FTBCon3 is Up and Running!

We’re stocked up on Mountain Dew and Funyuns (no seriously…I’m going old school this weekend), I’m in my official FTBCon uniform:

Me in a bathrobe and slippers, big grin and hands on my hips

…all of the tech seems to be in place and opening remarks with Stephanie Zvan and Debbie Goddard are a go!

Debbie Goddard speaking in a Google Hangout

Treating the Brain: Skeptics Talk Therapy and Therapists just started at 5:30pm CST. A full schedule is located on Lanyrd: http://lanyrd.com/2015/ftbcon-august/

You can find the link to the Google Hangout (and YouTube from there) by clicking on the link in each Lanyrd event page, here:

Shows an Lanyrd page for "Treating the Brain" panel and a red arrow pointing to the "official session page" located in the right sidebar.

 

Other important links:

We hope you can join us sometime this weekend!

FTBCon3 is Up and Running!
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TMCIF!

(Thank Man-made Calendars It’s Friday)

I have plans for this weekend. Tomorrow is jam-packed: Clinic escorting at 7am, then over to The Source for their Holiday Jubilee (i.e., huge boardgame and comic sale), then over to this local annual women’s craft fair that I’ve been going to for years.

I am leaning towards attending the Million March Minnesota at 1pm at Government Plaza in downtown Minneapolis. The organizers appear to be on the up and up about wanting to organize against racist state-sanctioned violence; they’ve been responsive on their Facebook event page and I received a timely reply to a letter that I sent to their email. They state that they are “Artists and Allies with Black Leadership who are committed to channeling and connecting people and organizations who are doing the work of social justice.” They ask people to leave the “All Lives Matter” signage at home as they prefer to keep the focus on black lives, so that’s a good start. But this is Minnesota, y’all. I’m apprehensive that it’s going to be a sea of white faces, which is not what needs to be happening right now. If anyone knows more about the rally – and importantly, if you’ve heard any concerns – I’d love to have your input. You can comment below or shoot me an email at [email protected]

I’m also planning on doing some organizing and planning for the FTB Conscience this weekend. The 3rd FTBCon is scheduled for the end of January 2015, so start getting excited!

I leave you with this incredible Cthulu wreath from BoredPanda. Check out the website for more detailed photos. I love this line from the site: “I may have lost a little of my mind in the process, but it seems a worthwhile trade for dabbling in eldritch crafts.”

A green and red holiday-themed wreath that uses tentacles and octopi for decorations.

TMCIF!

Some Cool Stuff Coming Up

There are so many geeky, gaming, skeptical, atheist events on the horizon for 2014! Eeeeeee!

GwoG
Geeks Without God on Atheists Talk – January 18th, 2014

This Sunday I’ll be interviewing Tim Wick, Molly Glover and Nick Glover on Atheists Talk. They’re the hosts of the podcast Geeks Without God. They’re Very Funny People and totally worth waking up for at 9am on a Sunday morning. You can listen locally on KTNF AM950, livestream the show online, or you can always catch the podcast later. Look for Atheists Talk on iTunes or check out our website.

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raiders
The Hubby’s 40th Birthday Celebration! – January 24th, 2014 This is a semi-private event, but I want to share that I am SO excited! We rented a movie theater, y’all.  We’ve invited a bunch of friends, and we’re going to serve sandwiches and soda and then show Raiders of the Lost Ark. In a theater. That we rented. A theater!

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ftbcon2

FTBCon2 – Jan 31-Feb 2, 2014

The second Freethought Blogs virtual convention – FTBConscience2 – is at the end of the month! More info is coming so very soon. Panels in place. Final schedule being scheduled. Final Lanyrd being Lanyrded.

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Con of the North – Minneapolis, MN – February 14-16th, 2014

conofthenorth

Con of the North is a local board game convention. This will be my second year attending because last year was a freaking blast. I played back-to-back board games in two and four hour time slots from 8am-midnight all weekend long. I discovered a ton of new games. Board games. Card Games. All weekend long. They also had LARP, computer gaming and RPGs. Miniatures has a huge presence, and while I don’t do miniatures, it was amazing to stop and look at the art and craftsmanship of the games.

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skepcamp

Chicago Skepticamp 2014 – Chicago, Illinois – April 5th, 2014

A day long event promoting science and critical thinking, put on by volunteers from the Chicago Skeptics. Participants are encouraged to discuss and question both traditional skeptical topics and new subjects. Attendance is free, though all attendees are encouraged to help by either speaking, helping set up/clean up, or by making a donation. I attended back in 2012 but had to miss last year’s event. I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to make the drive down this April.

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SkepchickCon – Bloomington, MN – July 3rd-7th, 2014

convergence

CONvergence – the first and purest of my scifi/fantasy convention loves, and then the Skepchicks come along and make it that much more awesome! Once again, Skepchick.org and FreethoughtBlogs will combine our awesome powers to bring kick-ass science and skepticism panels and rock-til-you-drop room parties to CONvergence. SkepchickCON is fundraising right now – they’re auctioning off a hand-knit MISANDRY! hat – perfect for the man-hating feminazi in your life – and a customized voice message from Debbie Goddard.

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Okay! So what else is going on that I shouldn’t miss?

Some Cool Stuff Coming Up

FtBConscience TONIGHT!

It’s here! Yay!

Oh crap – it’s here!

You’ve read about it! You’ve chatted excitedly on social media about it! And now the wait is over! Tonight is the start of

FtBCON

This is very exciting. I LOVE attending conferences. They’re little nuggets of energy-packed, inspiring, information-sharing. They’re like a triple shot of caffeine! A jump start to the engine of my skepticism! Okay, I may not have gotten much sleep last night. And speaking of caffeine: I’ve had a lot already this morning.

FtBConscience is FREE and ONLINE. It’s nice not having to pack an overnight bag, make hotel reservations or find couch space, take a long car ride or navigate an airport and get groped by theTSA, or budget for meals and gas and all of the little expenses that come with traveling. And FtBCon has an incredibly laid back dress code for attendees and presenters alike (PJs! PJs!)

Another really cool thing about being online: We have booked speakers from all over the world. We have booked ONE HUNDRED AND NINE panelists, according to Lanyrd! Many of our speakers are in North America, but we also have panelists from Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe. I’m not sure if we have any South American-based speakers… Hmmm… Next year we need to go for FULL world domination. We are, however, anticipating audience participants from all four corners of the globe (I love the contradictory nature of that statement. You know what I need right now? MOAR COFFEEEEEE!!!)

You can view the schedule of this weekend’s events on our Lanyrd site, the official FtBCon website, or on Google+. We have a Facebook page, and the Twitter hashtag is #FtBCon. To learn about HOW TO PARTICIPATE as an attendee, check out the front page of the FtBCon website.

I’ve listed the panels that I’m going to be on below. Hope to see you there!

Reproductive Rights

Satuday July 20th – 2pm CST – Official Google+ session page

A panel of reproductive rights activists come together to discuss access to abortion in current events, clinic escorting and some common religious and non-religious arguments against abortion. Our panel consists of clinic escorts – including one panelist who volunteered before FACE laws went into effect (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances), health care professionals, an author and several bloggers who write about reproductive rights. Our panelists hail from Minnesota, Kentucky, Virginia and Ireland.

Atheist Music

Saturday July 20th – 9pm CST – Official Google+ session page

Join us to hear a few songs and have a casual chat with ukulelist and FtB blogger Ashley Miller, classically trained singers Ania Bula and JT Eberhard, and Australian singer-songwriter Shelley Segal. At conferences you can sometimes catch JT belting out musicals or warming up a mike with a bit of opera. Shelley Segal published An Atheist Album in 2011, and she has played at the Reason Rally, the American Atheist Convention, Women In Secularism and other events. Ashley graces YouTube with her ukulele stylings and Ania will wow you with her clear, heady soprano. Seanna Watson, director of CFI-Ottowa, and Steve Watson – a former church guitarist – will also be joining us. We’ll discuss issues relating to music and religion, the role music plays in our lives as secularists and some our favorite atheist songs and artists. Panel facilitated by Brianne Bilyeu.

Video Games, Religion and Morality

Saturday July 20th – 11pm CST – Official Google+ session page

Religion and morality systems in video games are often grossly oversimplified, to the point where choices are entirely binary and you’re often forced, as a gamer, to do things that you might otherwise find appalling, like working in service of a god or gods. How are these heady topics handled in the slowly-maturing video game industry? Who’s already doing this stuff right? How can these topics’ treatment be improved?

FtBConscience TONIGHT!