Law and Magic Blog

St. Joseph and the Housing Market

One would not have thought that the mortgage mess and the sharp downturn in housing sales would have signaled an upturn in anybody's housing related business. But people who make and sell St. Joseph statutettes report an uptick in their business. Apparently it's good luck to bury a statute of St. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary and patron saint of carpenters and house hunters (and those in doubt--he even covers buyer's remorse) upside down in your yard. I had heard of, but had forgotten, this tradition, until NPR reminded me this morning in a story on its Morning Edition. NPR's story emphasizes that the statuette needs to be buried near the "for sale" sign, and notes that at least one real estate agent sells the items. Hmm. Is there a conflict of interest here, or as one of NPR's interviewees points out, is there actually more of a commitment on the part of the agent to get busy and sell, sell, sell? You can read more about the practice in Stephen J. Binz, St. Joseph, My Real Estate Agent: Patron Saint of Home Life and Home Selling (Servant Publications, 2003). Amazon.com is even offering a two-for-one promotion: buy the book along with a St. Joseph statuette for a special price.

The History of the Paranormal in France

I just purchased two interesting books by Nicole Edelman from Amazon France: Voyantes, guerisseuses et visionnaires en France 1785-1914 (Albin Michel) and Histoire de la voyance & du paranormal du XIIIIe siecle a nos jours (Seuil). The first translates roughly as Female Clairvoyants, Healers, and Seers in France from 1785-1914 and the second as History of Clairvoyance and of the Paranormal from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Neither has been translated into English as far as I can tell. The content is unusual, at least for English-speaking readers, so maybe some publisher will be tempted.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent's New Episode Features Vanishing Magician

Law & Order: Criminal Intent's upcoming episode (Sunday, July 20 at 10 pm, 9 Central time) features a storyline about a magician who vanishes during his act. While I'm not entirely certain what "ripped from the headlines" story inspired this episode, it might be one like Michael Patrick's, about which I blogged a while ago. Of course, the L&O: CI writers will dress up the script's original "RFTH" inspirations to avoid the usual right of publicity, invasion of privacy, and defamation concerns. Still, I'll be interested to see the episode, with guest stars Christopher Lloyd and James Frain.

Homeopathy, Newspapers, and Law

Ben Goldacre drew the ire of the Society of Homeopaths with his column "A Kind of Magic?", published on November 16, 2007, in The Guardian. A Society representative filed a complaint with the appropriate British watchdog agency, the Press Complaints Commission. The Society thought that Mr. Goldacre had violated the PCC's Code of Practice. The PCC "considered" the complaint, and decided that, since the newspaper offered the complainants a remedy in the form of what we might call "equal space" the problem could be considered resolved.

"The Commission considered the complaint and recognised the newspaper’s argument that the specific claim had to be understood in the context of the article when read as a whole, noting its position that the reference sought to sum up the points made in a lengthy, polemical article about homeopathy. Nonetheless, the Commission was concerned that the article had moved from what appeared to be a legitimate argument (that homeopaths could be seen to be endangering lives, something with which others may have disagreed) to a serious claim which had not been fully substantiated.

"In the circumstances, the Commission took the view that the newspaper’s offer of an opportunity in which to respond to the allegation – in the form of a letter for publication – represented a sufficient form of remedial action. While the complainant did not wish to take up the newspaper’s offer, she considered that the complaint was resolved on this basis."

 

 

Mindfreak

On the July 16 episode of Mindfreak (A&E), Criss Angel will perform "psychic surgery".  (10:30 EDT, 9:30 CDT). This episode is a repeat. The premiere of the 4th season is scheduled for July 23rd at 10 p.m., 9 Central time.

Twin-Gate

So the psychic got it a little bit wrong--all that pink and fluffiness was right for just one Brangelina twin. Never fear, however--the experts are already weighing in on the twin names. According to one such, who's "holistic" (?) the little boy's name, "Knox", will encourage him to be "very physical, very stubborn" and a kid who "wants to do it himself." Okay...but I don't know many little boys who don't. BTW, lots of little girls are pretty independent, too. Read more here.

The Juice That Refreshes...and Cures?

Tried Xango juice yet? I did, while sharing an afternoon with friends during last December's non-denominational gift giving holidays.  My friends got some as a present, so we read the label, then opened the bottle up, and tried the liquid, which is made from the mangosteen fruit.  Xango juice is all right as far as taste goes, but I still prefer pineapple juice, or apple juice, or grapefruit juice, or papaya juice, or any number of other juices. 

Here's more about the drink in a story from the AP. Notice that all the company really says about it is that it's made from a proprietary formula and that it contains xanthones. Otherwise, "These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The FDA did send a letter to the company about its claims in 2006.  The company replied that it didn't actually make those claims; they were made by third parties. Nevertheless, many people who pay high prices for the juice are still touting what they think are its amazing curative and wellness properties. Here's more from the Mayo Clinic discussing the unproven status of mangosteen juice as an anti-inflammatory.

Jesus's Image in Rock?

Here's another story about the discovery of what some people think is the image of a holy figure in an unexpected place (remember the grilled cheese sandwich? the leg burn? the kitchen cabinet?) Now John Ganster, the co-owner of the Verona Marble Company, says he hopes to donate a piece of granite to a Catholic church somewhere in Oklahoma, after the company has gotten lots of offers to buy the stone.  Apparently a lot of people think they see an image of Christ in the stone, an image that apparently matches the images of Jesus they've seen elsewhere, created by humans. Here's video of an interview discussing the discovery of the image. Here's another story about the "Jesus slab."

Ghosts, Reincarnation, Spiritualism: New Books To Read

Some new acquisitions for that unread pile of books (and I've actually started reading these):

Owen Davies, Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). Really entertaining and thorough.

John Warne Monroe, Laboratories of Faith: Mesmerism, Spiritism and Faith in Modern France (Cornell University Press, 2008). For the specialist; has a chapter on the spirit photography trial of Emile Buguet.

Lynn Sharp, Secular Spirituality: Reincarnation and Spiritism in Nineteenth-Century France (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006).

Melvyn Willin, Ghosts Caught on Film (F&W, 2007). Provocative photos of "ghosts" and "spirits" on film, some well-known and some not. I admit I'm not close to being an expert in photography. But since the author speculates, and invites his readers to do so, here are my speculations. I suspect that a lot of the phantoms in the photos are more likely to be tricks of the light or errors on the part of the photographer (or the camera) than documentation of visitors from beyond the grave. Still, food for thought. Compare with The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult (Yale University Press, 2005), a much more elaborate book prepared for a recent exhibition.

Weird Stuff and Psychological Tests

Check out Richard Wiseman's "Quirkology" website here. It's linked to his new book Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things (Basic Books, 2007) and includes a chapter on lying and deception. The website has tests and interesting facts. I'm not certain if I'm convinced by some of Dr. Wiseman's evidence, but it's fun and food for thought. He's also the author, with Peter Lamont, of the wonderful Magic in Theory (University of Hertfordshire Press, 2005).