January, 1998

IT'S ALL IN THE CARDS

Eugene Ossa

Senior Systems Analyst

Library of Congress

Also: Long time card collector

All sorts of claims have been made as to the origins and the significance of Tarot Cards. This presentation will examine what evidence there is for the origins of Tarot cards and what purpose they served originally. It will also touch the claims that has been made to link the Tarot to the occult tradition. Since this last is almost an inexhaustible topic, a good starting bibliography will be provided to enable participants to continue on their own.

Saturday, January 17, 1998, 2:00pm -- 3:30pm
Bethesda Branch, Montgomery County Library
7400 Arlington Road
Bethesda, Maryland

Everyone Welcome -- Members and Non-members -- No admission charge

Call the NCAS Skeptic Line at 301-587-3827 for further info.

How To Be a Citizen Skeptic -- The 1998 NCAS Weekend

Friday March 13, 1998 to Sunday March 15, 1998

An exciting NCAS weekend workshop on "How to be a Citizen Skeptic" will take place at the Holiday Inn in the picturesque setting of the Solomons Island, Maryland, about 90 minutes from the Washington Beltway. The workshop will be on Saturday March 14th and Sunday morning, March 15th. There will be some surprises and optional Saurday evening social dinner at a scenic local restaurant. The last NCAS workshop was a lot of fun as well as informative, so mark your calendars for the March Friday-the-13th (of course!) weekend.

Friday Arrival in evening. Early arrivals can go for an informal dinner together.
Saturday 9am-5pm Tentative topics: Experiences with grassroots skepticism -- How to cope with school boards, newspaper articles, parent groups. Several examples, such as the "Quadro Tracker" will be used as case studies of how spurious claims can be dealt with. -- Several hands-on sessions where attendees are split into small groups to develop means to find out more about and test certain claims and products. -- How to research such claims? What resources are available? -- Responding to the media, writing letters, thumbs up or down.
Saturday -- 8pm An entertaining show of magic (ok, so its only illusions, but fascinating anyway) by Jamy Swiss
Sunday -- 9am--noon Continuation of Saturday program.

Hotel Registration

Contact the Hotel directly and mention the NCAS weekend: Singles: $69.95, Doubles: $79.95. (If you can, it is best to stay from Friday night through Sunday morning. Special hotel rates will be held until February 10, so register today.)

Conference Registration

Send registration fee to: NCAS, 8006 Valley St. Silver Spring, MD 20910. $50 for one (Continental breakfast 2 days, lunch Saturday, handouts, Saturday evening show) $90 for 2 (only one set of handouts)

Name1	:
Name2 (if any)	:
Address	:
Address	:
Phone	:
Email	:
Dinner?	We will also go to dinner on Saturday with the group at a scenic local restaurant. (Dinner costs are not included in registration fee.)

Last Change: January 9, 1998

Friday	Arrival in evening. Early arrivals can go for an informal dinner together.
Saturday 9am-5pm	Tentative topics: Experiences with grassroots skepticism -- How to cope with school boards, newspaper articles, parent groups. Several examples, such as the "Quadro Tracker" will be used as case studies of how spurious claims can be dealt with. -- Several hands-on sessions where attendees are split into small groups to develop means to find out more about and test certain claims and products. -- How to research such claims? What resources are available? -- Responding to the media, writing letters, thumbs up or down.
Saturday -- 8pm	An entertaining show of magic (ok, so its only illusions, but fascinating anyway) by Jamy Swiss
Sunday -- 9am--noon	Continuation of Saturday program.