I need to have a little woo-inspired rant

[sg1985]

My bf (now ex-bf) was writing an article for the local paper on a paranormal society. I got to attend the interview (where I ended up asking all of the questions as I'm a reporter as well and I have a big mouth) and they were really nice people who claimed emphatically that what they did was science. To their credit they worked to disprove a lot of things. They didn't see a spec in a photo and shout that it was an orb or try to say that the house had ghostly cold spots when there was an AC vent nearby.

At any rate, they let us hear some of the recordings off of the EVP. I might add that they were pretty impressed that I knew what some of their equipment was called. Although I didn't tell them where I had gotten my information from.... One had a voice of a ghost busters saying "Can we tell the people that you're in the house" or something similar, to which a quiet voice responded "Yes, you may."

Later he went on an assignment with them. When he came back he told me about all of the creepy things that happened (i.e. The EMF detector got crazy readings and there was nothing electronic around! Except for his cell phone. And the girl's radio. And.... Yeah.) He then added that he was now a believer.

My heart sunk. I did my best. Before the interview I sat him down and made him watch the ghost hunters episode of Penn & Teller's ********. I told him about JREF and the million dollar challenge, I gave him the JREF homepage, and suggested other skeptical web pages. I tried to show him the skeptic's point of view and get him to think about things logically and not give in to the allure of the woo. I tried, but I failed.

Later, he discovered that I was watching Criss Angel: Mindfreak. He said that that was hypocritical since I was skeptical of everything and I was watching a show centered around a person with paranormal abilities. I think that Criss Angel is a pompous, somewhat delusional magician. I was enjoying the show because of the "Wow, how did he do that?" amazement factor. I occasionally go online and read about how his tricks were performed.

I don't approach Mindfreak believing that I am watching someone with magical powers. I like to watch P&T perform as well, but there is no pretense that they have paranormal abilities. Is it really hypocritical to enjoy watching magic shows when you're a skeptic?

Ah, I feel better now. Does anyone else have woo believers in their lives?

[shadron]

Ummmm.....not if you can't count Republicans. (:), sorta.)

Nice tale, though. When you went on the assignment, did you experience the same things he did?

The right comeback after the Mindfreak show, I think, would have been that he/she doesn't know the enemy is doomed to fail. Whether it really applies is, generally, forgotten. OTOH, sometimes a comedian is just a comedian.

[sg1985]

Ummmm.....not if you can't count Republicans. (:), sorta.)

Nice tale, though. When you went on the assignment, did you experience the same things he did?

The right comeback after the Mindfreak show, I think, would have been tha he/she that doesn't know he enemy is doomed to fail. Whether it really applies is, generally, forgotten. OTOH, sometimes a comedian is just a comedian.

I didn't get to go on the assignment. I was supposed to though. Not entirely sure why that didn't happen. Although I probably would have gotten freaked out if weird things start happening, but I would still know that all of this is not in controlled circumstances so my experience is simply that.

[I Ratant]

You can't be informed as to other opinions if you don't sample those opinions.
Watching woo shows just lets you get ammunition to de-woo them.

[technoextreme]

Later, he discovered that I was watching Criss Angel: Mindfreak. He said that that was hypocritical since I was skeptical of everything and I was watching a show centered around a person with paranormal abilities. I think that Criss Angel is a pompous, somewhat delusional magician. I was enjoying the show because of the "Wow, how did he do that?" amazement factor. I occasionally go online and read about how his tricks were performed.

You could have called him a moron because Criss Angel has railed on Jim Callahan before using an impromptu version of the Million Dollar Challenge. Say what you want about his abilities as a magician he has openly come off as a person who doesn't believe woo. He is pompous but he was like that before he ever performed on television.

[sg1985]

You could have called him a moron because Criss Angel has railed on Jim Callahan before using an impromptu version of the Million Dollar Challenge. Say what you want about his abilities as a magician he has openly come off as a person who doesn't believe woo. He is pompous but he was like that before he ever performed on television.

I didn't know that he went after Callahan. He is a piece of work, btw. One of the episodes I saw was where Criss took "skeptics" and performed tricks that would turn them into believers. He stated that he had magical powers and what he does is not camera tricks or anything else. Purely his magicalness.

Does he not believe in woo or just not believe in anyone else's woo?

[pitbone]

My wife started up at a new ashtanga yoga place. First off, I want to say that I think yoga is great - it's exercise, and it's freakin' hard. That aside, she was sent an email about the practice of ashtanga yoga. Most of it was good exercise related stuff. (eg. Don't eat a big meal before coming to yoga. Yada yada.)

This paragraph made me laugh out loud though:

Like all things of a watery nature (human beings are about 70% water), we are affected by the phases of the moon. The phases of the moon are determined by the moon’s relative position to the sun. Full moons occur when they are in opposition and new moons when they are in conjunction. Both sun and moon exert a gravitational pull on the earth. Their relative positions create different energetic experiences that can be compared to the breath cycle. The full moon energy corresponds to the end of inhalation when the force of prana is greatest. This is an expansive, upward moving force that makes us feel energetic and emotional, but notwell grounded. The Upanishads state that the main prana lives in the head. During the full moon we tend to be more headstrong. The new moon energy corresponds to the end of exhalation when the force of apanais greatest. Apana is a contracting, downward moving force that makes us feel calmand grounded, but dense and disinclined towards physical exertion. The Farmers Almanac recommends planting seeds at the new moon when the rooting force is strongest and transplanting at the full moon when the flowering force is strongest. Practicing Ashtanga Yoga over time makes us more attuned to natural cycles. Observing moon days is one way to recognize and honor the rhythms of nature so we can live in greater harmony with it.

Why can't they just say "Yoga is good exercise. Exercise and eat right and you won't get fat."?

[sg1985]

Wow, I took an astronomy class in college and our professor never said that the moon could make us more emotionally grounded. Of course she also had a print out of the flying spaghetti monster taped on her file sorter.

If the connection between menstruation and the moon is valid then the moon should make women emotionally UNstable.

Namaste. :)

[Tapio]

Ah, I feel better now. Does anyone else have woo believers in their lives?

Tons of 'em. I find the believers of woo to be most enjoyable company. Of course I also need people with true wit and a firm grasp on reality. But something in the way the woo people marvel at the world, with a childlike shine in their eye, is an uplifting blast for me. Not to mention the amount of debatable subjects. Never do I experience an uncomfortable silence when these people are around...oh, and they quite often are also willing to give a good massage or some other type of relaxing treatment for free, genuinely seeming to enjoy it as much themselves!

AND they treat their kids with love and respect.

Beautiful people! :D

(now I'm not talking about these slimeballs who deliberately prey on the ignorant for big cash)

[NobbyNobbs]

Is his conversion to the land of woo the reason he's an *ex*-boyfriend?

[NobbyNobbs]

I have one acquaintance who deos Reiki massage as a career. She and the rest of the group I know her from are all into ghostly encounters.

My father-in-law is into chemtrails, UFOs, precognition, and government cover-ups of same.

[JWideman]

erm. I'm pretty sure Criss Angel's claim of having magical powers is part of his act.

[Cavemonster]

Our new downstairs neighbors believe we are witches.

For a while there was a church in the basement of the house. When they cleaned out the basement to set it up, they found some dead animals that had gotten in there and some candles and concluded that we were practicing satanic rites.

So they started to blame us for everything that went wrong in their lives. Eventually they moved out and were replaced quickly with people who liked to blast their music.

About five days after they moved in, I went down to ask them to turn it down a little and in addition to threats, was told that they didn't have to listen to us because the old tenants had told them "You guys do voodoo and ****"

The story only gets more ridiculous after that.

[sg1985]

Is his conversion to the land of woo the reason he's an *ex*-boyfriend?

I'm not sure actually. In fact I have no idea why we broke up. After 4 months of dating he ignored me for 3 days then said that he was really struggling to fit me into his schedule and it was just so hard and he was really trying, but he's just so busy (which is total bullsh*t). Then I broke up with him.

So it could be woo differences. It could be that he didn't like the color I dyed my hair. It could be that I didn't want to watch A Clockwork Orange. Your guess is as good as mine.

But come to think of it; I really don't want to date a woo-er. I'm open to new ideas and experiences but if you believe that John Edward (the biggest douche in the universe!) has psychic abilities, it's just too much. Hmmm, if I do a personal ad I should mention that.

[sg1985]

Our new downstairs neighbors believe we are witches.

For a while there was a church in the basement of the house. When they cleaned out the basement to set it up, they found some dead animals that had gotten in there and some candles and concluded that we were practicing satanic rites.

So they started to blame us for everything that went wrong in their lives. Eventually they moved out and were replaced quickly with people who liked to blast their music.

About five days after they moved in, I went down to ask them to turn it down a little and in addition to threats, was told that they didn't have to listen to us because the old tenants had told them "You guys do voodoo and ****"

The story only gets more ridiculous after that.

Wow, that's so weird and sad at the same time. I love how thinking someone does Voodoo is a justification for playing loud music. If I believed in Voodoo I would be scared that you would put a curse on me or stick severed chicken heads in my room or something.

[Cavemonster]

Wow, that's so weird and sad at the same time. I love how thinking someone does Voodoo is a justification for playing loud music. If I believed in Voodoo I would be scared that you would put a curse on me or stick severed chicken heads in my room or something.

You have no idea how much we have been tempted to stick severed chicken heads in their apartment.

[Apathia]

My previous girlfriend, with which I was living, sat me down and told me the faries had advised her to break up with me since I was drawing her away from her path toward wealth and prosperity.

To make the long story short, I owe a debt of gratitude to those faries. She's gone on to the Secret, anti-vax, 2012, and every kind of flaky, shallow, New Age drivel, while sinking herself into poverty.

[Kuko 4000]

Is it really hypocritical to enjoy watching magic shows when you're a skeptic?


What? Not at all :)

About Criss Angel and woo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criss_Angel

Starting in October 2007 he appeared as a judge on Phenomenon, with Uri Geller and in a CNN interview about the show he told Larry King "no one has the ability, that I'm aware of, to do anything supernatural, psychic, talk to the dead. And that was what I said I was going to do with Phenomenon. If somebody goes on that show and claims to have supernatural psychic ability, I'm going to bust [him] live and on television." [2]

Wikinews has related news:
Criss Angel challenges Uri Geller and Jim Callahan over paranormal claimsOn the October 31, 2007 episode of the reality show Phenomenon, Paranormalist Jim Callahan performed a summoning, purportedly of author Raymond Hill, to help discover the contents of a locked box.[3] Although fellow judge Uri Geller praised the performance, Angel called it "comical" and subsequently challenged both Callahan and Geller to guess the contents of two envelopes he pulled out of his pocket, offering a million dollars of his own money to whomever could do so. This led to an argument between Callahan and Angel, during which Callahan accused Angel of being an "ideological bigot", and after Angel rose from his chair and approached Callahan, the two were pulled apart as the show promptly went to a commercial break.


You can find the ridiculous Geller / Callahan vid from YouTube.

[sthomson]

My family are all a bit woo-ish. I love them so I just smile and nod when my grandpa and his new wife tell stories about witch covens and my guardian angel and channelling and such.

[sg1985]

My previous girlfriend, with which I was living, sat me down and told me the faries had advised her to break up with me since I was drawing her away from her path toward wealth and prosperity.

To make the long story short, I owe a debt of gratitude to those faries. She's gone on to the Secret, anti-vax, 2012, and every kind of flaky, shallow, New Age drivel, while sinking herself into poverty.

Wooooow. It's a good thing you broke up. You don't want to piss off faeries.

[I Ratant]

erm. I'm pretty sure Criss Angel's claim of having magical powers is part of his act.

He did offer $1,000,000 to Geller if G could read the contents of an envelope Angel had.

[TheDeeMan]

Ummmm.....not if you can't count Republicans. (:), sorta.)

Now THAT is comedy. LOL! :)

Dee

[Edges]

It's not at all hypocritical to enjoy watching a magic show even though you know it isn't real. Is it hypocritical to enjoy CSI even knowing that's not how real investigations happen? To like Scooby Doo despite the impossibility of talking dogs? To watch Superman without believing in aliens or superpowers?

By his logic, it's hypocritical of anyone to watch plays or movies because he/she knows that the actors are not the characters and the events are not real. There's this little thing called "suspending disbelief" that all people do when watching something they know not to be real.

As well, in your case, you seemed to have been enjoying it not for the "magic" but for the skill of Criss Angel as a performance artist and illusionist. Enjoying the show doesn't necessarily make you a believer in his magic, it could also mean you are a believer of his performing ability. There's nothing wrong with having respect for skill.

[I Ratant]

I love live magic acts!
How that guy over at the Mall on the weekends suspends the crumpled dollar bill in the air... how he do that?
Criss Angel OTOH, relies on video-tape editing. It's just fancy Photoshopping.

[Biscuit]

I was out drinking the other week and my friend and I began to have a conversation with two rather attractive females. The conversation was moving smoothly and one of the girls asked me, "what's your sign?" I told I was technically a cancer but that astrology is BS. That the stars positions are no longer lining up with the original calendar dates, that gravities ability to have an effect on you is a function of mass and distance and the next star after our own was light years away. Thats as far as I got before she yelled, "you are BS and we are leaving!" She grabbed her friend by the rest and stormed out.

Needless to say my friend was looking at me like WTF did you just say to her. I told him and he just shook his head and went and got some more beers. Oh well...

[Biscuit]

I love live magic acts!
How that guy over at the Mall on the weekends suspends the crumpled dollar bill in the air... how he do that?
Criss Angel OTOH, relies on video-tape editing. It's just fancy Photoshopping.

I saw that done in a bar once, does anyone know how its done?

[Third Eye Open]

I saw that done in a bar once, does anyone know how its done?

A very fine piece of string would be my guess.

[Ron_Tomkins]

My bf (now ex-bf) was writing an article for the local paper on a paranormal society. I got to attend the interview (where I ended up asking all of the questions as I'm a reporter as well and I have a big mouth) and they were really nice people who claimed emphatically that what they did was science. To their credit they worked to disprove a lot of things. They didn't see a spec in a photo and shout that it was an orb or try to say that the house had ghostly cold spots when there was an AC vent nearby.

At any rate, they let us hear some of the recordings off of the EVP. I might add that they were pretty impressed that I knew what some of their equipment was called. Although I didn't tell them where I had gotten my information from.... One had a voice of a ghost busters saying "Can we tell the people that you're in the house" or something similar, to which a quiet voice responded "Yes, you may."

Later he went on an assignment with them. When he came back he told me about all of the creepy things that happened (i.e. The EMF detector got crazy readings and there was nothing electronic around! Except for his cell phone. And the girl's radio. And.... Yeah.) He then added that he was now a believer.

My heart sunk. I did my best. Before the interview I sat him down and made him watch the ghost hunters episode of Penn & Teller's ********. I told him about JREF and the million dollar challenge, I gave him the JREF homepage, and suggested other skeptical web pages. I tried to show him the skeptic's point of view and get him to think about things logically and not give in to the allure of the woo. I tried, but I failed.

Later, he discovered that I was watching Criss Angel: Mindfreak. He said that that was hypocritical since I was skeptical of everything and I was watching a show centered around a person with paranormal abilities. I think that Criss Angel is a pompous, somewhat delusional magician. I was enjoying the show because of the "Wow, how did he do that?" amazement factor. I occasionally go online and read about how his tricks were performed.

I don't approach Mindfreak believing that I am watching someone with magical powers. I like to watch P&T perform as well, but there is no pretense that they have paranormal abilities. Is it really hypocritical to enjoy watching magic shows when you're a skeptic?

Ah, I feel better now. Does anyone else have woo believers in their lives?

Just let him know that Criss Angel does not claim to have supernatural powers. There's an interview that Penn Gillete does with Criss Angel where they discuss that.

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[sg1985]

I was out drinking the other week and my friend and I began to have a conversation with two rather attractive females. The conversation was moving smoothly and one of the girls asked me, "what's your sign?" I told I was technically a cancer but that astrology is BS. That the stars positions are no longer lining up with the original calendar dates, that gravities ability to have an effect on you is a function of mass and distance and the next star after our own was light years away. Thats as far as I got before she yelled, "you are BS and we are leaving!" She grabbed her friend by the rest and stormed out.

Needless to say my friend was looking at me like WTF did you just say to her. I told him and he just shook his head and went and got some more beers. Oh well...

Lol!

That is so funny, yet wrong... but funny!

I took an astronomy class a while ago and we went over astrological signs and how they're bs and about the changes in the line up. I'm a Virgo but I should be a Leo. So now I don't know what I am! :confused:

It sounds like the beers were better companions, lol.

[Biscuit]

Lol!

That is so funny, yet wrong... but funny!

I took an astronomy class a while ago and we went over astrological signs and how they're bs and about the changes in the line up. I'm a Virgo but I should be a Leo. So now I don't know what I am! :confused:

It sounds like the beers were better companions, lol.

You are a virgin lion.:D

[sg1985]

You are a virgin lion.:D

Me-ow! ;)