The Gift of Apollo

Apollo-11
The Sagan Series (pt8)
Produced by Reid Gower - Written and Narrated by Carl Sagan

Alright. I'm sure you folks are tired of all this Halloween nonsense, so let's get back to the business of blogging about this big old world of ours, and some of it's neighbours.

In fact, maybe that's overstating what I'll be doing today. To be honest I have very little to say about the following piece of content, mostly because it already states itself so beautifully. Many astronomy enthusiasts have seen this clip already, and most don't need to be convinced of it's message, but I'm posting it for anybody out there not in both categories.

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged Apollo Astronomy Carl Sagan Moon Pale Blue Dot Space Travel

Carl Sagan Tribute Series

Sagan
Carl Sagan gets YouTubed!

Normally when I run across a great piece of content from other blogs I'll just share it across social media. But on this one occasion I just had to put it here on this page, lest some readers possibly miss it. So full disclosure, I found out about the following YouTube series via a post by Luke Weston at Young Australian Skeptics.

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged Astronomy Audiobooks Carl Sagan

I Scoop the Entire Internet

Sagan
Pale Blue Dot - Animation
by Adam Winnik

This time, I KNOW I'm first. Boo-ya!

I've been known to share some older items from time to time. It happens when I stumble across content that blows me away, sometimes years old, and then blog about it as if I've made some sort of great internet discovery. Usually it's met with a few disinterested mutterings like "Yeah, saw that a long time ago. Whatevs."

But the following video was posted by it's creator only 15 hours ago, so I know I got y'all beat this time. (Well, except for this guy. Grrr)

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged Animation Carl Sagan Science

Can You Identify This World? (Poster)

02
Poster-Quote #3
From a quote by Carl Sagan

Now that my very first contest is out of the way, (congrats to Lynda Williams) I thought I'd make the next question a tad simpler, while also picking a question I actually know the answer to ahead of time. Can you tell me which world is depicted in the image below?

Ok, this is sort of an easy one, because it's one of the most recognizable and scientifically interesting bodies in our solar system. But I'd like you not just to name this world correctly, but also to tell me why the attached quote by Carl Sagan is relevant. No, I'm not asking for an opinion paper, but rather for a very specific characteristic of this world, and the tantilizing possibilities that it suggests. (Scroll to bottom for full image)

 

04

Plus, I'm going to make it worth your while this time!  The first correct answer receives a real prize, and you won't believe how generous it is. Provide the answer I'm looking for and I'll foot the bill to fly you and a loved one to the very same heavenly body you're identifying, just as soon as commercial flights become available. I know, I must be KER-AZY right?

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged Art Astronomy Carl Sagan Science

A Primer on Skepticism

Me

After a year of blogging it's time to reflect on the value of this rag, what it's accomplished, who it's speaking to, and what it has to say.

The answer?  Beats me.

Well, I guess that's not true.  I suppose one has only to look at the most commonly used tags column on the page to get an idea; science, animation, skepticism, art, and design round out the top 5.  I suppose that means that the blog is about those things, but as I've tried to come clean about before, there's something nefarious at work concerning the subject matter.  As a core mission, this blog aims to take mankind's unique ability to recognize and experience beauty, and to use it as the context within which to make a key point; that a naturalistic, or skeptical, view of the world is not a vacant one.
 

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged Art Bad Astronomy Carl Sagan Demon Haunted World Design Inspiration Medical Science Naturalism Neurologica Phil Plait Pseudoscience Rebecca Watson Richard Dawkins SGU Science Skeptic Skeptic's Guide to the Universe Skeptical Skepticism Skeptoid Steven Novella The Greatest Show on Earth

A Love Song for Love Songs - The Podumentary

Lovesong

What's this you ask?  A documentary?

Not really, rather, a podumentary.  That means I took the audio from one of my podcasts, and turned it into a little short film.  It was quite a bit of work, so if you enjoy it, please share it with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.

The title betrays how I feel about music, something that profoundly serves to both express and fuel human creativity.  The message of this piece is an attempt to celebrate music from a scientifically informed position, as well as portray the beauty that we humans bring into the Universe. 

Why does music rock so hard? What about it makes it endlessly interesting, utterly soul nourishing, and so thoroughly distracting from the work I'm supposed to be doing?

Come on in and enjoy a 'podumentary' you can dance to! We'll look at the value music has, where it came from, and why we should never stop wigglin' our butts.

Click on the button at the bottom of the player to view full-screen.

Your feedback is welcome either in the comments section below or through social networking.  Again, please share this post with a few friends if you enjoyed it.

<<back to blog

Follow Brad Goodspeed on Twitter

Also, please consider subscribing to the blog by clicking here.

Subscribe to Brad BlogSpeed by Email

Tagged A Love Song for Love Songs Alternative Angels & Airwaves Art Beatles Carl Sagan Cat Stevens DJ Andy Smith Documentary Folk Gomez Islam MC 900ft Jesus Music Paintings Philosophy Podcast Podumentary Rap Religion Rock Science Sleigh Bells Songs Vampire Weekend Vangelis

Reality Can Bite

How to Protect Yourself From the Bomb by Remembering that it's There

Nuclear_holocaust2
In a recent post I took exception with the moon-hoax folks and did my humble best to shake some sense into them.  Their assertion is so contrary to all available evidence, yet also so adamantly argued, that I felt it important to shine some light on it.

In actuality I never dared to hope for even a single conversion amongst the conspiracy theorists themselves.  The mechanism of being a true believer in something so incredible is often a closed loop.  Those who cherish such fantasies are not easily swayed, especially by arguments made by half-witted bloggers.

I suppose the most I wished for was some consciousness-raising amongst the previously unconcerned.  An optimistic theory of mine is that most people are intelligent, rational souls who tend to go down the correct path if only given directions to the trail-head.  But issues such as whether or not man landed on the moon are trivial in the day-to-day process of living on this planet, and general indifference is to be expected.

 

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged Apollo 11 Carl Sagan Cosmos Education Holocaust Moon Landing Nuclear Missiles Nuclear War Reality Warning World War 2
​