone selling you a book or offering to shoot lasers in the air to try to attract alien spacecrafts -- I mean people in Ufology asking you for money for their bills? Is there a difference or is it pretty much the same thing?
6 comments:
I think money is always an issue regardless of whether we blog or not. To me it's sort of a litmus test for individuals that have to determine for themselves how writing and publishing "fits" into the more pragmatic issues of life.
I had a close friend who became so disgusted with the paranormal community ( whatever that is) she said well, if I am going to put this effort into it they are going to pay for it, and that will determine how serious a reader is, rather than just attracting numbers for the sake of numbers.
Others I sense ( who I do not presume to speak for) have monetary issues that are personal. Whatever they decide is frankly, from my point of view, none of my business.
That being said, personally I am ambivalent about it as the odds of making anything worth alienating someone are negligible. We are not going to rich in this.I think the deepest question is what do we want in exchange for our efforts, what makes "this" worthwhile? For me , it's learning for others maybe curiosity or having an outlet for creativity, to seek like minds..I think it's so personal that it's difficult to make a general statement about.
What was bothering me was that the same people that say horrible things about others that they think are fraudulently making money from UFOlogy are often the same ones asking for donations to pay their rent. It just seems kind of hypocritical.
I agree with you, Lesley. It's true that none of us should expect to make a living in the fields of paranormal or UFO research; we do it for the greater reward of satisfying our personal curiosity and hopefully, advancing the sum of human knowledge of the world around us and our place in it. That said, we still do need to pay our bills. I have no problem with anyone charging a reasonable fee for a book or service they provide, and hopefully making enough to cover their expenses and ideally, a little extra for rent and food. However, if someone is going to beg for help paying their regular living expenses, offering nothing in return, I would hope that they would at least refrain from attacking others who does offer a legitimate product or service for sale.
It reminds me of an incident reported at Millbrook where Timothy Leary said of himself and other influential figures in the use of LSD for enlightenment; "We are all frauds!" Meaning everyone had an bizarre experience or a take on the scene but nobody really knew the truth in caps. So, for forty years or so, not much has changed except perhaps the questions at hand. My favorite response was by Ouspensky when asked if he knew some information about a long ago event.His response; "I don't know. I wasn't there."
haha, my word verification was CHING ! Well, I send a few dollars to my favorite paranormal and esoteric radio programs-can't afford subscriptions as a member to them, but since I listen, I am glad to send a little donation. But some of these ufo-folks have a lot of gall to trash others and ask for money so they can keep spewing venom out-Not with my money! Reputable and ethical blogs like yours are the ones I support!
I understand that people have got to eat, but trying to make UFOlogy and Paranormal field lucrative for individuals bothers me. If you're doing research and the money is to fund the expenses associated with research, that is a different beast to me -- but if someone is just looking for a handout or just wants to make a ton of dough through the rest of us, I say 'fuck that.'
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