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Celebrating the Life of
a True Celebrity Atheist -
Christopher Hitchens
Sunday,
January 15
11 a.m. at CFI-L.A.
4:30 p.m. in
Costa Mesa*
It is so rare that one from among
our ranks achieves virtual household name recognition.
Christopher Hitchens was that rare spokesperson for the
cause of naturalism over supernaturalism who achieved such
unusual notoriety. CFI-L.A. Chair Eddie Tabash will
keynote a morning of remembrance of our beloved "Hitch." The
ultimate purpose of this celebration/memorial will be to
redouble our efforts to perpetuate his legacy and to make the
world safe for those with the courage to reject religious dogma.
Also paying tribute to Hitchens will
be stage, screen and TV actor Jack Maxwell reading
selections from Hitchens' impressive collection of writings.
Maxwell, a member of the Actors Studio, has played Steve Allen
in recent stage readings of Allen's Meeting of Minds
teleplays in the Steve Allen Theater and appears in Al Pacino's
recent film, Wilde Salome.
Copies of some of Hitchens' books
will be available for sale.
*This
event will also be held at 4:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa
Community Center at 1845 Park Avenue, Costa Mesa.
map
Hosted by the
CFI Community of Orange County.
Admission
Friends of the Center: Free
Public: $8
Students: $4
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Special Darwin Day Celebration
Margaret Wertheim
The Hyperbolic
Crochet Coral Reef: A Darwinian Tale
About Geometry, Handicraft, and the
Evolution of Biological Form
Sunday,
Feb. 12
11 a.m. in
Hollywood only
In 2006, twin sisters Margaret and
Christine Wertheim set out in their Highland Park living room to
crochet a coral reef, based on the hyperbolic geometry that is
realized in many actual reef organisms. The project was a
response to the ecological devastation being wreaked on living
reefs by the dual stressors of global warming and ocean
acidification. Over the past six years, the Wertheims'
Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef has developed into the largest
participatory science-art project in the world.
In the process, an entire taxonomy
of ever-more complex crochet coral "species" has evolved, as
thousands of participants have played with the algorithmic code
from which these forms are made. In a very real sense the
Crochet Reef has become a global-scale experiment in
evolutionary process. Riffing on the importance of coral reefs
to the development of Darwin's own thinking, author Margaret
Wertheim will present artistic evidence that the evolution
of complex forms from simple seeds is almost a necessity.
The talk will be followed by a nook
signing of Margaret's new book Physics on the Fringe: Smoke
Rings, Circlons and the Alternative Theories of Everything,
about the strange world of "outsider science." She will return
at a later date to discuss her book.
During the book signing, a
celebration of Darwin's birthday with birthday cake will be held
in the theater lobby.
Wertheim is a science writer with
degrees in mathematics and physics. She has written for the
New York Times, Los Angeles Times and many other
publications. Margaret is the author of three books on the
cultural history of science, including Pythagoras' Trousers,
a history of the relationship between physics and religion. She
is the founder and director of the Los Angeles-based Institute
for Figuring, an organization devoted to enhancing the public
understanding of science, mathematics and engineering.
www.theiff.org.
Admission
Friends of the Center: Free
Public: $8
Students: $4
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Special Two-Day CFI Institute Conference
Confronting
Religion with Reason
Promoting science, reason, and secular values
among a religious majority
February
17 & 18, 2012 - Los
Angeles
The modern American social landscape presents a distinct
challenge to the non-religious: How best to make the skeptical
case to a religiously-dominated society? How best to fight for
the secular cause within a religiously-battered democracy? Join
the Center for Inquiry Institute for a two-day workshop to
examine these questions and more!
Friday, February 17
7:00 - 10:00
p.m.
Debate: "Does
God Exist?" - Louise Antony vs. Doug Geivett
Featuring Pre-Debate Lecture by Eddie Tabash: "Debating Religion
in Public"
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Admission
Basic Friends of the Center:
$15
Public: $20
Students: $5 (with valid ID)
REGISTER HERE!
(Tickets also available at the door)
Saturday,
February 18
10:00 a.m. -
5:00 p.m.
CFI Institute Workshop
Featuring Louise Antony,
John Shook, and Eddie Tabash
Center for
Inquiry-L.A.
4773 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Admission
Basic Friends of the Center:
$35
Public: $45
Students: $10 (with valid ID)
REGISTER HERE!
Conference Schedule
Friday, February 17th:
7:00 p.m. - Lecture: Debating
Religion in Public
with Eddie Tabash
8:00 p.m.
- Debate: "Does God Exist?"
Louise Antony vs. Doug Geivett
Saturday, February 18th:
10:00 a.m.
- Workshop: Post Debate Analysis
with Louise Antony, John Shook, and Eddie Tabash
12:00 p.m.
- Lunch (visit local restaurants)
1:30 p.m.
- Workshop: "Atheology and Atheism"
with John Shook
3:00 p.m.
- Workshop: "Refuting the Need for God"
with Eddie Tabash
Speakers:
Louise M. Antony, Ph.D. teaches philosophy at the University
of Massachusetts Amherst. She writes on a variety of
philosophical topics, including knowledge, gender, the mind and,
most recently, the philosophy of religion. She is the editor of
the 2007 book Philosophers Without Gods, a collection of
essays by atheist philosophers.
 Doug
Geivett, Ph.D. is Professor of Philosophy in the Talbot
Department of Philosophy at Biola University (La Mirada, CA). He
teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of
epistemology and the philosophy of religion. In addition, he has
taught courses on the new atheism, and on film and philosophy.
Doug is the author or editor of several books. He is co-editor
with Jim Spiegel of the book Faith, Film, and Philosophy: Big
Ideas on the Big Screen, and hosts a website for the book at
www.faith-film-philosophy.com. Doug blogs at
www.douggeivett.wordpress.com.
 John
Shook, Ph.D. is director of education and senior research
fellow at the Center for Inquiry, and is also visiting assistant
professor of science education at the University at Buffalo,
teaching for its Science and the Public online program. From
2000 to 2006 he was professor of philosophy at Oklahoma State
University. Shook publishes on philosophical topics regarding
science, the mind, humanist ethics, democracy, secularism, and
religion, and has debated the existence of God with leading
theologians, including William Lane Craig. His most recent books
are The God Debates and as editor, The Essential
William James.
 Eddie
Tabash, JD is a lawyer in the Los Angeles area. He graduated
magna cum laude from UCLA in 1973 and obtained his law
degree from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles in 1976. Eddie is a
member of the California State Bar, the American Bar
Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the
Beverly Hills Bar Association. Eddie is currently chair of the
national legal committee of Americans United for separation of
Church and State. He is also a board member of Center for
Inquiry and chair of the Council for Secular Humanism’s First
Amendment Task Force. His website is
www.Tabash.com.
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John Shook
Why Debates on Atheism
and Religion Matter
Sunday,
February 19
11 a.m. at CFI-L.A.
4:30 p.m. in
Costa Mesa*
Following the debate on Friday and
workshop on Saturday, John Shook of the Center for
Inquiry in Amherst, New York, will discuss his experiences
debating religious believers and whether such debates are a good
idea.
Some say no, that such spectacles
merely serve believers by making it look like atheists take them
more seriously than they deserve. Others say yes, because
debates provide a precious opportunity to introduce believers to
atheistic arguments they might otherwise never hear.
Shook's new book, The God
Debates: A 21st Century Guide for Atheists and Believers
(and Everyone in Between), offers an introduction to major
issues in the philosophy of religion, as well as debate topics
old and new. Copies will be available for sale and signing.
*This
lecture will be repeated at 4:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa
Community Center at 1845 Park Avenue, Costa Mesa.
map
Hosted by the
CFI Community of Orange County.
Admission
Friends of the Center: Free
Public: $8
Students: $4
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Adam Winkler
Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear
Arms in America
Sunday,
March 4
11 a.m.
A new book, Gunfight: The Battle
Over the Right to Bear Arms in America, is a groundbreaking
reexamination of one of today's most controversial issues.
Weaving together the dramatic story of a landmark Supreme Court
case and the remarkable hidden history of guns in America,
Adam Winkler shows how gun rights - and gun control - have
shaped the nation in fascinating and unexpected ways.
From the Founding Fathers, who had
burdensome gun laws today' s gun lobby would never accept, to
the Black Panthers, who launched the modern gun rights movement,
Gunfight offers surprising insight into America's gun
culture. It reveals how the Ku Klux Klan began as a gun control
organization; how the frontier towns of the Wild West had the
strictest gun laws in the country and very little gun violence;
and how race and racism have long shaped our regulation of guns.
Using the lessons of this history, Gunfight maps out a
way to break the current stalemate on guns and restore reason to
the gun debate.
Adam Winkler is Professor of Law at
UCLA School of Law. He writes for The Daily Beast and the
Huffington Post. His commentary has been featured in the
New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Atlantic, New Republic,
Reason, and the Wall Street Journal.
Admission
Friends of the Center: Free
Public: $8
Students: $4
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Special Lecture Date
M.G. Lord
The Accidental
Feminist: How Elizabeth Taylor Raised Our Consciousness and
Lowered the Boom on the Roman Catholic Censors
Sunday,
March 11
11 a.m. at CFI-L.A.
4:30 p.m. in
Costa Mesa*
In an original, fascinating
examination of the unexpected feminist content in the late
actress Elizabeth Taylor's iconic film roles, cultural historian
and author M.G. Lord tells the story of how Taylor
undermined postwar reactionary sex roles, thwarted the
repressive Hollywood Production Code, spearheaded funding for
AIDS research, and championed the right of people to love
anyone, regardless of gender.
Lord's new book, The Accidental
Feminist: How Elizabeth Taylor Raised Our Consciousness and We
Were Too Distracted by Her Beauty to Notice, traces
Taylor's powerful feminist impact in many milestone films, from
National Velvet to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
It is being published in late February in time for Taylor's
birthday and the Oscars show, and copies will be available for
sale and signing. She also will illustrate Taylor's feminist
impact with clips from the movie Giant, which also stars
Rock Hudson, James Dean, and Dennis Hopper.
Susan Orlean, author of Rin Tin
Tin and The Orchid Thief, said that Lord "has written
a marvel of a book that is as intellectually engaging as it is
entertaining. She looks at Elizabeth Taylor - and through her -
to a bigger story about popular culture and especially the role
of women in it."
Lord, who lectured at the Center on
her book Astro Turf: The Private Life of Rocket Science,
also wrote Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a
Real Doll. She has written for numerous publications,
including the New Yorker, Vogue, the Wall Street
Journal, the Los Angeles Times and Artforum.
Lord also wrote a cover story for Discover magazine on
the dangers of space travel for humans. She teaches writing at
USC.
NOTE: Due to the L.A. Marathon on
March 18, that regular lecture date has been moved up to March
11.
*This
lecture will be repeated at 4:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa
Community Center at 1845 Park Avenue, Costa Mesa.
map
Hosted by the
CFI Community of Orange County.
Admission
Friends of the Center: Free
Public: $8
Students: $4
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