Lost civilizations, fact vs fiction, in Cosmos Online magazine

The online version of Cosmos, a science magazine from Australia, features an article from its June 02010 Issue 33 titled "Lost" by Emma Young, a review of various lost civilizations and the myths that have evolved around them versus the ongoing scientific knowledge through reputable archaeological and other kinds of analysis.

William Mumler the spirit photographer

Though I haven't seen this book, it looks like a great contribution to the literature of ghost photography: The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer by Louis Kaplan, University of Minnesota Press, 2008. Here's a link to a Google search that will lead you to various Web sites about the book. The virtual American Museum of Photography also has a great exhibit on spirit photography called Do You Believe?: A Ghostly Gallery.

Why Darwin Matters to Creationists

Professor skeptic Michael Shermer blogs about a presentation he gave at the University of California at San Diego Biological Science Symposium on April 2, 02009 based on his book Why Darwin Matters and the reaction to his talk by " 'expelled' creationist Caroline Crocker" whose reaction to his talk she blogged about under the title "How Disappointing!" on the Access Research Network's blog The ID Update: News and Commentary Updates for the ID Community.

SkepticBlog debuts

Except for Michael Shermer, chances are you won't recognize any of the names associated with the new SkepticBlog that began publishing on October 24, 02008. The collaborators are members of the Skeptologists, "a pilot skeptical reality show." Sounds a bit like Mythbusters. They did film a pilot. I wonder how they'll keep viewer attention beyond the usual talking heads and images of things they'll be debunking.