The Skepbitch

Last week I chatted with a stranger and the topic turned to skepticism, “I don’t like that skeptic guy on TV. He’s a snob. All he says is ‘No. I disagree. You’re wrong. It isn’t true. I don’t believe in that’.”

Sound bites, editing with an agenda, and yes/no questions can portray a skeptic as a naysayer.

However, we don’t want to be gratuitous skeptics either.

That doesn’t help our objectives, or our profile.

It seems that skeptics can be too skeptical, or not skeptical enough.

How can we find a happy (non-paranormal) medium of skepticism?

Not that I claim to be the perfect skeptic. I don’t think there is such a thing. I can’t cast the first stone of skepticism, I’m still learning all the time, but I know when a skeptic has descended into leniency, or dickheadism…

And there will always be someone who’ll label you as a dogmatist or a cynic. Meanwhile, someone else will accuse you of being irresolute and wishy-washy - for saying the same bloody thing…

Since we’re talking cliches and catchphrases, here’s a skeptical motto or mantra to remind us that we’re aiming for logic, rationale and reason, rather than high-functioning autism.

Effective skepticism is about educating others, and educating ourselves.

When we educate others we teach critical thinking, dispel myths and explain how the world works.

This is NOT Proselytizing. This is NOT preaching. This is NOT converting. This is NOT dogma.

It’s simplistic to frame skepticism as a kind of religion; or atheism as another form of theism.

A gathering of atheists is not a church congregation. James Randi and Richard Dawkins aren’t messiahs. The similarities might make it easier for us to understand one thing in terms of another, but the differences make the meaning.

Educating ourselves is about research, knowledge, reassessment, re-evaluation and keeping an open mind. This is our skeptical maintenance, to be skeptical of ourselves. But this also requires an understanding of the beliefs and practices that exist. This is not a rote, aggressive, obnoxious dismissal and premature ejaculation rejection of, say, the opinions of Christians or psychics.

Now you know why no one will have sex with you but yourself…

It’s kinda obvious to me that a skeptic should be an amateur anthropologist, and an amateur psychologist.

Unless they just want to be a fucking snob.

Sometimes, skeptics make the very worst skeptics…

Wham Bam Thank you TAM!

The Amaz!ng Meeting is over for another year, and what an amazing Amaz!ng meeting it was!

Keynote speaker Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson presented a cool and witty talk entitled “Brain-Droppings of a Skeptic”, so now, here are a few select Name Droppings of a Skeptic.

My comprehensive report of TAM 6 will appear in the next edition of the Skeptic magazine, but for now, here are some anecdotes, bits o’ gossip and personal highlights…

* Hanging out with my mate Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, who is a genuinely friendly and funny chap. (Don’t believe what Richard Hoagland tells you.) Much respect.

* Richard Wiseman suggested I re-name my upcoming book Bad Language: Myths and Mysteries about Language to the more pithy Fuck You, because he’s always wanted to see that on a book spine…(or maybe it was an imperative…who knows?) At any rate, he claims he’s a teatotaller teetotaller, but he’s forgotten that sangria he had with me in The Haight last September…

* Meeting the Amazing Randi himself, yet again, and having him remember me because, “you tower over me”. I was impressed to meet his intern who is equally vertically challenged, and a sort of Randi mini me.

* Meeting Daniel Loxton of Junior Skeptic fame, who is a bonza bloke. In fact, he’s quite possibly the nicest fellow I’ve ever met. Thanks for the plug for the Australian Skeptics, mate. You can call yourself an Honorary Aussie anytime!

* Meeting scientific investigator of the paranormal and pseudoscientific, Ben Radford, Managing Editor of the illustrious Skeptical Inquirer. Ben is a kind of male me, or I’m a female him, whichever way you wanna see it. He generously called me “one of the most memorable people” he’s met. After a TAMtastic Saturday night bender I was too tired to know if I was embarrassed or aroused by this compliment.

* Finding Brian Dunning, of Skeptoid and Skeptologists fame, to be a decent chap, and not at all the scurrilous and lecherous bastard of his personal correspondence. Much.

* Meeting Derek and Swoopy of the podcast Skepticality. Derek gave me one of the firmest, warmest handshakes I’ve ever had, and Swoopy gave me a lovely cuddle.   

* Watching my close friend and colleague Richard Saunders present at TAM. Better still, he called me up on stage to be his assistant in a water diving test! Even better still, I watched Mooeypoo throw two cream pies at him… for science!

* Finally, it was a delight to be recognised as the Skepbitch, to meet some readers, to meet some TANK viewers, to meet Twitter and Facebook friends who I can now count as friends, to meet some Bay Area skeptics, and to hang out with the Aussie contingent.

And no, I haven’t left anyone out. I promise. Writing a report is in my considerably high-stacked in-tray of things to do. Right after I re-integrate into society…

(n.b. I’ll also add some pics soon, but wordpress is playing silly buggers with me.) 

Welcome to the inaugural (plus one) edition of…

the Skeptics of Carlos Circle!

I’m a little superstitious, so having to present the Circle on Friday 13th doesn’t bode well for me…

Last Friday 13th, I was crippled by a devastating run of bad luck. I’d abandoned a cup of tea mid-preparation, and hours later discovered the cold, over-infused result… 

Minutes later, I found that a head of cabbage I’d intended for that night’s meal had turned black, and was inedible.

If that wasn’t enough, I found a crease in a garment I’d carefully laid out for Church that coming Sunday…

But seriously, Friday 13th affected my life in the most significant way…my mother brought forward the scheduled date of her cesarean section so that I would be born on Thursday 12th August, not Friday 13th…

Clutching our four-leaf clovers,

let’s proceed with the Circle, cautiously…

…and pray that some gross misfortune doesn’t befall us…

Adrian Morgan of The Outer Hoard curses us with the post, Scepticism in reverse. Adrian provides some of the most chilling proof of audio pareidolia subliminal messages I’ve ever heard.

Analyzing the poems of Jim Wilshire, these hidden, backwards messages reveal this skeptic’s demonic machinations. Pump up your speakers to hear the voice of satan, but keep your crucifix on hand to quell the evil.

Chew cloves of garlic as you visit Elizabeth McRae’s Skeptopia site. In the post Superstitions Among Roleplaying Gamers we read about the habits, rituals and beliefs of gamers.

This topic is further treated in her Natural 20 podcast, where some of these superstitions are road tested. You’ll need your rosary beads for this one…

When I happened upon Naon Tiotami’s post I noticed that he was giving me the evil eye. Luckily, I was wearing my own evil eye, which countereacted his attempts to hex me.

Naon, of Homologous Legs, provides an excellent, in-depth analysis of some bad arguments from the Institute for Creation Research. I keep hoping that Australian-born Creationist Ken Ham will turn out to be another Carlos-like Hoax of The Amazing Randi…

The PodBlack Cat crossed my path with bad luck news - skeptics aren’t always skeptical about their own methods and approaches to spreading skepticism. In Questioning Skeptics - On Primary and Secondary Teaching, the PodBlack Cat explains that sometimes, we alienate the very people we hope to educate. Furthermore, sometimes the school system is skeptical about skepticism! How can we effectively teach science and critical thinking in schools?

Keep your holy water on hand for protection when you visit …And Say We Did. The author utters wicked talk about incantations hang on, that’s incarnations.

In the witty For Whom The Eckhart Tolle(s), we are treated to a biting analysis of a self-’help’ book The Power of Now.

Tolle has been profiled on Oprah…need we say more? Will we ever hear the words, “If you look under your seat, you’ll find a copy of Carl Sagan’s The Demon Haunted World!” on Oprah’s Bookclub?

In closing, check out this article from The Mercury.

My mate Fred Thornett was interviewed for Friday the 13th Has Had Its Day.

(Click on the link to enlarge)

Fred says some sensible stuff…and even the clairvoyants dismissed this superstition.

…one down, thousands to go…

Thanks for visiting the Skeptics of Carlos - An Australian Blog Circle - Round Two!

Visit our home to host or submit your post.

You don’t need to be Australian to host or post… just be fair dinkum!

I have two skeptical newsflashes…

The first piece of news is regarding my good friend and colleague Richard Saunders, Vice President of the Australian Skeptics and The TANK Vodcast Host and Producer.

The charismatic Richard is starring in The One, a new television series that aims to find Australia’s “Top Psychic”.

…but fear not, Richard is not a contestant…

Richard is the show’s resident skeptic, a much needed voice of reason, logic and critical thinking.

My theory is that they might find ‘Australia’s top psychic’, but they still won’t find a psychic! 

The second tidbit of news is my own…

For almost twenty years, the eminent Barry Williams has been Executive Officer of the Australian Skeptics Inc., and Editor of the Skeptic  magazine.

At the end of this year, Barry will be retiring from these roles.

It is my skeptical delight to announce that I am the heir apparent, and will be assuming both titles.  

It is my goal to maintain the objectives and quality of the magazine, with its characteristic sense of humor, meanwhile aiming to reach a diverse, international readership.

Our magazine is in its 28th year, and is one of the world’s most widely read skeptical magazines.

I’ll be the first female Editor of a major skeptical publication, for those who think there aren’t any women in skepticism…

So, stick around for these skeptically exciting times!

By the way…Richard and I will both be in attendence at the upcoming The Amaz!ng Meeting in Las Vegas, and the Skeptrack at Dragon*Con in Atlanta.

Hope to see you at these functions too!

I have perused two excellent resources on polygamy, the Mormon Curtain, an Ex-Mormon site, and the book God’s Brothel, but when I was in Salt Lake City, very few people knew much about it. The Mormons won’t talk about it, and the non-Mormons could only share anecdotes, such as, “The women wear old-fashioned clothes, sound old-fashioned, and tie their long hair back,” and, “The plural wives only leave the house for groceries, and then buy staples such as flour or milk. They do all their own cooking.”

However, a lady at the SLC Information Center ripped out a map and pointed out the cities and towns where polygamy is still commonly practised. “Even if you go there, it’s unlikely that you’ll see anything,” she explained. “The polygamists are very private, and very protective. Watch Lifting the Veil on Polygamy,” she suggested. “Most of that’s pretty accurate.” And so I did.

The first hour of the video features a compelling series of impassioned interviews with former fundamentalist Mormons. It is completely absorbing to hear of their plight; their experiences of arranged marriages, teenage weddings, numerous pregnancies, abandonment, ostracism, ongoing physical and mental abuse, and the curious doctrine and irrational beliefs of the Latter Day Saints.

Lifting the Veil on Polygamy is a well-researched, insightful documentary.

That is…

…until it becomes an indoctrination video in itself…

During the last twenty minutes of the presentation, I knew that something was up. Suddenly, we hear the twinkling piano music of pathos, and the teary-eyed speakers speak of their conversion from fundamental mormonism to orthodox christianity. The information ends, and the proselytizing begins.

There were religious epiphanies aplenty, they “literally” heard the voice of god, and new ‘friends’ recruited them showed them the way. Homage to the book of mormon became homage to the bible. Reverence for Joseph Smith became reverence for Jesus. Swinging for exaltation became salvation for sinning.

The video’s covert religious message isn’t so surprising when one learns that the video was created by Living Hope Ministries. This ministry performs an important service, providing materials and producing videos that inform the public about the abuses and misinformation that occurs within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Yet, the ministry also “shares bible truths” so that ”Latter Day Saints may come to a saving knowledge of the biblical Jesus Christ.” The ministry is just another competing faith seeking converts in mormon-soaked Utah.

As earnest as they are, this still seems predatorial…

As for the interviewees, they are intelligent and articulate people. They are admirable, and extremely strong. Under manipulative and oppressive circumstances they managed to employ critical thinking to overcome their socialization. These are true skeptics…

…but they aren’t skeptical enough.

 They have forsaken one cult for another. They have swapped heroin for methadone…

World religions are often half-way houses for people recovering from cults. Christianity seems a comforting, loving yet somehow familiar alternative to the firmer mind control of Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormonism.

The interviewees eyes turned red and wet as they expressed their relief at escaping polygamy. Tears welled up in my eyes too. All I could think was - you didn’t need another religion to catch your fall. All you needed was your own mind.

Welcome to the 86th Edition of the Skeptic’s Circle!

I’m not a bitch, really. I’m actually a friendly and polite person. But…bitch is an expressive and versatile word. (It was one of abusive epithets I defined for my Honors thesis.) Used towards women, dogs, inanimate objects and men, it can mean anything from the malicious person to the nasty gossip, and can refer to friend or foe. In this blog, the “bitch” tells people what they don’t always want to hear…

Of course, the Skeptic’s Circle is comprised of intelligent and rational contributors, so we’re all bitches here…  I invite you to visit, revisit and enjoy the following posts and sites from within our skeptical community. Everything is bookmarkable!

These posts cover an eclectic range of themes, including alternative medicine, genetically modified foods, conspiracy theories, intelligent design, psychics, prayer, penis enlargement, bananas and pubic lice…

Barry Williams, esteemed Editor of the Skeptic pens an eponymous blog for The Australian. In It’s all a plot, Barry tackles the Conspiracy Theory. From ‘chemtrails’ to the Princess of Wales, conspiracy theories abound. With different versions and a lack of evidence, these are the bane of all skeptics. Yet, a skeptic is often confused with a conspiracy theorist. Indeed, both question, but only the skeptic applies critical thinking…

Bazza is a fair dinkum good bloke, and you should peruse his other beaut blog entries which cover topics such as homeopathy, fire-walking, religion, vaccination and anti-vaxers, mainstream versus fringe theory  and much more. Yes…how ironic that he looks like Santa Claus…

Speaking of Conspiracy Theories, we all know they are trying to poison us with Frankenfood. Everywhere, pharmers plot our gastronomical genocide, or so some believe… 

The Conspiracy Factory churns out a post demonstrating that science journalism isn’t invariably scientific. Exposed: The great GM-food scare made up by the Independent suggests that the only thing the expose exposes is the inability of some journalists to interpret scientific data, and their penchant for sensationalism. Some journos should stick to reporting church fairs and pottery classes.

PalMD AKA Peter Lipson of denialism also treats the contentious issue of genetically modified foods in the post GM foods cause delusions. One rumormonger ‘discovered’ a fictitious disease (Morgellons Syndrome) and now links this to GM foods. This reminds me of Monty Python’s E Henry Thripshaw’s Disease (scroll down to “The man who says words in the wrong order”).

Because PalMD paid me a sizeable fee, I am fiscally persuaded to plug an additional post that provides facts and fallacies about autism (and mercury myths, etc.). More journalists who should stick to bake sales…

Dr Romeo Vitelli is the author of Providentia. His post The Mercury Mavens is a fascinating look at the historical and modern use of mercury in medicine. The beautiful liquid metal can be blamed for death and disfigurement as a ‘treatment’ for smallpox and syphilis, but is it to blame for autism?

Zoo Knudsen of Knudsen’s News reports the exciting story that untrained, unpublished autism specialist scaremonger Jenny McCarthy has been featured in the current Who’s Who List of Autism Researchers.

Hang on…this appears to be one of those scams…

You too can be included in The Who’s Who List of Skeptics. For only $999.99 you (or current resident) will be awarded a Strontium Level membership to this prestigious organization!

In The argument from banana, Theo and Jef Clark of Humbug! present an argument that makes a vertiable smoothie of Ray Comfort’s “the banana is an atheist’s nightmare” theory. Personally, this atheist’s nightmare is the brain-gnawing image of Ray sensually sliding a fruity phallic instrument into his sheath-like fist. JeebusNationDotCom evidently had the same thoughts.

I await the sequel, The Durian: The Atheist’s Revenge…

Rod Clark, the Skeptical Surfer, has the dirt (or rust, as the case may be) on the IonCleanse FootBath. Rod’s illustrations demonstrate that one of his “friends” (sure, Rod…) suffers from an array of embarrassing, socially-repugnant symptoms, such as “Backed-Up Colon By-Product”, “Male Prostate Discharge”, and “Old Locked in Drugs.” 

In a simple yet ingenous test, detoxification is demystified. Rod reveals this supposed de-tox machine to be a re-tox machine. Forget expensive pedicures, soak your feet in a soothing puddle of rust - guaranteed NOT to cause tetanus! So, keep your $220 for Vegas. However, the manufacturers stand by their product with the irrefutable claim, “it has aroused the consumption upsurge.”
The moral is, beware Kellog’s Chemists and their vague promises to rid the body of “toxins”. But, this doesn’t solve Rod’s “Hormonal Imbalance”, “Multiple Slimy Goo Floating”, or “Life time back up of the colon”. Perhaps the $2895 model might work better?

Bob Carroll of Skepdic fame presents an article about the Templeton Prize. The ‘Nobel Prize’ of theological studies, the award seeks to marry science and religion. However, these two make for uncomfortable bedpartners, and the relationship hasn’t been consummated. Can spirituality find sanctuary in the contentious field of cognitive science? Is this theory-then-research or the dreaded research bias?

When you’ve read this article, you’ve only just begun! Grab a cup of tea, and peruse the entire site, although you’ll be in need of something decidedly stronger by the end of it… 

In keeping with the theme of research bias, Corale of Away From The Bench  emerges from the lab to provide us with Paying the Piper: Funding and Research, an insightful blog entry about research, facts following funding and advertising. Some (paid) spokespeople lambast the pharmaceutical companies, creating a media menage a trois of hyperbole, hypocrisy and conspiracy theory. (Be sure to check out the pornful sight of the sturdy, sun-kissed “Big Farmer” as he reclines in regal pose…)

In Take your Vitamins…and Die? the skeptical alchemist provides a brief analysis of a panic study (or panic reporting) that claims, “Vitamin A, beta-carotene, and Vitamin E may increase mortality.” Is there truth to this, or is this a headlining, sensationalist sound-byte? Our blogger discusses the methods and findings of this study. The bottom line still seems to be that supplements simply produce expensive urine, and may even be dangerous, unless the subject is deficient in said vitamin or mineral. Yet still…people play internet doctor, self-diagnose and self-medicate…

Bing McGhandi of Happy Jihad’s House of Pancakes tackles a cretin of ‘psychic medium’ Allison DuBois fans (someone correct me, please, if cretin isn’t the collective noun for this group). For some context to Allison DuBois: As evil as a 4-dollar bill, check out this previous post. Bing becomes the bane of the bevy of believers in this torturous dialogue. Keep the drug of your choice on hand to cope with the sycophancy, credulity, illogical logic and misspellings… 

Podblack Cat of the Podcat Blog ponders the big question: why do people believe? And furthermore, who believes what? In Women and Skepticism Part 2, this cool cat presents a thoughtful and well-researched post that provides some preliminary discussion into belief, and the incidence and implications of belief in the paranormal across gender and across culture. (Of course, check out Women and Skepticism Part One too.) The Podcat Blog is a wealth of information, resources and wit.

Self-confessed “geek and nerd” Joe Dunckley is the author of Cotch.net. (I will forever misread this as crotch.)

He has rewitten a comedy sketch from That Mitchell and Webb Look that appears to be a cruel parody.

That’s skepticwang!

To say I like most poetry would make me a liar,

Set poems to music, or set them on fire.

The Digital Cuttlefish is the only poet I can more than bear,

This poem satirizes God, another the National Day of Prayer!

There are some pretty bizarre fetishes out there that you peverted skeptical people practise. Then there’s the innocuous-sounding pthirophilia. This is really a most foul philia, a fetish for pubic lice. LoveBugz.net is a forum and online store for these “insects in sex”. This reminds me of Spanish Fly, only more unhygienic, and even more disturbing…

Send your complaints to the Bug Girl who purchased (*snicker*) and tested this product, one you won’t find coming to your local supermarket anytime soon. The pre-test post is Pubic Lice: “Sea monkeys in your pants” and the post-test post, with the unexpected title, is I have Pubic Lice in my Mailbox. I shall never complain about receiving daily emails about speaking in tongues and alien languages - ever again!

Dr King Martin Rundkvist of Aardvarchaeology presents the post: All of my Readers are Descendants of Royalty. Yep, most people claim to be related to a Duke or a Baron or other (my family claim lineage with a Count…you may call me Countess Skepbitch!) But Martin goes back in time a wee bit further…what an incestral ancestral bunch we are…

Chris Hallquist, the Uncredible Hallq, posts a review of the ‘documentary’ Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. I applaud Chris for watching the film and attempting to understand the beliefs of Intelligent Design proponents. The last fuckwit I argued with about Richard Dawkins vehemently denounced The God Delusion…but hadn’t read the book (not even the freebie chapter online). At any rate, Chris gives the movie two thumbs sideways. He quite enjoyed it for its kitsch value, its melodrama, and its pathos.

Also, check out Expelled Exposed, a “truth behind the fiction” site from The National Center for Science Education. However, this isn’t a case of “What Ben Stein isn’t telling you about Intelligent Design”, it’s what he simply doesn’t understand. His infamous character discusses “Voodoo Economics” but the actor believes in ‘voodoo’…

Richard Murray of bankrupt artist v.3 provides the votive offering: Alright, who shit in my inbox? This recounts his Facebook War over evolution, inspired by Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Richard apologized for submitting his entry via Facebook, but I prefer this to his usual method of bombarding me with telepathic messages…

Honey, I’m cured! Thadd Nelson of Archaeoporn treats a topic that’s been doing the rounds of late. Honey A Medical Miracle? assesses the claim that eating local honey will ’boost immunity’ against allergies.

From Royal Jelly to Manuka honey, honey is often the topic of urban legend. Isn’t it enough that honey is useful as an antimicrobial agent and antioxidant, contains natural preservatives and tastes exquisite?

Jesus promised the world that he would return. Obviously, he has been delayed by security at the Pearly Gates for trying to smuggle manna. As we wait for Armageddon, Jesus returns unto us in minor forms, appearing on tortillas, in bowls of spaghetti, on potato chips, rocks, tree trunks and pastries. Now, Jesus goes hi-tech. Colin, The Skeptic Dad, discusses the latest coming of Jesus pareidolia… Jesus on a sonogram.

(*warning* Self-plug: For more on pareidolia check out my experiment Merchandising God: The Pope Tart in the current May/June edition of Skeptical Inquirer.)

Have you heard of the Carlos Hoax that took place in Australia in the 1980s?

Carlos was the ingenious invention of James Randi and Jose Alvarez, the latter channeled this “2000-year-old-spirit” to demonstrate the gullibility of people, and the credulity of the media. Inspired by our beloved Skeptic’s Circle, and paying homage to the (not so) Great Carlos, a suspicious bunch of Aussie Skeptics have formed… Skeptics of Carlos - An Australian Blog Circle. The first hosting will take place on May 13.

Hurry to host and submit your post!

Elliot of Skelliot’s Weblog provides us with a review of some popular skeptical podcasts in Podcast Run-down! He claims that the podcast is “Our New Messiah”, so blogging must be like worshipping trees or somesuch. A spanking for Elliot as he forgot to review skeptical vodcasts. Oops! There is only one!

Tottle over to The TANK Vodcast to view the final episode of our first season. This show features TANK Host Richard Saunders interviewing blogger Mooeypoo, whose experiments demonstrate that science can be fun (and edible). I did an interview with theology student Matt Johnson, and we discuss religion in the United States today.  Get into The TANK…the only skeptical vodcast!

At the eleventh hour, Seth Manapio of Whiskey Before Breakfast (a fine idea) submitted a most worthy post. In The Skeptical Mary Speaks, John interviews the interviewer, Swoopy, of the outstanding podcast Skepticality. We get the inside goss on the show, the guests, and learn more about the intriguing woman herself.

At the twelfth hour, some n00b skeptic called Orac of Respectful Insolence insolently submitted not one, but three entries! I sent him an Out-of-Office reply, but he didn’t buy it…but truly, I’m pumped about Orac’s entry! He expands on a previous post in which he blows up a few inflated reports about penis enlargement.

 Orac’s second post presents a review of two controversial academic papers that link mercury to…you guessed it…autism! These papers provide blanks for the “mercury militia” who are determined to see mercury as a causal factor of autism, be it through vaccines, or now, “environmental release”.

Orac also suggests we visit Science-Based Medicine, a blog that treats pseudoscience themes from chiropractic to cancer cures. These are well-researched, well-referenced posts from a host of notable authors including Steven Novella and Harriet Hall (The SkepDoc….ah, the skep- morpheme!).

And finally, have you ever walked past a street light and mumbled, “Arr…fuck!” as it suddenly switches off, leaving you stranded in darkness? Perhaps you also affect watches, lightbulbs, and the radio volume with the immense powers of in your mind… 

Action Skeptics report on a new ‘paranormal’ phenomenon known as Street Lamp Interference. This is a genuine psychic occurrence, and has nothing to do with sensors or faulty equipment at all. This post confirms the speed at which some people look for the supernatural to explain the natural, and emphasizes how often we notice the hits, but not the misses. I particularly enjoyed the foul-mouthed squabble that appears in the comments section…

…and as I sign off for this edition, I pass the baton of skepticism to those two troublemakers, Akusai and Magus of Action Skeptics. They will host the 87th Edition of the Skeptic’s Circle on May 22, 2008. In the meantime, spam the lads with your enlightening, witty, but always skeptical blog entries.

xxx The Skepbitch

I’ve just arrived home from a trip to Salt Lake City. For my Australian readers, Salt Lake City is the Canberra of the United States (but with added religious lunacy). Awful ’souvenir’ shot glasses and t-shirts throughout the state proclaim - “Eat, drink, be merry - for tomorrow you may be in Utah”…

No, I didn’t go there for the skiing, I attended a conference, but I also had the opportunity to see Sylvia Browne live during her Farewell Lecture Tour. This will be the subject of an upcoming article for the Skeptic magazine.  

It was more of a comedy routine than the advertised seminar about ‘Temples on the Other Side’. In fact, reading the flyer that accompanied my ticket, she didn’t treat any of the promised themes at all! But she did do a generous 30 (brief) readings…with an audience of 3000…

Who said that skeptics are the cantankerous ones?! During the two-hour lecture she griped, whinged, whined and bitched about people’s bad attitudes, intermingled with her cherry-picking of religious philosophies.

Nowadays, she is so cynical and jaded, I’m surprised that she believes herself…

Salt Lake City wasn’t so bad, after all. A slower pace, friendly people, good food. Alright, there are some wowsers there; one must purchase a ‘membership’ from a ‘club’ or ‘house’, and a food item, to secure an alcoholic beverage (indeed Sydney’s Corso at Manly Beach pulls this same revenue earner, but without the religious sentiment).

Salt Lake City has some impressive galleries and museums, including the North American Museum of Ancient Life. I don’t know why I was so surprised, after all, this is Utah, not Kansas or Kentucky. Actually, Utah is rich in paleontological finds (even after Sylvia left…).

As the wikipedia entry for Salt Lake City claims, the name is a metonym for Mormonism. Persecuted members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints founded the city, which grew around the magnificent architecture and gardens of Temple Square.

Although the city is only 50% Mormon, it is infused with the presence of Mormonism. (I know you’re all keen to hear about Polygamy, but that’s for a chapter of my book. Besides, most polygamy is confined to compounds in Southern Utah.)

By day one I was adept at identifying the Mormons; the children with children, the Sisters in their long skirts talking wistfully about marriage, and the Elders in suits and ironed shirts, sitting in cafes, drinking glasses of milk.

Everyone was dying of boredom (presumably to get to heaven). Everything is closed on Sundays, like Australia until the 1980s.  I witnessed three bored kids sharing a cigarette and the following conversation…

#1: “I’m so bored. What’re we gonna do?”

#2: “I dunno.”

#3: “Let’s go to church to see Mark!”

And off they went! I can only assume that poor Mark was dragged along to church by his parents, but this further roped in his friends, in the end. Therein lies the successful religious socialization…

The most memorable part of my trip was attending a performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. That is, after I was subjected to a handbag search. Before I could find the atheist badge that exposed me, I noted that all bags were being searched, including those owned by the faithful, such as the highly suspicious looking Grandmother before me…

Surrounded by the splendid acoustics of the Tabernacle building, the orchestra was powerful and skilled, and the choir was, excuse the punning, heavenly and angelic.

A choral performance beats church any Sunday!

Religion has wrought the horrors of war, ignorance and intolerance, but this music is a rare inspiration of belief.

And so, episode 4103 of Music & The Spoken Word  was recorded with The Skepbitch in the audience!

My cat thinks “you’re a twat”…

In my articles I research and then report. I research claims, and report my experiences in testing these claims.

Occasionally, a subject doesn’t like my precise documentation, and so resorts to nasty threats…

I have currently been trying to arrange a visit with a pet psychic, to investigate this as a belief and practice. An internet search revealed Diane London - pet psychic.

I never thought I’d need proof of the claim before I could even ask for proof of the claim, but here’s what happened…

I emailed Ms London with the following polite, upfront request:

“Hello! I found an article about you that said you do pet readings, and that you’re in San Rafael. I’d love to book an appointment with you if you are a pet psychic, and still live in the Bay Area.
 
Looking forward to hearing from you!” 

Pretty innocuous stuff, a friendly request for her services…services that she advertises publicly. Nothing litigious there…surely?

However, it elicited this unexpected litigious response:

“please be advised that any further contact is unwelcome–and shall be deemed as harassment–I am forwarding this email to my attorney—and law enforcement agencys—an  investigation is in progress—and possible civil action–as required–in the future–please include your phone number-address–so that my attorney can locate you—you have been warned”

Yet her website gushes: “I take a very personal interest in everyone (sic) of my clients - It is with sincerity, compassion, sensitivity and confidentiality that I have to offer the insight and answers to your questions and concerns - I look forward to being your personal psychic.”

Her personal reply to me was not so “compassionate” or “sensitive”.

Did my skeptical reputation precede me? Did she fear a debunking? Impossible. I never revealed my last name. So, why the unincited acrimony? Does she have something to hide? Does she want to remove herself from her previous claims? If she is further retracting her claim of being a ‘pet psychic’, I counsel her to delete:

This page.

And this page.

And also this page.

Not to mention this page.

But most importantly, and damningly…this page from The Seattle Times. Oh shit…it’s syndicated all over the web like a psychic rash…

What’s the story? 

London was formerly an actor - Most wait on tables, but London became a telephone psychic…for ten years…

Working for a large company, London reveals that many of her former colleagues ”are about as psychic as a potato”, but maintains her own claims of psychic abilities. Following a dispute with her employer, in which she threatened the company, as one does, with black candle Santeria, Diane was terminated. In response, she sued the company. She eventually received unemployment benefits as compensation.

Does she now fear reprisal from her former ‘colleagues’?

Paranoid, she ’sensed’ danger, but of the legal kind…

This defensiveness might explain her aggressive, abrasive, unwarranted reply to me…but I further interpret this as a denial of her ‘pet psychic’ claim. To this end, I have linked her claims above, and made copies of each page, should I be reproached for merely repeating her claim, which is:

“You have probably wondered about how your pets ‘think’ and what they ‘think’ about. Anyone who has pets in their home has. Animals are by Nature telepathic. Your pets have so much they want to share with you. Their ‘thinking’ is not so different from ours. I can help you establish deeper communication with your beloved animals.”

Fight fire with facts.

Diane - you are as psychic as a potato…

No Easter Bunny this year!

I’m one of those Atheists/Skeptics who enjoys cultural and aesthetic aspects of religion - I’ll visit temples, churches, shrines, synagogues, sanctuaries, holy places and places of worship - not as ‘god’s house’, but as cultural, anthropological, historic, artistic and curious glimpses into beliefs and the human mind.

Religious holidays are especially interesting times to see this in action. This is the gig, man…THE performance, and the reunion concert for the lapsed…

The artworks, the candles, the floral arrangements, the flock in their ‘Sunday best’, the clergy in their Elvis-like vestments.

Sometimes there’s even grog and snacks too! (although somewhat tasteless wafers, I’d add…)

 But don’t drink the water there…it’s holy…

Although admittedly, sometimes the clergy tell some tall tales!

(Once I heard this story about the world being created in six days…I would have been spanked for such a big fib!)

It’s all inspiring…in a self-inspirational sort of way…

I went to church today. California in lined with these fantastic Spanish Missions, and I’ve been fortunate to travel to all of them, from the elusive, hauntingly dilapidated yet beautiful Mission San Miguel, to the touristy Mission Santa Barbara. Most have museums, collections of early photographs and displays of artifacts. I live right near the reconstructed Mission San Rafael, and even though a right bitch works in the gift shop, I visit there on occasion, for the ambiance.

Today, Easter Sunday, I went to church to get some footage for a TANK Vodcast interview, but I also listened the priest’s sermon.

An Easter sermon can be filled with bits and pieces of philosophy and psychology (if you overlook the supernatural bits about Jesus’ resurrection, omnipotence and martyrdom for our sins).

If I took anything away with me, it was the priests’ earnest and virtuous cry for peace, kindness and good will, be we “Christian, Muslim, Jew or non-believer.”

Then the brick of rationalism hit me over the head (and other tangled metaphors). As an epilogue to my Moral Atheist blog entry, and another tool in the armory of the Atheist, the Skeptic, and the Agnostic…it’s not a matter of atheists stereotypically ‘not being moral’, and religious people stereotypically ‘being moral’…’the burden of proof’ isn’t with the atheist to prove that we have morals, it isn’t even with the religious to prove that atheists ‘don’t have morals’.

Morals don’t need religion.

And now…

to more secular concerns…

I’m hanging out for Walgreens to discount the Lindt Easter choccies!

The latest TANK Vodcast is out now!

We have a quickie with the Skeptic Editor Barry Williams, a chat with the crowd attending Skeptics in the Pub in Sydney, a chinwag with two members of SkeptiCamp in Colorado, a peek at TANK Host Richard’s recent seminar for the Australian Skeptics , and The Skepbitch’s interview of Randy Felts, Ghost Tour Host extraordinaire - outside The Alamo, in San Antonio, Texas.

Is the Alamo haunted?

Get into The TANK…the only Skeptical Vodcast.