The Events – Full Details of all shows.
A full run down of The Events in detail from your favorite blog on the internets. If this website were a object it would be a little glass box that was lying under a table.
You tube version here for those of you not able to see the one above.
The Events
The Mirror and the Sun are correct. I’ve just got up, or you’d have got it earlier yourselves. I shall try and predict at least 5 out of the 6 balls correctly. I apologise now if it goes boobs-up.
This the culmination of a LOT of secret work and research. On Weds night, live at 10.35 pm, it will cut across all Channel 4 channels, and be broadcast on buildings in
London (Tate Modern),
Manchester (Premier Lodge/back-up Deansgate Lock),
Birmingham (5-ways Entertainment Complex/Bull-ring, Moor St Side as back-up)
and Edinburgh (Hunter Square/back-up Museum of Scotland)
Then, on the first Friday night EVENTS one-hour special (9pm, C4, Fri 11th), I’ll show you how I did it.
The following Fridays will offer other ambitious live or interactive stunts and treats.
- A subliminal piece of media that will stick you to your seats at home.
- A nationwide psychic experiment
- A casino-related scam with a twist.
I’ll let you know more each week.
Wish me luck for Wednesday – I might even pray.
A relief to finally be able to talk about it! xx
The Events – How to win the National Lottery
According to the Mirror – It could be a load of old balls, but illusionist Derren Brown reckons he’ll predict the Lottery numbers live on TV just minutes before the draw. In a 10-minute Channel 4 special on Wednesday, broadcast at the same time as BBC1′s National Lottery Live draw, Brown will try to PICK the six numbers correctly.
The mind-bending performer promises to reveal his technique to viewers in an hour-long follow-up programme on Friday. Brown, 38, admits: If this one goes wrong, it could be a career-breaker. Wednesday nights jackpot stands at £2.4million, but C4 bosses have banned Brown from buying a ticket. (But not ME – tee hee – PD)
Last night he told the Mirror: I realise there are a lot of questions this brings up and I hope they will be answered on the Friday night follow-up show. For now, Im really excited and really nervous.
Colleges Tell Tour Guides to Stop Walking Backwards
For years, parents and high school students have marveled at the ability of campus tour guides to walk backwards while talking (and talking, and talking some more), and, for the most part, not tripping.
Increasingly, though, colleges are telling their guides to turn around and walk forward — to facilitate more natural conversations, as well as to soothe the anxieties of mothers in particular, who tend to worry about their guides falling over curbs or toppling over signs that weren’t there the day before.
There are even consultants advising colleges (sometimes for fees exceeding $10,000), to overhaul their campus tours, not only by rotating their guides 180 degrees but also by encouraging them to throw away their statistics-laden scripts. (One is called, somewhat ominously, TargetX.)
As colleges continue to compete for the most talented students — and, in some cases, the applicants with the deepest pockets — they are making over their tours, the better to make a good first impression.
New York Times (Thanks Fosca)
Temptation More Powerful Than Individuals Realise – go on… click this link.
Whether it’s highlighted in major news headlines about Argentinean affairs and Ponzi schemes, or in personal battles with obesity and drug addiction, individuals regularly succumb to greed, lust and self-destructive behaviors. New research from the Kellogg School of Management examines why this is the case, and demonstrates that individuals believe they have more restraint than they actually possess—ultimately leading to poor decision-making.
People in a cold, non-impulsive state will overestimate their ability to control impulses
People in a hot, impulsive state will have a more realistic view of their capacity for impulse control
People who perceive they have a high capacity for impulse control will expose themselves to more temptation and will ultimately exhibit more impulsive behavior.
Science Daily (Thanks Eliza)
The Atheist’s Guide To Christmas (AKA The Atheist Book Campaign)
This is the cover of “The Atheist’s Guide To Christmas”, Britain’s first atheist charity book initiative, which Ariane Sherine has been editing on a voluntary basis for the last six months. The full advance and all royalties from the book are going to the UK HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust.
The book features contributions from 42 of the UK’s most entertaining atheist scientists, comedians, philosophers, journalists and writers, including:
Richard Dawkins, Derren Brown, Charlie Brooker, David Baddiel, Ben Goldacre, Josie Long, Richard Herring, Simon Singh, Brian Cox, Jenny Colgan, AC Grayling, Simon Le Bon, Claire Rayner, Robin Ince, Jon Holmes, Zoe Margolis, Phil Plait, Mitch Benn, Lucy Porter, Adam Rutherford
… and many, many more, all of whom have kindly given their time, thought and talent for free. The book has six sections: Stories, Arts, Science, Philosophy, How To and Events. It’s funny, thoughtful and hopefully quite beautiful in places, and also contains quotes from great atheists throughout history.
It is published on October 1 and available to pre-order now. It would be brilliant if we could see it enter the Top Ten Bestsellers in its first week of release, raising thousands for THT.
Pre Order now at Amazon here
Article from Atheist Bus
Chemical warfare and mind control
As researchers discover more agents that alter mental states, the Chemical Weapons Convention needs modification to help ensure that the life sciences are not used for hostile purposes, says Malcolm Dando.
In October 2002, Chechen rebel fighters held more than 750 people hostage at a Nord-Ost production in a theatre in Moscow. The siege was broken only after special military forces used what the Russian Health Minister, Yuri Shevchenko, later described as a mixture of substances derived from fentanyl — an opiate developed in the 1950s as an anaesthetic. Widespread relief that many of the hostages were saved was tempered by 124 of them being killed by the gas.
Nature (Thanks SarahWoo)
Brain’s Wrinkles Protect Against Head Banging
As you greet the new week by banging your head on your desk in office despair, rest assured: The brain’s wrinkled surface protects you from non-existential damage.
The prevailing explanation for the brain’s crenellations is that they increase computational capacity by packing a large surface area into a small space. Exactly how this works is a matter of speculation, but abnormalities have been linked to disorders like autism and depression.
In a paper published online Monday in the Journal of Biomechanics, researchers simulated the effects of trauma on three-dimensional computer models of normal and wrinkle-free brains. In the smooth models, almost every brain structure, from brain stem to frontal lobe, was more vulnerable to damage. Our brains appear to have a built-in crumple zone.
The results should improve models of traumatic impacts used to design protective headgear and investigate injury. In the meantime, the protective effect of the wrinkles, known technically as sulci, doesn’t mean cognitive explanations are incorrect. The two features are complementary, a testament to the exquisite piece of evolutionary engineering that is the brain.
Wired (Thanks Tiram)
Derren Brown – The Events Interview
Here, Derren Brown reveals (a little) about his new series, and explains why it will have viewers stuck to their seats. Literally.
Your new series is called The Events. What’s the concept?
The last load of TV work has been almost mini-dramas based around participants – Trick or Treat was always someone else’s story. Or it was TV specials of the stage shows that I’ve done. I wanted to do something a bit different for this series, to come up with something fresh. I wanted to go back more to the performance-related stuff, back to the roots of what I do.
The series is based on the idea of performing for a audience, and doing quite high-concept stunts in each episode. So the series is four one-hour episodes, and each one of those hours is very multi-layered. There are some elements that are pre-recorded, some elements of the programme are live, some elements are with an audience in a theatre, and they all lead to a big single event in each episode. It’s quite ambitious and potentially a career breaker.
Much of the series is still clouded in secrecy. I’m told you’d have to brainwash me if you told me about the first programme.
I’d have to send you off to a deserted island till after they have gone out and your family too.
Right. Let’s try and avoid that eventuality. What can you reveal about the first programme?
Over the last year I’ve been writing a lot of erotic poetry, and I’ll be reciting that, live, into the camera, for between ten and twelve hours.
Virtual barbershop
You may know this already, but if you don’t it’s a great, fun thing. If a little wordy, but hey. Put some headphones on, close your eyes, and let your brain do the rest. It’s very effective.
Enjoy your weekends, The Events fun and games will heat up from Monday.
x
