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A New Angle (again)…

by Mark Edward, Jun 21 2012

Aleister Crowley Re-Incarnated?

 So now with summer coming, the more credulous among humanity can now look forward to cooling off with the latest in psychic innovations:  Karl Lang, 49, of Wales, is accused of pressuring two women to repeatedly expose themselves to him, telling them that their nudity would help them better connect with the spirit world. The women, both in their 20s, did not attend sessions together, but report similar circumstances (continue reading…)

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The Wikapediatrician

by Mark Edward, May 03 2012

Susan Gerbic Takes a Breath

She’s indefatigable. She’s effervescent and she may be coming for YOU! Yes, it’s Susan Gerbic, The Wikapediatrician. Susan has been racking up quite a few accolades lately with her own special brand of Guerrilla Skepticism. Tired of listening to others drone on and on about how bad things are and not doing anything to change those issues, a few years back she picked up the skill of editing Wikipedia from fellow Wiki-Master Tim Farley and began her own style of digging in and changing articles for skeptical content. (continue reading…)
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Knock Chip Off the Block

by Mark Edward, Apr 06 2012

On the Road and Coming to a City Near YOU

Ghosts are big business and now Chip Coffey is on the road with his own version of a carny side show called “Coffey Talk.” I mentioned this grief vampire before in a past blog (“Chipping Away at the Other Side”, Sept. 12, 2009) when he first came out with his “Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal “ television program, whereby Chipper traveled around the country extolling his virtues to everyone with:
“PSYCHIC KIDS: CHILDREN OF THE PARANORMAL™, profiles children who live with an incredible secret: they have psychic abilities. Feeling scared and isolated, these kids have nowhere to turn…until now. Help is on the way in the form of psychic medium Chip Coffey.”
Helping may not have been the accurate word for those of us who have yet to know what a ghost or “psychic ability” actually is. Believe me when I say I have sincerely tried to understand and find a way to define this dilemma for over thirty years without success. Looking into such mysteries can be a mildly diverting pastime, but encouraging pre-teens or even younger children to listen to weasels like Coffey is tantamount to child abuse. Jen says it best from a Skepchick blog:
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Paul, Drew and Sally

by Mark Edward, Mar 08 2012

Would you buy a used car from this person?

It is intriguing to note that even though the Brits have severely limiting libel laws that constrict their ability to go after psychics, Simon Singh and mentalist Paul Zenon have been fighting the good fight with Sally Morgan in a number of ways that we here in America could learn a great deal from. (continue reading…)

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Confessions of a Conflicted Medium

by Mark Edward, Mar 04 2012

Okay Ladies and Gentlemen!

PSYCHIC BLUES is now up at Amazon for pre-order!

Buy three copies!

You will need three: two to give to local psychics and one to keep.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936239272/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d2_g14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=04VC276NTNV7VVJR2TC5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Everything you want to know about today’s psychic rackets – and a few things you may not want to know…

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Oh No, Ross and Carrie!

by Mark Edward, Jan 15 2012

Don't Let the Tarot-rists Win!

I just finished a delightful podcast with the latest dynamic duo in the podcast world: Ross Blocher and Carrie Poppy. These two IIG members have banded together to create a whimsical 45 minute show that manages to trump all the rest of the skeptical podcasts by being both highly entertaining and dedicated to avoiding all mention of the dreaded “S” word: SKEPTIC. Their byline is “We show up so you don’t have to.” Their casual approach to looking into all things wooish is working for them. Forget de-bunking. Those days are over.  Ross and Carrie want to have fun with all the wackiness we encounter in the paranormal world and like The Odds Must Be Crazy www.theoddsmustbecrazy.com website that I mentioned in my last post, using humor and good taste to coax the inquiring minds that shun the dickish approach to thinking rationally, Oh No, Ross and Carrie!” www.ohnopodcast.com treats all subjects with an open mind, paving the way for wider exposure and a surer footing in The Big Pictur (continue reading…)

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The Odds Must Be Crazy (TOMBC)

by Mark Edward, Jan 02 2012

Treading Another Dark Path

In an effort to get more people pointed in the direction of skeptical thinking without scaring them away by seeming too rationally challenging, The Independent Investigation Group West members have put up a new “gateway” site that’s all about those wacky weird happenstances we call coincidence. (continue reading…)

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The Golden Age of the Con Continues: Another Day, Another Energy Shield (and dead poodle)

by Mark Edward, Dec 20 2011

Which has the Capacity for More Evil? The Creature on the Right or Left?

Haven’t we all had enough of this by now? First we had rabbit’s feet, then Power Balance bracelets came along, now yet another scam. This one gets the media attention on the merit of a dead poodle.

What is wrong with us?

Article quoted from Nina Golgowski:

 Woman blames family’s misfortune on Princess the Poodle who was ‘possessed by the devil’

A New York woman claims her home got more than it agreed to when they brought an adopted toy poodle into their home that was demon possessed. Olga Horvat, a certified Lumia Science Color Therapist and writer of a book Paranormal Pooch writes that her pure-bred dog Princess brought with her a string of bad luck on her home and family.”We had her for four months — May through September in 2006 — and she didn’t want to eat, sleep and she couldn’t be trained to learn simple commands,’ Mrs Horvat told the Huffington Post’s Weird News.’ She was happy, but something was manipulating her,’ Mrs Horvat added. Detailing her efforts to help both her family and her small, fluffy white dog, she asserts in her book, according to the Post’s read, it was not her dog’s fault so they all needed to find help.Her husband next found himself in a serious car accident, nearly lost his job and then fell to a sudden and rare illness almost losing his life, according to her website, RoyalDogsGallery.com. The odds seemed stacked against them ever since Princess entered their household, judging by their timeline, and their woes appeared to be only growing worse. By the time her daughter was nearly expelled from her third-grade classroom for inappropriately touching the arm of a Muslim friend with a glove – according to Mrs Horvat because a voice in her daughter’s head directed her to – her family’s trauma was listless. Perhaps fortunately for Mrs Horvat’s family however, though unfortunate for her dog, Princess died four months after they obtained the poodle. (continue reading…)

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Weird or What?

by Mark Edward, Oct 26 2011

A Moment or Supreme Terror

If you get a chance to see myself and Brian Dunning (and the ghostly Susan Gerbic) on the recent episode of “Weird or What?” that is all about “Life after Death,” you will see convincing evidence for how easy it is to convince people that a seance is real. William Shatner is hilarious as the bemused and tongue in cheek host, making at least this episode tilted towards a skeptical viewpoint. Using infrared photography, the television audience sees what to each sitter in the desired total blackness of the traditional seance room never suspected. For those in the circle, the fear is real. For the viewers, the famous Scole Experiments are shown to be what they really were: a badly reported series of un-controlled magic effects that took place in the medium’s own home. Where were the skeptics? Happy Halloween!

And the Darkness Falls... Boom!

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The Handy-Dandy All-In-One Do-It-Yourself Medium Reading

by Mark Edward, Jul 04 2011
The Handy-Dandy Medium Reading

Thanks to a brilliant idea from Christopher Brown from “Meet the Skeptics!” and Travis Roy of Granite State Skeptics, here’s the latest project we have been working on. I invite everyone to use this. (continue reading…)

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