UPDATE: 2-23-2012
Strange Metal Boxes, UFOs Oregon Coast - Update
Oregon Metal Boxes an Unfortunate Hoax, (Follow Up)Dave Masko and huliq.com perpetrate hoax on citizens of Oregon Coast.
(Florence,
Oregon) – A rash of outrageous and hilariously odd stories about beach
junk on the central Oregon coast turned a slightly dark corner last week
when the claims about “mysterious metal boxes,” caused such a stir on
the Net that various entities and individuals were forced to waste
resources, man hours and money to either look for these objects or
answer an irritatingly large tsunami of questions from over-excited
media outlets. Still even less reputable websites engaged in a
disturbing display of spreading unfounded claims, as some further
embellished the original tale with even more preposterous yarns about a
cover up, men in black on the beaches, secret ops helicopters and much
more.
It
could've been the latest bad movie from the Sy-Fy network, but instead
it was all spawned by area resident Dave Masko on a citizen journalism
site called Huliq.com, Citizen journalism sites are not actual news
outlets but websites where anyone can post an article and claim it be a
news item.
Masko himself has a sketchy reputation for creating
outlandish articles, often quite untrue, and is called a “serial
fabricator” by central coast residents.
The “mysterious metal
boxes” turned out to be made of wood, and were merely parts of a float
system for a dock that had been destroyed upstream in a recent flood.
The
series of hoaxes all began February 9 as Huliq contributor Masko posted
a story about “mysterious metal boxes” in the Florence area and just
south of Yachats, showing pictures of the debris, and making claims
about strange auras and noises emanating from them, and asserting they
had something to do with alleged UFO sightings in the area.
Almost
immediately, a host of other websites picked up the story, usually with
varying degrees of skepticism, and the story went viral. Readers seemed
in awe of the subject, which to the UFO nutjob community seemed to
provide proof of the paranormal.
Almost none of these re-postings
can be found now, replaced by rather angry and irritated debunkings of
the surreal series of stories.
Quickly, a host of more
traditional media from towns as far away as Boston and Miami began
calling around the Oregon coast to find out more. A handful of people,
including Earthfiles.com, contacted numerous state agencies seeking more
information on the mystery boxes. Oregon Coast Beach Connection and
other media contacted CoastWatch – an organization of volunteers that
keep on an eye on beach conditions and human impact.
This is
where it began to be problematic. Bill Hanshumaker, a spokesman for the
Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, was quoted in Masko's
original article as saying very simply he did not know what the objects
were. This created a barrage of goofy calls to Hanshumaker from curious
media – the only actual person quoted there. He complained of not being
able to get work done and had to stop answering his phone. Hanshumaker
said he received so many calls and emails he completely lost count.
Then,
man hours were wasted by looking for chunks of beach debris, forced to
do so by an unreasonably pushy and suspicious demographic. Luckily, no
tax dollars were wasted.
“Actually, I did not send anyone but
volunteers out looking for the boxes reported at Brays Point,”
Hanshumaker said. “However I spoke with someone from the state parks,
whose job it is to be out on the beaches anyways. Nobody wants to waste
tax payers dollars, but if I hadn't looked into it, some people would
declare governmental coverup.”
At the Oregon Department of Parks
and Recreation, spokesman Chris Havel said the agency only spent a few
extra hours on this incident. Much of their work entails being out on
the beaches anyway. They were not hounded by media as Hanshumaker was.
A
variety of other people hit the beaches, from residents, members of
Coastwatch to various paranormal investigators, including those from the
high profile Ground Zero Radio show.
No one found a thing – at least at first. Eventually some state workers found a box or two and made the determination.
Skepticism
mounted, and the public posted comments on the websites providing the
stories, displaying mostly dismay at the outrageous claims, with the
overwhelming reaction being “this was a hoax.”
Media outlets
scrambled to contact Mr. Masko about the growing informational scandal.
He did not even respond to like-thinking paranormal investigators. One
member of the Ground Zero-associated crew asked Oregon Coast Beach
Connection if Masko “was for real,” complaining he had refused to meet
with them or talk to them.
This added to the skepticism and finally most of the re-posts of Masko's story were removed.
Masko
half responded to Oregon Coast Beach Connection questions about how he
felt about the hoax label and other inquiries about his finds. He
deferred to his latest article on the subject, which only addressed the
explanation of the boxes' origin with more questions like “what of the
other boxes on the west coast?”
Addressing the idea of it being a
hoax, Masko allegedly quotes individuals with nebulous sentiments like
“What is a hoax?” and then proceeds to decry the scientific method over
the hazy belief system of the UFO enthusiast. (Hey wait a minute - isn't
that also what what creationists do to science?)
In the end, Masko only dodged these questions about the credibility of his story.
Still, Havel said there was a bit of silver lining to this hoax.
“If
curiosity brings a few more people out of their winter hibernation to
enjoy the beach and take a walk, that's a good thing,” Havel said.
Masko
has been known to either fabricate stories or misinterpret quotes from
random people on the street and then post them in high profile sites on
the Internet. He received from major rebukes from Oregon film office
officials and those connected with the movie “Twilight” for having
erroneously claimed a Twilight sequel was being filmed on the Oregon
coast...
After the 2011 tsunami alert on the Oregon coast, Masko upset
a host of businesses and officials by falsely claiming more tsunami
alerts had hit Newport, and flirted with legal action over false claims
that local officials had warned about Japanese radiation affecting
Newport gardens, dogs and Florence beaches, as well as flagrantly
misquoted OSU scientists on the subject.
Masko continues to write
about the boxes subject, even with the public ridicule, lack of
evidence, and in spite of firm explanations about their true origin.
UFO sighting beliefs counter today's science while new metal box theory floated
BRAYS POINT, Ore. – Marine scientists have looked under the hood of mysterious metal boxes -- that started appearing along West Coast beaches two weeks ago – and now have a scientific theory.
Mention strange metal boxes appearing along beaches here at Bray’s Point and other locations up and down the West Coast and it conjures up all sorts of images for people; with one theory now being floated about how the boxes got here. According to William Hanshumaker, a Ph.D. public marine education specialist at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in nearby Newport, the theory now – after investigating these strange metal boxes for the past two weeks – is “the boxes on the beach are merely floats that were originally built to support docks.” While Doctor Hanshumaker and other local marine science experts stated their conclusion Feb. 17 that – after reviewing photos, interviews and actually looking at some of the strange metal boxes along beaches near Bray’s Point – that they believe at least some of these “boxes” are possibly parts of docks. In turn, Doctor Hanshumaker noted in reply to a Huliq media query that “after a recent flooding event, some docks were destroyed and their floats drifted downriver and subsequently deposited on the beach. A colleague from a local state agency had the opportunity to examine one and confirmed this explanation.” At the same time, those locals -- who first mentioned seeing “these mysterious metal boxes” in previous Huliq reports -- say Doctor Hanshumaker’s scientific theory may hold water for him and other marine scientists who study West Coast beach debris, but “what about the other boxes that can't easily be explained away?”
Still no firm answer on all boxes
In turn, there have been reports from locals and visitors -- to these Oregon and other West Coast beaches over the past two weeks -- pointing to "various types of boxes” that are are both metal and also look “box shape” that are possibly dock floats from Japan’s earthquake last March.
It was more than 11 months ago that Tsunami waves raced across 5,000 miles of the Pacific to slam the West Coast with massive waves. Did these waves also bring these "boxes" or "docks" from Japan? Who knows, say experts. Also, there's no real science that can explain what's "dropped" on West Coast beaches at any given time. And, with many of these coastal beaches -- such as Bray's Point on the very edge of the West Coast -- in remote areas, who knows but the locals who live there what's going down.
“At the end of the day, the boxes we're discussing today, February 18, are from two weeks ago are now mostly gone. People are simply taking them away for whatever reasons,” explained Bray’s Point resident Errol during a Huliq phone interview Feb. 18.
What’s unknown is frightening
It seems that this year, 2012, has already become a strange time when people are questioning hard science when it comes to everything from the origins of UFO sightings to “strange metal boxes,” to the ancient Mayans having this calendar that predicts the end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012.
In turn, the famed playwright and philosopher Andre Gregory explained in his screenplay for the film “My Dinner With Andre,” that he’s always been suspicious of scientists who attempt to put everything unknown on this Earth into “nice tidy boxes.”
Gregory says this questioning of science as not being exact when it comes to such things as theories about UFOs comes from “a sort of self-satisfied elitist paranoia” in science today, “with a feeling of ‘them’ and ‘us’ that is very unsettling.”
Gregory, who is a self-proclaimed UFO believer, goes on to state that “people can build up a kind of network of beliefs founded on signs from anywhere that proves without any question that they’re absolutely right about everything. And you know, you sit around and have dinner in some of these places, and everybody is talking with great knowledge about Atlantis or whatever it is, and you know, you feel very strange if you don’t happen to have all this secret information.”
The philosopher also explains, “You then see all these significant coincidences in everything that happens.” The thing is, I think it’s the exaggerated worship of science that has led us into this situation. I mean, science has been help up to us as a magical force that would somehow solve everything. So that is really what has let to this very strong, deep reaction against science that we’re seeing now.”
Fearing such things as metal boxes in our world
Jeff Wise, the author of “Extreme Fear: The Science of Your Mind in Danger,” writes in Time magazine last month that “there are plenty of things to be afraid of – so choose carefully.”
Wise writes in this Time magazine report that in 2012 “identifying the most pressing threats turns out to be unexpectedly difficult. Psychologists say we innately misjudge risk, often becoming instinctively fixated on perceived threats that aren’t really hazardous while overlooking real dangers because we don’t set our subconscious alarm bells.”
For example, Wise writes that “people fear cell-phone radiation because it’s a relatively new technology and the word ‘radiation’ adds to the aura of invisible malevolence,” along the same lines as why ufologists think breakthroughs in understanding alien life has been so slow in coming to mankind.
Mention “strange metal boxes” on the beach, and “people sort of shut down and call you a UFO nut. They need answers right now, and they won’t give an inch until they either try and understand or simply dismiss what you’re saying because ‘UFO’ is part of it,” added Errol when expressing her personal angst over being shot as the messenger for what other many in society view as real or not real.
------------------------------------END UPDATE-------------------------------------------
this is a recorded radio broadcast from the show groundzero radio website here http://www.groundzeromedia.org/
this episode was broadcast on 2/13/2012
in this episode they discuss the strange metal boxes that have washed ashore the oregon coast and all the details they uncovered as they investigated the occurence,
what started as strange metal boxes quickly became a potential government coverup involving ufo's and phenomenon that couldnt be explained surrounded the metal boxes which vibrate, emit a low frequency hum, and are surrounded by an aura of colors,
mystery abounds these boxes which after a few days vanished from the beaches, though only 3 photos have turned up, it has been reported that over 18 of these boxes have appeared ashore from central oregon beaches all the way to california beaches
groundzero radio is not done with this topic and has vowed to launch another investigation including a repeat road trip to the beach in hopes of finding one of these boxes
From their site...
I stumbled upon a story that showed up on an unknown website called Huliq. I never heard of the site before however, the story was intriguing since it was happening in my back yard. The story was written about UFO activity on the southern beaches of Oregon. UFO sightings had increased at the end of January and it was reported that sky watchers in the area were alarmed at the magnitude. This time however the aliens had allegedly left behind an ominous calling card. It was alleged that Metal boxes were left on Stone field beach and at Bray’s point. The story sounded a bit fishy; however I figured that it was worth a firsthand look.
I did some research into the coast, because of an investigation I was doing regarding the sighting of alien looking creatures on the beaches. I called the story the Sea Side demon even though there was mounting evidence and eyewitness testimony that all along the beaches of the Northwest UFO sightings were numerous, sightings of lizard men and occult activity are often spoken of and an American writer claimed that a colony of aliens lived in Bray’s point Oregon.
Now I had some “confirmation” in a story that was left on the internet by what appeared to be a credible journalist. Dave Masko according to his biography is an Air Force veteran who’s filed stories from Washington, D.C., the Middle East, the Balkans and Europe. These days, he’s a freelance writer based in Florence, Oregon. Masko’s articles have appeared in European Stars and Stripes, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone and other publications. From 1977-1999 he was a reporter for the Defense Department. He’s worked with the likes of Walter Cronkite, Colin Powell and Bob Hope.
His claim is that Star watchers in southern Oregon are now alarmed by the appearance of strange boxes that he claims in his article were left behind by UFO’s. I teamed up with Roger Clooten of Northwest Ghost Recon and we packed up his truck at the alst minute and drove three hours to the coast to get the real story of what was happening.
After a long drive is torrential rains and high winds we stopped at a gas station in Yachats Oregon. Roger asked if the attendant knew anything about the strange stories of boxes in the area. The woman in the 76 station smiled and said that yes the stories we were hearing were true, only that she feared the boxes were taken away. When we asked by who she inferred that they were picked up or maybe washed away in the high tide. She said that they were showing up in towns further south.
She gave us the phone number of a local man named John Henry who obliged us by going to Stone filed beach. The beach was a campground, remote and muddy. It was technically closed so no one was able to get too close in their vehicle. The ocean was rough and waves were breaking at about 8 feet. One almost took me with it as I attempted to walk on the jagged rocks to the sandy area where pictures of these boxes were taken by Masko. Henry told us that he has seen no boxes, and that he even has with him a huge sledge hammer in his vehicle to crack one open when he sees it. He did however say that there is no denying that there has been UFO activity in the area, and that there have been a few people who swear that they have seen the boxes wash up on to the shore and then disappear.
Marci, the attendant at the gas station had said that the boxes had a glow about them that they are about 30 inches high and about five or six feet wide they were welded shut. She related that they made sizzling or whining sound. She said it is nothing like a siren and that before the boxes appear there are large bright blue arching lights that are seen out beyond the breakers.
Roger and I scaled most of the beach and even went to Bray’s point to find that there was a lot of debris that had washed ashore making it difficult to get out to the areas where the boxes were allegedly sighted.
The only thing we found that was out of the ordinary was that there seemed to be areas where a lot of digging had taken place and just about three feet from that area someone had drawn in the sand an “eye”. The eye looked like an all seeing eye similar to the symbol used by CBS television. The only difference was a tail that was located at the bottom of the eye.
The unfortunate thing about the investigation was that the weather was treacherous, high winds, high waves and the danger of being caught up in one. If there were boxes they were gone now and one of the observers that was on the beach claimed that he was alarmed that the other morning he witnessed while walking the dog an alarming amount of military activity namely a Blackhawk or apache Helicopter, he couldn’t tell, a few men on the beach including what he said looked like a classic agent wearing a black overcoat and hat with his face covered with a handkerchief. He said he didn’t want to draw attention to himself because he felt it was some serious business. He said they were loading something and he believed took off to the Newport municipal airfield.
(Feb 15) The shallow quake was recorded at 7:31 p.m. PST Tuesday more than 150 miles west of southern Oregon, a seismically active area, and caused no reported damage and only a smattering of reports from people who felt it as a weak jolt. It was one of the largest recorded in the state. (Source)
Triangle-shaped object over Oregon on Feb 6. (Source)
(Feb 11) These mystery boxes can’t be moved; even when yanked by a four-wheel drive truck pulling on heavy chains tied around these humming metal boxes that are still appearing as of Feb. 8 up and down West Coast beaches in Central Oregon. Beginning Feb. 6, nearby Stonefield Beach local UFO “watchers” reported a weekend filled with what locals call intense UFO sightings. Meanwhile, the British government also photographed similar huge metal boxes on beaches in Sri Lanka in the late 1990’s and in early 2004 and 2005 after locals reported numerous UFO sightings.
Mysterious Metal Boxes Found On West Coast Beaches?
Posted by JacobSloan on February 15, 2012
maskoABraysbox
Strange, large things always seem to have a way of washing ashore. A series of extremely heavy, seamless metal boxes have been spotted buried in the coastal sand, HULIQ claims:
Metal boxes are still appearing as of Feb. 8 up and down West Coast beaches. They can’t be moved; even when yanked by a four-wheel drive truck pulling on heavy chains tied around.
As of late afternoon Feb. 8, Bill Hanshumaker, a public marine specialist and (Ph.D) doctor of marine science at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in nearby Newport, told Huliq in an interview that, “I don’t know what they are.” In turn, Doctor Hanshumaker said he’s advised “surf monitoring” about these strange metal boxes that suddenly appeared along local beaches Feb. 6, and now seem to be multiplying. The photograph that accompanies this report of yet another strange metal box stuck in the surf up is one of a possible group of a dozen or more that have been sited up and down West Coast beaches. Meanwhile, the British government also photographed similar huge metal boxes on beaches in Sri Lanka in the late 1990’s and in early 2004 and 2005. When asked if he’s ever heard of anything like these huge metal boxes, with no opening or seam, Doctor Hanshumaker would not comment or speculate on the record. Instead, this marine science expert has for photos of the boxes and size and coloring details.
BRAY’S POINT, Ore. – They can’t be moved; even when yanked by a four-wheel drive truck pulling on heavy chains tied around these humming metal boxes that are still appearing as of Feb. 8 up and down West Coast beaches.
OK, we have a new mystery to deal with.
It seems retirees in the lazy coastal town of Stonefield Beach, Oregon have discovered some strange goings on in their community.
After several folks reported seeing UFOs, odd metal boxes began to show up in the surf.
Witnesses say the boxes are a robust 5′X5′X20″, “not movable” (whatever that means) and are (Now get this!) giving off a high pitched “wail”. Hmmm, we can’t seem to get rid of this sound thing, can we?
Speculation ranges from them being alien in origin to washed up radioactive debris from the Japanese disaster. I even found one theory that says the boxes are part of an obscure art exhibit.
Source: GlobalRumblings
UFO inspired metal boxes still vex experts while someone is taking the boxes away
By
Dave Masko on 2012-02-15
FLORENCE, Ore. – There are many theories about strange metal boxes that started appearing along Oregon and West Coast beaches last week; while Feb. 15 brings new but vague answers.
...The boxes first surfaced as a story on Huliq last week after local UFO fans relating recent sightings at nearby Stonefield Beach. These UFO fans then pointed to “strange metal boxes” that “were revealed” after a recent UFO sightings. They said the boxes appeared “out of the blue,” while other locals simply said the boxes have the makings for yet more UFO lore; with people either believing or not believing. However, the metal boxes by themselves are something that is very real. So real, in fact, that William Hanshumaker, a Ph.D in marine education, and a member of the “Oregon Sea Grant Faculty” at the nearby Hatfield Marine Science Center, in Newport, has been investigating the “boxes” for the past week.
...there is no consensus as to “what” the boxes are.
Sure, there’s been speculation that these “strange metal boxes” are possible docking pieces from oyster farms over in Japan -- that broke apart after the March 2011 earthquake and Tsunami that also slammed West Coast beaches, but how could something as huge as these boxes travel almost 5,000 miles across the Pacific from Japan to Oregon coastal beaches?
Moreover, Doctor Hanshumaker noted that “the boxes would have barnacles underneath” if they were floating out in the Pacific.
However, seven boxes were examined at local beaches near Florence on Feb. 15, and they’re clean all around with no barnacles but a sort of “membrane” film that can’t be scraped off that covers each of the remaining boxes.
In turn, locals at nearby Stonefield Beach and Bray’s Point – who first noticed the boxes after a late evening UFO sighting Feb. 5 – “with boxes up and down the beach on the morning of Feb. 6,” said a Bray’s Point local named Errol.
...the Oregon, Washington and California state police were also contacted, and each department reported no actions being taken to investigate the boxes...
Someone is taking the boxes
At the same time, boxes were seen being moved by a number of “white trucks” with heavy chains and upwards of four to six people seen pushing and then loading these strange metal boxes into the white trucks.
One local Florence couple – who stopped to exam one metal box – said in a Feb. 15 Huliq interview that “it sure looks unusual.”
Also, the couple said they were "drawn to the box," and that "it felt warm, like nothing we've ever felt before."
People seeing and touching the boxes
“Feel me, touch me, see me,” seems like something these boxes “might be saying to us,” quipped local UFO “watcher” Errol when taking more than 100 images of a group of these metal boxes near his Bray’s Point beach home Feb. 15. “I want to document this before someone runs off with our three boxes down the beach there,” he added with a vividly inventive mind that seemed both self-confident and worried....
Lilly Moll’s theory about the boxes
“Something happened here a lot time ago. It was something that altered my view of who I was on this Earth,” explained Moll while sitting on one of these metal boxes near her beach home at Bray’s Point.
Moll, who has this striking exotic quality that Errol say people are attracted to since “she must be in her nineties, and not weigh more than 80 or 90 pounds but she radiates a kind of beauty that’s can’t be explained, but felt deep inside your heart and mind.”
In turn, Moll reveals in a quite enigmatic, cipher quality that “the boxes are not for us to understand. They’re here for now and maybe gone tomorrow. That’s all.”
Source:
Huliq
Mayan prophecy shared with metal box at 42nd annual Yachats art fair
By Dave Masko on 2012-02-17
YACHATS, Ore. – A forthcoming art show in this eclectic coastal town includes an artist’s plan to display a metal box he unearthed as part of a Mayan prophecy art presentation.
Local artist Leo D’Alessandro is planning for the “42nd Annual Original Yachats Arts & Crafts Fair” in a big way. “Since the Mayan prophecy for this year of 2012 is expected to bring the dawn of a new era – a year of transformation for our planet – what better way for me to share my visions of the Mayans than with the metal box I salvaged from our beach.” In turn, D’Alessandro, a young, aggressive and even pushy artist -- who seems to be neutral in nothing – as he shares what’s been dubbed as “beach sculptured” art works, is excited about the upcoming festival. “My art is original woodwork and mixed media. I know the mention of having one of these mysterious boxes involved is exciting. It’s just right, I feel, to compliment my Mayan theme for the work I present this year.” Since D’Alessandro relies on hand-made flyers – that he passed out at the Yachats Commons Feb. 17 during a Huliq interview – there’s no big buzz as of yet for what this artist who says his art is based on “personified chaotic disorder.”
...the mystery of what happened to the metal boxes over the past week still lingers as locals report seeing “people in white trucks” collecting the boxes and taking them off the beaches. For instance, D’Allessandro said “it’s a real find. I can’t open it. The box is sealed all around, and there’s a bright and crystal film over it.” At the same time, D’Allessandro said “I don’t want to say much now until the art show.”
...the Yachats Chamber of Commerce “Original Arts & Crafts Fair” is a huge local event that attracts approximately five to six thousand people, nearly equaling this hamlet’s local population on Saturday and Sunday, March 17-18....
...“You said it best,” quipped D’Alessandro to this reporter, “when you said the boxes are a metaphor for something else in our society where people fear everything. And, most especially they fear what they don’t know or understand. The box represents their fears, as you said in one of your stories.”
For D’Alessandro, whose laughter stopped – as though he’d turned a valve in his chest – when another artist mentioned that “you should not have taken that box from the beach; his reply was simply “adrenaline.”
“Lifting that box with my family and friends has a full of anticipatory adrenaline. Just being with it, and then having it felt like someone once said of an ‘electric sparkle inside.’”
Here's an update on the "strange metal boxes washed up on Oregon beach"
after reading it a bit I found this interesting (enough t think about going down there).
"...In turn, these boxes are “not moveable,” and they are solid and metallic and seem to have this keening wail coming from both the boxes and the atmosphere around them,” adds Errol who’s been called in to “see what’s up” by locals thinking it “has something to do with UFOs” quipped a local senior named Doris who said she heard “a miaowing wail come from the boxes Sunday evening...”
"....It’s as if an alarm went off, when a “high, shrill, piercing, frightening ring caught our attention Sunday evening,” explained Doris, a local senior whose retired and lives nearby Stonefield Beach. “I know crazy things happen over at Stonefield, but when you walk down and see that metal box sort of glowing in the surf it gets your attention real quick.”
At the same time, Doris said this area around Stonefield Beach is a very “quiet place,” where “nothing but seagulls and the Pacific Ocean waves to break the quiet.”
"While these “metal boxes” buried up and down the Oregon coast are real to the touch and sight, a local professor of psychology – whose attempted to explain away the “strange goings on at both Bray’s Point and here at Stonefield Beach,” thinks the many “of these remote living residents who claim to see UFOs at night are simply not using the tool between their ears to figure this stuff out.”
Now thats cool and puzzling.
----------------------------------------------------------------
...Have they tried using a blowtorch yet?
Yes, because there are so many explanations for sealed metal boxes full of wailing sounds showing up on a civilian shore.
Sometimes, people declare believers nuts because they themselves don't want to admit that there is a very potent life-form from beyond this world not only walking among us, but also impervious to our means of control. It would mean, "Holy crap, I'm wrong and we don't know WHAT this is!"
What about this coincidence? Tijuana, Mexico...same night as L.A...
