THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
March 24, 2012
Incredible Mayan Mysteries Explored on The Paracast
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Please Consider a Donation to 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 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. 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, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. 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! 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 Brand New 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.
Sunday, March 25, 2012: 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: It's 2012 and the world is supposed to end sometime in December, right? Earthquakes, tsunamis and weird weather events escalate, the poles are shifting and it appears we are on "a bumpy ride" toward uncertainty. So Gene and Chris explore incredible Mayan mysteries with Brendon O’Brien and Jonnie Channell of the Maya Sites Travel Services and Clifford Mahooty, an elder for the Zuni tribe.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - 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.
Some Random Show Notes
By Gene Steinberg
It’s been a while since I’ve brought you up to date on the show and our online community instead of ongoing discussions about paranormal research. For the most part, the show is moving along very well, so I haven’t focused on the things we’re working on, and responding in public to some of your emails.
That changes with this issue, where I’ll answer some of your questions:
What’s this “Paracast Pro” all about? Does that mean that you will soon start charging for the show?
The promise we made when The Paracast debuted in 2006 hasn’t changed. The show will always be free. The forums will always be free. But we are working on a “Pro” feature that will include a special message board, extra audio and video content and, perhaps, discounts on our premium merchandise.
The feature mix is still being worked out. I’m also sensitive to the fact that a lot of you just cannot afford to spend much money on luxuries, even a few dollars a month. Once we have this package worked out, it will be as inexpensive as possible.
Why do you have so many ads on the show since you joined the GCN network?
This is the price of free traditional radio. If the listener isn’t paying for the shows, somebody has to. GCN follows the very same network ad schedule as the largest radio networks, such as Clear Channel (which produces “Coast To Coast AM”). These ads are mandated by the network to include in the live broadcast, on-demand streaming, and podcast versions. But we are only paid for our own ads; we’re not enriched by network ads.
Now some networks do offer ad-free versions of their shows in podcast form, but only on a subscription basis. That, to them, helps replace the income lost by not carrying ads in the downloadable versions. Either way, someone has to pay the bills.
Why do some people consider The Paracast to be a show run by skeptics?
There’s a difference between treating these subjects fairly, and asking responsible, critical questions, and being an armchair skeptic. There are people who will just dismiss any reports that don’t fit in with their beliefs, even if those reports come with overwhelming evidence. At the same time, there are far too many people in the paranormal field who in it for their 15 minutes of fame, or to make a lot of money.
The Paracast will continue to expose questionable claims and outright fakery. At the same time, your humble hosts realize there are far too many odd things going on that cry out for fair and thorough scientific investigation. In that way, we continue to attempt to separate the signal from the noise.
Why isn’t The Paracast on a local talk station in my city?
Getting a network deal was a miracle. Radio networks don’t grow on trees. But it takes months and years of hard work to convince local stations -- many of which are owned by huge conglomerates -- to carry a new show. We are making progress. We have stations in Atlanta, New York City and elsewhere carrying The Paracast. The network only lists full-time affiliates, not independent stations that only carry one or two shows, such as The Paracast and my other show, The Tech Night Owl LIVE.
If you want to hear my shows on a local station in the U.S., feel free to contact their programming people (the names and numbers are probably on their Web sites), telling them why these shows are important to you. Should you get interest, please send me the names and other contact information, and I’ll have GCN’s affiliate manager follow up. Meantime, we have recently added new stations in upstate New York and Illinois, with many more to come.
You keep talking about a major upgrade to Chris O’Brien’s site, Our Strange Planet. When will it happen?
The site was developed several years ago in an obsolete content management system, known as Mambo. It’s also a little hard to read, and that needs to change. But moving it to a new environment isn’t easy. It takes time and careful attention to detail, and it’s important that the site be easy to navigate, quick to display, and offer new features and easier access to special reports, including video links.
The work has begun. I’ve had a look at the design, and it’s just wonderful. You’ll really like what our Web experts have done; it’ll be a few more weeks before the new site goes “live.”
After that, upgrades will start on all our sites, but everything is being done with a non-existent budget. Once The Paracast, The Tech Night Owl LIVE and technightowl.live are complete, we’ll begin work on an all-new site that will surely interest all of you. I’ll have more to say about that real soon now.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2012 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!
March 24, 2012
Incredible Mayan Mysteries Explored on The Paracast
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Please Consider a Donation to 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 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. 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, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. 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! 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 Brand New 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.
Sunday, March 25, 2012: 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: It's 2012 and the world is supposed to end sometime in December, right? Earthquakes, tsunamis and weird weather events escalate, the poles are shifting and it appears we are on "a bumpy ride" toward uncertainty. So Gene and Chris explore incredible Mayan mysteries with Brendon O’Brien and Jonnie Channell of the Maya Sites Travel Services and Clifford Mahooty, an elder for the Zuni tribe.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - 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.
Some Random Show Notes
By Gene Steinberg
It’s been a while since I’ve brought you up to date on the show and our online community instead of ongoing discussions about paranormal research. For the most part, the show is moving along very well, so I haven’t focused on the things we’re working on, and responding in public to some of your emails.
That changes with this issue, where I’ll answer some of your questions:
What’s this “Paracast Pro” all about? Does that mean that you will soon start charging for the show?
The promise we made when The Paracast debuted in 2006 hasn’t changed. The show will always be free. The forums will always be free. But we are working on a “Pro” feature that will include a special message board, extra audio and video content and, perhaps, discounts on our premium merchandise.
The feature mix is still being worked out. I’m also sensitive to the fact that a lot of you just cannot afford to spend much money on luxuries, even a few dollars a month. Once we have this package worked out, it will be as inexpensive as possible.
Why do you have so many ads on the show since you joined the GCN network?
This is the price of free traditional radio. If the listener isn’t paying for the shows, somebody has to. GCN follows the very same network ad schedule as the largest radio networks, such as Clear Channel (which produces “Coast To Coast AM”). These ads are mandated by the network to include in the live broadcast, on-demand streaming, and podcast versions. But we are only paid for our own ads; we’re not enriched by network ads.
Now some networks do offer ad-free versions of their shows in podcast form, but only on a subscription basis. That, to them, helps replace the income lost by not carrying ads in the downloadable versions. Either way, someone has to pay the bills.
Why do some people consider The Paracast to be a show run by skeptics?
There’s a difference between treating these subjects fairly, and asking responsible, critical questions, and being an armchair skeptic. There are people who will just dismiss any reports that don’t fit in with their beliefs, even if those reports come with overwhelming evidence. At the same time, there are far too many people in the paranormal field who in it for their 15 minutes of fame, or to make a lot of money.
The Paracast will continue to expose questionable claims and outright fakery. At the same time, your humble hosts realize there are far too many odd things going on that cry out for fair and thorough scientific investigation. In that way, we continue to attempt to separate the signal from the noise.
Why isn’t The Paracast on a local talk station in my city?
Getting a network deal was a miracle. Radio networks don’t grow on trees. But it takes months and years of hard work to convince local stations -- many of which are owned by huge conglomerates -- to carry a new show. We are making progress. We have stations in Atlanta, New York City and elsewhere carrying The Paracast. The network only lists full-time affiliates, not independent stations that only carry one or two shows, such as The Paracast and my other show, The Tech Night Owl LIVE.
If you want to hear my shows on a local station in the U.S., feel free to contact their programming people (the names and numbers are probably on their Web sites), telling them why these shows are important to you. Should you get interest, please send me the names and other contact information, and I’ll have GCN’s affiliate manager follow up. Meantime, we have recently added new stations in upstate New York and Illinois, with many more to come.
You keep talking about a major upgrade to Chris O’Brien’s site, Our Strange Planet. When will it happen?
The site was developed several years ago in an obsolete content management system, known as Mambo. It’s also a little hard to read, and that needs to change. But moving it to a new environment isn’t easy. It takes time and careful attention to detail, and it’s important that the site be easy to navigate, quick to display, and offer new features and easier access to special reports, including video links.
The work has begun. I’ve had a look at the design, and it’s just wonderful. You’ll really like what our Web experts have done; it’ll be a few more weeks before the new site goes “live.”
After that, upgrades will start on all our sites, but everything is being done with a non-existent budget. Once The Paracast, The Tech Night Owl LIVE and technightowl.live are complete, we’ll begin work on an all-new site that will surely interest all of you. I’ll have more to say about that real soon now.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2012 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!