If you ever read Skepchick, you already know of Surly Amy: skeptic, artist, photographer, and all around cool chick. I’m glad to have her as a friend.
She also creates wonderful critical thinking jewelry she calls Surlyramics. These are ceramic necklaces and other accouterments with skeptical, scientific, and critical thinking phrases and drawings on them. They’re very cool, and wildly popular at meetings I’ve been to.
She and I have teamed up to create a limited edition Surlyramics Bad Astronomy pendant necklace. Each one is hand-formed and painted, and only 200 will be made. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
The reason we’re doing this is that when you order a Bad Astronomy Surly necklace for $20, half of that will be donated to the American Cancer Society. Our goal is to raise $2000 in honor of my friend Jeff Medkeff, an astronomer and really nice guy — he’s the one who named an asteroid after me, as well as others for other skeptics and scientists. Jeff succumbed to cancer in 2008, and this is our way of letting people know about the good work he did and that his legacy lives on.
We’re trying to raise as much money as we can so that we can announce the total at Dragon*Con in Atlanta this year, which is September 2. These necklaces are honestly really cool — Mrs. BA loves hers — and when you buy one you’re doing a Good Thing. Also, if your order totals more than $50 you get free shipping. Details on how to order are at her site; click a pendant to find out more.
[Note: Amy is making them as this gets posted; if the site says sold out don't fret! She'll be making more and getting them online after TAM 8 finishes on July 12.]
So show off your love of astronomy (bad or otherwise), look cool doing it, and know that you’re helping medical researchers fight cancer. Thanks.
July 6th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Damn, those are cool!
I have the good fortune of attending the same drinking skeptically as Amy.. next time I’ll be bringing my $20 if she can bring one by.
July 6th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Cooooooool…
July 6th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I think I’ll be buying a new card protector…
July 6th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
I have one of her “Granite State Skeptic” ones. Although it would be fun to get one of the Bad Alien ones she did for Kitty!
Great cause, I’ll see if I can swoop in and get one. And is there a direct donation line by any chance?
July 6th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Holy skeptic! I love these. I’m definitely getting one for myself and a couple for my friends.
July 6th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
She also creates wonderful critical thinking jewelry
Hmm. Sounds dangerously close to healing crystals.
Are they magnetic? 
July 6th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Placed my order! This was a great idea!
July 6th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
Very nice initiative!
July 6th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Looks great! If I could afford to buy a Surlyramic, donate to the ACS, or go to Dragon*Con, I would! (I live in Atlanta, but somehow have never gone to the Con.)
July 6th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Done! It will look nice with my Surlyramics Skepchicamp necklace (Chicago, March 6th – I talked about the pseudoscience class I taught last spring).
Great idea, great cause. Thanks, Phil.
July 6th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Already placed my order too! I can’t wait to get it
July 6th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Thanks, Phil…and to everyone who helps.
I’m counting on those brilliant researchers.
July 6th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Such a great idea. We get a unique piece of jewelry and donate to a good cause at the same time. I jujst ordered mine. Looks like they are going fast. A number of designs I looked at had only 1 left.
July 7th, 2010 at 6:06 am
I placed my order too. I spend money on a number of stupid things, and this is for a good cause. Even with shipping ( I am in Greece) one pendant does not cost that much.
July 7th, 2010 at 11:21 am
I think it’s great to help out a worthy charity. But why is only $10 going to charity?
Are ceramics that expensive? It looks a little like there’s a bit of a profit motive there at the expense of a charitable cause.
Just saying.
July 7th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Done and done….I can’t wait to get mine in the mail. She has some cool stuff, gonna have to watch myself so I don’t spend too much money
July 7th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Konrad (#15): So a friend of mine and I decide to take a huge chunk if not all of her profit from making these and donate it to charity, and you complain and cast aspersions. Thanks.
July 19th, 2010 at 8:11 am
Mine arrived in the mail today. And it is a beautiful piece of art.
July 28th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
The hard part is deciding which one to get!
April 21st, 2011 at 8:52 pm
[...] year, I helped raise $2,000 for the American Cancer society with the help of Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy. This year, I want to raise money for women in skepticism but I need your [...]