The 42nd Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle: Recovering from an attack of the undead down under

Some of you may have wondered where the host of this week's Skeptic's Circle has been. After all, a few of you commented that his blog hadn't been updated in three months, even with a notice for the Skeptics' Circle. Fear not! Our intrepid host had to overcome even more than you think (in his mind, that is). Let him tell the tale in this brief excerpt:

Welcome to the 42nd meeting of the skeptics circle. Many of you have wondered where I have been over the past months and what has exactly been going on down in the lowest part of the world. Well my excuse is that, uhhhh, hmmmm...Ah yes, we've been invaded by the undead [of course, why didn't I think of this before]. Oh yes, they are everywhere down here I assure you and we're knee deep in them. Billions of them. Here is an example picture.

[Orac note: You'll have to visit the Skeptics' Circle to see the picture.]

See what I mean? Absolutely crawling with the undead [they are there I assure you, they are just camera shy]. Can't cross the street without having to dodge numerous zombies all after your brains. What's worse is they are all into various forms of pseudoscience, woo and quackery.

Egads, undead into pseudoscience, woo, and quackery! It sounds even worse than the Hitler Zombie. Get down there and help Joseph beat back this torrent of undead!

Next up is fellow ScienceBlogger Janet Stemwedel over at Adventures in Ethics and Science. She's scheduled to host the 43rd Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle on Thursday, September 14. You know what that means, of course. That's right! You have only two weeks to get examples of your best work demonstrating critical thinking and skepticism to her.

So get cracking!

And, as always, should you think that you have what it takes to host your own Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle (hopefully no fighting off of undead hordes, even imaginary, will be necessary), drop me a line at oracknows@gmail.com and I'll check out your site. (Hey, we wouldn't want any creationists or quacks trying to hijack the Circle, now would we?)

The 41st Meeting of the Skeptics Circle: Awards Night

Yes, it's that time again, time for the biweekly carnival dedicated to highlighting actual critical thinking and skepticism directed against the general credulity that we usually find in the blogosphere: The Skeptics' Circle. This time around, our host is Interverbal, who is hosting Awards Night at the Circle:

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to the 41st Skeptic’s Circle which is of course, Awards Night! We certainly have had many fine nominees in the last few weeks and I know that the excitement is mounting! But before we begin I would like to take a minute and thank everyone who took the time to nominate someone for an award. Please take a moment to gather some refreshments if you so choose, I know I will certainly be getting some popcorn. Well, enough talk, on with the awards!

Indeed. And Interverbal highlights some truly worthy recipients of these awards, nominated by skeptical luminaries of the blogosphere.

Next up is Immunoblogging, who's hosted before. Please start readying some good material for him and join him (and me) back for the 42nd Edition of the Skeptics' Circle on Thursday, August 31. And, as always, if you're interested in hosting, drop me a line at oracknows@gmail.com.

The Skeptics' Circle turns 40 (sort of)

Today, the Skeptics' Circle turns 40. Well, not exactly, but it is the 40th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle, and this time around it's being held at Daylight Atheism. Once again, it's time for an antidote for the rampant credulity in the blogosphere, where dubious stories travel around the world far faster than skeptics can apply critical thinking skills to them, this time by entering the Daylight Atheism Museum of Superstition and Pseudoscience:

The doors of the Observatory are closed, and an eager crowd has gathered before them, milling about anxiously to await the unveiling of the newest Skeptics' Circle. Your host, Ebonmuse, steps up to a podium beside the doors and addresses the crowd thusly:

"Step right up, folks, to the Daylight Atheism Museum of Superstition and Pseudoscience! Dare to plumb the most bizarre depths of the human imagination! Marvel at the fascinating beliefs cultures throughout history have dreamed up to explain the world around them! We have a stupendous and spine-tingling assortment of strange and wild ideas for your edification and amusement. You'll laugh at their gullibility, you'll learn from their mistakes, and just maybe, you'll learn something about how your own brain works. Admission two for a penny - who'll be first to dare the weirdness within?"

How about you?

Next up is Interverbal, who, unfortunately, hasn't posted since June. Here's hoping a bit of skeptical hosting will get that blog active again, as it's good one. So, start getting your submissions ready to send to Interverbal, and join us two weeks from now on August 17 for the 41st Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle.

Finally, now as always, I'm looking for hosts for future Skeptics' Circles. If you think you have what it takes, if you find yourself looking at news reports and thinking something isn't quite right, if you find yourself debunking night shows, if your favorite TV show is Bullshit!, or if your fondest wish in life is to be just like The Amazing Randi, you--yes, you!--are the type of person we are looking for to continue the tradition of great hosting. If you're interested, please peruse the guidelines and schedule and drop me an e-mail at oracknows@gmail.com.