July 17,  10 AM   March with us

Join us in celebrating this year as we gather and march in the Annual LGBT Pride Parade.
One of the largest and most entertaining such events in the country to take place in July, Gay Pride San Diego draws some 50,000 spectators and participants to a massive festival, and more than 165,000 spectators for huge parade.

The San Diego Gay Pride Parade has more than 200 floats and contingents and features a variety of awards in different categories (most creative entry from a local business, top musical marching contingent, most entertaining and crowd-pleasing float, and so on). The parade begins on Saturday, July 17, at 11 am, and runs along University Avenue, from Normal Street and 6th Avenue.

Meet on Normal Street at 10:00 am.  See you there.

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Join the Humanist Association Friday July 9th at the Pacific Gaslamp 15 for 7:30 showing of Roger Nygard’s “The Nature of Existence”. Following the film Nygard will conduct a 20 minute question and answer session. After the Q&A the Humanist Association hosts a dinner  with Roger at Bamboo Lounge (1475 University Ave @ 10pm). See you there!

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Sunday  10:00 am   Join us as we don mask, finns and snorkel for a delightful swim in La Jolla Cove. 10:00 am.  The water is wonderful in the cove and we have a great time with the fish, seals, birds and each other.

La Jolla Cove is some of the best snorkeling in San Diego. The waters are calm,  very well life guarded, and generally the visibility is very good. Local fish are beautiful Garibaldi, sardines, rockfish and leopard sharks and seals and sea lions. Numerous birds are on the nearby rocks and fly overhead.

Some people wear a wetsuit, but many find this not nessary.

Showers and a changing area is just up the steps from the beach. The beach itself is small and has just enough room to set some stuff, but not really enough room to lie on a towel, but that space is available just up the hill overlooking the water.

It’s a terrific amount of fun and great exercise as well.

La Jolla Cove is an ecological reserve. Meet in Hillcrest between10:30 -10:45 for car pooling. We will hit the beach just after 11:00 If you like bring your own lunch and beverage in a non glass container, otherwise enjoy some lunch in one of several nearby restaurants.

RSVP if you can offer or need a ride. check our meetup site humanism/184

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Early in 2011, we will be holding our first Annual Humanism Conference in San Diego. This promises to be a terrific event, fun and educational with terrific speakers. Stand by for  information and further details.

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May 16, 2010    6:00 pm  Joyce Beers Community Center  1220 Cleveland Ave San Diego CA 92103

For our third Sunday Lecture/Discussion (Sunday May 16th, 6pm
Joyce Beers) we will be talking about “Islam and Intimidation:
Submission, Struggle, and South Park”. Where did this start, why can’t
you show Muhammed, and where do we go from here? We will also be
showing the controversial films: Submission (The film that director
Theo van Gogh was murdered over), Fitna (Geert Wilder’s hardcore
short-film about terrorism and radical Islam), and the recent 2-part
South Park episode that drew all of the controversy. (this is a
presentation of graphic and controversial material, but as
freethinkers we don’t shy away from the controversial. We examine it
through reason and an open mind). We will not mock-for this meeting, a
sense of humor is expected, an open mind required, and any kind of
abuse verbal or otherwise, will not be tolerated)

Some video content is graphic and violent, (Fitna) and may not be suitable for all viewers.

This is potluck, as usual bring a dish to share if you feel so inclined.
We look forward to seeing you

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San Diego Museum of Art
1450 El Prado
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 232-7931

Join us for a visit to the engaging and wonderful San Diego Museum of Art.
Meet at 12:00 for a light lunch or coffee in the courtyard just in front or off to the West side, before we visit the museum at 12:45.

The San Diego Museum fo Art is a delightful place to explore collections of American Art, Asian Art, European Art, Contemporary Art and more.
Admission is Free for San Diego Residents and Military.
In addition to the permanent collections…
Special Exhibitions on now include:

Joaquín Torres-García: Constructing Abstraction with Wood
February 20 – May 30, 2010
The groundbreaking exhibition Joaquín Torres-García: Constructing Abstraction with Wood explores the work of one of the most influential artists to have emerged from Latin America.

Temple Palace Mosque: Southern Asian & Persian Art
Gallery 9, ongoing
Galleries 10 and 11 opening August 10, 2010
This new and ongoing display will showcase the Museum’s Asian collections with works from diverse areas ranging from Iran and Afghanistan to Cambodia and Thailand.

Mannered Bodies: European Prints of the Later Renaissance
April 3 – June 27, 2010
Conceived as a “teaching exhibition”, this selection of sixteenth-century prints focuses on the “stylish style” of the later sixteenth century.

For the comfort and safety of all, events are fragrance free.

See you there
If you have any trouble finding us just give me a call

Jennifer
347 -512- 05 01

Join us for lunch at 11:30  at the Cafe at The Fleet Science Center before a visit to the magnificent Museum of Man, where we can explore exhibits including Ancient Egypt, Kumeyaay Native Californians, Footsteps Through Time: Four Million Years of Human Evolution and Maya: Heart of Sky Heart of Earth, and also The Genographic Project.

Admission to The Museum is FREE for San Diego Residents and Military w ID
The Museum is open until 4:30 pm

If you have not yet been to The Museum of Man or you want to revisit this great museum, come join us.

Explore different and earlier cultures with your fellow humanists in the heart of Balboa Park.

Meet for Lunch at 11:30 at The Cafe at The Rueben H Fleet Science Center, near the Fountain
Meet at The Museum of Man at 12:30 and 12:40.

See you at the Park!

Jennifer
347. 512. 0501

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1220 Cleveland Ave.
3900 Vermont Street
San Diego, CA 92103
619-646-2191The Joyce Beers Community Center

Potluck. Bring a dish to share if you like.

Craig James author of the book The Religion Virus discusses Why Humans believe in God.

Have you ever wondered…

Who thought up heaven and hell, and why?
Why is guilt so critical to Christians?
Why doesn’t God have a wife?
Why is teaching religion to children critical to all churches?

And how can evolution answer all of these questions?

Cultural Evolution – Understanding Religion with the New Science of Memes

From the book (Chapter 1)…

“Why did the chicken cross the road?” What a dumb joke. But you’ve heard it, right? And you know the retort. Why is this stupid joke one of the most pervasive and reliable bits of verbal information ever passed from one human to another? Why is it passed, with extreme accuracy, to virtually every child? What makes children tell it to each other, year after year, generation after generation?

This is not a trivial question; it illustrates a deep and profound insight into human culture, that some ideas can be passed verbally and with high fidelity, but additionally, that these facts are passed along whereas other ideas fade into history. Something about the chicken joke causes it to reproduce itself. The joke itself contains the means for its own survival – it makes children want to repeat it.

The chicken joke is a perfect example of a self-replicating idea, an idea that makes you want to repeat it to someone else. Whether it’s a joke, an urban myth, a great story, or a hard lesson you’ve learned that you want to tell your children, each of these things carries within it the “seed” that causes it to be retold, to be copied from one human brain to another. In other words, each of these carries more than just the message itself; it also carries a motivation that makes you want to retell it. The message is the obvious, overt part of the joke, urban myth or lesson. The motivation is a consequence of the message’s contents, yet it is equally important. Without the motivation, the idea would die out.

Notice that this is a lot like how our genes work: Genes carry information, just as a joke carries information … your DNA shares a fascinating trait with jokes, urban myths and hard-learned lessons: They all contain a message and a motivation to reproduce.

Richard Dawkins was the first to recognize the parallels between ideas and genes, but he didn’t think it was just an amusing analogy. Dawkins realized there was something deeper, that even though biological life and ideas are radically different, there is an important underlying theory that ties the two together. Because these self-replicating ideas were so much like genes, Dawkins coined the term meme (a “mnemonic gene”).

… When I tell you a joke, I am essentially carrying out the joke’s version of sex: I am using your brain to make a copy of the joke meme that was in my brain. It uses your brain’s resources to keep itself alive (stored in your neurons), and if it’s funny enough, you’ll want to repeat the joke to someone else, thereby increasing the joke’s population by one more. This sounds a lot like a virus, doesn’t it?

Books will be on sale from Craig

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tues April 13 2010 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Price Center West Thurgood Marshall Room

James Tracy, a history of science graduate student gives a short talk entitled “A Plea for History: Science and
Religion in the Galileo Affair”

Q and A to follow.

This is a cross post with Rational Thought of UCSD

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Noon to 5:00 PM April 4

9566 Murray Dr
La Mesa, CA 91942
619-465-7050

Join us in helping Reid Brisebois celebrate his 50th Birthday at Charcoal House, with a live rock band, free beer and a rocking good time!
The band covers The Rolling Stones, Creadence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles and more. Plus there will be free beer. This will be great fun and with a great guy, join other humanists and freethinkers with some old time rock and roll!
Bring yourself. Bring a friend.
Charcoal House in La Mesa!
Reid has graciously said, “This is my gift to all of you for making my life richer.”
See you at the party!

parking.
maya trolly stop.
also near the Holiday Inn Express

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