The Skeptic in the Room Unplugged!

Last weekend I had the chance to perform my song The Skeptic in the Room for the Solstice/HumanLight Party here in Sacramento. The event, sponsored by the local Atheists and Other Freethinkers (AOF) group, was well attended and very upbeat. The Mockingbirds, a local singing group, performed some lively parody carols in the spirit of the (non-religious) season.  Professional dancers Roger and Pam showed off some slick dance steps.  And my son James and I performed Skeptic. This was the first live performance of the song, and, while there were a few hiccups along the way, it was a lot of fun.  


Here's a video of our performance. If you watch it, please keep a couple of things in mind:


1.  We kind of threw this together quickly, so forgive the stumbling over lyrics here and there, and...
2.  Always remember, the camera adds ten, errrrr thirty pounds! (but, oddly, only to me, not to James.  There must be some scientific explanation for that - I suspect quantum physics or nano-particles are to blame).

If you prefer to watch the original, mistake-free version, it is here:

Tim Minchin is starting to piss me off!

As is true of all communities of thought, the Skeptical Community has its well known leaders and celebrities. And, as I have immersed myself in podcasts and books and skeptical conferences over the last few years, I have come to greatly admire many of the more prominent skeptics. Many of them exhibit traits I would love to possess myself:  The erudition and facility with language of Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins; the commitment and productivity of Steven Novella; the joie de vivre of Richard Wiseman and Phil Plait; the charm of Rebecca Watson; the humanity of Penn Jillette.  

But there is one skeptical luminary that inspires waves of admiring envy in every fiber of my being:  Musician and comedian Tim Minchin.  While I know I’ll never be a microbiologist or a doctor or a scientist, I am a musician and a songwriter. And, like Mr. Minchin, I try to express my skeptical outlook in my music (click here to see what is unarguably my most successful attempt at this to date). But, like Antonio Salieri in Amadeus, I find myself forced to recognize and respect the brilliance and creativity of Tim Minchin while knowing that I, alas, will never match his skills.

And its really starting to piss me off!

Mr. Minchin’s latest triumph only increases my own sense of envy.  The new Musical Comedy Matilda - music and lyrics by Tim Minchin - has taken London’s West End by storm, winning rave reviews and already racking up theatre awards. You can see a promotional clip for the show here.  It is really rare to encounter something in modern musical theater that is truly new and unique, and Matilda appears to be just that - a brilliantly conceived and executed trip into a fantastical world of childlike wonder.  Of course, not having seen the show, I’m making this judgement based on the soundtrack and the clips that are online.  But I’m pretty confident, based also on the reviews I’ve read, that the show really is pretty awesome.

So why does this new Minchin triumph cause me so much grief? Because, along with my more common musical efforts, I have always dreamed of writing a Broadway musical. I’ve begun, but never completed, several such efforts - including shows based on William Tell, on President John Tyler (yeah, that would be popular!) and on famous hoaxes and hoaxers of history. But, again alas, none has amounted to anything more than a ragged collection of songs with no coherent story line.

And so, Tim Minchin, while I applaud your success and will continue to enjoy your work, you’re really starting to annoy me. Must you really be quite so good at everything?!

On the other hand, maybe I could just use Tim as inspiration to take another crack at finishing one of my own projects.  Look out world, here comes John Tyler: The Musical!

Bad News for Power Balance Could be Good News for Sacramento

Power Balance, purveyors of those magical wristbands that people (particularly athletes) believe are imbued with magical powers, filed for bankruptcy protection today, according to a report in the Sacramento Bee.  All I can say is, it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of charlatans!

I won’t go into the copious evidence showing that Power Balance bands are no more magical than the rubber bands cluttering up my kitchen draws.  They have exactly the same efficacy – that is, none whatsoever.  I won’t rag on their scientifically dubious claims, as they have been so thoroughly debunked elsewhere.  And I won’t comment on the silly tests they do to prove the efficacy of their sham bracelets – getting people to believe that they’ve suddenly gained the ability to remain balanced with a foot raised while the person demonstrating this effect subtly changes the angle at which he pushes down on the person’s extended arm (well, I guess I did just comment on that).

But for those of us here in Sacramento (at least, those of us who have bothered to think about it), the news that the company may be facing bankruptcy and (dare we hope?!) liquidation is particularly encouraging. You see, last year Power Balance bought the naming rights to our local basketball arena. And so now, the outdated and rapidly decaying little bandbox, which gained its reputation as ARCO Arena, is known as Power Balance Pavilion.  Ugh.

So, even if the company survives its financial struggles, maybe, at the very least, it will have to cancel its contract and our little arena, if and when it again hosts NBA Basketball games for our beloved Kings, can have a name that will not bring embarrassment with it.

Hey Ma, I'm a One Hit Wonder!

I just checked on my YouTube account.  I have nine videos posted of songs I’ve written.  There have been 21,294 views of TheSkeptic in the Room.  My next highest total:  294 for TheConspiracy Song.  Exactly 21,000 fewer!  Ha ha.  I think this is what they call a one hit wonder!

A Tribute to Impulse Buying

I take a break from blogging about skepticism and politics, to post a new song I wrote recently. This song has no particular reason to exist, except it's kind of catchy and, after all, haven't we all enjoyed picking up items on impulse when checking out at the supermarket or department store?

Of Christmas Tree Taxes, FDR and Silly Political Discourse

In what is possibly the silliest political kerfuffle ever, today saw the blogosphere riled up about Obama’s new “Christmas Tree Tax.”  It was reported by a conservative blogger and amplified through Matt Drudge (Slate has a good, short recap here) that Obama’s Department of Agriculture had just announced plans to impose a fifteen-cent tax on the sale of fresh Christmas trees.  

On conservative blogs and, apparently, talk shows, this announcement was denounced as everything from a tax on Christians (because, you see, only Christians buy Christmas trees) to President Obama’s lame effort to stimulate the economy to an example of Obama fiddling while Rome burns (millions out of work, and the President wants to tax Christmas trees!). Oh the humanity!

But the reality is that this is the latest in a long, long line of programs created at industry request to raise funds for promotion, research or other marketing by the affected industries.  There are programs that do advertising (think Dancing Raisins and Milk Mustaches), that conduct research into controlling pests or making food safer, and that regulate quality and packing standards (so that, you know, when you go to the store to buy apples they have some uniformity in size, color, shape, etc.).  Some programs are federal and some are state, but they are all created because the growers or shippers of a given agricultural product want them created.

All of these programs stem from the same New Deal legislation put in place under Franklin Roosevelt.  For over seven decades those statutes have been used to justify the creation of these agricultural programs. They are done under government jurisdiction because that way you can get everyone to pay their fair share and avoid the ‘free rider’ problem.

Now, there’s plenty of room for argument or discussion about whether these types of programs are valuable, successful, effective or necessary in today’s world.  Growers have sued to get rid of them in some cases, and in others the programs have simply outlived their usefulness and been voted out of existence by the affected parties.

But to act like this proposed Christmas Tree program is some insidious plot driven by the President is silly beyond words and just goes to underscore how petty and substance-free our political discussions have become.

I’m not a big fan of the President and I'm an opponent of the Nanny State, but if the Christmas Tree farmers want to get together and tax themselves to pay for programs they think will help keep them in business, I say more power to them!

On Being a Libertarian Skeptic

With the presidential campaign season in full swing (for the republicans at least), I've been thinking a bit lately about politics and skepticism. Generally I call myself a Libertarian, but that's pretty much just a convenience so I don't have to identify with either of the dominant US political parties. I resist affiliation with either the democrats or the republicans so that I don’t have to accept or justify rejecting the very significant parts of each party’s platform with which I disagree.

My libertarianism is therefore shorthand for a somewhat common refrain - like many others, I consider myself  to be fairly conservative on fiscal issues but liberal on social issues. I agree with the Republican party on many economic issues, but part with them vehemently on things like gay rights, abortion and their antipathy to science. The democrats drive me crazy on fiscal and economic issues, but I'm with them on the social issues.

So there I am, in my libertarian middle ground, cherry picking candidates from the major parties to vote for (I don't actually vote Libertarian, but I would if they’d bring forward some sane candidates: Bob Barr? Really? Ron Paul? God help us!).

When I first happened on the skeptical community a few years ago, I quickly figured out that it was a community that leaned pretty hard to the left. That wasn't a surprise, but it made me hesitant to actively join the fray. One doesn't want to risk getting flamed by someone online for suggesting that, maybe, just maybe, everyone to the right of Dennis Kucinich isn't actually evil.

Luckily there are prominent skeptical voices out there who help make it safe for Libertarian skeptics like me to come in out of the cold and not feel quite so unwelcome. It was encouraging and refreshing to hear Michael Shermer on a skeptical podcast expressing his belief that the best way to deal with climate change is less government interference in the economy and more unleashing  of bright human minds.  And Penn Jillette’s libertarianism, based in a firm belief in the rights of the individual, is a very appealing philosophy.

So, yeah, it’s good to know that you can be libertarian and find acceptance in the skeptical community. I have a hard time imagining a true blue conservative who would feel very welcome, but I also have a hard time imagining a true blue conservative wanting to be accepted there.