The Horizon Guide: Moon with Professor Brian Cox
Professor Brian Cox (who has recovered from the neck injury shown above) takes a look through nearly 50 years of BBC archive at the story of man’s relationship with the Moon.
From the BBC’s space fanatic James Burke testing out the latest NASA equipment to 1960s interviews about the bacon-flavoured crystals that astronauts can survive on in space, to the iconic images of man’s first steps on the Moon and the dramatic story of Apollo 13, Horizon and the BBC have covered it all.
But since President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s was reached, no one has succeeded in reigniting the public’s enthusiasm for space travel and lunar voyages. Why?
On his journey through the ages, Professor Brian “Lovely” Cox explores the role that international competition played in getting man to the Moon and asks if, with America no longer the world’s only superpower, we are at the dawn of a bright new space age.
Available now at iPlayer
Paranormality free mind bending magic app
For those of you in need of a Richard Wiseman fix, there’s plenty to keep you happy even if you live in the US. His recent book has had trouble finding a publisher open minded enough to distribute it, despite the fact it’s had rather wonderful endorsements from:
James Randi
PZ Myers
The Magic Newswire
and many others including Richard Dawkins who has said that in the book ”Wiseman shows us a higher joy as he skewers the paranormal charlatans, blows away the psychic fog and lets in the clear light of reason“.]
Available in the UK here: Amazon Book, Amazon Kindle
Available in the US here: Amazon Book, Amazon Kindle
Scientist-Politician-Atheist Offers Own Money For Origin of Life Prize
A millionaire scientist who once ran as a Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate has just launched a $50,000 prize to promote research on the origin of life. Yes, he has an ulterior motive: He hopes that researchers working on the question will eventually prove that life’s origins can be fully explained by physical and chemical processes, without invoking a creator.
Harry Lonsdale is a chemist in Bend, Oregon, who made a fortune when he sold his drug development and research company to Pfizer more than 25 years ago. Since then, he has leveraged his wealth for social, civic, and political causes, including a series of unsuccessful bids to become a U.S. senator. The 79-year-old Lonsdale is an avowed atheist who has advocated for gay rights, campaign finance reform, and environmental protections. Now, he’s on a mission to accelerate the quest to understand how life originated. Over the past 2 weeks, Lonsdale has taken out ads in Science, Nature, and Chemical and Engineering News announcing an Origin of Life Research Award that includes $50,000 for the best proposal to study the origin of life and up to $2 million in potential funding to carry out the work.
Full story at Richard Dawkins
The Ledge, a movie guaranteed to cause controversy in the US
To all the liberal minded Brits who go about their day with nothing more than a rather infrequent “be a winner not a sinner” from a Christian with a megaphone outside Oxford St Tube, a story like the one told in the movie The Ledge might seem a little over dramatic. However the idea of “coming out as an atheist” to your family is downright scary to some and focusing your movie on the topic of free-thinking is a brave move for both actors and producers alike.
According to a recent gallup 2011 poll America is still a very religious society with over 92% saying “yes” to the question “Do you believe in God?”. It’s a regular topic of conversation on main stream news channels and has caused outrage even when used as a topic for jokes in mainstream entertainment.
Many stories have emerged of atheists being persecuted, mostly by the Evangelical groups inside institutions such as the Armed Forces, but there also instances where non-believers have received even harsher treatment when using legal methods to oppose religious practices, such as the case of Damon Fowler and Ellen Beth Wachs.
So the release of the film The Ledge will at least be a controversial one in the US – it’s being heralded as the “Brokeback Mountain” for American atheists and could cause a wave of renewed interest in the movement.
The story focuses on the lives of two people from opposing ends of the spectrum, who become enrolled in a lethal game that neither God nor the police can stop. It stars Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy, Patrick Wilson, Liv Tyler and Terrence Howard.
Svengali – Grand Canal Theatre Dublin, Tickets on Sale 24th June
The Dublin dates are March 29th, 30th, 31st 2012. Tickets will go on sale on the 24th, please don’t swamp the venue with calls/emails until then.
Learn Something New Every Day, By Email
Dan Lewis has created a lovely little idea for his site. Everyday he sends you something new to learn that will help brighten your day, like the fact that carrots were originally purple until the Dutch got their hands on them.
Derren Brown Svengali at the Wycombe Swan 2012
Tickets for the Wycombe Swan have just gone on sale. For those of you in the Buckingham area who’ve not been able to get to London – now is your chance.
Click here to book tickets as they are likely to sell out fast.
Svengali Review: The eeriest, most captivating, brain-baffling show I’ve ever seen
After press night there’s been a lot of reviews in the press. If you spot one, do send it to us. Here’s a recent one that we (the Web Team) came across, featuring Davina McCall and DB’s parents.
Throughout Derren Brown’s long and successful career, there have always been questions about whether or not he possesses supernatural powers – such is the extent of his magical ability.
And, after seeing his latest offering Svengali, I might be joining in with these debates, given that the show was the most brain-baffling two hours of my life.
While Brown requested nothing about the actual content of Svengali should be given away, I might add that it is undoubtedly Brown’s darkest show yet, concentrating significantly on ‘wonders of the occult’.
As with Brown’s other shows, such as last year’s Enigma, the performance relies a lot on audience participation – leading to many cynics to question the legitimacy of the members chosen to be involved in tricks on-stage.
But Brown contends that he has never been one to use plants or ‘stooges’.
‘It used to frustrate me that some people think I use stooges, as I have genuinely never used them, but if it’s a sign that they can’t work something out (and therefore resort to the old standby) then I’m probably doing something right,’ he said.
‘If no one thought it, I imagine I’d need to change something! I expect and receive all sorts of reactions, from the overly-credulous to the overly-cynical.’
RSA Animate – The Paradox of Choice
RSA animate create another gem of animation and insight with their latest release. In this episode Renata Salecl - a senior researcher at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana and visiting professor at the University of London – explains the Paradox of choice.
In the days of communism choice wasn’t freely available, all resources and the means of production were controlled by the government. When choice became ubiquitous it created a layer of anxiety in people.
Renata explores these ideas in beautifully animated words.
"
