Archive for July, 2011

CFI Saskatoon/Saskatoon Freethinkers Meetup-And Now For Something Completely Different

Posted in Event, Saskatoon on July 28, 2011 by saskskeptic

Announcing a new Meetup for CFI Saskatoon/Saskatoon Freethinkers!

WhatAnd now for something completely different …
When: Sunday, August 14, 2011 11:30 AM

Where: Venice House
906 Central Avenue
Saskatoon, SK S7N 2G8
306-373-6666

This meetup we are taking things easy — it is the dog days of summer after all — and having some laughs with a screening of Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

Hopefully, there will be also some tidbits of movie trivia and interesting facts about the Pythons to share!  We may have a trivia contest for awesome prizes, so bring your intimate knowledge of Python sketches and such.

 
Note: Attendees start gathering and visiting at 11:30 am. We begin the formal meeting (announcements then the presentation/discussion) at about 12:00 pm (after meal orders have been taken). You are not required to order any food or drink. If you do order something, remember to tip the waitress because they have a lot to keep track of with our group. Also, we use the large side room at Venice House for free and they have been quite accommodating. We bring a sample of our library to the regular meetings and you are welcome to borrow something. If you have any specific requests, please contact our Secretary, Selene. We also take donations at every meeting and sometimes have items for purchase.

Check it out!

Freethinkers in the Pub

Posted in Event, Saskatoon on July 28, 2011 by saskskeptic

Announcing a new Meetup for CFI Saskatoon/Saskatoon Freethinkers!

WhatFreethinkers in the Pub
When: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 7:00 PM

Where: Lydia’s Pub
650 Broadway Ave
Saskatoon, SK

Back to Wednesday and back to Lydia’s for this pub.  Come out and have the cheapo burger and pint (also available in vegetarian).

Check it out!

Skeptics In The Pub

Posted in Skeptic on July 27, 2011 by saskskeptic
When: Where:
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
7:30 PM
Joey’s Only Seafood
2100 8th Street East
Saskatoon, SK S7H 0V4

Any time between 7:30 to 11:30

Agenda Open Discussion

Here are a couple of ideas

Conservative Christian websites are saying the Norway kill was not christian.

http://crev.info/content/110724-norway_killer_cultural_christian_practical_darwinian

http://www.uncommondescent.com/darwinism/a-darwinian-terrorist/

Article about God being on the side of a mine company in Kamloops

http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20110726/KAMLOOPS0304/110729955/-1/kamloops0304/god-is-on-the-side-of-mine-company

Skeptical BBQ

Posted in Event, Saskatoon, Skeptic on July 20, 2011 by saskskeptic
Friday, July 22, 2011, 6:30 PM

2329 York Ave, Saskatoon, SK (map) two streets West of Clarence Ave and 3 houses South of Ruth St

This is potluck, bring your own meat/booze or what ever else you want.  You should also probably bring your own chairs and bug spray.

We can provide ice, deck fridge, & dishes.  We also have a fire pit, wood, & marshmallows.

The forecast is for scattered showers.  We will move inside if we need to.

This may turn into a non-psychic fair so bring your magic tricks and divining crystals.

Bring any games you want to play.

Hope to see you there.

Saskatoon Freethinkers-Taste of Saskatchewan Pub Night

Posted in Event, Saskatoon on July 20, 2011 by saskskeptic
Taste of SK / Pub night 
will happen on Thursday, July 21, 2011
When: Where:
Thursday, July 21, 2011
6:00 PM
Taste of Sask.  Between Broadway bridge and the Bessborough Hotel

Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, or just have a seat on nature’s chair-the grass! We will be parked about 10 meters back of the stage(so we can still see the bands) between the bike path and the river. We will bring some extra blankets and chairs for those who don’t bring them. There are free bands playing all day and evening, but usually not so loud you can’t talk. And 32 restaurants! It’s the only time of year you can have a beer in the park without being in a beer garden. How’s that for a former temperance colony? In the even of rain, we will convene at Winstons(2 blocks away). My cel # is 220-5152(Blaine) so if you have trouble finding us, just give me a ring and I will give you precise directions when you get there.

Learn more

Discovery Dash

Posted in Event, Saskatoon on July 15, 2011 by saskskeptic
Discovery Dash is happening tomorrow
When: Where:
Saturday, July 16, 2011
10:00 AM
Rotary Park
225 Saskatchewan Crescent E.
Saskatoon, SK
Join us for a day of outside fun in support of the
Children’s Discovery Museum on the Saskatchewan! The Discovery Dash is a day of family-fun activities, including: dashes, relays, and silly races for all ages, post-race snacks, face painting, kids activities, and more.
Register for the event online, or print
the registration form and drop it off at the Children’s Discovery Museum in Market Mall.

Individual: $10
Family: $35

All proceeds go to the Children’s Discovery Museum and will help the Museum continue to foster curiosity, creativity and a lifelong love of learning in children.

NOTE: RSVPing for this event will not register you for it — you must either register online or drop off a form at the Children’s Discovery Museum.

Learn more

CFI Saskatoon: Freethought Discussion

Posted in news, Saskatoon on July 10, 2011 by saskskeptic

Announcing a new Meetup for CFI Saskatoon/Saskatoon Freethinkers!

WhatFreethought Discussion
When: Sunday, July 17, 2011 11:30 AM

Where: Venice House
906 Central Avenue
Saskatoon, SK S7N 2G8
306-373-6666

In July, we will have another informal type of Meetup. This will allow people to socialize more in a casual atmosphere.  Attendees will be choosing the topics and discussing them in small groups.

We’ll check in at the end to see how members like this format and what interesting things everyone discussed.

Check it out!

Café Apostate

Posted in Skeptic on July 7, 2011 by saskskeptic
Café Apostate will happen on Sunday, July 10, 2011
When: Where:
Sunday, July 10, 2011
6:00 PM
The deck of
203 Rutherford Crescent
Saskatoon, SK

Because in Saskatchewan we don’t get a lot of nice weather (think summer, sun and heat!) we’re changing the June, July and August meet-up locations to the deck of
203 Rutherford Crescent, which is about two blocks from our usual meeting place – Mackenzie Cole Coffeehouse in Sutherland.

Bring some beer or other cold beverage to drink on the deck. We’ll provide the coffee and/or tea service!

Learn more

Logicon 2011 Keynote Speech

Posted in Skeptic on July 6, 2011 by saskskeptic

Daniel Loxton’s LogiCon 2011 Keynote Available Now

“While every human deserves scientific literacy, it’s not something we’re born with. It’s something we must be taught.” This is the theme of “The Reasonableness of Weird Things,” Daniel Loxton’s very personal Keynote Address from LogiCon 2011—available now in both audio and video formats.

Presented on the broadcast radio program Skeptically Speaking, the audio version includes both the speech and a new interview of Daniel by host Desiree Schell. Video of the speech is also available, courtesy of the Greater Edmonton Skeptics Society. (Handheld video, in four parts.)

Daniel tells the story of how his parents taught him to believe in the paranormal, and yet also taught him the critical thinking skills he uses in his work today. Having himself been both, Daniel explains that there are no neat lines between “skeptics” and “believers.”

“No matter how clever we are,” Loxton reflects, “at the end of the day, we’re at the mercy of our sources. Our beliefs are only as accurate as the information we have to work with.”

WATCH THE VIDEO

LISTEN TO AUDIO

CFI Saskatoon: Banned Book Club

Posted in Skeptic on July 6, 2011 by saskskeptic
When: Where:
Thursday, July 7, 2011
7:00 PM
Nino’s Fireside Room
801 Broadway Ave
Saskatoon, SK S7N 1B5

Hi Readers,

Okay, this should be a challenging one. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is our next book for the July 7th, meeting. This is not an easy book to read, content wise, but an important book, regardless.

Wikipedia

Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian. The book is internationally famous for its innovative style and infamous for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, middle-aged Humbert Humbert, who becomes obsessed and sexually involved with a 12-year-old girl named Dolores Haze.

After its publication, Nabokov’s Lolita attained a classic status, becoming one of the best-known and most controversial examples of 20th century literature. The name “Lolita” has entered pop culture to describe a sexually precocious girl. The novel was adapted to film by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and again in 1997 by Adrian Lyne. Lolita is included on Time’s list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005. It is fourth on the Modern Library’s 1998 list of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th century.

Also made the ALS’s 100 banned or challenged novels of the 20th Century

Banned as obscene in France (1956-1959), in England (1955-59), in Argentina (1959), and in New Zealand (1960). The South African Directorate of Publications announced on November 27, 1982, that Lolita has been taken off the banned list, eight years after a request for permission to market the novel in paperback has been refused.

Have a great June!

Jon

 

Learn more

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