Calling all skeptics...

There's a new blog round-up: "The Skeptics' Circle," brought to us by Saint Nate.

And now my personal news: A week after announcing the idea, I have gotten my act together and am ready to start my own round-up.

The Skeptics' Circle will hold its first gathering here on Thursday, February 3, regardless of whether or not Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow the day before. My vision is to create a carnival for bloggers who'd rather think critically than criticize thinkers. More specifically, some of the things I'm looking for are posts about:

* Urban legends and hoaxes. If you spotted an oft-reported story that doesn't hold up to critical thought, this is the perfect opportunity to let people what you found. I hate plugging myself, but check out this post about Bill Gates' pictures - and if that doesn't work for you, try one of the examples I cite therein.

* Pseudoscience. Those who know their facts can take this opportunity to correct those who don't. Sean at Preposterous Universes shows how a good report can get misinterpreted by the mainstream media.

*Pseudohistory. Don't like the lessons we all should learn being denied or rewritten? Check out how Orac is continuing his long-running battle against Holocaust denial.

*Hysteria. We've all head countless stories about what is the greatest threats in the world today are, so now it's time to hear why we can still count on the sun rising tomorrow. RealClimate does this well by examining a popular argument against global warming.

*Quackery. Any stories either about potentially harmful alternative medicines or misleading reports from medical news stories. Dr. Charles has a good example of how he works a little magic on his prescription pad to save a witch.

So if you have a story you'd like to contribute to the premiere edition of the Skeptics' Circle, send it to me at saint_nate at hotmail dot com by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 2. Also, please let me know if you're interested in hosting a future Circle so I can set up a schedule.