If anyone was planning a thread like this one, and I've muscled in on your idea, I apologize. A few folks have posted briefly about their TAM2 experiences in Moe's thread, as well as in a few others, but I figured we could use this thread to post our thoughts about the conference in full and share any anecdotes.
Also, if you have a link to some pictures, feel free to post it here.
For me, TAM2 started out hard and fast. I arrived in Vegas late Thursday night, missing the reception. In fact, I walked in as Ian Rowland was about to start his presentation on cold reading and mind power. After Linda gave me my T-shirt and conference materials, I sneaked into the ballroom, and found a chair near the very back. I sat down next to a pretty, young lady who immediately looked at my name badge. She said, "Hey, Phil, it's me, MoeFaux." So right away I met a forumite, and a delightfully cute one at that.
As Moe and I chatted and laughed quietly, three other very attractive ladies sat down next me. They were Emily (Penn's girlfriend, I think), Sondra (a friend of Emily's and Penn's from what I could gather), and Tanya (an associate with Skeptic's Society from what I could gather). So here I am, 5 minutes at the Tuscany, surrounded by four beautiful women. I said to myself, "This is going to be one truly memorable weekend."
And it was.
To quickly summarize my experiences with the forum members in no particular order, because I met so many people:
Nyarlathotep and his wife Chanileslie. Two sweet people and both members of the JREF Writer's group. Wish I'd have had more time to talk with them.
Pirate Lad who infused every situation with high energy. He was funny and extremely likeable, and had a really good vibe going the whole weekend.
Dimossi and I talked a good deal about beach volleyball, women, and the forums he organizes in Florida. Plus many other topics too numerous to mention.
I met Chaos shortly after the opening program. He's another writer's group member and one of the kindest people I met.
Doubt was great, a true gentleman and as smart as they come. I sat next to him and Lisa (also one of the coolest people there) all day Saturday.
Stimpy made it from Germany, and is as friendly and smart in person as I imagined. I wish I could have spent more time chatting with him. He did, however, promise to give me some tips for when I visit Germany later this year. Maybe we'll meet again then.
I ran into Luciana and Mercutio in the lobby Friday morning. They were in search of coffee, so I didn't detain them for long, but shortly thereafter Merc kissed me (yes, somewhere there's photographic evidence). He was also nice enough to save me a seat up close to the stage. What a great all around guy. Can't say enough about him. Thanks for putting up with me, Merc.
The NoZed one was there, and we chatted a bit, but he's another one I wish I'd have had more time to talk to, as is US, Arctic Penguin, Central Scrut, Skeptic Scott, Big Nickel, DeBergerac, ShaneK, Evil Yeti, and so many others.
Quinn blew us all away late Saturday night/Sunday morning, tickling the ivory in the lounge. If this guy ever gets to your neck of the woods for a gig, do not miss it.
Kitty (the earth mother was simply delightful), Girl 6 (an embodiment of the reasons I'm a JREF member), Luciana (I wish I lived in Rio, so I could see her lovely face every day), Renata (the life of any party and the grace of a princess), Julia, Sparklecat, and all the other skepchicks (sorry to leave anyone out, but my mind is still reeling).
Exarch, Marc, and I had a wonderful dinner Saturday night, and then the three of us joined Merc, G6, Paul A, Patricio, and some others and laughed about Mormons and sundry other topics until they kicked us out of the restaurant. It was time for the Chocolate Challenge anyway.
Everyone was so charming and witty and kind and friendly. It was an honor and a pleasure to meet you all. If I didn't mention you, I apologize, but this could turn into a book.
As for the conference:
Late Thursday night I sat in on the program about seances. It was a small gathering of perhaps 40 people. I sat down and right away, there's a big, hairy head directly in front of me, blocking my view. I lean up to say something, and realize that it's Penn Jillette. Teller and Jamy Ian Swiss were sitting to my left and behind me was Banacheck and Ian Rowland. All of these wonderful magicians had made a point to come see Rick Maue's (sp?) presentation, which might give you an indication of how informative and entertaining it was.
Michael Shermer got to workshop some material for lecturing about his new book on us on Friday, though his presentation was already very interesting and well formulated. He never fails to be a highlight of any skeptic conference.
Penn and Teller? Hey, they were Penn and Teller.
The highlight of Friday for me was the panel discussion. I was particularly taken by Dr. Eugenia C. Scott. Despite Penn's overwhelming voice and presence, she made her points and seems feisty and is a funny, charasmatic speaker.
Saturday, was in my opinion, the most entertaining day of the conference. Julia Sweeney brought the house down as they say. She was cute and charming, and hilarious, and as Hal mentioned, every man there and a few women just fell in love with her. Lisa, Doubt, Mercutio, and I were sitting near Randi, and during Julia's presentation, he was literally in tears from laughter, as were the rest of us. No doubt, she was the most popular speaker at the conference.
Despite Julia's popularity, I have to say that I was doubly impressed with Dino and Victor. Not only did they have to follow Julia Sweeney, but they presented the Nigerian scam material that most of the audience was already familiar with, having read it on Dino's website. But they, too, had the audience in stitches. Hat's way off to Dino and Victor.
The panel discussion on Saturday was a little bit of what everyone expected, I think. Not many new ideas were presented or discussed, unlike on Friday, but in all it was exceptionally entertaining.
Sunday started off slow, as the last day of any conference usually does. It was obvious how much everyone had enjoyed Saturday night by how much coffee was consumed and by how quietly everyone was talking. But Sunday picked up momentum with the presentation of papers. Most interesting to me was the discussion on how skeptics can get their voices heard in the various media. In fact, it gave me an idea that I discussed briefly with G6 and Mercutio. Look for more on that later.
Slick's discussion on crystals was informative and very entertaining, and then Randi closed it down with some final remarks. Then I was off to the airport in a fog of melancholia, but with a head full of ideas, a heart full of inspiration, and more motivation than I expected to get from a four-day visit.
I had a great time, and as soon as we know where TAM3 is going to be held, I'm booking a flight.
Also, if you have a link to some pictures, feel free to post it here.
For me, TAM2 started out hard and fast. I arrived in Vegas late Thursday night, missing the reception. In fact, I walked in as Ian Rowland was about to start his presentation on cold reading and mind power. After Linda gave me my T-shirt and conference materials, I sneaked into the ballroom, and found a chair near the very back. I sat down next to a pretty, young lady who immediately looked at my name badge. She said, "Hey, Phil, it's me, MoeFaux." So right away I met a forumite, and a delightfully cute one at that.
As Moe and I chatted and laughed quietly, three other very attractive ladies sat down next me. They were Emily (Penn's girlfriend, I think), Sondra (a friend of Emily's and Penn's from what I could gather), and Tanya (an associate with Skeptic's Society from what I could gather). So here I am, 5 minutes at the Tuscany, surrounded by four beautiful women. I said to myself, "This is going to be one truly memorable weekend."
And it was.
To quickly summarize my experiences with the forum members in no particular order, because I met so many people:
Nyarlathotep and his wife Chanileslie. Two sweet people and both members of the JREF Writer's group. Wish I'd have had more time to talk with them.
Pirate Lad who infused every situation with high energy. He was funny and extremely likeable, and had a really good vibe going the whole weekend.
Dimossi and I talked a good deal about beach volleyball, women, and the forums he organizes in Florida. Plus many other topics too numerous to mention.
I met Chaos shortly after the opening program. He's another writer's group member and one of the kindest people I met.
Doubt was great, a true gentleman and as smart as they come. I sat next to him and Lisa (also one of the coolest people there) all day Saturday.
Stimpy made it from Germany, and is as friendly and smart in person as I imagined. I wish I could have spent more time chatting with him. He did, however, promise to give me some tips for when I visit Germany later this year. Maybe we'll meet again then.
I ran into Luciana and Mercutio in the lobby Friday morning. They were in search of coffee, so I didn't detain them for long, but shortly thereafter Merc kissed me (yes, somewhere there's photographic evidence). He was also nice enough to save me a seat up close to the stage. What a great all around guy. Can't say enough about him. Thanks for putting up with me, Merc.
The NoZed one was there, and we chatted a bit, but he's another one I wish I'd have had more time to talk to, as is US, Arctic Penguin, Central Scrut, Skeptic Scott, Big Nickel, DeBergerac, ShaneK, Evil Yeti, and so many others.
Quinn blew us all away late Saturday night/Sunday morning, tickling the ivory in the lounge. If this guy ever gets to your neck of the woods for a gig, do not miss it.
Kitty (the earth mother was simply delightful), Girl 6 (an embodiment of the reasons I'm a JREF member), Luciana (I wish I lived in Rio, so I could see her lovely face every day), Renata (the life of any party and the grace of a princess), Julia, Sparklecat, and all the other skepchicks (sorry to leave anyone out, but my mind is still reeling).
Exarch, Marc, and I had a wonderful dinner Saturday night, and then the three of us joined Merc, G6, Paul A, Patricio, and some others and laughed about Mormons and sundry other topics until they kicked us out of the restaurant. It was time for the Chocolate Challenge anyway.
Everyone was so charming and witty and kind and friendly. It was an honor and a pleasure to meet you all. If I didn't mention you, I apologize, but this could turn into a book.
As for the conference:
Late Thursday night I sat in on the program about seances. It was a small gathering of perhaps 40 people. I sat down and right away, there's a big, hairy head directly in front of me, blocking my view. I lean up to say something, and realize that it's Penn Jillette. Teller and Jamy Ian Swiss were sitting to my left and behind me was Banacheck and Ian Rowland. All of these wonderful magicians had made a point to come see Rick Maue's (sp?) presentation, which might give you an indication of how informative and entertaining it was.
Michael Shermer got to workshop some material for lecturing about his new book on us on Friday, though his presentation was already very interesting and well formulated. He never fails to be a highlight of any skeptic conference.
Penn and Teller? Hey, they were Penn and Teller.
The highlight of Friday for me was the panel discussion. I was particularly taken by Dr. Eugenia C. Scott. Despite Penn's overwhelming voice and presence, she made her points and seems feisty and is a funny, charasmatic speaker.
Saturday, was in my opinion, the most entertaining day of the conference. Julia Sweeney brought the house down as they say. She was cute and charming, and hilarious, and as Hal mentioned, every man there and a few women just fell in love with her. Lisa, Doubt, Mercutio, and I were sitting near Randi, and during Julia's presentation, he was literally in tears from laughter, as were the rest of us. No doubt, she was the most popular speaker at the conference.
Despite Julia's popularity, I have to say that I was doubly impressed with Dino and Victor. Not only did they have to follow Julia Sweeney, but they presented the Nigerian scam material that most of the audience was already familiar with, having read it on Dino's website. But they, too, had the audience in stitches. Hat's way off to Dino and Victor.
The panel discussion on Saturday was a little bit of what everyone expected, I think. Not many new ideas were presented or discussed, unlike on Friday, but in all it was exceptionally entertaining.
Sunday started off slow, as the last day of any conference usually does. It was obvious how much everyone had enjoyed Saturday night by how much coffee was consumed and by how quietly everyone was talking. But Sunday picked up momentum with the presentation of papers. Most interesting to me was the discussion on how skeptics can get their voices heard in the various media. In fact, it gave me an idea that I discussed briefly with G6 and Mercutio. Look for more on that later.
Slick's discussion on crystals was informative and very entertaining, and then Randi closed it down with some final remarks. Then I was off to the airport in a fog of melancholia, but with a head full of ideas, a heart full of inspiration, and more motivation than I expected to get from a four-day visit.
I had a great time, and as soon as we know where TAM3 is going to be held, I'm booking a flight.
