Do YOU Really Support Creators?

Apparently, 102 people checked out the closing notice last November.  Not surprising.  What is surprising is that 1766 people (without me doing the usual social media shares) clicked on to view a Black square.

A black square.  Nothing else.  It was just put there to signify closing of the site.

So why am I posting again?  Well, I doubt this will be permanent though that would be fun. You see, there is a very under rated British comics creator named Ben R. Dilworth. He keeps checking my blog stats (I don't) and told me of the number of recent views.

"Post something. See what happens" he said. Well, I had a headache and my joints were in pain so I was not doing much else so why not?

And a good few people visited the blog -and the UK Golden Age blog.  But this is the problem.  You see, I take time to scan and post here. The whole point of doing this was for fun but also to sell some of my books because, and people do not realise this, I need to eat and pay bills.

With my Comic Bits Online blog, Google+ and all the sites that pick up items as they are posted "I" have had around 8 million views. That is since 2010.

Now that takes a LOT of work and I normally do not care but no one ever comments. Items I post are stolen and used by others as 'their' work.  People pop on to whichever blog, read then go.

This I don't care about. But someone said "unknown,un-named faceless people read and take and probably do not give a crap about you and go".  All the viewshave resulted in sales for other publishers -they tell me how sales rise after a review or whatever on CBO. Me? I think I've sold ten books since 2010 due to a posting.

So, though this is fun, if only 4 people (who ordered those 10 books) out of 8 million buy...well, I think it makes my point to Mr. Dilworth. You cannot argue with the facts.

And you cannot force people to buy your books on a subject -say UK Golden Age comics- if all they want is to grab something free off the internet. I have books on the UK Golden Age with HUNDREDS of pages and Penguin Flight Osaka has mixed some in with its Come On! Comic. Also Black Tower super Heroes mixes Golden, Silver and modern strips. 

And the Maakika art is in a book.

But to see that material people need to buy.  People will not buy.  They want free.

That doesn't work for me as I struggle to save my company (though it may be past saving) and earn money. This is how well I am doing: due to ill health I depend solely on a government benefit. Yet I have thousands of comic book pages covering different genres readily available for people to buy.

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/hoopercomicsuk

Without the support of people who view these posts -you- via book sales then that's it. Look at it from my point of view: work like a maniac while rotting away on a low benefit or simply stop. No one is interested. What would you do because, after 40 years, I'm all burnt out.


ps. Yes, I know, "So what?"

So, Hunters Finally Killed Something Off....Again.

Technically, there is only one species of vermin on this planet.  Humankind.

If you live in the wilderness and have to hunt to survive (though in this day and age that is questionable) that's it.  What we are seeing is just part of the problem with the United States.  "It's my right to kill everything" is not actually set out in law and, in fact, points to a mental disorder because "killing for fun" and posing smiling with what you've killed and the urge to do it even more without the slightest thought about what you've done...that's socio-pathological behaviour and I would certainly never live within 20 miles of someone with that mindset (I'd check to see if any people have gone missing nearby, too).

Shooting up schools, shopping malls, cinemas and slaughtering wildlife indicates a very deep psychological scar that America needs to treat.  Killing predators off in their hundreds so that you have more deer, elk and other prey animals to kill...almost psychopathic in nature.

Krista Langlois has written about this:https://howlingforjustice.wordpress.com/category/alaska-wolves/

And here is the Guardian story:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/08/alaska-wolf-pack-east-fork-denali-dead-hunting?CMP=share_btn_link

Long-studied Alaskan wolf pack may be dead after years of aggressive hunting

East Fork wolf pack, found near Denali, was first researched in the 1930s and had shrunk significantly this year – and it’s now believed all may have perished.

The world’s longest-studied wolf pack may have been wiped out, wildlife officials fear amid an escalating battle between federal and state authorities in Alaskaover the aggressive hunting of predators such as wolves and bears.

The East Fork wolf pack, found near Denali, North America’s tallest mountain, was first researched in the 1930s and provided the first detailed accounts of wolf behavior and ecology. But years of hunting, trapping and habitat disturbance reduced numbers to just one known female, a male and two pups earlier this year. It’s now believed all may have perished.

Top scientists back federal plan to protect Alaska predators

Read more

Bridget Borg, a biologist at the National Park Service, said that the body of the radio collared male wolf was seen at a hunting camp and there appears to be no sign of the female nor pups.

“We investigated a den site after,” Borg told Alaska Public Media. “There was clear evidence it was not being used as evidenced by vegetation that was growing around the entrance to the den site.”

Three of the four pack members fitted with tracking collars have now been killed by hunters in the past year. The possible demise of the entire pack, which was once a common sight for visitors entering Denali, also America’s largest national park, is likely to heighten criticism of Alaska’s intensive hunting of its largest predators.

On Friday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that hunters will not be allowed to conduct “predator control” in Alaska’s vast national refuges unless there are exceptional circumstances. National wildlife refuges span more than 73m acres of Alaska, including the 20m acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – the largest land-based protected area in the US.

The move prohibits controversial practices such as the killing of bear cubs or their mothers, bear baiting and the targeting of wolves and coyotes during the spring and summer denning season. The shooting of bears from a plane or helicopter will also be restricted. However, subsistence hunting by indigenous communities will still be allowed.

Alaska reinforced the trapping and shooting of predator animals after the Republican senator Frank Murkowski was elected as governor in 2002.

His successors, including Sarah Palin, have all supported a policy of “intensive management” that removes wolves and bears with the goal of boosting moose and caribou numbers for hunters. This stance has led to significant numbers of bears and wolves being killed if they wander away from national park land.

But the state has repeatedly clashed with the FWS, which has now decided to clamp down on hunting on federal land. Dan Ashe, director of the FWS, said “special interest groups” have worked to undermine the protection of species and landscapes.

Public lands are “not game farms managed for a slice of their diversity for the benefit of a few people who would call themselves hunters”, Ashe said. “Nor are they places where we can or should allow the practices authorized under Alaska’s ‘intensive predator management’ initiative.

“In the name of hunters and hunting, [Alaska has] approved shooting of brown and grizzly bears over bait; shooting mother bears with cubs, and even the cubs themselves; targeting bears and wolves from planes; and killing wolves and wolf pups in their dens. This is not sportsmanship.”

Conservationists and some scientists welcomed the decision, pointing out there is little evidence that culling bears and wolves actually leads to a big increase in prey species.

“Alaska’s economy depends on the lure of grizzly bears, wolves and other megafauna, and this rule will go a long way toward keeping the living capital in place, ”said Michael Haukedalen, Alaska state director for the Humane Society

But Alaska’s department of fish and game claimed the the new FWS regulations “override the state’s sovereign authority” to manage wildlife.

“This is continued erosion of the state’s authority to manage fish and wildlife for the benefit of Alaskans,” said Bruce Dale, director of Alaska’s division of wildlife conservation. “Moose, caribou, deer are important sources of natural food and food security for many Alaskans and cornerstones of the subsistence way of life.”

Alaska Republican congressman Don Young said he will “work every angle in congress” to repeal the new FWS rule, arguing that it is against the law.

“If this rule is allowed to stand, we could see an opening for future jurisdictional takings by the federal government, transforming a cooperative relationship between Alaska and the Fish and Wildlife Service to one of servitude,” Young said.

Quest for Bigfoot - An Unknown Species ( trailer)

I keep my mind open so I'll be trying to watch this when it starts.  Hopefully, it will not be a Finding Bigfoot type programme (though it seems likely).

Hearing knocks and finding a tree branch bent over...hmm. End part sounds interesting!

About The "Mystery" Books

So, I was asked: "Why don't you actually tell people your books are currently all available at reduced prices?"

I think I must have stared blankly.  I thought I had.

That's age!

Let me explain because I should have done so way back.

The Red Paper: Canids is over 40 years of work and research compressed into one fully illustrated and referenced volume.  For that reason the normal price is a piddling £20.00.  However, back in May I reduced the cover price for a limited time to £10.00 and my intention is not to keep it that low much longer since it is a 50% discount! 

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-red-paper-canids/paperback/product-22092321.html

And the Truth About Spring Heeled Jack was discounted to more than 50%. It will cost you £7.00 rather than the normal £15.00.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-truth-about-spring-heeled-jack/paperback/product-21259526.html

Some Things Strange & Sinister is over 300+ pages and fully referenced, illustrated and opening up files I'm accumulated over 40 years.  Normally the book would cost £25.00 but is currently on sale for £15.00!

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-14958906.html

Some More Things Strange & Sinister, again, is 40 years worth of work and another big volume that should be £25.00 but is currently £15.00.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-more-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-18763730.html

Pursuing the Strange & Weird: A Naturalist's Viewpoint, again, incorporates decades of work and opinion into a volume that, normally, should cost you £20.00 but is currently only £15.00. So, another bargain!

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/pursuing-the-strange-weirda-naturalists-viewpoint/paperback/product-21307125.html

These reductions were all made specifically for readers of this blog and there is a cut off point of mid-August.  Everything goes back to the normal price because giving the books away isn't the plan!

Having just checked -I did announce these were special offers in May.  So, I'm not as senile as I first thought!

Terry Hooper [A very brief] Biography

Born in Bristol,England, 6^th June,1957,Terry became interested in nature and wildlife at around 5-6 years of age.  While attending Greenway Boys School, the interest in science and mysteries of nature increased resulting into several local investigations of mysterious (natural) phenomena.  At the same time, having accidentally picked up a copy of Brinsley le poer Trench's (later Lord Clancarty) “The Flying Saucer Story”, Terry began studying UFO reports and local sightings.

Between 1977-2007, Terry  acted as a wildlife consultant to UK police forces on exotic animals living in the UK.  Being a noted naturalist, he has also worked with other wildlife specialists and universities and his name is on several technical papers.  In 1974,Terry set up the Bristol UFO Investigation Team (BUFOIT), joined the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA), covering much of the West of England as an investigator and Regional Investigations Co-ordinator. 

Circa 1976,Terry joined the oldest UK UFO group, the British Flying Saucer Bureau (f.1952) and became an investigator, later Head of Research & Investigation and also editor of the UFO News Bulletin. 

In 1977,as an attempt to promote more scientific approach to UFO investigation, Terry set up UFO International (see Sachs, M., Encyclopaedia of UFOs).

Having established contact with Lord Clancarty and Air Vice Marshal Sir Victor Goddard (a former Head of RAF Intelligence and outspoken UFO believer), in 1977 Terry, along with late colleague Franklyn A. Davin-Wilson, visited London for a meeting with Clancarty, Goddard and others having submitted a document calling for a National Aerospace Commission (NaComm).  Terry was asked to mount an unofficial investigation into all aspects of the UFO phenomenon –a limited fund for travelling and living expenses was agreed upon.

In January,1978,the Anomalous Observational Phenomena Bureau (AOP B) began its work building up a data base on every aspect of UFOs –historical cases, trace, physio and psychological, animal disturbance, EM cases and much more. 

Original members of the AOP B were:~

Graham F.N.Knewstub              [deceased]

Dave Cowdy                              [deceased]

Franklyn A.Davin-Wilson         [deceased]

Terry Hooper

Between 1978-1984 there was much unofficial assistance given to the Bureau by professional astronomers (some publicly skeptical), former members of the Armed Forces, Air Ministry, Ministry of Defence as well as serving members of the Armed Forces and Police Forces.  A network of UFO investigation & research groups was set up including GUFOI&RG  (Gloucestershire), Wessex UFO I&R Group (Somerset), Wiltshire UFO I&R Team and so on.

Much of this cooperation continued well past the closing of the Bureau in 1995, though Governmental changes in policy since then have restricted any cooperation.

In 1984 a 2000 pages “British Report On Unidentified Flying Objects [UFOs]” was completed.  This was later reduced to 1500pp on editing.  Lord Clancarty, Sir Victor Goddard and others, including members of the House Of Lords UFO Study Group, stated that the Report was “…the closest thing the UK will ever have to a Project Blue Book”.

Although copies went to the Ministry of Defence and Sir Victor kindly passed copies on to former subordinates and ex-heads of RAF Intelligence, private UFO groups and Ufologists condemned The Report without even having seen the Summary offered.  The Report is currently being up-dated with more contemporary evidence being added.

Terry also edited the in-house AOP Bulletin.

Apart from this work Terry has specialized, since 1974, on Close Encounters of the Third Kind/Entity cases and provided the data for BUFORA to contribute to Ted Bloecher’s HUM-CAT.  He has also written many articles on Ball Lightning, meteorites, astronomy, CE-3Ks and Alien Entity cases as well as reporting on UFO incidents (of which he has investigated approx. 2000 since 1974).

Terry re-opened the AOP Bureau on 1^st January,2006 to continue the original work, aligned to no other groups or investigators.

Current study includes cases involving non-humanoid alien-entities associated with UFOs, video footage evidence and continued study of “spooklight” phenomena.

Back in the 1970s Terry was also a consultant for the Kentucky UFO Investigators League, a member of the Society for the Investigation of The Unexplained (SITU), of which he operated a UK branch –investigating the Dead Aquatic Creatures of Canvey Island and other incidents. 

Terry also maintained links with Bigfoot/Sasquatch researchers  such as The Bay Area Group (BAG), Bigfoot Investigation Team, Dmitri Bayanove, etc..  Terry maintains files on lake and sea creatures, ghosts and most other unexplained or explained phenomena he has looked into –these include ghosts and hauntings.

As of 2016, Terry has written three books on unsolved/solved mysteries –Some Things Strange & Sinister (2009), Some More Things Strange & Sinister (2011), Pursuing The Strange And Weird (2012) as well as one book on Canids including UK mystery canids and the history of foxes –Red Paper: Canids (2012).  He is currently working on a new book – From Beyond Time & Space.

From 2011 on, Terry has also published on the highly popular Anomalous Observational Phenomena blog.

Initial contact should be via email:

blacktowercg@hotmail.com

You Love Mysteries? The Weird? The Strange?

If you enjoy reading the posts on the AOP Blog and you have never read one of the books I've written then you are missing out of a lot!

Please support continuing research as well as meals buy buying a book -you shouldn't regret it!

For Lovers Of The Strange and weird!

I'll keep pushing these because there are decades of referenced work in them.  Being a naturalist, artist and what-not does not pay a wage.  These books are how I am supposed to eat and pay bills. Interesting that most sales are outside the UK though...

More on that in another post!

**********************************************************************

Yes, folks, just a few of the things I've investigated are included in these books -all fully referenced and including photographs and illustrations once thought lost.

 

Canids, in the form of foxes, I'm still studying -and learning!

The Red Paper: Foxes, Coyotes, Jackals, Arctic Foxes and Wolves in the UK

 One for those interested in Wildlife -or cryptozoology!

  

 Terry Hooper

The Red Paper: Canids

Paperback, 

A4 (21 x 30cms)

202 Pages 

Photographs, illustrations and maps

Price: £10.29

Ships in 3–5 business days

By the 1700s the British fox was on the verge of extinction and about to follow the bear and wolf having been hunted for sport for centuries. 

 

The answer was to import thousands of foxes per year for sport. But foxes kept dying out so jackals were tried. Some were caught, some escaped. Even wolves and coyote were released for hunting and "country folk" were very far from "happy" -some even threatening local hunts -one intending to release a wolf for a hunt- with legal and other consequences.

 

The summation of over 40 years research by the noted naturalist and former UK police forces exotic wildlife consultant reveals the damnable lie of "pest control" hunting but also reveals the cruelty the animals were subject to and how private menageries as well as travelling shows.

 

Private menageries, or single exotic "pets" as well as travelling shows helped provide the British and Irish countryside with some incredible events such as the 1905 "vampiric" sheep killer of Badminton, the mystery hounds of Cavan and Coyotes of Epping Forest.

The Girt Dog of Ennerdale is also dealt with in detail -was it a tiger? A Tasmania Thylacine? This book gives the exact facts and details for the first time.

 

Up-dated 2013 edition includes a section on sarcoptic mange in foxes and treatment plus a list of wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centres in the UK.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/the-red-papercanines-vol1/paperback/product-20492038.html

                    *****************

Some Things Strange & Sinister (2013 -up-dated)

A4 Format

B&W

Paperback

358 pages

Heavily illustrated

Price: £15.00

Ships in 3–5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-14958906.html 

After more than 40 years as an investigator and more than fifty as a naturalist,the author has opened some of the many files he has accumulated dealing with such things as.. 

 

The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn, The Ghosts Of All Saints Church, Dead Aquatic Creatures of Canvey Island, captured bigfoot like creatures in India -all exclusively presented for the first time and with new added research previously unseen. 

 

PLUS a vastly expanded section on Spring-heeled Jack! 

 

Photographs, maps, line drawings and up-dated to make 358 pages looking at Things truly Strange and Sinister. 

 

Cryptozoologist,Ghost Hunter,Ufologist or Fortean:this book has something for everyone -including the just plain inquisitive! 

 

 

Contents

Foreword by Travis L. Whitehurst

Introduction

        de occultis non judicat ecclesia                                                                    

        The Bristol Rocking Horse

        The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn

        The Coonian Ghost

        The Ghosts Of All Saints Church

        His Luminous Chamber

        The Late Reverend Dr. Blomberg

        And More Ghost Stories

        The Thomas B. Cumpston Case

        The Chupacabra

        The Strange Case Of The Gotherington Gargoyle

        What’s Tall,Hairy And Vanishes?

        Mystery Beasts Of Ireland

        The Creature Of The Dump

        The Strange Creature Of Repton Woods

        The Bizarre Legends,Crimes And Truth About Spring Heeled Jack

        The Black Beast Of Darmstadt

        The Nameless Thing Of Berkley Square

        The Terrifying Case Of The U.S. Naval Transport

        The Case Of The Ghost Lear Jet

        Ghost Planes,Crashes And Dead Aquatic Creatures

        The Mitchison Loch Ness Monster Video

        From The Deep Below To The Air Above –USOs

        Aerial Encounters Over Austria

        A Crashed UFO In 1790?

        Angel Hair

        Quimper-Corentin:Where “Thunder Fell”

        Strange Aliens From Space

        The Llandrillo ‘Saucer’ And Other Crash Retrievals

        Transient Lunar Phenomena,Alien Structures And Moon Vegetation

        Whiddon Down-Saint-Jean-du-Guard:Impossible Correlations?

        The Venezuelan Horror

A Final Word.

Alleged piece of crashed UFO from Berwyn Mountains, Wales.
                                                               **************

 Some More Things Strange & Sinister 

Terry Hooper-Scharf

Paperback,
A4
327 Pages 

Heavily illustrated

Price: £15.00

Ships in 3–5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-more-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-18763730.html

Follow-up to the hugely successful Some Things Strange & Sinister.

 

For those interested in Ufology, cryptozoology, hominology, unusual natural history, ghosts and mysteries in general.

 

The secret history of gorillas in the UK -before they were officially  'discovered'. The history of  the Wild men of Europe, the UK and US: something that in the 1800s become very "pop culture"  Very pop culture and totally forgotten today!

 

Hominology. Sasquatch and Bigfoot -is there evidence for their existence?  No sitting on the fence here -the Patterson-Gimlin film is looked at as well as other evidence.  The Author's conclusions? You might be surprised.

 

Giant snakes. Amazons. The Giant serpent of Carthage. The Girt Dog of Ennerdale -another big cult 'creature' amongst paranormal and cryptozoological circles. The Beast of Gevaudan -what was it and were there really descendents of the creature in the 19th century -one of which was actually brought to London? 

 

 Believe it or not more than one incident of historical crocodiles cases in the UK.  In fact, far more than even the Author had thought .

 

And, after more than a century of claims by 'researchers' that it no longer exists: The Silent City of Alaska and the near legendary 'lost' photograph taken of it.

 This and much more. Updated with extra pages and photographs.

                  *********************

Pursuing The Strange And Weird -A Naturalist's Viewpoint (2014 up-date)

Terry Hooper-Scharf
Paperback, 

A4

249 Pages

Price: £15.00

Ships in 3-5 business days.

 http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/pursuing-the-strange-weirda-naturalists-viewpoint/paperback/product-21307125.html

UP DATE -From Dead Aquatic (Humanoid) Creatures, the giant squid and yet undiscovered sea creatures; submarine and ships crews encountering true leviathans.

There is a fully expanded section which also refers to the so-called ‘Ningen’ sightings and video footage.

 

Extinct animals at sea that have been re-discovered. The subject of Sasquatch and other mystery Hominids around the world is dealt with including a look at the “Sasquatch-killer”, Justin Smeja.

 

Dr. Bryan Sykes and his DNA test results for TVs The Bigfoot Files as well as the controversial Erickson Project and Dr. Melba Ketchum’s Even more controversial Sasquatch DNA test results.

 

Also included are two early French UFO entity cases that still baffle. Ghosts, strange creatures and the Star-Child hoax. All dealt with by the naturalist and pursuer of the strange and weird

                *******************

  The Bizarre Legends, Crimes And Truth About Spring Heeled Jack (2014

  

Terry Hooper-Scharf

Paperback, 

53 Pages 

 Dimensions (centimetres) 20.98 wide x 29.69 tall  (A4)

fully illustrated and referenced

Price: £7.00

Ships in 3–5 business days

 http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-truth-about-spring-heeled-jack/paperback/product-21259526.html

The terror and mystery created by “Jack The Ripper” has been the subject of countless books, magazine articles as well as movies and TV documentaries. Ask anyone if they have ever heard of Jack The Ripper and it is doubtful anyone would respond with a “no idea.” 

 

By that same token, ask people who “Spring-heeled Jack” was and you would be lucky to find anyone who had ever heard of him. 

 

Spring-heeled Jack was the subject (loosely) of a film The Curse of the Wraydons (1946) and Dominic Keating also appeared as Spring Heeled Jack in the 2010 film Sherlock Holmes by The Asylum film company. The character has also featured in both American and British comic books and a number of books, for both children and adults. 

 

But the fact that the Springald held the country –not just London– in a grip of terror much longer that the Ripper did is all but forgotten except for some half-truths and fanciful theories. 

 

Now be prepared to read the full story of Spring Heeled Jack

Airplane-Sized Seabird with Teeth Discovered in Antarctica

From Maxanimal.com http://www.maxanimal.com/airplane-sized-seabird-with-teeth/

A relative of the giant seabird discovered, taken at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC by Ryan Somma

The remnants of a seabird the size of a small airplane (with teeth!) has been discovered on the Antarctic Island of Marambio.

Scientists found only a remnant of the humerus, which is the arm bone, but could still easily determine that the specimen was one of the oldest Antarctic birds known to science.

Argentine research base where fossil was found on Marambio Island, Antarctica

This particular species was known for its “pseudo-teeth.” Pseudo teeth are made from the bone of the jaw and are covered in a beak-like material.

Because the teeth weren’t serrated, researchers gather that they were used for grasping and swallowing rather than tearing and shredding prey.

According to a study by Marcos Cenizo of the Provincial Museum of Natural History, the bird is estimated to have existed between 49 and 53 million years ago in the Lower Eocene Epoch.

The ancient seabird belongs to the prehistoric family pelagornithidae, which is a cousin to the goose and duck family. Pelagornithids existed for nearly 60 million years before mysteriously going extinct 2 to 3 million years ago.

P

Pelagornithids were extremely large birds with wingspans over 20 feet. Given the size of the humerus, scientists estimate that this particular bird had a wingspan of 21 feet.

The lightweight bones of pelagornithids probably allowed them to fly long distances over open ocean as modern-day seabirds do today. We can only imagine what a sight that must have been!