This week on the Virtual Skeptics
- Bob sacrifices Tim to the Illuminati for the success of the show;
- Eve asks, “Got penis?”;
- Sharon is mad Bob took her story so she is going to go watch television;
- and Tim wants to see your papers – including your cash.
This Week’s Panel
- Bob Blaskiewicz – CSI’s Conspiracy Guy web columnist, blogger for Skeptical Humanities and Swift Blog contributor
- Eve Siebert – Editor and blogger at Skeptical Humanities and contributor to Skepticality
- Sharon Hill – Editor of Doubtful News and author of the CSI’s Sounds Sciencey web column
- Tim Farley – JREF fellow and creator of What’s the Harm.net and the Skeptical Software Tools blog and also contributor to Skepticality.
Bob’s links:
- Doubtful News reports on the attempted sacrifice: http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/03/rapper-tries-to-sacrifice-friend-for-illuminati/
- Vigilant Citizen: http://vigilantcitizen.com/pics-of-the-month/symbolic-pics-of-the-month-0313/
- The Story of Theophilus the Penitent–in summary form! http://medievalsourcesbibliography.org/sources.php?id=2146115228
- A lovely little synopsis of the Illuminati in hippety-hop: http://www.salon.com/2013/01/24/is_beyonce_a_freemason_nah/
Eve’s links:
- Doubtful News: Penis thefts in Africa: It’s a thing http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/03/penis-thefts-in-africa-its-a-thing/
- Louisa Lombard, “Missing Pieces,” Pacific Standard http://www.psmag.com/magazines/march-april-2013/genital-theft-africa-central-african-republic-53341/?
- Frank Bures, “A Mind Dismembered,” Harper’s Magazine http://harpers.org/archive/2008/06/a-mind-dismembered/
Other sources:
- Ivan Crozier, “Making Up Koro: Multiplicity, Psychiatry, Culture, and Penis-Shrinking Anxieties,” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 67.1 (2012): 36-70.
- Johan J. Mattelaer and Wolfgang Jilek, “Koro: The Psychological Disappearance of the Penis,” Journal of Sexual Medicine 4 (2007): 1509-1515.
- Moira Smith. “The Flying Phallus and the Laughing Inquisitor: Penis Theft in Malleus Maleficarum,” Journal of Folklore Research 39.1 (2002): 85-117.
Sharon’s links:
- Possessed Derek Acorah scares kids, says Ofcom: http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/03/possessed-derek-acorah-scares-kids-says-ofcom/
- Thanks, Dr. Oz, for the terrible advice! http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/03/thanks-dr-oz-for-the-terrible-advice/
Tim’s links:
- TAM2013 has issued the annual call for papers: http://www.amazingmeeting.com/tam2013/getinvolved/#papers
- Browse the past papers by author, topic, year and so on here: http://lanyrd.com/search/?q=amazing+meeting&topics=paper&type=session
- Andrew Sullivan goes pay, NPR Planet Money covers it. At least one skeptic blog network is considering doing the same thing: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/03/07/173530392/andrew-sullivan-is-doing-fine
- Flattr micropayments can now happen automatically when you favorite a tweet, or like a video or picture: http://www.techdirt.com/blog/startups/articles/20130319/02242822371/flattr-makes-it-easier-than-ever-to-support-content-creators-just-favoriting-tweets.shtml
Brian’s Robot links:
- Printable Robots Designed to Be Consumer-friendly, Inexpensive http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/printablerobots.jsp
- This Somewhat Horrifying Drone Has a Surprisingly Mundane Purpose http://www.geekosystem.com/boring-drone-looks-terrifying/, http://www.hoverflytech.com/, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XUSV3CbTwLY
Announcements:
- Bob and Sharon will be speaking at NECSS in New York City the first weekend of April. Go to DoubtfulNews for a discount on registration.
- On that same weekend Tim will be speaking at Skep Tech in Minneapolis. Go to skep-tech.com to register – it’s FREE!
- Aside from the call for papers, TAM 2013 has announced several other ways you can participate, including three grant programs, a call for volunteers, exhibitor slots and more. http://www.amazingmeeting.com/tam2013/getinvolved/
The Virtual Skeptics is an independent production of Doubtful News, WhatsTheHarm.net, Skeptical Humanities, and Brian Gregory. Our logo was designed by Sara Mayhew at SaraMayhew.com. Our theme music is by Tremor and is used with permission.
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