The Bad Astronomer
Spencer W Hunter
for a *great* appearance on C2C. How refreshing it was to hear a
real voice of reason there for a change! My favorite moment:
Caller: "Do you think the Face on Mars..."
Plait: "No."
My only complaint is that he did seem to pull a few punches. For
instance, while he didn't exactly lay the Heaven's Gate cult suicides
at the feet of Chuck Shramek, he did indicate that cult members were
pushed over the edge by Shramek's erroneous findings. In actuality, I
doubt that Shramek would have had any influence at all without Art
Bell's ceaseless promotion. It is Bell who bears the primary
responsibility, as well as for other damages resulting from his
relentless Chicken-Little promotions of North, Dames, Scallion,
Morton, Hoagland, Deyo, etc. Plait very rightly condemned such fear
mongering without implicating its principle exponent, perhaps out of
deference to his host.
What really came through loud and clear, though, was how much more
profound and interesting the real mysteries of the universe are
compared to the usual crap bandied about on Bell's show. Though Noory
tried unsuccessfully to put words in Plait's mouth (as in the possible
existence of Earth-crossing Planet X, and -- foul! just before a
commercial break! -- the existence of a cosmic intelligence), he would
do well to have more guests of Plait's caliber on the show in the
future.
--
Spencer Hunter, Tucson, AZ
gopher://www.u.arizona.edu:80/hGET%20/%7Eshunter
alt.fan.art-bell FAQ:
http://whiskeytown.net/curiosities/airstream/afab-faq.php
paghat
<shu...@ptah.u.arizona.edu> wrote:
Hey, get real, you don't actually know that the cult members didn't
successfully catch a comet ride & go straight to Cosmoland where they
received eternal passes to go on all the rides for free into perpetuity.
If I'm not mistaken, there's a Cosmoland ride very much like the Dumbo
ride at Disneyland, except instead of sitting in a fat fibreglass elephant
that goes round & round, you get to sit in a fat fibreglass Elvis. Cool,
huh. The members of the cult who didn't make it that day are still kicking
themselves.
-paghat the ratgirl
--
"Flowers are commonly badly designed, inartistic in
color, & ill-smelling." -Ambrose Bierce
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl:
http://www.angelfire.com/grrl/paghat/gardenhome.html#top
Dr. Dotson Dobby Unruh
> The members of the cult who didn't make it that day are still kicking
> themselves.
Ratgirl, you misspelled 'castrating'.
HTH
DrPostman
Too bad it wasn't Art who actually interviewed him. Still, I am sorry I missed
that show, as Plait's web site has been a valuable resource for me for years.
Dr.Postman USPS, MBMC, BsD; "Disgruntled, But Unarmed"
Member,Board of Directors of afa-b, SKEP-TI-CULT® member #15-51506-253.
You can email me at: jamie_eckles(at)hotmail.com
>HI
> I sow sometimes
-Theo <byj...@ch.inter.net>
DrPostman
with the prophecy wrote:
>Hey, get real, you don't actually know that the cult members didn't
>successfully catch a comet ride & go straight to Cosmoland where they
>received eternal passes to go on all the rides for free into perpetuity.
>If I'm not mistaken, there's a Cosmoland ride very much like the Dumbo
>ride at Disneyland, except instead of sitting in a fat fibreglass elephant
>that goes round & round, you get to sit in a fat fibreglass Elvis. Cool,
>huh. The members of the cult who didn't make it that day are still kicking
>themselves.
They should relocate that ride across the streat from Dead Elvis Land, so
that many more can take advantage and relieve the stress on the population.
C_ronin_V
> real voice of reason there for a change!
Bell's philosophy on the show, can be best described by a scene from the
movie, "A Few Good Men."
Jessep (Bell): You want answers?
Kaffee (audience): I think I'm entitled
Jessep (Bell): You want answers?
Kaffee (audience): I want the truth!
Jessep (Bell): You can handle the truth!
Aozotorp
>Hey, get real, you don't actually know that the cult members didn't
>successfully catch a comet ride & go straight to Cosmoland where they
>received eternal passes to go on all the rides for free into perpetuity.
Why should we believe that - You obviously never seriously took to heart your
mommy's idea that you could safely play on the Freeway!
>If I'm not mistaken, there's a Cosmoland ride very much like the Dumbo
>ride at Disneyland, except instead of sitting in a fat fibreglass elephant
>that goes round & round, you get to sit in a fat fibreglass Elvis. Cool,
>huh. The members of the cult who didn't make it that day are still kicking
>themselves.
>
>-paghat the ratgirl
>
Right!! And if you go to real Africa instead of Reel Disneyland, you will see
that the real elephants there can defintely put you with the cult memebers up
in cosmoland!
piddie
Look see what reality can bring if brought by the right people.
Not going to relate to the previous shit because I'm so much
advanced.
piddie -- living life on the drop
Phil Plait
> In article <ae3255$ns9$1...@oasis.ccit.arizona.edu>, Spencer W Hunter
> <shu...@ptah.u.arizona.edu> wrote:
>
> > Congratulations to Phil Plait (of http://www.badastronomy.com fame)
> > for a *great* appearance on C2C. How refreshing it was to hear a
> > real voice of reason there for a change!
Thanks! I have received quite a bit of email after the show, and most of it
has been supportive. A few asked about Planet X, unsurprisingly. I missed Ms.
Lieder's show, but I plan to bone up on the topic; I may be on again next
month to discuss it in more detail.
I did receive three hate mails: one from a creationist, one from a UFO
believer, and another from an anti-Big-Banger. I guess I rubbed some folks the
wrong way. The truth will do that sometimes.
> > My only complaint is that he did seem to pull a few punches. For
> > instance, while he didn't exactly lay the Heaven's Gate cult suicides
> > at the feet of Chuck Shramek, he did indicate that cult members were
> > pushed over the edge by Shramek's erroneous findings. In actuality, I
> > doubt that Shramek would have had any influence at all without Art
> > Bell's ceaseless promotion. It is Bell who bears the primary
> > responsibility, as well as for other damages resulting from his
> > relentless Chicken-Little promotions of North, Dames, Scallion,
> > Morton, Hoagland, Deyo, etc. Plait very rightly condemned such fear
> > mongering without implicating its principle exponent, perhaps out of
> > deference to his host.
Yes, that was part of it. Plus, I am not deeply familiar with the role Mr.
Bell played in the scene, and I am familiar with what Chramek did (and mor
eimportantly, what he *didn't* do, like throroughly check out his observations
before running to the radio).
> > Though Noory
> > tried unsuccessfully to put words in Plait's mouth (as in the possible
> > existence of Earth-crossing Planet X, and -- foul! just before a
> > commercial break! -- the existence of a cosmic intelligence),
I am not sure my reply to that comment was heard on the radio. Noory said that
so much orderin the Universe can make you believe in a higher power, and I
said "I believe in gravity". ;-)
> > he would
> > do well to have more guests of Plait's caliber on the show in the
> > future.
Thanks! Like I said, I hope to be on again soon. There's just so much stuff to
debunk out there...
DrPostman
the prophecy wrote:
>Thanks! Like I said, I hope to be on again soon. There's just so much stuff to
>debunk out there...
Sadly, I wouldn't count on it. You might upset Bell's base, and
he wouldn't like that.
I wish you had Bell interviewing you, Bell would have pushed you
on some paranormal stuff and would have ended up tripping all
over himself.
THAT I would have paid to listen to.
The Bad Astronomer
DrPostman wrote:
> On Thu, 13 Jun 2002 11:26:40 -0700, Phil Plait <ph...@perry.sonoma.edu> in accordance with
> the prophecy wrote:
>
> >Thanks! Like I said, I hope to be on again soon. There's just so much stuff to
> >debunk out there...
>
> Sadly, I wouldn't count on it. You might upset Bell's base, and
> he wouldn't like that.
But I *was* on the (Sunday) show, and was very clear about things like Planet X. And I have
been tentatively invited back.
> I wish you had Bell interviewing you, Bell would have pushed you
> on some paranormal stuff and would have ended up tripping all
> over himself.
Oh, I have no desire to delve into any paranormal things (ghosts, dowsing, telepathy...). I
am an astronomer, after all, and not James Randi. But if they want to talk astronomy, I'm
there.
DrPostman
accordance with the prophecy wrote:
>Oh, I have no desire to delve into any paranormal things (ghosts, dowsing, telepathy...). I
>am an astronomer, after all, and not James Randi. But if they want to talk astronomy, I'm
>there.
Bell has a tendency to try to tie unrelated nonsense together, that is why he might
bring up "rods" while interviewing you on astronomical matters. An example:"Have
you ever photographed rods while imaging a planet?".
That's why it would be fun for Bell himself to interview you, he would make an utter
fool of himself, like he does with most of his guests with a real scientific background.