Bigfoot Lives at Oprah.com

We really wanted to title this post "Oprah Endorses Bigfoot," but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. The post is written by one of the staff members at Oprah's Blog "Life Lift". Even still, who would have thought that a blog on Oprah.com would be encouraging in the pursuit of Sasquatch belief and research.

This is also quite the coincidence, this is on the heels of our fake Oprah-esque car giveaway yesterday.

Enjoy the article below.

Bigfoot Lives! Mythological Beasts and the Power of Imagination
Posted: Mon 10/24/2011 09:08 AM | By: Amy Shearn

I’m having a hard time with Halloween decorations this year, because I keep getting quizzed about them by an inquisitive 2-year-old. “Oh,” I found myself explaining the other day, “That’s a, um, spooky kind of witch-scarecrow-thing, with a jack-o-lantern head.” In response to queries about these creatures, where they live, what they say, what they consume, I can only shrug and offer, “They’re not real. Just pretend.” But then my toddler asks, "How does everyone know about the same pretend creatures?" To this, I have no satisfying response.

In part, because I want to minimize the scariness of the holiday, and in part because there’s something appealing about the idea that weird magical creatures might exist. When faced with the specter of werewolves and the Loch Ness Monster and yetis, I channel Fox Mulder: I want to believe. So I was excited to read that Bigfoot, aka the Yeti, aka the Abominable Snowman,has been proven to exist in Siberia. That's from the NEWS, people! According to the Guardian, “a team of scientists say they are "95%" sure that Russia's wintry expanse is home to the mythical yeti, otherwise known as the abominable snowman.” The researchers say they have discovered a cave with a cozy Yeti nest inside, as well as footprints, hairs, and twisted branches which they claim are Yeti territorial markings. Animal Planet has more on the story, including a great gloss of Bigfoot sightings throughout history.

I love that these Russian scientists are completely serious. I love the idea that Earth contains within it mythical beasts, eluding our reach. I love a news story with a dose of magic in it. It's such a welcome escape from the mundane grown-up world of bad economies and wars and laundry piles. Unfortunately — wouldn’t you know it — there are no pictures or videos of the Yeti, but Discovery has a fun video about the creature here. No word yet on the Wolfman.


SRC: Oprah's Blog: Bigfoot Lives

Bigfoot Lunch Club Hits 3000 fans on Facebook!

Dear fans,

We wanted to take the time to thank all of you for making Bigfoot Lunch Club a labor of love everyday.

We would love to return the thanks by asking you to check under your seats for the keys to a brand new car, but we agreed we couldn't afford the cars--not to mention the legal defense fees for breaking and entering into your homes.

4 years ago we wanted to bring to the world a bigfoot website that had the latest Sasquatch news; whether it was pop-culture or inside-information research. We wanted to make it was as inclusive as possible, this meant posting multiple theories and sharing different takes on the Bigfoot phenomenon; including input from skeptics. Along the way you folks have made us even better than I could have imagined or hoped.

There's a few key people that have encouraged Bigfoot Lunch Club along the way and I wanted to make sure I thank them too. In chronological order...

Loren Coleman was one of the first to comment on this blog, he welcomed us to the world of blogging and has always been encouraging.

Toby Johnson of the Oregon Sasquatch Symposium was so inclusive and was key to introducing me to a lot of the bigfooters that are now close personal friends.

Cliff Barackman of Finding Bigfoot has taught me more about field research than anyone could. The man is an encyclopedia and has never hesitated to help me understand the growing consensus of Sasquatch in the research community.

Tom Powell of "the Locals" and "Shady Neighbors" fame, taught me that just because science can't explain it, doesn't mean its not valid. Science is the best tool to describe what we know, but imagination is key to predict what is possible.

Craig Woolheater has allowed us to contribute to Cryptomundo, reaching an audience that is interested in all types of cryptids, broadcasting our message to larger crowd.

And finally Todd Standing, for constantly giving us new material and carrying the torch Tom Biscardi has seemingly passesd to you.

Most of all, thanks to you fans. Keep commenting, emailing, tweeting and facebooking. I really want to make Bigfoot Lunch Club one of your favorite sites that you keep coming back to.

P.S. Thanks to Whales In Space, Ghost Hunting Theories and Doubftful News. These are sister sites that cover Bigfoot and beyond and have supported us as well.

Thank you so much,
Guy Edwards
Co-Founder and Editor
Bigfoot Lunch Club.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum's Presentation at the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Conference

Dr. Meldrum presenting at the Russian conference

Skeptic blogger Sharon Hill attended the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Conference and wrote a detailed article on Dr. Meldrum's somewhat impromptu presentation.

Below is a teaser of the article:

...His presentation, entitled “The Russian Connection”, was not the listed topic on the schedule. He noted that he changed his topic upon advice from the conference organizers after the media storm that ensued regarding the announcement that “scientists were 95% convinced” that the Russian Yeti exists. Along with American scientist John Bindernagle, and researcher Ron Morehead, Meldrum was part of the team invited to Kemerovo region of Siberia to discuss the formation of a scientific commission to study the yeti. Led to believe there was significant scientific interest by the academic institutions in the area, Meldrum expressed his dismay when the press coverage was greater than the public and academic interactions.

In his talk, Meldrum described the players involved in the conference that began in Moscow and ended in Kemerovo. Specifically, he named Igor Burtsev, director of the International Centre of Hominology in Tashtagol, Kemerovo region. Burtsev already holds the belief that yetis exist in the area and are a Neanderthal relic population.

Meldrum showed photographs and described how the local Russian contingent greeted and treated the invitees with much pomp and ceremony but little scientific protocol.

As in scientific conferences, the attendees were taken on a field trip to a cave in the municipality of Tashtagol. Meldrum said he began to get concerned about the event when twisted and broken trees were rather conveniently located near the sites they visited. Reservations about what he had gotten himself into grew when he noticed saw cuts in the trees. The guides pointed to every bent and broken tree as marks of the yeti. From what Meldrum observed, the cave was not remote but apparently visited rather frequently with the trail maintained by the local municipality. The group was told the cave was a probable yeti habitation. Inside the cave, Meldrum notes that “right on cue”, isolated footprints and a “nest” were pointed out by their hosts...

Meldrum at the Yeti nest (click to enlarge)

Read the Rest at DoubtfulNews

If you haven't been reading Doubtful News, your are missing some of the most inteligent and enjoyable reading on the internet. Please read our previous coverage of the Kemerovo Siberian Yeti Expedition.