Looking for challenge

[Christopher Pille]

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses.

When did you get the idea that JREF was no longer accepting public challenges? News to all of us here, I think, since Jeff Wagg has told us that while changes are indeed afoot, he hasn't released them yet. Aaah, of course - you're psychic. Great start, mate!

Thanks! My psychic powers directed me to James Randi's 9/24/06 interview with Skepticality. I would link the file here but I can't. It's interview #34, downloadable from their website. Fast-forward to 20:30.

We're going to make a big change in the James Randi Educational Foundation Challenge, the million dollar challenge that we have offered. It's not going to be open to everyone, because you get the breatharians and the real nutcases, there's no other way to define them, that use a great deal of our time. ... Instead of handling all of those, we're going to challenge the Sylvia Brownes, the James von Pragues, the John Edwards, and the Uri Gellers and such, these people. We're going to challenge them directly.

The other is that if you don't care to wait until the challenge application is dealt with at JREF, feel free to e mail me. Be aware though, I don't accept hotmail, gmail, yahoo or other poste-restante-type e mail addresses. I can give you all the information you'll ever need. (And another bizarre coincidence, that very subject has just about been thrashed to death over the past week or so)

Intriguing paranormal ability you must have if you're worried that others may copy you! I just cannot wait!

Great! I will take you up on your offer eventually. Since you are the most vitriolic and least credible, I will save you for last.

One other question. Have you demonstrated your ability to other people? Who? Because that is something you need to do. No matter what challenge you do.

Yes, but only to some co-workers and friends. I am holding off arranging demonstrations for the notarized affidavits the JREF requires until I get confirmation that my application was acceptable and that I will be allowed to continue the process.

Where do you live? Many countries have researchers who run tests for the JREF when needed. Even if you are unable to take the challenge I'm sure most of them would be willing to test you. You would not get money from a challenge, but if you show real powers you will be assured of fame and fortune anyway. If you ask about this at challenge@randi.org they will proabably help put you in touch with people in your area.

Thanks for the suggestion. I live in Maryland. If my applications for the challenges with prize money fall through, I will pursue this.

Why not mention what your special ability is? If you're "afraid of competition" then that would mean your ability is not very "special", right? I mean if all I have to do is read about your ability on this forum to be able to recreate it myself and become "competition" for you...

You fall into the second catagory of my signature.

This is more than a challenge. It is a competition rewarding the first and only the first person to demonstrate paranormal ability. One million dollars and international fame are at stake. You would likely be unable to reproduce my claim, but someone could.

I have already stated to the right people exactly what I claim to do, and have suggested parameters for a preliminary test. If they want to post our correspondence thus far, that's their prerogative. For now, silence on my part is a reasonable precaution.

I urge C.Pille to prove to us that he has even really applied ----- I'm skeptical.
Show us a scan of your document, C.P.
Post it using the VB Image host...

When your opinion matters, I will!

It's not another Reiki thing, is it?

No, my claim does not involve Reiki. But that is me. Nice googling!

The "mailto:" code for Chris Pille is missing.
Goucher College is in Towson (Baltimore) and I have written to the Ass't Director of Student Activities, Daniel Tillapaugh, to seek a way to get in direct contact with this guy.

My current email address is christopher.pille@gmail.com. If you absolutely must email me on my school account, it is cpille@goucher.edu.

Actually, Marquis de Carabas has a $1-62 challenge going. Maybe you could have a crack at that, Chris - it's about what your reiki's worth.

Ad hominem abusive, a straw man, and unparalleled wit all in the same post? Wow!

The following is the reply from the Ass't Director of Student Activities at Goucher College:

The Reiki Wellness Club is currently on hiatus.
There is no one who is currently running the club and it does not have
any members. I don't have any information about Chris's contact info. I'm sorry that I don't have any other information to share with you.

Hmmmmm, no wonder he is interested in the $$million -- the guy is unemployed.

I am employed, and you are straying far from topic. If there's something you want to know, you could try asking me first.

"Chris Pille" is referenced as a source for providing evidence and quotations about the Pentagon attack on 9-11-01.

|||||||||||| from a webpage posted by
Dick Eastman
Yakima, Washington

* The Pentagon Attack was part of a Mass-Murder Frameup by a Ring of Traitors led by Donald Rumsfled, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Richard Cheney, Rice, Kissinger, Gen. Meyer and others. There is not room left for doubt.

That is also me. I studied the pentagon attack awhile ago. I compiled a comprehensive collection of witness accounts. That's probably the source he's talking about. If you search hard enough, you could probably find mention of a proposed debate between myself and Mr. Eastman. While he never accepted my challenge, he was to argue for his "no-plane" theory, I was to argue against. I am not a CT.


Nothing like a good debate to get the blood flowing!

 

[Ririon]

...
Nothing like a good debate to get the blood flowing!

Excellent... Now if we just had something to discuss, here... So... Since you deny that reiki or CT is part of it..

What about homeopathy? Any kind of Supplementary, Complementary or Alternative Medicine? UFOs? Ghosts? Telepathy? Dowsing for plutonium? Astrology? Bending cutlery? Predicting the future? WHAT? Come on. Pretty please with sugar on top.

 

[Christopher Pille]

 

[Plastictowel]

Yeah clearly you have no power if you don't even have the balls to tell us what it is?

I mean come on, what makes you think by telling us someone will beat you to the $1million. Randi has had this check out since what the 60's or 70's???If no ones gotten it since then, you can risk revealing your "power." Duhhhhhhhhhh

 

[The Atheist]

|||||||||||| from a webpage posted by
Dick Eastman
Yakima, Washington

• The Pentagon Attack was part of a Mass-Murder Frameup by a Ring of Traitors led by Donald Rumsfled, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Richard Cheney, Rice, Kissinger, Gen. Meyer and others. There is not room left for doubt.

That's the challenge - he's going to tell us "THE TRUTH!" about 9/11.

At last!

Oh, and by the way, Chris, you think I lack credibility? Looked in a mirror lately?

 

[webfusion]

That's the challenge - he's going to tell us "THE TRUTH!" about 9/11.
At last!
Oh, and by the way, Chris, you think I lack credibility? Looked in a mirror lately?

1. Mr Pille has indicated that he intended to debate Mr Eastman, and provide evidence against the conspiracy theorists. Not on-topic, for sure, but that's what the record shows here.

2. As Mr Pille can readily see, it is not just "my opinion" doubting that an actual Application has been filed. The reluctance of providing even a rudimentary sketch of what is being claimed, leads many on the JREF forums to question the OP being an accurate representation of the facts.
Put another way, Chris, until you show us something to back up your words, the assumption is that you have neither "Applied" nor "devised a Protocol" and are here just fishing for attention. And succeeding in that.

3. I am 10 minutes away from your school. I'll gladly arrange to see what you have to show, and sign an affadavit if you wish.
Although you say that it is too early to start collecting these documents, I disagree. It should be your first effort to do so, to bring a solid level of credibility to your endeavor.
My signature on an affadavit in support of your Application would have a great deal of influence on James Randi, that I can assure you, sir.
I am a member in good standing of the MidAtlantic JREF Meeting Group, and we are going to be having a get-together in the coming week (Oct 22). Showing one or all of us that you have a paranormal ability could be of tremendous advantage to your pursuit of a million dollars. James Randi is not likely to ignore all of us when our names appear on notarized documents stating that you can do what you claim.
(BPSCG, LibraryLady, webfusion, bluess, slipknotmcfadden, IllegalArgument,etc.)


4. If there's something you want to know, you could try asking me first.

Now that I have your eMail address, if I think of something to ask, I will be sure do so.

 

[The Atheist]

Good on you, web, my eyes go all fuzzy when I see BS... Go to it. I'll just keep a watch on it all.

Cheers

 

[Christopher Pille]

Thanks webfusion. I need to confirm it with him, but I may have a possible test subject for a demonstration. If not, it wouldn't be too hard to find someone else. If you could send an email to my gmail account, we could set something up.

Edit: Oops I just revealed it has something to do with another person. Healing maybe?

 

[Christopher Pille]

Oh and I will send copies of all my correspondence with Jeff Wagg to webfusion, including a description of my claim. I'll ask him not to reveal it here yet, but verify that I'm not BS'ing you.

 

[The Atheist]

Thanks webfusion. I need to confirm it with him, but I may have a possible test subject for a demonstration. If not, it wouldn't be too hard to find someone else.

Benny Hinn, eat your heart out.

 

[webfusion]

contents of my eMail to Mr. Pille ---

• Chris,
  
  Good evening.
  
  First of all, you should realize that it is common practice for me and others to take a confrontational approach on the forums.
  It is typical to have a person come onto the Forums as you did and there is just no way we'll suddenly blindly accept what is said on face value. I can assure you that my real-life persona is nowhere near as antagonistic than when I'm posting in the Challenge section to standard garden-variety woos! Your clear and precise approach to the JREF leads me to make the offer I did -----
  To assist in preparing an affidavit for you.
  
  I will not reveal the verbatim contents of emails that you send me. I may disclose the things I write to you and summarize your replies. I merely intend to provide confirmation to the Forum members in the thread of your seriousness and explain the general outline of your claim. Only the JREF has the authority to publicize the various communications you undertake with them. It must be emphasized that I am not a representative nor an investigator for the JREF and my only purpose is to act in the capacity of a private skeptical individual who is willing to be shown evidence of the paranormal.
  
  If such evidence presented by you is convincing, I agree to sign and notarize a document to that effect.
  Notarization of said affidavit will take place in the bank branch where I normally do business, at no cost to you, and I will forward the original to the JREF headquarters within a reasonable amount of time subsequent to your successful demonstration. I will even pay for the 39-cent stamp.
  
  Although affidavits are not "required" in the rules of the Challenge, they are useful and persuasive when accompanying an official Application, and in the past, three affidavits have been requested by the Challenge Administrator before considering to move ahead with accepting an Application. The signatories of these Affidavits are to be "professionals" ---- I am a licensed Automotive Dealer Salesperson (licensed by the State of Maryland) and I routinely enter into binding contracts that have the full force of law behind them.
  My notarized signature on any document is to be respected as such.
  
  
  Best regards,
  
  AJW
  

I hope that covers all the bases.

I had to google Benny Hinn in order to make the connection to the laughing dog. Where is the new laughing-on-the-floor 'Tickle Me Elmo TMX' when you need him? Someone needs to make an animated gif of that right away...

 

[webfusion]

A Notarized Application:

In reply to the email I sent him, Chris Pille has confirmed to my satisfaction that he is proceeding with the JREF Application process as indicated in the OP.


I have replied to him as follows:

• ...As agreed, I'll go along with whatever you wish to show me.
  The other members of the group are curious, but since you are not
  willing to reveal the details of your claim publicly, I'm refraining
  from notifying them of the exact contents of your Application. I have
  no way of preventing any of them from posting in the forums, so let's
  just keep going with our own plans, and see what transpires.

I cannot resist offering the following:

Randi has held this Challenge ever since Uri Geller was Bending A Spoon.
This Applicant is claiming to Unbend A Spine.

 

[webfusion]

On Hold:

After being provided an in-depth review of the ongoing circumstances and the communications between JREF and Mr. Pille, and seeing the nature of the Claim, I have decided to contact Jeff Wagg for advice about my suitability for providing an Affidavit.

I am a part-time Used Car salesman, with no scientific background, and this particular Application contains a claim of a highly specific technical/medical nature. (see: Cobb Angle)

As Mr Pille himself mentions in his post #21 of this thread:
I am holding off arranging demonstrations for the notarized affidavits the JREF requires until I get confirmation that my application was acceptable and that I will be allowed to continue the process.

I am also going to hold-off on entering into a situation of acting as a witness to a demonstration until I hear back from Jeff Wagg about the suitability of my participation, based on what type of preliminary witnesses he and Randi think are appropriate for this claim. (random laypersons or trained radiologists/medical practitioners)

 

[Christopher Pille]

Understandable.

My recommendation to use the Cobb angle was intended more to exactly quantify the results, not to be relied upon to verify the efficacy of my ability. Note that my mention of the Cobb angle was not included in my claim, but in my description of a suggested protocol, which I did not intend to etch in stone.

I would think it best to include such precise measurement in any preliminary and final tests. For an initial demonstration however, I am willing to trust the judgment of a skeptical eye. Especially for this first proposed test subject, whose spine and hips are so misaligned that I expect a drastic visible change.

Webfusion, my subject and I all live within 45 minutes of each other, and my subject and I are both available and willing to hold a demonstration as early as this weekend. Even if webfusion chose not to fill out an affidavit if the demonstration was successful, I think that having someone well-known on these forums simply be able to post that yes, there is something to this, or no, he is obviously delusional/deceptive/whatever, would either give my effort the momentum needed to find other witnesses and subjects, or would prevent me from wasting your time.

That we could have such results as early as this weekend impels me to recommend that we proceed anyway, and leave the affidavit issue open for now.

I am open to other ideas.

 

[webfusion]

No Test

I am also going to hold-off on entering into a situation of acting as a witness to a demonstration until I hear back from Jeff Wagg about the suitability of my participation, based on what type of preliminary witnesses he and Randi think are appropriate for this claim.

James Randi wrote to me last night, and indicated Christopher Pille is a "would-be" Applicant ----- and that I should not pursue any efforts to verify the validity of the claim.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

TO CHRIS:

Go, use your powers to fix that guy on Sunday. For forty years, he has suffered a deformity, and he is surely in need of your skills, so that is what you should do, even without any JREF Forum members present. It is the only logical step to take at this point.
Let us know how the 'treatment' turns out...

 

[chillzero]

James Randi wrote to me last night, and indicated Christopher Pille is a "would-be" Applicant ----- and that I should not pursue any efforts to verify the validity of the claim.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

TO CHRIS:

Go, use your powers to fix that guy on Sunday. For forty years, he has suffered a deformity, and he is surely in need of your skills, so that is what you should do, even without any JREF Forum members present. It is the only logical step to take at this point.
Let us know how the 'treatment' turns out...

Are you seriously advocating that this guy goes to manipulate any part of anyone? Shouldn't we be protecting people in this kind of situation?

 

[Crowbot]

The following is the reply from the Ass't Director of Student Activities at Goucher College:

The Reiki Wellness Club is currently on hiatus.
There is no one who is currently running the club and it does not have
any members.

Best news i've heard all week! Could it be the Goucher College students are a skeptical bunch?

 

[webfusion]

Best news I've heard all week! Could it be the Goucher College students are a skeptical bunch?

Chris tells me that he assumed presidency of the Reiki Wellness Club and renamed it to the Holistic Wellness Club, to reflect an expansion in focus from just Reiki to other holistic health topics. He explained to me that he had some technical trouble getting the name change recognized in all the administrative records and on the website, which is likely why the Goucher official said "no one was running the RWC."
Chris indicates that he is currently on a two-semester leave of absence from Goucher College.


Furthermore, for the record:
I have had quite a lot of communication in the past few days, between Chris and myself, and also he has forwarded to me the emails from the JREF Challenge Administrator. (Jeff Wagg is indeed active and handling the position fine, from what I saw.)
As mentioned previously, I have heard directly back from James Randi, who said that the full contents of his message to me would be posted to this thread. I anxiously await for him to do so, as there is valuable information contained in his eMail that sheds light on why he insists that I should not pursue any efforts to verify the validity of this claim.

Chillzero, a demonstration was already (provisionally) arranged and the subject is willing to have the healing procedure performed, so I see no reason for the subject to refrain from going ahead, even without my presence. How do you propose to 'protect' anyone from seeing the 'wellness expert' of their choice?

 

[Plastictowel]

Why is JR backing down?

 

[Moochie]

Chillzero, a demonstration was already (provisionally) arranged and the subject is willing to have the healing procedure performed, so I see no reason for the subject to refrain from going ahead, even without my presence. How do you propose to 'protect' anyone from seeing the 'wellness expert' of their choice?

Exactly. Posters to this forum are in no way responsible for what transpires between two consenting adults.

M.