I seem to have spent a lot of time at the Global Atheist Conference with cameras pointed at me. Below the fold I’ve thrown in a sampling of photos from Michael Barnett, Melinda Kelly, and Philip Costley — just to show you all that we did have a good time.
Here are a few from the Pharyngufest that Bride of Shrek held at a local pub.
Hello, Macalpines!
There’s Chloe, hovering over my shoulder and tastefully blurred out.
This young lady had the most amazing Scottish accent, and had flown all the way here without telling her father (I wagged my finger a bit). She made me wear the hat.
Cath let me hug her squid.
This is a shot of the giant screen taken while I was talking. I’m thinking…Apple 1984 commercial.
Come to godlessness, all ye faithless!
Actually, most of the people weren’t that interested in photographing me, it was the tie.
Oh, yes, we did have one pathetic creationist hovering about outside the doors, with this sign claiming Dawkins was afraid to debate. This guy was affiliated with Carl Wieland and Creation Ministries, I think. He was an idiot.
I did get my picture taken with him. He’s holding a bible. I’m sending a message to Carl.
I did ask this maroon to tell me what he thought was the best evidence for creationism, of the sort that would convince a scientist. His answer? Irreducible complexity. I gave him my quick reply — that natural processes have been demonstrated to be entirely capable of generating irreducibly complex pathways (I suggested he look up Hermann Muller—it’s an old dead argument). And then I left him to rot in his ignorance.
By popular request, here’s a sharper photo of Chloe, with some silly jerk getting in the way.
By the way, the clutter in the background in the last photo is the Polly Woodside, a lovely old sailing ship docked behind the convention center.
I heard that being photographed takes a piece of your soul.
Well, Cath is as sweet faced as I imagined. Yay. More pictures please.
Hahahaha, love your message to Carl. Succinct. Fab photos, *waves to Cath. :D
If PZ did in fact have a soul and a piece was taken away for every photo the poor man had taken of himself, there wouldn’t be much of it left after this weekend…:-)
The endless patience he showed was very impressive.
I missed the Creationist !!
How do you think people become atheists?
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
Still no photo of PZ and Chloe?
I also have some photos of you there PZ with the creationist. I felt sorry for his kids who were scared by the mob, and at one stage, while the Mum was holding up the sign telling us to repent, their youngest child was SCREAMING from the stroller.
There is no hope for those kids.
Good photos. I’m a little worried about the one with the squid though. How are you going to keep up your mean, nasty atheist image with pictures like that floating about?
PS: Crockoduck Tie FTW
All very cute PZ, but I’m guessing Anthony Grayling had even more photos taken than you. Perhaps if you changed your hair colour …?
David Horton
The hat is fantastic.
It is a well-known-fact(TM) that the soul(TM) continually self-replicates. Like sperm or sourdough.
Thanks for the HTML hint, but I still can’t make a (TM).
I think we only have to worry about PZ soul when that eternal image on the lefthand sidebar starts aging.
The look on your face PZ when he answered “Irreducible Complexity” was priceless. :)
PZ gets points for the winning gesture, the creo gets points for wackier beard. It goes to overtime, where the creo gets zapped by a poorly-aiming God.
Thanks for the HTML hint, but I still can’t make a (TM).
Try here.
™
kiyaroru:
Just type & trade (with no space) directly after (no space) the word you want&trade attached to.
A paper is here if he’s having trouble finding it.
Dammit, I’m annoyed I didn’t think ahead and book an earlier flight so I could be part of the pre-conference gathering.
Enough with the godless horde already….more Chloe. ;-)
GAH!! Quick reordering of my pictures! :) Cheers,
Mel
Hey Theists! Dawkins has debated so many Biblical creationists that he’s bored now. But congratulations on being shut down by PZ in person. You should feel honored.
Yeah dammit Wowbagger, we’re annoyed you didn’t either. Me, on the other hand, I’m annoyed I didn’t leave on the Monday. It was just weird leaving straight away on Sunday, getting hom late and then back into “normal” life on Monday morning. Too much important stuff happened over the weekend and I needed more time to get my head around it all.
Another day, another cliche piece from our friend Barney today.
Found this gem tho in the comments :
:D
PZ looks really young in the first pic, if you look passed the grey beard.
Ech.
I had to stay as far away from possible from the creationists outside. Seeing people drag their kids along to that kind of protest and ignore them when they’re upset/cold/hungry sends me from zero to towering rage in about three seconds.
I’m glad that PZ went over for a chat, though.
martinpribble – I didn’t notice until I was walking away the kids the cretonist was using for emotional blackmail. Wanted to slap her silly. Stupid bint.
Rorschach Quoth:
Oy. This reminds me of all the folks at Rapture Ready who are continually baffled as to why God didn’t mention America in the bible. They make up some…inventive reasons.
I’m still bitter that I didn’t get an answer from the organizers about being allowed to use a camera, until after the tickets were sold out!
Oh well, I’ll know for next time…
The one with you and the squid is awfully cute.
I like the top picture because PZ looks a bit like a cardboard cutout that the others are posing next to.
So that is the person who fired the first shot.
Cath, I kid. I also avoided saying the more obvious statement.
PZ, shouldn’t that gesture also be banned this week?
‘Waves both of her middle fingers at the screen.’
Did anyone else notice speedweasel loitering in the top left of the first photo?
I encountered these creationists on my way out after getting my GSOE signed by Richard Dawkins.
They were packing up to leave, but I asked the woman if they were intending on home schooling their kids – after deferring to her husband for advice(!) she said they would be. I asked her if they’d be teaching evolution to them. She mumbled something about teaching “the truth”.
Those kids have no hope :(
Actually, I didn’t notice before but I’m in more of those photos than anyone except PZ. Who was stalking me!?
Oh, and based on our small sample size I can confidently predict that all Scottish atheists are Slammin’ HottiesTM whilst all Australian creationists look like they are about to hunt you for sport then hide your body somewhere on their farm.
Lovely bird there in the last photo, PZ.
Also, what’s with the creationist’s beard? Methinks he was trying to outbeard you.
Obviously, he failed.
See the guy whose head is covering the creationist’s sign in the second last photo? That’s me :)
Although the last picture suggests PZ might not really be that nice, in my brief exchange with him he’s a perfect gentleman. I guess he reserves his ire for idiots.
:D :D :D
I spotted you on those pics too btw !!!
After there were several Godwin’s already on the thing I linked to above, here is the bestest comment evah :
FTW !!!
Hope springs eternal but those kids have no ‘chance’
Oh – I meant to say I had a chat with his two daughters. Nice kids, about the same age as mine. The conversation went like this:
Kid: “Do you think you are an atheist?”
Me: “Yes, I think I am”
Kid: “Do you think I am an atheist?”
Me: “I do not know – what do YOU think?”
Kid: “My name is charity.”
Really – What hope do they have?
How about some unblurred pictures of chloe?
Hi PZ,
I was at the conference on the weekend and I ambushed you on Friday evening to say hello. It was quite good of you to make yourself so available during the conference, I can imagine you may not have had much time to yourself.
The photographs with the fundies are quite amusing but I do find it a bit sad that these people were wasting their time this weekend when they might have been spending it doing something nice with their children.
It did cross my mind to borrow from Robyn William’s talk and try to convince them that “death” is a left-wing plot to generate research grants though.
I was annoyed I missed the sign guy. I did get a pic of the random attendee dressed as Jesus, though. He was chatting to a guy wearing fluffy devil horns and eating an apple.
But it really was great to meet everyone. Bride of Shrek and Wowbagger and Rorschach and speedweasel and Kel and everyone else whose names failed to embed in my overexcited brain. They were all so nice, and generously tolerated my chardonnay-fueled ranting and geekouts. And PZ let me wear the crocoduck tie! Charlie Foxtrot better get on to emailing me his pics, or I’m going to get on his case.
Meanwhile, media coverage has been as expected. Blah.
eNeMeE and Caine
Thanks.&trade©®
This is a piece of cake!
The last time I “programmed” a computer, it was an Apple IIe, in Basic. I wrote a program to sort approx. 300 records. It took 14 hours. This is why I have spent the subsequent 30 years as an archaeologist.
Speedweasel
…and almost all of them youre propping up the bar in.
Thought that was my job.
I really should get the pics off my camera sometime soon.
Kiyaroru, if you use Firefox, the Text Formatting Toolbar is a great add on. Does HTML and BBcode.
There really should be a way to buy Crocoduck ties. And the proceeds can go towards buying proper textbooks for Texas schoolkids.
Or at least funding smart people to run in the BOE elections.
We must owe PZ a new liver after that weekend. But worth every penny.
Link
Mine is on its way !
Looks like you were having fun. BTW, I like the beanie, the squid, and the crocoduck tie.
<sarcasm>Look! All those evil atheists!</sarcasm>
OMS(pam)! That last photo is too awesome. I love it, just love it!
Uhm… #53 was submitted before I knew The Grope of Chloe had been added to the bottom of the post. That’ll teach me to comment without a refresh.
See, this is why I rarely comment. By the time I see the post, there’s already a long list of comments.
Oh well. Here’s my photos:
http://tinyurl.com/yjdkcvj
arthwollipot:
That shouldn’t stop you; it doesn’t stop anyone else!
Thanks for the mention PZ. I’ve got more photos to come. Will let you know when I get them up.
Michael B. (Mikey Bear)
arthwollipot #55:
I just caught sight of myself in one of your foyer photos. Ack. Diet time.
Some people find Chloe offensive – I often wonder what species they are. If anything is offensive it should be the lack of detail. I always cringe at the thought of that painting being so exposed to vandalism though.
Phasic wrote:
Darn* straight. And good to see you posting more, Phasic; spending time with a few of us SIWOTI-tragics must’ve rubbed off on you…
*I do like that word.
Wait, I see a problem with one of those pictures that can only be solved with 20 seconds in photoshop!
There we go.
Kobra, please just post a link – that’s making the thread hang for half an eternity for me, and I’m on dial-up already.
@62: Sorry, I forgot that dial-up even existed.
I wish I could forget! I’ll be moving to satellite this Spring. :)
Kobra, you just put “200-proof human stupidity” on my mind.
(that’s my head you shopped).
@65: Does teh stoopid burn?
I have installed self correcting science in my brain, so it’s not an issue.
Lastly, here are some of the photos I took.
You know, if that moron had actually read The God Delusion, he would know why Dawkins doesn’t debate creationists.
Hurrah, I can sign in again! It’s been broken for me since the Euphemism Week post.
Thank you for the compliment, IaMoL. I always think that I am horrendously unphotogenic. But aren’t I scary! Grrr, I say, grr and even aargh!
Kiyaroru, if you use Firefox, the Text Formatting Toolbar is a great add on. Does HTML and BBcode.
or, if you prefer the rt-click with format options instead of a toolbar, you can use (along with the toolbar, if u wish) this:
BBCodeXtra
they are compatible with each other, though i find i use BBcode more, simply because I like the rt-click menu.
Thanks, This looks like it will be useful :-)
Cowcakes just left, I’m still cleaning the slobber off after the huge wet kiss and hug he gave me from you ;-)
BTW thanks for the phone photos I received, now more than ever I wish I was ably to go with my “Partner” (WTF!!! where did that come from LOL)
Partner in crime is closer to the truth :-)
Hopefully I will have found a job or won the lottery by the time of the next gathering of the godless hoards so I can return the hug at the very least ;-)
My photos from the weekend, not sure if the link works though.
Kel, link works for me!
What a good-looking bunch of people. :D
There was a lovely young lady wearing a weekend pass playing nicely with the creationist’s kids later on. I’m sure the creationists thought they were achieving something, but it was pretty much like a sideshow.
Ah nice one Kel thanks, couple people I didn’t have pics of yet !!
*waves to Liz and her brother*
;)
btw, if anyone is in the photos please feel free to tag yourself.
Hi Phasic
Just sent you an email.
Good to see you posting more often as promised. Now don’t go bnack and be a stranger again now will you. *shakes index finger and scowls*
I second that of course.
OTOH, if any of us SIWOTI victims would comment less and get out more, we might actually have a meatspace life.
*shudders*
I have many plans to visit Melbourne, as soon as:
1. my liver stops deciding it wants to go back to the states and accepts my biding again.
2. I have gainful employment again after said liver stops being such a rebel.
you will be contacted (you know who you are).
:)
PZ, did your new found creationist realise that he was talking to a biologist? I would have let him have his rant then sprung it on him.
My contribution of photos is here
Ah, you met the fabled LordP! She is a timorous wee beastie… nice at ;)
Ah, you met the fabled LordP! She is a timorous wee beastie… nice hat ;)
Theatrix #81:
You’ve scored a couple of serious closeups of the back of my head in the foreground at Y&J. I’m the one in the pink tartan hat.
Oh and since it’s Euphemism week, I’ll just have to say the GAC was a Fielding good time.
The star quote of the weekend, imo, was from AC Grayling who said that “the common ancestor of religion and science is ignorance”. One of those approaches to understanding is being selected for.
This site has been depressing me as of late. Everyday PZ post more proof that I missed something special. If only god didn’t fashion Australia so far from Canada. It’s like he was trying to keep it secret…
Coran wrote:
AC Grayling is a kwoking legend; he was very friendly and happy to talk to us mere mortals at the Saturday dinner. Now if only I hadn’t been so drunk (and tired from only a handful of hours sleep the night before) that I could recall what the bloody hell he and I talked about…
Don’t ask me !!
Only thing I remember is the SS asking us to leave while we were still chatting to him, very annoying.
.. now me, I remember some conversation about a hamster and an elephant. That may have been when I bailed up the Chaser boys not when we where talking to AC Grayling but in retrospect, yes, I definately remember a hamster and an elephant.
Some people need to carry their phones on them.
Just sayin’
Kel and Cath – I saw your pictures of PZ tagged on Facebook. I was going to send a friend request, but I thought that might seem creepy (I don’t know if you have personal “real” id tagged on your facebooks that you don’t want random commenters like me knowing about), so I’ll ask here instead if you mind. And… it still feels kind of weird and creepy to ask. So just completely ignore this if you think it is, and we’ll pretend it never happened.
Personally speaking, I’m fine with it. As long as I know the person online or offline, I usually add whoever. So add away.
Wowbagger OM wrote:
All I can and need to remember is chatting to Ms Deveny :-)
Can we have a tie with the result of that coupling. Pretty please.
…………………. On second thought probably not so pretty please.
Well some people get all the fun, while we simple folks just end up talking to famous philosophers, it’s just not fair….
So jealous. So very, very jealous.
Maybe next year. Sigh.
JC
Carlie (and others) – you’re very welcome to send me a facebook FR. Just say something about Pharyngula so I know why. I don’t accept mystery requests, because I like to organise my lists into real life friends, internet friends, gamers etc.
BTW, extra data on the sign-in weirdness thing – Mac Firefox no link; Windoze Exploder, yes; Mac Safari yes.
What?!!! Janis Joplin (on a very good day*) is alive and well and in OZ? (#3, Michael Barnett’s pics). Now I’m scanning the rest for Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. (Don’t care about Elvis).
* Before anyone has a go at me, whatever are the conventional notions of what constitutes “attractiveness” in women, I find Janis on film (never having been fortunate enough to see her live) on stage, in full tilt mode, just about the “sexiest” woman I’ve ever seen (Trophy Wife excluded).
Whoops! OK Phasic – incoming emails.
Hi Rorschach :) Hey, did you see my comment to Barney today? I thought I very reasonably reached out a hand for solidarity, and he blanked me! Git.
Phasic took a pretty good photo of us all at the Hilton pub on Sunday arvo, I’ll find a way to get it out…
I certainly had a fan-fugu-tastic time. I was the red-headed Scottish girl (living in Perth, WA) with the Atheist Wine Club t-shirt on the Friday and the Huge Tracts of Land one on the Saturday.
Delighted to take the chance to say ‘Hi’ to PZ at the Saturday dinner, even if I think I may have confused him :)
Heading back to Scotland in a few weeks, and trying to figure out if we can make it to the Copenhagen God and Politics Convention in June. Hoping it wont be a lot of the same presentations …
Great.
Now you’re making me objectify women again.
Caine, Fleur du mal
Seconded. Even if I’m not posting, I do read all of the very interesting comments. So I’m sure others do as well. See! We saw your post! :)
Ichthyic’s suggestion of BBCodeXtra: I second this as well. I do prefer right-click context menus also. And you can add a blockquote tag to the Custom menu.
<blockquote >_clipboard__value_</blockquote>
It’s not &trade, it’s ™.
After looking through all the comments and pictures, I’m quite envious of all those who made it to the conference.
Hopefully the one in Copenhagen in June will be at least nearly as good. If people plan to show up in Copenhagen in June, drop me a line at some stage, and maybe we can arrange a Pharyngula meet-up before or after the conference.
Catherine Deveny’s regular column is up on the Age website: http://tiny.cc/7uLTx
Someone in the comment section accuses Taslima Nasrin of lying to sell more books.
Ugh, I just read the comments. Once again the usual drivel – ‘Dawkins only criticises religion because he doesn’t know anything about it’; ‘atheism is a religion because of how one dictionary defines the word’; ‘Why don’t you protest outside a mosque’ – but the comment about Taslim was astonishing in its ignorance and repugnance.
Yet another reminder of just why we needed the convention – and why we need to keep having them.
It’s not a tie, but the Dawkins’ Store sells a Crocoduck T-shirt for 20 bucks; and also a Non Believers Giving Aid t-shirt (as a fundraiser for Haiti relief efforts).
It’s not completely off topic since it is still about atheists photographing atheists, but my roommate finally went through her photos and I now have my picture with PZ from his California trip.
Blue is not my normal skin color, I just stood in the projector accidentally.
Ah, the default screen. Saves me from trying to remember which SF alien you are. On another thread they were mentioning teen aged movie star crushes. I would say Hayley Mills.
A Na’vi Hayley Mills.
Seems a pretty obvious conclusion to jump to. If you knowingly hold something to be true and someone else rips it apart as utterly false, there is the obvious tendency to dismiss them as those are the ones being ignorant. And in some cases especially involving specialised knowledge, they would probably be justified in doing so. i.e. evolution, climate change, vaccines, history, etc.
But there’s always the nagging possibility of the Dunning Kruger effect, where one’s perception of expertise is merely a manifestation of ignorance. IIt’s easy to accuse someone of being ignorant of a particular matter, it’s a lot harder to actually demonstrate it. So many times the comment comes that Dawkins et al. are ignorant, seldom is that accompanied by a fair portrayal of evidence (if anything is presented at all, an out of context quote isn’t really sufficient in terms of illustrative power)
Don’t dis Hayley Mills. I had a crush on her when I was 16.
Kel wrote:
Well, we certainly see it with those choosing to reject the fact of evolution.
I guess the way I see it is that evolution is demonstrated to be true because it’s a collection of facts: DNA, inherited traits, the fossil record and so forth (forgive me if is this isn’t the list of the ‘best’ evidence – IANAEB); denying it is the denial that the facts allow us to conclude what we’ve concluded.
But ignorance of religion, on the other hand, isn’t the same kind of ignorance. All the books the religious are directing Dawkins (and, by extension, atheists in general) toward are not facts, they are excuses and sophistry for why there aren’t any facts. Misapplied terms like ‘category error’ (one of Barney Zwartz’s favourites, incidentally) and ‘epistemology’ and ‘other ways of knowing’ abound in an attempt to disguise the lack of substance.
Not knowing all the sophistry ≠ not knowing all the facts.
Don’t forget “that’s not the God I believe in either”…
When a theist presents a clear and unambiguous account of God, then I might think it pertinent to break from my ignosticism. But while they are either engaging in a) sophistry, or b) liberal-theist whack-a-mole, what’s the point of trying to grasp the subtle yet inexcusable distinctions between whatever they claim cannot be discounted by whatever argument you are using.
Jen! I saw your t-shirts
Next time we need some sort of t-shirt-based Spotter’s Guide to Atheists.
I wore my “Intelligent Design” t-shirt on Saturday. It features wind turbines and was responsibly=e for some random guy starting an ‘it’s only a theory’ discussion with me in my local supermarket.