The TANK Vodcast

Well, the sixth Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas has just concluded at the beginning of this week and we’re very proud to point out the involvement and interaction of three of the stars of The TANK Vodcast!

Richard Saunders and Dr Karen Stollznow were onstage for Richard’s presentation, involving teacher interaction, a dowsing demonstration and overview of the Mystery Investigator show presented for schools in Australia. Whilst the main stage was busy, Michael Wolloghan was in the crowd and amongst the presenters, filming and investigating for the next season of The TANK Vodcast!

…Of course, one can’t escape Richard Saunders hamming for a camera - here he is questioning whether John Edward is really ‘The One’, whilst Dr Phil ‘Bad Astronomy’ Plait has no doubts whatsoever!

As a result of the ‘internet-interaction’ emphasis of the Amazing Meeting, it has inspired more questions and goals for how The TANK Vodcast can better target an audience, support and network with pre-existing podcasts and vodcasts - and even prepare for the panels that will feature Richard, Karen and Kylie at Dragon*Con in Atlanta later this year.

We’d like to strongly encourage some questions and requests for us to answer at Dragon*Con! The second season filming is already well underway with footage from TAM6, interviews and investigations from earlier events and even more on the way. As with any show, we seek to improve and quantify what we can do to make the product even better.

Questions and feedback can be emailed to tankvodcast@gmail.com or posted on this blog via the comments feature on every entry!

Don’t forget - The TANK for 2007 - 2008 on a double DVD set. The set includes not only DVD video, mp3 audio and mp4 video. Click here to order your TANK DVD. $20 (US) including postage world-wide.

Wanted to know what it’s all about? Who are we? What are we doing? WHERE are we going?

Here’s a five-minute promotional video of The TANK Vodcast, if you want to catch some highlights from the show so far!

There may be some big news heading TANK Vodcast way… until then, make sure you check out the latest offering from Fox Studios in June…

I have the proof! Just sent in, the big glossy flyer for presenters at TAM6 this year - spot Richard Saunders!

Amazing Meeting 6 details on the JREF site, at www.randi.org.

Thanks to the encouragement of Daniel Loxton of Junior Skeptic (do check out the respective pages of Skeptic and Skepticality!) - The TANK Vodcast is now profiled with a great new page on Facebook!

This page is able to be accessed by anyone, not just the enthusiastic masses on Facebook. Our previous ‘group’ will be phased out in order to take advantage of the features that a page will bring us, including more comment-box and forum sections - just like you’ve requested!

Best of all, we’ve featured our new promotional videos there, with both a snappy five-minute introductory version and a twenty-minute ‘best of’ round-up that features highlights from our 2007 to 2008 Season One shows.

Don’t forget that the series is for sale with links right here on our blog!

The TANK for 2007 - 2008 on this double DVD set.
DVD video, mp3 audio and mp4 video.

Click here to order your TANK DVD. $20 (us) including postage world-wide.

Yes, it’s true. We have discovered that The TANK Vodcast reporters aren’t just good looking (*ahem*) images on your screen or voices of reason in the ether of cyberspace - but true skeptical investigators who can team up in the real world and have a great time whilst at it!

NSW Reporter Michael Wolloghan was on the scene at the last Skeptics in the Pub! Whilst the Sydney Skeptics were showing the spirits what getting into the spirit of things was really all about, he joined hosts Richard Saunders and Stefan Sojka, as they prepared for the last TANK Vodcast episode for the season. As footage of the evening will show, the team not only joined the spoon-bending merriment but for some rather merry renditions of what just might be ‘Waltzing Matilda’ for the benefit of Alison Smith (Mp3 of episode Sept. 4th, 2006) who needed some evidence herself of what an classic Aussie ballad was like! You’ll have to listen (and watch!) for yourself!

Then it was all points south (or way out east for one!) as the skeptics converged on Wagga Wagga, for an almighty meeting of the minds at the Australian Skeptic Conference to discuss future directions and national goals! There Queensland reporter Jayson Cooke, Richard Saunders and Western Australian reporter Kylie Sturgess were presenting, networking and interviewing for further episodes and certainly setting the example. You can look forward to interviews with Paul Willis and Dr Martin Bridgstock of Griffith University featured in the next fantastic season of The TANK Vodcast!

We aim to please our viewing audience here at The TANK Vodcast!

When a YouTube comment on the episode for November 23rd, 2007, asked for some of the highlights regarding the predictions of a ‘Psychic Directory’ - I went through my old emails to find the transcript for perusal!

The original idea is credited to Richard Saunders - he had the brainstorm of looking at one of the most popular psychic publications here in Australia, involving fifteen people making forty predictions for the year 2007 in the Australian Psychics Directory.

I then researched the claims that were made and presented for the show in November, in order to see if they held true by the end of the year! Some, as you can hear yourself, I was quite generous about by listing as ‘too vague‘!

I will admit this - one DID later come true, Nicole Kidman’s pregnancy (prediction number four) - but it was only announced in January ‘08!

As for “a woman president in ‘07“ for number thirty-three? Hmm… not yet in ‘08 either… don’t look at me, I voted for Darwin!

No, not very impressive. We encourage people to make their own tallies and check - see if your own predictions are any better, for a start!

The list included:

• Tony Priest with the first prediction – “coalition forces will have a major policy change to the situation in Iraq. These were to be made within the next twelve months as a result.” Tony Priest, you better hope there’s a saviour for you because your political pundit career ain’t looking too good. That is our first “no“.

• Joy Arena says that “Solar energy becomes prominent, world wide and grand scale!” You wish, and so does Dr Karl - sadly, we’re going to have to say no.

• According to Simon Turnbull – “Global positioning chips become standard security devices and your valuable items are being tracked. That one bit the big brother with a big no.

• Rose Abate-Matteo claims that “Russell Crowe – will be in a sequel to ‘A Good Year’! No, not unless “3:10 to Yuma” to features a Wild West outlaw zipping a little yellow car around rural France… That’s a Non!

• Kelly Isara believes in the Numerology claim that 2007 was a number nine year – and might be challenging and disruptive for those in a comfort zone. What the?? With that, it joins our too vague list.

• Wagih Samwell says that “Automation causes job losses in professional fields like accountancy.” Never mind, maybe they can now Chartered Accountants can become LION TAMERS! No.

• Angelica Danton also gets a YES with the prediction for number 24! She said that Kim Beasley may not be the leader of the Labor party next year! Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett to play more pivotal roles? Well, you get a yes, but since Beasley has been buzzing around for sooooo long, I’d say it was kind of a given.

• Heather Alexander predicted that the “Southern states likely to be hit with coldest weather and global warming is shown to be true!” Chilly reception for that one - with a big no.

• Joy Arena! With the claim that Kylie Minogue - retires! Wrong! She produced a new album out as of November 26th. No.

• Elisabeth Jensen claims that banks are going to be naughty and hold all your money in June and July of this year. You might like to travel with lots of credit cards regardless - but alleged psychic Elisabeth Jensen still gets it wrong. NO.

• Francis Bevan apparently sees Kylie Minogue getting married! Uh no, she was too busy with the new album that Joy Arena didn’t see coming! No.

• The final one was Heather Alexander claiming that strong earth tremors would hit New Zealand in early May, - but the only earthquake that was recorded happened in October - so earth may move under your feet, but your prediction comes tumbling down. NO.
  

This by fifteen people who are ‘professional psychics’ making forty predictions in the Psychic Directory with twenty-nine outright wrong… well it certainly makes you wonder how come psychic publications don’t go BACK over their predictions from the previous year and reflect on what it tells them about psychics! Maybe reconsider the business altogether…?

But never mind - the TANK Vodcast is there to question and where there’s a claim, there’s a test to be made! Enjoy re-viewing the show, especially the fun of the 2007 Hobart Skeptics Conference at the start!