Buffy

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.

PLEASE NOTE: BAD stands for Broadway And Disney. Mostly Broadway and Disney, all night. That's right. No karaoke mic, just an old fashioned singalong. Celebrate Women’s History Month the BAD Singalong way: loud, dramatic, and powered by women and femmes who knew exactly what they were doing. This singalong centers divas, villains, leading ladies, and complicated icons whose songs still demand to be sung at full volume. The playlist is shaped by the people who show up and speak up: a crowd-built mix of Broadway and beyond, big feelings and bigger belts, petty anthems, power ballads, and unforgettable key changes. If it’s a song that lives rent-free in your head, there’s a good chance it'll make the cut. No solos required, enthusiasm strongly encouraged. Come scream-sing with friends, meet new ones, and honor Women’s History Month together, loudly, and on purpose. 💅🎤 I'll get there by 6:30 pm to setup. Doors open by 7 pm, if you get there early. We'll be upstairs. You can join our FB group here to keep up with news and events, as well as vote for songs in the playlist: fb.com/groups/BADSingalong Generally looking at third Thursdays throughout 2026, adjusting for scheduling depending on conflicts for hosts, and holidays for regular attendees, which will be confirmed no later than the month before.

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?

TICKET LINK: [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blue-note-burlesque-at-sid-golds-request-room-mar-2026-tickets-1980559218939](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blue-note-burlesque-at-sid-golds-request-room-mar-2026-tickets-1980559218939) Adv: $25 \| Day\-of: $30 Doors: 7:00 p\.m\. \| Show: 7:30\-9:00 p\.m\. A blue note is a musical moment that doesn’t quite land where you expect. And that's the spirit behind this burlesque revue from DMVariety! Start your weekend early with Blue Note Burlesque, a night of vintage tease and thrilling variety acts that'll leave you exclaiming "I can't believe I found this in an alley!" Join Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey alum Jim Dandy, award-winning burlesque performer Delilah Dentata, and guest artists D3ADP4NN, London St. Juniper, and Miss Rachael for a night of performances that are a little off-key in all the best ways. We invite you to stick around after the show - Sid Gold's piano karaoke begins right where we leave off. Start your evening with our sensationally skilled performers, end it by attempting a piano-backed rendition of Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Please note: The entrance to Sid Gold's is in the alley between 4th and 5th St. NE. (Look for the "Piano Bar" sign!)

**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!

"Join Emma Rowland for an engaging exploration of how clothing became a powerful tool in the women’s suffrage movement." Emma is incredibly artistic & talented. She makes all of her costumes by hand. When I attended a similar event, I was so impressed with her creations! $15+proc. fee. *Tickets sell out very quickly.* **Use this link to register:** [Eventbrite | Fashion and Women’s Liberation: Role of Clothing in the Fight for Suffrage](https://www.eventbrite.com/checkout-external?eid=1981330542990) **Please let me know that you've bought your ticket**

[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.

We are meeting up for dinner at G.O.A.T Room. Its metro-accessible. If Paneer Vindaloo, Gol Gappe, and Chole Bhature does not make your mouth water, ugh then *je ne sais pas!* Dress to impress. Cos u know, we are fancy-shmancy. and please, spread the love!! Here is the restaurant link: https://goatroomdc.com/

🎉 The Wicked FUN & Super Awesome “Wrong Party Party” to Celebratete Amanda Turning 50! Alexandria Over 40 Fun & Fabulous (FAF) Saturday, March 21 | 8 PM – 11:30pm Ever wanted to go to 5 parties in one night?!!!! WHAT?!!! Yup, you read that right b*tch!!! not only are we celebrating Amanda’s fabukous 50th birthday. We’re going to do something crazy fun and dress for any occasion other than a birthday!!!! Now you can… kind of. 😉 We’re throwing a Wrong Party Party and it’s exactly as hilarious as it sounds. Bounce over the TikTok or Instagram and you can see 1 million videos of these INSANELY FUNNY parties. Here’s the twist… Everyone comes dressed as if they’re going to a completely different party. Yes we’re celebrating cohost Amanda turning 50 so even if you haven’t met, please come to this party. It’s going to be epic. Get dressed as if you are headed to… A football tailgate 🏈 A bougie wedding 💍 A Christmas soirée 🎄 A Fourth of July bash 🇺🇸 A Halloween costume party 🎃 A beach or pool party 🏖️ A baby shower 👶 New Year’s Eve glam ✨ ***THE MORE OUTRAGEOUS AND CREATIVE THE BETTER*** …and then you walk in and realize nobody else got the same memo. We’ll be videotaping everyone’s grand entrance because watching the confusion unfold is half the fun. Expect laughs, double-takes, and a whole lot of “Wait… what party did YOU think this was?” moments. ⸻ 🍽️ Potluck Style Bring a dish to share. Sweet, savory, or your signature crowd favorite. ⸻ 🍷 BYOB Bring whatever you love to sip on. Wine, cocktails, mocktails… you do you. We’ll provide the fun. You provide your favorite pour. ⸻  Contribution: $15 PayPal in advance or cash at the door both work. ⸻ 🏆 Costume Contest Categories Because we MUST reward this level of commitment… Funniest Entrance The one that has us crying laughing before you even get your coat off. Most Confusing Outfit We genuinely cannot figure out what party you thought you were attending. Best Commitment to the Theme You didn’t just dress the part… you BECAME the party. Most Glam Extra sparkle. Extra fabulous. Zero apologies. Crowd Favorite Chosen by group vote because the room just loved you. (Yes… there will be prizes. And bragging rights.) ⸻ 👠 The Vibe Fun. Fabulous. Come as you are… or as the wrong party version of you. This is about laughter, connection, and making the kind of memories that deserve their own highlight reel. Because at this stage of life… We’re not too old for costumes. We’re too fabulous for boring parties. We look forward to hosting you! Love your happy hosts, Janine, Nina, and the burthday girl Amanda 202-271-0922

Friends, we can do an out and back hike for this, 2-3 miles in total. There will be plenty of parking, we will meet at the parking lot. Bring plenty of water, whatever you need for your hike, and your awesome authentic self. and of course, always bring a joke!! This is a meetup group for support and community. If you hit on me or anybody else in the group, you will be removed. People with agendas will be removed. **RELEASE OF LIABILITY & ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT:** By being a member of this Group, RSVPing to any Activity, or participating in any Activity, You accept and agree to the terms and conditions described below: 1. You acknowledge that hiking in nature or city, carries the risk of potential harm to yourself, including the risk of injuries such as broken bones or muscle/tendon injuries, illness, disability, or death. 2. You agree that You will at all times be responsible for Yourself and Your own safety. 3. You release and hold harmless with respect to all injury, disability, death, or loss of property, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, this group's leadership and members for the hikes that you participate in. 4. You acknowledge and agree that this Group is merely a collection of friends or potential friends who enjoy doing activities, and that in no event does any Organizer or Other Member assume any responsibility or liability for You. 5. You agree not to sue and to release, discharge, waive and hold harmless all organizers and other members from and against all liabilities, claims, demands, losses, damages, suits and proceedings, for negligence, carelessness or any other cause which you may have or that hereafter may accrue arising, resulting from or related to your membership in this group or participation in any activity.

This month we’ll be ready The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin. Feel free to come even if you don’t finish the bookk!

Join Neurospicy Columbus at the Stauff's for coffee and then a stroll through the Book Loft nearby! This will be a friendly chat for like minded individuals with Autism and/or ADHD (or somewhere on the Neurodiverse Spectra).

Join us as we get together for a Discount Tuesday / Choose Your Movie event to see your choice of the top-reviewed indie drama TOW or the action-comedy-horror THEY WILL KILL YOU! A winner either way! Here are details, trailer and plan for this event: TOW: This drama follows a homeless Seattle woman who fights her way out of tow-company hell to reclaim her life and the car that held it all together after receiving a tow bill for $21,634. The film is directed by Stephanie Laing and stars Rose Byrne, Dominic Sessa, Demi Lovato, Ariana DeBose, Octavia Spencer, Simon Rex, Elsie Fisher and Corbin Bernsen. Tow premiered to rave reviews at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival where critics declared, “Tow is a winner” and called the film “a story of perseverance, heart, and real fight, the kind of small human story we see less frequently these days, but need now more than ever!” TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiUtqgeDVI8 THEY WILL KILL YOU: A woman takes a job as a housekeeper in a NYC high-rise, unaware of the building's history of disappearances. She soon realizes the community is shrouded in mystery. The film is directed by Kirill Sokolov and Zadie Beetz, Myha'la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette. The film is being released immediately following its premiere at this year’s SXSW Festival earlier this month. TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYqQPiXpi4w PLAN: We’ll plan for a 7pm-ish showing of both films and will meet in the upstairs lobby area about 30 minutes before showtime! Once showtimes are announced, advance ticket purchase via the GFC website is advised! Once you have yours, please list your movie of choice and seat number in the Comments section of this event. Complete details will be confirmed/announced as the date gets closer. PARKING: Close, convenient parking is available in the nearby garage (located between 9th and 11th, just off High St). Bring your ticket with you and have it validated at the theater and for $2, you’re covered for the night! Look forward to seeing you there, Dan

Join us as we get together for an Arthouse Movie Friday event to see the A24 dark comedy /romance / psychological-thriller, THE DRAMA! The film stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a happily engaged couple whose relationship is challenged when one discovers unsettling truths about the other. Here are details, a trailer and our plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: The film follows a happily engaged couple whose relationship is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails. The film comes from A24, is written/directed by Kristoffer Borgli stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, Hailey Gates and Zoë Winters. QUICK WORD OF WARNING: The film hasn’t screened for critics yet and most of the details are being kept tightly under wraps. But, early buzz (possibly promotional) says the film is a brilliant psychological thriller/romance but also provocative, twisty and some contains occasional uncomfortable viewing! I love the cast and trailer, so look forward to seeing for ourselves! ZENDAYA-PATTINSON TRIFECTA CHALLENGE: Robert Pattinson and Zendaya will star in THREE movies together this year, including THE DRAMA, Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY this Summer and Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE: PART THREE at Christmas! TRAILER: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zmKcUa4Xxk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zmKcUa4Xxk) PLAN: We’ll plan for 7pm-ish showing and will meet in the lobby area about 30 minutes before showtime! Advance ticket purchase not required for this theater but early arrival is advised. Possibly post-movie get-together at the nearby Rusty Bucket! Complete details will be confirmed/announced as the date gets closer. Take care and look forward to seeing you there, Dan