Month: August 2004

What is the Price of a Man’s Soul?

… About $4.50 , as at 8.30 pm on Friday 12th of April, if you happen to be young Melbourne comic Lawrence Leung.
Mr Leung made this revelation to an appreciative audience, which included seventeen Vic Skeptics and associates. He had listed his soul on E-Bay, partly from curiosity, and partly because his mother and his Priest had strongly advised against selling it to the devil.
Performed during Melbourne’s Comedy Festival, this one-man show, entitled “Skeptic“, featured episodes in a personal quest to confront the paranormal, such as staying in a haunted castle, and attending a John Edward event (while taking copious notes).
Mr Leung also presented a graphic documentation of a series of dubious but highly risible controlled experiments involving rakes, blindfolds, black cats, ladders and mirrors.
The show included audience participation of the “Mind-reading” variety. Lawrence made several accurate, seemingly impossible predictions about aspects of the night’s performance. Readers who attended Marc Salem’s recent show “Mind Games” at the CUB Malthouse Theatre would have seen some similar mind-boggling prophetic utterances sealed in an envelope and opened at the end of the show.
It was a pacy show, quirky yet polished. Probably very few people share Lawrence Leung’s refreshing outlook on life. More’s the pity.

For more information

• Lawrence Leung: http://www.lawrenceleung.com
• TV Psychic John Edward: http://www.csicop.org/si/2001-11/i-files.html
• Marc Salem: http://www.marcsalem.com

Borderline Skeptics Survive Hellfire and Dam(Nation).

By Laurie and Eden Smith.
Summer 2003, a time that will always have warm memories for the Borderline Group. To quote Russell Kelly, “We must have sinned more than usual to deserve this fiery hell“.
Here at Callaghan’s Creek, the first threat was just over the hill where a lightning strike started the first of many fires. At Mitta-Mitta, the Kellys and the Bradshaws were no further away from the Bogong fires. Over at Mount Beauty, Tracey O’Brien would have been paying keen interest to the fire reports, as would Tony Norton at Bright.

Things changed quickly following bad weather conditions, and we were all soon in that well-known ditch. The next two weeks were so crammed full of rumor, action, inaction, evacuations, highs and lows that we are all still catching up on lost time.

Despite record attendance at local churches, and the combined efforts of Ouyen’s women, no rain fell and the fires moved on when there was little else to burn.
The Kellys and ourselves received many amazing offers of assistance from Melbourne Skeptics that we will always remember fondly, so do come and visit us here in Australia’s water divining capital and don’t wait for a natural disaster to get in touch!

For more information

• The Borderline Skeptics: http://www.skeptics.com.au/
• Water Divining at Mitta Mitta: http://www.skeptics.com.au/journal/mitta2002.htm

Primary Science Education – a Cause for Concern?

From the address by CHRIS KRISHNA-PILLAY, Manager, CSIRO Education Victoria, to The Australian Skeptics (Victorian Branch) Public Meeting, held Wednesday 21th May 2003 8pm at the Barton Room, Whitehorse Inn Hotel, 5 Burwood Road, Hawthorn. Transcribed by James Gerrand.
The question is; should we be concerned about primary science? The answer is: yes. Why are people so worried? There are three main reasons.
The first is that science is ever changing so we need primary education to adapt to the changes. Currently there are weaknesses in the system, both in the content and in the way we educate.
Secondly, primary science is the seeding point for our science based technological society. You have the opportunity to make people care about science and technology, its process and why they matter. If you can’t make people care then you are relying on luck. Chris considers he was lucky View More May 2003 Talk