(Not) Finding Bigfoot

I am watching the season finale of Finding Bigfoot. The episode is called, "Biggest Search Yet," so I'm guessing they capture the beast, and needed to make this a special two-hour episode.

See, I am being facetious with that comment (my ongoing joke with my wife is that THIS is the episode they finally find him!), but despite my overall skepticism around Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti, etc., I have no problem suspending disbelief when it comes to the subject.  This includes Bigfoot-themed movies, regardless (usually) of how awful they might be.

In my 2010 post about having Bigfoot dreams, I noted the source of them being a belief in the being from my childhood. I was an impressionable child, willing to believe just about anything a reasonable-sounding adult was willing to believe. So movies like those from Sunn Classic Pictures really had me going.

Today, I call myself a skeptic, and not just of mysterious monsters, but of everything, by the true definition. That is, make a claim that I haven't heard of or formed an opinion on yet, and I'm going to want you to back it up, and as Carl Sagan would say, the more extraordinary the claim, the more extraordinary the evidence I'm going to need.

But I still find Sasquatch an interesting subject, and the only reason I can figure is what I said about suspending disbelief. I suppose I can in other subjects, too. I enjoy some good ghost movies, despite my disbelief in them.  Ghost-hunting reality shows, on the other hand, I have no time for.  And while I find the Bigfoot hunters just as silly as the ghost chasers, I still get a kick out of watching them.

Perhaps it's the degree of my skepticism, and that it hasn't yet reached 99.5% certainty of its non-existence. Whereas I find all psychics and mediums to be frauds and/or delusional, ghost-hunters as kidding themselves, and a host of other things too obviously ludicrous to mention (although I'll mention one to give you an idea; dousing), I'm ever-so-slightly open to accepting that there is a small chance of a species similar to ours, yet capable and wanting to keep hidden.

Then, when I read what I just wrote, I think, "That's ridiculous," and get close to 100% disbelief, and my skepticism is again equal to my skepticism of all other things paranormal, supernatural, etc. For a while, anyway.

I guess it's like this: If I saw a psychic and was impressed with something he did (like say something about my deceased grandparents that I wouldn't think he could know), I would think, "Nice trick, but I'm not buying."

If I were dared to stay in a "haunted house" for a nice little fee, I'd gladly accept.  Then, upon hearing scary noises in the dark, I'd think, "Hmm, weird noises in an old house. How original. Come out, come out, wherever you are, ghosts!"

But if I were alone in the woods, and I came upon a Sasquatch, while I might try my best to think, "Man in an ape suit," my guess is I would probably shit my pants.

And that's the difference between my Bigfoot skepticism v. all the others.

Psychics and Scheisters and Other Synonyms

I am a skeptic.

Say that to some people, and they will assume you mean you are a cynical, negative person: an all-around jerk.

I'm not any of that (although some may disagree; we all have our detractors). I just think extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, to borrow one skeptical axiom.

So when I saw that an upcoming Sylvia Browne show was sold out at the 3,000-seat auditorium at Treasure Island Casino, yet the recent Frank Caliendo show was not, I was more than disappointed. More accurately, as a skeptic, I was disgusted.

Tonight, my wife and I watched one of her favorite TV shows, Medium, which is supposedly based loosely on medium/psychic Allison DuBois. As a fictional drama, it's an average show. (I'd like it slightly better if I weren't so sick of Patrica Arquette jumping up in bed after every bad dream. I can't think of one time that ever happened to me.) To think some people may see it as based on true life events is another ugly thought. Hopefully, most people recognize it as fictional.

Same with Ghost Whisperer, with which psychic James Van Praagh has some production ties. Again, it's so-so fiction, but Van Fraud makes me sick, so perhaps I am biased.

As does Gary Spivey, a guy who does a lot locally, including guest spots on KDWB's morning show, hosted by Dave Ryan, a guy whom I might otherwise respect. But hey, if Sylvia Browne can sell out at TI, KDWB probably gets a good audience with Spivey, so Dave will kiss his butt until that changes, I imagine.

Of all of them, including John Edward, Sylvia Browne makes me the most ill. Probably because she is so obviously bad at what she does, yet gets big appearances on Montel, Larry King, and these dang live sold-out shows. And how many freaking books are people going to keep buying of hers before realizing they do not belong in the non-fiction section?

I could go on and on about my disdain for Browne. One story exemplifies what I find so loathsome about her. Just Google sylvia browne coal miners and you'll find numerous sources. Or go straight to this link from a site whose mission I support: stopsylvia.com. She is a fraud, and deserves the reverence of a common criminal. Worse, her audience is largely made up of people who have lost loved ones and want so desperately to believe her.

Check the link above, then tell me I, the skeptic, am the jerk here.