I've been busy busy busy lately--too busy even to compose a 160-character tweet. Too busy to listen to my paranormal podcasts on my trusty vintage iPod shuffle (the 1-gig model, silver, for the Apple fanatics). Busy with what, you ask? Well, all will be revealed after September 26.
In the mean time, I noticed a very good skeptical review by a "Dr. Wigglesworth" to the book "A Room Nearby" by Kathy Baker, which I was on the verge of Kindling on Amazon.com. Because of his review, I saved $5.99.
Kathy Baker's book is a personal account of an NDE that she says she experienced in 1985. Now, I won't--and can't--say that Ms. Bakers account is true or false, truthful or confabulated, or (possibly) spun from whole cloth. But what's significant about "Dr. Wiggleworth's" review is that it's a rigorous skeptical examination of Ms. Baker's account from someone who is genuinely interested in the phenomenon, but is also aware that there are many frauds out there, and he was able to highlight a number of problems with Ms. Baker's account, enough to convince me to give her book a pass.
This is the great challenge in studying the paranormal. Just like all of us can't be the surviving daughter of Tsar Nicholas, we can't all be telling the truth. And it's difficult to distinguish the truth-tellers from the embellishers, the psychologically imbalanced, and the clever liars. In the field of the paranormal, they all look the same. But it's possible--and essential that we do.
I'm considering post all my dreams on a blog. I don't think they will ever get published but others could learn from them greatly. I think I will get to doing that. I've been compiling them in book form since 2008 but it's a side project so I don't get to spend much time on it. I think I may blog it instead.
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