Skepticblog

The Custom IIG Awards

On August 21st, CFI hosted the ten year anniversary of the IIG (Independent Investigation Group) with a huge bash. It was wonderful. Dedicated to the memory of Martin Gardner and with over 100 people there to celebrate, it was a non-stop brainstorming session jam packed with fun, thrills and excitement. (continue reading…)

Ray Bradbury 3 Days before 90

The man who helped put the fiction into science fiction and (among other things) envisioned flat-screen wall-to-wall television way back in 1951 turned 90 this week. Obsessed from an early age with death, old age and a longing to retain the eternal child in all of us, his works manage to encapsulate themes of the unknown that playfully bounce back and forth between fantasy and science with the greatest of ease. Ray has been a friend and mentor to me for many years and I can say with that in mind that there are few writers who have humanized the world of science more than him. He's a national treasure and in this blog I will share a few of the magical moments and thoughts he has shared with me. (continue reading…)

Knebworth House: My Kind of Joint

It had to happen and I’m surprised it took this long. The UK has finally given up the ghost and supplied us with a haunted home that really deserves it’s share of attention – and tourists. The ancestral home since 1490 of politician, poet, playwright and prolific writer of early occult and science fiction themes, Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803- 1873) is now officially haunted! At least that’s what his great great grandson 73 year old Lord David Cobbold is telling the press. (continue reading…)

Okay: So this is a touchy little tale of woo with a possibly questionable source, but looking into this stuff is what I’m here for.  This could be another worst law suit joke or this decade’s answer to “Rosemary’s Baby”(1968). Originally our blog site was set-up to parlay different and interesting stories that The Skeptologists team might one day explore. This one takes the cake. Read no further and steer clear if you are easily offended by religious impiety or work for a company that pushes a spiritual and religious atmosphere in the workplace “based on concepts incorporating universal energy, concepts of reincarnation, and intuitive spiritualism.” (continue reading…)

The Fact or Faked Team

The Syfy Channel now has their own paranormal fighters; “Fact or Faked” who look amazingly like a younger, hipper version of the Skeptoplogists – and this show has TWO women! Now that’s progress.

“Fact or Faked” looks to be a nice segue from fiction to fact, which is what has been needed in the midst of the paranormal glut we have all been suffering through. Such a breakthrough in critical programming is long overdue. The blurb I read says:

“So give Syfy credit for showing “Fact or Faked,” which takes a mildly skeptical approach to certain paranormal claims. The show even has a methodical and academic tone, in contrast to the exotic sexiness of the claims themselves.” (continue reading…)

The Center of Attention

No, I’m not mentioning any names.  No way I’m stepping into that mess again. I want to be absolutely clear that this blog is not about any individual person, rather it is about a set of circumstances that have led to a controversy that is whirling around like an endlessly running toilet on the Internet and for which many skeptics are in such a tizzy. Lots of people are curious to know what happened and why at TAM8’s Sunday night “demonstration.”  There are many questions and few answers. That’s fine for the most part and please believe me when I state that I personally understand why “radio silence” has been invoked by so many. It’s a sticky issue that defies any easy explanation. Unfortunately the Big Picture can’t be swept under the carpet forever. (continue reading…)