Hey folks-

Just giving a head's up on a new skeptical show called "The Conspiracy Zone". It airs on TNN Sundays at 9:00 p.m., and the premier is tomorrow as I write this. I have a bit of inside knowledge about this show (heh heh) and I think it is very funny. Kevin Nealon hosts, and it presents boths sides of conspiracies, including UFOs, Elvis' death, JFK, you-name-it. I don't know if they will do a Moon Hoax show or not, but I hope to find out soon. They have a website too.

They even have a quiz: Namethatconspiracy.com

I only got a best score of 19. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

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"You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe." [Carl Sagan]

Here's the answers to the quiz: Whqtr Whql, Obo Zneyrl, Fbyne Rpyvcfrf, Nyvraf, pnfu, Pybfr Rapbhagref, naq GAA

Why, I don't know.

I only got a 15. What's your secret? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Hey, Don't sweat it. I got a 19 too the first time. Then I tried about a dozen more times with different answers and never got that high again. So it isn't "only" a 19, that's probably getting close to about as high as you're gonna get (especially with only 7 questions to begin with).

But come to think about it, do we really want to shoot for a high score, or a low one?

Don't you just love these scientifically accurate surveys? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

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...And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. --Sir Bedevere

Loved it. Loved it so much it caused an arguement between my wife and I over privacy. (good arguement, though.)

Phil, I hope you don't mind, but I suggested that when they do one on the moon hoax, that two of the guests be Richard Hoagland and Phil Plait. I just wanna see Hoaxland get ripped to shreds on national television.

(insert suitably evil laugh here)

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Valiant Dancer

Apparently, they give 1 point for a wrong answer, and 5 points for a "right" answer. With the answers I posted (ROT-13), I got a perfect score of 35. The right answers don't make a lot of sense.

Actually, Hoagland supports the fact of the lunar landings. He has to, because otherwise NASA has no evidence of alien bases there!

I wish I was kidding.

At some point I will post an essay about my relationship with The Conspiracy Zone; basically, I consulted on the pilot (which will not air). If they do a Moon hoax show, I hope they will ask me, but I don't know who would be the conpiracy buff. There are plenty to go around.

Well, when I clicked on the first link just now, the first conspiracy theory listed was "Did we really land on the moon?", so it seems to me to be a foregone conclusion that the show will address it at some point. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

So, for those who saw it, Could someone give us a review? Is it really even-handed? (And what was the first topic anyway?) Most shows on conspiracies tend to swing to one side or the other (usually pro-conspiracy, but I suspect this one isn't). If it really tries to show all the facts, it will definitely be a worthwhile show. With Kevin Nealon helming it, it must be pretty tounge-in-cheek though. Of course many conspiracy theories thoroughly deserve that kind of treatment. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Unfortunately and obviously I won't be watching it here. I don't get TNN. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] But I'm heading back to the US for a visit at the end of the month, and I may have a chance to catch an episode. Here's hoping.

I'm going to try my hand at that quiz again now.

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...And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. --Sir Bedevere

Feces. I should have picked Piper or Art Bell. Well, it looks promising anyway.

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Valiant Dancer

The show's producers probably don't want to make the conspiracy believers too wacky, I think. If they did, the show wouldn't be as entertaining. One of the (huge number of) problems with HBs is that they can be so earnest, they aren't entertaining. Watch Politically Incorrect when someone is on a soapbox; it just isn't fun.

Also, the episode of CZ last night didn't have too much of a clear split between government conspiracy and otherwise; it was more of a free-for all discussion. Adam Corolla is funny, but I could have torn his arguments apart pretty easily.

The unaired pilot for CZ was on the Moon Hoax, but it won't air; it was filmed as a test for the show to see how to set things up, how the set looks, how the format works, etc. . Hopefully they'll choose to redo it with the current format.

Given the fact that they phrase questions as "What is your favourite conspiracy" and then think that they can assign any meaningful score without being able to read my mind, marks them as a (gasp!) conspiracy!

My favourite is my favourite, there is no "right" or "wrong" answer to that kind of question.

The (disgruntled--I only got 11!) Curtmudgeon

Curt...

Be gruntled. That's 2 more than I got!

[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

As near as I can tell, the possible scores are 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31, and 35.

I only got 7! I think I will try again with lots of Oliver Stone answers.

Maybe we're treating this wrong and 7 is the score we should be trying for. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Dag nabbit, when I tried the quiz, clicking on the "next page" link just produced an "unable to select database" message.

Clearly, some sort of conspiracy is at work here.

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Please enjoy your trip through this door.

Ha! I just got a score of zero. Beat that.

I got 27... [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]

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Red

"Go to Blue Alert!"
"Is that really necessary Sir? It will mean changing the bulb..."

That's some sort of perfection, anyway. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Incidentally, French Stewart is now my hero. He was great on the CZ last night, poking holes in those two guys' theories about 5th dimensional hypnotic time travel. He used good, basic logic argument in a funny manner, and IMO took those guys down hard.

Dang, I missed it. Do you know whether TNN re-runs it? And when?