Jeremy the Skeptic

Alleged Psychic Sylvia Browne's 2008 Predictions: Success Rate

2009-01-01T22:02:00.000-08:00

Before I start here, I would just like to offer the humblest of apologies for not posting on my blog for approximately four months. I won't make excuses, I'll just say that school and other activities kept me extremely busy.

As I hope any frequent reader of my blog has guessed by now, I am a critic of alleged psychic Sylvia Browne. Starting at the beginning of 2008, I began documenting the predictions she would make on the now-canceled daytime-talk show Montel, hosted by Montel Williams. On the December 31, 2007 broadcast of Montel, Browne made several verifiable predictions dealing with politics, pop culture medicine and natural disasters. I made a list of these predictions here, and offered a mid-year update on them here. Now that 2008 has given way to 2009, I can accurately assess the success rate for the predictions Browne gave for 2008.

On the December 31, 2007 episode of Montel, Browne made 14 predictions that were specific enough to be falsifiable. I will present these predictions in a simple list format, and refer to a correct prediction as a “hit” and an incorrect prediction as a “miss.” I will also offer links to any sources that support or refute the claims made in the predictions and provide my own commentary. Any text which appears in quotes is the exact phrasing used by Browne.

As with all of my posts dealing with Sylvia Browne, I admit freely that I do not think she is psychic in any way, shape or form. Browne's despicable business practices are my definition of evil, and I'm attempting to do what little I can to offer a critical assessment of her. I write these posts in an effort to make Browne's numerous failings as an alleged psychic clear to anyone who may be interested.

1. Britney Spears’ younger sister Jaime Lynn Spears will have her baby.
Spears the younger gave birth to a healthy, although 10-days-premature, baby girl on June 19, 2008. Complications during the delivery apparently forced doctors to perform an emergency Cesarean on the 17-year old. Browne had what amounts to a 50/50 chance of getting this prediction correct. Spears would have either had the baby, or somehow terminated the pregnancy. Given entertainment news media's obsession with the entire Spears family, an abortion of any kind was pretty much out of the question for young Jaime Lynn. Was Browne correct? Yes. Is it impressive? Hardly.
Prediction #1: Hit

2. Browne described Britney Spears as having a “bi-polar condition,” and that she will get help for it in 2008.
A December 9 post on the Times of the Internet explaining Spears' reluctance to embark on a 2009 concert tour was the only blog post or news story I could find that asserts Spears was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, the post does not offer any source to support its claim. Other stories discussing Spears' mental health offered only speculation and no concrete evidence to support the claim that she was officially diagnosed as being bipolar in 2008. Even if Spears actually is bipolar, no news stories reported the singer getting help for the condition.
Prediction #2: Miss

3. Actor Owen Wilson will have “another dip” in his depression.
After Wilson's alleged late-2007 suicide attempt, a 2008 depression-related incident seemed like a logical assertion. However, Wilson had no publicized bouts with depression in 2008. In fact, a February 28 post on the entertainment news blog Defamer reported on Wilson returning to work on Marley and Me, a film currently in theaters, and possible reuniting with actress Kate Hudson, his former girlfriend.
Prediction #3: Miss

4. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will adopt another child.
A November 12 story from the news section of the website Celebrity Archives reported that Pitt and Jolie are planning to adopt another child, but will wait until their twins, born in July of 2008, are six months old.
Prediction #4: Miss

5. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will not stay together.
Since this prediction was given as part of a list of predictions for the year 2008, I think it is safe to assume Browne meant to say that the couple will break up in 2008. As of the writing of this post, Pitt and Jolie are still together.
Prediction #5: Miss

6. United State troops stationed in Iraq will start coming home "in increments" due to the withdrawal of other collation forces.
No major United States troops withdrawals from Iraq took place in 2008. An August 21 article from the website for National Public Radio reported that a deal agreed upon by Iraq and the United States has set a preliminary timetable for a withdrawal of American forces from Iraqi cities by June of 2009.
Prediction #6: Miss

7. President Bush’s approval rating will continue to drop.
According to a December 31 article from the Los Angeles Times, President Bush will end his presidency with some of the lowest marks of approval of any recent president. From the article:

"According to a Pew survey released this month, just 11% of Americans rate Bush as an 'above-average president,' compared with 59% for Ronald Reagan and 44% for Bill Clinton as they left office."

Now, you only really have to have the ability to understand the English language and own a television set to "predict" that president Bush was not going to get any more popular in 2008. In all fairness, though, Browne did call this one correctly; as I'm sure most of the United States would have if asked.
Prediction #7: Hit

8. Senator Barack Obama will become the Democratic "front-runner" in the race to be the next president of the United States.
A cursory glance at any newspaper within the last few months will show that Browne was indeed correct on this one. Notice, however, that she did not go so far as to say that Obama will be the next president of the United States. Since this prediction was made way back in December of 2007, she could not confidently make such a claim. Rather, she saved the "prediction" that Obama will win the presidency for October 3, 2008; a month before the presidential elections. Browne offered this nugget of augury in a video posted on Youtube in which even she did not seem confident in her own powers. Quoted from the video:

"It's getting very close and I...I don't know, I really thought at one time that it might be Barack, but I'm leaning a little toward John McCain now. But that sounds like I'm doing a double thing but I'm still going to stick with Barack Obama. Because I think people need a new regime, I really do."

A month before the elections and she can't be anymore sure than this? Remember, everyone, this is a woman who charges $850 for an over-the-phone "reading."
Prediction #8: Hit

9. Browne predicts "diabetic breakthroughs."
In addition to a University of Manchester team discovering a new technique for turning stem cells into insulin-producing pancreatic tissue, a September 18 article from localtechwire.com reported on a University of North Carolina team that successfully turn human skin cells into insulin producing cells. Insulin is the hormone that people diagnosed with diabetes lack. I can assure you that "diabetic breakthroughs" is all Browne said regarding this specific prediction. Given such a broad claim, medical science was bound to produce something that could be counted as a "breakthrough" regarding diabetes in 2008. One has to wonder why Browne could not offer any more details.
Prediction #9: Hit

10. Browne predicts the use of "sound waves with cancer."
Again, the quoted statement was all Browne had to offer regarding the treatment of cancer with sound waves. Because of her trademark vagueness, a December 22 ScienceDaily article about a pocket-sized ultrasound device could possibly apply. This device, invented by a graduate student at Cornell University, could help treat brain cancer by using intense sound waves to push medication through the brain after surgery. This "prediction" was slightly more specific than "diabetic breakthroughs" but still did not offer much useful information.
Prediction #10: Hit

11. Browne predicts "whooping cough, mumps and measles will be on the rise" in 2008.
This prediction was the most difficult to investigate since news stories often only focus on outbreaks of such diseases in specific parts of the country, as opposed to rises nationwide. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that cases of measles from January to July of 2008 were the highest they've been since 1996. An article in The New York Times attributed this rise in part to the unwillingness of many parents to vaccinate their children for fear of links to autism. Also, the Anchorage Daily News reported December 19 on a rise in reported cases of whooping cough in Alaska's capital city of Juneau, while Physorg.com offered a November 21 report on the rise of whooping cough cases in the Midwest. Despite the ambiguity of Browne's "prediction," I will count this one as a hit for her. Though one must ask the question: if Browne really did see these outbreaks coming, why did she not seek out any medical professionals who could have taken the proper steps to lessen the impacts of the outbreaks?
Prediction #11: Hit

12. Browne predicted more tsunamis.
No newsworthy tsunamis occurred in 2008.
Prediction #12: Miss

13. Browne predicted "a big earthquake in Japan."
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake did strike Japan’s Iwate prefecture on June 14, 2008 killing nine people and injuring at least 200. One would think Browne would have been obligated to alert Japanese authorities to this danger, or at least offer a more specific location. If Browne did either of these things, she did not publicize them.
Prediction #13: Hit

14. predicted "volcanoes erupting from all parts of the country that have been dead for years."
The only reported volcanic eruptions in the United States occurred in Alaska in midsummer 2008. A total of three Alaskan volcanoes erupted over the summer. Hardly "from all parts of the country" as Browne predicted.
Prediction #14: Miss

So, how well did Browne do predicting the major events of 2008? With regards to this list, she predicted seven events correctly and seven events incorrectly. Exactly half. I won't go on to mention the major events that Browne failed to predict, the economic collapse for one, since expecting her to predict events like that would be unfair. With that logic, for example, I could complain that she failed to predict me doing all the various things I did in 2008. It does make one wonder, though, how big does an event have to be for it to show up on Browne's radar?

Pareidolia Mondays: Ghost in My Window

2008-09-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

A slight change of pace for this week's Pareidolia Monday: a story from a Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom news service (The Evening News) reporting on a picture snapped of an alleged ghost in the window of a Norwich church. Why does this count as pareidolia, you may ask? Because while it might not be a religious figure this time, the woman who took the picture still claims to see a human figure in the window of the old church.

Posted on Sept. 8, the story tells of a woman named Janice Mark who was taking photographs of the historic Norwich region, where the St Peter Hungate Church is located. Once she got the pictures home and downloaded them to her computer, she noticed what looked remarkably like a human figure in the church's window. See the above link for the photo.

The article goes on to quote Mark, who works for the company that owns The Evening News, extensively. Mark creates and entire picture of a "medieval preacher" from the glare produced on the window (more on that later):

“'If you zoom into the top window of the church, you can see an image of a white figure with a long bushy beard. If you look closely, you might be able to see his eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
You may just about be able to make out that the figure is wearing something on his head, which also goes down his back,' Mark said”

Rory Quinn, the chairman of the organization that maintains Norwich's historic churches, said he had never heard stories of any ghosts haunting this particular church, but that did not stop him from offering a suggestion as to who the ghostly figure might be:

“It could be the spirit of Mordecai Hewett, who gave his name to the Hewett School in Norwich. It's the 50th anniversary of the Hewett School next week so it could be something to do with that. There's a memorial to Mordecai in the church,' Quinn said”

Now, this is where the article takes a refreshing twist. Most of the time in paredolia stories like this, a believing witness and token skeptic are called in to offer two sides to the story. Granted, the skeptic is usually shoved in at the end of the piece and given one, two paragraphs tops. But, the people at The Evening News were able to find believer and skeptic in the same person: paranormal investigator and author Dominic Zenden.

Zenden, a self-proclaimed spiritual medium who has been practicing his "art" for 25 years, offered a surprisingly sensible explanation for the figure in the window:

“'It is the light relaxing back from the angle of the window to the camera. This is a very common misconception when it comes to photographs of ghosts.'”

Yes, of course. The classic case of a purveyor of the paranormal debunking some ghost sighting to provide an air of authenticity to his or her own business. You'll often see self-proclaimed mediums (media?) and psychics showing faux-skepticism toward paranormal claims that are obviously illegitimate. That way, they can rail against the dangers of "fake" psychics while drawing more business toward themselves. The Queen of Darkness herself, Sylvia Browne, has adopted this ploy several times.

Washington-Based "Channeler" Sues Former Student

2008-09-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

I have Dr. PZ Myers' blog Pharyngula to thank for bringing this story to my attention. The story was originally posted on the website of The Seattle Times.

The Times reported last Wednesday that alleged channeler J.Z. Knight, (full name: Judy Zebra Knight) has brought a lawsuit against a former student of hers who allegedly started teaching Knight's spiritually-themed material without Knight's permission. Knight is the founder of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment located in the small town of Yelm, Washington, approximately 63 miles southwest of Seattle. The case was heard in Thurston County Superior Court in Olympia, WA.

Knight testified last Tuesday that the lawsuit against her student, Whitewind Weaver, was nothing Knight wanted to do. But, as Knight claims, she was so disturbed that Weaver had "moved next door, taken my school's teachings, changed them around a little and then started teaching them," that Knight authorized the lawsuit. The "next door" of which Knight speaks is the town of Lacey, WA, 14 miles northwest of Yelm where Weaver owns and operates Art of Life Coaching Inc.

Weaver's San Diego-based attorney Robert Kilborne asked Knight on the stand why Knight took such strong legal action against Weaver when Weaver had been so supportive of Knight's teachings and school. According to Kilborne, Weaver advised her students in Oregon to follow her lead in moving to Yelm and becoming a student of Knight's. Weaver has since enrolled in more than $8,000 worth of classes. From the article:

"'If you were aware of all the facts, would you have still done what you did?' Kilborne asked Knight during intense cross-examination. 'Why couldn't you have just called her (Weaver)?'"

Who or what does Knight claim to channel and who is this mysterious Ramtha, you may be asking? Apparently, Ramtha is a 35,000-year-old male spirit warrior entity who first contacted Knight in 1977. Among other things, Ramtha has allegedly revealed to Knight that God is within everyone, and that every human being is divine. Knight has apparently made millions of dollars from lectures, books and classes at the School of Enlightenment.

So it's really no surprise that Knight got upset when Weaver allegedly horned in on her action. From the article:

"Knight was the second witness in her case accusing Weaver of breach of contract in connection with a seminar Weaver taught in August 2006. Knight claims the seminar violated terms of a registration form Weaver signed that says teachings at the Ramtha school are for the students' personal use only and cannot be disseminated or taught for commercial gain. Weaver's attorneys deny the allegations."

The second attorney representing Weaver, David Spellman of Seattle, cross-examined Knight's school administrator, Mike Wright. Spellman attempted to show that the registration form in question was inconsistent from year to year, and that the teachings allegedly used by Weaver could be items of public domain. The article goes on to detail one of the teachings, and a particularly humorous exchange between Spellman and Wright:

"Knight's attorneys claim Weaver copied seven school processes, including Fieldwork, an exercise designed to improve the ability to focus attention and intuition by finding a symbolic card on a fence while blindfolded.

'Is "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" focused attention?' Spellman asked Wright.

"'It could be,' Wright replied.

"'So, then is it Fieldwork?' Spellman said.

"'No, it's "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" ' Wright said."

The article reports that the case was expected to continue through last Thursday. No stories in the Times since then have provided any updates on the ruling.

For anyone reading this who may have felt a tinge of familiarity when they read the names "J.Z. Knight" and "Ramtha," that was most likely because both played heavily in the 2004 quasi-metaphysical docudrama What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?. In fact, the film's producers, writers, directors and a number of its stars are members of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. A full review of the movie can be found at the bottom of the page which is linked above.

Since the college I attend is in Bellingham, WA, it seems I'm going to have to take a drive and see this School of Enlightenment for myself within the next year.

LHC Fired Up, World Still Here

2008-09-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

Some personal issues with which I've had to deal over the past few days have kept me from posting everyday. But most of them are cleared up now, so it's back to blogging.

As I'm sure most of you have noticed, the world did not end on Wednesday when the $8 billion Large Hadron Collider was turned on for the first time. Since most other science/geek blogs have already written about this fact ad nauseam, most more eloquently then I, I'll keep this post short and touch on two points which deserve more media attention then they are currently receiving.

The first piece comes from the blog of astrophysicist Ethan Siegel, of which I was made aware by the blog Universe Today. Since most news reports talking about the LHC have managed to shoehorn in the fallacy that the collider could create a black hole large enough to destroy the Earth, Dr. Siegel took it upon himself to determine the worst case scenario of the actual particle-smashing that will take place in the months to come. Siegel describes what would happen if every single collision created a tiny black hole:

"Let’s assume that one million of these collisions occur, and all of them make black holes, which can then merge together (again, this is incredibly, unrealistically optimistic, but let’s go for it). For the maximum collision energy at CERN (14 TeV), E = mc² tells us that the end black hole would have a mass of 2.5 x 10^-14 grams. That’s 25 femtograms, which means this black hole would have an event horizon trillions upon trillions of times smaller than the size of a proton."

The event horizon being the point from which nothing, including light, would be able to escape the tremendous gravity of the black hole. So, if the LHC were to create a black hole, it would only suck in particles within a radius trillions upon trillions of times smaller than that of a proton. To put it mildly, that's really small.

Siegel goes on to describe what would happen if one of these microscopic black holes were to start eating it's way into the Earth:

"As it falls into the Earth, it starts running into protons, and let’s assume whenever it runs into one, it gobbles it up. By time it gets to the center of the Earth, it will have eaten about 10^-16 grams of matter, which means it can grow by about 0.4% in the 30 minutes or so it takes to get to the center of the Earth. It will then head towards the other side, gobbling up that matter until it stops in the upper mantle, and then heads back towards the center of the Earth. It should do this over and over, each time gobbling up more matter (at a constant rate of about 4 x 10^-16 grams per hour), each time getting farther and farther away from the Earth’s surface, never to quite reach it again. "

How dangerous would such a black hole be? According to Siegel, at this rate it would take 3 billion years for this black hole to consume even one gram of matter. I repeat, that's one gram of matter every 3 billion years. Even then, Siegel's calculations are assuming the LHC can create a black hole. A claim he goes on to refute in the last part of his post:

"Even if you managed to make this 25 femtogram black hole, it would decay into normal matter incredibly fast. How fast? According to Hawking radiation, this black hole will be gone in 10^-66 seconds, which means, unless there is some incredible new physics (like extra dimensions), we can’t even make a black hole! Why not? Because anything that happens in a time less than the Planck time (10^-43 seconds) cannot physically happen with our current understanding of physics."

So, every single news story reporting the possible danger the LHC posed to humanity was completely and utterly out of touch with reality. Physicists working at the LHC released statement after statement telling everyone that the experiment posed no danger. Why did reputable news outlets such as MSNBC even mention the possibility of the world ending? Just to grab the attention of readers? Was reporting on the most important science experiment in recent memory not enough?

Maybe more responsible reporting could have prevented the next item about which I'm going to write: the story of a girl in India who took her own life for fear of the world ending at the hands of the physicists working at the LHC.

I first read about this on Dr. Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog. MSNBC.com reported the story Wednesday. The 16-year-old girl named Chayya Lal reportedly drank pesticide last Tuesday and was rushed to the hospital. Once there, doctors were unable to save her.

Lal's parents repeatedly tired to "divert her attention" from the myriad fear-mongering stories about the LHC. From the article:

"Her father, identified on local television as Biharilal, said that his daughter, Chayya, killed herself after watching doomsday predictions made on Indian news programs."

Apparently, many Indian programs have been airing discussions regarding doomsday predictions over the past few days. Chayya's parents were quoted as saying that they tried to convince their daughter there was nothing to worry about, but to know avail.

The MSNBC article said reassurances by physicists as to the safety of the LHC fell on mostly deaf ears in the "deeply religious and superstitious India." East Indian temples saw thousands more devotees than usual last Tuesday due to the Wednesday start-up of the LHC, according to a temple official in Orissa state quoted in the article.

Dr. Plait writes much more passionately about this then I am able to. While it pains me to see the effects of superstition and irresponsible journalism taken to this extreme, Dr. Plait speaks on the importance of critical thinking and skepticism from his position as a father:

"I’m a parent. I sometimes think the most important thing I can do for my daughter is love her, keep her healthy, protect her. But in all of those, there is an overarching responsibility for me to teach her how to live in the real world. And that means showing her how to think. Not what to think, but how. Question authority. Be skeptical of claims. Ask for evidence. Apply good logic. Avoid bad logic. Analyze the results. Look for bias. And doubt. Doubt doubt doubt. It’s one of the greatest strengths of the human mind, and perhaps the least used of all"

Dr. Plait speaks of the blame to be placed upon the girl's superstitious culture, the media and science-illiterates who pushed the "LHC=death garbage," but maintains the majority of the blame lies with us:

"Too many people choose not to think. But our technology, our society, our impact is vast, and now, today, in this world, that choice is one we can no longer afford."

To paraphrase a particularly apt Shakespeare line, "The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

Pareidolia Mondays: Woman With a Sense of Humor Finds Mary on a Grape

2008-09-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the lateness of this edition of Pareidolia Mondays. There have been a number of recent thunderstorms in my hometown which, for safety's sake, have not allowed me to turn on my computer until recently (I'm also blaming the paltry length of this post on its lateness).

An NBC affiliate in Dallas, TX reported last Wednesday on a woman with a refreshing attitude toward her particular example of pareidolia. Becky Ginn, 24, of Arlington has apparently found an image of the Virgin Mary on a grape. See the above link for the picture.

Ginn posted a photo of her discovery on her LiveJournal account, and was subsequently beseeched by friends to contact the local news media. The Dallas NBC affiliate was proud to report that Ginn contacted them first. From the article:

"'I haven't made a shrine to it, nor prayed to it, nor done much of anything except e-mail the picture to a few friends and roll it around in the bowl in the fridge,' Ginn said."

A bowl in the fridge?! Blasphemy! Ah wait, Ginn provided an explanation for her cavalier attitude toward the grape earlier in the brief article:

"'I thought this stuff just happened to Catholics?' she said. 'Mom and I had a laugh about it at first, seeing as how we're Baptists and all and we generally don't expect to see holy people popping up in our foodstuffs.'"

Now it all makes sense. Of course a Baptist wouldn't know how to treat such a holy sign from God. All kidding aside, this is the kind of attitude I would like to see more often portrayed in pareidolia-related stories. All this article really needs is a proper explanation of the phenomenon, and it would be completely acceptable; to me anyway.

Allegedly Fossilized Bigfoot Print Found in Tennessee

2008-09-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

An NBC affiliate in Nashville posted a story Friday about a Cookville, TN man who claims he found a large, humanoid footprint on his property. What makes this story different from the dozens of others telling tales of people finding large, five-toed tracks? This Cookeville resident claims his footprint is fossilized.

Harold Jackson, a self-proclaimed amateur archaeologist, came across the remarkable discovery while taking a walk near the Caney Fork River on his property in Cookeville, about 70 miles east of Nashville. The article claims he had stepped on the rock near his house "for months" until he finally decided to take it inside and wash it off. From the article:

"'I don't know anything about archaeology or anything, but if you look at it, it's a footprint. No animal footprint looks like that. Now, if it's a Native American, an Indian, then he was a big Indian,' said Jackson. '(The print) is about 11 inches wide and about 15 inches long.'"

Jackson is also quoted as saying the print, "[has] got to be thousands of years old." Why does that not surprise me? Not only does this statement most likely reveal the nature of his spiritual beliefs, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's of the opinion that God the created the earth 6,000 years ago, it also reveals how truly amateur he is when it comes to archeology. According to the San Diego Natural History Museum's website, fossilization takes at least 10,000 years. Also, how do we know into what material the alleged footprint has been pressed? Did the reporter even ask that very basic question? It could be concrete for all the picture on the news site shows us.

Apparently, "about half-a-dozen scientists" have expressed interest in examining the footprint, although the article only names one: Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum. If that names sounds familiar, it's most likely because he was quoted extensively in my post about the news media's reaction to the Bigfoot press conference a few weeks ago. Laughably, and a bit embarrassing for Dr. Meldrum, the article calls him, "a famous Bigfoot professor at Idaho State University." A Bigfoot professor? That description hardly does Dr. Meldrum justice. According to Idaho State University's website, he's a real, live associate professor in the department of biological sciences. While Dr. Meldrum and I may disagree on the existence of a certain bipedal primate allegedly living in North America, his achievements certainly deserve more respect than to be written off with the moniker "a famous Bigfoot professor."

Even before these scientists can way in, Jackson has apparently already made up his mind about the existence of Bigfoot:

"'It was just hard for me to believe. But listen, after I found this print, there's a Bigfoot out there somewhere. I don't know what kind of Bigfoot it is, but there's a Bigfoot out there somewhere,' said Jackson."

To any of my regular readers, if I can be hopeful enough to presume that some exist, this story should sound a bit familiar to you. Alleged fossilized footprint found by someone in the southern states? Check. Less-than-subtle religious overtones? Check. Discoverer waiting a while before revealing the find? Check. Yes, this story shares many traits with the alleged "dinosaur over human" footprint about which I wrote at the end of July. The only real difference between the two articles is that a slightly more credible scientist is mentioned in the Bigfoot track piece. There must be a huge fake footprint market in the South. I wonder how one would go about getting into such a racket.

Bible Courses To Be Offered in Texas Public Schools

2008-09-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

The Dallas Morning News reported August 29 on a statement released by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott clarifying a Bible study bill approved by the Texas state legislature last year. Abbott's statement said the bill does require some instruction on the Christian Bible and its historical impact as a piece of literature, but that more intensive elective Bible courses will only be offered if the local school boards vote for them. From the News article:

"The legislation 'authorizes but does not require school districts and charter schools to offer elective courses on the Hebrew Scriptures and its impact, or on the New Testament and its impact,' the attorney general said."

The statement, released August 28, has apparently cleared up some confusion regarding among Texas lawmakers, teachers and education advocates.

"Lawmakers and various citizen groups had been waiting for the opinion to clear up confusion over what the 2007 law required. Most legislators, including the Republican chairman of the House Public Education Committee, said the Bible course was optional for school districts, but some of the original sponsors of the bill said it was mandatory."

Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, a Texas group advocating religious liberties and the separation of church and state, expressed agreement with the bill's clarification. The article quotes her as saying, "Local school boards can now breathe a sigh of relief." She went on to say:

"'The State Board of Education threw them under a bus last month by refusing to adopt the clear, specific standards schools need to give the Bible the respect it deserves and help them stay out of court. Now schools won't be required to maneuver through a legal minefield without a map.'"

The article also quotes Jonanthan Saenz of the Texas Free Market Foundation, whose mission statement reads:

"To protect freedoms and strengthen families throughout Texas by impacting our legislature, media, grassroots, and courts with the truth. To do this we are guided by the principles, which limit government and promote Judeo-Christian values."

Saenz expressed support for the bill and Abbott's clarification. The Foundation was apparently in support of a mandatory Bible course. Saenz went on to say:

"'For too long, Texas school districts have been threatened and oppressed by enemies of academic freedom for simply daring to offer instruction on the Bible,' said Jonathan Saenz of the foundation."

However, an article posted on the website of the San Antonio Express-News claims a bit of confusion still exists. From the Express story:

"Some legislative leaders insisted that schools 'may' offer the course if enough students request it, but others contended that schools are obligated to offer a class if at least 15 students want it. Lawmakers approved the Bible bill last year."

Whatever the exact truth may be, it appears this bill and the subsequent "clarification" have to the potential to cause quite a stir within the Texas educational community. If the bill does indeed require "some" course material on the Bible as a piece of literature, then the holy books of other religions, such as the Qu'ran, ought to be at least mentioned. Granted, the Bible has had the heaviest influence on American literature and culture of the all the major religions' holy books, but a comparative study could and should be offered. The biggest problem I could see arising is what version of the Bible school boards would decide to teach. The viewpoint of the Texas Education Agency toward evolution also make me wary of how they would handle such curricula.

However, if the bill merely offers the Bible as an elective course, I see absolutely no problem with it. No matter what stance one may have on religious faith, the Christian Bible has had a tremendous impact on American culture. Understanding its history can only help students who chose to take the class. But, the curricula used in such elective courses would need to be carefully monitored so that the religious beliefs of the teachers or school board members aren't injected.

Whatever the case, this is definitely a matter that needs to be handled delicately, so as not to incite costly lawsuits from either the secular or religious ends Texas' belief spectrum. As with all other similar education issues, the minds of the children in Texas schools need to be put first. Is the state up to the challenge? Only time will tell.

The Haunted Vegas Tour (Part 2)

2008-09-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

When we last left our heroes, they were intrepidly boarding a tour bus bound for the most haunted locales Las Vegas has to offer. Will the spirits of Sin City's most famous dead seek their revenge on the two sarcastic skeptics? Read on to find out.

The first thing that struck me about the inside of the Haunted Vegas Tour bus was its lack of offensive odor. All my previous experience with tour buses, as small as that may be, prepared me for the recognizable smell that humans seem to produce when seated anywhere for an extended period of time. Fortunately, this particular tour bus was noticeably devoid of that. I took that as a good sign.

Kelsea and I were greeted instead by the amicable tour guide; the man in the top hat we had previously seen while driving past the bus. The tour guide (whom I would later find out was named Jac thanks to the guide bios on the Haunted Vegas Tours website) had since removed his slightly overly-dramatic head gear to reveal a head covered half-way with wispy, white hair. Jac's overall undertaker-like image was furthered by the all-black suit he wore, and by his stature (He was taller than my five foot eight frame, which really isn't saying much). To my surprise, Jac did not make as big a deal of our late arrival as I had expected. He only inquired where we were from, and what had held us up. I repeated the whopper that got us on the bus in the first place, to which Jac reacted with a surprising amount of concern. He asked if Kelsea and I were okay, and even made sure our car was in good-enough condition to get us home. I sheepishly responded, "Yeah, we're fine," to all these questions.

After Jac was done making me feel bad for even telling the lie, he went on with the speech he had been giving before Kelsea and I interrupted him. Jac's general introduction of the haunted sites we would be visiting was aided by a roughly 13-inch television monitor at the front of the bus. The screen seemed to be showing as a slide show of sorts, adding a visual component to Jac's tales of deceased Las Vegans. As I had familiarized myself with the sites on the tour beforehand, I took this time to shift my gaze to my fellow tour-goers. The walk from the entrance to our seat revealed the approximately 12 rows of the half-full passenger compartment. The rows were split by a short aisle, with two seats on each side of the aisle and next to a window. The seats were filled by mostly couples, with a few loners and a pair of young women; approximately 15 people in all. Quite laughably, a Halloween-store plastic skull hung from the rear wall of the bus. From Kelsea's and my vantage point, roughly the middle of the bus, the ones who thought themselves serious ghost hunters were easy to pick out. Their intentions were revealed by the expensive-looking cameras slung from their necks. In general, though, this particular tour seemed to be serving as date night for a number of boyfriends and girlfriends; all equipped with a digital camera of some kind.

With Jac's introduction winding down, the bus lurched to life and began its journey to the first spot on the tour: the Flamingo Hotel and Casino. Jac filled the approximately 15 minutes it took to get there with the story of mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. I'll spare you all the non-ghost-related details Jac provided to the group. The only bits of history you really need to know are that Bugsy , along with some mobster buddies, invested in the fledgling casino in the mid-1930s. After skimming too much money from the mob-run operation (you'd think he would know better), he was killed on June 20, 1947 in the house of actress and girlfriend Virginia Hill. Hill, it turned out, had told the mob exactly where Bugsy would be so they could "collect." After Jac got all the history business out of the way, he told of the various place's Bugsy's ghost has been sighted in the Flamingo. In addition to the garden which contains a memorial to the slain mobster (the first stop on the tour),Siegel is also said to haunt one of the suites at the top of the Flamingo's hotel tower. Bugsy refuses to leave this room, Jac said, because it contains the toilet from Bugsy's original apartment in the Flamingo.

The bus jerked forward a bit as the driver applied the brakes and made the right turn into the Flamingo's tour bus parking area. Jac told us that the memorial to Bugsy , located in the Flamingo's garden/pool area, would be our first stop. Not surprisingly, the ghost of the deceased gangster has also been spotted in this area. A brief walk through a bit of the Flamingo's casino, oddly devoid of the usual throngs of eager tourists feeding the ubiquitous one-armed bandits, brought the group to the garden. The odd combination of live bird smell and that of scrambled eggs met my nose as Jac led us outside. I knew beforehand about the live birds, mostly flamingos, the hotel casino kept by the pool, but the al fresco diners enjoying a late-night breakfast were a surprise. Jac lead the group on a winding concrete walkway through decorative bushes drenched with the water of sprinklers working over time until we reached the memorial. Once there, he practically begged everyone to take as many pictures as possible. Undoubtedly in an attempt to get the tour-goers to capture evidence of Bugsy's ghost on camera in the form of the laughable "ghost orb." With cameras flashing everywhere, one tour-goer did manager to capture a mysterious streak of light over Bugsy's roughly eight-foot tall memorial. He eagerly showed it to Jac, as if the discovery would win him some kind of gold star. I managed to sneak a peek of the photo in question on the man's camera display: it looked to me like nothing more than the small light at the top of the memorial being blurred by the movement of the camera in the longer exposure "night shot" mode with which most all digital cameras come equipped. Jac said it could be something, or it could be a blur. The man turned away with the slightest look of disappointment on his face.

It's as this point in my re-telling where I must apologize for the lack of detail, and the failure of my memory, I fear may infest my writing from here. You see, Kelsea and I had been furiously jotting down notes all through our walk to Bugsy's memorial. However, once the picture-taking had subsided a bit, Jac pulled me aside and politely told me such note taking was not allowed on the tour. I later found out that this regulation was due to the detailed notes a patron had taken a few years ago while on the tour and had used to start his own. I know return you to the story.

With Kelsea and I musing over the then-unknown reasons for such a ban on note taking, Jac lead the group back through the casino and onto the tour bus. The bus began its journey up the small incline which lead out of the parking area, and Jac began his next story. He told us we would next be driving past the lamp post where rapper Tupac Shakur was shot while riding as a passenger in his manager's BMW. Jac filled the approximately 15 minutes it took to get there with the rather uninteresting, at least to me, events leading up to of Shakur's death. Of course, the rapper's shade had been seen by a few people walking past the infamous lamp post. Unsurprisingly, the ghost failed to make an appearance for us.

With my interest in the darker side of Las Vegas history waning slightly, as opposed to the ghost stories I was expecting, the bus took us past the so-called "death motel". Jac regaled us with the tales of two B-list television actors who had committed suicide there. Apparently, guests who have rented that particular room, utilized for the last time by both actors, often complained of noise coming from upstairs. But, the motel manager would say, the building is only one story! BUM BUM,BAAAAAHHH!! Yeah, I know, not very scary.

By this time it was about 10:30 pm; roughly an hour in and no ghost sitings. On our way to our next stop, the mansion owned by Shakur's manager and allegedly haunted by the deceased rapper, Jac inexplicably told the tale of Bonnie and Clyde. Now, more than a week after the tour, I still cannot figure out why he brought this story up. The only real connection Bonnie and Clyde have to Nevada is that their "death car" now sits in a hotel casino on the Nevada/California border. I don't remember if Jac mentioned if it was haunted or not, but I'm sure someone, somewhere thinks that it is.

As Jac wrapped up the Bonnie and Clyde story, the bus pulled up to the darkened street on which Shakur's former mansion sits. According to Jac, the rather wealthy denizens here have negotiated with the city to: (1) take all the street lights down and (2) prevent all commercial traffic from using the street. This latter ban, unfortunately, includes tour buses. So, we didn't even get to see Shakur's house up close. Jac did encourage us to come back on our own time and seek the mansion since, according to the neighbors, Shakur's ghost walks the grounds at night. With my eyelids growing heavy, the bus lumbered on to our next stop.

Jac's mention of a haunted park shook me out of almost sleep. Could we really be going to the infamous Fox Ridge, the park I had spent so much time investigating? Well, no. Apparently, Vegas is home to two haunted parks, and the ghost tour switches between them. This night, the bus was headed to a park in the Green Valley area of Las Vegas ( a park's whose name has unfortunately left me). Tonight's next stop allegedly contained a brick barbecue which seemed to attract the ghosts of two young boys. To the excitement of most everyone on board, the group would be allowed to disembark here and search for ghosts using "ghost finder" dowsing rods. That's right: dowsing rods. Here's a picture of the marvels of ghosthunting technology:

Can you believe we got to take these home? They must cost a fortune to make! All sarcasm aside, the dowsing rods were made up of bent medal rods in plastic holders, held there by white beads which had been glued on. When held in the hands and in the presence of ghosts, the rods begin to move. According to Jac , the rods crossing, moving apart or one rod moving alone meant that ghosts were nearby. So basically, if the rods moved at all, there were ghosts around. Jac failed to mention the real cause of the "instruments'" movement: the ideomotor effect. This physical phenomenon also accounts for the movements of Ouija boards.

With most of the group chomping at the bit to once again set foot off the bus, Jac passed around a picture allegedly taken by a former tour-goer in the park. He said it showed the ghosts of the two boys standing by the barbecue. All I saw was a lens distortion producing a milky mist. Once the photo made its rounds on the bus, the group disembarked with dowsing rods in hand. The warmish night air was a relief to the overly-air conditioned bus interior. Jac gave a short demonstration with the dowsing rods, teaching us how to hold them: plastic holders in our up-turned fists, arms roughly eight inches out in front of our chests, giving the rods enough room to swing freely. He then let us loose on the barbecue and surrounding area. Like a school teacher telling his children how much time they had on the playground, he told us we could only spend about 15 minutes ghosthunting. The park soon echoed with the oohs and ahhs of tour-goers experiencing dowsing rod movement. There really is nothing like seeing a bunch of adults wandering around a brick barbecue with the there hands held out in front of them, fists pointing toward the sky as if balancing an invisble serving dish. Cameras flashed and soon, just like at Bugsy's memorial, someone called Jac over to see the picture displayed on their camera. The woman had caught the same type of blur as the man at the Flamingo, this time of a far off street light, but somehow illicited a much stronger reaction from Jac. Even as Jac herded us back onto the bus, he was marvelling at the amazing picture the woman had took.

The last three stops now seem a blur to me. I'm sure part of this was due to the fact that it was approximately 11:15 pm, and I did not get a nap that day. The bus took us past the former house of 70s television star Redd Foxx, allegedly haunted by the comedian's ghost. Jac's story and the accompanying slide show on the bus's television monitor told me more about Foxx's rise to stardom and eventual near-penniless death than I ever wanted to know. Employees of the real estate company that now inhabits the house still tale tales of mischievous goings on which are attributed to Foxx's poltergeist.

The next stop, roughly 20 minutes away, took us the past the Italian restaurant, Carluccio's Tivoli Gardens, once owned by flamboyant piano-player and Las Vegas regular Liberace. The place is allegedly haunted by the late performer's ghost, as several employee's there have apparently testified. Kelsea and I ate dinner there a few nights later, and we can only vouch for the quality of the establishment's food. My audible denial of the existence of Liberace's ghost, which has apparently caused wine bottles to be thrown across the room in the past, elicited now noticeable reaction.

At long last, the flashing lights of the Las Vegas Hilton signaled our final stop, and the end of our tour. I don't want to make it seem like the tour was an ordeal, I was just tired. While Jac's take on Vegas history was interesting, his presentation left something to be desired. That is, is was hardly riveting. It seems no story of Sin City's past can be complete without a mention of Elvis. Well, guess what? His ghost allegedly haunts the freight elevator and backstage area of the Hilton's theater. After a show, Elvis would take said elevator to discreetly reach his massive suite at the top of the Hilton. With a final anecdote about Liberace designing Elvis's famous white jumpsuit, Jac's stories came to an end.

The bus rumbled back to the parking lot from whence it had departed. Jac asked Kelsea and I a final time if my car was okay to get back home. A weary "it's fine" escaped my lips, and Kelsea and I ambled back to my waiting PT Cruiser. Two and one half hours spent on a ghost tour, and all we had to show for it were some fun stories and dowsing rods. An experience in which I'm glad I took part, but perhaps not completely worth the $56.25 per ticket.

My final review: three out five candles flickering in the dark.

The Haunted Vegas Tour (Part 1)

2008-09-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

In the final days of my two-week long vacation, I was lucky enough to attend a Haunted Vegas Tour with my girlfriend, Kelsea. The experience was memorable, to say the least, even if it did not completely live up to my expectations. A brief bit of background: the two and one-half hour tour takes eager tourists and ghost hunters, both amateur and, well, amateur, to 21 of Sin City's allegedly most haunted sites.

The balmy, desert night marked on most calenders as August 27 started like most memorable nights do: with a lie. Kelsea and I left my house at approximately 8:30 pm, giving us enough time, we hoped, to fight our way through Vegas traffic and make it to the small hotel/casino from which the tour bus departed at 9:30 pm. The trip there went rather smoothly and, serendipitously enough as you shall see, we arrived at approximately 9:05 pm. For any readers of mine who may live in Vegas, the hotel was located on Convention Center Dr. and Paradise, just north of Desert Inn. As you can probably guess, not the best part of town. I found a parking space across from the presumed tour meeting spot (the bus had yet to arrive) and I figured now might be a good time to make sure I had both $56.25 tickets with me. Why I chose this moment, even I never quite understood. An increasingly frantic search of my pockets and all the nooks and crannys my PT Cruiser had to offer failed to turn up the much needed tickets. As Kelsea, who has the patience of the proverbial saint, calmed me down, my cell phone rang. It was my dad telling me I had left the tickets on the kitchen counter. A wave of simultaneous relief and fresh panic washed over me: I at once new where the tickets were, and that Kelsea and I were most likely going to miss tonight's tour. Fortunately, I was able to talk my dad into meeting me halfway in between the tour meeting spot and my house with the tickets; an approximately 30-minute drive. This spot turned out to be the 1st-8th grade school I had attended in my first years as a Las Vegan. It was now 9:10 pm.

Due to some rather skilled driving on the part of both me and my dad, Kelsea and I were able to make it back to the tour meeting spot by 9:40 pm. Sadly, as I had expected, the tour bus had already departed. But, as Kelsea pointed out, on our way to the hotel/casino we had driven by a small tour bus stopped on the side of the street on which the meeting place was located. We both noticed the bus's tinted windows, and the man inside decked out in a top hat standing in front of the seated passengers. We both agreed, this had to be the bus we had missed. After some discussion, we decided to try our luck and approach the stopped tour bus, tickets in hand. I made a quick u-turn and parked in the lot of the next hotel casino up the street, a few yards from the stopped bus.

The brisk walk of two young suburbanites not quite comfortable in a slightly shady part of town at night brought us to the cab of the bus. The vehicle was one of those van-in-the-front, short-bus-in-the-back numbers; resembling a small RV camper from the outside. I tentatively knocked on the passenger side window of the bus, the side closest to the sidewalk. Once I got the driver's attention, I pressed the tickets up against the window. He motioned for me to come to the driver's-side door. I asked if this was indeed the Haunted Vegas Tour bus, to which the driver replied that is was. This is when the lies started pouring out of me. I told him that my girlfriend and I had been rear-ended on our way to the tour's meeting spot. He seemed genuinely concerned and asked if anyone one had been hurt. I said no one had, and that the accident had barely scraped the paint on either car. He asked me if I had any police report or other such documentation, to which I replied no. I said I had told the driver who rear-ended me that I was in a hurry, and didn't want to make a big deal out of this minor accident. He reacted to this as if it was a sensible answer, and asked to see the tickets. I eagerly showed him my I.D., anxious to let him know that I was indeed the Jeremy who paid for the tickets. With the slightest of nods, he called back to the tour guide letting him know he had two late-comers who were scheduled to take the tour. I flashed an excited thumbs-up to Kelsea waiting on the curb, and we made our way onto the dimly-lit tour bus.

In tomorrow's second and final installment, the nature of people on the tour, loads of dead Las Vegans and fooling around with dowsing rods.

Bigfoot Body Proved a Hoax, No One Surprised

2008-09-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

This may have happened more than a week a ago, but better late then never as the saying goes. I could not resist writing a third post about the Bigfoot body in a cooler story; the third and final installment in what has become a trilogy of credulity, arrogance and, it turns out, enough rubber to excite most people with an S&M fetish.

Yes, as has been reported by the Associated Press and National Geographic News, among others, the Bigfoot body allegedly found by Georgia natives Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer (Larry and Curly to any frequent readers of my blog) turned out to be a rubber suit in a block of ice. This astonishing revelation, (I mean really, who could have seen it coming?), was uncovered by self-described Bigfoot detective Steve Kulls, executive director of squatchdetective.com. Kulls posted a statement on the web site of Searching For Bigfoot Inc., the company of Tom Biscardi; the "real Bigfoot hunter" to whom Whitton and Dyer allegedly first showed the body. From the National Geographic story:

"In a statement posted on the Web site of Searching for Bigfoot Inc., 'Sasquatch Detective' Steve Kulls said he realized the Bigfoot 'corpse' was a fake when the frozen body began to thaw—after the press conference had already taken place."

In his statement, Kulls said he first felt suspicious of the body's authenticity when he and a colleague burned a hair sample for analysis. Apparently, the sample "melted into a ball uncharacteristic of hair." Uncharacteristic of hair? How about the alleged hair turned out to be some form of plastic? It's interesting to me that even after Whitton and Dyer may have perpetrated this hoax against Biscardi, and maybe even stolen his money, a "Bigfoot detective" Biscardi sent to check out the body still chose to parse his words about the hoax. The Nat Geo story continues:

"'Within the next hour of thaw, a break appeared up near the feet area,' Kulls wrote. 'As the team and I began examining this area near the feet, I observed the foot, which looked unnatural, reached in and confirmed it was a rubber foot.'"

Once Biscardi confronted Whitton and Dyer about Kulls findings, the pair admitted it was a hoax. But, Biscardi must not be mistaken for the victim here. There is evidence to suggest that Biscardi was in on the scam from the beginning. The Nat Geo story points out that Biscardi claimed at the press conference to have personally flown to Georgia to authenticate the body. With Whitton and Dyer by his side, Biscardi kept a straight face will proclaiming the body ""was not a mask sewn on a bear hide." Technically, he was correct. How did such an obvious hoax escape the allegedly trained eyes of the "real Bigfoot hunter"?

Further research done by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, a source used by the Nat Geo story, implicates Biscardi even further. From the BFRO report:

"Biscardi didn't start this hoax, but instead latched onto to it once it was presented to him by his dubious associate Steve Kulls. Biscardi's plot was to hype the "discovery" as legitimate, then collect money in various ways as the world grew eager to get a look at the specimen ... then later claim he was 'hoodwinked' about the body so as redirect blame away from himself."

And collect money Biscardi did. The BFRO claims he was asking a $2 fee to see pictures of the costume in the freezer on his website during the approximate week when this story was all over the major news media. Judging by how much hoopla this thing caused, Biscardi may have raked in a considerable chunk of money.

The BFRO report also points out Biscardi's 2005 Bigfoot-related embarrassment:

"After Biscardi was publicly busted and humiliated in 2005 for a different version of a bigfoot body hoax, he claimed he was "hoodwinked" by some bad people who had deceived him (all the while he was raking in money from a phony pay-per-view "surveillance" project). Roll forward to 2008. Biscardi now claims he was 'hoodwinked' ... again ... This time by some ludicrous liars from Georgia. He claims he is 'planning to take legal action against them' ... in an attempt to distract legal action against himself, by prosecutors, for fraud."

As you can see, the BFRO is seriously pissed about this. They have been quoted in numerous articles expressing a desire to see Whitton, Dyer and Biscardi arrested. The report from which I have quoted even calls upon anyone who has wasted money on this scam to contact the police department in Palo Alto CA, where the press conference was held, so a formal investigation can be commenced. The BFRO report describes the legal options left to the police departments under whose jurisdiction this fraud would fall:

"The police department in Palo Alto, California, will move forward with an investigation and arrest if they receive complaints from people who ripped off by Biscardi. Palo Alto police have thankfully recognized a few very important things: 1) Their department (among others), and Santa Clara County, have jurisdiction to investigate the matter as a wire fraud crime, because the press conference was held in Palo Alto. 2) Biscardi has done this same scam before. 3) If Biscardi profited at all from this scam, then it is indeed a wire fraud crime that can be prosecuted. 4) It is quite obvious to everyone that Biscardi was not only complicit in this hoax/scam, but was also the mastermind behind it, after it was delivered to him by Steve Kulls. This last factor is self-evident due to Biscardi's current and past actions, and his current and past statements."

While a police investigation may never happen, the AP story claims Whitton is in the process of being relieved of his duties at the Clayton County Police Department in Georgia:

"On Tuesday (August 19), Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner said he has not spoken to Whitton but processed paperwork to fire him. 'Once he perpetrated a fraud, that goes into his credibility and integrity,' Turner said. 'He has violated the duty of a police officer.'"

So, to recap, what has now become of the "three stooges of cryptozoology"? Whitton is most likely still unemployed, having recently lost his job as a Georgia police officer. Dyer was always described as a "former corrections officer," and will probably remain so for some time after this debacle. Biscardi is probably laughing all the way to the bank, as long as no one complains to the Palo Alto Police Department. Presuming not that many people were credulous enough to pay to see photos that were literally all over the internet, I think this story may have turned out for the better. The news media covering the story from the beginning, if seldom showing serious skepticism, always seemed to approach the farse in a decidedly tongue-in-cheek manner. As Dr. Steve Novella, host of "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe" podcast, writes on his blog NeuroLogica:

"On a positive note I did get the sense that the public was generally skeptical of this event - or at least were waiting for actual evidence. Maybe they are starting to catch on, and this event will help the process - especially since the turnaround from suspected hoax to definite hoax was short enough to be within the public attention span."

Though somehow, I doubt we have seen the last of Mr. Biscardi.

Pareidolia Mondays: Holy Mary, Mother of Log

2008-09-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

For my first post after my two-week hiatus, I was delighted to find a relatively recent pareidolia-related story from Britain's Telegraph. The article, posted on the Telegraph's website last Thursday, tells of a likeness of the Virgin Mary appearing on a tree in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario. Christopher Moreau, 47, first spotted the tree's feminine features as he was sitting down to enjoy a freshly opened beer in his backyard. From the Toronto Sun article, to which the Telegraph story linked:

"'I don't know why it's there, but I think it's a blessing,' said Christopher Moreau, 47, who discovered the tree-bound Mary last week. 'It raises the hair on your neck, it gives you chills.' 'I'm not a wacko,' Moreau said yesterday, adding he was stone-cold sober. "

Moreau claimed at first he wasn't sure what he was seeing. He went inside his house to fetch his mother-in-law in order to find out if she also saw the likeness of the Virgin Mary invitingly holding her arms open.

"'At first I thought I was seeing things,' Moreau said. 'Then I went and got my mother-in-law to tell her. She was overwhelmed by it. She was crying.'"

Moreau believes this miraculous image may have cured his 70-year-old mother-in-law of her lymph node cancer. But, since neither articles offers any context at all for the woman's condition, no solid conclusions can be made about this claim. The Sun article reports that the unnamed mother-in-law received test results a week prior to Moreau's discovery showing that her cancer appears to have cleared. Would Moreau have attributed the cancer's remission to the tree sans alleged sacred image? I think not.

Moreau has generously offered the tree to others seeking salvation, or perhaps a cure for whatever may ail them. He is quoted as saying that Mary is not there just for him, but that she's there to share.

"Moreau said he doesn't want a lineup of thousands of gawkers coming to visit the tree. However, he said he hoped the tree could possibly help those who are ill or in need of a potential miracle."

While Moreau's invitation does seem rather charitable, he really has no right to make such an offer since it is not his tree, but his neighbor's. Fortunately, the Telegraph found the legal owner of the tree who provided a slightly more sensible response to the arboreal Virgin:

"Laughing off suggestions that it was a sign from God, Eulalee Hamilton, Mr Moreau’s neighbor and the owner of the tree,said that the Virgin Mary image was just the scarring from a limb that was cut off the tree a year ago."

Hamilton said she doesn't care how many people come to Moreau's back deck to see the holy tree scar, as long as no one crosses onto her property and damages her garden.

While Hamilton appears to remain agnostic on the subject of tree-born religious icons, Moreau said the sighting has only strengthened his Catholic faith. But, not even the Virgin Mary waving at him from the trunk of a tree can make him attend mass for often.

"'Why do I need to go to church?' Moreau added. 'I feel that God has come to me.'"

I think the aspect of this story that stuck out to me the most was the attitude of Ms. Hamilton, the neighbor and owner of the tree. In a nutshell, her reaction to the alleged Virgin Mary sighting encapsulates my feelings toward religion in general. I don't believe in any gods, but I'm not forcing it on anyone. People should be allowed to believe whatever they want, as long as it does not seriously affect my life or the lives of my friends and family. So to any believer who may be reading this, don't trample on my garden, and I won't trample on yours.

Press Conference Doesn't Even Convince Fellow Bigfoot Hunters

2008-08-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

Matthew Whitter, Rick Dyer and Tom Biscardi promised conclusive DNA evidence, put produced that of a human and a possum. All the "Three Stooges of cryptozoology" had to offer at today's much-hyped press conference were two blurry pictures and a message of conservation. That message? They didn't want to reveal any further information about Bigfoot in order to safeguard this "endangered species." Bullshit.

There are so many news article about this farce of a press conference that it is almost embarrassing. Both for the three stooges and the news agencies involved. Each story offers something little different about the story; more background here, a few more quotes from the press conference there. The only way I can take a truly "fair and balanced" look at this story is to touch on each article individually. So as not to play favorites, I will present the articles in alphabetical order based on the name of the news agency.

Let's start with the Associated Press piece. The AP story quotes Bigfoot researcher and Idaho State University professor Jeffrey Meldrum as not being at all convinced by the "evidence" presented at the press conference:

"'What I've seen so far is not compelling in the least, and I think the pictures cast grave doubts on their claim. It just looks like a costume with some fake guts thrown on top for effect.'"

If you decide to read any further, Meldrum's name will become very familiar to you. Nearly every story I found quotes him at least once. The AP story also brought up the three separate stories Whitter and Dyer (whom I've decided to call Larry and Curly, since Biscardi is clearly the brains of the operation) have presented describing their "discovery" of the body:

"In one, the animal was shot by a former felon, and the men followed it into the woods. In a second version, they found a "family of Bigfoot" in North Georgia mountains. In the third, the two were hiking and stumbled upon the corpse with open wounds."

A story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution paints a pictures of these two rubes that does not lend them any more credibility. I wonder how hard they had to stifle their laughter after releasing this gem:

"Still 'we’re now the best Bigfoot hunters in the world,' said Whitton, 31, of Ellenwood, who with Dyer, 28, wore ballcaps advertising their bigfootracker.com Web site."

The AJC article also reveals some the pair's antics before they hit the big time, talking in front fancy reporters and their cameras:

"They previously posted a video of the purported bigfoot on YouTube in which Whitton’s brother pretended to be a scientist, then announced it was all done in fun. And a recorded greeting on Whitton’s phone formerly claimed he and Dyer were leading expeditions to find not just bigfoot but also the Loch Ness monster and leprechauns."

Larry and Curly's excuse for this? They wanted to throw off all the "psychos" who were apparently hounding them after the first spoke of their discovery on a Bigfoot-themed radio show.

The AJC report also offers more information on the hoax Biscardi (Moe) perpetrated in 2005:

"In 2005, Biscardi claimed he had come across a woman in Nevada who had captured two living bigfoot creatures. He charged about $15 for visitors to his Web site to see blurry streaming video claiming to show the captured creatures."

The next story from the CBC offers little we haven't heard before, but does provide a concise explanation of the fruits of the DNA tests, and Moe's tortured explanation:

"Biscardi vowed that DNA evidence would vindicate the men. But he later said that one of the three samples sent for examination came back as human DNA, another was inconclusive, and a third came back as the DNA of a possum, which he said could have been from something the Bigfoot ate."

But since Moe never says from which part of the Bigfoot "body" the DNA samples were taken, this explanation doesn't seem to have a leg on which to stand. Even if the sample was taken from the alleged stomach of the beast after just enjoying a hearty meal of possum, the DNA would most likely have been destroyed in the digestion process.

The CBC article also reiterates the AP claim of Larry and Curly's three different "discovery" stories:

"Whitton and Dyer have so far offered three different tales about how they came to find the creature: In one, the animal was shot by a former felon, and the men followed it into the woods. In a second version, they found a "family of Bigfoot" in North Georgia mountains. In the third, the two were hiking and stumbled upon the corpse with open wounds."

The article posted on the Discovery News website quotes Meldrum much more extensively, clearly showing how laughable he, a self-described Bigfoot researcher, thinks this whole thing is:

"'What they are claiming to be Bigfoot in a photograph doesn't look natural,' Jeffrey Meldrum, a professor of anatomy in the Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University, told Discovery News. 'When the photo is juxtaposed next to an off-the-shelf costume, the resemblance is remarkable,' Meldrum added."

The Discovery article also offers some context for this situation. Georgia resident Charles Doyle, who is a noted folklorist and an associate professor of English at the University of Georgia describes the reasons why such an outlandish tale is proving popular in his region:

"'Much of the lore of Bigfoot, I suspect, is what one eminent folklorist a generation ago called "fakelore" -- invented figures with little or no basis in actual oral tradition that are passed off as local folklore, figures like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill -- for purposes of PR, attracting tourists, selling tabloid newspapers and magazines, creating children's literature, etc.,' Doyle explained."

The FoxNews.com article is only worthy of mention because the reporter actually sought out a Halloween costume seller to comment on the alleged picture of the "body" lying in a freezer:

"'It definitely looks like our costume,' Jerry Parrino, owner of TheHorrorDome.com, told FOXNews.com."

When even Fox News sees fit to rag on your credibility like this, you know you have a serious problem.

At last we come to the final article in my alphabetical hall of shame. This one comes from Scientific American, and presents a full-on interview with our good buddy Jeff Meldrum. In it, Meldrum actually identifies the scientist who preformed the DNA tests, but does not let any credibility seep into the story because of it:

"All the rumors about the bigfoot DNA results are just that: rumors. I spoke to Curtis Nelson (a biologist from the University of Minnesota) who is doing the DNA tests, and he all he could say is that there are no results yet—he can't say anything more due to a nondisclosure agreement. Apparently Curt just received a vial of tissue in the mail, and there's no chain of custody, no validation that this tissue came from the corpse in question. Since there is no known Sasquatch genetic material to compare it to, he may just end up with a gene sequence that doesn't match any other primates, at best."

The SciAm article was posted before the actual press conference, explaining Meldrum's description of the DNA samples as "rumors."

Meldrum's phone must have been ringing off the hook because of the three stooges. I feel a bit sorry for the guy. I cannot wait to see where Larry, Moe and Curly turn up next after being raked through the coals of critical thinking by so many news organizations. A few articles mentioned Moe claiming more test results will be revealed on Monday, but I somehow doubt it.

A side note, Jeremy the Skeptic will put on hold for the next two weeks. I'm glad I had to chance to write about this hilarious story as my last post for a while. Nothing makes me happier than to see blatant hoaxers get their asses handed to them by the news media.

Alleged Bigfoot Body to be Unveiled Friday, August 15

2008-08-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

This story has been bouncing around on various cryptozoology-themed blogs and websites for the past few days. Two self-proclaimed bigfoot hunters from Georgia (the US Georgia, not the one under siege by Russia) have apparently found their very own Bigfoot body. The team of Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer issued a press release on August 12 announcing that they would be revealing DNA and photographic evidence at a press conference to be held in Palo Alto, CA on Friday. The event will be opened to verified members of the news media only.

The link to the press release takes you to the website of Searching for Bigfoot Inc, the company of man named Tom Biscardi. In a recent radio interview, Whitton and Dyer described Biscardi as a "real bigfoot hunter" and because of this, Whitton and Dyer have only let Biscardi analyze the body so far. From the article:

"'The only person we would allow to come down and verify the body was 'the real Bigfoot Hunter,' Tom Biscardi,' Dyer said."

Whitton and Dyer claim in the press release that a team of scientists, all of them unnamed, will be studying the body in detail:

"Extensive scientific studies will be done on the body by a team of scientists including a molecular biologist, an anthropologist, a paleontologist and other scientists over the next few months at an undisclosed location. The studies will be carefully documented and the findings will be released to the world, according to Biscardi."

I imagine by now some readers may find something a bit fishy about the clandestine manner in which Dyer and Whitton are handling this matter. They don't name the experts that are in line to examine the body, they keep the location a secret and they promise to present only "DNA evidence and photo evidence" at the press conference. Why wouldn't they want to bring the actual body? Pictures of it, which can be found at the press release link, already show it residing in a cooler. Why couldn't they arrange to have it flown to the press conference in California. For that matter, why even have the press conference in California?

Benjamin Radford, managing editor for Skeptical Inquirer, brings up another interesting point in an article posted on LiveScience.com. Apparently, Biscardi was involved in a similar "unveiling" in 2005:

"A man named Tom Biscardi, founder of something called the Great American Bigfoot Research Organization, once claimed he had captured a Bigfoot. On Aug. 19, 2005, Biscardi appeared on the radio show "Coast to Coast with George Noory." Biscardi claimed his group had captured a Bigfoot a week earlier, a male beast that weighed over 400 pounds and stood 8-feet tall. He said he would be presenting photos of it several days later. It turned out to be a hoax."

The press release also mentions a documentary released by Biscardi in 2006 called "Bigfoot Lives." Could this whole thing be an elaborate publicity stunt? Even if a hoax is revealed, I'm sure the attention already drawn to Biscardi has increased sales of his documentary.

No matter what this turns out to be, genuine scientific discovery or monkey suit in a cooler, I would love to be able to go to that press conference tomorrow. I'll just have to be content to sit on the sidelines and wait for CNN to bring the earth-shattering discovery to me.

University of California's Rejection of Creationist Textbooks Ruled Constitutional by a California Federal Court

2008-08-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

The National Center for Science Education reported yesterday the defendants in Association of Christian Schools International et al. v. Roman Stearns et al. have prevailed. The lawsuit, originally filed on August 25, 2005, was focused around the Association of Christian Schools International's disapproval of the University of California system's policies and statements relevant to evaluating the qualifications of applicants for admission. The Association, along with Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, California, and a handful of students at the school, sued the defendants, claiming the UC system unconstitutionally denied the applications of students from Christian schools. UC deemed the Christian high school course work inadequate preparation for college. The UC system claimed Christian school biology courses which used textbooks entitled Biology: God's Living Creation from A Beka Books and Biology for Christian Schools from Bob Jones University Press were, "inconsistent with the viewpoints and knowledge generally accepted in the scientific community."

On March 26, 2008, Judge S. James Otero ruled in favor of the defendants' motion establishing the constitutionality of the university system's policies and statements relevant to evaluating the qualifications of applicants for admission. However, the plantiffs' claim that UC policies and statements relevant to the specific cases cited in the lawsuit were unconstitutional was still unresolved. The defendants' motion for a judgment on the plantiffs' specific cases was granted in the ruling Judge Otero set down on August 8, 2008. The ruling ended: "Because Plaintiffs fail to raise any genuine issue of material fact to support their as-applied claims, Defendants' Motion is GRANTED" (emphasis in original).

The August 8 ruling addressed UC's rejection of a biology course submitted by Calvary Baptist school which used Biology: God's Living Creation as its textbook. The book was evaluated by Barbara Sawrey, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education, and faculty member in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at UC San Diego. Sawrey described the book as taking an "overall un-scientific approach to the subject matter." Expert witnesses for the defense Donald Kennedy, editor-in-chief of Science, and Francisco J. Ayala, University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at UC Irvine's School of Biological Sciences, had similar reactions to both Creation and Biology for Christian Schools. From the NCSE article:

"Kennedy wrote, 'the problem is not ... that the creationist view is taught as an alternative to scientific explanations, but that the nature of science, the theory of evolution, and critical thinking are not taught adequately.'"

A little more research on the books themselves turned up some interesting excerpts from each of them. On A Beka Book's website were Creation can be ordered, a snapshot of two pages describing the human skeletal system can be found. Here are two of eight questions offered to students as a section review:

" 7. In a paragraph, describe how the structure of the skull is an example of God's design and provision for man."

"8. Men and woman both have exactly twelve pairs of ribs. Why is this not a contradiction of Genesis 2: 21-22?"

Also, excerpts of Biology for Christian Schools found through a Wikipedia explanation of the case (I didn't rely solely on Wikipedia's description, the quoted text can be found on page 40 of the PDF of the ruling) prove Kennedy's description of the book is accurate. From the Wikipedia article:

" Plaintiff's evidence also supports Defendants' conclusion that these biology texts are inappropriate for use as the primary or sole text. Plaintiffs' own biology expert, Professor Michael Behe, testified that 'it is personally abusive and pedagogically damaging to de facto require students to subscribe to an idea. . . . Requiring a student to, effectively, consent to an idea violates his personal integrity. Such a wrenching violation [may cause] a terrible educational outcome.' (Behe Decl. Para. 59.)

Yet, the two Christian biology texts at issue commit this 'wrenching violation.' For example, Biology for Christian Schools declares on the very first page that:

'Whatever the Bible says is so; whatever man says may or may not be so, is the only [position] a Christian can take. . . .'
'If [scientific] conclusions contradict the Word of God, the conclusions are wrong, no matter how many scientific facts may appear to back them.'
'Christians must disregard [scientific hypotheses or theories] that contradict the Bible.' (Phillips Decl. Ex. B, at xi.)"

Intelligent design proponent Dr. Micheal Behe's testimony on behalf of the defendants did not prove convincing to the judge, even though he was the plantiffs' expert witness. Judge Otero wrote in his ruling:

"'Plaintiffs offer little admissible evidence to the contrary. Plaintiffs' Biology expert, Dr. Michael Behe, submitted a declaration concluding that the BJU text mentions standard scientific content. ... However, Professor Behe "did not consider how much detail or depth" the texts gave to this standard content. ... Therefore, Professor Behe fails to refute one of Professor Kennedy's primary concerns that the nature of science, the theory of evolution, and critical thinking are not taught adequately. Accordingly, there is no genuine issue of material fact as to this issue. Defendants had a rational basis for rejecting Calvary Baptist's proposed Biology course.'"

I'm sure it's obvious by now, and by my previous posts, that I whole-heartedly agree with Judge Otero's ruling. It's hilarious to me that the textbooks in question did not even pretend to be non-religious. No ambiguous "designer" mentioned there; the books unabashedly gave the Christian god credit for creation of the universe. A case like this shows how incredibly free private schools in this country are to teach pretty much anything they want. They really have no fear of any angry "evolutionists" coming in and trying to squelch their beliefs. However, if these private schools want their students to be accepted in the real world, like the UC system, they clearly have to do better. It's ironic that scientists never try to sue anyone to get evolution taught in these private schools, while the reverse is all too prevalent. If the theory of evolution is really this huge conspiracy to get "god" out of the classroom, as some fundamentalist Christians claim, wouldn't evolutionary scientists be trying their hardest to get their theory into the schools where it is least accepted?

Alleged Chupacabra Caught on Video by Texas Police

2008-08-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

A video originally posted on a San Antonio news station's website(KEN 5) has made it all the way to the CNN Video News site. The video of the alleged chupacabra was captured in the small town of Cuero, Texas, just southwest of San Antonio, by DeWitt County Sheriff's Deputy Brandon Riedel.

On August 8, Riedel and his partner were checking fence lines on a dirt road near Cuero when they saw a strange, coyote-sized creature running alongside the road. Riedel, who has been on the job for eight years, had the presence of mind to turn on his patrol car's dashboard camera, in order to capture video of the creature. From the approximately minute-long glimpse of the animal, Riedel said he noticed several unusual features, such as its short front legs and long back legs, hairless skin and long snout. A snout, the San Antonio reporter claims, is the, "type of feature that legends are made of." Riedel said he has never seen anything like this in his many years of patrolling Cuero's dusty back roads.

Here's a still I made from one of the videos, where the snout in question is clearly visible:

Dewitt Count Sheriff Joe (or Jode, the two videos use different first names) Zavesky said the animal is most likely some sort of coyote hybrid, but expects many "experts" to be asking for the video. Despite his explanation, he also claimed, "We still don't what it is." It appears Zavesky might be more interested in the media attention sightings of similar creatures have recently brought to Cuero than finding out what the animal truly is. Quoted from both videos:

"I love this for DeWitt county." Zavesky said, "It has brought alot of attention to us,and I believe there's something to it."

Stories of the chupacabra first caused a stir in the small Texas town when a rancher named Phylis Canion found the carcass of a coyote-like animal on her property in July 2007. Canion's neighbors claimed the deceased creature was responsible for their missing cats and chickens in recent years. Some livestock carcasses were allegedly found with their blood drained. Riedel claims the animal in the video is identical to the creature found on Canion's ranch, or at least identical to the animal about which he has read in the newspapers.

In November of 2007, a story posted on KEN 5's website reported that a DNA test performed by biologists at Texas State University had revealed the true identity of the carcass: a coyote. From the article:

"'The DNA sequence is a virtually identical match to DNA from the coyote,' Mike Forstner, a Texas State University biologist, said in a news release Thursday night. 'This is probably the answer a lot of folks thought might be the outcome. I, myself, really thought it was a domestic dog, but the Cuero chupacabra is a Texas coyote.'"

Only the video on CNN's site mentions this information, while both reports refer to the creature as anything but what it really is. "Goatsucker" and "creature of the night" were terms used by the CNN reporter, with the San Antonio reporter calling it a "legend" more than once. Why did neither of these reports call it a coyote? It's also interesting to note that the San Antonio report misspells Riedel's name. The dashboard camera's time clock in the upper right hand corner spells it "Riedel," which would presumably be the correct spelling since it is Riedel's patrol car. However, the San Antonio report attributes the officer onscreen as "Corp. Brandon Reidel." Is this how journalism is done in Texas?

Forstner admitted the DNA test on the carcass found one year ago did not explain the coyote's hairless skin or other unusual features, but sees those unexplained traits as just more questions to be answered:

"'That is the best part about science. The first answers often lead to more questions and then better explanations of the world in which we live,' Forstner said. 'We've taken additional skin samples and we will try to determine the cause of the hair loss. Folks fear what they don't understand, and a big part of the goal in science is to explain the natural world,'"

I like the way this Forstner guy thinks. Science can still be filled with mystery without propagating tales of a hairless, bloodsucking beast. There are so many more interesting, if less sensational, stories here. Is this a new species of coyote? Has a particularly virile male coyote been knocking up family dogs over the last few years? Is there some unknown mutation making its way through the local coyote gene pool? Is it some combination of all three? All these would have made great news stories, and could prove to be legitimate scientific questions. But of course the local news team chose to go for the "chupacabra" angle. When did science become less interesting than mythology?

Pareidolia Mondays: Is Jesus in Your Five?

2008-08-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

A story posted on the Pensacola News Journal website on August 8 tells of a local woman who has supposedly found a picture of Jesus on her cell phone. Linda Square, 47, was working a volunteer shift at a local laundromat when she decided to take some time for herself and scroll through the numerous pictures of family and friends on her cell phone.

She came across a photo that at first appeared blurry to her. However, a 90 degree shift revealed something she had never noticed before: the alleged image of Jesus Christ. From the article:

"She made out what appeared to be silhouette of her in the foreground on the right, next to an unknown figure. Taking a closer look, she soon was convinced who had made an appearance on her cell phone. It was Jesus Christ."
The above image is an extreme close-up of Square's picture. The article claims that "Shadows of a face and the highlights of what appears to be a beard clearly can be seen," but the only thing that is clear to me is the fact Square most likely attempted to take a picture with her finger in the way of the lens. Square apparently said she does not remember taking the photo or where she could have been at the time. She even took her phone to the store where she purchased it, to make sure everyone knows the photo is genuine. The employee at the phone store assured her that the image was created by her phone, and that no one had sent it to her.

Square claims "she isn't concerned about skeptics," not that the reporter who wrote the article went to the trouble to find any. All she cares about is what the photo means to her:

"'I feel that His message to me is that He is coming back, and He wants me to be ready when He comes. And He's letting me know that He's with me and that He's beside me and He wants me to follow Him. And I'm going to follow Him.'"

The funniest bit of this whole story, for me at least, is what Square decided to do with the photo after she realized its significance:

"Square says discovering the image already has had an impact on her life. So excited was she about this, in fact, that she had T-shirts made with the image and the words 'Jesus & Me.'"

She may be mistaken, just like every other case of pareidolia about which I've written, but at least she's proud of it. And, as far as the article says, Square is not trying to sell the shirt design she came up with; although I might be tempted to buy one were she inclined to do so. I would have loved to see the look on the person's face who made the shirt.

Employee at t-shirt shop:
"You want what written under this picture?"

The Fox Ridge Park Ghost

2008-08-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

While it has been fun trolling through various news websites, scanning them for news fit to write about for this blog, there is nothing quite like writing your own story. Checking on sources, talking to people, doing real investigative work. The thrill produced from such endeavors is really hard to describe, but it's a feeling I find simply intoxicating. But, enough waxing poetic about doing what amounts to exciting homework, let me tell you what I've been up to the past few days.

All this started with the discovery of Haunted Ve gas Tours. Driving all over my hometown in a bus, stopping at nearly all the alleged ghost hangouts Sin City has to offer immediately jumped out at me. What experience would be more appropriate to write about for a blog called "Jeremy the Skeptic"? All the sites the tour visits offer an opportunity to interview eyewitnesses, research a bit of Las Vegas history and really exercise my investigative reporter muscles. Fortunately, I'll be taking this very tour on August 27, accompanied by my beautiful girlfriend, who seems just as excited about the experience as I am. I plan to write a full account of my experiences on the tour, alongside background on each of the allegedly haunted sites. A few days ago, I started research on the stories that will be told on the tour. What follows are the fruits of my efforts so far.

The first site that seemed ripe for investigation was Fox Ridge Park in Henderson, approximately one mile from my house. To those who don't live in Nevada, Henderson borders Las Vegas, and holds the distinction of being Nevada's fastest growing city. The Haunted Vegas Tour advertises Fox Ridge as a chance to get off the bus and stretch your legs a bit, and to capture the alleged ghost of a boy killed in a drunk driving accident on film. From the "ghost blog" on the tour's website:

"The swing at Fox Ridge park in Henderson Nevada is home to the ghost of a little boy who likes to swing late at night. It seems that the ghostly youngster doesn't like to be bothered while swinging. If you look him in the eyes his face turns into a "demon" and he vanishes."

The drunk-driving account comes from a book entitled Weird Las Vegas and Nevada, which happens to be co-written by Tim Cridland, one of the Haunted Vegas Tour guides. The book cites an unnamed Las Vegas paranormal investigation group as the source for the story. Finding which Vegas paranormal investigative group provided the book's information would be my next objective.

Both the authors of Weird Las Vegas and the Haunted Vegas Tours website cite a woman named Janice Oberding as a historian and paranormal investigator with whom they consulted regarding the most well-known ghost stories in Vegas. Oberding is the author of Haunted Nevada, a book published in 2003 recounting all the various ghost stories that permeate Nevada's past. I looked up Oberding's name and found her website, which describes her as a member of Las Vegas Paranormal investigations (LVPI). (LVPI's website has an elaborate Flash animation intro that might take a while to load over some connections. Just a warning.) LVPI appeared to be just the Vegas paranormal group for which I was looking.

The first e-mail sent off in this entire endeavor went to the head of LVPI; a Mike C. I asked if LVPI was indeed the group mentioned in Weird Las Vegas and if they were, would he be able to provide me with any details regarding the alleged ghost. This is what Mr. C. told me:

"I can tell you that the park is haunted by the boy who was killed by a drunk driver. Boy's name is unknown and a woman who was killed by an axe. The boy plays on the swings and the lady walks the perimeter of the park looking for her kids."

While the little boy story fit with Weird Las Vegas's account, the murdered woman was an addition I had never heard. I replied to Mike C. asking if he knew when the boy or woman were killed, and if he knew of any police reports or newspaper articles that supported the stories. He has yet to reply to me.

I sent out a flurry of other e-mails asking about the Fox Ridge story, one to Oberding, others to various ghost-themed websites listing Fox Ridge as one of many haunted sites in Henderson. All contained the question, phrased basically the same, "Where did you hear this story?" (I have yet to receive replies to any of them.) With those sent, I decided I could only do so much with my face 12 inches from my computer screen and my mouse furiously finding its way through links, as if it was searching for some elusive piece of digital cheese. I needed to see this place for myself. So, equipped with camera, pen and notebook, I drove the approximately 20 minutes to Fox Ridge Park.

What first greeted me as I turned the corner onto the street adjacent to the park was a flood of childhood memories. It turns out I had spent more than one hot, summer day with my friends at Fox Ridge as a fourth-grade student. At that time, I don't remember hearing any tales of deceased children or women cleaved by axes inhabiting the park. I suppose that's for the better. At that age, such stories would have never let me return to the playground and swing sets I found so enjoyable.

With the nostalgia fading, I found a parking space and made my way across the street to the well-tended grass of the park. I was searching for some sort of memorial to a child killed in a drunk-driving accident. All the tales never said where the boy was killed, but I felt it was safe to presume it was somewhere near the park. Why else would the boy's ghost bother to haunt the place? What I found were 10 memorial plaques placed at the base of 10 trees; one plaque to a tree. Each plaque was about the size of a phone book, and seemed to be professionally placed. Some subsequent research found that a memorial tree and plaque could be bought from the Henderson Department of Parks and Recreation for $250 US. Some of the plaques described people that could have been the boy or murdered woman, so I took pictures of those and continued my trek around the park. While decidedly not frightening during the day, I could see how Fox Ridge could take on a haunted air in the middle of the night. The slightest breeze made the chains of the swing sets clink and the leaves of the numerous trees rustle ominously. However, I heard nothing but cars passing by and the drone of lovesick cicadas. If the park is indeed haunted, no ghost saw fit to make its appearance known to me.

With the names of some possible ghosts in hand, I returned home and delved into the online archives of the Las Vegas Review Journal (RJ), the city's largest newspaper. I hoped to find any article describing deaths similar to the ones told in the story. I was able to affirmatively rule out five of the 11 memorial plaques whose names I recorded. One story ruled out three plaques at once: those of Esther, Cynthia and Cathy Perez. All three women were killed in 1996 in a car accident. No drunk driver was reportedly involved. From the RJ article:

"Esther Perez was killed on Interstate 15 near the California-Nevada border when the sport-utility vehicle she was traveling in with her daughters Cathy, 16, and Cynthia, 17, veered out of control and then flipped, California Highway Patrol officer Ed Martinez said."

The forth plaque held the name of a woman who could have fit the description of the murdered ghost. Her name was Brenda Stuart-Rowsell. I was able to find her obituary in a 2005 edition of the RJ:

"BRENDA STUART ROWSELL We would like to say to our beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend, Brenda Lynn (Stuart) Rowsell, 28, a homemaker, of Henderson, who was called to be with her Heavenly Father Monday, Feb. 7, 2005, in Henderson; that we love you very much and we will see you later. Brenda was born April 23, 1976, in Salt Lake City. Brenda is survived by her husband, Eric; children, Eric, Ashley, Kara and Katie; mother, Karen; father, Jim (Scherry); brothers, Richard (Mindy) and Bryan; sister, Rachel; grandparents, Al and Genette Taylor and Don Cole; aunt, Janice (Ron); uncles, Roger and Ray (Sherri); and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews who will miss her always. Brenda has been reunited with her grandmother, Joann Cole."

No mention of a murder in the obituary, nor could I find any news story describing such an occurrence.

The fifth plague contained the names of two men: Steve M. Szany and Dave A. Bender. No age was given for either of them on the plaque, so I thought either one of them could have been the boy allegedly killed by a drunk driver. It turned these two men were murdered in 2000 by Stephen Ciolino. From the RJ story describing Ciolino's sentencing in 2005:

"In a sentencing hearing, Stephen Ciolino acknowledged in the courtroom of District Judge Jennifer Togliatti that he participated in the murders of David Bender, 21, and Steve Szany, 22, at a Henderson apartment complex in 2000."

Searches of the names of the rest of the plaques turned up absolutely no news stories, nor any records from the Clark County Coroner's office. In fact, I found no stories telling of any drunk driving accident near Fox Ridge Park. I called the elementary school bordering the park, Estes McDoniel Elementary School, on Friday to see if any teachers there had heard the stories. The school was unfortunately closed for the day. I plan to try again Monday.

After I went as far as I could go with the names on the memorial plaques, I decided to search for further retellings of the Fox Ridge ghost tale. This is where the story gets a bit interesting. I could find no account of the alleged haunting before 2005. The earliest record of it I found was a story in the RJ about the Haunted Vegas Tour. From the article:

"A highlight of the tour comes at the halfway point, when visitors leave the bus to take a nighttime walk in Henderson's Fox Ridge Park where, some say, a deceased boy still visits. According to a tour guide, a swing in the park occasionally can be seen moving, even when there's no breeze."

The Fox Ridge ghost is also absent from Oberding's 2003 book, Haunted Nevada. Why did she not see fit to include it? How did the story make it into Weird Las Vegas, which was published in 2007? Did the people at LVPI simply make it up, or is everyone involved? These sorts of questions, though asked in a less accusatory tone, made up the various e-mails to which I have yet to receive replies. I was amazed at how many ghost-themed websites just list this story with absolutely no sources. Doesn't anyone do any research? It also bugs me how the majority of stories in Haunted Nevada cite that ubiquitous bastion of credible information, "some." But that's a whole separate post.

I'm determined to get to the bottom of this. I have no idea how long it will take for the people mentioned above to reply to my e-mail questions. Perhaps a call to Estes McDoniel Elementary will clear some of this up, but I somehow doubt it. The tour itself may provide the answers I seek, though it might be difficult to talk to the guides while they're working. The best lead I have so far is a tentative interview I have with Haunted Vegas Tour guide and Weird Las Vegas co-author Tim Cridland tomorrow. I will of course post any further developments here.

Alleged Ghost Sighting in North Carolina High School

2008-08-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

A video posted on CNN.com on August 8 tells of an alleged ghost caught on camera in an Asheville, North Carolina high school. The text of the story can be found on a North Carolina CBS News affiliates website.

The camera, activated by a motion sensor, caught the shadowy figure in the rotunda of Asheville High school at 2:31 AM on August 1. Charlie Glazener, executive director of public relations for the local school district, says he does not know quite what to call it. Quoted from the story:

"'I’m a logical person, and I wanted to be able to explain to these folks, or anybody, this is what I think it is. It’s a bat flying around here, and it casts a shadow; but then why is the shadow down here from a different angle, and it’s not in the shape of a bat?'"

The shadow remains on camera for approximately 24 seconds, and in that time crosses the view of the camera, and appears to cast a shadow in the hallway directly in front of the camera. The anchorwoman reporting says this second shadow in the hallway is what is "perplexing to skeptics." Honestly, I wasn't that perplexed. It appears to me to be an insect flying extremely close to the various light sources in the rotunda, thereby producing large shadows.

The article also quotes a teacher at the high school, Martha Geitner. What she had to say made me feel extremely sorry for any students how have to endure her classes:

"'It’s a ghost! Of course it’s a ghost! It’s the ghost of some former student who is really angry with his teacher and has come back to get back with the teacher, and he’s just making himself known at this time.'"

Now, she may have just been playing up the story a bit for television cameras, but this kind of attitude from an educator is simply unacceptable. What ever happened to critical thinking, Martha? It's sad when the PR director for the school district is more reasonable than one of its teachers.

Of course, the reporter had to find someone from the local paranormal investigations group. Sarah Harrison, of the Asheville Paranormal Society, provided the service for this particular story:

"'Well, I have watched the video and I can’t debunk it. The fact that it set off the motion detectors means something physical was there. The shape morphed into something that was human shaped. I have seen many video surveillance footage of alleged ghosts and this is the only one that I can’t debunk. Many video’s of 'ghosts' are hoaxes, but I think this would be impossible to hoax.'"

A careful look at video will reveal the shadow changing shape, as shadows are wont to do, but it hardly "morphs into something that was human shaped." She is right, though, the video would be difficult to hoax. But, hoaxes only account for some alleged ghost sightings. The rest are usually misidentifications of strictly normal occurrences. It's interesting that while this story contains the prerequisite paranormal "expert," the token skeptic is nowhere to be found. Perhaps the reasonableness of the PR director was enough meet the requirement.

8/8/08 Means Nothing

2008-08-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

The absurdity of the superstition that today's date is somehow fortuitous and will, among other things, make the Olympics run smoothly was discussed in an article by Benjamin Radford posted today on LiveScience.com.

Since eight is a lucky number in China, Radford writes that's the reason the Olympics are slated to begin at 8:08:08 PM (local time) today. However, the Chinese do not hold a monopoly on numerical superstitions, as Radford points out:

"Last year on July 7, 2007, weddings were scheduled for that date at triple the usual number, and thousands of people played sevens in the lotteries. In Florida, for example, 30,000 people chose the lucky number sevens for the Cash 3 game and the Play 4 game (all were losers)."

Radford goes on to list some of the more humorous examples of this superstition revealing itself in American culture, like the deals the Super 8 Motel chain is offering today, or the announcement of an organization called the Expolitics Institute. A recent press release from the group states that today, August 8 2008, will be Galactic Freedom Day, in which the public should seek to reveal government and corporate agreements with extraterrestrials. From the release:

"On 8/8/08 a multinational consortium of citizen organizations conducts a positive intention event concerning government and corporate agreements involving extraterrestrial life and technology. The goal is to expose and nullify these agreements due to their non-representational status. On 8/8/08 at 8 pm [UT/GMT] individuals and small groups around the planet will convene to celebrate the inaugural Galactic Freedom Day."

I don't know about you, but I don't remember seeing any governmental bodies or large companies reveal any ties with aliens today. Or for that matter, any "citizen organizations" calling on these groups to reveal anything. Oh well, maybe on September 9 next year.

Bradford also brings up the point that ultimately, time and date designations are entirely arbitrary. In other words, they are completely human constructed. Why should anyone denote any particular significance to a date designation that could be a written any number of ways? In case some people haven't noticed, the date today is actually 8/8/2008. Radford comments:

"Though the official start time of the Olympics is filled with eights, it is just as correct to say that the games will start at 2000:08 on 08/08/5768 (using military time and the Jewish calendar)."

Testing to see whether certain numbers are in fact lucky would be fairly easy, Radford writes:

"For example, to do a study to find out if significantly fewer people than average die at the ages of 8 or 88. Or if most people born on certain significant dates (say, 8/8/1988) are healthier or richer than their counterparts."

The simple truth is, these tests have been done, and they consistently fail. If numbers such as seven and eight truly kept more people alive, wouldn't more people than average be born on these allegedly fortuitous dates? Wouldn't these numbers be showing up many more places?

It seems whenever a string of identical numbers line up in any date or time designation, most people can't help but ascribe significance to them. I cannot tell you how many times friends of mine have told me to make a wish anytime a nearby digital clock reads 11:11. The number superstition, like so many claims of the paranormal, is a construct of the human mind. As can be seen from the many cases of pareidolia about which I've written, humans are hard-wired to see meaning in things; to detect order in chaos.

If you really want an example of the number superstition run rampant, think about this: in my hometown of Las Vegas, not a single hotel tower has a 13th floor. Of course, all towers over 13 stories have 13th floors, it's just none of them are designated as such. Mind you, I don't blame the hotel-casino owners for this. The owners are just giving their customers what they want.

Conservatives Pray for Rain on Obama

2008-08-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today seemed to be slow when it came to news of a paranormal nature, so here's a story I found on PZ Myers' blog that just made me laugh.

An NBC News affiliate in Colorado reported that a video producer for Focus on a the Family, a conservative Christian lobbying group headed by James Dobson, wants people to pray for bad weather when presumptive Democratic nominee for president Barack Obama makes his speech during the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Obama plans to give his acceptance speech at the Convention, which is being held outdoors at Invesco Field on August 28.

The video producer, Stuart Shepard, made his request to the faithful during his most recent internet video for Focus on the Family. From the article:

"He says he's only partly joking.

'Sure it's boyish humor perhaps to wish for something like that, but at the same time it's something people feel very strongly about. They're concerned about where he would take the nation,' said Shepard"

So, if people are concerned about where a presidential candidate would take the country, one should wish undesirably weather on that candidate for one day? As Dr. Myers and commentors on his blog suggested, why not wish something more harsh than rain on Obama? Weather like fire from the sky, or falling frogs? Why waste God's considerable talent, demonstrated to terrifying effectiveness in the Old Testament of the Bible, on something as simple as rain?

Things like this prove just how desperate some factions of the religious right have gotten in the past few months. First they freak out because some biology professor threw a cracker in the garbage, then they plan to boycott McDonalds for supporting the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, now they're wishing for what amounts to a theistic wet willy on an innocent presidential candidate. Will the compassion of some Christian conservatives never end?

More Commentary on the Needles Object

2008-08-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

The more I think about this story, the more it seems like a hoax to me. Take a look at the various factors at play:

The on-camera witnesses in the article know each other. (I neglected to mention this in the original post, and for that I apologize.) From the article:

"Coincidentally, Frank Costigan, the ex-cop, works on investigations for David Hayes. When he came in to the radio station, he told Hayes about the thing he had seen in the sky, and Hayes told him about the Men in Black."

What this says to me is that two townspeople may have conspired to bring some publicity to their otherwise sleepy hamlet.

The fact that Knapp said he could not find "Bob on the river." You'd think a guy living in a houseboat in the middle of the nearby Colorado river would be pretty easy to spot. Linda Howe was able to find Bob, although he refused to give his real name, which makes this whole story even more suspicious.

Knapp said this early on in the article:

"Somewhere in the rough terrain just west of the Colorado River and south of Needles is a point of impact, maybe some burn marks, created by something that fell from the sky."

But he never mentions anyone ever going out there to see for themselves. You'd think a big time investigative reporter such as Knapp would want to go check that out. Also, Knapp admits that his investigative team contact several government agencies about this, but reported no one knew anything about it:

"The I-Team phoned nearly every agency we could think of to see if they had received any report or knew anything. We were not surprised to learn that no one knew anything."

Either this is an elaborate government cover-up, or nothing actually happened.

I decided to send an e-mail to Knapp with these questions. I'll report any reply he sends here.

P.S.
Thanks to the nice people at the Bad Astronomy and Universe Today Forum for the discussion on this topic.

Unknown Object Falls From the Sky in Needles, California

2008-08-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

This is the first news story I've posted on which a news team from my hometown of Las Vegas has reported. I must admit, this is fairly exciting. I can't really pinpoint why, maybe because I can actually talk to the report who did the story face to face if I wanted to. Anyway, here it is.

Channel 8 Eyewitness News recently reported that an unknown object with a "turquoise hue" streaked across the sky on the morning of May 14 and struck the dry, cracked earth near the small town of Needles, CA; about 100 miles south of Las Vegas. This story was reported on by Channel 8 chief investigative reporter George Knapp, a local newsman with the reputation of being the "UFO guy" due to his numerous reports on Area 51 over the years.

Knapp talked to two witnesses of the event, one of whom was Frank Costigan. Costigan, who worked as the chief of airport security at Los Angeles International Airport for seven years, said the mystery object flew out of the northeast, heading southwest, traveling very fast, at one point slowing down and then speeding up again.

"'It went behind a hill, and I waited to see if I could hear it crash because as big as it was, it was bound to make noise,' Costigan said. But Costigan never heard a crash."

The second eyewitness was David Hayes, owner of KTOX radio in Needles. Hayes said he saw a formation of dark vehicles getting off the highway hours after the initial impact. He claims the lead vehicle was, "a large truck with a dome on top and a black structure that reminded him of a stealth fighter."

"'It seemed like it was some kind of surveillance vehicle -- four-wheel drive. It had government plates, U.S. government plates and behind it were a couple of vans that looked like support vehicles,' said Hayes."

Hayes claims to have been followed back to the radio station by one of the men in the vehicles, men who Hayes described as a having a "military bearing" but were not in uniform. Knapp asked Hayes if they had a "Men in Black" feel, to which Hayes replied, "Absolutely." Knapp then refers to the presumed government agents later on in the article as the "Men in Black." This decision by Knapp seems a bit irresponsible to me, since Hayes clearly described the men as not in uniform.

A third witness popped up, who was only ever referred to as "Bob on the river." Bob claims he saw the object from his houseboat on the nearby Colorado River. Bob described the object as having the turquoise hue, and landing with a thump approximately 100 yards from the river.

In an interview with journalist Linda Howe, Bob described the object being carried away by a skycrane helicopter. From Knapp's article:

"Bob says he saw at least five helicopters flying in formation, including a large sky crane. The crane picked up the oval shaped object, still glowing, and flew away, heading in the direction of Las Vegas. One odd detail, the choppers arrived only 17 minutes after the object crashed."

Bob described the object to Hayes as "about the size of a semi-trailer" with an oblong shape. In Howe's article, Bob describes the flames that surrounded the object in more detail:

"Oh, yes, but a turquoise-blue fire with some green in it. And it hit the ground and bounced. But there were many other pieces – there were at least nine other pieces that bounced up in a circle around the turquoise blue-green object."

Knapp claims the radio station received a call from the Laughlin, NV airport, approximately 30 miles north of Needles. The caller from the airport claimed they had seen an influx of so-called "Jenny" planes; the airline that flies workers to military base in Nevada known as Area 51. However, the airport could not confirm this since no one is on duty there after 6pm.

Knapp finished the article by admitting that he could not personally find "Bob on the river," and by promising to keep his readers updated on a few Freedom of Information requests he has filed.

I was pleasantly surprised to not find the words "alien" or "extraterrestrial" anywhere in this article. The article does use the acronym "UFO" in the title, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and presume they mean "Unidentified Falling Object." The Men in Black thing was a little goofy, but Knapp does have to make the article interesting.

The object seems, to me at least, to have been a satellite. That would explain the semi-trailer size and the lack of explosion on impact. Most Earth-orbiting satellites run on solar power stored in batteries; that is, contain little that would conceivably explode. Only satellites that don't orbit Earth use nuclear power. The large solar panels that accompany most satellites could have given the object its perceived oblong shape. As for the turquoise flames described by "Bob," I have an inquiry pending as to whether satellites are built with materials that would burn turquoise after being exposed to the heat of re-entry.

Jeremy the Skeptic Presents: Pareidolia Mondays!

2008-08-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

In order to get my readers (however few there may be) through the seemingly endless feeling Mondays at work can often produce, I present to you the first ever installment of Pareidolia Mondays. From now on, at least one post Monday will present a news story that features a case of pareidolia, since there is usually one per week (if you search news websites hard enough). So, without further gilding the lily and no more ado, I present this week's story.

A Fox News affiliate (most of the pareidolia stories I've come across are from Fox News, coincidence?) reported recently that a family in Houston, Texas is in possession of a pancake with the likeness(es) of Jesus and/or the Virgin Mary.

The mother of the family, who was not named, was making breakfast for her son when she flipped the pancake in question. Once it came to rest in the griddle, she and another family member "James" noticed the allegedly holy image. James claims to see the images of Jesus and Mary Magdalene with *gasp* their baby. Doesn't he know that's a sacrilege? An image of Jesus and his mother I could understand, but why would God choose to portray his son in such a non-traditional light?

James alerted his friend (or family member, the article is not clear) Joe about the miraculous occurrence, and Joe maintains that the image depicts Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Despite the disagreement between the two men, they can agree that the pancake is a good omen. The family's not quite sure what they're going to do with the pancake, except that they're going to hang onto it. James said he thought it wouldn't be right to profit from it.

The video to go along with the story is worth a watch, if you want to see a local news anchor talk to the family and perform her own "test" of the image's authenticity. In order to "make sure it wasn't a fluke," the reporter made two of her own fairly misshapen pancakes on the same exact pan. What was the outcome? Neither creation offered an image similar to that of the holy pancake! That's proof enough for me! Where do I sign up to become one of those Christians you hear so much about?

My first reaction to the pancake? I think it looks like Ronald McDonald holding a sack of hamburgers while comforting his big, purple friend Grimace. But, I'll leave the decision up to my readers. Here is the picture that went along with the article:

Woman Blames Child's Severed Fingers on Voodoo Curse

2008-08-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

A story reported by BBC News on Friday tells of a woman who pulled two severed fingers from her purse while she was on the stand at London's Snaresbrook Crown court. Remi Fakorede, 46, claimed the fingers belonged to one of her six children, and had fallen off as a result of a voodoo curse.

The Nigerian-born woman, living in the Hackney section of London, removed the gruesome contents of her purse during a trial in which she was accused of a 925,000 pound ($1.75 million US) tax credit fraud. She claimed the same curse that took two of her child's fingers also caused her to participate in the fraud. From the article:

"Fakorede was convicted of one count of fraud totaling £925,933 ($1,759,272 US) while one of her daughters, 21-year-old Denise Shofolawe-Coker, was found guilty of laundering £70,000 ($133,000 US) of the stolen money."

"The court heard Fakorede, who holds joint Nigerian and British citizenship, invented 20 aliases to make 39 false tax credit claims over a five-year period. She was found out when she then tried to claim childcare as well."

Presiding over the trial, Judge Jacqueline Beech returned Fakorede and her daughter into custody until September 8 when pre-sentencing reports are planed. Judge Beech warned the pair they faced "inevitable" imprisonment for their "breathtaking" dishonesty.

"Fakorede blamed the fraud on unknown 'forces of darkness,' who she said had placed a 'voodoo' curse on her family."

"Although it is understood one of her children had lost part of her hand after suffering renal problems and developing gangrene, DNA test results are now awaited to determine who the body parts belonged to."

Fakorede claimed the "dark forces" which caused her, and her daughter apparently, to commit the fraud were so powerful that they caused two of her child's fingers to fall off. The article does not say how old the allegedly affected child is, or even reveal the child's gender, but does say the body parts in question were a "child's fingers." Perhaps these facts were kept hidden to protect the privacy of the family. Fortunately, Social Services and the Child Protection Agency were called after Fakorede's dactylic exhibition. I was hoping the fingers belonged to the daughter who laundered the money. That way, Fakorede's curse explanation would have been a little more believable. After all, it would make a relative amount of sense (as much sense as can be attributed to an alleged voodoo curse) that the person acting under the influence of the curse would suffer the detrimental physical effects.

According to an article from ReligiousTolerance.org, "voodoo" is a completely imagined religion, based upon the actual West African-based spiritual tradition of "Vodun." From the article:

"The name is traceable to an African word for 'spirit.' Vodun's can be directly traced to the West African Yoruba people who lived in 18th and 19th century Dahomey. Its roots may go back 6,000 years in Africa. That country occupied parts of today's Togo, Benin and Nigeria."

So, if Fakorede actually gave a "voodoo curse" as the reason for her malfeasance, she might have been betraying a cultural separation from her Nigerian roots. In other words, she has clearly been influenced by the curse-heavy, pop culture idea of "voodoo," rather then the religion of Vodun from which voodoo has sprung.

Montauk Monster Update

2008-08-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

A story posted yesterday on FoxNews.com claims the Montauk monster mystery has gotten even more mysterious. Well, not if you actually read the story and have even a tenuous grasp on reality. In the first five paragraphs, the article quotes two animal experts claiming it is a dead raccoon.

The first expert is none other than Animal Planet host Jeff Corwin. Now, I was always more fond of the late Steve Irwin, but I did always appreciate Corwin's sense of humor and passion for wildlife conservation. Anyway, Corwin explains in an interview with Bill Hemmer and Megyn Kelly (the video of which can be found here) what he has deduced the animal to be:

"'What you think is a beak is actually the canine teeth,' Corwin said. 'What we have is an incredibly rare' — dramatic pause — 'raccoon.'"

The article also claims New York Magazine contacted the East Hampton Department of Environmental Analysis. A representative from the Department stated rather flatly that the animal was a raccoon.

The rest of the article offers no new information, only testimony on the carcass's apparently unknown whereabouts. However, the East Hampton Department of Environmental Analysis did claim that animal control, which falls under their jurisdiction, did not remove the body from the beach. All we know is that the body is no longer on the beach. It's most likely in the possession of some quick-thinking entrepreneur who plans to sell it on eBay to the highest-bidding cryptozoology fan.

So it turns out I was wrong in surmising the animal was a small breed of dog. I did manage to come closer than most people who claim the animal had a beak. Speaking of beaks, anyone reading this should really watch Corwin's interview on Fox News. I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone, but Corwin does a great job of examining the animal from the most famous picture of it and comes to reasonable, logical conclusions. The female anchor, however, stubbornly hangs onto misinformation, not listening at all to the animal expert. Watch it all the way through to see Fox News ignorance defined.

Rotting Animal Corpse Causes Internet Sensation

2008-08-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

I must admit, I was avoiding this story just because there was so little credible information in the first day or two it was making its rounds on the interwebs. However, an article released today sheds some much-needed light on the mystery of the "Montauk Monster."

The article from Newsday.com provides perhaps the most insight into this story. Jenna Hewitt of Montauk, New York, a city at the eastern tip of Long Island, and three of her friends found the carcass while visiting the beach. Hewitt snapped the most circulated picture of the creature, the one that makes it appear to have a beak:

What most stories, like the one by MSNBC describing it as having a "dinosaur beak," don't tell you is that Hewitt's group of friends was the second to discover the creature. Christina Pampalone, part of the first group of beach-goers from the New York area, took her own pictures of the creature, which make it seem much less mysterious:From Pampalone's photo, the "beak" is clearly the front part of the skull which has simply rotted away. This photo also makes the proportions of the animal much more clear. Gone are the disproportionately small head and pointed ears. The animal was apparently between two and three feet in length.

The Newsday article reports Pampalone's friend, Ryan O'Shea, said everyone to whom he showed Pampalone's pictures said it looked like a dead dog. O'Shea had something else to say on the matter:

"'But looking at the claws, and at the teeth in the front, it looked like it could be something else, something vicious," O'Shea said"

Granted, the exposed skull and bottom teeth do give the carcass a slightly sinister look, but that is what most dogs look like underneath. With my severely limited experience with dogs (I watch dog shows), it looks to me like a French Bulldog or Pug skull. The short ears on the carcass are also indicative of both breeds.

The last handful of paragraphs in the Newsday article list claims of others seeing the animal in various parts of eastern New York state. One eyewitness even claims to have seen the beast alive:

"Ryan Kelso, via iPhone, said he spotted it -- alive! -- in the Montauk dunes. 'It looked about the size of an average fox, gray in color, eyes like a mole, hairless and was breathing quite heavily,' he wrote, 'needless to say we were freaked out by this discovery and fled the area quickly.'"

However, these eyewitnesses offer no tangible evidence to support their claims, just first-hand testimony. It's not a long stretch of the imagination to think that some of these "eyewitnesses" might be embellishing their respective stories a bit due to the media attention this find has received. Either way, I doubt the "Montauk monster," which Pampalone reported had been moved from the backyard of her friend's house to a new location, has been the subject of its last news story.

PZ Myers Could Get His Own National Day of Prayer

2008-07-31T12:56:00.001-07:00

In a continuation of the communion wafer desecration saga, the Catholic news organization Zenit.org is reporting that the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, an association of Catholic Priests and Deacons based in Chicago IL, is proposing a national day of prayer and fasting for Friday, August 1 in "reparation for the sacrilegious desecration of the Holy Eucharist," committed by Dr. Myers. The Confraternity claims Myers' treatment of the communion wafer goes way beyond the bounds of free speech and enters the territory of unconstitutionality. From the article:

"The statement of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy said it found the actions of Myers 'reprehensible, inexcusable, and unconstitutional. His flagrant display of irreverence by profaning a consecrated Host from a Catholic Church goes beyond the limit of academic freedom and free speech. Attacking the most sacred elements of a religion is not free speech anymore than would be perjury in a court or libel in a newspaper,' added the text."

As Dr. Myers writes, the Confraternity really has no write to declare something unconstitutional. Of course they can say it all they want, but that does not change the nature of the action. Which, Myers writes, was an act of irreverence aimed at a religious tradition. Something the Constitution clearly protects.

Quoted from the Confraternity's official statement:

"The freedom of religion means that no one has the right to attack, malign or grossly offend a faith tradition they personally do not have membership or ascribe allegiance."

Yeah, not really. No one in the United States has the write to not be offended. That's what the freedom of speech means: it protects any speech that even the majority of people might find grossly offensive. By the Confraternity's logic, only Catholics can "attack, malign or grossly offend" there own doctrine. Dr. Myers is in no way stopping Catholics from practicing their faith. What the Confraternity doesn't seem to realize is that freedom of religion, as guaranteed by the Constitution, implies freedom from religion.

The statement claims that Dr. Myers, as a biology professor, has no right to do what he did:

"The Chancellor of the University refused to reprimand or censure the teacher, who ironically is a Biology Professor. One fails to see the relevance of the desecration of a Catholic sacrament to the science of Biology. Were Myers a Professor of Theology, there would have been at least a presumption of competency to express religious opinions in a classroom. Yet, for a scientist to ridicule and show utter contempt for the most sacred and precious article of a major world religion, is inappropriate, unprofessional, unconstitutional and disingenuous."

Dr. Myer's responds:

"Ummm, I don't discuss religion in the classroom. I teach biology. My 'desecration' was performed at home, on my own time. There's nothing ironic about the fact that I'm a biologist, nor did I claim my profession gave me special qualifications to see through the foolishness of faith. Go ahead, any of you can do it — you don't need to be a theologian to see that it is just a cracker."

The statement also confuses what Dr. Myers does with his personal time with his behavior in the classroom:

"A biologist has no business 'dissing' any religion, rather, they should be busy teaching the scientific discipline they were hired to teach. Tolerating such behavior by university officials is equally repugnant as it lends credibility to the act of religious hatred. We also pray that Professor Myers contritely repent and apologize."

I feel I must quote Dr. Myers directly here, so I don't misrepresent anything he says:

"As for the idea that I'm supposed to be teaching biology 24-7…what, I can't have a hobby? I can tell you that when I try to tell my wife late evening on Wednesday night that I can't take out the trash because I'm too busy teaching biology, well, that excuse won't fly very far."

The funniest bit about this whole business, to me at least, is that the Confraternity seems to be playing directly into Dr. Myers' hands; not that I think he was planning to make such ruckus with his "desecration." However, by blowing this whole thing way out of proportion, the Confraternity is just demonstrating to the world (to Dr. Myers' readers at least) the absurdity of the communion wafer's sacred status against which Dr. Myers railed in the first place. By calling for a national day of prayer because a biology professor threw a cracker in the garbage, the Confraternity is locking in the value of the communion wafer to anyone else who wishes to profane it. Establishing the holiness of an object only makes that object more attractive to those who wish to cause a stir by desecrating it. It's a bit like making some words taboo. The more the words are censored, the more people who want to cause a sensation will use them. The Confraternity is doing the Catholic Church no favors by treating Dr. Myers' actions in this way. The smart thing to do would have been to declare the action something Catholics should not do, and leave it at that.

Tests on Alleged "Yeti Hair" Have Begun

2008-07-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Oxford Mail reported recently that scientists at Oxford Brookes University have a conducted microscopic analysis of the "yeti hairs" about which I wrote here. The Brookes researchers used high-power microscopes to examine the hair cuticle patterns, which differ from species to species. The sample was compared to hair from that of primates, bears, dogs, yaks and humans. From the article:

"Dr Anna Nekaris, of the university's anthropology department, said: 'It's exciting to be asked to take part in this research. We put the hairs in clear nail varnish because that helps us to see them more clearly under the microscope.'"

The article goes onto quote various scientists involved in the tests saying what an interesting find this would be if it turned out this hair didn't match that of any known animal. However, the article fails to affirmatively say whether or not these hairs are indeed from an unknown species.

What will be truly interesting is the DNA test to be performed on the hair. While looking at the hair through a microscope can only rule out the species against which the sample was tested, a DNA analysis will be able to compare any DNA present in the hair to a much larger variety of animals. Of course, there is no guarantee that the sample contains any viable sample of DNA. Also, the researchers must be careful not to confuse any trace DNA from the multiple times the hairs have been handled with DNA actually belonging to the hair.

So, the tale of the Indian yeti hairs continues. Like I mentioned in my previous post about this subject, I'm glad these hairs are being seriously studied. While I doubt the hairs are from a previously undiscovered large, bipedal primate, the discovery of a new species of macaque in the mountains of India just four years ago shows there are still great unknowns in the remote regions of the world.

Human/Dinosaur Fossil Footprint Hardly Convincing

2008-07-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

A recent story out of Mineral Wells, Texas (that's right, Texas again) is reporting that a former resident of the east Texas town just west of Forth Worth has recently re-discovered an alleged fossilized human footprint underneath that of a large, therapod (T-Rex-like) dinosaur. Alvis Delk, 72, found the slab of alleged limestone containing the commingled footprints in July of 2000 at a creek near the Paluxy River near Glen Rose, Texas, located about 53 miles south of Fort Worth.

"The limestone contains two distinct prints – one of a human footprint and one belonging to a dinosaur. The significance of the cement-hard fossil is that it shows the dinosaur print partially over and intersecting the human print."

Delk, a longtime amateur archaeologist (read: not a real archaeologist), was searching for Native-American artifacts near the river with two friends when he saw a pile of rocks along the bank. Further investigation of the pile revealed a fossilized dinosaur footprint embedded in a chunk of limestone. While Delk claimed he had seen dinosaur prints before, he has never found one he has been able to take home with him. So, with the help of his companions, Delk hauled the chunk of rock back home where he sat on the find for eight years. He kept it in his collection, which, Delk claims, contains over 100,000 Native American artifacts.

After suffering a fall from a ladder eight months ago, Delk decided to try to sell some of his collection to pay for his resulting medical bills. He dusted off the piece of limestone, hoping to sell it to the Creation ( as in biblical creation) Evidence Museum in Glen Rose. As Delk cleaned up the specimen, he discovered a human-looking footprint underneath the dinosaur track. From the article:

“'I seen the (human) track coming out and (saw) that it was a man,' Delk said. 'I thought to myself, ‘Lord, I’ve been shown man was here when the dinosaur was here.’”"

Delk took his find to Dr. Carl Baugh, founder and director of the Creation Evidence Museum. Dr. Baugh claims doctorates in theology and philosophy in education in addition to a master’s degree in archeology. A little digging of my own found that "Dr." Baugh received every one of his degrees (except one in theology from Baptist Bible College in 1959) from unaccredited universities. Perhaps the most laughable of those is his master's in archeology from Pacific International University, an institution he started himself.

Anyway, back to the fossil human footprint farce. Baugh said he is confident about the authenticity of Delk's specimen, undoubtedly using his "expertise" in archeology winnowed from hard years at Pacific International. Baugh claims he took the chunk of rock to a medical lab at Glen Rose Medical Center, where he said 800 X-rays were performed in a CT scan procedure.

“'The compression lines, the density features, do show, and there is no way to fake that,' Baugh said. 'It is possible to carve a track in limestone. But there is no way to compress the material in the rock under the track. That is absolutely impossible. That’s why the CAT scans are so important.'"

Baugh goes on to list other aspects of the print which he thinks prove its authenticity:

"He said the scans demonstrate the human footprint was made 'during locomotion. That’s very important. That distribution is shown here. Compression is in the right place under both prints. Density. Compression, distribution. The density factor is there. Weight distribution. Forward locomotion, rocking of the foot.'"

However, no where in the article is the most basic tenant of Baugh and Delk's claims questioned: is the piece of rock even limestone? There is not one credible geological or archaeological expert in the entire piece quoted to vouch for the limestone's authenticity. Fortunately, Baugh has offered to put his reputation (however already tarnished) on the line: he is willing to subject the specimen to any non-destructive tests. Now that I would like to see.

Baugh continues on with his fairytale by claiming the dinosaur track is from an Acrocanthosaurus, a carnivorous dinosaur that existed primarily in North America during the mid-Cretaceous Period, approximately 125 million to 100 million years ago. For comparison, let's look at an actual Acrocanthosaur track (which I found here) and Baugh's specimen:

In case anyone is having a hard time figuring it out, the real dinosaur track is on the left. How the hell can Baugh or Delk expect to have themselves taken seriously? And why is the big toe impression on the "human"track so deep? It looks like it was formed with a tent pole.

Although Baugh offers no evidence for this claim, he apparently believes both sets of prints were made “within minutes, or no more than hours of each other” about 4,500 years ago, around the time of Noah’s Flood. Based on what? Has the specimen been dated? The article doesn't say so.

Another telling quote revealing what the true intentions and beliefs of these men are is attributed to James Bishop, one of the friends who was with Delk when he first found the "footprint."

"A man of Christian beliefs who is a member of the First Assembly of God Church in Stephenville, Bishop said his hopes are that the stone will 'disprove Darwin’s theory. God made man. Man did not evolve from ape.'"

Ah yes, a faked fossil footprint disproving a scientific theory that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny for over 100 years. Tortured, creationist logic, how I missed you.

Another creationist the article digs up (no pun intended) to vouch for the specimen's authenticity is David Lines, a technical writer for Texas Instruments in Dallas. Lines photographed the rock for Baugh's website, creationevidence.org.

"'When I saw this, I said this is too good to be true,' said Lines. 'If someone found a way to fake that, they could also get a patent for concrete that would far surpass anything.'"

So, it's clear now that the chunk of rock in question must be a fake. Still have doubts? Think about this: why did Delk wait eight years to even closely examine this thing? He said himself he had never found any dinosaur track that he had been able to take home. That suggests that this footprint would have been the only one in his collection. You'd think even a 72-year-old who prides himself on being an amateur archaeologist would find some time to examine such a rare find, especially in a time span of eight freakin' years!

So the question would be: why wait until now? I think it may have a little to do with the recent renewal of talks in the Texas State Board of Education about the "weaknesses" in evolution. To further support this hypothesis, I present to you the final quote attributed to Baugh:

“I don’t think it is going to displace the theory of evolution,” said Baugh. “My hope is that the scientific concepts of archeology and paleontology will be used under the guidelines of the Texas schoolbook committee. Any evidence supporting that should be presented, and hopefully this particular fossil will be presented, for the students to be able to see that there is evidence supporting an alternative concept as opposed to just evolution.”

But, I leave to final decision up to my readers. Either a fossil footprint was found that will turn all the science behind the theory of evolution on its head, or it is a forgery perpetrated by at least two men who would have their twisted dogma taught to school children as fact.

"Allah Meat" Amazes Muslims in Nigeria

2008-07-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Looking back on all my previous posts having anything to do with religion, I seem to pick on Christians rather extensively. If there's anything of which I can assure my readers, it's this: I am an equal-opportunity offender. With that in mind, I thought I'd write a bit about this story, despite it it being nearly a week old.

Not even followers of Allah are immune to pareidolia. As reported by BBC News, Muslims in northern Nigeria are gravitating to a restaurant in the city of Birnin Kebbi to catch a glimpse of their god's name allegedly inscribed on a piece of gristle. Fortunately avoiding what would most likely have been a gravely serious sacrilege, the restaurant owner noticed the sacred script just as he was about to eat the aforementioned tidbit of animal cartilage.

A subsequent search of the restaurant's kitchen miraculously turned up three more pieces of similarly inscribed meat! The holy cartilage has attracted thousands of the devote to the restaurant since it was discovered nearly two weeks ago. Owner Kabiru Haliru boasted of the important message his miraculous meat clearly imparts:

"'When the writings were discovered there were some Islamic scholars who come and eat here and they all commented that it was a sign to show that Islam is the only true religion for mankind,' he said."

Apparently, the BBC couldn't scrounge up even one skeptic to discount the script for what it truly is: a random arrangement of animal protein. Even Dr. Yakubu Dominic, a local vet (part of vet school is studying religious relics, right?) said the gristle "defied scientific explanation."

"'Supposing only one piece of meat was found then it would be suspicious, but given the circumstances there is no explanation,' he said."

In the interests of fairness, let's have a look at the meat in question and the word "Allah" written in Arabic script side-by-side:

The likeness is uncanny, isn't it? Yeah, not so much. For a religion where the most zealous freak out over a satirical depiction of their prophet, it's hard to believe some Muslims would compare a beautiful example of Arabic writing to a piece of meat resembling a brain, at best. I wonder how much fervor Muhammad appearing in food would ignite. Maybe he's not that powerful.

Family of Woman Affected By "Exorcism" Determined to Take the Case to Supreme Court

2008-07-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

It seems religiously-motivated idiocy is not that hard to come by in Texas. An article in the Star-Telegram of Fort Worth, TX tells the story of a woman who was physically abused at the age of 17 by members of her church under the auspices of an exorcism. Laura Schubert Pearson, then Laura Schubert, was repeatedly pinned to the floor of her church by people she called friends in a two-day long incident in June of 1996. From the article:

"Repeatedly, over two days, the youth pastor, his wife and others held the girl down on the floor of the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God Church in Colleyville, even as Pearson screamed, fought and begged to be released."

The physical restrained imposed upon Pearson, now 29, left her with bruises and carpet burns. But it was the emotional trauma that would prove to be the most damaging to Pearson.

"After the exorcism, she dropped out of high school her senior year, began to cut herself as many as 100 times over several years, and refused to leave the house. Pearson slit her wrists with a box cutter."

The case was dismissed June 27 by the Texas Supreme court in a majority decision claiming the courts could not get involved in a debate over religious doctrine. Understandably, Pearson's parents, Judy and Tom Schubert, see things a little differently.

"As the parents see it, Pleasant Glade members abused their daughter in the same way a husband or a boyfriend abuses a wife or a girlfriend — and all under the guise of serving the Lord. They are willing to go to the U.S. Supreme Court in their fight against a church they once loved"

Representatives for the church seemed to have little more than ad hominem attacks to offer in response to Pearson's allegations.

"David Pruessner, the church’s attorney, has repeatedly described Pearson as an out-of-control, attention-seeking teenager who he once said 'breathes in attention the same way we breathe in air.'"

Pruessner claims Pearson already suffered from psychological problems caused by witnessing acts of brutality during her family's 1992 missionary trip in Africa. The attorney cites a preexisting condition as if that makes what Pearson's fellow church members did to her acceptable. If her psychological condition was known beforehand, why was the "exorcism" even attempted?

The talk of demons in Pearson's church started when on June 7, a teenager helping set up for a church youth group yard sale claimed to see a demon in the darkened church building around midnight.

Pearson had been there helping the church group and working at her part-time job when Ron Linzay, the youth pastor, urged everyone to exorcism the alleged demon with holy water sprinkled around the sanctuary. The "cleansing" continued until early in the morning. After Pearson went home, she was unable to sleep. When she had returned to the church on Sunday evening, she had been up for 72 hours.

"It was then that people believed demons had possessed her and the first exorcism was performed. Pearson said she collapsed on the floor out of exhaustion. During the trial, doctors suggested she was hypoglycemic. She clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, made guttural sounds, cried and yelled."

"'I was moving my head back and forth, and I hear people saying things are wrong with me and the youth pastor’s wife saying it was the demons,' Pearson said. They held her down, but after the thrashing stopped, Pearson was allowed to get up after saying the name Jesus."

Pearson returned to the church on Wednesday of that week. After hearing a sermon about "putting on the whole armor of God to fight off the devil," she retired to a corner of the church, curled up in a fetal position and prayed.

"When another youth asked to pray for her, Pearson refused. Eventually, she was held spread-eagle on the floor. She fought those holding her and asked to be let go. They said 'it was the devil talking,' Pearson said.

"The Rev. Lloyd McCutchen, leader of Pearson's church, then entered the room. He tried to calm Pearson and told her to 'just say the word Jesus' Eventually, he called Pearson’s parents, who came and took their 'dazed' daughter home. Later they saw the bruises and carpet burns. Soon she began having nightmares about hands and faces coming out of her bedroom walls to grab her."

Pearson's senior year of high school proved to be even more difficult. After a severe anxiety attack that allowed her to attend school for only one day, she attempted to take her own life through cutting her wrists and later overdosing on her medications.

Pearson, now married with two children, (her first marriage ended in divorce), works in her new home near Atlanta, GA with children from broken homes who have been in abusive relationships. She has an associate degree in criminal justice and is working toward a degree in social work.

"'I wanted to understand why good people do bad things or why bad things happen to good people,' Pearson said. 'I had a lot of questions I needed legitimate, honest answers to.'"

I hope the case of Pearson and her parents makes it to the Supreme Court. The issue here is not simply a state supreme court being constitutionally unable to deal with matters of religious doctrine. When that doctrine endangers the lives of anyone, especially young people, those affected need to be able to rely on their government. Religious zealots abusing a 17-year-old girl under the guise of exorcising imaginary demons should not go unpunished. Perhaps no one summed up the situation better than Pearson herself:

"You can’t use your religious beliefs to get away with harming a child."

Texas State Board of Education Starts Hearings On Evolution

2008-07-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

According to a recent editorial in The Austin Chronicle, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) has begun hearings to decide whether or not Texas public school curricula should include material balancing the "strengths and weaknesses" of the theory of evolution. SBOE chairman Dr. Don McLeroy D.D.S. (that means he's a dentist) believes that there is not enough evidence to support evolution. The self-proclaimed creationist is quoted in the editorial:

"this year's 'battle is to bring in some of the weaknesses of evolution,"'to ninth- and 10th-grade biology classrooms, retaining language requiring that teachers instruct students in the 'strengths and weaknesses' of scientific theories."

While McLeroy speaks of "scientific theories" in the plural, Dan Quinn, communication director for the Texas Freedom Network, a statewide organization that works to mitigate the influence of fundamentalism on state policy, claims the only theory of which McLeroy and the six other conservative members of the Texas SBOE remain unconvinced is evolution.

McLeroy claims there are three major weaknesses of evolutionary theory about which Texas students should be taught: "gaps" in the fossil record, there not being enough time for evolution to happen and the complexity of life. The author of the editorial Andrea Grimes asked University of Texas integrative biology professor David Hillis, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, about McLeroy's list of "weaknesses." His response was as follows:

"Hillis said McLeroy was simply denying facts. 'There is indeed a vast record of transitional fossils,' wrote Hillis, saying McLeroy's fossil record claims are 'completely at odds with the experts in the entire field of paleontology.'"

As for McLeroy's second assertion regarding length of time required for evolution to have taken place, Hillis wrote that the position 'demonstrates an extraordinary ignorance of biology,' since rates of evolution observed in laboratory tests have been 'more than sufficient' to prove natural rates of genetic change that coincide with the fossil record."

Finally, McLeroy's cell-complexity argument does not even belong in a scientific discussion, wrote Hillis: 'The argument that 'It is too complicated, so God must have done it' is not a scientific argument.'"

These three perceived "weaknesses" should sound familiar to anyone even remotely interested in the evolution/intelligent design creationism debate. I.D. proponents have been bringing up these same issues for decades.

Grimes cites the case of Chris Comer I wrote about here as evidence that anti-science conservatives have more than enough power to affect Texas SBOE policy. Grimes comments on the effect the anti-evolution school board could have on education in Texas:

"It's worth noting that part of the TEA and SBOE's duty statement includes a goal to "prepare today's schoolchildren for a successful future." If the weak-evolution curricula passes, Texas schoolchildren will be able to achieve that success in one of two ways: fly out of state for biology class and be back in time for lunch or set their sights on excelling at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University."

In addition to the detrimental effect weak-evolution curricula will have on students in Texas, there is another aspect of this issue the editorial did not mention. Since Texas is the second largest U.S. state, it is also one of the country's biggest buyer of textbooks. If the Texas SBOE purchases textbooks teaching the "weaknesses" of evolution as McLeroy understands them, the textbook manufacturer will most likely opt out of producing books for the rest of the nation different from those sold to its largest customer.

Quoting the New York Times article cited above, "The ideas that work their way into education [in Texas] will surface in classrooms throughout the country."

I really don't have any snarky, sarcastic comments about this story. Issues dealing with the education of this country's young people are too serious to joke around about. This sort of thing makes me truly ashamed to be a native-born Texan.

Oxford Scientists To Test "Yeti Hair"

2008-07-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

No self-respecting blog about skepticism and the paranormal can exist for long with featuring a story about Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster or some other creature whose existence is questionable at best. Given that, I present to you this story from the BBC.

Researchers at Oxford Brookes University are in the process of analyzing an alleged Yeti hair sample given to them by a BBC correspondent. The Oxford scientists plan to perform a microscopic analysis on the sample before they send it off to Bristol where a DNA test will be performed. The goal of the DNA test is figure out whether the hair comes from a known animal, or if it proves to be from a creature as yet undiscovered by science.

BBC reporter Alastair Lawson obtained the sample in the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya. A separate report filed by Lawson details his journey through the dense jungles of the West Garo hills in search of what locals call the "mande barung," or "forest man."

Local yeti investigator Dipu Marak lead Lawson on his journey and gave him the hair sample.

"'The tribal people who live there claim to have seen fossilised footprints of the creature which could have existed in prehistoric times,' Lawson said, 'Then one of the locals said he once saw a yeti and afterwards gathered hair which he thinks might be from the creature.'"

Lawson cites a few eye-witness reports and tales of larger-than-usual human-shaped footprints, but the only hard evidence he provides is the above-mentioned hair sample. Lawson also talked to local forestry officers who, in respect to the importance of local legends to the indigenous Garo people, diplomatically danced around actually saying that they don't think the creature exists.

"'As you know the presence of such a creature is an important part of our culture - passed down to us by our parents and grandparents,' said Meghalaya's Divisional Forestry Officer Shri PR Marak, 'But we have no concrete evidence it exists, and there may even be a possibility that some of the evidence has been manipulated to create a stir.'"

Dipu Marak, the believer in the creature who lead Lawson on the expedition, claims that the local forestry service has been lazy in their search for the creature. The forestry officer countered this with the lack of concrete evidence to necessitate a full-blown search and the difficulty in sending forestry officers into the dense jungles of the West Garo hills; terrain that can only be reached on foot.

It may turn out to be a waste of time and money, but I'm glad the Oxford scientists have agreed to test the hair sample. At the least, it will silence any "cryptozoologists" (as seekers of these types of creatures sometimes call themselves) who would claim that mainstream science is not doing what it should in the search for Bigfoot and the like. Whenever this issue is brought up, the first thing I want to tell the "cryptos" is to look at the example of the giant squid. Here's a creature that was rumored to exist for centuries. All these reports were written off as myth until pieces of dead squid started washing up on shores in various places around the world. This prompted mainstream scientists to seriously research this creature until Japanese scientists caught one alive on tape in 2006. And this video wasn't of the grainy, blurred quality of most videos of Bigfoot. The video clearly shows a real, live big-ass squid writhing around on a hook. You see, "cryptozoologists?" That is how real science works. Tales told by locals will never be able to stand up to hard, physical evidence of a previously unknown creature. I don't think wanting body parts of whatever mythical beast being searched for is too much to ask.

Cracker Desecrated, As Promised

2008-07-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

I actually have a fellow blogger writing from Blogger.com to thank for bringing this item to my attention (his blog, incidentally, can be found here).

Readers of my blog may remember a brief post of mine roughly two weeks back telling of a college student in Florida causing a huge dust up among Catholics because he carried a communion wafer out of a Catholic mass uneaten. This story was written about beautifully by PZ Myers at his blog Pharyngula.

After Dr. Myers railed against the absurdity of it all and asked his readers to send him some communion wafers so he could do some desecrating of his own, the angry e-mails from irate Christians began to pour in. Dr. Myers dedicated an entire post to all the holier-than-thou vitriol seeping out of his inbox.

Well, Dr. Myers made good on his promise to disrespect his own personal piece of Jesus. He writes first of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 in which the doctrine that only Catholic priests could handle the Eucharist was set down. he then goes on to quote from representative hate mail he has received from angry Catholics, a few of which threaten violence against him and his family. Dr. Myers shows no fear in the face of these zealots while pointing out some incredible hypocrisies in a few of the quoted e-mails. He ends his post with a beautifully written paragraph decrying the desire to hold anything sacred and a picture of a communion wafer with a nail driven through in his garbage can, alongside pages from both the Qur'an and The God Delusion. The paragraph I feel I must quote here; if only for the purpose of expressing my jealousy of not having written something like that myself.

"Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet. You are all human beings who must make your way through your life by thinking and learning, and you have the job of advancing humanity's knowledge by winnowing out the errors of past generations and finding deeper understanding of reality. You will not find wisdom in rituals and sacraments and dogma, which build only self-satisfied ignorance, but you can find truth by looking at your world with fresh eyes and a questioning mind."

Apollo 14 Astronaut Insists Extraterrestrials Have Made Contact With Earth

2008-07-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

According to a story in the U.K.'s Daily Mail, former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, admitted in a recent radio interview that he knows for sure that the Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials, and have been doing so since the 1940s. He claims that every time the aliens have made contact, the United States government has done everything it can to cover it up. He cites his position at NASA as evidence for the authenticity of his claims.

"'I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real,' Dr. Mitchell said. 'It's been well covered up by all our governments for the last 60 years or so, but slowly it's leaked out and some of us have been privileged to have been briefed on some of it.'"

"'I've been in military and intelligence circles, who know that beneath the surface of what has been public knowledge, yes - we have been visited,' Mitchell continued. 'Reading the papers recently, it's been happening quite a bit.'"

A recording of the interview with Kerrang! host Nick Margerrison can be found here.

The producer of the radio program contacted NASA to get their opinion, and received this response:

"NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinion on this issue. Thanks for the opportunity to comment."

Keep in mind that The Daily News is not known as the most reputable news organization, and I cannot independently verify the recording of the interview. Even if if turns out Dr. Mitchell did really say these things, he does not provide any evidence for them. Even the testimony of a former astronaut and man of science cannot be taken by itself. Dr. Mitchell does not reference any documentation, all he offers is here say.

In addition to the lack of evidence, Dr. Mitchell's founding of the Institute for Noetic Sciences in 1973 does not make it easy for his story to be believed. Noetic sciences are defined thus, and rather questionably, on the Institute's website:

"Noetic sciences are explorations into the nature and potentials of consciousness using multiple ways of knowing—including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses. Noetic sciences explore the "inner cosmos" of the mind (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the "outer cosmos" of the physical world."

I don't want anyone reading this to think that I'm completely riding Dr. Mitchell off as a crackpot. Hell, this whole story may turn out to be a hoax. But, if he did really say all those things about aliens, all it really proves is that no human is immune to delusion. And if he's telling the truth? Great. I'd love to find out once and for all that Earth has in fact been visited by extraterrestrials. But, what one wants and what the evidence bears out are two separate things. Until Dr. Mitchell offers some hard, verifiable evidence for what he claims, even the testimony of an American hero must be called into question.

Barbara Walters Discredits Psychic, Psychic Whines About It

2008-07-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

I try to stay away from news, if it can be considered that, carrying the prefix "entertainment." The only journeys I've taken into the murky netherworld of "news" organizations such as People Magazine and E! Online were for research done in writing my Sylvia Browne predictions posts. But, a story about a famous journalist like Barbara Walters, albeit reduced to daytime television in recent years, publicly discrediting alleged psychic James Van Praagh is really too good to pass up.

Found both on The New York Post and ETOnline, the story tells of Van Praagh making an appearance on Walters' show The View on July 10. After giving audience readings with which Van Praagh claimed he was very pleased, the self-professed "sensitive" mentioned to Walters during a commercial break that there might be problems with her white blood cells and her lower back. Walters rightfully expressed skepticism, but decided to see her doctor anyway.

"The news prayed on her mind, even though 'I'm skeptical and Mr. Van Praagh knows it,' Walters said."

A week later, on an episode of The View airing July 17, Walters revealed, apparently early on in the broadcast, that her doctor had given her a clean bill of health.

"'Well, today I got the report. I am absolutely normal!' Walters said."

"I think it's a dangerous thing to do looking at someone and saying, 'Oh let me see, you have an elevated, there's an aura, you have an elevated white blood count,' Walters said of Van Praagh's advice."

Obviously, having his livelihood discredited by a respected reporter on national T.V. did not sit well with Van Praagh. He went on Entertainment Tonight to express how upset he was with Walters' "stab in the back." At the above link, a three-minute-long interview with Van Praagh can be found.

In the interview, the psychic, who claims he has helped thousands of people with his alleged "gift," used words such as "nasty" and "classless" to describe Walters calling him on his bullshit on her show. Van Praagh said he was surprised at Walters' skeptical and allegedly condescending reaction to his advice, citing her more friendly encounters with him in the past. He went on to say that a possible reason for Walters' truthful albeit blunt exposure of the psychic's incorrect health assessment might have something to do with that fact that Van Praagh's most recent book outsold Walters' on Amazon.com. The most revealing quote given by medium would have to be this:

"I'd love a public apology from her but she'll never give me one… her ego's in the way I think."

Talk about classy, huh? It's interesting to note the only mention Van Praagh gave of his defunct medical advice in the interview was that it didn't necessarily apply to this point in time. That way, any medical problems Walters may develop in the future even remotely resembling the ones against which Van Praagh warned can be counted as a hit for him. The rest of the interview was reserved for defaming Walters' character in the "classy" way only a wounded bunko artist defending his source of income can pull off. It appears the term "sensitive" does apply to Van Praagh; just not in the manner he intended.

The Eagle Has Landed

2008-07-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my trip and I knew this was the first thing about which I wanted to write. It won't be long, I just thought a momentous occasion such as this warranted observation.

39 years ago, on July 20, 1969, a member of the species homo sapien named Neil Armstrong walked on the surface of Earth's moon. For two hours and 31 minutes, Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin traversed terrain upon which no human 40 years prior had ever dreamed of walking. With a single footstep, the phrase "to shoot for the moon" instantly became obsolete in describing the impossible.

This isn't a post about whether we should continue to advance space travel (I think we should), or about whether the moon landing actually happened (I will take on anyone who says it did not). No, the point of this post is to honor all the men and women involved in safely ferrying the 12 men who have set foot on Earth's only natural satellite there and back again.

So, from one science geek to a myriad other people smarter than I, thank you.

"HOUSTON, TRANQUILITY BASE HERE.THE EAGLE HAS LANDED."

Making Fun of the Pope Not Illegal in Australia

2008-07-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

Since I have some time on my hands before my flight this morning, I figured I'd write about this story I just found from The National Post.

A federal court in Sydney ruled yesterday that laws enacted to prevent protesters from "annoying" Catholic protesters were unconstitutional. The laws were put in place to prevent protesters demonstrating against Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Sydney to celebrate World Youth Day, which is the Catholic church's largest youth festival aimed at attracting more young people to Catholicism.

"Under the laws, protesters could be arrested or fined A$5,500 (US$5,340) for wearing anti-Catholic T-shirts or for handing out condoms in protest at church doctrine on sex and marriage. Civil liberties leaders said the laws stifled freedom of speech and were open to abuse by police who were mounting an Olympic-style security operation for the papal visit."

"'We now have a lot more confidence to take to the streets to condemn Pope Benedict's policies against condom use, against contraception, against homosexuality,' Rachel Evans from the 'No Pope' group which challenged the laws."

"Evans said 'No Pope' protesters welcomed young Catholics in Sydney, but would hand them coathangers to protest against backyard abortions, condoms to promote safe sex, and stickers with gay themes to promote the rights of homosexuals."

It's a little disheartening to find out that Australia would make such protests illegal in the first place, especially when the statistics about Catholicism in Australia given by the article are considered:

"In Australia, home to the world's biggest gay and lesbian mardi gras and where abortion and stem cell research is legal, the Catholic church's teachings often fall on deaf ears. Some 5 million Australians describe themselves as Catholic, but less than one million attend Sunday mass and the number may have dropped to about 100,000 in the past 5 years."

Why even try to make something illegal about which so many people are obviously going to be angry? But, all's well that ends well I suppose. The above statistics are obviously the reason for the pope's visit to Sydney in the first place.

In a laughable attempt to make Catholicism "cool," the pope sent text messages to thousands of Catholic pilgrims in Sydney on Tuesday, urging them to renew their faith. The text message read:

"Young friend, God and his people expect much from u because u have within you the Fathers supreme gift: the Spirit of Jesus - BXVI."

Really, Pope Benny? I don't think abbreviating "you" to "u" in classic text message short hand is going to do Catholicism as a whole any good. If anything, it makes the pope look like the elderly uncle trying desperately to convince his nieces and nephews of his street cred. I mean come on, he didn't even do it on ever instance of "you." The least he could have done was be consistent. Fortunately, the Holy Father avoided further embarrassment by referring to Jesus as "JC," although I guarantee you that idea was thrown around the Vatican. It probably seemed too "gangsta" for the Catholic church. The last thing they want would be for Jesus to be associated with bitches and hoes; other than Mary Magdalene that is.

A Centaur Ghost?/ We All Scream For Jesus

2008-07-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

Just a brief, light-hearted post before I'm off for a couple days to visit my girlfriend in Olympia, WA (her blog, incidentally, can be found here). I once again have Dr. Phil Plait's blog Bad Astronomy to thank for bringing these news items to my attention.

The first story from The Telegraph in Britain tells the tale of a group of "paranormal enthusiasts" who have supposedly captured the image of a soldier, dead for 363 years, still fighting the English Civil War. The picture below comes from the above "story" link.

"The Northampton Paranormal Group caught the figure on camera during a visit to the site of the Battle of Naseby, a field between the villages of Clipston and Naseby in Northamptonshire, last month."

The "figure" in question can be more accurately described as a multi-colored blob created by some digital image distortion. Whatever defect in the image that has produced the psychedelic color palette in the background has also gotten the members of the paranormal group mighty excited. Emma Whiteman, leader of the group, said:

“When we saw it, when we were looking back through the pictures, we were gobsmacked. We’re saying that it’s a soldier. Some people can see it sitting on a horse and some people just see it as a walking soldier.”

The group seems to be so "gobsmacked" by this image that they can't even come to a decision on what it actually depicts. A member of the cavalry? A soldier walking by himself (who appears to be carrying some sort of wand)? What the hell, why not go way out on the limb already threatening to snap under the wait of the entire Northhampton Paranormal Group and call it a centaur ghost. They had centaurs in the English Civil War, right?

The paper graciously offered the forces of skepticism and rationality (inhabitants of a little place I like to call "reality") four whole lines to explain that *gasp* the image might not actually depict a ghost.

"Sceptics said the effect was caused by the camera itself."

"Anne Haddon, of The Naseby Battlefield Project, said: 'I haven’t heard anything like this at the battlefield in all my association with it. It’s fair to say I’m a bit sceptical.'"

But of course, no one wants to read about what someone who works at the battlefield where the picture was taken has to say; let's push her statement all the way to end. That's the responsible way to write an article.

The second story tells of a classic case of perhaps my favorite psychological phenomenon: pareidolia. The picture below comes from the above link.

The article would have its readers believe that Jesus Christ (yes that Jesus Christ) found time in his busy schedule to appear in a bucket of ice cream in the Avenues Candy and Ice Cream Shop in Utah. The Anointed One himself can apparently be glimpsed in the left-hand side of the image below.

A patron of the ice cream shop seems to have no problem imagining the possibility of Jesus appearing in his next spoonful of Neapolitan.

"Scott Toxsic says why not? His image has shown up other places. 'Potato chips, and brickwork, and all kinds of things,' he said. 'But whoever thought ice cream? It's amazing!'"

Amazing, yes! Amazing that it always seems to be the alleged son of God that appears in inanimate objects. As Dr. Plait pointed out, that could just as easily be Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon.

As is the norm with these types of stories, a token skeptic is dragged in to ruin things for everyone, and given the smallest percentage of the article possible:

"There are still the skeptics, like Chase Pinkham. 'It just kind of looked like ice cream to me. I don't know,' he said."

Why don't stories reporting the appearance of a holy figure in someone's food ever mention pareidolia? It strains my mind to understand why news media don't take the opportunity to teach the public something about science. I know newspapers are often more concerned with the amount of readers than subject matter, but do the media actually think the public is so ignorant that they wouldn't appreciate a brief science lesson about the workings of the human mind?

Not Alien Abductees, Call Them Cryptomnesiacs

2008-07-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

It seems I have been hearing quite a bit about UFOs and alien abductions lately. CNN's Larry King Live has devoted two whole hour-long shows in the last two weeks to UFO hunters and debating the "truth" about what happened in Roswell, NM in 1947. There was a recent article in Scientific American telling the story of a scientist who's working on a "real flying saucer" (I wrote about it here), and now I find this.

It's a story on the io9 blog about a 1993 report, which was published in Skeptical Inquirer. The report, written by professor of sociology at Rutgers University Ted Goertzel, calls into question the findings of a 1992 report that found 3.7 million Americans suffer from "alien abduction syndrome."

The original report, the one on which Goertzel wrote his, offered five experiences that might suggest one was abducted by aliens. But since there have never been any scientifically confirmed cases of alien abduction, I am at a loss as to how these five experiences were chosen. The descriptions of the experiences were as follows:

1. "Waking up paralyzed with a sense of a strange person or presence or something else in the room."
2. "Experiencing a period of time of an hour or more, in which you were apparently lost, but you could not remember why or where you had been."
3. "Feeling that you were actually flying through the air although you didn't know why or how."
4. "Seeing unusual lights or balls of light in a room without knowing what was causing them."
5. "Finding puzzling scars on your body and neither you nor anyone else remembering how you received them or where you got them."

If a participant in the study claimed to recognize four or more of these experiences, he or she would qualify as an "abductee." Again, how the researchers were able to come to such a conclusion based upon what amount to assumptions about what a "real" alien abduction feels like, I do not know.

In an attempt to remedy methodological and logical deficiencies in the original report, Goertzel tasked one of his research methods classes at Rutgers with redesigning the study.

"Our questionnaire included the same items which they believed were indicators of UFO abduction, but added other items designed to place their items in a broader psychological context."

Goertzel's class conducted interviews with 697 residents of Southwestern New Jersey. They found that 3.7% of the residents interview were considered "abductees" by the standards set down by the original study. The 18 other questions designed to gain a more in-depth psychological picture of the respondents asked about beliefs in government conspiracies, astrology and the respondents' ease of trusting others.

The addition of the new questions revealed the "alien abduction syndrome" for what it truly was, a psychological phenomenon known as cryptomnesia.

"Psychologist Robert Baker (1992: 78) states that this phenomenon of 'seeing complex visual images in one's head that you cannot remember ever having seen before or...suddenly hearing voices from unknown and unrecollected sources is not only a much more common occurrence than is generally known but is also one of the more interesting and intriguing anomalies in the field of 'normal' human behavior.'"

"To investigate the cryptomnesia phenomenon, Goertzel mapped out the correlation between the various survey responses and the reports of unusual personal experiences. People who believe that high government officials were involved in the Kennedy assassination, for example, had a 21% correlation with those supposed 'abductees.' There was a 20% correlation between 'abductees' and those who think the Air Force is hiding evidence of flying saucers. But the most overlap occurred with two separate groups of survey respondents: Those who admitted to feeling that others were conspiring against them, and those who said they enjoyed 'reading books about UFOs and other strange phenomena.'"

Further analysis by Goertzel suggested that cryptomnesia was rooted in a lack of trusting relationships. The ability to trust others, such as friends or neighbors, was one of the deeper psychological aspects Goertzel's revised study sought to explore.

"The path analysis suggests that cryptomnesia is rooted in a lack of trusting relationships. This problem may have its origins in early childhood, but it continues into adult life with a lessened feeling of trust of friends and neighbors. This lack of trust leads to feelings of anomie and anxiety which make the individual more likely to construct false memories out of information stored in the unconscious mind. People who think in this way are susceptible to belief in conspiracy theories since these theories help them to make sense of an otherwise incoherent world."

Goertzel cautions that his study is hardly comprehensive. He has not done the psychological case studies necessary to prove the conclusions made in his analysis. All his study does, Goertzel writes, is "...provide a more plausible interpretation of the data than the UFO abduction hypothesis." In this case, Goertzel has shown more scientific integrity than the authors of the original study. For one think, he didn't claim that 3.7% of Southwestern New Jersey residents are cryptomnesiacs.

Why do some people feel the need to complicate an incredibly interesting psychological phenomenon such as cryptomnesia with useless nonsense about alien abductions? The same can be said for sleep paralysis, which is a documented condition whose symptoms are incredibly similar to those described by alleged alien abductees; indeed a condition which can account for three of the five experiences described in the original study. When did the wonders of the labyrinthine human mind get replaced by myths?

The World's First Flying Saucer: Made Right Here on Earth

2008-07-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

I just love the subtle jab Scientific American took at people who think UFOs are controlled by extraterrestrials with the title of this article.

Subrata Roy, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Florida, is currently working on plans to build a flying machine that uses electrodes on its surface to ionize the air around it, turning the air into plasma. The positively charged plasma would then repel the neutrally charged air around it, theoretically creating enough force to lift the craft of the ground. Roy plans to have a model of the craft ready to demonstrate his claims within the next year.

"At six inches (15.2 centimeters) in diameter, the device, which Roy calls a 'wingless electromagnetic air vehicle"'(WEAV), will truly be a flying saucer. Theoretically, Roy says, the flying saucer can be as large as anyone wants to build it, because the design gives the aircraft balance and stability. In other words, this type of aircraft could someday be built large enough to ferry around people. But, Roy says, 'we need to walk before we can run, so we're starting small.'"

"The biggest hurdle to building a WEAV large enough to carry passengers would be making the craft light, yet powerful enough to lift its cargo and energy source. Roy is not sure what kind of energy source he will use yet. He anticipates that the craft's body will be made from a material that is an insulator such as ceramic, which is light and a good conductor of electricity."

"Roy has been working with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, since 2001 to study how plasma could be used to control the flow of air—pushing air in different directions—and thereby the vehicle's movements. "

"At this early stage, and without a clear decision on how the craft will be powered, Roy says it is unclear how much a WEAV might cost to build and operate. Still, he is optimistic. 'All of the materials needed to make this aircraft currently exist,' he says, 'and plasma is the most abundant form of matter in the universe. If we can somehow tap into that in the future we should be able to fly anywhere.'"

You see, this kind of thing is just cool. I simply do not understand why some people need to perpetuate the myth of alien-controlled UFOs when the reality of science is so much more interesting.

Kinoki Foot Pads: Update

2008-07-12T19:39:00.001-07:00

A call I received a few days ago earned Walgreens a little bit more respect from me (like the company cherishes that as a valuable commodity). It may not have been the answer I would have preferred to hear, but at least they actually responded to my Kinoki Foot Pads complaint.

The call came from the reasonable and soft-spoken manager of the specific branch of Walgreens about which I had complained. He politely told me what a store sells is not up to the local managers to decide, as I had suspected. The Walgreens corporate office makes those decisions, he said, and corporate wants to sell the foot pads because people keep buying them. He told me since the original airing of the ABC News report, the Kinoki people had removed all unsubstantiated claims from their packaging; which is really all an investigative journalist could expect.

I was glad to hear a tone of reluctance to sell the products in the manager's voice. This was most evident when he told me that some of his employees have bought the foot pads. He also mentioned he thought there are way too many of this type of product on the market. A statement with which I wholeheartedly agree.

So, this proved to be a valuable learning experience. You can't always get the desired outcome in situations like this, but the manager's attitude and the results of the ABC News report served as a glimmer of hope that rationality and skepticism can still enjoy small victories every so often.

Catholics Threaten a Student With Death Because of A Cracker

2008-07-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

I know I just wrote a post about how I won't be able to post in the next few days, but this story is just too good to pass up. I don't really have the time to present one of my usual summaries, but trust me, anything I write would not do PZ Myers writing style justice.

The story in question can be found here. Read it and wonder how far humans have truly come since the Dark Ages.

Also, you might want to check out Dr. Myers' post here to find out how many death threats he has personally received for daring to express his opinion about the above mentioned story. Apparently, it's a personal record for him.

Jeremy the Skeptic On Hold

2008-07-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Due to some unfortunate unforeseen circumstances, my computer situation has recently become a temporary one. What this ultimately means is that I won't be able to post here for the next few days.

Not to worry, though. All this really means is that I'll have loads of stuff about which to talk once I get back.

Atheist Soldier Sues Army for "Unconstitutional" Discrimination

2008-07-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, my approximately three years of being an "out-of-the-closet" atheist have not been marred by any serious discrimination. I imagine I have my friends and the college in which I'm enrolled to thank for that. However, this has not made me blind to the plight some American atheists face today. Major news media often don't widely report stories such as the one to follow. Whether that's due to the stigma still attached to the word "atheist," or maybe that these stories really don't happen that often, I cannot say. Either way, I think stories like this deserve more attention.

In March of this year, U.S. Army Spc. Jeremy Hall filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Dept. of Defense, citing violations to his right to freedom from religion made by the U.S. Army.

"Hall (who was raised Baptist) served two tours of duty in Iraq and has a near perfect record. But somewhere between the tours, something changed. Hall, now 23, said he no longer believes in God, fate, luck or anything supernatural."

"His sudden lack of faith, he said, cost him his military career and put his life at risk. Hall said his life was threatened by other troops and the military assigned a full-time bodyguard to protect him out of fear for his safety."

"Two years ago on Thanksgiving Day, after refusing to pray at his table, Hall said he was told to go sit somewhere else. In another incident, when he was nearly killed during an attack on his Humvee, he said another soldier asked him, 'Do you believe in Jesus now?'"

"Hall also said he missed out on promotions because he is an atheist.
'I was told because I can't put my personal beliefs aside and pray with troops I wouldn't make a good leader,' Hall said."

"Hall isn't seeking compensation in his lawsuit -- just the guarantee of religious freedom in the military. Eventually, Hall was sent home early from Iraq and later returned to Fort Riley in Junction City, Kansas, to complete his tour of duty."

A representative from the Pentagon, Deputy Undersecretary Bill Carr, claims complaints of evangelizing are "relatively rare," and that it is not the business of the Pentagon to push a particular faith among the troops.

"'If an atheist chose to follow their convictions, absolutely that's acceptable,' said Carr. 'And that's a point of religious accommodation in department policy, one may hold whatever faith, or may hold no faith.'"

Michael Weinstein, a retired senior Air Force officer and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation who is suing along with Hall, cites Christian groups that have filmed advertisements inside the Pentagon and have representatives on the majority of U.S. Army bases worldwide as evidence the the Army is pushing a Christian agenda. The Army officials who were involved with filming the advertisement inside the Pentagon have since been reprimanded.

"'Proselytizing or advancing a religious conviction is not what the nation would have us do and it's not what the military does,' Carr said."

Honestly, I don't know how to feel about Hall's lawsuit. It's obvious that since the majority of Americans are Christian, the majority of the U.S. Army is going to hold similar beliefs. Some of the comments Hall claims were made to him were in extremely bad taste, but Army leaders can't be everywhere at once. If Hall truly was denied promotion because he wouldn't be able to pray with his troops, that is clearly unconstitutional. Judging atheists based on their lack of beliefs is the root from which the majority of discrimination against them springs. I think Hall deserves respect for not asking for monetary compensation in his lawsuit. If there's anything the Dept. of Defense doesn't need more of, it's spending taxpayers' dollars.

However this lawsuit turns out, I hope at least one thing happens: if this unconstitutional discrimination against non-believers in the U.S. Army is as rampant as Hall and Weinstein claim, I hope this lawsuit will inspire similarly discriminated-against atheist and agnostic soldiers to make their voices heard.

BBC Report Finds Acupuncture No Help for In Vitro Fertilization

2008-07-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

Much thanks to a friend of mine who brought this story to my attention.

Acupuncture is apparently the most popular form of complimentary therapy used by patients seeking In vitro fertilization (IVF) in England. London-based researchers recently presented the findings of an analysis covering 13 trials and approximately 2,500 women to a European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology meeting in Barcelona. The analysis did not show any benefits to treating IVF patients with acupuncture.

"The experts from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS (the UK's National Health Service) Trust carried out an extensive evaluation of the research carried out over the last 50 years."

"Five of the trials analysed by the team looked at the effect of acupuncture at the time of egg retrieval, while the other eight examined the benefits of giving it at the time of embryo implantation."

"Neither group of studies showed any difference in pregnancy rates between those given true acupuncture, those given a sham version and those given nothing."

"Dr Sesh Kamal Sunkara, who led the work, said, based on the evidence she had analysed, she would not advise her patients that having the therapy could improve their chances of having a baby through IVF."

Not surprisingly, Paul Robin, chairman of The Acupuncture Society of England, said he was really surprised by the findings.

"'I've been treating people for twenty years,' Robin said, 'and in my experience treatment does seem to improve their chances of becoming pregnant.'"

Unfortunately, Robin did not cite any studies in support of his claims. In the scientific community, where researchers often ask for a pesky thing called "evidence," anecdotal accounts of a treatment working are not good enough.

A detailed description of what acupuncture is and what practitioners claim it does can be found here. Put simply, it is a traditional Chinese medical technique that claims to unblock the flow of "chi" in one's body by inserting thin needles into the body at specific points. Unblocking "chi" allegedly balances the bodies opposing forces, known as the "yin" and "yang."

The mysterious energy known as "chi," a force which allegedly permeates everything, has yet to be documented by modern science. You'd think practitioners of alternative medicinal techniques that claim to manipulate "chi" would be working their collective yangs off to prove to the mainstream scientific community that "chi" actually exists. Not only would they no longer be scoffed at by their counterparts (I refuse to use the word colleague) in modern medicine, the ones to prove "chi" exists would most likely win a Nobel prize in physics. But honestly, who would want that Stockholm piece of crap and a measly US$1.6 million when they could potentially pull down a chunk of the approximately US$500 million a year made by acupuncturists in the United States?

Kinoki Foot Pads: There's Bullshit Afoot

2008-07-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

There is a Walgreens Pharmacy about a half-mile from my house. These particular establishments seem to be as ubiquitous as Starbucks franchises in Las Vegas. The Walgreens near my house has an animated billboard in its parking lot which advertises various products that can be found for sale inside. One day while driving by, I noticed the billboard display: "Kinoki Footpads: $19.99." Now, I had seen the occasional television commercial for these products in Bellingham, WA and I must admit, I thought it was a Northwest thing. I laughed off those commercials like I have done for those of thousands of other products that offer vague claims of "cleansing your body naturally" and "removing toxins." So, my understandable first reaction to seeing these things for sale not a mile from my house was, "They're actually selling this crap?"

Since this happened a few days after I had decided to post on my blog every day, the first thing I thought of doing was going to down to Walgreens, shelling out the $19.99 (plus tax) and trying these things for myself. They plan was to offer a day-by-day report on my blog on whether or not these things actually worked.

All that changed when I searched "Kinoki" on Google and found that John Stossel over at ABC News had already done the work for me and wrote an article about it; four months ago at that. The article handily debunked the foot pads as being nothing more than strips of absorbent material that darkened when moisture was applied to them. This darkening was claimed by the Kinoki people as evidence of the toxins that had been removed from your body overnight.

So, feeling a bit disappointed that I didn't get to do my own investigative journalism, I decided to do the next best thing: write a letter to Walgreens asking why they sold these things. What follows is the text of that complaint.

I have a complaint regarding Walgreens' decision to sell Kinoki Cleansing Detox Footpads. I would like to know why a fine establishment like Walgreens chooses to sell this product despite the fact there is absolutely no scientific evidence that they do what the Description on the Walgreens website claims. Indeed, there is no earthly reason why these foot pads would "absorb toxins and impurities" as claimed.

A recent report by ABC News revealed these foot pads for what they truly are: useless pads of absorbent material that rely on the placebo effect to produce results in the user. From the article:

"The idea that they're drawing toxins through the skin out of the body in any significant amount, I think is just wrong," said Dr. George Friedman-Jimenez, the director of the Bellevue / New York University Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic in New York City.

NMS Labs, a national laboratory in Willow Grove, Pa. tested for a lot of things, including heavy metals like arsenic and mercury and 23 solvents, including benzene, tolulene and styrene (materials the foot pads are claimed to remove) and found none of these on the used pads. There's no evidence that it's toxins. When I dropped distilled water on the pad, it turns dark in seconds.
Link to article online: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Stossel/Story?id=4636224&page=3

So, I would like to know, is it the usual practice of Walgreens to sell products that don't perform as claimed? If so, I'm afraid I may have to rethink my decision to shop at your particular pharmacy.

I will post any response I get from Walgreens here.

My Letter to the Texas Education Agency

2008-07-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

As a vehement opponent of the teaching of creationism/intelligent design alongside the theory of evolution in public school science classrooms, and a native Texan, it seems I cannot let this go. Here is a formal letter of complaint I plan to send to the Texas Education Agency:

I am a concerned citizen living in Las Vegas, Nevada. I am appalled at the lack of common sense and rationality shown by the Texas Education Agency in forcing the resignation of its former Science Director, Chris Comer. It is preposterous that the TEA should chose to remain neutral on a subject such as choosing not to teach creationism/intelligent design alongside the theory of evolution. There is no credible reason given in the memorandum entitled "Proposed Disciplinary Action" sent on November 5, 2007 as to why the TEA should choose to remain neutral on such a topic. If these attitudes of the TEA persist, I fear the education of the young people in the great state of Texas, of which I am a proud native, will be put in major jeopardy. It is atrocious to think that the TEA is willing to compromise the education of the young people under its jurisdiction by not taking a stand on a subject as fundamental as the theory of evolution. I am writing this letter to express my support for Ms. Comer in her suit against the TEA, and to express my abject disappointment in the decisions of the agency.

The memorandum mentioned in the letter can be found here. It was originally linked from the story by the National Center for Science Education. I will post any response I get from the TEA here.

Woman Forced to Resign Over Evolution in Texas Fights Back

2008-07-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to write about this story since it first came to my attention on July 3, but other posts which seemed more pressing at the time forced themselves to the front.

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a not-for-profit organization that follows the evolution/intelligent design debate across the United States. Its website keeps those interested, such as myself, up to date on the actions of school boards across the country which seem to be pro-creationism/intelligent design.

The story in question started in November of 2007 when Chris Comer, director of Science at the Texas Education Agency (TEA), was forced to resign because she forwarded an e-mail to her colleagues at the TEA alerting them to a talk scheduled to be given in Austin, TX. The talk was to be given by Barbara Forrest, a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University and a member of NCSE's board of directors. The TEA cited the subject matter of the talk, the history of the intelligent design movement and Forrest's involvement in Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District, as a reason for Comer's requested resignation. The TEA said Comer's forwarding of the e-mail represented her endorsement of the speaker on a subject, the evolution/intelligent design debate, on which the TEA must remain neutral. Just to make that clear to everyone reading this, that's a state-run educational agency choosing to remain neutral on the subject of evolution through natural selection.

Eight months later, Comer has now, thankfully, filed suit against the TEA in Federal District Court for redress. From this NCSE article, Comer seeks:

a declaratory judgment that the TEA policy of being "neutral" on the subject of creationism violates the Establishment Clause;
a declaratory judgment that Comer's firing was unconstitutional;
an offer from the TEA of reinstatement of Comer to her previous position as Director of Science;
an injunction against TEA "having, expressing, or imposing through any means, a policy of 'neutrality' with respect to the teaching of creationism in the Texas public schools, or a policy that expressly or implicitly equates evolution and creationism, or that in any way credits creationism as a valid scientific theory"
legal fees

It is my sincere hope that Miss Comer gets fully reinstated and once there, brings some much-needed common sense and rationality to a public agency clearly devoid of even the smallest shred of either. If this issue did not affect so many young people, it would truly be laughable. How can any member of the TEA, an elected board of 15 people, claim the agency must remain neutral on a subject as fundamental as evolution, and keep a straight face?

One Nation, Under God?

2008-07-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm well aware that this blog is called "Jeremy the Skeptic," but I am also an atheist. As an atheist, issues having to do with religion, specifically the separation of church and state we currently enjoy in the United States, are of great interest to me. So, in addition to posts having to do with science and the paranormal, posts about religious issues in the United States will crop up from time to time. This is one of the latter.

Since it is the Fourth of the July, I have heard the Pledge of Allegiance recited once or twice today. Most recently on a television commercial, oddly enough. It always bugged me, well as long as I've been calling myself an atheist (that's a whole separate story), why the phrase "One Nation, Under God" was smack dab in the middle of the allegiance pledge of a country that was supposed to be secular. I remember first talking about this issue when I was a senior in high school. I was in my AP Government class and the girl with whom I was talking about this didn't see it as a big deal (I went to a Catholic high school). "It's tradition," she said, to which I replied, "So is slavery. Just because some thing's been there for a long time doesn't mean it's right." The class discussion moved on after this exchange, so I never did get to hear her reply.

A few months passed and I learned, much to my surprise and relief, that the phrase in question was added in 1954, at the urging of the Knights of Columbus and a Scottish-born minister named George MacPherson Docherty. Rev. Docherty talked about a conversation he had with his son about the pledge in a sermon he gave at Washington, D.C.'s New York Avenue Presbyterian Church on a Sunday in February of 1954. Docherty thought the addition of "Under God" was important and that it didn't necessarily serve as a statement of faith for any non-believing Americans. Without a reference to God, Docherty thought, the pledge could apply to just about any nation. Then President Dwight Eisenhower, who was in attendance of the aforementioned sermon, apparently agreed. On June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed into law a resolution officially adding the phrase "Under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now, I would be fooling myself if I thought this would be some breaking news story; that "Under God" was not in the original pledge. I learned it as a senior in high school from my parents, and have only recently researched the details. I bring this up on the Fourth of July because such a phrase would undoubtedly be thought of as a bad idea by our founding fathers. Men who knew what a dangerous mix religion and government could make. It absolutely infuriates me when fundamentalists Christians call the United States "A Christian Nation" and use the "under God" phrase as proof. For one thing, it is a source of pride for me to know that the founding fathers and I share the same opinions about religion and government. To hear the ideals upon which this country was built thrown in the garbage just because of an inexcusable ignorance of America's history upsets me to no end. The purpose of this post has been to remind people of America's secular origins, and maybe to vent a little.

I'll end this evening with the Pledge of Allegiance as it was originally written, by a Baptist Minister named Francis Bellamy in 1892. A pledge I would have no problem reciting today.

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. America"

Other sources I used for this post can be found here.

Independence Day

2008-07-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm usually not prone to blind displays of patriotism, but in these times when the United States seems to slipping in its international standing at an alarming rate, I would feel remiss if I didn't write a brief post reminding everyone of the importance of this day. I would also feel remiss if I didn't state up front that I stole this idea from Dr. Phil Plait's blog, Bad Astronomy.

The true importance of the Fourth of July is often washed out by the glare of fireworks and beaten down by the forceful cacophony of television commercials offering sales on everything from mattresses to swimwear. It is perhaps even more shameful to see the ideals for which the early Americans fought and died twisted for the personal gains of politicians. Does it really matter that Barrack Obama doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin? How can his patriotism be questioned when he is running for the highest office in the land for which he obviously cares a great deal? Is blind patriotism, supporting one's country no matter what its government does, really what the founding fathers had in mind? It was dissent and a spirit of rebellion that built the country in which I live. A country whose ideals and principles I hold dear.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-Thomas Jefferson

It's this spirit of dissent that has recently brought to my mind a little experiment. An experiment, I'm sorry to say, I haven't had a chance to try. Instead of blowing things up this Fourth of July, I think it would be interesting, a true display of what makes the United States great, to light an American flag on fire. Not in protest of our government's policies, but in celebration of the freedoms our founding fathers bestowed upon us. What sort of reaction would this get, were you to do it, say, in your front yard? I can imagine, not a welcoming one. I can only hope it would start some interesting conversations with your neighbors about our freedoms as Americans, and what free speech truly is.

So, while you're outside this weekend enjoying the rockets' red glare along with a hot dog or two, keep in mind what this holiday represents. And remember how the freedoms you now enjoy came about in the first place.

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
-The Declaration of Independence

Alleged Psychic Sylvia Browne's 2008 Predictions: Mid-Year Update

2008-07-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Readers of this blog, if any remain, might ask why I devote so much time to covering Sylvia Browne. Believe me, if I had more time on my hands and a steady income, I would be doing more. Offering a record and critiques of her predictions is truly the least I can do to make my wish that she be stopped come true. This is why I applaud the work of one Robert Lancaster (creator of stopsylviabrowne.com) A quick skim of his sight will reveal how Browne truly operates, and the stories of those she’s hurt. One of Mr. Lancaster’s most recent posts details his harrowing descent into the underworld that is Browne’s live show at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, in my home town of Las Vegas. But I digress.

This mid-2008 update will review the predictions Browne has made for the year in attempt record which ones, if any, have come to pass. I’ll admit freely that I am biased against Browne and her despicable work, but I do try to be fair. So here, presented in a simple list format as before, is a review of Browne’s predictions for 2008 (in bold) and anything news-worthy that has happened with regards to them.

1. Britney Spears’ younger sister Jaime Lynn Spears will have her baby.
Spears the younger gave birth to a healthy, although 10-days-premature, baby girl on June 19, 2008. Complications during the delivery apparently forced doctors to perform an emergency Cesarean on the 17-year old.

2. Browne described Britney Spears as having a "bi-polar condition," and that she will get help for it in 2008.
Several reports released a week or so after Spears was released from a Los Angeles area hospital in January of 2008 claim that the singer’s family suspects Spears may suffer from bipolar disorder. However, I could only find rumors and speculation regarding Spears’ actual diagnosis.

3. Actor Owen Wilson will have "another dip" in his depression.
As of this posting, actor Owen Wilson has not had any other publicized bouts of depression.

4. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will adopt another child, but the couple will not stay together.
The couple is planning to adopt another child some time after the twins Jolie is expecting this summer are born. It has yet to be seen if the couple will stay together. Browne failed to predict Jolie becoming pregnant with twins.

5. Jennifer Aniston will marry a producer in a year or two.
Aniston appears to currently be in a relationship with singer/songwriter John Mayer.

6. United State troops stationed in Iraq will start coming home "in increments" due to the withdrawal of other collation forces.
There have been no reports of US forces in Iraq returning home due to the withdrawal of other coalition forces. An NBC News affiliate in Colorado reports that President Bush plans to return some troops home from Iraq due to the recent decrease in violence there.

From the article:

"Our troops have driven the terrorists and extremists from many strongholds," Bush said. "As a result of this progress, some of our troops are coming home as a result of our policy called Return on Success,"

7. President Bush’s approval rating will continue to drop.

Bush’s approval rating has hit an all-time-low of 23% according to a poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg News.

8. Senator Barack Obama will become the Democratic "front-runner" in the race to be the next president of the United States. Senator Hillary Clinton will be in the lead in polls until the summer and suddenly "flatten out."

The race to become the Democratic nominee for president ended well before summer started. The last few months were marked by Senator Clinton’s tenacious refusal to concede to her opponent from Illinois.

9. Browne predicts "diabetic breakthroughs" and the use of "sound waves with cancer."

The biggest diabetic breakthrough I could find was that of a team working at the University of Manchester. "Scientists have discovered a new technique for turning embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing pancreatic tissue in what could prove a significant breakthrough in the quest to find new treatments for diabetes," the article reported.

Regarding the use of "sound waves with cancer" a story by the National Prostate Cancer Coalition reports on a new clinic opening up in Argentina which uses High Intensity Focus Ultrasound (HIFU) as a treatment for prostate cancer.
"HIFU utilizes focused sound waves to rapidly heat and destroy the tissue within the prostate," the article reported. It would seem that Browne was correct about this one, until you realize that this story was written in August of 2007.

10. Browne predicts "whooping cough, mumps and measles will be on the rise" in 2008.

It appears that mumps did make a comeback, but in 2006. There was no news of which to speak regarding whooping cough, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims the US is on track to get hit by one of the biggest measles outbreaks in seven years, "A series of outbreaks in nine states between January and April 25 has resulted in 64 measles cases -- the highest number reported over the same time period since 2001," the article reported.

11. Browne predicts more tsunamis, "a big earthquake in Japan," and "volcanoes erupting from all parts of the country that have been dead for years."
As of this posting, there have not been any newsworthy tsunamis or any dormant volcanoes erupting around the country. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake did strike Japan’s Iwate prefecture on June 14, 2008 killing nine people and injuring at least 200. But did Browne offer an specifics with the predictions? Of course not. She also failed to predict the massive earthquake that struck China in May, killing 70,000 people.

I'm Back

2008-07-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

As the summer of 2008 brings 110+ temperatures to Las Vegas, my hometown, I have recently decided to stay inside out of the sun and blazing heat to focus on my blog. I admit, during the school year, it has been difficult for me to post regularly on this thing, what with all the responsibilities and obligations being a full-time student foists upon me.

However, if I ever hope to achieve my dream of being an investigative journalist leaning toward skeptical issues, I feel I must get writing, as often as possible. So, as of today, I will be posting at least one brief item regarding anything in the news that I feel is under the umbrella of this blog's coverage. I will be pooling these items from a wide variety of sources, many of which I predict will be blogs that cover similar material.

So, to whomever may still be reading this, I present to you the new-and-improved summer edition of Jeremy the Skeptic.

Alleged Psychic Sylvia Browne's 2007 Predictions: Success Rate

2008-01-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

My recent writing of a summary of the predictions of alleged psychic Sylvia Browne for the year 2008 lead to a discussion among some friends and I about Browne’s success rate for the predictions she made on Montel for the year 2007. With a little research I was able to find both a succinct list of her predictions, given on a December 27, 2006 airing of Montel, and enough information to determine if they were either a “hit,” correct, or a “miss,” incorrect. Before I get to the success rate of Browne’s 2007 predictions, I feel I must mention the website http://www.mondoskepto.com/, where I found the succinct list of Browne’s 2007 predictions. (Specifically, this page: http://www.mondoskepto.com/node/192)

As with my previous note, the predictions, 13 in all, will be presented in a simple list format along with some of my own commentary and a link to a news story or other source, should such a source be applicable. The quotes of both Browne and Montel Williams were obtained from http://www.mondoskepto.com/

1. Browne predicted that Jennifer Lopez will not have a baby in 2007, saying that Lopez wants to but that “there’s something wrong there.” Technically, this prediction came true. However, according to an article in People Magazine, Lopez confirmed in 2007 that she is pregnant with twins. There doesn’t seem to be anything “wrong” with Lopez at all.
Prediction #1: Miss
Source: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20159086,00.html

2. Browne predicted that reality TV star Nicole Richie will end up in the hospital. “I mean, this is serious,” Browne said, “We’re not talking about some little, ‘Let’s go and check you out.’” According to an article in US Magazine, Richie was briefly hospitalized in March of 2007. Quoted from the article, “At the hospital, Richie was given fluids and promptly released.” It seems that Richie’s hospital stay was exactly what most people would describe as “some little, “Let’s go and check you out.’”
Prediction #2: Miss
Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/nicole_richie_hospitalized

3. Browne predicted that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will “be instrumental in helping the campaign,” here I’m presuming that Browne means the presidential campaign. In the whole of 2007, Speaker Pelosi did not announce her candidacy for president or do anything else that would be deemed news-worthy having to do with any Democratic candidates for president.
Prediction #3: Miss

4. Browne predicted that there will be a “breakthrough in Hepatitis C.” The only breakthrough I could find was reported in 2006.
Prediction #4: Miss
Source: http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=3340337

5. Browne predicted that polio and whooping cough will be “coming back.” This is simply untrue. As of December 25, 2007, there were 895 reported cases of polio globally; that’s compared to 1848 reported cases globally in 2006. Source: http://www.polioeradication.org/casecount.asp I was unable to find any figures for cases of whopping cough globally, but chances are such a disease “coming back” would have made the news.
Prediction #5: Miss

6. Browne predicted that depression would be linked to the one’s diet. The Guardian reported on a paper making this exact same statement in January of 2006.
Prediction #6: Miss
Source:http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1686730,00.html?gusrc=rss

7. Browne predicted that a new drug will be released—having something to do with amino acids, she was not specific—to combat AIDS. Montel asked if it would put AIDS into remission, and Browne answered in the affirmative. A new drug was released, but does not put AIDS into remission and has nothing to do with amino acids. Plus, it was reported in 2006.
Prediction #7: Miss
Source: http://www.aidsmeds.com/news/am20060623.html

8. Browne predicted that the East Coast will have “one of the mildest winters ever.” Now, presuming she means the winter in the leading months of 2007, January, February, etc, Browne was correct. However, the National Weather Service made the same prediction in October of 2006, a full two months before Browne’s prediction. Source: http://www.weather.gov/climate/l3mto.php The winter in the trailing months of 2007, November, December, etc, was anything but mild. Quoted from the USA Today, “The Northeast region's latest winter storm has left several more inches of snow, causing major problems with holiday travel Friday at Boston's Logan International Airport.” Source: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/delays/2007-12-21-holidaytravel_N.htm
Prediction #8: Miss

9. Browne offered a vague warning about tsunamis, about which Montel asked if they were going to cause flooding in the southern United States, to which Browne answered in the affirmative. There was no tsunami which caused any sort of flooding in the southern United States.
Prediction #9: Miss

10. Browne predicted “volcanoes erupting everywhere,” offering her usual level of specificity. Montel asked about Mexico, Hawaii and “the pacific,” to which Browne answered in the affirmative. No volcano erupted in Mexico in 2007, and Kilauea in Hawaii has been erupting effusively, read: non-explosively, since the mid-1990s.
Prediction #10: Miss

11. Browne said that she has “always been worried about a tsunami hitting New York” and made it seem that this was going to happen in 2007. No tsunami hit New York in 2007.
Prediction #11: Miss

12. Browne predicted that terrorist attacks would occur in England, Spain and France. No such events happened in 2007.
Prediction #12: Miss

13. With regards to terrorism, Browne said that she was “worried about trucks and trains in the Unites States.” No such terrorist attacks happened in the United States in 2007.
Prediction #13: Miss

I’ll admit, I was a bit disappointed when Montel failed to review Browne’s predictions for 2007 at the beginning of the episode in which Browne offered her predictions for 2008. But now, the reason why Montel did not has become all too clear: Browne utterly failed on every single one of them.

Alleged Psychic Sylvia Browne's 2008 Predictions

2008-01-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

If anyone reading this is a frequent reader of my blog, or indeed knows me at all, they will undoubtedly be aware of my extreme dislike and, some might even say, hatred of alleged psychic Sylvia Browne. On December 31, 2007, while making one of her many appearances on the day-time talk show Montel on NBC, Browne made several predictions about what will happen in 2008 with regards to various topics such as celebrity news, medical breakthroughs and politics. With this post, I will present all the predictions Browne made on this particular episode of Montel so that anyone at all can refer back to them once 2008 comes to an end in order to see how accurate Browne was. It is my opinion that recording Browne’s predictions about verifiable facts is one of the few ways that her status as a “world-renowned psychic” can be brought into serious question; something that I feel needs to be done immediately. In addition to Browne’s predictions, summaries of two questions that were asked of her by two separate audience members are also included; questions on which Browne utterly failed but was able to twist both her words and the words of the audience members to make it appear as though she answered the questions correctly.

The predictions will be presented in a simple list format, and any text which appears in quotes is the exact phrasing used by Browne.

1. Jamie Lynn Spears, 16-year-old sister of Britney Spears, will have her baby.

2. Browne described Britney Spears as having a “bi-polar condition,” and that she will get help for it in 2008.

3. Actor Owen Wilson will have “another dip” in his depression.

4. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will adopt another child, but the couple will not stay together.

5. Pitt will never return to his ex-wife, actress Jennifer Aniston. Aniston will marry a producer “in a year or two.”

6. United State troops stationed in Iraq will start coming home “in increments” due to the withdrawal of other collation forces.

7. President Bush’s approval rating will continue to drop.

8. Senator Barack Obama will become the Democratic “front-runner” in the race to be the next president of the United States. Senator Hillary Clinton will be in the lead in polls until the summer and suddenly “flatten out.”

9. The next president of the United States will be from the Democratic Party.

10. Browne predicts that the Ford Motor Company will continue to produce electric-gasoline hybrid vehicles; despite the fact Ford has been doing this for the last year.

11. The stock market will be “like a rollercoaster.”

12. Browne predicts “diabetic breakthroughs” and the use of “sound waves with cancer.”

13. Browne predicts “whooping cough, mumps and measles will be on the rise” in 2008.

14. Browne predicts more tsunamis, “a big earthquake in Japan,” and “volcanoes erupting from all parts of the country that have been dead for years.”

Browne was asked by a young man in the studio audience whether or not he would be successful in his music career, to which Browne answered in the affirmative. Browne goes on to tell the young man that she sees four people around him. When the man makes it clear that he does not know about whom Browne could be talking, Browne says that in his music career, he will “absorb four other people.” Montel then asks the man what instrument he plays, to which the man replies the tenor saxophone. Montel reiterates Browne’s statement about meeting four people, and says that such an instrument generally is not played by itself. Montel says the man will most likely become part of a band with four other people; all in a fairly condescending tone. By retrofitting Browne’s original statement, that she sees four people around this man, Montel made it appear as if Browne predicted this man’s possible formation of a band when in fact she did not. Also, Montel made it seem as if the man who asked the question was somehow mistaken, and that it couldn’t have possibly been Browne who was wrong.

Browne was asked by a middle-aged woman in the studio audience where a family heirloom that belonged to her late grandmother could be found. The woman mentions that it was last seen in the possession of her son. With this information, Browne appears to assume that the aforementioned son is still a child, and that the missing heirloom will be found in the son’s belongings, explaining that he likes to hide things. Montel even chimes in and tells the woman to look through her son’s toys, to which Browne offers no correction. The woman then goes on to explain that her son is in his twenties, an age at which most people no longer have toys, or the desire to mischievously hide objects. Browne sticks to her guns and continues to tell the woman to look through her son’s things until another audience member with a question is called on. Browne was clearly incorrect about the age of the son, showing that she was most likely acting on an unwarranted assumption.

Tactics such as these lead me to believe that Browne possesses absolutely no ability to foresee the future or communicate with people who have died. Yet, Montel Williams, a former United States Marine with 22 years of service, continues to have Browne as a guest on his show and to shamelessly plug her myriad books and personal appearances. Browne seems to show no remorse for the often grieving and desperate people from whom she takes money; a 20-minute over-the-phone reading with Browne costs $700. It is not the people who continue to buy Browne’s books and services who are to blame, although consistently spending any amount of money on Browne is certainly ill-advised. Put very simply: Browne herself is to blame. She knows exactly what she is doing and yet continues to do it. I have been asked many times if I think evil exists. I maintain that I do. But instead of citing the obvious choices such as Adolf Hitler or Charles Manson, I cite “world-renowned psychic” Sylvia Browne and her ilk. In my mind, there is no greater evil than preying on the desperate and the credulous.

For more information on Sylvia Browne and her alleged “powers,” I suggest a visit to this website: http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/home/

Good News

2007-05-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I have good news. My letter to the editor of my college newspaper, The Western Front, was printed in their latest edition. That is truely the best result I could have hoped for. I applaud the Front for their willingness to print skeptical points of view.

A link to my letter on the Front online can be found here. Also, it seems that whoever runs that website has deleted the rather amusing and somewhat anti-Semetic comment someone left in response to my letter. I will reproduce it here, "What does this stupid Jew no anyway? Let him sleep there for a night, I'd bet he'd do it for a penny!"

Ghosts in the Library

2007-04-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

Recently, the student-run newspaper of the university which I attend, The Western Front, ran a story reporting on the alleged existance of a ghost on the second floor of the school library. A link to the story can be found here.

Obviously, someone with a blog entitled "Jeremy the Skeptic" would find something wrong with a news story such as this. And indeed I did. Here's a letter I sent to the editor of the paper.

To the Editor,

I was deeply disappointed to find as a feature story in the April 27, 2007 issue of The Western Front an unsubstantiated report that a ghost inhabits the microform of the Wilson Library. Providing first hand accounts of “cold spots” and electrical disturbances simply does not provide any evidence for the claim that the spirit of a deceased librarian is currently occupying the building for which she is named. Just because a place feels “creepy” does not mean anything supernatural is going on. I found it particularly amusing that the president of “Advanced Ghost Hunters of Seattle-Tacoma” was contacted as if to provide an air of legitimacy to a story which would otherwise be a mediocre camp fire tale. I am hard pressed to come up with a reason why a representative from the “Society for Sensible Explanations,” also based in Seattle, was not also contacted to provide an alternative, and possibly more sensible, explanation.

Before I read this story, I had held the Front in generally high regard; I found the opinion pieces particularly fascinating. However, with the printing of a story such as “The Ghost of Wilson Library” I now retain the same amount of esteem for the Front as I do for The AS Review which, thanks to the Review’s recent uncritical look at “extra sensory perception,” is not very much. I sincerely hope that the next time an opportunity to report on anything having to do with the supernatural presents itself, the staff of the Front will gaze upon it with a more skeptical eye.

Yours,
Jeremy Schwartz

I will post any response I get. Here's hoping it's a good one.

The Idea of Prayer and the Virginia Tech Tragedy

2007-04-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

Before I start here, I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the families who lost loved ones on April 16th, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech. That includes both the families of the victims and the gunman.

It utterly blows my mind that anyone could think that praying to a god that allowed such a disaster to occur would do any good. I personally could not think of a more useless, if well intentioned, gesture. What exactly does, “My prayers are with the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting,” mean? Why does an omnipotent and omniscient god need to be reminded that 33 people who have suddenly and tragically died should go to heaven? And what of the person who did the shooting? Are the prayers of people across the country telling God that he should burn forever in the fires of eternity? How would that make the gunman’s parents feel? This is one of the things that so enrages me about the idea of prayer; the inconsistency of it all. How something that could be so well intentioned could also be used as a petition to damn someone to eternal punishment. I think it is safe to assume that at least one of the parents of at least one of the 33 students prayed for the safe return home of their son or daughter that day. Why wasn’t that prayer answered? How does God choose the prayers which he answers?

The only way I could understand the need for some people to prayer is to make themselves feel better. This is a natural human need, especially in the face of such an unspeakable calamity. Trying to come to turns with the uncertainties of the world is one of the main reasons religion evolved in the first place. It is natural for humans to try to find order in chaos. However, I have long since come to terms with the fact that there are many things that happen of which I cannot affect the outcome. There are simply some things that happen in this world that no one can change. Now, I do not know the specifics of the Virginia Tech incident and what could have been done to stop the person who did the shooting. Still, if that student was determined enough to end that many lives, he would have found a way to do so. My point is, no one can stop these random events, and it has made me much happier now that I have come to realize that. So, instead of wasting my time pointlessly beseeching a most probably non existent entity because of an event that entity should have been able to stop in the first place, I merely extend my deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased and move on with my life. Because if there’s anything that such a disaster can teach all of us, it’s how quickly our relatively short lives can be snatched away.

2007-02-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

I'm trying my best to update my blog weekly but unfortunately a cold has struck me rather hard this week and I can't sit in front of a computer for that long. I would jut like to express my gratitude and respect to all my friends who have been following the recent Sylvia Browne debacle and now look at her, and indeed all psychics, with a more skeptical eye. It only takes a few of us to get the snowball rolling down the hill and once it gets going, it's nearly impossible to stop.

Sylvia Browne: Dead Wrong

2007-01-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

The recent outright failure of alleged psychic Sylvia Browne to correctly divine the whereabouts of Shawn Hornbeck has shown once and for all, in my opinion, that she possesses no supernatural powers whatsoever. If any of you happened to miss the segment on Anderson Cooper 360 which talked about Browne and her failure regarding Shawn Hornbeck, I will provide a brief summary. The show in question aired Friday, January 19th at 10:00pm, Eastern Standard Time. The particular segement ran about five minutes, but it was five minutes well spent. In it, Cooper showed a surprising amount of skepticism for a CNN reporter; it suprised me because other CNN programs such as Nancy Grace and Larry King have featured alleged psychics with little or no skeptical points of view. The title of the segment was also very appropriate. DEAD WRONG was the phrase projected behind Cooper as he introduced it.

The segment goes on to report that in 2003, Browne appeared on the Montel Williams show where the parents of Shawn Hornbeck asked her about the whereabouts of their missing son. Browne told Shawn's parents that he was dead, plain and simple. Browne answered in the negative to Hornbeck's parents' question, "Is he still with us?" She went on to describe the location in which Shawn's body could be found and what Shawn's kidnapper looked like. She was completely wrong in both accounts. For a more in depth telling of this infuriating story, take a visit to www.stopsylviabrowne.com. Also, here is the link to the AC 360 clip.

If anyone reading this supports Browne in any way, buys her books, consults her for "psychic" readings, please stop. I am well aware that it is your money and you can spend it as you wish, but providing any financial support to such a "psychic" is, in my opinion, extremely ill-advised. Not only are you wasting your money, you are providing Browne with the means to continue her despicable work.

Ghosts and Dust

2006-11-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

Dust particles. Microscopic pieces of pollen. Glare produced from a light source. Mistakes in film processing. None of these common occurrences seem very frightening or mysterious when they are described as what they truly are. However, all these annoyances of both amateur and professional photographers take on a completely different air when they are depicted as “ghost orbs.” An orb, as defined by The Skeptic’s Dictionary, is, “…an alleged ghost, spirit energy, or multi-dimensional being invisible to the naked eye but visible as a ball of light on film.” For some strange reason, pictures of dust particles illuminated by camera flash pass for acceptable evidence for the existence of ghosts nowadays. I can’t help but laugh when the host of a television show such as Most Haunted marvels when an insect or piece of dust particulate in the air illuminated by the production lights floats past the viewfinder of the camera he or she is holding. “Oh, we got one!” or “Did you see that?!” the host usually blurts out, as though he or she had seen the ghostly image of some long dead celebrity. Alas, neither the shades of James Dean nor Marilyn Monroe are ever captured on film. Instead, all the viewer witnesses is further proof of the fact that the main point of such shows is not to search for evidence of the paranormal but to merely increase there ratings.

It is rather peculiar to think that the ghost photos of the 1920s and 1930s, double exposures(Figure 1) or pictures of alleged “ectoplasm” (Figure 2), are found to be humorous and naïve by modern ghost hunters. However, if a ghost photographer in the 1920s or ‘30s produced an image displaying an “orb” and expected to sell it to the local newspaper, he would most likely be laughed out of the editor’s office. Why, as technology has increased, has the standard for evidence of paranormal phenomena decreased? Shouldn’t the public expect a higher degree of evidence than that which was acceptable in the 1920s? What if the fields of medicine and physics had not advanced in eighty years? If the field of paranormal investigation, or parapsychology as it is sometimes called, wants to be considered a legitimate science, they certainly have some catching up to do.

Picture Sources

Figure 1: source

Figure 2: source

The Scariest Places on Earth

2006-10-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s that time of year again. The time when numerous television networks air shows that involve either a single person or a group of people going into supposedly haunted locations and screaming, talking to nothing and marveling at dust particles illuminated by the camera lights. Fortunately this year there seems to be less of these types of shows than in previous years. Unfortunately though, the networks that run these programs seem to be running them in marathon format. Such an occurrence made itself evident last night, Sunday, October 29th, when one watching the ABC Family channel between the hours of 7:00 pm and 12:00 am could treat themselves to five, count ‘em five episodes of The Scariest Places on Earth.

Luckily, my absolute favorite episode of SPE aired in that five hour block. This particular episode involved a family of Italian descent, I believe, exploring the castle of the famed Vlad the Impaler. The laughs begin early when the excruciatingly horse voice over begins her work. For and idea on how exactly she sounded, imagine that tiny, small-voiced woman from the movie Poltergeist on eight packs of cigarettes a day. This was not what made this episode my favorite; every episode of SPE uses the same voice over actress. Nor was the fact that the producers of SPE dug up Linda Blair to host the show. No, this episode was my favorite because of the family itself; in particular one member of the family. I cannot remember his name at the moment but let’s just call him Tony to keep things simple.

Tony and the other four members of his family started the episode pretty much like any other. They were introduced briefly, obviously to prove to everyone watching that they were not actors. They were taken to the location and cameras were strapped to them. The camera rigs involved in SPE are the most complicated I’ve ever seen in a reality show. They’re basically backpacks that contain the guts of the camera equipment and metal rods that extend about a foot past the wearer’s chest which support the cameras themselves. There are two cameras per rig: one facing away from the wearer, so we can see what they see; and one directed toward the face of the wearer, so we can see their reactions to anything that happens. The participants are hooded and lead very dramatically to separate places of the castle. Once at their destinations, they are told to explore the castle and find each other. This is the majority of the show. Scared people with pounds of camera equipment strapped to their backs wandering around a gigantic castle. About a half hour into the show things began to get interesting. Not interesting in the sense that odd, unexplainable things began happening. Every bump, creak, and bang heard by the family had dozens of explanations, none of them involving ghosts. When I say interesting, I mean our man Tony began yelling at non existent beings. And I mean yelling. On numerous occasions he actually started challenging the “ghosts” to show themselves and confront him. Of course he did all this while sprinting full speed through the courtyards and corridors of the castle. It was quite a sight. Of course once the show ended, everyone was fine. Each family member provided a brief testimonial of their individual experiences, all involving multiple encounters with so-called “cold spots” and feeling like they were being watched.

No physical evidence of the existence of ghosts was produced, but that really isn’t the point of these shows. The point of these shows, in my humble opinion, is to popularize and normalize such reactions toward perceived paranormal phenomena. Absolutely no views to the contrary are presented in any of these shows. These types of programs operate on the assumption that ghosts exist. Occurrences such as unexplained noises or gusts of wind are presented as if they were paranormally produced. As far as the producers of the show are concerned, there is absolutely no other explanation. Such behavior is not entirely the fault of the shows’ creators. Of course, they could provide the slightest skeptical point of view, but the really have no obligation to do so. There are merely provided what the viewers, us, say they want. The only way to provide a balanced look at the claims of the paranormal is to ask for; nay scream for it. All these shows have websites and that means they all have e-mail addresses. It is our duty, if we want to call ourselves responsible television viewers, to petition the creators and producers of such programming to alert them to there shortcomings. Sure I watch shows like this occasionally but it is only for the purpose of exposing them for what they really are; and sometimes for a good laugh.

So, everyone reading this enjoy your Halloween and the paranormal-themed programming that goes with it. Just remember if you’re as annoyed or even angered as I am about some of the programming out there, you can do something about it.
-Jeremy

2006-10-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

The is my very first post for my very first blog, ever. I don't really have anything important to say, I just kind of jumped into this thing.