The Definitive List of Products Hocked on Coast

[Camazotz Automat]

What experiences have you had with products sold through C2C?  I've bought not a few books because of the show, both when Art Bell and George were hosting.  What are your experiences with AFTER DARK "magazine"?  Did you buy a pallet of any Y2K dry goods?  Do you have a review of an excellent or horrible book by one of the guests?  C Crane Flashlight stories?  Consultation incidences?

C2C is a megalithic advertising monster.  Many have been caressed or scratched by that gnarly claw, including myself.

[Charles]

I bought a C-Crane FM transmitter ... so I could listen to stuff while away from my computer.

[ArtBellFan]

CCrane is great, aside from my CPlus Radio, pillow speaker and sellect antenna I have bought many things through years from CCrane.  I don't know how many books I have bought from Art's guests, maybe 50 through the years, the lastest will be Dr. Michio Kaku's new book.  That would be it, never tried anything else.

[MV/Liberace!]

Let's see... all of the products below are things I have purchased from C. Crane...

1.  Sangean ATS909 shortwave radio.  The KING of short wave radios, in my opinion.
2.  LED flashlight.  (COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY.  Absolute garbage.  poor quality chassis, not much light.  lost it somewhere and haven't missed it.)
3.  FM Transmitter.  Pretty good FM transmitter... especially because there's a potentiometer inside with which you can increase the wattage.
4.)  CCRadio.  Not bad.  Haven't used it much, tho.

Seems like there was something else, but I can't recall what it was.

Oh, yeah... i REALLY want to get one of those Levitrons.  remember when Art used to advertise these back in the 1990s?  check it out in the video below.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iv8msBamA3M

[Spikegirl]

Snoory's book. "Worker in the Light" (or is it "Faker in the Dark"? I get confused) I'm burning it as we speak.

[ArtBellFan]

Forgot, I have the first three years of After Dark.

[Charles]

I never knew there was a mod for the FM transmitter until now! Holy crap I am getting some range on that sucker now!!!

[MV/Liberace!]

I never knew there was a mod for the FM transmitter until now! Holy crap I am getting some range on that sucker now!!!

are you serious?  you really didn't know that?  if you're being serious in saying you really did turn up your wattage after my post, it will make me feel really proud to have helped you violate FCC regs.   

[Camazotz Automat]

I'm enjoying reading about what others have bought from CCrane or through Coast or from the guests' websites.

I'm doubly glad I started this topic because now I feel by default I played a small part in Michael's unveiling of the innards of the transmitter, so I too, am helping Charles break the law.   

The FCC will be coming soon.

Don your aluminum foil hats! Turn up thy pots!  If you cut us, do we not transmit!? 

Whether the potentiometers be in Stratocasters, CCrane transmitters, light dimmer switches, or even the ever questionable psionic/radionic boxes constructed of cardboard and accented with vintage styled green rooster head knobs - we will prevail.

For we are...  soldiers of solder...

(I put a ? symbol on the pic merely to convey I took the photo and that I really have such parts lying around the house to be used for mean dolphins, er... I mean nefarious porpoises.)

[Charles]

Ha! As soon as I read that there was a mod for the transmitter i did a search and within 3 minutes I became an FCC violator! Thanks for bringing it up ... I would have never known ... Hell I owned this thing for 2 years now and just now found out about it.

[Camazotz Automat]

Since I started the topic, I thought I should lay down my cards.

I tried After Dark.  For about $40 per year, I was expecting something more substantial than 15 pages.  Actually, it's only 14 interior pages, but Premiere Radio Networks counts the FRONT COVER as page one.  I'm serious.  This despite the fact the cover is nothing but art work, versus, say page one in a general newspaper.  Perhaps they count the back cover as Page 16.  The back cover for some reason, has an index of the last 32 or so C2C shows with dates aired and guest and host names and topic.  Who would need this old information as part of a newsletter is anyone's guess.  It would be much better to use the back cover for a story.  Oh wait, they are showing you a past shows index to advertise Streamlink, to which you can become a paying member and listen to those indexed above.

The page count wouldn't be an issue with me (pardon the pun) if it were 40 or 50 pages, but when it is only 15 and page one is the cover, I feel a little disgusted and ripped off.

Page 2, the inside front cover, is reserved for Mr. Noory's thoughts.  It didn't do anything for me. 

The inside back cover is half filled with the tail end of a Lex Lonehood interview, while the other half of the last interior page is a subscription form and the magazine's publication information.

So, if you skip Noory's balderdash, we've gone from 14 pages to 12 and a half.

It's a kind of reverse Darwinian mechanics the more you investigate.

(Remember, it's 39.95 a year for 12 issues.)

On any given page of the remaining 12.5 pages, one-quarter and often up to one-half of the page will be graphics.

You see where this is going.  We are quickly headed to an insubstantial 6 or 7 page newsletter, charging magazine subscription rates, perhaps blaming it on postage rates while I blame greed.

I won't go into detail about some of the sub par writing.

It's understandable if you are curious about After Dark, because it's a really good idea that could be done much more effectively, but you really should  see a sample copy before shelling out $40.  I looked on the website and couldn't find a way to order just a single copy and it was my loss.  I'm sure there is a reason they don't sell single copies, because if you paid $3.30 for a single issue, you would feel like an idiot and order no more.  They are counting on dissatisfied customers who subscribed to not cancel, because it is human nature to let things ride and consider it a lesson learned.  I'm not a typical human.

It took 6-8 weeks for my first issue to arrive which was the August 2007 issue.  Compared to when I received my first issue, it was actually the previous month's issue, as if they were unloading remainders.  Within a couple of days I received the September 2007 issue.  What I am saying is that had I decided to cancel my subscription after August's issue, it would have been impossible to stop September from coming, as it was already on the way.

In no time, it seemed, I received the October 2007 issue.  I was TRYING to like the poor thing, but found two or three of the writers especially irritating (Not Lex, BTW) and noticed more and more how VERY LITTLE written material was included. 

After I received the third issue, I decided I had been a sucker and called and canceled the remainder of my subscription, which was 9 more issues.  The operator was a rude little sprite, probably getting complaints all day about this lame newsletter.

Why did I subscribe?  I thought it might be a neat way to read about the paranormal and the strange and not have to suffer through Noory.  I was also drawn in by the art work presented on C2C's website for the then "current" issue- July 2007, thinking I would frame that particular cover.  Of course, they waited so long to process my order that I never received that cover.  They were also giving away a CD of an interview by Art Bell.  I was interested in hearing the interview with some old guy who was "down on his luck" and had all this information about the Philadelphia Experiment.  George said if you subscribed during this time, they were going to give this gentleman financial assistance for every After Dark subscription ordered.

The CD was an interview by Art Bell with Al Bielek.  In my opinion, it was wasn't worth recording or preserving, let alone given away to induce subscriptions.  As I recall, I had to pay some hyped up extra postage for the stupid CD, so it was not really FREE.

If ghosts are your thing, I suggest you try TAPS Paramag.  It's more expensive.  $56 instead of 40, but is a real magazine and light years ahead in quality for the extra $16.  www.tapsparamag.com

If UFOs are your thing, I don't have any recommendations, as I am of the breed who who has been in long time contact with James Wales, a disciple of Laura Mundo, who was a disciple of George Adamski.  I was actually in touch with Laura Mundo just before she passed, and she sent me some wild stuff on how to contact the space people.  (I like retro UFOs and Venusians who blend in with us and smoke cigars simply by holding them in their hands.  I'm not really a Greys kind of guy.)  However, I'm sure  someone else can recommend a more mainstream UFO publication.  I'm still in Rev. Ivan Stang's debt for turning me on to Laura Mundo through Stang's High Weirdness by Mail book.

Btw, Mr. Wales' UFO hard copy newsletter is FREE, as C2C's should be, since After Dark resembles nothing more than an ad brochure from BEST BUY.

Most of After Dark's problems are easily remedied.   Why they don't fix it is beyond my understanding.

I've bought several books over the years from various guests, my favorite being Rosemary Ellen Guiley's and Deepak Chopra's.

Bought a flashlight from CCrane, the 7 LED, 3 C battery model.  So far so good on that.  It's about 5 years old and is so bright I can not look into it. It's a translucent red housing and resembles a pornographic ribbed condom, but I can't complain about the operation.  It was VERY over priced though, as it was purchased at a somewhat bottle-necked gate of newly available LED flashlights.

Due to technological advances, current LEDs are almost twice as bright while operating on less power than previous designs and the brightness power ratio keeps improving every year.  It's like buying a computer in a way.  As soon as that LED flashlight is in your pocket, you can bet there are new LED bulbs in the wyrks and your new torch is already outdated.  But you have to take the plunge sometime, and now you have several cheaper options other than CCrane.

I'm selling my three issues of After Dark and the Al Bielek interview for $10.00 + postage and handling.  Anyone interested?

(crickets chirping)

That's what I thought.

(edit note: I canceled after THREE issues, not four, and have changed it accordingly above.  In my recollection of the traumatic event, I apparently added an additional agonizing issue.  Also, I finally located a small, low resolution file of the July 2007 issue that I wanted to frame.  I found it at the Internet Archive, www.archive.org, which if any of you are unaware of it, allows you, via archives, to "look back in time" at many websites that have been deleted or changed.  It can be hit or miss with many image files, but I lucked out.)

The artwork appeals to my aesthetics regarding dark art and humor:

Nightmares: The Horror In Your Head issue of After Dark

? July 2007 Premier Radio Networks

Low resolution and size Fair Use

[Max]

I'm selling my four issues of After Dark and the Al Bielek interview for $13.20 + postage and handling.  Anyone interested?

I would say sell them on ebay if you can...

[Camazotz Automat]

IF

That's a mighty big . . .

[MV/Liberace!]

$40 for a year of that bilge, eh?  to add insult to injury... i just got a one year subscription to PC Magazine for $4.99.  yup.  and it's a REAL magazine with information i find useful and interesting.  hell, i even look forward to the advertisements.  i wonder if someone could tell me what after dark was like back when art was running the show.  i'm inclined to believe it was actually worth paying for.

[ArtBellFan]

It was great......very interesting and indebt articles and pictures, need to go back and take another look at them, have no idea what they are like today....one of the things I loved were the editorials Art wrote each month.

[Camazotz Automat]

It was great......very interesting and in depth articles and pictures, need to go back and take another look at them, have no idea what they are like today....one of the things I loved were the editorials Art wrote each month.

I imagine Art's editorials were far more engaging and I would wager it was more reasonably priced then.  I wish I could have seen those early editions.  After Dark could do a quick fix by changing into a thick and plain newsletter packed with good information instead of being a full color ghost.

Meanwhile, I am going to look into this PC Magazine thing.  I had no idea they had such low subscription rates.  It must be because they are using the model of receiving the bulk of their profits from the advertisers instead of sticking it to the reader.  Thanks for the heads up, Michael.  When it comes to technology, I think I would enjoy the ads too, as they can be informative of not only what's already here, but also what's coming down the pike.

[Max]

IF

That's a mighty big . . .

it sure is.

[Art is the Best]

I got The Art of Talk. Has anybody else on here read it (or listened to it)? Any thoughts on it? I've read about half or so, so far. I also have a C. Crane catalog, but that was free.

[MV/Liberace!]

I got The Art of Talk. Has anybody else on here read it (or listened to it)? Any thoughts on it? I've read about half or so, so far. I also have a C. Crane catalog, but that was free.

oh yeah... i almost forgot about The Art of Talk.  i just bought a copy of that in audiobook form a few weeks ago and i put it on the stream.  snagged a used copy on amazon for about $27.  supposedly that's a bargain these days for the audiobook version.  it was like listening to art's show but with him just sitting there talking about his life.  he even played some audio from him on the radio back in the 1960s.  pretty cool.  1960s art doesn't sound much like today's art, i have to say.

regarding the PC Magazine subscription rate... i believe their standard one-year subscription is over $25, but it's still waaaaay below that overpriced after dark rag.  however... i did find a discounted one year subscription for you here:  http://www.magazinemaster.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=1965&idAff=55

[Spikegirl]

Page 2, the inside front cover, is reserved for Mr. Noory's thoughts. 

So, it was a blank page?

[ArtBellFan]

I got my Audio version of the Art of Talk free from winmx.com a long time ago.

[Camazotz Automat]

Page 2, the inside front cover, is reserved for Mr. Noory's thoughts. 

So, it was a blank page?

Unfortunately, that was not the case!  I would MUCH rather see a collage of George's doodles made during his "interviews" than read his editorials as presented in After Dark.  We could glean great insight into his...er... psyche via such a Rorschachian technique.

[PhantasticSanShiSan]

I don't think I ever bought something directly from or inspired by C2C, but I'm sure I picked up a few books here and there because of guests I heard.  Amarillo Slim's book "Amarillo Slims in a World Full of Fat People", comes to mind, various little (few and far between) "conspiracy theory" related books possibly.  Something I always did want was the C Crane Shortwave radio.  For some reason that thing always tantalized me.  Perhaps spending alot of years growing up in the West Indies and listening to SW radio w/ my Grandfather at nights.  I just so happened that my fast-living clubbing downtown living lifestyle never quite allowed the free dosh for such a purchase at the time.

[EvB]

I got that 2-CD set (ALSO called AFTER DARK if I recall) quite a while ago that had bumper music on one CD and George reading classic "spookies" on the other (Edgar Allen Poe and such).  It was fun.  The stories are classics and even George didn't screw 'em up. 

But now you all have me interested in the CCranes.  I want an FM transmitter anyway. 

The After Dark rag has always been to rich for my blood - but as for selling it on eBay, you NEVER KNOW.

http://www.youtube.com/v/HYokLWfqbaU&hl=en&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"

[PhantasticSanShiSan]

This week I bought a big box of "Emergen-C" vitamin C powders because of the anti-aging/health program last week w/ John Gray.

[MV/Liberace!]

i just heard a study released this week which says those who take vitamin supplements actually have a shorter lifespan.  we can't do anything right, apparently.

[moop]

I bought a CC Radio Plus at the local Fry's Electronics about 2 yrs ago. It's one of my most cherished possessions.

[MV/Liberace!]

I bought a CC Radio Plus at the local Fry's Electronics about 2 yrs ago. It's one of my most cherished possessions.

i haven't used mine in a long time.  seems like immediately after i purchased it, AM radio became somewhat irrelevant to me.  all of the content i want is acquirable online with zero commercial interruption.  hell, i ought to sell it actually.  it's a great radio, don't get me wrong, but i just have no use for it in 2008.

[Camazotz Automat]

This was over two years ago, in response to an earlier CTC interview with Gray.  I purchased a book after hearing him speak on the differences in how men and women lose weight.  It's an excellent book and deals with the brain chemistry of health, well being, depression, etc and includes food recommendations for specific results. 

The title is "The Mars & Venus Diet & Exercise Solution"   

Cheaply priced copies can be found on Amazon through the "used & new" dealers.  Don't let the remainder price fool you.  I believe it just didn't sell as well because Gray (or his publisher) has used the Mars Venus phrase to the point of ubiquity.

I had forgotten about this purchase until I read Phan's mentioning of Gray and the "Emergen-C" Vitamin C.  Highly recommended.

[Camazotz Automat]

i just heard a study released this week which says those who take vitamin supplements actually have a shorter lifespan.  we can't do anything right, apparently.

THWACK!

(Throwing the Fred Flintstone multivitamins into the garbage.  Never felt quite right anyway, there not being any Harvey Korman-voiced Great Gazoos floating around in the bottle to call me "Dum-Dum" en mass.)

((I kill myself. Not always the audience.  But almost always myself.))

Just a thought, because of a poll I started today:  Maya Calendar Disk vitamins. 

"Isn't it about Time you supplemented?  Before it's too late?"

Jotting down.

I'm a regular Ralph Kramden, I'm telling ya.