New Flavor of the Month
Phil Plait, Me & Connie (notice body language)
The epic TAM7 is over and I’m still decelerating from the experience. Connie’s now saying she’s been cheated. Gee, what a surprise! She has now lost whatever tiny bit of credibility that a few of us might have momentarily entertained in the short time that passed between her failed JREF test and the lame rationale for failing she attempted to foist on us at the after-test press de-briefing on Sunday, July 12th. (see picture at left). The inevitable slithering that I predicted would be forthcoming has now been thoroughly documented at the JREF Forum and elsewhere. We have only to wait for my second prediction made in my previous post to come true as well. I’m confident on this prediction: the talk-show circuit is likely booking her up even as I write this post. As Connie told us in the press briefing and later in my one-on-one interview, “…this WILL happen!.” I must be psychic. We can only hope that our old friend Larry King has the balls to have a qualified skeptic get in five or six minutes of counterpoint when Connie hits the airwaves. What are the chances we get equal time? I won’t hold my breath on that one, but I think I can predict the outcome of that possibility too. Everyone who had the opportunity to watch Connie in action or hear about her via the Internet now knows that the latest flavor-of-the-month psychic has arrived – and she’s Danish. Foreign accents always play well on prime time. She might even get a television series contract…
Larry & Sylvia: Who's next Larry?
Seriously Larry, if you by some small minuscule chance happen to read this, please know that I would be more than happy to personally take apart Ms. Sonne piece by newage piece at your earliest convenience. I’m ready and waiting to sit down next to her and deal with her eye to third eye. There’s no possible sane justification for what she did – and didn’t do. You can’t handle the truth can you Larry?
Besides all that Connie fol-de-rol, the good news is that being at TAM provided a sea change in the way I now personally view the skeptical movement. I saw thousands of people who want to spread the skeptical word, create a new era of rational thinkers and who are willing to stand up and say no to all the bat squeeze we have had to endure for so long.
George Hrab
As I sat one morning dunking my croissant and partaking of the continental breakfast which included fresh fruit, yogurt and granola, I couldn’t help waxing nostalgic for a time when I first experienced the strength of group identity in my youth. That morning at TAM, there was a strain of some folksy guitar ballad emanating from the stage and as I watched hundreds of happy people, some with longish hair, crazy slogan tee-shirts, others sporting balloon hats and carrying books and origami pigs with wings and all expressing fun loving attitudes strolling by in front of me, I was reminded of a slightly more innocent time when I first experienced …dare I say it ….the hippie movement. Yeah, I know. Many might take umbrage at this sentiment and say nothing in the TAM main room could be more removed from that era. But when I allowed my skeptical mind to imagine just for a moment the thought of a little pot smoke and some patcholi incense wafting through the crowd, I was magically transported back to a time when there was an overpowering sense of hope and new direction in the air. Maybe it was just me that morning. No matter. I felt I was once again part of a massive counter-culture movement.
Penn
We all sat enthralled by Penn Jillette’s rants as he spoke of magic, mentalism and his not-so-subtle verbiage against all the “assholes” in the world. It all wasn’t too far off from what I remembered hearing issue forth from ex-radicals Abbie Hoffman or Jerry Rubin back in the days when Abbie published his seminal “Steal this Book” manifesto. Penn even mentioned his collection of Sun Ra recordings and admiration of Frank Zappa. Wow man. All he needed was a headband. And I say that with all due respect. I was there in 1968 watching Hendrix burn his guitar- several times. I remember. It was an awesome, controversial display of non-conformity and the delirious feedback and cheers of the crowd still ring in my ears 41 years later. As Pete Townshend recently asked, “Whatever happened to all that lovely hippie shit?” Well Pete, take a look at the new boss. It ain’t anything like the old boss.
Sleep Deprivation Experiment #1
Am I as deluded as Connie Sonne or are we in the midst of some sort of “higher calling” here? I certainly think so. Only this time around we are sober, (well, ….most of the time anyway) clear-headed and well informed. We have solid leaders and science on our side. Seeing a thousand plus people with the common goal of living in reality makes for an appealing subset in this topsy-turvy world where right has become wrong and fact daily twisted into fiction. Imagine: A thousand people sat in complete silence for over an hour watching a woman twiddle her pendulum over some envelopes in the hope of proving the existence of psychic powers! How wild is that? Even in the 60’s that would have been like, …far out man. Dozens of scientists, philosophers and academics from all over the world watched this person do her thing with all the respect and cooperation one might expect from a group of students watching a brain surgeon at work. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
Forget about Woodstock. We are at the tipping point of a new renaissance. TAM7 was much more amazing than I could have ever anticipated. Things have come full circle for this old hippie dude – and I’m so glad to be a part of it all. Our skeptical movement is perched on the cutting edge and making a real cultural difference that is showing signs of being not only historical but sustainable. Thanks to all those like-minded individuals and free thinkers who made my reuuion with my inner hippie complete. Now back to work.
“Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.”
Frank Zappa
I miss you Frank.
I have my own twist on the FZ quote:
Big Zappa fan here too. Once in a while, feeling nostalgic, I get out my old turnable and put on my vinyl LP collection of Zappa guitar solos, ‘Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar’. Four records of some sweet sweet stuff.
Mark – I think I know the answer from the context in which it was used, but I gotta ask…. please define “bat squeeze” for me? lol. I hope it means what I think it means.
I collect oddities of the English language – sayings, slang, aphorisms, etc. Had never heard ‘bat squeeze’ before. I just added a new one (new to me) I heard yesterday here in rural NC. An old man of about 80 was checking out the interior of his grand daughter’s new hybrid car. He said, “Hell, thar ain’t enough room t’ cuss a cat in thar…”
“Movin’ to Montana soon
Gonna be a Dental Floss tycoon”
(yes I am)
> “Hell, thar ain’t enough room t’ cuss a cat in thar…”
Great quote, but factually incorrect.
There’s ALWAYS room to cuss a cat.
– Bill, ducking and running
“We are at the tipping point of a new renaissance.”
Renaissance, in my lifetime. Yee hah!
Have been an FZ fan since Uncle Meat was current. Must wonder, dear skepdudes and skepchicks, do echidnas really “arf”?
No.
Having a professional magician administer a test involving cards and envelopes wasn’t the smartest idea.
Uh, Max – Banachek is a *mentalist*, not a magician. Even if he were a magician that wouldn’t mean a thing because there are many classes of performances. A magician specializing in close-up performances would be the only one relevant. However, as pointed out on the JREF site, Banachek couldn’t cheat if he wanted to. As far as the experiment goes, Randi could have asked a random member of the audience to stand in for Banachek.
Oh ok, he’s a *mentalist* , so he can’t do card tricks.
If the protocol was so tight that even a magician couldn’t cheat if he wanted to, then maybe Connie should’ve self-administered the test. Then, she’d have no one to blame but herself.
Banachek did a card trick on me as well as Jamy Ian Swiss.
Connie most likely would have complained were it Saint Sylvia Browne herself who told her that she failed her own protocol…
These sad, self-deluded sociopaths** can do anything, except to accept fault for their own failures.
(Oh, and divine cards)
__________
** Ms Sonne, not S.B.
Sylvia is in no way self-deluded.
WRT Connie Sonne, Zappa’s “Camarillo Brillo” comes to mind, especially this part:
Frank, you were one of the true twisted geniuses of our time. We miss ya!
At one point, I think it was Connie who might have suggested that the security guard who hand delivered the cards and envelopes to Banachek be the one to administer the actual test proper, and tha Banachek be confined to only observing the test procedure. Bad idea Connie. As if a badge and a uniform magically excludes that individual from suspicion? What if that guy was in on something? Remember, with a million bucks hanging in the balance, you have to think like a criminal to catch a criminal. Banachek was clearly the man for the job. There’s no winning with people like Connie or her fans. She agreed to the protocol and that’s the end of it. Sh’e a con – nie lass.
Amazingly, about two hours before the test, a flurry of rumors began to circulate that even the people closest to the test (whose names will remain top secret) were even under a small bit of scrutiny and suspiciion. You couldn’t have had things any tighter unless you were the CIA – and we all know how they screw things up.
Look, the primary purpose of this test is propaganda. You can pat yourself on the back for having things so tight, but if people don’t believe you, then you’ve failed to convince them.
And when people see a magician roll up his sleeves to show that he has nothing to hide, they can’t help but be cynical.
No one rolled up any sleeves. Watch the video. Nobody is patting anybody on their own backs. The only people who may be having a hard time believing what was clearly demonstrated last weekend would never believe what we have shown no matter what. Propaganda? What are you talking about? I guess I forget to take my LSD this morning…
I did watch the video. Banacheck has his sleeves rolled up to his elbow, and he asks Connie to cut the envelopes. If I didn’t know it was a legitimate test, I’d think I was watching a magic trick.
Propaganda, spreading a skeptical world view, winning hearts and minds. Or do you think the test is meant to discover a real psychic?
What I meant was, there was no flourish style rolling up of sleeves ala the Magic Man you would expect to see at the Magic Castle. Not sure, …but weren’t Banachek’s sleeves already rolled up from the get go? I eh, …oh. eh…shit I don’t remember and I’m too busy to sit through all that again. I suppose there’s no pleasing you Max! Banachek could have worn a tank top, but that wouldn’t be his style. If he hadn’t had his sleeves rolled up to the elbow, I would have been even more skeptical. What can you suggest as a better way of “spreading a skeptical world view and winning hearts and minds?” Jeez, we tried The Skeptologists and now that seems to have been thrown under the bus in favor of Dunning and some Shira babe in a lavender tank top. Sell it with sex Brian. Wait, maybe if Banachek wore a lavender tank top? No. Too commercial. I’m at a loss to know how to proceed short of the Guerilla Skeptic stance, which so far hasn’t gotten much traction either. The Million Dollar test is meant to get attention. It did and will.I have found it quite interesting to note that in several of the posts I have read here (Yau Man’s) and on other skeptical sites, there is a healthy percentage of people who were hoping that Connie would win. Go figure that one. If we all truly believe there’s no such thing as discovering a “real” psychic, how can that happen? Hmmmmmmmmm. One thing about propaganda, it’s never conflicted like that. I thought I was the only Peter Pan left in the skeptic movement…