Hello Again. This newsletter is for current or
former members of the Freethinkers and Atheists of Virginia (FAVA),
our YahooGroup,
our friends over at the Tidewater Atheists
and others. If you do not wish to this Newsletter, reply and let me know and
I'll update my email list. If you have already responded to notices through the
YahooGroup you don't need to respond to this email.
Events – Milestones – Announcements
FAVA’s
August 2005 Gathering is on schedule for Saturday, the 20th at Lauren and
Jan’s. Bring a dish or beverage to share if you can; but don’t let that stop you
if you can’t. We’ll provide hamburgers, hotdogs, and soft drinks. There’s
always plenty to go around. Directions are at the
bottom of this newsletter.
Late Breaking Picnic
Alert.
Melissa and Doug over at Tidewater Atheists have issued and open invitation to
their home in the Deep Creek section on Saturday the 20th as well. It’s
not competition folks. It’s expansion! The starting time is 5pm. Contact me and
I’ll send you more details. If you are unfamiliar with that area of
November 11, 2005: A rally and march is planned for the
Mall in
The NoGodBlog is described by American
Atheists as “one of the fastest growing blogs in the Atheist/Freethought/Secular
Humanist community.” It’s the product of Dave Silverman, Communications
Director for American Atheists. Check out the link and decide for yourself.
The
Raving Atheist is a blog that’s been around for awhile. If you decide to
check it out, perhaps you can explain why their section on hate sites includes
a link to their own blog! What’s up with that?
Member and Local News
Plans
are slowwwwly moving forward to attract speakers to the area. We’d love to hear
your ideas on some local folks who might be good candidates. Here are a couple
of non-local possibilities.
Clark Moeller was the first President of
the now-disbanded Pennsylvania Alliance for
Democracy (PAD). He held that post for four years. They still maintain a rich
but inactive website
called PADNET
which appears to have a bunch of links and
material of interest to folks like us.
Ellery
Schempp is a physicist who was involved in the development of Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI);
but he is also semi-notorious as plaintiff in a Supreme Court case way back in
1963 known as Abington
School District vs. Schempp (consolidated with Murray et al. v. Curlett et
al.) – Something to do with schools and
praying and Bibles and such.
Fun Stuff
Dr. Schempp wrote an essay entitled: Warning:
Gravity is “Only a Theory” which advocates that all physics textbooks
should include the following warning label: “This
textbook contains material on Gravity. Universal Gravity is a theory, not a
fact, regarding the natural law of attraction. This material should be approached
with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.” Read the
full text here.
“Today I
was blessed to receive a divine revelation from our Almighty Flying Spaghetti
Monster. I have the privilege of informing you that it is His will that I
become His Bride, in order that the Savior of mankind (who is to be called
Macaroni) may be born on this earth. The FSM has revealed to me that your body
is to be the vehicle by which his holy seed shall be transmitted in earthly
form.”
Huh you ask? Find out what FSMism is and
what it has to do with
Meetups and Discussion Groups
Unless
otherwise stated, these groups and countless others can be found at Yahoogroups.com.
You can take part in discussions or read posts anonymously. It’s not
chat! It’s email.
Click here for FAVA’s Yahoo group. It has grown a bit
in members and activity over the past 6 months. You can expect 20+ posts a day
... sometimes more. Goals: Discussion and Activism.
Click here for the local
Separation of Church and State group, which is an extension of a meetup group
by the same name. This group has recently seen a burst of activity. You can
expect 5-10 emails per day. Goals: Education, Discussion, and Activism.
Tidewater Atheists is dedicated to
getting Freethinkers and Atheists out for social activities. You can expect
less than 5 emails a day right now. Goals:
Organizing social activities.
The
Norfolk/Virginia Beach. Separation
of Church and State Meetup takes place on the 2nd Thursday of each month.
The next one takes place on Thursday,
September 8 at 7:00PM. The location remains at Shoney's Family Restaurants,
Other News and Information
Freethoughtradio continues
to evolve. Get headlines from the Atheist News Service along with the usual
commentary and satire. Whether you can donate or not, listening is free. Spread
the word about this one of a kind internet radio station for freethinkers and
atheists. Broadband listeners click here to
listen now. Dial-up listeners click here.
Get
a daily dose of news of interest to atheists from the Atheist
News Service. ANS is provided by the Atheist
Law Center and its founder Larry Darby. Larry was formerly
the Alabama State Director for American Atheists Visit their link and
sign up for the newsletter.
Regular Notices
Meetups for Norfolk Atheists, Freethinkers, Secular
Humanists, Brights, and Others continues to enjoy great turnouts. This one
takes place on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. The next Atheist
Meetup will be on Tuesday, August 16th, 7pm at DC Chase’s,
Science
and Reason in Hampton Roads convenes on the second
Thursday each month on the campus of
FAVA gatherings now take place on
alternating months. Check www.fa-va.com
or www.AtheistDominion.org
for additional information.
If you live out past
Our
neighborhood is called Castleton. It's off
From the Oceanfront
Take
Pacific
becomes
After
2 miles or so turn RIGHT on
After
2 miles or so turn LEFT on
Go
1/4 mile and turn RIGHT into Castleton.
Follow
directions below for Castleton.
(If you miss the turn for Dam
Neck just continue on General Booth and turn right on London Bridge Rd, and
follow the instructions for Strawbridge)
From
the Strawbridge area of
Take
Turn
LEFT into Castleton.
Follow
directions below for Castleton.
From
the Amphitheatre
Take
Turn
RIGHT on
Go
1/4 mile and turn RIGHT into Castleton.
Follow
directions below for Castleton.
Castleton
As
you enter you'll immediately have to turn.
Turn
RIGHT on
Follow
this ring road.
You'll
eventually reach
Turn
RIGHT on Kingsland.
Take
your next two RIGHT turns, and
you'll be on Springhaven.
We're down on the LEFT at 2692.
Thanks for allowing me to get
in touch.
Lauren Floyd
President, FAVA
757-689-2758