Andy Kaufman still “alive” according to “daughter”

Update: This just in, Andy Kaufman is still dead. And if the holiday spirit strikes any of you hellbound atheists, you can help me out here.

If you’re old enough to remember an era with no cell phones or Internet, you might recall a quirky comedian named Andy Kaufman. He did did one of the best Elvis impersonations of the 80s and played the mild-mannered, lovable Latka on the TV series Taxi. He died from a rare form of cancer at age 35 in 1984. But this week a lady claiming to be one of his daughter’s said the former SNL contributor is still alive. I’d be extremely skeptical about this folks. But Kaufman was by all accounts plenty weird enough to try and pull it off: [Read more…]

Yet another reason not to watch The View

I’ve often preached to friends and family that, if you want to have good relationships, you must reward good behavior, or at the very least not reward the bad stuff. Admittedly it’s always easier to tell others to do this than to consistently practice it yourself, but it’s not exactly controversial either. This is common sense we all learned by 1st grade and spend the rest of lives trying to unlearn with varying and often miserable consequences. I hope the latter happens to ABC network executives, who just signed vaxxer nut and former playmate Jenny McCarthy to cohost The View: [Read more…]

Psychic sued for damages resulting from fake “visions”

The Great Psychic Shootout, from SouthPark episode 124 "Cartman's Incredible Gift"

The Great Psychic Shootout, from SouthPark episode 124 “Cartman’s Incredible Gift”

A self purported psychic had “visions” that dozens of dismembered bodies were buried on the property of a Texas couple. Surprise! No bodies there. But that was discovered after the yard and house had been torn to shit thanks to credulous morons in the local police department and the couple’s name dragged through the mud by infotainers in the media. So the couple sued the woosayer: [Read more…]

The Daily tip off

Skeptics, all hands on deck: I have a post on antivaxxars about to hit the front page of Daily Kos, at 9 PM Central. It’s gonna be fun. I chose to do this in a roundabout way, using the concept of an allotrope and chemical compounds to get across the idea of how a substance containing a toxic element may and may not be toxic itself depending on how the atoms are arranged before introducing thimersal, containing an antifungal antiseptic organo-mercury compound once considered a possible link to childhood autism. But the money quotes are below: [Read more…]

Our precious bodily fluids

 

We are made of lots of water. It’s sobering to think if we run just a quart or two low, madness, misery and eventually death awaits. I was reminded of this in gruesome detail starting Saturday. It was either a stomach bug masquerading as a migraine or vice-versa. By Sunday evening I was severely dehydrated with a thundering headache. Combined with sleep deprivation it got bad enough that I’m pretty sure I began to hallucinate. [Read more…]

Bigfoot DNA sequenced …

I hope the ellipsis conveys my skepticism adequately. If it doesn’t, my apologies. The article this came from features a scientist, errr of sorts, making that claim. Normally, I wouldn’t give it the time of day. But it’s instructive. It sounds almost serious at first, even to a quasi-informed science writer like me who knows just enough molecular bio to be completely fooled by anyone who knows a tiny bit more. But thankfully, this particular reporter, wasn’t satisfied to be a mere stenographer. [Read more…]

Trepanning is good for you!

Over the course of the week I was hit with several emails informing me of the mystical benefits of bleeding. I even started joking with my friends that all it might take is a touch of new age nonsense combined with ancient medicine and old men wearing robes, and there would be people who would buy into trepanation. You know, cutting holes through the cranium to let bad spirits out. You know what’s coming next, don’t you? [Read more…]