Just a quick reminder that the Boston Skeptics’ Book Club is meeting up this Saturday at 3 pm to discuss Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson. There’s been a slight change of venue and we’re going to be in Harvard Yard this time, and here is a map of where we’ll be, with a giant green pepper marking our meeting spot (click to enlarge):

(Yes, that’s a giant green pepper, it was the coolest brush I could find in my open-source photo editing software, plus it’s totally appropriate since we’re having a picnic this time.)

In case you can’t make it out, it’s across from the Tanner Fountain (looks like a bunch of mist rising up from a circle of rocks) between the Harvard Science Center and the Sanders Theatre. There’s a little grove of trees (seen in the background here) and we’ll set up there with our books and our food. Bring whatever food you want–I’ll be bringing some plates, utensils, cups, and probably a fruit of some sort but everything is welcome as long as you bring yourself! We get at least one newcomer per meeting, so don’t be shy. The weather should be beautiful, and who wouldn’t want to hang out with a bunch of nerds skeptics on a Saturday afternoon anyway? Look, I even made it a Facebook event this time so you can RSVP!

Media Bonus: Here is the link of Jon Ronson at one of our Pub events. He starts talking about his extremist adventures at 5:54 and shows a video of the Cremation of Care at 17:00. Enjoy!

This month, we will be watching and mocking El Chupacabra. Jeff Wagg of the James Randi Educational Foundation will be providing commentary, and you will get the chance to join in! We will be inviting audience members to come on stage and take a turn poking fun at this horrifically bad (so I’m told) movie. This will be a fun one–don’t miss it!

If you are interested in having a turn with the mic, please leave a comment so we can get an idea of numbers ahead of time! Don’t worry, Jeff will be there to help you:)

When: Monday, August 30th at 7:00pm

Where: Tommy Doyles, Harvard Square (upstairs)

Don’t forget to RSVP if you are on Facebook!

Hey guys, come join us for this month’s brunch! We had great attendance last time, but let’s do even better this time! The Living Room has delicious food and an impressive list of mimosas (as well as some bloody Mary varieties) so you should definitely be there. See you at 11 am on Sunday, August 22nd (101 Atlantic Avenue in the North End).

If you are on Facebook, don’t forget to RSVP on our event page!

The Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (ocrf.org) is in the midst of it’s largest fundraising season. And one of it’s new contributors is Power Balance. If you attended Travis Roy’s talk last week or watched the video, you’ll recall that he discussed their rubber bracelets, claimed to use ‘frequencies’ to enhance your strength, balance and whatever else, and demonstrated how their product is nothing but smoke and mirrors… And a rubber bracelet. Or you may have seen Richard Saunders on Australia’s ‘Today Tonight’ demonstrating how in, a simple blinded test, the Power Balance demonstrator couldn’t tell who had the product and who didn’t when it was hidden from his sight. In other words, he was the one causing the effect, not the bracelet, by putting different leverage on the subject depending on whether they had the product on their person or not. When he didn’t know if they did or not, the effect was absent.

I bring this up because Power Balance has just announced that it is throwing it’s pseudo-scientific product’s support behind the actual science of cancer research. As thoughtful as that might sound, don’t assume for a moment that they’ve become a philanthropic organization. It’s still sell sell sell.

They’re having a celebrity poker tourney to promote Power Balance…and the OCRF will get some donations out of it in the end. *barf*

Well, I say you can make a better, more selfless, donation. Give the money you won’t waste on Power Balance’s worthless product (well, unless you just like expensive rubber bracelets) directly to the OCRF or any other worthwhile science-based research fund. Or just make it clear that you see through their crocodile sales tears by tweeting your support for research money that’s not predicated on people having to be scammed out of their money first.

You can donate to the OCRF here: ocrf.org
You can donate to the American Cancer Society here: cancer.org

And if you’d like to make sure Power Balance and OCRF know you’ve cut out the middle scam… Err… I mean middle man… Tweet about it. Who knows… Enough tweets and we could start a trending topic.

Tweet this: (link will take you to Twitter)
I just donated the money I could have wasted on @powerbalance directly to @OCRF http://ocrf.org #MoneyForScience #PowerBalanceScam

OR

Tweet this: (link will take you to Twitter)
I’d rather give directly to @OCRF http://ocrf.org than waste my. Money on @powerbalance #MoneyForScience #PowerBalanceScam