Psychic Of The Year

EoR was privileged to catch a brief interview with Patrick Avenell on the radio yesterday. He has been proclaimed West Australian Psychic of the Year by the renowned Australian Psychics Association.

The APA proudly has a Code of Ethics, including this point:

6. At no time should professional members promise to be 100% accurate. Allowing for an error margin in predictions and the like is quite reasonable. Making ridiculous claims does not increase your standing in the clients` eye. Honesty, on the other hand, will always serve you well.

It seems to EoR that most psychics adhere stringently to this requirement, allowing for at least a 50% error margin ("You may be having a minor operation in the future").

EoR is also a bit bemused about a psychics' organisation voting for various "Psychics of the Year". Do they have all the trophies engraved prior to the voting? Why bother voting when they already know who's going to win? Why don't the winners come out with their acceptance speeches before the awards are announced? Or is that just bad manners?

Back to Patrick. He has an amazing bio. His grandfather was a Professor (but only in the carnival sideshow sense, it seems), while his aunt is the "famous Madame Romany". He claims to have studied science, but offers "how to" guides on:

Witches, Ghosts and Hauntings, Nature Spirits and Earth Energies, Vampires, Voodoos, Werewolves, Cybernetics and Awakening Kundalini

In his radio interview he was asked how he converts skeptics. His answer was "You don't". EoR thinks he meant "I can't", but he could be wrong. Mr Avenell went on for a brief time about how skeptics (EoR is certain he kept saying "septics"! Oh, how EoR laughed!) are impossible to convince. No, Mr Avenell. They only require evidence.

When asked to give his predictions for 2007 he stated he doesn't "predict the future" but rather "reorganises the problems people have". Whatever that might mean.

Pressed on the issue, he firmly and boldly stated 2007 would be:

the year of seeing things differently, of doing things differently.

EoR thinks that will profoundly affect us all, and is almost certain to come true. Though EoR is still thinking the same things about so-called "psychics".