Is it just me or am I everywhere lately? Seriously, don't be surprised if I show up at your window.

Last Thursday, Culture of Contact launched Whitley Strieber's incredible new book, "2012: The War For Souls." He spoke to a packed house at the East West Bookstore in Manhattan. And by "packed" I mean they ran out of chairs and fans were lined up down the stairs just to hear him! It was incredible.

Thanks Whitley & Ann for coming to New York and letting us give back, and thanks to the East West Bookstore for hosting. An incredible night was shared by all.

As those of you who follow my podcast know, I've been disenchanted lately with ufology. From wacky experiencers to charlatan researchers to just plain good old fashioned mistakes made by legit researchers, I felt the ol' "What am I doing here?" dark night of the soul creeping in. But that's changed now thanks to 5 events:

1.) The Coast To Coast email exchange. The fact that "The #1 show" as they love to repeat, has bothered to email me in some off-the-wall bullying tactics 3 months after kicking me off their show means I must be doing something right. They must feel threatened by me in some way or else why bother? My Spidey Senses tell me they don't understand why I have a better working relationship with Strieber than Noory. Really just a hunch, but I can't find another reason to bug me other than they feel like they booted the wrong guy from the show and instead of apologizing, or letting it go, are being complete turds about it.

To read the complete email exchange, visit blog.valiens.com and click on "Open Letter To Coast." Afterward, if you scroll to the bottom of the comments, I've posted a follow-up email exchange.

2.) Meeting Jeff Ritzmann. Ritzmann is an experiencer/ufologist who remembers his experiences without the aid of hypnosis. His stories are as "out there" as they are credible. He is credible. Meeting him was a breath of fresh air. I will interview him on a future podcast so you can you see what I mean.

3.) Something researcher Alfred Lehmberg told me that stuck: Even though I'm one of the folks with an outlandish tale and no proof to back it up, there's something about me that people trust. There are enough angry voices in ufology, so I shouldn't go that way, just stick with being me. He said it better than that but that's basically it and he's right: I gotta be me. So although I don't believe most of what I hear these days I won't sneer at is so blatantly as I've been doing because, essentially, I'm in the same boat.

4.) Being accepted into the fold of The Paracast. And here, Lehmberg plays a role too for it was he who pointed out that The Paracast is a tough show. They don't coddle their guests and if they think you're full of it, they'll shred you. He expected that to happen to me because when I went on there I said the sort of stuff they normally rip apart, but maybe it was the way I said it (?) I really don't know... not only did they not shred me, we're now all friends. Besides the obvious warming of cockles, this is great for me because I have so much respect for the show.

5.) Finally, it was at the book launch where Strieber signed my copy of "2012" thanking me for "being a pioneer." If that's not the ultimate affirmation that I'm where I belong, nothing is.

So now I'm done bitching and moaning and am ready to be constructive again. To that end, next Tuesday on the podcast will be Strieber's full talk at the book launch (both audio and video.) This will kick off a series wherein I will introduce you to abductees/experiencers who I deem credible. That doesn't mean their perspectives agree, or that they agree with mine. It simply means that I have zero reason not to believe them, including, and most importantly, that intangible, "I just know."

I want you to get a feel for what real encounters with this great unknown sound like when articulated by sane, credible people. The difference between that and what most of us are used to hearing will be clear.

In the meantime, check out my interview with filmmaker/ufologist Paul Kimball at:

www.book-of-thoth.com

A roundtable discussion I'm in on re: X-Conference 2007 at:

www.theparacast.com

And the latest Culture of Contact podcast, which ends my reign of negativity with a bang. It's a special musical episode featuring music by Nine Inch Nails. You've never heard anything like it before and you may never again. One of the highlights is an interview with Nick Pope who ran the real X-Files for the Ministry of Defense in the UK. What he says about military choppers buzzing crop circles may surprise you. (It did me!)

All of that plus the exclusive and now controversial interview with David Biedney is at:

blog.valiens.com

Enjoy and thanks always for your support!

--jeremy vaeni