From Abracadabra to Zombies

Mass Media Funk Archive

a commentary on mass media stories about the scientific, the paranormal, the supernatural, and anything else that yanks at my eyebrows.

This blog ran from March 1993 to December 2007 and has been replaced by Skeptimedia.

2007

No. 63 Dec. 14 armed guards in churches (SU)

No. 62 Dec 11 raising smart kids (CT)

No. 61 Dec 5 unwanted saviors (SU)

No. 60 Nov 26 unintelligent design (SU)

No. 59 Nov 25 Wi-Fi and autism (JS)

No. 58 Nov 15 FBI profiling and cold reading (JS)

No. 57 Jun 1-Aug 23 out-of-body experiences (P) (SU); polygraphs (JS); Dawkins on the enemies of reason (SC); and creationist amusement parks (JS) von Däniken's Mystery Park closed (P)

No. 56 Feb 13-May 9 Uri Geller & Peter Popoff (P) (SU); Huckabee the anti-evolutionist (JS); evolution of the bacterial flagellum (SC); chiropractors run amok in California (CAM); Mbeki & AIDS non-treatment (JS); and Russian soldiers forced to work as male prostitutes in St Petersburg (O).

No. 55 Jan 1-Jan 23 report on TAM5 (SK); homage to skeptical journalists (SK)

2006

No. 54 Dec 21 science, religion, and politics (SC), (SK), (SU)

No. 53 Mar 21-Dec 6 Christmas bigots (SU); A&E begins filming what will become its hit show "Paranormal State" (P); Ted Haggard's hypocrisy (SU); Phil Jordan, psychic sleuth without a clue (P); Oprah and critical thinking (CT); preaching politics and the IRS (SU); science and young earth creationists (JS) (SU); poll reveals Brits' superstitions (P) (SU); mercury and health (JS); healing prayer studies find people who pray are talking to themselves (SU); thimerosal and mice (JS)

No. 52 March 7 the (mostly Republican) war on science (JS)

No. 51 Feb 20-March 3 abortion (O); the Sacramento zoo takes on intelligent design (SC) (SU); the American Association for the Advancement of Science denounces anti-evolution educational practices (SC) (SU)

No. 50 Feb 4 Muslims explode over cartoons (SU)

No. 49 Jan 11 The Bizarre Case of Richard and Susan Hamlin: a tale of torture, murder, rape, incest, satanic cults, snuff films, death threats, pistol whipping, the CIA, Ted Gunderson, mind control, Stockholm syndrome, depression. child abuse, infidelity, bankruptcy, the rise and fall of a couple of rich lawyers, and the destruction of a family

No. 48 Jan 5-10 over-the-counter placebos (SC); magnetic placebos (JS); Sylvia Browne wrong again (P)

2005

No. 48 Dec 19-31 the intelligent design hoax (FH) (SU); tobacco smoke significantly increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration (SC)

No. 47 Aug 15-Dec 7 intelligent design (JS) (FH) (SU); asbestos poisoning (O); Derek Colanduno struck down (O); Australian skeptics (SK); teleportation (JS); and invasion of the parazombies

No. 46 Jun 22-Aug 14 psychic Carla Baron begins her failure to find Ray Gricar (P); live blood analysis (JS); science under siege by the Bush administration (SK) (JS); intelligent design (JS) (FH) (SU)

No. 45 Feb 11-May 30 the Smithsonian and ID (JS) (FH) (SU); national day of reason (SC) (SK); Noreen Reiner another psychic without a clue (P); taking 400 units of Vitamin E daily is of no benefit in reducing heart disease or cancer (SC); cops hires psychic and she tells him body may be near water (P); Bush accused of stifling science (O); BBC produces series on atheism with Jonathan Miller (SC) (SK)

No. 44 Jan 17-Feb 10 Indigo children explained by whack job P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.) (JS); naturopaths licensed in California (CAM); Bush, the EPA, and science (JS); miscellaneous stuff on cancer patients & CAM, graphology, and anti-evolution education (CAM) (JS); Allison DuBois and the hit show "Medium" (P); chupacabra (CZ)

No. 43 Jan2-13 ID stickers (JS); poisonous household plants (SC); Vioxx recalls & evaluating statistical data (SC) (SK)

2004

No. 43 Dec 22-Dec 30 the earthquake in Sumatra and the subsequent tsunamis (SC) (SK) (P); herbals and toxic metals (CAM)

No. 42 Nov 22-Dec 20 rump reading (JS); hoaxing skeptics (FH); the Andrew Wakefield prize for preposterous extrapolation from a single unconvincing piece of scientific data (JS); pet psychic (P); ID in Dover county (JS) (FH) (SU); remote viewing (P); Judith Reisman on pornography (JS); Anthony Flew's atheism (SU); no creationism in Grantsburg (JS) (FH) (SU); cell phone explosions (SC); our Christian Air Force Academy (SU); whack job channels book by John F. Kennedy (P)

No. 41 Oct 20-Nov 18 Sylvia Browne (P); cancer rates lower than expected at microprocessor plant (SC); ID (JS) (FH) (SU); psychic teleportation study by our Air Force (P) (JS); Natasha Demkina's overexposed x-rays (P); Noreen Renier (P)

No. 40 Sept 9-Oct 19 Betty Hill dies (U); Jacques Benveniste dies (CAM) (JS); John Mack dies (U) (JS); paranormal television (P); Natasha Demkina, x-ray girl from Russia (P); psychic detectives on TV (P); Räelians & ID (JS) (FH) (SU); Wangari Maathai on AIDS (CAM) (JS); Serebia's theocracy (SU); ID paper published and retracted (JS) (FH) (SU); MMR & autism (SC)

No. 39 May 19-Aug 31 chastity in Iran (SU); photons teleported (SC); homeopathy (CAM) (JS); ghost busting (P); Jesus joins board of school in Norway (SU); atheism defended (CT) (SU); feng shui motherboards (P); medical errors (SC); god and the U.S. Constitution (CT) (SU); Journal of Reproductive Medicine published paper on prayer and in vitro fertilization but quickly removes it from website (CAM) (JS); Rico the talking dog (O); Christians attack secular schools for being too secular (SU); scientific studies worldwide find no convincing evidence that vaccines containing thimerosal cause autism (SC)

No. 38 Feb 18-April 19 Gregory Forbes named Michigan College Science Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Science Teacher Association (SC); psychic detectives (P); Bush science advisor criticized (SC); faith declared a mental illness (SU); dead people talking? (SU); abortion doesn't increase the risk of breast cancer (SC); no U.S. scientists can go to Cuba (O); the making of Bigfoot (CZ); Bush administration's assault on science (SC); Bush dismisses foes on stem cell issue (SC); Andrew Wakefield's economic interest in vaccine debate revealed (JS); students in Darby, Montana, protest anti-evolutionary policy (SC) (CT); John Edward challenged to substantiate his claim that he communicates with the dead (SU); Union of Concerned Scientists condemn Bush (SC)

No. 37 Jan 19-Feb 10 Left Behind (SU); Darwin Day & monsters (SC); Kathy Cox proposes that the word 'evolution' be removed from all science curricula and books in Georgia (JS) (FH) (SU); Leland Y. Yee introduces a resolution to include the principles of feng shui in the California Building Standards Code (JS) (P); remains of oldest creature ever to live on land found near golf course (SC)

No. 36 Jan 1 Tim Radford of TheAge.com.au selects his all-time favorite science frauds and hoaxes from Piltdown man to elements 116 and 118 (FH)

2003

No. 36 Sept 7-Dec 31 National Park Service promoting Young Earth creationism (SU) (JS); Ray Hyman presented with In Praise of Reason Award by CSICOP (O) (CT); Marcia Angel and silicone breast implants (SC); Cable Science Network (SC); the hypocrite Rush Limbaugh needs your prayers (O) (SU); cold fusion (SC); creationism in the UK (JS) (SU); negative ions (SC) (JS); Apollo moon hoax hoax (FH); Sweden's Lund University ready to hire its first "professor of parapsychology, hypnology ["the science of the phenomena of sleep and hypnosis"] and clairvoyance"

No. 35 July 29-Sept 3 vaccines and autism (SC); Dr. Roy Meadows (JS); astrology (JS); go to jail or do tai chi (O); the Hawthorne effect (SC); New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah have renumbered highway 666 to highway 491 (FH)

No. 34 March 20-July 27 religion and violence (SU); macrobiotics (JS); big alt med recall in Australia (CAM); Räelians lie about cloning a human (JS); Sylvia Browne's trail of grief continues, aided by Montel Williams (P); von Däniken's Mystery Park to open (P); toe reading (JS)

No. 33 Jan 21-March 18 ginkgo biloba (CAM); secular humanists and atheists meet (CT) (SU); Elizabeth Smart found but not by psychics (P); European skeptics meeting in London (SK); the end is near (SU) (SC); new map of the universe (SC); Michael L. Dini won't write letter for anti-evolutionist creationist student (CT); Penn & Teller's "Bullshit!" begins airing with episode on Rosemary Althea and other mediums who claim to get messages from the dead using cold and hot readings (CT); American Society of Civil Engineers issue report on why the Pentagon wasn't more damaged by the Boeing 757 that was flown into it on 9/11 (SC); half a wing not half bad (SC).

No. 32 Jan 2-17 unconscious nature's intelligent designs (SC); surgical mistakes (O); silver health scams (CAM); WGN fires Van Praagh (P); lawyer/writer ripped off by Sylvia Browne (P); astrologer dies on lucky day (JS).

2002

No. 32 Nov 21-Dec 20 San Francisco licenses psychics not convicted of swindling or thievery (P); Gary Schwartz feeble reply to Ray Hyman (P) (SU); Bigfoot hoaxer dies (CZ); scientist says life began on ocean floor (SC); South Park features Jon Edward as "biggest douche in the universe" (SU); Rendlesham File released by UK government (U); homeopathy fails another test (CAM); Pat Robertson denounces the Koran (SU); response to Stephen Meyer's deception (SU); the Science Channel's "Critical Eye" (SC).

No. 31 Nov 10-20 crop circles (U); Roy Moore's Ten Commandments (SU); Roswell (U); psychic surgery (P); UNLV Consciousness Studies & Charles Tart (P); PrimeTime with Ian Rowland doing cold reading and pretending to get messages from the dead (SC) (SK).

No. 30 Oct 11-29 Cobb County, Georgia, school board calls its anti-evolution policy "critical thinking" (SU); Muslim cleric calls for murder of Jerry Falwell (SU); Raëlian cloning nonsense (SU); neuroplasticity (SC).

No. 29 Aug 23-Oct 3 Women Helping Women pyramid scheme arrests (FH); Christians like atheists, poll shows (SC); St. Mychal & Australian woman claims brain damage from fall in church after Holy Spirit entered her (SU); Bell Labs fires scientist Dr. J. Hendrik Schön for making extraordinary but fraudulent claims in some 17 peer-reviewed papers regarding molecular-scale transistors (FH); Nigerian 411 scams (FH); Regina Norman Danson, a hotel worker and illegal immigrant from Ghana, dupes some big names with sad tale (FH); not-so-education educational TV (CZ) (P); Frontline explores effect of 9/11 on religious beliefs (SU); raw food fad (JS); ginkgo biloba (CAM).

No. 28 July 20- Aug 3 God can't lose (SU); feng shui (P); irrational faith (SU); Elisabeth Targ dies despite prayers (SU); abstinence program abused by religious groups (SU); evolution (SC); polls shows confidence in religious group at all-time low (SU); deadly hospital infections (SC); lies about diets (SC).

No. 27 June 27-July 9 cyronics (SC); study finds that a daily dose of vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene does not reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, or mental decline (SC); Chico Xavier of Brazil who wrote 92 books on messages from the dead can now start sending his own messages from the other side (SU); "under God" in the pledge of allegiance goes to court (SU).

No. 26 May 27-June 26 death by purification (SU); Alan Alda hosts Scientific American on alternative medicine (SC) (CAM); mercury and autism (SC) (CT); viral marketing (FH).

No. 25 Jan 25-May 23 Harvard and CAM (CAM); Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (SU) (JS); Stephen Jay Gould dies (SC); religious cult members molesting children in Georgia (SU); Congresswoman Diane Watson wants to ban mercury from dental fillings (JS); the Church of Scientology pays Lawrence Wollersheim $8,674,843 to settle a lawsuit filed more than 20 years ago (SU); UFO group closes shop (U); White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy may be Clinton's worst legacy (CAM); hopeless cases and false hope (SC) (CT) (CAM); The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles tried and failed to take away the vanity license plate of Steven Miles that reads ATHEIST (SU); PBS series on the "Secret Life of the Brain" (SC); mothman (CZ); PrimeTime takes on alternative medicine (CAM).

No. 24 Jan 13 exorcist demonizes Harry Potter books (SU).

2001

No. 24 Nov 11-Dec 21 Pope John Paul mass producing saints (SU); anthrax terror from Army lab (SC); Clayton Lee Waagner, suspected of mailing hundreds of terrorist anthrax threats to abortion clinics, arrested (SU); FBI profiling and use of psychics (JS); evil (SC) (CT).

No. 23 Aug 10-Oct 25 fire walking (FH); anthrax terrorist attacks have been going on for three years with no arrests (O); Proctor & Gamble's logo (O); Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (JS) (SU); using 9/11 to bring people to their knees and attack anyone who looks different (SU); Scientologists, haters of psychiatry, take advantage of 9/11 to infiltrate as counselors (JS) (SU); James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal rips the media for glorifying psychics in the wake of the Chandra Levy disappearance (CT) (P).

No. 22 June23-July 26 Miss Cleo (FH); bad police science (JS); herbs and surgery dangers (CAM); astrology (JS); wasted war on cancer (JS); Atlantis (JS).

No. 21 April 22-June 22 Catalina Rivas (JS) (SU); psychics (P) (CT); therapists smother child in "rebirthing" (JS); about half of those polled believe in ESP (P); the placebo effect questioned (SC); the Disclosure Project (U); Bernard Osher Foundation gives $10 million to Harvard to study non-traditional medicine (CAM); medication errors (SC); James Randi (CT).

No. 20 Feb 26-April 20 Connell Watkins and Julie Ponder sentenced to 16 years in prison (JS); St. John's wort (CAM); incorruptible body of Pope John XXIII? (SU); Chris French & Richard Wiseman find placebo effect at work in crystal power (SC); human organs for transplant big business (O); Nancy Stouffer sues J K Rowling (Stouffer will lose) (O); diploma mill, Columbia Pacific University (CPU), shut down (FH); 84% of patients treated for depression with ECT relapse within six months (SC); John Edward's Crossing Over (FH); Taliban blows up statues of Buddha (SU); surgeon makes mistake (O).

No. 19 Feb 14-Feb 24 prayer as deadly medicine (SU); FBI profiles (JS); the Rorschach (JS); fake doctor caught four times (O); James Randi (CT); 40% of adult Americans favor teaching creationism instead of evolution in our public schools; only 28% think that evolution should be required study for high school students (SU).

No. 18 Jan 2-Feb 14 Warren E. Barry attacks "spineless pinkos" (SU); Kansas restores evolution (SC); study of 420,000 cell phone users in Denmark found that cell phone users are no more likely than anyone else to get cancer (SC); Hindu astrology (JS); a new South African project will provide free AIDS medication to some HIV-positive pregnant women (SC); pledge of allegiance a prayer? (SU); Roy Moore, the 10 Commandment's judge (SU); the Holy Land in Orlando (SU); supplements (SC); atheists rank below homosexuals on list of who people would consider voting for (SU); errors in science texts (SC); Christian values opposite of American values (CT); reducing medical errors with computers (SC); chelation therapy (JS) (CAM); traditional Chinese medicine in Canada (CAM).

2000

No. 17 Nov 27-Dec 29 Wiccan revisionism (SU); surgical error (O); Bigfoot (CZ); lunar effects (JS); no connection between cell phones & brain tumors (SC); Harvard and spiritual healing (CAM); the Truster (JS); my article in Odyssey magazine (CT); school vouchers and creationism (SU); cell phone scare story (JS); evidence of our African origin (SC); back belts not good for your back (SC); Brill's Content writer Joseph Gomes rips into Larry King and Montel Williams for their completely uncritical treatment of so-called psychic Sylvia Browne (P); Nazca lines (U) (SC).

No. 16 Oct 30-Nov 25 James Watson links skin color to sex drive and weight to happiness and ambition (JS); Scientific American Frontiers on neuroscience (SC); St. John's wort (CAM); Dateline's John Hockenberry tackles cold reading and mediums getting messages from the dead (P) (SC); new species of mouse lemur discovered in Madagascar (SC); crop circle prankster fined (U); Cook country Judge James T. Ryan scares kids with threats of hell (JS) (SU); mice and EMR (SC); "minute of silence" law upheld (SU); psychic job description (P).

No. 15 Aug 30-Oct 29 therapeutic touch test (SC); witchcraft in Oklahoma (SU); alternative mental health treatment called "expressive therapies" (CAM); MPD on trial (JS); herbs and prostrate cancer (CAM); Elizabeth Loftus on planting false memories (SC); "The Contender" (O); study finds no harm from drinking fluoridated water (SC); dangers of mixing herbs and medicines (SC); Catholic pope to canonize hundreds (SU); no organized prayer in Florida schools, says Supreme Court (SU); NASA's anti-gravity machine waste (JS); Florida AG to investigate phone psychics (P); pitiful state of evolution education in U.S. (SC); exorcisms (SU); sainthood for anti-Semitic pope (SU); Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa's Minister of Health, is spreading the word that the Illuminati introduced AIDS to Africa through the smallpox vaccine in 1978 to reduce the African population as part of a worldwide conspiracy (JS); Sen. Lieberman says morality must be based on belief in God (SU).

No. 14 July 12-Aug 27 organized voluntary and spontaneous prayer in Texas (SU); the concept of race (SC); religious people live longer (SU) (SC); firewalkers scorched (JS); scientific illiteracy rampant (SC); functional foods (SC); Joe Firmage and Ann Druyan join forces (SC).

No. 13 AIDS (SC); brain damage and paranormal experiences (SC) (P); medical errors (SC); Ten Commandments (SU); Falun Gong and Nostradamus (P); the pious fraud of Fatima (SU); prayer in schools (SU); copper bracelets for rhinos (JS); Peter Jennings and the Messiah (SU); apocalyptic fiction sells (SU); genetic mapping and politics (SC); more priests die than are ordained (SU).

No. 12 separation of church and state (SU); Jane Seymour and Catherine Bell (JS); Florsheim magnetic shoes (JS); Hare Krishna sexual abuse (SU); wasting money on herbs (JS); UPI bought by Moonies (SU); psychic sees Jon Benet's killer (P)(JS); homosexual cure (JS); mental illness blamed for exorcism death of 3-year-old (SU); Herbalife founder Mark Reynolds Hughes dies of alcohol and drugs at age 44 (JS); therapists smother child to death in birthing treatment (JS); 83% of Americans say Darwin’s theory of evolution belongs in the nation’s science classes (SC).