Headlines:
100,000 to get Jason Pitzl-Waters on the Daily Show
In an effort to support religious equality and equal voice, we are trying to get Jason Pitzl-Waters a spot on the Daily Show to address recent attacks on minority religions. Media responds to numbers, if we show that enough people are actively interested in seeing Jason on the Daily Show then it is likely he will get on! Spread the word and let’s make it happen!
Archeology:
The Last Neanderthals?
As if deciphering human evolutionary chronology isn’t complicated enough, recent discoveries at a site in the foothills of the Ural Mountains of Russia have thrown yet another wrinkle in the developing fabric of the human ascent through the Ice Age.
While excavating at Byzovaya, Russia, an archaeological site in the cold western foothills of the Ural Mountains at the edge of the Arctic Circle, Dr. Ludovic Slimak of the Université de Toulouse le Mirail, France, along with a team of colleagues, had unearthed a total of 313 human artifacts, along with a massive accumulation of remains of mammoths and other animals, (such as reindeer, wooly rhinoceros, musk ox, horse, wolf, polar fox, and bear). Examination of the mammoth remains indicated that they had been butchered using human-made tools. But these artifacts, a stone tool technology known as Mousterian and associated most commonly with Neanderthals, were dated to about 28,500 BP, too late for the Neanderthals. The dating didn’t seem to match the nature of the technology, as the newly discovered artifacts defined a toolkit that belonged primarily to the Middle Paleolithic period (300,000 to 40,000 years ago), and Neanderthals are generally thought to have become extinct before that time — replaced, as many scientists have suggested, by Homo sapiens (anatomically modern humans) around 75,000 to 50,000 years ago with a more advanced stone tool industry. Read full story from popular-archeology.com
Astronomy:
Planets Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and Mars to line up in Australian sky
FORGET the hippie-era song that has Jupiter aligning with Mars and love steering the stars. The fact is, those two orbs get together all the time.
The truly remarkable event – when Jupiter lines up with Venus, Mercury and Mars in the pre-dawn sky – will be visible in Australia’s eastern sky on Friday.
The alignment of the four planets, which happens only once every 50 to 100 years, will occur just before sunrise, Sydney Observatory says. Read full story from heraldsun.com.au
History:
Boscastle’s Museum of Witchcraft celebrates a long and colourful history
An interesting day can be expected on May 14 when a famous museum in Boscastle opens its doors for a day of talks and a new book launch.
To celebrate the anniversary of its 60th year, the Museum of Witchcraft has gathered together the memories of 50 people who have a connection with the museum and published them in a book called The Museum of Witchcraft – A Magical History.
Together with the book launch there will be talks throughout the day under the moniker The Guardians of Cornish Magic. Read full story from culture24.org.uk
Native American:
Sacred Languages
A relation to the sacred is inherent within many indigenous languages. The justification for the renewal of tribal languages is often the belief that language contains meaning that is not well understood or translated into English, or other languages. For many tribal cultural programs, language is a major strategy for renewing culture and identity. There is great wisdom in this viewpoint, but what can it mean? Read full story from indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com
News:
Spain: Earthquake rocks Lorca, Murcia, killing 10
Hundreds of people have spent the night outdoors in the southern Spanish town of Lorca after an earthquake which killed at least 10 people.
The magnitude-5.2 tremor toppled several buildings after striking at a depth of just 1km (0.6 miles), 120km south-west of Alicante.
Lines of cars lay crushed under tonnes of rubble and a hospital was evacuated as a precaution.
Wednesday evening’s quake came about two hours after a 4.4-magnitude tremor. Read full story from bbc.co.uk
Religion:
County Board Considers Wiccan-Proof Prayer Policy
Prayer may soon be part of the Frederick County, Md., commissioners’ public meetings.
Republican Frederick County Board of Commissioners President Blaine Young suggested implementing the prayer at the start of the meetings. Read full story from nbcwashington.com
Religious belief is human nature, huge new study claims
London (CNN) – Religion comes naturally, even instinctively, to human beings, a massive new study of cultures all around the world suggests.
“We tend to see purpose in the world,” Oxford University professor Roger Trigg said Thursday. “We see agency. We think that something is there even if you can’t see it. … All this tends to build up to a religious way of thinking.”
Trigg is co-director of the three-year Oxford-based project, which incorporated more than 40 different studies by dozens of researchers looking at countries from China to Poland and the United States to Micronesia. Read full story from cnn.com
Science:
Mind Reading: Technology Turns Thought Into Action
An old technology is providing new insights into the human brain.
The technology is called electrocorticography, or ECoG, and it uses electrodes placed on the surface of the brain to detect electrical signals coming from the brain itself.
Doctors have been using ECoG since the 1950s to figure out which area of the brain is causing seizures in people with severe epilepsy. But in the past decade, scientists have shown that when connected to a computer running special software, ECoG also can be used to control robotic arms, study how the brain produces speech and even decode thoughts. Read full story from npr.org
Media:
Dr. Andy Thomson – Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith
Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith — Dr. Andy Thomson from Kurt Volkan on Vimeo.
Blogspot:
- Ghost Theory – Reports Of Jim Morrison’s Ghost
- The Pagan Household – Herbs… A Child’s Connection to Nature
- Pantheon – First Japan, Now The Daily Show
Feel free to leave comments regarding the articles posted.
If you’re interested in guest blogging or would like to submit an article or event, contact me at pagansworld.org@gmail.com.
Thanks for stopping by! Well wishes to you all and have a great day!
Lisa
