Join the Humanist Community this Sunday, either in person or online, as we listen to the poetry of Felix Dennis.
In the 17-minute video, Ode to Vice and Consequences (https://www.ted.com/talks/felix_dennis_odes_to_vice_and_consequences?subtitle=en), Felix recites 6 of his poems: Who Was the Better Man?, Never Go Back, To a Beautiful Lady of a Certain Age, Hail to the Gods of America, Love Came to Visit Me, and Our Lady in White. His style is flamboyant and intense, and a pleasure to watch and listen to.
Felix Dennis (27 May 1947 – 22 June 2014) was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer, and philanthropist. His company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times, the company added lifestyle titles such as its flagship brand The Week, which is published in the UK and the United States.
He became co-editor of the counterculture magazine, Oz, one issue of which led to charges of conspiring to corrupt public morals. Three members of the editorial staff were found guilty and received jail terms although the judge thought Dennis was much less intelligent and gave him a lighter sentence.
Attend in Person: On the first and third Sunday of the month, such as this Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. COVID protocols will be followed. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.
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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here. No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter: Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712 Passcode: 250634
You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone. +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) You can find international phone numbers to call here.
Join the Humanist Community online this Sunday to watch and discuss three seemingly unrelated videos on things that make it difficult to see what’s real.
The Origin of Countless Conspiracy Theories (4:20 min.) presents the Ramsey theory, which tells us that however random a collection of elements is some non-random patterns will always exist in it, looking like secret messages.
In What the Irish Wake Teaches Us about Living and Dying (17 min.), Kevin Toolis talks about how we have a cultural inability to look at death that has actually increased our fear of death.
In 1984 by George Orwell, Crash Course Literature 401 (14:27 min.), John Green introduces us to the fictional totalitarian government that tries to control what people can think by modifying the language and remove words for unacceptable ideas.
We have not been able to arrange a room to meet this week. We hope to see you in person next Sunday, because on the first and third Sunday of each month, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040.
———-
Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here. No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter: Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712 Passcode: 250634
You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone. +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) You can find international phone numbers to call here.
Join the Humanist Community this Sunday, either in person or online, as we hear from Prof. Leland Chan.
In light of such Supreme Court decisions as Dobbs (overturning Roe v. Wade) and Trump v. United States (creation of absolute presidential immunity for official acts), one would think that Supreme Court justices are like super-legislators – unelected officials who have the power to write what are essentially new laws that are the supreme law of the land that neither Congress nor any state may touch. But doesn’t the Constitution give federal legislative power exclusively to Congress? Aren’t judges more like baseball umpires just calling balls and strikes rather than making the rules? If judges are supposed to be impartial, why is it that in many cases even the casual observer could predict how each judge will decide depending on whether they are liberal or conservative? This lecture breaks it all down: what is the role of the judge and has today’s Supreme Court sawed off its Constitutional tether by setting policy according to each judge’s own vision for America?
Leland Chan is Adjunct Professor of Law at Golden Gate University. He graduated from U.C. Berkeley School of Law, and served as the long-time general counsel of the California Bankers Association during his legal career.
Attend in Person:
On the first and third Sunday of the month, such as this Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. COVID protocols will be followed. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.
———-
Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here. No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter: Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712 Passcode: 250634
You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone. +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) You can find international phone numbers to call here.
Among the things we hope democracy provides are: a government that is open and not corrupt, a legislative body that represents the views of the voters, and verifiable elections. Today we will watch and discuss four videos that address these issues.
We have not been able to arrange a room to meet this week. We hope to see you in person next Sunday, because on the first and third Sunday of each month, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040.
———-
Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here. No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter: Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712 Passcode: 250634
You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone. +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) You can find international phone numbers to call here.
