Tim Farley, or as I like to think of him, Novellatron 2.0, has created a vimeo site for the Atlanta Skepticamp. Below is the talk-version of my Skeptical Inquirer article:
All They Want is the Truth: TruthCon 2011 from Atlanta Skeptics on Vimeo.
If you want to see the vids as they appear (a couple hundred MB at a time), visit the site!
Check out Tim’s whatstheharm.net, an invaluable skeptical resource. More coming soon!
RJB
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conspiracy theory, derp, fun, paranormal, psychology, science, science writing/reporting | 
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Posted by Bob
A month ago, I sat down with Richard Gage at a local 9/11 Truth conference. The organizers of the event put up the video of that interview today. Here is part one of three. You can find the other ones for yourself, if you are so interested.
The wearechange.org site is pretty interesting:
The interviewer, Bob J. Blaskiewickz [sic] teaches a course on “conspiracy theory” and “pseudoscience” at the Georgia Tech Institute of Technology [sic]. Though he has been challenged to feature one of the 1,500 + Architects and Engineers in either a live or Skyped debate of the evidence he has declined to test his knowledge in front of his students with any of the 1,500+ experts. Gee, I wonder why…. Perhaps it is because if he were to attempt to defend the thoroughly discredited “official” conspiracy theory of the US government in a debate with a representative from Ae911Truth.org, that he would be exposed completely, as having little to no knowledge or understanding of the forensic evidence that he presumes to debunk in his classes.
To his credit he did behave in this interview, though many of his questions were simply reciting long discredited arguments from fellow pseudo debunkers, such as Ryan Mackey or Jonathan Kay. It remains to be seen whether or not any of the incredible forensic evidence that is brought forward in this interview or in the subsequent presentation of “Blueprint for Truth: The Architecture of Destruction” will ever find a way into any of the “Skeptical” Inquirer’s media catalog of magazines, podcasts, and videos online.
Apparently, I’m a complete bastard, but you don’t see it here. I did in fact invite a 9/11 Truther to my class, which works well enough for me. I’m pretty sure I told him that, but that’s fine.
The funny thing is that I turned in an 8,000-word article last week to Skeptical Inquirer, which will be edited down to 3,000. So, not every word can possibly be printed, but I will include a link in the edited version to this interview. You’re welcome. I just didn’t want anyone to think they had shamed me into including parts of this evidence–it is the bulk of the article I already submitted. I behave even when I’m not being filmed.
Enjoy!
RJB
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Posted by Bob
Rives uncovers the truth about 4:00 in the morning in his TED talk.
RJB
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Posted by Bob
Last weekend, Eve gave her talk about the origins of a dirty words. Her journey into the seedy side of etymology was prompted by a number of glaring mistakes she encountered on skeptical sites. Her exact words, I think, were, “FUCK!”
Here is the video, which is the size of a house (a 314MB .m4v).
You can also listen to the mp3 podcast version, which is more hamster-sized.
This talk is explicit and NSFW, but it’s totally ok to listen to it in front of children, especially strangers’ children.
And a special thanks to Mark Ditzler at Abrupt Media for putting these together.
RJB
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Posted by Bob
I believe I may have mentioned this before, but my students in the WWII class put together a website about WWII in Atlanta. The site is up and running, and I hope that you take the opportunity to look through it. It was a great experience for me, and I hope that my students got a sense of the history behind their city, state, and school.
RJB
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Posted by Bob
All,
Mark Ditsler of Abrupt Media has taken my Skepticamp talk and turned it into a video. It’s about my visit to the TruthCon way back in February. This is a mega-file, hundreds of meg in .m4v format. Also, did I mention it’s really large? I may rip the audio later to have something more downloadable for you.
Enjoy downloading it!
RJB
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Posted by Bob
This one goes out to all of you men who have spawned. Now stop. It’s getting crowded and people aren’t getting smarter.
Now, on with the conspiracy theories!
Conspiracy Theory of the Week
This week’s Gilded Trouser Nugget goes to Mike “Health Danger” Adams’ report on how Fairbanks, Alaska voted to remove fluoride, frikin’ fluoride, from their water. Now men’s precious bodily fluids will be safe from Grizzly Moms. They are always trying to steal our essence.
RJB
37 Comments | conspiracy theory, mass media, politics, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Bob
“Don’t start a blog.” Tim Farley (of whatswtheharm.net) gives his talk to Skepticamp Atlanta 2011.
Be ye warned, BIG DAMN m4v file! (More to come!)
RJB
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Posted by Bob
They are up, and they are hypernumerous. We’re so much better looking than Denver.
RJB
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Posted by Bob
I’ve been thinking of writing a blog post about runes. I’ve read some books in the Wicca/New Age/Runes-Iz-Magic! genre as well as some books by a scholar who actually knows what he’s talking about. The problem is that it’s all so terribly complicated. So I’ve been having second thoughts. What to do, what to do? How can I make such a momentous decision? I know, how about a free rune reading site? I asked the runes “Is my idea for a blog post a good one?” This is what they answered:
The Cross spread is used to plot the arc of your life and the forces acting on it. It is the most popular spread, giving a very complete view of the situation. Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement.
The left rune represents an important element of the past. Gebo means gift, and like many gifts, the rune may be understood on many levels. Gifts are generally positive things, for both the giver and the recipient. In many cultures however, gifts and favors carry with them an obligation to respond in kind. It is for this reason that gifts, and hence the rune Gebo, are frequently symbolic of friendships, marriages, alliances, mergers, and other bonds between people or organizations. Gebo is a strong rune and the unions represented are strong as well. Moreover, Gebo is not reversible, as true friendships are not easily undone.
The middle rune represents a deciding element of the present. Ansuz is the spoken word of God. This rune is reversed, indicating that you are misunderstanding the divine voice or failing to hear it all. The word is always correct, so you must strive, whatever the difficulty, to hear correctly. Be wary of the advice you are given, for it may prove incorrect. Do not attribute infallibility to fallible sources…[ellipsis in original]
The top rune represents a force that works for you. Ken is the rune of light and knowledge, driving away darkness and ignorance and revealing hidden truth. This rune also brings forth images of friendship and comfort. Ken is the light of inspiration, the light of imagination, and a beacon in the darkest hours.
The bottom Rune represents a force that works against you. Isa is the rune symbolizing Ice – cold, stagnant, frozen, and unchanging. This rune suggests heat removed not just from anger or conflict, but from passion as well. Paradoxically, Isa conveys images of slippery slopes and unsure footing, but also of circumstances that have crystallized and become utterly immutable. Remember that in the cold north, ice is not just THE challenge to be overcome, but the very nature of the environment. Be courageous, for you work against this element every day. Will you fight alone or with others against this, our common foe? Is there much worse than lack of change?
The right rune represents the critical element of the future, at the core of the final outcome. Laguz is the most strongly feminine of runes, representing water. Deep sexuality is suggested by this rune. Through Laguz, water is seen as the ocean – vast, uncontrollable, ever-changing, and vital. When interpreted as the returning tide, Laguz can also predict the inevitable return from a long journey.
Sadly, that didn’t really help at all as I have no idea what the hell it’s supposed to mean. Apparently, I’m not paying attention to the divine voice (fair enough), but I’m “driving away darkness and ignorance and revealing hidden truth.” Also, there’s something about deeply sexy female water. Whatever.
Since I seem to be divinely/mystically challenged, I decided to go for the one-rune reading. Here’s the ultimate answer:
42
A Single rune is used to gain a quick insight into what drives the situation, or to reduce it to the most concise summary possible. Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement.The rune represents the critical factor in the issue at hand. Ken is the rune of light and knowledge, driving away darkness and ignorance and revealing hidden truth. This rune also brings forth images of friendship and comfort. Ken is the light of inspiration, the light of imagination, and a beacon in the darkest hours.
Now that’s more like it. But wait, I actually own a set of runes! For some reason, it doesn’t have the f-rune, *fehu/feoh/fé, which means “cattle, property, wealth.” That sucks. Instead, I have two of the a/o-rune (depending on language/rune set) *Ansuz/oss/áss, which means “god” (singular of Æsir). I have arbitrarily made one of the *Ansuzes into a *fehu. Regardless, I dipped into my bag of runes and picked the w-rune, wynn, which means “joy.”
In short, in a few days, I will be happy to drive away the darkness and your ignorance of runes and reveal their hidden secret.**
ES
*The asterisk indicates that this is the reconstructed Germanic word.
**Spoiler alert: It’s a fricking alphabet!
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Posted by Eve
Skeptical Humanities 