Delivered-To: majordomo-jrefinfo-nu-real-outgoing@redhotmomma.ssr.com Delivered-To: jrefinfo-nu-outgoing@ssr.com Date: 29 Oct 1997 16:25:10 -0000 From: James Randi --- Wizard To: broadcast-JREFInfo@ssr.com Subject: An auxiliary Pigasus Award....? Sender: owner-jrefinfo@ssr.com Reply-To: James Randi --- Wizard . My correspondent Russell Sipes (www.halebopp.com, and www.starcruiser.com) has made a suggestion.... . He suggests (with tongue in cheek) that . "the 1996 Pigasus awards should be increased by one honorary award: The Comet Hale-Bopp Companion Affair. This one incident could have won the Pigasus in three of your four catagories: . #1 Scientist who said the silliest thing: . There are two possible Hale-Bopp Companion winners here. FIRST: the so-called "amateur astronomer" who took the photograph of the image, mistook a star for a Saturn Like Object 3-4 times the size of the Earth traveling with Comet Hale-Bopp (see http://www.halebopp.com/slo2.htm), then rushed to the Art Bell Show to bring his discovery to the world. SECOND: you could just as easily give the award to the mysterious "Astrophysicist from a Top Ten Observatory" who had photographic proof that the Companion Object was a spacecraft (see http://www.halebopp.com/slocompanions.htm) for the details. . #3 Media Outlet that reported the most outrageous "fact": . The Art Bell Show of course. He promoted this whole fiasco which ultimately ended with the death of 39 Heaven's Gate cultists. According to their web site, the Heaven's Gate cultists were close followers of the Art Bell Show. You could also give an Pigasus dishonorable mention to the dozens of web sites promoting the Hale- Bopp Companion that cropped up after the initial November "sighting". . #4 Psychic who fooled the greatest number: . Courtney Brown whose minions remotely viewed with space ship following the comet and had full blown reports on the Farsight Institute Web site (subsequently removed). He also was the contact with the the so- called Top Ten Astrophysicist. When the astrophysicist did not materialize Brown produced a photo from the astrophysicist that turned out to be a fake. Actually I guess he didn't really fool all that many people in the long run. But I think he should get a Pigasus just the same." . Russell adds that A&E's "The Unexplained" will be airing a documentary on the Heaven's Gate Cult in December or January. They did a few hours filming with him. Apparently they plan to cast him, he writes, (and the web site) "as a sort of John the Baptist character who was crying in the wilderness for reason." . Randi . **************************************** Subscribe to SWIFT! **************************************** SWIFT our quarterly (hardcopy) newsletter, is $10/annum Checks payable to JREF (address below). Tax deductible in the USA. Overseas, add $6 for airmail. . ********************************************************************* To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from the mailing list: ********************************************************************** To subscribe: send a message to JREFInfo-request@ssr.com. In the body of the message have the one word, subscribe. To unsubscribe: Send mail to JREFInfo-request@ssr.com. In the body of the message have the one word, unsubscribe . ----------------- How to Contact Randi: ----------------- James Randi Educational Foundation phone: +1 954 467 1112 201 SE Davie Boulevard fax: +1 954 467 1660 Fort Lauderdale FL 33316-1815 http://www.randi.org U.S.A. . General questions: randi@randi.org . Mail directly to Randi: 76702.3507@COMPUSERVE.COM . --------------------------- BACK ISSUES OF THE HOTLINE: --------------------------- . ftp.ssr.com is the home of the hotline, but we are very over loaded, so please try the other sites first. European users please try: . . Thanks to Anson Kennedy and Massimo Macucci for providing the ftp sites at netcom and unipi.it. . -30-