Hey guys, come join us for this month’s brunch! We had great attendance last time, but let’s do even better this time! The Living Room has delicious food and an impressive list of mimosas (as well as some bloody Mary varieties) so you should definitely be there. See you at 11 am on Sunday, August 22nd (101 Atlantic Avenue in the North End).

If you are on Facebook, don’t forget to RSVP on our event page!

Scott Sigler, the world’s only skeptical horror author, is coming to Boston on his Ancestor book tour! Come check out his new book at Pandemonium Books and Games in Central Square, and/or join us afterwards for some drinking and socializing at our usual place, Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square. Check out Scott’s website if you aren’t familiar with his coolness. We have to show him how awesome we Boston Skeptics are, so BE THERE!

Don’t forget: Wednesday, June 23rd, 7pm.

Also, don’t forget to rsvp on our facebook page!

Brunch is back! And this time, not only will we have fun skeptical conversation, but also ACTUAL YUMMY FOOD! This month we’re heading to The Living Room in the North End (101 Atlantic Ave), which has a variety of quality food options, a WIDE variety of zippy beverages, and a comfy atmosphere as well.

Be there at 11:15 am on Saturday, July 10th, and don’t forget to RSVP on our Facebook page!

Skeptics in the Pub: Mothers’ Day Special

WHEN
Sunday, May 9, 2010
7:00pm – 10:00pm

WHERE
Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square (top floor)
96 Winthrop Street
Cambridge, MA

Facebook event page

Good news, Everyone! You’re all invited to a SPECIAL Boston Skeptics in the Pub this Sunday evening, when our guest will be the FANTASTIC Jon Ronson.

Jon is probably best known as the author of the book “The Men Who Stare At Goats,” which became a movie starring George Clooney and Ewan McGregor. Jon’s written several other books, and his journalistic work has appeared widely in print in the UK and elsewhere. Additionally, Jon has appeared several times on Public Radio International’s “This American Life,” and has created documentary series for TV and radio.

Jon is a charismatic, funny, self-deprecating speaker, and while we KNOW Sunday is Mothers’ Day, you could still cap off the day by bringing your moms to Tommy Doyle’s to listen to Jon’s talk! And yes, while the event is FREE OF CHARGE, your mom doesn’t have to know that… tell her you got her a ticket as a present! BONUS!

Either way, as Jon himself said on Twitter, “[W]e’ll have just the greatest time,” so don’t miss out!

If you were at Kimball Atwood’s March Skeptics in the Pub, then you already know this, but for the rest of you here’s the official notice.

For our April event, we’ll once again be back at the Brattle Theater for a very special presentation. Amanda Marcotte, blogger at Pandagon and author of It’s a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments, will be reading from her new book Get Opinionated: A Progressive’s Guide to Finding Your Voice (and Taking a Little Action). While she’s primarily known for her blogging on feminism and liberal politics, Amanda is also an outspoken skeptic who routinely covers anti-vax and climate change denialism as well as atheism, creationism, and other topics familiar to active skeptics. Her talk promises a unique perspective on the intersection of skepticism and politics.

In Get Opinionated: A Progressive’s Guide to Finding Your Voice (and Taking a Little Action) (Seal Press/April 2010/$15.95), Amanda Marcotte — author, blogger, and liberal force to be reckoned with — lays out what you need to know to feel confident in your position on various social issues, and she gives advice on how to get politically involved once you know what you’re talking about. Marcotte is an outspoken advocate for the importance of science, rationality, and respect for the facts when it comes to politics.

In Get Opinionated, Marcotte argues passionately that political activists should prioritize evidence-based arguments, and for a progressive movement that puts real sound science at the center of its platform. She also urges readers to fight for a strong separation of church and state and against the trend of anti-intellectualism in American society.

For this event, Marcotte will focus on political issues closest to skeptical hearts: why science should matter in politics, the political aspects of the anti-vaccination movement, and the creation of scientific “controversies” in the media when they don’t exist in science.

Amanda’s reading will begin at 8pm on Monday, April 26th at the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square. As with our Richard Wiseman event, admission will be charged either at the door or in advance through the Brattle’s website. In addition, she’ll have copies of her book available for purchase at the event. Tickets are not available for advance purchase just yet, but we’ll be sure to let everyone know as soon as they are.

Just a quick reminder that this month’s BSitP speaker is Kimball Atwood IV! You may know him as a blogger at Science-Based Medicine or as a fellow of CSI (Committee for Skeptical Inquiry), but he’s also a practicing anesthesiologist and, we hear, a really interesting guy.

Kimball will also be a guest at next month’s NECSS con, so here’s a great opportunity for those who can’t make NECSS to at least catch one of the speakers.

So join us at Tommy Doyles (Harvard Square) on Monday, March 29th at 7PM. See you there!

Hey, kids! 3.14 is coming up soon, and you know what that means. It’s Pi Day! Last year’s Pi Fight (photos here, video here) was such a huge success that we want to do it again.

So, weather permitting, join us at the Boston Common, near the bandstand, on March 14, 1:30 pm. (The festivities will start at 1:59, obviously.) Bring either a real pie for eating or a whipped cream pie for fighting!

Speaking of the weather, though, it looks like we’re forecast for rain on Friday and Saturday. If anybody has a suggestion for rainy day Pi Fight alternatives, leave your suggestion in the comments!

Hey gang!

First, we just want to thank everyone who came to SitP last night. Jeff Lieberman was fantastic, and we’re very grateful to him for speaking to us! And in case you stayed home in favor of watching the video version of this month’s event: sorry, but there IS no video this month! You really missed out this time. Plus, our videos don’t tell the whole story, so it’s always worthwhile to come out and meet your fellow skeptifriends!

We also announced next month’s SitP speaker: Kimball Atwood IV! Kimball is a practicing anesthesiologist, a blogger at Science-Based Medicine, and was named a CSI (Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) Fellow! We’ll have more information about this event closer to the date, as Kimball is scheduled to speak on Monday, March 29th at 7PM. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet him prior to his appearance at NECSS the following month.

Lastly, this week’s BS Book Club meeting is at 2:00 PM, not 2:30 as had previously been announced in yesterday’s post. That post has already been redacted down the memory hole, and we have always been at war with Eastasia. The venue and book have not changed, so check yesterday’s post for the details!

That’s it for now. Thanks again for your support!

Hi everyone! Do you have plans for tonight? Well, I certainly hope not, unless those plans involve stopping by Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square for tonight’s edition of Skeptics in the Pub!

That’s right! It’s finally time for this month’s talk, featuring Jeff Lieberman of the Discovery Channel’s Time Warp, the band gloobic, and all those other projects we talked about here! So just in case you forgot, well, that’s happening tonight at 7 PM. Get there early!

Also worth noting: This coming Saturday (Feb. 27th) is the next meeting of the Boston Skeptics Book Club! There’s still time to read this month’s book, 59 Seconds by our good friend Richard Wiseman. It’ll take you longer than 59 seconds, I suspect, but it’s still a quick and entertaining read. So be sure to come to the Clear Conscience Cafe in Central Square at 2:00 PM to join in the discussion!

And finally, a bit of a head’s up: Do you have plans for the early afternoon on Sunday, March 14th? Well, congrats on planning things so far in advance (a skill we could stand to cultivate!) but you MAY want to keep some time open. We HOPE to have more about this soon.

So there’s a quick summary of our upcoming events! We’d love to see you (yes, YOU!) at all of them!

Skeptics in the Pub: February Edition

WHEN
Monday, February 22, 2010 (pronounced “twentington”)
7:00pm – 10:00pm

WHERE
Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square (top floor)
96 Winthrop Street
Cambridge, MA

Facebook event page

Well, it’s been a few months since we’ve had a speaker here at Skeptics in the Pub, so we’re absolutely JAZZED to be able to bring you Jeff Lieberman as February’s special guest!

Jeff will no doubt be familiar to some of you as the host of Time Warp on the Discovery Channel! Time Warp uses high-speed photography to show you ordinary things in extraordinary detail. If you’ve ever noticed a strange amount of Cambridge-area content, well, that may be because Jeff is a local!

In addition to his work on Time Warp, Jeff is a renaissance man, and is well known in several fields! He’s an MIT trained scientist, with degrees in Math, Physics, Engineering, and Media. He plays electronic music in the group “gloobic,” makes his way through the art world for both photography and sculpture, and is also a roboticist who MAY be building a robot to TAKE OVER THE WORLD. Well, I made up the “taking over the world” part… or did I?

At any rate, come on out for Jeff’s talk, and you can ask him questions about any and all of those things! Get there early, we’re sure this going to be a popular talk. RSVP in the comments or over on Facebook to let us know you’re coming, so we can let Tommy Doyle’s know how many people to expect. We hope to see you all there, as the material covered WILL be on your final exam! :)

NB: Don’t forget about our Brunch this Saturday! The fact that we’re bumping that post is NO excuse for slacking!