Santa Barbara Humanist Society Newsletter for August 2001 |
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Founded in 1995 by Keith Bailey 2001 - 2002 OFFICERS Chairman: Roger Schlueter 962-6316 rogers@west.net Secretary: Colin Gordon 682-0545 colin3@juno.com Editor: Dick Cousineau 687-2371 rcous1geol@aol.com Treasurer: Russ Boggie 564-6086 rusans@mac.com Programs: Bea & Dudley Duncan 964-3109 duddle4@home.com Social Director: Anne Rojas 564-6086 rusans@mac.com Membership: Mary Wilk 967-3045 wilk@electromatic.com Archivist: Bob Michael 963-5614 Publicity: Charlotte Carver 964-2773 charm@silcom.com Interviews: Lottie White 681-9863 lbwhite40@worldnet.att.net Top of Page MEETINGS We meet on the third Saturday of every month (but see below for exceptions in September and November) at 3.00 PM at Jefferson Hall, 1525 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, California (except in June and December when we have our biannual Solstice parties). It is not necessary to be a member to attend our meetings Everyone who is receptive to Humanist ideas and ideals is welcome. The views and opinions expressed in the Bulletin are the writer's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society. Society Board Meetings are usually held on the Monday prior to each monthly Society meeting. All members are welcome. See Upcoming Events NOTICE: You will note that this month's Bulletin is fuller than normal due to the many submittals and letters that you have sent me. I want to encourage more and more letters to this editor for future inclusion in our Bulletin. I promise to print as many letters as possible. Keep those letters coming folks. Top of PageMEMBERSHIP NOTES We wish to extend a warm welcome to the following new members: MERLE BETZ JERRY & JOAN FALLERT JOHN ISE ALBERT LIPSOM LLOYD & ELAlNE OHLIN YVAlN & JANlNE TREVE CATHERlNE W00DFORD CHARLES ECKBERG Upcoming Events If you missed Sunday Brunch at Starlight Cafe on July 29th, you deprived yourself of excellent conversation with 15 or so fellow Humanists. Don't forget brunch in August - the date is the 26th , the time 10AM and the place is Sizzler in Goleta. Hope to see you there. Exciting things on the horizon. On Sept. 13th, Thursday, 20 cultured Humanists will enjoy a show featuring the beautiful music of Puccini, Verdi, and Leonard Bernstein, performed by exceptional talent at the Arts and Letters Cafe. There will be a choice of entrees. Cost, including show, dinner, tax and gratuity will be $44.00 (Drinks extra). I am accepting reservations now and will have the entree selections shortly, for your perusal. Seating is limited and the first 20 to respond with their checks made out to HSSB will secure their reservation. Please send to me at PO Box 41823, SB 93140. Dining out this month after the meeting will be at Hola Amigos, on the waterfront on Cabrillo Blvd. Mary Wilk in charge. Good food, parking and nice atmosphere. December 15th will be our Winter Solstice party held at the private dining room at Sizzler. We will have our own salad bar, choice of grilled trout, chicken breast, or steak entree, glass of wine or other beverage and a dessert. We are working on entertainment which will be a comedian or a magic act. The social committee is working on carpools for those unable to drive at night. The cost for this fantastic evening will be the bargain price of $20! More later on how to reserve. Refreshments at Meetings - Here is a list of Cookie Sign-ups for the upcoming meetings. Anne will call you one week prior to the meeting to remind you of your date. Please bring 4 to 5 dozen small but nice cookies (half each if two are bringing). If for some reason you have to miss your date please arrange with someone who has another month. Thank you for your cooperation:
Top of Page By Lottie White BEATRICE FARWELL DUNCAN Last month we got to know Dudley Duncan. "Bea", as Beatrice Farwell Duncan prefers to be called, is another professor emeritus in the Duncan household. Ph. Ds are almost the rule in both Dudley's and Bea's families. As was her husband's father, Bea's father also was an academic (a professor at Michigan State College), and a "somewhat known" American composer of classical music as well. Mr. Farwell also made his mark in Santa Barbara where he was one of the founders of the S. B. School of the Arts. Bea, a music lover herself, has sung Renaissance and 20th Century acappella music in a "Quire of Voyces" (as Old English would put it), but it is the visual arts that captured her professional attention. The walls and tables of the Duncan home testify to that: paintings, lithographs, photographs, drawings and sculptures are the first things a visitor there notices. Although she has given the most valuable pieces from her collection to the Santa Barbara Museum, she still has a drawing by Bill Bailey, work by Irma Cavat (a S. B. painter) and Ciel Bergman (who taught at U. C. S. B.), a Daumier lithograph, a graphite drawing by Adam Ross (a former graduate student who is now well known), and sculptures by the kinetic sculptor George Rickey (who has apiece at the Ridley Tree Education Center in S. B). - to name but a few of the them. Bea was born in Santa Barbara, but grew up in Michigan. "Once I left home to go to school, I moved around a lot", she says. In Illinois she went to Knott's College (where the 1837 building known for one of the Lincoln/Douglas debates still stands), she attended graduate school at New York University, and she received her doctorate at U. C. L. A. Although she had chosen N. Y. U. for financial reasons, she found she had unwittingly enrolled for an Art History degree in one of the country's most prestigious fine art schools. While slowly working on her Masters Degree there, she got a much needed job as docent at the Metropolitan Museum which led to a full time position as Staff Lecturer and, eventually as Senior Staff Lecturer. She worked at the museum 23 years. During that time, she sang in choral groups and enjoyed the other musical opportunities N. Y. had to offer. Having earned her M. A., she eventually received offers from universities, among them one from U. C. S. B. which she accepted. While teaching at that university, she enrolled in the U.C.L.A. Art History Ph.D. program where she received the degree in 1973. She was a professor of Art History at U.C.S.B. for 25 years. Professionally, Bea is best known for a twelve volume set of small books illustrated with microfiche, titled "French Popular Lithographic Imagery 1815-1870" - the last volume of which was published after her retirement from the university in 1991. Bea still does research connected to her past profession; presently, she is researching an article for the Stanford Art Museum which has acquired a lithograph drawing done by one of the lithographic artists of the mid-19th century - Bea's sphere of expertise. Bea was single until 1994 when she met Dudley Duncan. Match-making mutual university friends who, rightly, considered them compatible because of their similar interests, invited them both to dinner. She and Dudley soon discovered they shared more than their passion for music and art; being atheists, they were philosophically matched as well. The rest is history. Bea's apostasy began in college. Her father, although he believed in a supreme being, did not attend church. As a child, Bea's mother, then an Episcopalian. sent her daughter to that church. When she was confirmed and the Bishop laid his hand on her head, Bea felt nothing but disappointment. "There was no big bang," she said. Later, her mother became a Theosophist, then a fan of Krishnamurti, and still later, a Catholic. Bea was exposed to all these beliefs and declared each "hokum". However, Bea continued to attend the Episcopal Church during her early college years, and to sing in the choir, until the sculptor Geo. Rickey (then painting a mural at Knott College and whose wedding gift to Bea and Dudley stands on their coffee table), commented, "Going to church is either misunderstanding or affectation." That ended Bea's church affiliation and started her on the road to Humanism, another interest Bea and Duncan now pursue together in both their reading and their attendance at Santa Barbara Humanist Society meetings and activities. They are both contributing - and valued - members. Top of Page |
by ROGER SCHLUETER We have a guest editorialist this month - Ellen! This editorial begins a series I plan on skepticism, an area we Humanists embrace but don't emphasize enough. Ideally, my editorial series would start with an introductory discussion of skepticism, but we had such a fun, interesting experience last Saturday and Ellen has written it up so well that I thought I'd just print the story this month. Note that IIG stands for Independent Investigations Group, a group affiliated with CFI-West which investigates claims of the paranormal. More about them later but for now, (using my finest Ed McMahon impression) heeeeere's Ellen: On our way home from an IIG meeting in LA, Roger and I stopped at Ventura Harbor for lunch. Psychics were on our minds, so it's no surprise that we both noticed the blue and white tent nearby. The word "PSYCHIC" was printed in bold letters on the side.
"Oh, no," I said, reading Roger's mind. "You're not going to go get a reading, are you?"
Then I thought, well why not? We are being trained as debunkers and here was a chance to debunk. We decided to set up the reading to confound the psychic's expectations. After some discussion, we decided I would be the customer.
I went to the car to get my notebook and arrived at the psychic's tent before Roger showed up. The psychic, Sonia, asked me for $10 for the reading. When Roger arrived on the scene, I was standing by the tent. He said in a playful but sarcastic voice, "Hey lady, can I have a reading?"
He hadn't seen Sonia in the tent, and I was afraid she 'd pick up on his tone of voice. But she hadn't. Her powers of observation, as well as her psychic abilities would prove to be nonexistent.
I went inside and asked Sonia if she would answer four questions phrased in a general way. Sonia agreed. She also agreed to let me write down her answers as she gave them.
Here are the questions I asked Sonia, the answers she gave, the facts behind the question, and the overall score:
Ellen: "We've just come from a group we've recently joined. What can you tell me about these people? Should we be involved with them? (Said in a worried tone of voice.)
Sonia: "No you shouldn't be involved. There is much more going on here than you think. Underneath the surface, more is going on. They're going to ask for money. Don't trust them."
Facts: As I mentioned, we had just come from the IIG, a nefarious group if ever there was one. And, yep, they did ask for money. Those scoundrels had asked Roger and me for $10 to go see Benny Hinn on August 17. But somehow I don't think this is what Sonia meant.
SCORE: Sonia - 2, Skepticism - 98
Ellen: "Roger has a son, and we're concerned about him. He's way too interested in one particular activity. We wish he would find other interests. Is our concern justified?" (Also said in a worried, concerned tone of voice.)
Sonia: "You can't control him. This kid is really messed up. He's going to have trouble with the things he's doing and the people he's doing them with. He has to hit bottom before he can turn his life around."
Facts: Roger's son, Kyle, is way too interested in baseball. He bleeds Dodger Blue, and it's impossible to get him to talk about anything else. The "people he's doing things with" could only be the Dodgers-he usually goes to the games alone. If by "hit bottom," she means that Kyle is about to become a lawyer (he's just graduated from UCLA law school and has a job lined up with a prestigious law firm), well maybe she's right. There must be some truth to those lawyer jokes.
SCORE: Sonia - 1, Skepticism -- 99
Ellen: "Roger has a daughter who has become involved with a group that Roger doesn't particularly approve of. I, too, am concerned about her. What can you tell me about this situation." (My voice was hesitant, as I was trying to word this in a way that was truthful and gave Sonia a fair chance without tipping my hand.)
Sonia (By this time she was practically crying for our miserable family): "You have a lot of lost spirits in your family! The family itself is fine, but your outside connections are not good. No one in your family is in physical danger, thank god. But you are in danger of losing your pride and your money. Megan is not listening to her instincts. She should listen to her inner voice. Your family is extremely dysfunctional. There is lots of turmoil!"
Facts: Megan is a born-again Baptist and, as atheists, Roger and I are both concerned about her. I always thought Megan might come around if she would just think about things and listen to her common sense (her inner voice?). From a Christian perspective we ARE lost spirits-some of us-but certainly not Megan. The only "outside connections" that might be leading us away from the light are the Humanists. Hmmmm.
SCORE: Sonia - 5, Skepticism - 95
Ellen: "A family member has recently passed away. What can you tell me about this sad event?"
Sonia: "The spirit is on a higher plane. When someone dies they go through a process. Then after six months they come back as a guardian angel. You can sense this person in your life, as you, too, have psychic ability. This spirit is at peace, but this spirit was not at peace when he was here. This person was needed on the spiritual plane."
Facts: The family member who has recently died is Bailey, our dog. It's true that he wasn't at peace when he was alive. He was a very demanding animal and we could never give him enough-enough treats, enough walks, enough attention-- though, Darwin knows, we tried. I'm glad they needed him on the spiritual plane, though I can't imagine why!
Score: Sonia - 1, Skepticism - 99
When the reading was over, I asked Sonia if she wanted to know how accurate she was. Yes, she did. I said that almost everything she said was wrong, that the group I had joined debunked psychics, that Kyle was way too interested in baseball, that Megan had become a Baptist, and that the dead family member was a dog.
I said as kindly and as courteously as I could, "Sonia, you seem like a really nice woman. Why don't you find an honest way to make a living?"
At this point she became furious with me, handed me back my money, and said in a huffy tone of voice, "You set me up. I want you to know that I make LOTS of money as a psychic."
"I'm sure you do," I said. "Have a nice day." Top of Page WEB SITE OF THE MONTH by Colin Gordon This month's web site, suggested by Dudley Duncan, has the easy-to-remember name http://www.humanists.org and is operated by The Humanist Community in the South Bay area of San Francisco, covering San Jose, Silicon Valley, Stanford and the Peninsular, with an office in Palo Alto. It's a complex site full of information about the very active programs that take place in this area. But it is easy to get lost - there are plenty of places to click that take you off to other places but often no easy way to get back, so you have to know where your browser's "Back" button is. Upcoming events listed on the Local Activities page include those of a Social Activities group who, among other things, go to the local Planned Parenthood in San José to assist in defense of the clinic against anti-abortion picketers. A good example for us perhaps. Also the Younger Humanists (how young?!) meet on the second Tuesday of each month. In addition to full listings of their activities, with maps and directions to the meeting sites, there are links to many other American Humanist Society chapters. It's well worth a visit. Top of Page Mark your calendars, August 11, 2001, The Humanist Society of Santa Barbara is proud to announce the sponsorship of a presentation by the noted Thinker and Author, William Edelen. His editorial column is presented each Sunday in the Voices Section of the Santa Barbara News Press and other papers. For the past few months his articles have aroused controversy, contemplation, outrage and appreciation. Numerous letters to the Editor of the paper have attacked and/or praised the ideas expressed by this polymath. The presentation is to be held at La Colina Junior High, 4025 Foothill Rd. on Saturday, 8/11/10 at 2 PM. Tickets will be $6.00 for Members, $12.00 for the General Public, & $25 for "Patrons". Top of PageQuotes of the Month The new secular humanist shall not be dedicated to slogans, or the fashionable patois of postmodernism. She shall be dedicated to the Enlightenment values that lie at the heart of our civilization: the disinterested pursuit of the truth, the cultivation of art, and above all the overriding commitment to critical thinking. To be an atheist is to maintain God. His existence or his nonexistence, it amounts to much the same, on the plane of proof. Thus proof is a word not often used among the Handdarata, who have chosen not to treat God as a fact, subject either to truth or disbelief: and they have broken the circle, and go free.
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