Gwangi Valley - Lost Blog of the Gwangi

If you’ve come here from It’s OK, John (http://itsokjohn.com), thanks for coming and thanks for reading the following. I hope you’ll take a moment to add your vote. - Ella Rache

Rumours have been surfacing that John Travolta is wrestling with the dichotomy of a faith that denies his son’s illness, stands behind the [non] treatment that may have contributed to the boy’s death and undoubtedly places blame with the father and son versus a reality that plainly says otherwise to all. Reports that he’s sleepless and driving alone around his private airport in the middle of the night have aroused a great sympathy for him and the pain he must be feeling. Myself included.

But even if he is conflicted and feels the urge to pull away from Scientology, Travolta very likely feels he has no choice but to remain in the organization. For, you see, like most cults Scientology immediately begins walling in its victims the moment they join…

I posted a short piece to everydayskeptics.com about a recent so-called miracle.

http://everydayskeptics.com/how-to-cultivate-a-miracle/

Preface: As often happens lately, it’s the podcasters at The Skeptics Guide to the Universe that get me off my butt and finally writing about something I’ve been meaning to get to. This entry is such a case. Their recent guest, Paul Offit, had a great Op-Ed piece in the NY Times regarding the controversial [...]

Well, P. Z. Myers has ended his crackerfest — although, one assumes, the overly worked-up catholics who’ve been sending him nasty un-christian sounding messages will continue on.
I won’t spoil the plot for you by telling you exactly what he did with his Jesus-flavoured cracker. You really need to read his post. Indeed, you should read [...]

I may still write a piece on ‘Expelled’, the Ben Stein movie that has everyone talking… about what a steaming pile of crap ‘Expelled’, the Ben Stein movie, is. I want to discuss both it and ‘The Profit’, the movie Scientology managed to get, in America no less, in essence banned from release. Yes, my [...]

Growing up I heard a phrase that, while crass, has stuck with me. “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and yours stinks.”
I would add, “Quite possibly, you’re also an asshole.” Maybe that’s just me. But I often find that pure opinion, the uninformed sort in particular, can be a parsimonious and troublesome commodity in [...]

It’s an open secret that the Church of Scientology’s first defense against criticism is to attack the person criticizing and ignore the criticism (their now-dead leader L. Ron Hubbard told them to always attack, never defend). And usually this attack is aimed not at defusing the criticism, but at intimidating the criticizer so forcefully and [...]

It’s a rare thing for me to stand up and applaud gossip sites and magazines. But I do so today. I do so with a feeling of pride. Pride in a part of popular culture which has, let’s be honest, primarily been involved with dumbing us down, not standing us up.
Well, the ‘Tom Cruise [...]

The world is full of misunderstandings. The rhino’s horn is misunderstood; it’s not a bone nor is it made of hair*. Chewing gum does not stay in your body for years**. And there are a number of myths about dinosaurs and ancient reptiles, as well, that need some airing out.
Fallacy: Pterosaurs couldn’t possibly have [...]

I like Will Smith. I like Jason Lee. And I like Giovanni Rabisi and Beck, too. Too bad they’re all members of what is, apart from an ongoing game of semantics, one of the largest cults in America: Scientology. 
And in case you’re wondering, no. I don’t like Tom Cruise. He’s a bit of… how do you [...]