It's almost here. In fact, it's closer than you would think, because of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S.
Yes, the Skeptics' Circle is due to land at this session's host (decorabilia) one day early, on Wednesday, November 22. So this time around the deadline will be Tuesday, November 21. decorabilia provides instructions on how to submit your blog posts here, and a more general description of what the Circle is looking for, along with a hosting schedule can be found here.
And, as always, if you're interested in hosting, drop me a line at oracknows@gmail.com. I've heard rumblings that some people are intimidated by the very high quality and creativeness of the last few installments. Don't be. Give it a shot. You don't have to envision the Circle as a podcast, a meeting in Heaven, a Shakespeare play, a Coke machine, or a meeting of superheroes to host a successful and entertaining Skeptics' Circle. In fact, I discussed the various styles of hosting a while ago. If you're a good writer, can organize the posts well, and provide some pithy commentary, you--yes, you!--can be an excellent host.
I also understand that it's depressing that there aren't any openings until April, but there's not much I can do about that. I had thought of moving the Circle to a weekly affair, but I was afraid that it would then become too difficult to get hosts and that the quality might suffer. As has been pointed out, the quality has been excellent for the last several weeks, and I'd hate to do anything to jeopardize it. All I can do is to urge people to sign up to host.
Ask any previous host; it's worth the wait.
And, of course, I'm always open to suggestions about how to improve the Skeptics' Circle.
Friends, check this out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/the-god-delusion-part-2_b_3…
An excellent critique of the materialistic world view of Richard Dawkins.
Go away, Chopra shill. Everyone knows that Deepak Chopra is the antithesis of skepticism. In fact, his idiocy is fodder for many an entry to the Skeptics' Circle.
I think chopraphiliac would be a better term. It's so similar in spelling and meaning to another...
May I humbly point the esteemed Big Nasty to this comment of mine on Pharyngula? At this moment, 'Chopraphilia' is a Googlewhack! Hurrah!
Actually, it seems that fans of Chopra beat both of us to it by three years. What an endearing lack of irony! :-D
Oof. I read that posting on Pharyngula, but I don't think I saw your comment. That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it. I would say something about great minds thinking alike, but I can't see how that could apply to such scatological punning.
Thanks for the link. No matter how much you deny it, the creative pressure is on.