Mr. Randi and the Mosque Clock

I recently picked up a little present for my dear friend Randi. Several years ago I had the honor of spending a semester as an intern with Randi and his co-horts at his educational institution. I enjoyed the experience so much that I went back for another month the next year, and I try to attend as many Randi events as I can. I’m 99% sure that I’ll make it to this year’s The Amaz!ng Meeting 8, so I hope to see some of you there!

Whenever I travel I always send Randi postcards. He seems to enjoy them. When I went to Oman a couple of months ago I picked up a mosque-shaped alarm clock in addition to the usual postcard. This plastic clock recites the call to prayer in a gravely, electronic cadence and is an exciting way to wake up in the morning. It took me a few weeks to get it in the post, but I finally did. My mom was there (she was on a recent Randi cruise) to record Randi’s excitement at having his very own mosque alarm clock. I thought you might enjoy a link to the video:

Mr. Randi and the Mosque Clock

Thanks, mom, for sending this to me!

As a quick aside, although I am an atheist I mean no disrepect to muslims here. The mosque clock is funny– not because of the call to prayer but because of its cheesy nature, cheap plastic, and bad electronics. And because it keeps going on forever! While I do not share their religion, I have the respect for my friends and colleagues… who also happen to be muslims. Just as I do for my friends and colleagues who also happen to be Christian or Jewish or Agnostic. So, take on religion all you want in other threads– but please keep the comments respectful here. It’s a sensitive topic for me, especially since I work in the Middle East. I’ll blog about it more sometime. For now, just repeat the mosque video and have another laugh. Thanks!