The Bad Astronomy Newsletter

Bad Astronomy Newsletter #25

Contents:

1. Newsletter reaches 3000 members, and book news
2. SETI radio interview, and one in the UK
3. TechTV interview streaming video
4. Upcoming talks
5. Subscribe/Unsubscribe info

1) Newsletter reaches 3000 members, and book news

Hooray! This newsletter now has 3000 subscribers. That's more than I ever figured would sign up. It's nice to know so many people want to know how so many others are messing up astronomy. ;-)

In related news, the Bad Astronomy book is now in its fourth printing. If this printing sells out, it'll have sold about 22,000 copies, which is quite respectable for a science book. Unfortunately, there are still some errors in it, which really irks me. There's a whole paragraph that's wrong in the Velikovsky chapter, for example (no prize if you find it). I will get the last fixes to my editor, just in case we go to a fifth printing. I plan on putting up a web page with all the errors on it, referenced by printing run. And then I can finally fix that one paragraph and get it off my mind...

In related related news, the next book in the Bad Science series, "Bad Medicine", is due out any day now. It was written by my friend and cohort Chris Wanjek, who has in the past and present been a stand-up comic, a joke writer for Jay Leno, David Letterman and Saturday Night Live, a columnist for Mercury magazine, and a pretty good harmonica player. I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm always amazed at Chris's writing abilities; reading his work is at the very least a pleasure, and he can be downright moving when describing the flow of matter into a black hole, or the path of a photon as it follows the curves of space. He can also cut right to the heart of the matter, taking no prisoners, so his views on quackery, fraudulent and just plain bad medicine should make for a great read.

2) SETI radio interview, and one in the UK

On Sunday, October 6 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, I will be interviewed on the radio on the program "Are We Alone?". The host is Seth Shostak, who is a SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) scientist. I've bumped into Seth at a conference or two and enjoy talking with him, so this should be a lot of fun. You can find out more by going to the program's web page.

The program is syndicated to 400 stations, so there may be one near you. It's also streamed on the web; info can be found at the website above. I'm also taping a radio interview for a show in the UK called "Creatures of the Night". I am not sure when it will air, but if I get a chance I'll send out a note for the Bad Readers across the pond.

3) TechTV interview now on streaming video

Speaking of interviews, my TechTV appearance lambasting Moon Hoax advocate Bart Sibrel has been streamed by Bad Reader Zeit (that's an alias, of course) at http://www.ghostwriter-webs.com/jt/techtvclip.wmv.

We've been discussing the show on the Bulletin Board. Evidently the lighting in my office makes me look somewhat Mad Scientist-ish, which I suppose is okay. I just wish I could have actually given some detailed points debunking Mr. Sibrel's ridiculous accusations. I did get one jab in (so to speak!) about his altercation with Buzz Aldrin. By the way, the Los Angeles County prosecutor has decided not to press charges against Buzz for landing one small fist for man. There is hope for our judicial system after all! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then read all about it here.

4) Upcoming talks

I have a couple of neat talks coming up. The first is at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, CA on October 17 at 7:30 p.m. The other is at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City on November 4, at 7:00 p.m. Both are general Bad Astro talks, where I stand eggs on end, make fun of "Armageddon", and pretty much have a good time. These talks and others are detailed on my calendar page. I hope to see some of you there!

5) Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information

If, for some weird reason, you want to unsubscribe to this newsletter, just send email to badastronomy-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com with no body text. Make sure you send it from the address to which the newsletter is sent! Alternatively, you can unsubscribe from the Yahoo!Groups website. Go to http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/groups-32.html for more info.

Remember, the newsletters will be archived on the website at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/badastronomy so even if you unsubscribe you can still read them there. I suggest staying subscribed so you get them as soon as I send them.

Also, I do not sell your email addresses and neither does Yahoo! Take a gander at the Yahoo!Groups privacy message if it makes you feel better: http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy/us/ Note that the email addresses are visible to me, but I have no prurient use for them. If that makes you nervous for whatever reason, feel free to unsubscribe and simply read the archived newsletters at the website listed above.

Phil Plait
The Bad Astronomer
badastro@badastronomy.com
http://www.badastronomy.com