The Hot Read: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Spiritualism Pt. 3

In my penultimate post I spoke about the Cold Read con or ritual, in which the medium pretends to contact the dead. In the Hot Read, the medium comes prepared, whether it is with only a few hints, or a well-researched biography, of [...]

The Cold Read: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Spiritualism Pt. 2

 
I’ve spoken briefly about the misconception that mediums are just harmless buffoons helping people out. Now I’ll speak briefly on their methods and tactics, thanks to Houdini’s book A Magician Amongst Spirits. For the television savvy let me also say that Penn & Teller’s episode on mediums in the first season of Bullshit! also offers [...]

Resident Con-Artist: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Spiritualism Pt. 1

Harry Houdini, a gifted athlete and performer, was one of the greatest illusionists in human history. A household name, skilled contortionist and showman, Houdini’s fame knew no bounds, and most called him a ‘magician,’ readily accepting his illusions as real occurrences, not mere tricks. Fascinated by the occult, Houdini worked hard to maintain his mythos, [...]

Circumcision: An Expansion (Pt. 2 of 2)

Chris Hitchens, in his fantastic book God Is Not Great, writes a lengthy treatise on male circumcision, condemning it outright. Elegant, caustic, and well-informed, I encourage the intrigued to read his book. Hitchens speaks out, also, against female circumcision, again at length describing in passages of lucid prose the gory details of female circumcision. In [...]

Circumcision: An Introduction (Pt. 1 of 2)

For some reason, it was in my naïve brain to think that it was “the only way to go,” that “the uncut” looked “weird,” and that they were gross. It is only now, some fifteen years after learning the difference between cut and uncut, that I find circumcision to be the one of the most [...]

Mr. Reilly Responds

Reilly responded to my biography yesterday, when I think he meant to respond to my post regarding the handsome and outspoken atheists of our day, as well as the broad question of a lifestyle outside of Religion, Magic, Spiritualism, and the Pantheon. What follows is his response:
 
I don’t think one need be an atheist to [...]

Harris and Dawkins Are Cute: Toward A Secular Lifestyle

At the 2006 Beyond Belief conference (Google Video- beware the conference is over 10 hours long) Sam Harris sat behind a large table. He was presentable, youthful, handsome even. So this was the face of the fundamentalist atheist movement. Before he sat at this panel he stood behind a podium, he mostly expressed, nearly verbatim [...]

Mr. M. Steven Roberts Responds: Hubbard’s Doctrine and “The Lone Nut Argument”

Allow me to respond, at some length, to a comment that Mr. M. Steven Roberts made to my previous post today. I think the size of the text is too small to properly read, and that my response will, hopefully, encourage others to challenge or support this discussion. Without further ado, here is Mr. Roberts’ [...]

The Tom Cruise Joke is a Joke: A Case for Scientologists

We cannot condemn one group of people with faith without condemning all others and ourselves for faith. Just as there is no evidence that Scientology’s fantastical claims of the aliens is true, there is no evidence that angels passed over the homes of Jews who painted their doormats with lamb’s blood during the killing of the first-born, or that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, or that Thor rode around in a flying car powered by goats.

Half Empty, Half Full: Luck, Marriage, Funeral

The Islamic muttering of “Insha’Allah” is illustrative of the nature of the Luck God. It refers to an understanding of powerlessness before god- but it seems that “IA” is a knock on wood to a god who either A) Probably isn’t watching, but may be; or B) Is a smaller god that is like Allah [...]