Ranting Skeptically

2010-12-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

The gall of that woman.

We both spent good money to sit in row “P” and had a common cause to see a good show. Seating at the Paramount Theater is less than ideal. I have had more leg room on a cross country coach flight on Alaskan Airlines. My only hope with comfort was to cross my legs.

In the heat of good conversation, I am animated. You would think that I was Italian by the way I use my hands when I talk. The show had not yet begun and there was much to discuss with this supposed “date”.

Penn & Teller hit the scene in the late 80’s. Their “schtick” was to be the bad boys of magic. They made it quite clear that magic was all bullshit and they occasionally exposed the secrets of the art. They would pretend that other magicians hated them for this, but in reality, they had hung out with the likes of David Copperfield in their personal lives. They were smart, funny, edgy, and I gravitated towards this.

Then I read an article about them. How they had come to know James Randi and spoke of their deep skepticism. “Wait”, I remember thinking. “these boys know about James Randi?” I was convinced at the time that nobody else knew about this funny little magician with his personal check of $10,000 for anyone willing to demonstrate psychic abilities under scientific controls. These guys loved Randi, and considered him a dear friend. In fact, it was Randi who introduced them together. There would be no Penn & Teller if not for James Randi. I was their new fanboy.

I went to one show of theirs in Penn’s home state of Massachusetts. Despite their success, they are very gracious and make a point to talk with the crowd in the lobby after the show. They were busy signing autographs and posing with photos so I decided to do something different. I approached the tower of human known as Penn Jillette and handed him my camera.

“Here, take my picture”.

Without flinching, he positioned the camera and snapped a photo of his random fan.

I did the same will Teller (he has no first name). Hesitant at first, but he complied with my request. “We have the strangest fans” he would say while doing so.

Every June I go to Vegas for James Randi’s The Amazing Meeting and geek out with fellow skeptics. It is the one time each year where I can hang out with 1,000 others that are advocates of science, science education, and critical thinking. Every Year Penn & Teller attend the same conference. As a result, I have come to know them as people, more than performers. They are both approachable and social.

“Can you please not cross your legs because your foot is touching me”.

Fuck. Really?

I had no Idea that this was happening, that my foot was touching her leg. I was prepared to see my boys give a great show, and perhaps try out some new things for their Vegas production. This was to be one of my best nights out this winter. I was comfortably resting in my seat, being social, and waiting for the curtain to rise.

“Can you please not cross your legs…”

I know I overacted by leaving, but I could not stand to be in same building as somebody so crass. I respect the personal space of others. I never recline my chair on airplanes, but I suck it up when the person in front of me reclines theirs. Never in 1,000 years would I lean to the person in front of me and ask, “could you please not recline your chair back?”

To be told not to cross my legs, took me back to the middle school in California where that snooty rich spoiled punkass informed me, “we don’t skip in Piedmont.”

Damn it, I am an adult and I will skip, or cross my legs if I want to. Also, I will allow you the right to skip or cross your legs if you want to.

Fuck you lady, I told her “thanks for ruining my evening, and enjoy the show”.

I left.

2010-12-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

The early 80's was an especially bad time for science television. Popular shows such as Real People and That's Incredible had no quorums about broadcasting anecdotal accounts of everything from ghosts, big foot, UFOs and psychic phenomena. Also, things such as the Bermuda Triangle, Noah's Ark and Peruvian ground drawings where getting TV specials attributing all sorts of fanciful claims to them. Fortunately however, two televised events would happen that would forever change my world view. One was the PBS broadcast of the mini-series Cosmos, and the other was a guest appearance on That's My Line by a funny little magician.

James Hydrick first appeared on That's Incredible in 1980. I am almost certain that I had seen this episode because this series had been deemed required viewing from my peers in my 6th grade class. Everybody watched That's Incredible, and then we would talk about the amazing things we had seen the night before the in the quad of the middle school.

This was Piedmont, CA, where as the new kid from a nearby Oakland elementary school I was pulled aside by a snooty rich punkass and reminded that, "we don't skip in Piedmont". I digress.

Hydrick was not only a psychic and could demonstrate psychokinetic abilities, but he also claimed it could be taught to others. He even had a exclusive martial arts academy in which he would teach this art to children. It was powerful stuff. He could move pencils and turn phonebook pages, just by using his mind. It all seemed very sincere and genuine to my 11 year old brain. However, all of his self-described mystical training could not prepare him for the likes of James Randi.

It seems like James Randi has always been a colorful little old man with a beard, but his 1956 appearance on the Today Show suggests otherwise. As the Amazing Randi, he was a stage magician, escape artist, and mentalist. In this early live black & white TV appearance, a young beardless, Randi is lowered, underwater, in a small steel-cased coffin for 102 minutes. Although such an exercise does require a skillful command of slow, controlled breathing, the secret of pulling off such a stunt of successfully was mostly in the performance; the vessel easily had enough oxygen to sustain himself for this amount time (more so because Randi was such a small man leaving more room for air). It was essentially a scam. But what separated him from a con-artist was these actions had been cloaked under the umbrella as "entertainment". All parties, Randi, NBC, and the general audience understood this. What really bothered Randi was when some charlatan used these same methods of deception and, then claimed that they where true abilities of mystic phenomena.

Although he always hated the term "debunker", Randi spent most of his life exposing charlatans, con-artists, shady faith healers, and, most notably, a popular mentalist from Tel Aviv named Uri Geller, who claimed he could bend spoons with his mind. Randi had strong convictions. So convinced that that all of these folks that where making claims of physic abilities where either self deluded or downright dishonest, that he decided to put his own money on the line. He carried with him, at all times, a check for $10,000 to anybody that was able to successfully demonstrate their own physic abilities under agreed controls. This would come to be known as the "Randi Challenge", and after years of donations through his non-profit organization (JREF) it would later be called, "the Million Dollar Challenge". This prize remains unclaimed.

Randi must have been less than impressed when he first watched clips of Hydrick on TV. After all these were simple parlor tricks that would have been in the arsenal of a well trained magician such as himself. Randi extended an invitation to take his challenge, and Hydrick accepted.

James Hydrick appeared on That's My Line seemingly confident that Randi's personal check would shortly be in his possession. After a brief intro and some questions about how he came about discovering how he had such powers, he was asked to begin the demonstrations.

Hydrick, wearing a brightly colored Asian jumpsuit, and sporting a mustache that reminded me of Doug Henning, approached a small table. He gently placed a pencil on the table's edge carefully positioning it so that about half of the pencil stuck out over the floor below. After some silly martial arts style stretches, he rolled his eyes up and seemingly began to concentrate. The studio audience fell silent. And then, as if by magic, the pencil rolled itself back fully on the table. The crowd applauded, and I was convinced that I had just seen some kind of miracle take place.

He was even more dramatic after he approached a phonebook that had been placed at another small table. He requested that host of the show inspect the phonebook and then leave it on the table, opened to the page of their choosing. The stretching antics seemed more extreme this time. Finally, he crotched down in front of the table, and again began to concentrate. Again, the studio fell silent. After a few tense seconds, the impossible happened; the page seemed to turn by itself. This time there was a combination of gasps and applause.

I was amazed! He seemed to live up to his promises. Perhaps there was a greater power at work here. Maybe this was something that science could never explain. I fallen for this hook, line and sinker.

Then, James Randi was invited onto the stage. I had no memory of seeing this curious little man before. He was there to perform a simple experiment to determine if the claims of James Hydrick were true. He produced his check for $10,000 out of his breast pocket that he was willing to forfeit if this was actually the case.

Randy himself would not be making the call. He invited a small panel to decide if Hydrick did actually deliver the goods. Two had a background in science and the third was from a psychic institute in LA.

Briskly, Randi approached the first table with the pencil. He immediately discounted the value of scrutinizing this trick too closely. It was too difficult for controls, he explained. It was a large studio with many drafts. He demonstrated how easy the pencil was easily moved by duplicating the stunt himself. So he quickly shuffled over to the phone book.

"We need to rule out the possibility of blowing, see". Randi pulled out a brown paper bag and arranged the contents evenly around the edges of the phonebook. I was amazed. It was too simple, too elegant. Blowing could be the means of the page moving, of course, that makes sense, but what control does one employ to rule this possibility out? Styrofoam packing peanuts.

For the next 50 minutes (it was cut down for broadcast) Hydrick would do his funny stretches, kneel down in front of the phonebook and styrofoam, roll up his eyes and begin to concentrate... But this time, the pages did not move. He would then stand up, give some lame excuse, "the lights and packing material are creating some sort of static electricity field" and repeat this process. The page remained motionless. Hydrick, now frustrated and embarrassed, finally gave up.

As the show was ready to wrap up. Randi approached his panel once again, and one by one asked them if they had seen any demonstration of psychic ability that evening. In turn, each one responded, "no, I have not".

It was 1981 and I was now a skeptic.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7471941094792399305

2008-10-15T05:21:00.001-07:00

2008-10-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

2008-10-04T17:03:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the podcast I have found relating to secular and free thought programming. Looking forward to other recommendations from the group.

Podcast relating solely to skepticism can be found HERE
What is a podcast?
A podcast is a series of audio or video digital-media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated download. Basically, they are “shows” that are updated somewhat frequently. Users typically update only the most recently episodes for playback later on their computers or iPods. Subjects can range from a large range of topics and interest.

While there is a great deal of content from mainstream outlets (CNN does a hourly news recap), most of the content is from small groups, organizations or even individuals. This can be both a strength and weakness with the medium.

How do I subscribe to a podcast?
Podcast are available through Web feeds, to portable media players and personal computers. Though the same content may also be made available by direct download or streaming, a podcast is distinguished from other digital-media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added.

Many podcast are available at the iTunes store via iTunes. Best of all, they are all free!

Name: The Atheist Experience
URL: http://www.atheist-experience.com/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêê½
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 1 hour+
Host(s): Matt Dillahunty
Don Baker
Russell Glasser
Tracie Harris
Martin Wagner
Weekly call in show hosted by the Atheist Community of Austin that asks, “what do you believe and why?” Matt Dillahunty is a former evangelical who knows scripture inside and out which can make for amusing debate.

Name: The Non-Prophets
URL: http://www.nonprophetsradio.com/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêê½
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 1+ hours
Host(s): Matt Dillahunty
Denis Loubet
Russell Glasser
Jeff Dee
Weekly Internet radio show also hosted by the Atheist Community of Austin. Also quite good.

Name: Point of Inquiry
URL: http://www.pointofinquiry.org/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêê½
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 30 minutes
Host(s): D.J. Grothe
Hosted by the Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry. D.J. Grothe does a great job with his interviews with great guest.

Name: Atheists Talk
URL: http://mnatheists.org
Format: Audio & Video Versions
iTunes User Rating: êêêê
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 30 minutes
Host(s): Mike Haubrich
Produced by Minnesota Atheists. If I am ever in Minnesota, I am eating at Q.Cumbers for their “heavenly buffet”!

Name: Freethought Radio
URL: http://www.freethoughtradio.com/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêê
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 30 minutes+
Host(s): Dan Barker
Annie Laurie Gaylor
Weekly radio program on Air America hosted by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Very good.

Name: American Freethought Podcast
URL: http://www.americanfreethought.com/wordpress/index.php
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêê½
Updated: Weekly Mostly
Duration: 30 minutes
Host(s): David Driscoll
John C. Snide
I am new to this podcast but it seems pretty solid.

Name: Geologic Podcast
URL: http://www.geologicpodcast.com/
Format: Audio with occasional video
iTunes User Rating: êêêê½
Updated: Weekly
Duration: Typically under 1 hour
Host(s): George Hrab
Basically and one-man comedy show with a secular bent. Highly entertaining.

Name: Secular Nation Podcast
URL: http://www.atheistalliance.org/podcast/index.php?id=30
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêêê
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 15-30 minutes
Host(s):
Produced by Atheist Alliance International, featuring articles and news from Secular Nation Magazine

Name: Reasonable Doubts Podcast
URL: http://doubtreligion.blogspot.com/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêêê
Updated: Monthly?
Duration: 1 hour+
Host(s): Jeremy Beahan
Luke Galen
David Fletcher

Name: Two Smokin' Hot Freethinkers Podcast
URL: http://twosmokinhotfreethinkers.blogspot.com/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêê
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 1 hour
Host(s): Reed Braden
Katie Mitchell
Lots of f-bombs… NSFW

Name: The Good Atheist Podcast
URL: http://thegoodatheist.net/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêê½
Updated: Monthly (mostly)
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Host(s): Ryan Harkness
Jacob Fortin
Couple of mildly informed “writers and comedians” from Toronto.

Name: The Infidel Guy Show
URL: http://www.infidelguy.com/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêêê
Updated: Rarely
Duration: Endless
Host(s): The Infidel Guy Show
SOMEBODY PLEASE FIQURE THIS SHOW OUT AND EXPLAIN IT TO ME!!

2008-10-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the podcast I have found relating to pure skepticism. Looking forward to other recommendations from the group.

What is a podcast?
A podcast is a series of audio or video digital-media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated download. Basically, they are “shows” that are updated somewhat frequently. Users typically update only the most recently episodes for playback later on their computers or iPods. Subjects can range from a large range of topics and interest.

While there is a great deal of content from mainstream outlets (CNN does a hourly news recap), most of the content is from small groups, organizations or even individuals. This can be both a strength and weakness with the medium.

How do I subscribe to a podcast?
Podcast are available through Web feeds, to portable media players and personal computers. Though the same content may also be made available by direct download or streaming, a podcast is distinguished from other digital-media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added.

Many podcast are available at the iTunes store via iTunes. Best of all, they are all free!

Podcast related to skepticism

Name: The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
URL: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/
iTunes User Rating: êêêê½
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 1 hour +
Host(s): Steven Novella, MD
Robert Novella
Rebecca Watson
Evan Bernstein
Jay Novella
Bar none the best podcast out there on the subject of skepticism. If you had to choose only one, I strongly urge that you listen to this one. They also produce the Skeptics’ Guide 5x5, which is a short, classroom friendly program (5 skeptics for 5 minutes)

Name: Skeptoid – Critical Analysis Podcast
URL: http://skeptoid.com/
iTunes User Rating: êêêê½
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 10-15 minutes
Host(s): Brian Dunning
Another favorite of mine. Brian Dunning tackles a different subject each week and breaks it down with critical thinking.

Name: Skepticality: The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine
URL: http://www.skepticality.com/index.php
iTunes User Rating: êêêê
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 1 hour
Host(s): Derek Colanduno
Robynn "Swoopy" McCarthy
Another fan favorite. Swoopy’s interviewing skills can be a little shaky at times.

Name: The Skeptic Zone: The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason
URL: http://www.skepticzone.tv/
iTunes User Rating: êê ê
Updated: Weekly(?)
Duration: 15 minutes
Host(s): Richard Saunders
Dr Rachael Dunlop
They are only two episodes in. I have not had the chance to listen to this one yet, but Richard Saunders is a skeptic superstar from down under. Formally the Skeptic Tank.

Name: A Skeptic Moment - On the Road
URL: http://www.skepticmoment.com/
iTunes User Rating: êêêêê (based on two reviews)
Updated: Last updated 27-Nov-07
Duration: 15 minutes
Host(s): Tim Kammer
Tim is also the President of Seattle’s own Society for Sensible Explanations

Name: The Skeptical Viewer
URL: http://www.skepticalviewer.com/
iTunes User Rating:
Updated: Monthly
Duration: 30 minutes
Host(s):
I have not listened to this podcast. They seem to have a ghost hunter bent and may be more on the true believer side. Be warned.

Name: The Conspiracy Skeptic
URL: http://www.yrad.com/cs/
iTunes User Rating: êêê½
Updated: Monthly
Duration: 30 minutes
Host(s): Karl Mamer

Name: The Amazing Show starring James Randi
URL: http://www.itricks.com/randishow/
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: êêê½
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 15 minutes
Host(s): Justin Robert Young

Name: Skeptech: A Skeptical Look at Tech
URL: http://skeptech.net/wp-content/SkeptechPodcastFeed.rss
Format: Audio
iTunes User Rating: No reviews posted
Updated: Monthly
Duration: 1 hour+
Host(s): Matthew Kaplan and Scott Cutler

Name: Crackle: Penn Says
URL: http://crackle.com/c/Penn_Says
Format: Video
iTunes User Rating: êêêê½
Updated: Weekly
Duration: 3-5 minutes
Host(s): Penn Jillette
Perfect for those who can take Penn Jillette only in small doses

2008-09-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

I had a nice time at the Atheist Alliance International Convention down here on the Queen Mary (it really is hard to compete with the fun I had at TAM6 however). Definitely a mature crowd at this event, a lot of gray hairs for sure.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was to be the secret recipient of the Richard Dawkins Award. Her active role with defending women's rights in Islamic societies has made her a target for Islamic extremist and has forced her into hiding. Despite the increased security (metal detectors, bomb sniffing dogs, etc.) her appearance had to be cancelled at the last minute by the Long Beach Port Authority and Homeland Security due to bomb threats. The AAI managed to save the day by patching her in via a live video feed for her acceptance speech. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a true hero for which she received two standing ovations, with love and admiration from the attendees.

Mikey Weinstein gave a fired up talk about his current legal battles and his role as the founder of Military Religious Freedom Foundation. He is a serious bad ass who pulls no punches when it comes to the subject of church and state separation and with stopping the growing evangelical takeover of our military, work for which he has also received large numbers of death threats.

PZ Myers, too, another speaker (and the nicest person you could meet in person) receives countless death threats for being an outspoken Atheist and for poking fun at organized religion. It is sad that these educated, rational, free thinking people could inspire so much hatred in others. These are folks, non unlike our country's fore fathers, who want nothing more than to have a secular government and a society free from religious (or non-religious) prosecution. One wonders how often death threats have been written by Atheists.

All in all, I am glad I went, but my passions are skeptic first, Atheist second. I think the toolset of critical thinking learned by scientific skepticism provides the natural path of questioning god(s). Dare I say that skepticism is a gateway drug to Atheism? The lack of young people at the conference was much of a bother for me. Atheism certainly has its branding issues, sadly, Atheism is not sexy. While TAM had a noticeable focus on science, and science education (and science can be sexy), this conference devoted too much time whining about the "in god we trust" and the "under god" issue -- while I agree with, but I am not about to march to DC with picket signs over it (but I would march over the values of science education). There was no discussions about attracting one of the fastest growing segments of the non-religious-- our country's youth!

Michael Newdow gave an amusing performance with his satire of his Wasp Side Story. It was basically the music from the West Side Story with the name "Maria" replaced by Supreme Court Justice name "Scalia". I was squirming a little in my seat as he sang... this musical is older than I am... and I am 40 now! No wonder the room was full of so many retirees. Atheism has a long way to go if it wants to become sexy again.

2008-09-11T05:39:00.001-07:00

2008-09-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

2008-09-07T21:35:00.001-07:00

2008-09-01T16:15:00.001-07:00

The Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken - A funny movie is a click away

2008-08-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

2008-08-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

2008-07-27T07:10:00.001-07:00

2008-07-22T20:02:00.001-07:00

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

2008-07-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

In Response....

This Flash presentation is powerful stuff.

After listening to the voice message left by CeeCee Lyles on her home answering machine, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. She was a flight attendant on flight 93 whose heart-wrenching farewell was recorded on the family answering machine. She was fully aware that the twin towers had been hit by passenger airliners and knew that it was unlikely that she would see her family again. Sad, sad stuff.

To be fair, the We Are Change group, has not yet addressed their own theories about U93, short of Bob D’s personal feelings that it may have been shot down. But nothing else presented to me has panned out after having wasted my time with further research. Not to mention, that all of the concerns presented by them have been thoroughly discussed in other forums.

I was not previously familiar with Bazant and his work, but after digging into it, he seems to be creditable guy with a great deal of structural design knowledge – certainly more than I have. Please, give me somebody that can understand and properly challenge his actual equations. It is complete BS to pooh-pooh his entire thesis based on an over-simplified line drawing taken out of context. Did they even read the report?

I thought Eliza’s responses to Bob D’s have been pretty solid. I think she has nailed him on a couple things – not that he would accept such.

CeeCee Lyles, and her fellow passengers knew that the plane was intended to be used as a missile, and that their only hope was to take back the cockpit. Perhaps they even knew that while this could risk ditching the plane, it might at least prevent the terrorists from hitting their intended target.

For the likes of Bob D to deny these people their last act of true heroism with unproven claims of missile strikes, diverted flight paths, faked phone calls, etc, infuriates me to the core.

It is one thing to question, that is what we skeptics do after all, but flat out denials are insulting when so much overwhelming evidence dictates otherwise. Some of these people believe that a missile hit the pentagon… how would you like to be one of the poor souls who had to the pick through the wreckage for little bits of human bodies for forensic identification?

I know that is an intellectual debate, and it is unfair to call to the emotions, but this is no parlor game, these are real people, who have left behind real survivors. These are men and women who suffered through the aftermath of the investigation and clean up. To discount or discredit these folks, with complete lack of evidence, sickens me.

I invite Bob D to reread the Wikipedia entry for scientific skepticism and then read the entry on pseudoscience.

Pseudoscience is defined as a body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or
practice that is claimed to be scientific or made to appear scientific, but does
not adhere to the scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility
or otherwise lacks scientific status.

As far as I concerned, most of these 9/11 truther theories fall into the realm of pseudoscience, and they still have a long way to go to convince me of otherwise.

2008-07-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

This Week on The Atheist Experience...

Court Decisions & Religious Liberty. Wafer mania. Don looks at the Texas
state supreme court decision and its impact on religious liberty.

2008-07-15T04:58:00.000-07:00

This Week on the Non-Prophets...

A full house, as Thad, Denis, Russell, Shilling and Matt chime in on:
Faith-based initiatives, "un"substantiated communion wafer chaos, female atheist
activists' blogs, annointing with olive oil (Popeye not included)...

2008-07-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

Worth the Efforts...
I have heard back from Wendy Malloy at the Pacific Science Center about coordinating a public event on February 12th (Darwin day) since the Lucy exhibit will also be in town during this time.

It sounds like they have just begun to think that far out, but she indicated that events coordinator was very excited about my suggestions. I would love for this to be something big… I was seriously thinking of taking time off and leaving town for the occasion, but with Lucy here, this could end up being a significant event for Seattle and for the general awareness of early human ancestry.

I will keep you posted.

JC

2008-07-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Blue Kid, part 1
It is hard to believe that I have known Jed Alexander for over 20 years now.

2008-07-09T20:36:00.001-07:00

Lucy in the Sky with Darwin's...2ooth!
OK… this is huge. Lucy is scheduled to be here in Seattle Oct-4th through Mar-8th. Her visit also overlaps Darwin’s 200th on 12th Feb. What better way to celebrate both events by combining them? I don’t know if the Pacific Science Center has specific plans for this occasion, but it is worth it to find out, no?
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS188394+25-Mar-2008+BW20080325
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/11/061101-lucy-tour.html

2008-07-09T05:13:00.001-07:00

Another Reason I Love Seattle…

http://www.pacsci.org/lucy/
Lucy is coming! Donald Johanson’s book on the subject, though grossly out of date, is one of my favorite journals about the scientific method. I can’t wait to see Lucy!

2008-07-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

This Week on the Good Atheist…

Although a bit amateur, and uneven, these Canadians are at a greater disadvantage because the premier they speak of happened last April in the USA. I am so glad that this movie sunk into oblivion.

2008-07-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

And I Live Here...
Scooped again by PZ
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/godless_advertising.php#comments

2008-07-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

This week on Freethought Radio…

Freethought Radio will analyze Barack Obama's controversial decision to rename
and expand Bush's "faith-based initiative," using clips from his announcement
this week. It will also interview southern activist Pat Cleveland, who is in the
midst of the annual 4th of July bash in the heart of the bible belt sponsored
every year by the activist Alabama Freethought Association. Author Nica Lalli
will be interviewed about her memoir about growing up as and embracing being a
"nothing" when it comes to religion.

2008-07-07T20:20:00.001-07:00

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/

2008-07-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

This week on Atheist Talk…

For Independence Day, we're proud to bring you Eddie Tabash of American's
United to speak with us about the Founding Father's views on the separation of
Church and State. If you've ever felt like the Founder's would not approve
of our government's actions regarding the entanglement of church and state you
can find out some good evidence about what they wrote and said on that topic to
make up your own mind.

Still not the most polished PodCast out there, Atheist Talk tackles this country’s fore-founders take on the… well, you already read the quote above. As far as I can tell, this recording is free of annoying nose whistles. If anything, the 4th of July is a celebration of the separation of church and state, and it reminds us that freedom of religion also equates to freedom from religion.

2008-07-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

This week on The Atheist Experience…

It is an expensive little vacation but [it is] completely worth it… it just a
great way to sort of boost your morale as a skeptic.

Martin Wagner gives a comprehensive recap of TAM6

2008-07-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, James Randi is only six apples high, but his message of truth is beyond measure

2008-07-06T18:24:00.001-07:00

Proud to Live in Seattle...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080105095758AA0UJeO

2008-07-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

This Week on Point of Inquiry...

Solid interview with Ben Radford. I now regret not particpating in his workshop at TAM.

2008-07-06T09:30:00.001-07:00

2008-07-06T09:29:00.001-07:00

2008-07-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

This Week on The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe…

Interview with Dr Dean Edell
News Items: Darwin-Wallace Anniversary, Tunguska Remembered, Creationist Bill Passes in Louisana, Nanowire Battery, SGU on Youtube
Your Questions and E-mails: Collective Skeptics, Body Fruit
Randi Speaks: Speaker Cables
Science or Fiction

2008-07-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

Pirate Sightings 6, 7 & 8

2008-07-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

31 Million Views for a Reason

2008-07-05T17:56:00.001-07:00

This Week on Skepticality
…Swoopy interviews both Neil DeGrasse Tyson & Adam Savage @ TAM6

2008-07-05T08:27:00.001-07:00

Seperated at Birth Redux

The now defuncked Spy Magazine had a great section called Separated at Birth. My friend Nado (rhymes with “Otto”) has posted a similar comparison of himself and an ROTJ Ewok. Personally, I think Nado is much smarter, and far more interesting than your typical Ewok.

2008-07-05T00:17:00.001-07:00

2008-07-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

No Paine, No Gain: A July 4th Special

2008-07-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

This week on Dear Science…

In this very special, very gay episode, Jonathan Golob and David Schmader talk about the possible causes of homosexuality. Did your mother make you gay? Probably.

2008-07-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

TAM6 Aftermath: Newsweek’s Sharon Begley Pushes Penn’s Buttons (and I can’t say that I completely disagree with her)

From Crackle: Penn Says- Newsweek and TAM 6.0

2008-07-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

Pirate Sighting #5

http://wearesomuchfun.blogspot.com/

2008-07-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Week on Atheists Talk

In honor of Gay Pride events going on world-wide, Minnesota Atheists are proud to present Wayne Bensen of "Truth Wins Out," an organization which exposes the lies of ex-gay ministries. Next, we bring you Jane Bowman who has researched 515Minnesota laws which discriminate against gay couples and their families. Minnesota Atheists strongly support those fighting for equal rights.

Unfortunately, Mike Haubrich’s audible breathing and nose whistles makes this PodCast almost unlistenable.

PZ Meyers recently mentioned that of the thousands of emails he receives each week, he has yet to hear from an Atheist that questioned evolution. Likewise, I have yet to talk to an outspoken Atheist that opposed gay rights… and that makes me too happy.

2008-07-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

This week on Skeptoid
Brian Dunning tackles the mystery of number radio transmissions. I recall reading about these many moons ago in one of the Straight Dope books by Cecil Adams.

2008-07-01T21:29:00.001-07:00

Facebook is Awesome

“Wow. A fascinating ornithological study. When I was a kid, I lived in a house with a terra cotta roof, and a pigeon got stuck under one of the tiles and died. He was hanging out halfway, and every time it got windy, his carcass would blow around. He was up there for months, then one day he fell and landed in my backyard. He no longer had a face at that point.”

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=748577651

2008-07-01T04:54:00.000-07:00

Pirate Sighting #4
http://tehjuggernauts.blogspot.com/2008/06/fsm-has-pride.html

2008-07-01T04:49:00.000-07:00

Pirate Sighting #3 http://www.flickr.com/photos/evil_angela/2626568241/

2008-06-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Pirate Sighting #2
http://emeraldcityguy.wordpress.com/

2008-06-30T19:04:00.001-07:00

Skully's 15 Minutes Begins....NOW!

http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/06/i_have_named_him_skully

2008-06-30T14:19:00.001-07:00

Semantics... so you think you are agnostic? Think again.

One of the things I enjoy about listening to the Non-Prophets is that they share a similar definition of atheism as I do, which is simply one who rejects theistic claims. I also agree with them that any claim that one can know the non-existence of a god (or gods) is a ridiculous assertion of a negative position that few rational atheists would actually take.

Because the word atheist has been so well demonized, I think it is time to reclaim the term and apply it to this broader sense.

2008-06-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

My last photo of Skully, I promise…

2008-06-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

Priate Sighting #1

http://catenary.wordpress.com/

2008-06-29T17:17:00.001-07:00

Great fun was had today at Seattle’s Pride Parade with fellow Seattle Atheists. In full pirate gear, we helped to spread the pasta gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I was pleasantly amused about how many spectators were in on the joke and how many actively approached the FSM, requesting to be touched by it’s noodley appendage. Ramen, brother!

More Photos here…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24274411@N06/?saved=1

2008-06-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Skully the Impaled Pigeon

I have named him Skully, and for the past year or so I have witnessed his slow decomposition on the gondola spikes at my morning bus stop at 5th and Jackson. It amazes me that there is still enough tissue to bind his frail skeleton together and I suspect that is only a matter of time before his little pigeon head falls off onto a waiting commuter below.

2008-06-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

From the in box...

"Good stuff Jonathan. I did a more gossipy one at: http://skepbitch.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/name-droppings-of-a-skeptic-tam-6/ and will be doing a report I'll post online. -of-a-skeptic-tam-6/ and will be doing a report I'll post online."

Can't wait to hear more!

2008-06-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

Outside of the scientific and skeptic community, TAM6 and some of the names I mentioned in my first post may seem obscure. Most folks know Penn & Teller and Adam Savage (from Mythbusters). A few others might recognize Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson from his work on PBS.

The Amazing Meeting is basically an annual gathering of skeptics preaching the scientific method, understanding and using critical thinking skills, and maintaining a naturalistic world view. It was nice to be with large group of folks who don’t easily accept the existence of ghost, alien visitations, ESP and other ridiculous pseudoscience & supernatural beliefs. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” was a praise thrown around quite a bit.

I know this all sounds a little preachy, but we live in culture in which over half do not believe, or seriously question, evolution. According to a recent poll in Newsweek, when given a multiple choice quiz, 25% of Americans managed not to correctly answer that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Scientific literacy in this country is an embarrassment, and it drives me batty at times. It was nice to attend the conference to remind myself that there are other rational people out there, and lots of them.

Finally, I was 13 when I saw James “the Amazing” Randi, on prime time television, demonstrate the use of critical thinking and scientific of controls to dispel the so-called physic abilities of a young man claiming to move the pages of a phone book using only his mind (he was blowing). As I mentioned, I credit Randi with planting the seeds of rationalism early on. So, going to The sixth annual Amazing Meeting (TAM6), and getting to meet James Randi in his later years, was a pretty big deal for me.

2008-06-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

On the Subject of Atheist Activism

“… what we need to do is to stick out elbows out more and push and make room for ourselves in the big political and social community of the United States, so that we also have got a voice of how the country runs, and how the government runs… a voice in just our local communities, and right now we don’t have that”
PZ Myers - speaking on the PodCast Point of Inquiry
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/

2008-06-26T04:51:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine, the Amazing Meeting was...wait for it... quite simply amazing!

I don’t think that I could summarize it much better than Phil Plait, but here it goes...

* I was geeking out big time during the Thursday evening reception as most of the speakers were present. What a pleasure it was to see science blog writers Phil Plait and PZ Myers in the same room together. Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson made a late showing but proved to be both charming and engaging in person.
* Friday’s lecture schedule was so full that I could have gone home that evening fully satisfied.
* The day started with a live taping of the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe… which was very cool.
* Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson… Awesome!!! Truly an inspiring keynote presentation about his own brain droppings (George Carlin would have been proud). His presentation ran long, but we did not want it to end. He received a well deserved standing ovation from my fellow attendees.
* Australian Skeptic Richard Saunders spoke of spoon bending (he is the chief spoon bender of his organization), his invention of the origami Pigasus, and other skeptic ventures from the land down under.
* Penn & Teller – Always fun, but they do tend to get a bit extreme with their Libertarian rants. And yes, Teller does in fact talk.
* Singer, songwriter, George Hrab gave a brief performance.
* PZ Myers spoke about bats.
* The conference day ended with a panel Q&A discussion.
* Dinner with the SGU cast was so crowded that we were forced to sit at a table just outside of the inner circle. They are a great group of folks that made themselves accessible to their fan base. I also got to meet another skeptical podcaster, Brian Dunning and his wife.
* Sacred cow! Saturday was also quite busy.
* The day started with a live taping of the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe… which was very cool.
* Dr. Michael Shermer managed to keep his Libertarian rants to a minimum while discussing the thesis of an upcoming book which escapes me at the moment – but CT brain scans were involved.
* Sharon Begley, senior editor for Newsweek gave a depressing talk about the science illiteracy in this country and the media’s role with irresponsibly reporting BS pseudoscience (get use to it, she says, it is not going away).
* Derek & Swoopy from Skepticality gave a brief presentation.
* Dr. Steve Novella gave a great talk
* Phil Plait --- Awesome!! He spoke mostly of the things in our own solar system that puzzles Science today. "we don’t know". He is also a lifelong fan of James Randi and takes inspiration from Carl Sagan. I had the pleasure to speak with him a few times during the conference and I can say that he is a super-nice guy.
* Adam Savage has OCD – also a super-nice guy.
* We bent spoons with Dr. Richard Wiseman (the guy behind the color changing card trick). Look for the future youtube video!
* Was out to 4 am at the Flamingo Bar (damn you Jay Novella!)
* Sunday morning was pretty much about recovering (damn you again Jay Novella). But the world of pseudoscience was not far from the conference meeting room. While waiting at the gate for my flight home, I was flipping through the local Sunday newspaper. In an article about the dilemma of dealing with aging zoo animals, it was mentioned that the zoo in San Antonio was treating its arthritic tapir with acupuncture. Ugggg.

Of course, I did get to shake hands with James Randi. Overall, It was pretty much a gush fest for Randi with him receiving two awards during the event. At 79, it us unclear how many more TAMs he has left in him, so it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to thank him for helping to instill a naturalistic world view in me at such an early age.

The conference was sooo much fun. TAM7 dates were announced (07-12 July, 2009) and I can’t wait to attend again. With only 900 attendees this year, TAM7 should easily top 1000! Hope to see you there!

JC

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24274411@N06/