Australian Skeptics Annual Convention, Melbourne
Friday December 6 to Sunday December 8 2019
Tickets are now available for purchase at an Early Bird rate at this link:
https://www.trybooking.com/BCZST
The Earlybird discount is 5% off standard ticket price and applies to both full and concession tickets. View More SKEPTICON 2019 – Earlybird Tickets Go On Sale
February’s Picture Puzzles and Mixed Bag questions are at the top of our Puzzles & Diversions Page. http://skeptics.cafe/puzzles/ The Skeptical Crossword for February is here: http://skeptics.cafe/puzzles/february-2011-crossword/
We’re pleased to tell you about three brand new Skeptics In the Pubs.
*Eastern Hills SITP meets at The Knox Club, on the corner of Stud / Boronia Rds Wantirna South. The first meeting will be on Tuesday 15th February, but all subsequent meetings will be on the second Monday of each month.
Details are at http://groupspaces.com/meh-sitp (NOTE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS ADDRESS)
* Melbourne SITP: The first will be held on Monday, January 31st at the James Squire Brewhouse in Waterfront City, Docklands. RSVP on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123743067689382 The event will kick off at 6:30pm. Future events will be held on the fourth Monday of each month.
http://www.melbourneskeptics.com.au/skeptics-in-the-pub/
* Great Ocean Road SITP launched on Saturday morning 5th February, with regular meetings on the Last
Wednesday of each month from 6.30 pm. For March 30, the venue is City Quarter Bar on Cunningham Pier Geelong. For further information, contact Carolyn Coulson. CAROLCO(AT)BarwonHealth.org.au. See our article on Great Ocean Road Skeptics below, as well as their 10:23 video
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Well established Victorian Skeptics groups looking forward to 2011 are:
*Borderline Skeptics (Albury Wodonga) meeting 3rd Wednesday of each month; contact Russell Kelly (02) 6072 – 3632 or Laurie Smith (02) 6072 – 3415
*The Celestial Teapot (Mornington) meeting 3rd Thursday of each month; http://www.meetup.com/Teapot-Mornington-Peninsula/
*Mordialloc SITP http://www.meetup.com/Mordi-Skeptics-in-the-Pub/
*Sale SITP meeting at the Star Hotel on the 2nd Friday of each month from 6.30pm. For details contact saleskepticsinthepub@hotmail.com
AND DON’T FORGET our very own Skeptics Café on the 3rd Monday of each month. See our Events section for details.
BARBECUE:
12 Noon to 4.30 pm
An Invitation from the Atheists, Humanists, Rationalists & Skeptics to celebrate
Charles Darwin’s birthday
For details, go here: http://skeptics.cafe/events/darwin-day-barbecue-2011/
CELEBRATE DARWIN DAY IN YOUR CLASSROOM:
Here’s a suite of classroom exercises designed to mark Charles Darwin’s Birthday.
http://skeptics.cafe/for-sale/stuff-for-teachers-education-resources/darwin-day-february-12-classroom-suite-of-exercises/
It’s a new year, and we here at Vic Skeptics would like to celebrate this (somewhat arbitrary) milestone in the traditional skeptical fashion.
We’re going to shake up the tea leaves, gaze into the crystal ball, yank out the goat entrails and check out some psychic predictions for 2011.
Then, most importantly of course, we’ll revisit them at the end of the year and see how they did!
But we don’t want any of those annoying predictions that are infuriatingly general and non-specific.
And we definitely don’t want any silly prophecies about celebrity relationships. (Brad and Angelina are going to have a rough time? Oh noes!)
No, what we want are specific dates and detailed events.
Enter Australia’s own John Gold. Mr Gold goes out on a huge number of very impressive limbs with his 2011 forecasts.
I’ve reproduced a choice selection below the fold, or you can read the whole jaw-dropping lot here.
View More Psychic Predictions For 2011
The new Geelong-based Skeptics group, Great Ocean Road Skeptics In the Pub launched spectacularly on Saturday 5th February at 10 am at Bell’s Beach Torquay.
Regular meetings are held on the last Wednesday of each month from 6.30 pm. For March 30, the venue is City Quarter Bar on Cunningham Pier Geelong. For further information, contact Carolyn Coulson.
As you’ve probably gathered, Skeptics normally don’t go to church.
So it was unusual for Vic Skeptics president Terry Kelly to be invited to speak at one.
No, not just any church: the Unitarian Church in Melbourne is different. Their motto is:
Seek the Truth and Serve Humanity
It’s a good motto. It assumes that the truth isn’t already written down in an ancient book or is impossible to find.
As far as I know, none of our members are regular attendees at the Unitarian Church; we and they are clearly distinct organizations. I’ll leave it to the reader to investigate the Unitarian Church further. However it was interesting that Terry was given a free rein to speak about the skeptics, current issues and who we are. Here then, is the skeptical equivalent of a “fire and brimstone” from the pulpit.
(The sound has been edited only to remove long pauses and “ums” and “arrs”. The sound file can be found on this file sharing site.)terry-kelly-uc-talk.mp3
During GASS 2003 at the Melbourne Museum, our guest, well-known Sydney magician and Skeptic Steve Walker introduced Vic Skeptics to Melbourne performer, Mark Mayer. Mark, as it turns out, apart from being a consummate performer, has highly developed Skeptical credentials of his own.
Mark was invited to feature at our November 12 public meeting. His theme was “The History of Spiritualism“, and was as much a lecture as a magic show. He illustrated his presentation at each stage with an appropriate baffling, audience involving illusion.
Following positive feedback from the show, Mark developed his performance into the one-man theatre show “Talking With the Dead – Or Lying to the Living?”
Mark is a full-time professional entertainer, and does a lot of work at View More Mark Mayer
Following the great success of the Victorian Skeptics stands at the “Great Australian Science Show” in previous years, we will have a stand at “Science Week 2005“. It should be lots of fun with science, magic, fortune telling, lots of debate – and the bed of nails!
Where?
ScienceWorks, 2 Booker Street, Spotswood
Price: entry to ScienceWorks, for prices and deals see: http://scienceworks.museum.vic.gov.au/
View More Science Week 2005