This weekend was the second Reason Rally in Washington, D.C., sequel to the original 2012 event. I was in attendance for most of the day, so here's my report.In 2012, it was cold and foggy with drizzling rain all day. This year, it was swelteringly hot and muggy on the National Mall, and a threatened thunderstorm never arrived. If you had enough water and a spot in the shade, it was bearable, although I'll bet a lot of attendees came away nursing sunburns. The crowding and heat under the … [Read more...]
Upcoming Travel and Speaking Schedule
January 22, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It's a new year, and I've got some events lined up. Here's my schedule for the next few months:• First and foremost: this coming weekend, January 23-25, is FtBCon 3, a free online conference organized by the good folks of Freethought Blogs. On Saturday the 24th at 6:30 PM Eastern time, I'll be participating in a panel on secular cults, where I'll be discussing (who else?) Ayn Rand. You can view the full schedule of talks here.• Soon thereafter, I'll be in Mobile, Alabama, … [Read more...]
On Paying Your Atheist Speakers
May 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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...]
#AAcon14 Wrapup
April 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Skepticon VI Impressions
November 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Women in Secularism 2 Wrap-Up
May 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Some Sadly Necessary Remarks on the #wiscfi Intro
May 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Reflections on #AAcon13
March 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Coming to Austin This Weekend
March 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Upcoming Travel Schedule
January 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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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