Earlier this year at TAM 5.5 my friend Masala Skeptic showed me a beautiful hand-drawn portrait of Randi. She got him to sign it, and now she has placed it on eBay to raise money to send people to TAM.
It’s an awesome drawing for a worthy cause. The auction ends on June 18. Go.
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
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June 13th, 2008 at 10:45 am
$305?
So… what else is there to talk about?
J/P=?
June 13th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Hmmm… maybe if TAM wasn’t $500 a pop to visit, the money could go to helping finding a cure for AIDS or cancer or MS or any of a dozen other worthwhile causes. Sorry to be a curmudgeon but I fail to see how the price of a TAM ticket can be justified – how can it *possibly* cost that much to organize? So here is someone selling a pic to help out people who can’t afford to pay for an overpriced ticket, by giving yet more cash to the people doing the overpricing. Bah.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Tam, you could simply ask instead of grouse.
There are many invited guests, and the JREF pays to fly them in, feed them, and put then into a hotel. Plus renting out the casino venue, getting someone to do A/V (which is generally the casino itself charging exorbitant rates), and other overhead, and a meeting like this gets pricey quickly.
It has a fantastic lineup, and people come year after year. Obviously, even though it’s expensive, the attendees love it.
June 13th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Exactly, why are you making something negative of a positive thing?
June 13th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
The portrait is superb.
Yes, the portrait is based upon a Randi publicity photo, but there are some subtle artistic differences that add to to the portrait in very positive ways. Extremely impressive!
June 13th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Ok. I have no idea how much it costs to stage an event like this, and I don’t really know how many attendees there would be. For all I know $500 per person is the break-even point. I’m therefore arguing from a position of inadequate knowledge, and I should know better.
Yes, I’m griping – I’ve wanted to go to a TAM since the very first one but I’ve always been priced out, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
That picture is very well done! Whoever drew it has real talent!
June 13th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
OK, Tam, and here we have an auction that is being done only to help people who otherwise cannot afford to go to TAM. I suggest you contact Masala Skeptic through the Skepchick site and see if you can qualify.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
OMG! That looks just like the image of God I found on a tortilla!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/2576107245_7164a78411_o.jpg
June 13th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86508934@N00/2576107245/ to see my Flickr page
June 13th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Bah! It’s clearly a fake picture. Where are the stars?