This event is in honor of Jeff Medkeff, the Blue Collar Scientist, astronomer, skeptic and friend to many of us. Jeff succumbed to liver cancer in 2008. All proceeds will go toward the Light the Night Fund: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Jeff’s name.

Food, drinks and conversations with astronomers. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, star gazing!

We have a bit more space than we did last year but tickets will sell out. Get them while you can!

To be continued after the break:

It was a hot humid day, which was an upgrade I think from the cold rainy park outing of last October. I’m hoping on the third go round we’ll end up with a nice temperate day that is neither too hot nor too cold. We had a pretty good turn out.

I don’t know exact numbers, but I’m confident there were at least about 20 people that showed up:

The grilling started a little late, but it wasn’t the ordeal that the last outing was:

We were close to the playground so the kids that came along had something to keep themselves occupied and there were also some toys and games to be had:

All in all it was a successful event. In the end I don’t think we raised enough money to cover the cost of the pavillion or food, but I think renting a space instead of just hoping one would be available was the best choice. I’m not sure exactly when the next Skeptics in the Park will take place, but don’t look for it until the weather starts cooling down again, most likely after Dragon*Con.

If you attended Skeptics in the Park, please give any feedback below.

The Atlanta Skeptics will once again emerge from the pub and wander outside on Saturday, June 12th from 11AM-3PM at Jones Bridge Park.

Details after the break:

What: Skeptics in the Park

When: June 12, 2010

Time: 11AM-3PM

Where: Jones Bridge Park – Pavilion #2 (the small one next to the playground)

How Much: $5 per person

RSVP

This time around we have rented a pavilion, so there is a small charge per person. The money will go to off-set the pavilion rental and food. We will provide meat (and grilling services), chips, soda, mustard/ketchup, and plates/napkins/cups/forks/knives. Please feel free to bring along anything that goes well with burgers/hotdogs, or anything else to sling on the grill. Please note that alcohol is not permitted on park grounds.

Also, Christian will be bringing a frisbee and possibly some other outdoorsy game stuff. There is a playground next to the pavilion, and feel free to bring whatever you like.

I hope you can join us in the park. All you have to do is click the RSVP link above and we’ll see you there!

Update Friday June 4: Details on Banachek tickets updated! See below.

Full details on times and tickets after the jump…

Christopher Hitchens – Hitch-22 – June 18

Christopher Hitchens is well known political commentator who is a contributing editor of Vanity Fair magazine and has appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and many other programs. He has spoken at The Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas. He is considered (along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and others) one of the leaders of the “new atheist” movement.

Hitchens’ latest book is called Hitch-22: A Memoir. It is the “story of his life, lived large” and has received many positive reviews.

Hitchens is currently touring to promote the book in the United States. On Friday June 18th the tour reaches Atlanta at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Buckhead (2900 Peachtree Rd, 404-261-7747). According to the event page at the bookstore website, he will appear at 7:00 PM. Those wishing to guarantee a spot and/or get a book signed should obtain a (free) ticket at the store starting at 5:00 PM on the day of the signing.

Banachek – Academy Theatre – June 30

Banachek is a world leading mentalist who managed to convince scientists that he had actual psychic abilities in the famous “Project Alpha” hoax orchestrated by James Randi. He has performed at The Amazing Meeting and hundreds of other venues. He is also a magic consultant who has helped performers such as Criss Angel and Penn & Teller perfect their illusions.

Banachek will be performing at the Academy Theatre in Avondale Estates on Wednesday, June 30th at 8:00 PM. If you haven’t seen him perform before at TAM or elsewhere, it really is a tremendous show.

Update June 4th on tickets:
There’s not just one mentalism show at Academy Theatre this month! In fact, mentalist Nick Compise is performing his show “Wonders of the Mind” tomorrow night, Saturday June 5th at 8:00 PM. Tickets are only $14 and can be purchased online.

Because Nick was instrumental in getting Banachek to come to the Academy Theatre later in the month, those who attend Nick’s show on Saturday will get first crack at tickets to Banachek. Those tickets go on sale on Saturday at the theater and online, and will be $25.

Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

For me, the presentations that stood out came from LaVerne Knight-West and Dr. Ginger Campbell (host of Brain Science Podcast and Books and Ideas). Each shared their personal journeys and experiences with the skeptical community, and warm, fuzzy feelings ensued.

Dr. Ginger Campbell at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

Certainly the most unique presenter at Skepticamp was martial arts expert, John Clements. In addition to the fact that he brought SWORDS, he himself was highly entertaining. One of the more quotable Skepticamp moments: During a demonstration with SWORDS, John matter-of-factly states, “People with weapons KILL people without weapons, that’s why we have so many of them.”  I was afforded the opportunity to challenge him in duel. I could have killed him, but the 2nd rule of Skepticamp is “Be Awesome. And Don’t Kill Anyone.”

Presenter John Clements is no match for Taylor Proctor's sword fighting skills.

I was personally excited to see the presentations from Brian, Laura, Veronica, Sean and Bob, who participated in our SkeptiBOOTcamp workshops over the weeks leading up to Skepticamp. The whole thing was a bit of an experiment, and I hope to develop the idea further before next year’s Skepticamp. I do encourage other organizers to consider doing something like this before Skepticamps. I think each participant’s presentation benefited in some way from the support and assistance gained through the different workshops.

Presenter Laura Ross at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

Another notable aspect of Atlanta’s Skepticamp was our theme, “Critical Thinking For Everyone.” I felt the message successfully resounded throughout the weekend. Each presenter shared their own unique perspective on skepticism, and the panel on “Skepticism for Everyone through Social Media,” yielded a lot of discussion and sharing from the audience. I felt an overall sense of humility from participants throughout the weekend, a sentiment that can seem sometimes lacking in the skeptical community.  I want to give extra thanks to Swoopy from Skepticality, for helping me out with my idea for a theme and really running with it.

Maria Walters and Tim Farley during panel discussion at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

I definitely learned a lot more from organizing this year’s Skepticamp than I did during the planning of Atlanta’s first camp last year. The discussions and events of last weekend’s event, raised interesting questions in my mind to consider as I think about how we can move forward for next year’s Skepticamp. Namely, What is primary goal of having community events like Skepticamp? Is it to promote skepticism and critical thinking, or is it to nurture the skeptic?

There was marked shift in the nature of presentations from last year to this year. Last year, a majority of presentations were informative overviews of topics like logical fallacies, neuroscience, evolution, detox myths, etc. This year, more presentations addressed a skeptic’s humble lesson learned. Presenter Russ discussed how our fears, often fueled further by media sensationalism, can lead to the presumption of a crisis and unnecessary hysteria; Christian gave us an account his pleasant and relaxing visit to an acupuncturist, (despite leaving with an unhealed knee injury); Brian shared an anecdotal example of how even the most rational of skeptical critical thinkers are not immune to irrational thought. I’m excited and very interested to see the direction in which presentations might go for next year.

Thanks to all who volunteered, gave a talk, and attended Atlanta Skepticamp 2010!

I personally want to give extra-special thank yous to:

Maria Walters – for taking charge of planning when I was stressed and over-committed.

Mark Ditsler of Abrupt Media – for all things A/V club; equipment, recording, streaming, time-keeping. His contribution was priceless, as always

Derek Colanduno- for offering up our venue (even if it was quite toasty)

David Rodriguez – for designing our Skepticamp logo and shirts.

Derek (again) and Swoopy of Skepticality – for being our badass MCs.

Brian Thompson of Amateur Scientist Podcast- for coming all the way to Atlanta to record a live podcast at our Skepticamp Fundraiser in March.

Kylie Sturgess, George Hrab, A Kovacs and Surly Amy – for their recorded messages to Atlanta Skepticampers.

Shayna Glick – for making my Skepticamp dreams come true! All I wanted for Skepticamp was a pony!

SkeptiPony, official mascot of Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

Thanks to all our sponsors!

JREF

Skeptic Magazine

Fund For Thought

Skeptical Inquirer

Skepticality

Amateur Scientist Podcast

Thinking Man Tavern

Skepchick

Surly Ramics

Tree Lobsters

Abrupt Media

Bluefox Graphic

Skepticamp, created in Denver, perfected in Atlanta!

]]> http://www.atlantaskeptics.com/2010/05/22/atlanta-skepticamp-2010-wrap-u/feed/ 0 http://www.atlantaskeptics.com/2010/05/12/helping-out-fellow-skeptics/ http://www.atlantaskeptics.com/2010/05/12/helping-out-fellow-skeptics/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 17:01:02 +0000 JoeAnderson http://www.atlantaskeptics.com/?p=543 One of the greatest things about being in the Skeptical community is how quickly we rally around a cause. It seems that no matter what the subject, we have at least one person who’s a domain expert in the field; We have a belly-dancing astronomer for Pete’s sake!

I got a message on Google Talk today from my good friend @MasalaSkeptic, asking if I knew anyone who was hiring. It seems that a member of the Atlanta Skeptics had just been laid off and was looking for a job. Since the Atlanta Skepticamp is in a few days, I mentioned that we should make an effort to help that person and others out. Bringing together smart, critical thinking job-seekers and employers that value those same skills really is a no-brainer.

That’s probably why it occurred to me.

If people show interest and some good comes from this, who knows, maybe there will be a website in the near future. For now, I’m starting small. It would be great if a few people actually get some help out of this, but what I don’t want (and refuse) to do is detract from why we hold Skepticamp in the first place – to encourage participation in open discussion about science and skepticism. I want to prevent headhunters and commercial job sites from being involved; just friends in the community connecting with others. To borrow from Google’s alleged motto and “not be mean” is the goal.

Job seekers: If you’re attending the Atlanta Skepticamp and are looking for a job, please send your resume and a cover letter to skeptijob at gmail dot com. I will NOT give your information out to anyone except those people who attend Skepticamp without your consent.

Employers (or people who know about a job): If you are attending Atlanta Skepticamp and are looking to fill a position, please send a job description and the pertinent info to skeptijob at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

@JoeAnderson

I also realize there are people  really looking forward to giving a talk this year, who did not register in time to get a speaker time slot.  I’ve heard from people who would love to contribute a presentation to Skepticamp, but are really not into the idea of giving a talk in front of on an audience. To accommodate more participation, we’re announcing a Skepticamp “Poster Session” which will take place Saturday May 15th 10am-12pm (Day 1 of Skepticamp)! We’ll also begin May 16th, day 2 of Skepticamp, earlier at 10 am and we’ve got something special planned that we’ll be announcing soon! If you’ve been on the fence about attending Skepticamp, you REALLY don’t want to miss this!

We’re asking people to contribute their most creative submissions for Skepticamp, not just poster presentations! For more suggestions, please visit our page on Other Ways to Participate at Skepticamp. Personally, I’m hoping to see at least ONE skeptical diorama!

If you’re having trouble thinking of a topic for your contribution to Skepticamp, I encourage you to address, in your own way, the idea of “Critical Thinking For Everyone.” We’re taking the opportunity of Skepticamp this year to champion this idea, and invite our participants to explore the topic. I discussed  the upcoming Skepticamp and “Critical Thinking For Everyone” with Atlanta’s own Derek and Swoopy on a recent episode of Skepticality. I encourage everyone to check it out, and I’m looking forward to seeing/hearing great things from my fellow skeptics in a few weeks at Skepticamp!

Note: Don’t forget to register for Skepticamp, if you haven’t done so already!

Skepticamp is all about collaborating, and as an organizer, I am ALL about some delegating. It’s been easy not to worry about that so far. People have been coming to us with help, finding us a venue, designing our t-shirts, giving us $5 to be able to listen to Brian Thompson AND see him at the same time.

I created a google group to use for communication while we all plan and organize Skepticamp together. I haven’t sent a single message.  But, I want us to actually use it to talk about ideas, and give everyone a chance for their idea to be a part of Skepticamp. I personally have not been doing a good job of motivating, or even including others to be a part of planning Skepticamp.

The truth is, right now we need some help. Skepticamp is still 5 weeks away, and everyday we’re going to need more help, and more help, and so on. Not only do we need help, but people want to help and want to be a part of planning and running Skepticamp because THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT OF SKEPTICAMP!

So, Atlanta Skepticamp 2010 Help-A-Thon starts now! If you’re ready to help, if you want to be a part of Skepticamp, join our group and start talking about it!

Join Atlanta Skepticamp Help-A-Thon

Email:

Visit this group

We’re calling this year’s conference “Atlanta Skepticamp 2010: Critical Thinking For Everyone.” Find out more.

Atlanta Skepticamp 2010: Critical Thinking for Everyone

WHEN

Saturday, May15th, 12pm-6pm
Sunday, May 16th, 12pm-6pm

***Skeptibrunch, snacks and beverage will be provided for participants both days

WHERE

Lakeside Commons
990 Hammond Drive NE #400
Atlanta, GA 30328

With the help of our friend Derek of Skepticality, we have use of a great, roomy conference space both days!

***We’ll announce details as far as where to park, and directions to the building and the conference space as we get closer to the date

SPEAKER REGISTRATION/VOLUNTEER SIGN UP

STAY TUNED: We’ll have a Registration Page up on the website VERY soon.

SHIRTS

A big, BIG thanks to David Rodriguez, Jr, who found us on twitter and offered to design an Atlanta Sketicamp logo. For the very fair price of FREE, I might add! He has sent us several great designs to choose from, and all I can say is that our Skepticamp shirts are going to look A-MA-ZING this year!

SkeptiBOOTcamp!

I thought it’d be great for people to be able to work on their presentations for Skepticamp together. I also thought it’d be great to remember how to give a presentation. I combined these two thoughts and came up with an idea twice as great: dun dun dun SkeptiBOOTcamp!

Our first workshop is coming up on April 11th! Find out more at SkeptiBOOTcamp!

I’m so excited Skepticamp season is finally here!

Be sure to check back, we’ll be posting updates as they happen!