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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Recap of the weird in Fresno for 2009

2009 has been an interesting year here at Weird Fresno. It was hard to determine what the top then weird things were, but after a few shots of Jagermeister I was able to narrow it down.

Number 10 - The Fourth Kind.

I was really looking forward to this movie, alien abductions have always scared the hell out of me and was hoping this movie, with it's Blair Witch feel and reported real footage would scare me. But alas my hopes were dashed almost as soon as the opening credits rolled. Somehow I sat through this mess, but figured I could do better. Hence the my reenactment of the reenactment you see below.



Self promotion? Maybe, but this my blog and I can do whatever in the hell I want. But on a serious note, all the backlash that the studio received, plus the lawsuit Universal had to deal with over should teach other studios that you can't make crappy movies. Of course there is a remake of Karate Kid coming in 2010, so I'm probably wrong. The link to my review on this turd can be found here.

Number 9 - Interstate 5 Mystery Lights solved?



Last year I had reported on some strange lights being scene on Interstate 5 between Kettleman City and Coalinga. But someone sent me an e-mail with some footage they shot on the way back from San Francisco. In it you can clearly see it's an airplane, what I assume to be a crop duster. Still there are these lights which I haven't been able to explain.

Number 8 - Fresno's own Bigfoot hunter.

I was surprised that the Fresno area had it's own Bigfoot hunter, and that it was someone who had years of experience.
Dave Raygoza has been searching for Bigfoot for several years and has recently teamed up with the Sanger Paranormal Society. In May of 2009 they were able to capture something on film. Link to the original story here.

Number 7- Large black triangle shaped craft spotted in Fresno

It seems that most UFO reports these days are of black triangles, and Fresno is no stranger to this. I had found a report on the National UFO Reporting Center on an account of someone seeing such a craft over the skies of Fresno one night. It was reported in Jan 09, though seen in late December 08 and the witness reported seeing a large black triangle shaped craft floating through the night sky. About a football field in length, and a red light at each corner the witness the craft made no noise as it traveled south. Link to the original story can be found here.

Number 6 - Strange craft caught on film over Kearney Blvd.



I had just set up my own hot line when I received a call. Someone had taken some photos over Kearney Blvd and when they had the pictures developed, they noticed something strange in the last photograph. Even more interesting is when I mentioned this to a friend, they had seen something similar a few years ago while working in the area. What it is I have no idea. Link to the original story can be found here.

Number 5 - Graveyard Camping. Only in Madera.

Ok so I know I call this blog Weird Fresno, but I live in Madera. It's my hometown, and even though I make fun of it, I love the place. Though it scares me. One day a friend of mine needed to do some filming and wanted to shoot at a creepy cemetery. I mentioned the one on the outskirts of Madera where I had heard little girls. They were interested, so we headed on out.

Upon arriving there we see some guy camped out in the cemetery and as we drove past the person camping there walked out onto the road, dragging his foot like he was either a zombie or Keyzer Soze. Curious we drove back again and he supposedly waved at us. Crazy thing is, I went by there a week ago for something else and the dude is still there. Oh Madera I love you. Link to the original story can be found here.

Number 4 - UFO spotted over Fresno



Now I know what you are saying. "Three UFO posts Mike?" Well my response is "Yes, deal with it." I recieved a lot of good UFO stuff this year and I think this was the best as I have never seen anything like it before. Link to the original story can be found here.

Number 3 Fresno's Adorable Poodle Saloon considered one of the most ghostly spots on Earth.

I had stumbled on a post from a UK site listing some of the most haunted places on Earth, and an old pet grooming business, the Adorable Poodle Saloon, was on that list. Given all the other lists that Fresno usually makes (which I won't repeat here), it was nice to see something different and in a positive note. Link to the original story can be found here.

Number 2 - Zombie protest in Fresno.

I can't say it enough, I freakin love zombies. Love em. Favorite horror movie? Night of the Living Dead. So imagine the glee I felt when I got a strange e-mail saying there was going to be a group of zombies protesting for their rights on Shaw and Blackstone. Arriving there, I found both the pro-rights group, which was zombies and the anti-rights group which were regular rednecks err people. I was able to talk to both sides and get their story.

Ok this was just a publicity stunt for Fright Night Scream Park and their Halloween attraction. Still I've been wanting to organize a zombie crawl for years now and these guys did the best job I've seen so far. So props to them. Link to the original story can be found here.

Number 1 - History Channel's Monster Quest recently filmed episode in Fresno.

To me this was a big one. I was contacted by Jeff Gonzales from the Sanger Paranormal Society about how how Monster Quest had just finished filming him and Dave Raygoza (the previously mentioned Bigfoot hunter) for an upcoming episode in 2010. Jeff and Dave had taken some interesting shots up in the Sierra Nevada's and Monster Quest was interested in their story. Link to the original story can be found here.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Mutilated Farm Animals Most Likely Victims of UFO Experiments

Several waves of cattle mutilation were reported in the end of the 20th century. A mysterious “predator” opened animal carcasses cutting out their internal organs. The predator was unstoppable and dead cattle were found even in zoos.

The most mutilations occurred in 1975 – 1976, the worst of them found in the US. There were thousands of victims. In Colorado alone three cows on average were mutilated on a daily basis. Governor Richard Lamm then stated that the mutilations were "one of the greatest outrages in the history of western cattle industry." Once, buffaloes were mutilated in Cheyenne Mountain that at the time hosted a US Air Force Defense Station. The predators were not stopped by thousands of soldiers patrolling the area. Bloodless animal carcasses remained the challenge that the Americans could not stand up to.

In 2009, cattle mutilators came back. On March 8, a dead cow was found near the Purgatoire River by Mike Duran, a cattle rancher.

"She's an older cow so I thought she may have died. … I spotted her near the (Purgatoire) river bottom and went and looked at her. She was on her side and it looked a little odd. When I took a closer look I saw that her udders had been removed," Duran said. It appeared as if the utters were cut off with a laser. There was no blood on or around the carcass and the incisions were perfectly round.

Two weeks later, Jim Garren, a rancher from Walsenburg, Colorado, also found a dead cow with its udders cut off.

"We searched and searched and we could not find blood on the ground or on the cow. I just can't understand how anyone could surgically remove a part from an animal and not spill some blood," he said.

Absence of blood is one of the characteristics of an invisible forces’ attack. After opening carcasses, veterinarians find out that there is not a single drop of blood in them. It is very difficult to bleed out an animal because when arteries are cut open, veins close and hold the blood back. The blood can be removed by pumping salt solution through arteries, but it is difficult to do in a field.

Rancher Tom Miller found one of his calves dead near a feed tub where cows congregate to eat twice daily.

"It's the strangest thing I've ever seen. I cut the hide and the legs just fell off. All the bones were broken," Miller said.

This happens when a mutilated animal is thrown down from above. There were a number of cases when ranchers found carcasses in the trees, hanging off power lines, or other places where a cow cannot get on its own. Traces of animals in the snow or mud would suddenly disappear as if the animals were lifted in the air. Coyotes and vultures would not touch the carcasses.

The rest of the story can be found here.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Is the Chowchilla library haunted?


Is this library haunted by a man who died in a fire here years ago?

Several years ago, in a rural town in northern Madera County called Chowchilla, the local bowling alley caught fire and the entire structure was gutted. After investigating the cause of the fire, it was determined that the start of the fire was in the kitchen and soon spread to the rest of the building. Unfortunately the cook was caught in the fire and was unable to make it out and perished in the flames.

Soon after that, the building was remodeled and became the new home of the Chowchilla branch of the Madera County Library system. Where the kitchen was is now the check out center and there have been reports of people feeling the heat of a fire. A few witnesses have even reported seeing a man standing in the area wearing an apron and carrying a spatula. One wonders if this is some sort of replay of what happened here, the event so traumatic that it left some sort of "psychic" imprint on the location that people see from time to time. Or perhaps the cook is still here, ready to work even though the kitchen that took his life is now long gone.


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Kerman police officer wittnessed UFO in 1978


Scanned image from the 1979 Fresno Bee article about the UFO

Manuel Amparano talks about sighting an unidentified flying object at 3:32 a.m. May 13, 1978, as if it happened only days ago. Coming face-to-face with a UFO creates vivid memories.

Amparano's sighting is one of the most detailed of the many accounts of UFO sightings in the Fresno area documented over the years in The Fresno Bee and on Web sites.

The Fresno resident was working as a Kerman police officer.

"It was just a routine patrol," Amparano says of the encounter 24 years ago.

His early morning sweep took him past Kerman High School. At Del Norte and California avenues, Amparano saw "a circular-type thing, similar to a round fireball or a setting sun, about 100 to 150 feet off the ground."

He knew local teens had been setting palm trees on fire, and he thought he had caught some young vandals red-handed.

"Then I realized there were no palm trees in the area. The fire seemed to be inside of an oak or maple tree. This thing started lifting up," Amparano says.

The officer started adjusting the spotlight on his patrol car to get a better look at the object. But just before he turned on the light, there was a bright blue flash. Then the object made a sharp turn and moved away toward the southwest at a rapid speed.

Amparano had not left his car. And the windows were rolled up because it was a cold evening. He did not hear any other noise except for the engine of his car.

The Air National Guard, weather bureau and the Fresno Air Terminal told Amparano nothing unusual showed up on any of their radar screens that night. The encounter might have been dismissed as an optical illusion, if not for the burns Amparano suffered on his face and chest.

"It was like a sunburn when you fall asleep at the pool. There were white blisters on the parts of my body facing that light. I also had trouble with sunlight. It was like right after you have your eyes checked and they are sensitive to light. That lasted about a week," Amparano says.

Doctors at Fresno Community Hospital told Amparano the burns appeared to be caused by microwaves.

An immediate search of the cotton field where the sphere had been sighted revealed no evidence. But for years, nothing would grow in a round area in the field. Today the spot is part of an almond orchard.

Amparano went back to work a few days later. The only after- affect of the close encounter was calls from "a lot of women who wanted to have lunch and dinner with me." He continued to work in local law enforcement until 1992, when he was hurt while breaking up a bar fight.

He's had more than two decades to think about that glowing sphere. Amparano is certain it was a UFO.

"What I am not certain about is whether it was some kind of government project or something from out there," Amparano says.

The original report and more images can be found here as well as another article by the San Francisco Examiner can be found here.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

UFO shot on video over Fresno was double sighting

A California man was shooting video of an object that looked like an android with arms that disappears behind the roof of a house, when he noticed a triangular craft flying in the direction of the moon, according to Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) California State Section Director and Investigator Jeffrey Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said Tuesday night that he continues to investigate this July 7, 2009, case, which occurred in southeast Fresno on the same day as the lunar eclipse .

The witness video tape is included on this page. The witness claims ongoing UFO activity in his area since November 3, 2008.

The following is the unedited report filed with MUFON.


CA, June 7, 2009 - 2 ufo's paused under the moon. MUFON Case # 17948.



Last night July 7th around 9:20 pm SE of Fresno. My wife and I spotted some unusual flying objects in the sky by the moon. I was only able to capture part of the event on video cause my camera ran out of charge.

But in the first half we saw the object on the right side of the moon just siting there, for a good 3 minutes. I ran off to get my camera... Once I started to tape...the object began to move towards the moon As i was tapeing this I noticed another object coming into view, Once the first one flew past the moon my camera went out.

As it flew past the moon it lowered itself slightly under the moon on the left side, then stopped. As it was moving the other ufo that came into view from the right side of the moon also stopped. It stopped below the right corner of the moon. The objects stayed in place creating a triangle position with the moon for a good 2 minutes before disappearing.

I have contacted Mufon once before, strange as it sounds these objects we are able to see almost at will. But they are very difficult to record. But we do have some video of it.This has been on going since November 3rd 2008.

Original story can be found here.

Friday, December 4, 2009

US Air Force confirms new secret stealth plane


The USAF's newest stealth aircraft, the RQ-170 Sentinel


The secret is out.
The U.S. Air Force has confirmed the existence of the "Beast of Kandahar" UAV that was seen flying out of Afghanistan in late 2007. The jet aircraft – a tailless flying wing with sensor pods faired into the upper surface of each wing – is the RQ-170 Sentinel, developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works. An Air Force official revealed to Aviation Week Friday afternoon that the service is “developing a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to provide reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward deployed combat forces.”

The USAF statement came after discussion of the UAV emerged here on Ares.
“The fielding of the RQ-170 aligns with Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates’ request for increased intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support to the Combatant Commanders and Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz’s vision for an increased USAF reliance on unmanned aircraft,” according to the statement.

The RQ-170 is flown by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron at Tonopah Test Range, Nev. – home of the F-117 stealth fighter when the program’s existence was secret – and falls under Air Combat Command's 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. In Kandahar, the Sentinel was seen operating out of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ hangar.

The 30th RS was activated as part of the 57th Operations Group on Sept. 1, 2005, and a squadron patch was approved July 17, 2007. The activation – although not the full meaning of the event was noted among those who watch for signs of activity in the classified world.


The RQ-170 in flight.

The RQ-170 designation is similar to that of the F-117 – a correct prefix, but out of sequence to avoid obvious guesses of a program’s existence. Technically, the RQ designation denotes an unarmed aircraft rather than the MQ prefix applied to the armed Predator and Reaper UAVs. The USAF phrase, “Support to forward deployed combat forces,” when combined with visible details that suggest a moderate degree of stealth (including a blunt leading edge, simple nozzle and overwing sensor pods) suggests that the Sentinel is a tactical, operations-oriented platform and not a strategic intelligence-gathering design.


Many questions remain about the aircraft’s use. If it is a high-altitude aircraft it is painted an unusual color – medium grey overall, like Predator or Reaper, rather then the dark gray or overall black that provides the best concealment at very high altitudes.

The wingspan appears to be about 65-ft., about the same as an MQ-9 Reaper. With only a few images to judge from – all taken from the left side – the impression is of a rather deep, fat centerbody blended into the outer wings.
With its low-observable design, the aircraft could be useful for flying the borders of Iran and peering into China, India and Pakistan for useful data about missile tests and telemetry, as well as gathering signals and multi-spectral
intelligence.

Original story can be found here.

Cylinder UFO hovers low near California freeway

From the San Francisco Examiner

A cylinder-shaped UFO about 3 to 5 times larger than a commercial plane hovered low over a California freeway, according to witness testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database.

The September 3, 2009, sighting was recently posted to the MUFON UFO reporting area by a witness who was driving to work along a stretch of Highway 80 between Pinole and Hercules about 5:50 a.m. that day.

As the witness came within one-quarter mile of the object, it appeared to be between 50 and 100 feet off of the highway, and between 500 and 1,000 feet off of the ground.

The silent and hovering object was described as three cylinders - "two smaller cylinders on the outside and one large cylinder in the middle that protruded past the smaller cylinders. It appeared all three cylinders were connected. There was also no markings."

Pinole is a city in Contra Costa County, California, population 19,039, and is located 20 miles northeast of San Francisco.

A similar report was made to MUFON on September 5, 2009, regarding a September 4, 2009, incident along the same stretch of I-80 between Pinole and Hercules at 8 p.m. In Mufon Case # 19077, the reporting witness described a pulsating object where the lights indicated it may have been a rectangular shape.

Following is the unedited and uninvestigated report from MUFON. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or man made. If Northern California MUFON investigates and reports back on this case, an update will be released.

CA, September 3, 2009 - Large Hovering Cylinders off I80. MUFON Case # 20830.

At around 5:50 on sept 03, 2009. I was driving on my way to work. Sky was very clear with no clouds & still dark. As I was headed down a small hill between Pinole & Hercules on Hwy 80. I noticed two very bright lights just slightly above the tree line on my left side.

They were pointed in my direction which was roughly a mile away. It caught my attention as those lights were not normal for that area. My 1st thought was roadwork.

However the lights were too high up to be flood lights. Since I was on a hill going down the hwy. I had a clear view of anything in the far distance. I glanced around and noticed nothing other than flowing traffic. Next I thought it was a traffic helicopter or possibly there was an accident & someone was being airlifted. At that time in the morning it’s not uncommon you see accidents as people are rushing to get to work.

I focused my eyes on the light trying to determine what the source of light was. About 3/4 mile away two smaller lights started to strobe back & forth. The large bright lights still remained on. As I got closer the lights were so bright you had to squint a little. When I was roughly 1/4 mile away I noticed there was this very large dark object hovering about 500-1000 feet from the ground.

At first glance the object was dark & cylinder shaped. It didn’t appear to have wings nor windows. It was roughly 50-100ft to the left of the hwy. I slowed down to about 40mph and the car behind me stepped on his brakes & went around me. When the object was directly in front of me I rolled my driver window down & stuck my head out the window. It was 3-5 times bigger than a commercial plane. It made no sound and was just hovering like a kite.

As I drove past the object I could see there were THREE large cylinders. Two smaller cylinders on the outside and one large cylinder in the middle that protruded past the smaller cylinders. It appeared all three cylinders were connected. There was also no markings.

At the moment I had to make a quick decision if I should stop and pull over or keep driving to work. Also the junction to switch hwy’s was around 1000ft so I had to act quick. I was so dazed & confused about what I was seeing my reaction was to head to work. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen so about a ½ mile away I turned around and headed back. It took me less than a minute to get back to the spot where I saw the object but it was nowhere in sight.

I searched the local news papers to see if anyone else had reported seeing the object but I didn’t find anything. I know for a fact someone else had to have seen what I saw as it was right next to a major highway. Luckily I found this site & I'm hoping someone else saw what I saw. One last note. I thought it was strange while I was searching the internet for reports of the object. There was a UFO convention (The bay area UFO EXPO) the following week.

I told my family & friends but they didn’t believe me. Honestly I don’t care what they think. I know what I saw!


Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Fresno's Adorable Poodle Salon considered one of the oddest ghostly spots on Earth

I had posted a few months ago on The Adorable Poodle Salon, which was a dog grooming salon located somewhere on Blackstone between Gettysburg and Ashlan. It was reported that a very flirtatious ghost would interact with some of the female employees there as well as others reporting cold spots and a sense of being watched.

UK's Asylum (which appears to be a British version of Maxim or something) recently compiled a list of the most unusual haunted places in the world. Locations such as a Pizza Hut in New York and a Blockbuster in Alabama make the list. But as I scrolled down I noticed that Fresno had also made the list, with the above mentioned Adorable Poodle Saloon. Here's what they wrote:

"A series of odd activities have occurred in this dog-washing emporium, including the more usual lights-on-and-off trick, the sensation you're being watched, and cold patches. The most unusual, however, was the ghost constantly kissing one of the staff's neck, with her shooing him away and screaming. The big flirt."

Not that this list is official or anything, but it's nice to see Fresno on an international list and not be for something negative. Now if we can only work on that #55 thing...