Bolide - Contributions 0021-0037 Letter

Magazine Overview

Title: BOLIDE
Issue: Second Dossier
Publisher: ball-of-light international data exchange
Date: Not specified, but content suggests a period between the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Character: A compilation of international UFO data and research, primarily sourced from subscriber contributions, with an emphasis on anecdotal evidence and a call for more scientific rigor.

Editorial Content

The "co-ordinator," Hilary Evans, addresses the "Bol subscribers" in the introductory letter. She explains that the second BOLIDE dossier is composed of material sent in by the readers, reflecting their current interests. Evans notes that while different aspects of the subject matter seem to proliferate at different times, she had to exclude some "luminous bird material" due to space constraints. The dossier has a capacity of 60 sheets plus an index, which is also the limit of her patience.

Evans highlights a perceived lack of "hard scientific stuff" such as figures and statistics in the submitted material. She states that the raison d'être of BOLIDE is the absence of hard research, but she desires "a few beacons of firmly based experiment and research, however feeble their light," to help navigate the "horizonless ocean of anecdote."

She apologizes for not being as meticulous as she should have been in noting who submitted what, citing potential errors and omissions. She specifically recalls an item about "Maxwell/Malaya" and suspects Bob Rickard might have submitted it, as he is one of the few subscribers who has visited those parts. Evans describes her workroom as a chaotic environment where she uses scissors and paste to assemble the dossier, with a copier and word processor running, and classical music playing.

Dave Clarke is mentioned as having a few remaining copies of "Spooklights in Britain." The next issue of "Magonia" is announced as a special issue devoted to "Earthlights," expected around Guy Fawkes Day. The address for subscriptions to Magonia is provided: John Rimmer, John Dee Cottage, 5 James Terrace, Mortlake Churchyard, London SW14 8HB.

The issue also includes extensive lists of subscribers from various countries including Denmark, Spain, the UK, USA, France, Norway, Australia, and Sweden. Additionally, a section titled "ARTICLES WANTED (xeroxed)" lists numerous specific articles and publications requested by a subscriber, Mr. V. J. Ballester Olmos, from Spain. These requests span a range of journals and topics, including astronautics, ICARUS, New Scientist, Technology Review, Scientific American, Sky & Telescope, Journal of Popular Culture, UFO Report, New Horizons, Communications Monographs, Science Digest, Canadian Journal of Soil Science, and Aerospace Studies Institute publications. The requestor is seeking these articles for a "due exchange."

Specific articles and publications sought include:

• Astronautics and Aeronautics, July 1971, pages 60-70.
• ICARUS, Vol. 25, pages 360-369.
• ICARUS, Vol. 27, pages 1-24.
• New Scientist, full issue Feb. 26, 1966.
• Technology Review, March-April 1976, full issue.
• Current Contents, Vol. 20, May 17, 1976, pages 5-6.
• Scientific American, October 1970, full issue.
• Scientific American, February 1974, full issue.
• Sky & Telescope, September 1978, full issue.
• "Flying Saucers and Multiple Realities" by D. Stupple / A. Dahsti in Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 11, Fall 1977, pages 479-493.
• Article by Dr. B.E. Schwarz in UFO Report, July 1978.
• Article on Piri Reis map in New Horizons, July 1974.
• "What's in a Flicker Film?" by J.D. Anderson in Communications Monographs, E.S.S., Vol. 43, pages 29-34, 1976.
• "UFO Photographs, Anyone?" in Science Digest, Vol. 62, September 1967, page 73.
• A.G. McNamara in Journal of the Air Traffic Control Association (Canada), Vol. 8, No. 1, 1976.
• Miles and Mathur in Canadian Journal of Soil Science, No. 52, October 1972.
• "Analysis of Ground Markings, Summary" by Rod Tennyson, Aerospace Studies Institute, University of Toronto, Canada, 1969.

Further requested articles include:

• "Do Solar Winds Produce UFOs?" in Second Look, February 1979.
• Balch and Taylor in American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 20, #6, 1977, pages 839-860.
• "On the Detection of Deception" by M.T. Orne, R. I. Thackray and D. A. Paskewitz, in N. S. Greenfield / R. A. Sternback (editors), Handbook of Physiology, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York), 1972, pages 743-785.
• "Detection of Deception" by G.H. Borland and D.C. Raskin, in W. F. Prakasy / D.C. Raskin (editors), Electrodermal Activity in Psycho-Logical Research, Academic Press (New York), 1973, pages 417-477.
• "Reactivation of memory by hypnosis and suggestion" by L.M. Cooper and P. London in International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 1973, Vol. 21, pages 312-323.
• Hynek's article in Technology Review, July 1981.
• National Geographic Magazine, February 1974 (actual issue).
• U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report titled "Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation (Radiowaves and Microwaves) Eurasian Communist Countries," proposed by the Army Medical Intelligence and Information Agency, previously secret, released by the U.S.D.I.A. on November 1976.
• ICARUS, Vol. 2, 137, 151 (1963), "Meteoric Time-of-Fall Patterns" by Millard and Brown.
• "Those things in the Sky" (on the "angel hair" phenomenon) in Natural History, January 1951.
• Feinberg and R. Shapiro in Science Digest, September 1980, pages 36-39.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The primary theme is the collection and dissemination of UFO-related information, acting as a data exchange for subscribers. The editorial stance, as expressed by Hilary Evans, is a desire for more rigorous scientific investigation and empirical data to complement the prevalent anecdotal evidence. There is an underlying acknowledgment of the difficulty in obtaining such data, but a clear aspiration for it to ground the field of UFO research. The publication also serves as a hub for information about related publications and ongoing research in the broader field of anomalous phenomena.