# More utter stupidity from the NY Times (Fellating Uri Geller) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797 "2023-07-09T03:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/121 "2023-10-28T16:07:37Z")
Spiritualism is alive and well NOW. There was a church a few blocks away until the pandemic; now they meet online. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/122 "2023-10-28T18:30:46Z")
Sounds like there is a medium protectionist racket that doesn’t want any competition, mixed in with a huge dollop of small town (the lowest stakes lead to the largest animosity) politics. The one gross omission from that article is any mention of what the “Medium test” consisted of and how it was scored. Enquiring minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/123 "2023-10-28T20:23:11Z")
Lily Dale is a hamlet of about 250 people. They have a website, a charming one IMHO: [https://www.lilydaleassembly.org/history](https://www.lilydaleassembly.org/history) The website says they are the world’s largest Spiritualist community with 50 professional registered mediums (almost all female, judging from their list of 33 on the website). I can’t see any basis for this kind of lawsuit: ISTM that a religion can award a title using any criteria that they want. Spiritualism at Lily Dale is a business, one they are up front about. Is it harmless? Unlike the NYT article in the OP, the article doesn’t insult its readership with apologetics. I suspect that tacking on the trappings of religion as well as making it more difficult for the fortune teller to lift stakes and move to another city puts some mild limits on exploitation. Not that Houdini (or James Randi or me for that matter) would fully approve. I see that the [National Spiritualist Association of Churches](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Spiritualist_Association_of_Churches) reports 144 member congregations, ten state associations and 11 camps, at least in 2002. It is headquartered in Lily Dale. ETA: I couldn’t find a test for mediums online, but I did find a set of flashcards for American Spiritualism. There are 48 of them: this depth suggests to me that they _might_ be part of the Lily Dale curriculum. [American Spiritualism Flashcards | Chegg.com](https://www.chegg.com/flashcards/american-spiritualism-8f8e61cc-1c6a-4cf7-8235-388879c5fe61/deck) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/124 "2023-10-28T22:26:52Z")
Wouldn’t it be more in style to meet in the _aether_? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/125 "2023-10-28T22:28:09Z")
Not everybody is spiritually advanced, but anybody can access the internet with their phlogiston-powered computer. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/126 "2023-10-28T22:31:37Z")
Silly me thought the spiritually advanced masters would like to remain a secluded circle unencumbered by the muggles. Now I understand that milking them is more lucrative. Silly me! Thanks for fighting my ignorance! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/127 "2023-10-29T23:44:22Z")
The Technocracy voted to move the Ether out of the Consensus. It was the last straw and caused the Electrodyne Engineers to leave the Technocracy and join the Traditions as the Sons Of Ether. I remain a member of the College Of Etheric Sciences in good standing. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/128 "2023-10-29T23:45:33Z")
Theoretically, any human can have their MetaConscious Mind Actualized. It’s why we call you Sleepers. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/129 "2023-10-29T23:54:55Z")
‘The sleeper has . . . no, needs, a Panera Charged Lemonade!’ ---
**Author:** ![Guapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@Guapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guapo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/130 "2024-01-03T13:27:23Z")
I bought tickets to a Spiritualism convention but it was canceled due to unforseen circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/131 "2024-01-03T14:51:07Z")
I thought people would be interested in the BBC’s short video about LIly Dale. Apparently, Susan B. Anthony spoke there, and Marie Curie was a spiritualist? The video seems to buy into their beliefs, or at least doesn’t debunk them. > **[An exclusive peek in the world of Spiritualism](https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0dl7lpb/an-exclusive-peek-in-the-world-of-spiritualism)** > > For twenty years, Shannon Taggart has been taking pictures of the world’s largest spiritualist community. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/132 "2024-01-03T22:50:56Z")
> [@Guapo](#): > > I bought tickets to a Spiritualism convention but it was canceled due to unforseen circumstances. many of the members saw that coming ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/133 "2024-01-04T01:38:17Z")
Apparently the BBC turned into the National Enquirer while we weren’t looking. Any news from the Beeb as to what Sasquatch is up to this year? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/134 "2024-01-05T03:07:36Z")
Where on earth do you get that idea? That Shannon Taggart video is about the photographer’s documentary project on the history and practice of spiritualism, and it’s full of historical facts about the influential effects of spiritualist beliefs. The fact that the artist’s work is partly motivated by her own interest in exploring spiritualism as a belief system doesn’t mean that the BBC as an institution is trying to report irrational fabrications as reality, in the manner of National Enquirer sensationalist “news stories” on Sasquatch. I mean, unless you feel that any media organization covering any religious/spiritual movement of any kind, unless they explicitly call it a pack of lies devoid of scientific evidentiary support, puts them on the same footing as the National Enquirer. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/135 "2024-01-05T03:19:17Z")
A fork bent in _my_ hand just the other day. The meatball I was eating was quite heavy, but I don’t think that had anything to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/136 "2024-01-05T18:49:05Z")
That brings up a good point: Uri Geller could bend spoons, but notice he never successfully bent a spork. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/137 "2024-01-05T18:59:58Z")
Well, I’ve always identified with Bender, from Futurama. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/138 "2024-01-05T19:25:29Z")
That’s a tine-y detail. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/139 "2024-01-07T02:07:26Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Bender, from Futurama. And Mr. Spork, from Vulcan. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/140 "2024-01-07T21:35:37Z")
… and Mr. Sheffield. ( He was on a break ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797.md?page=6)