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Viewing 55 - 63 out of 102 Blogs.
Once in a long while I schlep over to the JREF skeptics’ forums for a minute; long enough to see if any of the usual dogma has evolved into a meaningful, civilized discourse about the paranormal. And since I am more of a skeptic than not, sometimes I’ll join in some or other discussion there. Aside from the multiple, failed attempts at justifying the validity of Randi’s silly Million Dollar Challenge, there are a few sensible topics addressed, like why we should engage our commonsensical thinking at times when it’s easier and more tempting to attach superstitious or paranormal explanations to events. I’m down with that approach. But …
I couldn’t help compare the “reasonable” JREF site with IAH. In that spirit, my next blog will include some examples (from the JREF site) of how hardcore skeptical thinking can seem every bit as irrational as overly-superstitious thinking (or that of habitually ignoring mundane explanations in favor of the least probable ones).
My single-and-searching friend just called me as I was sitting here browsing IAH. She read aloud a few single’s ads from the back of the newspaper because she's trying to construct one of her own. Here is one that caught my attention:
“SWF. Late 30s. Looking for that special someone. Must be educated and like cats. Please, no head games.”
One common denominator in many of these ads she keeps reading me ad nauseam, is a plea for “no head games”.
It got me thinking: if my modus operandi were to go on dates and play head games with people, probably one of the first ads I’d respond to would be one like the above, where the person explicitly states a desire not to be screwed with. Why? …
I’d be thinking the person who takes out time to say “Please, no head games” probably has been screwed with a lot, and therefore may be generally gullible and easy to still screw with LOL.
Any thoughts?
- R
In joining IAH, I noticed that under the “turn off” lists of some of your profiles, are variations of the following:
[I do not like/ hate]
liars, back-stabbers, hypocrites, fakes.
... Which is OK, but some seem downright phobic and overly sensitive about it. If you're one of these conflict-o-philes:
Sorry if this is a ball-buster, but all of us are hypocritical, lying, back-stabbing fakes. We’re not all constant adherents of the Decalogue. One moment you are a philanthropist and the next you are a persona non grata. Same goes for me. Unless these qualities are pathological and extreme (which is rare), my take on it is: even if you are a flaming lunatic, that’s not my problem and getting non-plussed about it won’t help. We're on the internet and I’ll just block you and focus elsewhere.
And those who claim not to be liars, hypocrites or fakes are pretty phony, hypocritical and deceptive IMO. I think admitting to being all these things at times, marks the beginning of redemption and change.
It seems pretty obvious that none of us want to deal with chronic practitioners of negativity. But advertising our distain for the qualities themselves may be akin to denying what we’re capable of, or who we are, at times, and in-so-doing that creates a trap of black-and-white thinking when the truth IMO is usually somewhere in the middle.
The extremes … either you’re good or you’re bad; either you're bad and will betray me, or you’re good and will never harm me. … It’s too much to ask for. I will lie to you. I’ve already told white lies to people here. I am hypocritical (as evident in some of the conflicting attitudes in a few of my blogs). I am fake at times. Guess what: so are you. I’ve caught some of you at it and you’ve caught me. I started out stating I was a guy LOL! I corrected it on my own volition and gave reasons (paranoia from being stalked), but in the end, a lie is still a lie. I had an excuse that time, but one day there won't be a "reasonable" excuse.
It seems a lot - though not all - of the divisive posts and explosive rivalry on this site (and others) are largely a product of disillusionment. People get stunned that someone could embody the qualities on their “turn off“ lists. But truth is, we call each other “friends” yet most of us don’t really know each other on that level of intense daily face-to-face interaction. Many of us are on our best behavior. We fashion what we write with some care. It’s premeditated communication - not so natural. ... But of course there’ll be moments when our ass end sticks out a little or a lot, regardless of all attempts at tidy interlocutions. Again, if someone is a steady practitioner of any form of negativity, that’s what the “block” feature is for.
- R
Seems there are many people on this site with very big hearts. I'm grateful to have found this site. But sometimes people graciously send out a flood of friendship greetings or maxims each day (they show up on the guestbook page). I'm not singling out any one person, and I'm betting others actually enjoy all of them.
I'm also betting some people are having my reaction. Too much of a good thing is still too much.
Request: While I'm appreciative of anyone who takes time to send things out to me, please don't send out multiple (usuaully generic) greetings each day. It's overwhelming. Too much to sift through. I will contact people personally if this blog gets overlooked.
Thank you kindly. I know your intentions are good.
Not sure if anyone's asked this already, but:
Have you decided what you're doing for Halloween yet?
(I'll likely stay home and scare the kids)
I am looking forward to Halloween this year so I can dress up like the girl from the Ring, throw my long black, spirally hair forward and scare the crap out of the kiddies who are looking for the Good Witch of the West to hand out a handful of Reese's (those go fast, don't they?) without feeling a need to say thank you.
But for some reason it's the teenagers that seem to do the most pants-crapping. It's elating to administer crippling dosages of the fear since they typically laugh off movies like the Exorcist - movies that cause hyperventilation in those of us who are a little older (remember the scene on the stairs in the re-edited version?).
My one claim to fame is that I’m ridiculously double-jointed and can twist and turn like mating Twizler sticks. There's something about unnatural bodily contortions and strange, well-timed, jerky body motions that spook me out. So I consider it a natural gift ... a hideous gift to share with others for their entertainment and inevitable disgust for one night each year.
In fact, the gory truth is for the past several years entire weeks leading up to Halloween have been spent spooking people of all ages. I've been one of those actors who signs up to scare people inside those haunted theme houses you find inside amusement parks. (Note of caution: one hazard of this job is a risk of getting punched in the face on occasion … not joking.)
My goal for this Halloween is no different, except the scares will take place outside our home, near the sidewalk. Specifically, I aspire to scare at least 10 teenagers to the point of high-decibel wailing fits (usually intermixed with nervous laughter). And if I can get a couple of those young kids to turn and run swiftly back into the arms of their irritated parents, my work will be complete. Overall it will mean more candy left over at the end of the night for me and my partner 
What costume will you sport this year?
What do you think about the guy described below (his behavior)? Would you date him, or recommend dating him?:
I have a friend I’ll call Jesse. She's a single mom who is doing a great job raising three young kids. She's also a successful businesswoman. She's tired and could use adult companionship and support. She misses having a man around and has skin hunger from years of going to bed alone.
She just told me she met a lady who happens to be a "friend of a friend" (ironically, at a wedding). She and Jesse spoke briefly. After learning that Jesse is a single mom, she recommend Jesse check out a "nice guy" she knows. So Jesse offered the lady her business card - no pic displayed on it - to pass along to the mystery guy in case he feels like calling to chat.
Two days later an unusually large bouquet of flowers (dozens of them) plus an "enormous" fruit basket, is delivered to her home. It's from the mystery guy.
(Just FYI: Jesse's work number and home address are both on the business card. So mystery guy didn’t go on any weird hunt for her address.)
Also, later that day Jesse gets a call from the guy at work. She's busy so they speak briefly. In response to her inquiry about what he does for a living, he tells her he works in the entertainment business; film. He seems to avoid giving her any specific business title when pressed for it. In addition he seems evasive when asked to describe the basic nature of his work.
Based on the limited info in Jesse's story above, would you detect any potential yellow or red flags in the guy's behavior as a prospective date? ... I have my opinion but I'd like to see how you assess this situation.
Well I guess blogs are usually about the writer entertaining the reader. But this is the blog that takes instead of giving (but I'll give too if coerced):
Q: What was the "hook" that pulled you into the world of the paranormal (that final straw that broke ... )? What event?
If your answer is I've always been involved, then ...
What was the first event that blew your hair back?
I'll wait patiently with my bowl of popcorn 
My younger brother and I are close but don't usually speak too often because we have eight hours distance between us, plus he's been immersed in pre-med classes and work (food service). But momentarily he's between semesters. So he just called me a few nights ago to complain about an incident at a party he went to with his co-workers and Supervisor. Not sure my response helped. Oh the drama of life ...
He also brought an acquaintance to the party with him. I'll call him Andrew. Everyone got different shades of drunk throughout the night. Not unusual. At some point Andrew wandered off toward an open window overlooking the street and leaned out a bit (they were several stories up). My brother walked over to see Andrew had released a water balloon onto a car below.
Of course it was his place - as he told it - to go down and apologize for Andrew, since he was a little less drunk and felt responsible because he had brought the loser to the party to begin with.
My brother is fairly soft-spoken in a Mark Walberg sort of way - you know, it belies a strong machismo character that comes out unexpectedly, in powerful fits and spurts. He's also short for a guy (5'8), and is somehow wiry and powerfully muscular at the same time.
... He got to the guy's car. The guy was no longer in his car but standing next to it. Right as my bro began his drunken apology speech the guy blasted him in the face with a fire extinguisher. My brother's tawny face and dark, stand-up cork-screw hair transformed - or is that transmogrified LOL- into a harsh snowstorm white. Interesting that he described all this as if he could actually see himself. Maybe that came from what people described afterward. Also, his skin and eyes burned like Hell (he said) and it felt as if his contact lenses had flipped back behind his eyes.
So he zoomed up and checked the guy in the jaw and they punched each other for a very long twenty seconds or so, right in the middle of the flow of busy Saturday night downtown traffic. ... Yes, for those of you, like me, who've been in fist fights, even ten seconds can feel like an eon, and drunk seconds are even longer.
Mr. Fire Extinguisher finally gave in and ran off, abandoning his car and his extinguisher, carrying an estimated 6'2, bulky frame. My brother (psycho stub) took time to catch his breath and returned to the party.
Everyone made it clear they'd seen the whole incident from the window. My brother chewed them all out, especially his Supervisor. None of you came to my rescue. What's up with that?
It took a while for me to respond to his story. He was obviously looking for sympathy. Finally I said That's just awful and broke into uncontrollable deep, howling laughter and cackling. I stopped after a while and apologized for the insensitivity and he accepted.
I regrouped then started laughing even harder, farting at one point, coughing at another. Ever get to the point where you're laughing so hard that sound is no longer escaping your mouth but your nostrils are flaring, your face feels hot and your entire upper body is heaving; you have a fixed, uncontrollable grimace and tears seeping from the corners of your eyes?
Frankly I thought he was an ass for going down to the car in the first place. And he was an ass afterward. My family is cursed. We are all brainy idiots. For example, when I was a teen our family was on a cruise, traversing the Bermuda Triangle. All was well except that I walked in on a guy who was violently ransacking our room, for loot. Instead of getting help and/or leaving the room, I sat down on a bed, unpeeled a stick of Juicyfruit and asked him what he was up to.
Not sure where to begin, I finally said to my brother. Guess I'll start by asking why you ultimately fought over a few ounces of water.
... Anyway, this added spice to my week.
- R
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From the Desk of IAH:
Here are the winners of our Mid-South Paranormal Convention ticket giveaway. LouisvilleBill, lemberger, catchmyghost, PittsParaInves1031, spiritchaser01, gregory_myers, Shell_b, meatloaf, GhostChannelDotTv and paranormalpoison. Congrats to our lucky winners!
Want an IAH banner for your website? Get them by clicking here. Don't forget to put 'em on your myspace and other social networking pages. Let's make IAH grow!
I'm still tweaking some colors. I've almost got it.
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