Last call for the Midwest Science of Origins Conference

The conference starts here in Morris tonight, with an opening lecture by yours truly on the evolution of creationism in the science auditorium on campus. It’s just the one event, so you’re forgiven if you only show up tomorrow for the main course — a day of science and philosophy, starting at 10am and continuing with breaks until about 7. All talks will be held in the science auditorium, except Neil Shubin’s at 2:00, which will be held at the elementary school gym (just a few blocks down the road from the university).

Then, on Sunday, we wrap up with Chris Stedman talking about community service or something.

Come on out! It’s going to be a grand couple of days, and we’d love to make the community wonder what’s going on by swamping all the local restaurants at lunch and dinner.

I’ve received questions about this: what if you haven’t registered? DON’T WORRY. SHOW UP ANYWAY. It’s entirely free, they just want you to register to help keep track of how many show up, and to get contact info for future events. You can also just show up for any one talk you want to hear (Shubin is in the Elementary School because we expect more will show up for that talk than the others). It’s OK — this is all casual and fun, the goal is engagement with the region and community, and we’re not going to force anyone to jump through hoops.

How many more conferences can you bear?

This is getting ridiculous. Another collision: on 18-20 May, I’ll be attending Imagine No Religion in Kamloops, BC. At the same time, the Women in Secularism conference is taking place on the other side of the continent, in Washington DC. I can’t be at both!

But I do have a proxy. My daughter Skatje will be traveling to DC, and she will also be posting the occasional summary of the days’ events here on Pharyngula. One blog, two conferences. We shall do everything!

Warning: if you are at the same conference with Skatje, do not attempt to weasel sordid stories of her awful father and his goofy behavior out of her — she is under strict instructions to obey that one commandment about honoring your father and mother. Also, the one about killing.

OK, maybe not the one about killing if you get too pushy.

A third conference this weekend?

Yes, a third one. Northwest Free-thought Alliance Conference is taking place on 30 March-1 April in Renton, Washington, just south of Seattle. Fly into Sea-Tac, it’s not that far. Richard Dawkins is speaking at this one, too — he does get around — as well as Anu Garg, who gave an excellent talk last time I heard him.

All right, divvy it up. Southerners and East Coasters, go to Rock Beyond Belief; Upper Midwest, go to our Midwest Science of Origins Conference; West Coasters, head up to the Northwest Free-thought Alliance.

Man, I remember when godless conferences were scarce, and you’d have a choice of a couple of them every year; now you’ve got a couple of them on the same day.

Dueling conferences

Begin the banjo music. You’ve got a difficult decision to face. There are two conferences going on simultaneously this weekend, and you should go to one!

CHOOSE NOW!

Rock Beyond Belief

Midwest Science of Origins Conference

Venue: Fort Bragg, NC

Venue: Morris, MN

Headliner: Richard Dawkins

Headliner: Neil Shubin

Topic: Rock’n’Roll!

Topic: SCIENCE!

Date: 31 March

Date: 30 March-1 April

After objectively weighing the merits of both, I have come to the entirely impartial conclusion that you should all attend the Midwest Science of Origins Conference — after all, it’s 3 days long, and located in lovely Morris, which I swear is entirely thawed out already.

Of course, if you’re already somewhere south of Minnesota, and are concerned about the accommodations available in a town of 5,000 people, I suppose you could be forgiven for attending Rock Beyond Belief instead. I will allow it.

There is one other difference. Midwest Science of Origins Conference has been sailing along without controversy, fully supported by the university, and with a team of enthusiastic students contributing to the organization. On the other hand, Rock Beyond Belief has faced constant harassment : the latest nonsense comes from a frivolous administration that is telling RBB that they can’t have a food drive for the homeless. Why? I don’t know. Evangelical Christians were allowed to do all kinds of fundraising for their event, but apparently it’s OK to discriminate against godless atheists, even when they’re trying to do good for the community.

All right, I guess you should go to Rock Beyond Belief if you can, if just to piss off the whimsical jerks higher up the command chain. But the Midwest Science of Origins Conference is a solid second choice!

So we’ll see you in one place or the other, right?

Hey, that’s me at the Reason Rally

I hear there will be a slick and professionally produced DVD of the talks from the Reason Rally eventually. For now, though, there’s lots of stuff appearing on youtube, including this recording of my talk. I haven’t listened to it — I simply can’t listen to myself without cringing — so if some cunning rascal spliced in a soundtrack from a Donald Duck porn cartoon, I wouldn’t know it. So I fling this out, close my eyes, and run away.

I’ve got to go give a completely different talk this morning, anyway.

The party got a little wild last night

1300 atheists unwinding after the Reason Rally and a long day of talks at the American Atheists National Convention leads to…costumes. Trekkies and a multitude of Jesi and Mohammeds. Loudness and alcohol. Raucus laughter and grand plans for world domination. Somehow I ended up in a strange hotel room late at night with a bottle of Jim Beam and a swarm of well-known godless folk you’d probably all recognize.

Regrettably, I had to extract myself from the scene and get some sleep, because today I must stand up in front of all those hung-over, weary atheists who are just now experiencing the symptoms of the creeping crud from standing in the rain for 12 hours, and talk coherently for a while. This is going to be a harsh day, I think.

And then…hurtling through the sky to Minneapolis! Long drive home! Frantic scramble to prep for tomorrow’s classes!

The reports are trickling in

Take heed, world: despite miserable weather, the Reason Rally drew a good-sized and wonderfully diverse crowd, exactly what we all wanted.

"We are here to celebrate our belief in reason, science and the power of the human mind," comedian Paul Provenza said from the podium as raindrops fell. "We are here to say to elected politicians … that there is a base for them to stand on to stand up to the religious right."

That brought a cheer from the crowd, estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000 people — a sharp increase over The Godless March on Washington, another atheist-themed rally held 10 years ago in the same spot that attracted about 3,000 people.

Also visibly different was the composition of the crowd, which was largely under the age of 30, at least half female and included many people of color. Ten years ago, the crowd was mostly white, over 40 and predominantly male.

You missed it? You can watch Richard Dawkins, Greta Christina, Taslim Nasrin, and Tim Minchin already, thanks to all those gadgets people were aiming at the stage.

The Washington Post has a reasonable review, while that goofy clueless babbler Cathy Lynn Grossman has an awful one, although it does have a nice picture of Jen.

You realize #reasonrally is going to suck FtB dry?

I’m about to depart lovely Morris for a long day of travel to Washington DC. Several other FtB bloggers are already there, or on their way. We may experience a shortage of content! I guess you’ll have to go read all the stay-at-homes this weekend, although even that bunch may just be weeping over how they’re not at the Reason Rally.

I’ll try to post the occasional blog entry or tweet from my privileged position in the speakers’ stands, but I understand that tens of thousands of technophilic pro-science godless people in one place may strain the capacity of the cell towers in the area.

Reason Rally!

The Reason Rally is on Saturday! I know many of you are going and preparing to leave right now — a contingent of students from UMM are leaving today, although I have to teach tomorrow, so Mary and I are not getting on a plane until late Friday. I have a few words for those of you who will be spending a few days traveling and sleeping on couches at friends’ apartments and such.

I have complaints about a few of the speakers, but that’s to be expected: in a large and diverse and growing movement like this, there are bound to be differences of opinion. Don’t worry about it. The one thing most of us are united in is agreement that reason and evidence and rational policy making must rule our country — celebrate that in common with your fellow godless folk. But don’t be shy about arguing, because that’s what we do.

I know there are plans floating about for meetups and lunches and dinners with groups of people, and I’ve told people that I’ll try to make them. However, the current estimates are for 30-50,000 to show up! I suspect that all plans are going to disintegrate in the confrontation with channeled chaos. I recommend that everyone embrace the unpredictability, enjoy the company of the people you find yourself with, and go with the flow. Abandon all preconceptions that you have to be at some particular place at some particular time, and if you are, great, if you aren’t, don’t be stressed.

One possible downer: rain is predicted for Washington DC, with thunderstorms in the afternoon, which may reduce attendance. Come prepared. In large crowds, ponchos or raincoats are better than umbrellas. Cultivate the right attitude, and savor the weather — I’m a Seattle native, so I plan to see any rain as a blessing. And if there’s any thunder during my talk, all the better: obviously, that will be Thor shouting his approbation.

Read the pro tips.

I may be a little bit out of touch for a while. I have to give a speech to 30,000+ people? I don’t think I should just wing this one. If I sound a little nervous up there, be gentle.

Women speak, all should listen

The Imagine No Religion conference in Kamloops had darn well better be good (OK, it will be), because it’s scheduled for the very same day as the Women in Secularism conference — and every time I look at the speakers’ list, I want to go.

“It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another that belongs to the twenty-first century.”

Wafa Sultan

You are all aware that, while the speakers are all women, men are allowed and encouraged to attend and contribute, right? And that the topics are all relevant to every human being on the planet, not just the ones with vaginas? It’s just that women are in the forefront of the conflict with the patriarchal religions that have poisoned our cultures for centuries, and it’s about time they had a forum to tell their stories.

Sign up! I know we’re in the midst of an embarrassment of riches as far as godless conferences go, but this one is going to be exceptional.