Category: Eamonn Taylor | Main

All Aboard: Next Stop Atheism

January 09, 2009 1:04 PM

BY EAMONN TAYLOR, ABC News London

It’s not your typical bus advertisement. It has no commercial interest and doesn't even target a specific demographic. So what’s all the fuss about?  It started  with Ariane Sherine’s seemingly innocuous  article in The Guardian.

The advertisement reads: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

            
The ad can now be seen on buses in more than 25 U.K. cities.

Sherine  helped gain  support for the campaign when she wrote about a religious bus advertisement in The Guardian's "Comment Is Free" section. Commentators and supporters started lining up to donate  money to the ad campaign.

“It was never meant to be a campaign," for the advertisement, "just an article. I didn’t think it as anything more than a punch line,” Sherine told ABC News. But Sherine's article was so favorably received that even Richard Dawkins, author of the controversial  "The God Delusion," is matching all amounts up to £5,500 ($8,350).

Sherine said the advertisement that inspired her could be scary to some people. “It was just an evangelical advert. It looked very apocalyptic. I went to the Web site. It said non-Christians are going to burn in hell for eternity.”

The campaign has no intention of stopping and even received a response from  the Church of England. In a prepared statement, a spokesman for the church told ABC News, “Christian belief is not about worrying or not enjoying life. Quite the opposite: Our faith liberates us to put this life into a proper perspective. Seven in 10 people in this country describe themselves as Christian and know the joy that faith can bring."

Sherine insists it was never her intention to offend anybody. “It’s a positive statement. I think a lot of people have felt a lot of solidarity and togetherness.”

The campaign has raised enough money to expand advertisements to the London Tube. The new placards will still carry the slogan “There is probably no God” but will quote actress Katharine Hepburn, Emily Dickinson and others.

Read more blogs from ABC News Staff

January 9, 2009 in Eamonn Taylor | Permalink | User Comments (40) | TrackBack (0)

The Deafening Driver

January 06, 2009 1:24 PM

By EAMONN TAYLOR, ABC News London

Golfers beware: That  shiny new driver you received for Christmas may affect more than your golf game. A recent  article in the British Medical Journal says the silence-piercing driver in your bag can hurt your hearing.   

The study came about after a 55-year old man checked into the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with hearing loss. Dr. Malcolm Buchanan, who led the study, explained, "The patient came to our clinic,  so we gave him an exam. He’d been playing golf three times a week for 18 months. And [he] showed hearing loss in his right ear.”

Buchanan told ABC News, “We used a professional golfer to hit balls to get consistent strikes. It was very loud. The loudest driver went to 128 decibels.” According to howstuffworks.com, this can be as loud as a rock concert.

The findings surprised Buchanan, who is a golfer. “I’m more aware when I’m on the range,  so I take precaution.” 

Asked about future golf studies, Buchanan said,  “I’m planning on going to the  [British] Open in July and selecting golfers.  I’ll take an audiometer to test their hearing.”

Read more blogs by ABC News staff

January 6, 2009 in Eamonn Taylor | Permalink | User Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Stonehenge; A Rock Concert

January 05, 2009 12:52 PM

By EAMONN TAYLOR, ABC News London

There have been endless theories about the origins of Stonehenge stretching from early interpretations – that Merlin the Wizard had a giant build it for him, or that it was the work of the devil. But now a U.K. professor named Dr. Rupert Till thinks he has finally heard the answer in the form of refined reverberation. 

The acoustics and musical technology expert from Huddersfield University is convinced Stonehenge was used to magnify musical chants more than 5,000 years ago. 

“I saw a presentation on acoustics by people who weren’t music technologists, and I knew there was more to it,” Till said. Previous approaches to the acoustics theory have focused on what acoustics sound like today inside Stonehenge but Till wanted to know what it would have sounded like 5,000 years ago.

“We’ve been taking different approaches. We looked at plans and what might have happened."

“There is a full-size reconstruction in Washington state and we did acoustic tests and we heard particular effects,” Till told ABC News. “Those effects are reverberations; combination of echoes and sound bouncing off of walls. It’s what makes your living room sound different from your bathroom.” 

Although the replica is made of concrete this doesn’t concern Till. “Concrete is far more porous than sandstone so it’s not as reflective. It meant any conclusions we had would be conservative. All we can say really is the main thing is any effects would be underestimated not overestimated and that’s good for scientific research.”

Till is studying how different instruments would sound in different positions inside the site. He is currently using a computer model that can move different instruments to different positions inside the circle. “We used acoustic software to move sound originating from different places in the circle,” Till said. This enables researchers to figure out possible configurations for chanting or worship from a time when there was no written language.

Archaeologist Dave Batchelor for English Heritage, a group that cares for Stonehenge and 400 other historical sites across England, agrees with Till that the site could have been used for music or chanting. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard it,” Batchelor told ABC News about Till’s theory. “Acoustic properties are good. Voice and drum beats carry very well,” Batchelor said.

The archaeologist quickly pointed out though that there is no right answer. “You may find something more personally believable but no one has yet been able to concretely prove the stone circle's purpose.”

Read more blogs by ABC News staff

January 5, 2009 in Eamonn Taylor | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Rare Bugatti Could Fetch $4.5 Million

January 02, 2009 10:37 AM

By EAMONN TAYLOR, ABC News London

When an uncle leaves you an inheritance of a garage, you presume you are getting some rusty tools and random knickknacks. But the nieces and nephews of Harold Carr were in for a possible multimillion-dollar surprise, The Times has reported.

Carr, a reclusive surgeon and sports car collector, left his relatives a rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante. The exotic Bugatti is one of 17 in the world. The car will be the centerpiece of Bonhams' Retro mobile show in Paris Feb. 7. Carr’s nephew, who wished to remain anonymous, joked that his uncle “was a very eccentric old gent, I suppose you could call him a mad doctor,” the Times reports. The 72-year-old car has averaged about 365 miles a year and has retained much of its originality. The Chassis, engine and drivetrain are all original, which lends to its high desirability.

The car needs a slight restoration to the seats and some of the parts, but will be sold as is at auction. Carr’s nephew said, “It was one of the original supercars. When it was built it could reach 130 mph [miles per hour] when most cars could only do 50.”  This is still faster than a lot of our cars today. The 57S has had several previous owners including Lord Ridley of the Northumberland Gentry and Earl Howe, winner of the 1931, 24 Hours of Le Mans. A similar 1931 Bugatti sold for a record $6.8 million back in 1987.

According to Bonhams’ Web site, James Knight, the international head of Bonhams' motoring department, said, "I have known of this Bugatti for a number of years and, like a select group of others, hadn’t dared divulge its whereabouts to anyone. It is absolutely one of the last great barn discoveries, and we at Bonhams are honored to have been selected to handle its sale.” So if you have some “eccentric” uncle out there, be nice; you never know what valuables he could be stowing away.

Read more blogs by ABC News staff

January 2, 2009 in Eamonn Taylor | Permalink | User Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)