Going Around in Credulous Circles 1

EoR has recently been watching Contact from Bert Janssen Productions (screenshots here):

Undeniable evidence of the existence and presence of non-human, highly intelligent entities with a plan for mankind. Warning: this documentary contains material that will change your view of this world forever...

The entities? Balls of light (or BOLs as those in the know affectionately call them). The plan for mankind? Um, making crop circles, EoR thinks. This rather short documentary (45 minutes with repeated showings of grainy, dodgy, evidential video film) purports to prove that crop circles (those well known and unexplainable signs of paranormal activity) are made by little BOLs.

Bert Janssen is a clear-headed independent investigator. Who could doubt anyone who spruiks Quantum i sing [sic] on his website:

When the activity of the left brain comes in tune with the right brain, the whole brain comes in a resonating coherent brainwave state. From there interaction with the Field is possible and creation of a new reality is within reach. Our ancient ancestors were able to directly tap into this Field by having coherent brain wave states. As humans have evolved into our modern society, most of us have lost this ability. However, this ability is still locked into our subconsciousness. We only have to reActivate® it.

Maybe he means the Field where the crop circles form? Other 'investigators' presented in the documentary are equally as 'independent'.

The main argument of the documentary is that BOLs are associated with crop circles. They therfore formed them and are intelligences of some sort. In support of these assertions a number of BOLs caught on video are shown, a number of crop circle 'researchers' are interviewed, and a scientist who has proven that crop circles are caused by BOLs is presented.

Today, I propose to go through some of the main points and arguments presented on the DVD. Tomorrow, I shall address the credibility and authority of the 'evidence' and the 'researchers' (incidentally, apparently anyone with a slackjawed belief in mystical origins for crop circles is automatically labelled a 'crop circle researcher' - presumably also including the gentleman shown dowsing a crop circle) and after that a brief resume of Dr Haselhoff.

In this "mindblowing" documentary (the phrase is used repeatedly) we are shown a number of videos of BOLs around crop circles. These include examples provided by John Smith, Steve Alexander, Kerry Blower, Peter Sorensen, Dominik and Constantin von Durckheim, Donald Fletcher, John Wheyleigh, Stuart Dike and verbal reports from Charles R Mallett, Robbert van den Broeke and Maki Masao. These provide proof of an "irrefutable relationship between crop circles and lights".

Dr Eltjo Haselhoff is brought forward to provide scientific proof, having published an article on crop circles in a peer reviewed journal. Dr Haselhoff's argument appears to be that plant nodes in crop circles are bigger (or possibly further apart) than in the similar plants outside the crop circle. This, in his words, provides proof of an electromagnetic point source some distance above the centre of the crop circle. This of course, in the words of the narrator, means

it is now a scientifically accepted fact that at least some crop circles were generated by balls of light. Researchers and scientists were left baffled. [...] We are dealing with an unknown intelligence.

Kerry Blower (whose video is remarkably different from the others, and to which I shall return) is interviewed. She tells how she was hit with a psychic intuition, telling her friends

I'm going to film a luminosity tomorrow.

Taking her video camera, which she hadn't used in years, she went out tomorrow and filmed a luminosity.

We are also introduced to Maki Masao, a Japanese "professional debunker" who conducted an 'experiment'. He, and eleven other people, performed a group meditation praying for a crop circle that had the following characteristics: it had to appear that night, in the immediate vicinity, to the west, containing a Japanese symbol. Deciding one prayer was not sufficient, the group repeated the 'experiment' at a second location. While there, five people watching Maki Masao (what happened to the other six people is never revealed, presumably abducted by BOLs - or could they have been off somewhere making a crop circle?) saw a "great ball of light" descend and rise behind him. Apparently, professional debunkers do not carry any sort of video equipment with them, since it seems no visual evidence of this remarkable happening exists. Still not satisfied (!) the group went to a third location where they 'felt the energy in the air'. Next morning, guess what! "A little to the west" was a crop circle with a Japanese origami symbol!

There is also a brief discussion of Defence Department helicopters which often seem to 'chase' the BOLs while at other times apparently not seeing them even though the BOLs fly right in front of them (there's even a video to show this apparent non-interest). We're also told helicopters often turn up minutes after a BOL is seen. A helicopter pilot trainer is interviewed and, predictably, denies everything. What is not made clear is that this area of Wiltshire seems to be used for helicopter training, so it's expected that they would be flying around quite frequently. But the Defense Department is obviously Hiding Something.

Why would they lie? What are they hiding?

We're also told that the BOLs often appear to people with video cameras, but not other equipment, as if

they want to be filmed, not analysed [...] they decide who is to see them.

Are you a believer yet? The whole thing is presented with a breathless intensity and a pounding repetitive rock riff. It would be hard to deny all the evidence and anecdotes presented here. Unfortunately, tomorrow EoR will be doing just that.