On Paying Your Atheist Speakers

May 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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I was at Women in Secularism 3 this last weekend, a fantastic and nearly flawless conference put on by the Center for Inquiry. I greatly enjoyed every part of it (including Ron Lindsay's opening speech). I intend to write a longer report later, but first: On a Sunday panel, there was a question from an audience member about how to start up a conference of their own, and one of the panelists' suggestions was to look for people who'll come speak for free. This drew some dissent from people … [Read more...]

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#AAcon14 Wrapup

April 22, 2014 by 26 Comments

I've just gotten home from Salt Lake City, where I was at the 2014 annual convention of American Atheists. AA always has their convention on Easter weekend (and after all, what better weekend would there be for an atheist not to have other plans?), and this year gave us a double dose of cheekiness by putting it on in the heart of Mormon country.AA's president Dave Silverman took some heat (rightfully so, in my opinion) for his ill-judged comments at CPAC about abortion last month. I didn't … [Read more...]

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Skepticon VI Impressions

November 20, 2013 by 8 Comments
The speakers at the Godless Perverts Story Hour on Friday night. L to R: Rebecca Watson, Heina Dadabhoy, Greta Christina, Keith Lowell Jensen, David Fitzgerald.

This past weekend I was in Springfield, Missouri for Skepticon VI. This is my third year attending Skepticon, which is far and away my favorite of all the annual atheist conventions.I didn't go to all the talks this year, but the ones I did see were very good. Debbie Goddard told the funny and moving story of her deconversion (when she came to the conclusion there was no god, she was so excited she wanted to tell everyone, starting with her Catholic school teachers - with predictable … [Read more...]

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Women in Secularism 2 Wrap-Up

May 21, 2013 by 2 Comments

This past weekend, I was in Washington, D.C. for the second Women in Secularism conference, sponsored by the Center for Inquiry. As promised, here's my report.I was expecting the conference to be overwhelmingly attended by women, but I was pleasantly surprised that there was only a slight majority of women over men, maybe 55-45 or 60-40. That could just be a consequence of the fact that men generally outnumber women in the secular movement, but I don't think so, since I'm told the first WiS … [Read more...]

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Some Sadly Necessary Remarks on the #wiscfi Intro

May 19, 2013 by 38 Comments

Hey everyone - I'm checking in from the final day of the Women in Secularism 2 convention in Washington, D.C. I'm going to write a full wrap-up later (and I enjoyed it enormously, I want to be very clear about that), but there's something that cast a cloud over this weekend, and I want to clear the air about it first.Although every other speaker this weekend was a woman, as you'd expect at a conference about women in secularism, Ron Lindsay, the president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, … [Read more...]

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Reflections on #AAcon13

March 31, 2013 by 4 Comments
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I'm writing this in the airport, on my way home from a weekend in Austin, Texas for the 50th anniversary convention of American Atheists. New York is all bare gray branches, still; it's too early in the season even for buds. By comparison, Austin was a startling riot of green, with tree-lined streets and forested riverbanks that bloomed explosively in the perfect, gorgeous warm weather. The branches were thronged with big, sleek black birds (grackles, according to a thread on B&W) that kept up a … [Read more...]

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Coming to Austin This Weekend

March 26, 2013 by 6 Comments
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This coming weekend, I'm going to be in Austin, Texas to attend the 2013 National Convention of American Atheists. I'm not going to be in town for long - I'm getting in on Friday afternoon and leaving Sunday morning - but I'm definitely planning to pack as much fun as I can into the time I've got! Who else is going to be there? … [Read more...]

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Upcoming Travel Schedule

January 30, 2013 by 6 Comments

Here's where I'm planning to be in the next few months. If you're going to be in one of these places at the same time and are interested in meeting up, let me know!• Coming up soon, I'm going to Washington, D.C. on February 17, for the Sierra Club's Forward on Climate Rally. The rally itself is on Sunday, but I'll be in town most of that weekend.• I haven't made a definite decision yet, but I'm considering going to the American Atheists' 50th anniversary convention in Austin, … [Read more...]

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Video: My Dating and Relationships Panel at Skepticon V

December 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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     As I mentioned earlier, I took part in a discussion panel at Skepticon V last month, How Should Rationalists Approach Relationships and Marriage?The video of that panel is now available online, so if you'd like to see it, enjoy:Thanks to Jesse Galef for inviting me to participate, and thanks as well to my fellow panelists Chana Messinger, Matt Dillahunty, and Julia Galef. We'll have to do this again sometime... like maybe next year! … [Read more...]

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Skepticon V Impressions

November 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This past weekend, I was in Springfield, Missouri for Skepticon V ("the fifth most annual Skepticon yet"). I had such a fantastic time at Skepticon IV in 2011, it was a foregone conclusion that I'd go back this year, and I wasn't disappointed. Skepticon is one of the largest atheist conventions in the country (1500+ people this time around), while managing the remarkable feat of being completely free, and still draws a top-notch speaker slate. And yes, I was on stage this year! I was privileged … [Read more...]

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