THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
August 27, 2011
Lunar Mysteries Explored on The Paracast
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (Central Time) on the GCN radio network.
Here's How You Can Help The Paracast: 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: Help Us 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. 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!
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, sporting our brand new logo, 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, August 28, 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 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 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 a special lunar roundtable, exploring the incredible mysteries on the Moon, and why we haven'€™t returned. Our guests include researcher Don Ecker, a forum moderator for The Paracast, and host of the Dark Matters radio show, and author, publisher and world traveler David Hatcher Childress.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: http://www.ourstrangeplanet.com/
Don Ecker's Site: http://darkmattersradio.com/
David Hatcher Childress' Site: http://adventuresunlimitedpress.com
Reminder: Reminder: Don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal:https://www.theparacast.com/forum/.
Where I Stand, a Visit to Bizarroland, and Other Matters
By Gene Steinberg
Just as a point of history, Bizarro is a comic book character that was envisioned by creators Otto Binder and George Papp as a “mirror image” of Superman. Now I knew Binder slightly. He was a friend of Ray Palmer, who was co-founder of Fate and a notable figure in early UFO research.
As to Bizarro, I thought about having one’s viewpoints fed back to them not just in mirrored fashion, but in the fashion of a broken mirror, after a couple of days of correspondence with the members of a small group who are evidently interested in UFO abductions. The interaction came after my co-host, Chris O’Brien, made a funny crack about a certain abductee having an OCD issue for reasons not worth mentioning here.
It appears that some of the members of this Bizarro group concluded that I had actually made the statement in question, though I like to think that our two voices are instantly distinguishable. When I made that correction, I was told that I had failed to keep my co-host in lock step. Lock step for what?
I have never directed any of the co-hosts of The Paracast to hold a particular point of view. Within the usual family friendly constraints of traditional radio, they are allowed to speak their minds, even if they disagree with me. Certainly they have disagreed with each other, but that’s the price of having an open discussion that covers an awful lot of ground each and every week.
Well, that particular Bizarro discussion went far beyond that singular phrase, when I was accused of being the mouthpiece of a UFO researcher who believed that ET was abducting humans to create a hybrid race. When I pointed out that I do NOT buy the concept, I was told I was just repeating that researcher’s talking points. If you are confused about what any of this means, join the club. It didn’t make sense to me either. As I said, Bizarro.
Try as I might, there was no way to communicate with this crowd. Simple words, expressed in a straightforward fashion, were distorted to mean something totally different. In frustration, I sent one of these people a link to an online course on remedial reading.
Someone once used the term, “you can’t argue with idiots,” but the real phrase is “never argue with a fool,” widely attributed to Mark Twain. But I’m not about to suggest these people are either fools or idiots. However, they are so wedded to a particular set of beliefs that it’s impossible to talk sense to them. Worse, they do not seem to understand opinions aren’t necessarily either/or affairs, that there are many shades of gray that define the positions one expresses.
But I do agree with the concept about not arguing with people who will not listen. Most of the members of that group are now on my email “blacklist,” meaning their messages will no longer enter my mailbox. The server’s spam and virus protection hardware will automatically trash those messages.
If you’re still with me, perhaps you want to know just where I do stand on UFO abductions. Well, this is a complicated issue. Clearly lots of people are having harrowing experiences with what they perceive to be alien intruders. Some of these cases might have a cause that is psychological in nature, while other episodes might truly represent interactions with strange creatures. Regardless of the cause, these situations cry out for investigation, most likely by mental health practitioners who are sensitive to the issues involved.
Now this past week, we observed the passing of someone very well known to people who are interested in UFO abductions, Budd Hopkins, after a long illness. An abstract artist by profession, Hopkins was drawn into the UFO mystery early on. He had written several books on the subject, focusing on people who claimed to have been kidnapped by entities thought to be aliens. His stature in both the artistic and paranormal worlds merited a lengthy obituary in The New York Times
Whatever you believe about Hopkins or the value of his work, by every indication he was utterly sincere in what he did. One hopes that his research records will soon be examined by others with the eye towards furthering his work, and, one hopes, getting a better handle on what’s going on to the vast number of people who report abductions.
Now I didn’t know Hopkins all that well. He appeared on The Paracast on several occasions, I talked with him on the phone a few times over the years, and had occasional email interactions. But he always came across as a complete gentleman. He will be missed, and I send my sincere sympathies to his friends and family.
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!
August 27, 2011
Lunar Mysteries Explored on The Paracast
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (Central Time) on the GCN radio network.
Here's How You Can Help The Paracast: 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: Help Us 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. 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!
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, sporting our brand new logo, 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, August 28, 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 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 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 a special lunar roundtable, exploring the incredible mysteries on the Moon, and why we haven'€™t returned. Our guests include researcher Don Ecker, a forum moderator for The Paracast, and host of the Dark Matters radio show, and author, publisher and world traveler David Hatcher Childress.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: http://www.ourstrangeplanet.com/
Don Ecker's Site: http://darkmattersradio.com/
David Hatcher Childress' Site: http://adventuresunlimitedpress.com
Reminder: Reminder: Don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal:https://www.theparacast.com/forum/.
Where I Stand, a Visit to Bizarroland, and Other Matters
By Gene Steinberg
Just as a point of history, Bizarro is a comic book character that was envisioned by creators Otto Binder and George Papp as a “mirror image” of Superman. Now I knew Binder slightly. He was a friend of Ray Palmer, who was co-founder of Fate and a notable figure in early UFO research.
As to Bizarro, I thought about having one’s viewpoints fed back to them not just in mirrored fashion, but in the fashion of a broken mirror, after a couple of days of correspondence with the members of a small group who are evidently interested in UFO abductions. The interaction came after my co-host, Chris O’Brien, made a funny crack about a certain abductee having an OCD issue for reasons not worth mentioning here.
It appears that some of the members of this Bizarro group concluded that I had actually made the statement in question, though I like to think that our two voices are instantly distinguishable. When I made that correction, I was told that I had failed to keep my co-host in lock step. Lock step for what?
I have never directed any of the co-hosts of The Paracast to hold a particular point of view. Within the usual family friendly constraints of traditional radio, they are allowed to speak their minds, even if they disagree with me. Certainly they have disagreed with each other, but that’s the price of having an open discussion that covers an awful lot of ground each and every week.
Well, that particular Bizarro discussion went far beyond that singular phrase, when I was accused of being the mouthpiece of a UFO researcher who believed that ET was abducting humans to create a hybrid race. When I pointed out that I do NOT buy the concept, I was told I was just repeating that researcher’s talking points. If you are confused about what any of this means, join the club. It didn’t make sense to me either. As I said, Bizarro.
Try as I might, there was no way to communicate with this crowd. Simple words, expressed in a straightforward fashion, were distorted to mean something totally different. In frustration, I sent one of these people a link to an online course on remedial reading.
Someone once used the term, “you can’t argue with idiots,” but the real phrase is “never argue with a fool,” widely attributed to Mark Twain. But I’m not about to suggest these people are either fools or idiots. However, they are so wedded to a particular set of beliefs that it’s impossible to talk sense to them. Worse, they do not seem to understand opinions aren’t necessarily either/or affairs, that there are many shades of gray that define the positions one expresses.
But I do agree with the concept about not arguing with people who will not listen. Most of the members of that group are now on my email “blacklist,” meaning their messages will no longer enter my mailbox. The server’s spam and virus protection hardware will automatically trash those messages.
If you’re still with me, perhaps you want to know just where I do stand on UFO abductions. Well, this is a complicated issue. Clearly lots of people are having harrowing experiences with what they perceive to be alien intruders. Some of these cases might have a cause that is psychological in nature, while other episodes might truly represent interactions with strange creatures. Regardless of the cause, these situations cry out for investigation, most likely by mental health practitioners who are sensitive to the issues involved.
Now this past week, we observed the passing of someone very well known to people who are interested in UFO abductions, Budd Hopkins, after a long illness. An abstract artist by profession, Hopkins was drawn into the UFO mystery early on. He had written several books on the subject, focusing on people who claimed to have been kidnapped by entities thought to be aliens. His stature in both the artistic and paranormal worlds merited a lengthy obituary in The New York Times
Whatever you believe about Hopkins or the value of his work, by every indication he was utterly sincere in what he did. One hopes that his research records will soon be examined by others with the eye towards furthering his work, and, one hopes, getting a better handle on what’s going on to the vast number of people who report abductions.
Now I didn’t know Hopkins all that well. He appeared on The Paracast on several occasions, I talked with him on the phone a few times over the years, and had occasional email interactions. But he always came across as a complete gentleman. He will be missed, and I send my sincere sympathies to his friends and family.
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!