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How weird can it get? An eight-year-old girl in New Jersey who has a rare digestive disorder known as celiac sprue disease has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer she consumed as part of this mystical procedure contained no gluten, thus violating Catholic doctrine.
Come again?
It's true. You see, during this ceremony, Roman Catholics eat "consecrated" wheat-based wafers to commemorate the story of the last supper of Christ before his crucifixion. Haley Waldman, the girl involved in this Kafka-ish melodrama, cannot consume anything containing gluten — a food protein contained in wheat and some other grains — because as a result of her ailment, she would have serious adverse reactions to that sort of intake. Though some Catholic churches frivolously allow the use of non-gluten wafers using rice starch, Haley's church's pastor, the Rev. Stanley P. Lukaszewski, has decreed that such a substitute is "unacceptable." "Hosts [holy wafers] that are completely gluten-free are invalid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist," he said. So there.
Now, this wafer is supposed to represent the flesh of Christ. Did that original flesh have gluten in it? No. Haley's mother says, "In my mind, I think [the Church] must not understand celiac." Oh, they understand it quite well, ma'm. They just value their superstitions and dogmas more than logic. Since the wafer is a symbol, it could be a Ritz cracker — which would probably be okay, really, because it has the magical gluten in it. Can anyone help me see if there's a shred of rationality being exhibited here, or am I expecting too much?
Haley's mom has sought papal intervention. She has written to the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, challenging the church's must-be-wheat policy. Hey, if the Church won't allow women to choose whether or not to become pregnant, why should they care about a kid who wants to join the parade, but would have to get very sick to do so? Let's be reasonable! Again, we're looking for logic in the illogical!
Here are just a few comments recently issued by Elias Reminton, the guy in Arkansas who has such a firm grasp of reality. He's the one who said that my presence prevents Perpetual Motion Machines from operating. To retain the charm of his delusion, original spelling and usage are retained...
Shape has a resonant value, water responds to such VALUE ... microwave waveguide design and acustic knowledge is verry helpfull here ... The operator effect factor and ambient ones must be eliminated ... Just try to operate a PM motor in front of James Randy ... You will definitely understand my point ... Unit froze dead as he entered room ... HE is PAID for denial ... WORKS for CIA as a PK disrruptor and neutralizing Agent ... Mission to Discredit ALL NON physicaly traceable phenomena related to Paranormal events ... HE HAS a 1 million dollar prize for the one demostrating OU ... But his requirements are so demanding you will need to spend 2 million to get one. He is NOT willing to PAY for any R&D as his only function is to supress ... Just Read his requirements for proff of OU ... (Overunity ) I rest my case ...Get Well published testing of WATER programing (Homeophathy) and James Randi ... Discovery channel has 2 doccumentarys on the subject ... I KNOW what James Randy is ... and I Know Why PM Motors FAIL ... HAD you REPLICATED a Working One .... ? had you seen the LIQUID light ODIC force it Emanates? had you being inside a time space anomaly created by a ZPE hi power device? Built them and find out is the only way...
Hmmm. Maybe Elias got an overdose of "odic force," or is lost somewhere in a "time space anomaly," we just don't know. Well, I now rest my case...
Reader W. Marlow, discussing the Good Doctor [Isaac] Asimov, writes:
I recently was reading a collection of Asimov's works, "Casebook of the Black Widowers," and the following quote reminded me of you:
Those who follow cults for emotional reasons are not deterred by demonstrations of the illogic of what they are doing." — Geoffrey Avalon, "The Missing Item"
I was also struck (amused?) at how the guest in "The Cross of Lorraine" reminded me of you:
. . . the Amazing Larri, "a prestidigitator, an escapist extraordinaire, and the greatest living exposeur."
There seems to be some similarity. (In appearance as well.) In any case, it seems to me that he may have been familiar with your philosophy, and stated it well:
Scientists and other rationalists are used to dealing with the universe, which fights fair. Faced with a mystic who does not, they find themselves maneuvered into believing nonsense and, in the end, making fools of themselves. Magicians, on the other hand, know what to watch for, are experienced enough not to be misdirected, and are not impressed by the apparently supernatural. That's why mystics generally won't perform if they know magicians are in the audience.
Just thought I would share this information with you, as your column has been sharing with me and others for some time now.
Yes, Isaac and I thoroughly agreed on such matters, and "Larri" was supposed to be an alter ego for me, as the Black Widowers was a metaphor for the Trapdoor Spiders. There's a lot to be told about that... I miss The Good Doctor more and more every day. When I walk into the library here at the JREF, I always look up and salute his portrait on the wall...
Reader Mike St. Clair refers us to a review that appeared in Home Theater & High Fidelity back in March of 2002, written by reviewer Jason Serinus about the Bedini Dual Beam Ultra Clarifier, yet another quack "high-end" audio device. It can be seen at www.bedini.com/jsreview.htm. The home page of this line of nonsense can be found at www.bedini.com.
Advertising on the site says, "Don't miss this opportunity to experience the only patented and proven process for all digitally recorded media. . . . If you haven't yet tried our Clarifier then you truly have not heard your systems [sic] total capability." That certainly sounds like a very firm and confident claim, don't you think? Says Mike:
Many people on the audiophile forums have raved about the results of the Bedini Clarifier. It [claims to] improve the sound of your CDs by spinning them and bathing them with "electromagnetic beams." I wish I were making this up. If you add it to the challenge, I might come up with a person or two (in Florida, no less) that actually think they can pass the test.
I assured Mike that such a device certainly comes under the JREF Challenge, then I sent this message to the Bedini people:
To Jason Serinus and/or anyone who thinks they can detect the effect of the Bedini Dual Beam Ultra Clarifier: Please refer to my web page at www.randi.org/jr/080504string.html (#8) and see the million-dollar challenge made there. To date, I've not had any response to this offer, a tactic you also may wish to adopt.
As we all know, "patented" only means that it's been given a number by the US government, nothing more. It doesn't in any way endorse the product or idea, nor does it indicate that it works — at all. "Proven" is a different matter. That can be done — with a profit of a million dollars! — very easily.
No, none of those 13 people I e-mailed about the audio challenge weeks ago have replied, a fact that I'm sure will not surprise my readers. They won't because they can't. They're fakers, irresponsible quacks, and they've gone under that huge rock where the other fakes have retreated. Say hello to Sylvia Browne while you're there, guys! And move over for the Bedini people. They'll be here shortly.
Scientist Sir Oliver Lodge (1851-1940) saw — in darkened rooms — glowing balls of fire that he believed were spirits. Co-incidentally, he also handled thallium, and in fact — erroneously — is credited with the discovery of that element. We now know that thallium is easily absorbed through the skin and produces hallucinations of colored balls of light for the victim....
Just how silly can the enforcement of security get? Between March 1 and April 6, agents In Washington and New York airports tried to block Senator Edward Kennedy from boarding airplanes on five occasions because his name resembled an alias used by a suspected terrorist who had been barred from flying on airlines in the United States. I think that none of us untrained peasants would have any problem identifying the craggy-faced, silver-haired senator as the Congressional leader whose face has been on the nation's television sets for decades, folks. But the airline agents refused to even give him his ticket, and they informed him that they could not tell him why they could not do this — further evidence of the lengths to which they'll go to maintain "secrecy." Obviously, if this had been a real terrorist, he would have been stopped in his tracks by being refused this information!
This situation indicates the unnecessary problems encountered by people whose names have mistakenly appeared on terrorist watch lists, or resembled the names of suspected terrorists contained on such lists. There are many persons who have been wrongly placed on no-fly lists or who are associated with names on the lists, and they simply cannot find a way to clarify their identities.
Oh yes, airline supervisors ultimately allowed Kennedy to board the plane, but it took phone calls by Kennedy — not by the airport people — and several weeks for the Department of Homeland Security to clear the matter up altogether. That could have been done then and there; it didn't need phone calls to top government authorities and appeals to personal contacts that Kennedy had to make use of.
At a hearing on this matter, Mr. Kennedy wondered how ordinary citizens could navigate the tangled bureaucracy if a senator had so much trouble. "How are they going to be able to get to be treated fairly and not have their rights abused?" he asked. As an ACLU member said, "If you're Ted Kennedy, you can call a friend, but if you're an average citizen you cannot. You can complain to the Department of Homeland Security, but to no avail."
This is not just an inconvenience, a small glitch in the system. It's an indication of just how clumsy and misdirected the system has become. And with clumsiness comes a breakdown in the security it's designed to ensure us. Returning from Korea recently, I experienced a bizarre example of blind authority being flaunted. A bundle of four spare AA cells held together with an elastic band, contained in proper plastic case, was confiscated from my luggage by an alert agent. "Not allowed," he told me. I asked why. "It's on the list," he shrugged. Yes, that is on the list. You can carry those cells installed in a camera, they can be in a regular battery-holder, they can be in a flashlight — but they can't be held together with an elastic band! Incidentally, I insisted that the cells — expensive rechargeables — be sent along with me as an item of luggage. After quite a battle, that was done, but when I disembarked in Florida, though I had the baggage receipt, that item had gone missing. I was reimbursed by the airline.
More importantly, I was accompanied on that trip by a film crew. They carried with them any number of packages of AA cells for their wireless microphones, and several sets of heavy lead-acid batteries. Those are not only many, many, times more powerful than AA cells, but the acid alone is a weapon! However, that sort of battery is not "on the list"...
Liew Thow Lin, a 70-year-old retired contractor in Malaysia, is back in the news for pulling a car twenty meters along a level surface by means of an iron chain hooked to an iron plate on his midriff. He says that he discovered he had the amazing ability to make objects stick "magnetically" to his skin, and now he's added car-pulling to his repertoire. After reading an article about a family in Taiwan who possessed such power, he says he took several iron objects and put them on his abdomen, and to his surprise, all the objects including an iron, stuck on his skin and didn't fall down. Since this "gift'' is also present in three of his sons and two grandchildren, he figures it's hereditary.
In Indonesia, farmer Tan Kok Thai has also found instant fame with a body that can attract handphones, calculators, plastic and glass bottles, books, biscuits, planks, bananas, flashlights, remote controls, electric irons, knives, canned food, tubes of toothpaste, rocks, metal, plastic and rubber items, pieces of wood, plus bananas and even an air conditioner. The 66-year-old Tan has even demonstrated the ability to lift two bicycles tied to a cleaver "magnetically attached" to his body. He says he first realized that he could attract metal last year when a coin dropped out of a shirt pocket while he was taking off the garment and it stuck to his chest. He gave little thought to it until he saw a Chinese documentary last month showing a man in Taiwan sticking coins to his body — the same person Liew had heard of. Tan said he can now keep a piece of rock weighing 38.5kg (85 lbs.) stuck to his chest.
Now, I tend to doubt this, seeing that I've tested people all over the world for this same claim, the last being in Korea, but "real scientists" have validated these powers! Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) lecturer Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood said this ability was probably associated with "suction properties in his skin." Professor Dr. Mohamed Amin Alias, from UTM's electrical engineering faculty in Johor, agreed. After seeing Liew perform, the professor did research on the matter, and decided, "His skin has a special suction effect that can help metal stick to it." "These powers are not an illusion," he said, "That is why his two sons and two grandchildren also have the magnetic-like ability. They have his genes." Dr. Atsusi Kono, former chief physician at the Djo Si Idai Hospital in Tokyo, was so impressed with a Russian he saw doing this stunt, that he commented: "There is absolutely no doubt that the objects stick as if their bodies were magnetic." Dr. Friedbert Karger of the Max Planck Institute in Germany, in January 1997, investigated another "magnetic man" named Miroslaw Magola who was born in Poland in the 1960s, and was able to demonstrate the ability "to pick up a cup from the floor without touching it, and to control its suspension in mid-air."
Now, this man Magola wrote to the JREF as an applicant back in December of 1996. He claims not only to have the ability to attract metal, ceramic and wooden objects to his body, but also that he could levitate. In 1996, he appeared on an English television program called Beyond Belief, but was unable to levitate on that occasion, although his other demos created strong public interest. We exchanged many notes about his application, which suddenly ceased when I suggested that I would dust his skin with talcum powder before such a test. Perhaps Magola is allergic to talcum powder...? It seemed to inhibit the abilities of a chap from Taiwan and a Bulgarian woman who I tested in Korea last year, and the can is still half-full, if any of these new miracle-workers are willing to be tested...
Folks, look at the illustration of this deluded man festooned with meat-cleavers. Anyone can do this! However, happily, not very many want to. Think of the scandal: "My dad stands around with meat cleavers stuck to him!"
Reader Shaji Ramasuthan tells us about the reluctance of his colleagues to question an old stunt that we handled here on the JREF page long ago — to be seen at www.randi.org/jr/101003.html.
This mail is overdue at least by two years. I am not going to say how much I appreciate the work you do, but will say that I never missed any of your commentaries since I started reading it. I am a software engineer and I hold an Engineering degree in Electronics and Communication. I came to the US in 2001, on a contract with a US firm. I have a few Indian colleagues here, most of them engineers like me. If you are wondering why this is relevant to what I am to write about, hold on.For Indians here, long weekends are opportunities to visit places, and we initiate discussions on places of interest well before such weekends. On one such occasion when we planned to visit San Francisco, my friends suggested that I visit "The Mystery Spot." Since I hadn't heard about that, I was curious to know about the mystery of the whole thing and the kind of answers I got from my friends were like:
1. No one knows why.
2. It has something to do with gravity.
3. Scientists are still not able to explain it.I was amazed that scientists were letting it go without explanations, and I sort of disagreed but I was determined to find out. And guess what, it took me but a few minutes to do a search on Google and there it was. I e-mailed the link to my colleagues (this was from www.sandlotscience.com/MysterySpots/MysterySpots.htm), but was amazed to realize that no one had any comments. They simply didn't want to talk about it. One of them casually remarked that he could not follow, or doubted, the explanations. The site, while explaining the phenomenon, still agrees that this is an architectural marvel worth visiting.
It amazed me that all of them — being software gurus and Engineers — who will hit Google for most things they want to know about, did not care to find out about something so mysterious. What amazed me more was that after a few months, I again overheard the same nonsense about the mystery being propagated to a new arrival from India.
You wouldn't be surprised, but most of them believe in astrology too, and will testify with their personal experiences. I tend to think that education is a waste for people who are determined to be illiterate.
Shaji appends this quotation to his message:
We do not embrace reason at the expense of emotion. We embrace it at the expense of self-deception. — Herbert Muschamp
The article here about those who think their presence switches street lights off and on, elicited much correspondence. Reader Larry Parker from Princeton, Texas, wrote:
Your story about "electric" people reminds me of something that happened to me. About ten years ago a strange "phenomenon" began. I started noticing that whenever I was driving at night in residential areas with street lights, that often just as I passed a street light it would mysteriously turn off. Often I would be at a stop sign, so it would be quite noticeable. At first, of course, I thought it a coincidence, but it continued to happen very often for several years. Being a confirmed skeptic, I never really had a working hypothesis but was beginning to think my body might be emitting some strange electrical field. I even surprised a few friends who actually saw this "phenomenon" occur themselves. Anyway, to shorten this story, several years later I finally found the culprit. Somehow my right headlight had become extremely out of line. Although I never was able to prove it conclusively, I now truly believe that somehow that my out-of-alignment headlight was pointed so far to the right that somehow it was actually pointing at the light sensor that turned the lights on and off. When I discovered this, I recalled that the street lights were always on my right side and close to the street. I now own a different car and it doesn't happen. I solved the mystery, I think, but now I don't feel quite so "omnipotent"...
And Robert Thomas of San Francisco comments on his experience:
The mention of "electric people" whose passing turns off streetlights, sounds very familiar to me. I've had a handful of friends claim this "power," and I've actually experienced it myself. Streetlights, as it turns out, are not very reliable things. I was a little amused (and more than a little disappointed) to read about all the "testing" done on the allegedly powerful person, but no mention of testing the lights that he supposedly extinguished.A couple of years ago, I was walking around the block and noticed that a streetlight across the street from my apartment was turning itself off every time I passed nearby. I was reasonably sure that I had not developed superhuman powers, so when I got back inside I pointed a webcam out the window and began making a time-lapse movie of the light.
I had expected to find that the light went out whenever anyone at all walked past. The actual cause turned out to be even simpler than that. When I watched the time-lapse movie the next morning, it was immediately obvious that, due to whatever fault, one light was very slowly and regularly blinking.
Every ten minutes or so, the light would go out, only to come back on again a couple of minutes later. Only by merest coincidence did my block-circling frequency roughly match the light's blinking frequency. If I had left home a few minutes earlier or later, the light would have appeared to me to be just another of the dozens of lights on my route that showed that it was completely indifferent to my presence. Which, of course, it was.
Just thought that might be of interest to you, given the context.
Reader Jerry Farm chimes in:
Regarding your comments on the "Electric Man," you might be interested to know of another kind of street light that goes out that I've seen in several places over the past twenty years. These are sodium lights (orange-yellow) that have failed in some way such that they cycle on and off, each cycle lasting several minutes. In at least one case I know of, the light will slowly, almost imperceptibly, increase in brightness. After reaching full brightness it will shut off abruptly. How easy it would be to impress the credulous. It is likely they would not notice the light increasing in brightness, especially if it were among other normal lights, but they would certainly notice it turning off, if their attention were directed to it at the right moment.
Reader Kevin Loughin enlightens us:
I just read through the latest commentary and had a comment regarding the "Electric People" and the street lights.Most modern street lights are controlled by two means. There is a timed power source for grids of lights, and an additional photosensor atop the light itself. There are many lights on my end of town that will go off for short periods of time, several times through the night. Usually, this is caused by reflected light tripping the photosensor back into a daylight mode. Light can be reflected off nearby buildings, tree leaves, other nearby lights, etc.
At a younger age, when I was still curious about unreal things, I used to wonder about the streetlights that would occasionally go off as I approached them. Later in life, with a clearer mind, I observed more closely and discovered that these particular lights went off at random several times in an hour. It was nothing more than coincidence that I happened to be walking past at the right time.
Several people I've been around, usually believers in the occult, ghosts, and other fantasies, have mentioned that street lights go out when they are near. They cite this as an example of the supernatural events they believe surround them. And, as usual, attempts to bring reason into a discussion with them, is often fruitless.
And finally, Al Denelsbeck of Melbourne, Florida, gives us a site where it's all summed up nicely...
In regards to your recent column entitled, "Radin's at it again — again," you remarked about why streetlights go out. I thought you might be interested in this particular report from "The Straight Dope," which offers deeper insight into the phenomenon: www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_047.html. The most useful bit is down at the bottom, giving an explanation as to exactly why the streetlights go out.I have to add that I've witnessed this numerous times myself, since I often go out for walks at night, and used to speculate idly as to the cause. I wondered whether the lamps had become highly sensitive to overheating, and could react to the increased temperature from a warm body passing underneath them, but that seemed farfetched — especially if there was a breeze. I also wondered if the daylight sensor modules could become ultra-sensitive and react from distant vehicle headlights, cresting a rise or reflecting off of street signs. I did eventually notice that it wasn't only the ones I was walking under — it can happen to any streetlight at any time, and we only notice the ones we're close to because the pool of light we inhabit just switched off. If a lamp a few poles away does it, the net effect visually is a spot of light in an entire string winks out, and unless you're looking directly at it (which would require people to be looking up more than they typically do), it can easily escape attention.
Thank you, all, for this discussion. It doesn't mean that we won't still get applicants for the JREF prize who make this claim, but at least it's out there for reference.
The item we ran last week about the "Preparation 500," or "Poo in a Horn," was sent to me unreferenced, but I should have credited reporter Jean Reilly of Forbes Magazine for discovering the data. My apologies!
Reader David Crawford directed me to a very positive article on dowsing at http://helenair.com/articles/2004/08/22/helena_top/a01082204_04.txt. I immediately e-mailed the reporter, Eve Byron:
Ms. Byron: your article on the woman who claims she can dowse, interests us greatly. We have a million-dollar prize awardable to anyone who can do this, and perhaps Florence Young would care to apply. You can see all details at www.randi.org and particularly at www.randi.org/research/index.html and www.randi.org/library/dowsing/This offer is of course open to any other persons, especially to Clyde Stanhope, Helen Conroy, Guy Hockett, or any members of the Big Sky Dowsers — all mentioned in your article.
I believe that you will obtain universal disinterest in any such participation from any dowsers you can reach. You will be bombarded by the usual canards: there is no prize money, the test would be unfair, Mr. Randi puts out negative vibrations, I don't want the money, I'm too spiritual to try for prizes, I don't have to prove anything to anyone, etc., etc. — all of which are methods used to avoid coming forth and proving the validity of dowsing. The biggest alibi is, "But I've found water many times!" Since 94% of the Earth's surface has water reachable by drilling, that's a hollow claim.
I think that you will find the reactions of the dowsers very interesting...
That was sent August 23rd. Let's see what Ms. Byron is able to inspire from the dowsers...
THE GLAMORGAN MATTER CONTINUES
There are no developments at all from the inquiries we and some readers have made to Glamorgan University. UK reader Simon Nicholson submits:
After reading the latest commentary, I felt prompted to write in empathy with Lee Pullin and friends and the stand they are taking with the University of Glamorgan over the reflexology course. I find myself in a similar position, not too far away over the Bristol Channel. I work at City of Bristol College, which boasts of being one of the largest and fastest expanding colleges of further education in Europe. Be that as it may, I have always been proud to be associated with CoBC; it can trace its academic roots back several centuries, and has long enjoyed an excellent reputation in fields such as navigation and aeronautical engineering. I was therefore very dismayed to see a prominent picture in the latest prospectus of a woman with a candle in her ear, being attended to by a young woman dressed up as if she were some kind of nurse or medical practitioner. It was advertising a range of courses offered by the faculty of "Hairdressing, Beauty and Holistic Therapy." These included certificates in Reflexology, Reki, Crystal Therapy and other assorted mumbo-jumbo.Annoyed and disappointed as I was, I was not immediately prompted to action, as I had taken up arms several months previously, when an internal circular offered short one-day courses in Tarot reading and Shamanistic fortune telling. On that occasion, I wrote to the faculty concerned in similar tones to those used by Lee and friends, suggesting that as an educational establishment we should be promoting critical thinking and equipping people to detect and ward off pseudoscience and superstition, rather than exploiting gullibility and spreading anti-truth. The reply was quite curt and snotty; they justified running the course on the grounds that there were many takers for it, and suggested that I was being narrow-minded. The familiar shield of cultural relativism was brought out — had I no respect for indigenous peoples who had practiced such things for generations? Further, did I not know that the University of the West of England ran courses in Parapsychology?
I replied that yes, I did know that, in fact the erstwhile chair of UWE's parapsychology faculty has written several excellent and skeptical books that adorn my shelves (alongside Flim-flam etc!). I pointed out that the mere fact that a course would prove a money-maker, is not justification for running it if it is academically bankrupt. I did not receive a further reply, and for a long time I have let it lie at that. As a relatively junior lecturer, it's not as if I have that much weight with which to rock the boat anyway! However, inspired by the guys from Glamorgan, I intend to take up arms again. I will keep you informed of developments!
Thank you, Simon! Keep us informed! Reader Dennis Skala adds:
On a somewhat smaller scale, here in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the school system is giving not just one but two adult education courses in Numerology (one is advanced). Numerology is described in the course description as being "useful in life decisions." Unfortunately they provide no email address. I would like to suggest an adult education course in critical thinking to them.
Incredible...
A project... Martin Gardner, my very close, valued, friend and brilliant star of the skeptical movement (see www.randi.org/jr/040904that.html) will have witnessed ninety revolutions of the Earth around the Sun on October 21st next. He's living in retirement in Oklahoma, still busy editing his copious literary works. Whenever I drop his name, no matter where I am, those who know of Martin's reputation are awed that I know him. He has become rather a legend in science, mathematics, and the rationalist communities. Since he has so many devoted admirers all over the world, I propose that it would be a pleasant surprise for him if he were to be inundated by birthday cards. To that end, I ask that all of you — all over the world — consider sending cards for Martin to the JREF office, right now. We'll arrange to have them all bundled up and forwarded to him together — en masse — as a declaration of our admiration and respect.
We owe much to this man. His first book, "Fads and Fallacies In the Name of Science," was responsible for getting me into the skeptical movement. Since that book, he's published almost 100 more essays, books, articles, and commentaries. He originated the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American Magazine in 1956, and his columns appeared there until his retirement from the magazine in 1986. He's earned — over and over — his fabulous reputation. Let's give him this tribute, folks. Mail cards addressed to:
Martin Gardner
c/o JREF
201 S.E. 12th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33316
USA.
When Martin received a telephone call the other day — initiated by me — from Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller) he was very pleased and entertained, quite properly so. Just think what an avalanche of birthday cards from his international fans will do for him! We ask you to help us in this simple project. Please do it now, while you're thinking of it, so we can get the material all together as soon as possible. Gifts, too, would of course be welcome. Thanks.
