theozfiles: July 2021

Sunday, July 25, 2021

Drones, UFOs, UAPs and the wonderful, whimsical world of Leunig

In recent decades one of the primary potential explanations of some UAP reports are UAS – Unmanned Aerial Systems (drones) – or UAV – Unmanned aerial vehicles. The smorgasbord of abbreviations is getting confusing – such as UAP, UAV, UAS. UAS is particularly confusing here in Australia, with it being historically preferred by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), then the main governmental examiner of UFO reports, which they called Unusual Aerial Sightings. The US Pentagon prefers UAP – Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.

The Drive team reports on the drone “wild west” in the US:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/41573/the-strangest-encounters-with-unidentified-aircraft-weve-found-in-the-faas-huge-database

Drones, Drones, Drones everywhere.

I thought of Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig’s 2018 take on a new kind of crowded “Australian Sunrise”. Real Australian birds would be preferred.

Image courtesy of Michael Leunig

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/06/26/australia-buys-triton-drones/733525002/

Leunig further comments in his own way:

All 3 images courtesy of Michael Leunig

On the “aliens are here” theme Leunig has some lovely takes:

Image courtesy of Michael Leunig

Given all the fuss lately about drones, UAPs & UFOs lately I reached out to Michael Leunig.

Hi Michael, always love your work; am a long time reader since the Nation Review days. I'm curious whether Vasco or Mr Curly have encountered UFOs, drones or UAPs to use the preferred Pentagon term. I note non-commercial use is ok and am planning to do a piece on my OZ Files blog re UAPs & drones, so I've zeroed in on your wonderful Drone Patrol Australian Sunrise. Best wishes, Bill Chalker, author of The OZ Files - the Australian UFO Story (1996)

(For the uninformed Vasco Pyjama & Mr Curly are wonderful characters in Michael Leunig's cartoon world, whose travels and correspondence gives us a whimsical but deeply thoughtful perspective on our interesting & strange world. The book "The Curly Pyjama Letters", "Leunig Animated" produced by Bryan Brown and voiced by Sam Neill (some which you can find on that thing called the Internet) and many other treasures will give you an insight into the world of Leunig)

Dear Bill,

Yes indeed, Mr Curly and Vasco have often encountered UAP’s. In most cases, the mysterious objects turn out to be owls, eagles, parrots and finches. On one occasion they were mystified by an object which turned out to be a sock which had been lifted up from a clothes line by a willywilly and thrust into the higher atmosphere. In general terms however, they spend a lot of time looking into the sky which they regard as one big unidentified aerial phenomenon.

Make of it what you will.

With best wishes,

Michael Leunig.

“That device, the Sky”

Image courtesy of Michael Leunig

Thank you indeed Michael for your feedback. That Mr Curly and Vasco see the sky as one big unidentified aerial phenomenon, had me thinking what the Ferret would think or would have done. I can’t say my lifelong interest in UFOs or UAPs was due to to it, but for ages on my college dorm door at the University of New England, while I was doing science, I had the Ferret and “lean & nosey like a ferret” image on it, welcoming visitors.