Talk:Penn Jillette

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Contents 1 Written Works 2 Prosopagnosia 3 polyamorous 4 CrimeFighter 5 Penn and Teller Suck 6 Cato 7 Mother Theresa 8 Partnership with Teller 9 Jewish Upbringing? 10 Objectivism 11 Fingernail 12 Accusations of anti-Catholicism 13 Counting... 14 Counting

[edit] Written Works

I'm new at this, so I thought I would check - Is there a reason that the three Penn and Teller co-written books are not listed under written works? Penn & Teller's How to Play in Traffic Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends Penn and Teller's How to Play with Your Food —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Princemuchao (talk • contribs) 22:35, September 18, 2006 (UTC)

They're on the Penn & Teller page. - Justin 00:20, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Prosopagnosia

Talked about his prosopagnosia 30 AUG 2006 on his radio show. I didn't add it to the article, since I don't know where to put it. The podcast is, or will be, on iTunes. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.183.116.193 (talk • contribs) 19:13, August 30, 2006 (UTC)

[even though he has said he's not good at recognizing people's faces i don't think this qualifies as prosopagnosia, which is a much severe impairment in face recognition beyond the "im not good with faces"] —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.141.66.169 (talk • contribs) 18:47, November 5, 2006 (UTC)

-I changed the claim that Penn has prosopagnosia in this entry to this:

It was widely believed and reported on the Internet that he suffers from prosopagnosia (a rare impairment of the ability to recognize faces), although in truth, he does not. He has, however, in an interview with TV Guide, stated that he has "a tremendously bad visual memory", and when asked about the prosopagnosia rumor, he replied "I don't have that. I think I have what they call 'stupid'."

in light of the December 18, 2006 interview with TV Guide and the recent things he's said on his radio show. --71.226.215.220 01:53, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

He said he didn't recognize his mom, and that he had been 'tested' in some way. Perhaps we should call him on the air. 76.209.152.77 02:28, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] polyamorous

why doesn't this mention his polyamorous lifestyle? he has alluded to this on adam carolla's radio show, and it's public information otherwise. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.229.32.10 (talk • contribs) 01:06, July 30, 2006 (UTC)

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why doesnt it say anything about him being in the band pigface? —This unsigned comment was added by 67.181.108.218 (talk • contribs) .

For that matter as well, before Pigface, he started a band known as Captain Howdy (named after the devil in The Exorcist); surely his musical dalliances deserve some mention...Gene S. Poole 03:14, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if this is worth adding or not, but a few times on Bullshit, Penn has referenced the fact that he has never had a drink in his life. Does anyone know 1) if he was kidding or 2) if there is a reason behind this? —This unsigned comment was added by 209.33.51.78 (talk • contribs) .

He's not kidding. Penn doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't take drugs. He has said something to the effect that he has no desire to alter his perception of reality. I really should dig up a quote but I'm lazy. Encouragingly, he holds these views while still defending the right of anyone to do the exact opposite. He doesn't agree with laws that limit our personal freedoms. —This unsigned comment was added by 67.67.196.248 (talk • contribs) .

I believe it's something about how "I'm only going to be alive for a certain amount of time, and I'd like to be here for it." DS 00:58, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] CrimeFighter

Why was it all over the Internet that the reason he gave his daughter that middle name was so that she could say that her middle name is "crimefighter" if she was ever stopped by the police? In this way, the police would have sympathy for her and not give her a summons.Lestrade 02:58, 27 March 2006 (UTC)Lestrade

It's a story that Penn himself has told, tongue-in-cheek, of course. I heard it from him at The Amaz!ng Meeting 4 in Las Vegas, and I think he's also told it on his radio show. DHowell 05:24, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Penn and Teller Suck

I think we need a section in here on the fact that both of these guys really bite. They aren't funny and that's the big problem with their act. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 170.3.8.253 (talk • contribs) 19:48, August 14, 2006 (UTC)

Links and references to criticism of their act would belong in their performance entry. Drjon 04:36, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think he has any references, Dr. --Princemuchao 13:38, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cato

While he's in the category of people associated with the Cato Institute, it's not mentioned in his bio - He's a Fellow there, it's a libertarian thinktank. Presumably there's more to his libertarian activism to be covered. Rainman420 19:41, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mother Theresa

Ok, let's try to be civil if we could. Also, where are we going with this? May I ask what the point of this exchange will be with respect to improving the article? Thanks, Deville (Talk) 23:40, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

There seems to be no point. Magidin 01:50, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Partnership with Teller

Lots have people have said "why doesn't this article mention...", but why doesn't it actually say something about his partnership with Teller? It mentions he exists, but no dates, no how,no where, pretty much nothing. Eh? DJ Clayworth 15:40, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Because his partnership with Teller has a Wikipage all of its own, Penn and Teller. The information you inquire about is there. Magidin 15:46, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jewish Upbringing?

I've looked around on Google for evidence that Penn Jillette was raised Jewish, although is now an atheist. I heard a guest on his radio show claim that he was raised Jewish, although there's no real verification or mention of this. The misperception that he is Jewish however, probably comes from all his Jewish friends in Hollywood, and that Teller was raised Jewish.

What is Penn's ethnic background? Can anyone verify?--Seth Goldin 23:00, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

I know his family is from Newfoundland, and he has alluded to his ethnic background as "Newfie". Unigolyn 08:30, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

His famlies from Newfoundland? Never heard of that. All I know is he grew up in the Greenfield area of Mass. If you attend the Fanklin County Fair, held annually in Greenfield, you see a model his father made from like toothpicks. And my father's mentioned going to elementary school with Penn, and that was in Gill, Mass. Which itself is in the Greenfield area. -annonymous 11/17/06 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.222.146.215 (talk • contribs) 23:38, November 17, 2006 (UTC)

On his radio show, he mentions his ancestors being from Newfoundland, and being of mixed heritage. (on one episode of his radio show, he related a story of his mother warning him "I never want to hear you making fun of any nationality, because no matter which one it is, its in your background somewhere.") On the episode of his radio show which he talks to Judy Gold [[1]], he discusses there being only one Jewish family in his hometown of Greenfield, so I wouldn't believe that he was raised Jewish. On the shows where Gilbert Gottfried is the guest [[2]] [[3]] , he describes himself as a Gentile. I haven't heard the radio show where a guest described his upbringing as Jewish, but these are some events on the radio show that seem to contradict it. Andrew.langmead 04:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, I posted that before he explicitly said that he was a gentile. A guest had mistakenly thought that he was Jewish. He is absolutely not. Of course he's an atheist, but I'm talking about ethnicity, like Teller.--Seth Goldin 05:05, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Objectivism

I've added that Penn is an objectivist to the article and provided a link to his myspace blog where he states as such. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.143.61.120 (talk • contribs) 22:12, November 30, 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fingernail

The article says "Note that in India a painted red fingernail on one hand (typically in children) indicates that one's vaccinations are up to date." I've never heard this. Does anyone have a reference to back this up?128.2.222.72 04:27, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Accusations of anti-Catholicism

This needs rewording. Calling Penn Anti-Catholic is like calling Richard Dawkins Anti-Catholic. Penn is, as he says, "beyond atheism." He is personally opposed to religion - all of it, not just Catholicism. If we're going to put a note specifically about the Anti-Mother-Teresa thing I think the heading should be referring to that specifically. Being against the sick beliefs of an individual is different than being against a religion.

Also, why was that thing about John London removed? He was the guy fired for making a death threat to Penn over this subject. [4] —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.13.30.201 (talk • contribs) 03:35, March 9, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Counting...

From the article (ephasis mine):

Speculation arises from Penn's red fingernail on his left hand. From a FAQ from Penn & Teller's official website, there are three common answers:

1. It means he once shot a man for asking personal questions.
2. When Penn first began performing, his mother told him to get a manicure because people would be looking at his hands. In response to this, Penn had all of his nails painted red as a joke. The one remaining red fingernail is in honor of his dear mother and also can sometimes provide excelent misdirection.

On the episode of Penn Radio which aired 29 November 2006, Penn related the real story behind his red fingernail. It began as a joke with his mother. When Penn was 18 years old, his mother advised him to keep his hands looking nice, since he was then working as a magician and his audience would be looking at his hands. Penn colored the single nail red and showed it to his mother. He has continued to paint that single nail to the present. The color he uses is Jelly Apple Red (#054) by Essie.

I count two. The paragraph below the list is essentially the same as item #2 on the list, only with more explanation. Was there a 3rd before that got removed for some reason? Lurlock 14:08, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Counting

Lurlock, I saw the same problem, and did a quick web search (noted in my edit comments). Changed it to 3, with #3 being misdirection. Got this from search.com. I couldn't find anything about the fingernail at Penn & Teller's official website. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.62.3.160 (talk • contribs) 16:51, March 19, 2007 (UTC)