Wheels of Fortune?* -- Man crawls off plane and right back on to my Whirled

It's been quite a while since I wrote about one of my favorite SNAG-gy posers, the performance artist who calls himself Dreaming-Bear (real name Baraka Kanaan. Oh, wait. Make that DR. Baraka Kanaan, aka "Dr. Baraka" or "Dr. DreamingBear."). Dreaming-Bear, whom some ditzy journo nicknamed "The Kissing Prophet" a few years ago, and who calls himself "The Modern Day Rumi," has been a Whirled favorite in past years, by virtue of having built his empire upon a whole pseudo-erotic shtick involving over-wrought poetry and prose about "kissing" his followers into consciousness. He used to do most of this nearly-naked, but has tried to soften his image a bit in recent years.

Dreaming-Bear has aroused suspicion about his true provenance (is he Native American? Middle Eastern? Boring white-bread boy trying to improve his mystical creds?)... but that, of course, has not prevented him from attracting followers. Often times, people who want to believe don't just ignore inconsistencies; they embrace them as mysteries. In this September 2007 post I snarked at some length about DB's pandering and his (mostly female) admirers' responses.

He continued to capture my attention, even though he was really pretty small-time by Scamworld standards, because he seemed, to me, so ridiculously phony -- that low-hanging fruit that certain species of lazy bloggers love to toy with while other more serious bloggers are going after the really bad guys. Over the past few years, however, DB has also made efforts to align himself with the larger Scamworld, where the real money is and some pretty bad guys are. Look, here he is with Mock Victims Hansen, co-perp of the Chicken Soup series.

And here's pop-psych author Harold Bloomfield, M.D. (who helped popularize Transcendental Meditation in the 1970s), waxing poetic about DB. Dr. Baraka just seems to inspire that kind of writing in people.

Click to enlarge. (Nausea advisory in effect.)

Of Dreaming-Bear's Lovevolution concerts, Bloomfield writes:

Each concert begins with a brief ceremonial honoring of the women who are present, in which DreamingBear invites the men to verbally acknowledge the feminine energy in a kind of apology for the past and proposal for the future.

Word had it that Deebie had his own way of "acknowledging the feminine energy" and that all too many of his personal "proposals for the future" involved picking some attractive females in the audience to exploit in the near future, in one way or another. But oh, what a pickup line: "Men are dicks, but here's mine." (Did I just make a rhyme?)

Although I hadn't been writing much recently about "Dr. DreamingBear," as he now seems to prefer to be called, I still get fairly frequent emails or comments to my blog, thanking me for poking holes in his sacred image. Some of the messages are from women who have thanked me fervently for keeping them from falling into DB's seductive trap -- he seems to be quite the exploiter of the ladies, as are many in his position. I've heard from women who said they attended his events and he targeted them with his "charms," and they were tempted even though they had sort of an uneasy feeling about him... and then they read my blog, which made them realize that they were wise to listen to their gut feelings.

For a while, it seemed that my blog posts were just about the only press that DB was getting, to the point that he sent me a couple of emails a few years ago, asking me to give him a call so we could talk, and begging me to please quit writing about him, and asking me to take down the things I had written about him, and subtly threatening me with legal action or at least karmic consequences. I wrote a little about that on this January 2009 blog post (scroll down to "Calling on Dreaming-Bear").

I did quit writing about DB so much, but only because bigger and admittedly slimier fish grabbed my attention.

But now he's in the news with a new claim to fame: He is, according to press reports, a "disabled paraplegic," aka the man who crawled off a plane and right into a lawsuit. Someone just alerted me to this today, suggesting that I Google "Man Crawls Off Plane." And sure enough, there was my old friend Dreaming-Bear. On July 23, 2013, he filed a civil lawsuit, with a request for a jury trial, against Delta Airlines for an unspecified amount, in response to a couple of incidents that occurred in July 2012. The incidents, he claimed, caused him "intense physical and extreme emotional suffering." Compensation and damages will be determined at trial.

The story just hit the media late last month (I don't know how I missed it). Here's another article about the incident.

And here is Baraka Kanaan's actual complaint.

I briefly wrote about Dreaming-Bear's reported disability on this July 2008 post (scroll down to "Dreaming-Bear: rolling with the punches"). Some accused me of being a little unkind. Although Dreaming-Bear claims he was in a car wreck some years ago, and various back surgeries have forced him to use a wheelchair at times, there was some dispute, including among people who said they knew him personally and had observed his behavior first-hand, about whether he was exaggerating or exploiting his situation for various reasons. Dreaming-Bear himself wrote to me, in one of the emails I mentioned above, that he is "legally disabled."

Some of the recent news stories have said he was in a car wreck in 2000 that left him partially paralyzed. It does seem that he has gotten around pretty well in the intervening years, despite that partial paralysis. (DreamingBear himself has an explanation for that; see the PS below.)

Now, lest you think I'm still being heartless and am making light of people with disabilities, or that I'm excusing any bad behavior on the part of Delta Airlines (or any airline who mistreats the genuinely disabled, or any other passenger or employee), I'm not. Delta apparently has a history of egregious treatment of the disabled. And if you read the July 2008 Whirled post I linked to above, you'll see that I have, in the past, tried to give DB the benefit of the doubt on this matter.

Even so, something keeps nagging at me, and in light of Dreaming-Bear's shenanigans in the past, I have to look at this story with raised eyebrows. Forgive me for thinking -- even after looking at things from his perspective (see below) that there may be more to the tale than meets the eye.

It could turn out to be a real case that actually forces offending airlines to improve their treatment of passengers with special needs -- which would be a good thing. Or it could be just more histrionics from an established drama queen and New-Wage dilettante who is scavenging for yet another source of (eventual) income. I'm not making that call yet. I'm open to either possibility and will certainly make corrections as necessary.

But my b.s. meter is on full alert for now, and maybe yours should be as well.

PS, added 6 August, 2013 ~ Although a cursory search for stories related to this incident revealed mostly uncritical reporting (with a few mostly sympathetic commentaries in the mix), I found this entry on the First2Board blog, Travelblawg, which had an interesting comment about "Dr." Deebie's Twitter feeds around the time the incidents actually occurred, as opposed to his Twitter feeds around the time of the lawsuit. Dreaming-Bear is on Twitter under the user name, Mauitopia, with this tag line on the banner: "I am the voice of the cosmos & of nature, the ecstasy of stars is with me & the birth pangs of Earth are with me. I have become the tongue of trees." Uh-huh.

The Travelblawg blogger screen-shot those respective feeds, with a little bit of snarkin' about Deebie's poetics. As per usual, click to enlarge.
 

 

Granted, it does take time to put a lawsuit together, and Deebie apparently went through channels (complaining to the airline, to the FAA, etc.) and gave Delta a chance to make things right before the suit was finally filed. And he could have also been advised by counsel at the time the incidents occurred not to write much about them. (He also had spinal surgery some time after the incident; his legal complaint suggested that the surgery, which had already been scheduled, had to be delayed because of injuries suffered during the incident.) Moreover, he did note in one of his 2013 tweets that he had "reported" the incident last year, presumably meaning that he informed his followers at some point about what was going on. So a Twitter feed alone is not an indication that this was not a matter of concern for him at the time it first happened. Still, it seems blogworthy.

Baraka certainly hasn't been silent on Facebook in the wake of the lawsuit filing. A couple of days ago he wrote about the "defamation" campaign by Delta. He explains that he is being unfairly persecuted for having "a life before being in this wheelchair." In fairness to him I will post a screen shot:


On that same post, he also posted some shots of his medical reports as of February 2012, nearly six months prior to the Delta incidents. Here they are:

So there you have it, or some of it, anyway, from Dr. DreamingBear's side. Funny thing, though: my b.s. meter is still on alert. And for the record, I am not working for Delta, or on behalf of Delta, or for or on behalf of anyone else in the army of persecutors whom Deebie likes to imagine are after him. I'm here on my own behalf, doing my part to keep hustlers and scammers from hustling and scamming any more people than necessary.

Baraka 'round the Whirled:

• July 2007: Hunka hunka burnin' lust...on Maui
• August 2007: (Scroll down to Dreaming-Bear redux)
• September 2007: Dreaming-Bear speaks of Burning Man, fails to mention Hanging Man
• July 2008: (Scroll down to Dreaming-Bear: rolling with the punches)
• January 2009: (Scroll down to "Calling on Dreaming-Bear")

* With apologies to the producers of the old sitcom, Frasier.

* * * * *

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A collection of uncollected thoughts

Today's offering, Dear Ones, is one of those "snippets" posts composed of several snarky bits, rather than being just one long snark about a single topic. Perhaps it is posts like this one that prompted a couple of folks on Rate A Blog to write that Whirled Musings is a senseless waste of time because it's just a collection of rambling, unrelated stuff. To wit:

viewed and rated said...

Here is another senseless Blog....

http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/
whirled musings - Across the Universe with Cosmic Connie

Waste of time -
a collection of rambling unassociated postings that amount to no more than gobbly [sic] gook on the net.

July 16, 2008

Although that comment was posted in July of 2008, I didn't discover it until December. I wrote a response on Rate A Blog, speculating that I had either stepped on someone's toes or that the person making the comment simply wasn't aware of, or interested in, the usual subject matter of my blog. I added that there is indeed a common thread among most of my posts, and that on those occasions when I veer off topic, I warn my readers in advance. I also Tweeted about the critical remark on Twitter, and provided a link to the thread on Rate A Blog on which it appeared.

This apparently inspired someone else to follow the link and post her or his own remark:

nyuk nyuk said...

I just visited ......

http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/whirled musings

I can live without it.

An array of uncollected thoughts that assemble a hangover, ha ha ha

December 20, 2008

"An array of uncollected thoughts that assemble a hangover?" Now, that really makes sense.

Anyway, on to my "uncollected thoughts":

Calling on Dreaming-Bear
I've had some fun on this blog at the expense of a Maui poet and performance artist who calls himself Dreaming-Bear Kanaan. Recently Dreaming-Bear, or someone I believe to be D-B, wrote a rather lengthy private email to me explaining things from his point of view. He says I have misrepresented him on several counts. Although he seemed to imply that I should share his message on my blog, he didn't exactly say that. I immediately sent him an email in response, addressing some of the points he made and asking him if I could indeed publish his email on my blog.

I didn't receive a response, so after a couple of weeks I re-sent my request from another email address, in the event that his spam filter might have blocked out my Juno address. I still have not heard from him.

What do I have to do...send smoke signals?

Look, Dreaming-Bear, if you are reading this, please do know that I would love to publish your letter to me (minus the phone number you provided, of course), but I need your permission. Email me at cosmic.connie@juno.com and let me know.

I may be snarky, but I do try to be fair.

PS added in February 2009: I finally did hear back from from Dreaming-Bear, and now I'm the one who's being remiss about responding, as he has asked me to phone him so we could talk. I have yet to do that, partly because of time constraints and partly because I am so not a "phone person," preferring in-person communication and, lacking that, email and Twitter. However, I did want to add this capsule version of his messages, as he still didn't exactly grant permission for me to publish them verbatim. In fact he said he wished to be removed altogether from my blog, and has hinted more than once about karmic consequences.

In essence, Dreaming-Bear feels it is unfair of me to publish some of this stuff, especially the gossipy bits from people who claimed to have known him. (Since these commenters are anonymous, neither he nor I can verify whether or not they do know him.) D-B says that many of the things I wrote about, or that others commented about, are part of his past, adding that we all have things in our past that we may not necessarily be proud of. He says he has been in a committed relationship for over a year with a lady whom he loves very much. And he adds that he wishes that the people who don't like him could either forgive him or just stop ragging on him. (Keep in mind I'm paraphrasing here, just trying to capture the essence of what he said.)

He points out that there is nothing wrong with being an actor/performance artist, which is all that he is really claiming to be. He says he has never held himself up as a perfect being, a guru, or a spiritual leader. Now, my own take on this is that a hint of the risque would actually enhance his image as a performance artist. It worked for the late Jim Morrison and countless others. However, D-B also indicated that he is trying to get away from some of that over-the-top nekkid stuff and these days is concentrating more on being a bearer of peace and tenderness.

He also expressed puzzlement about why I would go after him when he's not the fish I want to fry. I have to concede that when compared to the likes of Kevin Trudeau or David Schirmer and any of dozens of New-Wage hustledorks, Dreaming-Bear is relatively benign. He's been an easy target for me because of his mystical-poet/performance shtick.

Most importantly (from an accuracy standpoint), Dreaming-Bear says he was not faking the wheelchair stint. He explained that he was in a bad car accident years ago and has had several surgeries to repair resulting damage. He says he has been in and out of the hospital for ten years and is legally disabled.

Some say I'm going out of my way to be "fair and balanced," which really doesn't fit into my job description as a snarky blogger. But I have never held much to job descriptions (and besides, we all remember what Emerson said about "a foolish consistency").

In any case, at the very least this is about getting facts right. And where I have been factually wrong I certainly want to correct that. As for the anonymous critics and snarkers, they are welcome to come forth with their true identities on this forum, or to communicate with Dreaming-Bear directly. I am not removing their comments, even as I am not removing the comments of the equally anonymous defenders of D-B, who speculated that I snark because I am full of rage and self-hatred.

And I stand by my own snarky opinions about Dreaming-Bear's public persona and performances, as those, I believe, fall under the umbrella of opinion – arts criticism, if you will.

As always, I welcome opinions and feedback from all.

"I paid five grand to ride in a Rolls, and all I got was this dumb blog."

Some of my friends and allies, I fear, are just a little bit too cynical for their own good. My pal Elizabeth, for example, recently commented about Joe "Mr. Fire" Vitale's ongoing series of Rolls-Royce Phantom MasterMind sessions, for which he charges participants $5,000.00 a head. In a comment on one of my recent posts, she wrote, "$5,000 for [riding in that] Rolls? Even the Spitzer hooker did not charge so much."

And yet the success stories about the Phantom riders are pouring in, and they're pretty darned convincing, if you ask me. For example, there is Barry Thomas Bechta, a dedicated Joebot with a mega-watt smile and, apparently, a heart full of hope. Judging by the pics on his web site, he seems to be living his dream of donning a very shiny blue jacket (his lucky jacket, I'm guessing) and having his picture taken with various New-Wage gurus.

So what did Barry get from his recent Phantom ride? What remarkable successes has he realized since that magical evening in Austin? Well, for one thing, it would appear that he is now able to deal masterfully with the disappointment and frustration of not being able to afford to do the stuff he really wants to do. Here's what he wrote in a recent blog post about "Seeing and Being Abundance":

Let’s say, I wanted to go to [Joe Vitale's] Attract Wealth Seminar being held in Austin this weekend (I did).

Let’s say, I did not have the cash flow to attend Attract Wealth Seminar (I did not See Abundance).

Let’s say, I want to Be Abundance in the absence of Attract Wealth Seminar (I do).

Let’s say, I want to increase my ability to See Abundance Be Abundance See Abundance (I do).

Then I can use, Attract Wealth Seminar or any other sign of Abundance to enhance my ability to See Abundance Be Abundance See Abundance.

Many would say that kind of thinking is only wishful thinking.

I ask you to hear me out.

In my past, I would have said something like, “woe is me” because I could not go to Attract Wealth Seminar. In my past, I would have cushioned the blow of my “inability to afford” by saying something like, “The seminar probably isn’t going to be that good really.” In my past, I would have been upset and disappointed.

Zero Limits and Ho’oponopono says that every experience brings up for a person either memory or Miracles.

In my past, I would come from memory, and say “woe is me” and would have been upset and disappointed.

In this present moment, the only moment we ever have access to, when I am able to act without memory, I am able to act from Inspiration and Miracles come forth.

Then the Pure Potential Energy of Life knows what is possible for me.

My ability to talk about Abundance being present (and more importantly feeling that Abundance is Present Right Now) even in the face of apparent lack of Abundance, sets me up to see more Abundance in everything...

...From a place of Abundance Awareness, I can See Abundance where few others would See it or Be it.

And now let's look at the official CCT (Cosmic Connie Translation) of the above:

I wanted to go to Joe's Attract Wealth seminar in Austin, even though I'd just recently gone on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Ride with Joe. But even though the fee for the Attract Wealth Seminar was less than $800.00, I didn't have enough money to go, mainly because I'd blown five grand, plus travel and accommodation expenses, to get taken on that Phantom Ride. You'd think that Joe could have at least given me a scholarship and paid for my travel expenses so I could shill for him at the seminar and maybe get more people to sign up for future Phantom Rides. But noooooo.

But I'm okay with that, really I am! I don't feel at all upset and disappointed. After all, I did get taken for a ride! By Joe! In a Rolls!

And so we can be comforted in knowing that no matter how non-abundant Barry's life appears to be, now or in the future, he'll always have Austin.

Another Phantom success story is Wendy G. Young, whom Joe recently Tweeted about on Twitter:

Phantom Rider Wendy Young launched her blog due to the Rolls-Royce Mastermind she attended. http://www.wendygyoung.com

I eagerly jumped to Wendy's blog to check it out. I had actually visited her blog before, and had even written a comment to it back in November. That was in response to a post she'd written in September during Hurricane Ike. At the time she wrote the Ike post, her electricity was still on, and she intended to keep it on via her own powerful intentions. Ike wasn't going to get the better of her, nosiree. I politely wrote to her and asked her if focusing on keeping her power on had worked, but she has yet to answer. I have to say I am pretty disappointed.

Now I have a feeling she won't be answering me at all, as she's probably far too busy with her new and improved blog, as well as planning workshops where she will be teaching a brand new technology, which apparently centers around a Manifestation Grid she created to help you manifest your heart's desire. I am sure it's all very scientifical.

Her new blog has her pretty excited:

So just this past week I launched my new blog..I call it a soft launch! So once I feel like I really know what I am doing I will do the real launch. But really it is all real. Maybe I called it the soft launch because I was not fully committed to my new project.

Actually if I am being really truthful…this is all about my new life! My new business. The new me. New friends. New experiences. Maybe I will even attract a new boyfriend in the process!

Wow. All this from just one rolling MasterMind session. It looks like that was five grand well spent, Wendy! Indeed, she seems utterly thrilled about her new projects and her new self.

In truth, however, she was no slouch in her pre-Phantom Rider days, if this link is any indication. She created an audio series called, "Where Does Money Come From?" The series contains secrets to wealth creation from an impressive array of experts. For instance, there's Brad Yates, Master Tapper, who is really into...well...tapping. (I know it's too late for the holiday season just past, but you might want to bookmark Brad's Christmas tapping video and use it to help you get through next Christmas. Do yourself a favor and follow the Xmas tap link now. I guarantee it will cheer you up.) Also in Wendy's line-up is a Benny-Hillish-looking chap named Dr. Stephen Bacque, aka "The Homeless Millionaire." Dr. Bacque is obviously breaking new ground in the New-Wage industry, as most New-Wage hucksters are formerly homeless millionaires. Perhaps most noteworthy in Wendy's lineup is yet another Scientist Bob, noted quantum physics expert and Secret star Bob Doyle. Follow that link and be prepared to be positively blinded with science.

But all of that is nothing, I'm sure, compared to what Wendy is now planning.

Yet some of my friends continue to be doubters. When I sent an email about Wendy's new site to a friend of mine, he responded, "Wait a minute... So this broad spills five G’s for a spin in a taxi…and the ONLY idea she got was to ... let me get this straight ... her BIG idea was to LAUNCH A FRIGGIN’ BLOG?!?!?!?!?!?!?! WTF! THAT'S the big idea!?! A blog! These people are insane!"

But then my pal apparently reconsidered, and he wrote to me again a little later:

My last email got me wondering. If *I* were to take a ride in the JV Taxi, what awesome ideas would *I* get? Let me dream a little. Perhaps...

... I would decide to live my life-long dream of becoming a rodeo clown.

... JV's wisdom would impel me to reach for the stars and get a paper route!

... Or I could possibly start a stamp collection! (Yes! you heard that right. A STAMP collection. Do I dare?)

... I've been too scared to dare this on my own, but maybe with JV's help, I could be coached into buying a FAX machine. (I really need help with this one, it scares me so.)

My mind reels with the possibilities! I'm dizzy here…

My friend’s inspiration was downright contagious, and this in turn inspired me to get busy fine-tuning the program I mentioned at the very end of a post I wrote last October. As it happens, Ron and I are getting ready to launch a series of rolling MasterMind sessions of our own. This is truly the opportunity of a lifetime for you; for a mere ten grand in US dollars, you get to ride around in our Honda Odyssey mini-van with us and bask in the presence of our scintillating personalities. Why ten grand instead of merely five? you ask. Well, it's because there are two of us MasterMinders. That's twice the value!

What will you get from the experience? That is totally up to you. We create each Mini-Van MasterMind experience as we go, so you never know what will happen!

Who knows, we may even have a surprise guest or two, such as my friend the future rodeo clown, who may share some documents that he faxed with his new fax machine. We might bring a couple of our dogs too, and in the future, if things go as planned, we might even bring a minature donkey foal along. (You – yes, you! – will get to clean up the donkey poop, and we won't charge you extra for doing so.) Of course, dinner is included with the ride; you can even super-size your order. If you're interested, send me an email. Or better yet, just send me the ten thousand dollars and continue to enjoy my scintillating personality via this blog, and Ron's scintillating personality via his blog and his participation on Steve Salerno's blog, from the comfort of your own home. You don't need those large fries anyway. And if the Universe guides you to do so, feel free to send more than ten thousand dollars.

Dream big!

Neale and pray for forgiveness
By now you've probably heard the story about how Neale Donald Walsch, who has made his fortune by convincing people that he and God have a very special friendship, got himself into a spot of trouble recently for plagiarizing a heartwarming Christmas story. Neale has apologized profusely, saying the plagiarism was accidental. Candy Chand, the author of the plagiarized story, isn't buying his explanation.

Will Candy sue? That remains to be seen, but I wouldn't be suprised. "Well," wrote my pal Chris Locke of the Mystic Bourgeoisie blog, "at least God is unlikely to sue." But Chris is wrong about that, as I explained at the end of a September 2006 blog post:

In late August, God sued Walsch on several counts, including invasion of privacy, unauthorized publication of private conversations, and numerous inaccuracies (particularly in the volumes, Marriage To God and Temporary Separation From God). God is asking for an unspecified amount in damages, as well as generous royalties from all [Conversations With God] books and auxiliary products, and 50% of the profits from the film. Since logistical difficulties prevent God from managing funds in the physical realm, She/He/It has stipulated that damages and royalties are to be paid directly to the Cosmic Connie Foundation, care of this blog.

The case is scheduled to be heard before the Supreme Being Court next summer. Meanwhile, the Cosmic Connie Foundation is still waiting to receive those royalties from Neale. And I must say that God is getting very impatient.

Shift work takes on a whole new meaning
Despite all of the earnest efforts by the New-Wage leaders who truly have our best interests at heart, and are therefore urging us to ignore the mainstream media with all of its bad news, there really is a little bit of an economic crisis in the US of A and even in other parts of the world.

You don't believe me? Well, consider this: The Onion, that impeachable source of all the news that no one else will print, recently reported that many Americans are having to work a fourth shift in a perpendicular dimension in order to make ends meet.

Look, we always knew this day would come. It's time to stop living in denial, especially since we're all going to be shifting into the fourth dimension (or higher) anyway within the next few years. And who knows what 2012 will bring!

Here's the grim story.

"Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage..."
I know the previous piece was a little disturbing, Dear Ones, so I will end this post on an up note.

As you probably know about me by now, I am never afraid to admit when I am wrong. And I have been oh, so wrong about The Secret. My basic premise from the beginning was that although The Secret was very profitable for its creators and the wise teachers who starred in it, it was not all that effective as a tool for changing one's life.

But I have just read a deeply touching story about how one man's life was changed for the better by The Secret. You may very well have seen this story, as it now seems to be making the rounds on Twitter and elsewhere on the Net. But just in case you have not, I'll share it with you. This is the tale of a man who was a prisoner, not only of the criminal justice system but also of his own deep despair. The Secret saved him. And he in turn went on to inspire many, many people by sharing his story.

Here is the link. (And just in case Amazon gets wise to it and takes it down at some point, I have preserved the original comment (though not the ensuing discussion) as a jpeg; double-click on the image and you'll be able to read it.)

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy what's left of the weekend, and I'll be back soon with more unrelated, uncollected thoughts that assemble like a hangover. Or something like that.

Monday musings

A few snippets to start your week out right...

Creative recycling: it's the New-Wage way!

A reader and occasional correspondent, "T" from London, recently wrote to me: "Looks like Joe Vitale [in partnership with his good friend Pat O'Bryan] has discovered another 'secret.' They're selling it, of course, and, apparently, we're saving ourselves $200 if we buy it."

"T" was referring to Joe and Pat's "Pelmanism Online" site, which is listed thusly on Google:

The Lost Art of Pelmanism -- O'Bryan and Vitale
Dr. Joe Vitale and Pat O'Bryan bring an ancient mind-control method back to life.

On this site, Joe himself writes:

Lucky for you and me, Pat O'Bryan dug up the entire original Pelmanism course. It wasn't easy. This material is long lost, very rare, and almost buried in the vaults of history. If you do an intense search, you can find a volume or two here and there, but rarely more than that.

"Lo and behold," added my friend T, "a quick bit of Googling reveals this site: http://www.pelmanism.co.za/, which offers what I'm assuming are the same lessons, FREE!"

T subsequently wrote that the material might not be exactly identical, but I replied that it seemed similar enough.

According to the Weird Universe blog, "The Pelman Institutes of England and America apparently once claimed over half a million followers. But now they're long gone. Yet that has not stopped at least two folks from trying to resurrect the copyright-abandoned mind-strengthening course and claim and market it as their own." The blogger linked to Joe and Pat's site, as well as this one.

Pelmanism was named after British psychologist Christopher Louis Pelman; a colleague of his founded the Pelman Institute for the Scientific Development of Mind, Memory and Personality in London in 1899. I'm not sure if something that originated in 1899 could actually be classified as "an ancient mind-control method," but New-Wagers have never been all that good with historical perspective.

Little seems to be known of Pelman himself; the person responsible for both the founding of the Institute and the original Pelman courses was one William Joseph Ennever. If you follow the link in that previous sentence you'll see a portrait of a philanderer who had an almost obsessive fear of aging, a man who made and lost his fortune with his Pelmanism shtick, and spent most of the last years of his life in poverty.

Perhaps you are tempted to ask, "If Pelmanism apparently didn't work all that well even for its founder, why should we believe it would be such a miracle method for today's grasping New-Wage materialist?" I sure can't answer that, but I have a feeling there are some who would think that you ask too many questions.

And in all fairness, there are those who would probably say that the question is moot, such as John Karp, who, towards the conclusion of a fairly comprehensive article about Ennever, wrote this:

Ennever's life is not a cautionary tale, nor a didactic lesson in success and failure - he lived the same highs and lows that everybody does. Nor is it important to read about his life and apply it to the modern world. But nevertheless, in a world in which our knowledge of the past is unparalleled, it is strange that W.J. Ennever should have slipped under the radar and into obscurity. His life's work is the strangest quirk: a mind training system that drew on both the frauds of the past and the brightening world of empirical science, and that found success all over the world. In a historical backflip, the Internet has seen the resurgence of the frauds who use their Internet presence to sell all manners of magic and mysticism. They have discovered Pelmanism, and market it now as a lost miracle⁷⁶

If you follow that footnote link, you'll see this:

See The Lost Art of Pelmanism, <http://www.pelmanismonline.com/>, Pelmanism, the success secrets that almost got lost, <http://www.sector51.com/>, and Powers of the Mind Personal Development Self-Help Course, <http://www.powersofthemindcourse.com/>.

So we're right back where we started, with the Internet marketing geniuses who have taken these "ancient" teachings and repackaged them to sell to you. And if Pelmanism doesn't work for you, there's always Pyschic Demand. No matter how "ancient" (and absurd) it is, someone will find a way to recycle it and try to make money from it. As I said, that's the New-Wage way!

[By the way, the image of WJ Ennever is courtesy of www.ennever.com. Thank you to Barry Ennever.]

"I've never told this story before..."
And speaking of recycling, Joe Vitale has found a new way to recycle his famous tale of former homelessness.

In his recent blog post, "The Cure For Despair," he claims he finally came clean about exactly how he became homeless. It was difficult to talk about, he says, but he just had to do it. He says he was persuaded to tell his story by a woman who participated in his $5,000.00-a-head Rolls-Royce MasterMind dinner the other night. Well, I guess if someone is paying you $5,000.00 for a ride in your car, dinner and a bit of face time, they deserve to hear a good story. So he spilled the beans, albeit reluctantly of course, and he says that everyone at the table was open-mouthed. A close friend of his who was also in attendance claimed that even he didn't know the whole story up till then. "You just have to tell this to the world!" the astounded dinner attendees said, according to Joe. "It's riveting! This will change everything!"

And tell it he did, inviting people to spread his post far and wide to those they thought would benefit.

Not surprisingly, his fans have chimed in, praising him for the courage it must have taken to write this "inspirational" blog post and to finally confess what he claims he never wanted to talk about. One regular contributor wrote:

Joe. Thank you for sharing this! What an inspiring story. I’m sure you didn’t know that then and were quite mired in the struggle and survival of it.

It is VERY CLEAR to me why you never shared this before, even though some might think it was your embarrassment. You shared it now because it is PERFECT to be shared now. Right now. It was Divinely orchestrated. The woman who asked, divinely guided.

This story right now probably is helping countless people, many more than would have years, or even a year, months or even a month or days ago.

But it seems that in reality Joe is all too eager to talk about it, and in fact, he has even told "the whole story" before. More than once.

To begin with, an abbreviated version of it appeared in an Ohio newspaper article in September of 2007. (He even mentioned the article in a blog post.)

According to this article...

[Joe] attended Kent State University, majoring in public relations and journalism, but left just shy of a degree because he couldn't pass economics, didn't like Ohio winters and had the promise of work in Texas.

In the late 1970s, Vitale gave all his money to a company that promised to find him work building pipelines overseas, but the company folded, leaving him homeless and without a penny.

He recalls those times as "desperate and unhappy" but made his way to Houston where he held various temp positions and worked as a car salesman, reporter, laborer and cab driver.

He was unhappy with them all but held onto his dream of becoming an author, saying he kept writing the whole time.

The link to that article is here. (It also provides a little insight about Joe's "doctorate degrees.")

But it gets better. A person on Joe's own blog, while praising him for telling the story, mentioned that he'd told it before.

Hello Joe,

Just two nights ago, I watched you tell this story on a YouTube Video from an interview in Maui.

On YouTube search: Life on Maui #23 with Steven Freid (5 Parts).

Great Interview.

To hear you claim it and share it again (for me in such a short time) is amazing.

Blessings,

Barry

Barry is exactly right, although I noticed he didn't overtly challenge Joe's assertion that the blog post was the first time he'd told the story publicly. In a December 2007 interview on Maui with super-SNAG Steven Freid (who, incidentally, also conducted a fawning interview with one of my favorite snark targets, Dreaming-Bear), Joe did indeed tell the story – almost exactly as he says he told it at that MasterMind dinner. Actually he told it in even more detail, though in the Maui version version he kind of makes it sound as if the owner of the company that screwed him committed suicide when Joe tried to get his money back. I'm sure that's not what he meant, but it sounds like it. The Maui interview appears as a five-parter on YouTube, but if you want to save yourself some time, the nitty-gritty of the homeless tale is here in Part 3, beginning at about 1:36.

Notably absent from Joe's various narratives about those poverty years is the fact that beginning in the late 1970s, and for about seven years thereafter, he was involved in the late Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's cult. Maybe it's not relevant but I thought it worth a mention anyway.

At any rate, it seems clear that Joe's followers either have short memories or aren't willing to do much research. As I've said here before, I imagine that's one of the things that Joe and most New-Wage leaders are banking on.

I will give Joe credit for honesty about one point in his blog post. He says his family in Ohio would have taken him back in, but he was too proud to let them know of his plight. Granted, given the abuse Joe suffered when growing up (which he wrote about in his spiritual autobiography, Adventures Within), you'll know that this was not a very desirable option. He had a lot of good reasons to get away and stay away from home. However, I think it worth noting that he did have a safety net, unlike many if not most of the folks today who are being forced out of their own homes because of the foreclosure crisis – and unlike many of the chronically homeless who are mentally ill or have other serious problems.

Lest you dismiss me as a complete cynic or hopeless curmudgeoness, I don't have a problem with what Joe purports to be the real message in his blog post, which is that any situation, no matter how bad, is temporary.* Yes, the sun will shine again, so you should never give up but should just keep on keeping on, and so on. Everyone needs to hear this message at one time or another.

My issue is with the disingenuous way Joe has exploited his "homeless" story all along. Putting aside the fact that I think it's kind of an insult for him to even imply that his situation compares to that of people who really are homeless for one reason or another (and don't have families to take them in), I've pretty much had it up to here with the rags-to-riches tales told by so many New-Wage luminaries. Many of them have made a big deal out of being formerly "homeless," and most of them, formerly homeless or not, finally became rich only after years or decades of trying one thing after another.

It's true that most of them – including Joe – are pretty honest about not being overnight successes. But then they use their success stories to sell you on the idea that the product/service/miracle weekend du jour that they're offering will save you similar years of struggle; you have but to fork over your money for their stuff and you can be rich and happy and successful almost overnight. That's pretty clever, I must admit. But it's also pretty deceptive.

Moreover, these rags-to-riches tales, whether they're completely true or are partly (or mostly) embellished, give people a distorted idea of what it takes to really become successful. Tales that purport to be inspirational, but are often little more than marketing ruses, actually serve to discourage many people. Why? Well, maybe because we all have a tendency to compare our own lives to others' stories. And our lives almost always come up short, no matter how many books or seminars we invest in. My pal Blair Warren wrote an excellent post about this on his blog, Crooked Wisdom.

As it happens, Blair also had this to say on a recent Tweet on Twitter:

If you begin a story with "I've never told this before" it's wise to have never told it before. Especially to the people you're talking to.

Somehow it seems appropriate here.

Even so, I think we can expect Joe to continue to recycle his homeless tale and milk it for all it's worth. Perhaps he'll even continue to reveal yet more details that he was previously "too embarrassed to talk about."

And the Joebots will continue to heap praise and money upon him.

Shameless Schirmer strives for new levels of shamelessness
I suppose I need to modify my previous remarks that the troubled Aussie Secret star David Schirmer has abandoned the "wealth coach" gig in favor of being merely a Christian hustledork (see, for instance, this post; scroll down to, "Onward Christian wankers"). David is still peddling his wares in the New-Wage market via his new web page, Wealth By Choice.

For example, he's still promoting himself as a stock market expert, despite the fact that, according to various sources, he has never shown anyone any trade sheets and in fact has never actually shown that he can make money from the stock market. In addition, word has it that the two people giving testimonials on his stock market page now have nothing to do with him and would probably, for various reasons, be embarrassed to be associated with him in any way.

He is also apparently challenging the authorities with his Entrepreneurship 101 course, in which he deliberately tells people how to find a way around the system in order to avoid lawsuits as well as taxes. He writes:

There is a right way and a wrong way to set up your asset protection.

You need to make sure that this is done the right way from the start. If you get it wrong and you get sued it will be too late to change it then.

The reason I know all of this is that I discovered it the hard way. I found that my accountant, who is great, really had no idea. My lawyer, good as he is, really couldn’t give me a definitive answer…

Finally I found someone in the legal industry who (like me had to find out the hard way) had spent years of research to get it right, and I found out exactly what needed to happen to ensure my wealth and assets were protected....

...So the key to preventing/minimizing lawsuits is NOT TO OWN ANYTHING IN YOUR NAME. The key to protecting your assets - is to make sure predator-plaintiffs and their gold-digging lawyers can’t get their hands on your money. When plaintiffs’ lawyers discover they can’t get your money, they won’t waste any time trying. Why should they!, they will get 1/3 of nothing? They can find someone else to sue....

Granted, David Schirmer is working in Australia, having been stymied in his efforts to enter the US market, so presumably his lessons apply to Australian laws. Still, he seems to be kind of rubbing the authorities' noses in it, not to mention the noses of those to whom he allegedly owes so much money.

But since we're on the topic, I have no doubt that many American hustledorks have set up their own businesses to take advantage of applicable laws that will render them impervious to lawsuits – just in case they're not fully protected by (1) the myriad legal disclaimers they put on the web sites where they advertise junk with 100%-guaranteed miracle results; and (2) the fact that most of their promises are sufficiently vague to prevent any actual fraud charge from sticking.

David Schirmer seems absolutely incorrigible. But, as the old saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. And by the way, his much-touted Succeed magazine really does seem to be on the brink of failure, if not already there; no one seems to have received any issues after the August-September 2008 issue. Trouble in publishing paradise, perhaps? Who would have guessed?

Another reason the chickens might have human arms...
Okay, first of all, if you don't understand the title of this snippet, you need to go here. (Standard warning: If you are offended by the "f" word and/or by mention of recreational drug use, don't go there. Just continue to puzzle over the title, and enjoy the mystery!)

Anyway...

According to a recent AP article, British stem cell research has officially entered a brave new world: the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for research has won final approval from Brit lawmakers. The current plan is for this process to involve injecting an empty cow or rabbit egg with human DNA; the resulting embryos will supposedly not be allowed to survive beyond fourteen days, enough time to harvest stem cells. This skirts the whole abortion issue, since technically the embryo is not human.

I definitely support stem-cell research, but this particular development has me a little worried. Apart from the enormous potential for abuse, resulting in various science-fiction nightmare scenarios and ethical problems, my first thought was that the foreign proteins or whatever from those other species might end up in the stem cells and cause some serious trouble in the ultimate recipients. Maybe it's something we need to consider. But I have a feeling that the barn door has already been flung wide open and the chimeras have escaped. Yikes.

On the other hand, we might be able to train chickens with human arms to collect their own eggs, so maybe there's some commercial potential in this after all. I probably need to keep an open mind.

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back as soon as I can, and I hope you have a great week.

PS ~ If you need a jolt of real inspiration, here are some powerful life lessons from the guy who brought you the song I linked to above.

* Of course the opposite is also true; any situation, no matter how good, is also temporary. But that truth is not the stuff of which "inspirational" blog posts are made.

On Feds, flying cars, an injured poet, & Abba

Another odds-n-ends post, Dear Ones. I've been trying for days to get this one out, but work and fun stuff kept intruding. Anyway, here 'tis...

Should we sic the Feds on the hustledorks?
I'm on the email list of John Curtis, the man who's on a mission to expose self-help fraud. In a recent message he solicited opinions about whether or not the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should have a say in how self-help stuff is advertised in the United States:

Question: Do you think it is fair and appropriate for the following General Advertising Policies from the Federal Trade Commission [to] be extended to include self-help beliefs, methods or practices that claim to increase wealth, improve mental health or interpersonal relationships?

_________________

GENERAL ADVERTISING POLICIES

Under the Federal Trade Commission Act:

• Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
• Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
• Advertisements cannot be unfair.

What makes an advertisement deceptive?

According to the FTC's Deception Policy Statement, an ad is deceptive if it contains a statement - or omits information - that:

• Is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances; and
• Is "material" - that is, important to a consumer's decision to buy or use the product.

_________________

a) No, b) Yes, c) Don't Know / Unsure, d) Other (please explain)

Your responses will be tallied and reported back soon.

THANKS!

___________________

John Curtis, Ph.D.
Waynesville, NC 28786
1.828.246.0459
www.selfhelpfraud.com

While I generally support Dr. Curtis' efforts, things like this make me a little uneasy simply because I don't like the idea of getting the government involved in our lives any more than it already is. Besides, most of the selfish-help gurus use sufficiently vague language that you really can't pin them down on much. In fact, many if not most of them infuse their offerings with elements of pop spirituality, making frequent references to God, a Higher Intelligence, Source, Spirit, The Universe, and the like. Even as they invoke scientific concepts to make themselves sound intelligent and highly educated, they are in fact working in the realm of faith – and if the FTC and other government agencies are going to get involved in that, then they need to go all the way and regulate traditional religious insitutions, with their wild promises of salvation and such, not to mention their constant and unabashed fundraising efforts.

But, you see, there's this separation-of-church-and-state idea that the US holds (if you'll pardon the term) sacred...

Moreover, even as the selfish-help/New-Wage hucksters are spewing the most extravagant promises of miracles and wonders out of one side of their mouths, they are mumbling the obligatory legal disclaimers out of the other. (See, for example, the second item, "Why you can't sue a hustledork," on this October 2007 post of mine.) These disclaimers would no doubt tarnish the miracle for any eager believer who bothered to read them, but the very people who most need to read them generally don't bother to do so.

I do wonder how the FTC would view the items such as the Psychic Demand site, for example, which really seems too ludicrous for serious consideration. I know I've snarked about this before, but I bring it up again because it's such a classic, right down to the disclaimer, which in this case appears right there on the front promo page:

Yes, this package is guaranteed.

But what we guarantee is that we will deliver the goods promised. We do not guarantee your results because it is up to YOU to apply the Psychic Demand method. You can't buy a hammer and return it when you don't use it, saying "It doesn't work." Of course it works.

If you use this method, it will work. But if you're not happy, Clickbank (the company who handles the orders) will replace any defective item within 8 weeks, as they see fit.

Now, that leaves a loophole so big you could drive a flying car through it (just helping prep you for the next snippet). And notice that the copy stipulates that any "defective" item will be replaced. There's no indication about whether Clickbank will give you your nineteen bucks back if the Psychic Demand technique simply fails to work even if you follow instructions to the letter – f'rinstance, if you observe the proper rituals and you say, "I demand $25,000.00!" and the Universe fails to deliver the goods.

Reading the ad copy, of course, you'd think that failure was a moot consideration. After all...

Remember, Psychic Demand is extremely powerful. If you feel drawn to this rare material and proven method, then order it right now. You can have it in only minutes. But if you are skeptical or doubting or unsure, then please forget about this and move on. Or if what you want to do with this power is to control others or to over indulge in your own desires, then please don't order.

This sort of stuff is more than a little reminiscent of those old-time ads for amazing magic tricks and such that were directed to kids under the age of ten. I have to wonder if these guys honestly expect reasonably intelligent adults to fall for this bunk.

The point is, do we really want to waste government resources going after this crap, which, even though it is more than a little stupid, is probably pretty harmless overall?

Besides, FTC oversight hasn't stopped the cosmetics industry from making outrageous claims. When it comes to scams and false promises, I have to say that the beauty biz puts even the selfish-help industry to shame. And when it comes to bastardizing the English language (another New-Wage practice that annoys me no end), well, once again, the beauty industry can bastardize circles around the New-Wage selfish-help perpetrators. Cosmetics manufacturers are always making up bulls--t scientifical-sounding words and terms to describe the miraculous qualities of their egregiously overpriced products. And I fall for it every time, damn it. I've been using expensive advertised products for many years now and I still don't look like Cindy Crawford or Penelope Cruz or Halle Berry. On a good day, maybe Marisa Tomei, or Debra Winger in her younger days. But has the FTC saved me from squandering my money? No, because at some level, I want to believe. I'm in on the con, in other words.

Of course it might be argued that the FTC and other governing agencies have prevented the cosmetics manufacturers from selling me stuff that will make my face fall off or cause my skin to turn chartreuse. But such untoward side effects really aren't an issue with most selfish-help stuff. For the most part, I think John Curtis needs to keep on doing what he's doing, as do the skeptics and critical thinkers and all of those "naysayers" who are such a thorn in the side of the hustledorks. But keep the government out of it, thank you. Quite frankly, I think one of the best defenses against selfish-help fraud is for snarky people like me to keep on snarking. And that's just what I aim to do. As you'll see momentarily.

Buddha of the Internet sore because he can't soar
Talk about synchronicity. Mere weeks ago, I found myself Googling "flying cars" because the subject arose (so to speak) in a manuscript I was editing. And then, and then... just the other day, Joe "Mr. Fire" Vitale wrote a blog post about a flying car. As it happened, this was a car he'd wanted to buy, but darn it all, things just didn't work out for him. When he found out about the existence of the car, a rigged-up version of a sporty Panoz Esperante, he knew he had to have it. (He first wrote about it on his blog in October 2006.) But the person who owned it didn't want to sell it. So he let it go.

Then recently he discovered that the flying car had been auctioned off for an incredibly cheap price (relatively speaking) in January 2008. And no one had even told him the car was up for sale. Even worse, the auction house, for privacy reasons, refused to give the winning bidder's contact info to Joe.

Joe wrote that all of this caused him to be deeply upset for three whole days. "This was an experience of deep disappointment to me," he lamented. "I took it personally, and judged myself harshly. I felt stuck, unhappy, and un-clear."

Fortunately, Joe was saved by his own wisdom. Turns out he had to go back into the recording studio to record a few more segments to his forthcoming audio program, The Awakening Course, which he says is the most advanced stuff he's ever perpetrated...I mean, created. This is the course where he reveals a previously unrevealed "fourth stage" of awakening. Just last year, he was touting the "third stage" as being the ultimate, but never mind that. Anyway, as he was recording some new material about trust and letting go, he realized that he had been "attached to wanting that flying car. VERY attached."

To say the least.

"Yet," he wrote, "a key secret to attracting whatever you want is to let go of attachment. Want it without needing it. As my friend Bootzie often says, "I’m perfectly satisfied, I just want more!'"

Bootzie is the ebullient Maui merchant who peddles stuff like magical gold dust that's been blessed by the goddess Laxshmi. It has also been "blessed in the moonlight for extra potency by the notorious nymph, Miss Bootzie herself!" Mr. Fire claims to be a big fan of this stuff, and once wrote:

If you want a little extra help with your prosperity, consider getting some Laxshmi Gold Dust. Laxshmi is the goddess of wealth and good fortune. She's my sidekick. Sprinkle some "dust" in your pocket, wallet, or purse, and watch the money grow...Expect miracles.

Apparently, though, the magical gold dust – and the Law Of Attraction, and Ho'oponononononononononono, and his status as a fourth-state-awakened being, and his Internet Buddhism, and all of the other rituals and techniques and technologies and modalities and wisdom paths he has at his disposal – didn't work to help Joe get that flying car.

Why, Universe, oh why, do you let such bad things happen to such good people? As a friend of mine said in regard to this incident, "The greater the man, the greater the tragedy."

Rather than being even slightly appalled that their highly awakened leader could get into such a state over not being allowed to acquire a toy he wanted, Joe's followers seemed grateful. And they came out in force to praise him for his wisdom. Some sample comments (unedited):

Brenda Best says

OMG! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! I really need to hear that even an expert of “The Universe” and ‘How To Work With It” still gets dissapointed and upset! No matter how much you know, thier will always be tests to try to throw you off balance! Thanks so much Joe! You are definately an inspiration!
May you get all the “more” you want
Brenda Best!

Tamara Hanson says
This is exactly what I needed to hear right now. Thanks for the wake up call!

Juho says
Thanks for sharing this, Joe. And thanks for showing your humanity* in admitting you were stuck with the feeling for a while until you got to clarity about it. Disappointment is something I’ve been terribly struggling with in the past couple of years, this helped a lot. Thanks again.

The Rev said to me, "Gee, it only took him three days to get over being upset. Must be one eeee-volved Buddhist!" Must be, indeed. When those of us who are less spiritually aware miss out on a chance to buy a flying car, it can take us up to a week or maybe even longer to get over the upset.

And when I think about what an absolute baby I myself have been regarding the little losses and disappointments I've faced over the past eight months or so, I am downright ashamed. To tell the truth, I'm still not over some of these losses. But then I look at brave Mr. Fire, who recovered from such a devastating loss in a mere three days, and had the unmitigated gall profound courage to share his story – not to draw attention to himself, not to elicit sympathy from his fawning minions (well, he did admit he wanted to "vent"), not to take advantage of another opportunity to brag about the expensive cars he already has, and not even to try to "attract" an offer from the guy who won the auction for the flying rattletrap – but for the greater purpose of helping his readers come to a better understanding of spiritual truths.

He is an inspiration to us all.

* Why are they so surprised that he's "showing his humanity," when he reveals it in many ways every day? Get a grip, Joebots, he's really NOT Buddha.

Dreaming-Bear: rolling with the punches
It occurs to me, Dear Ones, that I haven't mentioned Maui's sex symbol and mystical ham, Dreaming Bear, in a few months. These days, I am sorry to report, he is confined to a wheelchair, as I read on one of his web sites:

Beloved friends,
Dreaming-Bear is currently preparing for another World Tour called Loveolution. Part of his preparation involves intense physical therapy & training for a spinal injury incurred years ago in an auto accident. Despite his severe physical pain & inability to walk at this time, Dreaming-Bear remains happy in his heart knowing that with patience, the body will follow. He invites your support & prayers as he dedicates himself to celebrating the beauty of what IS.

Looking at some of his more recent pictures and performances reveals another big change: These days, he's not nekkid. Or even half-nekkid.

And who knew his middle name was "Baraka?"

May Goddess forgive me for my initial reaction to the news about the wheelchair bit. I actually had a brief thought – misguided, no doubt – that the wheelchair was just another prop, and that if DB wasn't actually faking his disability, he was exaggerating, or at the very least milking it for all it is worth. I was having flashes of that old Frasier episode, "Wheels of Fortune" (Episode 203, originally airing 2/26/02) featuring Lilith's half-brother Blaine, a lifelong con man (played by Michael Keaton). In this episode, Blaine is in a wheelchair and has become a traveling preacher. He charms everyone but Frasier, who is convinced that Blaine is faking it all and is still a scammer. In the end, Frasier is taken in too and gives Blaine some money, and too late finds out that he was right all along.

But, like I said, I'm sure those thoughts are way out of line. I imagine I am not alone in wishing Dreaming-Bear a speedy recovery. (By the way, here's a link to his new web site.)

PS added Wednesday ~ If you think I'm being way too harsh and cynical and maybe even a little bit mean for having even entertained the notion that DB might be kind of exaggerating his plight, consider some of his past performances. Start with this post, and it will lead you to a link of a "teleconference" where he describes his trials and torments at last year's Burning Man orgy. I mean, c'mon, these were basically self-inflicted torments – just like a selfish-help "intensive" workshop, but with more sun, sand, performance “art,” scorpions, and nekkid people. And if you're still not convinced of DB's propensity for taking artistic license with reality, try this post (fourth item down, "Dreaming-Bear redux").

PPS added February 2009: Since this was written, Dreaming-Bear has communicated with me directly. He says the wheelchair is for real; he was in a bad car wreck some years back and has been in and out of the hospital for ten years, having had numerous surgeries to repair the damage. He also says he is legally disabled, and that it isn't nice to make fun of disabled people.

Okay, so I have sucky taste too
It occurs to me that I really have no room to snark about Dreaming-Bear and his hammy, ersatz-mystical ways, when I am a closet Abba fan. Abba has always been sort of a guilty pleasure for me. Even though a little Abba goes a long way with me, and even though I recognize that they personified much of what was so appallingly bad about the 1970s (aka The Cheesy Decade), there was just something about some of their songs... Fernando, for example. I always liked that song, despite the intrinsic ludicrousness of bell-bottom-jumpsuited nerds singing about the Mexican Revolution.

Like it or not, Abba's music will never go away. A.O. Scott said it best in the New York Times review of the movie version of the Abba-inspired Broadway play, Mama Mia!, which opened this past Friday in the US:

Those shimmery, layered arrangements, those lyrics in a language uncannily like English, those symmetrical Nordic voices — they all add up to something alarmingly permanent, a marshmallow monument on the cultural landscape...

...Abba made some of the most highly polished, tightly engineered pop junk ever. There is a kind of perfection in some of those hits that is undeniable even if — or maybe especially if — you can’t stand to hear them.

Here's another Abba song (from 1979's Super Trouper), that I'm inordinately fond of.

Here's the Spanish version.

Anyway, I'm going to rush out to see Mama Mia! just as soon as it comes out on DVD.