Annual Brunch at Pacific Buffet & Grill

We returned to Pacific Buffet, 20 Ives Rd #301C, Wallingford for our end-of-year brunch, which also gives Humanists something to do on a day when most of the country is closed. (203) 269-6888.

Annual Meeting, Elections, and Winter Solstice Party

We started with a pot-luck dinner at 7:00 PM. This was followed by our annual business meeting and our Winter Solstice Party.

Book Discussion Group: The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought by Susan Jacoby

Our book for December was to be “The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought” by Susan Jacoby, but we postponed the discussion until January 21, 2017 as there was snow on December 17.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: L’Elegance

Steve and Susan Boshi returned to host our December Explorations with a Masterpiece Theater presentation. Steve says, “Life consists of myriad vagaries and contradictions, reality and fantasy often becoming confused. In this drama, based on a story by Rumer Godden, we will glimpse into the mind of a woman in the midst of a struggle between fantasy and reality and the choice she makes between them. This is a compelling look into the human mind and the human heart, and will cause you to consider one of life’s mysteries.”

November board and standing committee meetings

This was our last board meeting of the year as we held our annual meeting in December.

Monthly Meeting: SMART Recovery

The Connecticut Coalition of Reason, the Yale Humanist Community, and the Humanist Association of Connecticut have been supporting the expansion in Connecticut of SMART Recovery, a secular addiction recovery program based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). HAC President Carol Siddall gave an introduction to SMART Recovery.

Book Discussion Group: The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud

We discussed “The Future of an Illusion” by Sigmund Freud. (This is a change from the previously announced selection, The Temptation of St. Anthony by Gustave Flaubert.)

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: Guy Fawkes Day

Since our November Humanist Explorations meeting fell on Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, we decided to explore this British holiday which commemorates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.

October board and standing committee meetings

Monthly Meeting: Stoicism and Epicurianism in the Modern Day

David Schafer and Dan Blinn co-presented a talk on Stoicism and Epicurianism.

Stoicism and Epicureanism are two of the main philosophical schools that dominated the Hellenistic period, usually defined as the years from the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE) to the rise of the Roman Empire at the Battle of Actium (31 BCE). Although the formal schools did not survive the rise of Christianity, many of the ideas of the ancient teachers can be found in the writings of philosophers throughout the centuries.

Both philosophies have been the subject of increased interest in recent years. Steven Greenblatt’s book, “The Swerve,” credits the 15th Century discovery of Lucretius’s poem, “On the Nature of Things,” with reintroducing Epicurean ideas and sparking the modern age. Epicurean concepts are major components of many Humanist philosophers.

Stoic principles were fundamental in the development of rational emotive behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. In more recent years, philosophers have imagined how Stoicism might have evolved if it had survived to be influenced by modern science, and they have joined with psychotherapists and other academics to create a modern Stoicism movement.

David Schafer is a co-founder and current program chair of the Humanist Association of Connecticut, and was president of the Unitarian Universalist Humanists for seven years (2003-2010).

Dan Blinn is a consumer rights attorney and a graduate of Class 19 of the Humanist Institute. He is the founding ex-president of Hartford Area Humanists and one of the founding chairs of the Connecticut Coalition of Reason. He began a regular Stoic practice in 2015.

Book Discussion Group: The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine

We discussed “The Age of Reason: Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology” by Thomas Paine.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: The Century of the Self, Parts 3&4

We met half an hour earlier than usual for a longer Explorations session in which we showed the last two of the four episodes of “The Century of the Self”, a documentary by Adam Curtis, which views the 20th century as the century of Freudian psychology and traces the rise of Public Relations as a means to control markets and electorates.

September board and standing committee meetings

Monthly Meeting: Cheri Quickmire of Common Cause

The guest speaker for our September monthly meeting was Cheri Quickmire, the Executive Director of Common Cause of Connecticut.

Common Cause is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. Its work is to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promotes equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empowers all people to make their voices heard in the political process.

Cheri Quickmire has been the Executive Director of Common Cause Connecticut since 2009. Prior to joining Common Cause, Quickmire served as Executive Director of One Connecticut, a Policy Analyst for the Connecticut Association for Human Services, and an Organizer with Mothers For Justice. She is a long-time advocate for transformational social change and progressive public policy that addresses challenges to access and participation of diverse populations in a vibrant democracy.

Book Discussion Group: The World Beyond Your Head by Matthew B. Crawford

We discussed “The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction” by Matthew B. Crawford.

Copies of the book were widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: The Century of the Self

We met half an hour earlier than usual for a longer Explorations session in which we showed the first two of four episodes of “The Century of the Self”, a documentary by Adam Curtis, which viewed the 20th century as the century of Freudian psychology and tracesdthe rise of Public Relations as a means to control markets and electorates.

August board and standing committee meetings

Book Discussion Group: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

We discussed the comedy fantasy novel “Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Monthly Meeting: Political Action for Secular Connecticut

We welcomed Pat McCann as guest speaker for our August monthly meeting.

Pat McCann has been an Atheist and practicing Humanist for 40 years but discovered organized Humanism only 10 years ago.  He began his activism for the secular community of Connecticut in 2012 after attending the first Reason Rally.  Pat is the current President of the Hartford Area Humanists, the current chair of the Secular Coalition for Connecticut, and the current co-chair of the Connecticut Coalition of Reason.

The presentation introduced the audience to the Secular Coalition for Connecticut, a local affiliate of the Secular Coalition for America, and relayed the types of political actions being engaged in on behalf of the secular community in Connecticut. Additionally, the presentation also compared and contrasted the Secular Coalition for Connecticut and the Connecticut Coalition of Reason. Finally, the presentation provided some details of activities planned in 2016/17 with a focus on the legislative imperatives planned for 2017 and an emphasis on how people can help and/or participate.

Pat McCann earned a BS in Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University, an MS in Molecular Biology from Rutgers University, and an MBA in Marketing from UConn.   For the past 30 years Pat has worked as a research scientist in Academia, Biotech, and big Pharma; as an IT project manager in big Pharma; and as an internal  consultant also in big Pharma.  He is currently a business analyst in the Global Product Development division at Pfizer in Groton. In what little time he has left, Pat studies Washin-ryu Karate-do with the love of his life, Elisabeth Brown.  They are both 3rd degree black belts and certified instructors.

We will start with half an hour of coffee and conversation at 7:00 PM. Our main talk will follow brief announcements at 7:30 PM.

Humanist Explorations: The Mystery of the Master Builders

Eight hundred years ago, architects began to construct massive cathedrals that broke all the rules of building technology of the time. Instead of thick-walled, dark, and confining structures, they started to build much higher and lighter structures capable of allowing light to flow into the interior. How this was achieved without the benefit of modern materials like steel is the subject of this documentary by Robert Mark, professor emeritus of civil engineering and architecture at Princeton. Join us for this fascinating perspective on the medieval ancestors of modern glass and steel skyscrapers.

Refreshments will be served.

July board and standing committee meetings

TRAPPED

NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut presents a special film presentation followed by a Q&A at the Bijou Theatre, 275 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport.

“U.S. abortion clinics are fighting to survive. Since 2010, hundreds of laws regulating abortion clinics have been passed by conservative state legislatures, particularly in the south. These restrictions, known as TRAP laws (or Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) are spreading across America. Faced with increased costs of compliance and the alarming fear of violence from protestors, the stakes for the women and men on the frontlines couldn’t be any higher. TRAPPED follows the clinic workers and lawyers, including those who took their case to the Supreme Court, who are fighting to keep abortion safe and legal for millions of American women, many of whom are poor and uninsured.”

You surely heard that the Supreme Court just overturned Texas’s extremely onerous TRAP law, HB2. But this law was only one of the many TRAP laws in the U.S., including one right here in CT!

The post-film Q&A session will include healthcare providers, politicians, and our organizing partners the Humanist Association of Connecticut and Catholics for Choice, to discuss reproductive rights in Connecticut and across the country. HAC President Carol Siddall will be representing the non-theist view during the panel discussion.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m.; film starts at 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices are: Theatre seats – $15; Table seats – $40; Students/Unwaged – $10. Please book online at http://thebijoutheatre.com/ or by calling 203-332-3228.

Monthly Meeting: Education, Social Action, & the Kids’ Service Team

For our July monthly meeting we were joined by Lurline deVos, the founder of the Kids’ Service Team. Together with her husband P.J. Deak, Lurline has taught social justice values to young people and coordinated projects for over 20 years that involved children and teens in “taking responsibility for the kind of world in which we live.”

Furnishing apartments for refugees; cleaning rivers; feeding the homeless; standing up for workers rights; using love to confront hate groups on the streets of our cities. Young people can be inspired to find both a role and a place in shaping the world in which we all live. Come participate in a presentation and discussion of how young people are using the praxis of education and action to bring Humanist values to life: striving toward a world of mutual care and concern, committed to diversity, where differences are resolved cooperatively without resorting to violence, enriching the lives of others, and inspiring hope of attaining peace, justice, and opportunity for all. This presentation will include video, photos, quotes and conversation about teens and children with Humanist values engaged in the ongoing effort to help humanity “progress towards its highest ideals.”

Book Discussion Group: The Social Conquest of Earth by E.O. Wilson

We discussed “The Social Conquest of Earth” by E.O. Wilson.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: Raptor Force

Humans have had a unique relationship with raptors, nature’s aerial killing machines, for more than four thousand years, first through the ancient sport of falconry, and, more recently, as scientists and engineers have turned to these mighty birds — from golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, and the peregrine falcon — as the inspiration for the latest in aircraft design. Using the tricks and tactics of raptors as their model, engineers have devised fighter jets with unprecedented maneuverability and stealth.

In Raptor Force, you’ll learn the secrets of these astonishing aerialists, and how they’ve mastered, more than any other type of bird, the art of soaring. And with the help of engineer and falconer Rob MacIntyre’s ingenious miniature television station — a camera, transmitter, and battery small enough to be harnessed onto the backs of raptors — you’ll see for yourself what it’s like to fly with these deadly aces.

Refreshments will be served.

Annual Picnic at Gayle Walter's Home in New Haven

Gayle Walter kindly volunteered to once again host our annual picnic at her home in New Haven. The address was given in the newsletter. Members were asked to bring a dish to share.

Since we will be outside, in the event of rain on Saturday, the picnic is postponed to Sunday, June 26th. If it rains on Sunday too, then the picnic is cancelled. The picnic replaces the June monthly meeting.

June board and standing committee meetings

Book Discussion Group: The Octopus, a Story of California by Frank Norris

We discussed “The Octopus, a Story of California,” a 1901 novel by Frank Norris.

Copies of the book were widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers, as well as on Project Gutenberg.

Humanist Explorations: Confessions of a Train Spotter

For those of us who remember the Monty Python troupe of the seventies, Michael Palin (no relation to Sarah) had a wonderful touch for travel, and a wry sense of humor. Join us, and him, for a journey of nostalgic bent as we travel the length of Britain by rail from London to The Isle of Skye in Northwest Scotland. This is a fascinating look at how railways, which originated in England, evolved and changed the world we inhabit.

(We held our June Explorations meeting a week later than usual so that members could attend the Reason Rally in Washington DC on the first Saturday of June.)

Group trip to the The Grove Street Cemetery

We visited the Grove Street Cemetery, the oldest incorporated cemetery in the USA, in New Haven, meeting at the main gate at Grove and High Streets at 11:00 AM. The tour was followed by an optional lunch at a nearby restaurant.

May board and standing committee meetings

Note the new time: After over a decade of holding the board meeting at 2:30 PM, we now start at 2:00 PM as several board members need to leave by 4:00 PM.

Book Discussion Group: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

We discussed “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Monthly Meeting: ACLU/CT’s Dan Barrett

For our May monthly meeting we were joined by Dan Barrett, Legal Director of the ACLU of Connecticut, who kindly replaced former ACLU of Connecticut Executive Director Stephen Glassman at very short notice.

The ACLU has essentially two permanent clients: the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States. Current priorities in Connecticut are focused on comprehensive criminal justice reform, rectifying racial bias and injustice, protecting First Amendment rights, addressing Fourth Amendment privacy concerns, expanding LGBT rights while addressing attempts to use religion to discriminate, and the ongoing importance of ensuring that our state respects the rights to due process and equal protection. The Connecticut chapter is actively engaged in ensuring that the freedom to practice one’s religion and the freedom to not practice any religion are equally protected, particularly in a political climate where there is heightened pressure to favor one religion over another through intrusive government actions.

Dan Barrett is the ACLU of Connecticut's Legal Director. His interests in the law include anonymous speech, freedom of movement, mass surveillance, and maximizing democratic control of government through open courts and open records. Dan went to college at Cornell, got a master's degree from Cambridge, and was turned into a lawyer at Northeastern. Prior to coming the ACLU of Connecticut, Dan clerked for the Honorable Janet Bond Arterton of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, and he directed the litigation at the ACLU of Vermont for seven years.

Humanist Explorations: Norman Rockwell, Painting America

We’ve renamed Humanist Conversations to better match its current focus — explorations of facets of being human. Topics will vary across the arts, sciences, history, music, etc.

Arguably America’s most familiar painter, Norman Rockwell was best known for his magazine covers, advertising, and calendars. His art and interpretations of the human spirit were far deeper than what initially meets the eye. A major talent from a very early age, his struggles with demons that colored his life and perspectives inform a side of him that is not well known. Explore the brilliant art of this avuncular American icon at our next Explorations.

Group trip to the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

We held the first of a regular series of outings, this month to the Peabody Museum of Natural History, located at 170 Whitney Avenue in New Haven, for a self-guided tour of the Fossil Fragments: The Riddle of Human Origins exhibit.

April board and standing committee meetings

Note the new time: After decades of holding the board meeting at 2:30 PM, we changed the start time to 2:00 PM.

Anniversary Meeting: Ending Homelessness Today

Our guest speaker for April was the Executive Director of Columbus House, Alison Cunningham.

There is a statewide effort to end all forms of chronic homelessness by the end of this year; the campaign is named Zero: 2016.

What does it mean to declare an end of any kind of homelessness? How are we accomplishing this goal? What happens next?

Alison Cunningham talked about these recent milestones, citing best practices and current trends in addressing the issue of homelessness in our region and across the state.

We started with a potluck dinner at the new time of 7:00 PM.

Book Discussion Group: Nature’s God by Matthew Stewart

We discussed “Nature’s God: the heretical origins of the American republic” by Matthew Stewart.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Conversations: The Ten Year Lunch

"As we continue to broaden the focus of Conversations, the consideration of multiple aspects of the Human experience is paramount. Science, The Humanities, Arts and Letters, and many other disciplines are all worth consideration, but conversation is often overlooked despite its import. Humor is another component of the Human experience, and a vastly underrated one at that. Join us as we return to the 1920’s to experience the great wit of the authors and artists who were the members of the Algonquin Round Table and the society they inhabited."

March board and standing committee meetings.

Note the new time: After decades of holding the board meeting at 2:30 PM, we will now start at 2:00 PM.

All members are welcome to attend.

Book Discussion Group: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.

We discussed “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” by physician and author of "The Checklist Manifesto,"Atul Gawande.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Monthly Meeting: Why Darwin Matters

Our guest speaker for March was Lawrence Rifkin, M.D.

Larry discussed the central role of Darwin and his ideas to any modern person who cares about how things really are in the world, and cares about the ways our lives and actions matter. He discussed Darwin’s dramatic adventures, and how our modern understanding of evolution impacts ethics, the environment, society, and our understanding of our place in the modern world.

Lawrence Rifkin is a physician and a writer. He blogs for The Huffington Post and Scientific American. His writings on the intersection of science, humanism, and ideas have been published in Free Inquiry, Skeptical Inquirer, The Humanist, and Medical Economics, in which he was the Grand Prize Winner of the Doctors’ Writing Contest. Larry recently took trips to South America and Africa, in which he attempted to recreate Darwin’s observations and thought process.

Note the new time: We will start with half an hour of coffee and conversation at the new time of 7:00 PM. The main program will be held after brief announcements at 7:30 PM.

Humanist Conversations: The Path Between the Seas

At our March Humanist Conversations, Steve Boshi showed a PBS Nova episode the building of the Panama Canal, based on historian David McCullough book, and featuring McCullough himself as presenter.

Refreshments will be served.

February board and standing committee meetings.

Book Discussion Group: My Promised Land by Ari Shavit.

We discussed “My Promised Land” by Israeli journalist Ari Shavit.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

CANCELLED

Monthly Meeting: Cancelled

Our February monthly meeting was cancelled as the weather forecast was for snow and freezing rain.

Humanist Conversations: Buried in Ice

At our February Humanist Conversations, Steve Boshi showed a PBS Nova episode on research into the causes of the disasterous outcome of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, and how this related to the current water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan.

January board and standing committee meetings.

Our first board meeting of the year ran out of time due to the large number of isses we needed to discuss.

Monthly Meeting: Travels in Russia

Steve and Susan Boshi described their trip to Russia last summer.

St. Petersburg is the capital of Imperial Russia; the Land of the Firebird; home to the literature of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, the music of Tchaikovsky and Glazunov, the great decorative art of Faberge, the fine art of the Hermitage, and Orthodox Cathedrals dripping with artwork that will make you feel like you are in heaven (if only there was one). Join us for a vicarious journey to this magical place. A few surprises along the way will add further spice to this sensuous evening.

Note the new time: This was our first meeting at the new time of 7:00 PM for coffee and conversation, and 7:30 PM for the main talk.

Book Discussion Group: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

We discussed “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston. This 1937 novel was a selection for the NEA's "Big Read." Supplementary reading for the discussion was the chapter “Religion” from Hurston’s autobiography Dust Tracks on a Road.

Copies of the book are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Conversations: Dr. Lise Meitner

At our January Humanist Conversations, Steve Boshi will introduced us to a brilliant scientist you’ve probably never heard of.

Steve said, “The year is 1938, and the discovery that the atom can be split is close to hand. The research is conducted by one the world’s leading nuclear physicists. She is never acknowledged for her brilliant work during her lifetime, or thereafter, as a consequence of racism, bigotry, sexism, and misogyny. Join us to learn about and understand the story of Dr. Lise Meitner.”