Uh-oh. I’m at the Atheist Alliance International conference, and I’ve just discovered the Klingons for Jesus site…and it’s convinced me. I’ve converted. Should I cancel my talk, or should I go ahead and preach in Klingon to an audience of atheists?

P.S. If you’re at the conference, too, and you’d like to get together for dinner, drop me a line, I’m free.

This weekend, I’m going to be speaking at the Atheist Alliance International Convention, along with a team of secular luminaries. I’ll be spending most of my time on a big boat, the Queen Mary, in Long Beach, but I will be creeping out to foment revolution at Libros Revolución on Friday, 26 September, at 7 pm. So even if you aren’t going to the big conference, you can probably catch me saying rude things about dogma at the bookstore.

I’m planning an informal talk for this one, but I’ll definitely be explaining the value of science in eroding belief, the importance of activism and protest, and the oppressive nature of religious thought. Come on down and argue and howl!

How is this for an intro?

The “magnificent P-Zed Myers,” as he’s known by Richard Dawkins, is a fearless heathen. The tagline of his blog Pharyngula reads: “Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal.” He’s publicly desecrated the Eucharist and been chastised by the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue, bucked down libel suits, received countless death threats from religious kooks and he can kick God’s old, white ass with nothing but his mind. Myers teaches biology at the University of Minnesota, Morris. We decided to give him a call.

The rest of the interview may not live up to that level of hype, but then, I was being interviewed by the infamous Dougie, and I was concerned about not overwhelming his special needs.

If things get quiet around here for a while, it’s not because I’ve received a letter bomb…it’s just not a good week. Lots of teaching piling up; lots of committee meetings; I’m trying to apply for a sabbatical, which in a small department means lots of work to make accommodations on workload; the family is a bit disrupted, with my father-in-law suffering a severe illness (the whole family, except for me, is about to fly back to Washington state for a while); writing deadlines are flying by and I’m scrabbling frantically for time to finish up; and I’m doing all this traveling and speechifying that’s eating up lots of time. So I’m a little bit stressed right now.

What to do? Well, of course: we’re having Greg & PZ’s Excellent Party tonight! Party on, dudes! Join us at the Black Forest Inn tonight, around 7, and help me forget my worries for a little while. I expect you all to show up and make me very happy — I’m going to be looking for you, personally, and if I don’t see your face I’m going to die a little inside. Do you feel the guilt yet?

Aferwards, I’m going to crawl into a cheap motel somewhere and put in a few hours of writing. Then, Friday, I drive to lovely Madison, Wisconsin.

Here are details of my talk there, but we haven’t worked out any post-babbling events yet. I suggest that if you want to get together with me, show up at the talk or after the talk, and we’ll figure out some nearby place where you Wisconsinites can drag me to cheer me up some more. The party tonight will not be sufficient, you know: it’s going to take a lot of work to haul me up out of this slough of despond.

Now…off to meetings and another quiet writing session before departure.

Last time I was here in Denver, I cruelly taunted the people who came to the pharyngufest with the fact that they all bailed before 10. Honor was at stake this time, so they kept me going way past my bedtime. I concede: Coloradans are doughty and indomitable.

We had a grand time, but I have to apologize for one problem: Wynkoop’s was stricter than last time, and our underage but still wise members, such as Splendid Elles, were excluded. No fair! Next time we’ll have to pick a more open venue.

Oh…and the party who were sitting with Derek? You neglected to pay your bill and stuck him with it!

We are meeting at Wynkoop’s at 6pm!

People are asking what I plan to do this evening, now that I’m in lovely downtown Denver, and I don’t know yet! I’m giving a talk in the early afternoon, then early this evening, I’m going to dinner with the students, so … sometime mid-evening I’ll be free. What I’ll do today is talk to a few of the people at the talk and see if we can work something out, and I’ll put a notice here when I know, if I can.

Sorry to be so vague, but the organizers get first priority.

I wonder if we could find a bar where these guys are playing…

I shall be departing shortly for the airport, and on to Denver to give a talk. This talk:

Science Education:
Caught in the Middle in the War between Science and Religion

Friday, September 12
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Tivoli Turnhall, 900 Auraria Parkway, Denver, CO

I’m going to gargle some tabasco before giving it, because this one needs to contain some bile and pepper, sorry to say. I’m going to say exactly what’s wrong with the state of science education today, and it’s all those weasely suck-ups who make excuses for religious idiocy. Anyway, if you can’t make the talk, now you know what I’m going to say. It should be fun. It’s OK if people argue with me, too. I expect people to fight back.

I’ll be in Denver through early Saturday, so maybe some locals have ideas for Friday evening — I’ll need a cool beer to soothe my ravaged throat afterwards. Make suggestions for a meetup if you are so inclined! One consideration, though, is that my first priority will be to the students who are inviting me out, so they get first choice.

Just a heads up for Calgary — I’m going to be interviewed on “The World Tonight” on AM770 CHQR Radio, at 9:15 eastern time. They say they want to ask me some questions about a cracker…I have no idea how I’ll stretch that out for 15 minutes.