JREF Blackmail Tapes

[NucleicAcid]

[Craig Browning]

[Azrael]

[ciscop]

hahahahaha
i love that explanation

the ¨real¨ ones are the ones hiding from fame and success
they all live in dark places of the earth and rarely demostrate (if they indeed do it) to anybody
since the ¨real¨ psychics dont care about that
that just a silly argument.. so silly

and no.. craig is not a real psychic
althought he plays one.
he just likes the notion of having real psychics out there so he could get away with the same tricks we mentalist do
but with an esoteric explanation
when people need to play that odds, means pretty much that their performance isnt entertaining enought, so they need to play the mystical shaman to be interesting enought.

[NucleicAcid]

Think about it ciscop.

Hypothetically, let's pretend psychic functioning is definitely real, we know for a fact. This means that information is passing in ways beyond which we can figure out right now - but the point is all things are communicating with everything else on a subliminal level. EVERYTHING is connected.

Therefore, every action the psychic makes, impacts that web around them, and disrupts how much good information they can get from the web. It's nothing spooky or esoteric. It's cause and effect.

That's why things like decay effects, Sheep-goat, "bad joujou," and declines due to 'glory seeking' are not bullshit excuses, if psi really exists. It's an emergent property of why psi occurs in the first place. It's not a friggen superpower. It's extremely subtle, no matter what the mechanism, and involves listening really carefully to hear through the noise. Add any noise to that system, and your signal is gone.

The only *REAL* way to prove psychic abilities to yourself is to get rid of all the skepticism, ignore what people think, make yourself vulnerable, test the limits of verifiability and flirt with confirmation bias.

[ciscop]

look man
i would like as much as you do to have those kind of superpowers
granted, i dont have a psi wheel
but i do own a big personal library of magic and mentalism that helps me fake those abilities when i am in front of an audience, so for me
i have seen people believing that what i do is for real
i know how gullible must people is
so i am skeptic of those excuses

[Craig Browning]

I think I've proven, at least beyond some semblance of doubt, that I am not some gullible new age air head. I have a very vested interest in these topics both, pro and naught. I am likewise more qualified than most of you here, when it comes to knowing what "Cold Reading" and all such, is involved in a Reading... Hell, I've only written a half-dozen books on the topic. I've likewise explained how, when I am working with believers, I challenge them to look at things from a more realistic point of view...which seems to be infinitely easier to accomplish than encouraging non-believers to weigh information that goes to the contrary of their claims.. even when it sustains a good deal of what it is they are trying to make into a social suppository... hell, you guys get as bad if not worse than the born again bible-thumpers out there...

Neither of the two of you presently mocking me have properly represented what I've stated nor recognized the circumstances around a situation... like most arrogant cynics, both of you are deliberately cherry picking the story so as to gloat and attempt to paint the "believer" (me) in a bad light... it would be really amazing... miraculous even, to see a "skeptic" who didn't have the need to prove his was bigger and strive to put down those he/she don't agree with or disbelieve. I've witnessed very few such people; Rick Maue and Banachek being two and they can get rather fanatical at times.

Neither of you were there when I had that conversation with John so neither of you know for fact what happened or not you are ASS-UM-MING things based on cynic dogma... the same claims/chants & mantra they put forth in every single "explanation" they offer on most anything... I can't wait until volume two of the Cynic's dictionary comes out and you guys have some new material to work with

The other thing neither of you are recognizing/acknowledging and including in your bantering is how, when two or more are gathered you became more brazen in your aggressive talking down at me and others the two of you wish to put down... even chase off the forum rather than learn something from.

As to Mr. Edward not being on the phone... I've had chats with Bette Midler's office that were identical... her yelling responses to an assistant that was on the phone with me... seen it with many other professionals from many walks of life, so let's not be stupid with our assumptions and childishness guys.

I've been very open and honest in what I've shared here about the whole psychic & dowsing thing. I've likewise pointed out misnomers such as calling it all "Powers" or even "Paranormal" in that IT IS NOT! Never has been such other than in the lower mind of the population; what the old mystic masters referred to as "Exoteric Knowledge" vs. "Esoteric Truth"... the former is, for lack of a better term, the "Illusion" we buy into... a "literal" interpretation rather than the (known to exist) "hidden" or "Occult" truths behind such things... most of which is quite mundane. Yet, both of you have ignored what I've shared on that front and how I've explained the idea of being "Psychic" based on such truths... facts! None of it having a single thing to do with some kind of divine presence, alien powers, ghosties, etc. IT'S 100% NATURAL and I've stated this as fact while likewise stated (as science actually does) that there is a 3 to as much as 6% factor in which an unknown influence or explanation comes into the equation... something that legit science & research not just allows but accepts; understanding that we may not be able to PRESENTLY explain it all... WE are limited when it comes to OUR ability to measure and prove out various experiments/theories & suspicions. But again, you (Cynics) love to bury such truths rather than allow a glimmer of light to shine in through the cracks of their boasts.

So long as neither of you are mature enough to not spin issues, play the "prove it to me" game or insist that yours is bigger than everyone else's there is no grounds upon with to communicate in a manner that suggests mutual respect... something this site seemed to have when I first came onto it but now it seems to be getting soured by a spoiled-sport...

I don't play this kind of asinine game... I used to but I just don't need to. It's horridly brash, ugly and accomplishes NOTHING! So let's just stop wasting one another's time with all the rhetoric. This forum has people on it who believe in things (some a bit more "out there" than others)some folks that don't believe in anything and those (like myself) who stand fairly well in the center, having reason to sustain either side of the debate. It has been a fairly safe and somewhat "honorable" place... a comfortable place to be a part of, but will quickly deteriorate if we allow this sort of banter to progress... it's that simple.

[Azrael]

[ciscop]

[Azrael]

One last point on one of your claims Craig: that an individual/s passed preliminary challenge and were refused main MDC challenge.
If this had happened and you had proof you would gleefully shout it from the rooftops ,such is your bizarre hatred for Randi. If not you then Koneig and Callahan would love to. Hell ,Dave would have an orgasm with such material, his delusions are so rabid with untruths that an actual truth would send him into orbit.

Ive seen your online CV, is it real? I've no idea but Im leaning toward it being a lot of fabrication.

[ciscop]

[Craig Browning]

[Azrael]

Craig does a Dave Koneig impression and avoids questions which make him look embarassing.

[ciscop]

[Craig Browning]

I dare you to do what I've done with Illusions... I get standing ovations when I present them... Oh... and I've likewise helped in the development of several award winning effects, including accolades within Mentalism.

You sir, are NOT a professional... you're a weekend warrior with a full time day job. Find your balls and work it the way the pros do; on the road 10+ months a year working 14+ hour days either doing shows, selling & booking gigs or working with marketing professionals/image consultants so as to improve your "edge" as it were. Then we come to rehearsals vs. practice, letting directors, choreographers and technicians (that's where I'd come in) to rip you a new one for doing stupid stuff that isn't going to work but likewise helping you find your footing with what will work.

Like most table hoppers you haven't a single clue as to what's involved with large illusions and delude yourself into believing that to own the box is all that's required... NOT BY A LONG SHOT!

Oh I should note that Dai Vernon appreciated my slight-of-hand skills... Johnny Platt took me under his wing because he was so impressed by my Cup & Ball handling that he wanted to help me make things even smoother... ultimately he gave me is 18 Kt Gold cups... I did an award winning dove & card manip act for a number of years in the latter 70s and early 80s as part of my stage act as well as several other manip routines involving rope, billiard balls, the Chinese Snow Storm, Pick-Pocketing and escapes. I was also a student of the late Jules Lenear when it comes to coin magic and even studied a bit with Albert Goshman along similar lines. I was also a touring house close-up magician for Playboy International for three years... so something tells me that your assumption about my skill set is a tad bit off...

Oh yea.. there is also the fact that I am the named successor to the Will Rock-Kirk Kirkham legacy which happens to include the bulk of the original Thurston, Dante & Blackstone shows (all sold off to cover medical & funeral bills, unfortunately) but the fact remains, I am the successor to one of the most coveted legacies of magic; a position I share with only one other person -- Lance Burton (who was named in via Lee Grable & Channing Pollack)

Just because you make a couple of bucks doing tricks does not mean you're a professional, it means you're a hobbyist that can cover his addiction by doing some local shows here and there. Professional in show biz means that you put in the time, do the work and travel wherever you must in order to make the dollar. It is a full-time BUSINESS for which "personal time" is next to unheard-of until you're set with a fairly solid annual schedule... which takes 12-20 years to develop and the rest of your life to nurture and retain. But that's why groups like the IBM, SAM, Magic Castle, etc. state that "Professional" classification means that 65% or more (2/3rds) of your income is generated by doing magic and "Semi-Professional" for those in which magic generates anything less than that... I'm betting your work at the little dinning hall gives you way less than a grand a week... probably less than $300.00 a week given what the national averages are ($20-$35 and hour... which is significantly less than I ever got paid doing that kind of work).


Of course being a magician and a shrink means you have an ubber-inflated ego... You "KNOW" that you have all the answers... which makes you a cynic not a skeptic. Your mind is very rusted closed in that you believe that you've learned all that's to be known on a given topic and thus, you ASSUME things to be a certain way, refusing to weigh anything to the contrary out of fear of being proved wrong... again, ego setting you up for a fall.

If you believe that the Tarot, etc. are just a facade then you don't know anything about how those systems were taught and used; the simple explanation being that they are a language in and of their own and when you learn what the meanings of each symbol is, its correlative meanings in each spread pattern, etc. you are able to "interpret" that language and literally "read" it. It has nothing to do with claiming any sort of psychic ability, it is exactly what the claim is -- you are reading a specific language, nothing more! But then this would be one of those facts you're type prefers ignoring, setting off to the side or trying to manipulate into meaning something it's not... after all, things would be far too simple if this were how it really operated...

Again, I am not a B.S. artist and I dare you (as I do most ball-less magicians) to tell Richard Webster, John Riggs, Millard Longman, etc. that they are B.S. Artists an charlatans to their face in that they do the exact same sort of work I do when it comes to this issue. And we are not alone! Fortunately many of the young'ns that got burnt by the now dwindling Mentalism wave but who still love the art-form, have come to understand why so many held to the Old School principles of that craft vs. the sort of tripe your sort was encouraging... making it look like a bloody trick rather than a miracle.

Though I've not been able to hold to steady work doing shows the past 12ish years (due to health problems) I am still seen as being an honest and honored part of the Magic & Mentalism society when it comes to the "upper crust" factions... because of rumors launched by a couple of rather childish cynics who, like yourself, loathe my mode of work and the fact that I encourage it, the rank and file element has mixed opinions while most still respect me as being a fount of information that always seems to prove itself out... possibly because I'm an EXPERT in those fields I specialize in. That doesn't mean I read a book or two here and there and more importantly, I read only the materials that sustain my personal course of thought. It means that I learn ALL that I can from every point of view and when possible, I actually get involved with whatever it may be.

As I have told other Cynics I know repeat and challenge you; put your own butt on the line as I have done and do literal investigations into those Psychics within your region that have been complained about (you will find them)... visit the area Spiritualist groups and study them, see what is really going on there and choose to LEARN a bit BEFORE showing your ass by shooting off your mouth. Learn to understand the difference between a predator and the more typical student of metaphysics that wants to do nothing other than help their fellow human being.

I have investigated the predator situation in several communities and am doing so right now in conjunction with local law enforcement. From what I've been told by noted skeptics, I'm one of the few they are aware of that actually puts his life on the line doing this kind of work... BECAUSE IT IS BLOODY DANGEROUS! People get killed doing this sort of thing. But those that do the investigating know the difference between the real con-men vs. the honest citizen out there doing work that they feel to be spiritual in nature and "of god" ... and as I've said before, few of them ask for any kind of compensation, so where's the con?

YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT You are merely echoing the same assumptions most wannabe "debunkers" and self-proclaimed "skeptics" have been programmed to say and believe... kind of like the religious zealots that don't actually get involved with their religion they just echo what this and that bigot says from the pulpit; the attitude and actions are identical and you'd be very hard pressed to prove otherwise... but then some of the biggest crooks and predators I know use the bible as their "pitch".

Maybe you need to go see a shrink and figure out why all this stuff scares you so much and gets you so enraged and arrogant?