An exit survey of Massachusetts voters confirms that “decreased turnout among constituencies that historically have voted for progressive candidates,” combined with a strong Republican performance among independents, delivered Scott Brown the margins he needed to win.

think progress

On the next episode of Skeptically Speaking, a panel discussion on skepticism and race. Is the face of modern skepticism really as monochrome as it appears? How do we make our message appeal to a broader, more diverse audience? And how do racial demographics influence belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal?

Our panel includes LaVerne Knight-West, Stephanie Zvan, and Girl 6.

This Friday!
Details here.

Or so says the new Pray for Healing web site, formerly known as the Pray for Trig web site.

Continue reading Some turn to witchcraft, others to hedonism, still others to cults or the worship of “science”. →

… from his position as Chair of the DSCC. The motto of the DSCC is “Committed to Electing a Democratic Senate.” Just now, there was one … ONE!!!!!! … race in play. One that would be hard to lose. One that would be disastrous to lose.

Bob. Menendez. Needs. To. Resign. Now.

the blog carnival, is here.

In a very very bad way. The FBI needs to get a grip.
Continue reading Oh, this is funny. →

Being right or wrong, being smart or not so smart, being religious-born vs. atheist-born, skeptical or not, or recovered faithful, figuring out what to think or believe vs. receiving the way or the wisdom. . It’s complicated.

Read: Core Values, Atheism and Religion, Mike’s latest installment at Quiche Moraine.

Hat Tip: Jim

This was a project by a high school video class. As you watch, you’ll see objects doing things that they should not do as students take turns singing a Hall and Oats song while they walk/dance along the halls of their high school.

The entire thing is filmed backwards, which explains how paper air planes unfly and bubbles unblow and baloons unpop and stuff unfalls. But if you watch the lip syncing students, you’ll notice that they are lip syncing correctly … their lips are matching the words as well as lip syncing does. But how did they make this happen if they were filming backwards?

Watch the video:
Continue reading The famous Shorewood High School Lip Dub Video (Hall and Oats) →

is here art Ionian Enchantment. Please have a look, there is good stuff there. Honest. No need to be skeptical about it. Just go and look!

I will be doing a Cafe Scientifique with the above title on Tuesday, January 19 (tomorrow as I write this) at 7:00 p.m. at the Bryant Lake Bowl. Doors open at 6. Get there early or call for reservations! The venue is small and the last CS sold out. Call 612-825-8949 for reservations (tickets are 5 – 12 bucks depending on something, not sure what).

There are a LOT of videos coming out on Science Online 10. Go to YouTube and enter Scio10 in search and you’ll see them. Here are a few chosen from what is there already.

This is not comprehensive … but will give you a flavor of the event.

Enjoy:

Continue reading Selected #Scio10 Videos →

In reference to this

Bullet Point 1: I agree, and I wanted to do that to you but for some reason we did not hook up.
Bullet Point 2: It is good to match up the flesh to the sound, it changes everything!
Bullet Point 3: I’m sure you are right about the explosion. Brilliant, actually (imagine that said in an Oxford accent).
Bullet Point 4: I saw this as well, and some of us are now talking about a “blog book tour” idea as an example of that. I hope you are interested.
Bullet Point 5: Sorry about your brain breaking, but it will get better (imagine that in a Monty Python accent).
Bullet Point 6: True.
Bullet Point 7: Reminds me of Levi Straus’s comments about using a wire recorder while working in the Amazon.
Bullet Point 8: Meh.

• Bullet point 1: I just laid down and passed out.
• Bullet point 2: I stayed as far away from SciCurious as possible, for that very reason.
• Bullet Point 3: I also want to bottle Damond Nollan.
• Bullet Point 4: LOL. But seriously, this is a philosophy that not only applies to phones but to all technology. Keep it simple = keep it accessible (often).
• Bullet Point 5: OMG, is that how we looked? That’s the last time I do something with PZ Myers! : )
• Bullet POint 6: … Question 1: Yeah. But funnily enough, a “fact checker” probably always knows one when one sees one. Question 2: I don’t have time to think about that. Question 3: Huh.

Post bullet point questions: No, it would be bad. We need to think of ways to not break this great thing. The conference is currently at its maximum size or nearly so.

I have a few ideas: Make off-site on line participation real, easy, fun and effective, so people who normally attend will be inclined to skip some conferences and attend others, yet participate in all; Have a six month off-set conference in another location (I think the organizers were thinking of something like this).

The above remarks are a response to this post.

Well, I got back last night, but then I was asleep until now. So, as I have my morning cup of coffee I’m going through a couple/few hundred emails. Sorry some comments were trapped in moderation, but I’ve released all the real ones.

Later, I’ll tell you all about the conference. I had long interesting talks with Sheril, Chris, PZ, Rebecca, which you should have expected, but also I have some interesting stuff from Chicago’s Rabiah Mayas, some reactions to Abel Pharmboy and Damond Nollan’s section, and others. A lot of what I learned at this conference is very useful to me but not especially bloggable. The session I was in, organized by Stephanie Zvan, was brilliant, as expected given how wonderful we all are at doing this kind of stuff and more importantly, the amazing audience-participants we garnered for it.