Here’s something a bit unexpected you might appreciate, with a generous tip of the pasty-filled hat to the ever-mind-expanding Daily Grail.
Basically, the story goes like this: someone called ‘TramStopDan’ (actually Dan Wickham) recently posted up two galleries of scans (set #1 and set #2) of various papers inside a wooden box found abandoned on the side of the road in Asheville, N.C. in 2008.
The box is 29″ by 38″, and most of the drawings are large, heavily informed by a draughtsman’s eye for detail and line and with a few, errm, fairly spectacular pieces. In its brief online life, it has acquired the sort-of-catchy title “The Box of Crazy” (and also “The Ezekiel Box”), as if the person behind it was simply a nutter with a fixation on Ezekiel (which is explicitly referenced a number of times).
However, it turns out the truth is actually far more complicated and sad.
The author was Daniel S. Christiansen from St Petersburg, Florida: he also identifies himself as “Nesna-it-sirhc”, but (perhaps disappointingly) this is not some name given to him by our alien overlords but simply his name spelt backwards (so much for finding a Cipher Mysteries angle on the story *sigh*). He had a sister called Eva who lived back in Denmark: and it seems reasonably likely to me that he was the same Daniel S. Christiansen who was born on 27th November 1904 and died in St Petersburg, Florida on 26th September 1994… so perhaps the box was handed down to a relative who in turn died in 2008, but that’s just a guess.
From the handwritten notes, it seems that a turning point in his life came on 7th July 1977 with what he calls “The Tampa Bay Observation”: this seems to have focused all his previous thoughts about UFO visitations, Ezekiel, and unusual weather patterns into a single, tightly-draughted set of drawings, reaching towards a lucid yet hallucinatory quasi-religious UFO vision:-
And yet, Fox Mulder need not travel down from Washington just yet… it turns out that what Christiansen saw had a surprisingly down-to-earth explanation. On the same day that a tornado travelled across Pasco County, it seems very likely that Christiansen caught sight of something new and visually striking – a cutting-edge laser light art show being projected onto the cloudy skies above St Petersburg Port.
The show was done by avant-garde laser artist Rockne Krebs: the particular one that Christansen saw was probably Krebs’ “Starboard Home on the Range, Part VI”. The story behind the story is here, courtesy of the Tampa Tribune. But nobody has so far posted any images or videos of it online… perhaps there simply aren’t any. Maybe you just had to be there.
Oh, and finally: if you’re a completist as far as Internet coverage of odd phenomena goes, you should also head over to Reddit. But be warned that there’s far less there than the length of the page might initially lead you to believe – just tellin’ ya how it is, don’t shoot the messenger, etc. 😉
Why is this “crazy”?
For that matter, why is it “sad”? Whether it was a product of this laser art projection or not, the guy had an experience that meant a great deal to him, he wrote and drew it, it’s beautiful. The only thing “sad” is the fact that it was discarded so carelessly, being treated first as garbage, and then when found, treated as the product of a diseased mind or, worse, as a carefully constructed fraud or hoax. People discussing this are actually diagnosing Christiansen with various severe mental illnesses based solely on this work, knowing nothing else about him. What’s tragic is people’s attitudes and inability to respect the man and his experience.
Bluejay Young: others called it “crazy” – I called it “sad” simply because it seems likely to me that identifying what he saw as some kind of UFO visitation was simply mistaken. Maybe more will emerge about Daniel S. Christiansen that will give us a clearer picture of what was going on in his life.
If he’d just given us the drawings, without the commentary, I think his art would have been considered a “discovery” – worth exhibiting and collecting. Interesting fusion of 1930s techno and American futuristic comic-book style. Pity he wrote so much, eh?
PS – Nick, is that drawing not upside down?
Gorgeous work of art (steel engraving style?) Nothing simple about it. Much too finely organized and drawn (steel engraving?) to be the product of a “disturbed mind”. It resembles what an experienced draftsman/artist would do after spending much time touring and examining cathedral and museum ceilings.
Note the “coprinicae” shape in the lower right corner. Perhaps there is no ‘upside down/right side up’ because we’re looking at another four-sided marginal drawing? Not quite “down another rabbit-hole”, but close?
I’m 1-dring if the artist may have been on the laser-show’s designer/producer’s payroll? Where did you tell us the box was found (and by whom, and is there any chance that the commentary was written by yet another person)? Same old checklist: whowhatwhenwherehow……
bdid asever!
and why?
I’m focussed on Lyon just now – the script Kircher’s correspondent sent from there; the work of Pillehote the printer, the role of the chief Pharmacist (who sent the first sweet rush plants to England) and now the work of Gaffarel which unites astronomy, Hebrew letters an cryptography.
This also (?) relevant to some script which Reed Johnson (the lamented) commented on back in 2012.
If it is of interest –
Blog called ‘Aquarium of Vulcan’ has pictures from Gaffarel’s book – published by Pilehotte. G also had to retract some of his views to please the theologians.
Bdid1dr
You know Norah Titley’s book?
Norah M Titley, Ni’matnama Manuscript of the Sultans of Mandu: the Sultan’s book of delights, Routledge Studies in South Asia (2005)
Whew, Diane! I haven’t read Titley’s book yet but will be requesting it from my local library.
Yes, there is a resemblance to Reed’s three-dimensional ‘flyover’ of the Nine Rosette’s folio.
Those objects which look like flying saucers are ceiling-mounted light fixtures. So yes, they do help in visually organizing and determining ‘right-side-up’ (as if viewing everything from a balcony).
Some American slang is apparent to me: “Hog-tied” — “If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.”
Would that upside down central figure be the famous stepped pyramid? My earlier references, ‘here and there’, about ‘down another rabbit-hole’ are in regard to Lewis Carroll’s classic “Alice in Wonderland”. The Mad Hatter in particular (mercury poisoning?) I still 1-dr what solution was in that tiny bottle from which Alice drank.
I’ll post this now and will do some follow-up of your references. 🙂
Since the article was published, a lot of information regarding Daniel Christiansen has been discovered. Very briefly, there are some key points. Daniel began drawings regarding an Ezekiel spacecraft and the wheels-within-wheels as early as the 1950’s, when he lived in New Jersey. The drawing posted on this site is just one of many, and it is not upside down. It is the view from below, of a spacecraft. Not a craft flown by aliens though. He combined his religious background with his knowledge of science. He believed some of the important Christian religious figures, may have travelled using spacecraft similar to the one in the Tampa drawing. They wre described as humans, or near-humans, just perhaps more evolved and advanced. The 4 headed beast was mechanical and operated by whoever was flying the craft. The round looking balls, are the wheels-within-wheels mentioned in the book of Ezekiel. They create artificial gravity that control the ship. The small wheels attached to the beasts, allow them to fly as well. He believed that the artificial gravity created by the wheels would push clouds downward, making them resemble a tornado. He was aware that Krebs was trying to create a laser show at the pier, which may have simply drew his attention to the unique shape of the pier and reignited his interest in his spacecraft theories. But these theories were being developed by him for a great portion of his life. He wasn’t a crazy guy at all, just a religious guy that wanted to be able to explain the magical aspects of religion in a scientifically valid way.
Correction: It was Rich Santa Coloma’s “flyover’ of the 9 rosettes page. Reed Johnson posted astrological comparisons with India’s gods and goddesses.
Lately, I’ve had more than a few “waitaminnit” moments since my pneumothorax hospitalization where, without my knowledge, they were injecting morphine & Torodol & Ativan simultaneously with my blood pressure medication. Hindsight reminds me of witch doctors’ use of toad venom and pufferfish toxin to create zombies.
Ricky, a very kind summary of religious fervor which often over-rides the rational thinking of some very bright individuals. In my lifetime and personal experience I have had three of my best friends succumb to mental distress which in more recent years has been categorized as “bipolar disorder”. So, “sad” could be a good and sympathetic review of some very intelligent writers and artists.
Van Gogh would probably not have severed an ear (likely he was hearing an overwhelming “sussuration” tinnitus and possibly severe visual migraines).
So, the “Box of Crazy”s artist may have had these troubles as well as texts published by various ministerial tracts. It wasn’t all that long ago that our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance was amended to include “under God”.
Pingback: The “Box of Crazy,” UFOs, and Ezekiel’s Vision (Part 2) | Journal of a UFO Investigator David Halperin
I don’t do well with pingback and/or the various W W W open discussion pages (which all seem to require ‘passwords’), so I shall congratulate Professor Halperin on his very open-minded and very kind writings. One of my favorite novelists is Tracy Chevalier. You may enjoy reading her “take” on William Blake: “Burning Bright”
It is old norwegian writings there. I can read it. His sister Eva was in denmark, yes. But the writings I believe is norwegian (It was still almost danish at that time) Very peculiar stuff indeed..;) I will try to find out mora about him….
I looked threw a lot of the documents, almost all of them, there are some pretty advanced stuff when it comes to engineering and the gyroscope is specific, would be foolish to write all of this off as a misinterpritated light show, especially how obvious it would be after words the next day that it wasn’t aliens…perhaps he saw something using the lights as a disguise as any intelligent specieces would actually do instead of land in plain site. Clearly it impacted him quit a bit, more then any laser show would have. Like the native Americans seeing our ships sailing to america for the first time, that would be alien like mind blowing but not a planned laser show. Makes no sense.
There is already many scientest that proved eziekle talks about building a temple for a space craft, they built it, there’s a book about it called chariot of the gods, it is a long lived theory.
I think you better check the name b4 u claim the game! U have no idea what a gyroscope is. That is why the one turned on locked up on u…. ४ the disinformation…. U lost a vital component of technology because of ignorance 4 the NSA and CIA you cannot trust algorithms only raw intelligence such as pictures and linguistic data. MORONS REMEMBER BIR TAWAL AND JEBEL UWEINOT……..
R.F. Christian anyone?
Check the blank pages very well. They could have been written with invisible ink (such as lemon juice) Heat them over a lamp bulb to see if anything is revealed
I had Daniel Christiansens box for almost 20 years, I moved into Daniels House when he passed away. The box was only a tenth of what was there. I still have his personal ledger and some other papers. Daniel was heavy into physics. His ledger is quite descriptive. He had built a small machine and had believed he could time travel and had out of body experiences. There is so much more to the story.
You know it looks to me like this was at first an attempt at developing an ad campaign for his roller bearings. The clipping of the ballroom dancers and his notes about the viewers not liking the snakes convince me of this. The world map is sectioned with different points that correspond with the rotational axes of components in the bearing. He was probably looking for points that would align with major cities to create a worldwide sort of “spanning the globe” ad. He was probably taking LSD at the time he saw the tornado (and possibly the laser show in the vicinity) and this, along with the inherent motion of his new kind of bearing, inspired this connection with the “wheel within a wheel” from Ezekiel. Any connection with spacecraft might have been some other thoughts from his hallucinations while using some psychoactive substances.
I believe he was unable to acquire a patent for his “Spacer Bearing” because I don’t think it would be practical in real life, which is sad considering the time and effort involved. I’m not an engineer, but I work with detailed mechanical drawings regularly. When you have a smaller bearing next to a larger one as seen in the design, the smaller bearing will spin faster which causes slippage (unless a method is used to prevent this of course). This in turn will cause premature wear of the bearings. You want bearings to roll smoothly, not rub.
Jessica, could you share the rest of Daniel’s stuff with us?
Yes, if what you claim is true Jessica, a book could be written about him. You should share all you have there with the world. If you are not familiar with scanning documents please ask someone for help, it would be a real nice thing to do and who knows Daniel might have discovered something in between all he drawn/wrote/built. Please consider it. Thanks
Can any of you direct me to links showing more of Daniels story and art work has anyone written a complete book or done a film about him I can see?
Thank you
[email protected]
Jo: as far as I know, there’s no definitive article, book, documentary or film about this. There has been plenty of interesting commentary since I wrote this particular post that adds much more to the story, so it may well be close to the time for me to do a follow-up post on it. 🙂
Jessica please let us inow