saganappreciationsociety.org

In December, some crank reporters in Britain got ahold of hacked emails from the U. of East Anglia, where a Climate Research Unit is.  They took some email snippets out of context and BAMF, the corporations and anti-regulation types had themselves a smoking-gun. Or that's how they spun it anyway.  They conveniently ignored the prosaic explanations, as such types usually do.  Hannity, Limbaugh, Savage, Beck and the other flat-earthers did exactly as you might have guessed. They served their corporate masters' interests in preventing regulation.

Even the usually almost-politically-centrist Coast To Coast AM has run with it, spewing the most outrageous fiction, and having political partisans on as "independent experts". For example corporate operative Tim Ball, associated with Exxon/Mobil and Heartland Institute, was on as a guest "climatologist". They also had weathermen like John Coleman talking about a fictitious list of 3,200 scientists who say AGW is bunk.  And there's the usual lie that "In the 1970's scientists said there was global cooling".

The most outrageous claim (usually heard on Coast To Coast AM) is that "the other planets are warming too". This must-see video puts that argument to bed. Seriously, you must see this.

There has been an explosion in "facts" bandied about since then, by right-wingers once again demonstrating no understanding of science. Nor have they actually read any of the interviews they cite. And it's clear they haven't actually read the full emails, explanations and third-party analysis of the emails from people who understand the science.

Luckily, a science-blogger has helped develop an iPhone app that tracks Anthropogenic Warming Denialist claims. It provides information debunking such claims, and even lets you report new conspiracy theories "contradictory evidence" to the authors so answers can be researched. John Cook is the man behind the FREE app, and the SkepticalScience.com web site. You'll want to bookmark that page.

As promised, PodJockey has released their interview with Annie Druyan. The promo poster acts as a link.

Being a member of the SAS has its benefits.  Send an email to SaganGathering (at) yahoo.com with the subject "Sagan Appreciation Society News Dispatch" to join.

So what are some of those benefits?

You get to see things way ahead of the rest if the internet, like MelodySheep's latest addition to his Symphony Of Science project.

Richard Dawkins fans will be very happy. He gets what are perhaps the most melodic parts of this song.  Michio Kaku also appears. Our man in corduroy is there too, of course. It makes you ask "Why haven't science and art come together like this before?"

Let me know what you think.  Right-click here to download and save the sneak preview of John Boswell's latest music video. Most users can view the video below (scroll down to the player panel, let it buffer a reasonable amount and then press play). Please note that this is an advance peek, not to be re-uploaded anywhere. Further changes may take place before final release.

Personal note to Richard, who is said to be on his way here: Regarding a public statement I saw you make (I'm still trying to re-find that video on YouTube), I think its important for several reasons to clarify that Hitler was not a vegetarian. This is one of the most enduring urban legends that persists despite many assorted and vetted sources debunking it or citing his personal chef and people around him. A quick Google search for Hitler and Squab will start to dispel this myth. Or, if you prefer more on this and other urban legends see the book "Hitler Was a Vegetarian And Other Tales" by Ron Ferguson (ISBN-10: 0905489713, ISBN-13: 978-0905489711) or Rynn Berry's book "Hitler: Neither Vegetarian Nor Animal Lover" (ISBN-10: 0962616966, ISBN-13: 978-0962616969). The repetition of this urban legend is troubling on at least two or three levels, and it seems to demonstrate the human tendency to repeat colorful, amusingly-convenient or outlandish claims. The more shocking and incongruous the "fact" the more the myth seems likely to propagate.

If, somehow, you've missed John Boswell's other breakout science music-video hits, see them here: A Glorious Dawn - COSMOS Remixed and We Are All Connected. The awe and wonder of nature-as-revealed-by-science becomes even more powerful through song.

Ann Druyan and Nick Sagan were interviewed on the Galactic WaterCooler. The show runs 123 minutes long, so you might want to skip past the banter of the hosts where possible. There's unneccessary music added to the background in places, but the portion with Ann and Nick is worth listening to. Here's where the Sagan-oriented talk begins:

20:40 Talk of Carl's movie and book "Contact".
24:40 Ann Druyan with some history on the COSMOS series.  You get to hear a little on the background of how Cosmos started and behind the scenes details like how Ann got them to change the name from "Man and the Cosmos" to COSMOS. Later around 46:00 we hear how Annie got the Library of Alexandria inserted into COSMOS. They eventually transition to speaking with Nick.

A Glorious Dawn is mentioned at about 40:28 and 55:10.  Download the show as an mp3 file here.  Incidentally, Annie Druyan begins her podcast the week of Nov. 16th November 23rd.