A Mystic Journey

[Nex]

So... we've got a new "psychic" here in town. Actually it's a whole team of psychics that opened shop about a half-mile from my apartment building.

My downstairs neighbor, who is a very smart lady, wants to go for a reading. She wants to bring me.

She's pretty skeptical herself, but not as jaded as I am, I think because she's never actually played the "psychic" game like I have in the past. She's willing to give them a chance, and she's willing to pay the whole fee (US$55 for 30 min.). She wants me there because she knows I know the game pretty darned well, and can tell her afterwards if it was "legit" or not.

Well, whatever.

Anyway, we're trying to find a way to legally get a recording device in there without the psychic's knowledge. As far as we know, there is no contract to sign. We want to do this as a journalistic endeavor, as we plan to publicise our critique in the local papers.

So... good idea? Bad idea? Are we going to end up sued? How can we legally go about this without risk of lawsuit? We're both college kids, and neither of us take law classes.



*edited for a typo... yes, I really am a spelling nazi*

 

[Beady]

Anyway, we're trying to find a way to legally get a recording device in there without the psychic's knowledge.

Allow me to make a prediction: if you ask and receive permission to take the recording device in, or if you sneak it in, the psychic will claim upon publication that the electronics screwed up the reading. Alternatively, you will be refused permission because the electronics will screw up the reading.

Uh, wait! Should I register this prophecy with Kramer before you try it?

 

[Z]

I don't suppose you have the technical know-how to manage a hidden-camera, do you?

Anyway, try submitting the recording anonymously. Maybe give a fake name, etc. when you go it. Then send the tape to the local media as an 'expose' of a new scam in town, or something?

And, of course, if they prove to be dead-on in their predictions, you could submit the tape to Randi...

 

[Kopji]

Ok, Oh lets see.

I doubt you'd be sued. In fact, you might just ask for the 'psychic' to give you a tape of the reading. These are not like, sooper seekret.

A couple things will probably happen:

You will be made to look like you are persecuting some nice hard working psychic who spends her spare time visiting sick children and old ladies while you are out drinking and partying.

Any publicity is good publicity.

If the reading is shown to be inaccurate, well, you went under false pretenses so how's that going to look? Could the psychic be held to give a valid reading? (& see above).

 

[Nex]

Thanks for the replies, all. My neighbor backed out though. I can't say I blame her any, $55 is a bit steep.

Me, I'm not shelling out $55 for a reading, period.

Ah, well.

 

[Kopji]

Imagine a friend getting all excited about taking you to their church, and you then watch everyone around you speaking in tongues and falling to the ground. You feel nothing, shrug, sneak out to grap a cup of coffee and read the paper, then sneak back in before the babbling is over.

Its like that but mercifully shorter.

 

[Nex]

...

Its like that but mercifully shorter.

Yeah, plus incense and an Enya CD.

 

[Kopji]

Noooodby expects the Enya CD!

 

[Nex]

Noooodby expects the Enya CD!

That's right, it's sooper seekrit.

 

[zultr]

Anyway, we're trying to find a way to legally get a recording device in there without the psychic's knowledge.

In most states in America, recording someone without their permission is a crime will civil penalties as well. The Massachusetts law was upheld a couple of years ago and a man who recorded his interaction with the police was successfully prosecuted.

 

[Ratman_tf]

Re: Re: A Mystic Journey

I love Enya. I'm slightly miffed that the new agey types have seemingly adopted her for their theme music.

Blah.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I'm a big fan of Enya, too. I didn't even realize she was New Age until I went to the store to buy her third or fourth CD and they directed me to the New Age section. But hey, I'm self-assured enough to pick up a CD at the New Age section.

~~ Paul

 

[Kopji]

Some of her songs like 'Book of Days' I like, they are reminiscent of things like wind and ocean. The words are not that important but they build a feeling rather than a specific message.

Others sound much the same as each other. They seem to be played over and over just to get themselves stuck in my head begging to be expunged.

 

[Ashles]

I'm a big fan of Enya, too. I didn't even realize she was New Age until I went to the store to buy her third or fourth CD and they directed me to the New Age section. But hey, I'm self-assured enough to pick up a CD at the New Age section.

Well, on purchasing a copy of The Skeptic's Dictionary the other day I was rather surprised (as was the bookstore employee) to have to search for it in the 'Astrology' section.

And Nex, I am currently reading that 'Science of Harry Potter' book (it's actually very good and has some particularly interesting stuff on game theory in relation to the cohesion of society), but as well as being filed in 'Popular Science' (as expected), it also showed up in the 'Mind, Body, Spirit' section of one bookshop and the 'Occult' section of another.

With regards to the recording i wonder what would happen if you went in all bright eyed and excited and said "I'd love to record this as a memento of my contact with the other side". Wouldn't they look like a bit of a killjoy in saying no? And they can't later claim they were unaware of the recording.
Hang on, what am I saying? They'll always say no.
It doesn't work unles it's edited or filtered by people's memories of hits and misses.

 

[rppa]

I'm a big fan of Enya, too. I didn't even realize she was New Age until I went to the store to buy her third or fourth CD and they directed me to the New Age section. But hey, I'm self-assured enough to pick up a CD at the New Age section.

I loved this exchange in the movie "Idle Hands". Here a couple of pothead slackers who were killed earlier in the movie, explain why they came back as zombies instead of moving on into the afterlife.

Anton: Hey, I didn't kill anyone on purpose, okay!
Mick: Yeah well we weren't in hell! I mean there was this bright white light at the end of a long tunnel, right, and there was these chicks' voices, and that music...
Anton: Music?
Pnub: Yeah kinda uncool music, like, Enya. And these chicks' voices they were saying "Come to us, come towards the light".
Anton: So what happened?
Mick: We figured, **** it, I mean it was really far!

 

[Nex]

Well, on purchasing a copy of The Skeptic's Dictionary the other day I was rather surprised (as was the bookstore employee) to have to search for it in the 'Astrology' section.

And Nex, I am currently reading that 'Science of Harry Potter' book (it's actually very good and has some particularly interesting stuff on game theory in relation to the cohesion of society), but as well as being filed in 'Popular Science' (as expected), it also showed up in the 'Mind, Body, Spirit' section of one bookshop and the 'Occult' section of another.

I think that's a good thing, though. Maybe someone looking for woo books will come across it shelved there and buy it. Who knows?
Of course, this time of year it could just be improperly shelved. I used to work at a huge bookstore, and I swear most of the customers didn't understand the finer points of putting ◊◊◊◊ back where it belongs.

I'm happy you're enjoying the book, it's quite good, I think.

With regards to the recording i wonder what would happen if you went in all bright eyed and excited and said "I'd love to record this as a memento of my contact with the other side". Wouldn't they look like a bit of a killjoy in saying no? And they can't later claim they were unaware of the recording.
Hang on, what am I saying? They'll always say no.
It doesn't work unles it's edited or filtered by people's memories of hits and misses.

Once, about 7 years ago, I had a reading done while I lived in Seattle WA. The psychic recorded the whole thing, I didn't even ask her to. I've lost the tape though.

Hey here's a funny: During the reading, she said she saw me crossing an expanse of water to return home. Thing is, she's on an island in the middle of Puget Sound.

Duh.