Quickies

Skepchick Quickies 10.29

Amanda

Amanda works in healthcare, is a loudmouthed feminist, and proud supporter of the Oxford comma.

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19 Comments

  1. Would I live in a haunted place for a break on rent or a cut in the price? Absolutely!

    My wife would love it. When we were looking for a place last year, she even said about a few of the places “wouldn’t it be cool if it turned out the place was haunted?” To her, it would be a selling point!

    The place we ended up buying is only about 13 years old, and most likely not haunted. At least not yet. ;) We’ve moved so much over the past few years, that I put my foot down and declared this would be the last time, and even joked “they’re gonna need an exorcist to get me out of here!”

    But even in a relatively new place with no reported hauntings, there are still creaks in the floor, loud, mysterious noises in the middle of the night, and that one night we both woke up screaming for no apparent reason. Aside from that, the only thing that’s coming back to haunt us right now is the shoddy craftsmanship of the original builders.

    And after a few of the places I’ve lived in in the course of my life, a haunted house would be a cake walk.

  2. Larry David’s pretend, accidental pee splash makes Mel Gibson’s actions less severe??? Who are these nut bags?

    But this raises another question; at least in my mind. Are there really people who keep pictures of their god within splashing distance?

    Top Ten Ill-Advised Places To Display Religious Icons:

    10) Floor of a NYC cab.

    9) On a toilet.

    8. At the mouth of a volcano.

    7) In Oprah’s vajayjay.

    6) . . .

    5) . . .

    etc.

  3. I’ll point something out, Sam: The article mentions that two women live in the house. They likely did not consider that the back of the toilet was “splashing distance”.

    Of course, this raises the entirely different question of “Who puts their religious icon on a receptacle for urine and feces”, but…

  4. The comments on the Peed Upon Jesus story are priceless. Not remotely surprising, but priceless. But at least we’ve answered that age-old metaphysical question, “Are Jesus & Mo really roommates who watch each other’s backs?”

    “Muhammed says:
    This is a hate crime, pure and simple.”

  5. The Jees-Wiz story:

    Not sure who puts pictures of their god on the back of the toilet… wouldn’t that mean it was watching you pee? I thought only Santa “sees you when you’re sleeping, peeing, awake, picking your nose….”

    Anyway… even if it was a photo of a flower.. if you splash something with pee or ANY bodily fluid.. WIPE IT OFF!

    Jeez!(wiz)

  6. I can’t say I’m at all disappointed to read about the closure of Mercy Ministries in Australia. There has been some degree of controversy associated with their facility in Nashville, IIRC.

    I’m disappointed to see that in 2009, “counselling” organizations that base their treatment on the notion that clients are under the influence of demons are allowed to operate.

  7. @Mark Hall: “Who puts their religious icon on a receptacle for urine and feces”

    I believe the answer to that is people in a comedy show that are there to set up the main joke of the show. I can’t believe people get offended about this stuff. It’s fake people! It’s not like Larry David really went up to a picture of Jesus and peed on it. I personally think it’s a rather funny joke. Even the controversy it caused is hilarious. It reminds me a lot of the “Piss Christ” controversy several years ago. The ultra religious hear that Jesus has pee on him and they freak out without even taking two minutes to consider the context. It just ends up making them look like humorless, thoughtless idiots.

  8. @starve2act: Totally agree. Those commenters are bug-eating crazy. Canceling HBO because of an episode of a show… Saying LD should be imprisoned for it.
    Priceless.

  9. For the first link, I disagree with the premiss of the question in the poll. I mean, they might as well have asked “Would you buy a unicorn if it were on sale?” The questions themselves are useless, because as every good skeptic knows, these deals are only worth it if sex is involved.

  10. @Pinkbunny: “I believe the answer to that is people in a comedy show that are there to set up the main joke of the show.”

    You obviously live in the North. Scary pictures of Jesus watching you pee are not uncommon down here.

  11. Hell, according to one of my friends, my parents’ house is haunted. I lived in it for eleven years and any supposed ghosties caused far fewer problems than the ancient water heater did.

  12. @Pinkbunny: Freaking out makes the ultra religious look like humorless, thoughtless idiots in the same way that serving burgers makes McDonalds look like a fast food restaurant.

  13. From the Mercy Ministries article: “…Mercy Ministries is a Christian organisation that helps young women suffering from eating disorders, self-harm, abuse, addictions or an unwanted pregnancy.”

    Which one of these things is *not* a psychological condition?
    Hint: It can be remedied by a safe, legal medical procedure.

  14. I would totally live in a “haunted house” for cheaper rent. I suppose if I was house hunting and heard rumors of ghosts I would probably try to use that to my advantage (I know it’s a little “evil”)

  15. @Glow-Orb: A while back, I went looking for any sort of data that might indicate that Mercy runs anything even remotely resembling conventional treatment, and once you get beyond their own claims, there isn’t anything to find. No data on recidivism, no clear descriptions of their treatment modalities, nothing besides unsubstantiated claims and testimonials.

    They make vague mention of using outside psychiatrists when necessary, and of using external physicians when necessary, but there isn’t any indication of how often that happens.

    The sort of things they “help” with are all conditions that merit ongoing, professional care, and not prayer, exorcism, or group hugs.

    5 minutes of Google searching will turn up some very disturbing stories, not just from the Australian branch of the organization but from the U.S. houses as well.

  16. That pee-Jesus (Pesus?) bit sounds so funny already (funny ’cause it’s true), and the outrage it caused makes it even funnier. Oh you crazy fundies, I hope you will never stop amusing us like this …

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