THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
January 31, 2016
www.theparacast.com
The IUFOC and the State of UFO Research Discussed on The Paracast
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.
SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! We have another radio show, and for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast without the network ads, and chat rooms when you sign up for The Paracast+. NEW! We’ve added an RSS feed for fast updates of the latest episodes and we give free ebooks for long-term subscriptions. We’ve just launched The Paracast+ Video Channel. Check out our new “Lifetime” membership! For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
This Week's Episode: The 2016 IUFOC features such luminaries as Jacques Vallee, Nick Pope, Nick Redfern, Douglas Trumball, and Chris Rutkowski. That’s a lot of firepower for one UFO convention. Discussing the event, the state of UFO research and other hot topics, is Alejandro Rojas, from convention sponsors OpenMinds.tv. He’ll also talk about the situation at MUFON and what he might do in the unlikely event he became director of that organization. Alejandro is also host for Open Minds UFO Radio, and emcee for the International UFO Congress. He is also a blogger for the Huffington Post.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
OpenMinds: OpenMinds
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers on January 31: Gene and Chris continue the discussion about the forthcoming 2016 International UFO Congress, featured in this week’s episode of The Paracast. Chris cites the presence of movie special effects wizard Douglas Trumball. We talk about the development of a new telescope with a concave lens, rather than convex as with traditional telescopes, which may actually be able to detect antimatter. We aren’t suggesting dilithium crystals, the stuff of warp drive propulsion in Star Trek, is poised to become a reality. Perhaps this new scheme will allow science to detect the presence of an alternate reality where everything is the opposite of our reality. Gene and Chris also talk about the ongoing efforts, from UFOData and other initiatives, to scientifically examine the UFO mystery and provide results that can survive peer review. The discussion continues with news of the 10th anniversary of The P aracast, and ongoing research into the recent wave of cattle mutilations.
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.
A Caller From an Alternate Reality — Not!
By Gene Steinberg
While taping an episode of my other radio show, The Tech Night Owl LIVE, I noticed the office phone was ringing. Normally I wouldn’t answer — the show must go on — but I noticed the name of an well-known insurance company in the Caller ID.
So the guest was talking and I answered — with the mic off — attempting to multitask. It wasn’t so dificult. In the old days, during the time I spent as a radio disk jockey, I’d frequently have to field calls from listeners while trying to sound bright and bubbly on the air.
Well, the person at the other end of the call claimed to represent that named insurance company, and wanted to speak to Mrs. Steinberg. When I asked why, he said he was calling about an auto accident she had last summer.
Understand that my wife hasn’t been present in a car, as driver or passenger, which has been involved in an accident in many years. She hasn’t even driven a car for quite a while because of vision problems even though she still has a license. I conveyed this information to the caller, and asked what car she was allegedly driving.
When he mentioned a Chevrolet Malibu, it made the whole affair doubly curious, or humorous. We’ve never owned or rented such a vehicle, ever. He also claimed that she was represented by an insurance company we’ve never dealt with.
In case you’re wondering, the call seemed genuine enough, and the caller sounded genuinely confused when I explained he was contacting the wrong person. But he had my wife’s name correct, and how did he get my phone number since it’s not listed and not published anywhere that I know about?
Was he using some special database of customers of different insurance companies? Was somebody playing a joke on him? Was it a simple mistake, or a convoluted effort at identity theft? I wouldn’t care to guess, but I did check the number listed in the Caller ID, and it was one used by that insurance company.
Now the caller never actually apologized for his mistake, nor was he able to explain how he got everything so wrong. So I ended the call and got back to business.
The episode was little more than a curious anecdote in the scheme of things. I would presume nothing sinister was involved, unless that identity theft theory is correct.
Regardless, as I thought about it a few hours later, my mind wandered aimlessly to the theory of alternate realities, the possibly that there is not one Earth but many.
As I’ve said previously, this concept has received lots of play in sci-fi and comic books. The second season of the CW superhero show, “The Flash,” makes extensive use of the concept of an Earth 2, where there are rough counterparts to the characters on Earth 1.
So we have last year’s villain, who was essentially wiped out of existence via a time travel gimmick — his ancestor took his own life to save his friends — is back in season 2. This time, however, his character exists in a gray area, someone who is ostensibly well meaning, but will take moral shortcuts, or follow the dictates of an evildoer, when forced to cooperate to save a family member.
I don’t want to make it any more confusing than it already is.
Some years back, another sci-fi show, “Fringe,” had an improbable story arc about an alternate Earth with counterparts to the characters on “our” Earth, also with different personalities.
The possibilities are all-too-obvious, but it’s fun to see how it plays out. The characters may travel across realities, or dimensions, via some kind of weird contraption or by taking advantage of some sort of portal, warped space or dimensional rift, or maybe it’s all about thinking “good” or “proper” thoughts to commence the transport process. In “The Flash,” if you’re the fastest man alive, all bets are off. It’s based on a comic book after all.
Regardless, is it possible that our reality occasionally meshes with another, that you might see into that reality, or have direct encounters with it? Would that explain the appearance of UFOs and strange creatures that are not otherwise part of our own reality? What if what we see isn’t really here at all, but is something observed through a window into this other place?
So many possibilities, and obviously we can’t prove any of it. But I thought about that, if only for a moment, after receiving that curious phone call. It was fuel to imagine a reality where the wife of another Gene Steinberg drove a Chevrolet Malibu that was involved in a fender bender, and thus one of the insurance companies was calling to get more information.
I realize some experiencers make similarly outrageous claims with even less to go on. Or perhaps they, too, receive a curious phone call that ought to be a wrong number, but maybe, just maybe, it’s not. Or perhaps they see something in the sky, discover someone or something strange knocking on their door, or showing up in their bedrooms at midnight.
Understand I do not for a moment believe that this clearly mistaken phone call was made from another reality. There are loads of reasons why someone might have screwed up. Or someone, with access to my phone number, was playing a prank of some sort. But what a curious prank.
Perhaps it was just an attempt at identity theft after all. I’ve received phone calls from people claiming to represent Microsoft, who want to repair my Windows computer — for a price. Of course, when I play along with the joke, and tell them that I use a Mac, there is a period of silence before they hang up. It’s strange that they do not claim to represent Apple.
I’ve even received calls from people with a clear foreign accent that assert they are from the IRS, that someone will be arriving in 30 minutes to serve an arrest warrant. It’s a well-known scam, where the caller says they’ll call off the authorities if you only pay them what you owe via your debit card.
But the next time I receive a phone call from someone who clearly got the wrong number, maybe I should take it a little more seriously.
Copyright 1999-2016 The Paracast LLC. 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!
January 31, 2016
www.theparacast.com
The IUFOC and the State of UFO Research Discussed on The Paracast
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.
SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! We have another radio show, and for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast without the network ads, and chat rooms when you sign up for The Paracast+. NEW! We’ve added an RSS feed for fast updates of the latest episodes and we give free ebooks for long-term subscriptions. We’ve just launched The Paracast+ Video Channel. Check out our new “Lifetime” membership! For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
This Week's Episode: The 2016 IUFOC features such luminaries as Jacques Vallee, Nick Pope, Nick Redfern, Douglas Trumball, and Chris Rutkowski. That’s a lot of firepower for one UFO convention. Discussing the event, the state of UFO research and other hot topics, is Alejandro Rojas, from convention sponsors OpenMinds.tv. He’ll also talk about the situation at MUFON and what he might do in the unlikely event he became director of that organization. Alejandro is also host for Open Minds UFO Radio, and emcee for the International UFO Congress. He is also a blogger for the Huffington Post.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
OpenMinds: OpenMinds
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers on January 31: Gene and Chris continue the discussion about the forthcoming 2016 International UFO Congress, featured in this week’s episode of The Paracast. Chris cites the presence of movie special effects wizard Douglas Trumball. We talk about the development of a new telescope with a concave lens, rather than convex as with traditional telescopes, which may actually be able to detect antimatter. We aren’t suggesting dilithium crystals, the stuff of warp drive propulsion in Star Trek, is poised to become a reality. Perhaps this new scheme will allow science to detect the presence of an alternate reality where everything is the opposite of our reality. Gene and Chris also talk about the ongoing efforts, from UFOData and other initiatives, to scientifically examine the UFO mystery and provide results that can survive peer review. The discussion continues with news of the 10th anniversary of The P aracast, and ongoing research into the recent wave of cattle mutilations.
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.
A Caller From an Alternate Reality — Not!
By Gene Steinberg
While taping an episode of my other radio show, The Tech Night Owl LIVE, I noticed the office phone was ringing. Normally I wouldn’t answer — the show must go on — but I noticed the name of an well-known insurance company in the Caller ID.
So the guest was talking and I answered — with the mic off — attempting to multitask. It wasn’t so dificult. In the old days, during the time I spent as a radio disk jockey, I’d frequently have to field calls from listeners while trying to sound bright and bubbly on the air.
Well, the person at the other end of the call claimed to represent that named insurance company, and wanted to speak to Mrs. Steinberg. When I asked why, he said he was calling about an auto accident she had last summer.
Understand that my wife hasn’t been present in a car, as driver or passenger, which has been involved in an accident in many years. She hasn’t even driven a car for quite a while because of vision problems even though she still has a license. I conveyed this information to the caller, and asked what car she was allegedly driving.
When he mentioned a Chevrolet Malibu, it made the whole affair doubly curious, or humorous. We’ve never owned or rented such a vehicle, ever. He also claimed that she was represented by an insurance company we’ve never dealt with.
In case you’re wondering, the call seemed genuine enough, and the caller sounded genuinely confused when I explained he was contacting the wrong person. But he had my wife’s name correct, and how did he get my phone number since it’s not listed and not published anywhere that I know about?
Was he using some special database of customers of different insurance companies? Was somebody playing a joke on him? Was it a simple mistake, or a convoluted effort at identity theft? I wouldn’t care to guess, but I did check the number listed in the Caller ID, and it was one used by that insurance company.
Now the caller never actually apologized for his mistake, nor was he able to explain how he got everything so wrong. So I ended the call and got back to business.
The episode was little more than a curious anecdote in the scheme of things. I would presume nothing sinister was involved, unless that identity theft theory is correct.
Regardless, as I thought about it a few hours later, my mind wandered aimlessly to the theory of alternate realities, the possibly that there is not one Earth but many.
As I’ve said previously, this concept has received lots of play in sci-fi and comic books. The second season of the CW superhero show, “The Flash,” makes extensive use of the concept of an Earth 2, where there are rough counterparts to the characters on Earth 1.
So we have last year’s villain, who was essentially wiped out of existence via a time travel gimmick — his ancestor took his own life to save his friends — is back in season 2. This time, however, his character exists in a gray area, someone who is ostensibly well meaning, but will take moral shortcuts, or follow the dictates of an evildoer, when forced to cooperate to save a family member.
I don’t want to make it any more confusing than it already is.
Some years back, another sci-fi show, “Fringe,” had an improbable story arc about an alternate Earth with counterparts to the characters on “our” Earth, also with different personalities.
The possibilities are all-too-obvious, but it’s fun to see how it plays out. The characters may travel across realities, or dimensions, via some kind of weird contraption or by taking advantage of some sort of portal, warped space or dimensional rift, or maybe it’s all about thinking “good” or “proper” thoughts to commence the transport process. In “The Flash,” if you’re the fastest man alive, all bets are off. It’s based on a comic book after all.
Regardless, is it possible that our reality occasionally meshes with another, that you might see into that reality, or have direct encounters with it? Would that explain the appearance of UFOs and strange creatures that are not otherwise part of our own reality? What if what we see isn’t really here at all, but is something observed through a window into this other place?
So many possibilities, and obviously we can’t prove any of it. But I thought about that, if only for a moment, after receiving that curious phone call. It was fuel to imagine a reality where the wife of another Gene Steinberg drove a Chevrolet Malibu that was involved in a fender bender, and thus one of the insurance companies was calling to get more information.
I realize some experiencers make similarly outrageous claims with even less to go on. Or perhaps they, too, receive a curious phone call that ought to be a wrong number, but maybe, just maybe, it’s not. Or perhaps they see something in the sky, discover someone or something strange knocking on their door, or showing up in their bedrooms at midnight.
Understand I do not for a moment believe that this clearly mistaken phone call was made from another reality. There are loads of reasons why someone might have screwed up. Or someone, with access to my phone number, was playing a prank of some sort. But what a curious prank.
Perhaps it was just an attempt at identity theft after all. I’ve received phone calls from people claiming to represent Microsoft, who want to repair my Windows computer — for a price. Of course, when I play along with the joke, and tell them that I use a Mac, there is a period of silence before they hang up. It’s strange that they do not claim to represent Apple.
I’ve even received calls from people with a clear foreign accent that assert they are from the IRS, that someone will be arriving in 30 minutes to serve an arrest warrant. It’s a well-known scam, where the caller says they’ll call off the authorities if you only pay them what you owe via your debit card.
But the next time I receive a phone call from someone who clearly got the wrong number, maybe I should take it a little more seriously.
Copyright 1999-2016 The Paracast LLC. 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!
