Oddities And Mutterings

I’m Ian Vincent, but most folk call me Cat. I used to fight bad weird shit professionally, as a paranormal security consultant and director of Athanor Consulting. I retired from field work in January 2009ce. I’ve also been writing and blogging about magic, mysticism, the occult and edge philosophies. I’m fascinated by everything that does not fit easy categories, Forteana and general weirdness. I also love movies, much SF, some comic books and too many awful puns. …so I ended up with a short but ever-increasing list of folk I was sending all the odd and scary news items I find in my net wanderings and realised I would not only save time by putting them on a blog but I could rant a bit while I was at it. And here I am. The news that catches my eye normally is either Fortean (weird, bizarre, occult) in nature or related to the insane political structures of modern times – and in a world where the most outrageous conspiracy theories are far more believable than the official ‘facts’ our governments proffer, there is a good deal of crossover. But, some might ask, what’s my stance on all this? What do I believe In? I believe that there is no single religious, political or philosophical system that explains everything and is always right – including my own. I believe fanaticism is a major cause of harm in the world, regardless of what the fanatic believes. I believe most if not all of those who seek and gain power are not to be trusted. I *know* very little, other than that assholes come from all races, colours and creeds, and that in a crowded world it’s a good idea to find ways to accommodate our differences rather than war over them. So that’s what you can expect here. A large dollop of cynicism, a touch of optimism and a lot of wonder at a world that never fails to surprise me. And a warning that some of those surprises can bite.