British History

**If you have registered for Early Access via Patreon you do not need to sign up via Meetup** Heart Stealers is a community engagement-focused, “King of the Hill” challenge that will introduce guests to new people and new games, and encourage folks to play with purpose. **To celebrate Women's History Month, this month's causes are fem-focused!!** This month the non-profits to champion are: DC [Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCCADV)](https://dccadv.org/), The[ Women’s Foundation](https://thewomensfoundation.org/our-history/), and the [DC Abortion Fund](https://dcabortionfund.org/). How well you and your team do at stealing necklaces from the other teams will determine what portion of the prize pool your nonprofit will receive. Every nonprofit goes home with something! **To participate, guests will be requested to contribute a $10 donation at the door. This will go to the donation pool for the event.** Folks may also purchase tokens from DCGG or tokens can be purchased with cash. Tokens are 25¢ each and games are typically 2-4 tokens. Upon arrival, each player will get three heart necklaces to represent their lives. Lives can be won or lost by challenging other players to one of GameOn's amazing arcade games. **Schedule** 7:00pm – 7:15pm: Mingle Time 7:15pm: Welcome and Game Start 7:20pm – 9:30pm: Heart Stealers Gameplay BUT WAIT THERES MORE: **To support DCGG programming and get sweet perks like early access to events** visit [https://www.patreon.com/DCGamingGroup](https://www.patreon.com/DCGamingGroup) Interested in wearing your support? We have fundraiser shirts designed by local artists. [https://dcgaminggroup.printful.me/](https://dcgaminggroup.printful.me/) Feel free to join the DC Gaming Community in pickup games and game discussion by hopping into the Discord: [https://discord.gg/NP7v7VF](https://discord.gg/NP7v7VF) **Disclaimer and Community Code of Conduct:** The DC Gaming Group is dedicated to creating a safe and inclusive space for participants. To learn more about our code of conduct, you can read more here. Events may be recorded for promotional material.

Details Location: Crimson Whiskey Bar (Either the downstairs whiskey bar, or main floor bar, TBD) The purpose of Thinkers and Drinkers is to facilitate casual but meaningful and interesting conversations with other people in a face-to-face setting. The topics cover a wide variety of issues and are different for every meeting. While conversations may get heated at times, we ask that all members be respectful of each other and refrain from personal insults. Here's the updated version: *** **Topic: Reasons to Be Excited (A Technology Optimism Round)** It's easy to doom-scroll your way into thinking the world is falling apart. And honestly, some of our recent meetings haven't helped. So this time, we're flipping the script: what technology are you actually *excited* about? This isn't a request for blind techno-utopianism. Skepticism is welcome. But the goal is to spend some time on the genuine wins and promising horizons, because there are more of them than the headlines suggest. Here's a quick tour of some things worth being optimistic about: * **AI in everyday life** — Love it or hate it, AI tools are genuinely saving people hours of tedious work. From coding assistants to writing tools to writing this very event descriptin you're reading now to AI that sits inside your spreadsheets and email, the practical applications are moving faster than most people expected even two years ago. The question is less "will this be useful?" and more "who actually benefits, and when?" * **Clean energy's quiet boom** — Solar and battery storage have had a decade of jaw-dropping cost reductions. The U.S. added more renewable capacity last year than any year on record. It's not fast enough for some, but the trajectory is real. * **CRISPR and gene editing** — In late 2023, the FDA approved the first CRISPR-based treatment for sickle cell disease — a condition that has caused lifelong suffering for millions of people with very few good options. It's the first of what could be a long list of genetic diseases that are now, for the first time, actually curable rather than just manageable. * **Lab-grown meat** — Chicken and beef grown directly from animal cells, no slaughter required. It's real, it's been approved for sale in the US, and while it's still expensive and not yet on your grocery shelf, the cost curves are dropping fast. Whether you care about animal welfare, climate, or just think it's cool, this one is quietly wild. * **SpaceX and the new space economy** — Reusable rockets went from fantasy to routine. Launch costs have dropped by an order of magnitude in 15 years, opening the door to satellite internet in remote areas, new science missions, and yes, eventually humans on Mars (whether or not that excites you). * **Brain-computer interfaces** — Still early, still expensive, but Neuralink and others are giving paralyzed patients the ability to control devices with their thoughts. The sci-fi shelf life on this one is getting shorter. **Questions to Consider:** * Is there a technology you were skeptical about that has actually won you over? What changed your mind? * Which of these feels most overhyped — and which feels *under*hyped? * Are the benefits of new technology reaching people broadly, or mostly concentrating among the already-fortunate? * Is optimism about technology a luxury? Does it depend on where you live, how much money you have, or what you do for work? * What's something small and unglamorous — not AI, not space — that has genuinely made your life better recently?

Artistic Artifacts hosts **Open Stitch sessions EVERY Thursday evenings** from 5:30 - 7:30 pm — join us! This is a drop-in, bring your own hand stitching project and the necessary supplies (or you can knit, crochet... whatever needle arts you like). There’s no fee to attend, no instruction nor agenda — just a time to spend with other creatives! Visit our website for all our class & event information: **[https://artisticartifacts.com/collections/wk](https://artisticartifacts.com/collections/wk)**

Join the Bitcoin District Book Club! We meet every month to explore new and exciting rabbit holes by reading books that are popular with bitcoiners. Join us for a deep dive into Jeff Booth’s The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation Is the Key to an Abundant Future. In this eye-opening session, we'll explore the collision between exponential technological growth and our aging economic systems. Booth argues that while technology is naturally deflationary—making things cheaper and more abundant—our current financial world is built on a requirement for inflation and ever-increasing debt. We’ll discuss how this "clash of worlds" creates social polarization and why embracing a new economic framework is the only way to ensure a peaceful, prosperous future. Whether you are interested in the mechanics of technology or the future of sound money, this book provides a vital roadmap for the era of Bitcoin. Buy the book on [Amazon](https://a.co/d/0iNJamvq) **Event Notes:** * Discussion Starters: We'll have a few key questions to kick us off regarding technology and debt, but feel free to come with your own insights. * Future Reads: Let us know if you have recommendations for future book club selections! We’ll add them to the list posted on our website. * Afterwards: Feel free to join us at Pubkey after the meeting ends to hang out and grab some food! **Getting There:** * 🔴🟢🟡 Gallery Place/Chinatown + 2 min walk * Parking: Street & garage parking available nearby

Join N2 Ventures NYC Private Investor Dinners Event, an exclusive, invite-only evening hosted by N2 Ventures designed for a curated group of investors seeking meaningful dialogue and strategic connection. This private gathering brings together experienced allocators, operators, and partners for candid conversations around capital deployment, scalable growth strategies, and building strategic partnerships across high-potential industries including manufacturing, food, and healthcare. RSVP here [https://lnkd.in/g5M7PGgq](https://lnkd.in/g5M7PGgq). Approved attendees will receive official confirmation via email within 24–48 hours. To inquire about attendance, please contact: [rsvp@fundsnmotion.com](mailto:rsvp@fundsnmotion.com) Sophia Akom [sophia@fundsnmotion.com](mailto:sophia@fundsnmotion.com)

**CHANGE OF VENUE!** **Hello minglers! We are on for our second mingle event! All are welcome to enjoy appetizers and a few drinks as we discuss current events or whatever comes up in conversation. All viewpoints are welcome! Find us at Dirty Habit, 555 8th Street NW, look for the mingle logo. We look forward to seeing you, hopefully the weather will be better this time!**

We'll be discussing The Excitements by CJ Wray. We meet in person at a member's home -- the address will be sent to those attending a week before the event. Find the book on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-excitements-a-novel-cj-wray/5106fbb23d2e46cf?ean=9780063337480&next=t), [Montgomery County Libraries](https://mcpl.aspendiscovery.org/Search/Results?lookfor=the+excitements&searchIndex=Keyword&sort=relevance&view=list&searchSource=local&disallowReplacements&replacedIndex=Author), and [PG County Libraries](https://libbyapp.com/search/pgcmls/search/query-The%20Excitements%20CJ%20Wray/page-1). \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **"Irresistible...Filled with surprise, poignancy, and excitement, this is a surefire winner." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)** **A brilliant and witty drama about two brave female World War II veterans who survived the unthinkable without ever losing their killer instinct…or their *joie de vivre*.** Meet the Williamson sisters, Britain’s most treasured World War II veterans. Now in their late nineties, Josephine and Penny are in huge demand, popping up at commemorative events and history festivals all over the country. Despite their age, they’re still in great form—perfectly put together, sprightly and sparky, and always in search of their next “excitement.” This time it’s a trip to Paris to receive the *Légion d’honneur* for their part in the liberation of France. And as always, they will be accompanied by their devoted great-nephew, Archie. Keen historian Archie has always been given to understand that his great aunts had relatively minor roles in the Women’s Royal Navy and the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, but that’s only half the story. Both sisters are hiding far more than the usual “official secrets”. There’s a reason sweet Auntie Penny can dispatch a would-be mugger with an umbrella. This trip to Paris is not what it seems either. Scandal and crime have always quietly trailed the Williamson sisters, even in the decades after the war. Now armed with new information about an old adversary, these much decorated (but admittedly ancient) veterans variously intend to settle scores, avenge lost friends, and pull off one last, daring heist before the curtain finally comes down on their illustrious careers.

Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) stands as one of the great dissenters from the Cartesian worldview that dominated eighteenth-century Europe, and as one of the first sociologists and philosophers of history and class struggle. While Descartes and his followers sought to extend the geometric method to all domains of knowledge, Vico insisted that human affairs require a fundamentally different approach. He grounded this approach not in mathematical certainty but in rhetoric, imagination, and historical understanding. Vico spent most of his life in Naples, working as a professor of rhetoric. From this position, he watched Cartesian science sweep the academies, displacing the ancient humanistic traditions he cherished. His early works defended the value of rhetoric and imagination against those who saw clarity and distinctness as the sole criteria of knowledge. Vico was developing the idea that cultivated imagination is its own, independently valid way of knowing. But his mature philosophy went further, expanding his concept of imaginative or poetic knowing into a comprehensive science of history that has been seen as fundamentally at odds with the Enlightenment project. At the heart of Vico's thought lies the *verum-factum* principle: we can truly know only what we ourselves have made. Since God made the natural world, only God can fully comprehend it. But the civil world—the world of laws, customs, languages, and institutions—is a human creation, and therefore deeply knowable by human minds. This insight reverses the effect of the mathematical philosophy, which had seemed to make physics knowable and human affairs unaccountable. In his great work, the *New Science*, Vico develops his insight into a comprehensive philosophy of history. He argues that all nations pass through an ideal eternal history—a cycle of three ages (gods, heroes, and humans) driven not by rational deliberation but by providence working through human passions and necessities. The earliest humans, Vico claims, did not think in concepts but in what he calls "imaginative universals"—mythic figures like Jove and Juno that organized experience through poetry and ritual rather than analysis. Understanding this "poetic wisdom" requires overcoming what Vico calls the "conceit of scholars": our tendency to assume that ancient peoples thought as we do or did not think at all. **Readings** *[The New Science](https://www.amazon.com/Science-Penguin-Classics-Giambattista-Vico/dp/0140435697?tag=ustxtaddt-20&asin=0140435697&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1)*, Third Edition (1744) * Book 1, parts 2-4 * Book 2, Introduction, parts 1-4, Part 5 paragraphs 582-661 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Conclusion **Further Readings** *[The New Science](https://www.amazon.com/Science-Penguin-Classics-Giambattista-Vico/dp/0140435697?tag=ustxtaddt-20&asin=0140435697&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1)*, Third Edition (1744) * Idea of the work (for an idiosyncratic precis of Vico's project in the form of an image * Book 3 (for an application of Vico's critical method to the Homeric corpus) [Vico, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy](https://iep.utm.edu/vico/) [Vico, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/vico/)

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Power of Folk Horror,”** an exploration of an especially creepy subgenre in folklore and film, with Joshua Barton, lecturer in English at Virginia Commonwealth University and scholar of horror. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/arlington-folk-horror](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/arlington-folk-horror) .] What makes a horror film scare really stick with you? Sometimes, it’s not monsters or jump-scares but the eerie feeling that something ancient, something forgotten, is still lurking just under the surface. That’s the heart of folk horror, a subgenre that blends folklore, rural isolation, and rituals gone wrong. It takes the past—the truly forgotten past—and makes it come roaring back to bite us. Venture into the strange and fascinating world of folk horror with Joshua Barton, who has earned a big following among Profs and Pints fans with excellent past talks on cryptids, ghosts, movie monsters, and other things that go bump in the night. We’ll start by digging down to folk horror’s roots in classic British films like *The Wicker Man* and *Witchfinder General*, discussing how these stories introduced us to secretive villages, ominous woods, and old traditions that clash violently with the modern world. We’ll move on to explore how folk horror has reemerged in recent hits like *The Witch,* *Midsommar*, and *Lamb*. What ties them all together? The feeling that history isn’t dead; it’s just been waiting. Beyond the scares, this genre taps into something deeper. Folk horror asks what happens when we lose touch with our roots or when we get too close to them. It reflects fears about identity, nature, belief, and the things we can’t explain. And in an age of environmental anxiety, political division, and cultural upheaval, these stories are more relevant than ever. By the end of the lecture, we’ll see that folk horror goes beyond surface-level eeriness. It’s a mirror for our collective anxieties and a reminder that the past is never as far away as we think. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image by Canva.

Sunday, March 22, 2026 - Luncheon at 2 pm; Lecture at 3 pm **Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul** **Jennifer Paxton – The Catholic University of America** **The famous formulation that all Gaul was divided into three parts came from the self-serving pen of Caesar himself, whose conquest of Gaul served as the springboard for a quest for power that ended fatally on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.E.** **Rome gradually acquired commercial and military interests in southern Gaul that provided the pretext for Roman intervention in the complicated politics of the region. Caesar then exploited internal divisions within Gaul to bring about the largest single acquisition of territory for Rome north of the Alps, a project that he conducted largely on his own initiative with only the grudging approval of the Roman Senate.** **This event will be held at:** **Lebanese Taverna** **2001 International Drive at Mazza Gallerie First Floor** **McLean, VA 22102** Reserve your spot: [https://basonova.org/next-lecture-reservation.html](https://basonova.org/next-lecture-reservation.html)

Artistic Artifacts will celebrate National Quilting Day with a full slate of quilting inspiration & demonstrations! We’ll be showcasing the power and precision of our BERNINA machines throughout the day with ongoing demonstrations! Whether you’re curious about longarm quilting, mastering free motion, or exploring quilting in the hoop, there’s something for every quilter. **Bring a friend, tell your guild members and celebrate National Quilting Day at our shop, 4750 Eisenhower Avenue** in Alexandria, VA. **[Visit our website for a list of ongoing demonstrations](https://artisticartifacts.com/products/march-21-national-quilting-day)** you can enjoy!

**NOTE: Meetup is SATURDAY this month!** If you spend any amount of time online these days, it's quite clear that people need to get themselves educated! So let's sharpen our pencils, crack open those textbooks, pull on a mortarboard and get ourselves back to school with the Doctor and friends. Choose from one of these four educational episodes... *The Krotons* \- The Second Doctor\, Jamie\, and Zoe are put to the test \- literally \- and if they prove their smarts then they get to become companions of the crystalline Krotons\, who plan to drain them of their energy for their own nefarious purposes\. So basically college\. *Mawdryn Undead -* The 5th Doctor, Tegan, and Nyssa arrive on a mysterious spaceship and become embroiled in an adventure involving immortal aliens, the Black Guardian, two Brigadiers, new companion Turlough, and a boys' school in both the 1970s and the 1980s. It's a busy story... *Remembrance of the Daleks -* The 7th Doctor and Ace return to where it all started - Coal Hill School - where they take on a Dalek assault squad in the race to acquire the mysterious Hand of Omega. *Human Nature/Family of Blood* \- The 10th Doctor disguises himself as a human \(so well that even he doesn't know\!\) and hides with Martha from a murderous alien family in an incredibly well\-armed school\. When you RSVP, please rank the four options above in the comments in the order of preference (1 being "Yes! I am dying to see it!" and 4 being "Meh."), and we will abide by the choice of the attendees. For the Meetup itself, we ask everyone to bring something to drink and something to eat (snacks/munchies - you don't need to bring a whole ham or something!) to share with the group. We'll have food and drink as well and maybe a themed cocktail if the inspiration strikes... We are a couple blocks from the Columbia Heights Metro (15th and Harvard NW). We'll provide the full address ahead of the event. Note also that we are a walk-up - two flights of stairs. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

So this month's prompt is more general. I think we can all agree that we are living in "unique" times that require coping skills. I think that one role and/or purpose of philosophy is to help us deal with our daily lives and our "unique" times. So, let's share our feelings and thoughts about which philosopher/philosophy we turn to in order to deal with our crazy events. Who/what helps you stay focused in your daily life and helps you sleep at night. I find that Stoicism with a little philosophical pessimism mixed in goes a long way in helping me deal with what I see as very destructive, fearful and mean spirited public policies at both the state and federal levels. Hope to see you on March 28th!

Rev. Steven Clevenger is an ordained spiritualist minister with over 40 years experience as a Spiritual Healer, Clairvoyant and Spiritual Teacher, educated and trained at the White Lily Chapel. Rev. Siobhan Wolf Shaffer is an ordained spiritualist minister and certified medium and healer with over 20 years experience. She began her development in 1988 in Pennsylvania and continued when she moved to Ohio in 1998 where she studied at Rays of Lights Church with Rev. Steven Clevenger. Our full worship services consist of an inspirational lecture, healing meditation, and messages from the spirit world that serve to demonstrate evidence of eternal life. Please visit our Official Church Website (http://raysoflightchurch.com) for more information.

We thought of one of the interesting things that can be enjoyed at this time of the year. We will be meeting at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church for a "Fish Fry" in Marian Hall on Friday, March 27th at 5:00 PM. It might be fun for you to experience what has become a tradition on the Fridays before Easter. They will have fried fish or baked fish, French fries and Cole slaw, as well as beverages, all for $16.00 for adults. They will have other beverages and desserts available for sale, as well. We have never tried this, and sometimes there are quite a few people at these events so we hope that we will be able to find each other easily. I'll try to have signs outside Marian Hall that Identify our group. We hope to have you join us!

We'll meet at The Capital One Café, 167 Easton Town Center, Space A-103. This is in the main mall where the Microsoft store used to be, on your left if you're standing at the bottom of the AMC Theater escalator. Join us on Saturday for an hour of uninterrupted wordmaking! • What we'll do Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at 10AM on Saturday mornings. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. SCHEDULE: 10:00 - SESSION 1: quick intros. 10:10 - timer starts: write for 1 hour. 11:10 - chat / take off / keep writing. OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING happens at 11A-11:30ish. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. BEING LATE IS OKAY: just show up and get settled, then check-in with me after the session. (I’ll be the person with the Shut Up & Write! sign.) If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you! • What to bring Whatever you need to be able to write! Bring earbuds/earplugs if you want to block noise or the occasional conversation by other patrons. Electrical outlets are limited, so charge your devices before whenever possible. See you at The Café on Saturday!

The topic for March is "Our Bodies, Ourselves" Speak Easy: true stories, told live. The idea is simple: an audience, an open microphone, and great stories. Hilarious, gripping, poignant- it's up to you. Audiences are invited to come to listen or come to tell as folks from all corners of Columbus offer their stories live on stage! Held at Wild Goose Creative's warm, intimate space, this night of tales occurs on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Doors open at 6:30 pm, show starts at 7:00 pm. Please arrive early if you want to tell, as we generally only have room for a limited number of tellers, and the sign-up sheet has a tendency to fill up fast. Formed around the idea that people need stories--they're what hold and draw us together--SpeakEasy celebrates the strangeness and commonness of being human. And in a world of smartphones, Facebook, Twitter, and more . . . it gives people a real, breathing, in-person way to connect. The night is geared for true stories of all kinds, taking the best tales told around kitchen tables, in darkened pubs, on the street corner, and at late-night parties and giving them an audience. Speak Easy is also a great outlet for performers, writers, and artists looking to share their favorite stories and perfect their skills. We strongly encourage tellers to please tell the story rather than read it so we keep within the spirit of good storytelling and stay engaged with the audience. All are welcome. Hang around after the show for a drink and build community!

We'll meet at The Capital One Café, 167 Easton Town Center, Space A-103. This is in the main mall where the Microsoft store used to be, on your left if you're standing at the bottom of the AMC Theater escalator. Join us on Sunday for an hour of uninterrupted wordmaking! • What we'll do Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at noon on Sundays. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. SCHEDULE: 12:00 - quick intros. 12:10 - timer starts: write for 1 hour. 1:10 - chat / take off / keep writing. OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING happens at 1-1:30ish. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. BEING LATE IS OKAY: just show up and get settled, then check-in with me after the session. If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you! • What to bring Whatever you need to be able to write! Bring earbuds/earplugs if you want to block noise or the occasional conversation by other patrons. Electrical outlets are limited, so charge your devices before whenever possible. See you at The Café on Sunday!