facts + logic = truth
The media hoo-rah surrounding South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's recent "disappearance" brought to my mind some far stranger voluntary disappearances, most of them involving the very same thing that supposedly drove Gov. Sanford into the arms of his Argentine mistress: True love. Or, in some cases, the lack of it.Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie remains not only... Continue Reading →
TV ads for Dianetics and Amway? That is so '87. "The Land of Will": Nauseatingly ridiculous TV spot for the cult known as Quixtar. Notice how they throw in the first mention of Quixtar at the very, very end of the commercial, almost reluctantly? And how they don't actually mention what they're supposedly selling? I'll... Continue Reading →
Oh, fer cryin' out loud, will this never end?! Riverhead Books, a division of the Penguin Group started in 1994, has published the Dalai Lama, Nick Hornsby, The Kite Runner, and James Frey's wholly fictional memoir My Friend Leonard. Three Riverhead authors are up for the 39th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work, and... Continue Reading →
Misha Defonseca: A new addition to the Bogus Holocaust Memoirists Hall of Shame Don't you just love it when your timing is spot-on? Today I was skimming through some of my notes on suspected literary frauds. These are cases that set off all my B.S. bells, but I can't prove they're bogus: The works usually... Continue Reading →
This one definitely wasn't on my winter reading list, but my Signif Other brought it home from a kooky New Age bookstore and I just couldn't resist, even though it reeks of incense.For those not familiar with Mr. David Icke (pronounced "Ike"), a crash course: He's a former UK football player and sports presenter who... Continue Reading →
(in no particular order, with each theory's author or main proponent in parentheses, if known) The driver shot JFK. (the late William Cooper) The Beatles were designed and sent to the U.S. by the British Psychological Warfare Division, to undermine the morals of American teenagers. (Lyndon LaRouche) Christ's Crucifixion was staged. (Hugh Schonfield) Christ eloped... Continue Reading →
Scientific American.com has an excellent piece on "the secret of The Secret", pointing out some of its whopping errors in logic. If we insist our thoughts alone determine what happens to us, what are we saying about victims of atrocities such as the Holocaust and Darfur?
WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for the book A Million Little Pieces."I believe there has never been a realistic book about addiction." - James Frey, promotional CD for A Million Little Pieces.This is a brief introduction to James Frey and his 2004 memoir, A Million Little Pieces, which has sold over 3.5 million copies and topped bestseller... Continue Reading →
"You stole my ideas! Even though they're not mine!" The Da Vinci Code lawsuit was a prime example of wanton, greedy litigiousness. Two of the three "historians" who wrote Holy Blood, Holy Grail (1982) sued Dan Brown over alleged theft of intellectual property, even though Brown's book is a work of fiction and theirs was... Continue Reading →
Swallowing The Camel 