James Randi is gay

James Randi has been a hero of mine for years. He's a magician. His stage name is The Amazing Randi. He's also a strict skeptic, and he's been going on television debunking pseudoscience for his entire career (reminiscent of how pissed off Harry Houdini would get when people tried to pretend magic was real). Along with Carl Sagan, I'd say he has had the most influence on the modern skeptic community. I was first introduced to him on Penn and Teller's Bullshit!, I can't remember which episode, it was one of the earlier ones back when it was good. He was awesome, and I've been following him ever since.

In 1961, Randi put up a thousand dollars of his own money to be paid to any person who can show objective proof of the paranormal. Over the last fifty years, that amount has grown to $1,000,000. It's called One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge. It's still up. Not a single person has been able to pass it.

Randi was diagnosed with cancer last year. At The Amaz!ng Meeting 2009, where he revealed he'd be going through chemo, he said, "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter." He continued, "I want to be cremated, and I want my ashes blown in Uri Geller's eyes." (A world-famous psychic he helped expose in the 70s). His chemo was successful. Doctors put his five-year survival rate at 50%.

Earlier today, he made this blog post. At 81 years of age, he has officially come out of the closet.

Well, here goes. I really resent the term, but I use it because it’s recognized and accepted.

I’m gay.

From some seventy years of personal experience, I can tell you that there’s not much “gay” about being homosexual. For the first twenty years of my life, I had to live in the shadows, in a culture that was — at least outwardly — totally hostile to any hint of that variation of life-style. At no time did I choose to adopt any protective coloration, though; my cultivation of an abundant beard was not at all a deception, but part of my costume as a conjuror.

Gradually, the general attitude that I’d perceived around me began to change, and presently I find that there has emerged a distinctly healthy acceptance of different social styles of living — except, of course, in cultures that live in constant and abject fear of divine retribution for infractions found in the various Holy Books… In another two decades, I’m confident that young people will find themselves in a vastly improved atmosphere of acceptance.

Before publishing this statement, I chose to privately notify a number of my closest friends and colleagues — none of whom, I’m sure, have been at all surprised at this “coming out.” I’m prepared to receive the inevitable barrage of jeers and insults from the “grubbies” out there who will jump to their keyboards in glee to notify others of their kind about this statement, which to them will be yet further proof of the perfidy of the rationalist mode of life that I have chosen. Those titters of joy will be unheard over the murmur of acceptance that I confidently expect from my friends.

This declaration of mine was prompted just last week by seeing an excellent film — starring Sean Penn — that told the story of politician Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. I’m in excellent company: Barney Frank, Oscar Wilde, Stephen Fry, Ellen DeGeneris, Rachel Maddow, are just a few of those who were in my thoughts as I pressed the key that placed this on Swift and before the whole world…

I should apologize for having used Swift as the venue to publish this note, an item that is hardly the focus of what we promote and publish here, but I chose the single most public asset I have to make this statement. It’s from here that I have attacked irrationality, stupidity, and irresponsibility, and it is my broadest platform. Here is where I have chosen to stand and fight.

And I think that I have already won this battle by simply publishing this statement.

Okay. So he says he's gay. But can he provide any conclusive evidence for this claim?

Here's an awesome video explaining the Uri Geller drama. Near the end, he also sums up pretty well why I personally choose not to drink.

On his chemotherapy