Wednesday, May 21, 2008
STARLESS NIGHT AT THE HARBOR
I've been living in Manila for quite some time now and yet, not once did I hear of any news report on local UFO sightings; neither have I come across local folks engaged in passionate discussions about the existence of intelligent life beyond our planet.
Perhaps, It was because there was never any spectacular UFO sighting reported anywhere in the entire Philippine Archipelago. Also, since the country is predominantly Catholic, many people may be turned off by scientific or pseudo-scientific discussions?
Not sure about the former but for the latter, one can only imagine how Intrigued I was while reading a recent article on the Vatican's admission that aliens or extraterrestrial life could exist.
Father Gabriel Funes, astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory near Rome, wrote in the Vatican newspaper that extraterrestrial beings could exist in outer space. Furthermore, he said that the search of extraterrestrial life does not contradict belief in God, and life on Mars cannot be ruled out.
Many scientists believe in God he argued; hence, he emphasized a need for science and religion to work even closer together.
When asked about the condemnation of the Italian astronomer and physicist, Galileo, by the Catholic Church some four centuries ago, Father Funes claimed mistakes were made, but stressed that it is time to turn the page and look towards the future.
In his Vatican article entitled "Aliens Are My Brother," Father Funes also announced that the Vatican is organizing a conference next year to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, the author of the Origin of the Species.
Incidentally, United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has recently made their UFO files public. You may check out its UFO archives here.
Close Encounter of the First Kind
CNN Covers Stephenville Texas U.F.O. Sighting
List of UFO Sightings From the Time of Columbus
Vatican Observatory's new director discusses faith, science, planets - Catholic News Service
I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.
Thank you!
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Labels: UFO sightings
posted by Señor Enrique at 7:04 AM
23 Comments:
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FilMasons NSW said... With millions and billions of galaxies, it is very difficult to discount the existence of life elsewhere.
This reminds me of the book Chariots of God (Fire???).
By the way, Eric do you notice that speck of light on the corner of your photo... is that what I think it is? Just kidding...
Have a nice day!
Mario-
JayAshKal said...
Erich von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods. A plausible theory, but nothing really to back it up.
Mario-
ScroochChronicles said...
Sometime in the 70's when we were on our way home to Fairview in QC, my Dad, sisters and I saw a silver thing streaking through the sky above the Montalban mountain ranges. I know I wasn't imagining because all of us reacted at the same time. Turns out, our neighbor, who was on his way home too, saw it as well. All of us concluded that it was not an earthly object.
My dad,who is a man of numbers, is also convinced that a higher intelligence exists somewhere out there. He thinks that they are the ones who engineered the construction of the pyramids (dimensions are almost accurate to pi) and they took the Incas back home. Weird, huh :)-
escape said...
i believe that possibility ever since. my idea is that they will never look like us because of the different environmental conditions on their planet or galaxy.
this is interesting. looks like the vatican church is making some interesting moves on this.
i also noticed that it has been cloudy lately. no stars for people who enjoy star gazing.-
Señor Enrique said...
Lol ... very funny, Mario!
I do not have any sighting experience to speak of, but the fact remains -- there are billions of galaxies out there. Can we be so sure that we are the only intelligent life there is?-
Señor Enrique said...
The late Arthur Clarke predicted during the 70s that a close encounter of the second kind (contact) will occur at the millennium. Sadly, it didn't actualize.
I think "Chariots of the Gods" was turned into a documentary for TV.
Thanks, Mario!-
Señor Enrique said...
Now, this would be the very first I've heard of from a local resident, Cookie. And thank you for sharing!
As for the pyramids, another theory that was once well-circulated was that the pharaohs were descendants of the survivors of Atlantis.-
Señor Enrique said...
What surprised me the most, donG, was that this Vatican admission and the UK Ministry of Defence releasing its UFO files occurred almost in lockstep.
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Unknown said...
I think it's self-centered and arrogant to think that humans are the only intelligent creatures in the universe. Or did I watch too much X Files?:D
A couple of years ago, there was a group of UFO enthusiasts who allegedly saw UFOs at Mount Banahaw. If I'm not mistaken, an actor, Roy Alvarez, was one of those who were vocal about UFO sightings.-
nutart said...
oh yes, I have heard of many people who allegedly saw UFOs around. There ws a time when a lot of sightings were seen in the area of Los Banos, laguna and thereabouts. A lot of sightings around the vicinity of Mt Banahaw kaya a lot of people there talk about ETs like it was as normal as buying balot!...or something like that :-).
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NOYPETES said...
Eric,
Una muna ay Kongratiyuleysions sa mga litrato mong lumabas sa CNN!
Sa "Vatican admissions" naman, malamang susunod na nilang pag-iisipan din ang payagan mag-asawa ang mga pari.
Sa UFO sightings naman sa Pilipinas, mas malamang yata ang sightings ng mga multo, manananggal, kapre, paren'g walang ulo at iba pang mga kathang isip na pangitain!
Mayroon akong bagong project na medyo historical at may halong heritage, legacy at iba pa na magbibigay buhay ulit sa mga "Manongs at Manangs" na galing sa iba't-ibang panig ng Pilipinas na dinala dito sa California ng mga amerikano para palitan ang mga Chinese at Japanese farm laborers ca. 1920-1960. May gagawin kaming united pinoy biker rally na gagawain sa Guadalupe at Santa Maria, California kung saan karamihan sa mga na-unang mga pinoy dito ay tumira at nag-saka ng mga farm dito. Bisita ka sa flickr site ko at nanduon ang kickoff ceremony. nasa photostream ang description at caption ng bawat image.-
Señor Enrique said...
Lol ... I don't think so, Luna, though that was a great TV program.
It was Sidney's series on Mt. Banahaw that I first heard of local UFO sighting but he didn't elaborate on it. Thank you for the additional info.
Now, I wonder, have we a local UFO watch sort of Web site?-
Señor Enrique said...
"A lot of sightings around the vicinity of Mt Banahaw kaya a lot of people there talk about ETs like it was as normal as buying balot!."
Wow! Thank you, Bernadette! I bet there are some additional info on such sightings on the Net. Will check it out.-
Señor Enrique said...
Wow! An admirable project, indeed, Pete! Will check it out.
I remember when the New York Times published an article entitlted, "The Last Manong." It was about a Pinoy migrant worker in Hawaii. Wish I had clipped and saved the article. Very poignant piece.-
dreampolitik said...
Try to check out a book by Tony Perez called "Beings." There is a story or two about encounters with extra-terrestrial beings.
And if I remember correctly, Magandang Gabi, Bayan (MGB) used to feature local sightings of UFOs for their All Soul's Day special.-
gmirage said...
I once read from another blogger's page to not argue with what the author stated to avoid being the kontra-bida =D I'll do it anyway as I often have (lol).
Scientists believing in God is but natural since they see the works of his hands as they research more and more.
I would disagree that Science and religion should work closer together...yet Science and the bible agrees and that is true Science.
Galileo's case has much to say again with this issue. Looking back, the contradiction lay between science and an obviously incorrect interpretation of the Scriptures. That was how Galileo saw the matter. He wrote to a pupil: “Even though Scripture cannot err, its interpreters and expositors can, in various ways. One of these, very serious and very frequent, would be when they always want to stop at the purely literal sense.” True enough, the clergy studying philosophy of man followed the teachings of Aristotle's geocentricism.
When Galileo fought for the Copernican theory, he was also fighting for what was written in the Bible. He was condemned for pointing out the wrong interpretation of the Church about the Scriptures. Going back to the UFO topic, the bible did not state anything about it. As much as stories of kapre, dwende and superstitions in the Philippines is true, I see UFOs as an elite form of these beliefs, people see them or get close encounters of, true, but for a reason. Someone wants us to believe that they exist and divert our attention, seeking them, spending out time figuring them out than to focus more on important matters such as the truth about God. Quite an effective way I say...clever guy.-
gmirage said...
Ay Senor, I forgot to say I like the peaceful appeal of this photo. Were you out late at night? So calm ng dating, I won't be afraid going out if the scene is like this!
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Señor Enrique said...
Thank you, Dreampolitik ... I will check out "Beings" by Tony Perez. Seems like an interesting read.
Why would they feature UFO sightings on All Soul's Day? Intriguing!-
Señor Enrique said...
This photo was taken during a rainy night, Mirage2g. Thank you!
Interesting points you raised. Thank you for sharing them. The fact that God gifted us with volition is enough to be appreciative of life. Also, it makes an even more interesting and wondrous world that each and everyone born in this world is given many points of view to start from -- much like photography -- considering we come into this world without a manual ... hahaha. However, God is wise -- he created us with the ability to love and accept those that are different from us which makes life incredibly wonderful, indeed :)
God bless!-
said... A pretty night picture Eric :)
They say the reporting of UFO's diminished greatly when the video camera came into existence. Strange coincidence ;)-
Señor Enrique said...
With those millions of balikbayan boxes and pasalubongs from OFWs, certainly many video cameras has been slipping into the archipelago since its invention ... hehehe.
Many thanks, BW!-
Unknown said...
Actually, I remember exactly when ROY ALVAREZ would talk about these UFO sightings and it was all over the news. I was in elementary school then and I saw something strange one night coming from my neighbor's house. I live in quezon city near Visayas Ave. I saw something hovering in the North North-East sky. It moved in a very peculiar manner. As a kid, I would describe it as moving in a sort of triangular pattern, changing hues, then after a few minutes, it just "zapped" and disappeared. I ran home in fear haha. I won't forget it until this day, because the day after, it was all over the news that allegedly a "UFO" was sighted landing in Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife, which is across the Quezon City Circle (elliptical), and according to witnesses, and Roy Alvarez, even left a mark on the ground. It was toward that direction that I saw the weird thing. I'm not sure if any of you guys remember that. Mr. Alvarez would even guest on Jimmy/Jaime Licauco's radio show. I really wish you were there to see this incredible sighting. But ever since I moved to the U.S., sightings are more "talked about" compared to in the Philippines.
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Señor Enrique said...
Wow! Many thanks for sharing, Patrick!
I would have loved to have seen it. I bet it was an incredible sight. I would say you're one fortunate fellow to have had the opportunity of seeing one :)
