Skepticism

A.I.: The “this grateful happy girl needs a nap” Edition

So, as you all know, it’s been quite a few weeks for Skepchick.  CONvergence, TAM7, and Rebecca & Sid’s wedding.  (There is AT LEAST one other bit of news, but since I’m not sure it’s public, I’ll let that lie.) (P.S. It’s not that someone’s pregnant, so don’t sweat that.  Well, I mean, someone, somewhere is pregnant, but that’s not the news I speak of… I’m getting confused.)

I’m a little tired today, and about to go sit on the couch and watch movies for the rest of the day.  I worked really hard these last few weeks to make TAM a success, and help Rebecca & Sid take that exciting next step in their lives, and squeeze in having as much of THE BEST TAM EVAR that I could.

So, my question(s) today have to do with gratitude and looking forward:

1) Can you suggest appropriately rad phrases to indicate how made of awesome and mighty and win it was to meet and love on my fellow Skepchicks? I’m having trouble finding the right words.

2) Who would you like to see at TAM8 and beyond? (No promises we’ll get them, but I know a girl at the JREF, I could pass along the good word.)

The Afternoon Inquisition (or AI) is a question posed to you, the Skepchick community. Look for it to appear daily at 3pm ET.

A.real.girl

A B Kovacs is the Director of Døøm at Empty Set Entertainment, a publishing company she co-founded with critical thinker and fiction author Scott Sigler. She considers herself a “Creative Adjacent” — helping creative people be more productive and prolific by managing the logistics of Making for the masses. She's a science nerd, a rabid movie geek, and an unrepentantly voracious reader. She doesn't like chocolate all that much.

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37 Comments

  1. TAM8 – I want to see ME there! I’m just focusing on that right now.

    But once I get there, more chicks. It was the first time ever that I was sad to not have to wait in line for the bathroom while the men queued up down the hall for their shot at relief.

    Next TAM, I want to see a LINE DOWN THE HALL for the ladies’ room.

  2. I wanna add to the line at the ladies room, too.

    Otherwise, I got nothin’. I get pretty starstruck from the list of people that already attend TAM…

  3. TAM8 Wishlist:

    1) To attend, instead of view via ustream.

    2) to have BARACK OBAMA attend.

  4. I’ve got to go with seeing me at TAM8. The live video streaming was great and I loved it but it’s just not the same as being there.

    I’d like Adam Savage to talk the rest of the Mythbusters into attending.

  5. I can’t answer the first question, because I wasn’t there. But I do have an answer for part 2.

    I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this guy on Skepchick before, but the guy I want to see at TAM is Kentaro Mori. I don’t understand why one of the most prolific bloggers on skepticism doesn’t get more love from the angloskeptisphere.

    For those of you who don’t him (perhaps that’s most of you), Mori (he follows the Japanese convention of putting the surname first) is a former president of CSICOP Latin America (it’s a rotating post), a Brazilian of Japanese descent who blogs in (impeccably idiomatic) English at Forgetomori and in his native Portuguese at 100Nexos, as part of ScienceBlogs Brazil. He’s also fluent in Spanish, and recently wrote the foreword to a major skeptical text on UFOs in that language.

    Forgetomori is a brilliant blog, but the reasons for its brilliance may account for why it’s not more widely read. I first found Forgetomori when I was surfing credulist paranormal sites. (He was getting a lot of inbound links from The Anomolist.) Like many skeptics, when I was younger, I loved In Search Of and Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World and the Time-Life Mysteries of the Unknown. Mori’s English blog plays exactly into that esthetic — the fonts, the graphics, the language all suggest credulism. But when you click “Read more” to read beneath the fold, you always find something like, “unfortunately, in this case there’s a more prosaic explanation.” A superficial glance at Forgetomori would have you think it’s a credulist website. But every post, no matter how fantastic, ends with a debunking. As a result, he is, to this day, widely linked by credulists who (as usual) don’t do the background research. Skepchicks, I love you, but you preach to the choir. Mori takes it to the streets.

    I was skeptical (hah!) about whether I would enjoy a crowded convention (in Las Vegas no less), but I caught the live feed on Sunday and was intrigued. Bring Mori to TAM8, and I’ll be there. That’s the skeptic I want to meet.

  6. One of my best TAM moments was the Skepchick luncheon that nettiemoore & I got to attend. Hope you guys make the same auction offer next year.
    Like most everyone else, I want to see me at TAM 8 and already am planning to make that happen–hopefully with a larger Washington DC contingent. Amy is an awesome new Skepchick and I’m glad to see her make it. Alison would be a great addition in my view. Cassie (the only teen Skepchick there this year) was so impressive, I’d really like to see you get all the teens there for TAM 8.
    Now you need to get some rest, A.

  7. BTW, Mori’s latest post, about a (Berlusconi-owned) TV news report of an Italian alien abductee who aborted a human-alien hybrid fetus, is a perfect example of why I think he’s so terrific.

    (When I was googling Mori for links for my previous comment, one of the top ranked hits came from a credulist source with the keywords “Kentaro Mori mentiroso” — “Kentaro Mori the liar.” The man does a yeoman’s job, and they fear him.)

  8. @Howard: Having given his site a quick once over, I have to agree that I’m surprised I’ve never seen Mr. Kentaro’s site mentioned before. A very good find, thanks for the heads-up, his rss now proudly resides in my reader.

  9. That was actually meant to be a response to Jake and not Gabriel, but you all have figured that out, and besides Gabriel is a regular here, so, hey, Gabriel.

  10. @ Elyse … wasn’t that small body of water surrounded by concrete , beyond the back porch, the men’s bathroom?

    Oh wait … my bad.

  11. As with others I’d like to see me at the next TAM to. I’d love to see Neil DeGrasse Tyson again. Someone should find out who the next Einstein is and book him/her before they’re too famous or expensive. And on an entertainment level I’d like to see Christopher Hitchings.

  12. My List Wish for TAM 8

    Ignoble Awards Committee-great research with a sense of humor

    Simon Singh

    Tim Minchin

    Massimo Pigliucci

    Another great Skepchick party.

    And Randi back in great health.

  13. also, I’d like to add my husband to the list of people i’d like to see next year at TAM.

    it’s just one more person for me to kiss!

  14. I want to see all the same WONDERFUL people I saw this year… and maybe Singh, Hitchens or Dawkins would be cool too. ;)

    Oh and yes, I want to see Elyse’s hubby there next year too (and Moose)!

  15. I’d like to see the cast of The Big Bang Theory. Sure, they’re not necessarily skeptics, but they’ve earned enough geek cred to merit an invitation.

  16. I’d like to be able to go to TAM, but that’s going to involve some doing. I’m a 2,337 mile drive away, and that makes me sad. Plus, I’m afraid that if I ever do get to go, I’ll never be able to live without it and if I can’t even afford to go once how could I afford to go more than once? Wahhhhh.

    Regardless, though, my answer is always “more chicks.” What was the question?

  17. Yah, more chicks, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Also Jon Stewart, and anyone from the current US administration – preferably a cabinet member (someone appropriate, of course).

  18. @wickedsweetcake: OMG, I would pee my pants. I have been a huge fan of Johnny Galecki (Leonard) since Roseanne, and I am completley in lust with Kaley Cuoco (Penny). Also, Jim Parsons!!!

    @Vengeful Harridan (Elexina): I’m lucky I live in Phoenix–Vegas is an easy drive or flight. An ex of mine used to live there when we were dating and I visited him a lot…I’ve been there a lot. I don’t gamble, though, so I haven’t been since.

    But you should try to go next year. I’m going to make the attempt, and I’m a chick!!

  19. While it might not be very skeptical, a word or phrase to show the awesomeness the meeting of the skepchicks is, when you’re referencing how awesome it was, just stand their, throw out your arms, like your worshipping the FSM/IPU, and mimic angelic chior singing, to the best of your abilities.

    As for people in attendance of TAM8, I’d have to go with a politician, someone somewhat powerful, like national level. Senator, Representative, maybe even one of their assistance going on their behalf. Granted its just a gesture, and, in general, I’m opposed to simple gestures, since that, in and of itself, is meaningless, but, I think that would raise a few eyebrows.

  20. How about a religious deities costume contest?

    And hold the next one in Europe, while I am NOT deployed. I know that sort of fucks everyone else over, but meh.

  21. 1 – Splendiferous. Always a good word.

    2- I’d like to see *me* at TAM 8. Though I doubt there’s anything y’all could do about that.

  22. Hi there!

    I’ve done the math, and decided that I probably won’t be able to make it to a TAM until TAM11, and even then, only if TAM11 coincides with the American Library Association Conference, also scheduled for Las Vegas. [sobs bitterly]

    But you know who I’d like to see there? In fact, you know who I’d like to see HERE? I think you need to track down the hot redhead that was in the recent Astology episode of Bullshit. You know, the college student who was giving her professor the 3rd degree about his personality test and then said: “I love you, Penn” at the end of the episode? Is she already a Skepchick? If she isn’t, she surely should be. [nods]

  23. I’d suggest Andrew Thompson as a future guest. I saw him speak at the American Atheist convention about why we believe in gods. Absolutely fascinating, funny and insightful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iMmvu9eMrg

    Also, some of the cool women I’ve seen before but want want want to see again: Carolyn Porco, Eugenie Scott, Julia Sweeney, Kari Byron. Bring em on!

    And finally, I can’t say enough about what a fantastic TAM this was and how much I love my skepchicks. You guys are the best. Seriously. The Effin. Best.

  24. I want to see every one of your brilliantly sexy selves at TAM8…

    and Matt Dilahunty. Because he’s *so* bad ass!

    Also I like Gabriel’s morphed word for describing the times that were had and will be had… mmm.. skexy TAM8

  25. I’ll repeat some of the earlier requests and add a few more, some off the top of my head:

    Tim Minchin
    Carolyn Porco
    Simon Singh
    Julia Sweeney
    Neil deGrasse Tyson
    Eugenie Scott
    Jon Stewart
    Susan Blackmore
    Sam Harris
    Greta Christina
    Matt Dillahunty
    Ann Druyan
    Roy Zimmerman
    Pamela Gay
    Christopher Hitchens
    Jennifer Michael Hecht
    Peter Singer
    Ayaan Hirsi Ali
    Victor Stenger
    Danica McKellar
    Seth Shostak
    Mary Roach
    Steven Pinker
    Carol Tavris
    Louis CK
    Sarah Vowell
    Jerry Coyne
    Lynne Kelly
    Bill Bryson
    Annie Laurie Gaylor
    Dan Barker

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