THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
April 16, 2011
The Paracast Searches for the Chupacabra
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (Central Time) on the GCN radio network.
The Paracast Humbly Requests Your Donations: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network. So we hope you'll be willing 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. No contribution is too small (or too large
. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, right below our logo. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Let's Bring The Paracast to Your City! Last summer, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. Now we want your help to add more 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 directly. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
You Can Now Order The Official Paracast T-Shirt: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and a collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt, just pay a visit to our new online store at Welcome to The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We now also offer a lineup of other premium merchandise featuring The Paracast logo.
Sunday, April 17, 2011: 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 hosts interview long-time researchers in the field, to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join us as we explore the realms of the known and unknown, and hear great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Benjamin Radford, an editor for Skeptical Inquirer, and author of "œTracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore." Are reports of such creatures real, fanciful --” what?
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Benjamin Radford's Site: www.RadfordBooks.com
Reminder: Don't forget to visit our always-active Discussion Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal (and note our new Internet address): The Paracast Community Forums.
Why Do They Hate Those Shades of Gray?
By Gene Steinberg
First off, I’m not writing about the late UFO researcher, Gray Barker, whose live was featured in a documentary entitled “Shades of Gray.” My definition of “shades of gray” in this column will encompass the variations of opinion you’ll find about almost every subject imaginable. At the same time, far too many people have this “if you’re not with me, you’re against me” attitude.
What this means is that, in the UFO field, some expect you to be in full support of contactees, abductees, and people who claim to channel communications from ET. If you’re not with the program, you’re a debunker pure and simple. It is hard to explain to some of the more extreme UFO advocates that it’s not an either or proposition.
When it comes to abductees, for example, I don’t think you can assume that all claims that appear genuine must be the result of some sort of alien intervention. It’s quite possible some people are dreaming, or suffering from a complex sort of mental instability. Others may be interpreting a strange event in accordance with the popular culture of the times. So right now, it’s gray aliens from another star system. In the middle ages, they’d be reporting mysterious “Earth” creatures that are magical in nature. The actual event., however, may have a totally different and unknown cause.
Add to that the sensible prospect that, if UFOs are visitors from out there, they might indeed want to sample the local populace, animal and human, to get DNA samples and other evidence to evaluate in their onboard laboratories, or when they get home, wherever that might be. Perhaps abducting a human is part of their schooling. We dissect frogs in elementary school and high school, and they capture humans, go through the usual battery of tests, and dump them off to fend for themselves. They might even engage in a little mind control to divert attention from what’s really happening.
Of course, that takes you to the logical contradiction: If our visitors are so advanced that they can travel among the stars with reasonable speed and safety, why would they use fairly primitive instruments to examine the natives? And if they are cloaking the memories of an abductee, are they so foolish to allow a simple hypnotic trance to reveal those deeply suppressed memories?
It it’s happening, the description of the event may be a highly simplified version of the actual encounter. I’ll leave the reader to ponder where that possibility might lead.
When it comes to debates, and outright controversies, the gray area of moderation and balance seems to barely exist. For example, I have written over and over again that I take a middle-of-the-road viewpoint about the recent UFO abduction flame wars that you’ve heard about in the past year or so. I concede the possibility that those who favor one side or the other, unequivocally, might both be wrong. At the same time, there may be a small or fairly substantial kernel of truth between these well-known extremes.
When I say that, however, some people whom I honestly believe aren’t reading the words carefully enough, assume that I must be a supporter of the other side of the issue. Despite being corrected over and over again, they will cling to their false beliefs. As I said, it’s either/or to them. There is no balance.
When it comes to the UFOs themselves, again a fairly sizeable number of the reported sightings, even some of the well-known ones, may be explained away by conventional means. At the same time, there appears to be a very real phenomenon afoot that we do not yet understand. On the other hand, far too many people have already made up their minds, and there’s no room to debate the issue. It’s yes or no, and there’s no possibility of truth to be found in the vast gray areas where the signal might truly break free from the noise.
While my views about the paranormal have evolved over the years, I have never believed in the all or nothing concept. If some of you can’t see the distinction, that’s fine. But I’m not about to debate the issue endlessly.
I’m looking for facts and reason, such as both can be found, and I’m not interested in participating in the tabloid wars. That’s why The Paracast has never taken that approach. These mysteries are sensational enough without the need for embellishment and shouting.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2011 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!
April 16, 2011
The Paracast Searches for the Chupacabra
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (Central Time) on the GCN radio network.
The Paracast Humbly Requests Your Donations: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network. So we hope you'll be willing 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. No contribution is too small (or too large
. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, right below our logo. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.Attention U.S. Listeners: Let's Bring The Paracast to Your City! Last summer, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. Now we want your help to add more 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 directly. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
You Can Now Order The Official Paracast T-Shirt: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and a collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt, just pay a visit to our new online store at Welcome to The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We now also offer a lineup of other premium merchandise featuring The Paracast logo.
Sunday, April 17, 2011: 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 hosts interview long-time researchers in the field, to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join us as we explore the realms of the known and unknown, and hear great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Benjamin Radford, an editor for Skeptical Inquirer, and author of "œTracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore." Are reports of such creatures real, fanciful --” what?
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Benjamin Radford's Site: www.RadfordBooks.com
Reminder: Don't forget to visit our always-active Discussion Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal (and note our new Internet address): The Paracast Community Forums.
Why Do They Hate Those Shades of Gray?
By Gene Steinberg
First off, I’m not writing about the late UFO researcher, Gray Barker, whose live was featured in a documentary entitled “Shades of Gray.” My definition of “shades of gray” in this column will encompass the variations of opinion you’ll find about almost every subject imaginable. At the same time, far too many people have this “if you’re not with me, you’re against me” attitude.
What this means is that, in the UFO field, some expect you to be in full support of contactees, abductees, and people who claim to channel communications from ET. If you’re not with the program, you’re a debunker pure and simple. It is hard to explain to some of the more extreme UFO advocates that it’s not an either or proposition.
When it comes to abductees, for example, I don’t think you can assume that all claims that appear genuine must be the result of some sort of alien intervention. It’s quite possible some people are dreaming, or suffering from a complex sort of mental instability. Others may be interpreting a strange event in accordance with the popular culture of the times. So right now, it’s gray aliens from another star system. In the middle ages, they’d be reporting mysterious “Earth” creatures that are magical in nature. The actual event., however, may have a totally different and unknown cause.
Add to that the sensible prospect that, if UFOs are visitors from out there, they might indeed want to sample the local populace, animal and human, to get DNA samples and other evidence to evaluate in their onboard laboratories, or when they get home, wherever that might be. Perhaps abducting a human is part of their schooling. We dissect frogs in elementary school and high school, and they capture humans, go through the usual battery of tests, and dump them off to fend for themselves. They might even engage in a little mind control to divert attention from what’s really happening.
Of course, that takes you to the logical contradiction: If our visitors are so advanced that they can travel among the stars with reasonable speed and safety, why would they use fairly primitive instruments to examine the natives? And if they are cloaking the memories of an abductee, are they so foolish to allow a simple hypnotic trance to reveal those deeply suppressed memories?
It it’s happening, the description of the event may be a highly simplified version of the actual encounter. I’ll leave the reader to ponder where that possibility might lead.
When it comes to debates, and outright controversies, the gray area of moderation and balance seems to barely exist. For example, I have written over and over again that I take a middle-of-the-road viewpoint about the recent UFO abduction flame wars that you’ve heard about in the past year or so. I concede the possibility that those who favor one side or the other, unequivocally, might both be wrong. At the same time, there may be a small or fairly substantial kernel of truth between these well-known extremes.
When I say that, however, some people whom I honestly believe aren’t reading the words carefully enough, assume that I must be a supporter of the other side of the issue. Despite being corrected over and over again, they will cling to their false beliefs. As I said, it’s either/or to them. There is no balance.
When it comes to the UFOs themselves, again a fairly sizeable number of the reported sightings, even some of the well-known ones, may be explained away by conventional means. At the same time, there appears to be a very real phenomenon afoot that we do not yet understand. On the other hand, far too many people have already made up their minds, and there’s no room to debate the issue. It’s yes or no, and there’s no possibility of truth to be found in the vast gray areas where the signal might truly break free from the noise.
While my views about the paranormal have evolved over the years, I have never believed in the all or nothing concept. If some of you can’t see the distinction, that’s fine. But I’m not about to debate the issue endlessly.
I’m looking for facts and reason, such as both can be found, and I’m not interested in participating in the tabloid wars. That’s why The Paracast has never taken that approach. These mysteries are sensational enough without the need for embellishment and shouting.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2011 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!