Written in 1970 by West Virginia Ufologist Gray Barker, The Silver Bridge was the first book ever written on the mysterious Mothman creature, and still one of the best. Barker was the first researcher on the scene of both the Flatwoods Monster and Mothman cases. Known for his eloquent writing style, Barker became nationally famous for his seminal book They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers, which set the standard for reportage of the infamous Men In Black. In The Silver Bridge, Barker explores the murky psychological depths of life in WV during the Mothman era of the late 1960s. This book was originally printed in small quantities and hence became very rare, fetching enormous prices. Now, for the first time, it is being made widely available to the general public. Inside, one finds many intriguing details about Mothman that previously escaped attention. This 2008 edition features new introductions by noted paranormal researchers Allen Greenfield, James Moseley, and Andy Colvin.
Andy Colvin is a West Coast artist, photographer, and writer who has been called "his generation's Charles Fort," due to his intensive documentation of synchronicities in relation to investigative research (i.e., "synchromysticism" or "synchroconspiracy"). Colvin's often controversial theories have made him a popular speaker on venues like Coast to Coast AM, The Paracast, and PBS, and have gained him a dedicated following. Colvin currently co-hosts the popular conspiracy show, "That Was the Month That Wasn't," which examines how the media blends stories to subconsciously "manufacture consent" in the public mind. Following in the footsteps of Fortean author John A. Keel, Colvin has blazed a 21st Century trail of investigation into mysteries that have plagued mankind for centuries, such as UFOs, creature entities, magic, and the creative workings of the human mind. Colvin's approach is unique in that it blends a background of genuine paranormal experience with decades of research into political science, history, media behavior, and social psychology. His understanding of art and symbology has, at times, allowed Colvin to connect dots that previously escaped attention.
In the 1960s, on a West Virginia backroad, Colvin's neighborhood was hit by a series of mysterious phenomena, such as exotic flying craft, Men in Black, and the intriguing entity now known as "Mothman." Following these encounters, Colvin found that he could draw, sing, and take pictures, and that he had a photographic memory. He was recognized as a prodigy, and was eventually offered a scholarship to Harvard University. While in college, Colvin broke ground in several then-new disciplines, such as guerilla art, performance art, and "shamanic conceptual" art. In the early 1980s, Colvin made a splash in the New York art world by taking on the persona of "Whiz," a practitioner of "collaborative art." This unique approach allowed Colvin to actually work in some manner with several notable artists.
While attending graduate school at the Univ. of Texas at Austin, Colvin helped found U.T.'s celebrated Transmedia Dept. as well as the Austin Film Society, an organization now credited with bringing commercial filmmaking to Texas. In 1985, Colvin used his tuition grant money to purchase the only 8mm camcorder then available in town, becoming the first filmmaker in Austin to shoot in the new format. His ensuing documentation of the lives of local "slackers" influenced the seminal cult hit that defined Generation-X, "Slacker" - a project for which Colvin helped raise funds and equipment. Colvin's band, "Ed Hall," appeared in the film and on the soundtrack.
Following graduate school, Colvin worked on Hollywood films, toured with his experimental troupe, The Interdimensional Vortex League (once named America's "most underground band" by Europe's hip arts magazine, Blitz), and began making small, ethnographic documentaries about unusual tribes, subcultures, and personalities. His 25-year study of modern Texans, "Multislack," is slated for production in 2012.
Colvin's work has been seen or heard in all 50 states, and in several foreign countries. His writing has appeared in various magazines, including Paranoia, Inside the Grassy Knoll, The Stranger, and D'Art, the arts journal for the Church of the Subgenius. Colvin's unique career has been studded with various mind-blowing, synchronistic events, some of which allowed him to study with, or work with, some of the greatest creative minds of the 20th Century, including Nam June Paik, Lee Friedlander, Keith Haring, Dennis Hopper, David Lynch, Robert Anton Wilson, Laurie Anderson, Daniel Johnston, Vito Acconci, Bruce Bickford, and the Butthole Surfers.
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