Before I post another word, don’t miss this Monday’s Skeptics in the Pub with Dave Niose (see two posts down for details).

And now – better late than never – video of Jonathan McDowell and last month’s BSitP of those who missed it (or want to see it again). Sorry for the delay. It’s not exactly as I’d intended, but… oh, I’ll shut up now. Here’s Jonathan!

Dave is the president of the American Humanist Association.. Skeptical activism was a major theme at TAM 9 a few weeks ago and Dave will fill us in on the broad strategic issues facing the AHA and other secular groups, as well as the status of a recent lawsuit involving the AHA and the pledge of allegiance.

Agree or disagree with the proposition the the Skeptical and Secular Movements should be more involved in social activism[*], this promises to be an extremely interesting talk.

Date: Monday, August 29
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Upstairs at Tommy Doyle’s
96 Winthrop St (Harvard Square)
Cambridge, MA

[*] If you disagree, you’re wrong :-)

Jonathan says:

NASA’s Space Shuttle is being retired this month after three decades of ups and downs both literal and metaphorical.

I’ll take a trip down memory lane and review what the Shuttles did and didn’t do, and discuss other spaceplanes past and present. Finally, I’ll speculate about what’s next for the US human spaceflight program.

Hello, Earthlings!

Jonathan is a long-time member of the Boston Skeptics, an astronomer, and expert on space travel. He writes a monthly column for Sky and Telescope and maintains the Jonathan’s Space Report web site. He previously spoke to us about the history of the Moon Race, in a very interesting, informative and popular talk, especially about the little-known Soviet moon program. Be sure to arrive early so you can get a seat in front!

RSVP on Facebook

When: Monday, July 25 at 7pm

Where: Upstairs at Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub,
Harvard Square

See you all there!

Join us this month for a talk from Joshie Berger! Joshie is a skeptical comedian and the best Worst Cooks in America (Version 2.0)

Be prepared for a high energy rant, or maybe just some lovingly prepared gefilte fish.

When: Monday, June 27 at 7pm
Where: Upstairs at Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub, Harvard Square
See you all there!

The video from last month’s BSitP with Dezrah The Strange (http://dezrah.com) is right here. Right there. No, down. Yes, there. Right under this text (or go here).

BSitP – Dezrah The Strange – April 25th, 2011 from Maggie McFee on Vimeo.

Don’t forget, Trivia Remix this Monday at Tommy Doyles Harvard Square.
Details on the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193970120627931

Among the prizes will be a drawing for two tickets to Tim Minchin at the Wilbur June 4th!

Hey everyone, it’s trivia time! Join us upstairs at Tommy Doyle’s for a showdown of wits (with fair scoring this time). Don’t worry if you are attending solo–we are a friendly bunch and would be happy to help you find a team!

Plus: don’t miss out on musical entertainment from Boston Skeptic Mikey Gesus. You definitely haven’t seen anything quite like this before.

See you there!

Thanks everyone for braving the snow. It was literally standing room only and it’s a wonder we let Mike stop talking.
It’s a shame we couldn’t video tonight’s event for those who couldn’t come. It was a very engaging talk and Mike is a natural story teller. Who knew that frozen spheres with high albedo could be such fun.

UPDATE 3 (5:40pm): Mike is in a cab risking his life to get to you! But still… we understand if you stay in. That said, we’re still a go for tonight. Hope you can make it!

UPDATE 2 (3pm): Cambridge has declared a ‘snow emergency’ effective 7pm tonight (thanks for the heads up, Jonas). SO, please use your best judgment & keep an eye on the forecast. As of right now we’re still on, but please watch for updates as things could change quickly.

A note about weather 1/26/11: We are still on so far. Mike’s flight left on time and will land well ahead of any snow. That said, we’d like to encourage everyone to take public transport if possible rather than drive as there’s a good chance you’ll be driving home in the snow (if it starts by then).

Mike Brown will be in town to talk about and sign his new Book “How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming” and we’re pleased he’d like to do it with us.

This Wednesday the 26th at 7:00pm at Tommy Doyle’s (Crimson Lounge) in Harvard Square.

So brave the cold and come get some warm food and cold beer. And listen to Mike discuss killing the favorite [former] planet of children everywhere.

NOTE: We’ll be in the Crimson Lounge downstairs.

Facebook Event Page
More about Mike

Join us Monday, Jan. 10th at our usual location and time: 7PM at Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square for Andy Lewis, “The Persistence of Delusion: How themes around alt med persists across the centuries”. (Facebook Event Link)

Andy Lewis continues in our long tradition of funny brits talking about serious stuff. You may know Andy as the creator of the Quakometer and he’s also runs the Oxford Skeptics in the Pub. You may have also heard him mentioned if you attended one of the two “lost episodes” of Boston Skeptics in the Pub featuring Simon Perry.

A great description shamelessly stolen from the Swansea skeptics’ site (sorry, mates).

The late eighteenth century was a very creative time for inventing new forms of quackery and many became quite wealthy on the back of their invention. Of these creations, it is perhaps only homeopathy that has survived virtually unchanged into the 21st century. The majority of alternative medicines available today have been invented and developed within living memory, despite claims of their origins in antiquity.

What makes an alternative medicine successful? Why should homeopathy survive when the very popular tractors of Perkins have long since been forgotten? Could you have predicted this in 1800? Today, we have a new industry of quack devices protecting us from mobile phones. Should you invest in such enterprises?

In this talk, Andy will look at the factors that make pseudo-medicines thrive and why consumers and practitioners latch onto them. Importantly, we shall explore the implications of these views for regulation and protecting the public from delusional or fraudulent claims.

Don’t miss it!

* – The lost episodes: Two events which could not be filmed as we ended up in the lower bar instead of our usual upstairs setting for Simon Perry’s and Kemball Atwood’s talk.