THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
September 28, 2014
www.theparacast.com
The Paracast Explores UFO Photos and Movies with Marc Dantonio
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Why You Should Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large
. It’s easy to send a donation. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. Or use the Donate link on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. You can also send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Marc Dantonio, the chief photo and video analyst for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). Marc has been with MUFON since 1971 and has accumulated years of experience investigating UFO cases. He is also the owner of FX Models, a company that works with CGI and physical models for the entertainment industry as well as defense contractors and others. As a result of his FX work, Marc began collaborating with motion picture special effects guru Doug Trumbull ("2001: A Space Odyssey," Blade Runner," etc.) who has a keen interest in UFOs. Marc is working with Trumbull on UFOTOG building sensor arrays that scan the sky with a variety of gear in an attempt to properly document sighting events.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. We recently completed a major update that makes our community easier to navigate, and social network friendly.
The Illusion of Profit and the Paranormal
By Gene Steinberg
One of the key questions asked about Travis Walton’s UFO abduction experience is whether he somehow became a rich or richer man as the result of exploiting what happened to him. The theory goes that if someone is getting a paycheck, however small, from books, lecture tours, or even selling the movie rights, the whole affair must somehow be suspect.
Of course, it’s also the American dream to become prosperous from one’s labors, even if one is merely taking good advantage of an unexpected situation. So if you happened to have miraculously recovered from a serious illness, I suppose you can provide inspirational talks and books to help others cope with a similar tragedy. Did you invent something new, say a method to enhance online security? You surely deserve to file patents for your innovations, and to profit from the sale of products or services based your invention.
When a scientist or team of scientists makes a new discovery about quantum physics, you expect them to be paid for their research. You don’t rush to accuse them of making things up to increase their bank accounts. Sure, it’s true there are some unscrupulous scientists who will fabricate evidence, or make fanciful claims for profit and notoriety. If they are caught, their careers are toast. You assume most scientists are sincere, even if they don’t choose to investigate certain offbeat subjects in which you’re interested.
Now in the UFO field, it’s not unusual to believe that some people get involved to make a few bucks. They might write books, sell videos, establish YouTube channels, and go on the lecture circuit. Indeed, I did some lecturing on UFOs in the 1970s, serving as a backup for my friend, the late Jim Moseley, who didn’t have the time to accept every gig.
I was affiliated with a lecture bureau, and each booking would mean some sort of honorarium plus travel expenses, hotel lodging and meals. I suppose if I got enough bookings, say every couple of weeks, I might have made a living from it. Otherwise, it was often more trouble than it was worth. True, you hear of best selling authors, or perhaps politicians between jobs, making several hundred thousand dollars for each two-hour lecture. But I do not know of any UFO authors ever reaching such an exalted status. Newly married with a full-time job, I soon realized that the lost pay was seldom replaced by those lecture fees, so I gave it all up.
When it comes to writing a book, it’s perfectly true that royalties can sometimes add up pretty fast. I remember one of my early books back in the 1990s, about AOL believe it or not, that went into several printings, thus producing a handful of decent checks from the publisher before sales inevitably dried up. It was a living.
But the author of an offbeat book is usually lucky to get a few thousand dollars in advances. Some publishers nowadays give you no advance, but may offer a higher royalty rate to compensate.
Now the advance that a writer or artist receives is what the name implies. The publisher or entertainment company estimates the potential for the project, and offers what they consider a reasonable payment with the expectation that sales will be sufficient to cover their costs. Artist or author contracts favor the company, not the individual, with enough terms and conditions to keep the payments as low as possible.
When I was writing computer books, it was curious how sales ended up to be just about sufficient to cover the advance. I wrote for major publishers, and their accounting and marketing departments were really on there ball. Seldom did a book earn out, meaning sales were sufficient to grant me extra payments.
Here’s a secret: When Jim Moseley and Karl Pflock signed a contract for “Shockingly Close to the Truth,” they shared a $4,000 advance. The book never sold enough copies to provide any extra income for its authors. This was at the low end of what I received for a computer-oriented book, but it’s actually quite good for a paranormal title.
Now $4,000 may not seem so bad until you consider someone may spend a year or two of their own time to write and revise the manuscript. Getting that minimum wage job at the local Burger King may be more profitable.
So when I hear that some people involved in writing or lecturing about the paranormal are only doing it to enrich themselves, I only chuckle. Sure it may happen from time to time, but not often enough to earn more than a bare bones living. Consider that the late John Keel, whose book, “The Mothman Prophecies,” was made into a sci-fi film, died in poverty. Selling the movie rights brought his biggest payday, but the money was easily and quickly spent to cover his modest needs.
There’s a discussion over at The Paracast Community Forums suggesting that Travis Walton exploited his abduction experience to earn huge paychecks. His book, “The Walton Experience,” was sold to a movie company, and was later reissued in expanded form as “Fire in the Sky” to coincide with the film. He also continued to lecture, but it’s not at all clear he made a large amount of money from any of these endeavors, since he continued to work over the years at blue collar jobs.
Maybe he hoped the exploit his experience, maybe not. But it’s also clear that you don’t get paid for being interviewed for a radio show or TV documentary, and living large from one’s involvement in paranormal research and writing is a pipe-dream for most people. The fact that some have profited should not necessarily indicate they are all being dishonest.
This doesn’t mean I believe Walton. He seems quite sincere and all, and it’s quite possible something weird happened to him that he believes to be related to a UFO abduction. But I still remain on the fence about the actual cause behind his five-day disappearance.
Still, if someone makes questionable claims, delivering faked evidence, it’s fair to assume that they have motives involved that extend beyond getting one’s 15 minutes. But just trying to earn a living shouldn’t, in and off itself, be sufficient cause to be skeptical about one’s honesty. Do you actually believe a doctor wants you to stay sick because he earns his keep from treating you? I just won’t go there.
Copyright 1999-2014 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
September 28, 2014
www.theparacast.com
The Paracast Explores UFO Photos and Movies with Marc Dantonio
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Why You Should Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large
. It’s easy to send a donation. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. Or use the Donate link on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. You can also send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Marc Dantonio, the chief photo and video analyst for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). Marc has been with MUFON since 1971 and has accumulated years of experience investigating UFO cases. He is also the owner of FX Models, a company that works with CGI and physical models for the entertainment industry as well as defense contractors and others. As a result of his FX work, Marc began collaborating with motion picture special effects guru Doug Trumbull ("2001: A Space Odyssey," Blade Runner," etc.) who has a keen interest in UFOs. Marc is working with Trumbull on UFOTOG building sensor arrays that scan the sky with a variety of gear in an attempt to properly document sighting events.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. We recently completed a major update that makes our community easier to navigate, and social network friendly.
The Illusion of Profit and the Paranormal
By Gene Steinberg
One of the key questions asked about Travis Walton’s UFO abduction experience is whether he somehow became a rich or richer man as the result of exploiting what happened to him. The theory goes that if someone is getting a paycheck, however small, from books, lecture tours, or even selling the movie rights, the whole affair must somehow be suspect.
Of course, it’s also the American dream to become prosperous from one’s labors, even if one is merely taking good advantage of an unexpected situation. So if you happened to have miraculously recovered from a serious illness, I suppose you can provide inspirational talks and books to help others cope with a similar tragedy. Did you invent something new, say a method to enhance online security? You surely deserve to file patents for your innovations, and to profit from the sale of products or services based your invention.
When a scientist or team of scientists makes a new discovery about quantum physics, you expect them to be paid for their research. You don’t rush to accuse them of making things up to increase their bank accounts. Sure, it’s true there are some unscrupulous scientists who will fabricate evidence, or make fanciful claims for profit and notoriety. If they are caught, their careers are toast. You assume most scientists are sincere, even if they don’t choose to investigate certain offbeat subjects in which you’re interested.
Now in the UFO field, it’s not unusual to believe that some people get involved to make a few bucks. They might write books, sell videos, establish YouTube channels, and go on the lecture circuit. Indeed, I did some lecturing on UFOs in the 1970s, serving as a backup for my friend, the late Jim Moseley, who didn’t have the time to accept every gig.
I was affiliated with a lecture bureau, and each booking would mean some sort of honorarium plus travel expenses, hotel lodging and meals. I suppose if I got enough bookings, say every couple of weeks, I might have made a living from it. Otherwise, it was often more trouble than it was worth. True, you hear of best selling authors, or perhaps politicians between jobs, making several hundred thousand dollars for each two-hour lecture. But I do not know of any UFO authors ever reaching such an exalted status. Newly married with a full-time job, I soon realized that the lost pay was seldom replaced by those lecture fees, so I gave it all up.
When it comes to writing a book, it’s perfectly true that royalties can sometimes add up pretty fast. I remember one of my early books back in the 1990s, about AOL believe it or not, that went into several printings, thus producing a handful of decent checks from the publisher before sales inevitably dried up. It was a living.
But the author of an offbeat book is usually lucky to get a few thousand dollars in advances. Some publishers nowadays give you no advance, but may offer a higher royalty rate to compensate.
Now the advance that a writer or artist receives is what the name implies. The publisher or entertainment company estimates the potential for the project, and offers what they consider a reasonable payment with the expectation that sales will be sufficient to cover their costs. Artist or author contracts favor the company, not the individual, with enough terms and conditions to keep the payments as low as possible.
When I was writing computer books, it was curious how sales ended up to be just about sufficient to cover the advance. I wrote for major publishers, and their accounting and marketing departments were really on there ball. Seldom did a book earn out, meaning sales were sufficient to grant me extra payments.
Here’s a secret: When Jim Moseley and Karl Pflock signed a contract for “Shockingly Close to the Truth,” they shared a $4,000 advance. The book never sold enough copies to provide any extra income for its authors. This was at the low end of what I received for a computer-oriented book, but it’s actually quite good for a paranormal title.
Now $4,000 may not seem so bad until you consider someone may spend a year or two of their own time to write and revise the manuscript. Getting that minimum wage job at the local Burger King may be more profitable.
So when I hear that some people involved in writing or lecturing about the paranormal are only doing it to enrich themselves, I only chuckle. Sure it may happen from time to time, but not often enough to earn more than a bare bones living. Consider that the late John Keel, whose book, “The Mothman Prophecies,” was made into a sci-fi film, died in poverty. Selling the movie rights brought his biggest payday, but the money was easily and quickly spent to cover his modest needs.
There’s a discussion over at The Paracast Community Forums suggesting that Travis Walton exploited his abduction experience to earn huge paychecks. His book, “The Walton Experience,” was sold to a movie company, and was later reissued in expanded form as “Fire in the Sky” to coincide with the film. He also continued to lecture, but it’s not at all clear he made a large amount of money from any of these endeavors, since he continued to work over the years at blue collar jobs.
Maybe he hoped the exploit his experience, maybe not. But it’s also clear that you don’t get paid for being interviewed for a radio show or TV documentary, and living large from one’s involvement in paranormal research and writing is a pipe-dream for most people. The fact that some have profited should not necessarily indicate they are all being dishonest.
This doesn’t mean I believe Walton. He seems quite sincere and all, and it’s quite possible something weird happened to him that he believes to be related to a UFO abduction. But I still remain on the fence about the actual cause behind his five-day disappearance.
Still, if someone makes questionable claims, delivering faked evidence, it’s fair to assume that they have motives involved that extend beyond getting one’s 15 minutes. But just trying to earn a living shouldn’t, in and off itself, be sufficient cause to be skeptical about one’s honesty. Do you actually believe a doctor wants you to stay sick because he earns his keep from treating you? I just won’t go there.
Copyright 1999-2014 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!