An Incomplete Alien Survival Guide pt. 1

Recent Events have diverted my attention away from the article I was planning.

I think it might be time to embrace the name of my website/imprint.

This is not the first Alien related discussion to take place across widespread media since the launch of my website and the publication of the first two Junior Ranger Investigative Club Novels. It’s also not the most hilarious. (That honor goes to the Alien Mummies… I should really do a blog on those little guys.) However, this recent flare up of Drone Conspiracies and UFO speculation comes at an opportune time. The in depth research based article I was planning is taking longer than expected, and I’m still trying to figure out how to make the two announcements I need to make so:

I would like to bring you my first guide book in the form of a Blog… aka a Guide Blog!

So Be prepared for a multi-week serial production I’d like to call

Alienjest Press’s Incomplete Alien Survival Guide

To begin, Every Guide Book should start with long-winded introduction to the author, outlining their experience, celebrating their accolades and accomplishments, and presenting a justifiable answer to the question, “why should I listen to you?”

So. My name is Nathan W. Landrum and I am an alien… enthusiast.

What does that mean?

I collect Alien stories. I watch sci-fi. I can whistle the X-files theme. I own the I Want to Believe Poster which hung on Mulder’s wall. My Grandmother lived in Roswell New Mexico, and I have been to the UFO museum. However, I am not an expert.

In the midst of my time at college, I made the worst mistake of my entire life. I was in college hanging out with my friends while an episode of some early version of Ancient Aliens played. On screen, the man talking was introduced with the title Ufologist. I immediately jumped online, and learned that several ‘universities’ offered short programs which certified one to become a Ufologist, a paranormal researcher, or even a medium. (For a small fee) Some of these were linked, at least graphically, to major State Universities. There were simple certification programs and more advanced programs which required more work but offered diplomas. (For a larger fee.)

I… almost… signed up.

However, the cost was a bit more than I was willing to spend and, more importantly, I was concerned about the effect such a diploma would have on my future job prospects, my Peace Corps Application, and I didn’t to research and write even more papers. It was… the worst mistake I could have made.

Imagine, now I could be a full on, certified, Ufologist.

Sure, these programs still exist. Some of the state-affiliated accredited schools have moved away from offering degrees, (or have sent cease and desist orders to the websites using their emblems, colors and names without their knowledge,) but there are still several places in my search results promising me a Ufology certificate, or even a Ufology Masters and PhD! (For a hefty cost) But most of these are online schools.

Texas A&M is apparently thinking about getting into the game.

But their Extraterrestrial Studies Program is still in its provisional stages. (Read to the end before you make any judgements)

So, there are programs out there, but it’s just not the same. And that leaves me, Nathan W. Landrum, as a hobbiest Ufologist, with no formal certification. Yet I have had experience with U.F.O.s

In February of 2019, while in the Florida Keys, I was out walking when I noticed a strange light hovering amongst the constellation of Orion. It moved closer, growing brighter and brighter. At first, I thought it might be the medical helicopter which frequents the skies over the neighborhood, but it soon drew much closer, without any of the noise and thunder. Pulling out my phone, I tried to document the encounter, however, while the light was so visible to me, it was dark, and every attempt I made to capture it on (digital) ‘film’ was blurry nad washed out.

In January of 2023, I was walking down the same road before the start of a run, when I noticed a massive shape moving through the sky over my right shoulder. (above the tree line. ) It was see-through, but seemed to be one massive shape, stretched and scattered across a wide area, throwing off flashing lights. It most resembled a giant mothership, which was cloaked, but the cloak was failing.

In February of 2022, I was out on a run which I looked up and saw a brilliant light which I thought was a distant plane, until it curved about, turning 180 degrees in less than a second, zipping off in the direction it had come from previously.

Now, It’s possible to dismiss all of these encounters based upon their more probable explanations: (A Drone that I literally followed back to it’s owner’s home, a flock of birds flying south, light reflecting off of their flapping wings in a randomized patter that made them look like one big, flashing, mass, and a firefly just high enough that I mistook it’s light for a plane until the aerial acrobatics.) But where’s the fun in that?

And, these are only a few of my UFO encounters. I’m no stranger to the seemingly hovering object on the horizon which flashes with changing color (Venus or other bright stars, color change caused by the atmosphere) and even some other less easy to describe (and Identify) sightings.

As previously mentioned, My Grandmother lived in Roswell, New Mexico. I used to walk downtown there, stop in the alien themed coffee shops, and take pictures of the alien signs. I've ridden a bike along the UFO Highway in Colorado. I’ve seen Contact, and I’ve been to the Very Large Array. I’ve been steeped in UFO lore and History. I am an alien… enthusiast.

And as such, as times demonstrate an increased need to be prepared, I think it’s time that I share with you, my tips on how to survive when Aliens Exist.

Stay tuned.