(Investigations into the cultures of the Internet)
 

The first web site is a dictionary of all the terminology, names and places that relate to popular conspiracies. This includes: armageddon, Area-51, and scientology. What is interesting about this site/dictionary is that it defines more obscure terminology and shows a depth and a history to some popular conspiracies. An example of this is their definition and description of "Dogon" and how such a culture plays a part in the current debates over UFOs visiting earth, debatesinvolving people such as Carl Sagan.
    A west African tribe that seemed to have knowledge that the star Sirius has a companion star that can only be seen with telescopes. UFO buffs claim this is evidence that aliens visited ancient people. How could they know otherwise? Carl Sagan suggests the Dogon were indeed visited by an advanced civilization. Western Civilization. In the '20s, the  astronomical press was rife with speculation that Sirius had a companion. The Dogon could easily have been visited by an amateur astronomer/traveler with knowledge of such speculation. A conversation about religious beliefs would have turned towards the Dogon's sacred star Sirius and an amateur astronomer would likely have mentioned the speculation.
Another interesting point about this site is that it also has a Weird Science and a Paranoiadictionary, so it definitely covers the spectrum of underground, fringe subject-matter.  http://www.netizen.org/arc-hive/dict/all.htm

The second web site is a collection of all the conspiracies that these two authors, Miriam JoanHill and Robert Anton, could find posted on the web. They compiled and alphabetized these conspiracies in a book they published , but at the bottom of the page they have links to the conspiracies as published in the book, ranging from JFK to a wide range of UFO ones:  http://www.cruzio.com/~blackops/
 

Are you guys ready for a conspiracy, or what! check out this address:
www.mt.net/~watcher

Everything from UFO's to the Apocalypse, and connecting it all together  through scripture. For example, the Daniel 11 description of the  Antichrist, accompanied by the following quote "Careful investigation of  these texts reveal a connection between Antichrist and the UFO  phenomena"  The pictures are pretty good, and there are links to  specific items by a date suffix, check out www.mt.net/~wathcer.april30.html enjoy! -scott

       I surfed the web today for perspectives incorporating the keywords "epiphany," "ecstacy," then adding "apocalypse." Among others, I found an interesting/entertaining one in the comments of and about (former UCB Art History major) Terence McKenna, an "Ethnobotanist, Shamanologist, and Psychedelico," who describes one of his many psychedelic/ecstatic experiences from which he derives his apocalyptic theory (as revealed to him by a giant mushroom), complete with elves which he dubs "tykes," because of their childlike nature (inspired by Heraclitus' description of the Aeon).

 "The future McKenna foresees is, if not as blissed-out as the  past, still bound to be a gasser.  At 6 a.m. on December 21,  2012, he predicts, humanity will confront the "transcendental  object at the end of history."  This date, which coincidentally  marks the end of the calendar devised by Mayan mushroom chompers, marks an Omega moment he suggests can best be prepared for by  judiciously partaking of "heroic" or "committed" doses of  tryptamine-based hallucinogens, specifically DMT and psilocybin  mushrooms.  Only the heaviest psychedelic experiences provide  access to the Other, an alien dimension "just over yonder" that  is populated by "self-transforming, hyperdimensional machine  elves" who will meet and greet the courageous visitor to  hyperspace.

         According to McKenna, there's a "rough ride ahead" as we travel  time's fractal rollercoaster to the year 2012, when something-- maybe something good, maybe something bad--is scheduled to occur. It might take the form of rapture, an interplanetary collision, the invention of time travel, or a manifestation of high  gnosticism in which the death of matter sparks a spiritual  renewal."

    For a more objective (rather than hyper-subjective) view of aliens and the apocalypse, there's a good site that comprehensively covers alien abduction encounters, comparing them to religious perspectives (e.g. beliefs that angels are alien beings, Adam and Eve as ETs, premillenial beliefs being similar to Christian beliefs about the Rapture, etc.).  There's even a reference to the conspiracy scheme in Pynchon's Crying of Lot 49, and discussion about the creation of hybrid alien races being similar to mythological themes in which deities mated with mortals. It's an informative, organized, well-documented site that's definitely worth checking out
http://bostwick.colgate.edu/asinger/alien/apocalypse_print.htm
 
 

http://www.aculink.net/~catholic/events.htm

This site is a good indication of how Biblical text has been incorporated/interpreted in a contemporary context.  Following the links leads to a comprehensive network of "conspiratorial thinking."  It's especially interesting to look at what's said about the "Mark of the Beast" being linked to a cashless society, and how the UN will be the governmental agency from which the Anti-Christ will emerge.  Also, as echoed in Hofstadter's essay, the Freemasons and Illuminati are closely linked to the Anti-Christ, which I've also heard from a friend who considers himself a "defender of the faith," (and who, being well-versed in world history, has a multitude of conspiracy theories spanning the centuries regarding the attempts made by malevolent forces to overthrow the Church, including local events occurring in SF, made by agents of Satan disguised as men of the cloth...)
http://www.MT.net/~watcher/april30.html

This site attempts to establish the extraterrestrial connection with the apocalypse.  There are themes reminiscent of "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers," wherein the human race was created by alien beings, etc. There are some good Biblical and Conspiracy Theory links which may or may not incorporate UFOs and ETs into their perspectives.

I know I'm just scratching on the surface of apocalyptic visions thus far, yet have come across some interesting views of the end of the world already! It's amazing what a little bit of imagination can do in the quest to structure meaning to the universe...

Of the several websites with Revelation as their subject, the following two interested me the most.

http://shell5.ba.best.com/~gdavis/ntcanon/

"The Development of the Canon of the New Testament" is the website's name. The location is "an avocation" of one person, Glenn Davis. Mr. Davis' site concerns itself with "how the Church selected certain writings as authoritative and separated them from a larger body of early Christian literature." Davis admits that he is "not a scholar and cannot read ancient languages, and he comes right out and says that "there is no original resarch here," and that his task is the "collecting,…shifting and rejecting" of material. The site provides a brief bibliography. Davis invites e-mail responses: he wants an electronic dialogue about the rhetorical processes which led to Christianity's formation.

The site has a glossary with thirty-one entries. Here is a sample of its topics: "Abomination of Desolation", "Dispensationalism", "Judgement Seat of Christ", "Mark of the Beast", and "Tribulation."

http://members.aol.com/tstrandber/index.hmtl

Cool name of cool names, this site's is "Rapture Ready." The text is written in the first person, so, it is more than likely one person's project. The site has a "Frequently Asked Questions" page that wrestles with questions like, "Is Bill Gates the Antichri> 

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I found an extremely useful website on William Blake. As follows:
http://virtual.park.uga.edu/nhilton/Blake/blaketxt1/

The site is the project of Nelson Hilton, an English professor at the University of Georgia, Athens. On this site is the "Blake Digital Text Project," which contains "eE: The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake", edited by David V. Erdman, and "eE Online Blake Concordance. This site has reproductions of Blake's engravings.
 
 

http://faeryland.tamu-commerce.edu/~earendil/faerie/Campbell/chap3.html#glaistig

Hey guys!  I found this great site that has a wealth of faery lore.

A fetch is a spirit found through England and the Highlands for a doppelganger (a spirit who takes the form of another person, also called a "double" or "co-walker"). Normally it is harmless when met by day, or by anyone except the one whose form it has taken. At night, to meet one's own fetch is a portent of certain death.

http://www.tenthmuse.com/paranormal/inthenews.html#100 This well-meaning website is titled The Paranormal Project. It includes several recent "news items" on paranormal activity around the world, including Princess Diana's psychic prediction of her own death, big snake sightings, ghost sightings, bigfoot sigthings, and most interestingly a town that is obsessed with life in outer space.The town, which boasts the most reported UFO sightings in Japan, is steeped in "Alien" folklore and legend. The following is quoted from the site (and it reminds me strongly of the changeling folklore we read).  "There is one legend called 'shohachibun' which says cymbal-like flashing lights were seen flying from one end of the  mountain to the other," said Ishiyama.   "Another legend tells of children being taken away in a big 'nabe' (stew) pan while playing."   But it is the town's ancient Ketataisha shrine, regarded as one of the four main shrines in Japan, that may hold the key  to the town's preoccupation with strange phenomena.   "Ancient documents kept in the town's Ketataisha shrine talk about flashing lights in the sky and the hand of god  controlling them. The story has been passed down from generation to generation." Ishiyama said.   Although there was opposition from residents at first to using tax money for the museum, they finally came around to  the idea as much out of curiosity as the commercial possibilities.   Around the corner from the museum is the UFO ramen (Chinese noodles) restaurant, which serves up a heaping bowl  of noodles garnished with little octopus balls shaped like aliens.   After a long day of sightseeing, visitors can also relax at the town's "Euphoria" hot springs.
 

 http://www.wsvn.com/news/archive/fraserfiles/0118.html
Here is a slightly different version of the kidney stealing I found  on a website: Tonight a story that would frighten anyone. Just imagine having a kidney snatched from    your body. This is a story that first appeared on the internet, and now it has spread across    the country. Is someone actually stealing organs from the otherwise alive and well ? That is    the focus of tonight's Fraser Files.      This is what you may have heard about. Someone waking up to find they have been    robbed both kidney's stolen and this is where the rumors of kidney harvesting began. Thru    internet stories like this one that says. I recently heard some frightening news about black    market kidney harvesting. Another writer responds Yes this does happen. My sister in law    works with a lady that this happened to her son's neighbor. Not surprisingly all the stories    about the kidney thefts are very similar.      They claim a beautiful young woman approaches a man, usually a business traveller having    a drink in a bar. They go back to his room. Its very romantic. They have another drink.    Little does he know the story goes. She has drugged the drink. He passes out.      And comes to in a tub filled with ice. He notices a bloody towel across his stomach.    Staring him in the face. A note that reads. Your kidneys have been be transplanted into a    wealthy foreigner.      Les Olson runs the organ donor program in Miami. He gavie us a long list of reasons why    the kidney tale is impossible. The simplest like, how would the woman know the blood    type of a guy she just met in a bar. From the medical angle it takes a skilled transplant    surgeon to properly remove and transplant kidneys. And why take only the kidneys ? Why    not other valuable organs like the heart and eyes ?      That makes the kidney story harmless right ? Absolutely not. It turns out the rumor is    hurting the legitimate organ donor program. Some people believe the story and are not    willing to donate their organs.      It is a great tale. Aa beautiful woman tricking an unsuspecting man who wakes up doomed    to death. Just remember the last line of the story. It never ever happened.      Patrick Fraser Seven News.

       June 4, 1998     Washington, D.C. -- Congresswoman Linda Smith (R-WA) testified today before the House International Relations Committee and Government Reform and Oversight Committee on the Chinese government's practice of human organ harvesting.   Smith joined a distinguished list of panelists, including Chinese dissidents Harry Wu and Wei Jingsheng, to decry the Chinese government's practice of harvesting vital organs from prisoners and selling them abroad.   "There is no greater picture of savagery, than killing a human life for the economic value of their organs. There is no greater sign of disregard for human rights than this practice," Smith told the committees chaired by Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NY) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN).

 
O.K, as if you hadn't heard enough about those aliens, here's some more stuff for you believers out there or just the plain curious: http:/www.abduct.com

Describing itself as the "Internet's First bulletin board for support and research into the Alien Abduction Experience (AAER), this site lets you participate in an alien abduction survey and have your results tallied to see what category you lie in.  Incidentally, President Clinton has reported to have taken the survey and belonging to the category of individuals who have been abducted and haven't realized it yet.  Interesting...there are also links to clips from a UFO video Dicumentary and an Alien Abduction Art gallery by Rick Smith among other things.
http://www.alienmap.com/

Another site that has a Human Specimans Questionnaire; results from 4114 others who have taken it are posted and the results are pretty interesting. lAmong some of the results from those abdusted are that the aliens seem to prefer males over females and that the aliens seem to come in 3 colors of the majority of the time: black, grey, and brown.  The site also contains supposedly the "Top Ten Web Pages Chosen by Aliens", providing the links to all of them so you too can experience it. In case you have any queries for the government, the site also provides links to several government research lab sites. I don't know how the top ten list could be based on anything but it's pretty creative nevertheless.

because i was supposed to bring my alien autopsy tape so everyone can watch but i didnt cuz i cant find it anymore i think i might have taped over it so here are some cool pix from the video and debates on whether it is or isnt real .      http://www.primenet.com/~thelab/autopsy.html

       and here is a site that'll teach you how to make an actual alien if you so desire it looks pretty interesting. its also connected to MUFON so it could be another conspiracy if anyone is inclined toward that direction
http://www.trudang.com/autopsy.html