So. See you Friday? Starts at 7:30. You can RSVP here or on our Facebook invite, if you’re a Facebooker, or on Meetup by clicking on the badge in the sidebar.

Oh! And check out these photos David sent in from the CFI picnic last Saturday:

CFI Pittsburgh Canoe Trip 2009

Join us in celebrating our anniversary this Friday!

It’s our anniversary! Not just of Drinking Skeptically, but also of Steel City Skeptics! Come out and party with us at The Bar (2132 E. Carson) this Friday at 7:30pm!

We’re going to try something wild and crazy this time. We’re not moving tables. When a table fills up, people will just have to split up and seed a new table with the newest arrivals. This is a pub night, not a formal dinner, right? The long meeting-hall style dining is not welcoming to new folks and it’s less than fun for anyone stuck in a place that requires seven or eight people moving just to get another drink.

It all started a year ago with a bunch of strangers saying “hello!” and introducing themselves. Don’t be shy! Remember, we’re all geeks here!

You can RSVP here, or on Facebook or Meetup.

See you there!

Let’s keep an eye on their site as the schedule and sessions develop, and maybe we can arrange a caravan?

Q: Why Pirates?
A: We believe that humans evolved from pirates. Consider that humans share around 95% DNA with monkeys, and more than 99.9% DNA with pirates.

How does one celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day?  Well, the obvious is by simply learning a few pirate-like words:

Ahoy! - A greeting, meaning “hello” or “hi there”
Grog – the name for any alcoholic drink other than beer, usual rum diluted with water
Smartly - Quickly, hastily
Beauty - A woman, usually preceded by the word “me” ie: “C’mere, me beauty!”

You can also try your hand at a few pirate pick up lines:

Wanna shiver me timbers?
Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
(and my personal favorite, for the ladies)
I’ve crushed seventeen men’s skulls between me thighs!

Finally, if thats not enough, you can always take it one step futher (and FSM knows I always do!) with a pirate costume.  I’ll be sure to post some pictures from the celebrations this Friday to share with all ye buckaneers!

All of this preparation and excitement also got me thinking about the importance of holidays, rituals and tradition.  I believe they are an essential part of community building.  Even though I abandoned the Christian faith of my childhood, I have not given up celebrating most Christian holidays with my family, particularly Christmas.  Even though Christmas is now a secular holiday recognized by the federal government, in my family Christmas was always about Jesus.  My parents never really pushed Santa on us (my mom always said “Santa is just another way for a man to get all the credit for the work a woman does!”) and we always went to church on Christmas Eve because my brothers and I sang in the choir.  A lot of the ways I celebrate Christmas have changed.

However, the major things are still the same.  My mom, grandma, sister-in-law and I all bake a few types of cookies and then bring them together to make delicious cookie trays for gifting.  My dad’s side of the family will host a gathering and all the littlest ones will open their presents, including my neice and newphew.  We always wait until Christmas morning to open our presents and we always have delicious homemade cheese raviolis for dinner.

Even though my family will pray over our meal, I don’t have a problem with it.  Perhaps other secular folks feel differently, but I love my family and they have been very supportive of me.  I’d rather be with them on Christmas and sit through a prayer, than be alone.

There are other rituals such as naming ceremonies, the Unitarian Universalist version of baptism, that seem to fit well with secular values.  My cousin Sam was presented at my local UU church and his parents chose representatives to witness the event and promise to be there for support and guidance, just like godparents.  Recognizing an important, life-changing event and making a public promise is an important part of community building.  I also want to see more examples of secular weddings and even funerals.  The Pittsburgh chapter of the CFI highlighted their first secular wedding in the December 2007 Issue of the CFI News letter Ingersoll’s Children.

I think ultimately when it comes to holidays, traditions and rituals, secular folks have to decide for themselves what is important to them.  And for me, ultimately the focus becomes less about what day it is and more about who is present in the celebration.  Less about what building you go to and more about making sure the door is open to those you care about.  Less about celebrating events past and more about making memories today.  I think a focus on the present and on community are values that all secular people can get behind.

My new friend Rich Ludwig (aka the “Skeptical Cowboy”) contacted me about his upcoming business trip to Pittsburgh, hoping that I might be able to gather some of Pittsburgh’s finest freethinkers and most saucy skeptics (yes, I’m a poet so I <3 alliteration) for a social meeting of the minds.  I met Rich in June at The Amazing Meeting 6 in Las Vegas.  Rich is a member of the Denver Skeptics, who interestingly enough are at their monthly Drinking Skeptically event tonight.  Hmm… drinking midweek… those Denver folks are onto something… anyway here are the deets:

The Steel City Skeptics Presents:

What: Dinner and Drinks with the Skeptical Cowboy
Where: 1902 Tavern in Market Square
When: Monday, September 22, 2008
Time: 7pm sharp

During last night’s CFI Discussion group, we touched briefly on the topic of community.  I think these kinds of events are a really important part of creating a community of skeptics both locally and nationally.  Plus it will be a great chance to see what freethinker groups are doing in other cities.

If you are planning a trip to the Pittsburgh area and would enjoy some conversation (and perhaps a few beers, if you are so inclined) with some local skeptics, feel free to comment here or email me at laurawithoutlabels@gmail.com.

Now don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll post another reminder here as we get closer to the date and I’ll have it posted on other calendars and on one of the Facebook groups.  Because Flying Spaghetti Monster knows that I’m the kind of person who likes reminders, so I’m betting you are too.

Oh and by the way, if you haven’t already be sure to pick a copy of the 2009 Skepdude calendar featuring Rich himself – and/or 2009 Skepchick calendar featuring… yours truly!  It’s for a great cause and you’ll find out why the Bad Astromoner Phil Plait told me that “side boob is the sexiest kind of boob.”