Gazing into the eyes of a charlatan

I received an email by mistake… well maybe it WASN’T A MISTAKE!!! MAYBE IT WAS THE GAZE!?!?!

What the hell am I talking about?

I’m talking about a genius, people. I’m talking about a charlatan who doesn’t even fucking talk. He “gazes”. People pay to stare.

Here, you’ll get to see an actress getting an opportunity to cry on camera:

He’s a genius.

Since he says nothing, he makes no claims. All of the claims are made by his followers. He just stands there while other people collect the cash.

Genius.

Holy fucking shit, people. Holy, fucking genius fucking charlatan shit.

*edit*

I can’t stop!!!

WARNING: DO NOT PIRATE BRACO! 7 SECOND RULE IN EFFECT! DO NOT PIRATE BRACO!!!

Share
October 25, 2011 | Filed Under charlatans on parade, clip-o-rama, half-cocked ranting, skeptic, skeptic/atheist, webophilia | Leave a Comment 

Fact or Myth?

Hey good people of earth… I have a project for you. I know I’m not supposed to question these things but…

As a new parent, I’ve heard many horror stories about how kids die. Specifically, these two:
1) Drowing in the toilet and
B) Smothered by a sleeping parent.

I’ve done extensive google-ing and the only toilet drownings are parents murdering their kids by drowning them in the toilet. I’ve located one article about a parent smothering their child (this is really tough to write… sheesh). But not one article about accidental toilet drowning or parental smothering.

One woman who way into Facebook neglected a kid in the bathtub, but I don’t find a child drowning in the bathtub to be much of an extraordinary claim.

There are plenty of articles about kids being killed by the family dog or falling down stairs, but that’s it.

If you search you will find many articles with people saying that these things happen but with not one source attribution.

Regarding the smothering, a friend online said “it happens every day” and someone closely associated with the baby cult we’re in said something similar regarding toilet drownings. “It happens all the time. It’s horrible.”

I think it’s a myth. As parents, we have plenty of horrible crap to worry about. I’d like to reduce the millions of things to worry about by two. It’s the “Big Toilet Seat Lock” industry perpetrating their evil corporatism upon us!!! Either that or just well-meaning people wanting to protect children.

Share
April 27, 2011 | Filed Under half-cocked ranting, parenting, revealing too much, skeptic, techishness, web stuff, wife | Leave a Comment 

The “Gluten Allergy” seems to be all the rage among the hipsters in the world. My favorite podcast, Skeptoid, takes a look at what Gluten is and what the *real* allergy to Gluten consists of. The important thing about diets to remember is that once you become conscious of what you are eating, you eat less. Period. The way to lose weight is to ingest fewer calories and exercise more. Next caller.

Here’s the Skeptoid post.

Also, never buy a house.

Share
January 4, 2011 | Filed Under parenting, skeptic, techishness, web stuff, webophilia | Leave a Comment 

Five Minutes of Evil!!!

I haven’t been listening as I should… as I promised both of you. Please forgive me. I either miss GB because I go in later than usual or listen to music or talk to myself.

But, I finally listened a couple days ago and he seems to have rounded a corner since the rally. He talked about god answering prayers and that “the very gates of hell” are going to open up.

He still hasn’t said anything evil. He’s just talking about stupid religious stuff. I’m sure lots of the people who think he’s evil talk about stupid religious stuff. I will use broad strokes here and posit that since most of the people who hate him are on “the left”, they don’t go to “church” but do that thing that’s even worse which is call themselves “spiritual”. I prefer people who make a commitment to an ideal. Even if it’s so invisible as to not exist at all.

I respect fundamentalists christians more than someone who breathes a cleansing orange light into their heart chakra at a weekly yoga class. If you’re a fundamentalist who has actually studied, then you’re not a lazy know-it-all like the light-breathers.

It’s the same concept I apply to heroin addicts vs. wine drinkers. I don’t want to hang out with either one, but the heroin addict sure does make a commitment: “I want to get so high, I can’t feel anything” as opposed to the wine drinker: “Oh, dear no, the alcohol is secondary… I love the bouquet on this vintage… blah blah blah…” Liar.

Speaking of respect. It’s been a bad year for the show biz. So bad that both of us are losing our SAG health coverage.I put the word out among friends that I had very little time to earn $7k before we were kicked to the curb.

Only one friend came through and he came through in spades.

Thank you, old friend.

Share
September 9, 2010 | Filed Under acting b.s., coreyoke, half-cocked ranting, libertarian, nigerian spamscamscam, skeptic, v.o. | Leave a Comment 

NuBoobs != NuMetal

No, I’m not Jada Pinko Smith and the Wicked Lester or Jester numetal band.

Comedy from the Golf Movie:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1qg_bmA9Yo

I owe a write-up of “TAM7 – The Luckiest Tam” and will get right on that.

Share
July 15, 2009 | Filed Under 'thatguy', acting b.s., clip-o-rama, revealing too much, skeptic, Two Minutes of Hate, web stuff, webophilia | Leave a Comment 

i can’t take it anymore…

Man,

I laid out a bunch of calm and logical points for a friend of mine who had seemed to be listening about why a vote for the obama/mccain ticket is rotten. One of her replies was ranting, spewing hatred for palin. I pointed that out and I’ve attached her reply

I totally get that palin’s religious shit is shit, but the level of intellect among these “intellectuals” is breaking me.

I suppose that they are thinking that there is an acceptable level of religious hogwash. Comparing Obama to Jesus is okay, but the fact that Palin has a principled (yet moronic) view about the bible is bad.

This classism… The idea that one of the reasons she’s an idiot is because she’s from Alaska is disgusting. The population of Alaska “100,000 more than Oklahoma City…” manages to sneer at Oklahoma, too. Why not 100,000 more than Cambridge? It’s buying in to Penn’s point about the attitude that there can’t be any intelligent people between NYC and L.A. All of those stupid, engineers, computer programmers, doctors, lawyers. They’re all retards, but the ones who live from development deal to development deal writing crap that fewer and fewer people care about… well, we’re all geniuses, I tell you. They don’t have masters degrees in Art History and Poetry, they’re just stupid a-holes who work in hospitals and labs. Too bad they’ve never written for Family Guy or had a video on The Jon Stewart Show, the dumbfucks.

I used to talk to friends about this fascinating thought experiment regarding kiddie porn. ( they show murders and rapes on the news and it’s perfectly legal. why is the record of the crime of child molestation illegal?) I stopped because it would devolve into me having to reassure the other person that I was not, in fact, hoping to have some extra special alone time with their kids.

Now I have to reassure people that I’m not a republican, either. It’s gross.

So, she sends me this video of these two people singing a “funny song” about sarah palin. complete with “we’re doomed” and threats to move to canaduh if mccain wins.

I’m done. You guys win.

From: dean’s anonymous friend
Date: October 17, 2008 6:52:28 PM PDT
To: dean cameron
Subject: Fwd: Hey, Sarah Palin

Okay, here are some more reasons.
I’m going to sit down and ponder this question: Why the vehement hatred when it comes to Sarah Palin. I will ponder it in my usual brain vomit way when I have some quiet time to think.
but here’s a good start.

hey sarah palin

Share
October 17, 2008 | Filed Under half-cocked ranting, libertarian, revealing too much, skeptic, skeptic/atheist | Leave a Comment 

Cameron’s Travels

1st off: The bride has started an awesome blog called “Rational Moms” (no, but we’re trying) and you can read all the rational awesomeness at rationalmoms.com.

2nd off: Though nothing is ever certain, I’m told that the song I co-wrote with Russ Parrish has made the Steel (Metal Skool, Metal Shop Danger Kitty) Panther record. I’m sure they’re just telling me this to be nice and will let me know later that the record company changed their mind and it’s not going to be on the record but sorry dude we really wanted it on there but you know how it goes. For this pessimistic reason, I remain cautious. That will be the 4th song I’ve ever had on a record. Pretty nifty.

So that’s that…

For the past three weeks, I’ve been acting in a movie called Par-Fection: The Golf Movie aka Dean sure hopes they change the fucking title. An old friend, Drew Rosenberg, was hoping to get Eric Stoltz and me to play a pair of evil plastic surgeons who… well the plot is quite convoluted and byzantine, but for various reasons, we end up putting a young guy under to give him breast implants against his will.

Yep.

Well, Eric passed on it and drew was in for a penny, so she got stuck with me. I think it worked out quite well, though. I tried to get Rod Maclachlan, Lorenzo Poindexter or Stuart Fratkin the gig as the other guy, but she found a guy named Christopher Showerman. We had a splendid time and I think that Chris and I had a nice thing going. We attempted to add an enormous level of homo-erotic subtext to the parts and, well, I’m pretty sure it’s inescapable.

Happily, there were a few truly wonderful things about the experience…

One of the things that has bummed me out so much about having almost had a really successful career in showbiz was the realization that the parts I *do* get are small and I’m destined for nothing but double digits on the call sheet… i’ll never get another lead role in anything. They’ll all be “cameos” which is simply a nice way of saying shitty little bone of a part. As #3 on the Golf Movie call sheet, I was happily proven wrong. As a skeptic, I love being proven wrong and this was no exception at all!!

More importantly, much of the cast and crew were literally children way back when I was on the map and they’d all grown up watching my youth on cable. It made them happy. I had a very nice Sullivan’s Travels experience learning that even though I’m probably going to be, as the The Movie Channel promo was so nice to point out, a footnote in the history of showbiz, there are people who have been affected & effected (but not impacted, damn it!!!) by the stuff I had done. I’ve always been aware of it, but for some reason, it sunk in during this experience. One of the leads told me one of the reasons he’s an actor is because of Summer School.

I’ve always enjoyed working with female directors, too. The lack of on set dick waving is really nice and allows one to do work instead of see who is smarter, cooler, richer or whatever. Director as mother is better than director as general. Working, even if it’s a stupid fucking golf movie about a guy who gets tits against his will, is already an internal battle. It’s nice to not have one going on externally, ass well.

I also got to go out of town for an extended period of time to a beautiful place called Borrego Springs. Yes, it was almost as hot as the surface of the sun, but the room sure was nice and the desert is so lovely during the late summer. Shooting was at the resort where we were staying, so I’d finish my day, walk to my room, change and be standing in the pool within 10 minutes of wrap.

The bride was able to come out and hang so that kept me from missing her and getting depressed.

Mainly, I didn’t beat the shit out of myself. I was rusty on my first day and encountered some memorization issues, but after that nightmare, it clicked in and I was able to do stuff I wanted to do. I kept feeling a hammy/mugging urge and was able to resist it for the most part, though some hacky shit managed to shit its way out of me, I’m sure. Perhaps the stuff that I’m hoping is “good” is boring. Dunno. I was attempting to simply let my inner conniving prick ooze out. We’ll see.

It was a good time. I was #3 on the call sheet. How cool is that?

Share
October 6, 2008 | Filed Under 'thatguy', acting b.s., half-cocked ranting, revealing too much, skeptic, the "good old days", travel, wife | Leave a Comment 

Close Minded Skeptics

There is a science message board that doesn’t allow any input from people who disagree. They feel that it’s important that no dissenting views be heard because science can’t take any investigation.

Oh, wait… I’m completely mistaken.

If you want to kill your robot, take a trip over to http://www.wiki4cam.org/ and see how open minded the folks who run the “Alternative Medicine” wiki are.

And I quote:

Everything that does not fall into the realm of modern medicine has been labeled as pseudo-scientific or unscientific at Wiikipedia.

Um… yeah.. Exactly. If it’s not science. If it can’t be tested or falsified, it’s not science. It’s not medicine.

What had happened, apparently, was that anyone posting about Alternative Medicine on wikipedia was getting pestered by others posting facts, studies and results, showing how those subjects were pseudoscience. Instead of learning, they decided to do what any fringe group does, cry “establishment interference!!!” and start a wiki that didn’t allow input from skeptics. No examination.

Imagine if a drug company began their own wiki and removed any dissent. People would go nuts and riot in the streets. (I exaggerate to clarify)

Being the passive/aggressive person I am wont to be, I created an account and posted an article about “Tree Therapy” which we all know is great for dealing with Dandruff, among other things.

Yep, you don’t invite me to your pool party, I will hop the fence and pee in it when you’re not looking.

Here’s the link http://wiki4cam.org/wiki/Tree_Therapy.

Feel free to update and make changes. I’m sure they’ll take it down…

Silence the truth about TREE THERAPY!!!

Here’s the article:

Tree Therapy
Template:Tl
Contents [hide]
1 Tree Therapy
2 The Early Experiment – Norway
3 More Studies – Paris
4 More Studies – Weehauken
5 Tree Therapy – Method

Tree Therapy

Tree Therapy is based on the findings by Hanneman follower, DVM. Sarno Falluga of India, stating that repeated encounters with specific types of trees, namely Oak, Pine, Fir & Bissel, show curative qualities not found in allopathic treatments of such complaints as: dandruff, depression, fatigue, colon warts, athlete’s foot & the grippe.

Early tests, conducted at Falluga’s office in Bombay, 1953, had three patients, “A”, “B” & “3″, returning time and time again to the doctor’s home-based facility seeking a remedies for, in this study’s case, dandruff.

Falluga’s training in World War II with the 34th infantry, took him to Norway, where he found his own skin conditions clearing up after spending three weeks camping on maneuvers in a forest with fellow corporal, famed Norwegian Raquetball Champion, Skaalen Flaksgaang. Having come from a long line of dandruff sufferers, Falluga immediately began requesting test subjects in the Norwegian daily “De Kaaken”.

His superiors were skeptical of the claims made by Falluga (and now Flaksgaang, as well) and did everything they could to stop his important experiments. Some have pointed to the obvious connection of Commander Westmoreland’s connection with the Richard Johnson, (of the Johnson & Johnson family who would later go on to market dandruff “cures” such as “Head & Shoulders” and “Cruex”.) as the reason for the seeming blockade on his upcoming tests. Undaunted, Falluga now had over 7 subjects on which to test his treatment.

The Early Experiment – Norway

Flaaksgaang & Falluga (F&F) travelled by burro through deep snow to the darkest woods of Norway in early 1954 with their 7 test subjects. Placing 2 subjects at distances of 2, 4 and 20 feet from trees, F&F were hoping to establish a TDM or “tree distance matrix” for the cure.
Unfortunately, one of the 20ft subjects left in the night, complaining of the cold, so Falluga joined the remaining subject, Anneka Juilius, in the tent for the next week of the study. (see biography regarding first child)

As predicted, the subjects closest to the tree who had dandruff (1) (One) had dandruff no longer. The two subjects who were 4 (four) feet away from a tree had some positive results and the two subjects at 20 feet, Falluga himself and former Miss Norway, Anneka asked for another week in the tent.

After the week ended, neither of them had dandruff. Skeptics charge that the extra week has some relevance in this outcome but the negative energy is unwelcome and besides the point. In a letter to his father in India, Falluga had written that his dandruff had cleared up after only ONE DAY (1 DAY!) in the tent.

More Studies – Paris

Anneka’s father flew her by private helicopter, April 1953, to Paris.
Falluga followed, needing to conduct further tests with Anneka.

More Studies – Weehauken

Anneka was taken to Weehauken, New Jersey, USA in the middle of the night.
Two days later, Falluga, borrowing the money from Flaaksgaang, went AWOL and found himself in Weehauken, New Jersey, USA.

Less than one month before the birth of their first (of eight) child, Falluga patented his Tree Therapy with the U.S. Patent Office, patent: #1009849938-b99

Tree Therapy – Method

The medical establishment in addition to the CAM establishment were not welcoming to Falluga’s treatment, so much was not known about the methodology until the middle of last year when his grandson, Dag, published his first children’s book “Norway is for Fun!” and outlined the therapy in an article for the “Burbank Naturalist”.

Here are the steps outlined in Dag’s treatise:
1. Wash hair throughly in a tincture of honey, water, baking soda & honeywater.
2. Stand with back to tree, breathe in the beauty of nature.
3. Raise arms to “creator”, palms upward.
4. Take 4-15 steps from tree, feeling the connection and spirit inside. (if connection feels broken, start from step 3, not 2).
5. When directed to by inner voice (or fence) stop, turn and face the tree and sit cross legged.
6. If a tent is available have it pitched.
7. Wash hair with warm apple cider vinegar
8. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

Dandruff = None.

Share
August 13, 2008 | Filed Under half-cocked ranting, revealing too much, skeptic, skeptic/atheist, web stuff | Leave a Comment 

wheat wheat wheat wheat

We want to be a part of something, a tribe, a pack, a family. Church used to be a good place for that but fortunately for all of us, fewer people are going to church. The problem is that church and religion are being replaced with stuff that can be more dangerous. Bad science and bad information.

Man, I miss the good old days when religion dealt with invisible bullhockey instead of tangible bullhockey. It was so much safer then. (Within my lifetime, that is… The crusades and Spanish Inquisition seem like it was a pretty unsafe period.)

Food Allergies, specifically WHEAT, seem to be a growing religion.

Like the environmental religion, food allergies have some connection to reality. There are people who are truly allergic to wheat. The gluten in wheat is what the unfortunates who suffer from Celiac disease are allergic to. Take a couple bites of bread, pizza, etc., and there is a possibility that you die. It’s a serious allergy.

“Crap-Based Medicine” (thank you, Dr. Steven Novella) preys upon people who “don’t feel good”, as it’s such a wonderfully subjective complaint. Wonderfully subjective complaints are best treated with wonderfully subjective cures.

First off, a “wheat allergy” can be responsible for weight gain!!! Cutting out wheat will help you lose weight. No, really? Here’s the thing: Simply focusing on what you eat is an important part of losing weight; keeping a written record of your diet is one of the first things an evidence-based dietician or doctor will suggest you do to lose weight. The success of many diets like Atkins, is that you are removing something from your diet. If you can’t eat carbs, you can’t grab a muffin at 7-11 after work… you’re eating fewer calories. Remove wheat, you remove A LOT of calorie-opportunities from your life. If anyone removes wheat from their diet, they’ll lose weight. (Does that mean that we are all allergic to wheat? Google “wheat allergy” and you’ll find a couple of folks who actually believe that to be true.)

Thanks to the placebo effect, if you’re “not feeling well” and you’re told by someone you respect that x will help, you will most likely feel better. The wheat allergy diagnosis is also accompanied with the “Big Bad Food” and “Big Bad Chemical” arguments with a bit of conspiracy thrown in: The food companies sell you things that most people can’t “process naturally”, mainly bread. Plus we all know about those chemicals they indiscriminately pump in to our food so if you remove wheat from your diet, you will feel better.

By cutting out wheat you:

each one of these have a religious analog… david/goliath, chosen one, dietary restriction, etc. You’ll also be exposed to literature you’ve never been aware of before… you’ll have a “good book”.

It’s been said over and over, so I will join the club and say that with all of the information out there, it’s really important to be able to tell the good information from the bad information… the, er, wheat from the chaff, as it were.

The genius writer, Eddie Gorodetsky, coined the phrase “comedy-like in nature”. He’s talking about something that has the look and feel of comedy; it sounds or looks funny but isn’t. (Hello, redundant!) Sitting around and repeating the catch-phrases from Saturday Night Live is “comedy-like in nature”. You’re not doing the work, you don’t have to even understand what is funny, you only have the appearance and the result of the work.

Saying you have a food allergy is science-like in nature. It sounds like science. It sounds like you know what in the heck you’re talking about but you might as well just say “Quantum” or “E equals M-C Squared!”. And, with so much science around us, we want to feel like we know what the hell is going on. But science is difficult and boring. A control group isn’t exciting won’t get you the attention at a restaurant that a food allergy will.

I think that if you want to be a part of a special club, actually joining a special club is the way to go. A softball team is so much better than a club who spreads bullhockey.

Share
August 10, 2008 | Filed Under half-cocked ranting, revealing too much, skeptic, skeptic/atheist, the "good old days" | Leave a Comment