Tickets Go On Sale on Monday 13th October @ 9am

Last year, Robin Ince made the mistake of appearing on ITV’s London Talking to debate “Is Britain becoming more secular?” By the time he got to the studio, the subject had changed to “Who is taking the Christ out of Christmas?”
Suffice to say, he got quite cross during the barrage of lies from radio shock jocks and misinformed fundamentalists. Robin tried to make it clear that, as an atheist, he wasn’t against Christmas as a time for gluttony and reflection; he was just against the journalists and manipulated fundamentalists shouting about winterval and other myths. This was beyond Stephen Green of Christian Voice’s comprehension, so he kept muttering, “I don’t think he does want Christmas blah blah blah”.

Well, to prove that he does enjoy this season of laziness, alcoholism and regret, he is presenting a rational celebration of the Christmas season in the guise of Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People. Rather than talking of Jesus’s birth, acclaimed science author Simon Singh will talk about the birth of the universe. Instead of talking about Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, Bad Science Columnist Ben Goldacre will talk of alternative medicine and charlatans, while Josie Long will talk about the wonder of the stars.

So far the confirmed speakers are Stewart Lee, Mark Thomas, Ricky Gervais, Justin Edwards, Chris Addison, Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh, Josie Long, Jo Neary and Richard Dawkins.

Music will be provided by the fabulous Martin White Orchestra and more TBC

The evening will also include projections of classic archive footage of Carl Sagan and Richard Feynman.

Robin Ince will host the night.

It’s not just for agnostics and atheists, hopefully it will be a night celebrating the wonder of the universe so as long as you’re not a crazed fundamentalist you can enjoy it. If you are a crazed fundamentalist, then please come and hold a placard up outside and shout like a halfwit.

Please check the New Humanist website on the 24th October for more details of confirmed acts.

More info nicked from here: http://www.rickygervais.com/thissideofthetruth.php

Hi All,

I have already told you about an event coming up at the Dana Centre on November 25 considering the nature of out-of-body experiences. The chair for the evening will be Narender Ramnani and the speakers will be as follows:

Chris French: Introduction to OBEs
Henrik Ehrsson: OBE, Illusions of Body Ownership and the Brain
Ray Tallis: Philisophy, Implications and Interpretations

The organisers are keen, however, to hear from someone who has actually had a vivid OBE and would be willing to stand up in the audience and give a brief description of what it felt like. If you would be willing to do so, please let me know (c.french[at]gold.ac.uk). They only want one person to do this (although others are free to talk about their own experiences if asking a question, of course), so I’ll put the first person who fits the bill in touch with the organisers.

Also, I want to thank all those people who got in touch to tell me about their sleep paralysis experiences. I will reply to you all individually once things calm down a bit but term has just started and things are a bit hectic!

Best wishes,

Chris French

Hi All,

This is your final reminder that Susan Blackmore is kicking off the APRU’s Invited Speaker Series today at 6.10 pm in Room 256, Richard Hoggart Building, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW (for maps, directions, etc., visit the College web site: www.goldsmiths.ac.uk NB: if you do not know your way around Goldsmiths, allow enough time to find the room. Note that it is NOT the room we used last year!)

All talks are open to everyone.

Attendance is free and there is no need to book in advance. For further information, visit http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru/speakers.php

The title of Susan’s talk is “Is God a Dangerous Meme?” and here is her abstract:

God is certainly a meme; an idea (or set of loosely related ideas) that is copied from person to person, and shows a fascinating variety of survival tricks. Not only does the God meme satisfy minds that were not evolved to accurately assess the origins of the universe or the likelihood of life after death, but wraps itself up in religious memeplexes that use threats and promises to ensure their own propagation. But is it dangerous? Taking a memetic perspective we can ask how religious memes manage to infect so many people and how this infection affects individuals, societies, or indeed the whole planet.

Biography
Sue Blackmore is a freelance writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of the West of England, Bristol. She has a degree in psychology and physiology from Oxford University (1973) and a PhD in parapsychology from the University of Surrey (1980). Her research interests include memes, evolutionary theory, consciousness, and meditation. She practices Zen and campaigns for drug legalization. Sue Blackmore no longer works on the paranormal

Best wishes,

Chris French

Skepchick Iszi Lawrence returns to Camden for another performance of Matter of Tact. If you missed it last time, you’ll be pleased to know you can catch it again.

“Ever find that your life seems to mirror perfectly the geopolitical zeitgeist? Caught between Christian friends and her Muslim family, Iszi Lawrence shows how a die hard sceptic can still join in. Living with creationists, arguing over teddy bears and confused by anything supernatural, Matter of Tact is packed with silly stories and theories, trying to make sense of an age old problem.”

- Comedy Pick London Lite
- Time Out Recommended

For only £10 (£8.50 for members) you not only get a sceptical giggle with iszi but also support from the infamous Tom Greeves.

Tom Greeves is one of Oxford’s finest comedians and also was Boris Johnson’s speech writer during the recent election. Tom Greeves combines serial killer good looks with an extraordinary mind, which delights and occasionally disturbs audiences. Alas, he wont be doing a Tory speech but you’re guaranteed to laugh anyway.

Get tickets here:
http://www.etceteratheatre.com/

At the Etcetera Theatre, 265 Camden High Street (above the Oxford Arms) on Sunday Oct 5th.
By Phone
Box Office: 020 7482 4857

Political Islam, Sharia Law, and Civil Society

at Conway Hall

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain presents its first international conference:
Political Islam, Sharia Law, and Civil Society

Friday 10 October 2008
International day against the Death Penalty
10am-6pm
(Registration begins at 9am)

Speakers: Mina Ahadi, Mahin Alipour, Roy Brown, Andrew Copson, Richard Dawkins, Giles Enders, AC Grayling, Johann Hari, Ehsan Jami, Houzan Mahmoud, Rony Miah, Maryam Namazie,Taslima Nasreen, Fariborz Pooya, Terry Sanderson, Joan Smith, Bahram Soroush, Hanne Stinson, Hamid Taqvaee, Ibn Warraq, Keith Porteous Wood and Zia Zaffar. Event includes a comedy act by Nick Doody, Fitna Remade by Reza Moradi and Breaking the Taboo by Patty Debonitas.

£40 statutory organisations/businesses; £20 voluntary sector; £10 individuals. Donations are welcome.

For a booking form, please contact:
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, BM Box 1919, London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: 07719166731, E-mail: exmuslimcouncil[@]gmail.com or download it from http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/indexEvents.html.

Date: Friday, October 10, 2008

Time: 10:00 AM

Location:
Conway Hall
25 Red Lion Square
London, UK WC1R 4RL

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/sharialawuk/

EIGHT LESSONS AND CAROLS FOR GODLESS PEOPLE - SOLD OUT

[ Try Another...Nine Lessons and Carols @ Hammersmith Apollo]

A Rational Celebration of Christmas
18th December, 2008 at The Bloomsbury theatre

Due to extraordinary demand, a second Godless Christmas show has been added.

So far the acts who are currently confirmed are Richard Dawkins, Josie Long, Richard Herring, Ben Goldacre, Natalie Haynes, Stewart Lee, Simon Singh, Jo Neary, Darren Hayman, Colin Watson (aka Waen Shepherd), the Martin White mini fax machine orchestra, Tim Minchin, Peter Buckley Hill, Luke Haines and more TBC

Robin Ince will host the night.

It’s not just for agnostics and atheists, hopefully it will be a night celebrating the wonder of the universe so as long as you’re not a crazed fundamentalist you can enjoy it. If you are a crazed fundamentalist, then please come and hold a placard up outside and shout like a halfwit.

Bloomsbury Theatre
18th December
Doors 7pm/show7.30pm

All profits to The Mustard Seed School in Uganda, a secular school.

Produced in association with The Rationalist Association (publishers of New Humanist)

The science blogging community is growing rapidly and reaching larger audiences. At Science Blogging 2008, science bloggers from around the world will have the opportunity to meet and discuss the pressing issues in science, science communication, publishing and education. What can science bloggers do to maximise their impact? Can blogging contribute to scientific research and careers? How can blogs be used to help educate the public about science? What other emerging online tools will play a role in science? Readers and writers of science blogs, those who follow trends in online scientific communication and anyone else interested in learning more about science blogging will benefit from the discussions. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi All,

Warning! This months SitP is now on a Monday.

This months speaker is Terry Sanderson, the President of the National Secular Society and will be giving us a talk on news of a world religious revival.
There will be a skeptical nuddie calendar for the best question at Q&As - I have both male and female nuddies from skepchick.org, in case you were wondering. I’m feeling generous this month. Full details are under under the fold….right at the bottom. Read the rest of this entry »