Art Bell

[PB the Deplorable]

About the shots fired; according to Art's account that night, his neighbors reported it and the Sheriff Dept responded...

I don't know what's going on with this story, other than to say it is very odd- although plenty of strange things certainly do happen.  But using certain aspects of Art's story - in this case the parts about the neighbors and the sheriff - to validate the rest of it isn't exactly convincing.

I hope Art isn't pissed off about some of these posts.  He's the one who's got people conditioned to listen to the show with a bit of skepticism, and discern for themselves the validity of what they hear.

[Richard Groyper]

I don't know what's going on with this story, other than to say it is very odd- although plenty of strange things certainly do happen.  But using certain aspects of Art's story - in this case the parts about the neighbors and the sheriff - to validate the rest of it isn't exactly convincing.

I hope Art isn't pissed off about some of these posts.  He's the one who trained us listen with a bit of skepticism and discern for ourselves the validity of what we hear on the show.

A simple publicity stunt? Meh. I'm not going to add any assertions to what a motive could possibly be. At this time; I'm okay with Art's claims. They are only 'claims': yet to be proven true or false.

[Yorkshire pud]

A simple publicity stunt? Meh. I'm not going to add any assertions to what a motive could possibly be. At this time; I'm okay with Art's claims. They are only 'claims': yet to be proven true or false.

Maybe not so much a stunt as being more a drama queen, to garner a sympathetic reception when he decides to call it a day...Perchance?

[GuerrillaUnReal]

Turns out I'm "just fine" with stealing the shows.

What's funny is the whole "Pirates Policing Pirates" idea had literally no effect and it would be easier and quicker for me to download a pirated copy of an episode than it would to get it legally through DMRN. It also comes more naturally just to find the pirated copy. The pirates also often beat Keith in uploading new episodes which amuses me greatly. 

[whoozit]

Maybe not so much a stunt as being more a drama queen, to garner a sympathetic reception when he decides to call it a day...Perchance?

I've always wondered if you avatar name was short for pudding or pudenda.  Thanks for clarifying.   

[Yorkshire pud]

I've always wondered if you avatar name was short for pudding or pudenda.  Thanks for clarifying.   

Oh? Is it avatarisms now? Okay. Be well. 

[CornyCrow]

What's "low key" about giving a near play-by-play rundown of what's happened to a world wide radio/internet audience, then taking calls and discussing the situation?  Art seems to be the only one involved who isn't keeping this thing low key. 

Who was it that said, "There's no such thing as bad publicity."?

Well, frankly, I think Art likes to be in control of things.  He likes to be the guy who is releasing info about him, and not leaving it up to randomness or this deranged jerk.  I can see him (or anyone) preferring to have others keep such a thing quiet and just releasing the info that I'd want released. 

Frankly, I don't want to snoop into his life and issues any more than he wishes.  Sure, we are all curious and snoopy, but not where that pushes a person's comfort level.  I just hope they catch the creep.  He should be entitled to control this.  It's his life.

[CornyCrow]

I live in a town of under 10K, and our paper summarizes virtually everything criminal that's on the police blotter weekly, with features for anything of note. e.g. a shoplifter from Beale's on the loose.

Finding one trespasser would be a short term fix. Art's going to be playing whack-a-mole with obsessive fans and maybe even occasional stalkers as long as he lives where he's so visible and easily accessible.  If he's intent on living there, he need's an 8-ft block wall around the residence.

Well, good for you, sailor.  I lived in a podunk town that once had a sign (for years) in the park, near a stream 'Please don't feed the water foul'.  They passed around a flier giving the date for a parade as the 89th of the month.  Words are misspelled on their website, which gives no information that changes at all, no info on trash collection schedules, civic meetings, etc. 

Cherish where you are. 

[CornyCrow]

Why?

What reason on God's earth would he have to be fabricating this? 

I just think that people should be taken at face value, as who they present as - UNLESS there's money involved.  This world runs on the faith that we are who we seem to be.  '

What harm is coming to you to assume that Art's telling the truth?  That's the default setting of most human interactions, isn't it?  Most people do not make this stuff up.  Art is not a mental case.  I think, because there is a fragility in some of us, we'd rather start out pointing the finger at him rather than take the risk of being fooled.  I think some are accusing him out of their own problems/deficits with little regard for the damage they could be doing to him. 

This is not some tv show, where you, the viewer, get to see every nuance of information and motivation every step of the way.  This is not some presentation only made to provide others with some vicarious kick.   It's a person's life - and if that person wants some privacy it's not for us to tell him - NO.

[BobGrau]

What's funny is the whole "Pirates Policing Pirates" idea had literally no effect and it would be easier and quicker for me to download a pirated copy of an episode than it would to get it legally through DMRN. It also comes more naturally just to find the pirated copy. The pirates also often beat Keith in uploading new episodes which amuses me greatly. 

I'd love to pay for these shows, seriously. I appreciate what Art and co do and want to support them. My problem is with Paypal more than Keith but if his attitude is 'fuck em' then I'll just adopt a similar attitude back. Perhaps he gets some sort of commission through Paypal and doesn't want to dilute it by offering more sensible payment methods.

[GuerrillaUnReal]

I'd love to pay for these shows, seriously. I appreciate what Art and co do and want to support them. My problem is with Paypal more than Keith but if his attitude is 'fuck em' then I'll just adopt a similar attitude back. Perhaps he gets some sort of commission through Paypal and doesn't want to dilute it by offering more sensible payment methods.

I like Keith. I have no problems with him whatsoever and I appreciate how stressful his job is. I think he's just trying to keep this ship afloat by keeping it as simple as possible. Looking at the web design and business model, it seems they're trying to keep as simple as possible which leads me to believe he's using PayPal because it's easiest method on his end to use. That's a nice way of saying all of their design and business is about 10-20 years in the past.

But it's cool. What matters is the content and I think that's the entire focus which I respect and why I pay my $5 a month even though I've literally never done anything except listen to live shows on TuneIn and wormholed Art a few times.

The entire entertainment paradigm is shifting in the world where everything is instant, on-demand and immediately pirated. Within 20 minutes of the end of every Midnight show, it's on every pirate network. Within 24 hours it's on Youtube and numerous other video sites. So this complete destruction of property rights or the ability to make money off content means content providers have to change their business models. Look at the new Mystery Science Theater 3000 being entirely crowd funded.

I think DMRN is perfect with charging a few bucks a month and it being more about supporting the show than any sort of access to content. A few podcast networks I subscribe to do the same thing. Art encouraging all the online MITD communities is awesome as well. I just think he should do more live reads in his show about the Time Traveler thing so pirates would subscribe since pirates never cut any of the show but usually cut the commercials out.

[albrecht]

I'd love to pay for these shows, seriously. I appreciate what Art and co do and want to support them. My problem is with Paypal more than Keith but if his attitude is 'fuck em' then I'll just adopt a similar attitude back. Perhaps he gets some sort of commission through Paypal and doesn't want to dilute it by offering more sensible payment methods.

I don't understand it but Christmas, etc are approaching and it would seem, to me, to be a great gift to give a "Time Traveler" subscription to people- even anonymously. Or like a 'giftcard' to put under the tree or arrive in one's email/phone-txt box!  I would think that they would get more subscriptions if they allowed other formats to pay than PayPal. Some people are banned, others just don't like, don't understand, etc. Why not accept CCs, pre-paid CCs, hell even checks or bank-draft? There are even Apps to do so? There are ways now to even pay by text, Applepay, etc? And login could be some generated numbers: login/password. (So even the 'paranoids' about security could get memberships without risk of identify theft or linked to their bank accounts and email? Beyond comprehension, to me. Fighting pirates is hard to do and the younger kids often think everything should be 'free' but willl, paradoxically, 'donate.' Sure the show is free (radio, stream, SW, which is awesome.) I do like what they are doing via Youtube: tease and bring in new listeners with free shows, or partial shows, but (I could be wrong) that almost is seeming to be done by dedicated volunteer fans? I think there is ways even YouTube is monetizing those (and live and replay options now) so they should jump on that.

That is my only bitch about the show- that they haven't gone far enough with ways to pay and promote the show.

[WOTR]

What harm is coming to you to assume that Art's telling the truth?  That's the default setting of most human interactions, isn't it?  Most people do not make this stuff up.  Art is not a mental case.  I think, because there is a fragility in some of us, we'd rather start out pointing the finger at him rather than take the risk of being fooled.  I think some are accusing him out of their own problems/deficits with little regard for the damage they could be doing to him. 

I'm beginning to think that I am the only one who really does not care one way or the other (outside of hoping that Art and his family are safe.)  I cannot imagine that there is any advantage to fabricating the story- but who the hell knows (and why do we collectively care?)

I am going to sit here 1000 miles away and judge whether or not I believe a mans claim that there was a person outside of his home several nights ago at midnight?  And my tools for this include searching the internet and reading a copy of a small town paper... That should equip me to play Sherlock Holmes...

"Look Watson!  The local paper did not mention this incident.  Logic dictates that is sufficient proof to convict the man..."

Useless speculation.

[nooryisawesome]

I'm beginning to think that I am the only one who really does not care one way or the other (outside of hoping that Art and his family are safe.)  I cannot imagine that there is any advantage to fabricating the story- but who the hell knows (and why do we collectively care?)

I am going to sit here 1000 miles away and judge whether or not I believe a mans claim that there was a person outside of his home several nights ago at midnight?  And my tools for this include searching the internet and reading a copy of a small town paper... That should equip me to play Sherlock Holmes...

"Look Watson!  The local paper did not mention this incident.  Logic dictates that is sufficient proof to convict the man..."

Useless speculation.

Art wouldn't lie about it. It's as simple as that, to me. There are somethings you don't lie about.

[PING]

Perhaps not fibs as much as paranoia. He's basically a recluse; only his voice goes outside.  He just said last night that he's anti-social. Someone mistaking his huge RV barn for a service station becomes a prowler in the driveway.  For all we really know about Mr. Bell, he's doing the show from a glittery suite in Macao surrounded by Asian babes.

He needs to use Periscope for this...without pixelation to make Jaz happy

[Uncle Duke]

Art wouldn't lie about it. It's as simple as that, to me. There are somethings you don't lie about.

I don't think Art is fabricating these incidents.  The man isn't stupid, there are too many people (police, neighbors, local media, wife/daughter etc.) who would have to be willing to go along with, probably even lie for, him.  I figure Art living openly in Pahrump a big enough pain in the ass to local law enforcement and his neighbors, he's not about to put them in a position to have to lie for him.  This is especially true in the case of law enforcement and local government types who are subject to FOIA requests. 

On the other hand, I do think Art is milking the situation for all the drama it will yield.  Again, the man isn't stupid, but he is a showman.  Personally I'd not say a word about this outside of official law enforcement channels, but then again I haven't spend fifty years of my life trying to promote myself as a on-air personality.  I'm sure he has figured the safety of his family into the equation, I just hope he put enough emphasis into that variable.

[trostol]

I'm beginning to think that I am the only one who really does not care one way or the other (outside of hoping that Art and his family are safe.)  I cannot imagine that there is any advantage to fabricating the story- but who the hell knows (and why do we collectively care?)

I am going to sit here 1000 miles away and judge whether or not I believe a mans claim that there was a person outside of his home several nights ago at midnight?  And my tools for this include searching the internet and reading a copy of a small town paper... That should equip me to play Sherlock Holmes...

"Look Watson!  The local paper did not mention this incident.  Logic dictates that is sufficient proof to convict the man..."

Useless speculation.

nope..i am in the same boat..stay safe but in the end..it doesn't affect me

[Robert]

On the other hand, I do think Art is milking the situation for all the drama it will yield.  Again, the man isn't stupid, but he is a showman.

Yes, and even though I realize that, I'm sucked in to the drama.  I can figure out how magicians do their tricks too, but a good performance of them amazes me anyway.  Like my friend Nadine who, while rehearsing an act with a bit of stagecraft to make it appear someone is bleeding, fainted or near-fainted at the sight of the "blood".  "Blood" that she helped make appear!  It's the thought that counts.

Personally I'd not say a word about this outside of official law enforcement channels, but then again I haven't spend fifty years of my life trying to promote myself as a on-air personality.  I'm sure he has figured the safety of his family into the equation, I just hope he put enough emphasis into that variable.

So let's factor it.  How do you think the publicity affects their safety?  I don't see that it'd affect it one way or another.  If he said something stupid like, "As they always are at that hour, they were in the living room when...," then sure, but he's not likely to slip that badly.

[Uncle Duke]

Yes, and even though I realize that, I'm sucked in to the drama.  I can figure out how magicians do their tricks too, but a good performance of them amazes me anyway.  Like my friend Nadine who, while rehearsing an act with a bit of stagecraft to make it appear someone is bleeding, fainted or near-fainted at the sight of the "blood".  "Blood" that she helped make appear!  It's the thought that counts.

So let's factor it.  How do you think the publicity affects their safety?   I don't see that it'd affect it one way or another.  If he said something stupid like, "As they always are at that hour, they were in the living room when...," then sure, but he's not likely to slip that badly.

Unknown, but I'm a lowly engineer, not Ed Dames or the Amazing Kreskin.  What I do know is, the more one knows about a potential hazard, the more one can account for the threat it represents.  If Art isn't overly concerned about the threat to his wife and daughter.....well, figure it out.

[PING]

I'm assuming that Art called the local LEO's whether it's Pahrump or Nye County sheriff's department. If he filed a false police report that's a crime in itself. I don't think he's going to file a false police report just for publicity.

There's probably way more to this that he's not telling us. Does make for a good soap opera eh? "As the Midnight Desert Turns"

[nooryisawesome]

Art wouldn't make this up. No one in their right mind would.

I also don't think Art would use it as "showmanship" I mean who the hell is going to tune in because there is a crazy idiot. Oh well I wasn't going to listen, but let me tune in to find out about someone who is harrasing Art. That just isn't going to happen.

Also, it is sort of a low thing to do to even accuse someone of that. Art wouldn't make it up, that is like accusing someone of faking cancer or something. Art wouldn't use it to try to capture listners, Arts show is good enough and growing without have to resort to silly stupid tactics.

[b_dubb]

No way this is a publicity stunt. You may be that cynical. But Art is not that desperate.  No way.

[BobGrau]

Art wouldn't make this up. No one in their right mind would.

I also don't think Art would use it as "showmanship" I mean who the hell is going to tune in because there is a crazy idiot. Oh well I wasn't going to listen, but let me tune in to find out about someone who is harrasing Art. That just isn't going to happen.

Also, it is sort of a low thing to do to even accuse someone of that. Art wouldn't make it up, that is like accusing someone of faking cancer or something. Art wouldn't use it to try to capture listners, Arts show is good enough and growing without have to resort to silly stupid tactics.

You're forgetting that this is Bellgab: It's not Cool to assume people are telling the truth.

[Yorkshire pud]

You're forgetting that this is Bellgab: It's not Cool to assume people are telling the truth.

I bet George Noory thinks that every time he looks in. 

[SredniVashtar]

Art wouldn't make this up. No one in their right mind would.

I agree, but that rather begs the question whether he is in his right mind or not. We know almost nothing about the man other than his radio persona. There is only one forum member who could comment on this with any level of authority and she is obviously not going to say anything. If we take Art at his word all the time, then we are also to believe that he really thought he saw a shadow person a few months ago. And he told us the other week that he saw a mouse jump up on his desk and "stare" at him. In both cases you could say that these are the actions of a showman, but then you could also apply that to his account of the "stalker". The only other explanation, as I see it, is that he is starting to have psychological issues and he genuinely believes the things he is seeing. Just because someone is high-functioning in one walk of life, doesn't mean that they are so in every other facet of it, and someone can suffer from schizophrenia, for example, no matter who or what they are. Not that I am suggesting this about Art, but just mentioning the possibility that things are not always so cut and dried.

I am just throwing this out in the fine tradition of irresponsible BellGab speculation, but there is something not right about the whole thing that I can't quite figure out.

[michio]

No way this is a publicity stunt. You may be that cynical. But Art is not that desperate.  No way.

I won't accept the speculation of him fabricating these stories as a publicity stunt, for the sole reason it would hurt his family.  He wouldn't resort to telling outright lies about his daughter and her mother being in fear for their lives just for giggles and ratings. It would cross a line on how people view the man. There would be no taking back what was done or turning back on the shame it would cause. Doing so would be more than an act of desperation, it would be abysmal and reprehensible. If you want to head down the path of self-destruction, that's one way to do it.

I don't want to believe.

[Robert]

I agree, but that rather begs the question whether he is in his right mind or not. We know almost nothing about the man other than his radio persona. There is only one forum member who could comment on this with any level of authority and she is obviously not going to say anything. If we take Art at his word all the time, then we are also to believe that he really thought he saw a shadow person a few months ago.

Is that so unusual an experience?  I think a great many people have seen shadows look & act in such a way that gives an impression of being intelligently directed, under circumstances where the viewer is unable to identify a prosaic object as casting the shadow.  The only rarity is the will to talk about the percept in those terms.  Art specializes in such discussions.

And he told us the other week that he saw a mouse jump up on his desk and "stare" at him.

Small animals frequently cast such a gaze.  In fact I think something such as a mouse in the presence of a big animal such as a person would be likelier than not to stare at it.  Squirrels stare at me all the time.  If you're going to ask whether Art's in his right mind, you'd better come up with less commonplace evidence than that.

There's a thread around here about C2C & MITD guests, judging whether they're legit, charlatans, deluded, or crazy.  Note that deluded & crazy are specified as distinct categories.  Given the evidence, different persons might come to different conclusions as to whether a phenomenon is paranormal.  Someone might have a pecuniary reason for stating a position on a certain side, and others may take a path in judgment that leads to a type of conclusion that they wouldn't come to were the topic something else, and the same person may have a mixture of such motiv'ns & fall partly in more than 1 of those 4 categories.  I wondered about John Keel too.

Given that someone does programs on sensational topics, that person's going to be used to presenting things in those terms.  I wouldn't expect it any other way.  In fact if Art didn't do so in the current case, the audience would tend to mentally discount the facts down to a level which was less sensational than is actually the case.

[Yorkshire pud]

Is that so unusual an experience?  I think a great many people have seen shadows look & act in such a way that gives an impression of being intelligently directed, under circumstances where the viewer is unable to identify a prosaic object as casting the shadow.  The only rarity is the will to talk about the percept in those terms.  Art specializes in such discussions.Small animals frequently cast such a gaze.  In fact I think something such as a mouse in the presence of a big animal such as a person would be likelier than not to stare at it.  Squirrels stare at me all the time.  If you're going to ask whether Art's in his right mind, you'd better come up with less commonplace evidence than that.

Replace 'Art Bell' with 'George Noory'; Do you take the same objective position? Take any personal view of either out of the equation.

[Robert]

Replace 'Art Bell' with 'George Noory'; Do you take the same objective position? Take any personal view of either out of the equation.

You mean if Noory said he thought he saw a shadow person, or a mouse staring at him, would I believe him to the same degree?  Probably less so in the case of the shadow person, because I suspect Noory to be much less interested in such phenomena than Bell is.  Does that count as a personal view of them?

[Yorkshire pud]

You mean if Noory said he thought he saw a shadow person, or a mouse staring at him, would I believe him to the same degree?  Probably less so in the case of the shadow person, because I suspect Noory to be much less interested in such phenomena than Bell is.  Does that count as a personal view of them?

Of course it does. Very revealing.    It suggests (but correct me if I'm wrong) that for something to be valid, and trustworthy, someone has to be interested in it.
I suspect though that most people who witness most unusual things don't have a prior interest-I'm not necessarily suggesting paranormal things here. I've witnessed a car rolling over on the road in front of me, I've never seen it before or since, and certainly not interested in seeing it again. 

Art Bell knows the truth (or does he if what SV says is true?), and he'll have his fandom support him slavishly, I get that, because some believe the sun shines out of his arse, and he's a deity. Neither is true. He's a bloke, a seventy year old bloke who has done radio. I can list several British (and one notable Irish) radio broadcasters of similar age with far more miles under their air wave belts than Art Bell. None of them are perfect, none of them are anything but human, with human frailties and foibles. We have one radio broadcaster who's standing joke is people telling him on air and in e mails 'I/we love the show'. It's a joke because he knows it's mainly sarcasm.